Posts
The following is taken from "Upfront with NGS" the NGS newsletter:
-- More Online Lessons in Searching on Ancestry.com
If you think you can improve on the way you use Ancestry.com, you're probably right. You can now take advantage of free, online video tutorials that will help you maximize your use of this robust resource. Professional genealogist and nationally known lecturer and author Barbara Renick has produced a series of online video tutorials, entitled "Searching at Ancestry," especially for readers of UpFront with NGS.
Each tutorial is twelve to fourteen minutes long, each building on the previous one. Part 1 introduces the new Ancestry.com search engine. Part 2 uses a case study approach to locating members of a family on Ancestry.com. It steps through a sample search while Barbara explains the actions and analyzes the results for the viewer. She shows how to refine a search by layering a search with more details to home in on members of a desired family. Part 3 offers alternate search techniques by layering information in Ancestry.com's different search templates to search for common names. Part 4 addresses the topic, "Finding Name Variants,"
If you want to improve your success with Ancestry.com, these tutorials are well worth your time! You can find them at: http://www.zroots.com/tutorials1.htm. You can also find these tutorials from the www.zroots.com home page. Just click on Notes, click on NGS, and then click on Tutorials. We are very grateful to Barbara for creating these tutorials and encourage readers to take advantage of them.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Finding Maiden Names
The following blog entry is taken from the Learning Center at Ancestry.com, and posted by Juliana Smith:
March is Women’s History Month and a quick search turned up several websites celebrating the better-known accomplishments of women. The Library of Congress has a page recognizing women’s contributions to the arts , while the National Women’s History Project is honoring women for their efforts in saving the environment. I love to see high profile women get their due, but I think it’s equally important to honor the women in our own families. Although most of their stories are overlooked in the history books, their sacrifices and struggles helped make a better life for those of us who came after them.
Those hard-to-find maiden names are often the biggest mysteries we need to solve. Yet with some detective work, maiden names can be found, thus opening up new and exciting areas of research. The birth, marriage, and death records of your ancestors will often provide missing information, and if not, consider looking at the records of all the ancestor's siblings. Record formats changed over the years, and from place to place, so information not provided on one child’s record may appear on that of another. Even half-siblings could hold the answer. We learned the maiden name of my third great-grandmother by obtaining the marriage certificate of my great-great-grandfather's half sister. When Suzanne Dyer married John Sterling, she gave her mother's maiden name as Nelson. Keeping up with tradition, she named her first son, Nelson. Maiden names were often passed along as middle names as well.
Keep track of the names of sponsors and witnesses you find on any record as they were often in-laws. If you see a recurring name that you suspect could be your ancestress’ maiden name, try searching for her in censuses in which she would have been a child using that surname. Coupled with information you've found in later censuses after she was married, such as birth year and place, and the birth places of parents, you may be able to locate her. Of course, you'll need to follow up with proof, but once you have a name, it is easier to prove or disprove a connection.
Another place you may find a woman reunited with her family is in the cemetery. She may be buried in the same plot as her parents or siblings, and or in a nearby plot. If possible, visit the cemetery in person and make note of the names on surrounding stones. Do any of them match up with the names of sponsors, witnesses or other associates?
Tracing our female ancestors can be challenging, but tools like online databases and every-name indexes to census records make it easier than ever to learn more about the heroines in our family tree.
March is Women’s History Month and a quick search turned up several websites celebrating the better-known accomplishments of women. The Library of Congress has a page recognizing women’s contributions to the arts , while the National Women’s History Project is honoring women for their efforts in saving the environment. I love to see high profile women get their due, but I think it’s equally important to honor the women in our own families. Although most of their stories are overlooked in the history books, their sacrifices and struggles helped make a better life for those of us who came after them.
Those hard-to-find maiden names are often the biggest mysteries we need to solve. Yet with some detective work, maiden names can be found, thus opening up new and exciting areas of research. The birth, marriage, and death records of your ancestors will often provide missing information, and if not, consider looking at the records of all the ancestor's siblings. Record formats changed over the years, and from place to place, so information not provided on one child’s record may appear on that of another. Even half-siblings could hold the answer. We learned the maiden name of my third great-grandmother by obtaining the marriage certificate of my great-great-grandfather's half sister. When Suzanne Dyer married John Sterling, she gave her mother's maiden name as Nelson. Keeping up with tradition, she named her first son, Nelson. Maiden names were often passed along as middle names as well.
Keep track of the names of sponsors and witnesses you find on any record as they were often in-laws. If you see a recurring name that you suspect could be your ancestress’ maiden name, try searching for her in censuses in which she would have been a child using that surname. Coupled with information you've found in later censuses after she was married, such as birth year and place, and the birth places of parents, you may be able to locate her. Of course, you'll need to follow up with proof, but once you have a name, it is easier to prove or disprove a connection.
Another place you may find a woman reunited with her family is in the cemetery. She may be buried in the same plot as her parents or siblings, and or in a nearby plot. If possible, visit the cemetery in person and make note of the names on surrounding stones. Do any of them match up with the names of sponsors, witnesses or other associates?
Tracing our female ancestors can be challenging, but tools like online databases and every-name indexes to census records make it easier than ever to learn more about the heroines in our family tree.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Descendant Sues Skull and Cross Bones Society
The following is take from CNN.com on 26 Feb. 2009:
(CNN) -- The great-grandson of Apache warrior Geronimo argues in a lawsuit that a secretive society at Yale University holds the remains of his great-grandfather.
Harlyn Geronimo has sued Yale and the society -- the Order of Skull and Bones -- to try to recover the remains.
"I think what would be important is that the remains of Geronimo be with his ancestors," he said.
Skull and Bones, a collegiate society that's been around since 1832, includes alumni such as former President George W. Bush and his grandfather, Prescott Bush.
Author Alexandra Robbins said evidence backs up the younger Geronimo's claim that Skull and Bones has the Apache warrior's remains.
"There's a Skull and Bones document that describes how Prescott Bush and other Bonesmen robbed the grave of Geronimo, and I spoke with several Bonesmen who told me that inside the tomb there's a glass display case containing [human remains] and the Bonesmen have always called it Geronimo," said Robbins, author of "Secrets of the Tomb," a book that delves into secretive societies at Yale, with special attention to Skull and Bones and its paths to power.
CNN attempted to contact Skull and Bones, but no one returned calls. Yale said it does not have Geronimo's remains and that it does not speak for Skull and Bones.
The controversy began in 2006, when a letter was found tucked into a book in the Yale library, according to an article published that year in Yale Alumni Magazine.
According to the article, the letter -- written on June 7, 1918, by one member of the society, Winter Mead, to another, F. Trubee Davison -- said the secret society had Geronimo's bones, which had been dug up by other members of the group at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Marc Wortman, a writer and former senior editor of the magazine, said he was the one who discovered the letter in Yale's Sterling Memorial Library.
"I found it and said, 'This is amazing. This is quite stunning to see this.' It was laid out so clearly in straightforward language saying we've got Geronimo's skull, femurs and horse tack, and we've brought it back to the tomb, as they call [the Skull and Bones house] in New Haven [Connecticut]," Wortman told CNN.
The robbing of Geronimo's remains fits into what Robbins calls "crooking" -- a competition among Bonesmen to steal valuable things, which were then hidden in the tomb, which has extremely limited access.
Geronimo is one of the many Chiricahua Apache leaders who fought to preserve the culture and the lifestyle of their people in the late 1800s. He fought both the Mexican and U.S. governments in the area of southern Arizona and New Mexico.
His descendant said it's important to honor Geronimo's legacy.
"Geronimo's legacy today is that he is looked to as one of the strong leaders of the Chiricahua people who fought to preserve homelands, cultural identity, to preserve their way of life," said his great-grandson.
Harlyn Geronimo is offended by the alleged actions of the Bonesmen.
"After a while it hurts you inside because you know this is your (great) grandfather," he said. "It's just something that is uncivilized for people of this nature to do."
Geronimo died in 1909 of pneumonia while he was a prisoner at Fort Sill. The burial in the cemetery wasn't true to Apache tradition though, and his great-grandson wants to rebury his ancestor in accordance with Chiricahua ways.
"They long for returning to their own homeland. They do not have their own reservation today. They are sharing a reservation with the Mescalero Apache," he said of the Chiricahua people.
Not everyone believes the Bonesmen found Geronimo's bones.
Some researchers have concluded that the Bonesmen could not have even found Geronimo's grave in 1918.
In the Yale Alumni Magazine's article, David H. Miller, a history professor at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, cites historical accounts that the grave was unmarked and overgrown until a Fort Sill librarian persuaded local Apaches to identify the site for him in the 1920s.
"My assumption is that they did dig up somebody at Fort Sill," said Miller. "It could have been an Indian, but it probably wasn't Geronimo."
That isn't stopping Geronimo's great-grandson from pursuing what he believes are his ancestor's bones.
President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of the Army Pete Geren are listed as defendants in the 32-page lawsuit Harlyn Geronimo filed in the District of Columbia.
In 1990, a federal law was passed to protect Native Americans' rights to their family member's remains. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act addresses the rights of lineal descendants, Indian tribes and native Hawaiian organizations to Native American human remains as well as cultural objects.
The lawsuit references the statute, asking the court "to free Geronimo, his remains, funerary objects and spirit from 100 years of imprisonment at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the Yale University campus at New Haven, Connecticut, and wherever else they may be found."
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Simply Amazing
You may have seen this amazing photograph that is being circulated by email. I place it here now for all to enjoy.
This photograph was taken in 1918 at Camp Dodge, Iowa. It is of an incredible 18,000 men preparing for war in this training camp.
FACTS:
Base to Shoulder: 150 feet
Right Arm: 340 feet
Wides part of arm holding torch: 12 1/2 feet
Right thumb: 35 feet
Thickest part of body: 29 feet
Left hand length: 30 feet
Face: 60 feet
Nose: 21 feet
Longest spike of head piece: 70 feet
Torch and flame combined: 980 feet
Number of men in flame of torch: 12,000
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Helpful Hints for Visiting a Cemetery
The following was taken from the Dallas History Examiner, written by Leslie Wagner, and posted on 23 Feb 2009:
If you’re planning a cemetery outing, prior preparation will make the search easier. A call to a funeral home in the area you’ll be visiting can help you determine the cemetery layout, information that we lacked before our visit. We were fortunate to find someone who could help us on a weekend. Visiting during the week, if possible, would allow you to check with the local funeral homes in person.
Here are some practical tips for gravesite searching:
Take a camera to photograph the headstone. Headstone rubbings will actually cause chemical damage to the stone. Take photographs from several angles to help place the gravesite for future visits.
Dress comfortably, and plan for changes in the weather. During our visit, a cold front was blowing its way through and the temperature was dropping throughout the day. It was also quite windy, adding a considerable wind chill factor that had us jumping back into our car frequently to warm up between section searches.
In warm weather, be sure to have plenty of drinking water and wear a hat. Wear practical shoes for all the walking, and protective clothing as well. While most cemeteries are well kept, as was this one, I backed into a spindly tree trying to include the Parker County Courthouse with the gravestone in the same photograph. Ouch!
If you’re planning a cemetery outing, prior preparation will make the search easier. A call to a funeral home in the area you’ll be visiting can help you determine the cemetery layout, information that we lacked before our visit. We were fortunate to find someone who could help us on a weekend. Visiting during the week, if possible, would allow you to check with the local funeral homes in person.
Here are some practical tips for gravesite searching:
Take a camera to photograph the headstone. Headstone rubbings will actually cause chemical damage to the stone. Take photographs from several angles to help place the gravesite for future visits.
Dress comfortably, and plan for changes in the weather. During our visit, a cold front was blowing its way through and the temperature was dropping throughout the day. It was also quite windy, adding a considerable wind chill factor that had us jumping back into our car frequently to warm up between section searches.
In warm weather, be sure to have plenty of drinking water and wear a hat. Wear practical shoes for all the walking, and protective clothing as well. While most cemeteries are well kept, as was this one, I backed into a spindly tree trying to include the Parker County Courthouse with the gravestone in the same photograph. Ouch!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Heritage Microfilm Announces Partnership With University of Virginia Library
The following is taken from today's Newspaper Archives newsletter:
Heritage Microfilm and the University of Virginia Library will team up to inspect, preserve, and digitize the University's international newspaper microfilm collection.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa (PRWEB) February 18, 2009 -- The University of Virginia Library, the research library system of this major university founded by Thomas Jefferson, has partnered with Heritage Microfilm to preserve and digitize their expansive foreign newspaper microfilm holdings. The first library at the University of Virginia was Thomas Jefferson's famous Rotunda, which he placed at the heart of his design for the university, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Heritage Microfilm will first verify the condition of each roll and the degree, if any, of vinegar syndrome or redox. Heritage will then work with the University Library team to repair and catalog each reel. NewspaperARCHIVE, digital brand of Heritage Microfilm, will then scan each reel of microfilm and index for Optical Character Recognition. The final newspaper images will be available via NewspaperARCHIVE website and NewspaperARCHIVE's institutional product NewspaperARCHIVE's institutional website.
"This project will make a valuable research collection even more widely available," said Barbie Selby, Research and Information Services Manager for the University of Virginia's Alderman Library. "These international newspapers will be used by historians, political scientists, sociologists and others to enrich their work and enhance their understanding of viewpoints from around the world."
This partnership is a part of the Heritage Microfilm international initiative, aimed at making the world's newspaper history available online.
"We're excited to be working with the University of Virginia Library," said Mike Willard, Director of Heritage Microfilm. "This is a unique collection of newspapers from around the world, and both students at the university as well as our members will benefit greatly from this valuable resource."
Interested parties from non-U.S. countries or U.S. institutions with international content can contact the international team at International@heritagemicrofilm.com.
Heritage Microfilm and the University of Virginia Library will team up to inspect, preserve, and digitize the University's international newspaper microfilm collection.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa (PRWEB) February 18, 2009 -- The University of Virginia Library, the research library system of this major university founded by Thomas Jefferson, has partnered with Heritage Microfilm to preserve and digitize their expansive foreign newspaper microfilm holdings. The first library at the University of Virginia was Thomas Jefferson's famous Rotunda, which he placed at the heart of his design for the university, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Heritage Microfilm will first verify the condition of each roll and the degree, if any, of vinegar syndrome or redox. Heritage will then work with the University Library team to repair and catalog each reel. NewspaperARCHIVE, digital brand of Heritage Microfilm, will then scan each reel of microfilm and index for Optical Character Recognition. The final newspaper images will be available via NewspaperARCHIVE website and NewspaperARCHIVE's institutional product NewspaperARCHIVE's institutional website.
"This project will make a valuable research collection even more widely available," said Barbie Selby, Research and Information Services Manager for the University of Virginia's Alderman Library. "These international newspapers will be used by historians, political scientists, sociologists and others to enrich their work and enhance their understanding of viewpoints from around the world."
This partnership is a part of the Heritage Microfilm international initiative, aimed at making the world's newspaper history available online.
"We're excited to be working with the University of Virginia Library," said Mike Willard, Director of Heritage Microfilm. "This is a unique collection of newspapers from around the world, and both students at the university as well as our members will benefit greatly from this valuable resource."
Interested parties from non-U.S. countries or U.S. institutions with international content can contact the international team at International@heritagemicrofilm.com.
Historic South Carolina African American Records to be Published Online
THE FOLLOWING IS TAKEN FROM TODAY'S "DEAR MYRTLE":
Lowcountry Africana and The South Carolina Department of Archives and History today announced plans to digitize and publish freely online more than 25,000 historic documents of interest to researchers of African American genealogy and history.
Under the new agreement, Colonial and Charleston, South Carolina estate inventories dated 1732-1867 will be digitized and indexed in detail, including the names of more than 30,000 slaves. Inventories of estates in early South Carolina probate records often listed slaves in family groupings. They also detail the material possessions so important for researchers of social and cultural history. "South Carolina has one of the richest sets of early government records of any of the original states,” said Charles Lesser, Senior Archivist at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.” This new cooperative effort will revolutionize access to an especially important segment of those records," concluded Lesser.
More than 14,000 South Carolina bills of sale, most of them bills of sale for slaves, will also be digitized for online viewing. These documents, dating from 1773 to 1872, are already indexed on the South Carolina Archives website but have not yet been digitized.
"Digitizing these records will open new avenues for African American genealogy research by forming, in many cases, a seamless paper trail from Emancipation to the 1700's," said Toni Carrier, Founding Director of Lowcountry Africana. "And Charleston's role as a port of entry during the Atlantic Slave Trade means that many thousands of African Americans have at least one ancestor who came from, or through, South Carolina."
When complete, the index and digital images of the documents will be available for free on Lowcountry Africana (www.lowcountryafricana.com), and within the On-line Records Index for the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (www.archivesindex.sc.gov).
Anyone may volunteer to help index the records by visiting www.afriquest.com,
Lowcountry Africana's new, central Internet home for free records of African American genealogy and history. Afriquest will officially launch at the end of February but volunteers may sign up now to participate. Copies of the microfilms of the original historic documents were donated by FamilySearch International.
For further information, please contact Toni Carrier at toni@lowcountryafricana.com.
About the South Carolina Department of Archives and History
The Department of Archives and History is the official repository for South Carolina's state and local government records. Their Online Records Index already provides free index access to over 300,000 documents and digital images of some 100,000 pages of South Carolina public records.
About Lowcountry Africana
Lowcountry Africana is an all-volunteer research project and free website devoted to the family and cultural history of African Americans in the rice-growing areas of South Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern Florida; home to the rich Gullah-Geechee cultural heritage. The Magnolia Plantation Foundation of Charleston, SC sponsored the development of Lowcountry Africana.
Their new Afriquest database will be international in scope and will be a free, central Internet database of records of African American genealogy and history. Afriquest will officially launch the February 28, 2009.
About FamilySearch
FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Patrons can access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Lowcountry Africana and The South Carolina Department of Archives and History today announced plans to digitize and publish freely online more than 25,000 historic documents of interest to researchers of African American genealogy and history.
Under the new agreement, Colonial and Charleston, South Carolina estate inventories dated 1732-1867 will be digitized and indexed in detail, including the names of more than 30,000 slaves. Inventories of estates in early South Carolina probate records often listed slaves in family groupings. They also detail the material possessions so important for researchers of social and cultural history. "South Carolina has one of the richest sets of early government records of any of the original states,” said Charles Lesser, Senior Archivist at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.” This new cooperative effort will revolutionize access to an especially important segment of those records," concluded Lesser.
More than 14,000 South Carolina bills of sale, most of them bills of sale for slaves, will also be digitized for online viewing. These documents, dating from 1773 to 1872, are already indexed on the South Carolina Archives website but have not yet been digitized.
"Digitizing these records will open new avenues for African American genealogy research by forming, in many cases, a seamless paper trail from Emancipation to the 1700's," said Toni Carrier, Founding Director of Lowcountry Africana. "And Charleston's role as a port of entry during the Atlantic Slave Trade means that many thousands of African Americans have at least one ancestor who came from, or through, South Carolina."
When complete, the index and digital images of the documents will be available for free on Lowcountry Africana (www.lowcountryafricana.com), and within the On-line Records Index for the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (www.archivesindex.sc.gov).
Anyone may volunteer to help index the records by visiting www.afriquest.com,
Lowcountry Africana's new, central Internet home for free records of African American genealogy and history. Afriquest will officially launch at the end of February but volunteers may sign up now to participate. Copies of the microfilms of the original historic documents were donated by FamilySearch International.
For further information, please contact Toni Carrier at toni@lowcountryafricana.com.
About the South Carolina Department of Archives and History
The Department of Archives and History is the official repository for South Carolina's state and local government records. Their Online Records Index already provides free index access to over 300,000 documents and digital images of some 100,000 pages of South Carolina public records.
About Lowcountry Africana
Lowcountry Africana is an all-volunteer research project and free website devoted to the family and cultural history of African Americans in the rice-growing areas of South Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern Florida; home to the rich Gullah-Geechee cultural heritage. The Magnolia Plantation Foundation of Charleston, SC sponsored the development of Lowcountry Africana.
Their new Afriquest database will be international in scope and will be a free, central Internet database of records of African American genealogy and history. Afriquest will officially launch the February 28, 2009.
About FamilySearch
FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Patrons can access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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