UGA - Jordan River Initial Chapter Meeting

The following is from the Utah Genealogy Association (UGA).

Announcing the Jordan River Initial Chapter Meeting to be held Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at the Riverton FamilySearch Library, 3740 Market Center Dr., Riverton, UT. This is a great meeting to attend for genealogists in the Salt Lake Valley who want to learn more about genealogy and rub shoulders with other genealogists in the area. The guest speaker is Barry J. Ewell who will speak on "Cut 10 Years off your Learning Curve." We hope to see you there!

Southern California Genealogical Society Webinars

The following is from the Southern California Genealogical Society Aug-Sep2011 Newsletter.

Grow What You Know
Beginning Genealogy Classes 

Has the summer left you feeling a little rusty in terms of your genealogical research skills? We have just the solution. Join us at the SCGS Library each Tuesday morning 9:30am-11:30am through the month of September.
September 6 - The Basics of Getting Started 
September 13 - Census Records and Substitutes 
September 20 - Church Records 
September 27 - Military and Land Records 
 Register by phone at 818-843-7247 or email at beginner@scgsgenealogy.com


         

Lunch 'n' Learn

Saturday, September 10
12:00 lunch, 1:00 sessions 

"Patronymic Practices -
A Portal to the Past" presented by George Coulter

The presentation covers the basics of naming practices utilized by various nations and ethnic groups, with emphasis on patronymic surnames.  We compare and contrast patronymics, epithets, surnames of place, and occupational surnames, to illustrate how each surname can provide clues to permit determination of the national and/or ethnic background of the bearer. 

George P. Coulter, a genealogical writer, speaker, and consultant, honed his skills in those endeavors during his years as a California attorney, before becoming a professional genealogist. He received his A.B. degree in Political Science from UCLA, concurrent with a commission in the US Navy.George is a Life Member of the National Genealogical Society, a member of the Society of Genealogists (London), the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, the Dyfed (Wales) Family History Society, and a number of local historical and genealogical societies. 

"Finding Foreign Records"  

presented by Richard McBride

The Family History Libraries have a treasure trove of microfilm and books at their disposal. Our speaker will show you how to find these treasures.

Dr. Richard D. McBride is the Director of the Los Angeles Regional Family History Center.  He has been involved in family history research for about 40 years. He was born and raised in Mesa, AZ. After graduating from UCLA with a PhD in Applied Mathematics, he taught for 32 years at the University of Southern California. He currently is an Emeritus USC Professor of Management Science and Logistics. He is married to Georgia West and they have seven children.  

The sessions are open to the public free to the public at no charge; however, donations will be gladly accepted. The library will not be open for research.

      

----

The SCGS Webinar series has been a very successful way to introduce our Society and Jamboree to researchers around the world. We have welcomed more than 5,000 genealogists since the series began in March.      What is this "webinar" thing any way? It's a way of delivering a presentation or class over the internet. Viewers log in at the scheduled time to watch a top-notch speaker provide information, including slides and handouts, on a specific topic.  Upcoming SCGS sessions are listed below. Click to register for the session. There will be no webinar on Saturday, September 3, due to the Labor Day weekend. Stay safe and have a great holiday!  September 21 - 6pm PDT - Immigrant Cluster Communities: Past, Present and Future - Lisa Alzo.  There are a handful of "cluster" immigrant communities throughout the United States that blossomed during the late 19th/early 20th centuries.  This session will demonstrate how exploring "cluster genealogy" can often break down brick walls, and review how 21st technology can be used to rebuild "cluster communities" in the virtual world. Using tools such as family web sites, social networking sites, Wikis, etc. to build online genealogical communities will also be briefly discussed.    October 1 - 10am PDT - Remembering the Ladies: Researching Your Female Ancestors - Gena Philibert Ortega. Women ancestors can be difficult to trace but not impossible. This presentation goes over resources for tracing the women in your family. Sources discussed include federal and state census records, immigration, vital records, church records, journals, newspapers, court records, library archives and manuscript collections.        October 19 - 6pm PDT - Yes You Can! Do Genealogy in Spite of a Learning Disability - Jean Wilcox Hibben, PhD, CG - A presentation designed to help those with learning disabilities (specifically, dyslexia and related problems) learn ways to be successful in doing genealogical research. Hints for reading records and reports and well as writing up findings will be provided. This program comes out of 13 years as a college professor: the speaker is a dyslexic who went undiagnosed until her mid-30s, yet she is known for her effective writing style and precise research skills. November and 2012 sessions will be announced as they are scheduled. No webinars are scheduled for December.   You can find webinars on dozens of different topics offered by Legacy, RootsMagic, Geneabloggers and other groups. DearMYRTLE has developed an extensive list of webinars athttp://blog.geneawebinars.com/     The Jamboree Extension Series webinars are (or will soon be) archived on the members-only section of the SCGS website. The website is undergoing some work and our IT team will have all of the sessions available by the end of August.

September Calendar  4 Sept United Daughters of the Confederacy Meeting 5 Sept Labor Day 6 Sept Beginning Genealogy Class 6 Sept Writer's Group 10 Sept Jamboree Planning Committee 10 Sept Lunch & Learn 10 Sept African-American Interest Group 12 Sept Legacy Users Group 13 Sept Beginning Genealogy Class 15 Sept SCGS Board Meeting 17 Sept German Interest Group 18 Sept RootsMagic User Group 20 Sept Beginning Genealogy Class 20 Sept Hispanic Tuesday 25 Sept Writer's Group 27 Sept Beginning Genealogy Class Second Tuesday - German Workgroup Third Tuesday - Hispanic Tuesday Every Wednesday - French-Canadian Research Team Every Thursday - German Research Team Every Friday - 1890 Project Proofreading Team If you have events that you would like listed in the SCGS update, please send an email to phinkel@pacbell.net.  Put "Area Event" in the subject line.

FamilySearch Adds 6 Million Records - Austria, Mexico, Peru, U.S. Each Add Over a Million Records

The following is from FamilySearch.

30 August 2011

FamilySearch.org added over six million records this week to its free online database. The new collections include seigniorial records from Austria, civil registrations from Chihuahua, Mexico, and probate records from Kentucky, U.S. Also added this week are records from Brazil, Guatemala, Hungary, Peru, Poland, South Africa, and Spain. View them all now at FamilySearch.org.

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 atFamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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. 

Collection	Records	Images	Comments
Austria, Seigniorial Records, 1537–1888	0	1,375,643	New browsable image collection.
Brazil, Catholic Church Records, 1835–1966	0	425,826	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Guatemala Civil Registration, 1877–1934	0	425,826	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Hungary Civil Registration, 1895–1980	0	586,296	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Mexico, Chihuahua, Civil Registration, 1861–1997	0	1,552,617	New browsable image collection.
Mexico, Jalisco, Civil Registration, 1832–2000	0	7,634	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Peru, Catholic Church Records1687-1992	0	1,043,903	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Poland, Roman Catholic Church Books, 1600–1950	0	27,159	Added browsable images to existing collection.
South Africa, Dutch Reformed Church Registers, 1660–1970	0	22,711	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Spain, Cádiz, Testaments, 1550–1920	0	23,210	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1875-2010	188,681	0	Added index records to existing collection. Now current as of 31 July 2011.
U.S., California, San Mateo County Records, 1856–1967	0	32,582	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Kentucky, Probate Records, 1792–1977	0	623,942	New browsable image collection.
U.S., Louisiana, First Registration Draft Cards, compiled 1940–1945	0	66,545	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Louisiana, Second Registration Draft Cards, compiled 1948–1959	0	47,474	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., North Carolina, Estate Files, 1663–1917	9,981	229,414	Added index records to existing collection.
U.S., Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh City Deaths, 1870–1905	154,203	38,853	New index collection.
U.S., Washington State County Records, 1885–1950	0	124,194	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Washington State, Army National Guard Records, 1880–1947	0	24,174	Added browsable images to existing collection.

Mark Your Calendar - UVTAGG (formerly UVPAFUG) Monthly Meeting!

UTAH VALLEY TECHNOLOGY AND GENEALOGY GROUP MEETING (UVTAGG)

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group - UVTAGG (Formerly the Utah Valley PAF Users Group - UVPAFUG) will be on Saturday, 10 Sep 2011, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo. Information about the Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on their website http://uvtagg.org and the press releases are at http://blog.uvpafug.org/ . With the organization's name change the latter URL will also be changed eventually.

The main presentation for this meeting will be by Dr. Ugo A. Perego on THE POWER OF DNA IN UNLOCKING FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS. This presentation will provide a general overview on how genetic testing can be of great assistance to family historians to trace, verify, expand, and link genealogical records and pedigrees. Particularly, we will cover the paternally-inherited Y chromosome and the maternally-inherited mitochondrial DNA with the purposes of showing how these two markers can play a powerful role in the search for our ancestors.

Ugo A. Perego, PhD, is the Director of Operations and a Senior Researcher and Senior Genealogist at the non-profit Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (http://www.smgf.org/ ) and a Scientific Consultant for GeneTree ( http://www.genetree.com/ ), both located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ugo earned a BS and an MS in Health Sciences at Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah) and a PhD in Human Genetics at the University of Pavia, Italy. In his nearly eleven years with SMGF, Ugo has supervised the worldwide collection of more than 110,000 DNA samples and corresponding genealogical records and contributed numerous lectures and publications on DNA and its applications to population genetics, genealogy, and history. He came to the UVTAGG meeting (Then it was the UVPAFUG.) more than 10 years ago when the Sorenson Foundation collected DNA samples and pedigree charts from our members. Some of his recent publications include “The Book of Mormon and the Origin of Native Americans from a Maternally Inherited DNA Standpoint” (in No Weapon Shall Prosper, 2011); “Joseph Smith: The Question of Polygamous Offspring and DNA Analysis” (in The Persistence of Polygamy, 2010); “Expanding the Concept of Family History through DNA” (in Family Chronicle, 2010); “Mitochondrial DNA: A Female Perspective in Recent Human Origin and Evolution” (in Origins as a Paradigm in the Sciences and in the Humanities, 2010). He is married to the former Jenna McAllister and they are the parents of three boys and a girl.

Following the main presentation there will be several classes about family history and technology with something for everyone at any level of expertise. The teachers and classes presently scheduled for this meeting are as follows:

1. Three Wikis: FamilySearch, Ancestry.com and Wikipedia, by Marilyn Thomsen 
2. MAC: Q & A, by Ron Snowden
3. More Best Practices - Surviving in the Trenches, by Laurie Castillo
4. Personalized Help, including information for new Family History Consultants, by Don Engstrom and Finn Hansen 
5. Q&A: The Power of DNA in Unlocking Family Relationships, by Ugo A. Perego 
6. Video of last month's main presentation: New Family Search Best Practices, by Laurie Castillo
7. RootsMagic 4, by Sue Maxwell 
8. Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay 
9. Legacy 7.5, by Dean Bennett 
10. Family Insight, by Andrea Schnakenburg. 

All meetings of the Group are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The 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. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Laurie Castillo, 1st VP; Don Snow, 2nd VP; Liz Kennington, Newsletter Editor; Kay Baker, Gerry Eliason, and Don Engstrom working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD Library. Several of these will be there to answer questions, help with membership, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter TAGGology, and check out DVDs of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Group, presentations, classes, and class notes can be found at the websites mentioned above. For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvtagg.org (801-225-6106) or 1st VP Laurie Castillo at laurie@everythingisrelative.net, or 2nd VP Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu.

Ancestry.com Offers Free Access to Immigration and Naturalization Records

The following is from Ancestry.com.

ANCESTRY.COM OFFERS FREE ACCESS TO IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION RECORDS

Week of Free Access Enables Families to Discover Stories of Ancestors’ International Travels and Passage

PROVO, UTAH – (August 29, 2011) – Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, today announced an entire week of free access to its popular U.S. and International Immigration and Naturalization records. The free access week begins August 29^th and runs through the Labor Day holiday ending September 5^th. During this time, all visitors to Ancestry.com will be able to search for free the indices and images of new and updated U.S. immigration records as well as selected international immigration records from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweden and Mexico. Millions of Americans can trace their family history to other countries, and these collections provide valuable information about the travels and journeys that brought them to America or other countries around the world.

Ancestry.com’s extensive collection of immigration, naturalization and travel records offer an important resource for discovering and celebrating family history. As part of this promotion, the company is adding to its collection of U.S. and international records for tracing relatives from their homeland to other countries around the world. These records include ships passenger and crew lists, declarations of intent, petitions for naturalization, witness affidavits, border crossings, certificates and other records generated by the naturalization process, which is the act and procedure of becoming a new citizen of a country. Because the process has changed significantly over time and varies from country to country, different records are available from a wide variety of state, federal and international sources.

Newly added U.S. collections include Florida Petitions for Naturalization, 1913-1991; Delaware Naturalization Records, 1796-1959 and Utah Naturalization and Citizenship Records, 1850-1960. Noteworthy updated U.S. and international collections include U.S. Naturalization and Passport applications, 1795-1972; UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960; Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1956; New South Wales, Australia, Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1826-1922; Border Crossings: From Mexico to U.S., 1895-1957; New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1973; Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959.

“One of the most common elements of the American experience is our respect and interest in our native heritage.  Almost all Americans have international roots, and many take great pride and even feel patriotic toward the countries from which their ancestors originated,” said Josh Hanna, Ancestry.com Executive Vice President. “That’s why we continue to build and enrich our collection of immigration and naturalization records and why we are providing free access to anyone who wants to search these records to discover their family’s international history.”

Many families have already made important discoveries in Ancestry.com’s immigration and naturalization collection. Each of the following stories offers an example of the exciting and often emotional discoveries made by some Ancestry.com users.

·         David A. Bader – Atlanta, GA: Bader traced his mother’s immigration from birth in Vienna, Austria, in 1934, during the Holocaust, through a KinderTransport to England (1939-1941), and eventually her immigration into the U.S. He’s also traced her parents’ journeys through concentration camps and other paths that lead to the United States, where the family came back together after their separate journeys of luck and fate.

·         Kristine Plotinski – Romeo, MI: Plotinski recently found the ship manifest of when her grandparents and three aunts immigrated to the United States from Iraq in 1947. She shared this document with her aunts and they were deeply touched when they saw their names on the manifest. One of her aunts remarked that she had been unable to find her immigration records on a visit to Ellis Island and recounted that seeing the document from Ancestry.com brought back many memories. Her aunt very clearly remembers the day in 1947 when her ship arrived in New York. She was awed by the lights of New York and the snow and wore a pink coat made with rabbit fur, which her grandmother had made for each of Kristine’s aunts. 
·         Jackie Wells – Annapolis, MD:  Although her father died of cancer, Wells was fortunate to spend considerable time with him before he passed. Many of their talks focused on his family history. He did not know much about his mother, who died from a fire when he was three, or about her background. His father remarried and supported a blended family, but did not talk about his background. Since those discussions, Wells has traced her father’s side back to the original immigrants, finding early colonial settlers of New England, a sea captain defending New York’s harbor under George Washington in 1776, early residents of the new capital Washington, hard-working mid-1800's immigrants, Civil War soldiers, sports legends and many poignant personal stories. So far, for two of the immigrants Wells located, she has traveled to and photographed their birth villages, in Italy and in Germany. Wells’ family history research has helped her find and be welcomed by hundreds of newfound relatives who have provided many memories and a much deeper understanding her father’s family history.   


To start researching the immigration and naturalization records for free, please visitwww.ancestry.com/immigration. 

Ohana Software Webinars

The following is from Ohana Software.

Heritage Collector Suite: Preserve & Share Your Memories Using Storybook Pages Presenter: Kathleen Bitter LifeStory Productions, Inc.  When memories and photographs come together they create a story.  No matter the audience or topic, Heritage Collector's Storybook pages are the perfect way to capture, share and preserve these memories.  Join us and learn how to create a Storybook for your family using Heritage Collector Suite. Thursday, September 1, 2011          Register Now 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM MDT

FamilyInsight: Compare and Sync Presenter: Cina Johnson Ohana Software  The Compare and Sync Mode of FamilyInsight is a life saver for all family historians.  Have you ever updated your file on one computer and forgotten to transfer it to another computer and ended up with two files each containing new but different data?  Have you gotten files from other researchers or the Internet but didn’t want to add everything to your good file?  Compare and Sync is the answer to your needs.  We will cover how to use this mode to find the differences between two files and selectively update the main file with information in the secondary file.  See how the filters can help you focus your work and much more. Wednesday, September 14, 2011       Register Now 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM MDT

Using the FamilySearch Catalog Presenter: Barbara Renick Professional Genealogist, Lecturer & Author  For the time being, there are two versions of what used to be called the Family History Library Catalog. The new version is called the FamilySearch Catalog and is being enlarged to include holdings in Family History Centers around the world plus links to digital resources online (books, images of records, and explanatory articles in the FamilySearch Wiki about catalogued resources). The FamilySearch Catalog also has new advanced search features (including wildcard searches in almost every category). Search statistics clearly show users are not taking advantage of the full strength of the FamilySearch catalog and this Webinar is designed to help genealogists find new ways to search and find more. Thursday, September 29, 2011          Register Now 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM MDT FamilyInsight: Overview Presenter: Cina Johnson  Ohana Software  The Surrey Stake Family History Centre is having a genealogy conference and we have been invited to present a class on FamilyInsight.  Although the class is for their conference, you are invited to join us for this session.  The overview will cover each mode (function) in FamilyInsight so that you will have a better understanding of FamilyInsight’s power and versatility. Saturday, October 15, 2011          Register Now 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM MDT Obituaries Presenter: Thomas Jay Kemp  Director, Genealogy Products - NewsBank, inc.  This session will give you the tips you need to make sure you get the most from an obituary notice. Recognize the clues that will help you extend your family tree. Wednesday, October 19, 2011        Register Now 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM MDT

MORE NEW PARISH RECORDS AND LOWER PRICES FROM FINDMYPAST

The following is from FindMyPast. FINDMYPAST.CO.UK LAUNCHES MORE NEW RECORDS AND LOWERS ITS PRICES 


Leading UK family history website www.findmypast.co.uk has been adding to its existing collection of over 40 million parish records for England & Wales dating back to 1538.  


NEW PARISH RECORDS ONLINE 


Today sees the launch of over 18,000 baptism, marriage and burial records from London & Kent dating from 1825-1871, covering the parishes of Greenwich and Rotherhithe. 


These follow hot on the heels of 79,842 parish records from Gwent (formerly Monmouthshire), spanning the years 1634 to 1933, which were also published on the site this week. These records cover the parishes of Chepstow, Shirenewton, Bedwellty, Beaufort, Mynddislwyn and Risca. Monmouth workhouse baptisms and burials are also included. Gwent Family History Society are providing these records on findmypast.co.uk as part of an ongoing project betweenfindmypast.co.uk and the Federation of Family History Societies to publish more parish records online, making it possible to trace back ancestors long before the start of civil registration in 1837. 


Last week 20,000 burial records from the St Mary parish of Lambeth for 1819-1838 went online at findmypast.co.uk, supplied by East Surrey Family History Society, along with 128,000 burial records for the years 1802-1846 from the East Kent Burial Index. 


BEST VALUE IN HISTORY 

Findmypast.co.uk has also this week lowered its prices. An annual Full subscription to the website allowing access to all the historical records on the site is now priced at £109.95, down from £129.95, while the annual Foundation subscription is now down from £91.95 to £79.95. Both include the complete 1911 census for England & Wales. 


Paul Yates, Head of findmypast.co.uk said "We're committed to making family history as affordable as possible, while still ensuring that we continue to deliver a steady stream of fascinating, new family history records to our customers every month."  


-----


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.

Free Seminar on England Intermediate Research

The following if from FamilySearch.

Free Seminar on England Intermediate Research
The Family History Library Hosts Events in September.
 
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Genealogists and family history enthusiasts looking for help with England intermediate research will be interested in English classes held at the Family History Library in September. A free English seminar will be held on Saturday, September 17 at the Family History Library. The classes will include:

9:00 a.m. “Records of the Poor”

10:00 a.m. “Probate Records & Indexes”

11:00 a.m.  “Practice Time”

1:00 p.m.  “Nonconformist Church Records”

2:00 p.m.  “Pre-1837 Research Strategies”

3:00 p.m.  “Practice Time”

Other mid-week classes in September on English research will be held on:

Thursday, 8 Sep, 10:00 a.m. “English Civil Registration Records and Indexes”

Friday, 9 Sep, 9:00 a.m. “The Cornish:  A Celtic Nation Found Throughout the World

-Guest Speaker, Philip Hosken ”

Thursday, 15 Sep, 1:00 p.m.  “English Census Records and Indexes”

Thursday, 22 Sep, 2:00 p.m. “Church of England Records and Indexes”

Thursday, 29 Sep, 1:00 p.m. “Finding English Pre-1837 Marriages”

 
To view the class schedule online, go to www.familysearch.org.  Most classes will be held in the B2 classroom on the second lower level of the Family History Library.  The library is located west of Temple Square on West Temple between North Temple and South Temple Streets in downtown Salt Lake City.  On Saturdays, parking is free to library patrons and is located behind the Church History Museum.  To register for these free classes, send an email to FHLClassReg@familysearch.org or call 1-801-240-4950. 

Free Seminar on the Scandinavian Research

The following is from FamilySearch.

Free Seminar on the Scandinavian Research
The Family History Library Hosts Events in September.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Genealogists and family history enthusiasts looking for help with Scandinavian research will be interested in Danish and Swedish classes held at the Family History Library in September. A free Danish seminar will be held on Saturday, September 10 at the Family History Library. The classes will include:

9:00 a.m. “Danish Research:  A Beginner’s Case Study”

10:15 a.m. “Next Step:  Next Generation”

11:30 a.m.  “Databases for Danish Research”

A mid-week series on Swedish research will be held on Tuesday, September 20th and Wednesday, September 21.

Tuesday, 9:00 a.m. “Swedish Church Records”

Tuesday, 10:15 a.m. “Swedish Historical Maps”

Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.  “Other Online Resources and CDs”

Wednesday, 9:00 a.m. “Emigration from Sweden During Late 1800s–Early 1900s”

Wednesday, 10:15 a.m. “DIS (Computer Genealogy Society of Sweden)–How it Can Help”

Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. “Introduction to Swedish Probate Records”

To view the class schedule online, go to www.familysearch.org.  Classes will be held in the B1 classroom on the first lower level of the Family History Library.  The library is located west of Temple Square on West Temple between North Temple and South Temple Streets in downtown Salt Lake City.  On Saturdays, parking is free to library patrons and is located behind the Church History Museum.  To register for these free classes, send an email to FHLClassReg@familysearch.org or call 1-801-240-4950. 

RootsTech 2012 Hotels Announced

The following is from FamilySearch and RootsTech.

RootsTech 2012 Official Hotels Announced

Conference Attendees Can Make Hotel Reservations Now

RootsTech 2012 is happy to announce its two official conference hotels: the Radissonand the Salt Lake Plaza. The hotels will offer reduced rates and attractive benefits for conference attendees. Both hotels were very popular with conference goers in 2011. The two facilities are conveniently located near the Salt Palace Convention Center and are offering an attractive $89 per night conference rate to RootsTech 2012 attendees. However, the special conference rate rooms are limited. Attendees are encouraged to book now to guarantee availability for RootsTech 2012, which will be held February 2–4, 2012, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Registration for attending the RootsTech 2012 conference itself will open shortly in September 2011.

Radisson Hotel



215 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
(801) 531-7500
Rate: $89 per night

Every room has extra value added for the convenience of our guests. Each room has a coffeemaker with complimentary coffee, hair dryer, bathroom amenities by ASiRA, iron and full-size ironing board, complimentary high-speed Internet access, and voice mail. USA Today and the Salt Lake Tribune, offering local news and information, are available upon request. RootsTech guests will also receive complimentary parking and a free breakfast buffet for one per single-rate room, two per double-rate room, three per triple-rate room, or four per quad–rate room.


Salt Lake Plaza Hotel



122 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
(801) 521-0130
(800) 366-3684
Rate: $89 per night

Conveniently located adjacent to the Family History Library and across the street from the conference center. Every room has free coffee as well as a refrigerator, microwave, and coffeemaker that guests may use. RootsTech guests will enjoy free wireless Internet and airport shuttle ($30 value). Parking is only $5 per night.

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.

Ancestry.com Expands U.S. School Yearbook Collection

The following is from Ancestry.com.

ANCESTRY.COM EXPANDS U.S. SCHOOL YEARBOOK COLLECTION TO INCLUDE MORE THAN 150 MILLION RECORDS OF RELATIVES’ SCHOOL DAYS

PROVO, UTAH – August 24, 2011 – Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, today announced a massive expansion of the world’s most extensive searchable collection of U.S. school yearbooks online.  The company has added nearly 25,000 new yearbooks to the collection, which now totals over 35,000 and carries 155 million records encompassing the years 1884 to 2009. The U.S. Yearbook Collection includes close to seven million images from thousands of U.S. high schools, junior highs, academies, colleges and universities.

The U.S. Yearbook Collection provides candid photos and insight into a relative’s appearance and extracurricular activities during their formative school years. The information and images contained in the collection also reveal insightful historical and cultural trends about fashion, style, politics, sports and social beliefs over the past 125 years of U.S. history. With the addition of the new records, family historians can more easily find what their current family members and ancestors looked like as youngsters and discover the types of activities in which they were involved. This collection can help tell a more complete story by offering rich details and providing context about the time their family members were in school.

"Our school years are often some of the most memorable times of our lives,” said Josh Hanna, Ancestry.com Executive Vice President. “With the additions we’ve made to our U.S. School Yearbook collection, millions of Americans can experience their family members’ school years vicariously through the photos and records contained in this important collection. The details they include are often difficult to find, and while you’re searching, you might just find a famous classmate.”

For anyone interested in discovering their ancestors in the online yearbook collection, visithttp://www.ancestry.com/yearbooks to search the full collection.