FamilySearch Announces RootsTech 2018 FREE Live-Streaming Classes

I received this information from FamilySearch today:

=================================================

Popular RootsTech 2018 Announces Free Online Broadcast Schedule

Salt Lake City, Utah (12 February 2018), Mark your calendars! RootsTech, the world’s largest family history and technology conference, happening February 28 to March 3, 2018, announced its free live online streaming schedule. It will broadcast 19 of its popular sessions, including former Olympic gold-medalist Scott Hamilton; Brandon Stanton, founder of the Humans of New York photo blog; host of the popular PBS show Finding Your Roots, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.,   Natalia Lafourcade, and Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International. 

The live broadcasts give those unable to attend in-person a sampling of the show's marquee content. Interested viewers can watch the select broadcasts live at RootsTech.org. No registration is required to view the live streams.

"RootsTech 2018 offers over 300 sessions for those able to attend in-person," said Tyler Stahle, RootsTech marketing manager. "However, the 19 sessions we will live stream for free will expand the show's reach and give more people the opportunity to participate remotely in this world class conference." In 2017, streaming sessions garnered more than 50,000 views, and that number continues to grow each year.

The free streamed sessions will include the popular general sessions and a sampling of technology and family history presentations appealing to varied interests.

RootsTech Live Streaming Schedule  

Watch at RootsTech.org. No registration is required to view the live streams. All times are in Mountain Standard Time (MST).

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

9:30 a.m.: Family History in 5 Minutes a Day – by Deborah Gamble

Explore 20 ways to effectively do your family history in as little as 5 minutes a day.

11:00 a.m.: DNA: One Family, One World (Sponsored by Living DNA) – by David Nicholson

A new project by Living DNA is mapping the world's DNA, building one world family tree through genetics. Gain insight into how this will impact your family history.

1:30 p.m.: Organizing and Preserving Photograph Collections – by Ari Wilkins

Step-by-step direction in organizing, preserving, and cataloging photo collections for future generations and identifying, digitizing, and sharing collections using family trees and social media.

3:00 p.m.: Finding the Answers: The Basics of WWII Research – by Jennifer Holik

Fire destroyed many US military and civilian service records. Alternative record sources exist to reconstruct service history. Learn how to research World War I and II records.

4:30 p.m.: Wednesday General Session and Innovation Showcase – by Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International

Steve Rockwood explores where industry giant, FamilySearch, has been and is going. Introduction of the all-new RootsTech Innovation Showcase.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

8:30 a.m.: Thursday General Session – by Brandon Stanton, founder of Humans of New York

Brandon Stanton started Humans of New York, a photography and storytelling blog. HONY has built a devoted following of over 20 million fans across several social media platforms.

11:00 a.m.: MyHeritage DNA 101: From Test to Results – by Yaniv Erlich

Learn about the MyHeritage DNA service and how the process works, from taking the test to the lab analysis. Learn about MyHeritage DNA's over 40 ethnicities and how to optimize your DNA matches.

1:30 p.m.: Google Photos: Collect, Organize, Preserve, and Share – by Michelle Goodrum

Google Photos is a powerful, free app for storing, organizing, and sharing. Learn how to edit and create photo projects and automatically add your photos to the app from digital devices.

3:00 p.m.: Unlocking Roman Catholic Records – by Brian Donovan

The Catholic Church is essential for uncovering the lives of millions of immigrants from many nationalities. See how findmypast and the Catholic Church are working to make these records easily accessible.

4:30 p.m.: A Gift of Life: Who's Writing Your Story? - by Deborah Abbott

Only you can tell the real stories of love, loss, forgiveness, and change. Don't leave the task of finding the answers of your life's history to someone else. Take the time to write your life story.

Friday, March 2, 2018

8:30 a.m.: Friday General Session – by Scott Hamilton, Olympic Skater

Scott Hamilton is the living example that good guys CAN finish first! He is an Olympic champion, cancer survivor, television broadcaster, speaker, author, husband/father, and eternal optimist!

11:00 a.m.: findmypast's British and Irish Hidden Gems (Sponsored by findmypast) – by Myko Clelland

Explore some of the wonderful findmypast.com collections that can help you break down your British ancestry brick walls, go back further in your family research, and add untold color and detail to your family story.

1:30 p.m.: Finding the Right DNA Test for You – by Jim Brewster

DNA testing is becoming an integral tool, but what is it and what does it do? How can DNA actually help your genealogy? If you are brand new to genetic genealogy, this is the class for you.

3:00 p.m.: How Not to Leave Your Genealogy Behind – by Amy Johnson Crow and Curt Witcher

Nobody wants their genealogy research to end up in a landfill. Hear a few horror stories of genealogy materials destroyed and how you can avoid those mistakes.

4:30 p.m.: Finding Elusive Records at FamilySearch – by Robert Kehrer

Learn new skills and techniques used by the experts and lesser known record identification tools and features of the FamilySearch website.

Saturday, March 3, 2018

8:30 a.m.: Saturday General Session – by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Natalia Lafourcade

Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., host of popular PBS Finding Your Roots series, and Natalia Lafourcade, one of the most successful Latin American pop singers, will keynote this opening session.

11:00 a.m.: Civil Registration Indexes of England and Wales – by Audrey Collins

England and Wales national indexes and recent innovations at the General Register Office have opened up new possibilities and completely new indexes.

1:30 p.m.: Advancing Your Genealogy Research with DNA (Sponsored by Ancestry) – by Anna Swayne

Learn what new tools AncestryDNA has to advance your research and get more out of your DNA results.

3:00 p.m.: Pain in the Access: More Web for Your Genealogy – by Curt Witcher

Library, archive, government, and specialized websites have much to offer. Discover these sites and strategies for getting more online data.

You can find this announcement online in the FamilySearch Newsroom. 

=============================================

I am a RootsTech 2018 Ambassador, and have received a complimentary registration to RootsTech this year and in past years, which includes access to the Media Hub, Media dinners, and other opportunities.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2018/02/familysearch-announces-rootstech-2018.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Checking Out the New FamilySearch Home Page and Search Forms

...
I visited the FamilySearch home page (https://www.FamilySearch.org) today and was surprised to see a new design:

There are search fields for "First Name" and "Last Name", in the prominent box.  Links to "Trees," "Catalog" and "Books" are below the two search fields.  There is also a "More Search Options" link on the same line as the other links. 

Below the picture, on the right-side, are links for "Featured Collections" and "Browse by Location."  Further down the page are links to "Getting Started," "Online Help," "Personal Help," "Research Classes," "Volunteer" and "Tech Advice."

I wanted to add more information for a search for William Knapp (1775-1856), so I entered the names in the fields and clicked on "More Search Options."  I had to re-enter the names, and entered a birth place and birth year range in the search fields in the "Advanced" form:

I could have added Events for "Any," "Birth," "Marriage," "Residence," and "Death."  I could have added a relationship for "Spouse" and/or "Parents."  I could have searched by "Batch Number."

With the name, birth place and birth date range entered (and clicked "exact"), I clicked on "Search" and saw:

This screen shows me the nine matches, four of which match the exact search criteria.  The other five don't match exactly.  At the bottom of the page, there is an indication that there were 8 matches in family trees (either Ancestral File or Pedigree Resource File).

If I want to modify my search criteria, I can click on the down arrow next to "Refine Your Search" in the upper left-hand corner and see my search fields, and could choose to add more search terms for Marriage, Residence, death, spouse and Parents, as shown below:

There is a list of Filters on the left-hand panel also - for Collections, Birthplace, Birth Year, Residence Place, Residence Year, Death Place, Death Year, and Gender.  I have never been able to use these Filters effectively!

The new design is nice, and the search form has been improved to add more flexibility to searches. Those are all good things.  However, I wish that FamilySearch would show the "Refine Your Search" fields automatically instead of making the user click the down arrow on the Results page.  My sense (gleaned from society colleagues) is that many users don't know about the "Refine Your Search" down arrow and waste time, and have much frustration, when they need to change their search criteria.

Now I have to modify almost all of my screen captures in my "Using FamilySearch.org Effectively" presentation again.

FamilySearch Research Courses - 209? 273? 262?

...
It used to be fairly easy to tell how many Research Courses there were available on the FamilySearch Learning Center - you could count them.  They also highlighted the new ones to help users find them.

Now, the Learning Center page has a list of places associated with the research courses, and there are 209 of them.  Unless some have more than one place associated with them.

There is also a set of links for Skill Level - 40 are Advanced, 45 are Beginner and 188 are Intermediate.  That adds up to 273.

There are five new courses highlighted:

*  Finding Records of LDS Ancestors (36 minutes)

*  Germany Beginning Research Series Lesson 1: Getting Started (15 minutes)

*  Germany Beginning Research Series Lesson 2: Learn about Historical Background (30 minutes)

*  Getting Started with Family History Research (12 minutes)

*  Tracing Family Traits Using a Genogram (20 minutes)

You would think that these would be the last five added, but I'm not sure that that is the case.  The highest number of the five above, in the URL for the course, is #262.  Perhaps some have been numbered and not added to the list yet?

The most popular research courses are listed as:

*  5 Minute Genealogy Episode 1: Find a Record in Five Minutes (5 minutes)

*  African American Genealogical Research at the Library of Congress (29 minutes)

*  Genealogy Boot Camp (27 minutes)

* Ireland Beginning Research Series Immigration Part 1: Strategies (21 minutes)

*  My Experiences in German Family Research (59 minutes)

There is a wealth of educational material here for all levels of genealogists and family historians.  I hope that my readers are taking advantage of them, and are encouraging colleagues to use them also. 

New and Updated FamilySearch Historical Collections - May 2011

...
I last listed the new or updated collections on the FamilySearch Historical Collections website on 2 May, when there were 605 collections on the list. Since then, these Historical Record Collections have been added or updated to make a total of 633 collections as of today

U.S. Social Security Death Index, updated 30 May 2011, 89,610,305 records
Wisconsin, Probate Estate Files, 1848-1933, updated 27 May 2011, images only
Italy, Civil Registration, 1806-1940 , updated 27 May 2011, 102,724 records
Saskatchewan Provincial Records, new collection, added 27 May 2011, images only
Vermont, Windham County, Westminster District, Probate Records, 1781-1921, new collection, added 27 May 2011, images only

Canada, Ontario, Toronto Trust Cemeteries, 1826-1935, new collection, added 27 May 2011, 14,864 records
Guatemala Civil Registration, 1877-1934, updated 27 May 2011, 22,448 records
Quebec Notarial Records, 1800-1900, updated 27 May 2011, images only
Germany, Brandenburg and Posen, Church Book Duplicates, 1794-1874, new collection, added 27 May 2011 1,616,960 records
Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850, updated 27 May 2011 1,101,150 records

Louisiana, First Registration Draft Cards, compiled 1940-1945, new collection, added 26 May 2011, images only
Brazil, Catholic Church Records updated 26 May 2011, images only
Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954, updated 26 May 2011, 1,206,606 records
Mexico, Michoacán, Catholic Church Records , new collection, added 25 May 2011, images only
Guatemala, Guatemala, Ciudad de Guatemala, Censo, 1877, updated 24 May 2011 21,173 records

Maine, State Archive Collections, updated 20 May 2011, images only
Mexico, Tabasco, Catholic Church Records, updated 20 May 2011, images only
Georgia Headright and Bounty Land Records, 1783-1909, new collection, added 18 May 2011, images only
Poland, Roman Catholic Church Books, 1600-1950, updated 18 May 2011, 1,002,155 records
New York, Orange County Probate Records, 1787-1938, new collection, added 18 May 2011, images only

Argentina, Catholic Church Records, updated 18 May 2011, 397,859 records
Alabama, County Probate Records, new collection, added 18 May 2011, images only
Maryland, Probate Estate and Guardianship Files, 1796-1940, updated 16 May 2011, 27,021 records
Virginia, Danville City Cemetery Records, 1833-2006, new collection, added 16 May 2011, images only
District of Columbia Deaths, 1874-1959, new collection, added 16 May 2011, 103,160 records

Germany, Baden, Church Book Duplicates, 1810-1869, updated 16 May 2011, 107,547 records
Rhode Island, State Census, 1885, updated 13 May 2011, 302,482 records
Czech Republic Church Books, 1552-1935, updated 13 May 2011, 39,869 records
Spain, Municipal Records, updated 13 May 2011, 20,068 records
New York, Queens County Probate Records, 1899-1921, new collection, added 13 May 2011, images only

Mexico Census, 1930, updated 12 May 2011, 3,129,551 records (complete!)
Peru, Civil Registration, 1874-1978, updated 11 May 2011, 163,944 records
Maryland, Register of Wills Books, 1792-1983, updated 11 May 2011, images only
Mississippi, Tippah County Records, 1836-1923, updated 11 May 2011, images only
Ohio, Stark County Court Records, 1809-1917, updated 11 May 2011, images only

Alabama, County Marriages, 1809-1950, new collection, added 11 May 2011, 216,021 records
Canada, Lower Canada Census, 1831, new collection added 11 May 2011, images only
Luxembourg Births and Baptisms, 1662-1840 , updated 11 May 2011 7,685 records
Mexico, Jalisco, Catholic Church Records, updated 11 May 2011, images only
Texas, Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Membership Applications, 1892-2010, new collection, added 10 May 2011, images only

California, San Mateo County Records, 1856-1967, updated 10 May 2011, images only
Tennessee County Marriages, 1790-1950, updated 10 May 2011, 243,460 records
Arkansas, Draft Registration Cards, compiled 1948-1959, new collection, added 10 May 2011, images only
Michigan, County Marriages, 1820-1935, new collection, added 10 May 2011, images only
Texas, Gonzalez de la Garza Genealogy Collection, new collection, added 10 May 2011, images only

South Carolina Probate Records, Files and Loose Papers, 1732-1964, new collection, added, 9 May 2011, images only
South Carolina Probate Records, Bound Volumes, 1671-1977, new collection, added 9 May 2011, images only
Philippines Civil Registration, 1945-1996, new collection, added 9 May 2011, images only
Germany Church Records, 1544-1945, new collection, added 9 May 2011, images only
United States, Civil War Soldiers Index, new collection, added 9 May 2011 6,282,360 records

Germany, Mecklenburg-Schwerin Census 1867, new collection, added 9 May 2011, images only
United States, Registers of Enlistments in the U. S. Army, 1798 - 1914, new collection, added 9 May 2011, images only
Russia, Samara Church Books, 1869-1917, new collection, added 9 May 2011, images only
New York State Census, 1865, updated 9 May 2011, images only
Germany, Miscellaneous City Records, updated 6 May 2011, images only

Mexico, State of Mexico, Catholic Church Records, updated 5 May 2011, images only
Puerto Rico Civil Registration, 1836-2001, updated 5 May 2011, 12,475 records
Spain, Cádiz, Passports, 1810-1866, updated 5 May 2011, images only
New Brunswick Provincial Deaths, 1815-1938, updated 5 May 2011, 172,406 records
Vermont Enrolled Militia Records, 1861-1867

Mexico, Morelos, Catholic Church Records, 1598-1969, updated 5 May 2011, images only
United States, Naval Enlistment Rendezvous, 1855-1891, new collection, added 5 May 2011, 262,742 records
Minnesota, Death Records, 1866-1916, new collection, added 4 May 2011, 383,230 records
Chinese Genealogies, updated 4 May 2011, images only
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891, updated 4 May 2011, images only

Austria, Vienna Population Cards, 1850-1895 updated 2 May 2011, 54,980 records
Netherlands, Passenger lists Holland-America Line, 1900-1974, new collection, added 2 May 2011, images only
Virginia Births and Christenings, 1853-1917, new collection, added 2 May 2011, 1,422,855 records
New Zealand, Immigration Passenger Lists, 1855-1973, updated 2 May 2011, 451,538 records

In the list above, I was able to identify many of the collections as newly added or a previously existing updated collection. When FamilySearch sends their email notifications to interested parties, they are identifying whether they are new or previously existing collections.

There are 69 items on the list above, but only 28 were newly added databases since 1 May. I will update the list as I receive information about the new databases.

  

All FamilySearch Historical Record Collections can be accessed at https://www.familysearch.org/s/collection/list. You can see the date that collections were recently added or updated by clicking on the "Last Updated" link.

  

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/new-and-updated-familysearch-historical.html

(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant, with proper attribution. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.

The New FamilySearch Family Tree - Post 2: Searching for Ancestors

...
In my previous post in this series, The New FamilySearch Family Tree - Post 1: I Have Access, I described some of the educational opportunites for researchers to learn ab0out the New FamilySearch Family Tree - an online inter-connected family tree that is currently open to all LDS church members and some non-LDS church members, including myself.

In this post, I want to go Searching for some of my ancestors to see what is in the existing family tree.

I'll start with logging into the system at http://new.familysearch.org/:

I entered my userID and password, and clicked on "Sign In" and saw:

This welcome screen gives me four options in the tabs - "Home," "Me and My Ancestors," "Search," and "Add New Information."  The links below the menu include all of those, plus "Whats New in FamilySearch," "Learn How to Use FamilySearch,"  "Update My Profile and Preferences," and "Help Center."

I wanted to Search for my grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents in the existing New FamilySearch Family Tree.  My grandparents had no search matches, but there were several entries for two sets of my great-grandparents.  However, the information was very sparase and had either no dates and locations or they were wrong.

I usually use my great-great-grandfather, Isaac Seaver as my "test case" for online family trees, so I'll do that here.  He was born in 1823 in Westminster, Mass. to parents Benjamin and Abigail (Seaver) Gates, died in 1901 in Leominster, Mass., married (1) Juliet Glazier in 1847, (2) Lucretia Townsend Smith in 1851, and (3) Alvina Matilda (Bradley) Lewis in 1888.

I clicked on the "Search" tab in the screen above, and received this screen:

I clicked on the "Advanced Search" screen to see what it included, as shown above.  The only difference between the "Basic Search" and "Advanced Search" is the addition of "Exact search" check boxes to every search field, and a "Match all terms exactly" match (all shown above).  The default screen is for "Multiple name field" (shown above), and the other choice is "Single name field" (which has no advanced search feature).

I entered "Given name" = "Isaac" and "Last name" = "Seaver" and "Event" = "Birth" and "Event Date" = "1823" (shown in screen above).  I did not select any "Exact match" boxes because I  wanted to see what possible matches there might be in the database.

Here is the first page of results (two screens):

There were 10 "Close Matches," which match the names (not exactly) and the event date within plus or minus 5 years.  You can see the information about each person on the list by clicking on the underlined name or the "Get Info" blue button to the left of the index entry. 

Of those 10 close matches, my Isaac Seaver is:

*  The first match (five stars)  is for Isaac Seaver, born 1823 Westminster, Mass., died 1 July 1870, Westminster Mass., spouse Abigail Gates, parents Benjamin Seaver and Abigail Gates.  His "Person Identifier" number is LWL3-LN4.  Hmm, that's not an "exact match."  The birth date is correct (but not exactly right), the birth place is correct (but not in standard format), the death date and death place are not correct, the spouse is not correct, but the parents are correct.

*  The second match (four stars) is for Isaac Seaver, born about 1824 in Westminster, Mass.  The birth date is approximately correct, and the birth place is correct.  No other data is provided.  His "Person Identifier" number is KDSC-2TY. 

*  Matches 3 through 10 of the "Close matches" are not my Isaac Seaver, and all of them have different "Person Identifier" numbers.

There are 7,869 "Possible Matches" on the screen (there are 20 matches per screen).  Of those on the first page, there are three that are my Isaac Seaver:

*  Match 3 (three stars) is Isaac Seaver with spouse Juliet Glazier, and no other information.

*  Match 9 (three stars) is Isaac Seaver with spouse Lucretia T., and no other information.

*  Match 10 (three stars) is Isaac Seaver with spouse Lucretia, and no other information.

On the next "Close Matches" page, there is one more match:

*  Match 18 (three stars) is Isaac III Seaver with spouse Lucretia, and no other information.

It appears that there are at least six entries for my Isaac Seaver in the New FamilySearch Family Tree.  None of them have the correct birth, marriage or death data for Isaac Seaver, although there are some entries that are correct.  The one entry with a death date is wrong, and that entry has a wrong spouse (the person named is actually Isaac's mother!).

It's painfully obvious to me that none of Isaac Seaver's descendants are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!  If someone had been, they would have found every birth, marriage and death record for Isaac Seaver because they are all available in free or subscription online websites.  The birth and first marriage are in Massachusetts Vital Record books.  The other two marriages and his death are in the Massachusetts Vital Record Indexes, 1841-1910 available on microfilm or at NEHGS. 

Some questions:

*  How did all of these entries occur?

*  How do we merge the different entries into an entry with documented and sourced information? 

*  How does someone with the correct information for my great-great-grandfather fix the erroneous data? 

 I'm not exactly sure of the answers yet, but we'll go look at some of the details to the first question in the next post. 

Please note that I did not "cherry-pick" this example.  I chose the person that I usually choose to look in online family trees, because there are enough birth, marriage, death, census, and military records to find him in any online family tree and many genealogy database collections.  This example sure shows up the "duplication problem" in the New FamilySearch Family Tree.   

The information about the New FamilySearch Family Tree says that the goal of FamilySearch is to be the very best online family tree there is.  I sincerely hope that it becomes that.  It's going to take time, however, and we all need to practice patience with it. 

I'm not trying to embarrass FamilySearch here.  I'm trying to understand this online family tree, and to show my readers some of the navigation processes and results that result from a Search of the tree.  FamilySearch  said they wanted feedback from me in their email, and they will receive it, more or less in real time.

If knowledgeable readers want to make comments to this post, or email me privately (rjseaver@cox.net), or write their own blog post about this, please feel free.  If you write comments on the blog, or email me, I would like to publish your responses, but will keep your name confidential if you desire.

New and Updated FamilySearch Historical Collections - April 2011

...

I last listed the new or updated collections on the FamilySearch Historical Collections website on 1 April, when there were 584 collections on the list.  Since then, these Historical Record Collections have been added or updated to make a total of 605 collections as of today 

• Netherlands, Passenger lists Holland-America Line, 1900-1974, [NEW database?] last updated 2 May 2011, Browse images only.
• Poland, Roman Catholic Church Books, 1600-1950,  [NEW database?] last updated 2 May 2011, Browse images only.
• Portugal, Braga Catholic Church Records, 1530-1890,  [NEW database?] last updated 2 May 2011, Browse images only.
• Illinois, Probate Records, 1819-1970,  [NEW database?] last updated 29 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Maine, State Archive Collections,  [NEW database?] last updated 29 Apr 2011, Browse images only.  

• Mexico, Puebla, Catholic Church Records, 1545-1970, last updated 28 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• El Salvador, Civil Registration Records, last updated 27 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Honduras, Church Records, last updated 27 Apr 2011, 26,521 records
• United States, 1890 Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War,  NEW database added 26 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Wales, Probate Abstracts, 1773-1780,  [NEW database?] last updated 26 Apr 2011, Browse images only.

• Brazil Civil Registration, 1870-2009, last updated 25 Apr 2011, 30,209 records
• Chile, Concepcion, Civil Registration, 1885-1903, last updated 25 Apr 2011, 70,449 records
• Maryland, Register of Wills Books, 1792-1983,  [NEW database?] last updated 25 Apr 2011, 1,123,070 records
• Mississippi, Tippah County Records, 1836-1923, NEW database added 25 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Ohio, Cuyahoga County Probate Files, 1813-1900, last updated 25 Apr 2011, Browse images only.

• Ohio, Stark County Court Records, 1809-1917, NEW datase added 25 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Switzerland, Basel City, Local Citizenship Requests, 1348-1798, NEW database added 25 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• District of Columbia Marriages, 1811-1950, NEW database added 21 Apr 2011, 377,681 records
• Italy, Civil Registration, 1806-1940, last updated 21 Apr 2011, 102,724 records
• Texas, Eastland County Records, 1868-1949 , last updated 21 Apr 2011, Browse images only.

• Washington State County Records; King, Kitsap and Pierce Counties, 1854-1950, last updated 21 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Louisiana Confederate Pensions,1898-1950 , last updated 20 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• New York State Census, 1892 , last updated 20 Apr 2011, 3,766,108 records
• Peru, Catholic Church Records , NEW database added 20 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Ontario Census, 1861 , last updated 19 Apr 2011, 1,709,804 records

• Virgin Islands US, Church Records , NEW database added 19 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• France, Coutances, Catholic Diocese, 1802-1907, last updated 18 Apr 2011, 218,677 records
• Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959, last updated 18 Apr 2011, 1,123,070 records
• Quebec Notarial Records, 1800-1900, last updated 18 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Illinois County Marriages, 1810-1934, last updated 15 Apr 2011, 323,712 records

• Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists, 1820-1891, NEW database added 15 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• New York, Northern Arrival Manifests, 1902-1956, NEW database added 15 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Case Files of Chinese Immigrants, 1900-1923, NEW database added 15 Apr 2011, Browse images only
• Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1882, NEW database added 15 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Kentucky, Death Records, 1911-1955, last updated 14 Apr 2011, 1,384,241 records

• Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, last updated 14 Apr 2011, 4,639,049 records
• Massachusetts Deaths and Burials, 1795-1910, last updated 14 Apr 2011, 1,545,640 records
• Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910, last updated 14 Apr 2011, 1,944,319 records
• Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887, NEW database added 14 Apr 2011, 68,176 records
• California, County Marriages, 1850-1952, last updated 13 Apr 2011, 281,432 records

• California, San Mateo County Records, 1856-1967, last updated 13 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Colombia, Catholic Church Records, last updated 13 Apr 2011, 41,672 records
• Jamaica, Civil Birth Registration, last updated 13 Apr 2011, 1,528,614
• Mexico Census, 1930, last updated 13 Apr 2011, 2,895,740 records
• Mexico, Chiapas, Catholic Church Records, 1558-1978, last updated 13 Apr 2011, Browse images only.

• Mexico, Nayarit, Catholic Church Records, 1596-1967, last updated 13 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Catholic Church Records, 1586-1970, NEW database added 13 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949, NEW database added 13 Apr 2011, 156,395 records
• Wisconsin, Probate Estate Files, 1848-1933, last updated 13 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Argentina, Catholic Church Records, last updated 12 Apr 2011, 397,859 records

• Argentina, Catholic Church Records (Image Browse), last updated 12 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Brazil, Catholic Church Records, last updated 12 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• France, Protestant Church Records, 1612-1906, last updated 12 Apr 2011, 87,872 records
• Spain, Cádiz, Passports, 1810-1866, NEW database added 11 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Costa Rica Church Records, 1595-1992, last updated 8 Apr 2011, 1,380,256 records

• England, Norfolk Bishop's Transcripts, 1685-1941, last updated 8 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• England, Norfolk Poor Law Union Records, 1796-1900, last updated 8 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• India, Hindu Pilgrimage Records, NEW database added 8 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Kansas, County Marriages, 1855-1910, last updated 8 Apr 2011, Browse images only.
• Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, last updated 8 Apr 2011, 217,414 records

• Nicaragua, Managua, Civil Registration, 1879-2007, last updated 8 Apr 2011, 363,085 records
• Spain, Municipal Records, last updated 8 Apr 2011, 20,068 records
• United States Census, 1930, last updated 8 Apr 2011, 16,485,816 records
• United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, last updated 8 Apr 2011, 4,696,276 records
• Arkansas County Marriages, 1837-1957, last updated 4 Apr 2011, 1,787,914 records

• England and Wales Census, 1891, last updated 4 Apr 2011, 31,782,845 records
• Oklahoma County Marriages, 1891-1959, NEW database added 4 Apr 2011,222,471 records
• Peru, Lima Civil Registration, 1874-1930, last updated 4 Apr 2011, 163,944 records
• U.S. Social Security Death Index, last updated 4 Apr 2011, 89,155,490 records

In the list above, I was able to identify many of the collections as newly added or a previously existing updated collection.  When FamilySearch sends their email notifications to interested parties, they are identifying whether they are new or previously existing collections.

There are 69 items on the list above, but only 21 were newly added databases since 1 April.  I will update the list as I receive information about the new databases.  All FamilySearch Historical Record Collections can be accessed at https://www.familysearch.org/s/collection/list.  You can see the date that collections were recently added or updated by clicking on the "Last Updated" link.

January 18th FamilySearch Bloginar is posted

The FamilySearch Bloginar (an online meeting of FamilySearch managers with bloggers and interested parties) held on Tuesday, 18 January is now available on the FamilySearch Wiki - see FamilySearch Bloginar Presentation - January 2011.

The agenda was:

1 p.m. Welcome. FamilySearch Bloginar/News Webinar Overview

1:05 Summary of latest collection updates
 .  Indexing milestone(s)

1:10 RootsTech 2011 Update: Overview of Scheduled Open Panels and Discussions (Gordon Clarke)
1:20 FamilySearch Research Courses Online

· 90 day outlook of upcoming developments
· New webinars and podcasts offerings
· Big picture of research curricula coming online
· Community involvement and training recording services

2:00 Remaining Questions and Answers
2:15 Hard stop

You can Watch a recording of the bloginar and Download a PDF version of the RootsTech overview presentation.

The RootsTech overview describes in detail the Open Interactive discussions, including:

th 3:00 PM --  “Value and use of APIs” moderated by Ancestry Insiderth 4:15 PM --  “How should we handle sources” moderated by Rick Laxmanh 9:45 AM --  “Exploring cemetery solutions” moderated by Gordon Clarketh 1:45 PM --   “How do we define a person” moderated by Phil Windleyth 9:46 AM --  “Genealogical data standards” moderated by Ancestry Insider

Thursday 10

Thursday 10

Friday 11t

Friday 11

Saturday 10

I participated in this Bloginar by listening  and speaking using my headphones connected to my computer, and by using the Chat box to ask questions or make comments during the event.  Some attendees connected to the Bloginar via telephone.  Others just watched the screen and used the chat box.  There were about 90 attendees connected to this Bloginar. 

I think that this type of presentation is beneficial to both the presenting company and the attendees.  For a minimum cost, the company can present their updated information, and the attendees learned something that can be written about and shared with colleagues. 

The FamilySearch Wiki page for "Bloginar" provides links to the bloginars held to date.