Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Online Irish Family Name Search

Brent Banta sent an e-mail to notify me of a great site of interest to anyone researching Irish. I looked at the site and I agree with Brent. I was going to write about it until I realized that Brent had already written everything that I was going to describe.

Here is Brent's message:

DNA Patent Battle Settled

DNA is one of the fastest-growing genealogy services of today. A patent battle has been brewing in the U.K. for a couple of years but now apparently has been settled. The following announcement was written by DNA Heritage, a U.K. DNA testing service:

DNA Heritage success in patent battle helps keep genealogy DNA test prices low.

DNA Heritage has recently overcome patent claims held by a competitor which would have severely restricted the use of DNA testing and databases that allow families around the world to match and connect up through their DNA. The patent covers the use of surnames and Y-chromosomes to establish a family connection. The UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) has now rendered a formal opinion stating that the relevant claims are all invalid.

(+) A Second Computer Virtually Free?

The technology described in this article was almost non-existent five years ago. At that time, virtual computers were so expensive as to be impractical. Today, virtual computers are cheap and practical, and hundreds of thousands of them are installed in commercial computer centers. Home computer users worldwide are rapidly adopting the technology now.

In this article, I will focus on desktop computers typically found in the home. Specifically, I will describe virtual computers that run on PC and/or Macintosh hardware with an occasional mention of Linux. More esoteric virtual computers may also be found on mainframe systems, but I will ignore those since mainframes are not typically found in the home.

Barack Obama is Related to Wild Bill Hickok

Ho hum, here we go again.

Barack Obama made a comment during a speech today about family lore having him distantly related to Wild Bill Hickok. He said he wasn’t sure, but that he wanted to find out.

Click on the images to see larger pictures to decide for yourself if there is a family resemblance or not.

Chris Child at the New England Historic Genealogical Society took up the challenge and confirmed the connection in about 30 minutes. The story was posted on the Associated Press wire at: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gyXVIfZ2F2CTuuxH3_93vuTP-ywwD928D6QO0.

Walter Hill, R.I.P.

Walter Hill passed away yesterday.  Walter was a noted historian and professor. He earned a B.A. degree in history from the College of Wooster, a master's degree in American history from Northern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. He became an Adjunct Professor of Afro-American History in the Afro-American Studies Department, Howard University, Washington, D.C. and taught courses in Afro-American history for the next two decades.

Indexed Records to Remain Free on FamilySearch.org

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

The recent announcements of joint census projects with FamilySearch and affiliate companies, such as findmypast.org and Ancestry.com, have caused some confusion. FamilySearch patrons and indexing volunteers are wondering if the indexes created from their efforts will continue to be free to the public. The answer is a resounding YES!

Geni.com Emerges From Beta

Geni.com has announced that the company's service has finished the beta test process and is now considered to be "production." Along the way, the company has added video uploading and tree merging. The following is an announcement written by Geni.com:

Genealogy and Family Networking Site Geni.com Launches Video Sharing and an Abundance of New Features

Free and private genealogy family networking site Geni.com emerges from Beta adding unlimited video uploads and family tree merging to it's list of family focused features.

Los Angeles, CA -- Leading genealogy and family networking site Geni.com announced that it is emerging from beta with a number of new features including video sharing and tree merging. Combined with existing features such as photo sharing, calendar, timelines, and news, the site provides a complete suite of free tools for families to build their family tree, preserve their history, and stay in touch in a private, secure environment.

$129 Laptop

The title is correct: you can now purchase a laptop for only $129 each plus shipping. There is one caveat however: you have to purchase a minimum of 100 units.

Perhaps you have a lot of friends.

The Impulse NPX-9000 laptop has a 7-inch screen and comes with the Linux OS. It has a 400MHz processor, 128M bytes of RAM, 1G byte of flash storage and an optional wireless networking dongle. It includes office productivity software, a Web browser and multimedia software. It runs the Linux operating system, not Microsoft Windows.

Ancestry.com's DNA Database Now Searches for Potential Genetic Cousins

Ancestry DNA has made enhancements to its search and comparison functionality. The company claims that the new features bring greater insight into a potential comparison immediately upon a search of individuals; and opens the people search to all visitors of Ancestry.com DNA.

The following information was provided by Ancestry DNA:

Stitching Together Genealogy

Dawn Gerber's family album isn't quite like other people's. It's not made of photos. It's not encased in leather, and it's not divided into pages. Instead, Gerber hand-sewed her family's history into a quilt -- a quilt that will soon head to Nashville, Tenn., and could earn her $10,000.

Each block of Dawn Gerber's Baltimore album quilt displays something about the life of someone in her family. The quilt was chosen as one of 280 to be shown at the eighth annual American Quilter's Society Quilt Expo next month in Nashville, Tenn.

Grand Traverse County, Michigan Cemetery Transcriptions CD

The Grand Traverse Area Genealogical Society Cemetery Committee is about to launch their latest CD-ROM disk of cemetery transcriptions. The new disk covers the 26 rural cemeteries of Grand Traverse County although the three Oakwood Cemeteries will be released later on a separate disk (that will require another CD due to the size of the data).

(+) Placing Lost Family Photographs by George G. Morgan

I stopped for dinner this past Thursday evening at Cracker Barrel. I always enjoy the home cooking when I visit, especially the vegetables. They’re prepared much the same as they were at my grandmothers’ homes.

As I was seated, however, I scanned the walls of the restaurant and took in the old-timey décor. The Cracker Barrel restaurants take pride in the old country store environment. You can learn more about the décor and about Larry Singleton, their Décor Warehouse Manager, at http://www.crackerbarrel.com/about-decor.cfm?doc_id=51. After I ordered my meal, I sat there contemplating the scores of old framed photographs that dated from the 1800s and early 1900s. Who were these people? Where did they live? And how did their portrait photographs come to be hung in a restaurant? I always find it disturbing that these pictures have been lost to their families. However, there are some resources for learning about old photographs and the possibilities of reuniting them with their families.

Help Needed to Index Oklahoma World War I Veterans

Wanted: a few good indexers. The Oklahoma Genealogical Society (OGS) is planning to publish an index to honor the state's World War I veterans.

There are some lists, by county, that are available at the Oklahoma Historical Society Library. The Department of Veterans Affairs has a list of those who were killed in action but does not have a list of all those who served and the American Legion Department of Oklahoma does not have a list. OGS now wishes to compile a complete list.

Family History Hosting

"Family History Hosting" is a new web hosting service owned and operated by John Cardinal, a person well known for the software he produces: Second Site, a database modification tool called TMG Utility, and a calendar and anniversary utility called On This Day. I decided to take a look at http://www.familyhistoryhosting.com.

Disclaimer: I may be biased because I have known John for years and admire his work. Then again, that may be a testimonial: I have known John for years and admire his work. To view a video of a conversation I had with John last year concerning his other projects, look at: http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/12/video-an-interv.html .

Family History Hosting provides first-class web hosting services for genealogists and family historians. The site is owned and operated by a genealogist who knows what a GEDCOM file is and understands why it is important. With some rather unusual offerings, the hosting service also hopes to attract non-technical and semi-technical customers. The company's web site says:

(+) Embedding EXIF Data in Photographs

Congratulations if you have scanned your old family photos and documents or invested in a digital camera to preserve today’s pictures for future family historians. Before resting on your laurels, take a moment to recall all the old photos you’ve come across that you wish had labels describing the people, places, or events pictured. Your digital images have a built-in capability to create such labels – descriptions that won’t get separated from their subjects – with ease that would amaze our forebears. With today’s image files, what you see is only part of what you get! Let’s take a look “behind the scenes” of your digital photos.

All sorts of information can be stored inside the digital file itself, such as:

Book Review: The Jews of Sing Sing

And you thought Jews didn't commit crimes. Think again. There were thousands. - Quote from the book "The Jews of Sing Sing by Ron Arons.

Ron Arons has written a book that will interest not only some genealogists, but also historians, social scientists, criminal justice students and professionals, and anyone else interested in the seamier side of life of the first half of the twentieth century. The full title of the book is The Jews of Sing Sing : Gotham Gangsters and Gonuvim. From this book, I learned that “gonuvim” is a Yiddish word for “thieves.”

The book is a collection of biographies of Jewish criminals, but also much more. While describing the lives of many such criminals, author Arons provides insight into the backgrounds of these men. He shows time and again a pattern of dysfunctional families, alcoholic fathers and mothers, as well as life in the high-crime ghettoes of New York City. Indeed, this book is as much a social study as it is a collection of biographies.

Ron Arons has unusual skills: he is both a storyteller and an intrepid investigator who supplies the details of nearly every document he uncovers. This book is full of source citations, along with fascinating stories.

Video Interview of Ron Arons, Author of "The Jews of Sing Sing"

I recently had a chance to talk with Ron Arons, the author of a new book entitled, "The Jews of Sing Sing." This turned out to be a fascinating interview for me as Ron described the research involved in writing this book.

Early Australian Archives Go Online

Hard-to-find documents detailing the history of Australia’s immigration are becoming more readily available since the National Archives in Canberra commenced digitising its massive collection. The National Archives maintains such a large number of government records that immigration documents alone fill 22 kilometres of shelf space.

Senator John Faulkner launched the "Making Australia Home" project earlier this month -– a plan that will progressively make Australia’s immigration records available on the Internet.

Footnote.com Provides Free Access to FBI Case Files from Early 1900s

Footnote.com is providing FREE access to one of the most overlooked collections of genealogical-valuable records that the U.S. government possesses. The Bureau of Investigation records have never before been available online. In fact, many experienced genealogists have never heard of these records.

Millions of residents were investigated by the government from 1908 to 1922 and extensive dossiers were written. The reports often included full name; place and date of birth; names of parents, spouses, children, and siblings; occupation; date of immigration (if applicable); political and religious affiliations; and more.  If you haven't looked at the Bureau of Investigation case files, you may have overlooked one of the richest resources available for the years 1908 through 1922.

The following is an announcement written by Footnote.com although I also added my own comments at the end:

World's Oldest Bible Going Online

File this under "history." The British Museum has scanned and is placing online images of world's oldest Bible. The Codex Sinaiticus is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written between 330–350 A.D. It was discovered in the 19th century.

Very few people have seen this Bible due to its fragile condition. The British Museum keeps it under lock and key and and in the dark in a sealed container. It was removed from its storage case, carefully scanned and then replaced. The purpose of the scanning is to allow millions of people to view the important work without requiring any handling that would quickly ruin the remaining Bible.