Census Taker: "Good morning, madam, I'm taking the census."

Old Lady: "The what?"

Census Taker: "The c-e-n-s-u-s!"

Old Lady: "For lans sakes! What with tramps takin' everythin' they kin lay their han's on, young folks takin' fotygrafs of ye without so much as askin', an' impudent fellows comin' roun' as wants ter take yer senses, pretty soon there won't be nothin' left ter take, I'm thinkin'."

--1890 Harper's Weekly

Walking by University of Arizona's Main Gate one day, I came across a book displayed in the Arizona Bookstore window, "Los Tucsonenses" by Tom Sheridan.

I went in, asked for a copy and just for the heck of it browsed through the index to see if I'd find any familiar family names. And there he was. Jesus Maria Celaya, my maternal grandfather. I then looked up the page referring to him and was hooked. I'd been bitten by the genealogy bug.

. . . Continue reading here

It's well-known - the Internet has a lot of good information. If only we could read it. . . .

Some of us have more aged "experienced" eyes. The words on the screen just aren't big enough sometimes. Fortunately, for those of us who use Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Mozilla's Firefox Internet browsers, the text size is easy to increase.

Internet Explorer instructions:

1. Click on the View menu.
2. Click on Text Size.
3. Select the desired text size (largest, larger, medium, smaller, smallest).

Firefox instructions:

1. Click on the View menu.
2. Click on Text Size.
3. Select the desired text size (increase, decrease, normal).

Give it a try with this newsletter article. Let us know if this helped - leave a comment below.

In the Family View there is room to display up to 15 children at once. By default, however, only 10 children appear. It is helpful to be able to see more at a time, especially if you have turned on the displaying of the 1/2 children (explained in Your 12-Step Checklist to Using Legacy training CD).

Step-by-step instructions:

1. In the Family View, right-click on any child.
2. Click on View.
3. Select the desired # of columns (1 shows 5 children; 2 shows 10 children; 3 shows 15 columns)

Researchers should be aware: When searching out marriage records, you will often find different kinds of documents with slightly varying dates. For example, on March 6, 1828, John Jones obtained a marriage bond in Quebec City, Quebec, in order to marry Lydia Osborne. The bond was signed by Francis Osborne (the bride's father) and John Jones. The actual marriage, however, took place the following day, March 7, at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church.

In addition, there may be certain rare instances where banns were published, or a marriage bond or license was obtained, but the actual marriage never took place. Maybe someone protested or there was a legal problem or the groom got cold feet! The following are some facts related to marriages that will help beginning researchers better understand the various kinds of documents that might (or might not) be found:

• Banns: Banns was the public announcement of an intent to marry, usually read out loud in church on the three consecutive Sundays prior to the marriage. This provided advance notice to those who might have reason to object. When the bride and groom live in different parishes, you can sometimes find banns published in both locations.

• Civil Marriage: A marriage performed by a government official rather than by a clergyman.

• Common Law Marriage: A marriage relationship created by agreement and cohabitation rather than by ceremony. No record will be found.

• Consent Affidavit: Consent given by a parent or guardian (usually the father) in cases where the bride or groom was under the minimum legal age for marriage.

• Marriage Allegation: When a man and a woman wished to marry without having the banns read out in church, they usually applied to the bishop or archdeacon for a special license called a marriage allegation. This may have been to avoid the three week delay or simply to avoid the publicity of banns. The couple might also have been away which would have made it difficult to arrange banns in their home parish.

• Marriage Bond: A legal document obtained by an engaged couple prior to their marriage. It provided a guarantee that there was no moral or legal impediment to the marriage. Sometimes the man affirmed in the bond that he would be able to support himself and his new bride. The bond date is usually not the actual marriage date.

• Marriage License: A legal permit authorizing a man and a woman to marry. It is issued upon application at a local court house or city hall. The couple to be married present the license to the person performing the marriage ceremony who, in turn, completes the information and returns it to the office that issued it. This information is then transferred to the couple's marriage certificate. The license application date, often recorded in indexes, is typically not the date of the actual marriage.

• Marriage of Convenience: A marriage for expediency rather than love.

• Church or Parish Record: A register kept by a church of marriages conducted within the congregation. Besides the names of the individuals being married, it may also contain their ages, occupation and residence, the clergyman's name, and possibly the names of sponsors.

And what if you bump into the situation where you have discovered both a marriage bond and a church marriage record? Simply record the actual marriage date and place in Legacy's Marriage Information screen in the normal way. Next add the marriage bond information in the lower half of the screen as an Event. This removes all ambiguity or confusion other researches might have. This same procedure can be used for the publication of banns or license dates.

The Redmond Stake Family History Faire in Redmond, Washington, will be held on Saturday, October 29, 2005 from 9:00 am - 4:30 pm. If you live in the area, don't miss the two classes being taught on Legacy 6.

For more information, contact Mark Hoover at [email protected] ph. (425) 869 5656; or Bob Mullen at [email protected] ph. (425) 392-2131

Held at Redmond Stake Center, 10115 172nd Ave NE, Redmond, WA

For other Legacy-related events in your area, please visit our calendar at http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/Calendar.asp

Legacy 6.0 Deluxe Edition Users

If you have Legacy 6.0 Deluxe Edition then start Legacy and click on the “Install and Download Now” link on the Legacy Home tab. (If you're reading this from within the Legacy Home tab, you'll first need to click on the Home button in the top left.)

Legacy 6.0 Standard Edition Users

Standard Edition users are required to visit our web site in order to download the new update. http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com

Changed

• Chronology View - Added a new tab on the Chronology View Options screen to let the user select between Arial and Times New Roman for each column of the screen display.

Fixed

• Timelines in Chronologies - Life range now works correctly in conjunction with the other options.
• Color for timeline events in Chronologies - Was stuck on Orange.  Fixed.
• Fixed a problem with short locations being used wrong after the option was used in the publication center.

To view past updates, click here.

It's that time of year again - Millennia's annual Legacy Cruise 2005

Since all of us will be "working hard" and teaching lots of genealogy and Legacy classes, our support offices will be closed from Saturday, October 15 - Monday, October 24. Email and telephone support will resume Tuesday, October 25.

The sales office will still be open - orders will still be processed and shipped.

Next year's cruise will be to Alaska - read more here.

One of the premier genealogy events of the year, the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy begins Monday, 9 January 2006 at 7:00 am and concludes Friday, 13 January 2006 at 9:00 pm. Classes begin Monday morning following the breakfast. Check-in will be available on Sunday evening and Monday morning. Tuition for all students includes the Monday breakfast, Monday evening social, Tuesday 7pm speaker, and Friday evening banquet.

For five days you will be taught by some of the best genealogists in the country.  Select one of nine courses for a comprehensive learning and practicing experience.  The Institute is only one block from the largest genealogy library in the world, the Family History Library.  Most courses cover 20 hours of instruction.

Ranging from the Advanced Methodology Course to individualized Genealogical Problem Solving; from Power Tools for Internet Genealogy to going Beyond the Records of the Family History Library, there is up-to-date training for everyone.  You should reserve your place now.

If you happen to be in Salt Lake during that time but cannot afford the entire day off, there are evening classes open to all, but you must register before hand. You may register online.

To register, or for more information, visit http://www.infouga.org/slc.aspx

Legacy 6.0 Deluxe Edition Users

If you have Legacy 6.0 Deluxe Edition then start Legacy and click on the “Install and Download Now” link on the Legacy Home tab. (If you're reading this from within the Legacy Home tab, you'll first need to click on the Home button in the top left.)

Legacy 6.0 Standard Edition Users

Standard Edition users are required to visit our web site in order to download the new update. http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com

New

Timelines - Three new timeline files have been added:

• Australian Events
• Pennsylvania - Colonial
• LDS Events

Research Guidance

• Canada - added links to online 1901 and 1911 census indexes
• Canada - added links to online Upper and Lower Canada Marriage Bonds,
  1779-1865
• England - added local histories from the Family History Library's collection
  of Bedfordshire (see Local Histories Tab of the Preliminary Survey)
• Netherlands - added guidance and online links for civil registration (births,
  marriages, deaths)
• United States - added three additional online repositories for the U.S.
  Social Security Death Index

Chronology View

• Added option to select a color for the timeline events
• Timeline events are now automatically filtered to display those that occurred during the person's lifespan