The DAILY genealogy technology newsletter for genealogy
consumers, packed with straight talk - hold the sugar coating - whether
the vendors like it or not!
The Martin F. Schmidt Research Library of the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) recently became an affiliate library of the Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).
Through an agreement with the Genealogical Society of Utah, FamilySearch, patrons of the KHS library have access to the LDS family-history collection of microfilm and microfiche, which is currently comprised of over 3.1 million microforms.
I would like to ask for your help. I feel I can better meet your needs and interests if I can learn more about the experiences and the expertise of the readers of this newsletter. If you can answer a few quick survey questions, I can compile a clearer picture of the “typical online genealogist.” help me identify the "typical newsletter reader," I can then write articles aimed at that more reader's’ interests.
I know that lots of other people are also curious. The curious people include other genealogists as well as genealogy software producers, operators of genealogy web sites, and others. We want to know about you, the genealogist. A bit of knowledge about you and a few hundred other genealogists will help all of us focus our products and services to better service our customers.
The following announcement was written by the Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society:
Manchester, United Kingdom, September 15, 2009 -- Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society (MLFHS), based in the U.K. is pleased to announce the release of its genealogy toolbar which integrates seamlessly with the users browser (IE, Firefox, Safari) to provide instant access to family history sites including online BMD, Archives, Societies, Pay to View and many more.
Wow! I have written often about the financial problems of various libraries all around the country, but this announcement is the biggest shut-down I have beard of to date. All Free Library of Philadelphia branch, regional and central libraries will close permanently at the end of the business day on October 2, 2009. The shut-down is "permanent" unless new funding is found.
City residents and others will lose more than 6 million items, ranging from books and magazines to art, music, film, and other media, as well as a number of special collections.
The U.K. census images have been available on a "pay-as-you-go" basis. Now findmypast.com will offer subscriptions. This should be cheaper for people who wish to view a lot of images.
The 1911.co.uk blog states:
We are delighted to announce that the 1911 census will be available in October as a new subscription package on our sister website findmypast.com. 1911census.co.uk will continue as a PayAsYouGo-only site. findmypast.com is the only site to offer a subscription to the census.
It’s still a mystery as to how the gravestone of J.J. Hlavac ended up in Marne Creek. But it’s no longer a mystery as to where the gravestone belongs. It was returned to its original resting place in the ZCBJ Czech Cemetery just south of Tabor last week, thanks to the efforts of a Nebraska genealogy enthusiast.
And for that, Hlavac’s family is grateful. “We are just thrilled that it is back where it belongs,” said Mary Ann Vanecek. Hlavac was the grandfather of Vanecek’s husband, Alvin.
When Brad Kellogg called her recently about the gravestone, Vanecek said she felt it was nothing short of a miracle.
The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Chris Pomery.
The recently announced news that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published a common standard for the reporting of Y-chromosome DNA profiles is extremely good news for any male genealogist who has already, or will in the future, take a Y-chromosome DNA test.
During the ten years since this kind of DNA testing was first targeted at family historians, a range of DNA testing firms have marketing tests specifically aimed at you and me. The result they send us back is basically a series of numbers. Compare that series with another man’s series, and you can estimate whether the two of you share a common male ancestor within the past thousand years, the widest historical timeframe that genealogical research can handle, or whether the link between you goes back in time much further.
A great online genealogy magazine, called Digital Genealogist, recently ceased publication. (See my earlier article at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/08/digital-genealogist-to-cease-publication.html.) However, owner/editor Liz Kerstens and I decided to give all the subscribers of that magazine a chance to switch to subscriptions to Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter at no additional charge. The change is optional; there is no need to change if you do not wish to.
I'm delighted to report that many Digital Genealogist subscribers elected to make the switch and are now here as Plus Edition subscribers. They will be receiving this week's Plus Edition e-mail version and also now have full access to the Plus Edition web site at http://www.eogn.com/wp/.
The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has a rather simple, but impressive, web site. The site includes images of many orignal documents as well as indexes that allow the documents to be found quickly.
Picasa is one of the most popular online photo publishing services available. However, it has always been a place to publish your photos for others to see. Now Google (the owners of Picasa) have introduced Collaborative Picasa Web Albums. Every album on Picasa Web Albums is potentially collaborative: multiple people can add pictures to the same album.
You can now create a Picasa account and then your, your siblings, your cousins, and others can upload pictures to the same albums. This should be a great method of sharing family photos, whether they be from the late 1800s or from last week's family reunion.
The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.
It's a hostile world out there. Hackers, rip-off artists, and other miscreants want to obtain your personal information. The goal is identity theft: they want to obtain your personal information so that they may pose as you and then drain money from your bank and credit card accounts or to create new accounts with lines of credit.
Luckily, it is easy to foil such thieves. You do not have to give up your online life. There is no need to cancel bank accounts or credit card accounts. All you need to do is to follow a few simple precautions.
The Michigan
Library Association organized an excellent Rally on the Lansing
Capitol steps yesterday. Thank you to Gale and Proquest for the red
T-Shirts and the posters. Thanks to all those who came and supported
the Rally.
Governor Granholm amended her Executive Order 9
September 2009. We do need to thank her for that. HOWEVER, we also
need to reminder her and ALL OF THE REPRESENTATIVES and SENATORS that
there are still 3 things that we are very concerned about.
The following announcement was written by the organizers of the 2010 Brigham Young University Computerized Genealogy Conference:
Lecture proposals are now being accepted for the 2010 Brigham Young University Computerized Genealogy Conference, which will be held Friday, 12 March, and Saturday, 13 March 2010, at the Conference Center, BYU campus, Provo, Utah. Each lecture period will be 60 minutes, including questions and answers.
The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:
11 September 2009
More international collections were updated the past few weeks, as well as the much anticipated 1892 New York State Census (partial) and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Marriage Indexes, 1885–1951. These collections can be searched for free at the FamilySearch.org Record Search pilot (click Search Records, and then click Record Search pilot).
The main Louisville, Kentucky library is opening back up little by little after devastating flash floods. The second floor is open to the public for the first time in over a month but access is limited to the stairs. There are about 25 public computers on the second floor and that’s also where the genealogy, Kentucky history resources and government documents are located.
Today, Daniel Caron, the Librarian and Archivist of Canada, called a hastily arranged press conference refute the news stories. He claims that the Portrait Gallery of Canada will not change its name nor its status. However, it will still be merged with a new department. Gallery director general Lilly Koltun is also being let go.
Federal Computer Week has an interesting article about the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) that describes the challenges of the agency's task of preserving records in a digital age. NARA has always been responsible for preserving all correspondence and publications. That was a rather simple task when all business was conducted on paper. The agency catalogs and maintains vast warehouses of government documents, protecting the public record — a linchpin of democracy — for future generations.
A haggis recipe was published in an English book almost two hundred years before any evidence of the dish in Scotland, a historian has claimed.
Historian Catherine Brown said she found references to the dish inside a 1615 book called The English Hus-Wife. The title would pre-date Robert Burns' poem To A Haggis, which brought fame to the delicacy, by at least 171 years. The first mention she could find of Scottish haggis was in 1747.
I am delighted to announce that another author has joined the crew at this newsletter. Scott Norton is a DNA expert and will be writing occasional articles about DNA and genealogy for the EOGN newsletter.
Scott has been involved in DNA and Family History for more than 10 years and has a lot of experience turning DNA into history. He runs several DNA surname studies, but spends most of his spare time in the Norton DNA project at www.nortonfamily.net. He and the others involved in the Norton DNA Project are linking every Norton line with DNA and confirming paper history.
The following article was written by Scott Norton and is republished here with his permission.
Using DNA tests to break through brick walls in family history is pretty easy. It's like Bingo: you match the numbers and you win. Your goal is to match the numbers of your DNA test with others and compare pedigrees. Most of the people I've helped have opened new doors, and some have made a real breakthrough. Here are step-by-step instructions to make DNA work for you. (If you need advice or direction about DNA and Family History, there is information at the end of this article.)
Recent Comments