19 November 2008 by Libbi.

Volunteers Discover Fun Facts Transcribing Historic Canadian Censuses — Completed Indexes Will Be Free Online

Ontario, Canada—FamilySearch International announced its plans to make the indexes to available Canadian censuses accessible online for free with the help of online volunteer indexers and an agreement with Ancestry.ca. The first censuses completed will be those from 1861, 1871, and 1916. Online volunteers are needed to help transcribe select information from digital images of the historical documents into easily searchable indexes. The completed indexes will be available for free at www.familysearch.org.

What do Art Linkletter, Sir William Samuel Stephenson, and Elvina Fay Wray have in common? They all have ties to one of the three provinces that make up the 1916 Canada Census, and some lucky volunteer may experience the thrill of transcribing their information for the free online index.

1.     Arthur Gordon Kelly (Art Linkletter) will be found as a four-year-old child at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He was abandoned as an infant and then adopted and raised by a preacher. He hosted House Party and People Are Funny both on radio and later on newfangled television, and he is best remembered for his interviews with children on the television show Kids Say the Darndest Things. His adoptive parents were Fulton John Linkletter and Mary Metzler.

2.     Sir William Samuel Stephenson was a Canadian soldier, airman, businessman, inventor, spymaster, and a British intelligence specialist during World War II. Stephenson is best known by his wartime intelligence codename of Intrepid and is considered by some to be one of the real-life inspirations for James Bond. He was born William Samuel Clouston Stanger, January 23, 1897, in the Point Douglas area of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

3.     Elvina Fay Wray was born September 15, 1907, on a ranch near Alberta to Elvina Marguerite Jones and Joseph Heber Wray and will most likely show up as a nine-year old-child in the 1916 census. She made her film debut in Gasoline Love (1923), but it was her lead role in The Wedding March (1928) that made her a star. She became a cult figure after her role in King Kong (1933), as the beauty captured by a giant gorilla.

Getting Involved
Interested volunteers can begin helping immediately by registering online at familysearchindexing.org, downloading the free indexing software, and selecting the 1916 Canada Census project. A digital image of a census page will appear. Volunteers simply type in the data highlighted on the computer screen and save it online. It takes about 30 minutes to complete one census page, and volunteers have a week to complete it if need be. Volunteers only need to be able to read, type, and have Internet access to participate.

“The 1916 census was selected first because it is the most recent and smallest of the three censuses targeted in the first phase. It included three of the western provinces (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta) and has about 1.7 million names—so it will not take long to complete,” said Stephen Young, FamilySearch project manager.

There are other hidden benefits to volunteering. Volunteers become familiar with historical documents, the valuable stories they can conceal, and their usefulness and application to genealogical research.

Indexers do not need to worry about their skill level at reading censuses. Each census page is transcribed by two different indexers. Any discrepancies between the two entries will be arbitrated by a third indexer. The result is a highly accurate, free index of tremendous value to family history enthusiasts. Young says the more online volunteers that help, the quicker the free census indexes will be available online for all to enjoy and benefit from.

One indexer recently commented, “I am intrigued with how the people come alive for me as I index. I indexed a household . . . containing a family with young children, grandmother, maiden aunt, and a couple of unmarried siblings. They had five servants, and I visualized a well-to-do household; the married son working maybe as a lawyer or doctor, taking care of his extended family. I see both sad and happy stories.”

FamilySearch manages the largest collection of genealogical records worldwide. In 2007 it announced plans to begin digitizing and indexing its collection for broader, online access—starting with popular collections like Canadian censuses. FamilySearch has digitized the 1916 Canada Census and is seeking online volunteers to help create a searchable index for it and other census and non-census Canada projects. The 1861 and 1871 censuses will be next.

Libraries and Archives Canada (LAC) owns and is providing the digital images for the Canada census projects.

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18 November 2008 by Libbi.

Several news sources (see below) are reporting this morning a family dating back 4,600 years, found by archaeologists in Germany, were killed in a struggle. DNA shows that the family, huddled together, are a mother, father and two children, with some aunts and cousins nearby.

The BBC story says in part,

The son and daughter were buried in the arms of their parents.

Dr Wolfgang Haak, from The Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, in Adelaide, conducted the DNA analysis. He says the scientific evidence supports the idea that they were indeed a family.

"We're really sure, based on hard biological facts not just supposing or assuming."

Other news sources covering this story:

Using a Variety of Tools, Researchers Unravel Tale of German Graves

End of a loving Flintstones family

Ancient graves yield clues to family relationships

Cold case: world’s oldest family identified

Prehistoric Family Values

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17 November 2008 by Libbi.

Social media takes on the family network with family history / genealogy-based social network, www.Genoom.com. Genoom recently added Chinese language support - the network is now fully accessible in 17 different languages, letting users connect with, and stay in touch with, family across the globe.Barcelona, Spain (PRWEB) November 17, 2008 — Family networking site, www.Genoom.com, makes social networking a truly global affair with support for 17 languages, including the latest addition of traditional and simplified Chinese. The social network caters to families interested in staying in touch with relatives near and far, sharing family trees and genealogical research, and more in a private and secure online environment.

Genoom.com is a free family networking tool connecting family members from around the world. Members can add family trees, personal information, photos, videos, and related documents about ancestors and living relatives alike, limiting access to uploaded information through invitations and custom group privacy settings. Genoom even offers a Facebook application, allowing users to access their family tree and communicate with family, all while logged into their Facebook account.

“We’re excited to be expanding our reach even further into the international market,” says Genoom CEO David Diaz Daré. “By adding Chinese language support to the Genoom network, we’re able to connect a large population to family members both locally and globally, unlike other family networking sites. Our goal is to make Genoom as internationally accessible as possible, to connect even distant family in ways previously not available due to geography and language barriers.”

With many users able to access the social network in their native language, Genoom allows users to stay in touch with family all over the world. It’s an ideal medium for families to connect, ask distant relatives about family histories, and more in a fast manner and safe environment. Members have the ability to upload a variety of information to their family tree, including:

Photos - Whether they’re interested in sharing photos of a new baby in the family or hard-to-find photos of ancestors, the Genoom social network makes it easy to share memories with relatives without the costs of photo copying and the delay of shipping pictures.

Videos - First steps, graduation ceremonies, and more can easily be shared with family unable to actually be there by uploading videos to a family network on Genoom.

Documents - For those hard core genealogists or simple ancestry buffs, Genoom makes it possible to share documents either needed or discovered during family history research. Users can share census records, vital records, ship manifests, or other documents that allow family members to better understand and track the lives of their ancestors.

Members of the Genoom network control who is able to view their family tree. They can invite family members via email to build their free family network securely. Genoom offers even greater protection for photos, videos, and documents. Users can create “groups,” or subsets of their full family network - when creating photo albums or uploading individual documents or videos, users can then choose which groups have access, and which don’t (for example, vital records can be shared with a very limited group rather than both full sides of the user’s family tree / network).

Basic membership to the Genoom social network is free, with the ability to add a family tree (including importing GEDCOM files), upload photos, videos, and documents, and send messages to members within the user’s family network.

About Genoom

Genoom is a social networking platform designed to build private family networks. Launched in July 2007, the site already features support for users in 17 languages and includes a growing collection of over 3.5 million profiles. From centralizing current family connections to discovering and sharing ancestral information, Genoom offers users a secure, private, and interactive family networking environment on the Web.

For more information about the Genoom, please visit www.Genoom.com.

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14 November 2008 by Libbi.

The LOUISIANA CREOLE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION’S FOURTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE - Saturday November 15 with a Jazz Brunch on Sunday November 16, 2008. The theme of this year’s Conference is entitled:

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13 November 2008 by Libbi.

Ancestry Graphics & Printing provides specialized solutions for frugal Christmas shoppers who are favoring gifts from the heart for family members this holiday season. More genealogy buffs than ever are capitalizing on their years of research to provide family members with the most precious gifts of all. Genealogy is this country’s second most popular and fastest growing hobby. Ancestry Graphics & Printing serves genealogy customers nationwide and can be found at www.ancestryprinting.com. Their web site also features many free downloads of genealogy forms, family tree clip art, and screensaver images.

Winfield, IL (PRWEB) November 11, 2008 — Christmas shoppers who have been feeling the pinch of higher energy costs this past year and the fear of continued economic uncertainty are not only scaling back on holiday expenditures this season, but are also turning towards gifts from the heart that are more meaningful and personal in nature. An increasing number of the tens of millions of home-grown genealogists who count themselves among the ranks of this country’s second most popular hobby will be printing family tree charts as gifts for family members again this holiday season. According to Ancestry Graphics & Printing (http://www.ancestryprinting.com) what makes this Christmas season different is the extreme popularity of genealogy charts as holiday gifts.

Past economic cycles reveal that during strained economic times there has always been a trend towards family values, homemade Christmas gifts, and gifts from the heart. For many genealogy buffs, this holiday season presents itself as the perfect opportunity to break from the never-ending cycle of genealogy research and turn the value of their years of research into meaningful gifts for family members. In many families, a printed genealogy chart that shows their family heritage will be a popular gift to parents, grandparents, grown children, brothers & sisters, and aunts & uncles.

The problem many genealogists will face again this year will be getting their family tree data out of their software and onto a large family tree chart in an attractive manner. Ancestry Graphics & Printing says their service will bring cheer to genealogy buffs in search of a solution to this growing problem. “Genealogy software such as Family Tree Maker and online ancestry databases have empowered genealogy buffs to build larger family trees than ever before” said Larry Spiegel, the company’s founder. In most instances, these large family trees are well past the point of printing on standard letter-size paper and taping together. To solve this problem, many people will try and enlist the help of a commercial printer who is capable of doing large format printing without a large price tag.

Generally speaking, Spiegel said that if your family tree chart measures over about 8 feet wide, you probably won’t be able to get it printed at your local printer or self-serve print shop. And, with some applications, the limit may be as small as 4 feet. Printing a wide genealogy chart correctly requires that the genealogy software program be installed on the printer’s PC. Because of growing concerns over third-party software and viruses, it is extremely rare that a commercial printer will even run the risk of installing someone else’s software on their system.

Ancestry Graphics & Printing specializes in printing virtually any size family tree directly from all of the most popular genealogy software programs. Using their printing service, Spiegel said “individuals are assured that their genealogy chart will be printed exactly as they were designed.” By printing directly from the genealogy data within the software program, individuals eliminate the technical problems and limitations associated with outputting their family tree data to a postscript or PDF file prior to printing.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Larry Spiegel

Ancestry Graphics & Printing

630-653-8400

sales @ ancestryprinting.com

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12 November 2008 by Libbi.

Seven new indexing projects were released during the past two weeks:

·        Argentina 1869 Census – Buenos Aires (Part 2)

·        Argentina 1869 Census – Cordoba y San Luis

·        Massachusetts Death Records

·        Massachusetts Marriage Records

·        New Hampshire Birth Records

·        UK – Cheshire – Church Records

·        UK– Cheshire – Land Tax

To help with these or any other indexing projects, go to www.familysearch.org (and click Index Records) or www.familysearchindexing.org.

(Note: Percentages below may refer to a specific portion of a larger project.)

Argentina Censo 1869 - Buenos Aires (Part 2)         Spanish           8%

Argentina Censo 1869 - Cordoba y San Luis            Spanish           8%

Brandenburg Kirchenbücher                                      German           13%

California - 1920 US Federal Census                        English            77%

España Lugo Registros Parroquiales                         Spanish           8%

Florida 1945 Census                                                   English            66%

France, Coutances, Paroisses de la Manche              French             7%

Guanajuato Censo de Mexico de 1930                      Spanish           78%

Guerrero - Censo de Mexico de 1930                        Spanish           46%

Illinois - 1920 US Federal Census                             English            25%

Massachusetts - 1920 US Federal Census                 English            32%

Massachusetts Death Records 1906-1915                 English            21%

Massachusetts Marriage Records 1906-1915            English            4%

New Hampshire - Early to 1900 Births                     English            7%

Nicaragua, Managua Civil Records                           Spanish           8%

Trento Italy Baptism Records                                    Italian              30%

UK - Cheshire - Church Records                               English            10%

UK - Cheshire - Land Tax                                          English            2%

Venezuela Mérida Registros Parroquiales                Spanish           0.4%

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11 November 2008 by Libbi.

The nom de plume of Pat Richley, author of DearMYRTLE’s Joy of Genealogy (2006), The Everything Online Genealogy Book (2000), instructor at DearMYRTLE’s Salt Lake Study Group, hostess of DearMYRTLE’s Family History Hour genealogy podcasts, author of Teach Genealogy Blog, and coordinator for UGG The Union of Genealogy Groups in Second Life, DearMYRTLE will speak this weekend at the Mesa, Arizona Family History Expo.
View Speaking Schedule

The Keynote speaker is Don R. Anderson, Senior Vice President of services for FamilySearch. Anderson has the  responsibility for the FamilySearch Family History Library as well as FamilySearch worldwide support. He has traveled to more than 27 countries on five continents to ensure that services are available to those around the world searching for their ancestors.

Beau Sharbrough, vice president of content at the history website, Footnote.com, will also speak. This popular writer and lecturer on technical topics in genealogy is a former president of GENTECH, the founder of the FGS and GENTECH websites, and formerly worked on tree products at Ancestry.com. He lives in Orem UT.

For details, check out this site:

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10 November 2008 by Libbi.

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7 November 2008 by Libbi.

New York City-based 2AFRIKA, INC. announced  a new addition to its Safari Portfolio - an 11-DAY PRESIDENTIAL HERITAGE SAFARI - introducing president-elect Barack H. Obama’s Ancestral Heritage.

The 11-DAY PRESIDENTIAL HERITAGE SAFARI will depart dailyfrom the United States, bound for Nairobi, Mt. Kenya Forest, Lake Nakuru National Park, and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve for a fully inclusive Game Safari before heading northwest to the city of Kisumu, located on the shores of Lake Victoria and a mere stone’s throw away from the birthplace of Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. in 1936.

An additional two nights are spent in Kisumu, during which
time travelers will visit the village of Kogelo, the final resting place of Obama Sr. (and still today the home of Barack Obama’s extended family), drive to the shore of Lake Victoria, visit the Kisumu Museum and the city, as well as visit a Luo ethnic group village to learn firsthand more of the cultural heritage of the United States’ first African-American President.

11-DAY PRESIDENTIAL HERITAGE SAFARI

– Air-Inclusive from the United States
– Visits: Mt. Kenya Forest, Lake Nakuru National Park,
Maasai Mara National Park, Kisumu, Lake Victoria and Kogelo
– 7 Safari Activities (including National Park entrance
fees)
– 21 Meals
– Highlight visits to Kogelo, a predominantly Luo ethnic
group area, to learn firsthand more of the ancestry of the
44th President of the United States of America

For further information, contact:

Kenneth R. Hieber
kenneth@2afrika.com
(212) 385-9770
http://www.2afrika.com

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6 November 2008 by Libbi.

The next two months will give you lots of opportunities to gather many generations of your family together: Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Hannukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.

Plan NOW to ask your oldest relatives for some oral history. You can’t do it all in one day, but you can get some information.

Get yourself an MP3 player that records, or a hand-held cassette recorder, or a microphone, laptop and recording program, whatever you can lay your hands on and start planning now what you need to ask.

Some suggestions:

1. Of course the vital statistics. Birth, marriage. Parents’ birth and marriage. Siblings’ birth and marriage Dates, places, anything notable (Born on father’s birthday? Born December 7, 1941? Married overseas?)

2. Ask a starter question and see where it goes such as: What was school like? When did you know your spouse was “the one”? Who was your favorite sports figure/movie star/national hero growing up?  Ask just one, and let the answer help you with the followup.

3. Where were you when…..and name an historic event in that person’s life: The end of WWI. D-Day. Kennedy Assisnation. Nixon’s resignation. Or if remembered, what did their fathers, grandfathers, etc say about historical events such as the 1929 Stock Market Crash or Teddy  Roosevelt’s election.

4. The traditional Thanksgiving Day question: When did our family come to America?

Remember to limit the conversation to about an hour at a time, especially for the very elderly. Give time and space for the answers to emerge, and don’t press too hard.  And be aware that some of these memories will be sad; my mother choked up whenever she remembered her brother Vernon, killed in the Battle of the Bulge when she was a teenager.

 Record and backup (and transcribe!) the results as soon as you can after the interview, while your memory is fresh, and in case some of the recording is hard to hear. You could burn the sound file and a pdf of the transcription along with any pictures you take or have of the interviewee onto a CDROM for future reference.

And while you’re at it, answer some of those questions yourself, and record those answers!

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