Nordic Family History Conference

Nordic Family History Conference
The Family History Library and the Research Specialists of the Nordic Reference team invite you to a free, week-long conference focused exclusively on Nordic research. The conference, which will be held September 11th - 15th, 2017, is perfect for beginning and intermediate genealogists interested in learning about records of Nordic localities, and Family History Library collections.

Come and spend a week at the world renowned Family History Library learning from our expert staff of genealogists as well as experienced guest genealogists. Learn how to effectively use historical records, and how to do research in the Nordic countries. Explore such topics as census, church, immigration, and vital records. Learn more about Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish research. And discover new techniques, strategies, and methodology to apply to your genealogical research problems.

Seating in the Family History Library Classrooms, is limited to 120 participants, so be sure to register early to secure a spot.

Registration for the conference begins on 10 July 2017.

Webinar Attendants - http://bit.ly/2tRPNMP*

In Person Attendants - http://bit.ly/2tS0LSb* Please bring your free tickets provided through your Eventbrite registration for entrance at the door. 500 spots will be available to webinar attendees and 120 seats.

We hope this conference will not only be informative and instructive, but that it will also encourage and inspire you to continue your family history research. Perhaps this will be just what you need to break through that 20 year old brick wall research problem. We look forward to working with you!

*We will use Eventbrite to process your registration. Your information will be processed in accordance with their privacy policy located at.

Class Descriptions
Monday, 11 September
 * 9:00-10:00 AM MDT: 2017 Is the Year of Nordic Records! Learn What's Coming! (Whitney Peterson)
 * The Nordic countries are a focus for FamilySearch in 2017. There are many exciting record collections that will be published. I will go over what we plan to publish and when we hope to publish them. We will review why these collections are beneficial for Nordic research, how to access the collections on FamilySearch, as well as where to access them (on partner sites) before they are available on FamilySearch.


 * 10:15-11:15 AM MDT: Panel Q&A: The Who, What, Where, Why, and How of Nordic Records on FamilySearch (Panel)
 * The panel members for this discussion come from the FamilySearch digital publication team, field relations, and FamilySearch Indexing. The panel will take questions from the classroom in the FHL, online participants, and from a presentation moderator.


 * 1:15-2:15 PM MDT: Exploring the Feast-Day Calendars for Norway, Denmark, and Sweden (Liv Anderson, CGSM, AG®)
 * This class will teach patrons how to use a Feast Day recorded in the Church records for Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, and translate that date to a modern date by using the Feast Day Calendar for each one of these countries.


 * 2:30-3:30 PM MDT: Scandinavian-American Resources (Elaine Hasleton, AG®)
 * Scandinavian-American resources can be extremely helpful in researching your Scandinavian ancestral lines. Information will be shared on what records are available and where they can be found (specific libraries, archives, organizations, museums) for Danish-Americans, Finnish-Americans, Norwegian-Americans, and Swedish-Americans.

Tuesday, 12 September Wednesday, 13 September
 * 9:00-10:00 AM MDT: What's New in Arkiv Digital (Kathy Meade)
 * 10:15-11:15 AM MDT: Name Searchable Databases in Arkiv Digital (Kathy Meade)
 * 1:15-2:15 PM MDT: Swedish Naming Customs (Geoffrey Fröberg Morris, BA, AG®)
 * 2:30-3:30 PM MDT: Military Records in Arkiv Digital (Kathy Meade)
 * 9:00-10:00 AM MDT: Probate Laws and Records for Swedish Genealogy (Geoffrey Fröberg Morris, BA, AG®)
 * 10:15-11:15 AM MDT: Databases for Swedish Genealogy (Geoffrey Fröberg Morris, BA, AG®)
 * 1:15-2:15 PM MDT: Introduction to Icelandic Church and Census Records (Liv Anderson, CGSM, AG<sup® )
 * This class is designed to introduce patrons to what kind of information can be found in the Church Records for Iceland, as well as explaining how to use the online Census records for Iceland


 * 2:30-3:30 PM MDT: Finnish Immigration and Methodology: How to tackle Finnish challenges (Bradley Marchant, BA, AG®)
 * Finland is the Land of 1000 lakes, but it doesn’t have to be the land of mystery when it comes to researching one’s family! This class will teach you how history affects Finnish research, the quirky surname rules, patronymics in Swedish and Finnish and some methodology in searching for immigrant ancestors. By the end of this class, you will gain confidence and hopefully feel ready to tackle your Finnish family.

Thursday, 14 September
 * 9:00-10:00 AM MDT: Norwegian Church Records (Liv Anderson, CGSM, AG®)
 * This class is designed to teach patrons about the different types of Church Records available in the online records for "Digitalarkivet" of Norway.


 * 10:15-11:15 AM MDT: Norway: We're getting married. Traditions and Records. (Anka Magee, BS, AG®)
 * The objectives for this class is to help you understand the marriage customs and traditions in Norway. We will talk a little about our ancestors' journey toward marriage, and look at the various marriage records found in the parish registers.


 * 1:15-2:15 PM MDT: Norway: "Lensrekneskapsbøker" (Jeff Svare, AG®)
 * 2:30-3:30 PM MDT: Norwegian Migration and Immigration (Anka Magee, BS, AG®)
 * This class will discuss migration within Norway's borders; the "why and where". We will talk a little about who immigrated to Norway, where they came from, and why they came to Norway.

Friday, 15 September
 * 9:00-10:00 AM MDT: Danish Estates (Jeff Svare, AG® )
 * 10:15-11:15 AM MDT: Little Used Records on the "Arkivalieronline" (Anka Magee, BS, AG®)
 * Most of us use the Danish "Arkivalieronline" to search parish registers, census records, probate, and military records. This class will show you that there are so many more record types, sources, and collections to be searched on "arkivalieronline"; records that can be of great help in your search for your ancestors.


 * 1:15-2:15 PM MDT: Painting a Picture of Your Danish Ancestors Through Their Tax Records (Tanner Tolman)
 * This class teaches how to use three types of Danish tax records: Cadastral lists (Matrikler), Fire Insurance (Brandforsikring), and Tax Account Books (Skattehovedbog). It demonstrates how they can be used to learn more about Danish ancestor's and their lives.


 * 2:30-3:30 PM MDT: Research in Copenhagen (A. Boyd Nielsen, BA, AG®)
 * This class will cover strategies in Copenhagen and will introduce the student to various records that are unique to that city. Several case studies will be presented

Presenters
Liv H. Anderson, CGSM, AG® a native of Kristiansund, Norway with her first encounter with genealogy at the Trondheim Archive when she was 12 years old. Liv has worked for FamilySearch for over 35 years. The first 5 years in the Evaluation Department, processing individual and marriage entry sheets; the next 11 years in the Cataloging Department, and since November of 1995 as a Scandinavian Research Consultant. Liv is a Certified Genealogist through the Board of Certified Genealogists, Washington, DC and has accreditation in Norwegian research through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists, ICAPGen.

Elaine Hasleton, AG®

Jeffrey Svare,

Whitney Peterson,

Anka Magee, BS, AG®, Anka is currently working as an International Research Consultant at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has presented classes at various conferences and Libraries: National Genealogical Society (NGS), ICAPGen conferences, UGA Salt Lake Institute, BYU Genealogical conferences, and has taught numerous classes at the Family History Library in SLC. She worked as an instructor at BYU for a number of years. There have been numerous field trip experiences in Scandinavia, England and Germany. She has done research in various archives in Scandinavia and the British Isles. Anka is a proud native of Norway and is accredited in Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish research through ICAPGen.

Kathy Meade, Kathy Meade has been assisting persons with their Swedish research for more than ten years. She is the North American representative for ArkivDigital, a company that offers an online subscription service to Swedish historical records. She has given many presentations throughout the country as well as written genealogy articles for the Nordstjernan newspaper. She serves on the advisory board for the Swedish American Genealogy Center at the Swedish American Museum in Chicago and volunteers at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library helping patrons with their Swedish research.

Geoffrey Fröberg Morris, BA, AG® Geoffrey began family history research as a teen when he was mentored by his mother (a native of Sweden) who was accredited in Swedish research. He received a bachelors degree from the University of Utah in Philosophy with a minor in Swedish. He has been employed for over 15 years at the Family History Library as a member of the Nordic research team. Among his work assignments, Geoff has engaged in many archival visits in Sweden and Denmark. He has authored hundreds of pages to the Family Search Wiki, and presents at conferences routinely.

Bradley Marchant, BA, AG®, Bradley D. Marchant is an accredited Swedish genealogist with 18 years experience doing family history research. He specializes in Nordic, British Isles and Latin America. Currently, he catalogs for FamilySearch for new records coming from the field. He is also an avid fan of DNA research as he has now learned of newfound Portuguese, African and South Asian ancestry. Bradley has no proven ties to Finnish ancestry as he is a proud Swede, but his DNA shows Finnish ancestry on both sides of his pedigree. “It’s in my blood!” Bradley is a foster-adopt father to two boys who make his life both chaotic and amazing.

A. Boyd Nielsen, BA, AG® A. Boyd Nielsen, founder of Nielsen Genealogical Services, has been involved in genealogical research for over 50 years. He specializes in Scandinavian, Germanic, British, and North American research. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and German from Utah State University. He is an accredited genealogist through ICAPGen®. He is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Utah Genealogical Association, a Commisssioner on the ICAPGen® Board and on the grading committee for ICAPGen®. He also serves as the Scandinavian Chair for ICAPGen®.

Tanner Tolman, Tanner Tolman has been doing professional genealogy since November 2012. He is currently completing a Family History Degree at BYU and graduates in August. He specializes in Danish research and is working on becoming accredited.