REDLANDS-YUCAIPA
MULTI – STAKE
FAMILY HISTORY CENTER
E-NEWSLETTER
Vol. 10, No. 8 August 2010

Phone Number: 909-794-3844. Located at 5th and Wabash in Redlands.
Hours: Tuesday thru Saturday—9:00 to 1:00 Tuesday and Wednesday Night—6:00-9:00pm
Closed Sunday Nights except the 4th Sunday before the Research Class

Record Search Update: 100 million records in 6 mos.
FamilySearch Indexing is excited to announce that our dedicated volunteers have completed 100 million records in the first half of 2010, and is on track to complete a targeted 200 million by the end of the year. Patrons can search the completed indexes and images at http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start
Indexing Update
A project to index Freedmen Letters from North Carolina is now available. This is the second Freedmen’s Bureau collection FamilySearch has worked on with the National Archives. These records provide the earliest major compilation of information on many emancipated slaves, freed Blacks, and Black Union soldiers, including names, marriages, education and employment information, and receipt of rations, health care, and legal support. Click here for the latest Indexing projects, news, and updates

Check out our Popular Collections Page World Vital Records Looking for some databases to search on WorldVitalRecords? Check out our Popular Collections page. This page includes our most popular databases including the Everton Library, U.S.Navy and Marine Registers, U.S. Air Force Registers, Revolutionary War Databases, and our Photo Collections. Try a few new databases on WorldVitalRecords by browsing the Popular Collections Page.

DAR Library
While many genealogists are familiar with the genealogical holdings of institutions like the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah or the Allen County Public Library, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, fewer may be aware of the rich resources available through The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Library. While originally founded in 1896 to be used as a resource by staff to verify genealogies submitted by potential members, since 1900 the Library has been open to the general public wanting to learn more about their Revolutionary ancestor in America.
While a researcher would need to travel to Washington D.C. to benefit from all that the library has to offer, some of their information is now available online through their website.
Through their Online Research section you can utilize The DAR Genealogical Research System. According to the Website this System, "is a combination of several databases created in recent years to organize the large quantity of information that the DAR has collected since its inception in 1890."
Information included in this database is of Revolutionary Patriots whose "service and identity have been established by NSDAR." So this will not be a complete list of patriots but it is a good starting point for your research. After conducting a search on a patriot's name you may find such information as the patriot's date of birth, "name of spouse/s, residence during the revolution, rank and type of service, and the state where the patriot served." You will also see the DAR membership numbers of women who have joined DAR using information from that patriot. You may also see an indication that supporting documents or a descendant list is available. If you are having difficulty using or understanding the database, don't hesitate to check out the help section. This provides detailed answers about the database and what information it provides.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will celebrate Independence Day on Sunday, July 4th, with its annual ceremony, its first ever National Independence Day Parade float, and a brand new logo. Here is a fun video of the celebration. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4WVmCoewIo&feature=channel Do you want to know more about NARA? Here is another video to watch http://www.youtube.com/user/usnationalarchives#p/c/9C64D8D2FD4C281D/2/ Thanks Marcia
JewishGen and MyHeritage.com Establish Collaboration
The following announcement was written by MyHeritage.com and JewishGen.org:
JewishGen and MyHeritage.com collaborate to build the Family Tree of the Jewish People
Tel Aviv, Israel; London, UK and Los Angeles, US – MyHeritage.com and JewishGen.org are now working together to invigorate the Family Tree of the Jewish People (FTJP) project.
Under this collaboration, family trees built with a special version of MyHeritage.com available at http://www.myheritage.com/jewishgen, with the consent of the tree creators, will be transferred periodically to the FTJP for digital safekeeping. Privacy controls, using the MyHeritage.com tools, can be set according to the wishes of the tree creator. Data of existing MyHeritage.com users will not be transferred.
Continue reading "JewishGen and MyHeritage.com Establish Collaboration" »

Release of the 1940 Census
Circle this date on your calendar: Monday, April 2, 2012.
Less than two years from now, all genealogists will be able to access the 1940 U.S. Census Records for the first time. Title 13 of the United States Code governs how the Census is conducted and mandates the confidentiality of information concerning individuals. Aggregate information, including statistical models, may be released, but any information about individuals must be kept confidential for 72 years. The 1940 census was conducted on April 1, 1940 so the information cannot be released until April 1, 2012.
1940 Census Training is Now Online
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cImIlPSuyR8&feature=player_embedded

Search Engines by Gena Philibert Ortega
We all have our favorite search engines. But sometimes it can be helpful to try out a different search engine to see if there are any additional results that can enhance your research. The following are a list of search engines that you may want to consider.
Google
http://www.google.com/
Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.com/
Bing
http://www.bing.com/
Dogpile
http://www.dogpile.com/
Ask
http://www.ask.com/
Cuil
http://www.cuil.com/

Search Smarter - Many larger genealogy sites (e.g., Ancestry or Footnote, offer a global site search that allows for searching across multiple databases. But there's a caveat: the global search form doesn't always give you the specific search fields appropriate for each individual database. If you're trying to locate your grandfather in both the 1920 and the 1930 censuses, search each individual census directly. Or if you're looking for him in the Social Security Death Index, search it separately. In addition, try search tools to help with specific
databases, such as the free One-Step Webpages designed by Dr. Stephen Morse, http://stevemorse.org/ (the tools are free, but you will need to be registered and/or
have access to the databases where the results appear to see actual records). For
example, his Gold form lets you do "Sounds Like" searches, not just on immigrants'
first and last names, but also by town name. Try some "power searching" of databases. Use MyHeritage.com's Megadex technology to search multiple databases for multiple spelling variations http://www.myheritage.com/ , or use LiveRoots, http://www.liveroots.com/ .
Internet Genealogy, Oct/Nov 2009, "Help! My Ancestors are Hiding", pg 14-

Illinois Research
"Illinois Harvest" is a free web site with some good possibilities for researchers. It is the result of a project of the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, which is digitizing selected books from their print collection of over eleven million volumes. On the home page enter "genealogy" in the keyword box. One hundred sixty-six titles are listed under this topic, including several portrait and biographical records of Illinois counties. Some other examples are Immigration and Emigration (89), county and local histories (567 books), notable Illinoisans (117 books). There is a separate home page for military history. There could be some things here that will help you with your family research. From Will/Grundy Counties, Illinois Genealogical Society Newsletter, Feb.,2010 http://illinoisharvest.grainger.uiuc.edu/
Thanks to Carole Cross

Reached a Brickwall? Check these compiled sites and see if you missed anything.
United States Genealogy Sleuth
http://www.progenealogists.com/genealogysleuthb.htm

International Genealogy Sleuth
http://www.progenealogists.com/genealogysleuthi.htm
Thanks to Marcia Green

Updated FamilySearch.org to Bring New Features Under One Roof
Breanna Olaveson, “Updated FamilySearch.org to Bring New Features Under One Roof,” Ensign, July 2010, 74–76
An update to familysearch.org, available now at beta.familysearch.org, will make the site a hub of genealogical activity. Users can visit the site and provide feedback for developers before the beta version replaces familysearch.org later this year.
The site brings together many of the tools FamilySearch provides, including FamilySearch Indexing, new.familysearch.org, user-generated and -edited wikis, and forums. To create a more seamless user experience, a single username and password will allow users to log in once and gain access to all areas of the site.
New.familysearch.org, which replaced TempleReady last year and includes the Family Tree feature, will be integrated into the updated site. The beta site also includes new record collections currently available at pilot.familysearch.org. As developers bring these various tools together, feedback from users is a valuable asset in helping prepare the site for a worldwide audience.
“In the past, using all the FamilySearch tools has been like visiting separate, distinct buildings. The goal of the beta site is to create a sense of visiting different rooms in the same house,” said Robert Kehrer, senior product manager for the site.
With the remodel, the site’s search capability, collaboration tools, and overall simplicity will help put valuable information closer to the user’s fingertips.
Search Capability
The Church is digitizing billions of records stored at the Granite Mountain Records Vault and adding them to the documents already available online. A new image viewer feature allows users to search digital images of microfilm and view them as they would using a microfilm reader at a family history center, only without the hand crank and eye fatigue. The image viewer enhances the legibility of record images and provides access to published records online. With so many records becoming readily accessible, an easy process for sifting through information is essential to a useful family history site.
In searching for ancestors, beta.familysearch.org’s search engine goes beyond requested documents and provides users with other information that might also be helpful in research. A search for an individual’s birth certificate, for example, will return historical documents but may also return information from Ancestral File, Pedigree Resource File, forums, the Family History Library Catalog, and other sources.
To help organize results, search pages include a “Record Type” box. Here, records are organized as Birth, Marriage, and Death; Census and Lists; Military; Probate and Court; Migration and Naturalization; and Other. The new site will also allow members to access select collections on third-party Web sites.
Collaboration Tools
The improved familysearch.org will also provide several forums for collaboration that will enable family members to share and compare information without leaving the site.
Forums on specific localities, a blog, and similar communication areas are accessible now on the beta site, with more functionality to come in the future.
“The name family history implies that this isn’t a work to be done in isolation. We are laying the foundations of a site where families can collaborate on finding their ancestors,” Brother Kehrer said.
Users can read and contribute to wiki pages dedicated to specific localities through the “Learn” tab on the beta site. These pages provide forums where users can share information pertinent to a certain place, share research tips, and include external links to helpful Web sites.
In time, familysearch.org will be able to notify users when certain information of personal interest is edited or added. These alerts will help ensure changed information is accurate and encourage family members with similar information to compare sources and reach sound conclusions.
Simplicity
Even with so many new features, the beta site is designed to simplify family history work. The site’s usability saves visitors time as they find and prepare names to take to the temple.
One of the goals of beta.familysearch.org is to help novice researchers get started quickly and make meaningful contributions to family history work without a lot of training. The site is structured to make it easy for casual volunteers to learn what information is already available, find out what needs to be done, and help by finding sources of information and establishing credibility of information.
Even individuals whose family history is largely completed can help with family history by making records available for others. For example, users can transcribe information from online images such as census records on a personal computer in a process called indexing. After records are indexed, they can be searched digitally. The indexing application is currently housed on indexing.familysearch.org, but will be part of familysearch.org later this year.
Indexing is one way to help with family history, but it certainly isn’t the only way.
“Each person has different interests and skills that they can contribute to family history,” Brother Kehrer said. “We are building a site that gives users a lot of options for becoming engaged in the work.”
Help is also available on the Web site. Users can ask research questions and find information on getting started, understanding historical documents, researching specific localities, and other helpful hints under the “Learn” tab on the site.
With the coming improvements, familysearch.org makes family history work easier and helps further one of the great purposes of the Church in the latter days. President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said, “Family history work has the power to do something for the dead. It has an equal power to do something to the living. Family history work of Church members has a refining, spiritualizing, tempering influence on those who are engaged in it. They understand that they are tying their family together—their living family here with those who have gone before” (“Your Family History: Getting Started,” Liahona and Ensign, Aug. 2003, 12).
Bringing the Family Together
Beta.familysearch.org, which will replace familysearch.org later this year, will be home to the following:
· • Family Tree and temple preparation features currently available on new.familysearch.org
· • Search capabilities currently available on pilot.familysearch.org
· • FamilySearch Indexing functions currently available on indexing.familysearch.org
· • User forums currently available on forums.familysearch.org
· • Family History Library Catalog and other information
· • Family History blogs
· • Wiki pages that provide research help and guidance currently available on wiki.familysearch.org
· • Help features
The FamilySearch.org Web site will soon be replaced. Visit the beta site for FamilySearch.org at beta.familysearch.org.