Day 2 POINT conference

Tuesday proved to be a good day for research.  First,  Ruth Merriman gave a great seminar and review for deciphering parish records.  She reminded everyone that most Roman Catholic church records, and yet many Protestant records, also, are written in Latin.  And, the clergy did not always have the best of handwriting.  That is understandable, I guess.

So the review of basic Latin words and phrases was very helpful.  And, for added help, you can always refer to the FamilySearch website :  Familysearch.org  There are lots of learning guides, including a fabulous one for basic Latin words to help with translating the old documents.

After a few hours of research on the third floor of the library, my eyes were red and sore.  The third floor is full of US and Canada books.  Finding texts full of cemetery transcriptions completed by the various DAR societies across the nation felt like living in a "candy land".  Lots of texts were full of obituaries, county histories, biographies, census abstracts and so much more.  If you plan to browse this area, be sure to plan ahead for exactly what you'd like to research.  Check out the library's catalog of books on their website.  Wow.

I was reviewing the notes that I had taken when we were treated to the guest speaker, Stan Lindaas.  He gave us an overview of what he considers to be the most important pit stop in the library.  On the second floor, there are many films covering the US and Canada.  In addition, Stan pointed out the four valuable reference tables that should never be missed.  Each one holds such great stuff.

Table One : County Court references, Township atlases, and general organization of counties in census years.
Table Two : Dictionaries dating from 1838, Black's Law dictionary, US Research Outlines, Gazetteers, The Source, Passenger Manifests helps, etc. References for Naturalization (Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and Cook County Courts) etc.
Table Three : Land and Property references, Military Service records references, etc.
Table Four : Native America references, Biblio and History of Newspapers 1831-1936.

Stan and his wife, Rachel, are partners in their research business, Heritage Consulting, locating in Salt Lake City.  They are not affiliated with the Family History Library.  They include pedigree charts, family group sheets and copies of supporting documents.  Stan said they have specialized in US, England, Canada, Western Europe, Russia and Latin America research for probate, heirship, adoption resources, family genetics research, document transcriptions and can provide general research assistance.  Stan and Rachel have a website : www.heritageconsulting.com  Should you need help at any time with your research, I would not hesitate to contact Stan and Rachel.

And my taste buds still remember how we ended our day at Caputo's Deli and Restaurant.  They have the best Italian "grub" I've ever had.  And the hotel was kind enough to shuttle us back and forth during the evening.  When in Salt Lake City, I'd be sure to check out Caputo's for a nice snack or meal. Caputos is located at 314 west South, Salt Lake City, 801-531-TONY.  You can even call ahead for your order.

We had a research lecture about reading and indexing the Italian Records for FamilySearch.  We will also met with others in the group who are researching their families in the same provincial areas.  Time to compare notes, and discovered someone that I just might be related to!  oh boy, more cousins!