Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

1841 Census on British Origins Now Complete

The Origins Network has announced that its online 1841 Census is now complete. The final counties are now all available for searching on the 1841 England and Wales Census. This brings the final 1841 data count to 15,791,795 records online.

EOGN Web Site is Now (Almost) Fully Operational Again

It has been two long days. I moved this newsletter's web site to a new hosting service and then spent the next two days fighting with a problem installing and configuring the web site's SSL certificate. That certificate is required to handle credit card payments securely and also is necessary for the subscription management software that grants access to restricted areas of the web site to Plus Edition subscribers. After a few telephone calls to the new hosting service's technical support department, the problem is now resolved.

Amusement Park Encroaching on Graveyard

Funtown in Saco, Maine, is building a water slide right next to an old cemetery in violation of a 25-foot law. The amusement park owner even says that the airspace over the cemetery isn't included in the 25-foot rule. The district attorney says that the law doesn't indicate whose responsibility it is to enforce the law, so it is basically unenforceable. The Maine Old Cemetery Association is working with other interested parties to promote the protection of this and other old cemeteries, which hold so much of our historic records. The cemetery is the final resting place of several veterans of the Civil War, probably some veterans of the Revolution, a person of Native American blood, and early settlers of the town. 

Allen County Public Library is Closed

The second largest genealogy library in the world is closed. However, in a few weeks, the library will re-open in a $64 million building in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The downtown library's genealogy department closed Saturday, and about 100 employees began moving the genealogy department's 750,000-piece collection to the new library on Tuesday. The microfilm machines and microfiche cabinets had already been moved. The remainder of the library's departments will close on January 8 so that workers can begin moving the rest of the materials to the new location.

FGS 2008 Conference Call for Papers

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO February 7, 2007

The FGS 2008 Conference in Philadelphia has extended the deadline for the call for papers.  The new deadline is February 7, 2007.

Graveyard Tourism in India

Tourism authorities in the Himalayan Indian state of Himachal Pradesh are inviting British tourists to visit to the state's many European graveyards is an added 'bonus' on their itinerary.

According to official estimates, there are some 10 main 'European' graveyards in the state, which mainly house the remains of British people who died in India. The London-based British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia (Bacsa), however, estimates the state has a total of 42 such cemeteries. Many of them are open to the public, although new burials no longer take place there.

Curious about your Genealogical Origins?

The Genographic Project can help. Writing in the Arizona Daily Star, Dan Sorenson describes how the Genographic Project can trace your ancestry back tens of thousands of years for a cost of $99.95. To be sure, you will not obtain any ancestor's name or even a birth record, but you will obtain a report showing a high probability of where the ancestors lived.

According to Sorenson:

A Pilgrimage to a Hospital for Black American Ancestry Information

The Ganges brothers, Tendaji, Larry and Kelly, traveled to Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania in August in what history buffs hope was the first of many pilgrimages to an early American quarantine station there. The red-brick lazaretto, as it was called, was built in 1800 as a way to screen ships on the Delaware River for infectious diseases. As such, it gave immigrants their first contact with the new world. In the case of the Ganges family, the lazaretto was the final act of a close call.

(+) A Free Web Authoring System

Would you like to create web pages for your ancestry or perhaps as a project for your local genealogy society? Every society needs a web site to both "get the word out" and also to sell the publications produced by the society. For several years Microsoft FrontPage and MacroMedia's DreamWeaver have been the two most popular tools for creating Web pages. These two powerhouse programs allow almost anyone, novices as well as professional Web designers, to build nice-looking Web pages in a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) environment. If you can use a word processor, you probably can create Web pages with either FrontPage or DreamWeaver. Yet both products have powerful tools that will also appeal to the advanced user.

Buy Books from a Vending Machine?

Soon buying a book should be as easy as buying a pack of gum. After several years in development, the Espresso vending machine from On Demand Books is nearly consumer-ready and will debut in 10 to 25 libraries and bookstores in 2007. The New York Public Library is scheduled to receive its machine in February.

LostCousins.com is Free over the Holidays

From now until January 1, the LostCousins web site is completely free for all registered members. Of course, registration is also free.

A Message from EOGN

                  

Season's Greetings

With very best wishes for you and your family this holiday season.

From Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
Dick Eastman, author
Pam Cerutti, editor

It's Not About the Tree

Burr Morse writes about Americana, history, Vermont, maple syrup and other things that some of the rest of us may miss in our busy lives. The following article was written by and is copyright by Burr Morse and is not to be republished elsewhere without his permission:

Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks
Montpelier, VT
www.morsefarm.com

December 22, 2006

Hello again Maple People,

The words came out soft and under his breath, like we were dealing in something illegal: "I'd just as soon have a four footer--one that fits nicely into a corner and doesn't fight you all the way--keep that under your hat."

"My lips are sealed," I whispered.

Van Wert County, Ohio 1887 Census Book is Now Available

The Van Wert County Genealogical Society recently published the Quadrennial Enumeration of Van Wert County, 1887, as an enumeration of all males in the county over age 21 taken prior to the second Monday of April 1887.

How to Choose CD/DVD Archival Media

Almost all computer users need to preserve data occasionally, and probably the most common method is to write the information onto CD or DVD data disks. For most computer users, preserving data for a year or two is sufficient. In fact, many people are only concerned with preserving data until next year's tax season. However, genealogists, historians, archivists, and a few others  are concerned with much longer preservation. We often think in terms of decades or even centuries.

Patrick McFarland has written an in-depth article that describes CD and DVD recordable media, explaining the various formats and their strengths and weaknesses. He points out that most of today's "record-at-home" CD and DVD disks will only last a few years. However, certain brands are expected to be useable for at least 70 years, and one manufacturer's products may last for up to 100 years.

Unlimited Online Storage for $4.95 a Month

I have written before about Mozy, an online backup service for Windows XP. I use this service daily and love it. When I wrote the earlier article, Mozy was offering up to two gigabytes of backup space free of charge and larger amounts of online storage on a sliding scale of charges. Now Mozy has a new announcement that I find amazing: Mozy's free offering for two gigabytes of storage space remains the same, but the company now offers UNLIMITED backup space for only $4.95 a month.

Mormon Church Removes War Crimes Hunter from IGI

According to an article in the Associated Press, the Mormon Church says it's removed the name of a Nazi war crimes hunter from its genealogical databases. Simon Wiesental's name was removed at the request of the Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization.

Salt Lake City's Inn at Temple Square is Demolished

I have written before about the Inn at Temple Square. It has been the second closest hotel to the famous Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Thousands of genealogists have been guests at this hotel. I stayed in the hotel several times and always liked the place. Sadly, the Inn at Temple Square is no more.

MyFamily.com, Inc. Changes Name to The Generations Network

The parent company of Ancestry.com and several other web sites has been known as MyFamily.com with headquarters in Provo, Utah. Now the company is changing its corporate name although the web site of ancestry.com remains the same name as always. Here is the announcement written by the Generations Network, formerly known as MyFamily.com:

New Home Announced for the Archives of Ontario

The following announcement was written by the Archives of Ontario:

TORONTO, Dec. 18 - The Ontario government is partnering with York University to create a new home for the Archives of Ontario, Minister of Government Services Gerry Phillips announced today.

A new and modern facility for the Archives will be built on the main York University campus, at 4700 Keele Street, in Toronto. Over the next two years the Ontario government, in partnership with York University, will oversee the construction of a new archival facility that will provide better public services and enhance access to the province's history.