google-site-verification: google82af41cbbb927c7d.html Grove Creek Family History: October 2010

Mt. Timpanogos Temple, photo by Rick Satterfield, used with permission

Friday, October 15, 2010

Photoloom Training

We are doing an hour-long training on the FamilySearch certified program Photoloom. Please come and learn how this program can add visual excitement to your family history!  See you at the Grove Creek FHC at 9:00 am tomorrow OR 8:00 pm Sunday evening!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Need Specific Country Help?

At the Riverton FamilySearch library, there are some consultants that specialize in certain countries.  Don't forget to seek out their help!  If you need help with another country, call the library and check with them as they are adding experts all the time!
  • Scandinavian expert Linda Baker is available at the Library on Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
  • Danish experts Orla and Karen Pedersen are available at the Library on Wednesdays from 2:00 - 9:00 p.m. and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
  • German expert Ray Joos is available at the library on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
  • Danish, Norwegian and Russian expert Larry Parkinson is available Tuesdays from 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m
  • Don't forget that we have our very own German experts in our library on Tuesday mornings from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm.  Kurt and Sheela Matthia can help you out!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Major Updates!

Four Major Updates to Family Search Beta

The following announcement  was written by FamilySearch:

At the end of last week we released another substantial update to the FamilySearch Beta website. In addition to the four major updates outlined below, we’ve made a large number of improvements under the hood that aren’t really visible to users of the site but make a big difference in the overall performance and function of the site. Here’s the quick list of updates.
  • Redesigned Home Page
  • Brand New – Getting Started Section
  • Redesigned Learning Resources including online Research Courses
  • Just Released - FamilySearch Center Section
Redesigned Home Page. We redesigned the home page to highlight more of the site features like the Getting Started Section, Learning Resources and FamilySearch Centers. We also added a basic browse by location feature under the search form. We plan to make the browse by location tool much more interactive over time and would love to get your suggestions of how to improve it. Click the Feedback link on the site to leave us a suggestion. 
Brand New – Getting Started Section. We have big plans for the Getting Started section of the site. What we released last week is just the beginning. Right now you can look at profiles of some famous ancestors that have been researched by our experts in the Family History Library. You can also choose from a number of designer pedigree charts and fill out your own family tree. Another valuable addition to the Getting Started section isn’t quite ready yet, but you can still see a placeholder for it on the page. A new four-part video series in the Getting Started section will teach people how to begin researching their family history.
Redesigned Learning Resources Section. The learning resources section has been redesigned to try and make it easier to access the tremendous content created by FamilySearch and a community of volunteers. You can quickly search over 40,000 articles containing a wealth of knowledge about how to do research or where to find records all around the world. You can also add your own knowledge by updating an article or creating a new article. We’ve also added over 100 online courses dealing with a range of topics from Beginning English Research to Reading Russian Records. Watch these courses online to learn to research or improve your genealogy skills.
Just Released – FamilySearch Center Section. The newly released FamilySearch Centers section replaces and expands upon the former Family History Library section of the site. You can learn about services available for free in over 4,000 FamilySearch Centers around the world. Looking for the closest FamilySearch Center? Just put your postal code into the FamilySearch Center and we’ll mark it on a map for you. 
We hope you enjoy these new features and continue to provide us with your feedback on what we can do to make the FamilySearch Beta a more valuable tool. Remember, just click the Feedback link on the site to tell us what’s on your mind. 

Church History Library vs. Family History Library













Do you know the difference?  Do you know that BOTH are important to your family history?  The Church History Library focuses on the history of the church as a whole, whereas the Family History Library focuses on multigenerational families and individuals.  The reason that you would want to use the Church History Library is that you can learn about the history of the time period of your ancestors. This additional information puts "meat" on the bones of your family history dates. Did you know that the Church History Library has the most complete listing of Mormon pioneer emigrants and companies who traveled to Utah from 1847-1868?  See for yourself at www.mormontrail.lds.org.  You will be surprised at what you can find!  Of course, the Church History Library has much more than this one database!  Check it out!  Below is an example of what I found for my ancestor, Amelia Evans.

Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868
Evans, Amelia
Birth Date: 8 Apr. 1838
Death Date: 8 Oct. 1886
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Company: James G. Willie Company (1856)

Sources:
"Immigration to Utah," Deseret News [Weekly], 15 Oct. 1856, 254.   Read Trail Excerpt     Source Locations
Journal History, 9 Nov. 1856, p. 19     Source Locations
Patriarchal Blessing Index     Source Locations
Rogerson, Josiah, "Captain J. G. Willie's Or, the Fourth Handcart Company of 1856 [No. 1]," Salt Lake Herald, 15 Dec. 1907.   Read Trail Excerpt     Source Locations
Smith, Don, e-mail communication, 29 Apr. 2003.     Source Locations

Friday, October 1, 2010

"Celebration of Family History" Videos

The nine videos celebrating Family History that were shown at the National Genealogical Society's annual conference held in April (this year in Salt Lake City!) are now available online. They are unlisted in YouTube's index so you have to know this link to find them. Please share this link with family and friends. They are very moving and inspiring! The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfXVvWb0qOQ.  The Clan McCloud is my personal favorite!

Are You a Mac User?

MacFamilyTree, version 6, has now been certified to work with new FamilySearch. If you haven't heard of this program, check it out at http://www.syniumsoftware.com/macfamilytree6/topfeatures.html. For those of us who prefer Macs, this is a step out of the schizophrenic world that we live in going between the two major platforms in the computing world! Yeah!
Copyright 2013 by Rayanne Brunski Melick,
All Rights Reserved.