Using RootsMagic 6 to Add a New Person to the FamilySearch Family Tree

A reader asked this question in email recently:  "I want to add a name [to the FamilySearch Family Tree]; it has searched -  but did not find a match - I don't see where to go next.  I'm hoping you can address what to do when there is no match."

Contrary to popular opinion and the wishes of FamilySearch, not EVERY person in the world has been added to the FamilySearch Family Tree.  I run into this problem all the time, especially with 19th and 20th century people.

Let me illustrate how to do this with a screen view of a person not yet added to the FamilySearch Family Tree in my database.  I clicked on the "Find Matches" button (upper left-hand corner under the person's name) with Harvey M. Bradley in the "Family Search Person Tools" window in RootsMagic 6:

As you can see above, the "Find Matches" screen in RootsMagic for Harvey M. Bradley did not find any matches for him in FamilySearch Family Tree.  You could click on the "Search for more matches" button, but that rarely finds additional matches for me.

The key to your problem is the "Add to FamilySearch" button outlined in red on the screen above.  Click it, and the confirmation window opens to finalize adding the person to the FamilySearch Family Tree:

The "Add my person to FamilySearch" message says:

"This will add a copy of your RootsMagic person to FamilySearch.  Make sure the person isn't already on FamilySearch before selecting this option."

Then click the "Add to FamilySearch" button below the message.

Your next task is to go into the "FamilySearch Person Tools" (the blue icon next to the name in the Pedigree, Family or Descendant View) and add the information for your person into the Family Tree.  Adding the Person is not enough - you have to add whatever information you have for the person - birth, marriage, death, spouse, children, etc.  If you add another person (e.g., a spouse or a child), you will have to go through the same process - Match or add the person to the Family Tree, then add their information.

It's easy...I heard the head slap (and the "D'oh" exclamation) of my reader who just couldn't see the "Add to FamilySearch" button without the red outline on the first screen.  We all do things like this!  I do...true confessions!  There are so many little details with every website that it's impossible to remember everything when I need it.

The URL for this post is:

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Book Notice: "Aspen's Roots," by Paul Sullivan

I received this information from Paul Sullivan, the author of the book, Aspen's Roots:

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Information:
Paul Sullivan
Red Pine Publishing
520 North Main Street, Suite #206
Heber City, Utah 84032
redpinecanyon@gmail.com
435 671-8730

Aspen’s Roots – Connecting with the Next Generation

The newly released children’s picture book, Aspen’s Roots is receiving rave reviews with the public in general; however, it should especially resonate with the genealogy community. Author, Paul Sullivan, wrote this allegory, based on the science of aspen tree growth, to help his own grandchildren identity with and connect to the past generations that have quietly contributed to their wellbeing. The main character of this story, beautifully illustrated with acrylics on canvas, is a young sapling that is living a carefree life amidst the wonders of nature, unaware of the extensive contributions made by her extended family to soil, roots and her genetics. Through the quiet time of winter, young Aspen learns to feel beyond herself. She discovers that it’s what’s below the surface that really makes us strong. “I’m not alone, it’s not just me, I’m part of a family, a big family tree.”

Unlike most of the children’s books out there whose sole purpose is to entertain, Aspen’s Roots teaches important principles for building good moral character. Following the rhyming text of the story is an aspen-themed family roots blank, complete with worms and ants, ready for the reader to fill in with names of four generations.

While Aspen’s Roots is primarily a children’s book, like many of the old classics, the poem transcends generations and has a poignant message for young and old alike. Aspen’s Roots would be a perfect gift to show appreciation for those of previous generations who have had an impact on your life. As a grandparent you may want to personalize a copy for your grandchildren by filling in the names on their four-generation chart. As James Tanner (http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com) put it: “As genealogists we are currently concerned about reaching out to younger people and including them in our passion for our families’ history. This is the type of outreach that I think is most effective to get young people thinking about their own relationship to their ancestors.”

To get a peek inside Aspen’s Roots visit www.aspensroots.com. In addition to this website and the retailers listed, it is also on Amazon.com.

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The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/06/book-notice-aspens-roots-by-paul.html

Disclosure:  I have not read this book, and did not receive any remuneration of any sort forp osting this book notice.

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 260: Dorothy, Emily and Evelyn in 1921

I'm posting family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they aren't Wordless Wednesday posts like others do - I am incapable of having a wordless post.

Here is a photograph from the Seaver/Richmond family photograph collection passed to me by my cousin Laura in 2008: 

This photograph shows Dorothy Taylor (1904-1992), Emily (Richmond) Taylor (1879-1966), and Evelyn Seaver (1903-1978) standing in a garden, perhaps in Massachusetts, in the early 1920s.  I know that Emily and Dorothy took a trip to Massachusetts in 1921, and this was probably taken at that time.

Dorothy Taylor was the daughter of George and Emily(Richmond) Taylor of San Diego, California, and Evelyn Seaver was the daughter of Fred and Alma Bessie (Richmond) Seaver of Leominster, Massachusetts.  Emily and Alma Bessie Richmond were sisters, so Dorothy and Evelyn were first cousins.  

My thanks to cousin Laura for sending this picture, and many others, to me, and for permitting me to display them.

The URL for this post is:   http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/06/not-so-wordless-wednesday-post-261.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Treelines has a Family Storytelling Contest on "Getting Started"

I received this press release from Tammy Hepps of Treelines about a Family History Storytelling Contest announced at the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree:

June 7, 2013 — Treelines, the winner of the 2013 RootsTech Developer Challenge, will announce tomorrow at the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree its first family storytelling contest on the theme of “Getting Started Stories.”  Everyone with a fascination for their family’s history, regardless of their level of experience, is invited to share the story about they first got interested. 

All entries must be composed and published using the Treelines storybuilder, currently available for free to all registered users of the site.  “Treelines’ unique site brings storytelling to a new level of expression by combining words with photos and family history,” said Maureen Taylor, the internationally recognized photo identification and family history expert.  “It’s a perfect way to present and share your family history a picture at a time.”

The contest will be judged by Taylor and Tammy Hepps, the founder of Treelines. They will look for stories that best capture the fun and wonder of uncovering family history, as well as those that are well-written, highlight family photographs, and take full advantage of the Treelines storybuilder’s capabilities.   The authors of the three best stories will each win a personal consultation with Taylor, in which she will help them uncover the stories behind their family photographs. 

Entries will be accepted through July 19.  Complete information is available at treelines.com/contest/.

About Treelines
Treelines is a web-based storytelling tool for family historians.  Winner of the 2013 RootsTech Developer Challenge, Treelines is already gaining notice for its story-centric approach to family history, as well as its broad sharing capabilities and interactivity.  Treelines brings those who work on preserving their families’ history the easy tools and beautiful templates to easily share stories their relatives will actually enjoy.

About Maureen Taylor

Maureen Taylor is an internationally recognized expert on the intersection of history, genealogy, and photography. She has been featured in top media outlets, including The View, Better Homes & Gardens, the Boston Globe, Martha Stewart Living, MSNBC, Life Magazine, and PBS Ancestors. Maureen is the author of a number of books and magazine articles, as well as a contributing editor at Family Tree Magazine.  She also shares her tips and techniques in energetic seminars on family history, photography, genealogy, scrapbooking, and New England history.  

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I've been working a bit in Treelines learning how to use the website, creating stories, adding photographs, etc, but I'm a long way from having a story to submit.  

There are some wonderful stories already posted on Treelines - read some of them.  When you click on the link, use the advance arrows in the story title to see all of the story panels with accompanying pictures:

*  How I Got Into Genealogy (by Tammy Hepps)
*  A 14-Year Old Girl's Quest To Find Her Grandfather (by Nuthatchgirl)
*  Nels and Ane Marie: Becoming Americans (by KMKeegan)

In the process, you can see how the combination of the story panels and the timelines for the persons in the story interact.  

The URL for this post is:

This Week's Genealogical Eclectica

I receive blog posts and other items in Google Reader, email, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and some of them have links of interest.  Here are some of the "genealogical eclectica" that's recently crossed my desk - news I want you to know about:

1)  Geoff Rasmussen is unveiling Legacy Family Tree Version 8.0 on the Legacy News blog - see Legacy Family Tree 8 Revealed.

2)  Geoff also posted the Last Call for the Legacy Genealogy Cruise - 2013 on the Legacy News blog.

3)  There are two new Family Tree Webinars this week.  Register for:

*  Wednesday, 12 June, 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. PDT): "New Search Options Let You Target Obituaries, Photos, Passenger Lists, Births, Marriages, and More" by Tom Kemp

*  Friday, 14 June, 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. PDT): "Next Exit: Your New Jersey Ancestors" by Thomas MacEntee

4)  Emily Garber is touring the Ukraine and sharing photos and travel stories on her blog (Going) the Extra Yad.  Great pictures and she is breaking down some of her brick walls.  I'm always impressed and fascinated by genealogists that travel to Eastern Europe and are successful in their search.  It's so beyond me.  This is, to me, one of the best things about genealogy blogging.

5)  Joel Weintraub and Steve Morse are looking for volunteers to work on the 1950 Census Project.  Here is their email message:

"If you wondered how we produced free locational tools for the opening of the 1940 census on the Morse One-Step site, wonder no more and be part of the team to do the same thing for 1950.  We have opened up "Project 1950" to prepare searchable ED definitions and street indexes for the opening of the 1950 Census in 2022. With the help of about 125 volunteers we produced our 1940 tools, and now are looking for about 200+ volunteers to help with Phase I (transcription of Enumeration District definitions) and Phase II (creating urban area street indexes) for 1950.  An explanation of the two Phases and what needs to be done can be found at: 
http://www.stevemorse.org/census/project1950intro.html.  

"It may seem too early to be doing this, but it took us over 7 years to produce the 1940 tools that were used by the National Archives, the NY Public Library, Ancestry.com, and millions of researchers."

6)  Internet Magazine came out with their list of the 25 Top Genealogy blogs, and Genea-Musings made the list.  The Legal Genealogist  and several other excellent blogs didn't make the list, so I take these lists with a grain of salt.  Miriam Robbins provided the list of 25 in her post AnceStories Named One of Internet Genealogy's 25 Top Genealogy Blogs.  Congratulations to the listed genea-bloggers.  I hope that the magazine does better next year.  

7)  Are you reading Thomas MacEntee's newest blog, 50 Shades of Genealogy?  It's funny!

8)  DearMYRTLE's Mastering Genealogical Proof (MGP) Study Groups start this Sunday, 16 June 2013.  While the panel positions on the Google+ Hangout On Air (HOA) are filled, you can still watch the session on Sunday evenings (8 p.m. EDT, 5 p.m. PDT) on the DearMYRTLE YouTube Channel.  Watch the MGP Study Group Orientation video:

9)  Ron Arons showed me his Generation Tap Dance video from his 35th Reunion of Princeton University.  Ron is great in the video (the dance starts about 40 seconds in - wait for it!):


 


Genealogists are multi-talented, aren't they? 

I may make this a regular weekly post so that I can collect items of interest to me, and perhaps to you, rather than write a post for each one.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/06/this-weeks-genealogical-eclectica.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Tuesday's Tip - Ancestry Anne's Presentation about Fold3

This week's Tuesday's Tip is:  Fold3 (a commercial site) is a gold mine of information, especially for Military Records.

www.Fold3.com is a commercial genealogy record collection site (owned by Ancestry.com) with a gold mine of military records, plus an excellent City Directory collection and some large city newspapers.

At the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree in Burbank this past weekend, Anne Gillespie Mitchell (AKA "Ancestry Anne", author of the Ancestry Reference Desk blog) presented "Everything You Want To Know About Fold3."  Her Powerpoint presentation (in PDF format) has sections for:

*  Home page on Fold3
*  Memorial pages
*  Searching for soldiers
*  Research examples
*  Browsing collections
*  Search tips
*  Image viewer

Anne just scratched the surface of the content at Fold3 - she concentrated on Military Records because of time constraints.  Here is a screen shot of the City Directory listing (of states, with California highlighted):

The list of Newspapers available on Fold3:

In general, the City Directories and Newspapers are from before 1923.

My thanks to Anne Mitchell for posting her presentations online for those of us that didn't attend her presentations.  Anne also posted her other SCGS presentation, titled "Searching and Writing Your Family History As You Go On Ancestry.com."

Disclosure:  I have a full paid year's subscription to Fold3, and have for several years now.  I have not been remunerated in any way for writing this post.  It is my go-to site for Military Records, City Directories for large cities, and the listed Newspaper collections.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/06/tuesdays-tip-ancestry-annes.html

copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Dear Randy: How to Resolve Duplicate Entries in RootsMagic 6

I received an email from a reader recently concerning how to resolve different RootsMagic files with the same persons but different source citations.

Here's Sandra's question:

I have just discovered that I have not always been working in the same RootsMagic file.  I have Windows 7 and I really dislike the Library function.  I have gotten into the habit of navigating to the location where the file is (and I thought I was getting the same file) in order to work on it.

However, I’ve also got a copy in Dropbox and have saved various images from Ancestry, etc. to Dropbox.  Those sync to the computer, BUT I’ve discovered that the files are not always the same in the two Dropbox locations.  The first time I noticed this was with a shared folder on another project not genealogy related.

Now I have two RootsMagic files that have different sources (I’ve been working on updating them to the RM templates) from each other, and the file that has the old source format (for the family group sheets) has more people (over 100) than the one with the “right” sources.  Who knows what else one or the other is missing (I’ve printed to PDF an individual list and each file is over 300 pages).

I am wondering how I can get the two files either combined or somehow get all the correct information together.  I would then delete the “wrong” file from every place it might be stored.

I think the resolution is to make a GEDCOM from each file, start a new file, import each GEDCOM and someway be able to tell it to not merge duplicates.  Or perhaps, to bring both GEDCOMs in and then do a merge on duplicates.

Do you have any ideas?

My response:

I always work on just the file that I have in my RootsMagic database file folder, and I always start RootsMagic with my "working" file in order to avoid the problems you've experienced (but I understand that mistakes happen!).  From experience, along the same lines you described.  I keep my ONE RootsMagic "working" file in my Documents > Genealogy > Software > RootsMagic 6 > Databases file folder.

I do copy my "working" RootsMagic file several times a week to Dropbox, but do not sync any of my Dropbox files with the file folders they came from.  This way I can import the most recent file into RootsMagic on my laptop, and it's a cloud backup.  I use Dropbox to save my important files and to transfer files to/from my desktop, laptop and mobiles (photos, files, etc.). 

For your problem:

1)  Before you begin merging your files into (perhaps) a new database, you should click on "Help" in RootsMagic and select "Search" and search for the articles for "merge."  Print out the ones you think will help you the most so you can follow the directions provided.   You have three choices in Merge - Manual Merge, Duplicate Searches and Automatic Merges.  I would try the Automatic Merge first and select the SmartMerge option.  I think that will work for you, but am not 100% sure (that's why you create a third file, and maybe a fourth and fifth too).  You will have to test it out and see what happens.  The way the Help file reads, I think that it will do what you want.

2)  If you have two RootsMagic files (File-1 and File-2) with unique data, you will need to create a GEDCOM of one of the files.  Follow this process:

*  Make a copy of your first file (File-1) to use this as the basis for the combined file.  This is File-3.
*  Make a GEDCOM file of the second file (File-2) to import into the copy of the first file (File-3).
*  Open File-3, then do a File > Import and import the File-2 GEDCOM.  Select GEDCOM from the list of the importable programs and then "Combine into this database."
*  That will put duplicate persons into your File-3.  
*  Then go to Tools > Merge > Automatic Merges and check "Smart Merge," "Source Merge" and "Repository Merge."  Click on "Begin Merge"

You can go back to File-1 and File-2 if it doesn't work and try something different.

For some reason, RootsMagic doesn't allow a user to File > Import an existing RootsMagic 4-6 file into a File > New file.

3)  I just did this with one of my files (File-1, with 86 persons) - made a Copy of the file (File-3) and a GEDCOM (File-2) of the file.  I then opened the Copy (File-3) and imported the GEDCOM file into it.  It created duplicate persons - 175 total.  I then ran Tools > Merge > Automatic Merges and ended up with a file with 92 persons.  It did not merge some persons that had a first name, no surname, and no birth or death data.  So it's imperfect, but it did most of them.  If that happens to you, you should go through your person list and manually merge those persons.  

Also, you may find duplicate Events for some persons.  In your case, you may have to delete the Events with your "old source citations" and keep the ones with the "new source citations."  You may have duplicate Media items for a merged person also, and you'll have to resolve that one at a time, I think.  It might be best to use the Media Gallery to identify the duplicates and delete the duplicates from there.

4)  Does any other reader have a better solution to this problem?  If so, I'm sure that Sandy would like to know about it.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/06/dear-randy-how-to-resolve-duplicate.html

Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver

Amanuensis Monday - Probate Records of Jonathan Wade (1613-1683) of Ipswich, Mass.

Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started a Monday blog theme many months ago called Amanuensis Monday. What does "amanuensis" mean? John offers this definition:

"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

The subject today is the probate file of Jonathan Wade (1613-1683) of Ipswich, Massachusetts.  He married Susanna --?-- in England before 1632, and they had seven children:

*  Mary Wade (1633-1713), married (1) 1669 William Symonds (1632-1679); (2) 1689 Francis Littlefield (1619-????)
*  Prudence Wade (1638-1711), married (1) 1659 Anthony Crosby (1635-1673); (2) 1673 Seaborn Cotton (1633-1686); (3) 1686 John Hammond (1626-1709)
*  Jonathan Wade (1640-1689), married (1) 1660 Dorothy Buckley (1640-1664), (2) 1664 Deborah Dudley (1645-1683), and (3) 1686 Elizabeth Dunster (1656-1721)
*  Sarah Wade (1642-1718), married 1661 Samuel Rogers (1634-1693)
*  Elizabeth Wade (1645-1721), married 1665 Elihu Wardwell (1642-1716)
*  Nathaniel Wade (1648-1707), married 1672 Mercy Bradstreet (1647-1715)
*  Thomas Wade (1650-1696), married 1670 Elizabeth Cogswell (1649-1726).

Jonathan Wade died 13 June 1683 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts.  Apparently, he had written several wills over the years, and resolving his estate became a big problem.

Among the several wills produced was the one in which the signature was torn off, made by Jonathan Wade of Ipswich, dated 22 May 1669, presented 27 December 1683 by Mr. Thomas Wade, who with Mr. Nathaniel Wade affirmed it was in their father's handwriting, and Capt. Jonathan Wade acknowledged he believed it, but said  "it was cancelled."  It reads (transcribed by Randy Seaver from Essex County Probate Records, Volume 304, page 125, accessed on FHL Microfilm 0,860,486):

"I Jonathan Wade of Ipswich in New England being to go a voyage to sea and not knowing the day of my death, do ordain this as my last will and testament.  My will is that my Debts shall be First paid and my land in England should be equally divided betwixt my three sons Jonathan, Nathaniel and Thomas, only y-t land I had of Mr. Drury for rent should be sould to pay Sir William Peak what is due to him & ye Remainder to be sent over in goods to my executrix, whom I doe hereby apoint to be my beloved wife, Susanna.  Also I give to my son Jonathan the one half of my farm at Mistick with ye one half of all ye stock upon it.  Also I give to Nathaniel the other half of ye sd farme att Mistick & half of the stock on it to be equally divided betwixt them. I give to Thomas all my housing Land & mills at Ipswich & the stock on it.  I give to Jonathan all my land att Malden, to Nathaniel all my land at Wemeseck, to Thomas my grant of land of 800 acres.

"I give to Anthony Crosby my son Fifty pound.  I give to Thomas Crosby, Nathaniel Crosby & Jonathan Crosby Fifty pounds apiece to be for the use of Prudence Crosby their mother during her pleasure.  I give to Samuell Rogers my Son Fifty pounds & his three children Fifty pounds apiece.  I give to William Symonds my Son One hundred pound only fifty pound of it to his daughter Susanna.  I give to Elihue Wardell my son Two Hundred pound to be laid out in housing & land to be for the use of his wife Elizabeth during her life, & his two children after these legacyes to be apointed out my debts abroad at ye ... of my Executrix & to be gathered in by them to ... shares they shall ... & for ye Rest of my Estate.

"I give Equally unto my three Natural Sons to be possessed of it at the pleasure of my executrix or at her death or at ye day of her marriage with another man which shall first fall out, & so I Commend my Soul & body And Relations unto ye good pleasure of my Sovereign Creator & Mercifull Redeemer the day & year above written."

On 27 September 1683, the inventory of Jonathan Wade of Ipswich was apprized by John Aplet, Nehemiah Jewett and Nathaniel Rust.  The estate totalled 7,859 pounds, 5 shillings and 3 pence after the bequests and debts were accounted for.  The real estate included:

*  The buildings, orchard, plowland and pastureland being the homestead with Common privileges (60 pounds)
*  About 30 acres of land called the Windmill lot (90 pounds)
*  the wind mill stones, buildings and utensils with 30 rods of land (15 pounds)
*  A lot at labor in vain 6 acres (20 pounds)
*  A few rods of land by the water side with an old building upon it (10 pounds)
*  Marsh at Plum Island betwixt 20 and 30 acres (40 pounds)
*  2 6 acre lots of marsh with allowance for ... swamps, about 30 acres in all (90 pounds)
*  A sawmill with land, privileges and utensils (40 pounds)

The lands at Mistick included:

*  An old tenement and other buildings (200 pounds)
*  370 acres of upland (1,400 pounds)
*  80 acres of salt marsh (480 pounds)

The land and meadow in improvement of Nathaniel Wade at Mistick:

*  Improvement on 370 acres of upland (1,000 pounds)
*  Improvement on 80 acres of salt marsh (480 pounds)

*  Buildings meadows and upland at Mistick (3,560 pounds)
*  Land at Osburn 97 acres (97 pounds)
*  800 acres in Mr Russells hand since 1661 (25 pounds)
*  Lands in England cost (1,500 pounds)

The inventory was provided to the Court by Thomas Wade on 27 September 1683, when it was approved.  An account of Thomas Wade was also presented (Essex County Probate Records, Volume 304, page 094, accessed on FHL Microfilm 0,860,485).

Another will, dated London 17 June 1657, provided all the land in "Norfolk in parish of Druer" was to go to eldest son Jonathan, after his mother had her thirds.

The probate of the estate of Jonathan Wade touched off an enormous wrangle.  He had made several wills over the years, all with varying provisions.  The court had no choice but to declare him intestate, since there were flaws in each.  With property in both New England and old England, the matter was quite complex.  In September 1683, Mr. Jonathan Wade's three sons appeared in court and desired administration upon their father's estate.  

"Court offered to appoint all three, but the second asked to be excused and the eldest refused to join with the rest, so court appointed the third son, Mr. Thomas Wade, he being the most acquainted with his father's affairs in Ipswich.  He was ordered to bring in an inventory to the next Salem court."  

But at the next Court, "Capt. Jonathan Wade appeared and asked for sole administration upon the estate," stating that he was the eldest son and entitled to administer without his brother and requested the removal of his brother Thomas.  The Court appointed all three sons administrators and they gave bond for 1,000 pounds.

The eldest son Jonathan complained that he had brought a valid will to court and seen it disallowed, and now was greatly damaged by the fact that the court was treating him as though he was not to be trusted with the estate, so that he could not be acknowledged as a claimant to land in other jurisdictions, including England.

The younger two sons petitioned the court that they had been to seven sessions of court with no settlement yet and would the court please make up its mind.

The case was not settled until November 1684 when the 1669 will was annexed to the letters of administration already granted.

The 1669 will names the husbands of his four daughters at the time it was written, and his three sons.  It names his wife as the executrix, but she died before the testator did.  All seven of his children survived him.  I don't seem to have any record of the distribution - it would be interesting to see if the inheritances from the 1669 will were granted to the heirs, or if the estate was divided equally (with a second share to the eldest son).

My ancestry is through Nathaniel Wade and his wife Mercy Bradstreet.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/06/amanuensis-monday-probate-records-of_10.html

Copyright (c) 2013), Randall J. Seaver

SCGS Genealogy Jamboree Day Three

Day Three at the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree in Burbank for me included one class session, several visits to the Tech Zone and the Exhibit Hall, a session in the Demo Hall, a nap in the Blogger Lounge, a walk to the food mall, goodbyes and a train trip home.

*  We packed before going down to breakfast, and I put the laptop in the suitcase rather than carrying it around all day.  After breakfast at the breakfast bar with Thomas and Linda, I steamed over to Pavilion 1 to hear Thomas MacEntee's 8:30 a.m. presentation on "Successful Cluster and Collateral Searches."  He described "Collateral Search" (siblings and step lines) and "Cluster Search" (the FAN (Family+Associates+Neighbors) Club), and noted that our ancestors had their own social networks.  He also showed that there was probably much less privacy 100 years ago than in present society.  Record sets that are useful for cluster and collateral searching were listed and discussed.  Finally, Thomas showed a series of helpful websites and tools for research logs, spreadsheets and databases, timelines, mapping, wikis, education, and best practices for cluster and collateral searching.  This presentation was well delivered, humorous and very informative.

*  I went back to the room and brought the suitcases down to store them in the concierge room and checked out of the hotel.  I hung out in the Blogger Lounge for awhile, took a turn around the Exhibit Hall visiting friends and sites, especially FindMyPast (put in a plug for Canada Census records) and GenealogyBank.  Then I went to the Tech Zone (free computers with Internet connections) to finish my Best Of the Genea-Blogs post and update the Jamboree Compendium post. At 11 a.m., I went out and bought my hot dog and apple for lunch and ate with my wife in the shade.  She went back to the pool, and I sat in the Blogger Lounge and took a 30 minute nap.  Energized, I bounded off to the Exhibit Hall again, the Tech Zone again, and at 1:45 p.m. I attended the first 30 minutes of Lisa Louise Cooke's demonstration of creating Google Earth shows with web site links, photos and videos.

*  I left at 2:15 p.m. because I had to go over to Subway to get our sandwiches for dinner on the train, and got Linda a Diet Coke at McDonalds.  I braved crossing North Hollywood Way twice...saved my 5 minutes each way.  Back to the Blogger Lounge for awhile, one last turn in the Exhibit Hall to say goodbyes and thank Paula for another excellent Jamboree well done.

*  At 3 p.m., I redeemed my concierge bag checks, said my goodbyes to the bloggers in the Lounge, and we lined up for the shuttle bus to take us to the train station.  We got there with an hour to spare...and talked about the Jamboree in the shade (it was about 80F outside).  The train came on time (4:20 p.m.), we barely got seats and had trouble stashing Linda's walker, and they did it at Los Angeles station.  We ate our sandwiches, and I read my Lee Child book all the way to San Diego, arriving at 8:05 p.m.  Barbara picked us up and whisked us home by 8:30 p.m.

There were five class times schedule today, so I attended classes in 11 out of 17 possible class time slots.

The official attendance, according to Paula's blog post here, was 352 persons at the Family History and DNA Day on Thursday, and 1,178 at the Genealogy Jamboree from Friday through Sunday.  That is a significant reduction in attendance for this yearly event; the thought is that the National Genealogical Society 2013 Conference in Las Vegas four weeks ago may have affected attendance at the Jamboree.  From an attendee's point of view, it was great to be able to get seats in classes, be able to navigate the Exhibit Hall easily, be able to get a table in the restaurant quickly, the odds on winning a prize were higher, etc.

There was some news from the DNA Day about the $49 fee to import AncestryDNA and 23andMe autosomal DNA results into FamilyTreeDNA, but I don't think there was any earthshaking product announcements at Jamboree.  Legacy Family Tree software did talk about Version 8.0 in their presentations and was selling an upgrade to Version 8 for $20 when it is released (sometime this year, I'm thinking before the Legacy cruise in September).  We'll see.

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Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Best of the Genea-Blogs - 2-8 June 2013

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 daily blog prompts or 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:

*  Citations Vs. Sources by James Tanner on the Genealogy's Star blog.  James thinks that citation formats are nice but are intimidating for most researchers.  Read the comments too.

* Getting Serious About Genealogy by Harold Henderson on the Midwestern Microhistory blog.  Harold summarizes education opportunities for those wanting to expand their knowledge base and capabilities.

*  Mastering Genealogical Proof - Orientation by Russ Worthington on the A Worthington Weblog blog.  Russ highlights the start of DearMYRTLE's online study group, and discloses the research problem he hopes to solve during the classes.

*  DNA Privacy Sky STILL Not Falling by Judy G. Russell on The Legal Genealogist blog.  Judy describes the DNA testing done by the FBI for identity purposes - it's not a genetic DNA test.

*  Development of the Pedigree - Timeline by Bob Coret on the Blog Coret in English blog.  Bob has created an interesting software chart - the pedigree-timeline.  I like it!

*  FamilySearch Search Futures by the writer of The Ancestry Insider blog.  This post briefly describes enhancements to the FamilySearch Search screen and results coming soon.

*  Nine Necessities in a GEDCOM Replacement by Louis Kessler on the Louis Kessler's Behold Blog.  Louis describes his\proposal for FHISO.

*  Genealogists Can Go Home Again - If Only to Tap Local Genealogical Societies by Patricia Dingwall Thompson on the Record Click blog.  Interesting article by Patricia.

*  Ancestry.com Revisiting Search by the writer of The Ancestry Insider.  Mr. AI recounts some of the upcoming Ancestry search changes.

These genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts and news summary posts this week:

*  Monday Recap for June 3, 2013 by Amanda on the Geni Blog.

*  Follow Friday - Favorites for June 7, 2013 by Heather Kuhn Roelker on the Leaves For Trees blog.

*  Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for Friday, June 7, 2013 by Jana Last on Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog.

*  Blogs For Genealogists, June 7, 2013 by Michael J. Leclerc on the Mocavo Genealogy Blog.

*  Friday Finds - 6/7/13 by Julie Cahill Tarr on the GenBlog.

Readers are encouraged 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 1350 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems.

Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/06/best-of-genea-blogs-2-8-june-2013.html

Copyright(c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver