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Evernote Web Clipper and Much More in Family Tree Magazine (September 2014)
The new issue of Family Tree Magazine is out, and I really appreciate the shout-outs to us here at Genealogy Gems–and more great tools to help you find your family history.
Directory of genealogy groups on Facebook:
A letter to the editor referred to the article “Teaming Up,” co-written by myself and Genealogy Gems/Family Tree Magazine Contributing Editor Sunny Morton in the December 2013 issue.
Katherine R. Wilson writes, “Since last summer, I’ve been compiling a list of genealogical and hisorical links (almost 3900 of them) found on Facebook, including genealogical and historical societies from around the world, surname lists, Native American genealogy links, African-American genealogy links, Jewish genealogy links, DNA lists, cemetery lists, etc. his list is frequently updated and available to download at no charge from my website.”
(Do you want to collaborate on your family history? Check out our four-part blog post series with tips and tools for researching with a buddy.)
Evernote web clipper article:
Flip to the Toolkit section, pages 66-67, to find my tutorial on using the Evernote web clipper. Because let’s face it, we need a better way to save content from and links to genealogy content we find online. Bookmarks get unwieldly (what did you name that site?) and don’t save content from pages that might disappear.
Evernote offers precise screen clipping for a PC or a Mac. You can import, store, organize, tag, backup, share and retrieve notes with lightning speed in Evernote. (You can even do full-text keyword searches of those screenshots! How cool is that?) Check out that article!
Learn even more with my Evernote for Genealogists quick guides for both Windows and the Mac, available in pdf format or (in the U.S.) as a printed, laminated guide. (right)
Best website awards!
The Genealogy Gems website was named in this issue as one of Family Tree Magazine’s 101 Best Websites in the “In the Know” category. Author David Fryxell actually referred to me as the “podcast queen!” He highlighted the site’s 160 free shows plus the videos and extra content our Premium members can access for $29.95 a year.
The Genealogy Gems YouTube channel was also mentioned as an example of genealogy content you’ll find on YouTube. (Watch something there! It’s free!)
The issue is packed with much more, from a great article on creating a timeline of your ancestor’s life to how to create a genealogy disaster plan. Check it out here!
How to Make a Family History Video: Premium Video and Podcast Now Available!
Last weekend at Midwestern Roots, I debuted a new talk on technology tools for family history. One thing I mentioned was harnessing YouTube to share your family history. YouTube is now one of the top search engines – period! That means people may be looking for your common heritage on YouTube. Share what you know with them (and bring what they know to you) by creating and posting a family history video.
So what goes into a family history video? What technology tools will help you create one? How do you post it online?
Genealogy Gems Premium members can now access the answers to these and more questions about making your own family history videos. This is a great project to do as a family or with your grandchildren! There’s an audio-only podcast on the topic and a video version as well:
Listen to the Premium Podcast #111 here (and download the shownotes)
Premium Video: 10 Ways to Add Volume to Your Family History Video
Not a Premium member yet? Click here to learn more about all the benefits of Premium membership.
Historical Maps of New York City and More Now Free Online
Map of New York City, 1857. Click for full citation information.
Thousands of historical maps of New York City, the mid-Atlantic states and even the Austro-Hungarian empire (yes, really!) are now online–and they’re free.
The New York Public Library has published more than 20,000 historical maps dating from 1660-1922. They are free for public use, downloading, manipulating and publishing! A lot of the maps are from New York City neighborhoods, like the one shown here.
The author of a news item about the collection said this: “We can’t imagine too many people wanting to remix Gangs of New York-era property charts, but it’s hard to object to getting more geographic knowledge at no charge.” Well, we genealogists may not “remix” these old property maps, but we can certainly see the value in them!
Do you use maps in your research? Have you tried overlaying a historical map showing an ancestor’s home with a modern one on Google Earth? Learn more about using Google Earth in your genealogy research in this FREE video.
And if this post is interesting to you, you should also read this blog post about interactive historical maps of major cities (like New York City).
