Genealogy
Crista Cowan writing on the Ancestry.com blog offers some useful research tips for people with a little or a lot of Irish in them as follows: “One in eight Americans claim Irish ancestry according to an American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2008. That works out to about 36 million people. [...]
If there is one thing that has made a definite impression on me during the last few years of indulging in my interest in history and family history research is that nothing is ever what it seems—well, maybe sometimes it is. I’ve known since I was a teenager that some Scottish history as written by [...]
Continue reading about Charlie Chaplin’s Family Tree: Nothing is ever what it seems.
Grow Your Own Family Tree says: “Marriage licence bonds for the Diocese of Raphoe have been made available online. Find My Past Ireland has put online Raphoe marriage licence bonds covering the periods from 1710-55 and 1817-30. Find My Past says: “[The bonds] are extremely useful for those researching their Irish family history with ancestors from [...]
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The World Memory Project has keyed more than one million records. All the records contain important information on individual victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution from children in Germany to Jewish victims at camps in Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine. The information is available free of charge on Ancestry.com and will help survivors and [...]
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This has been a big and impressive week for records release from Findmypast.co.uk. If you have Welsh ancestors this is a great resource. See below: “We have just published almost 4 million Welsh parish registers on findmypast.co.uk This is the first time that the complete Welsh parish baptism, marriage and death records have been published [...]
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On February 28, 1953, two scientists at Cambridge University, England, James Watson and Frances Crick, announced that they had discovered the double-helix structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)—the molecule containing the human genes. DNA was actually discovered back in 1869, but its inheritance genetics wasn’t demonstrated until 1943. This clearly illustrates the baby steps taken during [...]
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My cousin who lives in Australia emailed me an amazing link to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Queen Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. The gallery which originally opened in 1889 was closed from 2009 to 2011 for a major renovation. This refurbishment included the improvement of a frieze that goes around the Main Hall of the [...]
Findmypast.co.uk says: “You can now search 359,000 records of Merchant Navy Seamen for the period 1835-1857 on findmypast.co.uk We have made these 19th century Merchant Navy records available online for the first time, working in association with The National Archives. From 1835, the central government started to monitor a potential reserve ofsailors for the Royal [...]
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We’re all aware that privacy has become increasingly important and during these days of the Internet where a disturbing amount of information is available online—whether accurate or not and usually not. Today, Ancestry.com is taking extra measures to make sure that your data online at Ancestry is protected. To this end they have published a [...]
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The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has announced that the 1940 census will be available on April 2, 2012 and will be online at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern). This is an official website of NARA in partnership with Archives.com. The link to the site will be: 1940Census.archives.gov Click on the video below to watch the [...]
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On February 16, 2012, MyHeritage, perhaps the most popular family network on the web, took a giant step into the world of DNA testing. To this end My Heritage has partnered with FamilyTreeDNA for analysis. FamilyTree DNA is the global leader in genetic genealogy and has amassed the world’s largest DNA database–reportedly the best for DNA [...]
Alan Stewart’s Grow Your Own Family Tree says: “The Ulster Historical Foundation (UHF) has sent information about new online baptism records and other information. The UHF has sent the following information: Belfast baptisms The first batch of new family records for 2012 are now online. The UHF has added over 12,000 baptism records between 1900 and 1924 [...]
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If you’ve paid an excessive amount of money for birth, marriage, or death certificates (BMDs) you may have been fooled into believing you were placing your order through the GRO when in fact you were purchasing from an unofficial third party website. The latest news from the British Identity and Passport Service, which is responsible [...]
The National Genealogical Society (NGS) is cracking down, with good reason, on folks recording presentations at the NGS Family History Conference. Without prior written permission, the NGS will not allow “audio recordings, still photograph, video recordings, or written transcripts”. You can still communicate via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or blog at the conferences, but only to [...]
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Plans are in the works for The National Library of Wales in conjunction with Welsh Library and archives to digitize First World War records. I’ve decided to pass along the following information from Alan Stewart’s UK and Ireland genealogy news blog Grow Your Own Family Tree: “The National Library of Wales, together with Welsh libraries [...]
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“The House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Social Security is proposing to completely shut down use of the SSDI by genealogists as well as other industries such as banking and insurance that rely upon its information. Such an attempt is short-sighted and runs counter to the original purpose of the SSDI: to actually combat [...]
Former CEO at FamilySearch.org, Jay Verkler, said in a RootsTech speech that he believes 7 billion people will participate in family history 40 years from now. This is not hard to believe—unlike the fad hobbies that come and go, family history search is gaining speed. We are now able to find so much genealogy information [...]
The Rootstech conference is likeley the most important conference to attend and discover emerging technologies and devices to improve your genealogy research. It’s packed with hands-on workshops and interactive presentations. It’s all over now, but there’s always next year. FamilySearch.org has uploaded a collection of You Tube videos featuring commentary from Rootstech 2012 attendees and [...]
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FamilySearch the famous free genealogical search engine is addressing problems users are having located their ancestor’s acutal record. It seems that the new (not so new anymore) search engine still has search problems. The undertaking to revamp the original system to a much more sophisticated database was huge and I can tell you that the [...]
Brightsolid owned by D.C. Thomson of Dundee, Scotland, is making news once again. The following announcement notifies readers that they are moving into the U.S. market and have hired D. Joshua Taylor one of our most successful genealogists who has featured twice on NBC’s Who Do You think You Are? As part of the move [...]
I’ve written about this important topic twice Social Security Death Index (SSDI) no longer available to the public and SSDI: A different and interesting point of view about losing access to an important resource. Today, I’d like to take the opportunity to point you to a “call to action” from The Legal Genealogist Judy Russell to [...]
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Having recently read a list of MyHeritage.com accomplishments for 2011, this year I’ll be paying a lot more attention to what they’re offering users. It’s probably the second most popular genealogy site in the global community, Ancestry.com being number one. They’re predicting that 2012 will be equally good and I wouldn’t doubt it. Like other [...]
Continue reading about An interesting year for the number two genealogy website, some say number one
In an effort to heal their recent customer woes and provide a customer centric approach in 2012 , 23andMe has formed an Ambassadors group to help guide and influence their product development. This move will also offer advise on user research, support request emails, community posts, social media and traditional media responses. This is a [...]
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London, England’s dockland baptism records are now online at Findmypast.co.uk as follows: “We’ve just published 16,696 new London Docklands baptism records on findmypast.co.uk – excellent news for all of you with Docklands ancestors. Further details of these baptism records are as follows: St Dunstan, Stepney: 10,035 baptism entries spanning 1668-1679 Christchurch, Spitalfields: 6,661 baptism entries [...]
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Many people don’t realize that Brightsolid is part of a very big organization. It’s actually owned by DC Thomson (the Thomson family), a huge and long established British company that can probably compared to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. DC Thomson has been in the publishing business for over a 100 years. They publish The Courier [...]
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On December 14, 1991, Sarah Yarborough arrived at her Seattle, Washington, high school early so that she could catch the 9:30 a.m. bus to take her cheerleading team to an away competition. Sarah’s body was found at 9:15 a.m. near her school by a jogger only 150 feet away from her parked car. She had [...]
Okay, so were now in the second week of 2012 and your inbox has probably been filled with ideas for potential goals for the next twelve months. If you’re like the majority of people, administrative and clerical tasks are considered mundane chores in comparison with all the interesting research you do to find who or [...]
Continue reading about Simple but useful goals for genealogists and others in 2012
For folks who live in the area here’s some useful information about a free genealogy class at the Lexington Library, North Carolina: “The Lexington Library, at 602 S. Main St., in Lexington, North Carolina, will hold a free class in beginning genealogy during the month of February. The class will be held from 6:30 to [...]
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The following is a news release from Ancestry.com which shows an interesting and optimistic trend not only for Ancestry but also for enthusiastic family history researchers: “PROVO, Utah, Jan. 5, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq:ACOM), the world’s largest online family history resource, today reported that it ended the fourth quarter with 1,703,000 [...]
Inhabited about 800 to 1000 years ago the Town Creek Indian Mound near Mount Gilead, North Carolina, may be one of the oldest villages in the area and is one of the most popular State Historic Sites in North Carolina. It was once a bustling place that contained homes, work areas and ceremonial buildings, built [...]
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CeCe Moore who writes the Your Genetic Genealogist blog and Richard Hill of DNA Testing Adviser have both drawn attention to somewhat duplicitous Terms of Service (TOS) changes for v3 customers at well-known genetic testing company 23andMe. I would certainly take note of the censure since both Moore and Hill are known for giving sage advice [...]
Continue reading about Genetic testing company 23andMe plays dirty pool with expired PGS subscribers
FamilyTree.org has published a series of articles from several contributors with technical tips for genealogists and family historians. I’ve included 30 to give you an appreciation of what’s included with a link to many more. I have read some, but not all, of the articles and when you delve in you’ll understand—it’s extensive. It’s a [...]
Continue reading about A fantastic line-up of technology tips for genealogists and family historians
Starting on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev, Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days and nights. It coincides with late November or late December on the secular calendar. This year Hanukkah begins at sundown today December 20.. It all began in 168 B.C.E. when the Jewish Temple was seized by [...]
Continue reading about Happy Hanukkah! The message and the miracle of the oil
It’s almost time for the RootsTech again. So, what is RootsTech? It’s a conference for genealogists who meet to find cutting edges solutions and discover the latest technologies to enhance their research experience. On the techies side developers will gain information to produce innovative applications. RootsTech has something for everyone even if you’re a newbie [...]
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I had this article prepared and ready to go yesterday and it’s almost old news by now, but still front-page information. A significant change has been made by the Social Security Administration (SSA) that will change the amount of information available to the public on the SSA’s Death Master File starting around 1936 with the [...]
Continue reading about Social Security Death Index (SSDI) no longer available to the public
It’s not easy to trace Irish ancestors, I can attest to that. An interesting new Facebook page “How to Trace Your Ancestors” has just been launched to lend a hand to people around the world to find their Irish and American ancestors. The page is a how to on tracing your family history with tips, [...]
I received information today about an update for the Windows version of Family Tree Maker 2012. I’ll hasten to add that although updates are normal for new versions of any software on the market this one is significant because of the features we purchased in the 2012 version. There’s quite a list of improvements and [...]
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I received the following poem from one of my LinkedIn Groups and decided to share this amusing and perceptive illustration, which demonstrates the enthusiasm for researching family history and how it just grabs you… “Grandma and the Family Tree Author: unknown There’s been a change in Grandma, we’ve noticed her of late, She’s reading history [...]
From the Society of Genealogists (UK): “The IGRS has issued the following press release and I have to say the the Society of Genealogists most definitely shares their worries: The Irish Genealogical Research Society (ITGRS) is concerned that a so-called merger of the National Archives “into” the National Library could diminish these vital heritage services. [...]
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Hot off the press: The following is a newsflash released today from Ancestry.com about their new mobile app that gives users the ability to access billions of historical records to build their new family tree: “PROVO, Utah, Nov. 29, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ancestry.com (Nasdaq:ACOM), the world’s largest online family history resource, today announced the [...]
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The British Newspaper Archive officially launched their vast resources today. They have a lot of activities planned for today so if, like me you don’t live in London you can still follow on Facebook, You Tube, or click on the link to the website: “Today is the launch day for the British Newspaper Archive –www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk – [...]
Continue reading about Official launch of the British Newspaper Archive a Digital Sheherazade…
Here’s a newsflash from Enhanced Online News (EON): “PROVO, Utah & LONDON & TEL AVIV, Israel–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–MyHeritage, the most popular family network on the web, announced today the acquisition of FamilyLink.com, Inc., maker of the family history content sites FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com. This is MyHeritage’s seventh and largest acquisition since 2007. The purchase marks a [...]
Many moons ago in a classroom in Scotland, I learned how Native American showed great respect for the land and the animals who shared it with their tribes. I was reminded of this today when I read that North America’s oldest white bison, Yvnvssv Hetke, had died. Yvnvssv Hetke—Muscogee for bison—was about 30 years old. He [...]
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Did you know that Ireland’s County Cork is toying with the idea of secession from the Republic of Ireland? (As reported in Cork Independent online–not serious). Although county official Laura McGonigle isn’t really proposing secession, she has come up with an interesting idea to issue a “Cork Passport” to people with family ties to Cork [...]
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Here’s the latest information from Ancestry.com about their Advanced Image Viewer: “Several years ago, we launched the Advanced Image Viewer. This viewer provided some much-needed capabilities and was welcomed by the users who could take advantage of it. Our other users – almost 50% of our total user base – continued to use a basic [...]
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Prenuptial agreements 300 years old have been unearthed by an archivist in the state archive of Bückeburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. To be exact, 5500 contracts between 1712 and 1740 have been registered. The administrative district of Stadthagen is represented with 1600 prenuptial agreements (Eheberedungen). The information on these prenuptial agreements is discussed in a FamilySearch.org [...]
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This week’s GenealogyInTime Magazine newsletter passed on an important tip for family historians that is very often overlooked during research and cause those brick walls to rise and leave you stymied after you’ve been on a roll: “Looking at historical records, it is not always easy to identify an ancestor who has been married more [...]
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As you’ll see from the following news release from findmypast, England’s county of Cheshire is famous for more than the delicious cheese: “CHESHIRE REVEALED AS A WONDERLAND OF UNUSUAL FINDS AS NEW LOCAL RECORDS GO ONLINE Lewis Carroll’s baptism found in Daresbury,11 July 1832 Earthquake hit Cheshire on 18 March 1612 Ancestors of James Bond [...]
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I’m not sure why, but I was a little dismayed to learn that “Intelius” has without fanfare purchased the Facebook genealogy application Family Builder on June 15th of this year. Since this is my personal opinion, if you think my concerns are unwarranted, please feel free to tell me. Intelius is widely known for background [...]
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The following is a very welcome newsflash from FamilySearch.org: “We have received word that the Hugh Wallis site is working again. Thanks to the good work of Hugh Wallis, John Steel and others, the site is once again up and available for you to use. To some, the new format used on the site may [...]
The British National Archives is offering a series of podcasts titled Voices of the Armistice podcast series bringing to life the individual experiences of those who served in WWI. These free podcasts express the individual perspective of servicemen and women and highlight some of the unusual and interesting stories found in military records. The narrated recordings [...]
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A few days ago I recorded information on SpittalStreet.com about access to nursing records from Findmypast. Today I can share the following notice I received from the British National Archives regarding the publication of WWI nursing service records. At the same time I can offer the reminder that the National Archives is a tremendous resource: [...]
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Here’s another useful resource for family history researchers passed along by the National Genealogical Society (NGS): “The Georgia Historic Newspapers Collection (part of the Digital Library of Georgia) has a nice South Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive. The South Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive spans the years 1845-1922 and includes the following titles: Albany News, 1870-1883 Albany Patriot, 1845-1866 Americus Times Recorder, [...]
Findmypast.co.uk is a terrific resource for family history research. It has a simple and easy-to-use interface. I do like the development of their database and they’re constantly adding new resources. The latest addition is as follows: “You can now search for your ancestors in 4,000 records for military nurses on findmypast.co.uk The records cover the [...]
Continue reading about Military Nurses 1856-1940 records published at Findmypast
An interesting newsflash from ScotlandsPeople: “The census street index books for the main towns and cities in Scotland have been digitised for each of the open census years. These books can make it easier to find the registration district and enumeration book details for an address. The streets are arranged alphabetically and the bookmarks allow [...]
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For all family history researchers the following information from the UK Society of Genealogists will be useful: “As family historians know, the General Register Office for England and Wales (GRO) provides free public access to the index of events for birth,marriage,death, civil partnership, adoption and overseas records. This information is made available in microfiche format [...]
Continue reading about GRO fiche index location changes – Newcastle replaces LMA from 28 october
I’d like to share yesterday’s post by Diane L. Richard on the National Genealogical Society (NGS) Blog. As I’ve mentioned many times on this blog NGS is a tremendous resource for anyone interested in family history research. This particular blog post is about JSTOR, which is a service provided by a non-profit organization called ITHAKA. [...]
Continue reading about Amazing resource free to anyone in the world, JSTOR journal content
Tanya Peterson, technology guru at Ancestry.com, published this useful article on the Ancestry blog today. I have Family Tree Maker 2012 and the following post on charting has helped me: “Over the years, we have received requests to include some charting features that were available in Family Tree Maker 2006/version 16. In Family Tree Maker [...]
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Did you notice what happened this week at Ancestry.com? They released over 50 databases containing indexes to millions of vital records from all over the United States. Some of these records date all the way back the 1600s and the most recent of them are from last year. (You can find the complete list by viewing our recently added [...]
Continue reading about More Ancestry.com Births, Marriages and Deaths…
I’m sure most of us have found some conflicting information during our family history research. Here’s some sage advice from FamilySearch.org: “Conflicting information from original documents can be troublesome, which means it is always wise to use more than one document when proving family connections. Take the case of Bessie Endy. Or, was she Bessie [...]
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Here’s the latest news from FamilySearch.org: “The East India Office Company had many people employed in their trade empire in India and Asia. Because of all the activity they were engaged in, the East India Company generated a vast collection of historical records. The records were created by individual government divisions called “presidencies.” These presidencies [...]
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Being a member of The National Genealogical Association (NGS) is a real learning experience and a fountainhead of information for anyone interested in family history research and genealogy. A few days ago NGS announced the appointment of Teresa Koch-Bostic of Mineola, New York, to the Board of Directors. Terry is a professional genealogist who specializes [...]
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As a child I loved A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh especially “The House at Pooh Corner”. I also loved the smell of those books with their shiny paper (I don’t know if this was significant, but I’m okay). Today is Winnie the Pooh’s 85th birthday and to commemorate his author A. A. Milne, Findmypast.co.uk has [...]
Continue reading about AA Milne in Findmypast records on Winnie the Pooh’s 85th birthday
“You can now search 10,529 records of WWII Escapers & Evaders on findmypast.co.uk These records are individual reports for allied service personnel about their experiences of escaping from prisoner of war camps or evading capture in Central Europe throughout WWII. Each entry will tell you the following key information about your ancestor: name, rank, number, [...]
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