Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Rhinebeck, New York Couple Honored for Genealogy Research

The Dutchess County (New York) Historical Society has bestowed its highest research award on Arthur and Nancy Kelly of Rhinebeck for their "meticulous search for historical truth." The Helen Wilkinson Reynolds award has been granted to only six previous recipients. In addition to the award, the Kellys each received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for "outstanding and invaluable service to the community."

National Burial Index for England and Wales Online

The National Burial Index (NBI) for England and Wales is is an index to help family historians find burial records. It is an ongoing project devised and orchestrated by the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS). The burial records date back to 1538, the year that Henry VIII was excommunicated from the Catholic Church, up to 1837, the date when civil registration began.

Old British Phone Books Now Online

BT is putting its entire archive of old phone books online for genealogists, or anyone else, to browse. The phone books date back to 1880 and contain 280 million names. They can be used to track down relatives, but you can also use the service to find out if your house has ever had any famous, or infamous, residents.

Lafayette's Ancestor to Auction his Famous Medal from George Washington

The International Herald Tribune is a famous and usually prestigious newspaper that published an article yesterday by Glenn Collins under the headline of "Lafayette's Ancestor to Auction his Famous Medal from George Washington." Excuse me? His ancestor? I'd like to meet this "ancestor" who obviously is more than 250 years old!

That has to be embarrassing for the newspaper. Don't they have editors who know the difference between an ancestor and a descendant?

(+) Traveling with Wireless Internet Access

With today's technology, you do not have to give up your e-mail and various web sites when traveling. You can easily access your favorite genealogy sites as well as your preferred online bank account, stockbroker, news sites, sports scores, airline sites, and even the weather reports from many locations. Do you want to change your reservation for tomorrow's return flight home? Pull out your laptop and check all the possible alternatives from wherever you are. You can also communicate easily via e-mail with family and friends. You can make free long distance voice calls to friends and family back home if you have Skype installed. You can do all this from your laptop Windows or Macintosh computer or even from a handheld computer.

I recently spent seven weeks traveling during a ten-week period. I never missed a beat: I was online every day from hotels, cruise ships, coffee shops, and numerous airport waiting areas. Today's wireless networking technology makes such access easy, although not always cheap. I thought I would write about my experiences. I will also describe the methods I use to save money although my methods may not work for everyone.

Footnote.Com Digitizes Late 18th Century Newspaper, The Times (London)

The following announcement was written by Footnote.com:

The Times (London) Includes Details About King George, Napoleon, As Well As Trials, Advertisements and Everyday Life

Lindon, UT – November 27, 2007 – Footnote.com today announced the release of original images from The Times (London from 1785 – 1820). These documents include details about prominent figures of that time such as King George and Napoleon Bonaparte.

“Each page in this collection is full of intriguing details about European life during late 18th and early 19th centuries,” says Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com “We are excited to see what people will discover and share from this fascinating collection.”

In addition to details regarding prominent people, the newspapers provide interesting insight into everyday life in England at that time, including; reports on crimes and trials, advertisements from local businesses, weather reports and announcements about local interests like the release of the newly published “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen.

ProQuest and Allen County Public Library to Add Newest Periodical Source Index (PERSI)

The following announcement was written by ProQuest:

Exclusive Partnership Marks Another Milestone for Local History and Genealogy Research

ANN ARBOR, Mich., November 27, 2007 -- ProQuest and Allen County Public Library (Ft. Wayne, IN) add another milestone in their longstanding alliance with the release of the newest data in the Periodical Source Index (PERSI). With this update, PERSI now contains more than 2 million citations from over 6,600 periodicals published in the United States, Canada, and abroad. The new release includes indexing for over 132,000 articles from 2006 and 2007. No other index covers periodical research in local history and genealogy as extensively as PERSI.

French-Canadian Genealogy Society to Open a Cultural Center

The American-French Genealogical Society plans to open a Franco-American cultural center in a Woonsocket, Rhode Island church it recently purchased.

The former First Universalist Church could could eventually house the society's genealogical library, displays about French history and culture and perhaps even space for French language classes. Details may be found at http://www.afgs.org/Buildupdate.html.

The society has about 1,400 members in the United States and Canada.

ScottishHandwriting.com

A new web site offers online tutorials in paleography (the study of old handwriting) for historians, genealogists, and other researchers who have problems reading records written in Scotland in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. ScottishHandwriting.com provides online interactive tutorials and weekly posers to help you study the characteristics of Scottish handwriting. The emphasis of the web site is on practical help to improve the paleographic skills, rather than on the academic study of Scottish handwriting.

More Virtual Presentations

I wrote recently about Dick Cleaveland's recent virtual presentation: he spoke to a genealogy gathering that was many miles away. Dick was at home and used a computer to display PowerPoint slides, log onto web sites, and perform other tasks while the distant audience watched every move as displayed by a computer projector in their meeting room. Dick's voice also could clearly be heard as it was played on the speakers in the distant meeting room.

That article is still available at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/11/virtual-present.html.

I have since received numerous e-mail messages from people reporting similar experiences. Apparently, virtual presentations are more common than I realized. Indeed, I have done the same thing myself in the business world although not to a genealogy gathering. Perhaps it is time for me (and perhaps you as well) to move into the twenty-first century's method of making presentations!