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Want to Help Index De-Classified CIA Records?
By now, many of us have tried our hand at volunteer indexing and transcribing projects. We can index censuses, civil and church vital records, gravestone images, and more with FamilySearch, BillionGraves, Ancestry’s World Archives Project and even with individual archives like The Congregational Library.
What about de-classified CIA records and other government documents? Love letters between President Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson? These are among the indexing projects currently on the National Archives (US) Citizen Archivist dashboard.
“We have millions of pages of digitized records available in our online catalog,” says the Citizen Archivist website. “Transcription is an important way for us to improve search results and increase accessibility to our historical records. Your contributions make a big impact.” Other current projects include Confederate government papers, interviews relating to the September 11 terrorist attacks and letters to President Eisenhower about integrating schools.
These are all historically vital important records for the U.S. that may also shed light on our ancestors’ lives. My grandfather worked on classified government projects and I’m hoping to find his name in formerly “top secret” papers someday! Why not give it a try–index a batch of records through the National Archives Citizen Archivist project?
Learn more about inspiring genealogy volunteers on our blog! On the lower left side of the Genealogy Gems home page, click the category “Volunteer.” See what others do to help–and perhaps you’ll get inspired yourself!
Was This My Ancestor’s Neighborhood? Using Google Earth for Genealogy
Jones Street, Olyphant, PA, 1910. Image courtesy of Michael Grayson.
When Lisa blogged recently about Google Earth’s 10th birthday, it reminded me of something on my family history “to do” list. A few years ago I found a postcard of what I thought was an ancestor’s neighborhood. Could Google Earth confirm it?
Lisa uses Google Earth’s powerful 3D renderings of the world’s streets to identify where old pictures were taken. I knew from deeds, a plat map, and addresses on censuses and draft registrations that the O’Hotnicky lived on a certain block of Jones St. (now named Grant St.), around the corner from and behind Holy Ghost church.
This postcard of “Jones Street, Olyphant” looks like its viewpoint is from the end of the block behind the church. This would mean the tall tree shown here was shading–and blocking our view of–the O’Hotnicky home.
I opened Google Earth and flew to “117 Grant St, Olyphant, PA.” The initial view, hovering from above, was promising. The camera icon shows where I thought the photo was taken. The left arrow points to the former line of trees, in front of the ancestral address. The right arrow points to the church tower behind.
Unfortunately, when I enter Street View at that exact spot, the new church on the corner and a tall apartment building block the view that would have been seen a century ago. There is no Street View available on Grant Street itself so I couldn’t move up the street toward the church. So I moved into Street View along the side street (parallel to the bottom of the photo).
In the opening between two buildings, Google Earth gave me a glimpse of the church tower. I compared the postcard view with Google Earth’s photo. The church towers look so similar: a simple cross on top, pointed copper roof, arched tower and the building roof line. Even more striking to me is the white frame house. Was this the same white house shown in the postcard view?
These two visuals taken together–the church tower profile and the position of the white house–seem consistent with my theory of where the photo was taken. Which means that yes, indeed, this 1910 postcard shows the trees in front of an ancestor’s home as they appeared 105 years ago.
Google Earth can fly you to an ancestor’s neighborhood–and whatever clues its current landscape gives you into the landscape of the past. Click here to watch Lisa’s free video about using Google Earth for genealogy!
Genealogy Gems Podcast Nominated! Academy of Podcasters Award
We’re so pleased we just had to tell you our great news….The Genealogy Gems Podcast has been nominated for the first-ever Academy of Podcasters Awards!
Ten nominees were named in each category by The Academy of Podcasters in an event expected to become annual, according to the Academy website. We were chosen “by a combination of input from the Academy, the board, and from other podcast rating services.” The Genealogy Gems Podcast was nominated in the “Parenting, Family and Kids” category.
Podcaster and comedian Colt Cabana will host the actual awards show on July 31, 2015 at the Omni Fort Worth in Forth Worth, Texas. It’s not far from home and I hope to stop by to celebrate on my way home from speaking at the BYU Family History Conference!
In case you’re not already a listener….The FREE Genealogy Gems Podcast, our flagship “online radio show” with 1.75 million downloads, helps you make the most of your family history research time by providing quick and easy-to-use research techniques. As the producer and host, I do my darndest to bring you the best websites, best practices, and best resources available for genealogy!
Listening has never been easier because now you can easily stream podcasts on your smartphone or tablet in addition to listening online at our website or in iTunes. To listen on your mobile device, just get the Genealogy Gems app for iPhone or iPad and Android. To learn more about the show or read FAQ, click here.
Try our other podcasts, too:
- Family History: Genealogy Made Easy, a free step-by-step series for new or starting-over genealogists
- The Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast, a monthly in-depth news and how-to show with MORE great interviews, tips and tricks. This is available as part of our annual subscription package, which also includes a year’s access to a full range of genealogy education videos.
Thank you Academy of Podcasters!
