Genealogy Lines

A Trip to Salt Lake City

2012-01-20T16:53:00.000-06:00

Join me for a fun-filled week in October at the Family History Center in Salt Lake City. You will arrive on Sunday, 14 October and depart on Sunday, 21 October. Each participant makes their own travel arrangements, either flying, taking the train (Amtrak) or driving. A block of rooms are reserved at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel next door to the library. Participants will receive discount rates on their rooms.

As your tour director, I will provide you with a pre-consultation on Sunday afternoon or evening (for late comers Monday morning) and I will be available throughout the week for advise, help and consultation. The cost for the consultation service is $150. If you book the tour prior to 1 August 2012, you will receive a $50 discount. The discount is good only until the trip fills up or for registrations postmarked by 1 August 2012, whichever comes first. There is a minimum of 15 persons and a maximum of 20 persons for the trip.

With over 45 years of genealogical research experience in professional research, I can guide you through a week of research to achieve success.

Find your ancestors in Salt Lake City, join your friends and make new friends. For the Nebraska Genealogy Tours brochure and registration form, e-mail at rvcole@charter.net. Check out my web page, Genealogy Works.

Kansas Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

2012-01-13T12:56:00.000-06:00

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Carbondale, KS 1892

In the late 1860s the Sanborn Map Company of Pelham, New York began surveying the business districts n towns and cities of the United States. This would provide insurance underwriters with detailed information that would be necessary to assess their liability for insurance purposes. The survey included the size, shape and construction of homes, commercial buildings and factories. Property boundaries, names of streets, the use and buildings, along with house and block numbers was included. This makes the use of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps very appealing to the genealogists.

The University of Kansas houses and provides access to a collection of Sanborn maps for 241 towns and cities in Kansas ranging from 1883 through the 1930s. The maps from 1883-1922 have been digitized and can be viewed at their website.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Beloit, KS 1911

While it may take some time to search through the maps, it is worth the time if you have Kansas ancestors. Once you locate a map of interest, it can be adjusted for viewing, making it smaller or larger. You can also select a size for exporting the map, or make a printer friendly copy of the map. In a small thumbnail group at the top of the screen you will see other maps in the set for the same location.

If you do not have Kansas ancestry, be sure to check for other Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps in a search on Internet. You may be surprised at what turns up!

Christmas Past

2011-12-19T08:55:00.000-06:00

The years go by, pages of the calendar are torn off, holidays come and go and our lives progress minute by minute to what we call the future. As a genealogist, I leap backward into the past, sometimes forgetting the day and time as well as the future. With that leap comes memories of Christmas past. The ghost of Christmas Past has never visited me, but in my mind I travel back in time.

One of my fond memories is of the enormous Christmas tree that my family decorated when I was five years old. It was larger than life and seemed to fill the entire room. As I grew older the trees grew smaller and shorter. It wasn't a larger than life tree, I was just a small girl looking up at a large, tall tree. But what a precious memory that has been. I can still see the angel on the top and have never seen one like her.

As I decorate my Christmas tree of 2011, memories are conjured up about decorating trees in years past. There was the thrill of seeing the lights on the tree and hoping that none would burn out. The ornaments that students gave me still remain precious to me. There are fragile ornaments that my children made in school. Rounded out with home made ornaments, they make my tree festive and special. If only I could find the angel that topped the tree over sixty years ago.

Terry .. Christmas at age 2

On my bookcase I have a collection of Santas. There is one made of paper that my husband gave me years ago. Another is an old ceramic Santa. Then there is the large Santa in regal splendor. It was a gift I gave to my Mother when she lived in assisted living. She wanted her room decorated immediately after Thanksgiving. The next day was not too soon. I can still see her gently touching the garment of her Santa. Little did I know that she would pass away less than two weeks later.

Christmas is for all ages. I love the sights, smells and sounds of Christmas. It is seeing awe in the eyes of children which we can than return in love through our eyes. One of my favorite Christmas photographs is of my nephew, Terry. He was two years ago. Terry passed from us too soon at the age of 46.

Perhaps conjuring up memories brings moments of sadness, but we can always find love through sadness. Merry Christmas to all of you ... and to all of you best memories.

Ruby

Pinning History to the World

2011-12-06T09:02:00.000-06:00

Partnered with Google, Historypin brings over 71,000 photos, videos, audio clips and stories to your computer in ways you have never imagined. You can explore their collections and create your own collection of photographs linked to history. It's fun, easy and addictive. On the home page a video will take you through the highlights of Historypin in 90 seconds. Be sure you watch it!

Click on "Explore the Map." This brings up a Google map of the British Isles and continental Europe. The fun is not limited to that part of the world. Query boxes are located at the top of the map page. You can enter search terms, such as a location or topic or combination of the two. Next to that is a time frame that allows you to select the era of interest, or explore all of the time periods. Let the whirling fun begin as you travel to that location in the world!

You can zoom in and out, change time periods and best of all, begin clicking on the photos that are pinned to the map. A small photo will pop up along with information. If you click on the pen and paper, a story will appears, sometimes with audio. Zoom in on the map or in satellite view for a closer look around.

Historypin does even more. In the description box of the photo, look for the double arrow. Click on that and suddenly you are taken to a street view. In the background is the street as it appears today with the old photograph superimposed over it. To go back to the map and resume searching, look for the double arrow in the right hand portion of the screen.

Between GoogleEarth and Historypin, I may come up only for air. Somebody order pizza delivery. I'm glued to my computer!

Maine Town Records

2011-11-10T08:58:00.000-06:00

Recently I discovered Maine Town Records at the Raymond H. Fogler Library, the University of Maine. No, I didn't drive or fly to Maine. The web page can be accessed anytime of the day or night wherever you are located.

Maine towns represented in town reports

Boothbay Harbor Town Report 1891

Not all towns are represented, but there are many on the web site with links to a variety of years of reports. The dates are usually from the mid 1800s to the late 1800s. Information is different by towns, counties and type of report. Expect to find information on resident taxpayers, non-resident taxpayers, insolvencies, teacher reports and businesses. If you think this is "boring" information, think again. Your ancestor may be listed in these reports. The dates between 1880 and 1900 fill in with information that is lost to us on the 1890 U.S. Census.

One of the links on the web page is Windows on Maine. Here you can search and browse to find information on places and topics in Maine. There are moving images, maps, photographs, texts and databases.

Caribou Town Report 1891

The web site also hosts a special project, Plantation of Lakeville. Even if Lakeville doesn't interest you, drop in for a visit to see what is digitized regarding the town. Beginning in 1859 the records include the petition for organization, list of voters and return of enrolled militia.

You will want to bookmark this excellent page for reference in your Maine research.

Genealogy Webinars

2011-09-19T18:59:00.000-05:00

There are many genealogy webinars available on Internet. You need to plan in advance to attend them at their specific day and time. Some are free and some cost to attend. However, you don't to fill up the car with gas, get airplane or train tickets, reserve rooms ... they are brought to you on your computer.

Michael John Neill has announced his Genealogy Webinars. One started yesterday, but you are in luck because there are still webinars scheduled through October 16th. Michael is an excellent speaker and very knowledgable about genealogical research. You can keep up with his research ideas and tips at his blog, RootDig.com. He also writes Casefile Clues, a subscription newsletter, delivered to your e-mail address weekly. I particularly enjoy his blog, Genealogy Tip of the Day, which provides a very quick read about a genealogy topic. Do you have problems reading old documents? Check in with Michael at his blog, Daily Genealogy Transcriber. Another blog he writes is Search Tip of the Day. You will want to check out all of them as they are beneficial to researchers.

The schedule for the remaining webinars that he presents:
Two German Women in Illinois - 23 September
Seeing Patterns and Organizing Information - 25 September
Determining Your Own Migration Trail - 1 October
Introduction to Federal Land States - 16 October

There is a fee of $4.25 for each webinar and you will also receive a PDF handout several days before the seminar, along with instructions. All of this information can be found at Genealogy Webinars with Genealogist Michael John Neill.

Check out the webinar schedule and learn from Michael John Neill. He is one of the best!

Finding City Directories

2011-09-02T10:23:00.000-05:00

Salt Lake City, Utah 1869 Directory by Smith

Genealogists are adept at using federal and state census records, but often stop short of continuing their research in city directories. Taken at various years and locations, city directories can supply interesting information, plus fill in gaps between census years. There are many in transcription and/or digital format on Internet. You can also find them in libraries, historical societies and archives. The trick is to find them!

Miriam Midkiff's Online Historical Directories Website is a great place to start when looking for online directories. There you will find links to city directories for the United States and other countries. Not all states have complete listings because it is a work in progress. Some of the links will take you to free sites for city directories and others to subscription sites. The city directories are for a variety of years and may be city, county, town directories, as well as business and farm directories.

Doniphan County, Kansas Directory, 1868-1869 by Smith

When using the website, be sure you read Miriam's blog, Online Historical Directories, for updates and interesting information about directories. Her web page is always under construction as directories are located. It's one of those you bookmark and remind yourself to check frequently.

Tennessee Formation Maps

2011-08-07T11:27:00.000-05:00

I have a strong ancestral heritage in the state of Tennessee. Anything Tennessee catches my attention. Because no genealogical study and research is complete if you do not know about county formations, I am recommend Tennessee Formation Maps web site for those researching the state. At the top of the web page is a section called Interactive Maps from 1776 to 1985. You can play the maps, go back and forth between years and view specific years. I recommend that you play the maps and then view each separately.

To enhance your knowledge of Tennessee county formations, read the chronology in text. This begins with Washington District of North Carolina which was formed 12 November 1776. There is also a list of Tennessee discontinued counties. I had never heard of Spencer County which was formed in 1785 from Sullivan County and renamed Hawkins County in 1786. But I did know about Sullivan and Hawkins counties. No genealogist likes to even think about destroyed records, burned or ravished courthouses, but it happens. There is also a list on the web page of Tennessee destroyed courthouses.

A study of the chronology also reveals the changes in government in Tennessee. In 1784 three counties, Washington, Greene and Sullivan, formed the provisional State of Franklin. If your ancestors lived in northeast Tennessee in that time period, the records may refer to them as being in the State of Franklin. Three years later North Carolina gained supremacy over the State of Franklin and once again they were part of North Carolina until ceded to the federal government. A document that I have refers to my ancestor as living in the "Territory of the United States South of the Ohio River." That could encompass a broad area, but when named in 1790 it was in reference to what would become the state of Tennessee. Finally on 1 June 1796 Tennessee was admitted as a state.

By reviewing the maps and county formations, you can place your Tennessee ancestor in the proper time period and place. This one web page is outstanding for genealogical information!

Learning from Blogs

2011-07-23T10:52:00.000-05:00

Blogs are places where I learn, exchange ideas and information, and catch up on what my genealogy friends are doing. It seems each week I find blogs I want to follow. Some have infrequent posts (as this one does at times), but reading archived posts can also be interesting.

Today I was reading my friend Leland Meitzler's Genealogy Blog. His post "Discover the Van Dusens of New Amsterdam - 1627-2011" has a link to the full article in the New York Times, published on 22 July 2011. The name Van Dusen popped right out and I knew that I would learn from that article since I research the family in New Amsterdam. Thanks, Leland!

Each day I read the short, but informative blog written by Michael John Neill called Genealogy Tip of the Day. On 19 July 2011 he wrote about the terms devise and bequeath. Thanks Michael for informing us that devise refers to real property and bequeath to personal property.

Since grade school days I have been fascinated with the Lost Colony of Roanoke. The history book account sparked an interest in mysteries that need to be solved. My interest was later rekindled when I discovered early ancestors living in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They weren't members of the Lost Colony, though. Because of my interest in that part and place of history, I frequently read the blog, Lost Colony Research Group. If you enjoy history and genealogy in combination, check out the blog, Jamestown Adventurers. It is a part of Virginia Pioneers.net. You might want to also check out their web page.

Now is the time to celebrate the Civil War. There are many blogs pertaining to the war, research, reenactments and events. I would be hard pressed to figure out my favorite. To find some of those great blogs, check out Best of the Civil War Blogs.

For a "trip" to a foreign country, read a blog. You don't need to pack a suitcase or make travel arrangements! I like the blogs Scotlands Genealogy and Scottish GENES. Linda Elliott writes a great blog about genealogy, English genealogy in particular, at Mad About Genealogy. Family Tree Tours brings us the blog, Heritage Travel. There are photographs, links, videos and many research tips. If you have European ancestry, be sure to click and read.

Some bloggers write to share family experiences, such as can be found at my sister-in-law's blog, Those Old Memories. Others share research travels and experience. One of my favorites is Reflections From the Fence, written by Carol Stevens. Travel with Carol as she and her husband and dogs go searching for adventure and ancestors. Learning skills are shared at Adventures in Genealogy Education written by Angela McGhie.

There is a lot to learn by reading blogs, such as the Library of Congress Blog. Not every post contains information about genealogy, but they are interesting and you will a great deal about the library, history and yes ... genealogy. The Allen County Public Library's blog, The Genealogy Center, brings news about the library, plus research information.

If I didn't mention your blog, it doesn't mean I don't read it and enjoy it. Hey bloggers ... keep up the good work!

The Vietnam Wall

2011-07-16T10:28:00.000-05:00

If you have ever been to the Vietnam Wall in Washington, DC, I am sure you share my feelings that it is awesome and sobering. Even the traveling Vietnam Wall evokes the same feelings. There are 58,195 names on the wall.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall page provides a way of searching for names on the wall, determining their exact location. If you locate a person of interest, there may be more information, such as a photograph, biographical information and postings from friends and relatives.

The Virtual Wall has links to state and town/city information on those whose names is inscribed on the wall.

Take a virtual tour of the Vietnam Wall at View the Wall. Let your computer explore the names and areas of the wall in your search for a relative or loved on.

They are lost but certainly not forgotten. As I have seen my reflection in the Vietnam Wall, I am thankful for the sacrifices that these men and women gave so that we can all be here to enjoy our freedom. May they rest in peace.

Midwest Family History Expo

2011-07-13T11:16:00.000-05:00

Mark your calendars for the next Family History Expo, July 29-30, 2011 in Overland Park, Kansas. More details are available at the Family History Expo web site. You can save $25 by registering NOW online.

The Expo will begin with an inspiring message from Lisa Louise Cooke, the producer and host of the Genealogy Gems Podcast. She will also be teaching. Once you hear her keynote speech you will want to start learning new research methods.

M. Bridget Cook will be the featured speaker at the dinner on July 29th. She is a best selling author and biographer. Her book, Shattered Silence, has been featured on Oprah, Dr. Phil, Good Morning America and other national TV shows and in magazines. She will also be teaching classes at the Expo. All of these great speakers and classes can be found at the agenda on the Midwest Family History Expo web site.

There will be vendors and more vendors, including FamilySearch, AGES-online, RootsMagic, Geni.com and the Jackson County Genealogical Society. Be sure you stop by the Ask The Pros table in the exhibit hall. Who can't resist free genealogical advise? We don't even use a crystal ball!

Young and old alike (including those in the middle) will enjoy and benefit from the Family History Expo. The theme this year is "Where Ol' Dogs Learn New Trick!" Indeed they do, but we also teach puppies about old tricks they need to know.

This is the 2nd Annual Family History Expo in the Kansas City area. It will be held at the Overland Park Conference Center, 6000 College Blvd., Overland Park, Kansas.

PS .... my new book Genealogical Research in Nebraska will be available at the Family Roots Publishing Co. vending booth.

Keeping Company with Cyndi

2011-06-16T07:37:00.004-05:00

Have you noticed that Cyndi's List has a new look? The purple is still there to welcome us to her web site, but things have changed and I think for the better.

I begin my morning with an online preview of my bank activity as I don't want to become insolvent! Next are the newspapers that I read online and then social networking and blogs and weather. Time is then devoted to Cyndi's List. It doesn't take long to click on the "Browse New Links" button and see the new activity. On a daily basis this is updated, not only for new links, but for new data that is added.

If this is your first time to click on the new links, you can catch up by going to each day's entries. It may take time, but the results are worth the check. There are many other links and categories for searching on her web site, but just like taking morning pills, I won't miss a click on "Browse New Links."

Genealogy Summer

2011-05-12T08:28:00.001-05:00

I am devoting this summer of 2011 to genealogy. That includes time spent with family as they are part of the genealogy. It will be fun!

In a few days I will be leaving for northwest Nebraska for a family get-together. From there my sister-in-law (we are the You Go Genealogy Girls) and I will leave for Salt Lake City. This is our third annual trip to spend time in the Family History Library. We are driving and will be there for two weeks.

On Thursday, June 16th, the Family History Expo will be here in North Platte, Nebraska. I will be one of the speakers. The next day we leave for Rapid City, South Dakota for a one-day Expo. The other circuit lecturers are going on to Sheridan, Wyoming from there. I will be coming back to North Platte, doing laundry and repacking to join them in Loveland, Colorado for the Colorado Family History Expo.

That takes care of June. On July 6th I will arrive in Alliance, Nebraska for the Civil War Conference on July 8th and 9th at the Knight Museum and Sandhills Center. I will be presenting three lectures.

The fun doesn't end there, so stay tuned to the Family History Expo web site for more details of what is happening in July and August. Maybe an Expo will be coming to your area. You won't want to miss the experience of attending one of them.

In August I will presenting a noon lecture about my new book, Genealogical Research in Nebraska. This will be at the North Platte Public Library on August 18th. Packed up and ready from there, I will journey to northwest Nebraska for my 50th Class Reunion. Yes, I admitted the years.

My wish list includes a trip to the east coast in September to visit family in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Of course, I have already started on to-do lists for genealogical research.

While I'm in Salt Lake City, read about the trip and what I'm discovering at the You Go Genealogy Girls blog. If you are near one of my summer lecturing events, be sure to introduce yourself and say "hey."

Family History Expos Announces New Events for 2011

2011-05-03T07:26:00.004-05:00

The spirit of family history is alive and well. Family History Expos rise to the challenge to reach out to more individuals seeking expert assistance by setting up more events in more cities, bringing education closer to home for both the curious and experienced family history seeker. There will be three events held prior to the 3rd Annual Colorado Family History Expo. The Expo will be in North Platte, Nebraska, Rapid City, South Dakota and Sheridan, Wyoming. Not your area? New events are lining up across the U.S., so stay tuned.

President and founder of Family History Expos, Inc., Holly T. Hansen, commented, "With rising fuel costs and other factors in our economy, we have taken the challenge to create more events closer to home for many of our customers and newsletter subscribers."

The circuit event will feature notable speakers, exhibits, a lite lunch/dinner and the opportunity to "Ask-the-Pros" a few personal research questions. Each event will culminate with a closing session and prize drawings for the attendees.

North Platte Expo - June 16th 4 pm to 9:30 pm

Holiday Inn Express

300 Holiday Frontage Rd.

North Platte, NE 69101

Rapid City Expo - June 18th 9 am to 5:00 pm

Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn

505 North Fifth Street

Rapid City, SD 57701

Sheridan Expo - June 21st - 4 pm to 9:30 pm

Holiday Inn

1809 Sugarland Drive

Sheridan, WY 82801

Colorado Family History Expo - June 24th, 25th - 8 am to 6 pm

Embassy Suites, Loveland - Hotel, Spa & Convention Center

4705 Clydesdale Parkway

Loveland, CO 80538

Visit FamilyHistoryExpos.com for more information and to get in on early-bird registration. You can also contact them at:

Family History Expos, Inc.

PO Box 187

Morgan, UT 84050

801-829-3295

expos@fhexpos.com

See 'ya at an Expo!

Something About Blogs

2011-04-25T08:24:00.003-05:00

Everybody has their favorite blogs that they faithfully read. If you are a reader of mine, thank you. As a writer of blogs, I am all too aware that it takes time and thought to prepare a blog. Writing comes easy for me. Even so, I find myself at the end of the day, with somewhat blurry eyes, mentally reminding myself that I didn't blog as planned. There is always tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

Along the way, faithful readers loose interest or they move on to other new, fresh material in other blogs. Sometimes a blogger will post a few lines or a paragraph stating that life has interfered. They have illnesses, family problems, not enough time at the moment. In fact, maybe they have not received enough support.

Have you, the reader, thought to thank a blogger? Occasionally it pays off to say those two very important words, "thank you." Maybe you are not a writer, but you are a reader who has a voice. Let it be heard. You an also express your opinion. Don't be afraid to do it. The genealogy community awaits your response.

At the end of most blogs there is a place shown as Comments. Just click there and leave a message. As a blogger I look forward to receiving comments. Some are just words of praise and others are suggestions or differences of opinion. I welcome all of those because eventually they have an influence on how I blog, write and ultimately how I view my research.

Genealogy is not an isolated endeavor. Whether you are a hobbyist or a professional, contact has to be made with people. Eventually there is sharing, whether for pay, as a volunteer or family member. There are differences, but basically information or ideas are shared. Blogs are a sharing of ideas and thoughts. There are a wide variety of genealogy blogs on Internet, all needing readers and contributors of comments. Please feel free to comment!

I have my favorite blogs also. When there are days, weeks or months of silence I usually move on to something else to read. That doesn't mean the blog has ceased to exist or that you can't support the blogger. If there is a link to that person's e-mail on the blog, click on it and leave an e-mail saying that you miss the reading the blog.

Appreciate the blogs you read. Consider starting your own blog, for all the right reasons. Most importantly when you read a blog you like, leave a thank you that can be seen.

A Good Book

2011-04-06T13:11:00.004-05:00

Recently I purchased Lisa Louise Cooke's new book, The Genealogist's Google Toolbox. It is better than good ... it's excellent. Over the past few years Lisa Louise Cooke has become a popular name in genealogy circles, along with her web site presence of Genealogy Gems. She produces and hosts the Genealogy Gems Podcast which is available in iTunes, the monthly Family Tree Magazine Podcast and videocasts for Family History Expos. She also blogs at Genealogy Gems News Blog. Yes, she's a busy lady.

Her 209 page, 8.5x11 inch book is packed with information and illustrations. I love the illustrations. Why did I need to buy another genealogy book? I play Lisa Louise Cooke's great CDs on Google Earth over and over. Once involved in actual Google Earth use, I have to go back and review them. It will now be easier with the book.

Google is a very popular search engine, widely used by genealogists. The book brings up many ideas and tips about the effective use of Google for genealogy searching. You will learn about Google Alerts, iGoogle, Books, Translation, Gmail and more. There is great information about Google Earth and creating Family History Tour Maps, adding video and images to your Google Earth creations and a bundle more. The book can be purchased from a variety of vendors.

Thanks Lisa for writing such a marvelous book. Your expertise in Google and Google Earth is valuable and appreciated.

Some Women On My Tree

2011-03-28T12:36:00.006-05:00

As genealogists we encounter many females in our lineages. There are the usual Marys, Sarahs, Anns, and occasionally an odd-ball name such as Submit. It is sad when they have no surname. Taxing all of our knowledge and patience, we try to find a document that identifies them. Maybe a probate file naming her as the daughter of so and so. Maybe a baptismal record naming her parents.

Identified women on my pedigree chart are fascinating. They are attached to a husband, but hopefully they never lost their true identity. They seem to cry out that their stories be told. For some it is easy and for others it is not. If you have stories about your female ancestors, be sure they are written down and passed down.

It is difficult to determine which females in my family touched my life the most. Many stood out as important people. I hope when I have passed that my legend and story will be told and have an impact on my descendants.

Three women who have counted in my life ...

My maternal grandmother was Nanne Jane Lewis Horne (Granny) born in 1889 in North Carolina. I visited my grandparents in their log cabin nestled in the mountains of northeast Tennessee when I was three years old. It was nine years before I saw them again, but yet there was a bond and family tie when I walked into their cabin. Granny married Samuel Stephen Horne (Grandpa Steve) in 1909. Why was she so special? She was a story-teller. When I became interested in genealogy she told me stories which I had to sort through to determine fact from fiction. Granny was a bit taller than Grandpa. Sometimes she towered over him in opinion also. I am told that when he wanted to join the CCC she refused, stood her ground, saying she was a Republican and they would eat turtle before he joined the CCC. When I turned 21 she encouraged me to vote and according to her the best vote would be cast for a Republican. Voting was a big thing for her ... a privilege she had earned and deserved as a woman. I have her butter churn, quilt and the letter she wrote telling me I should vote.

Granny's sister, Aunt Bertha Lewis Mahala, never had children. She was ten years younger than Granny and a teacher. Aunt Bertha was also the keeper of the records. It was the Lewis Family Genealogy Record. She was responsible for the Lewis reunions, staying in touch with family as well as delving into documents for family clues. She was a great influence in my life. Having graduated from Appalachian State College in Boone, North Carolina she had high hopes I would come live with her and attend school there, becoming a teacher. Instead I became a genealogist.

My late husband's great grandmother was a fascinating woman. She inspired me that women can do anything they set their mind and heart to do. Martha Anne Watts was born in 1875 in Missouri. She married and divorced, all within a span of about three years. Two marriages later she married William Henry Zehrung in Box Butte Co., Nebraska. He had three, motherless children. Will and Anne had three children of their own before divorcing. She left with the children in the middle of the night on a train bound for Denver, Colorado. Fending on her own, at times almost destitute, Grandma eventually stood proud and tall as the founder of a hospital in Denver. It was the precursor of a rest home. She was an inventor, nurse and business woman. Another marriage later changed her name to Coulter and ended in divorce. Newspaper accounts portray her as a gutsy woman when she was thrown in jail by the mayor of Denver. Grandma became very wealthy, but eventually lost her money through the unworthy schemes of her son. She died a pauper in the hospital she founded. Even so, she was an opinionated woman who had determination along with strength to do as she pleased.

Many more women are at the top of my list of interesting female ancestors. How many do you have? Have you told their story?

Today's Genealogist

2011-03-21T11:41:00.003-05:00

Can you do genealogical research without turning on a computer? Yes, to some extent. If you wish to research in slow motion as we did BC (Before Computers), then be my guest.

There are times we do need to slow down and do brain exercising genealogical research. If you have never learned to evaluate evidence and develop research plans, these are not just for the experts. Start looking at your research problem and review the information you have found.

It is not totally necessary to read blogs, tweets on Twitter or post and read on Facebook. However, some of the best leads and information comes through these social networking channels. At some point you do have to stop reading and begin applying.

The extent of genealogy databases on Internet is phenomenal. The development of these databases is surging and swelling on a day to day basis. But why not? We need them and we ask for them. Miss one day and you have to play catch up. About a month ago I checked FamilySearch for a marriage or any helpful information in Ohio that would give me the name of Grandma Mary Maria's first husband. Nothing appeared to be there, but just the other day by doing various types of searches, even narrowing my needs down to a certain county in Ohio, I discovered his name. Actually I went in the back door in Iowa records, but all on FamilySearch.

While living in Iowa, I soon discovered the benefit of mud rooms. Nobody in rural Iowa comes to the front door except FedEx and UPS. People come for visits and to bring garden goodies through the back door into the mud room. But sometimes we forget to go in the back door with our research. Searching should not always be direct, but by exploring all options.

I was able to find Grandma Mary Maria's first husband named on their daughter's death certificate in Iowa. I had checked one reel of microfilm in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City several years ago. The daughter's parents were not named. Venturing no further, I waited (not patiently). With all the indexing of records and accessibility on Internet, I was able to locate the information on another Iowa film that I had not checked at the library. Quick, easy, but it took some thought and patience until the information popped up on my computer.

The genealogy world is praising the wonderful new genealogy search engine Mocavo. It is introduced to us as the world's largest free genealogy search engine with new sites being added daily. How do you maneuver around Internet if you don't have these powerful tools known as search engines? Mocavo is not going to replace Google, but by using both of them, we are better equipped to find information. However, don't forget to go in the back door.

Have we lost our thought process and patience because of Internet? We can turn those cyber experiences into positive thought processes. Learn by doing. Explore all possibilities. Think it out, write it out, but by all means do the research. If it takes you five minutes to find the information, you are a whiz. If it takes you ten hours to find the information, you are still a whiz because it would have taken you one year before we had computers.

Photo: Grandma Mary Maria's daughter, Ann Jane Williams Spencer 1841-1907

The Web, Wikis and Webinars

2011-03-15T09:30:00.004-05:00

If you are seeing the letter "w", you are not alone. Genealogists today have web, wikis and webinars on the mind. Talk and blogging is continually about these "w" items. But why not ... we are a web-oriented group of people.

Some of my blogging colleagues have written about WikiTree. I am going to give you my thoughts about it. Give it a try and see what you think.

WikiTree was started in 2008 as a free and collaborative project. Whatever is on there is edited and owned by the contributor. You can register as private or public, share what you wish with groups of people or individuals, then jump right in and download a GEDCOM. Of course, the ultimate goal is to have somebody contact you about an elusive ancestors you have posted on on WikiTree. As you locate information, you can make contact or download a GEDCOM file.

Upon opening WikiTree it is somewhat frightening to see all the names. They represent 1,066,644 profiles submitted by 24,430 people or WikiTreers. Rather than clicking on a group of surnames, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "Help." There you will be able to read all the pertinent information on how to create your own profile and links, add information, delete information and search for information.

Once you either create or search a profile, be sure to check for photos and the family tree. Also available is a public bulletin board for messages. Give it a try and start sharing on WikiTree.

Webinars are popping up on our computers by the week and month. They are hosted in a variety of places which makes it difficult to figure out what is being broadcast by the day or week. Attendees have to register to attend a webinar. Some are free and some are not. While many have been archived, it is still fun to listen to them as they happen and also dialog during the presentation.

The blog GeneaWebinars will keep you posted on what is happening in the world of genealogy webinars. At the bottom of the blog is an interacting calendar of webinars by day, time and topic. You can click and obtain more information and register.

These are wonderful ways to expand your genealogy knowledge without leaving home. Once you get started with wikis and webinars, I am sure you will be hooked.

WPA to the Rescue

2011-03-07T12:51:00.004-06:00

In 1929 when the Great Depression hit the United States, millions of people lost their jobs. The fallen economy led to President Roosevelt introducing "The New Deal" in 1933. The programs were designed to put people to work and get the economy moving in an upward direction.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was one of the programs. Besides building and improving upon America's infrastructure, there was also funding for arts, history and culture. In 1935 with about $4.88 billion dollars, the WPA began employing Americans. They spent approximately $11 billion and employed 8.5 million Americans. Workers earned anywhere from $15 to $90 per month. In 1939 it was renamed Works Projects Administration. They funded the Historical Records Survey (HRS) whose workers documented resources for research into American history. They created soundex for federal census which many of us have used, especially before the digitals and images on Internet.

The Historical Records Survey also compiled indexes of vital records, internments, school records, maps, military records, newspapers and more. Much of the work for the Historical Records Survey was done for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), state historical societies and state archives. The work done in this project is still in the possession of many of the original repositories. Most of the records have been microfilmed and indexed. In some cases the originals are still stored in boxes, untouched while others have been destroyed. The WPA ended on 30 June 1943.

There are many WPA cemetery record surveys on Internet. Keep in mind when using these records that burials after the time period of the WPA will not appear on the list.

Access Genealogy has a WPA Cemetery Database consisting of 17,744 records. The details contain information on where the person is buried, date of death, surname and given name. The South Dakota State Historical Society has a Cemetery Record Search web site that contains the WPA Cemetery Project information (pre-1940s) plus any updates their office has received.

There are original WPA Grave Registrations for Iowa on Ancestry.com. Be sure to look at the list of counties that are contained in this database.

Several counties have WPA Grave Registration records on Internet. An example is the Somerset Co., Pennsylvania WPA Cemetery Transcriptions. You can search by last name, township or see digitals of the actual images.

Not everything has been indexed or in digital format on Internet. Reels of microfilm can still be found in state libraries, historical societies or archives. The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has film of WPA Grave Registration records. You should also Google for results of the WPA Cemetery projects or check out specific states and counties at the USGenWeb project.

These records are beneficial when you are trying to locate information that is no longer readable on a tombstone. It may have been in good condition when canvassed by a WPA worker. Missing stones may have been there in the 1930s and 1940s.

Description of photo: Historical Records Survey workers inventorying and surveying records in the sub-cellar below river level in New York City.

Education for the Genealogist

2011-02-24T09:16:00.006-06:00

Do you have a few minutes or an hour or two in your busy day? Why not go back to school and become an educated genealogist. Even if you think you know everything about genealogical research, you will still benefit from the many videos and webinars on Internet.

FamilySearch has a great listing of Research Classes Online. They cover research in England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Mexico, Russia and the United States. Other topics are Reading Handwritten Records and Search Principles and Tools. Classes are anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour in length. Some have downloads in PDF format.

There are excellent PMC Webcasts available at the Association of Professional Genealogists web page. Some of the very best speakers present topics such as A Key to Success: Your Online Presence, Choosing the Best Continuing Education Opportunities, and the very intriguing topic of The Bachelor: Reconstructing A Solitary Life Using Obscure & Far-Flung Records. Their webcasts consist of the speaker in audio/video along with the slide presentation.

Online Presentations of various topics can be found at the Mid-Continent Public Library web page. The topics are very interesting, such as Colonial Land, State and Special Census, Locating and Using Maps in Your Research and Cherokee Genealogy.

Legacy Family Tree is host for webinars. Check out their web page for topics and information on how to register. If you cannot attend a webinar on your computer at the designated time, they are usually archived for a few weeks. You can always return to the web page and click on an archived topic of interest. Webinars, which are a type of web conferencing, are normally more than an hour in length.

If you like webinars, sign up for the Jamboree Extension Series, produced by the Southern California Genealogical Society. They are new to the area of genealogy webinars. The series begins on Saturday, March 5th. Going out of the starting gate is Thomas MacEntee, known in genealogy circles as THE professional genealogy social networker. Of course, he will be speaking about Social Networking -- New Horizons for Genealogists. Be sure to register early for a session. The topics are all very interesting and the speakers are knowledgable.

All of the videos and webinars are free. You can stop a presentation at any time and return to it. It's a great way to become educated for free at home.

Touring the Civil War

2011-01-16T11:04:00.003-06:00

Whether you travel to numerous Civil War battle sites of take in re-enactments, you can still have a part in the Sesquicentennial celebration of the Civil War.

One of the most intriguing web pages about the Civil War is Virtual Civil War.com. There you can link to the Civil War in the News, Civil War on TV, This Date, Civil War Events, the Gallery, Original Photos, Re-enactments, Remembrance Day, Confederate Heritage and a Photo Showcase. The web site is very colorful.

If your ancestor fought at a specific battle, be sure to check out Battlefields Today. You will see many current photographs of battlefields which will enlighten your knowledge of an ancestor's participation.

Start looking for information on a Civil War ancestor and then begin studying the Civil War in books, blogs, web pages and documents. There will be many new Civil War web sites appearing this year in honor of the war.

New and Not So New

2011-01-01T09:52:00.003-06:00

Type http://www.familysearch.org in your browser and you will taken directly to the new FamilySearch web site. It is no longer referred to as Beta. The new site has a different look and feel than the old one we have been using since 1999. It is difficult to part with old friends, but in time they are replaced with new friends.

Try it out and see if you like it. At the first attempt, you will probably decide you want the old web page back. It's still there, at least for a while. If you have bookmarked it, the old one will return to your screen. You can also scroll to the bottom of the new web site and click on "Go to the previous site."

To access images on the new site, you will need to register (free). The link can be found at the top right hand portion of the new web site's opening page. In the same location, click on Help. Be sure to read about the differences between the two versions of FamilySearch. Keep in mind that the new web site is not complete. There are some functions you will not find there that are still on the old FamilySearch site. You may want to go back and forth for a while. There are also several tutorials that are helpful.

I encourage you to spend about an hour watching the FamilySearch Bloginar Presentation, December 2010. You can pause to take a break. By watching this, you will learn a good deal about the functions of the new web site, what is upcoming and how to more effectively perform searches.

Change is good and FamilySearch allows you to take baby steps to get used to it, also mindful you may need the security blanket of the old web site. For now, I use both sites. In time I plan on becoming very knowledgable and proficient with the new Family Search.

Here's a good tip. If you get lost and want to quickly return to the home web page, just click on the tree logo with FamilySearch through it. It appears on every page you open.

Begin 2011 by learning about the new FamilySearch!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-18T17:10:00.002-06:00

Wishing all of my readers a very Merry Christmas. The very best (particularly in your genealogical research) in 2011.

Ruby

Search Engines

2010-12-01T10:21:00.002-06:00

There are plenty of search engines available on Internet. One of the most popular and widely used is Google. It's a great place to check for your ancestors and provided you have time, should result in plenty of "hits" on your query.

Genealogy in Time has a search engine on Internet that works great. It's the Advanced Genealogy Search Engine beta, which searches over 1.2 billion historic records. The search engine is very straight forward. Enter a surname plus location or other tidbits of information and see what pops up.

I had been searching Google for a rather unusual German surname. Having exhausted possibilities on that, I entered the same surname in the Advanced Genealogy Search Engine beta and received some valuable links that never showed up on Google. Genealogy In Time's search engine seems to pull up more genealogical and historical information.

Give it a try! In fact ... you should try all of them, Google and the others.

Linking with Linkpendium

2010-11-07T09:27:00.003-06:00

Known as "The Definitive Directory, Linkpendium has over 9 million links to genealogical web pages. They are subdivided by localities, such as U.S. states, United Kingdom and Ireland and Worldwide Surnames. Best of all ... it's free!

Linkpendium was developed by Karen Isaacson and Brian Leverich who were founders of the RootsWeb genealogical community site before it was acquired by Ancestry.com.

One of the new features on Linkpendium is the State by State Search Engine. You can search for a name(s) in all states or a state of your choice. The site includes some helpful hints for entering your query. Currently you can search up to 2,648,502 pages of free genealogical data.

This one web page will save you hours of research online time by pulling together information. Of course, you will spend days going through the web pages for "Smith" in "All States." Less common surnames or variations in specific areas, will undoubtedly return matches that will be of interest.

Have some fun with Linkpendium ... today!

Finding Death Records and Indexes Online

2010-10-19T12:41:00.003-05:00

At a presentation of beginning research, those attending seemed shocked and excited when I showed a slide of a death certificate. I had located the digital image of the death certificate on Internet. Naturally they became excited thinking that every state has death record images on Internet. They don't, but there is an abundance of information in those areas on Internet.

One of my favorite web pages is Joe Beine's Online Searchable Death Indexes, Records & Obituaries. This web page provides links by state plus big city guides for places such as New York City and Chicago. Missouri Digital Heritage does have death certificate indexes and images for 1910-1959 and that's where I found the death certificate I exhibited in my presentation.

Beine's web site contains many links to county records that have been indexed or transcribed. There are burials indexes, cemetery tombstone transcriptions, obituaries and indexes plus indexes to death certificates. A few states do provide digital images, such as Utah Death Certificate Index for 1904-1959.

The FamilySearch BETA contains death certificates, such as for Ohio. This is a great web page to explore if you realize that you must return consistently to catch up with new images, new indexing and projects.

Perhaps in time we will have many more states joining the Internet with digitized vital records. It will definitely be a great day for genealogists!

Joining A Genealogy Society

2010-09-25T09:27:00.003-05:00

Has Internet been the downfall of genealogy societies? Not entirely. Our life styles have created problems for societies. There are still many, active, thriving genealogy societies. My theory has always been if you feed them, they will come. Feeding is not in the sense of food! Members need to feed their minds. Let's examine the pros and cons of joining a genealogy society.

The Cons:

1. It's more fun and beneficial to stay at home and use Internet to find ancestors.

2. Too busy with work, family, activities, social commitments.

3. Too tired ... worked hard all day and don't want to go out at night. Weekends are for family functions.

4. Attending a genealogy society means helping with projects or even worse, being asked to take an office. Just don't have the time!

5. Old people attend the meeting and I won't learn anything. Nobody will pay attention to my questions.

6. Same programs month after month.

7. Business meetings are boring and take too much time.

The Pros:

1. Joining a genealogy society gets you out of the house. You need the break from your routine.

2. Learn from the programs. If you don't like the programs, speak out and make suggestions.

3. Learn from other genealogists. Don't be afraid to speak up and ask questions.

4. Help when you can. Genealogy projects can be fun and even a little bit of help with go a long ways.

5. Genealogists speak a common language. You will be communicating and listening and learning.

6. Everybody can stay away from the computer for two hours once a month.

7. Some societies have interest groups, such as computer user groups and specific area groups, such as Irish Research.

Even if you cannot attend each genealogy meeting, attend when you can. The societies survive because people care and want to learn and exchange information. If you cease caring, they cease existing.

October is Family History Month. Attend a genealogy society meeting in October and see if you like it.

Digital Newspapers

2010-09-19T08:22:00.004-05:00

Historic newspaper provide clues beyond the certificates and courthouse records. They allow us to escape into another world in which our ancestors lived. We see the printed word as they saw it and see their names loom out of the page. Nothing is more exciting than learning an ancestor provided "alms" to a tramper in 1865 who was later arrested for taking the ancestor's coat and hat before leaving the house.

One of the most fantastic web pages is ICON: International Coalition on Newspapers. This contains a listing of newspaper digitization projects, both international collections and United States collections. The bulk of the links to newspapers are shown as free, but there are some liking to subscription databases, such as Ancestry.com, NewspaperArchive.com, Paper of Record and World Newspaper Archive.

I have particularly enjoyed searching the Pennsylvania Civil War Newspapers. The dates are 1855-1871. Imagine stepping back in time to the Civil War era and seeing an ancestor's name in a newspaper. Other examples of links are Suffolk Co., New York Newspapers including the "Long Islander" (Huntington), 1839-1859. Some of the links go directly to state projects, such as the Historic Missouri Newspapers Project or the Georgia Historic Newspapers. There are many more to explore. International newspapers include places like Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Sweden among many more.

It is worth taking some time to browse through the vast number of newspapers that have been digitized. Add some interesting context to your notes about an ancestor ... it's all there for the reading.

Finding Graveyards and Tombstones

2010-08-29T15:14:00.004-05:00

Walking through cemeteries or graveyards will cause genealogists to become excited. Even if those buried there are not related, genealogists seems to thrive on viewing tombstones. They will not complain ever about bug bites, scratches from briars or even poison ivy as long as they can look at tombstones.

If it is impossible to visit a graveyard, the next best thing is Internet. There are hundreds of graveyard web pages to explore. One of the classic places to look for tombstone information and photographs is FindAGrave. You can also leave a request for a volunteer to take a photograph of a particular tombstone. Many USGenWeb pages have links to cemetery records, some with photographs and some linking to outside sources. Be sure to check out the US GenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project. You can almost always find somebody who will go to a cemetery and take photographs on Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness.

Have some leisure time? Check out Flickr for photographs of cemeteries. If you enter a variety of search terms, something may pop up that is interesting. How about exploring a variety of web pages to see how they differ and what they contain? Here are a few that are interesting ...

Cemeteries, Graveyards, Burying Grounds

Cemetery Culture: City of the Silent

A Very Grave Matter - New England cemeteries

Graveyards and Gravestones - over 2,300 gravestones

Nationwide Gravesite Locator - federal government maintained cemeteries

Interment.net

Cemetery Junction Directory

Cemetery Photos

It is also fun to follow blogs devoted to cemetery research. Some of my favorites are ...

The Symbolic Past

Daily Tombstone Photo

Cemetery Explorer

The Graveyard Rabbit

Beyond The Ghosts ... A Cemetery Blog

Some parting words of wisdom, aka cemetery superstitions. Be careful ... if you take three steps backward when leaving a loved one's grave, you will die within three months. Don't say I didn't warn you!

FGS Society Hall

2010-08-19T09:34:00.003-05:00

Are you looking for a genealogical society in your area or where you are researching? Or, maybe you need to know what other genealogical societies are doing. As of yesterday the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announced the re-launch of their popular Society Hall. The FGS Conference is being held at Knoxville, TN.

This is an information database that can be accessed on Internet. You can locate FGS member organizations worldwide. They may be genealogical societies, libraries, archives, vendors, historical societies and even family associations. Members have a listing in the Society Hall. The information contains basis information and some list what they have in events, services, programs and publications.

Be sure to take time to browse through the Society Hall database. Also check out the FGS web page and see what they do for genealogists.

Genealogy Software Reviews

2010-07-29T15:29:00.003-05:00

If you are in the market for genealogical software, there are many ways to learn about software and the features. Most of the software is available for PCs, but there are also excellent programs available for the Mac. You can visit with other genealogists about what they use, check out the developer's web pages, but a comprehensive place to look for information is GenSoft Reviews.

They review 523 programs for genealogists. These include everything from foreign products to the well-known Legacy, Roots Magic, Family Tree Maker and Reunion for the Mac. Some of the programs are free, some shareware or for purchase. There are links for obtaining more information. Each program is given a dated review. The stars accompanying the review are for the enjoyment of using it, use it often, easy input, useful output and overall rating.

Looking at this it seems like ages ago that I was hand-designing my genealogy charts on my first computer. Maybe it was ages ago! There are plenty of products on the market today to satisfy the genealogist's needs ... just start looking at them.

Research in Missouri

2010-07-19T13:11:00.003-05:00

Genealogists never have enough time in the day. When there are web links all in one place, it just makes my day. I was thrilled to find Tom Caulley's Missouri Genealogy "Omni" Research Site.

The web page begins with National Wide/World Wide Research Sites that are helpful to researchers, such as USGenWeb, RootsWeb E-Mail List and FindAGrave. Next are Statewide Research Sites, such as the Missouri Archives Digital Heritage Collection, Missouri Archives Death Certificates 1910-1959 and Missouri Archives Soldier's Records 1812-WWI.

There are 114 counties in Missouri and each county has 15 to 17 research links. Caulley has added information on the date the county was created, parent counties, links, plus a Missouri map showing the location of the county. There is also an area for counties whose names were changed, along with links to further information.

One of the most interesting areas on the web page is Missouri Counties in Order of Formation. Did you know that those original five counties in 1812 were Cape Girardeau, New Madrid, Saint Charles, Sainte Genevieve and Saint Louis? Again with links, this segment is extremely helpful, as well as the maps showing their location when created. When using the maps, be sure to click on them for a larger image.

I wish all states had this type of web page. Get the hint ambitious genealogists?

Out for Research

2010-07-12T08:27:00.004-05:00

My granddaughter (age 12) and I are leaving for a research, family, fun trip. We will do genealogical research in courthouses and libraries plus visit cemeteries. On Saturday we will help to host a group of genealogists for Genealogy in the Park. Now how much fun will that be? We have Lil' Red packed and ready to hit the road. If you don't know about Lil' Red, follow the genealogy episodes of The You Go Genealogy Girls. We even have packed jelly beans!

She's my budding genealogist. Very willingly she will walk through cemeteries with me and look through out courthouse documents. While I view it as a history/geography lesson for her, I secretly hope that she is learning genealogy and will carry on someday.

Recently she announced that in 2011 she WILL be attending a Family History Expo with granny. That will be such fun! Hope she doesn't change her mind before 2011.

More next week on genealogical research!

Patriotic Ancestors

2010-07-04T08:11:00.004-05:00

In that small log cabin in the woods of northwestern North Carolina, July 4th, 1776 dawned like any other day. There was no present knowledge of what was happening further north in the city of Philadelphia. Yet in time my ancestor would be caught up in the fight to gain independence from England. Little did they know at the time that their intentions would result in a strong nation known as the United States of America.

Along with his brother, he fought at King's Mountain and was instrumental in the capture of Tories who had been pillaging and killing people in northwest North Carolina. My 6th great grandfather survived the Revolutionary War and died an old man in 1835. Today I like to think about him and the changes it made in his life as well as the legacy he left me.

In particular, today is a day we should celebrate not only with fireworks, but with homage to the men and women who remained loyal to their belief that a new nation could and should be formed. There were no fireworks over my ancestor's log cabin and no patriotic songs being sung. Before and after the war, they went about their business.

Do you have Revolutionary War ancestors? Recently Ancestry.com released the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900. Footnote.com is offering free searching of their Revolutionary War collection until July 7th. You don't have long to take advantage of this free offer. Keep in mind that Footnote.com's Revolutionary War pension files contain every document within the file and are fully indexed.

If you suspect or know about a Revolutionary War ancestor, be sure to check out what is available online at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). There is a lot of good material to read there as well. The following are some of the best web pages for the Revolutionary War on Internet. I am sure you'll find more. However, if you put "Revolutionary War" into a Google search, you will come up with over 35 million hits. So begin with my list!

American Revolutionary War Soldiers & Their Descendants

RevWar'75

Officers Who Took Oath of Allegiance at Valley Forge, 1778

Valley Forge Legacy

Online Revolutionary War Indexes & Records

American Revolution. org

1840 Census of Pensioners (Revolutionary or Military Service)

Keep in mind that not every man or woman took arms to serve in the war. Some provided comfort and sustenance for the troops and thus receive the designation of being patriots during the Revolutionary War. My 4th great grandmother supplied beef to the army in South Carolina and was awarded payment from the State of South Carolina. No matter what your ancestor did during that time period, he or she is worthy of at least one firecracker and one patriotic song today. For their strife ... God Bless America.

Maps at The Newberry Library

2010-06-23T12:23:00.003-05:00

Genealogists love maps! An excellent web page to locate maps is at The Newberry Library's web page. This will take you directly to the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The library is well known to genealogists and located in Chicago. You don't have to go to Chicago to have fun with the maps.

You can view historical state and county maps. They are interactive and by entering a date, the map will show the formation of counties within a state at that given time.

Click on Download Historical State and County Shapefiles to download maps for use with GIS programs. You can also opt to download KMZ files to use with Google Earth. These are large files and will take time to use.

While you are on their home page, be sure to look through their genealogy information in the pull down menu. Check out where your ancestor lived by checking out The Newberry Library.

Summer Genealogy Experiences

2010-06-14T21:04:00.003-05:00

Having been home one week from a three week trip which included two weeks at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, I am ready to go again.

It isn't too late to consider attending the Family History Expo in Loveland, CO on June 25th and June 26th. It will be held at the Embassy Suites Loveland Hotel & Conference Center. A full listing of speakers and classes can be found at the Colorado Family History Expo web page.

The theme for this year's Expos is Let Your Light Shine! Last year I attended the Family History Expo in Sheridan, WY and vowed to attend another one this year. I am a blogger of honor this year for my blog, You Go Genealogy Girls. I will also try to share information on this blog. Be sure to check both.

Iowa Civil War Project

2010-05-15T08:51:00.003-05:00

All states who supplied men for the Civil War should have web pages such as the Iowa Civil War Project. It is a special project of the IAGenWeb and worth checking if you have an Iowa Civil War ancestor.

The web site contains the six volumes of Civil War Records for Iowa, the full citation being Iowa, Adjutant General Office. Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers in the War of the Rebellion, Together with Historical Sketches of Volunteer Organization 1861-1866 Des Moines: E.H. English, State Printer, E.D. Chassell, State Binder, 1908-1911.

There is a list of correspondence, dates, sources and notes. You can explore this further for information pertaining to your ancestor or his unit. The web page contains Letters to Headquarters, such as Rock Island Barracks May 1864.

If you know your ancestor's infantry, be sure to check out the Infantry, History and Rosters. There is a separate section for Iowa Cavalry, History and Rosters, as well as Artillery.

The entire web page seems rather complex and time consuming, but help is available at the click of the mouse. Toward the top and before Correspondence/Topic/Title you will see "If you want to search all of these records go to the main Civil War page and utilize the FreeFind search engine there."

Not only can you search the site at the main page, but you can also find instructions for joining the Iowa Civil War mailing list. There are links to gravestone photos, more about the regiments, Civil War prisons, photo album, county data and descendant/researcher lists.

Plan on spending time at this web page, particularly if you have more than one Iowa Civil War soldier in your lineage.

For All Mothers --- Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-08T10:23:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Both my mother and mother-in-law are deceased, leaving me to be a warmly loved and celebrated person on the special day. I can remember Mother's Day past, such as one when I was about seven years old and bought my mother not one, but several cards. I couldn't make up my mind and having found some change (cards were cheap then) in the family business till, I decided to buy them all. Patiently she opened them one by one, reading the message and I was sure admiring my name scrawled across the bottom.

In 1969 by baby daughter was baptized on Mother's Day. It was a great celebration of three generations as my mother and I posed for pictures with her. She was dressed in a long, white dress and white lace bonnet. She was very petite and out of that bonnet looked dark, brown eyes causing Mom and Grandmother to beam with pride.

This all causes me to wonder how mothers of the past celebrated the day, or if they celebrate it. About 150 years ago Appalachian homemaker, Anna Jarvis, organized a day to raise awareness of the poor health conditions in her community. She called it "Mother's Work Day." Personally I think every day is a mother's work day!

About fifteen years after that Julia Ward Howe, the pacifist, poet and author of the lyrics to Battle Hymn of the Republic, organized a day whereby mothers could rally for peace. When Anna Jarvis died in 1905 her daughter, Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life work of her mother. She lobbied prominent businessmen and politicians. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill proclaiming Mother's Day a national holiday. As Mother's Day became more popular with people sending cards, presents and flowers, Anna Jarvis became enraged. In 1923 she filed a lawsuit to stop Mother's Day and before she died in 1948 confessed that she regretted having started the tradition.

Personally, I think Mother's Day is great and also a day to reflect on the lives of our ancestral mothers. My mother was born in 1914, the year Mother's Day was created a national holiday. Living in a log cabin in northeast Tennessee, I wonder if they had the money to spend on anything other than the typical meal that my grandmother prepared. I do know they were a loving family and the love carried down through the generations.

We should remember our prairie mothers and reflect on how they rode in covered wagons or walked alongside them, as their families moved from one location to another. Sometimes that location was a great distance, taking weeks and months.

When the wind blows to extremes here in Nebraska, I ponder on the pioneer women who lived in sod houses and dugouts. Sand and dirt blew in the cracks propelled by wind that never seemed to cease The howl of the wind had to drive them to near insanity. They had no close neighbors and probably existed only for the sake of their husband and children. The stamina of some was worn thin and they found their surroundings intolerable.

There were mothers who delivered babies along the trail as well as burying loved ones. Graves never found or marked and mothers no longer honored, fill my heart with sorrow and also joy. They made all of this possible.

All of the mothers in my lineage ... thank you!

Kansas Death Notices

2010-04-26T12:38:00.003-05:00

A friend recently shared this with me. Death Notices of Members of Fraternal Orders can be found online at the Kansas State Historical Society web page. There is a lot more than this on their web page, so be sure to do some exploring. However, very seldom do we find such an interesting database showing the fraternal order, as well as names and date of death notice.

The organizations and years covered are:

AOUW - Ancient Order of United Workmen 1879-1908

KP - Knights of Pythias 1877-1918

IOOF - Independent Order of Odd Fellows 1873-1970

Rebekah - Rebekah Assembly of the IOOF 1891-1953

There are over 50,000 individuals listed who had a death notice posted in the proceedings of the fraternal order. Using this, you can seek out more information such as probate files, newspaper obituaries, land records, city directories and cemetery records.

If you have Kansas ancestry, check it out!

My Beginning Genealogy

2010-04-10T14:37:00.004-05:00

Do you know when or how your interest in genealogy was sparked? I have had many people ask me how long I've been doing genealogical research and what caused my interest in it. While I'm admitting to being Medicare age, I am also admitting to starting an interest in genealogy at age nine.

A teacher assigned a class project of tracing family history, complete with names and dates, as far back as we could in a limited amount of time. The assignment brought tears to my eyes which increased in severity as I walked home after school. I had seen my grandparents at age three and could not remember what they looked like, let alone the family history. From an old chest of drawers my mother pulled some yellowed papers from the Lewis Family Reunion which was held annually for many years in northwest North Carolina. In my grandmother's handwriting were details of the family as told at the reunion in the 1920s. Those people knew people far back on my family tree.

Working on the project seemed easy and yet very interesting as I compared dates to what I was learning in history. Proudly I turned in my assignment and smiled when I learned that I had a good paper.

As I grew older, I kept working on various family lineages, asking questions and seeking answers. Those were the day when we relied on letters. People didn't have access to photocopy machines, let alone computers and scanners. It was a slow process, but worth every minute of it.

The family historian in my Lewis family was my Great Aunt, Bertha Lewis Mahala. She was a school teacher in her younger years, with her husband Ed lived in Ashe Co., North Carolina and had no children. Aunt Bertha showed me an old family tree covering huge pieces of paper. she showed me family heirlooms and told me stories about our family, as well as taking me with her to old graveyards. As I became a teenager, I delighted in old photographs, particularly the one here of Aunt Bertha. How I longed to have her long curls!

If anybody can be blamed for my continuing interest in genealogy, it's Aunt Bertha. There were other people along the way who were instrumental and helpful. One thing led to another, such as taking genealogy classes, reading and more reading, learning about historical documents, geography and putting ancestors into the puzzle of time.

I am sure you will also agree it is a never ending process. As more records become available, the more we have to check and hope for positive results. I think often of Aunt Bertha and wonder what she would have thought about computers, scanners, photocopy machines and cell phones. Maybe it is as well she lived in a slower world and I was also part of it.

Digital Books

2010-03-27T10:07:00.003-05:00

There are several places to locate scanned books on Internet. One of my favorite places is at the FamilySearch Family History Archive. They have many family genealogies and histories. Where do they get those books and periodicals? Primarily from the FamilySearch Family History Library, the Houston Public Library, Mid-Continent Public Library, Allen County Public Library, the BYU Harold B. Lee Library, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church History Library and the BYU Hawaii Joseph F. Smith Library.

By clicking on the link, you can perform a search by surname, author or title ... or you can browse the collection or perform an advanced search.

Another way to see if books have been scanned, is by checking the Family History Library Catalog. Click on surname and enter your surname of interest. On some of the entries that you see, there may be links to view a digital version. Click and you will be shown information about the book or publication. On the left side of the web page you will see a list of pages and information pertaining to the book, along with information on the printing version. By clicking that, the book will eventually appear in PDF format that can be saved to your computer for future reading and reference.

Check these options for searching often. As of a few days ago there were 60,144 items at the FamilySearch Family History Archives. New books and publications are being added frequently. It's another good thing for genealogists!

Digital State Archives

2010-03-09T07:54:00.003-06:00

Before Internet (remember those days?) where did you go to do genealogical research? Libraries, archives, courthouses, newspaper offices? Seriously, I hope you still venture to those places. However, it is great to know that many state archives are going digital.

The web page, Digital States Archives, is a great place to begin looking for archives that have digital collections. There is a goldmine of information to be had for a click of the mouse. To date there are 18 states represented on this web page.

Documents, deeds, photographs, artifacts, court records, newspapers, military records, and much more can be found at various state archives. A good deal of these records are in digital format, which makes it great for genealogists who cannot travel to distant states.

This is not a one time web page to check. More state archives are being added, so be sure you bookmark it and check often for updates. It's a good thing!

Getting Vital Records

2010-03-03T12:58:00.003-06:00

Vital records are the very being of our genealogical research. If your ancestors or relatives lived during a time when vital statistics were recorded, add it to your list to obtain vital records.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a web page devoted to Where to Write for Vital Records. They provide links which send you to information regarding each state of territory. From there you will find information on birth, death, marriage and divorce records, when kept, where located, along with cost for copies. By clicking on further links you will see more information on the requirements to obtain the copies. Sometimes there will also be online downloadable forms provided.

At the top of the list of states and territories is a link for a PDF Version. Click on that to obtain a PDF of 68 pages showing all of the information you will find online. This is very helpful if you are not connected to Internet. The information is on your computer at your finger-tips.

Begin your list of vital records and then see how many you can obtain!

Oops! It's Gone!

2010-01-28T13:01:00.004-06:00

Just when it's there ... oops, it's gone! A web page you want desperately is no longer on Internet? Maybe you used it a year ago or even a month ago, but now you get that pesky message that your web address is no longer valid, or some strange numbers which supposedly indicate the same thing.

Where did it go? Is it out there in cyberspace, floating around? What is cyberspace? Why isn't the web page on Internet?

I hope you can remember the title of the web page, or maybe the nature of it, such as Tennessee military records. You can always start searching for it, using your favorite search engine. Maybe the name has changed. Maybe somebody just removed it forever.

If you are using a bookmark or favorite area of your browser, consider getting to the root of the URL, such as this from my personal web page, http://www.incolor.com/rcoleman/pubhtml/page 2. html. If it doesn't come up, go to http://www.incolor.com and browse around or add the rcoleman/ on the end and see what pops up. Maybe I have omitted that page from my web site.

Google will usually show the word "cache" in the results. If the regular link doesn't open the web page, click on "cache" to see what was last shown for that particular web page. You will not be able to click on any of the links within a cached web page. Be sure you try other search engines also, such as Yahoo.com.

There is still hope. Try the Internet Archive's WayBackMachine. It's in a little box on the top part of their web page. Enter the URL that you currently have and with a little luck, your web page may turn up with the new URL.

Have fun and good luck!

Lovin' My IPod Touch

2010-01-18T10:48:00.003-06:00

After much deliberation, I decided in December to purchase an iPod Touch. Because I use a Mac and also Reunion 9, it seemed a good way to have my genealogy files on-the-go and with less hassle and weight that I have with my laptop computer.

It is not for everybody and does take some practice to type on it. Overall, it was a good purchase. When I flew to Virginia in December my iPod Touch and I went through security without any issues. Just like the laptop (but easier), I took it out of my purse and put it in the bin. I will continue to take my laptop on trips and also flights, but for this time, it was a good thing to have the iPod Touch.

Placing my genealogy files on it was a very simple procedure. If you have Reunion 9, be sure to check out the LeisterPro web page for details and videos on how to use it on the iPhone and iPod Touch. I also recommend purchasing a book or manual about the iPod Touch. There are many features that you will not learn just by turning it on.

I linked all of my photos from Reunion 9 family files to the iPod Touch, but you can choose which ones to transfer or use only the feature photo from each file. All of my notes transferred and are easy to review on it. The only thing I miss with Reunion on the iPod Touch is the Quick Bar that allows you to select certain ancestors or relatives at a click. Syncing between the iPod Touch to keep it updated with changes I make is very easy using the USB port.

There are other applications I have on my iPod Touch. It comes with a few applications, such as Safari and Mail. You can access all of your e-mail accounts, such as gmail. Web pages can be enlarged quickly and easily for viewing. I also added the Weather Channel which is handy for traveling. Since I use the iPod Touch when flying, I also have an application showing gates of the airports that I normally use. All you do is enter the gate number and concourse and the map shows the exact location in conjunction with other portions of the concourse.

It comes with Contacts and Maps which are handy when traveling. You can sync your contacts from the main computer. I have found the Notes and Voice Memos to be very handy, not only when traveling, but here at home. As I was doing research on my trip, I would leave myself either a voice memo or notes regarding more research that I needed to do. It's also great for a grocery list.

The WIFI TRAK application that I downloaded from iTunes tracks Internet connection wherever I might be with my iPod Touch. Drive down the street a few blocks and it will show the activity in that area, both secured and unsecured. I also have Free WIFI which has a search feature by town/city showing all of the free WIFI available, be it restaurants, libraries, hotels or stores.

I also have WorldCat on my iPod Touch. This allows me to enter a title, author or category of a book and determine if it is in the library I am using or a library near me. This handy application also has a search feature for locating libraries. It's great for the genealogist on the go.

The iPod Touch is handy for trips to the library, courthouse or even the cemetery. However, it is not secure. When using it in a library, you cannot leave it on the table with your other belongings. Now I'm designing and making pouches for my iPod Touch. I can easily take it in and out of the pouch which hangs around my neck.

Yes ... I love my iPod Touch!

Genealogy Education for 2010

2010-01-10T12:56:00.002-06:00

A great way to begin 2010 is through home schooling. Teach yourself about genealogical techniques and successful research. Just relax at the computer, have another cup of coffee or tea and learn. You can even school yourself late at night in your pajamas.

FamilySearch is offering Research Series Classes online and they are free. They are provided by the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Those currently available are:

England Beginning Research

Germany Research

Ireland Research

Italy Research

Mexico Research

Research Principles and Tools

Russia Research

U.S. Research

There are lessons under each topic for watching the video, downloading the video and obtaining a PDF file of the class outline. Some do not have the exact same format. The largest lesson is the England Beginning Research Series which contains five lessons: Research Overview, Census Records, Civil Registration, Church Records, and Find Your Ancestors.

More online seminars and classes can be found at the link, Genealogical Presentations Online. These include the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) Certification Seminar and the Association of Professional Genealogists Professional Management Conference at Little Rock, Arkansas, 2 September 2009.

I encourage you to take advantage of these online resources to advance your research skills.

Holiday Happiness

2009-12-22T08:38:00.003-06:00

What makes you happy during the holidays? Like others, I enjoy having some of my family around, watching them laugh and hearing them tell stories, share a little gossip and eat like it's their last meal. I also recall memories of loved ones. Some are very close to my heart and mind and others are names and events in my family files. They pop up on my computer like robots. Wouldn't it be nice is we could turn them into human beings for just one moment?

If you were given one minute of conversation with an ancestor, what would you ask? I would quickly ask about their parents, particularly if I'm missing that vital link. You have those in your family tree, don't you? Would you ask something personal? Maybe that is why I treasure old photographs, drawings and paintings of my family. It's a glimpse at that special ancestor in the family file. They become more than robots!

A year ago my granddaughter, age 11, told me I should make ornaments for the Christmas tree out of old family photographs. I wouldn't use the originals but scan and print off ones that could be placed on some kind of ornament. The rest of the story along with photos of the tree is at my blog, You Go Genealogy Girls.

It was a fun project, but even more fun looking at the photographs. I never tire of studying them. Last night my granddaughter was staring at the tree and commented, "He is pudgy." Indeed that ancestor had pudgy cheeks. The other day I was looking at an old uncle on the tree who was born in 1792, but lived long enough to have a photograph taken in about 1870. Then I realized that he knew my 3rd great grandparents. They died long before photography and were undoubtedly too poor to set for a painting. Looking at his eyes I knew that he had seen my past and his mouth had opened and spoke to my ancestors. He had witnessed wars and celebrations. He had lost children and relatives and wept. The Ancestor Tree has brought them alive, just in time to bring Holiday Happiness.

Whatever you are doing, wherever you are going, do it with care and a happy heart. But, always remember your past and realize what your ancestors have given you to enjoy today.

Reading Old Script

2009-12-08T12:19:00.003-06:00

One of the obstacles in doing genealogical research is reading old documents. It's a game of out guessing the clerk or scribe who put words to ink and paper. This is further complicated by the variations of style through the years. Foreigners who arrived in America often had their names and information slaughtered by an Anglo clerk who had no clue how to spell or write foreign names.

The complications of reading old script become heightened when we begin researching records of a foreign country, such as Germany, France and Italy. That's when we think it's time to go back to school.

Help is available! Script Tutorials, Resources for Old Handwriting & Documents presented by Brigham Young University, is just what you need. They offer guidance in deciphering manuscripts and other old documents. The languages include English, German, Dutch, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese. By clicking on a specific language, you will be guided with preparation techniques, alphabets and sample documents.

These tutorials have many links that will take to study. However, they are definitely worth the time spent. One word may be all you need to solve the puzzle. It's usually that one word you cannot read. With the help of Script Tutorials, you might be able to get over the brick wall.

NGS Video Presentation

2009-11-20T11:30:00.003-06:00

Whether you are a member of the National Genealogical Society (NGS) or not, you need to watch their new video, "Paths to Your Past." It takes close to twelve minutes, but it is worth every minute. This well done video gives you some insight into how other genealogists think about research, along the way telling about NGS and the benefits of membership.

So, what are those benefits? Check out the NGS web page. Their mission is to serve and grow the genealogical community. In doing this they provide education and training and foster increased quality and standards. They also promote access to and the preservation of genealogical records. They have been doing it for many years as NGS was organized in Washington, DC in 1903.

They sponsor an annual conference along with other events throughout the year. The next annual conference will be "Follow Your Ancestral Trail" to be held 28 April - 1 May 2010 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Membership brings the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and NGS Magazine to your mailbox. Both are excellent. In addition, they have book discounts for members. With membership you receive a free online course, Family History Skills. You can also pay and take their NGS American Genealogy: Home Study Course.

This is a great support group for genealogists. It is worth every penny you pay for membership. Watch the video and enjoy!

Free U.S. Military Databases

2009-11-10T09:51:00.003-06:00

One of the best web pages which links to a wide variety of free military web pages, is ShoeString Genealogy: Free U.S. Military Databases.

All in one location you can link to a variety of databases, such as The Veteran Ancestor Registry, U.S. National Cemetery Administration Nationwide Graveside Locator, 1820 U.S. Pension List and more. The nice thing about ShoeString Genealogy's link area is that each link has comments which supply more information.

The topics are general and then break down into various wars, beginning with King Philip's War (1675-1677). Under the Revolutionary War you will a variety of records, including the British, German and Loyalist Officers in the American Revolution, along with the Valley Forge Muster Roll and more.

The links continue through the Vietnam War and conclude with some miscellaneous databases. It is certainly a great place to explore and further your knowledge of the various types of military records. I hope that you hit pay dirt and find what you need in your search for military ancestors.

Diggin* in Land Records

2009-10-24T13:18:00.004-05:00

Land records may at first appear to be uninteresting documents of land transactions, but they can hold numerous clues to your ancestry. Not only do they allow you to sketch out migrations of your ancestors, but piecing together the information will show family relationships. They point the way to probate research, both testate and intestate. The sale of land reveals the marital status of the grantor (seller), along with the given name of the spouse, if married. In some cases, the former residence (at the time of the transaction) of the grantee will be shown.

If you think your ancestor purchased land in the public land states from the federal government, you need to visit the web site of the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office. Be sure to read before you research. The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) area is particularly helpful. To better understand the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), be sure to read about it here.

There is a good selection of states that have land records online. One of these is the Kentucky Land Office. There is a variety of records that can be searched, so read and study your search options.

The Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales database contains information from land sales of the public domain that were transferred to the Illinois State Archives in 1957. The database contains information on about 550,000 land sales in Illinois.

Numerous online records, including land records, are indexed on the South Carolina Department of Archives and History web site. These include the plats for state land grants, 1784-1868, which include 51,809 items.

If you have ancestry in Pennsylvania, be sure to check the Land Records available at the Pennsylvania State Archives. You will be ahead of the game if you read the explanations of their records.

Be sure to explore the Texas General Land Office databases. There are several ways to search, so check all of your options. It is also helpful to browse the Texas General Land Office web page for information.

There are many more land related web pages on Internet. Try using Google or your favorite search engine to find them. There's nothing more fun than diggin' in the dirt ... I mean land records!

Researching With Maps

2009-09-26T13:46:00.004-05:00

Maps make your family history come alive. It is impossible to understand the lives of ancestors without consulting maps. There are many online that are helpful and can be downloaded or purchased.

The Library of Congress offers maps collections. Two of my favorites are the Civil War Maps and the Railroad Maps. Use the Civil War collection to enhance your ancestor's military information. The railroad collection will enable you to visualize the growth of the system and in so doing understand your ancestor's migrations.

One of my favorite web sites is Color Landform Atlas of the United States. You can view maps by selecting from the options of shaded relief map, black and white map, county map, satellite image, 1895 map or PostScript map. The shaded relief map is not only colorful, but allows you to see the mountains or hills, along with rivers and valleys.

Another extensive collection of maps on Internet is the David Rumsey Map Collection. Here you will find over 20,000 maps and images of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Determine exactly where your ancestor lived in 1895 by using the 1895 US Atlas. Here you will find population statistics, an index of towns and cities and map of the state and county as it appeared in 1895. The 1914 County Maps by State provides similar information only for 1914.

Various states have maps online that are historical and helpful. Historical Maps Online from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great place to look for topographic maps of Illinois, but they also have maps of other locales. Virginia County and State Maps is great for that state.

An extensive collection of links to maps is Historical County Lines (USA). You can locate a county of interest online at County Boundary Map. It's easy to link counties together and see the towns and cities.

The New York Times hosts an Interactive Map Showing Immigration Data Since 1880. You can select a foreign-born group to see how they settled across the United States.

Search for maps online by using Google or checking out map categories on Cyndi's List.

Illinois Goes Digital

2009-09-07T10:21:00.003-05:00

Get out of the rut of researching Internet's gigantic genealogy databases. They are extremely worthwhile, but there is much more to explore on the Internet. I have discovered many great web sites for Illinois. They offer digital images.

The Illinois Digital Archives is worth checking. I recommend that you begin by clicking on the Collection Directory. This will give you an idea of what is there, then you can browse and search. There is also a help site if you have questions. Some of the collections include Illinois Veterans History Project, Illinois State Highway Maps, Illinois Historic Aerial Photographs and collections of various state historical societies and libraries.

Another great digital collection is the Illinois Historical Digitization Projects from the Northern Illinois University Libraries. Some of the projects include Illinois during various periods, such as the Civil War, 1861-1865, The Mexican-American War and Illinois Civil War Newspapers.

Be sure to check out the Illinois State Archives. There are many links to information about doing genealogical research in Illinois, the Illinois Regional Archives Depository System (IRAD), and online databases. Their holdings include digitals of the Federal Township Plats of Illinois.

There are many databases to check at the Illinois State Archives. These include Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900, Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916 and Illinois Statewide Death Index 1916-1950. There is a listing of records in IRAD, plus lists of veterans. I particularly like the Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Database.

If you have Chicago ancestors, be sure to check out the Chicago Public Library Digital Collections. Another interesting web page is Chicago Ancestors.org from The Newberry Library.

There's more out there, so be sure to Google for your areas of interest in Illinois and include the word "digital."

Bury My Bones Where They Won't Stink

2009-08-24T11:00:00.005-05:00

A year ago I was roaming the streets of London and riding the Tube to my favorite destinations ... cemeteries. Churchyards were the first burial places and it is apparent that many of those no longer survive, but London natives and visitors walk over them not realizing that bones lie beneath.

Under common law, every parishioner and people who inhabited a parish, had a right to be buried in the parish churchyard or burial ground. While you may see a few gravestones in churchyards, there are many unmarked, unknown graves. A good example is the churchyard of St. Martin-in-the Fields which is estimated to have 60,000-70,000 burials in the churchyard. That suggests one on top of another in layers.

Kensal Green, with 79 acres, was established as London's first public cemetery in 1827. Many followed within the next few years, such as Highgate in 1839. They were commercial ventures and in the 1850s urban churchyards were closed to burials. Bodies were also being buried under the floorboards in chapels and school. As they decayed the stench was overcoming. A public cemetery would be a better choice for burial.

Landscaped cemeteries were common in Italy, Sweden and France. They were adopted in England as public cemeteries in the Victorian period. The public cemeteries are extremely interesting with various types of stones plus styles of mausoleums.

The first on my list of "must-see" was the Highgate Cemetery in northwest London. There are two sections to the Highgate Cemetery, both different and interesting. The west Highgate Cemetery is only open to tours. Visitors climb a few steps to be greeted by dank darkness. Adjusting to it, there are gravestones that seem to perch on top of each other, covered with undergrowth, vines, moss and bushes. A musty, earth smell hangs among the gravestones and only a true cemetery lover breaths deeply to enjoy it.

Less overgrown cemeteries, such as Brompton Cemetery created in 1840, also contain gravestones that run into each other with barely room to wedge a foot between them. Ravens perch on statues and the tops of stones, faithfully looking for pieces of food left by passer-bys.

All of these are peaceful settings. If you stop long enough to ponder the past, imagination takes over. You can envision a funeral party, all attired in black, with a horse drawn hearse passing down the path in 1845, bringing a body for burial. What has happened through the decades to their descendants? Do they realize where their own are buried? Or do they care?

Someday I will return to London to explore more cemeteries, stop and pay respects to those who have gone before. I may walk through a former churchyard and absorb the feeling of comfort that only comes to those who are obsessed with places of burial.

Chasing A Migrating Ancestor

2009-08-16T09:33:00.004-05:00

Do you know where your ancestors were going when they gathered up their belongings and hitched the horses to the wagon? They were not out for a joy ride. They were most likely out for a long, difficult ride and one that was planned and calculated in advance. Neighbors, family and friends may have joined them.

If you like maps and enjoy the study of migrations, you'll enjoy the Migration Trails web site. It opens to a rather simple format with a few options.

Begin by clicking on Migration Trails and you will quickly be staring at a colorful, large map of the United States. Trails are drawn in red and numbered. The largest portion are in the eastern United States. The numbers on the map are identified with the names of the paths, roads and trails, some of which I am unfamiliar. If you click on the name of a path or trail, you will be taken to further information, such as a time frame for the trail and the primary nationalities who traveled it. There is also a listing of counties, with web pages, that are within the trail area. This is particularly helpful when looking for records left by ancestors in their migration. Perhaps they stopped off briefly in a county along the way when somebody died. References are also listed which can be helpful in your research.

From the home page, click on Who Traveled the Trails?. You can select the nationality that interests you, such as Irish. The immigration period, favorite port of entry and migration facts are listed, along with references. Easy, but thorough reading!

You can also order custom migration maps through the web site. Knowing the counties along the most likely route that your ancestor traveled may break down research brick walls. The maps are sent by e-mail.

I hope this web site grows with the addition of more trails, particularly west of the Mississippi River. It's a fascinating study and one worth the time in preparation for research.

Free Databases for the Genealogist

2009-08-04T10:20:00.004-05:00

It looks simple and plain, without any headers or footers or shocking colors and graphics. Free Databases for Genealogical Searching is limited to just that ... FREE databases. Stephen van Dulken who maintains the web site indicates that some of the databases are incomplete or a project in the works. He is of London, UK, so there is heavy emphasis on British sources. However, you will find plenty of links for the United States and other countries. The topics you can click on are ...

Archival search engines

Baptisms

Births

Burials

Census

Crime, poor law, litigation

Deaths

Directories

Divorces

Electoral rolls, poor tax, etc.

Emigration/Departing passengers

Immigration/Entering passengers

Marriages

Military/naval

Miscellanies

Naturalizations

Occupations

Probate

Property

Telephone directories

Don't by shy ... start clicking! I clicked on Burials and discovered many links. How about a link to European graves in India? It's right there with Los Angeles County Burial Permits and more.

Take the time to explore all of the topics and you may find gold ... genealogy gold!

New Technology and the Genealogist

2009-07-23T09:19:00.005-05:00

Is the Internet never really at your finger tips? Maybe you will be interested in Wearable Internet. That's right! Wearable Internet is possible, but it is now in beginning stages. Perhaps ten years or less, it will be available.

Earlier this year, Pattie Maes from the MIT Media Lab's Fluid Interfaces Group presented a wearable system. It is mind boggling. Users will be able to display and interact with Internet on any surface which includes the human body. No longer will you need to take the camera to the cemetery ... just hold up your hands in the traditional square box and you've got it. Forgot your watch (which my sister-in-law usually does) just draw a circle on your wrist and presto you've got the time. Make phone calls from your hand!

This unique system is referred to as a "sixth sense." So how would this assist genealogists in their research? If you are a traveling genealogist, the possibilities are endless. You could locate libraries or information on books on the fly. Looking for a cemetery, there would be no need for a phone call to a cemetery office or WIFI location to access your laptop computer. Once you start thinking about wearing your computer, the possibilities are endless.

The current system is rather bulky with a person wearing a webcam, 3M projector which is battery-powered, mirror, phone and colored finger caps. In the future the system that is wearable may be something as small as a watch. Now where did I put my watch?

To learn more about this, read the review The Wearable Internet Will Blow Mobile Phones Away. Be sure to watch the video presented by Pattie Maes. It's only about eight minutes long and will blow your mind. Then start dreaming about the possibilities for genealogists to use Wearable Internet!

The Life of a Genealogist

2009-07-17T12:54:00.003-05:00

It is so sweet ... being around people who speak genealogy! That's a separate language and one that you know ... if you are a genealogist. I am at the Family History Expo in Sheridan, WY. We arrived late yesterday afternoon. The You Go Genealogy Girls are bloggers of honor. However, at this point I'm doing all of the blogging and tweeting.

The keynote address by Barry Ewell was very inspiring. He is funny and yet serious. Sharing some of his insights into the research process, he firmly believes that our ancestors want to be found. I know that because some of the time I'm lost. My next session was to hear Arlene Eakle lecture on Scottish Marriage Records. I did not know there were so many ways a Scot could get married. Some of them sort of carry over to the United States also. Her lecture makes me want to hurry home and jump right into my Scottish research.

We'll fuel up at lunch before too long and then start in again at more lectures. Somebody has to do this grueling stuff ... so it had best me us.

Traveling to Wyoming

2009-07-14T08:12:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow morning I leave for western Nebraska to pick up my side-kick for the Family History Expo in Sheridan, WY. We are the You Go Genealogy Girls and she's my sister-in-law. You won't want to miss any of our genealogy thrills, antics and travels we report on our blog.

We are honor bloggers at the Family History Expo. Look for us to blog at You Go Genealogy Girls. We will give you all the tidbits of what is going on at the expo. We will also be on Twitter. You can follow me on Twitter @GenGirl1. My sister-in-law is on Twitter @GenGirl2.

Check out the Family History Expo website to see the list of vendors, speakers and topics. It promises to be a great function.

NEW -- GenealogyWise

2009-07-09T11:25:00.004-05:00

Do you socialize on Internet? They are more than places to chit and chat. Genealogists love to blog, share ideas and comments. Many of us belong to Facebook. If you aren't to that level yet, look around and ask genealogy friends about it. It's fun! Some of us tweet on Twitter. They are all different and worth exploring or joining.

FamilyLink has launched a new site just for genealogists called GenealogyWise. It is buzzing with activity. I was on it almost all day yesterday. It was amazing to see it grow by the hour and almost by the minute. It's similar to Facebook, but devoted only to genealogy and genealogy topics.

You join GenealogyWise (free), create your profile, find friends, set up or join groups and invite people to be your friend, to events or discussions. Along with the discussion forum, there blog and video areas. If you click on Genealogy Search, it takes you directly to the subscription site of World Vital Records. In addition to all of this, there's a chat site.

Yes ... there are genealogy groups on Facebook. They now have some competition. Personally I am enjoying GenealogyWise because it is so totally devoted to the genealogist. It's easy to use and also fun. Plus, I'm learning and connecting along the way. Try it out! Become a genealogy social butterfly.

FamilySearch Wiki

2009-07-03T10:17:00.003-05:00

The FamilySearch Wiki is a large, on-line library containing thousands of articles and how-tos about doing genealogical research. Because it is a wiki web site, you can add to existing articles or write new articles.

If you are new to family history research, be sure to check out Getting Started. For more experienced researchers, be sure to check out the Research Analysis section on the Getting Started link.

On the main page begin your search by typing in something that interests you into the query box. This is a quick way to learn more about where and what you are researching. For example, a query entry into the research box for "Iowa Probate Records" will explain everything from Dower Rights to Wills. There is basic information on Iowa probate records, along with information on how to find probate records in the Family History Library and catalog, in Salt Lake City.

There are helpful videos on using FamilySearch Wiki, particularly if you are interested in contributing articles. Another interesting area is the FamilySearch Wiki Community Meeting which you can attend remotely. In these meetings everything pertaining to the wiki are discussed, such as site design and technical issues.

The FamilySearch Wiki is worth exploring. You will undoubtedly learn something new by taking the time to look around on it.

A New Way to Search

2009-06-26T09:07:00.005-05:00

Live Roots is a great research experience that you won't want to miss. Their second release has just made it to Internet. There are changes between the original release and this one. A search result will bring up results from the partner services within Live Roots. This may be anything from results in books/microfilm in the Family History Library Catalog to auction items on e-Bay. They also show subscription database connections.

Basically this brings up a number of resources and links that you would possibly not find directly on Google and also have to spend a good deal of time searching web site by web site.

The second release adds project management tools for registered members. You can view recent activity, profiles of your brickwall ancestors, related resources, research history (a very dynamic research log), availability to catalog your own private genealogy library, a research notepad and more.

One web site that does it all? Yes! Begin with the first release and explore Live Roots. To access the second release you have to become a Team Roots member. This is a free service with password protection.

While you are exploring Live Roots, take a tour around GenealogyToday.com. Incidentally, I write a monthly article, Tracing Lines, for them. Add it to your list of monthly reads.

Summer Genealogy Events

2009-06-20T10:43:00.004-05:00

Ah ... summer! It's that time when we love to travel, go to family reunions, locate cemeteries and go to genealogy events. There are many great genealogy conferences, jamborees, seminars, and expos being held between the last days of winter and the return of winter. Sometimes it is difficult to work all of them into a busy schedule.

It would be nice with one click on Internet to locate a listing of ALL genealogy events. However, if you are traveling and want to take in something of interest, here are some hints. The USGenWeb Genealogical Events Project has a few states with listings, contacts and links. Search the GenForum Upcoming Genealogy Events Forum for something of interest.

The National Archives in Washington, DC offers many workshops throughout the summer of 2009. These pertain to anything from military and land records to beginning research in the National Archives.

Until the snow flies, these are some genealogy events you might want to consider attending.

July 10-11 Lincoln, Nebraska A Genealogy & Land Records Symposium; Homestead National Monument and Southeast Community College

July 16-19 Lufkin, Texas 13th Annual Genealogy Conference; Steps to Success, sponsored by Angelina College

July 17-18 Sheridan, Wyoming Family History Expo (You Go Genealogy Girls will be attending; don't miss our blog!)

July 18 Waltham, Massachusetts The Massachusetts Genealogical Council's annual seminar

July 18 Tucson, Arizona one day seminar on locating immigrant ancestors; Arizona State Genealogical Society

July 24-25 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Annual Seminar of the Federation of East European Family History Societies and the Society for German Genealogy of Eastern Europe

July 28-31 Provo, Utah Conference on Family History and Genealogy sponsored by BYU; Strengthening Ties That Bind Families Together Forever

August 2-7 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 29th Annual IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy sponsored by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia

Aug 7-8 Jefferson, Missouri Annual Conference of Missouri State Genealogical Society

Aug 26-30 Orkney Springs, Virginia Land Cruise sponsored by Wholly Genes, Inc.

Aug 28-29 Sandy, Utah Family History Expo

Sept 2-5 Little Rock, Arkansas Federation of Genealogical Societies and Arkansas Genealogical Society; Passages Through Time

Sept 11-13 Spokane, Washington Washington State Genealogical Society Annual Conference

Sept 25-26 Springfield, Missouri Ozarks Genealogical Society Annual Conference

Sept 26 Bangor, Maine Maine Genealogical Society Annual Conference

Sept 26 Naperville, Illinois Fox Valley Genealogical Society Annual All-Day Conference "Colonial Connections"

Sept 26 Tampa, Florida Florida Genealogical Society (Tampa) Fall Seminar

Oct 2-3 Neenah, Wisconsin Wisconsin State Genealogical Society Annual Fall Seminar

Oct 10 Winchester, Virginia The Virginia Genealogical Society and The Shenandoah Valley Genealogical Society Conference

Oct 16-17 Redding, California Family History Expo

Oct 26-31 Salt Lake City, Utah Family History Expos sponsored Family History Library Research Retreat

That's it folks. The snow starts flying by the end of October here in Nebraska!

Love Those Obituaries

2009-06-14T11:16:00.006-05:00

Genealogists love obituaries, or obits are they like to call them. This has been a week of locating interesting obituaries.

Earlier in the week I was reading my hometown newspaper online and discovered that a friend of my late father's had passed away. This is one of those online newspapers that requires a subscription to read the entire obituary. However, I knew that the local radio station's web page also posted obituaries, in full. Clicking to that I started to read the obituary. Not far into it music began to play. I was startled and thought perhaps my iTunes had strangely began playing on its own. Instead I recognized it to be from the jazz era and music that my father also enjoyed. He and the friend had served in World War II ... my father in the Pacific Theatre and the friend in the European Theatre. They both survived and lived long lives. My father also played trumpet in professional jazz bands. The tune was "Memories of You" being performed by Benny Goodman. The obituary and the music brought back memories. Then I realized that genealogy is about memories ... our own memories and those of our ancestors and even friends.

While in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City I discovered a book that indexed newspaper obituaries and death notices of the Rushville Times, Rushville, Schuyler Co., Illinois. These were from the early 1900s. I was somewhat startled to see the name of an old uncle, W.W. Tharp who died in 1904, I thought in Oregon. He was buried in Latah Co., Idaho next to his wife, Lucy. The index entry made mention of Eldon, Iowa which is in Wapello County. As soon as I got home from Utah, I wrote to the Schuyler County Historical Jail Museum and Genealogical Center in Rushville, Illinois. According to their web page, they have the Rushville Times and will do research. Within a few days I received a photocopy of W.W. Tharp's obituary. He had been living in California, Oregon and Idaho since the 1850s. Shortly before his death on 18 December 1904 he visited relatives in Schuyler Co., Illinois. After traveling to Eldon, Iowa to visit his younger brother, George W. Tharp, he became ill and died. Good lesson ... never assume where your relatives and ancestors may have died.

Browsing through obituaries on NewsBank Inc., America's Obituaries and Death Notices for the surname Zehring in Indiana, I spotted one for a lady who passed away on 31 May 2009. Because the surname is unusual, I thought perhaps I could figure out her connection to the family by reading her full obituary and then trying to retrieve records. Using census and Indiana marriage records, I began the task of determining the father of her husband and then progressing backwards. The husband's father was born in 1882, but eventually I discovered his parents. In the process, I located many marriages and census enumerations for other Zehring relatives. One obituary can lead to many discoveries ... it just takes time to find them!

Incidentally, if you are interested in NewsBank Inc. and other subscription databases, you can use all of them with an out of district library card from the Mid-Continent Public Library in Independence, Missouri. You don't need to go there, just research the databases at home on your computer. The out of district card is $20 annually and a good buy. Of course, if you want to go to the library, that's okay, too!

Laramie County Library-Cheyenne, Wyoming

2009-06-06T10:03:00.006-05:00

The Laramie County Library in Cheyenne, Wyoming is a great place to stop and stay. I was there a few weeks ago doing some research on my way to Salt Lake City. The genealogy section is extensive and contains not only Wyoming materials but for other areas east of the Great Plains, such as New England and Virginia.

Laramie County Library

2200 Pioneer Avenue

Cheyenne, WY 82001

307-634-3561

Monday-Thursday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Friday, Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

This excellent collection, including microfiche and periodicals is cataloged on WYLDCat (Wyoming Libraries Database catalog). Their surname index is also cataloged. Some of the highlights of their genealogical collection:

microfilm from the Family History Center (indefinite)

10,000 volumes of books and periodicals

state, county, town histories

probate, land, church, vital records and cemetery records

census film

family histories and newsletters

The New England Historical and Genealogical Register

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record

Rhode Island Vital Records

The War of the Rebellion series

American Genealogical and Biographical Index

Massachusetts Vital Records

Their microfiche collection is extensive and consists primarily of University Microfilm's Genealogy and Local History collection. They have thousands of titles, which include family histories, local histories, periodicals and vital records from the thirteen original colonies. On microfiche they also have the Boston Transcripts.

The library has ample parking and easy access. If you are traveling I-80, take a break and visit the library. Or plan a special trip there. You will be glad you stopped!

How to Enjoy the Family History Library

2009-05-27T13:51:00.005-05:00

My sister-in-law and I are back from one week in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. It was fun and fast paced. We drove so could take what my little car would hold. While there we stayed next door at The Plaza Hotel. This is convenient to the library and also Temple Square and other places in downtown Salt Lake City. The TRAX stops at the Plaza, so you can easily take breaks and go to outlying areas.

This was her first time at the library. While I have been there numerous times, it is always a delight to return. For those who have not been at the library, maybe some of these ideas will be helpful. If you have been there, send me comments with your tips and ideas.

1. Take breaks in your research. I cannot over stress this. The library is open (except on Mondays when it closes at 5 p.m.) from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Those breaks are necessary as your brain can turn to mush and your legs to rubber. We took a break one day to walk to the Deseret Bookstore which is about three blocks from the library. Other times we returned to the hotel room or walked around Temple Square. Keep in mind when walking that the blocks in Salt Lake City are longer than a normal city block.

2. We took a large paper punch which stayed in the room. This really wasn't necessary to bring as each floor near the photocopying area has a paper punch, stapler, paper clips and rubber bands. Of course, if you need the paper punch in the middle of the night, it might come in handy to have one!

3. Not everybody is honest, even in the Family History Library. We went prepared with locks for our computers, but were amazed at the number of people who did not have locks with them. Buy one before you go and learn how to use it.

4. Keep anything of value on your person. My sister-in-law wore a fanny pack and I had a light weight, very small bag (from L.L. Bean) that went across my shoulder and mid-section. It has one larger zipper pocket, small zipper pocket for cash and a velcro pocket. I kept my room key card and the photocopy card inside the bag. On the sides where there are metal loops I attached the key to my computer lock and a flash drive. It was large enough to hold other items, but not inconvenient.

5. If you need to check something on the computer that requires your password, be sure you either remember it or bring it. I use a Mac computer and have Password Plus on it. This requires remembering only one password and once into the software I can locate all of my other passwords.

6. Turn your cell phone off or on vibrate. I turned mine off. When I arrived home there was a note in the kitchen from my daughter ... "Tried to call you, but your cell was always off!" Actually we did talk on the phone several times. As can be expected, there were people who had their cell phones on. Even if answered quickly, they can be annoying. You can use the cell phone in the area around the elevators, in the bathrooms or outside.

7. The library was not overly busy while we were there. The morning that I was using the British film, the area was busy. Normally we were able to make photocopies non-stop. If the library is busy, you are limited to five copies at a time. There are a variety of photocopiers available. One I particularly liked was the binder minder copier which allows you to copy books that are tightly bound. The photocopy machines seemed to be more in use in the evenings.

8. And speaking of photocopies ... keep track of your card. You can purchase a photocopy card for 60 cents, leaving 40 cents to use. The machines will not take the newer bills. You can add to your card with $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills. If you need to exchange the new bills for older ones, go to the access office on the main floor. It is a good idea to sign your card on the line provided on the back. While I never left my card in a machine, I did find other people's cards and turned them in. My sister-in-law reported that while making copies a man next to her left his card in the machine. A woman proceeded to use it, until he returned for it. Copies are 5 cents a page, but that can add up.

9. You can use your flash drive to make copies from microfilm, microfiche or books. Instructions are posted, but to get started I recommend that you ask for help. Remember to disconnect your flash drive when finished. And take it with you!

10. Always ask if you have questions. And ask again! We both had books that we could not locate. After asking, sometimes twice, we learned that they were in high density. You have to sign for the books and they are retrieved for you to use. I was also told that some of the film numbers or call numbers might not agree with the Family History Library Catalog because they are re-cataloging some items. If a book is being scanned for the digital project, it will not be back on the shelf.

The most important thing is to make the most of your time at the Family History Library, go prepared, but also have fun.

Genealogist At Work ... Do Not Disturb

2009-05-05T07:27:00.004-05:00

WARNING: This blog may be quiet for a few weeks. The genealogist is at work! Should I find time to blog in my busy schedule, it will be a nice bonus for you the reader!

I am leaving in a week to begin a research trip that will take me and also my sister-in-law to Salt Lake City. Need I say more? You will be able to read about our trip and experiences at the blog, You Go Genealogy Girls. That's us ... two grannies who still consider themselves to be girls.

In preparation for this big trip, we have been working on research notebooks for months. First we determined which ancestors or lineages were in need of our assistance. We both have many so then they had to be prioritized. From there we looked through our information, notes and sources to determine what needed to be done.

The next step is a big one. Since we will be using resources in the Family History Library, we began using the Family History Library Catalog online to see what we would need to use while there. We located books, microfilm and microfiche in many resource categories. Each segment of information we found online was printed. Once in print, we marked the film or call number that we would need, along with notations as to why we needed it.

Our notebooks are divided by floors (five of them) at the Family History Library. Each print out is placed on the appropriate floor section in our notebook. Special notes or reminders were also placed after each printout. We added some basic maps and instructions. At the front of the notebook we have a basic outline by floor telling us in one quick glance what will occupy our time and which ancestors are asking for help. We will be able to organize our time by seeing which floor will require more of our time.

Does it sound like a lot of work? We began working on our notebooks in November. Nothing last minute about us! If you go prepared, success cannot be far behind. Hope we don't leave our success somewhere in Wyoming on our way to Deseret.

Red Cross Records of War Casulaties

2009-04-25T13:45:00.007-05:00

A relative/genealogist in Arizona called this to my attention. I think it is great news for genealogists.

The original Red Cross records of World War I and some of World War II casualties have been found in Geneva, Switzerland at the Red Cross Headquarters. For many years they have been in storage.

British historian, Peter Barton, was commissioned to research the identities of World War I casualties that were discovered in a mass grave at Fromelles in Frances. He was allowed into the basement of the Red Cross Headquarters in Geneva and there discovered the records. Barton estimates there could be 20 million sets of details, entered on card indexes or written into ledgers.

These records deal with the capture, death, or burial of service men from over 30 nations that were drawn into the conflict. They include the personal effects of the soldiers, home addresses, along with grave sites. Before the information was sent to the soldiers' home countries, volunteers logged the information by hand.

According to the Red Cross Headquarters, Peter Barton is the first researcher who has asked to see them. The paper records he discovered will be conserved and digitised, beginning this fall. More than 2 million pounds has been set aside for the project. It is estimated that the digital phase of the project will cost around four million Swiss Francs. The Red Cross hopes to have the archive of information online by 2014 which marks the 100 year anniversary of the beginning of World War I.

In addition, Barton discovered that careful record-keeping extended through World War II and to more recent conflicts. He viewed rows of metal shelves containing millions of personal stories and more index cards in boxes.

With the opening of dusty cardboard boxes and the use of modern technology, we may eventually know who these soldiers were and where they are buried. We should be thankful that the Red Cross painstakingly recorded the information and more so that they did not destroy the records with time and age. You can read the complete story about this in the BBC News.

Do You Have A Genealogy Section?

2009-04-22T12:12:00.007-05:00

When I travel, I enjoy stopping at libraries and exploring their genealogy sections and collections. Usually I go online first to determine if they have a web page and then find anything listed that pertains to genealogy or local history. You can easily do this by going to Google and then entering the name and state where the library is located, along with the name or the library or just library. Another place to look for libraries with web pages is at LibrarySpot.com.

Using Internet is also a good way to determine the hours and location of a library before you get there. If they don't have a web page, look to see if the town, village or city has a web page. Sometimes their library will be listed on that.

Yesterday I was traveling and decided to visit a library that I had visited about five years ago. At that time they had a nice genealogy collection, not overly large, but with items that pertained to the genealogy and history of the area. Sometimes small town libraries have genealogy items that will surprise you!

The library building is new and modern. There are labeled pendants above the various sections of the library, such as Fiction, Young Adult, Non-Fiction, etc. The shelving units had been turned a different way since my previous visit. By looking at the pendants I saw a state history section. Lots of interesting books were there, but nothing significantly genealogically related.

Finally I asked. What happened to your genealogy section? The librarian pointed to about five books behind the desk. Then at the state history section. With more visiting, I did learn something else. All of the genealogical correspondence addressed to the library, plus family materials, are filed in a filing cabinet in the library office. Those are not listed on their web page and had I not asked, I would not have known of their existence.

They do have microfilm of old newspapers and indexes of marriages and other vital records, which can be extremely helpful. The librarian told me that all those other things no longer there were not useful to the genealogists. She said people just want to read microfilm. Who made that decision?

If your library wants to dump their genealogy section, be sure you speak out about the value of the collection. This can happen when library administration changes. If the personnel are not interested in genealogy, the library may have a sparse to practically no collection. Where those "no-longer useful" books went, I have no clue. Perhaps they were sold at a book sale!

Feeding Genealogists

2009-04-16T09:53:00.006-05:00

If you feed them, they will come. Of course, it depends on what you feed them. While genealogists enjoy food, they also survive on research and information.

My local society, The North Platte Genealogical Society (North Platte, Nebraska), met last night at the Family History Center in the LDS Church. It was a typical Nebraska windy day and evening with gusts up to 43 miles per hour. But, they came out in it because they wanted to learn.

While many genealogical societies are faltering, ours is surviving. We provide interesting meetings and programs which makes them WANT to get out in just about anything but a Nebraska blizzard to attend. They don't go home empty handed. At each meeting they are given handouts that pertain to the program, research tips and news items about doing research.

After a brief business meeting last night, we took groups of four people at a time into the room that houses the Family History Center. Some had been there and others had not. They learned how to use the Family History Library Catalog and how to order microfilm and microfiche. The new FamilySearch was demonstrated and they learned about the readers and printers. They were shown the indefinite microfilm and the microfiche that remains there. We presented a world of research materials there and that can be ordered through the center.

In case you haven't noticed, there are three video lessons on the Family History Library Catalog web page. They are great for learning more about using the catalog.

Will they come back to order microfilm? I hope they do return to the Family History Center. If we keep feeding them, they will most likely attend the society meetings. This means our society is alive and well.

Reading Genealogy Blogs

2009-04-08T12:46:00.017-05:00

If you are a follower of genealogy blogs, you probably realize they come in a variety of appearances, format and at various time intervals. You can usually subscribe to them, being notified when there is a new post. Personally, I prefer to read my blogs daily (and sometimes more often) with my morning cup of tea.

Following blogs will not only be entertaining, but also rewarding in the way of genealogical ideas, tips and news. Some of the blogs are more family oriented and others are more on the commercial side of research. Regardless, they all serve a purpose for the genealogist.

One of my favorites that updates almost every day and usually several times a day is Genealogy Blog written by Leland Meitzler. If his name sounds families, it should ... he's the editor of The Genealogical Helper. Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter by Dick Eastman is another daily update worth reading. You can also subscribe to his Plus Edition, gaining more information.

Others I think you will enjoy are Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings. In his words, "Genealogy Research Is really FUN!" How true! Michael Neill of Illinois has two informative blogs. Rootdig.com and Genealogy Tip of the Day are good reads.

Professional researcher, Arlene Eakle, offers three blogs. Her main blog, Arlene Eakle's Genealogy Blog always contains interesting and helpful research information. She has recently added Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog which focuses on researching in that state. For those researching in Virginia, don't miss out on Arlene Eakle's Virginia Blog.

If you have not met Ol' Myrt, you must stop by her blog and read her posts. Follow her at DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog. If you teach genealogy or if you are a Family History Consultant, be sure to check out Teach Genealogy Blog.

Some blogs have a definite theme, such as Ben Sayer's blogs for genealogy software. If you are a Mac user, be sure to follow his MacGenealogist.com blog. He also writes PCGenealogist.com which focuses on applications for Windows.

I always enjoy reading The Ancestry Insider blog. Just who is that guy anyway? He provides clues that he works for one of the big genealogy websites and is a staff trainer at a family history center. He does work in the computer industry and you won't want to miss his vital information.

If you subscribe to Ancestry.com, be sure to read their Ancestry.com Blog. The posts are written by people behind the scenes who know and understand their product. Family Tree Magazine hosts the blog Genealogy Insider which contains a lot of links to web pages of interest to the genealogist, plus a lot more exciting information.

What or who is the Graveyard Rabbit? Check it out! From this you will link to the rabbits' blogs. There are plenty of rabbits blogging. Here's just a few. Be sure to read the March 30th blog at The Mount Timpanogos Graveyard Rabbit. It is quite amusing how they ordered pizza to be delivered to the cemetery. Others that are fun to read include The Graveyard Rabbit of Northern Virginia and the Jewish Graveyard Rabbit.

Then there is my family ... we keep genealogy all in the family. I have two blogs, Genealogy Lines (which you are reading) and Nebraska Roots and Ramblings. My daughter writes Growing Up Genealogy in which she expresses her thoughts on having a Mom totally devoted to genealogy. My sister-in-law writes Those Old Memories, sharing family episodes as well as research ideas. Together my sister-in-law and I write the blog, You Go Genealogy Girls. Be sure to read about our research trips and antics!

Can't get enough of those blogs? You can find listings of them at geneabloggers and Genealogy Blog Finder. You will be surprised at how many there are on Internet.

While some blogs change frequently, others may not. Keep in mind that people are busy ... after all they should be doing their genealogical research!

Getting Out of the Rut

2009-04-01T13:26:00.005-05:00

Are you stuck in a rut doing your research? Do you consistently check databases such as Ancestry.com, FamilySearch and others? They are all great, but there's even more. Start searching for databases that are on library, historical society and genealogical society web pages. There are some amazing things you will want to explore! Here's a sampling:

Cleveland Public Library - Cleveland, Ohio

downloadable guides in PDF format

Ohio Death Certificates 1908-1953

Cleveland Necrology File (pre 1975)

Cleveland News Index (1975 to current)

Inventory of City, Criss Cross and Telephone Directories

Northern Illinois University Libraries - Illinois Historical Digitization Projects

Illinois During the Civil War 1861-1865

The Mexican-American War

Illinois Civil War Newspapers

Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society .... and more

Campbell County Public Library System, Gillette, Wyoming

Index of Local Birth, Death and Marriage Announcements from newspapers

Local Cemetery Records

Wyoming Genealogy Resources

Tampico Area Historical Society and Museum, Tampico, Whiteside Co., Illinois

Cemeteries

Churches

Census, Directories, Tax Payers and Voters

History

Military

Biographies

Ashtabula County District Library, Ashtabula, Ohio

Obituary Notebook Index 1896 to present (over 32,000 entries)

Family Surname Index (over 4,400 entries)

Wells County Public Library, Bluffton, Indiana

Cemetery Index and List

Obituary Index 1866-2000

There's a lot more out there, so start Googling for libraries and societies that have web pages and check them out.

Bragging Rights

2009-03-22T07:50:00.006-05:00

In January I blogged about my resolution to clean up all of my genealogy files on the computer. Since I am a Mac and Reunion user I found some tips about doing this on the Mac Genealogist blog. Ben Sayer does an excellent job of explaining things that the Reunion manual pretty much leaves unexplained in detail. His video demonstrations can be played and replayed until it soaks in. It was there I thoroughly learned how to create place lists and begin the clean up process.

Beginning in January, with 20 large files, my goal was to finish them in six months, but satisfied if it took all year. Do you enter information and think eventually you'll return to it and add a county or check the spelling? Then you never do? Yes, I'm guilty of that, too! I used a variety of sources to determine the locations. Because of county boundary changes, I had to consult books such as Redbook American State, County and Town Sources edited by Alice Eichholz and also Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses 1790-1920 by Willam Thorndale and William Dollarhide.

I also checked places through Google searching and maps. Another helpful source was RootsWeb Town Search 1.0. This is a quick way to determine the location of a town, city, village, but county boundaries and formations need to be checked.

Once the places were cleaned up, I began checking the notes and unlinked people. There were other odds and ends that I discovered. I didn't always use Reunion, so some old data had been transferred wrong. One thing I learned early on was not to merge somebody's data into mine. Even with match and merge features it can be a nightmare. Their data entry may not match and then the work begins again to clean up the files.

Overall it was a great learning experience. The final tabulation ... I cleaned up data on 228,774 people and 44,774 places. Whew! Now I can move on to another project. However, looking back at the time spent on this, I resolve to always take the time to do it right when I enter information into my genealogy files.

Granny's Letters

2009-03-17T08:13:00.007-05:00

A tribute to my maternal grandmother, Nanne Lewis Horne, born 1 March 1889 in Ashe Co., North Carolina to Rev. Harvey Lewis and Mary Caroline "Callie" Miller. On 13 June 1909 she married Samuel Stephen "Steve" Horne at Ashland, Ashe Co., North Carolina. They lived most of their married life in Sprucie Hollow, Johnson Co., Tennessee. She passed over on 30 October 1965.

It was the summer of 1959 and very hot and humid in northeast Tennessee. My clothes clung to me from morning to night and chigger bites between my toes reminded me that I should not have gone barefooted. I was 16 years old, visiting my maternal grandparents who would soon be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. We arrived early from Nebraska to help with preparations. In addition to my parents and another set of grandparents, there were relatives from others states ... cousins, aunts and uncles.

For someone with a budding interest in genealogy, the vast array of relatives, all eager to visit and share stories and information, was an added bonus. My mind filled with questions and my hand quickly wrote responses as I visited with my grandparents and others. Not only was I learning generations of names and events, but stories to go with the names.

One morning the men went to the tobacco fields and the women prepared for a trip to town. My 17 year old cousin and I had eagerly awaited this day. Somehow we convinced our mothers that we should remain behind at Granny and Grandpa's house. Our story must have been convincing and the timing was right. As soon as the cars pulled away and rounded the curve, we put our plan into action.

In the corner of a bedroom there was an old trunk piled high with neatly folded quilts. One by one, we lifted the quilts and placed them carefully on the bed. Lifting the trunk lid we saw small bundles of letters neatly tied with delicate blue ribbons. Our fingers anticipated the joy of reading something old, perhaps secretive and revealing, as we united the bows on one bundle of letters.

They were written in 1908 and 1908 to Grandpa by his sweetheart who eventually would become our Granny. Line by line she wrote about her love for him and how she wished they could marry. Her father, a Baptist minister in North Carolina, had concerns about the marriage. He opposed it because Grandpa had been living in the "wilds" of Oregon herding sheep.

Another letter spelled out Granny's plan. They would elope. Grandpa was living in Tennessee and would come to get her in North Carolina so they could run away and marry. Yet another letter sadly told how somebody had heard of her elopement plan and told her father.

Watching the clock we realized that the reading of Granny's letters would resume at another time. The men would be in from the fields and the women would soon arrive from their trip to town. Carefully we put the letters back into a bundle and tied them with the blue ribbons. The quilts were placed on top of the trunk. Then we realized what we had read ... OUR Granny had wanted to elope.

We wanted to read more letters. Excitement over what we had read led us later that day to confess to our mothers about our foray. They were also interested in the letters, but thought we should have asked Granny's permission to open the trunk. One of the mothers told her what we had done. She was unhappy and eventually removed the bundled letters from the trunk and burned them.

Fortunately I did not witness the burning of the letters in the wood stove. I did not see the pain in her eyes as she realized that her privacy had been invaded by her granddaughters. We never spoke of that event again. The letters were burned and gone forever.

The anniversary celebration took place as planned. People gathered to eat and laugh and wish Granny and Grandpa many more years of married life. They smiled and held hands and occasionally Granny would wipe tears from her eyes. Afterwards we all went back home to our own families and lives.

Recently a cousin, going through her late mother's possessions, found a letter that Granny had written about the anniversary celebration. In the letter Granny told about their gifts and people who attended. She described their cake as being two layered with two white bells and gold clappers in them with a "50" on top. In her words, "Me and Pa cut the cake. It cost $30.00 some dollars and I fed him a bit and he fed me a bit. ... Pa and me got a bite of a wedding cake. Had to wait 'til our children furnished it for us."

Times change through the years. At their anniversary I would have thought it amusing that they had no wedding cake at their wedding. Today I find it sad that they had to wait fifty years to celebrate the life they had planned to have together even if it meant eloping.

Through the years Granny wrote letters to me. The two letters that I kept are very special. She and Grandpa agreed on about everything except which state they preferred and politics. Granny was born in North Carolina, but preferred Tennessee. Grandpa was born in Tennessee, but preferred North Carolina. Granny was a Republican and Grandpa was a Democrat. They hashed these issues over and over. In the spring of 1964 Granny wrote to me about voting and how special it was for a woman to be able to vote. She also stressed that I should vote for Barry Goldwater who was running on the Republican ticket for President.

The last letter I received from her was mailed the middle of June 1964. She told me that Grandpa was sick and that she wanted me to visit them in July. That was the last time I would see Grandpa alive. He died the following month. In her letter she told me that she was also not well and that she felt a "soarness" in her chest and could hardly breathe. That was also the last time I saw her alive as she died of a heart attack on 30 October 1965.

This letter is treasured, as she had treasured her love letters to Grandpa. The memories are still vivid as I recall those bundles of letters tied up with tiny blue ribbons. This was part of a grandmother I never knew and will never know as the letters are all gone now except for the two I have saved. I would gladly trade my two letters just to hold her hand and kiss her face and tell her that I love her. For the time being I have to be content with only Granny's letters.

Nebraska State Genealogical Society Conference

2009-03-08T13:05:00.009-05:00

The Nebraska State Genealogical Society is a supportive group for the enhancement of genealogy in the state of Nebraska. If you have roots in Nebraska, you need to become a member. Their publications are good and the area representatives often assist people with their research questions.

The annual conference for this group will be held in Scottsbluff, Nebraska on April 30th, May 1st and May 2nd. It will be at the Harms Advanced Technology Center, 2620 College Park in Scottsbluff. Click here for a map. The featured speaker will be Julie Miller, C.G.

Other people will present interesting programs. Crista Cowan, indexing manager at The Generations Network will share information on the Ancestry.com projects. Karon Harvey will speak about Orphan Train Research and Edward Loera will present training on HeritageQuest. Travis Boley will enlighten attendees about the Oregon-California Trails Association and the new online database, Paper-Trail.org. Barb Netherland will present information about the Paul and Helen Henderson Trail Collection which contains copies of several hundred emigrant diaries, photographs and more.

In case you didn't get the hint, the Oregon Trail passed through the Gering-Scottsbluff area in Nebraska. Oregon Trail Days is held as an annual celebration. There is a lot of history in the valley and whether or not you had ancestors who went to Oregon, it is a fun time to celebrate. Chimney Rock (see photo) is a landmark that guided them through the area. I never tire of seeing it and always think of the pioneers.

A pdf file of the conference can be downloaded from the Nebraska State Genealogical Society's web page. It will be a fun time to get together with other genealogists and learn something as we traverse west. See you all there!

Photographs within Family Photograph

2009-02-25T18:59:00.010-06:00

About two years ago genealogist and relative, Chuck Munn of Arizona, sent me a jpg of this photograph. Who are these people? Must be family! But more importantly, there were large family photographs on the walls of the room where it was taken. I tried zooming in with photo software in an attempt to recognize even one person in the photographs. Nothing seemed to work! Surely the people in the photograph belong somewhere in the family.

Sometimes there is a way around unidentified photographs. Chuck has been persistent in sharing this with family members and asking the pertinent questions. Finally it paid off when he received information from a family member in California. She was able to identify all of the people in the photograph, PLUS the people in the photographs on the wall. It isn't often that we get two for one in old photographs, but we certainly did this time.

Chuck estimates that the photograph was taken around 1910-1912. It was taken in what appears to be the parlor of the home of Ellen Josephine Beard and her husband, Perry Marvin Dady, in Nebraska. The women from the far left are Ellen Josephine Beard Dady (1859-1936); Monna Ruth Dady Fisher (1893-1926) standing on the far left; Lorene Josephine Dady Nelson (1902-1980), the little girl between the men. Next to what appears to be a piano is Jennie Florilla Dady Runyan (1886-1965) and seated at the piano is Myrtle Grace Dady Brand (1897-1997). The men at the table are, left to right, Harry Leslie Dady (1895-1990); Guy Dady (1892-1971); Otis Marvin Dady (1888-1994) and Perl Spencer Dady (1885-1940). Perry Marvin Dady (1859-1942) is seated in the chair on the far right.

The framed photograph over the piano is of Spencer Dady II (1835-1890) and Adelaide Wible Dady (1840-1904). They were Perry's parents. The framed photograph on the left is of William Ennis Beard (1818-1864) and Almyra Parish Amsberry (1829-1888). They were Ellen's parents. We cannot identify the photograph directly over Perry Dady.

Not only is this a family photograph, but it contains another generation of ancestors through the photographs on the wall. If only walls could talk! Or old photographs could talk!

Phil, Snow and Maps

2009-02-13T10:34:00.004-06:00

Earlier this month groundhog Phil saw his shadow. His prediction of six more weeks of winter seems to be correct. Here in Nebraska it is snowing today, inches of the white stuff falling. It's pretty as long as it doesn't last too long. By mid March maybe we will be on the downside of Phil's prediction and on our way to spring.

It's a good morning to do genealogical research, exploring things on Internet. I have found many wonderful maps that I feel enhance my research. I have been looking for outline maps for a lecture that I'm presenting. The Perry-Castaneda Map Collection has many links to useful map sites, many of which are educational maps for students. I have also found helpful information and maps at 13 Originals Founding the American Colonies. Part of my lecture pertains to the formation of the colony of New Jersey. I needed a map showing West Jersey and East Jersey which I found at Where was the West Jersey/East Jersey line?. Actually there are several maps at that site.

Maps help your research come to life. They help you visualize routes that your ancestors may have taken in their migrations, where their land was located on old maps, plus where it is within today's boundaries. It's a snowy day to find more maps on Internet, so I have several hours of fun ahead!

January Genealogy

2009-01-27T07:11:00.004-06:00

Many days, a few weeks ago I blogged about my resolutions and responsibilities for 2009. I am well on my way to fulfilling those ... already. It seems that my local genealogy society's books at the public library needed to once again be shifted. Big shift! We did this a year ago with minor shifting in the following months. Two other departments shifted last week, so we shifted.

It has not been a normal shift. One shelving section was moved and repositioned to make a user friendly area for researchers. Because we knew this big shift was approaching, we had not shelved at least 150 books in the last couple months. These were newly cataloged and not wanting to shift twice, they were left for this major shift. One heavily used area (Nebraska books) had gone shabby and out of order. Both of those functions have been accomplished and today we will finish the shift project.

I would call this my responsibility for 2009, or one of them in the genealogy world. I have had four willing workers, one being my daughter who writes the blog, Growing Up Genealogy.

A resolve I mentioned earlier this month was to clean up my computerized genealogy files. I am a Mac and Reunion user. I have picked up some great tips for doing this at Ben Sayer's blog, MacGenealogist.com. If you are a Mac user and a genealogist, be sure to read his blog. My genealogy files on the computer are enormous, but I have cleaned up three thus far and well on my way to four. I have many more to go.

Not too bad for less than one, well almost a month. Wonder what I'll do in February?

Genealogy Resolutions and Responsibilities

2009-01-06T07:44:00.003-06:00

I am not one for making resolutions in the New Year, probably because I don't keep them. However, I am going to make some resolutions for 2009 that I am more likely to keep. Spending two weeks in Virginia in December allowed me time to review some of my genealogy files on my laptop, along with doing research while there.

Browsing some of my files, I realized the need for quality clean-up time. Errors were not drastic, but they were there. This is a resolution I can keep and will keep. It will also provide a great review of family lineages and information, thus allowing me to see what information is needed.

No, I'm not going to resolve to overcome all brick walls. I know I won't be able to keep that one. However, I am going to resolve to overcome one brick wall in 2009.

There are stacks of genealogy periodicals all over my house. I leave them in strategic places so a few minutes here and there, maybe I'll find time to read them. Sometimes I find that time and sometimes I don't. I resolve in 2009 to get caught up reading my periodicals. This doesn't mean I'll read every article in each and every genealogy magazine, but I'll read those that I want to read.

What am I responsible for in 2009? I am responsible for leaving a genealogy legacy for my family. I want it to be right and informative. Therefore, I am going to show responsibility in my research and also in my documentation.

As President of the local genealogy society in 2009, I am responsible for motivating other genealogists, providing interesting meetings and leading the society in new directions. Members in turn are responsible for doing their part in society projects and the encouraging new members to join our group. Together we will have a great 2009!

Can I do all of this? I hope that I can. I will try. Perhaps by December 2009 I will have accomplished more than I have resolved to do in January 2009.

Google and Genealogy

2008-12-03T15:44:00.005-06:00

The other day the book, Google Your Family Tree by Daniel M. Lynch arrived. It is a nice sized book published by FamilyLink.com, Inc. For those using Google on a regular basis, there may be some techniques and tips that you already know. However, on through the book things become more involved and intense. There are 352 pages of great information in the book.

There's more about Google besides a typical search. These include Google Toolbar, Google Alerts, Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Notebook ... and lots of images and videos. The book is full of illustrations. You just need to take the time to read it, keep it beside your computer and try out your new-found knowledge.

If you are interested in purchasing the book, check it out at Google Your Family Tree. You can view samples of the book and also place your order.

Giving Up Genealogy!

2008-11-24T11:04:00.003-06:00

Never! It's temporary in order to be chief cook for Thanksgiving. I have been going through lecture notes and scanning. In general making a big mess in my genealogy/computer room. Rather than shut the door when company arrives, I'll force myself to quit and clean up the place.

It would be nice if somebody in the Thanksgiving company would ask about relatives and family history. Just one simple question would make my day. Maybe they will be drawn to this room if I clean it up, pull a book off the shelf and get me started. I hope they are not too tired from eating or lazy watching TV that no interest is shown. When they are all gone I will retreat to "my" room and once again make my genealogy mess. For one day I can survive ... I think!

Morning Blogs

2008-11-04T15:13:00.004-06:00

My morning consists of tea and a bagel while reading e-mails. Then I make sure I have money in my bank account. On to checking the newspapers, here, where I used to live and where I have relatives. Next, I check the weather maps. Then I settle back to read my favorite genealogy blogs.

Some change frequently and others do not. High on my list are those that keep me informed of web pages, changes in the large genealogy databases on Internet and unique places on Internet for the genealogist.

The Ancestry Insider is one of my favorites. He keeps readers informed about FamilySearch and Ancestry.com issues and most recently recommendations on using NARA in Washington, DC.

Rainy Day Genealogy Readings doesn't have to read just on rainy days. If you live in arid country, you might miss all of the blog! This contains very interesting and unique ideas for research on Internet.

Since I use a Mac, I enjoy reading the MacGenealogist.com blog. It is informative not only for Reunion, but other genealogy software for the Macintosh. His almost daily videos are easy to follow and understand.

If you are looking for free Internet web pages, be sure to read Free Genealogy. This is updated daily and contains many worthwhile links.

It is important to go back through archives on all of these sites. Then you will learn what has been posted and be caught up to speed.

Happy blogging ... morning, afternoon or evening!

Seasonal Spooks and Spirits

2008-10-31T10:24:00.006-05:00

Tonight is the night for spooks and goblins to appear on door steps. Ah ... that a few spirits would appear to answer my questions. I would ask Jacob Bruner about his parents, such as their names, where he was born and where he married his wife Christina Sattler (various spellings) in Pennsylvania. Jacob has refused to answer my questions for years. Perhaps I need to do more researching instead of trying to summon his spirit!

I would ask my ancestors, Sampson Mason and Mary Butterworth, why they left their third born child, John Mason (born 1656), with the John Gornell family in Dorchester, Massachusetts, when they moved to Rehoboth, Massachusetts in 1657. Was something wrong with the child? They did not return for him or send for him. In fact, they gave permission for him to be baptized in Dorchester when he was four years old. He married and died at age 26.

The spirit of William Amsberry (Amsbary) might be a good visitor. I would ask him about his first wife. What was her name? What caused her death? Who was the unknown male child in his family?

Back to work in the real records. Perhaps those spirits will guide me in some strange way to the records I need. Then again, it may be just up to me!

Family History Month

2008-10-01T13:33:00.004-05:00

October is Family History Month. This morning the North Platte Genealogical Society attended a proclamation signing by the Mayor. It is a month to enjoy family and also understand and learn about family backgrounds, culture and heritage. The family is the building block for the community.

The society will have a month-long display at the library where the genealogy collection of books and microfilm is housed. We hope to have people there frequently throughout the month to assist others. In addition, we are encouraging people of all ages, young and old, to explore their family history.

We are all here because of our family and the families before them. It is our hope that the people who will spark an interest in genealogy this month, will continue their research for years to come.

The Dead Speak

2008-09-22T16:58:00.006-05:00

Spending a warm, September Saturday afternoon in a cemetery is fun, but talking to the dead makes it special. The 2008 Cemetery Tour of the North Platte, Nebraska Cemetery, sponsored by the North Platte Public Library Foundation, was held this past Saturday. And, indeed the dead spoke!

The theme of the cemetery tour was "The Movers and Shakers of Little Chicago." North Platte had a reputation of being linked to the mobs. Maybe they just created their own gangs and hoodlums. That era in our history is always interesting.

One of the leading players in the cemetery was Annie Cook, a ruthless character who ran the poor farm and preyed upon other, even her own daughter, for her personal rewards. From the time she was a young girl she knew she had to have money to succeed in life and she would obtain the money and status any way she could. She realized that to obtain that success she would need to grease the palms of corrupt government officials and there were plenty of them in Lincoln County, Nebraska.

Her own daughter became an employee and she put her out to work in prostitute houses that Annie eventually owned. Selfish, greedy Annie is buried in the cemetery. The person portraying her did an excellent job, even jabbing at the crowd with slurs about them and others that she knew. She was definitely a part of "Little Chicago." Rocking at the foot of her grave, Annie told her story, leaving out no details or expressions of hatred.

Others included Dr. Marie Ames who benefited from treating gunshot wounds and prostitutes, and the undertaker, William Maloney, who reportedly wrote out death certificates to the advantage of those who forked over the money. Ever consider that when you are doing your research? Maybe the information was padded or totally incorrect. There were many mysterious deaths at the Lincoln County Poor Farm that were covered up by Maloney.

The best book to read about the Little Chicago era of North Platte and Lincoln County, Nebraska is Evil Obsession by Nellie Snyder Yost. It was published in 1991 by Tom Yost Publishing. Now deceased, the author anguished writing it, knowing about the corruption that prevailed in this area and how it was accepted and covered up.

A Library to Love

2008-09-09T16:47:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago I spent quality time in the Alexandria Library, 717 Queen Street, Alexandria, VA. The local history room was most appealing! They have a large collection of books pertaining to Alexandria and Fairfax County. This patron-friendly library also has many books pertaining to all of the counties in Virginia, along with the surrounding states. Their microfilm of the Alexandria Gazette is particularly helpful if you are researching in that area. It is also indexed.

I was impressed with their collection of books and resources dealing with the Civil War, particularly the Confederacy. Their Confederate Corner contains a Roster of Confederate Soldiers containing of names and units. If your ancestor served from Virginia, you will be able to find the roster in the Virginia Regimental Series. There are also specific Northern Virginia regimental records on microfilm. Major Civil War compilations, such as Dyers Compendium can be found in this section of the library.

The library has an extensive collection of photographs, manuscripts and maps. Their rare book collection is the original collection of the Alexandria Library Company which was begun in the 1790s. If your ancestor happened to live in Alexandria, you will want to use the city directories along with film of building permits and other documents to determine exactly where they lived. There is a good chance the house is still standing.

I have added this library to the top of my list. They deserve another visit!

A Journey to London

2008-08-27T09:57:00.005-05:00

Life will eventually become more normal, but for now I am enjoying London. I am staying in a lovely flat off Baker's Street. How thankful I am that I have been walking diligently every day for well over a year. Comfortable shoes and stamina are needed here!

As time is limited I am using most of my time to explore old cemeteries. I had hoped to get to Suffolk to visit some ancestral homes, but that will be for another trip.

On Sunday afternoon I toured the Highgate Cemetery, west. Climbing the stone stairs from the entrance, one is quickly engulfed in a forest of trees, vines and tombstones. The stones appear to come out of the earth in any which direction. It is dank, dark, somewhat spooky, and yes ... Gothic. It is truly London!

My camera could not shoot fast enough. Oh the many unusual graves I should capture for future reference and viewing! I'll be back again ... and to do other things in London and ancestral haunts. For those of you who won't be coming any time soon, check out London Cemeteries for a closer look at Highgate and others.

Library services for genealogists

2008-08-04T15:04:00.003-05:00

A friend just alerted me by e-mail that the Kearney Public Library in Kearney, Nebraska has an online collection of newspapers. The Kearney Daily Hub can be accessed from June 1889 through October 1905. The database is searchable by date and keyword. If you don't have ancestry in Kearney or that area, it is still a good idea to check the newspapers.

Many newspapers carried interesting stories or news items from other newspapers. I have found that if there are missing newspaper issues, Nebraska or another state, I can sometimes find the same news item in another location. For instance, I found a news item in the Kearney Daily Hub about a relative who died in Indiana.

To access the newspapers from the home page of the Kearney Public Library, click under "Reference." While there you will also see a link to Research Databases. Kearney is a Nebraska library that offers Ancestry.com library edition to patrons.

Mid-Continent Public Library in Independence, Missouri offers many helpful databases for genealogists. To explore what is available click on "Research Databases" under Online Resources. Another click under "Genealogy" will make you wish you lived in Independence, Missouri! Not to worry. Go back to the opening web page and click on "Get a library card" in the top right hand area.

This is a library that offers out of state or out of district library cards for a very reasonable annual fee ($20). E-mail them to obtain all the details. Some of the databases that you will find there are: America's GenealogyBank, America's Obituaries & Death Notices and Digital Sanborn Maps. There's more ... just start looking.

My Czech friend, Margie

2008-07-25T10:22:00.004-05:00

Several years ago somebody suggested that if I needed advise on Czech research I should contact Margie Sobotka of Elkhorn, Nebraska. At the time I was not researching Czech ancestry. Little did I realize that a few years later I would discover my grandson has paternal Czech ancestry. I contacted Margie. We almost instantly became close friends. In fact we have worked together on genealogy research projects.

She was born to Czech parents in Omaha, Nebraska. Growing up became interested in her heritage and culture. In 1972, Margie was instrumental in forming the Eastern Nebraska Genealogical Society. She served as President for two years and since has been their treasurer, sending all of us friendly reminders of dues.

What makes Margie so special is that she has an abundance of Czech history and genealogy not only stored in her mind, but in translations she has done, plus indexing. Her first project was to index The History of Czechs in Nebraska by Rose Rosicky. She has worked with the Nebraska State Historical Society on projects and presents programs and workshops about Czech genealogy. One of her classic publications that helps researchers is Nebraska-Kansas Settlers, 1891-1895.

Margie continues to work on her own Czech ancestry, writing her memoirs. She recently finished indexing 6,000 names of people buried in the Bohemian Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska.

It is no wonder that on June 29th she received the Czernin Palace Bronze Memorial Medal in a ceremony at Clarkson, Nebraska. This award was initiated by a former ambassador of the Czech Republic. It is given to an individual or entity that has made significant contributions in Czech-American relations. The metal was awarded for the year 2007 and Margie was one of just five Czech-Americans to receive it. She was surprised, but those of us who know Margie were not surprised at all. She is a well-deserving person and genealogist.

Margie was surrounded by her friends and family at the celebration in Clarkson. Speakers included Gene Aksamit of the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International. Cindy Drake, library curator of the Nebraska State Historical Society, along with Clare Mares of the Eastern Nebraska Genealogical Society spoke on behalf of Margie and her achievements.

I know that my friend Margie will continue as long as she lives to help researchers, transcribe, index and publish about Czech ancestry. I hope there are more awards for her in the future. It's a honor to call you my friend, Margie.

Genealogy Dreaming

2008-07-14T15:12:00.004-05:00

Do you ever have day dreams about doing nothing but genealogy? I call those my "what if" thoughts. They include being able to go to every cemetery I can locate looking for ancestral stones. Going to every courthouse that has records I need. They also include visiting ancestral locations, here in the United States, in the U.K. and Europe. And then something jolts me back to reality. Usually the gas pump!

I have started writing letters, contacting by e-mail and searching more on Internet to locate things I need. It is somewhat boring, but helps the budget. The other day I drove about 25 miles to the Fort McPherson National Cemetery here in Lincoln Co., Nebraska and took digitals of tombstones. It was something I had been meaning to do for a long time. The early morning was cooler than afternoon, and it was quiet and peaceful.

Have you tried FindAGrave for information on tombstones, along with maps of cemeteries and photographs of people plus tombstones? It's a great web site, so be prepared to spend some time. You can search by names and locations or look up cemeteries. While there, you should also plan on submitting data on your relatives. I am particularly impressed with the number of stones they have listed for New England. Some of those cemeteries I have walked through myself. It brings back memories and starts those "what if" thoughts all over again.

Another good place to look for cemetery information is the USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription web site. Click on the "Tombstone Photo Project" to search by states. This will also take some time to browse through all of the stones.

Back to the genealogy dreaming! Maybe I should win the lottery!

Nebraska ... a great state to research

2008-07-01T12:08:00.005-05:00

Nebraska is where I live. It's also the land that people passed through on their way somewhere else, normally to the west coast, places like Utah and California and Oregon. Some who were disappointed in the west came back, and some people came here to stay. The Homestead Act provided land for those who needed it and thus supplied our state with people.

Researching in this state is different than other states. For one thing, if you know where you ancestor(s) married, you may be able to locate the marriage record on which, most of the time, the names of parents are shown, along with mothers' maiden names. A great bonus!

Unfortunately people are not going to find birth and death records in courthouses. If they are there, they are minimal in content and years. This means you will need to obtain them from the state Vital Records office in Lincoln, NE. Information on ordering them, along with downloadable forms can be found at vitalrec.com. Birth and death records were recorded on a state basis starting in late 1904. This does not mean every physician or clerk complied.

The best place to locate records in Nebraska is at the Nebraska State Historical Society, 1500 R Street, Lincoln, NE. Be sure to check out their resources and indexes at the web page. They have an extensive collection of newspapers, photographs and manuscripts.

To locate some excellent web pages pertaining to Nebraska history, geography and genealogy, check out Linkpendium. A number of obituaries can be found at O'Bits of Nebraska. Another excellent place to look for obituaries in Nebraska is at Newspaper Obituaries on the Web.

If your ancestor settled on the plains of Nebraska, you definitely need to use the Library of Congress web page, Prairie Settlement. This contains Nebraska photographs and family letters, 1862-1912. An excellent place to locate maps of early Nebraska territory and state can be found on Internet at Nebraska Counties, 1854-Present.

It's a nice state to call home. Because of Nebraska's rich history, it's a great state in which to do genealogical research.

Geni.com --- free and great!

2008-06-20T11:07:00.003-05:00

Whether you are a beginner in genealogy or have been researching for a while, there is a web site that is free and designed to assist you in building your family tree. You can also share your research with family members, including those who are not into genealogy. By entering your data and building your family tree, you are not sharing it with the world. Only people that you invite can access it.

There's more than building a family tree at Geni.com. You can share family photographs, create profiles and timelines and celebrate special events. It is as easy also as importing a GEDCOM file into Geni.com ... no retyping of information. You can also export a GEDCOM file from the data you have created.

One of the most interesting features of Geni.com is the ability to map your ancestors. You can customize the maps for locations of your ancestors, where they lived or where they were born.

As you network with friends and family, you can send messages and share news. You decide who is in your group. While you are using Geni.com you can also search for your surnames not only within your tree but in other trees. You will not be able to view all of the information in the family trees of other submitters unless you are invited.

There are over 20 million profiles on Geni.com. Yours can be there as simply as registering and logging in. In the near future they will be adding family video sharing. It is such a great site that TIME magazine named as one of the top 50 websites of 2008.

The Life of a Genealogist

2008-06-17T19:36:00.003-05:00

Is there any other life? It's the best! However, genealogy can consume every minute of my day and into the night. Such has been the last seventeen days. I have been scanning hundreds and hundreds of documents and photographs. Sorting them into appropriate categories, sharing originals with my sister-in-law, I have barely come up for air.

This afternoon I finished my project. There are photographs left and a few documents, but basically it is over. Those can wait, maybe a week or two or perhaps a couple months ... definitely not tomorrow.

It is amazing what happens when you are scanning. I am behind in reading genealogy blogs of others. I noticed that my daughter found time to blog at Growing up Genealogy. Good for her. She's not scanning. I have had no time to check all the new newspapers that have been added to Ancestry.com's subscription service. There's no hurry as I have a subscription. Maybe tomorrow!

Because I have been living in the digital world, I decided to check out some of the places I have ignored. These include HBLL Online Collections where you can search the holdings of BYU, Utah newspapers and many more, all with one click. It's a great place to look for manuscripts and books, then download them in PDF format. It is really growing.

I have also discovered the digitals at Illinois Harvest, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Particularly if you have ancestry in that part of Illinois, this is something you will want to search. I found many news articles and obituaries for relatives. And now that I have finished with my scanning (for the moment) I don't feel guilty about searching all day and night.

The University of Missouri Digital Library will also keep me busy for a few days. They have both text and image collections. With so many Missouri ancestors, I will undoubtedly find a lot of good things.

Each time I find a Utah ancestor, I have to check out the Historical Photographs from the Harold B. Lee Library. There are seven collections to search individually or all at once. The photographs are of excellent quality.

Have you checked FindAGrave lately? The site keeps getting bigger and bigger with photographs of tombstones and also individuals or family on it. It's a great place to find missing information along with the photographs.

If my genealogy mind doesn't switch me back to scanning, I need to check out the web site, 250+Killer Digital Libraries and Archives. Just think of that ... over 250 places to look for digital images. My mind is swimming already with ideas.

It's great fun to be a genealogist today and tomorrow and the next day ... never been better!

The Joy of Scanning

2008-06-01T18:20:00.003-05:00

A few days ago I rearranged my genealogy/computer room. This also entailed rearranging the office supply closet. With my scanner located very close to my desk, I began scanning documents and photographs. This has been an on-going project for several years, but now close to the end, it becomes challenging and interesting.

Having documents scanned, along with proper citations, certainly helps in trying to locate them and share them. I have also located a number of photographs that needed scanning. At some point in time my mother-in-law made photocopies of old photographs and shared those with me. The quality is not good, but it's better than nothing. My sister-in-law and I now wonder what happened to the originals. Our next quest will be to locate them. We hope they did not meet the fate that many old photographs do ... the dumpster.

The joy of scanning documents is that my memory is refreshed about various lineages and this leads to more research. I am not becoming distracted though, so the scanning will continue. Another joy to this project is that it keeps me at home and saves on gas in the car!

How safe are your documents? Now is a great time to start scanning them. I also recommend backing them up to CDs, DVDs or better yet an external hard drive.

Love of My Life

2008-05-20T19:13:00.007-05:00

As I prepare to decorate many graves of loved ones, I am mindful of one special person who was in my life. The final resting places of our ancestors are special.

My dearest husband ...

As I decorate your grave this first Memorial Day after your death, I am mindful of how quickly this first year has gone. Day by day after you left me, I thought the days could not be any longer. They passed so slowly and each step I took seemed painfully sluggish. What was I supposed to do with my life? An empty life without you in it. It was a life that I had known for almost forty-six years with you, by my side, in my arms, my thoughts and in my waking and sleeping moments. Now as quickly as I could blink my eyes, you were gone from me.

Four days before your death, you told me that I should resume my genealogical research, my passion for genealogy, my writing, teaching and lecturing. You knew that you were not going to be with me much longer. I had cared for you for three years. We cried together, laughed together and prayed together. After you left, I knew each day that I must return to my genealogy. I knew you were proud of me and my work. Each day I grew stronger and more secure in what I was doing.

There is not a day that goes by when I am researching ancestors, mine and those of others, that I do not think of you. All the memories of our life together come rushing back. Like a surge of energy, I know you are here guiding and encouraging me. You will always be here in my heart, my mind and soul. I know you are with the ages and those wonderful ancestors and relatives who paved the way for us and our life together.

You are still the love of my life! .... Ruby

Genealogy Conferences

2008-05-13T12:33:00.003-05:00

I went to a genealogy conference and found my family tree! Not exactly, but the Nebraska State Genealogical Society Conference held May 1-3 in Lincoln, Nebraska was rewarding and fun. The featured speaker, Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak was excellent. Be sure you take in her lectures if you are where she is lecturing.

While I did not find my family tree, I did find information to assist me with my research. That is also the fun of attending a conference. My sister-in-law and I planned our conference trip to go to cemeteries, libraries and archives ... no courthouses on this trip. I created a notebook with directions, including which exits to take, back roads that would get us to cemeteries along with the hours and directions to the libraries and archives. This is easy to do with Google Maps. I drove and she directed!

At Topeka, Kansas we visited the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Unfortunately the day we selected for research was the day the Kansas Historical Society was closed. The public library made up for it. On the second floor, they have a very inviting genealogy section which includes state of the art equipment, moving shelves and a Victorian appearing Topeka room for research. It's not huge, but comprehensive with a lot of good books and maps, plus more. If you are passing through Kansas, take a jaunt to the library ... you will be glad that you did.

Conferences also mean laughing, telling a year's worth of genealogy stories, meeting old friends and making new friends. I enjoy being around people who speak my language which is the language of genealogy.

For those of you following my blog along with that of my daughter, Growing up Genealogy, you will be interested in knowing that my car was full in the back seat, trunk and around my sister-in-law's feet in the passenger seat. I took three bags and she took six. I took five pair of shoes and wore all of them. She took five pair of shoes and wore one pair. By the time we got home we had a lot of purchases in the way of books as well as memoirs from an ancestral home in Nebraska. The next time we travel together, I'll make certain she leaves half the bags at home!

Next week I'm heading out again, this time going west and north to do research and decorate graves for Memorial Day. I may not find my family tree, but I'll have fun trying.

Happy Mother's Day Grandma Caroline

2008-05-10T14:01:00.003-05:00

It is difficult to pay Mother's Day respects to just one grandmother, particularly since I have so many in my various family files. However, I have recently visited Grandma Caroline's grave, thus I have selected her for my blog. The vitals on her are ... Caroline Gettis, born 11 February 1839 in Ohio to Ira Ellis Gettis and Mary "Polly" Daniel; died 20 August 1924 in Beatrice, Gage Co., Nebraska. She married Jacob Zehrung in 1855 in Tama Co., Iowa.

Her life between the dates is interesting and adds meaning to the family history. Caroline had thirteen children, the first born when she was almost eighteen years of age and the last when she was almost forty-four years of age. There were eight girls and five boys and twins (boy and girl) born in 1874. That qualifies her for being an outstanding mother!

The Zehrungs lived in Iowa until about 1879 when they moved to Jewell Co., Kansas. According to family stories they made the journey by wagon, most likely stopping off at places in eastern Nebraska and eastern Kansas to visit relatives. In 1881 they moved to Harlan Co., Nebraska, where they lived near Ragan. Some of their older children married in Kansas as well as Harlan Co., Nebraska.

Jacob took advantage of the Timber Culture Act in Nebraska and left Harlan County in about 1890, going to Sheridan County, NE in the sandhills. It was there that he died on 15 June 1893. The land had not been proved up on and Caroline was left with some young children. Jacob was buried in a country cemetery not far from the land that he owned which was relinquished. Each year our family decorates his grave.

In 1969 the son of Caroline's older daughter, Nellie, visited me. He was elderly, but his memory was sharp. There would be no written documents to verify his stories, but they were interesting. When Jacob, Caroline and children (some married and some children) left Harlan Co., Nebraska for the sandhills in Nebraska's panhandle, they went by wagon north to the Dismal River, stopping to visit his brother, David Zehrung. They followed the river as far as they could to locate the land they would claim. The prairie was desolate, and while the government wanted settlers to plant trees, it would be next to impossible to grow them in sand.

Caroline tied young children up to their wagons to keep them from wandering off in the never ending flow of sand. The older boys hunted wild game and eventually they built a house, most likely from sod. When Jacob died at age 57, Caroline probably didn't have to think twice about leaving the sandhills of Nebraska. According to descendants, Jacob's brothers in eastern Nebraska provided the means for her to bring the younger children to Gage Co., Nebraska. In 1915 Caroline married Aaron Rummerfield.

With Jacob in the panhandle of Nebraska and Caroline in eastern Nebraska, there were children married and buried in various locations. Amazingly they stayed in touch through their lives. My sister-in-law and I had never been to Grandma Caroline's grave until last week. She is buried in the Evergeen Cemetery in Beatrice, Gage Co., Nebraska. This year, both she and Jacob have flowers on their grave for Memorial Day.

Happy Mother's Day, Grandma Caroline ... you were indeed a great mother!

The Joy of Being a Genealogist

2008-04-29T07:29:00.003-05:00

It's quiet in my study/computer room/genealogy room. Maybe that's because my sister-in-law hasn't arrived. Maybe it's because it's only 7:30 in the morning, the long awaited morning of Tuesday, the 29th of April. We have been planning today (and tomorrow) since January. That has lately included a day and night watch of the weather reports. She just e-mailed me her schedule ... she will be here by noon.

Then the "fun" begins. We don't travel light. If any of you have read by daughter's blog at Growing up Genealogy, you will understand that completely. We are the You Go Genealogy Girls and that means packing everything we can fit into suitcases, bags, totes and purses. On this trip of approximately nine days, I have limited myself to four pair of shoes. I am sure I'll miss all the others that have to remain in my closet at home. She is bringing a box of presents for her grandchildren. We will visit them over the weekend in Topeka, Kansas. I am sure it's a large box because she has seven grandchildren, all in one family.

The real fun happens when we arrive in Lincoln, Nebraska for the Nebraska State Genealogical Society Conference. This is an annual affair every May. Because I am vice-president of the local society, North Platte Genealogical Society, I am taking two boxes of has-been books. These will be given away or sold for next to nothing in the vending area. I may replace one of the boxes with books that I buy in the vending area.

The speaker for this year's conference is Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak. We will all leave with good information and memories. I always look forward to seeing genealogy friends I have not seen in months or maybe a year, as well as making new genealogy friends. We are a special breed ... we talk dead people, we look for dead people and we compute dead people. How much better can it get?

After the conference we are locating cemeteries between Lincoln, Nebraska and the Kansas border (and maybe a few over the border). Then on to Topeka to visit her son, wife and their seven children. For sanity and space reasons, we are checking into a hotel in Topeka! Also that's why we are bringing a box of presents for the grandchildren, ages 16 to 3, with twins for good measure.

Coming back to Nebraska, we will visit more cemeteries and relatives. I am not sure in what order that will be, but they tend to go together ... genealogists, relatives, cemeteries. We're going heavy when we leave in the morning in my little red Dodge Neon. We'll come home even heavier. Then the fun begins again as we plan another trip toward the end of May. Ah ... the joy of being a genealogist!

Family History Center Research

2008-04-25T11:22:00.003-05:00

Is there a Family History Center (LDS) in your town or area? You can find locations of thousands of centers at their FamilySearch web page. Once you locate a Family History Center, be sure to check their hours.

At the Family History Center you can borrow (for a nominal fee) microfilm and microfiche from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The centers are branch facilities of the library. Many of them contain a core collection of books and CDs for their area ... definitely worth checking.

Yesterday I was at my local Family History Center ordering microfilm. The volunteer told me that most people don't even look at the center's file drawers of indefinite microfilm. These were reels of film ordered in the past by patrons who extended them to indefinite status. Not only that, but those reels may have many different filmed items on them. To determine what is on a reel of microfilm, go to the Family History Library Catalog on the FamilySearch web page. Click on Film/Fiche and enter the number. This will display every item on that particular reel of film. There may be something on these that interest you. The same thing can be done with microfiche which is always on indefinite loan at Family History Centers.

In addition to this, you can spend a few hours at the Family History Center using a computer. Many databases are available to patrons; almost all of them are available otherwise to subscription users. Some I have used are Footnote.com, Kindred Konnections, World Vital Records, and of course, the New FamilySearch.

Isn't it time to return to the Family History Center and see what's there? Or, if you are a first time user, go prepared to spend some time exploring all of the offerings that are there.