Using Facebook Groups for Genealogy Help

Have you ever had trouble deciphering a word in a handwritten document?  Perhaps you asked your genealogy friend what he thought it was.  If you have a blog, perhaps you wrote a post about it.  If you have a Facebook account and are a member of a genealogy group, you probably posted the image there -- and within an hour, received help from at least half a dozen people.

I've had a Facebook account for a while but didn't bother with it much (a little too public for introvert me) until recently when I discovered its rich source of genealogy and family history groups.  I think it's safe to say that no matter your location or area of interest in family history there will be a Facebook group for it.  From location, to translating from one language to another, to reading old documents, to dating old photographs, to learning about your genealogy program, to so much more, you can find information and/or help on Facebook.

I've been impressed with the speed at which responses come when I ask a question.  In the whole wide world there is someone awake every minute of the day or night and often one of those people can answer my question at 2:30 a.m. or 5:00 p.m.

Genealogists and family historians are more than willing to respond to questions and often go beyond just answering the question to giving help by finding documents, headstones, and fixing photographs.  That being said, everyone is busy with paid employment, family life, daily responsibilities at home, and family history.  There's more to do than there is time in the day for many people.  Be kind and don't waste others' time.

How, you ask?  Use the "Search this group" box, barely visible at the bottom of the image at right, to see if your topic was discussed a week ago, just before you joined the group, or weeks before you knew you wanted to know that information.  Choose a few words from your question that a search might find (e.g., probate, voter lists, Ohio, a surname, a cemetery name, etc.), type them into the box, then click/tap the magnifying glass.  The results will appear in the center of the page.  Scroll through them to see if your question might have been previously answered by someone else.  If not, ask.

In addition to using the search box, check the Files.  Not all Facebook groups have files but if the one you've joined does, be sure to scroll through them.  You may find surname lists; lists of books owned by members who are willing to do searches; resource lists for a state or county; lists of state resources; lists of county estate files; and more.

Using Facebook for family history is another way to crowdsource.  Of course, it's not only about getting help.  It's also about giving help.  When reading another's post and you have a helpful answer, respond.  You may have knowledge that no one else in the group does.  Share it.

I've joined a number of genealogy groups on Facebook.  Some are closed groups, which means I needed to request to join (usually by clicking a button).  Other groups, like genealogy societies, often have a public page that is open to anyone including those without Facebook accounts.   Below are a few of my favorite groups.

Genealogy program  (This is the program I use but there are groups for others, too.)

RootsMagic Users

General genealogy questions and help

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness - RAOGK USA

British genealogy group

Ancestry UK Discussion Group

County and state genealogy groups

Mercer County, Pennsylvania Genealogy

Pennsylvania Genealogy Network

Jefferson County Ohio History and Genealogy

Genealogy blogging groups

GeneaBloggers TRIBE

We Are Genealogy Bloggers

If you're curious to know which other genealogy groups are on Facebook, click through to Katherine R. Willson's pdf list, Genealogical and Historical Groups/Pages on Facebook (in English).  It is over 300 pages long with more categories than I want to list here and with hyperlinks to each group's page, or visit her website.  She updates the list at least annually.

Do you have a Facebook account?  Are you a member of any genealogy groups and, if so, have you received or given help?

--Nancy.

Copyright ©2017-2018 Nancy Messier. All Rights Reserved.
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RootsMagic, FamilySearch Family Tree ID Numbers, & RootsMagic Facebook Page

My genealogy program of choice is RootsMagic which I use in conjunction with FamilySearch's Family Tree.  Each individual on Family Tree (FT) has a unique ID #.  Robert Laws's number is KDQ1-33T.

When I research on FamilySearch and find a document that I want to add as a source to an individual, I need to know the person's ID #. 



Ideally, I would like to be able to click on RootsMagic, find the person, check the number, then return to FamilySearch Family Tree and choose the individual with that number and add the source.

I scouted through Bruce Buzbee's book, Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic 7, but was unable to determine how to add an ID # and have it appear next to the surname.  I finally decided to add it manually, adding a few spaces after the name, then typing the number in parentheses.  Perfect, I thought.

But not so perfect.  When I looked at the list of individuals on the left sidebar of RootsMagic I saw the usual alphabetical list -- except that Robert Laws was not in order because the ID # had prevented it.  Darn.  That didn't work.

The light bulb came on and headed to the RootsMagic Facebook page. 



Last evening I posted my question.

I know there must be an easy way to add FamilySearch Person ID#s to the individuals in my RootsMagic tree but I have been unable to find out how. Can anyone help, please? 

Within an hour someone had responded with clear, concise directions.  By the time I checked Facebook this morning, others had chimed in with more questions to determine exactly what I wanted to do and exactly how I wanted the results to appear and responded with comments.  More clarity about using RootsMagic's FamilySearch Central came soon after.  Family historians are the best and I'm becoming a fan of Facebook!

If you're like I was and want to add the FamilySearch Family Tree ID #s to your individuals in RootsMagic, these are the steps:
> Click File at the upper left of the program.
> Choose FamilySearch Central.  It will ask you to log into FamilySearch.
> Click AutoMatch at the top of the screen and let the program do its work.

AutoMatch will match individuals from Family Tree with individuals in your RootsMagic program without adding any data.  According to Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic 7 it must be an "undeniable match" which, I assume, would include name, birth and death dates and locations, parents, etc.  But, of course, you can match each person individually.

Now I'm a fan of RootsMagic's FamilySearch Central, too.  Technology is so amazing!

--Nancy.

Copyright ©2017 Nancy Messier. All Rights Reserved.
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