Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

brightsolid Hires D. Joshua Taylor to Support Move into US Market

brightsolid made two announcements in one this morning. First, it has hired one of the better-known genealogists to play a key role in the company's expansion into the U.S. marketplace. The second announcement is a bit more subtle: the company is moving into the U.S. marketplace. British-owned brightsolid has long been a major player providing online genealogy information to U.K. genealogists and now is expanding into the U.S. The company appears to be well-funded and should be capable of becoming a major competitor to the U.S. providers of genealogy data.

The following announcement was written by brightsolid:

• He’s helped stars find their roots on TV’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” Now, he’s helping brightsolid’s US launch as business development manager and media spokesperson
• Taylor is one of several new appointments to the new US operation of UK’s major online genealogy business

January 30, 2012. SANTA MONICA, CA: brightsolid online publishing, a leading online provider of historical and genealogical content, today announces that top genealogist D. Joshua Taylor has joined its new US operation with immediate effect, as business development manager and media spokesperson.

Steve Siegel, RIP

One of the genealogical greats, Steve Siegel, past president and founding member of the Jewish Genealogical Society, lost his valiant battle with cancer early this morning.
 
 Siegel was library director and archivist at the 92nd Street YM-YWHA in Manhattan for 31 years until his retirement last year. He initiated and organized the annual Family History Fair (1990-2005) during New York Archives Week. He is a past president of the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York and served as president of the Jewish Historical Society of New York. He was a genealogist for more than 40 years, with a focus on Jewish genealogy, Jewish archival sources, and New York City local history. Steve was co-founder and co-editor of Toledot: The Journal of Jewish Genealogy (1977-1982) and compiled the Archival Resources volume of Jewish Immigrants of the Nazi Period in the USA (1978).

Henry Louis Gates Jr. Seeks Assistance to Identify His Great-Great-Grandfather

Henry Louis Gates Jr. is a history professor, a DNA expert, and a genealogist. Now he is asking for assistance to identify his great-great-grandfather.

Through genealogical records, the Gates family history can be traced back to Jane Gates, a slave who lived on Greene Street. Jane, who was born in 1819, had five children and took the name and identity of their father with her to the grave, according to Gates.

Mocavo Hires Michael J. Leclerc as Chief Genealogist

I was delighted to read the announcement today of the newest addition to Mocavo.com's staff: Michael Leclerc. This looks like a great match.

Quoting from the announcement:

Michael has officially joined Mocavo as Chief Genealogist and will be working with us to help bring you the richest experience that the genealogical world has to offer. We’re ecstatic to be working with such an industry guru, and our entire team is very excited with what Mocavo will bring to the field of genealogy in 2012.

Mocavo CEO Cliff Shaw said, “I couldn’t be happier to have Michael joining our team.  As Mocavo continues to grow and innovate in the space, Michael’s incredible expertise will help us build an ever-improving experience for our users.”

Susan Gregory Henry Named Clinton County (Ohio) Genealogist of the Year

Susan Gregory Henry, was named 2011 Genealogist of the Year at the annual banquet of the Clinton County Genealogical Society. A citation for Susan Henry was read on behalf of the committee composed of Shirley Lakatos, Beth Mitchell and Joyce Peters in recognition and appreciation for her outstanding service to the Clinton County Genealogical Society. She was presented a certificate and a plaque.

You can read more in an article in the Wilmington News Journal at http://goo.gl/7LP1L

Genealogist Jan Gow Awarded Queen’s Service Medal

Jan Gow is a very active genealogy teacher, lecturer, and writer in New Zealand. She has been mentioned dozens of times in this newsletter (see http://goo.gl/17lTi for past newsletter articles about her). Now Jan has been awarded the Queen’s Service Medal "For services to genealogical research." She is now authorized to use the letters "QSM" after her name.

You can find the listing of new recipients of the Queen’s Service Medal at at
http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/node/992

Fairfield, Connecticut Museum and History Center to Honor Librarian and Genealogist, Roderick MacKenzie

Roderick MacKenzie passed away on December 9th. He was the Assistant Libararian and Genealogist at the Fairfield Museum and its predecessor, the Fairfield Historical Society, for more than 35 years. He also was the genealogist at Pequot Library in Southport, Connecticut.

The Fairfield Museum and History Center will hold a Celebration of the Life of Roderick MacKenzie at the Fairfield Museum, 370 Beach Road in Fairfield on Wednesday, December 21st from 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., following a private interment.

Details may be found in the NorwalkPlus.com web site at http://goo.gl/4ubBe.

 

John McCabe and Henry McDowell Named as Fellows of the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland

The following announcement was written by the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland:

The Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland Celebrated its 25th Anniversary in Belfast’s Historic Titanic Quarter

On Wednesday 7th December 2011 the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland (APGI) held its Annual General Meeting at the iconic new building occupied by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) in Belfast’s historic Titanic Quarter. Yesterday’s meeting marked the culmination of the Association’s 25th anniversary, celebrating that APGI was founded in Belfast twenty-five years previously, in 1986. 

The AGM was followed by a reception to which over 100 representatives of various archival and record repositories in Belfast were invited, along with those engaged in genealogical services in Northern Ireland, retired members of APGI and representatives of the North of Ireland Family History Society.  The Belfast-based record repositories included PRONI, the General Register Office of Northern Ireland, the Linen Hall Library, the Presbyterian Historical Society and the Wesleyan Historical Society.

Nancy Dailey Brutally Murdered in Her Home

This sad story has nothing to do with genealogy, except that the victim probably had friends and acquaintances who read this newsletter. Those friends and acquaintances will be distressed to read of the death of Nancy Dailey during a robbery at her home in Royal Oak, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.

Two ex-convicts out on parole have been arrested for the murder. The story of what happened is shocking, to say the least. The parolees were known to be in the neighborhood and were committing many criminal acts. The police knew it, the parole officer knew it, and surveillance video tapes of other robberies had been analyzed and the parolees had already been identified. Their locations were known. Yet they had not yet been arrested for the multiple crimes when the two of them entered the home of 80-year-old Nancy Dailey and slit her throat.

Richard Milligan, Longtime Genealogy Researcher, Dies in Auto Crash

Richard Milligan, 91, of Albany, Oregon died Sunday afternoon in a single-vehicle automobile crash. Milligan was president of the Linn Genealogical Society for two decades, said current president Betty Thorn.

“He was the driving force behind the society for about 20 years,” she said. “He’s known by genealogical researchers countrywide. He was very good at helping people before there were computers.”

Singer Sir Tom Jones is Granted His Own Coat of Arms

As most genealogists already know, there is no such thing as a family coat of arms in most countries. Coats of Arms are granted to individuals, not to families, and may only be displayed by the individual. However, it is interesting to note that one more person named Jones now has a coat of arms.

Sir Tom Jones, the veteran singer, has chosen a coat of arms featuring a Welsh dragon and a leek.

Dennis C. Brimhall will Succeed Jay L. Verkler as CEO of FamilySearch

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

SALT LAKE CITY —November 15, 2011: FamilySearch International announced today a change in its chief executive officer. Effective January 2, 2012, Dennis C. Brimhall will succeed Jay L. Verkler as CEO of FamilySearch. Mr. Verkler will continue in a consulting capacity for a few months to ensure a smooth transition.
 
It is the business culture and practice of FamilySearch, as an organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to regularly rotate its senior leaders. This pattern assures the forward momentum of its core programs.

Bridgett Schneider of Random Acts Of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK), R.I.P.

It is with great sadness that I report that Bridgett Schneider, best known as the primary person behind Random Acts Of Genealogical Kindness, passed away today. She was 64 years old.

The last message I received from Bridgett was on October 18 when she wrote:

RAOGK has been around with our volunteers helping other genealogists get copies of documents required to prove your lineage back to Adam and Eve (giggle). Pictures of your ancestors' tombstones were also high on the lists of requests. I hope everyone got as much service as we were able to give.

Our heart is saddened that we will be offline for quite awhile. Between computer problems (harddrive turning to toast) and the health of the administrator very questionable ... RAOGK, after 11 years, will cease to exist for awhile.

Strauss-Kahn Ancestor Ran a Brothel

Former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn became famous when he was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel worker in New York in May. The charges were later dropped. Now a new book about French politicians' genealogies makes an ironic claim: that Strauss-Kahn's great-great-grandfather ran a brothel.

The book, called Le Tout-Politique (All Politicians), claims that Strauss-Kahn's ancestor, Léon Bricot, was a violin teacher who also ran a hotel in Lons-le-Saunier in the eastern Franche-Comté region. The hotel allegedly doubled as a "maison close," or a house of ill-repute. Bricot had an unfortunate end after he shot and killed a soldier customer who had become troublesome, resulting in him ending his days in prison.

The White House Scammer

A few months ago, I wrote a couple of times about Barry H. Landau, the self-styled “America’s Presidential Historian.” He was an acquaintance of several presidents, first ladies, and many other public figures. However, Landau and his reported accomplice, Jason Savedoff, are now accused of stealing thousands of rare historical documents worth millions.

You can read my earlier articles at http://goo.gl/Vyueb and at http://goo.gl/Bx6jG.

Jacob Bernstein has published a lengthy article that describes the scams perpetrated by Landau and Savedoff. Bernstein writes, "Landau was a man who hobnobbed with the great and the good, living a life that was all about being at the center of everything. He attended state dinners for George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton, posed in photographs with Frank Sinatra, met Oprah Winfrey."

Shane Robison to Leave Hewlett-Packard

In February, Shane Robison, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, and Chief Technology Officer of Hewlett Packard, delivered a keynote address to the 3,000 attendees at RootsTech, the largest genealogy conference ever held in North America. I was in the audience for his talk and was very impressed with his visions for the future of computing. I wrote about Robison's talk in this newsletter at http://goo.gl/rNPY5.

Archivist of the United States David Ferriero to be Interviewed on “Dateline NBC”

David Ferriero will be interviewed by “Dateline NBC” correspondent Chris Hansen at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, October 13. The interview will take place in the in New Canaan (Connecticut) Library’s Adrian Lamb Room. At the conclusion of the presentation, Ferriero will take questions from the audience.

Ferriero will speak about topics such as what technology and the age of digitization means to the archives of the United States; its implications on re-classification, and the need to strike a balance between national security and a citizen’s access to information. Ferriero and Hansen will also discuss the future of libraries — from five years to 30 years in the future.

Steve Jobs, R.I.P.

I suppose everyone has heard by now of the death of Steve Jobs at age 56. He was co-founder, long-time CEO, and the genius behind Apple. He revolutionized computers with the Macintosh, revolutionized laptop computers with the MacBook Air, invented a new market segment of tablet computers and then dominated that marketplace, and also put music libraries in fans' pockets and posed a challenge to brick-and-mortar record stores and radio with Apple's iTunes and iPod. To say that the man was a genius does not fully describe his many talents.

Perhaps one of the most fitting tributes came from President Barack Obama who said (in part):

"...there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented."

Indeed, that happened to me. I first read of Steve Jobs' death yesterday when looking at a news feed on my Apple iPhone while traveling in the Denver, Colorado suburbs.

Bio of Tim Sullivan, the President and C.E.O. of Ancestry.com

The New York Times has published a brief biography of Tim Sullivan, the president and C.E.O. of Ancestry.com, based in Provo, Utah. Tim describes his education and his earlier career accomplishments. You can read the bio at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/jobs/25boss.html?_r=1

NOTE: The New York Times frequently leaves articles available to everyone for a few days, then moves the articles behind a "pay wall" as part of the company's archives. The article is visible to everyone at no charge as I write these words but that may change in the future.

Jimmy Parker, R.I.P.

Jimmy Bruce Parker passed away on Friday, September 9, 2011. He joined the staff at the Genealogical Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City in 1963 where he helped thousands of genealogists with their research. He served in many positions in the family history department, including the research department and priesthood genealogy department. He was the manager of the Family History Library for five and a half years and retired in December of 1999.

Jimmy was a well known writer and a great educator, teaching all over the North American Continent at the National Genealogical Conferences and BYU Education Week. He served on the board of The International Commission of the Accreditation of Professional Genealogy, president of the National Genealogical Teachers of America, Association of Professional Genealogist and President and Fellow of The Utah Genealogical Society.