Have you noticed the code numbers next to the occupation listings on the census records? Have you been unable to read what the enumerator wrote down? Luckily, there is a way to figure out what you can't read for the 1930 census.
On the APG mailing list, Richard Pence wondered what the codes meant, and Drew Smith provided a link to Steven Morse's One-Step 1930 Occupation Codes page at http://stevemorse.org:80/census/ocodes.htm.
Richard was asking about occupation code 8885 - which is "insurance agent."
There are two sets of numbers - one with two inputs of two numbers each (number beings with 0 to 7, or V), and the second with one input of four numbers (number begins with 8 or 9). The first group seems to be people who work in an industry, and the second group are people who are self-employed.
OK, here's a test. What are:
1) 63 X2
2) 6V 0V
3) 927V
While looking through these occupations, it struck me just how few of them are still in existence today in this country. A 2007 list of occupations would be nearly completely different (would a pornographer be XX XX?).
I'm glad that Richard asked the question, Drew was able to answer it, and Steve has a web page for it. Steve's page points out that the really hard work of listing these occupations was done by C. Marie Taylor of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Posting Photos
There have been several excellent essays about Copyrights and posting family photographs in recent days.
First, Steve Danko wrote "Who Owns the Copyrights to Your Photographs"
Next, footnoteMaven wrote "To Post or Not to Post: That is the Question"
Steve wrote about the Copyright laws in the USA, and who owns the copyright to photographs. footnoteMaven wrote about her own dilemma about posting a fmaily photograph dated around 1926. Based on her analysis of the photograph's origins, she has decided to post the photo on her blog based on "common sense." I think she made the right decision.
I thank Steve and footnoteMaven for these posts, which are very well thought out and reasoned. Based on these posts, the topic for the next Carnival of Genealogy has been changed to:
"Moral or legal dilemmas in genealogy and genea-blogging, which ones have you had to deal with and how did you resolve them, if you did?"
Obviously, posting photographs that might have copyright protection would qualify as one of those moral dilemmas, especially if the picture was not obtained from a family member (I'm thinking about studio pictures, wedding pictures made by a professional photographer, etc.). I have posted some of these types of photos before, and I need to go back over my posts and see if I have a problem. I encourage other genea-bloggers to do the same, and go through the thought process that footnoteMaven did in her post.
UPDATE 7/21: Steve Danko has a followup post on this subject at http://stephendanko.com/blog/2007/07/21/consequences-of-publishing-photographs/ that addresses some of these issues, with a link to an interesting and troubling article. Read Steve's posts.
First, Steve Danko wrote "Who Owns the Copyrights to Your Photographs"
Next, footnoteMaven wrote "To Post or Not to Post: That is the Question"
Steve wrote about the Copyright laws in the USA, and who owns the copyright to photographs. footnoteMaven wrote about her own dilemma about posting a fmaily photograph dated around 1926. Based on her analysis of the photograph's origins, she has decided to post the photo on her blog based on "common sense." I think she made the right decision.
I thank Steve and footnoteMaven for these posts, which are very well thought out and reasoned. Based on these posts, the topic for the next Carnival of Genealogy has been changed to:
"Moral or legal dilemmas in genealogy and genea-blogging, which ones have you had to deal with and how did you resolve them, if you did?"
Obviously, posting photographs that might have copyright protection would qualify as one of those moral dilemmas, especially if the picture was not obtained from a family member (I'm thinking about studio pictures, wedding pictures made by a professional photographer, etc.). I have posted some of these types of photos before, and I need to go back over my posts and see if I have a problem. I encourage other genea-bloggers to do the same, and go through the thought process that footnoteMaven did in her post.
UPDATE 7/21: Steve Danko has a followup post on this subject at http://stephendanko.com/blog/2007/07/21/consequences-of-publishing-photographs/ that addresses some of these issues, with a link to an interesting and troubling article. Read Steve's posts.
Family History Live Online - on Saturday 7/28
Family History Live Online, www.familyhistoryliveonline, will present an online family history fair on Saturday, July 28th from 8:00am to 2:00pm (Mountain Daylight Time, 10 am to 4 pm Eastern time, 9 am to 3 pm Central time, and 7 am to 1 pm Pacific time). This free event will include 6 presentations by genealogists.
Scheduled to present are:
8:00 AM: Welcome by moderator Gena Philibert Ortega
8:10 AM: Jonathan Walker presentation on “Using Catholic Records”
8:45 AM Presentation on "Generation Maps" by the Vendor
9:00 AM: Gena Philibert Ortega presentation on “Needle in the Haystack: Finding Female Ancestors”
10:00 AM Peter Barrie presentation on “A Transatlantic Case Study”
11:00 AM: Barry Ewell presentation on “Effectively Tapping into Local, County, and Historical Societies.”
12 noon: Break for lunch
1:00 PM: Welcome by moderator Gena Philibert Ortega
1:05 PM: Barry Ewell presentation on “Effective Strategies for Researching Newspapers”.
2:00 PM: Closing by moderator Gena-Philibert Ortega
This online fair is free. To participate you will need a computer with an internet connection and a free membership to Family History Live Online. Once you have signed up for a free membership you will be able to download our free software viewer that will allow you to hear and see the presentation.
For more information, please see Family History Live Online’s website at www.familyhistoryliveonline.com or email the Fair Director, Gena Philibert Ortega at gena@fhsupport.com.
Scheduled to present are:
8:00 AM: Welcome by moderator Gena Philibert Ortega
8:10 AM: Jonathan Walker presentation on “Using Catholic Records”
8:45 AM Presentation on "Generation Maps" by the Vendor
9:00 AM: Gena Philibert Ortega presentation on “Needle in the Haystack: Finding Female Ancestors”
10:00 AM Peter Barrie presentation on “A Transatlantic Case Study”
11:00 AM: Barry Ewell presentation on “Effectively Tapping into Local, County, and Historical Societies.”
12 noon: Break for lunch
1:00 PM: Welcome by moderator Gena Philibert Ortega
1:05 PM: Barry Ewell presentation on “Effective Strategies for Researching Newspapers”.
2:00 PM: Closing by moderator Gena-Philibert Ortega
This online fair is free. To participate you will need a computer with an internet connection and a free membership to Family History Live Online. Once you have signed up for a free membership you will be able to download our free software viewer that will allow you to hear and see the presentation.
For more information, please see Family History Live Online’s website at www.familyhistoryliveonline.com or email the Fair Director, Gena Philibert Ortega at gena@fhsupport.com.
NYG&BS has a problem
I've not posted about the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society vote to abolish the voting rights of 5,000 members who have been able to vote on society business and officers, in favor of a 15 member Board that will decide all society issues. Dick Eastman, Dick Hillenbrand and others have discussed the issues involved over the past few weeks.
The meeting of the NYGBS was yesterday, July 19th, in New York City. Dick Hillenbrand provides his summary of the meeting in a blog post here. The Society approved the measure to eliminate voting rights of its "members" and vest all responsibilities in a 15 member Board of Directors. What bothers me the most about the meeting described by Hillenbrand is the utter lack of information provided by the Society leaders, who managed to smile throughout the proceedings but managed to drive the railroad train to their destination.
Needless to say, there was an outcry by some of the current members over the loss of voting privileges - which essentially turns "members" into "subscribers." Time will tell if this move will result in a loss of subscribers or, in the worst case, the loss of the society itself. Has NYGBS burned their bridges with many of their members, er, subscribers? It's too early to tell.
In reading the reports by Eastman and Hillenbrand, it seems to me that the leadership of the NYGBS has not been very forthcoming about the plans for the society itself. They have sold their building in New York City, and have two years to find a "home" for the Society library, publications and other holdings. NYGBS made a "windfall" profit from the sale. If NYGBS is going to be a long-term continuing and useful society, it needs to invest that money wisely for the perpetuation and improvement of the Society itself.
With my small voice, I suggest that the "subscribers" of the Society urge the Society leadership to identify goals and objectives for the near future - the next two years and then the longer-term. The leadership would likely be able to improve their customer relations if they created advisory board(s) to do this, composed of current subscribers and especially professional genealogists and librarians with a stake in the outcome.
NYGBS has a long storied history, and has been a force for genealogy goodness. The publications and library have been first-rate, according to what I've read. My hope is that they will re-invent the Society to continue to be a useful presence in the ever-changing genealogy world of the 21st century.
FWIW, I am not a member of NYGBS, and have not been to their library. Therefore, I have not had the emotional, even visceral, reaction to the events of the last month or so, but I understand where the Society members with those reactions are coming from.
The meeting of the NYGBS was yesterday, July 19th, in New York City. Dick Hillenbrand provides his summary of the meeting in a blog post here. The Society approved the measure to eliminate voting rights of its "members" and vest all responsibilities in a 15 member Board of Directors. What bothers me the most about the meeting described by Hillenbrand is the utter lack of information provided by the Society leaders, who managed to smile throughout the proceedings but managed to drive the railroad train to their destination.
Needless to say, there was an outcry by some of the current members over the loss of voting privileges - which essentially turns "members" into "subscribers." Time will tell if this move will result in a loss of subscribers or, in the worst case, the loss of the society itself. Has NYGBS burned their bridges with many of their members, er, subscribers? It's too early to tell.
In reading the reports by Eastman and Hillenbrand, it seems to me that the leadership of the NYGBS has not been very forthcoming about the plans for the society itself. They have sold their building in New York City, and have two years to find a "home" for the Society library, publications and other holdings. NYGBS made a "windfall" profit from the sale. If NYGBS is going to be a long-term continuing and useful society, it needs to invest that money wisely for the perpetuation and improvement of the Society itself.
With my small voice, I suggest that the "subscribers" of the Society urge the Society leadership to identify goals and objectives for the near future - the next two years and then the longer-term. The leadership would likely be able to improve their customer relations if they created advisory board(s) to do this, composed of current subscribers and especially professional genealogists and librarians with a stake in the outcome.
NYGBS has a long storied history, and has been a force for genealogy goodness. The publications and library have been first-rate, according to what I've read. My hope is that they will re-invent the Society to continue to be a useful presence in the ever-changing genealogy world of the 21st century.
FWIW, I am not a member of NYGBS, and have not been to their library. Therefore, I have not had the emotional, even visceral, reaction to the events of the last month or so, but I understand where the Society members with those reactions are coming from.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Manuscript Collections
One of the reasons that I tell people that "it's not ALL on the Internet, and probably never will be, and therefore you have to search every possible paper repository" is demonstrated nicely at the Concord (MA) Free Public Library web site of their manuscript collection - here.
A Seaver cousin wrote me and told me that the collected papers of Nathan Hobbs Seaver, a Civil War soldier on both the Union and Confederate Armies, are deposited in the Concord Free Public Library. The Nathan Hobbs Seaver collection is here. There are two boxes, including 47 Civil War letters to his family, a notebook, some ephemera, his estate papers, and much more. In this box are papers about Joshua Pettigone, father of Nathan's wife, Alice, who commanded the ship Shooting Star.
The Concord Free Public Library has 130 collections like this listed on their Finding Aids page. I checked to see if Google would find "Nathan Hobbs Seaver" in the library collection, and it did not. I checked five other collections at random, and Google found two of them, but not the other three. The lesson there is that you cannot trust a search engine to find things like this.
They do not have images of each page of the collections online. For Nathan Hobbs Seaver, they have just an image of the first page of the first letter from him to his sister.
There are hundreds (thousands?) of manuscript collections in libraries, museums, historical societies, etc. all over the nation. Very few, if any, of them have been digitized and posted on the Internet.
The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) at the Library of Congress has a search engine at http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/rlinsearch.html to search manuscript collections. When I input "nathan hobbs seaver" into this search field, it did not find the Concord collection.
Now can you understand why I advise searching every paper repository? When you're up against that brick research wall, sometimes the only records you will find are a treasure trove like the priceless collection Nathan Hobbs Seaver papers.
The challenge, of course, is to find the collections. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of digging through web sites or visits to repositories - and not always where your ancestral family lived. In this case, the donor lived in Concord and the family had lived in Roxbury MA, not too far away.
Nathan Hobbs Seaver was not my ancestor. However, because I posted my Seaver surname data at www.genealogy.com/users/s/e/a/Randy-Seaver/ a distant cousin was able to find me and provide me with this information on Nathan Seaver. And I was able to share it with you. And with others who might be searching for him, since this site is searched by Google.
How about you? Any success stories from your own research of finding ancestral family data in manuscript collections? Have you checked NUCMC? Have you written to, or visited, the historical society or library in the area where your ancestors lived?
A Seaver cousin wrote me and told me that the collected papers of Nathan Hobbs Seaver, a Civil War soldier on both the Union and Confederate Armies, are deposited in the Concord Free Public Library. The Nathan Hobbs Seaver collection is here. There are two boxes, including 47 Civil War letters to his family, a notebook, some ephemera, his estate papers, and much more. In this box are papers about Joshua Pettigone, father of Nathan's wife, Alice, who commanded the ship Shooting Star.
The Concord Free Public Library has 130 collections like this listed on their Finding Aids page. I checked to see if Google would find "Nathan Hobbs Seaver" in the library collection, and it did not. I checked five other collections at random, and Google found two of them, but not the other three. The lesson there is that you cannot trust a search engine to find things like this.
They do not have images of each page of the collections online. For Nathan Hobbs Seaver, they have just an image of the first page of the first letter from him to his sister.
There are hundreds (thousands?) of manuscript collections in libraries, museums, historical societies, etc. all over the nation. Very few, if any, of them have been digitized and posted on the Internet.
The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) at the Library of Congress has a search engine at http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/rlinsearch.html to search manuscript collections. When I input "nathan hobbs seaver" into this search field, it did not find the Concord collection.
Now can you understand why I advise searching every paper repository? When you're up against that brick research wall, sometimes the only records you will find are a treasure trove like the priceless collection Nathan Hobbs Seaver papers.
The challenge, of course, is to find the collections. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of digging through web sites or visits to repositories - and not always where your ancestral family lived. In this case, the donor lived in Concord and the family had lived in Roxbury MA, not too far away.
Nathan Hobbs Seaver was not my ancestor. However, because I posted my Seaver surname data at www.genealogy.com/users/s/e/a/Randy-Seaver/ a distant cousin was able to find me and provide me with this information on Nathan Seaver. And I was able to share it with you. And with others who might be searching for him, since this site is searched by Google.
How about you? Any success stories from your own research of finding ancestral family data in manuscript collections? Have you checked NUCMC? Have you written to, or visited, the historical society or library in the area where your ancestors lived?
CGSSD Meeting on Saturday in San Diego
The Computer Genealogy Society of San Diego (CGSSD) meets on Saturday, July 21, 2007 from 9:00 am to noon.
9:00 - User groups for Legacy, Macintosh and RootsMagic.
10:15 - A break and refreshments
10:30 - Announcements followed by Program: "Digging Up the UnDead" by Joan Lowrey
Learn the best websites and techniques for finding living people. Most people can be found, even those with unlisted phone numbers, using the tools that will be demonstrated in this presentation.
Joan is a professional genealogist, specializing in Germany, San Diego County, and missing heirs. She is the founder and a past president of CGSSD, and currently is the editor of Compu.Gen (the award-winning quarterly CGSSD newsletter).
CGSSD meetings are held at the Robinson Auditorium complex on the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus in La Jolla. From North Torrey Pine Road turn at Pangea Drive into UCSD. Free parking is available in the parking garage on the left; use any A, B, or S space. Signs will mark directions to our meeting room. Please refer to our website www.cgssd.org; or the UCSD Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies website http://irps.ucsd.edu/about/how-to-find-us.htm for driving directions and a map.
Unfortunately, due to Lolo commitments I will be unable to attend the talk. I really want to hear Joan's talk, so hopefully we can have her come speak at CVGS sometime soon.
9:00 - User groups for Legacy, Macintosh and RootsMagic.
10:15 - A break and refreshments
10:30 - Announcements followed by Program: "Digging Up the UnDead" by Joan Lowrey
Learn the best websites and techniques for finding living people. Most people can be found, even those with unlisted phone numbers, using the tools that will be demonstrated in this presentation.
Joan is a professional genealogist, specializing in Germany, San Diego County, and missing heirs. She is the founder and a past president of CGSSD, and currently is the editor of Compu.Gen (the award-winning quarterly CGSSD newsletter).
CGSSD meetings are held at the Robinson Auditorium complex on the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus in La Jolla. From North Torrey Pine Road turn at Pangea Drive into UCSD. Free parking is available in the parking garage on the left; use any A, B, or S space. Signs will mark directions to our meeting room. Please refer to our website www.cgssd.org; or the UCSD Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies website http://irps.ucsd.edu/about/how-to-find-us.htm for driving directions and a map.
Unfortunately, due to Lolo commitments I will be unable to attend the talk. I really want to hear Joan's talk, so hopefully we can have her come speak at CVGS sometime soon.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
A genealogist dies ...
There is a great family history joke printed in Allison Stacy's article "Tools of the Trade" in the September 2007 edition of Family Tree Magazine. I tried to find it on the Internet but failed.
"A genealogist dies. Much to her chagrin, she learns she's not going to heaven. But her spirits improve after the devil gives her the Grand Tour of Hell - which, as it turns out, contains the biggest family history library anyone could imagine.
"What's more, the genealogist gets her own desk, pedigree charts, and countless records at her disposal. So she begins working in the library.
"A week later, the devil returns to ask how she's doing. 'It's great,' she says, 'except I can't find a pencil or anything else to write with.'
"The devil replies with a chuckle, 'Yes, that's right. Hell, isn't it?'"
Obviously that is a takeoff on lawyer, Clinton and other Grand Tour of Hell jokes, but it is funny!
I'm not sure who wrote this originally - Allison's article says that James M. Beidler quoted it in his syndicated column "Roots and Branches" for Pennsylvania newspapers. If someone knows the correct attribution, I would appreciate knowing it.
What other genealogy jokes might be out there that start with "A genealogist dies..."? Can you make one up and share it with us, either in comments or on your own blog? I will promote them out of comments into this post, or post a link to your blog, if you contribute one.
"A genealogist dies. Much to her chagrin, she learns she's not going to heaven. But her spirits improve after the devil gives her the Grand Tour of Hell - which, as it turns out, contains the biggest family history library anyone could imagine.
"What's more, the genealogist gets her own desk, pedigree charts, and countless records at her disposal. So she begins working in the library.
"A week later, the devil returns to ask how she's doing. 'It's great,' she says, 'except I can't find a pencil or anything else to write with.'
"The devil replies with a chuckle, 'Yes, that's right. Hell, isn't it?'"
Obviously that is a takeoff on lawyer, Clinton and other Grand Tour of Hell jokes, but it is funny!
I'm not sure who wrote this originally - Allison's article says that James M. Beidler quoted it in his syndicated column "Roots and Branches" for Pennsylvania newspapers. If someone knows the correct attribution, I would appreciate knowing it.
What other genealogy jokes might be out there that start with "A genealogist dies..."? Can you make one up and share it with us, either in comments or on your own blog? I will promote them out of comments into this post, or post a link to your blog, if you contribute one.
List of Lancaster PA Area Books
While browsing and Googling today, I ran across the Masthof Annual Catalog of genealogy books. There are many titles here from large, small and personal publishers, and many are specific to the Lancaster PA area, the Amish and Mennonite settlements. It is in a PDF file format. The Table of Contents is:
Amish........................................................... 2
Anabaptism ................................................ 5
Biographies and Novels ............................. 6
Brethren .................................................... 15
Children’s Books ....................................... 16
Computers and Genealogy ...................... 20
Cookbooks ................................................ 21
Europe ...................................................... 22
Genealogy ................................................. 28
Genealogy Reference ............................... 43
Genealogy Supplies ................................. 49
Local History ........................................... 50
Maps and Atlases .................................... 67
Mennonite Culture and History ............. 69
Mennonites, Russian .............................. 74
Miscellaneous ......................................... 74
Miscellaneous Family ............................ 83
Quilts and Quilting ................................ 86
Toys ......................................................... 86
Videos ..................................................... 88
Surname Index........................................88
Author Index............................................93
Title Index................................................96
These are mainly books, each title has a complete citation with price, and a short summary of the contents. You can order them from Masthof at 219 Mill Road, Morgantown, PA 19543-9516. The telephone number is (610) 286-0258. Orders can also be sent via fax: (610) 286-6860. Consult their web page for more ordering information.
I thought that this was a wonderful resource to have available online. It is a great example of how a business - or a genealogy society - can market their paper products online.
Amish........................................................... 2
Anabaptism ................................................ 5
Biographies and Novels ............................. 6
Brethren .................................................... 15
Children’s Books ....................................... 16
Computers and Genealogy ...................... 20
Cookbooks ................................................ 21
Europe ...................................................... 22
Genealogy ................................................. 28
Genealogy Reference ............................... 43
Genealogy Supplies ................................. 49
Local History ........................................... 50
Maps and Atlases .................................... 67
Mennonite Culture and History ............. 69
Mennonites, Russian .............................. 74
Miscellaneous ......................................... 74
Miscellaneous Family ............................ 83
Quilts and Quilting ................................ 86
Toys ......................................................... 86
Videos ..................................................... 88
Surname Index........................................88
Author Index............................................93
Title Index................................................96
These are mainly books, each title has a complete citation with price, and a short summary of the contents. You can order them from Masthof at 219 Mill Road, Morgantown, PA 19543-9516. The telephone number is (610) 286-0258. Orders can also be sent via fax: (610) 286-6860. Consult their web page for more ordering information.
I thought that this was a wonderful resource to have available online. It is a great example of how a business - or a genealogy society - can market their paper products online.
Computer Group at CVGS Today
We had our monthly CVGS Computer Group meeting today at the Library. We use the Library Computer Lab with 15 computer terminals. We filled every seat! Gary hooked the projector up to one of the computers so we are able to show the screen on the wall. Shirley was unable to attend, so I drove the screen on the wall to demonstrate sites and techniques.
Almost everybody works in Ancestry Library Edition at these meetings, since most attendees do not have an Ancestry home subscription. Many of the members are still learning about the myriad databases on Ancestry. Today, I showed them how to find recently added or updated databases and away we went on some of them. I also showed them how to get to the search box to input keywords to find location-specific databases. That worked well for many attendees - they searched on a state or county and found resources.
Several attendees wanted to be able to "Share" the images by sending a link to themselves at their home email address. That works pretty well - you can open the email at home, click on the link to the image, view the image on screen, save it to your hard drive (right click on Windows, select "Save Picture As"), print it out, include it in your software database, etc. But what about the screens that are not images - but a summary from a database? These often have useful information. You can go to the File menu and select Send and send the page or ta link to the page to your home email.
One member found a listing of an ancestor in the War of 1812 pension application index and wanted to know how to find the actual record. We went to the LDS www.familysearch.org site and into the Family History Library Catalog - the actual pension files and bounty land warrants were listed. She would have to go order the film at the FHC (or go to a National Archives branch). We also visited the www.militaryindexes.com site and checked the War of 1812 listing, which includes all of the available Ancestry databases and the state-specific databases that are online. Finally, I recommended that she check the Virgil D. White book on War of 1812 Pension File Abstracts - it is on the shelf at the Chula Vista library. If her ancestor received a pension, then the abstract would provide more information about the soldier and a pension file number. This episode was instructive to everyone - it pointed out (again!) that not everything is on the Internet -not by a longshot - and won't be ever! I did point out that many of the LDS films will be imaged and indexed in the next 10 years or so.
I was able to do some work of my own - I found Angus MacDonald of Spokane WA in the World War I Draft Registration Cards. Unfortunately, it didn't list his birthplace. I was hoping it would so I could narrow the search in the 1881 Canadian census to a set of parents. I also checked the Immigration records for his father, Alec MacDonald, but found nothing definitive. Now that I think about it, Alec immigrated into Canada not the US before 1880, and ALE doesn't have Canadian immigration data. Oh well.
The 90 minutes go by real fast at this meeting - we've had Ancestry Library Edition available for about 9 months now, so the regular attendees are doing their own searches and having success without much help.
Almost everybody works in Ancestry Library Edition at these meetings, since most attendees do not have an Ancestry home subscription. Many of the members are still learning about the myriad databases on Ancestry. Today, I showed them how to find recently added or updated databases and away we went on some of them. I also showed them how to get to the search box to input keywords to find location-specific databases. That worked well for many attendees - they searched on a state or county and found resources.
Several attendees wanted to be able to "Share" the images by sending a link to themselves at their home email address. That works pretty well - you can open the email at home, click on the link to the image, view the image on screen, save it to your hard drive (right click on Windows, select "Save Picture As"), print it out, include it in your software database, etc. But what about the screens that are not images - but a summary from a database? These often have useful information. You can go to the File menu and select Send and send the page or ta link to the page to your home email.
One member found a listing of an ancestor in the War of 1812 pension application index and wanted to know how to find the actual record. We went to the LDS www.familysearch.org site and into the Family History Library Catalog - the actual pension files and bounty land warrants were listed. She would have to go order the film at the FHC (or go to a National Archives branch). We also visited the www.militaryindexes.com site and checked the War of 1812 listing, which includes all of the available Ancestry databases and the state-specific databases that are online. Finally, I recommended that she check the Virgil D. White book on War of 1812 Pension File Abstracts - it is on the shelf at the Chula Vista library. If her ancestor received a pension, then the abstract would provide more information about the soldier and a pension file number. This episode was instructive to everyone - it pointed out (again!) that not everything is on the Internet -not by a longshot - and won't be ever! I did point out that many of the LDS films will be imaged and indexed in the next 10 years or so.
I was able to do some work of my own - I found Angus MacDonald of Spokane WA in the World War I Draft Registration Cards. Unfortunately, it didn't list his birthplace. I was hoping it would so I could narrow the search in the 1881 Canadian census to a set of parents. I also checked the Immigration records for his father, Alec MacDonald, but found nothing definitive. Now that I think about it, Alec immigrated into Canada not the US before 1880, and ALE doesn't have Canadian immigration data. Oh well.
The 90 minutes go by real fast at this meeting - we've had Ancestry Library Edition available for about 9 months now, so the regular attendees are doing their own searches and having success without much help.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Carnival of Genealogy on Surnames is posted
Jasia at the Creative Gene blog has posted the 28th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy at http://creativegene.blogspot.com/2007/07/carnival-of-genealogy-28th-edition.html.
There are 20 contributors this time, with a varied blend of single surnames, many surnames, some unique musings about surnames, plus some humor.
footnoteMaven posted a wonderful blog about the different types of surnames with a list of references and a bibliography - worthy of publication in a book or magazine, at http://footnotemaven.blogspot.com/2007/07/whats-in-name.html.
A funny post by Janice at the Cow Hampshire blog shares her search for the LNU and UNK family names - at http://cowhampshire.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2007/7/5/3072797.html.
There are lots more - go read them all!
The next Carnival of Genealogy will be about Smile For The Camera! "We all have them, boxes of family photographs. So, show us your favorite photo(s)! Tell us everything about them. Who or what is the photo of, when was it taken, where was it taken, where did you get it, who was the photographer, why is it one of your favorites? Does it commemorate a special occasion, is it a treasure, a mystery, or is it just plain weird, strange or unusual? Share with us the stories of your favorite pics from your family photo albums.The next edition of the COG will be hosted by footnoteMaven on the footnoteMaven blog. The deadline for submissions will be August 1st, so crack open those photo albums and start blogging!"
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.
There are 20 contributors this time, with a varied blend of single surnames, many surnames, some unique musings about surnames, plus some humor.
footnoteMaven posted a wonderful blog about the different types of surnames with a list of references and a bibliography - worthy of publication in a book or magazine, at http://footnotemaven.blogspot.com/2007/07/whats-in-name.html.
A funny post by Janice at the Cow Hampshire blog shares her search for the LNU and UNK family names - at http://cowhampshire.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2007/7/5/3072797.html.
There are lots more - go read them all!
The next Carnival of Genealogy will be about Smile For The Camera! "We all have them, boxes of family photographs. So, show us your favorite photo(s)! Tell us everything about them. Who or what is the photo of, when was it taken, where was it taken, where did you get it, who was the photographer, why is it one of your favorites? Does it commemorate a special occasion, is it a treasure, a mystery, or is it just plain weird, strange or unusual? Share with us the stories of your favorite pics from your family photo albums.The next edition of the COG will be hosted by footnoteMaven on the footnoteMaven blog. The deadline for submissions will be August 1st, so crack open those photo albums and start blogging!"
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)