...
The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) 2011 Conference, "Pathways to the Heartland," is September 7 to 10 in Springfield, Illinois. I'm looking forward to attending and being an Official Blogger.
The program schedule is at http://fgs.org/2011conference/program/index.php. I decided that I'd better think about the presentations I want to attend. Here's my list for Saturday, 10 September:
* 8 a.m.: S-404: The Parish, by Audrey Collins -- The basic unit of administration throughout most of the British Isles: there is a lot more to it than just baptisms, marriages and burials
* 9:30 a.m.: S-410: Porkopolis to Bonanza Farms: Midwest Historical Geography for Genealogists, by J. H. Fonkert -- Natural resources, transportation and technology shaped the settlement of migrating Americans and immigrants in the Midwest. Learn how the pivotal role of Chicago as the Midwest developed, from Cincinnati on the Ohio to the Bonanza farms of Dakota.
* 11 a.m.: S-419: Discovering the Goldmine of Knowledge in Court Records, by Anne Roach -- Learn how to locate court records that are often overlooked, but may be full of vital record information, biographical details, or information that isn't available anywhere else!
* 2 p.m.: S-432: Online, On Microfilm, And In Print: Finding Ancestors in Newspapers, by James L. Hansen -- Newspapers are vitally useful sources, often including details recorded nowhere else. This lecture will discuss what can be found in newspapers (in whatever form/format), how to identify and track them down, and how to search them most effectively and efficiently.
* 3:30 p.m.: S-441: U.S. Census Agricultural Schedules: Placing Your Farming Ancestor in Context, by George G. Morgan -- The 1840 through 1910 U.S federal censuses included an Agricultural Schedule. It details your ancestor's farm including crops, livestock, timber, mining, and production of commodities such as honey, butter, and eggs. Learn how to find and use these insightful documents.
* 5 p.m.: S-452: How Mature are you (Genealogically)?, by Robert Raymond -- You will learn an easy system to rate your own genealogical skill level and identify your strengths and weaknesses. You will learn a simple framework for improvement using Genealogical Maturity Levels. After attending this class you will have the knowledge you need to become a better genealogist.
I'm sure that I'll wander through the Exhibit Hall several times during the day talking to vendors, providers and friends. I'll also camp out at the Media Hub, where there will be Internet connections for Official Bloggers, of which I am one.
Paula Stuart-Warren has been publicizing FGS Conference activities on the FGS Conference News Blog for several months. See that blog for more information. I was chagrined to learn in Miscellaneous Conference Tips, Part 3 that attendees cannot use extension cords for their electronic in the meeting rooms. I guess I'll have to take notes the old-fashioned way. RootsMagic is sponsoring a CyberCafe where attendees can charge their devices, check email and the web, and print out syllabus pages (is there a charge?).
Disclosure: I am an Official Blogger for this FGS Conference, and have had my conference registration comped. One of my duties as an Official Blogger is to write stories leading up to and during the FGS Conference in order to publicize the event.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Folliow Friday - Labor Day Weekend Genealogy Fun
...
Here are my recommendations for Genealogy Fun this Labor Day weekend:
1) Listen to Geneabloggers Radio tonight (Friday night, 10 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. CT, 8 p.m. MT and 7 p.m. PT) hosted by Thomas MacEntee. This week's topic is "The Way We worked - Genealogy and Labor." The special guests discussing occupations and researching them will include:
* Ginger Frere of the Newberry Library in Chicago discussing her presentation Cobbler, Tailor, Trunkmaker: How My Grandpappies Made a Living;
* genealogist Tim Pinnick will help us understand how to research our coal miner ancestors;
* Beverly Rice, CG℠ will lead a fascinating discussion of the volunteer aspect of the labor force and its paper trail.
2) Listen to the FGS Radio - My Society show on Saturday (2 p.m. ET, 1 p.m. CT, 12 noon MT, 11 a.m. PT) hosted by Thomas MacEntee this week. The topic is "Digital Publishing for Preservation and Community Building." The special guests are:
* Mark Weaver of Ancestry.com. Mark will discuss how digital publishing can be used to achieve society’s goals – both in terms of needing to preserve your historical documents but also leverage published content to better serve and promote your society. He will also introduce Ancestry’s fledgling Ancestry Content Publisher program and share examples of how it’s being used today by various institutions to provide open access to its collections and increase reach to potential members.
* Debbie Mieszala CG℠ is our FGS 2011 Conference Speaker of the Week about upcoming presentations at the conference in Springfield, Illinois this September.
3) Check out the recent Webinars on:
* "Best Internet Resources for African American Genealogy," with Angela Walton-Raji (free until 15 September from Legacy Family Tree)
* "Newspapers for Genealogists: Using GenealogyBank.com to document every day of your ancestors' lives" with Tom Kemp. (available from Legacy Family Tree)
* "Organizng for Success" with Karen Clifford (available free indefinitely from Legacy Family Tree)
* "The Power of DNA in Unlocking Family Relationships," with Ugo Perugo (available indefinitely from Legacy Family Tree)
* "Leveraging the Power of "We": a Watershed Event in Discovering Where to Find Your Ancestors (Research Wiki, Research Courses, and FamilySearch Forums)," with Michael Ritchey (available from Legacy Family Tree).
* "Further Your Research and Unify Your Family Reunion with Beautiful Genealogy Charts," with Janet Hovorka (available from Legacy Family Tree).
* RootsMagic Webinars (all free) available at http://www.rootsmagic.com/Webinars/
* National Genealogical Society (NGS) Videos (free to view) at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/videos_online
* Thomas MacEntee's Explorinar on "Easy Website Creation" (free to view).
* Thomas MacEntee's Explorinar on "Evernote - Easy Note Taking" (free to view)
4) Respond to my Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge, posted on www.geneamusings.com soon after 12 noon Pacific time (that's 1900 GMT for those who understand time zones).
5) Go to a local genealogical society program, or go to a library or repository with genealogical resources. My plan is to publish this month's CVGS Newsletter on Saturday and then go to the CVGS Workshop at Bonita-Sunnyside Library to catch Susi Pentico's talk on "Research Methods in Pennsylvania." I'm also going to work on preparing for my trip to the FGS Conference, researching at the Allen County Public Library, and visiting Wisconsin to explore ancestral homes and do research at repositories.
6) Add material (names, dates, places, notes, images, sources, etc.) to your genealogy software program. I collected 127 pages three weeks ago at Carlsbad Library, and have been slowly adding that to my database. Not much hope to do this over this weekend, and when I get back I'll have lots more data!
7) Spend time with your family doing fun things. Linda and I are going to the Padres game on Saturday night, and packing for our trip.
Whatever you decide, please tell us about your genealogy endeavors on a social network or in a blog post. You never know when your experiences may stimulate or encourage others to do useful genealogy work.
Here are my recommendations for Genealogy Fun this Labor Day weekend:
1) Listen to Geneabloggers Radio tonight (Friday night, 10 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. CT, 8 p.m. MT and 7 p.m. PT) hosted by Thomas MacEntee. This week's topic is "The Way We worked - Genealogy and Labor." The special guests discussing occupations and researching them will include:
* Ginger Frere of the Newberry Library in Chicago discussing her presentation Cobbler, Tailor, Trunkmaker: How My Grandpappies Made a Living;
* genealogist Tim Pinnick will help us understand how to research our coal miner ancestors;
* Beverly Rice, CG℠ will lead a fascinating discussion of the volunteer aspect of the labor force and its paper trail.
2) Listen to the FGS Radio - My Society show on Saturday (2 p.m. ET, 1 p.m. CT, 12 noon MT, 11 a.m. PT) hosted by Thomas MacEntee this week. The topic is "Digital Publishing for Preservation and Community Building." The special guests are:
* Mark Weaver of Ancestry.com. Mark will discuss how digital publishing can be used to achieve society’s goals – both in terms of needing to preserve your historical documents but also leverage published content to better serve and promote your society. He will also introduce Ancestry’s fledgling Ancestry Content Publisher program and share examples of how it’s being used today by various institutions to provide open access to its collections and increase reach to potential members.
* Debbie Mieszala CG℠ is our FGS 2011 Conference Speaker of the Week about upcoming presentations at the conference in Springfield, Illinois this September.
3) Check out the recent Webinars on:
* "Best Internet Resources for African American Genealogy," with Angela Walton-Raji (free until 15 September from Legacy Family Tree)
* "Newspapers for Genealogists: Using GenealogyBank.com to document every day of your ancestors' lives" with Tom Kemp. (available from Legacy Family Tree)
* "Organizng for Success" with Karen Clifford (available free indefinitely from Legacy Family Tree)
* "The Power of DNA in Unlocking Family Relationships," with Ugo Perugo (available indefinitely from Legacy Family Tree)
* "Leveraging the Power of "We": a Watershed Event in Discovering Where to Find Your Ancestors (Research Wiki, Research Courses, and FamilySearch Forums)," with Michael Ritchey (available from Legacy Family Tree).
* "Further Your Research and Unify Your Family Reunion with Beautiful Genealogy Charts," with Janet Hovorka (available from Legacy Family Tree).
* RootsMagic Webinars (all free) available at http://www.rootsmagic.com/Webinars/
* National Genealogical Society (NGS) Videos (free to view) at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/videos_online
* Thomas MacEntee's Explorinar on "Easy Website Creation" (free to view).
* Thomas MacEntee's Explorinar on "Evernote - Easy Note Taking" (free to view)
4) Respond to my Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge, posted on www.geneamusings.com soon after 12 noon Pacific time (that's 1900 GMT for those who understand time zones).
5) Go to a local genealogical society program, or go to a library or repository with genealogical resources. My plan is to publish this month's CVGS Newsletter on Saturday and then go to the CVGS Workshop at Bonita-Sunnyside Library to catch Susi Pentico's talk on "Research Methods in Pennsylvania." I'm also going to work on preparing for my trip to the FGS Conference, researching at the Allen County Public Library, and visiting Wisconsin to explore ancestral homes and do research at repositories.
6) Add material (names, dates, places, notes, images, sources, etc.) to your genealogy software program. I collected 127 pages three weeks ago at Carlsbad Library, and have been slowly adding that to my database. Not much hope to do this over this weekend, and when I get back I'll have lots more data!
7) Spend time with your family doing fun things. Linda and I are going to the Padres game on Saturday night, and packing for our trip.
Whatever you decide, please tell us about your genealogy endeavors on a social network or in a blog post. You never know when your experiences may stimulate or encourage others to do useful genealogy work.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
New FamilySearch Historical Collections - August 2011
....
I last listed the new or updated collections on the FamilySearch Historical Collections website on 2 August, when there were 683 collections on the list. Since then, these Historical Record Collections have been added to make a total of 707 collections as of today:
Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Catholic Church Records, 1586-1970 , added 1 Aug 2011, browse images only
North Carolina, Confederate Soldiers and Widows Pension Applications, 1885-1953, added 31 Aug 2011, browse images only
Mexico, Chihuahua, Civil Registration, 1861-1997 , added 1 Aug 2011, browse images only
Idaho, Cassia County Records,, added 31 Aug 2011, browse images only
Mexico, México Estado, Civil Registration, 1861-1941, added 31 Aug 2011, browse images only
United States, Index to Passenger Arrivals, Atlantic and Gulf Ports, 1820-1874, added 31 Aug 2011, browse images only
Idaho, Teton County Records, added 31 Aug 2011, browse images only
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1883-1945, added 30 Aug 2011, browse images only
Oregon, Yamhill County Records, 1857-1963, added 30 Aug 2011, browse images only
Michigan, Detroit Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Detroit, 1906-1954, added30 Aug 2011, browse images only
United States, Records of Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865, added 30 Aug 2011, browse images only
Spain, Cádiz, Testaments, 1550-1920, added 26 Aug 2011, browse images only
Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh City Deaths, 1870-1905, added 25 Aug 2011, 154,203 records
Mexico, Jalisco, Civil Registration, 1857-2000, added 25 Aug 2011, browse images only
Kentucky, Probate Records, 1792-1977, added 24 Aug 2011, browse images only
Denmark Civil Marriages, 1851-1961, added 22 Aug 2011, browse images only
North Carolina, Estate Files, 1663-1917, added 20 Aug 2011, 13,273 records
Austria, Seigniorial Records, 1537-1888, added 19 Aug 2011, browse images only
Russia Tver Church Books, 1722-1918, added 19 Aug 2011, browse images only
Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Civil Registration, added 18 Aug 2011, browse images only
England, Essex Parish Registers, 1538-1900, added 18 Aug 2011, 537,583 records
Ohio, Stark County Coroner's Records, 1890-2002, added 16 Aug 2011, browse images only
Belgium, Oost-Vlaanderen, Parish Registers, 1588-1799, added 16 Aug 2011, browse images only
Virginia, Winchester, Evening Star Obituaries, 1899-1909, added 12 Aug 2011 5,819 records
United States, Civil War Widows and Other Dependents Pension Files, added 9 Aug 2011, 1,351,000 records
Austria, Upper Austria, Linz Citizen Rolls, 1658-1937, added 3 Aug 2011, browse images only
There are 25 items on the list above, but 24 newly added databases since 2 August, so I have missed one. Oh well! I will update the list as I receive information about the new databases.
All FamilySearch Historical Record Collections can be accessed at https://www.familysearch.org/s/collection/list. You can see the date that collections were recently added or updated by clicking on the "Last Updated" link.
I last listed the new or updated collections on the FamilySearch Historical Collections website on 2 August, when there were 683 collections on the list. Since then, these Historical Record Collections have been added to make a total of 707 collections as of today:
In the list above, I tried to identify many of the collections as newly added by comparing them to last months listing. When FamilySearch sends their email notifications to interested parties, they are identifying whether they are new or previously existing collections - they don't say which collections are added to the list for the first time..
There are 25 items on the list above, but 24 newly added databases since 2 August, so I have missed one. Oh well! I will update the list as I receive information about the new databases.
All FamilySearch Historical Record Collections can be accessed at https://www.familysearch.org/s/collection/list. You can see the date that collections were recently added or updated by clicking on the "Last Updated" link.
Content from SmallTownPapers and Gannett Leaving Fold3
I received this news from Fold3 via email:
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Content from SmallTownPapers and Gannett Leaving Fold3
On September 15th we will be removing from Fold3 some of the newspapers that came from two of our partners, SmallTownPapers® and Gannett. This is due to contractual issues and we have no plans to remove any other content from the site.
Here are a few questions that you may have about this change:
Which titles will be removed and which will still be available on Fold3?
All titles from SmallTownPapers and Gannett will be removed. Nearly all of these titles are from our newspaper collection. To help you see which titles will be affected, we've collected those that will be removed into a category called "SmallTownPapers and Gannett" in the "Other Records" category of the browse on the site until they are removed on the 15th.
Only titles from SmallTownPapers and Gannett will be removed and we will still have great historical newspapers on the site including The Chicago Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, The Atlanta Constitution and The London Times.
What about images from these titles that I have added to my Gallery or downloaded?
All Gannett images will be removed from the site and will no longer be accessible on Fold3. From the SmallTownPapers collection, we have negotiated ongoing rights to images to which users have contributed (for example, bookmarked, commented on, annotated, spotlighted or added to their Gallery or to a memorial page). All other SmallTownPapers images will be removed from the site. Of course this will not affect any copies of images you have downloaded to your hard drive.
How does this affect other titles on Fold3?
This only affects titles from SmallTownPapers and Gannett. We have ongoing rights to all the other titles on the site and have no plans to remove any other content.
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I appreciate Fold3.com providing this information, and I'm glad that the five newspapers mentioned are still included in the Fold3 historical collections.
The Small Town Papers site is free to access (www.smalltownnewspapers.com).
disclosure: I have a fully paid subscription to Fold3.com (formerly Footnote.com) and have received no benefits from them for writing this post.
=========================
Content from SmallTownPapers and Gannett Leaving Fold3
On September 15th we will be removing from Fold3 some of the newspapers that came from two of our partners, SmallTownPapers® and Gannett. This is due to contractual issues and we have no plans to remove any other content from the site.
Here are a few questions that you may have about this change:
Which titles will be removed and which will still be available on Fold3?
All titles from SmallTownPapers and Gannett will be removed. Nearly all of these titles are from our newspaper collection. To help you see which titles will be affected, we've collected those that will be removed into a category called "SmallTownPapers and Gannett" in the "Other Records" category of the browse on the site until they are removed on the 15th.
Only titles from SmallTownPapers and Gannett will be removed and we will still have great historical newspapers on the site including The Chicago Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, The Atlanta Constitution and The London Times.
What about images from these titles that I have added to my Gallery or downloaded?
All Gannett images will be removed from the site and will no longer be accessible on Fold3. From the SmallTownPapers collection, we have negotiated ongoing rights to images to which users have contributed (for example, bookmarked, commented on, annotated, spotlighted or added to their Gallery or to a memorial page). All other SmallTownPapers images will be removed from the site. Of course this will not affect any copies of images you have downloaded to your hard drive.
How does this affect other titles on Fold3?
This only affects titles from SmallTownPapers and Gannett. We have ongoing rights to all the other titles on the site and have no plans to remove any other content.
Searching Census Records on Archives.com
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In Archives.com has 1790 to 1930 U.S. Census Records, I highlighted what was indexed and provided to users in the U.S. Census records available on www.Archives.com. In general, Archives.com has access to the FamilySearch census record collections, which includes an index to all of them and page images for the 1850, 1870, and 1900 U.S. census.
I wanted to show some screen shots and make some observations about searching these census records.
A general search in the census records (all years) for Isaac Seaver, born in 1823 in Massachusetts, produces a screen like this:
There are links to each match on the right. If an image is available, then an image is shown and can be clicked on to view the image.
The search fields are shown on the left-hand side of the screen so the user can modify their search criteria - the fields are First Name, Last Name (required), Middle Name, Maiden Name, Residence (Required), Birth State, County, Birth Year (with range), and census Year. The user can check a box for Exact matches for the First Name, Last Name and Residence.
An 1840 census record looks like this:
As you can see, there is no other information, or links to other information, except for the name and residence.
The 1870 U.S. census match looks like this:
In the screen above, you can see the links to other persons in the household, and you can click on the image to see the image, which is shown below:
The 1920 U.S. census search matches for Fred Seaver (born 1852 in Massachusetts) is shown below:
I tried to use a wild card for his names in the search box, and saw this:
A user cannot use wild cards for any name - the acceptable characters are letters, spaces and dashes. The user can select either "All" or a specific state for the Residence and Birth State fields. The user can add a birth year range of plus/minus 0, 1, 2, 5, or 10 years. An "Exact" check box produces only an Exact Match.
The lack of wild card capability makes census searches much more difficult, because of the many errors in enumerating and indexing the records. The free FamilySearch.org website permits wild card searches, why doesn't Archives.com?
Disclosure: Archives.com provided a free subscription to their collection at the SCGS 2011 Jamboree which I appreciate. This did not influence my statements in this blog post, but it did enable them to be made!
In Archives.com has 1790 to 1930 U.S. Census Records, I highlighted what was indexed and provided to users in the U.S. Census records available on www.Archives.com. In general, Archives.com has access to the FamilySearch census record collections, which includes an index to all of them and page images for the 1850, 1870, and 1900 U.S. census.
I wanted to show some screen shots and make some observations about searching these census records.
A general search in the census records (all years) for Isaac Seaver, born in 1823 in Massachusetts, produces a screen like this:
There are links to each match on the right. If an image is available, then an image is shown and can be clicked on to view the image.
The search fields are shown on the left-hand side of the screen so the user can modify their search criteria - the fields are First Name, Last Name (required), Middle Name, Maiden Name, Residence (Required), Birth State, County, Birth Year (with range), and census Year. The user can check a box for Exact matches for the First Name, Last Name and Residence.
An 1840 census record looks like this:
As you can see, there is no other information, or links to other information, except for the name and residence.
The 1870 U.S. census match looks like this:
In the screen above, you can see the links to other persons in the household, and you can click on the image to see the image, which is shown below:
The 1920 U.S. census search matches for Fred Seaver (born 1852 in Massachusetts) is shown below:
I tried to use a wild card for his names in the search box, and saw this:
A user cannot use wild cards for any name - the acceptable characters are letters, spaces and dashes. The user can select either "All" or a specific state for the Residence and Birth State fields. The user can add a birth year range of plus/minus 0, 1, 2, 5, or 10 years. An "Exact" check box produces only an Exact Match.
The lack of wild card capability makes census searches much more difficult, because of the many errors in enumerating and indexing the records. The free FamilySearch.org website permits wild card searches, why doesn't Archives.com?
Disclosure: Archives.com provided a free subscription to their collection at the SCGS 2011 Jamboree which I appreciate. This did not influence my statements in this blog post, but it did enable them to be made!
Archives.com has 1790 to 1930 U.S. Census Records
...
Archives.com added the U.S. census data to their collection today - read it at GeneaPress - Archives.com Adds the U.S. Census to its Website.
I checked it to see what they have in terms if index items and page images:
* 1790 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, residence, genealogical society number, NARA microfilm series number, NARA microfilm roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1800 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, residence, genealogical society number, NARA microfilm series number, NARA microfilm roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1810 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, residence, genealogical society number, NARA microfilm series number, NARA microfilm roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1820 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, residence, genealogical society number, NARA microfilm series number, NARA microfilm roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1830 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, residence, genealogical society number, NARA microfilm series number, NARA microfilm roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1840 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, residence, genealogical society number, NARA microfilm series number, NARA microfilm roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1850 U.S. Census - index listing (first name, last name, age, gender, birth location, residence, other people in household (linked), genealogical society number, FHL microfilm number, line number, source information) and page images.
* 1860 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, age, gender, birth location, residence, other people in household (linked), NARA publication number, source information), no page images.
* 1870 U.S. Census - index listing (first name, last name, age, gender, race, birth location, residence, other people in household (linked), genealogical society number, FHL microfilm number, line number, source information) and page images.
* 1880 U.S. Census - index listing (first name, last name, age, gender, race, ethnicity, birth location, residence, occupation, relationship to head of household, other people in household (linked), father birthplace, mother birthplace, marital status, spouse's first name, spouse's last name, spouse birthplace, NARA microfilm/roll number, line number, source information), no page images.
* 1890 U.S. Census (very limited coverage due to census loss) - index listing only (first name, last name, age, gender, race, birth location, ED, residence, occupation, relationship to head of household, other people in household (linked), father birthplace, mother birthplace, marital status, spouse's first name, spouse's last name, spouse birthplace, FHL microfilm number, NARA microfilm/roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1900 U.S. Census - index listing (first name, last name, age, gender, race, ethnicity, estimated birth year, birth location, ED, residence, occupation, relationship to head of household, head of household first name, head of household last name, other people in household (linked), father birthplace, mother birthplace, marital status, years married, spouse's first name, spouse's last name, spouse birthplace, immigration year, genealogical society number, line number, source information) and page images.
* 1910 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, age, gender, race, ethnicity, estimated birth year, birth location, residence, relationship to head of household, head of household first name, head of household last name, other people in household (linked), father birthplace, mother birthplace, marital status, years married, spouse's first name, spouse's last name, spouse birthplace, immigration year, source information), no page images.
* 1920 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, age, gender, race, ethnicity, estimated birth year, birth location, residence, relationship to head of household, head of household first name, head of household last name, other people in household (linked), father birthplace, mother birthplace, marital status, years married, spouse's first name, spouse's last name, spouse birthplace, can read, can write, own residence or home, immigration year, line number, source information), no page images.
* 1930 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, age, estimated birth year, birth location, residence, relationship to head of household, head of household first name, head of household last name, other people in household (linked), source information), page images available on www.Footnote.com only.
I highlighted in red the presence of an index and page images in the list above.
Archives.com has the 1790 through 1840 U.S. census index, which is currently not on the FamilySearch website. It appears that Archives.com uses the FamilySearch index items directly.
I noted that the reference to FHL microfilms and/or NARA microfilms is very inconsistent in both the FamilySearch and Archives index listings. There are no ED numbers for some of the censuses that had one, there are no roll numbers for most of the censuses, there are no page numbers for any of the censuses, etc. That makes it very difficult to source these census records accurately. It's really not that hard...FamilySearch and Archives would do researchers a favor by adding at least the NARA microfilm publication number and roll number to the index listings.
I'm glad that Archives.com is providing access to these records, but researchers can obtain all but the 1790 to 1840 records for free at https://www.FamilySearch.org.
I'll have more to say about the Archives.com search capabilities in a later post.
Disclosure: Archives.com provided a free subscription to their collection at the SCGS 2011 Jamboree which I appreciate. This did not influence my statements in this blog post, but it did enable them to be made!
Archives.com added the U.S. census data to their collection today - read it at GeneaPress - Archives.com Adds the U.S. Census to its Website.
I checked it to see what they have in terms if index items and page images:
* 1790 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, residence, genealogical society number, NARA microfilm series number, NARA microfilm roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1800 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, residence, genealogical society number, NARA microfilm series number, NARA microfilm roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1810 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, residence, genealogical society number, NARA microfilm series number, NARA microfilm roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1820 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, residence, genealogical society number, NARA microfilm series number, NARA microfilm roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1830 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, residence, genealogical society number, NARA microfilm series number, NARA microfilm roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1840 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, residence, genealogical society number, NARA microfilm series number, NARA microfilm roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1850 U.S. Census - index listing (first name, last name, age, gender, birth location, residence, other people in household (linked), genealogical society number, FHL microfilm number, line number, source information) and page images.
* 1860 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, age, gender, birth location, residence, other people in household (linked), NARA publication number, source information), no page images.
* 1870 U.S. Census - index listing (first name, last name, age, gender, race, birth location, residence, other people in household (linked), genealogical society number, FHL microfilm number, line number, source information) and page images.
* 1880 U.S. Census - index listing (first name, last name, age, gender, race, ethnicity, birth location, residence, occupation, relationship to head of household, other people in household (linked), father birthplace, mother birthplace, marital status, spouse's first name, spouse's last name, spouse birthplace, NARA microfilm/roll number, line number, source information), no page images.
* 1890 U.S. Census (very limited coverage due to census loss) - index listing only (first name, last name, age, gender, race, birth location, ED, residence, occupation, relationship to head of household, other people in household (linked), father birthplace, mother birthplace, marital status, spouse's first name, spouse's last name, spouse birthplace, FHL microfilm number, NARA microfilm/roll number, source information), no page images.
* 1900 U.S. Census - index listing (first name, last name, age, gender, race, ethnicity, estimated birth year, birth location, ED, residence, occupation, relationship to head of household, head of household first name, head of household last name, other people in household (linked), father birthplace, mother birthplace, marital status, years married, spouse's first name, spouse's last name, spouse birthplace, immigration year, genealogical society number, line number, source information) and page images.
* 1910 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, age, gender, race, ethnicity, estimated birth year, birth location, residence, relationship to head of household, head of household first name, head of household last name, other people in household (linked), father birthplace, mother birthplace, marital status, years married, spouse's first name, spouse's last name, spouse birthplace, immigration year, source information), no page images.
* 1920 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, age, gender, race, ethnicity, estimated birth year, birth location, residence, relationship to head of household, head of household first name, head of household last name, other people in household (linked), father birthplace, mother birthplace, marital status, years married, spouse's first name, spouse's last name, spouse birthplace, can read, can write, own residence or home, immigration year, line number, source information), no page images.
* 1930 U.S. Census - index listing only (first name, last name, age, estimated birth year, birth location, residence, relationship to head of household, head of household first name, head of household last name, other people in household (linked), source information), page images available on www.Footnote.com only.
I highlighted in red the presence of an index and page images in the list above.
Archives.com has the 1790 through 1840 U.S. census index, which is currently not on the FamilySearch website. It appears that Archives.com uses the FamilySearch index items directly.
I noted that the reference to FHL microfilms and/or NARA microfilms is very inconsistent in both the FamilySearch and Archives index listings. There are no ED numbers for some of the censuses that had one, there are no roll numbers for most of the censuses, there are no page numbers for any of the censuses, etc. That makes it very difficult to source these census records accurately. It's really not that hard...FamilySearch and Archives would do researchers a favor by adding at least the NARA microfilm publication number and roll number to the index listings.
I'm glad that Archives.com is providing access to these records, but researchers can obtain all but the 1790 to 1840 records for free at https://www.FamilySearch.org.
I'll have more to say about the Archives.com search capabilities in a later post.
Disclosure: Archives.com provided a free subscription to their collection at the SCGS 2011 Jamboree which I appreciate. This did not influence my statements in this blog post, but it did enable them to be made!
Treasure Chest Thursday - Amy Oatley's 1865 Death Certificate
...
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 certified death certificate for Amy (Champlin) Oatley (1798-1865) of Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut:
The information in this death certificate is fairly sparse, mainly because the town of Killingly did not collect a lot of information when a person died in this time frame. The information available is:
* Name: Amy Oatley
* Sex: Female
* Date of Birth: ------
* Race: White
* Age: 66
* Date of Death: Feb. 8, 1865
* County of Death: Windham
* Town of Death: Killingly
* City & State of birth: Kingston, Rhode Island
* Marital Status: Married
* Last Spouse: --------------------
* Usual Occupation: Housekeeper
* Residence-State: Connecticut
* Residence-County: Windham
* Residence-Town: Killingly
* Cause of Death: Phthisis
* Certification - Physician: E.A. Hill
I did not include all of the other fields on the form which had no typed data in them.
I obtained this certificate by mail from Kathleen M. Pelletier, Registrar of Vital Statistics for the town of Killingly, on 24 January 1992.
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 certified death certificate for Amy (Champlin) Oatley (1798-1865) of Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut:
The information in this death certificate is fairly sparse, mainly because the town of Killingly did not collect a lot of information when a person died in this time frame. The information available is:
* Name: Amy Oatley
* Sex: Female
* Date of Birth: ------
* Race: White
* Age: 66
* Date of Death: Feb. 8, 1865
* County of Death: Windham
* Town of Death: Killingly
* City & State of birth: Kingston, Rhode Island
* Marital Status: Married
* Last Spouse: --------------------
* Usual Occupation: Housekeeper
* Residence-State: Connecticut
* Residence-County: Windham
* Residence-Town: Killingly
* Cause of Death: Phthisis
* Certification - Physician: E.A. Hill
I did not include all of the other fields on the form which had no typed data in them.
I obtained this certificate by mail from Kathleen M. Pelletier, Registrar of Vital Statistics for the town of Killingly, on 24 January 1992.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Story: Family Tree DNA confirms two NFL players are half-siblings
...
I received this press release from Max Blankfeld of FamilyTreeDNA today. It's interesting to me for both the DNA aspects and the fact that one of the half-brothers is a San Diego Charger football player:
----------------------
Until a few months ago, Xavier Omon, from the San Francisco 49ers and Ogemdi Nwagbuo from the San Diego Chargers did not have a clue that they were related. Early August, at the request of ESPN, Family Tree DNA performed the Family Finder test on both, and the result was unequivocal: definitely half-siblings. More of the story can be found at the ESPN website, under the “Brother’s Tale” story [titled A brothers' tale for Omon, Nwagbuo.].
The Family Finder test allows connecting with family members across all ancestral lines. While the Y-DNA matches men with a specific paternal line and the mtDNA finds potential relatives only along the maternal line, Family Finder can look for close relationships along all ancestral lines. Anyone, regardless of their gender, may confidently match to male and female cousins from any of their family lines in the past five generations. The science is based on linked blocks of DNA across the 22 autosomal chromosomes that are matched between two people.
Based on this concept, Family Tree DNA bioinformatics team has worked extensively to develop the calculations that would yield the closeness of the relationship.
The possibilities to find matches abound: grandparents, aunts and uncles; half siblings; first, second, third and fourth cousins; and, more tentatively, fifth cousins.
About Family Tree DNA
Founded in April 2000, Family Tree DNA was the first company to develop the commercial application of DNA testing for genealogical purposes, something that had previously been available only for academic and scientific research. Almost a decade later, the Houston-based company has a database with over 345,000 individual records – the largest DNA database in genetic genealogy, and a number that makes Family Tree DNA the prime source for anyone researching recent and distant family ties. In 2006 Family Tree DNA established a state of the art Genomics Research Center at its headquarters in Houston, Texas, where it currently performs R&D and processes over 200 advanced types of DNA tests for its customers.
Media contactSharon Weisz, —tel: 323-934-2700; e-mail: Sharon@familytreedna.com
----------------------------------------
I received this press release from Max Blankfeld of FamilyTreeDNA today. It's interesting to me for both the DNA aspects and the fact that one of the half-brothers is a San Diego Charger football player:
----------------------
Family Tree DNA confirms two NFL players are half-siblings.
Family Tree DNA, the pioneer and largest DNA testing company for genealogy purposes, through its Family Finder test, provided the conclusive proof that two NFL players are half-siblings.
Until a few months ago, Xavier Omon, from the San Francisco 49ers and Ogemdi Nwagbuo from the San Diego Chargers did not have a clue that they were related. Early August, at the request of ESPN, Family Tree DNA performed the Family Finder test on both, and the result was unequivocal: definitely half-siblings. More of the story can be found at the ESPN website, under the “Brother’s Tale” story [titled A brothers' tale for Omon, Nwagbuo.].
The Family Finder test allows connecting with family members across all ancestral lines. While the Y-DNA matches men with a specific paternal line and the mtDNA finds potential relatives only along the maternal line, Family Finder can look for close relationships along all ancestral lines. Anyone, regardless of their gender, may confidently match to male and female cousins from any of their family lines in the past five generations. The science is based on linked blocks of DNA across the 22 autosomal chromosomes that are matched between two people.
Based on this concept, Family Tree DNA bioinformatics team has worked extensively to develop the calculations that would yield the closeness of the relationship.
The possibilities to find matches abound: grandparents, aunts and uncles; half siblings; first, second, third and fourth cousins; and, more tentatively, fifth cousins.
About Family Tree DNA
Founded in April 2000, Family Tree DNA was the first company to develop the commercial application of DNA testing for genealogical purposes, something that had previously been available only for academic and scientific research. Almost a decade later, the Houston-based company has a database with over 345,000 individual records – the largest DNA database in genetic genealogy, and a number that makes Family Tree DNA the prime source for anyone researching recent and distant family ties. In 2006 Family Tree DNA established a state of the art Genomics Research Center at its headquarters in Houston, Texas, where it currently performs R&D and processes over 200 advanced types of DNA tests for its customers.
Media contact
----------------------------------------
CVGS Meeting on Saturday, 3 September on Pennsylvania Research
...
The September 2011 Workshop for the Chula Vista Genealogical Society (CVGS) is Saturday, 3 September, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Bonita-Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Road in Bonita).
The workshop will be "Research Methods in Pennsylvania," presented by Susi Pentico, the CVGS Education Chair.
The September 2011 Workshop for the Chula Vista Genealogical Society (CVGS) is Saturday, 3 September, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Bonita-Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Road in Bonita).
The workshop will be "Research Methods in Pennsylvania," presented by Susi Pentico, the CVGS Education Chair.
Planning for my visit to Dane County, Wisconsin
...
After writing Planning for my visit to Dodge County, Wisconsin, I started working on planning to visit Dane County, Wisconsin (two counties southwest of Dodge County).
I want to do research at the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, looking for information about my Smith and Vaux families of Dodge County, but also information about my wife's Severson/Leland and Erikson/Natvig families that immigrated from Norway in the 1850s and settled in Deerfield and Cottage Grove towns, respectively.
I had hopes that the homes might still be standing, so I needed to find out where the two families resided. Fortunately, Ancestry.com has plat maps for 1873, 1890, 1899 and 1911 for Dane county and I easily found the maps for the two towns.
Here is the town map of Dane County from 1873:
Cottage Grove town is two towns east of Madison, and Deerfield is three towns east of Madison.
The map of Deerfield from 1873 is shown below :
Looking carefully, I found T. Severson (Torger Sjurson) in Section 23 (three up, two over from the lower right-hand corner of the map above). His land is the Southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 23. This map page says that Deerfield town is Township 7 North, Range 12 East of the 4th Principal Meridian in Wisconsin.
So how can I find that place on a current map? I used Google Maps to see the road map and the satellite map for the area, but could not figure out exactly where the land was because the roads are different now than they were in the plat maps.
I recalled attending Pam Sayre's class at FGS 2009, and Lisa Louise Cooke's class at Jamboree in 2010 about using Earthpoint and Google Earth to define the location of the Section. I wrote about it in Using Google Earth to find land location in the Public Land Survey System States in 2009.
I knew the section description, so I went to the www.Earthpoint.us page for Township and Range - Public Land Survey System on Google Earth and entered the Section information, then clicked on the "Fly To on Google Earth" button, and saw:
Section 23 is outlined in magenta in the screen above. I zoomed in to the Section and saw:
Fortunately, you can see some of the outlines of the 40 acre plots from the survey, especially in the Southeast quarter. Zooming in some more to the Southeast quarter:
There's a house on this property in the current satellite map. It is on North Fair Oak Road, just south of Fair Oak Road and north of London Road.
I found the Erikson/Natvig property in Cottage Grove too, and one of the roads through the current property is called Natvig Road. However, there does not appear to be a house on the property now.
The 1890 plat map of Deerfield indicates that the property was owned by by C. Kufahl in 1890 (SE quarter of SE quarter, 40 acres), by Wm. Kufahl in 1899 (now S half of SE quarter, 80 acres), by Wm. Kufahl in 1904 (S half of SE quarter, 80 acres), and by Wm. Keufahl in 1911 (S half of SE quarter, 80 acres).
It appears that Torger Severson (later Torger Leland after the family adopted the Leland name before 1880) sold the property before 1890. T. Leland and O. Leland are listed with the London post office on the 1890 plat map.
Aren't these online tools cool?
After writing Planning for my visit to Dodge County, Wisconsin, I started working on planning to visit Dane County, Wisconsin (two counties southwest of Dodge County).
I want to do research at the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, looking for information about my Smith and Vaux families of Dodge County, but also information about my wife's Severson/Leland and Erikson/Natvig families that immigrated from Norway in the 1850s and settled in Deerfield and Cottage Grove towns, respectively.
I had hopes that the homes might still be standing, so I needed to find out where the two families resided. Fortunately, Ancestry.com has plat maps for 1873, 1890, 1899 and 1911 for Dane county and I easily found the maps for the two towns.
Here is the town map of Dane County from 1873:
Cottage Grove town is two towns east of Madison, and Deerfield is three towns east of Madison.
The map of Deerfield from 1873 is shown below :
Looking carefully, I found T. Severson (Torger Sjurson) in Section 23 (three up, two over from the lower right-hand corner of the map above). His land is the Southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 23. This map page says that Deerfield town is Township 7 North, Range 12 East of the 4th Principal Meridian in Wisconsin.
So how can I find that place on a current map? I used Google Maps to see the road map and the satellite map for the area, but could not figure out exactly where the land was because the roads are different now than they were in the plat maps.
I recalled attending Pam Sayre's class at FGS 2009, and Lisa Louise Cooke's class at Jamboree in 2010 about using Earthpoint and Google Earth to define the location of the Section. I wrote about it in Using Google Earth to find land location in the Public Land Survey System States in 2009.
I knew the section description, so I went to the www.Earthpoint.us page for Township and Range - Public Land Survey System on Google Earth and entered the Section information, then clicked on the "Fly To on Google Earth" button, and saw:
Section 23 is outlined in magenta in the screen above. I zoomed in to the Section and saw:
Fortunately, you can see some of the outlines of the 40 acre plots from the survey, especially in the Southeast quarter. Zooming in some more to the Southeast quarter:
There's a house on this property in the current satellite map. It is on North Fair Oak Road, just south of Fair Oak Road and north of London Road.
I found the Erikson/Natvig property in Cottage Grove too, and one of the roads through the current property is called Natvig Road. However, there does not appear to be a house on the property now.
The 1890 plat map of Deerfield indicates that the property was owned by by C. Kufahl in 1890 (SE quarter of SE quarter, 40 acres), by Wm. Kufahl in 1899 (now S half of SE quarter, 80 acres), by Wm. Kufahl in 1904 (S half of SE quarter, 80 acres), and by Wm. Keufahl in 1911 (S half of SE quarter, 80 acres).
It appears that Torger Severson (later Torger Leland after the family adopted the Leland name before 1880) sold the property before 1890. T. Leland and O. Leland are listed with the London post office on the 1890 plat map.
Aren't these online tools cool?
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