Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

(+) Calculating Birth Dates from Death Date Information

What day was that ancestor born? It seems like such a simple question, and yet finding the answer can be surprisingly complex, even when you have the numbers in front of you. Exact dates are often found in death certificates and frequently on tombstones. The problem is that these are often written as death dates followed by the person's age at death.

Here is a common example:

Here lies the body of John Smith,
Died August 3, 1904,
Aged 79 years, 9 months, 29 days

How do you tell John Smith's date of birth? You obviously need to subtract 79 years and 9 months and 29 days from the date of death. Simple, right? Well, not as simple as it first appears.

Texas Gives County Clerks Reprieve on Privacy Law

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott this morning issued a letter that allows county clerks statewide to release public documents with private information on them, such as Social Security numbers.

Abbott earlier had issued an opinion on a law passed in 2005 that directed clerks to black out Social Security numbers before releasing copies of documents to the public. Abbott said that, indeed, Social Security numbers are private and warned that clerks who did not redact private information could face jail time and a fine.

Dunne Sounds Caution on New Zealand Marriage Legislation

The following is a press release issued by the United Future NZ (Political) Party:

Thursday, 1 March 2007

Dunne Sounds Caution On New Births, Deaths And Marriages Legislation

United Future leader Peter Dunne is sounding a caution about new legislation on the registration of births, deaths and marriages.

The legislation, which is having its first reading in Parliament, introduces more controls over access to births, deaths and marriages records to prevent the fraudulent misuse of such information.

Mr Dunne says that while United Future supports the intent of the legislation, and will be voting for it to go to a select committee, it is concerned that it could have an adverse impact on legitimate genealogical and historical research.

Comments about the NARA Proposal to Increase Fees

WARNING: This article contains personal opinions.

I've been thinking a bit about the article posted here yesterday about the National Archives and Records Administration's proposal to increase fees. To be sure, I reacted negatively to the news at first. So did many other people who posted comments to the end of the article on the newsletter's web site.

The more I think about it, I wonder if perhaps the personnel at the National Archives have the right idea. In fact, maybe all of us should follow their example.

Here are a few thoughts:

ProQuest CSA Obituaries: A Happy Ending

I love happy endings. ProQuest CSA recently sent this story about a user's success with the company's online obituaries database. Obviously, this story is a bit self-serving for ProQuest CSA, but there is another moral here, too: don't look in the same places where everyone else looks. When stumped, get creative and trying looking in places you had not thought of earlier.

The following is an unsolicited letter received by ProQuest CSA from Carol Anderson, Adult Services Librarian from the Leesburg (Florida) Public Library, about a record she helped one of her patrons find:

Rev. Al Sharpton Wants a DNA Test

This is a follow-up to the Slavery Links Sharpton and Thurmond Families article that I published on February 25. See http://tinyurl.com/2uameq for the original story. Now Reverend Sharpton says he wants a DNA test to determine whether he is related to former segregationist Senator Strom Thurmond through his great-grandfather, a slave owned by an ancestor of the late senator.

"I can't find out anything more shocking than I've already learned," Sharpton told the Daily News, which on Sunday reported the link based on genealogists' findings.

NARA Proposes Major Fee Increases for Photocopies

Warning to all U.S. genealogists! Two rules published in the Federal Register on Monday, February 26, 2007, relate to fees for reproductions of records at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). On page 8327 is a proposed rule revising fees for reproductions to cover NARA's costs for providing copies.  On page 8279 is an interim final rule removing from the fee schedule fees for the reproduction of records of other Federal agencies stored in NARA records centers.

The proposals are written in the finest governmental "legalese" language. However, it is obvious that the proposal is to INCREASE all fees. No surprise there, right? The item that leaps off the page of this proposal, however, is the plan to increase the price of providing copies of Civil War pension applications:  a whopping 338% increase!

The proposals are written in the finest governmental "legalese" language. However, it is obvious that the proposal is to INCREASE all fees. No surprise there, right?

Here is the list:

Problems with Google Book Searches from Outside the U.S.

Google Book Search is a fantastic tool for genealogists. Thousands of genealogy and local history books are available on Google Books. In many cases, you can download entire books free of charge. The books are stored as PDF files on your computer's hard drive, where you can view them time and time again. You can also print entire books or short excerpts on your own printer.

I am delighted with Google Books as I have found and downloaded several books that mention my ancestors, including one 999-page book on my family name. Until recently, I was able to purchase reprint copies of that book on paper for $139.00. I now have the same book stored on my hard drive, free of charge.

Burst Pipe Damages Lexington, Kentucky, Public Library Collection

A broken pipe has drenched books and offices at the Lexington, Kentucky, Public Library on East Main Street. Old books, newspapers, and vinyl records in the library's third-floor Kentucky Room, some of them irreplaceable, have been seriously damaged. However, the staff is hopeful about salvage efforts.

"That collection is probably worth as much as the building is," said Greg Davis, the library's marketing director.

Library spokesman Doug Tattershall said it was too early to estimate the damages or restoration costs - or to even tell how many items got wet. The library has insurance, he said.

UK Genealogy Skypecasts Announced

Robert Dalgleish in Scotland has announced that he will be holding a U.K. Genealogy Skypecast on Saturday, the third of March. Anyone and everyone with U.K. ancestry is invited to join in. Conversation will be limited to topics concerning genealogy research in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

Skypecasts are very similar to telephone conference calls with one exception: there is no telephone. A Skypecast is a free conference call service provided by Skype. A moderator sets up the call in advance. In this case, the moderator will be Robert Dalgleish.