SOUTH-AFRICA-EASTERN-CAPE-L Archives

Archiver > SOUTH-AFRICA-EASTERN-CAPE > 2006-12 > 1165469590


From: "Tombi Peck" <>
Subject: Re: [ZA-EC] DEATH REGISTERS FOR EAST LONDON - LDS FILM NUMBERSnowHOW A FAMILY HISTORY CENTER WORKS
Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 05:33:10 -0000
References: <8bf9d3f60612061920p55d73d8ay98dbe3ef18b6cbb2@mail.gmail.com>


Thank you for that very thought provoking message.

I have never been quite clear why finding your ancestors is an integral
part of your church doctrine, but I am so very, very grateful that it is!
I don't think those of us who use the resources often give sufficient
thought as to how little we may have been able to discover about our
families without the dedication of the LDS Church volunteers.

My father was a very complex man, the grandson of one of the Archdeacon's of
Northumberland. Although he had no professed faith he read widely about many
faiths and I can remember as a teenager looking at his copy (I hope after
all these decades I get the tile right) 'The Book of Mormon' (Does that
sound right)?

I admit I have always wondered how the LDS Church could afford to photograp
all these records. I have always thought that it must have been done by
marvellously devoted team of volunteers. I personally bless them every day
for their efforts which have benefitted me so greatly both directly and
indirectly..

I think we have had a perfect example within our group/groups as to how
teams of volunteers work....I feel very privileged to be part of Gail
Rothlin's team ...boy is she patient!

Sue MacKay's dedicated research (with her dedicated team of transcribers) is
another example of magnificent leadership and team work. How many of us have
benefitted from Ellen Stanton's wonderful transcriptions? And now, to add
to this group we have Rowena who is doing such a wonderful Job on the Boer
War Records and Rob's Cricket Records which have added further enrichment to
my records.

If I have left anyone out it is by accident, not by design!

There are many dedicated and knowledgable people on other lists I belong to,
but the EC and IB lists have something very special about them! Becky and
Delia need to be added too. Without their warm, gentle, generous guidance
the two list's wouldn't be what they are! A God Send to us all!

If it isn't too much bother, I would dearly like to know where the whole LDS
project started and if it is known whose idea it was in the first place.
......for no other reason than I l would like to know!

May I say how fortunate we are to have an LDS Church member as part of our
team! Thank you, Sue.
Groete,
Tombi Peck

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sue Eggett" <>
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 3:20 AM
Subject: Re: [ZA-EC] DEATH REGISTERS FOR EAST LONDON - LDS FILM NUMBERS
nowHOW A FAMILY HISTORY CENTER WORKS


> Brian, I'm glad you asked. This is not a brief answer because I thought
> perhaps our group would like to see the whole picture of how this all
> works.
> Let's see if I can make sense here.
>
> Collecting microfilms for permanent use only happens at the Salt Lake
> Family
> History Library without charge because it is located at the LDS Church
> headquarters and has easy access to the original films in the "vault",
> which
> I will explain further down. It is a huge facility so genealogists from
> all
> over the world sometimes takes a research trip to the library for one or
> two
> weeks cramming research in as fast as they can. Duplicate films are
> circulated around to the family history centers so anyone can research in
> a
> few spare hours routinely. It would be too expensive to make copies for
> each
> facility to keep. Centers would have to be bigger and better staffed.
>
> After you order a microfilm, it usually arrives in two or three weeks and
> you have three weeks to view it before the film is returned or renewed. If
> you want it for another three weeks, you pay $5 again. However, if you do
> want to have the film at the center permanently, because you refer to it
> often, you can pay $15 at the time you order or it automatically stays
> after
> two renewals--if the center has the storage space.
>
> This money is not a profit for the Church. It basically covers the cost of
> equipment, supplies, copying, mailing, and operating family history
> centers.
> The Church gives freely what it can. At FamilySearch.org searches are free
> and a reasonably good software program (PAF) for tracking your pedigree is
> free to download for your use. Therefore, it is a non-profit organization.
>
> It is interesting to me that the Church does stick to a budget. The
> members
> feel a great urgency to find their ancestors and then do temple work for
> them (a topic to discuss with a missionary). My thought would naturally
> be--let's rush out and get copies of every record right now. This is not
> the
> case here. Those in charge have gradually obtained these records for over
> a
> century with help from volunteer missionaries only as they have had
> budgeted
> means to do so. Many churches have allowed this because in return they
> receive a microfilm copy as an archive or backup to those high-risk books.
> Both churches lose out when the record holder refuses this request and
> offer. Such is the case in parts of South Africa where we only have civil
> records microfilmed.
>
> Original films from all over the world are kept inside a man-made cavity
> in
> a Salt Lake granite mountain called Big Cottonwood Canyon. Here they are
> preserved from any kind of natural disaster or environmental conditions.
> There's lots of high security devices there to detect thieves, arsonists,
> bombers and such. Copies of these originals are made here and distributed
> as
> requested.
>
> To find the closest family history center you can go to FamilySearch.org.
> There is a box on the Home page to type in your location. It will bring up
> a
> list which includes addresses. I might add too: I've heard that some
> non-members of the Church are reluctant to go to the centers because they
> think the workers will preach the gospel to them. This is forbidden. If a
> person who comes to the center asks questions about doctrine, the family
> history missionary or worker can tell them how to contact the proselyting
> missionaries. For a complete explanation of family history centers, click
> on
> the "Family Search Questions" tab at this same site.
>
> I'm usually not as verbose as I've been lately, but I say something when
> I'm
> excited or impressed with something. :~) I went back to school several
> years
> ago and had an assignment to read a book about this.
>
> Sue
>
> On 12/6/06, Brian Benningfield <> wrote:
>>
>> I'm intrigued! Sue can you please briefly explain how this works.
>> * If you want a film do you go to your local LDA Family History Centre
>> place
>> your order and they in turn obtain a copy from LDS Salt Lake City. * If
>> so
>>
>> is this copy then stored at the local LDS for future researchers?
>> And, * is there such a centre in Cape Town?
>>
>> $1000 - WOW! I guess 'Okes' such as myself, don't always fully comprehend
>> how much effort (and cost) stalwarts such as yourself put into genealogy
>> for
>> the benefit of others.
>>
>> Much appreciated
>>
>> Brian B
>> Cape Town
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From:
>> [mailto:] On Behalf Of Sue
>> Eggett
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 8:48 AM
>> To:
>> Subject: Re: [ZA-EC] DEATH REGISTERS FOR EAST LONDON - LDS FILM NUMBERS
>>
>> I know the filmers had to do it this way to economize and keep districts
>> in
>> order but it's sad for those who have to pay to view each roll. It just
>> so
>>
>> happens that some years are spread out over as many as three films. It
>> depends somewhat on how many people died that year. The later the year,
>> the
>> more population there was, and the more film it took. So sometimes you'll
>> see January and February on the first roll, March through October on a
>> second, and then November and December on a third. The early years may
>> have
>> two or three year's worth on one roll. The in between years have usually
>> been spread out over two rolls.
>>
>> Now I'm roughly calculating this. I'm not a great mathematician. I've
>> viewed
>> about a hundred year's worth of death records for Durban alone. You
>> average
>> those out to about two rolls per year; $5 for each roll X by 200 rolls =
>> $1000. Right? It was worth the 120 miles round trip to Salt Lake and
>> back.
>> It made $cents to me to offer to do other look ups while I was looking
>> for
>> the descendants of Edward Goodsell and his fourteen children--some of
>> them
>>
>> didn't have issue. It got awfully boring. Now that's the long answer to
>> your
>> question.
>>
>> The short answer is that one year often covers two rolls. Since your
>> person
>> died the first of October, I imagine the record will be on the second
>> roll.
>>
>> However, just in case I'm wrong, I can order both films from the vault
>> without any expense. They arrive in one or two days, and then they stay
>> there permanently for the benefit of future researchers. I laugh with the
>> the missionaries who order and stock the films at the library. In the
>> last
>> year they have had to shift all of their films down to an extra cabinet
>> to
>> fit in the Durban ones that I've ordered. :)
>>
>> Sue
>>
>> On 12/5/06, Cindy Binks <> wrote:
>> >
>> > Dear Sue,
>> >
>> > Thank you very much for you offer, it is appreciated and will be a late
>> > Christmas present for me.
>> >
>> > Could you please explain the difference between the two films - what
>> would
>> > you find on the film "death No.'s" and on the film "Death
>> Registrations"?
>> >
>> > Regards,
>> > Cindy
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: "Sue Eggett" <>
>> > To: < >
>> > Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2006 9:50 PM
>> > Subject: Re: [ZA-EC] DEATH REGISTERS FOR EAST LONDON - LDS FILM NUMBERS
>> >
>> >
>> > >I can do this in mid January. It would be easy since you have specific
>> > > information.
>> > >
>> > > Sue
>> > >
>> > > On 12/5/06, Cindy Binks <> wrote:
>> > >>
>> > >> Dear List,
>> > >>
>> > >> If there is anybody who will be visiting a LDS Family History
>> Centre
>> > >> in
>> > >> the near future or after the holiday closure, could I ask a huge
>> > favour
>> > >> please?
>> > >>
>> > >> I need to check the deaths for East London in 1938. I think that
>> the
>> > >> relevant Film Number is VAULT INTL FILM 1886518 or it could be
>> > >> 1886505/1886506. I am not sure, as the film shows Death No's. and
>> the
>> > >> other, Death Registrations.
>> > >> Kind regards
>> > >> Cindy
>> > >>
>> > >> -------------------------------
>> > >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
>> > >> with the word
>> > >> 'unsubscribe'
>> > >> without the quotes in the subject and the body of the
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > -------------------------------
>> > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
>> > with the word
>> 'unsubscribe'
>> > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
>> >
>>
>> -------------------------------
>> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
>> with the word
>> 'unsubscribe'
>> without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
>>
>>
>>
>> -------------------------------
>> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
>> with the word
>> 'unsubscribe'
>> without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
>>
>
> -------------------------------
> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
> with the word 'unsubscribe'
> without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
>

This thread: