2016 Nordic Family History Conference

Nordic Family History Conference
The Family History Library and the Research Specialists of the Nordic Reference team invite you to a free, week-long conference focused exclusively on Nordic research. The conference, which will be held October 17th – 21st, 2016, is perfect for beginning and intermediate genealogists interested in learning about records of Nordic localities, and Family History Library collections.

Come and spend a week at the world renowned Family History Library learning from our expert staff of genealogists as well as experienced guest genealogists. Learn how to effectively use historical records, and how to do research in the Nordic countries. Explore such topics as census, church, immigration, and vital records. Learn more about Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish research. And discover new techniques, strategies, and methodology to apply to your genealogical research problems.

Seating in the Family History Library Classrooms, is limited to 140 participants, so be sure to register early to secure a spot.

Registration for the conference begins on 17 September 2016 at this link for Webinar guests:

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Use this link for in-house attendees Add link here Please bring your free tickets provided through your Eventbrite registration for entrance at the door. 500 spots will be available to webinar attendees and (add number) seats.

500 spots will be available to webinar attendees and (add number) seats available for in-person LABS which will all be held in the Family History Library B1 floor LAB. 100 spots available for webinar LABs. A Syllabus can be downloaded from the FamilySearch Wiki. Here is the Link: (add link here)

We hope this conference will not only be informative and instructive, but that it will also encourage and inspire you to continue your family history research. Perhaps this will be just what you need to break through that 20 year old brick wall research problem. We look forward to working with you!

Please note that there are 2 classes running concurrently with the Finnish classes on Wednesday. Syllabus download (available later)

Best Practices for Nordic Ancestors in FamilySearch Family Tree (Geoffrey Fröberg Morris, AG®)
There are unique challenges in Family Tree for people with Nordic ancestors. Some of these challenges are tied to the system, others have a cultural origin, and some are to be expected in an online collaborative environment. This class will discuss both the challenges and solutions with an emphasis on doing the best practices.

Feast Dates and Calendars (Fritz Juengling, Ph.D., AG®)
The methods that people have kept track of and designated time has changed considerably in the past few centuries. In this class, we will look at the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in the Scandinavian countries. Understanding dates is also complicated by the fact that a liturgical calendar was in use and many dates are given according to their feast day designations. We will also learn about these feast days and how to convert them to Gregorian dates.

FamilySearch Wiki for Nordic Countries (Liv H. Anderson, CG, AG®)
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Scandinavian Handwriting, part 1 (Fritz Juengling, Ph.D., AG®)
This course is designed to give family history researchers who read none or little of a Scandinavian language and have had no experience with Scandinavian vital records a basic working knowledge of such records.

One of the greatest challenges of reading records in a Scandinavian language is deciphering the script. Even if the researcher can read Danish, Swedish or Norwegian, that does not mean he or she will be able to read an old record. In addition to the script problem, each scribe had his own way of making letters, so that adds another level of difficulty. As with any skill, practice is necessary to gain a level of competence in reading old Scandinavian records.

Scandinavian Handwriting, part 2 (Fritz Juengling, Ph.D., AG®)
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Research Your Swedish Heritage Using Arkiv Digital (Kathy Meade)
Learn how to research your Swedish heritage using ArkivDigital. This class will show the wealth and variety of Swedish historical records that are available in ArkivDigital. The presentation will demonstrate how to research one’s Swedish ancestry by searching and viewing church books, military records, passenger ship manifests and other records using a case study.

Figure Out Place Names for Swedish Genealogy (Geoffrey Fröberg Morris, AG®)
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Using Name Searchable Registers in Arkiv Digital (Kathy Meade)
Learn about the name searchable registers in ArkivDigital. Learn how to use the new name searchable registers for the household/congregation records between 1880-1920 and population registers for 1950 and 1960. Discover other name registers for older church books using registers within the register archive and name registers for city parishes. The presentation will focus primarily on showing how to use name registers for church books but name registers for estate inventories and tax records will also be highlighted.

Parish Record Substitution (Geoffrey Fröberg Morris, AG®)
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Introduction to Swedish Estate Inventories (Kathy Meade)
The Swedish estate inventories (bouppteckningar) are usually the next set of Swedish documents, following the church books that one accesses to gain a better understanding of one’s Swedish ancestor’s life. The estate inventory, similar to a probate record, provides genealogical information as well as detailing all the assets and debts of the deceased’s estate. The class will focus on how to quickly identify the genealogical information in an estate inventory without knowing Swedish as well as identifying additional resources for working with these records.

Moving and Migration in Sweden (Geoffrey Fröberg Morris, AG®)
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Jurisdictions for Swedish Genealogy (Geoffrey Fröberg Morris, AG®)
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Learn by Doing: Mistaken Identity of Johanna Andersdotter (Lab) (Geoffrey Fröberg Morris, AG®)
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Finland: An Introduction to Finnish Church Record Online Resources (Rachel Creswell)
In this lesson you will learn to use Hiski, a database of church record extracts created by the Genealogical Society of Finland; and be introduced to Finland's Family History Association (FFHA), and online site of digitized images; and Digihakemisto, asite of digitized images taken from the National Archives of Finland. You will view representative church records on these sites including Household Examinations (Rippikirjat), Births (Syntyneet), Marriages (Vihityt), and deaths (Kuolleet).

Danish Military Research (Naomi D. Newbold, AG®)
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Finland: A Case Study Using Hiski and Digitized Online Church Records (Rachel Creswell)
You have incomplete information about your ancestor Johanna Jacobsdotter. She was born 14 December 1807. You know she was born in Finland. Find the names of the parish and village where she was born, and the names of her parents and siblings.

Danish Church Record research: A Case Study (Naomi D. Newbold, AG®)
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Using Witnesses to Find Your Danish Ancestors (Naomi D. Newbold, AG®)
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Danish Probate Records (A. Boyd Nielsen, AG®)
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Research in Copenhagen (A. Boyd Nielsen, AG®)
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Introduction to Danish Land Records (A. Boyd Nielsen, AG®)
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How to find ancestors in the Norwegian Digital Archives (Liv H. Anderson, CG, AG®)
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Norwegian Military Records (Rick Mathews)
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Understanding Probate records in Norway (Anka Magee, AG®)
Probate records can be very helpful in genealogical research. They are records that can predate parish registers, and might include "complete" families. At times also extended family members can be found. In addition to family members we can get a wonderful glimpse into our ancestors lives through the detailed inventory lists. During this class we will be discussing the purposes of probates, what information can be found in them, where they are located, and how to extract genealogical information from them.

Finding Ancestors in Online Norwegian Farm Books (Liv H. Anderson, CG, AG®)
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The Norwegian Emigration Experience (Anka Magee, AG®)
Why did so many Norwegians leave their beautiful, native country for a land they had never seen? What was their experience like? What were they able to take with them? In this class we will be discussing some of the answers to these questions. We will learn where the emigration records are located, and how to use them.

Presenters
Liv H. Anderson, CG, AG® a native of Kristiansund, Norway with her first encounter with genealogy at the Trondheim Archive when she was 12 years old. Liv has worked for FamilySearch for over 35 years. The first 5 years in the Evaluation Department, processing individual and marriage entry sheets; the next 11 years in the Cataloging Department, and since November of 1995 as a Scandinavian Research Consultant. Liv is a Certified Genealogist through the Board of Certified Genealogists, Washington, DC and has accreditation in Norwegian research through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists, ICAPGen.

Rachel Creswell, Rachel Creswell has served as a volunteer at the Family History Library on the International floor since 2002. Her main focus of research is in Finland.

Dr. Fritz Juengling, Ph.D., MA, BA, BA, AG® received his Bachelor’s degrees in German Studies and Secondary Education at Western Oregon University, his Master’s and Doctorate in Germanic Philology with minors in both English and Linguistics at the University of Minnesota. He has taught all levels of German, English, Latin and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) at the high school and university levels. He is an Accredited Genealogist® for Germany and the Netherlands through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists and a German, Dutch, and Scandinavian Research Specialist at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Anka Magee, BS, AG® Anka is currently working as an International Research Consultant at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has presented classes at various conferences and Libraries: National Genealogical Society (NGS), ICAPGen conferences, UGA Salt Lake Institute, BYU Genealogical conferences, and has taught numerous classes at the Family History Library in SLC. She worked as an instructor at BYU for a number of years. There have been numerous field trip experiences in Scandinavia, England and Germany. She has done research in various archives in Scandinavia and the British Isles. Anka is a proud native of Norway and is accredited in Norwegian and Danish research through ICAPGen. Rick Mathews, Add biographical information.

Kathy Meade, Kathy Meade has been assisting persons with their Swedish research for more than ten years. She is the North American representative for ArkivDigital, a company that offers an online subscription service to Swedish historical records. She has given many presentations throughout the country as well as written genealogy articles for the Nordstjernan newspaper. She serves on the advisory board for the Swedish American Genealogy Center at the Swedish American Museum in Chicago and volunteers at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library helping patrons with their Swedish research.

Geoffrey Fröberg Morris, BA, AG® He began family history research as a teen when he was mentored by his mother (a native of Sweden) who was accredited in Swedish research. He received a bachelors degree from the University of Utah in Philosophy with a minor in Swedish. He has been employed for over 15 years at the Family History Library as a member of the Nordic research team. Among his work assignments, Geoff has engaged in many archival visits in Sweden and Denmark. He has authored hundreds of pages to the Family Search Wiki, and presents at conferences routinely.

A. Boyd Nielsen, BA, AG® Add biographical information.

Naomi D. Newbold, BA, AG® Add biographical information.