Discount offer on Casefile Clues

It has been called the "best genealogical bargain around"--now get Casefile Clues (my weekly how-to newsletter) at a discount rate while I am at the Family History Expo in Loveland, Colorado.

Get all back issues (1-46) and a year of Casefile Clues (52 issues) at a special rate of $35. This represents a $5.50 savings!

Topics can be viewed here, but come back to this blog post to get the discount rate link.

Regular subscription rate is $17.00.

Back Issue Purchase Options for those who don't want the whole set, or who recently subscribed:

• Issues 1-10 for $5.50
• Issues 11-20 for $5.50
• Issues 21-30 for $5.50
• Issues 31-40 for $5.50
• Issues 41-43 for $1.50
• Back issues 1-46 for 23.50

Blog Reviews of Casefile Clues:

• DearMyrtle
• Dick Eastman
• Midwestern Microhistory
• AnceStories
• Reclaiming Kin
• GeneaMusings
• GeneaBloggers
• GenBlog
• Notes that Matter
• BellaOnline

Land Ownership Maps at Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com released a set of land ownership maps online. First off, let me say the indexing is extremely helpful. However, users should be aware that:

• the collection is incomplete


• some items are miscatalogued.

The image shown here is indicated as coming from Walker Township, Jo Daviess County, Illinois in 1913. That's the county and township that shows up on the results page and what shows up as the heading on the page with the actual image.

Problem is that the image is for Walker Township, Hancock County, Illinois. I haven't looked into it enough to be certain of the year. 1913 is not too far off. The map looks to be of that era and the image shown here includes the parcel of John Michael Trautvetter who died in 1916.

Lastly, Ancestry.com refers to them as "towns." I understand the need to have field terms for a database, but the majority of these jurisdictions are townships, not towns. In most of rural America, there is a difference.

Burlington, Iowa 9 April 2011

I will be presenting an all-day genealogy workshop at the Burlington, Iowa, Public Library on 8 April 2011. More details will be posted as they become available.

If you'd like to have me present at your library, society, or genealogy group's seminar or workshop, please contact me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com.

Reasons to Join Michael in Ft. Wayne in August 2010

The Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne houses one of the nation's largest genealogical collections. From 11-15 August, I'll be leading a group of genealogists there to assist them in learning more about genealogy research at the library and in researching their ancestors.

Why join us?

• Small group--Our size is capped at 20. I want everyone who wants individual attention to get it. I don't try to see how "big" a group I can bring.
  
• Experience--I've lead research trips to the Ft. Wayne library and the Family History Library in Salt Lake for ten years.
  
• Get help--we don't dump you in the library leaving you like a lost sheep on the hillside. We help prepare you before we ever leave and before our trip ever starts.
  
• We're focused on research--There is one lecture every morning, before the library evens open. You don't have to squeeze in research time between lectures. Lectures are intended to help you with your library time.
  
• Broad research background--I've researched families in numerous time periods and locations across the United States and can assist on many problems. And when I don't know, I admit it. I don't make up an answer to satisfy you and prove that I can "answer every question." When I don't know, I help you to get the answer.

Learn more about our trip on our blog at:

http://blog.casefileclues.com/2010/06/ft-wayne-library-research-trip-11-15.html

We'd love to have you join us, but registration is limited.

Topics for San Mateo County CA Genealogical Workshop 6 November 2010

I will be presenting the Fall 2010 genealogy workshop for the San Mateo County Genealogical Society on 6 November 2010. I met with some of the Society folks while at the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree in Burbank this weekend, and we finalized our topics for the seminar:

• Where Did the Farm Go?
• Pig Blood in the Snow--Court Records Can Solve Problems
• Where Could it be Written?
• Researching the Entire Family

"Pig Blood in the Snow" was given at Jamboree, but I'll get different examples (except for one) and tweak it a little so that it's not the exact same lecture for those who were at the Jamboree, but the lecture title won't need to be changed.

I'm looking forward to my trip to the San Mateo area in November. The website of the the San Mateo County Genealogical Society has more information. Mark your calendars.

New Sample of Casefile Clues

If it's been a while since you took a look at Casefile Clues, we've posted a new sample issue at

http://www.casefileclues.com/sample2.pdf

we don't always write about Germans--our focus is on the method.

Casefile Clues is reasonably priced at $17 for a year of weekly issues.

Looking at the Locations of Marriage

I'm not much on writing prompts, but since I just located the "missing" marriage information on my last set of great-great-grandparents, I thought I'd look at the locations of where my parents through my great-great-grandparents were married, just to see what patterns and trends there were.

My parents:

• Carthage, Hancock County, Illinois

My grandparents

• Keithsburg, Mercer County, Illinois
• Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois

My great-grandparents

• Breckenridge, Hancock County, Illinois
• Tioga, Hancock County, Illinois
• near Basco, Hancock County, Illinois
• Carthage, Hancock County, Illinois

My great-great-grandparents

• St. John, New Brunswick, Canada
• Walker Township, Hancock County, Illinois
• Tioga, Hancock County, Illinois
• Soap Creek Township, Davis County, Iowa
• near Basco, Hancock County, Illinois
• Golden, Adams County, Illinois
• Prairie Township, Hancock County, Illinois
• Coatsburg, Adams County, Illinois

I'll stop there--I don't have all my third great-grandparents marriage records. Interestingly enough, both sets of my grandparents went "away" to get married. Everyone else pretty much got married exactly where they were living.

Reserve a Spot in my 2011 Family History Research Trip to Salt Lake

We have set the dates for our May 2011 Family History Library research trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah!

• Arrive 18 May 2011 (Wednesday)--meet in hotel at 6:30 p.m. and have an orientation to library (optional) at 7:00 p.m.
• Thursday-Saturday--8:00 a.m. presentations at hotel, research all day (library closes at 9:00 p.m.), scheduled consultations with Michael.
• Sunday--day off! Site-see, shop, or have afternoon consultation with Michael
• Monday-8:00 presentation at hotel, research all day (library closes at 5:00 p.m.)
• Tuesday-8:00 presentation at hotel, research all day (library closes at 9:00 p.m.)
• Wednesday--check out! Optional morning presentation with Michael, if desired.

Complete registration is $200 (plus $4.75 for processing)-by 15 April 2011 . Email Michael at mjnrootdig@gmail.com for alternate payment options. Save your spot now and mark your calendar!

More details coming!

August 2010 Trip to Ft. Wayne's Allen County Public Library

We've set dates for a August 2010 trip to the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

http://blog.casefileclues.com/2010/06/ft-wayne-library-research-trip-11-15.html

Join us!

Memorial Discount on my Casefile Clues Newsletter

Every week Casefile Clues brings you analysis, sources, and methodology. It is one of the best genealogical bargains around and our goal is to get you thinking about your own research and give you ideas to get you re-charged and on your way. We are offering a Memorial Day Special on Casefile Clues.

Get a year of Casefile Clues with our Memorial Day Discount offer of $15 for an annual subscription of 52 issues.

Genealogy Lecture at Knox College

I will be giving a lecture "Where We Are Planted:A Lecture on Genealogy" sponsored by the Association for Black Culture Centers at Knox College(Galesburg, Illinois) tomorrow. http://www.knox.edu/calendar/?E19383

All are invited.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

4:00 p.m.

Ferris Lounge, Seymour Union

Free and Open to the Public

Everyone is welcome

What is this last name supposed to be?

I'm working on this family for issue 42 of Casefile Clues.

To see a larger image click on the image that appears with this blog post.

What does that last name look like to you? I'll post what it is "supposed" to be in a few days. And based upon the actual name, this variant isn't all that far off, but it's the only time I've seen it.

Plaza Still Has Rooms for our 2010 Family History Library Trip

The Salt Lake Plaza still has rooms for our 2010 trip, although our block has "expired." If there are any researchers who would like to be a "late" add, just email me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com.

Information on the trip is at http://www.rootdig.com/slctrip.html

Bureau County, Princeton, Illinois 26 August

I will be making the evening presentation at the monthly meeting of the Bureau County (Illinois) Genealogical Society in Princeton, Illinois, on 26 August.

Details will be posted here:

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilbcgs/meetings.htm

I always enjoy my trips to Princeton. Bureau County has a very active group.

Searching by townships in New Search of 1880 Census

Am I missing something?

I am trying to search the 1880 census for entries in Prairie Township, Hancock County, Illinois, using the new search.

I can't seem to narrow my search down to just that township in the new search. Am I missing something?

I can use the old search to do a search based upon township, which I really like and which in many cases is necessary.

Just not convinced the place name "thing" they are using is all that it is cracked up to be although the "search adjacent counties" I like.

Found the ad running on the Ancestry.com site to be particularly ironic.

This is a followup to my original post about the timelines on the Family Trees at Ancestry.com.

The "ages" as shown in the timeline are not pulled from the census, but rather are pulled from the year of birth listed in the timeline. I concluded, incorrectly, that since the year of birth was approximate that ages shown in the timeline would also be shown as approximate.
The image here with the birth empty does not have any ages shown, which seems to indicate the age is pulled from the birth.

The second image with the year of birth, listed as approximate, shows ages.

When I create timelines based on approximate years of birth, I include "about" in front of every age because the ages at specific points in time are not based upon a precise date of birth.

If there was one improvement I could suggest, it would be to include "about" before ages that are calculated from an approximate year of birth.

That said, Ancestry.com is not drawing the ages from the census enumeration. It was incorrect when I indicated they were. The problem is that nowhere on the screen does it indicate from where the ages were inferred. Had I had other records for Abraham, the ages would have been shown for every event.

All of which points to the importance of citation. I'm not certain Ancestry.com really has room to cite sources in these timelines and I'm not certain people really want that. But I bet it wouldn't be too hard to insert an asterisk after the age indicating it was inferred from the year of birth. And that might even encourage more genealogists to be concerned about citation and that wouldn't be a bad thing.

Casefile Clues on Olive Tree Genealogy

Lorine at Olive Tree Genealogy interviewed me about Casefile Clues. The article can be read here.

DearMYRTLE's commentary on World Vital Records

DearMYRTLE had an interesting commentary on World Vital Records use of email addresses from Genealogywise.com users.

I received the same email DearMyrtle referred to. Take a look at more detail on her site. I won't repeat it here.

Seems to me that Genealogywise needs to be careful in using the email of members.

Default Search Settings on Ancestry.com for NY Federal Non-Population Censuses

I am confused.

I searched for the last name of Drolet in the non-population 1850-1880 census schedules at Ancestry.com. The help box tells me that "default" name settings will get exactly what I typed, Soundex matches, or "similar meaning or spelling to the one you typed."

There were no matches as can be seen in the bottom screen.

Yet when I change the search options on the last name to "restrict to exact--soundex" I get matches with the spelling of the last name as Draulette. Draulette is the soundex equivalent of Drolet (what I typed in) and it should meet the definition of "similar meaning or spelling to the one you typed."

Am I not understanding the default settings?

I do NOT like the default setting of "similar meaning of spelling to the one you typed." That doesn't really mean much to me and with that I don't know how to tweak my search.

Ancestry.com says Bernard Goldenstein is related to President Tyler's Wife

I was doing a few quick lookups on Bernard Goldenstein for an upcoming Casefile Clues article at Ancestry.com and decided to try the "famous relative" link that came up.

Imagine my surprise when it actually pulled up someone--president Tyler's third wife.

A quick look at her ancestry did not indicate where the connection was made and the link to show relationship was not working.

Mrs. Tyler had an ancestor born in the Netherlands which is close to Ostfriesland where Goldenstein's ancestry originated. However looking at her available pedigree chart did not reveal any connection.

Being 5th cousins 5 times removed to Mrs. Tyler means that Ben Goldenstein's 3rd great-grandfather/mother was a fifth cousin to Mrs. Tyler. My guess is that the program is "grabbing" one of Mrs. Tyler's Dutch ancestors and assuming it is the same person as one of Goldenstein's Ostfriesen ancestors.

Without seeing the way Ancestry.com is connecting them, it is difficult to tell. I'm pretty skeptical that there is any relationship.

When it indicated a relationship between Goldenstein and a famous person, a more realistic possibility (and I said POSSIBILITY) is the late Senator Everett Dirksen. He was from Illinois (where Goldenstein's family actually settled) and was also of Ostfriesen extraction. Perhaps senators don't qualify as "famous."

I'll update on this if the "connection" ever shows at Ancestry. I got error messages when I tried it again just now.

1870 Agricultural Census Column Headings

Those who need a list of the 1870 agricultural census enumeration headings can find a set here:

http://files.usgwarchives.org/nc/mitchell/census/1870agri.txt

Dicsount offer on my weekly how-to Casefile Clues

In honor of my missing NGS in Salt Lake City this week, I'm offering a special on a set of back issues of Casefile Clues (currently at 40 issues!) and a year long subscription for $30.

This is a $6 off offer and will end Saturday of this week (today is Wednesday)--same time the NGS conference is over. I'd say supplies are limited, but they aren't because I don't print anything and many of my readers don't either.

Here's a link to past topics.

We'd love to have you join the Casefile Clues family.

1870 Non-population Schedules at Ancestry.com

Ancestry added several non-population census schedules recently. This is nice. The problem is that the microfilm on some of these years was a little difficult to read so the column headings are really hard to determine. It would have been nice if in the documentation they had listed the column headings. If it was there, I did not see it.

Magnification did not help. A link to a page with the headings would be helpful. If a Google search turns them up, I'll post a link here.

NGS in Salt Lake--It's ok if you can't go

Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to attend the NGS conference in Salt Lake this week. And you know what, it's ok if you are at home. While there is no doubt that conferences can be fun to attend, your research will not suffer because you are home. It is important to remember that much genealogy learning can take place in your own home or local records repositories. There will be a lot of online news about the conference and that's great, but after Saturday, the hubbub will die down and everything will return to normal.

Don't forget there are books, websites, newsletters (Casefile Clues!) and blogs that you can use to assist you in your genealogical education. There are online classes, including those sponsored by the National Genealogical Society. There are a great many serious, dedicated and respected genealogists who are not in Salt Lake this week. This is not meant to say that you shouldn't try to attend a national conference, but all of us are simply not in a position to go and it's not the end of the world.

Personally if I could go to a three-day conference or have three days of uninterrupted research at a state archives or national archives, I think I know where I would be.

So what can you do this week if you can't attend NGS? Read a journal article (your local library may subscribe to scholarly genealogical publications), read a research outline from the Family History Library (http://www.familysearch.org), or re-analyze some of your own research (and write it up!). Post a query to a message board, or work on a family you've put off for some time. Work on learning how to create citations or reading those records in a foreign language.

In other words, create your own personal learning experience.

Of course, you can also subscribe to Casefile Clues, my weekly how-to newsletter. This week we are offering all the back issues 1-39 and an annual subscription at a discounted rate--the "Michael's NOT at NGS Discount."

Topics in issues 1-39 can be viewed here..click "Back" to return to this post.

Links FromTopeka

Here are the links from the Topeka workshop that weren't in the handout or were things I mentioned "off the cuff." I enjoyed my time in Topeka and hope attendees at the workshop did as well.

World Connect
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com

Blog Post on how to search Pension Payment Cards on Archive.org
http://rootdig.blogspot.com/2010/03/pension-payment-cards-on-archiveorg.html

Finding Civil War Pensions
http://www.rootdig.com/pensions/

If anyone wanted the discount rate on the newsletter for Topeka seminar attendees and didn't get to see me, send me an email at mjnrootdig@gmail.com