The question was asked, “What do I do if a patron comes into the FHC and I (with minimal or no training) am the only person available to help them?” Here are some suggestions (I welcome any additions!)
Ask “How may I help you?”
If they already have films or know what to do, just say, “Please go ahead.”
If they are unsure, ask “What country and time period are you interested in researching?”
If they are researching Canada, USA or UK between 1840-1910, suggest they check the records in Ancestry.com and other commercial sites (Computers > Portal > Premium Sites > Ancestry.com)
For all areas of the world and a wider time-span, suggest FamilySearch.org (Computers > Portal > FamilySearch > Records)
Then try searching the Trees on FamilySearch.org by clicking the Trees menu.
And also try:
Family History Library Catalog (i.e. the list of the microfilmed records). This can be found in Computers > Portal > FamilySearch > Catalog > Place-name
They can find if we have microfilmed records for the time and place they are researching.
Films can be rented for 90 days at film.familysearch.org, and viewed at the FHC.
To find resources for research, try wiki.familysearch.org and search for the place.
If they want training, suggest the training videos at Computers > Portal > Learn
There are hundreds of training videos to choose from, for beginners to advanced researchers, and in a variety of countries.
OK … what other suggestions do you have?
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Printing a Free Fan Chart from new.familysearch.org (also geni.com)
For this to work, you must already be registered for nFS (https://new.familysearch.org/) Your local Family History Center may be able to help you to register. The colored 9-generation fan charts are beautiful, but you may need to save the electronic copy and take it to a quick printing shop that has large sizes of paper to have it printed. If you have Adobe Reader 10 installed on your computer you can probably print the chart in a "tiled" format across several sheets of normal-sized paper. Another option is to save the electronic (PDF) file and email it to family members. The charts are beautiful.
This process allows you to print a chart for anyone whose Person IDentifer number you know:
Go to http://www.treeseek.com/
Click Start Now
Click Login (below the FamilySearch logo)
Input nFS user name and password
Click Sign in (window closes when done)
Click Create Tree
Click on the link to the person, or scroll down and input the PID of anyone in nFS
Click Create Data Set (window closes when done)
Click Create Chart
Click Open or Save to open or save your fan chart. (If you save it, choose a meaningful name and location so you can find it again.)
NOTE: The person whose fan chart you are printing does NOT need to be a registered user of nFS, they just need a record in nFS (i.e. have a Person IDentifier) You can check in nFS for someone's PID (e.g. George Washington) and input the PID (KNDX-MKG) in Treeseek.com to create a fan chart of his ancestors. Try it.
This site is sometimes busy. Be patient, if nothing happens for 10 minutes it may be necessary to reload the page to complete the process.
This process allows you to print a chart for anyone whose Person IDentifer number you know:
Go to http://www.treeseek.com/
Click Start Now
Click Login (below the FamilySearch logo)
Input nFS user name and password
Click Sign in (window closes when done)
Click Create Tree
Click on the link to the person, or scroll down and input the PID of anyone in nFS
Click Create Data Set (window closes when done)
Click Create Chart
Click Open or Save to open or save your fan chart. (If you save it, choose a meaningful name and location so you can find it again.)
NOTE: The person whose fan chart you are printing does NOT need to be a registered user of nFS, they just need a record in nFS (i.e. have a Person IDentifier) You can check in nFS for someone's PID (e.g. George Washington) and input the PID (KNDX-MKG) in Treeseek.com to create a fan chart of his ancestors. Try it.
This site is sometimes busy. Be patient, if nothing happens for 10 minutes it may be necessary to reload the page to complete the process.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Handout for Teaching Indexing to a Youth Group
FamilySearch Indexing
WHAT IS FAMILYSEARCH INDEXING?
The Church has billions of family history records stored on microfilm. Searching microfilm is very slow.
1. You check the FamilySearch Catalog for the numbers of the films you are interested in.
2. Then you pay to rent the films.
3. Then you wait 3-4 weeks for the films to arrive at the Family History Center.
4. Then you go to the FHC and spend 2-4 hours per film reading the records, looking for the record you are interested in. You need to know approximately when and where the event took place.
When indexing, you create a computer searchable index, allowing researchers to search thousands of films in a few seconds. As a researcher, even if you do not know the exact time and place of an event, there is an excellent chance of finding it.
REGISTERING: In advance, LDS members should register for an LDS Account, if possible. This can be done at https://ldsaccount.lds.org/ or https://familysearch.org/ or https://new.familysearch.org/
If you do not have an LDS Account, you can register for a FamilySearch account. These are available to the general public. (Minimum age is 13 for indexing unless there is parental approval.)
Registering has the usual confusion over acceptable user names and passwords. Write down your user name and password and keep it with you. (User names must be unique. The password must be a combination of at least 8 letters and numbers.)
CONNECT TO THE WI-FI:
Our network in the chapel is ______________ and the password is __________________
INSTALLING THE INDEXING SOFTWARE:
If you are bringing a laptop, try to install the indexing software at home, as the wi-fi in the chapel slows to a crawl when you get 8 people trying to download the software at the same time. Get the software by clicking on Get Started at http://indexing.familysearch.org/ or https://indexing.familysearch.org/newuser/nuhome.jsf?3.7.11
Try the Two-Minute Test Drive to get an idea of how indexing works.
ORIENTATION:
If we can arrange for a projector, it will allow everyone to see the Indexing Test Drive. They can also watch and provide suggestions as someone does indexing. This is handy if you have more people than computers.
START INDEXING:
Once the software is installed, look on the computer Desktop for the FamilySearch Indexing icon, and double-click it to run the program.
Make sure that you select a Beginner batch. (usually a draft card registration or other simple document.) Beginner batches do not need to have records added, so when that box pops-up just close it.
Leaders can help you complete the batch and the Quality Check (which mostly looks for fields that have been left blank).
If the window to transmit the batch fails to pop-up, use the icon (second from the left above the data entry table).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We had about 15 boys and leaders last night, and it worked out very well. The boys were 12-13 year-old Scouts, and quickly caught on. At least one completed multiple batches. Good job boys!
Friday, December 9, 2011
PAF 2.3.1 for Macintosh
"Mac PAF" has not been available for several years but there are still a few users. Last night at the FHC we had a lessson on MacFamilyTree, and afterwards a patron asked for help in importing his Mac PAF gedcom into his new Family Tree Maker for Mac software.
I told him to create a new (empty) file and import the gedcom. I watched as he tried unsuccessfully to import the gedcom. I suspected that the gedcom file might be corrupted, so I inspected it in a text editor (Notetab Light), and the gedcom seemed to be normal.
I tried importing the gedcom into PAF and PAF couldn't see it. Note to self: a file name extension of .GEDCOM is not normal. Change it to .GED so it is recognized.
I imported the gedcom successfully into a PAF 4 file, reasoning that PAF 4 was in use at the same time as Mac PAF, so there would be a better chance of a smooth import.
Feeling that the problem was solved, I exported a new PAF 4 gedcom and asked the patron to import this into FTM. FTM now recognized it as a gedcom but rejected it because it did not conform to gedcom standard 5.5.
Now I knew what to do. Back on the Windows computer, I opened the PAF 4 file in PAF 5, allowed PAF 5 to convert it to PAF 5 format, and then exported the data in gedcom 5.5 format.
This gedcom file was imported by FTM with no complaints. SUCCESS!!!
My patron was relieved and very happy. He was not looking forward to re-entering the data for 2000 people!
I told him to create a new (empty) file and import the gedcom. I watched as he tried unsuccessfully to import the gedcom. I suspected that the gedcom file might be corrupted, so I inspected it in a text editor (Notetab Light), and the gedcom seemed to be normal.
I tried importing the gedcom into PAF and PAF couldn't see it. Note to self: a file name extension of .GEDCOM is not normal. Change it to .GED so it is recognized.
I imported the gedcom successfully into a PAF 4 file, reasoning that PAF 4 was in use at the same time as Mac PAF, so there would be a better chance of a smooth import.
Feeling that the problem was solved, I exported a new PAF 4 gedcom and asked the patron to import this into FTM. FTM now recognized it as a gedcom but rejected it because it did not conform to gedcom standard 5.5.
Now I knew what to do. Back on the Windows computer, I opened the PAF 4 file in PAF 5, allowed PAF 5 to convert it to PAF 5 format, and then exported the data in gedcom 5.5 format.
This gedcom file was imported by FTM with no complaints. SUCCESS!!!
My patron was relieved and very happy. He was not looking forward to re-entering the data for 2000 people!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Reviving a Stake Family History Center
If I were trying to revive a stake FHC, here are some ideas I would try:
1. Create a schedule of fairly basic lessons. We have more patrons when we have lessons to offer.
2. Phone each ward to get the name, phone number and email address of the bulletin editor and HPGL.
3. Contact each bulletin editor to verify their email address.
4. Send each editor and HPGL a copy of the schedule of lessons and ask to have it included in their bulletin for the next two weeks. Ask them to include the hours of operation as a standing item in each weekly bulletin.
5. Make sure that your hours of operation and phone number are listed in the stake directory, and maybe the FamilySearch wiki.
6. Get a list of all the ward consultants with their contact information.
7. Schedule a monthly training meeting for constultants and other staff.
8. Make sure your stake president and your high councillor over genealogy know who you are and what you are doing.
9. Find out who your area FH advisor is, and what suggestions they have. Their support can be a tremendous benefit.
10. Try to recruit staff that are comfortable with technology. Maybe that recently released YW president or High Councillor? That young man that needs to wait a year before serving a mission? Or that couple who just returned from a mission where they used Skype for a weekly visit with their families? If you are the director, a few strong assistants can help to move the work forward.
11. Delegate these tasks as necessary.
12. Always pray for guidance and help.
--
Bill Buchanan
1. Create a schedule of fairly basic lessons. We have more patrons when we have lessons to offer.
2. Phone each ward to get the name, phone number and email address of the bulletin editor and HPGL.
3. Contact each bulletin editor to verify their email address.
4. Send each editor and HPGL a copy of the schedule of lessons and ask to have it included in their bulletin for the next two weeks. Ask them to include the hours of operation as a standing item in each weekly bulletin.
5. Make sure that your hours of operation and phone number are listed in the stake directory, and maybe the FamilySearch wiki.
6. Get a list of all the ward consultants with their contact information.
7. Schedule a monthly training meeting for constultants and other staff.
8. Make sure your stake president and your high councillor over genealogy know who you are and what you are doing.
9. Find out who your area FH advisor is, and what suggestions they have. Their support can be a tremendous benefit.
10. Try to recruit staff that are comfortable with technology. Maybe that recently released YW president or High Councillor? That young man that needs to wait a year before serving a mission? Or that couple who just returned from a mission where they used Skype for a weekly visit with their families? If you are the director, a few strong assistants can help to move the work forward.
11. Delegate these tasks as necessary.
12. Always pray for guidance and help.
--
Bill Buchanan
Sunday, September 25, 2011
1916 Census of Canada's Prairie Provinces - Coming soon
I remember when this was briefly available on pilot.familysearch.org a few years ago. I searched it diligently, day after day. Then suddenly it disappeared. In its place was a notice saying that due to contractual obligations this census was not currently available.
Guess what! This past week I saw a FamilySearch knowledge document saying that after 19 December 2011 this census would be available on FamilySearch.org. So on December 19th or sometime soon after, we will have access to this census again.
Guess what! This past week I saw a FamilySearch knowledge document saying that after 19 December 2011 this census would be available on FamilySearch.org. So on December 19th or sometime soon after, we will have access to this census again.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Free Getting Started Videos
While looking at videos on the FamilySearch YouTube channel, I found four short Getting Started videos, sort of like the 5-Minute Genealogy series but slightly more basic. I think I will use them to introduce some of my up-coming lessons at the FHC.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Free Family History Classes!
At the Riverbend Stake Family History Centre
Tuesdays 7-9 p.m. repeated Thursdays, 7-9 p.m.
- Sept 20/22 Starting your family history, with paper or computer, for beginners!
- Sept 27/29 5-minute genealogy! How to find your ancestors online for free with FamilySearch.org
- New.FamilySearch - How to prepare names
- Oct 4/6 part 1: Adding missing people
- Oct 11/13 part 2: Combining duplicate records to clean up your family tree
- Oct 18/20 part 3: Reserving ordinances and printing Requests.
- Oct 25/27 Accessing USA records online for free at the Family History Center
- Nov 1/3 Accessing British records online for free at the Family History Center
- Nov 8/10 Accessing Canadian records online for free at the Family History Center
- Nov 15/17 New LDS sites – Wiki, FamilySearch Forums, Labs, Indexing
- Nov 22/24 When and how to use the classic (old) FamilySearch.org
- Nov 29/Dec 1 Connecting software to new FamilySearch – PAF and certified affiliates, GEDCOM
- Dec 6/8 Especially for Mac users - FamilySearch affiliated software, other software and website usage.
- Learn how to use the Internet to find your ancestors for FREE!
North-east entrance 14325 53rd Ave
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
(Take the 53 Ave exit off the Whitemud Freeway.)
Phone: 780-436-0136 (FHC) or 780-435-8141 (director)
Thursday, September 1, 2011
1871 Census of Canada is now Free
Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter had big news today (link to article http://goo.gl/VkCT7)
1871 Canadian Census now Available Online
Library and Archives Canada has placed the 1871 census online. 1871 marked the first regularly scheduled collection of national statistics. The information covers the four provinces that were part of the Dominion of Canada in 1871: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec.
The online database provides digitized images of original census returns featuring the name, age, country or province of birth, nationality, religion, and occupation of Canada's residents at the time. The database is searchable by nominal information such as Name, Given Name (s) and Age, and/or geographical information such as Province, District Name, District Number, and Sub-district Number.
The 1871 Canadian Census is available free of charge at: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1871/index-e.html
You can learn more about the 1871 census at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1871/001101-2000-e.html
[Until now this census was only fully available through Ancestry.com/AncestryInstitution.com/Ancestry.ca by subscription and at Family History Centers and some public libraries. EOGN article is quoted by permission.]
1871 Canadian Census now Available Online
Library and Archives Canada has placed the 1871 census online. 1871 marked the first regularly scheduled collection of national statistics. The information covers the four provinces that were part of the Dominion of Canada in 1871: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec.
The online database provides digitized images of original census returns featuring the name, age, country or province of birth, nationality, religion, and occupation of Canada's residents at the time. The database is searchable by nominal information such as Name, Given Name (s) and Age, and/or geographical information such as Province, District Name, District Number, and Sub-district Number.
The 1871 Canadian Census is available free of charge at: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1871/index-e.html
You can learn more about the 1871 census at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1871/001101-2000-e.html
[Until now this census was only fully available through Ancestry.com/AncestryInstitution.com/Ancestry.ca by subscription and at Family History Centers and some public libraries. EOGN article is quoted by permission.]
Friday, July 29, 2011
New Genealogy Online Forum
I received an invitation to join this forum, so I will give it a try:
"Ancestry purchased Rootsweb and renamed the boards. And thanks for reminding me about GenForum at http://www.genforum.com/ which is also owned by Ancestry. If the genealogy community wants their own Q&A genealogy site independent from any vendor, then here is our opportunity. And thanks for signing up there. Since I committed 3 hours ago, there's now 4 more of us. If we all let others know, we might be able to get our 200 needed fairly quickly." - Louis Kessler
http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/2553/genealogy?referrer=CS0JNkio5BdUZvrx04eTvg2
I encourage you to try it out. It is free.
Personally, I will also continue to use RootsWeb message boards and GenForum. FamilySearch also has forums. A Google search should find postings on all of these forums, so it may not be necessary to do separate searches on each of them.
"Ancestry purchased Rootsweb and renamed the boards. And thanks for reminding me about GenForum at http://www.genforum.com/ which is also owned by Ancestry. If the genealogy community wants their own Q&A genealogy site independent from any vendor, then here is our opportunity. And thanks for signing up there. Since I committed 3 hours ago, there's now 4 more of us. If we all let others know, we might be able to get our 200 needed fairly quickly." - Louis Kessler
http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/2553/genealogy?referrer=CS0JNkio5BdUZvrx04eTvg2
I encourage you to try it out. It is free.
Personally, I will also continue to use RootsWeb message boards and GenForum. FamilySearch also has forums. A Google search should find postings on all of these forums, so it may not be necessary to do separate searches on each of them.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Finding the maiden names of females in England and Wales.
Attendance at our Thursday night classes has dropped drastically with the arrival of spring, but this past week I had 5 students. To see the contents of the class click this link. http://billbuchanan.byethost17.com/ Then click the link to England and Wales below my photo.
We ran into a technical glitch. We lost our internet connection for about 10 minutes, but we perservered and it returned.
Finding the maiden names of females is relatively easy in England and Wales. The census will show you approximately when the marriage occurred. Then use http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ to look for the marriage. If you are lucky there is only one person with the name you are looking for getting married in that locality in that time period. In marriages after 1900, it will actually give the spouse's surname. For example, searching for the wife of William Shipgood in 1900-1920, we find:
Surname First name(s) Spouse District Vol Page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marriages Sep 1913 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forsbury Mary A Shipgood Camberwell 1d 1947
Holliday Robert V Smith Camberwell 1d 1947
Shipgood William Forsbury Camberwell 1d 1947
Smith Florence Holliday Camberwell 1d 1947
William's wife's surname is shown as Forsbury, so we know he married Mary A. Forsbury.
Prior to that date you need to do a little more detective work, by finding the husband in the next census and seeing which wife he is with.
For example, looking for the marriage of Thomas George Ing in London, about 1865, we find:
Marriages Dec 1862 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ing Thomas Luton 3b 9_1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marriages Dec 1865 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ing Thomas George Bethnal Gn 1c 691
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marriages Sep 1866 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ING Thomas Berkhampstead 3a 519
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The one in Bethnal Green is the only one in London. Clicking the link to the page number, finds these people's marriages on that page.
Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marriages Dec 1865 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Batt Thomas Bethnal Gn 1c 691
Boulton Eliza Bethnal Gn 1c 691
Forsbury Martha Jane Bethnal Gn 1c 691
Ing Thomas George Bethnal Gn 1c 691
So who did Thomas marry, Eliza Boulton or Martha Jane Forsbury? The 1871 census has the answer!
1871 Census of EnglandName Age in 1871 Birthplace Relationship Civil Parish County/Island
Thomas Ing 34 Paddington, Middlesex, England Head Paddington London [Coster monger]
Martha Ing 22 Paddington, Middlesex, England Wife Paddington London
Thomas Ing 5 Marylebone, Middlesex, England Son Paddington London
William Ing 4 Marylebone, Middlesex, England Son Paddington London
Location in 1871 Paddington Kensington, St Mary Paddington
Obviously Thomas married Martha Jane Forsbury, and Thomas Batt married Eliza Boulton.
What work did a coster monger do? He sold fresh fruits and vegetables, usually from a portable stand or a wheelbarrow. (Sort of like Molly Mallone in the old song. "She was a fish monger, ... She pushed her wheelbarrow down streets dark and narrow, crying "Cockels and mussels! Alive, alive! Oh!") Some coster mongers were fortunate to work along busy streets with lots of hungry pedestrians; they were the equivalent of today's fast food outlets. McDonalds, Wendy's and so forth, didn't arrive in England until a century later.
Enjoy your English research!
We ran into a technical glitch. We lost our internet connection for about 10 minutes, but we perservered and it returned.
Finding the maiden names of females is relatively easy in England and Wales. The census will show you approximately when the marriage occurred. Then use http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ to look for the marriage. If you are lucky there is only one person with the name you are looking for getting married in that locality in that time period. In marriages after 1900, it will actually give the spouse's surname. For example, searching for the wife of William Shipgood in 1900-1920, we find:
Surname First name(s) Spouse District Vol Page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marriages Sep 1913 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forsbury Mary A Shipgood Camberwell 1d 1947
Holliday Robert V Smith Camberwell 1d 1947
Shipgood William Forsbury Camberwell 1d 1947
Smith Florence Holliday Camberwell 1d 1947
William's wife's surname is shown as Forsbury, so we know he married Mary A. Forsbury.
Prior to that date you need to do a little more detective work, by finding the husband in the next census and seeing which wife he is with.
For example, looking for the marriage of Thomas George Ing in London, about 1865, we find:
Marriages Dec 1862 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ing Thomas Luton 3b 9_1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marriages Dec 1865 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ing Thomas George Bethnal Gn 1c 691
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marriages Sep 1866 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ING Thomas Berkhampstead 3a 519
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The one in Bethnal Green is the only one in London. Clicking the link to the page number, finds these people's marriages on that page.
Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marriages Dec 1865 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Batt Thomas Bethnal Gn 1c 691
Boulton Eliza Bethnal Gn 1c 691
Forsbury Martha Jane Bethnal Gn 1c 691
Ing Thomas George Bethnal Gn 1c 691
So who did Thomas marry, Eliza Boulton or Martha Jane Forsbury? The 1871 census has the answer!
1871 Census of EnglandName Age in 1871 Birthplace Relationship Civil Parish County/Island
Thomas Ing 34 Paddington, Middlesex, England Head Paddington London [Coster monger]
Martha Ing 22 Paddington, Middlesex, England Wife Paddington London
Thomas Ing 5 Marylebone, Middlesex, England Son Paddington London
William Ing 4 Marylebone, Middlesex, England Son Paddington London
Location in 1871 Paddington Kensington, St Mary Paddington
Obviously Thomas married Martha Jane Forsbury, and Thomas Batt married Eliza Boulton.
What work did a coster monger do? He sold fresh fruits and vegetables, usually from a portable stand or a wheelbarrow. (Sort of like Molly Mallone in the old song. "She was a fish monger, ... She pushed her wheelbarrow down streets dark and narrow, crying "Cockels and mussels! Alive, alive! Oh!") Some coster mongers were fortunate to work along busy streets with lots of hungry pedestrians; they were the equivalent of today's fast food outlets. McDonalds, Wendy's and so forth, didn't arrive in England until a century later.
Enjoy your English research!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)