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Premium Episode 33 – Homestead Records with Billie Edgington
Date Published: Oct. 26, 2009
[display_podcast]Click here to download the Show Notes pdf
MAILBOX:
Graham Wilkie, from Australia asks where the Google Earth files containing place names are stored on your computer.
Graham follows up with his own answer: “I have now found where the My places file is stored on the hard drive and have now included in my backups. It is stored in “C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application data\Google\Google Earth\myplaces.kml”.
Anne-Marie Eischen writes Lisa about the Google Earth Video Series videos you can create in Google Earth.
From Maria Romano: “Hi Lisa. I continue to love your podcasts!” Maria asks how she might be able to improve the qualtiy of very light or very dark census records downloaded from Ancestry.com.
Lisa has two strategies for dealing with hard to read census images:
1) Download the image to your computer and manipulate it in a basic photo editor software program.
a. Listen to The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 18 and the segment on “Vehicular Forensics.”
b. Picasa is a free photo editor available from Google.
c. Watch Lisa’s video Grave Transformations for Family Tree Magazine at http://www.youtube.com/user/familytreemagazine#p/a/u/1/TJOzkd2Sc2U to learn how to manipulate hard to see images.
2) Check other websites with the same docs.
a. Listen to the October 2009 episode of The Family Tree Magazine Podcast for Lisa’s interview with the folks at HeritageQuestOnline.com where you can access free census records.
ISUmom24 posted a note in the Genealogy Gems Message Forum at www.genealogygemspremium.com recently called “Have a Cemetery Record; Can’t Locate Death Certificate!”
Sign in to your Premium Member account on the website and check out her genealogy dilmema under the Getting Started in Genealogy message board. You’ll need to register to participate in the Message Forum but it’s just a matter or re-entering you email address and a password.
GEM: Homestead Records with Billie Edgington
Billie has a BA in History from University of California Irvine, and over 40 years experience in historical and genealogical research. She is the co-author of “Vital Information from the Guion Miller Roll” and author of “African-Cherokee Connections,” and a past contributor to the “Genealogical Helper.”
Tips from Billie:
National Archives Web Site: http://www.archives.gov
Use form 84 to request records: http://www.archives.gov/forms/pdf/natf-84.pdf
Bureau of Land Management Web Site: http://www.blm.gov
Lisa’s Tip: Learn more about the Homestead Act of 1862 at http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=31
Read a transcription of the Homestead Act at http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=31&page=transcript
Thanks so much to Billie Edgington for being on the show, and if you have an ancestor who homesteaded land, I’m going to be sharing some amazing things that you can do with Google Earth and homestead records in upcoming videos in that Google Earth series, so keep an eye out for that!
Down on the Farm in Harvest Time Sung by Byron Harlan in 1913
Coming soon: The Genealogy Gems Podcast app for iPhone and iTouch
Premium Episode 34 – Research Hypothesis Theory with Jeanette Daniels
Date Published: Nov. 18, 2009
[display_podcast]Click here to download the Show Notes pdf
NEWS:
Footnote.com made an announcement this last week about their Holocaust Collection. These records, however, will remain free to access through any of the National Archives physical locations. To view the records go to http://go.footnote.com/holocaust_records/
Also in the news is the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is publishing a new scholarly journal called American Ancestors Journal. It will be included as a supplement in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register and will contain articles with a national scope, emphasizing New York State and out-migrations from New England. Read the free first edition.
You can now Search three Georgia newspaper archives free at the Digital Library of Georgia.
GenealogyBank http://www.genealogybank.comhas announced millions of family history records from 41 newspapers and 23 states were recently added.
MAILBOX:
Premium Member Website Review:
– Sign in with your membership user name and password
– You will be taken to the Premium area homepage|
– In the middle of the screen is a large purple button for Podcasts and a green button for Videos.
– Click on the large green Videos button you will come to a page with a complete listing of all of the available Premium Videos with links to you can go to their individual pages and watch them.
Factors affecting video viewing online:
- Your Internet service
- The speed of your computer
- Congestion on the Internet
It might take a video a few moments to get started – and if on a rare occasion it just won’t load up for you, the best thing to do is to come back a while later, refresh your Internet browser and try it again.
Newest feature of Premium membership:
Now you can listen to Premium episodes right from the show notes page using the new media player.
GEM: My Google Book Search Library Gadget
If you aren’t an iGoogle user, watch Video #1 in the Google: A Goldine of Genealogy Gems video series which is called Getting Started with iGoogle.
Profile America: Freedom of the Press
John Peter Zenger, A German immigrant who published the New York Weekly Journal, was arrested on Nov. 17, 1734 for libel against the colonial governor.
GEM: Jeanette Daniels Interview
Jeanette teaches classes on The Genealogy Process, Creating a research hypothesis theory, Cryptic Sources, and Streamlining the Research Process.
Jeanette’s Tip:
Tap into the wealth of free information available from the Family History Library consultants, and reference librarians. “Don’t bypass the counter help!”
The Process:
Creating a research hypothesis / theory
Identify known factsMake Goals – wish list of what you want to find.
Make realistic objectives – the tasks you need to do to make your wish list come true.
Pre-plan your research – use the online catalogue to identify the sources you want to look up. “It saves a lot of time.” A research plan helps you be able to easily put down and pick back up your research seamlessly.
Profile America: 1840 Census
To learn more visit the U.S. Census Bureau’s Pop Culture: 1840 page
Premium Episode 35 – Irish Research with Evva Benson
Date Published: Nov. 24, 2009
[display_podcast]Click here to download the Show Notes pdf
NEWS:
Footnote: Native American Collection
Family Search Additions
FamilySearch Pilot Record Search
Listen to Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast episode 46 featuring Peter Calver of the Lost Cousins website to learn more about how to connect with distant relatives onlines.
Profile America: Life Magazine
Life Magazine at Google Books
Oct. 4, 1937 issuefeaturing the American Legion
GEM: Evva Benson Interview
Topic: Irish Research
FamilySearch Record Search Pilot
Includes Irish Birth, Marriage, and Death indexes
Volunteer to help index records
National Archives of Ireland – they have census indexes and records
Griffith’s Valuation (tax list)
Evva recommends this as a census substitute
Read about it at the National Library of Ireland
Online research classes at www.familysearch.org
Click LIBRARY -> Click EDUCATION -> Click RESEARCH SERIES CLASSES ONLINE
www.Wiki.familysearch.org– Search research topics such as Irish Civil Registration
Profile America: Thanksgiving
Ruth Himan’s blog: Genealogy is Ruthless without Me
Blog Post: “Thanksgiving and Genealogy”
Great inspiration for Christmas activities!
The song The Family Tree courtesy of the band Venice
Image Below: Lead Singer Mark Lennon and Lisa in Santa Barbara, CA