WHAT'S NEW IN FAMILY HISTORY
FROM THE LDS CHURCH
©2009 by Donald R. Snow
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This page was last updated 2009-08-08.
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WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION TO CLASS
- Welcome
- Instructors are Donald R. and Diane M. Snow ( snowd@math.byu.edu
and dms34@juno.com ) of Provo and St. George,
Utah.
- These notes with active Internet links are posted on the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group website http://uvtagg.org under Class
Outlines , Don's
Listings . Many other class notes for family history are linked on the UVTAGG website also.
- This class will discuss some of the new things that the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints is working on in family history.
THE FAMILYSEARCH WIKI --https://wiki.familysearch.org
- Free family history research information for everyone
- Word "wiki" means anyone can edit and add to it -- all can view it, but you
must be registered to make changes, so they know who made the changes
- Has information about geography, family history research, archives, records,
maps, notes, websites
- Includes all the printed Research Outlines, helps, guides, and leaflets that
the FH Library published -- all are updated and include websites
- Is being added to everyday by FH Library staff and people around the world
- Already very helpful for many places in the world, e.g. the U.S. and the British
Isles
- Will eventually be linked on http://www.familysearch.org
, but isn't yet
FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY FAVORITES -- https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Family_History_Library_Internet_Favorites
- Consists of 4000-5000 genealogy links organized by country and topic -- Current
version is dated 12 Jan 2009
- Will probably all be in FamilySearch Wiki sometime, but just has links to it
now
- Can use it online or download it and put it in your browser (Internet Explorer,
Firefox, Opera, Safari, etc.)
- To use it online go to http://www.fhlfavorites.info/
(version dated Jul 2008)
- To download it and put it in you browser see the instructions and links on the
FamilySearch Wiki above
FAMILYSEARCH LABS --http://labs.familysearch.org/
- Has new products of the LDS Family History Department for the public to try
out and comment on -- They want feedback and suggestions, so try them out.
- Their blog has the latest up-to-date info -- http://labs.familysearch.org/blog/
- Programs there include
- FamilySearch Wiki -- See earlier paragraph
- FamilySearch Indexing -- See paragrph below
- Family Tree program (new interface for new FamilySearch) -- See paragraph
below
- Pedigree Viewer to view many-generation pedigree charts by expanding the parts
you are interested in
- FamilySearch Alpha -- future appearance of FamilySearch
- Life Browser program to accept data, pictures, timelines, etc.
- Standard Finder -- shows standard formats for names, dates, and places
- Gives lists of variations of names and places
- Also gives links to resources, e.g. Google Earth and how to use it
NEW FAMILYSEARCH AND FAMILY TREE -- http://new.familysearch.org
and http://labs.familysearch.org/familytree/#start
- Family Tree is the experimental interface for new FamilySearch (nFS) -- can try it out
and give them your feedback -- will be incorporated into new FamilySearch
- These take the place of TempleReady -- only way to submit names for LDS temple
work now, even in Utah temples
- At present you can only register on nFS when your LDS Temple District goes on
it
- Is in operation now (Aug 2009) in most of the approximately 145 LDS Temple Districts
outside of Utah
- Will be "rolled out" in Utah Temple Districts by regions (collections of stakes)
in the temple districts
- Parts will be open to non-LDS later
- Website https://consultant.familysearch.org/consultant/home.do
has tutorials, links, and news about new FamilySearch
- Incorporates several databases, e.g. the IGI, LDS Church membership records,
Pedigree Resource Files, and others
- FamilySearch Family Tree program -- http://labs.familysearch.org/familytree/Main.html
- New interface for nFS and uses your nFS login info and data
- Must be registered on new FamilySearch to see Family Tree at present -- when
you log in with your nFS info you see your own family tree and info
- Any changes you make on FamilySearch Family Tree will be shown in new FamilySearch
and vice versa
- Gary Turner's Family History Online Training Links webpage includes a short
slide show called "new FamilySearch" that illustrates the general philosophy of
combining (not merging) names and data -- see http://newfamilyhistory.googlepages.com/home
- Miles Meyer's Family History Resources webpage includes map of temple districts
with new Family Search -- http://milesmeyer.googlepages.com/
- The Ancestry Insider - up-to-date information on nFS -- http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com/ - scroll down in the right-hand panel and click on New FamilySearch
- nFS is also discussed in Randy Bryson's PowerPoint presentation "The Future
of Family History" -- can view and/or download this from Sandra Jarvis' FH webpage
http://sandrajarvisfamilyhistory.com/default.aspx
under Consultant Training
- Our first task in nFS will be to combine the data about our ancestors, so we
need to clean up, verify, and find sources for our own databases now
FAMILY HISTORY TRAINING FOR LDS MEMBERS
FAMILYSEARCH INDEXING -- http://www.familysearchindexing.org
- Anyone can volunteer to help index digital records -- go to above website
- Are digitizing (converting to electronic form) all 2.4 million microfilms from
the Granite Mountain Vault (FH Library), so they can be indexed
- Will take several years to finish digitizing and then indexing
- Records and indexes without copyright restrictions will then be posted online
- Records and indexes with copyright restrictions will probably only be available
online at Family History Centers
- The general idea is that you can get large projects indexed if everyone does
a little
- Many volunteers (over 100,000 - Apr 2009)
- LDS Church has developed programs so that when you have 20-30 minutes you can
sign on and index a small batch
- You select the records you want to work on -- see Projects on http://www.familysearchindexing.org
to see the wide variety of records they have ready to index
- Tutorials on how to do it are on Helps on website
- Have just reported (Apr 2009) they have already indexed 250 million records
and they are posted online at http://pilot.familysearch.org/
OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES EXPLAINING WHAT'S NEW
ASSIGNMENT
- Go to https://wiki.familysearch.org
and look at the information on some country, e.g. England.
- Go to http://labs.familysearch.org/
and try some of the new programs and databases shown.
- Sign up for http://www.familysearchindexing.org
and index a few records to see how it goes.
- If you are LDS and a FH consultant, register on https://consultant.familysearch.org
and look at the training modules on https://lds.netdimensions.com.
Return to the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group Home Page , or Don's
Class Listings Page .