I was scrolling through Chris Dunham's Genealogy blog directory at http://blogfinder.genealogue.com and saw the "Searching for our Ancestors Journal" blog at http://community.livejournal.com/genealogy/.
It appears to be a group blog with two leaders and over 400 "members" who can contribute. The system works with a member posting something, usually asking for help or suggestions, and different members provide the help or advice or whatever. It seems to work well - every post has a number of comments, many of them very helpful.
That is what I experienced a long time ago (like in 1993) on Prodigy (and I know others who experienced it on CompuServe and AOL as well) - a helpful community with common interests. Over time, you tend to become friends and share your genealogy interests with the helpful people on the forum (or blog in this case).
Now think about how you could use something like this in your local genealogy society. Your leaders could announce programs or highlight activities, and your members could share success stories, ask for help with a research problem, etc.
There are other possibilities - special interest groups for certain counties or states or types of resources.
While this group blog is something like a message board or email mailing list, I think it becomes more personal if you participate in it. The ability to post images is a big plus, I think. You are a member of it, you feel ownership and belonging in it. It seems much more dynamic than mailing lists or message boards. I'll bet that many of the people participating are relatively young - under 40.
Your thoughts and comments? Any experiences with group blogs?
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Library Databases - Wonderful Research Tools
Have you read the article by George G. Morgan's on his "Along Those Lines" blog at http://ahaseminars.livejournal.com/10781.html about "Library Databases - The Unused Asset"? If not, please click on the link and read it.
I checked into my local library online databases to see what might be helpful to me and my colleagues in Chula Vista - the list is here. You need a CVPL library card to access the databases.
There are three newspaper databases on the Chula Vista Public Library site:
1) Newsbank - America's Newspapers - 51 US newspapers with full text search capability, many from the 1980's to the present day.
2) EBSCO - Newspaper Source - full text from 25 US and international papers, and selected full text for 260 regional US newspapers. I couldn't find a list of them to determine the time spans for them.
3) ProQuest - Newspaper Source - unfortunately, it looks like the library didn't renew their subscription recently.
In addition, the Chula Vista library provides access to Ancestry Library Edition on the library computer system, but not for home access. Ancestry LE has access to many historical newspapers in their collection.
In the coming days, I will look at the San Diego Public Library and Carlsbad Public Library online databases also, since I, and many of my CV colleagues, have a library card for those systems.
While this specific information will only help my colleagues in Chula Vista, I hope it will spur you to check into the online databases that your local library provides access to. You may be pleasantly surprised!
UPDATE 18 January: The specific newspapers in the Newsbank America's Newspapers collection in the Chula Vista Library database include:
Chicago Tribune - 1985 to current
Detroit Free Press - 1982 to current
New York Post - 11/21/1999 to current
New York Times Book Review - 1/2/2000 to current
New York Times Magazine - 1/2/2000 to current
New York Times - 1/2/2000 to current
Philadelphia Inquirer - 1981 to current
Arizone Republic - 1/1/1999 to current
Denver Post - 6/1989 to current
Las Vegas Review Journal - 9/26/1998 to current
Boston globe - 1980 to current
Washington Post - 1977 to current
Miami Herald - 5/19/1982 to current
Charlotte Observer - 1985 to current
Kansas City Star - 1991 to current
Al Dia (Dallas) - 9/29/2003 to current
Arlington (TX) Morning News - 4/1/1996 to 1/12/2003
Dallas Morning News - 1984 to current
Fort Worth Star-Telegram - 1991 to current
Quick DFW (Dallas) - 11/10/2003 to current
La Opinion (Los Angeles) - 2000 to current
Los Angeles Times - 1/5/2006 to current
Orange County Register (including 23 weeklies) - 1987 to current
San Diego Union-Tribune - 2000 to current
San Francisco Chronicle - 1985 to current
San Jose Mercury-News - 1985 to current
Seattle Times - 1985 to current
I checked into my local library online databases to see what might be helpful to me and my colleagues in Chula Vista - the list is here. You need a CVPL library card to access the databases.
There are three newspaper databases on the Chula Vista Public Library site:
1) Newsbank - America's Newspapers - 51 US newspapers with full text search capability, many from the 1980's to the present day.
2) EBSCO - Newspaper Source - full text from 25 US and international papers, and selected full text for 260 regional US newspapers. I couldn't find a list of them to determine the time spans for them.
3) ProQuest - Newspaper Source - unfortunately, it looks like the library didn't renew their subscription recently.
In addition, the Chula Vista library provides access to Ancestry Library Edition on the library computer system, but not for home access. Ancestry LE has access to many historical newspapers in their collection.
In the coming days, I will look at the San Diego Public Library and Carlsbad Public Library online databases also, since I, and many of my CV colleagues, have a library card for those systems.
While this specific information will only help my colleagues in Chula Vista, I hope it will spur you to check into the online databases that your local library provides access to. You may be pleasantly surprised!
UPDATE 18 January: The specific newspapers in the Newsbank America's Newspapers collection in the Chula Vista Library database include:
Chicago Tribune - 1985 to current
Detroit Free Press - 1982 to current
New York Post - 11/21/1999 to current
New York Times Book Review - 1/2/2000 to current
New York Times Magazine - 1/2/2000 to current
New York Times - 1/2/2000 to current
Philadelphia Inquirer - 1981 to current
Arizone Republic - 1/1/1999 to current
Denver Post - 6/1989 to current
Las Vegas Review Journal - 9/26/1998 to current
Boston globe - 1980 to current
Washington Post - 1977 to current
Miami Herald - 5/19/1982 to current
Charlotte Observer - 1985 to current
Kansas City Star - 1991 to current
Al Dia (Dallas) - 9/29/2003 to current
Arlington (TX) Morning News - 4/1/1996 to 1/12/2003
Dallas Morning News - 1984 to current
Fort Worth Star-Telegram - 1991 to current
Quick DFW (Dallas) - 11/10/2003 to current
La Opinion (Los Angeles) - 2000 to current
Los Angeles Times - 1/5/2006 to current
Orange County Register (including 23 weeklies) - 1987 to current
San Diego Union-Tribune - 2000 to current
San Francisco Chronicle - 1985 to current
San Jose Mercury-News - 1985 to current
Seattle Times - 1985 to current
Hamburg Passenger Lists (1850 to 1934)
www.Ancestry.com has added the Hamburg Passenger Lists (1850 to 1934, excepting 1915 to 1919) to their long list of Immigration databases in the US Deluxe subscription. It is an excellent addition.
At present, however, the database contains only an index for the records between 1890 and 1913. The other years will be added in the future, so you'll have to check back if your people emigrated in other years.
Alternatively, you could search for your targets who travelled in other years by browsing the images year-by-year (the years are listed at the bottom of the search page).
The information in the index is very comprehensive. I put in my "Seaver" surname and only one was returned, but it gave me this information from the index:
Name: Frances Seaver
Departure Date: 30 Apr 1904
Estimated birth year: abt 1869
Age Year: 35
Gender: weiblich (Female)
Marital Status: verheiratet (Married)
Family: Household members
Residence: Batavia
Ethnicity/Nationality: USA (American)
Ship Name: Patricia
Shipping Line: Hamburg-Amerika Linie (Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft)
Ship Type: Dampfschiff
Emigration: Reise
Accommodation: Erste Kajüte
Ship Flag: Deutschland
Port of Departure: Hamburg
Port of Arrival: Boulogne; Plymouth; New York
Volume: 373-7 I, VIII A 1 Band 154
Page: 763
View original image
That is a lot of useful information. I'm sure that this database, when it is fully indexed, will be very useful to researchers with German ancestry. As with the www.AncestorsonBoard.com web site, the lists are not limited to foreign-born passengers - they include American-born passengers returning to America.
At present, however, the database contains only an index for the records between 1890 and 1913. The other years will be added in the future, so you'll have to check back if your people emigrated in other years.
Alternatively, you could search for your targets who travelled in other years by browsing the images year-by-year (the years are listed at the bottom of the search page).
The information in the index is very comprehensive. I put in my "Seaver" surname and only one was returned, but it gave me this information from the index:
Name: Frances Seaver
Departure Date: 30 Apr 1904
Estimated birth year: abt 1869
Age Year: 35
Gender: weiblich (Female)
Marital Status: verheiratet (Married)
Family: Household members
Residence: Batavia
Ethnicity/Nationality: USA (American)
Ship Name: Patricia
Shipping Line: Hamburg-Amerika Linie (Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft)
Ship Type: Dampfschiff
Emigration: Reise
Accommodation: Erste Kajüte
Ship Flag: Deutschland
Port of Departure: Hamburg
Port of Arrival: Boulogne; Plymouth; New York
Volume: 373-7 I, VIII A 1 Band 154
Page: 763
View original image
That is a lot of useful information. I'm sure that this database, when it is fully indexed, will be very useful to researchers with German ancestry. As with the www.AncestorsonBoard.com web site, the lists are not limited to foreign-born passengers - they include American-born passengers returning to America.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Carnival of Genealogy #16 is up!
The 16th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is available for your perusal at http://creativegene.blogspot.com/2007/01/carnival-of-genealogy-16th-edition.html. The topic this time is food - recipes, smells, memories, etc. It's a good one - read the entries and drool.
I did post something about food here, but I forgot to submit it to the Carnival. Oh well - it was mainly memories, certainly no recipes or smells!
The next Carnival of Genealogy topic will be Acknowledging those who've helped us get where we are with our genealogy research. Who was that special individual who inspired you to begin your genealogy research? You can register your blog post using the Carnival submission sheet at http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_346.html.
I did post something about food here, but I forgot to submit it to the Carnival. Oh well - it was mainly memories, certainly no recipes or smells!
The next Carnival of Genealogy topic will be Acknowledging those who've helped us get where we are with our genealogy research. Who was that special individual who inspired you to begin your genealogy research? You can register your blog post using the Carnival submission sheet at http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_346.html.
"A true inventory..."
I've spent about 8 hours so far this week transcribing the wills and inventories of three ancestors - Stephen Hazard (died 1727), Thomas Greenman (died 1728) and Moses Barber (died 1733) from the South Kingstown (RI) Probate Records on FHL Microfilm 0,931,833. (If anyone wants a copy of the transcriptions, please let me know.) These records are part of my work of finding probate records of my Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island families - I copied these records back in July and am typing them into the Notes section of my genealogy program. I like to transcribe the wills completely because they usually are very informative and prove relationships, and they eventually end up in my family history books.
It struck me as I was doing the inventories just how simple the life back around 1730 seems to me in the 21st century. These were fairly wealthy men - Stephen Hazard's personal estate totalled 2,760 pounds and Moses Barber's was over 450 pounds. But their lists of possessions, while several pages long, contained a limited amount of clothing, furniture, kitchen things, tools, food, supplies, livestock, etc.
As part of my estate trustee task, I created an inventory of the major items (appliances, furniture, artwork) in my mother's house, and assigned estimated values to them, with the help of my son-in-law back in 2002. The list took several typed pages in MSWord. We didn't list every item in the kitchen, the pantry, the garage, the closets, the desk, each room, etc., we lumped each collection of "stuff" in each room into one line item. As I did this task, I reflected on just how all of this "household stuff" was collected and by whom. It represented several generations of my mother's family and I was sad to have to get rid of most of it.
We are doing a home remodel project right now, and had to empty the garage rafters and the kitchen cabinets. My goodness, we have a lot of "household stuff." I'm sure it would take weeks, and several notebooks, to list every article of stuff that we have, from major appliances down to paper clips, in a manner similar to the 1730 inventories.
I look around the Genea-Cave and wonder how in the world anyone will be able to sort everything out and intelligently decide what genealogy items to keep and what to pitch. I guess the answer is that I'd better "finish" my work and publish it sometime. I should scan the important papers that support my research and store them electronically. Eventually, all of the work could go on a DVD and be given to my daughters, my niece and my cousins. I plan to put it all on Rootsweb WorldConnect or some other free database so that others can share the benefit of, or find the errors in, my work. I also plan to donate copies of my books and/or manuscripts to the local libraries and the Family History Library.
How about you? Will your heirs be able to sort out your genealogy work and dispose of it according to your wishes? Have you even planned the disposal of your genealogy "stuff?"
It struck me as I was doing the inventories just how simple the life back around 1730 seems to me in the 21st century. These were fairly wealthy men - Stephen Hazard's personal estate totalled 2,760 pounds and Moses Barber's was over 450 pounds. But their lists of possessions, while several pages long, contained a limited amount of clothing, furniture, kitchen things, tools, food, supplies, livestock, etc.
As part of my estate trustee task, I created an inventory of the major items (appliances, furniture, artwork) in my mother's house, and assigned estimated values to them, with the help of my son-in-law back in 2002. The list took several typed pages in MSWord. We didn't list every item in the kitchen, the pantry, the garage, the closets, the desk, each room, etc., we lumped each collection of "stuff" in each room into one line item. As I did this task, I reflected on just how all of this "household stuff" was collected and by whom. It represented several generations of my mother's family and I was sad to have to get rid of most of it.
We are doing a home remodel project right now, and had to empty the garage rafters and the kitchen cabinets. My goodness, we have a lot of "household stuff." I'm sure it would take weeks, and several notebooks, to list every article of stuff that we have, from major appliances down to paper clips, in a manner similar to the 1730 inventories.
I look around the Genea-Cave and wonder how in the world anyone will be able to sort everything out and intelligently decide what genealogy items to keep and what to pitch. I guess the answer is that I'd better "finish" my work and publish it sometime. I should scan the important papers that support my research and store them electronically. Eventually, all of the work could go on a DVD and be given to my daughters, my niece and my cousins. I plan to put it all on Rootsweb WorldConnect or some other free database so that others can share the benefit of, or find the errors in, my work. I also plan to donate copies of my books and/or manuscripts to the local libraries and the Family History Library.
How about you? Will your heirs be able to sort out your genealogy work and dispose of it according to your wishes? Have you even planned the disposal of your genealogy "stuff?"
Della's Journal - Week 3 (January 15-21, 1929)
This is Installment 3 of the Journal of Della (Smith) Carringer, my great-grandmother. The "players" and "setting" are described here. The last week is here.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, January 15th: Emily worked. I went to town put $80 back in bank when I got clock. Took paper back [to] Union Title Co. We signed to extend Mortg[age] to West Shores Investm? when due. Showered last night.
Wednesday, January 16th: Ironed. Emily worked. We worked out a little. Write Ruth. Rained in night.
Thursday, January 17th, cloudy: E[mily] worked. I went to town deposited A[ustin]'s Pd. Mrs. Setchel Tel for she is sick. Got statement. Put deed to Ma's place in Safty box. I had it recorded. Wrote Hazel. Went to meeting of the 2nd National Sec Co, they are not paying their Int now. Electing new officers for the new year and will merge with some other companies so to change so they can take mortg[age] on Real Estate. Picture of Mrs. Samples house & letter to Ma.
Friday, January 18th, cloudy: E[mily] home. We stayed in all day. Ma boiled part of ham cooked some prunes Mrs. Jones gave us her son raised. Betty has a piece of the plain that A[ustin] gave her she is going to write about it in school today.
Saturday, January 19th, cold: A[ustin] did not come home on time had to work at plane that was to go with the ? mark east Sun[day].
Sunday, January 20th, showery: Lyle's stayed home, went out after eggs & oranges in afternoon. I did not go out. Mrs. Johns said her sister went to Paradise Valley Sanatorium.
Monday, January 21st, showery & cool: Received West Shores Inv Co check $168.05.
------------------------------------------------------------------
My sense is that this family worked hard and really enjoyed their Sundays off. They almost always went somewhere on Sunday, except this week!
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, January 15th: Emily worked. I went to town put $80 back in bank when I got clock. Took paper back [to] Union Title Co. We signed to extend Mortg[age] to West Shores Investm? when due. Showered last night.
Wednesday, January 16th: Ironed. Emily worked. We worked out a little. Write Ruth. Rained in night.
Thursday, January 17th, cloudy: E[mily] worked. I went to town deposited A[ustin]'s Pd. Mrs. Setchel Tel for she is sick. Got statement. Put deed to Ma's place in Safty box. I had it recorded. Wrote Hazel. Went to meeting of the 2nd National Sec Co, they are not paying their Int now. Electing new officers for the new year and will merge with some other companies so to change so they can take mortg[age] on Real Estate. Picture of Mrs. Samples house & letter to Ma.
Friday, January 18th, cloudy: E[mily] home. We stayed in all day. Ma boiled part of ham cooked some prunes Mrs. Jones gave us her son raised. Betty has a piece of the plain that A[ustin] gave her she is going to write about it in school today.
Saturday, January 19th, cold: A[ustin] did not come home on time had to work at plane that was to go with the ? mark east Sun[day].
Sunday, January 20th, showery: Lyle's stayed home, went out after eggs & oranges in afternoon. I did not go out. Mrs. Johns said her sister went to Paradise Valley Sanatorium.
Monday, January 21st, showery & cool: Received West Shores Inv Co check $168.05.
------------------------------------------------------------------
My sense is that this family worked hard and really enjoyed their Sundays off. They almost always went somewhere on Sunday, except this week!
Massachusetts Vital Records (to 1849) Online
Those with Massachusetts ancestry before 1850 are well aware of the so-called "tan books" for most of the towns that were published many years ago. These books gleaned birth, marriage and death records from town records, church records, probate records, family Bibles, gravestones, etc.
The books are available in libraries, or on microfiche (e.g., the University of Michigan Microfilm collection), and bits and pieces are online at different web sites. The New England Historical and Genealogical Society has an index online at their www.newenglandancestors.org subscription web site for most of these tan books.
Now there is another - FREE - option for researchers. Many volunteers have participated in the copying, scanning and transcription of the vital records of many towns, and these are being posted at the http://www.rootsweb.com/~maessex/VitalRecords/ web site, under the direction of John Slaughter. The web site notes:
Each set of town VRs being scanned and transcribed are listed on the web page. Each town has a link to the records, and the transcribed records have links to the scanned pages. This system is excellent!
The really important addition to the knowledge base is the Surname index which lists the towns for each surname, and provides links to the town records. At a glance, you can see which towns have the surname you're interested in. Excellent resource!
There is more explanation at the web site - read all of it. This is a tremendous project undertaken by volunteers, and the organizers and volunteers should be saluted and hailed for their effort. The effort is still in work and more transcriptions and indexing will be provided over time.
Bravo to John Slaughter and his volunteer team for a job really well done providing free primary information (based on original source material) to the genealogy world.
The books are available in libraries, or on microfiche (e.g., the University of Michigan Microfilm collection), and bits and pieces are online at different web sites. The New England Historical and Genealogical Society has an index online at their www.newenglandancestors.org subscription web site for most of these tan books.
Now there is another - FREE - option for researchers. Many volunteers have participated in the copying, scanning and transcription of the vital records of many towns, and these are being posted at the http://www.rootsweb.com/~maessex/VitalRecords/ web site, under the direction of John Slaughter. The web site notes:
In addition to the transcriptions, part of the project is putting images of the pages online. Where these are done, they are linked from the transcriptions. These are there for the researcher to print for documentation purposes. The transcriptions are intended to be a research aid and are not the source. Use the images for that. Where images are not yet online, they can be requested from us.
To search the records by town, go to Town name index. To look for specific surnames, go to Surname index.
The vital records pages are still under construction and will be for quite a long time. The length of time will be determined by how much time and money I can devote and how many volunteers help in doing this work.
So far the transcribers have 324,498 births, 216,778 marriages and 139,609 deaths for a total of 680,885 transcribed records.
Each set of town VRs being scanned and transcribed are listed on the web page. Each town has a link to the records, and the transcribed records have links to the scanned pages. This system is excellent!
The really important addition to the knowledge base is the Surname index which lists the towns for each surname, and provides links to the town records. At a glance, you can see which towns have the surname you're interested in. Excellent resource!
There is more explanation at the web site - read all of it. This is a tremendous project undertaken by volunteers, and the organizers and volunteers should be saluted and hailed for their effort. The effort is still in work and more transcriptions and indexing will be provided over time.
Bravo to John Slaughter and his volunteer team for a job really well done providing free primary information (based on original source material) to the genealogy world.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Genealogy Periodicals - an Underused Asset?
Are you reading genealogical periodicals from your areas of interest? If you don't subscribe to them, how do you access them? How do you find back issues? Are they name-indexed?
Arlene Eakle has a wonderful article about her experiences reading periodicals, and her methods of accessing and reading them here. Arlene is very experienced and an expert - it would be wise to take her advice. I agree completely with her.
One of my favorite things to do whenever I visit a repository in my ancestors' home town is to browse the local or regional genealogy society newsletters and publications. Many of them just recount society events, but some are gold mines of local data that is available nowhere else.
In San Diego, the Carlsbad library has a tremendous collection of genealogy periodicals from many state and local societies. The San Diego Genealogical Society library in El Cajon also has a great collection. When I visit these places (only once or twice a year, unfortunately), I try to spend an hour or two browsing the collection. The SDGS also publishes a subscription journal called "Leaves and Saplings" which covers local San Diego genealogy data - like vital records, cemetery records, voter registers, etc.
I whined some time ago on this blog that there are not every-name search capabilities or page images available for genealogy journals, and the kind folks at Ancestry.com pointed out to me that such a search and image capability would violate copyrights of authors and/or societies. It is still a needed research resource, but it is evidently not attainable.
Many of the larger genealogy periodicals have published indexes of their holdings, some have published CD-ROMs with the images on them, and some provide search capability and image access on their subscription web sites (e.g., NEHGS has all of the above). All societies or periodicals should be encouraged to make and publish indexes, CD-ROMs and provide web page search and image access of their publications. Of course, that all takes money...
Then there is the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), which is available online at HeritageQuestOnline through a subscribing library, or on microfiche or books at an FHC or local library. However, PERSI only catalogs the author, title, date, keywords and periodical name. There is no every-name search capability. If you do find an article of interest, it can be obtained, for a cost, at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. See http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/index.html for more information.
The 2007 Federation of Genealogical Societies conference will be held in Fort Wayne from August 15-18, 2007, hosted by the Allen County Public Library. The Allen County library should be a must-visit for researchers who have not been there before. SDGS recently sponsored a member research trip to ACPL - I hope to go sometime soon.
UPDATED 16 January, 9 AM: Thanks to Becky for correcting my error about the FGS conference - the correct location and dates are shown in red above. Note to self: why don't you check these things out before you screw up again?
Arlene Eakle has a wonderful article about her experiences reading periodicals, and her methods of accessing and reading them here. Arlene is very experienced and an expert - it would be wise to take her advice. I agree completely with her.
One of my favorite things to do whenever I visit a repository in my ancestors' home town is to browse the local or regional genealogy society newsletters and publications. Many of them just recount society events, but some are gold mines of local data that is available nowhere else.
In San Diego, the Carlsbad library has a tremendous collection of genealogy periodicals from many state and local societies. The San Diego Genealogical Society library in El Cajon also has a great collection. When I visit these places (only once or twice a year, unfortunately), I try to spend an hour or two browsing the collection. The SDGS also publishes a subscription journal called "Leaves and Saplings" which covers local San Diego genealogy data - like vital records, cemetery records, voter registers, etc.
I whined some time ago on this blog that there are not every-name search capabilities or page images available for genealogy journals, and the kind folks at Ancestry.com pointed out to me that such a search and image capability would violate copyrights of authors and/or societies. It is still a needed research resource, but it is evidently not attainable.
Many of the larger genealogy periodicals have published indexes of their holdings, some have published CD-ROMs with the images on them, and some provide search capability and image access on their subscription web sites (e.g., NEHGS has all of the above). All societies or periodicals should be encouraged to make and publish indexes, CD-ROMs and provide web page search and image access of their publications. Of course, that all takes money...
Then there is the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), which is available online at HeritageQuestOnline through a subscribing library, or on microfiche or books at an FHC or local library. However, PERSI only catalogs the author, title, date, keywords and periodical name. There is no every-name search capability. If you do find an article of interest, it can be obtained, for a cost, at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. See http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/index.html for more information.
The 2007 Federation of Genealogical Societies conference will be held in Fort Wayne from August 15-18, 2007, hosted by the Allen County Public Library. The Allen County library should be a must-visit for researchers who have not been there before. SDGS recently sponsored a member research trip to ACPL - I hope to go sometime soon.
UPDATED 16 January, 9 AM: Thanks to Becky for correcting my error about the FGS conference - the correct location and dates are shown in red above. Note to self: why don't you check these things out before you screw up again?
Passengers from British Isles - Ancestors On Board site
A new web site, www.AncestorsOnBoard.com, now offers transcripts and images for passengers aboard ships leaving the British Isles. Currently, they have only 1890 to 1899, but plan to extend it to the years 1890 to 1960. From their email to me:
The information about costs at the Ancestors on Board site say:
If you buy more units, the price per unit comes down somewhat to around 8 pence per unit for the package with the most units.
So, the index of available records is free, the transcription for each record costs 5 units (or 50 pence, or about $0.90 US), and the color image costs 30 units (or 3 pounds, or about $5.40 US).
Is this worth it? It really depends on your research needs. If you are looking for passenger records in this time frame, and the information is critical to your search, it is definitely worth it, since the alternative is to go to England and find the microfilm at an office of some sort and probably pay for any transcripts or images you might want to copy.
Note that this Ancestors on Board site is part of the www.findmypast.com web site which has a lot of British Isles data, including census, civil registration, military records, migration, and more.
I inserted my Seaver surname in the Ancestors on Board search engine, and it found 30 passengers leaving from British Isles ports in the 1890 to 1899 time frame. The index provides limited information (surname, given name, year, departure port, destination country and port). You can view a sample transcription for free, but the sample image requires a download to view it.
I doubt if I will use this resource very much, since I do very little British Isles research, but if I need to use it for client research then I know that it is available at a reasonable cost.
You can now search BT27 UK Outbound Passenger Lists, which are brought to you by www.findmypast.com in association with The National Archives. Our dedicated team have been working extremely hard behind the scenes to make these valuable records available online for the very first time.
Records now available online cover people leaving the UK on long-distance voyages between 1890 and 1899. Passengers include not only permanent emigrants, but also businessmen, workers, diplomats and tourists. You might find anyone from people fleeing persecution in Russia to cowboys returning home to America.
Records vary, but transcriptions usually tell you name, age,
occupation, destination, travel and ship details as well as other people of the same name travelling on the ship.
The information about costs at the Ancestors on Board site say:
It costs just 5 units to view each transcription and only 30 units to view high resolution colour images. Images have been scanned using the latest technology to produce superb quality images from original documents, which in some cases are more than 100 years old.
To purchase units you must register with findmypast.com, or log in if you are already registered, then simply click on the 'buy units' link on the left hand side of the screen. Units are available from just £5 for 50 units.
If you buy more units, the price per unit comes down somewhat to around 8 pence per unit for the package with the most units.
So, the index of available records is free, the transcription for each record costs 5 units (or 50 pence, or about $0.90 US), and the color image costs 30 units (or 3 pounds, or about $5.40 US).
Is this worth it? It really depends on your research needs. If you are looking for passenger records in this time frame, and the information is critical to your search, it is definitely worth it, since the alternative is to go to England and find the microfilm at an office of some sort and probably pay for any transcripts or images you might want to copy.
Note that this Ancestors on Board site is part of the www.findmypast.com web site which has a lot of British Isles data, including census, civil registration, military records, migration, and more.
I inserted my Seaver surname in the Ancestors on Board search engine, and it found 30 passengers leaving from British Isles ports in the 1890 to 1899 time frame. The index provides limited information (surname, given name, year, departure port, destination country and port). You can view a sample transcription for free, but the sample image requires a download to view it.
I doubt if I will use this resource very much, since I do very little British Isles research, but if I need to use it for client research then I know that it is available at a reasonable cost.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Arrgggh!! A genealogy-free day
So cancel my reservations in Miami for February 4th already. Argghhh!
It's been a very frustrating day for me - my Chargers blew their playoff game with bad hands, bad mouths, bad tackling, and bad coaching. There were too many "ifs" to be counted. New England hung around and made fewer mistakes down the stretch than the Chargers did. The big news here will be if the coach, Marty Schottenheimer, is fired. Most everyone thinks he will - I do too. Too bad, I like Marty. He may go to the Steelers or the Dolphins and not win playoff games for them also.
So now my favorites are Indianapolis and New Orleans to win the conference championships and go to the Super Bowl. I tend to favor teams representing cities whjo have not been to or won the Big One (San Diego went in 1994, but lost). If they get there, I will root for New Orleans because of Drew Brees (former Charger QB) and Reggie Bush (San Diego boy).
The only redeeming feature of this day may be the first two hours of "24." They'd better be good.
I'll try to post some genealogy things tomorrow when I am not as POed or frustrated as I am now. My wife decided to go to church in the 4th quarter...I'm glad she wasn't home to hear my tirade.
My apologies for wasting your time tonight. Please, no gloating...
It's been a very frustrating day for me - my Chargers blew their playoff game with bad hands, bad mouths, bad tackling, and bad coaching. There were too many "ifs" to be counted. New England hung around and made fewer mistakes down the stretch than the Chargers did. The big news here will be if the coach, Marty Schottenheimer, is fired. Most everyone thinks he will - I do too. Too bad, I like Marty. He may go to the Steelers or the Dolphins and not win playoff games for them also.
So now my favorites are Indianapolis and New Orleans to win the conference championships and go to the Super Bowl. I tend to favor teams representing cities whjo have not been to or won the Big One (San Diego went in 1994, but lost). If they get there, I will root for New Orleans because of Drew Brees (former Charger QB) and Reggie Bush (San Diego boy).
The only redeeming feature of this day may be the first two hours of "24." They'd better be good.
I'll try to post some genealogy things tomorrow when I am not as POed or frustrated as I am now. My wife decided to go to church in the 4th quarter...I'm glad she wasn't home to hear my tirade.
My apologies for wasting your time tonight. Please, no gloating...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)