FamilySearch Wiki

We had a great Zoom meeting this week during which Pam presented Part 1 of her Wiki class. There is so much information on the FamilySearch Wiki that Pam's topic will continue next month. 

We began with a demonstration of how to use the locality feature of the Wiki. Pam suggests that we visit the Wiki page for every location where our ancestors lived. Each page includes maps, instructions for locality searches, research tools, links to related articles and a button to locate online resources for that particular area. The United States, Illinois, and Germany pages were used for demonstrations.

A second way to use the Wiki is to search by topic. Using a keyword search will take you to pages with information about any facet of genealogy research. Pam used the topic "Civil War" to show us how much data is included for a general subject with links to more pages!

If you haven't made use of the Wiki, it is time to start.

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Main_Page

Thanks, Pam!

More About Roots Tech

This information was posted in Generations Cafe by the blogger "FamilyHistoryHound" who is one of the Roots Tech Ambassadors.

So this is how it works. Once the site goes live, The Main Stage is where the keynotes will take place. Also, when the site does go live, you won’t have to worry about time zones because you’ll see the live event schedule in whatever time zone you are currently in.

There will be 746 classes and 280 tips and tricks for a total of 1026 things that will be available on-demand for one year. Just think of it like Netflix for genealogists. You’ll be able to search for speakers, and you’ll also be able to find categories for various topics.

If this is your first time to RootsTech and you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’ll be able to go to “Guide Me,” and there you will be able to see; get started, and it will literally move you through the things you need step by step. They’ve thought of everything.

So here’s the thing, there is no schedule… you take your classes all at your own pace. The only exception is the Main Stage Keynote addresses and a few other “live” events.

The Expo Hall has 72 exhibitors and 20 sponsors for a total of 92 booths. There will be a button you can click, and you’ll be able to take yourself into the vendors’ booth and connect with them live if they are available. The vendor chats will only be available during the event from February 24-27th, but the vendor booths will be available even after RootsTech Connect is over. In case you were wondering, vendors will have special just like they do when you go to the Salt Palace.

Also, something that’s really cool is just like when you go to RootsTech in Salt Lake, there will be a button called “Ask Me Anything.” When you attend RootsTech at the Salt Palace, some people are wearing blue shirts that say “Ask Me Anything,” so this button is similar because it will connect you to a live person that will help you with your questions. There will be hundreds of people waiting to help you out.

There will also be chatrooms where you’ll be able to join and connect with other genealogists from around the world.

Maureen's Links to Health History

Your Ancestor's Health Issues: Part 2

Maureen sent a handout which included links to various websites that provide information about diseases, epidemics, early medical lingo,

http://www.mifamilyhistory.org/genhelp/diseases.aspx

Some medical terms used in old records.

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maggieoh/epd.html

A chronological list of epidemics, including the year and location.

www.influenzaarchive.org

50 cities are included--you can read about the 1918 flu in those cities.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Legacy Family Tree Webinar: A Recipe for Well-Being: Health and Illness in Colonial

New England. Peters, LL

Patent Remedies, Herb, Gardens and Pharmacopeias: Norris DA, Your Genealogy, Feb

2021, p 31-35.

Nostrums and Quackery, (Compilation of articles from American Medical

Association) available on line at HATHI TRUST.

Medicine in the Americas 1610-1920, digital collection online at the US National

Library of Medicine

Beeton, I, Mrs. Beeton’s Household Management. 1907 Edition, digitized at

archive.org

Every Man His Own Doctor or the Poor Planter’s Physician, 1751. published

anonymously

Free Access to Newspapers.com

The following post appeared in today's Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter. If you've been wanting to check surnames in Newspapers.com, here's your chance. Note that registration is required.

Ancestry® is offering free access to Newspapers.‌com™ during the President's Day weekend in the United States. Newspapers.com is the largest online newspaper archive consisting of 636 million+ pages of historical newspapers from 20,200+ newspapers from around the United States and beyond.

- Thursday, February 11th through Monday, February 15th @11:59pm Mountain Time.

- Available only through https://nwspprs.com/ancestryinfluencer.

- Registration required.

Scrofula, the Sloes and Shoddy Fever

We listened to an excellent presentation during this week's Zoom meeting. Maureen gave an overview of diseases, treatments, epidemics, and old terms for causes of death that we might find on our ancestors' death certificates. 

We learned a bit about each of the terms in her title, and she included information on the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. 

The session also provided an overview of where to find records that might tell us what diseases or conditions affected our ancestors during different time periods.

Thanks, Maureen, for such covering such a broad topic so efficiently! 

Fun in February

A few dates for your calendar:

February 9,  2:30 -- Maureen will educate us about the various diseases and conditions that may have affected our ancestors. 

February 23, 7:00 -- Pam will present Part 1 of the Wiki presentation dealing with locations and topics.

February 25-27 -- Roots Tech Online Conference

Educational Suggestions:

Visit Ancestry Academy to select from a comprehensive list of genealogically-related videos.  www.ancestryacademy.com 

Visit the FamilySearch Wiki for another selection of classes and videos. 

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Family_History_Library_Classes_and_Webinars