Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Henry Samson Family Association

Henry Samson/Sampson was a 16 year old when he accompanied the Edward Tilleys on the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower. He is one of the 26 male passengers known to have living descendants, but he is without a family association to memorialize him. Descendants former Mayflower Society Historian General Caroline L. Kardell and former Governor of the Pennsylvania Society Stacy B. C. Wood, Jr. are hoping to form such an organization. Those interested in joining and helping to organize a Samson association are invited to notify Stacy by e-mail at SWood@SAIL1620.org.

Germans from Russian Heritage Society sponsors essay contest

The Germans from Russian Heritage Society is sponsoring its annual youth essay contest for students. The purpose of this contest is to encourage students to learn about the history of the German-Russian ethnic group. This year's theme is "Germany/Russia/Americas ... Giant Steppes Toward Freedom."

TalkingScot.com

TalkingScot is a rather new web site that has been set up as a meeting place for people with an interest in Scottish genealogy, history, and culture. The site is very informal and includes these features:

Harold Brooks-Baker dies

Harold Brooks-Baker, the publishing director of Burke's Peerage and one of the most frequently quoted commentators on the royal family, a family friend says. A life-long sufferer from the effects of polio contracted as a child in America, he died in London on Saturday after never fully recovering from a fall last autumn.

Latin Words in Genealogy Documents

For most of us, once you get back to the sixteenth and seventeenth century in the family tree, you will encounter Latin in record keeping. This makes deciphering the records very challenging since Latin is rarely taught today. In fact, a few of us of the "older generation" did study Latin in school many years ago, but most of us cannot recall it now.

How Old Is Too Old?

I am always amused when anyone states that they are "too old to learn about computers." Apparently, Helen Burcham Green doesn't pay much attention to that statement either. She entered the computer world a decade ago after writing her first book, an extensive family genealogy that traces ancestors back to the 1400s. She exchanges e-mail with relatives around the world.

New England Regional Genealogical Conference

Four weeks from now, a major genealogy conference will be held in Portland, Maine. If you have an interest in ancestry anywhere in New England, now is the time to make your plans to attend this event. The last New England Regional Genealogical Conference attracted more than 600 attendees from all over the U.S. I don't know the expected attendance at this year's event, but I know the host hotel is already fully booked for the weekend. Luckily, there are plenty of rooms available at other hotels within walking distance.

March 7 UPDATE: The organizers report they now have more than 700 advance registrations. The last event also saw a lot of "walk ins" at the door so we can assume the same will be true this year.

Arsonist Destroys Restaurant, Damages Genealogy Library

KC's Caboose Cafe in Sumner, Washington, was destroyed by fire Tuesday. Twenty-two employees are out of work. The Heritage Quest Research Library located next door also suffered a lot of smoke and water damage, including damage to many genealogy books. The library will be closed for a while until repairs can be made. Sumner police investigators and agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives have determined that the fire was set.

Copies of Texas Declaration of Independence are Valuable

Historic printed copies of the Texas Declaration of Independence, scores of which still could be tucked in attic trunks or folded between the pages of grandma's Bible, are among the hottest items on the rare Texana market. In fact, there may be hundreds or even thousands of copies still in existence.

Man Discovers the Body of the Father He Never Knew

A man tracking down his estranged father came across his corpse instead, according to an inquest in Portsmouth, England. 

NYC Library Putting Images Online

The NYPL Digital Gallery will have 250,000 images available beginning Thursday, and the collection will grow to 500,000 images over the next several months, library officials announced Wednesday. Many of the images are unique to the library, library President Paul LeClerc said.

NGS Seeks an Executive Director

Would you like to earn your living in genealogy? If so, you may be interested in this announcement from the U.S. National Genealogical Society:

1861 UK Census records Now Online

The following is an announcement from 1837online.com:

The oldest census available online is set to fuel the UK's passion for family history research

For the first time ever, the entire 1861 census for England and Wales is being made available online by the family history website www.1837online.com making it the oldest, fully searchable, census on the internet *.

ProQuest Expands Program for 19th British Century Research

ProQuest is best known in the genealogy world as the company that provides HeritageQuest Online. Their online offerings include U.S. census records, more than 20,000 digitized family history and local history books, PERSI, and other major databases of interest to genealogists. I believe that all their genealogy offerings to date have been U.S. sources. However, the genealogy business is just one part of ProQuest's many services.

Today ProQuest announced still more services that will be available soon. Even more interesting, the newly announced offering is for British documents.

Public Documents should not be For Sale

The Secretary of State's office is putting out the warning that the State of Maine law makes it illegal for people to sell local, county and state documents -- such as old maps, minutes of town meetings and copies of municipal ordinances. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap says public documents belong to the public, not private individuals.

Journal of Genetic Genealogy

When Dr. Thomas Roderick wanted to trace the origins of his family name, he turned to the tool he knows best - genetics. Roderick, a retired geneticist at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, is also a genealogy enthusiast who, with several others, is about to launch a new online journal called the Journal of Genetic Genealogy.