FAMILY HISTORY NEWSLETTER
Volume III, Issue 5
31 May 2009
_____________________________________________________
FAMILY HISTORY NEWS UPDATE
Ancestral Quest Versus RootsMagic
Here is some important information
about a newly certified software
application that will work directly with
the new.familysearch.org Web site to
prepare ancestral ordinances for the
temple.
Ancestral Quest was the first software to
develop synchronizing features with The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’
new family search. At that point, I was sold
on AQ and issued this statement to the
message board for family history
consultants:
RootsMagic 4 is the first software
affiliate product that is certified to
reserve and submit ancestral names to
temples to print LDS temple name cards
using new FamilySearch Web services.
As an application that is certified to
reserve ordinances, RootsMagic 4 has
the ability to link people in your desktop
genealogy file with matching people on
the
new.familysearch.org
Web
site. Once linked, a simple click on the
temple icon next to a person’s name will
display that person's official temple
ordinances, complete with dates, temple
name, and status. Incomplete temple
ordinances may then be reserved to be
performed at a later time. Your own file
may also be updated with ordinances
that are already completed. RootsMagic
4 can select reserved ordinances and
print a Family Ordinance Request (FOR)
form to take to the temple. Once at the
temple, a worker will scan the bar code
on the form and print all the desired
temple name ordinance cards. Once the
ordinances have been completed,
RootsMagic will be updated with your
ancestors’ new ordinance status.
For more product information go to:
http://www.rootsmagic.com/fs/.
FamilySearch Support
support@familysearch.org
“I like Ancestral Quest because I want to
continue to use PAF. I think the syncing in
Rootmagic is a little easier to do than the
AQ process, but I like the fact that I can
make changes in AQ and then open my file
in PAF (without having to make a
GEDCOM), and there are the changes. I did
not want to have to learn another program,
and since AQ is so similar to PAF, it was an
easy transition. I have been using AQ for
about 6 months, and I am pleased with all
the syncing the program can do. You can
compare, combine duplications, then sync;
in another process, review the person to get
parents and spouses' sealings, go to nFS
from AQ to view the file in NFS (with
proper sign-in), and add end of line people
from nFS to the last person in your
AQ/PAF. Another feature I like in AQ is
that I like to put the typed opening of a
census record into my notes. If I copy and
paste it into PAF, I get all the URL's for
each person and a lot of extra garbage.
If I cut and paste into AQ, the record is
clean. A future feature I would like to see is
the sealing to parents and spouse coming up
on the initial syncing screen.
As for me, AQ is doing a fantastic job for
my needs, and I like to go back to PAF to do
some features that I am more familiar with
than I am with AQ. The changes are
automatically made in AQ.”
Sylvia
York, PA
1
ADVANTAGES TO ROOTSMAGIC
As my husband Jack said in an earlier email, he likes Rootsmagic, and now he is
going to store his record in RotsMagic
(RM) and probably leave PAF behind.
(PAF is Personal Ancestral File, put out
for free by The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.) Jack says that the
synchronizing features in RootsMagic
are slick. The thing we both like is that
when you are looking at your record and
the same person’s record in RN, side-byside, you can synchronize (sync) all
information about that person.
In
Ancestral Quest, you will only pick up
baptism, confirmation, iniatory, and
endowment on the first sync. Then you
have to review the person to get the
sealing to parents’ date, and then sync a
third time after reviewing a person to get
sealing to spouse date. This seemed to
end up duplicating records in my
database, which I had to merge.
Also, finding a family is easier in RM as
the children automatically appear at the
bottom of a parents’ record. In AQ, you
need to click on + buttons to have the
children’s drop-down menu appear.
RootsMagic has one big drawback over
Ancestral Quest. Once you make a
GEDCOM of your people in PAF and
import the file into RootsMagic, your
PAF file becomes dormant. None of the
changes that you have made in
RootsMagic appear in PAF. Since The
Church has issued a statement that they
will not be updating PAF, to some it is
not a loss. But PAF is still a free
program, whereas both Ancestral Quest
and RootsMagic ar $29.99. Both offer a
trial period, and there are also specials
offered at times. The bottom line is that
you should test the programs, consider
costs, and buy the one that best suits
your needs.
RootsMagicSoftware
<orders@rootsmagic.com>
PRESIDENT OF ANCESTRAL
QUEST SPEAKS OUT ON AQ’s
GOOD FEATURES
As you say, "PAF is my 'friend' and ... it
is the 'friend' of most members ...". Ever
since we gave the Ancestral Quest code
to the Church over 10 years ago, we
have
recognized
this
friendship
relationship between PAF and the
members. And we know that if "most
members" will just take a look at
Ancestral Quest, they will feel like they
are still in the house of a friend. It will
be a comfortable adjustment to use the
new tools, like NFS syncing, for most
members, as AQ and PAF are so much
alike, except for the newer features,
which aren't in PAF.
One of the other cool things about AQ's
relationship with PAF is that you can use
most PAF add-on utilities with it. For
example, you should be able to use
FamilyInsight and PAF Companion with
it. (AQ can let you use either of two
database types: PAF and its own. If you
will use the .paf database, then you can
continue to use PAF, FamilyInsight,
PAF Companion and other PAF add-ons
with AQ.)
Let me elaborate just a bit on another
good feature of AQ. You saw in the
demo how to upload one family at a
time. There is a way to upload larger
groups of data in lieu of using
GEDCOM. If you haven't watched it, go
to
http://www.ancquest.com/Ver121Tutorials.htm and watch the video
entitled "Upload Data to NFS" -- about 7
minutes. This is a technique you can use
in AQ to get your PAF or GEDCOM
data into nFS without using the nFS
GEDCOM upload. It compares all your
local records with nFS before the
upload, so you only upload the records
that are not already in nFS
Gaylon Findlay
2
SYLVIA’S GENEALOGICAL
CORNER
Jack and I had the opportunity to spend
the weekend in Lynchburg, VA, where
our son and family moved over Easter.
Today we went to church with the
Landises in the Lynchburg 1st Ward.
Because it is the 5th Sunday, the men’s
and women’s organizations
met
together. What do you suppose the topic
was? Family history, of course. Their
Stake Extraction Director was giving a
presentation on indexing. He said that
their stake had indexed 100,000 names
last year, and now the stake president
has doubled that goal, and the bishops
are calling people within the ward to be
indexers. It was an interesting
presentation because I have been
indexing for about a year. In fact, we
have about 63 people in our stake
indexing.
Just what do we mean by indexing? We
mean that The Church is trying to make
the records in the Granite Vault in the
Wasatch Mountains available to
members of The Church free online so
that you can research your family in
your pajamas if you want. At the
present time the only way you can get
access to the records stored there is to
pay $5.50 per microfiche to have it
shipped into the family history center
(FHC). The FHC retains ownership
(you pay S&H), and you have to come
into the center to view the film.
Lots of census and other records are now
indexed. We are well ahead of our goal.
You can view what has already been
indexed and is available to the public at
www.labs.familysearch.org. Look under
“Record Search.” Many of the censuses
are free to research there.
If you are interested in indexing, you can
go to www.familysearchindexing.org.
You must register.
Then you can
volunteer.
You can also go to
www.lds.org as a portal to indexing and
also www.familysearch.org.
FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2009
David Rencher named Chief
Genealogical Officer of Family
History Department (Salt Lake
City)
The Family
History Department (Salt
Lake City, UT) names David
Rencher to new position Chief Genealogical Officer.
I am pleased to announce the
creation of a new position in the
Family History Department: Chief
Genealogical Officer (CGO). This key
role will be filled by David Rencher,
a 28-year veteran in the
department and the genealogical
community.
The position of Chief Genealogical
Officer ensures that the
genealogical integrity of
FamilySearch is maintained at the
highest levels. The CGO will make
sure that a genealogical perspective
is reflected in our operational and
strategic direction and that the
department’s many efforts are
3
connected to the genealogical
Public Outreach
community.
· Providing a public face to the
genealogical community for
David’s responsibilities will focus on
communication · Interacting with
four major areas:
the media to promote FamilySearch
Genealogical Soundness of the
objectives
Organization
· Assisting with V.I.P. visits and
· Strengthening the genealogical
tours
focus of the department’s products,
· Expanding the network of key
services, and processes
genealogical contacts worldwide
· Providing input to the Strategy
Team for genealogical issues
In addition to his new role as the
· Maintaining and growing
Chief Genealogical Officer, David
genealogical expertise in
will continue as director of the
partnership with the genealogical
Planning and Coordination Division.
community
David will continue to report to Russ
Stay for Information Divisions-
Record Strategy
related issues and will report to Jay
· Providing input on the overall
Verkler on CGO issues.
record strategy for FamilySearch
· Using genealogical experience and
We wish David well and ask for your
contacts to help build an open
support as he takes on these
FamilySearch environment
important new responsibilities.
· Providing input on third-party
affiliation opportunities
Jay L. Verkler
Managing Director for FamilySearch
Marketing
· Leveraging the genealogical
community to assist FamilySearch
goals
Genealogy News is a monthly publication of
Family History Consultants of the York 2nd
Ward, York, Pennsylvania
Jack and Sylvia Sonneborn.
You may contact the editors at
klompen@verizon.net
· Providing input regarding
outbound marketing to the
slysyl@verizon.net
genealogical community · Speaking
This is not an official publication of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
at key genealogical conferences to
share FamilySearch messages
4
New Personal Assistance Option
in the New FamilySearch Help
Center
Mormon Channel
Listen to Mormon Channel, the Church’s
new 24-hour-a-day audio station
featuring gospel-oriented programs,
music, interviews, and much more. You
can access the station through live
Internet streaming, podcasts, and iPhone
applications, as well as on HD radio.
Mormon Channel, a new radio service of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, launches 18 May and can be
accessed via the Internet or HD radio
affiliates. The newly created 24-hour, 7days a-week format is available live
online at http://radio.lds.org, but content
may also be downloaded.
Broadcasts originate at Temple Square
in Salt Lake City and feature a vast and
varied array of programming, according
to Chris Twitty, director of digital media
for the Church.
NEW VIDEO CHANNEL
LAUNCHED BY THE CHURCH
The Church has launched a new video
channel on YouTube (a popular Internet
video site) called “Mormon Messages.”
Each week, “Mormon Messages”
provides short segments about the
Church’s basic beliefs, as well as
inspiring stories and messages of hope.
Members are invited to watch these
gospel-centered videos and then share
them over the Internet with family,
friends, and peoples of other faiths.
The “Mormon Messages” channel can
be accessed at mormonmessages.org.
Please feel free to share information
about this new online Church resource
with your stake or ward members.
To encourage closer interaction between
Church members and their family
history consultants, a new personal
assistance option will soon be added to
the Feedback page in the Help Center in
the new FamilySearch.
When this new option is available, those
who select it will see contact information
(typically phone number and e-mail
address) for:
 Family history consultant(s) in
their ward or branch

Local family history center(s)

FamilySearch Support
Consultants’ contact information will
only be displayed to members of their
own ward or branch. The displayed
contact information comes from the
consultant registration information you
provided on the Web site at
consultant.familysearch.org. This new
personal assistance option will be
available to members in all areas of the
world that use the new FamilySearch
Web site.
You may experience an increase in your
opportunities to help members of your
ward or branch with their family history.
To enhance the support you can provide
to members, you are encouraged to
enroll in and complete the new
FamilySearch Web site training course
and other consultant courses available
through the Help Center.
If you are no longer serving as a family
history consultant or do not want your
contact information displayed in the
Help Center to your local ward or branch
5
members,
Support.
contact
FamilySearch
Note: Consultants who live in European
countries must contact FamilySearch
Support to request that their contact
information be displayed in the Help
Center. If they do not do this, their
contact information will not be
displayed.
Sincerely,
FamilySearchSupport
support@familysearch.org
U.S.
and
Canada:
1830
ANCESTRY.COM HAS
NOW POSTED OVER 8
BILLION RECORDS
We continue to laud Ancestry.com as a
useful site to find genealogical
information. Ancestry has now posted
over 8 billion records. You can check
out this site to see those most recently
posted:
Ancestry Updated Records:
1-866-406-
RETRACTION OF UTAH NFS
INFORMATION
http://www.ancestry.com/search/
rectype/recent.aspx
I hope that you can see this site even if
you do not have a subscription. The
records fall into a variety of categories,
including the following:
Don Hartman kindly informed
me that Utah is not onboard
with new Family Search. Sorry
for the misinformation. Sections
of Utah have been given roll-out
dates.
Some family history
consultants are now onboard so
that they can learn the program.
We will provide a URL that will
allow
you
to
monitor
information about the rollout in
Utah:
Family Trees
Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
Censuses and Voter Lists
Court, Land, Wills, Probate, and
Financial Records
Directories and Member Lists
Reference Books
Immigration and Emigration Records
Military Records
Newspapers and Periodicals
Photos, Maps, and References
Stories, Memories, and Histories
African and Jewish Collections
http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.c
om/2007/07/temple-districtsusing-new-familysearch.html
Of all the sites that we use for
genealogical research, this site has
proved to be the most useful.
Part of the delay is caused by the
concentration of Latter-day
Saints in this area and a desire to
keep the servers from crashing.
Recently as we taught a family history
class, Jack used Ancestry to find
ancestors for our class members. They
were amazed at all the information that
he was able to find on their families. On
one family he was able to give the
woman 17 pages of information on one
family name. We love Ancestry.
Thanks to the Ancestry Insider
Blogspot for the information.
6

TOP 25 MOST POPULAR
BENEALOGY BLOGS
Taken from "The Ancestry Insider",
Posted: 14 Apr 2009 11:05 PM PDT
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http://genealogy.about.com/
About.com Genealogy (Kimberly
Powell)
http://blog.eogn.com/ Eastman
Online Newsletter (Dick
Eastman)
http://www.geneamusings.com/
Genea-Musings (Randy Seaver)
http://www.creativegene.blogspo
t.com/ Creative Gene (Jasia)
http://blog.dearmyrtle.com
DearMYRTLE (Pat Richely)
http://ancestories1.blogspot.com/
AnceStories (Miriam Midkiff)
http://www.genealogue.com/
Genealogue (Chris Dunham)
http://www.footnotemaven.com/
footnoteMaven (Anonymous)
http://www.thegeneticgenealogist
.com/ Genetic Genealogist
(Blaine Bettinger)
http://tracingthetribe.blogspot.co
m/ Tracing The Tribe: Jewish
Genealogy Blog (Schelly Talalay
Dardashti)
http://blog.geneablogie.net/
GenaBlogie (Craig Manson)
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspo
t.com/ Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog (Lorine McGinnis Schulze)
http://stephendanko.com/blog/
Steve's Genealogy Blog (Stephen
J. Danko)
http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/
24-7 Family History Circle
(Juliana Smith)
http://tra
nsylvaniandutch.blogspot.com/
TransylvanianDutch (John
Newmark)
http://www3.gendisasters.com/
GenDisasters (Stu Beitler)
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http://blog.familytreemagazine.c
om/insider/ Genealogy Insider @
FamilyTree (Diane Haddad)
http://www.thinkgenealogy.com/
Think Genealogy (Mark Tucker)
http://calgensoc.blogspot.com/
California Genealogical Society
and Library Blog (California
Genealogical Society)
http://www.genealogyguys.com/
The Genealogy Guys (George G.
Morgan and Drew Smith)
http://www.canadagenealogy.blo
gspot.com/ CanadaGenealogy,
or, 'Jane's Your Aunt' (Diane
Rogers)
http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.co
m/ Ancestry Insider
(Anonymous)
http://www.genealogyblog.com/
GenealogyBlog (Leland
Meitzler)
http://ancestorsearch.blogspot.co
m/ Ancestor Search Blog (Kathi)
http://hughw36.blogspot.com/
Genealoge (Hugh Watkins) its a
tie!
http://www
.legacynews.typepad.com/
Legacy News (Legacy Tree
Software) its a tie!
QUESTION:
Some of my ancestors never married but
had children. I can seal the children to
the fathers but can I seal the spouses?
ANSWER:
Yes. A deceased couple who lived
together as husband and wife may be
sealed, even if the marriage cannot be
documented. (source: nFS Help Center)
**********
New Family Search is rolling out in
groups of stakes in Logan, Utah. Here's a
page that will show progress as they roll
it
out
in
that
district.
http://75.101.166.20/utahidaho/logan_rel
ease.html
7
HOW TO GOOGLE YOUR
SURNAME
Family Ordinance Request
(FOR) Tracking
Question: When using the Google
search engine, is there a way to search
for a surname and just get family history
related sites?
Answer: Along with your surname, add
~genealogy. That is the word
"genealogy" preceded by a tilde (~). This
will yield results including terms such as
ancestry, family, family history, family
tree, genealogical, genealogists, roots,
surname, tree, vital records, and others.
If, when you do a search, you get several
sites that you can identify a common
term, such as president along with
Lincoln, you can add -president to your
search terms. This will eliminate any
sites with the word president.
My husband has been serving as a
New.FamilySearch support missionary,
and so we have been able to submit
Family Ordinance Requests and have
family file cards printed through the new
systerm for the past year. I have a
suggestion for how to handle the family
file cards. The problem is that family file
cards printed through New.FamilySearch
do not have a submission number. The
Family Ordinance Request (FOR) has a
date on it, but the individual cards have
nothing to indicate that a particular card
is on a particular FOR. After struggling
with trying to record ordinances done,
we bought a little date stamper, just a
little cheap one that the date can be
changed on. We now stamp each family
file card on the back with the date of the
FOR. (Stamp on the back behind MALE
or FEMALE or COUPLE and the date
doesn't show through to the front of the
card) The date stamp has been very
helpful to us in recording when the
ordinances are done and the FOR is
completed. --submitted by Beth L.
Hendricks. This is a GREAT idea – JS
Source: Logan Family History Weekly
Newsletter, April 15, 2009
USE OF LIMITED
RESOURCES
First, you have to realize that you can
only locate so much information by
looking at only a few types of records.
Census records, family Bibles, marriage
and death certificates are good places to
start, but there are so many other sources
that can yield clues. These include
probate packets, land and property
records, tax rolls, court records, ships'
passenger lists, immigration and
naturalization records, Social Security
and Railroad Retirement records, city
directories, military service and pension
records, and publications of genealogical
and historical societies, to name a few.
The key is to not limit yourself; there are
so many alternate resources to be
studied.
Source: George G. Morgan, "Along
These Lines", Ancestry.com Archive,
9/17/1999
YOUTH PHOTOGRAPH
TOMBSTONES
About 120 youth from The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently
gathered at a cemetery to take part in a
unique history preservation project and
extensive cleanup effort. In conjunction
with the Gravestone Photo Project, they
photographed and transcribed over 500
tombstones. "Some days you come to the
cemetery and you are really sad. But this
time you came and helped others and it
was a lovely feeling," said 14- year-old
Jessica McGuire.
Source: May 1, 2009 Family History
and Extraction/Indexing Newsletter,
Marge Westra [ westra@xmission.com]
8
CEMETERIES
PHOTOGRAPHED
Over 100,000 Tombstone photographs
free for personal use. http://teafor2.com/
FAMILY HISTORY MADE SIMPLE
Check out this short, 2 minute, video
clip about why we do family history and
how to get started.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_cf
GoOaXR8
See World's Historical
Documents Free on New
Site
The World Digital Library, at
http://www.wdl.org/en/ is a free, online
collection of documents, photos, maps
and art from countries and cultures
around the world. On the home page,
click on the map to see a sample of
content from that region. Use the slider
on the timeline at the bottom of the
screen to change the era from which the
samples are taken. Read the whole
article.
Source: Genealogy Insider, FeedBlitz
[feedblitz@mail.feedblitz.com]
4/22/2009
1916 Canada Census
Available at FHCs
The 1916 Canada Census is now
available for free at family history
centers worldwide through the
"AncestryInstitution.com" website.
I thought you might be interested in my
latest article on Renee's Genealogy
Blog.
New FamilySearch Coming Soon to All
Family History
Consultants<http://rzamor1.blogspot.co
m/2009/05/new-familysearch-comingsoon-to-all.html>
http://rzamor1.blogspot.com/2009/05/ne
w-familysearch-coming-soon-to-all.html
“I saw behind me those who had gone,
and before me, those who are to come.
I looked back and saw my father, and his
father, and all our fathers, and in front,
to see my son, and his son, and the sons
upon sons beyond.
"And their eyes were my eyes.
"As I felt, so they had felt, and were to
feel, as then, so now, as to-morrow and
forever. Then I was not afraid, for I was
in a long line that had no beginning, and
no end, and the hand of his father
grasped my father’s hand, and his hand
was in mine, and my unborn son took
my right hand, and all, up and down the
line that stretched from Time That Was,
to Time That Is, and is not yet, raised
their hands to show the link, and we
found that we were one …”
Robert Llewellen, How Green Was My
Valley (New York: Macmillan, 1940)
297
For FHCNET listeners who live in or
near Utah Valley, the Utah South Area
Family History Training Center (now
located in Orem, Utah) has added OneDay new FamilySearch classes to its
schedule of offerings. One such class
will be available on July 27, the Monday
prior to the BYU Genealogy Conference
for the benefit of those from outside
Utah that might want to come a day
early to take advantage of this full day of
instruction. More information and
registration instructions are available at
our web site:
_www.familyhistorytraining.org_
(http://www.familyhistorytraining.org)
Jay W. Grant, Director
9
FAMILY SEARCH INDEXING
PROJECTS ADDED
BY MAY 27, 2009
New indexing projects added this week
are:

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Argentina Censo 1869—Jujuy
Salta Tucuman
Canada, British Columbia Births,
1854–1903
France, Paroisses de Cherbourg,
1802–1907
France, Paroisses de Saint-Lo,
1802–1907
France, Paroisses de Coutances,
1802–1907
France Registres Protestants,
1612–1906 [Part 1]
France Registres Protestants,
1612–1906 [Part 2]
Indiana, Blackford County
Marriages 1811–1959
North Dakota—1920 U.S.
Federal Census
Ohio Tax Records—3 of 4, Post
1825
South Carolina—1920 U.S.
Federal Census
New Freedom Cemetery
has been posted
Web Links
YORK COUNTY
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/york
/yccemeteries.htm
ADAMS COUNTY
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa
/adams/accemeteries.htm
HARRY E SENFT
3048 SOLAR DR
DOVER, PA 17315
717) 792-9253
CREATING A GEDCOM
I have over 30,000 names in my tree in PAF 5.
How can I create a Gedcom of just my blood
relatives from this tree, which includes many
relations linked through in - laws families etc .
Which has grown like Topsy into an
unmanageable monster.
Would be grateful for some help.
Thanks,
Dave Whittall
You can do it as follows:
1) Select yourself
2) Select all of your ancestors and their
descendants like this:
2a) Search Individual List (CTRL+F)
2b) Click Advanced >
2c) In the relationship filter, choose ancestors
in the drop-down list, click select and enter the
number of generations of ancestors you want
to include in your GEDCOM (to be sure, enter
a large number, such as 50), then do the same
for the generations of descendants (this will be
descendants of your ancestors; for example, if
you choose 3 and 3, this will include you, your
parents, your grandparents, then three
generations of your descendants, three
generations from your parents, meaning you,
your siblings, you children, and your nephews
and nieces, and three from your grandparents,
meaning your parents, uncles and nieces,
yourself and siblings, and your cousins). You
can decide whether you want to check
spouses, too. (I would, no point in having
hundreds of blood relatives without their "notrelated-to-me" moms or dads)
2d) click OK.
2e) In the relationship filter, you can choose
descendants in the drop-down list, just to be
sure because you may have already included
all possible descendants through step 2c
above. You can decide whether you want to
check spouses, too. (Again, I would, no point
in including my grandchildren but not my sonins-law and daughters-in-law)
2f) click OK.
3) Now you can go to File>Export and export
a GEDCOM with this partial list of
individuals. (I can give more details about this,
but I guess you can move on by yourself from
this point on.)
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GETTING YOUTH
INTETESTED IN THEIR
ANCESTORS
I have a program that I present to the
youth of different wards called
"Ancestor Detective" I encourage them
to become detectives in their families;
finding the stories and photos of their
ancestors. I tell stories of my family that
make them real. We talk about their
heritage and encourage them to find
characteristics that they have in common
with their parents, grandparent, aunts
and uncles. We encourage them to write
in a journal and read some cool journal
entries from old journals. Each youth is
given a folder with a family group sheet,
pedigree chart, steps to interview a
relatives, a photo pedigree. there are also
sheets to start a journal, write their
testimony, and tell about their frends and
family.
We have a follow up activity where we
meet at the FHC and use the filled in
pedigee to find their family in
familysearch.
Susan Edmunds
ANOTHER SUGGESTION TO
GET YOUTH INTERESTED IN
FAMILY HISTORY
Recently I attended a family history
conference and talked with some of the
FamilySearch Indexing representatives
from Salt Lake. They said that many
wards had more success with indexing
when they approached the youth instead
of the adults. There is a time and season
for everything. For the youth, indexing
may be a better fit for their lives than
other genealogical pursuits.
Aloha,
John Vilburn
ANCESTOR SEEKERS
Request A Search For Your Ancestors
At The World's Largest Genealogical
Library
Ancestor Seekers researchers at the
Family History Library in Salt Lake City
will search this vast collection for your
ancestors from the United States,
Canada, Germany, Italy, Ireland,
England, Scotland, Denmark, Norway,
Sweden and other European countries.
Friendly service, affordable prices.
For a no-obligation research assessment
visit AncestorSeekers.com.
Updates from the Family
History Department
The Family History Department is
continuing to develop and release
products to assist the members of the
Church with their family history efforts.
As updates for these products are made
available, we will forward them to you
so you can see the progress being made
and so you can answer members’
questions with the most current
information available. Examples of the
products for which information is
regularly updated include FamilySearch
indexing, FamilySearch Record Search,
and FamilySearch.org.
Thank you for all you do in furthering
this great work.
Sincerely,
FamilySearch Support
For copies of Genealogy News, go to
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~payork/Yor
k2Ward/
Thanks to Don and Jeanine Hartman of
Utah for posting the newsletter online for us.
You can contribute your family history of
original York County ancestors at
http://familyhart.info
11
ENCOURAGING WORDS
Just want to share some thoughts about
encouraging our members to do even a
small part in family history and temple
work. "No one made a greater mistake
than he who did nothing because he
could only do a little." ~ Edmund Burke
(1729-1797)
Here's another good quote: "In any
moment of decision, the best thing you
can do is the right thing. The worst thing
you can do is nothing." ~ Theodore
Roosevelt
Along the same lines, one of my favorite
scriptures is in Alma 37:6 "... by small
and simple things are great things come
to pass ..."
It really is better to do "something" than
to wait for a "better season" which may
never come.
Who knows if we will even live to be
old men or women? Besides, it is easier
to research family history and perform
the temple ordinances when we are
younger -- when we are not suffering
from poor eyesight and other ailments.
When we perform temple ordinances, we
do one person at a time. At times, our
efforts seem so very small, but in the
eternal realm, each name is important to
the Lord. As we do the work for many
more of our family members over the
years, our efforts make a significant
contribution to the redemption of the
dead.
By following the commandment to
redeem the dead, we gain strength
because we are on the Lord's errand.
Mary Scott
Northville Ward
Westland Michigan Stake
BLOGGING FOR THE
GENEALOGIST
Nina Miles of York 2nd Ward presented
a class on blogging for the genealogist at
the May meeting of the Susquehanna
Trail Genealogy Club. She explained
that there are two types of blogging –
traditional and Squidoo Lenses.
To
get
started,
go
to
https://www.blogget.com/start. Click on
“Create a Blog.” Set up a google
account, or sign in if you have one.
Name your blog and pick the URL.
Choose a template from those offered.
Now click “Start Blogging” button.
Click settings and add a description.
Click “Save Settings” and then click on
“Posting” and start writing your blog.
Nina, of course, gave a lot more
information on creating the blog.
The second type of the blog is the
SQUIDOO Mini-Blog, also known as
“Lenses.” This is the site she featured:
http://www.squidoo.com/wizard/step1.
Fill in “My lens Is About” with the title.
Step two, check “I just want to do my
own thing.” Step three, add the URL for
the lens. Step four, Add a main keyword
tag and 3 additional tags, like a family
name with location. Click “Done.”
Now you can add many available
modules and widgets to all of your
lenses.
You can then add census
information, maps, photos, documents,
website links, a guestbook for your
visitors, biographical information, and
much more. Nina continued to refine the
information on making genealogical
blogs.
The club members were
impressed with her expertise and felt that
they had learned a lot about blogging.
Next month: On June 25, 7:00 p.m., at
the York Ward, 2100 Hollywood Drive,
Frank Long will present a demonstration
on how to prepare a family history book
using PAF (Personal Ancestral File).***
12