James Tanner on Getting Started in Family History

James Tanner

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This is an ongoing series by James Tanner on starting your family history research in 10 very basic steps. 

"The steps so far are:

Step One: Start with yourself.
Step Two: Find out what has already been done.
Step Three: Choose a reasonable goal
Step Four: Start educating yourself
Step Five: Seek a Teacher or Mentor
Step Six: Use The Family History Guide
Step Seven: Choose a place to record your research

Now I will move on to Step Eight:

Step Eight: Add Sources to Your Entries in Your Family Tree"
To learn more about what James Tanner has to say about sources click on this link:

http://rejoiceandbeexceedingglad.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-guide-to-starting-your-family-history_12.html

Follow this blog to learn an incredible amount of important information.

Are Data Changes In Family Tree By Others Driving You Crazy?

Happy Easter!

Ya know, one really has to love James Tanner.  This man has the patience of Job, the stamina of 50 men, and the knowledge that makes this whole work come alive and make sense.  Ha!  I guess you can see I am a fan.  No surprises there if you are a regular reader of this blog.  With no less than two blog posts a day and often many more, this man is worth keeping up with to increase your knowledge on any genealogy subject.. He will keep you on your toes and demonstrate what just one man can do in a week's time.

He suggests and is right, that the people that don't know the rules on Family Search usage don't play by them either.  It's simple; you don't know what you don't know.  So the first order of the day if you are going to play is to learn the rules.  Find out something about the game.  At the very least don't let the very tenants of the exact purpose of Family Search be the thing that drive you crazy.   In this post he suggests ways to overcome the crazy making.  He is calling all users to task for not playing by the rules of engagement.  I love how he can do that so well.  And he is 100% spot on in what he says.  He has the perfect solution to the problem of people who are not playing fair.

Check it out here: http://rejoiceandbeexceedingglad.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-to-eliminate-arbitrary-changes-on.html

The relief to the frustration is right here.  Enjoy!

Duplicates in FamilySearch/Family Tree

Pinterest photo

On Friday of this past week I presented an all day seminar on Family Search/Family Tree at our local Family History Library.  I patterned it after the teaching method and program of the Orem Family History Training Center in Oren Utah.  They have that wonderful 5 day training program that they hold once a month that we lovingly call "Boot Camp" in our FS Library.  It is simply the best.  I would go back every year if I could.   See my recent blog post on it here:

http://alegacythatmatters.blogspot.com/2014/12/family-search-updates-for-december-fs.html

They present a lecture and then one-on-one practice time at the computer going over what you have just been taught with a person that knows it well.  They limit their classes to about 30 people because each student has a mentor/guide for those moments when you just cannot remember the next step.  Then you go back to the classroom, study and learn and then back to the computer lab several times each day.  

The method is perfect for implementing my favorite way to learn just about anything.  You have to Put Your Hands On It.  The method is called Linked Learning.  It's not a new method of learning for sure.  Then you can add one more step from Stephen Covey's favorite teaching techniques; teach it to someone else and you will own it.

On Friday we were talking about duplicate entries in Family Tree.  It is one of the main reasons that Family Tree was created in the first place.  We want only one space on the tree for every individual, not numerous ones for the same person.  I told the class I would get them more information on that and the descendancy view of the tree and more about how to use it. 

 I always talk about James Tanner and his blogs and this is why.  That very morning he had this on his blog, Rejoice And Be Exceeding Glad!

"Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are urged to provide accurate information when submitting names for Temple ordinances. Part of the process of being accurate with the FamilySearch.org Family Tree program is resolving any duplicate records. Referring to the Help Center about providing accurate information I find the following statement:

Assuring the accuracy of the information involves documenting and presenting the information used when submitting a name for ordinances. In many cases the FamilySearch software assists in this process. However, some additional steps may be required and should not be skipped - such as evaluating possible duplicate records.

How easy is the process of finding duplicate records in the Family Tree and what are the consequences of ignoring this requirement?

 It is important to understand several facts about the FamilySearch.org Family Tree:

The program inherited its data set from new.FamilySearch.org.  The original data added to new.FamilySearch.org consisted of several large databases which   already contained duplicate entries. Those databases included the Ancestral File (AF), the Pedigree Resource File (PRF) and the International Genealogical Index (IGI). The new.familysearch.org program did not resolve the issue of duplicate entries.

Information from the New.FamilySearch.org program is still being imported into the FamilySearch.org Family Tree. This process is ongoing and will not be completed until sometime in 2016.  The FamilySearch.org Family Tree program is full of duplicates. Some of the entries have dozens, perhaps hundreds of duplicate records. 

If you know what to look for, you will see that finding duplicate entries is quite simple and easy. Usually, the program marks the potential duplicates for you by Green Arrows or Green Temple icons."

You can read the rest of the article here: 

People complain and ruminate about duplicates all the time.  I think there are a lot of things to remember.  Family Search is a tool we can use to clean up 150 years and 5 data bases filled with duplications.  It inherited most of those duplicates. It is the only program that even comes close to having the prospects of a world wide accurate tree within its vision and scope.  

It is not unreasonable to assume that more duplicates will occur in the foreseeable future if people do not know how to use the program and its safeguards.   It is safe to say that beginners and even seasoned users will make mistakes.  We're human and humans make mistakes.  But they will subside when the final stages of the merging with new.familysearch.org is completed in 2016.  

There is a steep learning cure but it does get easier with practice. We should not resent people that are doing their best and feeling comfortable to try.  That is how we all learn.  There is almost nothing that cannot be fixed on the tree if something goes awry.   

Now is the time to fix the problems and prevent them from occurring in the future.  Family Tree has been up and running not even two years at this point.  It is naive to think everything is now taken care of and the tree should be perfect.  It is important to understand that the program is still evolving and new safe guards are being put in place all the time.  There is no end in sight with that evolution either. The quickest way for us to end duplicate entries and false information is to source and cite our records.  That means to find a record and cite its location so someone else can find it without researching all over again.  Again that will help us work together toward a common goal.  

It is also important to remember that Family Tree is like a big playing field.  Everyone gets to throw their stuff in and then we begin the sorting and sourcing and organizing our own things as individuals.  We should expect to share with others and learn from them and they us. Collaboration should not be feared, but embraced. They may give us one clue that could lead to a whole new branch of our tree.  

Keeping your own data base on your home computer backed up in several places should put your mind at ease.  No one is trying to wreck your tree or steal your ancestors.  We should all be trying to work together to make it the best.  It will take time.  Lots of time.  Let's face it.  We are the pioneers of Family Tree which is very exciting, but we are also the clean-up committee.  It is getting better all the time at an incredible pace.  Enjoy the ride.  Don't worry about the whole neighborhood...just take care of your own stewardship.  And do it systematically from what you know to what you don't know.  Jumping all over the place just isn't efficient and it doesn't produce accurate records either.  Always remember to check for duplicates routinely as you work through your portion of The Tree.

Source Pushing~Good or Bad?

A Well-Rooted Tree

The fairly new process of the big genealogy online sites of searching and finding and giving us records has been termed "Source Pushing."  Actually Ancestry has been doing it for quite awhile with their shaky leaves.  But it is becoming more sophisticated with new search technologies from My Heritage being employed and Family Search is right up there neck and neck in the race.  In fact,  we not only have Record Search on the Person Details Page of Family Tree but lately they have been beta testing Record Hinting and it is even better.  So when that is launched soon we might even be nudging our way out in front.

I have been doing some of the beta testing for Record Hinting and I have to say it is very impressive. See the recap of my first impressions at the bottom of this page.

It is going to have wide reaching good effects on moving the work forward with sources and citations right there at our finger tips. However, and it is a big however...we will have to be very careful with it.  The reality is there is no free lunch in genealogy and family history work, even when it is handed to us on a silver platter.  

There is no magic button to be pushed to interrupt what you find on the documents.  That is still going to require some very careful analysis of what is being presented with Source Pushing.  That is possibilities only, not the sure thing.  Source Pushing is a hand up, but it is not a panacea.  We will still need to know about our family before we can confirm yes or no on the programs.

So just a word of caution when working on your own things and especially when working with new and inexperienced patrons. Assumptions that are unfounded can lead to exactly what President Hinckley was trying to alleviate.  Duplication of all the work, including temple work. Nothing could defeat the purpose of Family Tree more than that.

Nothing is ever going to replace the well-trained thoughtful human mind when it comes to this or any other kind of work that requires analysis and pondering and problem solving abilities.   And there are not too many documents that stand alone in helping you come to know and love your ancestors either.  So is Source Pushing good or bad?  It is both.   It's mostly good with the potential to be bad if not used correctly.

Here is the excerpt from the OFSL Newsletter from June 8th from my experince beta testing of Record Hinting.

"Here is my first impression after beta testing a new feature about to be released on Family Search/Family Tree:  It is called "Hinting" and is found on the Person Details Page in Family Tree.

1.  It is very similar to Record Search also found on the Person Details Page. It is also there to help you find records for your ancestor. At this time it does not appear to be replacing Record Search but is an additional research tool.  

2.  Visually it is very nice and less busy than Record Search.  The results will likely be a lot more accurate than some of the random things that come up on Record Search.  When using Record Search the program initially searches only by name and the first date you have entered so a birth date or christening date.  So you will typically get census records and other records that can be identified by a minimal amount of information supplied by you. In order to refine your search for other dates and places you need to go to the left hand side of the page in Record Search and add more information. 

Hinting on the other hand seems to do a lot of that for you by applying more filters initially behind the scenes.  It recognizes what you have already found and finds some things that are missing automatically for you.  The most I have seen in the Hinting Box were 5 or 6 records.  Most have two or three.  Some have none. 

3.  The ones that have no Hints seem to be the ones where you have already attached all the records in FS on the Person Details Page for your person via Record Search or Tree Connect or creating your own sources.  

4.  It reminds me of the old adage "The rich get richer." The more you have worked on your tree and your families, the better you know them, the quicker and easier this is to use.   Also the more records you add the better the filters there are for FS to find even more records.  There is a high percentage of accurate records brought right to you with a lot less effort.  The more you have the better it gets.

5.  It looks like the US will be made easier by using this Hinting feature.  However at this point the outcome on my foreign born ancestors are not helped as much. 

 As an example, my Welsh born, Thomas Rees, produces two census records within his life time in the Hinting box.  Both are Welsh records and neither one of them are him.  By the time these 1880 census records were enumerated he has already been in the America for several years.  He married in 1871. Many records were produced for him here like that marriage record, records in Pennsylvania, records in Missouri including his death and burial records. He had several children that can be found on US Census records.  

Still no records appear for him even when all that information is on the Person Details Page in his Hinting Box.  Maybe that is by intent during this beta testing period for foreign born ancestors, but I don't know.

6. This is going to be a good and helpful feature for all of us.  It can be especially nice for people just getting started who have no research background.  It will give them a hand up and a feeling of accomplishing something right away.  That hopefully will give them a desire to return and find out more about their family.  

7. Here is a good thing about it that I noticed about the Hinting feature.  It was so easy that I wanted to put all the records in my ancestors' Person Details Pages. I don't remember having that feeling when I was adding them one by one and the searching took so much longer. " 

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.

Sources and Citations

The way that we learn about our family history is by researching.  We record our own experiences and life.  We locate documents like vital records, census records and other documents, look at family trees, we interview people, read family histories and the like.  We take that information and using certain methodologies we analyze our findings to connect generations of our family together.

We want to keep a record of the information we have found and where we found it step by step.  We do this to eliminate the need to duplicate the same steps again by ourselves or others.  We do it to provide evidence for the conclusions we draw from the data we find and analyze.  This process can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it.  The point is you should make it simple and not overlook this step.  

There are many articles available on sources and citations.  You can Google your head off on this.  One of the problems is semantics when trying to sort out what they all mean.  Often words like records, information, documentation and sources, citation, and sourcing are used interchangeably. The following is a video created by familysearch.org that talks a little about sources and citations.
For reasons I do not understand they refer to sources as records and citations as sourcing.  It only adds to the confusion for budding genealogists.  Just watch the video for general content.

 The word "Record" is used for source which is defined in another document by family search as: " an item such as an historical record, picture, journal, Bible, or other object that contains evidence that records an event of interest.  A source can be published or unpublished."  "Sourcing" is the word they use in the video which is actually citating.  Citation is defined by Family Search as the reference to a source."  My source citation for this quote is found @ familysearch.org, Sources in Family Tree, A Family Search White Paper written 29 June 2012.  Find it here.  https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/sources-in-family-tree-a-family-search-whitepaper-pdf/618

This is the video 5 Minute Genealogy #24.

http://tinyurl.com/99jvkzr

The video above and the PDF handout for the class are from familysearch.org.  I split the handout in half to include it here.  It is not meant to show the research log in detail but only to show you that you need a way to record your research as you go.

A lot of people enter their sources right into their family history software package when they update their individual entries, family tree and/or family group sheets in their personal files.   This is of course an excellent idea.  However, where do you record that information when you are actually researching?  There are many ways to do this.  If you are at the library copying documents you can write the information about where it can be located right on the copy as suggested in the video. I prefer evernote.com.  But you can search for a way that is perfect for you.  The important things is to do it.

It took me a long time to refine this part of my researching and to realize that my research notes included my sources and citations but are not limited to them.  This is why I prefer Evernote.com for my research notes.  I can include all the metadata (data about my data or sources and citations) and also have the flexibility to do a narrative about my findings in one accessible place.  I don't find research logs adequate for that much information but they may be perfect for you.  Again, you have to find what works for you.  Just make sure you do something!

The fact is, a lot of "genealogists" don't do source citations.  The reasons are varied and sound something like this..."I don't plan to publish my work," or ,"It is too hard and takes too long," or "It seems unnecessary."  The more casual the interest the more likely you will hear these reasons.  Quoting staff at ancestry.com on this..."Sourcing is ultimately what ties the entire genealogy community together.  We all rely on each other's work to some degree, whether it is a pedigree sent by our cousin or a family history written two centuries ago.  Sourcing your work ensures that anyone who picks up where you left off doesn't have to duplicate your efforts and can have confidence that your facts come from reliable sources."  You can read more of this article at http://www.genealogy.com/94-sourcing/

See John Wylie's article here  http://www.genealogy.com/19_wylie.html if you want to get into the technical aspects of sourcing and citations for publication or just because you want to do that kind of detail correctly.  Remember it can be as simple or as complicated as you wish.  As for me, I want to keep it fairly simple.  I want to be thorough but I do not want to get so caught up in the minutia of  information about information to the point that it forestalls my researching time.  There are only so many waking hours in the day after all.  Right?

I think the things outlined by familysearch.org in the green box above are good to begin.  Just remember it is like a recipe or road map.  Just help someone else or yourself to get to that source again in the easiest possible way for verification, authenticity and accuracy.  Test your citation on someone else.  If it works you are good to go.  Why go to all the work of researching if you don't do this important part of the whole process?  It just doesn't make any sense unless you are just collecting names as a hobby.  As you do it more and more your methods will evolve and you'll learn more.  For now just keep it simple.

And now from Pinterest...(drumroll....) a beautiful picture for the other side of our brains because there is way too much black and white on this page.

The Salt Lake Temple and the Reflecting Pond.