2020.10.21 – Found it! With a Son of Pirates.

Seekerz

I’d like to share a good example of the benefits of having access to vital records on films. Several years ago, as my wife and I were working as volunteers at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, I was struggling with the library’s computer system to locate a town in the Netherlands called Renswoude, where I had learned one of my ancestors, Antje Konink, had been born. I was grumbling, apparently somewhat loudly, at not being to find Renswoude.

Behind my back a lady whom I recognized as a native of the Netherlands and one of the library employees, was passing, and by overheard my frustration. She promptly and boisterously announced “I know where Renswoude is. I used to drive a truck through there.”

She took over the computer I was using and in less than a minute identified the roll of film containing vital records of Renswoude. Together, we fetched the film, inserted it into one of the many microfilm readers available in the library, and within a few minutes she had deciphered the old Dutch handwriting and given me the names of the parents of Antje Konink. They were my eighth great grandparents who had lived in Renswoude in the late 1600s.

I went from frustration to finding it in a short period of time.

Ralph Hughes

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2020.09.30 - Genealogical Society Microfilming with a Son of Pirates

In 1969, the Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted The World Conference on Records. This event brought together people from all over the world who were interested in and responsible for the safety and preservation of archived vital records. The records of primary interest included recordings of births, baptisms and confirmations, marriages, deaths, and burials, as well as probate records and other records helpful to genealogical researchers. The theme of the Conference was “Records Protection in an Uncertain World.” It was held to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee year (75th Anniversary) of the Genealogical Society of […]

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