FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject Washington

Overall Objectives

The purpose of the Washington Wiki Project is to help readers find and use Washington resources and records for genealogy and family history. The project will update and improve:

• Washington county pages. Example Mahoning County
• Ohio main page.
• Statewide topic pages. Example Vital Records
• Other Ohio-related pages

Guiding Principles

• Task Difficulty Tasks are rated for difficulty. Within each phase task table look for 1, 2, or 3, with 1 being the least difficult and 3 being the most difficult.

• Highlight important and relevant items. Long lists of every website or every publication would bury, rather than highlight, what's important.

• Tell readers what to expect when they follow a link or search a suggested record.

• Balance content with these four factors in mind:

a. Genealogical Value. Does this help Wiki users further their research?

b. Clarity. Make sure everyone understands your meaning and the purpose of your words.

c. Brevity. Be succinct as possible without sacrificing purpose or clarity.

d. Documentation. Use footnote(s) to identify the source(s) of the content you are creating.

For each section containing information regarding resources and records, the following should be included:

• Links to online resources: indexes and/or images of records or how to use those records.
• Links to catalogs such as the Google books, WorldCat, Family History Library Catalogamong others.

For more style and guidelines for the Ohio Wiki Project.

Washington Wiki Project Phases - Explanation

• Task Difficulty Tasks are rated for difficulty. Within each phase task table look for 1, 2, or 3, with 1 being the least difficult and 3 being the most difficult.

Repositories Tasks

The first set of tasks includes adding content to each Washington county page. Content will be added by completing written tasks which will apply to each county. These tasks will have written instructions giving guidance on how to enter information, format the information, and how to cite the information, when applicable. Some of these tasks entail specifically:

• County headings - additional county headings will be added to each county page to make them uniform and cover more research topics users may have questions on
• Infoboxes - adding dates concerning major resources for each county and giving information regarding important Washington statewide indexes
• County repositories (libraries, archives, museums) - contact information for repositories that hold original and compiled records for individuals that lived in that county including links to the repositories' websites with additional information
• Locate Family History Centers

Vital Records Tasks

The second group of tasks focuses on the following record type:

• Vital Records

Each record type above will include what records are available, time period the record covers and how they can be accessed including links to databases, images and references to books and microfilm and information to repositories.

Probate and Land Records Tasks

The third group of tasks focuses on the following records types:

• Probate Records
• Land Records

Each record type above will include what records are available, time period the record covers and how they can be accessed including links to databases, images and references to books and microfilm and information to repositories.

Newspapers and Church Records Tasks

The fourth group of tasks focuses on the following records types:

• Newspapers
• Church records

Each record type above will include what records are available, time period the record covers and how they can be accessed including links to databases, images and references to books and microfilm and information to repositories.

County Histories Tasks

• County histories - list of county histories available with links to online books and references to libraries

Tax and Cemetery Records Tasks

• Tax records
• Cemeteries - links to major cemetery websites that contain cemetery transcriptions for the county

Each record type above will include what records are available, time period the record covers and how they can be accessed including links to databases, images and references to books and microfilm and information to repositories.

Schedule

Beginning 1st Quarter 2013

Washington Wiki Project Tasks

Before beginning any tasks please review the Washington Project guidelines.

FIRST TIME WIKI USERS: For instructions on how to edit the wiki use the following:

• Online and Video Instructions
• Editing on the Wiki written instructions

The following are tasks to be accomplished for the Ohio Wiki Project. Each task has step-by-step instructions to accomplish it. SOME TASKS ARE NOT YET COMPLETED. WHEN TASKS ARE LINKED (typed in blue) THEY ARE READY FOR PARTICIPANTS TO WORK ON THEM.

• Task Difficulty Tasks are rated for difficulty. Within each phase task table look for 1, 2, or 3, with 1 being the least difficult and 3 being the most difficult.
  

Background and Repositories Tasks

Washington county/topic interest list

Topics Not all counties have records included in these tasks. Please add the tasks only to the counties listed. Tasks and the list of counties appear when you click on the blue link.	Complete	Task Difficulty
Standardize County subject headings.	8/20/2012	3
County Courthouse Info Box: Locate uncopyrighted photos of courthouses and upload.	7/31/2012	3
Add contact information with link to county website.	7/31/2012	1
Verify neighboring counties in the Earliest Dates Databox.		2
Verify parent counties in the Earliest Dates Databox Box.		1
Locate county societies. Add contact information, link, and significant collections.		3
Locate county archives, libraries and museums. Add contact information, link, and significant collections.		3
Locate Family History Centers. Add link.		2

Vital Records Tasks

Washington county/topic interest list

Topics Not all counties have records included in these tasks. Please add the tasks only to the counties listed. Tasks and the list of counties appear when you click on the blue link.	Complete	Task Difficulty
Add Vital Records Introduction		1
Add Vital Records Subheadings		2
Add Ancestry Vital Records Part A. This task will become available when Vital Records Intro and Subheadings tasks are complete.		2
Add Ancestry Vital Records Part B. This task will become available when Vital Records Intro and Subheadings tasks are complete.		2
Add FamilySearch Vital Records. This task will become available when Vital Records Intro and Subheadings tasks are complete.		2
Add Vital Records Other Repositories template		3

Probate and Land Records Tasks

Ohio county/topic interest list

Topics Not all counties have records included in these tasks. Please add the tasks only to the counties listed. Counties appear when you click on the blue link.	Complete	Task Difficulty
Add Probate Records Introduction		1
Add Ancestry Probate Records		2
Add FamilySearch Probate Records.		2
Add Probate Records Other Repositories template.		3
Add Land and Property Records Introduction		1
Add Land and Property Other Repositories template		3
US GenWeb Vital, Land and Probate Links		3

Newspapers and Church Records Tasks

Washington county/topic interest list

Topics Not all counties have records included in these tasks. Please add the tasks only to the counties listed. Tasks and the list of counties appear when you click on the blue link.	Complete	Task Difficulty
Add Historical Newspapers Introduction and Headings		2
US GenWeb Church, Tax and Newspaper Records		3
Add newspaper records other repositories template		1
Add Church Records Introduction		2
Add FamilySearch church records.		2
Add church records other repositories template.		3

County Histories Tasks

Ohio county/topic interest list 

Topics Not all counties have records included in these tasks. Please add the tasks only to the counties listed. Tasks and the list of counties appear when you click on the blue link.	Complete	Task Difficulty
Add County Histories Introduction		1
FamilySearch County Histories		3
Ancestry County Histories		3
County Histories found in Google Books and Internet Archive		3

Tax and Cemetery Records Tasks

Washington county/topic interest list 

Topics Not all counties have records included in these tasks. Please add the tasks only to the counties listed. Tasks and the list of counties appear when you click on the blue link.	Complete	Task Difficulty
Add Tax Records Introduction		1
Add FamilySearch tax records.		2
Add tax records other repositories template.		3
Add Cemetery Records Intro		3
Add Cemetery Online Links		3

Example of Washington County Page

Mahoning County Washington

Guidelines and Style

Style and guidelines for the Washington Wiki Project

Participants

Registration

If you are interested in participating in the Washington Wiki Project, click here to register as an Washington FamilySearch Wiki Project Volunteer. As soon as you are registered, you may begin to add information to any of the tasks typed in blue in the tables above.

Community Meetings

To be determined

Online meetings with focus on Wiki pages for Ohio.

• Share ideas, suggest improvements
• Get news and progress reports.

Attend from home, at a library, or wherever you have an internet connection and a telephone.

Current Meetings

None are scheduled at this time.