Tonia's Roots » FamilySearch Indexing http://www.toniasroots.net Family History and Genealogy Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:01:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Weekly Updates for 2010-03-03 http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/03/03/weekly-updates-for-2010-03-03/ http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/03/03/weekly-updates-for-2010-03-03/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:35:00 +0000 Tonia Kendrick http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/03/03/weekly-updates-for-2010-03-03/

]]> http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/03/03/weekly-updates-for-2010-03-03/feed/ 0 Genealogy To-Dos – February Wrap-Up http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/02/28/genealogy-to-dos-february-wrap-up/ http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/02/28/genealogy-to-dos-february-wrap-up/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:26:38 +0000 Tonia Kendrick http://www.toniasroots.net/?p=2986

February turned out to be a good genealogy month.   I thought I might get sidetracked from my original plans by playing in the Geneablogger Games, but I was able to combine many tasks and make them work for both the Games and my To-Do list.

February Plan:

  • Write 10 blog posts – This post makes 10.  Done!
  • Abstract (or update previously-done abstractions, if necessary) 10 census pages and update the citations. – 9 completed, although I may get one more done this evening.  Stephen Lawson HH 1840, 1850, 1860; Dave Butler HH 1930; Thomas Lytle HH 1850; Elizabeth Mann 1850; John D. Whitener HH 1850; William Holt HH 1850; Logan Whitener HH 1850.
  • Index some names on FamilySearch – Indexed 50 names from 1910 Massachusetts census.  I think I should get extra points for this.  Many were Greek immigrants and I had a hard time deciphering the names.  Done!
  • Scan 5 photos & process 5 headstone photos. – Done!  I have no more headstone photos to process, until I visit another cemetery, that is.
  • Look for (online) source records to verify facts referenced in pp. 11-15 of Butler Ahnentafel report.  I’m almost finished with p. 13.  I’ve determined that five pages of this is too much to do in one month.  March’s goal will be three pages.

I accomplished almost everything I set out to do, plus I did quite a few other genealogy-related things (such as The Notebook Project A-Baxter).  This was a productive month.  How was yours?

]]> http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/02/28/genealogy-to-dos-february-wrap-up/feed/ 1 February Genealogy To-Dos http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/02/02/february-genealogy-to-dos/ http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/02/02/february-genealogy-to-dos/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:13:18 +0000 Tonia Kendrick http://www.toniasroots.net/?p=2796

I’m setting more modest goals this month, since I didn’t get much genealogy done last month.

So, for February:

  • Write 10 blog posts
  • Abstract (or update previously-done abstractions, if necessary) 10 census pages and update the citations.
  • Index some names on FamilySearch
  • Scan 5 photos & process 5 headstone photos.
  • Look for (online) source records to verify facts referenced in pp. 11-15 of Butler Ahnentafel report.

That’s the plan.  I’ll report back with the results at the end of February.

]]> http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/02/02/february-genealogy-to-dos/feed/ 2 Help Others, Help Yourself http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/01/10/help-others-help-yourself/ http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/01/10/help-others-help-yourself/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 13:19:43 +0000 Tonia Kendrick http://www.toniasroots.net/?p=2631

There are many opportunities to volunteer within the genealogy community.  Whether it is working with a genealogical society, indexing records, performing “Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness,” or fulfilling Find-a-Grave requests, opportunities large and small abound.  I would even venture to say that all us geneabloggers are volunteers every time we write a blog article; after all, we are sharing our knowledge, our expertise, and the fruits of our own labors and very few of us get paid for doing so.

I recently started indexing records for FamilySearch.  I had read about the project many months ago, on Dear Myrtle’s blog, and had even gone to the FamilySearch indexing site a few times, but I didn’t join until November.  The project appealed to me for several reasons.

  1. I like the fact that FamilySearch records are provided to the public at no charge.  I subscribe to some of the “pay” sites and I think they are worth every penny, but if I’m going to volunteer my time, I would prefer to do so for a non-profit organization.
  2. I can index as much or as little as I want, given the fluctuating demands on my time.  I’m not committed to anything, which means I don’t have to guilty when life gets in the way of genealogy.
  3. I can index from the comforts of home, in my jammies, if I so choose.

My first experience was serendipitous.  I logged into the site and went to the download batch page.  As I looked over the list of projects, “US, Georgia – Deaths 1928-1929” jumped out at me.  I live in Georgia, as did many of my ancestors, and I use the Georgia online archives – Georgia’s Virtual Vault – all the time.  Several months ago, they put up a collection called “Georgia Non-Indexed Death Certificates, 1928-1930” with a note that indexing was in process.  I quickly realized that the indexing was being handled by FamilySearch volunteers.  Not only would I be helping the genealogy community at large, but my efforts also would help my own state improve its already excellent online archives.

I downloaded my first batch of ten death certificates.  The indexing instructions are very easy to follow and the software even highlights the field you are working on each time.  The first field to index was the county of death.  This was my second moment of serendipity.  The death certificate I was looking at was for Whitfield County, which is adjacent to the county where I live.

My third moment of serendipity came a few certificates later, when I saw that the deceased individual was buried in a cemetery where several of my ancestors are buried.  I then recognized the attending physician’s name, Dr. Morgan Bates – he was a boarder in my great-great-grandfather’s home in 1900.1

The signs clearly told me that I had chosen the right volunteer project.  Since that first batch, I’ve indexed three more batches of Georgia death certificates, and I’m pleased to say that that project is completed.  I can’t wait for the results to be posted at both FamilySearch and Georgia’s Virtual Vault.

I’m currently working on a page from the 1910 census in Santa Clara County, California.  While I haven’t seen any names that I know and I’m not familiar with the locations, I’m having just as much fun with this batch, because it is so different from what I usually see on the census records of my ancestors.  My people all came to America before the mid-1700’s, so I’m not used to seeing immigration information on census records, since birthplaces weren’t recorded until 1850.  This California page that I’m working on has people who were born (or their parents were born) in England, Germany, and Ireland, as well as a wide variety of states.

1910 Census - Immigration Year highlighted

And I had no idea that the 1910 census recorded the year of immigration for individuals born outside our country.  I had never seen a 1910 census page that had anything recorded in that column, so I never paid any attention to it, until I began working on this batch.  Not only am I volunteering, but I’m also expanding my own knowledge of genealogy while I work.

I think we’ve all been helped by others as we’ve pursued our family histories, and we’ve helped others along the way.  If you are interested in volunteering with FamilySearch indexing, click here.

“It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

  1. 1900 U.S. census, Murray County, Georgia population schedule, Ball Ground, enumeration district (ED) 69, sheet 4 B, dwelling 73, family 73, Morgan P. Bates; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed 23 Feb 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 213. ↩
]]> http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/01/10/help-others-help-yourself/feed/ 3 Weekly Updates for 2010-01-06 http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/01/06/weekly-updates-for-2010-01-06/ http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/01/06/weekly-updates-for-2010-01-06/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:35:00 +0000 Tonia Kendrick http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/01/06/weekly-updates-for-2010-01-06/

]]> http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/01/06/weekly-updates-for-2010-01-06/feed/ 1 January Genealogy To-Dos http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/01/02/january-genealogy-to-dos/ http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/01/02/january-genealogy-to-dos/#comments Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:15:42 +0000 Tonia Kendrick http://www.toniasroots.net/?p=2252

I began blogging my genealogy to-dos last month and I’m pleased with the results.  Having the list out here for all to see keeps me accountable, plus I don’t feel like I’m tearing off in a hundred directions at once.  I can stay focused on what I want to accomplish this month and as I think of other things I want to do, I just jot them down in the draft for the next month’s post.

So, for January:

  • Write 10 blog posts
  • Abstract (or update previously-done abstractions, if necessary) 20 census pages and update the citations.  I haven’t located all these census pages yet, so some research will be in order.  Specifically work on the pages that include:  Robert West 1840, 1830, 1820, 1810, 1800;  Anna Mariah Cook 1840, 1830, 1820, 1810; Wyatt Lankford 1870, 1840, 1830, 1820, 1810; Morning Tabitha Bruer 1860, 1840, 1830, 1820; Abner Lankford – any (I just learned about him this week).
  • Index 30 names on FamilySearch
  • Scan 5 photos & process 5 headstone photos.
  • Look for (online) source records to verify facts referenced in pp. 11-15 of Butler Ahnentafel report.

That’s the plan.  I’ll report back with the results at the end of January.

]]> http://www.toniasroots.net/2010/01/02/january-genealogy-to-dos/feed/ 1 Weekly Updates for 2009-11-25 http://www.toniasroots.net/2009/11/25/weekly-updates-for-2009-11-25/ http://www.toniasroots.net/2009/11/25/weekly-updates-for-2009-11-25/#comments Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000 Tonia Kendrick http://www.toniasroots.net/2009/11/25/weekly-updates-for-2009-11-25/

  • Interesting news. . .DearMYRTLE’s Genealogy Blog: DAR: Online databases now available http://ow.ly/DylA #
  • RT @footnote: Check out our new Native American Collection. Explore unique documents and share Native American heritage. http://bit.ly/sLNEk #
  • Ditto. RT @rjseaver: highlighted the 84th Carnival of Gen., and Jasia, our carnival goddess, in http://tinyurl.com/COG84th Thanks, Jasia! #
  • RT @23andMe: Blog Post- Introducing Relative Finder: The Newest Feature from 23andMe: Get ready — there’s a whole new http://bit.ly/3ckxTR #
  • Abstracted 1900 census records for James Evan Butler household. #genealogy #surnames #
  • Found and abstracted 1900 census record for Martha A. MCENTIRE 1833 – ?. She was a spinster and farmed her own land. http://ow.ly/EaEU #
  • Found and abstracted 1900 census records for Thomas & Mattie Hemphill household.  Another cousin John Butler was a boarder #
  • Uploaded 1900 census images for Ball Ground, Murray Co, GA, pp 6B and 7A. Butler, McEntire, Hemphill #surnames. http://ow.ly/Emxz #
  • Had a good #genealogy day! #
  • Scanned photo of great-aunt Annie Kate (Hemphill) Bryan, taken when they lived in Florida during WWII. http://ow.ly/EAFa #
  • I’m in. RT @baysideresearch: I’m in! RT @SqueakyChu: For 2010, take the 1010 Reading Challenge. http://bit.ly/1jqy0e #LibraryThing #
  • Uploaded headstone for Nina Melissa GREENLEE 1907 – 2004. She was a sergeant in WWII. http://ow.ly/EAH6 #
  • Uploaded headstone photo for Joseph George HEMPHILL 1850 – 1864. http://ow.ly/EAJd #genealogy #surnames #
  • Uploaded headstone photo for Columbus P. HEMPHILL 1857 – 1864. http://ow.ly/EALc #genealogy #surnames #
  • Uploaded 1900 census image for Doolittle District, Murray, GA. Whitener, Patterson #surnames http://ow.ly/EAMW #genealogy #
  • Reading: relatively curious about genealogy: Finding Family Stories in Online Digitized Books http://ow.ly/EG86 #
  • Found death certificate for Edward Austin ROBERTS 1861 – 1930 http://ow.ly/Fn42 #genealogy #surnames #
  • Finally registered to do Family Search indexing! #
  • Coincidence? Working on first FS indexing batch. First item is a death cert. The attending Dr. boarded with my g-g-g-grandfather in 1900. #
  • Finished my first indexing batch. Easy and fun! #
  • Trying out Roots Magic. I may be in love. #
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