I is for Indexes Posted 11 April 2017 by Julie GoucherThe one thing that most genealogists cannot resist is an Index, whether that be in a book, CD, article, or on a website. The Guild holds a number of indexes which are available to members. What is especially useful to members and non-members alike is that a search of the online Register using the search facility at the top right of the website as you can see from this image. The search reveals any instances of that surname held within the Guild’s arsenal of indexes in addition to the profile page for the surname if it is registered. I searched for the surname of Butcher as I knew that it would yield a variation of results. This slide shows that the Guild has the following indexes: Marriage Indexes 1837-1911 Probate Index Scottish Index Worldwide Marriage Index Inscriptions Index BMD Index Members are encouraged to submit their material from their own research in addition to any One-Name Study or Surname Study. This is a great way to demonstrate the Guild ethos of members helping members. Our indexes are available to members and managed by volunteers under the support and guidance of Anne Shankland who is our Indexes Administrator. The BMD Index and Marriage Indexes are looked after by Cliff Kemball, Probate Index by Derrick Watson and the Worldwide Marriage Index by Marie Byatt. Does your surname appear as a registered study with the Guild or within the Guild indexes?
H is for Help Posted 10 April 2017 by Tessa KeoughAll during April we are blogging the praises of all the features, benefits, and resources available here at our Guild Website. Over the past two years our brilliant Website team, led by Guild members Kim Baldacchino and Ken Mycock, have been hard at work setting up the underlying structure, adding new material, and migrating/updating material from our old website. With so much construction and renovation going on, at times some of us might feel a bit lost. When that happens to me, I’m reminded of the Beatles tune – Help. Sometimes we simply need somebody to answer our questions or help us find what we are looking for. If this happens to you, from now on look no further than (cleverly titled) Help, found on the Guild Website’s drop down menu. Clicking on Help opens up a wealth of assistance: Instructions on how to reset your password All the contact information you need – if you have a specific issue or question, the contact person is a clickable link away AND we have posted the answers to 22 of the most frequently asked questions Video tutorials and guides to help you navigate the Guild Website, set up your Profile, and use the Guild Forums An alphabetical index (searchable) to all new posts, profiles, events, and pages An update on the status of our website migration Postholder and Web Editor guides (or logistics for working with WordPress on the Website) So the next time you are here at the Guild Website and feel a bit lost – perhaps you need to contact a postholder, or find out where [blank] is, or learn how to do [blank] – know that Help is just a click away. Give it a try!
G is for GoToWebinar Posted 8 April 2017 by Tessa KeoughYou may have noticed that the Guild took a break from hosting monthly online hangouts. Part of the reason was individual Guild members’ availability to plan and host a get-together and part of the reason was the logistics and quality issues associated with hangouts. The Guild recently set up a GoToWebinar account that we plan to use for pre-recorded as well as live webinars. We intend to showcase topics of special interest to all those focusing on surname research and one-name studies. The webinars will be available to members of the genealogy public during the webinar and for a limited time after the recording is uploaded to our Guild Website. Of course, the recordings will always be available to Guild members. Hosting a webinar series focusing on surname research and one-name studies continues the Guild’s mission of education, which is one of our responsibilities as a registered charity. In addition to our monthly Guild Webinar Series (and we are seeking ideas for a more catchy name – so put on your creative thinking caps and help us out!), we plan to take advantage of our GoToWebinar account for the following: Guild members Karen Rogers (Australia) and Michelle Patient (New Zealand) will continue to host their Surname Saturdays Webinars focusing on “Down Under” research Guild members Peggy Chapman (Canada) and Tessa Keough (USA) will host Quarterly Workshops/Meetings focusing on North American research Guild members Paul Featherstone (England) & Jim Benedict (Canada) will host the Members’ Website Project Meetings If national or regional representatives are interested in hosting a virtual Guild meeting, they can contact the Marketing Action Team (MAT – and no we don’t have superpowers) for assistance with scheduling and hosting a meeting Internal meetings of Guild subcommittees or teams can also be scheduled and held with the GoToMeeting feature of our account There are a number of additional ways we can take advantage of our GoToWebinar account. During our internal testing, we have found both the sound and image quality much better than hangouts. We should have an easier time with notifications, email invitations and reminders, the ability to include guest speakers and presentations, handouts and poll questions, and chat logs. If you have any suggestions of topics for our Guild Webinar Series or if you would be interested in sharing your knowledge and expertise by presenting during one of our webinars, please contact MAT or add a comment at the topic entitled Webinars & Meetings at the Guild WebForum. And watch this space for updates – we are almost ready to kick things off with GoToWebinar!
F is for FamilySearch Initiative Posted 7 April 2017 by Karen RogersF is for FamilySearch Initiative. Many of us wonder what might happen to our one-name studies in the future or what we would do if we had a hard-drive crash or a cloud service glitch. Two of the pillars of our one-name studies are to publish and preserve our work. When thinking about preserving your one-name study, why not take advantage of the Guild’s partnership with FamilySearch. The partnership is a way of preserving our one-name studies by uploading our trees into the genealogies section of the FamilySearch website. Thanks to the efforts of Guild member Marie Byatt, this FamilySearch Initiative is a free and secure method of preserving our one-name studies while sharing the fruits of our labor with the larger family history community. If someone is searching for your surname, their results will include your data. If you want to learn more about the FamilySearch Initiative and just how easy it is to publish and preserve your one-name study, visit the Guild Website. Simply use the drop down menu and select Resources, then select Guild Services, and click on Preservation with FamilySearch. While you are there, why not check out the other great services available to you as a Guild member! Some key features of the FamilySearch Initiative: (1) Your data will be preserved and FamilySearch will handle all upgrades to technology/server features, (2) the contributing Guild member is the only person who can update, replace or delete information – you have full control of your family trees, (3) it’s a simple process of uploading a GEDCOM (more information and instructions are at the Guild Website), (4) it serves as a useful backup for all your hard work, and (5) it is FREE. So why not have a look at some of your fellow Guild members’ data that is already available on FamilySearch. Marie Byatt serves as the Guild Co-coordinator for this partnership and is happy to help any Guild member with the process. Thanks Marie!