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Updated: 2 years 22 weeks ago

6 Baby Book Ideas to Preserve Memories of Your Little Ones

Fri, 10/22/2021 - 14:00

In generations past, parents often recorded a baby’s milestones and memories in preprinted baby books. Some created keepsake albums or scrapbooks. These were passed along when the child grew up, as a record of his or her earliest days.

Now that we’re firmly in the digital era, how are people preserving memories for the babies they love? Consider these inspiring baby book ideas, collected from parents and grandparents around the United States. (Note: Some of these services may not be free.)

Create a Baby Photo Book

Amie White Carroll of Utah creates photo books to document her children’s lives from the time they are babies. “For the younger years, I was good at making one each year, complete with descriptions of everything and pictures. I made enough copies for each of the kids and one for us. For the teen years, I still capture the most important moments, like special trips or occasions. However, now they might cover a couple of years at a time instead of every year. Something I love about this is that it keeps copies of the books stored and I can reorder online. I feel comforted in knowing if they get lost or caught in a fire, the records aren’t lost forever.”

A multitude of online photo book services make it easy to design a book, complete with your favorite photos and captions. Amie uses Blurb; other popular vendors include Shutterfly, Mixbook, and Snapfish. Photo storage services such as Google Photos and Photos for macOS also offer photo book printing. Compare various services to find the design and printing options that fit your needs.

Turn Social Media Posts into a Photo Book

Those who share a lot of images on social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook can use services that convert those posts into printed albums. That’s how Janet Brooks of Florida keeps up with the flow of memories created by her young grandchildren.

“I went from zero to eight grandkids in less than seven years, so ease is essential,” she says. “Each grandchild has an Instagram hashtag and I link my account with the parents’ accounts. Every 60 pictures, we get a book. I do get to review each book before it’s published and can add or subtract photos. Here’s the latest pile before I sent them out. Each stack is a different grandchild. Some are older and have more pictures than others, and the youngest hasn’t gotten up to 60 photos yet.”

Janet uses Chatbooks; another option to consider is MySocialBook. Look for services that import not just the images but also related comments, captions, dates, and locations from your social media account.

Organize Digital Albums on Your Phone

Another great baby book idea is to organize digital photo albums of your children on your phone. Anytime your child has a milestone, birthday, or other special event, you can create an album on your phone of those photos. You can later take those photos and use them to create physical photo books in the future.

Jessica Stacey George of Ohio does something similar with short video clips. “I post videos on Instagram Stories and have it set to save the posts to my camera roll, which I frequently upload to our computer. I can caption the videos for grandparents to see now and at the same time collect hundreds of captioned videos for my kid to scroll through when he is older. I do photo books as well but have found I really love the way video captures the moment more fully.”

Use a Baby Journal App

Apps are now available to capture special moments of infancy and childhood. Olivia Lyman Jewell from Utah uses Qeepsake. “Qeepsake is meant to be your modern version of a baby book. It texts me questions, so I don’t have to remember to record the memories. It doesn’t require any extra effort on my part, and a rich library of memories and photos is being built. The best part is that if I forget to respond or if I find myself with some spare time another day, I can just open the app to answer old questions, add photos, or reminisce.”

Olivia also uses the app to record memories of her older children and even her husband (though not every question applies to him). “The questions create awesome opportunities for conversations with my kids,” she says. “I involve them in helping with answers.”

Search your app provider for baby journaling apps such as Qeepsake, Tinybeans, Peekaboo Moments, or Moment Garden. Features may vary, so look for the ones most important to you, such as journaling prompts, time lines, cost, and book printing options.

Collect Baby Memorabilia in a Memory Box

What about three-dimensional memories? “We do baby boxes,” says Alyssia Daley of Ohio. “It lets us keep the stuff that won’t fit into a book. I keep everything I think holds significant value, like the outfit and blanket I bring them home in.” The box shown here is for her oldest son, whom she placed for adoption.

“There is a video on the CD that has all the pictures from the day he was born and the day I placed him up for adoption,” Alyssia explains. “I’ve been putting [in] plane tickets for when we go visit him and there are a couple of toys from his dad.”

Get started with any sturdy container of an appropriate size. For long-term storage and preservation, consider using archival storage techniques and materials. These can help protect and prolong the life of fabrics, paper items, digital media, and other memorabilia.

Compile an Illustrated Childhood Journal

Travis Hubble of California has taken a lower-tech approach to preserving memories for his children. His wife, Rebecca Hopkins Hubble, explains, “My husband is good at taking notes of experiences that happen each week and adds them to our digital ‘Hubble family journal’ (recorded in Word, one file for each year). These experiences can be big events or little things or funny quips and everything in between. That’s his source material for making a book when our kids turn seven or eight.

“He searches through the first six years of that child’s life for any entries that mention them by name and compiles all those entries chronologically,” she continues. “He adds a few pictures for each year. Then he prints it out, prints pictures in color, and puts the page in clear sheet protectors in a thin, three-ring binder. It’s pretty low tech, but our kids find them an absolute treasure and love reminiscing and laughing at their funny antics.”

However you compile and share memories of the children you love, make a plan for the long-term protection of your digital files. That way, those images and stories will be around when your children—and their children and their children’s children—grow up and want to enjoy them, too.

Start Recording Children’s Stories

Try one of the baby book ideas described above—or another method, such as using FamilySearch Memories—to record memories of the children you love. Doing so will be a blessing to you and to future generations.

An Introduction to All Souls’ Day: Family History’s Favorite Holiday

Wed, 10/20/2021 - 15:00

If family history had a favorite holiday, it would have to be All Souls’ Day, the thousand-year-old observance that falls every year on November 2, immediately after All Saints’ Day, which is on November 1. Like All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day is for remembering people who have died. But while All Saints’ Day is focused on Christian martyrs and saints, All Souls’ Day is all about the members of your own family and family tree. It’s a day for being with family, visiting cemeteries, sharing memories of loved ones, and honoring traditions.

To be clear, both All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day are prayer days associated with the Catholic Church. But members of other Christian churches also observe these holidays. In some parts of the world, the celebrations incorporate indigenous traditions and beliefs as well. Take Mexico, for example, and its famous Día de los Muertos festivities. In Mayan culture, it was disrespectful to mourn for someone who had died. Hence the colorful costumes, lively music, and delicious foods that the day is famous for.

When Was the First All Souls’ Day?

To understand the origins of All Souls’ Day, we should probably start with All Saints’ Day. During the Middle Ages, most Christian communities held a yearly feast to honor the Church’s saints—martyrs who had died and gone to heaven. In time, this day came to be known as All Saints’ Day, and the Catholic Church made it a holy day of obligation.

Sometime in the 10th century, the Catholic priest St. Odilo of Cluny instituted All Souls’ Day—a day to pray for the souls of deceased family members—ordinary men and women who had lived good lives and were waiting in purgatory until they were worthy to enter heaven. The annual celebration became the final and third day of Allhallowtide—right after All Hallows’ Eve and All Saints’ Day.

How Do People Celebrate All Souls’ Day?

Today, All Souls’ Day is observed around the world by people of various faiths and cultural backgrounds. Some of the traditions are common to all people, no matter the language or country. But others are unique, and you won’t find them anywhere else. Consider a few examples:

  • In Guatemala, people fly kites at the Barriletes Gigantes Festival, or Giant Kites Festival. These kites can take months to build and may be as big as 65 feet across! You can write a note to your ancestor and tie it to the kite’s tail for your ancestor to read in heaven.
  • In Mexico, many people create private altars for their ancestors and decorate them with photographs, flowers, candy skulls, and candles. Disney made a great movie about Día de los Muertos, but the real thing is even better.
  • In the Philippines, people cook their deceased loved one’s favorite foods for a feast with friends and relatives. Many visit their ancestors’ tombs, light candles, and even spend the night there.
  • In Hungary, many people keep the lights on in their homes for the duration of the night and leave food on the table in memory of their loved ones.
  • In Poland, traveling home for All Souls’ Day can be a must—similar to Easter and Christmas. Families visit the cemeteries where their ancestors are buried and set the night aglow with a veritable bonfire of candles.
  • In Peru, people share a loaf of t’anta wawa with a friend or relative. T’anta wawa is a sweet bread baked into the shape of a doll or small child.
How Should I Celebrate All Souls’ Day?

This All Souls’ Day, make time to celebrate your family and its history. Does your family have any favorite games or activities? What about foods? Nothing quite brings the family together like participating in a beloved tradition. Or how about starting a new tradition? Something you can do every All Souls’ Day from here on out.

You don’t have to make huge preparations. Sometimes the easy, simple activities are the most meaningful. Here are a few ideas:

  1. Browse an old photo album with someone you love.
  2. Share a story about a deceased loved one with someone in your family who is younger than you.
  3. Make a meal or dessert that reflects your family’s heritage or reminds you of an ancestor.
  4. Go on a mini pilgrimage to a place that has special meaning to your family. Be creative. The journey could take 10 minutes or a couple of hours.
  5. Visit a cemetery, and put flowers on an ancestor’s grave.
  6. Make an audio recording of a family story, and then upload it to your person page on FamilySearch for future generations to enjoy and learn from (we can help you get started).
Get to Know Your Ancestors on FamilySearch

At FamilySearch, you can begin learning about your family history in just a few clicks. Our search tools give you access to millions of historical documents like birth certificates, baptism records, draft cards, and more. The details you discover in these documents will almost certainly surprise you—addresses, middle names, and physical descriptions, to name a few. You might even discover an ancestor you didn’t know about.

You can also use FamilySearch to begin building your family tree. Information about living people is private. No one can see your information but you. But we’ll try to help you connect with ancestors who might have already been entered into our system. This All Souls’ Day, connect to FamilySearch’s shared Family Tree for free to learn more about your ancestors!

Meet Elaine Hasleton—Daughter of Norway

Mon, 10/18/2021 - 14:00

If you are fortunate enough to spend a little time with Elaine Hasleton, you’ll come away richer for the experience. Elaine is a deputy chief genealogical officer (CGO) for FamilySearch International and a key participant for FamilySearch’s Discovery Experiences with Famous Norwegians initiative. Yet if you were to ask Elaine what she does, she probably would not mention any of her job titles. Elaine would much rather refer to herself simply as a “cheerleader for Norway,” but she is much more than that. Once you get to know Elaine, you’ll easily see why.

Immersed in Norwegian Culture

When it comes to Norway, Elaine loves the land, the people, and everything about the country. Elaine admits her affinity for Norway must have been something she was born with, since the Norwegian culture was a major part of her upbringing. Both Elaine and her husband, Jim, grew up in the same hometown of Alexandria, Minnesota, an area where numerous Norwegian emigrants settled. Elaine’s own family roots run deep back into Norway, as her maternal grandfather was born there. Her other grandparents and nearby relatives were all Norwegian too, except her maternal grandmother, who was Danish. In addition, her husband’s family ancestry is completely Norwegian.

As a young child, Elaine recalls listening to older relatives speak the Norwegian language to one another; for many it was their first language. At the time she thought they spoke Norwegian so that the younger ones wouldn’t know they were being talked about. When Elaine went off to college as a young adult, she studied the Norwegian language, and she remains semi-fluent in the language today.

The Seven Varieties of Christmas Cookies, a Norway Tradition

In addition to the language, many common rituals continue to tie Elaine to her Norwegian ancestors, including holiday foods and family traditions that she keeps alive in her own family. If she learns that you, by chance, have Norwegian ancestors, she might jokingly ask you about the 7 varieties of cookies you make and share at Christmas. It is a familiar custom for Norwegians to bake, eat, and share 7 different types of cookies all through the Christmas season when visiting with friends and extended family. She once asked a visiting colleague from Norway about this cookie tradition who simply responded, “Oh, I just buy them at the bakery!”

A modern interpretation of this custom doesn’t require the cookies to be homemade. However, one of the family favorites gracing Elaine’s holiday celebration is Norwegian krumkake cookies. These are delicate, thinly rolled cookies consisting of sugar, flour, eggs, butter, and cardamom baked on a special krumkake iron.

Of course, Elaine also enjoys serving “riskrem,” a rice pudding with a raspberry fruit sauce and slivered almonds. One whole almond is hidden within the pudding and whoever finds the almond is said to have good luck in the coming year.

Serendipity and a Remarkable Career

As a teenager, Elaine first met her future husband, Jim, while she was dating his younger brother. Around the same time, Elaine’s older brother went off to college in New York and then moved to Ohio, where he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Soon afterward, Elaine and her mother also became part of a small congregation of Latter-day Saints in Minnesota, where Jim and his family had been members since he was 9 years old.

Upon high school graduation, Elaine secured a scholarship to Brigham Young University (BYU), which turned out to be fortuitous. Since the first grade she had every intention of one day becoming a nurse, but through a series of events at BYU, her plan changed. One of her college roommates convinced Elaine to attend a genealogy class with her. It just so happened that the instructor mentioned an upcoming BYU Scandinavian genealogy study abroad trip, emphasizing points of interest at the archives.

Elaine liked what she heard well enough to know that Scandinavian genealogy was what she wanted to do, so she changed her major to genealogy. At the time she didn’t know what a pedigree chart was or even a family group sheet. Based on this one decision, her education and career path took off and she hasn’t looked back since.

Elaine graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in genealogy and later earned credentials needed to become an accredited genealogist for both Norwegian and Swedish research.

Genealogy, Another Norwegian Tradition

With Elaine’s expertise in Scandinavian genealogy and special emphasis on Norway research, she knows who keeps the vital records, where to locate the best sources, and what information can be found in the Norwegian multigeneration farm books, known as bygdebøker.

Elaine knows that Norwegians are some of the best record keepers. From her professional associations, she is quick to explain a secret about Norwegians in general, from the point of view of a Norwegian. She says, “Descendants of Norwegians seem to have especially strong connections with ancestors and an affinity for visiting the ancestral homeland and keeping traditions alive from generation to generation.”

Perhaps this is embedded in their DNA, or perhaps it is because many emigrants tended to settle in communities similar to those in Norway with other Norwegians while maintaining customs and cultural connections back to their ancestral homeland. Either way, this is a boon to anyone researching family history in Norway, because it makes tracing ancestors easier from the present back to locations where families emigrated from.

It also explains why there are many organizations in North America dedicated to tracing emigrants from specific regions of Norway, such as the 30 bygdelags. Each bygdelag has resources for family history based on their geographical area and strives to foster cultural connections for descendants in multiple ways. The bygdelags provide a depth of knowledge about each area in Norway where their ancestors lived. Many people contact a bygdelag for help, advice, and information about where their ancestors originated so they can find information about their ancestral roots and perhaps ways to connect with distant living relatives.

Currently, Elaine is providing leadership for the Bygdelagenes Fellesraad, the umbrella organization for the 30 bygdelags. She and her husband are members of 7 different bygdelags, as they have ancestors who came from 7 different regions in Norway. They include Gudbrandsdalslag, Hallinglag, Nordlandslag, Sigdalslag, Solørlag, Telelag, and Trønderlag.

Making Connections with Norway

Always generous and willing to share her knowledge, Elaine has played a role in connecting descendants with Norwegian ancestors for many years. Elaine herself has traveled to Norway over 30 times to do research, visit ancestral farms, and connect with distant relatives in the regions where her ancestors came from. She has developed friendships with numerous Norwegian-Americans, Norwegians in Norway, and Americans married to native Norwegians currently living in Norway. She has recruited them to assist with the Norway as a Maturing Homeland project.

When she speaks of the people working with her, she explains, “It’s a matter of people working together.” Notice how she doesn’t take credit for her work, though it is apparent she possesses an uncanny ability to draw out the best in people in her circle of influence. Each one has a talent and wish to work on a list of 460 famous Norwegians. This involves researching several generations for each famous Norwegian, so it is more likely that everyday Family Tree users with Norwegian heritage will discover connections to famous relatives.

Other volunteers with language skills help her translate records, and still others put the research, along with the documentation, in Family Tree, ensuring dates are correct, with properly formatted place-names and interesting facts added into time lines for Norwegians and Norwegian descendants to discover.

Continuing to Make a Difference for Norwegian Descendants

Elaine is now focusing on the Discovery Experiences with Famous Norwegians initiative. She is an all-around champion for family history and Norway research and, well, just about everything in between. Her current research interests center on the Forest Finns (Finnskog) settlements and those who settled in eastern Norway and western Sweden.

Like many, she has been working from home, using technology to connect with her colleagues online. In her on-site office, any visitor would see the Norwegian flag prominently displayed on a wall of her office space. It’s an inviting reminder where the heart of this daughter of Norway lies.

Search for Your Norwegian Ancestors

6 Online Journals to Make Journaling Easier

Fri, 10/15/2021 - 14:00

Keeping a personal, handwritten journal may be difficult in this busy time of your life. Why not give online journaling a try? There are dozens of apps, websites, and social media platforms that offer online journaling options. Let’s take a look at what online journaling is and a few terrific options to get started.

What Is Online Journaling? 

Online journaling websites are internet-based web pages that offer the ability to record journal entries and save them to their website. Usually, you have the ability to download, print, or even share your journal entries.

Online journaling websites have pros and cons. A pro might be that your journal is easily accessible anywhere there is a computer and internet access. Some might be mobile friendly or offer an accompanying app. It may also be free. A con might be that the website gets sold or becomes obsolete and you are no longer able to access your journal entries. Some services may also require a subscription to use.

Free Journaling Websites  

Here are some free options for online journaling: 

Penzu 

Penzu is an online journaling website and app with a free option and 2 paid upgrade options. The free version allows you unlimited journal entries that are kept 100 percent safe and encrypted. You can choose from several beautiful fonts and even customize your journal cover. 

Its free online journal options also include helpful prompts, the ability to insert pictures, sharing through email or a public link, and printing.  

750 Words 

750 Words is an easy-to-use website that helps you form the habit of writing every day. You can create a free 30-day account to see how you like it. After 30 days, you will still have access to your journal but will be unable to make additional journal entries unless you subscribe. If 750 Words is something you enjoy, you can subscribe for $5.00 [USD] each month. 

750 Words can be used to track a journaling goal or even as a game, using its point and streak system! You also get a look into your writing style and mindset with daily charts. 

750 Words also has an interactive option in which you can be part of a journaling community. You can participate in monthly challenges, share your entries with others, and more. 

Diaro 

Diaro can be used on your computer or smart device. Diaro Basic is free and includes the ability to write a short or lengthy entry, add a picture, sort your entries into folders, and record your current mood. Additionally, if you allow the location services, Diaro will add the current weather conditions of your area at the time you write your entry! 

One especially nice feature about Diaro is its ability to sync between your devices through your DropBox account. However, syncing does require Diaro Pro, which costs a one-time fee of $19.99. This upgrade also allows you the ability to search all your entries by keyword and add a Google Earth location. 

Using Social Media to Journal Online 

Have you ever considered how your social media accounts are similar to a daily journal of what’s been going on? Many people use social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to do a type of journal online. The advantage is that it is free, and you likely are already using it!  

On Facebook, you can upload numerous pictures and videos and create quite a lengthy post of up to 63,206 characters. As you share your daily activities on Facebook, people often make comments. In this way, you create a type of interactive journal with your friends and family.  

You may not know about the ability to print your Facebook entries. You can use a paid service called My Social Book to “slurp” your Facebook content into book form. My Social Book allows you to choose what is included in your book, set date parameters, pick a paperback or hardback cover, and take advantage of several other customizing options.  

Instagram is another social media platform many use to record their personal and family activities. In comparison to Facebook, it is a little less robust. Instagram allows you to upload up to 10 images per post and you can create typed content up to 2,200 characters. 

You can use My Social Book to slurp your Instagram content as well, or you can try another similar paid service called Chatbooks. Chatbooks is another fun tool for creating journal-like books for your family and personal history. They come in 2 sizes, 6 x 6 and 8 x 8 inches. These fun little books hold up to 366 pages. Because these books are on the smaller side, your caption appearing under an image will need to be about 3 sentences or less. If you exceed 300 characters, additional words will be populated onto the next page. 

Using FamilySearch Memories for Online Journaling 

For an always-free, always-available journaling option, try FamilySearch Memories! If you have a free FamilySearch Account, you also have free access to FamilySearch Memories. Here, you can add pictures, stories, documents, and even audio to your family tree.  

The FamilySearch Memories story section is a great place to create a personal online journal. It is free and accessible to you anywhere in the world you have internet access. 

FamilySearch Memories allows you to create a title for your story or journal entry. You can share it publicly or keep it private. Additionally, you can add up to 10 photographs per story and add an event date, event place, and topic tags for easy retrieval. 

Your entries and uploads to FamilySearch Family Tree are safe and always accessible.  

What are you ready to share? Create your own free account on FamilySearch, and start creating your online journal using FamilySearch Memories today. Or give some of these other options a try as you look for the right fit. No matter how you choose to document your life, your future family will thank you! 

Keeping a Gratitude Journal

Wed, 10/13/2021 - 15:00

Last summer, Camille Johnson was struggling. Her mother was dying, and the pandemic was raging. “I decided I needed to do something,” she recalls. “I didn’t have any energy; I wanted to sleep all the time.” 

“Then I remembered about a character in a book who was going through a depression,” she continues. “Her dad challenged her to write a thank-you note to someone every week. I started researching how gratitude can help us.” Camille was so impressed by her findings that she dedicated an entire episode of her podcast to gratitude—and began keeping a gratitude journal. 

Two months later, she reflected on the benefits of this practice on her social media account. “It has been such a fun thing to look at my day and see things that I appreciate. Even when I forget for a few days, I enjoy looking back, catching up and thinking about all the things … that I was grateful for.”  

Camille, who lives in Ohio, United States, has now been keeping a gratitude journal for a year. “I write in it at least once a week. It takes me less than five minutes, and it puts me in a good frame of mind for the day.” 

What Is a Gratitude Journal? 

A gratitude journal is where people record things they’re thankful for. Entries might be written out in paragraph form, but many are simple lists, like Camille’s entry from 21 July 2021: 

What sets gratitude journals apart from other kinds of personal records is that the content focuses specifically—even exclusively—on expressing appreciation. 

What Are the Benefits of a Gratitude Journal?  

As Camille researched gratefulness, she was impressed by its psychological and emotional power. “I learned that if you start having more gratitude and start writing it down, you start training your brain to find more things to be grateful about,” she explains. “This can help us overcome our natural negativity bias,” which is an instinctive tendency to dwell on negative things. 

“Keeping a gratitude journal has helped my brain make an effort to look out for things I’m grateful for,” Camille reflects. “When I notice something, I think, ‘I’ll have to write this down.’ Now, even when things feel hard or heavy, I am able to find something I am grateful for, like my favorite ice cream. It buoys me up. There were a couple of days after my mom died that I just had to be grateful for a good cry.” 

Scientific research supports Camille’s experience. Gratitude is associated with a better quality of life, more positive emotions, and healthy social activity. Being grateful can lower symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Gratefulness is even tied to a healthier resting heart rate, better heart and immune function, improved sleep quality, lowered blood pressure, and fewer physical symptoms overall. People who keep gratitude journals specifically have been shown to exercise more, make more progress toward their goals, and feel more optimistic about their lives.  

How to Start a Gratitude Journal 

When starting a gratitude journal, keep it simple. “At the beginning, I’d just write a couple of bullet points,” recalls Camille. “Something that happened that day that I was grateful for. You can always find one thing—or maybe three things—you’re thankful for.” For the most powerful experience, experts say, focus on specific things you appreciate in that moment—not “my children” but, more specifically, “the sound of my son’s laughter,” for example.  

Figuring out how journaling would fit into Camille’s life required experimentation. “I started writing every day, but sometimes I’d forget, so I’d catch up throughout the week,” she recalls. (As it turns out, writing one to three times a week rather than daily can actually be more impactful for some people.) “At first, I’d take five minutes at night, but I was too tired, so I started doing it more in the morning, when I have more time to reflect.” She paired her habit with an existing one so she’d remember it. For her, it was scripture study, but others may enjoy journaling after a walk or run, during a meditation, or while making a to-do list. 

What about the format of a gratitude journal? “I started in Google Drive, but sometimes it would be hard to get out my computer or do it on my phone, so I started using a journal,” she says. What’s important is choosing a format you’ll stick with, whether that’s an app, notebook, day planner, diary, or electronic document.  

If it would help to have some support when you start a gratitude journal, consider inviting a friend or relative to start one, too. You might search online for a gratitude challenge or explore gratitude groups on your favorite social media platform.   

How Can a Gratitude Journal Fit into Your Life Story? 

I haven’t been good at keeping a regular history of my life, but gratitude journal entries are a snapshot of my life,” reflects Camille. “They bring back the rest of my memories of that day.” Paired with photos, her memories become even more vivid, like this family reunion photo that illustrates her entry about “working with all the siblings to get more food made.” (Camille is third from the right, in the white shirt.)  

“Looking back this way gives me a broader view of my life,” she adds. “I don’t necessarily think everything is positive and happy, but I can see more clearly that things are working together for my good.” She likes the idea of leaving this kind of written legacy for her five children. “I think I would rather have them know me as someone who was grateful for a handful of things every day, instead of a person who was whining about a handful of things every day!” 

Start Your Own Gratitude Journal 

How could a gratitude journal work for you? Try it yourself! Start recording lists of things you appreciate in a notebook or electronically. Or capture your gratitude lists with the FamilySearch Memories app

What to Write in a Journal

Mon, 10/11/2021 - 15:00

So you’ve decided to keep a journal—but you wonder what sort of things you should write about. After all, how can you fit everything you want you and your posterity to remember into so few pages?

Don’t worry—and remember that, first and foremost, your journal is whatever you want it to be. That means it can have as much or as little information as you want it to! If you’re still looking for places to start, consider the following suggestions.

Topics to Write about in a Journal  

As you get started, consider some well-known published journals and diaries, such as Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl; such examples may help you think about what you want to record.

You might also think about what you wish your ancestors had recorded. Do you wonder what they thought about current events, who they socialized with, or what their favorite entertainment or music was? Even something as simple as what their favorite food was, what the weather was like, and how much everyday things cost can be interesting for future generations.

Keep a record of the main events in your life: family, school, work, and so on. Such a record will help not only you remember important dates, but your descendants will thank you as they learn about their family heritage.

Making Your Journal More Personalized 

In addition to recording main events from your life, consider sharing your day-to-day activities. For example, my paternal grandmother kept a short, 6-month journal that detailed her daily activities during the 1930s. One of my favorite entries in her journal says, “Great big washing! Nice day. … Picked flowers on the river bank after school.” Sadly, my grandmother died just a few years later, at a young age. This diary gives insight into who she was and what her life was like in a way I would otherwise never know.

Write about your struggles, frustrations, sorrows, and triumphs. Rereading your journals can be a source of comfort and reassurance to you when you are facing trials and can see how you overcame past hurdles.

Record uplifting thoughts and quotes that inspire you, both to remember them and to save them for others. If you are religious, record spiritual experiences you have had in your life.

Share some of the funny, embarrassing moments that happen along with the learning and growing episodes that make up your life’s journey.

How to Start Journaling 

You might ask, “But how do I start?” There are several ways to journal, but the important thing is to begin.

Set aside a few minutes every day to summarize events that happened. Don’t whitewash your experiences or worry about what others may think. Keep a balance of both the good things that happen as well as the challenging experiences.

Make your journal personal to what feels right for you. Because this is the story of you and your life, you may decide to share portions of it with family members. Or you may feel like burying some sensitive entries under your mattress! The important thing is to record your life’s experiences and learn from them.

Consider scanning and uploading your journals to FamilySearch Memories to preserve them for future generations—or, if you prefer, use it directly as an online journal to record your thoughts.

Remember what Anne Frank once wrote about keeping a journal: “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” (Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, p. 177)

Thomas MacEntee: The Abundant Educator

Fri, 10/08/2021 - 15:00

Arising in the pre-dawn hours, Thomas MacEntee begins his day by checking in with MyHeritage in Israel. He enjoys the peace and solitude of the morning, says his daily devotional, and watches the sun rise over Lake Michigan. Then he dives into the all-consuming work of preparing or presenting genealogy webinars. He has 250 scheduled webinars this year and presents as many as 3 live webinars on some days. 

He enjoys interacting with other genealogists through social media and webinars. He ponders: What do they want to know? How are they approaching their own genealogy? What are the gaps in genealogy education? These answers guide him as he adds to his webinar topics list, which now exceeds 60. 

From the Country to a University 

Thomas MacEntee was born and raised by a single mother in Liberty, a small town in upstate New York. Liberty, considered “the country,” is located 90 miles from New York City, with a population under 5,000. As a child, Thomas gained his love of history by listening to the stories his great-grandparents told of how they grew up. He loved visiting their 1840s Dutch farm home in Grahamsville, New York, just 10 miles from his own home. There, he had lots of family to connect with—over 40 first cousins! 

Thomas graduated high school with honors and continued his education at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., with double bachelor’s degrees in art history and Spanish language and literature. In April 2010, Thomas received an online genealogy research certificate from Boston University, which he claims is some of the best adult education he has received, and he is extremely proud of this accomplishment. 

After college, Thomas landed his first career job working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an administrative assistant in educational programming. He spent the next 25–30 years educating and training others. In 2008, during the Great Recession, many information technology jobs disappeared. As he searched for something that would be sustainable, he began researching how to run a genealogy business. That turned into client research, which then led to writing and education, which now fills his days. 

His family is now spread all over, but he is still in touch with many cousins. They have children who are starting to get interested in family history themselves. He is hopeful he will have someone to pass the genealogy work along to—when he is ready to hand it off. 

Thomas MacEntee’s Introduction to Genealogy 

In February 1977, at age 14, the miniseries Roots came on television, and Thomas remembers watching it with his great-grandparents. After every episode, he would ask them questions about his own history. He knew then that researching his family history was something he wanted to do.  

Genealogy grasped Thomas personally when his great-grandmother, Therese McGinnes Austin, died in 1988. She had a positive impact on his life. She taught him a love of history, was great to talk to, and had amazing stories. She was the last of her generation, and there was no longer an outlet for interviews and more information. He had to do his own research to learn more. 

Thomas started to visit libraries to learn more. While in Washington, D.C., during college, he visited the National Archives and the Library of Congress and read through microfilms. He started to see that some of the family stories he had heard as a child weren’t always truthful. He wondered, “Do I approach my aunt and uncle about it?” His mother, the middle child of a dozen, was the peacekeeper of the family and shared Thomas’s fascination with history, and she provided him good counsel and would guide him on what he should or shouldn’t share about his discoveries.  

Thomas’s goal with his research was to give voice to his family’s ancestors who may not have had a voice. And through the records he finds, he has been able to tell their full stories. 

Turning Genealogy into a Profession 

Thomas created his first blog in 2006, called “Destination Austin Family.” He was in a race to preserve family history from his mother’s perspective, as she had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia leading to Alzheimer’s disease in 2000 at age 59. 

Genealogy became a profession for Thomas in the summer of 2010 after participating in ProGen4 and the Boston University genealogy research program. Social media was taking off when he joined GeneaBloggers—a worldwide community of 3,000 genealogy bloggers—in 2008. He then reserved the domain and created the GeneaBloggers website in 2009. He used this website to teach others how to use Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms for the purpose of genealogy.  

He soon created High-Definition Genealogy. He started with a vision of doing client research but soon found that it wasn’t satisfying for him. He pivoted and changed to teaching. Still today, he is always looking for new ways to educate people about genealogy and help them on their paths to success. Thomas also encourages his students to pivot in their research and learning. Just like his recommendations to them, he is changing and morphing his business all the time. 

By November 2010, Thomas MacEntee had given his first talk as a genealogy speaker at an event in Libertyville, Illinois, on the topic of social media. He quickly learned that you don’t need genealogy certification to be a genealogy professional. The genealogy field is broad, and it doesn’t involve just research. Education is key and needed. In addition to educating, he is now the author of 15 books. 

Thomas continued to grow and inspire the GeneaBloggers community until 2016, when he passed it off to others so he could focus more time on educational webinars. In addition to High-Definition Genealogy, where groups can book him for speaking engagements, he created the website Genealogy Bargains, where everyone can find the lowest prices on all items genealogy related. He also runs Abundant Genealogy, where he gives away free genealogy “cheat sheets” and more. And in 2015, he launched the Genealogy Do-Over, which now is a Facebook group with over 20,000 participants, where he teaches genealogy research methods by starting from scratch. 

RootsTech Early Adopter and Contributor 

Thomas was at the first RootsTech in 2011 and loves the energy the conference gives to the genealogy community. He believes that RootsTech has changed the educational landscape and was very impressed with the over 1 million worldwide audience RootsTech achieved in 2021. The shortened class model allows for more learning in less time and has helped Thomas pivot his own plans for his business ventures. 

Check out Thomas’s 2021 RootsTech contributions:  

Tips:  Classes:  Advice to You from Thomas 

As a genealogy educator, Thomas has lots of great advice for others—no matter where they are in their family history journey. 

For someone who is new to genealogy: “Start with yourself. Don’t bring in the family stories yet. Write down, in a fixed format, the stories that you personally have heard. Then slowly work your way back. Interview older relatives if they are still living.” 

For someone who is stuck or frustrated with genealogy: “Put it down and walk away. Then come back to it. Sometimes a brick wall is something we have constructed due to lack of education about the area or about record collections.” 

For someone who has been doing genealogy for a long time: “Participate in webinars to learn about new technologies and new ways of doing genealogy. Be open to change, especially with new technology.” 

For everyone: “Genealogy is not only charts and source citations. It is also about preserving stories, memories, and photos. Families want things that are memorable and sharable.” 

Thomas’s Favorite Resources 

In addition to sharing advice, Thomas MacEntee also shares his favorite resources to help you in your genealogy research. 

Conference Keeper—Keep track of upcoming genealogy educational events. 

FamilySearch Research Wiki—Use and contribute to the Wiki. 

Atlas of Historical County Boundaries Project—Learn how and when counties in the U.S. were formed. 

Trello—This project management tool can be used for family history research. 

What Does the Future Hold for Thomas? 

Thomas MacEntee loves what he does and loves to collaborate with others. He is planning to semi-retire from his historical 60-minute webinars in May 2022, but until then he is working on creating actionable education where the participants do the work beforehand and the webinar is a reveal or conclusion. He is also working on creating an online course for genealogy topics. 

Thomas’s inspiration throughout all of his genealogy business endeavors came from his mother, who passed away in 2015. She taught Thomas that “today is a gift and that tomorrow is just a promise.” She taught him how to be abundantly generous, that knowledge needs to be shared, to let go of what you’ve been given, and to hold your palm open and upright to receive what will come next from God. Every day is a new day. Thomas MacEntee is truly an abundant educator. 

Getting the Most from Your Search: Understanding the Search Records Page

Thu, 10/07/2021 - 10:00

Finding a historical record with my ancestor’s name on it can sometimes be a challenge. Either my search terms bring back more results than I know what to do with, or I get only a handful of results, none of which is my ancestor. If you’ve ever had a similar experience, you’ll be excited to know that FamilySearch is working hard to improve the search experience—making it more intuitive and straightforward—for beginners as well as experts. All the tools you may have used in your research before are still there. But the search boxes, filters, and design have all been simplified to help people like myself find that first record and experience the joy that comes from connecting with ancestors.

Using Filters to Narrow Your Results 

Let’s start with the search box—the primary reason people come to the Search Historical Records page in the first place. To begin searching for your ancestor, all you need is a name. You can enter a place and year if you have them, but this information isn’t necessary.

Say, for example, I want to find a historical record about one of my great-grandfathers. I enter his name into the appropriate fields and click Search. The results page tells me there are at least 263,386 possible records with my great-grandfather’s name on them! Too many to examine or even browse, to be sure. But I can quickly narrow my search results by applying one or more of the search filters available to me near the top of the screen.

The Residence filter seems like a good way to reduce the results list. Maybe it’s because I’m not very good with dates, though I do know where my great-grandfather lived. The onscreen prompts help me choose the most specific, appropriate residence filter possible. First, I click United States of America, then Utah, and last but not least, the county where I know my great-grandfather lived for most of his life.

It won’t always be this easy, but in this case my great-grandfather is suddenly the first result on the page! He’s mentioned in the 1940 United States Census along with my grandmother, whose name I immediately recognize. I can access this record by clicking my great-grandfather’s name and following the links. When I do, I discover that my grandfather’s name was spelled differently in the census record, and I was off by one letter. No wonder I’ve been having trouble finding his records! (Good thing I didn’t have Exact Search turned on just then, or I might not have found this record. More on that feature later.)

Search by Collection 

The other filters on the records search page work the same as the residence filter, and more than one filter can be applied at a time. If there’s a specific type of historical record that you want to find—a birth certificate, perhaps, or a marriage certificate—try filtering by Collection. Then limit your search to a collection that contains the type of record you want to find.

We’ll use my great-grandfather as an example again. Let’s say I want to find his birth certificate. First, I’ll enter his name. When I get my search results back, I’ll set the Birth filter to United States and then Utah. After that, I’ll click the Collection filter. To the right of the screen, a menu opens with a list of all the different collections I can search. I can click as many as interest me, several of which are focused on births. Once I have the collections I am interested in checked, I click on the Apply Collection Filter button.

But wait—further down, I see a group of military collections. Did my great-grandfather serve in World War I? I’m not sure, but I could look for his draft card in United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918, if I wanted to.

Tips and Tricks for Experienced Researchers 

So far, we’ve talked about starting with a simple name search and applying filters to narrow your results. But if you have more information, you can enter it at the very beginning of your search and find the historical records even faster. At the bottom of the search box, next to the Search button, click the button labeled More Options. This will open the complete search template, where you can enter more concrete information about life events, spouses, parents, and even alternate names. You can also filter your records by country or state, so only records that were published in that location appear in your results. Just look under Records Options, and click the filter labeled Location.

You can also access this complete search template after you have started your search by clicking on the More Options button at the top of the results page and applying the filters in the pop-up on the right side of the results page. This option allows you to filter your results after the results for your search are shown.

Another way to limit your search results is to use Show Exact Search, which you’ll see near the bottom of the expanded search box. If you perform an exact search, only historical records that match your search terms exactly will appear in your results. This can be an important filtering tool when you know exactly what you’re looking for. If, on the other hand, you’re not sure, it’s probably best to leave this option turned off. In the case of my great-grandfather’s record, an exact search might have prevented me from finding information about him, since for much of my search I was spelling his last name incorrectly.

Also, keep in mind that clicking Show Exact Search doesn’t actually turn the feature on; rather, it opens up an Exact Search option for each individual search item, which you would then have to select. This means that you can do an exact search for your ancestor’s last name, while still being open to multiple versions of his or her first name. This tremendous functionality allows you to be both precise and flexible with your searches.

One last feature to help you organize and make sense of your results is the Preferences tab, located near the top of the screen on the results page. Hint: You may need to click More Options after you search, if you don’t see it. From the Preferences tab, you can choose whether to format your search results in a fixed table or data sheet. You can also control how much information the table or sheet controls. Too much information, after all, can be overwhelming and hard to decipher. Finally, you can choose to view records no matter their language, or only those that have been translated into the language specified in your account settings.

An Easy-to-Use Search Tool 

Discovering a historical record with information about your ancestor can be a thrilling experience. At FamilySearch, we want this experience to be available to everyone who comes to our website—from experts and amateur historians to beginners and even first-time visitors to our website. Our simple yet robust search page has been designed with this very audience in mind. If you have questions or feedback to give on this updated search experience, we offer multiple ways for you to give us feedback. We’d love to know what you think and are grateful for your suggestions!

Search Historical Records

Find Your Ancestors Quickly Using FamilySearch’s New Discovery Search Experience

Wed, 10/06/2021 - 14:00

If you find yourself struggling to know how to find your ancestors, FamilySearch has a new search experience that can help you find your ancestors in a quick and easy way without having to sign in. The FamilySearch Discovery Search experience provides a way to quickly search select databases on FamilySearch—the tree, records, memories, and last name information—all at the same time. This is a great way to get started with your family history and connect with your ancestors quickly!

There are two ways to get to this search experience. You can either find it on the logged out FamilySearch home page, or you can click the button below. Then all you have to do is type the name of your family member and click Search. It’s really that easy! And you don’t need to provide all the information—just fill in what you know, and you will still find some cool results. Come try it out, share it with your friends, and see what you can find about your family!

Search for Your Ancestors

Monthly Record Update for September 2021

Fri, 10/01/2021 - 14:00

FamilySearch expanded its free online archives in September of 2021 with over 26 million new indexed family history records from all over the world. New historical records were added from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, El Salvador, England, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Guadelope, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Jamaica, Kiribati, Liberia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tuvalu, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the United States, which includes Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Washington. Records from the United States Bureau of Land Management and Find A Grave were included as well.

Find your ancestors using these free archives online, including birth, marriage, death, and church records. Millions of new genealogy records are added each month to make your search easier.

Don’t see what you’re looking for? Check back next month and, in the meantime, search existing records on FamilySearch. And if you want more exciting genealogy content, peruse over 1,000 free, on-demand sessions from RootsTech Connect 2021.

CountryCollection Indexed Records Digital ImagesCommentArgentinaArgentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635-1981           17,1430Expanded collectionArgentinaArgentina, Catamarca, Civil Registration, 1888-2000                      40Expanded collectionArgentinaArgentina, Cemetery Records, 1882-2019         105,3580Expanded collectionArgentinaArgentina, Corrientes, Catholic Church Records, 1734-1977             5,8160Expanded collectionArgentinaArgentina, Entre Ríos, Catholic Church Records, 1764-1983             3,0690Expanded collectionArgentinaArgentina, San Juan, Catholic Church Records, 1655-1975             2,1180Expanded collectionAustraliaAustralia, Victoria, Wills, Probate and Administration Files, 1841-1926             4,8540Expanded collectionAustriaAustria, Carinthia, Gurk Diocese, Catholic Church Records, 1527-1986           14,5750Expanded collectionBoliviaBolivia Catholic Church Records, 1566-1996         431,4790Expanded collectionBrazilBrazil, Bahia, Civil Registration, 1877-1976                 2900Expanded collectionBrazilBrazil, Minas Gerais, Civil Registration, 1879-1949           36,2030Expanded collectionBrazilBrazil, Paraná, Civil Registration, 1852-1996           22,4420Expanded collectionBrazilBrazil, Santa Catarina, Civil Registration, 1850-1999             3,9120Expanded collectionCanadaCanada, Ontario Tax Assessment Rolls, 1834-1899           40,4950Expanded collectionChileChile, Catholic Church Records, 1710-1928             9,2350Expanded collectionChileChile, Civil Registration, 1885-1932           10,8200Expanded collectionCosta RicaCosta Rica, Catholic Church Records, 1595-1992                 9650Expanded collectionDenmarkDenmark, Military Conscription Rolls, 1789-1792             5,5030Expanded collectionEl SalvadorEl Salvador Catholic Church Records, 1655-1977         228,1620Expanded collectionEnglandEngland, Cambridgeshire Bishop’s Transcripts, 1538-1983             2,3660Expanded collectionEnglandEngland, Essex Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1971             2,7520Expanded collectionEnglandEngland, Gloucestershire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1642-1996                      70Expanded collectionEnglandEngland, Herefordshire Bishop’s Transcripts, 1583-1898             6,4720Expanded collectionEnglandEngland, Lancashire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1647-1996           39,1380Expanded collectionEnglandEngland, Middlesex Parish Registers, 1539-1988         504,9930Expanded collectionEnglandEngland, Northumberland Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1920           33,3850Expanded collectionFinlandFinland, Passport Registers, 1900-1920             7,4050Expanded collectionFinlandFinland, Tax Lists, 1809-1915           16,5160Expanded collectionFranceFrance, Charente, Parish and Civil Registration, 1550-1936     2,592,3860Expanded collectionFranceFrance, Mayenne, Parish and Civil Registration, 1427-1897     2,430,7840Expanded collectionFranceFrance, Saône-et-Loire, Parish and Civil Registration, 1530-1892                   180Expanded collectionFrench PolynesiaFrench Polynesia, Civil Registration, 1780-1999             2,1720Expanded collectionGermanyGermany, Prussia, Saxony, Census Lists, 1770-1934           23,3070Expanded collectionGermanyGermany, Saxony, Church Book Indexes, 1500-1900             4,8840Expanded collectionGuadelopeGuadeloupe, Church Records, 1639-1830                   470New collectionGuatemalaGuatemala, Catholic Church Records, 1581-1977         228,7590Expanded collectionHungaryHungary, Jewish Vital Records Index, 1800-1945             4,5620Expanded collectionIndiaIndia, Madras Diocese Protestant Church Records, 1743-1990             1,4900Expanded collectionJamaicaJamaica, Church of England Parish Register Transcripts, 1664-1880             4,1910Expanded collectionKiribatiKiribati, Vital Records, 1890-1991             3,4870Expanded collectionLiberiaLiberia Census, 2008         447,9930Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Chiapas, Catholic Church Records, 1557-1978             1,3670Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Chihuahua, Catholic Church Records, 1632-1958             4,6650Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Coahuila, Catholic Church Records, 1627-1978             1,9710Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1514-1970           14,9840Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Guanajuato, Catholic Church Records, 1519-1984     1,535,6260Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Guerrero, Catholic Church Records, 1576-1979             4,0340Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Hidalgo, Catholic Church Records, 1546-1971                 4410Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Jalisco, Catholic Church Records, 1590-1979           89,1690Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, México, Catholic Church Records, 1567-1970         412,9700Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Michoacán, Catholic Church Records, 1555-1996     1,024,9180Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Oaxaca, Catholic Church Records, 1559-1988           39,4550Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Puebla, Catholic Church Records, 1545-1977           13,6860Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Sinaloa, Civil Registration, 1861-1929           30,4490Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Tlaxcala, Catholic Church Records, 1576-1994             2,0950Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Veracruz, Catholic Church Records, 1590-1978             3,5670Expanded collectionMexicoMexico, Zacatecas, Catholic Church Records, 1605-1980             9,8780Expanded collectionNew ZealandNew Zealand, Electoral Rolls, 1865-1957     1,234,6390Expanded collectionNicaraguaNicaragua, Catholic Church Records, 1740-1960           15,0590Expanded collectionNorwayNorway, Probate Index Cards, 1640-1903             5,1200Expanded collectionOtherFind A Grave Index     3,667,7580Expanded collectionPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea, Vital Records, 1867-2000         128,0450Expanded collectionParaguayParaguay, Catholic Church Records, 1754-2015           82,4020Expanded collectionParaguayParaguay, Military Records, 1870-1965           18,2520Expanded collectionPeruPeru, Catholic Church Records, 1603-1992         798,4540Expanded collectionSamoaSamoa, Vital Records, 1846-1996           43,0260Expanded collectionSierra LeoneSierra Leone, Civil Births and Deaths, 1802-2016           47,5760Expanded collectionSloveniaSlovenia, Ljubljana, Funeral Accounts, 1937-1970             1,9180Expanded collectionSouth AfricaSouth Africa, Cape Province, Civil Records, 1840-1972           31,2160Expanded collectionSouth AfricaSouth Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801-2004           26,5910Expanded collectionSouth AfricaSouth Africa, Dutch Reformed Church Registers (Cape Town Archives), 1660-1970           25,0700Expanded collectionSouth AfricaSouth Africa, KwaZulu Natal, Vital Records, 1868-1976           47,0700Expanded collectionSouth AfricaSouth Africa, Reformed Church Records, 1856-1988           18,8810Expanded collectionSouth AfricaSouth Africa, Transvaal, Civil Marriages, 1870-1930           11,3790Expanded collectionSpainSpain, Catholic Church Records, 1307-1985             2,4560Expanded collectionSpainSpain, Diocese of Cartagena, Catholic Church Records, 1503-1969             3,4030Expanded collectionSwedenSweden, Örebro Church Records, 1613-1918; index 1635-1860             4,4820Expanded collectionSwedenSweden, Stockholm City Archives, Index to Church Records, 1546-1927             1,8070Expanded collectionSwedenSweden, Västerbotten Church Records, 1619-1896; index, 1688-1860             8,3900Expanded collectionSwitzerlandSwitzerland, Catholic and Lutheran Church Records, 1418-1996     2,514,2580New collectionSwitzerlandSwitzerland, Fribourg, Census, 1850             2,5160Expanded collectionSwitzerlandSwitzerland, Fribourg, Census, 1880             1,5560Expanded collectionTuvaluTuvalu, Vital Records, 1866-1979             3,5800Expanded collectionUkraineUkraine, Western Ukraine Catholic Church Book Duplicates, 1600-1937             2,3640Expanded collectionUnited KingdomEngland, Archdiocese of Birmingham, Roman Catholic Parish Records, 1539-1910         589,8020New collectionUnited KingdomEngland, Devon, Plymouth, World War I Rolls of Honour, 1914-1918                 6650New collectionUnited KingdomEngland, Devon, Plymouth, World War II Records, 1939-1945             7,3510New collectionUnited KingdomEngland, Hertfordshire, Marriage Bonds, 1682-1837                   500Expanded collectionUnited KingdomEngland, Lancashire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1746-1799             2,9440Expanded collectionUnited KingdomEngland, Lincolnshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1574-1885             2,0240Expanded collectionUnited KingdomEngland, Middlesex, Westminster, Poor Law Records, 1561-1883     1,678,5580New collectionUnited KingdomEngland, Yorkshire, Bishop’s Transcripts, 1547-1957     2,601,2050Expanded collectionUnited StatesAlaska, Vital Records, 1816-2005             1,3630Expanded collectionUnited StatesCalifornia, Los Angeles, Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery/Crematory Records, 1884-2002             5,1640Expanded collectionUnited StatesGeorgia, Tax Digests, 1787-1900         299,7820Expanded collectionUnited StatesHawaii, Honolulu, Voter Registration Applications, ca. 1920-1966             5,0280Expanded collectionUnited StatesHawaii, Kauai County, Obituaries, 1982-2010                 1640Expanded collectionUnited StatesMassachusetts, Boston Tax Records, 1822-1918         401,6030Expanded collectionUnited StatesMinnesota, Cottonwood County, Obituaries, 1850-1990             5,3210Expanded collectionUnited StatesMontana, County Voting Records, 1884-1992           73,4310Expanded collectionUnited StatesNew Jersey, Death Index, 1901-1903; 1916-1929             1,6950Expanded collectionUnited StatesSouth Carolina, Charleston District, Bill of sales of Negro slaves, 1774-1872             2,3990Expanded collectionUnited StatesUnited States Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1800-c. 1955           19,5330Expanded collectionUnited StatesWashington, County Death Registers, 1881-1979           18,8630Expanded collectionUruguayUruguay Civil Registration, 1879-1930           17,4370Expanded collectionUruguayUruguay, Catholic Church Records, 1726-2000         605,8400Expanded collectionVanuatuVanuatu, Vital Records, 1900-2001             7,3340Expanded collectionVenezuelaVenezuela Civil Registration, 1873-2003         144,6410Expanded collectionVenezuelaVenezuela, Catholic Church Records, 1577-1995         848,9230Expanded collectionZambiaZambia, Archdiocese of Lusaka, Church Records, 1950-2015             5,6670Expanded collectionZimbabweZimbabwe, Voter Registration, 1938-1973             3,3150Expanded collection