Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

eogn.com Chat Room Updated

I spent some time this week working on this newsletter's genealogy chat room. The newly  installed software from ParaChat offers many new functions not available in the previous chat room software. The new features include:

John Carlin Named to Bioscience Authority

The name John Carlin is well-known in genealogy circles. He is the former Archivist of the United States, having served in that position from 1995 to 2005. He was mentioned frequently in past editions of this newsletter. He is also well-known in Kansas as a former governor of the state, serving from 1979 to 1987. His many friends and acquaintances will be interested to learn that he has now been appointed to a Kansas state agency designed to bring more bioscience companies and cutting-edge technology breakthroughs to Kansas.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius announced Friday that she has appointed Carlin to the Kansas Bioscience Authority, which was created in 2004 to create jobs and advance the frontiers of medicine, agriculture, and other industries in the state.

(+) Send Large Files

Sending large files to other people, such as photographs, GEDCOM files, word processing documents, PowerPoint slides, video from your digital camera, or other large amounts of information can be problematic. To be sure, there are many ways of accomplishing the task, but none of them are very convenient:

Genealogy and a Possible Guinness World Record

The town of West Union in Doddridge County, West Virginia, is 125 years old in July 2006. Now, why is that important to anyone who doesn't have Doddridge County roots?

The organizers of the celebration hope to be listed in the Guinness World Records. The plan is to be listed as having created a new world's record for the "Largest Family Tree Chart."

Irish Historical Maps Unveiled

Ordnance Survey Ireland, the national mapping authority of Ireland, has created a computer database of over 40,000 maps that were used for establishing a taxation system for land valuation for Ireland. The first complete series was surveyed and mapped by 1842 and the last map published by 1847. Over 2,100 men were employed for the duration of this mammoth task of creating the 1700 maps of the series. All of this happened before the Famine in Ireland (1846-1850) and mass emigration of Irish people to North America. Millions of Irish descendants may be able to use this new online resource to find a pictorial representation of where their ancestors lived.

WorldVitalRecords.com Adds 77 Million Geocoded Records

The following is an announcement from WorldVitalRecords.com:

July 4, 2006 ( Provo, UT ) -- WorldVitalRecords.com added the first databases to its genealogy site today, providing users with access to 77 million geocoded records, including the Death Master File (DMF), commonly known in the genealogy industry as the SSDI.

VA Adds Maps to Online Gravesite Locator

The following is an announcement from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA):

WASHINGTON – The grave locations of more than three million veterans and dependents buried in national cemeteries can be found more easily now because the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has added maps of burial sections online that can be printed from home computers and at national cemetery kiosks. The latest improvement builds upon a service begun two years ago, in which a VA online feature permits family members to find the cemetery in which their loved one is buried.

Genealogists Discover Royal Roots for All

Actress Brooke Shields has a pretty impressive pedigree - hanging from her family tree are Catherine de Medici and Lucrezia Borgia, Charlemagne and El Cid, conquistador Hernando Cortes, five popes, a whole mess of early New England settlers, William the Conqueror, and King Harold, who was vanquished by William at the Battle of Hastings.

What is special about Brooke's ancestry? Well, nothing - at least genealogically. You probably have somewhat similar ancestry.

(+) How to Create Podcasts - Part #3

On June 18, I published an article entitled How to Create Podcasts that describes the basics of the subject, including the hardware, software, and specialized web server required. That article assumed that one person would be speaking into one microphone to digitally record audio that would later be posted as a podcast. That article is still available to Plus Edition subscribers at http://eogn.com/plusedition/blogplus/index.php/2006/06/18/how-to-create-podcasts/

Searching for Your Revolutionary War Ancestor

As Americans celebrate Independence Day this week, perhaps now is the time to focus on finding more information about your ancestors who took part in the war that brought independence to this great nation. Luckily, there are numerous online resources to help you get started.

Podcast: 2006 FGS Conference in Boston

Podcast: A talk with Michael Leclerc, co-chair of the 2006 Federation of Genealogical Societies' annual conference. In this audio interview, Michael lists some of the events and "happenings" of this year's event to be held in Boston, Massachusetts. He also tells why this conference is expected to be the largest genealogy event ever held in North America.

You can listen to this 29-minute interview using any modern computer that has either speakers or headphones attached. To listen to the interview, click on the link below. To download and save on your hard drive, right-click on the link below.

FGS-Michael Leclerc

Free Access to The Origins Network for 24 Hours on the 4th July

The following is an announcement from The Origins Network:

The Origins Network (www.originsnetwork.com) is offering free access to both British and Irish Origins on the 4th July to celebrate US Independence Day. Free access will begin at 00.00GMT and will run until 08.00GMT on the 5th July 2006. In order to access, simply go to www.originsnetwork.com and click on the link to sign up or login.