Genealogy Newsline Vol. 1 # 5

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Genealogy Newsline – Vol 1 # 5 – Mar. 23, 2011
Edited by Leland K. Meitzler for Family Roots Publishing Co., LLC

This is the fifith edition of the FREE Genealogy Newsline. If you should get more than one newsletter, chances are we have more than one active email account in our database for you. My advice is to just scroll to the bottom of the duplicate newsletter, and click on “Unsubscribe.” That will get rid of the duplicate newsletter.

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CONTENTS OF THIS GENEALOGY NEWSLINE

Why Did I Receive This Genealogy Newsline?

Partly Personal

Free USA Shipping on Purchases of $25 or more at FRPC through April 5, 2011

Breakthrough! – A Review of Mocavo.com- the Latest in Genealogical Search Engines

New Death Records Posted at FamilySearch.org

Going to Salt Lake City?

United States Death & Probate Records at Posted at FamilySearch.org – The List

Newspapers: The Key to Documenting Your Family History, by Thomas Jay Kemp

Additional Marriage Records Found at FamilySearch.org as of March 23, 2011

Book Reviews & Announcements

  • The Hidden Half of the Family: A Sourcebook for Women’s Genealogy
  • The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox
  • Dating Old Photographs 1840-1929 on CD-ROM
  • More Dating Old Photographs 1840 -1929, THIRD EDITION
  • Chasing Women – Finding Your Female Ancestors – Webinar on CD-ROM
  • Google for Genealogists – Webinar on CD-ROM

More Genealogy News – with links to Timely Genealogy-Related Articles

Essential Books From Family Roots Publishing Company

Family Maps All Now Online at the FRPC Website

Popular Books From Previous Genealogy Newslines

Events where Family Roots Publishing Co. LLC Will Exhibit in 2011

Going to Salt Lake City?

Check out Area-Info.net

Download a Free Issue of Family Chronicle Magazine

Subscribe/Unsubscribe

About the Genealogy Newsline

The Genealogy Newsline Archive

Changing a Password

Leland K. Meitzler Biography

Copyrights & Permissions

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WHY DID YOU RECEIVE THE GENEALOGY NEWSLINE?

You have received this email newsletter for one of the following reasons:

  • You are a Family Roots Publishing Company customer.
  • You signed up for the newsletter at the FamilyRootsPublishing.com website.
  • You wrote and asked to be added to the Genealogy Newsline list
  • You signed up for the newsletter at the Family Roots Publishing Company booth at a genealogy event.
  • Because until December of 2008 you were an Everton Newsline subscriber, Genealogical Helper subscriber, or had some other affiliation with Everton Publishers or the Everton.com website. More information about Everton.com is found near the end of this Genealogy Newsline

If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, you may Unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the link at the bottom of this newsletter.

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PARTLY PERSONAL
Bandit 1994-2011 RIP
Bandit passed away yesterday. He was a siamese cat that adopted us when he was just a tiny kitten. In early September of 1994, Patty and I were out at by the mailbox at our getaway place in South Dakota. Bandit was crying and hidden under a sign by the highway. He was almost all white, with a few markings that gave away his siamese heritage. He looked to be about 6 weeks old. He immediately became part of the family, traveling in the motor coach for 6 years, and then settling down with us in Bountiful, Utah. When he was young, he would spring up onto the passenger-side windshield visor in the RV, riding up there for hours. He slowed down as he got older, but stayed close to Patty and I. Wherever we were, he’d be nearby. Yesterday, he came in the kitchen asking for breakfast. I fed him, and he died of old age related issues a couple hours later – with us until the end. He was just over sixteen and a half years old. We will miss him.

Canceled out of attending the New England Regional Genealogy Conference
I’m sorry to report that I just canceled out of exhibiting at the New England Regional Conference in Springfield, Massachusetts. With fuel costs way up and no end in sight, I made the decision that we would stay home, and not risk losing thousands of dollars of travel expenses. Honestly, in all my years of selling books I can’t remember canceling out of a conference before, but the economics just don’t work when 4600 miles of truck-travel at high fuel costs are involved. This means that we’ve got to make up for lost sales by using the Family Roots Publishing website – so please go over to the site and buy something! We’re offering FREE Shipping on all orders over $25 an an incentive!

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FREE USA SHIPPING ON ALL $25 OR MORE PURCHASES OF BOOKS AND SUPPLIES ORDERED AT THE FAMILY ROOTS PUBLISHING WEBSITE EXTENDED THROUGH TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2011.

Since we can’t exhibit at Springfield, Massachusetts, we’ve extended our FREE SHIPPING sale through April 5. Buy $25 or more in books, charts, forms, or supplies at the Family Roots Publishing Co. online bookstore before Midnight MDT April 5, 2011, and the items ship free. FREE SHIPPING is available for purchases with items being delivered within the United States. Click here to search or browse over 1000 genealogy-related guidebooks, atlases and charts. Regional guidebooks for most countries, American states, and Canadian provinces are located here! Guides on writing, and recording genealogy, photography, DNA research, genealogy dictionaries, computer use, immigration, migration, and on & on are found at the site!

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BREAKTHROUGH – A REVIEW OF MOCAVO.COM – THE LATEST IN GENEALOGICAL SEARCH ENGINES

I haven’t made a breakthrough on any of my direct-line ancestors in years. All the easy research was done years ago, and most breakthroughs are now made after extensive research. However, prompted by the need to write a review of a new search engine, and with a little flexibility & persistence on my part, I now have the name of a previously unknown fourth great-grandfather, as well as vital record dates, and burial places for family members in Rensselaer County, New York.

I was very pleased when I had the chance a couple weeks ago to play with a new search developed by Cliff Shaw. Cliff is probably best known for bringing us a site called GenCircles.com years ago. His latest project is a free search engine called Mocavo.com.

Mocavo.com searches genealogy-related websites for terms that you type into the search-box found on the home page of the site. According to the website, Mocavo searches free genealogy content on the web. The search includes “genealogy message boards, family trees, state and local historical societies, the Library of Congress, National Archives, Ellis Island, Find A Grave, the Internet Archive, various U.S. state archives, and many tens of thousands of genealogy sites built by individuals. Similar to other search engines, Mocavo.com honors site owners by linking directly to their content.” I noted right-off that it was also searching digitized data at BYU servers, as well as digitized data from the Allen County Public Library. Many of the sources available to use today haven’t been around all that long, so an exacting search engine, combined with fresh content makes breakthroughs seem all that much more possible.

When Cliff initially sent me the link, and asked me to try the site out, but keep my mouth shut, I spent maybe a half hour trying various searches. I was impressed, and told him so. However, I’ve been very busy with a rapidly growing Family Roots Publishing Company business, and couldn’t get back to doing anything in depth until Friday. About noon I started searching for two of my my brick-wall ancestors. After searching for information on Timothy Titus (of New Perth, Washington County, NY), and coming up with the same things I already had, I moved on to Ebenezer Stephens, who died in Rensselaer County, New York in 1825. Ebenezer was my 5th great-grandfather, the father of Sally Anthony, and grand-father of Maria Anthony, who married William Canfield. William was the father of William Henry Canfield, about whom I wrote just a few days ago. I spent several hours searching, using Mocavo.com, and getting hits, but most often finding items that I’d posted online, or data I’d seen before.

According to his will, dated 28 April 1825, and probated in Rensselaer County, Ebenezer Stephens had left his “mansion house” to his wife, Elizabeth, and granted his daughters, Harriet Stephens, and Sally Anthony the right to live in the family home with their mother. His son, Ebenezer Stephens, was given the real estate and personal estate not otherwise disposed of. Upon the death of Elizabeth, cash was to be distributed to Betsy Raynor, Sally Anthony, John Stephens, Harriet Stephens, Susan Rheubottom, and George Stephens (relationships not given). The will was probated 3 November 1825. So I had an approximate death date and a few names to work with. I had proof that Sally Anthony was a fourth great-grandmother, but didn’t know her husband’s name. I found that Ebenezer Stephens was her father when the Rensselaer County Probate abstracts were published in book form a few years ago. They can now be found on the web. Over the years I’ve searched for the Stephens without much luck. I wasn’t having any luck with Mocavo.com either. So I got to thinking that maybe I should be searching on the surname of Stevens instead. I’ve done this in the past with no luck, but as I tell folks when speaking on brick-walls, sometimes we just have to wait until the data we need gets posted and is searchable before we find what we’re looking for. So I searched for <"Ebenezer Stevens" Rensselaer> using Mocavo.com. I got 199 hits, which seemed like a lot… I started checking each hit, going to the website, and using Control F and the term “Ebenezer Stephens” to search the entire page. I was on the 6th page (with 10 pages per hit), when I ran across a page from the “Interments in Rensselaer Co.” Searching on the page specifically for Ebenezer Stevens, I got two hits. The database was such that I found it easier to read by grabbing the lower right-hand corner, and dragging it out over nearly 35 inches of computer screen (2 monitors). The second Ebenezer Stephens was listed as the father of Sally Stephens, who died 30 January 1829 at age 48. Her husband was Tillinghast Anthony, and she was buried in Buckley #1 Cemetery in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer Co., NY. I then found Ebenezer Stevens burial in the same cemetery, having died 5 May 1825 at age 72. I also found other family members buried in Buckley #1, or other Rensselaer County cemeteries. Breakthrough!

How long this massive USGenweb database has been posted I really don’t know. It seems to have about 92,000 entries currently. If I’d searched the Rensselaer County GenWeb site earlier, I most likely would have found the data before now, but that goes for all genealogical data. It’s often just setting out there waiting for us. Because Cliff Shaw built a fine and dandy new search for us, I found a new dead ancestor. Thanks, Cliff.

Now go try out Mocavo.com yourself.

Disclaimer – I have no affiliation whatsoever to Mocavo.com. I’m just a user, like the rest of you.

To view the above article with illustrations, click here.

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NEW DEATH RECORDS POSTED AT FAMILYSEARCH.ORG

During the last week of February, FamilySearch posted a large index of North Carolina deaths. It covers the years 1931 through 1994. According to the website, the data comes from the North Carolina Dept. of Health, with the original documents housed at the North Carolina Department of Archives and History in Raleigh, North Carolina. Note that the data posted is only an index, extracted from 1279 reels of microfilm at the Family History Library, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I did a search on the surname Daffern, and came up with 55 results, none of them specifically Daffern, with most being the variation of Daffron. Most of the family still spells it as Daffron, so I was pleased with what I got. Following is an example of what you can expect to see. I’m using the death record of William H Daffron. According to the Index, he was born in Chatham Co., NC in 1873, and died 24 Apr 1941 in Hadleys, Chatham, NC. He resided in Pittsboro, Chatham Co., NC. He was buried His father was William Daffern and mother Elder D. Copeland. He was married to Pearl Daffron.

Illinois Probate Records 1819-1970
Also posted within the last fews day, was the Illinois Probate Records 1819-1970 for 24 counties. There’s no index yet, but there are 301,249 images, made up of will books, administrations, journals, inventories, guardian’s records, and order books from various counties in Illinois. The amount of data, and the years covered vary dramatically from county-to-county, with some counties having lots of data available at the site, and others very little. The following Illinois counties are included. Click on the link to see what records are available for that county – then browse those of interest. Note that although the database isn’t indexed, most of the scanned books include an index, so you don’t have to wade through will after will or probate after probate.

None of the Illinois counties that I wanted to browse are posted yet, but maybe some of you have ancestors in these counties.

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THINKING OF GOING TO SALT LAKE CITY?

If you’re considering a research trip at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City NOW IS A GREAT TIME! The Salt Lake Plaza Hotel which is located next door to the Family History Library is offering special genealogy discounts for April and May 2011. Your discount will depend on the dates you reserve. They offer microwaves and refrigerators in every room, a full service restaurant, complimentary wireless hi-speed internet and a complimentary airport shuttle. Call them at 800-366-3684 or e-mail at admin@plaza-hotel.com and mention the Genealogy Newsline to receive your discount rate.

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UNITED STATES DEATH & PROBATE RECORDS POSTED AT FAMILYSEARCH.ORG – THE LIST

The following 78 databases can all be accessed at FamilySearch.org. They currently cover 41 states plus the District of Columbia. In addition, you will find two USA-wide indexes at the end of this list. Note that of the 78 databases, 27 of them contained digitized images of the original documents.

Alabama Deaths and Burials, 1881-1952– Name index to death and burial records from the state of Alabama – 105,825 Records as of 4 May 2010

Alabama Deaths, 1908-1974 -Name index to death certificates from the state of Alabama – 1,858,819 Records as of 5 May 2010

Arizona Death and Burials, 1910-1911; 1933-1994 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Arizona – 10,168 Records after 27 Apr 2010

Arizona Deaths, 1870-1951 – Imaged Records -Published images and index of Arizona death certificates. The certificates are arranged in chronological order within each county – 265,726 Records as of 24 Mar 2010

Arkansas Deaths and Burials, 1882-1929; 1945-1963 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Arkansas – 38,956 Records after 27 Apr 2010

California, San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records, 1835-1931 – Imaged Records -This project was indexed in partnership with the California Genealogical Society and Library. Name index and images of funeral home records from the Halsted N. Gray – Carew & English Mortuary Collection, located at the San Francisco Public Library. Images for all years in collection can be browsed, but name index currently covers only years 1896-1931. Collection includes a number of different funeral homes acquired over time by the Halsted N. Gray – Carew & English Mortuary company, most from the San Francisco area, but also including some from Burlingame, Stockton, and Sacramento. The collection includes funeral register books, burial registers, account books, case books, etc. Indexes appear at the beginning of some volumes – 98,871 Records as of 15 Sep 2010

Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772-1934-Name index to death and burial records from the state of Connecticut – 2,010,970 Records as of 6 May 2010

Delaware Death Records, 1855-1955 – Imaged Records – Name index and images of Delaware statewide death records – 209,962 Records as of 14 Jan 2011

Delaware Death and Burials, 1815-1955 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Delaware – 1,653 Records as of 13 Dec 2010

District of Columbia Death and Burials, 1840-1964 – Name index to death and burial records from the District of Columbia – 372,173 Records after 27 Apr 2010

Florida Death and Burials, 1900-1921 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Florida – 24,800 Records as of 27 Apr 2010

Florida Deaths, 1877-1939 – Name index of Florida death records created by Florida Department of Health and Vital Statistics in Jacksonville, Florida – 471,800 Records as of 29 Mar 2010

Georgia Deaths, 1914-1927 – Imaged Records – Name index and images of Georgia statewide deaths – 305, 880 Records as of 28 Mar 2010

Georgia Deaths, 1928-1930 – Imaged Records – Name Index and images of Georgia statewide deaths. Original records are arranged chronogically by year and then by certificate numbers – 123,419 Records as of 5 Nov 2010

Hawaii Deaths and Burials, 1862-1919 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Hawaii – 105,070 Records as of 27 Apr 2010

Idaho Death Certificates, 1911-1937 – The certificates are arranged numerically by file number, with a rough chronological arrangement by death date, i.e. month and year – 106,484 Records as of 27 Mar 2010

Idaho Deaths and Burials, 1907-1965 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Idaho – 31,253 Records after 27 Apr 2010

Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1922 – Imaged Records – Name index and images of deaths recorded at Cook County, Illinois – including the City of Chicago. Deaths for Cook County (excluding the City of Chicago) are missing for the years 1910-1915 – 1,431,659 Records as of 30 Apr 2010

Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947 – Name index of deaths and stillbirths in Illinois, 1916-1947. Includes records for Cook County and Chicago – 2,879,598 Records as of 13 Aug 2010

Illinois, Diocese of Belleville, Catholic Parish Records, 1729-1956 – Imaged Records currently Browsable by Parish – unindexed – Records are found for the following 26 counties: Alexander, Clay, Clinton, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Perry, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, St. Clair, Union, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, and Williamson. Images of parish registers recording the events of baptism, first communion, confirmation (to 1907), marriage (to 1930) or death (to 1956) in the Diocese of Belleville (Illinois), Roman Catholic Church – 34,135 images as of 13 Nov 2010

Illinois Probate Records 1819-1970 – Browsable Imaged Records – Images of will books, administrations, journals, inventories, guardian’s records, and order books from various counties in Illinois. The content and time period will vary by county. Illinois created probate courts in 1819. – 301,249 images as of 16 Mar 2011

Iowa Death and Burials, 1850-1990 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Iowa – 398,978 Records as of 6 May 2010

Kansas Deaths and Burials, 1885-1930 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Kansas – 39,907 Records after 27 Apr 2010

Kentucky Deaths and Burials, 1843-1970 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Kentucky – 637,320 Records as of 13 Dec 2010

Louisiana Deaths, 1850-1875; 1874-1954 – Name index to statewide deaths. Coverage: missing years between 1875-1893; has only a few entries for 1894-1904. One part of these death records includes death records for only Jefferson Parish, 1850-1875 and 1905-1921. The statewide records for all parishes cover 1911-1954 – 664,511 Records as of 6 Apr 2010

Louisiana, Orleans Parish Estate Files, 1804-1846 – Name index and images of probate estate files. Each estate file consists of multiple images.The event date is the probate date – 7,080 Records as of 15 Mar 2011

Maine Deaths and Burials, 1841-1910 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Maine – 172,879 Records as of 27 Apr 2010

Maryland Deaths and Burials, 1877-1992 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Maryland – 11,686 Records after 27 Apr 2010

Maryland Register of Wills Books, 1792-1983 – Imaged Records – Browsable Digital images (currently unindexed) from court records at the Register of Wills in Maryland. Includes the following counties: Caroline, Cecil, Kent, Prince George’s, and Queen Anne’s – 170,228 images as of Mar 18, 2011

Maryland, Probate Estate & Guardianship Files 1796-1940 – Name index and images of probate estate files from the Register of Wills office in the county courthouse. Currently, the following counties are represented in this collection: Caroline (1838-1940), Cecil (1851-1940), Prince George’s (1796-1940), and Queen Anne’s (1833-1940), and portions of Calvert (1882-1940) – 20,533 Records as of 22 Mar 2011

Massachusetts Deaths and Burials, 1795-1910 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Massachusetts – 1,563,610 Records as of 16 Dec 2010

Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915 – Imaged Records – Name index and images of Massachusetts statewide death registers and certificates. When deaths were recorded on register forms, the second page of the form is on the next image. The death registers and certificates are in numbered volumes arranged by year then by individual town – 2,744,355 Records as of 25 Jan 2011

Michigan Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Michigan – 1,355,265 Records after 4 May 2010

Michigan Deaths, 1867-1897 – Imaged Records – Name index and images of Michigan statewide death registration entries – 507,342 Records as of 5 May 2010

Minnesota Deaths and Burials, 1835-1990 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Minnesota – 1,434,142 Records as of 13 Dec 2010

Missouri Deaths and Burials, 1867-1976 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Missouri – 58,813 Records after 6 May 2010

Montana, Rosebud County Records – Browsable Images – Land records, vital records, voter lists and probate case files located at Rosebud County courthouse, Forsyth, Montana – 54,808 images as of 23, Mar 2011

New Hampshire Death Records, 1654-1947 – Imaged Records – Name index and images of New Hampshire death records. Records consist of index cards that give the name of the deceased, date and place of death, plus often much more information, such as age, place of birth and names of parents. With the town and date of death, the original records can usually be located – 581,056 Records as of 10 Jun 2010

New Hampshire Deaths and Burials, 1784-1949 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of New Hampshire – 262,660 after 6 May 2010

New Jersey Deaths and Burials, 1720-1988 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of New Jersey – 1,122,330 Records after 6 May 2010

New Mexico Deaths and Burials, 1788-1798; 1838-1955 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of New Mexico – 9,627 Records after 27 Apr 2010

New Mexico Deaths, 1889-1945 – Name index of death certificates and records of death – 167,925 Records as of 5 Nov 2010

New York Deaths and Burials, 1795-1952 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of New York – 701,396 Records as of 27 Apr 2010

New York Kings County Estate Files 1866-1923 – Brief indexes of estate files. The files may include lists of heirs, oaths of executors, reports of witnesses, forms about guardians, etc. – 168,543 Records as of 11 Mar 2011

North Carolina Deaths and Burials, 1898-1994 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of North Carolina – 2,742,609 Records as of 27 Apr 2010

North Carolina Deaths,1906-1930 – Imaged Records – Name index and images of death certificates recorded in North Carolina – 615,657 Records as of 21 Jan 2011

North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994 – Name index to deaths recorded in North Carolina – 2,642,875 Records as of 25 Feb 2011

North Carolina Davidson County Deaths 1914-1984 – Browsable Images, by year, currently unindexed – The entire collection of vital records files contain 79,127 images as of 24 Mar 2010

Ohio Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Ohio – 2,535,557 Records as of 27 Apr 2010

Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953 – Imaged Records – Name index and images of Ohio statewide death certificates – 3,541,457 Records as of 23 Apr 2010

Ohio, Diocese of Toledo, Catholic Parish Records, 1796-2004 –Browsable Imaged Records, Currently unindexed – Death Records are included. Images of parish registers recording the events of baptism, first communion, confirmation, marriage, and death in the Diocese of Toledo (Ohio), Roman Catholic Church. In addition to traditional parish registers, this collection includes miscellaneous cemetery records, Books of the Elect, Professions of Faith, Sick Call registers, etc. The following counties are found in the database: Allen, Crawford. Defiance. Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood, and Wyandot. 101,982 images as of 26 Mar 2010

Ohio, Cuyahoga County Probate Files 1813-1900 – Browsable imaged records – not indexed yet – Probate case files from the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in Cleveland. The files are arranged by docket number, case number and date – 1,054,666 images as of 22 Mar 2011

Oregon Deaths and Burials, 1903-1947 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Oregon – 29,035 Records after 27 Apr 2010

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915 – Imaged Records – This collection has several types of records: 1) Death certificate, 2) Return of Death with a hospital certificate, physician’s certificate, and an undertaker’s certificate, and 3) Transit Permit with the permit to move a body and an undertaker’s certificate concerning the move. The records give the name of the deceased plus the date and place of death and/or burial. The records may also give the date and place of birth, names of parents and spouse, cause of death, and other information – 1,556,855 Records as of 5 Nov 2010

Rhode Island Deaths and Burials, 1802-1950 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Rhode Island – 846,069 Records after 7 May 2010

South Carolina Deaths, 1915-1943 – Imaged Records – Name index and images of South Carolina death records. Original records created by South Carolina Department of Health. Records are arranged by year and alphabetically by locality. Records from 1915-1943 were acquired from South Carolina Department of Archives and History – 636,445 Records as of 6 Apr 2010

South Carolina Deaths, 1944-1955 – Name index of South Carolina death records created by South Carolina Department of Health – 231,138 Records as of 27 Mar 2010

Tennessee Deaths and Burials, 1874-1955 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Tennessee – 227,540 Records as of 15 Dec 2010

Tennessee Death Records, 1914-1955 – Imaged Records – Name index and images of Tennessee death certificates. Statewide death registration began in 1914 – 1,276,298 Records as of 21 Jan 2011

Texas Death Index, 1964-1998 – Name index to Texas statewide death certificates – 4,13,934 Records as of 29 Mar 2010

Texas Death and Burials, 1903-1973 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Texas – 274,258 Records after 7 May 2010

Texas Deaths, 1890-1976 – Imaged Records – Name index and images of Texas statewide death certificates, 1890-1976. The name index was created by FamilySearch, and is tied to images of the Texas death certificates. Few certificates are available prior to 1903 – 4,281,854 Records as of 20 Apr 2010

Texas, Comanche County Records, 1858-1905 – Browsable Images – Not indexed yet – Records from Comanche County, Texas including births, marriages, divorce minutes, court records, probate records, and scholastic census records – 317,420 images as of 3 Mar 2011

Texas, Mills County Clerk Records, 1841-1985 – Browsable Imaged Records, currently unindexed as a full collection – Including births, marriages, deaths, court records, deed records, divorce records, naturalization records, probate records, and indexes for each of these record sets. 153,682 Images as of 9 Mar 2011

Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1956 – Imaged Records – Name index and images of Utah statewide death certificates – 263,277 Records as of 30 Apr 2010

Utah Deaths and Burials, 1888-1946 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Utah – 148,933 Records after 27 Apr 2010

Utah, Salt Lake County Deaths Records, 1908-1949 – Imaged Records – This project was indexed in partnership with the Utah Genealogical Association. Name index and images for Salt Lake County death records from 1908-1949. The volumes are arranged chronologically. The entries are arranged numerically. Deaths from 1908-1949 were recorded on certificates . They are arranged numerically by registered number then by date of death (i.e. month & year). Some records in this collection may be for deaths occurring before 1908 where the remains were re-interred between 1908 and 1949 – 80,970 Records as of 15 Apr 2010

Vermont Deaths and Burials, 1871-1965 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Vermont – 74,099 Records as of 13 Dec 2010

Vermont Vital Records, 1760-1954 – Imaged Records – Name index and images (index cards) of town clerk transcriptions of births, marriages and deaths, 1760-1954. This collection is complete for years 1871-1908. As more data is received, the remaining year ranges will be incrementally updated – 721,132 Records as of 23 Feb 2011

Utah, Veterans with Federal Service buried in Utah, Territorial to 1966 – Imaged Records – This project was indexed in partnership with the Utah Genealogical Association. Name index and images of cemetery cards of veteran burials in the state of Utah to 1966. 18,924 Records as of 16 Sep 2010

Virginia Death and Burials, 1853-1912 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of Virginia Deaths – 785,241 Records after 27 Apr 2010

Virginia, Fluvanna County – Colbert Funeral Home Records, 1829-1976 – Browsable Imaged Records – The funeral home was located in Bremo Bluff and served residents of Fluvanna County and surrounding counties. Each volume is indexed except for the one covering 1973-1976 – 1,866 images as of 13 Nov 2010

Washington Death Certificates, 1907-1960 – Name index of Washington statewide death certificates – 975,866 Records as of 26 Apr 2010

West Virginia Deaths and Burials, 1854-1932 – Name index to death and burial records from the state of West Virginia – 48,702 Records as of 13 Dec 2010

West Virginia Deaths, 1853-1970 – Imaged Records – Name index of West Virginia statewide and county death records. The statewide death index covers years 1917-1956 and includes all 55 West Virginia counties. The county deaths index covers years 1853-1970. Data is searchable for all state and county records. However, records within each county may not be available for the full year range – 2,408,098 Records as of 15 May 2010

Wisconsin Deaths and Burials, 1835-1968 – 454,484 Records as of 25 Jan 2011

United States Death and Burials, 1867-1961 – A name index to small sets of death and burial records from a few states – 3,130 Records as of 27 Dec 2010

U.S.A. Social Security Death Index – A name index to deaths recorded by the Social Security Administration beginning in 1962 – 88,958,502 Records as of 8 Mar 2011

The above article is available with illustrations at GenealogyBlog.com.

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NEWSPAPERS: THE KEY TO DOCUMENTING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY
by Tom Kemp:

Read this article at Genealogyblog.com, complete with illustrations.

Genealogists are hungry for details about the lives of our ancestors, information that can only be found in newspapers. To get to know our ancestors better—the lives they lived, their hardships and triumphs—you need to know their stories. For that kind of information, nothing beats an archive of historical newspapers. Today there are thousands of newspapers online, from big cities and small towns all across America, easily searchable on the Internet.

Newspapers have been published in the U.S. since 1690. The great thing about newspapers is that most are published every day, providing information that gives genealogists the crucial details necessary to document every member on the family tree. Newspapers are essential to family history research, as the following two stories illustrate.

19th Century Tragedy in the Ayres Family

The Ayres family lived in Westchester County, New York, in the mid-nineteenth century. Census records provide important information about this family, but don’t tell the entire story. Tragedy struck the family in 1848, as we discover only by digging deeper into some old newspapers.

The 1850 Census for Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, listed James Ayres (born in 1817) and his wife Ann (also born in 1817). The Census also listed their three children: James H. (born in 1842), Sarah (born in 1844), and Frederica (born in 1849).

  • James Ayres – 33 – m- tailor
  • Ann Ayres – 33 – f
  • James H Ayres – 8 – m
  • Sarah Ayres – 6 – f
  • Frederica – 1- f

Looking at this family closely, we see that there is a suspicious five-year gap in the ages of the two youngest children: Sarah is 6 and Frederica 1. These gaps are often the most difficult to research—and yet often turn up the most interesting and poignant family history. You can’t rely on census records alone to find every member of a family, or the family’s complete story.

Death was something people in 1850 were all too familiar with. The life expectancy was only around 39 years. Infant mortality was shockingly high—roughly 22 out of every 100 live births died as infants. Is there an Ayres family tragedy that the above record does not reveal—was there a child born that had died before the 1850 Census? Newspapers provide the answer, revealing a painful part of the Ayres family history.

In the Dec. 12, 1848, issue of the Hudson River Chronicle (Sing Sing, New York), there is an obituary notice for the daughter of James and Ann Ayres: Lovina Ayres, who was born Aug. 7, 1846, and died Nov. 26, 1848.

Now, notice these dates: 1846 to 1848. Little Lovina was born and died in between the census years; she was gone before the 1850 Census began recording the names of every member of the Ayres family. And so, her name was never recorded in a census. Without the account in the Hudson River Chronicle this little girl might have been omitted from the Ayres family history.

And there is more. Accompanying the obituary, the family inserted this notice—and suddenly the personal connection is made, and we can feel the Ayres’ sorrow:

“At Tarrytown, on the 28th Ult. after a short illness of only three day, Lovina, younget daughter of James E. and Ann Ayres, aged 2 years, 4 mos, and 20 days.
The anguished heart can ne’er forget,
That last loved heavenly smile.
Which round her lips so sweetly played,
Whilst sinking ‘neath the stroke of death,
Her spirit seemed in converse sweet,
With angels from the mercy seat.“

The Hudson River Chronicle gives us not only the fact that Lovina was their child, it gives us the actual poem that the parents chose to remember her by. For a brief moment we are standing there in the home—feeling the grief of our ancestors as they lived it.

Newspapers Fill In Gaps and Provide Intimate Details
Newspapers not only fill in gaps in census records, they provide intimate family details that humanize genealogy research. Imagine if the Ayres were part of your family tree and you found this newspaper notice. Suddenly, you’ve come to know something about their lives; you’ve shared their grief, holding onto the image of the smile on Lovina’s lips as their darling two-year-old girl passed away. They’ve become part of your family. Your family tree is just not complete without the details that are readily available in newspapers.

As this story illustrates, newspapers are an essential tool for documenting American family histories.

Huge Historical Newspaper Archive at GenealogyBank.com

One of the key sources for online newspapers is GenealogyBank.com. Featuring more than 4,600 U.S. newspapers with over 1 billion names from all 50 states, GenealogyBank is one of the most extensive online historical newspaper archives available anywhere, designed specifically for family history research. Over 95% of our newspaper content is exclusive to GenealogyBank. By providing access to rare and hard-to-find newspapers from 1690 to the present day, GenealogyBank gives researchers the opportunity to discover unique, long-forgotten information about their American ancestors.

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Read this article at Genealogyblog.com, complete with illustrations.

FTC Statement

Full disclosure: I happen to be a big supporter of GenealogyBank.com. The site has been extremely useful to my own genealogy research, and I’ve purchased memberships for several years, finding things about my ancestors that I would never have found otherwise. I also have an affiliate relationship with GenealogyBank.com, and am proud to recommend their services to my readers.

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MORE UNITED STATES MARRIAGE RECORDS POSTED AT FAMILYSEARCH.COM

The following Marriage Databases have been posted since I published my Long List a while back. Note that I have updated the Long List of Marriages through 23 March 2011.

California County Marriages 1850-1952 – Name index of marriage records including a number of different type of documents such as licenses, certificates, registers, applications, affidavits, stubs, etc. – 158,202 Records as of 8 Mar 2011.

Delaware Marriages 1913-1954 – Name index to marriage records from the state of Delaware – 112,894 records as of 17 Feb 2011 – up from just over 8,000 a few days ago.

All New Database – Kansas, County Marriages, 1855-1910 – Images of marriage registers and records made by county clerks in Kansas. Includes the following counties: Allen, Anderson, Brown, Chase, Chautauqua, Clay, Crawford, Doniphan, Douglas, Elk, Franklin, Geary, Greenwood, Harvey, Jackson, Jefferson, Labette, Linn, Marshall, McPherson, Miami, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Saline, Sedgwick, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, and Woodson. 136,726 images as of 11 February, 2011.

Maryland Register of Wills Books, 1792-1983
The Maryland Register of Wills Books 1792-1983 have just been posted, but are not yet indexed, at FamilySearch.org. They are made up of 170,228 browsable images for Caroline, Cecil, Kent, Prince George’s, and Queen Anne’s counties.

Montana, Rosebud County Records 1911-1938 – Browsable Imaged Records – No index yet- Land records, vital records, voter lists and probate case files located at Rosebud County courthouse, Forsyth, Montana – 40,990 images as of Mar 8 2011

All New Database – New Hampshire Marriage Records 1637-1947 – name index and images of New Hampshire marriage records. These records consist of cards giving the names of the bride and groom with the town and date of the marriage and often much more information. With the town and date, the original records can usually be located. Note – there are two images for each marriage. – 501,128 records as of 17 February, 2011.

Texas County Marriage Index 1837-1977- Many new records added! – Index to a variety of marriage records (registers, licenses, intentions to marry, etc.) from select counties in Texas. – 286,668 records as of 22 Mar 2011.

Texas, Comanche County Records, 1858-1905 – Browsable Images – Not indexed yet – Records from Comanche County, Texas including births, marriages, divorce minutes, court records, probate records, and scholastic census records – 317,420 images as of 3 Mar 2011

Mills County, Texas County Clerk Records, 1841-1985
Note that the County Clerk Records of Mills County, Texas have just been posted at FamilySearch.org. These are browsable Imaged Records, currently unindexed as a full collection – Including births, marriages, deaths, court records, deed records, divorce records, naturalization records, probate records, and indexes for each of these record sets. 153,682 Images as of 9 Mar 2011.

All New Database – Vermont Vital Records, 1760-1954 – Imaged Records – Name index and images (index cards) of town clerk transcriptions of births, marriages and deaths, 1760-1954. This collection is complete for years 1871-1908. As more data is received, the remaining year ranges will be incrementally updated – 721,132 Records as of 23 Feb 2011.

Virginia, Surry County Marriage Records, 1735-1950 – Browsable Imaged Records – Not Indexed yet – Various marriage records for Surry County, Virginia, including certificates to obtain a marriage license, marriage bonds and consents, marriage licenses, and marriage returns. All records are from the Register of Deeds Office, Surry, Virginia – 19,618 images as of 17 Mar 2011

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THE SALT LAKE CHRISTMAS TOUR

The Salt Lake Christmas Tour is known for having the highest ratio of consulting professional genealogists per attendee of any research tour to the Family History Library. Over 20 classes are offered during the week, as well as 6 days of professionally assisted research. Thomas MacEntee will also be lecturing and leading hands-on workshops throughout the week – 10 altogether. Join us for the 27th annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour – December 4 through 10, 2011. See: http://www.SaltLakeChristmasTour.com

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BOOK REVIEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

In this edition of the Genealogy Newsline, I am reviewing two books, and reprinting several reviews from the last issue.

THE HIDDEN HALF OF THE FAMILY: A SOURCEBOOK FOR WOMEN’S GENEALOGY; by Christina K. Schaefer; Published 1999, Reprinted, 2008; 310 pp

By law and by custom, women’s individual identities have been subsumed by those of their husbands. For centuries women were not allowed to own real estate in their own name, sign a deed, devise a will, or enter into contracts, and even their citizenship and their position as head of household have been in doubt. Finding women in traditional genealogical record sources, therefore, presents the researcher with a unique challenge, for census records, wills, land records, pension records–the conventional sources of genealogical identification–all have to be viewed in a different perspective if we are to establish the genealogical identity of our female ancestors.

Whether listed under their maiden names, married names, patronymic/matronymic surnames or some other permutation, or hidden under such terms as “Mrs.,” “Mistress,” “goodwife,” “wife of,” or even “daughter of,” it is clear that women are hard to find. But while women may never be as easy to locate as their male counterparts, Christina Schaefer here pioneers an approach to the problem that just might set genealogy on its head! And her solution is simplicity itself: Look closely at those areas where the female ancestor interacts with the government and the legal system, she advises, where law, precedent, and even custom mandate the unequivocal identification of all parties, male and female. According to this thesis, the legal status of women at any point in time is the key to unraveling the identity of the female ancestor, and therefore this work highlights those laws, both federal and state, that indicate when a woman could own real estate in her own name, devise a will, enter into contracts, and so on.

The first part of the book–a lengthy and informative introduction–deals with the special ways women are dealt with in federal records such as immigration records, passports, naturalization records, census enumerations, land records, military records, and records dealing with minorities. All such records are discussed with reference to their impact on women, as are a group of miscellaneous, non-governmental records, including newspapers, cemetery records, city directories, church records, and state laws covering common law marriages and marriage and divorce registration.

The bulk of this absorbing new reference work, however, deals with the individual states, showing how their laws, records, and resources can be used in determining female identity. Each state section begins with a time line of events, i.e. important dates in the state’s history, following which is a detailed listing of eight key categories of information:
(1) Marriage and Divorce (marriage and divorce laws and where to find marriage and divorce records);
(2) Property and Inheritance (women’s legal status in a state as reflected in statute law, code, and legislative acts);
(3) Suffrage (information as to when any voting rights were granted prior to the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920);
(4) Citizenship (dates when residents of an area became U.S. citizens);
(5) Census Information (special notes on searching federal, state, and territorial enumerations);
(6) Other (information on welfare, pensions, and other laws affecting women);
(7) Bibliography (books and articles relating to women in the state, historical and biographical sources, and publications regarding legal history and jurisprudence); and
(8) Selected Resources for Women’s History (addresses of state archives, historical societies, and libraries; women’s studies programs, women’s history programs);
(9) and more.

This engrossing new work is as amazing as it is informative: amazing because it shows how women have been written out of genealogical history; informative because it demonstrates how their identities can be recovered. This is a new and promising path in genealogy, suggesting fruitful avenues of research and many new possibilities.

The Hidden Half of the Family is available at Family Roots Publishing, at 5% off with FREE Shipping through Midnight MST April 5, 2011.

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THE GENEALOGISTS GOOGLE TOOLBOX, by Lisa Louise Cook; 2011, Soft Cover; 209 pp; 8.5×11

This new book on using Google for genealogy is an excellent volume. Lisa is known for her Genealogy Gems podcast website, and had become a popular speaker on the lecture circuit during the last couple of years. She lectured on using Google Earth at RootsTech, which was very well received.

According to Lisa, this volume is “right up to date,” giving the latest information about using the features of Google. This is a great guidebook, in that it’s heavily illustrated and geared toward showing the genealogist how to use many of the free online “tools” that Google has made available to us.

The use of the “tools” is laid out in a step-by-step manner that anyone can follow. The first 5 chapters all deal with Google’s Search abilities, followed by chapters on Google Alerts, Gmail, iGoogle, Books, News Timeline, Translation, YouTube & Video, Google Earth (in all its glory!), Family History Tour Maps, and an amazing “How to” index at the back.

Following is a list of the chapters found in the volume:

  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1: Caffeine & Search Options Column
  • Chapter 2: Basic & Advanced Search
  • Chapter 3: Search Strategies for High-Quality Results
  • Chapter 4: Site Search & Resurrecting Web Sites
  • Chapter 5: Image Search
  • Chapter 6: Google Alerts
  • Chapter 7: Gmail
  • Chapter 8: iGoogle – Your Personal Genealogy Home Page
  • Chapter 9: Google Books
  • Chapter 10: Google News Timeline
  • Chapter 11: Google Translate & Translation Toolkit
  • Chapter 12: YouTube & Google Video
  • Chapter 13: Google Earth Overview
  • Chapter 14: Google Earth – Ancestral Homes & Locations
  • Chapter 15: Google Earth – Organizing, Naming & Sharing
  • Chapter 16: Google Earth – Historic Maps & Images
  • Chapter 17: Google Earth – Plotting Your Ancestor’s Homestead
  • Chapter 18: Google Earth – Fun with Images & Video
  • Chapter 19: Family History Tour Maps
  • Chapter 20: Find it Quick: The “How To” Index

I like the guidebook, and recommend it to anyone who wants to get more use of the online “tools” available to them.

The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox is available at Family Roots Publishing for just $25.00. Purchase before Midnight MDT April 5, 2011 and get FREE SHIPPING!

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THE FOLLOWING REVIEWS ARE REPRINTED FROM THE GENEALOGY NEWSLINE VOL. 1 #4:

DATING OLD PHOTOGRAPHS 1840-1929 on CD-ROM; pdf format; auto-run; originally published in 2000; republished as a CD-ROM 2011 by Family Roots Publishing Co. L.L.C.; 94pp.; item #: FR0115; $12.00 price includes postage within the United States.

You’ve almost certainly faced the problem: you have an album or box of old photographs, but almost all of them lack any identification. Family Chronicle’s Dating Old Photographs 1840-1929 can’t help you identify the subject, but it probably can help you with dating when the picture was taken — often within a couple of years.

A number of books have already been published that describe how to date old photographs. They rely almost entirely on descriptions. This book on CD-ROM is made up of reproductions of old photographs of known date. There are over 700 pictures covering the period from the 1840s to the 1920s. By comparing your unknown pictures to those in this book, you will be able to compare clothing and hair fashion, the poses adopted by the subject, and the background settings. The book provides convincing evidence that our ancestors were at least as fashion conscious as we are today and that those fashions changed just as frequently.

The volume also includes an introduction by Andrew J. Morris, explaining the technicalities and fashion styles of old photos. He details information on the various types of photographs, starting with the daguerreotypes of 1839-1860, the ambrotypes of 1854-1860s, the tintypes of 1856-1900, the carte-de-visites of 1859-1890s, and the cabinet cards of 1866-1910.

Dating Old Photographs was compiled from a number of sources, but the majority of the photographs were submitted by readers of Family Chronicle Magazine. The book then goes on to graphically show the photographs of the following eras:

  • The 1840s – pages 8 & 9
  • The 1850s – pages 10-13
  • 1860-1864 – pages 14-17
  • 1865-1869 – pages 18-20
  • 1870-1874 – pages 21-24
  • 1875-1879 – pages 25-26
  • 1880-1884 – pages 27-30
  • 1885-1889 – pages 31-36
  • 1890-1894 – pages 37-43
  • 1895-1899 – pages 44-51
  • 1900-1904 – pages 52-60
  • 1905-1909 – pages 61-69
  • 1910-1914 – pages 70-77
  • 1915-1919 – pages 78-84
  • 1920-1924 – pages 85-89
  • 1925-1929 – pages 90-93

Most pages have 9 photographs on them, with some larger photos on pages with 5 to 8 pictures. To make the book even more valuable, the photos are identified, and include the name of the party owning the original.

System requirements:

PC or Mac with Windows installed for auto start. Since the pages are pdf files they are readable under either Windows or Mac OS. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5 or later.

Purchase this CD-ROM at Family Roots Publishing for just $11.88 (including postage) – or get it FREE with your purchase of the new Third Edition of More Dating Old Photographs. See the review of the new More Dating Old Photographs below:

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MORE DATING OLD PHOTOGRAPHS 1840 -1929, THIRD EDITION; originally published 2004; Revised & republished 2011; 120pp.; Soft Cover; item #: FR0116; ISBN: 0-9731303-4-2; $15.95

You’ve almost certainly faced the problem: you’ve got an album or box of old photographs but almost all of them lack any identification. Family Chronicle‘s More Dating Old Photographs 1840-1929 can’t help you identify the subject but it probably can help you with dating when the picture was taken — often within a couple of years.

This book on is made up of reproductions of old photographs of known date, and identity. There are over 650 pictures with photos of virtually thousands of people covering the period from the 1840s to the 1920s. By comparing your unknown pictures to those in our book, you will be able to compare clothing and hair fashion, the poses adopted by the subject and the background settings. The book provides convincing evidence that our ancestors were at least as fashion conscious as we are today and that those fashions changed just as frequently.

More Dating Old Photographs has been compiled from a number of sources, but the majority of them are photographs submitted by readers of the magazine.

The book begins with a 12-page article by the Photo Detective Maureen Taylor in which she explains the technicalities and fashion styles of old photos. She details information on the various types of photographs, starting with the daguerrotypes of 1839-1860, the tintypes of 1856-1930, the ambrotypes of 1854-1865, the calotypes/talbotypes of 1833-1860s, the salt-paper prints of 1850-c1860, the arte-de-visites of 1859-1900, the cabinet cards of 1863-c1920, the cyanotypes of 1840s to present, and stereotypes of 1851-c1925. She then includes sections on the following photographic subjects:

  • Photographic Jewelry
  • Other Formats
  • Manipulated Images
  • Retouching
  • Hand Coloring
  • Crayon Portraits
  • Photo Editing
  • Watch out for copies
  • Noticing the Details
  • Photographer’s Imprint
  • Clothing
  • Women
  • Bodices
  • Sleeves
  • Accessories
  • Hats and Bonnets
  • Women’s Hair
  • Men
  • Coats
  • Ties
  • Vests
  • Men’s Hair
  • Children
  • Occupational Clothing
  • Ethnic Dress
  • Special Occasions
  • Oddities in the Collection
  • A Case Study
  • Caring for Your Photographs
  • Safe Handling Techniques
  • Space Considerations

The book goes on to graphically show photographs of the following eras:

  • The 1840s – page 18
  • The 1850s – pages 19-20
  • 1860-1864 – pages 21-24
  • 1865-1869 – pages 25-28
  • 1870-1874 – pages 29-32
  • 1875-1879 – pages 33-37
  • 1880-1884 – pages 38-43
  • 1885-1889 – pages 44-48
  • 1890-1894 – pages 49-54
  • 1895-1899 – pages 55-60
  • 1900-1904 – pages 61-67
  • 1905-1909 – pages 68-74
  • 1910-1914 – pages 75-83
  • 1915-1919 – pages 84-92
  • 1920-1924 – pages 93-100
  • 1925-1929 – pages 101-108
  • Unusual photos – pages 109-112
  • Hand Colored – pages 113-117

Most pages have 9 photographs on them, with some larger photos on pages with 4 to 8 pictures. The photos are identified, and include the name of the party owning the original.

This book is a winner. If you’re only going to have one book on dating old photos, this is the one to have!

Purchase the new Third Edition of More Dating Old Photographs for just $15.95 by Midnight MDT on Tuesday, April 5, 2011, and get Dating Old Photographs (see description above) absolutely FREE! To get the Free CD, do nothing but order the above More Dating Old Photographs. Do not order the CD separately. There is a shipping fee of $4.90, but orders for U.S.A. delivery over $25 placed at the FRPC online genealogy bookstore before Midnight MDT on Tuesday, April 5, 2011, will be shipped FREE. So just add another item or two to your order and they ship at no charge… Sorry, orders shipping to Canada and other countries have the normal shipping fees

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CHASING WOMEN – FINDING YOUR FEMALE ANCESTORS – Webinar on CD-ROM – A webinar on CD-ROM by this column’s author, Leland K. Meitzler

Posting this mention of the CD-ROM produced for the webinar I gave on February 16 seems a bit self-serving, but I’m actually kind of proud of the way it turned out. It is now shipping!

Recording this webinar was fun, a bit frustrating because of technology challenges, and very worthwhile! I was able to cover numerous resources, with a wonderful response from a worldwide audience.

Locating the names of our female ancestors can be difficult – principally because their names changed upon marrying. Women historically have not produced as many records as their husbands, since women’s suffrage largely did not exist until the twentieth century. This adds to the difficulty of finding their names, let alone the details of their lives. There are two major search areas that we deal with in locating women’s names, the first being the search for their maiden names, and secondly, the search for their married names. One search can be as hard as the other, and you may find you are doing both types of searches on the same women. Join nationally-known speaker, author, and publisher, Leland K. Meitzler as he gives details on a wide variety of sources, starting with the obvious, and working its way through sources that you may not have thought of using previously.

Features

This class was presented to a live webinar (online seminar) audience on February 16, 2011. 1 hour 21 minutes. Plus a link to download the 4 pages of printable and clickable links in the handouts.

Viewers’ comments:

  • Leland’s info gave me a few more options in finding my historical ladies. This may just pull my ox out of the ditch.
  • There was a lot of good information. I can hardly wait to try it out.
  • Learned a few new tips and it was nice to get a refresher on old ones. I really liked hearing about the German Parrish Registries, that’s going to be very helpful!
  • Leland was terrific! Informative, entertaining, and enjoyable.
  • Great info; could hear the passion in Leland’s voice
  • Enjoyed the many hints and can’t wait to try out a few. Have enjoyed Leland’s work with Heritage Quest and Gen. Helper in the past.
  • I like having all of these sources in one place. When I finish checking one, I can just move to the next source. It will give some order to my research.
  • I got so much info from the class. Can’t wait to go searching with all the new ideas I just learned. Thanks so much for offering this webinar. I would be very interested in any other webinars that Leland gives.
  • The information shared was excellent. The pace was good and I like the opportunity for Q&A at the end. I also like the ability to download his handouts.
  • Great ideas, I think I can now break a brickwall that is twenty years old!
  • This webinar certainly opened my eyes to the importance of using records that I have not tried before.
  • Soooo much good information of places to look. I’m encouraged! Thank you.
  • Excellent review for those who have been researching a long time. Also, a great guide for newcomers.
  • Leland was fantastic…he has given me so many more options for finding my female ancestors…I can hardly wait to get started. I especially found the German Parish Records information very helpful as I had hit a brick wall on many of them, now I have something to go on…thank you for these webinars.
  • A LOT of great information! I have renewed energy now to find a few of my female in-laws!

The Chasing Women CD-ROM is now shipping at FRPC. Regularly priced at $12.95, the seminar is available for just $9.95. There is a shipping fee of $4.90, but new orders for U.S.A. delivery over $25 placed at the FRPC online genealogy bookstore before Midnight MDT on Tuesday, April 5, will be shipped FREE. So just add another item or two to your order and it ships at no charge… Sorry, orders shipping to Canada and other countries have the normal shipping fees

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GOOGLE FOR GENEALOGISTS – Webinar on CD-ROM – presented by Thomas MacEntee

My friend, Thomas McEntee, presented this Webinar just over two months ago. I was lucky enough to be able to catch the Webinar live, and came away from the program very impressed. I learned a lot – and enjoyed the entire program. You will too.

Most genealogists are only using 10% or less of the resources behind Google when it comes to genealogy research. Learn from professional genealogist, Thomas MacEntee, about the other 90% and how these Google components can be leveraged for better search results. Google is more than just a search engine – it is a wealth of information much of which goes unnoticed by the average genealogist. Besides search, Google allows you to access maps, books, journals, abstracts, patents and much more. These components may be what is needed to make advances in your genealogy research.

This class was presented to a live webinar (online seminar) audience on January 5, 2011.1 hour 28 minutes. Plus a link to download the 4 pages of printable and clickable links in the handouts.

About the author: Thomas MacEntee is a professional genealogist specializing in the use of technology and social media to improve genealogical research and as a means of interacting with others in the family history community. Utilizing over 25 years of experience in the information technology field, Thomas writes and lectures on the many ways in which blogs, Facebook and Twitter can be leveraged to add new dimensions to the genealogy experience. As the creator of GeneaBloggers.com he has organized and engaged a community of over 1,300 bloggers to document their own journeys in the search for ancestors.

The Google for Genealogists CD-ROM is now shipping at FRPC. Regularly priced at $12.95, the seminar is available for just $9.95. There is a shipping fee of $4.90, but orders for U.S.A. delivery over $25 placed at the FRPC online genealogy bookstore before Midnight MDT on Tuesday, April 5, will be shipped FREE. So just add another item or two to your order and it ships at no charge… Sorry, orders shipping to Canada and other countries have the normal shipping fees

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MORE GENEALOGY NEWS

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ESSENTIAL BOOKS FROM FAMILY ROOTS PUBLISHING COMPANY

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FAMILY MAP PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT #2:
Family Roots Publishing Co. is now marketing the Arphax U.S.A. Land Ownership Atlases. There are currently about 500 of them, for many of the states. They are all now posted. CLICK HERE to see an example description from Baldwin County, Alabama. Look for your county Family Map Atlas under the State Category at the FRPC site.

These wonderful atlases can be included in our free shipping sale going on until Midnight MDT, April 5, 2011. An official review and announcement will be made in the next Newsline

We have Land Ownership Atlases for the following states (the number following the state is how many county atlases are currently available)

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POPULAR BOOKS FEATURED IN PAST GENEALOGY NEWSLINES

THE GERMAN RESEARCH COMPANION, by Shirley Riemers, Roger P. Minert, and Jennifer A. Anderson

Shirley Riemer’s classic book, The German Research Companion is now in it’s Third Edition. The book has always been the best place to look for sources of German research information, but this new edition is by far the most useful ever published. The page count is up to 706 pages, but the price hasn’t gone up even a penny! As the cover says, the book is Revised, Updated and Expanded.

STO LAT: A MODERN GUIDE TO POLISH GENEALOGY, by Cecile Wendt Jensen

Family Roots Publishing is now offering this wonderful new title written by Ceil Jensen. The volume is a lavishly illustrated workbook titled Sto Lat: A Modern Guide to Polish Genealogy which offers a plan for researching at least one hundred years of family records, and is a compilation of Ms. Jensen’s techniques developed over thirty years of research and teaching. Both traditional and digital research methods are presented. Common research questions are answered and suggestions are offered to help novice and advanced researchers find ancestors in both North America and Poland.

GUIDE TO THE GENEALOGICAL RESOURCES OF ITALY – REGION OF SICILY by George E. Ott

George Ott’s book on research in Sicilian genealogical resources gives all kinds of information never before compiled for the genealogist. Following is a short list what it can do for anyone researching Sicilian ancestry.

  • An index of all incorporated towns/comuni and hamlets/frazioni in the region.
  • A wealth of information for each incorporated town/comune including: Population, Postal Code, Phone Code, Hamlets/Frazione under its jurisdiction, Town hall with address and phone number, Library and cemetery information, and Catholic parish information..
  • A listing of the Family History Library collection for each town with microfilm numbers.
  • A listing of State Archives and Diocesan Archives with addresses and phone numbers.
  • Maps of each province showing town locations.
  • Web site information for towns, provinces and region.
  • A listing of Provincial records available at the Family History Library with microfilm numbers.

RECORDING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY, by William Fletcher

This 317 page volume is a guide to preserving oral history. Although Fletcher wrote the book with video and audio recording in mind, the same methods apply to all types of digital recording today. Fletcher has designed a program that will allow you or anyone in your family to be a capable life history interviewer. Tips on interview techniques plus hundreds of useful family tree topics and questions. . . all in a practical, easy-to-use handbook that will help any reader/historian develop a comprehensive record of one’s life, or the saga of several generations. In a recent review for another similar book., Judith P. Reid of the Library of Congress said, “the best available work is William Fletcher’s Recording Your Family History,” which confirms that there are those who know still think this is the best available book on recording your family history.

GOOGLE YOUR FAMILY TREE – UNLOCK THE HIDDEN POWER OF GOOGLE, by Daniel M. Lynch

Since the last Newsline, one of the major genealogical events was RootsTech, which took place here in Salt Lake City. Over 3,000 people showed up for the conference. Several lectures were about using Google for genealogy. One of the speakers was Dan Lynch, the author of Google Your Family Tree. As we all know, Google is by far the most popular Internet search engine available to us today. The Internet is also loaded with genealogical and historical databases, web pages, indexes, photographs, video and stuff we never even thought of before. Finding and accessing these resources is our challenge – and it looks to me like if you know how to harness the overwhelming power of Google, you may – just may – be able to break some of those genealogical brick walls you have before you. If nothing else, you’ll certainly be able to locate data that will fill in holes and add richness to your family story.
Google Your Family Tree is available at the FRPC website, and can be purchased with FREE SHIPPING within the United States through Tuesday, April 5, 2011. In fact, all new orders for U.S.A. delivery over $25 placed at the FRPC online genealogy bookstore before Midnight MDT on Tuesday, April 5, 2011, will be shipped FREE. Sorry, orders shipping to Canada and other countries have the normal shipping fees.

MAP GUIDE TO AMERICAN MIGRATION ROUTES, 1735-1815; by William Dollarhide

Family researchers need to locate and understand the early American migration routes their ancestors may have traveled. In this book, acclaimed author, William Dollarhide, shows these early roadways with well-researched and consistently drawn maps. Dollarhide’s guide begins with the King’s Highway of 1735 from Boston to Charleston and ends with the roads that resulted from the War of 1812 in the Old Southwest. These maps provide critical information for researchers trying to locate the passages of early migration in America.

Map Guide to American Migration Routes, 1735-1815 is available at the FRPC website, and can be purchased at 10% off, making the price $17.95 through Tuesday, April 5, 2011. All new orders for U.S.A. delivery over $25 placed at the FRPC online genealogy bookstore before Midnight MDT on Tuesday, April 5, will be shipped FREE. Sorry, orders shipping to Canada and other countries have the normal shipping fees.

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FAMILY ROOTS PUBLISHING CO., LLC IS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED TO EXHIBIT AT THE FOLLOWING EVENTS in 2011:

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THINKING OF GOING TO SALT LAKE CITY?

If you’re considering a research trip at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City NOW IS A GREAT TIME! The Salt Lake Plaza Hotel which is located next door to the Family History Library is offering special genealogy discounts for April and May 2011. Your discount will depend on the dates you reserve. They offer microwaves and refrigerators in every room, a full service restaurant, complimentary wireless hi-speed internet and a complimentary airport shuttle. Call them at 800-366-3684 or e-mail at admin@plaza-hotel.com and mention the Genealogy Newsline to receive your discount rate.

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CHECK OUT AREA-INFO.NET

I’ve just begun writing a genealogy column for a new website entitled Area-Info.net. The column is owned by my friends, Lee Everton and John Hardy. It’s set up so that you write the local news – including obituaries, family info, and such. As Lee says, “It’s about the people.” I think the site is a great idea. Check it out.

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FAMILY CHRONICLE MAGAZINE
I write for Family Chronicle, a delightful genealogy magazine that I recommend to everyone. For more information about the publication and to download a free issue, click here.

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To SUBSCRIBE – If you received this Newsline directly from Family Roots Publishing Company, do nothing. You are already subscribed. If not, to subscribe to the Genealogy Newline, Enter your email address in the box titled “Signup – Free Genealogy Newsletter” found on the upper left hand corner of the Family Roots Publishing Company website, just under the Family Roots Publishing logo.

You may UNSUBSCRIBE to the Genealogy Newsline by just clicking on the “Unsubscribe” link in the lower left hand corner of this Newsline If you are getting more than one Genealogy Newsline, just click the link to unsubscribe to the duplicates.

If you are getting DUPLICATE COPIES OF THE Genealogy Newsline, click on “UNSUBSCRIBE” as is described in the above paragraph in the unwanted Genealogy Newsline copies. This will normally only happen if we have more than one active email address for a subscriber.

I hope that you find the Genealogy Newsline useful, and informative. I will do all I can to make it just that. If you like it, please tell your friends.

Leland K. Meitzler, Editor
Leland@familyrootspublishing.com
Twitter @Lmeitzler

ABOUT GENEALOGY NEWSLINE
The Genealogy Newsline is a weekly publication of Family Roots Publishing Co., LLC, PO Box 830, Bountiful, Utah 84011. Additional Supplements are possible, but will not be published regularly. Genealogy Newsline is edited by Leland K. Meitzler. Guest articles are welcome, with acceptance wholly dependent on space available, quality of the writing, my personal interest in the subject, and interest to the genealogical community as a whole. Genealogy and history related books, CD-ROMs, DVDs, and software for review should be sent to the above address.

GENEALOGY NEWSLINE ARCHIVE
Click Here to find back issues of the Genealogy Newsline archived at GenealogyBlog.com.

CHANGING A PASSWORD
To change your password, go to the Family Roots Publishing website: http://www.familyrootspublishing.com/ On the left hand side is a column where you will find the word CONTENTS. A ways further down you will the words CHANGE PASSWORD and LOGIN. Log in first using your current password, then click on CHANGE PASSWORD. Type your old password, then your new password twice. Click on UPDATE. That will do it.

LELAND K. MEITZLER BIOGRAPHY
Mr. Meitzler founded Heritage Quest in 1985. Mr. Meitzler worked as Managing Editor for Heritage Quest Magazine from 1985 through 2005, and held the same position with Everton Publishers, editing The Genealogical Helper, from 2006 until February of 2009. He is the now co-owner of Family Roots Publishing Company, LLC, and writes daily at GenealogyBlog.com. Meitzler conducts the annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour, now in its 27th year. With over 2000 lectures to his credit, his programs are always motivational and informative. He may be contacted at Leland@familyrootspublishing.com

COPYRIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Copyright 2011 Family Roots Publishing, LLC

Although copyrighted by FRPC, readers may share the Genealogy Newsline with their friends by forwarding this email. Readers may also reproduce portions (not the entirety!) of the Genealogy Newsline in their own publications, newsletters, blogs, etc., with my permission, as long as full attribution is given as to where the information came from, in the following format please: From Genealogy Newsline Vol 1 #2, Tuesday, January 18, 2011; a publication of Family Roots Publishing Co. LLC – www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com

Permissions can be obtained by simply emailing me at: Leland@FamilyRootsPublishing.com. Any reasonable request will most likely be granted immediately.

About Leland Meitzler

Leland K. Meitzler founded Heritage Quest in 1985, and has worked as Managing Editor of both Heritage Quest Magazine and The Genealogical Helper. He currently operates Family Roots Publishing Company (www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com), writes daily at GenealogyBlog.com, writes the weekly Genealogy Newsline, conducts the annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour to the Family History Library, and speaks nationally, having given over 2000 lectures since 1983.

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