Improved census images at Ancestry.com

I went back today and compared a scan I did of an 1841 UK census entry with the entry at Ancestry.com. The different was outstanding. I remember spending HOURS upon HOURS looking for the family originally when barely half the census page could be read. The images at Ancestry.com were enhanced and are a significant improvement over what I got from the microfilm.

The images are not the same size, but there is no doubt which one is better.

Take a look:

http://www.rootdig.com/framecensus/1841.html

Michael

My problem with delayed birth certificates

It is always more difficult when things do not make sense.

My great-grandmother-in-law had four children born in Chicago early in the twentieth century. The oldest two have delayed birth certificates which incorrectly state they were twins (filed on different days no less), the third has no birth certificate, and the youngest has a relatively correct certificate filed at the time of his birth in 1914 in Chicago.

We've posted the images to our site
http://www.rootdig.com/apgar/

along with an article discussing the records:

http://www.rootdig.com/adn/separating_delayed_twins.html

Confusion is frustrating and on a positive note, challenging.

Michael

FGS 2007 UFO Ancestors Lecture for $1.99 at lulu.com

My "UFO Ancestors" lecture from the FGS conference in Boston has been posted on lulu.com and can be downloaded for $1.99. It was there all along and I missed it...why? Because I did a "find on page" for my last name "neill" and that's NOT how my name got spelled on the site. It listed as "neil" but it is me.

http://www.lulu.com/content/407128

See? Even genealogists spell names incorrectly sometimes ;-(

Michael

FGS 2007 Searching lecture posted for $1.99 download at lulu.com

Those who missed the recent FGS conference in Boston can download recordings of most of the lectures from the lulu site. My Searching Techniques lecture has been posted at:

http://www.lulu.com/content/405421

Downloads are only $1.99. Hopefully my UFO ancestors lecture will be uploaded in the near future.

Michael

My Irish Problem

The Annie Moore story got me to thinking about my own Irish Annie:

Annie Murphy....

I know little about her other than she was born in Ireland ca. 1840 and was in St. John New Brunswick in 1865 when she married Samuel Neill. Samuel (and his brother Joseph) left for Hancock County, Illinois, around 1870, where many of their descendants still live today.

Annie is not known to have had any family move with her to Illinois. Any suggestions are welcomed. Anyone wanting to know what little more I know about the Neills can see more information on the site.

First Person Through Ellis Island

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak (with some help) has found the true story of the first immigrant through Ellis Island. The results were featured in the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/nyregion/14annie.html

Of course, New York had millions of immigrants through Castle Garden before Ellis Island....the story of the research into Annie Moore is interesting, but basically boils down to two things:

• don't assume previous research and conclusions are true
• research the siblings

Ancestry.com sweepstakes

Ancestry is having a sweepstakes to visit your ancestral homeland. You might want to give it a try by entering. The only problem is that you already have to know the country where your ancestor came from. Heck, if they could just tell me where my Ira Sargent was born, I wouldn't even bother with the trip. ;-)

1856 Probate Manual

A few years ago I wrote a column about an 1856 Illinois probate manual. While this might seem like really dry reading, genealogists can benefit greatly from reviewing such material in detail. An understanding of applicable inheritance and probate laws can prevent one from making incorrect conclusions and suggest when additional follow up may be needed with other records.

The article can be linked to at:

http://www.rootdig.com/adn/1856dower.html

Michael

Genealogy Computer Workshops in 2007

The details of our 9th annual Genealogy Computing Week have been released. 2007 will be the 9th year Carl Sandburg College has offered a week of computer genealogy workshops.

This year our offerings include:
Using Genline for Swedish Research
Using Ancestry.com
DeedMapper
Promoting, Preserving and Publishing Your Information
Military Research Online

Our week of workshops begin on 5 March 2007.

We have had attendees come from 10 states over the past nine years. We try to offer day long sessions not usually seen at national conferences. Our registration fee per day is around $35, which is the same as it was the year we started the workshops.

More information can be found at:

http://www.rootdig.com/sandburg.html

Thanks.
Michael

Family History Day-St. Charles, MO 4 Nov 2006

I will be presenting the Family History workshop in the St. Charles, Missouri, area on 4 November 2006. This all-day event is sponsored by the St. Charles County Genealogical Society and the St. Charles Community College.

More information can be found at:

http://www.rootdig.com/familyhistorydaynovember2006.html

Registration is very reasonable.

Michael

Lecture Downloads FGS 06

Many of the lectures at the recent FGS 2006 conference in Boston were recorded and can be downloaded to your computer, ipod, etc. at a very reasonable cost. So far, only the Wednesday lectures have been downloaded, but more are on the way.

http://stores.lulu.com/fgs2006

We'll post an update when later sessions are added.

Michael

FGS 07 in Ft. Wayne

The Federation of Genealogical Societies' 2006 conference in Boston is barely over and some of us have already focused our attention on next year's conference.

In 2007, FGS travels to Ft. Wayne, home of the Allen County Public Library, which will be showcasing not only its outstanding genealogy collection, but also its extensively expanded and remodeled digs.

The conference will be held at the Grand Wayne Center - Fort Wayne, Indiana, August 15-18, 2007. Mark your calendars now. A wonderful choice of sessions, extended hours for the library, and an exhibit hall full of genealogical wares await those who join us in 2007.

More information will be posted on the FGS website as it is developed.

http://www.fgs.org/2007conf/FGS-2007.htm

Michael

Proposed change in NARA hours

At the recent FGS 2006 Conference in Boston, the Records Preservation and Access Committee (http://www.fgs.org/rpa/) announced their concern over changes in the hours in the research rooms at the National Archives. This concern was conveyed to Dr. Allen Weinstein in a letter from David Rencher, Chair of the Records Preservation and Access Committee.

These changes would eliminate evening hours at the National Archives.
These changes would eliminate Saturday hours at the National Archives.

Many genealogists who travelt to DC to research rely on these evening and Saturday hours to reach their research objectives.

You can read (and sign) an online petition opposing these changes at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/FGS2006/petition.html

You can learn more about the Records Preservation and Access Committee at:
http://www.fgs.org/rpa/

Michael--

A few funnies

Here are some questions I have had in my email:

1) Why am I not in the Social Security Death Index?

2) I heard you had all the Illinois marriage records in the basement.

3) Can you find the email of my grandpa in Arkansas in 1910?

Here is an attempt at genealogical humor.

Michael

Brick Walls From A to Z

Virtually every genealogist has at least one brick wall that they can't seem to surpass. Mine is Ira Sargent, born ca. 1845 in Canada, living in Illinois by 1880.

Regardless of where, when, or how there are some common ways that some brick walls can be broken. We've posted a list from A to Z of brick wall breakers on our site in the article section.

Michael

Rich and Famous Ship Manifests

We've posted a few well-known people in ship manifests:
http://www.rootdig.com/ships/famousships/

Charlie Chaplin, Jane Addams, Errol Flynn, Mark Twain and many more are listed.

FGS-Boston

I am looking forward to the annual Federation of Genealogical Societies' annual conference--this year in Boston, Mass at the end of August. There is still time to register and the conference looks to be a great one. Kudos to Michael and Sue for lining up a great agenda in a great venue. More information on FGS and the conference can be located on the website at http://www.fgs.org.

Immigrant Trunk

This trunk belonged to my aunt who immigrated ca. 1870 to Keokuk Junction, Illinois (now Golden). It is not in the best of shape, but the front is lovely. All but two of her numerous siblings settled in either Adams or Hancock counties in Illinois, including Focke (Frank), my great-great-grandfather. I have one of his trunks too from a later voyage, but his name is not stenciled on it.

Getting copies

I finally got a copy of my grandfather's 1917 birth certificate when I was in Salt Lake a few months ago. I had seen it years ago, but was too cheap to pay for an official copy. I thought it listed his first name along with both his middle names. My memory was incorrect, only one middle name was listed and the anglicized version of his mother's name was used. I also got his time of birth (2:45 a.m.), which I didn't have before. It's always good to get these events down as precisely as possible!

Remember that the Family History Library may have something on film which you sometimes can get much cheaper through your branch library than you can at the courthouse. In the case of this birth certificate from 1917, even with ordering the film on loan, I saved $6. In states where copies of vitals run as high as $20, the savings can be substantial.

And remember---RARELY do you need a birth or death certificate immediately, via fax, overnight mail, etc. If you are ordering the certificate online from anyone BUT the local records office, you are paying too much.

Michael

Analyzing pre-1850 census entries

As most genealogists know, pre-1850 census records provide less direct information on the individuals enumerated. Names of only heads of household is a limitation. However, it is possible to do some analysis on these entries. We've posted a series of articles analyzing pre-1850 census entries for one family from Pennsylvania on our site for those who may need some direction on using records from this era.

Genline workshop

We still have room in our two-day hands on workshop on using Genline.com for Swedish genealogical research. For those who are not aware, Genline offers online access to church records for all of Sweden and is an excellent source for those with Swedish ancestry.

Our workshop is on 18 and 19 August 2006 in Galesburg, Illinois, on the campus of Carl Sandburg College. All attendees will have their own computer to use for the duration of the workshop.

More information on the workshop can be found at:
http://www.rootdig.com/genline.html

More information on Genline can be found on their site.

Michael

Heritage Bears

For Christmas a few years ago, my mother had teddy bears made from my paternal grandmother's chenille bedspread. I thought this was a neat idea and have posted pictures of the bears on our site.

Michael

We're Really Cousins

I received an email today from a cousin. It is difficult for me to explain the relationship precisely because:

• her paternal grandfather and my mother's paternal grandfather were brothers.
• her maternal grandmother and my father's paternal grandmother were sisters.
  
• and, one of her great-grandmothers was a sister to my great-great-grandfather.

Needless to say we're related ;-)
Once you get back five generations on her pedigree chart 5 out of 8 names in every generation are also on my pedigree chart!
Double cousins are pretty common for me---which explains why I have one genealogy database instead of several separate ones.
Michael

Found William Faulkner and J. Edgar Hoover

These were two of our contests and we have winners for locating:
1910 William Faulkner
1930 J. Edgar Hoover

Open contests are listed on our site.

New Famous Census Search Contests

We have added the following Famous Census Search contests to our site, complete with new prizes:
1870 Thomas Edison
1930 J. Edgar Hoover
1910 William Faulkner
1930 Geogria O'Keefe
http://www.rootdig.com/contest/

Good luck!