Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Discovering Family History: ­ a New Beginner’s Magazine

The following announcement was written by the publishers of Family Chronicle and Internet Genealogy:

Discovering Family History, a new genealogy magazine targeted at beginners, will shortly start publishing. A 24-page preview is included in the March/April issue of Family Chronicle and the April/May issue of Internet Genealogy. A full 56-page preview issue can be downloaded at http://www.discoveringfamilyhistory.com/.

ST Genie Converts Microfilm to Scanned Computer Images

The ST Genie is advertised as a low cost ($1,075) device that is used to convert microfilm to computer images. It should appeal to genealogists, historians, local studies specialists, and archivists, as well as dedicated amateurs and professional researchers. Indeed, the price is lower than other microfilm scanners I have seen. I can envision a lot of genealogy societies, historical societies, museums, and others purchasing the ST Genie to digitize microfilms for use on the World Wide Web or for conversion to CD-ROM.

Most microfilm scanners are automated. The user inserts a reel of microfilm and pushes a button. An hour or two later, the process is complete: electric motors automatically advance the microfilm one image at a time, and the conversion to scanned images takes place with little or no human interaction. Several of the major genealogy and history web sites use such automated devices for their image conversion needs. Automation costs money: many of these automated scanners cost $10,000 to $100,000 or even more.

The ST Genie is non-automated: a human must sit at the device and manually advance the microfilm, frame by frame, by turning a crank on the film carrier (the microfilm reels). Each image is produced when the same human operator pushes a button, similar to a desktop scanner. The human then must wait for the scanning process to complete on each image and then examine the result on the attached computer's screen before moving on to the next image. While tedious, the constant human interaction should result in high-quality images as each image is examined before moving on to the next scan. If the image isn't very good, the human operator can always make adjustments and rescan. 

Being Dead Ruins Your Life

A Nashville, Tennessee, woman says that having to prove she’s alive over and over is ruining her life. The very much alive Laura Todd is having a frustrating time trying to prove that she is not dead.

It seems that another woman died in Florida eight years ago, and someone entered Laura's Social Security Number into the death record. The assumption is that it was a simple clerical error. Laura Todd has had problems ever since.

The Google Toolbar for Genealogists

Robert Ragan from Treasure Maps How-To Genealogy Site has produced an interesting video showing detailed instructions for using the Google Toolbar for genealogy searches. The Google Toolbar is a free tool that installs in your Firefox web browser on Windows, Macintosh, or Linux or in your Internet Explorer browser on Windows. The Google Toolbar simplifies web searches, blocks obnoxious pop-up ads, and does a lot more.

(+) Get Outta That Research Rut! by George G. Morgan

Are you continually using the same old record types and getting frustrated at your lack of success? Are your important discoveries coming less frequently than they used to? And are you becoming bored with your genealogy? Well, what has happened is that you have fallen into a research rut!

I frequently tell people that I love the thrill of the chase. That’s because I am always discovering new and interesting types of evidence in my research. You may be an expert with working with census population schedules and may think that you have milked them dry of information. Don’t believe it for a minute!

Could Jefferson Hair Sample Provide New DNA Information?

A newsletter reader wrote this week with an interesting question and supposition. I answered in e-mail but will share my answer here for newsletter readers who might be interested.

Many people are aware of the rumors about Thomas Jefferson that have persisted for more than 200 years. The claim is that Thomas Jefferson was the father of one or possibly more children by his slave, Sally Hemings.

Confucius Family Tree has Two Million Members

Confucious (or Kong in Chinese) has been dead for 2,500 years but his family just keeps growing and growing - Confucius, or more properly his descendants, are alive and well and flourishing in China and across the globe, according to the latest version of his family tree.

The job of registering new members to the family tree of revered Chinese thinker and educator Confucius (551-479 BC), was finished by the end of 2007, and the number in the updated tree now stands at more than two million. Confucius' family tree is regarded as the world's longest, recording more than 80 generations.

Julie Case, R.I.P.

Julia Martha Case, of Alexandria, Virginia, died there 13 February 2008. Julie was a professional genealogist who specialized in transcription of colonial Virginia records.

She served as an instructor for the NGS' home study course, as a trustee of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), a board member of the Friends of the Virginia State Archives, the membership chairman of the Virginia Genealogical Society, and assistant sysop on GEnie's Genealogy RoundTable. She wrote articles that appeared in American Genealogy Magazine, the Friends of the Virginia State Archives Archives News and the Virginia Genealogical Society's Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, in the last of which her transcriptions of "Henrico County Record Book No. 2, 1678-1693" appeared from 1991 through 1998.

(+) A Fourth Way to Run Windows Programs on Your Macintosh

I use a Macintosh computer most of the time, but I also recognize that the more popular genealogy programs are written for Windows. To be sure, there are some good Macintosh genealogy programs, and I have reviewed several of them in past newsletters. However, most computer “experts” will claim that Windows users have a wider variety of genealogy programs from which to choose.

Actually, I could argue the opposite. In fact, I will contend that Macintosh users have the widest variety of genealogy programs to choose from. Anyone using a modern Intel Macintosh computer manufactured in the past two or three years can run all the Macintosh genealogy programs as well as all of today's Windows genealogy programs. Try that on your Windows computer! Yes, Macintosh users have a wider variety of genealogy programs to choose from than do Windows users. All they need is a modern Macintosh laptop or desktop system with the Macintosh operating system, appropriate virtualization software, and a copy of Windows.

Over One Million More National Burial Index Records Go Live at FindMyPast.com

The following announcement was written by FindMyPast.com:

Premier UK family history website www.findmypast.com today announced that it has added another 1.2 million National Burial Index Records to its existing online collection. The new records cover the counties of Somersetshire, Dorset and Essex and have been contributed by the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society and the East of London Family History Society as part of an arrangement with the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) to transfer their local family history society records to findmypast.com.

Among the famous names that can be found in the new burial index records at www.findmypast.com is author Thomas Hardy, whose burial on 11 January 1928 aged 82 is recorded in Stinsford, Dorsetshire.

New Titles on Footnote

Footnote keeps adding more and more scanned images to the site. Best of all, Footnote.com now contains more than one million documents available for free. The following titles are a sample of what is now free at Footnote:

• Japanese Air Targets Analyses (WWII)
• Gorrell’s History of AEF Air Service (WWI)
• Hesse Crown Jewels Court Martial Case - a $2.5 million heist by American officers in 1945
• Naval Press Clippings
• Brady Civil War Photographs
• WWII - Japanese Photographs
• Fine Arts Commission Photographs
• Harry S Truman Photographs
• Franklin D. Roosevelt Photographs
• Dwight D. Eisenhower Photographs
• Calvin Coolidge Photographs
• George A. Custer’s Court Martial
• Foreign Letters of the Continental Congress
• Ratified Amendments to the US Constitution
• Amistad Court Records
• American Colonization Society
• VA Town Records - City of South Boston (that is not a misprint, there is a city named "South Boston" in the Commonwealth of Virginia)
• Domestic Letters of the Department of State

New Borders Book Stores to Feature "Borders Genealogy Services"

Borders today issued a long and rather rambling announcement of new "concept stores." Buried in the middle of the announcement is a one-line reference to "Borders Genealogy Services" provided by Ancestry.com but with no details of what that new service includes.

Here is the complete announcement, with the one line reference highlighted in bold text:

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 14 -- After more than 18 months of development and testing, Borders will unveil the first of its highly anticipated new concept stores when grand opening festivities kick off Feb. 22 at its new store on Lohr Rd. in Ann Arbor, Mich., the company's hometown. The 28,900-square-foot concept store -- the first of 14 the company expects to open nationwide this year -- represents a significant enhancement over existing Borders stores inside and out and fulfills the company's mission to be a headquarters for knowledge and entertainment.

Down Under on Roots Television

George G. Morgan and Drew Smith recorded an interesting video for RootsTelevision.com called "Down Under." This program features the long-lasting memories illustrated by tombstones.

The new video is the first of three episodes and features a beautifully inter-racial story in Tampa from 1850 to the early 1870s. George and Drew then did some research to find more information about this couple. George and Drew  reveal that information in this fascinating video.

Part Of Tennessee Belongs To Georgia?

Chattanooga is in the wrong state, according to Georgia lawmakers. So is Lookout Mountain.

Lawmakers in Georgia now say that a survey that was done in the early 1800s incorrectly marked the state's border with Tennessee. Now Georgia wants the land back.

(+) The Process of Naturalization in the U.S. by George G. Morgan

The following article was written by and is copyright by George G. Morgan. Please do not copy or forward to others without the author's permission.

Our ancestors made some difficult choices. They left their native lands, their families and friends, and many of the traditions and possessions that were dear to them in order to seek a better life for themselves. The world was a very different place a hundred years ago, much less five hundred years ago, and it is important to consider the fear, apprehension, and uncertainty with which our ancestors faced the prospect of leaving towns which perhaps they had never left before, much less venturing thousands of miles to another part of the world. Desperation, fear, poverty, starvation, depression, and many other reasons were motivating factors in their migration and emigration. But once they had made the journey, they exhibited sometimes heroic courage in accepting and adapting to their new circumstances. They labored long and hard to forge a new life and to provide for the comfort and sustenance of themselves, their families, and their communities.

As our forebears began their new lives in new communities, they would strive to “fit in” and to normalize in the new environment. Many realized they would never return to their past lives, and they eagerly embraced their new circumstances. This meant renouncing their political ties to their motherland and making application to become citizens of their new country.

Wrap-Up: Family History Expo 2008 in St. George, Utah

It's Sunday morning, and I am in a hotel room in St. George, Utah. I attended Family History Expo 2008 for the past two days. It was a good conference. I know it must have been good because I am exhausted.

For details of what was planned, read my earlier article at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/01/family-history.html or check the conference's web site at http://www.myancestorsfound.com/events/upcoming.php?event_id=1. I can now report that the Expo went off just about as planned. More than 1,000 people attended this two-day event in a small city (population of about 76,000 people). St. George is in the extreme southwest corner of Utah, some 300 miles south of Salt Lake City and with a much warmer climate. While the city is in Utah, it is only about 120 miles from Las Vegas, and its climate is much more like that of Las Vegas than that of Salt Lake City. St. George is a great location for a mid-winter genealogy conference with its mild weather.

The Generations Network is Hiring

Would you like a job in genealogy? The Generations Network, parent company of Ancestry.com, RootsWeb, MyFamily.com, Genealogy.com, and FamilyTreeMaker.com is hiring. All of the positions are in Provo, Utah, except for one in San Francisco.

Specifically, the company is looking for:

Third Cousins Have More Kids Together

Last month I published an article entitled, "Did I Marry My Cousin?" at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/01/did-i-marry-my.html. Now the United Press International is carrying a report that shows that couples who are third cousins have more children and grandchildren than other couples.

The UPI report is available at http://tinyurl.com/39m7zg.

Ancestry.com Offers Largest Online Collection of African-American Historical Records

The following announcement was written by Ancestry.com:

Ancestry.com Offers Unprecedented Look Into Lives of Once-Enslaved Ancestors With Largest Online Collection of African-American Historical Records

In Honor of Black History Month, Just-Released Civil War-Era Marriage and Southern Claims Commission Documents Allow African-Americans Additional Chance to Uncover Heritage

Attention Mesa, Tempe and Scottsdale Newsletter Readers

If you live in Mesa, Tempe, or Scottsdale, Arizona, and if you would like to help define the future "look and feel" of one of today's fastest-growing genealogy and history web sites, you will want to read the following announcement from Footnote.com, followed by my own comments:

The Footnote team and special guest Dick Eastman will be in Arizona on March 18-20, gathering feedback on Footnote. The team will visit people in the Mesa, Tempe, and Scottsdale areas.

We are looking for volunteers who are willing to let Dick Eastman and six Footnote employees into their home for an hour or so to ask some questions and observe how they use the site. Visits like these provide great feedback for us as we try to improve the site experience for our members.

If you live in one of these areas and are interested in being a volunteer (whether you use the site every day or have never used it before), please contact Elizabeth at elittle@footnote.com.

Comments by Dick Eastman: