Do You Want to Know What Was Really Talked About at the RootsTech Conference?

No Internet service this weekend made for no posting but on Granite Geneaolgy, Sue Maxwell posted and linked to three great articles about RootsTech from the LDS Church News publication. This publication is part of the Deseret News newspaper on Saturday mornings. The articles (February 19, 2011) are very informative and give you some idea of the direction family history is heading! That is your reading assignment for today!  :)

Keep it Going!

In my attempts to keep the spirit of RootsTech 2011 firmly planted in my brain, I went searching for videos from the conference. One of my favorite keynote speakers was Curt Witcher, Manager of the Historical Genealogy Dept. of the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I enjoyed him so much because it is obvious that he is passionate about what he does. This is a podcast that he did at the conference. It is a little long, but I thought that maybe you could catch the spirit of RootsTech too!

Can You Believe It?

Who would have thought that there would be a prime-time television program on the subject of genealogy? Hard to believe! If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, now is the time to do it! Ignore those naysayers who complain that the spotlight is on celebrities! This has generated interest in family history. Stories touch hearts! Run with it! If you have missed the first couple of episodes of Who Do You Think You Are click on the link to watch them! Next up, Rosie O'Donnell, this Friday night (2/18/11)! Check your local listings for the time.

Jay Verkler from the RootsTech Conference!

 Jay Verkler from FamilySearch was the opening keynote speaker at the RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City last weekend. The Ancestry Insider was one of the "official" bloggers at RootsTech and he has done a great job of summarizing the opening comments. Read them here! Hopefully, you will catch the vision of where genealogy and technology are going in the future (at warp speed, I might add!). It's exciting!

Richard G. Scott on Technology and Genealogy

Listen to what an apostle of the Lord has to say about technology and genealogy.

There's a New Blog in Town!

Does technology have you befuddled? There is a new resource that has just been launched by FamilySearch. It's called FamilyTech and it bills itself as a resource for technology tips for genealogists and family historians. Want to know how to use Twitter for genealogy purposes? How about camera basics for the genealogists? Can you use Android devices for genealogy? These are just a sampling of the topics covered on FamilyTech. The great thing is that if you are knowledgeable in a certain area, you are encouraged to contribute to the site! Jump on the technology bandwagon! You can run, but you can't hide!

Did You Hear?

We now have access to Ancestry.com in our center. It is the library version, not the total version, but better than the institutional version! Did you get that? Right now this access is a test agreement between FamilySearch and Ancestry.com. The testing will go on for a few months before it is evaluated again. At that time, there may be some changes made. This information was given at the RootsTech conference this past weekend. Jay Verkler of FamilySearch and Tim Sullivan of Ancestry.com were both in attendance. We appreciate having this resource in our FHC. Check out the other paid subscription resources that we have in our center. They are accessed through the Family History Library portal. We are in the process of making that portal easier to find!

19th Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archive
Alexander Street Press – The American Civil War
Find My Past
Footnote.com
The Genealogist
Genline Family Finder
Godfrey Memorial Library
Heritage Quest Online
Historical Map Works Library Edition
Paper Trail (from the Oregon-California Trails Association)
World Vital Records

What is Family History?

As I learn to post on this blog, I find that there are so many great examples out there! As I am attending the RootsTech Conference, I am finding that there is an amazing group of bloggers out there that write so well what I am trying to say. An example of capturing the excitement of family history is Elisa Scharton who writes on mormonmommyblogs.com. Check out her "Boy Was I Wrong Article!" Maybe this article will inspire others to view family history differently. Maybe we will get past my son's observation that "Mom, whenever people ask you what you do for fun, you say family history. Do you ever notice that their eyes glaze over?" Thanks CAM for the vote of confidence!

Legacy 7.5 is Here!

 

The long awaited 7.5 is here! I spent a couple of days last week playing with the new features that work with new FamilySearch and I have to say that I am impressed! I play with many of the database programs but Legacy has always been my first choice. Maybe that is because I think the way that it is set up! I particularly like the way that Legacy writes sources for me. Here are some of the new features of Legacy. 

• Match your Legacy individuals with FamilySearch individuals
• Combine potential duplicates that exist at FamilySearch
• View the real-time ordinance status of individuals (LDS)
• Reserve and print Family Ordinance Requests (LDS)
• Assign your ordinance cards to others and track their progress (LDS)
• Share information back and forth (optional) between Legacy and FamilySearch

Legacy's free standard download works with new FamilySearch. If you want to go with more bells and whistles, go for the deluxe version! There are lots of good programs out there and there isn't one set "perfect" program. In the next few weeks, I will be highlighting the other programs that are certified to work with new FamilySearch! As a side note, Legacy 1.0 is now available for Android devices! Go mobile!

No Takers!

Unfortunately, I didn't have any takers on my tickets for the St. George Family History Expo. I realize that the prize only fit a select group of people, so I will chalk up this attempt to experience! I also found out about this a little late and only had two days to conduct a contest! Never fear, I will try again in the future!

Chasing Women?

Do you "chase women?" Are you looking for those elusive female ancestors? LegacyFamilyTree.com is the place to go for scheduled webinars about a variety of topics that will help you in your research. Just click on the training tab and then scroll down to webinars. "Chasing Women" is just one of the webinars coming up. The nice thing about these webinars is that they are archived for 30 days and you can listen and learn at your leisure.

Come on Guys! I've Got Tickets to Give Away!

I know I am a novice at this, but I NEED SOME ENTRIES FOR THIS CONTEST! Please pass the message around!

WANT FREE TICKETS?

 

Dear Blogging Friends,

I am so excited to attend the St. George Family History Expo 2011, which will be held in St. George, Utah on February 25-26, 2011.  As a Blogger of Honor, I have been given two tickets for free registration to that conference. If you are interested in attending the conference, I have a contest whereby you can qualify for the tickets. The contest is pretty simple and has to do with the topic that I am personally very intrigued with. The topic is “Using Social Networks for Genealogy.” 

Here’s how the contest works:

·      Contest begins NOW and ends at midnight on February 8, 2011. (I realize this is short notice, but I have faith in you, my blogging friends!)

·      To qualify for this drawing you must submit (to: rayannemelick@gmail.com )

o   a question about how to use social networking in genealogy that you would like answered at the conference, or

o   an idea that you have used to enhance your genealogy research through the use of social networks

o   your entry must also include name, address, phone number and email address

·      All entries received by midnight February 8, 2011 will be entered into a random drawing.

·      Two winners will be selected and each winner will receive one ticket for free registration to the conference.

My commitment to you is to share with you what I learn about this topic at the conference in a future blog posting. Best of luck! I look forward to meeting my winners in St. George!

Rayanne

Why Come to the Grove Creek Family History Center?

Family History Center located in the Grove Creek Stake Building, south side

Did you know that the Grove Creek FHC has lots of great information about Pleasant Grove in earlier times? For instance, did you know that we have (on microfilm) the American Fork Citizen Newspapers from January 1914-March 1945? These microfilms also include the Pleasant Grove Review and the Lehi Banner! On microfilm, we have the separate Pleasant Grove Review Newspaper for the years 1984-1995. We also have Pleasant Grove cemetery records, some ward records, and other assorted miscellaneous records. If you have Pleasant Grove ancestry, please come check out these resources! To see what else we have in this FHC, go to the link on the right side of the page under Grove Creek FHC permanent films. Hope to see you soon!

Link Has Been Fixed!

The link to the catalog of permanent microfilms in the Grove Creek FHC has been fixed! Thanks for the heads-up on the broken link!

I'm So Excited!!!

Follow Vanessa Williams as she travels from the National Archives in Washington, D.C. to the historical battlefields of South Carolina to discover the amazing stories of her ancestors who were trailblazers in the classroom, the courtroom and beyond. Learn more on NBC.com   Watch a preview

More BYU Classes on February 13, 2011

Reminder about the RootsTech Conference!

RootsTech brings together family history enthusiasts and technologists to discover new solutions for genealogy.

Connect and Collaborate

At RootsTech you can connect with others who are interested in finding technological solutions for genealogical problems.

Explore Emerging Technologies

Technology users discover exciting new research tools while technology creators learn the latest development techniques from industry leaders and pioneers.

Just a reminder that the early registration deadline for the RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City, February 10-12 is TOMORROW, January 15, 2011. The early registration is $99.00. After tomorrow, the fee jumps to $150.00. Register at http://rootstech.familysearch.org/.

Posting to Find a Grave!

I did a good deed today! In November, I went on a family history trip to Pennsylvania. I visited one cemetery in particular that many people don't know existed. It is built on a coal slag hill that the coal company donated to the town. My sister and I took pictures of all of the headstones in this particular cemetery. Today I posted the first bunch of them on findagrave.com. If you have never been to this site, please check it out. It is so worth it! And...please take the time to post all of those headstone pictures that you have hanging around your house! Someone will be thrilled with your contribution! The above headstone belongs to my great-grandparents!

Need a Good Read?

I have been reading this book over the Christmas break. It lists so many websites that I had no clue about! What a great resource!