The news includes:

• Ancestry.com unveils Family Tree Maker for the Macintosh.
• Ancestry.com and The Genealogist in the UK have announced an agreement with The National Archives (UK) to acquire and publish online the 1911 England and Wales Census.
• Ancestry.com has reached an agreement with National Geographic Digital Media, part of National Geographic, in which the latter will host a new family history experience related to the Genographic Project Online.
• Ancestry.com has just launched a major enhancement to its online search templates, the new "Add an Event" facility.
• Moorshead Magazines Ltd., publishers of Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy, and History magazines, announces a new book, Tracing Your Civil War Ancestors, available on 1 January 2011. More details are available at http://www.familychronicle.com.
• The Muskogee Phoenix reports that the Cherokee Nation has begun development of a Virtual Library of Cherokee Knowledge and expects to complete the project in Spring 2011.
• MyHeritage has announced that it can generate a wide variety of pre-defined famiy tree charts easily. High resolution export of charts is free and these can be shared via email and printed in PDF format on home computers. The company has also added a professional poster printing service.
• The National Genealogical Society has announced the appointment of a new board director, Jordan Jones, of Raleigh, NC, to support information technology and solutions.
• The New England Historic Genealogical Society (at its new web address at http://www.AmericanAncestors.org) will host a Winter Weekend Research Getaway - Effective Use of Technology on 27 to 29 January 2011 in Boston. Visit the website for more information.
• The Kansas City Star posteed an article at http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/08/2409249/search-for-kc-potters-fields-documents.html?story_link=email_msg concerning searches for three large potter's fields.

 

Ideas for holiday gifts include:

• The New England Historic Genealogical Society (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org) offers its Family Discovery Package for $99 and an annual membership to NEHGS for $75.
• Ancestry.com is selling NEW subscriptions to its databases.
• The Technology Tamers have produced an Everyday Genealogy 2011 calendar. It is available in a desk pad format from http://www.everydaygenealogy.com for $12.59 with a genealogy tip for every day of the year and as an app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch from the iTunes store for $3.99.

 

The Guys review the following books:

• Sto Lat: A Modern Guide to Polish Genealogy by Cecile (Ceil) Wendt Jensen (See http://mipolonia.net for details and ordering information.)
• Cherokee Citizenship Commission Dockets, Volume II, 1888-1884 and 1887-1889 by Jeff Bowen (Clearfield Company, 2010)
• The Journey Takers by Leslie Albrecht Huber (2010) (See http://www.thejourneytakers.com for details and ordering information.)
• Shaking the Family Treeby Buzzy Jackson (Touchstone, 2010)

 

Listener email includes:

• Mac asks about his scan wand. (And George talks about his Flip Pal scanner.)
• Eric responds about Mitch's problem reading the 1852 California Census for Placer County.
• Brandt has questions about researching adoptions.
• J.T. shares information about another alternative to Parallels, VMWare Fusion, and CrossOver as software that allows Mac users to run Windows programs. He suggests Wine (http://www.winehq.org) - a free open-source program that needs your configuration.
• Tim has three items for The Guys:
  • He suggests the wealth of digital materials online at Georgia's Virtual Vault (http://cdm.sos.state.ga.us/index.php).
  • He asks about copyright ownership for digitized U.S. census images at Ancestry.com, and sourcing them.
  • He has questions about how to greate effective source citations for indexes, books, and other materials.
• Peter McCracken shares information with The Guys about ShipIndex.org, a site at which you can research specific ships to determine where information is available in books, journals, CD-ROMs, websites, and more. The free area contains more than 140K citations and the premium database contains more than 1.5M entries.
• Michael suggests the use of website http://www.library.illinois.edu/hpnl/newspapers/historical.php at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There is a vast collection there, and there are links to many other newspaper resources.
• Richard reminds us that another great website to post one's genealogical material to is the Free Pages at http://freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com.

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the annual conference of the Florida State Genealogical Society, held at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota.  (Note: At one point during the episode, Drew tries to recall the name and URL of the national program that manages the archiving of local newspapers.  After the recording, a helpful audience member let Drew know that it was the United States Newspaper Program.)

This week's news includes:

• Ancestry.com has announced that it will acquire iArchives and therefore acquire Footnote.com.
• Ancestry.com has added the 1852 California State Census to its U.S. collection.
• Ancestry.co.uk has added "England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1861-1941" to its collection.
• Genealogy Gems has announced that the second installment of the Google Earth for Genealogy video series has been released at www.GoogleForGenealogy.com.
• The Ontario (Canada) Genealogical Society has issued a call for papers for its 2012 Conference, to be held in Kingston, Ontario, on June 1-3, 2012. Email conference2012@ogs.on.ca for a copy of the Call for Papers document.
• Leland Meitzler has announced that Thomas MacEntee will join the 2010 Salt Lake Christmas Tour. More information is available at www.SaltLakeChristmasTour.com.
• The Federation of Genealogical Societies has announced that it is accepting applications for the position of Editor of its electronic quarterly magazine, the FGS FORUM. Interested parties may request a copy of the position description and submissions details by emailing application@fgs.org. Applications are being accepted through November 1, 2010.
• The Association of Professional Genealogists has announced that it is accepting applications for the position of Webmaster. Interested parties may request more information from Kathleen Hinckley, Executive Director, by emailing admin@apgen.org. Applications are being accepted through November 1, 2010.

Listener email includes:

• Marilyn advises us that TelGen Limited has released "Families," an app for the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad that works with Legacy Family Tree. It is available at www.telgen.co.uk/families for $14.95.
• Marina asks for advice about cleaning up her family history data file.
• Patty is seeking a place online where she can upload her family history file, documents, photos, and more.
• Karyl is looking for suggestions about handling situations like "Great Grandma was adopted" or "discoveries that two of the ten kids of Uncle Bud were actually his granddaughters but there are no clue as to who the mother(s) might have been."
• Tom asks whether, when faced with literally hundreds of names going back that far in a printed [family history] volume, does a family historian or genealogist actually obtain all the original documentation? Birth, marriage and death records?

The Guys discuss a product from CodeWeavers called CrossOver Mac for Macintosh OS X ($39.95) that "allows you to install many popular Windows applications and games on your Intel Mac. Once installed, your application integrates seamlessly in OS X. Just click and run your application directly from the OS X Finder. Clicking a Windows file or document — including email attachments — will launch the appropriate Windows program, allowing you to work on the files. Best of all, you do it all easily and affordably, without needing a Microsoft operating system license." The Guys are now running RootsMagic on their Macs instead of using VMWare Fusion or Parallels software and without buying an expensive Windows operating system license.

More listener email includes:

• Colleen asks about the annual Ancestry.com survey and their statement that they add "millions" of historical records each week. The Guys respond that, with nine national collections of data, they believe that the averages probably work out to millions of new and updated records each week.
• Mitch asks for suggestions for how to gain better access to a legible copy of the 1852 California Census. (See notes for Episode #209 and listen to the podcasts for more details.)
• JoEllen asks for more information about organizing and storing her vast collection of materials. George suggests two sources for archival safe storage materials: Light Impressions and Gaylord. (He drew a blank remembering Gaylord.)
• Eric has questions about military records for his grandfather who served before World War I in the infantry of the State of Florida.
• Jim shares two digital newspaper archive collections with everyone: the California Digital Newspaper Collection and Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers.
• Pat shares the results of a very successful on-site research trip.

Drew discusses his blog, Rootsmithing at http://rootsmithing.com.

The news includes:

• Ancestry.com has added to its website more than 1,700 recorded oral history interviews from immigrants who arrived in the U.S. through Ellis Island.
• FamilyLink has partnered with Historic Map Works and will soon provide access to the world's leading historical map collection.
• Ancestry.com has launched the largest searchable online yearbook collection with more than 60,000 yearbook records.
• James R. Benn, B.A., M.L.S., has become the new director of the Godfrey Memorial Library in Middleton, Connecticut.
• Ancestry.com has released Family Tree Maker 2011 with more than 100 enhancements to the software.
• Sirius Genealogy 2.0 has announced that it has completed their transformation from a simple blog, into a complete online community for Amateur & Professional Genealogists. Membership is free. In addition to the general community atmosphere, SG2 has developed numerous Google Gadgets, Web Tools and other services to assist genealogists in their mission. Many more exciting tools are on their way!
• "Rare colour footage" of the London Blitz has been discovered in an attic. It has digitised and made available online at http://www.westendatwar.org.uk/category_idtxt__place.aspx.
• RootsTech, A New Genealogy and Technology Conference, will be held on February 10-12, 2011, in Salt Lake City. Learn more at http://www.rootstech.familysearch.org.
• ICAPGen will host a family history conference titled "Becoming an Excellent Genealogist" on October 22-23, 2010, at the Downtown Radisson Hotel in Salt Lake City. For more information and to register, visit http://www.icapgen.org.
• The Federation of Genealogical Societies 2011 Conference, "Pathways to the Heartland," will be held September 7-10, 2011, in Springfield, Illinois. More information will be available in coming months at the FGS website at http://www.fgs.org.
• The International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE) has announced its annual Excellence in Writing Competition for 2011. Details and an entry form are available at their website at http://www.isfhwe.org.
• Paul Larsen has released the fourth edition of his book, Crash Course in Genealogy. It is available in print and in an advanced digital eBook format (CD or instant download). Visit http://www.crashcoursebook.com to learn more or to purchase the book or download it.
• A recent article in the Toledo [Ohio] Blade at http://www.toledoblade.com/article/20100916/NEWS16/9150359 provides an update to the story of the Clyde, Ohio, cemetery that was struck by vandals. Repairs and restoration are under way.

Listener email includes:

• Mitch is looking for details about his 3rd great-grandfather and hopes our listeners can help. He believes his ancestor appears on the 1852 California State Census for Placer County, Page 60, Line 28. However, the digitized image at Ancestry.com is so dark that he is having difficulty reading the first initial. He is hoping that the original census page or a better copy of the microfilm exist and can help him discern the intial. Can anyone visit the California State Library and personally check the microfilm for Mitch?
• Bill suggests that The Guys regularly report on what they are researching and the resources they are using.
• Walter commented on the discussion in the podcast from the FGS Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee, concerning which is the older U.S. public university: the University of North Carolina or the University of Georgia. He reports that, while Georgia was chartered first, UNC was the first to accept students and begin classes. William & Mary is older but was originally a private university.
• Dan suggested to Drew that he work with Newark City Directories for 1920 in his quest to locate his grandparents at that time.
• Karl followed up on our interview with Dr. John Philip Colletta, Ph.D., that was aired in February. Dr. Colletta discussed the use of "the Federal Cases" books for federal court research. Karl indicates that these books have been digitized and are available at the Internet Archive site at http://www.archive.org. He states that Volume 30 is the index, accessible at http://www.archive.org/details/gov.uscourts.fedcases.30_2. This will help you use Volumes 1-29.
• Clive asks for Drew's opinion about getting the most from a Y-chromosome DNA test, and whether he also needs results from the mtDNA test.
• Ann asks about viruses and phishing with the iPhone and iPad.
• Kay says hello and comments on how very much she enjoyed the FGS Conference in Knoxville. She is hooked and plans to attend other national conferences.
• Michael shares his method of storing information in the form of metadata with his JPEG images.
• Denis provided a link to the French version of Wikipedia for information about the town of La Clayette. (http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Clayette)
• Jenna asks Drew about the iPad and whether Legacy or RootsMagic 4 can be run on that device. She also asks about Dropbox.
• Audrey Collins from The National Archives in the UK reports that she is enjoying her iPad and accesses books from Google Books and the Internet Archive, and that she uses the GoodReader app. She also enjoyed George's "Carolina French." She shared copies of French marriage documents in TNA's collection so that Drew can practice his French.
• Dan is using an iPad app called Traces of the Past, a genealogy app. Drew will check it out and report on his experience with it.

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the 2010 annual conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies in Knoxville, Tennessee. 

The news includes:

• Announcements about the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee, on August 18-21, 2010.
• ALERT: The IRS has reviewed non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporations and is planning to revoke non-profit status on October 15, 2010, for those that still have not complied with their reporting. Details can be found at http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=225889,00.html and The Guys strongly urge you to check your society's status on the respective state reports.
• The Guys provide an update about the situation on the Library of Michigan, both from Tom Koselka and from an article in Library Journal.
• Family Tree Magazine is hosting a Giveaway Sweepstakes at http://win.familytreemagazine.com through August 31, 2010. Enter the sweepstakes every day to win your choice of hundreds of genealogy books, CDs, and DVDs.

Drew reads a question from Jim about a French puzzle. Drew will respond on this after he has a chance to review the details.

The Guys discuss technology, including the iPhone and Drew's new iPad and a number of applications - apps at the iTunes store and on the Web:

• E-reader apps (at iTunes)
• Wikipanion (at iTunes)
• GoodReader (at iTunes)
• iSpeak (at iTunes) to translate languages
• Dropbox(on the Web at http://www.dropbox.com and a free app at iTunes)
• Evernote (on the Web at http://www.evernote.com and a free app at iTunes)
• Skype(on the Web at http://www.skype.com and a free app at iTunes)
• Google Docs (on the Web at http://www.google.com)

The news includes:

• Ancestry.com completes its acquisition of Sweden's Genline.se.
• Ancestry.com has added U.S. Revolutionary War pension and bounty-land warrant application files (1800-1900), U.S. County land Ownership Maps (1860-1918), and a broad collection of Canadian City and Area Directories (1819-1906)
• Tom Kosalka of the Michigan Genealogical Council reports that Gov. Jennifer Granholm has issued a press release concerning the genealogical and historical collections at the Michigan Library and Historical Center. The press release can be accessed at http://www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168--240954--,00.html.
• Arphax Publishing announces new paperback editions of its Family Maps and Texas Land Survey Maps series. Visit their website at www.arphax.com.
• Findmypast.co.uk announced fully indexed U.K. and Wales birth records (1837-2006) at their site.
• The Newberry Library in Chicago has recently completed a new, free online resource, the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The database covers every day-to-day change in county boundaries - from 1634 to 2000. You can access this tremendous resource at publications.newberry.org/ahcbp. 
• Archives.com (http://www.archives.com) has just turned one year old and urges our listeners to visit their site and enjoy a 7-day free trial.

The guys discuss their upcoming travel plans:

• George will be speaking at the Midwestern Roots Family History and Genealogy Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 6 & 7, 2010, at a pre-conference session on August 5th. Learn more at http://www.indianahistory.org/our-services/family-history/midwesternroots/midwestern-roots.
• Drew will be in Göteborg, Sweden the week of August 9th to present a paper at the 2010 IFLA World Library and Information Congress.
• George and Drew will be in Knoxville, Tennessee from August 16-21, 2010, for the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference. You can still register at http://fgs.org/2010conference/registration, and you can learn everything you need to know before you attend the conference at the FGS Conference Blog at http://www.fgsconferenceblog.org.

Listener email includes:

• Kim asks about how to determine if a specific genealogical researcher is legitimate or not.
• Ed responds to Jennifer's court record question. He recommends two online resources for California genealogical research: SFgenealogy.com and the "Early California Population Project" at the Huntington Library and is accessible at http://www.huntington.org/information/ECPPlogin.htm.
• Mike offers a compelling reason for sharing your genealogy information on the Internet.
• Russ asks for suggestions on how to flatten folded documents while using a digital camera.
• James asks for information about how to download our podcasts.
• Spencer has created a new app for the iPhone/iPod called Research Logger and is asking for feedback. Visit http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/research-logger/id379266906 for more information.
• Gus shares the story of how he sent out letters in 1995 seeking information about his DeNoble line research, and how a response was just received.
• Melanie asks for help with her "multiple-choice grandfather."
• Pat responds to Jennifer's legal case transcripts research. She offers four very important suggestions. (You must listen to these!)
• Bill shares a story about a "misplaced birthplace" in Canada for his father.
• Lynda is seeking guidance for locating ancestors in Denmark and Germany.

 

 

The news includes:

• FamilySearch has announced the addition of another 26 million new names.
• The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will celebrate Independence Day on Sunday, July 4th, with its annual ceremony, its first ever National Independence Day Parade float, and a brand new logo.
• EasyNetSites (http://easynetsites.com) announces the availability of its products to create a customized website for genealogical societies, individuals, and small businesses. You don't need to know anything about HTML, XHTML, or other programming languages in order to use it.

Listener email includes:

• Drew reads an item sent to him in French (and realizes after the podcast that the unusual word was actually a proper name!).
• Mike thanks Deborah effusively for her great help in opening up new research avenues for him!
• Clive asks for advice about DNA tests in the UK.
• Carla asks about her Afican-American and American Indian ancestry, and DNA results that suggest Ukranian ancestry.
• Steve and Patrice both wrote in to Drew to suggest the use of Newark, New Jersey, city directories for locating his Smith ancestors. Steve suggests the directories at Footnote.com and Patrice recommends working with the Newark Public Library.
• Louis Kessler is suggesting a new Genealogy Software and Internet site for users to handle FAQs. It needs 60 followers to make it permanent. Visit the site at http://tinyurl.com/LKessler.
• Try out a computational search engine at WolframAlpha.
• Network World published an article about the digital preservation of the WWII Enigma messages. See the full article at:
  • http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/060510-archive-project-will-digitize-wwii.html
• Tim wrote to report that he has received court transcripts from NARA of a federal court case in 1895 for his great-uncle.
• Tina addresses the issue of Ancestry.co.uk's high prices to order BMD records from the General Register Office (GRO) for you.
• Melanie asks about the correct way of recording events.

George and Drew discuss three books:

• Abstracts of the Testamentary Proceedings of the Prerogative Court of Maryland: Volume XXIV: 1744-1746, compiled by V. L. Skinner, Jr. (Clearfield Company/Genealogical Publishing Co.)
• The First Parish Register of Belize 1794-1810 and the First Four Censuses 1816-1826, compiled by Sonia Bennett Murray (Clearfield Company/Genealogical Publishing Co.)
• Who Do You Think You Are? by Megan Smolynak Smolenyak (Viking)

Our listener email includes:

• Mitch recently discovered a great video, Ken Burns' Horatio's Drive. He also wants to know if other listeners know of other movies or documentaries that are historically educational.
• Jennifer is seeking court transcripts of a murder trial in Harford County, Maryland, and a federal trial in the Baltimore Circuit Court in 1922-1923.
• Gary asked for information about census enumerators' instructions for listing names on censuses. George points to the Minnesota Population Center's IPUMS site at http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/tEnumInstr.shtml for 1850 to 1950 instructions. He also asks for information about the availability of census Enumeration District maps.
• Jeff asks for advice about how to handle birth date discrepancies where the Kentucky records list one date and family tradition insists it is another date.
• Richard has started his first blog at http://yehlegenealogy.blogspot.com, and he has posted some photos and postcard images from La Plata, Argentina. He hopes people will see his blog and recognize locations and people shown.
• Gus asked for guidance about the dictionary of first names that Drew spoke about in a previous episode. The book is the New American Dictionary of First Names. Please see last week's show notes for title and author details.
• Judy responds to Drew's challenge to locate Chambers Street in the 1920 census. She also suggests that Drew check the WWI Draft Registration cards for his William H. Smith. (He did after the podcast and found some good information.)
• Helen Shaw has published an article about the Maine Legislature's actions concerning limiting access to that state's vital records. Check this link.
• Chris asks for advice about how common are name spelling and birth/death date errors from the 1800s and early 1900s.
• Marily asks for help with tracing her great-great-grandfather who died in the Civil War.
• Tim is seeking details on his great-grandfather who was orphaned in Oklahoma. He has located Dawes papers and wants suggestions on how to continue.

George reviews several books this week:

• Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case by Christine Rose
• Scots-Irish Links - Part Eight by David Dobson
• Chickasaw by Blood Enrollment Cards, 1898-1914 - Volume III - transcribed by Jeff Bowen
• The Surnames of North West Ireland: Concise Histories of the Major Surnames of Gaelic and Planter Origin by Brian Mitchell
• Defenders of the Plantation of Ulster, 1641-1691, compiled by Brian Mitchell

The news includes:

• The British Library has announced plans to digitize millions of historical newspaper pages in partnership with brightsolid.com.
• The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) has announced that it has more than 2,000 members.
• The Michigan eLibrary (MeL) has  announced the lauch of Michigana, Sources in U.S. History Online. It can be accessed at http://mel.org/michigana.
• The Digital Library of Georgia and the Cuba Archives of the Breman Museum have announced the expansion of the Southern Israelite Archive at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/MediaTypes/Newspapers.html. 
• GenSoftReviews announces that it now has reviews of more than 500 genealogical software programs at its site.
• The Florida Genealogical Society (Tampa) will hold its annual Fall Seminar on Saturday, September 18, 2010, and the speaker will be Curt B. Witcher, the manager of the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. More information will be available at the society's website at http://fgs.org. 
• The Federation of Genealogical Societies has announced the extension of its Early Bird registration for its 2010 FGS Conference on August 18-21, 2010, in Knoxville, Tennessee. The date has been extended to June 21, 2010. Complete details and online registration can be found at http://fgs.org/2010conference. 

Our listener email includes:

• Jennifer asks about mentors for her work in becoming a Certified Genealogist. George points her to the Board for Certification of Genealogists.
• Steve discusses his great-grandfather's birth records, and he asks about how to best borrow microfilmed records from Augusta County, Virginia - through the Library of Virginia or through the local LDS Family History Center.
• Teri discusses the impportance of source citations.
• Drew discusses the derivation and meaning of first names, and cites a book, The New American Dictionary of First Names, by Leslie Dunkling and William Gosling.
• Pat shares an important collection of New York State digitized historic newspapers at http://www.fultonhistory.com.
• Michael asks about The Guys' use of DNA in research. He also asks for tips for first-time conference attendees. George points him to a webinar he did for the Southern California Genealogical Society titled, "How to Get the Most out of a Genealogy Conference." The webinar can be seen at http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/RootsTV.htm.
• Tammy asks about the key database collections at Footnote.com.

 

The Guys discuss their recent trips, including a great visit to Salt Lake City for the NGS Conference.

This week's news includes:

• Ancestry.com made several announcements at the NGS Conference:

1. A new search engine facility allows for better searching, including wildcard search at the beginning of names and the ability to drill down to all database results for a specific area.
2. A new wiki at Ancestry.com includes all of their two great books, The Source and Ancestry's Red Book, and will allow continuous additions and updates.
3. Ancestry.com announced a new version of its Family Tree Maker coming later this year for the Macintosh.

• FamilySearch.org announced the addition of 300 million new names to its site.
• Randy Riley, the Special Collections Manager at the Library of Michigan, received the prestigious Filby Award for Genealogy Librarianship at the NGS Conference on 30 April 2010. Congratulations, Randy!

George discusses his meeting at NGS with Gary Gibb and Chad Milliner of Ancestry.com to discuss problems with the new images for the 1860 U.S. federal censuses at their site. George explains the cause and that Gary is evaluating possible corrective actions.

Listener email includes:

• Barbara discusses her findings that some census pages are imaged two to a page and that "missing" families may be further down the screen. Drew comments that missed areas can often be found at the end of an enumeration district's census pages.
• Kaye has heard George on both this podcast and the Genealogy Gems Podcast. She also asks George about family Bibles for the Alexander families of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, from which they are both descended.
• Claire is a relatively new listener and only 25 years old. She is working as a probate genealogist for International Missing Heir Finders and is studying to become a Certified Genealogist.
• George shares that there are videos at YouTube of early San Francisco. One shows the city prior to the 1906 earthquake at http://tinyurl.com/SF1905-1905A and another shows the damage after the earthquake at http://tinyurl.com/2a7q55p.
• James asks for an explanation of dower rights with regard to U.S. land transactions. He also asks for suggestions for how to determine the right "Edith" in his English research.
• Dave shares the fact that he discovered in the 1930 U.S. census that his grandparents were neighbors. He also asks for advice about recording of place names listed in census records.
• Margaret in Dublin, Ireland, offers details for Cheryl regarding her County Tyrone ancestor.
• Angie provides an update on her problem with her Samuel Chambers/Hilderbrand.

The Guys discuss their upcoming conference activities. George heartily recommends attendance at the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree on 11-13 June 2010 in Burbank. He also encourages you to watch the webinar he did for the SCGS titled "Getting the Most out of a Genealogy Conference" at their website and at http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/RootsTV.htm.

Drew discusses his newest toy - an Apple iPad.

This week's news includes:

• The Governor of Maine has signed a bill limiting access to Maine's vital records until the passage of 100 years.
• Family Forest is expanding its collection of eBooks.
• RootsMagic has released a minor update to RootsMagic 4.
• The Digital Library of Georgia has released new historic Atlanta newspapers at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/atlnewspapers.
• The 13th Annual Conference on Computerized Genealogy and Family History, traditionally held at Brigham Young University in Provo in March, will take place at the Salt Palace on April 26 and 27, immediately followed by the four-day Annual Conference (April 28-May 1) of the National Genealogical Society, also at the Salt Palace.
• Godfrey Memorial Library Board of Trustees member Ed Laput has completed photographing his 100th cemetery and has submitted his work to the library.
• The Guys provide an update on the Library of Michigan crisis.
• George conducted a webinar for the Southern California Genealogical Society titled "Getting the Most from a Genealogy Conference," and it can be viewed online at http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/RootsTV.htm.
• Gale has published a new collection of 300 years of U.K. newspapers, the 17th and 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers and 19th Century British Library Newspapers.
• Leonardtown, MD. is sponsoring the Maryland to Kentucky Reunion 2010 in July 16 -18th. Check at http://mdtokyreunion.club.officelive.com for more information and registration.
• Rodney has set up a self-updating page of links that The Guys have cited in the podcasts. Check it out at http://vc.id.au/gg/gglinks.html.

Phil Wright is looking for feedback on a potential new online genealogy service. You can respond to him at phil.wright@familytreeonline.com.

This week's listener email includes:

• Mike is upset by another genealogist who took and published his family tree data at Ancestry.com.
• Kay wrote to indicate that there are more states in Ancestry.com's 1860 enhanced census images that have problems.
• Rich asked for suggestions about locating information about his 4th great-grandfather and pauper graves.
• Jamie asks about the safety and security of having the society participate in social networking sites such as Facebook.
• Michael is interested in researching his estranged father's family before making contact with him and his paternal grandmother. Drew suggests using Veromi.net to begin some public records searches.
• Kathy asks about the permissions to sail/emigrate from England.

 

In response to Beverly's inquiry about options for genealogy home study courses, George compiled the following list:

 

National Genealogical Society: Home Study Course

http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/homestudy_course_cd

 

Family Tree University

http://www.familytreeuniversity.com

 

National Institute for Genealogical Studies

http://www.genealogicalstudies.com

 

Boston University – Certificate in Genealogical Research

http://professional.bu.edu/cpe/Genealogy.asp

 

Brigham Young University – Independent Study (Free Courses)

http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/courses/free.cfm

 

New England Historic Genealogical Society Online Seminars

http://www.newenglandancestors.org/events/online_seminars.asp

Drew issues his first research challenge: Find Drew's paternal grandparents (William Henry Smith, his wife Elizabeth, and their sons William, Charles, and George) in the 1920 census for northern New Jersey.

Our hosting service, Libsyn, may be experiencing some server issues, which is causing a problem with episode #200.  We'll update you as soon as we know that it has been resolved. 

UPDATE (March 31): Libsyn appears to have fixed their problem, and we're back in business with episode 200!

The 200th Episode!

The Guys are pleased to celebrate the 200th episode of the Genealogy Guys Podcast!

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This week's news includes: Mail in your 2010 census forms; a brief discussion of the NBC series, Who Do You Think You Are?; RootsTelevision will remain in operation; library funding crises are spreading as the New Jersey State Library is threatened with a merger with Thomas Edison State College; the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County [NC] Library system's threatened 13-branch library closure announcement is mitigated by staffing and operation hours slashes; the Library of Michigan's collection will remain in one piece for now, but other changes are being discussed; a Massachusetts senate bill proposes closure to all that state's vital records created after 1841; Turner Publishing of Nashville, Tennessee, will take over all of Ancestry Publishing's brand and books, and will continue handling distribution and sales; The National Archives in the U.K. has announced that it will cease publication of its acclaimed genealogy magazine, Ancestors, and subscribers must contact the publisher, Wharncliffe Publishing, Ltd., concerning refunds.

George has been been contacted by Gary Gibb of Ancestry.com and Chad Milner concerning some quality problems with Ancestry's recent upgrade of census images. George discusses the 1861 censuses for three Ohio counties reported by Tina, and the intense attention being taken to address problems.

Jonathan Wiltman announces GenAnswers, a new site at www.genanswers.com, a new and free genealogy question and answer community.

Meg announces that her True Lover's Knot has been published as notecards by Etsy.com at www.hughpugh.etsy.com. 

This week's news includes:

• Sherry found a 1920 census form for her great-grandmother, Matilda (Tilda) Leafgreen on which the enumarator apparently noted in the left margin that this was the best information he was able to obtain.
• Cynthia has been searching her Powell family on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and in Delaware, and questions the user of her married vs. maiden name.
• Lisa tells us about the University of Washington's genealogy program, and you can learn more at http://tinyurl.com/UofWA-genealogy.
• Several listeners responded concerning the tab dividers for use with extra wide sheets and items inserted inside sheet protectors. (Avery #11903 - Big Tab Pocket Insertable Plastic Dividers)
• Erin recently completed a genealogy certificate program at Boston University. Learn more at professional.bu.edu/cpe/Genealogy.asp.
• Russ asks The Guys to discuss the pros and cons of filing by Couple vs. filing by Surname.
• Jamie discusses differences in Ancestry.com's old vs. new search facilities.
• Sheryl discusses her great-great-grandfather, Wiliam F. Nelson, and his immigration path.
• Mike thanks Drew for an excellent DNA presentation at the seminar in Jacksonville recently.
• Margaret has an ancestor born with surname Hopson, but the surname changed to Perriette and then back to Hopson. (Drew is investigating further on his own.)
• Linda has a number of observations and comments about source citations.
• Gus shares a news story about cemetery vandalism in the Kane Cemetery in the Bighorn Canyon Recreation Area in Montana. (Call (307) 548-5421 to report any information you might have about this case.)
• Carolyn asks for suggestions for locating and obtaining copies of obituaries from Glasgow, Scotland.

  Thank you, everyone, for listening and becoming part of our growing family!

George and Drew in front of a live audience on March 6, 2010 at the annual conference of the Santa Barbara County (California) Genealogical Society.

This episode features three interviews:

• an interview with Josh Taylor of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (yes, the same Josh Taylor who appeared with Sarah Jessica Parker in the first aired episode of Who Do You Think You Are?)
• an interview with Curt Witcher, Manager of the Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana
• an interview with Lee and Carol Cole, who manage a community project in Ohio (details at tpsurvey.org)  [Note: At one point in the interview, Carol refers to the Terrace Park Historical Society, but she realized after the interview that she intended to refer to the Terrace Park Woman's Club.]

George and Drew also discuss their recent trip to Santa Barbara County, California, including a tour of the library of the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society. (The next episode, #199, will be a podcast recorded in front of the audience in Santa Barbara County.)

Finally, listeners learn how they can become part of the upcoming 200th episode of the Genealogy Guys Podcast!

George and Drew set sail on the second-largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas, and record a podcast episode in front of a live audience participating in the RootsMagic 2010 genealogy cruise.  (Note: The correct URL for FreeBMD should be www.freebmd.org.uk.)

In this episode:

• George notes that it is Black History Month, and points out that the New England Historic Genealogical Society has a website called AfricanAmericanAncestors.org.
• George shares the information that MyHeritage.com has acquired the Germany-based OSN Group, which includes such family sites as Verwandt.de, Moikrewni.pl, and Dynastree.com.
• The Michigan Genealogical Council updates the Guys on the Michigan governor's appointments to the Michigan Center for Innovation and Reinvention Board (which will advise the governor regarding the Michigan Library and Historical Center).
• Beverly asks about options for genealogy home-study courses.
• Teri asks where to get tabbed dividers for full-page sheet protectors, and whether it's ok to bring up a topic that was previously discussed on a Genealogy Guys Podcast from some time ago.  (For the tabbed dividers, George suggests looking at Light Impressions.)
• Mitchell asks how best to document variants in surnames in his genealogy software.
• Tina asks about unreadable census images from the 1860 census on Ancestry.com.
• Steve e-mails from Australia using his iPhone to ask the Guys about dealing with some other genealogists who seem undaunted in spreading bad information.
• Brent asks about finding information for a death at sea.
• Tom and Mitch continue the discussion about providing sources for genealogical information.  Mitch also shares an article written by Gary B. Hoffman that dealt with the subject of bad information found in online genealogies.
• Jim discusses his frustrations in locating information about ancestor David Barnhart.
• Drew interviews Dr. John Philip Colletta and learns a great deal about Federal court records.

This week's news includes:

• Ancestry.com has announced Ancestry.com Tree to Go, a new app for the iPhone and iPod Touch that allows users to access and update their family tree at Ancestry.com anywhere. The app is available at the iTunes Store.
• Apple has announced their latest product, the iPad. The Guys discuss some of the features and the pricing of this new item.
• George announces his next speaking gigs: he will be at the Palm Beach County Genealogical Society on Saturday, January 30th, and at the Highlands County Genealogical Society on Saturday, February 6th. You can learn more at http://ahaseminars.com/events.php.

This week's listener email includes:

• Hollen provides another suggestion about searching the Gorrell family for Pam.
• Lee tells us that Ancestry.com has a great database called Ohio Obituary Index, 1820s-2009, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center. There is even a link on the database page that allows you to order a copy of the obituary.
• Marie thanks The Guys, Lisa Louise Cook of The Genealogy Gems Podcast, and Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers for encouraging her to re-start her blog and keep it going. Congratulations, Marie!
• Gus discusses source citations on the reverse of his family history posters. He also reminds us that the Allen County Public Library is still accepting unbound and PDF files of books. ACPL will make and send you a bound photocopy and keep one for their collection. Send to:  Steve Myers, Asst. Manager, Genealogy Center, Allen County Public Library, P. O. Box 2270, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN 46801
• A.C. is interested in more information about Phoebe's Cousin Camp.

George does a review of a new book, "Wanted! U.S. Criminal Records, Sources & Research Methodology" by author Ron Arons. The book is published by Criminal Research Press and retails for $49.99. The book is a compendium of a wide variety of criminal records and where the records can be located. Learn more at http://www.ronarons.com.

George discusses his exciting finds concerning his paternal grandmother, her first marriage, her second marriage to his grandfather, and some very surprising connections that he has uncovered. Drew joins in the discussion because he, too, helped with the puzzle.

The Guys have been traveling the last two weeks, but here's a new episode for everyone!

This week's news includes:

1. Ancestry.com announced that it is discontinuing publication of Ancestry Magazine, effective with the March/April 2010 issue.
2. There are three new genealogy series debuting on television: "Who Do You Think You Are?" makes its debut on NBC on March 5, 2010; "Faces of America," hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., airs on Wednesdays, February 10 to March 3, 2010, on PBS (check your local listings); and "The Generations Project" has debuted on BYU Television (check your local area for availability and telecast schedules).
3. Registration is now open for the Southern California Genealogical Society's 41st Annual Jamboree, to be held at Burbank, California, on June 11-13, 2010. Visit their Jamboree website for details and to register at http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/2010jam-home.htm.
4. The Maryland Historical Society has announced that it is accepting applications for its Lord Baltimore Research Fellowships for 2010-2011. Contact Patricia Anderson at panderson@mdhs.org for more information about this announcement; contact the Library at library_department@mdhs.org for information about library-related fellowships; and contact Alexandria Deutsch, Chief Curator, at adeutsch@mdhs.org for information about museum-related fellowships.
5. Ancestry.com has announced the launch of its 1950 Census Substitute.
6. Ancestry.com and the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) are sponsoring a Family History Day 2010 on Saturday, February 20, 2010, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Westin Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts.
7. The Genealogy Gems Podcast has launched the first genealogy podcast app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, available in the iTunes Store for $2.99.

This week's listener email includes:

1. Beth thanks The Guys for help last fall with obtaining information about photos taken during WWII of her grandfather's B-17 crew mates. She also discusses how she worked very, very hard on her book to include source citations for every comment, etc., that she received while writing the book.
2. Pattie talks about how great RootsMagic is for generating a basic book that she can edit, add to, and customize for her own family history writing.
3. Brenda responds to Katie's e-mail (1/3/10 episode) concerning the Huntingdon Gazette in Pennsylvania. She reports that there is a website, "Access Pennsylvania Digital Repository," at http://www.accesspadigital.org at which she was able to access early copies of the Huntingdon Gazette in the Juniata College Collections. She even located an April 1816 issue describing the sheriff's sale of her 4th great-grandfather's blacksmith shop in Barre Township. 
4. Pam asks for suggestions for additional research into her Gorrell ancestors.
5. Joel Weintraub corrects The Guys (George) concerning obtaining information from not-yet-released U.S. federal census records. He cites the Census Bureau as the correct place to contact (not NARA) for an Age Search to be performed. The price is $65, and the process and requirements are described at http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/data/agesearch/. 
6. Sheryl tells The Guys that the Mesa Arizona Regional Family History Center (http://www.mesarfhc.org/) does maintain a catalog of the microfilm and microfiche in their facility for search.

Drew discusses his trip to the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. He was given an in-depth tour of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) facility by Josh Taylor, the Director of Education and Programs. Drew describes some of the features of NEHGS.

George and Drew discuss their trip earlier this month to Salt Lake City and the research work they did on-site in the Family History Library. They each discuss the types of records they researched on microfilm, including probate indexes, probate files, grantor and grantee indexes to deed books, and other materials. George describes the process for having requested microfilm from the Granite Mountain vault.

Drew recounts a recent discussion on the ROOTS-L mailing list. He discusses "name chasers" who collect and add names to their databases without performing research to check sources. They also eschew entering any source citations for their collections. Some have even attacked Drew's position on the importance of source citations, stating that citing sources takes the fun out of genealogy. The Guys talk about how important and integral source citations are in everyone's research.

This week's news includes:

1. GenSoftReviews.com presents one of its 2009 Users Choice Awards to RootsMagic.
2. PBS debuts its new genealogy show, "Faces of America," on February 10, 2010, hosted by Harvard scholar Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
3. ScotlandsPeople announces new images of the Statutory Registers for Births (1909), Marriages (1934), and Deaths (1959) at http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. 
4. The Iowa Genealogical Society Library suffered damage last week when part of its roof collapsed as a result of snow and rain.
5. The Bartholomew County Historical Society in Columbus, Indiana, estimates a loss of as many as 75,000 items in a fire that destroyed the United Way building in which part of its collection was housed.
6. The Allen County Public Library has a new blog and a page on Facebook!

This week's listener email includes:

1. Michelle asks whether there is a search facility of the LDS Family History Library that allows people to determine what Family History Center(s) have a specific microfilm available for viewing.
2. Pamela asks about the origin of the forename "Green Berry."
3. Scott joins the ranks of The Genealogy Guys Podcast fans who have listened to every episode.
4. Katie is researching her McCahan line and discusses that, and she follows up on our discussion of business records by sharing a link to the "Business Archives Scotland" blog (see http://tinyurl.com/ScotlandBusArch).
   
5. Lee explored the Google Archives in search of an obituary in the St. Petersburg Times for his Great Aunt Gertrude Mitzner; and he asks about the availability of single census record information from post-1930 U.S. federal censuses.
6. Margaret asks for suggestions about her research in the Philadelphia area into the Rimbey family.
7. Linda has hit a brick wall with her great-grandparents' burial location in California and asks for suggestions.
8. The Missouri State Genealogical Society is trying to contact authors of articles for the Missouri State Genealogical Association Quarterly Journal. Many have already generously given permission to allow the society to place Journal articles online, but the organization is seeking to find other authors to gain their permission.

George discusses his project over the holidays to work through his unfiled genealogical materials. He describes the process and what he has done in data entry, obtaining digital images, adding source citations, and more in order to prepare for filing all these items.

The Guys are headed to Salt Lake City this coming weekend for the annual Winter Retreat which coincides with the Salt Lake Institute classes. Following that, Drew is headed to Boston for the American Library Association's Midwinter Conference.

George will be at the following locations giving presentations:

January 16th - Sarasota Genealogical Society
January 30th - Palm Beach County Genealogical Society
February 6th - Highlands County [FL] Genealogical Society

Drew will be at the Englewood Genealogical Society of Florida on January 27th.

He and Drew will both be sailing and presenting on the RootsMagic Valentine's Day Cruise to the Western Caribbean.

Stop by and see us!