The NorthEast
Ohio Computer-Aided Genealogy Society
QUARTERLY
A Summary of Events and Topics of Interest to Online Genealogists
Vol. 12 No. 3--July 1, 2007
compiled by Luther Olson
NorthEast Ohio
Computer-Aided Genealogy [NEOCAG] serves Eastern Cuyahoga,
Lake, Geauga,
Ashtabula, Portage & Summit Counties.
Regular meetings 2nd Saturday of each month
St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church
435 S.O.M. Road, Mayfield Village, OH.
Jerry Kliot -- President
CONTENTS
> Revolutionary War
Pension Files Will Be Available for Free at All Family History Centers
Worldwide
> World Vital Records
Databases Added Recently
>
Some Thoughts About Publishing Your Genealogy Data
> Hands-on / Track your flight in 3D
>
WeRelate.Org Aims to Be No. 1 Genealogy Web Site
>
Ancestry.Com Puts 90M War Records Online
> Google Expands Office Software
>
Google Officially Taking On Microsoft in Apps
>
FamilyLink: New Genealogy Collaboration Web Site
> Revolutionary War
Pension Files Will Be Available for Free at All Family History Centers
Worldwide
Source: Footnote,
Inc. Tuesday May 15, 6:15 am ET
LINDON,
Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Footnote.com announced an agreement with
FamilySearch, historically known as the Genealogical Society of Utah, a
nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch is the world's largest repository of
genealogical information.
This
new partnership brings together two organizations that will utilize
their combined resources to digitize and make available many large
historical collections. The first project will be the three million
U.S. Revolutionary War Pension files which will be published for the
first time online in their entirety.
"The
Revolutionary War Pensions will provide an intimate look into the
historical events and individuals that shaped our country's history,"
said Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com . "We are excited about this
relationship which enables us to put many more historical collections
online."
The
Revolutionary War Pension Files feature original records that include
muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns and other miscellaneous
personnel pay and supply records of American Army Units from 1775-1783.
They provide a wealth of new information for historians and
genealogists which they can share with other colleagues and family
members.
"We
are excited to partner with Footnote.com to provide historians and
genealogists alike a tremendous source of data that will assist greatly
in putting puzzle pieces together to create a rich family history,"
said Paul Nauta, manager of Public Affairs for FamilySearch. "This
affiliation allows us to better meet one of our goals to provide as
much data online as fast as possible for those working on their
genealogy."
Also,
as a part of this agreement, Footnote.com will be accessible for free
in all FamilySearch operated centers worldwide. FamilySearch has more
than 4,500 Family History Centers in 70 countries.
Since
partnering with the National Archives in January 2007, Footnote.com has
digitized over eight million historical records. Each month an
additional two million documents are digitized and added to the site.
Footnote.com estimates that by the end of 2007 it will have made over
25 million digitized documents available on its web site.
To see free examples of the
Revolutionary War Pension Files, go to
www.footnote.com/revolutionary-war.php.
Footnote.com
has now begun offering free seven-day trial memberships. To start a
free trial, visit www.footnote.com/freetrial.php
About Footnote, Inc.
Founded
in 1997 as iArchives, Inc., Footnote is a subscription-based website
that features searchable original documents that provide users with an
unaltered view of the events , places and people that shaped the
American nation and the world. At Footnote.com all are invited to come
to share, discuss, and collaborate on their discoveries with friends,
family, and colleagues. For more information, visit www.footnote.com.
About Family Search
FamilySearch
(historically known Genealogical Society of Utah) is a nonprofit
organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. FamilySearch maintains the world's largest repository of
genealogical resources accessed through FamilySearch.org, the Family
History Library in Salt Lake City, and over 4,500 family history
centers in 70 countries.
>
World Vital Records Databases Added Recently
World Vital Records, Volume 1, Issue 35 May 18,
2007
Allegations for Marriage Licenses
Issued by the Bishop of London, 1520 to 1828, Volume 1 (Free Until May
26, 2007)
A Selection of Wills From the
Registry At York (Free Until May 25, 2007)
Baptisms, Marriages and Burials
of Saint Ignace Parish Willow Bunch, Saskatchewan 1882-1910 (Free Until
May 25, 2007)
Cassell's Gazetteer of Great
Britain and Ireland, Volume 2 (Free Until May 25, 2007)
Cassell's Gazetteer of Great
Britain and Ireland, Volume 1 (Free Until May 25, 2007)
Dictionnaire Topographique Du
Department de l'Eure (Free Until May 25, 2007)
Itinerary of the Seventh Ohio
Volunteer Infantry 1861-1864 (Free Until May 25, 2007)
Staffordshire
pedigrees based on the visitation of that county made by William
Dugdale, esquire, Norroy king of arms in the years 1663-1664 (Free
Until May 26, 2007)
The
Mackinac Register (St-Ignace de Michilimakinak) Baptisms 1695-1821;
Marriages 1725-1821; and Burials 1743-1806 (Free Until May 25, 2007)
White Cloud Kansas Chief Births,
Marriages, Deaths and other News Items and Events from 1857 - 1871
(Free Until May 23, 2007)
Upcoming databases:
(Specific data sets will be
announced as they are launched.)
* Transcriptions of church
records from Denmark
* Immigration records from
Switzerland
* Vital statistics from Canada
* German land records
* Hungarian land records
* Vital statistics from England
* Scottish ancestry records
* Historical records from Ireland
World Vital Records Seeks Individuals to be on International Advisory Boards
WorldVitalRecords.com
is in the process of forming international advisory boards with experts
for every country who are closely tied to the genealogy field who have
connections to others genealogists, have memberships in a variety of
genealogical associations, and/or have expertise in genealogy.
WorldVitalRecords.com
is dedicated to working with all genealogy and family history companies
in providing access to national and international data sets.
We
are eager to listen to experts and our users to learn more about the
genealogy needs they have that are not being met and to assist with
those needs.
Individuals
who are interested in becoming a member of one of our international
advisory board should send an email to yvette@worldvitalrecords.com.
More than 4,500 FamilySearch
Family History Centers throughout the world will now have free access
to WorldVitalRecords.com
Provo,
UT, May 16, 2007 --- More than 4,500 FamilySearch Family History
Centers throughout the world will now have free access to
WorldVitalRecords.com's genealogical records and resources, as a result
of an agreement signed between FamilySearch (TM) and
WorldVitalRecords.com.
"We
are looking for a new breed of genealogy websites that are willing to
work with FamilySearch to meet the needs and interests of record
custodians and our patrons. WorldVitalRecords.com was uniquely
positioned because of its rapid growth in the industry and potential
for success, along with additional genealogical providers to fill this
void. We are certain this agreement with WorldVitalRecords.com will
greatly benefit a worldwide audience of genealogists with this free
service," said Paul Nauta, Manager of Public Affairs, FamilySearch (TM).
WorldVitalRecords.com
will provide a vast collection of genealogical materials including
vital, land, immigration, and military records; newspapers,
international databases, and a collection of reference material.
WorldVitalRecords.com
also partnered with Everton Publishers last year to provide the Everton
Genealogical Library containing numerous databases, as well as 60 years
of the Everton Genealogical Helper and 150,000 Everton Pedigree Files
and Family Group Sheets.
"At
Everton we are excited about the fact that for the first time,
genealogists have easy access to tens of thousands of queries, family
group sheets, pedigree charts, and more from the past 60 years of the
Genealogical Helper," said Leland Meitzler, Managing Editor, Everton
Publishers.
Quintin Publications Partners With WorldVitalRecords.com To Make Thousands of Genealogical Databases Accessible
Quintin Publications to receive increased exposure and reach new audience from partnership with WorldVitalRecords.com.
Provo,
UT, May 16, 2007 --- Quintin Publications announced a partnership with
WorldVitalRecords.com today to provide access to thousands of
genealogical and historical databases.
"We
chose to partner with WorldVitalRecords.com because we have watched
their solid pattern of growth and felt it would be an excellent venue
for the material we have collected and enhanced during the past 30
years," said Phil Quintin, President, Quintin Publications.
As
part of the partnership, Quintin Publications will provide
WorldVitalRecords with more than 10,000 books and articles.
WorldVitalRecords.com will OCR (optical character reading), and index
the material, and then make it available on its site.
"We
have been looking at Quintin Publications' material for quite a while
and have been anxious to collaborate with them," said David Lifferth,
President, WorldVitalRecords.com.
Quintin
Publications' extensive collection of records includes state vital
records, town and county histories, family histories, historical maps
and gazetteers, modern publications by genealogists (after 1923), and
international works.
Historic Ellis Island Passenger Records Receive Expanded Online Access at WorldVitalRecords.com
May
16, 2007 (Ellis Island, NY and Provo, UT) - - The Statue of
Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., World Vital Records, Inc. and
FamilySearch announced today at the National Genealogical Society
Conference a partnership whereby the historic collection of Ellis
Island passenger arrival records will now also be freely available to
visitors of the www.worldvitalrecords.com and www.familylink.com
websites.
"This
is an exciting time in the long history of American immigration," noted
Stephen A. Briganti, President and CEO of The Statue of Liberty-Ellis
Island Foundation. "Last month we celebrated the 100th anniversary of
the busiest day at Ellis Island by hosting our annual Ellis Island
Family Heritage Awards. Today, we're pleased to announce the expanded
availability of passenger arrival records which the Foundation has
continued to provide at Ellis Island and as a free service online since
first introducing the database in April 2001." The records document the
arrival of 25 million immigrants, U.S. citizens, and crew members
arriving through the Port of New York from 1892 to 1924.
According
to Briganti, the initial project was made possible through corporate
and private donations, most notably by FamilySearch, a nonprofit
organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. More than 12,000 FamilySearch volunteers donated 5.6 million
hours over a 7-year period to transcribe nearly 25 million passenger
records.
2 year World Vital Records'
Membership Just $48
+ Free Everton Handybook Download
+ Free Ancestral Quest 12
Genealogy Software
Contact:
Snapp Conner PR for
Footnote.com
Jeremy Kartchner,
801-994-9625
jeremy@snappconner.com
or
Family Search
Paul Nauta,
801-240-6498
nautapg@ldschurch.org
>
Some Thoughts About Publishing Your Genealogy Data
Posted by Dick
Eastman, May 03, 2007
Watching
the comments posted to this newsletter's web site prompts many
questions: Just how private are the facts that we record? Can we really
"protect" our genealogy data? Should I copyright my data? Is my data
automatically under copyright protection when I publish? Should I keep
my data secret? Is it a good idea to do so? Or should I publish my
genealogy data for all to see?
I do not know all the answers,
but perhaps I can offer a few thoughts for your digestion.
First
of all, there is one major issue that we all need to recognize: facts
are not protected by copyright laws in the United States. A collection
of facts is public domain information. We might be able to claim a
copyright on the originality used in arranging of those facts, and we
might be able to claim a compilation copyright on large collections of
facts; but each individual fact remains in the public domain.
Next,
there is the question of exactly what is "my data." The genealogy data
that I have collected consists of a collection of facts. As already
stated, facts are not "owned" or copyrighted by anyone. I don't own
that information, at least not in the legal sense.
Next,
most of the genealogy data we collect is obtained from public domain
sources. I know that I obtained most of my information from birth
records, marriage records, census records, military pension
applications, and more. All of these are public domain sources of
information and are already available to others, should they wish to
look. In no way is the data to be considered "my private data" as I
have no ownership over it. I simply transcribed data that is already in
the public domain. I copied the information for my personal use, the
same way anyone else can do by spending the same effort that I did to
find the original (public) records. Therefore, it is not "my" data, it
is everyone's public domain data that I happened to transcribe.
In
a few cases, I may have supplemented those public facts with even more
information that I obtained from family members or other non-public
sources. Indeed, I did obtain a few pieces of information from a family
Bible in my possession, information that has never been published
before. However, the U.S. laws still insist that facts cannot be
copyrighted. I interpret this to mean that facts are facts, regardless
of the source of information. Whether I obtain a fact from a public
record or from a private conversation or from an ancestor's Bible, it
is still a fact, is not subject to copyright, and is not owned by me. A
family relationship that I learned from a cousin is also a fact, not my
"private" bit of information.
Next,
what is the purpose of my hiding the information? Am I protecting
anybody or any facts? As already mentioned, the facts are mostly public
already. Most facts are readily available in public domain census
records, birth records, death records and other locations.
I
cannot "protect" those facts. In the case of deceased people, I don't
see how I am protecting anyone. I never publicize information about
living people; so, whether I publish my data online or not, I am not
protecting anyone.
(There
might be one exception here: by not publishing I am protecting myself
from the embarrassment of others finding errors in my research efforts.)
I
have seen arguments that "Other people may take my data and republish
it." In my mind, that's a good thing. If I have done a good job of
research, wouldn't I want the correct information to be available to
other descendants of these people, my distant cousins?
Next,
I have seen arguments that "Other people publish inaccurate
information, so I don't trust them and I will not publish my
information." This strikes me as self-defeating: you are allowing their
inaccurate information to remain unchallenged and uncorrected. When
others search the web, they will find incorrect information and will
probably perpetuate it by republishing those errors themselves. If you
have correct information, it seems to me that you could do more good by
publishing the correct information and thereby refuting the errors.
If
you collect stories about the family and retell them in narrative form,
you may be able to claim copyrights and "ownership" of those stories.
However, that ownership excludes the facts buried within the stories.
Facts are still facts and are not protected by copyrights or by any
other legal protections in the United States.
Again, I do not have all the
answers; but there is one thing that I am certain of: private
individuals do not own "facts."
COMMENTS
Good
points. Up until recently, publishing information online was simply a
one-way information flow, but I think we're starting to see the point
where collaboration online is becoming more popular. That way,
hopefully fewer inaccuracies will be perpetuated.
I
can appreciate the comment, however, that "other people take my
information and republish it." In my experience, most people aren't
really upset about the republication necessarily, but about the cases
where no credit is given to them for their countless hours of work. Do
any of the following opinions agree with your philosophy?
LO
When
I was still fairly new to genealogy, I was more protective of my
research (on which I'd already spent countless hours and dollars),
thinking maybe I'd write a book or something and be the first to
"break" some of the stories. I used to share it freely with relatives,
but not post it publicly.
But
now, I share and post almost everything (except of course information
on the living), having long ago concluded that the benefits outweigh
the drawbacks (and that the protectiveness was just silly):
PROS:
+
Publishing my research improves my chances of contact from other
relatives (however distant), and researchers with overlapping interests
(places, historical events, military units, etc.)
+ Much of my research is
automatically backed up by publishing it, and it is much more likely to
survive over time.
CONS:
-
People will use my research privately and never contact me. This is the
most unfortunate aspect. I know from web site statistics that many
people spend a lot of time looking at my research, but too often it
doesn't show up anywhere else publicly and I don't get email about it.
-
People will use my research and, by not at least indicating that it
came from somewhere else, pass it off as their own. I don't even want
my name (and especially not my email address) plastered all over, but
it's not hard for someone sharing my research to put a link to my
Rootsweb tree where they found it.
I
think everyone should ask themselves why they do genealogy, and then
consider whether their research and publication styles match those
reasons.
Posted by: Dave Grow
| May 03, 2007 at 10:43 PM
What
I have done could be of help here: Publish your information, inviting
collaboration. Withhold your citations, but offer them in exchange for
collaborative efforts.
Oh,
and stories? Ahhh, these are great enticements to collaboration. I've
done a couple where I did not give the name of the mystery ancestor or
relative. I made it a puzzler for the family (and lurkers) to reason
out. Great fun! And one of the stories led to some unknown leads and
information.
Keep your mind sharp and your
eyes open for such opportunities. They are all around us.
Happy Dae
May 04, 2007
www.ShoeStringGenealogy.com/ssg1.htm
I've
published two web sites (both of which now need updating because of
lots of new data on side lineages) and I'm working on a third (and I
never put data about living relatives online; I keep that in a separate
database). On the home pages of each web site I acknowledge the
collaborative efforts and people who have helped me in one way or
another over the last nearly 45 years of genealogy research. Genealogy
research is not done in a vacuum, it's almost always a collaborative
effort, and I've been given everything from tips on where and how to
find info from strangers in libraries at microfilm viewers sitting next
to me to having been send .jpgs of documents by other researchers (and
I return the favor when I can; I've a network of individuals who have
collaborated on lots of data on one of my genealogy lineages and we've
shared our data and documents with each other).
I
do want to share my information, and I publish bibliographic citations
with quotes from books and URLs of public data I've found for each
individual if it's online, so my sources are credited, even if the info
is in the public domain or there's duplicate info online of data I've
found in books. That way anyone who wants to can check out my sources
if they have incorrect data from somewhere else - or, they can correct
me if someone thinks I've found incorrect info, but they have to be
able to verify what they say and/or send me bibliographic citations or
.jpgs of documents if they challenge my sources - I do not go by
repeated stories from any old great-aunt when I've found documents that
directly contradict what her great-niece three times removed says - I
love old family stories, but not all of them are accurate. I'm not as
concerned with finding living relatives as I am about publishing
correct data. I'm aware of some incorrect info about some ancestors and
I want the correct information "out there."
Not
giving me credit for finding data someone else uses as their own (not
"real" genealogy researchers in my book, but copiers) kind of hurts,
since, like others, I've spent countless hours and buku bucks on my
research, but I have to develop a thick skin and console myself that
I've tried to publish only facts that are correct, and at least that
may rectify the incorrect data I know is published elsewhere.
The
only thing I have to do in my old age is decide where my genealogy
papers go when I die someday. I may have to make CDs and distribute
them to county historical societies or history centers in various areas
where some of these people lived. I've not finished doing genealogy
research and I don't know when or if I'll ever "finish" it, but I've
got rather complete data on many individuals (with supporting
documents) and don't know how much I'll be able to add in the future.
Still, I need to make my wishes known and leave the information to
organizations where it may benefit someone else in a couple of hundred
years.
Posted by: Bev
Anderson | May 04, 2007
Never
trust anybody with your data. I had the unpleasant experience of
sharing data on common relatives with a cousin of mine as we had common
3 x great-grandparents. About a month after contact with this relative,
I found my data submitted to Rootsweb including details of living
people without any permission. I had a devil of a time trying to get
the relative to remove the information from rootsweb but eventually he
did. The worst part of all this was that about six months after, the
same relative submitted the same data including living relatives to
Pedigree Resource File which as you may know cannot be removed.
Needless to say that I was riled and now regret having contacted that
relative in the first place. Moral of the story, under no circumstances
should you ever share details of living people with anybody outside
your family circle.
Posted by: Bradley
Martin | May 04, 2007
I see your points and agree with
your statements about facts being public domain.
Personally
I'm a firm believer in open source research and try to share everything
I have available, including old stories and letters that have been
passed down to me. The only exception being when it involves living
people or somebody sends me an old letter they don't want shared
outside the family. In that case I'll quote the pertinent portion of
the letter and state in an appendix or addendum the source is private
but available with permission.
If
I have the original letter in my personal collection there’s no
question as to my right to publish it. If someone sends me a copy of an
original letter from their own collection, I feel a responsibility to
get permission to publish it.
Even
in old letters you find errors. If you can post a graphic of the
original on webpage and use a metascript to draw the attention of
search engines, it sometimes generates new sources, which can either
collaborate or correct the story. Sure you may develop a personal
relationship with some of your ancestor’s old letters. But I’ve found
sharing them openly usually develops a much better understanding of the
subject than one would have if they held the letters back from other
researchers.
In
the past you’ve given me some excellent advice in formatting narratives
with unverified information. Some people won’t publish information that
cannot be supported. I feel it’s like the question no one ever asks, so
it’s never answered. If you publish it as an obviously unsupported
fact, you’re asking the question and essentially inviting others to
share what they may know about the subject. This comes up a lot when
examining old letters, which some people may feel they want to hold
back.
As
far as perpetuating false information, it’s going to happen no matter
what I do. It’s been happing since at least 1901 in our family.
Genealogy is research by its nature, anyone who doesn’t attempt to
verify facts found in other studies, isn’t a researcher they’re a
transcriber and they get what they deserve.
Posted by: Matthew
Bivins Rogers | May 04, 2007
I
used to hold back from publishing online.....thinking one day I'd have
the definitive genealogy with all facts supported with citations,
scanned certificates, etc. I figured I'd publish once everything was
done. Foolish at best, for nobody ever really finishes a genealogy.
Now
I just publish everything online: on Ancestry ( I don't care if they
charge), FamilySearch (I don't care if they baptize my great-great
grandparents after-the-fact), and GenCircles. Why? Because there are no
guarantees in life. Any one of us could drop dead tomorrow. I've spent
too much time and effort to have it all end up on a crashed hard-drive
or on a password-protected backup drive nobody else will even care
about when I'm gone. Don't flatter yourself that any of your heirs will
share your passion about great-grandma Smith's actual birth date. They
just want to know how much money you left them.
My ancestors took the family
history to the grave, I don't need to repeat that error.
Posted by: Gary |
May 04, 2007
> Hands-on / Track your flight in 3D
By Kent German –
April 26, 2007
(Credit:
FboWeb.com)I'm a big fan of Google Earth and have been known to spend
hours just cruising around the globe. But now I fear I'll spend even
more online aerial time with my recent discovery of one of the coolest
Web apps in the universe. You've probably heard of Web sites like
FboWeb and FlightAware that allow you to track the position of an
airline flight and see data like the plane's speed and altitude. While
that's cool enough by itself, the map is a boring two-dimensional
graphic that shows little beyond state boundaries and the flight's
origin and destination. But then the other day I discovered that FboWeb
offers a 3D tracker in conjunction with my beloved Google Earth. Trust
me, it's completely awesome.
After
downloading a layer from FboWeb.com and opening Google Earth, you
almost become an airplane yourself. Rather than looking at a simple dot
on a map, you can zoom in on the tiny plane-shaped icons and sweep
around them as they fly above the virtual landscape. It's all in real
time and the icons (all aircraft in a 30-mile radius) continuously move
across the sky as their positions changes. So if Aunt Jenny is flying
in from O'Hare for a visit, you can see exactly where she is above the
planet.
FboWeb
offers a few options. You can track a specific flight or ask to see all
flights en route to a specific airport. Only the larger U.S. airports
are supported but it's pretty fun to see a line of flights lined up for
an LAX arrival. Each plane is labeled with its airline and flight
number (though the airline is abbreviated) while the route the flight
has traveled is displayed with a solid line. Occasionally, the GPS
tracking can be a bit erratic; indeed I watched a United Airlines
flight doing wild zigzags above San Francisco, but it's remarkably
effective most of the time. By clicking on an individual flight you can
get such information as its destination airport, and you can even see
all flights in the air over the United States at once (a mind-blowing
number to say the least). Plus, you're able to see elements such as
restricted airspace.
The
best thing about the service is it's completely free if you have Google
Earth, which is a free download as well. Check it out as it's
definitely worth the trip (so to speak).
Posted on: Tuesday,
17 April 2007 (c) 2007 Cincinnati
Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights
Reserved.
Recently,
the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne,
Ind., and the Foundation for On-line Genealogy formed a progressive
partnership for the purpose of operating an expansive social networking
Web site called WeRelate.org. The goal, as noted on the site's home
page, is "to be the number one community Web site for genealogy."
This
free resource combines many innovative and interactive features which
will provide Internet-savvy family historians with vast
resource-sharing opportunities, totally free of charge.
For
those who are unfamiliar with social networking terms, WeRelate.org
defines wikis as "a type of Internet software that helps multiple users
share information by allowing them to easily create and edit Web pages,
without needing advanced computer skills."
Currently,
WeRelate.org has more than 430,000 wiki pages for both historical and
current places, and 115,000 given and surname wiki pages.
The
site also serves as a sharing platform, allowing genealogists to upload
detailed family histories, annotated photographs and scanned images of
original documents.
According
to a recent announcement featured in Eastman's Online Genealogy
Newsletter, in just the past few weeks, WeRelate.org has uploaded over
73,000 ancestor wiki pages. The site also features a powerful search
engine which targets genealogy-specific content.
Upon
entering various keywords or other search terms of their choice -- such
as surnames, given names or locations -- researchers will be able to
view results canvassed from more than 6 million genealogy Web pages as
well as many library catalog items from off-line sources such as the
Family History Library Catalog. WeRelate.org
also makes it much easier for genealogists to upload their
family trees, connect with others researching the same lines, and share
resources with other genealogists across the nation.
For
those interested in learning more about the site's online,
collaborative opportunities for genealogical resource sharing,
WeRelate.org can be found at http://www.werelate.org/wiki/
Main_Page.
Genealogy
tips are provided by the Kentucky history staff of the Kenton County
Public Library. This tip was provided by Jan Mueller. Contact the
library's local history department by calling (859) 962- 4085 or via
e-mail at history@kentonlibrary.org . The
library's genealogy Web site can be found at http://www.kentonlibrary.org/
genealogy.
> Ancestry.Com Puts 90M War Records Online
By DONNA BORAK, AP
Business Writer Thu May 24, 10:00 AM ET
WASHINGTON
- For every generation in this country there has been a war. And with
wars come millions of records that can shed light on family history,
detailing everything from the color of soldiers' eyes to what their
neighbors may have said about them.
On
Thursday, Ancestry.com unveils more than 90 million U.S. war records
from the first English settlement at Jamestown in 1607 through the
Vietnam War's end in 1975. The site also has the names of 3.5 million
U.S. soldiers killed in action, including 2,000 who died in Iraq.
"The
history of our families is intertwined with the history of our
country," Tim Sullivan, chief executive of Ancestry.com, said in a
telephone interview. "Almost every family has a family member or a
loved one that has served their country in the military."
The
records, which can be accessed free until the anniversary of D-Day on
June 6, came from the National Archives and Records Administration and
include 37 million images, draft registration cards from both world
wars, military yearbooks, prisoner-of-war records from four wars, unit
rosters from the Marine Corps from 1893 through 1958, and Civil War
pension records, among others.
The
popularity of genealogy in the U.S. has increased steadily alongside
the Internet's growth. Specialized search engines on sites like
Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com and FamilySearch.com, along with general
search portals like Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) and Google Inc.,
have helped fuel interest.
"The
Internet has created this massive democratization in the whole family
history world," said Megan Smolenyak, chief family historian for
Ancestry.com. "It's like a global game of tag."
Ancestry.com,
which is owned by Generations Network, spent $3 million to digitize the
military records. It took nearly a year, including some 1,500
handwriting specialists racking up 270,000 hours to review the oldest
records.
The
10-year-old Provo, Utah-based company doesn't have every U.S. military
record. Over the past four centuries, some have been lost or destroyed.
Some records remain classified.
However,
this is the first time a for-profit Web site is featuring this many
military records as part of a $100 million investment in what Sullivan
says is the largest genealogy Web site with 900,000 paying subscribers.
He joined Ancestry.com 18 months ago after leaving the CEO post at
online dating giant Match.com.
After June 6, users can pay
$155.40 a year for unlimited access to thousands of U.S. record
databases, Sullivan said.
Budget
constraints and a long list of unfinished priorities have limited
federal efforts to make roughly 9 billion public documents available
online, said National Archives spokeswoman Susan Cooper.
"In
a perfect world, we would do all this ourselves and it would up there
for free," she said. "While we continue to work to make our materials
accessible as widely as possible, we can't do everything."
Subscribers
can set up their own family tree pages on the Ancestry.com site and
combine personal information with public records from the site. If they
want to restrict access to their pages, privacy controls are available.
And information posted about people who were born after 1922, or people
born earlier but who are still alive, is automatically blocked from
public view.
As
for public records that contain what family members might not want the
rest of the world to see, there's little recourse involving records on
the deceased. Privacy laws don't cover public records of the dead.
Most
novice genealogists, however, seem to be more interested in finding out
whether they're related to battlefield heroes than they are worried
about embarrassing revelations.
Loren
Whitney, 30, a software engineer at the company since 2002, has been
tracking his family's military history for seven years and discovered a
relative going back seven generations from the newest records.
Whitney,
an Arkansas native, learned that his mother's third-great-grandfather
Thomas Bingham served in the Mormon Battalion to help the U.S. Army in
the Mexican War around 1846. That discovery led to Bingham's
great-grandfather, Capt. David Perry, who had published chronicles of
the French and Indian War in 1819.
"It's
exhilarating to find these connections and to see how other people's
lives have connected with yours in the way they put you in the
situation and circumstances that you are in," Whitney said.
Professional
historian Curt Witcher recommends that people have fun and maintain
realistic expectations when it comes to genealogy.
A
small percentage of amateurs "have this hope, this aspiration, this
belief, they've arrived at Mecca and in a few minutes we'll bring the
golden tablets out," Witcher said. Most of the time they find out
relatives weren't historical celebrities.
Professional
researchers, like Witcher, though praise Ancestry.com and other sites
that have put vast collections of public data online.
"Bureaucracies
generate paper and for researchers that is golden," said Witcher,
manager of the historical genealogy department at the Allen County
Public Library in Fort Wayne, Ind. He oversees the second-largest
genealogical library in the world, and his library helps more than
82,000 people a year authenticate family trees.
As
fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan continues, there seems to be a natural
draw to tales of military ancestry, a desire to preserve history.
William
Endicott, an 81-year-old veteran who served in the 33rd Infantry
division of Illinois in World War II, researched his family tree for
two decades and found out that his great-grandparents traveled across
the Oregon Trail during the 1870s to settle in Eastern Oregon.
Endicott
said he tells his veteran buddies all the time: "Our memories are
dimming at the ages that we are. Get your history down."
(This version CORRECTS name of
Ancestry.com's parent company to Generations Network.) )
> Google Expands Office Software
Copyright © 2007 The
Associated Press. Google
Inc. plans to launch software similar to Microsoft Corp.'s popular
PowerPoint program as the two companies vie to dominate the online
experience. Google
Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Schmidt described the software
Tuesday at a conference for Internet entrepreneurs. He also blasted
Microsoft and AT&T Inc., whose executives complained over the
weekend that Google may soon have an illegal monopoly in online
advertising. Google
announced Friday it would pay $3.1 billion to acquire ad-management
technology company DoubleClick Inc. Almost as soon as Google announced
the cash acquisition, Microsoft and AT&T executives said the deal
could violate antitrust legislation — and result in a dangerous
concentration of Internet users' personal data at Mountain View-based
Google. But Schmidt,
noting that Microsoft and AT&T have had their share of antitrust
skirmishes, retorted, "Give me a break." "They're wrong,"
Schmidt said. "It's false." The
verbal volleys come as Microsoft and Google escalate the rivalry to
control how people use the Internet. Microsoft has long dominated the
computer desktop with its Windows operating system. But people are
increasingly using home pages, bookmarks, search engines and other
Web-based programs to determine where they shop, how they communicate
and how they play videos, music and movies. The
two companies already offer e-mail, word processing and spreadsheet
programs, and other tools. Google's new presentation software will
compete against Microsoft's ubiquitous PowerPoint software that's part
of its popular Office suite. "This
completes what most users of PCs consider the Office suite," said John
Battelle, who leads Federated Media Publishing and grilled Schmidt
about the product at the conference. Microsoft
spokeswoman Lisa Koetz said competition is good for customers, and
Microsoft is listening to the 450 million people who use Microsoft
Office to ensure it is meeting their needs. "The
success we are seeing with the 2007 release of Microsoft Office tells
us we are heading in the right direction," Koetz said. People
use Google's software over the Internet and can simply log in from any
computer through a Web browser, while Microsoft Office must be
installed on an individual computer. Google
would not release more details about the presentation software, though
product manager Rajen Sheth said users would be able to store documents
online and let anyone with a free Google account view the slides,
spreadsheets or documents online. Google
will give away two versions of the presentation software starting this
summer, and it will sell a "Premier" version with extra storage for $50
per year. The presentation program is part of Google Docs &
Spreadsheets, which the company has been unveiling piecemeal for nearly
a year. Schmidt, who used
a beta version to flash slides at the conference, downplayed the
Microsoft rivalry. "It
does not have all the functionality nor is it intended to have all
functionality of Microsoft Office," he said, but quickly added, "It
seems to be a better fit to how people use the Web." Google
announced the acquisition Tuesday of Tonic Systems Inc., a startup
based in San Francisco and Melbourne, Australia. The company
specializes in collaborative presentation software and is expected to
contribute to future versions to Google's productivity suite. Financial
terms were not disclosed. Google
shares fell $1.47 to close Tuesday at $472.80 on the Nasdaq Stock
Market, where Microsoft shares gained 12 cents to $28.85. Google Inc.:
http://www.google.com >
Google Officially Taking On Microsoft in Apps Jennifer LeClaire,
newsfactor.com, Fri May 11 The
analyst speculation is over. Google has admitted that it is planning to
go head-to-head with Microsoft in the software market. Analysts are now
discussing whether Google could actually win. In
the annual shareholders' meeting at Google headquarters on Thursday,
CEO Eric Schmidt told reporters that the search titan has changed its
tagline and its target. The new tagline will be "Search, Ads, and
Apps." It's that last word in the trio that might concern Microsoft. Google
launched Google Apps in August 2006 as a suite of free applications
that competed, at least partially, with Microsoft Office. It includes
Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, and a Start Page feature for
creating a customizable home page on a specific domain. In
February, Google took another step into Microsoft territory when it
launched a premier edition for $50 per user account. Google Apps now
supports Gmail on BlackBerry handheld devices. And it also incorporates
Google Docs & Spreadsheets. Gnawing at Microsoft But
it's the Internet-based benefits that Schmidt was pushing at the
briefing. He told reporters that computer owners have lost data when
personal computers crash and offered Google's Internet-based
applications as a remedy for data disaster. "What you would prefer is a
trusted partner to keep all the information and have it for you on
every device," he told reporters. That's
Schmidt's opinion. The market will have the final say in the matter.
However, according to Google, more than 100,000 small businesses are
already using the free services, and the company is wooing big-name
enterprises to its paid version. Procter
& Gamble Business Services and General Electric are among the
charter enterprise customers for Google Apps. Salesforce.com and
Prudential Preferred Properties are also early adopters of the premier
edition. A Race Between Giants Google
Apps isn't as rich a suite as Microsoft Office is, but Google doesn't
have to provide applications with the same richness as Microsoft to win
in an all-out battle for the desktop, according to Brad Shimmin, an
analyst at Current Analysis. "Business
no longer select productivity applications based upon the number of
preinstalled fonts or levels of 'undo,'" he noted. "Rather, they wish
to choose their software based primarily upon compatibility and
agility, two areas where Microsoft has fallen short in recent years." While
Microsoft is just now investigating hosted applications with Microsoft
Dynamics Live and BizTalk Services products and technologies, Shimmin
continued, Google has been in the business of providing hosted,
single-instance, multitenent solutions since 2004 and 2005, when the
company introduced Gmail and AdSense. "The
race between these two giants will come down to this: Microsoft must
learn how to host software, retrofitting its own solutions for
consumption as services," Shimmin concluded. "And Google must provide
compelling, service-based applications that rival Microsoft's in
capability, while preserving compatibility and flexibility." >
FamilyLink: New Genealogy Collaboration Web Site FamilyLink.com Whitney Ransom 801-377-0588 FamilyLink,
the newest social genealogy networking Web site created to rapidly link
people across the world, will have its beta launch on Wednesday, April
18. With FamilyLink, geographic and language barriers are minimized to
improve genealogy research. Provo,
UT, (PRWEB) April 19, 2007 -- FamilyLink, the newest social genealogy
networking Web site created to rapidly link people across the world,
will have its beta launch on Wednesday, April 18. "The
recent surge in social networking sites demonstrates the need for
people to connect around diverse types of interests," said Michael
Tanne, Founder and CEO of Wink, a People Search Engine. "FamilyLink
provides a perfect venue for families, genealogists and family
historians to share their common interests and heritage as they connect
with one another and upload their photos, family tree, and family
history." FamilyLink
has been created to facilitate genealogists in working together in ways
that have never been attempted before in the genealogy world with a
tool that is easy to use and understand. "During
the early years of Ancestry and MyFamily, I could hardly sleep. I was
so excited about what we were building. I feel the same way about
FamilyLink," said Paul Allen, CEO, http;//www.worldvitalrecords.com
[WorldVitalRecords.com]. Using
FamilyLink, geographic and language barriers are minimized as
individuals connect with their loved ones, research their family
history, and preserve memories. "For
the first time ever, if I'm looking for an ancestor in a particular
part of the world, I'll be a click away from the expert researchers who
live there, and from others who have done research there," Allen said. FamilyLink
users can view the profiles of other individuals, communicate with
individuals who have researched or are currently researching in their
area of interest through the City Link feature, meet new individuals
who also participate in the service, share photos, genealogical
information and post comments. "One
thing that is really interesting right now is that there really is
nothing out there on the Web to help someone who lived in a certain
city gather information from another city, unless they fly there. The
need for this type of social networking definitely exists. FamilyLink
allows people who are in different cities to connect with each other in
an amazing way," said Jason McGowan, Product Manager, FamilyLink.com. Additional
features include a news feed system, Ancestor Pages, announcements
pages, email features, shared connections between WorldVitalRecords.com
and FamilyLink.com, and will soon include a family tree. "Putting
FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com together is a great way to
preserve, share and grow your family tree," said Barbara Renick,
professional genealogist, nationally known lecturer and author. In
the past, genealogists were able to make connections with other
genealogists. However to do so required a lot of time, and effort, two
scarce resources for genealogists. FamilyLink is a tool that connects
people in such a way that it makes everyone and everything more
efficient, and will become even better as people join the site. "As
with other social networks, the more people that use FamilyLink, the
more useful it will become to everyone else. So we invite you to join
and encourage others to join as well, so that we will soon have members
in all of the cities of the world -- all helping each other to find and
preserve their heritage," Allen said. About FamilyLink.com FamilyLink.com
is a social networking site that provides an innovative platform for
individuals to connect, research family history, and preserve memories.
FamilyLink.com has been created in a response to help genealogists from
all over the world gather the information they need in a vibrantly
efficient, fun and easy way. Founded by Paul Allen in 2007,
FamilyLink.com is a worldwide effort to help individuals collaborate on
a global scale. CONTRIBUTIONS: When
you come across something you think would be of interest to others who
are involved in genealogy, whether it be about genealogy, software, or
hardware, please send it to our editor, Luther
Olson: <lutherolson@sbcglobal.net>. Please include your name and all
credits of author and publication. Information
from online genealogy newsletters can be used with these credits. EASTMAN NEWSLETTERS The
following article is from Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter and is
copyright 2007 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the
permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available
at http://www.eogn.com. FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE Reprinted with permission from
Family Tree Magazine Email Update, copyright 2003 F+W Publications Inc. To subscribe to this free weekly e-mail
newsletter, go to http://www.familytreemagazine.com/newsletter.asp. For
a free sample copy of the print Family Tree Magazine, America's #1
family history magazine, go to
<http://www.familytreemagazine.com/specialoffers.asp?FAMfreeissue> ROOTSWEB REVIEW Permission
to reprint articles from RootsWeb Review is granted unless specifically
stated otherwise, provided: (1) the reprint is used for non-commercial,
educational purposes; and (2) the following notice appears at the end
of the article: Previously published in RootsWeb Review: Vol. 5, No.
40, 2 October 2002. LANGALIST STANDARD
EDITION The
Langalist Standard Edition is a free email newsletter from Fred Langa
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HISTORICAL GENEALOGY DEPT. This
electronic newsletter is published with the intent to enlighten readers
about genealogical research methods, as well as inform them about the
vast resources of the Allen County Public Library.
We welcome the wide distribution of this newsletter and
encourage readers to forward it to their friends and societies. UPFRONT--NGS Each
issue of UpFront is under copyright of the National Genealogical
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encourage the circulation of the "Ancestry Daily News" via non-profit
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copyright information (Copyright 1998-2005, MyFamily.com, Inc. and its
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