-----Weekly Newsletter-----                                          9 December, 2015 - Vol 16, Issue 49
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
Announcements
During the week of December 14 through December 19 the Logan FamilySearch Library will close each day at 5:00 pm.

The Logan FamilySearch Library will be closed for the Christmas Recess beginning Monday, December 21 through Saturday, January 2.  Normal operations will resume January 4 at 9:30 am.

During our Christmas recess please go to our online class schedule and review the classes you would like to take during the Winter months.  Our new schedule should be online by December 21.  We would also appreciate hearing from you if you need a class taught specifically for your group.  


 Whats New in Family Search?
RootsTech 2016 Giveaway
Amy Archibald
As an Ambassador for RootsTech 2016, I have the privilege of giving away ONE FREE full conference pass (worth $249).
The RootsTech full conference pass is valid from Wednesday, February 3 through Saturday, February 6, 2016. It includes the registration fee for over 200 classes (including the Getting Started series), all keynotes, general sessions, the expo hall, and evening events.  Click here to learn more.

Milestones Reached in Freedmen's Bureau Project
FamilySearch International, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), and the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) are pleased to announce that exciting milestones have been reached with the historic Freedmen's Bureau Project.  The 10,000th online indexing volunteer has contributed to the project, and volunteers have made more than 15 percent of the records searchable online, bringing the total number of records indexed to more than 440,865.  Read more about this project-click here. 

 
The RootsTech app was recently made available for download from the App Store and the Google Play Store. RootsTech directors expect the app not only to enhance an attendee's experience, but to personalize it as well.
"We believe RootsTech is an experience," says Chad Schumacher, marketing manager of the conference. "The app is built to allow attendees to engage and interact with other family history enthusiasts. Really, it will help them build their own online communities."  Learn 5 ways to use your apps-click here.

 Help Desk
Duplicate Record Hints
Why so many of the same item. There are two Record hints under Research Help for Elizabeth Flatter ML6X-G6G. This happens many time, duplicate items. Should I attach them all or just leave then under Record Hints.
Answer:  
I would recommend attaching them all. Otherwise someone else may attach them to a different person which causes more problems. 
Duplicate record hints (and the duplicate indexed records they come from) are a known problem (I seem to have 3 copies of the same christening record for most of my ancestors)
I believe we just need to be patient whilst they update the collections with the duplicate records in it (and keep attaching all of the duplicates in the meantime).
Paula Blake
Favorite Websites
The Ins and Outs of Social Media for Genealogists
Genealogists can use social media in several ways. For example, research, networking, or education are ways  we can connect, share, and collaborate using various platforms. Social media and genealogy can go hand in hand with each other very easily.It is all very subjective though.  Learn more-click this link.

Printing a Book from Google Books
How to print an out-of-copyright book from Google Books.   I have wanted to do this for a long time, and tried it myself in various ways (not easy to do).  But this time, it's easy.  Click this link and learn the secret.

ANCESTOR WALL OF PHOTOS ~ It's finished-Here's how I did it
This was such an exciting project.  I have wanted to create an ancestor wall in my "genie cave" for about 10 years.  I have a lot of ancestor photos and have collected more in that ensuing ten years.  Learn how one person did this and see examples of the results-click this link.

Five Reasons We Can't Find the Records We Want
1. Those records were never created in the first place.
2. Records were kept, but your person-of-interest never created one.
3. Records were kept, but have been destroyed.
4. Records were kept, but your person-of-interest seems to be omitted.
5. Records were kept, but they grew legs and walked off.
When alternative sources and auxiliary repositories don't yield the direct evidence we seek to resolve our research question, many possibilities still remain-if we shift our mindset. Instead of deciding The records I need just aren't there, it's time to ask How can I better use the records that do exist?   Read more-click here.
 
Family History Research Help
Researching Civil War Veterans in G.A.R. Records
Do you have a Union Civil War veteran in your family tree? If so, have you checked to see if he joined a local Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) post?
G.A.R. units sprang up in communities throughout the U.S. (especially the northern states) in the latter part of the 19th century. While essentially a fraternal organization offering camaraderie for Civil War vets, G.A.R. meetings also provided men with information about things like changes in pension laws or requirements. Each local Post was part of a statewide Department, which in turn reported to the national Commander.  Learn about using these records-click here.

Maps of Maritime Canada
Tracing the origins of Canadian ancestors can be difficult, and the lack of early vital records can prove frustrating. Often, we have to turn to other sources to help piece together family histories. One of the "other sources" that I love to use are maps. Maps not only provide us with the locations of our ancestors' homes or farms, they can also provide us with significant clues. Click here to see just a few sources that I have come across that I hope will aid you in your Canadian research.

New War of 1812 Database Online
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has just put up another terrific database for the War of 1812

Suggestion for Weekly Bulletin Thought
"There somehow seems to be the feeling that genealogical work is an all-or-nothing responsibility. Genealogical work is another responsibility for every Latter-day Saint, and we may do it successfully along with all the other callings and responsibilities that rest upon us...You can fulfill your obligations to your kindred dead and to the Lord without forsaking your other Church callings. You can do it without abandoning your family responsibilities. You can do this work. You can do it without becoming a so called expert in it."
 Elder Boyd K. Packer
Remember...
The Big Wheel
Author Unknown
   In September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just 75 cents in my pocket. Their father was gone.
    The boys ranged from three months to seven years; their sister was two. Their Dad had never been much more than a presence they feared. Whenever they heard his tires crunch on the gravel driveway they would scramble to hide under their beds. He did manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries.
    Now that he had decided to leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either.  If there was a welfare system in effect in southern Indiana at that time, I certainly knew nothing about it.
    I scrubbed the kids until they looked brand new and then put on my best homemade dress.  I loaded them into the rusty old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job.
    The seven of us went to every factory, store and restaurant in our small town. No luck. The kids stayed, crammed into the car and tried to be quiet while I tried to convince whomever would listen that I was willing to learn or do anything. I had to have a job. Still no luck. The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town, was an old Root Beer Barrel drive-in that had been converted to a truck stop. It was called The Big Wheel.  An old lady named Granny owned the place and she peeked out of the window from time to time at all those kids. She needed someone on the graveyard shift, 11 at night until seven in the morning. She paid 65 cents an hour and I could start that night. I raced home and called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained with her to come and sleep on my sofa for a dollar a night.  She could arrive with her pajamas on and the kids would already be asleep.  This seemed like a good arrangement to her, so we made a deal.
    That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers we all thanked God for finding Mommy a job.
    And so I started at The Big Wheel. When I got home in the mornings I woke the baby-sitter up and sent her home with one dollar of my tip money -- fully half of what I averaged every night.
    As the weeks went by, heating bills added another strain to my meager wage.  The tires on the old Chevy had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak. I had to fill them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go home.  One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found four tires in the back seat. New tires! There was no note, no nothing, just those beautiful brand new tires.  Had angels taken up residence in Indiana? I wondered. I made a deal with the owner of the local service station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did for him to do the tires.
    I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn't enough. Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the kids. I found a can of red paint and started repairing and painting some old toys. Then I hid them in the basement so there would be something for Santa to deliver on Christmas morning. Clothes were a worry too. I was sewing patches on top of patches on the boys pants and soon they would be too far gone to repair.
    On Christmas Eve the usual customers were drinking coffee in The Big Wheel.  These were the truckers, Les, Frank, and Jim, and a state trooper named Joe.  A few musicians were hanging around after a gig at the Legion and were dropping nickels in the pinball machine. The regulars all just sat  around and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home before the sun came up.
    When it was time for me to go home at seven o'clock on Christmas morning I hurried to the car.  I was hoping the kids wouldn't wake up before I managed to get home and get the presents from the basement and place them under the tree. (We had cut down a small cedar tree by the side of the road down by the dump.) It was still dark and I couldn't see much, but there appeared to be some dark shadows in the car -- or was that just a trick of the night? Something certainly looked different, but it was hard to tell what. When I reached the car I peered warily into one of the side windows.
    Then my jaw dropped in amazement. My old battered Chevy was filled full to the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes. I quickly opened the driver's side door, scrambled inside and kneeled in the front facing the back seat.  Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box. Inside was a whole case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box: It was full of shirts to go with the jeans. Then I peeked inside some of the other boxes: There were candy and nuts and bananas and bags of groceries.  There was an enormous ham for baking, and canned vegetables and potatoes.  There was pudding and Jell-O and cookies, pie filling and flour.  There was a whole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items. And there were five toy trucks and one beautiful little doll.  As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most amazing Christmas Day of my life, I was sobbing with gratitude. And I will never forget the joy on the faces of my little ones that precious morning.
    Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December. And they all hung out at The Big Wheel truck stop.


mUpcoming Classes
Free classes are offered almost daily at the Logan FamilySearch Library.  We will be starting new classes January 4, 2016.  A comprehensive class schedule will be available about the 15 of December.  Watch the web site listed below for course descriptions, times and instructors.
                  To book a class visit our website 
                                                      
                        You may call the library (435) 755-5594 for assistance
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