Obituary for Peter Allan Darby

Peter Allan Darby

August 03, 1946 – July 11, 2018

It is with great sadness that the family of Peter Allan Darby of Innisfail, Alberta, announces his passing after a brief illness, on Wednesday, July 11, at the age of 71 years.

Peter was born on August 3, 1946 in Nottingham City Hospital located in Sherwood Forest, England, the only son of James Henry and Rosa May Darby. Peter attended an advanced placement secondary school, then graduated from Westminster College, Oxford in the United Kingdom in 1967. He left shortly afterwards to teach in Chikankata Secondary School in Zambia, Africa. It was there that he met his wife, Linda Papsdorf. The two were married July 26, 1969 in Nottingham, England. Peter and Linda moved to Alberta, Canada in 1970, where he continued his education and received a masters degree in geography, eventually settling west of Innisfail where they raised their family in the great outdoors.

Peter was a teacher and later vice principal at Didsbury High School. In 1979, he moved to the Innisfail area and became the vice principal, and later the principal at Bowden Grandview School. After working in Bowden, Peter moved to the County of Red Deer Schools central office where he was the director of secondary education, assistant superintendent, and then deputy superintendent of schools. During this time, he also obtained a doctorate degree in educational leadership from Brigham Young University. Peter finished his career working for the Government of Alberta as chair of the School Technology Task Group. After many years serving students and educators, Peter retired in 2001.

His talent and skill with technology allowed him to help many with their computer challenges and their family history work.

Peter served faithfully in many church callings throughout his life, including bishop of the Innisfail ward. He and his wife, Linda, served a family history mission in Salt Lake City, Utah. Peter also served many years as a part-time Family Search service missionary as well as an area family history advisor. He has shared his knowledge and talent by teaching courses to others and also by planning family history conventions. His love for family history has continued throughout his life and has blessed his own family along with numerous others.

Many people have found a great and loyal friend in Peter. He has always been willing to serve and help any in need of assistance, whether it be a ride, a meal, a hug or just a listening ear. He was a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather and will be missed greatly by all— especially his workforce (grandchildren) who will especially miss their payment of pop, their golf games, and eating ice cream for breakfast.

He is survived by his wife Linda, his four sons; David (Angela), Paul (Michelle), Mark (Megan), and Andrew (Leah), and his 14 grandchildren; Kaeley, Nathan, Maeghan, Ben, Joshua, Sam, Merrin, Sydney, Tessa, Madeline, Levi, Kallie, Chloe, and Kate.

Free Access for One Week to 15 of the Legacy Family Tree Webinars

“Help us celebrate 7 years of genealogy webinars at FamilyTreeWebinars.com!  View these members-only classes – for free – through Friday September 22, 2017.”

Did you notice this?  Until 22 September 2017 you have free access to 15 of the most requested classes.  Go to https://familytreewebinars.com/freeaccess

Looks like some very interesting classes – too bad it’s only for a week.

Thank you to Thomas MacEntee for making me aware of this of this bargain https://www.genealogybargains.com/

Legacy Family Tree has been acquired by MyHeritage

This is big news.  Legacy Family Tree is an excellent desktop family history product.  Unfortunately they never created a version that can be used on a Mac.

Now Legacy Family Tree has been “acquired” by MyHeritage – what does this mean? MyHeritage is a large company with over 91 million users. Some people love their website – and inevitably some don’t.  I admire their search engine. How might this effect Legacy users?  Here is part of their press release and a link to some Frequently Asked Questions.  Meanwhile they are offering some great deals on purchases of copies of Legacy Family Tree – see link near the end of this article.

“Dear Legacy user,

We are proud to share with you the biggest step forward we have ever made with our Legacy Family Tree software and our FamilyTreeWebinars.com webinar series. We have entered into an acquisition agreement with MyHeritage, a leading global destination for family history and DNA with 91 million users in 196 countries. The acquisition will provide the resources and cutting edge technologies to advance and expand both our #1 rated software and our #1 rated webinar series. Think Legacy is good now? Watch out future – here we come!

How will all this affect you? Entirely positively. Here’s a flavor of what you can expect in the future:

• A host of new features in Legacy software – we will be developing future versions of Legacy together. We have already started working on the new Tree Sync feature (to optionally have your Legacy file in a private or collaborative tree at MyHeritage)
• Improved webinar platform to surpass the 1,000-virtual seat limitation we currently have
• Significant discounts on MyHeritage services and DNA kits for Legacy users and webinar viewers not available anywhere else
• Most importantly, you can expect the same high-quality support and service that you have come to expect from us. The entire Legacy and webinar teams will continue on at MyHeritage in our existing roles.

“The more I’ve learned about and experimented with MyHeritage, the more I have felt we need to partner together,” said Geoff Rasmussen, founder of the FamilyTreeWebinars.com webinar series and “the face” of Legacy Family Tree software. “The technology behind their online trees and historical records is incredible – second to none. MyHeritage has positioned itself to become the leader of the future of the genealogy industry and we can be a part of it. It’s the perfect match – our software and webinars combined with their resources, technologies, and international reach will help both of us accomplish our mission – to help the world find their ancestors.”

Just as we are excited to contribute to the success of our new owners at MyHeritage, they, too, are anxious to elevate our Legacy software and webinar series to levels that have been beyond our reach.”

There are some Frequently Answered Questions after the news release at http://news.legacyfamilytree.com/legacy_news/2017/08/legacy-family-tree-has-a-new-home-with-myheritage.html

Best wishes to everyone involved!

New Collection of Ukrainian Records from 1650 to 1920 is Online

“The database includes 2.56 million people and is expected to reach 4 to 5 million in 2019. The access to its contents is and will remain free of charge. The sources of data are manifold: birth registers, fiscal and parish censuses, lists of nobility, voters, the military, and victims of repressions, address directories, and other documents produced under the Tsardom of Muscovy, Russian and Habsburg Empires, Poland and the Soviet Union. A Roman-letter version of the data index is reportedly to be enabled in the coming months.” (http://euromaidanpress.com/2017/06/24/huge-genealogical-database-of-ukrainians-born-in-1650-1920-opens-online/#arvlbdata)

I first went to this site on my ipad and that was when I was reminded that I don’t read Ukrainian!  Then I used Google Chrome on my computer – and accepted the invitation for translation that appeared at the top of the screen – now I could read what was on the screen!

Now I do need to apologize to all my Ukrainian friends . . .   your language and alphabet are great!

Go to https://pra.in.ua/

Thank you to Dick Eastman who referred me to Euro Maiden Press  for this information

FamilySearch Announces the End of their Microfilm Distribution Service

We all knew this was going to happen one day . . .  and the official announcement came today:

FamilySearch Digital Records Access Replacing Microfilm

SALT LAKE CITY, UT (26 June 2017)—FamilySearch, a world genealogy leader and nonprofit, announced today its plans to discontinue its 80-year-old microfilm distribution service. The transition is the result of significant progress made in FamilySearch’s microfilm digitization efforts and the obsolescence of microfilm technology. The last day for ordering microfilm will be August 31, 2017. Online access to digital images of the world’s historic records allows FamilySearch to service more people around the globe, faster and more efficiently. See Finding Digital Images of Records on FamilySearch.org and Frequently Asked Questions for additional information. Find and share this announcement online in the FamilySearch Newsroom.

A global leader in historic records preservation and access, FamilySearch and its predecessors began using microfilm in 1938, amassing billions of the world’s genealogical records in its collections from over 200 countries. Why the shift from microfilm to digital? Diane Loosle, Director of the Patron Services Division said, “Preserving historic records is only one half of the equation. Making them easily accessible to family historians and researchers worldwide when they need them is the other crucial component.”

Loosle noted that FamilySearch will continue to preserve the master copies of its original microfilms in its Granite Mountain Records Vault as added backup to the digital copies online.

As the Internet has become more accessible to people worldwide over the past two decades, FamilySearch made the decision to convert its preservation and access strategy to digital. No small task for an organization with 2.4 million rolls of microfilm in inventory and a distribution network of over 5,000 family history centers and affiliate libraries worldwide.

It began the transition to digital preservation years ago. It not only focused on converting its massive microfilm collection, but also in replacing its microfilm cameras in the field. All microfilm cameras have been replaced with over 300 specialized digital cameras that significantly decrease the time required to make historic records images accessible online.

FamilySearch has now digitally reproduced the bulk of its microfilm collection—over 1.5 billion images so far—including the most requested collections based on microfilm loan records worldwide. The remaining microfilms should be digitized by the end of 2020, and all new records from its ongoing global efforts are already using digital camera equipment.

Digital image collections can be accessed today in three places at FamilySearch.org. Using the Search feature, you can find them in Records (check out the Browse all published collections link), Books, and the Catalog. For additional help, see Finding Digital Images of Records on FamilySearch.org.

Transitioning from microfilm to digital creates a fun opportunity for FamilySearch’s family history center network. Centers will focus on simplified, one-on-one experiences for patrons, and continue to provide access to relevant technology, popular premium subscription services, and restricted digital record collections not available to patrons from home.

Centers and affiliate libraries will coordinate with local leaders and administrators to manage their current microfilm collections on loan from FamilySearch, and determine when to return films that are already published online. For more information, see Digital Records Access Replacing Microfilm.

Source:  Email from FamilySearch

Free Access to British and Irish Records at FindMyPast from June 22 to 26

If you want to do British or Irish research then this is for you!  Ends at midnight British Summer Time on Monday 26 June

• “the most comprehensive set of British and Irish parish records anywhere.
• Go back further in military history with our records dating back to 1760.
• Uncover the role your Irish ancestors played in history with our unrivalled Irish record collection.”

Record sets not included in free access: “the UK Electoral Registers (2002-2013), the UK Companies House Directors (2002-2013), the 1939 Register, our Newspapers and Periodicals, and all non-Britain & Ireland records.”

Great deal – and a good chance to look around at FindMyPast – go to http://www.findmypast.co.uk/

Postscript:

Where have you been, Peter?  Taking some time off?  While I have taken a break, I  have also shifted my efforts from family trees to fallen trees in our yard.  After 2 very bad windstorms we have lost over 20 trees – no risk of running out of firewood next winter – or the winter after – or the winter after – and so on!  Anyone need any firewood?

FamilySearch Web Indexing is now available – time to try it!

At our recent presentations we asked everyone to try the new FamilySearch Web Indexing,  but we told you to wait until it was released – we gave you a holiday!  The full public release has happened, but we have waited a while to make sure this new product is stable and ready for you to use. Now is the time for you to try web indexing!

What is indexing?

“Indexing is the process of creating indexes for record collections.  Having indexes allows researchers to more quickly find records for specific individuals; without them, researchers might have to look through hundreds or thousands of records to locate an individual record.  In FamilySearch indexing, volunteers copy family history information from digital images of documents.” (FamilySearch Help  Document)

What is a batch?  A group of records from a project

“Each project or record collection is divided into batches of one or more images that  typically contain around 20–50 names. When you index, you download a batch to work on. The batch may be just one image with several names, such as a census page. Or a batch may be several images with one or more names per image.” (FamilySearch Help  Document).   Sometimes there are only a few names in a batch

Go to familysearch.org and sign in – accounts are free.  Then click on Indexing and from the drop down menu select Web Indexing.

Carefully read the section My Batches – it suggests that you have 3 batches but the fine print tells you that these are merely suggested batches.  Click on the button Find Batches and select a project – you might want to try a Beginner Batch.

Hint:  It is very important to carefully read the Project instructions – look for the link.  Also look for the link to the Field Help.  Hovering with your mouse over a menu for more information.

Here is a link to an article from FamilySearch to on How To Get Started With Indexing Online   https://familysearch.org/blog/en/started-indexing-online/

Need additional help? Look at the Getting Started section in the FamilySearch article – and follow the links:

“Get Started

If you’re new to indexing or just want to brush up on your skills, take a look at some of the many tools and resources you have at your disposal.

1. Take a Quick Tour
Give indexing a try with a quick tour.

2. Review the Simple Guidelines
Take a minute to get familiar with a few important guidelines every indexer should know.

3. Choose a Favorite Project
With over 100 indexing projects worldwide, you’re sure to find one that interests you.

4. Find More Hints
Have questions about indexing in general? We’ve got answers. Check out these valuable resources.

5. Get Answers
Have more questions about web indexing? Here are answers to frequently asked questions.”

There is also a toll free number if you have questions:  1-866-406-1830 and ask for Indexing support.

Remember if you can’t read it,  you can send it back – there is an option to return batch under the menu Batch at the top of the screen.

We all like to be able to search for our ancestors online and FamilySearch Indexing is putting millions of names on the Internet almost every week.  You can take part.  Every name indexed is important

Please try web indexing – a great way to make more records available for all of us.

If you are already an active and regular indexer with the traditional program please continue with the traditional program as there is a lot of work to be done.   Projects in the traditional program are different from the projects for web indexing. 

15 Minutes on Blogs

Short presentation at the AGS Genealogy Conference 22 April 2017

1. What are they?

1. • the word blog is a truncation of the word weblog
   • “a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style” (Google)
   • A blog (also called a weblog or web log) is a website consisting of entries (also called posts) appearing in reverse chronological order with the most recent entry appearing first (similar in format to a daily journal) – from the Blogosphere

1. Why use them? Many reasons including:

1. • Keep up with news and events – think Newsletter
   • Share information
   • Engage others for a cause or issue
   • Easier to make and maintain than building your own website
   • Can be made private or limited access so you can share with your family

1. Several platforms exist

1. • • A blogging platform is the software or service that you use to publish your content onto the internet in the form of a blog. A blog platform is a specific form of a content management system.
   • Can be used free of charge – for example:
   • blogger.com – free
   • wordpress.com – free
   • wordpress.org – pay
   • There are many others

1. Among the blogs I read every day – or as often as they publish:

1. • Dick Eastman https://blog.eogn.com/
   • Ancestry Insider http://www.ancestryinsider.org/
   • Lost Cousins – English – http://lostcousins.com/newsletters2/midapr17news.htm
   • Genealogy in Time – Canadian – http://www.genealogyintime.com/
   • Ancestry blog https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/
   • FamilySearch blog – link at bottom of main page – lots of categories –  https://familysearch.org/blog/en/
   • Find My Past blog https://blog.findmypast.com/
   • Now after this weekend I will be trying the Passionate Genealogist  – thank you Ruth – http://familyhistorysearches.com/

1. Among my blogs are:

• Peter’s Family History Notes https://pfhn.wordpress.com/
• Red Deer Rootstech Family History Fair – organize a FH Fair – do registration – distribute handouts – conduct surveys – https://rdroots.wordpress.com/
• Letall Family History – a blog to try to find others researching a family name – I need to do more work on this one – https://letallfh.wordpress.com/

1. Where  can you find blogs for genealogy?

1. • http://www.geneabloggers.com/  by Thomas McEntee
   • Links to over 3000 genealogy and family history blogs

1. What to do next?

1. • Use a blog
   • Follow a blog – subscribe
   • Build a blog

Notes on “Getting the Most from the FamilySearch Research Wiki”

Notes from Presentation given at AGS Conference Edmonton 22 April 2017

What is the familysearch wiki?  Why should every genealogist be using it?

1. Overview
   1. • What is the research wiki?
      • How to access the wiki
      • How to navigate the wiki
      • Helpful wiki pages to use
      • How to submit content or edit the wiki
      • How to use the wiki for research

1. What is the Research Wiki? – started 2008 – there are now over 85,000 articles in English on the wiki

1. • Free online genealogical guide – quick and easy to use
   • Created and maintained by FamilySearch
   • Community can add information
   • Started with the old Family History Research Outlines – FamilySearch had problems keeping then up to date – 87 available – 3 not location based – e.g. Jewish – including one for each province in Canada

1. What can you find on the wiki?

1. • Links to online genealogy resources
   • Strategies and guidance
   • Record types – what are they? when? how?
   • Pages by locality – with resources
   • Pages by topic e.g. Organize your work

1. What you won’t find

1. • Not a database of specific individuals
   • but it does help you find records that may list your ancestor
   • so
   • Don’t search by your ancestor’s name
   • Search by locality
   • This is not part of Wikipedia

1. Wiki was upgraded in March 2016

1. • Major software changes
   • All information transferred over
   • Navigation changed from the right side to the left
   • Country, province, state pages redesigned
   • Rich text editor replaced with Visual Editor
   • Can now edit on almost all browsers – not just a few

1. How to access the wiki

1. • FamilySearch.org – under the Get Help menu
   • Under the Search menu at FamilySearch
   • Using the url wiki.familysearch.org

1. Navigating the wiki

1. • Interactive maps
   • Search boxes
   • Sidebars – 5 sections to the sidebar
   • Breadcrumbs – should be familiar to Windows users – nice way to navigate – FamilySearch adds breadcrumbs manually
   • Table of Content links

1. Types of links

1. • External – look for the blue arrow – opens a new window – so current window stays open
   • Internal – changes the window you are on – no arrow – you go somewhere else on the wiki
   • Dark blue ink – indicates you have visited the page or website before
   • Red ink – sadly no page created yet

1. Helpful pages to use

• • Pages linking to online genealogy – most popular feature on the site – online links are awesome – but please read the information in the articles first – links to BMD are used the most – shows links to north Free and Pay sites ($) – Blue button takes you to a single site – the link on the left of the screen takes you to a list of 218 pages (Alberta BMD section adopted by AGS – and up to date on recent BMD changes )
  • Links to Ask the Community – links to FamilySearch Genealogy Research Groups on Facebook – regional groups
  • “How to” pages – mostly only for USA for now but adding others  – step by step how to find a record such as a marriage in a State

1. Contributing to the wiki

1. • Research outlines
   • Genealogists who want to share
   • Projects – using volunteers
   • Always growing – so come back often to see what has changed

1. How to add content to the wiki – spamming problem in 2016 – getting paid for ads they place – so locked down things a little and you need to ask permission the first time you want to Edit – there’s a form for that request

1. • Use the submit to the wiki link on the left and fill in the form
   • Edit the wiki yourself after you receive permission – make sure you Save your changes
   • Report Problems – such as broken link – use the link on the left and fill in the form

1. Examples of using the Wiki

1. • what types of records are available
   • for what years
   • where are the records

1. What Canadian Censuses are available online? Do I have to pay?

1. • Go to Canada – then Census on right sidebar – then scroll down to table showing links to indexes and images for Canadian Censuses – table indicate which links are free, which are free in a FH Centre and links to Ancestry for those who have accounts

1. Why can’t I search in the 1890 US Census? Article indicates it was 99% destroyed in a fire.  Are there alternatives? Look to see if there a State Census available.

1. I can’t research in Ireland – all the records were destroyed in the Civil War.  Not true, but what records were destroyed? What records were not destroyed?  Wiki articles listing destroyed record sets and not destroyed. 
2. Do I have to worry about burned down court houses in my US Research?  Key term:  burned  counties.  Yes, there are some county court houses that burned down.
3. Final Words on the Wiki

1. • Search by place not name
   • Always growing – so come back often
   • Help by editing or submitting or reporting any problems

Check the presentation in the Learning Centre at FamilySearch  – “FamilySearch Wiki:  What it can do for you” – by Danielle Batson – great resource.

Notes on “Getting the Most Out of Historical Records at FamilySearch.org”

Given at the AGS Conference in Edmonton on 22 April 2017 – sorry numbering is messed up – it was not like this on the original!  – wanted to get this out quickly – there is a print button at the bottom of the posting.  We hope this is helpful.

1. What is under the Search menu at FamilySearch.org? 6 items: 
   1.  Records – meaning Historical Records – and this was the topic of this presentation
   2.   Family Tree – building one tree for all humankind
   3.  Genealogies – including the Guild of One Name Studies and some well sources Community Trees – worth checking out
   4.  Catalog – the catalog of the FH Library in Salt Lake City
   5.   Books – a collection of over 325,000 digital books – try searching for one of your families
   6.  Wiki – the Familysearch Research Wiki
2. Other sections not to be ignored:

1. 1.  Memories – a collection of photos and stories – worth searching!
   2.  Indexing – give something back – help to make records searchable

1. FamilySearch has 7.8 million registered users – and many more people who use the site without registering – and 1.1 million indexing volunteers – but looking for more.
2. The Historical Records collection includes 5.66 billion searchable records and 1.23 billion images – and growing
3. Four ways to access Historical Records – FamilySearch has very flexible search tools with many features:

1. 1. Search form
   2. . Interactive Map – just click on a country say Canada – then click on a province – say British Columbia – make sure you scroll down to see Collections you can only Browse as they aren’t indexed yet
   3.   Find collection – search by name if you know it – or click on the name of a single collection to search in just that collection
   4.  Browse all published collections – see a list of all the collections – currently totally 2214 – see which collections have Images (camera icon)

1.   Note there there are 2 types of camera icons on the Browse collections page – one for images on the site and one telling you that the images are on another site – this camera has a page behind it
2. Click any column heading in Browse Collections view to sort on that column heading.
3. Sort on Last Updated heading (just click on title) to see recently added or updated collections  sorts list into chronological order— millions of records being added almost weekly
4. Note there are filters on the left in browse collections
5. Look for hidden search options:

1. 1. .Search by Life Event – Default is birth – but can search Marriage or Residence or Death or Any event – you can add and remove options (check box in field for that option removes it) – you can search by any event singularly or combine options
   2. .  You can search with a relationship – Spouse, Parents, or Other Person
   3.   You can restrict records by Location – very powerful, Type, Batch Number or Film Number

1. Be cautious about checking boxes at the end of each field or at the bottom of the form that restrict to Exact only.
2. Ten Search Strategies
3. #1.  Put in just a name and then search
4. Example used was Joseph Smith ancestor who lived in Nottinghamshire in England
5. First Search = 4.9 million results
6. You can restrict Location to England
7. Then use the Filters below the search boxes on the left
8. Narrow by using filter Birthplace – keep returning to same filter – first to UK, then England, then Nottinghamshire (scroll down in list of counties) – should have about 4000 results now
9. Finally filter by Birth Year – first select century – then decade if you know it
10. Reduced results from 4.9 million to 6 records in a few clicks
11. #2.  Search by first name
12. We used Almida – a family connection –  huge number of results so filtered by place of birth which was Sweden – but if you add Restrict by Location then all the preciously used filters are removed – add filters again – at end Almida Marriage in BC is #5 on the screen – can see the certificate
13. #3. Find the children – do a parent search

1. 1. .Put in first and last name of Father and first name of mother
   2. .Restricted location to England and Nottinghamshire

1. #4.  Search in a specific collection – if you know the name of colledrion search for it or click on Canada on the map and then a province and select a collection
2. In the collection window click on Learn More to get a Wiki article about the collection
3. Then search just within that one collection
4. #5.  Use Batch Searches
5. Which parishes have been extracted?

1. 1. .Before Indexing there was extraction – the systematic transcribing of information from films of original records – there are millions of these records – unfortunately without images
   2. . Have batches of records been extracted from my parish?  For which years
   3. .Used to suggest doing a Google search “ wallis IGI”
   4.  Hugh Wallis created a  very good database by country, county and parish – it was good but . . .
   5.  Now google search for Archer Software IGI – http://www.archersoftware.co.uk/igi/ – more uptodate – we compared one parish in the 2 systems and there were more batches at Archer
   6. . Copy batch numbers from Archer and paste into Batch Number field and add Surname

1. #6.  Use the Source Film Number

1. 1.   Helping a friend with ancestry from Kincardine in Scotland
   2.  Went to the Catalog at FamilySearch and did a search – found the film number for parish registers
   3.  Put film number in Film Number field added parents to find children or just surname – and search

1. #7.  Use Wild Cards – Two Wildcards

1. 1. * indicates you don’t know one or more of the letters 
   2. .at FamilySearch can be used after only one letter is known 
   3. .so use H* if all you know is it begins with an H
   4. . e,g, *hausen
   5. .? takes the place of any letter
   6. .so use Jam?son to find Jamison or Jameson

1. #8. Sign in to see more images – Do you see all the same images?

1. 1. .No matter where you use FamilySearch? no – see more in FH Centre
   2. .Whether you sign in or not? Sign in and may show more images

1. #9.  Use partner sites to see images – don’t be afraid to follow links to other sites, e,g,

1. 1. .ancestry.ca
   2. .findmypast.co.uk
   3. .What if you don’t have a subscription? Go to a Family History Centre

1. #10.  Browse images – Using Waypoints to help you navigate
   1. .  There are great number of collections yet to be indexed – but the images have been digitized
   2. .  Used Durham Bishop’s Transcripts as an example
2. Final challenge – Give something back

1. 1. .Take Part in FamilySearch Indexing
   2. .https://familysearch.org/indexing/
   3. .Watch for the new Web Indexing – coming soon and worth waiting for – I will post a notice on this blog when it is available