Genealogy Finds Week of May 23rd-29th

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

• 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!