What is Indexing?
Volunteers extract family history information from digital images of historical documents to create searchable indexes that assist everyone in finding their ancestors.An article in the Ensign tells about how ANYONE can help with it!
When the kids both go down for naps, I have from 2-4 hours of "ME TIME". Usually I pass the time by cleaning the kitchen, picking up toys, trying to organize our clutter or surfing the internet. I set up my information and loaded the program last week and spent an hour today indexing names from South Dakota and Illinois. It was awesome! I felt like I was using my brain (deciphering the handwriting reminds me of trying to read my 6th graders' writing) to do something really worthwhile and fun! It's also really fun to sit and ponder what these people's lives were like. What a 27-year-old mother's life was like with a husband and five children in South Dakota! I worked on indexing for about an hour and got two "batches" done. I'm sure I'll get faster as I get more practice. I just wanted to put a plug in there for any of you moms who find yourselves alone at night while your husbands are at school/church meetings, have napping kids or kids at school, have insomnia, etc. It's a great way to pass the time and do something to help move the family history work forward. Thanks Sarah!
Okay, now I've got to go clean the kitchen.
5 comments:
First of all -- 2-4 hours of free time? Bless those kids of yours! Even when Goose was napping, I only got 90 minutes max. Now with quiet time, it's down to 45-60. Good for you.
Second, thanks for the info. I've heard a little bit about the indexing program through my VT but I didn't totally understand it.
Have you heard about new.familysearch.org? I have NEVER done ANY geneaology before but after they introduced this program at our stake conference last weekend, I was HOOKED. I guess they're rolling it out to temple districts around the world as the year progresses, so I don't know if yours has happened yet. (You would think SLC would have everything first, though, eh?)
I was able to go in and pull up MY FAMILY TREE in its entirety. There's a timeline of my life showing all significant events. There's even a map showing all the places I've lived. Holy cow -- it is so cool. I can't wait for everyone all over the world to get access to it.
Onthego, I don't know much about it either, but this is the first step. My dad told me about the new familysearch, which will be the new PAF. The software is coming out to help people move it over on their own computers. I didn't know that I could find my own personal family tree! I'll have to check that out. Fun.
I'm glad that you took the time to figure it out...download it to your computer...and become addicted to doing good work! Way to go!
This is amazing... I'll have to check it out. My kids are great nappers too, so I should be able to focus and get a few batches done and still have time for a little "sitting and staring" lol!
thanks for the tip!
Thanks to your encouragement (and encouragement from one of the 70-ish ladies I visit teach, I got started on this last night!
I wouldn't normally feel like I have the time, but with Matt in school ...
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