Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Church Records Re-Opened at National Library of Ireland

The following announcement was written by the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland (http://www.apgi.ie):

National Library allows public access to Roman Catholic parish registers for Cashel & Emly, Cloyne and Kerry.

The Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland (APGI) welcomes the announcement from the National Library of Ireland that they are once again to allow public access to their microfilm copies of Roman Catholic parish registers from the dioceses of Cashel & Emly, Cloyne and Kerry.

New Enhancements in ProQuest Obituaries

The following announcement was written by ProQuest:

Launch of New ProQuest Obituaries Search Tools Bring Researchers Closer to Their Ancestors

Name and location search enhancements target information across more than 10 million records

Ann Arbor, Mich. –May 29, 2008 – ProQuest introduces two new major enhancements for ProQuest® Obituaries, indexed expanded Name Search and enhanced Search Results Display. Both features allow for greater content discovery, as users can more easily search through indexed names and locations as well as the text of the obituary itself.

Stonehenge was "a Long-Term Cemetery"

Scientists now speculate that England's Stonehenge was a burial ground for much longer than had previously been believed. The site was used as a cemetery for 500 years, from the point of its inception.

Internet turns Scottish Clans into Global Tribe

Reuters has an interesting story about the decline and then later rebirth of Scottish clan associations. Today, many of the 140 officially recognized clans have morphed into massive online associations, whose ranks have been swelled by enthusiastic Americans, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans keen to have a link to their Scottish heritage.

(+) A Genealogy Library in Your Own Home

I am able to talk with many genealogists every year. I am amazed at how few of them know about the immense online resources available to them. To be sure, almost everyone has heard of Ancestry.com, and most are familiar with FamilySearch.org. However, fewer people know about the tens of thousands of genealogy books that are available online, many of them at no charge. Every word of these books is available to you in your own home at your convenience, any time of the day or night.

Unclaimed Persons on Roots Television

Roots Television has added a new episode about finding the families of deceased individuals. These "Unclaimed Persons" have now often been identified by genealogists who use traditional genealogical techniques.

"Unclaimed Persons" also describes the Unknown Persons web site, a list of deceased individuals whose families are unknown. Thousands of unclaimed persons cases remain unsolved but you can help. If you would like to help a great cause, you might want to contribute your skills and expertise.

You can watch this interesting "Unclaimed Persons" television program on your computer now at http://www.RootsTelevision.com.

Here is the announcement of the new show:

Follow-up: I Have a Complaint Concerning Many Genealogists

On the evening of May 22, I read one too many comments complaining about "the high cost of online genealogy services." I wrote a knee-jerk reaction article that pointed out what a bargain these services are. I posted that article online in this newsletter's web site and went to bed.

I guess I struck a sensitive chord: I awoke the next morning to find dozens of newsreaders' comments posted at the end of my article. I watched in amazement throughout the day and evening as still more and more comments were posted. As I now write this new article 4 days later, 210 readers' comments have been posted, more than quadruple the number ever posted to any other article in this newsletter over the past twelve years!

If you haven't yet seen those comments, you might like to see what everyone is writing at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/05/i-have-a-compla.html.

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to offer their views and suggestions. The experience of reading all those comments was heartwarming.

On the Road Again – This Time to Ontario

This is a quick “heads up” warning that I will be traveling this week; therefore, you may see a couple of days slide by with no new articles posted to the newsletter's web site. In fact, I expect that next week's weekly Plus Edition newsletter won't be sent until Monday, perhaps even later.

I am off to the Ontario Genealogical Society's annual conference, being held this year in London, Ontario. I attended an OGS conference a few years ago and loved it. I am looking forward to this year's event. If you can be in London, Ontario, on May 30 through June 1, you might join us. I bet you will enjoy it as well.

(+) Revisiting the Family Group by George G. Morgan

Pedigree charts and family group sheets have long been staples of the genealogist. When I began documenting my ancestral families, I carefully entered information into family group sheets (in pencil) and filed them in binders. I also filled in pedigree charts and learned how to cross-reference them with continuation numbers. The sense of accomplishment was great! I then studied these sheets in detail, pondering relationships and considering the people in context of their geographical locations and the events of their time.

Since the arrival of genealogy software, the method of recording information and documenting the sources has completely changed. It's easy to enter the data and let the program format different views: pedigree, family, and descendants. It's also easy to lose sight of important facts that can only be appreciated by poring over the family group.

(+) Genealogy in a Granite Mountain

I suspect that most of us have heard about the records stored inside a mountain near Salt Lake City. However, very few of us know any details about this storage facility. I thought I would describe the facility and its operation and then perhaps take a peek into the future.

Microsoft Books Winds Down

In the March 07, 2007, newsletter, I wrote an article on the then-new Microsoft Live Search Books. The article is still available at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/03/microsoft_books.html. Now, only fourteen months later, Microsoft is abandoning the project.

Microsoft Books was planned to challenge Google Books. Millions of out-of-copyright books were to be scanned and made available at no charge online. My assumption was that several thousand genealogy and local history books would probably be included. It sounded like a great resource for genealogists.

Cloning of Humans - How About Your Loved Ones?

This sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, and yet I bet the human race is going to face legal and moral issues concerning cloning within another decade or two. Cloning of animals is available to you right now at admittedly high prices. Those prices will drop, and I suspect that cloning of humans isn't that far behind. In fact, it may be possible someday to clone your ancestors or other relatives.

First, start with the movie called "The 6th Day," which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger a few years back. Perhaps you don't recall that movie. After all, it was rather forgettable. The story involved a "re-pet" cloning service to get your dog back if you ever lost the animal. The "service" simply cloned the missing animal.

Fiction became fact: a US biotech company announced on Wednesday that it will auction off the right for five dog owners to have their furry best friend cloned, with bidding starting at $100,000. This is not a joke.

Oh, the Irony of it All!

Yesterday I posted an article defending the online providers of genealogy information. While some of these genealogy data providers first appear to be expensive, I pointed out that use of these online sites is still far cheaper than traveling to the original locations or to major repositories or libraries in Washington, D.C., Salt Lake City, or elsewhere. You can read the article at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/05/i-have-a-compla.html.

I posted that article late last night and then immediately went to bed. Upon arising this morning, guess what was the first message in my in-box?

The message was from Ancestry.com and started out with:

"Dear Richard,

"Your Ancestry.com membership is coming up for renewal in a couple of weeks. We'd like to take this opportunity to tell you about some of the great things coming soon on Ancestry.com and to highlight some valuable recent additions."

I Have a Complaint Concerning Many Genealogists

Warning: This article contains personal opinions.

I have a complaint that may upset some people, including some who read this newsletter. I will probably lose readers because of this article, but I don't care. Like many of my readers, I feel so strongly about this issue that I just have to speak out – hold the sugar coating.

Some people are so shortsighted that they manage to ignore certain facts that are blatantly obvious to others.

Footnote.com Releases the Largest Online collection of U.S WW-II and Viet Nam Photos

The following announcement was written by Footnote.com:

Collection Features More than 80,000 Photos from WWII and Vietnam Now Freely Accessible at Footnote.com

Lindon, UT May 22, 2008 - In commemoration of Memorial Day, Footnote.com today announced their entire collection of military photos will be made permanently free on the site. The collection features over 80,000 photos from WWII and Vietnam making it the largest collection of its kind on the web.

Through their partnership with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Footnote.com has digitized and indexed the photos, which include images of downed aircraft, aerial photos of bombings, fighter groups and combat photos. What makes the photos unique are the short captions included with the photos, which provide interesting details about the events and people featured. To view these photos click here.

FINDMYPAST.COM Adds More National Burial Index Records

The following announcement was written by FINDMYPAST.COM:

Parish records from Yorkshire online now

Leading UK family history website findmypast.com has today announced that it has added to its online collection of over 10 million National Burial Index records, which go back to 1538.

Video: The Royal Tank Corps at WDYTYA? Live! 2008

One of the things that fascinates me about the annual Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE! exhibition in London is the large number of military exhibits and re-enactors. At this year's show, I had a chance to talk with Mark and Carl who were at the show along with a World War I British tank.

This is one of the very first tanks ever used in warfare. Mark and Carl described the life of the tank crews in combat.

Video: Brian Swann, ISOGG's European Coordinator for England and Wales

I recently had a chance to talk with Brian Swann, the European Coordinator for England and Wales for the International Society of Genetic Genealogists (ISOGG). Brian is a DNA expert with several decades of experience. In this video, Brian discusses his experiences in the pharmaceutical industry and more recently in genetic genealogy. He also describes the services of ISOGG in some detail.

Ancestry.com and National Archives Announce New Partnership

The following announcement was written by The Generations Network, the parent company of Ancestry.com:

Ancestry.com and National Archives Join Forces to Make Millions of Historical Documents Available Online to Americans Wanting to Research Family History This Memorial Day and Beyond

New Agreement Features On-Site Ancestry.com Technicians and Scanners at National Archives For Ongoing Digitization of Historical Content

WASHINGTON and PROVO, Utah, May 20 -- The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com, today announced an agreement that makes millions of historical records more easily available to the American public. The agreement, which will be signed today at the NARA headquarters in Washington, D.C. and celebrated with a military theme in honor of this Memorial Day, allows for the ongoing digitization of a wealth of historical content, including immigration, birth, marriage, death and military records.

Free Public Access on Ancestry.com

In case you missed it, the following was in today's announcement from Ancestry.com:

To commemorate the NARA-Ancestry.com agreement on the eve of Memorial Day, Ancestry.com is making its entire U.S. Military Collection -- the largest online collection of American military records -- available for free to the public. From May 20 through May 31, people can log on to http://www.ancestry.com/military to view more than 100 million names and 700 titles and databases of military records, the majority of which come from NARA, from all 50 U.S. states.