Genea-Musings

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I've been compiling questions that I want to ask of the developers whom I hope to meet at the RootsTech 2012 conference.

Here's my list so far for FamilySearch developers (I will probably update it before and during the conference as I think of more questions.  I will try to post a summary of the answers, probably after the conference):

*  When will the FamilySearch Family Tree be completely open to the public?


*  When will the FamilySearch Family Tree be a conclusion based tree?

*  Will you permit GEDCOM uploads to the FamilySearch Family Tree?


*  Will there be a FamilySearch Family Tree access application for smart phones and tablets?


*  At the rate that you are adding Historical Collections, how long will it take to complete the available 
microform collection?


*  Would you please indicate which collections are Newly Added on the Historical Collections list?

*  Would you please indicate the completion percentage of each Historical Collection on the list?

*  Will there be a new Historical Collections page with easier navigation to continents, countries and states?


*  Which states will be indexed first in the 1940 U.S. census?


*  What are you doing to create an improved GEDCOM-like standard?  


*  If you are creating an improved GEDCOM-like standard, when will it be available?  


*  Are you working with software developers (e.g., RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, Reunion, etc.) and/or online family tree providers (e.g., Ancestry, MyHertiage, Geni, WikiTree, etc.) to implement a new GEDCOM-like standard?

What other questions should be asked of the FamilySearch website developers?  Please add them to comments to this post, or on Facebook or on Google Plus so that every reader can see them.  I will add them to the list above as they come in.

If FamilySearch personnel wish to answer the questions, I hope that they will comment also, and I will highlight their responses.

I hope to do this type of Question post for several other developers of genealogy databases, software and services.  If readers have suggestions for other websites, please forward them to me as comments on this blog, or on Facebook or Google Plus.  I will give credit to those who provide questions.


The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/01/questions-for-familysearch-at-rootstech.html

Labels: FamilySearch, FamilySearch Family Tree, Genealogy Industry, Online resources, RootsTech

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RootsTech has announced the live-streaming schedule for this year's conference. I watched many of the live streaming events last year and it helped overcome the disappointment I had over not attending the conference.   

Labels: Conferences/Seminars, Genealogy Video, RootsTech

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There are two genealogy-related radio shows on Blog Talk Radio (www.blogtalkradio.com) this weekend.  They are:

1)  GeneaBloggers Radio Episode 52 -- Angela Walton-Raji of the African Roots Podcast hosts the show titled “Walking Together on the Same Path: Slave and Slave Holder Descendants Collaborating.“  This show is on:

Friday, January 27, 2012
9pm-10:30pm Eastern US
8-9:30pm Central US
7-8:30pm Mountain US
6-7:30pm Pacific US
*  2am London UK
*  1pm Saturday Sydney AUS  

The show guests are:

*  Bernice Bennett, a South Carolina researcher and host of the “Research at the National Archives & Beyond” radio show here on Blog Talk Radio. Bernice will speak about finding and meeting a descendant of her ancestor’s slave holder;
*  Betty McDade, genealogist and researcher of Edgefield, South Carolina who is a descendant of slave holders and works diligently to document the history of slaves held by her ancestors and throughout the community;
*  Toni Carrier, host of the Lowcountry Africana website, who works to document descendants of slaves in the Low Country, and has worked with both slave holder descendants and slave descendants in Hilton Head, South Carolina. 
You can read more information about the guests at GENEABLOGGERS RADIO – SHOW NOTES FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2012

Don’t forget that there is a chat room where all the “cool kids” hang out on Friday night! Sign in to BlogTalkRadio with your Facebook account or set up a free BlogTalkRadio account to join in the fun.

2)  FGS Radio - My Society, an Internet radio show on Blog Talk Radio presented by the Federation of Genealogical Societies.  This week's show is  Email Marketing Solutions for Your Genealogy Organization.  It will be hosted by Thomas MacEntee.  The show airs at:

Saturday, January 28, 2012
2-3pm Eastern US
1-2pm Central US
12-1pm Mountain US
11am-12pm Pacific US 

The special guests and features include:

*   . Our guest will be Kathryn M. Doyle, of the FGS-member society California Genealogical Society and Library in Oakland, California. Kathryn will discuss the many ways in which her society has effectively used email marketing to not only communicate with members but to reach the larger genealogy and family history community. 
*  We’ll be featuring FGS member society, California African American Genealogical Society, in our weekly Society Spotlight feature. 

You can read more information about the guests at  Email Marketing Solutions for Your Genealogy Organization. 

You can also listen to the archived shows on Blog Talk Radio by going to the two show sites:

*  Geneabloggers Radio:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/geneabloggers/

*  FGS Radio - MySociety: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mysociety/   

Enjoy!!

Labels: genealogy education, Radio/Podcast Shows

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I love the Ancestry.com Learning Center, and often refer beginning genealogists to the site, which is free.

Ancestry.com recently changed the format of the Learning Center - but the old links to it still work as of today (http://learn.ancestry.com/Home/HMLND.aspx).

Let's take a look at the new Learning Center.  On the Home, Family  Trees, Search, Collaborate or Learning Center tabs, clicking on the Learning Center tab leads to this screen:


There are four main sections to this Learning Center (with the light green background in the screen above), and we'll look at each of them in succession:

1)  The What's New page:


The "What's New page has five main links:

*  New Content - links to selected new historical record collections
*  New Features - links to selected features for using the Ancestry.com site
*  Our Social Network - join the online community and learn about education opportunities
*  Ask Ancestry Anne - Anne Mitchell writes on the Sticky Notes blog, and answers submitted questions
*  Livestream Videos - watch Desktop Education videos prepared by family historians

2)  The First Steps page:


This page has four sections:

*  Getting Started - links to selected articles about starting your research
*  Learn More - links to selected articles about using Ancestry.com to grow your family tree
*  Links to a video on Why Start a Family Tree?;  a pedigree chart at Start with Paper and Pencil?; and the Ancestry.com app at No Matter where you go, your tree can grow.
*  Links to videos two First Steps webinars.

3)  The Next Steps page:



This page has three sections:

*  Census Records - links to three articles about census records
*  Immigration Records - links to three articles about immigration records.
*  Links to a webinar on Finding the U.S. Military Heroes in Your Family, an article on Vital Records on Ancestry.com,  and a link to a page for Free Research Guides.  There are 12 links to illustrated articles for specific research areas (e.g., Irish, UK, Sweden, Germany, Canada, Immigrants, Passenger Lists, Census, American Revolution, Civil War, World War II, and black Sheep).

4)  The Family History 101 page:



There are three major parts to this page:

*  How-To Articles - links to seven selected articles on different topics
*  Beyond Family Trees - links to four selected articles about family history topics
*  Links to pages about joining the Facebook page, the Livestream Videos, the Sticky Notes blog, the YouTube Channel,  the Twitter feed, and the Ancestry.com Blog.  

There is also a link to sign up for the free monthly newsletters by email.

5)  There are links to all of the Webinars, to the Help - FAQ area, and Family History Wiki  in the Learning Center button on the top menu dropdown list, but those links are not on the Learning Center pages.

6)  A user can search for articles by topic in the search field at the top of each Learning Center page.  Searching for "census records" comes up with 289 matches; for "immigration records" comes up with 261 matches; for "military records" brings up 258 matches.  However, not every article that comes up with these searches seems relevant.  The first ten matches for "military records" do not mention military records in the titles.  Most of the articles do not have publication dates.  I tried searching for authors like Michael John Neill and George G. Morgan, and got a lot of matches.  Again, none of the first ten articles mentioned them.

All in all, it's a pretty decent makeover.  I am concerned that the search doesn't return relevant matches, and that there are no apparent links to the Ancestry Article Archive that I value.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/01/ancestrycom-revamps-their-learning.html

copyright (c), Randall J. Seaver, 2012.

Labels: Ancestry.com, Beginning Genealogy, genealogy education, Online resources

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I'm going to list all of the presentations at RootsTech 2012 session by session in a series of posts.  You can see the full schedule of all sessions at http://rootstech.org/schedule/index.



Here is the schedule for Friday, 3 February at 3:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.  The links provide information on the presentation and the speaker:   

Labels: Conferences/Seminars, genealogy education, Genealogy Industry, RootsTech

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The press release today from Ancestry.com highlights the Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1593 to 1708.  However, the database available is really for 1708 to 1985, as shown below:


I checked that Ancestry Card Catalog for a Pennsylvania database spanning 1593-1708, and didn't find one.

The database description says:

• lists of church officers
• communion lists
• marriages
• registers of members
• registers of elders, deacons, etc.
• baptisms
• confirmations
• burials
• probationers
• histories
• receipts, agreements, other miscellaneous items
• newspaper extracts

• names
• birth dates
• marriage dates
• spouse’s name
• parents’ names
• places where an event (baptism, marriage, death, burial, etc.) took place

Labels: Church records, genealogy resources, Online resources, Vital Records

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It's Treasure Chest Thursday - a time to reveal another gem in my treasure chest of family history.


My friend, Russ Worthington who writes A Worthington Weblog and Family Tree Maker User blogs, told me in email that there is an affidavit dictated by Tabitha (Randolph) Cutter (1752-1841) of Woodbridge, New Jersey in a Revolutionary War Pension File on www.Fold3.com.  Thank you, Russ!


Actually, there are two!  The first one is in the Pension File of Abraham Johnson (File S13552), on Page 51:




The transcription of this document is:


State of New Jersey
County of Middlesex


Personally appears before the Subscriber Tabitha Cutter widow of Stephen Cutter a Revolutionary War soldier who being duly sworn on her oath saith that during the Revolutionary War she was intimately acquainted with Abraham Johnson.  That said Johnson served continually during the whole war.  He served a part of the time under the command of Capt. Nathaniel Randolph.  That in the years 1781 & 1782 said Abraham Johnson served under said Abraham Johnson served under the command of Capt. Asher Randolph in the enlisted service.  the Deponent further saith that the said Johnson was wounded she thinks in the battle of Elizabeth Town and was brot to her house while suffering under the effect of that wound.


Sworn and subscribed this}
8th day of Nov-r 1839 before} ........................ Tabitha Cutter
Henry Sillcocks, J.P. }


I certify that the above named Deponent is a credible person
...................................... Henry Sillcocks, J.P.


The second affidavit was in the Pension File of Thomas Hadden (File $4413), page 30:






The transcription of this affidavit is:


State of New Jersey}
Middlesex County}


On this thirtieth day of June 1840 personally appeared before me, Ichabod Potter a Justice of the peace... in and for said county.  Tabitha Cutter a resident of the township of Woodbridge in said County, aged near 87 years, who being duly sworn according to law, doth depose and say that she was well acquainted with Thomas Hadden late the husband of Mary Hadden, now a widow, whose Maiden Name was Mary Baker.   That at the Commencement of the Revolutionary War in the year 1776 she resided with her husband at Woodbridge in state of New Jersey and that Thomas Hadden, the late husband of the said Mary, resided at the same place, that in the month of June, 1776, or near about that time, the particular day she has forgotten, there was companies raised for five months as she then was informed and that the said Thomas Hadden had enlisted in one of the companies she then also understood that they were taken to Long Island and she well recollects that the said Thomas Hadden was absent from Woodbridge untill the return of the said troops in companies which was in the month of November in said year.


Sworn and subscribed }
the day and year aforesaid} ........................... Tabitha Cutter
before me
Ichabod Cutter Justice of the Peace


I do hereby certify that I am well acquainted with Tabbitha Cutter who has subscribed & made the above affidavit who is a person of good Character & is a woman of veracity & that full credence may be given to her declarations
June 30th 1840  ............... Ichabod Potter, Justice of the Peace


The real prize in these affidavits, for me at least, is the signature of Tabitha (Randolph) Cutter:




Not bad for an 87 year old woman.  The two affidavits provide some useful information about Tabitha and her husband, Stephen Cutter (1745-1823), including:


*  That Stephen Cutter was a Revolutionary War soldier (but there is no Revolutionary War Pension File for him)
*  That Tabitha Cutter was 87 years old in 1840
*  That they resided in Woodbridge, New Jersey
*   That they knew Abraham Johnson and Thomas Hadden in 1776.


Being able to find these affidavits dictated by a married female ancestor, who did not have a Revolutionary War Pension File of her own, on Fold3 is wonderful.  The names of the deponents, of other persons named in the files, etc. are all indexed.  


It is a good idea to go through all of your ancestral family members that might be named in Revolutionary War Pension Files and see if you can glean some information about them and their friends, associates and neighbors (the FAN club).  


The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/01/treasure-chest-thursday.html


Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2012

Labels: Fold3.com, National Archives, Online resources, Research tips, Revolutionary War, Treasure Chest Thursday

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In a significant move, the RootsTech 2012 syllabus articles, for most presentations, are available online at http://rootstech.org/schedule/sessions.  click on the day of the week, and the specific session, and there may be the syllabus available in some format (usually .doc or .pdf).

Here is a screen shot of the Sessions page:


The titles of the presentations are active links.  I clicked the Steve Morse presentation link and saw:


This page provides a summary of the presentation, including title, date, time, room, session number, type, difficulty, track, and syllabi (with links to the pages).  Below that is the presentation description and the biography of the presenter.

I don't know if any major conference has done this before - meaning posting the syllabus pages for most of the presentations on the Internet.  I appreciate having this information before the presentation, and not have to wait for the CD in order to judge which presentation I might want to attend.

I checked the RootsTech app, but neither the Apple or Android app currently provides a link to the syllabus material.  Disclosure:  I am an Official Blogger for RootsTech 2012, and have had my registration fee paid for by the organization.  I look forward to attending this conference! 

Labels: Conferences/Seminars, genealogy education, RootsTech

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Jill Ball, on her Geniaus blog, has created another genealogy meme for geneabloggers, and readers, to think through and respond to.  


Here are the rules, the list, and my responses:

1. The genealogy conference I would most like to attend is... NERGC (New England Regional Genealogical Conference)
2. The genealogy speaker I would most like to hear and see is... this is hard, I've seen quite a few now in person and on webinars.  I'll go with Claire Bettag
3. The geneablogger I would most like to meet in person is... Michael Hait
4. The genealogy writer I would most like to have dinner with is... David Lambert (of NEHGS)
5. The genealogy lecture I would most like to present is.... "Solving the Thomas J. Newton Puzzle" (my biggest brick wall ancestor)
6. I would like to go on a genealogy cruise that visits.... England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Holland...
7. The photo I would most like to find is... the gravestone of Thomas J. Newton in a cemetery full of Newtons, all with dates and relationships
8. The repository in a foreign land I would most like to visit is... The National Archives in London
9. The place of worship I would most like to visit is... the Pilgrim's church in Leyden, Holland
10. The cemetery I would most like to visit is ...... wherever Thomas J. Newton is buried
11. The ancestral town or village I would most like to visit is...... wherever Thomas J. Newton was born
12. The brick wall I most want to smash is... um, Thomas J. Newton (ca 1795-ca 1840)
13. The piece of software I most want to buy is.... one that creates perfect, standard reports, books and charts with immaculate source citations (and fixes mine automatically)
14. The tech toy I want to purchase next is ..... a Notebook computer
15. The expensive book I would most like to buy is... Evidence! Explained (I have the first edition in a PDF format)
16. The library I would most like to visit is..... Family History Library in Salt Lake City, over and over
17. The genealogy related book I would most like to write is.... "Breaking Down My Brick Walls One Record at a Time"
18. The genealogy blog I would most like to start would be about.... the Seaver/Sever Family
19. The journal article I would most like to write would be about... "Solving the Devier J. Lamphier Smith Adoption Problem" - sometime after I actually do it!
20. The ancestor I most want to meet in the afterlife is.... Devier J. Lamphier's birth father.

Is there anything else on your Genealogy Bucket List?


Thank you for asking, Jill:


*  Being on Who Do You Think You Are? as a researcher, or a subject. 

Labels: Genealogy Fun, musings, My genealogy research