Wondering how to get your kids and grandkids engaged in family history? Looking for worthwhile activities for the kids over the Christmas break? In this episode author Janet Hovorka provides answers. Our children are the future of our families, and there's no better time to help them engage, explore and enjoy their family history!  App Users: Be sure to check out the audio Bonus Content in the Genealogy Gems App!

NEWS:

Congratulations to the winner of the 1 year digital subscription to Family Tree Magazine. Amanda’s Blog: ABT UNK

Tips for Collaborative Genealogy

Read about FamilySearch Updates Include VA Pension Cards, South American Records

2014 NGS Program and Registration

Where You Can Find Over a Million British Church Records that are Now Indexed!

  

MAILBOX:

From Gary: “There was a recent episode of the Las Vegas Based  “CSI” show in which a genealogist was used  to help solve a crime and the head CSI guy (Ted Dansen) and the Genealogist debated about Genealogy being a science.  Only took them 1 hr  (and 30 commercials) to do what takes us a live time –Hummmmmm!!!”

Premium member Roger in Utah: “Thanks for another great podcast – this time on MY ancestral homeland of Norway.  I have spent many hours using the digitalarchivet.no  website.    While you can use the English version, parts of it are only in Norwegian.

Norway, like most Scandinavian countries, has put nearly all of their parish records online.  It is a wonderful resource. You have to learn what some of words are, such as birth, Christening, confirmation, marriage, death, etc. But even just these can help a lot. If you learn a few more Norwegian words, you can more fully access the vast amount on information available on that site. 

In that podcast you also talked about taking a risk and contacting someone about possible family information. Through some of my Norwegian research I found a man who lives in a little town about an hour north of Oslo.

He is the leader of a group called the Hadelandlag Society. Hadeland is a region of Norway. I got an email address for this man, Ole, and contacted him. He has been wonderful to me.  He went to a local repository and looked up information on my family from the information I gave him. Of course, I thanked him profusely for helping someone he did not even know. We have now emailed several times. Certainly the “risk” paid off.

I have also found some US chapters of the Hadelandlag Society and have become a member.   And I found some distant cousins as a result,  one in Canada, and one in Minnesota. We email somewhat regularly. See what taking the “risk” can do.”

Matt Has a Mystery and is Looking for Extra Sets of Eyes: “Thank you for your podcasts! … even listening to the older podcasts can provide needed perspective on how to break through your brick walls. Speaking of brick walls, mine may be crumbling. I've been trying to trace the parents/ancestors of my great-grandmother. Up until this past summer, I had no information whatsoever. On May 30, 2013, I found an 1855 New York State Census entry that may tell me who her family is. I wrote up a blog entry about the current status of the search and I'd be interested in your thoughts.”  Matt's Blog

From Alan in Minneapolis, MN: “I started listening to the podcast about a year ago, and it's been a great reminder of things that I had forgotten how to use Google for.  Thanks to your hints, I've found descendants for 2 of my wife's great-great uncles who moved away from the farm in Illinois and we lost track of. The Google tips from early on in the series have even helped in projects at work- my colleagues think I'm spending hours searching for things that I'm finding in a couple minutes with some of the tricks.

Also after hearing about blogging your family history for at least the last 3 pod casts,  I've finally decided to take the leap and start publishing my discoveries on a blog (groundhoggenealogist.blogspot.com) so I can post there rather than send emails and miss some of the cousins or send Facebook messages and miss the others.  I've only written two posts (one's up one set to publish Sunday morning), but I hope this is something I can keep up. Just a note to say thanks.”

Janice in Montreal started a genealogy blog: “I attended several of your presentations at the BIFHSGO conference a few weeks ago and really enjoyed them. Partly as a result of hearing your advice, I have started a blog on which I'm posting the short family history articles I've been writing, as well as comments on the research process. The story called "An Economic Emigrant" explains why I'm a Canadian rather than an American. Please take a quick look when you get a chance.” writinguptheancestors.blogspot.ca.

Ethan is looking for some Fold3 help: “I recently went to look for the graves of my great-grandparents and learned in doing so that their son, my grandpa's brother, died in WWII.  Since he has a very common name, George L. Allen, I have been unsuccessful in trying to look up his records on fold3.com or other search engines.  Any hints on how to narrow my search?  This is the information I was able to obtain just from his headstone: Private First Class, 63rd armored infantry battalion, 11th armored division.  He died Jan 6, 1945, just as the war was dying down.  Other than that, I don't know if he was in the Pacific or in Europe.  My fold3.com search yields thousands of results.  Any help would be appreciated!”

Lisa’s Answer: Fold3.com does have some educational videos on YouTube. In particular: How to Search on Fold3. If you don't get the full answer you are looking for, leave a comment on the video to ask a more specific question or ask how to contact them with your question. YouTube is interactive when it comes to comments and I would anticipate they would respond.

Family Tree Magazine Webinar Recording: Making the Most of Fold

 

GEM: Helping Your Kids and Grandkids Engage in Family History with Janet Hovorka

Janet is the author of the book Zap the Grandma Gap

Available Workbooks:

My British Ancestor

My Swedish Ancestor

My Civil War Ancestor

My German Ancestor

 

 Above: Janet Hovorka, Owner of FamilyChartmasters

 Visit the free Website for more Zap the Grandma Gap

CLOSING:

Sign up for the FREE Genealogy Gems Newsletter at www.GenealogyGems.com

Explore Lisa's brand new Pinterest Board: Best U.S. Libraries for Genealogy

Follow Lisa at Pinterest

 

I was so impresssed with Yngve Nedrebø, the Chief archivist at Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) who I recently interviewed for the Family Tree Magazine podcast that I'm publishing an extended version of that interview here on the Genealgoy Gems Podcast. This is a "must hear" for those with Norwegian heritage. In this episode you'll also hear from a fellow listener and get a chance to see his family history tour that he created in Google Earth using the techniques I teach in the Google Earth for Genealogy video CD series. And we'll get a taste of the history of coffee.

Linda from Ventura Seminar writes in about her recent success:

“I just loved your presentation Saturday at the Ventura Genealogy Seminar.  I learned so much and feel very enthused to really get to work on all this.  In fact I was so encouraged I got brave and called a telephone number that I had found for a possible 1st cousin, once removed.  And surprise, it was him and we had a lovely 30-minute conversation and I’m going to send him information and he and his wife invited me to Florida to visit!!  How about that.  It was so exciting, still haven’t gotten over it.”

Linda said that she was encouraged enough to get brave and make that telephone call. That can be a pretty scary thing. We all have things that we need a bit of bravery to do.

And that brings me to an important question that I posed in the most recent edition of the free Genealogy Gems Newsletter.

Having you taken a technological RISK lately?

This was the key question I posed in the newsletter: Are you fully embracing technology so that you can connect with those that matter to you, both living and in your family tree? There's not as much RISK as you might think. As I always say in my classes: "you can't break it, so go for it and give it a try!" And of course Genealogy Gems is here to help.

 

MAILBOX:

Eric shares his Google Earth Family History Tour:
“This is my most complex Google Earth Project ever.   I hope you enjoy it.  It’s really been a hit with my family.  They don’t glaze over right away, LOL!  Visit Eric's blog to see his tour.

After viewing it I couldn't help but wonder if there was video out there. And sure enough I found a few. I'm sure there are more with potential:

B17s taking off from Podington:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qVAHmO0AnA
Focke-Wulf Fw 190: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdPv0h5Kpm4

YouTube video update: If you’ve had trouble embedding videos recently in your own family history tours, or genealogy blog, it's actually YouTube that is causing the problem. If you look closely at the YouTube embed code they are (for some unknown reason) leaving off the "http:" and so the code doesn't work. Copy and paste the embed code into a Google Earth placemark and then correct the URL so it is complete and it will work for you. (Do note though that the person who uploaded the video can opt not to allow it to be embedded. If that's the case, there will be a statement on the video page)

A Different Kind of Map: Mapping Arlington Cemetery

 

Cameron is Looking for Death Certificates
“I am 23 year old recent graduate of nursing school and a huge fan of your Genealogy Gems podcast. I've been researching my family history for about 5 years off and on, and I've discovered more than I've ever imagined. I've been listening two your show for about 3 months now after I discovered it, and I appreciate all of the helpful tips. However, I still have a little problem. I can't seem to find the maiden name of one of my recent ancestors Sallie Mosley. She was born in 1863, I assume in Emanuel County, Georgia. She married James Mosley in the 1880's. I know that the courthouse in Emanuel county burned several times, so that could be why I can't find a marriage record. I have found a death certificate on Ancestry, but isn't very detailed unless you order the certificate. If I visited the courthouse, could they possible dig up a detailed death certificate?”

 

From Lisa: I ran a quick Google search and found the following on the Emanuel County, Georgia records site:
"Death certificates are open to the public. You must be a member of the immediate family to acquire a death certificate with the cause of death. Our Death certificates on the local level begin at 1927 and back to 1917 in our state office." So depending on when she died they may be able to be of help. 

I would also recommend contacting local historical and genealogical societies. They often have the inside scoop on what's available and how to access it locally. A quick Google search should help you make contact. Run the search in Google Earth and it will plot them out for you on the map!

 

GEM: Norwegian Genealogy and the National Archives of Norway

One of the shining stars on the Internet that offer rays of research hope for those with Norwegian heritage is the National Archives of Norway’s Digital Archive. Lisa’s special guest: Yngve Nedrebø, Chief archivist at Riksarkivet.  http://www.arkivverket.no/eng/Digitalarkivet

 

GEM: Wartime Coffee Bean Counting
Given what seems to be the ever-growing profusion of coffee vendors, imagine what a crisis it would be if coffee were suddenly rationed. That's exactly what happened this month in 1942 because the war had interrupted shipments and people were hoarding coffee. But rationing lasted only until the next summer. It's thought that coffee was introduced into America by Captain John Smith, one of the founders of the Jamestown Colony in Virginia. Its popularity jumped after both the Boston Tea Party and the beginning of Prohibition. For those who don't make their own coffee, there are just over 19,000 coffee shops across the country, and they sell more than $10 billion worth of coffee a year. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/coffee-rationing-begins

http://jamestowncoffee.com/the-history-of-coffee-in-america/

http://globalreach.blogs.census.gov/2013/06/26/coffeedata/

 

 

In this episode you will meet other listeners who are getting the word out about their family history through blogging as well as give you some genealogy blogging pointers,and I will introduce you to one of my first “Favorite Genealogy Gems”

Look who I ran into in Detroit: Steve Luxenberg, author of "Annie's Ghosts"

Cruise with Lisa
It’s always a joy for me to get to get out and about and meet so many of you in person. And, have I got an amazing event to tell you about where we can get together in person, talk genealogy and experience the joy of travel! I’ve just signed on with Unlock the Past Cruises for their 2014 British Isles Cruise.

Presenters page

Itinerary: 

• day 1 – depart Tilbury, London – 6pm (boarding from 12.30pm)
• day 2 – at sea
• day 3 – Invergordon, Scotland – 7.30am-10pm
• day 4 – Kirkwall, Orkney Islands – 7am-6pm
• day 5 – Stornoway, Outer Hebrides – 7.30am-10pm (transfer to shore by tender)
• day 6 – Tobermory, Isle of Mull – 7.30am-4pm (transfer to shore by tender)
• day 7 – Dublin, Ireland – 8am-5.45pm
• day 8 – St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly - 9am-6pm (transfer to shore by tender)
• day 9 – St Peter Port, Guernsey - 7.30am-6pm (transfer to shore by tender)
• day 10 – Honfleur, France –  9am-5pm
• day 11 – arrive Tilbury, London – 9am

You’ll have around 40 topics to choose from, held mostly in the evening so there will be loads of time to explore the landscape.

My understanding is that this cruise is filling up very quickly so if you’re interested be sure and click the links above for more details.

Brand New in the Genealogy Gems Store

Evernote for Windows for Genealogists Quick Reference Guide

“a nice easy to grab and use laminated cheat sheet that can instantly answer your most important questions and give you easy ways to use Evernote more quickly and efficiently.”

Evernote is certainly the fastest-growing note-taking technology out there, so it is no wonder that it is incredibly popular with genealogists. But there is so much packed in to it that I notice that many genealogists aren’t taking full advantage. Keep this handy cheat sheet close at hand and you’ll have everything you need.

This four page laminated guide includes:

• A Getting Started Checklist
• Quick Key Break Out Boxes – packed with keystrokes to speed up your use of Evernote
• Specialized Note-taking Actions
• How to Get the Most Out of Clipping
• Tips for Maneuvering the Desktop Client
• Genealogical Organization Recommendations
• Little Known Search Strategies
• Specialized Genealogy Focused Techniques such as Source Citation Tips, Clipping Recommendations, and Using Reminders
• Evernote Premium vs. Free Comparison

$8.95 plus shipping.  Also available for UK, Canada or Australia shipping

Genealogy News:

ANCESTRY.COM and FamilySearch recently announced that they have made an agreement to jointly make a billion global records available online over the next five years by digitizing, indexing and publishing the records from the FamilySearch vault. Ancestry.com expects to invest more than $60 million alongside thousands of hours of volunteer efforts facilitated by FamilySearch. 

The companies also announced in early 2013 an additional project where they plan to publish 140 million U.S. Wills & Probate images and indexes over the next three years—creating a national database of wills and other probate documents spanning 1800-1930 online for the very first time.

 

Daughter Receives WWII Soldier Father's Letter Decades Later - Read the article

Watch the Video:

 

 

MAILBOX:

In this episode we celebrate listeners who are sharing their family history through blogging:

New Blogger Keith is a Son of a Swift
http://www.megankeith.com/past

I have run a personal family history site for the past five years and now, based on your advice, launched my own genealogy blog. I already had a tumblr account, so I started sonofswift.tumblr.com (Son of Swift is a translation of my name from the original Gaelic, O'Seibhleain).  Thanks for the great idea and I will continue to listen as I conduct my research into the future.”

 

Chris is Now Blogging

http://leaftwigandstem.blogspot.com/ 
 “OK listening to the folks in your latest podcasts convinced me. I started my own genealogy blog last month. So far there's not a lot of "traffic" but I've gotten good reviews from the family members…Hoping you have some tips in mind for a future podcast...sort of a maintaining a blog for the long run -tips and tricks type thing. Take a look and let me know what you think. LOVE the podcast.”

Follow up from Chris:

“After getting my feet wet, I decided to join GENEABLOGGERS network at www.geneabloggers.com  . Wow. My first goal was realized just after that. I found another blogger who is a "double cousin" through two different branches of my family. Thanks so much for your advice.”

 

Margaret is on a Family Album Journey
familyalbumjourney.blogspot.com
“I started my blog a couple of years ago, but I decided to really blog regularly back in May.  I'm using the photos in my Davis ancestors' family albums from the 1880s as a springboard for my blog posts.  They lived in Savannah, so I'm really focusing a lot on Savannah history and the photographers there.  It's been fun.  I took a break when I went on a family vacation in July, so I'm struggling to get back in the rhythm of posting.   I tend to do a lot of research just for my posts, so it can take a lot of time, but I love it! Thanks for the inspiration and all the great information.”

Wayne Uses Blogging to Discover Genealogy
http://discovergenealogy.blogspot.ca/
“I have started a new blog about genealogy. It is a place where I can tell stories, relate experiences and pass along tips discovered while doing research on my family; through volunteer activities, including as an Online Parish Clerk; and from projects completed as a genealogical consultant. The first post is in place and I have many more in preparation."

Premium Member Sandy is Digging into her Family Roots
http://diggingintomyfamilyroots.blogspot.com/
“I am a new blogger, on your last podcast you said to email a link to our blogs. I watched your videos to get me started. i do have fun with it. I hope you like it.” Sandy’s blog has been featuring a series of letters home written during World War II."

Steve is Poking Around the Past
http://pokingaroundinthepast.com/
“On September 1st I finally managed to get my family history blog started, and I'd like to invite you to take a look. I call it Poking Around in the Past, and I gave you a mention (link) in my first post.”

From Gloria who describes herself as “A Die Hard Fan”
http://familylinks.blog.com
“I have a blog but haven’t really dedicated it to genealogy although it ties in sometimes as I use it for building my platform for my upcoming adoption memoir. Feel free to take a look at Family Links Matter. I put together a Facebook group page—The Groton, MA LONGLEY line—and family members post and share info, pictures, and a lot more. I met a third cousin and her daughter, several 7^th cousins, and more. It’s a great resource for all of  us. Check it out Groton MA line LONGLEY
https://www.facebook.com/groups/34724192366/

 

Lisa’s Blogging Tips
Include great visuals – old photos, public domain images, etc. Your readers will enjoy them and they may help in your blog’s Google search results ranking.

Give your readers an easy way to subscribe by email
Give it a try by subscribing to the Genealogy Gems Blog through email using https://blogtrottr.com/

Instructions for Subscribing to a blog via email: (feel free to add these to your blog)

1. Look for the orange RSS button to get the feed address for a blog or podcast.
2. Copy the RSS feed address for the blog
   Example: The Genealogy Gems blog the feed is http://lisalouisecooke.com/feed/
3. Go to www.blogtrottr.com
4. Paste  the blog feed URL in the “Feed” field on the Blogtrottr website
5. In the next field type in your email address
6. Select how often you want to receive the email notifications of new posts
7. Click the orange “Feed Me” button
8. Emails of new posts will now be delivered to your email address as requested

Let your readers know that the service is available to them by adding a Text Widget to the side bar of your blog with the above instructions and a link to Blogtrottr.

Try assigning themes to your blogging days. It can help you get a jump start on writing, as well as help you determine which areas are your favorites that you may want to focus on my more in the future as your “niche.”

Check out Geneabloggers at www.Genealogybloggers.com for genealogy blogging support and theme ideas.

Break up long posts into several posts. They are easier for you to publish, and easier for your readers to consume.

Collect blogging ideas in Evernote. Set up a notebook called “Blogging Ideas” and tags for your various subject areas such as:

• Family lines / surnames such as  “Johnson Family”
• Location based subjects such as “Texas History”
• Focus areas such as  “Memoirs”, “Old Photos” etc.

Learn everything you need to know about using Evernote for genealogy by becoming a Genealogy Gems Premium Member. In addition to over 100 exclusive Premium episodes, membership includes my one hour Evernote class video, and the Evernote instructional mini-series. 

Get the Evernote for Windows for Genealogists Quick Reference Guide in the Genealogy Gems Store

 

 

GEM:  Lisa’s Favorite Genealogy Gems (Just in time for Christmas!): Espy Frames by Jen Garrett

As I get older, I find myself tiring of the same old gift giving every year. You know how it is – we all have too much stuff, and what we become more and more interested in is that which will last, and have a lasting impression on our family and those we love.

So as I travel throughout the year I keep my eyes peeled for things that really stand out – items that are truly Genealogy Gems. Wonderful products that I want for my own home and family, and ones I think that you will appreciate and enjoy as well. So I’ve decided that Lisa is going to have her Favorite Genealogy Gems.  And the first one that I want to introduce you to today are Espy Frames by Jen Garrett.

I will never forget taking my annual walk through the Ohio Genealogical Society Conference exhibit hall this last year. I really didn’t expect to see anything earth shattering or new. But when I reached the end of the first row and turned the corner I was instantly mesmerized by what I saw.

Laid out across a long table, and hanging on the walls behind it were the more glorious and spectacular frames I had ever seen. Most were large thick frames around mirrors, but a few encompassed vintage photos. But they had three very important things in common. They all were dripping with vintage gems, jewels, charms, buttons and antiques. They were all one-of-a-kind pieces of art, and each one told a very unique story.  Oh, and they had one more important thing in common. They were all created by Jen Garrett.

In this gem segment of the podcast I want to introduce you to Jen. She is a very special lady, which an incredible talent for story telling through these incredible art frames. I hope you come away with is that there are new and creative ways to help tell you ancestors story.

(image above: Jen's barn workshop)

I have a very special hand tinted photo from the 1930s of my beloved Grandma Alfreda Burkett in her nursing cap, taken the day she graduated from nursing school. She looks so young, and beautiful and full of excitement for her new career, which would last for over 50 years.  I’ve waited to hang that photo in my home because I knew it deserved a special frame, and I’ve just never found one that did it justice. The frame that I bought that day, absolutely does it justice. It’s covered in vintage items from that era, all with a medical theme.

Exclusive Collection Hand Selected by Lisa
I noticed it right away because the frame held a photo from that same era of another young nurse. She has been replaced with Grandma Burkett’s photo, and this framed piece is now, truly, a family heirloom. It hangs in my Genealogy Gems office, and it will be handed down for generations to come.

Jen’s frames are an investment well worth making. And if you would like to acquire one of these very special frames you will find an exclusive collection now in the Genealogy Gems website store, just in time for the holidays.

I have personally selected these frames and they are all truly incredible works of art!

Even if you aren’t interested in purchasing a frame, may I encourage you to just go and window shop. You’ll be inspired. And once a frame I this collection has been purchased it’s gone forever, because they really are one-of-a-kind.

Be sure to click on them to see the enlarged view. The photos don’t do the frames justice, but the larger images will give you a taste of all of the incredible and intricate details in them. On a PC you can hold the Control key and plus the plus key (+) to zoom in even further. Enjoy!

 

Join Today: Genealogy Gems Premium Membership

Sign up for the Free Newsletter on the www.GenealogyGems.com homepage and get the free ebook 5 Fabulous Google Search Strategies for the Family Historian as a thank you gift!

 

Come along as we solve a family history mystery with high-tech and low-tech tools, discuss who to begin African-American research, explore newly available Canadian records, and contemplate the value of work as well as the values we want to pass on to our kids and grandkids.

NEWS:

Canadian Genealogical Records Now Available
If you have Canadian kin, you’ll be pleased to hear that the 1825 census of Lower Canada is now searchable online. The 1825 census of Lower Canada counted nearly half a million people. Heads of household were actually named, with other members of the household counted by category. You can search by household name or geographic location.

The 1921 census counted 8.8 million people in thousands of communities across Canada. According to the Library and Archives Canada Blog, the population questionnaire had 35 questions. The census also collected data on “agriculture; animals, animal products, fruits not on farms; manufacturing and trading establishments; and [a] supplemental questionnaire for persons who were blind and deaf. This represents a total of 565 questions.” The census was released this past June 1 from the national Statistics office to the Library and Archives. That office is processing and scanning the nearly 200,000 images for public use. It hopes to have them posted soon.

You can start looking for your Canadian ancestors in the Library and Archives Canada’s popular Census Indexes at which include that 1825 census and a new version of the 1891 census, too.

If your family arrived in Canada after the 1921 census, check out the website for The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, where a million immigrants landed between 1928-1971.

The much-anticipated (but little-publicized) 1921 Canadian census is now online and available for browsing at http://www.ancestry.ca/census  They anticipate releasing an index later this year.

When you click on the first link above, you’ll see that Ancestry.ca’s collection of Canadian census data goes back to 1851. Check out my post above to learn about online data back to 1825. It’s getting easier all the time to find your Canadian ancestors online!

Genealogy Roadshow on PBS: More Genealogy TV
Lovers of Who Do You Think You Are! and other genealogy TV favorites will be pleased to know that Genealogy Roadshow is filming for airing this fall on PBS. This has already been a popular series in Ireland, where Genealogy Roadshow is in its second season. The series premieres in the U.S. on KQED on Monday September 23.  Read more about it here

 

MAILBOX:

Death Certificate Confusion  Scott writes: “I wanted to send this death certificate to you and maybe you could talk about it on your podcast.  It's a reminder we can't take what we see at face value even from a primary source created at the time of the event.  On one line it says he died Jan 17, 1937 and another it says the attending doctor saw him alive on February 17 of the same year.  But then he was buried on Jan 20th.  It's really not all that clear whether the events took place in January or February from just this document.”

 Cick here to view larger image

 

Lisa’s Reply: What is really fascinating about this document is how the slight variation in handwriting gives away the problem. The doctor was very detailed with the variety of dates he entered as Feb. when events took place. His “3” generally stands up or even tips forward a bit. But the Registrar, Mr. Popeland, distinctly tilts his “3” and “7” back a bit. And his hand is also heavier. Very quickly you see that Dr. Brallier completed his portion of the form and then, I would guess later, Mr. Popeland completed the remainder of the form and filed it. The big question is who made the mistake: was Mr. Popeland correct that it was January, or was Dr. Brallier correct that is was February?

I searched Ancestry and MyHeritage because I was anxious to know the answer. After an initial search neither Dempsey nor his wife Ruby Lee appeared, which is rather curious. After trying all types of name variations, I finally went to our old friend, www.Google.com .

I search on his wife "Ruby Lee Danner" in quotation marks and up popped one result - a court case.

Searching “Dempsey Danner” in quotation marks resulted in 7 hits, 3 of which were him, including an obituary at the Arizona Obituary Archive.

Dr. Braillier has been vindicated. Perhaps Mr. Popeland had filed one too many certificates that day, or had his mind on something else as he entered January in the remaining blanks. And once again, the case is made that the person who was there at the time of the event in person got it right, and the one recording the event later did not.

Kate shares some old time photo resources:  “…Old Time DC on Facebook.  It's brilliant.  It's a collection of DC photos from the past.  It's not owned by anyone and anyone can post.  https://www.facebook.com/OldTimeDc  I love looking at old photos trying to figure out what the world was like before…It would be so wonderful if people in various cities starting compiling things like this Old TIme DC Facebook page.  Many families have shared interest in various places and streets but most people didn't think to take photos of those things.”

Lisa’s Tip: Try searching for names of towns and keywords like “photos” and “history” to see if there are similar groups on Facebook that can benefit your research. My example: I found a similar Facebook page for Margate Kent https://www.facebook.com/MargateHistory. It's a terrific use of social media!

 

GEM:  Interview with Dr. Deborah Abbott

Genealogy Gems contributor Sunny Morton interviews Dr. Deborah Abbott, Ph.D., an adjunct faculty member at the Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research (IGHR) at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and currently serves as a Trustee on the Board of the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS).

 

Dr. Abbott specializes in African American genealogy, slavery, court records as well as methodology. Her genealogical research project about an African American Family from Kentucky entitled "From Slavery to Freedom to Antioch" was highlighted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio) Newspaper under the title "Six-Volumes to Amplify a Family History" in 2008.

 

In this Gem Dr. Abbott shares her strategies for Starting the Search for African American Roots:

• Interview your family (both blood and non-blood!)
• Ask open ended questions
• Generate feelings
• Get an entire social history if you can.
• Try asking a question to frame the question. Like “who was the president when you were 12?”

Debbie's Favorite Resources:

Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org. Opened at the same time! Go back and forth between the two. Think of Ancestry as “the index” and FamilySearch as the “images.”  Example: Ohio Death Index 1908-2007

 

Slave Research:

• Follow the Census
• Research slave holder
• Pay attention to who is in the house, and who lives around them.
• Sometimes slave holders and former slaves share first names in addition to last names.

“Once we get into the slave era African-America are no longer people, they are property.”

You are looking for people as you would other property like land. You must look at the people making the transactions, all the way through their death.

 

Ohio had laws that governed the movements of African-Americans in the early years. Understand the history and the laws in the location and timeframe you are researching. In Ohio –African-Americans had to register.

 

Free Family History Festival
Sat. Sept. 28, 2013

Detroit Public Library – Main Branch

Debbie will be teaching on techniques for tracing African-American Roots

Lisa will be teaching on Ultimate Google Search Strategies and Tips and Get the Scoop on Your Ancestors with Newspapers.

 

Lisa’s Personal Thoughts on the Value of Work, Looking to Ancestors for Values, and Passing on our Family’s Values to our Kids and Grandkids.

 

Genealogy Gems Podcast

Episode 158

August 2, 2013

 

NEWS:

Attention Gmail Users:Google has revised the Gmail dashboard to now include tabs, separating your emails based on the type of content. Overall, I really like it, but I wanted to bring to your attention to the fact that your Genealogy Gems email newsletters will probably land in the Promotions tab, rather than your Primary tab. The problem with this is that we are used to focusing on what is in the in box in front of us, and I know I’m having a little difficulty retraining myself to check the other tabs.

To ensure that you get your Genealogy Gems newsletter emails instantly, move the newsletter to your Primary tab. Click on the  email to grab, drag and drop it on the Primary tab. From that point forward your newsletter emails should show up in your Primary tab, and you won’t miss a thing!

 

The Genealogy Gems Podcast App is now available for Windows 8 phone, tablets and desktop! Our app provides you the ability to stream or download free Genealogy Gems Podcast content, and even share your favorite episodes. Here's what you need to know:

 

Phone / Tablet: 

First, download the Genealogy Gems phone app for $2.99 from the Windows Phone Store.

 

Once installed, a live tile will be available on the start menu. Opening the app will provide you a list of episodes available for the show. You can swipe left or right to move through favorites, downloaded episodes, and recently played episodes.  Selected episodes will be highlighted with a check mark in the corner. Tapping on an episode you wish to listen to will open an in app player. Clicking on the three dots in the lower right hand corner will open up the menu shortcuts, giving easy access to marking episodes as favorites, downloading the episodes for offline listening, or sharing the episodes out with your friends.

 

Desktop:

Download the Genealogy Gems desktop app ($2.99 from the Windows Desktop App Store.)

 

Opening the app will provide you a list of episodes available for the show on the right with a player on the left and utilizes all the standards of the Windows 8 navigation. Selected episodes will be highlighted with a check mark in the corner.

 

An episode can be bookmarked by marking it as a ‘favorite’, and episodes can be downloaded so that they are available offline.

 

When downloading a file, the status of the download will appear. Once an episode is favorited or downloaded, you can set the app to show only those favorite episodes or those downloaded files. You can also view a list of what episodes were recently played.

 

The Genealogy Gems Podcast app is the one and only family history podcast app available, and was named a Must Have Apps for Hobbies by App Advice.

 

Fold3 and Ancestry Trees

Now when you discover an ancestor's record on Fold3.com, you can save it to your online tree at Ancestry.com.

 

According to Fold3.com's press release: "Whenever you see a green 'Save to Ancestry' button above a document or on a Fold3 memorial page, you can link that document or page directly to

someone’s profile on Ancestry."

 

"You’ll be asked to log into your Ancestry.com account, and then you’ll see a drop-down list of your trees. Locate the tree you wish to save the document to, begin typing the name of the person to whom the record should be attached, choose the correct name from the list that appears, and then press save."

 

Watch this tutorial video to learn more and see how it's done:

 

OCLC and FamilySearch Partnership
The patron catalog on FamilySearch.org is renamed the FamilySearch Catalog. It is re-branding of the FHL Catalog.

FamilySearch is planning to load their catalog records into WorldCat by the end of the year. In the case of our very larger records, these may be abbreviated. Patrons discovering their catalog records on WorldCat will be able to click through from WorldCat to the FamilySearch Catalog to view the complete record. WorldCat will eventually show holdings in selected regional family history centers as well.

There are currently no plans to change circulation policy. Films can be ordered to FamilySearch Centers as before. Other materials are not circulated.  However, they are scanning their books and have over 80,000 of them on line. There are links to them in the catalog. They can also be searched on Familysearch.org by selecting “Books”.

 

PAF Retires

If you've been doing family history research for a while, you probably have heard of (and maybe used) PAF: Personal Ancestral File software. Well, it's been hard at work for a long time--as a true pioneer in genealogy computing--and now it's retiring.

 

It's not that your PAF software suddenly doesn't work. But as of today, July 15, 2013, you won't be able to get downloads, supports or upgrades from FamilySearch, which has made the software available since 1984.

 

What does that mean for PAF users? The current version of PAF supports exports to GEDCOM files, still a universal file type for genealogy software. So while GEDCOMs still remain supported on other software and online family tree hosts, you'll be able to transfer the data from your tree. Those who want to continue to use FamilySearch products (like Family Tree) are advised by FamilySearch to switch to software that partners with FamilySearch: Ancestral Quest, Legacy Family Tree or RootsMagic. Learn more about the PAF discontinuation, what it means to you and supported software options at FamilySearch.

 

And just to put in a plug for RootsMagic, a Genealogy Gems Podcast sponsor, RootsMagic 6 is the only software that is "share+ certified" by FamilySearch for use with Family Tree: the only software, as RootsMagic says, "certified to collaborate and share data and sources with FamilySearch Family Tree." If you're already using RootsMagic 4 or 5, you'll need to upgrade. Purchase RootsMagic 6 or order your upgrade here: http://rootsmagic.com/Store/RootsMagic/

 

 

And speaking of RootsMagic:

Now you can find short training videos in addition to free full-length webinars on RootsMagic's new YouTube Channel, RootsMagicTV at http://www.youtube.com/user/RootsMagicTV/videos

 

If you're a RootsMagic user (or may be interested in becoming one), FamilySearch Family Tree or PAF user, you'll love these helpful tutorials.

 

And let your voice be heard: They are even taking suggestions for topics to cover in future short videos, too! email them at support@rootsmagic.com.

 

 

British Research

The London Metropolitan Archives says that half the inquiries they receive are from family historians. This is likely due to their rich resources, click here to peruse the collection: http://preview.tinyurl.com/k75c59e

 

Because there is such a strong genealogy interest in the LMA, they are making a huge effort to reach out to genealogists. They're all about educating us and sharing what's at LMA through their website, hands-on classes, remote research services and partnerships with data sites like Ancestry and FindMyPast. All this from a city archive!

 

Check out this video they've made for family history researchers:

http://youtu.be/OKLmWKJWkqE

 

 

Were Your Ancestors "Vicious" or in "Chronic Want"?London Poverty Maps Map It Out!

There is a fantastic blog posting on Mad About Genealogy about the Booth Poverty Maps, which look like a riveting way to understand your ancestor's 1880s London neighborhood. http://www.madaboutgenealogy.com/booth-poverty-maps/

 

According to blogger Linda Elliott,  "Booth employed a team of social investigators who walked around the London streets often in the company of the local policeman and recorded what they saw and heard. The notebooks that they filled out can be viewed online and make for fascinating reading with amongst other findings they record what the policeman thought of each street and sometime each building and its inhabitants."

 

The Charles Booth Online Archive Linda describes each category in greater detail in her blog post, along with everything a genealogist needs to know to use the maps

 

MAILBOX:

Response to the update on Ancestry from Allen:
“I just listened to your most recent show and wanted to comment on the Ancestry.com search updates you discussed.  I'm sure you have a direct line to them and wanted to offer some suggestions they might be able to use.  

First, and I think you may have mentioned this specifically, it would be nice if there were a way to exclude certain records from a search, either automatically or by selection.  In particular, I am thinking that if I have a 1920 Census record attached to a person, there should be some way to exclude 1920 Census results from a search.  Clearly that is not a record I need if that person already has one attached.  Secondly, and related to the first, it would be nice if there were some "level of confidence" or other rating one could apply to a record match.  That way I could attach a record to a person with no confidence but still have it reference a certain person, or with a moderate confidence or high confidence.  

This might also apply to relationships as well.  I think this would go a long way toward solving the problem of people posting incorrect information on their tree and others copying it.  The truth is, there is all kinds of information that we associate with our trees that we're not completely sure about but still feel reasonably confident about, but if there were some way to make that know, both to ourselves and others, it would help the situation.  Ancestry.com could then incorporate these into my first search suggestion, so that records with a high confidence would trigger a filter to remove other similar records that would not apply.  In any case, I love the show.  Keep it up.”

 

From Debbie Cook:
My son sent me the interesting link below to a Flickr page that I thought might interest your subscribers.  They are older photos superimposed on to the existing landscape at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsultan/sets/72157626149118210/

 

UPDATE: Genealogy Gems Toolbar has been discontinued.

 

Sarah wrote in to say:

“I want to learn how to use Roots Magic 6 that goes to Trees”

Lisa’s Answer: You can watch the free RootsMagic class on "Using FamilySearch Family Tree with RootsMagic" on their website at http://rootsmagic.com/webinars/

 

From Sherry, a Premium Member from British Columbia:
“I wrote to you several months back to tell you about my new family history blog, "My Descent into Descent", (http://mydescentintodescent.blogspot.ca), and how you inspired me to create it.

Well, you've also inspired me to use my new iPad, which my husband gave me for Christmas, as a tool for my research, and now for blogging. Recently, my sister and I took our long-awaited "Family History Road Trip" to New England, and I took my iPad along to blog from the road! I also brought along a keyboard, and would blog in the morning, using the Blogger app, while my sister and niece were still asleep. It was fun to share our experiences almost as they were happening, as well as the crisp and clear photos I was taking with my iPad.

As my sister was more interested in the stories from our mutual family tree and less in the research, we tried to plan our trip to include destinations which would interest us both. As I have discovered that we are Mayflower descendants, one of the places we visited was the Plymouth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts. As you may know, it includes a near authentic replica of the village of Plymouth circa 1627, and has actors portraying the roles of the people living there that year. They are well-versed in the stories of the pilgrims they are portraying, and stay in character while they are conversing with you. I was hoping I might run into an actor playing one of our ancestors, but I couldn't believe our luck! Of the handful of actors we met, two were portraying our ancestors, Hester Cooke and Richard Warren! Who actually gets to talk to their long departed ancestors on a family history road trip?

Thank you so much for the many ways you inspire and inform us all. I would very much like to recommend to your listeners that they consider blogging their family history. Since I started my blog in November, I have had over 4,000 hits, when I only expected to receive a few. Most excitingly, I had always wanted to connect with the descendants of my great grand aunt Lily. After telling the story of that part of the family in depth over several blog posts, I waited for several months before I heard anything. As it turned out, some of her descendants were curious about their family history, and while Googling some of the names, my blog popped up! They could not believe their good fortune in finding out so much about their tree all at once! I plan to visit them this coming week. They are excited to meet me and my husband, and have a family Bible to show me.”

Leigh has a new genealogy blog!
“I just wanted to let you know that I've been listening to your old Podcasts and working my way up to the present.  I'm on Episode 80 now, and I'm learning so much from you.  It has never occurred to me to start a blog, but after listening to your advice on the subject, I finally decided to give it a whirl.  I mentioned you and your Genealogy Gems podcast in the post and linked to your page.  I've heard you say that you appreciated that on previous podcasts, so I thought it would be okay.  If you'd like, you can view the blog at http://thesegenesfit.blogspot.com/ .

I love your podcasts, and once I'm caught up, I'm planning to become a Premium member.  Thanks for pushing me out of my comfort zone!"

Winnie the Pooh Quote:  “You can't stay in your corner of the forest, waiting for others to come to you; you have to go to them sometimes.”

 

Thank you to our sponsor RootsMagic.com

 

GEM: Behind the Scenes of the TV series Who Do You Think You Are?
with Producer Allie Orton

It was a sad day when NBC cancelled Who Do You Think You Are? here in the U.S., but genealogists are now drying their eyes and grabbing their popcorn because it’s returning to TV this month. The TLC channel has picked up Who Do You Think You? and the first episode featuring singer Kelly Clarkson premieres on July 23, 2013.

Here to tell us all about it is Producer and Research Manager for the series Allie Orton. She’s a graduate of the University of Southern California, and began work as a researcher on the first U.S. season of "Who Do You Think You Are?" back in 2008. In her current role she oversees research development, coordinates communication between Ancestry.com and the research staff, and shepherds these compelling stories to completion!

In this interview Allie shares:

• How she got involved in the show
• The impact of the cancellation
• How celebs are selected
• The research team makeup
• The art of storytelling
• Kelly Clarkson episode
• Stand out moments
• If it is getting any easier to produce the show
• Her favorite episode (hint: it’s this season)
• Her favorite person (OK, people!) to work with
• How she’ll be spending her time during the premiere
• What you can expect to see this season

Book referred to: Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow: Black Women , Work, and the Family, from Slavery to the Present

Exclusive for Premium Members: Allie’s Advice for Genealogists in Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast Episode 100

 

STAY IN TOUCH:
You can stay in touch with me all month long by subscribing to the free Genealogy Gems Newsletter right on the homepage of my website www.genealogygems.com

And if you like this podcast you’re going to love being a Genealogy Gems Premium Member – you can do that at the website as well. Just $29.95 get you access to hundreds of exclusive Premium episodes and videos of my most popular genealogy classes for a whole year. That’s the best deal in genealogy and one that will keep you up to date, motivated and inspired to make incredible strides growing your family tree.

And here’s a thought to ponder until we meet here again: People don't care what you know until they know that you care

In this Blast from the Past episode we are turning the time machine back to May of 2007.  First up is Genealogy Gems Episode #11, first published May 07, 2007, which includes two great gems for you: How to Find Pictures from the Past with Google.com, adn a Family History Decoupage Plate Project. This is easy even for you non-crafters out there and the result is an heirloom quality decorative plate that tells an ancestors story.

Then in this double header, Genealogy Gems episode # 12, which was originally published on May 13, 2007  features ancestor educational records and my Top 10 Tips for finding the Graduation Gems in your family history.

Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode: #11
Original Publish Date: May 07, 2007

GEM #1 – Discover Pictures from the Past with Google

One of the easiest ways to find photos on the web is with Google.com.  The ability to focus your search on images is often overlooked.  Let’s go over the basics:

1. Go to google.com
2. Notice the search box at the top of the page
3. Above the box reading left to right you will see the word WEB bolded.  This means that when you enter a word or phrase etc you will be searching everything on the web. 
4. To the right of the word WEB is the word IMAGES.  Click on it -  and it will now be bolded.
5. Now when you enter a word or phrase all of your results will come back as images that Google found on the internet.  This could be photos, drawings, graphics, etc.
6. There are additional “modes” you can search in with Google such as video, news, maps, books, etc. but for right now we’re going to focus on images.

To find photos of specific people try putting their first and last names within quotes (i.e. "laura ingalls wilder"). If you've got a bit more time or a really unusual surname, then you could just enter the name and that should get you started.

You can also find photos of old items and places from your ancestor’s life such as tombstones, buildings, their hometown, the kind of old car they drove. 

If the page containing the full image doesn't come up when you click on the thumbnail, here’s what you can do:

1. Use your mouse to highlight the URL website address that appears below the thumbnail and press Control C on your keyboard to copy the address.
2. Click where it says “WEB” above the Google search box to go back to website searches. 
3. Place your curser in the search box by clicking inside it. 
4. Press control V on your key board and that will paste the URL address into the search box.
5. Click the SEARCH button.
6. The first result or two should be from that website that had the image you wanted.
7. Look at the last line of the result for that website and click on the "cache" link.
8. Now you are looking at a cache version, or in other words an older version of the website, hopefully BEFORE the image was removed or moved. By browsing through this version of the website, you will hopefully find the image you are looking for!

 

GEM #2 – Mother’s Day Project – Decoupage plate

In my book it’s not enough to find wonderful photos on the internet that help tell the story of your family’s past, or have a boxful of old family photos.  It’s sort of like the old riddle “If a tree falls in a forest with no one to hear it, then does it make a sound?”  If a photo is tucked away in a shoe box, is it adding to the value of your research?  Not in my book.

Family History is meant to be shared.  However, I believe wholeheartedly that we, the family historian are not the primary “customer” if you will.   I constantly challenge myself to see my family today as my “customer”.  I want the family’s history to be meaningful to them and ignite in them a pride, loyalty and reverence for our family.  So I’m always trying to come up with new ways to share what I’ve found that they will enjoy.

Decoupage Photo Plate:

Decoupage was a hot craft for women in the early part of the century, and it's definitely gone through resurgence in the last decade.

As I mentioned in a previous episode of the podcast, my mom recently brought me a truckload of family heirlooms.  She and my stepdad have taken the plunge to sell their home and travel in a motor home full time. 

When I was preparing for this episode, I went looking for the decoupage plate that I made her a couple of years ago for Mother’s Day.  I assumed it was in one of the boxes that she brought me, but I couldn’t find it.  When I asked her about it, she said to me, “I gave you your great grandmother’s tea set, your grandmother’s china, and pretty much everything else I had. But I didn’t give you the plate.  I’m keeping THAT!”  Hearing her say that meant as much to me as the plate probably means to her. So may I just say, if you pour some love and time into creating this plate, I guarantee it will be treasured. 

Here’s the plate I made for my mom:

 

 

Wasn’t she a cutie patootie?!  I started by selecting photos that told the story of her childhood…at the top is a photo of the house her parents built the year she was born.  Going clockwise, the next photo is her as baby, then as a toddler in her crib with her favorite teddy bear, then as a preschooler in the coat & hat her mother made for her.  In the center is my favorite childhood photo of her, probably just before entering kindergarten.  I love that it’s a close up, her BIG brown eyes, and the dainty bows in her hair.  The design in simple, and very focused on its subject matter – my mom!

The photos are glued from behind so they show through the glass plate.  I painted the back black, which seemed appropriate for the black and white photos, but it could be gold, or any color you want. 

Let’s get started making this modern family heirloom.

The supplies you need are simple and inexpensive:

A clear glass plate with a smooth finish.  You can usually buy these at craft stores, or discount stores very cheap.  Maybe a dollar each.  I got mine at a kitchenware factory outlet.  Make sure you’ve cleaned it very well before you begin, and that’s completely dry.

• A sponge craft brush
• A jar of decoupage glue
• Good, fine paper-cutting scissors.  Cuticle scissors also work very well.
• Paint – choose a color you would like for the back.  Just a small bottle of acrylic craft paint and
• A flat paint brush – another option is to use pretty paper or tissue.
  
• Clear brush on acrylic varnish if you want a glossy finish on the back.
• A selection of photos you want to use.  Personally, I like the more monochromatic look – either all color, or all black and white, but you can do whatever looks good to you.  You can also use other images that compliment the photos.  Make copies of the photos.  You can scan them and print them out on paper, or take them to a copy center and color copy them.  Whether you are using color or black and white, you’ll want to color copy them to get the best quality.  You can also play around with sizing the photos the way you want them.  While I fit just five on my mom’s plate, they are all large enough to be seen clearly, even at a distance when the plate is hanging on the wall.  

Experiment with laying out your design to fit the plate.  Keep in mind that the plate likely has some slight curvature to it, so you don’t want to just turn it upside down and draw a circle around it, because your design won’t end up quite big enough.  Cut your copies a bit larger than the area they are going to cover. 

Also, if you want to add any words, now is the time.  You can draw directly on the copy or print out something and cut it to fit.  In my case, felt like a picture was worth a thousand words!

When applying the cutouts, you'll be working in reverse: the first images placed on the plate will be in the foreground of the design when viewed from the front of the plate. Start by applying the prominent images to the decoupage medium. Glue the edges firmly to the glass. Turn the plate over to check the placement of images

Put a nice even coat of glue on the photo, on the side you want to see. Don't worry about brush strokes, but be careful not to go over it too many times, you don’t want the ink to run. 

Place the image face down on the back of the plate and spread the glue over the back of the photo.

Turn the plate around so you can see the image from the front and work out the air bubbles from behind.  (you can try placing a piece of wax paper over the photo and use a roller  over the wax paper to go over it and smooth it out and get the air bubbles out.

Turn the plate over and check the results.

Continue place the images until the entire plate is covered.

Let it dry (24 hours should do it)

Use painters tape to tape off the edges before you apply the acrylic paint to the back of the plate.  Let dry.  Apply a second coat, or sponge on a second color if you want to.  Let dry

If you want a glossy finish on the back, apply an acrylic varnish.  Let dry

 

Genealogy GemsPodcast
Episode #12
Original Publish Date: May 13, 2007

TODAY’S GEM – Top 10 Tips for Finding the Graduation Gems in Your Family History

1.  Establish the Timeline: 

Check your genealogy database to figure out when your ancestor would have attended school.  I’m going to be focusing on high school, but this could just as easily apply to researching the college years.

2.  Family Papers & Books

We always start our research at home, so go through old family papers & books looking for Senior Calling Cards, High School Autograph Books, Journals & Diaries, Senior Portraits, & Yearbooks

 

 

3.  Newspapers – Search for announcements,  honor rolls & other articles about end of the year activities. 

 

It’s easy to say search newspapers, but it’s not always that easy to find them.  So here are some ideas of where to look for historical newspapers…

- Ancestry.com ($)

- The Local Public Library Website in the town where your ancestor attended school.   Check their online card catalogue, or send them an email to find out if they have the years you are interested in, and to see if they will cooperate with interlibrary loan with your local library. 

- The Library of Congress  <http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/>

- Family History Center in Salt Lake City.  Search the Family History Library Catalog online for your ancestor's location to find what newspapers they may have. 

- Historical and genealogical societies. 

- U.S. state archives and libraries

4. The State Library – Wisconsin Dept of Education website list of state libraries:  <http://dpi.state.wi.us/pld/statelib.html >

5.  State Historical Societies – in addition to newspapers as I mentioned before, state historical societies might have old yearbooks & photos.

6.  Rootsweb.com - Check the Message Board for the county & state you’re looking for, as well  post a message asking if anyone has access to yearbooks or other school info.

7.  Websites focused on Yearbooks –   Yearbook Genealogy.com website:  http://www.yearbookgenealogy.com/  & The National Yearbook Project <http://www.rootsweb.com/~usyrbook/ >

8.  The US GENWEB site - Search on the county website where the school was located.

9.  Call the School – if they don’t have old yearbooks, they may be able to put you in touch with a local librarian or historian who does.  Go to www.whowhere.com and type in the school name in “Business Name”.  Call around 4:00 pm, when the kids are gone but the school office is still open. 

 

EBAY:  Do a search on the school or town you’re looking for to see if anyone out there is selling a yearbook that you need.  Be sure and also search for old photographs or postcards of the school.  Here’s my extra trick: From the results page do a “Completed Listings” search & email potential sellers to inquire about the books you are looking for.  You might get lucky like I did!

 

Don’t be afraid to ask – Ebay seller’s want to sell!  And if all else fails, set up an Ebay Favorite Search to keep a look out for you.  Go to my website and check out Episode #3 for instructions on how to do this.

 

In this episode you will get a sneak peek at new changes coming in Ancestry search, and we will look for women in naturalization records. But first here is what you can do...

When Technological Changes Get You Down 

The Mayhem commercials from Allstate are a riot, but of course all that mayhem is not all that funny when it’s happening to you.

Sometimes it feels like technology companies are having a little mayhem fun with us when they get us all up and running with their software program, or app, or phone, or tablet, or whatever, and then bam they change it all up.  Mayhem!

It’s not really that we don’t want new technology and that it’s always mayhem. But rather: read more here

MAILBOX:

A Listener Takes Action and Gets a Win!

In most recent Genealogy Gems newsletter called “How Google Broke My Heart” I lamented the fact that Google is no longer digitizing historic newspapers, but put out a reminder that all of the newspapers that they have digitized to date are all still available for free online. And then I shared a cool webpage that my friend Dave Barney at Google shared with me that provides an easy to browse catalogue of all of the newspaper titles and they the years they cover.

In response to that article, a listener, Chris, shared what happened after reading the newsletter.  Chris says...

"Just read your article and went to check it out. I was able to find my grandfather's obituary, who died a month after i was born. Thanks for the tip!"

So there you have it, the benefits of not just reading the Genealogy Gems newsletter, but taking action on it! I love hearing how you all take the gems and run with them!

 

Criminal Past Follow up
Here is an email from a listener with Australian roots, and they are writing in about the last episode where I was talking about the new collection of criminal records at findmypast.com:

“Your most recent podcast (excellent as always!) touched on transportation of convicts from UK.  The National Archives of the UK has an excellent podcast series, with many casts focused on genealogy issues.  Highly recommended for anyone with UK ancestors.  The podcasts are recorded talks given by their own professional Archives listeners.

In one recent series, they discussed transportation, clarifying a lot of misunderstandings in the process. To start, the prisoners were not convicts in the sense that we use the term these days.  Violent criminals in those days were hanged.  Those transported were primarily debtors and those that committed property crimes.  These folks were not forced to emigrate.  Instead, they received a 7 year sentence.  After completing their sentence, they were free to stay or to return to England. 

Perhaps the most interesting detail to me was the role the American Revolution played in the settlement of Australia.  Before the Revolution, transport was to North America.  After the war, that channel ceased to exist.  It took several years for the British to find an alternative, Australia.  So, if not for our revolution, Australia would not be what it is today.”

Mike has a question about how to put names to faces. He writes:
“I recently came across a class photo of a company of Navy recruits graduating on 13 June 1944 in Farragut Island, Idaho. My Father is one of them. But as I was looking at this mass of individuals (many of which would be dead within the year of the photo being taken); I thought “why not put the photo out to the general public and ask people to try and ID everyone in the photo.” I just do not know how to go about doing that the best way. That is when your name came to my mind to ask. Yes, I have digitized the photo, it is huge, so individuals would have to magnify the image.”

Lisa’s Four Strategies for Crowd Sourcing Photo Identification:
Well, Mike I’ve got 4 tips for you and anyone looking to try to put names to faces with the help of the genealogy community and the public at large.

1) www.deadfred.com - this is a free website where you can submit your photo, include as much info as you know about it, and then others can search the site and hopefully make identifications. This is a well-respected site that has been around a long time, and I have interviewed the founder (episode 74), who is great and passionate about old photos.

2) Consider creating individual photos of each man from the original digital scan. This might come in handy so that people can get a good look at their faces.

3) Consider creating your own free genealogy blog, even if it is just to post one article about the photo. Think of it as your own personal message board. You could include the photo (and some of the close-ups I mentioned creating) and then write up a description of what you know about the photo, the class, the location, etc. Make it as keyword rich as possible so that others will find it when they do Google searches on these keywords and topics.  www.blogger.com is free and easy to set up in just a few minutes.

4) Another type of "personal message board" would be a YouTube video. Just film the photo, zooming in and out on the faces. Many video editing programs will let you add the photo to the software timeline and zoom in and out just like a camera.  There is a free program called Jing that might work. Or Windows Movie Maker, etc. Again, add all that keyword rich text to your video description and title, and be sure to add appropriate TAGS to the video. All of that will help it get found.

Mike took my advice and set up his own free genealogy blog: www.adiscoveryofthepast.blogspot.com

 

Gem posted on the Genealogy Gems Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/genealogygems. Marge Mero says:

"Lisa, we found this quilt in the Main Street Museum at Polson, Lake County, Montana. It has my husband's grandmother's name stitched into this square. (Mrs. S. E. Salter). We also found a Red Cross quilt with relative names at a museum in Lanigan, Saskatchewan. Your posting was a good reminder to watch for quilts in museums."

Check out her post on Facebook because you’ve got to see this quilt! 

This episode is sponsored by:

 

GEM: Women in Naturalization Records

Women’s suffragists demonstrate in February 1913. Photographer unknown. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division.

We’re also nearing the completion of the enormous Community Indexing Project of U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Records. Already we can search newly-created indexes to millions of naturalization records at FamilySearch.org. But often we don’t find the women we’re looking for.

Let’s look at why. But I’ll warn you, the reasons aren’t pretty. In the past, women had very few legal rights. None could vote. Married women had even fewer rights. Their legal identity disappeared when they married, swallowed up in their husband’s. Married women did not handle legal matters in their own name, own property or keep their own money. Sometimes they did not even have legal liability for their actions. This was known as the legal principle of coverture.

In 1855, a law was made that women who weren’t ineligible for other reasons (like race) were automatically made citizens when their husbands were naturalized. There was no extra paperwork or court costs. Their husbands’ papers (in combination with their marriage records) served as proof of the women’s citizenship, even though before 1906, you will not usually find the women’s names even listed on their husbands’ applications.

This represented a step forward for most married women, but not all. If a husband didn’t naturalize, the wife couldn’t naturalize without him. (On the flip side, if a U.S.-born woman married a foreigner, she often lost her U.S. citizenship, whether or not she left the country. This problem wasn’t fully resolved until many years later; learn more about the laws and resulting paperwork in this article by the National Archives.

Naturalization laws were not applied evenly, and some women got their citizenship anyway. Eventually, as women won voting rights in various states in the early 1900s, men who applied to naturalize were sometimes denied because their wives, who would be granted citizenship and therefore voting privileges, didn’t speak English or meet other requirements. Men complained that their wives’ nationalities were getting in the way, a problem women had lived with for years!

In 1922, women gained the right to naturalize independent of marital status. If their husbands were already citizens, they didn’t have to file declarations of intentions (the first step in the paperwork process), just a petition (the second step in the process). Otherwise, they had to fill out both sets of papers. Eventually even this link to their husbands’ citizenship disappeared, and they just filled out their own entirely separate paperwork.

What about unmarried women and widows? They could apply for naturalization, but in especially before the 1900s, they sometimes didn’t if they had no property. They could not vote and the law didn’t always treat them fairly. They saw little benefit in investing the funds and time in applying for citizenship.

It’s fascinating how much we can learn about the status of women by the way they were treated in the records we research. It reminds us to look past the paperwork to the reasons and intentions behind it, if we really want to understand how people lived. To our foremothers, both those who gained citizenship and those who were denied it, we salute you!

CLOSING:
From Georgia: “First things First: Thank you so much for all you do for genealogists. I recently retired and it was my interest in your podcast long before the last day, that drew me to genealogy. While accurate data is of the most importance, I must confess, I am in it for the stories. Your website and podcast have captured my philosophy perfectly. I want the past to live for my family, not just sit politely on the dusty bookshelf.

Second thing: It was with your encouraging podcasts and an unrelenting techie grand-daughter, I have begun a website and blog for my families (Doudna, Brown, Allison, and Gillingham), "Billies Girl" at billiesgirl.weebly.com. I am still in the beginning steps, but am having more fun than I ever expected. 

I would like to add links to your website on the pages. But, as I am, admittedly, ignorant in the ways of web-world, I am not sure if this is something I can just do or if I need to get permission from other sites to link them. I would of course be identifying and giving credit for anything I link too.

I think I can thank you for bringing me through that touchy first bit of retirement. Thanks again.”  Georgia

Congratulations on your new blog! And I am always happy to have listeners link to http://www.genealogygems.com

Since my daughters are all now "leaving the nest" there have been many times over these last few years that I have been grateful to have the podcast and my listeners for helping me get through that "touchy" transition. I am very glad if I have been a help or encouragement to you in any way.

 

A lot has been happening in the genealogy world while I have been on the road, and my job is to boil it down so I can bring you the best genealogy gems and that’s what we are going to do in this episode.

 

NEWS:

RootsTech
If you didn’t make it out to Salt Lake City for the huge RootsTech conference – and I do mean huge – don’t fret because they have lots of video recordings online for you including a panel that I participated in where the topic was the Future of Genealogy. If you have ever wondered what is coming down the pike, and what some of the leaders in the genealogy community would like to see, I think you will enjoy this 1 hour video session. 

While it was a tall order to get up there on that stage and try to foresee the future, we had fun trying. I would be interested in knowing what you think is out on the horizon for genealogy, and what you would like to see on the horizon for genealogy.  Drop me an email and we’ll share some of those ideas on an upcoming episode.

RootsTech Report from Sunny
And if you would like to hear more about what went on at RootsTech here's a RootsTech re-cap there written by our own Sunny Morton, contributing editor to Genealogy Gems.

 

FamilySearch Records Update
There are new digitized images for Australia, Austria, China, England, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the U.S. – In fact in might be faster to announce where they are NOT digitizing records!

Read FamilySearch Adds New Records

Read More Family History Records at FamilySearch

 

Your Ancestor’s Criminal Past

If you have British roots, you will want to check out the new collection available on Findmypast.com: a half million criminal records dating from 1770-1934!

 

This sounds like a pretty gripping collection, whether you've got British roots or not. It contains records like mug shots, court documents, appeals letters and registers from prison ships (which were used when mainland prisons were crowded). According to Findmypast.com, the records "provide a wide variety of color, detail and fascinating social history, chronicling the fate of criminals ranging from fraudsters, counterfeiters, thieves and murderers and their victims." The 500,000 records you can search now are only a fifth of the full collection of 2.5 million that will be online soon.

 

The company calls this the largest collection of historical criminal records from England and Wales to be published online and is done in association with the National Archives (UK). Findmypast.com members can click here to access the criminal collection directly (make sure the box for "Institutes and Organizations" is checked). Read more about it here: Find Your Criminal Ancestors: UK Collection from FindMyPast

Digitized War of 1812 Pension Files on Fold3

According to the National Archives, pension files for the War of 1812 rate among their most-requested materials. But the files haven’t been easy to use because they’re only at the National Archives–they haven’t been available in published, microfilmed or digitized form. You have either had to research the pension files onsite in Washington, D.C. or order copies from the Archives. Not exactly easy access. This is about to change. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS), The National Archives, Ancestry.com and Fold3.com are partners in a huge effort: to preserve and digitize 7.2 million pages of War of 1812 Pension Records and make them available for free online.  Read more about it

 

Who Do You Think You Are? TV Series Update #WDYTYA

In recent weeks, reports have circulated that Kelly Clarkson has filmed an episode. A fan reported seeing her in Americus, Georgia and that they were shooting footage at Andersonsville National Historic Site. Read more about it at the Genealogy Gems Blog.

 

Newspapers are reporting that the Danish Broadcasting Corporation is filming its own version of “Who Do You Think You Are?” According to the Bureau County Republican and the NewsTribune (Illinois Valley), popular Danish actress Suzanne Bjerrehuus was in the area filming stories of her great-great-grandparents, who emigrated from Denmark to the American Midwest in 1869. (They apparently left behind one of their six children, from whom Bjerrehuus descends.)

Read the Post at the Genealogy Gems Blog

 

Genealogy Jamboree:

Get all the details about the Jamboree Banquet and Classes

More details on the Genetic Conference

 

Church Records for Genealogy on Archives.com

About 4.6 million genealogical records from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are now available on Archives.com. This project represents a unique collection for Archives.com, which partnered with the ELCA Archives to digitize and index about 1000 rolls of microfilmed records of affiliated church. According to the company, this collection represents records that have never been online before. It eliminates the major barriers we usually have in researching church records: not knowing which specific congregation an ancestor attended; not knowing where those records are now and not having easy access to them.  Read more about it at my website.

 

Online Historical Maps: From David Rumsey to the DPLA

Genealogists rely on historical maps to help us navigate the geography of our ancestors’ lives. One of the most important resources available online is the David Rumsey Map Collection. Well, Rumsey recently announced on his website that he will be making more than 38,000 of his historical maps–everything he’s currently got online–available at the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). Read more about it...

 

Google’s free program Google Earth includes nearly 150 historic maps in the Layers panel.  You can also add historic maps downloaded from Rumsey’s site to Google Earth by using the Overlay feature. My video tutorial series called Google Earth for Genealogy will show you how. You can also get step-by-step instructions in my book The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox. Or get them all in a discounted bundle.

 

MAILBOX:

Lee has some questions, and perhaps you do too:

Question: How often do the premium podcasts come out? 

Answer: Typically there is one new premium episode and one new premium video every month.  And the real value in Premium Membership is that when you join, you get the entire back catalogue of Premium podcast episodes and video. That means as soon as you become a Member you will have access to over 95 exclusive Premium episodes and over a dozen videos of my most popular classes and topics!

Question: Does the premium version cover different material than the free version or the same topics but with more depth?

Answer: Premium podcast episodes are commercial free, and very similar in format to the free show although the material I cover is different, and we often take time to go more in depth into particular genealogy topics.

Question: Is it possible to buy one episode of Premium to try it out before subscribing for the full year? 

Answer: Actually, the free podcast is the "free trial" for Premium. If you like the free podcast, you will love Premium!

Question: While searching the iPad App Store for anything new in genealogy, I see there is a paid app for Genealogy Gems but little descriptive information. Is this just for listening to the podcast? Is the price one time or for each episode? Or, have I discovered something new that you are about to tell us all about? 

Answer: The Genealogy Gems app is a one-time $2.99 purchase (which goes toward development and updates) and conveniently streams the free podcast on your mobile device. It also includes "bonus features" like unique short video, audio, images, and pdfs unique to the app.

Click for the Genealogy Gems iPad app:

Click for the Genealogy Gems iPhone app:

Genealogy Gems App for Android

Joyce asks about region-locked video:

Question: Is it possible to watch the UK version of Who Do You Think You Are? online?  If so I want to.  I need to attend their conference one of these days also. Looks like you had a blast!

Lisa’s Answer: Unfortunately, the UK version is not available outside of the UK online. Many television video providers do what is called "region-locking."  However, if you are really determined to watch, a quick Google search can uncover some work around. Here's an article to get you started.

From the BBC website: Currently BBC iPlayer TV programmes are available to play in the UK only, but all BBC iPlayer Radio programmes are available to you.

One more thing - occasionally folks upload episodes to YouTube such as this one. Watch them soon as you can because they are often removed due to copyright issues.

 

New Genealogy Blogs

Blogging is in the family at Matt’s house…I love your show and look forward to every episode. I've been researching for close to 20 years now, but because of podcasts, blogs and all the other electronic communications that have come along with the Internet, I feel more connected and involved in the genealogy community than ever. I want to thank you for always encouraging us to start our own blog. I finally made that jump yesterday. My daughter, who is only 11, and has her own blog about doll crafts has also been encouraging me, so I thought I better get with the program. You can check it out at http://thepastobsession.blogspot.com/

I can't promise anything about how often I will post, but I do appreciate the encouragement you always provide to your listeners. Thanks for providing a great resource to the genealogy community.

p.s. Just in case you want to check it out, my daughter's blog is: carrotandclaire.blogspot.com

 

Amanda also has a new blog…I have been catching up on all the genealogy gems podcasts for the last month (I sometimes hear your voice when I don't have my headphones in!  :)  Anyway,  I just recently became a premium member, and I'm working my way through those podcasts and videos to catch up.  I just wanted to write to say thank you for doing what you do.  I can really tell when I listen that you love what you are doing.  

I've been "working" on our family tree since 2003 or so, but only in the last year have I gotten serious about it... and only after I started listening to you have I realized about sources.  So, I now have a tree with over 13,000 people in it and most of it isn't sourced.  

I wanted to let you know that I have started a genealogy blog (mostly so I can go back and source everything from the beginning).  I have had a blog in the past just about my kids and other general stuff, but I never kept it going.  I'm already thinking differently about this one because of all the possibilities there are...   the address is feeserfamilygenealogy.blogspot.com, I hope you'll check it out.  It's about more than just the Feeser line of our family, but since that's my last name now, that is what we used as the title.  

Just after my very first post some of my first cousins (who I talk to a lot) let me know about some pictures and information they have, and one of my cousins even has a recording of our great grandmother that she did when she was younger (she's the oldest cousin).  

 

Linda likes to blog and laugh…I have been meaning to write to you for some time now to thank you for your marvelous podcast. I have been a faithful listener to Genealogy Gems since the beginning and have enjoyed your stories, insights, and how-tos.  You have a gift for expressing the joys of learning about our family history, not to mention a contagious laugh!   Your podcasts have kept me company on walks, while doing chores, even when waiting in line.

On a warm June afternoon a couple of years ago, I found myself doing just that - listening to your podcasts on immigration records and taking copious notes as I stood in line for several hours at the Palo Alto Apple Store, waiting to "early-adopt" my first iPhone.  Some hours later, I logged onto Ancestry.com to search for my elusive Italian Schiavone family, using your tips.   What a surprise when I found my great-grandfather Vito and his oldest son, Pasquale, in the Ellis Island records!  Your tips on how to read the ship's record led me to Pasquale's petition for immigration - and to so much more…When I finally tumbled into bed at 5:00 a.m.. my sweet (and very understanding husband) asked me why I had stayed up for so long.  I could hardly begin to tell him, because I was still crying tears of joy.

Not long after that, I reconnected with a cousin I had lost touch with and since then have made new connections with long-lost cousins I had never known from this side of the family…It turned out the other cousin remembered my grandfather Schiavone.  He had invited her family to stay at our home while our family was away on vacation.  She actually rode my tricycle and played in my sandbox!  Can you believe what a small world?  And all of this thanks to you.  Unfortunately, this cousin passed away just last year, but I feel so blessed to have met her and to have made the other connections, who I will always treasure.

By the way, I want to echo your enthusiasm for the rewards of blogging about family history.  It is so much fun, not to mention a great way to record family history for our children and for those who are searching for their roots.   But there are other rewards, too, in that researching and writing about our families allows us the opportunity to really reflect on their lives and understand them better.  This can in turn sometimes lead to some wonderful discoveries we may not have made if we had not reflected on their stories in this way.   I invite you to visit my blog, called Many Branches, One Tree, at www.manybranchesonetree.blogspot.com

Bill is celebrating 160 years down under on his blog…I thought you might like to hear about another blog you inspired.  I created a web site dedicated to the Jessep Family history back in 1997.  It holds just the facts and covers the many spellings of the name.  This is my father’s page so you can see what I mean. http://www.jessep.com/web/i6.htm 

My Jessep line arrived in Australia on the 29 Sep 1854 and I suddenly realized that in 2014 our line will have been Down Under 160 years.  Now that is something to get excited about and provided a starting point for the story.   The blog also allows the story to start and get added to with the help of others.  This gave it the  purpose it had been missing.  The about page has more information:  http://www.jessep.com/blog/about

 

GEM: Interview with Chris Whitten, Founder of WikiTree

Part 1 of my interview with Chris was done for the Family Tree Magazine podcast.

In this episode, Part 2  Chris talks about the "GEDMatches" tool.   According to Chris: "This is really a major advance on WikiTree. It makes it much more useful for people who just want to stick their toe in the water and see if cousins are already participating here.”

 

Travel back to #RootsTech - You'll hear 10 Top Tips for How to Bust Through Your Genealogy Brick Wall, and get the scoop on the new partnership between OCLC / WorldCat and FamilySearch.

From Lisa:

If you didn’t get a chance to attend a genealogy event yet this year, don’t fret, because in today’s episode while I get back to my laundry and packing to travel to Tennessee to present a genealogy seminar, you are going to hear two recordings we did at RootsTech.

First up is Jay Jordon, President of OCLC which you may know as the WorldCat. We got a chance to sit down at RootsTech to chat about their new partnership with familysearch which will bring the familysearch catalogue to WorldCat.

Watch the Video:

Then you’re going to hear 10 Top Tips for How to Bust Through Your Genealogy Brick Wall – The winner of the free RootsTech registration that we gave away on the Genealogy Gems blog Sarah Stout, got an opportunity to sit down with me and Canadian Genealogy Guru Dave Obee to discuss her brick wall (read all about it here) which spanned the Canadian and US border. But the locations weren’t really the important thing here. The 10 Tips that Dave dished up can really be used by every family historian to achieve genealogy success.

Watch the Video:

Dave Obee’s Top 10 Tips:

1. Create a Timeline – “plot her life…it’s easier to see the holes.”
2. Understand Geography – “plot movements”
3. Find Every Possible Record
4. Understand How Records Were Created
5. Read Every Local Story in Newspapers at that Time
6. Tap into Local Knowledge – “Locals know more” (historical and genealogical societies)
7. Go There if You Can in Person
8. Look for Negative Proof
9. Collaborate with Other Researchers
10. Be Diligent About Proof

Resources Mentioned in the video:

• Google Earth for Genealogy (video tutorial CD) Volume I and II by Lisa Louise Cooke
• How to Find Your Family History in Newspapers by Lisa Louise Cooke

Lisa's Events:

Click here to see where Lisa will be presenting next

Click here to book Lisa for your next event

Enjoy a blast from the past with episode #10 featuring Steve Morse and his One-Step website. Then delight in Darius Gray, a genealogist and storyteller who provides tips on sharing your family history stories with your family, (recorded at #RootsTech 2013)

GEM: A Blast from the Past -Episode: # 10       

Original Publish Date:  May 01, 2007

GEM: Stephen Morse
On August 21, 2007 I attended a seminar sponsored by a local genealogical society.  The speaker was Stephen P. Morse who is very well-known in the genealogy community for his ingenious database search tools available to everyone free from his website: www.stevemorse.org

It’s estimated that nearly 40% of Americans today have an ancestor who arrived in the United States at Ellis Island.  I know I certainly do. 

Well, ship’s passenger records are really exciting to find and to work with.  If you have an ancestor who came through Ellis Island, you’re going to want to make it a priority to find their record. 

Steve Morse, described to those of us at the seminar, the success and the frustrations that he encountered in trying to retrieve records from the ellisisland.org database.

Steve experienced much of the same frustration that we often do.  However, he just happens to be a world renowned engineer.  He holds electrical engineering degrees from three universities, which he put to good use when he designed the Intel 8086, the predecessor to today’s Pentium processor. 

And being an amateur genealogist he put those skills to good use by developing the One-Step Ellis Island website to make those records easier to find.  Since that time the One-Step site has really been expanded to include new search capabilities and an array of color-coded search forms.

Today Steve recommends use of his Gold Form that searches all New York passengers using enhanced search options.  It uses the database at ellisisland.org but has its own search form and search engine that provides the enhanced features. 

When you use the Ellis Island website you’ll most likely have to keep going back and revising and adding to your search to get what you need.  But using the Steve’s Gold Form website, all the search criteria are there on one page for you to choose from and use.  You’ll be using your search time much more effectively – and you know me, I want to get the most I can out of my research time.

The One-Step website started out as an aid for finding these ship passengers in the Ellis Island database.  Shortly afterwards it was expanded to help with searching in the 1930 census.  Over the years it has continued to evolve and today includes over 100 web-based tools divided into twelve separate categories.  They range from genealogical searches to astronomical calculations.  He even has a last-minute bidding form you can use for e-bay!  If you listened to Episode 3 of the Genealogy Gems Podcast on Ebay, then you know that I was excited to hear that!

 

Please let other genealogists know about how much you enjoy the Genealogy Gems Podcast:
If you’re enjoying the show & have an itunes account, would you please do me a favor?  Go to the Genealogy Gems Podcast listing < http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=250987403 > and leave a positive review.  Thanks!

 

GEM: Interview with Genealogy Guru and Storyteller Darius Gray at RootsTech 2013

 

Google Earth for Genealogy Bundle

Book Lisa to teach your genealogy group about how to use Google Earth for Genealogy!

Click here to see where Lisa will be speaking next in person