Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Joplin Library prevails in lawsuit brought by genealogy society

Local and family history materials will continue to be available to the public at the Joplin Public Library, library director Carolyn Trout said Monday. The library recently won a judgment in a lawsuit filed by the Joplin Genealogical Society. The society wanted to operate the library's local history room independently and retain control of its materials. The society also sought $50,000 in damages.

BYU Genealogy and Family History Conference

Theme:  Building A Lasting Legacy
Dates: July 26-29, 2005
Genealogy and Family History Conference 

Heredity and Health: Tracking Family History

Newsweek International's May 16 issue has an interesting article written by Howard Lewine, M.D. Quoting from the article:

Kentucky workshop to teach gravestone preservation

Owners of private cemeteries will have the opportunity to learn gravestone preservation techniques at a special workshop at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at teh Winchester, KY City Hall.

The workshop, sponsored by the Kentucky Historical Society, is part of Preservation Month and will feature two specialists who will teach procedures for cleaning, maintenance and repair of cemetery markers. The workshop also will brief owners on different grant possibilities available for cemetery preservation.

Genealogy Database Assists High Blood Pressure Diagnosis

Canadian and U.S. researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin have announced important new information on the genetics of hypertension, offering hope for improved diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure, a condition that affects millions of North Americans. 

Newly-formed Clinton, Mississippi Genealogical and Historical Society

Clinton, Mississippi has a brand-new genealogy society. The Clinton Genealogical and Historical Society now meets on the third Tuesday of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Clinton Community Nature Center at 617 Dunton Road in Clinton.

The Gripe Line WebLog writes about MyFamily.com/Ancestry.com

Ed Foster writes a column called "The Gripe Line WebLog" that is published on the prestigious InfoWorld web site. As you might surmise from the column's title, Foster finds lots to complain about. His latest column takes aim at the business practices of the largest commercial genealogy web site: MyFamily.com, the owner of Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com and FamilyTreeMaker.com.

Foster writes:

The Origins Network announces partnership with Burke's Peerage and Gentry

The following is an announcement from Origins.net:

The books Burke's Peerage & Baronetage and Burke's Landed Gentry have, for 175 years, recorded the genealogies of the UK and Ireland's titled and landed families.

Often referred to as 'the aristocracy bible,' Burke's is without comparison the genealogical reference to the county's influential figures and families. Visitors to Burke's can also search over 4,000 coats of arms and keep up to date with family history articles by accessing the ATAVUS e-magazine available to all subscribers.

Update: Genealogy of Jesus Christ found at National Library

In the April 29 newsletter, I briefly wrote about a mysterious 17th century manuscript called The Genealogy of Jesus Christ that was recently discovered in Llandovery College in Wales. It seems everyone who's heard of Dan Brown's phenomenally successful novel, The Da Vinci Code, has been clamoring for more details about this latest discovery.

Parkersburg, WV City Clerk gives Microfilm Records to Library

Historians and genealogists researching West Virginia ancestry have another tool available at the Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library. City Clerk Connie Shaffer presented library Director Brian Raitz Tuesday with microfilm records of the city council minutes dating back to 1851, as well as ordinance books from throughout Parkersburg's history. "It's another valuable resource for local history and research," Raitz said.

Index to LA County Burial Permits 1870-1892 Online

The Southern California Genealogical Society has recently added searchable databases to its redesigned website. The data is free and available to all.

Ireland's National Library is going Independent

The National Library of Ireland will soon become an independent body after operating as a government department since being established by the Dublin Science and Art Museum Act of 1877. The Irish Times April 23 reported that Irish Minister of Arts John O’Donoghue named senior counsel Gerry Danaher as the independent library’s first chairman.

New Genealogical Society Blog

Blogs, or "web logs," are appearing everywhere these days. Blogs are great at distributing frequently updated information to a wide audience. Blogs can be read in a standard web browser, or even more easily in a specialized newsreader designed just for the purpose. Newspapers, weather forecasts, stock market information and this newsletter are all available as blogs. Now Colleen Robledo has created a new blog that should be of interest to many genealogists.

Everton Publishers adds new Databases

I have written often in recent months about Everton Publishers. (Click here to see my earlier articles about Everton Publishers.) It is great to see the company turning around and once again becoming a top-notch resource for genealogists.

The following announcement was written by Everton Publishers:

Movie Star Genealogies to Link to Motion Picture Libraries

I discovered the following press release today but am not sure that I understand it. I'll publish it here "as is." Millisecond Publishing Company wrote the following:

Kamuela, HI - May 2, 2005 -- Millisecond Publishing Company, Inc. is currently pitching software licensing deals to both Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) and Sony's motion picture division, Sony Picture Entertainment (SPE) and others in Hollywood. The deal being offered SPE is to supply studios with proprietary computer code as a source of genealogy "metadata" to fuel future digital marketing strategies such as Sony Pictures recently announced film library digitization project.

Report From London: SoG's Family History Fair

Dateline: London - This has been a great weekend for me. On Friday I jumped on a British Airlines jumbo jet in Boston and flew to London. On Saturday, I attended the Society of Genealogists' annual Family History Fair. I have been to the Fair before and have always enjoyed it. This year was no exception. I am writing this report in the hotel room and hope to post it online before I head home on Sunday. It has, indeed, been a full weekend.

BBC adds RSS

I have written many times about Really Simple Syndication (RSSS), an emerging web protocol that makes reading frequently-changing information even easier than using a web browser. This newsletter has been available in RSS for nearly a year in addition to being available as a normal HTML web site. You can read some of my previous articles that describe the advantages of RSS at http://www.google.com/search?q=rss&btnG=%C2%BB&domains=eogn.typepad.com&sitesearch=eogn.typepad.com

Mainstream news media have discovered the advantages of RSS and are quickly adding it to their services. They find that their readers appreciate the advantages. The New York Times has been available via RSS for some time, as have many smaller publications, weather reports, stock market reports, sports news, private web sites and, yes, independent genealogy newsletters. Now another of the media giants has announced that it soon will distribute all of its content via RSS.