Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Burr Oak Cemetery Database Now Online

I have written several times recently (http://www.google.com/cse?cx=003715150024579880844%3Aulyzue1ivzu&ie=UTF-8&q=+Burr+Oak&sa=Search) about the tragedy of the Burr Oak Cemetery near Alsip, Illinois. The news services have also been full of stories about the cemetery. As many as 300 graves at Burr Oak Cemetery near Alsip may have been dug up and the remains dumped so the plots could be resold. To help families search for their loved ones' graves, the Cook County Sheriff's office is building a database so families can search for images of headstones. The new database is sponsored by Chicago Tribune and the information has been entered by police officers, mostly those from the Cook County Sheriff's department.

Allen County Public Library Receives Another $1 Million Gift

Last year I reported that the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana had received a one million dollar endowment from the Edward D. and Ione Auer Foundation, a private charitable organization. You can see my earlier article at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/08/allen-county-pu.html. Officials said the gift would be used to help pay for operation of the library’s renowned genealogy department – the largest publicly owned genealogy collection in the world.

The same article reported, "additional $1 million donations annually for the next ten years." The second installment has now been paid.

Increase in the Guild of One-Name Studies Subscription

The following was written by the Guild of One-Name Studies:

The Guild of One-Name Studies is increasing its subscription rate to £15.00 with effect from the 1st November 2009.  This is the first increase in the Guild’s subscription rate for twelve years.  A subscription is payable on joining, and then annually on 1st November each year. Applications processed before the 1st August will be deemed to be for that year, and another subscription will be due on the next 1st November. Members joining before 1st August will receive a Welcome Pack containing the latest Register and the Journal back numbers for that year.

The Year 1909

Ah, the good old days. Life was simpler and...

The year is 1909, one hundred years ago. Here are some statistics for the year 1909 (from an anonymous author) :

How Not to Provide Customer Service: United Breaks Guitars

All large corporations claim that they listen to their customers. Of course, most of us have had experiences that proved the opposite.

United Airlines provided a disservice to passenger Dave Carroll by breaking his expensive guitar that was in checked luggage. United's baggage handlers smashed it. Carroll contacted the airline, asking for a replacement. After giving Carroll the corporate run-around for weeks, United refused to pay.

Being a musician, David Carroll decided to take action. He wrote a song describing the incident, recorded it, and then uploaded a video to YouTube. "United Breaks Guitars" instantly became one of the most popular videos on YouTube. After only three days, it had almost 1.5 million views and 10,000 comments, virtually all siding with the band. The story has since been picked up by CNN, NPR, and CBS.

Ancestry.com Announces Member Connect: Discover More by Connecting with Other Members

Writing in the Ancestry.com blog, David Graham describes the newest addition to Ancestry.com's many services:

We hear from our members all the time that some of their most meaningful family history experiences have come from connecting with another Ancestry.com member who has rich information about one of their ancestors. That’s why we’re excited to announce the launch of Member Connect, a new feature that will make it easier than ever before to discover and collaborate with other members who are researching the same ancestors you are.

Indiana Genealogical Society to Digitize Boxes of Court Records

The Indiana Genealogical Society, with the support of Hendricks County Clerk Cindy Spence, is coordinating volunteers and funds to preserve and digitize 25 boxes of probate records that are in the basement of the Hendricks County courthouse in Danville, Indiana. These records date from 1824 (when the county was founded) to 1899 and have never been microfilmed, indexed or otherwise been accessible to the public. They contain valuable information about the lives of some of the county's earliest settlers.

Genealogists Encouraged to Embrace Change

Michael De Groote has written an article in the Mormon Times that should be required reading for any of us who use the facilities at the Family History Library in Salt Laker City or at any of the local FamilySearch centers around the world. De Groote writes about a speech given this week by David Rencher, Chief Genealogical Officer for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Rencher pointed out the fast changing methods by which we look for records of our ancestors.

Amongst the article's major points:

(+) A New Fad Sweeps the Country in the 1870s

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

We all know about popular fads: the hula hoops of the fifties, the pet rocks of the sixties, and body-piercing jewelry of the present time. The young people generally embrace fads with open arms while older generations wring their hands and wonder what the younger generation is coming to. However, we generally do not think about fads in the times of our ancestors. A quick bit of historical study shows that our ancestors were just as enthusiastic about new ideas and fashions as are any of their descendants. Some of these fads had far-reaching effects on future generations. In fact, some of us might not be here today had it not been for one of these fads.

Free Access to 1911 Census for England & Wales

Thousands of people across England and Wales will soon get the opportunity to delve into their family history online for free. The National Archives, in collaboration with UK-based family history website findmypast.com, is providing seven archives and libraries around England and Wales with free access to the recently completed online records of the 1911 census.

The census, available at 1911census.co.uk, provides a snapshot of life in the early 20th century, showing the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home, as well as their relationship to the head of the household.

How Your Parents' Genes Shape Your Brain

High school biology class taught us that each of us is a composite of our parents; your mother and father each provided you with half your genes, and each parent’s contribution was equal. Gregor Mendel, often called the father of modern genetics, came up with this concept in the late 19th century, and it has been the basis for our understanding of genetics ever since.

But in the past couple of decades, scientists have learned that Mendel’s understanding was incomplete.

Using DNA to Solve Amelia Earhart's Disappearance

It has been 72 years since famed aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared while attempting to fly around the world. But the mystery remains unsolved: Nobody knows exactly what happened to Earhart or her plane.

Now researchers at the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, or Tighar, say they are on the verge of recovering DNA evidence that would demonstrate Earhart had been stranded on Nikumaroro Island (formerly known as Gardner Island) before finally perishing there. The 2.5-mile-long Nikumaroro Island, located about 1,800 miles south of Hawaii, was uninhabited until 1938 -- one year after Earhart disappeared. At that time the island was under British colonial rule, so the first inhabitants were an eight-man team instructed to start clearing land for a village and coconut plantation. Then, two years later, in 1940, the island's administrator found bones, and a campsite. (Details may be found at http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Bones_Chronology.html.)

During May and June of next year, Tighar will launch a new $500,000 expedition, continuing the archaeological work it has been doing on the island since 2001.

Crib Sheets for Immigrants

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

But only if they meet our standards and look like us.

The last line was added by me and does not appear on the Statue of Liberty. Yet, it seems to be true.

One item that is not taught in American history books concerns the number of would-be immigrants who were refused admittance to the United States. Of the large number of immigrants who came to the U.S. through Ellis Island, only about 2% were refused admittance. However, during some of the peak years more than one million people were admitted, so 2% equals 20,000 people deported per year.

One More Reason to Back Up Your Data

Here is a recent advertisement from CraigsList:

Stolen White MacBook - $1000 (berkeley)
Date: 2009-07-29, 1:57AM PDT
Reply to: [email-address-deleted]@craigslist.org

White MacBook stolen by two African American men near North Berkeley BART at 11:30 PM July 28, 2009. Willing to pay $1000 for the stolen laptop no questions asked as long as information is provided letting me know you have the laptop I want. Tell me the screensaver and the name of a few documents on the desktop.

Sarah Long's Library Beat Podcast: an Interview with Dick Eastman

Sarah Long's podcast, "Longshots," explores the world of libraries through interviews with key library figures and commentary on issues that matter to libraries. She is the Director of the North Suburban Library System, an organization of over 650 academic, public, school, and special libraries in the north/northwest suburbs of Chicago. She is also a well-known podcaster, often posting podcasts of interest to librarians and others. Sarah recently interviewed me and that audio interview is now available online.

Sarah's description of the podcast is:

Jackson County (Indiana) Historical and Genealogical Societies Merged

The Jackson County Historical and Genealogical Societies have recently voted to merge to become the Jackson County History Center, Inc. Details may be found at http://www.ingenweb.org/injackson/genealogicalsoc/pressrelease.htm.

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Update: New Archivist of the United States Nominee: David Ferriero

Yesterday I reported that rumors were floating around that David Ferriero would be nominated as the next Archivist of the United States. Those rumors are now confirmed: President Barack Obama has announced that he plans to nominate David Ferriero to head the National Archives and Records Administration, White House officials have said.

If confirmed as the new U.S. Archivist, Ferriero would be responsible for working to improve how the government tracks and maintains its electronic records. NARA is putting in place its next-generation Electronic Records Archive system, estimated to cost more than $550 million.

(+) What is an ISO file and What Can I do With It?

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

Those of us who have been using computers for some time have become accustomed to a variety of file extensions. A file extension is the series of letters that is added to a file name after the period. It is often three letters long although it could be longer or shorter. In the Windows world, a file extension of .EXE indicates an executable file (a program), while .ZIP indicates a file that is compressed in ZIP format, .MP3 is a music file, .TXT is a text file, .DOC indicates a word processing document in the format used by Microsoft Word, .JPG is a graphics file, and so on.

Canadian War Children Of World War Two

Canadian Roots UK is a self help website set up to help people in the UK trace their fathers/family in Canada. It also provides information to Canadians who may be looking for information about babies fathered in the UK during World War 2.

The web site hopes to serve as a clearinghouse for those searching and those being searched. Most of the information on the site may be found by clicking on "Searches." You will find two kinds of searches: fathers/family looking for children and war-time children looking for their fathers.