22 April 2014
Using Ancestry.com's "New Search"
Michael Hait is a well known, well respected Certified Genealogist (CG) who has appeared on many popular programs including "Who Do You Think You Are." His post, I felt was so well written, that rather than rewriting the obvious, I'd reblog his post. I couldn't agree with him more. I've been using "New Search" at Ancestry.com since it broke out about 2 or 3 years ago. I have no problem with it at all. The latest tweaks simply make it better in my opinion. See what Michael has to say and the comments that should come along with the post.
19 April 2014
Genealogy Hangouts On Air..from Australia!
Well....it's done. For what it's worth, I had a great time. This was my first opportunity to be a "guest speaker" on an international level. (Thanks to Fiona Tellesson!) But that's only because I had a chance to talk uninterrupted as long as I wanted. Sort of! So I'm blogging this to give all my faithful followers a link to the Google Hangout we recorded with Fiona. She has been conducting these "Hangouts" for a little over 2 years. She asked me last week if I'd like to "appear" and I said I'd be happy to. And I'm putting this out there because although I speak to local groups from small to relatively large, this is the first time I've had the floor with what turns out to be an international audience.
It's just less than an hour, but they told me that it turned out to be very interesting. So if you watch it for 5 minutes or 55 minutes, I'd appreciate it!
Once again, click here to go to the YouTube presentation.
Thanks!
- Detail of the House of Stuart Genealogy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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18 April 2014
Genealogy Hangouts On Air..from Australia!
Well....it's done. For what it's worth, I had a good time. But that's only because I had a chance to talk uninterrupted as long as I wanted. Sort of! So I'm blogging this tonight to give all my faithful followers a link to the Google Hangout we recorded with Fiona Tellesson. She has been conducting these "Hangouts" for a little over 2 years. She asked me last week if I'd like to "appear" and I said I be happy to. And I'm putting out there because although I speak to local groups from small to relatively large, this is the first time I've had the floor with what turns out to be an international audience.
It's just less than an hour, but they told me that it turned out to be very interesting. So if you watch it for 5 minutes or 55 minutes, I'd appreciate it!
Once again, click here to go to the YouTube presentation.
Thanks!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Detail of the House of Stuart Genealogy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]
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It's just less than an hour, but they told me that it turned out to be very interesting. So if you watch it for 5 minutes or 55 minutes, I'd appreciate it!
Once again, click here to go to the YouTube presentation.
Thanks!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="350"]
Detail of the House of Stuart Genealogy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]Related articles
16 April 2014
"...with special guest, Dave Robison"
How 'bout that! In the past several weeks, I've been participating in many "Google Hangouts." They're much like GoToWebinar, but they're free to use. Call them a virtual meeting. For example, "Monday's with Myrt" is a genealogy discussion with participants from, literally, around the world. You can find them posted here. One of the people whom I've "met" is an Australian genealogist, Fiona Tellesson who has been conducting "Hangouts" for quite some time and has several each week. Her audience is not just restricted to Australia as she has become an international genealogy Hangout facilitator.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="75"]
Australian Coat of Arms (adopted 1912) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]
I told you all that so that I can tell you this: Friday, April 18th at 6 PM eastern, her show or Hangout is featuring yours truly!! How 'bout that?? I'll be interviewed by Fiona for this week's broadcast and I'd like to invite everyone to come on in and watch the show! Here's a link where you can find out a little more about it and, I think, sign up to "attend." If that doesn't work and you'd like to attend, send your e-mail address directly to me at dave@oldbones.info and I can send you an invitation directly. I know it's short notice, but we just finalized all of this earlier today.
The Hangouts are a lot of fun, usually very informative and for those who conduct them, free! I've been using them for the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (NEAPG). It's a lot cheaper than driving hundreds of miles to get to a face meeting somewhere in New England. I've also arranged to have some relatively famous, nationally known speakers come to our Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society meetings by simply having them "Hangout" with us. They don't have to travel and thus, our expense to have them speak to us is minimized!
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="75"]
Australian Coat of Arms (adopted 1912) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]I told you all that so that I can tell you this: Friday, April 18th at 6 PM eastern, her show or Hangout is featuring yours truly!! How 'bout that?? I'll be interviewed by Fiona for this week's broadcast and I'd like to invite everyone to come on in and watch the show! Here's a link where you can find out a little more about it and, I think, sign up to "attend." If that doesn't work and you'd like to attend, send your e-mail address directly to me at dave@oldbones.info and I can send you an invitation directly. I know it's short notice, but we just finalized all of this earlier today.
The Hangouts are a lot of fun, usually very informative and for those who conduct them, free! I've been using them for the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (NEAPG). It's a lot cheaper than driving hundreds of miles to get to a face meeting somewhere in New England. I've also arranged to have some relatively famous, nationally known speakers come to our Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society meetings by simply having them "Hangout" with us. They don't have to travel and thus, our expense to have them speak to us is minimized!
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1825 and 1842 lower Canada Census Records Available
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="75"]
Quebec City and the Chateau Frontenac, view from Lévis, Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]
According to an e-mail I received about an hour ago, Ancestry.ca now has what they describe as the oldest records available. In the e-mail, they announced: "Our new census records reveal the details of some of the earliest immigrants to Lower Canada (now Quebec) including the English, Scottish and Irish and their new lives in cities like Montreal and Quebec City."
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="75"]
Trimmed Albumen Carte de Visite of Boy in Traditional Scottish Dress, Circa 1865 (Photo credit: lisby1)[/caption]
That's great news for me as I have a maternal great grandfather who arrived in the early 1800's but I have no idea the dates or whether he came from Ireland or Scotland. The family lore stated Scotland. As a result, my aunts and my uncle (not so much my mother) had their homes somewhat "dedicated" to a Scottish heritage. Aunt Gert always had a dog for a pet, always a Scot Terrier and always named with a Scottish theme such as "Thistle" or "Scotty".
Since I haven't yet explored the data base, I can't give you any personal insights. i just wanted to get the news out there. But I'll be digging in soon... Which means when I can fit my own personal research in between client work!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320"]
Scotland (Photo credit: Moyan_Brenn (back soon, sorry for not commenting))[/caption]
Quebec City and the Chateau Frontenac, view from Lévis, Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]According to an e-mail I received about an hour ago, Ancestry.ca now has what they describe as the oldest records available. In the e-mail, they announced: "Our new census records reveal the details of some of the earliest immigrants to Lower Canada (now Quebec) including the English, Scottish and Irish and their new lives in cities like Montreal and Quebec City."
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="75"]
Trimmed Albumen Carte de Visite of Boy in Traditional Scottish Dress, Circa 1865 (Photo credit: lisby1)[/caption]That's great news for me as I have a maternal great grandfather who arrived in the early 1800's but I have no idea the dates or whether he came from Ireland or Scotland. The family lore stated Scotland. As a result, my aunts and my uncle (not so much my mother) had their homes somewhat "dedicated" to a Scottish heritage. Aunt Gert always had a dog for a pet, always a Scot Terrier and always named with a Scottish theme such as "Thistle" or "Scotty".
Since I haven't yet explored the data base, I can't give you any personal insights. i just wanted to get the news out there. But I'll be digging in soon... Which means when I can fit my own personal research in between client work!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320"]
Scotland (Photo credit: Moyan_Brenn (back soon, sorry for not commenting))[/caption]Related articles
11 April 2014
Heartbleed Bug - Off topic but critical
Here is a link to one of the most comprehensive descriptions of what everyone is facing with this latest security threat "Heartbleed." The information comes from Kim Komando, a computer expert who has been publishing a newsletter for many years, has a weekly radio show and in general, she really knows her stuff. This is the shortened link: http://tinyurl.com/oymepfn
It will take you to the newsletter which describes what's going on. The notice also contains many links to go deeper into the problem to assess if you are going to have a problem.
Below are a few of additional web articles devoted to the threat.
I hope the readers of this blog come away unscathed!!
It will take you to the newsletter which describes what's going on. The notice also contains many links to go deeper into the problem to assess if you are going to have a problem.
Below are a few of additional web articles devoted to the threat.
I hope the readers of this blog come away unscathed!!
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07 April 2014
Soundex Code....What??
Search tips can be very helpful, even for an experienced genealogist. Everyone falls into a rut from time to time or a particular set of web sites are used and others forgotten. I liked Linkpendium for a while, but it never earned a place in my "must look at" list. Having said that, it's back on the priority list. See, I even have to listen to myself once in a while!
- Genealogy books (Photo credit: webduckie)
The fact remains that although millions of records are going on line every day but that there are billions to go! We all have to remember that "it's not all on line!" But with all that being said, I want to share the tip that I posted on a Facebook page that I co-administer "Genealogy - Improving your searches." This is a simple one, but a lot of people reacted to it and "Liked" it! [You might also want to visit "Find A Grave Genealogy Discussion."]
It's fairly simple. I wrote of the "Soundex Code" and how you should at least be aware of what it is so that you don't shy away from using it in your on-line searches. It is not, however, a cure-all for hard to find ancestors! Simply put, its a 4 character replacement for any surname. It was used to file index cards that referenced microfilm records. The first character is the first letter of the surname, with special consideration for "De" or "Van". The next 3 positions are numbers representing the next three consonants in the name. Vowels and the letters w, h, and y are skipped. Also skipped are double consonants where only one of them is considered. That's it! Click on "Soundex Code" for one of many explanations. This one's from Rootsweb.
What did we need this for?? "Old Timers" will remember doing the conversions and then going over to a card file, finding the section with your Soundex number and then flipping through the (supposedly) alphabetically arranged cards for a reference to the microfilm number and page where your ancestor SHOULD be!
In truth, you don't need it. But I don't want anyone to shy away from picking "Use Soundex results" in the search filter choices at Ancestry.com or Americanancestors.org for example. The cautionary piece is that if one of the letters that have to be converted to a number has been transposed say by an enumerator or an indexer, you'll never find your target based on Soundex. Here's an example: "PATRAKIS" versus "PARTAKIS". The Soundex for the first spelling is P362 while the soundex for the second is P632. That's because the "T" and the "R" have been transposed. So in the conversion the "3" and the "6" would also be transposed. Good luck with that one!!!
See! That was easy!
Related articles
Search tips... Soundex...
Search tips can be very helpful, even for an experienced genealogist. Everyone falls into a rut from time to time or a particular set of web sites are used and others forgotten. I liked Linkpendium for a while, but it never earned a place in my "must look at" list. Having said that, it's back on the priority list. See, I even have to listen to myself once in a while!
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="75"] Genealogy books (Photo credit: webduckie)[/caption]
The fact remains that although millions of records are going on line every day but that there are billions to go! We all have to remember that "it's not all on line!" But with all that being said, I want to share the tip that I posted on a Facebook page that I co-administer "Genealogy - Improving your searches." This is a simple one, but a lot of people reacted to it and "Liked" it! [You might also want to visit "Find A Grave Genealogy Discussion."]
It's fairly simple. I wrote of the "Soundex Code" and how you should at least be aware of what it is so that you don't shy away from using it in your on-line searches. It is not, however, a cure-all for hard to find ancestors! Simply put, its a 4 character replacement for any surname. It was used to file index cards that referenced microfilm records. The first character is the first letter of the surname, with special consideration for "De" or "Van". The next 3 positions are numbers representing the next three consonants in the name. Vowels and the letters w, h, and y are skipped. Also skipped are double consonants where only one of them is considered. That's it! Click on "Soundex Code" for one of many explanations. This one's from Rootsweb.
What did we need this for?? "Old Timers" will remember doing the conversions and then going over to a card file, finding the section with your Soundex number and then flipping through the (supposedly) alphabetically arranged cards for a reference to the microfilm number and page where your ancestor SHOULD be!
In truth, you don't need it. But I don't want anyone to shy away from picking "Use Soundex results" in the search filter choices at Ancestry.com or Americanancestors.org for example. The cautionary piece is that if one of the letters that have to be converted to a number has been transposed say by an enumerator or an indexer, you'll never find your target based on Soundex. Here's an example: "PATRAKIS" versus "PARTAKIS". The Soundex for the first spelling is P362 while the soundex for the second is P632. That's because the "T" and the "R" have been transposed. So in the conversion the "3" and the "6" would also be transposed. Good luck with that one!!!
See! That was easy!
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="75"]
Genealogy books (Photo credit: webduckie)[/caption]The fact remains that although millions of records are going on line every day but that there are billions to go! We all have to remember that "it's not all on line!" But with all that being said, I want to share the tip that I posted on a Facebook page that I co-administer "Genealogy - Improving your searches." This is a simple one, but a lot of people reacted to it and "Liked" it! [You might also want to visit "Find A Grave Genealogy Discussion."]
It's fairly simple. I wrote of the "Soundex Code" and how you should at least be aware of what it is so that you don't shy away from using it in your on-line searches. It is not, however, a cure-all for hard to find ancestors! Simply put, its a 4 character replacement for any surname. It was used to file index cards that referenced microfilm records. The first character is the first letter of the surname, with special consideration for "De" or "Van". The next 3 positions are numbers representing the next three consonants in the name. Vowels and the letters w, h, and y are skipped. Also skipped are double consonants where only one of them is considered. That's it! Click on "Soundex Code" for one of many explanations. This one's from Rootsweb.
What did we need this for?? "Old Timers" will remember doing the conversions and then going over to a card file, finding the section with your Soundex number and then flipping through the (supposedly) alphabetically arranged cards for a reference to the microfilm number and page where your ancestor SHOULD be!
In truth, you don't need it. But I don't want anyone to shy away from picking "Use Soundex results" in the search filter choices at Ancestry.com or Americanancestors.org for example. The cautionary piece is that if one of the letters that have to be converted to a number has been transposed say by an enumerator or an indexer, you'll never find your target based on Soundex. Here's an example: "PATRAKIS" versus "PARTAKIS". The Soundex for the first spelling is P362 while the soundex for the second is P632. That's because the "T" and the "R" have been transposed. So in the conversion the "3" and the "6" would also be transposed. Good luck with that one!!!
See! That was easy!
Related articles
06 April 2014
George Eliot Quote
She was a very prolific and very well respected author. The quote could be the genealogist's mantra.
05 April 2014
Join! Genealogy Tip of the Day
The inspiration for this tip comes from what I’ve been doing all day today. It’ll need a little background. You know that I’m a genealogist; I work with, teach, lecture and learn genealogy. As a result, I believe it’s important to make as many “connections” in the field as possible.
The coat of arms of the Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I belong to the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the New England Chapter of APG (NEAPG), the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists (MSoG), the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society (WMGS), the Connecticut Society of Genealogists (CSG) to name a few and yes, there’s more!
A couple of things I should mention: I’ve been the Treasurer of WMGS for a little over a year and recently became the vice President of NEAPG. I was very interested in these positions as I believe it will help me in my professional pursuits. And so far, it’s been a great year!
AS the VP of NEAPG, I also became the delegate to the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium (NERGC). NERGC puts together a very large convention on a biannual basis in various cities in New England. So for me, being a delegate is a big professional deal! And that's what I've been up to today. I'm involved in putting together the largest genealogical conference anywhere in the Northeast!
So other than going to a lot of meetings, what am I getting out of all this? First, I get to meet some very talented genealogists with interests in many phases of the field. Genealogy is certainly not just searching on the Ancestry.com web site. It is a broad and challenging field. Family histories require a familiarity with numerous resources which are not available on the internet. Forensic genealogy is a highly specialized field that only a very few genealogists get involved with. In my single foray in “forensic genealogy” I was able to prove that an estate worth over $170,000 rightfully belonged to my client! That was rewarding…. Then there’s teaching, lecturing, writing…. It just doesn't stop!
English: Logo/Seal of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania; in use since 1892 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
And that’s where the networking with other professionals comes in. NERGC will provide a forum for professionals from all these areas of expertise to gather and exchange their knowledge.
Now I’ve said all that to say this…if you’re still with me here! This is the “Tip of the Day”: Join a local society! The camaraderie alone is worth the time and effort. You’ll not only learn but you’ll be able to share your knowledge and experiences. Because you don’t know what you don’t know!!
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