Finding NYGBR Images Using PERSI on FindMyPast.com - UPDATED

I posted about searching for periodical articles in PERSI (PERiodical Source Index) on FindMyPast in Tuesday's Tip - Find Periodical Sources in PERSI - the Periodical Source Index on FindMyPast (posted 4 February 2014).  

Last night's DearMYRTLE's Wacky Wednesday discussed using PERSI on FindMyPast.com, and demonstrated how to search and find periodical listings - you can watch it at  http://youtu.be/cOErC4sTOKg?list=UUZlX5znu6d7CCz6xobwMXOA on YouTube.

FindMyPast announced that they had digital images of some periodicals in earlier announcements (which I cannot find now - Help!) which included some volumes of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (NYGBR), and they announced more periodicals in Brand New Images Added to PERSI on 12 September 2014.  I can't find a complete list of the periodicals with images on their website - perhaps someone can point me to a page?

UPDATE:  Jen Baldwin (USA/Canada Outreach Manager for FindMyPast) commented that:  

"... here is the link to the full list of publications that have images attached. When I reviewed it just a moment ago, I realized NYG&B is not included, so we will correct that error immediately. http://www.findmypast.com/articles/world-records/full-list-of-united-states-records/newspapers-and-periodicals/periodical-source-index

"All of our announcements of new additions will be on our blog, as well as on the Findmypast Fridays post, which is a weekly update of new content to the site. "
I worked a bit in PERSI last night while watching the PERSI video, and finally worked out how to get to a specific volume year and a specific article in that year.  So I want to share that with my readers.

1)  From the FindMyPast.com home page, and signed into my account, I clicked on the "Search records" button to see the dropdown list of record types:

2)  To get to the PERSI collection, click on the "Newspapers & periodicals" item on the dropdown list above.

Then click on the "PERiodical Source Index" radio button.  That brings up the PERSI search page, with information about PERSI in the main part of the page.  The search fields are at the top of the page, and the Filters are in the left-hand column on the page (two screens below, some overlap):

I can search these records, or I can use the Filters to find articles in a specific periodical for a specific periodical year (for instance, if I have a source citation that cites an article in a given year).

3)  In order to select a specific periodical, use the Filter of "Periodical" in the left-hand column, click on the blue "Show Filters" button to see a list of all of the periodicals offered on PERSI.

The list is alphabetical.  You can use the Alpha letter at the top of the popup box.  I wanted a New York periodical, so I clicked N and then worked through to the screen for the NYGBR:

Of course, that's the hard way - I could have put "new york" in the search field at the top right of the popup box and gone to it easily.  I clicked on the check box for the NYGBR on the screen above, and then clicked on the blue "Apply filters" button on the screen above.

4)  The "Publication" Filter now shows the NYGBR, and the search results list only the articles in PERSI from the NYGBR.  There are 7,374 articles indexed.  However, not all of them have images (top two screens shown)

At this point, I could put a Last Name, Location, and/or Keyword in the search field at the top of the screen and have it find articles for me in the specific publication.

4)  I didn't do that, because I wanted to browse the periodical.  There is a "Publication year" field below the Filters in the left-hand column.  I wanted to see what articles were in the 1920 volume of the NYGBR, so I put "1920" in the "Publication Year" field and set the year range to zero (default is plus/minus two years).

There were 54 articles indexed in the 1920 Volume (two screens shown below):

5)  I wanted to see the article for the Andrew Carnegie obituary.  

There are two icons for each article on the right-hand side of the list of results - one for the periodical image, and one for the periodical article summary.

Clicking on the periodical image icon, I saw the cover page of Issue 1 of the periodical for the year 1920 (Note that NYGBR is a quarterly, so there should be 4 issues in the year).  Clicking on the Image icon for any article will take you to the cover page of the issue of interest.

I could advance to the next page by clicking on the right arrow at the right-hand edge of the screen above.

The Andrew Carnegie obituary was on image 5, so that was a relatively easy find:

I can print or download the page with the links at the bottom right of the screen.  The button to "View transcription) and the link to  "View full page transcription" doesn't provide a full page transcription, only the article description in PERSI.  The button to "Attach to tree" does work.

The user can go back to the "Results" list with the link at the top left of the screen.

6)  So how can I find an article of interest in, say, Issue 4 of the 1920 volume?  The brute force way is to page through all of the volume and issue one page at a time.  This gets old pretty quickly.

What I found was this:

*  For a given publication year, the articles in the Results are in chronological order.  So Issue 1 is at the top of the list and issue 4 is at the bottom.  You can tell which Issue the article is in by looking at the periodical article summary (use the Article icon).
*  Clicking on the Image icon takes you to the cover page of the Issue. 
*  The next page is the list of articles in that issue, with page numbers in the printed version.
*  You can skip to a specific page by noting the page number of the article by chaning the URL at the top of your browser.
*  Then you can home in on the article by using the page numbers shown on the page images.

For instance, the URL for the Andrew Carnegie page (numbered 1) above is:
http://search.findmypast.com/record?id=us%2fnygb%2f1920n1%2f0005&parentid=persi%2fnygb%2f86863%2f993020

You can see the publication Year (1920) in the URL, followed by "n1" for Issue number 1.  The image number for the Carnegie article is "0005" in the characters soon after "n1."

Say I wanted to go to page 63 in Issue 1 without paging through all of the pages.  I can put my cursor in the URL address bar on my browser and change the image number to 63, so that the URL looks like:
http://search.findmypast.com/record?id=us%2fnygb%2f1920n1%2f0063&parentid=persi%2fnygb%2f86863%2f993020

But that is actually page 55, since the image count and page numbers don't line up for some reason.  If I want page 63, I need to edit the URL again to image 71.
http://search.findmypast.com/record?id=us%2fnygb%2f1920n1%2f0071&parentid=persi%2fnygb%2f86863%2f993020

That worked, I got to the article I wanted to see.  But it took several steps to iterate to the article of interest.

7)  I think that anyone using the periodical images in PERSI on FindMyPast will face these problems, even if they have searched for a name, location, and/or key word.  

For many of the digitized publications, that have a limited number of pages in each issue, going page by page to a certain page from the cover page will be easier.  However, for publications like NYGBR, with over 100 pages per issue, it is a challenge, and the method above may be useful.

Obviously, this process is fairly cumbersome for everybody, and probably impossible for many to understand and follow.  It would be great if FindMyPast would link the Image icon to the first page of the article, like other database providers do.  But failing that, the process above can be used to minimize the time it takes to find page images of a specific article.

UPDATE:  Jen Baldwin (USA/Canada Outreach Manager of FindMyPast) commented on my suggestion in email this morning:  

"...you made comments about linking the images directly to the article, and unfortunately, that is not possible. The index from ACPL was not created with page numbers from inside the publications. Because we get the data directly from the team at that facility, and upload it as they create it, there is no way to adapt that. They have, as you are well aware, been working on this index for a long time. To try to go back now and list a page number for each article would be a massive undertaking. This was true for the HeritageQuest version, and others.

"The search filters that are in place for the PERSI collection were designed to specifically work for this unique collection. We have done our best to set up the process focusing on ease of use and accessibility to the materials, but again, within the confines of the index as it has existed over the course of the last 25 years or so."

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/10/finding-nygbr-images-using-persi-on.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Treasure Chest Thursday - Post 235: 1755 Marriage Record of Norman Sever and Sarah Read

It's Treasure Chest Thursday - time to look in my digital image files to see what treasures I can find for my family history and genealogy musings.

The treasure today is the marriage record of Norman Sever and Sarah Read in 1755 in Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts:

The record of the marriage is on the left-hand page, third item from the bottom:

The transcription of this record is:

Norman Sever & Sarah Read both of Sudbury were Married at

Sudbury March 14^th 1755  ??  Israel Loring

I cannot figure out the two (?) letters before the name of Israel Loring, the minister who reported the event to the town clerk.  It may be Mr for "Minister" or it may be an abbreviation to represent "by me the Subscriber" which was used on other marriage events on the same page.

The source citation for this record, crafted using the RootsMagic source template for "Digital archives"  is:

"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1627-2001," FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 2 October 2014), digital image, Middlesex County, Sudbury, "Births, Marriages, Deaths, 1663-1829, Vol. 4," page 192 (stamped, image 102 of 142), Norman Sever and Sarah Read marriage entry; citing original data from Massachusetts town clerk records (on FHL US/CAN microfilms).

The FamilySearch source citation for this record is (accessed again today):

"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1627-2001," images,  FamilySearch  (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-31535-6744-6?cc=2061550&wc=MX1D-4NL:353350601,353350602,353355401 : accessed 09 Oct 2014), Middlesex > Sudbury > Births, marriages, deaths 1663-1829 vol 4 > image 102 of 142.

As you can see, the FamilySearch citation provides the "bread crumb trail" to the record page, but does not provide the name of the specific record because the records are not indexed.

I consider this record to be an image copy of an Original Source because it is handwritten, different entries use different ink, and is in chronological order.  I don't know if it was written soon after the marriage by the minister or not.  I consider this to be Primary Information and direct Evidence of the marriage.

The names Norman Sever and Sarah Read and this marriage date was included in the published Sudbury Vital Records book.

Norman Se[a]ver and Sarah Read are my fifth great-grandparents.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/10/treasure-chest-thursday-post-235-1755.html

copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Source Citation for a California County Death Certificate

I found that I had not created a source citation for the death certificate for Elijah P. McKnew, my wife's great-grandfather, and I noticed that I had not yet created one for my Sample Source Citations list either, so I can kill two birds with one citation here.

Here is the death certificate for Elijah P. McKnew, who died 4 April 1912 in San Francisco, California:

In my RootsMagic 6 genealogy management program, I highlighted the Death event for Elijah McKnew, and clicked on the "Sources" button and then on the "Add new source" button on the "Select Source Type" screen.  I scrolled down to "death" source types and saw:

Since the death certificate I had was provided by the City and County of San Francisco, I selected the source template for "Death Certificate, local level."

I clicked that one and the "Edit Source" screen appeared and I filled in the "Master Source" and "Source Details" fields:

I named the source template so that I can find it again for Elijah's wife's death certificate source citation and any others I collect.  I also added the Quality measures, selecting Derivative Source, Primary Information, and Direct Evidence for the death date and location.  If I had used this source for the Birth date, I would select Secondary Information since the information was not provided near the time of that event.

The crafted source citation for this California County Death Certificate is:

Footnote: Elijah P. McKnew, death certificate Local Registered No. 2086 (died 4 April 1912, certificate obtained 15 May 2012), Department of Public Health, San Francisco City and County, California.

Short Footnote: Elijah P. McKnew, San Francisco, Calif. death certificate Local Registered No. 2086 (died 4 April 1912, certificate obtained 15 May 2012).

Bibliography: California. San Francisco City and County. Department of Public Health. Death Registrations.

I added the death date and the date that I obtained the certificate to the field for the Certificate number because I thought it was important.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/10/source-citation-for-california-county.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

SDGS Program on Saturday, 11 October Features ... Randy Seaver. Surprise!!

The October program meeting for the San Diego Genealogical Society (SDGS, www.casdgs.org) is this Saturday, 11 October at 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church (8350 Lake Murray Blvd., near Jackson Drive in San Diego).  

There is a Genealogy class at 9 a.m. for those interested - Peter Steelquist will present "Computer Resources for Genealogy."

The program speaker is Randy Seaver - a substitute after the original speaker could not present. Here is the information provided by the SDGS Program Chairman:

10 a.m. - Session 1:  Probate Records: My Favorite Record Type! 

Probate records are my absolute favorite record type for identifying and proving family relationships.  This presentation describes the overall probate process, the different kinds of probate records, and how to find and obtain probate records in repositories and online record collections.  

11:30 a.m. - Session 2: Genealogy is Fun! Seriously!

Believe it or not, there is a lot of humor in genealogy research -- names, epitaphs, wills, cartoons, videos, poetry, apparel, wisdom, genealogisms, etc. This presentation takes a light hearted look at the best of the genealogy humor sites.

Randy's Biography:

Randy Seaver is a native San Diegan. His ancestry is mainly colonial New England and Upper Atlantic, with some colonial German, French and Dutch forebears, and several 19th-century English immigrants. He has been pursuing his elusive ancestors since 1988, and has been online since 1992.

Randy is a former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society, and is currently the Newsletter Editor and Research Chair. He speaks to Southern California societies, libraries and groups, and teaches "Beginning Computer Genealogy" adult classes at OASIS.  He is a member of NGS, NEHGS, SCGS, SDGS, CGSSD and CVGS. Randy blogs daily about genealogy subjects at Genea-Musings (www.geneamusings.com) and the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe (http://CVGenCafe.blogspot.com). 

Com enjoy Randy's talks, learn and laugh and have a great time.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/10/sdgs-program-on-saturday-11-october.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Edward Richmond Seaver -- Post 328 for (Not So) Wordless Wednesday

I am posting family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they aren't "Wordless" - I am incapable of having a wordless post!

Here is a photograph from the Seaver/Carringer family photograph collection from my 40 years of photo albums, boxes and piles of family photographs:

This is a photograph of Edward Richmond Seaver (1913-2004), son of Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942) and Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962), my father's younger brother and my uncle.  I think that this is his high school yearbook photograph, probably taken in 1931 or 1932.  

Uncle Ed was one of my biggest fans - we really enjoyed being with each other, sharing stories about my father, talking about family history.  We visited Ed and Janet as a family in the summer of 1982, and stayed at their house for a week.  He shuttled us around to the aunts, uncles and cousins homes and we had a wonderful time meeting the Seaver family.  I interviewed Ed on cassette tape during that visit about the family, and have transcribed those remarks.  Early on in my genea-career, Ed obtained the limited Civil war Pension File for Isaac Seaver, his great-grandfather, for me.  He loved reading my yearly Seaver-Richmond Family Journal.

In late 1982, Ed and his wife Janet moved to Sun Lakes, Arizona after his retirement.  They visited San Diego in 1983 before and after my father died, and continued to visit occasionally to see my mother, my brothers and myself.  He became the patriarch of our family.  We went several times to Arizona to visit them in Sun Lakes, and we always talked about family on these trips, plus we did some sightseeing too.  Ed was a wonderful man full of life and love, and what a laugh!  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/10/edward-richmond-seaver-post-328-for-not.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Attacking a Seaver Relationship Problem - Parents of Joseph T. Seaver (1805-????)

I received an email last week from a Seaver person asking for information about bridging the gap between his third great-grandfather, Joseph T. Seaver (1805-????) to Robert Seaver (1608-1683), the immigrant to Roxbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634.

1)  I've been unable to connect Joseph T. Seaver to a set of parents due to a lack of vital records or any other documentation.  The only records I have of Joseph T. Seaver are:

*  His marriage on 19 June 1830 in Freetown, Massachusetts to Betsey N. Davis (1810-1868), who died in Taunton.

*  His 1840 U.S. Census entry in Taunton, Massachusetts with one free white male aged 5 to 10, one free white male aged 30 to 40,  and one free white female aged 30 to 40.

*  In the 1850 U.S. Census, Betsey Seaver and her son Joseph N. Seaver are residing in Taunton.  Joseph T. Seaver may have died before 1850.  However, there is no death record for him in the Massachusetts Vital Records databases.

There is a birth record for one child, Joseph Nelson Seaver (1831-1907) in Taunton, Massachusetts.  His marriage and death records in Massachusetts Vital Records name his parents as Joseph T. Seaver and Betsey Davis.  He married Rebecca Frazier Hathaway (1839-1881) in 1854, and they had 10 children.  After Rebecca died, he married Betsy S. Johnson in 1883 and had five more children.

I have looked for death records of Joseph T. Seaver in all of the Massachusetts vital records online at Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org and AmericanAncestors.org without success.  I have searched the Massachusetts Deeds on FamilySearch.org for any entries for Joseph T. Seaver (or Sever) in Bristol and Plymouth Counties without success.

2)  Based on all of my Seaver/Sever research, I have identified two families residing in Bristol County in the 1800 to 1810 time frame who might be the parents of Joseph T. Seaver:

1)  John Sever (1771-1853) and Lydia Porter (1768-1859), married before 1797, with known children John (1797-1806), Benjamin (1798-1852), Mary (1800-????), and Sally (1803-1870).  Lydia would be age 37 in 1805, and there are no other known children born after 1803. A land deed or probate record for either John or Lydia (since she survived John) may list their children.

2)  Benjamin Sever (1777-????) and Mary Porter (1777-????), married in 1803.  Their known children were Margaret (1809-????), twin sons (1813-1813), Mary (1815-????), and James (1817-????).  In 1805, Mary would have been age 28 and she and Benjamin had been married for over one year and could have been the parents of Joseph T. Seaver.

There are other families in Bristol County, and more in Plymouth County, in the 1800-1810 time frame, but the two above are the best candidates who were actively having children in the time frame and for which there is a "hole" in the birth order.

3)  Then I checked the FamilySearch Family Tree - and saw that it lists Joseph T. Seaver's parents as John and Lydia (Porter) Seaver.  That's encouraging, but is their a source for it?  Well, no...

So I left a Discussion item on Joseph's profile, saying:

"What evidence do you have that Joseph T. Seaver's parents were John Seaver and Lydia Porter? I agree that they are possible parents, but I have not found any records that name Joseph before his 1830 marriage to Betsey Davis. Did John or Lydia leave a probate record? "

4) What to do next: I recalled that I had looked for Bristol County Probate Records for Seaver many years ago, having reviewed the FHL microfilm for the Index of Probate Records. I found those pieces of paper in a notebook (the paper system works!) and see that there are probate records for John Seaver:

* Will: Vol. 99 Page 189 (1852-1853)
* Inventory: Vol. 99, page 198
* Account: Vol. 101, page 82
* Bond: Vol. 173, page 200
* Citation: Vol. 178, page 393.

I will view the microfilms for Probate records 1687-1916; index, 1687-1926 [Bristol county, Massachusetts] the next time I visit the Family History Library.

It appears that the full probate packet may be on microfilm at the Family History Library, so I will view Bristol County (Mass.) probate records, 1690-1881 also. The probate packet for John Seaver is probably in FHL US/CAN microfilm 579917 for surnames Seaman to Selney.

So this task goes onto my To-Do list for the FHL, and perhaps I can solve a long-lasting Seaver mystery.

5) As part of the effort on FamilySearch Family Tree, I found that two of the children of Joseph Nelson Seaver and Rebecca Frazier Hathaway, had been compressed into one person named Albert Nelson Seaver. Alton Nelson Seaver and Albert Nelson Seaver were twins born on 9 January 1862 in Wareham, Massachusetts. In the Family Tree, I had to disconnect Albert from Alton's wife and the children of Alton's wife, then create Alton Nelson Seaver as a child of Joseph N. and Rebecca, and then attach his two wives and five children to him. That took awhile (about two hours to get it right), but I think it's right now, and I hope their descendants appreciate it!

6) In the mean time, I took the opportunity to update him and to send two narrative reports to my Seaver correspondent, and asked him to add or correct information for his family line.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/10/attacking-seaver-relationship-problem.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

We're Going Cruising on 29 November to 6 December Out Of Los Angeles

I posted 10th Annual Genealogy Conference and Cruise to Mexican Riviera on 15 September.  The cruise sounds like fun, the speakers are excellent, and we haven't had a real vacation all year (just RootsTech and Jamboree, and grandchildren visits).  I guess some would quibble that this isn't a "real" vacation either, since it's a genealogy cruise, but I think it qualifies.

10th Annual Genealogy Conference and Cruise

The largest family history conference on the seas!

Hosted by HeritageBooks.com in consultation with Wholly Genes, Inc.

November 29 - December 6, 2014

We signed up last week with The Cruise Web, and went a week ago to renew our passports at the Post Office (two hours of standing in a line).  So we're ready, we're looking at the onshore excursions, and have lined up my daughter to drop us off at the cruise ship terminal.

Do you want to join Linda and me (and the speakers and others, of course!) on this cruise?  If so, please review the material on the earlier blog post, fill out the registration form at http://heritagebooks.com/cruiseregister.pdf, and email it to the email Groups@cruiseweb.com.

I was told that there are still staterooms available on the ship and space for more genealogists at the conference.  I guess I'll have to wait until we board the ship to find out who else that I know are going along for this ride.

As a reminder, the speakers will be:

ANGIE BUSH, MS, BS

• DNA Test Results - What Do I Do Now?
  Many people take a DNA test expecting it to be a "magic bullet" that solves years of research problems. When the results are returned, it is often a much different story, and can be difficult to know what to do to use DNA as a tool to answer long-standing research questions. Learn which parts of the test results are most useful, how to get to these areas on the company websites, and a brief review of the most helpful third party tools that can be used to answer these questions.
• Using Traditional DNA Tests in Genealogical Research
  DNA tests that can help in tracing direct paternal or direct maternal lines have been available for approximately 15 years. In that time, they have been used to help resolve many questions of kinship and identity. This presentation will cover the types of research questions best suited to being answered by a traditional, direct-line test, and present case studies where direct line testing either provided new research avenues or solved a long-standing question.
• Using Autosomal DNA Tests in Genealogical Research
  Autosomal DNA testing is the newest type of testing available for genealogical research, and has been gaining in popularity for the last two years or so. Unlike direct-line testing, autosomal DNA testing allows information to be gathered about all ancestral lines, rather than just a persons direct paternal or maternal line. Many have had success in using autosomal testing to finally resolve long-standing genealogical questions. The types of questions for which autosomal testing should be used for will be presented along with examples of actual research situations where autosomal DNA testing was used successfully.
• The Genealogical Proof Standard and DNA Testing
  The Genealogical Proof Standard consists of five components: 1) a reasonably exhaustive search, 2) complete and accurate source citations, 3) analysis, 4) resolution of conflicting evidence and 5) a soundly written conclusion. We will discuss when DNA testing should be used as part of a reasonably exhaustive search, and how to cite these results and analyze them in context of a genealogical research question to arrive at a conclusion that meets the requirements of the GPS.

CYNDI INGLE

• Evernote for Every Genealogist
  Evernote is a free software tool that is a dream come true for the online researcher. Clip notes from the web, write notes, record audio or webcam notes, and more. Sync your research notebooks on the web, with your computer and every mobile device you own so that your research notes are with you everywhere you go. Learn the ins and outs of this valuable tool for your daily research routine.
• Advanced Googling for Your Grandma
  Chances are that you are using Google on a daily basis. Chances are even better than you aren't using it to its full potential. Learn about Google's advance search options, as well as several more tools offered by Google that will enhance your research. We'll dig deep into a variety of Google's free resources and learn how to make them work for you.
• The Hidden Web: Digging Deeper
  When Google and traditional search engines don't return useful information, don't stop there. We will explore resources that are invisible to Google and hidden deep within web sites and proprietary databases. The "hidden web" lies buried within the collections for commercial web sites, libraries, archives, and museums. We will also talk about the importance of indexes that deep-link into web sites online, thus uncovering hidden gems of information that may not be found easily through a search engine query.
• Find the Silver Lining In the Cloud
  The cloud is becoming home to many tools and functions that make our computing life easier every day. Learn which tools are useful for your genealogical research and how to implement those tools for optimum productivity.

BILL LITCHMAN

• The Underpinnings of the Genealogical Proof Standard
  The Genealogical Proof Standard is not a simple statement or process to work toward a proof. Why do we need such a complex approach to a simple idea? Don't we just need the facts? With factual truth proofs should be obvious. What's the big deal? This discussion explores the foundation of proof and how it is used in the several fields which depend on proof. The special case of genealogical proof will be shown and how the Genealogical Proof Standard helps us to understand proof and what it means for our use of documentary evidence.
• Methodology and Analytical Thought: The Neher Case Study
  Often a research problem starts with the revelation of some new fact or person who enters on a developing research scene unannounced. We begin to try to find the person or expand on the new circumstances only to find that we have a whole new problem with a minimal starting point. What kind of logic can we use to identify the right way to start a problem given just a few facts? Are there any principles which could apply generally enough to be useful in a wide range of research problems? Are there any universal starting points? Should we immediately go to the census when we begin our work? This discussion will provide a case study which begins with a single (possibly) unrelated document. Through the proper choice of starting direction, the problem of the identity of a previously unknown participant can be solved and a whole "new" life for him explored. At the same time a previously unknown marriage was exposed for a well-understood ancestor!
• Methodology and Analytical Thought: The Stockton Case Study
  Often a research problem starts with the revelation of some new fact or person who enters on a developing research scene unannounced. We begin to try to find the person or expand on the new circumstances only to find that we have a whole new problem with a minimal starting point. What kind of logic can we use to identify the right way to start a problem given just a few facts? Are there any principles which could apply generally enough to be useful in a wide range of research problems? Are there any universal starting points? Should we immediately go to the census when we begin our work? This discussion will provide a case study which begins with a single (possibly) unrelated document. Through the proper choice of starting direction, the problem of the identity of a previously unknown participant can be solved and a whole "new" life for him explored. At the same time a previously unknown marriage was exposed for a well-understood ancestor!
• Proper Research Log Use
  The basics of research practice place some obvious burdens on the researcher to perform certain tasks to ensure that what we report to others about our work can be believed. Without these practices we only have our word to show that we have found and are telling the truth. In addition, if we do things correctly from the first, we won't need to go back and repeat things to make up for our own shortcomings. A properly kept research log can solve most of the problems that sloppiness in research practices produces. We may not like it but it's true!

J. MARK LOWE, CG, FUGA

• Research in the South and Everywhere Else: Review, Prepare and Plan
  Major concepts to consider with your family research project include migration, settlement patterns, religion, land and geography. Learn how to find available resources and develop a strategy to find ancestors.
• Constructing an Ancestor Through Mortgages, Trust Deeds and Personal Agreements
  Learn how these financial instruments reveal circumstances about your ancestor and how they may lead you to new clues and deeper understanding.
• Making Those Pre-1850 Census Records Talk to You
  Stop avoiding those pre-1850 census records. Turn those 1's and 0's into clues and lively pictures of your family.
• My Ancestor, the Farmer: Shaping a profile for your Rural Ancestor
  Farming is a proud and honorable occupation. Develop a rich profile of your farming ancestor and community using available resources.

CRAIG ROBERTS SCOTT, MA, CG, FUGA

• Researching a Revolutionary War Hessian Soldier
  The Hessian's came, some got captured, some deserted, some fought for us, some stayed, some went home. Meanwhile, everyone thinks they either have a Hessian or an Indian princess.
• Epidemics and Pandemics
  People disappear from the records. Sometimes portions of whole families just disappear. And we don't know why.
• Pension Ledgers, Vouchers, Last and Final Payments
  Pension research is more than working the indexes and obtaining the pension application file. There is pension law, pension ledgers, payment vouchers and correspondence. All important to the exhaustive search.
• A Confederate Case Study: David Beard of Virginia
  Confederate research is more than collecting the compiled military service record. It includes the census, correspondence, unit histories, diaries, and pensions.

I have heard Cyndi, Mark and Craig speak before, but I've heard only two of the talks on the list.  I look forward to hearing Angie and Bill.

We went on the 2008 cruise to the Eastern Caribbean out of New York City with the CruiseWeb, which was sponsored by The Master Genealogist.  I had a great time sightseeing, meeting and talking with the speakers and other cruisers, and attending the presentations, some of which were about the TMG software.

[I know, the description of two of Bill Litchman's talks are the same...not my fault!]

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/10/were-going-cruising-on-29-november-to-6.html

Technology Tuesday - MyHeritage App - Family Photos

MyHeritage recently updated its mobile app for the iOS devices - see the MyHeritage Blog post at  http://blog.myheritage.com/2014/07/major-update-of-the-myheritage-mobile-app/.  There are frequently asked questions about the mobile app at  http://www.myheritage.com/help/topics/myheritage-mobile-app/.

I wrote about the Family Tree portion of the MyHeritage mobile app in Technology Tuesday - MyHeritage Mobile App - Family Tree, and the Research portion of the MyHeritage app in Technology Tuesday - MyHeritage Mobile App - Research.

The mobile app is FREE from the App Store on the iOS products, and from Google Play for Android products.  A user must have a MyHeritage account and a family tree on MyHeritage in order to use the mobile app to its fullest potential.  

1)  The opening screen of the MyHeritage mobile app  on my iPhone looks like this:

2) I tapped on the "Family Photos" line and I could see the two Albums that I have on my MyHeritage website:

3)  Tapping on the "Family tree photos" I could see thumbnail images of the photos that I have uploaded to my MyHeritage family tree:

4)  If I tap on one of the photo thumbnails, I can see the image in the full screen, with the photo file title and file date in the bottom left-hand corner.

The three dots in the right-hand corner provide the user the choice of:

*  Save to library
*  Remove current photo
*  Cancel

The "Done" button at the top right of the screen above takes you back to the "Family tree photos" screen.

5)  On the "Family tree photos" screen, if I click on the Camera icon on the upper right-hand side of the screen, I can add a Photo to the collection:

I have the choice of:

*  Choose from a library (on my iPhone)
*  Take a photo (using my iPhone camera)
*  Cancel

If I choose from a library, the photo is put into the "Family tree photos" page.  I didn't see a way to attach the photo I uploaded to a person in my MyHeritage family tree.  Perhaps I have to do that when I'm online in my MyHeritage family tree.

6)  This "Family Photos" aspect of the MyHeritage mobile app works well, and a user can easily add photographs from the camera on their phone or tablet to the MyHeritage photo collection.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/10/technology-tuesday-myheritage-app.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

New or Updated Collections at Family Search - September 28 to October 4, 2014

It is always a struggle to keep up with the new and updated record collections at FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list).  As of 5 October, there were 1,837 record collections on FamilySearch (up 3 from last week).

Here are the new and updated collections for the week of 28 September to 4 October 2014:

*  New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Probate Records, 1843-1998, 160,191  indexed records, 03 Oct 2014
*  British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986, 898,889 indexed records, 03 Oct 2014
*  British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932, 124,593 indexed records,  03 Oct 2014
*  Ohio, Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997, 544,082 indexed records, 03 Oct 2014
*  BillionGraves Index, 9,573,710 indexed records, 02 Oct 2014

*  Oregon, Marriages, 1853-1935, 27,780 indexed records, 02 Oct 2014
*  England and Wales, Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008, 132,174,314 indexed records, 02 Oct 2014
*  Italy, Genova, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1796-1812, 1838-1859, 1866-1899, Browse Images, 1 Oct 2014
*  Belgium, West Flanders, Civil Registration, 1582-1910, 184,816 indexed records,  01 Oct 2014
*  Belgium, Liège, Civil Registration, 1621-1910, 79,005 indexed records, 01 Oct 2014

*  Belgium, Namur, Civil Registration, 1800-1912, Browse Images, 01 Oct 2014
*  Colombia, Catholic Church Records, 1600-2012, 55,554 indexed records, 01 Oct 2014
*  United States Internal Revenue Assessment Lists, 1862-1874, Browse Images, 30 Sep 2014
*  Isle of Man Parish Registers, 1598-2009, 424,389 indexed records, 30 Sep 2014
*  Spain, Diocese of Santander, Catholic Church Records, 1538-1985, Browse Images, 30 Sep 2014

*  Spain, Cantabria, Passports, 1785-1863, Browse Images, 30 Sep 2014
*  Ghana Census, 1984, 243,908 indexed records, 30 Sep 2014
*  New Mexico, Territorial Census, 1885, 59,040 indexed records, 30 Sep 2014
*  Nicaragua, Civil Registration, 1809-2013, 829,536 indexed records, 29 Sep 2014

Unfortunately, it is difficult to tell which collections are brand new and which ones are updated.  The asterisk is for "new or updated."  I am particularly interested in new collections, for the obvious reasons.

Each one of the collections listed above has a Research Wiki page (use the "Learn more" link).  It would be very useful if the Wiki page for each collection listed the dates for when the collection was added as a new collection and the major updates also.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/10/new-or-updated-collections-at-family.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver