Sunday, August 7, 2011

Oldies but Goodies

Online Help
By
Kathryn Brannigan Walizer

Oldies But Goodies




Years ago when genealogy first appeared on the net, there was what was called a genealogy web ring that was built up by various sites from individuals with a passion for genealogy facts and figures. and of the early sites was
www.accessgenealogy.com

I decided to revisit this site and was amazed at the changes. What started out as a simple site listing various facts of the 50 states ha blossomed out to a site with links to thousands of sites and over 250,000 genealogy facts.

On this site you will find Free Charts, Genealogy Records. that include links to Biographies, Cemetery records, Census records, DNA, Family Tree search, History books, Online, military records, Native American records, Surnames, Vital records, and World genealogy,
I Know, hard to believe all this links on one site.

The State links offer an even greater access to records one might need to work on your family history research, for instance. the Pennsylvania link brings up over 32 links of various area's including Military record and Cemetery records.

Once you find a link that you think might be of help to you and click on it will bring you to the web site of help, say roots web.
Looking over the list I found Korean War casualty lists, Vietnam War casualty list, World War II casualty lists, World War I lists and many other not easily found.
Now a word of warning some of the links do take you paid sites like Ancestry.com but at least you know where the information is stored on the net.

Give this site a really good look I am sure whatever you are looking for you will find here or at least be pointed to the right direction to find the facts that you need.

Another site that has been around for over 10 years is my friend Dae Powell’s site www.shoestringgenealogy.com
This site has recently gone though major changes, He has changed servers and now sports a whole new appearance, but fear not all the FREE information
is still there but now is much easier to access. I want to make note that under presentations Dae
lists many of his columns that appear in noted genealogy papers.

Dae also loves to provide us with as much FREE information that he can possibly cram into his site. Be sure to check out the quizzes section for a little genealogy trivia and fun.

These two old but goodies will keep you busy, I am sure for a long time and be sure to bookmark them to return to them from time to time to check for new information.

Enjoy !!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Genealogy Tip

Genealogy Tip
from
Kathryn Brannigan Walizer

Looking for Death Records, Indexes and Obituaries? Check out the genweb. Just type in http://www.deathindexes.com/ and a list of states and the District of Columbia will pop up; the first one I looked at was Online Pennsylvania Death Records Indexes and Obituaries.

Here I found Pennsylvania Obituaries Archive that included various newspapers and years. You never know, your year may be listed so check it out.
Next, I scrolled down to Philadelphia Death Certificates and up popped a Family Search page that I typed my ancestor Michael Lawler’s death date into and viola, up pops the record, a downloadable death certificate.

However, once I left the genweb for Family Search I had to retype the original online death records online at genweb. You could just save it in favorites for easy return.

Next state I looked under was Ohio, and viola more success. The good people of Family Search have scanned in many of Ohio death certificates and I found another relatives' death certificate for the year 1947.

I checked many of the states and Family Search has a variety of years scanned in for free, but not every year for every state, so look over the list and see if your state and year is included. What is great about this site is that it lists the years that the free certificates are available so if you know the name and year you are half way there!!

Good hunting.
Enjoy !!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Geneaolgy tip

Genealogy Tip
from
Kathryn Brannigan Walizer


Looking for Death Records, Indexes and Obituaries? Check out the genweb, just type in http://www.deathindexes.com/ a list of states and the District of Columbia will pop up;
The first one I looked at was Online Pennsylvania Death Records Indexes and Obituaries.

Here I found Pennsylvania Obituaries Archive hat included various newspapers and years, never know your year may be listed so check it out.

Next I scrolled down to Philadelphia Death Certificates and up popped a family Search page the I typed my ancestor Michael Lawler death date into the search box and viola Up pops the record. a downloadable death certificate

Once I left the genweb, however for Family Search I had to retype the original online dearth records online at genweb. or you could just save it in favorites for easy return
Next state I looked under was Oho, and viola more success the good people of Family Search have scanned in many of Ohio death certificates and I found another relatives' death certificate for the year 1947.

I checked many of the states and Family Search has a variety of years scanned in for free but not every year for every state. so look over the list and see if your state and year is done What is great about this site is that it lists the years that the free certificates are available so if you know the name and year you are half way there!!
Good hunting.


Enjoy !!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Update on Legacy FamilyTree Internet Sync

Update on LegacyFamilytree Software and FamilySearch Interface

Kathryn Brannigan Walizer

A few issues ago I reported on the changes in the works over at Legacyfamilytree Software, well 7.5 has now been released and this means the Internet Sync is there for all to use. How does this work you ask, well I tried it with amazing results.

First you open up your Legacy family program, you select a person you want Legacy to search the internet for information on, then you blue out that person, go up to the top task bar and click on Internet. Scroll down to search the internet, Click on that link. Up pops a new screen that includes radio buttons for Ancestry.com, RootsWeb, MyTrees.com, FamilySearch.org (Historical Records), World Vital Records (Exact), Genealogy.com, Genealogyplace.com, and AltaVista.
Then you click on the radio button for say, Ancestry.com the software will then search the Ancestry data base for all the information it may have on your designated person. you will not be able to actually go into Ancestry if you are not a member but you will see the summery of what they found.
Coming back to the original screen click on another radio button say, Rootsweb then the process will be repeated, and Legacy will search Rootsweb for information they have on your person. There are times you may have to tweak the search terms, I know did on the Genealogy.com search. But all in all a wonderful tool and what a timesaver to have Legacy do the searching for you.

Well you are saying this must be in the deluxe version, No, you can do all of this searching in the FREE version. So if you do have another and love another family tree program," I know there are some of you out there". You can download the free version make a gedcom of you information import it to the free version and "Viola" you have at your beckon call an internet search. Try it you might like it !!! No one says you just have to have one family tree program.

Going back to the top task bar, click on Internet again and click on Legacy home page, here you will find a mired of new information, You will find all the information on how to use the 7.5 to the utmost and if you do not have the program there is a link to download the Free version

Look for "FamilySearch Certified" section and below that there is a link that say click here to learn more.

On the right side there is of a list of seminar video's free for the taking and viewing I especially loved the last two, data cleanup and an overview to working with Legacy's FamilySearch tools - linking, duplicates, sharing. The time for each seminar is stated at the bottom of each video so pick a time you can devote to these seminars have a notebook handy and enjoy!!

These seminars will give you a peek into what the FamilySearch is preparing to release to the public. I hope sooner than later. Geoff the presenter of the seminars says plans are in the works for later this year. Lets all hope that is true.

What will that include?, Well you will then be able to access the millions of records now being transcribed and being place on the "www.new.familysearch.org" website. This is only available to LDS members at this time. The release of this information will no doubt change how we uses the internet for genealogy. So watching these video's will give you an advance look at what's to come. I guarantee you will not regret the time you spend watching these videos. and you will find many tips on what you can do right now to improve you family tree .so it will be ready for the FamilySearch Interface when it is released. My advice is to scour the Legacyfamiytree home page http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/ and look at all the links, each one will give you invaluable information and put you way ahead of the curve.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Geneabloggers

The other day I was browsing for new internet genealogy site, and google brought up a variety of sites, The one that caught my eye was Genabloggers, so I thought, well lets give it a try.

By typing in Internet Genealogy Sites on their search area, oh yes there is a search feature, how great is that! , it brought up no less than ten pages of sites.Here you have the expertise of the top genealogy researchers and blog authors all in one place.

The first place went to Kimberly Powell who writes for About.com and offers excellent advise. The site is 101 Ways to Research Your Family Tree for Free. Those who know me know how I love the word Free, so do not pass this one up.

Scanning though all the pages I noticed the top authors listed there was
Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, blog.
eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/

Dear Myrtle's Genealogy Blog,
blog.dearmyrtle.com/2008/02/halvor-moorshead-retires-tomorrow.html

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet,
www.many-roads.com/key-topics/educational-materials/

The Genealogy Insider written by Diane Haddad - is a treasure, here you will find a site that will give you invaluable information regarding genealogy browsers, did not know there were browsers just for genealogy? well give this a link a look and diane will explain them to you.
http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/2009/10/21/GenealogyBrowserToolbars.aspx

While scanning though the sites I hit on one with a curious name it was called Relavtively Curious about Genealogy, so being curious, I said lets take a look, Glad I did it has a toolbar
that lists Free genealogy sites, Pay genealogy sites, RSS feeds, Blogs, plus many good, articles on the home page.

My Heritage has a site that it lists thier picks for the top 100 genealogy site , the sites are listed in alpha order and they focuson finding hiddin gems so give these a look, I am sure they have found many that may have flown under the radar.
blog.myheritage.com/myheritage-coms-top-100-genealogy-sites-2010/

There is also a link The Free Services of FamilySearch Internet Genealogy that explains how to use the FamilySearch site to find information on your ancestors that they may have in their databases i like this blog because it features questions ad answers that many of us may have had but did not know who to ask. Viola a free course of FamilySearch!
This is also thanks to the About.com great authors
httpgenealogy.about.com/library/blchattrans-rencher.htm

Many of the sites listed on this site are specific to particular research, for example German ancestry, Jewish ancestry, Polish ancestry, there is even a blog on LegacyFamilytree news so if you are a Legacy fan there is great information on this site

For a good read I suggest you give a look at Hearts and Bones there are great articles on this site and it also has a RSS feed to say current with new postings
genealogy.about.com/library/blchattrans-rencher.htm

Last but certainly not least, one last site that will give you hours, and I mean hours of genealogy information is the Genealogy Gems Podcasts here they archive previous podcasts and links to them.
http://www.genealogygemspodcast.com/rss

Enjoy!!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Ancestral Finding

Ancestral Findings
Kathryn Brannigan Walizer


While browsing Genealogy sites, I hit on a site named Ancestralfindings.com
http://www.ancestralfindings.com/

This is a site sponsored by Ancestry.com and is a gateway and a conduit to many other sites. associated with Ancestry For instance, the link to Family Tree Online Class will direct you to the Genealogy.Com genealogy class

The Getting Started link will bring up the Ancestry.com learning center.
The Library of Congress Photo Center, was listed in the section ,Free Databases.
http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digital.html The Photo database covers the years 1840-2000 and contains photos and prints from throughout the world, however, the majority are from the U.S. You may search for a photo or print by year or place, and/or by using keywords or names that may be found in the title or notes sections of the pictures.
This database contains a collection of approximately 340,000 public domain photographs and prints. The pictures have been collected from a variety of sources and places but today are held by the U.S. Library of Congress' Prints and Photographs Division. This database includes prints and photos from 11 collections contained within the Prints and Photograph Division

An example of how this site works, by putting in the general search term "breaker boys" many photos appeared including the one on Neil Gallagher, not only the photo, but it was accompanied by the file from the National Child Labor Committee which stated: “Neil Gallagher, Wilkes Barre, Pa. Born January 14, 1891. Went to work at about 9 years. Worked about two years in breaker. Went inside at about 11 years. "Tripper," tending door. 83 cents [a] day. Injured May 2, 1904. Leg crushed between cars. Amputated at Mercy Hospital, Wilkes Barre. "Baltimore Tunnell" - "Black Diamond" D. & H. Co. Thomas Lewellin Superintendent (inside boys); Samuel Morgan, Superintendent. In Hospital 9 weeks. Amputated twice. No charge. Received nothing from company. "Was riding between cars and we aren't supposed to ride between them." No written rules, but they tell you not to. Mule driver (who was on for first day) had taken his lamp and he tried to reach across car to get it. Slipped between bumpers. Been working in breakers since. Same place $1.10 a day. Work only about 1/2 time. Work about 6 hour day. Left 3 months ago. Been in N.Y. - no work. Trying to get work in Poolroom. Applicant at Bureau for Handicapped, 105 E. 22nd Street, N.Y. Nov. 1, 1909. Father living, (Mother dead.) Miner same place. Hurt month ago Rock fall. 2 brothers 25, 27. Home 15 Pennsylvania St. Location: Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.”
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ncl2004000817/PP/

What a great source of information this photo turned out to be.
Searching this site further, on the top of page there are links to various sections. each of these sections takes you to a myriad of links with pages of information many with free lookups. Sections are:Birth Records | Census Records | Death Records | Divorce Records | Land Records | Marriage Records | Military Records | Passenger & Immigration Records | State Records
Clicking on any of these sections brings up a new page with additional links. This looks to be a site that could take weeks if not months to explore and if you are fortunate to have access to Ancestry.com many of the links will give you an index to sites related to your surnames to explore.

One great link is the Genealogy Learning Center . I found it on the Free Genealogy lookup page, but if you can’t find it paste this link into your internet browser.
http://www.ancestralfindings.com/library.htm
This link will bring up a page of links that rival any genealogy course. I guarantee you will not find this information on any other site. Many of the links bring up articles by George Morgan, a noted genealogist., that in turn lead you to other interesting and useful sites. I did notice that a few of the articles were abbreviated , for example the Sunny Nash article was pulled, but by putting the title and author in your browser It will bring up a mirad of sites relating to the author

Remember to use that browser it is a genealogists best friend. I hope you will find this site the treasure that I did. Enjoy!!!

Friday, July 30, 2010

Encylopedia of Genealogy/Heritagequestonline

EOGEN
for Heritagequest
By

Kathryn Brannigan Walizer



While looking for the website for www.heritagequestonline.com I saw the site
www.eogen.com/heritagequestonline.com being curious, I clicked on it. This is a site
all genealogist need to visit regardless of their expertise. It is an Encyclopedia of
Genealogy. It not only lists and explains what heritagequest online contains, it is itself
a valuable tool that makes your quest to research family history just a little bit easier.
The site is sponsored by Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter also by
GenQueries.com,RootsBooks.com and RootsBooks.co.uk, your online genealogy
bookstores.

Clicking on the Eastman link will bring you to the http://blog.eogn.com/ and the
Eastman Online Newsletter by the premier genealogist Dick Eastman. If you have not
visited this newsletter, be sure to bookmark this site as it contains valuable genealogy
information .


The first link on the left site will bring you to the Encyclopedia of Genealogy here you
will find genealogical tools and ways to reference information about everything in
genealogy. You can find locations where records may be found and the various ways
available to research ethnic nationalities and places


The search link will help you find information on just about anything genealogical, for
instance. if you type in "ancestry", it will bring up a mired of articles related to that
word. Typing in the word census will bring up a list of articles detailing all aspects of
census and the word genealogy will bring up no less than 151 articles.


The index link will bring up a list of words in alpha form ,say you are researching a
particular family and you come across the phrase Alien Registration, if you click on that
in the index it will bring up an article explaining just what was involved in that and also
all information included on the Alien Registration Form (AR-2):


Why would this help you ask?, well millions of aliens who registered in 1940 had long
been resident in the United States and remained here ever after. In some cases, a
1940 Alien Registration is the only INS document concerning such individuals. Early
registrations (c. July 1940-April 1944/A-numbers below 12,000,000) are on microfilm in
INS custody, searchable by name, date of birth, and place of birth. These records are
subject to the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act. There is even a link
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

Available by clicking on the Freedom of Information Act Just a little tip, never pass up
a blue HTML link on a genealogy webpage you will find portals to many websites that
you never new existed and n this case it brings you to a US government website
dealing with Naturalizations and Citizens.


People on this site are encouraged to post articles on anything, including your local
genealogy societies, help features on how to research ethnic ancestors or just what
worked for you that may help others who may be staring at that “Brick Wall” , you all
know the one's and we have all been there.!


Keep in mind that others can edit the information you post The sponsors of the
Encyclopedia of Genealogy suggest that you only post information here that you wish to
share with the genealogical community and that you feel will help them.


By now you are thinking "OK I would love to post some tips and genealogy tricks that
will help others, but how can I do that". The very first link on the left site of the site is the
Encyclopedia of Genealogy , clicking here will bring up a page that states "Everyone is
invited to contribute public domain information to the Encyclopedia of Genealogy" and
gives you step by step instructions on how to do it.


In the beginning of this article I mentioned Heritagequest Online was the website I was
interested in finding, clicking on http://www.eogen.com/heritagequestonline will bring up
a great page on The Encyclopedia of Genealogy that includes information on what
Heritagequest Online will offer plus an added benefit, a list of all the libraries known to
have HeritageQuest Online remote access and they are listed by states, so if you are
not sure if you can get Heritagequest at home check out this list. You just might find out
your local or county library provides this great genealogical service to you free of
charge. I just love that word FREE.


Enjoy!!