Saturday, February 5, 2011

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - the Super Bowl

It's Saturday Night - time for more Genealogy Fun!!!  It's also Super Bowl Weekend in America - the whole country (well, almost) will watch the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon at 6:30 p.m. EST (3:30 :PST).

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  What is your favorite National Football League team?  [For those that are not American football fans, but fan of another sports team, substitute your favorite team]  Why are you a fa n of this team?  How long have you been a fan of your favorite team?

2)  What is the genealogy of your favorite team?  When did it start playing, what leagues has it played in?

3)  Have you worked for the team in any capacity, or attended games?  What is your best memory of your favorite team's history?

4)  Predict the score of the Packers-Steelers game on Sunday.

5)  Tell us in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, or in a status or comment on Facebook.

Here's mine:

1)  My favorite NFL team is the San Diego Chargers.  This is logical, because I was born and raised in San Diego and have never left.  The Chargers first season in San Diego was 1961, They just played their 50th season in San Diego.

2)  The Los Angeles Chargers were charter members of the American Football League (AFL) started in 1959, with hotel heir Barron Hilton (son of Barron Hilton) as the majority owner.  AFL play started in 1960, and the team moved to San Diego before the 1961 season.  The AFL-NFL merger was consummated in 1966, and the Chargers joined the National Football League in 1970.  San Diego was in the 1995 Super Bowl at Miami after the 1994 season, but lost to the San Francisco 49ers.  San Diego has hosted three Super Bowls - the last one in 2003.  There is more history in the Wikipedia article here. 

3)  My first job in the summer of 1963 was working for the San Diego Chargers at their training camp.  I wrote about it in My first real job.  I attended Charger games from 1961 through 1973 with my brother, my friends, and my wife.  Since then, we've watched it on TV. 

My best memory is of the 1963 season, when my brother and I attended the AFL Championship game at Balboa Stadium in San Diego.  The Chargers beat the Boston Patriots 51-10.  That is the only league championship that the Chargers have won. 

4)  My prediction for the 2011 game:  Steelers 27, Packers 23.

5)  Done!

Surname Saturday - SOULE (England > Massachusetts)

It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week. I am up to number 179,  who is Martha SOULE (1743-1828), one of my 5th-great-grandmothers. [Note: The 5th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts] 

My ancestral line back through five generations of SOULE families is:

1. Randall J. Seaver

2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)

4. Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942)
5. Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)
 
10.  Thomas Richmond (1848-1917)
11.  Julia White (1848-1912)
 
22.  Henry Arnold White (1824-1885)
23.  Amy Frances Oatley (1826-before 1870)
 
44.  Jonathan White (1806-1850)
45.  Miranda Wade (1804-1850)
 
88.  Humphrey White (1758-1814)
89.  Sybil Kirby (1764-1848)

 178. David Kirby, born 16 Aug 1740 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States; died before 01 May 1832 in Westport, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States. He was the son of 356. Ichabod Kirby and 357. Rachel Allen. He married 21 Apr 1763 in Tiverton, Newport, Rhode Island, United States.
179. Martha Soule, born 01 Oct 1743 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States; died 26 May 1828 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States.

Children of David Kirby and Martha Soule are:  Sybil Kirby (1764-1848); Ichabod Kirby (1782-????).

358. Benjamin Soule, born 18 Nov 1719 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States; died 31 Jan 1803 in Westport, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States. He married  about 1742 in probably Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States.
359. Meribah Waite, born 20 Jul 1720 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States; died 03 Feb 1803 in Westport, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States. She was the daughter of 718. Thomas Waite and 719. Mary Tripp.

Children of Benjamin Soule and Meribah Waite are:  Martha Soule (1743-1828); Patience Soule (1745-1780).

716. Jacob Soule, born about 1687 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States; died about Feb 1747 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States. He married 22 Jan 1710 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States.
717. Rebecca Gifford, born 1689 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States; died before 1747 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States. She was the daughter of 1434. Robert Gifford and 1435. Sarah Wing.

Children of Jacob Soule and Rebecca Gifford are:  Joseph Soule (1711-1793); Elizabeth Soule (1712-1781); Oliver Soule (1714-1715); Rebecca Soule (1715-1747); Nathaniel Soule (1718-1769); Benjamin Soule (1719-1803); Rosamond Soule (1723-1801); Stephen Soule (1727-1789).

1432. Nathaniel Soule, born about 1637 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; died before 12 Oct 1699 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States. He married before 1681 in probably Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States.
1433. Rose Thorn, died before May 1708 in probably Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States.

Children of Nathaniel Soule and Rose Thorn are: Nathaniel Soule (1682-1766); Sylvanus Soule (1683-1754); Mary Soule (1684-1783); Susannah Soule (1686-1733); Sarah Soule (1687-????); Jacob Soule (1687-1747); Myles Soule (1690-1720).

2864. George Soule, born Abt. 1593 in England; died before 22 Jan 1679 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. He married before 1626 in probably Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.
2865. Mary Bucket, born in England; died Dec 1676 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.

Children of George Soule and Mary Bucket are:  Zachariah Soule (1627-1663); John Soule (1632-1707); Nathaniel Soule (1637-1699); George Soule (1639-1704); Susanna Soule (1642-1684); Mary Soule (1644-1720); Elizabeth Soule (1645-1700); Patience Soule (1648-1706); Benjamin Soule (1651-1676).

The authoritative work on the first five generations of the Soule family is the book Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Volume 3, edited by Anne Borden Harding, published by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1980. 

George Soule is, of course, one of the passengers on the Mayflower in 1620 that landed in Plymouth. 

Friday, February 4, 2011

Book Review: Genealogy at a Glance: "How-To" Series

The Genealogical Publishing Company in Baltimore has released several "Genealogy at a Glance: How To" laminated research guides in the last month or so.  They include:

1)  French-Canadian Genealogy Research, by Denise R. Larson



2.  Scottish Genealogy Research, by David Dobson


3.  Irish Genealogy Research, by Brian Mitchell


Each of these research guides has four laminated pages on one 11" x 17" paper (folded).  They are designed to give the user the basic elements of genealogy research in the allotted space.  They provide an overview of the facts a researcher needs to know in order to begin and proceed successfully with research in the subject.

The French-Canadian "Genealogy at a Glance" folder has these subjects:

*  Contents list
*  Quick Facts about Canada and French-Canadians
*  French Canada history
*  Unlocking French-Canadian Family History - Surnames, Quebec, Acadia, Huguenots
*  Civil and Church Records
*  Census Returns
*  Emigration and Naturalization
*  Major Record Repositories in Canada
*  Other Online Resources

The Scottish "Genealogy at a Glance" folder has these subjects:

*  Contents list
*  Quick Facts about Scotland and Scottish emigrants
*  Scottish Emigration Background
*  Unlocking Scottish History - Surnames, Paleography
*  Basic Genealogical Sources - Old Parish Registers, Post-1854 Statutory Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths; Census Returns from 1841 to 1901.
*  Supplementary Record Sources
*  Major Online Resources

I don't have the Irish "Genealogy at a Glance" folder, but it probably has contents similar in form to the Scottish booklet.

It appears to me that these booklets are designed for the North American researcher who is not an expert in the subject - there's information about doing research in Canada and the USA, and information about the home countries once the researcher gets the ancestral line back to the home country.  A researcher with research expertise in the subjects would rely on quality published books about the country of interest. 

For someone like me that teaches and talks about genealogy a bit, they are invaluable because I can pull them out and provide some guidance to my student or colleague interested in the subject.

The beauty of these "Genealogy at a Glance" folders is that they are very light and portable in a briefcase or laptop case.  They are similar to the Quicksheets, created by Elizabeth Shown Mills, which are fixtures in my research case.

These four-page laminated booklets cost $7.95 each.  You can order them through http://www.genealogical.com/ - use the links above for each "Genealogy at a Glance" folder.

Disclosure:  Genealogical.com contacted me recently and asked me to provide a review of the French-Canadian and Scottish "Genealogy at a Glance" folders.  They mailed me a review copy for my personal use as remuneration for this review.  I threw in the comments about the Irish folder.

How did the RootsMagic 4 Source Citations Look in Legacy Family Tree 7?

Continuing the Seaver Source Citation Saga for at least one more day (grin - I have nothing else to blog about, it seems)...

After seeing what the GEDCOM file created by RootsMagic 4 for the Isaac Seaver Birth Fact in RootsMagic 4 (see Peeking at RootsMagic 4 Source Citations in a GEDCOM File - Post 1), I imported the small GEDCOM file into Legacy Family Tree 7 to see how that program handled the Free-form Source citations and the RM4 Template Source citations. 

The Legacy screen showing the Free-form Source for the Birth Fact is here:


The Source citations created for this Fact are:

Footnote/Endnote Citation:
Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908), Page 83.
Subsequent Citation:

Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908), Page 83.
Bibliography:

Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908).

The Legacy Screen for the RM4 Template Source for the Birth Fact is here:




The Source citations created for this Fact are:

Footnote/Endnote Citation:
Systematic History Fund, [i]Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the end of year 1849[i] (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908), Page 83.
Subsequent Citation:
Systematic History Fund, [i]Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the end of year 1849[i] (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908), Page 83.
Bibliography:
Systematic History Fund, [i]Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the end of year 1849[i] (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908).

As you can see, the [i] (see the Update at the bottom - the indicator is actually the braces < > around the "i") indicator that was in the GEDCOM file created by RootsMagic is in this citation.  Legacy has an option to italicize the source title and if I check that, then the Source screen looks like this:




The Source citation with the "italicize the title" option on is:

Footnote/Endnote Citation:
Systematic History Fund, [i]Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the end of year 1849[i]> (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908), Page 83.
Subsequent Citation:
Systematic History Fund, [i]Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the end of year 1849[i] (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908), Page 83.
Bibliography:
Systematic History Fund, [i]Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the end of year 1849[i] (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908)..


Oops.  It italicized the entire Source - Author, Title and Publication information, not just the Title.  And it didn't recognize the [i] indicator. 

As shown above, the Legacy Family Tree 7 import of the GEDCOM created by RootsMagic 4 seems to lose all formatting of the citation.  There is no difference between the Footnote/Endnote citation and the Subsequent Citation.  The Bibliography citation drops the Source Detail, as it should.

At least the process of doing a RootsMagic 4 GEDCOM export and then importing it into Legacy Family Tree 7 doesn't mangle the resulting source citation.  That is encouraging!  That wasn't the case with Family Tree Maker 2011. 

Here's the GEDCOM file code for the two Birth sources (the second one has the italicize option on) created by Legacy Family Tree 7 from the small Isaac Seaver file noted above:


0 @S8@ SOUR
1 ABBR Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849
1 TITL Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Mass
2 CONC achusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, Mass.: F
2 CONC .P. Rice, 1908)
1 REPO @R5@

  
1 _PAREN Y
0 @S10@ SOUR
1 ABBR Westminster VRs
1 TITL Systematic History Fund, <i>Vital Records of Westminster, M
2 CONC assachusetts, to the end of year 1849</i> (Worcester, Mass.
2 CONC : F.P. Rice, 1908).
1 _ITALIC Y
1 _PAREN Y

You can easily see that all of the Source information from this GEDCOM output came through using only the TITLe tag for the source.  The Italicize option in the second citation is denoted in the GEDCOM code by the 1 _PAREN Y and 1 _ITALIC Y tags in the code. 

My guess is that all of the special GEDCOM coding created by RootsMagic 4 was lost in the import of the file into Legacy Family Tree.  That was the case also in the import of the FTM2011 GEDCOM into Legacy Family Tree 7, and the import of the Legacy Family Tree 7 GEDCOM into RootsMagic 4.


The conclusion that I seem to be driving toward is this:

Using the Evidence! Explained source templates in all of the software programs I've worked with (FTM 16, FTM 2011, Legacy Family Tree 7, RootsMagic 4) results in source citations that work fine in the program they are created in, but any special formatting is lost when they go through a GEDCOM export/import process. 

Therefore, I should use the Source Templates as guidelines to create Free-form source citations so they, at least, don't get mangled badly when I export them to another software program or to an online family tree.


Obviously, there are other software programs that may be able to read the special Source citation coding created by FTM 2011, LFT7 and RM4 - I've heard that The Master Genealogist can read coding from several other programs, but I'm not using TMG yet.

Now - there is a project called the
Build a BetterGEDCOM with a group of knowledgeable people (developers, programmers, users) trying to improve the GEDCOM standard.  One of the major problems identified early in this project was that Source Citations are one of the major problems, because the genealogy software developers have created their own GEDCOM tags when exporting their EE quality citations.  The EE quality citations transfer when the import is to the same program, but they don't work well when exporting to another program.

 I have some thoughts on how the Build a BetterGEDCOM folks could craft a solution that would work across all software programs, but the software program developers, and the online family tree developers, would have to sign on to using a revised standard.  I want to share my thoughts with the BGB folks first, however, and the programmers there may have better ideas on how to do it.


UPDATED:  I continue to have formatting problems in Blogger when I copy and paste the source citations out of the software programs.  Please bear with me as I fix them (if possible).  I figured it out - I replaced the italicize indicator that is in braces (< > - next to M and ? on keyboard) with the [ ] brackets in the citations.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Genealogy Freelancers Welcomes ExpertConnect Providers

I received this press release from Deborah Irwin at GenealogyFreelancers today.

In response to the recent announcement that Ancestry.com would be ending their Expert Connect service, Genealogy Freelancers has been welcoming many of those providers affected by the move to transition into their existing similar service.

Grand Rapids, MI (PRWEB) February 3, 2011

In response to the recent announcement that Ancestry.com would be ending their Expert Connect service, Genealogy Freelancers has been welcoming many of those providers affected by the move to transition into their existing similar service.

Genealogy Freelancers has been established since 2008 and, because of their comparable platform of projects for bid, the shift has proved an easy one for the transitioning providers from Expert Connect as they are accustomed to the premise and workings of this type of system.

The founders of Genealogy Freelancers who all have a background in the genealogy profession, maintain that their reasons for starting their service was to provide an easy and friendly method for the client and provider of genealogy services to connect to one another. When asked how the recent influx of EC providers would affect business operations Elaine Bostwick, Chief of Operations had this to say: “It’s been an unexpected week for everyone, but this is a service that we’ve been involved in for three years now and although the week has been a little unusual our site has always been geared for this service and no matter what takes place around us, our core goal of being able to help both sides will remain the same”. In response to the question of challenges for the providers making the change to GF, Ms. Bostwick says “There are some differences to our system, but on the whole the basic premise is one that the transitioning providers and the clients can recognize and use quickly. There will also be some changes as suggestions come in since it’s been our experience that the users know best what works for them and we take those suggestions seriously.”

Genealogy Freelancers has a large pool of international genealogy Specialists who are able to provide their services from a simple lookup to a full, custom research project. In addition to these services there are those providers who specialize in document translations, village and/or cemetery photography, publishing and related categories. These providers live throughout the world and are able to perform their specialties within the countries necessary to complete the posted project. Profiles of genealogy researchers and other family history experts showcase an array of expertise through education and/or verified memberships to genealogical related international associations, societies and organizations. This feature was created in order to assist the client with the Specialist selection process.

The system is a three-step process that starts when the client posts their project. Once this step has taken place, the Specialists that are a match to the specific categories and locations necessary for service are notified. If the project is one that is of interest then the Specialist will make an appropriate offer. The final step is the selection of the Specialist that is the best fit to the particular case. At that point, the client, along with their genealogy professional embark on a journey to uncover the past and build a family tree or simply add a few new branches.

Irbo Inc., owners of Genealogy Freelancers, continues to provide a welcoming platform that benefits those in search of their personal family history as well as for quality experts who are capable of providing assistance. For more information, visit the website at http://www.genealogyfreelancers.com.

Disclosure:  I am not a customer or provider of Genealogy Freelancers and have received no remuneration for posting this press release.  I do think that they can provide a valuable service for customers and an opportunity for genealogy providers.

New or Updated FamilySearch Historical Data Collections

I last listed the new or updated collections on the FamilySearch website on 7 January, when there were 519 collections on the list.  Since then, these Historical Record Collections have been added or updated to make a total of 541 collections:

England, Bristol Parish Registers, 1538-1900 (last updated 3 Feb 2011, 581,648 records, index only)

United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (last updated 3 Feb 2011, 2,821,572 record images and index)

Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915 (last updated 2 Feb 2011, 3,818,515 recod images and index)

Texas, Comanche County Records, 1858-1955 (last updated 31 Jan 2011, browse images only)

Virginia, Freedmen's Bureau Letters, 1865-1872  (last updated 31 Jan 2011, 834,423 record images and index)

England and Wales Census, 1881  (last updated 28 Jan 2011, 10,711,675 records, index only)

England, Warwickshire Parish Registers, 1538-1900  (last updated 28 Jan 2011, 658,553 records, index only)

Italy, Civil Registration, 1806-1940  (last updated 28 Jan 2011, browse images only)

Ontario Deaths,1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947  (last updated 28 Jan 2011, 2,050,112 records, index only)

Quebec Census, 1861  (last updated 28 Jan 2011, 1,094,774 records, index only)

New York, County Marriages, 1908-1935  (last updated 26 Jan 2011, 157,260 record images and index)

Iowa State Census, 1885  (last updated 25 Jan 2011, 503,573 records, index only)

Minnesota State Census, 1905  (last updated 25 Jan 2011, 1,973,884 record images and index)

South Dakota State Census, 1935  (last updated 25 Jan 2011, 673,322 record images and index)

Venezuela, Civil Registration  (last updated 25 Jan 2011, browse images only)

Wisconsin Deaths and Burials, 1835-1968  (last updated 25 Jan 2011, 454,484 records, index only)

Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915  (last updated 24 Jan 2011, 2,744,355 record images and index)

Brazil, Catholic Church Records  (last updated 21 Jan 2011, browse images only)

England, Cheshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1606-1900  (last updated 21 Jan 2011, 451,783 records, index only)

North Carolina Deaths, 1906-1930  (last updated 21 Jan 2011, 615,657 record images and index)

Tennessee, Death Records, 1914-1955  (last updated 21 Jan 2011, 1,276,298 record images and index)

Wisconsin State Census, 1885  (last updated 21 Jan 2011, 407,138 records, index only)

Wisconsin State Census, 1895  (last updated 21 Jan 2011, 494,911 records, index only)

Canada Census Mortality Schedules, 1871  (last updated 20 Jan 2011, 45,371 records, index only)

New Jersey State Census, 1885  (last updated 20 Jan 2011, 305,188 records, index only)

Ohio, Cuyahoga County Probate Files, 1813-1900  (last updated 20 Jan 2011, browse images only)

United States Census, 1930  (last updated 20 Jan 2011, 8,521,754 records, index only)

England, Norfolk Bishop's Transcripts, 1685-1941  (last updated 19 Jan 2011, browse images only)

England, Norfolk Poor Law Union Records, 1796-1900  (last updated 19 Jan 2011, browse images only)

England, Norfolk Archdeacon's Transcripts, 1600-1812  (last updated 18 Jan 2011, browse images only)

England, Norfolk Marriage Bonds, 1557-1915  (last updated 18 Jan 2011, browse images only)

England, Norfolk Monumental Inscriptions, 1600-1900's  (last updated 18 Jan 2011, browse images only)

England, Norfolk Non-conformist Records, 1613-1901  (last updated 18 Jan 2011, browse images only)

England, Norfolk Register of Electors, 1844-1952  (last updated 18 Jan 2011, browse images only)

Delaware Death Records, 1855-1955  (last updated 14 Jan 2011, 209,962 record, images and index)

Italy, Napoli Province Municipal Records, 1809-1936  (last updated 14 Jan 2011, 55,136 records, images and index)

Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927  (last updated 14 Jan 2011, 363,464 records, index only)

Quebec Notarial Records, 1800-1900  (last updated 14 Jan 2011, browse images only)

Rhode Island, State Census, 1935   (last updated 14 Jan 2011 693,472 record images and index)

Switzerland, Church Book Extracts, 1550-1875  (last updated 14 Jan 2011, browse images only)

Denmark Burials, 1640-1917  (last updated 10 Jan 2011, 655,703 records, index only)

There are 41 items on the list above, but only 22 were added databases since 7 January.  I still wish that FamilySearch would also indicate which databases are newly "Added" rather than just "Added or Updated" and what the completion percentage is of those that are updated.

All FamilySearch Historical Record Collections can be accessed at https://www.familysearch.org/s/collection/list.  You can see which collections were recently added or updated by clicking on the "Last Updated" link.

Book Review: Online State Resources for Genealogy

Michael Hait, a professional genealogist residing in Delaware, published an eBook in PDF format recently titled Online State Resources for Genealogists, which is available as an online download at his website, Hait Family Research, here.



The Introduction notes:

"Many researchers are unaware of the sheer volume and variety of records that have been brought online, at no cost, by government agencies and others active in individual towns, counties, and states. This book will provide a directory to sites that offer record images and indexes nationwide, including:

*  state archives
*  state libraries
*  state health departments
*  county clerks
*  historical societies
*  genealogical societies
*  university libraries
*  public libraries
*  others"

It also notes that online indexes and databases provided by free (e.g., FamilySearch, Rootsweb) and subscription (e.g., Ancestry, Footnote, GenealogyBank) genealogy websites are not covered by the book.

In the book, each state has a chapter, and within that chapter are links to governmental, institutional,  genealogical and historical society archives and libraries with online indexes and databases.  In many cases, there are links to the different online collections available at the entity.  For each database entry, there is an explanation, usually in the websites own words, about the content of the database.

An example entry from the Illinois section (I picked one that almost every researcher knows about):

"Illinois State Archives (http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/archives.html/"
and down the alphabetical list a bit:

Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre–1916 (http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/death.html) : ―The pre–1916 Illinois death index is an ongoing project coordinated by the Illinois State Archives. The sources for this index include original county clerks‘ death records, such as death registers and licenses. For each death, the index includes the name of the decedent, the date of the death, the name of the county where the death occurred, the place of death within the county, when possible; the age and sex of the decedent and a citation to the original record—volume and page number for death registers or certificate number for death certificates."

Some states have extensive listings, and some do not.  For instance, Colorado has one repository listed on three pages, California has four repositories listed on two pages, while Illinois has six repositories listed on eleven pages, and Maryland has nine repositories listed on twenty pages.  This is certainly due to the volume of records freely available in online indexes and document image databases.  A reader can see which states have been proactive and diligent in providing online databases to their citizens and researchers.

The book includes websites that have both freely available databases and members-only access to other record databases, but the book does not include the members-only databases.  An example is the Illinois State Genealogical Society.  However, state and regional level institutions that do not have have any freely available state record indexes and document image databases - the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston comes to mind, are not included in the book. 

The book does not include repositories that have online indexes for catalogs but no actual online data in index or document image form.  For example, the California State Libraries (not listed in the book) at http://www.library.ca.gov/calhist/databases.html, has no actual data (transcriptions or images) at the library website - only a searchable catalog of books on the shelf at the library.  A casual reader might assume that there is no State Library or that it has no web presence at all, when the reality is that there is no actual data available online.

Those are not really "complaints," they are statements of fact about the contents of the book.  The Introduction notes that:

"Only the most useful resources for genealogy research, and contextual historical information, have been included in this guide."

One of the very best features of this book are the active hyperlinks in the text.  The reader can click on the hyperlink, which is often very long, and go directly to the online database of interest.

The book is an excellent compilation of the state resources freely available in online databases with actual data - index information and/or document images.  It will be very valuable to every researcher trying to perform a reasonably exhaustive search for their ancestral families.  I know that I will use the resources in this book in my genealogical research.  It will be a valuable addition to any American researcher's genealogical library.

The cost of this book is $15.00 for a PDF download from Lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/online-state-resources-for-genealogy/14708408 ).  Recognizing that the volume of online state resources  is increasing regularly, the author will provide one complimentary updated revision at a future date (the buyer needs to contact him by email with some information).

Disclosure:  Michael Hait contacted me last weekend asking if I would write a review of his book, and he provided me with a PDF copy of the book.  I try very hard to write objective reviews of books for the benefit of my readers.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Isaac Seaver's Civil War Pension Papers: Deposition (Part 2) of the Widow

It's Treasure Chest Thursday, time to share one of the documents or artifacts in my family history collection.  In previous posts, I have displayed documents from the Civil War Pension File of Isaac Seaver, my second great-grandfather. 

I received the complete Civil War Pension File for Isaac Seaver on 3 January - see my post My Christmas Present Came Today - Oh Boy! - and it has 81 pages in the file.  Some of them have little or no information on them.  I'm going to cherry-pick some pages for this and later Treasure Chest Thursday posts.

The "treasure" this week is the second part of the "Deposition" that supports the application of the widow, Alvina M. (Bradley) (Lewis) Seaver, taken on 23 December 1901 by Frank Shapleigh of the Bureau of Pensions. 

The first part of the deposition was transcribed here.  This second part deposition has three handwritten pages (written by the examiner and signed by the deponent).  It is a continuation of the first deposition - it starts in the middle of a sentence:



The transcription of this second part of the deposition reads (filled in lines underlined, handwritten items italicized, tables spaced by periods):

[First page]

putting $1400 of the $1500
into same and $400
besides, drawn from the
Bank, - making the
place at 66 Mechanic St
stand me $3000 including
my interest willed by
soldier ($1200).

There are three tenements
in this house rented
as follows:
Basement per mo. $12.50
2 Floor [per mo.]... 15.00
3 Floor [per mo.]..  15.00
[Total} .............. $40.00

There is no other
income from this property.

The annual expenditure
are as follows:

[Second page]

Taxes  ................. $69.46
Water Rent ............ 37.00
Insurance ............... 3.00
Repair (estimated) .. 60.00
...........................-----------
[Total] ............... $167.46

Rent per annum ... $486.00
Expenditures ........ 169.40
......................... ---------
Net income ......... $316.54

I do not get my
rent always. I have
lost about $30 since
May 1, 1901, by poor
tenants.
Since May 1, 1901, I
have expended for repairs
about $60 as follows.
Shingling roof and
building back porch ..... $50
Buying screens for
doors and windows ..... $10
(No receipted bills) .... $60
I have put the
place in an agents
hands to be sold as
I am unable to care
for it.
At time of soldier's
death - I had no
real estate except
my home place
at 7 Cedar St
and no interest in
any.

[Third page]

I now have money in
Savings Banks as follows:

Bank .............................Amt.....Rate.....Income
Fitchburg Savs................ $700 ... 5-1/2% .... 24.50
Worcester North.............. 700 ...... 4 ........ 28.00
Clinton Savs.................... 900 ...... 3-1/2 ... 31.50
Worc. Co. Inst. ................ 500 ...... 3-1/2 ... 17.50
Peoples Savs (Worc) ......... 500 ...... 3-1/2 ... 17.50
Worc. Mechanics .............. 500 ...... 4% ....... 20.00
Leominster Savs ...........993.22 ....... 4% ..... 39.72
...............................---------- ............... --------
.............................$ 4793.22 .............  $178.72

My Books except Leominster
Savings Bk (exhibited) are
in Safe Deposit Vaut)
I sold my household
Furniture and put money
in Leominster Bank as
above.
My total net income (yearly)
therefore is as follows:

From 66 Mechanic St. ..... $316.54
 " Savings Bks $4793.22 ..... 178.72
 " $100 Mortgage @ 5%  ...... 50.00
................................ $ 545.26
...............[signed] Alvina M. Seaver

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 23 day of Dec
190 1 and I certify that the contents were fully made known to deponent before signing.

/s/ Frank Shapleigh, Special Examiner

This deposition gives a clear indication of the financial aspects of Alvina's life as a widow, continues the story of how she found income to live on, and a summary of her financial assets at the end of 1901.  I found it fascinating.  Alvina seems very clear-headed and logical in all of her financial transactions.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Genealogist Caroline Rober passed away yesterday

I received this email today from Norma Storrs Keating of CSGA:



Long-time CSGA member Caroline Braxton Rober died last night, 1 Feb 2011, after a 6 month battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease.) She was 58 years old. She leaves a husband, three children and 7 grandchildren. Caroline was a past-president of the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (SCCAPG.). She received the California State Genealogical Alliance Award of Merit in 2010 for her hours of volunteer work for SCCAPG; for her work as a teacher for the Whittier Area Genealogical Society and the Orange Family History Center; for her many hours of service as the technical director for the Orange Family History Center (a regional Family History Library); and for her uncounted hours serving as the chairman for the genealogy booth at the Orange County Fair (Orange County, California) over a period of 7 years.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

If anyone would like to follow her journey the past few months they can go to her blog at

This is very sad for me, and for all genealogists and friends that knew Caroline.  I only met her one time, when she presented to the San Diego Genealogical Society last year.  Her illness was not obvious then.

If you knew her, and have memories you want to share with the family, I encourage you to make a comment on her blog that the family is monitoring and adding to.  Read the blog posts that lead up to her passing, and take some time to reflect on the dignity of this woman and this family.

Rest in peace, sweet Caroline.  You are appreciated, and will be missed.

Archives.com Provides Genealogy Industry Metrics

The Archives.com Blog has this interesting article and accompanying graphic in an article at Archives.com Predicts Industry Growth in Family History Trends Report.

The demographics chart is here.  The chart compares monthly visits in December 2010 to Ancestry.com, Archives.com, MyHeritage.com, Genealogy.com, FindAGrave.com, FamilySearch.org and Archives.gov, and compares them to Decmber 2009.

I was surprised by the relatively low visit count to FamilySearch.org.  I anticipate that the count will be much higher in December 2011 as more historical collections come online and the FamilySearch Family Tree becomes available to the public.

There are other graphics for Archives.com members - gender, age, and more.

The title of the article is wrong though - this is a retrospective, not a prediction of genealogy related traffic and trends.

UPDATED 4:30 p.m.  I wrote this post at 10:30 a.m. today, and set it to post at 12 noon while I was away.  It went into the Draft category on blogger for some reason, and I posted it at 4 p.m. instead.  Oh well.

Peeking at RootsMagic 4 Source Citations in a GEDCOM File - Post 1

Following up on my posts Peeking at Family Tree Maker 2011 Source Citations in the GEDCOM File - Post 1 and Peeking at Legacy Family Tree 7.5 Source Citations in the GEDCOM File - Post 1, I wanted to see what they looked like in RootsMagic 4.

I did a similar task today in RootsMagic 4 and exported it in a small GEDCOM file for comparison to the Family Tree Maker 2011 and Legacy Family Tree examples.

For the Isaac Seaver Birth Fact, I used the source data that came across in an earlier GEDCOM file of my entire database, which did not use the RootsMagic 4 Source Templates, but I edited the Free-form Source to Evidence! Explained standards (I hope!).  Here are the Free-form Source citations:

Footnote:
Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908), Page 83.

Short Footnote:
Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849, Page 83.

Bibliography:
Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849. Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908.


Then I created a second source citation using the RootsMagic 4 Template Source feature. Here is the Template Source screen for Isaac Seaver's Birth Fact created by the "Book, Basic format" template:


The Source citations created by this Template source citation is:

Footnote:
Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the end of year 1849 (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908), Page 83.

Short Footnote:
Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the end of year 1849, Page 83.
Bibliography:
 Fund, Systematic History. Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the end of year 1849. Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908.

GEDCOM creation in RootsMagic 4 is really easy - use File > Export and you see this screen:


The user can choose various options for Data to Export on this screen, including Notes, Sources, Addresses, LDS Information, To-Do tasks, Multimedia Links, Correspondence log, Note formatting (bold, etc.), Extra details (RM4 specific), and Privacy options.  I chose the Note formatting and Extra details.

The user can use the "People to export" link and choose "Everyone" or "Select from list."  I chose just Isaac Seaver in order to make the GEDCOM file manageable.

Here is the GEDCOM file section for Isaac Seaver's name and gender (Note: This is a GEDCOM 5.5.1 file):

0 @I33917@ INDI
1 NAME Isaac /Seaver/
2 GIVN Isaac
2 SURN Seaver
1 SEX M
1 _UID DD9148EBA834448AABF95436C4E1976E2348

That includes Isaac Seaver's Individual Number, full name, given name, surname, sex and a UID number (I'm not sure that this goes with the persona.  The underscore before UID denotes a RootsMagic "Extra detail," I think.

Scrolling down to the BIRTh entry in this GEDCOM file:

1 BIRT
2 DATE 16 OCT 1823
2 PLAC Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
2 SOUR @S428@
3 PAGE Page 83
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
5 VALUE Page 83
3 QUAY 2
3 _QUAL
4 _SOUR D
4 _INFO S
4 _EVID D
2 SOUR @S671@
3 PAGE Page 83
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
5 VALUE Page 83

There are two SOURces here - S428 and S671 - because I linked two sources to the BIRTh event.

The PAGE tag text is the "Source Details" for the specific Fact.

There are several tags with underscores above that denote RootsMagic 4 Extra details.  In Source S428 (the Free-form Source) I added to the "Quality" file and that is reflected in the _SOUR D, _INFO S, and _EVID D lines (meaning Derivative SOURce, Secondary INFOrmation, Direct EVIDence).  I forgot to add the Quality information to the Template Source S671; if I had, the _QUAL tags would be similar.

The _TMPLT tag indicates that a template was used for both sources.

The SOURce S428 section looks like this:

0 @S428@ SOUR
1 ABBR Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849
1 TITL Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, t
2 CONC o the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908)
1 _SUBQ Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, t
2 CONC o the End of the Year 1849
1 _BIBL Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, t
2 CONC o the End of the Year 1849. Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908
1 _TMPLT
2 TID 0
2 FIELD
3 NAME Footnote
3 VALUE Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908)
2 FIELD
3 NAME ShortFootnote
3 VALUE Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849
2 FIELD
3 NAME Bibliography
3 VALUE Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849. Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908
1 REPO @R3@

THE ABBReviation tag denotes what the Source was called in the Master Source listing.

The TITLe tag is the title of the source.  The _SUBSequent tag is the Subsequent citation, and the _BIBLliography tag is the Bibliography citation.  all of them are CONCatenated, meaning that the CONC line is a continuation of the previous line.

Starting with the _TMPLT line, the contents of the fields in the Free-form Source template are listed.  The Footnote, Short footnote and bibliography entries are listed (without CONCatenation for some reason).

At the end of this section, the REPOsitory tag is noted as R3.

Now for the Template Source S671, here is the GEDCOM file section:

0 @S671@ SOUR
1 ABBR Westminster VRs
1 TITL Systematic History Fund, <i>Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts
2 CONC , to the end of year 1849</i> (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908).
1 _SUBQ Fund, <i>Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the end of yea
2 CONC r 1849</i>.
1 _BIBL Fund, Systematic History. <i>Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusett
2 CONC s, to the end of year 1849</i>. Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908.
1 _TMPLT
2 TID 372
2 FIELD
3 NAME Author
3 VALUE Systematic History Fund
2 FIELD
3 NAME Title
3 VALUE Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the end of year 1849
2 FIELD
3 NAME SubTitle
2 FIELD
3 NAME PubPlace
3 VALUE Worcester, Mass.
2 FIELD
3 NAME Publisher
3 VALUE F.P. Rice
2 FIELD
3 NAME PubDate
3 VALUE 1908

The TITLe tag includes the entire Footnote; the _SUBSequent tag includes the Short Footnote; the BIBLiography tag includes the Bibliography.  Note that they assume that the author's last name is "Fund."  This wouldn't be a problem with books with authors that are persons. 

Note the "< i >" in the TITLe, _SUBSequent and _BIBLiography tags - that means "italicize."

The _TMPLT tag starts the Template Source field entries (Extra details in RM4), including TID (Template ID?), NAME (each Template field name), and VALUE (the text in each template field).

Note that I did not assign a REPository to this source so there is no REPOsitory tag.  It should be R3!

The REPOsitory tag R3 section in the GEDCOM file looks like:

0 @R3@ REPO
1 NAME New England Historic Genealogical Society
1 ADDR 99-101 Newbury Street
2 CONT Boston, Mass. 02116
2 CONT USA
2 ADR1 99-101 Newbury Street
2 CITY Boston
2 STAE Mass.
2 POST 02116
2 CTRY USA
1 WWW http://www.americanancestors.org/

I included information in only one ADDRess field in the REPOsitory template, but the fields for CITY, STAtE, CounTRY and WWW (internet address) appear under the ADR1 (alternate address?) tag. 

Now I'm wondering how these source citations will look when I export them back into Legacy Family Tree 7 and Family Tree Maker 2011.  How will they handle the Free-form Source and Template Source citations?

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 138: Betty and her Grandparents

I'm posting family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they won't be Wordless Wednesday posts like others do - I simply am incapable of having a wordless post.

Here is a photograph from the Seaver//Carringer family collection handed down by my mother in the 1988 to 2002 time period:


This photograph from (approximately) early 1920 shows my mother, Betty Virginia Carringer, as a baby with her three living grandparents and only living great-grandparent. 

Pictured, from the left, are:  Georgianna (Kemp) Auble (mother of Emily (Auble) Carringer); Henry Austin Carringer (father of Lyle L. Carringer); Betty, held by Austin; Della (Smith) Carringer (wife of Austin, mother of Lyle), and Abigail (Vaux) Smith, mother of Della. 

It's too bad that Betty's parents, Lyle L. and Emily (Auble) Carringer, are not in the picture also.  My guess is that Lyle was taking the picture.

I'm not sure of the setting of this picture - it may be at the Lyle Carringer home at 2054 Harrison Street in San Diego, or it may be at the Austin Carringer home at 2105 30th Street in San Diego. 

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Source Citation Merging in RootsMagic 4 - Uh Oh!

I asked two questions in my post Source Citation Creation in RootsMagic 4 - some examples yesterday:

1)  Does RootsMagic place the information in the Source Template fields into the correct GEDCOM fields?

2)  Can I merge the existing 650 free-form source templates in the database into the RootsMagic EE-style Source Templates?


I worked a bit today trying to answer the second question - and there is a fairly easy way to do it.  Implicit in my question was "without loss of any data."  However, I think that "Bruce, we have a problem." 

Follow along with this process if you can.  If you can't skip to the bottom of the post:

One of the Free-form source citations that was imported in a GEDCOM file was for the 1830 U.S. Census.  Here is the "Free-form source" for Isaac Seaver in the 1830 Census:


Note that the Master Source information includes only the words "1830 U.S. Census, Population Schedule, National Archives Publication M19."  There is also an entry in the "Source Details" field.  In the Free-form citations shown on the right of the screen, the Master Source entry and the Source Detail entry are included.

I want to create a Source Citation using the Source Templates in RootsMagic 4, and then merge the Free-form sources into the Template source citation so that I have to deal only with the 650 Master Sources and not with over 20,000 source citations, many of which include "Source Details."  I don't want to lose any information from my Free-form source citations.

Here is the Source Template filled out for the 1830 U.S. Census using the "Census, U.S. Federal (online images)" template in RootsMagic 4:



I didn't add the "Source Details" (note that the Template source details has more fields than the Free-form Source detail form) because I wanted to make sure that the Source Details on the Free-form appeared in the Source Details fields after I merge the Free-form Source into the Template Source.

Having created the Template Source, now I want to merge the Free-form Source into the Template Source.  From the Lists = Source List menu, the "Master Source List" screen opened:



Note that there are two Master Sources for the 1830 Census - one is the Free-form source and the other is the Template source.  There is a "Merge" button at the far right of the menu line in the "Master Source List" screen.  I clicked on the "Merge" button and saw:



In the screen above, it says to "Select source to merge then click here." I selected the other 1830 US census source, and clicked on the button:


The screen above lists the two sources - one "Primary" and the other "Secondary."  If I wanted the secondary one to be primary, then I can click on the "Swap" button.  I wanted the Template source citation to be the Primary source, and it is in the Primary position in the screen above.

After clicking the "Merge duplicates" button at the bottom right of the screen, there was only one Master Source for the 1830 US Census in the "Master Source List:"



Okay, that worked, and it was pretty easy to do.  Now what do my 1830 U.S. Source citations look like. 

I went to Isaac Seaver's screen, clicked on the 1830 US Census Fact, then the Source Citations (there were two, because I created two - one with Source Details and one without out) and saw:



After merging, the Template Source form came up, but there were no Source Details.  It appears that the "Source Details" are lost when a Free-form Source is merged into a Template Source.  It looks like any information in the Source Text, Source Comments, Detail Text and Detail Comments fields are also lost.  My guess is that anything in the Source Media and Detail Media fields would be lost also.

If that is true, and I tried it on several other source citations (with Source Details that I could easily replace), then my decision is real easy - I'm not going to use the RootsMagic Source Templates because I will lose all of my existing Source Details. 

Drat, and double drat.  What now?  So - "Bruce, do we have a problem?"

Onward to looking at the GEDCOM file for Free-form and Template Sources created by RootsMagic 4 in the next installment of the Seaver Source Citation Saga... it's messy, eh?  I'll have to summarize all of the findings in a summary post at some point in time.

March 2011 Issue of Internet Genealogy Magazine

I received the link to my copy of Internet Genealogy magazine today, and, as usual, it is chock full of interesting articles and useful research tips. 








Here is the Table of Contents:


page 7 -- All Aboard! Top Sites for Railroad Records -  Janice Nickerson goes online in search of the best Internet resources for railroad research
page 13 -- Get Organized with Collectorz.org  - Lynn Cassity looks at a great website for cataloging your resources
page 14 -- Net Notes
page 16 -- Civil War Genealogical Resources, State by State  - David A. Norris takes an in-depth look at what’s available
page 22 - Walking in His Footsteps - Joan O’Neill chronicles her quest to document her immigrant father’s story
page 25 - Websites for Great Lakes Marine Genealogy -  Susanna De Groot, PLCGS, discusses online resources available for great lakes research
page 29 -- The Clans of the Scottish Highlands - Alan Stewart goes online in search of Scottish clan genealogy resources
page 33 -- G'Day Mate! Family History Down Under - Daniel M. Lynch looks at the online resources available for Australian genealogy research
page 37 -- Scanners and Scanning: A Review - Tony Bandy looks at the latest scanners available for the genealogist big and small!
page 42 -- Using Online Library Catalogs - Gena Phillibert Ortega looks at the online evolution of the humble card catalog
page 47 -- iPad and Your Genealogical Research -Tony Bandy looks at using Apple’s latest tech tool for your family history
page 52 -- Genealogical Society Announcements - A collection of upcoming genealogy-related events that may be of interest
page 54 -- Using Google Books - Cindy Thomson takes a quick look at one of Google’s most valuable resources

The most amazing story in this issue is, I think, Dan Lynch's article about Family History Down Under in Australia.  He recounts meeting a distant cousin from one of his ancestral villages in Italy by happenstance after putting an ancestor's surname in his presentation.  Dan also provides links to Australian websites and blogs.

Disclosure:  I am a paid subscriber of Internet Genealogy magazine, and like it.  I have not been remunerated in any way for writing this post.

Updated 12:30:  Edited the errors made by Blogger when it posted.  I can't get rid of some of the formatting that came over from the magazine.  It looked perfect when I posted it!