FAMILY HISTORY NEWSLETTER
Volume II, Issue 2
February 2008
Mark your calendar for next Family History Conference, April 26, 2008, York, PA,
Have you been thinking about how you can learn
more about researching you ancestors? Well, the
Susquehanna Trail Genealogy Club (STGC) and
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
are excited to assist you. Just plan to join us for
York’s spring family history conference on
Saturday, April 26, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
at The Church, 2100 Hollywood Drive, York,
Pennsylvania. Registration and welcoming will
be from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.; classes will begin at
8:40 a.m.
We have lots of interesting local presenters, and
we have a few presenters flying in from Utah.
You won’t want to miss meeting Don & Jeanine
Hartman, who maintain one of the largest FH
databases available at
http://midatlantic.rootsweb.com Their website
of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry with a lot of
York County roots at
http://www.linkhitlist.com/cgi/LHL_E.exe?G2L
&LinkNo=1456853&ListNo=30907
reflects Jeanie’s heritage. Don is the Director for
AT&T Global Application Services, and Jeanine
is the International Sales Manager for Delta
Airlines. They will be presenting “Internet
Genealogy Research” and “DNA in Genealogy,”
one of their avid interests.
Also coming in from Utah will be professional
Dutch researcher Nell Van der Wekken Parker,
who recently retired after working 31 ½ years for
the church’s Family History Department. She
has researched Netherlands family history for
over 25 years, having been born in The Hague,
Netherlands, and reared in Australia, and living
in Utah for over 30 years. She will be teaching
us how to prepare to attend the Family History
Library in Salt Lake City and what is available.
Accompanying Nell is her husband Vance
Parker, who was born in Clinton, Utah. He is a
retired mechanical engineer and has been a
professional researcher of Scandinavian records
for the last 15 years. Vance will teach “English
Research”; he will be available for anyone with
questions about Scandinavian research, while
Nell will be able to answer questions on Dutch
research during the day.
We are excited to once again have Jonathan
Stayer, the head of the Reference section of the
Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg, to
present two courses on “Doing Research at the
PA State Archives” and “Researching PA Land
Records.” STGC member Jerry Ellis, who is an
archivist for the Pennsylvania State Archives,
will teach how to prepare for a trip to the PA
Archives.
New to our impressive list of presenters this year
are Rebecca Whitman Koford and Richard
Saylor. Rebecca teaches genealogy for the
Howard Community College, Laurel College
Center. She hails from Maryland, where she and
her husband are rearing 3 children who refer to
her as a “detective for the dead.” Rebecca will
make three presentations: “Where to Start Your
Family History Research,” “U.S. Military
Research Records,” and “Brick Wall Case
Studies.”
Presenter Richard Saylor has been employed by
the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum
Commission since 1991, and he has worked as
an archivist within the Bureau of PA State
Archives since 1999. He is the co-chair of the
Interpretive Committee of the PA Civil War
Muster-out Rolls Project and also the project
archivist for PA’s Civil War Muster-out Project.
He is presently writing the PHMC Civil War
Treasures book, due out in 2009.
Rich’s
presentation at the FH conference will be “Civil
War Records at the Pennsylvania Archives.”
Jason Sellers, Eastern York High School
photography teacher from the Graphic Arts
Department, will teach how to get the most from
digital cameras and inkjet printers. “Capturing
and Printing Quality Digital Images” will teach
tips and techniques that will keep digital
photography from being a chore.
Some local members of The Church of Jesus
Christ will present a variety of interesting and
informative topics. Tina Abplanalp, who is a
senior training developer for an international
computer company and a member of the
Lewisberry 2nd Ward, will offer two classes:
“The 5 New Internet Sites Available at the
Family History Center” and “Pennsylvania
Genealogical Resources.”
Dee Bryan, an
outstanding teacher and leader of the York 1st
Ward, has worked on finding her family roots for
many years now. Her love of research and
reading have resulted in her development of
“Leave No Stone Unturned” – a course that will
demonstrate how death records, obituaries, and
cemetery stones can aid in family history
research. Gloria Smith, York 2nd Ward, who
holds a BS degree in Genealogical Research
from Brigham Young University, will present a
class called “Immigration and Naturalization
Records.” Family History Consultant A. J.
Newcomer of the York 1st Ward, will guide tours
through the Family History Center.
A mother and daughter team – Joan and Debra
Miller – both members of the Society of
Mayflower Descendants – will present the class
“A Journey on the Mayflower.” A video called
“The Mayflower Story” and a taste of
“Johnnycakes” will enhance the class as
attendees learn what research they would need to
join the society. Another interesting feature of
the class will be a presentation by Brandt
Bradford, a descendant of Governor Bradford of
the Plymouth Colony.
Last but not least, Jack and Sylvia Sonneborn of
the York 2nd Ward , who have been presenters at
various family history conferences and who have
done research for over 20 years, will teach a
class just for Latter-day Saints called
“Introduction to new Family Search.” To fully
prepare for this course, they will be taking a oneday class on new Family Search prior to
attending the computerized Family History
Conference at Brigham Young University in
March. Jack will also teach a course to help
researchers
organize
their
data
called
“Comparing Genealogical Software Programs.”
At the end of the conference, the Susquehanna
Trail Genealogy Club will meet in the gym to
award door prizes (winner must be present) and
to invite family history researchers to join.
Susan Inak, president of STGC, will conduct.
The conference is free, but a lunch is available
for $5.50 id ordered in pre-registration. Several
fast food restaurants are near the church also.
Bottled water will be available for sale
throughout the day. Smoking is not permitted on
church grounds.
Throughout the day, those attending may view
displays in the cultural hall. Organized by club
member Bernadette Livingston, the displays will
demonstrate memorabilia collected by members
of the club and other presenters.
Complete information and registration materials
are available at STGC’s website, which is
maintained by club member Mark Gagermeier:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~pastgc/index.html
The month of January was a sad month when we
learned of the death of the beloved president of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
on 28 January 2008. President Gordon Hinckley
has been known as the temple-building
president. In his thirteen-year tenure, he has
worked to improve the church’s historic sites in
Kirtland, Ohio, Nauvoo, and Cove Fort in Utah.
He established a Perpetual Education Fund to
give returned missionaries in less wealthy
countries the opportunity to attend college. He
granted press interviews, held press conferences,
and received a Presidential medal. He met with
world leaders, traveled around the world, and
opened areas to missionary work that had been
closed. He wrote books that became world
renown, and he bore his testimony of Jesus
Christ every chance he had. We have learned to
love him, his wit and his humor, and we will
miss him greatly.
After Pres. Hinckley’s funeral, the Quorum of
Twelve Apostles met in the Salt Lake City
Temple and reorganized the First Presidency as
outlined in church policy. “Thomas S. Monson,
who was first ordained as an Apostle and called
to the Quorum of the Twelve in 1963 when he
was 36, was ordained and set apart as president
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, Sunday, 3 February 2008.
He has called to serve with him in the First
Presidency two he called “tireless and innovative
workers” — President Henry B. Eyring, 74, First
Counselor, and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, 67,
Second Counselor. President Boyd K. Packer
was named as the President of the Quorum of the
Twelve.” (Meridian Magazine)
Presidency Hinckley has left us words of
comfort concerning death:
“As we travel through this topsy-turvy, sinful
world filled with temptations and problems, we
are humbled by the expectancy of death, the
uncertainty of life, and the power and love of
God. Sadness comes to all of us in the loss of
loved ones. But there is gratitude also –
gratitude for the great gospel plan given freely to
all of us; gratitude for the life, teachings, and
sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God
for the life and ministry of the Master, Jesus the
Christ, who broke the bonds of death, who is the
light and life of the world, who set the pattern,
who established the guidelines for all of us, and
who proclaimed: ‘I am the resurrection, and the
life; he that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live.’” (Why These Temples?)
DON’T PROCRASTINATE IT’S ALREADY 08.
When we last attended the Washington DC
Temple, we met with the recorder to collect a
pile of temple cards completed by the temple. At
that time the recorder asked what we are doing in
our stake to get ready for the implementation of
new Family Search. The recorder said that he
had been to Salt Lake City and had been trained
on nFS by Elder Marlin Jensen. At the present,
the temple workers in Family File are learning
the process, and all Family History Directors
have access to it. He said that the temple would
be changing over to nFS on April 30. This date
is not official as we have not received notices
from the Family History Department, but it is a
guideline if all things go as planned. For us, we
just need to realize that nFS will soon be here.
What that means to our ward is that anyone who
still wants to get into that window of opportunity
to turn in temple cards for the temple to complete
the work needs to do that immediately. When
that window closes in the next two months, we
patrons will have to provide proxies for those
cards that have been printed in the past. The
temple recorder said that after we change over to
nFS, the temple will download cards from the
site daily to be used in the temple. You will still
be able to do the work for the old cards, but the
temple will not find proxies. On nFS, if you
choose to do proxy work yourself, you will print
a Family Ordinance Request (FOR) with
ancestor identifying barcodes on your computer
on the nFS site and take them to the temple to
print cards, which you will then keep to provide
your own proxies.
There will also be a period of time when we no
longer will be able to use Temple Ready - about
a month before the rollout. When we change
over, we will no longer use Temple Ready at all.
We told the recorder that we have met with
Bishop Bushey, and he had asked us to make a
plan for teaching ward members. Since Jack has
been assigned by his HPGL to be in charge of
family history for the ward, the Bishop has asked
him to oversee the family history consultants in
our ward. Jack has started meeting with the
consultants, and he and I will help to train them
as soon as we return from Utah in March and
have nFS available. We will meet again with the
Bishop to talk about the plan that we presented
to him.
Once we are on-board, ward members can
schedule an appointment with any consultant for
training on nFS, go online and try to learn the
program themselves (not advised), or go into the
FHC to be taught by a FH consultant on duty.
GENEALOGY AND TEMPLE
WORK
"Genealogy and temple work—you can’t have
one without the other. They are two inseparable
parts of one supernal decree the Lord has given
us to aid in the redemption of the dead. The
process of identifying one’s family should be
much more than a hobby to a Latter-day Saint.
From an eternal perspective, to consider the
word genealogy and not its partner temple
work—or to think of temple work and disregard
its twin, genealogy—makes no more sense than
to try to play a game with only half a ball."
[George D. Durrant, “Genealogy and Temple
Work: ‘You Can’t Have One without the
Other’,” Ensign, Aug 1983, page 18]
The Dead Do Speak to Us
The dead communicate with us, so we can find
them. I heard of a story that happened to a FHC
patron. She is not a member of the church and
has no real idea why she is doing this work.
She came in to read a film and with tears in her
eyes she told the story after she made her
exciting find. She said for decades she had been
looking for birth and parent information on an
ancestor. She had searched all the places she
could possibly think of to find clues on the origin
of this ancestor - all with negative results. One
night her ancestor came to her in a dream and
told her his birthday and place of birth. She
found the film needed on the catalog that would
cover this place and time. She found it as soon as
she started looking at the film. Needless to say,
all who heard her story had Goosebumps and a
lump in their throats. Don't ever give up looking
for them--they are waiting, and they will help
you.
Letters sent to The Family
History Library in SLC
“Enclosed please find my grandmother. I have
worked on her for fifty years without success.
Now see what you can do.”
“My Grandfather died at the age of three.”
“I would like to find out if I have any living
relatives or dead relatives or ancestors in my
family.”
“Source of information: Family Bible in
possession of Aunt Mamie, until the tornado hit
Topeka, Kansas. Now only the good Lord knows
where it is.”
Do you remember the movie
JAWS?
Do you remember the music? Didn’t it set the
tone for the whole movie? It slowly brought
your anticipation up to a very high level. But
seeing the shark jump out of the water still made
you leave your seat. So what about it?
I have a hobby; I collect
Ancestors – True or False?
"In this Church we are not hobbyists in
genealogy work. We do family history work in
order to provide the ordinances of salvation for
the living and the dead."
Dallin H. Oaks said this in the June 1989 Ensign.
Within 90 days the new FamilySearch will be
rolled out. That is the rumor. Renee’s Blog has
us listed as contacted. No official announcement
as of yet, but we are full of anticipation.
So we are trying to get all of you up to speed on
what is needed prior to the roll out official date.
Please obtain your membership number and
confirmation date. If you don’t know this
information, see Bro. Bowman. Then you will
be able to register when the Wash DC Temple
goes LIVE.
Also, you need to ‘clean up’ the data you already
have. The correct manner to identify The United
States of America is not USA, but United States.
You don’t have to retype all the place
locations…just go to the Global Update section
of the TOOLS menu and replace what you have
with what is now correct. The same thing
applies to PA or Penn;, we need to be spelling
out the whole state’s name. The shark is about
to jump…..so let’s anticipate the leap.
We Are Each Responsible
Elder Mark E. Petersen said in the May 1976
Ensign, "Be it known that each living person is
responsible to assist in the salvation of his own
deceased relatives. Our own salvation is largely
dependent upon it. We cannot be made perfect
without our ancestors, and they cannot be made
perfect without us.
What is our obligation then? Each one of us—if
we pretend to obey the gospel at all—must
search out our dead and have these saving
ordinances performed for them.
God holds each of us responsible for saving our
own kindred - specifically our own."
I love that talk. Especially the part about "if we
PRETEND to obey the gospel"... and then
following up with just going to the temple
doesn’t cut it. It’s only half of what the Lord has
commanded.
Once we are using new Family Search (nFS), we
will have to combine all the various records for
one individual. For instance, my dad is listed
twice on the IGI, once as having been born in
Augusta, WV, and once as having been born in
Slanesville, WV. How did that happen? He
really lived in Slanesville, but that was such a
small town that they often used the post office
address of Augusta. So there are duplicate
records because of different people using
different places of birth. If ordinances were
performed on different dates, there may also be
duplicate records on the same person. Then
there are the downloads to the Ancestral File and
Pedigree Resource File that various family
members did when they completed their fourgeneration charts. These will have to be merged,
combined, or collated, whatever term you like.
On one of the chatlines I visit, a very
knowledgeable member of the group has
explained it well.
“It seems there is some confusion about what
‘Combining’ means.
In nFS a folder is created for each individual and
all the different records about that individual are
combined into that folder. They do not become
one record like PAF does when it merges. They
become a folder full of all the different records
submitted about an individual. This is a different
approach than was tried with Ancestral File,
which merged the information into one record.
The purpose is to combine all the research and
Temple ordinances together in one place to
reduce duplication of effort.
The goal for the future will be to correct all the
incorrect information that is in the folders. We
do not have all the tools necessary to make those
corrections efficiently yet. For now we are to
merge all the information into the same folder
even if the information has errors. The way
information is displayed in the pedigrees and
summaries is based on a sorting of information,
that will change at some future point. For now
lets work on combining all the duplicate records
into the folders. We will be given more tools
with each new update to the system.”
Gary Turner, Family History Consultant
Can’t afford a subscription to Ancestry. If you
want a free alternative, try this site:
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/
When we can’t find an ancestor on Ancestry, we
often switch to this site and find him there.
Seeking European Sites?
Check here -
www.WorldGenWeb.org.
Also, this is the address for the countries
included in the Eastern European section of the
website.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~easeurgw/ or
http://feefhs.org/ Federation of East
European Family History Societies
You may have noticed that I like to share a
research tale with our readers. I am constantly
amazed at the information I find about my family
on the Internet. Well, this is this month’s tale:
Hamill relative who, though she was not related
to me, said that she had been in contact with one
of my Hunt relatives in Melbourne, Australia.
That was rather exciting to find someone
researching my Hunt line as my greatgrandmother was Nancy Hunt, Sylvia’s sister. [I
also have a sister Nancy!]. I had never been able
to find out much about her line.
At my request, this new contact sent my e-mail
to Mandy in Australia, and I got a surprising
response. Mandy is a direct descendant of
younger sister Isabella who had run off with
Sylvia’s husband William Hamill. William and
Isabella presented themselves as married in
Australia, where they made a happy life for
themselves and produced 12 children. I now
have learned that I have a large number of
relatives in Baltimore, Australia, and around the
world from Mr. Hamill. He and the two Hunt
women had 19 children together.
Not only was this interesting to learn the story of
my great grand aunts Sylvia and Isabella (my
great-grandmother’s sisters), but I was even
more touched to receive a picture of both Sylvia
Hunt and Isabella Hamill. And while I am sad to
learn about Sylvia’s plight, I am happy for my
new-found relative Mandy, who has been very
generous in providing information about Isabella
Hunt’s line. Sylvia and Isabella both lived to be
92 years old, but William expired at the age of
65. They were strong women. Mandy sent a
picture of him too. Here is Isabella’s photo.
I am named after my Grandfather Krise’s Aunt
Sylvia Crossman (Hunt) Hamill. She was his
favorite aunt, but I really did not know much
about her. She married a William John Hamill in
Baltimore, where he and his brother operated a
coal oil factory. About the time it burned down,
Sylvia was expecting her seventh child. Not
only did she learn of this bad news about the
business, but she also discovered that her
husband had impregnated her younger sister
Isabella Cummings Hunt, age 19, who had lived
with the Hamills at least 4 years to help to care
for the children.
There was trouble in River City! Sylvia’s
husband ran off with her sister Isabella, and the
couple disappeared from the face of the earth.
My mother’s records list Isabella as unmarried.
Well, Sylvia made lemonade out of the situation.
She went back to her maiden name, listed herself
as widowed, rebuilt the coal oil factory, and
became a well-known business woman in oil in
Baltimore in the 1870’s so that she could take
care of the children.
Not long ago, I posted a message on a family
history message board seeking information about
Sylvia’s father Joseph Hunt and his wife. Within
a few days I had a response, and I met a William
[The picture of Sylvia Hunt is too dark to print.]
Now I have lots more work to do.
Try a blog intended for new family history
researchers:
http://dufamilyhistory.blogspot.com
ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN FH
President Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, March
1995 commented on technology.
"In recent years we have begun using
information technology to hasten the sacred
work of providing ordinances for the deceased.
The role of technology in this work has been
accelerated by the Lord himself, who has a
guiding hand in its development and will
continue to do so. However, we stand only on
the threshold of what we can do with these
tools. I feel that our most enthusiastic
projections can capture only a tiny glimpse of
how these tools can help us - and of the eternal
consequences of these efforts."
And another by Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley:
"Going hand in hand with this increased temple
activity is an increase in our family history work.
The computer in its various ramifications is
accelerating the work, and people are taking
advantage of the new techniques being offered to
them. How can one escape the conclusion that
the Lord is in all of this? As computer facilities
improve, the number of temples grows to
accommodate the accelerated family history
work" (Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Nov. 1999,
4-5).
“In our preexistent state … we made a
certain agreement with the Almighty. …
We agreed … to be not only saviors for
ourselves but measurably, saviors for the
whole human family. We went into a
partnership with the Lord. The working
out of the plan became then not merely
the Father’s work, and the Savior’s work,
but also our work.”
John A. Widtsoe, Utah Genealogical and
Historical Magazine, Oct. 1934, p. 189
"President Hunter's classic statement
emphasizes the importance of temple
work for our own families and helps us to
understand the Old Testament prophecy
that "saviours shall come up on mount
Zion." (Obad. 1:21) This exalting service
for others unseen is one of the most noble
acts of human kindness."
Russell M. Nelson, CR, Oct. 1994, "The Spirit
of Elijah"
"We are not only to be messengers of
salvation to the living, but saviors for our
ancestors who went before us and who,
though now dead, have paved the way
whereby we might receive our present
blessings... The promise was made that,
even if they were born at a time and place
where they could not hear the gospel
preached in life, God would provide
saviors for them from among their
descendants. We are those saviors God
promised through whom they can have
every priesthood blessing."
Elder Theodore M. Burton, Ensign, May
1975
***************************************
HOW LONG HAVE OUR
ANCESTORS BEEN WAITING
FOR US TO DO THEIR
WORK?
From the death of Abel until the Savior was
resurrected spirits waited with anticipation. Then
the marvelous news came -- the bands of death
would be broken. He would soon be there in the
spirit world. President Joseph F. Smith described
the scene: "And there were gathered together in
one place an innumerable company of the spirits
of the just, who had been faithful in the
testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality.
"I beheld that they were filled with joy and
gladness, and were rejoicing together because the
day of their deliverance was at hand." They were
assembled awaiting the advent of the Son of God
into the spirit world, to declare their redemption
from the bands of death. While this vast
multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the
hour of their deliverance from the chains of
death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty
to the captives who had been faithful. "And there
he preached to them the everlasting gospel, the
doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption
of mankind from the fall, and from individual
sins on condition of repentance. "Their
countenances shone and the radiance from the
presence of the Lord rested upon them and they
sang praises unto his Holy name." (D&C 138:
12, 15-16, 18-19, 24) "I marveled," wrote
President Smith, "for I understood that the Savior
spent about three years in his ministry among the
Jews and those of the house of Israel,
endeavoring to teach them the everlasting gospel
and call them unto repentance. And yet,
notwithstanding his mighty works, and miracles,
and proclamation of the truth, in great power and
authority, there were but few who harkened to
his voice and rejoiced in his presence, and
received salvation at his hands. But his ministry
among those who were dead was limited to the
brief time intervening between the crucifixion
and his resurrection." (D&C 138:25-27)
"And as I wondered, my eyes were opened, and
my understanding quickened, and I perceived
that the Lord went not in person among the
wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the
truth, to teach them. But behold, from among the
righteous, he organized his forces and appointed
messengers, clothed with power and authority,
and commissioned them to go forth and carry the
light of the gospel to them that were in darkness,
even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the
gospel preached to the dead." (D&C 138:29-30)
But the joy there was short-lived. Within a few
hundred years the sealing power was taken away
again from the earth. Those missionaries in the
spirit world then and the many that have joined
them have preached and prayed and taught. Who
leads them? The Savior. Who are they? Joseph
and Hyrum, and Brigham and John and Wilford,
and those great apostles who baptized so many in
the early missions to England, they are there,
teaching as they did in life. With what success?
Wilford Woodruff spoke of Joseph and Hyrum
and David Patten, the first apostle to be martyred
in this dispensation, and said that they had 50
times as many people to preach to as we have on
the earth, and he said that in 1873. Think of the
billions who have gone to the spirit world since
then. And Lorenzo Snow, who is now preaching
with them, said this in 1884: "I believe that when
the gospel is preached to the spirits in prison, the
success attending that preaching will be far
greater than that attending the preaching of our
elders in this life. I believe there will be very few
indeed of those spirits who will not gladly
receive the gospel when it is carried to them. The
circumstances there will be a thousand times
more favorable."
Elder Eyring
YOUR BAPTISM = THEIR HOPE
"When you were baptized, your ancestors
looked down on you with hope.
Perhaps after centuries, they rejoiced to see
one
of
their
descendants
make
a covenant to find them and to offer them
freedom. In your reunion, you will
see in their eyes either gratitude or terrible
disappointment. Their hearts are bound to
you. Their hope is in your hands."
Elder Henry B. Eyring (General Conference,
April 2005)
There was a lot of news at the Family History
Conference, St. George, Utah, this past weekend.
New FamilySearch is ahead of schedule, and
everyone will have it by the end of 2008 or
sooner. It is run by 700 servers.
The digitizing is going really well; it takes 20
minutes to digitize one microfilm. 125,000
people are indexing. 74.1 % are LDS; 30,000
are community members. They are indexing 1.25
million names per day on an average. The 1880
census took 17 years to index, and Ellis Island
took 7 years. The 1900 census is bigger than
both of those combined, and it was indexed in 12
months, and that was at the beginning. With the
number of indexers working now, it could have
been completed in 6 months. More indexers are
needed and especially experienced ones who can
arbitrate. The indexes are superior at 98+%
accuracy. They are working with several
genealogy societies to increase the amount of
records. Records will begin being released at a
faster and faster pace. It is important for
members to sign up to help with the indexing so
that they can take ownership in the project.
Labs.familysearch.org is available to use.
Feedback is very important, it is what drives
their ideas to become live products. This is
where you will find the records that have been
indexed using FamilySearch Indexing so far.
The site is http://search.labs.familysearch.org
<http://search.labs.familysearch.org/>
PAF is not going away after the nFS is in use. It
is a way for individuals to store their data so that
they can move it into the nFS. PAF is still a
viable and supported product, and an update has
not been ruled out.
The Family History Department wants us to
work on the FamilySearch research Wiki site and
add things. This is for research guidance - not a
how-to on products or data on a specific
ancestor. It will replace the locality research
papers. They really want to involve family
history center workers and family history
enthusiasts. We should all help add information.
It is similar to wikipedia.
The Church wants to involve all members in
family history work, especially individuals who
haven’t participated before. There is an urgency
here. There is a need for us to move forward.
………………………………………………..
Currently only about 4% of members
work on family history and it must increase.
Lots of commercial partners are making
programs
that
will
synchronize
with
the New FamilySearch, including FamilyInsight
(former PAFInsight), Legacy, RootsMagic, and
Ancestral Quest. These programs will allow you
to pick which name you want to have displayed
(Instead of coming up with your name every
time.) The programs will continually make
changes and make it better. Sources will soon be
able to be added and images linked. It is a
phenomenal product, and we are in a family
history revolution right now! People adding
GEDCOMS will be limited in size and asked,
“Are you sure?” If you have suggestions, send
them feedback.
FamilySearch.org will be updated and linked to
Indexing, NewFamilySearch etc.
I have attended the last five conferences in St.
George and presented at four of them. The first
one I sponsored at the Morningside Stake Center,
the second one I helped Elaine and Bob Booth
get going at the Dixie Center and the past two
years I have helped Holly Hansen. This year I
just wanted to be a student and soak it all in. It
was by far the biggest one yet; it was very well
planned and attended, and there was an
excitement in the air that was very energizing to
all of us.
It is a very exciting time to be involved in family
history work!
Reported by Family History Consultant
Shanna Jones
St. George, UT
SPIRITS PRAY FOR
MISSIONARIES TO KNOCK ON
ANCESTORS’ DOORS
"Why is it that sometimes only one of a city
or household receives the gospel? It was made
known to me that it is because of the righteous
dead who had received the gospel in the spirit
world exercising themselves, and in answer to
their prayers, elders of the Church were sent to
the homes of their posterity that the gospel might
be taught to them, and through their
righteousness they might be privileged to have a
descendant in the flesh do the work for their dead
kindred. I want to say to you that it is with
greater intensity that the hearts of the fathers and
mothers in the spirit world are turned to their
children than that our hearts are turned to them."
Elder Melvin J. Ballard
Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin
Joseph Ballard, p. 249
"The greatest responsibility in this world
that God has laid upon us is to seek after
our dead. Those saints who neglect it in
behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at
the peril of their own salvation."
(Teachings of the Prophet, p. 193.)
AN ANONYMOUS POEM
If you could see your ancestors
All standing in a row,
Would you be proud of them or not,
Or don't you really know?
Some strange discoveries are made
In climbing family trees,
And some of them, you know, do not
Particularly please.
If you could see your ancestors
All standing in a row,
There might be some of them, perhaps,
You wouldn't care to know.
But here's a different question, which
Requires a different view If you could meet your ancestors,
Would they be proud of you?
National Burial Index for
England and Wales Online
The National Burial Index (NBI) for
England and Wales is an index to help
family historians find burial records.
http://www.findmypast.com/nationalburial-index-searchstart.action?redef=0%3Chttp://www.find
mypast.com/national-burial-indexsearch-start.action?redef=0
This newsletter has been written and compiled by
Family History Consultants for the York 2nd Ward and
is passed out to others as a courtesy. If you do not
wish to receive a copy, please send an e-mail to one of
the co-editors asking to be dropped from the mailing
list: Jack Sonneborn klompen@verizon.net or
Sylvia Sonneborn slysyl@verizon.net