Digitizing Your Family History

Your interest may be in the past, but permanently preserving your family's history relies on today's technology. If you have limited knowledge of computer equipment or feel uncomfortable using it, Digitizing Your Family History will teach you easy methods for choosing and using scanners, copiers, digital cameras, and software to keep and share your work with others.

Master the #1 Free Genealogy Website! Discover your ancestry on FamilySearch.org, the world's largest free genealogy website. This in-depth user guide shows you how to find your family in the site's databases of more than 3.5 billion names and millions of digitized historical records spanning the globe. Learn how to maximize all of FamilySearch.org's research tools--including hard-to-find features--to extend your family tree in America and the old country. In this book, you'll find: • Step-by-step strategies to craft search queries that find ancestors fast • Practical pointers for locating your ancestors in record collections that aren't searchable • Detailed overviews of FamilySearch.org's major U.S. collections, with helpful record explanations to inform your research • Guidance for using FamilySearch.org's vast record collections from Europe, Canada, Mexico and 100-plus countries around the world • Tips for creating and managing your family tree on FamilySearch.org • Secrets to utilizing user-submitted genealogies, 200,000 digitized family history books, and the FamilySearch catalog of 2.4 million offline resources you can borrow through a local FamilySearch Center • Worksheets and checklists to track your research progress Illustrated step-by-step examples teach you exactly how to apply these tips and techniques to your own research. Whether you're new to FamilySearch.org or you're a longtime user, you'll find the guidance you need to discover your ancestors and make the most of the site's valuable resources.

An expert genealogist explains how to share your family history online and collaborate with distant relatives to build a richer ancestral story. For many enthusiasts pursuing their family history research, the online world offers a seemingly endless archive of digitized materials. In addition to hosting records, however, the internet also offers a unique platform on which we can host our research and potentially connect with distant relatives from around the world. In Sharing Your Family History Online, genealogist Chris Paton demonstrates the many ways we can present our research and encourage collaboration online. He details helpful organizations and social media applications, describes the software platforms on which we can collate our stories, and illustrates the variety of ways we can publish our stories online. Along the way, Paton also explores how we can make our research work for us, by connecting with experts and relatives who can help solve ancestral mysteries. This happens not only by sharing stories, but by accessing uniquely held documentation by family members around the world, including our shared DNA.

Researching family history is the second most popular topic on the Internet (after sex). In Online Roots, Pamela Boyer Porter, a Certified Genealogical Records Specialist, explains how to search effectively on the Internet, how to assess the value of what you find, and the best way to make full use of the resources of the Internet to trace your family's history and heritage. Topics covered include: Judging your sources Checking modern lists and resources Finding clues to primary sources Researching military records When an ancestor has a criminal record Locating photographs on the web Researching on the Internet can be fun and challenging. Online Roots makes your search more effective and creative.

Family history research can quickly create mountains of paperwork. This book give you step-by-step instruction to effectively organize and digitize your genealogy research papers.You'll learn how to: • create a personalized filing system to suit your genealogy research style and experience • turn your computer into a top-notch filing clerk and research assistant by establishing a clear, consistent naming pattern for files and folders • Scan old paper records and store them electronically to save space and make them easier to find • make digital copies of original source documents • organize your family history research to pass on to future generations

Uncover the secrets of your old photo collection and see how the clues contained within old albums, bins and boxes may help you start your family's genealogy journey. If you have an unmanageable number of old photos and a desire to get your family's history preserved, this guide is for you! Learn our proven system for organizing old and preserving old photos, memorabilia and important documents. See how you can transfer this information into a family tree building your family's history and saving important stories. We'll also go over the amazing genealogy resources available to you. When you have the information from your family photos, you have so much to get you started in further research. You can learn more about what life was like for your ancestors, what they may have experienced and what, maybe, we can learn from them! Whether you are just starting out or you've dipped your toes into family research, this guide offers practical tips and strategies to preserve your family's legacy for generations to come. From organizing and digitizing your collection of old photographs to leveraging online resources for genealogical research, you'll gain the tools you need to bring your family's history to life.

If you have stories to share with your family, whether you have been researching a short time or a long time, this book will: * take you through the four stages of publishing projects * show you how publishing works * help you pick a project to publish * lead you through a research review to see what you have and what you still need to tell the stories in a compelling way * give you the skills to become a good storyteller * lead you through the process of editing * instruct you how to prepare your manuscript to look like it was professionally published and * help you spread the word that you have a book available Everything you need to write and publish your family history. Keywords: family history, genealogy, write a family history, write a genealogy, publish your family history, how to self-publish, book publishing, storytelling, book marketing, designing a book

Your Guide to Online Genealogy The internet has made millions of records available to search any time, anywhere. Start finding your ancestors with just a few strokes of a keyboard using the detailed instruction in this book. Inside you'll find: • An overview of where and how to start your family history research • Detailed descriptions of the best online databases for family historians • Hundreds of helpful websites to further your research • Step-by-step search instructions to help you find exactly what you're looking for • Chapters dedicated to finding specific records, including birth, marriage and death; census; military; land; and immigration • Case studies that apply key concepts to real-life searches • Ideas for connecting with fellow researchers and distant relatives through social media, blogging and newsletters • Special resources for researching American Indian, African-American and Jewish ancestors • Plus access to bonus online video demonstrations If you're curious about who's hanging out in your family tree, there's never been a better time to find out. Get this book, get online and get started today!