16 January 2009 by Libbi.

I accomplished a New Year’s Resolution yesterday: I deleted programs I don’t use, or installed only to review, or are now outdated. Then I defragged the hard drive. The computer runs MUCH better now!

I also backed up some documents, non-genealogy but still important, such as magazine articles and historical data (checkbook, etc.).

Posted in And More..., Uncategorized | Print | 2 Comments »

14 January 2009 by Libbi.

Good news for folks searching for genealogy in the U. K.  The 1911 Census is on the web.
1911census.co.uk is the official census website, in association with The National Archives. The 1911 census is a record of everyone who lived in England and Wales in 1911.  Because they expected a great deal of traffic in the first few days, advanced searches are turned off temporarily, but soon you will be able to search with wildcards and so forth. 

You can  SEARCH FOR FREE through the census index to find an ancestor, or to find out who lived in your house. However, you pay to view.  Once you are sure of the record you want, you register and buy credits  to view and print and save a typed transcript or an image of the original handwritten page.

An important note: Not all the counties are up as yet. The news page of the site says these counties and establishments are currently not available:
Wales:
Anglesey
Brecknockshire
Carnarvonshire
Cardiganshire
Carmarthenshire
Denbighshire
Flintshire
Glamorgan
Merionethshire
Montgomeryshire
Monmouthshire
Pembrokeshire
Radnorshire

England:

Durham
Cumberland
Northumberland
Westmorland
Yorkshire, East Riding and North Riding

Other:

Isle of Man
Channel Islands
Royal Navy (ships at sea at time of census)
Military Establishments (overseas)

Two volumes from the West Riding of Yorkshire are currently being prepared for scanning, and are not yet online. These volumes relate to parts of the Knaresborough and Doncaster areas.If you are registered on the site, you will receive an update as soon as more records become available. Alternatively, visit their blog at http://blog.1911census.co.uk/

Posted in Genealogy | Print | 1 Comment »

13 January 2009 by Libbi.

If you have any genealogy tasks to do in the American Northwest, be sure to include this resource in your search!

Posted in Genealogy Sites, Genealogy, Genealogy Online | Print | 1 Comment »

12 January 2009 by Libbi.

If the weather is frightful where you are, and you don’t want to get out, consider an online genealogy course. A good one is Kimberly Powell’s at About.com. Self-paced, short and to the point, it will get you started if you are a newbie, and perhaps refresh your memory on good techniques if you have been at it a while. Just the way to spend a wintry week indoors!

Posted in Genealogy Sites, Genealogy Online | Print | 2 Comments »

9 January 2009 by Libbi.

 Little Shop of Memories (www.littleshopofmemories.com) has been updated.  They updated the software of the programs that run the web site as well as adding new content to the genealogy and more photos to the gallery of pictures.  Because of these upgrades, your sign in may not work and you may need to register again.  The guestbook was removed and a forum section was added.  Anyone that is looking for additional information can post request there, and that request will not only be found doing a search of our web site, but also will be shown to anyone searching the web as well.

This site has some of my Hamrick line….

Posted in News, Genealogy Online | Print | 1 Comment »

8 January 2009 by Libbi.

As you may or may not know, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts style themselves as “Commonwealth” not State.

According to Ben’s Guide to the US Govenment for Kids, these four subdivisions of the United States government chose a term meaning an organized political community as part of their constitutions. The choice of word perhaps harks back to the “Commonwealth” of England from 1649 to 1660, when the mother country was a republic, thus it was a choice to be completely separate from the old royalist “state.”

Another reason for choosing this term could be its literal meaning of the common weal, or well-being, of the inhabitants, and the orginators intended their communities to be governed for the common good as opposed to an authoritarian state governed for the benefit of an aristocracy. Virginia, for example, was a “Commonwealth” before the Revolution.

Or perhaps they just like the sound of it.

Posted in And More... | Print | 1 Comment »

7 January 2009 by Libbi.

I thought I’d like to participate in the  genealogy meme that Becky and friends put together. Challenging, and fun!

The list is annotated in the following manner:
Things I have already done or found: bold face type
Things I would like to do or find: italicize
Things I haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) .
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group on Facebook.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board or forum.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme.
32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
33. Performed a record lookup for someone else.
34. Went on a genealogy seminar cruise. (!)
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
36. Found a disturbing family secret.
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby.
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons).
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
45. Disproved a family myth through research.
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
48. Translated a record from a foreign language.
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
51. Used microfiche.
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
53. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
55. Taught a class in genealogy.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century.
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century.
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.
60. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
61. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
62. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
63. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
64. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
65. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
66. Visited the Library of Congress.
67. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
68. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War.
69. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
70. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
71. Can read a church record in Latin.
72. Have an ancestor who changed their name.
73. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
74. Created a family website.
75. Have more than one “genealogy” blog.
76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
77. Have broken through at least one brick wall.
78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
79. Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the “Psychic Roots” variety.
83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War.
84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.
85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
87. Use maps in my genealogy research.
88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK.
89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.
90. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
91. Visited St. Catherine’s House in London to find family records.
92. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country).
93. Consistently cite my sources.
94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don’t live in) in search of ancestors.
95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.
96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more).
97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
98. Organized a family reunion.
99. Published a family history book (on one of my families).
100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
101. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
103. Offended a family member with my research.
104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.

Posted in And More..., Genealogy | Print | 1 Comment »

6 January 2009 by Libbi.

This morning, DearMYRTLE and I are going to discuss DNA genealogy. Here are some links to recent news stories on this topic:

• SMGF: Press Release  Genetic research by the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF) and scientists from ten organizations in Europe and the U.S. shows human groups with the deepest roots in southeastern Europe were not pushed out by an incoming wave of farmer-colonists as agriculture first spread into Europe. Instead, indigenous Europeans with a hunting and gathering lifestyle adopted agriculture when it was introduced by settlers from the Middle East. The study was published in the Dec. 24, 2008 online issue of European Journal of Human Genetics.
• News From Indian Country - DNA tracks descendants of Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian in Southeast Alaska  News From Indian Country is a compact publication in hard copy form with updated pow-wow dates, current information and web contacts from Indigenous communities, First Nations, Tribal governments and Indian Nations in the Western Hemisphere.This site also accesses the Indian Country Trading Post and a digital electronic version of available news., News From Indian Country providing powwow dates, cultural information about Native American dance, Native music, Indigenous events and activities for Canada First Nations and United States tribes and Indian reservations.
• DNA Profiling For Tracing Parental Ancestry Becomes More Accurate And Reliable A lesser known but rapidly growing application of DNA profiling is tracing paternal ancestry. NIST researchers recently published a paper with recommendations for genealogy testing that they hope will improve accuracy and reliability.
• Guidelines to make genetic genealogy testing more accurate, reliable |
  
•  The International Society of Genetic Genealogy ISOGG Newsletter December 2008– From the Director A Brief History of DNA Projects
• EOGN has an entry on a new DNA sequencing product. “Company founder Stephen Turner estimates that such a chip would be able to sequence an entire human genome in under half an hour to 99.999 per cent accuracy for under $1000.”

PS: Hi, Matt!

Posted in DNA, News | Print | 3 Comments »

5 January 2009 by Libbi.

Several new international projects were added to the list of active FamilySearch indexing projects (see chart below). There is now a need for volunteers with an interest in or knowledge of the new Norwegian and Russian records—Norway 1875 Census and Ukraine Kyiv 1840–1842.

The indexing program’s interfaces have not been translated into Norwegian and Russian yet; however, the instructions for the Ukrainian project are available in Russian and English.

State Censuses

New state census projects were added for Florida (1885 and 1935) and Massachusetts (1855 and 1865).

Additional online volunteers are always needed. Patrons or indexers are encouraged to forward these updates to anyone they feel will be interested in helping to index the current projects. New volunteers can register quickly online at www.familysearchindexing.org.

Current Projects, Record Language, and Percent Completion Status

(*This percentage refers to a specific portion of a larger project.)

Posted in Genealogy | Print | 1 Comment »

2 January 2009 by Libbi.

Press Release:
New software makes it easier to automatically find long lost relatives, publish content to MyHeritage.com, and print your family tree on one page

Tel Aviv, Israel – January 2, 2009 – MyHeritage, one of the world’s most popular family Web sites, today announced the launch of Family Tree Builder 3, a powerful software program that MyHeritage members can download and use to build family trees, research family history and add content like photos and videos.

Family Tree Builder 3 includes new functionality to make it an even more powerful tool for researching family history:
•    Smart Match Merge: MyHeritage’s Smart Matching™ technology constantly compares new family trees to the database of more than 300 million profiles on MyHeritage.com, to find matches and discover long lost family connections. Now, members can work together to easily merge the information in their overlapping trees
•    Smart Research: Automatically plugs the names from any member’s family tree into MyHeritage’s powerful search engine, researches these names in more than 100 of the most important databases on the Internet and provides results, saving months of manual research
•    All-in-One Chart: With intelligent organization, members can quickly and easily print family trees on one easy-to-read page or poster – even huge trees with many branches and people
•    Online Publishing: Members can publish their family tree plus any related media – photos, videos, audio files and documents from Family Tree Builder to the MyHeritage.com family Web site, for sharing with family members

“Since its introduction in 2005, Family Tree Builder has become one of the most successful family history tools in the world. More than one million people are now using it in 34 languages to build their family trees and share the experience with their family members all over the world. The launch of Family Tree Builder 3 puts even more powerful technology into the hands of our users, while keeping it simple and fun to use,” said Gilad Japhet, founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “Family Tree Builder 3 also makes it possible to upload videos and documents to family websites on MyHeritage.com, giving people new ways to preserve their heritage and stay connected with relatives worldwide.”

Using the MyHeritage Family Tree Builder will continue to be free and members can add an unlimited amount of profiles to family trees using the software. For access to the new functionality and to publish content on MyHeritage.com, the following price plans apply:

Plan    Price    Online trees    Online storage    Additional features
Basic    FREE    Up to 500 people    Up to 100 MB

Premium    Holiday offer available until 15 January, 2009:
$1.95/month
(€1.70, £1.50)
Normal price:
$3.95/month
(€3.45, £2.95)    Up to 2500 people    Up to 500 MB    •    Smart Match Merge
•    Smart Research
•    All in One Chart
•    Publishing Videos and Documents
•    Priority support
PremiumPlus    $9.95/month
(€8.95, £7.95)    Unlimited    Unlimited    •    Smart Match Merge
•    Smart Research
•    All in One Chart
•    Publishing Videos and Documents
•    Priority support

MyHeritage.com is a leading online destination for families. On the site, people can find relatives, research family history, and stay connected to family members across the globe. In addition, MyHeritage offers automatic photo tagging technology that makes it easier to label, organize and search for digital photos, giving families another fun way to stay in touch.

About MyHeritage
MyHeritage was founded by a team of people who combine a passion for family history with the development of innovative technology. It is now one of the world’s leading online networks for families, and the second largest family history website. MyHeritage is available in 34 languages and home to more than 28 million family members and 300 million profiles. The company recently acquired Kindo, a family social network, and is based in Bnei Atarot, near Tel Aviv, Israel. For more information, visit www.myheritage.com.

For more information contact:

Daniel Horowitz, MyHeritage Ltd.
Genealogy and Translation Manager
Tel: 972-3-9702614
Fax: 972-3-9772473
Email: Daniel@MyHeritage.com
# # #

Posted in News, Genealogy | Print | 1 Comment »