Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Family Genealogy Spared in House Fire

A fire that consumed most of a Wellsville, Utah home on Saturday reignited early Monday morning but spared at least one family treasure. Matt Leishman said he was surprised to go through the rubble of his parents’ home Monday afternoon and find one room that was virtually untouched — the one containing many years’ worth of his mother’s family genealogical records.

The family was able to fully recover all the documents related to the family history, although some were soaked with water.

Microsoft Releases Free Zeus Malware Removal Tool

Microsoft this week announced that the company's free malware cleaning tool has removed the Zeus virus from 275,000 Windows computers in less than 7 days.

Zeus is a malware software ("malevolent software") program, sometimes called a "crimeware kit," that allows hackers to create customized malware that can be used to infect PCs. Zeus is most commonly programmed to steal usernames, passwords and other information needed to get at online bank accounts.

Lawmakers Question Facebook CEO About Privacy Problems

I have written a number of times about privacy issues with Facebook. In fact, I rarely use Facebook any more because of all its problems. I also removed most of my personal information from the site. A couple of items couldn't be removed, so I changed them to show bogus information. I changed my city and state to list me as some distance away from my real residence and changed my age by ten years. Only my name remains correct. I don't want my correct private information to be given to advertisers or to anyone else. Now ComputerWorld reports that even members of Congress have similar concerns.

Ventura, California City Council Denies Proper Re-burial of Soldier Awarded the Medal of Honor

In the 1960s, the city of Ventura, California converted a cemetery containing the graves of more than 3,000 local pioneers, Chumash Indians, and veterans, into a park. Gravestones were dumped in a canyon and along a river, and the few family members who knew of the move were able to re-inter their loved ones to a nearby cemetery.

Graves desecrated included those of several Civil War veterans, including Private James Sumner, who, in 1870, was awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest award given to members of the military by the U.S. Government "for conspicuous gallantry."  Today the remains of 3,000 local citizens are below the grass of the "Cemetery Memorial Park."

Cumbria Births, Marriages, and Deaths Online

John Marsden sent a note to let me know of a new web site that provides online access to the original registrars' birth, marriage, and death register indexes for the registration districts in the county of Cumbria. The new site presently contains the complete indexes for the district of Barrow-in-Furness Births 1837-2009, Deaths 1837-2006 and Marriages 1837-1900. Marriages 1901-2009 will be added in the near future.

You can find the new site at http://www.cumbriabmd.org.uk

A Great Weekend in Calgary

I had a great time this past weekend in Calgary, Alberta, attending the Alberta Family Histories Society Family Roots seminar. I made several presentations at the conference, as did Thomas MacEntee from Chicago and Lyn Meehan from Edmonton. I think the folks in the audience enjoyed the day. I know that I did!

You can read about the conference in the Alberta Family Histories Society Blog at http://afhs.ab.ca/blog/events/afhs-familyroots-event-a-success/

If you would like to see some pictures of the conference, take a look at Joan Miller's 28 photos at http://picasaweb.google.ca/afhsblog/AFHSFamilyRootsSeminarsWithDickEastmanThomasMacEnteeAndLynMeehan#. Click on any of the photos to see a larger picture.

Ancestry.com Labs Goes Live

Tony Macklin wrote the following in the Ancestry.com Blog at http://goo.gl/ZLD9:

We’re launching  – and we’d love your feedback

Today we are announcing a new “Labs” area of Ancestry.com. This is a separate site where we can give you a sneak preview of new ideas and concepts for helping family history research (but that are not yet ready for prime time). Most importantly for us, it gives us a chance to hear feedback directly from our most passionate users.

Right now, Ancestry.com Labs will be linked only from relevant blog posts, but in the future, it’s possible we may introduce a permanent link from the Ancestry.com main site.

(+) Follow-up: A Tiny $99 Handheld Scanner That Slides Into Your Pocket

 

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

In the April 22nd, 2010 Plus Edition newsletter, I wrote about a terrific handheld scanner that will scan both monochrome and color images. The scanner weighs 7.5 ounces and slips into an overcoat pocket or into a medium size lady's purse. I carry mine with me often. In fact, I have it with me on this week's trip to Salt Lake City.

You can read my earlier article today in the Plus Edition newsletter web site at http://eogn.com/wp/?p=9290 (a user name and password are required).

(+) Embedding EXIF Data in Photographs

 

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

Congratulations if you have scanned your old family photos and documents or invested in a digital camera to preserve today’s pictures for future family historians. Before resting on your laurels, take a moment to recall all the old photos you’ve come across that you wish had labels describing the people, places, or events pictured. Your digital images have a built-in capability to create such labels – descriptions that won’t get separated from their subjects – with ease that would amaze our forebears. With today’s image files, what you see is only part of what you get! Let’s take a look “behind the scenes” of your digital photos.

Citing Sources

One thing that genealogists need to do is to always cite their sources. I well remember my early days of family tree searches. I would record new information into three-ring notebooks. (This was long before the invention of the personal computer.) I would write down names, dates, places, and perhaps a bit more information that I was lucky enough to find.

Unfortunately, in those early days I did not write down where I obtained the information. Nobody told me that I needed to do this, and I wasn’t smart enough to figure it out for myself. I simply assumed that everything I found was accurate. After all, it was printed in a book, wasn't it?

(+) A Free and Easy Way to Keep the Same Files on Multiple Computers

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

I use one free program that has quickly become indispensable. If you own two or more computers, such as a desktop and a laptop computer or perhaps a computer at home and another at the office, and you need to keep the same files on each of them, read on.

For instance, I like to keep copies of all past, present, and future "work in progress" newsletter articles with me wherever I am. In my case, that means keeping copies of the same files on a desktop computer at home, on my laptop computer that I typically use when traveling, and on the tiny, 2-pound "netbook" computer that I use on overnight trips. I even have them available when I want them on the Apple iPad.

Philadelphia City Archives Reduces its Hours

Newsletter reader Johanna Schwartz sent a note that will affect many people:

"... you might want to notify your readers that the Philadelphia City Archives, main repository for birth, marriage, and death records from 1860-1915, a large portion of naturalization records, and many other document categories, has reduced days from daily to Monday/Wednesday/Friday. I assume hours are the same (9-5 or thereabouts). Some of our most regular and serious researchers found out only by showing up on a Tuesday or Thursday to find it shut."

 

Help Wanted: APG is Looking For a Webmaster/Listmaster

The following was written by the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG):

APG has a position open for a webmaster/listmaster to regularly monitor, maintain, and update the contents of the APG web site (excluding the membership directory). Also included is the APG member and public mail list maintenance.

The successful candidate should have skills and experience using Dreamweaver, HTML, FTP, and Adobe Acrobat.

New Version of the Canadian Naturalization Database Released

The following announcement was written by Library and Archives Canada:

Ottawa, October 14, 2010—Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is pleased to announce the release of a new version of the online database Canadian Naturalization 1915-1951. It now includes digitized images of the lists of names of people who applied for and obtained status as naturalized Canadians between 1932 and 1951; these lists were originally published in the Canada Gazette. This database is one of the few Canadian genealogical resources specifically designed to benefit researchers having roots other than British. The reference numbers indicated in the database can be used to request copies of the original naturalization records, which are held by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

The database is available at the following address: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/naturalization-1915-1932/index-e.html

On the Road Again

I am packing my bags. By the time you read this, I should be on a plane to Calgary, Alberta. That's if the plane flies at all, unlike my LAST scheduled airline trip on Delta Airlines! Three weeks ago, I spent an extra day in Fort Lauderdale because of Delta's aircraft maintenance problems.

I will be attending this weekend's Alberta Family Histories Society's Conference being held in Calgary. If you can join all of us on Saturday, you might enjoy it. Details of the conference may be found at http://www.afhs.ab.ca/familyroots and at http://www.luxegen.ca/genealogy/our-visitors-lyn-thomas-dick/

Saratoga National Historical Park lets Visitors Find Ancestor Soldiers

The battles fought in 1777 are viewed as the Turning Point of the American Revolution, when the British surrendered to the colonial army on a field in Saratoga County, New York. Now, when you visit Saratoga National Historical Park you can find out if your ancestors served in that army.

A new computer database, is the work of Heritage Hunters, a local genealogy and history group. It's 13 years in the making and contains information about 16-thousand of the roughly 17-thousand American soldiers who fought here.

Badgers Digging Up British Ancient Graveyard

I have written before about cemetery vandalism but what do you do when the vandalism is caused by one of Mother Nature's creatures? The creature is a protected species, at that.

One of England's oldest graveyards is under siege by badgers. Rev Simon Shouler now regularly patrols the grounds of St. Remigius Church looking for bones that the badgers have dug up. The badger is a protected species in England so they can not be killed, and attempts to have them relocated have been blocked by English Nature. From the article: "At least four graves have been disturbed so far; in one instance a child found a leg bone and took it home to his parents. ... Rev. Simon Shouler has been forced to carry out regular patrols to pick up stray bones, store them and re-inter them all in a new grave."

English Revolutionaries Revealed in Online Archive

The following announcement was written by Ancestry.co.uk :

Historic records launching online today for first time ever detail 'key players' of the English Civil War – Ancestry.co.uk

• Earliest London Parish records online in existence – eight million in total
• Records detail those alive during key events in England’s history, including the Civil War 
• Revolutionaries Oliver Cromwell, Thomas Fairfax and John Milton detailed online

Ancestry.co.uk, in partnership with the City of London’s London Metropolitan Archives, today launched online for the first time eight million of London’s oldest surviving parish records, charting the history of the city from the 16th century to modern times.

UK Parish Register Transcriptions go On-line in Aid of Charity

The following announcement was written by the Parish Register Transcription Society:

The Parish Register Transcription Society (PRTSoc) is excited to announce its data archive service, which will publish on-line many of its records which currently are only available on CD.  The service, hosted by Frontis Archive Publishing, provides an on-line searching facility which allows users to find their ancestor’s baptisms, marriage, burials and other valuable information.  As a non-profit making organisation The PRTSoc will donate all surplus revenues from the service to a charity.  This year they are working with Rethink, which is helping everyone affected by severe mental illness recover a better quality of life.

Thomas MacEntee Joins 2010 Salt Lake Christmas Tour

For years, Leland Meitzler has organized an annual "Christmas Tour" to Salt Lake City for genealogists. This year, he is obviously expanding.

The following was written by Leland Meitzler:

Featured Speaker To Offer Technology Education for Genealogists

October 13, 2010 – Bountiful, Utah: The 2010 Salt Lake Christmas Tour – an annual genealogy event in its 26th year and celebrating its 25th anniversary – is pleased to announce that noted genealogist and technology educator Thomas MacEntee will be joining in the holiday fun as its featured speaker. The Tour takes place beginning Sunday, December 5, 2010 and runs through Saturday, December 11, 2010 in Salt Lake City, Utah.