Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

New Web Site: www.NewYorkAncestors.org

The following announcement was written by the New England Historic Genealogical Society:

NEHGS LAUNCHES NEW WEB PORTAL HIGHLIGHTING NEW YORK RESEARCH TOOLS

NewYorkAncestors.org Features a Wealth of New York State Resources

Boston, MA – May 15, 2008 – New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston today announced the launch of a new Web portal highlighting the wide variety of New York resources available on their award-winning Website, NewEnglandAncestors.org. This new portal, located at www.NewYorkAncestors.org, will direct members to a wide range of databases, publications, and articles focusing on New York state research.

400 Years of Surrey Wills Go Online

The following announcement was written by Origins.net:

"Dung to Diamonds: 400 years of wills go online" * Major New Collection on British Origins - Surrey Will Abstracts

The Surrey Will Abstracts  are among the most valuable research sources for the county of Surrey, and for family and social history generally.  Dating from the 15th to 19th centuries, these fully indexed abstracts of all 28,000 wills proved in the Archdeaconry and Commissary Courts of Surrey (and known still to exist) are now available online exclusively on British Origins [at http://www.britishorigins.com].

Footnote.com Adds Interactive 1860 US Census

The following announcement was written by Footnote.com:

FOOTNOTE.COM ADDS TO ITS LEADING CIVIL WAR COLLECTION BY LAUNCHING THE FIRST-EVER INTERACTIVE 1860 US CENSUS

Footnote.com’s innovative tools enable members to enrich the census records by adding photos, comments, and related documents to names featured on the records.

Lindon, UT – Today, Footnote.com announced the addition of the 1860 US Census to their Civil War Collection. As the largest online collection of original Civil War documents, this new addition to Footnote.com provides a snapshot of America before the bloodiest war in its history.

The 1860 US Census reveals many details about individuals at that time. What was their occupation? Where were they born? What was their marital status? Did they attend school? Could they read or write? Was your ancestor insane, idiotic, or a convict? The 1860 US Census will let you know.

Dick Eastman Joins Familybuilder Advisory Board

At last! I can now talk and write about this. I am delighted to accept a position on the Advisory Board of Familybuilder™, a software company that builds genealogy and family-oriented applications for online social networks. The company’s flagship product, Family Tree, is the first genealogy application to be introduced on Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, and Hi5.

I suspect that most genealogists have not yet heard of Familybuilder. In fact, I had not heard of the company a few months ago. However, when I discovered this online service, I was impressed. I believe that social networking sites will be the "next big thing" in online genealogy. I am delighted to have a small role in guiding that growth.

Important Announcement for Genealogist Enthusiasts on Facebook

The following was written by FamilyBuilder:

Recently, activities from individuals seeking to explore and expand their family genealogy on Facebook have been met with negative reactions from Facebook corporate and have had their Facebook accounts suspended.

The latest incident involved Rodrigo Sepúlveda Schulz who was accused of breaching Facebook's Terms of Service by apparently emailing his family members found on Facebook, and directing them to a third-party web site outside Facebook.com.   You can read about this incident on Rodrigo's blog:  http://rodrigo.typepad.com/english/2008/04/facebook-has-di.html.  There is also a growing reaction to this incident on Twitter from Robert Scoble, also once suspended by Facebook, among others.

Old Bailey Files Are Now Online

Files never before available to the public are now online. Transcripts of 210,000 trials from across four centuries are now available.

The site is the largest single source of searchable information about everyday British lives and behavior ever published, said co-director Professor Tim Hitchcock. 'Besides the desperate drama of crimes punished, the proceedings give us a new and remarkable access to the everyday. History is full of information about kings and queens and wars, but there isn't much that tells us about the everyday life of ordinary people.'

The web site contains the transcripts of every trial heard at the Old Bailey from 1674 to 1913, a total of more than 210,000 criminal trials. Sadly, it includes the biographical details of around 3,000 men and women executed at Tyburn.

That's My Family - A Canadian Genealogy Search Engine

A new search tool searches genealogy and family history databases hosted by Canadian federal, provincial or territorial archives centres and libraries, as well as those of several commercial partners. "That's My Family," or "Voici Ma Famille," is free of charge and available in both French and English. It was launched and is maintained by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) with support from Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and the Council of Provincial and Territorial Archivists (CPTA) of Canada.

"That's My Family" hosts no data of its own. It is a search engine, similar to Google, that indexes data found on other sites. The difference is that "That's My Family" looks only at Canadian sites that contain genealogy information. As such, it can save you a lot of time; you do not have to search each site individually.

Utah State Archives Posts Prisoner Pardon Application Case Files Online

The following announcement was written by the State of Utah's Division of Archives and Records Service: 

Digital images of thousands of applications from Utah prisoners to the Utah Board of Pardons have been posted online by the Utah State Archives and Records Service.

The Board of Pardon’s Prisoner’s Application Case Files, 1892-1949, is the newest addition to the Archives’ Digital Collections. The series include 8,772 case files.

Bloodlines of Salem

David Nelson has created a very attractive as well as interesting web site about the Salem Witch Trials. David writes:

Bloodlines of Salem is the place where visitors share ideas and information about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, its participants and their families. Many of us have researched and proved our descents from one or more of the participants. The trials unfolded more than three centuries ago and continue to figure prominently in the studies of history, law and religion. As amateur and professional Salemologists, however, our study of the trials isn't limited to our lineages. While the facts about our infamous ancestors might be the focus of our work, it's the celebration of their memories and mysteries that continue to fascinate new generations of their families and the public. We welcome you to explore with us.

View Your Ancestors' Tax Returns Online

It seems appropriate that Ancestry.com chose April 15 to announce a new online database: U.S. federal income tax records. As part of an agreement in which the company paid $46,000 to the National Archives in Washington, Ancestry.com has digitized and indexed federal income tax records from 1862 through 1918.