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Get the Big Picture and the Little Details
I’m excited to keynote Family Tree University’s Fall Virtual Genealogy Conference, September 15-17, 2017. Get three days of video presentations packed with DNA research strategies, the latest tech tools, organization and preservation tips, and MORE! Sign up by September 15, 2017 with our coupon code for off registration.
My grandmother was fond of saying, “The devil’s in the details.” I’m not sure about the devil’s current residence, but I do know that even the smallest details can add up to a really big picture. As genealogists, we’re all hunting for even the tiniest facts and features that will bring that picture into clear focus.
Family Tree University’s 2017 Fall Virtual Genealogy Conference (September 15-17) aims to help you discover and apply all those little details to your family history. With fifteen presentations ranging from DNA testing to research strategies, technology and preservation tools (and everything in between), you’ll gain a host of tricks for understanding your ancestors’ lives better. Some lectures focus on specific record sets, like Genealogy Gems Editor Sunny Morton’s presentation on mining the U.S. census. Other classes help you reconstruct compelling ancestral stories; for example, Nancy Hendrickson’s “Resources for Visual Storytelling” and my own classes, “Time Travel Technology” and “5 Google Secrets Revealed.”
I’m tying all these virtual classes together with a live keynote presentation, “Big Pictures in Little Details,” on Sunday, September 17, after which I’ll do a brief, live Q&A.
The best part about the FTU virtual conference weekend: Not only can you participate from the comfort of your own home, but you won’t have to choose between presentations occurring at the same time. They’re all available to stream and download. So you can keep them and refer back long after the conference is over. Even my live keynote and Q&As will be recorded, so you won’t have to miss a thing!
Come join me for a fun-filled three days at the 2017 Fall Virtual Conference!
Best of New and Updated Genealogy Records Collections
This week the entire Genealogy Gems team is heading to Dallas to present a two day event at the Dallas Public Library. With Lisa, Sunny and Diahan so busy, I’ve decided to take the reins this week and bring you a roundup of my favorite genealogy records of 2017! This compilation includes collections that are new, updated, and just plain fun! I’ve really enjoyed digging back into these and finding new genealogy gems. And I’d love to know: what exciting and helpful collections have you been using this year? Please share in the comments below!
The Catholic Heritage Collection at Findmypast
In February of 2017, Findmypast announced the new Catholic Heritage Archive. Roman Catholic Church genealogical records go back centuries and are meticulously preserved, but difficult to obtain for the general public. Findmypast partnered with British and American Archdioceses to bring up to 100 million Catholic Church records online. Millions are available to search online now, and more will continue to be added.
English Roman Catholic Records
Irish Roman Catholic Records
Scottish Roman Catholic Records
United States & Canada Roman Catholic Records
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps at the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress has put online nearly 25,000 additional Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps–and more are coming! Over the next three years, more will be added monthly until all 50 states are covered from the 1880s through the 1960s. This is definitely a collection to keep an eye on!
Sanborn maps show detailed information about neighborhoods, buildings, roads and more for thousands of towns in the U.S. and beyond. A sizable collection of pre-1900 Sanborn maps are already online at the Library of Congress (use the above link). Watch the short video below to learn more about them. The full length class is available to Genealogy Gems Premium Members.
Click here to learn more about how to use this outstanding online collection.
WWI Centennial – Free Records at FamilySearch
2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the United States entering World War I, and there was a wealth of records and historical resources featured online. I’m highlighting the collection of millions of WWI records available for free at FamilySearch.org, because who doesn’t love free?!
United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918
California, San Francisco, World War I Enemy Alien Registration Affidavits, 1918
Louisiana World War I Service Records, 1917–1920
Maine, World War I Draft Registration Index, 1917–1919
North Carolina, World War I Service Cards, 1917–1919
Texas, World War I Records, 1917–1920
United States Index to Naturalizations of World War I Soldiers, 1918
United States, YMCA World War I Service Cards, 1917–1919
Italian Civil Records at FamilySearch
Back in March, FamilySearch added to their unique collection of Italian genealogy records. Five specific locales in Italy have Civil Registration records online. Civil registrations include such things as births, marriages, and deaths. They can also include marriage banns and ten-year indexes. Of course, availability of records will depend on the time period and the location. In some cases, this collection goes back as far as the 15th century!
Italy, Viterbo, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1870-1943
Italy, Mantova, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1496-1906
Italy, Grosseto, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1851-1907
Italy, Rieti, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1840-1945
Italy, Enna, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1866-1944
Learn more about Italian genealogy: In the video below, Lisa sits down with Mary Tedesco of Genealogy Roadshow (on PBS in the US) and talks about doing the TV show, and her tips for conducting Italian genealogy research. This is just one of the many genealogy videos on our Genealogy Gems YouTube Channel.
New England Vital Records
Millions of New England vital records became available online in May of this year, dating back as far as the 17th century. Collections are highlighted below:
Connecticut. More than 755,000 indexed names added to FamilySearch.org’s free collection, Connecticut Marriages, 1640-1939.
Maine. FamilySearch.org added nearly a half million indexed names to its collection of Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921.
Massachusetts: New images have been added to the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s collection for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, 1789-1900: Immaculate Conception (Salem), St. Mary (Salem), and Sacred Heart (Roslindale).
Rhode Island. FamilySearch added over a half million new indexed names and 30,000 digital images to its free collection, Rhode Island – Vital records. These are described as “Certificates and registers of births, 1846-1898, 1901-1903, marriages 1901-1903 and deaths, 1901-1953 acquired from the State Archives in Providence.”
British Emigration Records at Findmypast
We often talk about immigration, with an I, but have you researched your ancestors emigration records with an E? The 1600s saw a boom in British emigration, and Findmypast has curated several fascinating collections:
Early emigration from Britain 1636-1815 is a collection from Findmypast containing over 21,000 records that allow you to learn if your ancestors left Britain for North America or the West Indies. The collection includes 10 pieces from The National Archives including colonial papers, general entry books, passenger registers, and weekly immigration returns.
Britain, early emigration to Barbados centers on your British ancestors who left for a settlement in Barbados between 1678 and 1715. With over 20,000 assorted documents, this collection includes baptisms, burials, censuses, landowner lists, and more.
Britain, Royal African Company, 1694-1743 is a collection of over 55,000 records to uncover the details of those on board the Royal African Company’s ships to and from Africa as well as the names of those who lived and died at company forts. These Findmypast records came from The National Archives T 70 series, Company of Royal Adventurers of England Trading with Africa and Successors.
Click here to learn more about researching and working with emigration records.
…and just for fun…
Sydney, Australia – 19th Century Complaint Letters
When I saw this collection, I was totally tickled! I would love to find an ancestor’s complaint letter, as a window into their daily life and surrounding neighbors.
Over 56,000 letters written by residents to the City of Sydney in the latter part of the 1800s have been digitized and added to the City of Sydney Archive online. A city historian quoted at the Daily Telegraph.com said people’s complaints “range from the mundane to the bizarre,” such as “foul smells, night time noise, stray farm animals and smoke billowing from homes and blacksmiths’ forges.” This same online city archive also hosts a collection of historical photographs, a full run of Sands directories, postal directories, and other resources for researching your house history. Find this collection by clicking Archives Investigator and then “Letters Received by Council, 1843-1899.”
If you want to see what other records we’ve covered, there’s any easy way to narrow down to your specific ancestors! Visit our home page at www.GenealogyGems.com, and select a category from the drop-down menu on the left:
You can choose categories like Canadian, German, Irish, African-American, Australian, and more. You’ll receive of list of every article where that topic was featured or included. This is a super easy way to find new records collections for any area you’re currently researching. You can also choose other categories like newspapers, technology, organization, etc. for helpful how-tos, research strategies, and updates. And you can always use the search bar in the top right corner of our website if you don’t see your topic listed.
There’s a treasure trove of genealogy gems on our website!
5 Expert Tips for Using Meyers Gazetteer for Your German Genealogy
Track down your German ancestors with Germany genealogy expert Jim Beidler. He’s here to share great tips for using MeyersGaz.org, the recent online collection of crucial historical German maps.
The Meyers Gazetteer is a comprehensive, indexed map to every place name in the Second German Empire (1871-1918). It’s based on the 1912 book commonly known as “Meyers Orts” or the Meyers Gazetteer: Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs. Recently, a free version of the Meyers Gazetteer became available online at www.MeyersGaz.org.
5 Tips for Using the Meyers Gazetteer
German research expert Jim Beidler, author of Trace Your German Roots Online, recently offered Genealogy Gems followers five tips for using the site to trace your German roots:
1. Correctly locating the village of origin is often the key to finding Germany’s many locally-based records. The FamilySearch catalog, shown here, places German villages in the same political jurisdictions as Meyers-Ort (Second Empire), which can be incredibly helpful when looking for microfilmed church and other records. (Click here to learn more using the FamilySearch catalog and the end of their microfilm lending program.)
2. When searching the Meyers Gazetteer online, don’t use diacritical marks such as the umlaut (the two dots) or expand umlauted vowels (such as by turning an ä into an ae).
3. Filter search results to a specific German region to narrow results.
4. Explore places with an interactive map that allows you to zoom in and out and toggle back and forth between the past and present. After clicking on a search result, click Map. An interactive map will appear. Roll over Toggle Historical Map to see options to resize and to select whether the map shows you local jurisdictions, surrounding German civil registration offices (StdAs), and Catholic, Protestant and Jewish places of worship.
5. Click on Ecclesiastical to learn more about church parishes within 20 miles, which may have kept records on your family.
More from Jim Beidler on the Meyers Gazetteer
Genealogy Gems Premium members can sign in to our website and hear Jim go more in-depth on the Meyers Gazetteer for German genealogy research in Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast episode 143. Jim applies his decades of German research experience to the latest technological advances and brings you along for the ride!
Jim Beidler is the author of Trace Your German Roots Online, one of Family Tree Books’ top-selling genealogy guides.
