Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Turn Genealogy into a Business

Today's Wall Street Journal has an article about the work done by professional genealogists. Searching for Life's Connection With the Past Aided by Online Records, More Hobbyists Turn Genealogy Into a Business by Riva Richmond describes the paths that several genealogists took to become professionals.

Laura Prescott is mentioned a number of times in the article, described as "a college history major who worked in banking and marketing, is turning her love of a good puzzle, a gripping story and an era gone by into a full-time profession. Last year, she joined the growing ranks of self-employed professional genealogists who make a living tracing and chronicling the lives of ordinary families.

Irish Privacy Bill Could Block Family Tree Research

Genealogists have written to Michael McDowell, the Irish justice minister, to complain that his proposed privacy bill could put them out of business. They say if the bill is passed they could be denied access to public registers, such as the records of births, marriages and deaths, an essential resource for biographers, social historians and genealogists.

Roots Television is Online

The August 24 edition of this newsletter announced that Roots Television would appear soon. Soon is now: Roots Television is now available. However, this isn't a traditional television channel.

Espresso Book Machine

The Espresso Book Machine is a device about the size of an office photocopier, and it could easily fit into a local Borders bookstore, a Barnes & Noble bookstore, or at the local public library. Heck, someone could even install one at the local 7-11 store. You could walk up to the machine, insert a few dollars or a credit card, and then tell the device to print a book for you. It will print any book, as long as the book is available in a database. The Espresso Book Machine could print a genealogy book, or a novel, or the sheet music for Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 - Movement 2, or 17 recipes for shrimp gumbo, or a repair manual for your 1971 Ford Pinto.

Who Was Colonel Griffith J. Griffith?

OK, here is your history trivia question of the day: who was Colonel Griffith Jenkins Griffith?

I can tell you that this man with identical first and last names was once an impoverished 14-year-old Welsh immigrant who made good in his adopted country. When he arrived in New York City, he had no money, no family, and no education. Years later, as a multi-millionaire when a dollar was still worth a dollar, he donated 3,015 acres of prime real estate to the City of Los Angeles. He also spent several years in jail and probably was one of the wealthiest inmates of the time, if not THE wealthiest. His prison sentence was for attempted murder of his wife. Colonel Griffith J. Griffith believed that she was in league with the Pope to poison him and steal his money.

Oh yes, there is no record of his ever being promoted to the rank of colonel, even though he always used the title.

Follow-up: The Death of Ryan Taylor

A sad story in this newsletter on September 29 reported the death of Ryan Taylor, a long-time professional genealogist and recently an employee of the Genealogy Department of the Allen County Pubic Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. At that time, the body had been "tentatively" identified as being that of 56-year-old Ryan Taylor. A coroner's report has now confirmed the identification and also has shed a little bit of light on the cause of death.

World Vital Records Launches Genealogy Subscription

World Vital Records has produced several press releases in recent weeks. Click here to see them. The previous announcements have publicized several new subscription-based services but have never mentioned the fees. Newsletter readers have speculated about the fee structure in messages that are attached to those previous articles. World Vital Records solved the mystery today with the latest press release:

Major Changes Announced for Downtown Salt Lake City

In an announcement made just hours ago, several planning and development groups have unveiled a $1.5 billion+ investment in a ten-block area of downtown Salt Lake City. New buildings will be built, new neighborhoods will be created, arts and entertainment facilities will be added, and public transportation, pedestrian walkways, and bicycle access will all be greatly improved. Even City Creek will be brought back above ground.

City planners expect to expand the already large number of top-notch hotels, restaurants, convention facilities, sport venues, public spaces (such as parks, plazas, and monuments) and other amenities to create a fun and lively downtown. The intent is to establish a calm, natural environment in the midst of the city. This will create great opportunities to establish new and unique places for people to meet, socialize, shop, work, learn, and live.

Of course, the world-famous Family History Library is in the midst of this area. The changes may not directly affect the world-famous genealogy library, but there will be huge changes for those who visit. In short, this is going to change the whole "Salt Lake City experience" for hundreds of thousands of visiting genealogists.

(+) The Easy Way to Create Logos for Your Web Site

NOTE: This is not a genealogy-related article. However, if you maintain a web site, genealogy-related or not, you may be interested in the information presented here.

I own and operate a number of web sites, including http://eogn.com for this newsletter. I realize that having graphics, especially a site logo, adds appeal to the site, encouraging visitors to return time and again. Creating such a logo is a problem for graphics-challenged individuals, such as myself.

Until recently, I had a choice of two methods of creating logos: (1.) do it myself, resulting in something that is rather crude looking, or (2.) hire someone to create the logo and other graphics for me. Now, thanks to computer software, I have a third choice.

Changes Planned for the LDS Church's FamilySearch.org

An article in the Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City describes many changes beginning next year for the very popular FamilySearch.org web site. A complete overhaul of the church's site should allow those who have no experience researching family history to be able to "do something meaningful without having to learn anything prior," according to Steve W. Anderson, online marketing manager for the church's Family History department.

New online tools will allow novices to log on and - with a few mouse clicks - pull up their family tree, with details about ancestors, of any faith or none, that are part of the database. "You'll be able to attach images or photos to it, or something like a timeline of events. It will have all kind of things to make it a much richer resource."