ONLINE HELPS FOR FAMILY HISTORY
©2016 by Donald R. Snow
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Abstract: There is a wealth of information
on the Internet about genealogy and family
history and this class will discuss some of it.
The usual Help key for Windows programs is F1
and many programs also have a Help icon at the
top. For FamilySearch there is an entire
section in the top right corner labeled Getting
Help. This includes instructions, free family
history classes, the FamilySearch Wiki, and
more. A new and very helpful website is The
Family History Guide. Besides all this
there are manuals, handbooks, email lists,
blogs, podcasts, and many other websites.
To do family history or be a family history
consultant you don't have to know all the
answers, just where to look to find the answers.
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
- Instructor is Donald R. Snow ( snowd@math.byu.edu
) of Provo and St. George, Utah.
- These notes with the active Internet links
are posted on http://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-classes.html
.
- Tips: (1) To put an icon on
your desktop for the URL for these notes, or
any website, just drag the icon from in
front of the address in your browser to your
desktop. (2) To open a link from
here in another tab, but keep your place in
these notes, hold down the Control key while
clicking the link.
- The
problem: Where to find
answers to FH questions?
The
secret of doing family history and
helping others is not knowing all the
answers, but knowing where to find the
answers. In this class we will
only discuss a few parts of these
notes and leave the rest for you to
browse later.
KINDS
OF HELPS AVAILABLE
- Helps available include manuals,
handbooks, articles, the Research Wiki,
research publications, videos,
interactive lessons, PowerPoint
presentations, blogs, email lists,
websites, notes, phone calls, podcasts,
TV shows, and more -- the LDS Church and
others have produced good training
materials, but they are not well-known
and are sometimes hard to find.
- Two major places to start are
FamilySearch and lds.org
- https://familysearch.org
-- click
on Get Help (upper
right corner) >
Help Center -- this opens help menus;
to get to the Catalog and Research
Wiki, click on Search
- http://www.lds.org/?lang=eng
-- go to Resources > Family History
and you see links to FH callings
LDS AND FAMILYSEARCH ACCOUNTS
- The goal, history, and services of
FamilySearch are described on the
"About" page (link at bottom of most FS
pages) or here -- https://familysearch.org/about
- Much of https://familysearch.org/
is available to everyone without
signing in
- Clicking on the
FamilySearch logo (upper left) takes
you back to the home page from any
subpage.
- To get
an account to access
FamilySearch Family Tree
or do FamilySearch
Indexing, etc., click
on Sign In (upper right corner) >
Create New Account, then register --
two types of accounts
- LDS Account -- for LDS Church
members -- requires your LDS
membership number and birth date;
recommended that you have an email
address, but not required; you
select your account name and
password; information is checked
against the LDS Church records to
verify that you are an LDS member;
will now show LDS temple data and
you have access to FamilySearch and
all the partner websites for free at
home,
Ancestry.com, FindMyPast,
MyHeritage, etc.
- FamilySearch Account -- anyone can
set up one of these whether LDS or
not; an email address is
recommended; you select your account
name and password; can be used to
see and work on FamilySearch Family
Tree, but does not show the LDS
temple data and does not have access
to the Partner websites, but you can
use those for free at FHC's
- To recover a forgotten user name
and/or password for an account go to Get
Help > Help Center > FamilySearch
Accounts > FAQ's; can also get to
this FAQ here
- With either type of account you have a
Source Box to save sources, links, and
other documentation -- To see your
Source Box click on your name (log in
button) or click on the 3-bar icon
(upper right corner)
FAMILYSEARCH FAMILY TREE (FS FT)
- Click on Get Help (upper right corner)
for getting started; also many resources
on Family Tree Training -- https://familysearch.org/tree-training
-- to get a list of FH Consultants in
your ward click on Get Local Help or
else use your LDS account and go to
lds.org > Find Your Ward and Church
> Leaders > Family History
- Using The FamilySearch Family Tree: A
Reference Guide (18 Oct 2013) (168
pages) -- http://broadcast.lds.org/eLearning/fhd/Community/en/FamilySearch/FamilyTree/pdf/familyTreeUserGuide.pdf
-- can download the whole pdf and print
it, if you want
- FS FT program is a work
in progress, but already has millions
of names, and you can add people,
data, sources, links, photos, stories,
images of documents, audio clips, and
more
- Original data was from "new
FamilySearch" and Church membership
records and much was added later -- "new
FamilySearch" is only viewable now and
can't be edited
- FS FT is primarily for deceased people
due to privacy laws; is a good place to
store and share your sourced
(proven) genealogy for deceased
ancestors; goal
is to have a single database
that everyone works on
together to make it accurate,
with good sources and
documentation, photos,
stories, documents, audio
clips, etc.
- Private and Public Spaces on FS FT-- https://familysearch.org/blog/en/private-spaces/
and https://familysearch.org/ask/salesforce/viewArticle?urlname=Understanding-Private-Spaces&lang=en
-- Everyone now has a Private Space on
FS FT where they can enter living people
and only they can see them; you can do
this to connect yourself to deceased
people in FS FT or to show your own
descendants; the same living people can
be in many Private Spaces; when a death
date is entered they can be transferred
to the Public Space and merged so
everyone can see them
- Highly recommended that you keep a
copy of all your data and sources for
living and dead in a genealogy record
management program on your
own computer, using
a program like Ancestral
Quest, RootsMagic, or Legacy -- then no
matter what happens to FS FT you have
the correct information
- Video lessons about FamilySearch and
Family Tree are on https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/family-tree-curriculum/818
and http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/fhd/Community/en/FamilyTreeCurriculum/index.html
- FamilySearch Sandbox -- Instructions
and trial data to work with so you don't
foul up the real file -- http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/fhd/Community/en/FamilyTreeCurriculum/level01/levelone.html
-- very helpful to learn on; when the
data gets messed up, you just reset it
and start over
- Start
with your closest deceased
relatives to verify and
correct your ancestors'
information; this makes the
file more accurate and often
leads to additional temple
work
- Good 4-minute video about descendancy
research to find temple work needed -- Teach
Yourself and Others: New Online
Training (Oct 2014) -- on the FamilySearch
Blog
- Video about policies for temple names
submission -- http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/FHD/Local_Support/Consultant/Temple_Policy-Name_Submissions/player.html
MORE ON FAMILYSEARCH AND FAMILY
HISTORY CALLINGS
- The Family History Guide -- http://www.thefhguide.com/
-- comprehensive instructions
about family history and FamilySearch
- Site Map of FamilySearch website -- https://familysearch.org/site-map
-- can
also get to it by link at the
bottom of many FS pages; very
helpful diagram of all pages on
FamilySearch
- YouTube
videos by FamilySearch -- http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=familysearch
-- 111 videos by FamilySearch
as of Oct 2014
- FamilySearch Catalog (FSC) -- old name
was Family History Library Catalog
(FHLC) -- go to Search > Catalog
- Lists all the resources, films,
and books in the Family History
Library in Salt Lake City -- several
million entries all searchable by
title, author, keywords -- keyword
searches usually give more hits
- Now contains links to more
than 160,000 genealogy books in pdf
(as of Oct 2014) that you can read,
search, and download
- Example -- https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/2153359?availability=Family%20History%20Library
-- Click on the word here
in the red note "To view a digital
version of this item click here"
to see a pdf of the book that the
Snow family gave permission to the
Family History Library to digitize
and post online
- The digitized books are also
listed on Search > Books
- The Catalog now has links to
digitized versions of microfilmed
records; for example, Monroe County,
Indiana Marriages -- https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/213649?availability=Family%20History%20Library
-- clicking takes you to the Search
Records page for the digital
collections
- Research Wiki -- Search
> Wiki -- takes you to https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Main_Page
- A "wiki" is a collaborative
webpage, so anyone can view it and
those with permission can edit
it
- Has over 80,000 articles (Oct
2014) and is a major source of FH
research help, includes the
updated FH Library Research
Outlines, guides, and genealogy
word lists
- Does not include genealogy data,
only information about how to find
it
- Example -- Search > Wiki >
St. George, Utah - takes you
to https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Special:Search?fulltext=true&search=st.+george%2C+utah&searchbutton=Search
which shows more than 600 articles
with information about St. George,
Utah
- The Wiki includes many websites
for FH research, including all the
old FH Library Favorites websites
- To answer a FH research
question, ask yourself, "Let's see
what the Wiki says."
- Search
Records-- a major source of records
from all over the world; billions of
names in the databases; many filters
for searching; can save info to
"Your Source Box" and/or link to
your ancestors; volunteers
world-wide are indexing about 1
million records per day -- searching
this collection requires an entire
class by itself and won't be
discussed here -- see more details
in other notes on my Class Notes
webpage -- http://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-classes.html
- Research Assistance on Get Help or --
https://familysearch.org/ask/researchAssistance
-- has a box to enter a question and get
a list of documents that may answer that
question
- The Knowledge Base
Document ID 107551 on FamilySearch has
information about Helps -- https://help.familysearch.org/publishing/537/107551_f.SAL_Public.html
-- You can find all the Knowledge Base
Documents on FS by searching for
"Document ID" (without the quotes);
for some you need to be signed in with
an LDS account
- FamilySearch Blog -- https://familysearch.org/blog/en/
-- good way to keep updated on what's
new in FS; click on the Blog link at the
bottom of many FS pages
- FamilySearch What's New -- https://familysearch.org/whats-new/
- FamilySearch's Facebook page -- https://www.facebook.com/familysearch
- Various newsletters you can sign up to
receive on FamilySearch, FH in the
Church, etc. -- go to Settings (by your
name) to subscribe
- Anyone with an LDS Church FH calling
can find information about it on
lds.org > Resources > Family
History -- takes you to http://www.lds.org/topics/family-history?lang=eng
-- Note the instructions, videos,
information, and Additional Resources
(bottom left) for each consultant and
leader calling and for temple work
- FH Consultant Training -- https://www.lds.org/callings/temple-and-family-history?lang=eng
-- Consultants should register here to
receive information and so their name
will be on the list of consultants for
their area; has the FH Newsletters, FH
Consultant Training, and 100s of FH
courses in the FS Learning Center -- https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/home.html
- Community discussion about
FamilySearch -- https://getsatisfaction.com/familysearch
- FamilySearch
Family Tree User Group -- http://fsfamilytreeusergroup.com/
-- You may have to join to see
some of the information
- FamilySearch Labs -- https://labs.familysearch.org/
-- new products for public to try out
and comment on including the England
Jurisdiction Map of 1851 and Pedigree
Viewer (Retired) which allows you to
upload a large GEDCOM file and view the
pedigree in various ways
- The LDS Church's Internet Training for
FamilySearch employees and others -- http://lds.netdimensions.com/
-- Requires sign in with an employee
account
OTHER RESOURCES, BOTH ON- AND OFF-LINE
- Email lists for FH
- [FHCNET] -- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FHCNET
-- FHCs and helps
- [LDS-WC] -- http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/th/index/LDS-WARD-CONSULTANT
-- helpful info for anyone interested
in FH
- [fhctech] -- http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/fhctech/info
-- FHCs and technical stuff
- Subject, locality and surname lists
-- http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/index.html
and http://www.linkpendium.com
- Blogs about FamilySearch, Family Tree,
and related topics
- Genealogy's Star Blog by James
Tanner -- http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/
- Renee's Genealogy Blog by Renee
Zamora -- http://rzamor1.blogspot.com/
- The Ancestry Insider Blog -- http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com/
-- discusses FamilySearch and
Ancestry
- RootsTech videos 2012-2014 -- https://rootstech.org/videos/
-- many helpful videos
- Utah
Valley Technology and
Genealogy Group (UVTAGG) -- http://uvtagg.org
> Meetings
> Class Outlines
-- has many classes notes, and
other helps, including my
class notes -- http://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-classes.html
- Brigham Young University
resources
- BYU Genealogy and Family History
Conference -- 28-31 Jul 2015 -- http://ce.byu.edu/cw/cwgen/
- BYU Independent Study -- http://ce.byu.edu/is/
- Center for Family History and
Genealogy at BYU -- https://familyhistory.byu.edu/Pages/Home.aspx.
- Introduction to Family History --
http://261.byu.edu
- BYU FH Library (HBLL) -- Resources
and 2nd and 4th Sunday classes -- http://sites.lib.byu.edu/familyhistory/
- byutv
--http://www.byutv.org
-- do a search for genealogy shows
- Riverton FamilySearch Library -- https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Riverton_FamilySearch_Library
-- 3rd Saturday morning FH seminars --
notes for talks are posted for two weeks
after the seminar; Riverton also has
many other resources
- TV and radio shows from websites and
places like Mormon Channel -- http://www.mormonchannel.org
-- and Hulu -- http://www.hulu.com/
-- FindMyPast,
PBS, and commercial stations
-- search
for genealogy or family
history
- Ancestry's webpage -- http://www.ancestry.com/cs/HelpAndAdviceUS
-- Learning Center is free to all and
has many FH articles and links
- Utah Genealogical Association (UGA) --
http://www.infouga.org
-- lots of helpful resources
- George
W. Scott's manual "How to Use
Family Tree Wisely" -- http://www.usingfamilysearch.com/
-- can the 100-page
pdf
free
- Cyndi Howell's list of LDS FH links --
http://www.cyndislist.com/lds.htm
- History
At Home: A Guide To Genealogy
-- http://www.homeadvisor.com/article.show.History-at-Home-A-Guide-to-Genealogy.17370.html
- Podcasts --many online and free -- do
a Google search for "genealogy podcasts"
(without the quotes)
- You
can find more helps by
Googling "familysearch
information" or "familysearch
helps" (without the quotes) or
do a site search by searching
for "site:www.familysearch.org
helps" (without the quotes) on
Google.
CONCLUSIONS
- The
amount of help that is
available is overwhelming, but
just start small and don't try
to look at everything.
- To do family history or be a family
history consultant you don't have to
know everything, just know where to look
for the answers.
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