Janet's Guide to Salt Lake City--Parks

There is another reason that NGS picked the perfect week to come to Salt Lake City. And that is that the gardens around the city come alive with tulips and daffodils this time of year.

You'll get to see the beautiful tulips around the library pretty easily, but be sure to take a walk one block to the east and look around Temple Square. The sight is spectacular this time of year. It is an amazing place to take pictures.

Likewise. 26 miles to the south is Thanksgiving Point. The 35 acres of gardens boast 250,000 tulips. Until May 1st, they are hosting the Tulip Festival from 10 am to 8 pm Monday through Saturday. Entrance fees are $10 adults, $8 children and $9 seniors. It's hard to explain how beautiful the gardens are, you just have to go see them.

There are lots of other beautiful parks around Salt Lake too.

Liberty Park is Salt Lake's foremost park. There are all sorts of things to explore at the park. Tracy Aviary is a popular site for bird watching, my first birthday party was held at the amusement park, and more recently they have built a fun interactive playground map of the Salt Lake Valley with fountains and rock features. Liberty Park is at 11th South and 6th East.

Red Butte Garden is also a popular place for locals to hike and go exploring. It is a 100 acre botanical garden that is part of the University of Utah and largely organized to help learn about local horticulture. It is open from 9am to 9pm throughout April.

And if you are downtown a great place to stretch your legs or have a picnic are the Brigham Young Park and City Creek Park. They are beautifully landscaped parks just east of State Street and on the corners of North Temple. Delightful places to get some air at lunch time.

And finally, Memory Grove is a serene place, close to downtown wonderful for a jog or bike ride. It stretches up city creek canyon to the east of the capitol.

Lots of beautiful places to see and to get some fresh air. Hope you enjoy them.

Janet's Guide to Salt Lake City--Historical sites

There are several historical re-creation sites in Salt Lake and along the Wasatch Front. These make a fun trip if you are bringing kids or a nice side excursion to drink in.

A whole pioneer village has been recreated at This is the Place Heritage Park on the east bench in Salt Lake. My kids and I have enjoyed volunteering up there for a couple of summers and have learned lots of fun little historical facts and gotten to know some great people. We know how to play graces and are pretty good at hoop trundling, carding wool and stilts. The 450-acre park has a new Native American village and a mercantile with old-fashioned candy. Their spring program has started and hours are 9am-5pm Monday - Saturday, 11am-4pm Sunday with admissions being Adults $7.00, Children (3-11) $5.00, and Seniors (55+) $5.00.

Wheeler Historic Farm is the restored turn-of-the-century dairy farm of Henry J. Wheeler. Right in the middle of the Salt Lake City metropolis is a haven of farm chores, tractor-drawn hay rides, and beautiful wildlife and wetlands. Open from dawn to dusk, it is at 6351 South 900 East in Salt Lake City. You can enjoy the farm machinery exhibit, milk a cow, feed the ducks, or have a picnic in this picturesque setting.

I think one of the most fascinating historic sites on the Wasatch Front is the Benson Grist Mill west of Salt Lake in Stansbury Park. You can tour the 150 year old structure and view close up the amazing construction methods and the complicated milling equipment used when the area was settled. Early mills were a vital part of farming communities and necessary for the making of bread--a staple of the frontier diet. Several other small cabins and displays surround the site as well. The Mill opens to the public on May 1st and will be open throughout the summer on Mondays - Saturdays 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

The Utah Heritage Foundation sponsors guided historic tours around the many fascinating neighborhoods and mansions of downtown Salt Lake. Tours can be scheduled for small groups two weeks in advance and cost $3 per person. They also offer several self-guided tours with downloadable audio for CD or mp3 players. I highly recommend the Historic South Temple Street tour. South Temple has always been Salt Lake's most prestigious address and many early mansions line the street with fascinating histories. The walking tour takes about 2.5 hours.

The Beehive House is Brigham Young's residence and is open for tours from Monday through Saturday 9 A.M. to 9 P.M. Free guided tours begin every 10 minutes. Brigham Young was the LDS leader who led the Mormons to the Salt Lake Valley and was the first territorial governor until 1858. The Beehive House is located on 67 East South Temple, just east of Temple Square.

And finally, a little further away is the Heber Valley Railroad. It is a historic steam railway which still travels through the Heber valley and down Provo canyon. The trains run Fridays and Saturdays in the spring and schedules can be found on the website. You can enjoy a slice of the "Golden Years" of US railroading and the beautiful scenery all at the same time. The ride starts at 450 South 600 West - Heber City, Utah 84032 about a 1 hour drive East of Salt Lake.

Janet's Guide to Salt Lake City--You're invited to the Family ChArtist Debut Party

Come and participate in the grand premiere of a most exciting new genealogy chart tool — Family ChArtist by Generation Maps (www.generationmaps.com/familychartist). A celebration and premiere party will be held at the Generation Maps booth in the National Genealogy Society Conference vendor’s hall on Wednesday, April 28th from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. The NGS conference (www.ngsgenealogy.org) is being held at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City April 28^th through May 1^st. Admisssion to the vendor’s hall is free to the public.

In addition to refreshments, there will be continual demonstrations of this easy-to-use, new program. Training computers will be available so that you can also try it out yourself. Create an 8.5 x 11 color print free of charge, or try your hand at a larger, frameable archival print which can be printed for a nominal fee. There will be drawings for two $50 gift cards as well as free consultations on printing large genealogy charts. Representatives will be available to answer questions about printing any kind of genealogy chart you need or want.

As you know if you've been reading this blog, Family ChArtist is a new, user-friendly web based program that will assist you in creating beautiful, personalized genealogy charts based on information either from your own genealogy computer files or from the New FamilySearch database. The website offers beautiful high quality graphics in modern, classic and colorful patterns, as well the ability to add as many of your own pictures as you would like. First time users can create beautiful charts in just a few minutes without the purchase, installation or advanced training of other design software programs, online databases and file formats. As with all Generation Maps charts, extra copies are always HALF PRICE. Order copies of your chart as meaningful gifts for your children and other family members.

Be sure to bring your genealogy computer file, genealogy information and/or your New FamilySearch ID with you to the NGS Vendors area so you can try out this new, easy-to-use program yourself. You'll be amazed at how easily you can create, share and display beautiful expressions of your family history. And if you can’t make it for the party, you’re welcome to take it for a spin online at www.generationmaps.com/familychartist. Hope to see you there.

Janet's Guide to Salt Lake City--Where to get a good burger.

Ok. There's one more part that I have to cover about restaurants in Salt Lake--where to get a good burger. I mentioned Crown Burger earlier, definitely a good and close place to get a burger and a good shake. But here's a few more recommendations.

Iggy's Sports Grill 423 West and Third South. Iggy's has great burgers--I love the "black and blue" with blue cheese, teriyaki sauce and skinny fried onions. But it also has the largest menu I've seen in recent memory. Lots of great stuff to sink your teeth into. So if your party can't decide what they want to eat--and you're craving a good burger, convince them to try out Iggys. I'm sure everyone will be able to find something they like.

Hires Big H Drive-in founded in 1959 on the corner of Fourth South and Seventh East. It is a Salt Lake landmark with their own root beer made into gorgeous root beer floats. This is the place for classic burgers and lots of fry sauce.

The Training Table is another old Salt Lake favorite with lots of gourmet burger combinations and deadly-but worth it-cheese fries. Once you've figured out what you want, you call in your order with the phone at your table. But the thing you have to try here is my favorite fry sauce--made with a somewhat spicy barbecue sauce instead of ketchup.

But the all time best burger I've ever eaten we just found last weekend by following the restaurant reviews I've been reading for this series of posts. It is in the Lucky 13 Bar at 135 West 1300 South. I don't know how to describe it--just an exquisite bun and good fresh hamburger and bacon. Lots of good options for toppings and you have to try the rosemary garlic fries.

Once you've tried these out, stop by the Generation Maps booth in the vendor's hall and let me know which one you think was best.

Janet's Guide to Salt Lake City--Fast food

Did you know that the model for and first franchise of Kentucky Fried Chicken was built in Salt Lake City? It's still there today at 3900 South and State Street.

And did you ever hear of fry sauce? It's a sauce of mayo and ketchup and sometimes a few other secret ingredients that you dip french fries in. During the 2002 olympics visitors were all agog with this Utah staple. At that time Katie Couric said it was a good thing she didn't live here or she would weigh quite a bit more. Now you can find fry sauce all over the place.

And then, how about a pastrami burger common to Salt Lake City? Its roots are in Utah's Greek Immigrant population that came with the mining boom resulting from the completion of the Transcontinental railroad. Several of the children who grew up in Salt Lake's Greektown opened burger joints including Apollo Burger, Olympus Burger and the home of Utah's first pastrami burger--Crown Burger. Thus many burger joints in Utah boast Gyros and Baklava along with the fries and shakes. The pastrami burger is usually served with as much pastrami as beef and a slather of thousand island dressing and swiss cheese. You can find one to the west of the Family History Library at the corner of Third West and North Temple.

Janet's Guide to Salt Lake City--Award Winning Restaurants

I've got some really good food for you here. This is my list of the BEST food in Salt Lake.

To start with I'd have to give a nod to the Diners Drive-ins and Dives picks for Salt Lake City. This is definitely the all time best stuff around and for good prices too. I am a DDD groupie, trying to catch as many as we can anytime we go to genealogy conferences. I can completely recommend the following.

• Moochies--meatball sandwiches and philly cheesesteaks to die for. 232 East 800 South.
• Red Iguana--there is usually such a wait for this one they opened a second one down the street. Skip the first at 736 West North Temple and go to the second at 866 W South Temple. Famous for outstanding moles.
• Pat's Barbeque. Pulled pork and incredible deserts at 155 West Commonwealth Avenue (2125 South) .

Then a little further from downtown:

• Blue Plate Diner--Five kinds of Eggs Benedict with other comfort foods and eclectic combinations. A little further out on 2041 South 2100 East.
• Ruth's Diner--A tradition since 1930 in a beautiful setting up Emigration Canyon. (4160 Emigration Canyon Road.) Raspberry Chicken or Chicken Dijon are my favorites.

And thanks to this blog post, I've just found that there is a new one for Salt Lake that I need to go try. Lonestar Taqueria. I'm sure it will be another absolutely divine discovery. Again, a little further out at 2265 Fort Union Blvd.

And then I would recommend to you the Salt Lake Magazine's Dining Awards Hall of Fame list.
Again Red Iguana is there for the best Mexican. And there is also Takashi for best Japanese, Cucina Toscana (just south of the Salt Palace) for Best Italian, and Mazza for Best Mediterranean. Metropolitan and Bambara are also Salt Lake Magazine cosmopolitan restaurant favorites having won best chef several times and only a couple of blocks from the conference. They are all downtown except for Log Haven (best ambience--it has always been my favorite romantic restaurant) which is at 6451 East Milcreek Canyon Road.

And then Dining in Utah has several great suggestions including two barbeque places I want to try. Q 4 U has just moved out to 3951 West and 5400 South --a bit of a drive from downtown--but they say that citysearch.com voted them in the top 10 barbeque places in the US. And Sugarhouse Barbeque's site boasts the that it has been named the best barbeque place in Utah 10 years running. At 2207 South 700 East, it's not quite as far of a drive.

Now you have to stay for three weeks to try them all out ;-) But think of all the family history you'll accomplish while you are gaining all that weight. Trust me. With these restaurants it will be worth it.

Janet's Guide to Salt Lake City--Shopping

My shopping post is going to be short and sweet. I know you are all going to be so busy working on your family history rather than going shopping, but just in case you get the inclination, my recommendation for shopping centers that are near downtown are the Gateway and Trolley Square.

The Gateway is just a couple of blocks to the west of the Library--you can hop on Trax and head down to the Gateway easily because it is in the free fare zone. Besides the food court, there are numerous good restaurants, The Happy Sumo, Fleming's Steakhouse, Tucanos Brazillian Grill, and McGrath's Fish House. And you definitely don't want to miss the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. But then there are some great stores there too. Everything from Ann Taylor and Coldwater Creek to Sanctuary Day Spa and The Walking Company.

Trolley Square is a 100 year old trolley depot that was turned into an upscale shopping area. It is over on Seventh East between Fifth and Sixth South. There are lots of exclusive little shops, jewelry stores and art galleries making Trolley Square a fun treasure hunt. Don't miss the Old Spaghetti Factory, Rodizio Grill or the Wiseguys Comedy Club.

And if you happen to need a regular drugstore, there is the RiteAid at 72 South Main (one block east of the conference) and the Walmart at 1300 South and 300 West. This Walmart is easily accessible--just a half block west of the 1300 South stop on Trax.

Janet's Guide to Salt Lake City--Food Close By the Library

For restaurants, I thought I'd start with the places to grab a bite that are closest to the conference and the Family History Library. There is a great map of downtown, showing a list of restaurants and nightlife on a wider range, but let me tell you about the places closest to the conference.

The closest, closest restaurant is JBs on the corner of West Temple and South Temple right in between the library and the Salt Palace. If you are not to picky, and just don't want to walk anywhere, JB's is your place.

But if you are willing to walk a block (1/8 of a mile), there are lots of other great options right near the library and the Salt Palace.

To the South, on Second south, is Toaster's Deli. With a wide assortment of sandwiches, soups and salads, this coffee shop is an award winning place to grab a bite and get back to the conference.

To the East of the Salt Palace there are lots of other great options too. Common chain restaurants within a block are the Olive Garden at the South East corner of the Convention Center, and Benihanas across the street to the East. A new restaurant winning high awards called the Naked Fish Bistro where you can get reservations on the website. It is right across the street from the Salt Palace on the corner of 1st South. I haven't tried it yet, but I've seen reviews all over the place. It is supposed to be fantastic Japanese cuisine. Just past the Naked Fish on First South is Cafe Molise, a good Italian restaurant with a nice garden patio and Jazz on Friday nights.

There are three favorites with the locals on the block between first and second south too. Siegfried's Delicatessen is one of my favorites from from my high school days and even though it has changed hands and changed locations it is still a great place to get authentic German food on Second South And Lamb's Grill, is like a step back in time and is a favorite for breakfast with locals, but really has great food all around. Lambs is on the other side of the block on Main Street between first and second south. Then of course there is Blue Iguana with big plates of great Mexican food in a basement place down in the middle of the block.

The hotels close by have some good restaurants too. To the South is the Marriott with Elevations Restaurant, Destinations Lounge, and Starbucks. Elevations is the Marriott's American/Continental restaurant. The Hilton is a favorite place with Spencer's for Steaks and Chops. You can book reservations on their website and I highly recommend it. And the Radisson to the North of the Conference Center has the Copper Canyon Grill House, another great place where you can't go wrong with most anything on the menu.

Then to the North and East along South Temple, on the East side of Temple Square you'll find the Joseph Smith Memorial Building with the Roof, Garden Restaurant and Nauvoo Cafe, and just beyond that in Brigham Young's historic home, the Lion House Pantry. The Roof is a fine restaurant on the tenth floor with sweeping views of Salt Lake and a large gourmet buffet. The Garden Restaurant is on the other side of the floor, but with a more casual setting and smaller prices. And the Nauvoo Cafe is on the main floor of the Joseph Smith Building with fabulous sandwiches and bread pudding to die for. Then the Lion House Pantry is your place for home style cooking with famous rolls and food that has inspired a popular line of cookbooks.

So there you have it. There are plenty of great options right next to the conference center and the library. You don't even have to go very far.

Janet's guide to Salt Lake City--Parking, Traffic and Construction oh my.

Ok, so reading this series on my blog, rather than the NGS blog isn't turning out to be that much different. They said they wanted a more casual tone of voice over there too, and I said, "I'm good with that." If you have any comments or think I've missed anything, please please please add a comment so that we can help everyone have a good time at the NGS conference.

One of the first things that is going to hit you in Salt Lake is the issue of transportation. Like any major city, there's good and bad for you there. Let me see if I can help.

I won't hide the bad news from you. There is a major construction project going on right next to the Salt Palace Convention Center and the Family History Library right now. It is going to be a fabulous addition to downtown Salt Lake, but right now its only contribution is orange cones and covered sidewalks. I don't get really frustrated with it though, because downtown Salt Lake is going to be so much more fabulous next time you come to visit with pedestrian malls, cafes, running streams and fountains and great shopping. You can see what they are planning at the City Creek Conceptual Tour video. It's actually the ending part of a huge master plan most of which is now finished with many other beautiful projects. I'll tell you about some of those in the next posts.

But the good news is that I've got lots of resources for you in traveling through Salt Lake and it really is an easy city to navigate. When the pioneers arrived, they mapped out Salt Lake from Temple Square in a perfect grid pattern that doesn't get messed up until you get out into the suburbs. Then the streets are numbered as to whether they are north, south, east or west of Temple Square in a latitude and longitude fashion. Philadelphia, Manhattan and Washington DC were laid out in a similar way, as well as Oklahoma City and Austin, Texas.

My elementary school teacher taught me that early pioneer leader Brigham Young wanted to be able to turn around a wagon with a team of four oxen to be able to do a u-turn in the street without using too much profanity. I've mused over the years how really quite brilliant that was because modern downtown Salt Lake doesn't have the tiny streets and many one way alleys that most modern cities have. Most of the time there is plenty of room for the traffic.

If you are coming to the airport and renting a car, you'll need a map from the airport to the Salt Palace. Salt Lake Valley has a fabulous traffic site called Commuter Link that has maps showing traffic and construction and even accidents, and has cameras throughout the valley where you can see the current traffic situations. You can always check there if you are traveling the freeways around the valley.

And then there's parking... The best place to park for the conference is at the Salt Palace itself. The entrance to the lot is on the South side of the building, and the cost is only $5 a day. That is the cheapest parking you'll find right by the Convention center. There is other nearby parking and the prices are reasonable. Or if you want to get a little walking in, here's a parking map that encompasses a larger section of downtown.

Or if you are staying further out in the valley from downtown, you can avoid parking all together and park along the Trax Light Rail Route. You can check the schedules if you want to, but I never do--they basically depart every 15 minutes. For $4 round trip, it is a quick on and off, a really easy way to avoid the traffic. If you are already parked, and want to explore a little downtown, there is a Free Fare Zone on Trax, where you can just hop on and off without paying anything, to visit restaurants and shopping or whatever, without having to look for another parking place.

And we'll get to the best of the restaurants and shopping coming up shortly...

Janet's Guide to Salt Lake City--NGS is at the perfect time.

There are at least two reasons NGS scheduled their conference on the perfect week in Salt Lake.

1) Sam Weller's bookstore is starting a massive moving sale.
If you are a bibliophile, or western history buff, or interested in any topic that has ever had a book written on it, you haven't lived until you've been to Sam Weller's Bookstore. This bookstore has one of the largest collections of used books west of the Mississippi with a large selection of nonfiction books about the West. It boasts over 1 million volumes, all subjects—new, used, rare and is one of America's finest and largest bookstores. I can happily get lost in there for hours and hours.
Last month, Sam Weller's announced that they would be changing locations. And to get ready for the move, they started a sale to thin their stock on March 16th. They started with offering all used books and most rare books at 25% off and then discounts will deepen as the move approaches. I think perusing the shelves there is a must for NGS conference goers.

2) The conference falls on Salt Lake City's restaurant week.
The week's Dine-o-Round celebration has 37 of the best restaurants in Salt Lake participating by offering dinner for either $15 or $30 and most of them have lunches for either $5 or $10. Many of the restaurants on the list are award winning places to eat. (more on that to come.) There are no coupons or punch cards, You can just ask for the Dine-o-round special. The website has links to each of the participating websites where you can check on menus and locations. I think the hard part is going to be picking which ones I want to go to.

So get ready to take advantage of these two great opportunities while you are learning about how to become an expert genealogist.

Janet's Guide To Salt Lake City--Getting Started

As a precursor to NGS in Salt Lake City in three weeks, I've decided to do a series of article posts I'm going to call "Janet's Genealogy Guide to Salt Lake City" I spent a large chunk of my growing up years here on the Wasatch Front and I also spent a large chunk of my growing up years traveling. Consequently, I want to make sure you make the most of your visit. As Vice President of UGA, I'm also going to be posting these to the NGS conference blog. But I thought I'd put it here because I should probably keep a certain level of decorum over there. And you know how hard that is going to be for me. Soooooo, it will probably be more fun to read here.

To start with, let me give you some of the best websites for touristy information. If you are the type who wants to know every detail (like I am sometimes), you'll want to get well acquainted with these sites. If you're busy packing and just want the highlights, (like I am other times) stay tuned and I'll make sure you know what you need to.

My favorite site for the how to of visiting Salt Lake is the Downtown Alliance. This site is chock full of events, shopping, eating, news and etc organized well and correlated with maps and crucial information. This website is especially useful if you are visiting the library because it focuses on downtown Salt Lake--the area right around the library and the Salt Palace Convention Center.

The Salt Lake Visitor's Bureau has a great site too with shopping, activities and eating and etc but covers the whole valley (Salt Lake and it's suburbs.) The cool thing about the Visitor's Bureau is that their offices are in the Salt Palace Convention Center, just next door to where NGS is held. So you'll easily be able to stop by there for directions and pamphlets and such. The site currently has a genealogy section right up front in conjunction with Who Do You Think You Are.

The Official Salt Lake City Government Site is a good site for all things Salt Lake, but the visitor's section of the site mainly points to other sites listed here. Since you won't be paying your water bill, you can pretty much pass this one up. Unless you are going to be paying for a traffic ticket, in which case you'll want to keep this one in mind.

If you are driving to the conference, you may want to take a look at the Utah State Office of Tourism website. It has wonderful resources on the other places you might want to stop off at on your way in or out of the state. Of course, if you are coming up from the South at all, you really need to take an extra day and visit some of the spectacular state parks that Utah is so proud of. Likewise Go-Utah is a great site for trip planning throughout the state.

Utah Travel Center is a conglomeration site with all sorts of information on Salt Lake City pulled from various sources. And Citysearch has user submited reviews on everything from shopping and resturaunts to bars and churches. So it's a useful one too.

Take a look at those, and stay tuned as I take you through the ins and outs of traveling to Salt Lake City.

Family ChArtist reviews and interviews.

It's been a funny month. We've launched Family ChArtist and while the reception has been great, we've been really surprised to see our custom chart sales spike. That has left us quite a bit busier in unexpected ways and all the plans we had for further information and marketing have gone out the window temporarily. You can watch here for announcements about new graphics (hopefully soon) and then once we get through the BYU and NGS conferences this month we are planning a series of webinars that will help people get their creative juices flowing with this new tool too. We'll keep you informed.

In the meantime though, we've been thrilled with all the attention it has gotten and the wonderful response we've seen from you. Thank you so much. Here are some of the great reviews and attention we've received.

Lisa Louise Cooke released her interview with me yesterday about Family ChArtist. You can hear it here. It is always great to talk to Lisa. And she is a great interviewer. If you've never listened to her, you'll find a great new friend with tons of genealogy knowledge to share. And there is a coupon there for Family ChArtist too.

We were also given the massive honor to be the first advertisement in Shades the magazine. Again, If you aren't already a fan, you should be. Each Shades issue comes with regular articles by, Denise Levenick, Sheri Fenley, George Geder and Craig Manson, as well as many other talented writers. Best wishes for quick recovery to dear Footnote Maven. She writes the most interesting/most beautiful genealogy information on the internet.

And, we've had some wonderful reviews that I've been slow to post. We're so thankful for all the attention the program has gotten, all of the great ideas people have shared for it and for all of the patience as we've worked the bugs out. We had a few opening day glitches that are fixed now and we know things are working smoothly, but there are still features we want to add. There probably always will be.

We were excited to be reviewed by the illustrious Tamura Jones. We were pleased to be one of his Mega reviews. Pages and pages :-) As always, Tamura was exceedingly meticulous. My favorite comment of his was made as he was bemoaning the lack of several detailed design options that some other programs have. He said "Less options provide less chance to make tasteless choices, but how is my good taste going to stand out if others aren’t given sufficient opportunity to foul up? That everyone can access this app, make a few random choices and still end up with a chart that looks good just ain’t right." I'm so glad he liked our sense of what is tasteful and what isn't. He sent it through his "torture tests," he called it right on our "dialogue drama," (we're going to work on that), he loves our graphics and it appears he survived having to use a flash program. He also said "Family ChArtist app sure is so simple and easy to use that the lack of a manual isn’t an issue." That's exactly what we were shooting for. As we communicated back and forth over email about various questions he had, I sure enjoyed talking to him.

And of course we are always thrilled to have input from one of our favorite bloggers, Randy Seaver. He reviewed Family ChArtist and said "For a new product, Family ChArtist is off to an auspicious start. I look forward to experimenting with it in future weeks. I do think I will like it!"
He caught us early on with a few glitches, but those have all been worked out now and things are running smoothly.

Carolyn Murphy reviewed it for the Phoenix Genealogy Examiner. I loved that she caught the bigger picture--the whole point. She said, "Framing and hanging a Family Tree Chart in a home has been found to have a lingering and stabilizing influence." So completely right.

James Tanner said it is an "easy to use interface with lots of choices for charts from your own files." and Renee Zamora said "They do a wonderful job of making order out of the chaos in our genealogy databases. The hardest part about using Family ChArtist is trying to choose amongst the gazillion gorgeous graphics available. You really need to take a look at them to appreciate what they have done." They both caught what most every reviewer has appreciated the most--the ease of use, and the beautiful graphics.

And we so appreciate everyone just helping us get the word out. They all seemed really excited about it. Diane Hadad, Dick Eastman (twice), Renee Husky, Paula Hinkle, Cheryl Palmer, Lynn Palermo, and I'm sure others that I'm missing (If so I'm sorry.) It is so gratifying to see other people so excited about what we've been doing.

So we're off and running. And we couldn't be more pleased. If you haven't played around with it yet, please do. We know you are going to like it too.

Give a little back to the Genealogy Community.

As I'm sure you are aware, UGA is the host society for NGS this year. We have one month left until one of the greatest weeks in the genealogy year hits Salt Lake City. It is going to be a great conference, with lots of special programs and extended hours at the library.

In part because of the extended hours and extra programs, UGA is still looking for volunteers to help with several aspects of the conference, mostly registration and class monitors. Donating an hour or two (or more) is a great way to give back to this wonderful genealogy community. If you have time, or are already planning to go to some of these classses, volunteer to help us out. It will put a smile on your face (and make you eligible for some pretty cool volunteer perks--including a $5 off coupon for Generation Maps.)

You can register to help at: http://www.infouga.org/index.php?option=volunteer
See you there.

Ancestral Quest releases new version

With the change that has come in the new FamilySearch API, the software developers have had to release updates to continue to function with the database. If you are LDS and using the new FamilySearch database, keeping your software updated is really important right now so that it will continue to work.

Today, Gaylon Findlay sent me a press release on his new version:
Update for New FamilySearch and News on AutoMatch.

Incline Software released a new update of Ancestral Quest on March 29, 2010 (12.1.23).

New.FamilySearch.Org Access. For users who work with New FamilySearch (NFS), this is a critical update, as it allows you to continue to work with NFS after the changes that were implemented by FamilySearch on 3/29/2010. Users who do not access NFS will find a couple of minor enhancements – like the addition of the display of Age at Marriage and Age at Death on the Family View. This is a free upgrade for all users of AQ 12.1 – simply download and install the new build.

This new release of Ancestral Quest (AQ) takes advantage of new methods provided by FamilySearch for AQ to work with NFS, so that users will find that most functions are now faster. One exception to this is working with notes and sources – users of AQ will still be able to view the notes and sources stored in the NFS records as they have in the past, but FamilySearch slowed this part of the process down in order to speed up everything else. AQ also allows users to transfer their notes right out of their PAF or AQ database directly into the records of NFS.

60-Day Free Trial. Ancestral Quest provides full access to all features of the program for 60 days. If you are evaluating AQ, you can download the new version and continue using it for free until your 60 days have expired. If you haven’t yet given AQ a try, you can download your free trial copy from www.ancquest.com.

Updating. To update, users should follow these steps:

1) Run AQ, go to the “Internet” menu, and select “Check for Latest AQ Release”. Your Internet browser should take you to the download page for the new build.

2) Exit AQ.

3) On the download page, select the option to run the “Basic” installer and run the installer.

That’s it! You may want to verify that the install was successful by running AQ, accessing the “About AQ” screen from the Help menu, and check that you are running AQ 12.1.23.

AutoMatch. Ancestral Quest was the first genealogy program to be certified to Syncronize with New FamilySearch, and received the 2009 FamilySearch Software Award for Most Comprehensive Syncing. One of the many impressive features for which AQ received this award was its ability to auto match. When Incline Software released AQ 12.1 in July of 2008, it included a feature called “Link/Sync/Upload Groups.” For a couple of years, AQ has been the only desktop application with the ability to automatically match large groups of your local records with New FamilySearch. You can choose to match your entire database, or select just a branch of your family tree. Over the years, users have enjoyed the ability to quickly match and link tens of thousands of records using this ability. Once AQ has completed the matching process on your defined group, it provides you with a list of all the matched records – you can choose to complete the process and link them all with a couple of clicks of the mouse, or you can spend time reviewing the list and verifying the matches individually before completing the link. AQ’s Group Link/Upload is also useful in a couple of other ways:

1) During the auto matching process, it identifies any records with duplicates on NFS, which allows you to quickly combine duplicate NFS records before syncing those records with your own records.

2) After you have linked the matching records, you can review the list of records that didn’t match. With a couple of mouse clicks, you can select all these records and upload them to NFS. They will be linked together in families on NFS just as they are in your local file. This feature can be used in lieu of importing GEDCOM files to NFS, with one obvious advantage – it performs the auto matching of records before the upload, so you will only upload records to NFS that are not already there – this avoids creating additional duplicates on NFS.

Ancestral Quest’s Group Link feature continues to provide the most comprehensive auto match capability of any desktop application.

Review of Ancestral Quest’s Other New FamilySearch Features.

* Match records individually – in addition to the auto match, you can match any individual, one at a time if you prefer.

* Match families – as you review a linked person, you can see family members in your local file and compare this with family members as recorded on NFS. For any matching family members, simply link them. For family members that are only in either your database or the NFS database, you can quickly add them to the other database so that both databases will match.

* Exchange data between your local file and NFS – you can download names, dates, places, individuals and families from NFS to your local file. You can upload names, dates, places, individuals and families from your local file to NFS.

* View notes and sources stored on NFS. You can copy and paste notes directly from your local file to NFS, and you can copy and paste notes from NFS records directly to your local records. You can also view the NFS sources while comparing your local records with their corresponding NFS records.

* PAF users will find that AQ can directly open their PAF file just as if it were PAF, and move data between the PAF file and NFS. AQ is the perfect bridge between PAF and NFS, and is a FamilySearch Certified PAF Add-In, as well as a complete application that can replace PAF.

* Import family lines. NFS does not have the ability to export data. Ancestral Quest can import as many generations as you like from NFS directly into a PAF or AQ database, including LDS ordinance information.

* Reserve LDS ordinances and create Family Ordinance Requests (FORs). AQ not only reserves the records and places them on your NFS reserved list, it keeps track of the FORs, so you can later review the names on any FOR, thus tracking the progress of ordinances for that batch of names. As ordinances are completed, AQ allows you to automatically transfer ordinance completion dates from NFS to your local records.

* Assign LDS Ordinance Cards to others. AQ allows you to assign your stack of ordinance cards to others, and keeps track of where each card is located.

Incline Software has provided Ancestral Quest as a premier Windows-based family tree program for over 15 years. In 1999, the LDS Church selected Ancestral Quest as the base for its Windows versions of PAF – both PAF 4 and PAF 5. Users of PAF will find that AQ looks and feels like a major upgrade to PAF. It will feel very easy and comfortable to use, and it provides the most comprehensive syncing with New FamilySearch.

Visit www.ancquest.com for more information. See www.ancquest.com/Ver12-1Tutorials.htm for a list of free training video tutorials.

RootsMagic introduces AutoMatch

RootsMagic 4 Releases Update with FamilySearch AutoMatch RootsMagic becomes First Genealogy Software to Automatically Match People with FamilySearch

SPRINGVILLE, Utah. — March 26, 2009 — RootsMagic, Inc. announced the immediate availability of an update to their RootsMagic 4 and RootsMagic Essentials genealogy software which includes a new "AutoMatch" feature. They become the first- and currently the only-
genealogy software to offer this feature.
Time Saving

As FamilySearch certified software, RootsMagic and RootsMagic Essentials both allow you to share information to and from new FamilySearch as well as find and reserve incomplete temple ordinances for ancestors. In order to do any of this for a person, you must first match the person in your own file with the same person in the new FamilySearch system. In the past, a user was required to find a match for each person one-at-a-time, person-by-person.

"Our users told us that this was one of the more time-consuming aspects of working with new FamilySearch," explained Bruce Buzbee, president of RootsMagic, Inc. "If you had an average-sized file with 6000 people, it may take you several days of repetitive work just to
match each one up with new FamilySearch. People want to be able to jump in and actually work with new FamilySearch and matching by hand was always a tedious first step." Buzbee added, "The new AutoMatch feature does most of this grunt work for you so you can just begin sharing data about your ancestors."

RootsMagic developed the AutoMatch feature over weeks of experimentation and guidance from FamilySearch. The AutoMatch examines each person in your RootsMagic file, searches the FamilySearch database for the person, and after carefully comparing them, matches them together if they are the same; all without requiring user intervention. "What used to take days of manual work is now done automatically in only a few hours," said Buzbee. "You can start the AutoMatch, leave it running while you do something else, and return later to find most of the matches found." Although the match is made automatically, no actual data is transferred without the user requesting it.

Important Update

In addition to the new AutoMatch feature, this update is required for RootsMagic to continue working with new FamilySearch. In the near future, changes made to FamilySearch will prevent versions of RootsMagic and RootsMagic Essentials prior to this update from connecting with FamilySearch. "We encourage anybody using our software with FamilySearch to download this update as soon as possible so that they may continue to enjoy our FamilySearch features," said
Michael Booth, vice-president. "Installing the update now will make sure you have a seamless transition as FamilySearch continues to grow and evolve. Plus you'll get the AutoMatch which is worth the effort of the update by itself."

FamilySearch Made Easy

"We're thrilled to be the first software to offer a feature like 'AutoMatch'," said Booth. "We're sure our users will be just as excited to use it." Buzbee added, "Our mission is, 'Family History
Made Easy', and that is exactly what this is. The AutoMatch feature solves a big problem for every person that uses genealogy software with FamilySearch."

RootsMagic also simplifies other tasks when working with New FamilySearch. RootsMagic 4 received awards for "Easiest to Sync" and "Best Dashboard" at the 2009 FamilySearch Developer Awards. Video tutorials, demonstrating how easy it is to work with New FamilySearch
using RootsMagic 4 are available at http://www.rootsmagic.com/fs.

Free and Available Now

AutoMatch is included in RootsMagic Essentials, free genealogy software which includes all of the FamilySearch features. It is available for download at http://www.rootsmagic.com/essentials.
Current users of RootsMagic 4 and RootsMagic Essentials may update their software for free at http://www.rootsmagic.com/updates.

Users of other genealogy software products will find it easy to experiment with RootsMagic using their own data. RootsMagic can directly import data from PAF, Family Tree Maker (through 2006), Family Origins, and Legacy Family Tree. It can also read data using the popular GEDCOM format.

About RootsMagic, Inc.

For over 20 years, RootsMagic, Inc. has been creating computer software with a special purpose- to unite families. One of our earliest products- the popular "Family Origins" software, introduced thousands of people to the joy and excitement of family history.

That tradition continues today with "RootsMagic", our award-winning genealogy software which makes researching, organizing, and sharing your family history fun and easy. "Personal Historian" will help you easily write and preserve your life stories. "Family Reunion Organizer" takes the headaches out of planning those important get-togethers. And "Family Atlas" creates beautiful and educational geographic maps of your family history.

For more information, visit http://www.rootsmagic.com.
Source: RootsMagic, Inc.

Family ChArtist's first week/Monday's winners

It's been quite a week. And we are already on to version 1.1 of Family ChArtist. (Can you see the version notation in the new graphic?)

The bad news is we ran into a couple of glitches. Such is to be expected I guess. You work and work to get everything perfect, but computers can sometimes have a mind of their own. The good news is we were able to fix things quickly and version 1.1 is already out. And we sent out a couple of 20% off codes for people who had alerted us to the glitches. So if you see any more--let us know.

The other good news is that the response has been great. We are so appreciative of all the excitement everyone has had. It is so gratifying to hear the stories about how you are using this new tool to share what you have done with your families and to see the exciting styles you have submitted for printing. Thank you so much for allowing us to participate in your family this way.

We are still having some issues with certain types of GEDCOM import but hope to get those fixed very soon. If your GEDCOM isn't importing this weekend, try exporting your GEDCOM from your genealogy program as an ANSI file. We know that one is working well. And we should have the other types fixed shortly.

And, in all of the excitement, I didn't ever announce the winners of our drawings on Monday. Congratulations to P.S. Eagleson (Facebook winner), B. Feldstein (Twitter Winner) and B. Renick (GenealogyWise winner.) We'll be sending out $25 gift certificates that are good for Family ChArtist, or any of our other options--Working Charts, Custom Charts, Photo Giclees, Blank Charts, and everything else. Gift Cards are also available for purchase. And don't forget our free consult too. We'd love to print the perfect chart for you.

Family ChArtist--And We're Live

I feel like I've been on Iron Chef. If you ever watch that show on the food network, you'll know that two gourmet chefs have one hour to cook as many gourmet dishes as they can to impress a panel of judges. When the buzzer sounds at the end of the hour, they have to "walk away" no matter how much has been accomplished.

I finally understand why it takes so long for companies to get a new piece of software out. There are so many other features that we wanted to incorporate, so many other graphics that are just about ready to go. But we could have held on to it forever. At some point, you just have to release it and then go from there.

Two weeks ago (or three--it all blurs together) when we decided to set a roll out date, we thought we were within days of being ready for release, and the roll out was probably too far out in advance. Now after far too little sleep, the 12 noon release time has come and gone, and it is live. I'm so glad we did set that date. Otherwise it might never have been released. Hopefully you won't miss the things we wanted to add too much, and then we'll have exciting new things to work on in the future. And lots of new graphics to add soon--just as soon as I take a nap.

In the meantime I know how the chefs on Iron Chef feel watching the judges taste their food now too. We hope you like it. We hope it will help you creatively proclaim your heritage, show off your identity, thank those who came before, and inspire those who are growing up now. Let us know what you think.

Family ChArtist--Screenshots, keeping it simple

When we designed Family ChArtist we wanted to make it easy enough that you wouldn't need instructions and everything was intuitive. Hopefully we've gotten really close to that goal. Let me show you the screen shots for each section so that you can see how easy we've kept things. Keep your eye on the tabs below the chart.Choose the layout.Adding and entering information.Adding a title or controlling font. And then the next 4 deal with graphics. We'll still be refining things in our future development. We'd love to hear what you think.

We're down to counting hours. It's getting close.

Family ChArtist--coming with an all new website.

So there is an all new website coming on Monday too with the advent of Family ChArtist. For those of you who have never used our service or seen us at a conference, we're hoping that you'll be better able to see all the fabulous things we do. Here's a sneak peak at the front page.





Thanks to Amy Slade for all the great photographs.
We're off to the South Davis Family History Fair today. Wish us luck on this final beta/preview. We're down into the hours on the countdown now. It's almost here.