Western European Family History Conference

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

The FamilySearch Library and the research specialists of the European Reference team invite you to a free week-long conference focused exclusively on Western European research. The conference, which will be held May 15-19, 2017, is perfect for beginning and intermediate genealogists interested in learning about records of Western European localities, and FamilySearch Library collections.

Come and spend a week at the world renowned FamilySearch Library learning from our expert staff of genealogists as well as experienced guest genealogists. Learn how to effectively use historical records and how to do research in several European countries. Explore such topics as census, church, immigration, and vital records. Learn more about research in Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium. Discover new techniques, strategies, and methodology to apply to your genealogical research problems.

All classes will be held in the main floor classrooms. Seating is limited, so be sure to register early to secure a spot.

To register for the free conference, visit the Eventbrite registration site at this link if you plan to personally attend in-house:

http://bit.ly/2n6pdws.*

All of the classes will be broadcasted as webinars. Webinar attendance for classes is limited to 500 attendees. Please use the following registration link:

http://bit.ly/2m9m7Ye.*

A syllabus will be provided that can be downloaded from the FamilySearch Wiki. PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE HANDOUTS BEFORE CLASS, EVEN IF YOU ARE ATTENDING IN PERSON! MOST CLASSES WILL NOT PROVIDE YOU WITH A HANDOUT!

We hope this conference will not only be informative and instructive, but that it will also encourage and inspire you to continue your family history research. Perhaps this will be just what you need to break through that 20-year-old brick wall research problem. We look forward to seeing you.

*We will use Eventbrite to process your registration. Your information will be processed in accordance with their privacy policy located at http://www.eventbrite.com/privacypolicy.

Western European Family History Conference
In order to attend these classes you must register. To attend in person click here. If you are going to attend online click here. We will use Eventbrite to process your registration. Your information will be processed in accordance with their privacy policy located at http://www.eventbrite.com/privacypolicy.
TIME	Monday, 15 May	Tuesday, 16 May	Wednesday, 17 May	Thursday, 18 May	Friday, 19 May
Germany	France	The Low Countries	The Netherlands	Switzerland
9:00-10:00 AM MDT	Finding German Places of Origin	Finding Your French Ancestors Online, part 1 (FamilySearch and Ancestry)	Latin for Researchers	Names in Belgium and the Netherlands	Beginning Swiss Research
10:15-11:15 AM MDT	Spelling Variations in German Given and Place Names	Finding Your French Ancestors Online, part 2 (FranceGenWeb)	Calendar Changes in France, Germany, Switzerland and the Low Countries	WieWasWie, Past the Index: What to do Next	Swiss Maps and Gazetteers
11:30 AM-12:30 PM MDT	Meyer's Gazetteer Now Online, Indexed and Fully Searchable!	Finding Your French Ancestors Online, part 3 (Geneanet)	Gazetteers and Maps for Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands	Dutch Provincial and City Research	Swiss Archives Online Records
2:00-3:00 PM MDT	German Church Records and Beyond: Deepen Your Research Using a Variety of Town Records	Out of the Ashes of Paris	Beginning Research in Luxembourg	Dutch Research Before 1811	Swiss Census Records
3:15-4:15 PM MDT	Elusive Immigrant: Methods of Proving Identity	Research in Alsace-Lorraine	Beginning Research in Belgium	Finding Your Family in the Amazing Online Amsterdam City Archives	Swiss Chorgericht Records

Class Handouts

Monday, 15 May

• Finding German Places of Origin
• Spelling Variations in German Given and Place Names
• Meyer's Gazetteer Now Online, Indexed and Fully Searchable!
• German Church Records and Beyond: Deepen Your Research Using a Variety of Town Records
• Elusive Immigrant: Methods of Proving Identity

Tuesday, 16 May

• Finding Your French Ancestors Online, part 1
• Finding Your French Ancestors Online, part 2
• Finding Your French Ancestors Online, part 3
• Out of the Ashes of Paris
• Research in Alsace-Lorraine

Wednesday, 17 May

• Media:Latin_Handout.pdfLatin for Researchers
• Calendar Changes in France, Germany, Switzerland and the Low Countries
• Gazetteers and Maps for Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands
• Beginning Research in Luxembourg
• Beginning Research in Belgium

Thursday, 18 May

• Names in Belgium and the Netherlands'
• WieWasWie, Past the Index: What to do Next
• Dutch Provincial and City Research
• Dutch Research Before 1811
• Finding Your Family in the Amazing Online Amsterdam City Archives

Friday, 19 May

• Beginning Swiss Research, part 1
• Beginning Swiss Research, part 2
• Swiss Archives Online Records
• Swiss Census Records
• Swiss Chorgericht Records

Class Descriptions

Monday, 15 May

• Finding German Places of Origin
• Spelling Variationsin German Given and Place Names
• Meyer's Gazetteer Now Online, Indexed and Fully Searchable!
• German Church Records and Beyond: Deepen Your Research Using a Variety of Town Records *Elusive Immigrant: Methods of Proving Identity

Tuesday, 16 May

• Finding Your French Ancestors Online, part 1
• Finding Your French Ancestors Online, part 2
• Finding Your French Ancestors Online, part 3
• Out of the Ashes of Paris
• Research in Alsace-Lorraine

Wednesday, 17 May

• Latin_Handout.pdfLatin for Researchers
• Calendar Changes in France, Germany, Switzerland and the Low Countries
• Gazetteers and Maps for Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands
• Beginning Research in Luxembourg
• Beginning Research in Belgium

Thursday, 18 May

• Names in Belgium and the Netherlands
• WieWasWie, Past the Index: What to do Next
• Dutch Provincial and City Research
• Dutch Research Before 1811
• Finding Your Family in the Amazing Online Amsterdam City Archives

Friday, 19 May

• Beginning Swiss Research, part 1
• Beginning Swiss Research, part 2
• Swiss Archives Online Records
• Swiss Census Records
• Swiss Chorgericht Records

Presenter Bios

Warren Bittner, MS, CG℠ is a genealogical researcher and lecturer. He is a trustee for the Board for Certification of Genealogists. He holds a Master of Science degree in history from Utah State University. His master’s thesis looked at the social factors affecting illegitimacy in nineteenth-century Bavaria. He is an award-winning author, and has coordinated German research tracks at The Samford Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. For six years, Warren was the German Collection Manager for the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. He has done research in more than fifty German archives and in more than forty U.S. archives and record repositories.

Brandon Baird, M. Ed., AG® received his accreditation from the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) in July 2014. He is accredited in Spain Research and has research experience in France, Italy, and Portugal. He graduated from BYU in 2013 with a degree in Family History and Genealogy.

Careen Barrett-Valentine, BA, AG® has been doing professional European Family History research since 2007.  She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Family History from Brigham Young University and is accredited for research in the Germany region by the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen).

Mindy Jacox, BA is from Kaysville, Utah. She recently graduated from BYU with a degree in Family History/Genealogy with emphases in Germanic research and computer science. While at BYU, she worked at the Center for Family History and Genealogy as the lead researcher on the Nauvoo Community Project. She also assisted with the German Immigrants in American Church Records project. She currently works for FamilySearch on the Content Development team preparing training and testing data for machine automated processes. As the co-director of the myFamily History Youth Camp she has a special interest in helping youth get excited about family history research. Family history is her passion and she loves sharing it with others!

Baerbel K. Johnson, BA, AG® works for FamilySearch, supporting the German-language FamilySearch centers in Europe and providing research support within the international genealogical community. Previously, she had worked as reference consultant at the FamilySearch Library for 20 years. She is accredited for research in the Germany region by the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) and is certified through the German organization Verband deutschsprachiger Berufsgenealogen.

Daniel Rick Jones, MA, AG® is an Accredited Genealogist by the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) for Switzerland and also specializes in Dutch and German research.  His interest in genealogy began when as a youngster he would pore of his mother’s Book of Remembrance, but his love of family history took off at the age of 13 when he earned his Genealogy merit badge as a Boy Scout.  He has been awarded a BA in Family History/Genealogy at Brigham Young University and a MS in Early Modern European History at the University of Utah. Daniel has been working professionally since 2003, with on-site archives research experience in Switzerland and a dozen other countries.  Daniel is currently a research specialist at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

John de Jong, MBA, BA, AG® is an Accredited Genealogist in Dutch research. While on a three year assignment in Germany for the Procter & Gamble Company, he conducted research in over 50 German archives, discovering his wife’s ancestral line back to 1675. This experience re-ignited his passion for family history subsequently leading to a position with FamilySearch International where he currently leads records acquisition negotiations of the North America team while continuing to seek out his own ancestors in all of his spare time.

Fritz Juengling, Ph.D., AG® received his Bachelor’s degrees in German Studies and Secondary Education at Western Oregon University, his Master’s and Doctorate in Germanic Philology with minors in both English and Linguistics at the University of Minnesota. He has taught German, English, Latin and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) at the high school and university levels. He is an Accredited Genealogist® for Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists and is certified through the German organization Verband deutschsprachiger Berufsgenealogen. He is a German, Dutch, and Scandinavian Research Specialist at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Jilline Maynes, AA has been happily involved in family history for over 20 years. She will graduate in June with a Bachelor's degree in Family History from Brigham Young University. Her emphases are Germany and Midwestern states. She has worked for the Nauvoo Community Project at the Center for Family History and Genealogy at BYU researching LDS polygamous families. In the spring of 2015, Jilline had the opportunity to work as an intern researching German census records with Dr. Roger P. Minert at BYU. Presently, she is working on Dr. Minert’s German Immigrants in American Church Records project, where the goal is to identify the hometowns of German immigrants.

Sonja Nishimoto, AG® has been employed by the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, since 1986. She has been a professional Germanic and Slavic researcher since 1982. She is accredited in German and Swiss research and is the team lead for Guest Services.

Heidi G. Sugden, MA, AG® has been employed at the FamilySearch Library for over 20 years as a Reference Consultant, specializing in French, Austrian and German research. She is accredited by the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) for research in France and Austria.