Saturday Challenge Resources

 Last week's challenge from GeneaMusings in honor of the holdiay:

1)  What Genealogy Resource are you thankful for?  Is it an organization, software, websites, repositories, persons, or something else?

Here's mine:

I could list many resources that I am grateful for. Ancestry, FamilySearch, Fold3 and other on-line resources as well as our home library, the local public libraries and other repositories come to mind. My older brother is a valuable resource as he can recall things that I never knew about surrounding my family. Just recently a discussion came up where he recalled some details about the family farm that I grew up on. Perhaps trivial, but I now can fill in more details about my grandparents lives including approximately when they installed indoor plumbing and where the outhouse had been located!

My brothers, our dog and me

However, the most valuable resource that I couldn’t do any of this without is my computer. The laptop that travels all over with me is a workhorse of a tool. It enables me to write fairly quickly and without my hands cramping as they quickly do when writing by hand. That database resides on its hard drive and all those on-line sources are accessed through it. Some of them often enough that I am continuously signed in to them it seems.

Included with the computer is the removable hard drive that is it’s constant companion. This is the organization of my research, the “brain” of most of my work. The database might have a reference to where I got the information, but what about that census or vital record? Was there more in that digital book that I referenced? Over to the drive to find it. Within one folder, much like an old file cabinet, are many more folders. Major family names are listed down through.

Which family was this? Open the folder and the oldest ancestor, or the oldest I’m working with is listed on a title. Drilling down, I can quickly jump from generation to generation within the family. Each sibling is numbered in the birth order and their children are likewise located within their folder. I quickly reach the correct person and there it is, the individual record I wanted to look at! A book about the general family would have been in either the top folder or the first generation that it is about.

Yes, between the “brain” and the computer itself, these are the resources I am most grateful for. Years ago, when I started working on genealogy, I didn’t have a computer to use. A few years later, I got my first one, a Tandy ColorComputer, which was really more of a game machine than anything. It was the early days of home computers. Still I managed to fashion a chart of some of my early research with it. No more than a listing such as a simple cascading chart, it would be printed out on a small printer with paper little wider than a cash register receipt. The paper even came on a roll like the receipt paper.

From that early start, the power of the computers has greatly improved over the years, as has the sophistication of my tools and output. Now I am able to keep databases full of information, folders organized by families and produce professional quality reports with the research. With the connection to the Internet I can connect to resources and repositories that we never dreamed of reaching without much work and expense. I am definitely most grateful for the morale of my modern computer.

Wow! A Lot of new hints from Family Search

 I just received the following news release from FamilySearch. There's all kinds of new hints on their family trees as of today. As always, you still need to verify the connections with records, but with this many hints, you're bound to find a lead or two to some new records and some new relatives in there!


Salt Lake City, Utah (29 September 2016)--You might discover new ancestors on your family tree this week at FamilySearch.org.
The nonprofit FamilySearch International, the largest genealogical organization in the world, released 141 million new hints in its online Family Tree today. The hints make use of the newest additions to FamilySearch’s massive collections of worldwide historical records made searchable online by volunteer indexers. These hints can lead to exciting new family history discoveries.
Two years ago, FamilySearch.org’s search engine began creating the hints by comparing data from the five billion names in its historical records online to the 1.2 billion customer-contributed ancestry names in the online Family Tree. “When we put the data together for comparison and find high-scoring matches to people in your family tree, that’s what we call a hint,” explained Robert Kehrer, FamilySearch senior product manager.
“In essence, the FamilySearch.org search engine is constantly working to make research discoveries for you without your having to do much more than login, validate what it found, and accept the hints,” added Kehrer.
The current addition enlarges the already published 1.5 billion hints from historical records in FamilySearch Family Tree. These hints can help in your research. Instead of searching for each ancestor separately, you receive the information in the form of a hint after FamilySearch has already searched the records for you.
These hints can identify a possible ancestor to add to your individual tree, or they can provide rich additional sources for an ancestor already in your tree. The details from one historical record may lead to the discovery of another, and the added details of each ancestor’s life can help weave together your family’s story.
Kehrer said he is confident of the hints’ accuracy because the historical records are being compared to all the rich information surrounding the ancestors in your family tree. In fact, the results have been verified at a 98.5 percent average accuracy. An exception can occur, for example, if your ancestor has a common name and not much differentiating information is attached to him or her. “If your ancestor is named John Smith and was born in New York in 1920 and there aren’t many people associated with that ancestor, the accuracy won’t be that high,” he said.
These newest hints in the historical records arsenal come from many countries, but particularly noteworthy are the 1851 and 1881 census records of England and Wales. “A large number of family history buffs have ancestors from the British Isles and records from this relatively recent time can be a good way to start or build a family tree,” Kehrer said.
How do you find your hints?
It’s easy. Sign in to your free FamilySearch.org account. If you don’t have an account, you can obtain a free account by going to FamilySearch.org. The hints, designated by a blue icon, can be located in multiple places, including the main page, the ancestor’s person page, and an ancestor’s entry in the descendancy view of the tree. Click the blue hint icon. If you agree that the record is a match, you can quickly and easily attach the record to that ancestor’s profile in your tree.You may find new hints any time you add a new person to Family Tree or you change the details in an ancestor’s listing. FamilySearch adds historical records daily that are continually mapped to contributors’ ancestors in Family Tree. And just as with today’s announcement, periodically very large batches of new hints are added throughout the year—which means millions of fun, new family discoveries.
Find and share this release online here. 

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About FamilySearch
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,921 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

PERSI

Find My Past announced yesterday their monthly updates to PERSI. There are 92,647 images added with 20 new publications that cover New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Lancashire England, Ireland and more places! Of course, there was already a lot there as they state there are over 2.5 million entries. This is a resource that I go to periodically to find articles, but will be diving into a lot more over the next few weeks, as I get ready to head for Indiana.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with PERSI, that is the acronym for the PERiodical Source Index that originated many years ago at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It used to be available on HeritageQuest, but as of about three years ago is now available through Find My Past. The older listings are still available at HeritageQuest through 2009. However, all the listings including the latest are on Find My Past. Also, with the change to the new website provider, there are some articles that are available directly from the database. It is no longer just an index from which you need to find the journal in which the article is in to get a copy. From what I understand, as time goes on, there will be even more available through the scanned images on the servers.

How do you get to the articles once you find one you are interested in if it’s not already available on their site? Well, here are the directions from their website:

“Alternatively, you might find the periodical in a library or other research repository in your area. Try searching your local library’s online catalog. If the title does not appear there, search OCLC’s WorldCat.org. WorldCat is the largest bibliographic database in the world, and can generate a list of libraries local to you that own a particular item.
Finally, you can engage the research services of the Allen County Public Library’s Genealogy Center and order a copy of your periodical article. An “Article Request Form” can be completed at: http://genealogycenter.org/docs/default-source/resources/articlerequest.pdf?sfvrsn=2”

That second paragraph is why I always think of Allen County when I think of PERSI. When I was there three years ago, I had a list of many, many articles that I wanted to get copies of. Sure, I could look in my local library for these journals, or some of the libraries in the area just like that first paragraph mentions. However, I prepared that list knowing that in just a few days, I’d be on the road. The Genealogy Center has every journal available there that is indexed on PERSI. Why start looking to see which of several libraries or repositories might have the one I was interested in when I knew I’d be spending three days there and could just walk over to the shelf and grab the ones I was interested in. Convenience meant this was a fast and practical way to get these articles. What is more, there I can copy the articles if I wish, or insert a thumb-drive into the copier and get a digital copy! Less paper to carry home, less cost in paying for copies (digital is free!), and I don’t have to scan them later in order to add them to my files. A big win all the way around as far as I’m concerned.

This time while visiting the Genealogy Center I will probably be looking for less journal articles. I’ve already got a good many that I wanted from that previous trip. The fact that many are already available online means I’ll have less new ones to get. Also, I have a bit more Indiana and Michigan research that I want to concentrate on.

National Archives Virtual Fair

 With fall comes the National Archives hosting a Virtual Genealogy Fair. This fair is not one you attend in person, but rather through the Internet- so no travel expenses! No need to go to Washington, DC. Of course, you won't have easy access to the archives, while attending, but that's the trade off. And what's more, the whole event is free courtesy of the National Archives. Below is their announcement of this year's fair:

 

Save the dates October 26th and October 27th 

https://www.archives.gov/calendar/genealogy-fair/

National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair

Save the date!

October 26 & 27, 2016

2016 Virtual Genealogy Fair

On October 26 & 27, 2016 (Wednesday & Thursday), the National Archives will host a two-day, virtual Genealogy Fair via webcast. Viewers have the opportunity to participate with the presenters and other family historians during the live event on YouTube. All of the session videos and handouts will be available from this web page free of charge. Registration is not required.
We are currently in the planning stages to select a wide variety of topics for different skill levels from beginners to advanced. Please check this page later for more details.

Presenters

This year’s program will include genealogy experts from National Archives locations across the nation.

Lecture Sessions

The lecture sessions will offer family history research tools for all skill levels on Federal records dealing with immigration, military and civilian personnel, and bankruptcy. Learn how to do genealogical research using traditional and electronic records.

Day 1: Wednesday, October 26

Watch entire day on YouTube

Day 2: Thursday, October 27

Watch entire day on YouTube
You can watch the sessions and download the materials at your convenience. See previous Virtual Genealogy Fair sessions and presentation materials for the years 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Captioning

Live captioning will be available online. If you require an alternative or additional accommodation for an event, please send an email to: KYR@nara.gov or call 202-357-5260 in advance.

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Background:  The National Archives holds the permanently valuable records of the Federal government. These include records of interest to genealogists, such as pension files, ship passenger lists, census and Freedmen’s Bureau materials. For information on National Archives holdings see www.archives.gov.
Regarding links outside of the National Archives Website (Archives.gov): We have provided a link to this site because it has information that may interest you. This link is not an endorsement by the National Archives of the opinions, products, or services presented on this site, or any sites linked to it. The National Archives is not responsible for the legality or accuracy of information on this site, the policies, or for any costs incurred while using this site.

Rootsweb

Rootsweb has been having a lot of problems lately. If you're subscribe to very many of their mailing lists, you've definitely noticed this. For the last about two weeks many of the lists have been inundated with spam emails selling all kinds of products that we, as genealogists, are just not interested in. At times I was deleting 30 or more emails at a time that were complete spam. It has quieted down in the last few days as they've gotten their filters fixed again.

The Ancestry Insider on his blog today gives an update on many different aspects of Rootsweb:
http://www.ancestryinsider.org/2016/08/rootsweb-update-for-20-august-2016.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AncestryInsider+%28The+Ancestry+Insider%29

There is a lot of good stuff on the Rootsweb websites. However, this is an older website that hasn't always been kept up to date with technology and hardware. In some places it is behind with the behind the scenes aspects of making it work. This is a good summary of what is happening, what is working, and what they (being Ancestry that now owns it) are working on getting repaired so that with any luck it can work well again.

If you don't already subscribe to emails from the Ancestry Insider, it is also a good idea to do so! He keeps people up to date on what is going on especially with Ancestry and Family Search.

Legacy Family Tree Webinar on Organizing

I just came across a free webinar on Legacy Family Tree webinars. http://familytreewebinars.com/download.php?webinar_id=369

 It is by Lisa Louise Cooke and is free for anybody and everybody to listen to until July 27^th. The webinar is about organizing your online life and from what I can see, mentions Google Calendar and Evernote amongst other programs. I don’t know about you, but I’m sure I can use this and will be listening to it in the next couple days.

Wouldn't it be great to be this organized?

I have some good systems in place with lists and spreadsheets to keep track of things both online and offline. My life would be total chaos without them. However, there are always new ways to organize that might be better than what I’m doing. Even if the ideas are basically the same as what I already do, there are usually some little quirks and tricks that I either haven’t thought to do or have forgotten about.

I use Google Calendar all the time to keep track of appointments and deadlines for various things. I keep running lists of things that need to get done and errands that need to be run. Maybe you can do without some of these lists, but if I walk into the grocery store without one, I won’t even have a clue what I’m supposed to buy for this week! Lately, I’ve been learning a bit about Evernote and believe that this could be a good place to keep some of these assorted lists of things all in one handy place. The one drawback for me is that I don’t have a smart phone, so would have to print out a list to take with me if I need one on the run.

An organizing tool that I would like to find is one that deals with all the urls for websites that I try to keep track of. I’ve used bookmarks or favorites on web browsers, kept lists in Word files and on spreadsheets, but nothing seems to keep them in order for long. Perhaps somebody has something that works well for them?

This is the great thing about the Legacy webinars if you haven’t already started to explore them. People present on various topics related to genealogy and you get to learn from them as they share their knowledge and experience. As you listen and think about what their discussing, other ideas may pop into your head. You can pause the webinar, unlike an in person presentation, and look into these ideas.

Usually each Wednesday is what is referred to as “Webinar Wednesday” where a live presentation is given that is free to listen to then or for the next week. It is kind of like a free conference spread across the year. If you subscribe to their website, you can get the syllabus material to each webinar as well and access to all of the webinars that have been presented. This is great if you don’t get a chance to listen while the webinar is free. It is also an opportunity to not only hear and watch some of the older ones, but also some that have never been available for free.

A few months ago Thomas MacEntee did a free presentation about using Microsoft Word. It was a good introduction. However, there were many, many more parts to the presentation that are only available to subscribers that goes much more in depth. My advice to everyone is to subscribe to these webinars- you won’t regret it!

Numbers- Saturday Challenge

Your mission this week from Randy Seaver, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  If you have your family tree research in a Genealogy Management Program (GMP), whether a computer software program or an online family tree, figure out how to find how many persons, places, sources, etc. are in your database (hint:  the Help button is your friend!)

2)  Tell us which GMP you use, and how many persons, places, sources, etc. are in your database(s) today in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, or in a Facebook status or Google+ stream comment.

There are over 100,000 people in my database. Well over. I use the database program to store research in progress. I also collect any and all collateral that I come across that I can easily throw in there for future reference or research.

The database shows 1809 places listed. Some of them aren’t actually places, but rather phrases that have been plopped into that space. A frequent one is “young” for a person that we don’t know when they died, but that it was as a youngster. Occasionally a marriage has a designation of what number of marriage is for that couple- whether second wife or third husband or such.

Sources total 1674 of which three quarters is probably decent sources. Others are temporary sources that either haven’t been properly wrote up yet or they are rather generic, such as “found on an Ancestry database, needs verification.” These latter ones are definitely a work in progress.

Glad this is short! My morning class is about to start! 

I'm in the library next door learning about legal resources!

New York State Databases- Free!

Here's another of those free promotional offers. They seem to be a lot of them lately!

http://www.americanancestors.org/New-York

Boston, home town of the NEHGS

For the month of June, American Ancestors-- that's the New England Historical Genealogical Society's website-- is offering anybody that doesn't already belong a chance to register for free and access their databases pertaining to New York information.

NEHGS has been expanding into New York research in recent years. It makes sense as many of the early settlers in New York came from New England. Many of their researchers are well versed in New York state research and their holdings are getting larger and larger.

If you don't already belong, but have some New York State ancestors, this would be a good chance to sample some of their offerings!

Languages- Eastern Europe

I just came across a great chart thanks to John Michael Neill and his Tip of the Day website.

Just a teaser from yesterday's CNYGS meeting

People will sometimes ask me about words related to genealogy in different languages. The ones that are particularly hard are those of the eastern European countries. Often there are no speakers of these languages around to help with translations unless you are lucky enough to live near a large university that has foreign language professors and students from these areas. Even then, they are busy and may not have time to help you with a "quick look at this record" type of request.

Well Christina George has helped us out with a chart of commonly needed terms in looking at records for genealogical purposes in eight different languages that are common across Eastern Europe! What is even better, she is giving the chart as a free download! These are languages that I rarely, okay never in the areas I research, come across with the exception that if I need to look at Catholic Church records they are often written in Latin. However, I downloaded the chart to keep handy for those times or when somebody is looking for help with these languages.

https://christinageorgegenealogy.com/2015/03/02/genealogy-common-terms/

Still A Billion Records until April 20th!

 Remember when I wrote last week that American Ancestors, the online databases of New England Historical Genealogical Society were offering a billion records for free for a week? That's all the records that they have online available for just signing up for one of their free accounts. Well the offer has now changed- and for the better. It has been extended and will be available until April 20th, that is until NEXT Wednesday.

Here is a write-up about it from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter:

https://blog.eogn.com/2016/04/12/american-ancestors-by-nehgs-extends-the-offer-for-a-billion-records-free/

You now have more time to take advantage in the virtual sense of visiting their library in Boston.

The entrance to NEHGS

A few of the in-person records

A Billion Records!

Inside New England Historical Genealogical Society

I overlooked this announcement yesterday. Who would have thought it could be true? My brain probably assumed it was just a late April Fool’s Day joke. However, American Ancestors is allowing free access to all their databases for 1 week starting yesterday!

In case you’re not familiar with this website, it is the site for the New England Historical Genealogical Society (NEHGS). Yes, that society with all the records in Boston. If you don’t already have a membership and have New England ancestors, you need to get over there and take a look at this resource fast!

Studying the records

If you have New York State ancestors, you need to get there just as fast. Let’s start with the fact that they have many, many records for New York as well as the New England states. After all, we border on half of their states. Also, think about your early New York ancestors, where did they come from? Unless they were early settlers in the Hudson Valley that landed at present-day New York City and traveled up the river or were native Americans, chances are they came here from New England. That was a major immigration route traveling west out of New England to New York and then farther west as time went on.

 The announcement:

American Ancestors by NEHGS Announces an Unprecedented, Historic Event for Genealogists: A BILLION Records FREE! AmericanAncestors.org/Free-Billion

April 6, 2016—Boston, Massachusetts—America’s oldest and largest genealogical society announces a historic event for family historians around the world. From April 6 to April 13, American Ancestors by New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is offering FREE access to all of its online records on AmericanAncestors.org. More than one billion records covering 18 countries— including the most important family history research materials for early America created by the experts and scholars at NEHGS—and all are open to anyone who registers for a free account.  Start searching now at AmericanAncestors.org/Free-Billion.

To assist family historians of all levels in locating more pieces of the family tree puzzle, NEHGS is granting this unprecedented free access to its entire collection of genealogical databases from Wednesday, April 6, 2016, at 12:00 a.m. (EDT) through Wednesday, April 13, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. (EDT). Free accounts on AmericanAncestors.org ordinarily allow visitors only a sample of the vast offerings that NEHGS provides family historians of all levels. This unprecedented free access promotion by NEHGS from April 6 through April 13 offers the Society’s entire collection of online content for eight full days to anyone who registers for a free account.

About American Ancestors and NEHGS

Holding the largest collection of original family history materials in the country, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, founded in 1845, is the nation’s oldest and largest genealogical society. Our website, AmericanAncestors.org, offers access to more than 1 billion searchable records and leading scholarly resources to help you advance your family history research. Our expert staff helps researchers of all levels explore their past and their families’ unique place in history. Located in Boston, our research center houses millions of manuscripts, books, and original items to preserve the stories of families in America and beyond.

CNYGS All Day Meeting Saturday April 16

A week from Saturday is once again the Central New York Genealogical Society (CNYGS) meeting. The month of April is always a daylong meeting for CNYGS. This year we are in for a special treat.

The guest speaker is a prolific writer in many genealogy magazines, especially those put out by Moorshead Ltd. I have often jokingly played a game with her at conferences when she is standing in their booth behind a display of recent magazines. Sometimes she can pick out one that she doesn’t have an article in, but often she can’t. She also often teams up with Thomas MacEntee to present virtual Genealogy Boot camps on various topics. I am, of course, talking about Lisa Alzo who comes to us from nearby Ithaca, New York.

Lisa Alzo*

Here is a schedule of what is happening from the CNYGS promotional email:

9:00 – 10:30am “Packrat or Genealogist? Effective Methods for Organizing Your Family History Research.” Are you drowning in a sea of papers, documents, old photographs and other research materials?  This talk will cover how to organize family history documents, photographs, etc. for quick retrieval. Traditional methods and computer technology will be featured along with ways for distributing/sharing this information with others.

10:30 – 12:00 “Writing Your Family History Step-by-Step.” As genealogists we often focus on facts and uncover so much information that our research produces nothing but boring lists. In searching for the “facts” it is easy to overlook how historical events influenced our ancestors’ lives. This workshop covers how to bring your family tree to life by placing your own family stories in an historical context, how to organize your material and divide your writing tasks into small manageable pieces, and effective ways to illustrate where your family fits in with local, national and world history. As time permits, participants will have time to work on a selection of writing exercises.

12:00 – 1:15  Lunch: available on-site, bring your own, or visit a local restaurant.

1:15 - 2:15pm “The Write Stuff: Using Nonfiction Writing Techniques to Write a Better Family History.” As genealogists we often focus on facts and uncover so much information that our research produces nothing but boring lists. But do you really know what happened between the dashes of your ancestors’ lives? How can you share that information in a compelling and interesting way? This session will discuss how to using nonfiction writing techniques to produce a “can’t put down” family history that will keep the pages turning for generations.

2:30 – 3:30 PM- “Family History Writing Made Easier: Cloud-Based Tools Every Genealogist Can Use” Telling your family’s story is now so much easier thanks to a number of cloud-based notetaking and writing tools and apps you can access from home, your netbook or iPad, and even your smartphone. Learn about the latest tech tools and writing apps for bringing your family’s story to life!

 * Photo from Lisa's website, used with permission. 

Software Programs

I probably should have written this post a few weeks ago. A fellow genealogist was in a dilemma about what to do now that Family Tree Maker was no longer around. First and foremost, this person missed the announcement that came out late one afternoon during RootsTech in early February. Family Tree Maker is not dead! MacKiev software has taken over support for it and has the latest edition available through their website. 

With that said, there are many different software programs available on the market that you can use. The price varies for free upwards and with many different features from the basic to awe inspiring.

What do I use myself? I know at least one sharp-eyed person who saw this picture of me with my MacBook Pro laptop immediately knew that I had Reunion on my screen working as this picture was snapped. That’s what I use for my personal database. Although it is a Mac only software, it can open gedcoms from any program, Mac, PC, Linux or other. When working for a client, I use this to open any gedcoms that they have sent me and if I needed a more elaborate tree composed for them would create it in this. However, usually when working with a small number of people, such as a client project would be, I find it easier to do it on paper or electronically in a Word file. A straightforward numbered descent such as found in older genealogy books works best for me when working on a small amount of data.

A good place to start looking at what is available is Wikipedia. Seriously. There is a page on there that gives a basic comparison between programs. It is good to just get an idea of what is out there and what the name of software to look for while searching. You can narrow down your search by looking through their charts and comparing what the various software does, pricing and compatibility with your computer. However, when you get serious about picking out one to use for yourself, I would recommend a couple additional strategies.

First, see if you can get a trial version or if somebody you know has the program and can let you use theirs to see how it works. This is most helpful in getting a feel for the program and whether you like how it works. Many things are a matter of personal preference and depends on how you, yourself are used to working. At this point, you can also try putting in some of the weird quirks you’ve found in your family. We all have them. The person that marries three times and then goes back and marries the first spouse. Children adopted by a stepparent. How about a date that doesn’t exist on the calendar? Anybody born on February 30^th? Born in the backseat of a Plymouth along Route 66? How does that software accept such information? Is there a way to work around it? I know, for example, that Reunion will complain about the February 30^th birthdate, but will allow you to enter it that way and then enter a custom date of say, March 1^st, to use in calculating the data within the program to determine age.

Second, ask around about various software. Ask at stores, of course, but also your friends and fellow genealogists. Ask your friends, ask at society meetings, ask in various places around the virtual universe. Ask what people like or don’t like about certain software. Find out if anybody knows if that one you’re looking at can create the type of report you need. Remember, people actually using it probably know more about the software than people trained to sell it!

Goodbye Mocavo

In case you’re not a subscriber to Mocavo you missed the email they sent out this morning. It states in part:

“We’re contacting you to let you know that the Mocavo website will be closing midnight tonight (Wednesday 23rd March) and that your account will be moving over to Findmypast in the next few days. Plus, over the coming weeks, all of Mocavo’s records and much, much more will soon be available on Findmypast.”

Here is a link to the Find My Past website where they are posting all the details about the final merger between these two companies.

http://www.findmypast.com/mocavo-info?utm_source=fmp&utm_medium=email&utm_term=895898&utm_content=mocavo&utm_campaign=895898

Saturday Challenge 1995

Randy Seaver's weekly Saturday Challenge has us thinking back to 1995 this week. 

1)    Do you recall what you were doing in 1995?  Family, school, work, hobbies, technology, genealogy, vacations, etc?

1995? That seems so long ago. I look at pictures saved from that year and places seem vivid, but the events are few and far between in my memories.

My parents' backyard summer 1995

I lived in either North Syracuse or Liverpool in an apartment that year. Both suburbs of Syracuse, I can’t recall which apartment I was in at that time. I had completed school by then, or so I thought. A few years later I would decide to return to school to get my Master’s degree in library science.

My job does not stand out at all. I may have even had several during the year. This was a time period of recession around Syracuse and I struggled to get a foothold on the job market. Working in administrative and other office support type jobs, I was one of the last ones hired in a given company and one of the first ones to be laid-off if things started to look bad. I remember one company, probably a few years earlier than this, which I was working at doing payroll and general office support. The company sold wholesale janitorial supplies to large companies as well as doing cleaning for others on a contract basis. I left work an hour early one day for a doctor’s appointment and came in the next morning to find that a large cleaning contract for an industrial complex had been lost the afternoon before. Along with the cleaners that worked that contract, I was laid-off as they needed to immediately cut expenses. Although the most dramatic for the suddenness of the decision, it was fairly typical of the experiences I had in the job market then. It was a time to be constantly on the lookout for another job and being creative and flexible in developing my skills.

I belonged to a local computer club that was composed of users of Macintosh computers. Besides attending the meetings, I often helped out with membership and on the desk where people signed-in for the meeting. We also had a special interest group that I was the leader of concentrating on genealogy and the computer. We discussed genealogy programs, how to create reports and such in Microsoft Works and the new online resources of Bulletin Boards and America On Line that would have been coming out about then.

the homestead for sale

Times were changing for my family. My parents lived on an 87-acre farm that had been my father’s parents before them. Signs appeared in the front yard that hadn’t been there for the previous 72 years. The family farm was for sale and my parents were moving to the nearby city of Auburn where it would be easier to get to the grocery store and medical appointments as well as a much smaller house and property to take care of.

Richard and Paulette

For my oldest nephew, things were moving in a different direction. That September he was married and became a stepfather to two young boys.

It was a time of growing older for all of us in our family. The older generation was downsizing their lives and the younger generation was starting out and expanding the roles that they played. That is what I most vividly remember about 1995 and the years surrounding it; the feeling of change.

An Essential Library

Any hobby can be expensive, especially for a beginner. You need to acquire new skills and tools to work with. Sometimes it can involve things already around your house, but other times you need to go out and buy or otherwise acquire them. For genealogy, there are certain books that can be considered essential to have access to in order to learn how to create a quality genealogy. Many that I would consider the most essential are also rather costly. Fortunately, there are other ways to get access to them. Especially in the beginning, I would suggest you find a friend whose books you can borrow from time to time or better yet, a local library that has them! The following in no particular order are those that I feel are the most essential to have:

The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy by Val Greenwood: This book is very comprehensive and good at explaining the basic principles of genealogical research. This book has long been regarded as a basic textbook for learning how to do genealogy.

Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills: This book is basically a Bible on citations. The first two chapters should be mandatory reading for anybody doing genealogy. They describe the basics of how to do citations and why we need them. All other chapters in the book describe specific types of citations and give examples of how best to create them. These should be read, maybe not as thoroughly, as you need to create each of these citations in your research. Elizabeth Shown Mills also has a companion website  where you can get further information and ask questions that is excellent.

The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy by Loretto Szucs and others: This book covers many different types of record sources that a researcher is likely to encounter. Census records, military records, land records, church records… And the list goes on. A careful reading before you start looking at a new record source or to review one you’ve used before will help you make the best use of the sources that you encounter for each of your ancestors.

Professional Genealogy, Elizabeth Shown Mills editor: A bit more advanced than some of the other books, this one is excellent for both professionals and amateurs alike. Each chapter dives into a particular subject that a researcher may have an interest in. The chapters on writing reports are particularly helpful for all. Even if you never intend to do anything for anybody other than yourself, knowing how to write a report is beneficial in getting your research recorded so that you can remember what you did when you come back to a section later. Chapters on ethics and research skills cannot be overlooked. Others on editing, professional preparation and career management may not be as relevant to casual researchers, but should be looked at, as they have tidbits for all as well.

And two that are not specific titles, but rather categories of books that will be very helpful for you:

Computer software books: A book about the database program that you record you research in. One about Word or other applications you use to write reports and letters and such with. Books about any type of software that you use regularly in your genealogy. All of these books no matter what application they are for will help you learn them more in depth and enable you to work more efficiently. Remember the more efficient you are, especially with everyday tasks, the more research time you will have! 

Locality books: These books vary widely in what and how much is available. Many counties have histories that were written in the late 19^th century about their towns. Some places have gazetteers about an area or an entire state. Histories of a particular town abound, both modern and older ones. If a famous person lived in a locale, there is likely much written about him/her that tells about that area as well. Any book of this type can be helpful even if your ancestor’s name is not mentioned in them. Learning the background of a community. What people of about the same time period experienced. Finding out when the courthouse was built or maybe when it burned down! All of this is background material about your ancestors and the world they lived in. It will help you to understand what they experienced, events they witnessed and where a record might be found or why it can’t be found. This category is limited to only what you can imagine and what you can find that will be helpful!