Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

This Newsletter Named as One of the 101 Best Genealogy Sites

I was delighted to learn that Family Tree Magazine has named this newsletter's web site as one of the "101 Best Genealogy Sites." The award states, "This one, updated almost daily by the knowledgeable Dick Eastman, is a good place to start. It’s packed with genealogy news and product reviews, and you can jump from here to the reader-created Encyclopedia of Genealogy."

You can read more about the award and the 100 other sites at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/101sites/2007.

Moreton Bay Family History Challenge

The following announcement was written by FindMyPast.com

To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4 - 12 August 2007), findmypast.com is running a unique challenge on its website to find the relatives of the passengers who travelled on the first Australian government liner, the Moreton Bay. 

The first voyage of the Moreton Bay to Australia took place on 6 December 1921. The liner departed Tilbury in East London, arriving in Brisbane 43 days later with 762 passengers on board.

(+) Use Your Cell Phone as a Wireless Modem

Do you own a laptop computer and do you use it often when traveling? Do you need to access the Internet when traveling? Do you have a sophisticated cell phone that includes high speed Internet access? One new program makes it simple to use your cell phone as a modem. Best of all, there are no cryptic codes to install, no mumbo-jumbo, nothing complex at all. Simply connect your cell phone to the laptop, download the program to the laptop, double-click on the new file, and follow the instructions that appear on your screen. Within 2 or 3 minutes, you will be using your cell phone as a modem, connected to the Internet wherever you are.

Footnote.com to Digitize Content of the Largest Public Genealogy Library in the U.S.

Big news! Footnote.com will soon begin digitizing content from Allen County Public Library. This comes on the heels of the company's signed agreement with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) a few months ago to digitize millions of historical documents housed at NARA.

Here is the latest announcement:

Lindon, Utah – August 2, 2007 –Today, Footnote.com announced a new partnership with Allen County Public Library (ACPL), the largest public genealogy library in the United States to digitize millions of historical records making them available online for the first time at Footnote.com.

The ACPL collections feature unique American and International records including family histories, city directories, military records and historical newspapers.

NARA Invites Public Review of Draft Digitizing Partnership Agreement

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is giving public notice of a proposal to enter into a non-exclusive agreement with the Genealogical Society of Utah (doing business as FamilySearch) to digitize and further expand public access to archival holdings in NARA's custody. Your comments on the terms of the proposed agreement are invited.

A summary of the proposed agreement is shown below and the complete agreement itself is available at http://www.archives.gov/comment/digitization-agreement.html.

Comments must be received by September 4, 2007.  Send comments to Vision@nara.gov or FAX them to 301-837-0319.

Google Docs & Spreadsheets

A great online tool is available from Google, called Google Docs & Spreadsheets. Actually, this free program was called Writely until Google purchased the company that produces it and renamed the product. I've used it occasionally for several years, and I still call it Writely instead of the mouthful of words of Google Docs & Spreadsheets. This program can be especially useful for genealogists and others involved in collaborative writing.

Google Docs & Spreadsheets is an online word processor and spreadsheet program. The natural comparison is to Microsoft's Word and Excel. In fact, Google Docs & Spreadsheets is sort of a "trimmed down" imitation of the two Microsoft products. It is "trimmed down" in the sense that the Google products do not contain all the features of the Microsoft products. However, they do contain all of the every-day features used by 99% of us. The only features missing are the more esoteric and less-commonly used features.

Man Accused of Torching Black Loyalist Office Back in Court

According to an article in the ChronicleHerald.ca web site, a Shelburne, Nova Scotia man has hired a lawyer and will be back in court next month to answer to an allegation he burned down the Black Loyalist Heritage Society office in Birchtown last year. The society’s single-story building contained 20 years’ worth of research, records and genealogical information, including about $50,000 worth of artifacts, photographs and office equipment.

Fishing for Tombstones

Indiana officials are trying to find the proper home for about a dozen gravestones that were dumped in the White River and discovered last week.

Jim Hodges of Indianapolis stumbled upon the grave markers when he untangled a snagged fishing line and lifted a 145-year-old gravestone into his bass boat.