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 Society of American Archivists:
CHICAGO — Sycamore, Illinois, genealogist Julie Dresser is one of eight finalists in the I Found It In The Archives! contest, which is part of a national campaign sponsored by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). SAA asked archives users to submit essays or videos detailing their “discoveries” in the archives. Dresser’s essay, which was submitted to the contest by the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, describes how a trip to the Benjamin F. Feinberg Library at SUNY–Plattsburgh helped her discover priceless letters from her fourth-great grandmother.
The following announcement was written by the Center for Jewish History:
NEW YORK, April 18, 2012 -- The Center for Jewish History, one of the world's foremost Jewish research and cultural institutions, has announced a cooperative agreement between the Center and The Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation (RTRF).
The new collaboration brings together some of the world's most comprehensive databases for researching Jewish genealogy. The Center will incorporate RTRF's Eastern European Archival Database and Image Database into its online catalog, vastly expanding access to a wealth of genealogical resources relating to Jewish and civil records from Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland and Ukraine. Select archive data has also been added to the database from Russia and Romania. Coupled with the vast trove of the Center's partner collections, researchers will soon be able to gain enhanced free access to some of the most comprehensive family history research tools anywhere in the world.
I haven't seen this "toolkit" yet but it sounds interesting. The following announcement was written by the Foundation for the National Archives:
WASHINGTON, April 18, 2012 -- Step-by-Step Guide to Family Research at the National Archives
The Foundation for the National Archives announces the publication of the Genealogy Tool Kit: Getting Started on Your Family History at the National Archives, written by National Archives genealogy archives specialist John P. Deeben.
The following is a Plus Edition article, written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.
A friend of mine had her Yahoo email account hacked recently. Her friends and I all knew it had been hacked when we received an email message claiming to be from her that started as, “I know this might be a surprise to you but am sorry to reach out to you in this manner. I apologize for not informing you about my travel to Scotland for a Seminar. Everything is going fine but there's a little problem, I misplace my wallet on my way back to the hotel and right now all my credit cards, money are gone. Am sending you this message to inform you that am stranded at the moment and need your help financially.”
The message went on at some length, asking me to send her money via Western Union.
NOTE: Never send money via Western Union, as it cannot easily be tracked and blocked, if needed. There are better, more fraud-resistant, ways to send money during emergencies.
The diary of Grand Rapids for more than century is now in the hands of the people of Grand Rapids. MLive Media Group this spring has donated its entire print and photo archive collection belonging to the Grand Rapids Press to the Grand Rapids Public Museum, which will be the new caretaker of a collection now technically owned by the city.
The collection contains some materials dating back to the 1840s, including precursor newspapers to the Grand Rapids Press, which began printing as a daily newspaper in 1893.
The DNA of people living in Scotland has "extraordinary" and "unexpected" diversity, according to a new study. The Scotland's DNA project, led by Edinburgh University's Dr Jim Wilson, has tested almost 1,000 Scots in the last four months to determine the genetic roots of people in the country. The project discovered four new male lineages, which account for one in 10 Scottish men.
The following announcement was written by Fold3, a division of Ancestry.com:
The Sultana Disaster
When the boiler exploded aboard the steamer Sultana on April 27, 1865, more than 1,700 people lost their lives. Most of those aboard were recently released Union prisoners from Confederate prisons in Cahaba, Alabama, and Andersonville, Georgia. They were en route from Camp Fiske in Mississippi to Camp Chase, Ohio, but the explosion occurred only a few hours into the journey.
In addition to the faulty boiler, the ship was also grossly overburdened with 2,200 passengers on a vessel built to carry 376.
There is a family myth amongst tens of thousands of American families: "The name was changed at Ellis Island." The stories claim the immigrant arrived at Ellis Island and was unable to communicate with the officials. A record was then created by someone who assigns the immigrant a descriptive name.
This fairy tale refuses to die. Let's look at a few simple facts:
On April 02, 2012, I published short article at http://goo.gl/EiGlu that quoted David McMillen of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. McMillen questioned the need to keep originals of museum and archives materials. He wrote, in part:
Technology has long been able to create images that were indistinguishable from the original. We have on display in the Public Vaults a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation that is disturbingly difficult to distinguish from the real document. Our specialists routinely make copies of important documents that take an expert to discern from the original.
I question McMillen's broad inclusion of museums. However, if he limited his comments only to documents, I might agree with him, especially documents of less than mass appeal. While nobody would ever consider destroying the Declaration of Independence, millions of other documents (immigration records, citizenship applications, census records, military pension applications, Congressional records, and more) would seem to be candidates for digital replacements.
The following announcement was written by Archives.com:
First Time a Comprehensive Historical Database of Lutheran Congregants Will Be Available Online
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 17, 2012 - Archives.com, a website that makes family history research simple and affordable, is pleased to announce its partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to digitize and index 1,000 reels of microfilm containing millions of baptism, confirmation, marriage, and funeral records. Archives.com will make these records available online for the first time as part of its ongoing effort to expand its collection of over 2.1 billion historical records.
The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:
FamilySearch, Archives.com, and Findmypast.com have continued publishing browsable images online from the 1940 U.S. Federal Census this week. Volunteer indexers are encouraged to help out at the1940census.com. FamilySearch also published new, free records online for the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Portugal, Slovakia, and the United States. Volunteer to help index the 1940 U.S. census now, or search these diverse collections and 2.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.
Genealogists spend millions of dollars every year traveling to visit the lands of their ancestors as well as to major genealogy centers in Salt Lake City, Utah; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Washington, DC; Houston, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; England; Ireland; Scotland; Israel; and elsewhere. Genealogists spend money on hotels, restaurants, gasoline purchases, and, oh yes, photocopying fees. However, many state tourism organizations seem to ignore this potential source of wealth.
NOTE: One major exception is the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department website at www.TravelOK.com/genealogy, which assists visitors seeking to connect with their ancestry. You can learn more about Oklahoma's success in my earlier article at http://goo.gl/akqqE.
Genealogy tourism has always been popular but the recent surge in genealogy-related television programs has further expanded the popularity.
I am not sure I agree with this, but it certainly makes for interesting reading! The following was written by findmypast.ie:
First Obama, now Dracula ... Like Obama and 40 million Americans, Dracula has Irish ancestry
Monday, April 16, 2012: Count Dracula, the Transylvanian nobleman and daddy of all vampires, was originally Irish rather than Transylvanian, according to new research by the genealogist who previously traced Barack Obama’s Irish roots.
The Red Deer Branch of the Alberta Genealogical Society and the Alberta Family Histories Society hosted a conference this weekend in Red Deer, Alberta. I had an opportunity to attend and also to make several presentations. I was joined by presentations by Gena Philibert Ortega, Thomas MacEntee (presenting remotely via webinar), Penny Allen, Jim Benedict, Ronna Byam, Shannon Cherkowski, Janice Cushman, Peter Darby, Elise Friedman, Nancy Millar, Wayne Shepheard, Lois Sparling and Jean Tilbert.
With a title of Find Your Tree in the Forest, about 250 genealogists headed to the Holiday Inn in Red Deer. We flooded the place! Proof could be found in the two hotel restaurants, both of which were totally unprepared for the crowd! Despite the long lines and poor service in the restaurants, most everything else worked perfectly. The sessions went well and most everyone I saw was smiling, with the exception of those waiting in the restaurants.
Here is a story for anyone interested in history as well as anyone who loves old airplanes. Keep in mind these beautiful aircraft were instrumental in the Battle of Britain. Of the thousands that were built, only about 35 are in flying condition today.
Twenty Spitfire aircraft buried in Burma during the Second World War are now being repatriated to Britain. The aircraft were shipped to Burma during the war but were never uncrated. Instead, they were buried in their transport crates. They were waxed, wrapped in greased paper and their joints tarred. They were then buried 40-feet below ground amid fears of a Japanese occupation. These aircraft should be in near perfect condition.
Most genealogists know that the 1940 U.S. census images have been released and are now available to everyone. However, these are images only. The indexes will be added "real soon now." Several organizations, including FamilySearch, are busy with indexing efforts.
Of course, the real question is: "When will my the state I am interested in be finished?" Nobody can tell you the exact date but you can obtain a status report of the efforts at FamilySearch.org.
I have written a number of times (see http://goo.gl/Jj8C5) about the safety of using credit cards and debit cards for online transactions. Generally speaking, using a credit or debit card is much safer than sending a check in the mail where it can easily be stolen. Apparently, the Social Security Administration agrees. The Administration has announced new changes that will be significant for millions of Americans.
In 2010, more than 540,000 federal benefit checks were reported lost or stolen. The Social Security Administration is now switching to all electronic payments for several reasons. One reason is to reduce the thefts. Another reason is that the switch will save the government about $120 million a year. Social Security will save $1 billion over the next decade, according to the Treasury Department.
Thanks to the efforts of a genealogist, a Civil War veteran will be laid to rest with full military honors today, 88 years after he died. The cremated remains of Peter Knapp and his wife, Georgianna, sat in storage at a crematorium in Portland, Oregon, until a distant relative tracked them down. Alice Knapp didn't start out looking for the remains. Instead, she was trying to track down a diary Peter Knapp kept during the war.
Jill Duffy has been mentioned before in this newsletter (at http://goo.gl/ptwFF). She reviews genealogy software for the very popular PCMag web site. Now she has published a review of Legacy Family Tree Deluxe 7.5, one of the leading genealogy programs for Windows users.
Duffy likes the program, although she has a couple of reservations. "The feature-rich genealogy software Legacy Family Tree Deluxe 7.5 has all the tools you'll need to record your personal history, but the user experience could be better."
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