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Ten Family History Bloggers You Should Know – The Family History Guide Blog
Well-written blog articles can be a tremendous resource for learning family history skills. The Family History Guide has links to many hundreds of blog articles, arranged by topic in Goals and Choices throughout the site. In this article we'll highlight the blog sites of 10 noted family history and genealogy bloggers, each of which is referenced in The Family History Guide. The list below is alphabetical by the blogger's first name, so it is not presented in any ranked order of importance. Amy Johnson Crow - https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/ - Amy Johnson Crow produces blogs, podcasts, YouTube videos and books as one of the premier contributors in the field of genealogy education. She has presented often at RootsTech and other major conferences. Cheri Hudson Passey - https://www.carolinagirlgenealogy.com/ - Cheri Hudson Passey is a professional research who runs a series of genealogy chat shows. She has presented at RootsTech and is known for collaborating with top genealogists to provide insightful commentary on genealogy topics. Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer - https://familylocket.com/ - The mother-daughter team of Diana and Nicole have created a widely used genealogical study program and offer articles on many aspects of genealogical research. They also have many resources for Latter-day Saints doing family history. James Tanner - http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com - James Tanner's blog site is one of the most read in America. His background in genealogy, law, history, technology, and photography helps him create and contribute insightful articles on a wide variety of family history topics. Jana Iverson - https://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/ - Jana Iverson has been blogging on relevant genealogy topics for 12 years. She includes a number of helpful case study articles and practical tips on her site to address the needs of many genealogy enthusiasts. John Grenham - http://johngrenham.com/blog - John Grenham is a prolific blogger and presenter on topics related to Irish research. His writing has an engaging style, and he infuses humor and personal perspectives into his blog articles along with keen insights. Kimberly Powell - https://learngenealogy.com/author/admin/ - Kimberly Powell runs LearnGenealogy.com, a useful site for beginners and experienced genealogists alike. She previously authored many blog articles about genealogy on the Thoughtco.com site. Kitty Cooper - https://blog.kittycooper.com/ - Kitty Cooper is a blogger, genetic genealogist, genealogist, programmer, retired web designer, speaker, mother, grandmother, gardener, dog lover, cat lover, and World Champion Bridge player. She has created a wealth of DNA how-to articles and tips. Lisa Louise Cook - https://lisalouisecooke.com/ - Lisa Louise Cook is the originator of the Genealogy Gems series of podcasts, YouTube shows, and articles. She is a popular interviewee for radio shows and podcasts, and she is a regular contributor for Family Tree Magazine. Randy Seaver - https://www.geneamusings.com/ - Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings site collects the best of blog articles published each week and provides summaries and links to them on his site. (The Family History Guide blog has been featured several times.)
New Goal in The Family History Guide: Artificial Intelligence – The Family History Guide Blog
Over the past year, and especially in the past few months, artificial intelligence in genealogy has been a hot topic. RootsTech 2024 featured a number of presentations and videos on the topic, including a three-part series from James Tanner. We are excited to announce a new Goal for The Family History Guide: Learn about artificial intelligence. It's included in the the Technology Project as a shared Goal for each of the Learning Paths: FamilySearch: Project 7, Goal 8 Ancestry: Project 6, Goal 7 MyHeritage: Project 6, Goal 7 Findmypast: Project 6, Goal 7 Choice A focuses on learning how artificial intelligence fits into genealogy and research strategies. Choice B focuses on ChatGPT and other AI tools, as well as a sampling of sites such as Ancestry and MyHeritage. Here's a partial screenshot for the FamilySearch AI Goal 8. Note that the links to articles and videos are not enabled in the picture as they are on the actual website. We hope you enjoy learning about recent developments in AI and how they can help you become more productive and successful in your family history efforts.
New Practice Exercises for The Family History Guide – The Family History Guide Blog
We have been working hard on adding new Record Search Practice Exercises to the website. We now have over 540 of them, with more to come. Using Practice Exercises is a great way to sharpen your skills with using record collections from around the world. You can easily locate the Practice Exercises using this spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G8YRrJXc1ofmzF2YGu1FL1plt0qzTG4o-rW4RBvS5lc Countries and Territories with Practice Exercises Here are the countries and territories that currently have Practice Exercises, listed by continent: North America: United States (including individual U.S. states), Canada (including provinces), Mexico, Costa Rica South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela Europe: Austria, Belgium, Channel Islands, Czech Republic, Denmark, England (including counties), Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales Asia / Pacific: China, Fiji, Ghana, Guam, India, Micronesia, New Zealand, Russia, Samoa, Ukraine, Vanuatu Africa: Dem. Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Namibia, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe Australia: Australia, including several states Ethnic Groups with Practice Exercises African American Native American
New QRB Video: Research in Switzerland – The Family History Guide Blog
We recently added a new QRB (Quick Research Basics) video to our YouTube Channel: Starting Your Genealogical Research in Switzerland. Narrated by James Tanner, this brief video is a good introduction to help you get started researching you Swiss ancestors, including essential history, geography, and record collections for your research. You can watch the video on our YouTube Channel, and it's also included below for your convenience. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy1ztOYa0gQ&t=8s
New Video: Introduction to The Family History Guide, in Spanish – The Family History Guide Blog
We recently posted a new video on our YouTube Channel that is a Spanish-language version of our popular Introduction to The Family History Guide. It's titled Introducción a la Guía de Historia Familiar and is just over 23 minutes in length. This video helps Spanish speakers to quickly become familiar with The Family History Guide. Here are a few of the approaches we used in creating the video, to ensure a good viewing experience: The narration uses neural language generation from Amazon, to provide a smooth and authentic Spanish voice. The website screens are all in Spanish, except for the opening sequence that shows how to translate the website from English to Spanish. Examples from Country pages focus on Mexico and Spain rather than the United States and England. We hope you enjoy Introducción a la Guía de Historia Familiar - be sure to share it with your Spanish-speaking friends. You can watch it on our YouTube Channel, and there is a link to it on our Home page. The video is also included below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNmmKtUEn3k
Welcome to Brent Bunker, TFHGA Content Specialist – The Family History Guide Blog
The Family History Guide Association is excited to announce a new member of its Management Team. Brent Bunker, who resides in Newport, Oregon, has joined the team as a Content Specialist for the website. Those of you who have used Practice Exercises on the site may have seen Brent's name, as he has contributed over 100 exercises for countries around the world. He also assisted many of the visitors to The Family History Guide's booth at RootsTech 2024. Below is a brief bio for Brent to help you get to know him better. It's also available on our Association page. Brent Bunker has been active in doing genealogy for the past 50 years. He has been a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist for the past 39 years and is living in Newport Oregon. Brent has served as a volunteer in the Newport Oregon FamilySearch Center, and he has travelled to Scotland, New England and Switzerland researching his family history. He writes a weekly newsletter for Family History Consultants giving training and inspiration. He is the father of 8 children and 29 grandchildren.
Live & Unrehearsed Video Series: Episodes 41 and 42 – The Family History Guide Blog
Here are more videos from the “Live and Unrehearsed” series. These videos will give you insight into how to do research online. They are released on the Goldie May YouTube Channel. Below are the links to Episodes 39 and 40: Episode 41 shows to to separate families that were accidentally merged, while cleaning up the facts, sources, and memories. Episode 42 demonstrates how to evaluate existing facts and sources, and search in census, tax, land, and probate records. You can view the episodes here or on the YouTube Channel playlist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4lnsiUIQWc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U39iDwjyO8I&list=PLcjePUzU8p0pv3piR4RrJhmCGhLH7lYrK&index=1&pp=iAQB
Sounds Good to Me! – The Family History Guide Blog
Have you ever noticed your attention starting to wander a bit when you are watching a lengthy webinar or other research video, or even studying family history articles? A bit of background music may be just what you need. Playing your favorite tunes might work, but because they are your favorites, your attention might actually wander towards the music. Here's an approach that might work for you: the new Background Music page in The Family History Guide. It consists of 20 music tracks and six tracks of nature sounds. Each track is designed for easy listening with fun and interesting styles, but no highs and lows to draw your attention away from what you are watching or studying. You can adjust the volume on each track to get it just right for you, and the tracks automatically repeat so you don't have to restart them. You can even play nature sounds with music tracks to get some interesting combinations. To open the page, look for Music in the Intro menu of The Family History Guide, or click the Music link in the header area of pages in the website. The screenshots below show you what the Background Music page looks like. Remember that controls in the pictures below aren't functional; you'll need to go to the actual web page to play the tracks. We hope you enjoy the new Background Music page!
Why We Need Our Family Story Now More Than Ever – The Family History Guide Blog
We recently published a creative and heartwarming video on our YouTube Channel: Why We Need Our Family Story Now More Than Ever. This video explores the reasons for, and results of capturing and sharing our family history in interesting ways. It follows the effects of family history participation on a family through several generations, and well as providing a Latter-day Saint perspective on how family history work can help to bind families together. You can watch the video on our YouTube Channel, and it's provided below for your convenience. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYz7ZFjXQzU
Google Search or AI Chatbot: That Is the Question – The Family History Guide Blog
Note: This article appeared previously in the Genealogy's Star blog site. I hope I don't have to tell you this image is an AI generated image.I just read an article from The Verge entitled Here's why AI search engines really can't kill Google. It started me thinking about the thousands of searches I had done in the past few weeks using Google Search, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. I realized that I had come to the same conclusion months ago. AI does what it does and Google Search does what it does. AI is not trying to copy Google Search and I assume that Google Search isn't even particularly aware of what AI does. The simple example of this statement is the following hypothetical example search. Me: Amazon [typed in the Google Search field} (Note: I am wanting to look up a price on an item on Amazon.com but I am too lazy to search more specifically.) Google Search: The first item is a link to Amazon.com Hmm. How about the same question and response from Microsoft Copilot easily the best generative AI chatbot at the present time. Me: Amazon Here is the answer from Copilot after a few seconds of searching. Yes, it gave me the link to Amazon, but also gave information I did not ask for. No, I am not that stupid, I do not need to ask about Amazon's URL, I realize it is Amazon.com and that is the end of this example.The chatbot is sort of like one of my friends or even like me. If I just walked up to someone (a live person) and said the word Amazon They would probably say What? Why are telling me the word Amazon? Do you mean Wonder Woman or the online store? Copilot didn't mention Wonder Woman but it did, at least, give me a link to the website. I realize this seems to be a trivial example, but it really isn't trivial. Using a chatbot to do research is more that simply asking questions. You need to understand what you are trying to learn. Your questions or prompts need to reflect accurate information. You essentially get what you ask for whether you meant to ask for it or not. The chatbot, if it has a huge Large Language Model or a specialized Large Language Model will begin to learn from you about the information you are looking for. For example, If I use the term Family Tree with descriptions, a broad chatbot such as Microsoft Copilot will understand that I am asking about genealogy and family history. A lessor based chatbot will never recognize the distinction and keep answering with trees and families. Both the AI chatbots and Google Searches learn from your past searches. You might realize this by observing the pathetic targeted ads on nearly every website. Supposedly, they tailor the ads to what you are interested in buying. Because the ads annoy me, occasionally, I will start making random product searches. Right now, for example, I am getting ads for Alpha Romeo automobiles and random cruise ship offers neither of which have the slightest interest in purchasing. I am writing this post late in the afternoon. I went to my Google History and counted that I had done 231 Google searches since 7;00 this morning. During the same time, I had done 8 Microsoft CoPilot searches. Those numbers and probably low for an average day. How many of those searches gave me responses I was looking for? All of them. Why the Copilot searches because I needed answers such as one URL not an explanation and the short wait for the explanation did not justify using Copilot. Working with both the Google Search and Copilot relies on a learned skill. With Google, I am guessing what Google will know and using words that give me the response I need. Copilot is a little more demanding. They call the search input to chatbots, prompts but that is not a very good name for the methodology involved. It is more like using a language. If I want to communicate with someone who speaks Spanish, I have to use Spanish. If I want to communicate with a chatbot, I need to use chatbot language. I am learning chatbot language by doing hundreds of searches (or beginning chatbot conversations). All in all, chatbots are pretty limited and not at all intelligent. Carrying on a conversation is an allusion. They are only marginal better in a limited number of ways to regular Google searches. What is helpful is that the chatbot answers questions rather than pointing websites that might answer questions. But as I illustrated with my Amazon example, most of the time I don't need an explanation, I just need a single short answer. So, will chatbots kill Google Search. Probably not in my lifetime unless they can learn to give a one work answer to a one word question.
Introducing FamilySearch Labs – The Family History Guide Blog
At RootsTech 2024, FamilySearch spread the word about an exciting new venture on its website: the FamilySearch Labs. At the current time, there are five experiments you can try, after signing in to FamilySearch: Expand Your Search with Full Text - There are a few collections that can now be searched with full-text capabilities and keyword searches. A video is available for explaining the search tips that are available. Family Group Trees - Family group trees let you share important family memories and information with close living family. You can create family groups and invite them to share your family group trees. Find Help with AI Search - Use AI queries to find answers in the Help Center, the FamilySearch WIki, RootsTech videos, etc. Together by FamilySearch - Share stories, memories, activities, etc. across family groups and with an app on mobile devices. Profile Quality Score - Choose from a number of selected ancestor profiles in FamilySearch and see how the information is rated for quality, from low to high. Sources are evaluated and potential data problems are identified so that profile information can be improved. These new features are still in testing mode and should be finalized later this year. The Family History Guide will have documentation for the features when they are finished.
BYU FHL Webinar: United States Research with The Family History Guide – The Family History Guide Blog
The webinar United States Research with The Family History Guide is now available for viewing on the BYU Family History Library YouTube channel. Here are some of the topics covered: Record types and use strategies Vital and cemetery records U.S. Censuses Immigration and Naturalization Military Records Church Records Land and Probate Records Doing research in states and counties Tools for research, such as the Vault and Class Outlines You can find the video here, and it's included below for your convenience. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltZhmuOmGRA
The Family History Guide at the New England FamilySearch Fair – The Family History Guide Blog
On Saturday, March 23 I (Bob Taylor) will be joining Manuel Sanhueza from FamilySearch at the New England FamilySearch Fair, held in South Royalton, Vermont. Representatives from a number of historical and genealogical societies in the New England area will also be there with booths to share information about their activities. There are general sessions, workshops, and special meetings for youth and for missionaries. The admission is free, and attendees are expected from the greater New England area. If you are in the area, please stop by and enjoy a wonderful day of family history. Below is a preliminary schedule of events for the New England FamilySearch Fair:
Updates to Country Pages and Menus – The Family History Guide Blog
We recently revised and expanded the Countries menu in The Family History Guide. Here's a summary of the changes that were made: Mexico has been added to the top area. New sections include Caribbean, Central America, and Africa. The North America section has been removed, since it is covered by United States, Canada, and Mexico in the top area, and Caribbean and Central America below that. The International link opens a new page that deals with doing research around the world, regardless of country. Below is a picture of the updated menu, when you first access it: And here are the new menu sections, expanded: Notice that additional countries are listed in each of these sections, making it easier to find and access these country pages. Also, we've added a few new regional pages: In Scandinavia, the Scandinavia Misc. page has tips for doing research in all Scandinavian countries. In Asia/Pacific, the Asia Misc. page has a new Middle East page. Also in Asia/Pacific, the Pacific Islands page has a new Regional page with tips for researching all Pacific Islands. We hope you enjoy the new updates!
Introducing the FamilySearch Profile Quality Score – The Family History Guide Blog
Note: This article was published previously on the Genealogy's Star blog site. RootsTech 2024 was the forum for announcing a valuable feature that helps with the FamilySearch.org Family Tree accuracy. FamilySearch announced the Profile Quality Score which is featured in the FamilySearch.org/Labs website. When this feature is activated by turning it on, it appears on Profile Page of entries in the Family Tree and when clicked on, it gives a break down of the accuracy and reliability of an entry. Here is an example from my own part of the Family Tree. The sidebar can be expanded to view additional evaluations. You do not see anything unless this app is turned on using the FamilySearch.org/Labs page. I couldn't see any pattern to when the information appeared on an individual.
New: Links to RootsTech 2024 Videos – The Family History Guide Blog
RootsTech 2024 wrapped up just over a week ago, but there are plenty of videos in the RootsTech On Demand Library to enjoy. We recently completed the addition of over 100 links in The Family History Guide to some of the best RootsTech videos that are currently online (we've been busy!) Here are some of the pages on the website where you will find the new additions: Countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada (including Ontario and Quebec), China, Cuba, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United States, and Wales Regions: Asia Middle East, Caribbean, Pacific Islands Research Skills: Brick Walls, Online Searches, Organization, Strategy, DNA Vault (many entries) We hope you enjoy these new additions to The Family History Guide!
AI Update: Tools from MyHeritage and Ancestry – The Family History Guide Blog
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming an integral part of how genealogy companies develop their tools and technologies. Two examples are MyHeritage and Ancestry, who have been in the family history business for many years. You can learn about some of their latest efforts in this article. MyHeritage MyHeritage.com has released two interesting tools: a search engine for records based on AI chat, and and AI biographer feature. You can click the pictures below to learn more about these developments: Ancestry.com Ancestry has announced tools for animating ancestor stories and understanding estimated ethnic regions with DNA testing. This blog article gives an in-depth look at the tools: https://www.knowwhowearsthegenesinyourfamily.com/blog/ancestry-updates-new-ai-features-for-your-family-tree-and-dna In this video, genealogist Aimee Cross interviews Ancestry's Crista Cowan about how Ancestry is using artificial intelligence in record transcriptions, record hints, and DNA testing ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDoJ0QTxcB8
RootsTech 2024 Highlights for The Family History Guide Association – The Family History Guide Blog
RootsTech 2024 has come to a close, and there were plenty of memories to go around - which definitely fits the RootsTech Remember theme. For the Management Team of the Family History Guide Association, it was a busy and rewarding time. Here's a recap of classes and presentations that were given by our team: James Tanner, Chairman of the Board, gave a three-part series about artificial intelligence: Using AI Tools to Expand Your Research Universe. It included Part 1: Chat and Search Tools, Part 2: Genealogical Research Tools, and Part 3: Imaging Tools. Miles Meyer, Education Director, presented Adding Social History to Your Family History and Using Census, Maps, and Newspapers to Enhance Your Research. Bob Taylor, Director of Development, presented Introduction to The Family History Guide. Scott and Angelle Anderson, Public Relations and Marketing Directors, presented Ancestral Homelands and The Family History Guide on the Heritage Theater stage. This year The Family History Guide Association was again a Bronze level sponsor of RootsTech, with a comfy 30x30 foot booth in the Expo Hall. Our volunteers gave hundreds of two-minute demos to visitors at the booth and gave out several thousand pass-along cards for the website. Many guest reactions were very positive, and we explored potential partnerships and collaborations with several companies and their representatives. Enjoy the pictures below, and we are very grateful for your ongoing support of The Family History Guide!
Live and Unrehearsed Video Series: Episodes 39-40 – The Family History Guide Blog
Here are some recent videos from the “Live and Unrehearsed” series. These video will give you insight into how to do research online. They are released on the Goldie May YouTube Channel. Below are the links to Episodes 39 and 40: Episode 39 explores DNA matches, how to use Ancestry ThruLines, and building your family tree with DNA results. Episode 40 welcomes James Tanner for a session on using descendancy research techniques. You can view the episodes here or on the YouTube Channel playlist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTPE3tafyEw&list=PLcjePUzU8p0pv3piR4RrJhmCGhLH7lYrK&index=4&pp=iAQB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVy-ipLO1z8&list=PLcjePUzU8p0pv3piR4RrJhmCGhLH7lYrK&index=3&pp=iAQB
Update on The Family History Guide Practice Exercises – The Family History Guide Blog
The Practice Exercises for The Family History Guide country pages continue to roll along. We now have almost 450 exercises for a variety of records, with problem statements, hints, and answers. The exercises cover 32 countries, 50 U.S. states, and 39 England counties. The Practice Exercises page in the Trainers menu explains how to use the exercises. One of the tools noted on the page is the Practice Exercises Index, with links that help you easily find the exercises in The Family History Guide. We have recently expanded the Index: it now includes additional tabs for U.S. states and England counties, with columns for each of the major record types. Here's a sample view of the tab for the U.S. States, with links to a wide variety of Practice Exercises (links are active in the site, but not in the sample graphic): We are working on adding exercises for the topics that aren't yet linked in the graphic above, as well as more exercises in additional countries. We hope you enjoy them!
New Video: Why I Love The Family History Guide – The Family History Guide Blog
One of the most exciting things to see is people getting excited about family history! This video on our YouTube Channel gives a first-person perspective from a teenage family history enthusiast, and it includes honest questions and concerns that many people have about getting started with family history. It also shares the deep appreciation expressed by one woman for family history miracles that happen over the years. Towards the end, the video highlights interesting facets of The Family History Guide that help people get started and succeed in their family history efforts. The video is also included below for your convenience, and you can find a link to it on The Family History Guide home page, next to the Overview video and the Intro video. We hope you enjoy the new video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=view-X8Qnkk
Live and Unrehearsed Video Series: Episodes 36-38 – The Family History Guide Blog
Here are some recent videos from the “Live and Unrehearsed” series. These video will give you insight into how to do research online. They are released on the Goldie May YouTube Channel. Below are the links to Episodes 36, 37, and 38: Episode 36 explore FAN-club (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors) research in Iowa. Episode 37 uses books and cemetery information for tracking a Wilson ancestor. Episode 38 uses more FAN-club techniques for research in New York. You can view the episodes here or on the YouTube Channel playlist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jf8009T3jk&list=PLcjePUzU8p0pv3piR4RrJhmCGhLH7lYrK&index=7&pp=iAQB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYzIBe5rVkc&list=PLcjePUzU8p0pv3piR4RrJhmCGhLH7lYrK&index=6&pp=iAQB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRQ2oJaAq1E&list=PLcjePUzU8p0pv3piR4RrJhmCGhLH7lYrK&index=5&pp=iAQB
The Family History Guide: Mini-Classes at RootsTech – The Family History Guide Blog
If you're planning on attending RootsTech live in Salt Lake City, be sure to stop by the Exhibit Hall and visit us at the booth for The Family History Guide (next to the FamilySearch booth). This year we are putting together a series of fun and informative mini-classes at the booth, each about 20 minutes in length. Here's a graphic with the mini-class schedule for Thursday, Feb. 29 through Saturday, Mar. 2. See you at RootsTech!
New: 2-Minute Demos – The Family History Guide Blog
We've added a new item in the Trainers menu of The Family History Guide - 2-Minute Demos. At RootsTech, volunteers and staff for The Family History Guide Association have given thousands of demos of The Family History Guide website to visitors. Now we are unveiling a series of 2-Minute Demo scripts to help people show the site to friends, colleagues, family history fair visitors, and just about anyone. Each demo explains what to say and what to show in the demo, with 8 items each. You can also download and customize the demos for your needs. The following demos are included (click a demo title in the website to open it and show the text): Website Overview More Website Features Country Pages United States Pages Activities Pages For Trainers Give the demos a try - we think you'll like them!
Check out the full list of RootsTech sessions both live and online – The Family History Guide Blog
Note: This article appeared previously in the Genealogy's Star blog site. RootsTech.orgYes, the schedule of classes including rooms and times for the live classes is online on the RootsTech 2024 website. The schedule is divided into the In-person schedule and the Online Schedule. There are 222 speakers scheduled over the three day conference. You can still register for the in-person conference from the website. I am presenting three classes. Here is a screenshot of the classes that are all three scheduled for the afternoon of the first day, Thursday, February 29th of the conference. You can check out a video preview of the classes on YouTube.com https://youtu.be/F8t8NK-PkN4?si=H3txpVFH5dVrClYV https://youtu.be/F8t8NK-PkN4?si=H3txpVFH5dVrClYV You can view the class schedule by hour and day. https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/schedule But you have to click around on the website for a while to see all the different lists and offerings. My classes are at 1:30 pm, 3:00 pm, and 4:30 pm.I will also be presenting in the Expo Hall for The Family History Guide, MyHeritage.com, and at the Brigham Young University booth. You can look for the schedule at the booths in the Expo Hall. Hope to see you there.
Breaking News: A New Educational Partnership – The Family History Guide Blog
Today we are excited to announce an official partnership between The Family History Guide Association and the National Genealogical Society. The Family History Guide Association will provide educational materials and training to the National Genealogical Society, enabling their members to accelerate their learning and research skills in genealogy. We are thrilled to connect our organization members with the wealth of information provided by The Family History Guide website. The website offers an incredible selection of resources that make genealogy more accessible, particularly to those just starting their journey. By partnering with The Family History Guide Association, we can point societies, libraries, archives, and museums to tools that will enhance their programs and services and help them develop education that sparks a love of family history research and discoveries for more people. - Matt Menashes, CAE, National Genealogical Society executive director The Family History Guide website debuted in 2015 with the goal of making everyone's family history journey easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable (and free!). An educational partnership with the National Genealogical Society is a match made in heaven, as it provides their organization members with training and research tools that will take their members and patrons to the next level of success in genealogy. I couldn't be more excited about the future of genealogy learning and doing with The Family History Guide Association and the National Genealogical Society joining forces now. - Bob Taylor, originator of The Family History Guide website Both organizations have been working together for nearly a year to get the partnership ready to launch. The educational possibilities are tremendous in a venture such as this, and we're excited to begin the training and learning efforts. We extend a warm welcome the National Genealogical Society!
MyHeritage Releases AI Record Finder™ and AI Biographer™ – The Family History Guide Blog
Note: This article was published previously on the Genealogy's Star blog site. AI Record Finder™ and AI Biographer™ are two Groundbreaking Features That Transform Genealogy Using Artificial Intelligence. If you have been following the online news about artificial intelligence or AI, you will already know that AI applications are expanding at a astronomical rate. Some of the AI features that have been implemented over the past few years by MyHeritage.com include Record Matches, Smart Matching™, DNA tools and a bundle of photo enhancement programs. But now, there is a giant leap in even more sophisticated chatbot features for MyHeritage.com. I will be presenting three live classes at RootsTech 2024 on Using Artificial Intelligence Tools to Expand Your Genealogical Research Universe. You can see from this announcement, by February 29th, 2024, I will probably have a lot more to talk about than I had previously began planning. See RootsTech.org. The schedule of the classes will be posted in the next few weeks. I fortunately had a sneak preview of the features and now they have been announced. Here are some of the features as set out in an email to me for release to the public. TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah, December 27, 2023 — MyHeritage, the leading global family history service, announced today the release of two groundbreaking features that mark the next frontier in family history research: AI Record Finder™ and AI Biographer™. AI Record Finder™ revolutionizes genealogy like ChatGPT revolutionized searching the internet: it is an interactive, intelligent, free-text chat to help the user locate relevant historical records about a person of interest in MyHeritage’s vast database of 20 billion records. AI Biographer™ automatically compiles a rich narrative about an individual’s life using information from historical records that match the person, creating a Wikipedia-like biography about anyone. Narratives are enriched with relevant historical context using AI and are easy to share. MyHeritage is the only service to offer such groundbreaking features for family history, and the first to leverage conversational AI for searching historical records. The two features are integrated, allowing users to generate an AI Biography™ for individuals they find using AI Record Finder™. AI Biographies™ may also be generated directly for individuals in family trees on MyHeritage. It has not been hard to predict using chatbot technology for a data intensive pursuit such as genealogy. The only issue once the landslide of chatbots became available in the last year was when it would happen. It is also predictable that MyHeritage.com the technological leader of the large, online genealogy websites would be the first to implement chatbots. Here are some more detailed decriptions of the two new products from my email notification. AI Record FinderTM Until now, searching for historical records on online genealogy platforms like MyHeritage has been very similar to using a regular internet search engine. One entered names and other terms into dedicated fields in a search form, and the search engine returned a large number of search results. Then, it was necessary to comb through the results to discover relevant information. AI Record Finder™ transforms this experience by enabling users to converse with an AI assistant in a chat to quickly find records about their ancestors, relatives, or other deceased individuals. Users can still use the traditional search engine on MyHeritage, but AI Record Finder™ adds an additional chat mode that increases the chances that users may be able to find elusive records they have never found before, thanks to the power of AI. The chat is like an interview with a friendly concierge that the user can converse with in one of two modes: casual or formal. AI Record Finder™ processes the information the user enters, and understands what additional details are necessary to help narrow down the search results. It guides the user by asking the relevant questions according to the context and information provided by the user, to find the most relevant records about the person the user is searching for. Once located, the records can be reviewed and the details saved to the user’s family tree. AI Record Finder™ includes a seamless user interface, where historical records that are found appear directly within the chat. AI BiographerTM AI Biographer™ creates a rich Wikipedia-like biography summarizing a person’s life. This is especially useful for creating biographies about the billions of individuals who were not famous, and therefore do not appear in Wikipedia. An AI Biography™ can be created from historical records found via AI Record Finder™ and for deceased individuals within a user’s family tree on MyHeritage. AI Biographer™ utilizes MyHeritage’s acclaimed matching technologies to curate historical records and family tree profiles that pertain to the selected individual. All information from the pertinent records is then compiled into an biography that is enriched with photos and scanned documents, and in some cases, additional information from the web. The resulting biography includes the person’s immediate family, describes the main events of their life, and includes rich historical context and the origins of their surname. Each biography is a unique narrative that can be shared with family and friends, and saved for posterity. Facts listed in AI Biographies™ include footnotes and source citations, and link to the records from which they were obtained. Any inconsistencies within the information listed are noted. AI Biographies™ are saved as PDF files that are emailed to the user. When created from the user’s family tree, an AI Biography™ is added to the family tree as a media item and tagged with the individual’s name, so that it is accessible through the MyHeritage mobile app and Family Tree Builder desktop software. The biography is included whenever the family tree is exported in GEDCOM format, ensuring that the enriched biographical information remains an integral part of the family tree. Biographies can easily be regenerated whenever new information becomes available. Additional entry points for generating an AI Biography™ such as from MyHeritage’s traditional form-based search engine, and from family tree profile pages, will be added soon. “We’re constantly pushing the boundaries of genealogy to reinvent the way people can discover their family history as we implement a bold vision for genealogy in the 21st century” said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “AI Record Finder™ is a disruptive feature that simplifies the way people can find information about their ancestors by making the search easier and more intuitive. AI Biographer™ curates the details about a person’s life into a compelling story. Not all our ancestors were famous, but they all deserve to be remembered! Together, these cutting-edge features strengthen MyHeritage’s position as the industry leader for innovative genealogy and continue our mission to make family history easier, more accessible, and more fun for everyone.” AI Record Finder™ and AI Biographer™ both use automated third-party technology powered by OpenAI. Availability, Cost, and Language Support AI Record Finder™ and AI Biographer™ are currently accessible from desktop and mobile web browsers. Support for both features on the MyHeritage mobile app will be added soon. AI Record Finder™ is free for limited use. To submit an unlimited number of chat messages, and to view and save historical records to the family tree, a Data or Complete subscription is required. Users can create a few AI Biographies™ for free. Beyond that, additional use of AI Biographer™ requires a Complete subscription. AI Record Finder™ and AI Biographer™ are initially available in English and will support additional languages in the near future. It is possible to converse with AI Record Finder™ in multiple languages, but at launch, it responds in English only.
Getting to Know Genealogy Trails – The Family History Guide Blog
GenealogyTrails.com is a handy website that focuses on United States research, particularly for U.S. states and counties. It's a collaboration effort run by a series of expert volunteers, with lots of great resources that are hard to find on other sites. Their forte is transcribing many thousands of records, such as military, obituary, biographies, voter registrations, and more. In The Family History Guide, each U.S. state page concludes with a Counties section that has several links to county resources from FamilySearch, Ancestry, Linkpendium, GenealogyInc, and USGenWeb. We recently added Genealogy Trails links to each county for each state in the U.S. so now there are six separate resources for finding county information. We've also linked to a number of resources from Genealogy Trails in some of our new Class Outlines. Here's an example of the California Counties section in The Family History Guide, with the new Genealogy Trails marked with the letter T ... We hope you enjoy exploring the information in Genealogy Trails, and we are grateful for the many hours that have gone into adding free and valuable genealogy content to this site.
New 5-Minute Feature Video: Language Resources – The Family History Guide Blog
We’ve added a new 5-Minute Features video that shows you how to take advantage of language resources in The Family History Guide. The video covers Google Translate capabilities for the website, YouTube language captions for videos, translated videos, and more. You can watch the video on our YouTube Channel using the link above. It’s also included below for your convenience. We now have six 5-Minute Feature videos, with more on the way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE_yF9mXzic
Update: New Practice Exercises in The Family History Guide – The Family History Guide Blog
The Practice Exercises in The Family History Guide offer a simple yet effective way to help you explore a variety of record collections around the world. Each exercise has a problem statement with three research questions and a QUIKLink to a record collection, hints for working with the records, and the answers to the questions. You can see more information in the Practice Exercises page in The Family History Guide, which includes a spreadsheet with links to all pages on the website that have Practice Exercises. As of this writing, we now have 426 Practice Exercises, in beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels, with more to come. Here's a recap of the latest additions: United States: Vital, census, and voter records for many of the U.S. states. Denmark: Census, civil registration, and church records Finland: Census, church, and emigration records Iceland: Census and church records Norway: Church and emigration records We hope you enjoy the Practice Exercises. See what there is to discover!
New 5-Minute Feature Video: Navigating Country Pages – The Family History Guide Blog
We’ve added a new 5-Minute Features video that helps you find and use the Country page resources in The Family History Guide. The video covers how to use the various menus to find country pages for research, as well as the smaller countries that typically have fewer records. You can watch the video on our YouTube Channel using the link above. It’s also included below for your convenience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFRdgJmKqGI
New QRB Video: Starting Research in Austria – The Family History Guide Blog
We have added a new video to our QRB (Quick Research Basics) playlist: Starting Your Genealogical Research in Austria, by James Tanner. It covers history, geography, research tips and more, to help you find your Austrian ancestors. There are now 88 videos in the QRB playlist, covering many countries around the world as well as providing basic tips for successful research in any place. You can watch the video on the QRB playlist noted above, and it’s also included below for your convenience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgcCCEf7OKQ
New: Intro Video for The Family History Guide, 2024 – The Family History Guide Blog
We're starting the new year off with a bang by introducing an updated Intro video for The Family History Guide. You can see it on the Home page of the website, and it's included below for your convenience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYfArHUQQtc This Intro video covers more features than the previous Intro video, while being about five minutes shorter. There are 57 individual chapters in the YouTube video, making it easy to find what you're looking for at a glance. This video can also be very useful for trainers or presenters who want to introduce The Family History Guide to others. It takes about 25 minutes to show, and Q&A or discussion can be added to that. Spoiler alert: Stay tuned for some helpful video commentary that can be used along with the video. This will be added to the Trainers menu, and an upcoming blog will highlight it. Enjoy the new Intro video 2024 for The Family History Guide!
Find The Family History Guide at RootsTech 2024, Online – The Family History Guide Blog
RootsTech 2024 is coming! The online event is from February 29 to March 2. You can register here - https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/ - for the online event, which includes classes, keynote addresses, online exhibitor booths, and more. If you are planning to attend RootsTech 2024 online, be sure to find the virtual booth for The Family History Guide Association. Stay tuned for information on how to find us in the directory for online Bronze Sponsors. Here are some of the key features of the RootsTech 2024 online experience: 200+ new online sessions in over 26 languages Join keynote sessions live from the comfort of your own home Chat online with other attendees worldwide Get digital syllabi and class handouts At our virtual booth we'll have free items for download, and experts from The Family History Guide Association to answer your questions and help you accelerate your genealogy progress, with resources in The Family History Guide website. See you at RootsTech 2024!
New: Weekly Family History Activities for 2024 – The Family History Guide Blog
The Weekly Family History Activities are an excellent way to integrate family history into the regular Come, Follow Me lessons. We have just finished the 2023 activities and are excited to announce the upcoming 2024 schedule, centered on the Book of Mormon. The Weekly Family History Activities page also includes a link to an Activities Index, plus the Facebook Group for Weekly Activities and access to lessons from previous years. We hope you enjoy the new 2024 Weekly Family History Lessons!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, from The Family History Guide Association – The Family History Guide Blog
2023 has been a wonderful year with many blessings and family history opportunities. We are grateful for your ongoing support and for all you do to make family history a real and meaningful pursuit. We wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, with an outstanding New Year ahead! We close with an awe-inspiring video that was taken several weeks ago in Times Square in New York City, that captures the essence of Christmas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INse1lhgZGA
Volunteering at TFHG Booth at RootsTech 2024 – The Family History Guide Blog
If you will be in Salt Lake City for RootsTech 2024, come and help as a volunteer at our booth, giving quick demos of The Family History Guide website. You'll get a free logoed polo shirt and some great interactions with people curious to learn how TFHG can boost their family history success. To learn more, scan the code below or send an email to ann@thefhguide,com. See you at RootsTech!
Ten New Features in The Family History Guide, for 2023 – The Family History Guide Blog
The New Year is just around the corner! We hope it has been a productive and enjoyable one for you, with your family history discoveries. 2024 promises to be a great year for The Family History Guide—so while we wait, let's take a look back at ten great features that were added to the website in 2023 ... The top and side menus have been condensed for easier navigation. The Learning Paths menu now goes to Tile pages, where you can see the Choices for a selected Goal all in one place. There are 120 Class Outlines that help you prepare and present family history training right from The Family History Guide website, quickly and easily. There are over 350 Practice Exercises that help you solve brief sample research problems. Links are included for Objectives, Hints, and Answers. There are 5 slides on the Home page that introduce you to features on the site. We’ve added a Practice Exercises Index to help you find the exercises quickly. 5-Minute Feature Videos on our YouTube Channel help you learn about important features in The Family History Guide in five minutes or less. Selection buttons on the left of the Home page help new users get started. We’ve added quite a few Quick Research Basics (QRB) videos to help you with research in many different countries. You can use these slides as a guide to presenting The Family History Guide in wards and stakes. More great features are on the way in 2024—stay tuned!
Find The Family History Guide at RootsTech 2024 in Salt Lake – The Family History Guide Blog
RootsTech 2024 is coming! Mark your calendars for February 29 - March 2. You can register here - https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/ - either for the in-person event or the online event (free). If you are coming to RootsTech in person, be sure to stop by the booth for The Family History Guide Association in the RootsTech Expo Hall and say hello. We are a Bronze Sponsor for RootsTech 2024. In the Expo Hall, The Family History Guide Association will be at booth #621, next to the FamilySearch booth in the center of the Hall. This year we are excited to have an expanded 30ft x 30ft area to mingle with RootsTech guests and show what's new in The Family History Guide. The open hours in the Expo Hall are as noted below: Thursday: 9:00 am to 7:30 pm Friday: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Saturday: 9:00 am to 3:00 pm At our booth we'll have product demos of The Family History Guide, mini-classes, corn hole tosses for prizes, and more. See you at RootsTech 2024!
Your Story is Worth Remembering: a RootsTech Film – The Family History Guide Blog
Note: This article appeared previously in the Genealogy's Star blog site. Here is the link to the actual video. https://youtu.be/cSfNA86DIUM?si=Y-dBS1r5h54DywSE Here is a quote from the YouTube notes for the video. In a world that often celebrates the extraordinary, watch as five individuals who've led seemingly ordinary lives through their own eyes, are reminded of the indelible mark they’ve left on the hearts of their loved ones. We filmed their family members answering the question, “What makes your parent/grandparent extraordinary. The responses we received were nothing short of breathtaking— personal memories, touching anecdotes, and deep reflections shared together. Through the lens of personal stories, we recognize the transformative power of personal memories and experiences, and remember the importance of cherishing and celebrating the unsung heroes in our lives. Everyone's story is worth remembering. Learn more here https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/