Using the FamilySearch Mobile Apps on a Smart Phone or Tablet

The Church has two family history apps, available for free from the Apple and Google app stores. (Some features work best if you are connected to lots of ancestors.)

FamilySearch Memories is used for photos, recordings or stories on the FamilySearch Family Tree.

Tap the + sign in the circle to take a picture, or write a story or record a 5 minute audio.

FamilySearch Family Tree allows you to use these menus:

Tree: View your ancestors and their families (by clicking the Up arrows or vertical dots)

Tasks: Reserve temple ordinances or attach sources to document people's lives.

Temple: Tap Ordinances Ready to ask for cards that allow you to do temple ordinances.

If you cannot print the cards, write the 16-digit numbers on a piece of paper and ask the temple office to print the matching cards. (Or they may scan it from your phone.)
You can also view your existing temple reservations, ordinances you have shared, etc,
To book an appointment > More (vertical dots) > My Temple > Sign-in and choose time.

Search Historical Records: This is part of researching an ancestor's life.

Find a Person: To search for a deceased person in the Family Tree.

Relatives Around Me: This is s fun group activity, to find if and how you are related.

Map My Ancestors: See where your ancestors came from. Successive taps reveal more details.

Improve Place Names: Help computers to identify place names for better searches, hints, etc.

My Contributions: What contributions have you made to FamilySearch?

Contacts: Who have you added as contacts?

Family Groups: To create and manage FamilySearch Groups for research and ordinances.

Family History Activities: from the website. There are dozens of possibilities. Results will be best if you have connected yourself to lots of ancestors.

Where am I from: shows a map of your ancestors origins.

All about me: What was happening the year you were born? (etc) What does your name mean? How popular is your name? Where in the world does your name come from? What were the top news stories and tech break-throughs when you were born?
What famous people are you related to, and how? Record your story. Picture yourself dressed for different time periods. etc, etc.

To help other people > Get involved > 3 lines > Opportunities > Name Review

Chat: Send a message to someone who is researching your family or chat in real time.

Notifications: See your notifications from FamilySearch

Memories: You can access the Memories app from here

Screens: I have not found a use for this screen.

Settings: Use the App menu to turn on all the features, especially Show Temple Ordinances

Permissions: This may need to be turned on for Relatives Around Me to work.

Help: Access FamilySearch Support, a FamilySearch Center, Frequently Asked Questions, etc.

Sign Out: I normally stay signed in, but this is an option.

If you see very few ancestors, ask your parents to check their view of the Family Tree. If they see people that you do not see, ask them to help you add the missing people to your view of the family tree. Your ward Temple and Family History Consultants can also help you.

This Youtube video can also help: FamilySearch: When Your Family Tree Is Empty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDTXfIXvxtM

- Bill Buchanan - November 2023

Enjoying family history in the digital age

The "digital age" opens up possibilities that never existed before.

Recently I came across a youtube video of a drone flight over the little village or Dumquin in Northern Ireland. This included multiple views of Lower Langfield church, where my great grand uncle William Buchanan married Ann Thompson on 24 March 1846, about a year before the family emigrated to Canada. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-J67ToqtnE   (Lower Langfield is about 3 minutes into the video.)

This church and surrounding farming districts are also referred to in the song "The Hills above Drumquin"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64nwdhuUKEo 

FamilySearch Memories does not currently support videos, but links to external videos have worked.

The digital age can breathe new life into family history and make it easier to share. Maybe give it a try.

Easy family history slide show

 For our (Canadian) Thanksgiving dinner, we were expecting 30 family members.

I wanted something that would turn the hearts of family members to special experiences we have enjoyed over the years, Some family members are not members of the Church and others are currently less active. I wanted to remind them them of earlier times without appearing to "preach" to them.

I had the impression that a slide show running silently on the TV would be a good option. People could choose to watch it or not. And it might invite the spirit,

I considered various ways of doing this, Some of them seemed rather labor intensive at short notice. Then I remembered that FamilySearch Memories Albums have a Slideshow option and checked to see if I had an album that would be suitable. After a few false starts, I found exactly what I was looking for. 

Is there a way to cast it to the living room TV from my computer?

Yes. In the Chrome browser, I right-clicked, selected "Cast", and chose "Living Room TV."

I put the slideshow on a continuous loop and chose half speed.

It worked beautifully, Family members would point out to their children or grandchildren "That was me when I was small.."

It was a great family history activity, and once I had figured it out, it only took 5 minutes to set it up because I had already created a suitable album. 

Albums are also a handy way to send hundreds of photos in an email. (Clue: send the URL of the album.)

Easy Sourcing

 Easy Sourcing Is Back

RecordSeek is working again. This is the free utility app that I find so handy for creating sources for FamilySearch from other websites. It works slightly differently than before, but it works. https://recordseek.com/

While I strongly endorse sourcing, I have a few personal reservations about the saying "Sources prove your pedigree." life is not always that simple. (My great aunt Maggie's parents, as listed on her marriage record, never existed, but she was marrying a cousin and didn't want too many questions asked.) 

A more common problem is sources being attached to the wrong people, But usually this is easily determined. Of course,, if you have seven brothers who settle in the same area, and who name their sons after their brothers, it does get a little complicated. (e.g. "Old Andy's Young Andy's Wee Andy" and other Buchanans in Donegal, Ontario, after 1847)

Still, I spend a lot of very rewarding time sourcing my genealogy. I try to be extra careful when I know that there are other people in the community with the same names.

I try to live up to the standard required to make the saying true: "Sources prove your pedigree."

I wish you success in using sources.

- Bill Buchanan

My ancestors have disappeared from Familysearch, what can I do?

This question came up in our Temple and Family History workshop at our stake's Mid-Singles Conference last week, where I was helping as a stake consultant.

The member asking this question knew that his ancestors had been researched for several generations, but when he looked in Family Tree he could not see them. 

We discovered that the ancestors were still there, and when we helped him connect to them, all was well. If you encounter this problem, take 3 minutes to watch this video that explains the process of how to connect to deceased ancestors. (Please click "Like" so Youtube realizes that this video is still relevant.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDTXfIXvxtM&t=92s

I know that I have suggested this video before, but it answers so many questions so nicely that I try to make it part of every training session. I don't think we need to choose between "Add" and "Find" (a parent) but otherwise it remains excellent training.

Family History Workshops

My ward had a "drop-in" family history workshop in a large classroom of the chapel on the evening of September 6th and I was invited to help. 

The response was excellent, including a recent convert and a young man planning to be baptized. We found ancestors for both of these, and helped others as well. I was impressed that a counsellor in the Ward Relief Society presidency proved to be an excellent researcher, and a big help. 

The current plan is to have these workshops twice a month, while the need continues. 

Your ward might want to consider doing this as well. Or maybe arrange with a FamilySearch Center to help them. 

Memories Restoration Tool:

 Memories Restoration Tool:  

About a year ago, some photos, documents, and stories were lost during a failed backup of FamilySearch Memories. I contacted FamilySearch when I discovered that some of my photos were no longer accessible, and was basically told, "Please be patient, the engineers are working on it." Last night I had a phone call from one of the engineers. He apologized, and told me that they now have a tool available now that allows us to restore these items (or delete the otherwise un-deletable memory pages.) He also apologized that the tool cannot automatically find the missing files.

Fortunately, I have almost all of my photos backed-up to the same folder, which means that I did very little searching for files. The tool is at https://www.familysearch.org/memories/restore and it requires you to be signed in to your FamilySearch account. 

The tool brings up a list of the lost files and their names and keeps a running tally of my progress. Once I had the tool pointing in the correct directory things went quite smoothly. I quickly got into the rhythm: Click the file name of the photo to copy it to the clipboard > Paste it into the search form > Press Enter > Click the Upload File button, then select the next file to upload, and continue.

Things did not go so smoothly for the lost stories, many of which I had composed in FamilySearch Memories and existed nowhere else in that form. But at least I have a tool to help me identify which ones need my attention.

Why are indexing numbers so low?

This is an interesting question. I try to spend 1 or 2 hours a day indexing. 

I adopted this as a personal project when my last FamilySearch mission ended 3 years ago.

But my circumstances are not typical. Most people do not have the available time that I have.

And I enjoy puzzles, and I am interested in other languages, and I can read most cursive handwriting.

Why is indexing low?

1. It has become much harder, as the easier projects are now done by artificial intelligence software. 

This leaves only the harder projects, which makes learning to index much harder and less motivating.

2, Cursive writing is no longer taught in many schools. Indexing is mostly cursive writing.

3, Indexing is no longer being emphasized. The larger emphasis is now being placed on attending the temple for our deceased relatives..

4, I don't believe that some of the newer "indexing-like" activities (such as verifying names identified by AI computers 

and improving place names) appear in the "Indexing" statistics. Yet these new projects are easier and more fun.

5. Indexing-like activities sometimes require a basic knowledge of other languages. (For the past year I have been indexing records in Afrikaans.)

6. Indexing ignores our own ancestral families. It is a service to strangers.

7. Indexing requires mastering complex software and interpreting handwriting that would challenge a pharmacist.

8. Indexing cannot be done on a phone. The mobile app does not support indexing.

In short. Indexing is REALLY HARD and not very rewarding. And the best training software I have found is out of date.

I do a lot of indexing and I think I have a good vision of its place in the larger picture.

Even so, I have to push myself to keep doing it. 

When I trained the youth in a nearby ward. They enjoyed the activities in Get Involved > Overview
They thought it was fun to verify the accuracy of the AI computers. 

To increase indexing, I would emphasize its role in helping us to love and serve others. The Good Samaritan was helping a stranger.

And I would suggest that members try a variety of indexing projects, looking for one that they can do successfully, 

Then stick with that one project until it is completed, usually months in the future.

And if that is too hard, to try some of the activities in Get Involved > Overview

(As a seasoned veteran of Extraction/Indexing, when I need to find a new project, I sometimes need to check many different projects to find one I can do.)

I wish you success,

Bill Buchanan

Stake Temple and Family History Consultant

Whether or not to verify temple cards?

Recently, Ordinances Ready printed a temple card for a Clifford Ossorio. I recognized the name Ossorio.  Dad's second cousin Florence Buchanan married a Philippine millionaire by that name. During WWII they were trapped in the Philippines when Japan invaded. And Florence was crippled by an American bomb during the liberation of the Philippines. When I checked FamilySearch, I discovered that the card was for Florence's husband Luis but the given name was wrong. This record was a less accurate duplicate of a record that gave the correct full name "Luis Cornelius Ossorio" with his full birth information and sources. So I merged them and printed a new card for him. which I took to the temple.

There was also a less-accurate record for Florence so I merged that record into the better one.

I have been told that there is no need to verify the accuracy of cards printed from Ordinances Ready, but in this case I was glad that I had, Because the given name on the original card was wrong, the system could not identify it as a duplicate. 

How did I know which name was right? I just happened to have an old message from Luis' son saying "my father was Luis Cornelius Ossorio not Clifford Luis Ossorio".

In in the future, will I verify cards from Ordinances Ready? Probably not, unless something seems questionable. But I was glad I did it this time.

Enjoy RootsTech.org March 2-3-4

 RootsTech - Every year the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsors the world's largest family history conference. (with a few commercial co-sponsors) 

 Come join in the fun! And learn things that can help you make family history more relevant for your family and friends.

So far, over 107,000 people have registered. Some will attend in person, but most will enjoy their choice of over 100 sessions for free from the comfort of their own homes, at www.rootstech.org

Sessions on the main stage run from 8:00 am to about 5:00 pm each day, March 2-3-4. 

Smaller sessions may have different timetables.

Elder and Sister Gong's keynote address will be March 4, 1:30 PM MST.

Most sessions will be recorded for viewing later.

I hope you will attend, there is something for everyone.

(Questions? Please contact Bill Buchanan, Stake Temple and Family History Consultant)

Family History has changed greatly over the years.

 

Until the 1990s the focus used to be research by mail and by personal visits. Each person kept their own genealogy in a Book of Remembrance.

With the arrival of the internet, the Church created www.familysearch.org and family history went online.

Members and non-members could now work together on research. The data from Books of Remembrance could be shared with everyone online. Books of Remembrance remained important for storing old photos and stories.

Then the FamilySearch Family Tree became a shared repository for these "Memories", and Books of Remembrance became treasured curiosities.

Temples used to be few, so travel to the temple could require days or weeks. Now temples are much closer.

The process of finding a family name to take to the temple used to take months of personal research. Now it takes 5 minutes, as Ordinances Ready can quickly search the 1.3 billion records in Family Tree for a relative needing ordinances.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope that everyone who has a Book of Remembrance will go through it carefully to make sure  that the photos, stories, and documents are uploaded to the FamilySearch Family Tree for long-term preservation. (We are asked to not upload patriarchal blessings, but there is a permanent record of these available directly for those who need access.)

Documenting living people

In my role as a stake consultant I sometimes receive interesting questions, This one arrived recently.

"My uncle had 22 children and some are already dead, they're not close, and I'm trying to document them all. Question is should I put the living in FS or not?

"No members on their side but a few giving me some info, usual non-member interest in family I'm guessing.  Thoughts or rules. Thanks "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That is a good question. 

I watched a video from the BYU Family History Library, where James Tanner was pondering this. He felt that with the widespread use of social media, total privacy is probably not possible, but that the Church has a responsibility to protect privacy, where it can. Finding that balance is a personal choice,

Any records of living people that you add to the FamilySearch FamilyTree can only be seen by you. As you mark them Deceased they will become visible to other users. At present, these records will remain hidden when you die, but this may change. (I hope it does. and that they become automatically marked as deceased at the age of 110 years, but this is not currently happening.)

Memory items that you add to Family Tree will be visible if they are tagged to deceased people. (My parents are deceased so all their Memory items are visible, including photos that contain living family members.)

Memory Albums containing living people can be viewed by anyone with whom you share the link to the album, (I recently used this feature to share about 200 photos I received about a great aunt's family in England.)

So FamilySearch is not ideal for documenting living people if you want to share the information with others. Another alternative would be RootsMagic or Ancestral Quest, which can easily create gedcom files to share with relatives.

Like I said, it is s good question. I wish I had a better answer,

Best wishes for a wonderful 2023.

Bill