To Turn the Hearts

…it is about the hearts first, not the charts; that will come later… …Start by touching their hearts with stories and pictures of their ancestors to help members have a spiritual experience to feel the spirit of Elijah.

Elder Allan F Packer

Overview of Principles Related to Family History Research

1. Look for photos and stories to help “turn hearts.” A. Check Family Tree “Memories” often. B. Add photos and stories to your family trees.

2. Check the “What’s New” link on FamilySearch often. (located on the “Get Help” drop down menu in the upper right corner of the screen)

3. Work from general to specific – start with what you know.

4. Do Descendancy Research – A great place to begin.

A. Look for children w/o spouses or other missing info.

B. Look for gaps of 3-5 years between children.

5. “Triangulate” information using multiple sources – hints, search records, Ancestry.com, Find a Grave, Google.com, etc.

A. Adding or correcting data will open up additional hints.

B. Adding stories and photos helps connect with others working on your family lines.

“To turn the hearts” means that individuals and families feel a spiritual awakening as they serve their deceased relatives and experience the joy of being active participants in a fundamental part of Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation (see D&C 138:56). Participation in temple and family history work touches the soul as the Holy Ghost bears witness to the eternal nature of families.

The booklet can be access or ordered online at https://familysearch.org/campaign/myfamilyThe Lesson page is here: https://

www.lds.org/callings/temple-and-family-history/sunday-lesson?lang=eng

L to R - Ann Pickles, Abraham Hanford and Harriet Hanford

This is a family history page about Sister B’s great grandmother.

Harriet Louise Noyce Christiansen(The one who hid under the bed from the Indians)

Memories of Harriet Louise Noyce's Death(Found on FamilySearch.org, uploaded by a relative of Brother B’s)

You can go here to listen to her grandson’s telling of the circumstances surrounding her death: https://familysearch.org/tree/#view=ancestor&person=KWCD-GGZ&section=memories

Click on the plus sign in the green box to add memories to your ancestor.

The “Memories” page will show all memories related to a person. The yellow diagonal in the corner indicates that they were uploaded by someone else.

A public tree on Ancestry.com is a great way to connect with cousins and share family history knowledge and treasures.

Ane Sorensen (middle) and her three brothers

A great family history story preserved and shared with the extended family.

This is a letter from an early convert from Denmark who left home and family and immigrated to Utah. He shares their current fortunes and hopes to be reconciled to his family.

Check the “What’s New” link on FamilySearch Often.

A possible match shows up for John D Barrett, but further investigation shows that it is not a match. Marking it as “Not a Match” prevents further recurrence of the hint and a possible erroneous attachment.

* Work from General to Specific* Do Descendancy Research

This 4-minute lesson can be accessed at https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/easy-steps-to-descendancy-research/877

Sample Family Lineand possibilities for research

Note the lack of an arrow by most of the children, which indicated that there are no spouses or children on record. The temple icon in a green square indicates opportunities for temple work, the brown icon represents record hints available for that person, and the blue icon indicates research suggestions.

Gefrom Family Line

Look for children w/o spouses of for gaps of 3-5 years between children.

* “Triangulate” information using multiple sources

Triangulation is a powerful technique that facilitates validation of data through cross verification from two

or more sources.

This drawing represents the “fleshed out” version of the previous sketch and triangulation efforts.

These are two representations of one family: one from Ancestry.com and the other from FamilySearch.org. Brother B merged duplicate records and corrected birthdays based on found obituaries, headstones, and census records, some of which are shown on the following pages.

This obituary for Robert G Barrett was found on Ancestry.com and copied to FamilySearch.org, giving credit to the person who originally posted it. It confirms that he remarried several times on the decease of his spouse, interestingly enough, to sisters of his deceased spouse!

A record of Robert in his later years, living with his son-in-law and daughter, Margaret (Maggie), whose record is on the following page as well as her husbands on the page after that.

Additional information on Charles Hyams, the sum of which enables his temple work to be reserved and performed.

This is a marriage record for Margaret and her second husband, and his parents, further expanding the family tree.

Recap of Principles Related to Family History Research

1. Look for photos and stories to help “turn hearts.” A. Check Family Tree “Memories” often. B. Add photos and stories to your family trees.

2. Check the “What’s New” link on FamilySearch often.

3. Work from general to specific – start with what you know.

4. Do Descendancy Research – A great place to begin.

A. Look for children w/o spouses or other missing info.

B. Look for gaps of 3-5 years between children.

5. “Triangulate” information using multiple sources – hints, search records, Ancestry.com, Google.com, etc.

A. Adding or correcting data will open up additional hints.

B. Adding stories and photos helps connect with others working on your family lines.