Correction on Date of The Ogden Regional Family History Conference

Correction - The Ogden Regional Family History Conference coming this fall. It will be held September 17th at Weber State University.

Elder Richard G. Scott to Speak at RootsTech in February

The following is from FamilySearch.

Elder Richard G. Scott to Speak at RootsTech

Dear Family History Consultants, Family History Center and Extraction Directors, and Priesthood Leaders,

RootsTech is a new and unique conference where family history and technology come together. Yet, you do not have to be an expert in either one to greatly benefit from attending conference sessions. In addition to the full three-day schedule of excellent lectures, each day there will be time especially set aside for family history consultants. This free consultant training will be repeated each day, and the experience will be highlighted by a devotional presented by Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Saturday, February 12, 2011.

There are two options for consultants who want to participate and learn at RootsTech, which will be held at the Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt lake City, Utah, February 10–12, 2011:

Option 1: Click here to register

Full RootsTech attendance at a discount— $75

For $75, family history consultants can choose from over 100 classes to attend over the three days of the conference. (The cost of lunch each day is not included in this price.) Class schedules and registration information can be found at rootstech.org. Or, to register now, click here, register as a “Regular Attendee,” and use registration code CONSULTECH11. There are so many relevant topics for genealogists and technologists that it may be difficult to decide which classes to attend.

Option 2: Click here to register

Half-day consultant activities—free

Each day of the conference the same consultant training classes, taught by Family History employees, will be presented for free. To participate, consultants need to register and select the option “FH Consultant Training Classes,” enter the registration code consultfree11 and then choose which day they will attend and whether they are attending the Elder Scott devotional or not. With this option, access to the daily keynote address and the exhibit hall will be included. Additionally, on Saturday, February 12, 2011, is the special devotional presentation by Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Attendance is limited to those who follow this registration process; you may attend the training classes on one day and still attend the devotional on Saturday. If you have a spouse who is not a consultant who may want to attend the devotional they must also register using the special registration code and select devotional attendance.

Consultants must register for the free events and pick up a badge when they arrive at the convention center. Registering to attend the free consultant activities does not allow you to attend any of the other conference course offerings.

Consultants who register for full conference attendance (option 1) must also register separately if they want to attend the Elder Scott devotional.

With these great offerings, we are confident you will want to attend at least one day of this wonderful annual conference.

There is a web page on the FamilySearch Research Wiki with details and Q&A, click here to go to the page, or go to the Wiki and search on “Consultant Training at RootsTech 2011.”

Sincerely, 

FamilySearch                    

Ogden Regional Family History Conference

Finally, mark your calendars for the big one! - The Ogden Regional Family History Conference coming this fall. It will be held September 17th at Weber State University. Last year's conference was a great success. This year's promises to be bigger and better. Details to follow in the ORFHC newsletter and on this blog.

South Davis Family History Fair

The following is from the South Davis Family History Fair.

We are proud to announce the 2011 South Davis Family History Fair scheduled for March 5, 2011. Again we will be holding the fair at the Bountiful High School located at 695 South Orchard Drive, Bountiful, Utah.

We invite you to pre-register to attend the fair by going to the website: familyhistoryfair.com. The website lists information about the keynote speaker and a list of all of the class sessions that will be taught. We encourage you to register for the classes that you would like to attend. This will allow us to make sure that we put classes in the right sized classrooms so that everyone will have a seat.

Pre-registration is open now until February 17, 2011. A pre-registration fee of $10 will provide you with the syllabus on CD and a sack lunch on the day of the fair. A pre-registration fee of $15 will provide you with both a printed and CD syllabus and a sack lunch on the day of the fair.

Late registration is for all registrations received February 18, 2011 through March 5, 2011. The late registration fee is $20 and will provide you with a syllabus on CD and no guarantee of a sack lunch. Syllabi will be available to be picked up at the registration tables at the fair. If you are unable to attend, please arrange for a friend to pick up your syllabus, or you may pick it up at the Family History Center during regular hours up to 30 days after the fair.

We look forward to having you join us again for the 2011 South Davis Family History Fair. Beat the rush and register for the fair today at familyhistoryfair.com.

Assistance: help@familyhistoryfair.com

St. George Family History Expo

The following is from FamilySearch.

Family History Expo to Be Held in St. George in February

Dear Family History Consultants, Center Directors, and Extraction Directors and Assistants,

You and members of your family history center as well as families in your ward may be interested in attending the upcoming St. George Family History Expo sponsored by Family History Expos (a private company). The expo will be held February 25–26, 2011, at the Dixie Center, 1835 Convention Center Drive, St. George, Utah.

Over 100 classes will be presented by more than 50 national and local speakers as well as staff from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and FamilySearch employees. With classes ranging from beginner to advanced topics, there is something for everyone. Many classes are dedicated to the latest techniques and technologies being used in genealogical research, as well as the most up-to-date information about different cultures being studied. You can review the class schedule atwww.fhexpos.com/expos/

Exhibitors from throughout the U.S. will teach about the latest products and services available in the industry. FamilySearch affiliated software vendors will also be on site and happy to help you test their products “hands on” with new.familysearch.org (FamilySearch Family Tree). Some of the products and services showcased will include genealogy magazines, hardware, software, wall charts, and research services. Representatives from various genealogical societies will also be on site.

There is no cost for attending the keynote address or visiting the exhibit hall. For those wishing to attend the classes, registration is $75 for both days ($65 if you preregister online) or $40 for a single day. For individuals wanting to attend a single class, the cost is $12 at the door. The following free classes will also be offered on Saturday for family history consultants, stake extraction directors and assistants, and priesthood leaders:

·         “Family History Work, a Vital Resource in the Work of Salvation.” This class will discuss the newly released Leader’s Guide to Temple and Family History Work: To Turn the Hearts, as well as new approaches to involve the ward council.

·         “Family History Centers and In-Person Assistance.” This class will discuss the evolving role of family history centers and how to integrate them more in family history research.

·         “Research Resources and Branching Out.” This class goes over the latest developments in indexing, the research wiki, forums, and online training, and it discusses how these resources can best be utilized.

The St. George Family History Expo could be a great opportunity for the ward members you are working with to learn more about finding their ancestors. You may want to share information about the expo with them.

All general questions about the expo should be directed to:

Family History Expos.com
P.O. Box 187
Morgan, UT 84050
E-mail: Expo@FHExpos.com
Phone: 1-801-829-3295
Web: http://www.fhexpos.com/expos/

If you have specific questions regarding FamilySearch or consultant training classes offered at the expo, they should be directed to: 

E-mail: support@familysearch.org                                                                                                                                              

Phone—U.S. and Canada (toll free): 1-866-406-1830                                                                                                                   

Phone—International: Go to http://contact.familysearch.org for more toll-free phone numbers.

We hope this information is helpful to you. 

Sincerely, 

FamilySearch Support

Feedback on Riverton's Saturday Seminar

I was unable to attend the Saturday Seminar at the Riverton Family History Library this past Saturday.  I have had feedback that this was their largest turn out every - over 400 participants! There were a couple of articles that appeared in Mormon Times this week about the seminar. The first article is about Dan Lawyer's keynote presentation. The second article was on Janet Hovorka's presentation on helping your family history survive the digital age.

http://www.mormontimes.com/article/19364/Genealogy-is-hard-but-computers-make-it-a-bajillion-times-faster?s_cid=addthis

http://www.mormontimes.com/article/19365/Beware-the-Digital-Dark-Age?s_cid=addthis

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

FamilySearch Correction

The following is from FamilySearch.

Correction

Dear Family History Consultants, Family History Center and Extraction Directors, and Priesthood Leaders,

We need to correct some information that went out last week in an e-mail under the heading Helping Youth Register.

Youth ages 8 to 12 can register only if they have parental consent. Consultants should take care to not provide parental consent if assisting youth from that age group (including deacons or beehives who have not yet turned 13) to register. Consultants should not check the parental consent box when registering a youth for an account; only parents or legal guardians should do that. To do otherwise would be illegal and expose the consultant to liability. 


Youth age 13 and above do not require parental consent. 

We apologize for any confusion our prior communication may have caused.

Sincerely, 

FamilySearch                    

GenealogyBank Job Opening

Customer Service Representatives
Location: Orem, UT

GenealogyBank, a division of NewsBank, inc., is seeking CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES for its Orem, Utah office. NewsBank, inc. has over 40 years of experience in the market place. We offer exciting career opportunities and an environment energized by a rich history of teamwork, innovation, and continuous success!

GenealogyBank is a leader in online genealogical resources featuring one of the largest online composites of exclusive historical material. These valuable resources help family historians and historical researchers worldwide discover fascinating details surrounding family heritage and historical events.

Our customer service representatives play an important role in servicing and retaining our customers. We believe in putting customers first while offering quality products and excellent service.

• Competitive base pay
• Part and full time shifts available
• Great environment
• Advancement opportunities
• Less than 5 minutes from BYU/UVU
• Hours of operation 8:00 am to 6:00 pm M-F

RESPONSIBILTIES:

• Communicate with customers via telephone and email
• Respond to customer inquiries concerning orders, refunds, and products
• Attempt to retain customers through value building
• Employ supportive sales techniques by offering current promotions, including special offers
• Maintain customer records of related activities and orders
• Maintain basic knowledge of products, pricing, promotions, and procedures
• Contribute ideas on ways to improve product and service
• Perform special projects and other related duties

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

• Positive upbeat attitude
• Ability to multi-task at a computer while talking to a customer over the phone
• Exceptional communication skills (oral, written, listening)
• Excellent organizational skills, along with the ability to work under pressure and with deadlines
• Ability to strategically probe to identify, evaluate, and recommend products and services • Excellent keyboarding skills (30 WPM minimum)
• Team player while able to successfully work independently
• Basic knowledge of PC operations, Windows-based applications

EDUCATION:

• Minimum 1-2 years customer service or related work experience preferred
• High School Diploma or equivalent
• Experience with customer service within a call center capacity highly preferred
• Knowledge of family history, a plus!

TO APPLY, PLEASE SEND RESUME TO : utahjobs@newsbank.com

FamilySearch News, Information and Updates

The following is from FamilySearch.

January 10, 2010

                                                                                                                             

News, Information, and Dates

Dear Family History Consultants, Family History Center and Extraction Directors, and Priesthood Leaders,

FamilySearch Website Updated

For most of 2010 many of you were involved in testing the beta.familysearch.org website. As 2010 came to a close that beta site became the familysearch.org website. Change is not always easy, and, as consultants, one of our jobs is to assist others through these changes. Here are a few items that may help you help others:

•  As records were added to the site through digitizing and indexing microfilms, the older site technology became inadequate. Therefore changes were necessary—not just because FamilySearch wanted to make the site prettier, but because without them FamilySearch would be limited in the amount of searchable records the site could handle.
• There is a link on the bottom right of the familysearch.org home page that takes you to the old site. This link will eventually go away, but it will be available until all of the functionality of the old site has been transferred to the new site.
• There are more changes to come to the site, just as there is more data to come and much more data to digitize and index. Please do all you can to help others learn and embrace the changes. Having access to this new data and technology will allow us to do more temple work for our ancestors and bless countless lives.
• When you give feedback or make suggestions, make sure that what you say is sufficient for us to take action. Just saying that you do not like something is not very helpful. If you can say why you don’t like it, give an example of how it doesn’t work, suggest how it could be better, or, if reporting a bug, tell us what steps to take to replicate the bug, you are providing useful feedback.

FamilySearch Accounts for the General Public

The new.familysearch.org website will, sometime in the future, become integrated into the familysearch.orgwebsite and become the “Family Tree” menu option. The new.familysearch.org website will then go away. Since the general public has access to familysearch.org, there needs to be a way to distinguish between members of the LDS Church and those who are not LDS Church members. Therefore FamilySearch accounts were created. Anyone who is not a member of the LDS Church can register for and get a FamilySearch account. Members of the LDS Church can register for and get an LDS Account. Familysearch.org accepts both LDS Accounts and FamilySearch accounts. Consultants need to know the difference in the two types of accounts and be able to help members and the general public register for the appropriate accounts. Clicking the Create a New Account link on the familysearch.org website will allow anyone to register and choose either an LDS Account or a FamilySearch account. Once Family Tree is moved to familysearch.org, only those with LDS Accounts will be able to see information about temple ordinances.

Helping Youth Register

You may have opportunities to assist young people to register for an account. Please be aware that anyone under the age of 18 is required by law to have parental permission to register for their own account. This is in compliance with the Internet Privacy law. Consultants should not check the parental consent box when registering a youth for an account; only parents or legal guardians should do that. To do otherwise would be illegal and expose the consultant to liability.

News for New.FamilySearch.org Trainers

It is never appropriate to enter fictitious data into new.familysearch.org, even for training purposes. For those who train others on how to use new.familysearch.org (the Family Tree) there is a special website designed for you to use at training.familysearch.org. Here you can enter test data, demonstrate how to use the data, and then revert back to your original data. This allows teachers to set up special teaching scenarios that they can then reset for the next class. It is very important that the live production website, new.familysearch.org, never be used for test cases or have fictitious data entered into it. If you ever see anyone entering fictitious data into the live website, please inform them about the training site. Certain products from companies other than FamilySearch do not work on the training website. Please contact the vendor of the product to see if a solution is available.

First Polish Indexing Project Now Available

With the addition of its first Polish project, FamilySearch indexing now has projects available in 11 languages. If you would like to help index Polska—Ksiegi Metrykaine—Diecezja Lublin, 1902–1945, please contactFamilySearch or e-mail kontakt@piotrreszka.pl to learn more.

New Records Added to FamilySearch Website

The updated FamilySearch website has some new records to search. Nearly three million new digital images were posted this week, helping family historians researching their ancestors in Canada, Spain, Venezuela, and the United States. The U.S. Social Security Death Index is also a new addition to the site, with over 7 million indexed records. You can search all of these records and more at FamilySearch.org.

We hope this information has been helpful to you, and we appreciate all that you do to help move family history forward.

Sincerely, 

FamilySearch                    

RootsTech: A New Technology Conference - Early Bird Discount Ends Janurary 15th

The following is from LDSTech.


RootsTech

LDS Software Developers,

FamilySearch invites you to participate in http://www.RootsTech.org , a new Utah technology conference. Whether you are a developer, engineer, or just into technology, you won’t want to miss this unique experience, February 10-12, 2011 in downtown Salt Lake City. Come learn the latest technologies and techniques from industry leaders and pioneers in:

• Cloud computing

• Mobile apps

• Social networking

• User platforms

• Geo-mapping

• Digitization

RootsTech encourages solutions to development challenges in the fast-growing field of genealogy – but you don’t need to be involved in the genealogy market to benefit from this conference. There will be a wide variety of sessions and workshops that will help your work, regardless of your area of expertise. RootsTech brings together innovative minds to tackle challenging technology problems like these:

• Mobile apps solutions that allow for tagging of documents and images with geographical, temporal, and relational data

• Facebook "how am I related" apps and temporally aware geo searches

• Software that automatically crawls, classifies, and extracts genealogical information from the general web

• Relationship reconstruction from disparate sources

At RootsTech, you’ll hear from leaders in the technology world like Shane Robison, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Technology officer at Hewlett-Packard, and Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive and the Open Content Alliance. Learn new skills through interactive presentations and hands-on workshops and join with major technology creators like Microsoft, Dell, FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, and brightsolid in a collaborative and exciting environment.

Plus – put your expertise to the test in the RootsTech Developers’ Challenge. Compete with other developers to take an innovative idea from conception to demonstration right at the conference and have the chance to win an Xbox Kinect.

Check out the RootsTech 2011 conference program ( http://rootstech.familysearch.org/creators.php ) to see the full list of classes and workshops.

Register now at http://www.RootsTech.org :

• $99 through January 15, 2011

• $150 beginning January 16, 2011

RootsTech is sponsored by Microsoft, Dell, FamilySearch, Brigham Young University, Ancestry.com, brightsolid, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and the National Genealogical Society.

Alan Smoot

Community Business Development Manager, ICS

RootsTech 2011 Early Bird Registration Ends January 15

The following is from the National Genealogical Society.

If you are interested in new technologies to make family history easier, RootsTech is for you! Don’t miss this brand-new conference February 10-12, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The early bird registration price of $99 is valid through Saturday, January 15.

At RootsTech, family historians of all skill levels will learn technology-based solutions to accelerate their research. Here is a sampling of what you will experience at this unique conference:

ü  Discover how new and emerging technologies can simplify your research

ü  Learn from world leaders in genealogy and technology, including Curt Witcher, Shane Robison, Brewster Kahle, and Jay Verkler

ü  Help leading-edge technology providers better understand your needs

ü  Get a sneak peek at new products and services

ü  Participate in hands-on workshops

ü  Contribute to interactive presentations and panels

ü  Take part in unconferencing (impromptu discussions driven by attendees)

ü  Enjoy an out-of-this world event at the Clark Planetarium

RootsTech will be held at the Salt Palace Convention Center, just a short walk from the world-famous Family History Library.  Take advantage of extended Library hours on Friday, especially for RootsTech attendees.

Whether you are new to genealogy or an experienced researcher, RootsTech is the ideal place to discover the latest tools for climbing your family tree. Please visit rootstech.org to see the full list of topics and sessions.

Register now at rootstech.org:

$99 through January 15, 2011

$150 beginning January 16, 2011

RootsTech is sponsored by Microsoft, Dell, FamilySearch, the National Genealogical Society, brightsolid, Ancestry.com, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and Brigham Young University.

Genes Reunited explores ageing through the ages

The following is from Genes Reunited. 

Ageing through the ages

. 100 centenarians found on the 1911 census for England & Wales
. Number of centenarians quadruples in the last 30 years


The team at www.genesreunited.co.uk has been looking into recent government statistics about longevity and drawing comparisons with Victorian Britain.

At the moment there are about 11,800 people in the UK who are 100 or older and fewer than 100 of those are older than 110. By 2066 the Department for Work and Pensions predicts that there will be around 507,000 people who are 100 or older, with about 7,700 of those being older than 110.

If we look back in time, this is vastly different to when our ancestors were around. In mid-Victorian Britain life expectancy was low and even lower in towns and cities. The population were expected to live to about the age of
40. Three in 20 children would die before their first birthday. Obviously life was very different back then and is the main reason why life expectancy was so low. There was inadequate sanitation, working conditions were often
dangerous and the diet was, on the whole, very poor. Children frequently died from scarlet fever and measles. This is so different to life now when scarlet fever can be treated and children can be vaccinated against measles. Adults often died from asthma.

In Victorian Britain there were also several outbreaks of typhoid and cholera, which were caused by drinking dirty water. Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert died from typhoid in 1861. Thousands of people died of these
dreadful diseases and prompted the Sanitary Act, which was passed in 1866. As a result of this act local authorities had to take action to provide fresh water, sewage and waste disposal and street cleaning.

By 1911 life expectancy had increased. Women were expected to live to 54 and men were expected to live to 50. There were about 100 centenarians recorded in the 1911 census for England & Wales. If you look at employment figures, about 1.3 million people worked as domestic servants. About 1.2 million were employed in agriculture and 971,000 were employed in coal mining.

Looking at figures from a 2008 labour force survey by the Office for National Statistics, you can see that jobs have changed drastically over the last 100 years. In 2008 1.6 million people worked as sales assistants and retail cashiers; 1.4 million as 'functional managers', e.g. in sales and marketing, personnel and information technology, and there were 1.3 million in teaching. There were no longer enough coal miners to even register on the survey.

Over the last thirty years the number of centenarians has actually quadrupled. This is quite simply down to better medical treatment, better housing, a higher standard of living and better nutrition. This year we will all be filling out the 2011 census in the UK, so although the Office of National Statistics says that it will keep the information
confidential for 100 years, many more of us could still be around in 2112 to see the data released.

To receive news feeds from Genes Reunited as they occur, visit:

http://blog.genesreunited.co.uk/syndication.axd

About Genes Reunited
Genes Reunited was launched in 2003 as a sister-site to the Internet phenomenon Friends Reunited. Since then it has grown to become the UK's largest genealogy website. It marked a revolution in genealogy and ancestry by combining them with Internet social-networking. Members are able to build their family tree by posting it on the site and investigating which ancestors they share with other members. They can also search historical records such as census, birth, marriage, death and military records. Genes Reunited has over 11 million members and over 750 million names listed. One new name is added to the site every single second.

FamilySearch News: Free Seminar Offers Tips on Growing Your Family Tree

The following is from FamilySearch.

Free Seminar Offers Tips on Growing Your Family Tree

The Riverton FamilySearch Library Hosts Event on January 15

RIVERTON, UTAH — A new year is an ideal time to set a goal to dig into your family history and the Riverton FamilySearch Library can help. This state-of-the-art facility offers research tools and personal assistance six days a week, in addition to a monthly Saturday seminar. On Saturday, January 15, 2011, the Riverton FamilySearch Library will host a three-hour seminar from 9:00 a.m. to noon featuring a keynote speaker and eight classes. 

The keynote speaker, Dan Lawyer, will address the topic “Making It Easier to Grow Your Family Tree.” Lawyer works as a senior product manager for FamilySearch and is currently responsible for the FamilySearch.org website.

Following the keynote presentation, there will be two blocks of four classes that will cover topics of interest to both beginning and advanced family historians.

Classes to be held from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. are:

• Synchronizing New FamilySearch Data Using FamilyInsight –  Andrea Schnakenburg
• FamilySearch Search: The Present and the Future –  Robert Kehrer
• My Ancestors Were From Germany, But I Don’t Speak German –Tamra L. Stansfield
• Getting the Most out of Census Records in Your Family –  Ron Ray

The classes available from 11:00 a.m. to noon are:

• Will Your Family History Survive the Digital Age? – Janet Hovorka
• The Evolving Role of the Family History Consultant: Helping to Turn the Hearts –  Jim Greene
• What’s New in Ancestral Quest, a Natural Upgrade from PAF –  Gaylon Findlay

• The 50 Most Popular Genealogical Websites –  Kory L. Meyerink

Registration is not required for this free seminar. The library will also be open until 5:00 p.m. that day for patrons desiring to do individual family history research. For more information, please visit www.familysearch.org/fhc/riverton.

The Saturday Seminars will be held on the third Saturday of each month. The Riverton FamilySearch Library is located in the LDS Riverton Office Building at 3740 Market Center Drive. The facility is near the intersection of Bangerter Highway and 13400 South, just east of The Home Depot.

RootsTech News: RootsTech 2011 Early Bird Registration Ends January 15, 2011!

The following is from FamilySearch.

The $99 Early Bird Registration for RootsTech 2011 in Salt Lake City Ends Soon!

·         $99 early bird registration ends January 15, 2011 ($150 afterwards)

·         Only $35 for students!

·         February 10–12, 2011

·         Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

·         Walking distance from the Family History Library

SALT LAKE CITY—The $99 early bird registration for the RootsTech 2011 Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, ends January 15, 2011. RootsTech is a completely new conference focused on bringing technology creators together with genealogy technology users to learn together and identify solutions to family history research challenges. Genealogists and family historians will discover exciting new research tools while technology creators will learn the latest development techniques from industry leaders and pioneers.

The registration fee includes three full days of conference attendance, conference materials, entry to the Clarke Planetarium dinner event, extended access to the Family History Library, admission to the closing reception event, eligibility for prize drawings, and admission to the Community Zone (exhibition hall).

Advancing technology is becoming an integral part of the future of genealogical research. Whether a person is new to genealogy or is an experienced researcher, RootsTech is the ideal place to discover the latest family history tools. In addition, technology creators will learn the skills needed to deliver innovative applications and systems, and they will have the opportunity to receive instant feedback from peers and users on their ideas and creations.

Keynote speakers at the conference include Shane Robinson, Hewlett Packard chief strategy and technology officer; Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive and digital librarian; Jay L. Verkler, CEO of FamilySearch International; and Curt Witcher, Historical Genealogy Department manager for Allen County Public Library.

About RootsTech

RootsTech is a new conference designed to bring technologists together with genealogists to learn from each other and find solutions to the challenges faced in family history research today. The conference’s activities and offerings are focused on content that will help genealogists and family historians discover exciting new research tools while enabling technology creators to learn the latest development techniques from industry leaders and pioneers.

Society of Genealogists' collection now online at findmypast.co.uk

The following is from FindMyPast.com

SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS’ COLLECTION NOW ONLINE AT FINDMYPAST.CO.UK

o   Over 9 million family history records available online today

o   Findmypast.co.uk to host Society’s collection in centenary year

Today the Society of Genealogists in London and leading family history website findmypast.co.uk have published online over 9 million records from the Society’s unrivalled collection at findmypast.co.uk.

Among the records going online today are:

• Boyd’s Marriage Index containing over 7 million names from 1538 to 1840
• Boyd’s London Burials 1538-1872 containing 240,000 names
• Faculty Office Marriage Licence Allegations 1701-1850
• St Andrew's Holborn Marriage Index 1754-1812      
• Vicar-General Marriage Licences Allegations 1694-1850
• St Leonard Shoreditch Burials 1805-1858 and Workhouse Deaths 1820-1828, online for the first time
• Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills Index 1750-1800

Today searchable indexes and transcripts have been added to the website, and customers will be able to order copies of the originals for some of the records from the Society of Genealogists.

In the coming weeks further records will be added to the website including Bank of England Wills Extracts containing 60,500 names, including images, and Apprentices of Great Britain containing 350,000 names.

Findmypast.co.uk has been working in partnership with the Society of Genealogists for a number of years to make the Society’s collection available to a wider, international audience. Earlier projects were Civil Service Evidence of Age and Great Western Railway Shareholder records.

Anyone with a full subscription to findmypast.co.uk will be able to access all the records within their existing package. Otherwise they can be viewed with PayAsYouGo credits.

Members of the Society of Genealogists will be able to view the records for free via their existing membership login to the Society of Genealogist’s own website at www.sog.org.uk .  The records will be added gradually during 2011.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.co.uk, said, “Findmypast.co.uk warmly welcomes the addition of these amazing records from the Society of Genealogists’ collection and looks forward to working with the Society on bringing these records to a wider, international audience in the Society’s Centenary Year and beyond. Family historians will find the records an invaluable aid to their research.”

June Perrin, CEO of the Society of Genealogists added: “The Society of Genealogists is delighted to be working with findmypast.co.uk in widening the audience for these wonderful resources.  It is a great boost to the start of the Society’s 100^th year.  We hope the records prove extremely useful in the search for that ‘elusive’ ancestor.”

About findmypast.co.uk

Leading UK family history website findmypast.co.uk (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast.co.uk has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 750 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.

In November 2006 findmypast.co.uk launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.co.uk is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007.

In April 2007, findmypast.co.uk’s then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

Findmypast.co.uk was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who were awarded The National Archives’ contract to publish online the 1911 census, which it launched in January 2009.

About the Society of Genealogists

The Society of Genealogists is the UK’s largest Family History Society. Founded in 1911 its objects remain to “promote encourage and foster the science and knowledge of genealogy” by “creating a safe depository for pedigrees and other manuscripts”. The Society’s remarkable library today houses unique genealogical collections along with copies of source materials, indexes and finding aids. The Society’s family history education programme is the largest in the country and the Society continues to be a leading genealogical publisher. Its first premises were in the rooms of one of the Founders George Tudor Sherwood at 227 Strand, London. The Society is now in its fifth building.  The Founding Fellows, Members and Associates would, we hope, be proud of the Society’s modern achievements as it has grown to be the UK’s National Library and Education Centre for Family History.