Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

CIG Completes Acquisition of ProQuest Information and Learning

ProQuest is a well-known name in genealogy circles. The company's Information and Learning division has produced HeritageQuest Online for some years. This is the online database of U.S. census records, Revolutionary War pension applications, Freedmans' Bank records, PERSI, and more than 20,000 family and local history books online with every word searchable. The parent company recently sold the ProQuest Information and Learning division to CIG (Cambridge Information Group). You can read about that at http://tinyurl.com/yo8veq and even more background information may be found at http://tinyurl.com/ymkh7y.

CIG's purchase of ProQuest Information and Learning has closed. Due to restrictions of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period, no real work on the transition could begin until closing. PQIL and CSA are now beginning their merger and will be known as ProQuest CSA during the transition period. To customers, it should be "business as usual." The transition period should be invisible to them. All the present online databases should continue to be available.

The Generations Network and Kirtas Technologies to Digitize More Than 75 Million Historical Family Records

I wrote about Kirtas Technologies in a Plus Edition article a year or so ago. The company produces book scanners: place a book in the machine, press a button and walk away. The device will scan every page in the book, using a robotic arm to flip the pages of the book as needed. Now the company is announcing the sale of two of the company's APT BookScan 2400 book scanners to The Generations Network (better known as Ancestry.com).

The devices will capture close to 5,000 pages per hour. The Generations Network says the company will use the devices to capture immigration records and city directories that date back to the 1820s.

Saving Money at Conferences: Paper or Plastic?

WARNING: This article contains some of my personal opinions.

As I am packing for the trip home after the annual St. George (Utah) Genealogy and Family Heritage Jamboree, I am reminded of one thing: the syllabus is published on a CD-ROM disk instead of on paper. What a great idea!

I am told that the annual BYU Technology Conference does the same thing: publish the syllabus on a plastic CD-ROM disk instead of on paper. To my knowledge, these are the only two large genealogy conferences to do so. All the others I know of still publish on paper, a costly, labor-intensive, and bulky process.

Day #2 of the St. George Genealogy and Family Heritage Jamboree

The second and final day of the St. George Genealogy and Family Heritage Jamboree continued as smoothly as the first. I think the Saturday crowd was bigger than Friday's. Of course, that is no surprise. More people have time off on a Saturday than on a weekday. (I always wondered why so many genealogy events are held on weekdays when fewer people can attend.) I never heard the final attendance number, but it looked like 800 to maybe 1,000 people.

Again, a long list of presentations was delivered. You can find the full list at http://www.myancestorsfound.com/JamboreeSG/classes.htm.

Day #1 of the St. George Genealogy and Family Heritage Jamboree

I must say that I had fun today. I am in sunny St. George, Utah, attending the annual St. George Genealogy and Family Heritage Jamboree.The organizers apparently arranged for excellent sunshine. The Jamboree opened this morning with a keynote address by Barbara Renick to a room full of hundreds of genealogists. That was followed by lectures all day long, as many as 10 simultaneous presentations to choose from.

I spent most of the day in the Exhibitors' Hall, dividing my time between talking with visitors to the Footnote, Inc., booth and walking around the hall, talking with exhibitors to see “what's new.” I found a number of new genealogy products and services.

Drouin Collection to go Online

Big news! Almost everyone who has ever researched French-Canadian ancestry has used the Drouin Collection. This extensive collection of records is one of the best research tools available for those of us with ancestors from Quebec and from Acadia. I have spent many, many hours looking for my ancestors in the Drouin Collection. Now this valuable resource will soon be available on Ancestry.com.

The Family History Circle reports the following:

BCG Adds to Skillbuilding Section of its Website

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

The Board for Certification of Genealogists® has added to the Skillbuilding section of its website (http://www.bcgcertification.org/skillbuilders/worksamples.html) an example of a narrative lineage with embedded proof summaries. This example, written by BCG President Connie Lenzen, CG, illustrates how an applicant for CG might address Requirement 7, the Kinship-Determination Project.

Iceland's Entire Family Tree is Online

Everyone in Iceland is related. Every member of the 300,000 population derives from the same family tree, according to genealogy website islendingabok.is.

The islendingabok.is web site hosts the online registry Íslendingabók (“The Book of Icelanders”). In it one can find information about the families of about 720,000 individuals who were born in Iceland at some point in time. Anyone who is registered in the database has free access to it.

$2 Million Grant Will Digitize Brittle Books

The Associated Press is reporting that many of the Library of Congress' most fragile books will soon be digitized, thanks to a $2 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The new project will digitize American history volumes, U.S. genealogy and regimental histories that hold personal collections from the Civil War period, and six collections of rare books including the Benjamin Franklin Collection.

Announcing Family Roots Radio

A new genealogy "radio program" is available but with one difference: you listen to this one on your computer, not with a radio. It is available worldwide with not static or other "radio noises." You can listen to genealogy experts Kory L. Meyerink, Illya D'Addezio, and others as they present information of interest to genealogists.

The following announcement was written by Family Roots Radio:

ProGenealogists, Inc. and Genealogy Today announced the launch "Family Roots Radio," a weekly hour-long radio show will begin airing each Thursday at 1pm Pacific (4pm Eastern) beginning February 8, 2007.

1841 U.K. Census now complete on findmypast.com

The following announcement was written by findmypast.com:

findmypast.com is delighted to announce that you can now search the complete 1841 Census for all of England, Wales and the Islands on our website.

As with all our online censuses, we have transcribed more fields than any other online census, offering you the widest range of search options thus increasing your chances of finding those elusive ancestors.

Southside Virginia Genealogies

Genealogical Publishing Company recently released a new CD-ROM disk: Southside Virginia Genealogies by John W. Pritchett. The disk contains a compilation of several hundred family histories, most of which are documented back to the colonial period in Southside Virginia. This week I had a chance to use the new disk for a while.

A Few Thoughts About Windows Vista

I purchased a new computer this week and specified that it should have Windows Vista Home Premium pre-installed at the factory. I was able to take the computer out of the box, boot up, and start using Vista within a few minutes. I had read quite a bit about Vista's improvements and wanted to try them out for myself. Now that I have about eight hours' use under my belt, I am ready to share my impressions.

Update: BYU's Annual 2007 Computerized Genealogy Conference

In the January 3, 2007, newsletter I wrote about the upcoming Computerized Genealogy Conference to be held on March 16 and 17 at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Now the organizers have published the final schedule of presentations, and it looks like this will be a great conference.

Topics included running genealogy software, working with databases, e-mailing for genealogy purposes, and finding useful tools on the Internet. Speakers include: Alan Mann, Anne Roach, Barry J. Ewell, Bill Mangum, C. Lynn Anderson, Claire V. Brisson-Banks, D. Merrill White, Donald & Diane Snow, Gary B. Pack, Geoffrey D. Rasmussen, Geri O'Farrell, Howard C. Bybee, Jack Simpson, Jim Greene, Kip Sperry, Kory L. Meyerink, Kyle J. Betit, Loretta Evans, Lorinda L. Mann, Matt Misbach, Maureen S. Bryson, Natalie Cottrill, Richard N. Given, Rick Crume, Rick Laxman, Steve W. Anderson, Suzanne Russo Adams, and some guy named Dick Eastman.

Parking at the Family History Library

Our "on the scene reporter," Mike St. Clair, was kind enough to send a report about increased prices for anyone parking near the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Mike writes:

Effective today, February 1st, the best parking option (especially for those who have trouble walking any distance) has had a significant change.  For many years I've been parking in the Plaza Hotel parking structure right next to the library.  Until recently they have charged only $3 for those visiting the library.  So along with the closeness, the in and out privileges, and the fact that it is covered parking, it was perfect.  Starting today, they have gone to an hourly parking fee.  Now, if you are parking all day it will cost $8.  I know the big city folks are saying that's still a bargain, but it's a 100% increase over yesterday.

Wholly Genes Announces 3rd Annual Genealogy Conference and Cruise

The following announcement was written by Wholly Genes, Inc.:

Announcing the 3rd Annual Genealogy Conference and Cruise. The largest family history conference on the seas.

Wholly Genes, Inc., of Columbia, Maryland, is proud to announce the 2007 Genealogy Conference and Cruise, October 28-November 4, 2007.  This annual event attracts more than 400 family researchers who learn about research methods, tools, and techniques from some of the foremost experts in those fields.

This year’s conference will be held on the elegant Caribbean Princess as it cruises the Eastern Caribbean.  Between educational lectures, the group will enjoy relaxing vacations at the tropical ports of St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Princess Cays, Bahamas.

Suitable Attire for the Genealogist

Getting dressed for a trip to the local courthouse, library, or archives? How about getting dressed for an airline trip? You will want to have several high-tech devices with you, right?

Let's see. There is the laptop, the PDA, the digital camera (for taking high-resolution pictures of documents) and perhaps even a pocket scanner. If you are a photography buff, you may want to take lenses, a tripod, a remote flash, and other doodads. Don't forget the cell phone; you never know when you might need to make or receive a call. You may also want to add a "low tech" item or two, such as a water bottle. For an airline trip, you might want to carry a magazine or a good book for reading. An iPod music player with earphones helps make the trip shorter as you listen to music.

Of course, you can stuff all this into a briefcase or book bag, but what about when you are "in the stacks?" Carrying a briefcase with you every moment is awkward, to say the least. Of course, if you leave the briefcase with all the high-tech goodies back in the reading room, you will have some security concerns. More than one laptop has "walked out" of a library without the owner's permission!

Cheer up! There is a solution for you.

LostCousins Expands to the U.S.

The following announcement was written by the LostCousins web site operators:

LostCousins - a new approach to US genealogy

Who better to help you research your family tree than someone who shares the same ancestors?

The LostCousins website has a unique system that identifies living relatives who share the same ancestors automatically, confidentially, and with close to 100% accuracy.

Recognising that everyone has their own approach to research, and that the very flexibility of the GEDCOM format means that no two files are alike, LostCousins spotted the potential of census data as a way of simply and accurately linking together people who share the same ancestors.

NYG&B's Response to Mr. Heffernan’s Letter

A few days ago, I published a request from Thomas F. Heffernan addressed to members of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society. You can read the article here. William P. Johns, President & CEO of the Society, has written a response to Mr. Heffernan’s request: