The Colorado Expo is almost here! This week’s Expo in Loveland,  Colorado will feature presentations from genealogical experts, an exhibit hall and a special event called Friday Night at the Movies with Family History Expos.  This special event will include a screening of  Forgotten Ellis Island by filmmaker Laurie Conway and a light buffet.  You can add this event to your registration for only $28.00.  Come join us as we learn, eat and discuss this important film.

Every registered conference attendee receives the Expo syllabus on CD as part of their registration.  Would you rather have a printed copy?  You can order a printed syllabus for only $25.00 by going to the Colorado Expo Registration page.

Plan now for a summer of genealogy research.  To learn more about this summer’s Expos, please see our website .

See you at the Expo!

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Announcements

Join us for the Colorado Family History Expo!

Join us June 25-26 for the Colorado Family History Expo in Loveland, Colorado.  We have a great lineup of speakers and exhibitors to help you with your genealogical research.  For more information, check out our website.

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Feature Article

Researching Your Quaker Ancestor

By Gena Philibert Ortega

History of the Quaker Church (Society of Friends)

George Fox founded The Quakers, or the Society of Friends, in 17th century England. Fox, like many of his time, did not like the policies or practices of the Church of England. He wanted a more spiritual religion that believed in God making His will known to men and women without the interference of priests or ministers. Quakers were persecuted for the refusal to attend Church of England meetings and to pay church tithes. Quakers did not suffer persecution just in England. Massachusetts Puritans, between 1659 and 1661 hung three Quakers who insisted on joining their colony.

By the time William Penn helped establish the colony of New Jersey and later Pennsylvania, there were approximately 50,000 Quakers in America. The Quakers ruled Pennsylvania as a “Holy Experiment” until 1756 when the military policies associated with the French-Indian War made it difficult if not impossible for the peace loving Quakers to continue to govern.

Beliefs

As with many religious groups it’s hard to provide information about Quaker beliefs in a few sentences. In the United States, there are four branches of Friends and their beliefs differ along several lines including the way they worship, theological emphasis, evangelism and what organizations they align themselves with. Overall, the Friends believe in a “direct, unmediated, communion with the Divine and a commitment to living lives that outwardly attest to this experience.” For more information about the beliefs of the Quakers, consult the Quaker Information Center .

Quaker Genealogy

For a list of Quaker Archives, see the website Quaker Information Center.

The Quaker Corner, provides researchers with lists of Quaker surnames, links to online Quaker records, and is the archive for the Quaker roots e-mail list archive.

Just like any group, Quaker research can be a little different than non-Quaker ancestors you have traced. For a glossary on uniquely Quaker terms, consult the Quaker glossary. This website is in English and French.

The American Friend Obituary Index available on the Earlham College Libraries website is an index of obituaries found in the periodical the American Friend which was published from 1894 to 1960. The majority of obituaries are Friends belonging to the Five Years Meeting. This index is alphabetical by surname and includes the deceased name, death date, place of death, age or year of birth. This index does not contain the actual text of the obituary. If you would like the actual page you can request a photocopy from Earlham College for $5.00 per obituary.

An important book on Quaker Genealogy is Hinshaw’s Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. A guide to using this reference work is available online through the  Guilford College website .

This one-page guide not only explains how to use the Encyclopedia but also what the abbreviations used throughout the work, stand for. The Encyclopedia is available through Genealogical Publishing Company or may be available at a public or university library near you. An online version can be found through Ancestry.com. To search the Encyclopedia through Ancestry, click on the “Search” tab, then click on the link “Card Catalog”  which is the card catalog for Ancestry.com resources. On the search page, type the word “Quaker” in the keyword search box. Ancestry has different Quaker records available for searching.

Another book that can help with your research is Genealogical Publishing Company’s 1996 book, Our Quaker Ancestors: Finding them in Quaker Records authored by Ellen Thomas and David Berry. A keyword search for “Quaker” on Genealogical Publishing Company’s website shows 23 hits that include research how-to books, record transcriptions and histories.

A subject search through the Family History Library Catalog for the term “Quaker” brings up various resources, including histories and records. Resources include Quakers in the United States as well as England, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland and Wales.

Repositories

The Quaker Information Center includes a listing of Quaker archives and libraries. One such facility is the Earlham College Libraries’ Friends Collection. This library includes a manuscript collection that is indexed online by surname. It also has the American Friend Obituary Index mentioned above.

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GenTeacher for Kids

Helping Kids Collect Their Religious Records

By Gena Philibert Ortega

One aspect of genealogy is documenting information from current generations.  One way to interest kids in their own family history is by helping them gather information about their own lives.  Putting together records from your child’s activities at church is one way to help them do that.

Work with your child to find items that have to do with their participation in church.  These can be items documenting important events like a baptism or membership, to artwork they created at Sunday School to letters sent to them from Sunday School teachers.  Then decide how you want to preserve these items.  Possibilities include a scrapbook or an archival box.  Take this opportunity to tell your child a little about your religion and any family history associated with that religion, such as the first person to join that church in your family, roles your family has played in that religion, etc.

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Expo Highlights
Bell Printing

Bell Printing is the printer who helps us print our Expo Syllabi and Schedules.  They have done a great job for us over the years.

Bell Printing and Design is owned and operated by Bell Photographers, Inc. a leader in school photography throughout the Rocky Mountain area for over 50 years.  Bell Printing produces yearbooks for the school photography company and is one of the leading commercial printers in the northern Utah area.

In 2007, Bell Printing acquired its most state of the art digital printing press, an  HP Indigo 5000, allowing them to print as few as a single book at reasonable prices.  They offer binding options including saddle stitching, coil, perfect, and hard case binding.  Contact Dan Thomson at 801-920-1762 or dan@bellprinting.com for information and pricing for your family history or any other publication.  Bell Printing has been the sole outside provider of printing for Family History Expos since their inception.  Let them become your print provider as well.

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Tech Tip

There’s an App for That!

With the popularity of smart phones and tech gadgets like iPods there are increasingly more and more applications (or apps for short) that are of use to the genealogist.  These apps can range from those who are geared towards the genealogist (like family tree apps) to those that although they serve a different purpose, will help in the genealogist’s research like mapping apps, library apps, and telephone directory apps.

You can find apps on company websites and ITunes, the Apple store.  Some apps that might be of interest to you include:

Ancestry Family Tree to Go

Mobile Family Tree

WorldCat mobile and Red Laser app

White Pages App

Reunion for iPhone and iPad Touch

Metes and Bounds

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Upcoming Events

For more information, please see the Expos tab on our website.

June 25-26,2010. Colorado Family History Expo

July 30-31, 2010. Midwest Family History Expo

August 27-28, 2010. Salt Lake Family History Expo

October 8-9, 2010. California Family History Expo

October 25-30, 2010. Family History Library Research Retreat

November 12-13, 2010. Atlanta Family History Expo

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Family History Expos, Inc.

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Morgan, UT 84050

expos@fhexpos.com

http://www.fhexpos.com/

Main Office: 801-829-3295

435-213-8483

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