A word of thanks to volunteers

 A Visit to the Oakland FamilySearch Center
27 September 2023

I spent the better part of the day today at the Oakland FamilySearch Center, and it was time very well spent. Not only does this facility that the LDS Church operates provide tremendous genealogical research opportunities, it also offers services that one would not expect to find. It was these services that I went there for today. 

First, I inherited a family history report had drawn on a sheet the size of a newspaper. I tried scanning it at home but it was way to big for my scanner, neither the length or the width would fit. I considered taking it to a print shop to have a digital copy made, but decided to try the FSC first. They had a large bed scanner that allowed me to scan the entire report in two passes. Now all I need to do is figure out how to merge the two JPGs together. Shouldn't be a problem.

Next, I brought several boxes of slides that I had taken when I was an exchange student in Mexico in 1979. Barbara, a volunteer at the center, kindly showed me how to operate a machine that they had that took photos of the slides and created digital copies. It took about two minutes to shoot and scan a box of slides. It was an amazing feeling to see faces of friends and family members that I had not seen in over forty years. 

Finally, I took a DVD of home videos that I could no longer watch because we no longer have a DVD player and hoped that they could convert it into digital files. It took some doing, but Barbara figured out how to do it. Even though the process worked at 1:1 speed, I soon had an hour of video of our oldest daughter's baby films, including a scene with my dad who passed away shortly after that video was taken. Hearing his voice again after 27 years had a profound affect on me. 

Before I left, I thought that I should at least spend some time at the computers. I had had questions about the parents of my 4x great-grandmother Esther Carr, and a short bit of research revealed that her supposed mother, Judith Herriman, was born only six years before Esther. A link to the FindaGrave record for Judith showed that John Carr, Esther's father, had previously been married to one 'Elizabeth Emerson' and even included a source, page 174 of a book on the history of Piermont New Hampshire. A quick search for the book showed that a digital copy was available which I quickly downloaded to my external hard drive. It confirmed what was reported on FindaGrave and also included information on several other families of mine that lived in Piermont at one time. 

Bottom line: I couldn't let this day end without saying something about all of the kindness and valuable support that the volunteers at the FSC provided me with today and every time when I go there. It didn't matter to them at all that I am not a Mormon. They are there to help and they did a magnificent job of it today.