Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Today's Newsletter is Sponsored by Ancestry.com

CIMS (Cemetery Information Management System)

I doubt if many genealogists think about cemetery management software but cemetery associations and other cemetery owners certainly do. One of the leading packages is CIMS (Cemetery Information Management System). It is a custom-tailored, computer software application specifically designed for owners and managers of cemeteries.

CIMS integrates all of the cemetery information into one easy-to-use information store. Information might include names of the deceased, owners of the cemetery lots, next of kin, dates of last maintenance, and much more. An optional module also interfaces with QuickBooks to track expenses and even the sales of cemetery plots.

The Daily Princetonian, 1876 through 2002, to be Available Online

The Daily Princetonian, published at Princeton University, is placing its pages online, from its creation in 1876 through 2002. Part of the Larry DuPraz Digital Archives, the new collection will contain a free, searchable online version of every past issue of the "Prince," accessible at http://theprince.princeton.edu.

The project has two aims: to make the issues more readily available as well as to preserve the crumbling originals. According to an article in the June 1st edition of The Daily Princetonian, "For years, the frailty of the hardbound volumes of the ‘Prince’ in the basement of Mudd Library has limited the paper's usefulness as a resource for large research projects. The glue binding the volumes has dissolved, while the paper rips upon turning due to old age and poor quality, a product of economic constraints faced by ‘Prince’ managing boards at the time. Before the creation of the archives, the only way to retrieve past issues of the ‘Prince’ had been to tediously scroll through microfilm."

Status of the Sorenson Molecular Genetic Genealogy DNA Databases and GeneTree

The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation has been a major vendor in genealogy DNA. The company recently announced a new partnership with Ancestry.com. I published the announcement in an earlier newsletter article at http://goo.gl/STMyX. The announcement states, amongst other things, "In March, Ancestry.com DNA, LLC acquired access to an extensive collection of DNA assets from Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, a non-profit organization."

Writing in the On-line Journal of Genetics and Genealogy, Steven Perkins quotes a letter he received from Sorenson that clarifies the plans for databases that have been on Sorenson's service. This will be especially important for any customers of the Sorenson Molecular genetic genealogy DNA Databases. It also states that the GeneTree.com web site "will not be continuing."

Plus Edition Newsletter Has Been Sent

To all Plus Edition subscribers:

The weekly Plus Edition weekly update notification was sent to your e-mail address a few minutes ago. If you have not yet seen it in your in-box, check your spam folder. If it is not there, please contact your e-mail provider to see why it was blocked. This week's entire Plus Edition newsletter is also available at: http://www.eogn.com/wp/thisweek.htm.

Here are the articles in this week's Plus Edition newsletter:

(+) City Directories For Sale Online

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

Looking for a city directory from the 1800s or early 1900s? You may be able to purchase the city directory you wish for modest prices. I have seen reprinted city directories sell for as little as $2.00 while digital copies on CD-ROM frequently sell for about $5.00 or so. Even the original city directories printed in the 1800s sometimes sell for as little as $4.95 although $10 or $15 seems to be a more common price.

Best of all, if you don't see what you want today, you can create an "automated search robot" that will check for you every day. If the robot finds an item that matches the search terms you specify, it will send you an email message to notify you of the latest addition. It will search for you even while you are sleeping, even if your computer is turned off.

What Was Your Ancestor's Property Worth?

Genealogists often find references to money in old deeds and other documents. Even U.S. census records frequently recorded estimates of a person's real estate. The natural question is, "I wonder what that would equal in today's dollars?" There is a Web site that can answer this question.

San Francisco Colma Cemetery Index Online

The following was written by SFgenealogy:

SFgenealogy is excited to announce a new major database available online: San Francisco Colma Cemetery Index at http://www.sfgenealogy.com/php/cemetery/cemeteryindex.php.

The database currently includes over 305,000 burial records for the Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma (1887-2001). In the future, other historic and current cemetery databases will be added to this resource.

DeLorme inReach for Messaging Wherever You Are

This article has nothing to do with genealogy so I published it in my RV (Recreational Vehicle) blog. If you have an interest in portable communications by satellite from any point on earth, take a look at DeLorme inReach for Messaging Wherever You Are at http://goo.gl/CD7ot.

 

War of 1812: Privateers

The United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. For two and a half years, until the Treaty of Ghent on 24th December 1814, the two countries fought several battles. However, not all battles were waged by regular armies and navies. Much of the fighting on both sides was conducted by privateers: private individuals or ships authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. In today's words, we might call them "mercenaries."

Michael Dun noted that much has been published on the American privateers but much less has been written about those who set out from the ports of Great Britain or from Canada. He decided to do something about the disparity by creating a web  site entitled, "War of 1812: Privateers."

(+) Genealogy Record Keeping in the Post-PC World

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

I believe the post-PC world is upon us. That is, PC computers, as we know them, are now slowly disappearing and will become museum pieces within the next ten years.

The term "PC computers" includes Windows and Macintosh desktop and laptop computers. It does not include tablet computers or Apple or Android "smartphones."

The term "post-PC" refers to the computing world after sales of desktop and laptop computers have slowed to a trickle.

Most industry pundits are predicting that both consumers and businesses will slowly replace desktop and laptop computers with cell phones, tablet computers, Google glasses, and other lightweight computing devices that haven't even been invented yet. In many cases, the ever-growing, high-speed wireless networks and cloud computing are allowing tiny, lightweight devices to replace traditional desktop systems. Having a powerful computer of your own is no longer essential; the power can exist either in your own computer or someplace in the cloud. In fact, today's tablet computers possess more computing power and a better display than the typical desktop computer of ten years ago. Who can guess what improvements will occur in the next ten years? How about twenty years?

Wayne County (Michigan) Death Record Index Now Online

The Detroit Public Library's web site now contains an index to original records held at the Burton Historical Collection. These records do not include deaths that occurred within the City of Detroit.  All indexes compiled by Ruth McMahon.

The indexes are broken into four differnt PDF files. You first must click on one of the following:

• 1934-1939
• 1940-1944
• 1945-1949
• 1950-1953

Publication of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom: The Art of One-Name Studies Book

The following announcement was written by the Guild of One-Name Studies:

In April 2012 the Guild of One-Name Studies published "Seven Pillars of Wisdom: The Art of One-Name Studies" as a guide to the running of a one-name study. The book is a collection of helpful advice and information gathered from the Guild Wiki, and was published immediately before the Guild’s 2012 Conference in order to complement its "Seven Pillars" theme. Copies of this book are now available via the Guild website www.one-name.org/sales.html, with payment via PayPal or credit card online, or by cheque through the post.

Fold3 is opening War of 1812 Images for Free During June

The following announcement was written by Fold3:

On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on Great Britain officially launching the War of 1812. In the 200 years since, it has become a forgotten war, perhaps best remembered by school children as when The Star-Spangled Banner was written. Yet, the War of 1812 was strategically important to the future of American diplomacy, a reinforced independence from Great Britain, and the country’s westward expansion.

Several events provoked President James Madison to request action from Congress to enter a war with one of the world’s most powerful nations, less than thirty years after the Revolutionary War ended. Uppermost was the unlawful impressment of American sailors into a British Navy eager to replenish its ranks during the lengthy Napoleonic Wars. Great Britain also restricted America’s right, as a neutral country, to trade with France.

120,000 more Scottish Memorial Transcriptions Added to Deceased Online

The following announcement was written by Deceased Online:

Additional records for approximately 120,000 Scottish burials, mostly in rural burial grounds and cemeteries, are now available on www.deceasedonline.com.

This set of records comprises headstone and memorial photographs and transcriptions from 99 cemeteries and burial grounds from Argyll to the Scottish Borders including Banffshire (Moray), Clackmannanshire, Edinburgh, Fife, The Lothians, Lanarkshire and North Ayrshire.

The oldest records date back to 1526.

Royal Household Staff Records 1660-1924 Now Online

As predicted a few days ago (see http://goo.gl/v89yg), findmypast.co.uk has added the Royal Household Staff Lists, a detailed collection made available online for the first time. The following announcement was written by findmypast.co.uk:

Royal Household Staff Records Go Online for the First Time

Discover who served Britain’s Kings and Queens from King Charles II to King George V, at findmypast.co.uk
‘Chocolate Maker to the Queen’, ‘Keeper of the Lions in the Tower’ and ‘Moletaker’ among some of the most extraordinary roles

Have you ever wondered who works in a Royal Household, or whether you might have a connection to someone who served the Royal Family? In celebration of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, family history website findmypast.co.uk, in association with the Royal Archives, has today launched the Royal Household Staff Lists, a detailed collection made available online for the first time.

It is the First Day of the Month: Back Up Your Files!

It is the first day of the month. It's time to back up your genealogy files. Then test your backups!

Actually, you can make backups at any time. However, it is easier and safer if you have a specific schedule. The first day of the month is easy to remember, so I would suggest you back up your genealogy files at least on the first of every month, if not more often.

Of course, you might want to back up more than your genealogy files. Family photographs, your checkbook register, all sorts of word processing documents, email messages, and much more need to be backed up regularly. Why not do that on the first of each month?

Intelligent Goggles for the Visually Impaired

In the February 22 newsletter, I posted a short article about the proposed Google Glasses (see http://goo.gl/oPD2U) which reportedly will be available later this year. I then posted a short follow-up article in April at http://goo.gl/bYh0l. In comments posted at the end of those articles, several people, myself included, joked about the idea of wearing computer screens in our eyeglasses. Humorous or not, researchers at the Universidad Carlos III (UC3M) in Madrid, Spain, have developed a pair of somewhat similar “intelligent” goggles that make getting around a bit easier for partly-sighted people. This strikes me as an excellent use for the technology.

Seven Year Old Genealogist and Presidential Historian

Joey Taylor has learned a lot in his seven years. In many ways, Joey is a typical first grader. He spends some of his spare time building Legos or watching Wipeout. But unlike many of his peers, Joey has been fascinated with dates of past events, both personal and historic. At the age of four he became enamored with Donald O’Connor’s magnificent performance of “Make ’Em Laugh” in the classic 1952 movie Singin’ in the Rain. After watching it incessantly, Joey went online and checked out Mr. O’Connor’s biography on Wikipedia. Three years later, Joey can still tell you when Mr. O’Connor was born, when he died, how he died, and when the movie was released.

"When Joey was five, he was intrigued with the planets and the solar system,” recalls John, his dad. “Last year after researching the history of skyscrapers around the world, he memorized the dates they were constructed and how tall each one was. After that he created his whole family tree on ancestry.com.”

Update: The First "Chromebox" Desktop Computer is Now Available

This is a follow-up to yesterday's article, The First "Chromebox" Desktop Computer is Now Available, at http://goo.gl/rtVZb:

The "Chromebox" Desktop Computer is now listed in the BestBuy web site in two models: the Samsung Series 3 Desktop with 2 gigabytes of memory and a Celeron processor sells for $329.99 while the Series 3 Desktop with 4 gigabytes of memory and an Intel® Core™ i5 processor sells for $499.99. Both systems have a 16 gigabyte Solid State "disk drive."

Back Home Again

If you have been reading this newsletter for a while, you already know that I have been traveling a lot. In fact, I left home last January 2^nd and have since been living in a motor home most of the time. Occasionally, I leave the motor home locked up in a campground some place and jump on an airplane to fly to more distant destinations for a few days.

In the past five months, I have visited 22 states plus two foreign countries. I also had emergency visits with three dentists, two heart surgeons, and two motor home mechanics. It has been an "interesting" trip!

At 11:30pm last night, I returned home. I plan to remain here for about six weeks. Perhaps things will settle down for a while.

Beth June Rochefort, R.I.P.

Beth June Rochefort of Macomb, Illinois, passed away on April 28, 2012, in Hagerstown, Md. at the age of 86. She was a former director of the Illinois State Genealogical Society, DAR General Macomb Regent twice, DAR State Workshop Chairman and Division I Chaplain, president of the Prairie Colony New England Women, and was McDonough County Genealogical Society president and editor. She also edited the book “Prairie Pioneers of Illinois.”

You can read Beth June Rochefort's obituary at http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/Obituaries/x639965245/Beth-June-Rochefort.

Quick and Cheap DNA Sequencing On the Horizon?

Will we soon see much cheaper DNA tests? Especially for autosomal DNA testing? It is a bit too early to say for sure, but today's news about lower testing prices certainly is encouraging.

When the human genome was first sequenced about a decade ago, the achievement took years and cost $1 billion. Now, scientists and entrepreneurs are predicting that the task will soon take just under 6 hours, with a price tag of just $900. A company called Oxford Nanopore Technologies claims it will accomplish this feat using a device that can plug into your computer’s USB port.

Brightsolid and Yesterday Television Sign Deal for Second Series of Find My Past

UK broadcaster UKTV has announced it has extended its relationship with online publisher brightsolid for a second series of Find My Past, commissioned for the UK’s highest rating history channel, Yesterday.

Find my Past, produced by Lion Television, will cover a broad range of famous historical events. Presented by Chris Hollins, the new series takes some of the best known moments from history and makes ordinary people stars of the show as they discover how their lineage links back to these defining historical occasions.

Warren-Trumbull County (Ohio) Public Library Launches an Online Photo Archive

Historic photographs from the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library's archives will be available for public viewing beginning Thursday through an online photo collection called The Trumbull Memory Project.

The first group of photographs added to the Trumbull Memory Project will be the library's Tornado Memory Project collection, which documents the series of tornadoes that hit northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania on May 31, 1985, leaving behind a path of destruction. The collection of photographs was taken by residents showing the immediate impact and aftermath of the event.

Connecticut Historical Society Unveils New Digital Resources for Historians & Genealogists

The following announcement was written by the Connecticut Historical Society:

Using digitization as a tool for preservation, the Connecticut Historical Society increases its resources by making previously stored documents available.

Hartford, CT - May 30, 2012 -- Stories from the past have been handed down from one generation to another through various means. The most consistent of these have been documented in newspapers and books. Historians face challenges such as the degradation of paper and the fading of words and images. In order to preserve antique books, librarians store books in climate controlled rooms, avoid their exposure to UV rays, and limit how much books are handled. Keeping a book free from dust will also prolong its life. While all of these methods assist in preservation, they also limit the access to the knowledge within these books and, therefore, are not convenient for historians.

The First "Chromebox" Desktop Computer is Now Available

About a year ago I wrote about the Chromebook laptop computers that run Google's cloud-based Chrome operating system instead of Windows or Macintosh or Linux. These low-priced laptop computers have tiny hard drives as they store most all data and applications in the cloud. As long as the user has an Internet connection, these computers can perform nearly all the same functions as their more expensive cousins.

Chromebook computers never get viruses and are very, very simple to use, even for computer novices. In fact, they have been called "laptops for the AARP generation" because of their simplicity of use. They are great for use by anyone who is nearly computer illiterate. Chromebook computers are popular with senior citizens, grammar school children, and anyone else who has never learned the intricacies of computers.

New Genealogy Comedy Television Program: Family Tree

British Director Christopher Guest and Jim Piddock (who co-stars in both Best in Show and A Mighty Wind) are hard at work on a new television effort. It reportedly is an improvised genealogy comedy called Family Tree, and it follows the efforts of one man — in this case, Bridesmaids star Chris O’Dowd — as he attempts to track down his real family.

NBCUniversal International Television is shopping the project to various pay services like HBO, Showtime, and even Netflix.

TheGenealogist.co.uk Announces New Records Released

The following announcement was written by TheGenealogist.co.uk:

TheGenealogist has launched a major release of parish records, directories, poll books, freemen and jubilee records for its subscribers. The site’s user base has swelled dramatically with the launch of the 1911 census and it’s time limited special offer of £50 off an annual Diamond, which is valid until the end of September. Just use the code SUMMERSAVER to get the £50 off.

NEW PARISH RECORDS

Akron, Ohio's Historic Mount Hope Cemetery is Losing Hope

An article by Bob Dyer in the Akron Beacon Journal tells of the decline of one of the oldest cemeteries in Akron. Mt. Hope relies completely on donations, but unfortunately, cemetery trustees aren't receiving enough each year to properly maintain it. About 75 percent of Mount Hope’s 8 acres are now overgrown with grass and weeds.

Donations can be mailed to the cemetery office at 1338 Sweitzer Ave., Akron, OH 44301.

You can read more of this sad story at http://goo.gl/X0hdq.

(+) Password Protect Your Web Site

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

Placing your genealogy information on the Web is an excellent method of making that data available to anyone interested. It also reduces your workload in that you do not have to make copies and mail them (or e-mail them) to each person who is interested. You can simply say, "You can find that information on my Web site at http://www......"

However, not everyone wants all of their data available to everyone. Some genealogists may want to restrict data access to family, friends, or "people they know." While the Web is a great convenience for sharing data, many would like to "lock it up" with an electronic key. That is, access to the information would require a user ID and password. Luckily, this is easy to do.

My Whirlwind Tour of America

I didn't plan it this way, but I seem to be criss-crossing the United States. I spent last weekend in Ohio. I then spent a few days in Massachusetts, followed by a weekend trip to Denver, Colorado. Tonight I am in the suburbs of Orlando, Florida. Unfortunately, this latest stop is not genealogy-related. I am here for a dentist appointment.

I spent much of this past winter in Florida. While here, I broke a tooth but found a local dentist to repair the damage. He is giving me a new implanted tooth. I have had a temporary implant for a while and am now in Florida for what I hope will be my final visit when I get the real implant installed permanently.

My Presentations in Denver

I had a fun holiday weekend in Denver. I had the pleasure of addressing the Colorado Genealogical Society's Computer Interest Group. This very active computer interest group met on Saturday at the Denver Public Library in Denver, Colorado. I was amazed at the turnout on a beautiful spring day on Saturday of a 3-day holiday weekend. I think attendance was about 130 genealogists.

The Colorado Genealogical Society sponsors many seminars throughout the year as well as numerous other activities. If you live in or near Denver, you probably will want to join this society.

Update: Free Anti-Virus Software for Macs

NOTE: This article originally was published only a few weeks ago on May 15, 2012. However, another free Macintosh anti-virus program has now been released and has been added to this article. I am republishing the original article in its entirety and then am inserting additional information about the third program.

Once upon time, such as last year, any time you discussed the subject of computer viruses, the Mac owners would always say, "Macs don't get viruses!" They were mostly correct. To be sure, there were a few esoteric Mac viruses floating around online, but they were so rare that Mac owners never worried about them and apparently never became infected. A lot has changed in the past twelve months.

Mac viruses now are growing. Viruses are still unusual in the Macintosh world and not often encountered by Mac owners. However, the numbers have grown enough to the point that a Mac owner should think about adding anti-virus and anti-malware software to his or her system. While still rare, a few Mac owners I know have encountered malware. Luckily, several companies have produced anti-virus and anti-malware products for the Mac.

Canadian Archivists and Teachers Mourn the Loss of the National Archival Development Program

The following announcement was written by the Canadian Association of University Teachers:

(Ottawa – May 28, 2012) The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) joins today with archivists who have travelled to Ottawa to mourn the loss of the National Archival Development Program (NADP).

“The federal government is undermining the ability of Canadians to know our history and heritage”, said CAUT executive director James Turk. “Eliminating the NADP is yet another attack on research and knowledge in this country.”

brightsolid Online Technology Video

brightsolid, a division of D.C. Thompson, is the company that produces Friends Reunited, Genes Reunited, findmypast.co.uk, findmypast.com.au, findmypast.ie, 1911census.co.uk, 1901censusonline.com, ancestorsonboard.com, ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk, the (online) British Newspaper Archive, and censusrecords.com. The company also has several other Internet businesses not related to genealogy, including cloud hosting. The brightsolid data center in Dundee, Scotland serves about 20 million users. As you might guess, the company has a very large data center with about a hunded racks of servers and has recently added even more capacity. Now a YouTube video provides a peek into all the hardware that users never see, even though they use it often.

Oregon Teens Work to Preserve an Historic Cemetery

Just in time for Memorial Day in the U.S., an article by Lori Tobias in The Oregonian Newspaper describes the work of a group of teens taking care of a historic cemetery next to their school. The article also has a link to the Oregon Commission on Historical Cemeteries. I'd suggest that all teens should read the article at http://goo.gl/q08f7 about contributing to your local community.

My thanks to Dee Passmore for telling me about the article.

Employees Who Worked for Britain's Royal Household to be Documented Online

A brief mention on the BBC web site at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18183157 states that the Royal Archives has also undertaken an online partnership project with website Find My Past to enable the public to trace ancestors who have worked for the royal household. No other details were provided.

 

Queen Victoria's Private Diaries Now Available Online

The complete collection of Queen Victoria's private diaries is being made available to the public online for the first time. The 141 volumes, running to 43,000 pages, provide a picture of her life from the first entry at the age of 13 until 10 days before her death aged 81 in 1901.

Details may be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18183157.

 

findmypast.ie Conducts Poll to Determine World’s Greatest Leaders with Irish Roots

Irish genealogy site findmypast.ie conducted an international poll and asked who are (or were) the world’s greatest leaders with Irish roots? I have one question: Who knew that Che Guevara had Irish ancestry?

The following was written by findmypast.ie:

Obama trails JFK, Reagan but trumps Che Guevara in vote for history’s greatest “Irish” leader: poll

Obama voted world’s third greatest leader with Irish roots, behind JFK, then Reagan: international poll for findmypast.com

Barcode Everyone at Birth?

Science fiction writer Elizabeth Moon argues that everyone should be given a barcode at birth. “If I were empress of the Universe I would insist on every individual having a unique ID permanently attached - a barcode if you will; an implanted chip to provide an easy, fast inexpensive way to identify individuals. It would be imprinted on everyone at birth. Point the scanner at someone and there it is."

There are many obvious advantages to her proposal, from preventing the switching of babies at birth to identifying combatants in war. However, I suspect privacy advocates, such as myself, will object.

Massachusetts Town Reconnaissance Survey Reports Online

If you have ancestors from Massachusetts, you might be interested in the Reconnaissance Survey Town Reports, produced for the Massachusetts Historical Commission's Statewide Reconnaissance Survey between 1979 and 1987.

These reports provide the historical development of each of the Commonwealth’s municipalities. Each report contains an historic overview, a description of topography, and political boundaries. Each report evaluates the town’s existing historic properties inventory, highlights significant historic buildings and settlement patterns, and presents threats to these resources. A bibliography lists key secondary resources.

A Gigabit-per-Second Broadband Project Unveiled

We think of "broadband" as being high speed but, of course, everything is relative. A standard DSL connection to the home might be as slow as 256 kilobits per second although the more common speed is 768 kilobits. (A kilobit is usually written simply with the letter "k" such as 768k.) Cable modems typically run at faster speeds, such as 2 megabits per second up to 5 megabits. FIOS fiber optic cable connections default to 10 megabits per second but, for more money, you can obtain even higher speeds.

Now a new Ohio start-up company, called Gigabit Squared, has raised $200 million to fund a gigabit-per-second broadband project.

(+) 1960 U.S. Census Myths and Facts

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

The U.S. Census is very much in the news these days, and for good reasons. For the first time, the 1940 census was recently released in electronic format only. It reminds me of the controversy about the 1960 U.S. Census.

For years I have heard stories about the 1960 U.S. Census. The stories vary a bit on each telling but usually say something like, “The 1960 U.S. Census was stored on a computer media for which there no longer was any equipment to read it. The census data has been lost because of the change in technology.”

I always doubted that story. I was just starting my career in computers in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and I remember well the tape drives of that era. I spent many hours repairing those half-inch and three-quarter inch tape drives that weighed 800 pounds each! I think I still could disassemble and reassemble a Honeywell 204B-9 half-inch tape drive while blindfolded. That device was a maze of electronics (without integrated circuits), disk brakes, a big vacuum pump, and numerous solenoids. Those are the tape drives shown in the background of the picture above, showing a Honeywell H-200 computer circa 1970. I used to repair and maintain those computers on customer sites.

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

Since I am familiar with both the old and the new technologies involved, I decided to investigate the 1960 census story.

Death by Cholera

The Hartlepool (England) Mail has a grim reminder of the realities our ancestors faced in their daily lives. Reporter Chris Cordner did a bit of research and found that cholera was a common cause of death of some of his ancestors. Indeed, the same is probably true for all of us as cholera was common well into the early twentieth century.

Cholera was a terrible disease. It was an infection of the small intestine. Sufferers would develop symptoms such as abdominal cramps, a dry mouth, dry skin, excessive thirst, glassy or sunken eyes. But the most profuse signs were vomiting and diarrhea. It was caused by the contamination of food and water, usually through poor sanitation.

1940 U.S. Census Community Project Nearly Halfway Complete

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

22 May 2012

The halfway point for indexing the 1940 U.S. census is fast approaching.
 
Congratulations and thank you to all of the volunteers participating in this unprecedented genealogical community effort. Currently more than 20 states are at or above 85 percent complete. Six states—Delaware, Colorado, Kansas, Oregon, Virginia, and New Hampshire—are now indexed and searchable by name, location, and family relations. And thanks to the efforts of more than 100,000 volunteers, more states will be added in the coming weeks. Follow the day-to-day indexing status at the1940census.com dashboard and search completed states at familysearch.org/1940census.

NEHGS Wins Two Top Awards for Lowell Genealogy

The following announcement was written by the New England Historic Genealogical Society:

Scott Steward and Christopher Child Share Top Prizes from NGS and CSG
 
Boston, MA – May 22, 2012 – The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) announced today that one of its latest Newbury Street Press titles, The Descendants of Judge John Lowell of Newburyport, Massachusetts, by Scott C. Steward and Christopher C. Child, has won top honors from both the National Genealogical Society and the Connecticut Society of Genealogists. The awards were handed out at recent ceremonies hosted by each organization.

Joan Ferris Curran, R.I.P.

Friends of Joan Ferris Curran will be saddened to learn that she passed away at home on Saturday, May 19, 2012.

Jo made her home in Kansas City, Missouri since 1952. She became a Certified Genealogist who specialized in the writing and editing of family histories.

With her deep roots in both new and old England, Jo had served periodically since 1979 as a trustee and officer of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and, more recently, the Board of Certification of Genealogists and the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History. She was a member of the Mayflower Society in Kansas, Flagon and Trencher, and the most rigorous of all societies, the Descendants of Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of Kings of Britain (affectionately known as the Royal Bastards). Her various publications attest to far broader ethnic interests, however - ranging from Descendants of Augustin LeClercq (a French émigré in 1790 Ohio) to Jewish family life in Jonas and Betty (Kohn) Wollman and their Descendants. She published 10 genealogy books and pamphlets.

Census Bureau says 2010 Count was Mainly Accurate with a Possible Error of 0.01%

The U.S. Census Bureau says it probably overcounted the total U.S. population in the 2010 census by 0.01% or about 36,000 people, an improvement from the 2000 census, which had an overcount of 0.5%. In contrast, the 1940 census is estimated to have undercounted the total population was as much as 5.4%.

The 2010 census had the same problems it usually has in dealing with minorities, renters and young males. The 2010 count was short by about 1.5 million people, including about 2.1% of African Americans and 1.5% of Latinos.

You can read more in an article by Michael Muskal in the Los Angeles Times at http://goo.gl/T7uye.

(+) Converting Google Books to Text Files that can be Saved or Searched

The following is a Plus Edition article, written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

A newsletter reader wrote and asked, "How can I download books from Google Books and convert them to text that I can search or save on my hard drive?"

The quick answer is, "You cannot do that easily." However, the longer answer is, "It is possible to do that if you have time, money, and computing power." Today I thought I'd describe the steps required.

On the Road Again and Headed Home

For several years, every time I went traveling to a genealogy event, I posted an article here entitled "On the Road Again" to warn readers that I would be a bit busy and not posting as many articles as usual. However, I have done that less recently as I have been traveling continuously for five months. Instead of a title of "On the Road Again," I could have written "I Am Still on the Road." On January 2, I moved into my motor home and drove to Florida. Since then, I have stayed at a number of RV (recreational vehicle) resorts around the state.

I have also frequently locked the doors of the motor home, jumped in the Mini Cooper, and driven to a nearby airport. While supposedly residing in a motor home in Florida, in the past five months I have taken "side trips" to England, Texas, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, New York, and Alberta. Two and a half weeks ago, I left Florida, driving the motor home and towing the Mini Cooper behind, to visit Ohio. I have attended the National Genealogical Society's annual conference held this year in Cincinnati and, a week later, the national ham radio conference, called the Hamvention, held in Dayton.

After five months of continuous travel, I am now headed home. Once again, for the next few days the number of articles posted here may be a bit less than normal.