Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

FGS Conference This Week in Philadelphia

One of the major genealogy conferences each year is that of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, or FGS. This conference always attracts 1,500 to 2,000 attendees and features more than 200 presentations, lectures, luncheons and workshops.  This year's conference will be held this week, September 3 through 6, in Philadelphia.

As in past conferences, this year's event features presentations about almost every conceivable genealogy-related topic: Italian, Irish, German, Czech, Slovak, Black American, and other ethnic groups; computers; DNA; Revolutionary War; and much more. (You can find a complete list at http://www.fgsconference.org/program.)

This Newsletter's Laptop Lounge and Free Wi-Fi Network at the FGS Conference

OK, this is very unofficial. The EOGN/Footnote.com Laptop Lounge is traveling to Philadelphia and will be found in booths 225 and 324 in the exhibits hall of the FGS conference this week.

This is a repeat performance. If you have seen the EOGN/Footnote.com Laptop Lounge at an earlier genealogy conference, you already know what I am about to describe. The only difference is that the wireless networking has been improved since last time.

If you are not familiar with this newsletter's Laptop Lounge, I'd suggest you take a look at the photos I snapped at earlier conferences at http://blog.eogn.com/photos/laptop_lounge/.

Thanks to the folks at Footnote.com, the Laptop Lounge is a booth in the exhibits hall where you can drop in, relax, check your e-mail, converse, and "take a load off your feet."

(+) Where Do I Find Employment Information? by George G. Morgan

It’s Labor Day weekend in the United States, an occasion that always makes me think about what my ancestors did for a living. Perhaps this is a good time to consider your own ancestors from an occupational perspective.

The occupation of your ancestor and family members can provide a great deal of contextual information for your research. Published local histories and newspaper accounts provide the geographical and social backdrop for your ancestors, but learning more about what he or she did for a living can help you understand more clearly what kind of life he or she led in that place at that time.

Yesterday's Journey: A Collection of Names from the County of Derbyshire, England

Writing in the King's County (New Brunswick) Record, Diana Lynn Tibert described one of those hidden gems that genealogists love to uncover. If you have ancestors from the County of Derbyshire, England, you will want to spend some time on a web site called "Yesterday's Journey."

More About Forensic Techniques Identify Hand from 1948 Plane Crash

On August 14, I published an article about forensic genealogy techniques used to identify remains from a newly-discovered 1948 airplane crash. The earlier article is available at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/08/cutting-edge-fo.html

Now Today at MSNBC has a video report on the press conference held simultaneously in Anchorage and in Washington, D.C. via an Internet video connection.

Family Tree Maker 2009

The Generations Network has now officially released the new Family Tree Maker 2009. This is the latest version of what is probably the best-selling genealogy software in the world.

The 2008 version was a complete re-write and received a mixed reception from users. The 2009 version reportedly includes many new features suggested by users as well as many new bug fixes. I haven't seen the new version yet but did receive the following, written by The Generations Network:

Family Tree Maker 2009 Release

The Family Tree Maker team is pleased to announce the release of Family Tree Maker 2009. We are excited about the new features and user requested tools included in this version.

A Free Upgrade to Family Tree Maker 2009

Registered Owners of Family Tree Maker 2008 can obtain a free upgrade to the new version released this week. The following was written by The Generations Network:

Richard Kivel and John Finlay Join Familybuilder

The following announcement was written by Familybuilder:

Familybuilder welcomes genetics expert Richard Kivel to its Board of Directors; genealogy expert John Finlay to its Board of Advisors

New York, NY - August 28, 2008 -  Familybuilder (http://www.familybuilder.com) today announces the addition of Richard Kivel to its Board of Directors and John Finlay to its Board of Advisors, experts in genetics and genealogy respectively. Familybuilder caters to social network members who use its Family Tree application on the popular social networks Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, and Orkut. Kivel and Finlay will support the company's mission of helping more families connect online and through its forthcoming DNA services.

Follow-up: Church Records Re-Opened at National Library of Ireland

Three months ago I wrote about the National Library of Ireland's actions to  remove access restrictions to its microfilm copies of Catholic parish registers. These restrictions had applied only to records from three dioceses - Cashel & Emly, Cloyne and Kerry - while those of all 23 other dioceses had been on unrestricted access for several years. You can read my earlier article at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/05/church-records.html.

Genealogists cheered when the restrictions were removed.

The New FamilyTreeMagazine.com

Family Tree Magazine is a popular U.S. printed magazine that also has an excellent web site. The online web site is much more than an advertisement for the printed magazine; it has that plus many other articles of its own. Now the company has revamped the web site and it does look good.

Historian Finds Family Link in Misplaced Gravestone

Rob Gregg, an amateur historian in Medfield, Massachusetts, was cataloging headstones in a local cemetery when he found one that didn't belong. The stone is for Mary Parker Adams, married to Silas Adams, died 1793. The problem is that she and her husband never lived in Medfield. Rob Gregg went online to search for her and found that she and her husband some distance away. Then he found something unexpected: Mary Parker Adams' husband, Silas, was Rob Gregg's 5th cousin six times removed.

Carry Your Genealogy Database on the iPhone or iPod Touch

MobileFamilyTree from Synium Software is a great product for any genealogist with an Apple iPhone cell phone or an iPod Touch music player. You can easily carry your database with you when visiting a library, an archive, a family reunion, or even a genealogy conference. Do you already have information about that individual? Whip out the iPhone or iPod Touch, and look it up. You no longer have to carry several pounds worth of computer printouts or 3-ring binders; all the information is in the cell phone.

MobileFamilyTree allows you to access most of your data simply by using the handheld device's touch sensitive screen. You can browse persons and families or even edit information directly on the handheld device.

Gates Documentary Series Receives $12M in Funding

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) recently announced funding in the amount of $12 million for three, new public television documentary series in which Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. will explore the meaning of race, culture, and identity in America. Gates' recent PBS series include “African American Lives” and “African American Lives 2,” “Oprah’s Roots: An African American Lives Special,” “America Beyond the Color Line,” and “Wonders of the African World.”

Expanding the Reach of Genealogy Societies and Conferences

WARNING: This article contains personal opinions. The intended audience for this article is the members and officers of genealogy societies.

There are two contradictory "facts" floating around among genealogy societies, points that I hear discussed at almost all the genealogy conferences and meetings that I attend:

Fact #1: Genealogy is more popular today than ever before. It is the second or third or fourth most popular topic on the Web, depending upon whose sources you care to cite.

Fact #2: Attendance at all genealogy venues is down. The average attendance at genealogy conferences is declining. (Note that I wrote "average." There are some notable exceptions.) Membership in genealogy societies is also declining. Finally, the number of visitors to most major genealogy libraries reportedly is declining.

Is it just me, or does anyone else see a contradiction in these two "facts?" If interest in genealogy is growing, why aren't we seeing more and more people at conferences, libraries, and society meetings?

FamilySearch Update: 9 Million New Records Plus New Indexing Projects

FamilySearch has updated or added three new free databases this week to its online pilot program at http://pilot.familysearch.org. The new additions represent over 9 million new names.  There are now over 477 million searchable names on the pilot site.

New Project to Replace GRO's Aborted Digitization Efforts?

In the August 16 newsletter, I wrote about an announcement from the General Register Office (GRO) of the United Kingdom declaring the suspension of a major effort: the £16 Million (roughly $30 Million US Dollars) project to digitize 250 million records of births, marriages, and deaths in England and Wales from 1837 to the present day. Now there may be a ray of hope of the project being resurrected.

The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) sent a petition protesting the collapse of the project and a demand for it to be restarted. The petition closed on July 26th, and the FFHS has just recedived the following response:

(+) The Legacy of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic by George G. Morgan

Every genealogist eventually comes face-to-face with the cause of death for many of his or her ancestors. We contemplate the old disease names such as “brain fever” (meningitis), Bright’s disease (kidney failure), cancer, cholera, tuberculosis, heart attack, smallpox, tetanus, typhoid fever, diphtheria, yellow fever, malaria, and a host of others for which there are medications that have reduced the mortality rates. This week’s column is a little different look at genealogy, science, and family experiences.

This week marks the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of the most virulent outbreak of the “great influenza” in 1918. Also referred to as the Spanish flu, it was first observed at Fort Riley, Kansas, on 4 March 1918 and then again a week later in Queens, New York.  In August, however, simultaneous epidemics appeared in Boston, Massachusetts, Brest, France, and Freetown, Sierra Leone.

6,800 Free Programs for Windows

Here is a list of a bunch of free programs for Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 2000. Most of the programs will also work on Windows 98 and ME. The list includes games, anti-virus programs, adware removal programs, backup and restore utilities, music and video media programs, and music and video production programs. There are text-to-speech programs, desktop themes, and a lot more. All programs are totally free of charge and may be downloaded directly from the Internet.

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Online

www.Monticello.org is an excellent web site that provides information about the life and times of Thomas Jefferson. The site is run by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the same non-profit organization that owns and operates Monticello, the mountaintop home of Thomas Jefferson. Since 1923, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation has steadily expanded its role as a museum and educational institution. In recent years, the organization added www.Monticello.org as a major method of reaching people worldwide who might otherwise be unable to visit Monticello.

The Monticello.org web site has several features of interest to genealogists, including one that will be especially useful to anyone researching Black American ancestry at Monticello:

One More Word About Backups

I know I have written many times about the need to make backups. However, after reading a comment posted to this newsletter's web site this week, I have to write one more time.

In the comments section after an article about a free software upgrade available for a popular genealogy program, a newsletter reader wrote:

This free upgrade was a major disaster!!! It truncated/lost much of my research and I could not retrieve it. Don't use it... (I know I should have backed up my data first, but I didn't.)