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How to Get 30 Online Paid Genealogy Collections Free through Dec. 29, 2012
Ancestry.com is making 30 collections that were added or updated in 2012 available for free between December 26-29th. Search these records for free.
The 1940 U.S. Census represents 134 million records that were indexed and are now searchable on Ancestry.com (These records will be free on Ancestry.com through 2013). Almost 9 out of 10 Americans have a relative in the 1940 Census, making this a great resource to start your family history journey.
To access these records, visit Ancestry.com/2012.
Premium Episode 94 – Immigration Records and Ancestral Travels
Date Published: December 18, 2012
[display_podcast]Click here to download the Show Notes pdf
Family History Art
In Genealogy Gems Podcast episode # 146, I talked with you a little bit about our family history lifestyle, which to me is the ways that we show our value for family history in our day to day lives.
In the YouTube video called Family History Art, student film maker Jayne Reynolds captures the story of how her fiancé Chase Jones created a work of art that demonstrates the gift of family history he feels he has received from his Grandfather who he lovingly refers to as PaPaw.
It’s clear that Chase’s PaPaw has imparted countless gems of wisdom and love to his grandson, and their bond is lovely to watch. I was so entranced by this lovely brief film, I wanted to learn more. By clicking on Jayne Reynolds name as the YouTube channel owner I was able to browse her other videos. This is something that you can do any time you find a video that you really like on YouTube. Right under the video will be the name of the creator which is linked to their channel. By clicking the name you will be taken to the creator’s YouTube channel, click Browse Videos and you can explore their other videos which is a great way to find additional content that covers topics that interest you, such as family history.
Read the Incredible story of a woman in 1843 who visualized computing at the Official Google blog
MAILBOX:
From Dot: “Just a quick message to say a BIG GIGANTIC thank you for Podcast number 146 and the Premium Video on the Ipad. I have listened and watch both of them today and I feel as full with knowledge as you feel full with food after a Christmas Dinner!”
iPad Tips from Tina
“I have also read you iPad book (ebook download) and there is one thing I that I give you heartfelt thanks for – the swipe up of the comma to get an apostrophe! Fantastic!
Here’s a little gem for you: You know how so many websites require your email address to log in? This can get very tedious on an iPad. So – how about a keyboard shortcut? Go to Settings->General->Keyboard and create as many as you like.”
Sherry is a New Genealogy Blogger
I finally got my blog up and running last week, and am finding it an amazing process. Thank you so much for the blogging instructions on the “Family History: Genealogy Made Easy” podcasts. They were very easy to follow, and I would recommend them to anyone considering starting a blog.
My blog, “My Descent into Descent”,http://mydescentintodescent.blogspot.ca, showcases stories from my family tree, and my experiences as a new family historian. Right now, I am in the midst of telling the stories of my ancestors who came to Canada, including my great grandfather who was a British Home Child, and was in the Royal North West Mounted Police.
Writing these stories is helping me to share my family history with family members, to discover more in the data I already have, and to lead me to new resources. It seems to be a good discipline to write a narrative about an ancestor after you have gathered enough information. It helps you to know what you have, question it, and to realize what you don’t have and could perhaps obtain.”
The iPad, Photos, and Interviews
“I’d like is a way to take notes that get tied to the photos, or even possibly record the voices of my relatives talking about the pictures. The trick is, I want the notes or audio to be clearly connected to the picture. I don’t want to get home and not be able to remember which picture they were referring to. If an app doesn’t already exist, it might be an idea for someone to create. Meanwhile, I thought you might have a work-around or a work-flow idea to make this task easier.”
Lisa’s Answer: There are a couple of apps (or combination of apps) out there that might be able to do the trick, however, I’m not a fan of having a thousand different apps cluttering up my iPad, so I like to look to what I already have first. And I had to look no further than the free Evernote app. I think it’s the perfect solution for what you want to do: include and take photos, make written notes, record audio notes, and synchronize all your information across all of your computing devices.
Evernote is easy to use and there is great tutorial info on the website. Sign up for a free account on your computer, and then download the free app on your iPad. www.Evernote.com
One note about recording comments. I see the microphone option on new notes in the Evernote app, but not on existing notes (which might include your photo.) To connect them quickly consider a naming convention that you can easily remember and use. Type the name or code on the note containing the photo, and then include it at the beginning of your audio note.
GEM: Immigration Research and Ancestral Travels with author Lisa Alzo
Here are some free gems to take advantage of on the web: Research trip packing list
Back to the Homeland – Five tips to ensure a smooth journey by Lisa Alzo
The Geared-up Genealogist by Diane Haddad
Katharine emailed me this quote from Bill Bryson, author of a Short History of Nearly Everything.
“Not one of your pertinent ancestors was squashed, devoured, drowned, starved, stranded, stuck fast, untimely wounded, or otherwise deflected from its life’s quest of delivering a tiny charge of genetic material to the right partner at the right moment in order to perpetuate the only possible sequence of hereditary combinations that could result — eventually, astoundingly, and all too briefly — in you.”
Genealogists Donate Over $40K to War of 1812 Records Preservation Campaign
The following press release from the ISGS is a wonderful example of the generosity and caring of the genealogy community:
December 11, 2012 – Springfield, IL. The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) is proud to announce that it has completed its recently launched $10,000 War of 1812 Pension Match Challenge with strong support from ISGS members as well as the genealogical community.
On June 18, 2012, the 200th anniversary of the declaration of the War of 1812, ISGS announced its $10,000 War of 1812 Pension Match Challenge. ISGS made a commitment to match any contribution (up to the first $10,000) made to the Preserve the Pensions project before December 31, 2012. In addition, Ancestry.com announced that it would also match all monies donated during the campaign, resulting in all contributions being quadrupled. A total of $40,000 to be donated to the Preserve the Pensions project will result in 88,888 additional pages of the War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files being digitized over the next few months.
The Preserve the Pensions campaign (http://www.preservethepensions.org), sponsored by the Federation of Genealogical Societies (http://www.fgs.org) along with Ancestry.com, Fold3 and the National Archives, seeks to raise over $3.7 Million needed to digitize the War of 1812 pension files that are currently stored in the National Archives and make them freely available online. With over 180,000 Pension files in this historic record set and over 7.2 million pages, access to these records will benefit not only genealogists and family historians, but a variety of researchers. In addition, the digitization project will help preserve and halt further damage to these historical documents. The files are being digitized as funds become available and many files are already viewable by visiting http://go.fold3.com/1812pensions/.
ISGS President Jane Haldeman notes: “The ISGS board made a strong commitment to the preservation of the War of 1812 Pension Records when it issued the fundraising challenge earlier this year. ISGS thanks all who contributed, especially those members of the genealogy community who are not members of ISGS. Digitizing these records will benefit ALL genealogists and hopefully result in more people locating information about their ancestors.”
