26 Million New Names Added for Costa Rica, France, Hungary, Mexico, Spain, and the U.S.

Twenty-nine new collections were updated or added this week at FamilySearch.org—with 26 million names and 1.5 million digital images!

The international collections continue to expand with exciting new additions for Costa Rica, France, Hungary, Mexico, and Spain. In addition, nine more indexes were added to the U.S. 1910 Federal Census collection—that means it is 37 percent complete! This project is moving along quickly.

There are now 428 collections from original source records available online at FamilySearch. Search all of these great collections for free online at FamilySearch’s Record Search pilot (from FamilySearch.org, click Search Records, and then click Record Search pilot).

See the chart below for the complete list of all the newly added or improved collections.

None of this would be possible without the great contributions of many online FamilySearch volunteers. These individuals donate the time and effort needed to make these collections freely available to FamilySearch patrons. If you would like to help by donating a few minutes online with projects of personal interest, become a FamilySearch community volunteer at FamilySearchIndexing.org. Many hands produce great work. Thank you for your support!

Collection Name	Indexed Records	Digital Images	Comments
Costa Rica—Church Records	217,000		Waypointed images
France—Protestant Church Records, Part B and C		122,000	Updated index
Hungary, Abauj-Torna—Civil Registration	70,000		Waypointed images
Hungary, Szabolcs—Civil Registration	104,000		Waypointed images
México, México—Censo de México de 1930		633,657	New index linked to previously published images
México, Durango—Censo de México de 1930		322,598	New index linked to previously published images
México, Guanajuato—Censo de México de 1930		851,154	New index linked to previously published images
México, Hidalgo—Censo de México de 1930		799,861	New index linked to previously published images
México, Jalisco—Censo de México de 1930		1,462,000	New index linked to previously published images
México, Queretaro—Censo de México de 1930		57,647	New index linked to previously published images
Spain, Barcelona—Civil Registration Part 2	1,000		Waypointed images
Spain, Barcelona—Civil Registration Part 3	2,000		Waypointed images
Spain, Barcelona, Vich—Civil Registration	11,000		Waypointed images
Spain, Cordoba—Civil Registration	4,000		Waypointed images
Spain, Gerona—Catholic Diocese Church Records, Part 2	57,000		Waypointed images
Spain, Málaga—Civil Registration	22,000		Waypointed images
Spain, Ripoll (Girona)—Municipal Records	53,000		Waypointed images
U.S., District of Columbia—1910 Federal Census		356,000	New index
U.S., Indiana—1910 Federal Census		2,957,000	New index
U.S., Kansas—1910 Federal Census		1,867,000	New index
U.S., Kentucky—1910 Federal Census		2,516,000	New index
U.S., Maryland—1910 Federal Census		1,419,000	New index
U.S., Massachusetts—1910 Federal Census		3,622,000	New index
U.S., Minnesota—1910 Federal Census		2,282,000	New index
U.S., New Jersey—1910 Federal Census		2,670,000	New index
U.S., New Hampshire—Statewide Deaths, 1901–1937	618,000	803,000	New index and images
U.S., New Hampshire—Statewide Deaths, 1938–1947	143,000	143,000	New index and images
U.S., New Hampshire—Statewide Deaths, Early to 1900	300,000	300,000	New index and images
U.S., Texas—1910 Federal Census		4,000,000	New index

About FamilySearch
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Calling All Teen Genealogists

An announcement from the National Genealogical Society:

Young people with an interest in the history of their family, in search of a summer project, seeking to satisfy a school assignment or club project will want to see the videos of Thomas Adams, the 2009 winner of the National Genealogical Society Rubincam Youth Award. Created by award winning filmmakers Kate Geis and Allen Moore, the videos go live today at the society’s website, www.ngsgenealogy.org and will soon appear on YouTube. The three short segments are:


· The Award
Genealogy puts history into personal perspective for high school student Thomas Adams, recipient of the Rubincam Youth Award.

· My Research
Young family history sleuth Thomas Adams talks about his "Eureka!" moment.

· Inspiring Others
Thomas' discoveries encourage his friends to follow their own roots.


For more information, contact NGS President Jan Alpert at jalpert@ngsgenealogy.org.

Wordless Wednesday: Summer

© Miriam Robbins Midkiff, 2010
(click photo to enlarge)

Scanfest is Coming!

The June 2010 Scanfest will take place here at AnceStories next Sunday, June 27th, from 11 AM to 2 PM, Pacific Daylight Time.

What is Scanfest? It's a time when geneabloggers, family historians, and family archivists meet online here at this blog to chat while they scan their precious family document and photos. Why? Because, quite honestly, scanning is time-consuming and boring!

Scanfest is a great time to "meet" other genealogists, ask questions about scanning and preservation, and get the kick in the pants we all need on starting those massive scanning projects that just seem too overwhelming to begin.

To get started, you need to know the basics about scanning:

1. Don't use commercial glass cleaners (i.e. Windex) or paper towels to clean your scanner's glass plate. Use a soft, clean cloth, preferably microfiber. If you must use a liquid, use water sprayed directly onto the cloth  and make sure to let the plate dry thoroughly before placing photos or documents on it.

2. Wear cotton gloves (available at many art and/or photography supply shops) when handling photos and old documents.

3. Don't slide the photos around on the glass plate. Place them exactly where you want them. Photos should NEVER be scanned by a scanner that feeds the document through the machine, but ALWAYS on a flat-bed scanner.

4. Set your scanner to scan at no smaller than 300 dpi (dots per inch). Many experts recommend 600 dpi for photographs.

5. Photographs should ALWAYS be scanned and saved as .tif files. Use "Save As" to reformat the .tif file to a .jpg file for restoration and touchups, emailing, or uploading to an online photo album. ALWAYS retain the original scan as a .tif file.

6. Documents can be scanned as .pdf files or .tif files.

7. When you are done scanning your photos, don't put them back in those nasty "magnetic" photo albums. Place them in archival safe albums or boxes found at websites such as Archival Products or Archival Suppliers. Do NOT store any newsprint (articles, obituaries, etc.) with the photos. The acid from the newspaper will eventually destroy the photograph.

Now about the chatting part of Scanfest:

We will be using Cover It Live, a live blogging format that you access right here at AnceStories.

On Sunday at 11 AM, PDT, come right here to AnceStories and you'll see the CoverItLive live blog/forum in the top post. It's not really a "chat room," per se, it's more like a live forum and anyone visiting this site can read and see what is happening in the forum.

You will not need to download any software.

Up to 25 individuals can be invited to be Producers. Producers are participants who have the extra capability of sharing photos, links, and other media within the forum (great for sharing the photos you're scanning!). You must have Internet Explorer 6.0+ or Firefox 2.0+ to be a Producer.

We can also have up to 25 other Participants who can comment freely in our conversation, but will not be able to share media. You can have any kind of browser to be a Participant.

In addition, any other readers of this blog can drop on by and view/read what is happening at Scanfest. If the 25 Participant spaces are full, those readers will not be able to comment, unless someone else drops out.

Confused? Have questions? Go to CoverItLive and check out 6. Try It Now to see live blogs in action or 7. Demos to see videos demonstrating how to use CIT (especially the ones titled "How do my readers watch my Live Blog?" and "Adding Panelists and Producers").

If you would like to be a Producer, please e-mail me no later than Saturday, June 26th at 4 PM, PDT and I'll send you an invitation. Preference will given to previous Scanfesters. You must set up an account (free!) ahead of time to be a Producer. This account will be good for all future Scanfests. You can do some practices ahead of time by going to My Account and clicking on the link under Practice your live blogging. Again, you must have IE 6.0+ or Firefox 2.0+ to be a Panelist.

As a Producer, Participant or simply a reader, if you would like an e-mail reminder for Scanfest, fill out the form below and choose the time frame for which you would like to be reminded (if you're reading this through Google Reader, Bloglines, or some other RSS feed reader, you will need to go to my blog and view this post there to see and utilize the form).

It really is easier than it sounds, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all there and getting some scanning done!

Another Overflow Hotel Option for FGS in Knoxville

Here's another press release I received from the Federation of Genealogical Societies:

We have 20 rooms available Tuesday, August 17-Sunday, August 22 only at the Four Points by Sheraton Knoxville Cumberland House.  It is near the convention center and is a very nice hotel.  The rate is $115/night.  The rate is good for bookings through July 17.  If the hotel is full, a breakfast buffet for $8,95 will be offered, but there is no guarantee of this.  In order to receive this rate, call the hotel at 865-971-4663 and ask for the FGS rate.

The Hilton and Holiday Inns are full.  There is still space at the Crowne Plaza at the FGS rate of $108.  See http://www.fgsconferenceblog.org/2010/06/update-additional-hotel-has-been-added.html for more information on the Crowne Plaza option.

Happy Father's Day!

The Mother of Father's Day

Here's an interesting video produced by our local PBS affiliate, KSPS, featuring Sonora Smart Dodd, "the Mother of Father's Day":

Southern California Genealogical Society's 2010 Jamboree: Day Four (Sunday)

Sunday was the last official day of Jamboree, and everyone was encouraged to wear their favorite Hawaiian shirt. I slept in, ate a late brunch, and arrived at the Marriott in time for the last two sessions of the day. I had a hard time deciding between classes, since I wanted to take both Louise St. Denis' "Are Your Ancestors Lost in Canada?" and Arlene Eakle's "Tracing a Southern Pedigree." I opted for the latter, but talked to Steve Danko after, who attended St. Denis' lecture and said it was very good (sigh). Hopefully that lecture was recorded! I did enjoy Eakle's lecture and tweeted my notes under the #scgs10 hashtag.

Next, I slipped in to Lisa Lee's session right before it began. She was doing her presentation on "City Directories - Full of Hidden Information." Back in July 2009, she featured my Online Historical Directories as the Website of the Month at Got Genealogy? I quickly introduced myself and after warmly welcoming me with a hug, gave me permission to hand out my Moo cards to her audience with the URLs of my Online Historical Directories and Online Historical Newspapers websites listed on them. Then it was off to the last session of the day: John T. Humphrey's "Using Church Records Effectively." His presentation was excellent indeed and made me wish all the more that I had been able to attend his Pennsylvania Land Records one. He suggested finding ministers' personal journals and records for finding records of ancestors' baptisms, marriages, and funerals...especially if they were not members of the local church, as their events would not be recorded in the regular congregational books. I thought of all the ministerial notes, diaries, and journals I've seen highlighted on the Internet Archive lately, and have been inspired to do a little church record research at that site.

After the sessions, raffle and door prizes were being drawn in the exhibit hall, but I headed to the bloggers' lounge where Susan Kitchens was pouring champagne, as promised. Many of us lingered, saying our goodbyes and snapping the last of the photos before heading out. Susan and I made plans to meet up the next day; as a longtime local resident, she knows where all THE places to see are.  Before we dispersed, Paula Hinkel walked into the bloggers' lounge and was met with cheers and applause. This woman is simply amazing, as is her co-chair, Leo Myers. Together, they coordinate and organize the Jamboree (50 speakers and 1600+ attendees) every single year! Many thanks to Paula, Leo, the Jamboree Committee, the members and volunteers of the Southern California Genealogical Society, the Burbank High School Key Club, and the Marriott staff and management for their dedication and hard work to make this such a marvelous event!

Day One
Day Two - Part I
Day Two - Part II
Day Three
Day Five

Home of Father's Day, Spokane Gears Up for the Centennial

Did you know my hometown is the birthplace of Father's Day? This year marks one hundred years of the very first celebration, an idea founded by Sonora Smart Dodd and endorsed by the Spokane YMCA, along with the local Ministerial Alliance. In the next few days, I'll attempt to highlight some of the history of Father's Day.  Here's a public service announcement from one of Spokane's own:

Here's a list of some local events highlighting the centennial and honoring dads.

Southern California Genealogical Society's 2010 Jamboree: Day Three (Saturday)

I missed the first session Saturday morning, as planned, since I figured I would need to take things slowly (I'm not a morning person). Before 10 AM, however, I was ready in Academy Room 4 with Thomas MacEntee, Steve Danko, Elyse Doerflinger, and Randy Seaver, all panelists for "Blogger Summit Part 1: From Novice to Reader to Blogger in Sixty Minutes." We covered What Is a Blog?, How Can I Use a Blog for Genealogy?, Finding Genealogy Blogs, Genealogy Blog Types, Genealogy Blogs as Sources, Easy Ways to Read Genealogy Blogs, and Creating a Genealogy Blog.

Thomas was a great moderator and there was some excellent give and take between the audience and panel. There definitely is an interest in genealogy blogging, and I hope we encouraged others to read and/or write genealogy blogs. In between Part 1 and Part 2, many bloggers took photos of one another and we got several group shots as well. The picture belows shows many, but not all, of the genealogy bloggers in attendance at Jamboree:

Part 2 was also moderated by Thomas, and the panel included Craig Manson, Schelly Talalay Dardashti, Lisa Louise Cooke, and Kathryn Doyle. The topic was "Now That You're a Genealogy Blogger" and covered How to Keep the Blogging Momentum Going, considering having more than one blog, Finding Your Blogging Niche, Your Brand and Your Blog, Copyright and Copy Wrong, SEO - What It Is and Why It Matters, Advertising - What Works and What Doesn't.

It was then time for lunch, and I went to the Daily Grill inside the Marriott with Kathryn Doyle, the footnoteMaven, Denise Levenick, and Denise's mother Suzanne Brown Freeman. There was a long wait to get in, so by the time we were served, ate, and finished up, the first afternoon session was already in progress. We decided to stay for coffee and continued chatting and getting to know one another a little better, talking about all things genealogy and more! We discovered that all of us, sans Suzanne who had left our group a little early, were the eldest of our siblings, and thereby dubbed ourselves the Eldest Lunch Bunch!

I very much wanted to attend "Pennsylvania's Land Records: An Indispensable Resource for Genealogists" by John T. Humphrey, CG, but the room was full and they would not allow anyone to stand in the room due to fire codes. So I retreated to the bloggers' lounge, taking photographs and visiting. Then I went to Thomas MacEntee's "Twitter - It's Not Just 'What I Had for Breakfast' Any More!" While in his class, I tweeted about it (the only one doing so), so it helped to give some live examples to the audience (unintended on my part). In this session, I learned something, too: I discovered TweetDeck, downloaded it to my netbook, and have enjoyed using it very much!

That was the last session of the day, so as I had promised Elyse (who's underage), I celebrated her recent graduation from community college with Shirley Temples outside the exhibitor's hall. Jean Wilcox Hibben and her husband Butch created wonderful entertainment with their guitar and saw, and Thomas and Jean harmonized on some lovely folk songs while many listened or sang along.

For dinner, Elyse, Liz Morgan Hall, and I ran across the street to George's Greek Cuisine for dinner. You gotta love the name Liz picked out for her blog: My Big Fat Cajun/Irish/Scottish/English/German/French/Southern Family Blog! Afterwards, we hung out in the bloggers' lounge once again and took even more photos, which I loaded onto my Facebook profile!

Day One
Day Two - Part I
Day Two - Part II
Day Four
Day Five

Third FGS Conference Hotel Now Available

I received this press release from the Federation of Genealogical Societies:

The two conference hotels (the Hilton and Holiday Inn) are filled.  We have been able to secure a  block of rooms at the Crowne Plaza Knoxville at the rate of $108/night for persons still needing lodging.  In order to receive the rate, you must contact the hotel directly at 865-522-2600 extension 2366 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. EDT.  Be sure to mention that you are with "Federation of Genealogical Societies" to receive this special group rate.  The hotel is 2.5 blocks from the Convention Center and is on the city of Knoxville's free trolley route.  It will take approximately 10 minutes via the trolley to reach the convention center.  A trolley arrives approximately every 15 minutes. The full service hotel features Mahogany's Restaurant and a Starbucks.  The hotel is only 2 blocks from the East Tennessee History Center.

Southern California Genealogical Society's 2010 Jamboree: Day Two (Friday) - Part II

When I returned to the Marriott from the Evergreen Cemetery Tour, I went at once to the "blogger lounge" to pick up my Geneablogger Welcome Bag. It contained all kinds of freebies from various genealogical products companies and other bloggers, as well as my Geneablogger button and my mardi gras beads that all geneabloggers wore. Denise Levenick, a.k.a. The Family Curator, has a photo of the Welcome Bag Team and the list of sponsors here.

Hanging out in the lobby were many more of my longtime online blogging friends, and before you know it, I was exchanging hugs with some of my favorite people:

• my distant cousin, Randy Seaver, of Geneamusings - and I later met his wife, the Angel Linda (she really is an angel!)
• Thomas MacEntee of Genebloggers and the Pearl Mesta of genealogy bloggers
• Steve Danko of Steve's Genealogy Blog
• Amy Coffin of WeTree
• Holly Hansen of FamilyHistoryExpos
• Cheryl Palmer of Heritage Happens

I'm sure there were others as well, but my memory is starting to blur! I then went to my first lecture, "Research in Connecticut: A Crossroads of Resources" by Chris Child, staff genealogist at NEHGS. My fellow society members, Donna and Cecily, joined me and we sat together. I got some ideas for where to look for records for my PHILLIPS brickwall that peters out in Sharon, Connecticut. I wasn't ready to sit for another hour in the next session, and the choices that were offered were mostly topics I was already familiar with, so I went to hang out in the blogger lounge again. On my way, I met Craig Manson of Geneablogie.

For the last session of the afternoon, I attended Arlene Eakle's "American Migration Patterns into Central US." I've long been a fan of Dr. Eakle, ever since I borrowed conference tapes of her informative and powerful lectures from my genealogy society's tape tub. She gave numerous examples of alternative records to use to trace migration patterns, including "occupation maps," maps which show things like all the iron works on the east coast at a particular time period if your ancestors were iron workers and "disappeared" from a certain area.

After the lecture times ended, I wandered around the exhibitors hall for a while, talking to vendors and introducing myself to a few online friends such as Lisa Louise Cooke of the Genealogy Gems Podcast. A mariachi band was playing lively music in the background and keeping everyone entertained. I had not planned to attend any of the evening banquets; soon after I retired for the evening, exhausted from my long day, yet thrilled by all the day's adventures!

Day One
Day Two - Part I
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five

Southern California Genealogical Society's 2010 Jamboree: Day Two (Friday) - Part I

My Day Two was Jamboree's Official Opening Day. I started out by boarding the tour bus for Evergreen Cemetery in East Los Angeles at 8:15 AM. On the bus were Canadian geneablogger Joan Kerr Miller of Luxegen and her husband, Reg, although we didn't actually get introduced until the next day. I sat next to a sweet, older woman by the name of Nancy Griffin. It was her first time at Jamboree, too, although unlike myself, she is fairly new to genealogical research. A local resident, she answered my many questions about the beautiful flowering shrubs and trees in the area. I was especially interested in the Jacaranda, a gorgeous lavender-colored flowering tree, with a heavy fragrance similar to a lilac.

It took about a half an hour to reach Evergreen from Burbank. The oldest cemetery in the city, it is the final resting place for local founding fathers, Japanese-ancestored Congressional Medal of Honor awardees of the 442nd Infantry Regiment, other ethnic minorities (including celebrities and civil rights workers) who were denied burial in other cemeteries, and my husband's great-great-grandfather, Pleasant Clark TOLLIVER (1861 - 1918), my main reason for taking the tour.

The tour was led by Steve Goldstein (author of the recently-published Beneath Los Angeles) and Joe Walker (a Crime Analyst with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department) of The Studio for Southern California History, and it was absolutely fascinating! One of the first photos I took was of the grave of Eddie Anderson, who played the character of Rochester in the Jack Benny Show, one of my husband's favorites. I texted him from the cemetery with this information, and even he, the eye-rolling non-genealogist, was excited!

About 40 minutes into the tour, I tore myself away to go to the cemetery office to get a map and directions so I could locate the TOLLIVER grave. Nancy was very kind to go with me and help me look for the gravestone. I found it without too much trouble, and she snapped the photo!

Of course, I had to call my husband's sister in Portland, Oregon to tell her about my find. She is a huge FindAGrave fan and contributor and she was as thrilled as I was.

After the tour concluded, we stopped as planned for lunch at the famous Philippe's, home of the French-dipped sandwich. I ordered a beef roast sandwich, coleslaw (well-made) and a soda, and chatted with some of the other members of the tour. We returned to Burbank via the Pasadena Freeway, the first one built in the US. We got back to the Marriott a little later than expected, due to a traffic slowdown from a burning car along the way.

Day One
Day Two - Part II
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five

Welcome to My Blog

Good morning! I'd like to welcome those of you who are arriving for the first time to my blog as a result of Blogger Summit I at Jamboree (10 AM in the Academy 4 room). We hope you enjoy this summit and will also stay for Blogger Summit II immediately following at 11:30.

For your convenience, see the right-hand menu to bookmark this blog. You can also choose to add it to your favorite blog reader, such as Google Reader or Bloglines. Or you can choose to have the posts sent to your e-mail address, daily.

Another blog that I contribute to frequently is my local genealogical society's, the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society blog. If you are considering starting a blog for your own society, you may wish to visit there. It is written by a team of three: Charles Hansen (our society researcher), Donna Potter Phillips (our society president), and myself.

Please check out my two new websites aimed at helping genealogists and historians find online historical resources at both free and subscription websites:

Online Historical Directories

Online Historical Newspapers

Thank you for dropping by!

Southern California Genealogical Society's 2010 Jamboree: Day One

OK, so officially, Jamboree has not begun. But here I am in beautiful, WARM Burbank, California all excited about my first day of Jamboree time!

I very much enjoyed my flight to Burbank from Spokane via Oakland, chatting with fellow Eastern Washington Genealogical Society board members, Donna Potter Phillips and Cecily Cone Kelly. It has been 23 1/2 years since I've been to California (I marched in the Pasadena Rose Parade on New Year's Day 1987 with The Salvation Army Band - another lifetime ago!) and 25 years since I have flown. I love flying! I used to do it all the time growing up in Alaska and again as a college student in Washington State. But that was pre-Internet and pre-9/11 and flying has taken on another form from what I remember. The advantage of being able to book a flight and print my boarding pass online was heavily outweighed by the seriousness of airport security and reminders of the threat of terrorism. It was much like returning to one's childhood home: while you cherish those fond memories, things have changed and you realize that you can never really go back home again.

After lunch and rest, I went to the Marriott Hotel lobby to pick up my syllabus and registration packet, since I had pre-registered and had that option. While there, I ran into all kinds of old friends and new, most of whom I'd never met in real life until today! They included:

• Paula Hinkel, organizer extraordinaire of Jamboree
• The footnoteMaven, who was wearing a tiara!
• Kathryn Doyle of the California Genealogical Society and Library blog
• Schelly Talalay Dardashti of Tracing the Tribe
• Becky Wiseman of kinexxions
• Cheryl Palmer of Heritage Happens
• Gini of Ginisology, and her husband Steve
• Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak
• Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage.com, and
• Tom Ryder of EasyNetSites.com (a great place to go if your genealogy society is looking to build a new website!)
• Ruth Himan of Genealogy is Ruthless Without Me
• Maureen Taylor of The Photo Detective

While I did attempt to take photos, the lighting in the lounge where we were sitting and chatting was very poor and they did not turn out well, for the most part. I know tomorrow will bring me many more opportunities for meetups and pics, so stay tuned!

Day Two - Part I
Day Two - Part II
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five

Footnote.com Opens the Largest Online U.S. Civil War Collection Free to the Public

-Millions Of Original Documents Help Americans Gain A New Perspective On The War-

June 10, 2010 – Lindon, UT – Today Footnote.com announced that its U.S. Civil War Collection will be made free to the public through the month of June.  Footnote.com has worked with the U.S. National Archives over the past three years to create the largest repository of Civil War documents on the web featuring over 30 million documents, photos and maps. 

“Our strong partnership with the National Archives has allowed us to build an extremely valuable resource for researchers, historians and genealogists,” explains Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com.  “Now more people than ever have access to records relating to one of the most prolific events in our history.”states.”  Major events as well as accounts from individuals are brought to life on Footnote.com. Visitors to Footnote.com will find:

·        Union and Confederate Soldier Service Records

·        Widow’s Pension Files

·        Emancipation Documents and Slave Records

·        Confederate Amnesty Papers and Citizens Files

·        Lincoln Assassination Investigation and Trial Papers

·        U.S. Civil War Photos and Maps

More than just a repository, Footnote.com incorporates community contributions and interactions to enhance these records. “When documents and member contributions come together, a more powerful side of history is revealed,” says Justin Schroepfer Director of Marketing at Footnote.com.  “Our members have added comments, insights and information that significantly increase our understanding of these events and the people involved.”

On Footnote.com members can also create their own pages to highlight their discoveries and research.  Members have created Footnote Pages relating to the U.S. Civil War that cover topics such as:

·        Female Civil War Soldiers & Spies

·        Papers of Robert E. Lee

·        Union African Americans in the U.S. Civil War

·        Confederate Soldiers Graves

To see how Footnote.com is changing the way we view U.S. Civil War history, visit http://go.footnote.com/civilwar/.              

Additional Resources

Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/footnote

Join us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Footnotecom/52981708480

About Footnote, Inc.

Footnote.com is a subscription website that features original historical documents, providing visitors with an unaltered view of the events, places and people that shaped the American nation and the world. At Footnote.com, all are invited to come share, discuss, and collaborate on their discoveries with friends, family, and colleagues. For more information, visit http://www.footnote.com.

Heading Out to Jamboree!

I'm sure my regular readers have noticed a bit of a blogging slowdown on my part lately, as well as the lack of a Massachusetts post for my Online American Digital Archives and Databases series. Well, it's just that crazy time of year again, folks! It's the last week of school (I work in a special education classroom at a local middle school), and most of the classrooms are being packed up to accommodate building construction and remodeling over the summer. Added to that chaos are a number of upcoming family celebrations. Besides the typical graduations and Father's Day events that most families face in June, we have seven birthdays and an anniversary among close family members! Additionally, our nephew (who graduates from college this Saturday) will be married on the 19th and our son is in the wedding party. As wild as it all gets, I do enjoy the time to get together with family on both sides and mark these special occasions.

You all know I'm headed to Jamboree later this week, and if you're a friend of mine on Facebook, you know I've been recovering from a bad upper respiratory infection. I was almost relieved when I came down ill last Friday. Being a firm believer in Murphy's Law, I was glad that if I had to be ill, it would be in time to recover before heading to Burbank! ;-)  I thought being in bed all day would give me the time to write and pre-schedule some posts, but a nasty sinus headache prevented me from having much of a clear mind.

So what does this mean for my readers? You can be sure I'll be posting as often as I can, as soon as I can, about my adventures at Jamboree. After I return home and the wedding is over, I'll settle in to get caught up on my regular posts, especially the Archives and Databases ones. Thank you so much for hanging in there, and I hope to meet many of you this weekend!

Family Tree DNA Offers Summer Special

As a Family Tree DNA Group Administrator, I received the following from Family Tree DNA:

Dear Family Tree DNA Group Administrator:

Last summer we offered a pricing special that was the most successful offering of its type in our company history. Project administrators got behind the recruitment efforts and for those that did, their projects grew and our database grew, so we'd like to offer a summer special again.

Here are the details:

• Y-DNA37 for $119 (Regular price would be $149)
• Y-DNA67 for $199 (Regular price would be $239)
• Y-DNA37+mtDNA for $159 (Combined test would cost $238)

Bypass the Y-DNA12 and Y-DNA25, and get the best Genealogy tests on the market!

The promotion will start June 5 and will end June 25. Kits need to be paid for by June 30, 2010.


As, always, thank you for your continued support.

Win a Copy of Elyse Doerflinger's Organizing Book!

Geneabloggers is offering a chance to win Elyse Doerflinger's e-book, Conquering the Paper Monster Once and For All from now through Thursday. Contest rules and details are here.

Live Genealogy Gems Podcast at Jamboree

Lisa Louise Cooke, Genealogy Podcast Queen Extraordinaire, will be interviewing three very special guests for her Genealogy Gems Podcast on Saturday, June 12th at 1:00 PM in the Pavillion. Jamboree attendees are invited to view these live podcasts as Lisa interviews Maureen Taylor, Suzanne Russo Adams, and Chris Haley. Take a moment to view the two-minute video that Lisa prepared to get you excited for this free event:

In addition, Lisa will be giving away lots of free prizes during the show! You won't want to miss this!

FamilySearch Indexing Update: Over 100 Active Projects from 29 Countries and in 11 Languages

4 June 2010
There are now over 100 current indexing projects from 29 countries and in 11 languages!

Thirty-four new indexing projects were started in just the past two months. They cover six different languages: Norwegian, Dutch, German, Russian, Spanish, and English. Eighteen of the new English projects are county marriages from various states in the U.S. Please help index one of the current projects if you do not see your preferred state(s). Additional states will be added as these projects are completed.

New Projects in the Past Month

• België—Burgerlijke Stand, 1851–1900 [Deel D]
  (In partnership with Algemeen Rijksarchief en Rijksarchief in de Provincien)
• Canada, Ontario—Births, 1869–1912
• Deutschland, Mecklenburg—Volkszählung, 1890 [Div 70–92]
• Mexico, Zacatecas—1930 Federal Censo
• Norge —Tinglysningskort, 1640–1903
• U.K., Manchester—Parish Registers, 1813–1925 [Part A]
• U.S., Alabama—County Marriages, 1809–1950 [Part A]
• U.S., Arkansas—County Marriages, 1837–1957 [VIII]
• U.S., California—County Marriages, 1850–1952 [Part A]
• U.S., District of Columbia—County Marriages, 1811–1950 [Part A]
• U.S., Idaho—County Marriages, 1864–1950
• U.S., Illinois—County Marriages, 1810–1934 [Part A]
• U.S., Indiana, Dearborn County—Marriages, 1811–1959
• U.S., Iowa—1885 State Census
• U.S., Iowa—County Marriages, 1838–1992 [Part A]
• U.S., Minnesota—1905 State Census
• U.S., Minnesota—County Marriages, 1860–1949 [Part A]
• U.S., New Jersey—County Marriages, 1682–1956 [Part 1]
• U.S., New York—1905 State Census [Part 2]
• U.S., New York—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., New York—Marriages, 1908–1935 [Part A]
• U.S., New York—Marriage Licenses, 1908–1938 [Part A]
• U.S., North Carolina—County Marriages, 1762–1959 [Part A]
• U.S., Oklahoma—County Marriages, 1891–1959 [Part A]
• U.S., Pennsylvania—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Rhode Island—1885 State Census
• U.S., Tennessee—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Tennessee—County Marriages, 1790–1950 [Part B]
• U.S., Tennessee, Carroll County—Marriages, 1881–1939
• U.S., Texas—County Marriages, 1837–1977 [Part A]
• U.S., Utah—County Marriages, 1887–1966 [Part A]
• U.S., Vermont—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Virginia—1910 Federal Census
• Украина, Киев—Метрические книги русской православной церкви, 1843–1845 [Часть А]

(See the chart below for a complete list and current status of all indexing projects.)


Recently Completed Projects
(Note: Recently completed projects will be published at pilot.familysearch.org in the near future.)

• België—Burgerlijke Stand, 1851–1900 [Deel B]
• Canada, New Brunswick—Births, 1810–1906
• Deutschland, Mecklenburg—Volkszählung, 1890 [Div 39–69]
• Jamaica—Civil Births, 1878–1899 [Part B]
• Mexico, Jalisco—1930 Federal Censo
• Mexico, Michoacan—1930 Federal Censo
• Mexico, Nuevo Leon—1930 Federal Censo
• Nicaragua, Managua—Registros Civiles, 1879–1984 [Parte 2A]
• U.K., Cheshire—Parish Records, 1538–1850 [Part 2]
• U.S., California, San Francisco—Mortuary Records, 1850–1917
• U.S., District of Columbia—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Hawaii—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Indiana, Daviess County—Marriages, 1811–1959
• U.S., Minnesota—1865 State Census
• U.S., New Mexico—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., North Carolina—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., North Dakota—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Ohio—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Oklahoma—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Oregon—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Rhode Island—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., South Carolina—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., South Dakota—1945 State Census [Part B]
• U.S., Texas—1910 Federal Census
• U.S., Texas—WWII Draft Registration, 1942
• U.S., Utah—1910 Federal Census
• Украина, Киев—Метрические Книги, 1840–1842

Current FamilySearch Indexing Projects, Record Language, and Percent Completion

Argentina, Balvanera—Registros Parroquiales, 1833–1934 [Parte B]	Spanish	28.00%
Argentina, Cordoba—Registros Parroquiales, 1722–1924 [Parte B]	Spanish	20.00%
Argentina, Santa Fe—Registros Parroquiales, 1634–1926 [Parte A]	Spanish	21.00%
Argentina, Santa Fe—Registros Parroquiales, 1634–1926 [Parte B]	Spanish	23.00%
Belgium, Antwerp—Foreigners Index, 1840–1930	English	94.00%
Brasil, Pernambuco, Recife—Registro Civil, 1900–1920	Portuguese	1.00%
Brasil, Rio de Janeiro—Matrimonios, 1900–1910 [Piloto]	Portuguese	34.00%
Canada, Ontario—Births, 1869–1912	English	(New)
Canada, Ontario—Deaths, 1933–1937	English	40.00%
Canada, Ontario—Marriages, 1869–1927 [Part A]	English	14.00%
Canada, Québec, Montreal—Régistres Paroissiaux, 1800–1900	French	26.00%
Česká republika, Litoměřice—Matriky, 1552-1905 [část 1] (Tschechien, Litomerice—Kirchenbücher [Teil 1])	German	52.00%
Chile, Concepción—Registros Civiles, 1885–1903 [Parte 2A]	Spanish	54.00%
Chile, Concepción—Registros Civiles, 1885–1903 [Parte 2B]	Spanish	9.00%
Colombia, Bucaramanga—Registros Parroquiales, 1649–1959	Spanish	6.00%
Colombia, Marinilla—Registros Parroquiales, 1815–1959	Spanish	35.00%
Deutschland, Baden, Achern—Kirchenbücher, 1810–1869 [Part C]	German	18.00%
Deutschland, Mecklenburg—Volkszählung, 1890 [Div 70–92]	German	(New)
España, Avila, Navalmoral—Registros Parroquiales, 1530–1935	Spanish	82.00%
España, Lugo—Registros Parroquiales, 1530–1930 [Parte 1]	Spanish	38.00%
España, Malaga—Registros Civiles, 1846–1870	Spanish	36.00%
France, Cherbourg—Registres Paroissiaux, 1802–1907	French	18.00%
France, Coutances—Registres Paroissiaux 1802–1907	French	17.00%
France, Coutances, Paroisses de la Manche, 1792–1906	French	90.00%
France, Paris—Registres Protestants, 1612–1906 [Partie D]	French	26.00%
France, Saint-Lo—Registres Paroissiaux, 1802–1907	French	56.00%
Guatemala, Guatemala—Registros Civiles, 1877–1900	Spanish	1.00%
Guatemala, Huehuetenango y San Marcos—Registros Civiles, 1877–1900	Spanish	69.00%
Italia, Napoli, Castellammare di Stabia—Atti di Morte, 1809–1936 [Parte B]	Italian	40.00%
Italy, Trento—Baptisms, 1784–1924 [Part 2A]	Italian	11.00%
Jamaica—Civil Births, 1900–1930 [Part A]	English	80.00%
Mexico, DF—Registros Parroquiales, 1855–1934 [Parte 4]	Spanish	32.00%
Mexico, Zacatecas—1930 Federal Censo	Spanish	(New)
New Zealand—Passenger Lists, 1871–1915	English	95.00%
Nicaragua, Managua—Registros Civiles, 1879–1984 [Parte 3A]	Spanish	67.00%
Norge —Tinglysningskort, 1640–1903	Norwegian	(New)
Perú, Lima—Registros Civiles, 1887–1921 [Parte A]	Spanish	20.00%
Portugal, Setúbal—Registros da Igreja, 1581–1910	Portuguese	10.00%
Russland, Sankt Petersburg—Kirchenbuchduplikat, 1833–1885	German	3.00%
South Africa, Cape Province—Church Records, 1660–1970	Afrikaans, Dutch, English	40.00%
Sverige, Södermanland—Kyrkoböcker, till 1860 [Del 1]	Swedish	27.00%
Sverige, Uppsala—Kyrkoböcker, till 1860 [Del 1]	Swedish	42.00%
Sverige, Örebro—Kyrkoböcker, till 1860 [Del 1]	Swedish	19.00%
U.K., Bristol—Non-Conformist Registers, Pre-1900 [Part A]	English	11.00%
U.K., Bristol—Parish Registers, 1837–1900 [Part C]	English	75.00%
U.K., Essex—Parish Registers, 1538–1900 [Part A]	English	6.00%
U.K., Isle of Man—Parish Registers, 1598–1850	English/ Old English	38.00%
U.K., Isle of Man—Parish Registers, 1800–1950	English	95.00%
U.K., Manchester—Parish Registers, 1813–1925 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.K., Warwickshire—Parish Registers, 1538–1900 [Part 2 Adv]	English/ Old English	3.00%
U.K., Warwickshire—Parish Registers, 1754–1900 [Part 1C]	English	50.00%
U.S., Alabama—County Marriages, 1809–1950 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.S., Arkansas—County Marriages, 1837–1957 [VIII]	English	(New)
U.S., California—County Marriages, 1850–1952 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.S., District of Columbia—County Marriages, 1811–1950 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.S., Hawaii—1920 Federal Census	English	92.00%
U.S., Idaho—County Marriages, 1864–1950	English	(New)
U.S., Illinois—County Marriages, 1810–1934 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.S., Indiana, De Kalb County—Marriages, 1811–1959	English	16.00%
U.S., Indiana, Dearborn County—Marriages, 1811–1959	English	(New)
U.S., Indiana, Delaware County—Marriages, 1811–1959	English	39.00%
U.S., Iowa—1885 State Census	English	(New)
U.S., Iowa—County Marriages, 1838–1992 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.S., Military—1920 Federal Census	English	93.00%
U.S., Minnesota—1905 State Census	English	(New)
U.S., Minnesota—County Marriages, 1860–1949 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.S., New Jersey—County Marriages, 1682–1956 [Part 1]	English	(New)
U.S., New York—1905 State Census [Part 2]	English	(New)
U.S., New York—1910 Federal Census	English	(New)
U.S., New York—Marriage Licenses, 1908–1938 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.S., New York—Marriages, 1908–1935 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.S., North Carolina—County Marriages, 1762–1959 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.S., Oklahoma—County Marriages, 1891–1959 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.S., Pennsylvania—1910 Federal Census	English	(New)
U.S., Puerto Rico—1920 Censo Federal	Spanish	3.00%
U.S., Puerto Rico—Nacimientos Civiles, 1836–1930 [Parte A]	Spanish	29.00%
U.S., Rhode Island—1885 State Census	English	(New)
U.S., Rhode Island—1935 State Census	English	75.00%
U.S., Tennessee—1910 Federal Census	English	(New)
U.S., Tennessee—County Marriages, 1790–1950 [Part B]	English	(New)
U.S., Tennessee, Carroll County—Marriages, 1881–1939	English	(New)
U.S., Texas—County Marriages, 1837–1977 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.S., Utah—County Marriages, 1887–1966 [Part A]	English	(New)
U.S., Vermont—1910 Federal Census	English	(New)
U.S., Virginia—1910 Federal Census	English	(New)
Venezuela, Mérida—Registros Parroquiales, 1654–1992 [Parte 2]	Spanish	10.00%
Österreich, Wiener Meldezettel, 1890–1925	German	24.00%
Украина, Киев—Метрические книги русской православной церкви, 1843–1845 [Часть А]	Russian	(New)

(*Percentage refers to a specific portion of a larger project.)

Current FamilySearch Partner Projects, Record Language, and Percent Completion

Australia, Victoria—Probate Records, 1853–1989	English	88%
België—Burgerlijke Stand, 1851–1900 [Deel D]	Dutch	(New)
Belgique—Registres Civile, 1851–1900 [Partie A]	French	25%
Canada, Ontario, Toronto—Trust Cemeteries, 1826–1935	English	14%
Deutschland, Westfalen, Minden—Volkszählung, 1880–1900	German	5%
España, Avila, Madrigal y Garganta—Registros Parroquiales, 1530–1935	Spanish	51%
France, Quimper et Leon, St. Louis—Registres Paroissiaux, 1722–1909	French	28%
Norway—1875 Census [Part B]	Norwegian	18%
Philippines, Lingayen, Dagupan—Registros Parroquiales, 1615–1982	Spanish	24%
U.K., Norfolk—Parish Registers, 1538–1900	English	1%
U.S., Ohio—Tax Records, Post 1825 [Part 3]	English	18%
U.S., Utah, Salt Lake County—Birth Registers, 1890–1908	English	50%
U.S., Utah, Salt Lake County—Death Registers, 1848–1940	English	32%

About FamilySearch
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

See You at Jamboree!

Today marks only one week until I leave for the Southern California Genealogical Society's annual Jamboree  at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel in Burbank, California. This three-day extravaganza (June 11 - 13) not only is an opportunity to learn genealogy research tips and strategies from the best of the best as well as browse a variety of vendor tables with all the latest and greatest products, it's also a social gathering of the many geneabloggers around the globe. Last year was the first Geneablogger Meetup at Jamboree, and like every other geneablogger who was unable to attend, I was green with envy!

Well this year, I'll be my normal coloring, because not only will I be attending, I'll also be one of the panel of geneabloggers in the Blogger's Summit (Part I) on Saturday morning at 10 AM, along with Elyse Doerflinger, Thomas MacEntee, Pat Richley (DearMYRTLE), and Randy Seaver! Besides the Blogger Summit, there are a number of other lectures I know I will enjoy, as well as the Evergreen Cemetery tour Friday morning. While at the cemetery, I hope to have an opportunity to visit the grave of my husband's ancestor, Pleasant Clark TOLLIVER (1861 - 1918).

If you are a reader of this blog or a fellow geneablogger and are planning to be in attendance, I hope you will introduce yourself if you see me. I have a number of mini Moos from both my AnceStories blog and my Online Historical Directories and Online Historical Newspapers websites that I will be handing out as well. I'm very much looking forward to connecting with others!

Skytop Lodge Family Reunion 2010 Contest

GenealogyToday.com is partnering with the Skytop Lodge in Skytop, Monroe Co., Pennsylvania to host a contest for a "Skytop Family Reunion":

This promotion will provide one lucky winner an opportunity to host 10 family members who will enjoy a four-day, three-night stay, a welcome ice-cream social, a day of adventure; think rock-climbing, paintball, laser tag and mountain biking. Guests will also enjoy three meals a day, and full use of the resort's onsite activities including any equipment rentals. The winners will leave with a professional family portrait, and our partner; GenealogyToday.com, is providing an annual membership to their powerful website that will help the winning family continue their quest to expand the family tree.

You can read more about the contest here and enter to win on Skytop's Facebook page.  Contest ends July 31, 2010.

June 2010 Calendar of Events

Fine weather in June
Sets corn in tune.




Holidays, History, and Heritage

June is...

...Caribbean American Heritage Month

...Gay and Lesbian Pride Month

June 6th: Swedish National Day (Sweden)

June 7: Canadian Forces Day (Canada)

June 10th: Portugal Day

June 14th: Flag Day (United States)

June 17th: Icelandic National Day

June 19th: Juneteenth (United States)
- see more below

June 20th: Father's Day (United States)

June 21st: Soltice (Summer - Northern Hemisphere; Winter - Southern Hemisphere)

June 24th: St. John the Baptist Day - celebrated in many European cultures in conjunction with the Summer Solstice (Midsummer)

June 25th: Statehood Day (Croatia; Slovenia)

June 27: Armed Forces Day (United Kingdom)

Do any of the above events feature in or affect your heritage, culture, or family history?




Carnivals and Other Events:

Need help? Read my post, "How to Submit a Post to a Carnival",here.

Posted June 1 - the May 2010 Issue of Shades of the Departed 

Posted June 1 - the June 2010 Edition of the Graveyard Rabbits Carnival - The Interesting, the Odd, the Beautiful

Posted June 4 - the 94th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy - The Changing Role of Women

Posted June 19 - the 4th Edition of the African-American Carnival of Genealogy - Freedom Bound

Posted June 19 - The Freedom Tweet - Celebrating Juneteenth

Posted June 30 - the 30th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - Arrival New Lands




June 1 - Data Backup Day

Read the latest "Today is Backup Day!" post by Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers.



 
Scanfest: Sunday, June 27th, 11 AM - 2 PM, Pacific Daylight Time

Go here to learn how to join Scanfest and our group of chatting, scanning family archivists, historians, and bloggers!





Go here to add the above deadlines and dates to your Google Calendar,courtesy of Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers.

Look at your corn in May,
And you'll come weeping away;
Look at your corn in June,
And you'll come home to another tune.