Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Who Do You Think You Are? with Emmitt Smith

The second episode of Who Do You Think You Are? (U.S. edition) was broadcast on Friday night and again was a fascinating episode. This week's episode featured Emmitt Smith, former National Football League star. While it was broadcast on television, I watched it the following day on my computer by visiting www.hulu.com.

Smith had expectations of finding information about his slave ancestry and also possible leads back to Africa. He first returned to Pensacola, Florida, the town where he grew up, to ask his parents what they knew about their ancestry. His father also pointed Emmitt to a website that provides information about Emmitt's great-great-grandparents, William and Victoria Watson. Smith then went to Burnt Corn, Alabama, where he met a second cousin who provided leads. He then traveled to the Monroe County, Alabama, courthouse to examine records and then on to Mecklenburg County, Virginia. Here Emmitt learned that he also has white ancestry, probably the result of a forced rape of his black slave ancestor.

At that point he ran into a roadblock: a lack of records prior to 1826.

Family History Library Classes Now Available on Internet

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

Free Classes Make Genealogy Expertise Accessible Anywhere

SALT LAKE CITY–It is rare that Marcia Covington can make the trip from her home in State College, Pennsylvania, to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Now, however, people like Covington can take classes from the world-famous library without ever leaving home.

The FamilySearch Family History Library is now making its popular classes available at FamilySearch.org, where anyone anywhere in the world can access them for free at a time that is convenient for them. The classes have been offered on-site in Salt Lake City for years. Until now, attendance has been limited to those patrons who are fortunate to live in the surrounding community or happen to be visiting the library as part of a research trip. Making the classes available online allows access to many more patrons.

Newspapers Must Be Kept Alive as Print Editions

Printed newspapers are dying left and right, being replaced by online news and broadcast news. Yet there are reasons to keep print media alive. You may be happy getting your news online, but for some citizens the loss of the printed page will have a profoundly life-altering impact.

The Onion News Network presents its best argument for keeping print media breathing. Listen as a panelist describes life without thousands of old newspapers … at http://www.theonion.com/content/video/how_will_the_end_of_print?utm_source=videoembed or click on the image below.

Footnote.com Opens All of their U.S. Census Documents for Free to the Public

This is big news! The following announcement was written by Footnote.com:

FOOTNOTE.COM LETS PEOPLE CREATE AMERICA’S FAMILY TREE THROUGH THE ONLY INTERACTIVE U.S. CENSUS

-Finding Ancestors and distant relatives can be as easy as clicking a single button-

Lindon, UT - March 11, 2010  – In order to encourage more people to find their ancestors and connect with family, Footnote.com, the web’s premier interactive history site, is opening all of their U.S. census documents for free to the public for a limited time.

Unlike any other historical collection on the web, the Interactive Census Collection has the unique ability to connect people related to ancestors found on the historical documents.  Simply by clicking the “I’m Related” button for a name on the document will identify you as a descendent and also list others that have done the same.  Never before has it been as easy to connect with distant relatives through historical documents.  To learn how to get started with the Interactive Census, visit: http://go.footnote.com/discover.

U.S. Version of Who Do You Think You Are? Goes International

The U.S. version of Wall to Wall's original format Who Do You Think You Are?, which premiered in the U.S. on NBC last Friday night, has been sold by Outright Distribution into eight new territories. Wall to Wall has previously sold the U.K. version of the program in other countries and now has added the U.S. version to international distribution.

The show has been purchased by Australia’s Nine Network, New Zealand’s Prime network, Rogers Broadcasting in Canada, DR Denmark, MTV3 in Finland, SVT in Sweden, RTE.

This is Annie Moore at Ellis Island: $1,000 If You Can Prove Megan Wrong

Annie Moore was the first immigrant processed at Ellis Island on opening day: January 1, 1892. The Irish teenager was accompanied by her two brothers and they were the first people to appear on the first page of Ellis Island arrivals. (Previous arrivals were processed at Castle Garden.) Annie's name appeared first in the records.

Genealogist Megan Smolenyak has spent hundreds of hours researching Annie Moore and what happened to her after she left Ellis Island. You can read more about Megan's efforts in several past articles in this newsletter if you start at http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=site%3Aeogn.com+%22Annie+Moore%22&aq=f&aqi=&oq=.

Megan now believes that she has found a picture of Annie Moore and her brothers taken at Ellis Island on the day of her arrival. However, Megan is asking for help in proving or disproving the authenticity of the photograph. She is even offering a significant cash award.

Acadian Heritage Meeting in Louisiana

The Imperial St. Landry Genealogical and Historical Society will explore South Louisiana's rich Acadian heritage at a meeting onSaturday.  The 10 a.m. meeting at Opelousas General Health System's South Campus, the former Doctors' Hospital, is free and open to the public.

The forum's guest speaker will be Brenda Comeaux Trahan, curator-director of the Acadian Memorial and Museum in St. Martinville. Trahan will cover a number of topics, including the March 19-20 Acadian Memorial Festival, which will be held that Friday and Saturday in St. Martinville.

(+) A Portable Digital Microfilm Scanner

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

If your local genealogy society or library is looking for a new project, I have a suggestion: convert some of your microfilm and microfiche holdings to digital images so that they can be easily shared and preserved. 

If you have only one copy of the microfilm or microfiche, you probably already know how fragile it is. Microfilm and microfiche are easily scratched. Have you ever used a roll of microfilm that has already been used many times? If so, you already know what I mean. Constant usage of microfilm induces scratches. Most experienced genealogists have occasionally encountered microfilms so badly scratched that they are almost unusable.

The more you use a microfilm, the greater the damage. For examples, take a look at any the more popular microfilms at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, such as the U.S. Census records on microfilms. New working copies are made frequently because of the constant wear and tear of these microfilms.

The Next Episode of Who Do You Think You Are?

The next episode features former NFL football player Emmitt Smith who discovers his slavery roots this Friday, March 12, at 8/7c on NBC. Lisa Kudrow said his episode is the most compelling of the seven.

You can check out the teaser to the episode featuring Emmitt at http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/video/clips/emmitt-smiths-date-with-destiny/1205986/.

1995 Article: The Internet Will Fail

On February 27, 1995, Newsweek published an article about the future of the Internet. In that article, Clifford Stoll wrote:

Visionaries see a future of telecommuting workers, interactive libraries and multimedia classrooms. They speak of electronic town meetings and virtual communities. Commerce and business will shift from offices and malls to networks and modems. And the freedom of digital networks will make government more democratic.

Baloney. Do our computer pundits lack all common sense? The truth in no online database will replace your daily newspaper, no CD-ROM can take the place of a competent teacher and no computer network will change the way government works.

Hehe, we all know how well THAT prediction turned out, don't we?

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I recently had a chance to watch a good movie, a murder mystery. Best of all, genealogy played an important part in the solution to the crime. Then, to make it even more interesting, the movie's producers are holding an online scavenger hunt where YOU could win prizes. Details are available at the end of this article.

Since the movie involves genealogy, I was offered a chance to see the movie in advance of its release date. The obvious hope was that I might write about it in this newsletter. After having watched this film, I cannot imagine NOT writing about it! It is that good. This is a movie plot that I will long remember. I would have written about it even if I hadn't been asked to.

Disclaimer: I'm not being paid to write about it. This is simply a good movie that I enjoyed.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (original title in Swedish: "Män som hatar kvinnor" - "Men Who Hate Women") is an award-winning crime novel by the late Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson, the first in his "Millennium Trilogy." The novel won Sweden's Glass Key Award in 2006 for best crime novel of the year; as well as the 2008 Boeke Prize. The book has been on the New York Times' Bestseller list for weeks. Larsson was posthumously awarded the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for International Author of the Year in 2008.

The novel contains a genealogical table of five generations of a family in Sweden who are under investigation. However, the movie does not contain the genealogy table, and I struggled a bit to keep track of the characters. However, keeping track of this family's genealogy is vital to understanding the subtleties of the plot.

(+) Why Use Internet Backup?

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

I have written many times about the need for backups. Many people make backups to CD disks, to plug-in USB hard disks, to jump drives, or to other devices, and then store them in their homes or offices. They think they are fully protected. After all, "I made a backup." However, just ask anyone who survived Hurricane Katrina or a California forest fire about their backups! They lost their backup data at the same time that they lost their computers and all their other belongings.

Of course, cataclysmic disasters are not the only causes of lost backups. A simple burst water pipe can ruin both your computer and your backups if they are stored near each other. Beyond that are dozens of ways media can be ruined or lost. Suffice it to say that protecting your data needs to be a major concern for all of us.

Data security experts will tell you to always keep at least two forms of backups, stored on different media, and keep them in two different places. Having three or four different forms of backups is even better.

Salt Lake City Prepares for Week of Family History Celebration

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

Events to include free performance by David McCullough and Mormon Tabernacle Choir

SALT LAKE CITY — Family history will take center stage in Salt Lake City during the week of April 26, 2010, with four genealogy conferences taking place simultaneously. Over 200 genealogy workshops are scheduled through May 1, giving everyone from novices to advanced researchers access to unprecedented learning opportunities.

The National Archives to Discontinue Ancestors Magazine

The following is an announcement from The National Archives (in Great Britain, not the United States):

The National Archives currently produces a family history magazine, ‘Ancestors’, in partnership with Wharncliffe Publishing Ltd.

The current contract with Wharncliffe Publishing Ltd comes to an end on 31 March. We decided to take this opportunity to look at the magazine and make sure that it is offering best value for money, both for its readers and for The National Archives.

As a result of this review, ‘Ancestors’ will be discontinued and the last publication will be the April issue (no 94), available from Thursday 25 March.

RootsTelevision.com Will Survive!

Great news! The following was written by Megan Smolenyak:

Dear RootsTelevision.com Viewer,

OK, you convinced me! After getting inundated with emails, tweets, and Facebook postings and messages about the closing of RootsTelevision.com (RTV), I've decided to keep it going. I honestly had no clue how valued it was by the genealogical community, and I agree with the many of you who pointed out that it serves a somewhat different purpose than the prime time programming that's on TV at present (much as I've been enjoying that!). At the same time, I think many had not realized that RTV is a one-person company, but one that's not inexpensive to provide.

Tony Burroughs' Online Genealogy Webinar

Tony Burroughs is a well-known professional genealogist, college professor, writer, lecturer, television personality, and all-around nice guy. He is best known as an expert in Black genealogy but that statement ignores his many other talents. Now Tony is giving a free genealogy seminar for Ancestry.com on the web (webinar).

The webinar (or seminar, if you prefer) is entitled, Avoid Traps in African American Genealogy. The webinar's announcement states:

Even the most seasoned genealogist can make mistakes, especially when it comes to the complexities of African American research. World-renowned genealogy expert Tony Burroughs has taken wrong paths in his decades of research, but has discovered ways to avoid some common missteps. Benefit from his unique wisdom and experience with Ancestry.com as we present Avoid Traps in African American Genealogy. This free webinar offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to journey with one of the world’s foremost genealogists and find success as you search for your Black roots.

New Zealand May Combine National Library and National Archives into the Department of Internal Affairs

Prime Minister John Key says any moves to merge government departments are driven by efficiency, not ideology. Mr Key says proposals to merge a number of government agencies will be considered by the Cabinet business committee on Monday night, before going to the full Cabinet next week.

The proposals are understood to include merging the National Library and National Archives into the Department of Internal Affairs as well as several other agencies.

Mitochondrial DNA's Surprising Variability Could Complicate Forensic and Genealogical Analyses

If this proves to be true, it could again end the use of mitochondrial DNA for genealogy:

The mitochondrial genome–long thought to be nearly identical in every cell in the human body–actually varies to a surprising degree, according to new research by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) scientists. The research shows that different forms of the mitochondrial genome can be present in different organs from the same individual, and that these forms probably arise during embryonic development.

FamilySearch Indexing Update

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

FamilySearch Indexing Update: Civil and church record projects added for Argentina, Canada, France, Peru, and the UK

8 March 2010

FamilySearch Indexers have a wide variety of records to choose from this week. Civil and church records are available from Argentina, Canada, France, Peru, and the United Kingdom. Six different groups of U.S. census records are also ready to be indexed.

New Projects

• Argentina, Cordoba—Registros Parroquiales, 1722–1924 [Parte B]
• Canada, British Columbia—Deaths, 1872–1986 [Part 4]
• Canada, New Brunswick—Births, 1810–1906
• France, Quimper et Leon, St. Louis—Registres Paroissiaux, 1722–1909 (In partnership with Cercle Généalogique du Finistere)
• Perú, Lima—Registros Civiles, 1887–1921 [Parte A]
• U.K., Bristol—Non-Conformist Registers, Pre-1900 [Part A]
• U.K., Warwickshire—Parish Registers, 1754–1900 [Part 1C]
• U.S., Indiana, Clay County—Marriages, 1811–1959
• U.S., Michigan—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Military—1920 Federal Census
• U.S., Minnesota—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Montana—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Puerto Rico—1920 Censo Federal
• U.S., South Dakota—1945 State Census [Part A]

(See the chart below for a complete list and current status of all indexing projects.)

National Archives Hosts Author of 'Who Do You Think You Are' Book April 14

The following announcement was written by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration:

WASHINGTON, March 8 -- On Wednesday, April 14, at 7 p.m., the National Archives will host Megan Smolenyak, author of Who do You Think You Are?, a comprehensive guide for conducting genealogical research and the official tie-in to the NBC show of the same name that traces the genealogy of a famous person. Smolenyak, chief family historian and spokesperson for Ancestry.com, will be joined by Andrew Carroll, editor of the New York Times bestsellers War Letters and Behind the Lines.