Genea-Musings

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Family Tree Magazine has published their yearly "101 Best Genealogy Websites" article online at
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/article/101-best-websites-2011.

The categories, which include both free and commercial websites, are:

• Family History Mega-Marts
• Born in the USA
• State-of-the-Art Archives
• Local Heroes
• Ethnic Interests
• Putting Genealogy on the Map
• Share and Store Alike
• Tech Tools
• Canadian Cousins
• Genealogy CSI: Death and DNA
•  Crossing the Pond

The lists will be in the September 2011 issue of Family Tree Magazine.

I did not see link collections like Cyndi's List and Linkpendium on the list, but did see the defunct RootsTelevision on the list (I know, editing deadlines always happen to occur before something new arrives, or something old disappears!). 

What other genealogy websites should be on this list, and are not?

Labels: Genealogy Industry, magazine articles, Online resources

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I'm trying to stay up-to-date on the offerings at www.FamilySearch.org, and it can be a challenge. I last reported these on 4 April 2011 in New Research Courses on the FamilySearch Learning Site, when there were 142 courses listed.

One of the most useful educational tools is the genealogical presentations on the Learn tab - go to https://learning.familysearch.org/researchcourses.

Here are the courses listed with a green NEW label as of today:

*  5 Minute Genealogy Episode 1: Find a Record in Five Minutes by Jessie Davis

*  5 Minute Genealogy Episode 3: Record What You Know by Jessie Davis

*  5 Minute Genealogy Episode 4: Learn from Family by Jessie Davis

*  5 Minute Genealogy Episode 12: Write It Down by Jessie Davis

*  The English Parish (30 minutes) by Audrey Collins

*  Building a German Genealogy Library (43 minutes) by Kenneth Craft

*  Secuencia correcta al buscar en registros parroquiales (16 minutes) by Francisco Javier Gomez

Labels: FamilySearch, genealogy education, Genealogy Video, Online resources

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This week's Tuesday Tip is to:  Use Randy Majors' Historical County Boundary Map Tool (http://randymajors.com/2011/06/new-and-simple-online-tool-uses-google.html)  to determine county boundaries in a specific year.

Randy Majors announced this tool on his blog in New and simple online tool uses Google Maps to show historical county boundaries.


The "Message from webpage" provides information about the county formation date, and the earlier jurisdictions for the county.

This mapping tool uses the Newberry Library historical county boundary atlas data and superimposes it on a current Google Map of the locality.

The tool works very quickly and is a significant help to all genealogy researchers.  Read Randy's blog post about this tool, and check the Comments too.  Many problems with the tool were sorted out in the two days after it was unveiled.  It is still in Beta development, which means that it should work fairly well but there may be problems.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/tuesdays-tip-find-historical-county.html

(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.

Labels: Localities, Maps, Online resources, Tuesday's Tip

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If you are not attending the Southern California Genealogical Society Genealogy Jamboree this weekend (June 10-12 in Burbank), you can spend your Saturday watching selected sessions from the conference.

The SCGS Genealogy Jamboree Blog announced yesterday that:

The Southern California Genealogical Society proudly announces that several Jamboree sessions will be available at no cost to genealogists and family historians around the globe. This offer is made possible through a special sponsorship provided by one of the conference's exhibitor partners and long-time friend of Jamboree, RootsMagic.






*  Curt B. Witcher, MLS, FUGA, IGSF - SA019 - Fingerprinting Our Families - Using Ancestral Origins as a Genealogical Research Key -- 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. PDT

*  David A. Lambert - SA024 - Researching Your Union Civil War Ancestors -- 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PDT

*  Kory Meyerink, AG, FUGA - SA035 - But it Ain't Really the ORIGINAL Record! -- 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. PDT

*  Kerry Bartels - SA043 - The Many Facets of the National Archives Website (NARA) -- 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. PDT

The recordings are an extension of the popular SCGS online "webinar" (web-based seminar) series. Viewers can listen and watch a presentation by registering and then signing on to a website. The original webcast of the streamed video sessions and webinars are available to the genealogical community at no charge. Subsequent viewings of archived versions of the educational sessions are available to SCGS members through the Society's website, www.scgsgenealogy.com.

Other  Jamboree sessions will be available through GoToWebinar. Announcement of the webinar sessions will be made by end of day June 6, 2011.

note that viewers have to register for each one of the sessions that they wish to watch. 

I hope that this sort of coverage of genealogy conferences extends to the other major conferences each year.  Being able to watch significant, live content is a wonderful way to get over the "wish I could be there" blues.

The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/scgs-jamboree-live-streaming-some.html

(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.

Labels: Conferences/Seminars, Genealogy Video, SCGS, Webinars and Bloginars

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Excitement is building here in the Genea-Cave for the 2011 Genealogy Jamboree in Burbank on June 10th through 12th, 2011, hosted by the Southern California Genealogical Society.  Perhaps the word should be "panic" rather than "excitement" ...

There is so much to do, and so little time to do it, and keep up the regular routine of blog posts, genealogy research, database work, eating, sleeping, Padres games, etc. 

The list of things done or to-do include:

*  Register for Jamboree, reserve hotel room, and get train ticket.  DONE - thank you, San Diego Genealogical Society!
*  Genealogy business cards.  Not done yet.
*  Purchase Genea-Musings promotional items online.  Uh-oh...
*  Transfer latest RootsMagic 4 database to laptop.  Done.
*  Download the program schedule to computer and laptop.  Done just now!

*  Figure out which sessions are "must-see."  Not done yet. 
*  Empty laptop case of electronic stuff, and put back only what I need - laptop, cables, digital voice recorder, phone charger, digital camera, camera charger, camera USB cable, Genea-Musings promo stuff, etc.  Shoot - almost everything already there!  Now I wish I had an iPad - would make the case lighter.  Not done yet.
* Charge the camera battery, and put the charger in the laptop case. Charged it, but camera broke. Memo to self: go buy another camera real soon!

*  Print out emails for geneablogger events...including my Saturday morning Blogger Panel session.  Not done yet.
*  Write some posts ahead of time to cover the weekend.  Something for Friday morning.  Surname Saturday, Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, etc.  Not done yet.
*  Pack for success... clothes, toiletries, pajamas for the PJ party, genealogy shirts, what else?  Will do this on Thursday night.  I wonder what I should wear for my Blogger Summit appearance on live, streaming video?  Where's my GeneaBloggers Rock! shirt?
 * Oh - I remembered one more - take Linda!   Will do this on Friday morning.

I'm mentally ready - need to get physically ready too. 

I'll try to update this post as I get more ideas for things to take.

What other items do I need to take?  What have I missed?

The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/getting-ready-for-scgs-genealogy.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.

Labels: Conferences/Seminars, genealogy blogs

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In the first two posts (Navigating Ancestry.com - Post 1: New Search, Advanced Form and Navigating Ancestry.com - Post 2: New Search, Basic Form), I highlighted using the Basic and Advanced Search Forms using the "New Search" features. I advocate using the Advanced Search Form because it is much more flexible and the results are organized better than with the Basic Form. Some readers have pointed out that "it's too complicated."

Not everyone uses New Search - some users like the Old Search capability on Ancestry.com because they think that it is simpler to use.   In the third post (Navigating Ancestry.com - Post 3: Old Search, Basic Form), I highlighted the simplicity of using the "Old Search" with the "Basic Form," although there are some disadvantages to using it.

When users access Ancestry.com for the first time, the system will probably come up with the "Basic Search Form" in "New Search." Beginning users will not know about differences between the "New Search" and the "Old Search" capability, and finding the "Old Search" capability can be a challenge (it is on the Search Tab when in "New Search"). Therefore, a new or beginning user will not be using "Old Search" unless they happen to click on the link in "New Search."

Assuming that a user is intentionally or accidentally in "Old Search," here is how to easily navigate "Old Search" using the "Advanced Search Form:"

1) The Ancestry.com subscriber home page looks something like this (a user can customize their home page):

The screen above has the "Basic Form" on it, even though I tried to make it show the "Advanced Form" by logging off and logging back in after using the "Advanced Form."  Apparently, if a user is in "Old Search," the user will see the "Basic Form" on the screen.

2)  The "Advanced Search" link is on the home page just under the orange "Search" button:


There are many more fields for data entry on the "Advanced Form" above. The include:

*  A check box for "Exact match only."
*  Given name (with an "exact" check box)
*  Last name (with an "exact" check box).
*  Birth year (with a year range box - select from plus/minus 0, 1, 2, 5, 10 or 20; and an "exact" check box)
*  Birth Country (select from a dropdown box; if you select "USA" then "State," "County" and "City" fields appear; all have an "Exact" check box.  Note that the locations must be selected from a dropdown list).
*  Marriage year and location fields (similar to the Birth fields)
*  Death year and location fields (similar to the Birth fields)
*  Residences  (select from a dropdown box; if you select "USA" then "State," "County" and "City" fields appear; all have an "Exact" check box).  There is a link to add a number of Residences.
*  Keywords (with an "Exact" check box
*  Relatives: Father, Mother, and Spouse (fields for given name and last names, with an "Exact" check box for each field)
*  Categories (select from the list which categories - the broad categories are Historical Records, Family Trees, and Stories and Publications).  The Photos and Maps category is not listed here.

The "Advanced Form" in "Old Search" gives the user maximum flexibility to select exact or non-exact matches for each field.  This is good, but introduces significant complexity to the search.  The user has to be careful here because Ancestry.com will remember these settings the next time the user goes to the "Advanced Form" page in "Old Search." 

3)  I entered Isaac Seaver, born 1823 (plus/minus 2) in Massachusetts in the screen above, and did not check any "Exact" check boxes.  The results I received are:


Without the "Exact" match box checked, the results are "Ranked Matches" based on a five-star system, with the highest ranked matches listed first.  The number of items on the Match list is not known - a user can go through thousands of them if they care to. 

The first four matches on the screen above are for Ancestry Member Trees, including my own.  The Historical Records that match the search request are further down the list.  This is why I don't like the "Ranked Searches" results, at least when I am searching for historical records.  A user can narrow the search to a specific record type by using the list on the left-hand margin.

4)  There is a "Refine Your Search" link at the top of the Results page (above), and clicking that takes you to the bottom of the page where a user can modify entries on the "Advanced Search" form.  Instead of using the "Refine Your Search" link, a user could scroll down to the bottom of the Results page to see the same "Advanced Search" form:


The screen above has the same information in the search fields, but I've selected the "Exact matches only" check box.

You can also see the Categories selected at the bottom of the screen above.

5)  I clicked on the "Search" button on the screen above, and the results were:


There are five entries in the "U.S. Census & Voter Lists" for 1850 to 1900, one Military record (a Civil War Draft Registration), and two entries in "Private Member Stories."  All of those apply to my specific Isaac Seaver (1823-1901).

 If the name had been misspelled in the index of a record, that record would not have appeared because I selected "Exact Matches."  If a user cannot find records using the exact match, they should make one or more fields non-exact on the "Advanced Form."



6)  One more thing - I wanted to check the "County" location for the "Advanced Form" so I entered "Worcester" in the Birth County Field with an "Exact Match" check box, and received:


There are no census matches, although Isaac Seaver was in Worcester County from 1860 to 1900.  Why did this happen?  Simply because the "Birthplace" on the census index is only "Massachusetts," not "Worcester County, Massachusetts."  It is a Birth place field. The search engine has a limited number of indexed search fields, and Birth County was not one of them.  The appropriate field for the County is the Residence field.  When I deleted "Worcester" from the Birth County field, and added it to the Residence field, the search found him in 1860 to 1900.  However, when I entered "Westminster" in the City field for Residence, with or without "Worcester" in the Residence county field, I received no matches.  Why?  Probably because the City is not indexed when the search is conducted.

The lesson here is that the user needs to really think about the information entered into each search field - don't enter information into a Birth field that is not indexed in the records.  Don't enter "too much information" in the search form fields, either. 

See - even the "Old Search" is complicated!  You don't always receive matches that you expect.

7)  I still find it easier to use the "New Search" "Advanced Form" search - I have much more control and flexibility to choose "exact" or "non-exact" and it searches all collections (and I can turn on or off specific collection sets).  It is more complicated, but not much more than the "Old Search" "Advanced Form" search. 

The user in "New Search" does have to mind the different search options for the name and location fields.  The user also has to use the location field dropdown lists to select a location that is in the Ancestry.com location database.

The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/navigating-ancestrycom-post-3-old_06.html

(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.

Labels: Ancestry.com, Online resources, Search Engines

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Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started a Monday blog theme many months ago called Amanuensis Monday. What does "amanuensis" mean? John offers this definition:

"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

The subject today is the declaration filed by Thomas Dill (ca 1755 - after 1830) for a Revolutionary War Pension (the image below was captured on Footnote.com): 



The transcription of this document is (handwritten text in italics):

United States of America

State of Massachusetts, Suffolk Co. Boston Jun 1818

I, Thomas Dill of Eastham, a Citizen of the United States, now resident at said Eastham, in the County of Barnstable in the State aforesaid, do, on oath, ........... declare, that I served, in the War of the Revolution, the full term of time required by a Law of the United States, made and passed in the month of March, A.D. 1818, entitled "An Act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States, in the Revolutionary War," as a requisite to entitle me to be placed on the pension list of the said United States, having entered the Land service of the said United States, on the Continental Establishment, and served as a private Soldier against the common enemy, from January 1st A.D. 1776 to January 1st 1777, being twelve months, in the company commanded by Captain Naylor Hatch and Colo. Barns' regiment, Massachusetts Line, and served a considerable part of said term of one year in the Lakes.  My discharge which upon honorable discharge, I have lost. I also served in the United States Brig Sophia Defiance eight months. from the fore part of January 1777 to the latter part of August same year. Said Brig Sophia was under Continental Officers - Her Commander's name was John Salew (I do not know how the name is spelled) and we were employed during said term of eight months in transporting flour from Alexandria ??? Virginia to Boston, for the Continental Service. I am now sixty two years old.

I also declare that, by reason of my reduced circumstances in life, I need the assistance of my Country for support. -- And I hereby relinquish all claim to every pension heretofore allowed me by the laws of the United States, id any may be, or hath been, so allowed.  Thomas Dill

BE IT REMEMBERED, That on this 19th day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, pursuant to a law of the United States, entitled "An Act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the Revolutionary War," made and passed on the 18th of March, A.D. 1818, before me, personally appeareth Thomas Dill, abovementioned, and after due examination and caution to testify and declare the whole truth, he maketh oath to the declaration aforesaid, and subscribed the same in my presence.
Jn Daesi [difficult to read!]
Dist Judge
Mass Dist

Except for the signature, the handwritten portions of this document were written by another person, perhaps the District Judge himself or the Judge's clerk.  The signature appears to be in a different hand.

The key piece of evidence in this declaration is the soldier's age and residence.  Thomas Dill states that he was 62 years old, and a resident of Eastham in Barnstable County, Massachusetts.  That places his birth in the 1755-1756 time frame.  The only Thomas Dill born between 1750 and 1770 in Massachusetts (in the records I've checked) is Thomas Dill, the youngest son of Thomas and Mehitable (Brown) Dill of Eastham.  He is listed as a minor son in the administration of his father's (Thomas Dill) estate in 1761.

Thomas Dill (ca 1755-after 1830) married three times - to Hannah Horton (1761-1797) in 1782, to Ruth Linkhornew in 1797, and to Susanna Hatch (1756-1816) in 1813.  Thomas and Hannah (Horton) Dill had nine children - all births are listed in the Eastham town records.  This list includes Elizabeth Dill (1791-????), who may be the Elizabeth Horton Dill (1794-1869) who married Alpheus B. Smith in 1826 in Dedham, Mass.  They are my third great-grandparents. 

There are several more interesting documents in this Revolutionary War Pension File that I will transcribe in the coming weeks.

The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/amanuensis-monday-thomas-dills.html

(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.

Labels: Amanuensis Monday, Dill Family, Military records, My genealogy research

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Geneablogger Heather Rojo, who writes the Nutfield Genealogy blog, has compiled a list of all of the geneabloggers who have contributed a blog post to the "The Face of Genealogy" -- see her list at http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/06/face-of-genealogy.html.

If you're not on her list, then contact her with a comment on her post and leave a link, and she will add your blog post to the list.

It's wonderful to be in this geneablogging community!

The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/heather-rojo-has-face-of-genealogy.html

(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.

Labels: genealogy blogs, photographs

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Hundreds of 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:

*  Meeting President Obama in Ireland by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak on the Megan's Roots World blog.  Megan went to Ireland and came back with some fantastic photos and videos.  Each photo is in a separate post on the blog.  Well done, Megan.

*  Honoring Those Who Served: Flag "Planting" at the Santa Maria Cemetery by Elizabeth O'Neal on the Little Bytes of Life blog.  Elizabeth has a wonderful way of involving her daughter in genealogy and holidays.

*  Ways I Use One of My Favorite Sites, Findagrave by Beth on the Beth's Genealogy Blog.  Beth lists her favorite uses of www.findagrave.com - can you add to them?

*  When is a Princess not a Princess? by Jean Wilcox Hibben on the Circlemending blog.  Jean's been busy with a court case trying to proof a person is a princess.  She even entered the Genealogical Proof Standard into testimony.  Read all about it - excellent detective work!

*  RAOVGGK by Margel on the 2338 W. Washington Blvd. blog.  Margel's genealogy cup overflows with goodies from random acts of genealogical kindness (RAOGK) providers.

*  Finding Information on US Immigrants by Philip Trauring on the Blood and Frogs blog.  Philip's comprehensive review of resources and techniques is long, and excellent.

*  The Perfect Citation Storm  and Entering the citation jungle by James Tanner on the Genealogy's Star blog.  More practical advice about source citations, copyright and the law from James.

*  Carnival of Genealogy, 106th Edition by Jasia on the Creative Gene blog.  There are 19 entries in this Carnival collection on the topic of The Swimsuit Edition.

*  Dancing With Abe - In Second Life and  Inferential Genealogy Homework #1 by Cheri Daniels on the Journeys Past blog.  Cheri is part of the Second Life group working through Thomas Jones's Inferential Genealogy class.  It sounds challenging and interesting.

*  The Inferential Genealogy Process — Step 1 by Sue on The Frustrated Genealogist blog.  Sue is also part of the Inferential Genealogy group, and describes her specific goal for her homework.  She wants advice too. 

*  Inferential Genealogy Study Group feedback by Pat Richley-Erickson on the DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog.  Ol' Myrt links to all of the Inferentialk Genealogy posts, including the two above.

*  New and simple online tool uses Google Maps to show historical county boundaries by Randy Majors on the randymajors.com blog.  Randy takes the historical map creation to the next level - I love it!

*  Are You Reading the Right Journals? by Marian Pierre-Louis on the Marian's Roots and Rambles blog.  Marian uses PERSI to discover articles about a New York locality.  Are you using PERSI?

*  Carol from the Reflections at the Fence blog has been in Salt Lake City at the Family History Center, and has written a number of blog posts abnout her research and recreation.

*  Becky Wiseman from the Kinexxions blog joined Carol, and has blogged extensively about her experiences.

*  The You Go Genealogy Girls (Cheri Hopkins and Ruby Coleman) were also in Salt Lake City for two weeks, and blogged about it extensively.

Several genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts this week, including:

*  Follow Friday Newsletter: 3 June 2011  by Greta Koehl on Greta's Genealogy Bog blog.

*  Follow Friday: This Week’s Favorite Finds by Jen on the Climbing My Family Tree blog.

*  Best Bytes for the Week of June 3, 2011 by Elizabeth O'Neal on the Little Bytes of Life blog.

Several genea-bloggers wrote news of the week blogs, including:

*  Genealogy Round Up, June 2 by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak on Megan's Roots World blog.

*  Genealogy News Corral, May 30-June 3 by Diane Haddad on The Genealogy Insider blog.


Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I am currently reading posts from over 920 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems.

Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.

The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/best-of-genea-blogs-29-may-to-4-june.html

(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.

Labels: BestofGeneaBlogs, genealogy blogs

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This is my favorite picture of my ancestors and ancestral home (see The house I grew up in for more details).

For the reason for this post, see the post “The Face of Genealogy” at Thomas MacEntee’s Geneabloggers blog.

The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/this-is-faces-of-genealogy.html

(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.

Labels: My genealogy research, photographs

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Greetings, genea-philes. it's SATURDAY NIGHT - time for more GENEALOGY FUN!

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

1)  On GeneaBloggers Radio last night (www.blogtalkradio.com/geneabloggers/) the discussion turned to regrets that we all have about our genealogy and family history experiences.  Someone said "If I knew then, what I know now, I would have..." I thought that it would make a good SNGF topic, and it may be a general topic on a future GeneaBloggers Radio show.

2)  Tell us about your "If I knew then what I know now, I would have..." regret in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, or in a Facebook status or note.

Here's mine (I'm going to pick the low hanging fruit here in the Genea-Cave):

"If I knew then, when I started my genealogy quest, what I know now, I would have written down more complete source citations, and would have added them into the source fields in my genealogy software programs."

I learned about source citations in high school when writing essays that required a bibliography and footnotes (50 years ago!), and that carried into my college courses. 

When I started doing my genealogy and family history search in 1988, I didn't read many "how to" books at first - I just plunged in at libraries and the local Family History Center.  I kept the research logs for all of my surnames up to date for several years and then lapsed.  Those research logs contain a column for "source" and I usually noted the author's surname, an abbreviated book or periodical title, the repository I found the work, and the call number on the shelf, or the microfilm or microfiche number. 

I entered the information I found into my Personal Ancestral File program, but since I wanted to be able to "see" my sources when I printed out a pedigree chart or family group sheet,, or a narrative report, I entered an abbreviated source citation into the location field for birth, marriage and death facts (for example, a birth place in the Vital Records of Westminster, Mass. book might read "Westminster, Worcester, MA (VR, 93)).  That worked really well for me.  I also added abbreviated sources into my Notes for a person - sometimes in approximately Evidence! form, but usually not.

When I finally obtained Family Tree Maker in 1998 (got a new computer!), it had a more complete source citation field, and I had learned a lot from reading "how-to" books, the Internet and attending local society programs and conferences.  However, all of my sources that I transferred from PAF to FTM were still in the location fields, and in my notes. 

Over the years since 1998, I really regretted not doing a better job of writing my source citations on the papers that are now filed in my surname notebooks (or in the stack of papers to be filed), and not using the source citation fields in the genealogy software.  But I let it all slide because I was too busy collecting more paper, doing real ancestral research, working for the society, speaking on genealogy subjects, and writing/blogging.

After Evidence! Explained was published, and I joined the Transitional Genealogists Study Group, and then the ProGen study group (I was in Group 1, graduated in early 2010), I realized that I needed to put my money where my mouth was and get my source citations in better order. 

As devoted Genea-Musings readers know, I've gone through my database of 40,000 persons and over 100,000 events and have added near EE-quality source citations for about 20% of the events.  I'm gradually working through my surname notebooks and paper stacks to enter more.  I doubt that I will ever get up to even 60%, but that's a reasonable goal!  I've documented my saga for creating these citations in the Seaver Source Citation Saga, which had the goal of finding a software program, and a method of creating sources in the software, that transfers using GEDCOM to any other family tree system without being mangled.  I completed converting the 650-odd master sources in my database to near-EE quality earlier this year after about 12 months of effort - I estimate at least 400 hours of work, and probably more.

I actually like doing master source citations now - it's Genealogy Fun (because it's a challenge, I think!).  I have Evidence! Explained on my computer as a PDF file, and I use the RootsMagic 4 source citation templates to create master source citations, and then copy those into a Free-form master source. 

I'm sure that my readers are glad that I have resisted asking SNGF players to tell the world about their own source citation sagas, but this is a way I can bare my soul on the subject.

I look forward to reading about my readers genea-regrets - "If I knew then what I know now..."

Labels: Genealogy Fun, SNGF, Source Citation

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It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week. I am up to number 241, who is Anna Van Vorst (1732-1789), another of my 5th-great-grandmothers. [Note: The 5th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back to Anna Van Vorst  and four more generations is:

1. Randall Jeffrey Seaver (1943-....)

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

6. Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976)

14. Charles Auble (1849-1916)
15. Georgianna Kemp (1868-1952)

30.  James Abram Kemp (1831-1902)
31.  Mary Jane Sovereen (1841-1874)

60.  Abraham James Kemp (1795-after 1881)
61.  Sarah Sephrona Fletcher (1802-after 1861)

120.  John Kemp (1768-after 1861)
121.  Mary Dafoe (1776-before 1851

240. John Kemp, born about 1723; died before 15 January 1795 in Fredericksburg, Addington, Ontario, Canada.  His parentage is not known.  He married before 1761 in probably Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States.
241.  Anna Van Vorst, born before 22 October 1732 in Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States; died before 15 July 1789 in Fredericksburg, Addington, Ontario, Canada. 

Children of John Kemp and Anna Van Vorst are:  Joseph Kemp (1761-1836); Jacobus James Kemp (1763-1803); Rachel Kemp (1767-????); John Kemp (1768-after 1861); Nancy Kemp (1770-1836).

482. Jacobus Van Vorst, born before 12 December 1703 in Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States; died after 06 December 1790 in Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States.    He married 14 February 1727/28 in Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States.
 483. Anna Beck, born before 07 October 1704 in Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States; died before 20 May 1749 in Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States. She was the daughter of 966. Caleb Beck and 967. Annetje Janse Mol.

Children of Jacobus Van Vorst and Anna Beck are: Margriet Vedder Van Vorst (1726-????); Caleb Van Vorst (1729-????); Anna Van Vorst (1732-1789); Elizabeth Van Vorst (1734-1805); Jellis Van Vorst (1735-1823); Johannes Van Vorst (1741-1844); Abraham Van Vorst (1743-1833); Jan Baptist Van Vorst (1746-1830);

964. Jillis Jacobse Van Vorst, born about 1670 in New York, United States; died after 1735 in Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States.  He married 16 July 1699 in Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States.
965. Elisabeth Van Eps, born about 1674 in Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States; died after 1735 in Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States. She was the daughter of 1930. Johannes Dirckse Van Eps and 1931. Elisabeth Janse Douw.

Children of Jillis Van Vorst and Elisabeth Van Eps are: Jacobus Van Vorst (1700-1703); Johannes Van Vorst (1701-????); Jacobus Van Vorst (1703-1790); Dirk Van Vorst (1705-????); Gerrit Van Vorst (1708-????); Douw Van Vorst (1710-????); Jan Baptist Van Vorst (1711-????); Sara Van Vorst (1713-????); Elisabeth Van Vorst (1716-????); Gysbert Van Vorst (1721-????).

1928. Jacobus Gerritse Van Vorst, born before 03 July 1642 in New Amsterdam; died about 1689 in Albany, Albany, New York, United States. He was the son of 3856. Gerrit Janszen Van Vorst and 3857. Geertruyd Jacobse. He married
1929. Sara Jillis Fonda, born 18 January 1644/45 in Friesland, Netherlands; died 1682 in Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States. She was the daughter of 3858. Jillis Douwe Fonda and 3859. Hester Douwes Janse Van Arenstvelt.

Children of Jacobus Van Vorst and Sara Fonda are: Maeke Van Vorst (????-????); Jannetje Van Vorst (????-????); Aaltje Van Vorst (????-????); Geertruy Van Vorst (1670-????); Jillis Jacobse Van Vorst (1670-1735).

I have relied on the research of other genealogists for information about this family.  The major sources for this family include:

1.  Jonathan Pearson, Contributions for the Genealogies of the Descendants of the First Settlers of the Patent and City of Schenectady, from 1662 to 1800 (Albany, NY: J. Munsell, 1873).

3.  Cheryl Kemp Taber has researched and collected a wealth of information about this family from a number of sources, and posted it in her WorldConnect database on Rootsweb (http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com)  titled "Kemps and Kin" updated 29 May 2011.

The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/surname-saturday-van-vorst-holland-new.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.

Labels: My genealogy research, Surname Saturday

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TreeSeek is a FamilySearch certified affiliate that creates several types of genealogical charts.  They also are associated with Geni.com (see Geni Welcomes Real-Time Collaboration and TreeSeek as Latest API Partners).  A user must have a FamilySearch and/or Geni.com account and a family tree on the sites, in order to use it.

Since I was curious about the service, I went to www.treeseek.com and tried out the chart-making capabilities.  The site says:

"Finding the perfect chart to represent your genealogy can be a challenge. It was this challenge that motivated us to start creating these charts over 50 years ago. We began by publishing blank charts to be filled out by hand. These charts are still available at Misbach.org.

"Today we have attempted to make this easier by filling out the chart for you. We do this by obtaining your genealogical information from FamilySearch.org or Geni.com. The only thing you need to do is provide a starting point to begin creating your chart. You must have an account with either FamilySearch or Geni to use this service."

I used my newFamilySearch family tree, but I could have used my Geni.com family tree.  Unfortunately, neither of those is "complete" or "perfect" but they will serve as examples for my readers.

After signing in to my FamilySearch account, I was asked to Create a Tree:



 After several seconds, I was given the opportunity to select my own name from the database, or select another person (using the newFamilySearch person identifier number):



The screen says "Please be patient while we create your tree. It can take several minutes." It took less than 30 seconds.

The system went back to the first screen above, and further down the page is a link for "Create Chart" with the choices of "Fan - 9 generation," "Pedigree - 9 generation," "Pedigree - 10 generation" and "Name cloud."

I picked the "Fan - 9 generation" chart and clicked on "Create Chart:"


The nine-generation fan chart above is color coded for each grandparent, and is 33.5 inches wide and 22.5 inches high.  A full-scale portion of the chart looks like this:


The print is readable up close for the oldest generations.  Only names are shown on the chart - there are no dates, places, images or other text on the chart.

The nine-generation pedigree chart is another option, is 22.5 inches wide and 25.0 inches high, and is in black and white only (portion shown below):


The ten-generation pedigree chart is very interesting to me - it has the number one person in the center, the father's pedigree to the left, and the mother's ancestry to the right.  It is 36.8 inches wide and 18.8 inches high (for mine - yours may vary), and is in black-and-white, with the #1 person in blue:



The user can save these trees as images or PDF files, and can send them to be printed by Family ChartMasters and GenerationCharts.org.

Because my tree is not complete or accurate on either newFamilySearch or Geni.com, I've resisted the temptation to order a print of the Fan Chart. 

I really like the Fan Chart (and would love a 12-generation one, but that may be asking too much!) format, but would like at least a lifespan on the chart, and thumbnail images where available, and... 

The Fan Chart (with about 220 degrees included angle) is somewhat different from the ones in my genealogy software - the Legacy Family Tree 7 fan chart is only 180 degrees, while RootsMagic 4 and Family Tree Maker 2011 do not create a Fan Chart.  My guess is that one of the chart printing affiliates can accommodate me with a more complete tree generated by RootsMagic 4 or Legacy Family Tree 7.5 with a 220 degree fan chart design.

In the mean time, the main use that I have for the charts above are to see what I have in the newFamilySearch and Geni.com family trees - what needs to be added, and what's wrong (there is lots on the nFS tree).  It's a lot easier to see on a graphical image than on the small pedigree charts on nFS and Geni.

Labels: Charts, Family Trees, FamilySearch Family Tree, Geni.com, My genealogy research

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In the previous two posts (Navigating Ancestry.com - Post 1: New Search, Advanced Form and Navigating Ancestry.com - Post 2: New Search, Basic Form), I highlighted using the Basic and Advanced Search Forms using the "New Search" features.  I advocate using the Advanced Search Form because it is much more flexible and the results are organized better than with the Basic Form.  Some readers have pointed out that "it's too complicated."

Not everyone uses New Search - some users like the Old Search capability on Ancestry.com because they think that it is simpler to use. 

When users access Ancestry.com for the first time, the system will probably come up with the "Basic Search Form" in "New Search." Beginning users will not know about differences between the "New Search" and the "Old Search" capability, and finding the "Old Search" capability can be a challenge (it is on the Search Tab when in "New Search").  Therefore, a new or beginning user will not be using "Old Search" unless they happen to click on the link in "New Search."

Assuming that a user is intentionally or accidentally in "Old Search," here is how to easily navigate "Old Search" using the "Basic Search Form:"

1)  The Ancestry.com subscriber home page looks something like this (a user can customize their home page):


The "Basic Form" in "Old Search" has four tabs - for Historical Records, Family Trees, Stories and Publications, and Photos and Maps.  The user can choose one of these to search.  If they choose Family Trees, they will not obtain results form Historical Records or the other tabs.

The Basic Form (screen above) has fields for the First and Middle Names, Last Name, Birth Year and Birth Country (with a dropdown list of countries - select one, or All), and the Death Year and Death Country.  There is a check box for "Exact Matches Only."  The "Advanced Search" link is in the lower right-hand corner of the Basic Form, and there is a link for "Search Tips" in the upper right-hand corner of the Basic form.  The "Search" is consummated by clicking the orange "Search" button.

2)  I added "Isaac" and "Seaver" to the name fields, left the "Exact Matches Only" box unchecked, and saw:



The screen above shows the limitless list of search results, starting with the three-star matches.  My Isaac Seaver is on that list in several databases. 

There is a "Refine Your Search" link that takes you to the Basic Search form at the bottom of the Search Results page.

A user can click on one of the other Tabs to see the matches in Family Trees, Stories and Publications, or Photos and Maps.  Users should not forget to do this.

A user could organize their search by clicking on one of the Record Types (e.g., Census, Vital Records) on the left-hand side of the screen.  A user could also narrow their search by adding a birth date and birth country, and/or a death date and country, to the search fields.

3)  I added a birth year of 1823 to the Basic Search Form and the results were:


The first 9 matches on the list above are for my specific Isaac Seaver.

3)  If a user clicks on the "Old Search" "Basic Form" check box for "Exact Matches Only," the Search Form fields change - instead of the "Birth Year and Country" and "Death Year and Country" there is a "Lived In" field and fields for "Year Range" (e.g., 1823 and 1901), as shown below:


The screen above has "Isaac" and "Seaver" in the name fields, and the "Exact Matches Only" box checked, but with no other field entries.

4)  Clicking on "Search," the Results page looks like:



This page has the list of Record Types, with the number of matches in the list of specific databases.  The databases in each Record Type are listed by the number of matches found.  If there are more than five databases with a match, there is a link to "View all XX results."

As you can see, the "Basic Search Form" in "Old Search" works pretty well - it finds my Isaac Seaver born in 1823 using just a few entries in the Search form, with or without the "Exact Searches Only" box checked.

The "Old Search" with the capability using the "Basic Form" does have one major user advantage over the "New Search" capability - it has an "Exact Search" check box on the Basic Form. 

One major advantage of "New Search" over "Old Search" is that it searches all collections on Ancestry.com, not just one category (like Historical Records, as is the case on "Old Search").

We will look at the "Advanced Search Form" in "Old Search" in the next post. 

The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/navigating-ancestrycom-post-3-old.html

(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.

Labels: Ancestry.com, Online resources, Search Engines

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I last listed the new or updated collections on the FamilySearch Historical Collections website on 2 May, when there were 605 collections on the list. Since then, these Historical Record Collections have been added or updated to make a total of 633 collections as of today

U.S. Social Security Death Index, updated 30 May 2011, 89,610,305 records
Wisconsin, Probate Estate Files, 1848-1933, updated 27 May 2011, images only
Italy, Civil Registration, 1806-1940 , updated 27 May 2011, 102,724 records
Saskatchewan Provincial Records, new collection, added 27 May 2011, images only
Vermont, Windham County, Westminster District, Probate Records, 1781-1921, new collection, added 27 May 2011, images only

Canada, Ontario, Toronto Trust Cemeteries, 1826-1935, new collection, added 27 May 2011, 14,864 records
Guatemala Civil Registration, 1877-1934, updated 27 May 2011, 22,448 records
Quebec Notarial Records, 1800-1900, updated 27 May 2011, images only
Germany, Brandenburg and Posen, Church Book Duplicates, 1794-1874, new collection, added 27 May 2011 1,616,960 records
Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850, updated 27 May 2011 1,101,150 records

Louisiana, First Registration Draft Cards, compiled 1940-1945, new collection, added 26 May 2011, images only
Brazil, Catholic Church Records updated 26 May 2011, images only
Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954, updated 26 May 2011, 1,206,606 records
Mexico, Michoacán, Catholic Church Records , new collection, added 25 May 2011, images only
Guatemala, Guatemala, Ciudad de Guatemala, Censo, 1877, updated 24 May 2011 21,173 records

Maine, State Archive Collections, updated 20 May 2011, images only
Mexico, Tabasco, Catholic Church Records, updated 20 May 2011, images only
Georgia Headright and Bounty Land Records, 1783-1909, new collection, added 18 May 2011, images only
Poland, Roman Catholic Church Books, 1600-1950, updated 18 May 2011, 1,002,155 records
New York, Orange County Probate Records, 1787-1938, new collection, added 18 May 2011, images only

Argentina, Catholic Church Records, updated 18 May 2011, 397,859 records
Alabama, County Probate Records, new collection, added 18 May 2011, images only
Maryland, Probate Estate and Guardianship Files, 1796-1940, updated 16 May 2011, 27,021 records
Virginia, Danville City Cemetery Records, 1833-2006, new collection, added 16 May 2011, images only
District of Columbia Deaths, 1874-1959, new collection, added 16 May 2011, 103,160 records

Germany, Baden, Church Book Duplicates, 1810-1869, updated 16 May 2011, 107,547 records
Rhode Island, State Census, 1885, updated 13 May 2011, 302,482 records
Czech Republic Church Books, 1552-1935, updated 13 May 2011, 39,869 records
Spain, Municipal Records, updated 13 May 2011, 20,068 records
New York, Queens County Probate Records, 1899-1921, new collection, added 13 May 2011, images only

Mexico Census, 1930, updated 12 May 2011, 3,129,551 records (complete!)
Peru, Civil Registration, 1874-1978, updated 11 May 2011, 163,944 records
Maryland, Register of Wills Books, 1792-1983, updated 11 May 2011, images only
Mississippi, Tippah County Records, 1836-1923, updated 11 May 2011, images only
Ohio, Stark County Court Records, 1809-1917, updated 11 May 2011, images only

Alabama, County Marriages, 1809-1950, new collection, added 11 May 2011, 216,021 records
Canada, Lower Canada Census, 1831, new collection added 11 May 2011, images only
Luxembourg Births and Baptisms, 1662-1840 , updated 11 May 2011 7,685 records
Mexico, Jalisco, Catholic Church Records, updated 11 May 2011, images only
Texas, Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Membership Applications, 1892-2010, new collection, added 10 May 2011, images only

California, San Mateo County Records, 1856-1967, updated 10 May 2011, images only
Tennessee County Marriages, 1790-1950, updated 10 May 2011, 243,460 records
Arkansas, Draft Registration Cards, compiled 1948-1959, new collection, added 10 May 2011, images only
Michigan, County Marriages, 1820-1935, new collection, added 10 May 2011, images only
Texas, Gonzalez de la Garza Genealogy Collection, new collection, added 10 May 2011, images only

South Carolina Probate Records, Files and Loose Papers, 1732-1964, new collection, added, 9 May 2011, images only
South Carolina Probate Records, Bound Volumes, 1671-1977, new collection, added 9 May 2011, images only
Philippines Civil Registration, 1945-1996, new collection, added 9 May 2011, images only
Germany Church Records, 1544-1945, new collection, added 9 May 2011, images only
United States, Civil War Soldiers Index, new collection, added 9 May 2011 6,282,360 records

Germany, Mecklenburg-Schwerin Census 1867, new collection, added 9 May 2011, images only
United States, Registers of Enlistments in the U. S. Army, 1798 - 1914, new collection, added 9 May 2011, images only
Russia, Samara Church Books, 1869-1917, new collection, added 9 May 2011, images only
New York State Census, 1865, updated 9 May 2011, images only
Germany, Miscellaneous City Records, updated 6 May 2011, images only

Mexico, State of Mexico, Catholic Church Records, updated 5 May 2011, images only
Puerto Rico Civil Registration, 1836-2001, updated 5 May 2011, 12,475 records
Spain, Cádiz, Passports, 1810-1866, updated 5 May 2011, images only
New Brunswick Provincial Deaths, 1815-1938, updated 5 May 2011, 172,406 records
Vermont Enrolled Militia Records, 1861-1867

Mexico, Morelos, Catholic Church Records, 1598-1969, updated 5 May 2011, images only
United States, Naval Enlistment Rendezvous, 1855-1891, new collection, added 5 May 2011, 262,742 records
Minnesota, Death Records, 1866-1916, new collection, added 4 May 2011, 383,230 records
Chinese Genealogies, updated 4 May 2011, images only
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891, updated 4 May 2011, images only

Austria, Vienna Population Cards, 1850-1895 updated 2 May 2011, 54,980 records
Netherlands, Passenger lists Holland-America Line, 1900-1974, new collection, added 2 May 2011, images only
Virginia Births and Christenings, 1853-1917, new collection, added 2 May 2011, 1,422,855 records
New Zealand, Immigration Passenger Lists, 1855-1973, updated 2 May 2011, 451,538 records

In the list above, I was able to identify many of the collections as newly added or a previously existing updated collection. When FamilySearch sends their email notifications to interested parties, they are identifying whether they are new or previously existing collections.

There are 69 items on the list above, but only 28 were newly added databases since 1 May. I will update the list as I receive information about the new databases.

  

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

  

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/new-and-updated-familysearch-historical.html

(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant, with proper attribution. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.

Labels: FamilySearch; Webinars-bloginars, Online resources