Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

(+) A New, Free Web Authoring System

For several years Microsoft FrontPage and MacroMedia's DreamWeaver have been the two most popular tools for creating Web pages. These two powerhouse programs allow almost anyone, novices as well as professional Web designers, to build nice-looking Web pages in a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) environment. If you can use a word processor, you probably can create Web pages with either FrontPage or DreamWeaver. Yet both products have powerful tools that will also appeal to the advanced user.

The Bottom Line

Attending a recent family get-together in Scotland, Dave Gray seized the chance for genealogical research, asking the assembled elders about his great-grand-father, Robert Slater, a former provost of Kirkwall.

"Ah, yes," said a senior clan member. "I mind him fine. They used to call him Head First."

Dave naturally inquired about the origins of this soubriquet, to be told: "It was the way he signed his name – R Slater."

APG Records Membership Milestone

The following is an announcement from the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG):

Michael Schield of Highlands Ranch, Colorado has been searching for his family roots for over 20 years. But on one sunny day in Austin, Texas this fall he discovered he had a new "family." He found the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG).

"Warm Up Your Research" in Phoenix, Arizona

If you are looking for a mid-winter getaway to a warm and sunny location, the U.S. National Genealogical Society may have the answer. A three-day genealogy conference will be held in downtown Phoenix on January 20 through 22. The event includes three in-depth workshops plus 54 presentations by many of the leading genealogy lecturers of today.

The Dinner after the Conference

Readers of this newsletter traditionally gather for dinner on Saturday evening after the close of a genealogy conference. This year's FGS conference in Austin was no exception: 27 adventurous genealogists set out Saturday evening on a march from the convention center to Manuel's Mexican Restaurant. The boisterous group then consumed an amazing quantity of nachos, enchiladas, chile rellenos and various liquid refreshments. We did try to elevate the noise level in the restaurant as well, although I think we failed. It was already a noisy place before we walked in!

ProQuest Releases Ancestry Library Edition and NewspaperDirect

This was mentioned some time ago in this newsletter. However, ProQuest released the official announcement today:

One Vendor Out of his Element

I have written many times about companies that sell copies of "your family's coat of arms." Anyone who has been doing genealogy for a while knows that there is no such thing. In England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as most of Europe, coats of arms are not issued to families. They are only issued to individuals. At any given time, only one person is authorized to display a particular coat of arms, and then only if he (or sometimes she) possesses written authorization to do so from the heralds in the issuing country. Anyone else who uses a coat of arms is guilty of some form of impersonation.

I was very surprised to see a vendor at the Federation of Genealogical Societies selling "your family's coat of arms."

FGS 2004 in Austin, Day #4

Saturday was the fourth and final day of the annual conference of the U.S. Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) in Austin, Texas. The activities of the day were about the same as the previous days: presentations and seminars were held, sponsored lunches were held, and the Exhibitors' Hall remained busy much of the time. I also wandered around the Exhibitors' Hall a bit more than on previous days and found a number of new products that I had not seen before.

Individual Software Partners with Pearl Street Software

Pearl Street Software produces Family Tree Legends genealogy software. The company has now announced a new partnership that should result in boxed sets of the program appearing in computer stores everywhere.

The following announcement was written by Pearl Street Software:

FGS 2004 in Austin, Day #3

The annual conference of the U.S. Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) continued today on Austin, Texas. The day seemed to me a bit quieter than the first two days as attendees settled down into a routine. Presentations were made, luncheons were held and the Exhibitors’ Hall continued in operation. I had a chance to wander around a bit more today than on previous days. Some of the pictures that I took today can be found at http://eogn.typepad.com/photos/fgs2004day3/. Click on any of the thumbnail-sized images to see the full size picture.

I did find a few new items of interest:

Jewish Genealogical Ruling sets Heritage-tracing Precedent

In a precedent-setting ruling that could pave the way for legions of lost Jews to return to the Jewish fold, a top New York rabbinical court has accepted baptismal certificates, civil-war records and government documents as proof that someone is Jewish under Jewish law.

The full story by Bill Gladstone is available at http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2004/09/09/news/world/sgenealogy0910.txt.

They Spelled the Name Wrong

Ness City is a small town in Ness County, Kansas. It has a population of about 3,500 people. The town also contains the Ness County Hospital and the Ness City Elementary School. All were named after a local Civil War hero of the same name. Only one thing is wrong: officials recently discovered that they have been spelling the name wrong!

FGS 2004 in Austin, Day #2

The second day of a Federation of Genealogical Societies conference is much like the first day of other conferences. The opening session is held, the keynote speech is made, the exhibitors’ hall opens and the presentations given cover a wide variety of genealogy research topics. Today was the second day and the convention hall was busy as more than a thousand genealogists (by my estimate) were in attendance. This year’s FGS conference is co-hosted by the Texas State Genealogical Society and the Austin Genealogical Society and their members were in obvious positions, helping guide attendees to lecture halls, handling registrations and much, much more. You can see some of the pictures that I took today at http://eogn.typepad.com/photos/fgs2004day2. Click on any thumbnail-sized picture to view the full-sized image.

Free Online Genealogy Information Access for Ohio Residents

Notice the reference to "Resources from business and finance, to health and medicine, from science and technology to genealogy" near the end of the following announcement. I am not an Ohio resident so I cannot check this out. I would love to hear from any Ohio residents who have tried this. I will publish your impressions of the genealogy services available in a future newsletter.

Newsletter FAQs

When I started the new Daily Edition of this newsletter in May, much of the information in the old FAQ (Frequently-Asked Questions) section became obsolete. I have been updating this section and have posted the new information at http://www.eogn.com/faq.

FGS 2004 In Austin, Day #1

The annual conference of the (U.S.) Federation of Genealogical Societies got underway today under sunny skies in Austin, Texas. The Austin Convention Center is an excellent facility. It is newly renovated and actually much bigger than what this group needs. It is located in downtown Austin, within a block or two of several hotels and restaurants.

Book Review: Adventures of Purse and Person – Virginia, 1607-1624/5

This week I had a chance to scan through a massive book entitled, Adventures of Purse and Person - Virginia, 1607-1624/5, Volume One, Families A-F. This is obviously a detailed reference. After all, it requires 1,248-pages just to cover the first six letters of the alphabet!

New look to NewEnglandAncestors.org

The New England Historic Genealogical Society has launched a major overhaul of its Web site. Quoting from an article by Michael J. Leclerc in the society's e-newsletter:

NEHGS recently launched the newest incarnation of NewEnglandAncestors.org — an attractive, easily navigated site incorporating the many valuable online features on which members have come to rely, and more. The site has grown dramatically over the past three years. It now offers more than ninety million names in over two thousand databases. In the same period, the volume of research articles and other information has almost doubled, with just under three thousand pages available.

You can read the full article on the NEHGS Web site if you click here.

Utah Researcher hopes to build Global DNA Database

The Salt Lake Tribune newspaper has an interesting article about the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation's efforts to build to collect DNA samples from around the globe. The foundation has amassed 42,000 DNA samples to date.

You can read the entire article on the Salt Lake Tribune's Web site.

Genealogist to appear on PBS' History Detectives

Tune in to your local PBS station on September 12 to catch David Lambert on the popular show History Detectives. Lambert is a research genealogist and librarian at the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS).

In chasing down the answers to his latest mystery, Dr. Tufuku Zuberi of History Detectives sought Lambert's advice in establishing the identity of a man listed by the name of Paul Cuffee on an original Falmouth, Massachusetts muster roll. Was this the famous African-American businessman and whaling captain? Or, was it someone else? Tune into History Detectives on September 12 to find out. (Check your local listings for times). The episode is expected to re-air later in the season. Visit http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives for more information.