by Lisa Cooke | Feb 26, 2016 | 01 What's New, Records & databases
New genealogy records online this week include a new index of WWII POWs from the US; British and Welsh newspapers, New York passenger and crew lists and more. Take a look!
BRITISH 1939 REGISTER BROWSER. A new browsing tool is available to help Findmypast subscribers access the 1939 Register (which is online in indexed format but requires separate premium access). “A handy partner to the name-searchable 1939 Register, Browse offers you the ability to explore England and Wales by county, borough/district, piece number and ED letter code.”
BRITISH AND WELSH NEWSPAPERS. Over 6.4 million articles have recently been added to Findmypast’s collection of historic British Newspapers. They comprise 26 new titles, including 19 from Wales dating back to 1829. According to the collection description, “19 of our newest titles come from Wales, allowing you an insight into local life during the 19th and early 20th centuries.”
ENGLAND (LANCASHIRE) CEMETERY. Nearly a half million indexed records have been added to a free collection at FamilySearch of England Lancashire Oldham Cemetery Registers 1797-2004. According to the collection description, “This collection contains cemetery registers from Hollinwood, Failsworth, Royton, Crompton, Chadderton, Lees, and Greenacres cemeteries in Oldham. Most registers contain, name, address, date of death, date of burial and burial location.”
NEW JERSEY CHURCH. Ancestry.com has posted a new collection of New Jersey, United Methodist Church Records, 1800-1970
, 1800-1970
spanning nearly two centuries (1800-1970). According to the description, “This collection includes baptism, marriage, burial, and membership records from churches in the Greater New Jersey United Methodist Church Commission on Archives and History. Most records are from churches that have been closed.”
NEW YORK IMMIGRATION/CREW. FamilySearch has a new browse-only collection of more than 3.2 million records of New York passenger arrivals at Ellis Island (1891-1924). It links to images of arrival lists at the Ellis Island website. In addition, nearly 1.3 million indexed records have been added to FamilySearch’s collection of New York New York Index to Alien Crewmen Who Were Discharged or Who Deserted (1917-1957).
US WWII PRISONERS OF WAR. A new database of over 143,000 United States prisoners of war records (1941-1945, prisoners of the Japanese) is now searchable on FamilySearch.org.
Keep up-to-date with this weekly digest of new genealogy records online, which notes some of the biggest, most interesting and exciting collections we’ve noticed. Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter so you won’t miss any, and you’ll receive a free e-book of Lisa Louise Cooke’s Google search tips from her popular book, The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox.
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Genealogy Gems!
by Lisa Cooke | Sep 12, 2016 | 01 What's New, FamilySearch, Volunteer
According to an article on the FamilySearch blog, 90% of all indexed records on FamilySearch are those for English-speaking countries. While this is super exciting for me and my family tree, many of my friends are unable to trace their family histories past their great-grandparents. Why? Because the records in their native country have been digitized, but not indexed.
FamilySearch Indexing in These Easy Steps
I have been indexing at FamilySearch for years and you can join me! Just follow these simple steps:
- Go to www.familysearch.org.
- Sign-in and click on Indexing and choose Overview from
the pull-down menu.
- Click on Get Started, which will direct you to the Get Started page. You will need to download the indexing program directly to your device.
- From your desktop, open the FamilySearch Indexing program by clicking on the icon.
- Sign-in again and click Download Batch at the top left corner.
- Choose a project to work on.
If you feel you need some further instruction, watch these helpful videos below:
FamilySearch Indexing: How to Start
FamilySearch Indexing Training: Video 1
FamilySearch Indexing in Another Language

Training for French Language
FamilySearch is looking for three kinds of people:
- Fluent, native speakers of non-English languages living in their native county or in an English-speaking country.
- People who have extensive training in a non-English language.
- English speakers who are willing to learn how to index specific types of non-English records.
I know what you are thinking…you hardly passed French 101 in high school! But, you can do it.
There was recently a very successful Italian indexing training initiative in the U.S. It more than doubled the worldwide number of individuals working on Italian records. You can be a part of the growing need for French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese record sets.
Training guides and videos have been created for the French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian languages. As we accomplish the work for these places, FamilySearch will add more languages. The videos and guides will help volunteers to learn how to index specific types of records. Click here to learn about this language learning initiative and to get started.
What Else Can You Do for FamilySearch Indexing?
If you have friends or family who are fluent in another language, ask them to join you. Share this post with your friends on Twitter and Facebook to get the word out. Does your teen need some service hours for graduation, Girl/Boy Scouts, or other organization? This is a unique service project that even teens can do and that will be meaningful to many.
We would love to hear your stories of successes in indexing. Leave a comment below or post to our Genealogy Gems Facebook page.
More Gems on Indexing
Volunteer Gem: He Indexed Milwaukee Journal Obituaries Himself!
Want to Help Index De-Classified CIA Records?
by Lisa Cooke | Aug 23, 2016 | 01 What's New, Conferences
The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference for 2016 is “Time Travel: Centuries of Memories” and will be held in Springfield, Illinois. See what your future holds by learning about the past. Genealogy Gems will be there, and you’re going to love our line-up of free 30-minute classes in the exhibit hall (booth #200). Plus, enter to win our Grand Prize drawing! Here are all the details.
Make Your Future Whatever You Want, But Make it a Good One

JMortonPhoto.com & OtoGodfrey.com [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
With his iconic exclamation of “Great Scott!”, Back to the Future’s Dr. Emmitt Brown reminded us that the future is in our own hands. Make your future genealogy research “a good one” by attending this year’s conference.
This Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference will benefit the novice, the professional, and anyone in between. With over 160 sessions and 72 expert speakers from all over the world, you will be inspired to reach greater heights in all things genealogy.
Each day, a new set of classes will guide you through:
- the U.S. Midwest (regional track)
- the United Kingdom (British Isles and Commonwealth track)
- the continental European research (ethnic track), to give you the latest and greatest in genealogy research.
If you missed early registration, that’s okay. Walk-in registration is available by clicking here. Enjoy all four days of inspiring classes, only attend a day or two, or just meander around the exhibit hall.
Free Stuff in the Exhibit Hall
The exhibit hall is always a favorite place to network and socialize with your genealogy buddies. Wander from booth to booth to see what the future holds for genealogists and gather up all the fun and free swag, too.
Most importantly, Lisa wants to see you for our free sessions that are back by popular demand! With such a positive response last year, Genealogy Gems will once again be hosting a series of free presentations at this year’s FGS conference. Join us in our Genealogy Gems Theater in booth #200 in the exhibit hall. Our 30-minute information-packed sessions will help you think outside the box for greater genealogy success.
Attend any of our sessions and sign-up to receive our free e-book of handouts for all the sessions. Want to plan ahead so you don’t miss a thing? Glance over the schedule below (click the button to download the schedule) and mark your can’t-miss sessions. (Not able to attend? Stay tuned because we will be announcing which sessions will be broadcast live over Periscope for free.)

BONUS: Join Lisa in the FGS theater area of the exhibit hall
Saturday at 12:10 for
Top Google Search Strategies for Genealogists

Grand Prize Drawing: Total Retail Value over $210
Presenters at the Genealogy Gems Theater have pitched in for this year’s Grand Prize drawing. The winner will receive:
…from Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems
…from Your DNA Guide Diahan Southard
…from Family Tree Magazine: an e-book bundle valued at about $100
Click here for the Grand Prize entry form, which also gets you the free e-book with all the session handouts. Drop the entry off at booth #200. The winner will be notified by email.

Lisa will of course be presenting lectures during the daily sessions. Jump on over to our website page for even more information about the FGS Conference.
We’re looking forward to seeing you there, friends!