Issue 35.10

Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq:ACOM) has announced that it has acquired leading professional genealogy research firm, ProGenealogists, Inc.

Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, ProGenealogists specializes in genealogical, forensic and family history research. During its 10-year history, the firm has become a trusted name in professional genealogy, finding great success with client research and expanding both its domestic and international capabilities. As a part of Ancestry.com, ProGenealogists will continue to provide premier family history research to its existing clients while extending the Ancestry.com reach across the genealogy value chain.

“We are delighted to welcome ProGenealogists into the Ancestry.com network,” said David Rinn, senior vice president of strategy and corporate development for Ancestry.com. “With this acquisition Ancestry.com can better serve subscribers who are seeking dedicated, personal support in their family history research. As a natural service extension for Ancestry.com, we expect the addition of ProGenealogists will also enhance and expand the professional research offerings currently available through Ancestry.com Expert Connect.”

“Ancestry.com is definitely in a class by itself in the genealogy industry,” said Natalie Cottrill, CEO of ProGenealogists, Inc. “We are excited to become part of the Ancestry.com family and look forward to finding new ways to help more people interested in learning about their roots.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Ancestry.com does not expect the acquisition to have a material impact on its financial guidance as issued in connection with its second quarter earnings release on July 29, 2010.

ProGenealogists and Ancestry.com have worked together on several initiatives over the past few years including driving the research for the NBC television program, “Who Do You Think You Are?” which traced the family histories of celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Lisa Kudrow, Brooke Shields, Susan Sarandon, Emmitt Smith, Matthew Broderick and Spike Lee. Ancestry.com will continue leveraging the expertise at ProGenealogists for similar initiatives in the future.

About Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq:ACOM) is the world’s largest online family history resource, with more than one million paying subscribers. More than 5 billion records have been added to the site in the past 13 years. Ancestry users have created more than 18 million family trees containing over 1.8 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.

About ProGenealogists, Inc.

ProGenealogists, Inc. is a consortium of professional genealogists who specialize in genealogical, forensic, and family history research. The firm services thousands of professional, government, media, and individual clients worldwide. In addition, the firm has published numerous articles and research tools on their award winning website, www.progenealogists.com.

Shanna Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com.

 

Issue 34.10

The new FamilySearch program is updated usually every three months.  In the August 2010 release, the system no longer allows you to add new disputes.  The system has been translated into Russian and Italian. You will also see tutorials, updates to the Temple Ordinances list, and some changes that help people enter names of Asian ancestors.

My favorite change is that the dispute feature is being removed from the system. As a first phase, you can no longer add a new dispute. You can still see disputes that were previously entered. You can edit the notes of disputes that you added. You can also still remove your own disputes.  Eventually, all of the disputes in the system, including their notes, will be moved to the discussion boards. Instead of using disputes, you are encouraged to work with other contributors to correct information.

You can work with a contributor directly. Click a contributor’s name to see if he or she has provided contact information.  You can also identify your concerns on the ancestor’s discussion board. To see the discussion board, click the ancestor’s name to display the complete details. Then click Discussions, which is located in the lower-left side of the details. 

Eventually a feature will be added so that you will be notified when someone adds a comment to your discussion.  This will hopefully be in the November update.

You can now use tutorials to learn how to use the system. You can get to the list of tutorials in several ways: 1-On the Home page, click Learn How to Use FamilySearch. 2- Click any Help or Help with This Page link. Then click Tutorials and guides, which appear at the bottom of the help panel. 3- On the Home page, click Help Center, then click the Training & Resources tab.

New FamilySearch is found at https://new.familysearch.org This web site has three main goals: 1- Reduce the duplication of ordinances and research. 2- Simplify the process of preparing names. 3- Provide a way for families to work together to find, organize, and link their ancestors into families.

Shanna Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com.

 

Issue 33.10

What is FamilySearch Premier membership?

Premier membership gives you access to view information in record collection on FamilySearch.org that might otherwise be restricted or might cost to view.
Why does FamilySearch have Premier membership?

Since they do not own all of the collections they publish, and some record owners require compensation to maintain their collection, this method enables more collections to be available for research. FamilySearch invests in private archives by preserving records and making these collections searchable. FamilySearch and the archives have agreed by contract to allow access to everyone that assists them in this process. Without Premier membership, you can usually search the indexes of the restricted collections; however, the images may not be freely available.
Are the benefits of Premier membership available to everyone?

Yes, they are available to everyone through any of the following methods:

Index records and earn 900 points within a calendar quarter.

Use any family history center located around the world to access FamilySearch.

Belong to a sponsoring organization, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or another company or society that sponsors FamilySearch.

Additional methods of contributing to FamilySearch may also qualify you for Premier membership.
How much do I have to index to earn 900 points?

Indexing for approximately a half hour every week would usually earn the qualifying 900 points in a calendar quarter:
What is the difference between being a “member” and being a “Premier member?”

A member is anyone who has registered for a FamilySearch account. Some collections will require the researcher to at least be a member in order to view the information in the collection. A Premier member is someone who has qualified based on the guidelines above.
Are there ever collections that a Premier member cannot view?

Indexes for most collections will be available to Premier members; however, some archives require that you view the images on their Web sites, and at times they may charge to view those images.

Shanna Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com.

 

Issue 32.10

Part 4

In June the latest release .991 of new FamilySearch (nFS) was made public.  The web site is https://new.familysearch.org/. Several changes were made and one of my favorites is the Discussions feature.  It will eventually replace the Dispute feature.

What Happens to Discussions When Records Are Combined and Separated

When an individual’s record is combined with another record, the discussion boards are also combined. If an individual’s record is separated, the discussions go with the record to which they belong.  If you begin a discussion on an individual and that individual’s record is combined with another record, find the combined individual by navigating your tree or by using search. The discussion may be located in a different place within the discussion board.

If you cannot find a discussion that you were interested in, the record containing the discussion may have been separated from the record where the discussion was originally located. Do a search to find the correct record. If you cannot find it, the user who started it may have deleted it.

Seeing and Participating in Discussions

If the topic that you want to discuss is not already included in an individual’s discussion board, start a new discussion. When you want to contribute information to a topic that is already being discussed, you can add comments to the discussion.

Note: Because all discussions will eventually be visible to users who are not Church members, please discuss temple ordinances through e-mail.

1. On a view screen, click the individual whose discussions you want to see.

2. Display the individual’s complete details:

• If you are on the Family Pedigree with Details view, the complete details appear automatically beneath the pedigree.

• If you are on the Family Tree view, you can either double-click the individual or click View Details, which is located in the right panel.

• If you are on the Individual List view, click View Details, which is located in the right panel.

The individual’s complete details appear.

3. Click Discussions.

The system provides a discussion board for most individuals in the system. It does not provide a discussion board for individuals who are living or who have restricted records. If a discussion board is not allowed, the system displays a message instead of the discussion board.

4. Read through the discussions.

• To see the comments on a discussion, click Show.

• If a discussion or comment is too long to be displayed on the screen, click Read more.

5. (Optional) To add a comment to an existing discussion, follow these steps:

a. Click the Comment link of the discussion or comment to which your comment pertains.

b. In the field that appears, enter your comment.

c. Click Post.

6. (Optional) To start a discussion about a new topic, follow these steps:

a. Click Start a New Discussion.

b. For the title, enter a brief description that introduces your concern.

c. In the next field, explain the issue.

Shanna Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com.

 

Issue 31.10

Part 3

In June the latest release .991 of new FamilySearch (nFS) was made public.  The web site is https://new.familysearch.org/. Several changes were made and one of my favorites is the Discussions feature.  It will eventually replace the Dispute feature.

Discussions are a great way to coordinate family history work with other FamilySearch users. Participating in discussions is easy. They work like social networking sites that you may already use. Each deceased individual in the system has a discussion board, where you can do the following:

• Identify yourself as someone who is interested in or actively working on an individual or family line.  For example I could add to my ancestor John Sullivan that there is a DNA test with active participants at FamilyTreeDNA and to contact me for more information or to participate.

• Coordinate the correction of errors and additional research with other interested users.  An example here would be to question the validity of a mother being age 56 when the last baby was born and suggest further research on the family.

• Call attention to incorrect information on the individual’s record.  An example in this case would be to explain that the Ancestral File lists Thomas Carter’s parents as Thomas Snell but actually they are in no way related and this is a perpetuated error that I have corrected.  This will deter others who have also downloaded the erroneous information not to add the incorrect information again. 

Note: Because all discussions will eventually be visible to users who are not Church members, please discuss temple ordinances through e-mail.

Advantages of the Discussions Feature

The discussions feature provides a cooperative environment where issues can be discussed and resolved. It has many advantages over the dispute feature, which discussions will eventually replace.

• Adding a dispute blocks a user’s ability to make the needed corrections. Discussions do not.

• The dispute feature is not cooperative. It is difficult to question a dispute, defend the disputed information, or add additional information that identifies correct information.

• The discussion feature lets you work with users who do not allow the system to display their e-mail address or other contact information.

• The sources and reasoning required to resolve a dispute are valuable and should be preserved with the record. Using the discussions feature to coordinate corrections preserves this valuable information with the individual’s record.

• A “discussion” sounds less contentious than a “dispute.”

If you have added disputes to records, I recommend you go back and remove them and open up a constructive discussion instead.

Shanna Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com

Issue 30.10

Part 2

In June the latest release .991 of new FamilySearch (nFS) was made public.  The web site is https://new.familysearch.org/. Several changes were made and the search feature now has exact search options for names, event dates, and event places.  You can use exact search options to narrow your searches. 

For example, you conduct the following search without using any exact match options:

First name: Thomas

Last name: Wall

Birthplace: Liverpool, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Your search results contain everyone with the name Thomas or a variation of it (such as Tom, Thom, Tomás, Thos., and so forth), everyone with the last name Wall or one of its variations, and everyone born in the city of Liverpool, the county of Lancashire, or the country of England.

With the exact option on the names, you get only records that contain Thomas as a first or middle name and Wall in the last name. With the exact option on the place-name, you get only records with a birthplace of Liverpool, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom.

To see the exact search options, click Show advanced, which is located to the right of the Search button.

Searching for Deceased Individuals Using Names and Other Information

You can find out whether a deceased individual is in the system by searching with his or her name, gender, and other information.

You must enter at least part of the name of the deceased individual or his or her father or mother. You can also add the following information:

• The individual’s gender.

• Names of the father, mother, and spouse.

• An event. This helps you limit your search to people who lived during a specific time in a specific place.

Important: You can use the Search feature to find deceased individuals only. You cannot use it to find living people.

Note: The Exact search options are available only when you select Multiple name fields.

Shanna Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com.

 

Issue 29.10

Computers are an indispensable tool for genealogists, both for research and for tracking data. Information about billions of individuals and family trees is available online. Unfortunately, many of today’s computer software tools are too complicated to use and do not give a global view of your genealogy. 

A new Windows™ genealogy program called BRANCHES uses an innovative approach to solving this problem.  BRANCHES is like having Google Earth™ for your genealogy.  You can see all the people and all the data in your database on one screen and then zoom down to see the detail, even a signature on a birth certificate.  And you can also see all relationships. 

Within just a few minutes, you can be doing everything in BRANCHES that you can do with other genealogy programs without reading lengthy manuals. You can add people and events, photos, videos and documents and manage all your data. 

BRANCHES also has a Google-like search capability that allows you to search your entire data base for names, places and even text in notes and then highlight the individuals in the main pedigree.  You can then zoom down into the place where that person is and see the information you searched for.  BRANCHES also has a small mini map which shows you where in your tree you are looking, so you can never get lost. 

BRANCHES is a full-featured desktop or laptop Windows application.  The company says that they developed BRANCHES to make arduous tasks easy, and to put the fun back into genealogy.  Because of it’s graphical nature, it is easy to learn and appeals to all ages. Yet it is powerful enough for the professional genealogist.

The company says that New Family Search capabilities are presently under development and will be released later this year. 

The company that developed BRANCHES, Sherwood Electronics Laboratories, Inc. has been in business over 27 years and has developed numerous hardware and software products for the mainframe, mini and PC computer environments. 

BRANCHES can be downloaded from the internet.  The program costs $39.95 one time fee. There is also a 30 day free trial of the full version for those who would like to try it out before they buy.  Go to the website, www.branchesgenealogy.com for more information.

Shanna Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com.

 

 

Issue 28.10

Often when we use new programs or come across problems that we haven’t seen before, we need help.   The New FamilySearch website has an innovative feature called Help Center that is updated constantly to help answer questions, teach users how to use the program, update us about new features and answer frequently asked questions. 

A link to the Help Center can be found at the bottom of almost any page in new FamilySearch.  You can use the Help Center to find your own answers to any questions that you have about new FamilySearch as well as other family history related questions.

The Find Answers tab has a Search bar for entering key words in order to find your own answers.  The Feedback tab gives you options to make suggestions directly to the engineers, or create an email case for missionaries to assist you with your questions.  The Local Assistance tab lists your ward Family History Consultants and a link to find the location of your nearest Family History Center.  The Training and Resources tab has lessons on how to use new FamilySearch.  You can also find other resources for participating in family history efforts.  The My Cases tab has a list of your open cases.  You can even click on the closed cases link to reopen a case if you need more assistance from the support missionaries on that case or just want to review an answer to the question again. 

I encourage you to become familiar with the Help Center in the New FamilySearch website for immediate answers to your family history questions.  Even if you have visited the help center before and didn’t find an answer to your question, try again.  I have found documents to address my questions that have been created within the last week.  Just when I thought I had found a situation in new FamilySearch that just could not be corrected, I was able to find a document that helped me to know the steps to correct the problem.  Sometimes it will require Feedback to be sent and the case will need to be escalated to a higher level, but things can be corrected.  They want things to be as accurate as possible.

New FamilySearch can be found at new.familysearch.org. 

Shanna Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com.

 

Issue 27.10

FamilySearch invites you to become a member of the FamilySearch online community. The community resources will become invaluable as you do your own family history work or help others with theirs. In addition, community members’ experience and assistance is needed in building online help for family history enthusiasts and newcomers. 

COMMUNITY RESOURCES

FamilySearch Research Wiki

On the Research Wiki you can:

Find information about resources available for family history research in a particular geographic area.

Determine where best to look for records from a specific time period.

Add information about a place that you’ve been to or researched.

Add information about records or archives that will help others.

You can access the Research Wiki by clicking this link: https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Main_Page . You do not need to register in order to contribute to the site if you already have an LDS Account.

FamilySearch Forums 

On the FamilySearch Forums site, you can find answers to any question that you may have. Here you can ask about:

Specific ancestors that you’re trying to find.

Which records are best for a particular time period.

Locations of resources.

Features of new.familysearch.org.

Any other FamilySearch product or Web site, such as the Indexing site.

To access the FamilySearch Forums, click here: http://forums.familysearch.org . If you register on the site, you will need to set up a user name and password because the Forums site has not yet converted to the LDS Account system. Hint: It is recommended that when you register for Forums, you choose the same user name and password that you use for your LDS Account so that you will not have to change your user information later.

Join the community, and contribute to both the FamilySearch Research Wiki and the FamilySearch Forums! Others need the information that you have.  You can also learn many new ideas and learn from others’ expertise.  Both the FamilySearch Research Wiki and the FamilySearch Forums improve as more patrons use and contribute to these sites. 

Shanna Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com.

Issue 26.10

Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family resource, recently revealed a Mac® version of Family Tree Maker® at the 2010 National Genealogical Society Family History Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The new version of the world’s No. 1 selling family history software is planned for release later this year.

“Every innovation or update we make is driven by what customers tell us they need to further their family history research,” said Eric Shoup, Senior Vice President of Product. “The Mac version of Family Tree Maker was the obvious next step forward to add to our family of Ancestry.com products and is a much anticipated product for our Mac-based customers.”

Family Tree Maker has helped users organize their family history research for more than 20 years. The software provides users the tools they need to build a family tree, record memories and organize photos, stories, videos and audio clips in a way that will help easily capture and share the story of their ancestors.

Family Tree Maker accesses the robust collection of family history records and powerful search features from Ancestry.com – without leaving the software. When connected to the Internet, Family Tree Maker automatically searches Ancestry.com for historical documents about the individuals in the user’s family tree. Ancestry.com subscribers can easily view and import these historical records into their family tree with just a few mouse clicks.

Family Tree Maker 2010 is the current PC version of the software. The Mac version of Family Tree Maker will be built on the functionality of Family Tree Maker 2010 and constructed from the bottom up to take full advantage of the Mac platform in terms of technology and user experience.

Early this year, Ancestry.com expanded to another Apple® platform: the iPhone®. With the launch of its Tree To Go iPhone application in January 2010, Ancestry.com now gives users access to generations of family history at every turn. From their iPhone, users can easily upload photos, update sources and edit trees. The Tree To Go iPhone application is available for iPhone and iPod touch® for free through the iPhone App Store or iTunes®.

Shanna Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com.