Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

No Census, No Feeling

Census enumerators (census takers) have a difficult job at best. Can you imagine The Three Stooges interviewing local residents?

In a 1940 Three Stooges movie, Larry, Curly, and Moe obtained jobs as census enumerators and were to be paid four cents per name recorded. I watched the movie today, and now I understand some of census records I have looked at in the past! I think this is the same group that visited my great-great-grandfather's house.

Tombstone Parking Meter

These pictures are making the rounds. No comment necessary:

Click on the image to see a larger version. Then click on "Continue reading" to see the next picture.

Make Your Own Online Tombstone

OK, you simply have to see this one! I've written before about web sites that will generate signs or pictures containing text that you enter. Now there's one of interest to genealogists: make your own tombstone.

You simply go to the web site, enter up to three lines of short text, click on the BURY IT button and a picture of a tombstone soon appears on your screen. The stone contains the words you just entered.

Computer Frustration

The above comic strip is used here with the permission of the copyright holder: blaugh.com.

Make Your Own Church Sign

Perhaps you've seen them while driving down the road - those backlit, block-letter signs in front of a church announcing the upcoming sermon or maybe just providing a thought for the day.

But why should religion get all the roadside fun? Now you can, too, with the online Church Sign Generator. Choose from five different designs, enter your text, and presto! A photo of your custom sign appears. You can save the photo to your computer at no charge, or, for a few dollars, order magnets, stickers, and coffee mugs printed with your message.

Medieval Help Desk

Struggles with technology are not new. We sometimes think of wrestling with word processors, spreadsheets, cell phones, ATM machines and other such devices as a new challenge, something that our ancestors did not have to deal with. Not so! In fact, technology has been both a help and a hindrance for centuries.

Beau Sharbrough, Senior Director of Content Strategy and Acquisition at Footnote.com, gave a hilarious and yet serious keynote speech at the recent New England Regional Genealogical Council conference in Hartford, Connecticut. He talked about many topics, including today's technology versus the future and the past. His speech was not recorded, but one example that he used is available online. Click on the icon above to see it

I Am My Own Grandpa

Can your genealogy program properly display these relationships? I published the lyrics to this song some time ago at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2005/01/i_am_my_own_gra.html. However, you can now watch the video. Click on the icon below:

Half Died

Yes, that's what the tombstone says. Actually, it seems to be an abbreviation. The tombstone pictured at http://www.waterlooogs.ca/halfdied.jpg says:

H.A.L.F.
Died
August 5th
1907

The Good Old Days

The bLaugh cartoon is republished here with the permission of the author.

It's Not About the Tree

Burr Morse writes about Americana, history, Vermont, maple syrup and other things that some of the rest of us may miss in our busy lives. The following article was written by and is copyright by Burr Morse and is not to be republished elsewhere without his permission:

Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks
Montpelier, VT
www.morsefarm.com

December 22, 2006

Hello again Maple People,

The words came out soft and under his breath, like we were dealing in something illegal: "I'd just as soon have a four footer--one that fits nicely into a corner and doesn't fight you all the way--keep that under your hat."

"My lips are sealed," I whispered.