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 Thursday, April 24, 2008
Six Hints for Google Books Search
Posted by Allison
In our July issue, we have a Toolkit article on Google Books Search: a functionality within Google to comb the contents of all kinds of books the company has digitized in conjunction with libraries, publishers and authors. I've been playing around with Books Search to create a video demonstration of how it can help genealogists ( watch it on our You Tube channel), and decided to share a few hints I picked up: For best results, limit your search to books only: From the Google home page, click the more link in the top frame, then select Books. Type a surname plus subject:genealogy in the search box to look for published family histories. Not that your results will also include books authored by people with that surname, even if that family isn't the primary focus. By searching for genealogy as the subject, you'll avoid lots of hits on books where the word genealogy just happens to appear in the text. Search by county and local history books by typing the state, county or city name (use quotation marks around an exact phrase) and the word history in the search box. For example: ohio "wood county" history. On the results page, look at the end of each listing for Full View, Limited Preview, Snippet View or No Preview Available. This tells you how much of the actual book you'll get to see. If the book is too big or takes too long to download, an alternative is to save it to a personal Google library you create. You have sign up for a free Google account to use this feature. For books with limited or no viewable pages, use the Find This Book in a Library link to go to WorldCat, where you can enter your ZIP code to locate it in a library near you or where you can get it on interlibrary loan.
Family Tree Magazine articles | Genealogy Web Sites | Research Tips
4/24/2008 10:03:42 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Thursday, April 17, 2008
Terrific Family Tree Teamwork Contest
Posted by Allison
We all know genealogy brings families together—and we’d like to recognize families who’ve embraced that collaborative spirit to make genealogical breakthroughs. Has your clan worked together to solve a family mystery? Taken a teamwork approach to writing or documenting your family history? Tell us your story! Explain who was involved, how the collaboration came about and what you achieved in 500 words or less. We’ll select several true tales of family teamwork to feature in our November issue. It’s a chance to not only trumpet your collaborative triumph to the genealogy world, but also win prizes for your feat: We’ll pick one featured family at random to receive a grand-prize package designed to facilitate further collaboration. The package includes: - Family Reunion Organizer software from RootsMagic
- Free scanning of about 1,600 4x6 prints—or as many as you can fit in the prepaid box—from ScanMyPhotos.com
- An interactive family Web site with one year of free hosting from MyGreatBigFamily.com
Plus, each featured family will receive a copy of our State Research Guides CD. To enter, post your story in the Terrific Family Tree Teamwork Contest section of our forum—near the top of the site under Exclusives for Registered Users. If you aren’t already a registered user, you’ll need to sign up to view the contest area and post. Don’t delay! The deadline is May 15.
Family Tree Magazine articles
4/17/2008 11:06:30 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, April 03, 2008
We're Honored
Posted by Allison
When it comes to recognizing useful genealogical tools and services, we're used to doling out the honors—from our annual 101 Best Web Sites roundup to our "Libbys" libraries awards, coming in the July issue—rather than receiving them. But this week, we've gotten news that two awards have been bestowed upon Family Tree Magazine:  In a study of online traffic rankings, Utah-based professional research firm ProGenealogists found FamilyTreeMagazine.com to be one of the 50 most popular genealogical Web sites for 2008. Not surprisingly, heavy-hitting data providers Ancestry.com and RootsWeb (both owned by The Generations Network) topped the list. Some of the other rankings might surprise you—see the full list.
 ScanMyPhotos.com customers selected this blog as the Best Genealogy Reference Tool and Family Tree Magazine as the Most Popular Genealogy Publication in the 2008 Artistry of Genealogy Awards. You can read about all the winners at ScanMyPhotos.com’s online Photo Preservation Center.
It’s nice to know that genealogists find our tools, tips and information so useful. We’d love to hear your feedback, too (both compliments and critiques): Tell us how you think we can make our magazine, blogs and Web site even better by posting a comment.
Family Tree Magazine articles | Genealogy Industry | Genealogy Web Sites
4/3/2008 11:51:14 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, March 17, 2008
Got Irish Roots?
Posted by Diane
Happy St. Patrick's Day! A few numbers to help you appreciate the occasion: - 30.5 million US residents who claim Irish ancestry
- 4 million population of The Republic of Ireland
- 22.5 percent Massachusetts residents with Irish ancestry
- 4.8 million immigrants from Ireland admitted for US residence since 1820
- 100 pounds of green dye added to the Chicago River St. Patrick’s Day, 1962 (the year that verdant tradition began)
- 3 million spectators at New York City’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade
- 52,000 number of Irish immigrants who arrived in New York City in 1847
- 372,000 total population of New York City in 1847
- 107 years Boston has held an annual St. Patrick’s Day parade (Beantown witnessed the country’s first recorded St. Paddy’s Day celebration in 1737)
- 9 places in the United States named Dublin
We’re all Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, but if you’re Irish every other day of the year, too, the March 2008 Family Tree Magazine Irish research guide—and our online Irish Toolkit—will help you trace those roots back to the Emerald Isle.
Family Tree Magazine articles | International Genealogy | Social History
3/17/2008 10:56:07 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Thursday, February 21, 2008
The Five Ws of Genealogy
Posted by Diane
Researching ancestors in Canada? Lisa A. Alzo, who wrote a guide to Canadian genealogy research for the May 2008 Family Tree Magazine (on sale March 18), sent these five questions you should ask yourself (though we think they’d be helpful for research all over the globe): Canadian research has much in common with research elsewhere—your best chances for success will come from having laid a solid foundation. That means being able to answer the genealogical version of the Five W’s: 1. Whom are you researching? Be equipped with all the names your relatives were known by, and all the possible spellings.
2. What do you want to learn? This will give you some insight into what record you need to locate.
3. Where should you look? Canada’s a big country and records were mostly created and stored locally, and under an area’s geographic name at the time.
4. When did it happen? As in other places, different types of Canadian records were kept starting at different times. If your research starts before certain records were kept, you’ll need to find an alternate record to study. And what’s more, the way variousrecord groups were created and stored changed over time.
5. Why do you need a particular record? For example, maybe you want that marriage registration to learn the names of the couple’s parents. Knowing that can help keep you focused and open up possibilities for research in other records.
Look for Alzo’s advice to finding and using genealogical records in the May 2008 Family Tree Magazine.
Family Tree Magazine articles | Research Tips
2/21/2008 4:01:49 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, January 18, 2008
Studying the States
Posted by Diane
You might notice I've been slightly quieter around here lately. That’s because I’m cramming for an appearance on “ Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” OK, that’s not actually true. But I feel like I am. I’ve been learning all kinds of interesting facts about US history and geography while editing Family Tree Magazine State Research Guides like crazy for a compilation CD we’re planning to put out this spring. Oh, haven’t we mentioned that already? Yes, the CD will contain our research guides for all 50 states, plus bonus material including help tracing roots in Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. So I’m back to reading about Mississippi school censuses and the Vicksburg National Military Park, and you can bet we’ll keep you updated. Have a great weekend!
Family Tree Magazine articles
1/18/2008 5:00:33 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, January 02, 2008
10 Biggest Genealogy News Stories in 2007
Posted by Diane
Here are the top genealogy developments of 2007… at least in our humble opinion. Got one to add to (or kick off of) the list? Got an opinion which news is the biggest? Click Comment (below) and get it off your chest. Competition comes backFor a few years there, after industry leader MyFamily.com (now The Generations Network) purchased second-place Genealogy.com in 2003, industry competition ebbed and online innovation slowed. Today The Generations Network is still the giant, but the growth of relative newcomers including World Vital Records and Footnote, plus FamilySearch’s records-digitization initiatives, are keeping the genealogy business on its toes. Records digitization acceleratesIn October, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) announced it was teaming up with FamilySearch to digitize case files of approved pension applications from widows of Civil War Union soldiers. That’s part of an even bigger arrangement that has FamilySearch volunteers stationed at NARA to scan all kinds of records. Footnote also has agreements to digitize NARA records, and FamilySearch has mobilized thousands of volunteers to index scanned records. Partnerships proliferateOrganizations are joining forces right and left. World Vital Records, which launched in 2006, has built its genealogy database largely through partnership agreements. That site, Footnote, ProQuest and the Godfrey Library announced in May they’d provide access at FamilySearch’s Family History Centers. Nonprofit libraries and archives, including NARA, are using partnerships to increase records access without blowing their budgets. Social networking explodesAs contributing editor Rick Crume points out in his January 2008 Family Tree Magazine social networking guide, Web 2.0 has allowed sites to be more interactive than ever. In addition to the popularity of photo- and family-history-sharing sites such as Geni and Amiglia, and genealogy networking sites such as FamilyLink and WeRelate, database sites such as FindMyPast have added social networking features. Family Tree Maker 2008 disappointsSurely you’ve seen the comments from customers who bought the revamped genealogy program after a brief beta period, only to be disappointed by missing reports, data importing problems and other bugs. If not, let us help you out from under that rock, and take a look at readers’ comments in our products forum. DNA testing gets higher profile Your options for genetic genealogy testing—and the number of companies that’ll test you—jumped this year. The Generations Network hopped on board with DNA Ancestry. Mainstream media regularly weigh in on topics such as newcomer 23andme and the usefulness of testing for ethnic roots. PBS’s " African-American Lives" has brought genetic genealogy to prime time. NARA rates riseNARA's new rates for ordering copies of records, which included $75 for a Civil War pension file (up from $37), made us wonder about national priorities regarding the public’s access to historical records. Thank goodness for all that digitization (above). Everyone’s bloggingIt’s not hard to find genealogy news, resources and research updates from people in the know—just go to Google Blog Search and type in genealogy. You might come across The Ancestry Insider (an “unofficial, unauthorized view ...”), Geneablogie
(the author’s “exploration of his American family of families”) or one
of the tens of thousands of other blogs about family history. Heck, Family Tree Magazine got in on the act, too. Online videos are everywhereThank Roots Television
for this one. It actually launched in 2006, but expanded its coverage
this year by sending crews to genealogy conferences and on cruises, and
adding RootsTube (a genealogical version of YouTube where you can
upload videos). Founder Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak says the site's
roughly 400 shows (divided into 1,100 smaller chunks) are "pushing half a
million video views." Genealogists get youngerA survey Ancestry.com recently released found younger people expressed higher interest in learning heir family history. Empirical evidence—young people at conferences, youth branches of national societies ( see our Web site for links) and Facebook genealogy add-ons—also tells us this. This means genealogy can continue its status among the country’s popular pastimes.
Family Tree Magazine articles | Genealogy Industry
1/2/2008 4:12:58 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Attention, Genealogical Librarians
Posted by Diane
…and friends of genealogical librarians. Family Tree Magazine editors are working on an article that will honor libraries across the United States with outstanding genealogical collections—and we need your help! To learn more about libraries' resources and collections, we want to survey as many genealogical libraries as we can. Any type of genealogical library is eligible to participate: public or private, large or small, etc.—as long as it has a genealogical collection the public can use (for free or by paying an admission fee). Librarians can get more details and download our questionnaire (as a Word document) from www.familytreemagazine.com/librarysurvey. Questions cover the types of materials, collection scope and size, online information, that type of thing. We’ll need completed surveys e-mailed to us by Jan. 14, 2008. If you have questions about the survey, please post a comment here or e-mail our editorial staff.
Family Tree Magazine articles | Libraries and Archives
12/18/2007 4:54:50 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Enter Your Odd Holiday Tradition in Our All in the Family Challenge
Posted by Diane
Amidst the holiday shopping, baking and get-togethering rush, does your family make time to send around a fruitcake that’s been aging since 1976? Wrap a lump of coal for Uncle Jim? Set an elaborate trap in the hearth for
Santa? We want to know about the unusual traditions that make your family’s Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or New Year’s celebration complete. Besides just being fun to hear, readers' off-the-wall holiday rituals are the topic for our January 2008 All in the Family Challenge. You have until Jan. 1 to e-mail your tradition to us. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in the message or—so sorry—you won’t be eligible to win the subscription to Footnote’s online historical records database. We'll publish the winning (i.e., funniest) entries in the May 2008 Family Tree Magazine. You also can mail entries (postmarked before Jan. 1) to All in the Family/January 2008, Family Tree Magazine, 4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236.
Family Tree Magazine articles | Genealogy fun
12/18/2007 11:28:54 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
PC Magazine Reviews Family Tree Maker 2008
Posted by Diane
Not to beat a dead horse, but has anyone seen PC Magazine’s review of Family Tree Maker 2008? The reviewer, Lisa Reufenacht, gave it four out of five stars (or circles, or whatever those are). You can kinda tell she doesn’t do a lot of genealogy research. The word GEDCOM is nowhere to be found, and she makes no mention of genealogists' uproar over the software’s functionality problems and missing reports. She also notes Family Tree Maker 2008 is the only genealogy program she knows of offering automatic Ancestry.com searching, apparently unaware that’s because both products come from the same company. Of course the PC Magazine review is intended for a general audience, one not necessarily composed of genealogical enthusiasts. “Within 10 minutes, I had a family history … going back to my great-grandparents on my dad's side,” Reufenacht says. “I didn't have to search for any of the information—Family Tree Maker and Ancestry.com did everything for me.” Makes us a little sad to think about users who’ll be at a loss for what to do when Ancestry.com runs out of records (or doesn’t have any) on their ancestors. Though her review focused heavily on the auto-searching, Reufenacht did hit the nail on the head with this one: Used without a $155.40-per-year Ancestry.com subscription, Family Tree Maker loses some its shine. Look for Family Tree Magazine contributing editor Rick Crume’s Family Tree Maker 2008 review—from a genealogist’s perspective—in our March 2008 issue, on newsstands mid-January (note our magazine is not affiliated with the software). You can join the Family Tree Maker 2008 discussion in our Product News and Reviews Forum.
Family Tree Magazine articles | Genealogy Software
12/12/2007 2:29:34 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, December 10, 2007
A Happy Holiday Field Trip
Posted by Allison
Few aspects of our Family Tree Magazine editor jobs are as enjoyable as getting out into the genealogical community and meeting the readers of the magazine—particularly our friends at the Anderson (Ohio) Senior Center Genealogy Group. The group’s fearless leader, Bill Warden, invited our staff to speak to the group at Christmastime in 2004. Thus began our now-traditional “Editors and Cookies” visit each December, wherein the group members bring their favorite cookies to share, including some from heirloom recipes. (Yum!) So we were delighted to learn that Bill brought take-out boxes to today’s session so we could bring some back to the office! Check out the spread:
 But the cookies weren’t the best part of our visit. Far better is the opportunity to interact with people who are passionate about family history—and in many cases, Family Tree Magazine. It’s truly gratifying to hear how the work we do every day helps people, and to know that we make their hobby more enjoyable. I think everyone had fun today taking the genealogy personality quiz that will appear in our March 2008 issue. Here is everyone concentrating on selecting their answers…
Although we can’t visit every genealogy group personally, of course, we’d love to hear what you like (or don’t like) about Family Tree Magazine. Post your feedback in our Talk to Us Forum.
Family Tree Magazine articles | Genealogy societies
12/10/2007 6:19:15 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Forget Black Friday: Our CDs now on sale!
Posted by Grace
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, you can be sure that we're now barreling towards shopping season. Personally, I avoid malls like the plague on Black Friday. (Though I do indulge in a little Cyber Monday action.)
If you've got some genealogy buffs on your list (or if you've got yourself on your list), you have to check out our new 2006 and 2007 CDs! Every single page of Family Tree Magazine has been turned into a fully searchable, easily navigable and totally hotlinked product that you can take with you wherever you go. You will never have to type another URL again!
The 2007 CD includes all issues from this year, with articles including how to master the US census, the best family history tools ever, and guides to tracing Civil War and WWI ancestors. Also on the 2007 CD are our exclusive state research guides for Indiana, Maine, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming. (We threw in some extras, too!)
The 2006 CD includes articles on 365 ways to trace your roots, 89 family history freebies, five ways to save time online and genetic genealogy explained in plain English. The 2006 issues include our exclusive state research guides for Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Texas.
The files on the CDs are enhanced PDFs, which you can view with the free program Adobe Reader. (If you don't already have Reader, it's available for download here.)
We editors here at Family Tree Magazine put a lot of sweat into making these CDs, and we think you'll find them as handy as we do! Click here to browse our CDs and order online! (If you prefer not to buy online, we do have alternative shopping options.)
Family Tree Magazine articles | Genealogy Software
11/21/2007 10:27:56 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, November 12, 2007
Report Urges Opening Adoptees' Birth Records
Posted by Diane
A report released today could help change how—and whether—adopted people can search for their family trees. The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute examined whether adopted people, once they become adults, should have access to their original birth information. The report’s conclusion is "yes," and it urges all states to follow the eight (Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon and Tennessee) that already allow adults who were adopted to access their original birth records. The institute found that in states with open records, “most birthparents and adoptees handle any contact with maturity and respect.” You can read the report online and learn about the controversy surrounding opening birth records for adopted individuals at CNN.com. For many genealogists, an adopted parent or grandparent presents a research brick wall. According to the report, some states have restored access more narrowly, “typically to individuals who were adopted prior to the state's law sealing this information.” You can get help researching ancestral adoptions in the February 2007 Family Tree Magazine. Also see these links:
Family Tree Magazine articles | Public Records
11/12/2007 4:47:54 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, November 05, 2007
Finding Old High School Yearbooks
Posted by Diane
My high school reunion (I’m not going to tell you which one) was a few weekends ago . I got to page through some old yearbooks and was reminded not only of my lack of skills with a curling iron, but also of yearbooks’ value in genealogical research. Any descendants I may have, for example, will learn facts such as the name of my high school and the years I attended, and they’ll get a glimpse of my teen-age tendency toward geekiness. Yes, I’m a former member of the newspaper staff, yearbook committee, academic team and drama club set crew. I’m so glad it’s OK to be geeky when you’re a grown-up. You also can see names of various award winners and, for seniors, the directory with contact information. Of course, yearbooks show you all those great photos. If you’ve got family pictures of teen-aged relatives with unidentified others, try compare the unknown faces to photos in your ancestor's high school yearbook. Names of friends who signed the book are clues, too. The yearbooks now available through World Vital Records are from colleges. The following tips for finding high school yearbooks come from the October 2005 Family Tree Magazine. If you know of other yearbook sources, hit Comment and post them: - Look up the school online (try a Google search or a site such as Public School Search) to see if it's in operation. Then call the office and ask whether old yearbooks are in the school or alumni office, and ask permission to visit.
- If you struck out, call libraries and historical societies in the area, which may collect old yearbooks.
- Next, see if you can find any alumni—even one from your ancestor’s class—through the school’s Web site. (No Web site? Do a Google search such as graduate central high school anytown.) The graduate may be willing to do a lookup. You also can visit genealogical message boards covering that town and ask if anyone has a yearbook.
- Not many high school yearbooks are online, but sites with collections include the National Yearbook Project and Dead Fred. A Google search may help here, too. Try searching on the high school name plus yearbook genealogy.
Family Tree Magazine articles | Research Tips
11/5/2007 10:46:18 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, October 15, 2007
Batch Photo Scanning Services
Posted by Allison
For our January 2008 issue, contributing editor Rick Crume wrote an article about methods for scanning family photographs—a process that often can be tedious and time-consuming. One option Rick describes in the article is batch photo-scanning services. You ship off your pictures to the company, which then scans and delivers your digital images and originals in just a few days. These services are economical, too; you can get up to 1,000 photos digitized for as little as $50. The catch, of course, is you have to let your pictures out of your possession. If you’re like me, you might not feel so comfortable entrusting your precious memories to UPS or the postal service. So this type of service might not be the best choice for irreplaceable historical photos. On the other hand, if you don’t scan or otherwise copy your favorite photos—from yesterday and today—you risk losing them should they become victims of a flood, fire or even the family dog. If you have duplicates of photos, batch scanning seems like an ideal solution for getting them digititzed. In addition to photographic prints, many services will also scan 35 mm slides and negatives. Depending on the service, you can get your scans on a CD, DVD, USB drive or even have them stored online. Here’s a sampling of the services we’ve found. Know of any others? Post a comment. 30 Minute Photos Etc.www.scanmyphotos.comBritePix www.britepix.com Digital Picklewww.digitalpickle.comDigMyPicswww.digmypics.comLarsen Digitalwww.slidescanning.com MySpecialPhotos www.myspecialphotos.comScanCaféwww.scancafe.comScanDigitalwww.scandigital.com SecuringMemories.comwww.securingmemories.com
Family Tree Magazine articles
10/15/2007 2:03:55 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, October 12, 2007
Our Photo Detective in the Wall Street Journal!
Posted by Diane
Family Tree Magazine’s very own Photo Detective, Maureen A. Taylor, is featured in today’s Wall Street Journal, right there on the front of its Weekend Journal section. The article tells the stories of several families whose photos Maureen has used to fill in a missing piece of the past. Several of the pictures, such as this one showing three young ladies, have been featured in Maureen’s Photo Detective column in Family Tree Magazine and her Photo Detective blog on FamilyTreeMagazine.com. You also get a sense of the research that goes into each photo analysis. Maureen draws on her burgeoning library of obscure reference books; guides to historical uniforms, clothing, accessories, fraternal insignia, artifacts and other items that show up in our ancestors’ photographs; a closetful of antique photos; other historians' insights; and a store of knowledge that comes from studying history and analyzing thousands of images over the years. See a portion of the article on the Wall Street Journal Web site. In Family Tree Magazine and her Family Tree Books, Maureen shares tips you can use to glean family history clues from your own clan's photos. Here are some links to get you started: Photo Detective blogHere, Maureen analyzes readers' photos, gives advice on preserving old images and more. Photo Detective Online ArchiveMaureen has been identifying images on FamilyTreeMagazine.com for years! Access those articles here. Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs, 2nd edition In this book, Maureen offers in-depth advice and examples to help you analyze your own family's photographs. Dating 20th-Century Photographs: LinksMaureen recommended these Web sites in a June 2006 Family Tree Magazine article on analyzing and preserving more-recent images. Photographic Mystery—Solved!Another photo success story, showing the value of consulting your relatives when researching family photos. Now What? Online: Dating Foreign PhotosSome things to look for in images taken overseas. Software for Organizing and Editing PhotosMaureen and other Family Tree Magazine authors recommend these programs for fixing up and storing digitized images. The Photo DetectiveMaureen's Web site, where you can submit photos and ask questions and find out where to see her presentations.
Celebrating your heritage | Family Tree Magazine articles
10/12/2007 1:25:07 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
New Grand Army of the Republic Records Resource
Posted by Diane
If you read the July 2007 Family Tree Magazine article on Civil War ancestors, you know Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) records are a promising resource—some 40 percent of Union veterans joined their local GAR posts. But you also know the GAR wasn’t a centralized organization, and post records are dispersed among state archives and historical societies (sometimes with microfilmed copies at the Family History Library), with sporadic indexes. GAR help is here: Missouri historian Dennis Northcott is compiling a book series transcribing information from GAR death rolls. The three books he’s published so far include name, military unit and rank, death date, and post information for 90,000 GAR members in several Midwestern states: Illinois; Indiana; and Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. (Note if your ancestor moved, he would've joined a post in his new state, not the state from which he served.) Now Northcott's working on Ohio and Pennsylvania. He's posted all the names from the series on his Web site. If you think you've found your ancestor, you can order the book ($30) or look for it at your library. Armed with the GAR post location and information from the bibliographies in Northcott’s books, you can start your search for GAR rosters, meeting minutes and other records. For more research resources, see our online Civil War genealogy roundup.
Family Tree Magazine articles | Genealogy Web Sites | Military records
9/26/2007 1:02:48 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, September 07, 2007
Ancestry.se and More Swedish Genealogy Resources
Posted by Diane
Ancestry.com has launched a Swedish Web site, www.Ancestry.se. Accessible with a $299.40-per-year ($29.95 per month) World Deluxe membership, the site contains Swedish emigration records with 1.4 million names, and vital records from 81 Lutheran parishes in Sweden’s Varmland County. The same records are also available through Ancestry.com’s US records collection ($155.40 per year). Note they’re not linked to digitized original records. The original emigration data comes from a CD called Emigranten Populär. Data were culled from various records including passport lists, passenger lists and correspondence. For more on what you can learn from the records, see Ancestry.com’s “about” page for that database. You can buy a version of the database on a two-CD set called Emigranten for $190 from Göteborgs-Emigranten in Göteborg. Other Swedish record sources you can check out: - Emigrantslistor, passenger-list information from 1851 to 1940 the police department kept for Stockholm. The Family History Library has this on microfilm, as well as emigrations through other Swedish ports.
- Emibas, a CD of 1.1 million emigrants listed in between 1845 and 1930. It’s available from Ancestors Swedish.
- Genline has digitized virtually all Swedish church records and made them searchable in its database. Access costs around $370 for a year; you also can buy shorter subscriptions and take advantage of special offers.
- SVAR, a division of Sweden's national archives, offers a smaller collection of digitized church records, as well as some censuses and vital records (click the English icon on the Web site). It costs about $146 per year, with shorter subscriptions and other packages available.
For more help, use our Swedish online ethnic toolkit and see the October 2006 Family Tree Magazine (sold out from our back issues store, but ask for it at your library).
Family Tree Magazine articles | Genealogy Web Sites | International Genealogy
9/7/2007 5:03:05 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Research Family Reunions in Newspapers
Posted by Diane
Next time you're using a database of historic newspapers, try this tip from Tom Kemp, of the GenealogyBank subscription newspaper site: Look for articles about your kin's family reunions. Society pages in old newspapers would report on local gatherings, often with names of the family patriarch and out-of-town or well-known attendees. You can download a few examples from GenealogyBank's free downloads page. Search for family surnames and the words family reunion. Try adding a place if you get a lot of hits. Kemp also suggests searching for reunions of high schools and colleges and military units. A subscription to GenealogyBank costs $19.95 per month or $89.95 per year. Many public libraries offer cardholders free access to its sister database, NewsBank, through their Web sites. Other resources include Ancestry.com's newspapers ($155.40 per year in the US Records Collection) and the growing newspaper databases at World Vital Records ($49.95 for two years). You'll find more options for finding newspapers both online and in libraries on FamilyTreeMagazine.com. Also see the newspaper research guide in the February 2007 Family Tree Magazine.
Family Reunions | Family Tree Magazine articles | Genealogy Web Sites | | |