Ellis Island

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dc9m4vlll7b7rqr/Ellis%20Island%20Questions.docx?



http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2015/11/12/the-closing-of-ellis-island

Editing Family Relationships Made Easier On Family Tree

Once again we have some changes on Family Tree.  I am grateful for the FS bloggers who keep us up to date and don't mind sharing with us to we can learn and improve our skills.  Thank you, Cliff Bergmann for your help with this new feature.


New Features in the Family Members Section Make Correcting Relationships Easier

October 20, 2015 By Clif Bergmann

"Have you clicked an edit icon lately in the Family Members section? You’ll find the icons on the Person page in Family Tree. You may have thought, “Wow. That’s different.” Well, you’re right.

There’s a new feature attached to the edit icons that makes it easier to see and correct family relationships and add sources. For example, if the wrong mother is listed for a large family, you can now change the wife and mother in a single operation!

What’s New?

In a nutshell, when you click an edit icon, you’ll now see a fly-out (it’s similar to a pop-up). The fly-out gives you more information and makes it easier for you to modify relationships and add sources—without going to another page! You’ll still see the other family members, which will make it easier to see how your changes impact the family.

 What You Can Do

When you click an edit icon, here are some of the changes you can make using the fly-out:

• Add or modify marriage information for the parents.
• Change the parents for a child. (Hint: To change a parent for all the children listed, use the edit relationship icon for the husband and wife.)
• Change an incorrect spouse.
• Add or change the relationship type (such as biological, step, or adopted).
• Add sources that show that the relationship is correct.

When you click a Wrong Person or Wrong Parents link, you’ll have the option to remove or replace the incorrect person.

 If you use touch devices (like iPads), you’ll always see the link to open the relationship fly-outs. And all members of the family will be displayed with their default portrait!

The new editing fly-out is being released to a few patrons at a time. If your family or friends haven’t seen it yet, tell them they’ll see it soon.

So try it out. We think you’ll enjoy the new possibilities!"

James Tanner's post on  this enhanced feature:

http://rejoiceandbeexceedingglad.blogspot.com/2015/10/editing-family-relationships-now-easier.html

James Tanner on The Family History Guide

Did you know that the BYU Family History Library has a YouTube Channel that you can subscribe to with all kinds of Family History video tutorials?  Did you know that James Tanner is one of the most knowledgeable and prolific writers and trainers around and that he has worked there for over a year now.  Lucky BYU Library!  Lucky us!

James L. Tanner

What makes James Tanner so amazing is that he is on top of the latest news on the major sites, he has incomparable experience in genealogy, training, researching and technology.  He speaks with authority and credibility and in a language easy for all of us to understand.  So that is my shout out for him and here is his video from YouTube on The Family History Guide (found at
www.thefhguide.com)


www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VSowb8Ny6k

He authors two blogs daily also.

http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com   

http://rejoiceandbeexceedingglad.blogspot.com
A little more church related.

It's All About Families

This September was to be a very special one for me and of course for Jim too.   Not only would I be able to see my beloved cousins again but we would be meeting  our "new" cousin, William and his wife Rita, also for the first time. 

William was adopted at birth.  Through nothing short of a major miracle, he found his siblings in December of 2013 due to a series of very fortunate events.  Those included his great desire to press on for 35 years to find his birth mother after he learned he was adopted.  His friend, Nancy, who does genealogy took an interest in his story.  She also persuaded him to do DNA testing.  That produced a trail to his father.  I had written a blog piece on my sweet Aunt Grace when she died and posted it on my family blog in 2008.  It contained pictures of her both at a young age and when she was older and of all the kids and her obituary.

 You can read about it here:

http://bonsblogbydesign.blogspot.com/2008/09/she-belongs-to-ages.html   

Nancy found the blog post via searching the Internet.  As a result of that Google find and the steps that preceded it, William discovered not only his father but his mother and five full siblings! I'll never forget the joy of that Christmas in 2013. When we all found out we rejoiced.  Every one of my cousins welcomed Bill with open arms and unconditional love from the onset!  What a precious gift!  It was overwhelming and wonderful to all of us.  It was a spiritual time, an emotional time and has been an ongoing celebration.  It is the miracle story that never grows old.

You can read about it here:

http://bonsblogbydesign.blogspot.com/2014/06/by-grace-of-god.html

Last week we went to Washington to meet William..Hot off the Press... The journey that took some years but was worth it!  You can read about it here.

http://bonsblogbydesign.blogspot.com/2015/10/seven-septembers-our-cousin-reunion.html

I finally Met William!

Their Parents!

Together~This Time Forever!
My cousins are so happy
This is a powerful motivator
To keep looking for our families!
Unspeakable joy!

Relative Finder - Using Groups

Southern Oak Trees

You can find a lot of fun things in the Family Search Blog.  To access it go to the very bottom of the FS home page.  You will see some tiny links and one of them says Blog.  Double click and you'll find some treasures.  Lisa Mc Bride has done a great one on Relative Finder.  Wouldn't it be fun to start a group of our staff members to see if we are related to one another and how?  Would anyone like to set it up?

I love relative finder for a number of reasons but the most compelling is to find out if you are related to any famous people.  I don't seek to know these things as a kind of "feather in my cap" but because there is so much more information available on people that were famous.  As an example if you are related to Thomas Jefferson it would be wonderful to know that before visiting Monticello, or studying early American History, Presidents of the United States, or the swivel chairs we all sit on while using our computers that were invented by him.

That did not happened to me.  If I had known then that I was related to Thomas Jefferson when we visited Monticello it would have sparked a greater interest, a familial interest and a more fervent desire to know him thought the things I learned about him, including stories about his personal life, etc.

Another reason I love Relative Finder is that it is a fun way to engage people in developing a desire to pursue their family history.  The genealogy of a president of the church or the country is well researched and accurate.  If you find you're related to George Washington through Relative Finder and you also know that is only accurate so far as your own genealogy is accurate, it might engender a desire to source and research what is on your tree in  different way than just knowing you should do this.

Pursuing this as a special group might also create new interest and more synergy as we collaborate with co-workers, friends and neighbors.  The following blog post by Lisa Mc Bride of Family Search explains how to do just that!  Again I ask, Anyone want to volunteer to set up our group?  B

"Relative Finder: New Ways to Connect with Cousins

September 2, 2015 By Lisa McBride

RelativeFinder.org is a fun family history experience for families, adults, and youth. The software program helps users find how they are related to famous people in the United States and the LDS Church and to European royalty. That’s not all! The program also allows you to set up groups to see how members of the group are inter-related. You can even set yourself up with your own deceased ancestor group. Within your own group you can see how you are related to each cousin and how you may be related through more than one ancestor. You will need an Internet connection and a FamilySearch Account for the website to work with FamilySearch Family Tree.

There is one caveat to keep in mind. All relationships depend on accurate information in FamilySearch Family Tree. The computer connects what it sees in FamilySearch Family Tree—good or bad. Sometimes finding errors is not such a bad thing. It may motivate users to make corrections.

The primary use of Relative Finder is to see how the user is related to famous historical figures. Family history centers can use this to hold a special historical-themed event to help engage people. For example, you could hold an event connected with a famous date in history, such as July 4, and invite people to come see if they are related to signers of the American Declaration of Independence.

Ward Accounts

Several family history center directors have found success setting up ward accounts. To do this, choose the heading Groups. To form and name your ward group, click Create. As a side note, it is helpful to use your town and state along with your ward name, since some wards have very similar names.

Use a simple password that will be easy to remember. Anyone in your ward with a FamilySearch Account can join your ward group by going to http://www.relativefinder.org, logging in, choosing a group, and then joining. In the search box, enter the name of your ward, and join using the shared password. Or invitations can be sent by sharing the invite URL displayed on the Manage groups screen. Remember to send the password with the invitation.

Once they are in the program, ward members can see how they are related to one another. Directors are finding that this activity encourages members to set up accounts and to get excited to learn about their ancestors and how they are related to friends and neighbors. Send out an invitation to ward members through your ward Sunday bulletin or your ward online newsletter. Include the group name and password, or include the URL invitation and password. Members needing extra help to get started can come into the center for assistance.

Relative Relationships

Have you ever wondered how you are related to a distant descendant for whom you are doing temple work? Relative Finder has a solution. Set up a group of your own. To do this, follow the steps below.

1. Go to the heading labeled Groups.
2. Click Create, and form a group named something like “Sally Jones’s Cousins,” using your own name.
3. Once you’ve created your group, go to the Groups link.
4. Click Manage.
5. Choose the cousin group you recently created.
6. Find the heading labeled “Add a Deceased Person.”
7. Add the descendant’s Personal Identification number (PID) from Family Tree. This will add the person to your group.
8. Click View All Relations.
9. From the headings, click Relation to Friend.
10. If you want to see how the descendant is related to famous Americans, famous members of the Church, or European royalty, click View Ancestors.

This same cousin group could be shared with family members working on common lines. After family members join the group, similar to joining a ward group, they can add deceased cousins for whom they are completing temple work or research. Shared temple work information could be added to the group so that everyone could see how that particular cousin is related to the group creator or to a common ancestor.

Friend Connect

Another option is for two friends to connect immediately with a temporary session using the Connect tab. Help screens are also available for each option.

Relative Finder is an engaging activity for all ages to enjoy.  Spend some time this month setting up a group and experimenting with how you can share your love for your ancestors with someone in your ward or family. This program can inspire a new beginner to find an ancestor, taking that ancestor’s name to the temple, and then teaching someone else to do the same."

Family Tree-New Feature-Search Multiple Data Bases-From Person Details Page

Coastal Redwoods near Mendocino, CA

There are more new things on Family Search-Family Tree as always.  What a viable site, there is never a static moment.  This will be the most useful to people that have subscriptions to all or some of the Partner sites.  If you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you can access all of the websites listed below for free when you sign up through Family Search. Search Partners in the Get Help section of the Family Search home page for more information.  

A word of caution about this new feature:  The accuracy of what you get is only as good as the information you have added into Family Tree.  This new feature is like one stop shopping on the Person Details Page.  I think this will work best when you are familiar enough with your person being researched.  Starting from what you know and going to what you don't know yet is the key.  The other thing is you still need to learn to search by filtering your hits on all on these cites.  This is very important to researching.  Be accurate in your attaching records to your tree.

The following is the FS blog post on this new feature.  Enjoy.  And thank you to Matt Wright!

"New Feature: Search Genealogy Records on the Web’s Largest Sites"

September 28, 2015 By Matt Wright

We have taken a step closer to the elusive genealogy “easy button.”

On the Person Page of each of your ancestors in FamilySearch Family Tree there are now three additional genealogy sites you can access for a genealogy records search.

In addition to FamilySearch (naturally) you will find logos for three of the largest family history websites. A simple click on any of the logos takes you to that site and initiates a global search of that site’s records. When you arrive at the site, you are already looking at the results of your search. Search results are based on whatever information you have for that person in FamilySearch Family Tree, so names, birth date, spouse name, etc. It is a simple and efficient way to search vast databases of genealogically relevant information with a single click.

Go to FamilySearch Family Tree and try it out on our own person page. From there you can jump around to ancestors and try searching genealogy records on the other sites to see what you can find. This is bound to speed up your research, and you just might discover records you have never seen before.

It's All About That Base (Not The Song) Your Resources!

Don't write it down on a scrap of paper- 

think source box or toolbox.

I've noticed over the last year that there has been a greater emphasis on capturing resources.  I'm not sure if it's just what my own understanding has morphed into or if there has been a general evolving awareness of this?  This age of information is just progressing at warp speed ahead.  If you are having the same issues with remembering it all that I am, how about adding something new to your source box a few times a week that might be helpful in the future?  This can help our patrons as well as ourselves.

I thought in the spirit of that I might add a few links to this blog as examples from time to time.

See if you think this might be helpful in the future.

http://www.ancestry.com/cs/Satellite?childpagename=USLearningCenter%2FLearning_C%2FPageDefault&pagename=LearningWrapper&cid=1265125565120

Searching on FamilySearch Made Easier

Pinterest

Carol Holladay is always so good to give us so much in her wonderful weekly newsletter.  This week I really liked the one she shared from blogger Amy Johnson Crow from 11 September 2015.  The title A Faster, Easier Way to Find Collections on Family Search.  You can find it here:

http://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/2015/09/11/find-collections-on-familysearch/

Amy included a video she made in her blog post found below.  She is a new blogger to me so I have subscribed to her future posts.

https://youtu.be/MWFqCe2FaEc

Irfanview Step by Step

Google image

Judy Johnson on our staff really has a handle on the dead cat.  I have adapted her instructions from my notes she has given me from time to time when I need to use it.  Thank you Judy!

Irfanview to print at Oakland FSL:

Select your document to print

Tap print screen on keyboard

Select dead red cat on the browser bar on bottom of screen

Tap control V

Crop with cross-hairs

Select Print

Select preferences for printing

Select printer 648

Size (Paper size) 

 View (Landscape or Portrait)

Print

Another way to capture the screen if you are just retrieving information..Snap a photo with your smart phone.  It works well and is very fast.  Just thought this might be helpful to those of us who only use Irfanview sporadically.  See what James Tanner has to say about using your smart phone for the preservation of digital images. http://tinyurl.com/or25b22

Google It!

Last week we talked a little bit about Google and how to be a power user by using the Google Search operators.  Linda prepared an excellent lesson on it and you can find it in the link below.  This is Part 1 in this series.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pkm0gc04cippciz/46%20-%20Using%20Google.pdf?dl=0

After you have studied the lesson we will get together and discuss how it is helping us in our searching.

There is so much to learn about Google, not just about search for your ancestral family but it can help you in all aspect of your life.  It is worth the time and effort to learn how to become a power user.

The Family History Guide Part 2

The following blog post was submitted to Family Search but the CEO, Bob Taylor,  of this new website, www.thefhguide.com.  It was published on familysearch.org on 11 August, 2015

It was shaping up to be a very interesting week. The Family History Guide website had just been officially released on Monday, July 27, and it debuted on the FamilySearch App Gallery the same day. Wednesday of that week would be an opportunity to see it “in the wild” at a booth at the BYU Family History Conference. (OK, BYU is not really that wild.) How would genealogists, from raw beginners to experts, react to this new family history venture? As the architect of The Family History Guide, I was curious, and I was about to find out in person …

Let’s go back a few weeks in time to the Conference, and I’ll do my best to remember two of the many conversations we had there (names are changed for privacy).

Conversation 1, with David, a family history beginner:

David: “So what is this Family History Guide thing – what are you selling?”

Bob (that’s me): “It’s actually free – it’s an online learning and resource center for family history.”

David: “Does it help beginners?”

(And here I’ll interject that you can click any of the links or icons in this blog to try the actual website features we’re talking about.)

Bob: “Yes. For example, the Get Started section has links to articles and videos that introduce you to family history concepts and terms, as well as computer basics if you need them.

And when you’re ready, you click Projects. Each of the 7 Projects has Goals, Choices, and Instructions you can work on at your own pace. Click a Goal to open them up.”

David: “Seems pretty simple – I click to open or close a Goal I’m working on. Now these blue icons – what do they do?”

Bob: “They’re links to articles or videos that help you with the learning concept you’re working on. This one explains the new FamilySearch Family Tree Landscape view.”

David: “Nice that I can watch the video when I need it, instead of hunting for it online.”

Bob: “There are over 1,000 links to articles, videos, and websites in The Family History Guide, all integrated into a smooth and friendly learning system.”

David (looking at his watch): “I’ve got to run to my next class – where can I find The Family History Guide online? I want to start using it and share it with my brother in New York.”

Bob: “It’s at www.thefhguide.com – and remember, it’s free.”

Conversation 2, with Rachel, the Director of a large Family History Center in California. She had been standing behind us as I gave the online tour to David, so she saw the brief tour.

Rachel: “What else can you show me about The Family History Guide?”

Bob: “Let’s take a look at the QuikLinks feature in Project 4: Discover the United States. In the left side of the screen you see a list of the 50 U.S. States – these are QuikLinks to Search screens for FamilySearch records for each State.

To the right of each state name you see ‘A’ for Ancestry, ‘P’ for Findmypast, and ‘H’ for MyHeritage. So if you want to quickly see the Ancestry records available for Louisiana, for example, you just click the ‘A’ to pull up the results, instead of navigating through several Ancestry screens to find the Louisiana search page. Same idea for Findmypast and MyHeritage. And there are QuikLinks available for most of the 35 country pages in The Family History Guide.”

Rachel: “Those QuikLinks are amazing – so much faster! Now I’m wondering – is there any way to keep track of what I’ve been working on in The Family History Guide?”

Bob: “Yes – click the Project Tracker link in the left side of any Project page. This downloads a word processing file you can use to track your status on each of the Choices for each Goal in the Project.”

 Rachel: “Great – sounds very useful. Now I’m really interested to see if we can use The Family History Guide to train Family History Consultants and help patrons at our Center.”

Bob: “We will soon be completing a training program on the Family History Guide at the Sandy Granite Family History Center. Over 50 Family History Consultants will be trained so they will be ready to help patrons use it. Imagine a scenario like this: a Family History Consultant is helping a patron, when a second patron asks a family history question. The Consultant quickly refers the second patron to a pertinent section of The Family History Guide, and when the Consultant returns to help the second patron, the reply may very well be, “Thanks – I’ve got it now.”

I’ve done a lot of the talking in this blog, but I’ll let James Tanner, noted genealogist and family history blogger, provide the conclusion. Read his recent blog entry on The Genealogy Star to see what he thinks about The Family History Guide and what he plans to do with it.

Thanks for listening – together we can reach that 90 percent of us who have yet to experience the joys of family history work.

This article was written and submitted by Bob Taylor, CEO – The Family History Guide, LLC.

The Way Of The Future-The Discovery Center

 Google Images

At Rootstech 2015 a new concept in FamilySearch Libraries was introduced in Salt Lake City, Utah in February.  This is called a FamilySearch Discovery Center.  These will be Discovery Centers for the entire family to enjoy and goes beyond the scope of a traditional Research Library.  You can read about it here.  Ground was just broken yesterday for the new FamilySearch Discovery Center in St. George, Utah.  Here is news clip about it.  Dennis Brimhall, outgoing CEO of FamilySearch, likes to refer to these centers as "The Museum of Me".  A place where people can go and learn more about who they are and about their ancestors using current technologies to enhance their experiences.

Groundbreaking for new St. George FamilySearch Center from KCSG.com 

Exciting News About FS Enhancements

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/252272016604225680/

Just launched this week the new Direct Messaging for those who did not want their contact information shared publicly. Now we can do collaboration with others via Family Search. There is no guarantee they will respond but at least they will receive your message.  It is similar to the Ancestry messages.  If the User is marked as Unknown or has a long number that is clearly not a phone number there is no way to reach the party anymore.  The direct message link is on the home page right next to the Volunteer and Get Help Links at the upper right.

Also Live Chat is up and running in the Help Center.  I have used it and it is awesome.  Check out this new feature.  It is faster than calling.

Also in September they are rolling out the new the Ordinance Release After Two Years Rule if no activity has been initiated.  If you have some you really want to do yourself that are falling into that category you can release them and then re-reserve them.  Then the two years starts over.

The Family History Guide* It's New!

Photo from the Website created by Bob Taylor and Bob Ives

My trip to the BYU Family History and Genealogy Conference was really informative and I am so glad I went this year.  The thing about any conference is there is always something to learn.  It also gives you a perfect opportunity to recognize what you don't know. 

This concept has some merit when you think about helping people get started.  To them there is just an endless sea of new things to learn but they don't have a perspective yet because they don't know what they don't know.  It is like running in the fog...you can't see your target, you don't know where it is or what it is because you can't see it.  

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we like to refer to learning "line upon line." That is another way of saying we learn sequentially.  We add upon what we already know. It works best if that is done purposefully as opposed to just randomly.  Sequenced or structured learning has been around forever.  Isn't it how we learn just about everything when you think about it?    See: Wikipedia  Sequence Learning

The Family History Guide is just that! 

A way to learn and do the work with 

a vision of where you are going.

One of the highlights for me at the conference was to meet the developers of the new FS App The Family History Guide found at www.thefhguide.com.  Bob Taylor and Bob Ives have commenced in a great work and it's impressive.  It is a game changer for teachers and trainers and people eager to progress in their understanding of genealogy and family history.  Think of it almost as a work book. The key word there is work.  You will get out of this website exactly what you put into it.

This Guide is absolutely amazing for anyone who does Family History and tries to share it with others.  I plan to use it with all the Family History consultants I teach, as well as the youth, and patrons at the Library.

I really like the way that it is set up to help someone progress in their learning incrementally and in an organized manner via Projects, Goals with the Capability To Track Progress. 

Last week we talked about using the Source Box in Family Search to create links to help others while teaching them.  I still plan to use that tool for someone who needs a very specific link for something they are trying to do.   However I will also give them the link to The Family History Guide...every time I work with a patron or student from now on.

After I learned of it I really took the opportunity to look over the website.  It draws information from many sources and uses multi-media applications to teach the lessons.  You have access to training and tips from FamilySearch, Ancestry, Find My Past and My Heritage, and more.  They use over 1000 videos links, white paper lessons links and lots of other very helpful links as well.  This site is not static.  It will continue to evolve and be updated all the time.

I urge you to check it out.  Spend some time there. Set some goals for yourself and help others do the same.  This site is completely accessible on your mobile devices without even requiring a mobile app.  This site is also free.  

The lesson link below is very helpful.  Linda has done a great job.  Please use it to get familiar with this wonderful Family History Guide.  Please give us feedback on what you think of it and how you plan to use it.  Thanks! B

https://www.dropbox.com/s/snfwrqb38rjojix/45%20-%20Using%20TheFamilyHistoryGuidecom.pdf?dl=0

Using the Family Search Source Box to Help Others

The lane to Joseph Smith's Birth Place~Sharon Vermont

Your Source Box on Family Search is located in the dropdown menu by your name on the home page.  Your name appears in the upper right hand corner of your screen when you have signed into FamilySearch. When you click on the down arrow, one of the three options available there is Source Box. Open it.  There you will see a list of the sources that have been sent to your Source Box automatically when you have attached records to various people in your tree as you have worked on them.  Once you have attached them to a person you really should no longer need them. You can either delete them or you can save all of them to one folder.

I like to create a code so that I can find my sources box materials easier.  I have named my folder for already attached sources ZZ.  I am essentially done with them but can find them should a need arise. Incidentally, when I add a record for an individual as a source in the tree I always check the Title of the Document.  If it does not include the person's name I just add a - at the end of the title and add the name.  That way if I should ever need it again I can find it easily.   I don't envision needing them again but I may want to add something to my RootsMagic software some time.  If the name is not in your Source Box Document you would have to open every one of the attached documents to see whose record it is.  The title may just read 1880 US Census and there will be a lot of them.  Adding the name makes it easy to spot it without opening it.

The Source Box is essentially a large file cabinet.  Anything with a URL or web address can be kept in this source box.  Before we had Source Linker on the Tree we had to make our own sources and attach them to individuals.  That functionality still exists.  It is a simple process.

Creating a New Source

The first thing you need to do is have a url you have already copied from a page on the Internet.  Let's use the Freedmen's Bureau Records as an example.  Everything you read on the Internet has a specific URL in the address box at the top of the page.  Highlight that and copy it.

Now go to your Source Box via the dropdown menu next to your name on FS homepage.  Look at what is already in your box and look to the left where you can create Folders.

Add a broad-based folder on the left.  Let's say you choose AA (African American) or FB (Freemen's Bureau)  This is the place you will keep anything pertaining to African American Research.  The number of folders you can have is 50 at this time.   Keep in mind that you cannot  store huge files in the Source Box.  But you can store those in Dropbox or Evernote and then make a folder in your Source Box that uses the URL for downloading your large document from Dropbox or Evernote.  You could name those folders DB or EN.  You can put as many new sources as you want it each folder.  That is why you keep the folder's name broad-based.  I don't think you will run out of folders with the broad-based titles but if you do, you can always combine things and rename a folder.

Now click on Create Source

A box will appear that shows you how to make a source.  It give you an example.  Click in the title box and add your title.  FB ( Freedman's Bureau) How to Index The Records.

In box #2 add the url you have copied from the source by pasting it here.

In box #3 add where you found this source.  Example:  familysearch.org

In box #4 add what the record contains or any notes or hints you feel are good to know.

When you save it it will appear in your folder on the left FB (Freedmen's Bureau or AA African American)  Clicking on the Code FB in the left hand folder column will open all the files with that code in the Source Box field.  Open the link you select and there is your material.

That's it.  Pretty Simple!

Practical Application For the Patron

Think about how handy it would be to have something for a patron to learn more about at home.  It would be available in your own source box so that you could forward it to them via email.  That way they can learn about their subject of interest in their leisure time and keep it as long as they need it.

When a patron comes in seeking help we all have our own method of helping.  What I like to do is a little bit of triage.  Why are they in the library?  Find out what is needed and how long they have to spend in the library on this visit.  Find out where they are in the process of learning how to do their genealogy. Start from what they know and work from there.  As an example let's say a patron comes in, has a user name and password that they remember and they want to look at their portion of Family Tree.  The catch is they only have 1 hour.  What would you do?

I would have them look at their portion of The Tree and then show them the Help Center paying attention to where they can go for help via phone, etc. when they have left the library. I would send them the link to Elder Moon's 2 to 3 minute video helps on how to use the Tree for them to look at at home that I already have readily available in my source box.

Then I would spend some time looking at their section of the tree and making some attachments if necessary so that they can actually see a pedigree of their lineage. This is usually necessary if they have living people preceding deceased ancestors that are not attached to them until the bridge is built between a living person and their deceased parents.  If they see themselves on the tree and have something compelling to take away they have a good start.  Your hour is over and hopefully they will come back.

 Because you now have their email you can follow up and give them some addition help that you can research after they leave.  Add a new URL with that additional information in an appropriate folder in your source box.   As you build your source box over time, you will become more valuable as a staff member in assisting patrons.

In my opinion this is much more effective than just sitting and doing the work for them.  Family History is a life long journey.  I have learned that if I help someone through their entire learning process they do not build any confidence in doing it on their own by my simply saying click here, click there.  We want them to do it and to think about why they are clicking here and there.

Practical Application for the Staff Member

The Source Box being used as a tool box can also be very helpful to us as we try to help others.  Who can remember all the nuances of Immigration research, or DNA components, or a blog post that had a particular list on how to do something for a specific situation?  Not me.  I love having that information in my Source Box.  You can refer to it along with your patron to refresh you own mind and help them at the same time.  Each time I have a situation that I can't figure out with a patron I can research it and create a source and send it to them.  Each time I read an article or blog post or anything pertaining to all of us that do this great work, I can create a source.  You have the capability of creating and organizing your box in any way you wish.  The flexibility is amazing.  And because it is on Family Search it is all right there with you when ever you sign on the FS any time or anywhere. You can even study some of these things in more depth when you have a moment to kill while waiting for someone or something on the go.  If you like the ideas presented here, how about copying the link for this post and creating a folder in your Source Box for helping patrons.

HP (Helping Patrons)
 http://alegacythatmatters.blogspot.com/2015/07/using-family-search-source-box-to-help.html


My Links added to my folder FB (Freedmen's Bureau) 

http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1105

https://familysearch.org/blog/en/breaking-1870-brick-wall-significance-freedmens-bureau-records/

http://www.discoverfreedmen.org/

http://mappingthefreedmensbureau.com/maps/


Of course you can create other sources that are not from the Internet but we can talk about that in the comments or in class if needed.  Let me know.  B

FamilySearch/FamilyTree-July Updates

I know I say this every month but I truly appreciate Steve Anderson over at Family Search for gathering all the updates for the month into one place.  He does such a great job and if you have ever done blogging you appreciate him even more.  One of the things that I think makes genealogists so special is that they are willing to work so hard to learn and then share with others.  It is a gift we rarely think about because the entire community is this way.  I  think it is rare, don't you?

https://familysearch.org/blog/en/whats-familysearchjuly-2015/

Freedmen's Bureau Records

https://www.dropbox.com/home/Staff%20Training?preview=Lesson+44+-+Freedmen%27s+Bureau+Records.pdf

Using American Ancestors Dot Org

American Ancestors is the website for the highly regarded New England Historic and Genealogical Society (NEHGS).  It was established in 1845 in Boston and is one of the oldest and largest genealogical societies.

This website (http://americanancestors.org) is a comprehensive resource for Family History research.  It contains over 400 million records and should be a definite Go-To for England, New England, Pennsylvania,  New York and Virginia research.

As a member of the church you can access this affiliate Family search site.  Go to this link:

https://familysearch.org/partneraccess   

Follow instructions.  
Write down your username and password.

The level we have access to is most similar the level of Research on the paid site.  There are some areas of the website that are restricted and the lesson below outlines that for you.  All patrons on the computers in the OFSC can access American Ancestor in the library.

The lesson can be downloaded at this link:

http://tinyurl.com/nukxlwx  There are some things to practice on the lesson link.

Thanks to Linda for pointing out the value of this newly acquired partnership for Family Search.  Yet another great way to help our patrons in their quest to find their family.