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Baltimore Stake Family History Workshop in September

The annual Baltimore [Maryland]Stake Family History Workshop will be held on Saturday, Sept. 13. That’s not too far off. Plan now to attend. For additional information, please go to

Saturday, September 12, 2009

This workshop is FREE and sponsored by Baltimore Maryland Stake

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

120 Stemmers Run Road

Essex, Maryland, 21221

Schedule

8:00 - 8:45 -- Pick up information packet and syllabus (if ordered), view displays in the gymnasium

8:45 - 9:50 -- Opening session with Keynote Speaker -- L. Reynolds (Ren) Cahoon--

Family History Re-born: Progress, Perils and Possibilities

Ren is currently a commissioner for the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists. He has also served on:

  • Executive Committee of the Federal CIO Council.
  • Board of the Civil War Trust
  • The International Council on Archives’ Automation Committee.

He has also co-authored articles on Planning and Decision Processes for Information Technology in Archives and Archival Preservation of Magnetic Media. Click green link above for a more complete biography.

10:00 - 3:50-- Six 50 min. classesBring your own bagged lunch.Bottled water will be provided.

FAMILY HISTORY MISSIONARIES

To: Family History Consultants in North America

As we prepare to release the new FamilySearch Web site to Church members in Utah and Idaho, we have a need for more Church Service missionaries to serve part-time in answering family history questions from the convenience of their own home.

FamilySearch Support missionaries assist with any of the following family history products and resources:

  • The New Family Search
  • Familysearch.org
  • Internet Indexing and Name Extraction
  • Record Search
  • Family History Center Support
  • Research Support and the Research Wiki

OUR DECISION TO SERVE

Do you recall that Jack and I published the letter above in a previous newsletter? It came at a time that Jack and I had decided to look at serving a mission. Jack turned 65 on August 5. It’s funny how things happen. Just as we were ready to serve, along came the opportunity to serve a part-time, stay-at-home family history mission. In addition, our friend Sandy Young in York 1st Ward and our friend Nell Parker of Utah had already embarked on this opportunity. EldersNorm Drasher and Art Reid in our stake are also serving this type of mission. The timing was also right for us. We have worked a long time to gain knowledge about family history, and we like to share that knowledge. The fact that we have a ten-day trip scheduled to see General Conference in Utah delayed our starting date, but in November, we will begin the 8 weeks of training, approx. two hours a day. Then in January 2010 we will begin to work for the Family History Department.

Our service will involve answering questions for members worldwide about family history. Jack’s and Nell’s field is Research Support. Sandy will work in Family History Center Support, and Sylvia will work in the new Family Search Support. Jack and I will serve 15 hours each a week and also continue to work at the Family History Center. We are looking forward for this wonderful opportunity and hope to still be available to our patrons of the FHC.

DETAILS OF WHAT A TYPICAL DAY WOULD BE LIKE AS AN AREA SUPPORT MISSIONARY

What's a typical day like? Can you set your own hours?I still work full time. Is that a problem?

Area Support Missionaries go through 8 weeks of training on the Internet, about 20 hours a week for those weeks. I think all the training sessions are recorded, so if needed, you could listen to them evenings and weekends. You work the lessons similar to those for consultants in the Help Center pretty much on your own. During the live sessions you can ask questions and intetract with the instructors--kind of like Go to Meeting. We use Adobe and Oracle for this.

After the initial training you are assigned to a Training Assistant who helps you with hands-on practice answering emails and telephone calls. It really helps if trainees have good computer skills.

Then after the training, you are assigned to a specific Mission Leader (ML) who shepherds about 10 to 12 missionaries. This group meets weekly for online discussion and to pass on instruction from the Team Leads (TLs) and Church employees. MLs give additional one-on-one help as needed. When on duty, all have access to one or more Skype groups where they can call for help if they get stuck. These Skype groups are monitored by MLs and TLs who can join your call or take over completely if needed.

You pretty much choose your own schedule. They would like at least 12 hours of phone/email time each week and up to 20 if you can do it. There are 4 inservice meetings each week which are also recorded, so if you miss something you can listen to it on your own time. They like us to attend all the meetings, but ask for at least 1 per week. You can schedule time off for vacations and other family matters if you need to. I find it is best to set a schedule and try to stick to it as closely as possible. You can commit to 6 to 18 months and renew if you want to go more. They need people weekends. I babysit a granddaughter week days and serve evenings and weekends. We have almost 24/7 service. In the evenings you may get calls from Australia or New Zealand, or from English-speaking persons in Asia; and Saturday mornings I have had calls from Ireland. The phone system is all on the Internet.

There is a lot to learn and remember (which is hard for seniors, but many do it) and things are constantly changing as you know. But it is a very rewarding service. Those with family history experience and good computer skills, would have no problem at all.
More questions? Please contact:
Elder Arnold Davis

Family History Department

Joseph Smith Memorial Building

15 East South Temple Street

Salt Lake City, UT 84150-0403

I am a missionary in FamilySearch Support. I am having a wonderful time answering support phone calls and feedback emails. I get to speak with the greatest people in the world who are trying to do their duty to their families through Family History work. In my38 years serving in the church, I have never felt the spirit assisting me as I have in this calling. In the words of my grandson It Rocks!

However, with Utah and Idaho rolling out, it is getting busy. If you have moderate computer skills and are willing to learn, we will give you 2 months of peer assisted, on-line training. Then you will be further guided by a Mission Lead and a Team Lead who will ensure your success.
If you know anyone who might be able to help us please give a call to 1-866-406-1830 and ask for a missionary application. We need you now.
I will be happy to answer any questions about the mission that I can.

Elder Allan Hale------FamilySearch Support

THE WORK IS MOVING FORWARD

Temples pull down names directly from
the nFS/patron submitted pool? This procedure WILL be interesting to see how it impactsthe speed of getting temple file names processed. I asked recently how manyendowments the Provo Temple completes per day. The family file desk ladies smiled at me and said they really didn't look at the numbers that way. However, they felt confident in saying that 1500 to 2000 a day wouldprobably be typical. They were recording as we talked, and they hit about 800 at 11:00 in the morning.
It's time to move this work forward! Thanks to Jill Crandell for this insight.

SYMBOLS IN GENEALOGY

Have you ever seen a symbol or initial on an old family document and wondered what it meant? This list will help you understand just what they were talking about!

AMERICAN BATTLE MOMUMENTS COMMISSION

If you have military ancestors buried in US cemeteries abroad, this is the place to find them. The site covers 24 overseas military cemeteries with almost 125,000 American war dead, plus Tablets of the Missing that memorialize more than 94,000 US servicemen and women. Reported in Family Tree Magazine's "10 Best Websites to See Dead People."

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead? Corinthians 15:29

SKETCHES OF YOUR ANCESTRAL HOMETOWN

While not strictly an artifact of your family history, it can be nice to add some context to your story by including an image or photo of the town / village / region where your family once resided,especially in cases in which you now live far away, or the place has been modernized extensively. Seeing the town as your ancestor may have seen it can give you some insight into their world.
Source: Family History Tips, June 23, 2009

MARRIAGE BANNS AND INTENTIONS

Church records often list the date on which a couple makes the announcement that they intend to marry. These are called marriage banns. In addition, you can find marriage intentions, which were non-religious public announcements of the couple's intention to marry. Don't misinterpret the dates of marriage banns and marriage intentions as the actual wedding date.
Source: "Tips for Reading Old Records: Dangerous Dates and Word Meanings" by Genealogy.com. Read the full article at: ing.html

READING OLD HANDWRITING

One of the most important fundamental principles in reading old handwriting is that it is always necessary to compare: compare and match unknown letters, characters, or doubtful words in the same document to determine if they are the same. Compare with words on the same page, and then look on the pages before and after the one in question. Compare with letters and words that are familiar to you.

Source: "Guidelines for Reading Old Documents" by Kip Sperry Read the full article genealogy.com/genealogy/68_sperry.html

BOOKMARK AN INDIVIDUAL IN NEW FAMILY SEARCH

Have you ever wished you didn't have to navigate your whole pedigree each time you wanted a specific individual you work with frequently? With the Individual in the primary position in new FamilySearch, click Favorites (Internet Explorer) or Book Marks (Firefox), then click Add to Favorites (or Bookmarks) and enter a name such as "nFS-Bill Jones". Click Add. The next time you want to use new FamilySearch, select the "Favorite" or "Bookmark" you created in your browser. Sign in and new FamilySearch takes you directly to that person (rather than to your own record).

ETERNAL FAMILIES

I promise you that if you will keep your journals and records, they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to your families, to your children, your grandchildren, and others, on through the generations. Each of us is important to those who are near and dear to us and as our posterity read of our life's experiences, they, too, will come to know and love us. And in that glorious day when our families are together in the eternities, we will already be acquainted.
---by Spencer W. Kimball, New Era, December 1980, pg 26

WHAT KIND OF ANCESTOR ARE YOU?

Do you remember how frustrated you felt to acquire a stack of family photos only to find no one had identified them? How sad were you that Grandpa Charles didn't leave a journal or a biographical sketch of his life? Do you wish someone in the family had archived all of the important documents you need to prove your research? Decide this summer to BE the kind of ancestor you wish you had. Make a goal to remember the Beverly Glen mantra: "Family History is doable, half an hour a day, little by little." That's how we eat elephants. That's how we achieve family history goals. Go for it!

Source: Family History Tip of the Week, 7/5/05, Ohana Software, Contributed by Adele Austin, Family History Consultant, Las Vegas Beverly Glen Ward

PERSONAL HISTORIES ARE DOABLE

You can work on a "time-line" history a few minutes per day or 1 hr. per week. A time-line history takes your life year by year and includes a simple one-sentence statement of a major event along with the date of the event. It will serve to be a reminder when you get around to enlarging on the event in a longer history or - at the very least - it creates an outline history for your descendants even if nothing else ever gets written! Check out the following fun website which allows you to patch your own life's adventures into the happenings of the world around you. Go to play around.

Source: Ohana Software, " Family History Tip of the Week", 7/5/9, Contributed by Adele Austin, Family History Consultant, Las Vegas Beverly Glen Ward.

TAKING A STEP BACK TO REVIEW

In a world where we can click and add a record to our tree, it's easy to lose track of all the details we find in a record. As we continue to gather records, a lot of clues get lost along the way. Periodically it's important to go back and do a comprehensive review of what we have accumulated. If we look at the big picture, we're going to spot a lot more opportunities for further research, and we may find that the clue you've been searching for has been sitting in your files all along. Read the whole article by clicking the link below to learn more tips for reviewing what has been found for an ancestor.

Source: 24-7 Family History Circle Blog, 23 Jan 2990, by Juliana Smith

SIMPLIFY FINDING DISTANCES BETWEEN LOCATIONS

Not long ago I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how far my ancestor lived from the cemetery that I believe he is buried in "as the crow flies." I could locate both locations on a map, but didn't know where roads might have been on the frontier. I have since found a free website for joggers and bikers very useful for getting distances. GMaps Pedometerallows you to get straight line distances (manual) between two or more points. Distances on current roads are available taking into account curves and turns onto other roads (automatic). This will be useful to get an exact driving distance from a landmark to a cemetery or other location. The cyclist route will not let you go down a one-way street the wrong way like the runner route would.

Gerald M. Graves, Van Meter, Iowa , "Your Quick Tips", 05 Jan 2008, 24/7 Family History Circle Blog

WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

A treasure trove for Badger State history of all kinds- including Civil War records, images and 150,000 names in biographical sketches, obituaries and newspaper articles-this site also lets you search 1 million births, 1 million marriages and 400,000 deaths, all pre-1907.

HOW TO EAT AN ELEPHANT OR HOW TO DO FAMILY HISTORY

In May I was asked to give the 5th Sunday presentation for RS and Priesthood on NFS and family history.

A while before it was scheduled, I started to think about how to present it - to make it "eatable" for the Members.
I had one of our talented Young Women draw an elephant on the blackboard.
Tip of the trunk = registering on NFS
Trunk = bigger than usual because of a 4-generations pedigree. Around
3rd-4th generations a line called 1900's downward over the trunk.

With some few inches between downward lines indication 1800's till about 1500/1400's before the head ends. The rest we have to leave to be done during the Millennium - or it HAS been done. The elephant ends with Adam and Eve and their children, as the elephant's tail.
Some members found it pretty funny but also helpful. You do not to have to eat an entire elephant at once.

A Family History Consultant

MAKE GENEALOGY FUN

If the suggestion "Let's do our genealogy" is met with glassy-eyed expressions at your house, why not try some of the following suggestions that can make genealogy fun. Remember, the essence of genealogy is binding the past to the present. Only one facet involves huddling over a microfilm, reader and searching through hard-to- read documents in a musty courthouse (activities, by the way, that some genealogists have a special liking for). There are countless other ways to acquaint your family members with their ancestors. Begin by analyzing your family's special skills and interests. Take into consideration their age levels. Then approach the activities you select with enthusiasm- and you will soon find your family members developing new talents and growing closer to each other as you learn and work together.