Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Preserving Wedding Pictures

We live in a high-tech world, but I am not always prepared for it. Today my daughter and her new husband sent out their wedding pictures... electronically. It is a Picasa photo album on the web.

I'm thrilled that she could share those pictures so easily with friends and relatives. She doesn't need to wait for guests to come visit before she can pull out the photo album to show the pictures. Today's technology allows for fast and convenient distribution. In fact, everyone can keep a copy of as many pictures as they wish on their own computers, something not easily accomplished a few years ago.

At the same time, I have to wonder about long-term preservation.

Tombstones Can't Be Put Back

Trustees at the historic Nave Cemetery in Springfield Township, Ohio recently moved all the headstones. Trustee Mike Keith said the headstones were moved to the front of the cemetery, away from graves, to make lawn maintenance easier.

The same thing was also done in the past at the Rudy Road Cemetery, also called Pleasant Hill Cemetery.

The Ohio Genealogical Society is upset and is protesting.

Shipwreck Pocket Watch Returned After 128 Years

Diver Rich Hughes was exploring a shallow shipwreck off the Pembrokeshire coast in April 2000 when he noticed the object embedded in sediment. He thought at first that he had found a coin, but he found it was actually an intact silver pocket watch, still bearing the inscription of its owner.

Hughes said he was determined to trace the history of the watch, believing such a prized object deserved to belong to family members or a local museum. But that led Hughes on a nine-year search with lots of dead ends and few leads.

Video Interview: Tom Underhill

Roots Television has posted another video interview that will be of interest to many genealogists. In this video, Matthew Poe talks with Tom Underhill, Publisher at Creative Continuum about their latest publications.

(+) What I Use for Long-Term Data Storage

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

A newsletter subscriber asked, "What is your media of choice today (and for the next few years)? Do you use gold DVDs for your backups?" I then decided to share my answer with all Plus Edition subscribers.

In short, I think the high-cost DVD-ROM and CD-ROM disks make for a waste of money when your only concern is backup storage. To be certain, if you would like to make sure that you can read your data tomorrow or next week, then good quality media is probably a good idea. But if you plan to read that disk five years from now or twenty-five years from now, no disk is going to do that reliably. This is true regardless of how much money you spend. Neither will any DVD or CD disk, jump drive, ZIP drive or any other form of electronic media that I can think of.

Work on New SAR Genealogical Library to Start

The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, based in Louisville, Kentucky, is starting construction on a new genealogical library, the first phase of the 120 year-old organization's planned move to 809 W. Main St.

The genealogical library is being moved to Main Street from its current location at the agency's headquarters on Fourth Street south of Kentucky Street. It is the cornerstone of the society's preservation and conservation of important documents pertaining to the families of those who participated in the American Revolution. The library has extensive census records, family histories, vital statistics, photographs, and other historic documents.

StoryCorps at the FGS Conference

The following announcement was written by StoryCorps:

StoryCorps, an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening, is coming to 2009 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas on September 2-4. 

Ancestry.com to Provide High-Speed Scanners at FGS Conference in Little Rock

The following announcement was written by Ancestry.com:

Ancestry.com is excited to provide FGS conference attendees the opportunity to have their family records scanned, for free, on high–speed scanners.

The scanners will be available for up to 15-minute scanning sessions on Thursday, September 3, through Saturday, September 5, during the exhibit hall hours.

Family Tree Maker 2010 is now Available

Ancestry.com has now made the official announcement: Family Tree Maker 2010 is now available for purchase online at http://www.familytreemaker.com starting at $39.95. The program is also set to be released in select retail stores.

The following announcement was written by Ancestry.com:

No. 1 Selling Family Tree Software Continues to Offer Users Online Integration With Ancestry.com and Other Web Resources Including Microsoft® Bing^TM Maps
Highlighted Links

PROVO, UT--(August 19, 2009) - Ancestry.com, the world's largest online resource for family history, today announced the release of Ancestry.com Family Tree Maker 2010, a new and improved version of the world's No. 1 selling family history software.

(+) From Lloyd’s Library by Lloyd Bockstruck: A New South Carolina Resource

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Lloyd Bockstruck.

Unlike Spain and Portugal, where the monarchies sponsored voyages of discovery and the planting colonies in the New World, England relied on private enterprise and the nobility for underwriting the cost and risking their own wealth for the benefit of the nation. 

There were eight Lords Proprietors who were the owners of the colony of South Carolina. They did so until 1719, when the King took over the colony. For another decade the Lords Proprietors still owned all of the vacant lands in South Carolina. In 1729 South Carolina became a royal colony, and first royal governor was appointed in 1731. He began to exercise his royal authority to granting lands the next year.

The original Royal land grants are in thirty-seven volumes.

Facebook Hit with Privacy-Violation Lawsuit

Facebook is very popular amongst genealogists with a very active genealogy section. However, the company's business methods have recently come under scrutiny and now five people have filed a suit against the company, charging the social-networking company with violating California privacy laws and false advertising.

Facebook users assume that personal information and photos that they post on the site are shared only with authorized friends. However, the latest lawsuit says, “Users may be unaware that data they submit ... may be extracted and then shared, stored, licensed or downloaded by other persons or third parties they have not expressly authorized,” the suit reads.

The suit describes at length a massive data mining operation at Facebook, which it says has transformed itself from a social-networking company to a data-mining company. It faults the company for collecting and analyzing site content without user knowledge or consent.

Facebook is involved with several other legal problems involving the company's cavalier attitude about its users' private information. Earlier this year it changed its terms of use to essentially claim perpetual ownership of all content loaded on the site. In response to a user uproar, it later omitted that portion of its terms of use.

Scientists Fabricate DNA Evidence

The New York Times reports that it is possible to fabricate blood and saliva samples containing DNA from a person other than the donor, and even to construct a sample of DNA to match someone's profile without obtaining any tissue from that person — if you have access to their DNA profile in a database. This undermines the credibility of what has been considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases. I am not yet sure what it means to DNA evidence in genealogy.

"You can just engineer a crime scene," said Dan Frumkin, lead author of the paper. "Any biology undergraduate could perform this."

Video Interview: Illya D'Addezio

Roots Television has released another video interview, this time featuring  Illya D'Addezio, President and Founder of Genealogy Today. In this video, Matthew Poe talks with Illya about the site's new offerings.

You can watch and listen to the video at http://www.rootstelevision.com/players/player_conferences3.php?bcpid=6933799001&bclid=27965007001&bctid=29865721001 or click on the image below.

Brandywine Battlefield Park to Reopen with Volunteers

A few days ago I wrote (at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/08/brandywine-battlefield-park-may-close.html) that Pennsylvania's Brandywine Park closed because of the loss of state funding. I also mentioned a grass roots campaign by the Friends of Brandywine Battlefield to save the state park.

Now the Pennsylvania government has reached an agreement with the Friends of Brandywine Battlefield Park that will reopen the park next week.

Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation Adopts Genetic Genealogy’s New Industry Standard for Reporting Y-DNA Profiles

The following announcement was written by the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation:

• Fast-growing Sector of DNA Testing Industry to Adopt National Standard, Gain Greater Accuracy in Results Reporting
• Uniform Nomenclature Will Reduce Confusion for Growing Number of Consumers Using Online DNA-Ancestry Databases

SALT LAKE CITY (Aug. 17, 2009)—The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF) today announced it has implemented a recently developed industry-standard format for expressing Y-chromosome DNA profiles in genetic genealogy. The new system, or nomenclature, for Y-STR genetic markers will reduce confusion for genetic genealogy consumers, eliminate conversion errors, make personal DNA profiles easily portable and lead to more genetic matches when searching among different ancestry databases once the industry-wide standard is adopted. Y-DNA is an unrivaled tool for tracing paternal ancestry. Only males have the Y-chromosome, which is passed down virtually unchanged from father to son.

Spooky Things at the Canadian National Exhibition

Some visitors apparently never left the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. Strange noises and even stranger apparitions are seen -- and heard -- in Exhibition Place, CNE archivist Linda Cobon says. "Most are in the archives," at the General Services building on Manitoba Dr. at Strachan Ave. It is filled with mementoes, photos, record books, documents, models, posters and written accounts dating from the late 1800s.

Many of the odd sights and sounds have been experienced by security staff, some by archivists. "We don't know why so many occur here," Cobon mused. "Perhaps it's because of the things we have."

(+) Hard Times in Genealogy Publishing

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

Stop the presses!

Genealogy publishing has always been a difficult business, but it strikes me that today's economy makes such efforts even more difficult. Traditional publishing certainly is going through turmoil; newspapers and book publishers are closing down everywhere we look. Genealogy publishers are doing the same.

Genealogy: Similar to Cocaine, Amphetamines, and Other Drugs of Stimulation

Slate, the online magazine, has a story about how searching the Internet and keeping up with events through instant communication can fulfill biochemical needs within our brains. Research has shown that anticipation and simply "wanting" can stimulate dopamine production in the brain, and an Internet full of answers plays right into that.

The story describes the searching for information, and I suspect that includes searching for genealogy information, both online and off. While not specifically stated in the article, my guess is that seeking and finding genealogy information also stimulates dopamine production. Don't you feel a "high" when you find genealogy information that has eluded you for some time?

How To Send Email When You're Dead

I wish a few of my ancestors had this capability! "The Last Messages Club" is a new service that sends personal emails written prior to one's death to loved ones in the future. The messages can range from a final love letter, guidance for someone left behind, a list of instructions, or details on life insurance and other financial information. Photos, videos and documents can also be attached. Organizers insist The Last Messages Club is in no way ghoulish but eases the stress and trauma associated with the death of a loved one.

You can use The Last Messages Club to:

Google Wave Beta to be Released on September 30

I have written before about Google Wave (see http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/05/googles-wave.html and http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/07/update-google-wave.html). Wave allows customers to create a customizable communications and collaboration tools without any software other than an Internet browser. It is a distributed, peer-to-peer collaboration and conversation platform that would seem to work for genealogy purposes as well as for many other applications. Best of all, an application written in Google Wave will operate on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems.