Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

U.S. Government's National Strategy For Information Sharing: a Threat to Genealogists?

I spent some time this morning reading through a new document released by the White House yesterday. The National Strategy for Information Sharing and Safeguarding (or NSISS) outlines how the government will attempt to responsibly share and protect data that enhances national security and protects the American people. 

The national strategy will define how the federal government and its assorted departments and agencies share their data. Agencies can also share services and work towards data and network interoperability to be more efficient, the President said.

Update: Military Museum Friends Group Fires Employee with Prior Theft Conviction

Two days ago, I wrote about a former New York State Archivist who was sent to jail for stealing hundreds of historic documents from his (now former) employer and sold them for his own profit. He served his time and was released. He then obtained a job working in the bookstore of a state-owned museum. Apparently the resulting publicity backfired. The Saratogian news web site reports that unnamed state officials insisted the former archivist be fired. His employment was terminated yesterday.

Ex-archivist Who Stole from NY State Archives now has a Job in a State-owned Military Museum

Archivist Daniel Lorello was a $73,800-per year archivist with the New York State Archives, a well-regarded expert on the Civil War, and co-author of a book with noted historian Harold Holzer. He also stole hundreds of historic documents from his employer and sold them for his own profit. He was caught, tried, and sent to jail for grand larceny. In 2008, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced for two to six years in prison plus ordered to pay $73,000 in restitution to those who unknowingly bought stolen property from him. He was also ordered to pay a $56,000 confession of judgment to the Department of Education. You can see my previous articles from 2008 about this man if you start at http://goo.gl/2sZqC.

Lorello is now out of jail and has a new job: he runs the bookstore at the New York State Military Museum (pictured above), a state-owned facility located in Saratoga Springs that holds a vast collection of memorabilia dating from the Revolutionary War through modern times.

Access to Washington State’s Vital Records at Risk

Sue Ericksen, Washington State Genealogical Society President, has written an editorial article in the Society's newsletter warning that genealogists and others may soon be locked out of Washington's birth, marriage, and death records. Ericksen writes:

"The Washington State Department of Health has sent a request to the Public Records Committee that all WA Vital Records have limited access: births for 125 years, marriage, death & divorce to 50 years.

"This is devastating news to genealogists as well as other businesses and industries that use these records for legitimate purposes."

Cyndi's List versus the Rip-off Artist

A sad event is unfolding on the popular Cyndi's List web site. As Cyndi Howells has written, "Be sure to read the blog article on copyright below. I've spent the last two days documenting and laying the foundation for a lawsuit because my entire web site was copied and put on another person's for-profit site. This has been gut-wrenching and heart-breaking. I'm exhausted and upset. And in the end it hurts all of you too because I didn't get any other work done on Cyndi's List during this time."

Some people are ignorant of copyright laws. Others simply don't care as these freeloaders will do anything to make a buck off someone else's hard work. I am not sure which excuse is appropriate here but, either way, it is no excuse.

You can read Cyndi's full article at http://goo.gl/rT9Uz.

Cemetery Photos: Is Permission Required?

Do you need to obtain permission from cemetery owners before taking pictures of tombstones? Writing in The Legal Genealogist blog, Judy Russell has written an excellent article that I suggest should be required reading for every genealogist. She is highly qualified to write about legal issues that affect genealogists, as Judy is both a law professor at a major university and a Certified Genealogist (CG).

I suggest you read Cemetery photos: permission required? at http://goo.gl/abzsi.

 

Recent SSDI Changes Now Make It Easier to Get Away With Identity Theft

I have written before (at http://goo.gl/9e3nB) about the stupid efforts to limit public access to the Social Security Death Index, commonly called the SSDI. This is typically caused by well-meaning, but ignorant, politicians and bureaucrats who think that such limits will somehow reduce identity theft. Actually, a new article in the New York Times shows that the recent change is doing the exact opposite of what it was intended to do: limiting such access to the SSDI actually actually makes it EASIER to get away with using forged Social Security Numbers!

The statement that caught my eye was, "... a spokesman for financial industries like life insurance, banking and credit services said the arcane change was making it more difficult to detect identity thieves who steal names and Social Security numbers from the deceased."

In other words, it is now EASIER than ever to steal Social Security Numbers of deceased individuals and get away with the crime because the very people who need to verify those numbers no longer have access to the list of the numbers that should not be used! Anyone can now find Social Security Numbers by any number of methods, such as a $20 bribe to a funeral home employee or a Social Security Agency clerk, and then use that number with little fear of being caught.

Proposed Irish Legislation Could Restrict Genealogy Research

Genealogists have raised concerns about moves to resurrect the Privacy Bill 2006 in the Irish Seanad, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament). The genealogists say the proposed legislation could restrict access to records for genealogical or biographical research.

Those in charge of such records could “arbitrarily and unnecessarily restrict or deny access” to vital records on the grounds that access could infringe privacy rights under the Bill. It is also possible, “through fear of litigation”, the legislation could hamper the publication of biographies, especially if such publications contained data obtained from public registers.

An Online Petition to Halt the Closure of the Georgia State Archives

As mentioned in yesterday's newsletter at http://goo.gl/4IDLq, the Georgia State Archives in Morrow, GA will be closed to the public starting November 1, 2012. Georgia will then be the only state not to have archives open to the public.

A group of concerned Georgia genealogists, historians, and others have started an online petition asking for reconsideration of this drastic plan. The goal is to gather 10,000 signatures. At this time, nearly half that number has already been collected but more signatures are needed. You can sign the petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/the-governor-of-ga-leave-our-state-archives-open-to-the-public

Gravestone of Houlton, Maine’s, Founder Stolen

Why would anyone steal a tombstone? After all, what can you do with it? You can't re-use it on another grave. It makes a terrible paperweight for your desk and I doubt if it attracts many customers to the bar you own and operate. Yet, someone stole a 70-pound grave marker from Joseph Houlton's grave sometime between Sept. 4 and Sept. 6. Houlton founded the town of Houlton, Maine (on the New Brunswick border) in 1807. Police are seeking the public’s help to locate the grave marker of the town’s founder.

The stone is 4 feet tall, 2 feet wide and 3 inches thick. It is made of white marble. Replacement of the stone is estimated to be in the range of $1,000.

Building a Wall Around Canadiana?

Library and Archives Canada is cutting a program dedicated to helping local archives develop and preserve their collections. As of February, the national archive will no longer be part of Canada's countrywide inter-library loan system. These cuts to Canada's national memory-keeping institution passed last week in the government's omnibus budget bill.

The deputy head of Library and Archives, Daniel Caron, says he's doing his best to keep his department "relevant to a new generation of Canadians," but some archivists fear the cuts will build a wall around the archive's information.

Another U.S. Presidential Historian to be Sentenced for Stealing Thousands of Documents from Various Libraries and Archives

I wrote last week (at http://goo.gl/8uahX) that sixty-four-year-old Barry Landau was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the theft of more than 4,000 rare historical documents written by Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Karl Marx and Franklin D. Roosevelt, among others. It seems that Landau had a younger accomplice who now faces a jail term for his role in the thefts.

Jason Savedoff, a 25-year-old former Vancouver, British Columbia, resident and McGill University student, pleaded guilty in November 2011 to carrying out the thefts with Landau.

Follow-up: The Only Safe Storage is L.O.C.K.S.S.

On May 5, I published an article about the only safe way to make backups at http://goo.gl/XtEYA. In that article, I mentioned the legal problems of online file storage service Megaupload. The company provided file storage services and had a great method of allowing one user to share files with others. The problem was that Megaupload had both customers who used the service legally as well as some customers who used it illegally. Some unscrupulous users found that Megaupload was a great way to share movies, music, and other files that were protected by copyright.

The owner of Megaupload protested that the company was doing everything legally even though admittedly a small percentage of Megaupload's customers were performing illegal file swapping on the service. Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom (an obvious pseudonym) compared his company to the telephone companies: the service was legal even if some customers found ways to use it for illegal purposes.

Man Sentenced 7 Years in Prison for Stealing Rare Historical Documents

Sixty-four-year-old Barry Landau said nothing as he left court sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the theft of more than 4,000 rare historical documents written by Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Karl Marx and Franklin D. Roosevelt, among others.

“Mr. Landau was masquerading as a presidential historian when in reality he was a con artist who had gained people’s trust and then steal their property,” U.S. attorney Rod Rosenstein said.

You can read more in an article from WJZ television at http://goo.gl/0nduQ.

Canadian Archivists and Teachers Mourn the Loss of the National Archival Development Program

The following announcement was written by the Canadian Association of University Teachers:

(Ottawa – May 28, 2012) The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) joins today with archivists who have travelled to Ottawa to mourn the loss of the National Archival Development Program (NADP).

“The federal government is undermining the ability of Canadians to know our history and heritage”, said CAUT executive director James Turk. “Eliminating the NADP is yet another attack on research and knowledge in this country.”

Was an Ontario Not-For-Profit Cemetery Corporation Illegally "Stolen" from the Public?

Did the Ontario government essentially lose track of a Crown corporation that owns $1.3-billion of prime real estate, earns millions of dollars, and has spawned two subsidiaries, all competing aggressively in the lucrative death-care business?

The Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries was created by an act of the provincial legislature more than 180 years ago as a public trust and “property of the citizens.” Today, however, the organization styles itself as an independent non-profit corporation, its books withheld from public scrutiny, accountable to neither the public nor the legislature. Exactly what happens to surplus revenues, how much its board directors are paid, and how the proceeds of a $5-million sale of cemetery land in 2006 were used are all considered corporate secrets.

Update: National Archives Employee Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Thefts

Yesterday, I wrote that former U.S. National Archives and Records Administration employee was about to be sentenced for stealing thousands of recordings from the National Archives and selling many on eBay. See my earlier article at http://goo.gl/HVHnF.

A Maryland judge gave Leslie Charles Waffen 18 months in prison. The 67-year-old man was also sentenced to two years of supervised probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Amateur Sleuth Helps Stop National Archives Thefts

A federal judge will sentence a former National Archives employee for stealing thousands of recordings from the National Archives and selling many on eBay. Leslie Charles Waffen is scheduled to be sentenced this (Thursday) morning in Greenbelt, Md. Mr. Waffen, a 40-year employee, has acknowledged stealing thousands of sound recordings from the archive, and prosecutors say more than 1,000 were sold on eBay. He pleaded guilty to theft of government property in October and will likely spend a year and a half in prison.

Clarification: Ancestry.com Terms and Conditions

The following was written by Matthew Deighton of Ancestry.com:

Date: Thu, April 26, 2012 2:17 pm
From: Matthew Deighton Ancestry.com Public Relations

Good morning,

I have received a few emails about the recent change in Ancestry.com’s Terms and Conditions. I wanted to give you our official statement letting you know what our response it. Long story short, it was never meant to exclude professionals from using Ancestry.com, and it has been added back in. Let me know if you have any questions.

Copyright Webinar Tomorrow

This is short notice but I only learned of this a few minutes ago.

Judy  Russell is a certified professional genealogist with a law degree and also is a professor at a prestigious law school. That makes her an ideal person  to educate genealogists about copyright issues in genealogy. Luckily,  she is willing to do just that in a free online "webinar" on Wednesday,  April 25, 2012.

Here is the announcement: