Wiki User Lesson Two

I. Review lesson one.

Take this short quiz to see how well you remember the information from the previous lesson.
See if you can answer the following questions, without looking at your notes: [answers at the end of the lesson ( no peeking!)

A. What was the easiest and least expensive way to find the information for Antoinette Spano Frasco??

B. What is the Wiki?

C. What are the five steps in the research process?

D. Which of the following would you enter into the first search bar? Include all the apply.

1) The name of your ancestor

2) A location where your ancestor might have lived

3) A topic, such as census or military records

4) Your name

E. True or False

1) Everything you read in the Wiki is correct.

2) You need to gather all the information you have for all of your relatives before you even begin searching in the catalog.

3) If you see a FS Library film number it means the record or index is on file at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City.

4) The films are in the FS Library in SLC. You can go in person, or request to have them sent to your local FSC.

5) Whenever you see a microfilm or microfiche number, there will always be more information available on the film.

6) The Wiki is built and maintained entirely by volunteers.

7) All States have birth, death and marriage records available on line after 1915.

8) The Wiki is not the easiest program to learn how to use, but it is definitely worth the effort. (I hope you all answered “true” to this question).

Now go to the last page and see how you did. If you missed any questions, go back through lesson one to make sure you understand the concepts.

II. How do I know where to start to research the Wiki?

A. Research tools

1) Record Selection Table

a) In the search bar, type in Record Selection Table

b) Click on United States Record Selection Table.

c) This will give you ideas to help you know where to search for the information you are looking for.

2) Research forms

a) Type research forms in the search bar.

b) Click on Research forms.

c) Scroll down to the form you would like to use. There are Census Worksheets, Family Group Sheets, Pedigree Charts, Research Logs and others.

d) Look at the research logs. There is one you can print off and the other is one that you can fill out electronically and keep on your computer.

e) It is recommended that you track your searches – even the unsuccessful ones.

B. Tracking your searches

1) If you have found a site and want to be able to return to it, be sure to track your search steps. It is easy to lose track of how you got there. To track where you have been, click on the top right corner where you see the three black bars         

2) You will find it next to the star where you type in a URL. Click on the icon and scroll down to history. It will show you all the places you have visited, in order.

3) Determine the path you want to record and record it on your research form.

III. An overview of the United States Page

A. From the main page, click on “North America” on the map.

                       

Then “United States”.

                       

Notice the list of topics in the side bar on the left. Then just to the right and under the picture of the Statue of Liberty, look for the “Principles of Family History Research”.

This is a reminder of the principles of research. Think about what you know and what you want to learn. Once you have decided what you want to find, then look at the sidebar on the left to see what category you might start with. If you have relatives who were pioneers, you might be interested in looking at the migration records. There is a wealth of information here that will help you search for your relatives.

B. Case Study. Do research to see if Ute Perkins is mentioned in any of the migration records. Click on migration (in side bar on the left). Under the Key U.S. Migration Internet Links, click on Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel 1846-1868.

The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

In the boxes provided, type in his first and last name and click on search.

1) There are two responses, Ute Perkins and Ute Warren Perkins. Notice the age. Ute Warren is only one year old.

2) Clicking on The Warren Foot Company, pulls up articles about the Warren Foote Company. This gives insights into the things these people went through.

3) There are excerpts in the collection written by different people. You might be able to find something written by one of your relatives.

C. Census: Go back to the topic sidebar on the left. You will need to close the tab at the top of the page that says “Pioneer Overland Trail”. Then use the back arrow to return to the main United States Page. Now look at the topics on the left and click on “census”.

1) First you will see Key U.S. Census Indexes and Images Internet Links. Take time to look at what is found on these pages. 

2) If you don’t find what you are looking for on these pages, check the next area, “Other Helpful U.S. Census Internet Links”. Again look at the links and see what is there.

3) Under “Value of Censuses”, you will learn how the census can assist you in your research. There are some additional links to check out as well.

4) The next section has a link where you can discover what is in the censuses year by year. There is also a Historical Census Browser 1790-1960 where you can browse historical censuses and examine state and country topics for individual census years.

5) You can select census records by year or by state.

D. Go back to the main United States page (back arrow). On the sidebar on the left, again under topics, click on “vital records”. This will take you to the United States Vital Records Page. At the top of the sidebar, you will see Vital Records Topics. You would select the topic depending on what you are looking for, such as birth, marriage or death records.

1) A good place to start is, “requesting records”. Here you will learn how to locate and request records. The policy and procedure can vary from state to state, so be sure to read directions carefully. The more you learn the easier your search will be.

2) If you can’t find what you are looking for, try the Substitute sources listed below.

3) You can also view the websites that are listed.

IV. Areas of a State Page

A.Go back to the United States Genealogy page (back arrow)  If you scroll down to the map of all the states, you can click on a state and it will take you to that State page. If you prefer, you can type the name of the state into the search bar.
For this example, we will use New York.

        

1) Go to the New York page by clicking on NY on the map. Click in the blue box in the middle section of the page that says, “How to Find Information about New York Ancestors” 

      

2) Click on Birth Information. Here you would select the year your ancestor was born. Try clicking on the different links and see what you can find there. Remember, if you know dates for your ancestors, it will help you know where to look. You might want to take some time to read these pages.

3) Use the back arrow to go back to the New York Genealogy page. Look at the sidebar, where you see “key topics” These are the links that are used most often. If that is not what you are looking for, move on to “other topics”.

4) Notice the light green box (picture of a keyboard) that says, “New York Online Records”. This is where you would go to look for records that can be found online. You might want to try here first. 

      

Take a minute to look at all the available online records listed for New York.These records are available online because someone has taken the time to index or image them. Usually when you click on one of these links, it will take you to Ancestry or FamilySearch where you can search or browse by your ancestor's name. This is a great place to begin your research. If the records are online, they are much easier to find.

V. Highlights of a County Page

A) In the U.S. many records of our ancestors were created at the county level, making the county pages most helpful for research.

B) Use the back arrow to go back to the United States Page and click on Washington State. Then scroll down and select the county “King”.

C) Under contents, look for county overview (at the top of the page, just under “contents”.) This will tell you about boundary changes and parent counties. Look at Parent County. Before Dec. 22 1852, King county was called Thurston County. This would be important to know if you were researching someone who was born in Thurston County before December of 1852.

D) From the contents list, select “vital records” and look at all the links there.

E) Scroll back up to the top of the page. Notice the “County QuickStart” box. This is a great place to begin your search. Notice that besides the normal birth, marriage and death records, it also includes divorce and cemeteries.

F) Some of the records that may be on a county page but not a state page would be, deeds, wills, local business records and Church records.

VI. Get Help

A.  Get Help is obviously where you go when you need a little assistance or just want to learn more. Click on the get help button on the very top of the page, just above your name.

                 

1) This help menu has topics from Family Tree, memories, indexing records and how to search for your ancestors and much more.

2) Just scroll down to see all the available options.

B. Still under the "Get Help" section and under the Family Search logo, you will see “Help Center”, “getting started and “Learning Center”, Click on “Learning Center”.
              

C. If you don’t see the link to, “Researching in the FamilySearch Wiki: An Overview”, type it into the search bar at the top of the page. This is an excellent presentation for someone new to the Wiki.

D. Click on the link and then click on “View This Lesson”

E. If you get a message that says Silverlight need your permission to run, just do a right click and then select “run this plug-in”.

F. Be sure to start the presentation at the beginning. Look at the slides at the bottom of your screen. Below is a bar that shows the progress of the slides. Just click on the bubble and move it as far to the left as it will go.

G. Please take time to watch this presentation. Write down any questions you have and discuss them with your mentor.

VII. Answer key

A Massachusetts Vital Records

B. A place to get genealogical research advice, or learn where to find record collections in our 80,960 articles.

C. Research Process

1)Gather
::2) Choose
::3) Find
::4) Evaluate
::5) Share

D. B and C

True or False

1. False - Since the Wiki is created and maintained by volunteers there could be errors.
2. False - It is good to have collected all of your genealogy in one place, but to search the
Wiki you only need to have fathered the information for the person you are
researching.
3. True – The FS Library number means the record is on file at the FamilySearch Library.
4. True – You can check your local FamilySearch center to view the film, of if the film is digitized you can view it online.
5. False – Sometimes all we have is the index on file. There may or may not be more
information.
6. False –While the Wiki is mostly built and maintained by volunteers, there are
some Church Employees who work on it and direct the projects.
7. False – Not all states put their vital records on line. If they do not, you will need to order
A copy of it from them. Some states will only send certified copies and they can
be expensive.
8. True – definitely true – The more time you spend in the Wiki, the more you will begin to
appreciate what a wonderful resource it is.