Mark Your Calendars - UVPAFUG Meeting!

UTAH VALLEY PAF USERS GROUP MEETING AND NEW LOCATION

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Users Group will be on Saturday, 10 Jan 2009, from 9 am until noon IN THE EDGEWOOD/RIVERSIDE LDS CHAPEL, 3511 North 180 East, Provo, Utah. NOTE THE CHANGE IN LOCATION. This LDS chapel is within one mile of the old location and is behind the Jamestown shopping plaza on the east side of University Avenue in the "River Bottoms" part of Provo. You get to it by going on 3700 North east from University Avenue and then south on 180 East. See the map showing the new and old locations on our website given below.

The main presentation will be by Michael Ritchey on THE FAMILYSEARCH WIKI: HOW IT CAN HELP NOW AND HOW IT WILL GROW THIS YEAR. The FamilySearch wiki at https://wiki.familysearch.org is a free website designed to allow the genealogical community to provide advice on the best strategies and records to use in finding ancestors. The site is free to everyone, but you must register to add or edit information. This community authoring approach enables the creation of objective advice, rapid revision and translation, and coverage of more places worldwide. In 2009 contributors will be working together on a series of "barn raisings" -- short, intensive community efforts to provide information regarding the best sources, methodologies, and strategies for doing genealogical research in a specific location such as a state in the U.S. or a county in England. This talk will preview what the barn raisings are and show some quick and easy ways you can contribute to this great worldwide project. Everyone is invited to log onto the Wiki and sample the types of information you can find there.

Michael Ritchey is a former Family History Center Director in Provo, Ward Family History Consultant, and professional genealogist. He has worked for the Family History Department of the LDS Church since 2000 as a U.S. Reference Consultant at the Family History Library, as manager of the Research Support team, and most recently, as community and content coordinator of FamilySearch wiki on the Community Services team.

Following the main presentation there will be several classes taught concerning technology and family history. As usual, there will be something for everyone at all levels of expertise. The classes currently scheduled for this meeting are:

1. Clearing Names for the Temple in 2009, by Duane Dudley
2. Keeping Your PC Healthy, by Jerry Castillo
3. Q&A on the Family Search Wiki, by Michael Ritchey
4. Video of November's Main Presentation on WorldConnect at RootsWeb, by Gerhard Ruf
5. Ancestral Quest 12.1, by Paul Johnson
6. RootsMagic 3, by Bruce Buzbee
7. Legacy 7, by Dean Bennett.

All meetings of the Users Group are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The Users Group has the goal of helping individuals use technology to further their family history and there are usually 100-125 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays. Several of the officers, including Gerhard Ruf, President; Don Snow, 1st VP; Brian Cooper, 2nd VP; Beth Ann Wiseman, PAFology Editor; Kay Baker and Gerry Eliason working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill, Lynne Shumway, and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD and Video Library, will all be there. They will help with membership, answer questions, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter PAFology, and check out DVD's and videos of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Users Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on the Group's website http://uvpafug.org and the press releases are at http://blog.uvpafug.org/. For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvpafug.org (801-225-6106), VP1 Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu, or VP2 Brian Cooper at vp2@uvpafug.org.

Adventures in FamilySearch Indexing: Week 68

Well today is the day that I know I will reach the 10,000 names indexed mark. I am only 145 records from my goal. Before I start indexing I just have to read any messages that Headquarters might have for us.

On the FamilySearch Indexing website there is a dated message of thanks for our patience while the system was down. I don't feel the need to repeat it here.

In the program itself there are two messages in My Messages.

From: Headquarters
Subject: Semimonthly message
Date: 19 Dec 2008

Here are some tips to remember when you have difficulty identifying a letter or word:

• Look for other letters or words on the document that are similar, and are found in more common or familiar words.
• Use the previous or next image also to help you to identify the letter or word.
• The lookup list can help decipher difficult names. Search it by using beginning letters, ending letters in the middle or the name or any combination of these.
• Wild characters (? or *) can also be used in the lookup list fields. For example, type ?rus in the Starts with field of a country lookup list and you will find only one result: Prussia.
  

If you are unable to decipher all of a word, remember to use the wild characters (? or *) in the data entry fields in place of the unreadable letters. Use ? to replace one letter. Use * to replace multiple letters.

I learned something new, I didn't know you could use the question mark (?) as a wild character in the program. I will use this tip in the future I am sure. Our second message is:

From: Headquarters
Subject: Indexing Support Hours Changing
Date: 29 Dec 2008

Beginning January 1st, the hours for Indexing Support will be changing. Continue to contact us toll-free at 1-866-406-1830.

• For help with the indexing program, or specific projects, hours are Monday-Friday from 7:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., and Saturday from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. (MST, GMT-7).
• For help with UDE, extraction inventory, or to place an order, hours are Monday-Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. (MST, GMT-7).
• For help with administration and leadership for indexing and extraction, hours are Monday-Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. (MST, GMT-7).
  

The Support page of the FamilySearch indexing Web site will be updated to reflect these changes soon.

Ok, now onto my big moment - indexing until I reach the 10,000 mark. I figure I can do it with three batches of the census. Yup! the Massachusetts 1920 U.S. Federal Census is still on the list to index. It might as well be that project that gets me to the 10,000 mark.

I choose three batches to download. Wait a minute I must of hit something wrong. My batch isn't even in English, this is definitely not the U.S. census. I read on the program title that I am indexing the Argentina Censo 1869 - Buenos Aires. Weird! I return the batch. Wow, all three of my batches are from that project. Back they go!

Again choose the Massachusetts 1920 U.S. Federal Census. I check it twice, yes I have the right one. I tell it to download three batches. YES!!! Success, it's in English and the right batches this time. I must of been over anxious when I chose my batches the first time around. This is a big moment for me - it's almost like winning the lottery (if I ever played it! hehe).

The rest on my indexing time was uneventful. I did three batches in no time at all. It's been forever since I timed myself doing a batch. My last one took me all of 20 minutes to do. My, my, how different that is from my very first batch 68 weeks ago. Yes, it has taken me 68 weeks, with an average of 147 records indexed each week. I know that is no way near what others have done, but for me it's a milestone. I have actually stuck to it and by small means a lot has been accomplished. I think I will have a party to celebrate in just a few days!

Totally number of records indexed to date: 10,005 - WAHOO!!

See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day!

Merry Christmas from the Zamora Family

(Photo: Angels by Mark Mabry in Reflections of Christ.)

To view the Zamora's Christmas card click here.

dynastree offers Family Tree Posters on the US market from $ 25.00

New York – December 22nd, 2008. Family network dynastree (www.dynastree.com) now offers the popular family tree posters in the US as well. The high-quality poster printouts can be ordered from $ 25.00, free shipping.

dynastree (formerly: itsourtree.com) have added the United States to their list of countries where family tree poster printouts can be ordered. The completely customizable family tree posters can be delivered to all 50 states of the US, including Hawaii and Alaska. All posters are printed on premium professional paper (230g/m²) and will be delivered without any shipping costs as a launch offer.

Several formats are available to serve all hobby-genealogists’ needs depending on the different family tree sizes. For all those who are still looking for a Christmas present but are a too late for delivery on time for Christmas, dynastree offers family tree poster vouchers that can be printed directly on the printer at home.

Family tree posters can be configured quickly and easily in a three-step process. To customize the poster, several background wallpapers, profile nodes and colours are available and make the personal family tree a unique gift. dynastree is the first company worldwide to offer top-quality family tree posters at this price.

FamilySearch Record Search Update: 15 Million New Records Added

18 December 2008

FamilySearch added over 15 million new indexed records to its Record Search pilot—all from the 1850 and 1870 U.S. Censuses. The records are linked to the digital images of the originals. The new records can be searched for free at FamilySearch.org (Click Search Records, then Record Search pilot).

1870 United States Census
Indexed Records: 12,137,756
Comments: Added 7 new indexed states (KY, MN, MO, NY, TN, VA, and WV)

1850 United States Census (Population)
Indexed Records: 2,027,454
Comments: Added 3 new indexed states (AL, IN, and MO)

1850 United States Census (Slavery)
Indexed Records: 869,076
Comments: Added 3 new indexed states (AL, MO, and SC)

1850 United States Census (Mortality)
Indexed Records: 37,990
Comments: Added 3 new indexed states (AL, IN, and LA)

Adventures in FamilySearch Indexing: Week 67

This has been a good week for me. Most of my Christmas shopping is now done and I still have some energy left. hehe!! The tree is up and Christmas music is playing in the background. It's about time that I got into the Christmas spirit.

I thought I better get my indexing done before they have the system shutdown tomorrow. The following email was posted on the FamilySearch Indexing website and in the application's My Messages.

December 12, 2008: System Downtime Rescheduled

The FamilySearch indexing system will be down for approximately 24 hours from 12:01am MST (GMT-7) on Tuesday, December 16th, to 12:01am on Wednesday, December 17th. Please submit or return all batches you have downloaded before 12:01am Tuesday morning. You will not be able to do any indexing until the system is back up.

THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM THE PAST WHEN YOU COULD DOWNLOAD SEVERAL BATCHES AND WORK OFFLINE. ANY BATCHES DOWNLOADED BEFORE TUESDAY AND NOT SUBMITTED BEFORE THE SYSTEM GOES DOWN WILL BE INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE NEW SYSTEM AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SUBMIT THEM.

During the downtime, we will be updating our databases. Indexers will not notice any significant updates to the indexing program.

We are hoping this process will not take the full 24 hours to complete. Please be patient and we will bring the system back up as soon as we possibly can.

This next message was also on the FSI website and in My Messages. The last paragragh was only in My Messages.

December 9, 2008: Progress of the 1916 Canadian Census

The 1916 Canadian Census project is now 100% complete! Thank you to our volunteers around the world who worked together to finish this project. Because of your response to our request for help, we were able to finish this project in just 29 days, about one-third of the time it would have taken without this united effort.

We genuinely value the hours you have devoted to this initiative. We will work as quickly as we can to make the indexes available on the FamilySearch Record Search pilot site (pilot.familysearch.org). Many previously completed indexes are already available on Record Search and can be searched for free anytime.

I guess I am really into the Massachusetts' 1920 U.S. Federal Censuses. I don't know off hand how many weeks I have been working on them. I did three batches of tonight of 50 individuals each. My grand total to date is 9855. I should be able to reach 10,000 records indexed next week.

The batches I worked on where from Boston. I was amazed at how many countries my individuals came from, i.e. Turkey, West Indies, Poland, Russia, Germany, Ireland, England, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Greece. I sure hope I got their names right. At least the writing was very clear. Since I downloaded my batches all at the same time I actually indexed an A & B sheet for the same page. That was pretty cool, never done them in sequence before.

Well, I have a busy day ahead of me so I will leave you until next week.

See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day!

FamilySearch News: 25,000 Historical Titles Now Free Online

FamilySearch Digital Preservation Initiative Hits a Milestone

Salt Lake City, Utah—FamilySearch International reached a milestone today with the digitization of its 25,000^th publication online. It began the initiative in 2007 and is ramping up to do even more—and faster. The effort targets published family, society, county, and town histories, as well as numerous other historical publications that are digitally preserved and made accessible for free online. The digital publications can be searched at www.FamilySearch.org (Go to FamilySearch.org, then click Search Records, then click Historical Books).

The 25,000^th digitized publication was A History of Lewis County, in the State of New York, from the Beginning of Its Settlement to the Present Time by Franklin B. Hough. The book was published in 1860. The lengths of titles digitized to date vary in length, but the average is about 350 pages. There are even publications in Spanish, German, French, and Russian.

FamilySearch has nearly a million publications in its famous Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and there are millions of similar publications elsewhere in the United States. “The problem with the collection [of out-of-print titles] is limited access,” said Ransom Love, FamilySearch senior vice president of Strategic Relations. “To view the publications, patrons have to travel to Salt Lake City or one of FamilySearch’s affiliate libraries. If you are lucky, you might be able to order a microfilm copy, but then you have to wait for it to arrive at your local family history center. And there’s the inconvenience of having to read it on a film reader,” added Love.

FamilySearch aims to change all of that. Working with volunteers and select affiliate libraries, it plans to create the largest digital collection of published histories on the Web. It is targeting a wide range of historical publications—for example, users might be pleasantly surprised to find digital copies of Hawaii Sugar Planters Association Filipino Laborer files (1909-1949), medieval family history resource titles, and oral history abstracts (mostly from Hawaii), and numerous gazetteers.

“These are publications that were usually limited in the number originally printed and therefore only accessible in a few libraries or special collections worldwide. Yet there can be some great information of genealogical significance in the publications that only a few people would have access to prior to now,” said Love.

Through its Records Access Program, FamilySearch is digitally preserving a copy of the publications and making them available online for the masses. Once digitized, the collections have "every word" search capability, which allows users to search by name, location, date, or other fields across the collection. The search results are then linked to high quality digital images of the original publication.

FamilySearch is not stopping with its own collection either. Over the past year, it announced that it is also helping to digitize and publish collections from the Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University—Hawaii Joseph F. Smith Library, Allen County Public Library (ACPL) in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Houston Public Library, in Houston, Texas, and Mid-Continent Public Library Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, Missouri. When all is said and done, there will be over a million publications in the digital collection online. It will be the largest free resource of its kind.

Training Videos for Family History Leaders

Training videos for priesthood leaders who oversee family history work and members with family history callings are available for download in English and Spanish on the Church’s Web site, www.lds.org. The video segments are adapted from a Church satellite broadcast that originally was presented on May 4, 2000. These videos will instruct priesthood and family history leaders on how they can help members do family history work and fulfill their temple and family history responsibilities. The segments feature:

• Instruction and testimony from President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.
• Discussion with priesthood and family history leaders.
  

The video segments include the following topics:

• Helping Members Fulfill Temple and Family History Responsibilities
• Priesthood Leaders
• Member Involvement
• Family History Consultant
• Family History Center Staff
• A Testimony of Temple and Family History Service
  

You will need the Windows Media Player to view the videos. To download the player, click here.

To access these training videos, do the following:

• Log in to www.lds.org.
• Select Serving in the Church.
• Select Family History.
• In the menu on the left side of the screen, select Training Videos for Family History Leaders.
• From the contents list, select the video you wish to view.
• To see the contents list in Spanish and access the Spanish-language video segments, select Español (Segmentos de video de capacitación para líderes de historia familiar).
  

Note: The original May 4, 2000, satellite broadcast, Training for Family History Leaders (Capacitación Para Líderes de Historia Familiar), is available on DVD in both English and Spanish from Distribution Services, item number 00410090.

To view or print this e-mail in PDF format, please go to: https://help.familysearch.org/kb/Local_Support/en/Consultants/memos/consultantmemos.htm

This e-mail is sent to registered family history consultants and priesthood leaders by FamilySearch Support. Contact us in the following ways:

Telephone: Find the toll-free number for your area at https://contact.familysearch.org

Email: support@familysearch.org

On the Web: Search for answers at http://productsupport.familysearch.org

To change your contact information, reregister at: http://priesthood.familysearch.org or https://consultant.familysearch.org

To remove your registration, send your request to: support@familysearch.org . Please include your name, ward name, and stake name.

Invite others to register at: http://priesthood.familysearch.org or https://consultant.familysearch.org

First Presidency Announces New Temple in Peru

TRUJILLO, Peru 13 December 2008 Plans to build a new temple in Trujillo, Peru, were announced today by the First Presidency — the highest governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This will bring the total number of temples worldwide to 146 already in operation or in the planning and construction phases.

The new temple in Peru becomes the third temple in South America now in the planning and construction phases, along with ones planned for Manaus, Brazil, and Córdoba, Argentina, bringing the total number of temples in South America to 17.

“We are confident that this will be a blessing to the many faithful Saints in this and surrounding areas who have had to travel long distances to enjoy the blessings of the temple,” said the First Presidency in an announcement letter to ecclesiastical leaders.

“We commend the Saints for their devotion and faithfulness, and are thankful for the blessings that will come to them through the construction of this new temple.”

To members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, temples are the “house of the Lord,” the most sacred place on earth. Temple services bind families together forever, teach the purpose of life and explain God’s plan of salvation. Temple attendance strengthens Latter-day Saints’ commitment to living Christian principles, emphasizes personal spiritual growth and increases devotion to family.

The Trujillo Peru Temple is planned for construction on the site of an existing meetinghouse on Teodoro Valcárcel Street in Urbanización Primavera, Trujillo. It will serve more than 88,000 Latter-day Saints in the region.

Latter-day Saint missionaries began preaching in Trujillo in 1960. The first baptisms in the original Trujillo Branch — a small congregation, then part of the Andes Mission — were performed in February 1961. In 1963 the first meetinghouse was dedicated in Trujillo. The first stake in Trujillo (a stake is similar to a diocese) was eventually organized in January 1978 by Thomas S. Monson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — the second-highest governing body of the Church. President Monson now serves as worldwide leader of the Church.

Latter-day Saint temples differ from the tens of thousands of meetinghouses where members typically meet for Sunday worship services and midweek social activities and where visitors are always welcome. Temples are used solely for the performance of sacred ordinances and religious instruction aimed at strengthening members’ relationships with God and their fellow man. They are closed to the public after they are dedicated.

FamilySearch Record Search Update: 4 million new census, church, marriage, and tax records added

4 December 2008

The following records were added to the FamilySearch Record Search pilot. They can be searched for free at FamilySearch.org.

1870 US Census
Indexed Records: 3,562,549
Digital Images: Linked
Comments: Four new indexed states added (GA, KS, NC, and TX)

Illinois Cook County Marriages
Indexed Records: 574,318
Digital Images: 573,748
Comments: Currently includes years from 1900 to 1920.

Ohio, Diocese of Toledo, Catholic Parish Records 1796 to 2004
Indexed Records: 0
Digital Images: 101,982
Comments: Searchable digital images only

Ohio Tax Records 1816 to 1838
Indexed Records: 200,648
Digital Images: 7,323
Comments: Includes records from Columbiana, Guernsey, Harrison, and Jefferson Counties

Family History Consultant's Guide Now Available

The following is from FamilySearch Support.

A new guide for family history consultants, Family History Consultant’s Guide to Temple and Family History Work, is now available as a downloadable .pdf file. (You will need the Adobe Reader to view the document. To download the reader, click here.)

The Family History Consultant’s Guide will help family history consultants:

• Understand their role and responsibilities.
• Prepare to serve.
• Know where they can obtain help.
• Assist members to do temple and family history work.
• Identify additional resources that can help them.
  

The Family History Consultant’s Guide discusses the new.FamilySearch.org as a resource for consultants and members in doing temple and family history work. Although all consultants do not yet have access to the new FamilySearch, the guide contains information that is helpful for all consultants.

Please note: The Family History Consultant’s Guide mentions two new resources that are not yet available: Instructor’s Guide to Temple and Family History Work and Temple and Family History Course DVD. Please do not contact Distribution Services or Church headquarters to try to order these resources yet. You will be informed when these new resources are available.

To access the Family History Consultant’s Guide, click here. If clicking the link does not work, you may type or copy and paste the following into your Internet browser’s address bar:

https://fch.ldschurch.org/WWSupport/Documents/ConsultantsGuide/Family_History_Consultants_Guide_36797_000_ENG.pdf

A link to the Family History Consultant’s Guide is also available in the new FamilySearch. To access the link, do the following:

• Log in to the new FamilySearch.
• Select Help Center.
• At the top of the screen, select the Training & Resources tab.
• In the Resources for Consultants and Leaders section, select Family History Consultant’s Guide to Temple and Family History Work.
  

To view or print this e-mail in PDF format, please go to: https://help.familysearch.org/kb/Local_Support/en/Consultants/memos/consultantmemos.htm

Member's Guide to Temple and Family History Work Available Online

The following is from FamilySearch Support.

As recently announced, a new publication for family history consultants, Family History Consultant’s Guide to Temple and Family History Work, is now available for download as a .pdf document on the Internet through the Training and Resources section of the new FamilySearch. To view the document, you will need the Adobe Reader. To download the reader, see the link at the end of this message. To access the Family History Consultant’s Guide, click here.

The Family History Consultant’s Guide mentions the Member’s Guide to Temple and Family History Work. The Member’s Guide is available for download as a .pdf document on the Internet through the Overviews and Guides section of the new FamilySearch. You need the Adobe Reader to view the document. See the link at the end of this message. To access the Member’s Guide, click here.

In the future, the Member’s Guide to Temple and Family History Work will also be available as a printed resource. At this time, it is only available for download as a .pdf document. Please do not contact Distribution Services to try and order a printed copy of the Member’s Guide at this time. You will be informed when the Member’s Guide is available as a printed resource.

To download the Adobe Reader, click here.

To view or print this e-mail in PDF format, please go to: https://help.familysearch.org/kb/Local_Support/en/Consultants/memos/consultantmemos.htm

Information on FamilySearch Certified Software Affiliates

The following is from FamilySearch Support.

One of the Family History Department’s responsibilities in assisting family history consultants is to keep consultants informed about products and services that are available to help members with their family history work. In doing this, the department does not solicit or encourage consultants or members to purchase products or services. The department does not promote one product or service over another.

In the immediate future, Familysearch.org will be updated with a page that shares information about FamilySearch Certified Affiliates. FamilySearch Certified Affiliates are third-party companies and organizations that provide products and services with features that are compatible with FamilySearch programs. Certified PAF Add-ins are programs that allow people who use Personal Ancestral File (PAF) 5 to access, print, update, and synchronize with online information in the new FamilySearch. Please note that these products and services are developed and supported by their respective organizations, not FamilySearch.

To view the page that provides information about these programs, click here. (Note: You will need the Adobe Reader to view the page. To download the Adobe Reader, click here.)

You are encouraged to learn about these affiliate products and the wide scope of services they provide. Additional information can be found about these affiliates and their services on their respective websites. These programs can be of great assistance to family history patrons as they use new FamilySearch, PAF and other family history programs.

To view or print this e-mail in PDF format, please go to: https://help.familysearch.org/kb/Local_Support/en/Consultants/memos/consultantmemos.htm

Adventures in FamilySearch Indexing: Week 66

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I last blogged. Where is the time going. I've had a combination of being busy and being very tired because I was busy. That's not a good mixture when you have fibromyalgia. I have been feeling a little better this week and I think I know why. For the past month my liquid vitamin (Alive) that I buy at the health food store has been out of stock. I bought the pill form but I don't absorb pills to well. Hench my being so run down. Last week the liquid vitamin finally was available and I am slowly getting my strength back. Just a great reminder to me on how important taking my liquid vitamin is.

Now I am back to indexing. First I had to check for any news I might of missed. I looked in My Messages in the FamilySearch Indexing program and thought I would include the emails to us from them even if the dates have passed.

From: Headquarters
Subject: Progress of the 1916 Canadian Census Project
Date: 01 Dec 2008

We greatly appreciate all the efforts that have been made on the 1916 Canadian Census project. This is the second time FamilySearch Indexing has united volunteers to complete a project by a specific date, and we have seen great things accomplished when everyone works together.

Indexing on this project is now 87% complete. We are just two days away from our goal date of December 3rd. There may be times when batches will not be available. This does not necessarily mean the project is complete; it just means that all of the batches are assigned to volunteers. Please check back to see if any batches become available until you recieve word from us that the project is complete.

If you have a batch from this project that you are not planning to index, please return the batch as soon as possible for someone else to index. To return a batch:

1. On the start page of the FamilySearch Indexing application, click on the batch to be returned.
2. Click Return Batch.
3. Click OK.
   

If you started working on a batch, but you do not think you can finish indexing it by Wednesday, save your work to the server and then return the batch for someone else to complete. To save your work to the server and return the batch:

1. Open the batch.
2. On the menu bar, click File.
3. Click Save to Server.
4. On the menu bar, click File again.
5. Click Return Batch...
6. Click OK.
   

Thank you again for all of your efforts!

If you have any questions regarding this project or about indexing in general, please contact Indexing Support toll-free in the U. S. and Canada at 1-866-406-1830 (click here for other international toll-free numbers), or by e-mail at index@familysearch.org.

Next Message:

From: Headquarters
Subject: System Downtime
Date: 08 Dec 2008

The FamilySearch indexing system will be down for approximately 24 hours from 6:30am MST on Wednesday, December 10th, to 6:30am on Thursday, December 11th. Please submit or return all batches you have downloaded before 6:30am Wednesday morning. You will not be able to do any indexing until the system is back up.

THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM THE PAST WHEN YOU COULD DOWNLOAD SEVERAL BATCHES AND WORK OFFLINE. ANY BATCHES DOWNLOADED BEFORE WEDNESDAY AND NOT SUBMITTED BEFORE THE SYSTEM GOES DOWN WILL BE INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE NEW SYSTEM AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SUBMIT THEM.

During the downtime, we will be updating our databases. Indexers will not notice any significant updates to the indexing application.

We are hoping this process will not take the full 24 hours to complete. Please be patient and we will bring the system back up as soon as we possibly can.

The next message gives us an update on the system down time.

From: Headquarters
Subject: System Downtime DELAYED
Date: 09 Dec 2008

The scheduled downtime for Wednesday has been delayed until next week. We will have more details soon.

For now, continue to index as usual.
___________________________________
Se has pospuesto el mantenimiento del sistema.

El mantenimiento programado para el miercoles se ha pospuesto para la siguiente semana. Les proporcionaremos detalles en breve. Por ahora le agradecemos seguir indexando normalmente.

That was interesting typing the last part in Spanish.

We do have two messages on the FamilySearch Indexing website.

December 9, 2008: System Downtime Delayed

The FamilySearch indexing system downtime scheduled for Wednesday, December 10th, has been delayed until next week. We will have more details soon. For now, continue to index as usual.

December 9, 2008: Progress of the 1916 Canadian Census

The 1916 Canadian Census project is now 99% complete. If you have a batch downloaded, please do what you can to finish it as soon as possible. If you cannot finish it, please save your work to the server and return the batch so another volunteer may help.

We sincerely appreciate the time and effort you have given to this project.

Even though I am a little late I just had to check and see if there are any 1916 Canadian Census records left to index. Yup, just as I figured no batches to index right now. There are 10 other English language project for me to choose from. I decided to go with what I had been working on the Massachusetts - 1920 U.S. Federal Census.

I did three batches of 50 each. Two of my batches had been previously worked on but the individuals before me didn't get very far. I wouldn't be surprised if they were people thinking that they need to have batches done or returned tonight because of the down time previously scheduled. My third batch was a fresh one to index.

I now have indexed 9705 records to date. I only have 295 records to index before the end of the year to reach my goal of 10,000. I should be able to do that in three more weeks. YIKES! three weeks, I can't believe it's that close to the end of the year and to Christmas. I haven't even begun to Christmas shop. Crazy weeks are still ahead of me. I just have to keep taking my liquid vitamin so I have the energy to get things done.

See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day!