Newspaper for Research

As the internet grows so do the data bases that family history can be found in.  Newspapers offer a unique look into what living in a community was like even if they don't mention your family directly.  What was the towns business, why did people live there what were the community concerns, can all be answered by reading period newspapers   

For ancestors who lived in the last 200 years, newspapers can be, and very often are, an incredibly rich resource for personal information. The dream may be finding whole long articles specifically about the heroic things our ancestors did, filled with colorful statements in personal interviews, with plenty of background on who are ancestors were and how they lived. That’s not likely to happen. Your ancestor may have been involved in something newsworthy , and may have had an elaborate obituary – or he may not. But every little scrap of information should be extracted and analyzed – the ancestor’s presence on a jury list, or on a delinquent tax list, or as a witness to an accident, or attending a community party, or even their name on a list of letters waiting to be picked up at the post office. Nothing is too small to be of no potential use.

For those with Mormon Utah roots, the Utah Digital Newspapers database is the place to search, whether you live in downtown Salt Lake or have a computer link from your home in Greenland – and if you can’t find anything there today, try again in a few months; they add news batches constantly. For links to databases of historic newspapers in other places, both in the U.S. and a few other places, try this collection of links at the University of Illinois, and Wikipedia’s list of online newspaper archives. The Utah newspapers are freely accessible; some papers in the other two sources are free, while others are behind pay walls. Google News has a growing database. The New York Times archive is available at their site. The British Museum has a wonderful database of British newspapers that is often available through subscriptions at universities and other major libraries; libraries such as BYU have other digital resources available to people with institutional accounts. If you’re aware of other newspaper databases, especially free ones, please note them in the comments.

The Key to Getting Started with Family History

An LDS account is the key to the vault for church members.  Getting started using the LDS Church Resources involves getting an Account to use the resources.  Once you have the account here is a list of what you have internet access to do:

• Access ward and stake information
• Login to new.familysearch.org and do your family history, including submitting names for temple work
• Access secure church websites
• Create a profile on Mormon.org and start sharing your testimony online
• Access your personal study notebook on new,LDS.org
• Make purchases in the new online store

So it is really opening up the whole online experience on the internet without having to worry about security and privacy.   Here are the instructions and links to get you started.

1. You need your name, membership number, and confirmation date.  This is the information  you use to validate your information, temple recommends will have your membership number listed and the ward clerk can help you remember your confirmation date.
2. Go to ldsaccount.ldschurch.org and click on "Register for an LDS account"
3. Once you have identify yourself as a church member you will be given the additional privileged that allow you to see temple ordinance information, edit the information, make corrections,and compile temple work submissions.

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Mastering Family History Blog

According to my wife I spend too much time on the computer, and while that may be true it is amazing to me what there is to find.

This brings me to tell you about one of my new discoveries.  I was looking to find information to help with the Sunday school class we are having on how to do family history, and I came across a really nifty site.  It is Titled "Mastering Family History".  Well that topic is all over the internet but what is unique here tis that this is someone that apparently is a member of the church that has been fairly involved in getting his stake to use the New Family Search  Well there is an entire series of Video Lessons there that show you in pretty good detail how to use the new church site.

Now, of course if I was going to do the instruction they would move a little faster and possibly change the presenter every so often but bless this guys heart he did a pretty good job of making a self help site.  Check it out!!   and book mark it.

Quick Video About FamilySearch

Here is a Quick Video for FamilySearch

Writing a Journal

LDS Journaling is a website that has the philosphy that journaling should be easy, convenient, and allow one to view their progress through life and reflect on the past. LDS Journaling is not just for LDS church members. It is open to anyone who would like to begin writing a life history and journal.

The mastermind behind the website, Nick Jones, resides in Nevada. LDS Journaling was launched March 3, 2008 and the site already has over 14,000 users. The users come from all walks of life including the international communities including Russia, Brazil and the United States. You might be concerned about the security of journal entries, especially since your online journal will include some personal information, why they needed my birth date, the difference between the free and Gold accounts, and many other questions. Here are some of those answers for you below.

1) Why do you need my birth date? The site features a section titled "All About Me" which includes questions in the following categories, person, family, spiritual, the world around me, accomplishments, growing up, marriage, education, challenges, and parenthood. The questions included in each of the categories will depend upon the age of the person journaling, for example, a question about marriage would not necessarily be appropriate for a teenager that is 13 years old.

2) What is the difference between the fee and Gold accounts? The difference between the two accounts includes the size of storage capabilities with the Gold account being larger of 2 Gigabytes. The standard account has 100 MB of storage. If you remain on the standard plan for LDSJournal, you will not be forced to upgrade to the Gold account, but if you want to continue journaling, you will need to remove some of the entries or footnotes. The Gold account will also include optional DVD Archival, optional printing and binding services, video journaling, journal stationery, and journal-To-PDF capabilities.

3) What is the difference between this site and a blog? A blog is generally viewable to anyone on the internet unless you have set up a the blog to be password protected. Most blogs do not to to the lengths to protect privacy like LDSJournals. The website is secure and uses encryption of the journal entries similar to many investment and bank accounts. You are required to select a security photo in addition to a username and password.

4) What will happen to my account if I don't journal everyday? The answer to that is nothing at the moment. LDSJournal encourages you to journal every day, recording your thoughts and experiences as it will provide a record of your life for your progenitors.

5) What is the advantage of journaling online versus journaling on ones own computer? Mr. Jones said that the site is more private and is backed up nightly, it is easily accessible from anywhere there is an internet connection, and you can also journal with your mobile telephone using the MMS technology. The ability to journal with your mobile phone will allow you to send pictures to your journal as well.

This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the church in any way. The site does subscribe to the policies, procedures, and standards put forth by the church.

If you like to journal or have wanted to begin, you might want to check out LDSJournal. If you would like to read more about the site, click LDSJournal Help.

Mormon Pioneers from the United Kingdom and Europe

The British Mormon Historical Society has developed a website titled Mormon History - Dedicated to the British Latter-Day Saint History. This site is dedicated to providing historical information regarding the growth of The LDS Church in the United Kingdom. The information provided on this site includes historical accounts of some of the newly converted members, missionaries, and mission presidencies.

The website has several pages including information regarding Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and England. A few countries that are also included on this site and not readily apparent, are listed under the side tab(link) titled LDSEP Archive. The LDSEP Archive is an older version of this site titled the LDS European Project. I have used the LDSEP site prior to it's incorporation with the British Mormon Historical Society website. The countries included on the LDSEP Archive are Denmark, Sweden, England, Wales, Ireland, and Switzerland. Like the current Mormon history website, LDSEP has information regarding missionaries, members, and mission presidencies.

Both the LDSEP and Mormon History site contain biographies of various missionaries, members and mission presidencies. I you have LDS immigrant ancestors from the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, and Denmark, this site would be a great place to learn about the history of the church in the ancestral areas. If you would like to search the Mormon History - Dedicated to the British Latter-Day Saint History site click Mormon History in the UK. To research in the LDSEP site, click LDS European Project. If this link does not work properly you can also go to the site by clicking the LDSEP link (located on the lower left hand tool bar)on the home page of the Mormon History - Dedicated to the British Latter-Day Saint History site.

Have fun searching!