22 July 2011 by Libbi.

Just in time to help, I received a review copy of Quicksheet: Genealogical Problem Analysis- A Strategic Plan- Evidence! Style by Elizabeth Shown Mills.

So I am going to start pursuing Reason Powell using her 10-step solution to genealogical problems. The QuickSheet is the outgrowth of a lifetime of professional experience, the 10 steps provide a systematic basis for problem solving unique to genealogy.  In addition to the 10 steps, this  QuickSheet contains a “Life Stages Worksheet”–a form to be filled in covering most life events from birth to death through six specific stages of life. This single-page form allows for a systematic listing of records  to review at a glance. You can copy this form and write on that copy, or use grease pencil and write on the laminated sheet itself, rubbing it clean as you find better data. The problem analysis QuickSheet is a laminated two-sided sheet designed, like its companions, for heavy use, in libraries, at your desk, and so on.

Here’s hoping!

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19 July 2011 by Libbi.

I got a review copy of a handy guide called Genealogy at a Glance: German Genealogy Research, part of the Genealogical Publishing Company’s At A Glance series, and I really like it.

So far, I have not come across anything more Germanic  than “Miner” in my surnames (and we suspect that is originally Dutch) but if I do, I will turn to this laminated four page guide first. This is an American-centric guide, outlining motivations and dates for German emigrations for the last 300 years or so, for economic, social, political and religious reasons, and pointing to where in the lower 48 states each tended to congregate.

However, it also gives you solid information on researching in Germany once you get “back to the boat”, even listing where certain surnames and given names most likely originate.

The bibliography at the back of four good German genealogy references and six good online resources make this a good thing to take to the library, or on your travels.

At $7.95,  this is a good buy, in my opinion.

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19 January 2011 by Libbi.

Press Release from the US National Archives:

History is made with first National Archives mobile app!

Washington, DC… The National Archives has launched its first mobile application, Today’s Document [http://go.usa.gov/rnm/].

Explore American history with 365 of the most fascinating documents and photos from the extensive collection of the National Archives. Today’s Document is an interactive gallery showcasing anniversaries of fascinating historical documents and images from the National Archives. With the Today’s Document application, people can learn what happened on their birthdays, search for a document by keyword, or just browse leisurely though historical highlights from the extensive National Archives’ holdings.

Zoom in on the high resolution images to get a closer look at the featured documents and photographs, use the calendar feature to select a specific date, or choose “Surprise Me” to show a document at random. Want to learn more? Tap the “info” icon to read background information on the selection. And share these historical features via email, Facebook and Twitter, and add documents to “favorites” lists by tapping the “star” icon.

Today’s Document is part of the flagship initiative of the National Archives Open Government Plan which includes a redesigned web site and new, user-friendly search engine. For more information on these developments, see Open Government at the National Archives [http://www.archives.gov/open/].

The Today’s Document free mobile app is now available in the Android marketplace and the Apple iTunes Store, http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/todays-document/id412969819?mt=8.

And oh by the way, while you are in iTunes, you can also download the 28 episodes of the  NARA Presidential Libraries’ monthly podcast, Presidential Archives Uncovered. Topics included The Peace Corps and the Gulf of Tonkin. Fascinating stuff.

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15 March 2010 by Libbi.

I took a bit of a blog break while I finished up the first draft of Genealogy Online 9th Edition, but that’s all turned in. While I await the copy edits and galleys, I’m back to blogging!

So if I still have any readers out there, here’s a question: What specific aspects of online genealogy would you like to see a book about? Is there some topic or aspect that you feel has not been covered adequately by the existing lexicon? Is there a need for something to be updated? Speak up and let’s talk about it!

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15 December 2009 by Libbi.

 An excellent resource for finding vital records is Thomas Jay Kemp’s International Vital Records Handbook. 5th Edition
 (Genealogical Publishing Company, 2009).

 The new 5^th edition has the latest forms and information for each of the 50 states as well as key addresses of repositories and embassies to help you find foreign records. The best part: the forms you find in the book can be photocopied and used for your search. No need to send off for the form, then send off for the record!

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9 December 2009 by Libbi.

New eBook genealogy mystery released December 1, 2009 by Write Words Inc. by Virginia Winters

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23 September 2009 by Libbi.

Social Networking for Genealogists by Drew Smith is more fun to read than you’d think from the title. With examples and tasks, it’s almost as interactive as the web, and really fun to read. 

The author is well-qualified to guide you through the maze of  RSS feeds, virtual worlds and genealogy-specific social networks. Drew Smith, MLS, is an academic librarian with the University of South Florida in Tampa. An expert in digital genealogy, with a lifelong interest in family history research, he is Director of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and President of the Florida Genealogical Society of Tampa. He is also a regular contributor to Digital Genealogist magazine and is co-host of the weeklyGenealogy Guys Podcast.

The best part of online genealogy has always been the interaction with other family historians, professional and amateur, that you find online. Prior to this decade, that meant mainly  message boards and mailing lists.  Now, blogs, wikis, podcasts,  and even genealogy-specific social networks add depth and breadth to the experience of collaborating with genealogists all over the world.

Smith defines and describes all the social networking services that are now available online and highlights how these services can be used by genealogists to share information, photos, and videos with family, friends, and other researchers. Each chapter guides you through a unique category of social networking services using genealogy-related examples.  Then, at the end of each chapter, he gives you specific steps to get involved with such services to help you launch yourself into the realms of cyberspace without getting hopelessly lost. 

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22 September 2009 by Libbi.

I have long admired Thomas Jay Kemp MLS for his scholarship and expertise. His book, The American Census Handbook, is just one example of his outstanding contributions to the field of genealogy.  A well-known librarian and archivist,  he is the Chair of the Genealogy Committee of the American Library Association (ALA) and a past chair of the ALA history section. He is a member of the board of directors of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the editor of the Local History & Genealogy Librarian andLocal History & Genealogy Librarian News. Tom has been working on his genealogy for the past 44 years. Kemp is the author of more than 30 books and is the Director of Genealogy at NewsBank and  he writes a blog at http://Blog.GenealogyBank.com.In this handbook, Mr. Kemp has gathered all the information you need to get birth, death and marriage information from around the world. As he points out in the introduction, although sometimes the certified copies of such documents may be restricted due to privacy and anti-theft laws, some governments allow an informational copy with the pertinent data to be issued  instead. He gives some good procedures for finding the right person to ask, especially in non-U.S. countries.So, for each state, and many countries, one will find instructions, fees, mailing addresses and the actual official form to use. In addition, many online, searchable databases are included.The forms are reproducible, but the binding makes that difficult. Although it is already priced at about  $50 at the publisher’s website, and I know this suggestion would add to the cost, I think it would be more usable for the average, hobbyist genealogist if it were spiral, comb or even notebook bound. This would make using this excellent resource much easier.I do think this is a must have for any library with a genealogy section, and I can imagine that a certified professional genealogist might use this almost daily.You can buy this book at the link above, or at the publisher’s, Genealogical Publishing Company.

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21 September 2009 by Libbi.

County Courthouse Book, 3rd Edition by Elizabeth Petty Bentley is an excellent resource for the genealogist. As the author points out, counties often have land, naturalization, vital and probate records that genealogists can use to find ancestors at a certain place and time. Also, counties and states often have intertwined histories; finding out when a county was created, and how, can often be a clue to breaking down brick walls. And also consider that in Virginia, cities are independent of their surrounding counties. Given all these factors, it is very handy to have the contact information for each county at your fingertips!Each entry has a short history, the name of the clerk and probate office, mailing address, phone number, email and web site as available, as well as what that organization charges for searches and copies. When possible, Bentley has also included the name a person to contact, a very valuable bit of data.A good book to have on your genealogy bookshelf, this volume sells for  about $36 on Amazon (free shipping) and sells for $49.95 at the publisher’s site, www.genealogical.com

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14 August 2009 by Libbi.

Researchers Discover Star of Popular Movie Franchise Is Related to an Accused 16th-Century English Witch

PROVO, UT–(Marketwire - July 30, 2009) - Actress Emma Watson, who plays an exceptionally talented witch and the best friend of Harry Potter in the blockbuster Harry Potter series, has a real-life connection to her role as Hermione. According to the family history research experts at Ancestry.com, English records show Watson’s distant relative was Joan Playle of Essex County, England, a 16th-century English woman convicted of witchcraft in 1592.

While the details around Playle’s conviction remain a mystery, records indicate she was unmarried, which could have led to the accusation of being a witch. During the Elizabethan era, women who were poor, old, widowed, single or otherwise unprotected were those most often at risk for such accusations. Based on the Ancestry.com research, it appears Playle was not executed for her alleged crimes, but she was excommunicated from the Church of England and was one of only 270 known individuals accused of and tried for witchcraft in all of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

“Researching your family’s past can have just as many twists and turns as a movie blockbuster, and this was exciting research to delve into for our team,” said Anastasia Tyler, a genealogist at Ancestry.com. “It’s not every day we’re able to trace the branches of a family tree back to 16th-century witch trials. Combine that with a celebrity connection to Emma Watson and the fact that she plays a witch in Harry Potter… you couldn’t script it any better.”

Research also revealed Playle was convicted in the parish of Great Waltham in Essex County, a town approximately 50 miles northeast of London and about 100 miles from Oxfordshire, where Watson grew up.

Magical Cast-Mate Family Trees

The family history experts at Ancestry.com conjured up even more magic in Harry Potter cast-mates’ family trees:

--  Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) -- Although Radcliffe isn't related to

princes or wizards, his family does hail from Ireland, which is magic

enough in its own right. He descends from bakers and plumbers and grocers,

respectable occupations the Dursleys would likely be proud to have in their

family. --  Rupert Grint (Ronald Weasley) -- Grint's family was employed in a

truly "Muggle" brand of "defense against the dark arts," with two of his

2nd great-grandfathers and one of his 3rd great-grandfathers working in the

Royal Small Arms Factory in London as a "barrel turner," "sight filer" and

"gun smith" respectively. --  Helena Bonham Carter (Belatrix Lestrange) -- Bonham Carter is the

cast's true "half-blooded prince," as she descends from a long line of

nobility. Her great-grandfather Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford

and Asquith, served as Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from

1908 through 1916, and her 3rd great-grandfather Sir John Carter III

received the honor of knighthood from His Majesty King George III. --

JK Rowling -- Interestingly, the author's own family tree lacks the     c

harms and enchantments of her books. Her 2nd great-grandfather Henry John

Holland worked for several years as a "car man." And in 1841, her 4th great-

grandfather John Robson was a "tea dealer."

To find out what magic your family tree might hold, visit www.ancestry.com.

About Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com is the world’s largest 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 ten million family trees containing over one billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries, and more than 8 million unique visitors spent more than 5 million hours on an Ancestry Web site in May 2009 (comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide). For more information on Ancestry.com and its other family history resources, visit http://corporate.ancestry.com.

Web sites:

http://www.ancestry.com/

http://www.myfamily.com/

http://www.genealogy.com/

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

http://www.mycanvas.com/

http://www.dna.ancestry.com/

http://www.familytreemaker.com/

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