Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

TGN CEO promises to open Ancestry.com to developers

Ian Lamont reported recently in The Standard that the CEO of The Generations Network, the company that owns genealogy site Ancestry.com, has pledged to open up the platform to outside developers.

In an interview, The Generations Network CEO Tim Sullivan said Ancestry.com was committed to opening up the platform, which has been developed over the last 10 years. "We will absolutely open up our platform," Sullivan said. "It's on our roadmap." However, Sullivan added that that it was unlikely to happen in the next six months, owing to other unspecified priorities for the company. He also did not describe what opening up Ancestry.com would entail, or how long it would take.

Pocket Genealogist Version 3.30 Adds Multimedia Support

The following announcement was written by Northern Hills Software:

El Dorado Springs, MO – September 29, 2008 – Northern Hills Software is pleased to announce the release of Pocket Genealogist 3.30 with support for multimedia transfers to the device. As with all Version 3 releases, this is a free update for all those who have already purchased Version 3.

The biggest change in this release is the ability to transfer photos and images to the handheld device for viewing along with other family history data. This feature does require the ‘Advanced’ version of Pocket Genealogist, and media objects are ‘view only.’

Art Lassagne, R.I.P.

I am saddened to report the passing of Art Lassagne. Holly Hansen of Family History Expos.com has written a bit about Art at http://fhexpos.com/wordpress/.

Online American Genealogical Biographical Index to Move

The following announcement was written by the Godfrey Library:

Godfrey Library publishes the American Genealogical Biographical Index (AGBI). The AGBI is a 226 volume every name index of hundreds of genealogies, including unindexed and partially indexed genealogies. The AGBI also indexes the Boston Transcript genealogical column that appeared from 1896 to 1941, the 1790 census, parts of the Pennsylvania Archives and various vital, church and military records. About 300 large libraries, in addition to the Godfrey Library, have print copies.

The only online addition appears on Ancestry.com. That is about to change. Beginning in January 2009 the AGBI will no longer be part of Ancestry.com. Instead the AGBI will be part of Godfrey Library's paid subscription service, Godfrey Scholar, and will also be part of World Vital Record's database offerings.

Gnuology

Gnuology is described as "a wiki for genealogy." It imports a GEDCOM file and then allows many people to view and edit the data through their favorite web browser. The edits can be saved and then become instantly viewable to everyone else.

Gnuology is not a program that runs on your desktop or laptop PC; it is designed to be installed on a web server. It works on Windows Server and on many flavors of UNIX and Linux. Users then can access the data on the Internet, assuming the administrators have granted user names and passwords.

(+) “Imperfect Tombstones” by George G. Morgan

Just because it is written in stone doesn’t mean it’s correct. This is especially true of tombstones, grave markers, cenotaphs, plaques, and other monument inscriptions. There are many reasons for erroneous information to have been placed on tombstones. Let’s explore many of these this week.

A Possible Discussion Board (or Forum) for www.eogn.com

Is this a good idea? I need your opinion.

I have received suggestions from a number of newsletter readers to add a discussion board (some people call it a "forum") to the Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter's web site. I am not sure if this is a good idea or not and would like to obtain your opinion. If enough people think it is a good idea, I'll do it.

Family Tree Quilt Fabric Panel

At the recent FGS conference in Philadelphia, I saw something I had not seen before. Admittedly, I don't look at quilting supplies very often; I leave that to my sister, a quilting expert. Maybe this is "old hat" to experienced quilters, although I suspect not.

FunStuffForGenealogists.com (love that name!) sells all sorts of items for genealogists: t-shirts, jewelry, magnifiers, clip art, and now quilting supplies. The item that caught my eye was the Family Tree Quilt Panel. It is a great way to honor your ancestors by adding them to a wall hanging and proudly displaying it in your home.

You need to see the pictures that I took; words alone will not adequately describe this. You can see the family tree on the wall hanging. If you look a bit harder, you will see ovals that contain the names of all the ancestors of the person shown at the "tree trunk."

Heritage Books Midnight Madness Sale September 26 – October 3, 2008

Heritage Books is having a sale. I normally don't mention a vendor's sale but this one is significant: a 30% discount on all of the 3,000 titles published by Heritage Books. That's a lot of genealogy books!

Here is the announcement:

Midnight Madness Sale
Save 30% at Heritage Books
September 26 – October 3, 2008

On the Road Again

...and at sea as well.

I am all packed and about to head out the door. I'll be joining a rather large group of genealogists on the annual RootsMagic Cruise. We will depart Los Angeles and visit the "Mexican Riviera." That's the cities of Cabo San Lucas, then on to Mazatlan and finally to Puerto Vallarta before returning to Los Angeles. We have been promised a vibrant culture, world-class beaches, lush green rain forests, and vividly painted architecture. Of course, sitting in deck chairs in the sunshine won't hurt a bit nor will the gourmet meals that seem to be served almost around the clock.

The days at sea with be filled with genealogy presentations by Elizabeth Shown Mills, George G. Morgan, Diana Crisman Smith, Gary M. Smith, Bruce Buzbee, and yours truly. The topics will vary from traditional genealogy "how to" presentations to techniques for restoring photographs, the use of Google for genealogists, the efficient use of Ancestry.com, using maps, proper identification and use of sources, and more. Bruce Buzbee will offer several presentations on specific RootsMagic topics.

ISFHWE Excellence in Writing Contest

The following announcement was written by the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors:

Recognizing Excellence in Family History Writing

The International Society of Family History Writers and Editors is sponsoring its annual "Excellence in Writing" competition to recognize excellence in genealogical columns and articles. The contest is open to all members of ISFHWE, both published and unpublished authors.

(+) The Best Spam Filter is Free

I used to have a spam mail problem. Everybody receives spam mail these days; but because my e-mail address is plastered all over the Web, I get more spam mail than most people. The "spam harvesters" that scour the web looking for e-mail addresses always find mine. I receive 400 to 800 spam messages per day, many more than the number of legitimate e-mail messages I receive.

In the past few years, I have experimented with almost every spam filter system that I have ever heard of. Some worked rather well while others were not very effective. However, almost all of them would occasionally delete legitimate e-mail messages. That is, a newsletter reader might send me a message that contains a "spam-like" word or phrase. Many spam filters will delete that message under the assumption that it is spam, even though it is a false assumption.

OGS to Recognize the War of 1812

The following announcement was written by the Ontario Genealogical Society:

The Ontario Genealogical Society plans to recognize descendants of those who fought for the British in Canada during the War of 1812-14 or were caught up in that war.

Video Interview of Judith Lucey of NEHGS

Judith Lucey is the Assistant Archivist at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston. This 163-year-old institution has an eight story building in downtown Boston, full of many treasures for genealogists and historians. While the multi-story library appeals to all, some of the best gems are stored in the Archives Collection.

Thanks to Roots Television, I had a chance to talk with Judith about this collection as she described just a few of the many items available. The Archives Collection consumes more than one-mile of shelf space so she was unable to describe EVERYTHING in the collection in a 12-minute video. However, she did describe a great sampling of the many items available on Floor 5A.

GenSoftReviews Site Launched

This looks like a winner. A new site will provide genealogy software reviews.

The following announcement was written by Louis Kessler (bio is at the end of the announcement):

All the genealogy software, reviewed and rated by you.

Winnipeg, Manitoba -- September 24, 2008 -- Now there's a website that allows  users of genealogy software to rate and review the programs they've used or tried. This will allow others who are looking for programs to better compare and select software that will help them.

The site is located at:  www.gensoftreviews.com

Your Family Coat of Arms and Other Myths

Many people, mostly Americans, believe that every family was once issued a coat of arms and then everyone born with that family name automatically gets to use the same coat of arms. If you believe that, it is time to correct the myth.

NOTE: There is an exception. I am told that Samurai families in Japan do have family coats of arms although they do not resemble British or European coats of arms. In any case, if your ancestry is 100% Japanese Samurai, the rest of this article does not apply to you.

To begin with, coats of arms are never issued to families; they are issued to individuals. Coats of arms are issued by heralds and there are different heralds in each country in the United Kingdom and in Europe. A coat of arms is granted by the King of Arms in England and in Ireland, while the court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms grants that right in Scotland.

Video Interview of Blaine Bettinger, the Genetic Genealogist

Blaine Bettinger is a leading genealogy DNA expert. He is author of The Genetic Genealogist, a bog at http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com. That site is also subtitled, Adding DNA to the Genealogist’s Toolbox. I recently had a chance to interview Blaine for Roots Television.

Watchdog Eyes 140 'Scam' Websites, Including Genealogy Sites

The Australian consumer watchdog is investigating 141 Australian websites suspected of scamming the public following an international sweep of the internet conducted by consumer protection agencies yesterday.

The suspicious sites include those providing genealogy/family history services, online DNA testing, lotteries, premium mobile services and arbitrage betting providers, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said.

Revealing Hidden Roots with DNA

The Boston Globe has an interesting article written by Vanessa E. Jones that describes the use of DNA to provide proof of one's ancestry, especially for Jewish families and for African-American families.

Quoting from the article, "some academics have complained that it's difficult for African-Americans to use only DNA to pinpoint the particular community they come from in Africa. This is because haplotypes, the DNA profile that provides a particular genetic stamp, can occur across different ethnic groups. By the end of this year, Bruce Jackson, a professor of biotechnology and forensic DNA science at MassBay Community College in Wellesley Hills, hopes to create a model that could help African-Americans successfully discover their own lineages. He'll do so by tracing the migration patterns of the haplotypes of people proven to be Korenbaums [a Jewish family with origins along the Bug River in what was once Poland and is now Belarus]. Since the Korenbaums represent a small sampling of people proven to be related, it is easier to make a model for research."

Video Interview of Diane Haddad and Allison Stacy of Family Tree Magazine

I recently had a chance to talk with Diane Haddad, Managing Editor, and Allison Stacy, Editor, of Family Tree Magazine about recent changes to the magazine's website, including reorganized content, videos, podcasts and a weekly newsletter. This is a leading genealogy magazine in the U.S.