Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

2007 in Review

I have been watching the genealogy business for more than twenty years now and must say that I am always fascinated by what goes on. Every year has been interesting, and the year 2007 certainly has been no exception. In the last newsletter of 2007, it seems like an ideal time to look at the last year.

In 2007, new companies have appeared, some old ones disappeared and one or two companies swallowed up others. Products have likewise appeared and disappeared.

The Master Genealogist version 7.0

The following announcement was written by Wholly Genes, Inc., producers of The Master Genealogist:

THE BAR IS RAISED AGAIN FOR FAMILY HISTORY SOFTWARE
The Master Genealogist v7.0 has been released.

Wholly Genes, Inc., of Columbia, Maryland, is proud to announce the release of The Master Genealogist v7.0, the most comprehensive family history software on the market.  For more than 14 years, The Master Genealogist ("TMG") has been the choice of professional genealogists and casual researchers alike because of its innovative features, extreme flexibility, attention to real-life research issues (like "witnesses" and their secondary roles in events), and support for the highest scholarly standards.

Despite the program's long-standing reputation as "the one that does it all," the new Version 7 incorporates more than 50 exciting new features.  The program continues to innovate with features like a new "Associates Window" which lists in one place all of the people connected to the focus person (e.g., as witnesses to the same events), customizable pop-up reminders which encourage consistent data entry, and the ability to make color "highlights" or annotations on scanned images.  The image highlighting actually happens on a transparent layer above the image so the original image isn't modified -- an important characteristic to family researchers.

Recording Longitudes and Latitudes

Genealogists have always been taught to record our sources of information. We not only record the name of the book or other source of genealogy information, but we also record the location of the building (repository) where we found it. Typically we record the building's name, street address, city and state.

With today's technology, shouldn't we also be recording the geographic coordinates? With GPS receivers and the plethora of high-quality on-line maps, it is now easy to find the exact latitude and longitude of any address. Unlike street names, the longitude and latitude will never change.

Ethics in Publishing Family Histories

Under U.S. copyright laws, facts cannot be copyrighted. Recent legal opinion has even decided that certain compilations of facts, such as telephone directories, are not subject to copyright.

But what about compiled genealogies? What can I include in a published genealogy without infringing on someone else's rights? And what rights do I have to the compilations I produce?

Hugh Massingberd, R.I.P.

In his obituary published on Thursday, Hugh Massingberd is described as a "zealous genealogist who edited Burke’s Peerage and enlivened The Daily Telegraph’s obituaries." For 15 years, Massingberd edited Burke’s Landed Gentry, Burke’s Royal Families of the World and Burke’s Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage.

Sangerville, Maine: the Town of Two Knights

Subtitle: What do the inventor of the machine gun, a former King of England, an America/Canadian/Bahamian multi-millionaire, a Nazi financier, and “Lucky” Luciano have in common with a tiny town in central Maine?

Introduction: This article is a radical departure from my usual writings. It concerns two men, both from the same small town, both of whom left as young men, both of whom became very wealthy, and both of whom were knighted by a King or Queen of England. There is very little information about genealogy here although there is a lot of history in this article.

I hope you enjoy these stories.

Dick Eastman

Knighthood cannot be granted to American citizens. Under the British system, citizens of countries that do not have the Queen as their head of state may have honors conferred upon them, in which case the awards are "honorary.” In the case of knighthoods, the holders are entitled to place initials behind their names but may not use the word "Sir" in front of their names. The only way for an American to become an officially recognized knight of the British Empire and to use the title of “Sir” is to renounce his American citizenship and to become a naturalized citizen of a country that considers the Queen as their head of state (I say “his” and “Sir” because the vast majority of knights are male; it’s been rare that a woman has received the title). Such countries would include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and many more.

Several Americans have done just that and have become knights. Strangely, one tiny town in Maine has produced no less than two such knights. Even stranger, each of these knights has been surrounded by mystery and intrigue. One of them was even murdered while in bed, reportedly because he was involved in international intrigue in the midst of World War II. His murderer was never apprehended.

The Political Graveyard

No, this is not an article about the upcoming presidential campaign, although a few snide remarks do pop to mind. In fact, a web site called The Political Graveyard describes itself as "The Internet's Most Comprehensive Source of U.S. Political Biography," or, "The Web Site That Tells Where the Dead Politicians are Buried." If you had an ancestor in politics, you might find this to be an interesting and useful site.

The Political Graveyard presently has transcribed records of 138,150 politicians, judges, and diplomats. The coverage of the site includes many federal officials, state officeholders and candidates in all 50 states, state and national political party officials, federal and state judges, and mayors (including candidates at election for mayor) of qualifying cities.

Online Family Tree Announcement from Ancestry.com

The Generations Network, owners of Ancestry.com and of the Online Family Tree system, are announcing some major changes. Here is the recent announcement:

Since 1999, our Online Family Tree system has helped almost 2 million people build family trees, upload GEDCOM files and add their trees to Ancestry World Tree. We’ve maintained this system for some time, but the it’s finally become outdated and will soon be replaced with the Ancestry Member Tree system introduced in July 2006. We realize this is a bitter disappointment for some of you who have worked in our Online Family Tree system for years. This is an important step for us that lets us focus all our ability on creating one great system for everyone to use. At nearly 8 years old, Online Family Tree is an ancient product (in internet years anyway), and we feel it is important to move everyone to the new system while this one is still running. If we prolonged this, it would be much more difficult to do this while the OFT system is on life-support.

60,000 Acadian Tombstone Photos are now Online

I am always amazed at the efforts of volunteers who amass huge collections of transcriptions or photographs of genealogy resources. I recently encountered a web site with more than 60,000 photographs of tombstones in New Brunswick, Canada. Most of the photographs are of Acadian cemeteries or cemeteries where some Acadians are buried.

Oldest Family-Owned Firm?

Thousands of companies are family-owned. They are typically handed down from one generation to another; each new generation inheriting the family business. One company in Japan may hold the world's record as being owned by one family longer than any other.

Son Finds Birth Mother - At Work

For years, Steve Flaig, a delivery truck driver at the Lowe's store in Grand Rapids, Michigan, had searched for his birth mother. This week he found her, working at the cash register at the front of the store.

History Repeats Itself: Sending High Speed E-mail Messages 200 Years Ago

Low-tech Magazine has published an article by Kris De Decker about an almost forgotten predecessor to email: the optical telegraph.

In 1791, Frenchman Claude Chappe developed the optical telegraph. Thanks to this technology, messages could be transferred very quickly over long distances, without the need for postmen, horses, wires or electricity. Within a few years it was possible to send messages throughout Europe at the speed of an airplane — wireless and without need for electricity.

Season's Greetings

As we sit here counting our blessings, we hope that you are equally fortunate. We would like to wish you the very best wishes for you and your family this holiday season.

From Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter:

Dick Eastman, author
Pam Cerutti, editor

Medical Update: All Seems OK

As mentioned a couple of weeks ago at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/12/no-newsletter-a.html, I recently had an unexpected trip to a local hospital's emergency room. While there, I was diagnosed as being a diabetic. That was news to me. However, I have since been adjusting my lifestyle, and it looks like I will learn to live with this in the same ways as do millions of other diabetics. In short, I expect to live a long and healthy life.

I would like to thank the several hundred people who sent e-mail messages or posted comments at the end of the original article. There is no way that I can send a personal "Thank you" message to each of you, but I do want you to know that I read and deeply appreciated every one of your comments.

At this holiday season, I know that I am blessed with good friends who care, even many friends whom I have never met.

Thank you for your kind thoughts.

African American Lives 2

Public Broadcasting had an excellent program last year called "African American Lives." An encore, called "African American Lives 2" is now being planned for broadcast on February 6.  It will be hosted by noted Black American historian Henry Louis Gates.

You can watch a 30-second commercial for the program by clicking in the above image or by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR6lm9u2qb4.

(+) The Amazon Kindle: A Genealogy Tool

kin-dle v. [trans] light or set on fire. Arouse or inspire (an emotion or feeling).

Amazon recently released a new "e-book reader" called the Kindle. I managed to obtain one of the first units shipped and have been using it for about three weeks. I find it to be an impressive device. In fact, I also see a lot of potential for genealogy uses. However, unlike many of the high tech devices that I write about, this one is not easy for individual genealogists  to implement. The Kindle really needs to be adopted first by the authors, publishers, and retailers who supply genealogy information. Once a mass of material becomes available in Kindle format, the device could be very attractive for all of us. Luckily, that should be easy and inexpensive to accomplish.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me first explain what a Kindle is and its place in today's marketplace.

National Genealogical Society announces a Beginners Workshop

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

May 14-17, 2008 will mark the 30th Annual Conference in the States and Family History Fair of the National Genealogical Society. The 2008 conference will be held in conjunction with local hosts – Missouri State Genealogical Association, Mid-Continent Public Library, Northland Genealogy Society, APG Heartland Chapter, and Johnson County, Kansas, Genealogical Society.

Family History Library and Major Regional Family History Center Patrons to Receive Free Ancestry.Com Access

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch and by The Generations Network, Inc.:

FamilySearch and The Generations Network Agreement Give Patrons Access to More than 24,000 Ancestry.com Databases and Titles

SALT LAKE CITY — FamilySearch and The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com, today announced an agreement that provides free access of Ancestry.com to patrons of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and the 13 largest regional family history centers effective today.

Mary Christmas at Ancestry.com

One of the employees at Ancestry.com stops to listen every time that someone says, "Merry Christmas." She has more than a passing interest in the words.

Mary Young has worked at Ancestry.com for three years. Nine months ago, she married Brian Christmas and thereby became... yes, that's right: Mary Christmas.

OBE for Retired Archivist

Retired archivist Dr. David Crook received an OBE on Thursday from the Prince of Wales for services to archives and local history. Dr. Crook retired earlier this year after 33 years working for the National Archives in London.

NOTE: OBE is an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, a British order of chivalry.