Genealogy - One Reason Why

What could possibly be the draw of researching in old dusty books for names, dates, and places? Yawn! Boring! Right? I thought this when I was in high school and even in college, learning the history of the United States or the state where I was raised and went to college. I thought memorizing random dates, names, places was pointless. Who is going to remember these names, dates, locations anyways?

As you can see from the previous paragraph, I was young and very short-sighted. I started loving history when researching my family tree and learning about them. Many may say Genealogy is about names, dates, and places; this is true. However, for me, Genealogy is more than the basic facts of name, date, and location. Since beginning the journey of learning about my ancestors, I found that understanding what was going on in their lives (history) helps to put flesh on those bones. I have begun to understand them better. For example, I discovered one of my great, great, great grandmothers in the 1881 Census of the United Kingdom was 81 years old, a widow, and was living in a workhouse. I thought, what is a workhouse? I had no idea, so being inquisitive, I went to google and typed in workhouses. I started learning more about them, their purpose, etc...history. During the last year of her life, she was in a workhouse because she was poor, needed assistance, and passed away when she was eighty-one years old. I had deep compassion for this grandmother, living alone without the comforts of her children and grandchildren in the later part of life. 

I have learned to love history as I search census records, birth, marriage, death records as I continue my research. Researching census records can give you a glimpse into their occupation (some of which through research do not exist anymore), whether they owned or rented the residence, and where they lived, among other things. As I continue the genealogical research of my family tree, I love to learn more about their lives and have begun understanding history in a way that is more applicable to my life. Whether this is a function of being older and hopefully wiser is unclear. It may be a combination of both things. Their lives are similar to ours. The more we learn about the history of our ancestors' lives, the better we can understand ourselves and learn from the past. 

If you would like to read more about workhouses, click here and it will take you to my review of workhouses.

Come Join the Experiment

 The Connections Experiment is a fun way to dip your toe into genealogy or family history. They have come up with a 21-day Experiment where you can choose which experiments in which you would like to participate. This month's Connections Experiment is a Genealogy BootCamp. If you ever wondered how to begin the family search quest, this would be a great opportunity for you. The BootCamp is free and you complete one task each of the 21 days. This is a wonderful step-by-step guideline on how to start, research, family stories. If you would like participate in the challenge, click this link Connections Experiment. 

Summer 2011 Genealogy Virtual Conference

The 2011 Summer Virtual Conference is going on this weekend. The genealogy conference runs from 9am August 19, 2011 to 11:59pm August 21,2011.  This conference is available for you to view at your convenience. Some of the instructors include Maureen Taylor from PhotoDetective, Lisa Louis Cooke from Genealogy Gems Podcast, and many others.  The cost for the Virtual weekend is $190.00, which gives you unlimited access to the conference over the weekend.  If you join the Family Tree Magazine VIP program for $49.99, you can get a discount on the Family Tree University courses, a one year subscription to Family Tree Magazine. The VIP program is also available for Canada and Internationally. If you are interested in the attending the confernce, click this link. Summer 2011 Virtual Conference | FamilyTreeUniversity.com

How can Genealogy heal the world?

A particular stumbling block that I have seen with teaching and assisting others with their research is assuming that the spelling of your ancestors name is only one way, the way we spell it. Experience has taught it is important that we broaden our views when researching our ancestors. One cannot assume that there is only one way to spell a name. We have to remember that the borders of counties and countries have changed throughout the years.

How can genealogy research heal the world? The video interview with Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA us very illuminating. She reminds us that our family tree is comprised of many people of various ethnicity, values, and religious believes. We are all interconnected at some point....we are all cousins. If the world in general could understand that we are all related, possibly it would encourage people to help others and not be judgmental. In genealogy, if one is judgmental,  a hidden opportunity to find an ancestor that they would never had dreamed would be a part of their family tree may be missed.  For example, I received an email several years back from someone in Autralia. She sent me a picture of a family that was supposed to be part of my tree.  As the picture loaded, I thought now way...all of my ancestors were from Scandinavia or the UK.  This woman told me where this family was located in my tree and I looked it up to make sure we were talking about the same person. I was so surprised to find that she was correct.  This was an amazing educational moment for me; one that will not be forgotten.  Enjoy the video.

FamilySearch Courses

FamilySearch announced today that the number of genealogy courses that are available for learning is now over 140 courses. The courses include Beginning and Advance courses covering areas such as Australia, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, and the United States. There are lessons on Basic Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Scandinavian, and Spanish Handwriting. Courses are also available for learning research tricks, how to use the Genealogy library, and Genealogy Boot-camp. I would urge you all to check out the classes that are available to help you with your research. If you don't find a class that is of interest to you this month, check back frequently as new classes are being added every month. To learn more click FamilySearch Research Courses

Family History Made Simple

Laurel, an acquaintance of mine, contacted me today to let me know that she completed a new video titled Family History Made Simple. This video is a great introduction to genealogy, covering the basic steps in beginning genealogical research. Enjoy the video.

Are you a Hidden Scribe?

In our world, the internet has expanded making it possible to attend live meetings over the internet. What happens when you are unable to attend those meetings? I received an email about a website that is easily accessible and user friendly where you can view past lectures on some genealogy topics. Please note that not all of the genealogy speakers will be placing their information on this site, but those that do have either a text document or slide shows that you can view. Below is an example from one of Thomas Kemp, a well know author, librarian, and director with Godfrey Memorial Library.

After going through Tom Kemp's presentation on Core Online Genealogy Resources - The Ones you will actually use and rely on! (shown below), I decided to explore the possibilities of the site Scribd. This site is dedicated to providing a forum for the author in all of us to store and collaborate with others documents or slide shows. You can easily upload and immediately share your original works from a PDF, Word, PowerPoint and many other file formats. I thought to myself what a great way to share your family history documents and decided to see what the site stored under genealogy and family history topics. The information I received back on the search varied from pictures, narrative family histories, family trees, and various other forms of genealogy including blank forms. I then searched specifically for one of my family lines. Although I did not find any information regarding my family line, I did find that you can easily search for an individual on this site and come up with hits regarding their genealogy. In my next post you will see what I mean. Although the person is a popular fictional character, a family tree was constructed for them.

Novels, recipes, manuals, position papers, and historical documents abound on this site. The site is a treasure trove of information and might be able to provide you information regarding your family. Even if you do not find information about your genelaogy, it is a fun site to visit. If you would like to visit the site, click Scrib. You can utilize the site search engine to find information about various genealogical topics. Have fun!

Core Online Genealogy Resources - The Ones you will actually use and rely on!

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Business Presentations & Slid genealogy newspapers

Using Search Engines for Genealogy

I wanted to share with you all a little video that I found on the Common Craft blog that is very instructive on how to utilize search engines and obtain better results for the topics you are searching. I have found that using search general search engines such as google, yahoo, msn, etc. can be a very effective way to research for ancestors. Lee and Sachi LeFever are the geniuses behind Common Craft website. They have developed several educational videos that are available for your education. In addition to the video that I have posted, there is information about the basics of blogs and wikis. Both of these tools can be used to publish your genealogy on the internet for others to view. I hope you enjoy the video.

Training Videos from FamilySearch

FamilySearch has done it again. They are making it easier for one to find and learn more about their ancestors by providing online training. The first in the series of online training is learning how to research for family in England. The lessons are taught via video that is viewable on the website in addition to pdf files that provided. The lessons are divided into five sections: Lesson 1 - Research Overview, Lesson 2 - Census Records, Lesson 3 - Civil Registration, Lesson 4 - Church Records, and Lesson 5 - Find Your Ancestors. I viewed the first in the series and it was done well and the handouts are great. If you would like to learn how to research in England, click England Beginning Research Series. Have fun learning!

FamilyInsight Beta Released

Ohana Software has just released the beta of FamilyInsight to everyone. Please note that not all of the features will be operable if you do not have access to New FamilySearch. This program is similar to the PAFInsight in the way it functions, but it has a new component that will allow the user to sync your database with New FamilySearch. This program is designed to work with your PAF file and program and New FamilySearch; it is not a stand alone program for genealogical research. FamilyInsight has improved upon the edit places to include the standard nomenclature that is utilized with New FamilySearch. I am excited to learn more about the program utilizing their tutorial that is provided within the program. Another great feature of the program is the "Guide Me" button which can be clicked at any time while you are working within the program that will provide you with step-by-step instructions regarding the screen that you are working within at the moment.

I started to work with the snyc option with New FamilySearch, but will need to complete the tutorials to fully grasp every nuance of the program. It appears on the surface to be very intuitive and very similar to PAF Insight with the exception of improved "Edit Places" tab where you will be able to coordinate your place names with those that are in New FamilySearch.

If you are interested in participating in the Beta of the program, click FamilyInsight. If you have a current PAFInsight license you only need to download the upgrade. If you have never purchased a PAFInsight license you will need to pay the minimal fee of $25.

Please remember that the product is still in beta format and as such, you will most likely come across some bugs with the program that will need to be worked out. Being as it is in Beta format, I would strongly encourage you to make a back up of your file and work on the backup file only during the beta phase of the program. If you are feeling adventurous and would like to get in on the ground floor of FamilyInsight, you will want to check this update. Have fun!

Need A Personal Genealogist?

Have you ever wished to have a genealogist or family history consultant could sit by you or be available at your beckon call when you have a question, wonder how to write your personal history, or need ideas for a family reunion?

If you need help with starting your family history or genealogical pursuits, help is no further away than a click of the mouse at the Ogden Regional Family History Center Desktop that you can view in the comfort of your own home, office or other place that you might log onto the internet.

The site is organized in a user friendly manner with all of the links located on the left side tool bar. The desktop provides you with information regarding organization of family files including links to downloading the various programs for the PC or MAC environment.

Other features of this site include instruction on how to write a history, penny postcards, photographs, website design tutorials, "Teach Me" tutorial CD that is viewable online, and various other tidbits of information including where and how to start your searching. If you have been doing genealogy for a while, you most likely are familiar with most of the information but the site could provide you with ideas on how to create your own family history website for some concepts of genealogical research. If you are new to genealogy, this is a great site to review and get some hints. Also listed on this site are classes that are taught at the center which is located in Ogden Utah.

Whether you are new to genealogy or a seasoned veteran, there are numerous ideas that may be of assistance to you on this website. If you would like to browse or begin learning new concept of genealogical work, you will want to check out the Ogden Regional Family History Center Desktop website. Have fun!

Want Your Own Private Genealogy Class?

Have you ever wanted your own private genealogy class? One that you can attend in your pajamas? I have found such a site where you can learn at your own pace, skip lessons, and do this all in the comfort of your own home using the internet.

Cathie Owens has developed a great site for those of us who like to learn new information regarding family history/genealogy on our own time frame and in the comfort of our own homes. Welcome to My Family History Class has several avenues for learning available. She has a "Quick Tips" page that includes different short-cuts that you can use on the computer to make your internet researching and working with computers in general. Cathie has also developed several powerpoint presentations that cover a multitude of genealogical research topics such as Online Research, Census Records, Land Records, to name a few. She has also included several lessons on the "How-to's" of genealogical research and several of her favorite links.

If you would like to learn more genealogical research techniques, you will want to check out Welcome To My Family History Class website. Have fun learning!

Online Family History Lessons

If you have been participating in the online genealogy community, there is no doubt that you have heard of "DearMyrtle". Myrtle has a blog, conducts podcasts and also her own genealogy instruction website that is free for those wanting to learn more about family history.

Myrt has developed several lessons regarding genealogical research for you to learn the how-to of genealogical research. Some of the lessons that you can study are:

#1 - Primary Birth Records - "YES, "competent" is a word we will use to describe your family tree climbing abilities."

#2 - Choosing a Genealogy Program - "The first advantage of using a genealogy management program, is that you are able to type in the name, dates, localities on each ancestor 1 time."

#3 - Relationship Terms - "MY SON'S NOW WIFE didn't imply a previous marriage. It was used to protect the estate from being diluted from claims by subsequent wives should this one die and the son remarry. "

#4 - Home Sources- " When times were rough, people used whatever precious book they had on hand to record names and dates of births, marriages & deaths."

#5 - Calendars & Dates - "Naturally because we're living in an imperfect world,
different countries adopted the newer calendar at different times! For instance, the Gregorian calendar began on October 5, 1582, but was not adopted by Great Britain and the American colonies until September 14, 1752."

#6 - Government Records - "... we look to other sources for original documents that were created at the time our ancestors lived."

#7 - Public Library Sources -"Despite being in a Florida library, we found information on his ancestors who are from Florida: Manatee, Sarasota, Hillsborough &Leon counties, Louisiana , North Carolina and early Baltimore County Maryland."

#8 - Previously Compiled Genealogies - "Just remember, when using previously compiled genealogy, its better to question than to perpetuate the myth."

#9 - Conflicting Information - "The bottom line is that you will need to document every source and the dates stated or implied by that source."

* Reader's Feedback: Regarding Lesson #9 - "Even vital records can be wrong. My daughter's death certificate has incorrect information on it and I was the one that supplied the info. I don't know if it is incorrect because of transcription errors or because of the severe emotional distress that I was in at the time! "

#10 - County Boundary Changes - "The hard and fast rule for genealogy researchers is record the place or locality as it was at the time of the event."

#11 - Local Histories - "As you continue your family history research, you'll need to move from finding the original documents of birth, marriage and death to reading contemporary diaries and printed local histories."

As you can see, these lessons cover a variety of challenges that all family historians and genealogists face on a regular basis. Myrt provides short lessons with an assignment at the conclusion of the lesson that assist to reinforce the concept being taught.

If you would like to learn more about the "how to" of genealogical research, check out DearMyrtle Lessons. Have fun!

Mastering Family History

If you have wondered how to master your family history research, this site provides you with helpful tips in a video format. John Willis from California has developed a website providing instructional videos regarding various topics of interest to the Genealogist/Family Historian.

John Willis states:
"Mastering Family History is a free website that contains e-learning videos on selected computer programs and websites that are useful in building a family history. The videos are designed for persons who want to learn how to prepare and maintain family history or genealogical information. The videos currently available are listed below. Additional videos will be added in the future. Click on the title to view the videos on your computer. (To view the videos you must have a high speed internet connection and your computer must have a sound card. It may take up to 10 seconds for the video start in you browser window.)"

The videos are informative and short in length. The topics range from PAF (Personal Ancestral File), PRF (Pedigree Resource File), Searching the Internet and various other topics. If you are interested in furthering your expertise in Genealogy/Family History work, you might want to see if this site has videos to help fill in the gaps of your learning curve. Please click here to be directed to this site. Have fun learning!