Lutheran Church Records in America

Information from online Family Tree Magazine:

"Subscription genealogy site Archives.com has released its collection of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) birth, marriage and death records, which genealogists have been anticipating since Archives.com announced the digitization project nearly a year ago.

The collections, appearing online for the first time, total nearly 4.6 million records from about 1,000 rolls of microfilm. The records date from the mid-1800s through 1940 and include births, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths, and burials.

You usually have to know which church your ancestors attended in order to request the record from the church or find it on microfilm. Because these ELCA records are indexed by name, though, you don't have to know the church before you start your search.

Details in the records vary by church, but they often include parents' names, dates and places of the event, and other biographical details. Many of the churches has concentrations of immigrants from Norway, Sweden or Germany as members—so the records could be the key you need to start researching ancestors in Europe."

Although Archives.com is a subscription site, you can register for a free 7-day trial.

March 26 Workshop

Suggestions for summer activities:

Stop at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City
Visit your ancestors' home town
Explore a cemetery
Use the Internet
Join a genealogy society
Start writing!
Begin (or continue) using a software program
Reread ALL your research notes

Irish Genealogy Seminar

We had good reports from members who attended the Irish Genealogy Seminar in Phoenix last Sunday. Both were impressed by the facility, the Irish Cultural Center -- McClelland Irish Library, which has a conference room and a library.

Talk to Nancy Archibald, Chris Dowling or Maureen Edwards about this experience.

Nancy Archibald provided a summary of the seminar and plans to copy the handout for use in our Ireland folder. She also suggests websites for those interested in Irish research.

www.rootsireland.ie

www.irishmanuscripts.ie

www.ancestryireland.com
 

Blog Success Story!

This week the blog received a comment from someone who recently read Rick Wood's "member spotlight" bio that was posted last fall. Ultimately, this was a contact from a cousin who had just begun doing family research. The cousin used Google to search for Samuel Wood, whose name was included in Rick's story. This search turned up the info in our genealogy club blog!

Kudos to the power of Google. But it also shows that it could be worthwhile to get your own story posted here.

Meeting Report

Rick Wood's lecture on breaking down your brick wall gave us some good ideas to apply to our own research. Our number one rule: "Spelling Doesn't Count!" was addressed as well as other suggestions regarding names and naming patterns.

Another good idea: Remember to do FANs: Family, Associates and Neighbors. All are possible ways to trace your own ancestors.

Be sure to review your own research. Re-read notes you've taken and documents copied--the second or third reading might be the time you see something you missed originally!

Rick also suggested an interesting website:   www.behindthename.com

This site gives the origin and meaning of first names. Also, if you check "name translator" on the home page, you can enter a name and find spellings used in other countries.

March 19 Meeting

Tonight we will listen to some tips on breaking down a brick wall. Seems as if everyone has one of those, and we should take advantage of any chance for a new idea or method.

I've had a chance to read the handout, and there is something for everyone! See you tonight.

Last week's workshop

Last week we all learned how to "read" a cemetery and post to Find a Grave. Trish did a great job of teaching the process for photographing tombstones, organizing the information, etc. This summer let's find a partner and a cemetery and "give back" to the genealogy community. And if you're not quite that ambitious, plan to post your family's tombstone photos.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Four free websites (courtesy of Family Tree Magazine) for searching Irish records:

www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/     Griffith's Primary Valuation was a valuation of property in Ireland between 1847 and 1864.

www.nationalarchives.ie/    The National Archives of Ireland offers the 1901 and 1911 censuses for free.

www.irishgenealogy.ie/     This site is dedicated to Irish genealogy and tourism. You can search pre-1900 church records and view IF they've been digitized.

www.familysearch.org/    Don't forget to check the Irish collections here.