Friday Finds June 27th-July 3rd

This is my favorite month out of the whole year! When I was younger July was always when the best things seemed to happen:

• Absolutely no school (my school year ended mid-June and August always had back-to-school tones)
• The 4th of July and all the events leading up to it (parades, cook-outs, fun downtown events, etc.)
• FIREWORKS!
• My birthday
• Adventures: vacations, beaches, camping, sleepovers, swimming, star-gazing, bike riding until the street lights came on – suffice it to say, summers were spent OUTSIDE
• Family Stuff – we’d always get together sometime during the summer and it would often be in July

July was always the best month and although it’s changed over the years, it’s still a time I look forward to. 🙂

Blogs/Articles

• WIN AN ANCESTRYDNA KIT!!!! Hosted by Geneabloggers.com, you could win a FREE AncestryDNA kit! You have until Sunday to enter! Check out the details here and good luck!
• As mentioned above, this is the time for vacations! If you’re thinking about adding history to the trip (which is what my vacations consist of entirely!), then check out this list of living history destinations! I HIGHLY recommend Colonial Williamsburg and Greenfield Village!
• Last year at NGS I was introduced to the Genealogist’s Declaration of Rights. It’s still ongoing and in need of support! Upfront with NGS posted about it again, fittingly for this weekend. Read the article here to see how access for genealogists has been restricted over the years and to find out how to sign the declaration!
• Have we become too PC when it comes to historic sites? This could start a great conversation! Check out this well-written article by Michelle Zupan on her recent experience in Savannah, GA
• Do you struggle with research plans? Practice will make this better! That and reading what others do! Here’s a great blog post from Jill Morelli of Genealogy Certification: “Research Plans: A Reprise.”
• I went through a run-down of AncestryAcademy when it is was still quite new. Now they’ve added quite a bit more! Check out Dick Eastman’s review of the educational resource here!
• This is a wonderful idea – “Instructions for Census Takers” in this post on EOGN, he discusses why you should read (and how to find) these instructions.
• Ever wonder why some information was removed from a favorite online site? Dick Eastman discusses that in his blog post titled “Why Was the Information Removed from Online?”
• “Rhode Island Proposal to Restrict Access to Vital Records” – see the post by Dick Eastman as well as where to go for more information.

Webinars/Videos

• Pinning Your Family History by Thomas MacEntee will be presented this coming Wed, 8 July, 9pmEST! To register to view it for FREE (if you view it live), click here.
• This wonderful story from an immigrant coming over with her family to be with her father brought tears to my eyes! Check out the oral history here.
• The Freedmen’s Bureau made some big news lately with the announcement of making the records freely searchable online. Here’s a wonderful video about using these valuable records! (Plus the link to help out!)
• “How to Use the New National Archives Catalog” by US National Archives – it’s an hour long but if you use the National Archives catalog, it’s worth the time!

Resources

• FREE access to the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS)’s Great Migration database! It’s free through 8 July!
• FREE access to the Revolutionary War Collection by Fold3! It’s free from July 1st-July 15th!
• Did you see the list of FREE Family History Webinars by Legacy Family Tree? See my blog post here or check out the website here and click on print brochure to see the full schedule. That’s a great educational opportunity!
• FindMyPast Friday – last Friday (26 June) really. It sadly didn’t update before I had posted last week’s Friday Finds, here’s last week’s new records that focused on criminal records:
  • England & Wales, Crime, Prisons, and Punishments;
  • Home Office: Newgate Prison Calendar 1782-1853;
  • Home Office: Convict Hulks, Convict Prisons and Criminal Lunatic Asylums: Quarterly Returns of Prisoners 1824-1876;
  • Home Office: Criminal Entry Books 1782-1871;
  • Home Office: Old Captions and Transfer Papers 1843-1871;
  • Home Office and Prison Commission: Male Licenses 1853-1887;
  • Metropolitan Police: Criminal Record Office: habitual criminals’ registers and miscellaneous papers;
  • Australia Convict Ships 1786-1849;
  • Australia Convict Conditional and Absolute Pardons 1791-1867;
  •  New South Wales Registers of Convicts’ Applications to Marry 1825-1851;
  • Victoria Prison Registers 1855-1960;
  • and Sligo Workhouse Admission and Discharge Registers 1848-1859
• “History Colorado Collections Online” – a post by Dick Eastman of EOGN