RootDig.com

Michael John Neill's genealogy website. Things that cross my path, general research suggestions, and whatever else ...with a little bit of attitude. I don't post "news" just to post it, never post a press release (edited or otherwise), don't feign excitement, and pretty much say what I think.

17 December 2007

10 Reasons why the Internet is no library substitute.

10 Reasons Why the Internet is No Substitute for the Library The ALA website contains an article from 2001 by Mark Herring titled as above ....

Cattle Pedigrees in my Genealogy

Ok, I have too much time on my hands. I knew my Grandpa Neill had raised registered Angus cattle The problem was the site only allowed me to...

Abraham Lincoln's "pension" card

A pension card for Abraham Lincoln (actually for his widow, Mary) appears in the "Organization Index to Pension files of Veterans who s...

The Ostfriesen "Extra" List

Those on Rootsweb mailing lists know that things are suppose to stay on topic and that attachments are not allowed. Our Ostfriesen mailing l...

Revolutionary War Roll information for Elam Blain

I've blogged before about the Revolutionary War Pension of Elam Blain who eventually settled in Delaware County, Ohio. His pension makes...

Filtering at Footnote.com

I'm still experimenting with the Beta Test of Advanced Search at Footnote.com . One neat feature is the ability to see what names (firs...

16 December 2007

Refining searches at Footnote

Lest anyone think all I can do is complain, I do like the refinement ability on Footnote.com . I am sure there are improvements that can be...

My wish list for Footnote's new search

I am glad that Footnote.com is making improvements to their search. However, here are two things I would like: the ability to perform sound...

Beta Test of New Search at Footnote.com

We'll have to post our experiences with it, but we noted recently that Footnote.com is allowing a test of it's advanced searches. T...

14 December 2007

Undocumented Chaos

Undocumented Chaos from the Ancestry Daily News Michael John Neill – 10/16/2002 As genealogists looking to the past, we are forced to focu...

13 December 2007

Variants for OCR searching

I've been using the Historical Newspapers at GenealogyBank in an attempt to learn more about Philip Troutfetter, who was involved in s...

If I could change the Illinois Death Certificate Index

Don't get me wrong, I really like the Illinois Death Certificate Index and am very appreciative of it. However, if I could only make one...

Working on the Descendants of Barbara Haase

I have written before about the estate settlement of Anna Haase in Hancock County, Illinois, in the 1950s . Anna died with no descendants an...

10 December 2007

Footnote Search Issues

I recently blogged that the Revolutionary War Pensions at Footnote.com appeared to be allowing searches correctly. Now, I have another probl...

A New Ira May be "My" Ira

The image to the right shows the 1856 census enumeration for an Ira Sargent in Davis County, Iowa---who may be my missing ancestor. An artic...

07 December 2007

Henry Ford's 1916 Peace Expedition

I probably learned about it in American history, but I had forgotten about Henry Ford's ill-fated 1916 attempt to stop World War I with ...

06 December 2007

Right Under My Nose

My article "Right Under My Nose" was published last week on Ancestry.com's blog. It discusses my search for an 19th century Oh...

05 December 2007

Searching Problem at Footnote.com

Maybe it is just that I'm a little tired... I finally found the Revolutionary War Pension for Samuel Rhodes of Hawkins County, Tennessee...

04 December 2007

Footnote Completes Digitizing Revolutionary War Pensions

The Revolutionary War pension files at Footnote.com are complete . Those who have been waiting for the complete set of pension microfilm of...

30 November 2007

Cousin Acquitted in 1903...The Troutfetter story continues

I made a neat little find in the newspapers at World Vital Records today. I learned that my relative was acquitted by a Colorado Springs C...

29 November 2007

A Presidential Pension

One of my recent discoveries on the Civil War Pension Index at Footnote.com was the index card for Ulyssse S. Grant, who would later be Un...

Ordering US Civil War Pension Records

There are two ways to order pension and military records from the US National and Records Administration: 1) Order online 2) Request an Orde...

28 November 2007

Footnote's searches...

Footnote.com has improved its search. Unfortunately, there's a slight problem--at least for me. I try and search for Samuel Rhodes. Foot...

26 November 2007

Carl Sandburg's Passport Application

In 1918, poet and Galesburg, Illinois, native Carl Sandburg applied for a passport to travel to Europe. His application and the documentati...

20 November 2007

Passport Application sample

This passport sample from 1922 indicates that the applicant was born in Switzerland and provides the name of his father and the date of immi...

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