-----Weekly Newsletter-----                                           6 May, 2015 - Vol 16, Issue 18
In This Issue
Announcements
Youth and Family History
Questions/Answers
Favorite Websites
Family History Consultants
Bulletin Thought
Remember...
Upcoming Classes
Join Our Mailing List!
Quick Links
 
Please help make this newsletter a success by submitting your Family History questions, tips, favorite websites, surname queries, quotes and stories to share with others.  Submit.

 

Announcements
Monthly Staff Training Meeting
Wed, May 13, 9am - 10am
"Using Puzzilla" presented by Bill Harten CEO of Puzzilla  We are excited about this presentation and encourage all staff  to attend.

The Legacy Users Group will meet on Thursday, May 7 at 1:00pm.  The Instructor is Sister Irene Burton.  This is open enrollment and everyone is welcome to attend.

It is important that staff of  the Library be punctual in attending Prayer meeting at the beginning of each shift.  Beginning Monday, May 11 the entry doors into the library will remain locked until 9:30 am.  Access for staff  will be through the interior Baptistery door, which has a combination lock.  Early patrons will be required to wait in the Baptistery until the library opens. 







 




 Whats New in Family Search?

Teach Yourself and Others: New Online Training Now Available 

Several new classes have been added to the FamilySearch Learning Center. These new classes include: 

 

  • Selected Video from RootsTech 2015 Conference
  • How to Use Family Tree
  • Using FamilySearch
  • German Research Help Classes                                                                                                                                              Select this link for access:   https://familysearch.org/blog/en/april-2015teach-online-training/

 

Help Desk

15MB Audio file size too small

Question:  I have many people referring to an audio file with interviews from older relatives.  I have one too, it is about 1 1/2 hour.  The mp3 file is 145MB size.  If the familySearch limits the size to a 15MB that causes a problem.  I would have to split my file into 15MB pieces.  Can we consider increasing the limit to a more appropriate size for audio files?  Lets say 100MB?

Answer:  I took a sample audio  and exported it with various settings.  Audio files for the purpose of genealogy are frequently voice which has a very narrow and low frequency range.  The quality down to about 16K bps is acceptably good.  Below 12K gets pretty choppy.  If you exported that entire 45 minute as 16K bps mp3 it (under 7 meg file size) would easily fit in the current limit.  The next question is who would listen to 45 minutes, maybe add some notes about relevant bookmarks in the audio.

Joe Martel (User advocate FS) 

 

Favorite Websites

How Old Do I Look?

 This is a new web app by Microsoft that tries to detect the age of a person based on a picture of their face. Users can find photos using an included Bing search bar or upload their own photos to see how closely the computer can guess their age.  Read about it here. . .Then try it on yourself and look at all those ancestors- How-Old.net.


How To Conduct A Location Secific Search On FamilySearch
Maybe you've used this site for years.  Perhaps you are new to genealogy and have only recently begun using this site?  There are usually many methods used by genealogists to get the most from their searches.  We learn these over time, by trial and error or from someone else with more experience.
This is the method I use when I want to search a specific set of records on Family Search.  Whether you want to search in one of the 50 states, Canada, Europe or Asia, the method is the same.  This link provides step by step direction.

The 1920s, the '20s, the twenties: writing dates
Apostrophes do not belong in plurals: To make a plural, generally you add an s or es. No apostrophe. The same rule applies when you are referring to a decade, say, the 1920s. It is absolutely fine to put a letter after a number without an apostrophe between.  If, however, you decide to drop the 19 from 1920s, you would insert an apostrophe to show that something is missing: the '20s. (After all, that is one of the apostrophe's jobs: to show that something has been removed.)  Read all of this informative article here:

Finding Time for Family History
Do you struggle to find the time to engage in family history? Have you read the words of Elder Scott to "Set aside things that don't matter. Decide to do something that will have eternal consequences." (Elder Richard G Scott. The Joy of Redeeming the Dead, General Conference Oct. 2012) but just haven't made it happen? Would you like to increase the time you devote to family history? Read below and see how you can increase your family history productivity.
Discover the Law of Selective Neglect here:  https://familysearch.org/blog/en/finding-time-family-history/

Preserving Audio Recordings
This site contains practical advice on preserving a variety of audio recordings. Sections on Identifying audio formats, Determining condition, Storing Audio Recordings and many other valuable chapters are available from the National Archives at this site:
Compile your own reference booklet at this link.

Go Fish! Engaging Younger Family Members Through Family Games
One of the new and inviting ways that families are successfully engaging younger family members is with family history games. Some parents prepare the games and host a family game night at home. These games encourage younger kids to learn about their ancestors and to share that experience with their family.  Learning to find ancestors and sharing that process with other family members is a natural extension of family game night. Game night is a fun and entertaining way to engage members of all ages in family history.  Call up this link by clicking here to see examples of some new games.

Family History Detective: 3 Pro Tactics for Finding & Using Obituaries

The similarities between family historians and detectives run deep. Just as detectives rely on sound information to break a case, genealogists must be able to find and interpret clues to make meaning of the past. Obituaries often provide the leads that help unlock secrets and open up new lines of discovery.

We all know obituaries typically contain birth, marriage, and death dates as well as parent, spouse, and child names. Beyond this basic information, details within death notices can present new avenues of genealogical exploration that can lead to a richer family history. Obituaries often provide "aha" moments that allow you to piece together ancestors' lives and solve long-standing family mysteries.  Want to know more? - click this link.

https://familysearch.org/blog/en/family-history-detective-3-pro-tactics-finding-obituaries/

Family History Consultants
Questions For Interviewing Family Members
Here is a list of questions you can use as you interview family members. These questions focus on obtaining genealogical information that will help you complete your pedigree charts and family group records and submit names to the temple. You can ask those questions that apply and modify the questions as appropriate.  Call up this link to access the form:

Suggestion for Weekly Bulletin Thought

"Most of you are mothers, and very many of you are grandmothers and even great-grandmothers. You have walked the sometimes painful, sometimes joyous path of parenthood. You have walked hand in hand with God in the great process of bringing children into the world that they might experience this estate along the road of immortality and eternal life. It has not been easy rearing a family. Most of you have had to sacrifice and skimp and labor night and day. As I think of you and your circumstances, I think of the words of Anne Campbell, who wrote as she looked upon her children:

You are the trip I did not take;

You are the pearls I cannot buy;

You are my blue Italian lake;

You are my piece of foreign sky.

("To My Child," quoted in Charles L. Wallis, ed., The Treasure Chest [1965], 54)

You [mothers] are the real builders of the nation wherever you live, for you have created homes of strength and peace and security. These become the very sinew of any nation." 

Gordon B. Hinckley

 

 

Remember...
Geraniums of Love
Harriet Xanthakos
As the fifth of seven children, I went to the same public school as my three older sisters and brother. Every year, my mother went to the same pageant and had parent/child interviews with the same teachers. The only thing different was the child. And every child participated in an old school tradition - the annual plant sale held in early May, just in time for Mother's Day.

Third grade was the first time that I was allowed to take part in the plant sale. I wanted to surprise my mother, but I didn't have any money. I went to my oldest sister and shared the secret, and she gave me some money. When I arrived at the plant sale, I carefully made my selection. I agonized over that decision, inspecting each plant to ensure that I had indeed found the best geranium. Once I had smuggled it home, with the help of my sister, I hid it on the upstairs neighbor's porch. I was very afraid my mother would find it before Mother's Day, but my sister assured me that she wouldn't, and indeed she did not.

When Mother's Day arrived, I was bursting with pride when I gave her that geranium. I remember how bright her eyes were, and how delighted she was with my gift.

The year I was fifteen, my younger sister reached third grade. In early May she came to me full of wonder and secrecy and told me that there was going to be a plant sale at school, and she wanted to surprise our mother. Like my older sister did for me, I gave her some money and off she went. She arrived home full of nervous excitement, the geranium hidden in a paper bag under her sweater. "I looked at every plant," she explained, "and I know I got the best one!"

With a sweet sense of deja vu, I helped my little sister hide that geranium on the upstairs neighbor's porch, assuring her that our mother would not find it before Mother's Day. I was there when she gave my mother the geranium, and I watched them both bursting with pride and delight. It was like being in a dream I had already dreamed. My mother noticed me watching, and she gave me a soft, secret smile. With a tug at my heart, I smiled back. I had been wondering how my mother could pretend to be surprised at this gift from her sixth child, but as I watched her eyes light up with delight as she was presented with that most precious gift, I knew she was not pretending.

 

Upcoming Classes

Logan FamilySearch Library Class Schedule

Register online at loganfsl.org or call (435) 755-5594 

 

Wed, May 6Intermediate FamilySearch Family TreeLynn Miller6 wks5 pm
Wed, May 6Ancestry.comDedee Dalebout2 wks7:00 PM
Thu, May 7Legacy Users Group (No Registration Needed)Irene Burton1 wk1 pm
Thu, May 7Computer BasicsStacie Gomm1 wk7 pm
Sat, May 9You Can Find Cousins Using PuzzillaDedee Dalebout1 wk10 am
Mon, May 11Indexing II--Beyond the BasicsVon Taylor1wk3 pm
Wed, May 13Introduction to Swedish WebsitesIrene Burton1 wk1 pm
Fri, May 15Family History Consultants Workshop (No Reg Needed)Dedee Dalebout1 wk1-4 pm
Sat, May 16Using Facebook in Family History ResearchJohn Burton1 wk10:00 AM
Sat, May 16How to Merge Records in Family TreeGail Bartholomew1 wk1 pm
Mon, May 18Indexing ObituariesVon Taylor1 wk10 am
Mon, May 18Family History ResearchRobert Curry1 wk3 pm
Tue, May 19Young Women Family History WorkshopLinda Clark1 wk7 pm
Wed, May 20A Closer Look At Swedish RecordsIrene Burton1 wk1 pm
Wed, May 20Family Tree (Taught in Spanish)Joe/Martha Thurston1 wk7:00 PM
Thu, May 21Mobile Apps--FS Tree, FS MemoriesStacie Gomm1 wk7 pm
Wed, May 27Photo EnhancementBurnis Skinner2 wks10 am
Wed, May 27Danish Research (May 27, June 3, 10, 24)Ida Niederhauser4 wks1:00 PM
Wed, May 27Ancestral QuestArlene Miller3 wks7 pm
Thu, May 28Family History Consultants Workshop (No Reg Needed)Wade Nicholas1 wk6-9 pm
Sat, May 30Probate and Family HistoryGail Bartholomew2 wks10 am
Mon, Jun 1Roots Magic Users Group (No Registration Needed)Yvonne Curry1 wk1 pm
Mon, Jun 1FamilySearchRobert Curry2 wks3 pm
Tue, Jun 2Ancestral Quest Users Group (No Registration Needed)Robert Gerber1 wk1 pm
Thu, Jun 4Legacy Users Group (No Registration Needed)Irene Burton1 wk1 pm
Thu, Jun 4Research MethodsMartin Peterson1 wk5 pm
Fri, Jun 5Family History Consultants Workshop (No Reg Needed)Wade Nicholas1 wk1-4 pm
Sat, Jun 6FamilySearch: Introduction and Overview--BeginnerJohn Burton1 wk1:00 PM
Mon, Jun 8My HeritageYvonne Curry1 wk10 am
Mon, Jun 8Indexing I--Beginning IndexingVon Taylor1 wk1 pm
Tue, Jun 9How to Separate Records in FT with the Same PIDRobert Gerber2 wks10 am
Tue, Jun 9How to Write Your Personal HistoryJohn Clark1 wk5 pm
Thu, Jun 11Computer BasicsStacie Gomm1 wk5 pm
Thu, Jun 11Find My PastRobert Curry1 wk7 pm
Sat, Jun 13Family Tree SourcesWade Nicholas1 wk1 pm
Mon, Jun 15Indexing II--Beyond the BasicsVon Taylor1 wk1 pm
Tue, Jun 16Roots MagicDave Winkler3 wks5 pm
Tue, Jun 16Young Women Family History WorkshopLinda Clark1 wk7 pm
Mon, Jun 22Indexing ObituariesVon Taylor1 wk1 pm
Tue, Jun 23Learn How to Merge Records in Family TreeWade Nicholas1 wk7 pm
Wed, Jun 24Making a Family History Page in FacebookDave Winkler1 wk10 am
Wed, Jun 24You Can Find Cousins Using PuzzillaDedee Dalebout1 wk5 pm
Thu, Jun 25Family History Consultants Workshop (No Reg Needed)Wade Nicholas1 wk6-9 pm
Sat, Jun 27How to Merge Records in Family TreeGail Bartholomew1 wk10 am
 

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Billy K. Jones
Director of Training
Logan Utah FamilySearch Library

Phone: (435) 755-5594

 


Logan Utah FamilySearch Library | 50 North Main (lower level) | PO Box 3397 | Logan | UT | 84321