I only have an hour! What can I accomplish?
I went to a Family History lesson a few weeks ago at church. The teacher passed out this list titled, "I only have an hour! What can I accomplish?" I unfortunately don't know who put it together, it certainly wasn't the teacher since he said he knew nothing about Family History! I assume this is a list that floats around the LDS wards and stakes. If you know who put it together please let me know.
* Start a list of events or "learnings" or descriptions you would like to include in a personal family history
* Sort family or ancestral photos by person or couple or family and get them into acid free manila envelopes
* Sort photos that need to be identified into envelopes and mark the name of the person you think could help you identify them so that they will be ready to grab when you have an opportunity to visit with that person
* Write a letter to one extended family member asking for one or two specific items of information. Include a SASE for assurance of their reply.
* Go to familysearch.org and look up the ordinance dates of 5 ancestors and get them entered into your database
* Re-type a biographical sketch you have in your possession onto the computer and save it to a disk, CD or flash drive for preservation
* Pray for direction
* Use a digital camera or scanner and make copies of ancestral photos to save to a CD and preserve
* Write one chapter in your personal history on any subject of your choosing
* Make an appointment with your Family History Consultant to go to the library or Family History Center or to talk over "what's next" needs
* Create a time-line of a person or couple you know you want to do more research on
* Plan a trip to the Salt Lake or Provo family history libraries; go to the Family History Library Catalog Section of familysearch.org and make copies of records you will want to check when you get there
* Make a list of cemeteries you want to visit and take pictures of headstones; check on-line to see if there are records that allow you to look up headstone locations before you get there
* Type one obituary into the "notes" section of your software program
* Enter as much data as you have on any person in your ancestral line
* Go with your Family History Consultant and "update your records" or prepare names for submission using TempleReady
A few others I might add:
* Do Family Search Indexing
* Run your file through PAF Insight (mainly for LDS researchers)
* Call your oldest living relative and ask him/her some questions
* Try a free trial of one of the popular genealogy sites
* Get a library card at your local library to gain access to HeritageQuestOnline