Handout for Danish Research Session has been added

See the article Planning your day – and look for the link to the Beginner Danish Research Sites

 

 

Thank you for your support of the 2017 Red Deer Rootstech Family History Fair

Thank you to everyone who attended the Family History Fair on 8 April – there were over 160 in attendance – and you were a wonderful group of people.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered.  An event like this does not happen without a lot of help and a lot of work.

That was a delicious lunch!  Amazing how they served that many people so quickly.

The Coaches in Coaches’ Corner were busy all day – and no one asked to see Don Cherry.

Thank you to the presenters – it is a lot of work to prepare and no small thing to speak in public.

We were grateful to get lots of completed evaluation forms.  Thank you for all of your positive and encouraging comments about the day.  We will carefully look at your comments.

We hope you have lots of new things to try.  Don’t forget to use the handouts posted on this site.

We will let you know when the new Web Indexing program becomes available.

Saturday was a very busy but happy day.  Thank you.

For more information on Family History try Peter’s Family History Notes

Plan Your Sessions for 8 April – and get the handouts

There is still a chance to register – but time is running out – click Here – once you complete registration you will get a message on the screen notifying you that it is complete – we need to know how many people are coming so we can be prepared.

Here is the hour by hour schedule and links to handouts.  Descriptions of each session were published previously – see the articles titled Live Sessions and Video Sessions.

You don’t need to print this document – we will be giving you a complete copy with session descriptions when you arrive on Saturday.

You should print the handouts attached to any sessions you might be planning to attend – look for the title following the word Handout.  Then you can annotate the handout with your own notes during the day.

Also be sure to bring a notebook and pen for note taking.

Registration:  9:00 to 9:30

Opening Session – 9:30 to 9.:50 – in the Chapel

Session 1 – 10.00 to 11.00

1a. “Genealogy Research in Ireland and Northern Ireland” by Mary Joan Cornett  in the Relief Society Room.  Handout ResearchIrelandNIreland.

1b. “Successfully Navigating FamilySearch” by Roxanne McCue  in the Spanish Room. Handout Successfully Navigating FamilySearch

1c.  DNA: The Glue that Holds Families Together video session by Diahan Southard in Chapel. Handout DNA The Glue That Holds Families Together

1d.  Getting Started in Genealogy video session by Kelli Bergheimer  in Triple Room. Handout Getting Started in Genealogy

Session 2 –  11:10 to 12:10

2a.  “Danish Research 101 for Beginners”  by Annette Ellingson in the Relief Society Room – Handout Beginner Danish research sites

2b.  “Comparing the Big 4…Ancestry, FamilySearch, FindMyPast & MyHeritage” by Roxanne McCue in the Spanish Room. Handout The Big 4 Handout

2c.  Metadata: “Writing on the Back” of a Digital Photo video session by Alison Taylor in Chapel. Handout Metadata Writing on the Back of a Digital Photo

2d.  Mothers, Daughters, Wives: Tracing Female Lines video session by Judy G Russell in Triple Room. Handout Mothers, Daughter, Wives Tracing Female Lines RT 3017

Lunch – 12:10 to 1:10 – in the cultural hall

Session 3 – 1:10 to 2:10

3a.  “Who Were the Germans From Russia?”  by Diane Lewis in the Relief Society Room. Handout Who were the Germans from Russia

3b.   “ Getting the Most from the Wiki at FamilySearch – and other hidden gems at FamilySearch”  by Peter and Linda Darby in the Spanish Room. Handout FamilySearchWiki

3c.  Don’t Just Be a Searcher, Be a Researcher video session by Crista Cowan in Chapel. Handout not from session but related  Getting the Most from Ancestry

3d.  Censational Census Strategies video session by Mary Kircher Roddy in Triple Room. Handout Censational Census Strategies

Remember that seating is on a first come first served basis – you may not always get into your first choice session.

If you have a special Family History problem then sign in for a 20 minute one on one session in Coaches’ Corner.

The Family History Centre will be open throughout the day (except for during lunch). See the online resources available (including premium FH sites), find your ancestors, learn about FamilySearch Indexing, learn about new features at familysearch.org,  and have your questions about FH answered.

Please complete an evaluation form at the end of the day – we appreciate your suggestions.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday 8 April at the LDS Church, Bower Building

Thank you to everyone who is working hard to prepare and help at this special day – that’s a lot of people!

Coaches’ Corner

We are excited to have Coaches’ Corner at the Family History Fair for the first time.  Registration for the Family History Fair  is still open – click Here

What is Coaches’ Corner?  Why should I want to go?

At previous Family History Fairs we have held a brick wall session.  The discussions and problems have been interesting, but we wanted to try to do more to help.

This year at the Rootstech Conference we noticed a new feature.  They had a Coaches’ Corner where you could book a 20 minute one on one session to discuss a brick wall or serious research challenge.  You had to sign up to reserve a space.

We thought we would give it a try!

We promise to listen carefully to your problem and try to offer helpful suggestions.  We also want to write the problem down and if we need to we will try to follow up with you after the Family History Fair – maybe we’ll need to do more research!

Please sign up at using the special form provided at the registration desk on the north side of the chapel.  Spaces are limited – so first come first served.

Then it was drawn to our attention that there is already a Coaches’ Corner in Canada.  We want you to know that we have been unable to get Don Cherry and Ron McLean to come.  Nor will we be wearing one of Don’s outfits!

See you on April 8th

Using the Family History Centre

We are grateful to have the Family History Centre open during the Family History Fair except for lunch time.  Registration is still open – click Here

Why go there?  Maybe you have already have access to Ancestry at home?

1.There is a long list of Premium Pay to use Websites available for free in the Family History Centre.  I can’t imagine that anyone would have subscriptions to all of them – that would be a lot of money.  But do you know what web sites are available and what is on these websites?  You will only find out if you come and take the time to look at each of them.

2.  What other online resources are available in the Family History Centre?

3.  Maybe you would like to find one of your ancestors that is being elusive?  – with someone to help you if you have a question

4.  Perhaps you would like to learn about FamilySearch Indexing?  Did you know that there is a new web based indexing program being released in a few weeks?

5.  Do you want to learn about new features at familysearch.org, and have your questions about Family History answered?

6.  Perhaps you would like help getting started with your family history?

7.  Perhaps you just have a research question?

The Family History Centre is a great resource and we are grateful to the volunteers who come to help.

Video sessions

Here is a list of the Video sessions planned for 8 April.  We are very grateful to Rootstech for making the presentations available – they let us download them – and hope you will enjoy them.  Remember, you are able to attend 3 sessions during the day. In each hour there will be a choice of 2 live sessions and 2 video sessions plus the Family History Centre will be open all day except lunch hour, and you have the opportunity to sign up for a one on one session in Coaches’ Corner.

Don’t forget to register!   Click Here

1c.  DNA: The Glue that Holds Families Together by Diahan Southard

My mom was adopted from an unwed mother’s home in Seattle, Washington. Come learn how we were able to use a combination of genetic and genealogical tools to connect with our biological family, and how it has affected our lives. Leave with concrete ideas on how to apply these same methods to your own personal genetic genealogy endeavors, whether you are looking for your father, or your 3X Great Grandfather.

1d.  Getting Started in Genealogy by Kelli Bergheimer 

How do you get started in genealogy? How do you organize what you know? Learn tools for success such as pedigree charts and family history software, where to go, and how to avoid common assumptions that can lead you astray.

2c.  Metadata: “Writing on the Back” of a Digital Photo by Alison Taylor

Writing on the back of a print is an easy way to identify what’s in a photo. But how do you identify a digital file? The answer is metadata: editable information that stays with a digital image no matter where it travels. Captions, keywords, search terms, family names, dates, and copyright information can all be added to a digital photo, and it’s not hard to do! This class will explain in a fun, non-techy fashion, using clear visual examples, how to find and add captions and other metadata to your digital photos no matter what computer, platform, or software you’re using.

2d.  Mothers, Daughters, Wives: Tracing Female Lines by Judy G Russell

Our family history isn’t complete without the stories of the women of our families. But all too often they’re the ones who just aren’t there: not in the records, not in the censuses, not on juries, not in the voting booth. Yet despite the limited public existence of women under the law, there are many records left by, about or relevant to our female ancestors. Learn how to find the mothers, daughters, wives in your lines through their own records and the records of their menfolk.

3c.  Don’t Just Be a Searcher, Be a Researcher by Crista Cowan

In this age of easy internet access to billions of genealogical records, internet search engines, and SIRI it is easy to think all we have to do is ask a computer for the identity of our great-great-grandparents. Searching is a great first step. But then we must research. And re-search. And re-search again. In this presentation we will cover the basics of good search strategies and some tips about how to be an even better researcher.

3d.  Censational Census Strategies by Mary Kircher Roddy 

The US Federal census and its “little brother,” the state census, are among the major workhorses of genealogical research. But are you getting the most out of them? This presentation presents 20+ tips for finding missing ancestors and mining the census for more clues for follow-up research.

Live Sessions

Here is a list of the live sessions planned for 8 April.  We are very grateful to those making the presentations and hope you will support them.  You are able to attend 3 sessions.  We hope that there will also be some video sessions from Rootstech 2017.  The Family History Centre will be open all day except lunch hour, and you have the opportunity to sign up for a one on one session in Coaches’ Corner.

Don’t forget to register!   Click Here

1a. “Genealogy Research in Ireland and Northern Ireland”. by Mary Joan Cornett

This is a presentation on how to trace your Irish ancestors. Specific topics covered will be based on the most important Irish genealogy collections: civil registration, church records, census records, census substitutes, land records, and court records. Examples will be given on how to use the records and where to find them.

1b. Successfully Navigating FamilySearch by Roxanne McCue

Do you know how to use FamilySearch Family Tree? What is the “Memories” section all about? Have you ever searched for your ancestors among the 325,000 plus digitized books? Do you know you can watch live webinars from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City? Many of them are recorded and they are later made available to watch in the comfort of your own home. Do you know how to effectively search the historical records, both those that have been indexed and those that have only been digitized? We will cover these topics and more…as time permits during this class.

2a.  “Danish Research 101 for Beginners” by Annette Ellingson

This session will provide information for people beginning research on Danish ancestors.  This will include discussion of the best sites on the internet to help begin your research in Denmark.

2b.  “Comparing the Big 4…Ancestry, FamilySearch, FindMyPast & MyHeritage” by Roxanne McCue

Each of these websites have tools and records to help you with your family history work. Do you really need to use more than one of these sites? This class will compare some important features of each site.  We will discuss subscription and free access options, family tree options within each site, searching strategies and some hidden gems.

3a.  “Who Were the Germans From Russia?”  by Diane Lewis

Do you know why your German-speaking ancestors came to North America from Russia over 125 years ago? It is definitely puzzling when one realizes that your German great great-grandparents actually lived in Russia during the 18 and 19^th century.  WHAT historical events were happening in Europe in the 1700’s to cause a massive migration from their homeland eastward to an unknown country?  This power-point presentation will help answer some of the questions of WHO, WHEN, HOW, and WHY.  It will also cover many aspects of an ancestor’s life in Russia, and why many emigrated again, looking for a better life in USA and Canada, whether they were Catholic, Protestant, Mennonites or Hutterites.  A major aspect of this talk will also reflect on a number of genealogy records available on the Internet and introduce you to a number of German/Russia genealogical organizations and websites in Canada and United States

3b.   “ Getting the Most from the Wiki at FamilySearch – and other hidden gems at FamilySearch”  by Peter and Linda Darby

What records are there for my ancestor in that country? Where can I find them? Did you know that there is a free online encyclopedia on how to do family history research? This session will show you how to get the most from the FamilySearch Wiki, and then share with you other hidden gems from FamilySearch.