Daily Obits

For about a year I have been receiving the obits from our local newspaper the Spokesman Review via RSS feed, and so every morning when I opened Google Reader I would have the obits from the Spokesman Review (note the Spokesman Review charged an extra dollar to put an obit online so a few did not show up in my RSS feed). Saturday the 29th the RSS feed quit, so Sunday I went to the newspaper website to see what had happened. Obits are not on the newspaper website any more, they are now Powered by Legacy.com. While you can search for a recent obit for free they do not offer a RSS feed, but will send you obits to your E-Mail for a FEE. They have a few options one for $199.99 a year to search all the newspapers and send E-Mail for the FIVE keywords you pick (You can change them when ever you want). Second option same keywords but just one newspaper $14.99 a year. Third package is Genealogy Package for 19.99 a year and they search for five surnames in all their newspapers. All three packages have a FREE 30 day trial.

Vendor Spotlight: Association of Professional Genealogists, Puget Sound Chapter

We received the following information from the Association of Professional Genealogists, Puget Sound Chapter, another one of our great vendors that will be exhibiting at the Washington State Genealogical Society's 2009 State Conference in Spokane on September 11 - 13:

The Puget Sound Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (PS-APG) was established in the Summer of 2002. The Chapter was composed of genealogists who were all members of the national Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) www.aspgen.org PS-APG is now one of twenty-two APG sponsored chapters that have been established throughout the United States. You can learn about those chapters by going to this link: www.apgen.org/chapters/index.html. These active genealogists wanted to provide a venue for genealogists to network with other genealogists and improve their research and business skills. The PS-APG chapter was approved in August of 2002 and held their first meeting in October of 2002. We have been active in the State of Washington for seven years. PS-APG continues to hold their meetings 5 times per year: February, April, July, October and December. The meetings start with a lecture on a genealogical topic for we feel education is important. Sometimes we will take a field trip to a local archive to learn about the holdings. In October we will be visiting the King County Archives in downtown Seattle. After the presentation we have our business meeting. Go to this link to learn more about our meetings and the educational presentations that we have sponsored both currently and in the past: http://www.psapg.org/meetings.html.

In January of 2009 PS-APG launched the new updated Chapter website and we are very proud of it. We invite you to visit our webpage at: www.psapg.org. You will find a link to our Chapter Officers and we encourage you to contact them with your questions. Our Meetings link features our up and coming Meetings and those we have held in the past. Our Events page features local and national workshops, seminars and conferences. Our Member Profiles house the biographies of each of the PS-APG members. This includes their knowledge, skills and accomplishments in genealogy. Hopefully our Membership link will answer questions about how you can become a member of PS-APG and the national APG. Our Project link currently features our Scrapbook Project which we are working on in joint cooperation with the Seattle Public Library. PS-APG is the first Chapter to be awarded the national APG Grant for funding a special project. PS-APG Chapter News features each of our members involvement with the field of genealogy and local events. Our Education link is there for those aspiring genealogists to obtain information about educational opportunities of a more advanced level in genealogy. In the next few months PS-APG will be launching a new Resources page with lots of links to genealogical research in the Puget Sound area.

On our PS-APG Home page is our link to the national Association of Professional Genealogists www.aspgen.org where you will learn about the national organization. One of the best features of APG is the Directory where one can go to find and hire a professional genealogist. This directory features the biographies of of the members of APG. One can search on a name, a research specialty, location and more. They also have a membership page giving all the features of becoming a member. The About page is filled with information about APG as a professional organization for genealogists.

The Association of Professional Genealogists was created in 1979 to provide an independent organization whose goals were to support professional genealogists in all phases of their work, from the amateur genealogist wishing to turn knowledge and skill into a vocation, to the experienced professional seeking to exchange ideas with colleagues and to upgrade the profession as a whole. In 1980 they held their first conference. Today that conference is held the day before the Federation of Genealogical Society Conference. It was named the Professional Management Conference for APG. It is a day filled with lectures on research and business building.

The APG has two functions. To provide a professional organization with conferences, publications, education and member advertising and to promote the individual members. The second function is to bring to the field of genealogy to a higher standard of excellence. The APG members include: Adoption specialists, archivists, authors, booksellers, columnists, heir searchers, instructors, librarians, lineage society experts, publishers, reunion planners, researchers, lecturers, translators, web designers and many more talented individuals. There are many talented individuals that are members of APG. When you hire one of the members of APG you can be assured that they are bound by the APG Code of Ethics. We believe that by hiring a member of APG you will not be faced with a problem; however, if you are you can file a complaint and it will be researched, see the guidelines at http://www.apgen.org/ethics/index.html.

APG is not the Board for Certification of Genealogists which is an entirely different organization. Their website is at: www.bcgcertification.org/index.html. The BCG certifies genealogists by having them submit a project based on their rigorious guidelines. A BGC certified genealogist has to resubmit every 5 years to keep current. APG does not have as strict a criteria. However, everyone who is a member of APG must agree and abide by the Code of Ethics. You do not need to be a certified genealogist to be a member of APG. However, many APG members have advanced degrees which you can view at the APG directory online at the website. If you are a certified genealogist or an accredited genealogist you can be a member of APG. APG encourages certification. Accreditation is secured through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGEN) http://www.icapgen.org/Programs/process.htm.

For more information please feel free to contact the President of PS-APG, Bonnie Jean MacDonald at BON_MAC@msn.com or view her Members profile at the PS-APG website: www.psapg.org. You can also find Bonnie at the PS-APG conference table she would be happy to meet you or answer any of your questions about becoming a professional genealogist or hiring one to help with your research challenges. At our table will be plenty of brochures for your information.

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If you have any questions please ask.

Bonnie Jean MacDonald 206-365-5422 or 206-250-7833
BJM Genealogy Research Services,
President of the Puget Sound Chapter of APG www.psapg.org
Region #2 Representative of WSGS http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wasgs/index.htm

We look forward to having the PS-APG as a vendor at the state conference and hope you drop by their table for more information!

It's not too late to register for this terrific conference! Click on the link below:

Online Registration
(need help with the online registration? read our tutorial here)

Brochure and Saturday Schedule
(to help you choose your classes and activities)

Mail-in Registration Form
(for those who prefer registering offline)

If you are interested in being a vendor at the Washington State Genealogical Society's 2009 State Conference, would like to advertise in our syllabus, or if you have an item or service which you would like to donate as a door or raffle prize, please contact Miriam Robbins Midkiff.

FamilySearch News: Volunteers to Bring Historic Sweden Church Records Online

Volunteers to Bring Historic Sweden Church Records Online

400 million names included in largest indexing effort to-date

FALKÖPING, Sweden—FamilySearch and Svensk Arkivinformation (SVAR), a division of the National Archives of Sweden, announced today the launch of the largest online indexing initiative undertaken to-date. The two groups unveiled plans to engage Swedish volunteers throughout the world to help create a highly searchable, free online index to the historic parish registers of Sweden—200 years of recorded Swedish history as documented in the Sweden church records—comprising over 400 million names.

Swedish Parish Baptism Records

Swedish Parish Burial Records

Swedish Parish Marriage Records

In 1608 the Archbishop of Sweden asked the clergy to begin making records of births, christenings, marriages, and burials of all the residents of Sweden. By 1686, they were conducting regular examinations of the population of each parish. The church records (often called “parish registers” or “church books”) span over two centuries and chronicle the vital life events of an estimated 418 million people who moved in and out of parishes in Sweden.

“The church records are a key source for genealogists seeking Swedish ancestors because nearly everyone who lived in Sweden was recorded in a church record,” said David Rencher, FamilySearch chief genealogical officer. “The challenge now is to make those records, which are written in Swedish, available to researchers worldwide,” concluded Rencher.

“We are very pleased with the excellent cooperation we have enjoyed for many years between FamilySearch and the National Archives to microfilm and scan the Swedish church records. Now we are going to create an index that will revolutionize the genealogy research in Sweden. The simplicity of finding and reading about one’s ancestors on the Web in the millions of scanned records will attract many beginners of all ages,” said Anders Nordström, director of SVAR. “To the academic researcher, this is an entirely new means. It makes it possible to do research within disciplines on a micro level, an extent that was never possible before now,” added Nordström.

The way Swedes passed on a family name throughout the centuries is another reason why the indexing initiative is so important to family historians. “Imagine being in a Swedish community 200 years ago and 10 out of 100 people have the same first and last name as you. That’s how small the naming pool was in Scandinavia,” said Jeff Svare, FamilySearch Scandinavian collection management specialist.

If you were Anders Andersson, your father could have been Anders. Your brother could have also been named Anders, as well as your uncle. To help distinguish which Anders Andersson you were referring to at the time, locals added the name of the farm (residence) of an individual to keep them straight. “Otherwise, when you’re trying to search for Anders Andersson today, your ancestor falls into the proverbial fog of same-named people and you don’t know who they are without the additional context,” added Svare. The FamilySearch index will include the residence or farm name from the individual’s vital record. This information has been extracted to assist patrons in identifying their Swedish ancestor.

The goal is to engage the Swedish community in creating a highly searchable, free online index to the Sweden church records. When complete, the index will be the single largest point of access to information contained in the historic parish registers of Sweden. The free index will link to images of the original records hosted by the National Archives of Sweden (SVAR). In addition to the free public index that will be made available, SVAR might charge a nominal fee for public patrons who want to view or print the images.

FamilySearch is the global leader of online indexing. It launched its online indexing program in 2008, and tens of thousands of volunteers recently helped reach another major milestone by indexing their 250 millionth name. FamilySearch currently has 65 online indexing projects underway.

Index Utility in English

Index Utility in Swedish

For this project, FamilySearch will create digital images of the Sweden church records provided by SVAR. Volunteers worldwide will then use FamilySearch’s Web-based indexing tool to view the digital images and extract only the desired information from the image. That data will then be processed and published online in searchable indexes linked to the digital images.

Volunteers need only Internet access and the ability to read Swedish to contribute to this historic effort. A unique quality control process ensures a highly accurate, finished index. Each document is transcribed by two different indexers, wherever they are in the world. Any discrepancies in their two extractions are then forwarded to a third volunteer—an arbitrator—who makes any needed corrections between the two interpretations.

The project will start with records from Örebro, Uppsala, and Södermanland counties. Indexing will begin with the earliest year available for each parish and continue through 1860. A typical downloaded “batch” (group of records) will take a volunteer about 30 to 40 minutes to complete. The indexing utility has built-in tutorials and helps. Anyone interested in volunteering for the Sweden Church Records project can do so at indexing.familysearch.org.


About FamilySearch
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the renowned Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF SWEDEN
The National Archives (www.statensarkiv.se) and the regional state archives supervise all public records of the agencies of the central government, as well as regional and local authorities in Sweden. The Military Archives and the Research Center SVAR (Swedish Archive Information) are part of the National Archives. SVAR provides research facilities, produces and distributes microfiche, and provides scanned and digitalized records on the Web (www.svar.ra.se).

Vendor Spotlight: The DAR and the SAR

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) will be jointly hosting a vendor table at the Washington State Genealogical Society's 2009 State Conference which will be held September 11 - 13 at The Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Washington.

The DAR is a service-oriented organization emphasizing Patriotism, Historical Preservation, and Education for women who can trace an ancestor back to the Revolutionary War, which he or she supported by joining the Army, Navy or a State Militia or assisted the patriot cause in any way. A national organization, they are organized on the local level through Chapters, of which there are four in Spokane County and 36 in the State of Washington. The four Spokane chapters are the Esther Reed, Jonas Babcock, Spokane Garry, and May Hutton Chapters.

The SAR is a historical, educational, and patriotic non-profit, United States 501(c)3, corporation that seeks to maintain and extend:

* the institutions of American freedom
* an appreciation for true patriotism
* a respect for our national symbols
* the value of American citizenship
* the unifying force of e pluribus unum that has created, from the people of many nations, one nation and one people.

Like the DAR, the SAR is organized at the local level via Chapters. There are four chapters in Washington State, including the Spokane Chapter.

If you know or believe your ancestor served the cause of the American Revolution, members of the DAR and SAR will be happy to answer your questions during the conference about their organizations and provide you with printed information to that effect. They will also be selling some of their pins. Many members of the DAR and SAR are also members of local genealogical societies and are well-experienced in lineage and Early American research. We welcome the DAR and the SAR to our conference!

It's not too late to register for this terrific conference! Click on the link below:

Online Registration
(need help with the online registration? read our tutorial here)

Brochure and Saturday Schedule
(to help you choose your classes and activities)

Mail-in Registration Form
(for those who prefer registering offline)

If you are interested in being a vendor at the Washington State Genealogical Society's 2009 State Conference, would like to advertise in our syllabus, or if you have an item or service which you would like to donate as a door or raffle prize, please contact Miriam Robbins Midkiff.

MyHeritage.com Adds Maps to Its Family History Suite

New version 4.0 of MyHeritage.com’s Family Tree Builder visualizes family history in colorful maps, and offers Family Chat™ in a new family toolbar

London, England & Tel Aviv, Israel – August 13, 2009 – MyHeritage.com, a leading family and genealogy Website, today announced the release of Family Tree Builder 4.0. With more than 5 million downloads so far, Family Tree Builder is the world’s most popular free genealogy software, allowing seasoned pros and beginners alike to build family trees, research their family history, add photos and videos, and obtain unique Smart Matches™ with other family trees worldwide. The key improvements of the new version include a map module, a family toolbar with Family Chat™ and extensive support for albums to organize a family’s photos, videos and documents.

“In recent years we've seen a growing number of people who want to learn more about their ancestors and where they came from”, said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage.com. “With the new map module, people can get an appealing visual representation of their family's life journeys. They can also map the addresses of family members, quickly find all events and photos associated with a particular place and even standardize place names using smart suggestions. This provides a fascinating new perspective for millions of people interested in their family history.”

The new family toolbar provides direct access to family sites on MyHeritage.com, adds powerful genealogy search and features Family Chat – a text, audio and video chat system built specifically for family use. Members also receive useful birthday reminders on the family toolbar without leaving the Web page they are on.

The Family Tree Builder software – free to download at http://www.myheritage.com/family-tree-builder – is already well respected by family history enthusiasts for its ease of use and excellent handling of photos and other digital media. The addition of albums for organizing photos, videos and documents makes it an even more useful tool. Family Tree Builder 4.0 also adds slideshows for showcasing family photos in appealing ways; and a new screen saver that displays family photos based on tagging and face recognition technology.

MyHeritage.com is a leading online destination for families, where people can find relatives, research family history, and stay connected with family members across the globe. In addition, MyHeritage.com offers automatic photo tagging technology that makes it easier to label, organize and search for digital photos, giving families another fun way to stay in touch.

About MyHeritage.com

MyHeritage.com was founded by a team of people who combine a passion for family history with the development of innovative technology. It is now one of the world’s leading online networks for families, and the second largest family history website. MyHeritage.com is available in 34 languages, is home to more than 33 million family members and hosts profiles of 360 million people.

For more information, visit www.myheritage.com or http://www.myheritage.com/family-tree-builder

Susan Faulkner Interviewed About Her Book, Early Pasco

Susan Faulkner, member of the Tri-City Genealogical Society and one of the Four Fantastic Presenters for Session D at the upcoming Washington State Genealogical Society's 2009 State Conference was interviewed this morning about her brand new book, Early Pasco, by KVEW-TV.

(To enlarge this video to full screen, click on the button that is second from the right.)

Susan will be sharing how to take a research project from start to finish and through the publication stage at her presentation at the conference. We look forward to the presentation and the opportunity to purchase her book!

RootsMagic Users Group Meeting Cancelled

The Spokane area RootsMagic Users Group originally scheduled for Thursday, August 20th, has been canceled, due to recent low attendance and the fact that the group leaders are moving from the area. All future meetings are discontinued, unless someone is willing to lead the group.

If you are interested in leading this group, please contact Trudy Lundy.