Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Everton Collection is Sold

Everton Publishing was a major genealogy producer of genealogy books and a magazine for many years. In recent years the company hit financial difficulties, brought in new partners, and struggled to survive. Eventually, the company closed its doors and donated its extensive library of 82,000 genealogy papers and books to the City of Logan. The collection includes family histories, maps, atlases, and other historical documents. The failing company also donated the publishing rights to the Everton Genealogical Helper magazine and to the Handybook for Genealogists. One problem: the city didn't know what to do with the donations. Now a new deal has been arranged.

Cornish hamlet of Trowan to be Restored

In its heyday, the tiny granite hamlet of Trowan was home to almost 100 people. That was in the 19th century, when the collection of Cornish cottages, perched on the cliffs close to St Ives, housed workers from the nearby Consols mine.

Now, six months after the last resident moved out, Trowan, which is surrounded by a jigsaw-puzzle pattern of fields stretching to the clifftop, is being restored to create a new community of 11 homes.

Full Story

Freedom of Information Requests

Americans made more than 4 million requests to the federal government under the Freedom of Information Act in 2004, a high for a single year, according to a review by the Associated Press. Most of the increase came from the 1.5 million requests to the Social Security Administration, which reported twice as many last year than in 2003. Social Security officials said that most requests were from people seeking genealogical information.

"The Real Family of Jesus"

The following is an announcement from a new television special. I noticed the name of Tony Burroughs, a well-known genealogy teacher, author and lecturer. Tony has been mentioned many, many times in past editions of this newsletter:

Premieres Easter Sunday, March 27, 2005
Discovery Channel 9-11pm EST/PST 8-10pm  CST

Cell Phone Tombstone

Genealogists get to see a lot of tombstones. I thought I had "seen it all." However, here is a picture of one that is new to me. Double-click on the thumbnail-sized image in order to see a larger picture.

I wonder if this person will be calling "from the beyond."

Dr. Robert Bothwell Appointed to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada

The following is an announcement from Parks Canada:

The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment, today announced the appointment of a prominent Canadian - Dr. Robert Bothwell of Toronto, Ontario - to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC).

Tom Stockham leaves MyFamily.com

For the past 3 1/2 years, Tom Stockham has served as president and chief executive officer of MyFamily, the company that owns Ancestry.com, MyFamily.com and several other web sites. The company has now quietly told its employees that Tom has left the company. Apparently the company's Board of Directors accepted his resignation within the past day or two.

"Missing Friends" Irish Database goes Online

The "Missing Friends" column ran in The Boston Pilot, the Roman Catholic newspaper in the city, from 1831 to 1921. Irish immigrants used the ads to locate loved ones after they became separated in their journeys to America. Some were looking for a spouse who skipped town, while others sought to unite families. All of the 31,000 ads shed light on the immigrant experience.

Genealogical conference for Oranmore next week

A major conference on genealogy taking place in Galway, Ireland this month will hear of new research in which genetic links can be traced through surname lineages. The Galway County International Genealogical Conference will take place on Saturday March 19 and Sunday March 20 in the Oranmore Lodge Hotel. The conference will provide a wealth of information for local historians, family historians, genealogists, or anyone trying to trace a family tree.

Living to 100

There is a very interesting life expectancy calculator available to you right now. The Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator determines your life expectancy, based upon your ancestry, diet, exercise, exposure to smoke (both primary and second-hand), and much more. The calculator is based on a poll of many centenarians. It compares your life and health history against those polled. I find this particular calculator to be interesting because it asks a number of questions about your ancestry. Apparently, if your parents and grandparents lived to a ripe old age, you have a better chance of doing the same.

UK Placename Finder

One web site can be very useful when trying to locate small villages, rivers, or any of 160,000 places in the United Kingdom. The UK Placename Finder is part of the suite of free internet-based tools provided by Archaeology UK for the communities of field archaeologists, family historians, and placename researchers.

John Morris' Log Cabin to be Destroyed

The following article was written by Richard Goms and is reproduced here with the permission of the author:

John Morris, the first resident of Portville, NY, was born in 1774 in Newport, RI.  His father, Samuel Joseph Morris, had married in Wales and had come to America as a young man. John used to tell of hiding in a pile of brushwood while Indians on the warpath killed his parents and their other children. He was the only one of the family to escape from the Indians, being saved by white settlers who concealed him in the woods. The terrified child could never forget seeing an Indian warrior gleefully waving a scalp of beautiful red hair that he recognized as his mother's tresses. John was old enough to know his name, and survivors knew the family had come from Newport. In the neighborly fashion of pioneer days, these people took the child in, on a farm near the New York-Pennsylvania line. They fed him and even sent him to the primitive winter school terms, while he worked on the farm nine months of the year. 

GRAMPS for Linux, UNIX and Macintosh OS X

Not everyone is happy with the continued domination of the desktop computer market by Microsoft Windows. Some of us "malcontents" prefer to use either Macintosh or Linux systems for any number of reasons. The reasons for turning one's back on Windows has been discussed time and again in this newsletter as well as thousands of other newsletters, magazines and online discussion forums. I won't repeat it all here. Suffice it to say that, if you are looking at making a switch, there are alternative genealogy programs for the better operating systems.

The Origins of Saint Patrick

Every March 17, millions of people pause to reflect on their Irish heritage. Conceived as a Saint's Day in the Catholic Church, Saint Patrick's Day is now a time of celebration for millions. However, many of us have little knowledge of the man whose name we celebrate.

Introducing GreatMigration.org

The following is an announcement from the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS):

Introducing GreatMigration.org!

The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is pleased to announce the launch of a new website dedicated to the Great Migration Study Project! The website can be accessed at www.GreatMigration.org or through the Great Migration links on www.NewEnglandAncestors.org.

Historian Throws Down Gauntlet on "Clearances Myth"

I offer the following without comment:

The author of a controversial new book that promises to expose the Highland Clearances as a myth last night challenged his critics to a public debate to expose "lazy and emotional versions of Scottish history" that always blamed the landlords.

National Archives Hosts Free Genealogy Technology Fair in DC

The following is an announcement from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration:

WHAT:  The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will host a Genealogy Technology Fair.  Free lectures and demonstrations will highlight ways to use online resources to search National Archives records.  While the Fair will offer information and guidance for seasoned genealogy professionals and novices alike, it is not intended to show researchers how to do their genealogy searches exclusively online.  This event is free and open to the public, and reservations are not required.

Handheld Users "Trading Places" with Earthcomber

I read a lot of press releases, and one that I found today seems intriguing. It talks about marking locations electronically using GPS (Global Positioning System) devices and then sharing a database of marked locations. I got to thinking that this might be a great project for a family association.

6th Annual Bayou Multiple Sclerosis Health Fair

I do not recall ever mentioning a health fair in this newsletter before. However, this one has a different twist: it is a gumbo of genealogy and genetic issues with a Multiple Sclerosis focus. This is especially important in Louisiana, with its Acadian population that has intermarried so many times over the centuries. The Metarie area has a Multiple Sclerosis rate that is much higher than the national average, all because of ancestry.

Genealogy Job Opening in Saskatchewan

If you would like to earn your living in genealogy and you have supervisory experience, here's your chance. The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society (SGS) is seeking a full-time Executive Director. The position is located in Regina and is responsible for the administration of the operations of the Society. The position reports to and is accountable to a Board of Directors.