We made it to Escondido from Chula Vista in record time (35 miles) and registered at the Family History Fair in Escondido at the LDS South Stake. The venue has a large chapel, a second large auditorium and six smaller meeting rooms. There are four sessions in each of the seven rooms after the keynote speaker (Kory Meyerink) at 9 AM.
8 AM: In the display room, we found our Chula Vista Genealogical Society table and set up our displays and handouts. I spied an electric outlet and hooked up the laptop. A fellow came by to see if the wireless connection was working, and helped me get online.
There are tables and displays for the San Diego African-American Genealogy Research Group, San Diego Genealogical Society, Computer Genealogy society of San Diego, North San Diego County Genealogical Society, Hispanic Heritage Project, Escondido Genealogy Society, German Research Association, National Archives, Sons of Confederate Veterans, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Sons of the American Revolution, National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, etc.
9:15 AM: So far, about 10 of our society have come by to say hello. We have a visitor's log to see who picked up handouts. Several people from the Chula Vista area have come by and were surprised to see that there was a local society. Potential members!
I will try to post something after every talk I attend. My 10:15 session with Richard Wilson was cancelled, so I'll try to hear Alan Jones on "The Magic of Rootsweb."
10:05 AM: The keynote address by Kory Meyerink was on "Googling Genealogy." It is a large task to summarize Google and it's application to genealogy in 40 minutes! Kory has a great handout in the syllabus - chock full of information about using Google for genealogy. He started out very simply - as if the audience was being introduced to Google. One lesson I learned is that the Boolean operators are my friend - I have not been using them and I should be using them. I also learned that Google indexes only part of a large page - that may be why some of my big research web page names don't appear in a Google search but some do. I have been trying wildcards at the end of words (e.g., "town*" does not return "townland"), but that doesn't work in Google. It also doesn't find truncated words (e.g., "marr" does not return "married"). He went through Google Directory, Books, News, Maps, Images, Earth, Email updates, etc. Kory has many great tips for using Google - this was a great presentation!
11:25 AM: I attended Barbara Renick's presentation on "Let Your Fingers Do the Walking." She took us through finding online resources, finding resources close to home, and ordering them from home. Her theme was that the smaller the geographic area covered by a resource, the more likely you are to find information on your obscure ancestors. Amen! She spent a lot of time on the WorldCat projects and stepped through a number of web pages to find small manuscripts in small libraries. I didn't know that the LDS Family History Library is not indexed on WorldCat. She also mentioned that the Southern California Gen Society in Burbank has excellent county resources. Barbara emphasized inter-library loan and copying services - from the FHL, Allen county Library, Library of Congress, the DAR and free lookups at local libraries or RAOGK. Another excellent presentation.
12:30 PM: I attended Beth McCarty's presentation on post-1837 Research in England and Wales. She showed typical birth, marriage and death records that were used for the Civil Registration after 1837. These were indexed in quarterly registers in separate registration districts. Beth explained how to find the names in the indexes - either online at http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/ or on microfilm (at an FHC). She presented strategies to find brides and grooms on the same page. She recommended obtaining the certificates using an agent in England that accepts US checks or credit cards, rather than pay a fee to a bank for a check in pounds sterling. Beth described the available census records, and how to find them online (Ancestry.com) or on film (at an FHC). Lastly, she covered probate records after 1858 - film indexes are available on microfilm and the records have been microfilmed.
2:30 PM: Dee Sallenbach presented "Using US Probate and Deed Records to Track Your Family" to a large audience. She introduced the definitions of many probate terms and tips for using them, then did the same for land records. She spent half of the hour demonstrating how these records can prove relationships within families - tracing four generations of a Manning/Read family in South Carolina. There was a lot of good information here and in the syllabus.
3:45 PM: It's late, I'm tired, my butt hurts from the metal seats, so I decide to go to Kory Meyerink's presentation of "An Overview of Advanced Research Methods." Wow. A two week course in 60 minutes. I can't summarize this well, except to say it challenged me to consider things that I rarely consider. His charts expand on his outline, unlike most of the speakers today. Kory's theme was that Advanced Methods don't just use different sources - they deal with finding all resources and evaluating all of the information available. Putting your ancestors into context - the times they lived in, where they lived and why, their religion, occupation, financial status, education, etc. To solve some problems, you have to deal with their neighbors, associates, relatives, - the cluster of people they dealt with in their public lives. I couldn't take notes fast enough! I'm not tired anymore - which is good because I have to drive home now. A terrific presentation - one of many!
That's it -- I hope you enjoyed my running commentary.
8:00 PM: Well, we had 13 CVGS members in attendance. i'm guessing that the total attendance was over 300.
We made it home quickly, with lots of talk in the car about the speakers and their presentations - all positive. Now I have to read the rest of the syllabus.
When I set up the laptop at home, it would not boot to Windows - only a blank screen with a flashing cursor. Arghh. I called my son-in-law, who said to disconnect the AC cord and take the battery out, wait a minute or tow, and put the battery back in. Yep - that worked! How? Why? Who knows...but I'm back in business, but not knowing if it will happen again. We went out to dinner to celebrate my technical prowess. Umm, I guess it would be my son-in-law's technical prowess.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Friday, March 2, 2007
19th Edition of Carnival of Genealogy is Up
The 19th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is posted by Jasia at http://creativegene.blogspot.com/2007/03/carnival-of-genealogy-19th-edition.html. The theme this edition was "Shelter from the storm, stories of the home and hearth. " My submission was here.
Many of the regular players contributed stories about their childhood or ancestral homes, but there are some fresh voices with interesting stories.
The next Carnival of Genealogy will have the theme of a tribute to One Woman in this month of March, which is Women's History Month. It's a great opportunity to write about someone special or perhaps someone on the family tree who never married or had children and who has no direct descendants to carry on a memory of them. The deadline for submissions is March 15th. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form.
Many of the regular players contributed stories about their childhood or ancestral homes, but there are some fresh voices with interesting stories.
The next Carnival of Genealogy will have the theme of a tribute to One Woman in this month of March, which is Women's History Month. It's a great opportunity to write about someone special or perhaps someone on the family tree who never married or had children and who has no direct descendants to carry on a memory of them. The deadline for submissions is March 15th. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form.
Slave Owners in the Political Woodpile
Now the news media (or is it a political machine?) are making the case that Barack Obama has slave owners in his ancestry through his mother. What a surprise...except it is not a surprise if you think about it.
Many people with 5 generations or more of Southern ancestry likely have a slave holder in their ancestry - whether their race is white or black.
Indeed, there have been many Presidents with a slave holding background - including Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
Current Presidential candidates with a Southern background, and likely slave holders in their ancestry, include John Edwards, Al Gore and John McCain. Are they going to be scrutinized and their integrity questioned also?
The known ancestry of many political candidates and office holders are provided by William Addams Reitweisner at www.wargs.com/political/ . It's a great web site!
Perusing Reitweisner's site, I found that I am a 9th cousin to Mitt Romney (most recent common ancestors are Francis Nurse and Rebecca Towne), and an 8th cousin to Bill Richardson (MRCA are Joseph Farwell/Hannah Learned and John Bigelow/Mary Warren). I can't find any link to Hillary Rodham, Rudy Guiliani, John McCain, or John Edwards.
And a confession - I have ancestors who had slaves in Rhode Island in the 18th and 19th centuries - I see them being bequeathed in some of the wills I've been transcribing. I guess this means that I can run for President too!
As I said before - all of this doesn't really matter. What does matter is how each person acts and communicates their principles and ideals. The moral sins of the fathers (and slavery was a moral sin in my thinking, even though it was legal) should not be attached to the later generations.
However, it does sell newspapers, make people cluck at the perceived character flaw, and provide blog content to some of us!
Many people with 5 generations or more of Southern ancestry likely have a slave holder in their ancestry - whether their race is white or black.
Indeed, there have been many Presidents with a slave holding background - including Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
Current Presidential candidates with a Southern background, and likely slave holders in their ancestry, include John Edwards, Al Gore and John McCain. Are they going to be scrutinized and their integrity questioned also?
The known ancestry of many political candidates and office holders are provided by William Addams Reitweisner at www.wargs.com/political/ . It's a great web site!
Perusing Reitweisner's site, I found that I am a 9th cousin to Mitt Romney (most recent common ancestors are Francis Nurse and Rebecca Towne), and an 8th cousin to Bill Richardson (MRCA are Joseph Farwell/Hannah Learned and John Bigelow/Mary Warren). I can't find any link to Hillary Rodham, Rudy Guiliani, John McCain, or John Edwards.
And a confession - I have ancestors who had slaves in Rhode Island in the 18th and 19th centuries - I see them being bequeathed in some of the wills I've been transcribing. I guess this means that I can run for President too!
As I said before - all of this doesn't really matter. What does matter is how each person acts and communicates their principles and ideals. The moral sins of the fathers (and slavery was a moral sin in my thinking, even though it was legal) should not be attached to the later generations.
However, it does sell newspapers, make people cluck at the perceived character flaw, and provide blog content to some of us!
Escondido Family History Fair on Saturday
The 2007 Family History Fair at the Escondido (CA) LDS South Stake building is on Saturday, 3 March, from 8 AM to 4 PM. This is a FREE all-day seminar, but you must have registered by March 1. A syllabus is available for those that pre-paid for it. This fair has attracted over 200 attendees in past years. The fair web site is http://www.familyhistoryfair.org/.
Many San Diego area genealogical societies will have tables and displays, including the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. We will display some posters, some pictures, have membership brochures and Glen Abbey cemetery CD order forms available. Not many vendors attend this fair because they can't exchange money on the grounds.
The keynote speaker (at 9 AM) is Kory Meyerink, speaking on "Googling Genealogy."
There are four speaker sessions (10:15, 11:30, 1:30 and 2:45) with 7 classes at each time. This year, Kory Meyerink, Barbara Renick, and Richard S. Wilson will speak at four sessions; Beth McCarty, Alan Jones and Ann Montgomery will speak at three sessions; Daniel Bartosz and Dee Sallenbach will speak at two sessions; and Cassandra Helzer, Kathy Hofer, Joan Lowrey, and Everett Ireland will speak at one session.
I signed up for:
10:15: Comparing Genealogical Software Programs - Richard Wilson
11:30: Evaluating Compiled Resources - Barbara Renick
1:30: Using US Probate and Deed Records to Track your Family - Dee Sallenbach
2:45: An Overview of Advanced Research Methods - Kory Meyerink
I look forward to this seminar every year. The price is right and the speakers are national conference quality.
I will bring my laptop to the seminar and will have it set up at the CVGS booth. If there is a wireless internet hookup available, I will live blog the seminar. If not, I'll post about it on Saturday night or Sunday.
If you attend, please stop by and meet me and my CVGS colleagues - I enjoy meeting my readers and commenters.
Many San Diego area genealogical societies will have tables and displays, including the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. We will display some posters, some pictures, have membership brochures and Glen Abbey cemetery CD order forms available. Not many vendors attend this fair because they can't exchange money on the grounds.
The keynote speaker (at 9 AM) is Kory Meyerink, speaking on "Googling Genealogy."
There are four speaker sessions (10:15, 11:30, 1:30 and 2:45) with 7 classes at each time. This year, Kory Meyerink, Barbara Renick, and Richard S. Wilson will speak at four sessions; Beth McCarty, Alan Jones and Ann Montgomery will speak at three sessions; Daniel Bartosz and Dee Sallenbach will speak at two sessions; and Cassandra Helzer, Kathy Hofer, Joan Lowrey, and Everett Ireland will speak at one session.
I signed up for:
10:15: Comparing Genealogical Software Programs - Richard Wilson
11:30: Evaluating Compiled Resources - Barbara Renick
1:30: Using US Probate and Deed Records to Track your Family - Dee Sallenbach
2:45: An Overview of Advanced Research Methods - Kory Meyerink
I look forward to this seminar every year. The price is right and the speakers are national conference quality.
I will bring my laptop to the seminar and will have it set up at the CVGS booth. If there is a wireless internet hookup available, I will live blog the seminar. If not, I'll post about it on Saturday night or Sunday.
If you attend, please stop by and meet me and my CVGS colleagues - I enjoy meeting my readers and commenters.
Only 6 Questions on 2010 Census?
Well - not exactly.
An article by June Kronholz in the Wall Street Journal, and published in the San Diego Union-Tribune dated 2 March 2007 (I'm not sure the link will work), described the questions to be asked in the 2010 census on a one page form.
For each person in the household on 1 April 2010, the census will ask the head-of-household to write down the:
1) Name
2) Relationship to head of household (14 choices, but not foster Child because it would have been off the bottom of the page)
3) Gender (male or female, check one only)
4) Age, and date of birth (children less than 1 year old are to be listed as age 0)
5) Of Hispanic origin (yes or no, if yes, then check Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican or Other, and write in a nationality if Other)
6) Race (one or more of white, black, American Indian, choice of 6 Asian, choice of 3 Pacific Islanders, plus a write-in line for any other Asian nationality)
The head-of-household will be asked to answer three more questions, but only the one about home ownership/rental is defined now.
The article concludes that about 40 million households - one third of the total - will not send the survey back and will be visited by a census worker to help fill out the form.
In the 2000 census, about 3 million households were asked to answer a longer census form about home size, income, commute time, daily life, etc. This is now a yearly survey called the American Community Survey and is separate now from the census. Funny, I haven't heard of anyone having received one since 2000 - there should be a 1 in 6 chance that a person would have received one since 2000.
Oh - all of that will be released to the public in 2082. I can hardly wait! Ummm, maybe my grandchildren will be excited to see the marks I will make on the 2010 form.
An article by June Kronholz in the Wall Street Journal, and published in the San Diego Union-Tribune dated 2 March 2007 (I'm not sure the link will work), described the questions to be asked in the 2010 census on a one page form.
For each person in the household on 1 April 2010, the census will ask the head-of-household to write down the:
1) Name
2) Relationship to head of household (14 choices, but not foster Child because it would have been off the bottom of the page)
3) Gender (male or female, check one only)
4) Age, and date of birth (children less than 1 year old are to be listed as age 0)
5) Of Hispanic origin (yes or no, if yes, then check Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican or Other, and write in a nationality if Other)
6) Race (one or more of white, black, American Indian, choice of 6 Asian, choice of 3 Pacific Islanders, plus a write-in line for any other Asian nationality)
The head-of-household will be asked to answer three more questions, but only the one about home ownership/rental is defined now.
The article concludes that about 40 million households - one third of the total - will not send the survey back and will be visited by a census worker to help fill out the form.
In the 2000 census, about 3 million households were asked to answer a longer census form about home size, income, commute time, daily life, etc. This is now a yearly survey called the American Community Survey and is separate now from the census. Funny, I haven't heard of anyone having received one since 2000 - there should be a 1 in 6 chance that a person would have received one since 2000.
Oh - all of that will be released to the public in 2082. I can hardly wait! Ummm, maybe my grandchildren will be excited to see the marks I will make on the 2010 form.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Googling for Google Maps
You probably already knew this, but I just figured it out.
I have a Google search box on my Internet Explorer menu bar and use it frequently to search for name combinations and localities.
During my searches today for Bresee (and surname variations) people in the census I ran across some township names that were not on the maps available on the USGenWeb site for Columbia County NY. Like Livingston and Hillsdale. Where were they?
I clicked into the Google search box, put in the search [ livingston "new york" map ] and the first result is a link to Google Maps centered on Livingston, Columbia County, NY. From there, I searched up and down the county and into the adjacent counties, and all the way down to the Delaware Water Gap before I realized I had lost my focus. I love maps!
Google maps are not new, but they are still wonderful, and I am ecstatic that I found an easy way to answer my "where is it?" question.
I have a Google search box on my Internet Explorer menu bar and use it frequently to search for name combinations and localities.
During my searches today for Bresee (and surname variations) people in the census I ran across some township names that were not on the maps available on the USGenWeb site for Columbia County NY. Like Livingston and Hillsdale. Where were they?
I clicked into the Google search box, put in the search [ livingston "new york" map ] and the first result is a link to Google Maps centered on Livingston, Columbia County, NY. From there, I searched up and down the county and into the adjacent counties, and all the way down to the Delaware Water Gap before I realized I had lost my focus. I love maps!
Google maps are not new, but they are still wonderful, and I am ecstatic that I found an easy way to answer my "where is it?" question.
"Making of America" Digital Library
I'm like a kid left alone in a candy store sometimes. One of my society colleagues tipped me to this, and I spent an enjoyable hour this afternoon reading and searching.
The University of Michigan and Cornell University have been working on the "Making of America" digital library for some time. One site is at http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/moagrp/.
The web site describes the project as:
"Making of America (MoA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The collection currently contains approximately 10,000 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. For more details about the project, see About MoA. Making of America is made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. "
This resource had not caught my sttention previously, but it is certainly a worthwhile free resource for 19th century books about the building of the USA.
You can enter search words into the search box; quote marks for phrases are not allowed, but an asterisk (*) wild card is permitted (one letter minimum at start of a word, no * allowed in the middle of a word). A search for "norman seaver" resulted in 4 hits that reflect some of the available books:
1) Speeches of Benjamin Harrison, twenty-third president of the United States; : a complete collection of his public addresses from February, 1888, to February, 1892.
2) A municipal history of the town and city of Boston, during two centuries. From September 17, 1630, to September 17, 1830. By Josiah Quincy.
3) Memorial. Genealogy, and ecclesiastical history [of First Church, New Britain, Conn.] To which is added an appendix, with explanatory notes, and a full index ... By Alfred Andrews
4) The Presbyterian memorial offering, 1870-1871.
Interesting records, all! This collection is worthy to be right up there with the other online digital libraries for history and genealogy. I imagine that many of these books are in one of the subscription site digital libraries, but this one is FREE.
Pardon me for awhile, I'm going back to the candy store...
The University of Michigan and Cornell University have been working on the "Making of America" digital library for some time. One site is at http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/moagrp/.
The web site describes the project as:
"Making of America (MoA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The collection currently contains approximately 10,000 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. For more details about the project, see About MoA. Making of America is made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. "
This resource had not caught my sttention previously, but it is certainly a worthwhile free resource for 19th century books about the building of the USA.
You can enter search words into the search box; quote marks for phrases are not allowed, but an asterisk (*) wild card is permitted (one letter minimum at start of a word, no * allowed in the middle of a word). A search for "norman seaver" resulted in 4 hits that reflect some of the available books:
1) Speeches of Benjamin Harrison, twenty-third president of the United States; : a complete collection of his public addresses from February, 1888, to February, 1892.
2) A municipal history of the town and city of Boston, during two centuries. From September 17, 1630, to September 17, 1830. By Josiah Quincy.
3) Memorial. Genealogy, and ecclesiastical history [of First Church, New Britain, Conn.] To which is added an appendix, with explanatory notes, and a full index ... By Alfred Andrews
4) The Presbyterian memorial offering, 1870-1871.
Interesting records, all! This collection is worthy to be right up there with the other online digital libraries for history and genealogy. I imagine that many of these books are in one of the subscription site digital libraries, but this one is FREE.
Pardon me for awhile, I'm going back to the candy store...
Cousins finding me
One of the great things about genealogy blogs is that what you post is indexed by Google and other search engines.
The other day I received an email from a Bell descendant of James and Cornelia Bell of Henderson, Jefferson County, NY (James was born in 1777, died 1836). I had posted a note back in October about a deed that named his children here, and my correspondent had found me. He had more information about the Bell family, including a daughter that I had not previously identified.
He pointed me to a Rootsweb WorldConnect database, posted in August 2006, that contained James and cornelia Bell, and documented another daughter's line. It also provided birth dates for James and Cornelia, and identified her maiden name as Bresee. It also said that James Bell was from Scotland, and that they were married in Schodack, Rensselaer County, NY.
So I'm on the hunt for Bresee families (Breese, Bries, Beece, etc) in the Rensselaer/Columbia Counties area in the 1750 to 1800 time frame. I have found some decent leads, but no tie of Cornelia Bresee to a set of parents. It looks like these people were of Dutch extraction and immigrated in the late 1600's or early 1700's.
If James Bell is from Scotland, then this is my first known Scottish ancestor. I have hoped for Scottish, Welsh and Irish ancestors for a long time, and now my hopes are coming to a partial fruition.
There is another lesson for me here - I need to check the Rootsweb WorldConnect database (and the Ancestry member databases too) more often for my "problem children." I last checked on James Bell with a wife Cornelia back in 2005 and had not checked since.
The other day I received an email from a Bell descendant of James and Cornelia Bell of Henderson, Jefferson County, NY (James was born in 1777, died 1836). I had posted a note back in October about a deed that named his children here, and my correspondent had found me. He had more information about the Bell family, including a daughter that I had not previously identified.
He pointed me to a Rootsweb WorldConnect database, posted in August 2006, that contained James and cornelia Bell, and documented another daughter's line. It also provided birth dates for James and Cornelia, and identified her maiden name as Bresee. It also said that James Bell was from Scotland, and that they were married in Schodack, Rensselaer County, NY.
So I'm on the hunt for Bresee families (Breese, Bries, Beece, etc) in the Rensselaer/Columbia Counties area in the 1750 to 1800 time frame. I have found some decent leads, but no tie of Cornelia Bresee to a set of parents. It looks like these people were of Dutch extraction and immigrated in the late 1600's or early 1700's.
If James Bell is from Scotland, then this is my first known Scottish ancestor. I have hoped for Scottish, Welsh and Irish ancestors for a long time, and now my hopes are coming to a partial fruition.
There is another lesson for me here - I need to check the Rootsweb WorldConnect database (and the Ancestry member databases too) more often for my "problem children." I last checked on James Bell with a wife Cornelia back in 2005 and had not checked since.
Kid's T-shirts at JMK Genealogy
JMK Genealogy Gifts has some genealogy stuff for kids (at http://genealogy-gifts.blogspot.com/2007/02/genealogy-kids-shirts.html) that say:
1) A T-shirt that says "My grandma kicks ass at genealogy" (and one that says grandpa too).
2) A bib that says "Will trade pacifier for web site subscriptions"
3) A bib that says "I need to transcribe some census records and update my genealogy blog, but.... could you please change my diaper first?"
There are several other kids items at their commercial site - http://www.cafepress.com/jmkbooks/2587006
Way cool stuff. This of course leads to the temptation to find other genealogy themes for kids' shirts, bibs and even jammies. How about:
"Pre-school is great, but a day with grandpa at the cemetery is fun"
"My grandpa says I am a 14th generation American"
"Climbing family trees with grandpa is fun"
"My ancestors made me what I am"
Do you have any suggestions? Tell me a saying or two that would be appropriate and funny for kids' gear.
Check out their other offerings too at http://www.cafepress.com/jmkbooks/ . Note that I am not affiliated with JMK - I just like their products!
1) A T-shirt that says "My grandma kicks ass at genealogy" (and one that says grandpa too).
2) A bib that says "Will trade pacifier for web site subscriptions"
3) A bib that says "I need to transcribe some census records and update my genealogy blog, but.... could you please change my diaper first?"
There are several other kids items at their commercial site - http://www.cafepress.com/jmkbooks/2587006
Way cool stuff. This of course leads to the temptation to find other genealogy themes for kids' shirts, bibs and even jammies. How about:
"Pre-school is great, but a day with grandpa at the cemetery is fun"
"My grandpa says I am a 14th generation American"
"Climbing family trees with grandpa is fun"
"My ancestors made me what I am"
Do you have any suggestions? Tell me a saying or two that would be appropriate and funny for kids' gear.
Check out their other offerings too at http://www.cafepress.com/jmkbooks/ . Note that I am not affiliated with JMK - I just like their products!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
The Best Online Genealogy Tutorial
In our Research Group today we started on our "Internet Genealogy Boot Camp" effort to introduce online databases and web sites to some of our less experienced members.
Of the 14 attendees today, only three of us had explored the SSDI and WorldConnect databases on www.rootsweb.com. The group had a range of experience, from beginner to long-time traditional researcher. All who attended have a computer, use email, and occasionally surf the web, but most do not use the web routinely for genealogy research. I believe that this is typical of many local genealogy societies with a fairly elderly membership (the exception being a computer-related genealogy society like CGSSD in San Diego).
We visited the web site http://www.learnwebskills.com/family/ today. This site has an online genealogy tutorial that is excellent for both beginner and veteran Internet researchers. The tutorial is in six modules:
I- Getting Started (Home Sources, Charts, Recording Information, Citing Resources)
II - Using Online Resources (Online Databases, Search Engines, Directories)
III - Gathering Key Records (Vital Records, Federal Census Records)
IV - Exploring Further (Probate Records, Church Records, Military Records, Newspapers)
V - Sharing Information (Discussion Lists, Message Boards, Software Programs)
VI - Quiz
We started in Module II, which provides tutorials for:
1) Social Security Death Index
2) Rootsweb WorldConnect Project Database
3) LDS FamilySearch Databases
4) Ellis Island Database
5) Ancestry.com (only the 1880 Census)
6) Google
7) Cyndi's List
8) USGenWeb Project
In each tutorial, there is a summary of the database or web site, and links for Demonstration or Practice.
If you click on Demonstration, you will get step-by-step directions in the left-hand frame for how to use the database of web site with examples shown in the right-hand frame.
If you click on Practice, then the step-by-step directions appear in the left-hand frame, the actual web site input boxes and results are in the right hand frame, and you can input your own ancestors into the databases.
It works beautifully. And it is free!
The whole tutorial can be used to provide a fairly complete course on how to effectively pursue genealogy research on the Internet. IMHO, it is much better than any static lecture course because the student can see a demonstration and then practice using the databases with the step-by-step directions on the screen.
If your local society is struggling to provide online genealogy research instruction to your members, this is by far the best online tutorial I have found.
We are going to continue to use this online tutorial in our Computer Lab classes because we see how effective it is in bringing hesitant researchers into the online genealogy world.
If anyone knows of other online tutorials with different or better qualities, I would appreciate knowing about them.
Of the 14 attendees today, only three of us had explored the SSDI and WorldConnect databases on www.rootsweb.com. The group had a range of experience, from beginner to long-time traditional researcher. All who attended have a computer, use email, and occasionally surf the web, but most do not use the web routinely for genealogy research. I believe that this is typical of many local genealogy societies with a fairly elderly membership (the exception being a computer-related genealogy society like CGSSD in San Diego).
We visited the web site http://www.learnwebskills.com/family/ today. This site has an online genealogy tutorial that is excellent for both beginner and veteran Internet researchers. The tutorial is in six modules:
I- Getting Started (Home Sources, Charts, Recording Information, Citing Resources)
II - Using Online Resources (Online Databases, Search Engines, Directories)
III - Gathering Key Records (Vital Records, Federal Census Records)
IV - Exploring Further (Probate Records, Church Records, Military Records, Newspapers)
V - Sharing Information (Discussion Lists, Message Boards, Software Programs)
VI - Quiz
We started in Module II, which provides tutorials for:
1) Social Security Death Index
2) Rootsweb WorldConnect Project Database
3) LDS FamilySearch Databases
4) Ellis Island Database
5) Ancestry.com (only the 1880 Census)
6) Google
7) Cyndi's List
8) USGenWeb Project
In each tutorial, there is a summary of the database or web site, and links for Demonstration or Practice.
If you click on Demonstration, you will get step-by-step directions in the left-hand frame for how to use the database of web site with examples shown in the right-hand frame.
If you click on Practice, then the step-by-step directions appear in the left-hand frame, the actual web site input boxes and results are in the right hand frame, and you can input your own ancestors into the databases.
It works beautifully. And it is free!
The whole tutorial can be used to provide a fairly complete course on how to effectively pursue genealogy research on the Internet. IMHO, it is much better than any static lecture course because the student can see a demonstration and then practice using the databases with the step-by-step directions on the screen.
If your local society is struggling to provide online genealogy research instruction to your members, this is by far the best online tutorial I have found.
We are going to continue to use this online tutorial in our Computer Lab classes because we see how effective it is in bringing hesitant researchers into the online genealogy world.
If anyone knows of other online tutorials with different or better qualities, I would appreciate knowing about them.
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