Friday, September 13, 2013

Follow-Up Friday - Helpful and Interesting Reader Comments

It's Friday, so time to post the helpful and interesting reader comments on Genea-Musings posts from the past week.

1)  On Inquiring Minds Want to Know More About the FamilySearch and Ancestry Partnership (posted 8 September 2013):

a)  Geolover noted:  "My reading of the available material does not say anything about indexing through/by Ancestry.com (whether by paid contract or by volunteers).

"It is possible that the microfilm databases to be digitized have not been firmly decided upon yet."

b)  Anonymous said:  "One issue I have that keeps me from indexing more is that I am more interested in indexing things that are not and likely will not soon be indexed by ancestry. This might be selfish, but much of what ancestry has can be accessed either in libraries or during special weeks, so I don't feel it is too selfish. It would be nice if the indexing that the two groups do is nicely coordinated so that this is clear."

c)  Barbara commented:  "The 1915 and 1925 NY State Census is indexed on FamilySearch, however, you have to view the image on Ancestry and you have to have a subscription to view the images. At the very least you have to start a free trial. I am not sure if Ancestry created this index and made it available on FamiySearch or if this index was part of the FamilySearch Indexing Project but this may be a good example of the partnership if we could figure who created the index."

d)  Geolover answered Barbara:  "Barbara, some of the databases (including microfilm images) acquired by Ancestry.com and other sites were already indexed by the original owner of the database, and the new host acquired the index as well as the images. Then the new host of the images may share the index with other parties, if their agreement with the original owner allows it.

"So learning what entity prepared a particular index can be difficult if it is not referred to in the description of a database."

e)  Dave L offered:  "Actually, the FAQs clearly state that anything indexed by FamilySearch indexers will be accessible at no charge through FamilySearch, but they will also be accessible from Ancestry.

"That said, I hope we don't see any more indexes on FamilySearch that are available only with a paid subscription to Ancestry. My idea of what should be available when an index is posted is a little too complex to post here, but it does include links being under the terms of the site on which they're found."

f)  My responses:  Dave, I don't think that the FAQs explicitly say that any record image indexed by FamilySearch will be viewable - it just says the index will be available.  As I recall, FamilySearch indexed the 1880 U.S. census but the image is on Ancestry.

FYI I did post my questions on the FamilySearch blog for the FAQs.


a)  Geolover pondered:  "Interesting thoughts about how the land might have been paid for. It could have been paid by some amount of cash-in-hand and the rest by IOU. Possibly there was an unrecorded side agreement whereby some other family member(s) agreed to make good on the purchase price if the grantee defaulted for some reason. Since this was between relatives who lived amid other relatives, the grantor could be pretty confident that he would receive the full purchase price one way or another."

b)  My comment:  Good thinking, thanks for the insight.


a)  theshygenealogist asked:  "Randy, can you explain what 'unsealing and delivery' means in land records? Thanks!"

b)  My response:  The answer is that I transcribed "ensealing" as "unsealing" and changed the meaning of the phrase.  i'll go back and edit it.  I noted that it is in the crossed-out portion of the deed entry in the Deed Registry book.  


a)  Bill West said:  "I had some success there tonight getting a death year for my great grandmother:
http://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/2013/09/ancestrycoms-new-mass-vital-records.html

b)  SearchShack noted:  "This index did connect me to many SHACKFORDS in my name study but appears to be computer generated which creates many errors in the index. In many cases it added a middle name from someone three names above to a person (A Marshall Bessie Shackford vs Marshall F Shackford) or transcribes Mei instead of a middle name of J, Am making the updates in Ancestry's correction tools and left them a comment that the method of computer indexing needs some improvement. But the index does connect me to this typed index which then gives me a death year and the volume and page number of the actual source."

c)  My comment:  It is useful as a finding aid, and will be especially useful for folks doing one-name studies.  


a)  Russ Worthington warned:  "Caution: you do NOT want an one button to resolve all !!!!!

"Come comment about USA. You can TURN that OFF for DISPLAY purposes. When cleaning up your Place Names, turn it on, but when you are doing reports / charts you can turn them off.

"Tools, Options, Names/Dates/Places is where you can turn the USA off.  I normally keep in off so that I can SEE the USA. My own purposes.

"I am glad that I guessed right."

My comment:  My opinion is that the software programs should have some way to do a global "Find" and "Replace" for items like this.  I shouldn't have to spend 7 or 8 hours going through thousands of place names and clicking a box.  I'm glad you guessed right too, sure made it easier to fix!  Thanks for the hint on turning USA off.  I'll have to explore that.

b)  Geolover dreamed:  "Wouldn't it be nice to see year-dates next to each migration point?

"Can such maps be included whilst generating genealogical reports for export to word-processor / PDF?"

My comment:  That should go on the FTM 2015 wish list, I think.  The Migration Map could be generated by doing a screen capture or screen snip of the map and inserted into the report or book.  I know that Russ has done something along those lines in FTM 2012 to show the Civil War travels of a regiment.  Check his blog at http://ftmuser.blogspot.com.  

6)  On a really old blog post, this comment was made:

a)  Anonymous said:  "When I originally commented I clicked the 'Notify me when new comments are added' checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four e-mails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks! my page: The Magic of Making Up Review."

My comment:  Heh heh, this is spam and you're getting back four-fold what you put on my blog.  Suffer!!!

7)  Thank you to all of my readers for the helpful and interesting comments.  My readers are so smart that they usually can defeat the Captcha spam filter.  And the Google Blogger spam filter catches almost all of the rest of them.  

The URL for this post is:

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

4 comments:

Cousin Russ said...

Randy,

I posted a Follow Up on this Blog Post:

5) On First Look at Family Tree Maker 2014 - Mea Culpa! Looking Again at the Person Migration Map in the Places Workspace (posted 12 September 2013):

Thank you,

Russ

Elizabeth Handler said...

There is a Find and Replace function in Family Tree Maker. Under Edit, one of the choices is "Find and Replace." When you select this, it gives you the option of which items to search in. You can select from Facts, Notes, Sources, Media, Tasks, Places. (But I would suggest choosing one, depending on what you're looking for.) You can try searching for United States, replacing with USA, and search only in Places. I tried it, but didn't have any, as that's one item I'm careful to correct to USA when United States comes over from a merged fact. Hope this is helpful.

Cousin Russ said...

+Elizabeth H

There are two issues here. A Global Find and Replace and a Global Resolve All.

As you point out, there is a Global Find and Replace.

I have suggested before and will continue to suggest BEFORE you do Either of them, USE the Back Up option when Offered. Back Up that file BEFORE doing either.

Again, this is from experience. There are too many changes that can be made with doing such a Global option like this.

Run either one, after you Back Up, BUT before you start resuming your research CHECK the Results of that command.

I have used the Resolve ALL command, but when down the list, one entry by one entry and got the "low hanging fruit", the easy ones, but will leave the rest alone, but continue to work down the Places Workspace, Place names with the UnResolved ICON.

One users opinion.

Russ

Elizabeth Handler said...

+Russ Worthington

Yes, I agree with backing up before you attempt a significant Find and Replace, but you can also go through one by one, if there are not too many, to see that this kind of Find and Replace is what you want to accomplish.

I also agree with checking the results of any global find and replace - also speaking from experience.