Category: Friday Finds Page 38 of 44

Genealogy Finds June 13th-19th

On 19 June 2015

I hope everyone is enjoying their June! We’ve had some humid/warm starts so far but I actually like this weather! It beats shoveling snow anyway 🙂 Winter always make me wonder why my ancestors didn’t go further south!

Here are my finds for the week!

(Love this picture of Lake Superior! I am a Michigan girl through and through! And I mean the state, not the sports team 🙂 )

By Yinan Chen (www.goodfreephotos.com (gallery, image)) [see page for license], via Wikimedia Commons

If I may give myself a shout out (it is my blog, so I will), I was recently interviewed by GeneaBloggers “May I Introduce to You…” series. Check out the interview here!

Blogs/Articles

This is VERY important – the Massachusetts Norfolk Registry of Deeds is currently in favor of removing original records from the registry! Check out The New England House Historian’s blog with more information and let your voices be heard!
I had a friend recently tell me she had some old Civil War newspapers and she thought about laminating them. I think I may have scared her a bit by my vehement NO but then went on to explain. For those who are also preserving family heirlooms or items you may have found, read this UpFront with NGS article about the best way to preserve your items!
Such an amazing find! If only I knew what to do with negatives 🙂 Check out what this man bought from a local auction and then developed!
Have you looked at the online presences of libraries/archives/other institutions? You may be surprised by what is out there!
I’ve recently been ‘introduced’ to a blog called The Genealogy Kids. Have you heard of them? Check out their blog and videos! I love seeing younger generations take a part in their family history!
Educational opportunities! Check out Judy G. Russell’s blog post about GRIP online registration (ENDS TODAY!) and about SLIG
Two changes to BCG applications for 2016 – this will effect me as I won’t be applying until after 1 January 2016. All of those who are in the same boat should check out the two new changes on BCG’s blog here.
Finding her mother’s manuscript for a memoir led these two authors, Linda White and Marietta Stevens Crichlow, on a family journey! Check out the article here! What a great find to inspire a wish to know more!
Ever wonder what a professional genealogist does? Crista Cowan, who works for Ancestry.com, was interviewed about there here. Check it out!
“Juneteenth 150th Anniversary: Major Genealogy Announcement by FamilySearch” – by Geneabloggers
How many have seen this famous picture of men sitting on a New York skyscraper eating their meals? Here is part of the story behind that photograph!
“Need extra income? Consider becoming a courthouse researcher.” – from the Christian Science Monitor – awesome!
Okay, this is just cool. Spend a night in Ellis Island?! Check out the EOGN article about entering this contest! How cool!

Webinars/Videos

“Surname Studies: How They Can Help You Find Your Ancestors” by AncestralFindings.com – a short less than 7 minute video
“Scotland Genealogy Study Group” by Dear Myrtle! The video is about an hour long.
“1901 Census of Ireland Tutorial” by Irish Emigrant Trails – less than 14 minute video

Resources

Have you checked out the Irish Famine Archive? This database deals with the Irish migration to Canada in 1847-1848. Check it out!
“Virginia Vital Records NOW Online – Partnership Between VDH & Ancestry” – from Upfront with NGS
“Archives digitises World War I vault” – from the National Archives of Australia! Check out the EOGN post here and a news article here.
“HistoryGeo.com Adds Landowner Data” from EOGN – I haven’t used HistoryGeo.com myself but this looks intriguing.
FindMyPast Friday! New records include: Prisoners of War 1715-1945; British Newspapers; Gibraltar, St. Andrew’s Kirk Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, and Congregation Records 1840-1947; Greater London Burial Index; Surrey, Southwark, St Saviour Poor Relief 1818-1821; Hue & Cry Index 1797-1810; Staffordshire, Parish Registers Browse, 1538-1900; and Kent Marriages and Banns.

Genealogy Finds June 6th-12th

By Nichelle Barra

On 12 June 2015

In Friday Finds, Resources

Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Photo taken by Nichelle Barra, July 2012

Articles/Blog Posts

Amy Johnson Crow posted this article: “Genealogy and Elitism: It Isn’t What You Say, It’s How You Say It.” For those of us who have been doing genealogy for quite some time, it’s important to remember how we sound to others and to remember what it was like to first start a new hobby. It’s a great read!
Did you get to attend the Global Family Reunion on June 6th? If not, Upfront with NGS posted an article that links to select sessions that were recorded and are available to watch here.
PRONI’s (The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland) family history lectures are now on YouTube! Blog post is found here and a link to the channel is in the webinar/video section.
The blog Organize Your Family History by Janine Adams posted a good reminder to back up your genealogy! Also, if you use a service like Carbonite or Backblaze (which is what I use), be sure your Dropbox account is included in the backup! After reading this, I double checked to be sure it was. 🙂
It was International Archives day on June 9th! Upfront with NGS posted this about the day; check it out!
Olive Tree Genealogy posted this wonderful how-to: “Access Canadian WW2 Military Service Files in a Few Easy Steps.“
EOGN posted this great article: “1500 Turn-Of-The-Century Pictures from Hungary Made Public” If you have any ancestors from Hungary (or just love old photos) check out the article to read more about it and get a link to the pictures.
EOGN posted a book review recently: “Book Review: How to Do Everything: Genealogy” Check it out if you’ve seen this book and thought about buying it!
Ever wonder why so many records from Prussia, Poland, and Germany are missing? Check out this article by the ManyRoads blog, written by Mark Rabideau: “Why Are So Many Records Missing?“
AncestryDNA is now available in Canada! This is very exciting for me as a LOT of my grandmother’s family is came through there! I am hoping this will give me some new connections 🙂
From Crista Cowan on Ancestry’s blog: “The New Facts View: Make Sure You Are Climbing YOUR Family Tree and Not Someone Else’s“
The Library and Archives Canada Blog announced that they are now allowing visitors to take digital images with a camera or smartphone (rights and restrictions permitting). To read more about what this allows check out their blog here.

Webinars/Videos

US National Archives posted this: “Civil War Medicine and Surgery” – it’s an hour long video that will discuss medical procedures and case studies. This is great for anyone who had an injured/hospitalized Civil War ancestor!
PRONI now has their own YouTube channel! Check out the channel here to see their many videos! This is an awesome resource for those with Northern Irish ancestry!

Resources

Have Virginia Ancestors? Colonial Roots posted this about the number of vital records that are now available online. Check it out for a listing of what is available and where!
FindMyPast posted their new Friday records: Surrey, Southwark, St Savior Poor Relief 1818-1821; Hue & Cry Index 1797-1810; Staffordshire, Parish Registers Browse, 1538-1900; Kent Marriages; Kent Banns; and Persi monthly update. Check out the list with links here!
EOGN posted about the new MacFamilyTree for the Mac Users out there. Check out the article here.
Have you heard of ZoomPast? EOGN discusses using this tool to display/share your family tree, especially with the non-genealogists who tend to get lost in all the connections. Read the article here: “Fly Around Your Family Tree with ZoomPast.” It looks really interesting!
If you are researching West/East Prussia and other former Eastern German Provinces, ManyRoads’s Mark Rabideau added quite a number of address books on the website. Check it out here!

Have a great weekend!

Genealogy Finds Week of May 23rd-29th

By Nichelle Barra

On 29 May 2015

In Friday Finds

By United States Census records [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Blog/Articles

Mocavo announced that they are making census indexes and images FREE to everyone! Now, there has been some controversy on if it is really free on some of the Facebook groups I’m a part of. So I tried it out to see. I was able to look at several different census records, indexes and images, without needing to sign in or pay! I’d say that’s pretty awesome! Some people complained that their search functions weren’t really user-friendly but really, it’s free people! Who could complain about that? 🙂
Some good advice from Amy Johnson Crow today regarding the recent rumors that Ancestry.com may be sold. She talks about how you should download your files from Ancestry (and elsewhere) just as a matter of course. Good advice!
Genealogy Lady has posted her last in her series on Identifying Everyday Clues in Photograps. Check out part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4. Great information and links!
I posted this week on using a research plan, which has made it’s way around Twitter recently. Along with that, I recommend reading this post from Evidence Explained’s website: “QuickLesson 20: Research Reports for Research Success.” Elizabeth Shown Mills touches on all three parts of the research process: preparation (e.g. a research plan), performance (the actual research), and reporting. There is also a fourth step on data entry. This research process does apply to EVERYONE, not just professionals or experienced genealogists!
“Finding My Ancestor’s Old Property Deed: Tips You Can Use” by Diane from Family Tree Magazine – good information here on looking for deeds, especially through FamilySearch!
Olive Tree Genealogy has posted a series on Loyalist records. If you have Loyalist ancestors, I highly recommend checking out the blog posts! Part 1: History of Loyalists; Part 2: Land Grants and Requirements for Loyalist Status; Part 3: Land Petitions; Part 4: Land Records; Part 5: Loyalists Lists; and Part 6: Haldimand Papers.Great information!
Very neat to check out: “Here are 40,000 Photos of Old New York Plotted on a City Map” by Alissa Walker on Gizmodo.com – this one may take up your afternoon!
“PRONI Lectures Available on YouTube” – a blog post by Genealogy a la Carte – this is about the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland’s YouTube channel where you can see presentations on genealogy and local history.
Dick Eastman (EOGN) posted an article called: “How to Use the Upper Saint John Valley (Northern Main and Northwestern New Brunswick) Historical Land Grant Database to Find Your Ancestors” recently. This is great for those of you who have ancestors from that area! Check out his write up with how to use that database.
Ancestry.com addressed a very common issue this week on their blog: “Ask Ancestry Anne: Can I Trust Trees?” Check it out!
Want to attend the NGS conference next year in Fort Lauderdale, Florida? Get your room now! Click here for more information!

Webinars/Videos

Ancestry.com has a new video out about their newest course for Ancestry Academy: “Newspapers.com: Getting the Scoop on Your Ancestors Preview“
“Italics: Italian American Genealogy/ “Black Souls” Film” – Genealogist Mary Tedesco of Genealogy Roadshow discusses Italian genealogy in this 27 minute video
This is an older video from Ancestry.com but always good to know: “Googling Your Family History“
Another older video from Lisa Louise Cooke: “10 Top Tips for How to Bust Through Your Genealogy Brick Wall“
If you’re like me, you nearly daily lament the loss of the 1890 census! It would answer so many questions!!! So what did happen to that much-mourned for census? Check out this video from AncestralFindings.com and learn some ways around that census!
My love for Ireland is very well known among my family and friends (I would move there today if I could!). So it’s probably no surprise that I would find this video enjoyable, especially considering my love of Carrowmore, a megalithic cemetery in Sligo! “Dowth Megalithic Tomb, Bru na Boinne,” Ireland presented by trentpeakarchaeology. It’s a flythrough of laser scan survey of the tomb.

Resources/Education

The Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research recently announced some new courses! Check out EOGN’s write up on that here.
New records on Ancestry.com: Jersey, Channel Islands, Wills and Testaments collection 1663-1948 and Jersey, Channel Islands, Occupation Registration Cards from WWII 1940-1945! Check out more information here.
AncestryDNA is now available in Australia and New Zealand! Check out Ancestry.com’s blog post about that here.
FamilySearch’s new records posted on EOGN! Check out all the records in a lovely list form here.
Book review from EOGN: “Book Review: The People of Ireland 1600-1699, Part Four“
FindMyPast Friday’s! New records include: England & Wales Merchant Navy Crew Lists 1861-1913, North West Kent Baptisms and Burials, and an Irish Newspaper Update. Click here for those records!

Weekly Genealogy Finds May 16-22nd

By Nichelle Barra

On 22 May 2015

In Friday Finds

U.S. flags stand in front of fallen service members graves on Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington Va, May 28, 2012. DoD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo (Released) By English: Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Picture found here.

Articles/Blog Posts

FamilySearch has Civil War records! Not sure how to use them? Check out this article that has tips and tricks from Thomas MacEntee, Joshua Taylor, Amy Johnson Crow, and Michael John Neill!
Genealogy Lady‘s series about identifying clues in photographs now has three posts! The first one is here and is about identifying and describing what you see in a photo (especially the clothing) to help date the picture. The second one is found here and continues with some great advice on how older people’s fashion will differ from the younger generations. It also continues with the second step of identifying the “period silhouette” (the shape of a person) and includes great links to more resources. Her third in the series can be found here and focuses on creating a timeline with your genealogy knowledge to help narrow down possibilities of who is in the picture. Then it goes on to step four which is to use that time line to create a date range for the photo. Really wonderful information for any genealogist with undated pictures!
Doing some genealogy searching on Google? Dick Eastman (who writes EOGN) has a blog post about using a date range in your searches and why you’d want to use it. Check it out here!

Webinars/Videos

Judy G. Russell recently did a webinar for Legacy Family Tree and it is now offered for free until May 25th – this Monday! The webinar is called “Martha Benschura: Enemy Alien” and you can click here to read how to watch the 1 hour and 26 minute video.

Resources

It’s Memorial Day Weekend which means free access this weekend for some websites! At the moment, it’s the New England Historic Genealogical Society! They have select military databases open until May 27th to guest users (which does mean you need to register, but it’s still free!). The records they are opening are: Colonial Soldiers and Officers in New England 1620-1775, Massachusetts Revolutionary War Pensioners’ Receipts 1799-1807, and Massachusetts Revolutionary War Pensioners’ Receipts 1829-1837. Great information there!
The National Library of Ireland is going to launch a database of images from the 1,091 Catholic paraish registers in their collection – online and FREE from July 8th! Check out the In-Depth Genealogist for more information.
Going to a cemetery this weekend? Notice any odd symbols on the graves? This guide can help you to figure out what those symbols may have meant.
Kilmainham Gaol is launching a new website that will show it’s prisoner autograph book from 1916-1923. The proposed date for this launch is March 2016 and you can read more about it here from Irish Genealogy News.
FindMyPast Friday’s announces new records for this week: City of London, Haberdashers, Apprentices and Freemen 1526-1933; City of London, Ironmongers, Apprentices and Freemen 1511-1923; Surrey, Southwark, St George the Martyr Mortuary Register 1880-1891; British Royal Navy, Foreign Awards to Officers Index 1914-1922; and Victoria Inward Passenger Lists 1839-1923.
New books from the National Genealogical Society! These are for specific states: California, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. Read more about the books from EOGN here!
Maine has changed their law about vital records! Records from 1892-present day are no longer available at the Maine State Archives and are now going to be issued from the Data, Research, and Vital Statistics at the Vital Records Office. Read the official announcement (and more information) here.