I work as a FamilySearch consultant at a FamilySearch Center. I have found that there are times a FamilySearch Center workstation cannot access a record that is indicated as being available at a FamilySearch Center. Usually, this is resolved by rebooting the FamilySearch Center workstation. The root problem is that FamilySearch has "forgotten" the network the workstation is connected to is at a FamilySearch center location. When the workstation is rebooted, the network connection is renegotiated and FamilySearch recognizes the network as being a FamilySearch Center.
Centers
I've been to a center near my home but am unable to see anything more than I can at home on my own computer. Some records show on my home computer in red and say see a FS affiliate but when I did, I still could not see the record. The volunteers in the church were unable to help me. Any suggestions on how I can see these records? Are they only available in Utah? Thank you in advance for any help.
Susan
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Answers
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If a record indicates it is available at an affiliate, you don't need to visit a Center. Affiliates are generally public libraries with much longer opening hours.
Were you using your own computer or a center machine? If you were on your own computer, you need to install the portal extension on Chrome or Firefox.
I go to mine about once/week. If you want to share what records you need, I'll be happy to help.
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Hello Aine,
Thank you for the information. I am looking for Thomas MCGREGOR born 1825 Paisley, Scotland to Thomas MCGREGOR (1790?) and Martha MCFARLANE (1790?). This family is such a brick wall it's like some of them just disappeared. The children Margaret Richardson MCGREGOR (1816), Marion Pringle MCGREGOR (1818), Willliam Richardson MCGREGOR (1821-1890), Thomas MCGREGOR (1823), Thomas MCGREGOR (1825), and John MCGREGOR (1829-1852). John is my 3rd great grandfather. I can follow William and John until their deaths but seems all the others disappeared. I have a Poor Laws statement dated October 1841 the information on that states Martha died in Pasiley 1832, Margaret 23 did not live with family. Thomas 51 years a barber, William 20 years a weaver, Thomas 15 years, and John 11years a drawboy. They lived on Moss Street from 1817-1841 according to statement. Thomas the 15-year-old is stated to have a nervous disorder from a fever 7 years prior and has never done anything for his own maintenance. 1851 census they are still at Moss Street, but it is just William and young Thomas. 1861 census William is married and living on Old Sneddon Street. I have been unable to find death records for anyone or where they may be buried. I am going to see if I can figure out that portal extension and hopefully be able to see the records in red. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. I've tried Scotland's People.
Sue
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Putting your query on my spreadsheet right now.
As for the portal installation - instructions are pretty clear.
One trick that I don't think is mentioned in any of the instructions -
If you are logged in to FamilySearch.org at home and then visit the FSC, you'll need to log out of FS, then connect through the portal, and log in to FS again.
If you visit an affiliate library, you don't need the portal. It only works at FSCs or FHLs.
Best of luck.
Also - for Scottish records - have you used Scotland'sPeople? They have many records exclusively, but the site appears to be down for maintenance right now.0 -
Would the volunteers at the FSC the OP visited not be clear that she needed either to use a FSC machine or to have the portal installed? This seems a pretty fundamental point for them to be unaware of.
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@MandyShaw1 Volunteers at FamilySearch Centers vary from excellent credentialed genealogists to just someone to lock and unlock the door.
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I'm not sure if you know this but Civil Registration in Scotland started in 1855. Before that, records can be problematic. As a rough, general rule, very few parishes kept burial records. Marriage records are better but are often only approximate in their dates since they often refer not to the marriage ceremony but to the submission of names for the calling of banns. Baptisms are the most complete.
However, all the above needs to be understood in the context of there being multiple church denominations in Scotland. In theory, all known Church of Scotland registers are on ScotlandsPeople. But many people belonged to splinter groups whose registers are more difficult to find - if they even survive. It's therefore highly likely that records prior to 1855 simply can't be found, and no-one should think themselves incompetent at research if people seem to disappear.
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The family is partially documented in the FS tree: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/K85F-WL4
And, @SusanMac30 you may want to join the Scotland Research group where the focus is on that area.1 -
@SusanMac30 - I don't know whether you know this, and it may not be relevant, but when I looked at the baptisms of Thomas' children, most of the sources came in two versions, each with their own URL. One of the pair is usually (always?) branded with some statement about it being a duplicate that has been retired and the latest version is on (linked URL). Do NOT take this at face value. On the ones that I looked at, the retired, so-called duplicate contained the exact date of birth, whereas the latest version omits the birth. Hardly duplicates... We in this community protested about the untruth of the duplicate statement and the retirement of exactly the wrong version but I don't remember seeing any explanation. Nevertheless it had been a while since I'd seen one of these nonsenses. Whatever you do, don't remove such so-called duplicates as I'm not sure if they can be found again!
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Maybe @SerraNola might be able to add this 'incorrect retirements' matter to her list? (Thanks)
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@Adrian Bruce1 Thank you for that information. I did not know this!
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@MandyShaw1 I'm fairly certain the retired duplicates issue is already on that list. SerraNola and I had a lengthy thread on the topic. Unfortunately the thread has been closed.
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Áine Ní Donnghaile I also verified the information on Scotland's People and the birth/baptism for Thomas & Martha children are documented by church.
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I work as a FamilySearch consultant at a FamilySearch Center. I have found that there are times a FamilySearch Center workstation cannot access a record that is indicated as being available at a FamilySearch Center. Usually, this is resolved by rebooting the FamilySearch Center workstation. The root problem is that FamilySearch has "forgotten" the network the workstation is connected to is at a FamilySearch center location. When the workstation is rebooted, the network connection is renegotiated and FamilySearch recognizes the network as being a FamilySearch Center.
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Thank you @kenc45! Do FSC consultants/volunteers have access to any sort of 'knowledge base' of fixes like this one?
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And it was more problematic before the development of the current portal. A local center would lose its connection to the Mother Ship, and reinstatement required the local director to spend several hours on the phone with SLC.
The issue has arisen several times at my local FSC. And, usually, I discovered the issue because I was only local user accessing restricted records. Many patrons come to the FSC because they don't have internet service at home and are only working on their part of the tree - not accessing restricted records.
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I'm going to have to remember this for our FamilySearch Center.
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The director of each center has access to phone help in SLC, which is just for center problems. Dedicated knowledgeable help.
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