Story@Home

This year at RootsTech there are a couple of new additions. One is the Getting Started Track and the other is Story@Home. Story@Home is a great addition, particularly as we (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints/Mormons) have been encouraged to connect with our relatives through stories. I know that my kids aren't really motivated by a pedigree chart, but a story will get them every time! If you are looking for a way to engage your family in your hobby/passion, go for the stories. Story@Home will give you some great ideas and resources. For a schedule of their classes, click here.

(Nope, not affiliated with Story@Home!)

Misconceptions about Family History

LDS meetinghouse in Warsaw, Poland
Photo Credit: Public Domain

One of the misconceptions about family history and genealogy is that everything is "online." A corollary to that misconception is that "since it is all online, there is no need for a local LDS Family History Center, particularly if you live smack dab in the middle of genealogy heaven...Utah. Well, did you know that you can go to your local family history center (they are all over the world) and have access to some of the best subscription websites! They are available for you and you don't have to pay a penny to use them! In our family history center, the two most popular sites are Ancestry.com and Fold3.com. We all know that Ancestry.com has some of the most exciting record collections in the world, and Fold3.com has an outstanding collection of military records. Family History Center patrons also have access to:

•19th Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archives
•Access Newspaper Archive
•Alexander Street Press - The American Civil War: Research Database, Letters and Diaries, Images, Photographs, Posters and Ephemera
•Ancestry.com
•ArkivDigital Online
•Find My Past-British genealogy
•Fold3.com (Previously known as Footnote.com)
•The Genealogist
•Godfrey Memorial Library
•Heritage Quest Online
•Historic Map Works Library Edition
•Paper Trail
•World Vital Records

If some of these sites are new to you and you don't have a clue what they contain, click on this link for a full description of each site. If you don't know where your local LDS Family History Center is, click here for help in finding it!
By the way, family history information is NOT all "online!" The online resources are just the tip of the iceberg. :)