30 September 2008 by Libbi.

Now and then,  I like to point out unusual genealogy information sources, such as land records, probate court, and so on. The American Memory Project at the Library of Congress is one of the sites that can give you what I call “collateral information”. (That’s not a true genealogy technical term, that’s just me!)

By that I mean, learning about times and places and the forces driving history that might have affected your ancestors. By learning about the world they lived in, sometimes you can figure out where to look next. One such collateral information source is at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/wpahome.html, The WPA snapshot of America at a certain point in time. As the site says:

 Life histories were compiled and transcribed by the staff of the Folklore Project of the Federal Writers’ Project for the U.S. Works Progress (later Work Projects) Administration (WPA) from 1936-1940. The Library of Congress collection includes 2,900 documents representing the work of over 300 writers from 24 states. Typically 2,000-15,000 words in length, the documents consist of drafts and revisions, varying in form from narrative to dialogue to report to case history. The histories describe the informant’s family education, income, occupation, political views, religion and mores, medical needs, diet and miscellaneous observations. Pseudonyms are often substituted for individuals and places named in the narrative texts.

Because of that last sentence, sometimes this information, while accurate as far as memory can be, won’t give you the people  and sometimes not the specific places you need. It will, however, give you some facts to go by, and a very good feeling for life in the early 20th and late 19th century.  That may lead you to records sources (say, the American Battlefield Protection Program) you may not have considered before.

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This is my last entry for this week, as I’ll be out of town. You could use the time you would normally spend reading my musings to take the time to check your voter registration record with your local elections office. For many states, this week is the deadline to be registered and to be certain that your data in the system is accurate!

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29 September 2008 by Libbi.

The Source  A Guidebook to American Genealogy is an important addition to your genealogy bookshelf. Edited by by Loretto Dennis Szucs and  Sandra Hargreaves Luebkin, this illustrated guide to records, techniques and best practices was updated in 2006 to include electronic media and sources. Special subjects such as tracing urban ancestors help you break down brick walls. Other esoteric resources covered include tracking immigrants, Native American, Spanish/Southwest, Black, Asian, Jewish-American, computers and heredity & lineage societies.

It also guides you to published genealogical sources: city directories, newspapers, genealogy indexes and compiled biographies. Appendices include addresses of regional Federal Archives, state historical archives, historical societies, research libraries, “Where to Write for Vital Records”, genealogy societies and genealogy book publishers.

Many  genealogists refer to this book as their “Genealogy Bible,” the first place they turn to for inspiration, direction and help for genealogy. DearMYRTLE says of this edition, “I especially like to curl up and read it when I get stuck in a rut using just one or two types of records. This book reminds me to broaden my scope of research!”

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Note to readers: I will blog today and tomorrow, then take the rest of the week off to go to a funeral in Tennessee. —EPC

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26 September 2008 by Libbi.

FamilyTreeTemplates.net was created by Savetz Publishing, Inc. It is part of the FreePrintable.net family of sites, which offer letterhead templates, invoice templates, printable certificates, free printable coloring pages, stationery, recipe cards and other useful printable items.  All free versions are in .pdf format, just download, print, then write on or print over with your data/photos/text. The $4 versions are Microsoft Word .DOC files that you can edit. They are compatible with Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and other word processing applications. Some of the designs are quite nice, and suitable for school projects, family reunions and Scout badges.

This screen shot shows some samples of thefamily tree  forms available.

“These family tree templates will make it easy to record family roots,” said Kevin Savetz, who created the site. “I’ve included a wide variety of family trees and charts, from multi-generational genealogy charts to cute, simple charts for kids. Also, we found that there aren’t many printable family trees available especially for children who have been adopted, so we’ve included one on FamilyTreeTemplates.net.”

The categories at FamilyTreeTemplates.net include: three-, four-, five- and six-generation family trees; family trees with and without graphics; family trees with room for photos; formal family trees and family trees for kids. You may download, modify, and print the family tree template designs  for your personal, organizational, or business use. However, you may not distribute, republish, display, post electronically or mechanically, transmit, record, in any manner mirror, or reproduce electronic versions of the family tree template designs without the prior written permission of Savetz Publishing.

FamilyTreeTemplates.net was created by Savetz Publishing, Inc. (http://www.SavetzPublishing.com) It is part of the FreePrintable.net family of sites, which offer letterhead templates, invoice templates, printable certificates, free printable coloring pages, stationery, recipe cards and other printable items.

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25 September 2008 by Libbi.

From a press release this morning:
Winnipeg, Manitoba — September 24, 2008 — Now there’s a website that allows users of genealogy software to rate and review the programs they’ve used or tried. This will allow others who are looking for programs to better compare and select software that will help them.

The site is located at: www.gensoftreviews.com

This is a screen shot of the site as of this morning.

The site is starting with 355 programs ready for review. You can select between Windows, Mac, Unix, handheld and online programs. Types include full-featured, GEDCOM utilities, website builders and other programs useful for genealogy.

The site collects ratings in five categories: Whether you enjoy using it, if you use it often, if it has easy input, useful output, and an overall rating. Then you can write a short review and list the program’s biggest pro and biggest con.

It is built using WordPress, allows quick and easy searching for a particular program, and provides an RSS feed for all reviews, as well as a feed for each program.

“I created my “Louis Kessler’s Genealogy Software Links” page for my website in 1997 and that page has been a popular genealogy web resource with over 400,000 hits through the years. But I’ve always wanted to have more than just a list of programs. The new Genealogy Software Reviews site allows interactive user input and should be a more useful resource for everyone.”

The Genealogy Software Review site is free to use and does not require registration.

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About Louis Kessler

Louis Kessler has been a genealogist and programmer for over 30 years. He has published newspaper articles on genealogy, given presentations on genealogy, and is Past President of a regional Heritage Center. He is the developer of the genealogy program known as Behold that can be found at www.beholdgenealogy.com

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24 September 2008 by Libbi.

Last night, I  finished reading Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, and I want to recommend it to anyone who loves politics,  Lincoln, and/or history.  Or, psychology. It was published in 2005, but I just got around to reading it (hurricanes, graduations, etc. etc.)

Thoroughly engrossing, this is not just another Lincoln biography. It’s about things you know, but from a perspective you may not have seen before.  It is an in-depth look at the personalities and atmosphere of the middle of the 19th century, and the effects they had on us all. 

Using direct quotes from diaries, letters, public documents, newspapers and more, complete with original abbreviations and misspellings, it is like being part of the “in crowd” at one of the most important junctures of American history. And because of the quotes, it’s as if you are hanging out with all these people, with all their quirky habits, watching them live their lives and change the world.

I hope you find time to read and enjoy it.

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23 September 2008 by Libbi.

In a press release yesterday, MyHeritage announced it has acquired Kindo.

The Kindo email announcing this said: “We believe that we are much stronger together. The nice and simple web site that you’ve liked with Kindo becomes so much more powerful, if it’s combined with MyHeritage’s technologies for organizing family photos and do family research - like matching of family trees, the genealogy search engine or the huge repertoire of family tree data. The Kindo family will still be there for you, and the Kindo site will still be available for our current users, but the new common team will focus on improving the much bigger MyHeritage platform. We have tried out MyHeritage ourselves and were quite excited. Gareth for example found dozens of new relatives, when he plugged his Kindo tree into the MyHeritage databases.”

Founded in 2007, London-based Kindo was a genealogy-focused social networking site. On Kindo users built genealogy trees  and stayed in touch with their loved ones. Kindo was available in 15 different languages with Arabic, Chinese, Turkish and Russian being exotic examples.

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22 September 2008 by Libbi.

When Hurricane Ike went away,   Fort Morgan, Alabama, had a mystery.  Ike’s tremendous surf and surge uncovered the remains of a wooden ship on a beach in Fort Morgan, Ala. Some are saying that it is  the two-masted Confederate battleship Monticello, which partially burned after running aground in 1862 while trying to outrun the U.S. Navy into Mobile Bay during the Civil War. Records say the  Monticello was run aground while sailing from Havana to Mobile, trying to sneak past the U.S. Navy to enter Mobile Bay.  The wrecked ship is 136.9 feet long and 25 feet wide, Mike Bailey, site curator at Fort Morgan, said after examining the vessel this week.^[*] Museum of Mobile marine archaeologist Shea McLean said,  “Based on what we know of ships lost in that area and what I’ve seen, the Monticello is by far the most likely candidate. You can never be 100 percent certain unless you find the bell with ‘Monticello’ on it, but this definitely fits.” ^[*] But, could it be the  schooner Rachel, built in Moss Point, MS, near Biloxi, in 1919 and wrecked near Fort Morgan in 1933?  The Army Corps of Engineers thought so back in 1969.  That’s when Hurricane Camille partially cleared away sand to reveal the ship’s skeleton, then other hurricanes covered it back up.

While tourists gather pieces as souvenirs, the archeologists wonder.

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19 September 2008 by Libbi.

• Interesting news article about a local genealogy group striving to save county records: http://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9035551
• My Ancestors Found has a new name: FamilyHistoryExpos. 
• Ancestry.ca has  launched online  Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, which contains more than 7.2 million names, including 5.6 million of those who traveled from around the world to start a new life in Canada.
• Lincoln Legacy: The Homestead Act, the 20th annual Governor’s Conference on North Dakota History, will be held Nov. 7-8 at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck.  The actual Homestead Act document with Lincoln’s signature, on loan from the National Archives, will also be on display during the conference.
•  Wevonneda Minis , of the Charleston Post and Courier, blogged this week about a new way to get  documents more quickly.
• A writer in the Huntsville Times remembers those displaced by the TVA in the last century.
• A memorial to a Black Civil War Regiment is to be unveiled in New Haven, CT.

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18 September 2008 by Libbi.

For both Mark and myself, the bellsouth.net addresses  are suspended, because now we’re with mchsi.com. If you try to send something to the bellsouth.net addresses, it will bounce. Our AOL addresses are still good!

Busy day today, including the ribbon cutting at The Blake, a new assisted living facility in Gulf Breeze/Midway. One of the owners said that the new facility was built because he wants to help families retain and build relationships across generations.

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17 September 2008 by Libbi.

The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy by Val D. Greenwood

The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy by Val D. Greenwood is a treasure trove of genealogy sources, techniques and methods.  Greenwood himself describes it this way:

“… when I was teaching genealogical research at Ricks College in Idaho. At that time, there was no good text on American research, so I wrote one. The book, THE RESEARCHER’S GUIDE TO AMERICAN GENEALOGY, was published in 1973 by Genealogical Publishing Co. Since that time there have been two more editions, the third edition being published in 2000. It is still the most widely used textbook on American genealogical research and is considered by many to be a classic. It has sold more than 100,000 copies through the three editions. (Can you imagine how much space 100,000 books would take up if you stacked them all in one place? Neither can I.) ”

My Mother’s 1973 copy sits on my desk. The text is underlined, highlighted, notated and marked, reminding me of how often she used it. The most recent edition has good chapters on evidence, personal computers, and family historians.  As it is a textbook, it is accessible to the most beginning of genealogists. Add this to your list of “must have” genealogy references.

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