The following is from RootsTech.

President Russell M. Nelson to Speak at RootsTech Family Discovery Day

RootsTech, the world’s largest family history conference, announced today that President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, will be speaking at RootsTech’s popular Family Discovery Day on Saturday, February 11, 2017, in Salt Lake City at the Salt Palace Convention Center. The unique format of RootsTech Family Discovery Day will give attendees a more intimate perspective into the family lives of Elder and Sister Nelson and their insight into the significance of family. The event is free, but registration is required at RootsTech.org.

Prior to receiving his call in 1984 as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, President Nelson was well-known both nationally and internationally as a heart surgeon and medical researcher. He performed the first open-heart surgery in Utah and has helped people throughout the world with heart problems. He served his medical residency in surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the University of Minnesota. He is the recipient of many distinguished honors and awards and is the author of numerous publications.

Sister Wendy Nelson, also an author and avid genealogist, graced the Family Discovery Day stage in 2016 and won the hearts of all in attendance by sharing the excitement she has experienced in her family history discoveries. She is excited to be speaking again in 2017, this time sharing the stage with her husband, President Russell M. Nelson. Prior to her marriage to President Nelson, Sister Nelson was a professor of marriage and family therapy for 25 years, the last 13 years at Brigham Young University. She holds a Ph.D. in family therapy and gerontology.

Joining the exciting and inspiring speaker lineup at Family Discovery Day will be Kalani Sitake, Vai Sikahema, and Hank Smith. Sitake is BYU’s head football coach. Sitake played collegiately at BYU as a fullback and served as an assistant coach for the Oregon State Beavers and Utah Utes before taking the head coaching position at BYU in December 2015.

Vai Sikahema is a former NFL football player and current television personality. Sikahema is well-known for his diverse skills as both an anchor and sports reporter and can be seen co-anchoring NBC10 News Today on weekday mornings. He also serves as NBC10’s sports director.

Also joining the lineup is Hank Smith, BYU professor of religion and popular public speaker. Smith enjoys speaking at assemblies in elementary, junior high, and high schools around the country. He has also published many talks on CD and speaks to tens of thousands of youth each year. His life has been touched by family history and temple work. “There is something about temple work that unlocks our own personal gifts,” he says. When asked what family means to him, he readily replies, “Don’t make me cry! Family means happiness. Family means fun. Family means experiences. It means learning, friendship, and love.”

Family Discovery Day is a free, one-day event for members and families of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Attendees are invited to come and enjoy inspiring messages, engage in interactive activities for all ages, and discover the latest technology, products, and services in the family history industry by touring the expansive expo hall and other fun activities throughout the venue. Families with children and youth can discover the fun of family history together by playing games such as Family Feud and Twisted Family History.

Family Discover Day is the perfect place for individuals and families to discover helpful family history solutions, watch demonstrations, get one-on-one help, interact with innovative family history technologies, and mingle with hundreds of exhibitors from around the globe.

Select sessions are also available for those with Church callings and responsibilities related to family history and the temple. Individuals will be able to get their questions answered, discover new tools, and learn best practices.

Over 15,000 adults and children attended the free event in 2016. Tickets will be limited again in 2017 for this increasingly popular event.

Interested individuals and families should register as quickly as possible online at RootsTech.org.

Family Discovery Day Schedule:

• 1:00 p.m.—Opening General Session
• 1:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.—Sessions
• 5:30 p.m.—Closing Event

About RootsTech

RootsTech, hosted by FamilySearch, is a global conference celebrating families across generations, where people of all ages are inspired to discover and share their memories and connections. This annual event has become the largest of its kind in the world, attracting tens of thousands of participants worldwide.

ResearchTies Announce New Features

The following is from Research Ties.

Announcing a new ResearchTies feature: Multi-user logs!  Do you coordinate your research with family members, other professionals, or work on a group project at your genealogical society? ResearchTies research logs can now be shared between accounts. Two or more researchers can work on the same log, each working in their own account, and the program will track the changes made by each researcher. Here is how it works:  A ResearchTies subscriber creates a new log. Email invitations are sent to other subscribers. Those receiving the invitations click on the link in the email to accept the invitation. The shared log is added to the list of logs for each person accepting the invitation. Each researcher works in their own account on the shared log. The program tracks who is making various changes to the log. All researchers can search the log to see what has been done. This includes searching for data and documents, as well as searching by researcher to see what has been added or edited by others. Each personal account in ResearchTies allows the subscriber to create three logs; however, each subscriber may receive invitations for an unlimited number of logs. Professionals or other researchers who need more than three logs can subscribe to add-ons in bundles of ten. Non-profit genealogical societies that are interested in using ResearchTies for a society project, send an email to: support@researchties.com to request additional information. Societies may use the program at no cost for non-profit projects if at least five members of the society have subscriptions with ResearchTies. Now there are two ways to share your research using ResearchTies. Use the multi-user function for multiple subscribers to work on the same log, or generate PDF reports that can be emailed to non-subscribers to share your searches and documents. Start sharing today! For more details on each step listed above, click here.

Changes to the ResearchTies Home Page Buttons  To make the home page buttons more intuitive and user friendly, the "Add Information" button has been changed to "Add Research Data." The "Manage Lists" button is new and has the same functions as the list icon on the toolbar. This change has been made to distinguish between adding research data (objectives, searches, and results) and adding or editing list items that are used in the dropdown boxes of the program. To add an objective, search, or result, click on the "Add Research Data" button and continue as you have in the past. To add or edit items in your lists, click on "Manage Lists" and select the list you want to work on. The lists that are available for editing are the sources, repositories, individuals, families, surnames, and places. After selecting the list, use the "add," "edit," and "delete" functions as you have in the past.

Watch for more great features coming soon!

Go to ResearchTies

Ancestry Academy New Courses Added

The following is from Ancestry Academy.

New Course on Ancestry Academy! We've added a new course on Ancestry Academy by board-certified genealogist Thomas W. Jones about documentation and citations, Getting Started Right: Documentation for New Genealogists. If you’ve ever wondered how to document your research correctly and easily, you’ll find this is perfect for you, no matter your skill level! Getting Started Right: Documentation for New Genealogists, with with Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG®, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS Documenting from day 1 helps you avoid revisiting the same materials again and again, and it helps you understand important qualities of materials you use. Most important, documentation is essential for a family history to help others. This 15-part course gives straightforward guidelines for citing materials, using waypoints, and otherwise documenting your research. View Course Tips for viewing videos on Academy Have you ever watched a presenter who speaks too quickly, or wondered where to find a handout? If you’re new to Ancestry Academy—or just need a refresher—we now have helpful tutorials about using the site: Academy Viewer Tips Use the rich features of the Ancestry Academy viewer to view closed captions, speed up or slow down the presenter's delivery, repeat the last few seconds of video, and more. Academy Handouts and Other Tips Maximize your viewing of full course videos by knowing where to find handouts and how to navigate lessons. Find these videos and more on Ancestry Academy!

ISGS Announces 2017 FREE Webinar Lineup

The following is from the Illinois State Genealogical Society.

The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) is happy to announce the continuation of its popular FREE monthly webinar program in 2017. The 2017 ISGS Webinar Series would not be possible without the generous contributions received throughout 2016 and the generous sponsorship provided by FamilySearch. Registration for the 2017 webinars is now open! You’ll find a fantastic lineup of presentations and speakers and we hope you will join us for a wonderful educational experience. The ISGS webinars, which are live lectures/presentations that you can attend via a computer with an internet connection, are held as a live broadcast on the second Tuesday of each month at 8:00 PM Central. The live broadcast of each webinars is FREE to the public. ISGS members who are unable to attend the live broadcast are able to access recordings of all past webinars through the Members Section of the ISGS website, to watch at their convenience. ISGS 2017 Webinar Schedule So what does 2017 have in store? Here is our amazing lineup! January 10 – Finding Dirk: Records of Insane Asylums in Illinois Presenter: Jill Morelli Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1270444282472510721 February 14 – Freedmen’s Bureau Records – Valuable to ALL Southern Research! Presenter: Diane Richard Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1351772958627269635 March 14 – Nurse, Matrons, Laundresses & Cooks. Documenting Women in the Civil War Presenter: Angela Y. Walton-Raji Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8176273406953966595 April 11 – Tracing Slave and Slaveowner Ancestors with DNA and Genealogy Presenter: Nicka Smith Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/878957669916352771 May 9 – Cause of Death: Using Coroner's Records for Genealogy Presenter: Lisa A. Alzo Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1471706587473686019 June 13 – Preserving Old Family Letters: Tips From An Archivist Presenter: Melissa Barker Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2682361248631831299 July 11 – The Watchfires of a Hundred Circling Camps Presenter: Peggy Lauritzen, AG Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6586254248864499459 August 8 – Ten Years is a Long Time: Census Substitutes for the In-between Years Presenter: Amy Johnson Crow, CG Registration:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2394575075177831939 September 12 – Luxembourgers on the Prairie: Researching your Luxembourg Ancestors Presenter: Lisa Oberg Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4916431437334451204 October 10 – Funeral Homes and Family History: They're Dying to Meet You Presenter: Daniel Earl Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8619206168660919556 November 14 – Illinois Gold: Hard to Find But Valuable Prairie State Resources for Genealogical Research Presenter: Thomas MacEntee Registration: Stay tuned!** ** GoToWebinar only allows scheduling less than one year in advance. Check back after November 14, 2016, for the registration link. December 12 – Ephemera: Genealogy Gold Presenter: Sharon S. Atkins Registration: Stay tuned!** ** GoToWebinar only allows scheduling less than one year in advance. Check back after December 12, 2015 for the registration link. Additional Webinar Information All webinars take place at 8:00 PM Central time. For additional information on our webinar series, visit our ISGS Webinars page at http://ilgensoc.org/cpage.php?pt=227. You may also want to review our Webinar FAQs at http://ilgensoc.org/cpage.php?pt=316. Don't forget to spread the word! Forward this email onto your friends and colleagues, post the information to social media sites and/or your blog/website, or print out a few copies of our webinar flyer to hand out at your local society meetings. The flyer for the 2017 series can be accessed at http://bit.ly/isgs2017webinarbrochure. Again, a big thank-you to all of the webinar donation fund contributors and to FamilySearch for sponsoring the entire 2017 webinar series! We couldn't do it without you!! The 2017 ISGS Webinar Series is sponsored by FamilySearch(http://familysearch.org).