FamilySearch and the DAR at The BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy

I attended the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy in July of this year as an official blogger. I had a wonderful time at the conference. This will be my last blog post as an official blogger. I want to thank those in charge of the conference for the opportunity I had to attend and blog about my experiences there.

Here's the view of the BYU Conference Center where the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy was held.

Upon entering the front doors, this sign greeted us. As you can see from the sign, the Harman Building is to the left and the Conference Center is to the right.

And here's the friendly and helpful staff at the front desk of the Conference Center.

I took the photos above on Friday, July 31st, which was the last day of the conference. The previous day, Thursday, July 30th, I stopped by the rooms where FamilySearch and the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) were located and took some pictures.

When I stopped by the room where the DAR was located I chatted with the very nice and helpful staff. They answered my questions and gave me some pamphlets. I am eligible to join the DAR through my patriot ancestor Dr. Luther L. Waterman, who was a surgeon in the Revolutionary War.

Here are a few photos from their room filled with lovely displays.

This is the display for the Children of the American Revolution.

FamilySearch offered free book and photo scanning in Room 2285. They also had a computer lab in Room 2283.

Here are a couple photos from the FamilySearch Computer Lab.

And here's a sign from the book and photo scanning room.

I'm honored to announce that I've been asked to be an official blogger for next year's BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

 

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Attendee Interviews at The BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy

See this comfy lobby area? It's near the front doors of the BYU Conference Center. During the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy, I sometimes came here to sit and write or just rest a bit. 

While I was here in the lobby, I met Cindy Moorhead, writer/editor for the Department of Visual Communications, Division of Continuing Education at Brigham Young University. In the photo below, Cindy is sitting on the left next to the table.

See that sign sitting on top of that table? It reads "Share your story or a favorite research tip here!"

Cindy interviewed conference attendees during the 4-day conference. The two chairs next to the sign in the lobby were reserved for attendees to share their stories with Cindy. She has interviewed and then posted conference attendee stories from previous years on the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy website.

On Friday, Cindy interviewed Lynette Banks.

Here's how to find the conference attendee interviews on the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy website. Click on the "Stories from Conference Participants" button.

You'll find a list of participant stories on the left side of the page. Just click on the story you want to read.

Cindy told me that all of these stories were written by her from interviews she conducted, except for the three-part series "The William Gilbert Burton Odyssey." That series was written by David G. Burton.

The current list of stories are from 2013 and 2014. The 2015 interviews haven't been posted yet, but Cindy hopes they will be soon. Cindy informed me that once the 2015 interviews are posted, they will be promoted on the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy's Facebook page. To access their Facebook page, click HERE.

It was a pleasure meeting and chatting with Cindy in person at the conference and by email. Please check out her past interviews and look for her upcoming 2015 interviews on the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy website and on their Facebook page.

I'll be sharing more about my experiences at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy in a future post.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

British Research, Genealogical Cold Cases, and Township Records ~ Classes on Day 4 at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy

On the final day of the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy, I took three classes.

The first class I took was "Introduction to British Research." It was part of the British Research Track and was taught by Amy Harris, PhD, AG, who is a BYU Professor, and three of her students. This first class was taught by Kelsee Harris and was focused on British censuses and civil registration.

The information presented in this class pertained to England, Scotland, and Wales. Some tips about British census records include the fact that like the United States federal censuses, British Censuses take place every ten years beginning in 1801. Unfortunately, the 1941 census was not taken due to WWII and the 1931 census was destroyed in a fire. Beginning with the 1841 census, every person in the household was listed by name.

British censuses records from 1841-1911 can be found at Ancestry.com, Findmypast.com, and FamilySearch.org.

Civil registration began in England and Wales on 1 July 1837. Indexes for the records can be found at http://www.freebmd.org.uk/. Civil registration in Scotland began on 1 January 1855. Indexes for these records can be found at http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/. Some civil registration records for Scotland may also be found at FamilySearch.org.

The next class I attended was "How To Reopen and Work a Genealogical Cold Case" by Lisa Louise Cooke. Lisa is a fantastic teacher!

Lisa shared several tips to help genealogists solve "genealogical cold cases" in our family trees.

First of all, we need to be prepared and organized. A great organizational tool Lisa mentioned is Evernote. I use Evernote and it really is wonderful. It syncs with my desktop computer, tablet and smartphone. I've used it in a variety of ways for my genealogy research. I've even created a notebook that contains the cousin connections I've made over the years through blogging, online trees, etc.

Another great tip Lisa talked about is the use of timelines. She shared the story of how using a timeline helped to solve the Maria Ridulph kidnapping and murder case. This was a 54-year old cold case that was reopened and solved because of a timeline. Lisa listed several timeline websites in her presentation. These include Timeline Maker, Timeglider, Our Time Lines, and Smart Draw. She also suggested we check out our genealogy software to see if it contains a timeline feature.

There were so many more wonderful tips that Lisa shared during her class. If you would like to hear Lisa present this same class, there is an opportunity to do so on October 17, 2015. She will be presenting her "How to Reopen and Work a Genealogical Cold Case" class, plus two additional classes, at the upcoming Fresno County Genealogical Society's 12th Annual Seminar on October 17th in Clovis, California. I shared the event flyer and the link for further information in a recent blog post.

The final class I took at the conference was titled "Treasures in Township Records" and was taught by Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG. She is a fabulous teacher.

Peggy shared wonderful information about township records in her class. She listed the different types of township records as follows:

• Stories of the village and township
• Ordinances
• School - deed leased to the township
• Teacher's general registers
• Poor records, and "warnings out"
• Militia records
• Road taxes
• Marriage returns
• Marks and brands
• Civil suits and criminal suits
• Wolf scalp and sparrow certificates
• Building construction guidelines

During the class, Peggy showed an excerpt from Bloom Township History. A member of the class recognized her ancestor's name in the excerpt and now she knows where he was. Isn't that awesome!?

Peggy shared some helpful resources with the class including Earth Point, The Bureau of Land Management and Map of US. She also encouraged the use of the FamilySearch Wiki's articles on Rectangular Surveys, Metes and Bounds, Land and Property, etc. as well as the United States Record Selection Table.

I will be sharing more about my experiences at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy in a future post.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

 

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Scandinavian Church Records, Brick Walls, and Patronymics ~ Classes on Day 3 at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy

I have Norwegian and Swedish ancestry on my dad's side. So, I was thrilled to find that a Scandinavian track was being offered at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy.

On Thursday, July 30, I attended three classes from that track. The first one was titled "Using Online Scandinavian Church Records and was taught by Jennifer Hansen, AG.

During her class, Jennifer talked about records from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. There are ways to access these records online through the following websites:

The Danish National Archives at https://www.sa.dk/brug-arkivet/arkivalieronline

The Norwegian National Archives at http://www.arkivverket.no/arkivverket/Digitalarkivet

The Swedish National Archives at http://www.arkivdigital.com/

I don't have known Danish ancestry, so I haven't used the Danish National Archives website. But, I went to the website and it appears to be free to use. The Norwegian National Archives website is free, but the Swedish National Archives is a subscription based website. Swedish church records are available at Ancestry.com. To access those records, click HERE.

I have personally used the Norwegian National Archives website. It's a wonderful resource! I published several blog posts earlier this year in which I shared migration records for my 2nd great-grandfather, Iver Iverson and his brother Ole, as well as Ole's Norwegian passport. If you'd like to read those blog posts, click on the links below.

Leaving Norway ~ Iver Iverson

Leaving Norway ~ Ole Iversen

A Norwegian Passport ~ Ole Iversen

After Jennifer's excellent class, I attended "Tips for Solving Scandinavian (Nordic) Brick Wall Problems" taught by Ruth Ellen Maness, AG.

Ruth gave us a lot of excellent information, which was awesome. Her syllabus is six pages long. I learned things I didn't know before.

Ruth recommended using the FamilySearch Wiki for various topics such as Feast Days, Scandinavian given names, parish maps, etc. A case study link is included in the syllabus from the FamilySearch Wiki for Swedish genealogy called "Beyond Parish Registers: A Case Study." Here's the link ~ Beyond Parish Registers: A Case Study.

Have you ever seen a family in your tree who had one or more children with the same given name? I have. Could this be the case because the first child passed away and subsequent children were given that same name? Perhaps so. But, Ruth said that we shouldn't assume this is always the case. She said that she found six children named Ole in a family and all lived and married.

Another interesting tidbit from the class is that if a 3rd cousin or closer wanted to marry, they had to get permission from the king.

Also, all Scandinavian countries used the patronymic naming system.

Speaking of patronymics, the last class I took on Thursday was "Which Hans Jensen is Mine? Navigating Patronymics in Scandinavian Research" taught by Jennifer Hansen, AG.

Ah yes. Patronymics...where every generation had a different surname. For those unfamiliar with patronymics, here's a basic definition. A child's surname was created by taking the first name of the father and then adding either son, sen, or sson if the child was a boy, and datter, dotter, or dottir if the child was a girl. For example, my Norwegian 2nd great-grandfather was named Iver Iverson. That just meant that he was the son of Iver. Iver Iverson's sister Mari was named Mari Iversdatter.

Some information from Jennifer's class include the fact that women did not take their husband's surname when they got married. They kept their maiden name. Also, there were typical naming patterns for children. For example, the first two boys were named after the grandfathers and the first two girls were named after the grandmothers. The first son would be named after the paternal grandfather and the second son would be named after the maternal grandfather.

In addition to the patronymic naming system, Scandinavian surnames could also be occupational, geographical, or even nicknames.

I have so much to learn about Scandinavian genealogy research. One great resource that I highly recommend for this is the wonderful and informative FamilySearch Wiki.

I'll be sharing more about my experiences at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

 

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

DNA and Genealogy Education ~ Classes on Day 2 at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy

I only attended two classes on the second day of the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy. Both of the classes were held in the afternoon.

The first class I took was titled "Beginning Autosomal DNA Analysis" and was taught by Paul Woodbury. Mr. Woodbury is a member of CeCe Moore's DNA Detectives Team.

During his class, Mr. Woodbury shared information about the differences between autosomal, Y-DNA, and mt-DNA tests. Both Y-DNA (paternal direct line) and mt-DNA (maternal direct line) stay intact as they are passed down to future generations and mutations are hierarchical. On the other hand, autosomal DNA is mixed every generation, mutations are not hierarchical, and consist of many lines of ancestry. 

Mr. Woodbury listed the uses for autosomal DNA tests. They include general interest, ethnicity (within 6 generations), adoption, unknown paternity, illegitimacy, and difficult to trace ancestors.

I have done two autosomal DNA tests, one through AncestryDNA and the other through Family Tree DNA. I've shared the results of those tests in previous blog posts. If you'd like to read them, click on the following links.

My Family Finder DNA Results Are In ~ Grandma Was Right!

My AncestryDNA Results Are In ~ Some Surprises

I also had a mtDNA test done through Family Tree DNA, but I haven't shared those results on my blog yet.

I'm glad I had my DNA tested. I'm hoping to have my husband get his DNA tested as well.

In the late afternoon, I attended Valerie Elkins' excellent class titled "Getting a Great Genealogical Education Online." She's a wonderful person and a great teacher!

There are so many amazing online resources to further our genealogy education. Valerie listed many of these in her class including FamilySearch, Cyndi's List, the credentialing organizations Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) and The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen), webinars, online schools, genealogy blogs and websites, social media, and many more.

During her class, Valerie showed the following slide which listed several genealogy blogs. I was so honored to find my genealogy blog listed in Valerie's slide. Included in her syllabus are additional genealogy blogs not listed in her slide. Unfortunately, her syllabus was not included in the syllabus for the conference. She said we could access it by going to her website at www.valerieelkins.com and then click on the Resources tab.

I want to thank her again for listing my blog in her slide and syllabus!

I'll be sharing more about my experiences at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Accreditation, Ohio, and Citing Sources ~ Classes on Day 1 at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy

If I counted correctly, there were 151 classes and 23 tracks offered at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy.

One of the tracks offered was the ICAPGen Track. ICAPGen stands for "The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists."

The first class I took on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 was titled "Why Become Accredited?" by Jill N. Crandell.

I am not a credentialed genealogist at this time. Perhaps someday I will pursue certification or accreditation. Certification and Accreditation are two different pathways to becoming credentialed. Certification is through the Board of Certified Genealogists. Accreditation is through ICAPGen.

One of the things I learned during this class was that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been involved in the accreditation process. In 2000 the Church transferred ownership of accreditation to ICAPGen. Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, who is an Accredited Genealogist, wrote a blog post titled "Why I Will Not Seek Certification." Regarding the accreditation process in her post she wrote that, "the testing was done by the LDS Church at the Family History Library." To read her post, click HERE.

Speaking of Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, I attended her class titled "The Firelands, the Connecticut Western Reserve, and the Ohio Territory. Peggy is an amazing teacher! She's fun and engaging and very informative. If you ever have a chance to take a class from her I highly recommend you take the opportunity to do so.

Peggy LOVES maps! She showed several to the class during her presentation.

One of the things I learned from Peggy's class is that the area in Ohio referred to as the Firelands was given this name because this area was given to people in Connecticut whose homes were burned down by the British during the Revolutionary War.

After lunch on Tuesday I attended "Fun With Citing Sources!" by Jean Wilcox Hibben.

Citing our sources is so very important. Source documentation is extremely important not only for yourself, but for those who access your genealogy research in the future.

Jean listed several different styles for writing citations including Turabian, (MLA) Modern Language Association, APA, and Chicago Manual of Style.

I only attended three classes on Tuesday. In the afternoon I headed over to the myFamily History Youth Camp. I wrote about my visit in an earlier blog post. If you'd like to read that post, click HERE.

I'll be sharing more about my experiences at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Food and Fun at The BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy

Attendees at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy were given a generous hour and a half lunch break each day from noon until 1:30. Lunch was available for purchase at the Morris Center Cafeteria, which is close to the BYU Conference Center.

The food was served cafeteria style, but was not your typical average cafeteria fare. The food was very good. There was a salad bar and two hot entrees offered each day.

On Friday I had the Grown-up Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Tomato Basil Soup. It was delicious!

Here are some photos of the Morris Center Cafeteria during lunch at the conference.

A variety of delectable desserts were offered each day including BYU's famous Creamery Ice Cream. I've had BYU's Creamery Ice Cream during past visits with family in Utah, so I already knew how amazing it is. Of course, I couldn't resist having some during the conference, so on one day I had their Chocolate ice cream, and on another day I tried their Mint Brownie ice cream. Yummy!

On Thursday I had one of BYU's amazing Mint Brownies with Chocolate Frosting. I wish I had taken a picture of these delicious treats. I was able to find recipes for the Mint Brownies on the BYU Alumni page. To see them, click HERE and HERE. The second link not only gives a recipe for the Mint Brownies, but also provides recipes for three other desserts.

In addition to enjoying delicious food, it was fun spending time chatting with fellow genealogy blogging friends during lunch at the conference.

I'll be sharing more about my experiences at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

 

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Vendors at The BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy

In addition to attending classes and keynote addresses, attendees at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy had the opportunity to stop by the booths of twenty-eight vendors to learn about their products. 

Vendors lined the main hallway at the BYU Conference Center throughout the conference. And Room 2260 was filled with vendors on Wednesday and Thursday.

Here are photos of the main hallway. The vendors are next to the windows.

The BYU Bookstore had a window at the conference too so that attendees could purchase various items. Unfortunately, the Bookstore was closed when I took this photo.

This is Janet Hovorka, Development Director at Family ChartMasters and author of The Chart Chick blog. Janet and her employees create beautiful family history charts. 

Janet is also the author of the Zap The Grandma Gap books and workbooks.

Here's Renee Zamora at the RootsMagic booth.

These are photos of the Vendor Hall in Room 2260.

Sue Maxwell, Bob Taylor, and Bob Ives at The Family History Guide booth. Please check out this helpful website. It's free. The Family History guide has a Facebook page, which you can access by clicking HERE. They also have a blog. You can check out their blog by clicking HERE.

Sue Maxwell demonstrated The Family History Guide website for me.

Here's the My Mission booth. I was able to speak to the developer of the My Mission app and was quite impressed by what I heard. It's free too, which is awesome. Families of LDS missionaries past and present ought to check it out.

The Ancestral Quest booth.

Here's Lisa Louise Cooke and Sunny Morton at the Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems booth.

Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of each vendor booth. But here's a list of the vendors at the conference.

Ancestral Quest (Incline Software)	http://www.ancquest.com/index.htm
By Land or By Sea	dick.donna1119@yahoo.com
BYU Center for Family History	https://familyhistory.byu.edu/Pages/Home.aspx
BYU Family History Library	http://sites.lib.byu.edu/familyhistory/
BYU Print and Mail	https://printandmail.byu.edu/home/
Easy Family History	https://www.easyfamilyhistory.com/
E-Z Photo Scan, powered by i/oTrak, Inc.	https://ezphotoscan.com/
Family ChartMasters	https://familychartmasters.com/php/index.php
FAMILY SEARCH	https://familysearch.org/
Flip-Pal	http://flip-pal.com/
Genealogy Gems	http://lisalouisecooke.com/
GenSearch and more	http://gensearchandmore.com/
Green Planet Maps LLC	famousfranko@gmail.com
Group National Publishing ( presentation is everything)	http://genealogypresentations.com/
Group National Publishing (flip-pal )	http://genealogypresentations.com/
Historic Journals LLC	https://hjournals.com/
HistoryLines	https://historylines.com/
ICAPGen	http://www.icapgen.org/
Larsen Digital	https://www.larsendigital.com/
Legacy Family Tree	http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/
Life Story Productions	http://heritagecollector.com/
My Family Online	http://www.myfamilyonline.com/
My Heritage	https://www.myheritage.com/
My Mission	http://www.mymission.com/
ResearchTies	http://researchties.com/
Rootsmagic	https://www.rootsmagic.com/
SHOTBOX LLC	http://www.shotbox.me/
Thirty Minute Mission (The Family History Guide)	http://www.thefhguide.com/
Treasured Souls to Keep	http://www.treasuredsoulstokeep.com/

I'll be sharing more about my experiences at the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Jana 

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved