Family History Expo Day One

Here I am in Colorado Springs blogging about the Family History Expo.  I will go to the vending area before too long to see if I can help with anything and chat with genealogy friends.  I don't make a presentation until this afternoon.  The topic is Genealogy on a Shoe String Budget.  Now who doesn't like something free!   Everything I talk about in the lecture is FREE or almost free.

Iowa newspaper from
Chronicling America

One of my favorite web pages (free) is Chronicling America at the Library of Congress web site.  Yesterday they added over 600,000 newspaper pages.  First timers are from the states of Iowa, Michigan and West Virginia.  They have made additions to those of Hawaii, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.  Can I skip the Expo and just "play" with the newspapers?  Don't think I had better do that.

At 2 a.m. this morning I was unable to sleep.  That's when I start checking for Dick Eastman's newsletter in my e-mail box.  I think this is becoming a 2 a.m. habit.  If you subscribe, check it out.  One of his posts is about Elephinbd.com and yes, it's free.  If you love looking for ancestors and relatives in the press, check it out.  They have 1,205,603 individual newspapers and 1,141 titles.  I checked it out at 2:15 a.m. and discovered some interesting news about ancestors.

Maybe between lectures today I could sneak in a quick nap and a quick search of the newspapers.

State Guides, Records and More

I have discovered a handy web site that provides a lot of links to various sites of genealogical interest.  It's Bobbie's Genealogy Classroom.  The titles of headings are State Guides, The Records and Research Advise.  While some of the links are better than others, the overall quality of the web page is very good.  

Since I research in South Carolina, I was particularly interested in the guide for South Carolina Ancestors.  Not only is there a link to the Family History Library Wiki for South Carolina research, but also a guide to basic genealogy guides for the state and maps.  Who doesn't love maps for their research?  I was impressed with all the links to formation maps, settlement maps, maps of counties and parishes and links to atlases.

Some of the titles under "The Records" are Church Records, Apprenticeship and Indenture Records, Naturalization, Probate Records, Tax Lists and Vital Records.  As an example, the Probate Records contains information about important things to know about probate.  It also has online lesson links for more information and how to locate them.

All genealogists need help and advise.  I was particularly interested in the section on Quaker Ancestors.  There are links to major Quaker record repositories, information on Hinshaw's 6 volume Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy and much more.  If you enjoy using Google, there is a good learning guide to Google Genealogy.

Be sure to link to Bobbie's Genealogy Classroom for great genealogy connections.

Colorado Family History Expo

A fantastic program is planned for the Colorado Family History Expo which will be 2nd and 3rd August 2013 in Colorado Springs.  It will be held at the Hotel Elegante Conference & Event Center, 2886 South Circle Drive.  

Location of Hotel Elegante Conference & Event Center

The expo begins on August 2nd at 1:00 pm with keynote speaker James L. Tanner.  He will share the Top 10 Techniques that you need to locate your ancestors.   This years conference in Colorado Springs will features a track of Scandinavian classes by Ruth Ellen Maness, AG and Kathy Meade.  

Sponsors are FamilySearch, 50 Plus Marketplace News, and Celebrating Family History.  There will be exhibits by RootsMagic, 4 Cats Ink., Family Roots Publishing, Genealogy Presentation and Genealogical Institutes.  

GenealogyWallCharts.com has partnered with the Family History Expo to prepare each registered attendee a FREE 24"x18", 24"x32" or 24"x36" fan chart with the attendee's personal genealogy.  There is a 10% discount on any order purchased by using the discount code FHE10.  Attendees must pre-order the chart before the event to be delivered at the Expo.  Order by July 30th at GenealogyWallCharts.com.  

The Colorado Family History Expo will be a great genealogy event.  I will be one of the presenters and look forward to seeing genealogy friends and making new genealogy friends.  

See 'ya in Colorado!  

Genealogy Discoveries

in front of the Family History Library

Home one week from Salt Lake City and I am still sorting through photocopies and looking at scanned documents.  This will continue for some time.  You don't go to the Family History Library for two weeks and come home empty handed.  It was truly two weeks of discoveries.

What is your attitude when you crank a reel of microfilm?  Are you optimistic or pessimistic?  Even if you do not find anything pertinent on that reel of microfilm, you at least know nothing is in that group of documents.  However, when you begin cranking and see this message, it's difficult to assume anything but that your ancestor's name is going to be under that smeared ink or on a page so faded you cannot begin to read it.  Intermittent?  When wasn't my ancestor intermittent?

After a week of research I requested microfilm from the Vault.  It was soon discovered that the film has been scanned.  It is still not on the digital images of FamilySearch ... perhaps soon.  I am glad I went ahead and ordered the film.

Another discovery was that new books are frequenting the shelves on the Third Floor which now contains all United States books.  Yes, some are being digitized, but it was exciting to locate new books.  The Canadian books have been removed to the Main Floor which also contains what remains of the family histories/genealogies.  The other floors remain much the same as they have been in years past.

I am told that patronage of the library is down because people "think" everything is online.  Get a clue!!  Not everything is in the Family History Library and NOT everything is on Internet.  There were noticeably less people using the library than in others years I have been there.  Also noticeable was the cut back in hours on Saturdays.  I heard a few complaints about it not opening until 9 am on Saturday mornings.  Do you remember when the library was open at 7:30 am and closed at 10 pm?  Those were the days!!  The days of putting tooth picks in your eyes to stay awake until the last minute.

As usual it is fun to visit with people waiting to be first in line at the front door each morning.  That's a great place to share information.  One morning I was visiting with a young man about a Minnesota death certificate that arrived at my house after I arrived at Salt Lake City.  My daughter called and attempted to read it to me.  She proclaimed that the man's father had an unusual name that looked that Don or Doun.  Her daughter looked at the document and quickly told me that man's parents were both of the same name ... Don't Know.  It happens!  No place of birth other than Austria left me rather clueless as to where to look.  The young man waiting to get into the library laughed at my story and then recommended that I visit the web page, Dalby Database.

The Dalby Database is a great place to look for Minnesota records, such as marriages, cemeteries, city directories, birth records, newspaper information, church records, obituaries and histories.  In 1981 after suffering a heart attack, John Dalby of Faribault, Minnesota, not able to return to work, started doing genealogical research, walking cemeteries, indexing books and all that stuff genealogists desire.  His information is now online in magnificent databases.  Nope ... still no clue about Mr. and Mrs. Don't Know.

Truly genealogy is a daily discovery for me.  I don't have to be in the Family History Library (but that would be nice).  I can do genealogy at home, in other libraries, courthouses, graveyards  ... well, you get the idea.  I hope you are making genealogy discoveries today.

Learning in Salt Lake City

Today is my third day in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  I am having good luck and a great time.  Pacing myself because I am here for two weeks.

It's a great place to learn about genealogy and history.  What a thrill to find Grandpa Cogburn on the 1825 Tax List of Washington Co., Georgia.  He was on a brief listing of Departees.  I knew that sometime between 1820 and 1830 he had moved to Talbot Co., Georgia.  He was not on the 1826 Tax List for Washington Co., Georgia, so appears he moved in 1825.

The library is fairly quiet, nothing like in October when so many tour groups are in the library.  No long lines in front of the library each morning.  They have moved the Canadian books to the Main Floor.

More to do tomorrow and I am hoping for more Genealogy Good Luck!

Ruby

American States Ancestry

If you have ever wished to have a comprehensive web page, American States Ancestry web page certainly comes close to providing your wish.  It is a listing of "mostly" free US Ancestry-Genealogy Resources.  Once you wade through some of the advertisements, you will soon discover state website information and links.

Some of the links by state include the USGenWeb Project, Genealogy Trails History Group, Trails to the Past, American History and Genealogy Project and the American Local History Network.  There are also a number of links that are not connected with those projects.  The content varies, such as cemetery records, vital records, military records, message boards, surnames and more.

Be sure you check out the Google Command Operators for improving your search results.  If you are doing foreign research, look at the links that will help you, such as Wales, Germany, etc.

One thing I did not find is a link to the databases on FamilySearch.org.  But, we all know how easy that is to locate on Internet!  There are enough interesting links to click on, you should stay busy for a while.
Just add it to your list of favorites to keep in mind while doing genealogical research.

Learning in Salt Lake City

Less than a month ago I spent nine days in Salt Lake City.  My time was primarily spent in the Family History Library.  As a consultant for a group of genealogists, I discovered that I should have been cloned.  I put on miles going from floor to floor to give them advise and suggestions.  Eventually everybody settled into a routine of research.

We learned that a week in genealogy paradise is not enough time.  We also learned that the best information is found in the late afternoon or evening of the last day in the library.  Having researched all week, it is time for the "happy dance pay off."  We learned that the library consultants on each floor are extremely helpful, particularly on the International Floor.

I had some German church record copies in my hand, when I decided to chat with a German consultant.  I asked him if he'd like to move to North Platte, Nebraska ... no, I didn't think so.  I asked him how I would be able to translate some of the difficult handwriting.  He had the answer.

1.  Go to the FamilySearch web site.  Sign in.

2.  Click on Learn.
3.  Click on Discussion Forum.  Locate the area you are researching, such as Eastern Europe.  Leave a message with a jpg attachment of the document you cannot read.
4.  Within a short period of time somebody in the genealogy world will return with answer(s).

5.  It works!!  I tried it.

As you probably know the books are being digitized.  The empty shelves on the main floor family genealogy section are very noticeable.  The books have been taken apart and digitized.  Supposedly you should be able to locate them by clicking Books on the home page of FamilySearch.  I soon realized that some books that have been digitized are not there ... yet.  In that case, I recommend trying the Catalog (same home page).  My preference is to use the old or previous version of the catalog.  You can then enter the name of a book, author, location, surname, etc. and determine if it has been digitized.
By clicking on the appropriate area, the book in pdf format will be downloaded to your computer.

Some of the empty shelves on Main Floor. 

digitized books

It seems to be a continual catch up phase with FamilySearch. I discovered several books placed in High Density on the International Floor that were not listed as such in the catalog.  It is important (another tip) to inquire if you cannot locate a book.

The library was full of genealogy groups, people attending genealogy conferences and people like us who were there to find all the answers.  We had fun and took some breaks such as going to the Cheesecake Factory for a sugar high.  The week went by too fast.  Memories and more research will keep us busy until 2013 when we will start thinking about another trip to Salt Lake City.