I received this in another list and thought it interesting. -- OFFICIAL CHURCH PRESS RELEASE --= New Genealogy Databases on CD-ROM for Home Use Popularity of Genealogy Enhanced by Innovative Home Software Products September 28, 1998 =A0 SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (September 28, 1998) -- Millions of family records dating back more than 450 years are being made available to the public today in two CD-ROM packages by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the world's foremost authority on genealogy. The North American Vital Records Index and the British Isles Vital Record= s Index contain church, civil and parish records from the United States, Canada and the countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. "These new CDs may save families hundreds of hours of time and painstaking research," said Elder D. Todd Christofferson, executive direc= tor of the Church's Family History Department. "The process is as simple as typing in a name. But this is only the beginning of what's to come. The Church is aggressively working toward developing other products that will simpli= fy genealogical research, making it faster and easier to access needed information and trace family histories." The North American Vital Records Index lists nearly five million names taken from church and civil records and from other collections in t= he United States and Canada. The items in this seven-CD set focus on marriage records (6 discs) and also list some births and christenings (1 disc). The North American records indexed date from 1620 to1888. The index will be updated periodically as more information becomes available, adding millions of new names with each future volume. The British Vital Records Index contains nearly five million names from parish registers, civil registrations and other record collections i= n England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The records on the index span more than three centuries, from 1538 to 1888. The five CDs in this set concent= rate on birth and christening records (4 discs) and also list some marriages (= 1 disc). The amount of accessible data can vary greatly from parish to pari= sh. This vital records index will be an ongoing project which will also be updated periodically. "Nearly half of American families can trace part of their lineage to the British Isles," Christofferson said. "Our repository of records is the most comprehensive source available to help these families trace their roots, = not just to ancestors who arrived in America, but to their forebears in 16th century England." Genealogy is the third-most-popular hobby in the U.S. and the second-most-popular topic on the Internet. According to a Maritz Marketin= g Research study conducted for American Demographics Magazine, approximately 19 million people actively trace their lineage. Since 1978, thousands of Latter-day Saint volunteers and others have spen= t millions of hours carefully reading and examining microfilmed records. Th= e volunteers "extract" from these original records the most necessary and useful information, such as names, dates, places, and family relationship= s. The resulting data is then indexed, and in the case of the vital record indexes, automated into valuable resource files that improve ease of access and save time for family history devotees. The Family History Department expects to begin releasing the 1880 U.S. Census and the 1881 British Census in early 1999. This collection will to= tal more than 80 million names. Three other new software products were introduced in April of this year. They include: 1. Family History SourceGuide=99 =AD an automated research guide, developed by the experts at the world-famous Family History Library. 2. The 1851 British Census =AD an index to census records of Devon, Norfolk, and Warwick counties. 3. The Australian Vital Records Index (1788-1905) =AD an index to records from New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. The Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the world leader in genealogical work, with more than 3,200 fam= ily history centers worldwide and the world's largest collection of family history records, housed in Salt Lake City, Utah. =A0 Items from the Family History Resource File CD-ROM Series are available from: Church Distribution Center 1999 West 1700 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84104-4233 U.S.A. Telephone: 800-537-5950 [from the U.S. or Canada] 801-240-1126 [international] FAX orders: 801-240-3685 =A0 Product description: --------------- British Vital Records Index (1538-1888), (Item #50028) 5 CDs, Price: $15 This product is an index to parish registers, civil registration records and other records collections in parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Nearly five million names. Four CDs contain birth and christening records; one CD lists marriages.=20 --- North American Vital Records Index (1620-1888), (Item #50029) 7 CDs, Pric= e: $19 This product is an index to church and civil records and some other records collections in parts of the United States and Canada. Nearly five million names. Six CDs contain marriage records; one CD lists births and christenings.=20 --- Family History SourceGuide=99, (Item #50176), Price: $10 The first automated Windows=AE product of its kind for the Church, SourceGuide is an automated research guide. Product does not show information about individuals, but will help the researcher by listing th= e types of records and sources needed to find the requested information. CD is designed for those who know basic information about their ancestors, but now need to search original sources to complete their personal records. Also compiles information from more than 150 research guides developed at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.=20 --- 1851 British Census, (Item #50096) 1 CD, Price: $5 This product is an index to the census records of Devon, Norfolk, and Warwick counties only. About 1.5 million names were transcribed from original census returns. Includes such information as a person's name, relationship to head of household, sex, age, occupation, birthplace, and residence.=20 --- Australian Vital Records Index (1788-1905), (Item #50095) 4 CDs, Price: $= 20 This product is an index to records from New South Wales (1788-1888), Tasmania (1803-1899), Victoria (1837-1888), and Western Australia (1841-1905). The index contains about 4.5 million records of births, christenings, marriages, and deaths. --- For more information, contact Dan Rascon 801-240-1977 or Paul Nauta 801-240-6498.=20 =A0 Phil Musgrave P.O.Box 295 Kailua, HI 96734-0295 http://move.to/muskrat.com