Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

US Civil War Roll of Honor 1861–1865 Published Online by Familyrelatives.com

The following announcement was written by Familyrelatives.com:

One of the largest and most complete Rolls of Honor for the US Civil War has been released by Familyrelatives.com. It is the first time that all 27 volumes have been made available online.

Familyrelatives.com continues with more data additions this month with over 276,000 Roll of Honor records for those soldiers who died in the defence of the Union during the American Civil War.

Ancestry.com Launches Collections of Caribbean Slave Records

The following announcement was written by Ancestry.com:

PROVO, UT -- 07/16/09 -- Ancestry.com, the world's largest online commercial resource for family history, today announced that the company, in collaboration with Virgin Islands Social History Associates (VISHA), is launching a significant online collection of Caribbean slave records detailing nearly 200 years of St. Croix-Virgin Islands history.

Cumberland County, Pennsylvania Archives Go Online

More than 250 years of documented Cumberland County history is now available online. Barbara Bartos, county archivist, said nearly 13,000 historical documents dating from the county's founding in 1750 have been placed on the county Web site. The Cumberland County Archives is dedicated to preserving, protecting and making accessible archival records created by the various county government offices.

GenealogyWise.com Announced as Newest Social Network

The following announcement was written by FamilyLink.com, Inc.:

FamilyLink.com, Inc. Launches Genealogy Social Network Website GenealogyWise

Open community-based website represents a new option for family history exploration and unique way to discover and connect with family members around the world

Provo, UT, July 14, 2009 -- FamilyLink.com, Inc. today introduced GenealogyWise.com, a new web property that combines community interaction with tools and resources for people who are interested in researching and sharing their family history with others. GenealogyWise.com joins other web properties operated by FamilyLink.com, Inc. in an effort to connect families with each other and with their histories.

ProQuest Announces ProQuest® African American Heritage

ProQuest has announced a new African American genealogy offering. I was especially interested to note that it includes partnerships with AfriGeneas and Genealogical Publishing Company.

Keep in mind that ProQuest is available only through participating libraries. Please contact your nearest public library and ask if they subscribe or if there are other libraries ion the area that subscribe to ProQuest. If so, you will will normally be able to obtain free access to these resources.

The following announcement was written by ProQuest:

Groundbreaking new resource exclusively devoted to African American genealogy

Bing Versus Google

Microsoft recently released a new search engine called Bing. I have used it a few times and have been impressed. It seems to work well although I am not yet convinced that it is any better than Google. Lots of discussions have appeared online, questioning which is the better search engine: Bing or Google. Now you can decide for yourself.

TalkingScot is Alive

TalkingScot is (or was) a very popular web site for those researching Scottish ancestry. The site went offline abruptly but the TalkingScot Administration Group wants everyone to know that the problem is only temporary.

The following was written a few minutes ago by the TalkingScot Administration Group:

13,000 Names of Guillotine Execution Victims Added to Ancestry.ca

The following announcement was written by Ancestry.ca:

•  Collection includes original images of records of King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and Robespierre
•  Oldest victim was 92, youngest only 14

(Toronto, July 8, 2009) – In time for Bastille Day, Ancestry.ca, Canada’s leading family history website, today released a unique online collection of more than 13,000 names of individuals who were executed in connection with the French Revolution between 1792 and 1796.

Canadian Headstone Photo Project

The mission of the Canadian Headstone Photo Project is to capture digital images of  headstones of our ancestors. As decades pass -- many stones are becoming harder, if not impossible, to read the inscriptions they originally contained. By archiving the images, the web site's owners hope to save these important records and also assist researchers using this valuable resource.

Ontario Online Searchable Names Index

The Quinte Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) has just updated its online finding aid to include 1,014,600 names to assist genealogists in finding their ancestors in Hasting, Prince Edward and Northumberland Counties, Ontario. This was one of the first areas settled by United Empire Loyalists in 1784.

FamilySearch Record Search Update: 12 New Collections Added--7 International

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

1 July 2009

Twelve new collections were added to the FamilySearch Record Search pilot this week. International collections were added for Argentina, Australia, Mexico, Netherlands, and Spain. New United States collections were added for Delaware, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Utah. Happy searching!

These collections can be searched for free at the FamilySearch.org Record Search pilot (click Search Records, and then click Record Search pilot).

FamilySearch Indexing Update: Czech Republic, South Africa, Mexico, and Deutschland Projects Added

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

Overview

Indexers waiting for projects from the Czech Republic, Baden, Germany, or South Africa can now get busy. New indexing projects added this week are:

• Czech Republic, Litomerice Kirchenbücher, 1552–1905 [Part 1]
• Deutschland, Baden—Kirchenbücher, 1810-1869
• Mexico DF Registros Parroquiales, 1886–1933 [Part 1]
• South Africa, Cape Province Dutch Reformed Church, 1660–1970
• U.S., Illinois, Cook County Birth Certificates, 1916–1922 [Part 2]
• U.S., Massachusetts Marriages, 1896–1897
• U.S., Minnesota 1885 State Census

 (See the chart below for a complete list and current status of all indexing projects).

Ancestral Atlas Adds Life Maps

Ancestral Atlas has added a very cool new feature. At the touch of a button you can create a map that links the event locations of a particular person from birth through to death (personal Life Map) and also create maps that link an individual to all ancestors and/or descendants where a location is recorded. The ancestor/descendant maps locate the earliest recorded event location of all descendants/ancestors and then draws a line on the map to these events from the person you are searching against, thus mapping your heritage.

Ancestry.ca Celebrates Canada Day With Free Access

The following was written by The Generations Network, parent company of www.Ancestry.ca:

Canada Day is not only a great day to spend with family – it’s the perfect time to get together and learn more about how your family came to be Canadian.  To celebrate our 142nd birthday, for the first time Ancestry.ca is making available the Canadian Passenger Lists free to access  from June 29 through July 3, 2009.

New Historical Newspapers Titles from ProQuest

The following announcement was written by ProQuest:

ProQuest has added two newspapers to the ProQuest Historical Newspapers program:

• ProQuest Historical Newspapers - The Baltimore Sun (1837-1985)
• ProQuest Historical Newspapers – St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1874-1922)

The Baltimore Sun was founded by Arunah Shepherdson Abell as a people’s paper reporting the news that mattered most to the residents of Baltimore and the nation including Washington D.C. politics, the slave trade and the Civil War, immigration, commerce, Americana, and literature.

Live Roots Search Experience, Release Two

The following announcement was written by Genealogy Today:

BURBANK, Calif. - June 25, 2009 - Genealogy Today announced the second release of the Live Roots search experience. Included in this release are project management tools to help visitors keep track and organize the genealogical resources that they discover while using the search engine.

Throughout the Live Roots search experience, registered members will now see Follow, Comment, Record and Share buttons. These buttons let the members conveniently interface with the new project management tools. Follow is an active bookmarking feature; Comment allows members to post comments on resources; Record lets members make entries in a dynamic research log; and Share is a way to send notices about resources to friends and family via e-mail.

Ancestry.com Announces “Expert Connect”

I think this new service is going to be a winner. Today I had a chance to talk with Todd Godfrey, Senior Director at The Generations Network. He is one of the managers involved in Ancestry.com's brand-new service, called Expert Connect. In fact, the service is so new that the web site went live during the middle of our telephone conversation.

Expert Connect is a new "clearinghouse" that allows individual genealogists to find and hire genealogy professionals. When you, the individual family history researcher, have exhausted all your resources, you probably need to find the next level of support. Typically, you need to find someone who is intimately familiar with the ethnic groups where your ancestors originated or who may even reside in the area where your ancestors lived.

Price Changes at Footnote.com

Footnote.com (one of the sponsors of this newsletter) is increasing the company's annual membership fee.  On August 1, 2009, the cost of a Footnote Annual Membership will increase by $10 (about 83 cents per month).  This slight increase should help the company to continue to add more valuable content to Footnote and make things easier to find and use. 

However, there is an opportunity to keep your membership costs lowered.

What’s This FamilySearch Alpha Thing?

Dan Lawyer has written a short article in the FamilySearch Labs blog that gives a quick preview of what I believe will be a revolutionary new tool for genealogists. Dan writes:

FamilySearch Alpha is the beginning of a great new world. The purpose of the project is to replace the current www.FamilySearch.org website with a new site at the same address that integrates all of the new technologies and record sets we’ve been working on (like Record Search, Family Tree, Research Wiki, etc.) into one easy to use experience.

You can read the full article and some readers' comments at http://labs.familysearch.org/blog/?p=110.

Ancestry.com Pre-Announces Member Connect

Writing in the (official) Ancestry.com blog, David Graham has described a new feature that will be soon be added to the online service. It sounds like a service that will help people who are researching the same families connect with each other.

David writes: