Trying Indexing again

Since my mission in FamilySearch Support has ended I have a lot more free time. Like everyone else, I am basically confined to home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So I have been looking for things to do that are helpful in family history.

With a little encouragement, I decided to try FamilySearch Indexing again. Indexing allows me to make scanned copies of microfilmed records computer-searchable. I download a "batch" of images from FamilySearch.org by signing in and clicking the Indexing link at the top of the screen, Then I click Web Indexing and choose a batch to try. I have not needed to call the free support number for help, but it was comforting to know that it is available if I need  it. 1-866-406-1830

This is a little different from the previous version of Indexing which required me to install indexing software, which I believe also required having Java installed.  I like the change. 😊

Being a Canadian, I chose batches from Nova Scotia, but I ran out of these after about 4 days, so I switched to the 1851 census of Ontario. These are much faster and easier to do. They are generally easy to read, and each batch has a page of 50 names and a page with no names ("No extractable data") On census records you get to use the "ditto" key combination (ctrl+d) a lot, as members of a family have the same surname, and are usually born in the same place. Some fields in the template are missing in the records, these too can be dittoed. So far in the past two weeks I have indexed nearly 1000 names. When these are verified, the data is added to a Historical Records collection in FamilySearch and becomes computer-searchable, They also become available as source hints for documenting family members in the FamilySearch Family Tree. We love sources!

The FamilySearch website is accessible \to everyone with a free account. If you have some extra time, I encourage you to try indexing, I believe we have two weeks to complete any batch and submit it, so we can do it at our own pace. Two of the batches that I did had been started by other indexers but not completed. Their efforts were not wasted. I was able to carry on from where they left off. It is a good system!

Audio treasures lost and found

Since our move into town about 5 years ago, I have been unable to find the cassette tapes that included my mother's mother talking and singing. I was forced to conclude that they were lost in the move.

But two weeks ago, I was using Filesearchex to search my back-up drive for photos of specific people, To my astonishment and delight I found some MP3 audio files of the missing tapes. I vaguely remembered trying to digitize some of the recordings 15 or 20 years ago (and 3 or 4 computers ago) but I did not remember having any significant success. I even found a copy of a tape letter home to my parents from Marseilles, France for Christmas in 1964, when I was briefly a missionary there. I felt that the existence of these recordings was a tender mercy from God.

I installed the free Audacity software and learned to do some minimal editing. My goal was to make MP3 files less than 15 MB in size, the maximum size that can be uploaded to FamilySearch Memories.

By tweaking a bit, I was able to further reduce the file size so that a recording that was nearly a half hour long was less than 15 MB in size. (When I make a recording using the Memories app on my phone, 15 MB works out to about 5 minutes.) Somehow I had accomplished the equivalent of putting a cupful of sugar into a teaspoon. I am nor sure exactly how it happened but I am very glad that it did.

The recording quality is poor, But at least future generations will be able to hear the voices of my grandmother and some other family members who are no longer living.

You should be able to listen to them (and a few other audio files) by clicking this link:
https://www.familysearch.org/photos/gallery/album/700294
The 90th birthday recording is quite good. It was recorded in 1974.


I encourage you to digitize any old photos, documents, or tape recordings that you may have of family members, and upload them to FamilySearch for preservation. FamilySearch.org was established as the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) in 1894 and has been preserving genealogies since that time. (The site and any software referred to above are free.)

Next Phase

My mission in FamilySearch Support has ended. I was just remarking to my wife that it feels strange to not be meeting with my team at this time on a Wednesday morning, And yesterday, I missed being able to help patrons and our support missionaries in our help chats.

I received a long hand-written letter of appreciation from my mission supervisor, that brought tears to my eyes. And my team created a tribute PowerPoint presentation. I have seldom felt so honored and so appreciated. Maybe in another year or two I will be able to apply again. In the meantime, I have other tasks to do, and many hours of additional time in which to do them.

So far, the extra time allowed me to find digitized copies of some special old tape recordings that I thought were lost forever. Now we have the opportunity to listen to my grandmother Louisa, at age 97 singing old songs she remembered from when she was young. And a 1964 tape letter home from my mission in Marseilles, France. This is wonderful!

I am also busy colorizing old black and white photos at https://www.myheritage.com/incolor

and then uploading them to FamilySearch Memories.

I hope that you are able to put some extra time into family history. Geoff Rasmussen at https://familytreewebinars.com/ humorously reminds us that time is short, so we should do family history first. 

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I received word that my uncle Evans Carson passed away at age 97 on April 11th. I will miss him. He was always present at any of our Ing family events, usually at the center of things. He was a life-time athlete. As a small boy, I remember seeing him and his brothers and his friends competing in the big July 1st baseball tournament in Breton. Over the years he took part in many sports. His love of people and his infectious enthusiasm.enriched the lives of the people around him. Farewell Uncle Evans, until we meet again.