This is an excellent excerpt from Carol's newsletter.
“When our hearts turn to our ancestors, something changes inside us. We feel part of something greater than ourselves. Our inborn yearnings for family connections are fulfilled when we are linked to our ancestors through sacred ordinances of the temple.” Elder Russell M. Nelson
“In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage-to
know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow
yearning. No matter what our
attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, emptiness and the most
disquieting loneliness.” Alex
Haley
Finally, from Elder Bradley
D. Foster, Quorum of Seventy speaking at Root’s Tech; “finding the stories of
our ancestors will bind our hearts forever. Everyday 156,000 people leave this earthly existence. We call that death. Every day 384,000 people new arrivals are
welcomed. We call that birth…The Lord has prepared technology to make it
available and possible for us to bind and connect all those families
together. As we discover who they
are that becomes our family history.
Genealogy tends to pull us away from one another, when we withdraw to
our computers. Family history
brings us together as we share stories and work together. Therefore, genealogy changes our charts,
family history changes our hearts.”
We are engaged in a work of turning
hearts, a family love story. How
can we engage our families, and turn their hearts? Here are ten family history ideas meant to be fun and
enjoyable from Ben Bennett (V.P. Family Search International) and Holly Linford
(trainer & curriculum at Stampin’ Up) given at Roots Tech:
1. Keep a personal or family blog: Many write
blogs where events, milestones and fun activities are shared with friends and
family. Picking the right platform
for a blog depends on personal preferences as blogging platforms vary. Some of the most popular on-line sites
are Blogger, WordPress and Typepad.
Both Blogger and WordPress are free to use, WordPress can be upgraded
for a fee. Typepad prices range
from $9.00 to $30.00 per month.
2. Record an audio interview: Record your personal experiences and
family stories before they are forgotten.
Children and grandchildren can forever cherish a loved one’s voice. All you need is someone to record and a
device such as an electronic recorder.
You can easily transfer the audio files from electronic recorder to a
computer. There are numerous Smartphone
apps, such as Saving Memories Forever that allow you to record and sync the
recording to an on-line family tree or social media site.
3.
Take better and
more photos: Photos have a way of telling stories that last
forever. Some tips to take good
photos include use of natural light when possible, follow the rule of thirds
and use different camera angles to add variety. If using a Smartphone to take photos, use a photo app with
editing features. Some free photo
apps include Photoshop Express, Snapseed and Pixlr. In a unique photo project, Billion Graves, volunteer use
Smartphones to take GPS-encoded pictures for headstones, which are then uploaded
to the internet. The writing on
the headstones can be transcribed and indexed for easy searching. The BillionGraves software is free,
easy to use and available for computers and Smartphones.
4.
Create a digital
scrapbook: A simple way to organize and share stories is with
digital scrapbooking. It’s easy to
print a photo album to share with others after creating scrapbook pages on a
computer. Some digital scrapbooking
software packages include Stampin’ Up: My Digital Studio, the My Memories suite
and Memory Mixer. Printing a
digital scrapbook can be done with MyPicTales, Picaboo, Shutterfly or Mixbook.
5.
Scan family
history books: Scanning
family history books and uploading them on-line makes for easy access. The benefits of scanning books include
having a preserved digital copy, the low cost, and helping others who share
ancestral lines obtain a digital copy at FamilySearch or Mocavo.
6.
Use
FamilySearch.org to upload photos and transcribe stories: On FamilySearch,
users can upload scanned photos and transcribe family stories from old letters
or diaries. The many options
include linking photos to a person on the tree, creating albums to stay
organized, continuing to add photos to albums and sharing albums with others.
7.
Record
information on an on-line tree: Using an on-line
tree is a great way to share information with family members, keep them
connected and encourage them to contribute their own photos and
information. There are many
on-line family tree programs available, including FamilySearch, Ancestry, FindMyPast,
MyHeritage and Geni. No matter
which tree people decide to use, they should feel comfortable with the platform
and terms of use.
8.
Print a chart: Fan charts are a
visual way to display family history.
It’s simple to create and print by going on-line to CreateFan. They are also free. Note: Will soon be available on
FamilyTree.
9.
Use social media:
Social media is one of the best ways to
stay in touch with family member.
Family members can share photos, images, documents and articles about
ancestors with simply posting them on a page. Some of the most popular social
media sites are Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. JustFamily is a place to connect with family members and
build a family tree together.
10.
Help make records
searchable by indexing: Using FamilySearch, anyone who wants to
help preserve valuable family information can easily extract it from historical
records and provide free searchable indexes. All this can be done from the convenience of home by simply
going to FamilySearch.org/index, Get Started, sign in to FamilySearch, select a
batch and start indexing.
Deseret News, “RootsTech Class: 10 Fun Family History
Activities, Saturday, March 23, 2013.
Looking
for an On-line Death Records, Index and Obituaries?
Here is a website which has a directory of links to website, with
on-line death indexes, listed by state and county. Included are death records, death certificates indexes,
death notices and registers, obituaries, probate indexes, and cemetery and
burial records. http://deathindexes.com/.
Free
access to Confederate records during April on
Fold 3, ends April 30th
Those free records include: Confederate soldier service records , Southern Claims Commission records: claims filed by Southern citizens for property seized by Union troops
Those free records include: Confederate soldier service records , Southern Claims Commission records: claims filed by Southern citizens for property seized by Union troops
- Confederate Amnesty Papers: Confederates' applications for pardon to President Andrew Johnson
- Confederate Citizens File: claims filed with the Confederate government by Southern citizens
- Union Citizens File: Union Army records of provost court papers, orders, passes, paroles, claims for compensation, etc.
- Civil War subversion investigations
- Confederate Casualty Reports
- Confederate Navy Subject File: papers including paymasters' vouchers relating to ships, personnel and more
You'll need
to register for a free Fold3 account in order to view the records. Start
searching Fold3's Confederate records collection here."
I love this newsletter and look forward to what Carol puts together for us each week. I like to add some of her work here so we have easy access whenever we need it. Thank you, Carol, for your tireless energy and work on our behalf all the time. Bonnie
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