Tom's Tips for Genealogists

Commentary About NYG&B and Other Genealogy Libraries

2008-07-23T14:09:00.000-05:00

This article originally appeared in Dick Eastman's Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
on July 19, 2008. I have included it here because I think the subject is an important one.
_________________________________________________________________

I have been watching the developments at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B) for more than a year now, as have hundreds or perhaps thousands of other interested genealogists. It is a sad spectacle to watch a major, mainstream society dissolve into almost nothing. A number of thoughts pop to mind, and I decided to share some of them here.

First of all, I'll ignore the legalities as I am no lawyer. There are claims being made about the method in which the NYG&B's downsizing and sale of assets has been handled. That's not my area of expertise and I will ignore all such discussion. I hope someone else with legal expertise does write about that.

Next, while I am saddened to see a major genealogy library go out of existence, I don't think any of us should be too surprised. In fact, this is not the first or second or third time that a genealogy library has folded. It is a sign of the times. Many such libraries face economic realities and find that they can no longer continue in the same manner of operation they have used for years.

Up to this year, perhaps the best-known library closing was the 2001 decision by the National Genealogical Society to transfer its library in Arlington, Virginia, to the St. Louis County Public Library in Missouri and to continue all lending privileges from there. (Some reference works, rare books, and the manuscript collection remained at NGS headquarters.)

Next, in 2005 and 2006, the New England Historic Genealogical Society's closed its lending library. This was only the "lend books by mail" operation housed in Framingham, Massachusetts. The main library that we all know and love on Newbury Street in Boston remains open and appears to be financially sound.

NOTE I was very familiar with the decision to close the NEHGS lending library; I was an employee of the Society at that time and participated in many of the planning meetings. A tiny fraction of the society's members used the lending library. Nobody liked the idea of closing the lending library but the financial losses were obvious and were also growing yearly. Inaction at that time would have had dire financial consequences in later years. The decision was made to cut the losses and redirect the money to other projects that produced greater benefit to the entire membership.

Other genealogy libraries across the nation are facing similar problems: rising costs, lower patronage, and much more "competition." That competition might be direct competition from the Internet, or it may be in the form of indirect competition from the demands on the time of would-be genealogy researchers. In our society's focus on leisure time, we find many demands for our non-working hours. A day at the library may or may not be at the top of the list for many Americans.

Finally, ever escalating gasoline prices and even parking fees make it expensive to use many genealogy libraries. Commuting to New York City is expensive, whether by private automobile or by public transportation. Have you ever paid for parking at any location near the former NYG&B headquarters? For those who wish to use a library in almost any major city, these fees are included in the cost of spending a day at the library. Some libraries charge an admission fee for access to their holdings; these fees are typically minor compared to the expenses of travel and parking.

The recent problems faced by the Board of Directors of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society are quite similar to the problems faced earlier by NGS and NEHGS: costs continued to escalate, and library usage (and revenue) was not keeping pace. This is a situation that cannot exist forever; action is necessary. The wiser managers of such libraries will take action BEFORE the financial consequences force them into bankruptcy.

We can all second-guess the NYG&B Board of Directors: maybe they should have done this or perhaps they should have done that. Monday-morning quarterbacking is easy, but the Board didn't have that luxury. They had to find a solution first, and then act on whatever plan they created. They elected to close the library, sell the building, and transfer the library's holdings to an institution that will probably last longer and will offer greater and easier public access than what the society could ever envision by itself.

Was this the best possible decision? I don't know. But I have received many e-mail messages in the past year or so concerning the NYG&B, and I must say that I have not yet read a better plan. Many people are quick to criticize, but few are willing to step in, and and say, "I'll help."

Right or wrong, the Board of Directors made a plan and acted on it. The library's holdings will be available to the public, apparently in a manner that guarantees better access than ever before. The NYPL (the New York Public Library) is open more hours per week than was NYG&B. Those holdings will also be available free of charge although travel and parking fees will remain roughly the same as before.

What will be missing in the future is the ambiance. The feeling of belonging to an "exclusive club" will no longer be available. Patrons will not be able to walk into a quiet, oak-paneled reading room and be surrounded by oil paintings of long-dead club founders. Indeed, patrons will have to sit in public reading rooms at a major public library, perhaps surrounded by non-genealogists and the various derelicts sometimes found in public library reading rooms.

The decision has been made, and the action plan is underway. There will be second guessing by many former members and others. The online moaning and groaning on newsgroup message boards and perhaps in this newsletter's Comments Sections will be loud. However, I'm betting that no one will be able to create a better (financially sound) plan.

The recent problems and plans at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society are similar to the year 2001 problems and plans at the National Genealogical Society. There are also some similarities to the 2005/2006 problems and plans at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. I suspect we will read of similar problems and perhaps similar plans at other privately-endowed genealogy libraries in the future.

Let's pause for a moment and think about a nearby genealogy library that you use. I'll ignore public libraries that are funded by taxpayers' dollars. They have their own financial issues that are quite different. I'll also ignore the libraries that are funded by religious organizations, such as the Family History Library in Salt Lake City or the BYU library in Provo, Utah.

Let's focus for a bit on privately-endowed libraries that serve genealogists: the Godfrey Memorial Library in Middletown, Connecticut; the New England Historic Genealogical Society's library in Boston, Massachusetts, the Peabody Essex Museum's library in Salem, Massachusetts, the D.A.R. Library in Washington, DC, or any of several dozen other libraries owned by genealogy societies or historical societies or museums. Will they survive in the future? SHOULD they survive?

The reality is that the cost of accessing physical books is rapidly increasing while the cost of accessing the same books online is quickly decreasing. Tens of thousands of genealogy books have already been scanned and are available online today at no charge on Google or at the Lee Library at BYU (see my earlier article at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2005/11/byu_family_hist.html) or for free or modest charges at HeritageQuest Online. Manuscripts, books, and much more are available for free on FamilySearch.org and at reasonable fees from Footnote.com, Ancestry.com, and hundreds of other, smaller web sites. The Mormon Church is already hard at work on a huge project to convert all their microfilms to digital images.

Question: Do we (the genealogists) really want to spend $4.00+ per gallon of gas plus more for parking to look at genealogy books and manuscripts in person? Can we afford to do that if we live hundreds or thousands of miles away from the one library that holds the information we seek? Doesn't it make financial sense to take the money formerly earmarked to keep private genealogy libraries in operation and instead divert that money to scanning project that will place the same information online at no cost or low cost to everyone? That's "everyone," including those who live 3,000 miles away from the particular library in question. That access does not need to be limited to library hours; online patrons can access those books and manuscripts 24 hours a day.

Oh sure, we will have to do this from home. We cannot sit in high-ceiling reading rooms, surrounded by oil paintings of men dressed in ancient fashions looking down at us. The ambiance certainly will be different. I certainly will miss the genealogy libraries where I have spent so many delightful hours. But I think I will be a better genealogist for the experience and I will better understand my family's heritage.

This will not happen overnight. It will not happen in a year or two. It happened at the National Genealogical Society in 2001. It is happening at NYG&B in 2008. I suspect more privately endowed genealogy libraries will close in the next decade or two. Don't be surprised.

Probably the last such library to close its doors will be the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Sitting on a $20 million+ endowment that is growing, that library's future seems assured for some years to come. Yet, I suspect that even that library will someday have to face the issue that revenue isn't beginning to cover expenses. The books in that library, and all other genealogy books in other libraries that do not have copyright restrictions, should be scanned now and made available to all genealogists at reasonable fees. The same is true for manuscript collections: let's scan them. Once placed online and access requires a modest fee, I bet those libraries will see increasing revenues, not decreasing. Of course, one alternative is to sit back, do nothing, and wait for Google to give the same information away to everyone free of charge!

The Board of Directors at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society did what they had to do. So did the Board of Directors at the National Genealogical Society. Now I will offer my "Monday morning quarterback" assessment: It strikes me that perhaps the NGS, the NYG&B, and others should have digitized those books before giving them away.

I believe that libraries of the future will remain in business for many years on the web, if not in a "bricks and mortar" environment. I also believe that these future genealogy libraries will derive more revenue from distant online patrons than they ever could obtain from those able to walk in the front door.

I'll gladly pay a dollar or two to read a book online instead of paying $4.00 a gallon or more for gas plus parking fees to drive to a distant library. Will you?

Tools for Genealogists - FotoTagger

2008-07-15T09:05:00.012-05:00

FotoTagger is a free software program that could have been built specifically for genealogists. It wasn't but, as you will see, it is well suited to tasks we genealogy researchers frequently perform.

The basic function of the program is simply to add text to a picture. That in itself is a very helpful function. It lets the user identify people and objects within the photo with or without arrows pointing to each. See the photos for examples.

If that was all FotoTagger did, I wouldn't even mention it here. But, the program will do more. Some of the most useful to genealogists include the ability to send the tagged image in a email, post it directly to a blog, add it to Flickr or export it to an html file.

FotoTagger also includes some very limited editing capability, basically just rotating and resizing for now, and a few other nice touches. The software is free so, try it out. I like it as a quick way to annotate photos I send to fellow researchers or include on my web site.

Tools for Genealogists - GPS

2008-07-10T10:35:00.007-05:00

We genealogists have a whole lot of high tech gadgets at our disposal. Some, like computers and scanners have obvious application to our hobby. Others don't have as direct usefulness but can be very helpful none the less. GPS units fall into the later category. They can be a huge aid in certain situations.

The most obvious use of GPS navigators is to give directions to the places we do research. Any decent GPS unit will lead you directly to the courthouse, library and cemetery you are looking for. Usually, you can enter the address and the unit will calculate the best route. If you know the address where your ancestors lived, GPS can also take you to their old home - or at least to the location where it once stood.

Alternatively, if your GPS can be connected to your computer, you can look up the location on Google Maps and then choose the send button at the top right of the screen to load the location directly into your navigator. Right now, this feature is available for Garmin and TomTom GPS units and for BMW and Mercedes in car navigators. Hopefully, more brands will be supported in the near future.

By the way, another Google Map feature genealogists should make use of is the ability to add places to the map. If you know the location of an obscure cemetery or historical location, feel free to add it so others can benefit. Just use the Add Place command to make it available to everyone. At some point, I will do an article about other Google features of interest to genealogists.

Beyond helping you find your way, the other major use of GPS for genealogists is marking the exact location of points of interest. Say you have searched that remote cemetery and found the grave of your great-great grandmother. With some GPS units, you can set it on the top of the stone and read the latitude and longitude of that exact spot.

The GPS built into your car certainly will not allow you to do that. Unfortunately, many (probably most) of the portable units meant for driving directions also wont support direct reading of the location. So, you should consider adding a hand held GPS to your research tool kit. You can find examples of these that come with installed topographic maps that will show features like cemeteries that the highway based units will not. That is another reason to have one of each available.

Once you have determined the latitude and longitude of a location, be sure to add it to your genealogy database so that you can find your way back and can let other researchers know how to find the spot too.

As a serious researcher, you will find many uses for a good GPS unit or two. Besides finding location of genealogical interest, remember that the GPS can also direct you to hotels and restaurants while you are on that research road trip. You will find them useful even when you aren't doing genealogy.

Genealogy Center, Allen County Public Library

2008-06-24T07:57:00.004-05:00

I wrote about the Allen County Public Library in a recent post. I thought you might enjoy this video tour.

Legacy Family Tree 7.0

2008-06-09T07:08:00.002-05:00

The following article is from Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.

It's official: Millennia Corporation has now released Legacy Family Tree version 7.0, the latest version of a popular genealogy program for Microsoft Windows. Here is the announcement from Millennia:

New version 7 Continues 10-Years of Innovation and Quality; Now Offers Wall Charts, Automated Mapping, SourceWriter and a Host of New Features

Millennia Corporation, a leader in family history software, today announced the release of Legacy Family Tree 7.0. The new release contains dozens of significant new features and enhancements, including the first-ever SourceWriter, automated family mapping, and brilliant wall charts.

In one software package, Legacy Family Tree 7.0 provides tools to help users record their family's history, organize their pictures, perform their research, and share their findings.

"Legacy Family Tree 7.0 is truly the next generation of family history software," said David Berdan, president of Millennia Corporation. "Its new SourceWriter, interactive satellite maps, and especially the incredible wall charting capabilities keep Legacy as the favorite for beginners and professionals alike."

The following new and updated features add to Legacy's list of robust capabilities:

Mapping - Use Microsoft Virtual Earth to automatically pinpoint and plot important locations in ancestors' lives from within Legacy. See 3-D, satellite and bird's eye images of where your ancestors lived. Now it is easy to track your ancestor's migration.
Wall Charts - Experience the enjoyment of showing off your family tree by producing stunning full-color wall charts - ancestor, descendant, fan, hourglass, bow tie, and even DNA charts. Use them for your next family reunion or for a deserving wall in your home.
SourceWriter - Cite your sources easily and correctly with the new SourceWriter. SourceWriter makes it simple for you to select the correct input screen so that you enter all the pieces needed to correctly cite any source of information in the thousands of formats that exist for them. The information you enter is correctly and precisely formatted to match the genealogy industry standards for source citations when printing footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies. Multiple citations for an event can be combined into one paragraph, thus avoiding a long string of superscripted numbers within the report body.
Interview Reports - Choose from over 1,200 carefully pre-written interview questions and memory triggers to help you capture your family's memories before it is too late.
Guided Setup Wizard - Getting started with Legacy is even easier now. The new guided setup wizard takes you by the hand and guides you through the setup process in an easy-to-understand way.
New Relationship Calculator - See how any two people are connected, not only through direct blood relationships but also by marriage. A person might be the "great-grandfather of the wife of your 2nd great-grandnephew. You can also specify how many of these non-blood relationships you want to see.
More Powerful Searching - Searching your Legacy data is easier than ever before. You can now search for individuals that are missing parts of names, birth or death information, marriage information and much more. You can also search for missing source citations as you document your family files.
Now Attach Any Document to Individuals and Marriages - Along with attaching pictures, sounds, and video to individuals, events, locations, and sources, you can now also attach any other kind of document (PDFs, Word files, etc.).
Enhanced Backups - Legacy can now backup your family file and multimedia files at the same time, making it easier to transfer everything to another computer.
Edit Records from the "Used By" Lists - All of the master lists in Legacy have an option to view the individuals who use the items in the list. You can now edit those individuals right from the list instead of having to exit the list and edit them separately.
Standardization Tips - New alerts will appear if something questionable has been entered in the Individual's Information screen. This helps users keep their data standardized.
Privacy - enhanced privacy options ensure that only the information you want to share will be visible to others
Best Fit Child Columns - The new Best Fit option in the Family View expands or contracts the child list columns to fit the number of children for the current couple. No more trying to guess the optimum number of child columns. Legacy does it for you.

Watch the What's New Video at http://www.legacyfamilytree.net/videos/new7/What'sNewInLegacy7.html

Pricing and Availability
Legacy 7.0 is now available at www.LegacyFamilyTree.com, for just US $29.95 for the download-only version or US $39.95 version which includes the 336-page printed user's guide, installation CD, and beginner's training video. The free, Standard edition can also be downloaded from www.LegacyFamilyTree.com. Or call 1-800-753-3453. Legacy 7.0 is also set to be released in select retail stores this summer.

About Millennia Corporation
Millennia Corporation is located in Surprise, Arizona. The company strives to provide top-quality genealogy software so people can record and track their family history. It is also the publisher of Legacy News, an online newsletter bringing genealogists tips and tricks about genealogy (http://www.legacynews.typepad.com). For additional information on Millennia or the products they offer visit http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com.

Allen County Public Library

2008-06-05T08:14:00.001-05:00

The Family History Library in Salt Lake City is the largest collection of genealogy resources in the world and should be high on the list of destinations for every serious genealogist. But, for those of us East of the Mississippi who can't get there or can't visit as often as we would like, the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana is a close second.

In addition to the huge collection of genealogy resources available at the library, as a cooperating partner with the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, the genealogy department can provide access to more than 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical and historical records for a small handling fee per roll of film requested.

ACPL originated the Periodical Source Index which is maintained by the library staff. The periodical collection alone is worth a visit. For a convenient periodical search form, go to http://www.genealogycenter.info/search_genperiodicals.php.

If you possibly can, visit the Allen County Public Library. I have been there several times and I never fail to find new information when I visit. When you do visit, make sure you sign in on the library computer and provide your research interests. In that way, other researchers with similar interests can reach you. To see how the system works and to find others researching your lines, go to http://friendsofallencounty.org/search_gensurnames.php.

Forms, Forms and More Forms

2008-05-29T06:48:00.001-05:00

Genealogists love forms. We fill out family group sheets, research logs, transcription forms, ancestral charts and many more. I am always on the lookout for new sources of forms to use in my own research. Here is a list of some of my favorite sources for free forms from the Internet.

Ancestry.com has many blank forms available at http://learn.ancestry.com/GetStarted/Charts.aspx?ContentId=12040. I especially like the census transcription forms from this site but, all the basics are there too.

The Bailey's Free Forms page at http://www.cs.williams.edu/~bailey/genealogy/ is another favorite. All the forms here are good but, if I had to choose, my favorite would be the Cemetery Record with the Timeline Sheets as a close second. These particular forms are harder to find than the others which is why they are my favorites.

Easy Genealogy Forms at http://www.io.com/~jhaller/forms/forms.html has Pedigree and Family Group Sheets available in several different formats for Mac and PC.

The LDS' Family Search Site has forms and research guidance documents online at http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/rg/frameset_rhelps.asp. The listing is indexed by location although most of the forms are the same for all locals. The research guidance documents, while not fillable forms, are still very useful.

Family Tree Magazine offers all the basic forms we all need plus a couple that I haven't seen anywhere else. You can find them at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/forms/download.html. The Artifacts and Heirlooms form is novel and useful.

If you are looking for Passenger Lists Transcription Forms, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilpip1gs/Toolbox/manifest_extract_forms.htm has some good ones.

Looking for more forms? Cyndi's List has a category where more are listed. The link is http://www.cyndislist.com/freestuff.htm.

Go get your free forms. They will help you organize your research and do better documentation.

New York Records Online

2008-05-22T08:23:00.003-05:00

The New England Historic Genealogical Society has created a new web site devoted to New York genealogical research. In addition to the massive amount of New England material the society has accumulated over it's long history, it has also amassed a great deal of New York material. That information is now available to genealogists at http://www.newyorkancestors.org/. Members of the New England Historic Genealogical Society have access to all the databases on the new site.

The Dark Side: Genealogy Rip-Offs Listed

2008-05-14T08:14:00.001-05:00

Ninety-nine percent of the businesses that sell products and services to genealogists are legitimate companies that work hard at supplying the best products possible. This article will focus on the other 1%.

It seems that scam artists have been around forever in the world of genealogy. They existed centuries ago, and they exist today. I have written about a number of them in past newsletters, and you may encounter still more such scams if you use any modern Internet search engine.

As a convenience for newsletter readers, I am compiling a list of alleged genealogy scams. In short, this list will be updated as often as necessary and will contain the name and web site of each company that reportedly delivers less than what they advertise to the genealogy marketplace. Whenever possible, the listing will include a link to other web pages where the reader may find further details. These are the web sites and e-mail messages that generate the majority of messages that I receive from concerned newsletter readers.

A listing here does not mean that the company has been proven guilty or even that it has had a court appearance. While a listing here does indicate significant customer dissatisfaction, the listing should not be construed as proof of guilt. The information is provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. I believe the information contained in this report is reliable, but there is no guarantee as to accuracy. Reports are subject to change at any time.

Morphcorp Corporation, also known as “Family News” or the “Family News Network” or the "Mountain Pacific News Service"
Many consumers who purchase the product have alleged that it does not represent their specific family genealogy information. Complainants allege that the company sends similar genealogy information to a wide range of customers.

The company paid a $ 30,000 civil penalty in 2006 and also paid the State of Colorado $25,000 in attorney fees and costs and have agreed to significant changes in the way "Family Yearbooks" are marketed. However, the company's business practices have changed little, and the company continues to send out misleading advertisements for the "Family Yearbook." If your name is Smith, you will receive an ad for the “Smith Family Yearbook.” Anyone with a last name of Jones will receive ads for the” Jones Family Yearbook.” In fact, both publications will contain nearly identical generic information with nothing specific to either the Smith family or the Jones family.

While these are called “yearbooks,” the publications do not seem to change from year to year. Each booklet contains generic information about the origins of surnames, a list of references for “how to research your own ancestry” and similar, material. You can find more and better information within a few minutes by using any search engine. Unlike these so-called yearbooks, the information found via search engines is mostly available free of charge. This company charges $39.85 for the so-called "yearbooks."

The company had a web site at www.ourfamilyyearbook.com, but the company apparently has since switched to http://familynewsabout.com. Mountain Pacific News Service's new web site does offer the following disclaimers at http://familynewsabout.com/acks.php?id=27401:
FAMILY HISTORIANS NOTE : This data is for you to do your own genealogical research.

OUR PRODUCTS ARE NOT PUBLISHED YEARLY . New data is added from time to time. New major changes are advertised on the web.

Our products CONTAINS NO PICTURES OF FAMILY MEMBERS unless otherwise noted.

OUR PRODUCTS ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE ABOUT YOUR FAMILY but about the entire family nationwide.

IF FOR ANY REASON WHATSOVER you are dissatisfied with this product, return it within 15 days for a full refund.
For more information, look at the Better Business Bureau's web site at http://denver.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=33&bbb=0885&firm=11038 and at this newsletter's earlier articles at http://tinyurl.com/4ht3j8.

SearchYourGenealogy.com, Ancestry-search.com, and Australian-Ancestry.com
These sites claim to have “the largest online genealogical search tool” and promote themselves as the foremost resources for genealogy; however, they are nothing more than a series of web pages with links to other services. On each site, potential customers are lured to purchase under what we feel to be false, misleading, or deceitful promotional material, and the buyer gets little or no value out of money spent at these websites.

Further information may be found at http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2008/04/10/potentially-fraudulent-sites-posing-as-genealogy-websites

Clett Island
Clett Island is situated on Loch Dunvegan in the heart of the Scottish Highlands. The island's owner is selling small plots on Clett Island as "Heritage Land Plots." His advertising is mostly aimed at Americans and Canadians, apparently appealing to those of Scottish descent. However, the Scottish National Parliament (SNP) claims that the deeds issued are not worth the paper they are written on. In fact, SNP media and culture spokesman Mike Russell is furious, claiming the scheme is illegal and also exploits Scotland's culture. "This is a cynical exploitation of Scottish history and culture and I want it stopped," said Russell.

The sale was conducted on the seller's Web page at http://www.clett.com but the site now appears to be defunct.

The BBC has an article about this at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2577095.stm and I wrote about it also at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/05/update_own_a_pi.html.

Family Trackers

http://www.familytrackers.com
The owner of Family Trackers also owns several other web sites, including Market Profiles at www.MarketProfiles.net. According to that web site's main page:
Market Profiles is a full-service research company that surveys members of our online panel about the web sites that they visit and sells the results to web site marketers through affiliates and directly through our online store.
In other words, a genealogist receives unsolicited mail from Family Trackers, believes it, signs up, and "even recruits and organizes indexers and transcribers on Family Trackers." All of these folks then have their information collected by surveys, and that information is then sold to other marketers. While this is misleading, it is probably legal. Still, you might want to know the “full story” before filling out any surveys.

Details may be found at the owner's own web site at http://www.MarketProfiles.net.

Independent Committee of Eminent Persons
This is a very pathetic scam. You receive an unsolicited e-mail message stating that a bank official in Switzerland has “discovered” millions of dollars left in an account by a now-deceased relative of yours. Most of the time, there is a reference to the deceased person being a Holocaust victim. The sender of this message usually has a forged return e-mail address; clicking on REPLY doesn’t work. However, the body of the message tells you how to supply your personal banking information so that “the money may be deposited directly to your account.” The unsolicited message may even say, “There is no risk involved.”

Of course, once you supply your personal banking information, the scam artist is able to drain all the funds already in your account. Then the thief promptly disappears.
NOTE: There is a real organization called the “Independent Committee of Eminent Persons.” It is part of the International Monetary Fund. However, it doesn’t search for money left in bank accounts, doesn’t notify relatives of “newly discovered funds,” and doesn’t send out tens of thousands of e-mail messages with bogus return e-mail addresses.
You can find hundreds of references to this on Google by starting at http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=Independent+Committee+of+Eminent+Persons&btnG=Google+Search

“Your Wealthy Relative Died in a Car Crash”
This is a variation of the well-known Nigerian scams. You receive an e-mail message from someone claiming to be a lawyer, a solicitor, or a bank employee. The letter says that someone with the same last name as yours was killed in a horrible automobile accident a few years ago, and the bank that is holding his funds is trying to find heirs. The person writing the message has decided that you are the likely heir.

At this point, the scam becomes the same as the various Nigerian scams or the Independent Committee of Eminent Persons scam described earlier. You are asked to supply your bank account information so that “the money may be deposited directly to the account.” Of course, once you supply your personal banking information, the scam artist is able to drain all the funds already in your account and then promptly disappears.

If you receive such a solicitation, quickly click on the DELETE key.

Whenever you receive an e-mail message from someone you do not know, hang onto your wallet tightly! Never accept such messages at face value. Ask a friend, preferable some who is very experienced with online activities. Before you ever divulge personal banking information, ask your bank to review the message you received. Banks are experts at recognizing scams, and they offer their advice at no charge to their customers. Use that service!

Finally, if anyone ever says they will give you money, be suspicious. That simply doesn’t happen often. In addition, if anyone asks you to first send money before they give you money, ask yourself, ”Why?” The sender of the message may claim that he or she has to pay fees in advance. Ask for documentation and receipts.

If anyone sends you a message claiming that you can obtain large sums of money, say to yourself over and over, “This is too good to be true.” Then believe it. It is a scam.

Kith and Kin - Cluster Genealogy

2008-05-07T11:45:00.003-05:00

Here is a simple tip to help you get around the inevitable brick walls you will run into. When you reach the point where you are unable to trace an individual's ancestry any further, try researching that persons siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. It's obvious that your 8th great-grandfathers parents are also the parents of his brothers and sisters and his grandparents are the grandparents of his cousins. So, why do we get so focused on the subject of our research that we ignore the other paths to the same goal?

This family line research is a subset of cluster genealogy. To go even further, we should be researching neighbors and associates of our subject too. Our ancestors lived in close knit communities. They married the neighbors sons and daughters. They migrated together and engaged in land deals. It can be very fruitful to explore the connections.

To locate these relatives and neighbors, use census and town records to find out who was living close by. Of course, you will want to be especially curious about those with the same surname. Also, look for other family naming clues. A child's first or middle name just might be the mother's or grandmother's surname. Look for those names in the local records too.

Be creative in your research. Don't get so focused on one person that you neglect to look at the other people associated with him or her. Those connected individuals can lead to whole new branches of your family tree.

A Very Grave Matter

2008-04-30T13:27:00.007-05:00

Who but a genealogist would be interested in a web site devoted to cemeteries and gravestones? A Very Grave Matter is a somewhat specialized but, none the less, very interesting site. If you have New England ancestors, there is a good chance you will find some of them listed. Even if you don't, the site might still be of interest to you. Gravestones, especially early ones, can be true works of art. Look at the one over the grave of Abigail Frost.

Not all of the stones pictured are ancient. Many, like this one for John and Jane Clough, are more recent replacements of the originals. These are also valuable sources for dates and names but, remember that they are more subject to error than the original stones. As you can see on the last linked page, transcripts of the stones are usually provided and that can be a huge help. Many of those old stones are almost impossible to read in a photo.

The web site also includes a blog about gravestones, cemeteries, and New England history. Good reading if you are interested in the subject and, as a genealogist, you should be. Short histories of the towns and cemeteries are provided. You will also find articles on cleaning gravestones and other features.

A Very Grave Matter is a very good web site. Well worth the time to visit.

AF and IGI - What Good Are They?

2008-04-23T11:54:00.000-05:00

Ancestral File and The International Genealogical Index are, probably, the most widely used genealogical reference sources. Unfortunately, they are also two of the most common sources of erroneous information. Both are products of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and are widely used by church members and non-members alike. So many researchers use these sources that any errors (and there are a great many) get propagated far and wide. Other resources, like Ancestry World Tree, family history books, family web sites, and individual researchers' files often include incorrect data from AF and IGI without citing them as the source. So, how can we make use of these databases while minimizing the chance of spreading the errors? We can be choosy about the data we use from them and, we can warn our readers of the imprecise nature of these sources.

Ancestral File is the less reliable of the two databases. All the information in AF has been donated by individuals and consolidated into a single database. While the names and address of the submitters is included, and there is no good way to determine the original source that those submitters used. Any information you find in Ancestral File should be considered as only a possibility that must be verified by other, more reliable, sources. If used that way, AF is a valuable source of leads for further research.

If you do cite Ancestral File, be sure to qualify the source by adding a caution to the citation. I word mine like this example:

Jonathan HOLCOMB (AFN: 45L1-DJ) ; Ancestral File, v4.19 , The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Online: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 1999-2003), http://www.familysearch.com, accessed 11 December 2003. CAUTION - Information in Ancestral File should be considered a clue only. Whenever possible, information should be verified with other sources.

The International Genealogical Index can be a more reliable source depending on where the information came from. The big advantage we have with this database is that the original source of data is, usually, given. Unfortunately, most of them will reference lists like sealings for the dead, baptisms for the dead, etc. These are records provided by individuals and are no more reliable than the records in Ancestral File. To find the quality data, look for sources that reference actual birth, marriage or death records from the states, counties or towns named. Then, if possible, consult the original records to verify the data was transcribed correctly. Most of these records can be found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City or through your local Family History Center. If you can't not view the original source for yourself, at least record it in your citation.

If no definite source is given, you should qualify any citation to IGI just like in the Ancestral File example above. If you are lucky enough to find a source that looks reliable, the citation should include a reference to it like this:

Mace R. Clough entry; FHL Film Number M503786; International Genealogical Index (IGI), v5.0 , The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Online: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 1999-2003), http://www.familysearch.com, accessed 20 March, 2006, original source of data:
Item 1 Records of marriages and marriage intentions, 1814-1910; index to marriages, 1748-1912 Portland (Maine). City Clerk
Item 2 Records of intentions of marriage, 1837-1891; index of intentions of
marriage, 1733-1886 Portland (Maine). City Clerk.

Don't let the reliability issues with Ancestral File and The International Genealogical Index keep you from consulting them. Just remember that what you find there is not proof. Look at the as collections of clues to guide you to the names, places and records that deserve further research. The LDS church has provided us with valuable tools. It is up to us to use them correctly.

A Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England

2008-04-14T09:29:00.002-05:00

If you have New England ancestors who arrived in America before 1692, then you are probably already aware of the work of James Savage. His monumental Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England to 1692is one of the first places you should look when researching early New England families. I do not, however, recommend that you buy the physical four volume set. The books have been digitized and are available in more than one place online, including Google Books.

While seeing the digitized pages of the original books is helpful I prefer a different site. Like most genealogy books, Savages does contain errors. For that reason,I like the revised version by Professor Robert Kraft and his assistant, Benjamin Dunning. The extensive work done by the pair to review and add corrections makes theirs even more valuable that the original books. You can access Kraft's version at http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/savage/. You may copy selections from these pages and paste them into your own database provided that you give proper credit (you do cite all your sources don't you) and you are not doing the copying for profit.

Finding Places

2008-04-08T14:30:00.001-05:00

Have you ever found a reference to a town name but had no idea what county it is in? How about a cemetery name but not the town where it is located? The first resource I turn to for answers to questions about places is the U.S. Geological Survey GNIS.

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. To access the system, go to http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic. If you book mark the page, use this address rather than the longer one that you are redirected to when you enter the site. A FAQ entry on the site explains why you must book mark the site with the preceding address this way:

When you log on, the system adds temporary session identification numbers to the URL, so it looks like this:
http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=921:10:6315419807150552990
If you bookmark or copy and paste this entire URL with numbers, it will not work in the future. Delete all after the word “gnispublic.” The correct URL is:
http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic

You can search for towns and cities, unincorporated villages, cemeteries, bodies of water, schools, hospitals, mountains and more. Just about any geographical feature that has a name is in the database.

Not only is the GNIS an excellent tool to help you get correct place names for your database, it can also help you find them when you want to visit. Suppose you learn that your great great grandparents are buried in a small country cemetery but have no idea where it is. If you find the cemetery name on GNIS, the latitude and longitude will also be listed in the entry. If you have a GPS receiver that will accept coordinates, you can enter the location and be guided right to the cemetery. If you don't have a GPS or yours doesn't accept latitude and longitude, you can usually put the coordinates into Google Maps. Click on the place name in GNIS to get to the detail screen then select the numbers under Latitude(DEC) and Longitude (DEC). Paste those coordinates into Google Maps to see the location. For the example in the picture (click it to enlarge), you would enter 42.6030665 -89.1695577 in the Google Maps search box.

You can convert the Google Map into data for your GPS but, that is beyond the scope of this post. If you are interested, try http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/gmaptogpx/ for details on how to do that.

The Geographic Names Information System is a valuable tool that should be in every genealogists tool box. You will find many more ways to use it than I could possibly list in a single post.

One-Step Searches

2008-04-04T06:39:00.004-05:00

Immigration, census and vital records databases have the potential to be treasure troves of online genealogical information but, finding that information can be challenging. First you have to know the database exists and where it is, then you have to master the nuances of searching it effectively. Most users never make the most of the data available because they don't take the time to master that final step of learning to conduct the most effective searches. Thankfully, there is an easier way.

Stephen P. Morse has invested the time and considerable effort to learn how to effectively search these databases and created tools that make them more accessible to all of us. Go to http://www.stevemorse.org/ to see the growing list of searches available. You will find much more than the immigration, census and vital records mentioned above. Maps, interviews, genetic genealogy and much more in made accessible. If you do online research, you can't help but find something to help you here.

I can't give instructions for using the searches because each is a little different. For a good introduction to using the web site you should go to http://www.stevemorse.org/onestep/onestep.htm. Don't worry too much though. The search forms are intuitive and easy to use even without much instruction. Thank you Dr. Morse!

Fiction in Genealogy Reports?

2008-03-30T06:56:00.008-05:00

What should we do with those family stories that have been passed down through generations but, we realize, are more fiction than fact? Should they be discarded in the interest of only recording accurate and factual information? I don't think so. I really believe those stories should be preserved and passed on to future generations. However, they should be clearly identified as family stories and not claimed as fact. Here is an example of a story from my own family history. I saw this basic story in a couple books about the Hatch family and wanted to include it on my web site. In the storytelling tradition, I didn't just repeat what was in the books but, I also added my own embellishments.

The Harvest of Thomas Hatch

Thomas Hatch had been left a widower by the death of his first wife. Needing a mother for his two young children, Lydia and Jonathan, he began to court the daughter of his neighbor, a farmer named Lewis. Grace Lewis was apparently a very attractive and popular young woman for she had several suitors in addition to Thomas. At last, the field was narrowed to Thomas and just one other but, the lovely Grace could not seem to choose between the two. Finally it was decided that the two rivals would take part in a contest to determine who would win the hand of Grace. Since it was harvest time, it would be a reaping contest. The one who reaped his portion of Farmer Lewis's field in the shortest time would be the winner.

On the day of the event, Grace announced that she too would take a part in the contest. She would start in the middle of the field and cut her swaths toward the edges, one side and then the other. The two suitors would start at opposite edges and cut toward the middle. The first to join his swath with Grace's would also join his life with hers.

In the early morning, the contest began. The two rivals paced off the distance to the center of the field and agreed that each patch was even. Grace cut her first swath straight up the middle of the field with an expertise gained through years of harvests. Her two suitors worked furiously to cut their way to the center and to the lovely Grace. The two young men were evenly matched. First one and then the other would take the lead. By ten o'clock, every neighbor for miles around had arrived to cheer on their favorite in the struggle for the hand of Miss Grace.

The noon hour arrived and the onlookers brought out their picnic lunches but the rivals would not stop to eat. Both kept up an almost superhuman pace so great was each ones desire to win. Grace too kept up her work without a rest first cutting a swath toward Thomas and then one toward the other until finally, just before two in the afternoon, Thomas swung his sickle through the last thin row of grain and joined his harvested ground with Grace's. The young couple clasped hands and raised them high between them for all the town to see.

The happy pair, the relieved father and the jubilant neighbors hurried off to the Lewis home to celebrate the betrothal. Left behind, Thomas's rival gazed forlornly over the harvested ground. Something did not seem quite right to him. As he paced to and fro over the stubbled ground, he saw that the portion he had cut was definitely a little larger that that cut by Thomas. A closer study showed him that each row of wheat that Grace had cut toward his side of the field was just slightly narrower than the rows cut toward Thomas' side. It seemed that Grace had made up her mind after all! The rival suitor chuckled to himself then set off after the noisy crowd. There would be a party this evening and the young ladies of the town would all be there. It was time for him to set his sights on another prospect. This time he thought, he would not choose a farmer's daughter to court.

To make it clear that this is not to be taken as fact, I added a disclaimer after the story.

Is the story true? Certainly not, although it may have some basis in fact. It is a true part of our family heritage though and, I think, worth passing on.

Please, add those stories and rumors to your research. They are fun to record and fun to read. Just make sure you make clear just what they are.

Two Keys to Good Family History Research

2008-03-26T12:41:00.000-05:00

Probably the most important guideline for good genealogy research is to work from the known to the unknown. Choose a single subject for your research and work up and down from that person. In most cases, the subject will be you. If you also want to trace your spouses genealogy, I strongly recommend that you create separate databases for each of you. You will find it much less confusing if you research a single subject at a time (there are exceptions like single name studies but, those are outside the scope of this blog post). There is no one you know better than yourself so, when you start with yourself, you are starting out right by following the principal of working from the known to the unknown.

The second principal I want to emphasize is good citation of your sources. You should cite every source you use. If two sources contain conflicting information, you should still cite both. You will have to make a judgment call as to which information is the best, but you should record the differing information too. Good genealogy research is not just copying want you find in other works. To really do good research you must consciously evaluate every piece of information you come across and make informed decisions as to which bits of data are best. When doing family history research, we are dealing with dates, places and names that were recorded by fallible humans. We can never be 100% sure our conclusions are precisely correct. Still, we must make every effort to adhere to strict standards for good research and quality of proof to keep those errors to a minimum.

Citing every source you use does not mean that you have to use every source you come across. If you have good evidence that a particular writer or compiler consistently puts out false or mistaken data, you can legitimately ignore that source. You might, however, want to make a note about why you believe the information to be incorrect so that other researchers can be warned.

You will also have to learn a little about the mechanics of source citation. Cyndi's List has links to several resources you can find online. One good tool you can use to help create the actual citations is Landmark's Citation Machine. Certainly the most used reference for genealogical citation is Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills. Ms. Mills is widely considered to be THE authority on documentation of family history research.

While learning to format your citations correctly is important, I think it is even more important to make them clear to your readers. The people viewing your genealogy are likely to be family members and distant relatives who don't know anything about source citation. Try to make your citation clear to them. I like to spell out words like page rather than using the more correct p. I will also make images of documents and attach them to the citation. Not everyone would agree but, adding more detail works for me.

HeritageQuest

2008-03-25T05:59:00.008-05:00

HeritageQuest Online offers a huge amount of genealogical data in one place and, you just might be able to access all of it for free. Before I get into how you can access the data, I should tell you just what kind of information you will find on the site.

First, you will find all US census records from 1790 -1930. The records are fully searchable and complete with digitized images of the original pages.

Second, is a very large collection of family and local history books. The books can be searched by person name, places or by book title. The number of books is amazing and, each is fully digitized so you can see the actual pages.

The next database of interest is PERSI, The Periodical Source Index original created by the Allen County Public Library. This is an index to virtually every genealogy publication available. ACPL describes it this way:

PERSI is a comprehensive subject index covering genealogy and local history periodicals written in English and French (Canada) since 1800. The time period of the articles ranges from the 1700s to the present. More than 1.8 million index entries from nearly ten thousand titles are represented by this work.

Again, the data is fully searchable by name and/or place.

Three other databases that might apply to you are the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant application records, the Freedman's Bank records for African American research, and the The United States Congressional Serial Set covering Private Relief Actions, Memorials, and Petitions. These three collections are well worth searching because of the number of names included.

The HeritageQuest site is not designed to be accessible to the general public but is available to any public library that chooses to subscribe. If your local library is a subscriber, you can probably access the databases for free. In many cases, you will have the option of logging onto HeritageQuest from the library or from home, with your library card number. If your regular library doesn't subscribe, you might be able to find another area library that does.

If you can't find a library near you that offers access, you should check with any genealogy societies you might belong to. Many state and some local societies are subscribers. If all else fails, you can join The New England Historic Genealogical Society. Membership is available online for $75.00 per year. In addition to HeritageQuest access, you will also have access to the NEHGS databases including New England town records and past issues of the The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Your membership money will be well spent if you have New England ancestors.

Check with your library or explore your other options for access to HeritageQuest Online. It will be well worth your effort.

Rootsweb Moves to Ancestry Servers

2008-03-20T06:38:00.005-05:00

The Generations Network, parent company of Ancestry.com, acquired Rootsweb back on June of 2000. Since then, they have continued to maintain the valuable site on the Rootsweb.com domain. Earlier this year though, the decision was made to move Rootsweb to the Ancestry.com servers with the stated goal of making it easier for users of the two genealogy sites to access both resources. You can read the full announcement at http://bigfile.rootsweb.com/newsroom/?p=111. This week, the move was completed. Rootsweb users can now access the site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ instead of the old rootsweb.com address. The old address will continue to work indefinitely so, you don't have to update any links or bookmarks you might have. Using the old address will redirect you to the new servers automatically. So, what does the move mean to users? Hopefully, not much. Rootsweb should remain the same hugely useful free web site it always was.

Lost Cousins

2008-03-11T06:08:00.006-05:00

LostCousins is a web site aimed at putting users in contact with other family members or linking researchers working on the same lines. They have a unique method of matching that virtually guarantees that any contacts you make will be related to your ancestors or research subjects. They do that by matching census records. You enter the census data for the names you are researching and the web site matches your entries with others who have entered the same census data. You wont waste time corresponding with people who turn out not to be related at all.

These site offers a lot of potential which, unfortunately, isn't being realized just yet. Your chance s of getting a match are fairly small. Right now, the site only supports the 1880 US Census, the 1881 Census of Canada, the 1841 and 1881 Censuses of England & Wales, and the 1881 Census of Scotland. Here is what the sites FAQ page says about your current chances of getting a match:

The median number of relatives entered by members who have found at least one 'lost cousin' is 63, which means that half of them have entered less than 63 relatives, and the other half have entered more than 63.

However in the short-term there's an element of chance involved. You may find a cousin after entering just one relative - but you might enter over a hundred and still be unlucky. Nevertheless, the more relatives you enter, the better your chances - both in the short-term and the longer-term.

As more censuses are supported and, as more users enter there data, the match rate should get much higher. This is a case where the more users the site has, the better. Who knows though, you just might get lucky and connect with that someone who can give your genealogy research a big boost. A basic membership is free. If you want to initiate contact with people you are matched with, you do have to pay a fee. The subscription fee is £10.00. If you are content to wait for your matches to contact you, you never have to subscribe. In any case, you will know how many matches you have before you make the decision to lay down your money. That seems very fair to me.

There are ways for you to increase your chances of getting matches. First, enter every family member who appears on the supported censuses. Don't just enter the head of household or only your direct ancestors, enter every person in the family. Those descendants of the brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles of your ancestors are just the people you want to make contact with. Also, if you practice cluster genealogy (as you should), entering extended family members, friends, neighbors and associates of your ancestors can be productive. You will get more false matches this way but, you can also make some very good research contacts.

I hope you will give LostCousins a try. I think they have a very good concept and I really hope the site succeeds.

No Posts for the Next 10 days

2008-02-27T07:00:00.000-06:00

There will not be a new post to this blog next week and a half. I am off to the warmth and sunshine of the Caribbean and south Florida. I will resume posting when I return.

Don't Have a Date? Using "Say", "About", "Before" and "After"

2008-02-24T08:02:00.008-06:00

Your genealogical reports are going to contain some dates that are less than absolutely precise. When you enter those dates, you should use a qualifier to make it clear that the date isn't exact. So, which qualifier should you use? Typically, genealogists use about (or circa), say, before and after depending on how the date was determined.

About (the same as circa but, I prefer the more modern sounding variation) should be used when you have a source for the date but, it is imprecise. An example would be a gravestone with the inscription; "John Jones, Died 15 July 1842, Aged 81 Years". Based on this, you could add a birth date of "about 1761" and cite the gravestone as your source. Another case where about is appropriate is when you have an exact date but don't know if the date is in old or new style (old and new style dating is beyond the scope of this post but, you can read about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates). In that case, you should attempt to determine the dating style by using other sources. If you can't resolve the question though, saying "about 15 February 1712" would be appropriate. You should consider adding a footnote to explain why you consider the date imprecise. Finally, if the source you are citing qualifies a date as circa or about, you should do the same.

Say is used when the date is not based on any particular source but, instead, is an educated guess. As you get more practice at it, you will find you can make very accurate guesses. For example, suppose you know that John and Mary Smith were married 18 August 1843. With no other information, I would assume an age of 22 for the groom, 20 for the bride and enter their birth dates as "say 1821" and "say 1823" respectively. Occasionally those ages might be way off but, you will be surprised at how often then are accurate to within a couple years. Other guidelines that work well for those families with children born before the days of birth control are to use 1 year after the marriage date for the birth of the first child and then 2 years between children. These numbers work in reverse too, of course. If you know the first child was born in 1695, for example, you could use "say 1694" for the marriage date. Footnotes should be used to explain your dates. A note for the last example might read; "Based on birth of first child in 1695."

Before and after are a little different in that they are also based on other events in the persons life but, they can be very inexact. They are used more for getting events in the right sequence than for listing a real date. While the practice is rare today, in earlier times, it was not uncommon to give a later child the same name as an earlier child in a family who died. So, if you see a list of children with Susan, born 21 March, 1767 and Susan, born 18 August, 1774, you could enter "before 18 August, 1774" as the death date of the first Susan. The same idea applies to many other situations. If you know that a man's first wife died in May, 1894 but you don't know the date of his second marriage, you could give it as "after May, 1894" to place it in the proper position in the event sequence. Or, if you find an entry for Jane as the wife of John Jones on the 1870 census then see that in 1880 his wife is listed as Sarah, you could use "after June, 1870" as the death date for Jane and "before July, 1880" as the date for John's marriage to Sarah (the months would be based on the enumeration months usually given on the actual census records).

One other date that many genealogy programs offer is a sort date. Like the before and after dates, sort dates are used to sequence events but, they normally don't appear in reports. A common example would be for a death and burial. If you find an ancestor gravestone in a particular cemetery you might want to have your narrative reports read::

"James Johnson died 28 September, 1832. He was buried in Lakewood Cemetery, Our Town, Massachusetts."

To force your software's report generator to always put the burial event after the death event, you would not enter an actual date for the burial. Instead, would use a sort date of "after 28 September, 1832" to force it to appear second. That date won't show in the report but, it will sequence the event correctly. You can also use sort dates to sequence events that happen on the same date. For example, suppose Mike Moore arrived in the United States from Ireland in 1843 and was married to Bridgett O'Connor later that same year. You would enter 1843 was the actual date of both events but, to force the marriage to print second, you could also enter a sort date of "after 1843" for that event.

If you thought date entry was straight forward, maybe this post has encouraged you to rethink them. You can convey a lot of information even if you don't have an exact date. Think about each date you enter. Does it make sense? Will it sequence the event correctly? How accurate a guess can you make based on other information you already have? Give good dating practices a major emphasis in your research tasks.

Connect With GenForum

2008-02-21T05:43:00.006-06:00

Genealogy forums are great places to make contact with other researchers who might have bits of information about your ancestors. There are many genealogy related forums and message boards out there including some that I like at Rootsweb Message Boards, and Ancestry Community. But, my absolute favorite is GenForum.

The General Topics section has some good information about about software, internet sites and genealogy in general. Do you have a question that relates to a specific location? The Regional section is a good place to start. The real action is on the Surnames forums though. Browse or search for the surnames you are researching. You will be surprised at how many names already have a forum established on the site. If there isn't already a forum for the surname you are interested in, go ahead and request a new one.

Once in a forum of interest, you can search for first names, places, associated surnames or whatever keywords you think might help narrow down your search. If you don't find what you are looking for, go ahead and post a query. There is a very good chance that someone will have the answer or, at least, be able to give you leads to help your research. Also, please take a few minutes to post replies to queries that you know something about. People helping each other is what it is all about on the forums.

If you haven't tried it already, give GenForum a try. If it has been a while since you visited, come on back. There is new always something new to see.

Bureau of Land Management - General Land Office Records

2008-02-14T06:55:00.004-06:00

Is it possible that one or more of your ancestors receive or purchased land from the United States government? If they lived in the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, or Wyoming, a record of the transfer is probably available online. You can search for those records at the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office Records web site.

Once on the site, click the Search land Patents button at the top to bring up the easy to use search screen. I've never had a need to use anything but the basic search form but, I suppose if you had the land description but not the patentee's name, you might have to use the standard form.

If you find your ancestor's name, you can view the complete land description and, in most cases, an image of the actual land document like the one on the left (click the image to see a larger view). For a small fee, you can also order a certified copy of the document if that is important to your research.

A new feature, that is currently only available for some of the states, is the ability to search for the actual surveys. Click the Search Surveys button and enter the information from the legal land description. If the survey has been entered, you can see a full description and an image of the plat map so you can see just where the property was located.

If your family was in one of the public land states between 1820 and 1908 (some records are available to as recently as the mid 1960s), you should take advantage of this free BLM database.

Record Your Life Story

2008-02-11T07:25:00.000-06:00

One of my most exciting genealogical finds is a transcript of a journal that my great-great grandfather kept. It only covers the year of 1855 but, it offers a look into his life that no official documents could possibly provide. One reads; "April 15 Sunday Today we had business enough without work. Lydia gave birth to a daughter although not until 1 1/2 o'clock morn." That daughter, born in the middle of the night, was my great grandmother Martha.

If you are fascinated with brief glimpses into your ancestors lives, just think how fascinated your own great-great grandchildren would be if they could learn about your life in your own words. Take the time to record your life story for them. It will be well worth the effort you put into it.

You can put your story in writing or, you can make an audio or video recording of you telling your story. Audio and video will allow your descendants to hear you voice and see you but, will those recording still be easily playable 150 years from now? I wouldn't discourage you from making recordings. I think it is a wonderful idea but, you should consider writing it down too. You could do the writing first ands use it as a script for your recording or, record your message and then transcribe them after the fact.

Yes, telling your story is a, somewhat, daunting task. You don't have to do it all in one sitting though. Work on it over a period of time and don't just record the basic dates and places. Your grandchildren want to hear you stories. Tell them about your childhood holidays, about your first car and your first date. Talk about your work, about your hobbies and about your family. Let them see you as a real person not just some statistics. If you are having trouble getting started, there are some "fill in the blanks" guides that can help. If you just start writing though, you might be surprised at how easy the words come. After all, you are THE expert on this subject!

If you are fortunate enough to have parents and/or grand parents who are still living, encourage them to record their life stories too. Generations of descendants will thank you for taking the time to talk to them.