FamilySearch Records Update: Milestone 600 Free Historic Collections Now Online

The following is from FamilySearch.

How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Collections—600 to Be Exact!

Latest Additions Reach New Milestone in Free Online Historic Record Collections

The latest additions to FamilySearch's online collection of free historic record collections pushes it to 600! That's right, 600 free, original source record collections online from all over the world. The tally of insomniacs will certainly expand as the numbers of family history researchers enjoy the latest updates. This week there are new international records from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Poland, and Spain. Now take a seat while the list of updates for the U.S. collections are noted—California, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington State, Wisconsin, and the Virgin Islands. Whew! See the table below for details. You can search all of the record collections now for free at FamilySearch.org.

If you are enjoying the steady stream of free records added weekly, please consider "giving back" as a FamilySearch volunteer. You can start and stop volunteering at any time. Find out more at indexing.familysearch.org.

Collection	Records	Images	Comment
Argentina, Catholic Church Records	360,671	347	Added images and index to existing collection.
Brazil, Catholic Church Records	0	147,511	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Canada, Quebec Notarial Records, 1800-1900	0	19,974	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Colombia, Catholic Church Records	41,672	0	Added index records to existing collection.
France, Coutances, Catholic Diocese, 1802-1907	133,771	0	Added index records to existing collection.
France, Protestant Church Records, 1612-1906	45,305	14,155	Added images and index to existing collection.
Italy, Civil Registration, 1806-1940	47,588	37,439	Added index records and images for Castellammare di Stabia, Catania, Teramo, and Trieste to existing collection.
Jamaica, Civil Birth Registration	275,358	308,905	Added images and index to existing collection.
Mexico Census, 1930	1,063,750	0	Added the state of Oaxaca.
Mexico, Chiapas, Catholic Church Records, 1558-1978	0	218,722	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Mexico, Nayarit, Catholic Church Records, 1596-1967	0	47,203	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Catholic Church Records, 1586-1970	0	51,249	New browsable image collection.
Peru, Catholic Church Records	0	592,054	New browsable image collection.
Poland, Roman Catholic Church Books, 1600-1950	0	216,211	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Spain, Cádiz, Passports, 1810-1866	0	8,573	New browsable image collection.
U.S., California, County Marriages, 1850-1952	123,230	0	Added Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Stanislaus, and Sutter Counties to existing collection.
U.S., California, San Mateo County Records, 1856-1967	0	17,569	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., District of Columbia Marriages, 1811-1950	377,681	127,190	New index collection, first part.
U.S., Illinois County Marriages, 1810-1934	323,712	0	Added Adams, Alexander, Bond, Boone, Brown, Champaign, Christian, Clark, and Clay Counties to existing collection.
U.S., Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959	114,658	0	Added Elkhart County to existing collection.
U.S., Kentucky, Death Records, 1911-1955	1,384,241	0	New index collection.
U.S., Louisiana Confederate Pensions, 1898-1950	0	1,469	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists, 1820-1891	0	80,509	New browsable image collection.
U.S., Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887	68,176	0	New index collection.
U.S., Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949	156,395	88,640	New collection. Counties published: Anoka, Blue Earth, Brown, Carver, Cottonwood, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, and Goodhue.
U.S., Mississippi, Tippah County Records, 1836-1923	0	55,910	New browsable image collection.
U.S., New York State Census, 1892	1,051,915	5,175	Added Madison, Warren, Greene, Albany, Hamilton, Ontario, Broome, Herkimer, Cayuga, Oswego, Onondaga, Essex, Lewis, and Queens Counties to existing collection.
U.S., New York, Northern Arrival Manifests, 1902-1956	0	850,465	New browsable image collection.
U.S., Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Case Files of Chinese Immigrants, 1900-1923	0	60,096	New browsable image collection.
U.S., Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1882	0	58,940	New browsable image collection.
U.S., Texas, Eastland County Records, 1868-1949		38,070	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Washington State County Records; King, Kitsap and Pierce Counties, 1854-1950	0	15,653	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Wisconsin, Probate Estate Files, 1848-1933	0	2,184	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Virgin Islands US, Church Records	0	5,363	New browsable image collection.

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

FamilySearch News: 140 Free Online Genealogy Research Courses

The following is from FamilySearch.

140 Free Online Genealogy Research Courses

Growing Course Catalog Makes It Easier to Expand Family History Skills

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH—Ever found yourself researching your family tree and discovering a new branch that extended to another country—and you are not familiar with that country’s records or language? Or perhaps you are a fan of the popular reality show Who Do You Think You Are?and wonder, “How do the producers know what public records to search to find all of those cool stories about that celebrity’s ancestors?” Maybe you’d like to learn more about how to do your family history research but don’t think you can afford to take a class. Thousands of individuals are now satisfying many of those needs through FamilySearch’s growing collection of free online genealogy courses.

In just one year, the number of free FamilySearch courses has grown to over 140—and new courses are added monthly. Most recently, over 25 courses were added for Australia, England, Germany, and the U.S. Additional courses were added that focus on basic tools and techniques for anyone just getting started in family history research, as well as courses for intermediate and advanced researchers.  

“The goal of the initiative is to educate more people worldwide about how to find their ancestors. We do it by filming theexperts teaching a particular class of interest and then offering free access to that presentation online—complete with the PowerPoint used and anyelectronic handouts that the user can download or print for future reference,” said Candace Turpan, FamilySearch instructional designer. 

Turpan’s team films presentations made by its staff from the FamilySearch Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as special guests (the library is frequented by accredited researchers from all over the world). They also travel to industry conferences or other venues where record and research specialists gather. There they film specialists’ presentations and make them available online.

Of course, you don’t have to be into genealogy to find presentations of interest. Fans of The Da Vinci Code or National Treasure might find the Cemetery Art course by Ellen Miller of the Mid-Continent Public Library System in Independence, Missouri, very intriguing and enlightening. Miller’s course teaches about funerary traditions and cemetery iconography. “[Tombstone] practices differ from country to country, culture to culture, and religion to religion. As funeral ceremonies differ, so do the burial practices,” said Miller. Those elements often influence the types of funeral markers and symbols used on headstones, footstones, and tablet stones and can therefore tell important facts about the person they help identify. The key is in understanding the messages behind the symbolism.

FamilySearch uses viewing software that splits the viewing screen (sort of like the picture-in-picture features on some televisions) so the user can watch the video of the presenter while also seeing the PowerPoint presentation. Most courses are 30 minutes in length. You canalso fast forward through the presentation or presentation slides or stop and pick up later where you left off—a luxury you don’t get in the live presentation.

“Maybe you enjoy the thrill of deciphering or reading old records in other languages. FamilySearch also has free courses to help genealogy students understand key words and terms of older foreign alphabets and handwriting, including Gothic,” added Turpin. The intent behind all of these courses is to give people the keys they need to successfully find their elusive ancestors in historic records. “Sometimes they just need a new sleuthing skill or resource. These genealogy courses are perfect for those personal development needs,” concluded Turpin.

Whatever your motivation or objective, bookmark and make regular visits to the growing catalog of free courses at FamilySearch.org.

And if you or someone you know currently teaches a class that would be of value to the genealogy community and wants to share it, find out how online at FamilySearch’s genealogy classes online.

Latest Course Additions:

Australia

·      Australia BDM Civil Registration Index
·      New South Wales Early Church Records 1788–1886
·      Using the New South Wales Birth, Death, Marriage Index

England

·      Getting the Most from the National Archives Website
·      Researching in the British Isles
·      What Is Britain?

Germany

·      My Experiences in German Family Research

Research Principles and Tools

·      Cemetery Art
·      Finding Your Way: Locating and Using Maps in Your Research
·      How to Find More at a Genealogy Library
·      If I’d Only Known: Beginner Genealogy Mistakes
·      Managing Your Family Records on the Internet

United States of America

·      Basic U.S. Military Records with Tiff
·      Beginning Census Research and Record Keeping
·      Colonial Immigration
·      Colonial Land
·      County Histories and Your Family
·      Finding the Slave Generation
·      Locating Ancestors on the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes
·      See You on Sunday! Church Records in Genealogy
·      Some Underused Online Resources
·      U.S. Courthouse Research
·      Welcome to the World of Periodicals

ICAPGen The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists

·      Mentoring Class: Introduction to ICAPGen
·      Mentoring Class: Research Binder
·      Mentoring Class: Evidence Analysis Part II
·      Mentoring Class: Written Exam and Oral Review

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer–driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in SaltLake City, Utah.

Ohana Software Webinars

The following is from Ohana.

A New Way to Organize, Find, Share and Preserve ALL Your Family History Guest Presenter: Marlo Schuldt President of LifeStory Productions, Inc.  Heritage Collector is a complete family history management system to help you organize all your photos and family history information.  This beginners class will teach you how to start using Heritage Collector Suite so that you can find any file in seconds,  label everyone in a group photo and enhance photos.   All this leads toward creating beautiful memories to share with your family and friends as CDs,  DVDs or printed materials.  Thursday, May 5, 2011          Register Now   7:00 PM - 8:00 PM MDT

Beginning Family History: Putting the Pieces Together Presenter: Cina Johnson  Working on your family history can sometimes feel like you are putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle without a picture.  You have lots of pieces but you are not sure how they fit together.  This class is designed to help beginners “see” the picture.  We will define the research process and review fundamental principles so you can form good habits as you begin tracing your family history.  Family history enthusiasts can also learn to avoid common research mistakes and where to go for additional training. Thursday May 19, 2011                   Register Now 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM MDT

FamilySearch News, Information, and Updates

The following is from FamilySearch.

April 12, 2011

                                                                                                                                

FamilySearch News, Information, and Updates

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

New Records Added to FamilySearch.org

Over 30 million new records have been added to familysearch.org through indexing efforts in the last few months. Records from the following countries have been included: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, El Salvador, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, United States, Venezuela, Wales, and Zimbabwe. In addition, the 1881 England and Wales Census index has received significant enhancements.

Exciting Developments in FamilySearch Forums

We are excited to announce that beginning on April 12, you will be able to log into the FamilySearch Forums with your LDS Account. This is the last FamilySearch website in English to switch to the new user account system, so with this change, all of your English language FamilySearch websites and programs are accessible with this single user name and password. If you are a current Forums user, there will be a “merging” process so that the information in your old account can be merged into your new account, similar to how it has been done for other programs. If you have any questions or problems, there will be prompts on the website to help you know what to do. If you need more information, visit the FamilySearch Help Forum, or call FamilySearch Support. 

Important Milestone for New.FamilySearch.org

In March 2011 the new.familysearch.org website registered its one-millionth user. Recently a limited number of members of the general public have been given access to the Family Tree. This number will gradually grow until access to the Family Tree is open to everyone. Free access to the Family Tree site will bless the lives of millions of people.

RootsTech Update

If you missed the popular inaugural RootsTech 2011 conference, you can now get a sampling of what all the excitement was about. The wildly popular new technology and family history conference held last month in Salt Lake City, Utah, made its keynote addresses and a few other popular presentations available online, free of charge. The six free presentations can be viewed at RootsTech.org. The RootsTech keynote videos are now available online through the RootsTech.org home page, or you can go directly to the video page:http://rootstech.familysearch.org/video.php.

Important Indexing News Update

Since 2006, volunteers have indexed 548 million records! It has truly become a volunteer phenomenon and is the largest initiative of its kind. The records can be searched free of charge at familysearch.org. Additionally, FamilySearch indexing recently added its first project in Hungarian, which means projects now cover 12 languages. The new Hungarian project is for Magyarország, Szabolcs—polgári anyakönyvi adatok, 1895–1978 [1. Rész] records. If you can read Hungarian, or know others who can, please help rally the much-needed support for this project. Additional projects will be added as the active volunteer base grows. Register or find out more information at indexing.familysearch.org.

In 2010, FamilySearch indexing posted the following milestones:

·         100+ projects in 11 languages

·         Addition of Portuguese and Polish languages

·         40,000 new active indexers (completed a batch of work), for a total of 127,000 active indexers

·         Volunteer indexers averaged 2,169 records each

·         Arbitrators averaged 17,803 records each

·         186 million records were double keyed and arbitrated

New Online Course

A new course on finding and using courthouse records, featuring professional genealogist Christine Rose, is now available under the Learn tab in familysearch.org. Courthouses are places where you can find answers to genealogical problems. They are a rich source of written records created as a result of the laws then in use, the time period, and the personal activities of your ancestors. The steps delineated throughout this course will assist you to be more effective as you visit courthouses in your search for genealogical information. Click here to see the new course, or view a list of other courses.

Tips and Tricks

FamilySearch Research Wiki hint: Every page on the Research Wiki has a link that allows you to “Watch” the page. If you are looking for research hints in a certain place and the information is not complete enough to help you, you can click on “watch,” and you will then automatically receive an e-mail notifying you whenever anything changes on that page or when new information is added.

FamilySearch hint: If you would like to see what new collections have been added, click on the link on the bottom left of the home page called “All Record Collections.” Then just look for the asterisk (*) next to the dates in the “Last Updated” column. All of the newest record sets are flagged with an asterisk like this.

Sharing family names for the temple hint: If you want an easy way to instantly share family names with friends and family, don’t mail them the cards—instead, e-mail the FOR (Family Ordinance Request). It’s simple. As one of the last steps in new.familysearch.orgfor printing the FOR (part of the name clearing process), you have the option to save the document as a PDF. If you pick that option, you can then send the PDF file you created as an e-mail attachment. If this explanation is confusing or the process seems difficult, just ask a computer savvy youth, family member or friend to walk you through it. By e-mailing the FOR, you can get it to the people instantly, and with the new system they don’t even have to send the cards back if you don’t want them to. The completed ordinance information will show up immediately on new.familysearch.org.

Sincerely, 

FamilySearch                    

FamilySearch Records Update 12 April 2012: Got Ancestors from Costa Rica, England, India, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Spain, or the U.S.

The following is from FamilySearch.

Got Ancestors from Costa Rica, England, India, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Spain, or the U.S.?

The latest free collection updates might just have what you're seeking!

What a grab bag of records added this week! Let's see—for its online patrons' free viewing pleasure, internationally, FamilySearch added church records from Costa Rico and Mexico, Bishop's Transcripts and Poor Law records from England, Hindu pilgrimage records from India, municipal records from Spain, and civil registrations from Nicaragua and Peru. In the U.S., those with Arkansas and Oklahoma ancestors are going to have a proverbial field trip with the 500,000 new county marriage records added—and the indexes are linked to the original images! Additional records were also added for Maine and Texas. See the table below for details. You can search all of the record collections now for free at FamilySearch.org.
If you are enjoying the steady stream of free records added weekly, please consider "giving back" as a FamilySearch volunteer. You can start and stop volunteering at any time. Find out more at indexing.familysearch.org.

Collection	Records	Images	Comment
Costa Rica Church Records, 1595–1992	7,249	3,948	Added images and index to existing collection.
England, Norfolk Bishop's Transcripts, 1685–1941	0	81,941	Added browsable images to existing collection.
England, Norfolk Poor Law Union Records, 1796–1900	0	939	Added browsable images to existing collection.
India, Hindu Pilgrimage Records	0	31,436	New browsable image collection.
Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886–1933	0	2,596,692	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Nicaragua, Managua, Civil Registration, 1879–2007	42,195	0	Added records to existing collection.
Peru, Lima Civil Registration, 1874–1930	64,182	0	Added records to existing collection.
Spain, Municipal Records	0	56,152	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Arkansas County Marriages, 1837–1957	93,584	38,426	Added Arkansas, Washington, White, and Woodruff Counties to existing collection.
U.S., Maine, State Archive Collections	0	3,019	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Oklahoma County Marriages, 1891–1959	222,471	151,140	New collection. Counties included: Adair, Alfalfa, Atoka, Beaver, Beckham, Blaine, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Dewey, Garfield, Harmon, Hughes, Jackson, Jefferson, and Kingfisher.
U.S., Texas, Eastland County Records, 1868–1949	0	6,978	Added browsable images to existing collection.

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

FamilySearch Forums Update Reminder: User Name Changes

The following is from FamilySearch.

Note: This is a reminder of the upcoming changes on the FamilySearch Forums. This should be the second time you have received this e-mail unless you have registered for the forums within the last 2 weeks.

We are excited to announce that beginning on April 11th, you will be able to log in to the FamilySearch Forums with your FamilySearch or LDS Account, a single account that gives you access to all of the FamilySearch websites. This is the last FamilySearch website in English to switch to the new user account system, so with this change, all of your English FamilySearch websites and programs are accessible with this single user name and password. When the change is made, the forums will be “read-only” (meaning you will be able to read forum posts but not respond to them or create new ones) for about an hour, starting at approximately 10 p.m.  Mountain Daylight Time. (Watch the Forums for possible changes to this time.)

Capturing Your Forum History

It is important to note that when you first sign in to the Forums with your FamilySearch or LDS Account after this change, the Forums will show you as a “brand new” Forum member with zero posts. If you would like for all of your previous posts and user information to be connected to your FamilySearch or LDS Account user name, you will need to "merge" your old account into your new account. You will have until May 11^th to do this.

To merge your accounts and capture your posting history, you will need to follow a few steps:

1.       Before April 10^th, write down your CURRENT forum user name and password.
If you can’t remember your forum log-in information:

                                             i.Go to http://forums.familysearch.org.

                                           ii.Log out (if it shows you as being logged in in the upper right corner).

                                          iii.Attempt to log in.

                                         iv.If you log in with the wrong information, follow the steps to retrieve your user name, or reset your password

2.       When you see the changes on April 11^th (it will be obvious because the forums will have a new look), you may log in with either your “old” Forums user name, or your FamilySearch or LDS Account.

3.       The system will detect which one you are using and walk you through the steps of what to do at that point to merge the accounts together.

Note: If you do not yet have a FamilySearch or LDS Account, or don’t remember the user name or password of that account, the website will walk you through how to retrieve that information.

Once you have merged the two accounts, you will see that:

·         Your old posts will still show under your old user name, but clicking on your user name will take you to your new user page.

·         You will have to enter the user name and password each time you come to the site; the Forums will no longer save your user name and password and keep you logged in.  This is for security purposes and can’t be changed.

Forums New Look

Additionally, the look of the Forums will be changing to match the FamilySearch.org website. Click here to see what the forums will look like after these changes.

If you have any problems, there will be prompts on the website to help you know what to do. If those don't help, visit theFamilySearch Help Forum, or call FamilySearch at 1-866-406-1830.

Thank you for your contributions and involvement in this work.

Sincerely,

FamilySearch

Kip Sperry's List of Family History Internet Sites

The following is from Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter.

Kip Sperry is a well-known professional genealogist, author, and lecturer. He has created a list of his favorite genealogy sites. This is NOT a list of all the genealogy sites on the web, but rather a list of his favorite sites, the ones he refers to often. You might find some good resources here that are new to you.

Kip Sperry's List of Family History Internet Sites may be found at: https://sites.google.com/site/familyhistoryinternetsites/

Kip's bio can be found at http://www.kipsperry.com/

Win a $100 Amazon Gift Certificate

The following is from RootsMagic.

We would like to know more about which online genealogical services you use or are interested in.  You would like that pricey genealogy book you've been eyeing on Amazon.com.   We have a solution that could benefit us both.

We've created a brief survey to get your opinions on various online genealogy services and your interest in having RootsMagic work with them.  And when we say "brief", we mean it.  Really, seriously.  It should only take you a minute or two.

 

In appreciation for your participation, one respondent will be randomly selected to receive a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate.  The winner can use the gift certificate towards anything they want from the world's largest online store!
 

Click here to take survey!

 

Official Rules: Must be 18 or older to win.  Limit 1 entry per person.  To enter, complete the survey and include a valid e-mail address.  One winner be will be randomly selected on May 1, 2011 at 12:00 MDT.  Winner will receive a $100 Amazon.com Gift Certificate via e-mail.  Winner is responsible for any taxes or fees associated with the prize.

Free RootsMagic Classes for April

The following is from RootsMagic.

And the free RootsMagic classes don't stop.  Here are 4 new classes scheduled for the next month.  Each class will be limited to the first 1000 people to sign up, but if you miss out or can’t make it, don’t worry because we will record the class for you to download and watch later.

To sign up for the free classes, or to view past recorded classes, visit us at:

http://www.rootsmagic.com/webinars

Here are the upcoming classes for April:

• Places and Mapping in RootsMagic
  Wherever you go, there you are!  Places and geography are an integral part of our lives and the lives of our ancestors.  Join us for a look at the many tools in RootsMagic which help you accurately record the places in your family history, clean and standardize names, and even view them on a map!
  Wednesday, April 13, 2011
  2pm MST See In Your Time Zone
  90 minutes
• Ask the RootsMagician!
  This is your chance to ask your questions and get the answers straight from the source!  Bruce Buzbee, the author of RootsMagic will be answering your questions about the software in this special, open-topic webinar.
  Tuesday, April 19, 2011
  5pm MST See In Your Time Zone
  90 minutes
• Google Search Tips and Tricks
  Frustrated by thousands of irrelevant search results in your recent Google searches for your family history? Do you want to achieve better results in a shorter amount of time?  Learn the art of online search with Google expert and genealogy podcaster Lisa Louise Cooke, author of the new book The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox. In this webinar you will expand your Google search repertoire and learn techniques, tricks and tips to achieve better genealogical search results.
  Thursday, April 28, 2011
  6pm MST See In Your Time Zone
  90 minutes
• Creating and Printing Wallcharts with RootsMagic
  Ever wish your family tree wasn't confined to a computer screen or a small sheet of paper?  Wallcharts let you see the "big picture" of your family history!  Join us for a look at RootsMagic's wallcharts and how to customize them.  Also joining us will be Janet Hovorka of Generation Maps to show us how to easily and affordably print our charts and some special services which they provide.
  Tuesday, May 3, 2011
  5pm MST See In Your Time Zone
  90 minutes

Here are the recorded webinars already available for you to view or download:

• Getting Started with RootsMagic
• Publishing a Family History with RootsMagic
• FamilySearch Made Easy with RootsMagic
• RootsMagic To-Go: Running RootsMagic on a Flash Drive
• Sources, Citations, and Documentation with RootsMagic
• Working with Files and Folders in RootsMagic
• Cleaning Your Family Tree in RootsMagic
• Personal Historian: Bringing Life to Your Life Stories
• Creating Custom Reports with RootsMagic
• Map and Explore Your Family Tree with Family Atlas
• Adding and Editing Information in RootsMagic
• Lists and Reports in RootsMagic
• Writing Your Personal History (and Living to Tell About it)

FamilySearch Records 5 April 2011: No April Fooling‹14 Million New Records from Belgium, Canada, Chile, England, Netherlands, Slovakia, South Africa, and the U.S

The following is from FamilySearch.

April 5, 2011

Whether you say it maravilloso, wonderlijk, or merveilleux, it all describes this week's new, free collection updates at FamilySearch.org—marvelous!

Researchers with Netherlands roots are going to have a heyday perusing the 9 million new digital images for the Netherlands Civil Registration, 1792 to 1952, collection. If your Netherlands ancestors headed south to Belgium, you might find them in the 1.5 million new records added to the Belgium Civil Registration, 1795–1910, online collection. And how about Canada, Chile, Slovakia, and South Africa, with another million records added between them? The wildly popular Ohio County Marriage collection just received a boost of 596,000 images of marriage certificates and an updated index. That means that about 76 percent of Ohio's county marriages can now be searched online for free. Vermont and Wisconsin collections got a boost this week as well. See the table below for more details. You can search all of the record collections now for free at FamilySearch.org.

It is also worthy to note that the 1881 England and Wales Census index received significant enhancements this week. Searchable fields were added for county, civil parish, ecclesiastical parish, occupation, disability, and folio/page numbers. These additional fields will help users more easily identify the person they are seeking. Even of greater worth is the fact that households are now grouped together so users can see the family in context. The index is linked to the images on findmypast.com.

If you are enjoying the steady stream of free records added weekly, please consider "giving back" as a FamilySearch volunteer. You can start and stop volunteering at any time. Find out more at indexing.familysearch.org.

Collection	Records	Images	Comment
Belgium Civil Registration, 1795-1910	93,074	1,469,558	Added browsable images and index records to existing collection.
Canada, Quebec Notarial Records, 1800-1900	0	45,442	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Chile, Concepcion, Civil Registration, 1885-1903	0	862,124	Added browsable images to existing collection.
England and Wales Census, 1881	0	1,113,073	Added additional fields and family groups, to the index and image links to FindMyPast website.
Netherlands, Civil Registration, 1792-1952	0	9,029,651	Added browsable images from various regions to the existing collection.
Slovakia Church Books, 1592-1910	0	76,819	Added browsable images from Bratislava State Archive’s church books to the existing collection.
South Africa, Cape Province Dutch Reformed Church Registers, 1660-1970	53,940	23,317	Added images and index of baptisms, marriages, and membership records to existing collection.
U.S., Ohio, County Marriages, 1790-1950	379,911	596,034	This new collection of marriages contains indexes and images for about 76% of the county marriage records. Many of these records were included earlier in the Ohio Marriage collection but without images.
U.S., Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954	225,524	340,771	Added images and index to existing collection.
U.S., Wisconsin, Probate Estate Files, 1848-1933	0	197,228	Added browsable images (for Shawano, Green, and Pepin counties) to existing collection.

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1911 CENSUS RECORDS FOR SCOTLAND GO ONLINE FOR FIRST TIME

The following is from brightSolid.

A fascinating snapshot of pre-war Scotland and a major new family history resource

A snapshot of history from the Scotland of a century ago is revealed today with the release of the personal details from the 1911 Census.

The archives were opened after 100 years in line with the closure period for all personal data collected by each census. The Census returns were made available for members of the public to search at Edinburgh’s New Register House. Staff in period costume were on hand to provide advice and two centenarians attended to view their own entries in the Census.

From today, family historians, researchers and members of the public can view high quality colour images of their ancestors’ entries in the Census, fully searchable by name or address.

In 1911, the Scottish population was growing quickly, partly as a result of better health and the resulting improvements in child mortality rates, and partly because of immigration. Compared to the previous census of a decade beforehand, the total population had grown by six per cent.

This was the last census before the Great War, during which many tens of thousands of young people recorded in 1911 would have been killed.

Register General for Scotland Duncan Macniven said:

“We are today releasing details we have kept secret for a century, just as we are today promising to do with the information collected by the 2011 Census. People in 100 years will be able to read the information their ancestors are today contributing to this year’s census.

“The 1911 Census gives us a snapshot of what Scotland was like just before the great cataclysm of the Great War. Many thousands of the young people recorded here never returned from the battlefields of Europe.”

“For family historians, the major change is the inclusion of details of the number of children born from a marriage, which will make it easier to track children between the census years. Also, the full colour images make it easier to decipher the enumerator’s handwriting.

“You can also see what happened to Scotland in the decade before 1911. The total population was up by 6 per cent. However in Fife, for example, the population had gone up by 22 per cent, while in Orkney it had gone down by 10 per cent.

“A lot of that was due to the continuing industrialisation of Scotland, and the drift of people from rural areas into our towns and cities.”

The Census will be made available on the ScotlandsPeople website (http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk ), and at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh. The online records will be interesting both to people in Scotland and to the Scottish diaspora, which numbers many millions especially across the UK and in North America, Australia and New Zealand.

General background

The 1911 Census showed that the population of Scotland on the night of April 2, 1911 was 4.7 million.

This was the 12th modern census, the first having taken place in 1801. It was authorised by the Census (Great Britain) Act 1910. The Registrar General for Scotland in 1911 was James Patten MacDougall supported by James C. Dunlop the Superintendent of Statistics.

It was the first time ever that mechanical tabulation was used to process the statistical results, which made the task quicker and easier to do. Hollerith machines were used that incorporated a punch card system. In this census the householders were asked for more information than ever before and the new system using mechanical tabulation ensured that the statistics were reported in record time, in 5 volumes published between 1911 and 1913.

In Dalziel in Motherwell, April 3, 1911 was a holiday. Over 2000 people were absent on Census night. Whether these people were picked up in the census in other parts of Scotland is currently unknown.

This was the last census taken prior to the first war. Deaths in the war meant that the number of males remained around 2.3m between the 1911 and 1921 censuses, whereas between the 1901 and 1911 Census the male population had increased by 11.9%.

The police were used to help the enumerators take the Census for vagrants as well as the enumeration of people who passed the night in barns, sheds, tents, etc. or in the open air. People on boats or barges were enumerated if the vessel was within the limits of the jurisdiction of His Majesty’s Customs.

Statistics

The main objective of a census is to provide statistical data. Reports were produced that included tables showing the population of Scotland as a whole, of its counties, civil parishes, registration districts, burghs, Parliamentary constituencies and so on.

The reports and tables were based on summaries from the Enumeration Books. No household schedules (the forms filled in by the head of each household) have survived but the Enumeration Books provide similar information to those published in 2001 from the 1901 Census and include additional information about the number of children born to each married woman, nationality and occupation.

The following statistics were produced from the 1911 Census:

• The population was 4,759,445.
• The number of males was 2,307,603.
• The number of females was 2,451,842.
• This was an increase on the population of 287,342 from 1901.
• The increase in males was 133,848.
• The increase in females was 153,494.
• This increase was less than any since the 1861 Census.

In earlier Censuses:

• The first Census, in 1801, showed a population of 1,608,420.
• The 1821 population exceeded 2m.
• The 1861 population exceeded 3m.
• The 1891 population exceeded 4m.
• The increase over 110 years was 3,151,025 or 195.9%

Between 1901 and 1911 there was an increase in population in 18 counties and a decrease in 15. The greatest increases were in Lanarkshire, Fife, Dumbarton and Renfrew. The greatest decreases were in Inverness, Orkney, Argyll and Forfar.