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This photo has recently surfaced on a site for family history consultants. It brings home the important message that all of us should be working on our family history. If you want to know how to get started, please contact a family history consultant in your ward.
ATTENDING THE TEMPLE
Scripture tells us that Abraham "sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right to be ordained to administer the same" (Abraham 1:2). He was not seeking land, and he was not seeking priesthood office, as we sometimes hear. He was seeking, as President Ezra Taft Benson says, priesthood blessings, meaning temple blessings. The most important part of the Abrahamic covenant, both for Abraham and for us, is the gift of temple covenants and blessings.
In the book House of Glory by Michael Wilcox, he said we frequently say we're "getting a name to take to the temple."But we're not taking a name - we're taking a person. He says if someone was our ancestor, "would it not be a glorious thing to enter a temple and say to them: "Here are my eyes; together we will look upon the beauty of the Lord's house. Here are my ears; let us hear the words of eternal life. Here are my lips; we will make sacred covenants. Here are my hands; together we will receive the gifts of life everlasting. Here are my knees; kneel with me at the altars of salvation,there to become one with all those we both love. I will remember you."
We must never forget that we do the work for real people who had joys and sorrows just as we do. They faced the challenges of their lives with courage and dignity. They loved their families and made sacrifices for their God. We do not do the work for names but for lives, and in doing it our souls are bound to them and theirs to ours. That is why it is so glorious.
They are dead to this world but are alive in the world of spirits, alive to God, and alive in our hearts. "The spirits of the just," Joseph Smith taught, "are...enveloped in flaming fire,...are not far from us, and know and understand our thoughts, feelings and motions.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 326)
INTERNET GENEALOGY –Our Faves
By Jack and Sylvia Sonneborn
Forms to Do Genealogy
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Cyndi’s List in 1996 as a card catalog for the genealogical collection in the library known as the Internet. 264,000 links. Search by word or browse by topic alphabetically. Hosted by Ancestry
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Ancestry subscription to family trees, vital statistics, censuses, immigration, newspapers, military records, obituaries, directories, biographies, photographs, wills, court and land records, and more.
Ancestry Message Board and One World Tree
Use message board free. Also do a search free to see if there is information available. Try a 14-day free trial.
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Ellis Island Records
1892-1924 over 20 million immigrants were processed through Ellis Island. Free site. Original records online.
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Family Search
site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Census, SSI, family trees, free download of PAF software to store family history. Family History Catalog.
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Rootsweb and World Connect
Oldest and largest free genealogy website. Ability to search for ancestors. Free Message board. Now maintained by Ancestry
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USGenWeb
Started in 1996 as Kentucky database. Volunteers and county administrator input info. Special projects are tombstone, obituaries, and census. State information.
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Family Tree Searcher
Surname searcher that puts your ancestor’s name into 9 surname search engines at one time.
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Linkpendium
A collection by state of many genealogy records. Also able to do a surname search of many sites.
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GenCircles
Upload you family history. Search for surnames. Free. Does smart matching with other databases.
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GenForum
Originally forum for Genealogy.com. Surname and topic message boards searchable free. Subscription rate.
Find a Grave
Founded since 1995. Largest compilation of burial information on the web
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Funeral Net
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Interment
Find tombstones
Note: This site also has a listing of PA German Ancestors. Click on United States, then Pennsylvania, and then look at the PA Sponsored Links for PA German Ancestors.
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York County Cemeteries with Photos
Click on Yes to open cemetery.
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USGenWeb “The Tombstone Transcription Program”
Begin at “State Projects” to find indexed cemeteries.
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Keeping Journals
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Hiring Genealogists
Access Genealogy
Free. Cemetery databases and thousands of records.
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Genealogy Bank
Free Social Security Death Index
New Family Search Labs
As the LDS Church indexes the census and other records, they are being posted at “Records Search”
Looking for indexing volunteers:
Family Search Indexing Project
Volunteer to help index the census and other information in project being done by LDS Church
Ancestor Hunt
Hundreds of records to sort through. Free. Has obituary portal among other things. Can search by state.
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Surname Helper
Search for a surname.
Ancestral Findings
Lots of records. Click on “first time user” to begin.
Dead Fred old photos and search for old photos. Site is free. Solicitation for donations.
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Flicker
3 billion images and videos on a community website for sharing
Old Family Photos
Upload your old photos, or search by surname for old photos.
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Distant Cousin
Free database of thousands of genealogy records. Alternate
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Genealogy Blog Finder
RootsMagic Blog
Sharing Genealogy
My Heritage
A site that is just beginning. Ross website.
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Publish to Website
One Great Family
subscription. Search for your surname and get an accounting of records of that name.
Connect with DNA
familybuilder.com
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Kindred Konnections
Subscription surname. Free at Family History Center
World Vital Records
Fee. FHC Free. Family Trees and other information.
FamilyLink.com
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Footnote
Footnote is a history/family history website that features searchable original historical documents, from the National Archives and other content providers. FHC-Free
Godfrey Memorial Library
A genealogy and history library. Fee. Free at FHC.
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Heritage Quest
Digitized books, newspapers, and other records. Fee. Free at FHC
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Preserve Newspapers
Allen Public Library
Said to have a lot of family history records.
Look for books ~
Government by State
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West Virginia
Sample of how many states are making their vital statistics available to the public via the Internet
Black History Dutch
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Genes Reunited – UK ~ The United Kingdom’s favorite site with 9 million names.
Ireland
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Canadian Genealogy
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French
German
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Publishing
blurb.commypublisher.com ; iPhoto Books; cherishbound.com; familylearn.com; treasured-ink.com;
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5,000 + digitized Family Histories can be accessed at BYU online - out of print
Naturalizations
Passenger Lists – Immigration
Family Search Wiki
Genealogists contribute the information to create an entry
ENGLAND BARN RAISING
FRANCE BARN RAISING
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Family History Favorites
Click on map to find favorites of the staff of the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah
Susquehanna Trail Genealogy Club - website
Local club for PAF Users and other researchers
Genealogy News
Newsletter published by Sonneborns for genealogists
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GENEALOGY.COM
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JACK’S FAVORITE
Lots of things to do.
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Another well-liked site
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GOOGLE SEARCHER
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USING GOOGLE
Type an ancestor’s name in the Google search box with parentheses:
“John Smith” Family History
SEEK GOOGLE BOOKS
Type into your search box -
Click on”more” (down-arrow) and then “books” and then the name of a book or person.
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YORK COUNTY FAMILY HISTORY SITE, maintained by Don & Jeanine Hartman –
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OUT OF PRINT BOOKS
Out of print books
Over 60,000,000 books
Find genealogies and location histories
Other good sites:
Genealogy Class
Jack and Sylvia are teaching a class of 20 called “Seeking Your Ancestors” at Penn State – York Campus for 6 weeks, one day a week for the OLLI program (Life-long Learning). The information above was prepared as some of our favorites. We also found an excellent site for reviewshighlighting another person’s favorites. The address is below and is a really nice site to consult for additional places to research:
Top Genealogy Sites
Top 5 Genealogy Magazines for Family HistoryEnthusiasts
By Kimberly Powell
About.com
Keep up with the latest genealogy news, tips and techniques with these five wonderful genealogy magazines - perfect for keeping you enthusiastic about family history year-round. Many are available for international subscription or on CD-ROM.
1. Heritage Quest
First published in 1985, this publication's enormous content "sets it apart from other genealogy magazines." This full-color bimonthly publication is an excellent reference tool for beginners as well as advanced genealogists.
2. Ancestry Magazine
Expert guidance for the beginner to advanced historian is available in this colorful bimonthly magazine packed full of expert articles, regular columns, book reviews, case studies and more.
3. Family Tree Magazine
Chock full of tips and info in a fun, easy-to-read format, Family Tree Magazine reaches beyond genealogy research to also encompass ethnic heritage, family reunions, scrapbooking and historic travel. This is a U.S. magazine, not to be confused with Family Tree Magazine in the UK.
4. Everton's Genealogical Helper
Back to its original black and white format, Everton's Genealogical Helper still packs in all of the great genealogy articles, news, tips, Web sites, queries and reviews that genealogists have come to rely on since the first issue was published in 1947.
5. Family Chronicle
Published six times per year, this excellent family history magazine offers a variety of topics of interest to genealogists from beginner through advanced in full-glossy color. Written by genealogy enthusiasts for genealogy enthusiasts.
NEWSLETTERS AND BLOGS:
Ted Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter
Renae Zamora’s Genealogy Blog -
HOW TO MAKE A BLOG:
Nina Miles will be presenting a lesson on how to make genealogy blogs at the May 28 meeting of the Susquehanna Trail Genealogy Club, LDS Church 2100 Holly Drive, 7:00 p.m. Stop by and see what we’re all about. Jack Sonneborn is president of the club. Contact him at 717-757-2331 for more information about the club.
CORE ONLINE GENEALOGY RESOURCES
Tom Kemp spoke to the ManasotaGenealogical Society (FL) – onCore Online Genealogy Resources - The Ones you will actually use and relyon! . Here are the accompanying slides - See:
Tom Kemp
LESSON MANUALS FOR NFS
I have added two new lesson manuals to my website.
( These manuals arepart 1 & 2 of using nFS. I will be adding a third document soon onusing FamilyTree. I have already used the first part to teach myfamily history class, and it will fit into a Sunday School class time
period. I will be using part 2 this week for my class. These manualsare revisions to my original Introduction to nFS that I developed in2007. They havenew screen shots and the additional screens that have been added since nFS first came out. These are in draft format. I
would appreciate any comments.
MilesMeyer
Jacksonville, FL
WHEN TO USE A DISPUTE ON NFS
If you go into "help center" in nFS, on the first page under search, put in "when should I dispute?" and click search. You will get 117 answers dealing with disputes. Most on the first page are what I recommend. The 3,5,6,7 are very helpful. This feature of nFS is little known by most new users of nFS. It is great; use it, as well as commonly asked questions that are further down on "find answers" page. These are not opinions; they are knowledge documents from the church on the subject.
Marian
MORE ON DISPUTING ON NFS
Disputes do not prevent the original submitter from correcting the data UNLESS the dispute is on a relationship. If you dispute an event such as birth or death, the original submitter can make the change. If the dispute is still showing after the change has been made, it simply means that there are more submitters who have submitted the same incorrect information. If all of the original incorrect submissions get changed, then the dispute does not show anymore. But it is still in the system. If someone subsequently comes along and adds the incorrect information again, the dispute will immediately reappear - thus letting the new submitter know that the information they just added is incorrect.
Having said that, even disputes on regular events should not be the first step. I think the first step should be to try separating records. It is possible that the incorrect information is there because someone incorrectly combined records from two different people. Once you have separated any incorrectly combined records, if the error is still there, the next step should be to attempt to contact the original submitter and discuss the data with him. Perhaps he has conflicting sources. Perhaps he will convince you that your data is incorrect. Perhaps both pieces of data are correct, given the source from which they came. Names are notorious for changing over time. We should not presume that because we have one "correct" spelling of our name that the same was true in the past. Historically spelling of names was not nearly as rigid as it is today. As a last resort, dispute the event.
If the problem is a relationship, look again for incorrectly combined records, try to contact the submitter again, contact FamilySearch support, do anything you can to get it resolved. Finally, as a last last last resort, dispute the relationship, making sure to provide good contact information so that when someone comes forward to fix it, he will be able to contact you and ask you to remove the dispute on the relationship. Aloha, John
ROOTSMAGIC NOW COMPATIBLE WITH NEW FAMILY SEARCH
RootsMagic 4 just became the first and only desktop genealogy software certified to reserve and print LDS Temple ordinances using new FamilySearch.
This is really fantastic! I can link the people in my database to the people in nFS and then share data back and forth between the programs. I can now reserve any incomplete ordinances, and then when I'm ready to go
to the temple, I can select those that I want to print on a FOR.
RootsMagic prints the FOR and keeps track of my temple work. For the most part, I never have to use nFS directly unless I want to add notes or something.
The other great thing about RootsMagic 4 is that it has what is called FamilySearch Central. It keeps track of all my people and it tells me when something has changed on nFS and I need to check it out. It also keeps track of any people that I add to my database that I haven't linked to nFS yet.
I understand that it will be downloadable to the FHC's through LanDesk shortly. This makes it really easy to install in your centers.
Sue M
ANCESTRAL QUEST SYNCS WITH NFS
Jack has been trying out Rootsmagic while Sylvia stays with Ancestral Quest. Jack likes the syncing feature of RM better, but Sylvia likes the fact that any changes in Ancestral Quest automatically go into her PAF. If Jack wants to open up his records in PAF after syncing in RootsMagic, he must make aGEDCOM to put it into PAF. RootsMagic also allows doing temple work, whereas AQ allows you to virw the person in nFS and proceed. Both software products have advantages. We suggest that you try the trial offer made by the manufacturers and determine what is best for you.
Family Tree Now Includes Temple Submission Functions
FamilySearch product management is pleased to announce that the Family Tree at FamilySearch Labs was recently updated. The latest updates now include all of the functionality required to prepare names for temple ordinances and print Family Ordinance Request (FOR) forms—the full “temple experience!”
Individuals with access to nFS can access the Family Tree through labs.familysearch.org. It requires the same login and password as new.familysearch.org.
To try out the new functionality in the Family Tree, go to Folders, then the Summary tab. Under the new Temple Ordinances section, you can:
- Check for and resolve duplicates with ordinances (Always check this before clicking SUBMIT).
- Enter Ordinances Manually.If no ordinances appear yet you know when the work has been performed, click this link to report the ordinances.
- Submit the ordinances to your Temple Tracking Page.This simply reserves the name and ordinances on the Temple tab.You will need to click on the Temple tab at the top of the page to continue the temple process and print FOR forms, etc.
In the Temple tab you can:
- Print temple cards (Family Ordinance Request - FOR) if you want to perform the ordinances yourself.
- Assign names to the templeif you want the temple to allow someone else to perform the ordinances.
Remember that the Family Tree is operating off of the same database as new.FamilySearch.org. Any work done through the Family Tree application is recorded in the new.familysearch.org database.
NEW GENEALLY SITE
Recommended by Ted Eastman in his newsletter: