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LIFE MAGAZINE NOW DIGITIZED

2009-11-28T08:42:00.003-06:00

You can now access complete digitized issues of Life Magazine (1936-1972) via Google Books:

LINK

DO-IT-YOURSELF FAMILY CALENDARS

2009-11-28T08:15:00.003-06:00

Self-publishing isn't limited to just books:

If youve got a digital camera, and have taken good quality photos of reunions, tombstones, family artifacts, or other genie-themed subjects, you can fairly easily create a family calendar that you can give to family and friends (or offer for sale):

LINK

Lulu.com offers easy templates for producing calendars from your digital photos:

LINK

PUBLISH YOUR FAMILY HISTORY-- FOR FREE!

2009-11-28T08:08:00.002-06:00

Finally ready to publish your family history or other book? Before you pay some company lots of money to publish it for you, find out whether you can do what you want for little or no expense via online self-publishing firms like Lulu.com:

LINK

I use Lulu.com (and no, I am not a paid spokesperson for them), and am very happy with the results I have achieved:

LINK

BASINGER CEMETERY

2009-11-28T08:07:00.000-06:00

A small Arkansas cemetery (Montgomery County)-- surnames of interred persons include Basinger, Davis, Johnson, and Sherfield:

LINK

FREE ONLINE GENEALOGY RESOURCES

2009-11-28T08:05:00.001-06:00

Start your online genie research with this very nice list of free online resources:

LINK

LEE'S RETREAT FROM GETTYSBURG AND THE BATTLE OF FALLING WATERS

2009-11-27T07:57:00.003-06:00

I don't live in that area, but would happily sign-up if I did!

Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 7 a.m.

Civil War expert Ed Bearss leads this tour studying the end of Gettysburg, following the route of the Confederate wagon train carrying the wounded, and the successful evacuation of the Falling Waters and Williamsport bridgehead.

LINK

WHEN IT MATTERED MOST: REMEMBERING OUR FALLEN MEDICAL PERSONNEL IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

2009-11-27T07:52:00.002-06:00

Possibly too pricey for many of us to add to our personal libraries, but a good book to suggest to your local librarian:

Description: This remarkable book tells the stories of sacrifice made by the military medical personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan for their fellow comrades in arms, risking and even losing their own lives.

Year/Pages: 2009: hardcover; 460 p. ; ill.
Stock #: 008-000-01015-3
U.S. Price: $81.00
International Price: $113.40

LINK

ANATOMY OF A MILITARY PENSION FILE

2009-11-27T07:50:00.001-06:00

Follow along as this blogger does a page-by-page analysis of her ancestor’s military pension file:

LINK

GENEALOGY RESEARCH USING ONLINE BOOKS

2009-11-27T07:48:00.000-06:00

This blogger provides a great list of places to find free digitized genealogy books:

LINK

HISTORIC GEORGIA NEWSPAPERS

2009-11-27T07:46:00.000-06:00

Are you researching ancestors from Georgia? Then you’ll want to know about this effort to digitized historic Georgia newspapers:

LINK

HOLOCAUST RECORDS ON FOOTNOTE.COM

2009-11-19T11:22:00.002-06:00

You can access these records for free on Footnote.com now through the end of this year:

LINK

DAR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH SYSTEM

2009-11-19T11:06:00.004-06:00

After nearly a decade of scanning, indexing, and other behind-the-scenes work by DAR members and employees, the Daughters of the American Revolution is pleased to announce the availability of the DAR Genealogical Research System (GRS) on our public website. Here is the direct link:

http://www.dar.org/library/online_research.cfm.

The GRS is a growing collection of databases that provide access to many materials collected by the DAR over the past 119 years. Included in this collection of databases is the GRC National Index which has been available to researchers for the past few years. There are still some kinks we're working out here and there, so let us know if you encounter any problems.

When you go to the link above, you will find several tabs that will enable searching in the various databases:

Ancestor - established DAR Revolutionary War Ancestors and basic information about them with listings of the applications submitted by descendants who joined the DAR [updated daily]

Member - limited access to information on deceased/former DAR members - not current members.

Descendants - index of generations in applications between the DAR member and the Revolutionary War ancestor. There is much eighteenth and nineteenth-century information here. [ongoing indexing project]

GRC - everyname index to 20,000 typescript volumes (some still being indexed) of genealogical records such as cemeteries, Bibles, etc. This index is not limited to the period of the American Revolution at all.

Resources [In particular, the digitized DAR Library Revolutionary Pension Extract Card Index and the Analytical Index Cards]. Other information sources will be coming in the near future, mostly relating to Revolutionary War service, bibliographies, Forgotten Patriots (updates), etc. Read the introductions to these to learn why these are both important genealogical indexes. For example, the Rev. War pension index includes the names of people mentioned in those pensions that were abstracted (not just the pensioner or widow)!!!!]

Library Catalog - our book, periodical, and manuscript holdings

Each of these has interrelated content, and a description of each is given more fully on the website. You will notice restricted information in many search results. This is the result of a concerted effort to protect the identity of our members while providing historical genealogical information to researchers.

The national numbers of members (without the names of living members) given in the search results are needed to order copies of applications and supplemental applications. They do not lead online researchers to any other information about the member.

Please pass this information on to your researchers.

Eric G. Grundset
Library Director
DAR Library
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
1776 D Street, N. W.
Washington, DC 20006-5303
egrundset@dar.org
202-879-3313

WORLD WAR II INTERVIEWS PROJECT

2009-11-19T10:38:00.004-06:00

Missouri State Genealogical Association
World War II Interviews Project
Interviewer’s Workbook

Preserving the experiences of average Americans in WWII

To many older Americans, "The Good War" represents a defining moment of shared purpose and sacrifice. Many older Americans are happy to tell their individual stories as part of a conscious effort to connect the events of their lives to those of the generations that follow.

We would like to help to preserve the experiences of men and women who served our country during WWII. Following is a list of possible questions that interviewers can ask WWII veterans (or that you can use as guidelines in creating an autobiographical essay if you are a WWII veteran). They are provided as a reference-- feel free to tailor questions asked to the experiences of the veteran to be interviewed. These questions can also be used to interview veterans of other 20th century conflicts if minor modifications are made to the list.

We welcome the submission of transcripts of interviews with Missouri WWII veterans of the armed forces or the Merchant Marine, and would be pleased to publish some of them in our Journal. Send transcripts of interviews to 89ilguy@gmail.com.

Entry into the Armed Forces:

What was your situation just before you joined the armed forces?
Student? Working?
Single? Married? Children?
How old were you?
Were you drafted or did you enlist?

Questions for draftees:

What was your initial reaction upon learning that you had been drafted?
What was the reaction of your immediate family members?
What was the reaction of your friends?
Where did you go for your induction physical?
Which armed service were you drafted into?

Questions for enlistees:

Why did you join the armed forces?
What branch of the service were you in?
Why did you choose that branch?
What was the reaction of your immediate family to your decision to enlist?
What was the reaction of your friends to your decision to enlist?

Questions for all veterans:

Where did you go for basic training?
What kind of training did you receive? What was the most helpful part of your training? The least helpful part?
What was the specific unit that you were assigned to after basic?
What was the mission of your unit?
What was your rank and your job?
What are some of the things about your military unit that stand out in your memory?
What was a typical day like in your life as a soldier? How much money did a soldier make, and how did you spend it?
Did you ever run afoul of your commanding officers? How were you punished?
Did you serve overseas during the war? Where? How did the locals react to the presence of GIs in their community?

Home Front:

How did you feel about leaving home?
How did you communicate with loved ones on the home front?
What was different when you got back?

Questions for Frontline Soldiers:

Describe your living conditions while on the frontlines.
Can you describe your feelings during a battle?
How did you cope with the fear of battle?
What was your division/platoon’s job during battle?
What was your job during a battle?
Were you ever wounded?
Were you ever held prisoner by the enemy?

Impact of the War on the Rest of Your Life:

What is your happiest memory of the war?
What is your saddest memory of the war?
What was your biggest fear during the war?
What do you think your biggest accomplishment was during the war?
What were you most proud of during your military service?
Did you do anything you regret while in the military service?
What impact did your unit have on the outcome of the war?
How did your experiences in WWII affect the rest of your life?

Pearl Harbor:

How did you hear about Pearl Harbor?
Where were you when it happened?
What was your reaction?
What was the reaction of your immediate family members?
What happened in the days that followed?

D-Day Invasion Only:

How were you trained for the invasion?
How did you get to the Normandy beaches?
What was your job on D-Day?
What were your experiences in the first hours of the invasion?
Did your unit achieve its objectives? How?
What is your most vivid memory about the invasion?

Hiroshima & Nagasaki:

How did you hear about the bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki?
How did you react to the news?
How did your buddies react to the news?

Peace:

How did you find out about the surrender of Germany?
What did you do on V-E Day?
How did you find out about the surrender of Japan?
What did you do on V-J Day?
What happened on the day you came home?
What were Thanksgiving and Christmas like for you in 1945?
What were your hopes for the future when you got out of the service?
Tell me about any enduring friendships you made during the war.

Personal Opinion Questions:

Did you ever doubt that the Allies would win the war?
At what point did you become certain that the Allies would win?
What mistakes do you think the US military made, if any, during the war?
What’s the most important thing you want people to know about this time in history?
What would you change about your war experience if you could change one thing?
What happened during the war that has affected you for the rest of your life?
What important question have I forgotten to ask you?

USING SANBORN MAPS

2009-11-14T15:38:00.000-06:00

Interesting article on project by Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library to digitize local Sanborn maps. Article explains what Sanborns are and how to use them:

LINK

BIG (BRITISH) BROTHER

2009-11-14T15:36:00.003-06:00

Brit telecoms will be required by law to keep track of phone calls made, web sites visited, and emails and text messages sent. Such records will be kept for one year. It’s part of the Brit effort to track terror suspects:

LINK

RECORDS OF THE PROVOST MARSHAL GENERAL’S BUREAU

2009-11-14T15:34:00.000-06:00

NARA guide to these fascinating Civil War records:

LINK

EARLY IRISH MAPS

2009-11-14T15:32:00.000-06:00

Viewable (and downloadable) maps of Ireland during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I:

LINK

PERSONAL TIMELINES

2009-11-13T08:12:00.001-06:00

Running into a persistent roadblock with an elusive ancestor? Create a personal timeline for him or her: it may well suggest research options you may not have attempted to pursue as yet-- and will help you keep track of what you've already done:

LINK

BEGINNINGS OF THE MIDWEST GENEALOGY CENTER

2009-11-13T08:10:00.001-06:00

This page includes a link to a nicely-done video (8 minutes) on the genesis of this Midwestern treasure:

LINK

NEWSPAPER ABSTRACT BOOKS ANNOUNCED

2009-11-13T08:06:00.002-06:00

Gone West Publications is pleased to announce new volumes of genealogical newspaper abstracts for Randolph and Pike counties in Missouri.

Genealogical Abstracts from Pike County, MO Newspapers, Vol. 2, is now finished and available for purchase! Abstracted by Sherry Raleigh-Adams, this volume includes abstracts of items of genealogical merit found in Bowling Green papers from 1883 to 1885. It includes not only obituaries, marriage and birth notices, but also notices of family reunions, visits from relatives long lost to the West or to foreign lands, and many stories of pioneers of the area. It is stapled and soft-bound with archival tape. Fully indexed. 174 Pages. $20.00.

Genealogical Abstracts from Randolph County, MO Newspapers, Vol. 3, is also available for purchase now. This volume features the Huntsville Herald from 1896 to 1898. Fully indexed. 179 Pages. $20.00.

Like all my books, I include a PDF image of the index on my website at www.gonewestpublications.com. You are invited to take advantage of this free tool to see if anyone of interest to you may be included in these books.

These volumes are more than just a powerful genealogical tool. They offer the reader a peek into the social values and cultural aspects relevant to their ancestors' time period. The historical significance of the articles found in these newspapers are a great learning tool for the armchair sociologist and the genealogist who has hit a brick wall. I hope that you or your library patrons will find them useful.

Kind Regards,

Sherry Raleigh-Adams

NEWS FROM NPRC

2009-11-13T08:02:00.001-06:00

Received from NPRC:

US veterans and servicemen or women may now order their discharge paperwork (DD 214) via the online interface set up by the NPRC in St. Louis.

Family members of deceased veterans may also use this new feature. The new feature is an enhancement of the long-standing ability to order personnel records, unit summaries and awards from NPRC NARA.

The time to receive record requests has dramatically dropped, averaging about 8 weeks. Replacement awards delivery has also improved over previous decades: some of our visitors report only a couple of months lag time for receipt of the requested awards.

www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/index.html

NOTE: We suggest using the EVet Records version to help speed the process.

SULLIVAN COUNTY (MO) GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

2009-11-11T16:23:00.003-06:00

Received via email:

I work with the Sullivan County Genealogy Library in Milan, MO. We are interested in forming a genealogical society for this county, and would like to hear from anyone who might be interested in joining such a society.

We do not currently have any funding, but will probably be able to hold meetings in the Historical Museum Building at the Genealogy Library.

Thanks,

Jaunita

NEW ONLINE EXHIBIT: SHIPWRECKS IN BERMUDA

2009-11-11T16:20:00.002-06:00

Received from MUA:

We are pleased to announce the opening of a new online exhibit on the MUA (Museum of Underwater Archaeology) website.

The students and faculty in East Carolina University's 2008 Maritime Studies Fall field school have produced an exhibit based on their research on a selection of shipwrecks and abandoned watercraft within the vicinity of St. George's Harbor, in Bermuda's East End. Videos, slide shows, maps, photographs, and zoom-able images tell the story of how these students explored this incredible collection of submerged cultural resources.

We hope you enjoy this latest edition to the MUA. To view the exhibit, click on the "ECU's Shipwrecks in Bermuda" link on our homepage:

http://www.themua.org

Best regards,

T. Kurt Knoerl, Director
The MUA

ATLANTA FEDERAL PENITENTIARY INDEXES, 1880–1922

2009-11-11T16:16:00.001-06:00

Think your ancestor didn’t do time?

You might want to search this collection of more than 10,000 prison records anyway, as you’d be surprised what could get you incarcerated. We found some people arrested for “destroying a mailbox,” “selling liquor to soldiers” and “joy riding.“

On the other hand, if you know your ancestor had a sketchy past you’ll definitely want to check out this collection. Atlanta’s is the largest of the four federal prisons, and many criminals who didn’t end up in Atlanta were sent there before being routed elsewhere.

Or you may just enjoy searching the records for famous criminals, since Atlanta has held some of the country’s most notorious ones, including train robbers, mob bosses and financial schemers. (Hint: Try a search for Carlo Ponzi--listed in prison records as Charles P. Ponci-- of “Ponzi scheme” fame.)

http://www.ancestry.com/

ANCESTRY.COM COLLECTION OF TWENTIETH-CENTURY NAVY RECORDS

2009-11-11T16:08:00.001-06:00

Site Celebrates Veterans Day with Free Access to Entire U.S. Military Records Collection

PROVO, UT (Nov. 11, 2009) – Ancestry.com today added more than 600 Navy cruise books to its online collection of military records to commemorate Veterans Day. This historic effort is the result of an agreement between Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online resource for family history, and the United States Navy. As part of the agreement, Ancestry.com set up scanners on location at the Navy Department Library in Washington, DC, and has spent several months digitizing the cruise books for this occasion.

The collection of Navy cruise books, available exclusively online at Ancestry.com, represents nearly 40 years of cruises following World War II (1950-1988) and chronicles an estimated 450,000 servicemen deployed at sea during that time. Styled after yearbooks, the cruise books include the names and photographs of individuals who served aboard the ship and highlight not only significant milestones that took place during the cruise, but also the day-to-day life on board ship. While not every Navy cruise was documented in a cruise book, the Navy Department Library has on file an estimated 3,500 cruise books, which Ancestry.com plans to digitize and add to this collection over time.

“When Ancestry.com approached the Navy about digitizing these cruise books for online access, we were thrilled,” said Captain Charles Todd Creekman, Jr., USN (Ret.) Executive Director of the Naval Historical Foundation. “A cruise book offers an insider’s perspective into what these sailors experienced, and the strong camaraderie they established, while serving their country at sea.”

The Navy cruise books are part of Ancestry.com’s U.S. Military Collection, which includes 100 million names that span more than three centuries of American military service.

“When you have a family member who has served in the Armed Forces, you can’t help but be proud,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of Ancestry.com. “This Veterans Day, we’re celebrating America’s military heroes of yesterday and today and invite every American with military roots to see if they can learn something new about their family member on Ancestry.com.”

In honor of America’s military heroes, the entire U.S. Military Collection on Ancestry.com can be searched free through Nov. 13. To begin exploring your family’s military heritage, visit:

http://www.ancestry.com/military.

About Ancestry.com Inc.

Ancestry.com is an online resource for family history and has digitized and put online over 4 billion records over the past twelve years. Ancestry users have created over twelve million family trees containing over 1.25 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries, including its flagship website at http://www.ancestry.com/.