I received an email two weeks ago that said:
"Dear Winner,
"Congratulations! You have been selected to receive a prize by registering in The Buick Heritage Sweepstakes, administered by ePrize.
"Since the end of the promotion, ePrize has conducted a random drawing to select a prize winner. Your name was randomly selected in the The Buick Heritage Sweepstakes and you have won a Family History Kit consisting of Family Tree Maker Essentials software, a DVD of African American Lives (as seen on PBS) and a hardcover copy of In Search of Our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past."
That was a surprise! I do vaguely recall filling out an entry form online and submitting it. Cool - it's fun to win things once in awhile.
There were 10 Grand Prizes - an Ancestry DNA kit. I haven't seen an announcement of the winners yet, but I'm sure they've all been notified.
The box with my prizes came today via UPS. I'm now the proud owner of FamilyTreeMaker 2008 Essentials (which includes one month of an Ancestry US Deluxe subscription), the African American Lives 2 DVD, and the book Finding Oprah's Roots by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The latter is a substitute for the originally named book.
I started reading the book while watching TV tonight, and will write a book report on it after I finish it. I saw the TV show on PBS, so I don't know what I'll do with the DVD - perhaps I'll donate it to CVGS or another society.
I'll load FTM2008 sometime soon and work with it - and then decide if I want to make it my primary genealogy software or not. I'm going to be sure that I don't knock out my FTM 16 software, though, just in case I want to use it as my primary software.
Any other Buick Heritage Sweepstakes winners in my readers? I know that Apple was one.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Kentucky Land Office Records
A CVGS colleague passed the Kentucky Secretary of State web page to me to check out for Kentucky Land Records.
There is a PowerPoint presentation, with accompanying notes, on this web site that provides historical information about colonial history, colonial land claims, the land patent process in the 1800's, and how to obtain these records.
The Powerpoint presentation (warning, over 10 mb) of the Land Office program from the May 10, 2008 workshop co-sponsored by the Kentucky Genealogical Society and Kentucky Historical Society is here. The accompanying supplemental notes are here in PDF format.
The information that is online at the Kentucky Secretary of State web page includes (see http://sos.ky.gov/land/search/default.htm for all databases):
* Virginia & Old Kentucky Series: Patents authorized by: Revolutionary War Warrants; Certificates of Settlement & Preemption Warrants; and Treasury Warrants
* West of Tennessee River Military Series
* Jackson Purchase Locator
* County Court Order Series Database (over 8200 patents link to scanned images)
Land records that are not online include:
* South of Green River Series
* Kentucky Land Warrants Series
* Tellico Series
* South of Walker’s Line Series (Tennessee Land)
* West of Tennessee River Non-Military Series (use the online Jackson Purchase Locator to determine location of these patents)
This is a wonderful resource for historians and genealogists. If only every state or county would do something like this, our research efforts would be enhanced and quicker.
Thanks to Susi P for passing this on from the KYMERCER mailing list.
There is a PowerPoint presentation, with accompanying notes, on this web site that provides historical information about colonial history, colonial land claims, the land patent process in the 1800's, and how to obtain these records.
The Powerpoint presentation (warning, over 10 mb) of the Land Office program from the May 10, 2008 workshop co-sponsored by the Kentucky Genealogical Society and Kentucky Historical Society is here. The accompanying supplemental notes are here in PDF format.
The information that is online at the Kentucky Secretary of State web page includes (see http://sos.ky.gov/land/search/default.htm for all databases):
* Virginia & Old Kentucky Series: Patents authorized by: Revolutionary War Warrants; Certificates of Settlement & Preemption Warrants; and Treasury Warrants
* West of Tennessee River Military Series
* Jackson Purchase Locator
* County Court Order Series Database (over 8200 patents link to scanned images)
Land records that are not online include:
* South of Green River Series
* Kentucky Land Warrants Series
* Tellico Series
* South of Walker’s Line Series (Tennessee Land)
* West of Tennessee River Non-Military Series (use the online Jackson Purchase Locator to determine location of these patents)
This is a wonderful resource for historians and genealogists. If only every state or county would do something like this, our research efforts would be enhanced and quicker.
Thanks to Susi P for passing this on from the KYMERCER mailing list.
Searching Genealogy Mailing List Archives
One of the most interesting genealogy tasks I pursue every year is to search the Rootsweb-sponsored and archived Mailing Lists. This used to be very difficult when you had to select a specific list and search it month-by-month.
Now, you can search one specific or all of the lists at Rootsweb using a search box at http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/search. If you choose the Advanced Search tab, you can specify search terms that are in the body of a message, in a subject line, on a specific list or posted on a specific date (such as June 2005, 2005, or a range such as 2005-2007).
If you just input a surname in the "Body" section of the search box, you will receive a list of every post with the surname in the text of the posts, including the submitter of the post. If I just want, for personal vanity reasons (who me?), to find out how many mailing list posts I made in a specific time frame, I could put "Randy Seaver," or my email address, in the "From" line of the Search Box (I have made 21 posts in 2008 to date).
I use this Mailing List Archive Search box on a yearly basis to:
1) Find information submitted about my major family surnames - Seaver, Carringer, Vaux, Auble, Dill, etc. I go through them one by one and determine if I need to add the information to my database. I may discover a distant cousin in the process.
2) Look for information about a specific person, especially for common surnames like Smith, Miller, Johnson, etc. If you get too many hits, for a common given name and surname, you can add a town or county to narrow the search. For instance, I can search the entire mailing list database for "Ranslow Smith" (using the quote marks) and find that there are only 3 posts with that search term, all of them mine with an email address from 12 years and 6 ISPs ago. If I search for "Russell Smith" I get 2,218 matches, but if I specify "Russell Smith" AND Jefferson NY, I get 10 matches in the specific area I'm searching for him.
3) Look for information posted by a specific person. You can put the person's name or email address in the "From" line. This can be useful if you find an older mailing list post and want to contact the author, but the given email address doesn't work. If you input the author's name in the "From" box you may find a more recent email address.
The Search of the Rootsweb Mailing List Archives is really pretty useful and time-saving. And it's FREE!
I noticed that, as of today, there are 33,668,488 documents in this Rootsweb Mailing List Archives, dating from the early 1990's. This is a fantastic resource, especially for researchers just starting their search.
The posts are also found using a Google search using appropriate search terms.
Now, you can search one specific or all of the lists at Rootsweb using a search box at http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/search. If you choose the Advanced Search tab, you can specify search terms that are in the body of a message, in a subject line, on a specific list or posted on a specific date (such as June 2005, 2005, or a range such as 2005-2007).
If you just input a surname in the "Body" section of the search box, you will receive a list of every post with the surname in the text of the posts, including the submitter of the post. If I just want, for personal vanity reasons (who me?), to find out how many mailing list posts I made in a specific time frame, I could put "Randy Seaver," or my email address, in the "From" line of the Search Box (I have made 21 posts in 2008 to date).
I use this Mailing List Archive Search box on a yearly basis to:
1) Find information submitted about my major family surnames - Seaver, Carringer, Vaux, Auble, Dill, etc. I go through them one by one and determine if I need to add the information to my database. I may discover a distant cousin in the process.
2) Look for information about a specific person, especially for common surnames like Smith, Miller, Johnson, etc. If you get too many hits, for a common given name and surname, you can add a town or county to narrow the search. For instance, I can search the entire mailing list database for "Ranslow Smith" (using the quote marks) and find that there are only 3 posts with that search term, all of them mine with an email address from 12 years and 6 ISPs ago. If I search for "Russell Smith" I get 2,218 matches, but if I specify "Russell Smith" AND Jefferson NY, I get 10 matches in the specific area I'm searching for him.
3) Look for information posted by a specific person. You can put the person's name or email address in the "From" line. This can be useful if you find an older mailing list post and want to contact the author, but the given email address doesn't work. If you input the author's name in the "From" box you may find a more recent email address.
The Search of the Rootsweb Mailing List Archives is really pretty useful and time-saving. And it's FREE!
I noticed that, as of today, there are 33,668,488 documents in this Rootsweb Mailing List Archives, dating from the early 1990's. This is a fantastic resource, especially for researchers just starting their search.
The posts are also found using a Google search using appropriate search terms.
The Carringer Family Letter Collection (1890 - 1900)
I posted a number of letters to my Carringer family in San Diego several months ago, and I need to collect links to all of them in one post.
This series of family letters is from the parents, brother and aunt of Henry Austin Carringer residing in National City and San Diego in the 1890 to 1900 time frame. Austin's parents (David Jackson and Rebecca (Spangler) Carringer and brother (Harvey Edgar, unmarried) resided in Boulder, Colorado during this period of time and there is news of towns people and events in these letters. Aunt Helen Brown resided in Conneautville, Pennsylvania in 1890.
Post 1 -- from Helen Brown to Austin and Della Carringer, 28 May 1890
Post 2 -- from Helen Brown to Austin and Della Carringer, 2 October 1890
Post 3 -- from Rebecca Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 8 November 1891
Post 4 -- from Rebecca Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 6 December 1896
Post 5 -- from Harvey Edgar Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 7 March 1897
Post 6 -- from Rebecca Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 13 March 1897
Post 7 -- from Rebecca Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 28 March 1897
Post 8 -- from Rebecca Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 5 April 1897
Post 9 -- from Rebecca Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 12 April 1897.
I will add to the list when I publish more of these letters.
This series of family letters is from the parents, brother and aunt of Henry Austin Carringer residing in National City and San Diego in the 1890 to 1900 time frame. Austin's parents (David Jackson and Rebecca (Spangler) Carringer and brother (Harvey Edgar, unmarried) resided in Boulder, Colorado during this period of time and there is news of towns people and events in these letters. Aunt Helen Brown resided in Conneautville, Pennsylvania in 1890.
Post 1 -- from Helen Brown to Austin and Della Carringer, 28 May 1890
Post 2 -- from Helen Brown to Austin and Della Carringer, 2 October 1890
Post 3 -- from Rebecca Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 8 November 1891
Post 4 -- from Rebecca Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 6 December 1896
Post 5 -- from Harvey Edgar Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 7 March 1897
Post 6 -- from Rebecca Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 13 March 1897
Post 7 -- from Rebecca Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 28 March 1897
Post 8 -- from Rebecca Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 5 April 1897
Post 9 -- from Rebecca Carringer to Austin and Della Carringer, 12 April 1897.
I will add to the list when I publish more of these letters.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Vermont and New Hampshire Databases on NewEnglandAncestors.org
In May, I posted the list of New York databases available on the www.NewYorkAncestors.org web site, which actually links to www.NewEnglandAncestors.org, the web site of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society (NEHGS).
I thought it would be useful to post the databases available for all of the New England states - perhaps someone will Google a town or record type and see my post and be led to a useful record.
For Vermont, the NEHGS has these searchable databases on their web site:
* Vital Records of Worcester, Vermont, 1813–1858
* Vital Records of Weybridge, Vermont
* Vital Records of Westfield, Vermont, 1793-1860
* Vital Records of Shelburne, Vermont, 1743-1896
* Vital Records of Putney, Vermont
* Vital Records of Hardwick, Vermont, to 1860
* Vital Records of Fairfax, Vermont
* Vital Records of Dover, Vermont
* Vital Records of Bristol, Vermont, 1771-1859
* Vital Records of Brattleboro, Vermont to 1814
* Roster of Vermont Soldiers in World War I - (1917-1919)
* Records of the Rev. George W. Bailey of Springfield, VT, 1840-1902
* Records of the Proprietors of Weybridge, Vermont
* Records of the First Church of Rockingham, VT
* Records of the Congregational Church of Weybridge, VT, 1794-1894
* Records of The Congregational Church of Rutland, VT
* Early Vital Records Jamaica Windham Co., VT Early Marriages
* Early Records of Morgan, Vermont
For New Hampshire, the NEHGS has these searchable databases on their web site:
* Bow, New Hampshire, The Town Book of Bow, New Hampshire
* Elliot Family of Boscawen, New Hampshire, by Henry Ames Kimball (1918)
* Marriages Performed by Rev. Stephen Peabody of Atkinson, New Hampshire
* Records of the Proprietors of Bow, New Hampshire, 1727 - 1783
* Plaistow, New Hampshire Vital Records, 1726-1871
* Vital Records of Nottingham, New Hampshire, 1734-1877
* Vital Records from the New Hampshire Gazette
* Vital Records of Enfield, New Hampshire, 1761-1940
* Town Records of Goffstown, New Hampshire
* Records of the Second Church of Christ, Kingston, New Hampshire
* Records of the Second Church of Christ of Boscawen, New Hampshire
* Records of the First Church of Christ, Nottingham West (Hudson), New Hampshire, 1737-1795
* Records of the Congregational Church of Lyme, New Hampshire
* Record of Births Attended by Dr. John French in Bath, New Hampshire and Surrounding Towns, 1807–1857
* Record Book of New Castle, New Hampshire
* Members of the First Congregational Church of Campton, New Hampshire — 1800–1874
* Marriage and Death Notices Published in New Hampshire Newspapers
* History and Church Records of East Kingston, New Hampshire
* Bill of Mortality for Dover, New Hampshire — Deaths from 1708 to 1802
Of course, you have to be a member of NEHGS to use the databases at the site.
NEHGS is offering a $15 (single member is $75 a year) discount for new memberships through June 30, 2008. Alternatively, you can receive a free copy of the book, "New York Essays" by Marian S. Henry. This offer is only available for new memberships and only by calling the membership department at 1-888-296-3447.
Disclosure: I am a member of NEHGS and enjoy the publications, but I find that the online databases are frustratingly difficult to use.
I thought it would be useful to post the databases available for all of the New England states - perhaps someone will Google a town or record type and see my post and be led to a useful record.
For Vermont, the NEHGS has these searchable databases on their web site:
* Vital Records of Worcester, Vermont, 1813–1858
* Vital Records of Weybridge, Vermont
* Vital Records of Westfield, Vermont, 1793-1860
* Vital Records of Shelburne, Vermont, 1743-1896
* Vital Records of Putney, Vermont
* Vital Records of Hardwick, Vermont, to 1860
* Vital Records of Fairfax, Vermont
* Vital Records of Dover, Vermont
* Vital Records of Bristol, Vermont, 1771-1859
* Vital Records of Brattleboro, Vermont to 1814
* Roster of Vermont Soldiers in World War I - (1917-1919)
* Records of the Rev. George W. Bailey of Springfield, VT, 1840-1902
* Records of the Proprietors of Weybridge, Vermont
* Records of the First Church of Rockingham, VT
* Records of the Congregational Church of Weybridge, VT, 1794-1894
* Records of The Congregational Church of Rutland, VT
* Early Vital Records Jamaica Windham Co., VT Early Marriages
* Early Records of Morgan, Vermont
For New Hampshire, the NEHGS has these searchable databases on their web site:
* Bow, New Hampshire, The Town Book of Bow, New Hampshire
* Elliot Family of Boscawen, New Hampshire, by Henry Ames Kimball (1918)
* Marriages Performed by Rev. Stephen Peabody of Atkinson, New Hampshire
* Records of the Proprietors of Bow, New Hampshire, 1727 - 1783
* Plaistow, New Hampshire Vital Records, 1726-1871
* Vital Records of Nottingham, New Hampshire, 1734-1877
* Vital Records from the New Hampshire Gazette
* Vital Records of Enfield, New Hampshire, 1761-1940
* Town Records of Goffstown, New Hampshire
* Records of the Second Church of Christ, Kingston, New Hampshire
* Records of the Second Church of Christ of Boscawen, New Hampshire
* Records of the First Church of Christ, Nottingham West (Hudson), New Hampshire, 1737-1795
* Records of the Congregational Church of Lyme, New Hampshire
* Record of Births Attended by Dr. John French in Bath, New Hampshire and Surrounding Towns, 1807–1857
* Record Book of New Castle, New Hampshire
* Members of the First Congregational Church of Campton, New Hampshire — 1800–1874
* Marriage and Death Notices Published in New Hampshire Newspapers
* History and Church Records of East Kingston, New Hampshire
* Bill of Mortality for Dover, New Hampshire — Deaths from 1708 to 1802
Of course, you have to be a member of NEHGS to use the databases at the site.
NEHGS is offering a $15 (single member is $75 a year) discount for new memberships through June 30, 2008. Alternatively, you can receive a free copy of the book, "New York Essays" by Marian S. Henry. This offer is only available for new memberships and only by calling the membership department at 1-888-296-3447.
Disclosure: I am a member of NEHGS and enjoy the publications, but I find that the online databases are frustratingly difficult to use.
The Ancestry Indexing Project
The Ancestry Insider recently let the "cat out of the bag" about the Ancestry Indexing Project which is currently in Beta testing.
The purpose of this project is (per the blog post) to:
"Ancestry will create digital images of archive records as the first step in the project. Volunteers who transcribe the records using Ancestry's indexing tool. Ancestry will then create an index and publish it free to everyone."
Individuals can still sign up to participate to hear about, index and test in this Project - see http://landing.ancestry.com/keyingtool/notify.aspx. The interesting paragraph on this page is:
"That’s why we’re creating the World Archives Project, to let anyone help preserve the contents of these valuable documents in indexes that will remain FREE to the public. As a participant, you'll be the first to see new collections as you enter information into our database. You'll also get the satisfaction of helping families better understand their unique, meaningful stories."
Note that this says that the INDEX will be FREE for anyone to see. It doesn't say one word about the IMAGES that are indexed, does it?
The Ancestry Insider also provides a chronology of this project, which indicates that Juliana Smith posted about it in this post on her 24/7 Family History Circle blog back in early March. My memory must be shorter than three months, because I don't recall seeing it! Read the comments from months ago, too.
The question I have is:
"Will there be any incentives for people who participate by indexing databases from images in the Ancestry Indexing Project? Is this a pro-bono effort, or will they establish some sort of payback for helping them out - like reduced Ancestry.com subscription prices for certain levels of participation?"
Such an incentive program might be real attractive to genealogists on fixed incomes who want to help the genealogy community and receive a bargain on an Ancestry subscription.
The purpose of this project is (per the blog post) to:
"Ancestry will create digital images of archive records as the first step in the project. Volunteers who transcribe the records using Ancestry's indexing tool. Ancestry will then create an index and publish it free to everyone."
Individuals can still sign up to participate to hear about, index and test in this Project - see http://landing.ancestry.com/keyingtool/notify.aspx. The interesting paragraph on this page is:
"That’s why we’re creating the World Archives Project, to let anyone help preserve the contents of these valuable documents in indexes that will remain FREE to the public. As a participant, you'll be the first to see new collections as you enter information into our database. You'll also get the satisfaction of helping families better understand their unique, meaningful stories."
Note that this says that the INDEX will be FREE for anyone to see. It doesn't say one word about the IMAGES that are indexed, does it?
The Ancestry Insider also provides a chronology of this project, which indicates that Juliana Smith posted about it in this post on her 24/7 Family History Circle blog back in early March. My memory must be shorter than three months, because I don't recall seeing it! Read the comments from months ago, too.
The question I have is:
"Will there be any incentives for people who participate by indexing databases from images in the Ancestry Indexing Project? Is this a pro-bono effort, or will they establish some sort of payback for helping them out - like reduced Ancestry.com subscription prices for certain levels of participation?"
Such an incentive program might be real attractive to genealogists on fixed incomes who want to help the genealogy community and receive a bargain on an Ancestry subscription.
The Words We Use
Every one of us uses subjective words in our daily lives to express a level of confidence in the truth, accuracy or correctness of information about a fact or event. In genealogy reports, we often express that confidence in the correctness using words such as possible, probable, certain, unlikely, likely, impossible, perhaps, etc.
How do genealogists view these terms? What scale value from 0.0 to 1.0 do we assign to these subjective terms? This is the question Donn Devine asked recently on the TGF and APG mailing lists here. He is taking a survey to try to quantify them on the probability scale. Read his post to see the terms that he wishes to define on a probability scale.
Naturally, I sent him my list this morning before I went online to see if there are lists of scale values of probability for the subjective words that Donn is trying to define. I'll post my responses as a comment to this post, and I encourage you to do the same.
Are these terms really quantifiable? They are terms of probability and chance, and there is a scale from 0.0 (impossible) to 1.0 (certainty) as discussed in textbooks and this web page (among others).
I did find one article with a list of some of these terms on a scale, with plenty of discussion, with some value assigned to them - here.
It is important that we, as genealogy researchers and writers, have a common and familiar scale when we use these subjective terms. I encourage you to read Donn's post, and to send him your response with your own subjective scale (tell him I sent you!). He promised to post the results on the mailing lists when he compiles them.
How do genealogists view these terms? What scale value from 0.0 to 1.0 do we assign to these subjective terms? This is the question Donn Devine asked recently on the TGF and APG mailing lists here. He is taking a survey to try to quantify them on the probability scale. Read his post to see the terms that he wishes to define on a probability scale.
Naturally, I sent him my list this morning before I went online to see if there are lists of scale values of probability for the subjective words that Donn is trying to define. I'll post my responses as a comment to this post, and I encourage you to do the same.
Are these terms really quantifiable? They are terms of probability and chance, and there is a scale from 0.0 (impossible) to 1.0 (certainty) as discussed in textbooks and this web page (among others).
I did find one article with a list of some of these terms on a scale, with plenty of discussion, with some value assigned to them - here.
It is important that we, as genealogy researchers and writers, have a common and familiar scale when we use these subjective terms. I encourage you to read Donn's post, and to send him your response with your own subjective scale (tell him I sent you!). He promised to post the results on the mailing lists when he compiles them.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Wheel of Genealogy Fortune Puzzle #3
You all know how to play Wheel of Fortune -I've given you R S T L N and E just like in the Final Round on the TV game!
Take a crack at this quote:
_ .... _ _ _ _ .... R _ T .... _ S .... _ _ R _ ....
T _ .... L _ _ E .... _ _ T _ .... _ _ T ....
_ _ _ E S .... _ .... _ _ N E .... _ N _ E S T _ R.
[Note: If you can see the "..." they are spacers between words. Blogger doesn't do double spaces well. I whited them out on the blog web page.]
Extra credit if you can find the quote on a web page.
Put your answer in Comments.
Take a crack at this quote:
_ .... _ _ _ _ .... R _ T .... _ S .... _ _ R _ ....
T _ .... L _ _ E .... _ _ T _ .... _ _ T ....
_ _ _ E S .... _ .... _ _ N E .... _ N _ E S T _ R.
[Note: If you can see the "..." they are spacers between words. Blogger doesn't do double spaces well. I whited them out on the blog web page.]
Extra credit if you can find the quote on a web page.
Put your answer in Comments.
Best of the Genea-Blogs: June 8-14, 2008
Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week.
My criteria are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the Carnival of Genealogy, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.
* "Pro-Gen Study Group #2" by Mark Tucker on the ThinkGenealogy blog. Mark summarizes his second month of participation in the Professional Genealogist's Study Group (this group is for genealogists considering being a professional). I am also participating in this group, and Mark is in my discussion group, but not my peer group. While this group is closed to newcomers, as Mark explains, the outline of reading and assignments has a lot of value to anybody trying to improve their research, writing and business skills.
* "My Favorite Virginia Genealogy Sources" by Arlene Eakle on the Arlene Eakle's Virginia Genealogy Blog. Arlene describes her favorite genealogy sources, and her favorite my surprise you. I agree with her choice. The problem is that they are so difficult to find and use effectively.
* "Productive research leads to new ancestral questions" by Pat Richley on the TeachGenealogy Blog. Pat describes her Study Group's field trip to the Family History Library last weekend. They had a great time, and Pat summarizes some of the research findings in this post.
* "In Viet Nam, I'm my Own Grandmother" by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak on the Roots Television: Megan's Roots World blog. The title initially made me put this on my list, but then I read about the process Megan went through to see how she came to that conclusion!
* "WeRelate: Sources, Notes, References and Footnotes" by Denise Olson on the Family Matters blog. Denise covers these topics as they are used in WeRelate databases. Alas, they are everything I'm not good at! That's why I'm going to study extra hard this week. I really appreciate Denise's efforts to learn more about WeRelate and pass them on to make my learning easier.
* "Showing Off Your Photos in AncestryPress" by Stefanie Condie on the Ancestry.com blog. They have significantly improved the options in the AncestryPress family books, resulting in more capability and coverage. I'm almost ready to try this out! Thanks, Stefanie.
* "The Future of e-Paper" by Dick Eastman in the Eastman Online Genealogy Newsletter. Dick's timely article should be "must reading" for everyone with a genealogy cave full of books and magazines. The future can be nearly paperless! But read the comments too - many people won't do this.
* "June 13 - Friday from the Collectors - The Gift of the Photograph, Uniting Families with their History" by Lisa on footnoteMaven's Shades of the Departed blog. Lisa writes about her experiences finding family photographs and sharing them with her extended family.
* "I Still Think She's Dead - and Here's Why" by footnoteMaven (or should she now be the shadyMaven?) on the Shades of the Departed blog. fM posted last week about this photo of a female who might be dead, and she wrote this week about her reasons for thinking that she is dead. Fascinating detective work!
* "The Ancestry Newspaper Rollout. Why I Say 'Meh' " by Jennifer on the Rainy Day Genealogy Readings blog. I really appreciate blog postings without sugar coating, and this one of Jennifer's is great. I was going to write something more prolix and confusing on this subject, but Jennifer hit the nail on the head before I had a chance to find my hammer!
* "Are Genea-bloggers Journalists?" by Thomas MacEntee on the Destination: Austin Family blog. Thomas asked an important question here, and searches for the answer. My input is that "yes, in many cases, they are."
I encourage you to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blog to your Favorites, Bloglines, reader, feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - we all appreciate feedback on what we write.
Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me!
My criteria are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the Carnival of Genealogy, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.
* "Pro-Gen Study Group #2" by Mark Tucker on the ThinkGenealogy blog. Mark summarizes his second month of participation in the Professional Genealogist's Study Group (this group is for genealogists considering being a professional). I am also participating in this group, and Mark is in my discussion group, but not my peer group. While this group is closed to newcomers, as Mark explains, the outline of reading and assignments has a lot of value to anybody trying to improve their research, writing and business skills.
* "My Favorite Virginia Genealogy Sources" by Arlene Eakle on the Arlene Eakle's Virginia Genealogy Blog. Arlene describes her favorite genealogy sources, and her favorite my surprise you. I agree with her choice. The problem is that they are so difficult to find and use effectively.
* "Productive research leads to new ancestral questions" by Pat Richley on the TeachGenealogy Blog. Pat describes her Study Group's field trip to the Family History Library last weekend. They had a great time, and Pat summarizes some of the research findings in this post.
* "In Viet Nam, I'm my Own Grandmother" by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak on the Roots Television: Megan's Roots World blog. The title initially made me put this on my list, but then I read about the process Megan went through to see how she came to that conclusion!
* "WeRelate: Sources, Notes, References and Footnotes" by Denise Olson on the Family Matters blog. Denise covers these topics as they are used in WeRelate databases. Alas, they are everything I'm not good at! That's why I'm going to study extra hard this week. I really appreciate Denise's efforts to learn more about WeRelate and pass them on to make my learning easier.
* "Showing Off Your Photos in AncestryPress" by Stefanie Condie on the Ancestry.com blog. They have significantly improved the options in the AncestryPress family books, resulting in more capability and coverage. I'm almost ready to try this out! Thanks, Stefanie.
* "The Future of e-Paper" by Dick Eastman in the Eastman Online Genealogy Newsletter. Dick's timely article should be "must reading" for everyone with a genealogy cave full of books and magazines. The future can be nearly paperless! But read the comments too - many people won't do this.
* "June 13 - Friday from the Collectors - The Gift of the Photograph, Uniting Families with their History" by Lisa on footnoteMaven's Shades of the Departed blog. Lisa writes about her experiences finding family photographs and sharing them with her extended family.
* "I Still Think She's Dead - and Here's Why" by footnoteMaven (or should she now be the shadyMaven?) on the Shades of the Departed blog. fM posted last week about this photo of a female who might be dead, and she wrote this week about her reasons for thinking that she is dead. Fascinating detective work!
* "The Ancestry Newspaper Rollout. Why I Say 'Meh' " by Jennifer on the Rainy Day Genealogy Readings blog. I really appreciate blog postings without sugar coating, and this one of Jennifer's is great. I was going to write something more prolix and confusing on this subject, but Jennifer hit the nail on the head before I had a chance to find my hammer!
* "Are Genea-bloggers Journalists?" by Thomas MacEntee on the Destination: Austin Family blog. Thomas asked an important question here, and searches for the answer. My input is that "yes, in many cases, they are."
I encourage you to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blog to your Favorites, Bloglines, reader, feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - we all appreciate feedback on what we write.
Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me!
My First Father's Day
I was only 8 months old when I celebrated my first Father's Day - with my dad, of course! Here's a picture from about that time in 1944:
I don't know if he's tickling me or what, but it looks like I was having fun!
I learned a lot from my father, and I wrote about some of them in I Learned from my Dad...
My father's biography is in My Dad - Fred Seaver (1911-1983). I posted pictures of my dad and brothers in My Father and his Boys
My maternal grandfather's biography is in A Wondrous Life.
This is my 35th Father's Day as a parent, and each has been special. Our two daughters were darling children and are responsible adults, who have made wonderful families, and we love to visit with and be visited by them. We have one daughter and our two granddaughters here this weekend, and I've had a lot of quiet time holding, feeding, and singing to the littlest one, Audrey. She slept in my arms for an hour this morning while I read the paper and then read my email and blogs. Her older sister, Lauren, is a ball of fire and a lot of fun, and we play games and share treats with each other. Gee, I wonder if she wants another Hershey's kiss? Or just a Grandpa's kiss? Tough choice? Not for me, I have plenty of both - an endless supply!
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