> From: Anthony R. Guillory > Subject: FHL News -- v3n2 =============================================================================== The News of the Family History Library is copyright by the Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is offered to CompuServe subscribers for their personal use. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- News of the Family History Library 35 North West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 Vol. 3, No. 2 Spring 1991 FROM THE DIRECTOR FamilySearch(TM) and Ancestral File(TM) play a key role in our efforts to fundamentally simplify genealogical research. FamilySearch opens up a world of automated information with the touch of a few keys. Ancestral File allows both experienced and novice genealogists to easily find information about pedigrees, families, and individuals, as well as find the names of people working on the same lines. We are now releasing the second edition of Ancestral File. The file has 9.6 million names. The most significant new features, Edit and Descendancy Charts, are described below. Millions of genealogies have yet to be contributed to the file. Today, and in the next few years, I hope many families and genealogical organizations will be eager to automate and share their information. David M. Mayfield NEW FEATURE: DESCENDANCY CHARTS The second edition of Ancestral File can now compile and print descendancy charts. Users may press the F8 function key and view up to five generations of an ancestor's descendants (if the names are in the file). The descendancy chart shows each generation with information such as: 1-Horace Ephraim ROBERTS Born: 1 Apr 1807 Vienna, Trumbull, OH sp-Harriet MCEVERS Born: 3 Sep 1808 Isle of Mott, Grand Isle Co., VT 2-Maria Louisa ROBERTS Born: 11 Nov 1829 Montezuma, Pike, IL sp-Elliot Alfred NEWELL Born: 29 Aug 1830 Amboy, Oswego, NY 3-Luella Isola NEWELL Born: 2 Apr 1852 Springville, Linn, IA 4-Myrta Isola HAWS Born: 1 Sep 1879 Pueblo, Pueblo, CO Doing a decendancy chart, however, takes time. For Horace Ephraim Roberts and his 1,890 descendants, Ancestral File needs 42 minutes to compile the information, 3 minutes to prepare it for printing, and 30 minutes to print all 37 pages of the chart. In this case, it also requires changing the compact discs seven times. Therefore, patrons wanting to do a decendancy chart should plan their time appropriately so others can also use the computer. NEW FEATURE: MAKING CORRECTIONS The information in Ancestral File is voluntarily contributed by people worldwide. Since the information may be incorrect or incomplete, we have added a corrections feature. This new feature is explained in detail in Correcting Information in Ancestral File (available at family history centers). To make additions to the file, however, follow the instructions in Contributing to Ancestral File. To make the corrections, press the Edit key (F3) and follow the instructions on the screen. After saving your corrections on a diskette, send the diskette to Salt Lake City. Corrections will be added to a future edition of Ancestral File. Since Ancestral File is the product of contributions from many individuals, and since other researchers will also make corrections to Ancestral File, we encourage you to coordinate corrections with family members. Ancestral File lists each person who makes corrections and the reasons or sources for the corrections in the file's History of Changes section. Since your corrections will not appear on the screen, you may want to print a copy of them for your records and to share with others. Changes You Can Make You can make these corrections to Ancestral File: o Correct the name, sex, dates, and places for an individual o Merge two listings/entries for the same person, such as a child listed more than once in a family o Add a person to a family o Change, add, or delete family and marriage information o Create a new family (if at least one person is already in the file) or link a person to a family o Change a submitter's name and address o Mark a submitter as deceased Can I Correct Records of Living People? To protect the privacy of living people, Ancestral File limits the amount of information shown for persons with no death date listed in the file. For people listed in the file as being baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the file shows the name and word living. For others, the file shows only the word living. You may add a death date by using the Corrections function. When and How Will I See My Corrections in Ancestral File? Your corrections will appear in a future release of Ancestral File. The date printed on the compact disc is the last date information was added to the release. To see the correction, find the record you corrected and look in "Notes and History of Changes." What If Others Correct the Same Record I Did? Only the most recent changes for a record will show on the Ancestral File screen. If someone submits similar changes after you, those changes will override yours. What Programs Can I Use to Make Corrections? Use Ancestral File at a FamilySearch computer to correct records in Ancestral File. You cannot make corrections with Personal Ancestral File or any other software. Use Personal Ancestral File or other software registered as compatible with Ancestral File to submit new information (at least three generations). (For a complete list of registered software, see both vol. 3, no. 1 and vol. 2, no. 5. of the News.) If information is already in the file for some people, the records will usually be merged. Why Do I Need to Type Reasons and Sources on the Document Changes Screen? If you give your reasons and sources here, other researchers can understand why you made corrections and what documents can verify them. NEW FEATURE: REGISTERING A RESEARCH INTEREST The Corrections feature also allows you to register an interest in researching a specific individual. This enables other researchers to contact you to coordinate research efforts. This feature will replace Family Registry(TM). CONTRIBUTING TO ANCESTRAL FILE: PAPER We continue to receive reports that some people are under the impression that we no longer accept contributions to Ancestral File on paper. It is true that we emphasize contributions on diskette. However, we still accept paper contributions to Ancestral File. If you are considering contributing on paper, you should know why we encourage you to contribute on diskette. Information submitted on diskette can be added quickly and directly to Ancestral File exactly as you submit it. Information on paper documents must be typed into the computer. This process substantially increases the time it takes to add your information to the file, and creates the possibility for typing errors. There are several resources to help you put your information on diskette. Many software programs are registered as compatible with Ancestral File. Personal Ancestral File, one of these programs, is installed on computers at many family history centers throughout the U.S. and Canada. If you wish to use Personal Ancestral File at a family history center, contact a center and ask if the program is available. If the center does not have it, check with other centers. Before visiting a center, please call to arrange for a time to use Personal Ancestral File. Each center sets its own policies for use of the computer. If you cannot enter your own material into a computer, consider one of the following suggestions: o Find a person in your family, church, or community who is willing to computerize your information. o Arrange for someone in your family organization to do the computer data entry. o Hire the work done. Several individuals and firms are now advertising this service in genealogy magazines. None of these options may be available to you. We would rather receive your genealogical records on paper than not receive them at all. If you must send us paper documents, please consider the following: o Pedigree charts (covering a minimum of 3 generations) and family group records should be fully organized and checked for accuracy and legibility. o The records you submit should pertain to your family. o The records should not duplicate information already in Ancestral File. (If you cannot check the file, send us your pedigree charts and family group records. We will notify you if the information contained in these records is already in the file.) /end/