Best of the Genea-Blogs - 3 to 9 June 2012

Hundreds of genealogy and family history bloggers write thousands of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests. I appreciate each one of them and their efforts.

My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the genealogy carnivals, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.

Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week:

*  In Search of ... Baby Taylor by P.J. Sabados on the Adventuring in Ancestry blog.   P.J. tracked down a missing child in an ancestral family - great analysis and persistence.

*  Carnival of Genealogy, 118th Edition by Jasia on the Creative Gene blog.  There are 16 entries for this Carnival on the topic of "Reading!"  Enjoy.

*  No Big Deal by James Tanner on the Genealogy's Star blog.   Great and accurate (IMHO) observations...been there, done that.

*  I'm Back! by Bart Brenner on the Stardust 'n' Roots blog.  Welcome back, Bart...we missed you.  Great observations too!

*  Alone in the Wilderness by Jill Ball on the Geniaus blog.  Jill has words of encouragement for geneabloggers, and thinks we should continue to be different, lead collaboration by example, and press on.  I'm in!

*  Elizabeth Shown Mills Ten-Point Study Blueprint by Angela McGhee on the Adventures in Genealogy Education blog.  Angela shares ESM's blueprint - if you want to improve your research and writing skills, this is how.

* The Genealogy Generational Disconnect by Elyse Doerflinger on Elyse's Genealogy Blog.  Elyse shares her thoughts on this issue.

*  Why Just Genealogical Research is Not Enough by J.M. on the Tracing My Roots blog.  J.M. has great advice for family history writers - that I think not enough genealogists learn until it's too late.

*  What happens when you learn to do genealogy right by Beirne Konarski on the GenVoyage blog.  Beirne 's interesting post explores the challenges faced by genealogists as they mature - I can really identify with this!

Several genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts and news summary posts this week, including:  

*  Monday Morning Mentions by Lynn Palermo on The Armchair Genealogist blog.

*  Monday Recap for June 4, 2012 by Amanda on The Geni Blog.

*  Ruth's Recommendations by Ruth Blair on The Passionate Genealogist blog.

*  Genealogy Round Up, June 7 by Megan Smolenyak on the Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak's Roots World Blog.

*  Follow Friday: This Week's Favorite Finds by Jen on the Climbing My Family Tree blog.

*  Genealogy News Corral, June 4-8 by Diane Haddad on The Genealogy Insider blog.

I encourage readers to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blogs to your Favorites, Google Reader, RSS feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.

Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I am currently reading posts from over 1200 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems.

Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.

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Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

SCGS Genealogy Jamboree Day #3 - Saturday

This was the first full day of classes at the Jamboree, and the place was packed.  Some classes were overflowing and some had few attendees. 

*  We were up early, at breakfast by 7:15 a.m. and I went off to watch the Jamboree Genealogy Idol competition webinar at 8 a.m. hosted by Geoff Rasmussen of Legacy Family Tree.  Tessa Keough was the winner in my book, and the winner selected by the voters on the webinar.

*  I walked through the exhibit hall and talked to several vendors - Geni, FamilyChartMasters, and Moorshead Magazine among others.  I decided to attend Daniel Horowitz's class on "Mobile Devices and Applications for Genealogists."  I tweeted throughout, which can be read on Twitter and Facebook.

*  I was on Blogger Summit Panel I, and that went fairly well with Thomas MacEntee, Gena Ortega, Tonia Kendrick and Caroline Pointer.  There were lots of questions from the audience.  Thomas showed blogs and other websites on the screen.

*  Linda and I had lunch in the patio - I had a cheeseburger, banana and cookies from the vendors.  We sat in the warm sun.  I went into the cool and shady exhibit hall and wandered for awhile.  The 2 p.m. program was Blogger Summit Panel II with Thomas MacEntee, Michelle Shimkus, Denise Levenick, Elyse Doerflinger and The Ancestry Insider on the panel.  I tweeted through this one also. 

*  That was over at 3 p.m., and we took the yearly geneablogger picture in the hotel lobby area.  I went over to see the Ancestry prize drawings - but they were held at 1 p.m. today.  Oops.  Drat.  Then I talked to Geoff Rasmussen, Kathryn Doyle and CeCe Moore in the hallway.  I went and put my name into the 23andMe drawing also.  I missed some of the next class, but sat in on the end of Lisa Cooke's class on "Ten Ways to Add Volume to Your Family History with Video."

*  Back into the exhibit hall to browse and take some pictures, then I went to the bar and found the usual suspects there.  I should have gone to a presentation, but I didn't.  I hung around the blogger lounge area and then the exhibit hall.

*  I went up to get Linda at 6 p.m. and we met the ProGen class members for the picture at 6:15 in the hotel lobby area.  We met Steve, Gini, Emma, Angela and Cheryl to go to dinner, and Bruce, Laurie, Janet and Adam invited us to join them at Branagans.  It was a Mexican place - who knew?  When we walked in, there was Gena and her son, and A.C. and his family.  So we had 17 for dinner!  It was fun, and good.

*  We were back by 8:45 p.m. and I grabbed my laptop case while Linda went to bed.  I set up down in the blogger lounge on the table and added to the Best Of post and then wrote this post.  It's 10 p.m. and everybody but Nancy and I have disappeared. 

I posted some pictures from the Hollywood Gala last night on Facebook but cannot add them to my blog posts until I get home. 

Sunday is the last day of the Conference.  The last class is over at 3 p.m. and we have a 4:25 p.m. train ticket.  I may not get a blog post done on Sunday due to arriving home relatively late.

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Who is Your Genealogy Idol?

Hey genea-philes - it's SATURDAY NIGHT, and time for more GENEALOGY FUN!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  Legacy Family Tree webinar viewers selected the second Genealogy Idol today (see www.legacyfamilytree.com/Webinars.asp).  Did you watch it, and vote in it?  If not, you could watch it now (I hope...).

2)  Decide which genealogy industry persons you would like to see compete in the next Genealogy Idol competition.  And tell us why!

3)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, in a Facebook status post, or a Google Plus Stream post.

Here's mine:

I'm tempted to rattle off three of the most famous genealogists in America at this point - like Tom Jones, Elizabeth Shown Mills and Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak.  That might be really interesting, but I would hate for any of them to lose.

Here are my three contestants for the "Google" Genealogy Idol contest:

*  Lisa Louise Cooke - the author of the book "The Genealogists' Google Toolbox."

*  Daniel M. Lynch - the author of the book "Google Your Family Tree."

*  Gena Philibert Ortega - presenter of "Using Google in Your Genealogy"

These three well known and wonderful presenters would certainly give the audience a number of superb tips on how to use Google for furthering our genealogy research.

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Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Surname Saturday - BLOETGOET/BLOODGOOD (Holland > New York > New Jersey)

It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week.  I have some blank spots after #473 (last week), so I am up  to number 479, Elizabeth Bloodgood (1698-1760). [Note: The 6th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts] 

My ancestral line back to Elizabeth BLOODGOOD (and three more generations) is:

1. Randall J. Seaver

2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002) 

6.  Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976)
7.  Emily Kemp Auble (1899-1977)

14.  Charles Auble (1849-1916)
15.  Georgianna Kemp (1868-1952)

28.  David Auble (1817-1894)
29.  Sarah Knapp (1818-ca 1900) 

58.  William Knapp (1775-1856)
59.  Sarah Cutter (1785-1878)

118.  Stephen Cutter (1745-1823)
119.  Tabitha Randolph (about 1751- 1841)

238.  Samuel Fitz Randolph (1730-????)
239.  Martha Gach (1729-????)

478.  Thomas Gach, born 1702 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States; died before 09 March 1770 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States.  He was the son of 956. Thomas Gage and 957. Elizabeth Hunt.  He married 17 August 1721 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States.

479.  Elizabeth Bloodgood, born 29 May 1703 in Flushing, Queens, New York, United States.

Children of Thomas Gach and Elizabeth Bloodgood are:  Elizabeth Gach (1722-1724); Mary Gach (1724-????); Elizabeth Gach (1726-????); John Gach (1727-1770); Sarah Gach (1727-????); Martha Gach (1729-????); Anna Gach (1732-????); Thomas Gach (1735-????); Catherine Gach (1737-????); Martin Gach (1739-????); Esther Gach (1741-????); Phillip Gach (1744-????).

958.  John Bloetgoet, born before 04 August 1672 in Flushing, Queens, New York, United States; died before 18 May 1716 in Flushing, Queens, New York, United States.  He married 

959.  Mary Morgan, born about 1672 in Flushing, Queens, New York, United States.  She was the daughter of 1918. Charles Morgan.

Children of John Bloetgoet and Mary Morgan are:  Deborah Bloodgood (????-????); Jeffrey Bloodgood (????-????); Francis Bloodgood (1694-1766); John Bloodgood (1696-????); William Bloodgood (1698-1756); Elizabeth Bloodgood (1703-????).

1916.  Frans Jans Bloetgoet, born 1635 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands; died after 29 December 1676 in Flushing, Queens, New York, United States.  He was the son of 3832. Jan Hendrickse Bloetgoet and 3833. Geertgen Thomas Van der Gouda.  He married 08 February 1653/54 in Gouda, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands.

1917.  Lysbeth Jans, born 1633 in Gouda, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands.

Children of Frans Bloetgoet and Lysbeth Jans are:  Geertje Bloetgoet (1658-????); Aiantje Bloetgoet (1660-1722); Isabella Bloetgoet (1662-1716); Judith Bloetgoet (1665-1761); William Bloetgoet (1667-1720); Neeltje Bloetgoet (1670-????); John Bloetgoet (1672-1716); Lysbeth Bloetgoet (1675-????).

The Dutch ancestry and New Amsterdam history of these families was described in the articles:

Howard L. Swain, "Frans Bloodgood (Bloedtgoedt) of Flushing, New York," New Netherland Connections, Volume 12, Number 1 (January-March 2007), pages 1-11.  

John Blythe Dobson, "The earliest generations of the Goetbloet alias Bloetgoet family," New Netherland Connections, Volume 12, Number 1 (January-March 2007), pages 12-15.

These articles are available on the NEHGS website (www.AmericanAncestors.org) in the Journals and Periodicals collection, or at local and regional libraries.

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Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

SCGS Jamboree Day #2

Round tables, speaker presentations, exhibit vendors, red carpets, tiaras, lights, camera, action!  That was Friday at the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree for me.  Unfortunately, I cannotp ost pictures from my files on Blogger now from my laptop...but that's OK, because I didn't take many pictures today until the evening Hollywood Gala.

We were down to the blogger lounge at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast, and I went off to the round table meetings at Genealogy World at 9 a.m.  I talked to Pam Journey about data organization, Jean Hibben about Folklore, and then the DNA table with Betty and Doug.  After that hour, I went back to the blogger lounge (there is no "Blogger Island" this year, and checked my email and Facebook on my iPhone.

Linda found me at 11 a.m., and we went across to Subway for a quick lunch, and were back in time to go into the Exhibit Hall when it opened at noon.  I got a T-shirt at 23andMe, a pen at MyHeritage, saw many old friends, met a few new ones, and had a good talk with Earl and Dovy about AncestorSync (it's coming soon...).  I also spoke to Bruce Buzbee about RootsMagic 5 sources and he showed me how to tailor the templates - I'll try it when I have some time.

At 1:30 p.m., I went off to hear Janet Hovorka's presentation on Hatching Eggs Case Study, about enticing her three teens with family history.  I tweeted some highlights, including the URL for her presentation at http://tinyurl.com/hatchingfamilyhistory.

After that, I went to the Tech Zone to look at English records on FindMyPast, but I didn't find anything useful for John Richman or John Rich of Hilperton in Wiltshire (besides census records which I already have).  Back to the exhibit hall where I didn't win today's Ancestry.com prizes.  Talked to Hal Horrocks of OCCGS for awhile, then to Geoff Rasmussen about the Legacy cruise. 

Nobody was in the blogger lounge area, so I ventured into the bar and enjoyed a drink with several geneabloggers.  We left after 5 p.m. and I wandered back into the exhibit hall for awhile, then went upstairs to get ready for the evening Hollywood Gala.

We put on our Geneaholic shirts, the beads, and fashioned bead tiaras for our heads.  Those garnered some stares in the hotel lobby where we waited for the doors to open.  We walked down the red carpet, were handed a glass of sparkiling cider, and then tried to find a seat.  All of the tables with chairs were taken, so we asked if they could bring out more tables, and they did.  We went off to get food at the buffet - I had carrots, celery, chips and fettuchini. 

The program started with Leo Myers as MC, the two movie stars in attendance were introduced, and Denise Levenick awarded the Suzanna Freeman scholarships to A.C. and Elyse. 

We had front row seats for the picture taking area.  They had a fine assortment of wigs, funny glasses, boas, hats, etc. for people to wear for their glamour shots.  They took four shots, and then handed each group one copy of the four pictures on a 5 x 7 sheet.  The pictures are supposed to be on Facebook also.  Linda and I did one series, and I joined Elyse, Missy and [insert name later, senior moment] for another series.  I also took lots ofp ictures of geneabloggers and may post some to Facebook.

We mixed a little, and Linda went up to go to bed and I got the laptop and brought it down to the blogger lounge to write this post and try to read my 230 messages on Googfle Reader (three fails so far!). 

That's it for Day 2 - I'll write up Day 3 on Saturday night if I can get a wi-fi signal in the blogger lounge.

Review: "Genealogy to Go!: Migration: Canada and the United States"

Elizabeth Lapointe, a Canadian genealogist, (www.GenealogyToGo.ca) has published several Genealogy To Go! laminated research guide booklets that are extremely useful as basic guides to the subject at hand.  They cover the why, when, and how of each of the events in North American history.

This booklet, Migration: Canada and the United States, explains the long migrational history between Canada and the United States.  topics on Canadian migration include the Acadian migration to Louisiana, migration to the "Boston States," and French-Canadian migration.  Topics on american migration to Canada include New England Planters to Nova Scotia, the United Empire Loyalists, and the settlement of Central Canada.  Migration patterns are also discussed.

This Genealogy to Go! booklet includes:

1.  Canada

*  Acadian Migration
*  Online Resources
*  Books
*  Migration to the "Boston States"
*  Online Resources
*  Books
*  French-Canadian Migration
*  Online Resources
*  Books
*  Migration to the Midwestern and Southwestern U.S. States
*  Online Resources 
*  Books
*  Migration from Canada to the United States Due to War
*  Online Resources
*  Books

2.  United States

*  New England Planters to Nova Scotia
*  Online Resources
*  Books
*  The United Empire Loyalists
*  Online Resources
*  Books
*  The United States Migration to Central Canada
*  Online Resources
*  Books
*  The US Migration to the Prairie Provinces & the Yukon
*  Online Resources
*  Books
*  Migration from the US to Canada as a Result of Wars
*  Online Resources
*  Books
*  Migration of Blacks from the US to Canada
*  Online Resources
*  Books
*  Some Famous Canadian Migrants to the US

I was very impressed with the historical and resource listings on this four-page booklet.  It will be very useful for further research into my Canadian and American ancestors who migrated to Canada.  .

The booklets are currently available in the United States from Family Roots Publishing Company (www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com) and in Canada from Global genealogy (www.globalgenealogy.com) and the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (www.genealogicalstudies.com).

Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this booklet from Elizabeth Lapointe via postal mail and promised to provide a review of it.  

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

23andMe Announces New Genetic Ancestry Features

The personal genetics company 23andMe (www.23andme.com) has announced several new features at the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree today.  Here is information about these features passed to me by their staff:

"All four of our new ancestry features will be in beta by the end of June. Because they are still in development, the attached screen shots are just approximations, the final products will likely look a bit different but these do effectively convey the enhanced functionality. The names of these features may change a bit as well - depending on the input we get during the beta testing period.

"Ancestry Painting Update - Currently our site provides an Ancestry Painting that displays 3 major world regions (European, African and Asian). We are refining this feature to provide Ancestry Paintings based on approximately 20 world regions. The attached example features the real data of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. host of "Finding Your Roots on PBS." For Dr. Gates, the updated Ancestry Painting shows more detail between his Northern and Southern European ancestry and is able to distinguish his Native American heritage from Asian. 

"My Ancestry Page - One of our most exciting new features. This page will pull the highlights from each individual's ancestry and surfaces them on one easy page - no need to go digging around for special labs or tools. From Countries of Origin to how much Neanderthal DNA you have - it will all be conveniently displayed on one page.

"Relative Finder - Map View -  Forget "Where's Waldo," now you can see where in the world all your 23andMe Relative Finder matches are. Individuals can also add details to their profile so you can see not just where they are living now but known locations of family in the past so you can better zero in on family searches by location.

"Family Tree - Watch your family tree grow with 23andMe. Build and share your family tree. Add in details for individuals that include places, life events, traits, skills and fun facts. 

"Individuals interested in being beta testers for these new features can sign up at the 23andMe booth (#706/707) at the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree."

Thank you to Catherine Afarian of 23andMe for the news, and the images that show these new features.

Day 1 at Jamboree

It's been a restful and eventful day at Day 1 of the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree.  Not!

We boarded the Amtrak SurfLiner train in San Diego at 9:30 a.m., flew past the beaches, back doors, train stations and brush lands for almost four hours, and got to the Burbank train platform at 1:30 p.m.  We called the Marriott, and they sent the shuttle over for us and we were in the hotel room by 2 p.m.  Drew Smith, George Morgan, Sheri Fenley, Amy Coffin, Kim Cotton and Kathryn Doyle were stationed by the door to make sure no blogger snuck past them.

We went to the hotel restaurant for lunch, then hung out in the lobby and then the lounge area with all of the geneablogger folks and spouses/friends.  I can't list them all!  Many retired to the bar and eventually had dinner there.  We had dinner with Robert Raymond in the hotel restaurant.  Then it was to the lounge area to read blogs and write this post.  The wi-fi here is not bad...but Blogger doesn't work well any more with Internet Explorer 8.  What? 

Before dinner, I went over to the registration desk and got my bag and information packet.  I picked up the pink sheet (schedule) and the printed syllabus - I got the syllabus on CD in the packet. 

Who's here?  Here's the bloggers I've talked to so far:

*  Elyse Doerflinger is sitting at the table with me.
*  Kim von Aspern was here a minute ago.
*  Nancy Loe was at the table for over two hours.
*  Megan Smolenyak
*  Steve Morse
*  A.C. Ivory
*  Thomas MacEntee
*  Lisa Alzo
*  Kathryn Doyle
*  Cheryl Palmer
*  Caroline Pointer
*  Amy Coffin
*  Tonia Kendrick
*  Sheri Fenley
*  Janet Hovorka
*  Lisa Louise Cooke
*  Maureen Taylor
*  The Ancestry Insider
*  Drew Smith
*  Kim Cotton
*  George Morgan
*  Donna Wendt
*  Gini Webb
*  Denise Levenick
*  Missy Corley
*  Mark Olson


I may think of others and put them on the list later.

It's time to go up to the room and see if I can get some sleep.  The Exhibit Hall opens at 12 noon tomorrow.  I will attend the round table discussion groups in the morning, and might even go to one of the classes in the afternoon.

Review - "Genealogy to Go! The War of 1812: Canada and the United States"

Elizabeth Lapointe, a Canadian genealogist, (www.GenealogyToGo.ca) has published several Genealogy To Go! laminated research guide booklets that are extremely useful as basic guides to the subject at hand.  They cover the why, when, and how of each of the events in North American history.

This booklet, The War of 1812: Canada and the United States, examines the reasons for the war, who fought in the war, lists the battles, and gives a detailed summary of relevant websites and books for recommended reading of interest, for both Canada and the United States, with a portion devoted to Britain.  Blacks and Natives who fought both both sides are also included.

This Genealogy to Go! booklet includes:

1.  Canada

*  Who Fought in the War of 1812-1814, including full-time Militia units
*  The Main Battles in Upper and Lower Canada
*  Online Resources
*  Books
*  Native Peoples Who Fought for the Canadians
*  Blacks in the War of 1812-1814
*  Loyalists in the War of 1812-1814
*  Britain's Role in the War of 1812-1814
*  How the War Started...


2.  United States


*  Who fought in the War of 1812-1814
*  The Battles (by date)
*  Online Resources
*  Books
*  Native Peoples Who fought for the Americans

I was very impressed with the historical and resource listings on this four-page booklet.  It will be very useful for further research into my Canadian and american ancestors who participated in The War of 1812.

The booklets are currently available in the United States from Family Roots Publishing Company (www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com) and in Canada from Global genealogy (www.globalgenealogy.com) and the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (www.genealogicalstudies.com).

Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this booklet from Elizabeth Lapointe via postal mail and promised to provide a review of it.

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Treasure Chest Thursday - Death Certificate for Elijah McKnew (1836-1912)

It's Treasure Chest Thursday - time to share an artifact or a document image from my collection of ancestral stuff.  

The treasure today is the Death Certificate of Elijah McKnew (1836-1912):

This Death Certificate was obtained from the County of San Francisco.  The San Francisco County registration number (on the image above) is 2086.  The information on the Death Certificate is (handwritten entries in italics):

Place of Death:  City and County of San Francisco 
No. 4131 19th St., 5 Dist.
FULL NAME:  Elijah P. McKnew
Sex:  Male
Color or Race:  White
Single, Married, widowed or divorced:  Married
Date of Death:  April 4, 1912

Date of Birth: March 29, 1836

Age [at death]: 76 years 0 months 6 days

Occupation:  Merchant

General nature of industry:  Retired, 7 Yrs

Birthplace:  Maryland

Name of Father:  McKnew

Birthplace of Father:  United States

Mother's Name:  Unknown

Mother's Birthplace:  Unknown

Length of Residence (Place of Death): 37 years

Length of Residence (California): 61 years

Informant:  Henry L. McKnew, 3718 16th St.

Doctor's Statement:  I attended deceased from Apr 1 1912 to Apr 4 1912 that I last saw him on Apr 3 1912 and that death occurred on the date stated above at 7:30 P.M.

Cause of Death:  Oedema of lungs

Duration: 3 days

Contributory:  Arterio sclerosis & Senility

Duration: [blank]

Signed: A.B. McGill, M.D.

Date: Apr 6 1912

Address:  291 Geary St.

Place of Burial or Removal:  Cypress Lawn Cemty

Date of Burial:  Apr. 7, 1912

Undertaker:  Bunker & Lunt, 2666 Mission St.

There is quite a bit of new information in this Death Certificate, including the cause of death, the length of residence at the address (37 years implies 1875) and length of residence in California (61 years implies 1861).  It is disappoionting that the informant did not know the names of Elijah's parents or their birth places.  I believe that they were Jeremiah and Allethia (Pickrell) McKnew, both born in Maryland.  

 

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Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver