Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

NGS appoints Pamela K. Boyer Education and Publications Director

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

Janet A. Alpert, president of the National Genealogical Society is pleased to announce the appointment of Pamela K. Boyer, CG, CGL, Education and Publications Director, effective 31 March 2008. Boyer will work at the NGS headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

During a strategic planning session in 2007, the Board of Directors decided to establish the position of Education and Publications Director, which is necessary if we are to deliver on our mission statement “to serve and grow the genealogical community by providing education and training, fostering increased quality standards, and promoting access to and preservation of genealogical records.”

New York Times Comments on Presidential Candidates’ Distant Relationships

The New York Times has published an article about the various distant relationships of the presidential candidates. Writing in "Six Degrees (at Least) of Contenders for President," New York Times reporter Cate Doty noted, "In other words, the revelations did what they were meant to do, which was to spread a little publicity for a nonprofit group that revels in historic minutia...".

I was pleased when the reporter also quoted me in the last paragraph of her article.

(+) “The New Genealogical Society” by George G. Morgan

In case you haven’t looked recently, genealogical societies have been changing. I recently asked a friend what she thought about the typical genealogical, lineage, or heritage society. Her response almost floored me. She said that her image of the members was of elderly ladies wearing suits, hats, and gloves, convening for tea and sandwiches and a droll presentation about one of their ancestors. “How boring!” she said. It took me a while to explain that the 1950s meetings were very much a thing of the past. I shared with my friend the things that make genealogy societies vital and exciting.

Celebrate Your Scottish Heritage in New York City's Tartan Day Festivities

Let's pack the kilt and head to New York City! The 10th Annual New York City Tartan Day Parade will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2008. The Tartan Day and a big parade celebrate Scottish history, culture and the many great contributions Scots and Scottish Americans have made - and continue make - to the US and the world.

This year's parade promises to be the largest and best to date! In 2007, there were more than 1800 proud participants in the parade, including:

• Pipe Bands
• Individual Pipers
• Individual drummers and Drum Majors
• Scottish Clans and Societies
• Scottish Terriers
• West Highland Terriers

Arlene Eakle’s Virginia Genealogy Blog

Arlene Eakle is a prolific genealogy writer with more than 90 titles completed. She has been writing a general-purpose genealogy blog at http://www.arleneeakle.com/wordpress for nearly two years now. Now Arlene has started a Virginia genealogy blog.

2008 Artistry of Genealogy Awards Announced

The following announcement was written by the Photo Preservation Center:

IRVINE, Calif.--Preserving family history through genealogy is an art with millions of stories to share. The 2008 Artistry of Genealogy Awards (AGA) were announced today by The Photo Preservation Center (PPC) to showcase outstanding genealogy websites and recognize excellence in preserving family history through genealogy. The categories and winners were selected by families across the nation who had their photo memories digitally preserved by ScanMyPhotos.com as part of the process of recording and studying the ancestry of family trees.

An overview of the AGAs is available at PhotoPreservation.org. Comprehensive information on each category and award recipient is detailed at “Tales from the World of Photo Scanning” (Blog.ScanMyPhotos.com).

Back to the Future: 2008

Forty years ago, in 1968, Modern Mechanix carried an article entitled, "What Will Life Be Like in the Year 2008?" It probably was interesting reading in 1968, but it’s much more fascinating today.

The November, 1968 article was rather accurate in some of its prognostications:

Money has all but disappeared. Employers deposit salary checks directly into their employees’ accounts. Credit cards are used for paying all bills. Each time you buy something, the card’s number is fed into the store’s computer station. A master computer then deducts the charge from your bank balance.

Crusaders Left a Genetic Legacy

Our ancestors traveled widely. Scientists have detected the faint genetic traces left by medieval crusaders in the Middle East. The team says they found a particular DNA signature, which recently appeared in Lebanon and is probably linked to the crusades.

RootsTelevision.com Wins Four Telly Awards in Its First Year

RootsTelevision.com is an exciting "genealogy television channel on the Internet" that has often been mentioned in this newsletter. You can see many of the episodes if you start at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/video/index.html. Now the television service has received new honors:

PROVO, UT, March 26, 2008 – RootsTelevision.com, an online channel dedicated to all aspects of genealogy and family history, has been recognized in the 29th Annual Telly Awards for four of its original productions.  Selected from more than 14,000 shows were “DNA Stories: A Tale of Two Fathers” (documentary), “Heir Jordan: Extreme Genealogy” (entertainment), “Roots Books: Psychic Roots” (talk show), and “Flat Stanley’s Family Tree” (children’s audience).

Results of Groundbreaking Slave Genealogy Research to be Released March 29

The following announcement was written by the owners of the Lowcountry Africana website:

The results of groundbreaking genealogical research to reconstruct family lineages of enslaved communities on Drayton family plantations in the United States and Barbados will be released Saturday, March 29 with the launch of the Lowcountry Africana website (www.lowcountryafricana.com).

Footnote.Com and the National Archives Launch an Interactive Vietnam War Memorial

The following announcement was written by Footnote.com:

Footnote.com’s innovative social website lets visitors pay tribute to Vietnam War heroes from their PC

Washington DC and Lindon, UT – March 26, 2008– Footnote.com and the National Archives and Records Administration held a press conference at the Archives in Washington DC to announce the release of an online interactive photo of the Vietnam War Memorial.  In addition to releasing this unique version of the Wall, Footnote.com enables visitors to search the Wall for people they know and pay tribute by adding photos, comments and stories of those who lost their lives during the Vietnam conflict.

“The Wall is more than just 58,000 plus names,” explains Richard Schroepfer, a Vietnam War Veteran. “Many of these people were my friends. And now Footnote.com helps me create a remembrance of these fine gentlemen.” 

“The Wall” on Footnote.com: A Moving Marvel

Last week I had a chance to accompany several Footnote.com managers and software developers as they conducted in-home and in-office usability sessions with a number of readers of this newsletter. One of the new services they tested was Footnote’s new “Viet Nam Wall” image. It was an unannounced product at that time, but that changed today at a press conference at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. The Interactive Viet Nam Veterans Memorial is now visible to everyone at no charge on www.footnote.com.

I’d suggest that you take a look at the Interactive Viet Nam Veterans Memorial, even if you did not have friends or relatives who died in that war. First of all, it is a very moving experience for any American as we can see the names of all those who died during the war. Second, it is a technological marvel: at five gigapixels, it may be the largest single graphic image ever placed on the Internet. Yet you can view sections and search for names by using any Windows or Macintosh computer. The image even works on dial-up connections although perhaps not at a speed that you would want to live with.

Obama Related to Brad Pitt, Clinton to Angelina Jolie – Yawn!

Ho hum, here we go again. The news services are filling up with “sensational stories” that various political figures are related to each other or to Hollywood celebrities. The latest round of stories quote researchers at the New England Historic Genealogical Society who found family connections for the three presidential candidates — Democratic rivals Obama and Clinton, and Republican John McCain.

GeneTree and Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation to Collaborate

The following announcement was written by Genetree and by the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (two different divisions of the Sorenson companies):

Participants in the Foundation’s DNA Database, the World’s Most Diverse Collection of Correlated Genetic and Genealogical Information, Can Receive the Mitochondrial DNA Profiles from Their Submitted DNA Samples for an Introductory Price of $19.50 Through GeneTree

SALT LAKE CITY -- GeneTree, a DNA-enabled family history-sharing Web site designed to help people understand where their personal histories belong within the greater human genetic story, and the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profit scientific organization currently expanding the world’s most diverse collection of genetic genealogy information, today announced a special offer that enables participants who have contributed DNA samples and genealogical pedigree charts to the SMGF Database project to receive deeply discounted DNA profiles in order to take advantage of the resources available on the GeneTree family history social networking site.

New RSS Feed for this Newsletter

This newsletter moved to new web servers a week ago. Details may be found at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/03/this-web-site-h.html. Anyone using an RSS newsreader to read the articles may have noticed that the newsfeed stopped working at the same time.

The new RSS feed is available at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/atom.xml.

That is an ATOM newsfeed and should work well in all modern RSS newsreaders.

Americans Lack Family History Knowledge

A survey conducted a few months ago by The Generations Network reports that few Americans know very much about their family trees. Among other facts, the survey discovered that:

• One-third of Americans cannot name any of their great-grandparents
• Half of Americans know the name of only one or none of their great-grandparents.
• Six out of ten Americans do not know both of their grandmothers' maiden names
• Twenty-two percent of Americans don't know what either of their grandfathers do or did for a living.
• Although America is known as a nation of immigrants, 27 percent don't know where their family lived before they came to America.

Is this a problem or an opportunity?

New License Plate

I thought some newsletter readers might be amused by my new license plate. It seems appropriate.

Click on the thumbnail to see a bigger image.

(+) Your Genealogy Reference Library by George G. Morgan

With access to the Internet, you’d think that your need for a home genealogy reference library might be minimized. Yes, there are tens of thousands of Web pages concerning genealogy on the Internet these days, more than on perhaps any other topic. However, while there are many excellent sites, there are some that may contain serious information errors, or they may omit information critical to your research.

I began my own family history research when I was ten years old. I had one reference book at hand, and that was a county history book for Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, that had been published in 1901. I relied on my small public library’s collection and on the guidance of our public librarian, a member of the local DAR chapter. I caught the bug early and craved more and more information. With a small allowance, I couldn’t afford lots of books and magazines, but I soon learned how to build an inexpensive reference library for myself. You can still do it! Let me explain how.

Components of a Reference Library

Your reference library will consist of some books, documents and pamphlets, a library card for your public library, some essential bookmarked Web sites, and maps. Let’s begin with the library card.

The Mac Died

I’ve written often about the need to make frequent backups. This week I had a chance to “practice what I preach.”

I use several computers, including Windows, Macintosh, and Linux systems. I use a Macintosh desktop system most of the time, but I also use other systems when performing specific tasks, such as reviewing Windows genealogy software.

I went on a business trip this week and visited a number of newsletter readers in their homes. One lady I visited described how a recent hard drive crash had destroyed all her genealogy data as well as scanned photographs and everything else stored on the computer. She had never made a backup copy of anything on her system. She had hard copies of most of the data but was missing many source citations. Those were gone forever. She had her original photographs but now needed to re-scan all of them. Her multimedia scrapbooks and much or her work had disappeared in the hard drive crash. I shook my head in sympathy as I listened to her story.

John McCain's Links to Scottish King Shot Down by Experts

Gibson Square, the publishers behind Senator John McCain's new book, Hard Call, have announced that "John McCain's family is of Scottish-Irish descent and related to the Scottish king, Robert the Bruce, on his mother's side". One problem: a group of professional genealogists and medieval historians described the link to Robert the Bruce as "wonderful fiction" and "baloney".

You can read more in the (U.K. Guardian at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/20/johnmccain.uselections2008