FamilySearch Indexing Update: 6 February 2009

FamilySearch volunteers wrapped up 14 online indexing projects already in 2009 and continue to make good progress on the 38 open projects. Great work! There are two new projects from the 1930 Mexico Census this week, and the Colorado 1920 U.S. Census project is also new.

As FamilySearch continues to expand into international record collections, there is a growing, continual need for indexers who can read the respective languages. Even if a volunteer can only dedicate a few hours a month to an indexing project, when multiplied by thousands of online volunteers, small contributions of time by individuals can have a significant impact. Volunteers can register and participate immediately at www.familysearchindexing.org.

Recently Completed Projects

(Note: Recently completed projects have been removed from the available online indexing batches and will now go through a final completion check process in preparation for future publication.)

· Massachusetts Death Records 1906-1915

· Guanajuato 1930 Mexico Census

· New Hampshire Early to 1900 Births

· Arizona– 1920 US Federal Census

· Illinois– 1920 US Census

· Florida– 1920 US Census

· Massachusetts– 1920 US Federal Census

· Arkansas Marriages [Part 1]

· Prince Edward Island 1861 Census

· Nova Scotia 1861 Census

· New Brunswick 1861 Census

· Kentucky– 1870 US Census (Part 2)

· Guerrero– Censo de Mexico de 1930

· Queretaro– Censo de Mexico de 1930

Current Projects, Record Language, and Percent Completion Status

Argentina Censo 1869 - Buenos Aires 2	Spanish	84%
Argentina Censo 1869 - Cordoba y San Luis	Spanish	55%
Arkansas – 1920 US Federal Census	English	32%
Arkansas Marriages – Part 3	English	27%
Arkansas Marriages IV	English	34%
Belgique – Registres Des Décès (Français)	French	14%
België - Overlijdens Registers - In het Nederlands	Dutch, Flemish	14%
Belgium - Antwerp Foreigners Index	English	17%
Brandenburg Kirchenbücher	German	35%*
Bremer Schifflisten	German	20%
Colorado – 1920 US Federal Census	English	(new)
Connecticut – 1920 US Federal Census	English	55%
España Lugo Registros Parroquiales [Part 1]	Spanish	15%
España Ávila Registros Parroquiales	Spanish	16%
Flanders Death Registration	French, Dutch, Flemish	37%
Florida 1885 Census	English	26%
Florida 1935 Census	English	67%
France, Coutances, Paroisses de la Manche	French	8%
Massachusetts - 1855 State Census	English	76%
Massachusetts - 1865 State Census	English	33%
Massachusetts Marriage Records 1906-1915	English	84%
Nayarit – Censo de Mexico de 1930	English	12%
New Hampshire - Early to 1900 Deaths	English	83%
Nicaragua, Managua Civil Records	Spanish	9%
Norway 1875 Census part 1	Norwegian	2%
Nova Scotia Antigonish Church Records	English	52%
Ohio Tax Records – 2 of 4	English	66%
Ontario 1861 Census	English	20%
Sonora – Censo de Mexico de 1930	Spanish	(new)
St Petersburg Kirchenbuchduplikat 1833-1885	German	1%
Tabasco – Censo de Mexico de 1930	Spanish	(new)
Tlaxcala - Censo de Mexico de 1930	Spanish	82%
UK - Cheshire - Church Records	English	51%
UK - Cheshire - Land Tax	English	9%
UK – Cheshire – School Records	English	4%
Ukraine Kyiv 1840-1842	Russian	1%
Venezuela Mérida Registros Parroquiales	Spanish	1%
Vermont Militia Records	English	15%

(*This percentage refers to a specific portion of a larger project.)

South Davis Regional Family History Fair

Thankfully I remembered today to put in my registration for the South Davis Regional Family History Fair being held on March 7, 2009. The deadline for early registration is this Sunday Feb 8th. ( You have to have your letter post marked by that date.) You still have time to register early for only $10.00. It's $12.00 after that date. If you register early the price includes your syllabus and a sack lunch. If you wait to pay at the door they can't guarantee you get either.

The South Davis Regional Family History Fair is one of Utah's largest and best genealogy fairs. The fair is held annually at Bountiful High School. I have been attending for several years now and it has never disappointed me. This year there are five session and a choice of 90 classes to attend. That's an overwhelming 18 different classes to pick from at each session.

The brief schedule is:

* 7:00 AM - Registration Opens
* 7:00 AM - Vendor Areas Open
* 8:00 AM - Keynote Speaker
* 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM - Fair Classes
* 4:30 PM - Vendor Areas Close

To register or to see the long (90) listing of available classes see the URL below:

http://www.familyhistoryfair.com

Hope to see you there!

Adventures in FamilySearch Indexing: Week 72

I wasn't feeling well enough to do my FamilySearch Indexing on Sunday. Now seems to be a good time, even though I am watching American Idol while indexing. I have a hard time just watching TV and doing nothing else. OK, that's only partly true because I really want to watch the show. Though I seem to listen to TV more than I actually watch it. Promise!

As always I first look for messages from Headquarters for us. The FamilySearch Indexing website had nothing new for us. I did find one message in the FamilySearch Indexing Application.

From: Headquarters
Subject: Updates to the Indexing Application and Web Site
Date: 02 Feb 2009

On Monday, there were several valuable changes made to the indexing application and Web Site. An outline is provided below. For a more detailed description of the changes, click here.

• The icons have been redesigned.
• Four tabs appear in the Field Help or Quality Checker area:
  

Field Help

Quality Checker

Project Information

Image Navigation

• Handwriting help is available in the indexing application.
• Clicking the Save icon saves the indexed data to the indexer's computer and, if they are online, to the FamilySearch indexing server computer.
• Whenever an indexer leaves the indexing screen, the data is saved as though the Save icon had been clicked.
• An "Indexing Resource Guide" has been added to the Web site.
• A "Ditto Fields Below" function has been added to the Edit menu.
• A right-click menu with frequently used options is available when an indexer right-clicks on a field.
• The add Record(s) dialog, which appears when you press Tab or Enter after indexing the last field of the last record, has changed. No records will be added to the image when the indexer clicks OK.
• A mark has been added to required fields.
• A field that has a red wavy underline also has a colored background.
• The Highlights menu items (Show, Adjust, Reset and Move) are grayed out (or inactive) when no highlights are available for a project.
• The Previous/Next Image viewer has its own Close button.
• The links under the Projects tab on the Web site have changed to FamilySearch Projects and Partner Projects.

Please note: Bookmarks or shortcuts to any of the pages on the indexing Web site may need to be updated because many of the site addresses have change.

Now this has me curious to see what the actually application looks like. First I needed to pick a project to work with. I was surprised there are no US Federal Census records to index. I have been so used to them being there. I decided on the Massachusetts 1865 State Census instead.

Hey, wait a minute! This batch is all in Spanish. I don't read Spanish. I looked in the title field and I have the Argentina Censo 1869 - Buenos Aires. Definitely not what I asked for. Now I'm not sure if it's the program with the problem or me. Did I choose the wrong project to download? Now I have to send the batch back and pick the Massachusetts 1865 State Census again. It just could be a problem with me watching American Idol while I'm doing this.

Ahh, much better, I have the right census now. I decide to finish watching American Idol before I actually do the indexing this time too! Boy, the icons are way different, kinda cool looking. The actual census image looked like it was written with magical fading pencil lead. Everyone was listed with just an initial for the given name. Sure would make it difficult to find your ancestor with that.

I actually completed two batches. Each batch had 84 names to index. My total tonight is 168 names indexed. Grand total to date is 10,641. I have to say the writing was so illegible that I am so glad I am finished indexing for the night.

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

England Barn Raising

I received the following FamilySearch Wiki Announcement:

Dear FamilySearch Wiki member,

Here's a quick note to tell you about today’s launch of a project from the FamilySearch Wiki community: the England Barn Raising. A wiki barn raising is a short, focused community effort to create or revise content relating to a single topic such as "getting started with genealogical research in England." During this February 2009 barn raising, we will revise the England Portal, topic pages for the four basic English record types, and add pages for major English research sites . At the end of the barn raising, the wiki will contain information about the latest and best basic records and web sites to use in finding English ancestors.

The FamilySeach wiki community needs your help to make this effort a success! We'd love it if you would pitch in and contribute a few edits to the England pages. You don't need to be an England expert to contribute, but experts are certainly welcome! To see a list of pages we plan to update and also a list of simple tasks that non-experts can do, take a look at our England Barn Raising Tasks page at https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/England_Barn_Raising_Tasks.

This first barn raising for Maryland proved to be a lot of fun, and we're learning things that will help improve future barn raisings for other areas of the world. Hope to see you soon on the wiki!

Sincerely,

Alan E. Mann, AG®
Community Manager
FamilySearch Community Services Team
FamilySearch.org