Inside the Guide: Exploring the Online Tracker

The Online Tracker, a secure database feature of The Family History Guide, recently reached a milestone: it now has over 6,000 registered users worldwide. As you may know, the Online Tracker enables you to take notes for what you’re learning in The Family History Guide, and it provides slider bars you can move to highlight you skill levels for any...

In Transition: Certified Trainers Are Now Volunteer Instructors

The Family History Guide Association has maintained a Certified Trainers program for a number of years, where people can take a certification quiz, get registered, and have their contact information appear on a web page so people can reach out to them for training needs. We want to thank all those who have served as Certified Trainers and let everyone...

The Family History Guide at the East Texas Family History Fair

Last week I was privileged to help with a very successful family history fair sponsored by the East Texas Genealogical Society and The Tyler Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There were about 200 people in attendance at the fair, held at the Tyler Texas Public Library. Here are the specific events I took part in:...

The Family History Guide: In the News

In preparation for the East Texas Family History Fair held on September 10, the organizing committee contacted the KLTV local television station and had them produce a news feature for the event. Jill Taylor, Communications Specialist for  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Tyler Texas Stake, spearheaded the effort, and the result was an engaging and well-done piece...

Inside the Guide: Exploring UK Historical Maps

Looking for all the right places to research your ancestors in the United Kingdom and Ireland? Check out the Goals for Maps and Gazetteers in The Family History Guide. These Goals are located in the following Country pages: England Scotland Wales Ireland Some of the map resources you’ll find include David Rumsey.com contains more than 150,000 maps. The collection focuses...

FamilySearch Update: Reverse Hints

If you have been on the FamilySearch site for a while, you’re likely familiar with those blue record hint icons that pop up in the Family Tree view. They point you to possible record sources for the ancestor with the icon, and they have long been a valuable part of the FamilySearch experience. Now, after years of waiting, the circle...

Inside the Guide: Business and Occupational Records

We are coming up fast on the Labor Day holiday in the U.S. One of the joys of family history is getting to know your ancestors on a more personal level, and an important part of that is understanding what occupations they had. Some may have even changed jobs or occupations several times in their lives, due to life circumstances...

My Secret Sauce: FamilySearch Community Groups

Note: This article by Aimee McDaniel was published previously on the Granite Family History Center blog site.   I have been a Temple and Family History Consultant since 2015 and have been doing my own family history research for over 15 years. But recently I stumbled on a well-kept (though I don’t believe an intentionally-kept) secret! While helping a friend...

The Family History Guide at the East Texas Family History Fair

Now that global pandemic restrictions have lifted somewhat, family history fairs are making their comeback. The “Discovering Your Roots and Branches” family history fair, sponsored by the East Texas Genealogical Society, will be celebrating its 20th year in about 10 days. The fair will be held on Saturday, Sept. 10 at the Tyler (Texas) Public Library, 201 S. College Ave....

New QRB Video: Getting Started with New Zealand Research

We have just published a new Quick Research Basics (QRB) video on our YouTube Channel. Narrated by James Tanner, it helps you understand the background, history, and peoples of New Zealand, and it provides tips for getting started with effective genealogy research for ancestors there. You can watch the video in our QRB Playlist or in Goal 1 of the...