Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The 99+ Genealogy Things Meme
We did the 99 Things Meme about life in general, and now Becky Wiseman started, and several others contributed to create a 99+ Genealogy Things meme.
Here are the rules:
The list should be annotated in the following manner:
* Things you have already done or found: bold face type
* Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional)
* Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) .
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group on Facebook.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants. (in Westminster MA - they wouldn't let me in, had to run from dog)
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board. (many)
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet. (many)
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research. (but not much)
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals. (most of them)
29. Responded to messages on a message board or forum.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme. (most of them)
32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
33. Performed a record lookup for someone else.
34. Went on a genealogy seminar cruise. October 2008)
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
36. Found a disturbing family secret.
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby. (an addiction, too)
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons).
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
45. Disproved a family myth through research.
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
48. Translated a record from a foreign language. (Is English a foreign language? If not, is Norwegian?)
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer. (for years...)
51. Used microfiche. (a lot)
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
53. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors. (in England)
55. Taught a class in genealogy.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century.
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century. (and before - all the way to Adam!)
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents. (sure, but not here!)
60. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
61. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer. (I use a cheat sheet!)
62. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
63. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
64. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research. (naturalization records)
65. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
66. Visited the Library of Congress. (unimpressed)
67. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower. (White, Cooke, Soule, Warren)
68. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War. (Isaac Seaver)
69. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
70. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
71. Can read a church record in Latin.
72. Have an ancestor who changed their name. ( they must have, since I can't find them before a certain date!)
73. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list. (many)
74. Created a family website. (several)
75. Have more than one "genealogy" blog. (only 5)
76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
77. Have broken through at least one brick wall. (and found two more!)
78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
79. Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center. (hundreds!)
80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project. (local CVGS project)
81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the "Psychic Roots" variety. (my last hope!)
83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War. (several)
84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War. (several)
85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
87. Use maps in my genealogy research.
88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK. (does Scotsman Peter Dill to MA in 1655 count?)
89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.
90. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
91. Visited St. Catherine's House in London to find family records.
92. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country). Hi Malcolm!
93. Consistently cite my sources. (surely you jest)
94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don't live in) in search of ancestors. (Canada, England, Norway)
95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes. (surely you jest!)
96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more). (Rev. Stephen Bachiler)
97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
98. Organized a family reunion.
99. Published a family history book (on one of my families).
100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research. (who?)
101. Have done the genealogy happy dance. (and had genea-gasms too!)
102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance. (can't jump too high)
103. Offended a family member with my research. (don't think so)
104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.
I have done 78 out of the 104 items...what surprises you the most?
Here are the rules:
The list should be annotated in the following manner:
* Things you have already done or found: bold face type
* Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional)
* Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) .
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group on Facebook.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants. (in Westminster MA - they wouldn't let me in, had to run from dog)
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board. (many)
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet. (many)
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research. (but not much)
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals. (most of them)
29. Responded to messages on a message board or forum.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme. (most of them)
32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
33. Performed a record lookup for someone else.
34. Went on a genealogy seminar cruise. October 2008)
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
36. Found a disturbing family secret.
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby. (an addiction, too)
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons).
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
45. Disproved a family myth through research.
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
48. Translated a record from a foreign language. (Is English a foreign language? If not, is Norwegian?)
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer. (for years...)
51. Used microfiche. (a lot)
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
53. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors. (in England)
55. Taught a class in genealogy.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century.
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century. (and before - all the way to Adam!)
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents. (sure, but not here!)
60. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
61. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer. (I use a cheat sheet!)
62. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
63. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
64. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research. (naturalization records)
65. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
66. Visited the Library of Congress. (unimpressed)
67. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower. (White, Cooke, Soule, Warren)
68. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War. (Isaac Seaver)
69. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
70. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
71. Can read a church record in Latin.
72. Have an ancestor who changed their name. ( they must have, since I can't find them before a certain date!)
73. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list. (many)
74. Created a family website. (several)
75. Have more than one "genealogy" blog. (only 5)
76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
77. Have broken through at least one brick wall. (and found two more!)
78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
79. Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center. (hundreds!)
80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project. (local CVGS project)
81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the "Psychic Roots" variety. (my last hope!)
83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War. (several)
84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War. (several)
85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
87. Use maps in my genealogy research.
88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK. (does Scotsman Peter Dill to MA in 1655 count?)
89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.
90. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
91. Visited St. Catherine's House in London to find family records.
92. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country). Hi Malcolm!
93. Consistently cite my sources. (surely you jest)
94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don't live in) in search of ancestors. (Canada, England, Norway)
95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes. (surely you jest!)
96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more). (Rev. Stephen Bachiler)
97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
98. Organized a family reunion.
99. Published a family history book (on one of my families).
100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research. (who?)
101. Have done the genealogy happy dance. (and had genea-gasms too!)
102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance. (can't jump too high)
103. Offended a family member with my research. (don't think so)
104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.
I have done 78 out of the 104 items...what surprises you the most?
Labels: genealogy blogs, My genealogy research
David Allen Lambert's "Question of the Day" on NewEnglandAncestors.org
David Allen Lambert has started a Question of the Day feature on the http://www.newenglandancestors.org/ web site of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society (NEHGS). David has written this feature in the print magazine New England Ancestors since 2004, but now it is online (which only seems fitting for a column titled "Online Genealogist."
The Question of the Day feature is available to NEHGS members and non-members alike. The page says:
"Each day, David Lambert, the NEHGS Online Genealogist, will post an interesting 'Question of the Day' to share with you. We hope these questions are valuable and beneficial in your research. Check back daily for new questions and answers or read through our archives"
I had the pleasure of meeting David on the Wholly Genes cruise. He hosted several evening seminars around the cafe tables, and was a one-on-one mentor for many researchers, including me. David's biography from the NEHGS site:
"David’s genealogical expertise includes specialties in New England and Atlantic Canadian research, military records, and Native American and African American genealogical research. David has appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including the PBS-TV show History Detectives. He is the host of a local public access television talk show, devoted to capturing the stories of the U.S. Military veterans of the town of Stoughton, Massachusetts. "
You can submit a question to David - the site says:
"You are invited to submit research questions to David Allen Lambert at onlinegenealogist@nehgs.org. Please note that he will make every effort to reply to each message, but will respond on a first come, first-served basis. In some cases he may need to refer individuals to the NEHGS Research Service for more in-depth research services for a fee. "
This service, and others like it, can be very useful for researchers, and extremely helpful for those that get their questions answered.
The Question of the Day feature is available to NEHGS members and non-members alike. The page says:
"Each day, David Lambert, the NEHGS Online Genealogist, will post an interesting 'Question of the Day' to share with you. We hope these questions are valuable and beneficial in your research. Check back daily for new questions and answers or read through our archives"
I had the pleasure of meeting David on the Wholly Genes cruise. He hosted several evening seminars around the cafe tables, and was a one-on-one mentor for many researchers, including me. David's biography from the NEHGS site:
"David’s genealogical expertise includes specialties in New England and Atlantic Canadian research, military records, and Native American and African American genealogical research. David has appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including the PBS-TV show History Detectives. He is the host of a local public access television talk show, devoted to capturing the stories of the U.S. Military veterans of the town of Stoughton, Massachusetts. "
You can submit a question to David - the site says:
"You are invited to submit research questions to David Allen Lambert at onlinegenealogist@nehgs.org. Please note that he will make every effort to reply to each message, but will respond on a first come, first-served basis. In some cases he may need to refer individuals to the NEHGS Research Service for more in-depth research services for a fee. "
This service, and others like it, can be very useful for researchers, and extremely helpful for those that get their questions answered.
Labels: genealogy education, NEHGS, Online resources
Family Photographs - Post 37: Georgianna Auble in 1950
I'm posting old family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they won't be wordless posts like others do - I simply am incapable of having a wordless post.
Here is one of the most precious (to me) images from my Auble/Carringer family collection:
This picture was taken in about 1950, probably in the patio adjacent to 2115 30th Street on the Carringer property (my only clue for this is the bricked patio, which was still there in 1980). Georgianna moved with Lyle and Emily (Auble) Carringer to Point Loma when the new home was built there in 1951. She is one of my great-grandmothers.
This photograph was handed down from Charles and Georgianna (Kemp) Auble to their daughter Emily Kemp (Auble) Carringer (who married Lyle L. Carringer), to their daughter Betty Virginia (Carringer) Seaver (who married Fred Seaver) to me, their son.
Here is one of the most precious (to me) images from my Auble/Carringer family collection:
This is a picture of Georgianna (Kemp) Auble (!868-1952), who was born in Norfolk County, Ontario, and came to Chicago in the 1890's, married Charles Auble in 1898 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the family came to San Diego in about 1911.
This picture was taken in about 1950, probably in the patio adjacent to 2115 30th Street on the Carringer property (my only clue for this is the bricked patio, which was still there in 1980). Georgianna moved with Lyle and Emily (Auble) Carringer to Point Loma when the new home was built there in 1951. She is one of my great-grandmothers.
This photograph was handed down from Charles and Georgianna (Kemp) Auble to their daughter Emily Kemp (Auble) Carringer (who married Lyle L. Carringer), to their daughter Betty Virginia (Carringer) Seaver (who married Fred Seaver) to me, their son.
Labels: Family Stories, My genealogy research, photographs
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Catching Up with Rootsweb Review
I always enjoyed receiving the weekly Rootsweb Review in my email over the past 10 years or so. Then it stopped - because of a problem with my email thinking it was spam. So I resubscribed, and it worked for awhile and then stopped again. That was in April 2008.
When I checked the Rootsweb Review Archives, I saw that they went monthly at about that time. I tried to subscribe again, and never received an issue. Then I forgot about my old friend, until today when I went browsing through the Archives. They are still being published, in an HTML format, with Joan Young as the Editor. I found the feature articles in the Using Rootsweb section quite useful:
11 June 2008 - Creating Your Own Freepage on RootsWeb, by Jana Lloyd
9 July 2008 - International Genealogical Symbols, by Mary Harrell-Sesniak
13 August 2008 - Understanding RootsWeb's Social Security Death Index, by Joan Young
10 September 2008 - World Archives Project: Saving the World’s Records Fifteen Minutes at a Time, by Jana Lloyd
08 October 2008 - - Census Records—For Demographics or Genealogy?, by Mary Harrell-Sesniak
12 November 2008 - Connecting Across Continents and Generations Through RootsWeb, by Joan Young
10 December 2008 - Using RootsWeb's Free FTP Tool, by Jana Lloyd
The other regular columns are Editor's Desk, News and Notes; Genealogy Tips; Connecting; Bottomless Mailbag; What's New - Databases, Freepages, Mailing Lists; The Darkroom; and You Found It.
The You Found It section usually has humorous tidbits, such as:
"Fertile Man Marries Manly Woman"
"... LITTLE, NATHANIEL, Esq. d. Delaware, Dec. 10th, 1812. He left a small family. (*Jan. 20, 1812)"
If you have been missing the Rootsweb Review, consider reading the Archives every once in awhile to see what you've been missing. There is a wealth of useful information, not to mention an excellent article, in each issue. And it's FREE!
When I checked the Rootsweb Review Archives, I saw that they went monthly at about that time. I tried to subscribe again, and never received an issue. Then I forgot about my old friend, until today when I went browsing through the Archives. They are still being published, in an HTML format, with Joan Young as the Editor. I found the feature articles in the Using Rootsweb section quite useful:
11 June 2008 - Creating Your Own Freepage on RootsWeb, by Jana Lloyd
9 July 2008 - International Genealogical Symbols, by Mary Harrell-Sesniak
13 August 2008 - Understanding RootsWeb's Social Security Death Index, by Joan Young
10 September 2008 - World Archives Project: Saving the World’s Records Fifteen Minutes at a Time, by Jana Lloyd
08 October 2008 - - Census Records—For Demographics or Genealogy?, by Mary Harrell-Sesniak
12 November 2008 - Connecting Across Continents and Generations Through RootsWeb, by Joan Young
10 December 2008 - Using RootsWeb's Free FTP Tool, by Jana Lloyd
The other regular columns are Editor's Desk, News and Notes; Genealogy Tips; Connecting; Bottomless Mailbag; What's New - Databases, Freepages, Mailing Lists; The Darkroom; and You Found It.
The You Found It section usually has humorous tidbits, such as:
"Fertile Man Marries Manly Woman"
"... LITTLE, NATHANIEL, Esq. d. Delaware, Dec. 10th, 1812. He left a small family. (*Jan. 20, 1812)"
If you have been missing the Rootsweb Review, consider reading the Archives every once in awhile to see what you've been missing. There is a wealth of useful information, not to mention an excellent article, in each issue. And it's FREE!
Labels: genealogy education, Rootsweb.com
Transitional and Professional Genealogists Study Group Information
There are two Study Groups currently operating as a result of efforts by members of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) Mailing List to provide study opportunities for researchers who consider themselves "Transitional Genealogists."
Angela McGhie is the coordinator for both study groups, and has written a summary post here on the Transitional Genealogists Forum (TGF) mailing list.
The description of the two groups is:
1) The NGSQ Article Study Groups accept new members on an ongoing basis. These groups meet once a month online to discuss an article from the NGS Quarterly. This study is based on the model set forth by Dr. William M.Litchman where each participant reads the selected article from the NGSQ several times making notes about the research techniques, evidence and logic used in solving the genealogy problem. Members meet online to discuss the methodology used in the article and take turns moderating the discussions.
2) The Pro Gen Study Groups cover the research procedures and business practices outlined in Professional Genealogy edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills. There are two study groups currently running and I keep a list of others interested in participating. When there are enough people ready to participate we will form a third group. Each month members study one or two chapters of Professional Genealogy and complete a practical assignment relating to the chapter. Members then review assignments and give feedback.
If you want to participate in either or both of these groups, please read the mailing list article and contact Angela with your desire and commitment.
I have participated in both study groups over the past year, and have gained more experience in analyzing records and case studies, and more knowledge about what it takes to become a professional genealogist.
One of the real benefits of each group is getting to know the members of the group on a personal and professional level. We chat via Windows Live Messenger each month, exchange email, share homework assignments, and enjoy bantering on Facebook. These are some of my professional colleagues, even though I haven't met many of them.
Angela McGhie is the coordinator for both study groups, and has written a summary post here on the Transitional Genealogists Forum (TGF) mailing list.
The description of the two groups is:
1) The NGSQ Article Study Groups accept new members on an ongoing basis. These groups meet once a month online to discuss an article from the NGS Quarterly. This study is based on the model set forth by Dr. William M.Litchman where each participant reads the selected article from the NGSQ several times making notes about the research techniques, evidence and logic used in solving the genealogy problem. Members meet online to discuss the methodology used in the article and take turns moderating the discussions.
2) The Pro Gen Study Groups cover the research procedures and business practices outlined in Professional Genealogy edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills. There are two study groups currently running and I keep a list of others interested in participating. When there are enough people ready to participate we will form a third group. Each month members study one or two chapters of Professional Genealogy and complete a practical assignment relating to the chapter. Members then review assignments and give feedback.
If you want to participate in either or both of these groups, please read the mailing list article and contact Angela with your desire and commitment.
I have participated in both study groups over the past year, and have gained more experience in analyzing records and case studies, and more knowledge about what it takes to become a professional genealogist.
One of the real benefits of each group is getting to know the members of the group on a personal and professional level. We chat via Windows Live Messenger each month, exchange email, share homework assignments, and enjoy bantering on Facebook. These are some of my professional colleagues, even though I haven't met many of them.
Labels: genealogy education, professional genealogy
Tombstone Tuesday - Chelmsford Forefathers Burial Ground
I've run out of ancestral gravestone photographs for the time being - I need to find my file of photographs hiding in a box in the Genea-Cave, or take another trip to New England!
We visited New England several times in 2006, and on one of the trips we visited the Forefather's Burial Ground in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. I am quite sure that I have quite a few ancestors buried in this cemetery, but the office wasn't open and it was very wet, so I didn't search for my Hildreths, Keyes, Prescott, Fletcher and other families.
I took this picture of the sign along the wall of the cemetery, and you can see the
depth of the cemetery.
One of my new projects is to use the genealogy software I have to create lists of persons who died in each town so that I can find their gavestones.
We visited New England several times in 2006, and on one of the trips we visited the Forefather's Burial Ground in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. I am quite sure that I have quite a few ancestors buried in this cemetery, but the office wasn't open and it was very wet, so I didn't search for my Hildreths, Keyes, Prescott, Fletcher and other families.
I took this picture of the sign along the wall of the cemetery, and you can see the
depth of the cemetery.
One of my new projects is to use the genealogy software I have to create lists of persons who died in each town so that I can find their gavestones.
Labels: Cemetery records, My genealogy research, photographs
Monday, January 5, 2009
Preparing to Visit the Family History Library in Salt Lake City
I am flying off to Salt Lake City on Thursday for five days in the capital of Utah and the home of the LDS Family History Library. I will have Saturday and Monday to visit the library and do some research. I have an all-day meeting on Friday, the library is closed on Sunday, and Tuesday is my fly-home day. I will be staying at the Little America Hotel if anybody wants to meet up with me while I'm there. I will have my laptop with me, and should be able to check email, blogs and Facebook while I'm there.
My preparations for the visit have included:
* A review of the floors at the library - see here. The US/Canada local history books are on floor 3, the US/Canada microfilms are on floor 2, FamilySearch and the surname books are on floor 1, the International films and books are on floor B1, and the British Isles films and books are on floor B2.
* Gather my basic research papers - my ahnentafel lists, my tables of sources already consulted for each surname, my list of books to find.
* Update and/or create research plans for each elusive ancestor I want to research. These include Elizabeth Dill, Thomas J. Newton, Mary Hoax, William Knapp, Hannah Smith and several others. These plans detail what I know about each research problem, what I've searched previously, and what I want to search for at the FHL.
* Print out pages from the FHL Catalog for the items in the research plan, and gather up all of the papers for each research problem.
* Get the latest FTM16 databases on the laptop so that I have my research information with me. I still need to test the laptop table locking device and create space on my flash drives and my camera for new information.
I'm really looking forward to this trip. My hope is that I can make one or more breakthroughs on my elusive ancestors so that I can work back in time to find more elusive ancestors!
What else should I be doing to make this trip successful? I know, write some advanced blog posts so that my Genea-Musings readers are amused or informed while I'm gone. I anticipate writing blog posts almost every night after a busy day - we'll see how that works out!
My preparations for the visit have included:
* A review of the floors at the library - see here. The US/Canada local history books are on floor 3, the US/Canada microfilms are on floor 2, FamilySearch and the surname books are on floor 1, the International films and books are on floor B1, and the British Isles films and books are on floor B2.
* Gather my basic research papers - my ahnentafel lists, my tables of sources already consulted for each surname, my list of books to find.
* Update and/or create research plans for each elusive ancestor I want to research. These include Elizabeth Dill, Thomas J. Newton, Mary Hoax, William Knapp, Hannah Smith and several others. These plans detail what I know about each research problem, what I've searched previously, and what I want to search for at the FHL.
* Print out pages from the FHL Catalog for the items in the research plan, and gather up all of the papers for each research problem.
* Get the latest FTM16 databases on the laptop so that I have my research information with me. I still need to test the laptop table locking device and create space on my flash drives and my camera for new information.
I'm really looking forward to this trip. My hope is that I can make one or more breakthroughs on my elusive ancestors so that I can work back in time to find more elusive ancestors!
What else should I be doing to make this trip successful? I know, write some advanced blog posts so that my Genea-Musings readers are amused or informed while I'm gone. I anticipate writing blog posts almost every night after a busy day - we'll see how that works out!
Labels: LDS Resources, My genealogy research
Find Famous People Contest
One of the really fun things to do (well, for me) is to find famous people in the census records. Michael John Neill has a blog called Famous People in the Census and now has started up his contests again. Previously, he had contests on his www.rootdig.com web site and blog, but took them down last year. I have missed them!
Michael has posted the first two contests:
* Find Thomas Edison in 1870
* Find Bob Hope in the 1910 Census
Michael has specific rules, so be sure to read them before jumping into the contests.
Good luck -- you'll need it! These are usually hard research problems that will tax every genealogy researcher. However, reviewing the solutions when they are published can help inform and educate every genealogy researcher.
Michael has posted the first two contests:
* Find Thomas Edison in 1870
* Find Bob Hope in the 1910 Census
Michael has specific rules, so be sure to read them before jumping into the contests.
Good luck -- you'll need it! These are usually hard research problems that will tax every genealogy researcher. However, reviewing the solutions when they are published can help inform and educate every genealogy researcher.
Labels: Census Records, genealogy blogs
Are imaging services missing NARA records?
One of the more intriguing threads on the APG (Association of Professional Genelaogists) mailing list was started by Tom Kemp titled Chicago Marriage Records 1871-1920 going online. While the original post was informative about the subject, controversy soon arose over the issue of volunteer or commercial image providers (the ones working for ancestry, Footnote, FamilySearch, others?) missing specific records when capturing images from microfilms or original documents.
Peggy Reeves is an experienced genealogist who uses the National Archives in Washington DC frequently to pursue her own and her clients research. Her first response to Tom's post, and subsequent responses to other posters, made claims that (see original posts for context and more complete commentary):
* "They (the Footnote folks) are scanning in poor quality black-and-white images, and not from the original documents in most cases, but from antiquated NARA microfilm that is difficult to read in the first place." - from here.
* "The Ancestry Civil War pension index is a good example. Many of those cards are difficult to read on the NARA microfilm. Ancestry has a disclaimer that says 10% of the images are "missing". They are NOT "missing". The truth is that the subscription service chose not to include the ones that scanned as all black or all blank, and it's more like 20-30%, not 10%." - from here.
* "Footnote is now scanning Civil War widow's pension files from the original paper. The originals are on papers of many different colors, and sometimes faded and difficult to read. The technology exists to scan these valuable files with high-quality color scanning, but it is not being done." - from here.
* "The problem is that once these files are filmed (no matter how cheap and poor the images are), NARA will then take these files out of circulation so that no one can request to see the originals any more. In other words, we will all be stuck with whatever the subscription services do, and a great deal of valuable information will be forever lost to us ALL, because we won't be allowed to see the originals any more." - from here.
* "FamilySearch recruits volunteers and provides them for use by Footnote, Ancestry, and other Utah-based genealogy vendors. The vendors negotiate contracts with the various record custodians and then they send the FamilySearch volunteers in to bring home the bacon." - from here.
* "It is the longstanding policy of NARA to reduce handling of the original documents by taking them out of public view once they are microfilmed or scanned. Thus, the indexing and images that are getting botched or left out completely for the sake of getting the product to market faster will soon be gone forever from our view, because NARA will make us dependent on those scans. How's that for "preservation"?" - from here.
* "Today I had to get a Civil War pension file for someone. After I looked up their soldier on the microfilm, I decided to do a random spot-check. I rewound the microfilm and jotted down the first 25 pension cards on that particular film. With regard to evaluating the sources that we use, here's an actual example to evaluate. This is from the Civil War era pension index (the one digitized at Ancestry), #T-288, and this sample of the first 25 cards is from roll #402 (name, regiment, certificate #):
1. Roe, Charles - B1 TX Inf - ctf #1187312
2. Roe, Charles B., alias Charles Rogers - D 10 OH Cav & E 8 OH Inf - ctf #464620 inf, ctf #698145 widow Catherine B. Roe
3. Roe, Charles E. - B 1 FL Inf & L(?)22 U.S. Inf (SA War) ctf #1294569
4. Roe, Charles E. - K 89 IL Inf, QMS 89 IL Inf - ctf #1014449 inv, ctf #704736 widow Sarah
5. Roe, Charles E. - K 1 IA Cav & B 12 IA Inf - ctf #189672 inv, ctf #645225 widow Rebecca V.
6. Roe, Charles E. - I 5 MA Inf - ctf #1148997
7. Roe, Charles F. - Unassigned 3 U.S.C Inf, 11 U.S. Inf (Capt), 26 U.S. Inf, C 9 NY Inf - widow only, ctf #536186 Lydia F.
8. Roe, Charles H. - G 12 IL Inf - ctf #1000315
9. Roe, Charles H. - E 156 NY Inf - ctf #853656 inv, app only for widow Cathrene B. #1043795
10. Roe, Charles K. - I 4 MO S.M. Cav - ctf #1112664 inv, ctf #A-6-14-28 widow Frances
11. Roe, Charles O. - G 52 NY Inf - ctf #388195 inv, ctf #941982 widow Helen C.
12. Roe, Charles S. - G 6 IL Inf - ctf #1291570
13. Roe, Charles T. - I 146 OH Inf - ctf #578623
14. Roe, Chauncey C. - F 16 MI Inf - no ctf, app #962733
15. Roe, Chester K. - D 1 MMB USV Inf & A 1 MMB USV Inf - ctf #841542 inv, ctf #A-3-8-28 widow Mary E.
16. Roe, Christopher - F 106 OH Inf - ctf #1010257
17. Roe, Clarke - Unassigned 17 NY Inf - no ctf, app #1229984
18. Roe, Clem - G 3 WI Inf (SA War) (I didn't copy the # for this one), widow Emma
19. Roe, Cornelius B. - D 26 KY Inf - ctf #927453
20. Roe, Cyrus A. - I 50 NY Engineers - ctf #559866 inv, ctf #615547 widow Samira A.
21. Roe, Dalton - D 6 U.S. Inf & E 21 U.S. Inf (SA War) - no ctf, app #1243736
22. Roe, Daniel - B 65 IL Inf - no ctf, app #1267282
23. Roe, Daniel E. - F 27 IA Inf & K 4 VRC - ctf #1077346 inv, ctf #A-1-18-29 widow Louisa R.
24. Roe, Daniel J., Jr. - A 156 NY Inf - ctf #411967
25. Roe, Daniel M. - F 1 FL Cav - ctf #368117
"I invite each of you to evaluate your online source by scanning for each of these names in the Civil War pension database at Ancestry. Know how many you'll find? When I looked them up on the NARA computers today, I found only ONE out of the 25." - from here.
* "NARA researchers have always been able to request to see a document that is not clear enough to read on-screen. We know what is there because we can look at the microfilm indexes ourselves. But when new record groups are scanned from original documents and new indexes to these records are created by volunteers doing tedious work on a profit deadline (omitting the more difficult images, or misreading names for lack of experience), then the record disappears. In other words, how can we know to request to see the actual document if we can't see it on an index to know that it exists in the first place? We can't, and that is how records disappear from our view forever." - from here.
I checked the Ancestry Civil War Pension Index (the one for Microform Series T-288) for the persons on the list above, and Peggy is right - there is only ONE of them on the Ancestry database - Charles B. Roe, alias Charles Rogers. I looked for other spellings, etc, and did not find any of the other 24.
So far, that is the only concrete example provided by Peggy in response to questions from APG list members.
There are more posts by Tom, Peggy and others, including a response from James Hastings, a NARA manager, and Chad Milliner, who works for Ancestry. Please see the full range of December for the complete file.
I don't know Peggy, and don't know if other experienced NARA researchers have the same opinions. From what I can tell by reading Peggy's posts, she is an experienced researcher, knows her way around the NARA collections, and has opinions about commercial services and the imaging/indexing job being done at NARA. She put herself out on a big limb by making these comments and has held her own, civilly, in responses.
The big issues for all genealogy researchers are:
1) Are all pages of a NARA file being imaged and indexed from the original documents or from microfilm images?
2) If the images are not readable on microfilm, are the original documents brought out, imaged and indexed?
3) If the original or microfilm images are not readable, are place-holders put in the image collection so that a user knows that there is an unreadable page?
4) Are the original documents in the NARA collection going to be available for researchers to observe in the original form in the future?
These issues are important to all of us, and have been treated as such by the posters on the APG list. They are important for all database image and indexing projects, not just the NARA projects.
My opinion is that these issues need to be investigated. More examples should be requested from Peggy and other experienced NARA researchers. Standards should be considered and issued by NARA, the companies and the genealogy community at large, and both NARA and the imaging/indexing companies should abide by the standards.
The needed standard, in my mind, is that a record collection should be completely imaged and indexed, by the best technology appropriate for the task (e.g., if the Navy Pension Cards are on blue cards that make them dark using black-and-white, then image them in a color that shows contrast), and that original documents (or microfilms of indexes or original documents) should not be discarded or closed off completely from genealogy researchers.
My apologies for the length of this post, but I have not seen another genealogy blogger address this issue and I thought that it deserved exposure and comment. The larger world of the APG mailing list has been exposed to it, which is good, but not everyone reads the APG mailing list.
Peggy Reeves is an experienced genealogist who uses the National Archives in Washington DC frequently to pursue her own and her clients research. Her first response to Tom's post, and subsequent responses to other posters, made claims that (see original posts for context and more complete commentary):
* "They (the Footnote folks) are scanning in poor quality black-and-white images, and not from the original documents in most cases, but from antiquated NARA microfilm that is difficult to read in the first place." - from here.
* "The Ancestry Civil War pension index is a good example. Many of those cards are difficult to read on the NARA microfilm. Ancestry has a disclaimer that says 10% of the images are "missing". They are NOT "missing". The truth is that the subscription service chose not to include the ones that scanned as all black or all blank, and it's more like 20-30%, not 10%." - from here.
* "Footnote is now scanning Civil War widow's pension files from the original paper. The originals are on papers of many different colors, and sometimes faded and difficult to read. The technology exists to scan these valuable files with high-quality color scanning, but it is not being done." - from here.
* "The problem is that once these files are filmed (no matter how cheap and poor the images are), NARA will then take these files out of circulation so that no one can request to see the originals any more. In other words, we will all be stuck with whatever the subscription services do, and a great deal of valuable information will be forever lost to us ALL, because we won't be allowed to see the originals any more." - from here.
* "FamilySearch recruits volunteers and provides them for use by Footnote, Ancestry, and other Utah-based genealogy vendors. The vendors negotiate contracts with the various record custodians and then they send the FamilySearch volunteers in to bring home the bacon." - from here.
* "It is the longstanding policy of NARA to reduce handling of the original documents by taking them out of public view once they are microfilmed or scanned. Thus, the indexing and images that are getting botched or left out completely for the sake of getting the product to market faster will soon be gone forever from our view, because NARA will make us dependent on those scans. How's that for "preservation"?" - from here.
* "Today I had to get a Civil War pension file for someone. After I looked up their soldier on the microfilm, I decided to do a random spot-check. I rewound the microfilm and jotted down the first 25 pension cards on that particular film. With regard to evaluating the sources that we use, here's an actual example to evaluate. This is from the Civil War era pension index (the one digitized at Ancestry), #T-288, and this sample of the first 25 cards is from roll #402 (name, regiment, certificate #):
1. Roe, Charles - B1 TX Inf - ctf #1187312
2. Roe, Charles B., alias Charles Rogers - D 10 OH Cav & E 8 OH Inf - ctf #464620 inf, ctf #698145 widow Catherine B. Roe
3. Roe, Charles E. - B 1 FL Inf & L(?)22 U.S. Inf (SA War) ctf #1294569
4. Roe, Charles E. - K 89 IL Inf, QMS 89 IL Inf - ctf #1014449 inv, ctf #704736 widow Sarah
5. Roe, Charles E. - K 1 IA Cav & B 12 IA Inf - ctf #189672 inv, ctf #645225 widow Rebecca V.
6. Roe, Charles E. - I 5 MA Inf - ctf #1148997
7. Roe, Charles F. - Unassigned 3 U.S.C Inf, 11 U.S. Inf (Capt), 26 U.S. Inf, C 9 NY Inf - widow only, ctf #536186 Lydia F.
8. Roe, Charles H. - G 12 IL Inf - ctf #1000315
9. Roe, Charles H. - E 156 NY Inf - ctf #853656 inv, app only for widow Cathrene B. #1043795
10. Roe, Charles K. - I 4 MO S.M. Cav - ctf #1112664 inv, ctf #A-6-14-28 widow Frances
11. Roe, Charles O. - G 52 NY Inf - ctf #388195 inv, ctf #941982 widow Helen C.
12. Roe, Charles S. - G 6 IL Inf - ctf #1291570
13. Roe, Charles T. - I 146 OH Inf - ctf #578623
14. Roe, Chauncey C. - F 16 MI Inf - no ctf, app #962733
15. Roe, Chester K. - D 1 MMB USV Inf & A 1 MMB USV Inf - ctf #841542 inv, ctf #A-3-8-28 widow Mary E.
16. Roe, Christopher - F 106 OH Inf - ctf #1010257
17. Roe, Clarke - Unassigned 17 NY Inf - no ctf, app #1229984
18. Roe, Clem - G 3 WI Inf (SA War) (I didn't copy the # for this one), widow Emma
19. Roe, Cornelius B. - D 26 KY Inf - ctf #927453
20. Roe, Cyrus A. - I 50 NY Engineers - ctf #559866 inv, ctf #615547 widow Samira A.
21. Roe, Dalton - D 6 U.S. Inf & E 21 U.S. Inf (SA War) - no ctf, app #1243736
22. Roe, Daniel - B 65 IL Inf - no ctf, app #1267282
23. Roe, Daniel E. - F 27 IA Inf & K 4 VRC - ctf #1077346 inv, ctf #A-1-18-29 widow Louisa R.
24. Roe, Daniel J., Jr. - A 156 NY Inf - ctf #411967
25. Roe, Daniel M. - F 1 FL Cav - ctf #368117
"I invite each of you to evaluate your online source by scanning for each of these names in the Civil War pension database at Ancestry. Know how many you'll find? When I looked them up on the NARA computers today, I found only ONE out of the 25." - from here.
* "NARA researchers have always been able to request to see a document that is not clear enough to read on-screen. We know what is there because we can look at the microfilm indexes ourselves. But when new record groups are scanned from original documents and new indexes to these records are created by volunteers doing tedious work on a profit deadline (omitting the more difficult images, or misreading names for lack of experience), then the record disappears. In other words, how can we know to request to see the actual document if we can't see it on an index to know that it exists in the first place? We can't, and that is how records disappear from our view forever." - from here.
I checked the Ancestry Civil War Pension Index (the one for Microform Series T-288) for the persons on the list above, and Peggy is right - there is only ONE of them on the Ancestry database - Charles B. Roe, alias Charles Rogers. I looked for other spellings, etc, and did not find any of the other 24.
So far, that is the only concrete example provided by Peggy in response to questions from APG list members.
There are more posts by Tom, Peggy and others, including a response from James Hastings, a NARA manager, and Chad Milliner, who works for Ancestry. Please see the full range of December for the complete file.
I don't know Peggy, and don't know if other experienced NARA researchers have the same opinions. From what I can tell by reading Peggy's posts, she is an experienced researcher, knows her way around the NARA collections, and has opinions about commercial services and the imaging/indexing job being done at NARA. She put herself out on a big limb by making these comments and has held her own, civilly, in responses.
The big issues for all genealogy researchers are:
1) Are all pages of a NARA file being imaged and indexed from the original documents or from microfilm images?
2) If the images are not readable on microfilm, are the original documents brought out, imaged and indexed?
3) If the original or microfilm images are not readable, are place-holders put in the image collection so that a user knows that there is an unreadable page?
4) Are the original documents in the NARA collection going to be available for researchers to observe in the original form in the future?
These issues are important to all of us, and have been treated as such by the posters on the APG list. They are important for all database image and indexing projects, not just the NARA projects.
My opinion is that these issues need to be investigated. More examples should be requested from Peggy and other experienced NARA researchers. Standards should be considered and issued by NARA, the companies and the genealogy community at large, and both NARA and the imaging/indexing companies should abide by the standards.
The needed standard, in my mind, is that a record collection should be completely imaged and indexed, by the best technology appropriate for the task (e.g., if the Navy Pension Cards are on blue cards that make them dark using black-and-white, then image them in a color that shows contrast), and that original documents (or microfilms of indexes or original documents) should not be discarded or closed off completely from genealogy researchers.
My apologies for the length of this post, but I have not seen another genealogy blogger address this issue and I thought that it deserved exposure and comment. The larger world of the APG mailing list has been exposed to it, which is good, but not everyone reads the APG mailing list.
Labels: Ancestry.com, Footnote.com, genealogy resources, LDS Resources, National Archives, Online resources
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Checking in on LiveRoots.com
I posted about http://www.liveroots.com/ several months ago here - when it was first announced and highlighted - and noted that it had great potential as a search engine for genealogy data.
I checked again recently, and noted:
* What is LiveRoots about? Check the About page. The owner and operator of Live Roots is Illya D'Addezio, who also owns http://www.genealogytoday.com/ and http://www.familytreeconnections.com/ (both are commercial sites, with some free information).
* Recent discoveries - the additions to searched databases or additions to the LiveRoots collection of searched databases
* The Blog page - updates on the additions to LiveRoots catalog or about web site operation.
* The Search page - a search box for surnames and/or keywords. There is a Getting Started page with search tips.
The last paragraph of the Getting Started page tells what Live Roots is all about:
"So, to summarize the two major points of distinction. First, there is the "roots" advantage: Live Roots lets you conduct a variety of searches across the catalogs from hundreds of different data providers and publishers all at once and with the most up-to-date versions of their catalog listings. And second, there is the "live" advantage: the same searches you conduct will include resources that you may obtain information from with the assistance of a live person that you commission for a nominal fee."
When you do a surname search, you get results in several categories. I did a SMITH surname search (it took about 15 seconds), and found:
* Surname Search - 174 entries (entries are resources, not individual names)
* Transcribed Ephemera - 240 entries (from the FTC or GT collections)
* Subscription Data - 1806 entries (from the GenealogyToday collection)
* Resource Results - 808 matches (these are individual matches from many resources, such as Ancestor Genealogy Photo Archive, Family Old Photos, Ancestry.com, WorldVitalRecords.com, etc.
* Preview results from http://www.ancestry.com/ ($)
* Browse messages from SMITH message board at http://boards.ancestry.com/
* Preview results from http://www.footnote.com/ ($)
* Browse messages from the SMITH message board at http://Genforum.Genealogy.com
The last four items are new this week.
The Help page has a link to the Major Collections searched by Live Roots. They include:
* AfriGeneas
* Ancestry.com ($) - daily updates
* Christine's Genealogy Website
* DistantCousin.com
* Family History Library (partial)
* Family Tree Connection ($) - weekly updates
* FindMyPast.com
* Footnote.com ($) - weekly updates
* Genealogical Publishing Company ($) - monthly updates
* GenealogyBank.com ($) (in progress)
* Interment.net
* JewishGen.org
* National Archives And Records Administration
* New England Historic Genealogical Society ($)
* Olive Tree Genealogy
* WorldVitalRecords.com ($) - daily updates
I can't tell how up-to-date this list is. They have added only http://www.findmypast.com/ to the "Major Collections" list since October.
For each major collection, there is a list of the databases that are searched by Live Roots. I tried to pick one of them from the list and search for a specific surname, but that doesn't work. I will have to go to the specific web site and do the search there.
I'm surprised that there are not links to the free Rootsweb vital record databases, the mailing list archives or the WorldConnect family tree database.
I will continue to check in on http://www.liveroots.com/ on occasion to see how the SMITH file grows, and the "Major Collections" list too.
UPDATE 1/6: Illya commented that Rootsweb databases are available through LiveRoots.com. He suggested searching for "Records Rootsweb." When I did that, the list of records on Rootsweb was visible. However, putting a surname (I used SEAVER) in the general LiveRoots Search box does not provide links to the Rootsweb databases.
If you use the Search box for a specific Database, then you get results from the specific database. For example, on the Rootsweb Records page, I selected the California Death Records link, then input SEAVER in the Search box on the page, and the California Death Records database on www.rootsweb.com opened with the matches.
My preference is that the Rootsweb search results will show up in the general LiveRoots results list. Otherwise, the casual user may miss many useful matches to their search query.
I checked again recently, and noted:
* What is LiveRoots about? Check the About page. The owner and operator of Live Roots is Illya D'Addezio, who also owns http://www.genealogytoday.com/ and http://www.familytreeconnections.com/ (both are commercial sites, with some free information).
* Recent discoveries - the additions to searched databases or additions to the LiveRoots collection of searched databases
* The Blog page - updates on the additions to LiveRoots catalog or about web site operation.
* The Search page - a search box for surnames and/or keywords. There is a Getting Started page with search tips.
The last paragraph of the Getting Started page tells what Live Roots is all about:
"So, to summarize the two major points of distinction. First, there is the "roots" advantage: Live Roots lets you conduct a variety of searches across the catalogs from hundreds of different data providers and publishers all at once and with the most up-to-date versions of their catalog listings. And second, there is the "live" advantage: the same searches you conduct will include resources that you may obtain information from with the assistance of a live person that you commission for a nominal fee."
When you do a surname search, you get results in several categories. I did a SMITH surname search (it took about 15 seconds), and found:
* Surname Search - 174 entries (entries are resources, not individual names)
* Transcribed Ephemera - 240 entries (from the FTC or GT collections)
* Subscription Data - 1806 entries (from the GenealogyToday collection)
* Resource Results - 808 matches (these are individual matches from many resources, such as Ancestor Genealogy Photo Archive, Family Old Photos, Ancestry.com, WorldVitalRecords.com, etc.
* Preview results from http://www.ancestry.com/ ($)
* Browse messages from SMITH message board at http://boards.ancestry.com/
* Preview results from http://www.footnote.com/ ($)
* Browse messages from the SMITH message board at http://Genforum.Genealogy.com
The last four items are new this week.
The Help page has a link to the Major Collections searched by Live Roots. They include:
* AfriGeneas
* Ancestry.com ($) - daily updates
* Christine's Genealogy Website
* DistantCousin.com
* Family History Library (partial)
* Family Tree Connection ($) - weekly updates
* FindMyPast.com
* Footnote.com ($) - weekly updates
* Genealogical Publishing Company ($) - monthly updates
* GenealogyBank.com ($) (in progress)
* Interment.net
* JewishGen.org
* National Archives And Records Administration
* New England Historic Genealogical Society ($)
* Olive Tree Genealogy
* WorldVitalRecords.com ($) - daily updates
I can't tell how up-to-date this list is. They have added only http://www.findmypast.com/ to the "Major Collections" list since October.
For each major collection, there is a list of the databases that are searched by Live Roots. I tried to pick one of them from the list and search for a specific surname, but that doesn't work. I will have to go to the specific web site and do the search there.
I'm surprised that there are not links to the free Rootsweb vital record databases, the mailing list archives or the WorldConnect family tree database.
I will continue to check in on http://www.liveroots.com/ on occasion to see how the SMITH file grows, and the "Major Collections" list too.
UPDATE 1/6: Illya commented that Rootsweb databases are available through LiveRoots.com. He suggested searching for "Records Rootsweb." When I did that, the list of records on Rootsweb was visible. However, putting a surname (I used SEAVER) in the general LiveRoots Search box does not provide links to the Rootsweb databases.
If you use the Search box for a specific Database, then you get results from the specific database. For example, on the Rootsweb Records page, I selected the California Death Records link, then input SEAVER in the Search box on the page, and the California Death Records database on www.rootsweb.com opened with the matches.
My preference is that the Rootsweb search results will show up in the general LiveRoots results list. Otherwise, the casual user may miss many useful matches to their search query.
Labels: genealogy resources, Online resources
Best of the Genea-Blogs - December 28, 2008 -January 3, 2009
Several hundred genealogy and family history bloggers write thousands of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests. I appreciate each one of them and their efforts.
My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the genealogy carnivals, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.
Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week:
* My Top Ten Genealogy Favorites for 2008 by Lisa Louise Cooke on the Genealogy Gems News blog. Lisa has some interesting favorites - check them out!
* Are we forgetting to buy tomatoes? by Pat Richley on the DearMYRTLE Genealogy Blog. Pat has sage advice for those researchers who are looking for records in all the wrong places.
* Looking Back at Content Added During 2008 at WorldVitalRecords.com by Whitney Ransom McGowan on the WorldVitalRecords.com blog. I wish that all web sites did this every month or every quarter, don't you?
* When Times Change by Donna Pointkouski on the What's Past is Prologue blog. Donna laments and celebrates the passing of an old friend, and reminds us that we are the old timers of tomorrow.
* Article about Graveyard Rabbits in Monroe Journal by Terry Thornton on The Graveyard Rabbit blog. Terry gets well deserved publicity about the Association of Graveyard Rabbits in his local newspaper.
* 9 Genealogy Predictions for 2009 by Mark Tucker on the ThinkGenealogy blog. Mark's crystal ball is working overtime - I sure hope he's right!
* Tuesday's Tip: Organizing Digital Research Notes, Emails and Reports by Miriam Midkiff on the Ancestories: Stories of my Ancestors blog. Miriam continues her series on being a digitally organized genealogist. This series should be a magazine article or two!
* Getting the Most out of your Genealogy Society Speaker by Gena Philibert Ortega on the Gena's Genealogy blog. Gena has great suggestions for societies and attendees about program speakers.
* Draft as Many Versions as Needed for Clarity, Part 1 and Part 2 by Emily Aulicino on the Writing Your Memories blog. Emily continues her series about EDIT with two posts about the D word - Draft.
* New Year’s Eve by Craig Manson on the Geneablogie blog. Craig reviews 2008, and hands out his own Kudos awards. I really like this list!
* Genetic Genealogy in the News - January 1, 2009 by Blaine Bettinger on the Genetic Genealogist blog. Blaine has a roundup of recent articles and blogs about Genetic Genealogy.
* Finally Get Organized: January 2009 Check List by Pat Richley on the DearMYRTLE Genealogy Blog. Pat shares her updated organization list for January - this is a keeper (at www.DearMYRTLE.com/09/JanuaryOrganizationChecklist.pdf).
* Drilling a little deeper in the Illinois State Archives online by Harold Henderson on the Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog. Harold covers the Illinois State Archives site like a blanket, and shows us some of the hidden jewels.
* United States Vital Records Online by Gena Philibert Ortega on the Gena's Genealogy blog. Gena provides an up-to-date list of online resources for vital records.
* Carnival of Gernealogy, 63rd Edition by Jasia on the Creative Gene blog. Forty genea-bloggers share their New Years resolutions/goals. The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is: A Winter Photo Essay.
I encourage you to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blog to your Favorites, Bloglines, reader, feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.
Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me!
Have you noticed that I created a blog category for all of the Best of the Genea-Blog posts in the Labels below this post? Click on it if you've missed earlier editions of BOTG-B.
My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the genealogy carnivals, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.
Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week:
* My Top Ten Genealogy Favorites for 2008 by Lisa Louise Cooke on the Genealogy Gems News blog. Lisa has some interesting favorites - check them out!
* Are we forgetting to buy tomatoes? by Pat Richley on the DearMYRTLE Genealogy Blog. Pat has sage advice for those researchers who are looking for records in all the wrong places.
* Looking Back at Content Added During 2008 at WorldVitalRecords.com by Whitney Ransom McGowan on the WorldVitalRecords.com blog. I wish that all web sites did this every month or every quarter, don't you?
* When Times Change by Donna Pointkouski on the What's Past is Prologue blog. Donna laments and celebrates the passing of an old friend, and reminds us that we are the old timers of tomorrow.
* Article about Graveyard Rabbits in Monroe Journal by Terry Thornton on The Graveyard Rabbit blog. Terry gets well deserved publicity about the Association of Graveyard Rabbits in his local newspaper.
* 9 Genealogy Predictions for 2009 by Mark Tucker on the ThinkGenealogy blog. Mark's crystal ball is working overtime - I sure hope he's right!
* Tuesday's Tip: Organizing Digital Research Notes, Emails and Reports by Miriam Midkiff on the Ancestories: Stories of my Ancestors blog. Miriam continues her series on being a digitally organized genealogist. This series should be a magazine article or two!
* Getting the Most out of your Genealogy Society Speaker by Gena Philibert Ortega on the Gena's Genealogy blog. Gena has great suggestions for societies and attendees about program speakers.
* Draft as Many Versions as Needed for Clarity, Part 1 and Part 2 by Emily Aulicino on the Writing Your Memories blog. Emily continues her series about EDIT with two posts about the D word - Draft.
* New Year’s Eve by Craig Manson on the Geneablogie blog. Craig reviews 2008, and hands out his own Kudos awards. I really like this list!
* Genetic Genealogy in the News - January 1, 2009 by Blaine Bettinger on the Genetic Genealogist blog. Blaine has a roundup of recent articles and blogs about Genetic Genealogy.
* Finally Get Organized: January 2009 Check List by Pat Richley on the DearMYRTLE Genealogy Blog. Pat shares her updated organization list for January - this is a keeper (at www.DearMYRTLE.com/09/JanuaryOrganizationChecklist.pdf).
* Drilling a little deeper in the Illinois State Archives online by Harold Henderson on the Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog. Harold covers the Illinois State Archives site like a blanket, and shows us some of the hidden jewels.
* United States Vital Records Online by Gena Philibert Ortega on the Gena's Genealogy blog. Gena provides an up-to-date list of online resources for vital records.
* Carnival of Gernealogy, 63rd Edition by Jasia on the Creative Gene blog. Forty genea-bloggers share their New Years resolutions/goals. The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is: A Winter Photo Essay.
I encourage you to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blog to your Favorites, Bloglines, reader, feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.
Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me!
Have you noticed that I created a blog category for all of the Best of the Genea-Blog posts in the Labels below this post? Click on it if you've missed earlier editions of BOTG-B.
Labels: BestofGeneaBlogs, genealogy blogs
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Saturday Night Fun - Census Whacking
Have you heard of Census Whacking? It started in England where bored genealogists decided to pick a name off the census records and then find out something more about that person.
When it hit the USA, it evolved into finding really strange and funny names in the census records. For example, My Census Whacking Index is posted here.
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to find a unique name in the census (first name, last name, combination, etc. - any census!) and post it on your own blog, or in my comments. If you want to do more than one - go for it.
If you are census-impaired, or just too busy, then tell me which name that you found in my Census Whacking Index posts, or on The Genealogue, that strikes you as really funny, strange or even obscene.
If you come up with good new ones, I'll even use them in my Genealogy is Fun presentation in three weeks!
When it hit the USA, it evolved into finding really strange and funny names in the census records. For example, My Census Whacking Index is posted here.
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to find a unique name in the census (first name, last name, combination, etc. - any census!) and post it on your own blog, or in my comments. If you want to do more than one - go for it.
If you are census-impaired, or just too busy, then tell me which name that you found in my Census Whacking Index posts, or on The Genealogue, that strikes you as really funny, strange or even obscene.
If you come up with good new ones, I'll even use them in my Genealogy is Fun presentation in three weeks!
Labels: Census Records, censuswhacking, Genealogy Fun
99 Things Meme
Julie Tarr posted this on her GenBlog by Julie blog (and she found it on the Geniaus blog!) - and I thought it was interesting.
Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to - leave in plain font
1. Started your own blog. (5 at last count - do I get extra credit?)
2. Slept under the stars. (when I was a kid)
3. Played in a band. (not me...)
4. Visited Hawaii. (at least six times)
5. Watched a meteor shower. (in the mountains)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world. (many times to Anaheim, twice to DW in Fla.)
8. Climbed a mountain. (a small one in San Diego back country)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo. (only in the shower, probably doesn't count!)
11. Bungee jumped. (not me... Mr. Chicken)
12. Visited Paris. (several times)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning. (not that I know of)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. (now closed...)
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France. (in the Louvre)
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight. (too many to count)
22. Hitch hiked. (as a kid to the beach)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. (well, d'oh. I worked 40 years)
24. Built a snow fort. (what's snow?)
25. Held a lamb. (I'm a city boy)
26. Gone skinny dipping. (not that I recall, and i'm sure I would recall!)
27. Run a marathon. (can't run a block...)
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice. (only in Las Vegas...does that count?)
29. Seen a total eclipse. (an annular solar eclipse while in my backyard several years ago)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. (many sunsets, fewer sunrises)
31. Hit a home run. (only in sandlot games)
32. Been on a cruise. (Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, NY => PR)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. (in 2004, very cold and wet there!)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. (some of them...)
35. Seen an Amish community. (in Lancaster PA in 1999)
36. Taught yourself a new language. (yep, FORTRAN, BASIC, etc.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (frankly, I'm almost satisfied now)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing. (Mr. Chicken again)
40. Seen Michelangelo's David in person. (in Florence, right?)
41. Sung Karaoke. (only to the computer)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt. (in 1995)
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. (I live in San Diego, come on!)
46. Been transported in an ambulance. (heaven forbid...)
47. Had your portrait painted. (I wish!)
48. Gone deep sea fishing. (when I was a kid)
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (twice - in 1972 and 1984, at least as high as they will let you go)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. (snorkel in Hawaii and Caribbean)
52. Kissed in the rain. (wife, daughters, grandkids...)
53. Played in the mud. (friends, kids, grandkids)
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre. (as a kid, as a parent)
55. Been in a movie. (only on JibJab, and in home movies)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia. (on a business trip in 1997)
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies. (helped daughters sell)
62. Gone whale watching. (on Alaska cruise)
63. Gotten flowers for no reason. (mainly from granddaughters on walks around the block)
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving. (nope - Mr. Chicken again)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a cheque.
68. Flown in a helicopter. (in Juneau, Alaska)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. (model railroad train! - gave it to my grandsons)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar. (on a Delta flight to Moscow in first Class)
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square. (does drive-through count?)
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job. (thank goodness!)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London. (in 1993)
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. (several times, all from south rim, and from airplane window)
80. Published a book. (self-published two books with limited distribution)
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car. (last one was 2005 Lincoln Town Car)
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper. (interviews, no picture)
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House. (in 1999)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox. (as a kid)
89. Saved someone’s life. (hope I never have to)
90. Sat on a jury. (several times served on one)
91. Met someone famous. (is Howie Mandell famous enough? Tony Gwynn?)
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one. (parents, grandparents)
94. Had a baby. (not Mr. Chicken - his wife had two)
95. Seen the Alamo in person. (in the mid 1980's)
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone. (only for the last year)
99. Been stung by a bee. (as a kid)
OK, now who's brave enough to take this on and tell us more about their life?
UPDATED 10:15 p.m. - edited a few items.
Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to - leave in plain font
1. Started your own blog. (5 at last count - do I get extra credit?)
2. Slept under the stars. (when I was a kid)
3. Played in a band. (not me...)
4. Visited Hawaii. (at least six times)
5. Watched a meteor shower. (in the mountains)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world. (many times to Anaheim, twice to DW in Fla.)
8. Climbed a mountain. (a small one in San Diego back country)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo. (only in the shower, probably doesn't count!)
11. Bungee jumped. (not me... Mr. Chicken)
12. Visited Paris. (several times)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning. (not that I know of)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. (now closed...)
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France. (in the Louvre)
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight. (too many to count)
22. Hitch hiked. (as a kid to the beach)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. (well, d'oh. I worked 40 years)
24. Built a snow fort. (what's snow?)
25. Held a lamb. (I'm a city boy)
26. Gone skinny dipping. (not that I recall, and i'm sure I would recall!)
27. Run a marathon. (can't run a block...)
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice. (only in Las Vegas...does that count?)
29. Seen a total eclipse. (an annular solar eclipse while in my backyard several years ago)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. (many sunsets, fewer sunrises)
31. Hit a home run. (only in sandlot games)
32. Been on a cruise. (Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, NY => PR)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. (in 2004, very cold and wet there!)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. (some of them...)
35. Seen an Amish community. (in Lancaster PA in 1999)
36. Taught yourself a new language. (yep, FORTRAN, BASIC, etc.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (frankly, I'm almost satisfied now)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing. (Mr. Chicken again)
40. Seen Michelangelo's David in person. (in Florence, right?)
41. Sung Karaoke. (only to the computer)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt. (in 1995)
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. (I live in San Diego, come on!)
46. Been transported in an ambulance. (heaven forbid...)
47. Had your portrait painted. (I wish!)
48. Gone deep sea fishing. (when I was a kid)
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (twice - in 1972 and 1984, at least as high as they will let you go)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. (snorkel in Hawaii and Caribbean)
52. Kissed in the rain. (wife, daughters, grandkids...)
53. Played in the mud. (friends, kids, grandkids)
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre. (as a kid, as a parent)
55. Been in a movie. (only on JibJab, and in home movies)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia. (on a business trip in 1997)
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies. (helped daughters sell)
62. Gone whale watching. (on Alaska cruise)
63. Gotten flowers for no reason. (mainly from granddaughters on walks around the block)
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving. (nope - Mr. Chicken again)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a cheque.
68. Flown in a helicopter. (in Juneau, Alaska)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. (model railroad train! - gave it to my grandsons)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar. (on a Delta flight to Moscow in first Class)
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square. (does drive-through count?)
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job. (thank goodness!)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London. (in 1993)
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. (several times, all from south rim, and from airplane window)
80. Published a book. (self-published two books with limited distribution)
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car. (last one was 2005 Lincoln Town Car)
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper. (interviews, no picture)
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House. (in 1999)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox. (as a kid)
89. Saved someone’s life. (hope I never have to)
90. Sat on a jury. (several times served on one)
91. Met someone famous. (is Howie Mandell famous enough? Tony Gwynn?)
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one. (parents, grandparents)
94. Had a baby. (not Mr. Chicken - his wife had two)
95. Seen the Alamo in person. (in the mid 1980's)
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone. (only for the last year)
99. Been stung by a bee. (as a kid)
OK, now who's brave enough to take this on and tell us more about their life?
UPDATED 10:15 p.m. - edited a few items.
Labels: Family Stories, Memories, musings
World War II Heroes Pages on Footnote.com
Footnote.com announced their World War II collection in early December, and it is still FREE for everyone to access for a limited time. The collection includes:
* Interactive USS Arizona Memorial -- Easily search the Arizona Memorial Wall for names you know. Leave a tribute, a story or photo for any USS Arizona casualty
* WWII Hero Pages -- Over 8.8 million pages have already been created. Upload photos, view timelines and maps, add your stories.
* WWII Photos -- Explore the largest free collection of historical US Military photos from WWII on the Web.
* WWII Documents -- Read news articles from home about the war, case files about war crimes, accounts of air battles and much more.
As with their Footnote Pages (over 80 million pages seeded by the Social Security Death Index), Footnote has created more Footnote Pages by seeding them with the over 8.8 million US Army Enlistment Records (1938-1946). The basic information given is from the enlistment records, but a family relative can add more information to the Footnote Page - story, photos, vital records, family members, etc.) if they wish. On each Footnote Page for a person, there is a Timeline, Facts, Stories, Comments, Images, a Map, and Links to other web sites.
The Facts listed for each Hero Page on Footnote includes vital records information (name, birthplace, residence) and US Army Enlistment information (Army component, serial number, branch, enlistment date, place and term, source of personnel, and Source Information (reel number, box number).
All of the Footnote Pages are FREE for anybody to access and add information to them. I think that this is a great opportunity for all researchers to find useful information about their special person and to add photos, stories, vital information, etc. to memorialize their family members.
* Interactive USS Arizona Memorial -- Easily search the Arizona Memorial Wall for names you know. Leave a tribute, a story or photo for any USS Arizona casualty
* WWII Hero Pages -- Over 8.8 million pages have already been created. Upload photos, view timelines and maps, add your stories.
* WWII Photos -- Explore the largest free collection of historical US Military photos from WWII on the Web.
* WWII Documents -- Read news articles from home about the war, case files about war crimes, accounts of air battles and much more.
As with their Footnote Pages (over 80 million pages seeded by the Social Security Death Index), Footnote has created more Footnote Pages by seeding them with the over 8.8 million US Army Enlistment Records (1938-1946). The basic information given is from the enlistment records, but a family relative can add more information to the Footnote Page - story, photos, vital records, family members, etc.) if they wish. On each Footnote Page for a person, there is a Timeline, Facts, Stories, Comments, Images, a Map, and Links to other web sites.
The Facts listed for each Hero Page on Footnote includes vital records information (name, birthplace, residence) and US Army Enlistment information (Army component, serial number, branch, enlistment date, place and term, source of personnel, and Source Information (reel number, box number).
All of the Footnote Pages are FREE for anybody to access and add information to them. I think that this is a great opportunity for all researchers to find useful information about their special person and to add photos, stories, vital information, etc. to memorialize their family members.
Labels: Footnote.com, Military records, Online resources
SDGS Seminar and Luncheon Features Lloyd Bockstruck
The San Diego Genealogical Society will have a very special event on Saturday, January 10, 2009. It is the 63rd Annual all-day Seminar and Luncheon, with nationally known lecturer and researcher, Lloyd Bockstruck as the featured speaker for the day. The Seminar and Luncheon will be at the Handlery Hotel and Resort (950 Hotel Cir North, San Diego, CA 92108)
DATE: January 10th, 2009,
TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
REGISTRATION: Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.
FEE: Including gourmet sit down lunch, is $40 per person.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations must be received by 5 January 2009 (see note below)
The featured speaker for this all day seminar will be nationally known lecturer and researcher, Lloyd Bockstruck. Last at SDGS in 2001, his talks always get rave reviews. This year he will be discussing:
1) Migrations 1607-1850,
2) Newspaper Genealogy,
3) Church Records,
4) Illegitimacy.
These are certainly topics every researcher will want to hear. Mr Bockstruck has been Supervisor of the Genealogical Section of the Dallas Public Library since 1973. He graduated cum laude with a B. A. in Biology andHistory from Greenville College, earned his M. A. in Modern European History at Southern Illinois University, a M. S. in Library Science at University of Illinois and a certificate from the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research. He is also a teacher and since 1991 has authored the “Family Tree” column in the Dallas Morning News. He is a member of numerous genealogical and historical societies and is featured in Who’s Who. His awards include the Filby Prize for Genealogical Librarianship, Outstanding Alumnus and Award of Merit from the National Genealogical Society. We are most fortunate that he could be with us for this event.
The luncheon will feature a three course, sit-down gourmet meal including salad, choice of Chicken Pecan or Salmon Ravioli, dessert and beverage. SDGS will also be installing our new board members for 2009. There will be drawings for numerous door prizes. There will be a special drawing for a 7 night hotel package for the Plaza Hotel in Salt Lake City. Tickets for this will be available at the seminar and by mail on the SDGS web site.
The reservation form is on the SDGS web site (www.rootsweb.com/~casdgs ). Parking will be validated for a reduced fee.
DATE: January 10th, 2009,
TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
REGISTRATION: Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.
FEE: Including gourmet sit down lunch, is $40 per person.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations must be received by 5 January 2009 (see note below)
The featured speaker for this all day seminar will be nationally known lecturer and researcher, Lloyd Bockstruck. Last at SDGS in 2001, his talks always get rave reviews. This year he will be discussing:
1) Migrations 1607-1850,
2) Newspaper Genealogy,
3) Church Records,
4) Illegitimacy.
These are certainly topics every researcher will want to hear. Mr Bockstruck has been Supervisor of the Genealogical Section of the Dallas Public Library since 1973. He graduated cum laude with a B. A. in Biology andHistory from Greenville College, earned his M. A. in Modern European History at Southern Illinois University, a M. S. in Library Science at University of Illinois and a certificate from the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research. He is also a teacher and since 1991 has authored the “Family Tree” column in the Dallas Morning News. He is a member of numerous genealogical and historical societies and is featured in Who’s Who. His awards include the Filby Prize for Genealogical Librarianship, Outstanding Alumnus and Award of Merit from the National Genealogical Society. We are most fortunate that he could be with us for this event.
The luncheon will feature a three course, sit-down gourmet meal including salad, choice of Chicken Pecan or Salmon Ravioli, dessert and beverage. SDGS will also be installing our new board members for 2009. There will be drawings for numerous door prizes. There will be a special drawing for a 7 night hotel package for the Plaza Hotel in Salt Lake City. Tickets for this will be available at the seminar and by mail on the SDGS web site.
The reservation form is on the SDGS web site (www.rootsweb.com/~casdgs ). Parking will be validated for a reduced fee.
Labels: Conferences/Seminars, genealogy education, SDGS
Friday, January 2, 2009
2008 Genea-MusingsReview in 12 Sentences
John Newmark on the Transylvanian Dutch blog found this meme about creating a brief summary of your blog in 2008 - take the first sentence from the first post of each month. You will end up with only twelve sentences. Post those twelve sentences.
Here is Genea-Musings 2008 year in review in 12 first-of-the-month posts:
1 January: "Craig Manson has a great post about his "Greatest Genealogy Find Ever" which talks about finding records for the mother of his Aunt Grace." in My Greatest Genealogy Find Ever.
1 February: "Many, or all, LDS Family History Centers will be closed on Saturday, 2 February, in honor of their deceased President, Gordon Hinckley." in FHCs may be Closed on Saturday, 2 February.
1 March: "This is the third in a series of posts that define what I know about the descendants of my 3rd-great-grandparents, Samuel and Mary Ann (Underhill) Vaux." in Descendants of Samuel and Mary Ann (Underhill) Vaux - Post 3.
1 April: "Automobiles were a big part of many peoples lives in the 20th century." in The Cars of My Life.
1 May: "Manning M. Knapp (1825-1892) was a Justice in the New Jersey Superior Court for a number of years up to his death in 1892 in the court room." in What a Way to Go.
1 June: "Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week." in Best of the Genea-Blogs - May 25-31, 2008.
1 July: "At the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree, I attended Cath Madden Trindle's presentation on Sunday morning titled "But It's My Family; Copyright Issues for the 21st Century Genealogist," and learned (perhaps re-learned what I had forgotten) a lot. " in More on Ancestry "Ownership" of User Databases.
1 August: "My wife and I are going cruising in October on the Wholly Genes cruise, departing New York City on 26 October, visiting Antigua and the Virgin Islands before landing in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 2 November." in Cruiser needs Hotel Advice in NYC and PR.
1 September: "It's Labor Day, and I thought somebody (My readers? My kids? My friends?) might be interested in my job history." in Randy's Job History.
1 October: "I posted about receiving my mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) results in My mtDNA is in the K Haplogroup. " in My mtDNA Results on GeneTree.
1 November: "We will dock today at 7 am in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands in the eastern Caribbean." in My Genealogy Plan for Saturday, 1 November 1.
1 December: "The Southern California Genealogical Society has an annual writing contest with monetary prizes in two categories." in SCGS Writing Contest Entries due 31 December.
That's it - another meme complied with...who else is brave enough to do this? The only benefit I see is that your blog gets a bunch of Page Views from all of the hyperlink copy and paste.
Here is Genea-Musings 2008 year in review in 12 first-of-the-month posts:
1 January: "Craig Manson has a great post about his "Greatest Genealogy Find Ever" which talks about finding records for the mother of his Aunt Grace." in My Greatest Genealogy Find Ever.
1 February: "Many, or all, LDS Family History Centers will be closed on Saturday, 2 February, in honor of their deceased President, Gordon Hinckley." in FHCs may be Closed on Saturday, 2 February.
1 March: "This is the third in a series of posts that define what I know about the descendants of my 3rd-great-grandparents, Samuel and Mary Ann (Underhill) Vaux." in Descendants of Samuel and Mary Ann (Underhill) Vaux - Post 3.
1 April: "Automobiles were a big part of many peoples lives in the 20th century." in The Cars of My Life.
1 May: "Manning M. Knapp (1825-1892) was a Justice in the New Jersey Superior Court for a number of years up to his death in 1892 in the court room." in What a Way to Go.
1 June: "Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week." in Best of the Genea-Blogs - May 25-31, 2008.
1 July: "At the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree, I attended Cath Madden Trindle's presentation on Sunday morning titled "But It's My Family; Copyright Issues for the 21st Century Genealogist," and learned (perhaps re-learned what I had forgotten) a lot. " in More on Ancestry "Ownership" of User Databases.
1 August: "My wife and I are going cruising in October on the Wholly Genes cruise, departing New York City on 26 October, visiting Antigua and the Virgin Islands before landing in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 2 November." in Cruiser needs Hotel Advice in NYC and PR.
1 September: "It's Labor Day, and I thought somebody (My readers? My kids? My friends?) might be interested in my job history." in Randy's Job History.
1 October: "I posted about receiving my mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) results in My mtDNA is in the K Haplogroup. " in My mtDNA Results on GeneTree.
1 November: "We will dock today at 7 am in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands in the eastern Caribbean." in My Genealogy Plan for Saturday, 1 November 1.
1 December: "The Southern California Genealogical Society has an annual writing contest with monetary prizes in two categories." in SCGS Writing Contest Entries due 31 December.
That's it - another meme complied with...who else is brave enough to do this? The only benefit I see is that your blog gets a bunch of Page Views from all of the hyperlink copy and paste.
Labels: genealogy blogs
MyHeritage goes commercial
It was probably only a matter of time before web sites that offered a free family tree and/or a social network went commercial - charged for their services.
www.Geni.com recently did it ($4.95 per month for a Pro account), and now http://www.myheritage.com/ has done it. You can read the MyHeritage press release on Miriam Midkiff's Ancestories blog here or on Dick Eastman's blog here.
The press release starts by noting that there is a new version of Family Tree Builder 3 software which users can download for free to their computer and use at their leisure to create family tree information.
Later in the press release is the "news" that MyHeritage has created a tiered membership plan that limits how many persons can be on a person's family tree on their web site. The plan tiers are:
* Basic - free: Family tree size = 500 people, Data storage = 100 mb, Basic smart matching
* Premium - retail $3.95 per month, billed annually: Family tree size = 2,500 people, Data storage = 500 mb (about 500 pictures), Enhanced smart matching, Priority support, ad-free.
* Premium plus - retail $9.95 per month, billed annually: Family tree size = unlimited, Data storage = unlimited, Enhanced smart matching, Priority support, ad-free.
My Seaver database is on MyHeritage, and would require a Premium Plus membership in order to maintain it there. I don't have any pictures or documents stored there - so I don't use a lot of data storage space (I can't tell how much, the GEDCOM was about 6 mb).
When I logged in to www.MyHeritage.com this morning, I saw this message:
"Your family tree has 9,945 people. This exceeds the Basic subscription plan of your family site. In order for your family tree to display all people, you need to upgrade the site plan. We have a holiday special: 50% discount on our Premium plan! But hurry up, this offer expires very soon."
They are offering a 50% discount on a Premium membership ($1.95/month instead of $3.95/month - total cost would be $37.44 for two years with another 20% discount) and a 20% discount on a Premium Plus membership for a two-year subscription (total cost would be $191.04 for two years).
I think I will pass. I have had very few contacts from persons finding my information on www.MyHeritage.com. I have my databases on several other free web sites and on the http://www.ancestry.com/ subscription site. The Ancestry databases generate several queries each month.
I downloaded Family Tree Builder 3 from the MyHeritage site - it took less than a minute to install on my computer (I did have an earlier version). Then I uploaded a GEDCOM file of 7,000 persons to it, and it loaded in less than 20 seconds. I will test it in the weeks ahead to see if it is a significant improvement over the earlier version I tested and discussed here (and in the earlier posts linked).
UPDATE 1/2, 6:40 p.m.: Tamura Jones has written an article called MyHeritage hijacking homepages detailing how installing Family Tree Builder 3.0 can result in a user's home page being switched to www.MyHeritage.com. Note that Internet Explorer users cannot read Tamura's articles (Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox users can, however). Tamura also commented on this post earlier today.
I worked a bit more in Family Tree Builder 3.0 and noticed that several of my complaints with the earlier version have not been fixed. Some of the "improvements" from FTB 2.0 to 3.0 require a "premium" subscription to www.MyHeritage.com.
www.Geni.com recently did it ($4.95 per month for a Pro account), and now http://www.myheritage.com/ has done it. You can read the MyHeritage press release on Miriam Midkiff's Ancestories blog here or on Dick Eastman's blog here.
The press release starts by noting that there is a new version of Family Tree Builder 3 software which users can download for free to their computer and use at their leisure to create family tree information.
Later in the press release is the "news" that MyHeritage has created a tiered membership plan that limits how many persons can be on a person's family tree on their web site. The plan tiers are:
* Basic - free: Family tree size = 500 people, Data storage = 100 mb, Basic smart matching
* Premium - retail $3.95 per month, billed annually: Family tree size = 2,500 people, Data storage = 500 mb (about 500 pictures), Enhanced smart matching, Priority support, ad-free.
* Premium plus - retail $9.95 per month, billed annually: Family tree size = unlimited, Data storage = unlimited, Enhanced smart matching, Priority support, ad-free.
My Seaver database is on MyHeritage, and would require a Premium Plus membership in order to maintain it there. I don't have any pictures or documents stored there - so I don't use a lot of data storage space (I can't tell how much, the GEDCOM was about 6 mb).
When I logged in to www.MyHeritage.com this morning, I saw this message:
"Your family tree has 9,945 people. This exceeds the Basic subscription plan of your family site. In order for your family tree to display all people, you need to upgrade the site plan. We have a holiday special: 50% discount on our Premium plan! But hurry up, this offer expires very soon."
They are offering a 50% discount on a Premium membership ($1.95/month instead of $3.95/month - total cost would be $37.44 for two years with another 20% discount) and a 20% discount on a Premium Plus membership for a two-year subscription (total cost would be $191.04 for two years).
I think I will pass. I have had very few contacts from persons finding my information on www.MyHeritage.com. I have my databases on several other free web sites and on the http://www.ancestry.com/ subscription site. The Ancestry databases generate several queries each month.
I downloaded Family Tree Builder 3 from the MyHeritage site - it took less than a minute to install on my computer (I did have an earlier version). Then I uploaded a GEDCOM file of 7,000 persons to it, and it loaded in less than 20 seconds. I will test it in the weeks ahead to see if it is a significant improvement over the earlier version I tested and discussed here (and in the earlier posts linked).
UPDATE 1/2, 6:40 p.m.: Tamura Jones has written an article called MyHeritage hijacking homepages detailing how installing Family Tree Builder 3.0 can result in a user's home page being switched to www.MyHeritage.com. Note that Internet Explorer users cannot read Tamura's articles (Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox users can, however). Tamura also commented on this post earlier today.
I worked a bit more in Family Tree Builder 3.0 and noticed that several of my complaints with the earlier version have not been fixed. Some of the "improvements" from FTB 2.0 to 3.0 require a "premium" subscription to www.MyHeritage.com.
Labels: genealogy software, MyHeritage.com
Barbara Renick's Ancestry.com Tutorials
I received my issue of UpFront, the NGS monthly email newsletter, today, and noted the mention of two new Searching at Ancestry.com tutorials by Barbara Renick, a noted Southern California genealogist and conference/seminar lecturer.
The two tutorials are located at http://www.zroots.com/tutorials1.htm. They run 11 and 13 minutes respectively, and are very well done - a PowerPoint slides with Barbara's voiceover, and notes on the right side of the screen. The screen on the Part 1 tutorial is larger and easier to read than the screen on the Part 2 tutorial. However, you can click on the "Full Screen" icon next to the run time in the lower right hand corner to see the full screen with better resolution.
Barbara also has a nice set of genealogy links on her Links page - http://www.zroots.com/links.htm. There are lecture notes on her Notes page - http://www.zroots.com/notes.htm (this is where the Ancestry tutorials are "hiding" - under the NGS Lecture Notes button).
There are several other genealogy lecturers and societies that are providing online tutorials in this format. I appreciate them, and I hope you do too!
If you know of other video tutorials like this other than on Ancestry.com, Roots Television or New England Ancestors, please let me know in Comments.
The two tutorials are located at http://www.zroots.com/tutorials1.htm. They run 11 and 13 minutes respectively, and are very well done - a PowerPoint slides with Barbara's voiceover, and notes on the right side of the screen. The screen on the Part 1 tutorial is larger and easier to read than the screen on the Part 2 tutorial. However, you can click on the "Full Screen" icon next to the run time in the lower right hand corner to see the full screen with better resolution.
Barbara also has a nice set of genealogy links on her Links page - http://www.zroots.com/links.htm. There are lecture notes on her Notes page - http://www.zroots.com/notes.htm (this is where the Ancestry tutorials are "hiding" - under the NGS Lecture Notes button).
There are several other genealogy lecturers and societies that are providing online tutorials in this format. I appreciate them, and I hope you do too!
If you know of other video tutorials like this other than on Ancestry.com, Roots Television or New England Ancestors, please let me know in Comments.
Labels: Ancestry.com, genealogy education, Genealogy Video
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Genea-Musings Traffic for 2008
I've been reporting on Genea-Musings traffic each quarter, more for my own edification, but if this interests you, please read on! My last report was for January through September, 2008.
I signed up for Google Analytics on January 4, 2008 in hopes of being able to gather more information about the site traffic. Here is a summary of daily visitors for 2008:
The statistics are:
* 50,867 Absolute Unique Visits (average 140 per day)
* 86,584 Visits (average 239 per day)
* 137,956 Page Views (average 380 per day)
* 1.59 Page Views per Visit
* 00:01:47 Average Time on Site
* 74.12% Bounce Rate
* 58.67% New visits.
The first two lines mean that 59% of my visitors never come back, and that an average of about 99 persons visit every day.
The bottom of the web page shows more charts and a list:
The statistics for "where did they come from" indicates:
* 42.12% from Search Engines (a link from a search engine)
* 34.21% Referring Sites (a link from another site)
* 23.58% Direct Traffic (a link from a Bookmark or Favorite, or typing an URL)
Where did these visitors come from? 129 Countries in all - the top 10 are: *
* United States - 70,953
* Canada - 5,162
* United Kingdom - 3,878
* Australia - 1,167
* Netherlands - 788
* Ireland - 752
* Germany - 407
* Israel - 292
* Norway - 262
* Finland - 256
Here is the Page View daily count:
Genea-musings "biggest hits" so far this year have been:
The "top 20" posts are:
My observation based on the hit list is that no one is really interested in my opinions on genealogy articles or web sites or my own family history posts, except for those about entertainment and political figures. Also, only seven of the top 20 posts are from 2008.
These readers are probably 100% genealogy devotees, unlike a majority of my visitors to the URL that come via a search engine.
To all of my readers - Thank You for visiting and reading. I hope you learn something about genealogy and have a chuckle once in awhile.
I signed up for Google Analytics on January 4, 2008 in hopes of being able to gather more information about the site traffic. Here is a summary of daily visitors for 2008:
The statistics are:
* 50,867 Absolute Unique Visits (average 140 per day)
* 86,584 Visits (average 239 per day)
* 137,956 Page Views (average 380 per day)
* 1.59 Page Views per Visit
* 00:01:47 Average Time on Site
* 74.12% Bounce Rate
* 58.67% New visits.
The first two lines mean that 59% of my visitors never come back, and that an average of about 99 persons visit every day.
The bottom of the web page shows more charts and a list:
The statistics for "where did they come from" indicates:
* 42.12% from Search Engines (a link from a search engine)
* 34.21% Referring Sites (a link from another site)
* 23.58% Direct Traffic (a link from a Bookmark or Favorite, or typing an URL)
Where did these visitors come from? 129 Countries in all - the top 10 are: *
* United States - 70,953
* Canada - 5,162
* United Kingdom - 3,878
* Australia - 1,167
* Netherlands - 788
* Ireland - 752
* Germany - 407
* Israel - 292
* Norway - 262
* Finland - 256
Here is the Page View daily count:
Genea-musings "biggest hits" so far this year have been:
The "top 20" posts are:
1) World Records for Number of Children (posted 21 July 2006) - 5,820 views
2) John Tyler's Grandson is Still Alive (posted 20 February 2007) - 1,191 views
2) John Tyler's Grandson is Still Alive (posted 20 February 2007) - 1,191 views
3) How Rare is Your Personality Type? (posted 20 June 2007) - 1,017 views
4) Sam Champion's Roots on ABCs Good Morning America (posted 2 November 2006) - 867 views
5) Family Tree Tattoos (posted 11 January 2007) - 839 views
6) 5 Year statistics for Ancestry.com Traffic (posted 25 March 2008) - 752 views
7) Yep, Barack Obama is My Cousin! (posted 12 February 2007) - 587 views
8) US City Directories (posted 16 September 2008 ) - 576 views
9) Pilgrim's Thanksgiving in 1621 (posted 22 November 2007) - 535 views
9) Pilgrim's Thanksgiving in 1621 (posted 22 November 2007) - 535 views
10) Genealogy Software Reviews (posted 2 January 2008) - 528 views
11) John McCain's Family Link to Robert the Bruce (posted 23 March 2008) - 507 views
12) Sarah Palin is My Cousin Too (posted 29 August 2008) - 491 views
13) "I Am My Own Grandpa" (posted 30 June 2006) - 469 views
14) Book Review "Google Your Family Tree" (posted 11 November 2008) - 449 views
15) Obtaining my Dad's WWII Service Record (posted 4 August 2006) - 435 views
16) VP Dick Cheney is My Cousin Too! (posted 19 October 2007) - 392 views
17) Was Daniel Boone an Ancestor of Pat Boone? (posted 31 August 2007) - 378 views
18) I'm Almost Ready to Cruise (posted 17 October 2008) - 354 views
19) WW2 Young American Patriots (1941-1945) Database on Ancestry (posted 5 June 2006) - 336 views
20) Is This My New Genealogy File System? (posted 6 October 2008) - 334 views
My observation based on the hit list is that no one is really interested in my opinions on genealogy articles or web sites or my own family history posts, except for those about entertainment and political figures. Also, only seven of the top 20 posts are from 2008.
Quite a bit of the traffic in this period comes from Google (or other) search engine queries. Oh well...
By the way, this is post 2,495 of Genea-Musings - in 32.5 months (over 76 posts per month, about 2.5 posts per day on average).
There are more people reading Genea-Musings than just the ones noted above, which come via a link or an URL - the statistics above do not count RSS feeds (e.g., Feedburner (about 195 subscribers), Google Reader, Yahoo Reader, etc.). I am not sure if the stats count Bloglines (perhaps 55 subscribers) or not (I think so?).
By the way, this is post 2,495 of Genea-Musings - in 32.5 months (over 76 posts per month, about 2.5 posts per day on average).
There are more people reading Genea-Musings than just the ones noted above, which come via a link or an URL - the statistics above do not count RSS feeds (e.g., Feedburner (about 195 subscribers), Google Reader, Yahoo Reader, etc.). I am not sure if the stats count Bloglines (perhaps 55 subscribers) or not (I think so?).
These readers are probably 100% genealogy devotees, unlike a majority of my visitors to the URL that come via a search engine.
To all of my readers - Thank You for visiting and reading. I hope you learn something about genealogy and have a chuckle once in awhile.
Labels: genealogy blogs
