Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Keith Wilson, R.I.P.

Sad news indeed: Keith Wilson passed away from a heart attack at age 65. Keith was the developer and the person behind "iFamily for Tiger," a Macintosh genealogy program, and the later version called "iFamily for Leopard."

I was very impressed with iFamily for Tiger when I wrote a review of it nearly two years ago. (See http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2006/12/ifamily_for_tig_1.html.) As Keith wrote on the program's web site, "iFamily for Tiger is a family tree program with a difference because Apple users think differently."

(+) How Good Are Your Genes? by George G. Morgan

There was an interesting news item in this week’s news from Shelbyville, Indiana. Edna Parker, the world’s oldest woman, died. She was 115 years and 220 days old, according to Robert Young, a senior consultant for gerontology for Guinness World Records. Mrs. Parker was the 14th oldest validated super-centenarian in history. Maria de Jesus of Portugal, who was born on 10 September 1893, is now the world's oldest living person.

A super-centenarian is defined as someone who has reached the age of 110 or more. Only one in a thousand centenarians achieve this age, and only about 2% reach the age of 115. This is an extraordinary physiological achievement indeed!

Florida State Genealogical Society Achievement Awards

The Florida State Genealogical Society recently gave several well-deserved awards for outstanding achievements. I was especially pleased to see that a Distinguished Service Award was given to George G. Morgan. George is a frequent contributor to this newsletter and I already know that he is a prolific genealogical speaker, instructor, and writer. It's nice to see others recognizing his achievements as well.

Here is the official announcement written by the Florida State Genealogical Society:

The Florida State Genealogical Society held its 32nd annual conference at the Sheraton Orlando–North hotel in Maitland on November 14-15, 2008. In addition to a full two days of informative and interesting workshops with featured guest speaker Ms. Jana Sloan Broglin of Swanton, OH, FSGS awarded several awards to honor those who diligently research and assist others in genealogy. The awards were presented at a banquet on Friday evening. A number of Florida Pioneers and their descendants were also honored as the descendants received Florida Pioneer Certificates for either a state level or county level pioneer who resided in either the state or county before or at the time of statehood or county organization. The descendants had to have research to prove the ancestral link to the pioneer in order to qualify for the certificate. The awards given are as follows:

Cloning a Neanderthal?

About six months ago I wrote an article entitled "Cloning of Humans - How About Your Loved Ones?" in which I suggested that scientists will soon be able to clone deceased loved ones. To be sure, they will not be identical copies of the original human but would share the same genetic make-up. The article is available at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/05/cloning-of-huma.html. Now scientists are suggesting that cloning of humans will take place in the next few years, although early suggestions have more of a historic and scientific justification.

Sangamon County, Illinois Genealogical Society to Shut Down Next Month

After 40 years in existence, the Sangamon County Genealogical Society is shutting down next month. Declining membership and dues revenue, as well as the abundance of genealogical information available on the Internet, all contributed to the group’s demise, its leaders said this week.

$38,923 Grant for Johnson County, Missouri Digital Cemetery Project

We need more grants like this one! The Johnson County Library will enable names and dates on grave markers in Johnson County cemeteries to be more accessible to genealogists and other researchers. With assistance from a grant of $38,923 from the Johnson County Heritage Trust Fund authorized by the Board of County Commissioners, the Johnson County Library will implement its Digital Cemetery Project: Recording and Preserving Cemeteries in Johnson County.

Video: Report from the Family History Expo in Mesa, Arizona

I had the opportunity to attend the recent Family History Expo held in Mesa, Arizona. I must say that enjoyed the event. One  of the things I enjoyed most was describing the Expo during an interview with Lisa Louise Cook of the Genealogy Gems Podcasts. Lisa supposedly was interviewing me although I think it turned out to be more of a two-way conversation.

Tracing a Crime Suspect Through a Relative's DNA

Over nearly two decades, a serial killer has shot and strangled at least 11 people, often dumping their battered bodies in alleyways of Inglewood and Los Angeles. Police have determined through DNA and other evidence that the killings were the work of a single person. But the DNA does not match any of the millions of genetic profiles of convicted criminals in law enforcement databases, and detectives have few other clues.

Now Los Angeles Police Department investigators want to search the state's DNA database again -- not for exact matches but for any profiles similar enough to belong to a parent or sibling. The hope is that one of those family members might lead detectives to the killer.

The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony: 1620

You can find hundreds of Web sites devoted to the topics of Pilgrims, Plymouth Colony, and the voyage of the Mayflower in 1620. I cannot say that I have seen all of these sites, but of those that I have seen, I must say that I am most impressed by Duane A. Cline's "The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony: 1620."

Hoover Dam and Boulder City, NV Genealogical and Historical CD Data Base

The following is an announcement of a new genealogy CD-ROM disk:

Nov 24, 2008 – Judith Sattler Irons has finalized 14 years of comprehensive research in her newly released CD Data Base Hoover Dam Construction Workers and Pioneer Families of Boulder City Nevada 1929 thru mid-1936.

The data base includes sections on the businesses and businessmen, contractors and subcontractors, government employees and organizations associated with the planning and construction of Hoover Dam and the Boulder Canyon Project.

Family Historian 4 Due Out Soon – Free Upgrade Offer Now

The following announcement was written by Calico Pie.

NOTE: This announcement appears to be written for the U.K. market. Anyone in North America might also want to read an announcement about Family Historian published last week at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/11/family-historia.html with a follow-up article at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/11/update-family-h.html.

26th November, 2008.  Calico Pie today released details of version 4 of Family Historian, the UK’s leading genealogy software program.  The new version is due for release in February 2009, but thanks to a Christmas promotion, anyone who buys Family Historian 3 now from a named stockist, while stocks last, can get a free upgrade to version 4 when it becomes available (see Christmas Offer below for details).

(+) Genealogical Nuggets in the GRC Reports by Lloyd Bockstruck

Most genealogists are aware that the on-line periodical index, PERSI, has made the identification and retrieval of abstracts of Bible, church, cemetery, and county records for genealogical research almost effortless. However, there are other resources that may be less obvious but still provide a wealth of information. I would like to describe one such work for you in this article, as well as pass on a word about another worthy publication.

1875 Norway Census Is Coming & Other Status Reports

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch. Please notice the words "FamilySearch’s Historical Family Reconstitution unit." That is a project that has not yet created much publicity but could be the basis for something very exciting: linking existing records in such a manner as to define, or "reconstitute," families, neighborhoods and villages.

1875 Norway Census

In the first week of December, we will start indexing the 1875 Norway Census. This will be a large segment of the census for rural areas of Norway, but not the entire census.  FamilySearch’s Historical Family Reconstitution unit has joined forces with the University of Tromsø in Norway to complete this project. The university is indexing the census records for the urban areas of Norway.

Pass the word along that anyone interested in Norwegian genealogical research is encouraged to help by volunteering as a FamilySearch indexer.

Video Interview: Craig Scott

On the 2008 Wholly Genes Genealogy Conference/Cruise, I had a chance to talk "on camera" with Craig Scott. If you do not recognize his name, I can point out that he is President and CEO of Heritage Books, Inc. as well as an expert in military records, Scottish ancestry and a number of other topics. He and I talked about his experiences in publishing 3,200 genealogy books, as well as his genealogy research expertise.

Video Interview: John Titford

John Titford is a well-known British genealogy expert, author and lecturer. I had a chance to talk with John on the recent Wholly Genes 2008 Genealogy Conference/Cruise about his recently completed project of rewriting The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. We also talked about several other topics, including his experience with Louisiana culture & history.

Genealogy Software That Records Same-Sex Marriages?

A newsletter reader sent a message this week asking a question that I could not answer. I thought I would pass this on to other readers in hopes that we can find an answer. Here is the original question:

Since we now have two states that permit same-sex couples to marry, and seven other states plus the District of Columbia with "domestic partnership" or "civil union" laws, and several foreign countries with similar laws, I've been looking for genealogical software that permits the entry of such relationships.  The Master Genealogist claims to be a "Complete Faimly History" program, but does not seem to allow the entry of same-sex marriages.  It does allow one to create a tag, such as partner, for such situations, but it does not export anything about that tag to a GEDCOM file.  The situation becomes more challenging when there are adopted children in a same-sex relationship - again, the software doesn't seem to "recognize" these non-traditional families.

Houston Public Library Joins FamilySearch in Digitization Effort

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH—Thousands of publications that capture the diverse histories of Gulf Coast states will be accessible for free online. FamilySearch and the Houston Public Library announced a joint project today to digitally preserve and publish the library’s vast collection of county and local histories, registers of individuals, directories of Texas Rangers, church histories, and biographical dictionaries. The digital records will be available for free online at FamilySearch.org and HoustonLibrary.org.

Genealogy Resources by State

Genealogists constantly pore over old records. Of course, the biggest provider of old records in the U.S. is the U.S. government. The government even maintains a listing of significant record collections available for genealogists. The list also mentions many state and local archives.

You can view the listing at: http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/History_Family/State_Genealogy.shtml.

(+) Six Cost-Saving Genealogy Research Ideas by George G. Morgan

We are in a severe economic crisis of global proportions, as I’m sure you know. The world stock markets are in a severe decline, home sales are stalled, automobile and homeowner’s insurance premiums are increasing, a number of banks are failing and/or are being acquired by others, fuel prices are in a state of flux, food prices are soaring, two-digit utility price increases are projected in my area, medical costs and prescriptions are astronomical, and the cost of traveling is at an all-time high. The U.S. election campaigns have highlighted all of these issues and more, and the same financial problems are being experienced worldwide.

Genealogy Programs for the Macintosh

This article has since been re-written and updated with current information. To read the latest version of this article, go to http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/06/genealogy-programs-for-the-macintosh.html.