Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Family Atlas Genealogy Mapping and Publishing Software

A new mapping program aimed at genealogists was announced today. I saw a late beta version of this program in operation a few weeks ago and was impressed by it. I hope to write a review of Family Atlas soon.

Here is today's announcement:

Digital Genealogist Goes Live

A new genealogy "e-magazine" is available. Digital Genealogist is now online.

As announced last July by Liz Kelley Kerstens:

"Ancestry has discontinued its magazine Genealogical Computing, effective with the July/August/September 2006 issue that is currently in the mail. As editor of GC for the past nearly seven years, I still believe there's a need for a magazine devoted to genealogy and technology. To that end, I am starting my own magazine later this year. It will be called Digital Genealogist and will be delivered to subscribers as a PDF. It will be similar in format and content to Genealogical Computing. In fact, a lot of the authors and columnists will continue to write for me in the new publication, including Drew Smith, popular Cybrarian columnist. The first issue of Digital Genealogist will be sent out via PDF attachment to subscribers in November 2006"

ProQuest Sells Business Solutions Division for $500 Million

ProQuest is well known in genealogy circles as the parent company of HeritageQuest Online, the company that provides online images of U.S. census records, Revolutionary War Pension Applications, Freedman's Bank records, PERSI, and more than 20,000 local and family history books. The company also has had recent financial troubles. Chief Financial Officer Kevin Gregory resigned abruptly, and the company has now restated its 1999-2004 financial results.

In a brief article in this newsletter on April 30, 2006, I quoted ProQuest's Chief Executive Officer Alan Aldworth: "Given ProQuest's current financial circumstances, we believe the sale of Business Solutions may be in the best interests of the company." That has now happened.

GenealogyBank Adds More Newspapers

GenealogyBank was only announced a couple of weeks ago. You can read my earlier article about GenealogyBank if you click here. Now the service has added a lot more newspapers to its online database. Newspapers that have been added this month include:

BCG Recognizes Retired Trustees

The following announcement was written by the Board for Certification of Genealogists:

Connie Lenzen, President of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, announced the retirement of three respected trustees, effective on October 15th.

Harry Houdini Died on Halloween

It may seem appropriate that the world's greatest escape artist and illusionist, Harry Houdini, died on the day when many people try to portray themselves as something other than what they really are.

Another Method of Finding Your Ancestors

Perhaps it is the time of year. Halloween seems to make us think about "out of the ordinary" research possibilities. Here's one I thought you might enjoy.

The Welch House Inn is located at 56 McKown Street in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The Inn reportedly is haunted. When current owners Susan Hodder and Michael Feldmann purchased the inn four years ago, they were told that a benevolent spirit lodged there. "I was skeptical," said Hodder. And then the mysterious occurrences began.

(+) Finding Cemeteries With Your Computer - Part 2

In part #1 of this series of articles, I described how to search a free, online database of cemetery locations and then how to display that information on an online map. I also described how to obtain driving directions to the cemeteries of interest.

In Part #2 of the article, I will tell how to simplify the driving process by having an electronic assistant that gives you turn-by-turn driving instructions.

Witches in Your Family Tree

This is the time of year for ghosts, goblins, and other such superstitions. However, perhaps it is also a time to pause and reflect on the horrors of those who suffered in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The witches of Salem and nearby towns probably have hundreds of thousands of present-day descendants (including the editor of this newsletter, who descends from Rebecca Nurse). If you have ancestry from early Essex County, Massachusetts, you have an excellent chance of finding a connection to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.

Update: Encyclopedia of Genealogy

The following articles have recently been added or updated by the readers of the Encyclopedia of Genealogy: