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How to Analyze Genealogical Sources: Part Six – The Family History Guide Blog

Editor's Note: This article by was previously published in the Genealogy's Star blog site . After you have reviewed a few thousand documents, you will work out your own method for analyzing the document or record and the information contained in the document or record. But meanwhile, it is a good idea to think about the process and make sure that you ask a series of questions before blindly copying the information and sticking it into someone on your family tree. Here is an example of a document suggested by FamilySearch.org as a Record Hint for the Reverend Alonzo Torrey (b. 1813, d. 1892). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9768108 This is a FindAGrave.com entry. This entry is in my part of the Family Tree because one of my relatives married Torrey when he was 78 years old and she was 41 years old. He only lived one year after the marriage date. Why this all occurred after my relative had been married previously and had two children is not yet explained. But let's look at the FindAGrave entry. First of all, It is obviously the right person. The entry makes no mention of the late-in-life marriage but that might be expected. In this particular case, the birth and death dates on the grave marker match the ones in FamilySearch. Now we need to ask the standard questions about the information contained in the FindAGrave memorial. Where did the event occur? What are the levels of jurisdiction What was the date of the event? Who recorded the event? When was the event recorded? How was the report preserved? Is this a copy of the original report? There can be more or fewer questions but this list is sufficient for the present post series. FindAGrave.com is basically a website that has a database of cemeteries and graves. There seems to be no controversy over the location of the burial (the event) in Flint, Genesee, Michigan, United States. The jurisdictional question is partially answered by the location. There is a death date but no burial year. We don't know who recorded the event because there is no indication as to who paid for and erected the grave marker. We also do not know when the dates were recorded. The grave marker could have been placed contemporaneously with the burial but usually, the marker is placed sometime after the burial. The events were recorded on the grave marker itself but it may or may not be the original marker. Are any of these dates original?' No. All of the information on the website, including the images, are user-submitted. While grave markers are usually accurate about the death or burial date, they are not necessarily accurate about the birth date. On the other hand, these might be the most accurate dates available at all. This is one reason that the dichotomy created by the legalistic terms such as primary vs. secondary lose their usefulness. Arguably, someone who knew the deceased person paid for and placed the grave marker. They probably knew first hand the person's birth, death, and burial dates. The only reason that a researcher would seriously doubt the accuracy of these dates on the grave marker is if there were other documents and records with conflicting information. What if there were no image of the grave marker. Then the information loses its veracity and becomes no better or worse than an unsupported entry in an online family tree. Can we tell from the FindAGrave.com entry who supplied the information? Yes, usually there is a contact name and this may be a way to verify the information supplied. For the previous parts of this series see the following: Part One: https://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-to-analyze-genealogical-sources.html Part Two: https://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-to-analyze-genealogical-sources_17.html Part Three: https://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-to-analyze-genealogical-sources_20.html Part Four: https://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-to-analyze-genealogical-sources_29.html Part Five: https://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2020/05/how-to-analyze-genealogical-sources.html

Gratitude: What Matters Most – The Family History Guide Blog

A few days ago I received an email from Aimee Cross, a friend and fellow genealogist (The Family History Guide has quite a few links to videos on her popular YouTube channel). Aimee lives in my home town—Camarillo, California—and part of that city had been devastated by the recent Mountain Fire, which burned over 50,000 acres and destroyed over 100 homes. I had been wondering about her and if she and her home and family were okay. I was just about to reach out to her when I got her email. She had been out of town at the time of the fire, and fortunately her home was not affected. My childhood home is less than a mile away from the extent of the fire, and I found out that five families in the Latter-day Saint ward of my youth were lost, although there were no injuries. The firefighters and emergency personnel did an amazing job considering the steep terrain of the hills and gale-force Santa Ana winds. Aimee shared a poignant video of the fire-affected area, along with reminders that family memories such as photos and documents need to be backed up digitally, as disasters can occur swiftly and without warning.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f74KPXWYADo As we prepare for Thanksgiving in the United States this coming Thursday, what's truly important to us? I think most of us would answer that family, including our ancestors and their memories, would certainly be prominent on that list. Let's all take some time at this wonderful holiday season and reflect on our blessings and the service and sacrifice our ancestors made for us. Happy Thanksgiving, and thanks for your support of The Family History Guide!

Check Out the RootsTech 2025 Speakers – The Family History Guide Blog

One of the great perks of RootsTech each year is getting to hear - or even meet - world class genealogists. RootsTech 2025 is no exception, with over 100 industry expert speakers set to enlighten us on a side variety of family history topics. Below is a quick list of the RootsTech speakers, and you can view the full list here. Steve Rockwood - President and CEO of FamilySearch International. Dr Nick Barratt - an author, broadcaster and historian best known for his work on BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are. Crista Cowan - the popular voice of Ancestry.com since 2004 and a renowned speaker and video presenter. Brian Donovan - the Strategic Initiatives Manager at Findmypast and an Irish records expert. Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer - the mother/daughter team of genealogists and podcasters from the popular Family Locket website. Kathryn Grant - a noted family history teacher, writer, and technologist with FamilySearch. Debbie Gurtler - Assistant Director of the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Amy Harris - Family History Program coordinator at Brigham Young University. Daniel Horowitz - the MyHeritage liason with genealogy societies, bloggers, and media. David Allen Lambert - Chief Genealogist for American Ancestors / New England Historical Genealogical Society. Diahan Southard - founder of Your DNA Guide, a website focused on DNA research education. James Tanner - noted blogger, lecturer and trainer, and Chairman of the BOard of The Family History Guide Association. Maureen Taylor - the nation's foremost historical photo detective according to The Wall Street Journal. More speakers are being added to RootsTech 2025, so be sure to check out the link above for new additions as we get closer to the event.

Remembering Our Military Ancestors – The Family History Guide Blog

On Veterans Day we remember those who have served in the United States armed forces, and many of us have ancestors who served in some capacity in the military. The Family History Guide has a wealth of resources to help you trace your ancestry in the military, including links to records, articles, videos, and databases. Here's a quick summary of what you can find in the United States pages for military research: Goal E1: Learn about military records - This has an intro video and three Choices with extensive resources to help you with your research. Goal E2: Explore military records by conflict - This covers research and records for these wars involving the U.S.: Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Korean War, plus additional conflicts. Military Goals in U.S. State pages - Each state has a Goal 6 for military records and resources in that state, including QUIKLins to a wide variety of military record collections. The Vault - This super-page in The Family History Guide has hundreds of additional links for articles and videos about tracing ancestors who served in the U.S. military. Class Outlines - In the Trainers menu, the Class Outlines page has a United States section with six class outlines for teaching and learning about U.S. military records and resources. Many country pages in The Family History Guide also have Goals for military research. For example, there is Goal 9 in the England page and an extensive list of military records in the United Kingdom collector page. You might also enjoy this new RootsTech Reel about military records and artificial intelligence, produced by James Tanner: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fV1Rjv93ekc

What’s In a Name? – The Family History Guide Blog

How much do you know about your name, first or last? The Family History Guide has a wealth of information that can help you understand the origins and meanings of names, whether for you or for your ancestors. Here's a quick list of resources and links found in The Family History Guide that can help you get started with understanding the names that are important to you: FamilySearch Surname Origin -  https://www.familysearch.org/en/surname  Type a surname and click Find Now to see the meaning of the name, where in the world it's most commonly found, and links to stories and records featuring that surname. Linkpendium Surname Search - https://linkpendium.com/  Check out the right panel for Jump to a surname and then type the name and click Go. This points you to a wide variety of records for the surname, including cemeteries, census, family trees, and group sheets. Project 4: Discover, Goal 3 - https://www.thefhguide.com/project-4-discover03.html#e  Choice E in Goal 4 connects you with helpful articles and videos that explore the use and meanings of first names and surnames in your genealogy research. Surname Distribution Maps - Many country pages have a Choice in Goal 1 that provides a link to a surname distribution map, which shows where surnames are concentrated in the country. Example for Belgium - https://www.familienaam.be/  (try using the Bol surname). In countries that have names based on patronymics (derived from a father's first name) or where multiple surnames are often used, such tracing surnames can be less useful or more complicated.  Still, the study of names can provide genealogy clues, context, and interesting backgrounds.

Some Common Steps to Online Security – The Family History Guide Blog

Note: This article was published previously on the Genealogy's Star blog site.   Security is one of the major concerns of the day. You can regularly read about huge websites and databases being hacked and the information stored compromised. Security on your computer or your smartphone should be as automatic as locking your door at night (or during the day depending on where you live) and routinely locking your car unless you live in San Francisco and leave it unlocked and empty to avoid a broken window. Even genealogists need to be aware of the security of our data. The first and most common issue is logins and passwords. Basic security mandates logins and passwords that have enough characters (letters, numbers, and other symbols) to be harder to sign in (weak vs. strong). In addition, each password should be unique. It is not a good idea to reuse a password. Most of us have a place we keep our passwords. That place should be secure and subject to password protection also. If you have them on a piece of paper, make sure the location of the list is secure. One way to create a strong password is to use a combination of words, numbers and symbols. For example: this is a strong password ElephantMachineDoctor34!! assuming it does not exceed the number of characters mandated by the website or program you are entering. Random letter, number, and symbol passwords are extremely hard to remember and difficult to type correctly. Although the password generated by the websites or programs are strong, they are also random and arbitrary. The next level of security concern is when you are using a computer in a library, FamilySearch Center, or some other publicly accessible place. Depending on the facility where the computer is located, unless you log out of any programs you use, the computer may remember the login and password and allow any random person who uses the computer have access after you leave. For example here in the BYU Library Family History Center, if you login to websites and programs, some of the websites and programs will keep you logged in even if you log out of the main BYU access program. In the case of the university, all the computers are supposed to be wiped clean every night but we still find absent people signed in on a regular basis. Email addresses are not intended to be secure. One obvious reason is that your email address will likely be used as your login although sometimes the website will send you an email to verify that it is your email address. It is a good idea to have one email address for day-to-day use and another used for signing into secure websites. You can have several different email logins but using more than one or two for routine email become complicated. The multiple emails can cause problems when they are used as the login for a website and then forgotten. You may have to log into the website and the website will send a key for logging in to your old email address and if this happens to be the one you have forgotten or closed, you may go through a complex issue with the website before being admitted. If you forgotten your login or password, most websites and programs have a way to restore the password or have create a new one. Always remember to immediately write down the new password. If you are like me, I would forget what I used almost as soon as I was through logging in. An unrelated issue is maintaining the security of your computer, smartphone, or other device. Pinning your passwords on a stick it note is not a good idea unless you take another step and encode all your pass words. Your code could be quite simple: 3456Missippi23!!! could be shown on your password list as 34M2!!! and you could then have created a system that only you know about that lets you know that 34 is 3456, M is Mississippi, and 2!!! is really 23!!!. There are many more security concerns. Phishing is one issue that is becoming endemic. Phishing involves send a legitimate looking email requesting some personal information. Phishing is not limited to email,  it is also becoming common with text messages and phone calls. If you get an unfamiliar email, text, or phone call make sure that you do not open the email or text and do not answer the phone call even to tell the person on the line to hang up. You should have a working voice mail if you are concerned about having phone calls from a sizable group of people. Let the phone call go to voice mail and if it turns out to be a legitimate phone call, text or email, you can either call the person back or contact them in some other way. Legitimate contacts will leave a voice mail or call you more directly so you know who is calling. Genealogical information is usually not private and since it found in available historical records, the information is not something that people who are trying to gather personal information to sell or use for criminal purposes. One exception is the common banking secure question that is the maiden name of your grandmother or some other relative. People like me have multiple family trees on various websites and almost all my family trees are open to the public and contain the maiden name of my grandmother (or some other person). Apparently banks do not know about online family trees. Another issue happens when a website you are using is hacked. You might get a notice to change your login and/or password. Do it the minute the procedure is available. On the other hand, if you are not really using the website it is a good idea to sign out, if you can, and take the program off your computer or stop using the website. But don't use the old password. This subject could go on for volumes with examples of dangerous behaviors. But the basic idea here is to be aware of the need for security and learn about the ways your security can be increased.

Free Genealogy Websites – and The Family History Guide – The Family History Guide Blog

We like to spread the word that The Family History Guide is an industry-leading website for research—and it's free. But it's even better when others help us get our message out, and that's certainly the case with this recent FamilySearch blog article by genealogy experts Kathryn Grant and Sally Odekirk: Free Genealogy Websites to Elevate Your Research. The article begins with a Gateway category, which is defined as a gateway or hub for research resources on the internet. The four gateway sites mentioned are Conference Keeper,  a hub for genealogy conferences, jobs, cruises, etc. Cyndi's List, a huge collection of over 300,000 links on many genealogy topics FamilySearch Wiki, specializing in record collections and research strategies The Family History Guide, a site with research training, learning projects, and many video and tutorial resources We're honored to be included in this short list of global leaders in family history research. The Family History Guide also has two knowledgebases and hundreds of practice exercises for research. But there's more ... FamilyHistory Activities We are also mentioned in the article sections for family history activities, alongside FamilySearch Activities, and Relative Finder from the BYU Technology Labs. The Family History Guide has the largest collection of free activities, with well over 200. Also included are an activities index for quick reference, and activities for Latter-day Saints, such as a family history companion for Come, Follow Me. Training and Education The Training and Education section of the article has this to say: As mentioned above, The Family History Guide offers free self-guided learning on a variety of topics, such as general research, country-specific research, and using family history websites such as FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com. Also of note are over 200 Class Outlines that can be used for quick and easy training on a wide variety of genealogy subjects, and over 50 quizzes. The Online Tracker tools  help you assess your learning progress quickly and efficiently.

Training for the National Genealogical Society – The Family History Guide Blog

This past week I met online with 50 leaders from the National Genealogical Society, through their OrgConnects! program. OrgConnects is a new venture that enables their leadership to meet and discuss important topics across organizations. Thursday evening was a presentation on how training tools in The Family Histgory Guide can help leaders and members accelerate their training and learning efforts in genealogy. The partnership with The Family History Guide Association and the National Genealogical Socety provides for free presentations about The Family Histgory Guide and its learning tools. This presentation focused on Practice Exercises, Class Outlines, Quizzes, and the new  Online Tracker Sheets. and it was well-received. Below is an outline of the topics that were covered in the training session:   Website review (10 min.) Home page – how to access Top menus – how to use Search bar – how to use Intro Video – resource for a more complete review Project 4, Research Goals – basic to expert skills in research Countries menu – how to use Practice Exercises (5 min.) – Web page – explain purpose of Practice Exercises Samples – walk through several examples online Index – how to find Practice Exercises on the site Class Outlines (15 min.) – Web page - explain purpose of Class Outlines Prep – how to study and customize a Class Outline Demo – showing the Class Outline in Presenter mode Quizzes (5 min.) Web page – how to find quizzes Demo – walk through a quiz Online Tracker Sheets (10 min.) – Web page – explain Online Tracker database vs. Google Sheets Platforms sheet – show the features and how to customize Countries sheets – walk through one or two sheets

Becoming a Patient Genealogist – The Family History Guide Blog

As the well-known saying goes, Patience is a virtue—and that is certainly true in genealogy research. But is patience in genealogy only about enduring pain? If so, that would explain why a lot of people decide not to test the family history waters. Indeed, the Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions of patient seem to prominently highlight the pain concept: bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain not hasty or impetuous steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity What if we could develop more selective patience—in other words, focus our efforts so that our patience is not worn thin so easily? Here are 7 suggestions that might be helpful to achieve that goal: Get to know the people in your tree. How much do you know about your ancestors and their complete families? They are more than just names, dates, and places—they have stories to tell and lessons to learn from. Building personal connections to these people can help you pursue good genealogy questions and energize your research. Sharpen your tools. How much cutting time would you save by using a sharp saw instead of a dull one? Similarly, learning how to develop effective research plans and online search strategies will help you spend your time more productively and eliminate some patience pain. Find more resources. New record collections are coming online each week, as well as many helpful blog articles and how-to videos for research. The Family History Guide can help you find and use an amazing number of resources, quickly and easily. Learn new skills. It's amazing how many disciplines genealogy embraces: cultures, languages, history, geography, ethnicity, and genetics to name a few. For example, check out tips for reading old handwriting, how to use Google Translate and Google Lens, how to think out of the box when solving problems, etc. Use wisdom and order. Item #3 in the dictionary list above says, not hasty or impetuous. We can save a lot of time and effort when we proceed carefully from the known to the unknown in our research, avoid jumping to conclusions, and document our sources well so we don't wander in circles with information. When you hit a wall, don't bang your head. Stuck on a line? Maybe the answers are in different places or record collections than you have been searching, or maybe new collections will become available to provide clues. Even the best genealogists have their own brick walls in research. Fortunately, family trees are large enough that there's still plenty to do among the many branches. Collaborate. We are not doing genealogy in a vacuum. You'd be amazed at how many others are willing to help you with genealogical discoveries, including Facebook groups, genealogical societies, volunteers at FamilySearch Centers, DNA and special interest groups online—the list goes on. And consider sharing your discoveries, photos, and stories with others as a way to pay it forward. This is a great and marvelous work we are involved in, to connect generations and preserve the history and memories of our ancestors. May your patience never fail you in your research, and may you find new and creative ways to avoid stretching your patience thin!   [caption id=attachment_10389 align=aligncenter width=903] Beautiful sunrise over the green field in Lithuania[/caption]

Miles Ahead: Catching Up with Miles Meyer – The Family History Guide Blog

Miles Meyer, our Education Director for The Family History Guide Association, is not one to let the grass grow under his feet—even in the Florida Everglades. Here's a brief look at what he has going on, taken from recent blog post on his genealogy blog site:   1) I am finishing up my first set of classes at the International Institute of Genealogical Studies. The Methodology course has been great. There were a total of 14 classes including Transcribing, Abstracting, and Extracting; Effective Searching and Recording; Paleography; Genealogy and Copyright Guidelines; and Genetics and Family Medical History. There are also three in-depth Analysis and Skills classes which help you put the information you learn into practice. Once I complete this course I will start on my focus classes for American and German research. My wife will focus on English and DNA research. 2) We have been very busy with our new genealogy research company, OurAncestories Genealogy. We are completing our first year in business and have had some incredible clients with challenging projects. Several of the projects involved extensive DNA research while looking for birth families. One client had two consecutive generations where non-parental events occurred, making the search even more difficult. Ancestry's Pro Tools and BanyanDNA came along at just the right time to help us with these complex cases. Our projects have included research into 18th century German church records, New Jersey medical school yearbooks, and a variety of other record sets in the midwestern and southern United States. I am also preparing an historical atlas for a tour group that will be visiting their family homes in Germany at the end of next year. So far I have over 50 towns documented for this tour group. 3) My speaking schedule has been pretty active. I have been speaking across Florida and have also done several virtual presentations for groups in England this year. I had two presentations at RootsTech 2024 and will be doing two more presentations at RootsTech 2025. You can see some of my archived RootsTech presentations here. A list of my current presentation topics can be found here. What is in the future? I plan on continuing my genealogy work and will be able to focus more time on that once I retire. Yes, I am planning on retiring from my full time job as a Supervisory Biologist for the US Fish & Wildlife Service's Everglades Restoration Program at the end of 2025 - a little more than a year from now. I will have spent over 32 years in various environmental protection positions in Florida and it is time to hang up that part of my life and focus on the next phase. I will be posting more over the next couple months as we approach RootsTech since I am one of the official RootsTech Media representatives again this year.

ViewPoint with Dennis Quaid: Filming Update – The Family History Guide Blog

This week we completed the video filming for our partnership project with ViewPoint and The Family History Guide Association. The next step will be video editing, a process that will take about five to six weeks. Then the PBS video, documentary video, and 30-second commercial will be released nationwide sometime between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Those who were interviewed on camera for the project include: David Rencher, FamilySearch Chief Genealogical Officer and President of the Board of Directors of the National Genealogical Society Bob Ives, Executive Director of The Family History Guide Association Bob Taylor, Development Director and creator of The Family History Guide website Angelle Anderson, Marketing Director Scott Anderson, Public Relations Director Maribel Medina, Training Representative Olivia Jewell, Family History Activities Specialist Ella Jewell, Youth Family History Ambassador It was a busy and exciting day of filming in Utah. Below are some pictures we captured of the proceedings; we hope you enjoy them! We will provide an update when the finished videos are ready for broadcast, which should be some time after Thanksgiving. David Rencher, President of the National Genealogical Society Board of Directors    Bob Ives, Executive Director of The Family History Guide Association   Bob Taylor, Development Director and creator of The Family History Guide website   Maribel Medina, Training Representative from the San Diego area   Olivia Jewell, Family History Activities Specialist   Ella Jewell, Youth Family History Ambassador   L-R: Bob Ives, Bob Taylor, Maribel Medina, Ella Jewell, Olivia Jewell's parents, Olivia Jewell, Angelle Anderson, Scott Anderson   Family tree charades activity   Family photo album activity   Capturing a family history interview on a phone   Camera crew captures a children's family history activity

Date with Dad – The Family History Guide Blog

Note: This article was published previously on the Granite FamilySearch Center blog site. My dad got his first 8 mm movie camera as a teenager in about 1937. He loved it and used it a lot to document his life. When he passed away in 2010, he left a large container of his movies and slides that ended up in my brother’s basement. As a FamilySearch consultant, I have easy access to all the scanning equipment at the center. I decided that as long as I was there for my shift each week, I should scan my dad’s collection of home movies. At some point my dad had consolidated all the little reels into at least 20 large 8-inch reels of film that were no longer labeled. Each time I came to the FamilySearch center, I would grab one random reel and put it on the scanner machine. As I looked at the tiny screen on the scanner to see what was on the film, I could almost hear my dad speaking to me.  He was saying, “Today Beth Ann, we’re going to look at…….” What a treasure it was to find the movie from Easter and Christmas 1938. I was able to see my great grandparents that I had never met, as well as see my grandparents as young parents. One day he said, “Beth Ann, today you’re going to see what it was like to be in the army at the end of WWII in France.” I saw Paris with its Eiffel Tower, young children scrounging in the garbage for food, other soldiers and the planes he helped service. My special treat was seeing a picture of his fiancé – my mother – on his cot. I was also able to experience his mission in Hawaii and see the beautiful people and places he loved. As the oldest child, I was in all the family movies (I was the “star” in all the early ones). It was a blessing to feel the love he had for me and my other siblings as he chronicled our lives. I have memories of building an igloo with my dad when I was about 10 and I was thrilled to see it appear in our movies – and it really was a big igloo, taller than me and could hold several of us kids standing up in it. On the same reel were the memories of us connecting several of our sleds together and careening down our front hill and then down the street. What a great date with dad laughing and loving those fun memories together. There were memories to see of the many Christmases at our grandparents with the cousins, all of us squinting because of the blinding spotlight he used when filming indoors. As well as Christmas mornings at home with my siblings rushing in to see what Santa had left for us. Obviously, my dad was a devoted U of U fan because there was an entire reel devoted to a U of U Football game in about 1940. Pregame, game, halftime, etc., with the marching band and a live Indian Chief on a horse. That love for the U was passed down to me and our family. One of the last dates with my dad was scanning the film of my wedding day. How wonderful to see us and our families at the Salt Lake Temple as we began our own family together. I could feel my dad’s joy and love for me on my wedding day. What a blessing it has been for me to spend this time on dates with my dad and to experience what he filmed. It was easy to see and feel his love for me and my siblings. Now that I’ve digitalized these movies, I will be sharing them with my siblings and my children so they can have dates with dad too. Hopefully, they will learn about him, be touched by the memories he shared and feel his love for us. I hope that we can all feel a connection to our ancestors as we scan and digitalize memories to share with others. Invest your time and connections with your family by visiting The Granite FamilySearch Center. Enhance your blessings by utilizing the center’s multitude of media equipment and services that allow for digital conversion. The center includes high speed photo scanners, flatbed scanners up to 11″ x 17″, slide scanners, and a book scanner for digitization of photographs, photo albums, documents, scrapbook pages, etc. They have VHS/8mm Video Tape converters, 8mm/Super 8 film converters, and Standard Audio Cassette converters. In addition, there are trained consultants available to assist in your learning process of digitalizing audios/film, slides, and photos. – Beth Ann Hammer, consultant, Granite FamilySearch Center Editor's Note: There are quite a few FamilySearch centers that offer free digitizing services, from photos to audio cassettes to movie reels and more.

New: Online Tracker Sheets – The Family History Guide Blog

If you have used The Family History Guide for a while, you're probably familiar with the Online Tracker. It's a secure database where you create a free account and enter notes and progress as you work on Goals and Choices in The Family History Guide. Now we are introducing a new option: Online Tracker Sheets. Here's a quick summary ... Q&A 1. What are the Online Tracker Sheets? They are a series of Google Sheets that you can use as an alternative to the Online Tracker database. 2. Do the Online Tracker Sheets require a username and password?  No, you simply access the Google link to open the sheet. The master copies online are read-only, so you can download your copy to make changes. 3. What Sheets are available now? Currently there is a Platforms sheet that includes Goals and Choices for FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, FIndmypast, and research skills. Coming soon are Online Tracker Sheets for country pages. 4. How do I customize the Online Tracker Sheets? First, you need your own copy of the sheet. You can click File > Make a Copy in Google Sheets and then save it to your Google Drive space. Or, you can click File > Download and save it as an Excel or .ODS file. Then you can add or remove columns and rows, types notes, etc. in the sheet. The Notes area is also quite a bit larger in the sheet than in the Online Tracker database, making it easier to record more information. 5. Are there slider bars in the Online Tracker Sheets? No, but there are selection buttons that accomplish the same thing in the Platforms Sheet. 6. What about other Online Tracker features, such as stars, and group reports? These features are not currently available in the Online Tracker Sheets, but we are looking to add similar ones in the future. Group collaboration can be done in any Online Tracker Sheet by sharing the sheet with selected people. 7. What other features are included in the Online Tracker Sheets? The Platform Sheet contains columns for recording Quiz scores, and the research skills sub-sheet has kinks to corresponding Class Outlines. 8. What about my current data in the Online Tracker database? Any data you have in the Online Tracker database will remain intact. If you need that data in the Online Tracker Sheets you will need to manually copy it over (although we are working on a migration feature). What's Next? Here's what to look for in the next week or two: Online Tracker Sheets will be added to the Misc. menu in The Family History Guide (just below the main Online Tracker entry). Online Tracker Sheets for Countries: These will include sheets arranged by area and will include a column for noting progress with Practice Exercises. We hope you enjoy the new Online Tracker Sheet for Platforms! Here is a sample screen shot of the FamilySearch tab in the Platforms sheet (the links are not active in these pictures):

The Candy Store – The Family History Guide Blog

Recently, several of our long-time users remarked that visiting The Family History Guide was like being a kid in a candy store. Now that's a delicious comparison! While each person may have his or her preferred sweet treat, let's take a look at 10 features of The Family History Guide that could qualify as candy store items for genealogists ... QUIKLinks - These links are included in country and state pages, right where you need them. They take you directly to collections with 50K+ records each, from FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast. The Vault - Looking for a deep dive into just about any area of family history? Check out the Vault, a collection of over 2,000 additional articles and videos that are arranged by category for easy lookup. U.S. County Resources - For each county in the United States—and there are many of them—we include links to as many as six helpful websites for county research: FamilySearch, Ancestry, Linkpendium, Genealogy Inc, US GenWeb, and Genealogy Trails. The Search Bar - It's the blue magnifying glass you'll see near the top of each page, and it helps you find practically anything you need in The Family History Guide, quickly and easily. Country Pages - There are over 60 major country pages in All Countries, with an additional collection of over 140 smaller countries (those with fewer genealogical resources). You'll find links to articles, videos, and databases to help you in your genealogy journey. Knowledgebases - In the Research Knowledgebase you can grab tidbits of information about a wide variety of general and U,S. research topics, arranged by category with links to source articles. The Countries Knowledgebase is a great way to get introduced to new countries where you'd like to do research. Family History Activities - Put the fun in family history with over 200 cool activities for families, individuals, youth, and kids. YouTube Channel - Check out hundreds of helpful videos produced by The Family History Guide Association, including activities, inspirational, research, and more. Class Outlines - These handy training tools help you teach family history classes right from The Family History Guide, without building slide decks and handouts. Currently there are about 225 Class Outlines, with more to come. Online Tracker - This is a secure online database that lets you track your learning progress in any aspect of The Family History Guide. We wish you sweet success as you explore the features of The Family History Guide!

What’s New in The Family History Guide – The Family History Guide Blog

We have been busy—no surprise there—updating content and features in The Famiy History Guide website. Here's a roundup of some of the updates you'll find on the site, as well as a brief look at what's coming in future months. Practice Exercises: There are now over 700 Practices Exercises, each with research problems to solve, hints for record searches, and answers. Latest additions include exercises for U.S. states from Montana to South Dakota, alphabetically. QUIKLinks: We added about 50 new QUIKLinks from Ancestry, FamilySearch, and MyHeritage, bringing the total number to almost 5,000 across the country pages. Class Outlines: The newest Class Outlines include Austria, Belgium (2), Brazil (2), Canada (2), Chile (2), and Colombia. You can see QUIKLink coverage at a glance in this spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G8YRrJXc1ofmzF2YGu1FL1plt0qzTG4o-rW4RBvS5lc/ Consolidating Goals: We recently removed Goals in country pages and states for Search Records and Websites. These Goals were limited in scope, and most of their content is available in the first Goal of each country and state page. Weekly Family History Activities: Although the schedule for 2024 is complete, we continue to update each Weekly Lesson with improved content and additional links to enahce the Come, Follow Me experience for family history. What's Next ... The Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid video series about The Family History Guide will air on PBS television this winter, and we will include versions on our website and in social media. We will be doing a huge expansion in the number of available Class Outlines, with up to 150 new outlines available by RootsTech 2025. We will begin adding Show Me slides for Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast, to provide step-by-step instructions for learning those platforms with a visual approach.   [caption id=attachment_10307 align=aligncenter width=900] man' s silhouette with her hands raised in the sunset[/caption]

The Family History Guide Turns 9! – The Family History Guide Blog

On July 25, 2015 The Family History Guide debuted at the BYU Family History Conference in Provo, Utah. It has been a great adventure since then, and continues to be. The Management Team for The Family History Guide Association has put in countless hours, all unpaid, to build and promote The Family History Guide website. Here's a look at each of the Management Team members, taken from the TFHG Association page on the website.   Chairman: James Tanner James L. Tanner has spent over 34 years in genealogical research and is the avid Blogger of Genealogy’s Star and Rejoice, and Be Exceeding Glad. He spent eight years as a missionary at the Mesa, Arizona FamilySearch Library and is presently serving at the BYU Family History Library. James is a frequent presenter at family history expos and conferences around the U.S. and Canada. James previously owned a retail computer business and an Apple Macintosh software company, and he is a professional photographer. He holds a B.A. in Spanish and an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Utah, as well as a J.D. in Law from Arizona State University. He spent two years as an Intelligence Analyst in the U.S. Army and 39 years as an Arizona trial attorney. James and his wife Ann have seven children and 33 grandchildren. Vice President and Executive Director: Bob Ives Bob Ives, Executive Director for the Family History Guide Association, received a Master's Degree in computerized curriculum design and went to work as the Director of Instructional Technology for the Utah State Office of Education. Bob was instrumental in the spread of technology in the state and the development of cutting edge programs such as satellite distance learning with IBM. He later formed his own technology consulting and training company, Educational Renaissance, Inc. and worked as an IBM business partner for 15 years. He has traveled across the U.S. and the Pacific as a trainer for IBM Educational Systems, as well as McGraw-Hill and Allyn & Bacon. Bob has served on state and national committees such as the NCTM Technology Committee and the Governors' Computer Literacy Task Force. He has given presentations across the United States, Canada, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia. Bob is currently the Technology Coordinator for the Sandy Utah Granite Family History Center, the third largest FamilySearch center in the Salt Lake Valley. He and his wife Dawn have two sons and four grandchildren. Bob has a B.S. from Brigham Young University, an M.Ed. and Administrative Certification from the University of Utah. He has also served as an adjunct professor for Utah State University. Director of Development: Bob Taylor Bob Taylor has been actively doing family history for over 25 years. He has combined his passion for genealogy with his background in instructional design to produce an industry-leading learning resource for family history—The Family History Guide website. Bob earned his BA degree from Brigham Young University and MA degree from California State University, Los Angeles, both in Music Education. A career change led him to instructional design and technical writing, where he has worked for large technology corporations such as Intel and Western Digital. At Intel University, he redesigned key training courses for employees and managers worldwide, as well as teaching management courses in Washington, Arizona, Oregon, California, and Utah. He has authored many online and written learning systems, helping others accelerate learning in technology, music, and family history. Bob has been a featured presenter five times at the RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City, as well as the WikiTree International Symposium for 2022. Bob has presented at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Riverton FamilySearch Library, and the BYU Family History Conference. He has also presented to genealogical societies in fifteen U.S. states and in Canada. Secretary/Treasurer: Ann Tanner Ann Wessman Tanner was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, graduated from the University of Utah and taught English. She married James Tanner many years ago and is the mother of five daughters and two sons, all of whom are married and living around the country. Ann and James lived in Arizona for the past 43 years, then moved to Provo, Utah two years ago. Ann served two Church Service missions at the Mesa FamilySearch Library and currently serves at the BYU Family History Library where she coordinates the Sunday classes, teaches, and prepares training for the missionaries at the Library. She owns a printing and computer design company in the Provo, Utah area.   Scott Anderson: Director of Public Relations and Funding Scott Anderson attained a BA degree from the University of Utah in Psychology, a Master's degree in Counseling and Guidance and a PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy both from BYU. He taught in the Church Education System beginning in 1972, with the majority of his career as a faculty member at the Orem Institute of Religion. He is a published author and lectures for BYU Education Weeks, Especially for Youth, and various other venues, including the Governor's Conference On Families and the Utah Freedom Academy. Dr. Anderson recently retired from working as a therapist at Suncrest Counseling Center. He enjoys home improvement projects, family history, humanitarian service, and had a great time running a marathon with his daughter. He and his wife, Angelle, reside in Bluffdale, Utah. Industry Relations: Sue and Paul Maxwell Sue Maxwell is an experienced genealogist, speaker, trainer and mentor, with an emphasis in technology and social media. She publishes the Granite Genealogy blog site and has been actively involved in the genealogy community since retiring from her management career. Sue has served as Vice President of the Utah Genealogical Association and currently serves as an Area Temple and Family History Consultant under FamilySearch direction. Paul D. Maxwell retired after working 30 years in the IT industry. His areas of expertise included database administration, systems performance, and network management. Paul also serves as an Area Temple and Family History Consultant under FamilySearch direction. Paul and Sue have one son and six granddaughters. In addition to spending time their family, they love to travel. Angelle Anderson: Director of Marketing Angelle Anderson is a certified family historian (BYU-Idaho) and attained a BA degree in Elementary Education from BYU. She is serving as a Temple and Family History Consultant in the Riverton YSA Stake. Angelle has presented for BYU and BYU-Idaho Education Weeks, Especially for Youth, and BYU Women's Conference. She enjoys hosting several family history Facebook groups, including Ideas for Family History Fun and sharing Friday Fun posts in The Family History Guide - Trainers, Consultants, Directors. Angelle and her husband, Scott, are parents to seven children and grandparents to thirty grandchildren (currently being trained as future family historians!). Miles Meyer: Director of Education Miles is a scientist by training and has been active in genealogy for over 25 years in a variety of ways. His expertise revolves around new technologies, internet research and FamilySearch. He is the principal researcher for OurAncestories Genealogy, a Family History Consultant, and current Director of the Vero Beach Florida FamilySearch Center. He has presented at a variety of international genealogy conferences, including RootsTech Salt Lake (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024), RootsTech London (2019), The Genealogy Show UK (Spring, Summer and Winter 2022), The Society of One Place Studies Conference UK (2023), and the One World One Family Conference Toronto (2021). Additionally, Miles has been a beta tester for several genealogy companies. And when he has time, Miles also manages several blogs on genealogy-related activities. Brent Bunker: Content Specialist 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.

Presenting TFHG on Paper – The Family History Guide Blog

It's no secret that The Family History Guide website is too large to capture on paper. But it can be summarized and presented on paper, in as little as a two-page handout. Yet why would someone want to do that, if it's easy to get on the website and view it online? The answer is that there may be situations where using paper, strangely enough, may be an effective way to present The Family History Guide (TFHG), such as in the following cases: You are presenting TFHG in a location where the internet connection is spotty or unreliable. You don't have access to a screen that's large enough for people to see the website text, if they are sitting near the back of the room. You don't have time for a full presentation, but you want to give others something to read until they can get on to The Family History Guide website themselves. Enter the new TFHG on Paper presentations, one for general interest and one focused on Latter-day Saints. Each presentation is a two-page PDF file that lists 25 items of interest in The Family History Guide and where to find them on the site. Attendees can follow along with the printed PDF and explore the site features on their laptops, tablets, or phones if internet access is available. After the presentation, they can take the double-sided sheet with them as a reminder of what was covered. For the full, downloadable PDFs, visit Presenting TFHG on Paper on The Family History Guide website, in the Trainers menu. Enjoy!