Record your family's stories.

My parents often told me about their reactions to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The shock and resolve to protect and preserve the country.
Listening to President Roosevelt - black outs - war ration books.


My Dad enlisted - serving in Europe.
He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and other recognition for his service.
He would not talk of the war - even when we found books about his unit.
But we have been piecing the history together as the National Archives continues to release more papers from that period.

My family has served from the Colonial Wars - Revolutionary War down to today.
I enlisted so did my brothers, uncles, grandfathers - my wife lost a brother in the war - her father, uncles and others served.

Such is the story of our lives.

Record it and pass it down. Here is one family's remembrance of the attack on Pearl Harbor - 70 years ago today.

When our 2nd Great-Grandparents got married - who was invited?

It is June 1872 - the wedding is Saturday.Who will be there? The bride, groom ... her parents, grandparents ...
His parents, grandparents - all the aunts, uncles, siblings and cousins.
All of them.

That's what we need to do now.
As we gather our family history we need to include everyone in the tree.

Extending the tree in all directions.
Adding not just our "direct" line ancestors but all of their siblings, their children - in-laws and on and on.Turn loose the floodgates - document them all.
Drop down the family lines - on all sides - in all directions - down to 1900 - and "invite" them all to the tree.

We can do this.
The twin goals of a family historian are to:
1. Document and map out the family - every member of the family
2. Preserve, share and pass down that information to the rising generation.

Gathering the information we share it in print and online.

Put the information on Scribd.com
Download your genealogical information as a PDF book and upload it to Scribd (free site)

Preserved, shared

Update your book as often as you like Instantly discoverable by cousins around the world

2. Put Your information on anyone of the major "family tree" sites: Ancestry, FamilySearch, Geni and more.

Select the branches of your family tree

Don't try to upload all of it at once Try limiting your tree from 1900 going back - protecting the current generations.
Preserved, shared

Update your tree as often as you like

Make your informaiton Instantly discoverable by cousins around the world

By gathering - all of the family - and sharing it online we can preserve and pass down this information to the rising generation.

We can do this.

The TIme is Now - Involving Youth in Family History

Elder David A. Bednar a top leader in the Church of Jesus Christ, recently reminded members of the Church—especially young people—to participate in family history work. “Many of you may think family history work is to be performed primarily by older people,” he said in his October 2011 conference address. The youth can offer much to older individuals who are uncomfortable with or intimidated by technology.” Elder Bednar also said in his address.


“It is no coincidence that FamilySearch and other tools have come forth at a time when young people are so familiar with a wide range of information and communication technologies.” The new website, a part of the larger youth.lds.org site, is the Church’s first family history resource designed specifically for youth. Click here to view the new video here.

The site features resources that teach teens how to get started with genealogy by using FamilySearch, including video tutorials narrated by youth. In five simple steps, youth are taught how to research their family tree, make family records, and prepare names to take to the temple.

The site also includes ideas on how classes and quorums can use family history as a means to serve others. For example, Elder Bednar said in his conference talk to youth, “I urge you to help other people identify their family histories.” One of the tutorial videos, “Youth in Service Help Others Digitize Records,” shows how teens can help seniors who may not know how to scan old family photos and records. Youth with an LDS Account can also log in to share their own experiences with family history. One such youth is Nick Bartley, a 15-year-old first-generation American Samoan member who said that researching his family history and taking names to the temple evoked “one of the most amazing feelings” he has ever experienced. “My only recognizable sense of feeling at the time was just peace,” he said in his story, featured as a video on the new site. “It was just me and the Spirit.” Youth ages 12 to 18 may log in and post their experiences after signing in. “Many of you may think family history work is to be performed primarily by older people,” continued Elder Bednar in his address. However, he said, there is no age limit to starting out with family history.

“You need not wait you reach an arbitrary age to fulfill your responsibility to assist in the work of salvation for the human family.” The new website is currently available in English and Spanish and is located at LDS.org/familyhistoryyouth. Additional languages will be available for the site and its videos in forthcoming months.

FamilySearch Announces New CEO

Congratulations to Dennis C. Brimhall, appointed the new CEO of FamilySearch, the genealogy mega-provider of family history information. Jay L. Verkler has led FamilySearch for the past 10 years guiding it through the dramatic explosion of interest in genealogy, the Internet and expansion in every aspect of 21st Century genealogical scholarship. His clear record of accomplishment and innovation leaves a high benchmark for Dennis Brimhall to follow. Verkler will step down in January 2012.

FamilySearch Announces New CEO
15 November 2011

SALT LAKE CITY— FamilySearch International announced today a change in its chief executive officer. Effective January 2, 2012, Dennis C. Brimhall will succeed Jay L. Verkler as CEO of FamilySearch. Mr. Verkler will continue in a consulting capacity for a few months to ensure a smooth transition.

It is the business culture and practice of FamilySearch, as an organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to regularly rotate its senior leaders. This pattern assures the forward momentum of its core programs.

Over the past decade under Mr. Verkler’s leadership, FamilySearch has shifted its vast stores of genealogical records and resources to a digital, worldwide, internet-based focus. FamilySearch has developed partnerships with many genealogy and technology industry organizations, helping form a broad and deep industry community including companies, societies, and archives.

FamilySearch has helped make the world’s historic records easier to access online, publishing over 2.4 billion names in historic records at familysearch.org, including 870 collections from over 50 countries indexed by over 250,000 volunteers. During this period, FamilySearch has also created an unprecedented, free global service organization that engages over 70,000 volunteers who provide needed local and online support to research patrons and the genealogical community. FamilySearch has pioneered genealogical search, record linkage, imaging, crowd-sourcing, and digital preservation technologies.

“It has been a career highlight for me to work in such a significant and meaningful effort,” said Jay L. Verkler regarding his time at FamilySearch’s helm. “I have had the privilege to work with countless great individuals, organizations, and companies, all striving to provide the best of user experiences.”

Mr. Brimhall comes to FamilySearch with a deep background in management. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He recently served for 17 years as president and CEO of the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver from 1988 until 2005. Since then Mr. Brimhall has held positions of increasing responsibility in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“I am very excited to help lead the work of FamilySearch, to continue the great things that have been done and move forward in new directions as appropriate,” said Brimhall. “FamilySearch provides services to millions of people worldwide. We really need to understand our customers’ needs and satisfy them. Our focus will be to ensure that FamilySearch’s customer experiences are really first rate.”

FamilySearch looks forward to further strengthening its commitment to the global genealogical community, to publishing and digitizing the world’s records, and encouraging all people to discover, preserve, and share their family histories.

About FamilySearch

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer–driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessor organizations have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. 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 main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

###

Media Contact:

Paul Nauta
FamilySearch Public Affairs
1-801-240-6498
nautapg@familysearch.org

Over 8 million Genealogy Records Go Online

FamilySearch has put another 8+ million family history records online.

A broad range of records were added to FamilySearch this week from 20 countries, notably Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, England, Dominican Republic, Germany, Italy, Philippines, and the U.S. The U.S. additions include a variety of records from California, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin (See the full listing of new updates below). Begin your search now at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 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. 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 main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Family Search New Collections Online