January 16 Workshop

In "Mining the Census" we covered census quirks of all kinds, including spelling problems, age discrepancies and birthplace confusion. Census takers and indexers also cause difficulties for researchers. 

Our focus, however, was on the information included on many censuses that could send us to other sources. This would include number of years married, number of children and those still alive, year of immigration and/or naturalization and military service. Researchers should pay attention to all columns in every census.

Census records are available on FamilySearch and Ancestry, as well as other websites. 

Common mistakes in census research include:

    Looking at only one or two years

    Searching only by given name

    Thinking that spelling counts

    Not paying attention to column headings

    Not considering neighbors

    Forgetting to search adjoining pages

Club Expo

We had some interesting conversations with Palm Creek residents Saturday. Thanks to the volunteers who were encouraging folks to join our club: Mary Anne and Diane, Dave and Beth, Nancy and Cindy, Maureen and Annie.

FamilySearch Memories

Pam Ingermanson

Pam Ingermanson spoke to us this week about the Memories section of FamilySearch. She and her husband have worked for FamilySearch in various capacities for many years, and she has unique knowledge of the website.

We looked at the Gallery, where you can add photos and documents and which is your private collection. Pam demonstrated the process for adding photos, stories and audio memories of your ancestors. She stressed adding titles and tagging each person in the photo. We can also share photos and record a memory about a photo.

There are two apps for FamilySearch: FamilySearch Memories and FamilySearch Tree. Both provide the ability to add information and photos when you are away from your computer.

The final icing on the cake was the "Find Relatives Around Me" option on the FamilyTree mobile app. Many of us who attended the meeting found that we were related!

Cousins!

January 2 Workshop

We began 2024 by welcoming several new members. Annie presented a few suggestions for goals for the coming season and concluded the workshop with a demonstration of sections of the FamilySearch website where we could locate information. Under the "Search" tab we looked at Records, Images, Catalog and the Wiki.

Records 

1. Use the name field and incorporate filters such as name, date range and location; continue to change the "type" of records to locate all databases for your ancestor.

2. Select "browse all collections" and then choose ancestor's name, type, location and date ranges.

Images

1. Begin with locations.

2. Always look for an index before browsing the microfilm pages.

Catalog

1. Start with a location: town and country for US; village and country for international.

2. Note symbols that indicate whether you can access the records at home.

Wiki

1. Select a location and browse to find available records.

2. Be sure to use the blue online records tab if available.

January Topics

We're looking forward to some informative meetings in January. The first Tuesday comes early in the month, so we'll be starting with a workshop. Here's the scoop!

January 2 - During this workshop we will begin with a few suggestions for genealogy goals for the year, but the main focus will be a review of the many ways to find records on FamilySearch.

January 9 - Pam Ingermanson, who gave such a great presentation over Zoom in 2021) will join us to talk about Family Search Memories and the Family Tree App. She has also agreed to answer any questions members may have about the FamilySearch website. Start making a list!

January 16 - This week's workshop topic is census research with tips for locating information beyond names, ages and birthplaces.

January 23 - Diane's presentation is about using Find A Grave. We'll learn about any recent changes in the site and how to use it most efficiently.

January 30 - The month's final workshop will be a review of vital records, including why they are important research targets, what information they may provide and where to find them.

December 5 Workshop

During our final workshop of 2023 Maureen gave us an overview of the 1931 Canadian census released last spring. She outlined the various questions that were asked, including whether the household owned a radio. Maureen advised us to be aware that indexing was done using OCR and there are some issues with locating your ancestors because of that. Be persistent, however.

The census is available on Library and Archives Canada, Ancestry and FamilySearch. Our Canadian members still cannot recommend using the National Archives site as it continues to need work!

Thanks for another enlightening presentation, Maureen!

Legacy Software and Webinar Sale

Legacy is offering both its software and webinar memberships for half price from December 10 through December 15. Maureen says "This is a great deal!" Use the link below for more information.

https://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/happy-holidays-2023-c322.php

November 28 Workshop

This week Pam brought the scrapbooks she's been working on for years and gave a great presentation on how we could use our research to create similar family books. She reminded us where we could locate much of the information to include and suggested places where we could buy supplies.

Pam recommended Mixbook.com (ca.) as an online resource where she is presently recreating her first scrapbook so that it can be reproduced for family members. Her handout included an outline to follow for setting up our personal genealogy scrapbooks.

Thanks for the interesting presentation, Pam!