Bill Dollarhide published a great list of online historical newspaper archives in the January/February 2008 issue of Everton's Genealogical Helper. In his list, he included the Northern New York Newspaper Project at http://news.nnyln.net/, a free site, provided by the Northern New York Library Network to enhance access to the region's local history.
One of my CVGS colleagues, Shirley B., told me about another historical newspaper archive for northern New York - at Tom Tryniski's Fulton History site - http://www.fultonhistory.com/. Tom has many genealogy and history resources on his site, including:
* over 6 million historical newspaper images from over 190 historical newspapers. When you enter the site, the search box for the newspapers is on the top of the left hand frame of the web page. Use the link at http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html to go to the FAQ page for the site (up at the top on the right hand frame of the page), which has a link to the list of newspapers. The images are in PDF format, and the search engine can use quote marks or fuzzy searches.
* Fulton NY Historical Photo albums - click the "View Fulton Historical Photos" link at the bottom of the right hand frame on the web page. There are 44 sets of photographs and images here. If you have ancestry in or near Fulton NY, you have to check these outs.
* There are old radio programs playing continuously - click on the "Paused" link on the right hand side of the radio screen in the right hand frame on the web page. When I clicked on this today, a segment from "The Shadow" started playing.
* There is a link to Old Fulton Post Cards at the bottom of the left hand frame of the web page, but it is a place holder at this time. The goal is probably to add a historical post card collection here.
My interest in this web site is the historical newspaper archives. Attentive readers know that I'm searching for Russell and Esther Smith who resided in Oneida county NY in the 1800 to 1820 time frame. I input ["russell smith"] in the Search box and had 2,746 matches. Too many. I searched for ["russell smith" esther] and got 343 matches. I then searched for ["russell smith" esther western oneida] and got 54 matches, which I reviewed and didn't find any that were useful, but if there had been they might have really helped me.
I also searched just for ["seaver"] and got over 5,000 matches. Many of these were for articles about the New York Mets and pitcher Tom Seaver (my distant cousin), but there were a substantial number of obtiuaries and articles from the 1880 to 1930 time frame, especially in the Watertown (NY) Daily Times newspaper. I had an enjoyable three hours the other day transcribing some of these into my Seaver database. I have a lot more to find and transcribe - I only went through the first 100 matches.
In most cases, the articles and obituaries found in my Seaver searches provided excellent secondary information about children, spouses, dates, occupations, life experiences, etc.
Web sites like Tom's provide significant and often unique resources to the genealogy and history researcher. I really appreciate the ability to perform a search with quote marks to narrow the search. This is a "don't miss" web site if you have northern New York (centered on the Syracuse area, but many of the newspapers are hundreds of miles away).
UPDATED: Dick Hillenbrand posted about this site two weeks ago in http://ny-genes.blogspot.com/2008/04/fulton-history-newspaper-database-gets.html. I missed Dick's post at the time, and he has more information about Tom's web site.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Celebrate Patriots Day
Frankly, April 19 should be a national holiday to celebrate the "Shot Heard Round the World."
I sometimes think "what would I have done on that morning" after the rider came down the road shouting that the British were marching to Concord. Would I have put down my farm tools, grabbed my musket, hugged my kids, kissed my wife goodbye and run off to join my fellow militiamen as they streamed to Lexington and Concord?
One of my favorite sayings is "There are things that happen in a second that take a lifetime to explain." This is one of those "seconds" that affected the life of many people in New England. Many acted to support the cause of liberty and most of them returned to their families. Some husbands and sons did not return, dying after the skirmishes along the road to Lexington and Concord.
In Westminster MA, about 20 miles west of Concord, Norman Seaver (my fifth great-grandfather), his brothers Ethan, Daniel, and Moses, and his son Benjamin (my fourth great-grandfather) gathered their arms and marched off toward Concord. They all soon returned and several of them served later in the War. I posted Norman's biography here.
My ancestor Isaac Buck was a young man of 18 who served the entire war - he was part of Henry Knox's regiment that went to Fort Ticonderoga and hauled the cannons to Dorchester Heights in the middle of the winter of 1775-6. I posted his biography here and his Revolutionary War service records here.
However, the man that I wish I was descended from is my very distant cousin - Samuel Whittemore. Here is an article about him from an obituary notice of the Columbian Centinel (a newspaper in Boston) of 6 February 1793:
"Died at Menotomy, the 2d instant, Capt. Samuel Whittemore, AEt. 96 years and 6 months. The manly and moral virtues, in all the varied relations of a brother, husband, father, and friend, were invariably exhibited in this gentleman. He was not more remarkable for his longevity and his numerous descendants (his progeny being 185, one of which is the fifth generation) than for his patriotism.
"When the British troops marched to Lexington, he was 79 years of age, and one of the first on the parade; he was armed with a gun and horse-pistol. After an animated exhortation to the collected militia to the exercise of bravery and courage, he exclaimed, 'If I can only be the instrument of killing one of my country's foes, I shall die in peace.' The prayer of this venerable old man was heard; for on the return of the troops he lay behind a stone wall, and discharging his gun a soldier immediately fell; he then discharged his pistol, and killed another; at which instant a bullet struck his face, shot away part of his cheekbone; on which a number of the soldiers ran up to the wall, and gorged their malice on his wounded head. They were heard to exclaim, 'We have killed the old rebel.'
"About four hours after, he was found in a mangled situation; his head was covered with blood from the wounds of the bayonets, which were six or eight; but providentially none penetrated so far as to destroy him. His hat and clothes were shot through in many places; yet he survived to see the complete overthrow of his enemies, and his country enjoy all the blessings of peace and independence.
"His funeral will be held to-morrow at 4 o'clock P. M. from his house at Menotomy, which his relatives and friends are requested to attend."
We have all benefited from the heroism of Norman Seaver, Isaac Buck, Samuel Whittemore and many more patriots who fought and died to establish the United States of America. May God bless them all! And may we remember them forever for what they did on a spring morning in New England.
I sometimes think "what would I have done on that morning" after the rider came down the road shouting that the British were marching to Concord. Would I have put down my farm tools, grabbed my musket, hugged my kids, kissed my wife goodbye and run off to join my fellow militiamen as they streamed to Lexington and Concord?
One of my favorite sayings is "There are things that happen in a second that take a lifetime to explain." This is one of those "seconds" that affected the life of many people in New England. Many acted to support the cause of liberty and most of them returned to their families. Some husbands and sons did not return, dying after the skirmishes along the road to Lexington and Concord.
In Westminster MA, about 20 miles west of Concord, Norman Seaver (my fifth great-grandfather), his brothers Ethan, Daniel, and Moses, and his son Benjamin (my fourth great-grandfather) gathered their arms and marched off toward Concord. They all soon returned and several of them served later in the War. I posted Norman's biography here.
My ancestor Isaac Buck was a young man of 18 who served the entire war - he was part of Henry Knox's regiment that went to Fort Ticonderoga and hauled the cannons to Dorchester Heights in the middle of the winter of 1775-6. I posted his biography here and his Revolutionary War service records here.
However, the man that I wish I was descended from is my very distant cousin - Samuel Whittemore. Here is an article about him from an obituary notice of the Columbian Centinel (a newspaper in Boston) of 6 February 1793:
"Died at Menotomy, the 2d instant, Capt. Samuel Whittemore, AEt. 96 years and 6 months. The manly and moral virtues, in all the varied relations of a brother, husband, father, and friend, were invariably exhibited in this gentleman. He was not more remarkable for his longevity and his numerous descendants (his progeny being 185, one of which is the fifth generation) than for his patriotism.
"When the British troops marched to Lexington, he was 79 years of age, and one of the first on the parade; he was armed with a gun and horse-pistol. After an animated exhortation to the collected militia to the exercise of bravery and courage, he exclaimed, 'If I can only be the instrument of killing one of my country's foes, I shall die in peace.' The prayer of this venerable old man was heard; for on the return of the troops he lay behind a stone wall, and discharging his gun a soldier immediately fell; he then discharged his pistol, and killed another; at which instant a bullet struck his face, shot away part of his cheekbone; on which a number of the soldiers ran up to the wall, and gorged their malice on his wounded head. They were heard to exclaim, 'We have killed the old rebel.'
"About four hours after, he was found in a mangled situation; his head was covered with blood from the wounds of the bayonets, which were six or eight; but providentially none penetrated so far as to destroy him. His hat and clothes were shot through in many places; yet he survived to see the complete overthrow of his enemies, and his country enjoy all the blessings of peace and independence.
"His funeral will be held to-morrow at 4 o'clock P. M. from his house at Menotomy, which his relatives and friends are requested to attend."
We have all benefited from the heroism of Norman Seaver, Isaac Buck, Samuel Whittemore and many more patriots who fought and died to establish the United States of America. May God bless them all! And may we remember them forever for what they did on a spring morning in New England.
Friday, April 18, 2008
SDGS Trip to LA Public Library on 4/26
I've been remiss in publicizing the San Diego Genealogical Society bus trip to Los Angeles Public Library on Saturday, 26 April.
The SDGS chartered bus will depart from the Veterans Administration Building (Mission Valley, 8810 Rio San Diego Dr.) at 7:30 a.m. sharp! It will stop in North SD County at the Carlsbad Public Library at 8:00 a.m. The group will arrive at the Los Angeles Public Library by 10 a.m.
The bus will leaver the LA Library at 4:30 p.m. and arrive back at Carlsbad at 6:30 p.m. and San Diego at 7 p.m.
The trip fare is $35.00 for SDGS members and $40.00 for non-members. Reservations must be received by April 19th. No refunds will be given after April 23rd.
Complete the registration form and mail a check payable to SDGS to Phyllis Quarg, SDGS, 11949 Riverside Dr., #15, Lakeside CA 92040-2319. for questions, contact Phyllis at 619-443-5718 or phylbq AT cox.net.
If you really want to go, give Phyllis a call or an email and see if there is still space.
I want to go every year and haven't yet - my daughter is having a baby that weekend!
The SDGS chartered bus will depart from the Veterans Administration Building (Mission Valley, 8810 Rio San Diego Dr.) at 7:30 a.m. sharp! It will stop in North SD County at the Carlsbad Public Library at 8:00 a.m. The group will arrive at the Los Angeles Public Library by 10 a.m.
The bus will leaver the LA Library at 4:30 p.m. and arrive back at Carlsbad at 6:30 p.m. and San Diego at 7 p.m.
The trip fare is $35.00 for SDGS members and $40.00 for non-members. Reservations must be received by April 19th. No refunds will be given after April 23rd.
Complete the registration form and mail a check payable to SDGS to Phyllis Quarg, SDGS, 11949 Riverside Dr., #15, Lakeside CA 92040-2319. for questions, contact Phyllis at 619-443-5718 or phylbq AT cox.net.
If you really want to go, give Phyllis a call or an email and see if there is still space.
I want to go every year and haven't yet - my daughter is having a baby that weekend!
Ellen Goodman's column about genealogy
Ellen Goodman has a column in the Boston Globe newspaper, dated 18 April 2008, titled "Secrets buried under a family tree" that is an excellent read. She tells about her reaction to the recent news flurries about political candidates relationships to notable people, and that she went to the NEHGS wondering about her own ancestry.
There are several excellent paragraphs:
"... I casually handed over a few names and dates from my own memory bank. I didn't find a king or horse thief or Hollywood star, but I found a family secret. A garden-variety secret, I am sure, but a secret nonetheless. My grandparents were married on Feb. 3, 1914. Five months before my mother was born on July 7, 1914."
and:
"But what we really want from the generations past are not just the facts or the DNA. We want the stories. Love, passion, success, disappointment, humanity. There may be no way to know - really know - their interior life. But how many of us would trade in the data for one good diary? Will we remember that in our own 'estate planning'?"
and finally:
"We all have tens of thousands of cousins," says Simons, whose researchers connected Clinton with Jolie, Obama with Bush. 'You can walk down the street right past a third or fourth cousin and not know it.'
"But how I wish I could stop one couple on the street for a just a question or two. The couple who were married on Feb. 3, 1914."
Read the whole thing. Ellen gets it, doesn't she? Super. A much better take on family history than some other journalists who have branded it negatively.
There are several excellent paragraphs:
"... I casually handed over a few names and dates from my own memory bank. I didn't find a king or horse thief or Hollywood star, but I found a family secret. A garden-variety secret, I am sure, but a secret nonetheless. My grandparents were married on Feb. 3, 1914. Five months before my mother was born on July 7, 1914."
and:
"But what we really want from the generations past are not just the facts or the DNA. We want the stories. Love, passion, success, disappointment, humanity. There may be no way to know - really know - their interior life. But how many of us would trade in the data for one good diary? Will we remember that in our own 'estate planning'?"
and finally:
"We all have tens of thousands of cousins," says Simons, whose researchers connected Clinton with Jolie, Obama with Bush. 'You can walk down the street right past a third or fourth cousin and not know it.'
"But how I wish I could stop one couple on the street for a just a question or two. The couple who were married on Feb. 3, 1914."
Read the whole thing. Ellen gets it, doesn't she? Super. A much better take on family history than some other journalists who have branded it negatively.
San Francisco - April 18, 1906
Kathryn Doyle at the California Genealogical Society and Library Blog has a post today about a book titled A Most Dreadful Earthquake: A First-Hand Account of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire by Dorothy Fowler, which includes 40 letters written by Sarah E. Phillips immediately after the earthquake.
This book sounds like a great book for a Christmas gift for my wife and brother-in-law, whose grandmother and great-grandparents lived through the earthquake. I posted a picture of them after the earthquake in my post here last year. How I wish that we had some family letters, or even family stories, from this family.
This book sounds like a great book for a Christmas gift for my wife and brother-in-law, whose grandmother and great-grandparents lived through the earthquake. I posted a picture of them after the earthquake in my post here last year. How I wish that we had some family letters, or even family stories, from this family.
Carnival of Genealogy #46 is posted
The 46th Carnival of Genealogy was posted this morning by Jasia at http://creativegene.blogspot.com/2008/04/carnival-of-genealogy-46th-edition.html. There are 29 entries by 28 genea-bloggers, all of them interesting. The topic for this Carnival was: Inherited Traits. Where'd you get those baby blues? That luscious red hair? A love for adventure? A talent for music? Our DNA combines in just such a way as to make us the unique individuals we are. But what traits did we get from who?
My own contribution was I Am a Unique Person.
The topic for the next Carnival of Genealogy is: A Place Called Home. It's time for a geography lesson. Pick out a city/town/village where one of your ancestors once lived and tell us all about it. When was it founded? What is it known for? Has is prospered or declined over the years? Have you ever visited it or lived there? To a certain extent, we are all influenced by the environment we live in. How was your ancestor influenced by the area where they lived? Take us on a trip to the place your ancestor called home. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2008.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
My own contribution was I Am a Unique Person.
The topic for the next Carnival of Genealogy is: A Place Called Home. It's time for a geography lesson. Pick out a city/town/village where one of your ancestors once lived and tell us all about it. When was it founded? What is it known for? Has is prospered or declined over the years? Have you ever visited it or lived there? To a certain extent, we are all influenced by the environment we live in. How was your ancestor influenced by the area where they lived? Take us on a trip to the place your ancestor called home. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2008.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Poem in My Pocket day
I am not really a poetry fan, no matter how hard I try ... and not very creative, either, in terms of writing poetry. So I'll rely on the wonderful work of other poets to celebrate National Poetry Month and Poem in Your Pocket day, which is today! Thanks to Lisa at the Small-Leaved Shamrock blog for the prompt!
Here are my favorite genealogy poems:
The Elusive Ancestor
by Merrell Kenworthy
I went searching for an ancestor. I cannot find him still.
He moved around from place to place and did not leave a will.
He married where a courthouse burned. He mended all his fences.
He avoided any man who came to take the U.S. Census.
He always kept his luggage packed, this man who had no fame.
And every 20 years or so, this rascal changed his name.
His parents came from Europe. They should be upon some list
of passengers to U.S.A., but somehow they got missed.
And no one else in this world is searching for this man.
So, I play genea-solitaire to find him if I can.
I'm told he's buried in a plot, with tombstone he was blessed;
but the weather took engraving, and some vandals took the rest.
He died before the county clerks decided to keep records.
No Family Bible has emerged, in spite of all my efforts.
To top it off this ancestor, who caused me many groans,
Just to give me one more pain, betrothed a girl named JONES.
-------------------------------------------
Grandma Climbed The Family Tree
by Virginia Day McDonald, Macon, GA
There’s been a change in Grandma, we’ve noticed as of late
She’s always reading history, or jotting down some date.
She’s tracing back the family, we’ll all have pedigrees,
Grandma’s got a hobby, she’s Climbing Family Trees....
Poor Grandpa does the cooking, and now, or so he states,
he even has to wash the cups and the dinner plates.
Well, Grandma can’t be bothered, she’s busy as a bee,
Compiling genealogy for the Family Tree.
She has not time to baby-sit, the curtains are a fright.
No buttons left on Grandpa’s shirt, the flower bed’s a sight.
She’s given up her club work, the serials on TV,
The only thing she does nowdays is climb the Family Tree.
The mail is all for Grandma, it comes from near and far.
Last week she got the proof she needs to join the DAR.
A monumental project - to that we all agree,
A worthwhile avocation - to climb the Family Tree.
There were pioneers and patriots mixed with our kith and kin,
Who blazed the paths of wilderness and fought through thick and thin.
But none more staunch than Grandma, whose eyes light up with glee,
Each time she finds a missing branch for the Family Tree.
To some it’s just a hobby, to Grandma it’s much more.
She learns the joys and heartaches of those who went before.
They loved, they lost, they laughed, they wept -- and now for you and me,
They live again in spirit around the Family Tree.
At last she’s nearly finished, and we are each exposed.
Life will be the same again, this we all suppose.
Grandma will cook and sew, serve crullers with our tea.
We’ll have her back, just as before that wretched Family Tree.
--------------------------------
There are more genealogy poems at several web sites, including
* http://loricase.com/poems.html,
* http://www.pennyparker2.com/poems.html
* http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~parrottreilly/poems.html
among others.
Here are my favorite genealogy poems:
The Elusive Ancestor
by Merrell Kenworthy
I went searching for an ancestor. I cannot find him still.
He moved around from place to place and did not leave a will.
He married where a courthouse burned. He mended all his fences.
He avoided any man who came to take the U.S. Census.
He always kept his luggage packed, this man who had no fame.
And every 20 years or so, this rascal changed his name.
His parents came from Europe. They should be upon some list
of passengers to U.S.A., but somehow they got missed.
And no one else in this world is searching for this man.
So, I play genea-solitaire to find him if I can.
I'm told he's buried in a plot, with tombstone he was blessed;
but the weather took engraving, and some vandals took the rest.
He died before the county clerks decided to keep records.
No Family Bible has emerged, in spite of all my efforts.
To top it off this ancestor, who caused me many groans,
Just to give me one more pain, betrothed a girl named JONES.
-------------------------------------------
Grandma Climbed The Family Tree
by Virginia Day McDonald, Macon, GA
There’s been a change in Grandma, we’ve noticed as of late
She’s always reading history, or jotting down some date.
She’s tracing back the family, we’ll all have pedigrees,
Grandma’s got a hobby, she’s Climbing Family Trees....
Poor Grandpa does the cooking, and now, or so he states,
he even has to wash the cups and the dinner plates.
Well, Grandma can’t be bothered, she’s busy as a bee,
Compiling genealogy for the Family Tree.
She has not time to baby-sit, the curtains are a fright.
No buttons left on Grandpa’s shirt, the flower bed’s a sight.
She’s given up her club work, the serials on TV,
The only thing she does nowdays is climb the Family Tree.
The mail is all for Grandma, it comes from near and far.
Last week she got the proof she needs to join the DAR.
A monumental project - to that we all agree,
A worthwhile avocation - to climb the Family Tree.
There were pioneers and patriots mixed with our kith and kin,
Who blazed the paths of wilderness and fought through thick and thin.
But none more staunch than Grandma, whose eyes light up with glee,
Each time she finds a missing branch for the Family Tree.
To some it’s just a hobby, to Grandma it’s much more.
She learns the joys and heartaches of those who went before.
They loved, they lost, they laughed, they wept -- and now for you and me,
They live again in spirit around the Family Tree.
At last she’s nearly finished, and we are each exposed.
Life will be the same again, this we all suppose.
Grandma will cook and sew, serve crullers with our tea.
We’ll have her back, just as before that wretched Family Tree.
--------------------------------
There are more genealogy poems at several web sites, including
* http://loricase.com/poems.html,
* http://www.pennyparker2.com/poems.html
* http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~parrottreilly/poems.html
among others.
Will we ever see a "Genealogy Idol" Program on TV?
I was soaping up in the shower this morning and thinking about TV programs on genealogy that I would like to see, and it hit me --
GENEALOGY IDOL!
Think of it - 10 genealogy researchers start out on a quest to be named the Genealogy Idol. It could be similar to "American Idol" on Fox TV, but about genealogy research. But perhaps with some twists.
One concept could be --
1) This would be an annual contest, held over several weeks in Salt Lake City, with winners announced at the annual NGS or FGS conference.
2) Anybody is eligible to be a Genealogy Idol contestant - including amateurs and professionals.
3) A small panel of FASG's select 10 genealogy researchers through some sort of interview and portfolio process, perhaps with a 2 minute video of each discussing their experience and why they think they can be the Genealogy Idol.
4) During each show, each contestant will be
a) Provided a specific research problem to be solved one hour before show time. Each problem would be different from any other, and could be submitted by genealogy researchers from around the world.
b) Asked to recommend methods to solve the research problem
c) Be given one week to solve their specific problem using all resources available.
d) On the next show, provide a written report documenting the results of their research, including a 2-minute video showing their results.
e) At the end of the reports, the FASG's and the audience will vote one or more of the contestants off the show.
f) Back to a) above.
What do you think? Obviously, there would have to be rules about research procedures and assistance. Who would provide the research problems? How would costs be covered? Who would be in the voting audience if it wasn't on live TV?
Is this TV network material? Maybe not, but it would surely be interesting for an FGS or NGS conference, and I'm sure that Roots Television would want to show it.
I turned the shower off when the water turned cold. When I got out of the shower, my wife asked me why my head was still soapy. I was thinking...
How would you improve this concept? Either write your own blog post or make comments to this post.
UPDATED 1:50 PM: After I posted this, I wondered if the idea had come up before, and of course it has - see Paul Allen's talk to the APG in November 2007 where he mentioned a "Genealogy Idol" contest. I have no memory of reading about it although I know I read the article at the time since I blogged about it here. Now I know what my memory half-life is, I guess!
GENEALOGY IDOL!
Think of it - 10 genealogy researchers start out on a quest to be named the Genealogy Idol. It could be similar to "American Idol" on Fox TV, but about genealogy research. But perhaps with some twists.
One concept could be --
1) This would be an annual contest, held over several weeks in Salt Lake City, with winners announced at the annual NGS or FGS conference.
2) Anybody is eligible to be a Genealogy Idol contestant - including amateurs and professionals.
3) A small panel of FASG's select 10 genealogy researchers through some sort of interview and portfolio process, perhaps with a 2 minute video of each discussing their experience and why they think they can be the Genealogy Idol.
4) During each show, each contestant will be
a) Provided a specific research problem to be solved one hour before show time. Each problem would be different from any other, and could be submitted by genealogy researchers from around the world.
b) Asked to recommend methods to solve the research problem
c) Be given one week to solve their specific problem using all resources available.
d) On the next show, provide a written report documenting the results of their research, including a 2-minute video showing their results.
e) At the end of the reports, the FASG's and the audience will vote one or more of the contestants off the show.
f) Back to a) above.
What do you think? Obviously, there would have to be rules about research procedures and assistance. Who would provide the research problems? How would costs be covered? Who would be in the voting audience if it wasn't on live TV?
Is this TV network material? Maybe not, but it would surely be interesting for an FGS or NGS conference, and I'm sure that Roots Television would want to show it.
I turned the shower off when the water turned cold. When I got out of the shower, my wife asked me why my head was still soapy. I was thinking...
How would you improve this concept? Either write your own blog post or make comments to this post.
UPDATED 1:50 PM: After I posted this, I wondered if the idea had come up before, and of course it has - see Paul Allen's talk to the APG in November 2007 where he mentioned a "Genealogy Idol" contest. I have no memory of reading about it although I know I read the article at the time since I blogged about it here. Now I know what my memory half-life is, I guess!
Ancestry and Rootsweb Traffic Statistics
Avid genealogy blog- and news-hounds will recall that Ancestry decided to incorporate all Rootsweb pages into the http://www.ancestry.com/ domain in mid-March, one month ago.
After that, I posted several articles about Traffic statistics for Ancestry and Rootsweb - the last on 1 April.
Since then, all of the Rootsweb pages that I checked from the main Rootsweb page are now within the http://www.ancestry.com/ domain. I also checked for the web sites hosted by Rootsweb for the USGenWeb project and found that they also are on the Ancestry domain now. The WorldConnect database is now in the Ancestry domain.
Here are the traffic statistics for the last month for http://www.ancestry.com/ and http://www.rootsweb.com/ - in Reach (unique visitors per million Internet users) and Page Views (per million Internet users):
In one month, Ancestry's Reach has increased from about 300 to about 500, while Rootsweb's Reach has decreased from about 400 to about 70. Page Views for Ancestry have actually decreased during this time from about 8000 to about 7000, while Rootsweb's has decreased from about 2500 to about 500.
Interesting, isn't it?
After that, I posted several articles about Traffic statistics for Ancestry and Rootsweb - the last on 1 April.
Since then, all of the Rootsweb pages that I checked from the main Rootsweb page are now within the http://www.ancestry.com/ domain. I also checked for the web sites hosted by Rootsweb for the USGenWeb project and found that they also are on the Ancestry domain now. The WorldConnect database is now in the Ancestry domain.
Here are the traffic statistics for the last month for http://www.ancestry.com/ and http://www.rootsweb.com/ - in Reach (unique visitors per million Internet users) and Page Views (per million Internet users):
In one month, Ancestry's Reach has increased from about 300 to about 500, while Rootsweb's Reach has decreased from about 400 to about 70. Page Views for Ancestry have actually decreased during this time from about 8000 to about 7000, while Rootsweb's has decreased from about 2500 to about 500.
Interesting, isn't it?
SDGS Trip to SCGS Jamboree in June
Hey San Diego genealogists -- here is an opportunity for you and the members of your genealogy group to attend the Genealogy Jamboree in style.
The San Diego Genealogical Society (SDGS) is sponsoring a trip to the Jamboree in Burbank, CA, June 27-29, 2008 via Amtrak. The cost includes transportation on Amtrak, two nights at the Marriott Airport Hotel and Jamboree registration. The train will stop in Oceanside for a north county pickup.
Prices are very reasonable, ranging from $225.00-$454.00, depending on train stop, number of persons in a room and regular or senior rate. Early bird registration ends on May 1. After that, the Jamboree fees increase.
Early Bird Registration on or before 1 May includes a printed syllabus.
Visit the SDGS website, www.rootsweb.com/~casdgs/ for more information and to download a registration form. Or, contact Phyllis Quarg at phylbq@cox.net.
For additional information about the Jamboree log on to their web site at: www.genealogyjamboree.blogspot.com.
This is an excellent opportunity to go to the Jamboree in fine style with other San diego area genealogists. It should be fun!
The San Diego Genealogical Society (SDGS) is sponsoring a trip to the Jamboree in Burbank, CA, June 27-29, 2008 via Amtrak. The cost includes transportation on Amtrak, two nights at the Marriott Airport Hotel and Jamboree registration. The train will stop in Oceanside for a north county pickup.
Prices are very reasonable, ranging from $225.00-$454.00, depending on train stop, number of persons in a room and regular or senior rate. Early bird registration ends on May 1. After that, the Jamboree fees increase.
Early Bird Registration on or before 1 May includes a printed syllabus.
Visit the SDGS website, www.rootsweb.com/~casdgs/ for more information and to download a registration form. Or, contact Phyllis Quarg at phylbq@cox.net.
For additional information about the Jamboree log on to their web site at: www.genealogyjamboree.blogspot.com.
This is an excellent opportunity to go to the Jamboree in fine style with other San diego area genealogists. It should be fun!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)