Ancestor Detective Special Assignment Training Manual Quest for Treasures 2014 Family Activity Mapleton, Utah 1
Instructions & Resources for Parents Instructions: Ancestor Detective is a resource to help families generate interest and experience in doing family history research. How it is used may vary depending on your unique family composition and situation. It is not expected that the completion of assignments be reported or turned in once completed. The assignments do not need to be completed in order of number or difficulty, you choose which ones appear to be of interest based on your particular situation. The assignments in this book are designed to provide introductions into doing family history and to help plant the seed for continued interest. In conjunction, we ask that you also register at the Mapleton Family History Center or on-line so that you will receive notification regarding other special activities that we will be holding throughout the year that you may be interested in attending. Anytime you come by the Mapleton Family History Center in conjunction to the activities in this book or the Ancestor Detective program, be sure to ask one of the consultants to get into the Ancestor Detective Treasure Chest to find a prize. Resources: If you have questions, need additional directions or have feedback regarding this workbook or the program please contact Tim or Geri Marshall at: Tim Marshall Tim.marshall@uhsinc.com Geri Marshall gerimarshall@comcast.net Also, you can always find help at the Mapleton Family History Center: Address: 1215 N. 1000 W. Mapleton, Utah Phone: 801-489-2999 E-mail: ut_mapleton@ldsmail.net 2
Special Assignment # 1 Difficulty Level: Easy Let s see why family history is important. The Importance of Family History and Temple Work (Taken from Family Home Evening Resource Book, 1997) First: Ask one member of the family to move to the far side of the room, away from the others. Discuss how you would feel if one of your family could not be with you in the next life. Second: Show a picture of the temple nearest you, or write the word temple on a piece of paper. What blessing can come to your family in the temple? (Being sealed together.) What about those of our ancestors who died without being sealed in the temple? Will they always have to be separated from their family? Point out that Heavenly Father loves all of his children. He made it possible for these people who died without the gospel to receive all of the sacred ordinances. Have the person return to the group. Third: Read 1 Corinthians 15:29. What does this scripture tell us? (Baptisms for the dead were performed in New Testament times.) Explain that through the temple, the dead can receive all of the blessings and ordinances of the gospel baptism, endowment, and sealing. In this way, all of our ancestors who accept the Lord s plan can be sealed to our family. 3
Fourth: Ask your family to listen to what the Lord revealed through Joseph Smith about this as you read Doctrine and Covenants 128:15. Fifth: Tell the following experience When President Wood of the Cardston Alberta Temple was sealing a family together around the altar, he felt impressed to ask if the information on the sealing sheet was correct. The mother said it was. As they began the ordinance again, he again felt impressed to ask if there were other children who needed to be sealed. She assured him there were none. The third time, he heard a voice quite clearly say, I am her child. Again, he asked the mother if she had ever had another child. As she thought back to her early married years, she remembered a baby who had died shortly after birth. The mother rejoiced as her little girl was included as part of their eternal family unit. (See Melvin S. Tagg, The Life of Edward James Wood, Church Patriot, [Master s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1959], pp. 118 19.) How can we make sure that no family member is left out? Sixth: Have your family sing I Love to See the Temple Children s Songbook, p. 95. Case Notes: (it is important for detectives to write down what they learn) What were the three most important things you learned from this assignment? 1. 2. 3. 4
Special Assignment # 2 Difficulty Level: Challenging Now that we know why family history is important, let s see what we can find out about your family history. First let s build a family history fan chart on familysearch.org. Special Equipment, Tools and Preparation First: Go to familysearch.org and create your own personal account with a user name and password. Clue #1: You will need to have your LDS membership record number. Clue #2: You will need to have your parents assist you if you are under age 14 (they will need to approve your account through an email verification). Second: Complete the My Family worksheet Below. My Family Me My name My birth date My birthplace My Parents My dad s name My dad s birth date My dad s birth place My mom s name My mom s birth date My mom s birthplace 5
My Grandparents, My Dad s Parents My dad s father s name My dad s father s birth date My dad s father s birthplace My dad s mother s name My dad s mother s birth date My dad s mother s birthplace My Grandparents, My Mom s Parents My mom s father s name My mom s father s birth date My mom s father s birthplace My mom s mother s name My mom s mother s birth date My mom s mother s birthplace Third: Log on to familysearch.org and go to Fan Chart. In order to build a fan chart you may first need to add yourself and the information above into your family tree on familysearch.org. Clue: Ask for help from your family, the ward family history consultants or go to the stake family history center for assistance. Clue: Be sure to do a search or use a family search record number for those that might already be on the tree. Fourth: Print out a copy of your personal fan chart showing four generations. Case Notes: (it is important for detectives to write down what they learn) Is your fan chart complete? Yes? No? How many of the people on your fan chart do you know personally? Is there someone on your fan chart that you would like to know more about? 6
Special Assignment # 3 Difficulty Level: Challenging Research First: Look up the following words in the dictionary or have your parents explain to you what each of the following mean: o Ancestor o Genealogy o Research o Spouse Second: Who are your paternal great-grandfathers? Clue: Paternal means your father s side of the family. So this would be your father s grandpas. Find these people on your fan chart. Ask your Dad to tell you about his grandpas. Third: Who are your maternal great grandmothers? Clue: Maternal means your mother s side of the family. This would be your mother s grandmas. Find these people on your fan chart. Ask your Mom to tell you about her grandmas. 7
Case Notes: (it is important for detectives to write down what they learn) Write what you learned about your paternal great grandfathers. Write what you learned about your maternal great grandmothers. 8
Special Assignment # 4 Difficulty Level: Very Challenging Field Work Let s start investigating! First: Visit a cemetery where one of your ancestors is buried. Make sure to take your notebook and pencil! If you do not have any ancestors buried near you then visit any local cemetery and look for a headstone with a small handcart plaque in the corner. Clue: This is what it looks like when you find it. Clue: Look in the oldest part of the cemetery and look for the oldest headstones or if you are looking for a relative be sure they lived around 1842-1870. Second: Record the name and dates found on the headstone. Also, record any additional information found on the headstone. Third: Go to http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-08-108-its-about-thedash?lang=eng and watch the short video entitled It s About The Dash. Clue: It's About the Dash - Elder Bradley D. Foster demonstrates how easy family history can be, and discusses new changes to Familysearch.org (2:56) Fourth: Go to Familysearch.org, log in and search for the person who you found and recorded information on from the cemetery. Look to see what information there might be about this person by clicking on the memories tab. 9
Case Notes: (it is important for detectives to write down what they learn) What did you learn about this person s life? 10
Special Assignment # 5 Difficulty Level: Easy Finding Evidence First: Look on FamilySearch.org for a picture of one of your relatives that looks interesting. Clue: Look under Memories and then look under People. Second: Find out all you can about this relative. Clue: Ask your parents and grandparents about this person. Clue: Look on FamilySearch.org and see if there are any stories about this relative. Third: Write a short description about this relative or a short story from what you have found out about them. Clue: EXAMPLE My Great Uncle had a favorite horse that we would put on shows with around his community. Here is his picture with his horse Monty. 11
Case Notes: (it is important for detectives to write down what they learn) What was the best way to find out information about this relative? What was most interesting that you learned about this relative? How can you be sure that others can learn about this relative or what is the best way for you to share what you have found out about this relative? 12
Special Assignment # 6 Difficulty Level: Very Challenging Documenting Your Evidence - Photos First: Find a photo of a family member or a relative. Once you have chosen a photo you will need to first digitize it. Digitize means that it is a photo that you can store on your computer. You may already have one on the computer that you want to use or if it is a photo from a photo album you can scan it to make it digitized. Scanning a photo means that you are coping the photo into an electronic file. Most home printers that can copy can also scan a photo. If you do not have a way to scan it at home, bring the photo to the Mapleton Family History Center and we can help you scan it. Clue: You can use a photo of your mom, your dad, an uncle, or a grandfather. Anyone that is a relative, either alive or one that has passed away will work. But be sure that it is a photo of someone that you have already added to your tree in Family Search. Clue: The photo does not need to be just of them but you do need to be able to see them clearly. Second: Once you have the photo digitized and saved on your computer, go to FamilySearch.org and log in. Then click on the Memories tab at the top of the page. Then click on Photos and it will open up all the photos that you have downloaded into Family Search. You will see a circle button on the top of the page with a green plus sign (+) in it. This is where you will add the photo you have selected. Click on the Green +. This will open up a green box with a plus sign in the middle. Again, click on the green box with the plus sign and this will either take you to your hard drive on your computer or prompt you to browse your hard drive for the file (picture) you want to up-load. When you find the right file (picture), click on it and it will automatically up-load into Family Search. Clue: When you scan and store your photo it will need to be in the right file type. Save it as a.jpg or.png file type (you will see these three letters attached at the end of the file name). If it is a photo that you already have on 13
your computer you will need to convert it to one of these two file types before you can up-load it to Family Search. Clue: Remember what the name of the photo is once you save it and where on your hard drive you saved it. Clue: if you have trouble you can call your Family History Consultant or come to the Family History Center for assistance. Third: Once you have up-loaded the photo you will need to identify it and attach it to the correct family member in your tree. To do this, click on the new photo and you will be taken to a page that has the new photo on the left of the screen and some options on the right. Click again on the photo and a circle will appear with a box below. Center the circle around the face of the person in the photo and type their name in the box below. Then click on Add A New Person. Now you will need to attach it to someone in your tree. To do this you will see the name of the person in the photo on the right side of the screen under People In This Photo, click on the name of the person in this section. You will be prompted to search for the person. Follow the prompts and search for the person in the photo in your tree. Once you have found them then click on the select button on the right of the persons name and it will automatically link the photo with the person in your tree. Clue: Once you have identified the photo with the persons name and you go to link the person in the photo with someone in your tree, they may come up automatically as an option or you may have to search by either their name or their Family Search Record number. If you have problems contact your family history consultant. Fourth: Now that you have completed this process the photo you have uploaded to the person in your tree will be linked and whenever you see them in your tree and click on person it will show you their picture. Celebrate completing this difficult task by showing your parents what you did or others (or you can just do a happy dance!). Case Notes: (it is important for detectives to write down what they learn) If you were to do this again with another photo what would you need to remember? 14
Special Assignment # 7 Difficulty Level: Challenging More Field Work Find a Source First: Visit the Mapleton Family History Center. Clue: Find the address and what hours they are open on line at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/mapleton_utah_family_history_center. Second: Once you arrive, ask a family history consultant how to find historical records that will tell you about your ancestors. Clue: come prepared with a few names with their date of birth and where they were born. Clue: In order to access records it is better if you look for information on family members that passed away 100 to 110 years ago. Third: Have the Family History Consultant tell you why it is important to connect historical records to individual family members in your tree. Fourth: Find source records for at least two of your ancestors and attach them to your tree (to the appropriate ancestor). Clue: Source Records are things like birth certificates, census records, marriage certificates, death certificates, draft records, etc. Clue: Have the Family History consultant walk you through the steps to source your ancestor for the first one and then see if you remember well enough how 15
to do it that you can do the second one with as little help as possible Good Luck. Fifth: If you are a younger detective and this activity might be too challenging then you can just explore the various activities available at the Family History Center. Clue: Be sure to ask about the Treasure Box while you are at the Family History Center! Case Notes: (it is important for detectives to write down what they learn) What did you learn about Historical Records? What does sourcing mean? What was your favorite thing to do at the Family History Center? 16
Special Assignment # 8 Difficulty Level: Easy Solving Riddles Family history work involves solving mysteries. Let s sharpen our skill by solving the following riddles First: Is your paternal grandmother older than your maternal grandfather? Clue: if you do not remember what paternal or maternal means then review assignment number #3. Clue: Look at the birthdates of both grand parents who was born first? Second: Did your dad s ancestors (fourth generation) live longer or shorter than your mom s ancestors. Clue: Look at the third ring on your fan chart in Family Search on your father s side of the fan. How old were each of his relatives when they died? Add up each of their ages to get a total number of years. Clue: Look at the third ring on your fan chart in Family Search on your mother s side of the fan. How old were each of her relatives when they died? Add up each of their ages to get a total number of years. Clue: Who had the largest combined number of years your Dad side of the family or your Mom s side of the family? 17
Third: How old were each of your great grandparents when they got married (do all 8 great grand parents)? Clue: Find the marriage date on Family Search and then look for their birth date. How old were each when they were married? Clue: If you have a great grand parents that are still living you can save time by just calling them and asking them how old they were when they got married. Case Notes: (it is important for detectives to write down what they learn) What did you learn about solving riddles? Did your parents learn something new did they know how old your great grandparents were when they got married? 18
Special Assignment # 9 Difficulty Level: Challenging More Field Work Putting the Story Together First: Ask a relative (grand parent, great grand parent, aunt, uncle, great aunt, great uncle, or one of your parents) the following questions and write down their answers: 1. What were you like when you were my age? 2. What do you remember most about your childhood? 19
3. What did you do in your free time when you were my age? 4. What has changed the most since you were my age? 5. Who was your closest friend when you were my age and why? 6. What did your family do together when you were my age? 20
Case Notes: (it is important for detectives to write down what they learn) What is different about when your relative was young as compared to now? What was most interesting to you about what your relative shared regarding when he/she was young? What are some of the same things that you do or like that your relative did or liked? 21
Special Assignment # 10 Difficulty Level: Very Challenging Documenting the Evidence A good detective always makes sure that when evidence is collected that it is stored in a safe place where it can be accessed when needed. First: Write a short story about your relative that you interviewed in Assignment # 9. Clue: It can be just a short story about an experience they had, a memory they have of when they were young, or just something that is interesting about them. Clue: Type the story or have someone type it for you then save it on your computer. Second: Go to Familysearch.org and find that relative in your tree. When you have found them then, pull up the detailed information about them by clicking on Person and then go to Memories. Scroll down the page until you see add story. Click on add story and then cut and paste the story you have written or retype it in the area provided. Follow the prompts to complete the task. Be sure to include your name as the one who contributed the story. Clue: If you have trouble or need help contact a family history consultant or go to the family history center and ask for help. 22
Case Notes: (it is important for detectives to write down what they learn) Who do you think might be interested in what you have written about your relative? What do you think others might write about you? Why is it important to remember each other and to write down these stories? 23
Final Assignment Difficulty Level: Easy Attend the Detective Graduation Celebration Upon completion of all of your assignments, the date and time of the Detective Graduation Celebration will be announced it is important that you participate in this honorable event. First: Participate in at least three of the celebration activities while at the celebration. Clue: Be sure to wear your detective badge and bring your completed assignment workbook. Clue: Plan on having fun! Second: Be sure to meet all of your fellow detectives or as many as you can. 24