Renee's Genealogy Blog

Monday, January 05, 2009

FamilySearch Record Search Update: 4 million new records added

5 January 2009

FamilySearch added about 4 million new records to its Record Search pilot over the holidays. Patrons will find records from Brazil, Hungary, Czech Republic, Southern Bohemia, Třeboň, West Virginia, and the much anticipated Indian Territory records from the 1900 U.S. Census. See the chart below for more details. The new records can be searched for free at FamilySearch.org (Click Search Records, then Record Search pilot).

Brazil, Rio de Janeiro Civil Registration
Digital Images: 1,291,670
Comments: Updated – New localities added to browse

Hungary Funeral Notices
Digital Images: 539,096
Comments: New

Czech Republic, Southern Bohemia, Třeboň Archive Church Books
Digital Images: 24,835
Comments: New

Arizona Death Certificates
Indexed Records: 265,726
Digital Images: 264,534
Comments: New

West Virginia Births
Indexed Records: 242,781
Comments: Ten new counties added

West Virginia Deaths
Indexed Records: 402,154
Comments: Ten new counties added

West Virginia Marriages
Indexed Records: 393,867
Comments: Ten new counties added

1900 United States Census
Indexed Records: 826,030
Comments: Added Indian Territory

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Mark Your Calendars - UVPAFUG Meeting!

UTAH VALLEY PAF USERS GROUP MEETING AND NEW LOCATION

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Users Group will be on Saturday, 10 Jan 2009, from 9 am until noon IN THE EDGEWOOD/RIVERSIDE LDS CHAPEL, 3511 North 180 East, Provo, Utah. NOTE THE CHANGE IN LOCATION. This LDS chapel is within one mile of the old location and is behind the Jamestown shopping plaza on the east side of University Avenue in the "River Bottoms" part of Provo. You get to it by going on 3700 North east from University Avenue and then south on 180 East. See the map showing the new and old locations on our website given below.

The main presentation will be by Michael Ritchey on THE FAMILYSEARCH WIKI: HOW IT CAN HELP NOW AND HOW IT WILL GROW THIS YEAR. The FamilySearch wiki at https://wiki.familysearch.org is a free website designed to allow the genealogical community to provide advice on the best strategies and records to use in finding ancestors. The site is free to everyone, but you must register to add or edit information. This community authoring approach enables the creation of objective advice, rapid revision and translation, and coverage of more places worldwide. In 2009 contributors will be working together on a series of "barn raisings" -- short, intensive community efforts to provide information regarding the best sources, methodologies, and strategies for doing genealogical research in a specific location such as a state in the U.S. or a county in England. This talk will preview what the barn raisings are and show some quick and easy ways you can contribute to this great worldwide project. Everyone is invited to log onto the Wiki and sample the types of information you can find there.

Michael Ritchey is a former Family History Center Director in Provo, Ward Family History Consultant, and professional genealogist. He has worked for the Family History Department of the LDS Church since 2000 as a U.S. Reference Consultant at the Family History Library, as manager of the Research Support team, and most recently, as community and content coordinator of FamilySearch wiki on the Community Services team.

Following the main presentation there will be several classes taught concerning technology and family history. As usual, there will be something for everyone at all levels of expertise. The classes currently scheduled for this meeting are:

Clearing Names for the Temple in 2009, by Duane Dudley
Keeping Your PC Healthy, by Jerry Castillo
Q&A on the Family Search Wiki, by Michael Ritchey
Video of November's Main Presentation on WorldConnect at RootsWeb, by Gerhard Ruf
Ancestral Quest 12.1, by Paul Johnson
RootsMagic 3, by Bruce Buzbee
Legacy 7, by Dean Bennett.

All meetings of the Users Group are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The Users 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. Several of the officers, including Gerhard Ruf, President; Don Snow, 1st VP; Brian Cooper, 2nd VP; Beth Ann Wiseman, PAFology Editor; Kay Baker and Gerry Eliason working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill, Lynne Shumway, and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD and Video Library, will all be there. They will help with membership, answer questions, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter PAFology, and check out DVD's and videos of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Users Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on the Group's website http://uvpafug.org and the press releases are at http://blog.uvpafug.org/. For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvpafug.org (801-225-6106), VP1 Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu, or VP2 Brian Cooper at vp2@uvpafug.org.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Adventures in FamilySearch Indexing: Week 68

Well today is the day that I know I will reach the 10,000 names indexed mark. I am only 145 records from my goal. Before I start indexing I just have to read any messages that Headquarters might have for us.

On the FamilySearch Indexing website there is a dated message of thanks for our patience while the system was down. I don't feel the need to repeat it here.

In the program itself there are two messages in My Messages.

From: Headquarters
Subject: Semimonthly message
Date: 19 Dec 2008

Here are some tips to remember when you have difficulty identifying a letter or word:
Look for other letters or words on the document that are similar, and are found in more common or familiar words.
Use the previous or next image also to help you to identify the letter or word.
The lookup list can help decipher difficult names. Search it by using beginning letters, ending letters in the middle or the name or any combination of these.
Wild characters (? or *) can also be used in the lookup list fields. For example, type ?rus in the Starts with field of a country lookup list and you will find only one result: Prussia.
If you are unable to decipher all of a word, remember to use the wild characters (? or *) in the data entry fields in place of the unreadable letters. Use ? to replace one letter. Use * to replace multiple letters.

I learned something new, I didn't know you could use the question mark (?) as a wild character in the program. I will use this tip in the future I am sure. Our second message is:

From: Headquarters
Subject: Indexing Support Hours Changing
Date: 29 Dec 2008

Beginning January 1st, the hours for Indexing Support will be changing. Continue to contact us toll-free at 1-866-406-1830.
For help with the indexing program, or specific projects, hours are Monday-Friday from 7:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., and Saturday from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. (MST, GMT-7).
For help with UDE, extraction inventory, or to place an order, hours are Monday-Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. (MST, GMT-7).
For help with administration and leadership for indexing and extraction, hours are Monday-Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. (MST, GMT-7).
The Support page of the FamilySearch indexing Web site will be updated to reflect these changes soon.

Ok, now onto my big moment - indexing until I reach the 10,000 mark. I figure I can do it with three batches of the census. Yup! the Massachusetts 1920 U.S. Federal Census is still on the list to index. It might as well be that project that gets me to the 10,000 mark.

I choose three batches to download. Wait a minute I must of hit something wrong. My batch isn't even in English, this is definitely not the U.S. census. I read on the program title that I am indexing the Argentina Censo 1869 - Buenos Aires. Weird! I return the batch. Wow, all three of my batches are from that project. Back they go!

Again choose the Massachusetts 1920 U.S. Federal Census. I check it twice, yes I have the right one. I tell it to download three batches. YES!!! Success, it's in English and the right batches this time. I must of been over anxious when I chose my batches the first time around. This is a big moment for me - it's almost like winning the lottery (if I ever played it! hehe).

The rest on my indexing time was uneventful. I did three batches in no time at all. It's been forever since I timed myself doing a batch. My last one took me all of 20 minutes to do. My, my, how different that is from my very first batch 68 weeks ago. Yes, it has taken me 68 weeks, with an average of 147 records indexed each week. I know that is no way near what others have done, but for me it's a milestone. I have actually stuck to it and by small means a lot has been accomplished. I think I will have a party to celebrate in just a few days!

Totally number of records indexed to date: 10,005 - WAHOO!!

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