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 Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc.:
Gilbert, AZ USA—May 17, 2012—Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc. (FHISO) announced today that Ancestry.com, Inc. has finalized its plans to become a founding member of the organisation. FHISO is a newly-formed international organisation created to develop standards for the digital representation of family history and genealogical information. As a founding member, Ancestry.com will designate five organisational member representatives to participate with other FHISO members from the global genealogical community.
The following announcement was written by the St. Louis Genealogical Society:
St. Louis Genealogical Society Completes Indexing 1.6 Million Burials
Do you know what these people have in common? Engineer, James Eads; Blues hockey player, Barclay Plager; Negro Leagues baseball player, James "Cool Papa" Bell; sports broadcaster, Jack Buck; slave, Dred Scott; poet, Sara Teasdale; educator, Susan Blow; and humanitarian, Tom Dooley?
They are just a handful of the 1.6 million people buried in St. Louis City or St. Louis County, Missouri, who have been indexed by the St. Louis Genealogical Society. This unique project was completed entirely by dedicated volunteers who donated thousands of hours to finalize this massive task. With the publication of its fourth and final cemetery CD, the society has now indexed every known cemetery with only one exception in St. Louis City and County.
When writing articles for this newsletter, I often get to visit with other genealogists. Last Friday, the tables were turned. Several genealogists came to visit me. In fact, they dropped by my motor home that is parked in an RV (recreation vehicle) resort in the suburbs of Cincinnati.
The group included Daniel Horowitz, Mark Olsen, and Schelly Talalay Dardashti (all from MyHeritage.com), Pamela Weisberger (from Los Angeles), Elise Friedman and Alex Yi (from FamilyTreeDNA.com), and Chris Mueller (from Albuqerque).
The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:
20 Million Records for 21 Other Countries Also Added
The 1940 US Census Community Project, which includes FamilySearch, Archives.com, Findmypast.com, NARA, and ProQuest.com, have now published browsable images online for 1940 U.S. Federal Census and the completed searchable indexes for six of the states. Online volunteer indexers have indexed 35% of the census. At current rates, they anticipate wrapping up the indexing by late summer. Follow the progress online at the1940census.com/dashboard or search the records on FamilySearch.org/1940census. FamilySearch also published new, free records online for Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United States, Venezuela, and Wales. Search these diverse collections and 2.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.
A man from Surrey, B.C., faces a big challenge unlocking a First World War mystery that's landed on his doorstep. Curtis Unger, who says he believes in honouring soldiers' memories, has recently come across a memorial plaque from the Great War. The plaque, called a Death Penny, bears the name of a 20-year-old English private named Walter Ryles.
"I was thinking of framing it and putting it on a wall, but I realized that this is a memorial. It's like a tombstone. It deserves to be handed down the generations of Ryles' family," he says.
Unger says he wants to get the story out in the hopes that one of Ryles' descendants will come forward and claim the plaque.
The following announcement was written by Ancestry.com Inc.:
PROVO, Utah, May 16, 2012 -- Ancestry.com Inc., the world's largest online family history resource, today announced that renowned genomics expert Dr. Paul R. Billings has been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors, increasing the Board's size to nine members. Billings was also appointed a member of the Company's Audit Committee.
"Dr. Billings makes a great addition to our Board at a time when our focus on genetic genealogy is just at its beginning stages," said Tim Sullivan, President and CEO of Ancestry.com. "Paul's addition shows our company's reinforced commitment to the science of DNA that we are convinced will provide a new way for customers to make amazing discoveries that they can share with family and friends."
The following is a Plus Edition article, written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.
Google’s plan to digitize the world’s books into a combination research library and bookstore is progressing at an impressive rate. It is expected to become the largest and most comprehensive library in the history of the world. Google has scanned more than 129 million books from the start in 2002 and the latest published number is now more than 129 million. Best of all, this number includes thousands of books of interest to family historians. [The 129 million number is from article at http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2010/08/books-of-world-stand-up-and-be-counted.html.]
Google claims its mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” The result is a huge library that is available on your computer, an attractive offering for many people. Most books also can be downloaded to Kindles, Nooks, iPads, and other e-reader devices.
This has nothing to do with genealogy, but is a heart-warming story that I think should be shared.
Frank Knight's decades-long battle to save New England's tallest elm served as an inspiring tale of devotion, so it is fitting that he will be laid to rest in a coffin made from the tree he made famous. Knight, who died Monday at 103, had affectionately referred to the 217-year-old elm nicknamed Herbie as "an old friend." The massive tree succumbed to Dutch elm disease and was cut down two years ago.
Wood from the tree was made into a casket, a secret that was kept from Knight, who will now be buried in that casket.
I have written a number of times about Mocavo, the genealogy search engine. My past articles may be found by starting at http://goo.gl/MtdPs. Mocavo has now announced it has raised $4 million in its first round of funding in a bid to help people find their ancestors through its search engine.
This morning, Mocavo COO Ryan Hunter wrote on the Mocavo blog:
Construction at a portion of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center has stopped in San Jose, Calif. because crews have unearthed pine boxes filled with the bodies of those whose families couldn't afford their proper burials. The pine boxes date back to between 1875 and 1935, and were discovered in February when construction crews were doing seismic survey work.
The graves of about 80 slaves in Florence, Alabama are being threatened by a planned new Wal-Mart store. The slaves were owned by Gen. John Coffee, a friend of President Andrew Jackson and a surveyor who drew the state’s border with Mississippi. There is archaeological and historical evidence that suggests his slaves’ graves may be precisely where Walmart plans to pave a driveway to the new store.
Walmart says it will avoid harming any burial grounds, and has pledged $25,000 to restore the crumbling cemetery. But determining the graveyard’s boundaries has proved challenging. Walmart says it will redraw construction plans in any way necessary.
Perhaps we should see more classes like this one. The following announcement was written by the West Valley Genealogical Society:
The West Valley Genealogical Society, 12222 N. 111th Ave., Youngtown, AZ, invites young people, ages 10-16, interested in learning about their family history and finding their ancestors, an opportunity to enroll in a four week Genealogy for Juniors Program. The class will include the Scouting requirements for a Genealogy or Family History badge. Scouting membership is not required.
The following announcement was written by the organizers of the RootsTech 2013 conference:
March 21-23, 2013 Salt Lake City, Utah
The world of genealogy is changing at an ever-increasing rate through the development of new technologies. Millions of people are passionate about discovering their roots. They share an interest in learning about the latest technologies and methods to help them in this pursuit. The third annual RootsTech Conference brings together thought leaders and consumers who want to share and experience the latest trends in genealogy and technology. Building on the success and growth of previous years, RootsTech 2013 will reach thousands of participants on site and around the world. RootsTech includes engaging, interactive sessions that promote learning and the free exchange of ideas on improving the way genealogy is done. Genealogists and technologists attending this conference share a stance that is progressive and forward thinking. They are interested in the application of technology to simplify and improve the family history experience.
The last undeveloped Revolutionary War era prisoner-of-war camp has been saved from encroaching development. Camp Security is surrounded by residential neighborhoods just east of York, Pennsylvania. Between the summer of 1781 and spring of 1783, the camp housed more than 1,000 British and Canadian prisoners, who were guarded by members of the York County Militia and Convention troops. During the war there were very few camps like this constructed, and all have been destroyed by development – all except for Camp Security.
This article has nothing to do with genealogy. However, I do believe every American should read this, or similar, articles.
I admit to being a bit of a privacy nut, but this proposal really bothers me. What do you think?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently proposed a change in the U.S. law related to wiretapping. If passed, the change would allow government monitoring of Facebook, Skype, and some email services. The idea is to change the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which currently doesn't give investigators the right to monitor and intercept communications. The proposed new law forces telecommunications providers to set up their services in a way to allow wiretapping by the FBI and other unnamed government agencies.
The following announcement was written by the folks at the Finding Your Roots television program on PBS:
What does it mean to be Latino? This Sunday, the season finale of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the PBS TV series that explores race and identity through the genealogy of some of America’s best-known personalities, seeks to answer that question. Through the family histories of actors Michelle Rodriguez and Adrian Grenier, and Linda Chavez, an author, syndicated newspaper columnist and political analyst for FOX News, viewers will discover that Latino identity emerged from the tangled histories of European, Native-American and African peoples.
I wish I could attend this session! If you are in or near Indianapolis, perhaps you can do so. The Indiana State Library, the Indiana Commission on Public Records, and the Indiana State Historic Records Advisory Board are working together to provide a 6 hour hands-on workshop at the Indiana State Library on May 31.
How many families can make claims like this one? Mother's Day has special meaning to Mollie Wood, who celebrated her 111th birthday last month. The family matriarch still lives at home, along with her daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, great-great-granddaughter, and with 7-week-old Braylin Higgins, her great-great-great-granddaughter.
Valued at $26.16 at the opening of trading this morning, Ancestry.com Inc.'s stock price dropped $3.59 during the day to close at $22.57 per share. That's a drop of 13.7% in one day. The only obvious reason for the drop is the company's announcement yesterday that NBC canceled “Who Do You Think You Are,” the TV program Ancestry.com was sponsoring.
Gilbert, AZ USA—May 17, 2012—Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc. (FHISO) announced today that Ancestry.com, Inc. has finalized its plans to become a founding member of the organisation. FHISO is a newly-formed international organisation created to develop standards for the digital representation of family history and genealogical information. As a founding member, Ancestry.com will designate five organisational member representatives to participate with other FHISO members from the global genealogical community.
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