30 April 2008 by Libbi.

I am a public relations professional, and this sort of thing makes me cringe when I read it.

Discovery of Tomb & Relics From Marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene to Be Unveiled in New York City May 5th
LOS ANGELES, April 29 /PRNewswire/ — A remote mountain tomb and relics from 1st century Jerusalem have been discovered in southwest France.
Among them are a simple pottery drinking cup and a small ointment vase that were said to have been used at the wedding of Jesus and Mary Magdalene over 2000 years ago.
According to the priest who hid them away a century ago, they are sacred relics — the true Holy Grail — which symbolized this secret wedding.
They have been analyzed by both the British Museum and Dr Gabriel Barkay of Bar Ilan University, Jerusalem, who said:
“It is possible that artifacts excavated by the Templars on Temple Mount would find a way to Europe. The finds in this chest are really intriguing and it is really something that inflames the imagination.”
The tomb contains a mummified corpse lying under a shroud with the red cross of the Knights Templar. Initial DNA testing has revealed it to have a Middle Eastern origin.
These finds were made as the result of the discovery of a cache of papers, hidden by a French priest at the end of the 19th century. They revealed that he had discovered a tomb that had compelled him to break with his Church and Faith. He said:
“The resurrection of Jesus was a trick, it was Mary Magdalene who took his body from his tomb. Later, the body of Jesus was discovered by the Templars and then hidden three times. Not in Jerusalem. The Tomb is here. Parts of the body are safe.”
These finds, and the remarkable story that led to them, can be seen in a new documentary film, BLOODLINE which premieres on May 9th at the Village East Cinema in New York City, and then on May 16th at the Laemmle Sunset Five Cinema in Los Angeles before a nationwide release.
Director, Bruce Burgess, will be showing the relics at the News Conference alongside his producing partner Rene Barnett and a distinguished panel of archaeologists, forensic experts and members of the Church.
http://www.bloodlinethemovie.com

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29 April 2008 by Libbi.

If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.
George Bernard Shaw
Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 - 1950)
As I wrote in my book, Genealogy Online, sometimes you have just enough information to make you crazy, as in knowing that my husband’s family has Cherokee ancestors, but no way of finding them. Read the book to learn the whole story. Right now, I’m in a similar predicament.

I have a photograph of my husband’s great-grandparents on their wedding day. His mother wrote their birth and death dates on the back, but not the day of the wedding! As he was born in 1862, and she was born in 1872, I’m assuming the wedding was sometime in the 1890s. So, I’m searching Kentucky marriages online to try to fill in that particular blank. I’m going to search Family Search, Kindred Trails, UK’s Vital Records Search, and Access Genealogy to start. I’ll let you know how it comes out in a future post. For now, let me urge my readers, as you are identifying photographs for your descendants, remember to put all the data you have. It will save a lot of searching later!

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28 April 2008 by Libbi.

Every genealogist hopes to someday get to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. My mother and I went in 1992, and learned not only by doing, but by observation, that this is not a trip to take on a whim.

The library has over 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical records; 742,000 microfiche; 310,000 books, serials, and other formats; 4,500 periodicals; 700 electronic resources. That means you simply must have a list of specific goals, written down, before you enter. If you just wander in hoping to find your great-great-grandmother among that much information, you will be frustrated. In fact, Mother and I saw several folks leave the library in tears, because they were simply overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data.

The FamilySearch site has these suggestions:

1. Learn all you can about your family from home and family sources and bring with you any information that links you to ancestors who lived before 1920. Information on people living in the 20th century is difficult to obtain due to privacy restrictions. Your relatives can save you time and get you started. Collect your data, and make a note of what you need to know.

2. Search work done by others using the sources and plan to use the library to find original records to verify the information you have found.

3. Look for others who may be currently working on your ancestors. Online, you can do this at:

* RootsWeb surname list http://rsl.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/rslsql.cgi

* GenForum http://genforum.genealogy.com/

* Mailing lists (e-mail) http://www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail.html

You can also ask at your local historical and genealogical organizations, your local library and local college or university.

4. Always visit a local Family History Center first, or go to http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp to search the library catalog. Each FHC is a branch of the main library in Salt Lake City, with a card catalog and access to many helpful research guides. Again, make note of specific goals to research when you get to Salt Lake City. You can find a list of local Family History Centers here, http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp.

5. Using your written list of goals, use the catalog to find the book, CD-ROM, microfilm, and microfiche numbers you need to find records and information. Write down the call numbers.

6. Use the online Family History Library Catalog to determine if the films you need are immediately available in the library. Not all microfilms are stored at the library. Films listed in the catalog as “Vault” films may take up to three days to retrieve. Before your visit, you can request the microfilms you need by e-mail, telephone, or fax. To call in an order by telephone, call (801) 240-7378 for films with records from the United States and Canada, (801) 240-7379 for films with records from the British Isles, and (801) 240-2334 for films from any other country. To fax in your order call (801) 240-1924.

7. Will you be using records from another country? Use this link http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/Rg/frameset_rhelps.asp to find language word lists of genealogical terms.

8. Many records are handwritten, are in chronological rather than alphabetical order, and are not indexed. Allow plenty of time at the library when searching such records.

9. Check the library’s holiday schedule to plan the dates of your trip.

Now, you can plan your trip to Salt Lake City, and be confident of returning with information, not frustration!

Post Script: DearMYRTLE and I discuss this  topic in her May 6 Podcast .

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25 April 2008 by Libbi.

		Tougher in Alaska Host Geo Beach. (PRNewsFoto/History(TM), Mark Brinster) NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES
		Tougher in Alaska Host Geo Beach. (PRNewsFoto/History(TM)) NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES

   Throughout history, Alaskans have had to fight for survival. Even now,

    everything is STILL Tougher in Alaska - the last American frontier.

Geo Beach travels to extreme locations in this giant state, from wind-swept

  Arctic tundra to rugged coastal mountains - mining for gold, fishing for

       salmon, and tackling other tough, uniquely Alaskan activities.    NEW YORK, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Everything is tougher in Alaska.

From earning a living to burying the dead, everyday life here has always

been shaped by severe weather, rugged terrain and vast distances between

communities. The people who call Alaska home have a long history of

overcoming adversity and adapting to their extreme environment. Host Geo

Beach, who has lived in Alaska for more than 25 years, is on a quest to

find out what it really takes to survive and thrive in Alaska. The new

series TOUGHER IN ALASKA premieres Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 10 pm ET/PT on

History(TM).

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080415/NYTU136-a )

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080415/NYTU136-b )

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051031/HISTORYLOGO )

It wouldn’t be a tough show without a tough host, and TOUGHER IN ALASKA

host Geo Beach is just that. Since moving to Alaska, Geo has worked as a

logger, firefighter and medic, and commercial fisherman — including winter

crabbing on the Bering Sea. He knows his way around oil spills and

industrial kitchens, construction sites and law enforcement. Like most

Alaskans, Geo has endured plenty of waves, winds and blizzards while living

here. Armed with his own experience and the centuries of Alaskan tradition,

Geo reveals the guts, self-reliance, ingenuity and technology it takes to

survive and prosper in this challenging land considered America’s last

frontier.

Each episode of TOUGHER IN ALASKA charts an expedition through the

far-flung corners of the huge Alaskan state — from the tops of mountains

to the depths of the Bering Sea. It investigates unique aspects of life in

Alaska, looks at how Alaskan pioneers got things done in the past, and

explores how they overcome harsh conditions to get things done today. Along

the way, we meet a lot of plucky Alaskans — all following in the footsteps

of the great explorers who originally survived and thrived in the extreme

environment.

The first week of TOUGHER IN ALASKA (May  finds Geo hunting for gold

in the great Alaskan wilderness, something people have been doing since the

1870s, when the promise of gold first lured men north to Alaska. Today,

with the cost of gold skyrocketing, the race is on once again and Geo joins

in on the chase. He’ll see how individual prospectors around the state use

ingenious techniques (including a giant underwater vacuum) to get the gold

out, and he’ll join a team of hard rock miners in the frontier mining town

of Wiseman as they blast through 250 feet of rock in the hopes of hitting

the mother lode. TOUGHER IN ALASKA: GOLD MINING premieres May 8 at 10 pm

ET/PT.

In future episodes, Geo tackles different, demanding adventures and

locations — vividly illustrating how living in Alaska is just plain harder

than it is in the Lower 48. Some upcoming topics:

SALMON FISHING (premieres 5/15)

Each summer in late June, more than 2,000 fishing vessels converge on

Alaska’s Bristol Bay to await one of the greatest natural spectacles of the

north: the annual run of millions of sockeye salmon to their spawning

grounds. Bristol Bay is the most productive and best-managed commercial

salmon fishery in the world with an average annual catch of ten million

fish valued at more than one hundred million dollars. What follows the fish

during the short, three-week run is an altogether man-made spectacle of the

highest order: thousands of highly competitive fishermen doing serious

battle with one another in their specialized, high-performance boats. Host

Geo Beach will be on deck with two crews as they navigate the bay looking

for the mother lode of sockeye, or red salmon. It’s all about getting the

fish in the nets. But staying up all night, avoiding collisions with other

boats and confrontations with other fishermen, and keeping the peace with

the State Troopers who patrol the crowded fishery by land, sea, and sky

just makes it more interesting.

ELECTRIC LINEMEN (premieres 5/22)

What does it take to keep the power on in a state where more than half

of its people live off the grid, and plunging temperatures, high winds and

heavy snow loads can snap even the hardiest overhead electrical wires and

transmission towers? Host Geo Beach flies out to the remote village of

Kasigluk to help install power poles and string electrical wire by hand

(there are no bucket trucks in the bush) and he’ll dig in with the linemen

of the Golden Valley Electric Association during the infamously bitter

winters in Fairbanks as they brave temps as low as minus 40, just to keep

the lights on and heating systems going in the state’s second largest city.

LOGGING (premieres 5/29)

Logging is a difficult profession anywhere, but in Alaska’s Southeast

Panhandle, unforgiving coastal mountains, steep valleys, and ugly weather

make this work even tougher. Host Geo Beach will learn first-hand about it

when he embeds with veteran loggers in Ketchikan, located in the heart of

the Tongass National Forest, the nation’s largest. They’ll teach him how to

fell giant spruce trees with a single chainsaw, “choke and chase” them with

a cable-logging machine, and deliver them on teeth-chattering logging roads

and rocking barges to the mill. And he’ll join the most extreme loggers of

them all — heli-loggers — who fly deep into rugged stretches and steep

areas where no roads can go to haul the valuable logs out of the

wilderness.

Other topics covered include: Railroading … Roads … Forces of

Nature … Garbage … Salvaging … Fairbanks Winter … Disconnected …

Policing … and Frozen Freeway. In these episodes, Geo struggles against

bitter winter weather to keep the electricity flowing to Alaska’s second

largest city, triggers a “controlled” avalanche, and tempts fate in one of

the most active seismic zones in the world. As always, Alaska dishes up

lots of real work, risks, and excitement.

The new series TOUGHER IN ALASKA is produced for History by Moore

Huntley Productions. Executive Producer for History is Carl H. Lindahl.

Executive Producer is David Huntley.

The official mini-site for the TOUGHER IN ALASKA series,

http://www.history.com/tougher-in-alaska, will feature images and video,

including our host Geo Beach, who will share insights about the Alaskan

lifestyle and daily activities in the last American frontier. The site will

also include interactive maps, history content on Alaska, and background

information to supplement the programs. A teaser page with on-air promos

will launch first, followed by the official mini-site on April 23.

History(TM) and History HD(TM) are the leading destinations for

revealing, award-winning, original non-fiction series and event-driven

specials that connects history with viewers in an informative, immersive

and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a

diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to

contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science,

archaeology and pop culture. Among the networks program offerings are hit

series such as Ax Men, Battle 360, The Universe, Cities of The Underworld

and Ice Road Truckers, as well as acclaimed specials including King, Life

After People, 1968 With Tom Brokaw, Lost Book of Nostradamus, Star Wars:

The Legacy Revealed and Sherman’s March. History has earned four Peabody

Awards, three Primetime Emmy(R) Awards, 10 News & Documentary Emmy(R)

Awards and received the prestigious Governor’s Award from the Academy of

Television Arts & Sciences for the network’s Save Our History(R) campaign

dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take A Veteran to

School Day is the network’s latest initiative connecting America’s schools

and communities with veterans from all wars. History’s website, located at

http://www.History.com, is the definitive historical online source that

delivers entertaining and informative content featuring broadband video,

interactive timelines, maps, games podcasts and more.

SOURCE History(TM)

Related links:

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24 April 2008 by Libbi.

Late in 2007, the Surgeon General of the United States. launched the Family History Initiative . This web site allows you to create a personalized family health history report from any computer with an Internet connection and an up-to-date Web browser. Information you provide creates a drawing of your family tree and a chart of your family health history. Both the chart and the drawing can be printed and shared with your family members or your healthcare professional. Used in consultation with your healthcare professional, your family health history can help you review your family’s health history and develop disease prevention strategies that are right for you. This program is web-based. If you’d rather, you can download the program to your own computer at http://www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/download.html.

Another reason to pursue genealogy: It can be good for your health!

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23 April 2008 by Libbi.

Uploading video of your life (vlogging) . . . that’s pretty much what 21st Century communication has come to. However, for those of us who like to wander through previous centuries, Roots Television has given us RootsTube. The site’s description says:

“Have some remarkable family reunion footage? Or a great research tip you just have to share? Think you could be the next Heir Jordan? Submit your own videos to Roots Tube, and you may just be the next big thing to hit Roots Television.
You can upload your videos right here through the Roots Tube channel. We prefer submissions that are:

• 30 seconds to 5minutes in length (although longer ones may be considered)
• in the following formats: 3GP, AVI, DV, H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, QuickTime (MOV), Windows Media Video (WMV)
• less than 100MB insize
• without profanity orotherwise objectionable material.
• cleared for copyright. In other words, you are responsible for ensuring that you have permission from the content owner to use any music, video, or images in your submission.

Not quite ready to go online? You can also snail mail us your videos. Just send a non-returnable MiniDV sample video to:

Roots Television, LLC
Wells Fargo Center
86 N. University Ave., Suite 400
Provo, UT 84601″

Wander through the uploads so far. MUCH more entertaining than watching teenagers beat each other….

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22 April 2008 by Libbi.

Joined the Gulf Breeze Chamber of Commerce, and met another genealogist. Wayne McGahuey does internet marketing, genealogy, Ebay, website design and photo restoration. Oh, and he’s a partner in Mickey’s Party Characters, too.

Then I picked up a cushion at Parkway Plaza Interiors, and found another genealogist! Mr. McDuffee there has quite an interesting heritage, and he made us a beautiful cushion for our boat, Crowes’ Nest.

So wherever you roam, mention your genealogy! Ribbon Cutting picture

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21 April 2008 by Libbi.

The National Archives will host its fourth annual Genealogy on April 23, this Wednesday. This year’s program will highlight Federal records located at the NationalArchives relating to general genealogy, World War I, and the Works ProgressAdministration (WPA). Sessions will offer guidance on topics including Civil War pension files, Freedmen’s Bureau marriage records, World War I draft registration records, and New Deal publications. National Archives staff will demonstrate how to use databases including the Archival Research
Catalog (ARC) and Access to Archival Databases (AAD). The fair will provide
information and guidance for experienced genealogy professionals and novices alike. This event is free and open to the public. For a schedule of lectures and demonstrations, see below:

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18 April 2008 by Libbi.

Apr 17, 2008 05:07 America/Chicago

Above:

Knights Templar tomb found during the making of a new documentary film BLOODLINE, premiering May 9. (PRNewsFoto/Cinema Libre Studio)</strong> LOS ANGELES, CA UNITED STATES 04/16/2008

Tomb Discovered in France Considered Knights Templar - When Excavated, Findings May Challenge the Tenets of Christianity

Explored in New Documentary ‘BLOODLINE’ Premiering May 9

LOS ANGELES, April 17 /PRNewswire/ — An underground tomb found in the Languedoc region of southwest France has been discovered, which may help substantiate the existence of a Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene bloodline, according to the new documentary BLOODLINE, premiering May 9 in New York and May 16 in Los Angeles. The rare find will be further examined at a Monday, May 5 news conference at the Jewish Museum in New York City. The chamber contains a mummified corpse on a rose-colored plinth under a shroud bearing the distinctive red cross of the Knights Templar, and is surrounded by wooden chests, revealing a cache of gold chalices and coins. The discovery has been reported to the French Government agency, Direction Regionale des Affaires Culturelles Languedoc-Roussillon (DRAC-LR), and plans are underway for a full scale survey.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080417/LATH024)
“After the Crusades, it was rumored that the Templars had discovered treasure underneath the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem that could debunk the Catholic Church’s doctrine,” said BLOODLINE director Bruce Burgess, of the unprecedented discovery of what appears to be an intact Knights Templar tomb. “This treasure was believed to be priceless relics — documents, the Holy Grail, even the embalmed remains of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene — which was then brought to southern France, and hidden.”
The subterranean chamber was discovered by an English adventurer, Ben Hammott, using a hidden code in the decor of the church at Rennes-le-Chateau left behind by the 19th century priest, Berenger Sauniere. The film team was able to gain access into the tomb by using a remote camera inserted through a small air shaft at the top of the chamber. (Clips visible at http://blip.tv/file/827329/)
Relics were not removed, although the team was able to extract a few hair strands from the corpse, which have undergone testing by the Paleo-DNA Laboratory at Lakehead University in Ontario, Canada. “Like most ancient or degraded samples, we knew our best chance for successful results would be to focus our efforts on mitochondrial DNA,” said analyst Renee Praymack Fratpietro. “We were able to determine a Middle Eastern maternal origin of the individual based on haplotyping information. After we found out where this hair sample came from, we realized the significance of this work.”
BLOODLINE producer Rene Barnett concluded, “Given the DNA results, the region’s Templar history and the legend of Priest Sauniere which indicated that he found a tomb in the area that could ’shake the Vatican to its core,’ we think this is a staggering find.”
The DRAC Commissioner in the region, Jean-Pierre Giraud said, “This is certainly a very intriguing discovery, but it’s just too early to tell how important it is. We need to do a full survey of the site to determine the age of the corpse and the other items in the tomb. The archeology department of the DRAC-LR will be carrying out an examination of the site as soon as access has been made possible.”
The area surrounding Rennes-le-Chateau features prominently in the bloodline legend which follows the premise that Mary Magdalene escaped Jerusalem with child, sailed to France and settled in the region.
For the latest updates — including clips, press releases and updates on the dig — visit http://www.bloodlinethemovie.com/.

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17 April 2008 by Libbi.

Interesting press release from The Generations Network this week: millions of records from Quebec are now available on Ancestry.ca. If you need to research this area, check with your local library or neighborhood Family History Center to do a trial run before you sign up for a subscription.

Press release below:

——————————————————————————

37M* Historical French-Canadian Names Launch Online: Drouin Collection

346 Years of Quebec Vital Records Searchable Online for the First Time – Largest Collection

MONTREAL, QC

Ancestry.ca, Canada’s leading family history website, today announced the online launch of the fully searchable indexes for the historic Drouin Collection, which contains Quebec records spanning 346 years from 1621 to 1967.

Starting with 29 million names for the years 1850 to 1967, the indexes will include 37 million names in baptism, marriage and burial records, and also a compilation of church records from Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and various New England states, when complete in mid-2008.

Included in The Drouin Collection are the ancestors of some of Canada’s most famous French-Canadians and Quebeckers such as Pierre Trudeau, William Shatner, John Labatt and Henri and Maurice Richard. (original images available)

Family history enthusiasts can also trace their lineage back to the founding families of Quebec and Acadia, which includes that of Zacharie Cloutier, a common ancestor of distant cousins Celine Dion, Madonna and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. (Cloutier family tree / original images available)

From the early 1600s, the Catholic parishes of Quebec kept meticulous records of their members’ baptisms, marriages and burials. The Quebec Government soon required the Catholic Church to provide it with copies of all its records and in doing so became the central holder for Quebec’s vital records.

In 1899 a lawyer named Joseph Drouin founded The Drouin Genealogical Institute, using Quebec’s vital records to research and sell family genealogies. His son Gabriel assumed stewardship in 1938, dedicating himself to microfilming and indexing Quebec’s vital records; this important work formed what became the Institute’s principal reference collection.

The collection remained the property of the Institute until Gabriel’s death in 1980, after which it was sold to the genealogist Jean-Pierre Pepin who created The Drouin Institute, which was dedicated to preserving the collection intact and in Quebec.

Recognising its historical significance, Ancestry.ca secured the right to host the collection online. It launched the original images – more than 12 million in total – in 2007, and in partnership with The University of Montreal has now indexed the collection to make it searchable online for the first time.

The Drouin Collection can be searched in French or English language by name, date, place, church or institution, and religion.

Ancestry.ca senior vice president Josh Hanna comments: “As an estimated five million Canadians have French ancestry, The Drouin Collection is of huge national relevance, and especially to French-Canadian family history researchers.”

“It is important that the exceptional work of Joseph and Gabriel Drouin be made widely available for all to use and enjoy, whether they be French-Canadian family history enthusiasts or those from the U.S. and elsewhere in the world with French-Canadian cousins.”

Ancestry.ca user Gail Mamers comments: “One piece of critical information that I discovered through The Drouin Collection on Ancestry.ca is that my grandparents were married, something that was not confirmed before this.”

“My aunt was so happy to hear this information that she cried. Having the Collection indexed will allow more people to make interesting discoveries about their own past because it will take a fraction of the time and effort.”

Ancestry.ca user Desmond Ireland comments: “I have studied genealogy for more than a decade and by indexing this incredible collection of records, Ancestry.ca has enabled me to search more easily and effectively for my family history. They’ve taken genealogical research out of the library and brought it to my personal computer.”

* At launch the indexes will contain 29 million searchable names. The remaining eight million names will be live on Ancestry.ca by mid-2008.

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