The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

Our Families Have Alway Been Important To God!

May your Christmas Be Merry and Bright!

Tree Connect Exercise

A few weeks ago we learned about Tree Connect on this blog for attaching outside sources to Family Search/Family Tree.

http://alegacythatmatters.blogspot.com/2013/10/record-seektree-connect-part-1-of-2.html

http://alegacythatmatters.blogspot.com/2013/09/tree-connectpart-2_6239.html

This is a wonderful way to save your documents electronically, cut the cost of copying and storing bulky papers and quickly documenting your research with accurate sources and citations.  With so much work to do and source this is a brilliant way to streamline your Family Tree. This one thing~sourcing sets Family Tree apart from several other online family trees and it also sets you apart as someone who is serious about authenticity and accuracy in the discipline of genealogy.

Every source that is added helps refine what was added in new.familysearch or what you add on your own and makes this FamilyTree the best.  We each need to spend sometime crowd sourcing this work for the world.  By the way new.familysearch goes to Read Only this month.

Linda has prepared a lesson about this with an exercise for you to Put Your Hands On It!

Both Linda and I agree that writing a lesson about Tree Connect is infinitely harder then just showing a person how to do it.  Seriously, once you have tried it a few times you will find it to be so easy and efficient.  You will be amazed and relieved that you do not have to do hours of research to find what you need.

Here is her exercise.  Please do not hesitate to ask for one on one assistance any time.  This will be a valuable asset for you in doing your own work and in helping the patrons at the library.

Here is Linda's Exercise: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ghzd15fyhk3juig/Tree%20Connect.pdf

Since this blog is all about Trees~

Hope the one you have connected with at home is lovely!

Family Search Site Map Has Arrived!

Share the good news!

Google image

A Site Map is now found on the footer of nearly every page of Family Search.  The hyperlinks on the site map help you find what you are looking for quickly.  Thanks for the heads up Ancestry Insider.

Collaboration Benefits

One of the things I love about cyber genealogy is the collaboration with others.  Several months ago I started doing a little dabbling with Ancestry Trees.  I started one and made it public that has about 110 people entered now.  Every time I add a name, I get the green shaky leaf hints and that  gathers a bunch of documents so I don't have to search for them.  The Ancestry Trees are great if you make it your own personal policy to only attach documented information and never rely on unsourced information as being true, just a clue.

I ran across a man that had lots of fun photos and documented information and we share a common surname: Godfrey.  I contacted him and we discovered we are second cousins.  Over the Thanksgiving break he and I have exchanged lots of information and he sent me this photo of my great Uncle James on his wedding day.  Uncle James is my grandmother's brother.  I had even visited this couple in their home a few times as a young girl.  It has been a wonderful way to connect with a living relative and compare notes.  Finding common descendants from one of your ancestors can be quite wonderful.  Here is a photo he sent me.

This picture made me want to start a photo wall of family wedding pictures.  I think I will.

AGBI American Genealogical and Biographical Index

Not long ago a patron came into our Family Search Library and asked Linda Bailey if we had the Boston Transcript.  Her short answer was "No."  However,  she explained that it depends on what years you are looking for as some of them can be found online.  Linda relates that she had used the Boston Transcript years ago in Salt Lake but that she had avoided it since then because she didn't know how to easily access it.  However via the Internet that has changed.  Most people stumble onto the Boston Transcript via Ancestry.  They will do a search and a reference to the Boston Transcript will be a part of their search results. The Boston Transcript is one of the sources cited in the AGBI or American Genealogical and Biographical Index.

So even though the AGBI is a little outdated, we should have a general knowledge of what it is. The AGBI is also known as the Rider's Index and is published by the Godfrey Library.  The Godfrey Memorial Library is a genealogy and history library, located in Middleton, Connecticut. http://www.godgrey.org.  It is available through the Family Search Portal for free at Family History Centers and Family Search Libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

At over 200 volumes, the AGBI is an alphabetical list of millions of names and source citations. These sources include biographies, family histories, periodicals, the Boston Transcript, the 1790 U.S. Federal Census, Revolutionary War records, and others. The majority of the names listed are of Eastern U.S. origins, but not exclusively.

FamilySearch WIKI calls it “one of the most important printed genealogical sources in the United States” and Ancestry.com claims: “For researchers of American ancestors, this can be one of the most valuable databases available at Ancestry.com.” Such accolades may be deserved, not necessarily because everyone will find a relative referenced in it, but rather that it might be the only place that you will find these source references.

The AGBI may seem a little archaic in the age of sleek online indexes, but give it a try.

You might be Thankful you did!

Where To Find It

Ancestry.com:  The AGBI is one of Ancestry’s databases searchable by name. The most recent update to the index (1999) includes up to Volume 206. You will not see the original AGBI page, only a transcription from it.

Godfrey Memorial Library: The library has the complete AGBI collection available on the shelf and on their website at http://www.godfrey.org ($).
 

The Portal: Patrons at a FHC can view the site at no cost through the Family Search Portal.  The most current AGBI edition printed in 2002 includes Volumes 1-206, plus the supplemental volumes S1-20.

FamilySearch.org:  The volumes are available as books and film.  Search for the AGBI in the FHL catalog.  Oakland FamilySearch Library :The OFSL and other local FHCs have various volumes of the AGBI on film and CD. Check the catalog for details of holdings.

Ancestry.com is probably the easiest way to use it. Go to Ancestry.com and from the menu bar select The Search drop down arrow.  Then select Card Catalog. Next type in AGBI in the box.  Then select the the green title American Genealogical Biographical Index.  Then do a search on the name, birth date and place.  For further instructions about how to use this source see the lesson below.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mxxbi9ggzbyawtf/AGBI%20.pdf

Now that we have a better sense of what the AGBI is as a source we can take a look at the Boston Transcript which is what the patron has asked about. The Boston Evening Transcript was a newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts between the mid-1850s and the mid-1900s. 

Besides carrying the normal birth, marriage and death announcements it also featured a well respected genealogical query and answer column for many years.  

Over the years the newspaper was known as The Daily Evening Transcript, The Boston Evening Transcript or simply The Boston Transcript.  To learn more about this useful resource, how to access it and where to find it go to the link below:  You will need to review the information in the links to be able to do the exercises in both lessons.  Thank you, Linda!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ed46y9veb8nlihj/Boston%20Transcript.pdf

In summery:

Summary for Using the Boston Transcript:

1. Search for your ancestor in the AGBI at the 
Ancestry or Godfrey sites. 
2. If they are listed in the Boston Transcript, note the 
citation date and the query number. 
3. Find a repository that has that citation date of the 
Boston Transcript. 
4. Some repositories have the article already clipped 
and arranged by query number or alphabetical by 
name. For others, you need to browse through the 
newspaper to the genealogy column – usually at 
the end of the paper. Then browse through the column 
for the Query Number. 

A Challenge: 

For what Ancestry has to say about this collection click on this link:

http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3599&enc=1

Find birth, marriage and death information for Elizabeth Atwood, b. 1687 in Massachusetts (Ms). 

SUGGESTION: Use the Godfrey search engine for the AGBI. Use the second citation – Oct 23, 1912 (see lesson #23 for review). Find the Boston Transcript on the Google News archive.

Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours!

   

Keeping Current With Family Search Blog

Before I get started with this post, here's the link to last week's
 case study on searching effectively.  
If you didn't see it last week the entire post is here now.
  Includes Parts: 1 The Problem and Part 2, The Solution
In one post..

http://alegacythatmatters.blogspot.com/2013/11/searching-records-with-successful.html

More Trees

One thing that I think will help us all keep up with the torrent of changes and additions on Family Search is daily reading of the FS Blog.  It only takes a few minutes and can really increase your knowledge and awareness of what is current.  The sooner we get on the information trail with Family Search and Family Tree the easier it is to keep up.  I don't often copy an article verbatim but I am this time for two reasons.  One is I know they want this information to get to as many people as possible and because they do an excellent job and I am hoping by reading this you can see the value in what I said about reading it daily and keeping up.  Remember the link is right at the bottom of the home page on familysearch.org.  Lynne has done a great job here and she deserves full credit and attribution for the content of this for post.  The link is tiny but the information is not. Check it out.

"November 12, 2013 By Lynne C. VanWagenen

Recent updates to FamilySearch include:

• Deleting relationships from Family Tree
• Showing Photos for living people

Deleting Relationships

Deleting relationships from Family Tree is simple, but it is so easy that people sometimes delete a relationship when they should do something else instead.

When you delete a relationship, you now see a screen with more information to help you make better decisions about whether to delete the relationship or not. For example, you now see how many sources and events are attached to that relationship. The Delete button remains unavailable until you:

• Enter a reason for why you are deleting the record.
• Click both check boxes, certifying that you have reviewed other relationships.
• Entered a reason statement.

 Changes to Photos and Stories

When you are on a person’s details page in Family Tree, you can click tabs to switch between the details, photos, and stories. The Photos tab has been renamed Photos and Documents.

This change currently shows up in English. This change will show up in other language versions as translations are complete.

This is where you would see any documents that have been uploaded to the site and linked to this person.

Show Photos for Living People

You can now see photos of living people in Family Tree if you have permission to see their records.

Attach FamilySearch Historical Records without Adding to Source Box

When you are on a historical record and you click Attach to Family Tree, the source, until now, has been automatically added to your Source Box. You now have the option to attach the source without adding it to you Source Box.

The option is available during the last step of the process, which is:

1. Find an historical record that is about one of your ancestors who is in Family Tree, and click Link to Family Tree.

2. Find the person by using Possible Matches tab, History List tab, or the ID number. In this case, I’m using the ID number:

3.  The right person comes up:

• Enter a reason that you are attaching the source.
• Click the Add to Source Box checkbox if you want this source to be added to your source box.
• Click Attach.

Attach Browse-only Images as Sources and Edit the Title

When you are viewing an image from an unindexed (“browse only”) collection on FamilySearch, you can now attach that image to a person in Family Tree as a source. You can also edit the title of that source, since the title that is automatically generated may not have much meaning. During the attaching process, you have the option to include this item in your source box or to leave it out.

An important thing to note: The option to attach an image (rather than an index page) is available for browse-only images. For indexed images, you must still begin the attaching process from the page containing the indexed information.

1. Find the image that you want to use as a source.
2. Click the Sources option. (This option shows up on browse-only collections.)

3.  Click one of the following:

• Click Attach to Family Tree if you know the person in Family Tree you want to attach it to. From here, you can edit the title, select the person, and enter a reason.

If you click Person, you see your Family Tree history list. You can select a person from there or enter the ID number of a person who isn’t on the list.

• Click Add to My Source Box if you want to do the attaching later on. From here, you can edit the title to something more meaningful."

Secrets of The Green Box

Sharon, Vermont, 2010
This is one of the most beautiful, peaceful
places we have ever been.

Today I am sharing a lesson I learned this past week.  Jim has been gone for 6 days and I had a date with my genealogy.  It was amazing.  35 years ago when I started my family history work I had a green plastic box that accompanied me on trips to the Family History Library to do research.

 I would store all my family group sheets in that little box and the documents as I would order them would be filed in the few surname files I had made.  I had my research logs, my pedigree chart, and family group sheets. After the 4 generation request from the First Presidency I had my Book of Remembrance with all my typed pages which did not fit in my box, but I did have memorabilia stashed in there too.  Oh and letters, I have lots of correspondence from relatives and places that supplied vital records, etc.  I even had carbon paper, regular paper and whatever else I needed to do my research.  And there was a ton of extra space.

As the years went by I added more and more files.  It was a mess really.  Too many odd shaped pieces of paper, notes, etc.  That box is finally completely sorted through and is empty as of Saturday for the first time in nearly four decades.  Spending time with Elijah the whole week that Jim has been gone helping our kids has been profitable.  In fact it is been heavenly. When I came back to genealogy three years ago I was like a fish out of water.  I have had to relearn everything.  I also had to learn all of the electronic things as well.

I made a decision early when I returned to the work to do some electronic filling and get rid of a lot of paper.  So about three years ago I took most of the things from the first four generations out of the box and got those in new paper surname files after paring down a lot of the unnecessary stuff. Then I scanned and filed a bunch of things electronically.  That really seems to be better streamlined now and easier to find.  The scanning pile kept getting bigger and bigger..you know how that goes.  Then I'd put the memorabilia type things back in the box "for now."  The fact is that didn't work well.  It just gets away from you.  That is one of the most annoying things about all of this...too much stuff to keep track of, right?

Someday it will be just how I want it to be.  For now I have to just keep going in baby steps until it is right.  The most valuable lesson I learned from this Green Treasure Box is that the answers to some of the big things I had been working on and thinking about were right there in my possession...just forgotten after decades.  I under estimated how much information I had acquired the old much harder way.  It was phenomenal how many things I discovered I already had.  You have to keep the most articulate records, you simply will not ever remember where you have been, what you have found and where you put it without a fabulous system.  I am working on it.  The one upside to the whole thing is that I had a positively enlightening day going through the box.  It was my best research day I had had in a long time!  Who knew but Woohoo!  So maybe organizing what you have before you add more as you move forward is worth considering.  What do you think?

Searching Records With Successful Results (PT 1 and 2)

Love that light that finally peeks thought the clouds!

It has been a couple of very interesting weeks for my in Family History and Genealogy.  I love it when you are in the process of learning and suddenly the clouds part in a way that let's you actually comprehend the bigger picture. Those 'aha moments' are very reinforcing.  I realized this week that we truly do learn line upon line.  I ran across a quote by Albert Einstein that said essentially the purpose of obtaining knowledge is to learn how to think.

Could there be a better quote for genealogy?  Well probably, but I do like that one.  The application of what we learn is where the value lies.

So we have been talking about finding documents for a long time. Still we struggle with the searching, right?  We have billions of records we can access and that is such a blessing....only if we can find them!  The strategies of ruling out everything we don't want, to find that one piece of evidence we do want can be daunting.

 Push it away!

Like a swimmer doing the breast stroke, think of how they point their arms and hands at one place and then push the excess water away from them to create the path that gets them to the other side of the pool.  They keep a focus, kick like crazy and eventually find their mark. Visualize billions of records in your way, then try to push through them.  With records we call it search perimeters, or filtering.  The more we experiment with it the better we get at it.  Putting our hands on it is an absolute necessity.

Here are some things that I learned this week.

*Just when you think you have it...you realize you don't.  Genealogy is a bit like being a parent.  Just when you feel like you are on top of it, they throw you a curve ball to keep you humble.  Acquiring each record presents its own separate and often unique set of challenges.

*When you feel you are really spinning your wheels and getting no where, ask for help.   Someone else will know something you don't, gladly share it and save you a ton of time and frustration.  Then pay it forward by telling someone else.  Don't just quit, get help to solve the problem. Often just asking someone will not only solve the problem at hand but make your future searches easier too.  Following the challenge to a solution will leave an impression upon your mind that you won't easily forget.

*When you don't give up easily you practice the art of thinking. Like Einstein said..using knowledge to learn how to think is where the value lies.

*This is a big one for me, I learned how to use Ancestry and Family Search together to do a lot of the document searching for me since I often struggle with it on my own. With the Shaky Leaves from Ancestry and the Record Search on Family Tree and Smart Match coming  from My Heritage/Family Search strategic partnership, I am really happy to have a hand up from the big guys!  When I find someone online I attach that person to both my Ancestry Tree and Family Search FamilyTree and let the various search engines find a record that most often will lead me to others as well.  

*I have been adding a lot of records to my Family Tree on Family Search this week and I have realized even more that the very act of doing that teaches you so much.  Our ancestors just come alive when we Read about them and Think about them.  The analysis is the key to the joys of doing this work. Einstein was right...the value is in the thinking part of the process.  Thinking about how to work smarter and how to analyze what we fine with the purpose of getting to know our family in 3D.

I did a search this week that opened my eyes, heart and mind to this in a new way so I thought I would have you try the same search I did.  Maybe you will find it right away. Maybe you will struggle with it like I did.  Here is our case study.

The person we will be trying to find is Frank Joseph Colberg:

Frans Josef Johnasson was born in  Ale-Skövde, Västra Götaland, Sweden on 13 March 1876.  He was born to his father, Johan Andreasson and his mother, Albertina Josefina Christiansdotter and was their first child.

When Frans was 5 years old they emigrated out of Sweden in July of 1881.  His name on his emigration documents was Frans Josef Kullberg.  His father was a tenant farmer in Sweden and the name of his farm was Kullenberg.  It was at that time that a lot of people were taking the name of their dwelling places as a surname.  That is what this family did when they left Sweden for America.

Upon arrival they became John Colberg and Josephine Colberg and Frank Joseph Colberg.

Finding the family in America was easy but not finding Frank.  He missed the 1880 census but one year, 1890 burned and so the first one we find the family in is 1900.  They lived in both North and South Dakota over their years in America. I could not find anything in the US on Frank.  Why?  See if you can.  Hint.  He is there somewhere.

Next week I'll show you how to do it if you do not find it this week.  Or if you really have to know sooner...contact me and I'll share with you!  For those of you in the classes you can ask me today if you need help.  Have fun!

************The Solution************

I have found that you have to be somewhat methodical about how you search while at the same time trying lots of different things.  I looked everywhere I  could think of with various filtering techniques, looking under all his name possibilities, various states, I used the catalog and I finally just ran out of ideas.  When I asked Stephen he found him pretty quickly and this is how he did it.

In his search field he entered just Frank...not Colberg after he had tried the usual drills.  No wonder I could never find him, that was the one variable that remained constant in my searching.  Last name.  I wasn't thinking about that because I was not searching by the "Exact" perimeter.  Stephen explained to me that the enumerator was very likely to know the popular given names of the day but most likely would butcher the last name.  That makes sense when you think about it.  Thinking outside the box can be key to figuring out some of this stuff.  Every record feels like a fingerprint.  There is just enough variation between them all to make them unique and interesting.

Look at the name that came up on the census record for 1010.  It says Coburg not Colberg.

The Soundex and phonetic features of the search engine on Ancestry would have worked better if the emulator had left out or used a different letter like U instead E  for berg as both sound about the same.  Berg and Burg.  But by leaving out the L it changed everything. Why is that?  Consonants have more distinctive sounds than vowels.  What happens when you leave a consonant out?   It changes the sound of the word, right?  So the search engine turns to the sound Cob not Col.  That then produces a lot of choices without the Col sound which is very important to that particular name.   Well, going through this exercise was very valuable to me even though I didn't find him on the census on my own.  My friend was able to broaden my horizons here and that is why asking was important to my growth when searching. 

Another thing he entered into the advanced search field was "Lived in" in the filters which implies that at one time he lived in Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, South Dakota but he was not saying he necessarily lived there in this time period.  The first location on the search form option presumes he was living there then.   He entered it the way he did because that is where Frank's family lived, he didn't know where Frank was in 1910 at that point.  Searching like this left more options and it paid off.  In fact we knew nothing about him other than he immigrated to the US in 1881 with his parents at age five. And I did extract from one old letter from a cousin that he thought Frank was a cook.  Look how valuable that clue turned out to be.  If you look at the record, it mentions he was a cook on the census.  

Unfortunately Frank died the very next year in March of 1911.  Leaving Emma with four little children.  As I was adding all their information in Family Tree I realized that one more child had been born to her named Frances June.  She was born just three months after her father died.  This family has become very important to me in our family history.  I had great sympathy for this young woman, now a widow with five children to raise.  I do know she married again and that helped her go forward in that responsibility.  I really want to know how Frank died so I am sending for his death certificate.

I hope this exercise was helpful to all of you that tried it.  The staff members that were present in the class said they really like it and learned a lot.  Good job, Judy, on finding the death record!  And congrats to Joe for finding a few City Directory items as well.

So put some of these things in your little bag of tricks for the next time you get stuck on finding someone.  I know I sure will.

If you are reading this on the subscription feed, you can return to that actual blog here.  

http://alegacythatmatters.blogspot.com

Dennis Brimhall's Challenge

Dennis Brimhall, CEO of Family Search has issued a challenge.   I am copying his entire post because it has incredible information in it and you may just want to go for the prize.

We have talked a lot of about sourcing records in the past several months.  How to do it in the Source Box on FS, how to do it with a few clicks on the Person Details Page with Search Records on Family Tree, bridging between other sites and Family Tree with Tree Connect and more.  Here are some of the results of our learning these things in the last few months and implementing them!

From 60,000 sourced records total from all previous versions of Family Search to over 8 million on Family Search/Family Tree in a matter of months!  And 12 million sources expected by year's end.  Is this anything short of a miracle?  Personally, I think not! Regardless of which person wins the prize~everyone is a winner here!

CEO Corner: 12-Millionth Source Challenge

October 22, 2013 By Dennis Brimhall

"Here at FamilySearch.org we’ve had a pretty big year. We’ve launched some exciting enhancements to the website, we’re reinventing the indexing experience, we’re creating handheld and smartphone tools, and we’ve announced some new partnerships with some very big companies in the genealogy and family history community.

So, what has been the direct effect of helping family historians better accomplish task one: finding documented sources that support conclusions? I’m excited to say that the result is nothing short of incredible! Finding and documenting sources is the foundation for making accurate conclusions in your family tree—like industry wisdom says, “Conclusions without documentation turns genealogy into mythology!”

Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about. In the entire six years prior to 2013 when Family Tree was introduced, there were approximately 60,000 sources attached to ancestors in new.FamilySearch.org. However, in the six short months since the release of the enhanced patron experience that added Photos, Stories, Fan Chart, and a world-class Family Tree, over eight million (yes that’s right, 8,000,000) additional sources have been attached to ancestors in FamilySearch Family Tree!

And I’m excited to tell you that sometime around the end of 2013, the 12-millionth source will be added to FamilySearch. We’ll be watching closely to see who that user will be who submits that 12-millionth milestone.

In fact, I’m excited to announce the launch of the “12-Millionth Source Challenge.” We want to acknowledge and reward one lucky family historian who will add the 12,000,000th source! What’s in it for you if you’re that person? The winning submitter will receive 10 hours of free family history research through FamilySearch’s world-renowned Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is a big deal—the Family History Library team creates the family histories which are presented by the L.D.S. Church to V.I.Ps such as U.S. Presidents, heads of states, entertainers and other distinguished visitors. We’ll soon be adding a countdown clock to the website, we’ll be watching to verify sources (the winning source has to be legit after all), and then we’ll all celebrate together for reaching this amazing milestone.

What’s made all of this possible? It’s all happening because of a combination of hard working people like you and the addition of powerful new website features on FamilySearch.org that we’ve recently released. These include:

• An expanded and enhanced Search feature
• The ability to find sources directly from an ancestor page in Family Tree so we pre-populate the search field for you
• Adding the ability to add sources to Family Tree with a simple click of the mouse
• The addition of hundreds of millions of new records online every month

We thank you for all your hard work and for all you do. We look forward to rewarding one of you for being the one who adds the 10-millionth source to FamilySearch. So, let the challenge begin!:

***  If you do not know how to locate the FS blog just look on the Home Page and look all the way down at the bottom of the page.  You'll see a tiny link that says Blog <https://familysearch.org/blog/en/> for a very big and wonderful feature of familysearch.org.

Searching Ancestry~Part 1

How many times have you searched Ancestry and wondered why you can't find things?  Did you know that Ancestry has over 12.5 billion records?  Two years ago they only had 6.5 billion.   At that same time they had over 30,000 record collections.  The number today was not readily available.  So there has to be a way to find your one little person that goes far beyond typing everything you know about them in a search box or two.  Right?  Some tips and trick that will help you narrow down your search are what this lesson is all about.

I think the first thing we need to talk about is the definition of Algorithm when trying to understand searching on Ancestry. Algorityms are the behind the scenes pathway a computer uses to find what you are searching for in the database.  And that is about as technical as I'll ever get on that being neither mechanical or mathematical! Research this further if you are so inclined but for our purposes here the Wikipedia definition is sufficient.

A quote from Linda from the lesson this week found below in the Dropbox download option is as follows:

"In general, when you do a search, the software looks through all its records looking for matches for each search criteria and then assigns points to each criterion based on how close the match is. 

 If filters have been applied these searches are given higher points but not always top priority.  Additional algorithms are also applied depending on the type of database being scoured.  The points are then totaled and the results are displayed with (we hope) the most relevant ones showing first."  

I once heard Crista Cowan of Ancestry say, "If you don't find what you are looking for in the first few pages, refine your search."

This is going to take some practice but eventually you will start seeing much better results in your searching.  This will be invaluable when working with our patrons and as always the added blessing of being able to find and solve our own research problems will be ours.  The exercise below in the lesson will give us some practice with some of the basics tips.  Thank you, Linda!

If I can give you just one tip it is this:  As you search broadly and cast a big net you will get many hits. Think 12.5 billion records and start eliminating as many possibilities as you can through filtering.  If you are looking for someone in North Dakota, filter by locality and eliminate all records that are not pertinent to North Dakota. Poof billions are gone right from the start.   Keep eliminating by adding filters for time frame and names and events to keep casting away everything you don't want to scroll through.  Eventually, hopefully you will find your person.

This hit is a huge simplification but the visualization of casting off what I don't need helps me a lot in finding what I do need.  There probably is at least one more great lesson coming on this from Linda.

You can also always go to ancestry.com to their learning center and watch training videos.  Hmm, I am beginning to see a pattern here.  Researching each website you want to use is probably a good idea.  They have a lot in common but they also have tips and tricks unique to their particular website. I have heard this is particularly true regarding filtering.

Researching how to use various sites is pretty important in actually finding what you are looking for on their site.  I watched a few of the Ancestry Getting Started ones and they were excellent.

If you are interested in the Ancestry Day in San Francisco, it is November 9th at the Hyatt Regency right across from the Ferry Building.  Crista Cowan will be teaching several classes on the workings of ancestry including searching.  She does a great job.

Searching Ancestry Part I (1).pdf

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 Some of you that subscribe to my Legacy blog have
asked that I also include a link back to the actual blog
for the sidebar features, questions or comments...

So here it is:

http://alegacythatmatters.blogspot.com

FS/Family Tree Sandbox and Training

What is the Sandbox?  It is a training series developed by Elder Leland Moon, the instructor for the volunteers at the Salt Lake Family History in Library.  It is essentially exactly like family tree but it is not your own data base.  Some people are not thrilled with playing around on their tree when they feel unsure of what they are doing.  It might even make you reluctant to get started.  I remember when I first started doing it it was a little scary.  Now you can go to this "Fake" data base and build, add, edit  and practice to your heart's content.

It is not connected to the tree and simply allows you to practice using Family Tree.  There are several lessons in video and text format.  The lessons are short and to the point.  They are very good with keeping up with the latest things.  So dig in and have some fun learning the Family Tree with no worries.

A few weeks ago I was blessed to be able to attend the Orem Family History Training in Orem, Utah. It was absolutely worth every minute of the time I spent there.   They hold the classes once a month for a week.  There is no charge except to cover the cost of the 2 inch binder they give you and a few incidentals.  The last day the Woman who writes the helps for Family Tree was in attendance.  She said that Family Tree is only about 65% completed at this point.  I have a feeling in the future we will all be in the Sandbox!  So put your hands on it.  This site is in Beta Testing still.  If you have any problems connecting contact help on the link in Linda's lesson.  This site is meant for both staff and patron use.

Find the Sandbox here:  https://familysearch.org/blog/en/sandbox-familytree-training-elder-moon/
Linda has prepared a lesson for us which you will find in the Drop Box below.

Blog Reading Tip:

I have also added a link on the sidebar to go directly to the Sandbox anytime.  The Sidebar on a blog will remain constant until the author makes changes.

The Text Box where you read a particular post keeps moving down as new posts are added.  So the page will always open to the most current post.  Just scroll down for older posts.  When you come to the end of the page, click on Older Posts if you are just browsing.  You can also go to the Archives found toward the end of the sidebar and select a year from the list and then open a month to see topics.

 Or you may look at the Labels also found on the Sidebar where topics are tagged.  By clicking on those you will open any posts regarding that topic.

From Bonnie: "Staff Training Lesson 21 FS/Family Tree Sandbox and Training" Click here to view (Bonnie shared these files using Dropbox. Enjoy!)

Record Seek/Tree Connect Part 1 of 2

 Google Image

Tree Connect is yet another feature that makes your Family History work more accurate and more streamlined.  Until recently we have been manually creating a source for Family Tree in The Source Box when adding any document.  Then we were able to automate this process internally in Family Search with the Record Search feature that was added for sourcing records from the FS Record Collections on the Family Tree's Person Details screen.  Now we have Tree Connect for sources outside of the Family Search Record Collections.

Tree Connect connects documents that are from other sites like ancestry.com or findagrave.com for example.  These third party sites were a lot more work to source as you had to copy the url and create a source for them in your source box on FamilySearch.  (Your source box is found on home page on Family Search, in the drop down menu, under your username at familysearch.org) 

Tree Connect allows you to bypass that process now and have a standardized, perfect source and citation created for you!  The best part is it connects it right to your person in Family Tree.  This tool is easy to use and wonderful.  

If you do not have the Chrome Browser on your computer you should install it there and on all your devices for optimum use with Tree Connect.

More simply stated by this Google image!
 

How to install  Tree Connect:  Click on this link: http://recordseek.com/#primaryContent  Click on the 'Need Help?' at the bottom right of the screen and it shows you how to just drag it to your Bookmark Toolbar.  2 seconds and you will be connected to a site that will save you tons of time.

Multiple Browsers can be equipped with the Tree Connect button on the Bookmark Toolbar.

Here is how it looks on my Mac.  You windows subscribers will have to check out how it looks for you.

You can install it on any of the main browsers, Firefox, IE, Chrome, Safari.  But we have tried it on several and it works the fastest and best on Chrome.

I was working with a friend and we had trouble getting that Bookmark Toolbar on Chrome, which has to be visible before you can drag something on to it, right?   So when it was time for me to add the bookmarklet to the Chrome browser on my own computer I Googled: chrome~tree connect bookmarktlet~install.  I found this handy little help there!

 These instructions made perfect sense and I got the Tree Connect bookmarklet right on, no problem.

In the process we learned a lot about how the various browsers work with Tree Connect.

 Why Chrome is the Best!

 The Chrome browser seems to be the most stable giving consistent results with Tree Connect.

One of the things that makes the Google Chrome browser unique is that you can sign in when you use it.

Signing in is the key to its mobility!  It now functions in The Cloud.   You can now access your Chrome Bookmark toolbar from any devise after installing the mobile app for the Chrome Browser for that device if you don't already have it.  It also enables you to use it on any computer anywhere that has the Chrome Browser as an option.  

This makes it perfect for any family history library that is running Chrome as one of the browser choices.  The OFSL does have chrome as an option.  Once you select it and sign in, your entire Chrome Bookmark Toolbar with your Tree Connect button is mobile.  This is particularity useful for people on the go.  Tree Connect has a very short learning curve and once you have used it a few times it will be automatic, quick and easy.

Coming up next...How to use Tree Connect.