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Edgewood New Mexico FamilySearch Center/Class Notes (view source)
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=== Make ''FamilySearch'' Research Wiki Your Best Friend (July 27th) === | === Make ''FamilySearch'' Research Wiki Your Best Friend (July 27th) === | ||
Marjorie Kraus presented a fascinating class on July 27th on making the ''FamilySearch'' Research Wiki your best friend. There were twelve attendees including three on ''Zoom''. | Marjorie Kraus presented a fascinating class on July 27th on making the ''FamilySearch'' Research Wiki your best friend. There were twelve attendees including three on ''Zoom''. | ||
[[File:Edgewood FHC SecretWeapon.jpg|thumb|423x423px]] | |||
Kraus began by saying that the ''FamilySearch'' Research Wiki is often overlooked as a tool in family history research, noting that people even roll their eyes when she mentions it. To convince us of its usefulness, she first listed the following four common research obstacles: | Kraus began by saying that the ''FamilySearch'' Research Wiki is often overlooked as a tool in family history research, noting that people even roll their eyes when she mentions it. To convince us of its usefulness, she first listed the following four common research obstacles: | ||
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If you can’t figure out how to access what you’re looking for, Kraus suggested using the ''Search'' box. For example, type in “Mayflower” to get a wealth of information on that topic. If you want to start over, click ''Wiki Home'' in the left menu bar. You can also click on the ''Ask the Community'' button to get help from others or to help others that may have questions you can answer. | If you can’t figure out how to access what you’re looking for, Kraus suggested using the ''Search'' box. For example, type in “Mayflower” to get a wealth of information on that topic. If you want to start over, click ''Wiki Home'' in the left menu bar. You can also click on the ''Ask the Community'' button to get help from others or to help others that may have questions you can answer. | ||
[[File:EdgewoodFHC TX CoverageTable.png|thumb|416x416px]] | |||
Kraus then talked about the problem of missing records. She told a story about her brother who was searching some records and found two pages missing that would have had the information he was looking for. He discovered that when the books were originally scanned, those two pages had been stuck together and subsequently not scanned. He was able to go to the archives and recover those pages. For missing records in general, the Research Wiki pages have entries that alert you if records are missing due to fires, water damage, or even deliberate destruction so you won’t waste time looking for records that don’t exist. You can even get a list of all counties that experienced record losses. She singled out Texas as having a dearth of death records for unknown reasons. For example, in the Coverage Table to the right (graphic coming soon), notice the low to nonexistent deaths in many counties between 1903–1973. | Kraus then talked about the problem of missing records. She told a story about her brother who was searching some records and found two pages missing that would have had the information he was looking for. He discovered that when the books were originally scanned, those two pages had been stuck together and subsequently not scanned. He was able to go to the archives and recover those pages. For missing records in general, the Research Wiki pages have entries that alert you if records are missing due to fires, water damage, or even deliberate destruction so you won’t waste time looking for records that don’t exist. You can even get a list of all counties that experienced record losses. She singled out Texas as having a dearth of death records for unknown reasons. For example, in the Coverage Table to the right (graphic coming soon), notice the low to nonexistent deaths in many counties between 1903–1973. | ||
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=== Making Corrections in Your Family Tree (August 10th) === | === Making Corrections in Your Family Tree (August 10th) === | ||
Marjorie Kraus presented “Making Corrections in Your Family Tree,” with emphasis on “Your,” which was a warning to avoid correcting another person’s tree because you are more apt to make a mistake in a tree you are unfamiliar with. | Marjorie Kraus presented “Making Corrections in Your Family Tree,” with emphasis on “Your,” which was a warning to avoid correcting another person’s tree because you are more apt to make a mistake in a tree you are unfamiliar with. | ||
[[File:EdgewoodFHC FamilyTreeCorrectionsIntro.jpg|thumb|487x487px]] | |||
Kraus had several more warnings based on the many cases she has encountered where people have carelessly merged, added, or deleted people from a tree or changed birth, marriage, and death information to make it fit the person they thought it was. She gave the following advice: | Kraus had several more warnings based on the many cases she has encountered where people have carelessly merged, added, or deleted people from a tree or changed birth, marriage, and death information to make it fit the person they thought it was. She gave the following advice: | ||
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Kraus gave examples of different problems she has encountered including the following: | Kraus gave examples of different problems she has encountered including the following: | ||
Two Different People Merged into One. Kraus was helping someone who had a relative who they knew had never married, but the relative was listed on her family tree as married with a number of children. After viewing all of the sources attached to that relative, Kraus noticed two different 1880 census records were attached, each showing a child with the relative’s name, but each census record indicated different parents. Each family was living in different areas of the same state. The person she was helping confirmed which parents were her ancestors. Kraus then created a new son under the correct parents and added all the correct information. Then she unlinked the original son from the wrong parents and corrected his information. Lastly, she included detailed reasons why she made the corrections. | '''Two Different People Merged into One.''' Kraus was helping someone who had a relative who they knew had never married, but the relative was listed on her family tree as married with a number of children. After viewing all of the sources attached to that relative, Kraus noticed two different 1880 census records were attached, each showing a child with the relative’s name, but each census record indicated different parents. Each family was living in different areas of the same state. The person she was helping confirmed which parents were her ancestors. Kraus then created a new son under the correct parents and added all the correct information. Then she unlinked the original son from the wrong parents and corrected his information. Lastly, she included detailed reasons why she made the corrections. | ||
Possible Duplicate. This was a case of two different first names, Betsey and Elisabeth, with no other conflicting information. Knowing that Betsey is a common nickname for Elisabeth, and after examining all of the items under the Research Help for both names, Kraus determined that there was enough supporting evidence that the two people were the same. She merged the two names and, instead of typing out a detailed reason why she made the merge, she was able to select one of the “canned” reasons because it was a straightforward case. | '''Possible Duplicate.''' This was a case of two different first names, Betsey and Elisabeth, with no other conflicting information. Knowing that Betsey is a common nickname for Elisabeth, and after examining all of the items under the Research Help for both names, Kraus determined that there was enough supporting evidence that the two people were the same. She merged the two names and, instead of typing out a detailed reason why she made the merge, she was able to select one of the “canned” reasons because it was a straightforward case. | ||
Standardized Place and Possible Duplicate. The standardized place problem is an easy fix. Select the location that has the red exclamation point before it, place your cursor at the end of the location listed, and press the spacebar. A dropdown menu will show up where you can select the standardized form of the location. This also works for standardized dates. The possible duplicate was not as easy to fix. One name had the person’s title “Major” as their first name. One entry had only the year for the birth date whereas the other entry had the date, month, and year. The birthplace for one had only the state whereas the other entry had the town, county, and state. Then the residence addresses were quite different. After reviewing all the Research Help items, Kraus felt like this was an issue that needed more research, so she didn’t merge the two persons. | '''Standardized Place and Possible Duplicate.''' The standardized place problem is an easy fix. Select the location that has the red exclamation point before it, place your cursor at the end of the location listed, and press the spacebar. A dropdown menu will show up where you can select the standardized form of the location. This also works for standardized dates. The possible duplicate was not as easy to fix. One name had the person’s title “Major” as their first name. One entry had only the year for the birth date whereas the other entry had the date, month, and year. The birthplace for one had only the state whereas the other entry had the town, county, and state. Then the residence addresses were quite different. After reviewing all the Research Help items, Kraus felt like this was an issue that needed more research, so she didn’t merge the two persons. | ||
[[File:EdgewoodFHC ChildrenSameYear.jpg|thumb|600x600px]] | |||
[[File:EdgewoodFHC BirthRecord.jpg|thumb|600x600px]] | |||
'''Children born the same year.''' This family had two children with somewhat similar names born in the same year. Kraus looked at the birth records and found that these two children were born 18 days apart and had different parents. Because all the information on the indexed birth record for these two children indicated the two girls had the same parents, Kraus located the original birth record image which showed each girl with the correct parents. Because the records were side-by-side and probably because the names were similar, the Indexer had not recorded the correct parents for the first child. Kraus searched Family Tree for the correct parents and found them. Their list of children did not include the child in question. She unlinked this child from the wrong parents and linked her to the correct parents, solving the problem. She also linked the birth record sources to the correct children. | |||
'''Do sources make sense?''' Kraus received an email from ''FamilySearch'' indicating they had found a possible hint for one of her relatives, Carl Alfred Larsson. As she checked the Research Help hint for Carl Alfred Larson, there was a source suggestion for Carl Alfred Carlsson. | |||
Do sources make sense? Kraus received an email from ''FamilySearch'' indicating they had found a possible hint for one of her relatives, Carl Alfred Larsson. As she checked the Research Help hint for Carl Alfred Larson, there was a source suggestion for Carl Alfred Carlsson. | |||
This child was born in Sweden where patronomics was a common practice. With patronomics, a child’s surname was made up of the father’s first name plus son or “dotter” depending on the sex of the child. In the case of Carl Alfred Larsson, his father’s given name would likely have been Lars, thus the child’s surname would be Larsson or Larsdotter. Since the suggested source name was Carl Alfred Carlsson, that would suggest that the father’s given name was Carl, not Lars. | This child was born in Sweden where patronomics was a common practice. With patronomics, a child’s surname was made up of the father’s first name plus son or “dotter” depending on the sex of the child. In the case of Carl Alfred Larsson, his father’s given name would likely have been Lars, thus the child’s surname would be Larsson or Larsdotter. Since the suggested source name was Carl Alfred Carlsson, that would suggest that the father’s given name was Carl, not Lars. | ||
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=== Helpful websites for your Family History Research === | === Helpful websites for your Family History Research === | ||
[http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx Search Bureau of Land Management Records to find your ancestors Land Patents] | * [http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx Search Bureau of Land Management Records to find your ancestors Land Patents] We provide live access to Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States, including image access to more than five million Federal land title records issued between 1788 and the present. We also have images of survey plats and field notes, land status records, and control document index records. | ||
* [http://lva1.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/F/5D9T9QEV4GQ8D5LEA3HFURR8Q3TXDGP85GCLN66L8DH2LX79MH-14478?func=file&file_name=find-m-lva01 Library of Virginia Online Catalog] The LVA Catalog combines the "Books & Journals" catalog, the "Archives & Manuscripts" catalog, and the "Images & Indexes" databases. You can search these catalogs to find your Virginia ancestors land records, photos etc. | |||
* [https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb/ Atlas of historical County Boundaries] This web site allows you to see the historical development of county lines. This may clarify what county records you should be searching to find your ancestors. | |||
[http://lva1.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/F/5D9T9QEV4GQ8D5LEA3HFURR8Q3TXDGP85GCLN66L8DH2LX79MH-14478?func=file&file_name=find-m-lva01 Library of Virginia Online Catalog] | * [http://www.davidrumsey.com/ David Rumsey Map Collection Database] The historical map collection has over 45,000 maps and images online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North American and South American maps and other cartographic materials. Historic maps of theWorld, Europe, Asia, and Africa are also represented. | ||
* [https://secure.findagrave.com/index.html Find a Grave] Find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials, add 'virtual flowers' and a note to a loved one's grave, etc. | |||
The LVA Catalog combines the "Books & Journals" catalog, the "Archives & Manuscripts" catalog, and the "Images & Indexes" databases. You can search these catalogs to find your Virginia ancestors land records, photos etc. | * [http://www.deadfred.com/ Dead Fred's Genealogy Photo Archive] A free, fun photo genealogy research web site devoted to helping you find photos to visualize your heritage! | ||
* [https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm Soldiers and Sailors Database National Park Service] The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS) is a database containing information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Other information on the site includes histories of Union and Confederate regiments, links to descriptions of significant battles, and selected lists of prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records, which will be amended over time. | |||
* [http://www.mnhs.org/search/about Minnesota Historical Society] Use Minnesota People Records Search to exclusively research birth, death, and state census records, as well as Veterans Graves Registration and World War I Gold Star Rolls. | |||
[https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb/ Atlas of historical County Boundaries] | * [http://www.mnhs.org/search/ Minnesota Historical Society Search] If you'd like to search people records together with the rest of the MNHS collection, use the search engine. | ||
This web site allows you to see the historical development of county lines. This may clarify what county records you should be searching to find your ancestors. | |||
[http://www.davidrumsey.com/ David Rumsey Map Collection Database] | |||
The historical map collection has over 45,000 maps and images online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North American and South American maps and other cartographic materials. Historic maps of theWorld, Europe, Asia, and Africa are also represented. | |||
[https://secure.findagrave.com/index.html Find a Grave] | |||
Find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials, add 'virtual flowers' and a note to a loved one's grave, etc. | |||
[http://www.deadfred.com/ Dead Fred's Genealogy Photo Archive] | |||
A free, fun photo genealogy research web site devoted to helping you find photos to visualize your heritage! | |||
[https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm Soldiers and Sailors Database National Park Service] | |||
The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS) is a database containing information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Other information on the site includes histories of Union and Confederate regiments, links to descriptions of significant battles, and selected lists of prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records, which will be amended over time. | |||
[http://www.mnhs.org/search/about Minnesota Historical Society] | |||
Use Minnesota People Records Search to exclusively research birth, death, and state census records, as well as Veterans Graves Registration and World War I Gold Star Rolls. | |||
[http://www.mnhs.org/search/ Minnesota Historical Society Search] | |||
If you'd like to search people records together with the rest of the MNHS collection, use the search engine. | |||