Irish Genealogy Research

Irish Genealogy Research (at a glance) by Brian Mitchell.

German Genealogy Research

German Genealogy Research (at a glance) by Ernest Thode.

Spend 30 Get 30%

Until Sunday 20 November at 11:59 PM CST, we are running a Pre-Thanksgiving Sale on my recorded webinars--Spend 30 Get 30%.  Thanksgiving is pretty busy around here and it's easier to deal with issues before the holidays.

Spend $30 on recorded webinars, use the coupon code "three3" and you'll get 30% reduced from your order. You'll total order may be less than $30--depending upon your order. 

The recorded version and the PDF version of the handout can be purchased for viewing at your convenience. Presentations are generally an hour long. PDF of the handout is included.

• Using US Census on Ancestry.com (NEW!)--This presentation discusses search tips and ideas for using the US Census at Ancestry.com. There is also discussion on organizing your search before you start typing names and information in search boxes. You can purchase the recorded version of the webinar as a Windows media file and the PDF handout for $8.50. Add to cart here. 
• Brick Walls from A to Z--This lecture is based upon my article "Brick Walls From A to Z" and is geared towards the somewhat experienced beginner to intermediate researcher. Just a list of ideas to get beyond your brick walls discussed alphabetically. Handout included. Add to cart here. 
• Local Land Records in Public Domain States--This lecture discusses obtaining, using, and interpreting local land records in areas of the United States from Ohio westward where land was originally in the public domain. This lecture is geared towards those who have some experience with land records--advanced beginning and intermediate researchers.  $8.50 includes handout and hour-long lecture. Add to cart here. 
• DeedMapper (NEW!) Geared for the person who is not familiar with DeedMapper--which maps properties described in metes and bounds, allows users to map multiple parcels on the same map, manipulate plats, insert background images. This works through one example and discusses other features of the program. Add to cart here.
• Barbara's Beaus and Gesche's Girls--Case study of two German immigrants to the American Midwest in the mid-19th century. For $8.50 you will be able to download the media file and the PDF version of the handout. Add to cart here. 
• Court Records-Pig Blood in the Snow. This lecture discusses American court records at the county level where cases were typically originally heard. Discusses cases of main genealogical relevance along with searching techniques. For $8.50 you will be able to download the media file and the PDF version of the handout. Add to cart here. 
• Seeing the Patterns-Organizing Your Information. This lecture discusses the problem-solving process and a variety of ways to organize your information with the intent of getting the research to notice overlooked clues, patterns, trends, and information. $8.50 includes handout and hour-long lecture. Add to cart here.
• Determining Your Own Migration Trail/Chain (NEW!). You can purchase the recorded version of the webinar as a Windows media file and the handout as as PDFvia this link for $7. This lecture discusses ways to find the names of your ancestor's associates and ways to determine how your ancestor fit into a larger chain of migration. Geared towards advanced beginners and intermediate researchers.$8.50 includes handout and hour-long lecture 
• Using the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Website (NEW!). You can purchase the recorded version of the webinar as a Windows media file and the handout as as PDF for $8.50. This lecture discusses effective search techniques for the site, how to formulate your searches, how to trouble-shoot searches, a search template, and what records patents in the BLM site can lead to. Add to cart.
• The Missing 1840 Census Enumeration  (NEW!). This webinar discusses a couple "missing" from the 1840 Census in Ohio and how they were eventually found and the indirect evidence used. A good overview of using land records to solve a "non-land record" problem with some points along the way about organization and visualization. Suggestions for additional research are also discussed. Add to cart.

Year 2 Issue of Casefile Clues

Topics from the first 51 issues of year 2 are shown below (order them here): (email me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com if you need fewer than the first 51 issues).

• Volume 2-Number 1--Problem-Solving--a variety of techniques for breaking through those brick walls.
• Volume 2-Number 2--A 1907 Committal--An insanity record.
• Volume 2-Number 3--A 1921 Divorce--looking at a 1921 era divorce from Chicago
• Volume 2-Number 4--Leaving John's Hands: Documenting Post-Death Land Transfers
• Volume 2-Number 5--The Acquisition of John Michael Trautvetter's 228 Acres
• Volume 2-Number 6--The Original Versus the Record Copy
• Volume 2-Number 7--Multiple Marriage Mayhem:
  Starting the Search for Emma (Sargent) Pollard Ross Oades Pollard Snavly Olenbaugh
• Volume 2-Number 8--A Handful of Problem-Solving Strategies
• Volume 2-Number 9--Two-Thirds of an Acre from Uncle John: A Partition Suit Proves a Sibling Relationship
• Volume 2-Number 10--A Minimal Estate Gives Some Direction: The 1886-1888 Probate of Benjamin Butler
• Volume 2-Number 11--Signing What We Could Not Read--immigrants unable to read English sign a 1870 era document that is incorrect and a lawsuit results.
• Volume 2-Number 12--Dad Raised my Daughter--A newspaper account of a court case in the 1880s discusses an early 1870 out-of-wedlock birth.
• Volume 2-Number 13--Using the 1860 Census to Formulate a Passenger List Search Strategy
• Volume 2-Number 14--Search Strategy for Benjmamin Butler in pre-1870 Census Records--this looks at ways to find the missing 1850 and 1860 census enumerations for man who "appears" in Iowa in 1870.
• Volume 2-Number 15--Pre-1850 Census--analyzing 1810-1840 census entries for Thomas Chaney in Bedford County, Pennsylvania.
• Volume 2-Number 16--Names in the Probate--analyzing various names in a probate settlement from 1903. Nicknames and diminutives were part of the problem.
• Volume 2-Number 17--Bridging a Twenty-Year Census Gap-1870 to 1860. Showing that an 1870 Iowa, 1880 Missouri, and an 1850 Michigan enumeration are for the same man.
• Volume 2-Number 18--Four Passports and a Foreign Death: George Washington Drollette. Analyzes four early 20th century passports and a US State Department death report from 1933.
• Volume 2-Number 19--Diplomatic Employment Applications. Analyzes and summaries letters of support for employment with the US State Department between 1901-1906.
• Volume 2-Number 20--Just One Wife Who Shaves Her Age. Records hinted that a man might have had more than one wife. Despite age discrepancies and first name variations, we've likely proven that there was just one wife.
• Volume 2-Number 21--1930 Census: Primary, Secondary, Original, Derivative, Direct and Indirect. You'll never look at a census entry the same way again-also shows how in this case, New York became Kentucky
• Volume 2-Number 22--Finding the Biegers in 1850. Organizing our search and our negative search results in an attempt to find a German immigrant living in Cincinnati in 1850.
• Volume 2-Number 23--Separating Two George Butlers--working on two men born in Michigan in the same year with a father of the same name.
• Volume 2-Number 24-A Minor Naturalization
• Volume 2-Number 25-Genealogical Potpourri
• Volume 2-Number 26-Looking for Benjamin-Formulating a Census Search
• Volume 2-Number 27-An 1849 Cash Land Sale
• Volume 2-Number 28-From 1820-1870 Analyzing Enoch Tinsley's Census Entries
• Volume 2-Number 29-Middle Name Issues: Finding Henry J. Fecht in 1870 and Passenger Lists
• Volume 2-Number 30-The Master Reports--An Assignment of Homestead and Dower in the 1890s
• Volume 2-Number 31-The Parents Sell 10 Acres-an 1880 era land transaction
• Volume 2-Number 32-Clues from a Pig Murder--an 1820 era Kentucky Court Case
• Volume 2-Number 33-Civil War Pension Application-Why My Name's Different
• Volume 2-Number 34-Staying Focused on Divorces and a German Immigrant
• Volume 2-Number 35-Strategies for a 1820 New York Birth
• Volume 2-Number 36-First Appearing in an 1847 Marriage
• Volume 2-Number 37-The Chattel Property Will from Maryland
• Volume 2-Number 38-Emmar Osenbaugh Civil War Pension-Proving 6 Husbands (1st Part)
• Volume 2-Number 39-1870-1880 Era Guardianship Proves All the Children
• Volume 2-Number 40-Moving Mother-Transferring a Life Estate in 1769
• Volume 2-Number 41-War of 1812 Bounty Land Application and Surrendered Warrant
• Volume 2-Number 42--An 1875 Poor Farm Admission for the Smith Family
• Volume 2-Number 43-An 1811 Tennessee Will
• Volume 2-Number 44-More Problem-Solving
• Volume 2-Number 45-Emmar Osenbaugh's Civil War Pension Part II
• Volume 2-Number 46-Comments on 1856 Missouri Revised Statutes
• Volume 2-Number 47-A Will Denied--and Why
• Volume 2-Number 48-Blank Children and Three Completers on a Birth Record
• Volume 2-Number 49-Petitioning to Administrate an Intestate Probate in 1869
• Volume 2-Number 50-Fighting the Will of Trientje Sartorius
• Volume 2-Number 51-With Little to Probate: The Estate of Wesley Jones

Where Did Missouri Marriages 1805-2002 Come From?

This is the source information, copied directly from the Ancestry.com site.

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.

Original data: Missouri Marriage Records. Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives. Microfilm.

To me, this is vague and does not adequately convey the provenance of these records. The "original data" is not very specific and does not even imply that these are county-level records, originally created by the county.

The "about" screen for the marriage really did not tell me very much about where the original document was located, created, etc. It did tell me the county and the date of the marriage.

 Viewing the image itself was not very helpful either.  It simply told me that this was 3rd set of images from "Record images for Macon" in 1860.

There was no way to easily maneuver to find the first page of the book. Finding the volume number or the years covered in the volume itself is nearly impossible.

In this case, I know the record is the same as the records in the county courthouse because I have used the Family History Library's microfilm of those records and compared the image for Wm C. Rhodes' marriage as shown here with the image I made from the Family History Library's microfilm.

However, there were significant differences in using that microfilm:

• I knew what I was looking at because the roll of microfilm indicated who created the records.
• I knew what volume of records I was looking at because the card catalog entry told me what the volume was. This was also clear because the microfilm contained a photograph of the outside of the volume--making it clear. 

I like having access to record images at Ancestry.com. What I don't like is not always knowing the provenance of what I am looking at. In this case I knew because I had utilized the records elsewhere in a more manageable, yet unindexed form. 

Are you listening Ancestry.com? Some of us would like images organized a little closer to the original so that we could be more certain of how the image on our screen came to be created in the first place. 

Others are calling for metadata so that sources automatically get imported into our databases in an Evidence Explained format. I'm not so concerned about that.

I'd like source descriptions that clearly indicated the provenance of the image appearing on my screen. I shouldn't have to reverse engineer that information--it takes too much time. Citations I can manage.

Searching Passenger Lists on Ancestry.com-Rescheduled for 30 Nov

My webinar on searching the US passenger lists at Ancestry.com has been rescheduled for 30 Nov. Details are on my webinar schedule.

December 2011 Webinar Schedule

We've announced our schedule of genealogy webinars in December of 2011. Registrants who are unable to attend can receive (at no charge) download links for the recorded webinar and handout.

Topics include:

• More Brick Walls from A to Z
• Constructing Families from pre-1850 Census Records
• American Naturalization Records Before 1920
• Sarah & Susannah: Two 18th Century Virginia Woman and Their Property

Each webinar is $8 or you can sign up for all 4 for $28.

Details at http://www.casefileclues.com/webinars_neill.htm

Ellis Island Research

Ellis Island Research (at a glance) by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack

Genealogy at a Glance-English Research

This is a brief discussion of another one of Genealogical Publishing Company's "Genealogy at a Glance" guides.

English Genealogy Research, by Paul Milner.

It is difficult to cover everything in just four pages, so guides of this type must necessarily be brief. As one who has done some English research (my children are 1/16 English with immigrants from Cumberland arriving in Chicago in the 1860s).

In the interest of space, maps and other graphics are not included. There is only so much you can do in 4 pages. The "at a glance" guide for English genealogy research is a good summary of the content. It focuses on the basic record sources--military records a notable absence. Despite the limitations, it is a good broad overview. I'll probably pack it in my luggage for my next trip to Salt Lake. It's not a substitute for a lengthy, more comprehensive guide, but if you are needing a quick review of basic sources (or are just getting started) it serves that purpose well.

English Genealogy Research is published by Genealogical Publishing Company.

Are those "n"s made into "u"s or vice versa?

The screen above is one of the results from a search for  "Freund" as a last name in Scott County, Iowa, in the Civil War Draft Registrations Records (1863-1865) at Ancestry.com. I'm not exactly certain what made someone think "Panl" was a first name. I'm not even certain what it could be an abbreviation for.

The image below is from the actual record. It really appears to be Paul Freund as the 37 year old on line 2 of this image.

Astute readers will notice that there is also a forty year old Peter Freund listed. Turns out they are brothers, but that's not clear from this listing.

Alien Enemies and Digital Images From Kansas--What's the Source?

Ancestry.com recently released a database of Registration Affidavits of Alien Enemies, 1917-1918. Their images come from the microfilm copies made of these records. This is indicated in their description of the "Original Data:" Registration Affidavits of Alien Enemies and Alien Females for the District of Kansas under the Presidential Proclamations of November 16, 1917, and April 19, 1918. NARA microfilm publication M1997, 9 rolls. Records of United States Attorneys, Record Group 118. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

These records are also available digitally on the National Archives site and can be searched and viewed there at no charge.

• You can learn more about the Enemy Alien Registration Affidavits here
• You can search the National Archives digital images of the Enemy Alien Registrations here. 

There is a difference between the Ancestry.com images and the ones at the National Archives, other than the price. The National Archives images appear to be from digital photographs made of the images. 

Ancestry.com's image (unaltered)--click to view original size:

National Archives image (unaltered)-click to view original size:

A quick sample of two other images indicated similar differences. 

Bottom line: I'd use Ancestry.com images to search the database but look at the NARA images afterwards. The search at Ancestry.com is more robust and includes more names than the NARA site does.

Bottom line 2: Situations like this are why genealogists cite their sources accurately and completely, including the source of the digital image--not just citing only where the original is located.  

Citing Ancestry.com Databases and Images-QuickSheet

"Quick Sheet: Citing Ancestry.com(r) Databases & Images"

This quick guide to citing Ancestry.com's materials by Elizabeth Shown Mills will come in handy for me personally, particularly as I'm working on Casefile Clues. It is not meant to be a replacement for Mills' larger Evidence Explained. Instead it is a quick overview to citation forms for materials on Ancestry.com. The clever researcher could even use the templates for other online databases as well.

There is an electronic version of Mills' Evidence Explained, but sometimes I like things on paper. The print version of her book is too large for me to carry all over, but this quick sheet is nice to have handy. It is not a replacement for the book, as the book includes an excellent discussion of the philosophy behind citation, explanations of concerns with records, etc. This laminated sheet is something I will definitely use.

My Daily Sites

For those who don't know, I have three daily sites:

• Genealogy Tip of the Day--one how-to tip every day. 
• Daily Genealogy Transcriber--one piece of handwriting to read every day.
• Genealogy Search Tip of the Day--one database or online search technique--as I think of them--not every day. 

All are free!

Enjoy.

Two New Webinars-30% Discount-Free Brick Walls Webinar

Two new genealogy webinars were released over the weekend: The Missing 1840 Census and Using the BLM Site--DeedMapper is also a recent release.

Sunday and Monday purchase three webinars and get a 30% discount on your total order. Webinars are normally priced between $8 and $8.50. Use coupon code three to get your discount. Discount ends Monday at 11:00 PM central time .Don't wait.

Topics we have released include:

• Using the US Census at Ancestry.com
• Brick Walls From A to Z
• Seeing the Patterns
• Pig Blood In the Snow: Court Records
• Determining Your Own Migration Trail
• The Missing 1840 Census Enumeration
• Using the Bureau of Land Management Website
• Land Records in Federal Land States
• Barbara's Beaus and Gesche's Girls-1900s German Women in Illinois Case Study
• Using DeedMapper

Details of the presentation are on our site at:

http://rootdig.blogspot.com/2011/10/recorded-copies-of-recent-webinars.html

Media file and handout included. Don't wait--purchase three and use the code "three" to get your 30% discount.

Brick Walls from A to Z can be downloaded at no charge by using coupon code brickwall--while supplies las--it is limited to the first 100 downloads.

Thanks!

Michael

Searching the SSDI for a Death from 18 October 2011

My great-uncle, LeRoy Ufkes, passed away on 18 October 2011. I decided to see what versions of the Social Security Death Index contained hisentry as of 8:00 pm (more or less) central time today. Here are the results:

SSDI at GenealogyBank--yes.
RootsWeb SSDI--yes.
Ancestry.com--no.
FamilySearch--yes.
Fold3--yes

Searching the SSDI is free at all these sites.

How Soon Is the SSDI Updated on the Web?

Genealogists frequently use the Social Security Death Index in their research. It is compiled by the Social Security Administration and used by different businesses for a variety of purposes. I decided to see how up-to-date the versions used by genealogists are on various websites.

My great-aunt, Mildred Trautvetter, passed away on 1 November 2011. I decided to see what versions of the Social Security Death Index contained her entry as of 4:00 pm (more or less) central time today. Here are the results:

SSDI at GenealogyBank--yes.
RootsWeb SSDI--no.
Ancestry.com--no.
FamilySearch--no.
Fold3--no

Searching the SSDI is free at all these sites. I have memberships at GenealogyBank, Ancestry.com, and Fold3, but just wanted to see which was updated earliest.

The Missing 1840 Census Enumeration Webinar Recording

New webinar recording released:


The Missing 1840 Census Enumeration  (NEW!). This webinar discusses a couple "missing" from the 1840 Census in Ohio and how they were eventually found and the indirect evidence used. A good overview of using land records to solve a "non-land record" problem with some points along the way about organization and visualization. Media file and PDF handout included. Suggestions for additional research are also discussed. Add to cart. $8.50.


Several attendees said this session also provided a good overview of the actual use of land records--which were also used to prove a parentage in this example as well. 

Recent Deaths in the SSDI

I'm always amazed at how current the Social Security Death Index is sometimes. My great-aunt died on 1 November of this year (Mildred Trautvetter, there's only 1 in the index) and I noticed that today she is listed in the SSDI at GenealogyBank.

Copies of the SS5 form, the application for a Social Security Number are available from the Social Security Administration.

The image on this post is the SS5 card for my wife's grandmother who died in the 1980s. It is representative of information contained in the SS5 card.

 Copies of the SS5 forms for deceased individuals can be ordered from the Social Security Administration via their website.

You should search the  SSDI  first to obtain name, death date, social security number, etc.

Recorded copy of DeedMapper Webinar Available for Purchase

DeedMapper (NEW!) Geared for the person who is not familiar with DeedMapper--which maps properties described in metes and bounds, allows users to map multiple parcels on the same map, manipulate plats, insert background images. This works through one example and discusses other features of the program Handout and media file included--charge currently $8.50. Add to cart here.

Recorded Copy of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Website Available

Using the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Website (NEW!). You can purchase the recorded version of the webinar as a Windows media file and the handout as as PDF for $8.50. This lecture discusses effective search techniques for the site, how to formulate your searches, how to trouble-shoot searches, a search template, and what records patents in the BLM site can lead to

World War 2 Selective Service Records for "Traditional" Age Registrants

This was posted to my site years ago, but I'm creating a new post.

These are scans of the front and back of the World War II Selective Service Registration Card for my grandfather, Cecil Neill. This card is not a part of the "Old Men's Registration" that is available on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch. Grandpa was only 38 at the time and was not a part of that registration.

Information on obtaining these cards can be found on the Selective Service System website. The cards themselves for the World War II era are housed at the NARA facility in St. Louis. Cards for men born between 1877 and 1897 from the World War Two era are on FamilySearch (don't pay to access those--index is in progress here--all the cards are digitized here). The cards for men born after 1897 who registered for World War Two must be acquired through NARA in St. Louis, Missouri. Cards for men who are alive cannot be obtained except by the person himself. I obtained this card by proving (death certificate) that my grandfather was deceased.

The back of his card contains additional information:

I never really thought about how tall Grandpa was as I never met him, but it's listed on the card.

We'll have a post later on the Registration Record, which I also received.

Of course he's not bald-unfortunately that trait didn't get passed down to me.

The Third Grader's 1850 Census

From the Ancestry Daily News 
  Michael John Neill – 8/2/2000
Can't believe it has been eleven years since I wrote this...still pretty applicable.


------------------------------------------------
It started out in desperation. It was years ago, when I was behind on a deadline; my daughter wanted to "work" with me in my office. Unfortunately, this was not an afternoon when I had time to "play." I quickly printed out a blank family group chart, dug out a copy of an 1850 census entry for one of my families, and handed her the pages. The lessons she learned that afternoon are relevant to all of us.

Filling Out Charts and Estimating Dates

After explaining the family group chart, I told my daughter she could use the census to fill out some of the spaces on the chart. The census would not provide all the information, but would give a fair amount.

I told her each group listed in the census was a father, a mother, and their children. While people living in a household are not necessarily related in this fashion, I didn't want to confuse the budding genealogist (and I had to get back to my writing). The other reason for the exercise had nothing to do with explaining family connections: determining the years of birth would have required subtraction involving "borrowing," and this concept had been a little difficult for her in school.

I did not lecture her about frequently incorrect census ages, but I did tell her I always put an "about" in front of the year of birth when it has been obtained by subtraction. The calculation of the years of birth for the parents and the five children (sans calculator) would hopefully occupy several minutes.

Or so I thought.

Using the Original and Interpreting Old Handwriting

I unintentionally gave her another lesson: use the original. If I had really planned out the exercise, I would have given her a typed up transcription. As it was, she needed a little help reading and interpreting the census taker's handwriting. I told her that occasionally we have to guess at what letters are and go with our "hunches" about the names the census taker meant.

She had difficulty reading some of the ages, so we worked together to "guess" at what they were as best we could. We discussed how children are usually listed in the order of their ages and that this may be a clue, but that sometimes we still end up guessing. I told her this was one more reason for putting "about" in front of the year of birth when we use an age in the census to calculate it.

The places of birth, while abbreviated, were legible. So I figured that once I told her how to spell Kentucky and Indiana she would be occupied for a while. But then she asked, "What state was the eleventh state?"

"The eleventh state?" The only birthplaces in the family were Kentucky and Indiana, neither of which qualified as the eleventh state. I took a look at the census and understood. She was looking at a ditto mark (") in the birthplace column.

I explained that ditto marks were used when the census taker was too lazy to write down something more than once. I also indicated that ditto marks are not appropriate when doing grade school homework and that her teacher would not take kindly to being told that it worked for the guy with bad handwriting in the 1850 census.

Using Reference Materials

By now the chart pretty much contained all the information listed in the census. My daughter's next question was where the marriage information was located on the 1850 census. The chart had the blanks for this information, she asked me, so why didn't the census (at least there was logic behind her question)? I explained that the census did not ask all the information we would like and that we had to work with the information it did provide.

I mentioned that it was important to know where the information came from, and we looked at the top of the census page in order to do this. This also made it clearer where the family was living at the time of the census. I asked if she knew where Rush County, Indiana was. I knew she did not. So I instructed her to pull one of my reference books from the shelf so we could locate Rush County on a map.

True to genealogical form, she looked in the back for an index. Then we discussed scanning an entire book to determine how it is organized in order to make better use of it (an excellent genealogical skill, by the way). It was apparent that this book required us to locate the state in the table of contents and then locate the county in the section for the specific state. [I did not make the poor child read the preface (another excellent idea, especially when using secondary or compiled sources).]

Lastly, we found the other locations mentioned on the map in order to determine the relative proximity of the locations. We might also have discussed the rivers the family may have crossed during a move or the trails they likely took to get from one place to another (there were no interstates as we know them in the 1850s).

Genealogy Exercises for Children

The article I was working on was eventually finished, but not before I begged for an extra day and was up until 1:30 in the morning getting it finished. However, I re-learned some lessons while working on the census and also spent some time sharing and learning with my child. Not a bad way to spend a day.

But using a census record is not the only way a child can get involved in genealogical exercises. Here are some other suggested activities:

1) Search for various family members on Internet sites. This needs to be done with adult supervision and is best done with online databases, such as the Illinois State Marriage Index, the Indiana State Marriage Index, or the Social Security Death Index. Wildly searching the Web for your names via a search engine may NOT result in age-appropriate material. Typing skills and the importance of accuracy can be discussed. The fact that many people may have the same name can also be mentioned.

2) Set up a separate database for the child to use. Some children may actually want to enter some of the information in a computer database. Let them start with themselves, and let the process be fun. You can still discuss documentation, but not as formally as you would for yourself. Let them know that they need to list some source for everything they enter and that not every book can be trusted in the same way, just like adults cannot all be trusted in the same way. They may even figure out some aspects of the software that even you don't understand (you knew there was an ulterior motive!).

3) Draw pictures of ancestors. Prop up an old photograph where it can be seen, and get out the paper and the crayons. This is a good way to involve a younger child who might not be able to perform the tasks of an older child. I have quite a few of these pictures floating around.

In all you do, encourage your children; don't bore them with stories. Family history can be a family project, but not all family members will be equally interested—that's human nature. However, you can make your stories interesting if you keep them short and age- appropriate. My own relative's involvement in a Virginia election "scandal" in the 1740s made for an excellent SHORT discussion about how there was a time when only men (and not all men) could vote, and about how those who could vote had to say publicly who they were voting for—there was no private booth. History is extremely interesting, especially when it is made relevant.

Involve the younger members of your family in your research—don't just tell them what you find out. After all, how long can you listen as someone tells research stories? Children are even less inclined to sit still and listen; active involvement is better. Besides, through involvement, you may cultivate a life-long interest in that child. But most important, if you spend some time involving your child in your research, you are strengthening a bond with a living family member.

Today only, buy 1 recorded genealogy webinar today, get 1 free. Check out our web page for more information.

Using US Passenger Lists at Ancestry.com

We've added another genealogy webinar for 18 November. The topic this time will be "Using US Passenger Lists at Ancestry.com." We will look at a brief overview of the records on Ancestry.com, but our real focus will be on searching these records. I will discuss research techniques, how to search effectively, and how to organize your search.

The time of the webinar is 1:00 PM central time. Those who are unable to attend can pre-order a download after it has been recorded. Registrations can be processed here.

Getting Around Missing Ancestry.com Locations

For those who have read my blog posts on missing locations in the drop-down menu on the search interface at Ancestry.com, I've posted a blog entry about it on my Genealogy Search Tip of the Day blog at http://genealogysearchtip.blogspot.com/2011/11/getting-around-those-missing.html