Billions of Thanks

Thanks A Billion!

Those of you who have been actively indexing this month have already seen the badge and message sent from FamilySearch announcing the three people who helped index the 1 billionth record. But I think a special thank-you should go out to all of the 689 indexers and arbitrators in the Oklahoma City Stake who have helped to make that possible. 

Thank you for indexing and as Sister Dalton, the Young Women general president, told the 2000 youth at the RootsTech Conference in March, "you are Saviors on Mount Zion" (see Obadiah 1:21 and D&C 103: 9-10). You are creating a way to make records available so that they can easily be found and  the temple work can be provided for those who have died without the opportunity to receive them. So a mere 'Thank-you" barely seems adequate to express the gratefulness that must be felt by  those who can now enjoy the blessings of eternal life.

Let's keep up the good work and do our part in helping to index the next billionth record.

Indexing and Arbitration Alert

This week I received a message from FamilySearch stating that they were doing an Arbitration Audit and that all arbitrators need to be indexing too. The ratio is 1 batch indexed to 10 batches arbitrated. This helps you to make less mistakes with arbitration.

Also in checking our Stake Statistics today I saw that we are having an unusually high number of re-do batches. 

The following Wards seem to be having the most problems: 

• Edmond First
• Edmond Second
• Okc First
• Quail Creek
• Village

Please check the tab "My Arbitration" to see if your records are being sent back to be redone. If you have any that were returned, please contact your Ward Group Administrator for help, or call me or contact the Help at FamilySearch @ 1-866-406-1830. I can't stress enough that it also helps to read all of the project instructions and field helps . 
Group Administrators please check the Statistics to see who may need your help and ask them to share a batch with you.

Changes in FamilySearch

In case you haven't been on the FamilySearch Tree lately, there have been some major changes and upgrades to the site. The look on the home page has changed but the same wonderful features are still there.You can now add photos and stories. You can scan in documents and attach them to an individual for source documentation. These records will be preserved forever by the Church, no need to worry about saving all those paper files. Go to this link to see for yourself'

https://familysearch.org

If you need help the Family History Consultants at the Stake Family Search Center would love for you to stop by to learn how easy it is to use these new features in Family Search  for generating your own family tree and obtaining names for temple work. They are eagerly waiting for members to come and visit the Center. Did you know that about 75% of those who use our Center are non-members. Some shifts in the Center have no patrons!  How sad is that?


My Tree

gnarled with deep roots

MOTIVATION

What keeps you motivated to work on your family tree? For me it is a sense of urgency that the records will not be preserved and alll of my research will be lost. Also something that Dennis Brimhall, President and CEO of FamilySearch said at the RootsTech Conference. He said we needed to move the vision of Family History to 20 or 30 years from now.  He asked us to think about our answer to this question: "What will your great-grandchildren wish you had done?"

Did you know these facts as stated by Dennis Brimhall:

• 50% of the people in the US Can't name all four of their grandparents
• Many of the youth can not read cursive hand writing.
• We are running out of people to read the old records
• The days of being the only researcher are over
• Collaboration is the key to success in genealogy today
• "It's" about stories not collecting names

Start writing your stories today.

Youth Activity update

Spring in on the way.

Youth Rock Climbers Meet

The top six youth indexers during the March Madness Challenge, Courtney Wilkinson, Cameron Wilkinson, Megan Milligan, Rylan Pierson, Jalen Pierson, and Gretchen Christensen all met with President Baclawski last Sunday to decided where they will all go to do some rock climbing. After thoughtful consideration they decided to go to the DEVON BOATHOUSE  down on Lincoln Blvd, along the Oklahoma River. They will be going on Friday, May 30th. This will be after school is out and before girls camp and all the fun summer activities begin. Each youth was told to invite one person to go with them, preferably a friend outside of the Church.

The reason they chose the Devon Boathouse is because of the many different fun activities they could do there such as: Wall climbing, Rowing, Kayaking,  Zip Lining, and the SandRidge Sky Trail which is an 80 foot high adventure course with six levels of challenges. It sounds like a fun day. President Baclawski wanted to know if I would like to go along and give the zip line a try?  I would have done that 10 years ago, but not now thank you.

~KSBI TV Interview~

For those of you who  missed the broadcast of the interview on "Oklahoma Live" on Tuesday April 9th  you can either Google KSBI and review their postings for that day, or you can go to this link:  http://www.ksbitv.com/story/April-9-2013-20130412   

The "Oklahoma Live" show is an one hour show, you will need to go to the 48 minute mark to see Kirk Kuykendall and me.

Pathway to Family Research Conference Review

The Friday night fireside with Brother Abram, our Area Family History Advisor from Bentonville, Arkansas, and his wife was wonderful. If you missed it you really lost out on a great evening . I saw one High Priest Group Leader and his wife there. This was for all members of our Stake to attend, approximately only 40 were able to make it.

Saturday's  classes were just fantastic. The consultants and others from the community who taught them did a great job. It was estimated that about 138 people attended, 75% of which were people from the community. Next year we hope to double our attendance of Church members and fun. If you have suggestions for classes you would like to participate in next year please leave a comment on this blog and I will forward it. IT IS A FREE ACTIVITY.

Indexing Tip

If you are indexing the US Immigration records for New York view the "Recent Updates" or read your messages from FamilySearch that are visible when you log in to index.

You do not need to index the signatures that appear on many of the forms. This has changed from their original instructions to index every name.

March Madness Report

Salt Lake City Temple taken March 2013 by Lois Gilbert

March Madness Challenge

The results have been added up and while we did not

make our challenge of 500,000 names

I am still pleased with what we accomplished

from February 24 - April 6, 2013

118,010

total names indexed and arbitrated

Thank you all for indexing and doing the Lord's work!

March Indexing totals by Ward

• Clinton                    2775
• Edmond 1st              7886
• Edmond 2nd             6453
• no location                 209
• Okc Fifth                   5706
• Okc First                 13009
• Okc Third                  7907
• Quail Creek              18171
• Village                      8422
• Woodward               12204

Youth Indexers

• Primary Okc 1st               205
• Primary Quail Creek       200
• Primary Village                 289

Youth Edmond 1st                  1907

Youth Edmond 2nd                 429

Youth Okc Fifth                       1598

Youth Okc First                          505

Youth Okc Fourth Branch           75

Youth Okc Third                        358

Youth Quail Creek                    2853

Youth Village                              3486

                          Good JOB!!

        

One of my great grand daughters

Pathway to Family Research CONFERENCE

April 12th and 13th

FREE TO ALL _ Preregistration forms in Family Search Center or just come_Open to the public.

Friday night there will be a Fireside at 7 PM and the conference on Saturday starts at 8:30 am with classes till 5:00 PM. If you want to learn about family history and research methods come to these classes and have fun.

Six Youth Going Rock Climbing

In response to President Baclawski's challenge to the youth to index 1500 names during the March Madness Challenge the following youth have made that goal!  Great work and thank you for indexing. May your interest in family history work continue on.

Courtney Wilkinson

Cameron Wilkinson

Megan Milligan

Rylan Pierson

Jalen Pierson

Gretchen Christensen

ROOTS and Updates on March Madness.

Assembly Hall in Salt Lake City - taken by Lois Gilbert

Family Research Conference

April 12th Fireside - Saturday April 13th Conference From

8:30 - 5:00 at the Stake Center

Great Classes and ideas.

See your ward Family History Consultants for a registration form.

March Madness Indexing

total from 2/24 - 3/24

93824

Ward                            total indexed 2/24 - 3/24

Clinton                                                2167

Edmond 1st                                        8986

Edmond 2nd                                      6374

Okc 5th                                               5818

Okc 1st                                              13067

Okc 3rd                                               6895

Quail Creek                                       18264

Village                                                  8091
Woodward                                         11,318

Youth                           total indexed 2/24 - 3/24
Edmond 1st                                        2440
Edmond 2nd                                        429
Okc 5th                                               1651
Okc 1st                                                  619
Okc 4th Branch                         53
Okc 3rd                                                 358
Quail Creek                                        3001
Village                                                  3849

Youth Rock Climbers

Three more Youth have made their goal of 1500 names and will be going to the Indoor Rock Climbing  event courtesy of President Baclawski.

1. Courtney Wilkinson -  1584 names Village Ward
2. Rylan Pierson           - 1647 names Quail Creek Ward
3. Jalen Pierson            - 1740 names Quail Creek Ward
4. Megan Milligan         - 2110 names  Edmond First Ward
5. Gretchen Christensen -1633 names Oklahoma City Fifth 

Good Work !  and more about these great achievements later. We are grateful to all of you are trying to make this goal and for your interest in family history work. The future is yours, we want you to grow to love family history work and going to the Temple with family names. By indexing you are making it possible for other people to find their family names and do their work at the Temple.

RootsTech Report

Elizabeth and Lois at the Conference March 21-23rd in Salt Lake City

My daughter and I  had a great time at the RootsTech Conference this past week. I have lots of things to share with the Stake about new software programs and guidelines from Family Search for History Consultants.

What do you think RootsTech and HOG (Harley Owners Group) and Tattoo Convention have in common?

They were all having a convention at the Salt Palace at the same time!!!  I asked Don if he would be too shocked if I came home with a tattoo?  He nearly exploded, but I was only teasing him, and we both laughed at that one.  Then there was the NCAA Basketball Tournment last week-end in Salt Lake City too! That caused a lot of slow and intermittent internet connections at RootsTech. 

The theme of RootsTech conference was "FIND, ORGANIZE, PRESERVE and SHARE ( FOPS).

Dennis Brimhall gave the first keynote address and he said "we need to get a lot ,more people engaged in Family History work."  It is all about their stories, not Pedigree Charts and Family Group Sheets. There is plenty of new technology out there to support the work. Can't wait to tell you more about it!

March Madness Indexing Update

Sunrise in Florida 

Family Research Conference April 12 & 13th

Please see your Ward Family History Consultants or go to the Family Search Center at the Stake Center to pick up your registration form for this wonderful FREE Family History Conference. The day is Saturday 13th from 8:30 - 5:00. While the cost is free, there is a charge for a lunch and a copy of the syllabus of all the classes. Friday night, April 12th there will also be a free Fireside for all who have an interest in family history.

March Madness Report for Sunday 17th.

Stake Total from Feb 24th - March 17th.

62,762

WARD                                                    TOTAL NAMES TO MARCH 17TH

Clinton                                                                      1750

Edmond First                                                          6502

Edmond Second                                                       4517

Okc Fifth                                                                   3135  

Okc First                                                                10,846

Okc Third                                                                  4132

Quail Creek                                                            12,097

Village                                                                        6356

Woodward                                                                 8223

YOUTH 

Edmond First                                                             747

Edmond Second                                                         426

Okc Fifth                                                                     304

Okc First                                                                     366

Okc Fourth Branch                                                       11

Okc Third                                                                    157

Quail Creek                                                               2614

Village                                                                        2329

Eagle Scout Indexing Project 

Thomas Taylor gave a wonderful presentation on Indexing prior to each of the three 2 hour sessions last Saturday. Not only did he have to learn how to index, but he also had to teach others to do it. 

There were approximately 50 people who attended the Indexing sessions and 6 new indexers where signed up. While the total number of names indexed during the project has not been reported to me, I can say that the whole stake indexed 3182 names from 11:15 am  to 9 pm on Saturday. Brother Taylor will give a full report to the his Scouting Leaders and is grateful to all of the Members who took time to come and help him with the patrons. 

Thomas had a busy week, he told us he turned in his Mission Papers on Saturday, and on April 1st  he will be celebrating his 18th birthday.

RootsTech Conference

The Rootstech Conference will be held from March 21 - 23rd in the Salt Palace, in Salt Lake City. As of Last Friday 5,000 people have signed up to attend. There will be  4 different tracks: Genealogy Classes, Technology Programs and classes, Storytelling Series of lectures and classes, and FamilySearch training for Family history consultants, Family History Directors, and Stake Index Directors. This year there will also be family history classes for the Youth, including a 2  hour Genealogy Merit Badge Class.

     

March Madness Indexing Update

Welcome Welcome Sabbath Morning, taken by Bishop Wooley in PA

Sunday, March 10th on his way to Church.

Second Youth to meet Challenge of 1500 Names

and to go  Indoor Rock Climbing !!

RYLAN PIERSON

Quail Creek Ward

Great Work !!  Come on Youth 

There are only 27 days left in this challenge.

Update 

Stake March Madness Indexing Challenge

500,000 names - 45,455 names per unit by

April 6th.

Stake Total = 42,644 on March 10th, 27 days to go

Ward                                           Total       as of March 10th

Clinton                                             1066

Edmond 1st                                     4912

Edmond 2nd                                  2869

Okc 5th                                             1819

Okc 1st                                             6650

Okc 3rd                                            1519

Quail Creek                                     8277

Village                                              3749

Woodward                                       5647     

Youth by Ward                        Total        as of March 10th 

Edmond 1st                                   727                             

Okc 5th                                           123

Okc 1st                                             114

Okc 4th Branch                                11

Quail Creek                                  2001

Village                                           3052

Indexing and Arbitration Tips

If you are indexing or arbitrating the US Community project - New York Passenger List 1942-1957 please read the project instructions about indexing ALL names.

Common mistakes I see when arbitrating these records include the following:

• Not adding the names of people who signed the document, found near the bottom. There may be two or three other names of the captain, master,  or immigration inspector, etc. 
• Do not expand abbreviations of nationality or birth place names. Such as: Amer. just enter Amer or if it says U.S.A.  enter USA ; don't forget we do not enter punctuation unless there is a hyphen between surnames. If an address is given do not assume it is a place of birth or nationally, unless it is under the heading "birth" or "nationally".

These are fun records to do because most are typed, if your batch isn't typed, you can return it for someone else to do.

February 2013 Indexing Reports

Sketch of New Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple - under construction 2013

Psychologists measuring children's resilience found that the kids who "knew the most about their family history" were best able to handle stress.
The more children know about their family's history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives and the higher their self-esteem. The reason: These children have a strong sense of "Intergenerational self" - they understand that they belong to something bigger than themselves, and that families naturally experience both highs and lows.
(taken from a magazine on family life and submitted by Jared Smith, High Councilman in charge of Family History in our Stake)

A big welcome to our new Okc Third Ward Group Administrator: Shirley Corrigan. I know Shirley will do a wonderful job as she has been an indexer and arbitrator for a long time. Let's get the Youth in Third Ward going on Indexing!!


March Madness Stake Youth Indexing Challenge

Indoor Rock Climbing
We already have our first Youth to complete the requirements to go Rock Climbing!  Courtney Wilkinson from the Village Ward Indexed  1584 names from Feb 24th - Feb 27th. Fantastic !  Great Work!! Courtney has also been given rights to be an arbitrator and is doing a fantastic job.  Indexing creates a love of family history.
Other youth can also become arbitrators, ask me how.

March Madness Stake Indexing Challenge
has begun.
Each unit in the Stake will have to index and/or arbitrate 45,455 names to reach our Stake goal of 500,000 names by April 6th. The count down began on Feb 24th and ends on April 6th. We had 41 days to accomplish this goal, time is ticking down. If you have dropped off the face of the indexing world, please come back and  help by indexing this month. Watch your Ward bulletin for  announcements and Ward incentives.

Stake Indexing Report for February

Stake Total =  58,169

Ward/Branch                           total names Indexed & Arbitrated                                            

Clinton                                       1222

Edmond First                             7654

Edmond Second                         2871

Okc Fifth                                    3012

Okc First                                    5746

Okc Third                                   3497

Quail Creek                                7871

Village                                        3467

Woodward                                18513

Youth By Ward                       total names Indexed & Arbitrated  

Edmond First                             550

Edmond Second                          35

Okc Fifth                                     63

Okc First                                    114

Quail Creek                                387

Village                                      3107  

Great work to the Woodward Branch Indexers and Arbitrators, and to the Village Ward Youth. Thanks for leading the way in indexing for the rest of the Stake.