The DAILY genealogy technology newsletter for genealogy
consumers, packed with straight talk - hold the sugar coating - whether
the vendors like it or not!
The following announcement was written by the U.S. National Genealogical Society:
Haddonfield, NJ Genealogist Is Recognized for Bringing Sound Genealogy Practices and DNA Testing to the Public Eye
(May 17, 2010) – Described as a “major influence on directing the newly interested toward uncovering family relationships and history, rather than merely posting names to a pedigree chart,” Megan Smolenyak received the 2010 NGS Award of Merit for her work in advancing responsible genealogy to a broad popular audience. The prestigious award was presented at the National Genealogical Society Family History Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 30, 2010.
The following announcement was written by the U.S. National Genealogical Society:
(May 17, 2010) – Long before Who Do You Think You Are? and Faces of America brought genealogy into the mainstream, Americans have used sound research, solid methodology, and a passion for history to trace their family roots. At the National Genealogical Society’s 2010 Family History Conference in Salt Lake City, top genealogists were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the field of family history.
NGS has been committed to excellence, scholarship, and training in family search techniques since its inception in 1903. It supports numerous awards and competitions in a variety of categories to honor those who exemplify this commitment.
Every genealogist needs to make frequent backups of their computer data. In fact, I would suggest that every computer owner should do the same; but, genealogists are especially vulnerable to loss of data. A hard drive crash or even a simple human error in opening or deleting files (OOOPS!) can delete years of hard work in the blink of an eye. Of course, if you have a backup, the problem will be minimal.
I have written before about Mozy, the online backup service, as well as about several of Mozy's competitors. I have also always stressed that having only one form of backup is insufficient; everyone needs to have multiple backups, stored on different media and stored in different places. Until now, Mozy satisfied only one of those requirements: the company provided an online backup service with data stored in Mozy's data centers. That has now changed.
The Civil War Sesquicentennial, which begins next year, is expected to heighten interest about what happened on and off the battlefields 150 years ago. That means archivists are scrambling to post information online to feed that curiosity.
Missouri State Archivist John Dougan detailed the effort to those at the St. Louis Genealogical Society's 40th annual family history conference, the largest such gathering in the Midwest, on Saturday.
Recent television programs have highlighted genealogy research done for high profile "personalities." The programs tend to pay little attention to the details of how to research one's ancestry. Now a series of newspaper articles in the Los Angeles Times describe researching the family tree for the rest of us.
Joe Mozingo, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, was curious about his family's past. He knew a bit about his grandfather but nothing about earlier generations. He decided to find out more about his ancestry and became successful with his efforts.
The following was written by the Society Of Genealogists (in London) and by Pharos:
The Society of Genealogists & Pharos Teaching & Tutoring today announced a new joint programme, the distance learning Certificate of Family History Skills and Strategies (Intermediate).
The Society of Genealogists, in conjunction with Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd is now bringing its popular classroom programme to the Web. Following successful pilot courses last year, the Society and Pharos have teamed up to make available a full course of instruction, with assessment, to any interested genealogist anywhere in the world. First modules in the Skills and Strategies programme will be offered in September 2010. It will be possible to complete all 10 modules in an 18 month period.
The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Chris Pomery. Please do not forward this article to others without the author's permission.
NOTE: Chris Pomery has published two books on DNA testing with The National Archives in London, lectures regularly on DNA testing and surname reconstruction, and now promotes Family Tree DNA in the UK.
Last week’s revelations about the traces of Neanderthal DNA in the genes of modern humans will strike a chord with many people who are fascinated with “deep ancestry” genetics, our personal pre-genealogical history which most genealogical DNA tests can help to highlight. This is a complex area of science, and the bit that we see in our DNA test results — the inferred haplogroup in a Y-chromosome result, for example — is just the edge of a wave of new knowledge coming our way.
The following is a Plus Edition article written on an iPad by and copyright by Dick Eastman. Please do not forward this article to others without the author's permission.
This little one-and-a-half pound powerhouse is a delight to use. Its operating system is designed for a touch-screen interface, not some cobbled-up modification of an Apple, Windows, or Linux operating system. It is powerful, and the device responds more-or-less instantly to all commands. I have enjoyed using the iPad but still have wondered, "Can I really use it as a replacement for my laptop computer? Will it do everything that I normally do with the laptop?" I decided to find out.
Sad news, indeed. The genealogy community has lost one of its most popular and active members. The following was written by Birdie Holsclaw's family:
Birdie Monk Holsclaw passed away at about 5:02 pm this afternoon, very quietly and peacefully, surrounded by her family.
She was first admitted to Boulder Community Hospital's emergency room very early on Monday morning after we were unable to wake her in bed. She was moved later that evening to the Foothills facility, to be treated for liver failure which caused a massive increase in ammonia in her blood. Her final hours were very quiet and peaceful. We understand that she felt little to no pain, in part due to the ammonia in her blood, which acted as a sedative and anaesthetic. She was also given morphine and Ativan, but these were in small amounts, just to keep her relaxed.
It’s a sullen, grey day when I hear the news of the passing of our friend and colleague, Birdie Monk Holsclaw.
Birdie was a mentor, program leader, and unfailing cheerleader for Colorado genealogy societies to which she contributed enthusiasm, the newest techie news, and light-hearted friendship.
I do a lot of traveling and often write about my trips to genealogy events in this newsletter. This weekend will be different. While I am traveling once again, this trip isn't genealogy-related, and I probably won't write much about it. I am going to the annual national conference of ham radio operators held in Dayton, Ohio.
As I wrote in another article, I am about to leave for the Dayton Hamvention, the largest annual conference of ham radio operators in the world.
I am always fascinated by the similarities and the few differences between genealogy conferences and the one annual ham radio conference. For starters, the number of attendees is different. A typical national genealogy conference attracts about 1,500 attendees with occasional events attracting as many as 2,500. In contrast, the organizers of the annual ham radio Hamvention have been very disappointed at the declining attendance in recent years. Last year's paid attendance was "only" 18,877 people. When I started attending these events thirty years ago, attendance was double that or more.
I am impressed with Branches. I have seen version 1.0 of many genealogy programs and Branches version 1.0 is more complete than most other Windows programs were at the time they were first released. In addition, Mike Miller, one of the developers at Sherwood Electronics, has promised to add new features, based on customer feedback and suggestions. Today, he announced two such additions.
I had a delightful time recently talking with Ron Arons. He is the author of two books: Wanted: U.S. Criminal Records - Sources and Research Methodology as well as The Jews of Sing Sing. He specializes in finding records of the black sheep of the family. Along the way, he seems to uncover many fascinating stories.
I managed to talk with Ron at the recent conference of the National Genealogical Society. Ron talked about his books and also shared a number of tips about researching records of those who were incarcerated. I was able to record our conversation and now can offer it here as a podcast. You can listen to our conversation right now on your computer or else save the file to your MP3 music player and listen to it later.
The following is a Plus edition article written by and copyright by Chris Pomery.
Note: Chris Pomery has published two books on DNA testing with The National Archives in London, lectures regularly on DNA testing and surname reconstruction, and now advises Family Tree DNA and promotes the firm in the UK.
It’s been one of the most argued questions in anthropology for years, and last Thursday it looks as though we got the answer. Did our species homo sapiens mate with the now extinct homo neanderthalensis? Well, yes, we did, and the genetic consequences are carried by most people alive on the planet today.
The following announcement was written by Archives.com (not to be confused with Archives.org):
We are excited to announce that Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr has joined Archives.com
as an official Advisor. As the Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute
for African and African American Research at Harvard University, and
host of PBS's "Faces of America", Professor Gates is a leading
authority in the field of African American Studies.
Researching
African family history can be very challenging. Many traditional
research options such as census records, recorded only limited details
of African descendants - or none at all. Professor Gates brings a
wealth of knowledge and passion for African Heritage. He will work
closely with Archives.com to provide the tools and resources needed to
learn about your family's history, and even trace your roots back to
Africa.
Researchers with Matousec.com recently found a way to circumvent some of the most popular security programs for Windows computers, including products from Symantec, McAfee, Microsoft, AVG, Avast, Trend, Kaspersky, Sophos, ZoneAlarm, and others. In other words, viruses and other bad software can hide from all of today's anti-virus programs and similar tools. These malevolent programs can then spread easily with very few restraints. The problem exists only on the Windows operating system; Linux and Macintosh users are not affected.
Get a prescription filled, buy a magazine, and get your DNA tested, all in one stop. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Walgreens will soon be selling genetic-testing kits priced from $20 to $30 apiece that can tell people whether they're likely to get breast cancer, Alzheimer's disease, become obese, or suffer from a range of other maladies. However, to get the results of various tests, shoppers will have to fork over an additional $79 for drug-response results, $179 for 'pre-pregnancy planning' results, $179 for health condition results, or $249 for a combination of the three.
Other companies already offer such tests online, but Walgreens will be the first brick-and-mortar retailer to sell the DNA tests.
Charles Cameron Kingston's reputation as South Australia's promiscuous premier has been confirmed through modern science. Exactly 102 years to the day after Kingston's death, his illegitimate great-grandson Malcolm Simpson yesterday said he was pleased DNA tests had confirmed the family link.
There were rumors during his lifetime that Mr. Kingston fathered several illegitimate children. University of Adelaide anatomical science Professor Maciej Henneberg said the DNA tests confirmed Kingston was related to at least four descendants, including a grandson who came forward after the exhumation. "We hope now, after this announcement, other descendants will come forward," Professor Henneberg said.
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