Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Can You Find Earl Brenkman's Family?

Ray and Sandy Midgett went for a walk on a beach on North Carolina's Outer Banks shortly after a storm. They found a green "Wildroot Cream Oil" bottle in the sand, apparently uncovered by the storm. Inside, they found a message written on June 29, 1951, by Earl G. Brenkman. He wrote that he was aboard the USS Chipola, a Navy tanker.

The Midgetts wish to return the note to Brenkman's family as it contains a personal message. One problem: they don't know where to find the family. Can you help?

2007 National Institute On Genealogical Research

The following announcement was written by the National Institute on Genealogical Research:

The National Institute on Genealogical Research (N.I.G.R.), on 15-21 July 2007at the National Archives in Washington D.C. and College Park, Maryland, is an intensive program offering on-site examination of federal records. Designed for experienced researchers, it is not an introduction to genealogy.

Eastman Descendants Wanted for DNA Study

Like the Marines, I am looking for a few good men. However, my requirements are stricter than those of the Marine Corps. I only want men named Eastman.

My purpose is twofold. First, I'd like to start an Eastman DNA study. While a high percentage of Americans of that name are descended from Roger Eastman, who arrived in Salisbury, Massachusetts in 1638, there are also plenty of exceptions. In fact, there have been many other immigrants of the name from a number of different countries after 1850. Many more Eastman males arrived in eastern Canada and now have descendants all over North America. A DNA study should, for the first time, identify these different groups accurately and determine whether or not there are any relationships amongst them.

(+) In Search of the Smallest PC Available

I travel quite a bit, both for business and for pleasure. Under the term "pleasure," I include genealogy-related trips. I spend considerable time going to genealogy libraries, archives, town halls, and cemeteries. Like many people today, I am also "connected." That is, I use e-mail, the web, and other online resources frequently. As a result, I own a laptop computer and use it a lot when traveling.

The various advertisements make it sound so easy to travel with a laptop. After all, it only weighs six pounds or perhaps a bit less. That should be easy to take along and use daily, right?

Wrong!

Subscription Options for this Newsletter

This article was published about a year ago. However, several URLs have since been changed. I am republishing the article now with updated information.

You can read this newsletter via several different methods:

The Internet vs. Printed Books: Both Sides are Winning

Many small publishers of genealogy books as well as other publications have been moaning and groaning about "competition from the Internet." This hand wringing has been aggravated still further by Google's recent project to scan millions of older books and to make them available online. However, Jonathan Enfield says it is a bit too early to publish the obituaries of the publishing industry just yet.

iFamily for Tiger, a Macintosh Genealogy Program

iFamily for Tiger is a genealogy program for the Macintosh. I don't yet have a copy so I cannot describe it in detail but the program sure sounds interesting. Here is a copy-and-paste from the program's web site:

What's Your Tartan?

If you have Scottish ancestry, do you know the tartan worn by your clan?

Well, first of all, there are no official rules. According to the Court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms:

"There are no strict rules on who has the right to wear a particular tartan... Wearing a particular clan tartan indicates that the wearer bears an allegiance to the chief of that clan...  There is no official register of tartan. Records of designs are maintained by the Scottish Tartans Authority, Fraser House, 25 Commissioner Street, Crieff, Perthshire, PH7 3A Y. The Lord Lyon has no jurisdiction over tartan..."

An Irish Family Reunion or Was It?

"Oh from far and wide ye young and old shall gather together for the Greifelds' Grand Family Reunion. From the Big Apple to the Emerald Isle, journey back to discover our distant Irish past in a land of leprechauns and folklore." 

So read an invitation that Nasdaq chief Bob Greifeld sent to 20 of his closest family members. They were to return to Ireland and spend a week celebrating both their Irish heritage and Mr. Greifelds' recent promotion to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (NASDAQ).

Announcing GenClass: Online Genealogy Classes

A new service offering online genealogy classes is now available. The following announcement was written by GenClass:

People around the world are catching the genealogy bug, but many just don't know where or how to start. Are you one of them?

The experienced GENCLASS instructors want to help you, step by step, learn what records are available, how to access available resources and search the Internet.

Steve Morse's Gold Form for Ellis Island Ships Passenger Lists

I have mentioned Dr. Stephen Morse a number of times in past newsletters. He creates indexes to online databases that make searching those databases much easier and more accurate than the indexes on the original web site. He has created improved indexes to databases housed on the Ellis Island, Castle Garden, Ancestry.com, and other web sites. Now he has added a new Ellis Island search form (called the gold form) that is capable of searching through the entire 25 million passengers in the Ellis Island Database for ships' passenger lists. The new gold form can also search on every transcribed field.

Spinsters and Windows

Residents in my town and quite a few surrounding towns receive a printed Action Unlimited newspaper each week. This "freebie" publication arrives in the mail and is full of ads for local chimney cleaning services, lost and found, small shops, and what not. It also carries news and notes about upcoming events sponsored by various organizations in the area. I suspect there are similar publications in most towns.

EOGN Newsletter Editor Pam Cerutti noted a unique typo error in an event listed at the Weston (Massachusetts) Public Library in this week's Action Unlimited newspaper:

Santa Clause & Elf’s, Chris Kringle, Jack Frost, and Rudolph Render Found in U.S. Census Records; Ebenezer Scrooge Among Missing

The following rather cute press release was written by Mattatuck Consulting. Note the reference to www.1930census.com:

Trumbull, CT – December 4, 2006 – Mattatuck Consulting, a marketing consulting firm with specialty emphasis in the field of genealogy and family history, today announced the addition of several new entries to their collection of celebrity census profiles; including Santa Clause, Chris Kringle, Jack Frost, Rudolph Render, and Frosty Snowman.  The Celebrity Census is one of several features on the popular 1930census.com Web site published by Mattatuck.

New Features Added to Map My Family Tree Software

The following announcement was written by Progeny Software:

Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, December 1, 2006 - Progeny Software has announced even more enhancements to its newest software product - Map My Family Tree™.

"After launching Map My Family Tree in August we carefully listened to our customers’ suggestions on how to improve our product," explains Pierre Cloutier, Progeny's Chief Technology Officer. "As a result we’ve added many new features to help users better pinpoint their ancestors’ home towns, trace family migrations and see satellite images and aerial photographs of ancestral homelands. Map My Family Tree is still easy to use but now with these new features it’s even better!”

Call for Papers--NGS Conference in Kansas City 2008

The following announcement was written by the U.S. National Genealogical Society:

Missouri has long been known as "The Show Me State," with residents often saying, "I'm from Missouri--you'll have to show me." This unofficial state motto will have special meaning for the nation's genealogists as they gather in Kansas City from 14-17 May 2008 for "Show Me the Way to Our Nation's Records," the annual NGS Conference in the States.

Ten Years Ago this Week: The Master Genealogist Version 2.3

The following article was published in Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter ten years ago this week:

Wholly Genes Software has released version 2.3 of The Master Genealogist for Windows. Anyone using version 2.0 or later can obtain the update online at no charge. It is available on CompuServe's Genealogy Vendors' Support Forum (GO GENSUP) in the Wholly Genes Library. It is also available on their Web site at http://www.WhollyGenes.com. Anyone using version 2.0 will need two files: TMGW23A.ZIP and TMGW23B.ZIP. Anyone using version 2.2 will only need one file: TMGW2223.ZIP.

Ancestry.com Expands Its Scotland Census Collection

The following announcement was written by Ancestry.com:

PROVO, Utah, Dec. 1  -- Ancestry.com, the world's largest online family history resource, today announced that it has augmented its Scotland Census collection with the addition of the complete 1851 and 1861 Scotland Census records, making a total of nearly nine million names from this Victorian period available and fully searchable online.  The collection, which also includes census data from the 1841 enumeration, is a pivotal source of information for almost 5 million Americans who can trace their ancestry to Scotland, enabling them to gain a better understanding of their Scottish history and heritage.  Scotland is listed among America's top 15 ancestral nationalities.