Teaching Children About Family History

FamilySearch asked their Facebook readers: "What are you doing to teach your children about the importance of family history?"  Some of their answers were:

1. When I have children, I want to tell them about what I have found.  I want to have them involved in the hunt as well.
2. Been writing life stories of our ancestors and sharing them with the kids.
3. I created or added to all the FindaGrave.com memorials for my first 6 generations of ancestors and encouraged the kids to check them out.

What ideas do you have?  Please comment!

Find Yourself On Google

Take a minute when you can and try finding yourself on google, you'd be surprised what you can find about yourself. I found my high school graduating class. I was hoping maybe I'm famous somewhere but guess not. It's also fun typing in relatives for example I typed in my grandpa and found his father's photo and tombstone. Try it, you'll find it entertaining! :)

Putting Photos On A Flash Drive

1. Find a picture in ancestry.com

2. Press Print screen on keyboard

3. Exit Ancestry

4. Click on start on the bottom of desktop

5. Click on all programs and select accessories

6. Click on paint

7. While in paint click on edit

8. Click paste

9. Then save as your file name as a jpeg document

10. Exit paint then go in to Irfanview on desktop

11. Click on file then open

12. Open your file from your flash drive

13. Edit- Crop selection

14. Save to Flash Drive

15. Exit Irfanview

I hope these instructions were helpful from a handout I was given.

Finding Names For Temple Work

Someone asked a question whether or not there was an easier way to find temple work that needs to be done on their family line, like if there was a way you can see all the names on one page that needed to be done by scrolling down the list? Answer to that is Legacy has a way where you can link all the names that creates a list of ordinances that are ready, but Family Search you have to just go through each couple and see what needs to be done.

You could move your info onto Legacy to make that list of people but if you already have everything on Family Search, you're better off to just use that rather than take so much time adding everything onto another site.

Searching For Death Records

When you search for a death record, you may have more success typing in the basic information only- First and Last name and death year. If the individual does have a middle name try leaving it out the first time while searching for them. Better chance you will find who you're looking for and if you don't have any luck then add in the middle name.

Common Merging Questions

The following information is from the Family Tree reference guide, last updated on 3 January 2013. Check back to the reference guide for updates and changes. But currently, these are the steps to take when facing some common problems while trying to merge possible duplicates. The "duplicate record" refers to the one that is on the right side of your screen and "the record being kept" refers to the record on the left side of your screen, while in the merging process.

What do I do when...

The duplicate record contains a more accurate or complete piece of information.

• Click Add or Replace to move the information to the record being kept.

The duplicate record contains information that is not correct.

• Do not move the information over to the record being kept. Click Reject. Before you finish the merge, make sure that all incorrect information remains on the right side of the screen.

The duplicate record contains a nickname or other name variation that should be preserved. 

• Write down the name from the duplicate record. After you finish merging the record, add the name as an Alternate name in the person’s Other Information section.

One record contains an accurate date. The other contains an accurate place. Neither record contains both the correct date and place. 

• 1. Click the information to see the contributor and reason statement.
• 2. Keep the version that is easiest to correct. If one version has a good reason statement, keep that version. It is often easier to enter a date or place than it is to write a clear reason statement.
• 3. Write down what corrections you need to make after the merge is done.

Both records contain different versions of a piece of information, but you do not know which is accurate.

• 1. Keep the most reasonable version. Reasonable information fits with the time, the place, and the family data that you already know is accurate.
• 2. Keep notes so that you know what further research to conduct about this person after you complete the merge.
• 3. Enter your concerns in the reason statement for the merge.
• 4. Enter your concerns in the person’s discussions.

The duplicate record contains duplicate spouses and children.

• 1. For each duplicate person, click Accept or Add to move him or her to the record that is being kept.
• 2. Finish the merge.
• 3. Go to the spouse's record, and merge the duplicates.
• 4. Go to the records of each child, and merge the duplicates.

The duplicate record contains duplicate parents. 

• 1. For each duplicate person, click Accept or Add to move him or her to the record that is being kept.
• 2. Finish the merge.
• 3. Go to the record of each parent, and merge the duplicates.

The duplicate record contains spouses, children, or parents that are not accurate.

• Do not move the information over to the record being kept.

The record being kept contains spouses, children, or parents that are not accurate.

• Return to the person’s record. Delete the relationships to the wrong spouses, children, or parents.

One or both records contain inaccurate sources. 

• 1. Finish the merge.
• 2. Go back to the person’s details page.
• 3. Detach or edit incorrect sources.

The duplicate record appears to be about a completely different person. 

• 1. Scroll to the bottom.
• 2. Click Not a Match.

Merging Duplicates in Family Tree

I've made a video showing the merge process, when you find a possible duplicate that you are confident is truly a duplicate. I advise everyone to research the person you are thinking about merging, so that you can make confident, source-based decisions on which information to keep and merge in, and which to reject or let go.

Research the person you're thinking about merging by looking at sources: either the sources that someone else has already attached, or by finding them on the internet and attaching them yourself. These sources often include census records, headstones, certificates (birth, marriage, death), or written histories. If someone has already attached sources to your individual, you will find them in the "Sources" section on the person's page in Family Tree. If you find them yourself, they will likely be on places like FamilySearch.org, FindAGrave.com, Ancestry.com, or other sites.

After you've looked at the sources and feel like you have an idea of who this person is, and what information seems accurate according to the sources, go to the person's page and click "Possible Duplicates", which is in the "Tools" box on the right side of the page. The possible duplicates show up, and you can click "Review Merge" to see everything in more detail and compare the records side by side. If they do seem to be the same person, keep the information that is most accurate. Everything on the left side will be kept, and things on the right will be discarded. So if there is some more accurate information on the right, move it over to the left by clicking "Replace" or "Add." At the end of the process, click "Continue." Then explain why the merge is correct to the best of your knowledge, then click "Finish Merge."

If the possible duplicate looks like it is actually not the same person, you won't click "Continue", you'll click "Not A Match." FamilySearch will no longer suggest this record that was on the right as a possible duplicate for the person you had on the left.

Feel free to leave comments if you have any questions or need clarification.