Well, an expensive new survey (relax- you can see the highlights for free) tells us that women buy more traditional printed books than men do, although men buy more ebooks:
LINK
Note: And somebody buys A LOT of mystery novels…
YOU ARE VISITOR:
Friday, July 31, 2009
GETTING TO KNOW NUK-MUK
It’s librarian codespeak for the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC). NUCMC is fifty years young this year-- you can read more about it here:
LINK
For years NUCMC was only available as a huge multi-volume book set-- now you can search it for free via WorldCat.org:
LINK
Hint: To do a quick & dirty search for NUCMC items relating to a particular state, enter these search terms:
missouri nucmc (substitute the name of whatever state you want to search).
LINK
For years NUCMC was only available as a huge multi-volume book set-- now you can search it for free via WorldCat.org:
LINK
Hint: To do a quick & dirty search for NUCMC items relating to a particular state, enter these search terms:
missouri nucmc (substitute the name of whatever state you want to search).
RIP, HARRY PATCH
Mr. Patch was Great Britain’s last surviving WWI vet. After being wounded by German shrapnel, machine gunner Patch underwent abdominal surgery without anesthesia (medical staff had already exhausted the supply). During WWII, he again served Britain as a London fire warden:
LINK
LINK
Thursday, July 30, 2009
MINNESOTA DEATH CERTIFICATES INDEX
Some of your people hail from Minnesota, eh? Then this Minnesota Death Certificates Index may come in handy, eh?
LINK
LINK
FRANKLIN PIERCE
Err-- President Franklin Pierce (14th President, to be precise), in case you were wondering who this Pierce guy is and why he rates a Library of Congress resource guide:
LINK
LINK
NEW HEAD FOR NARA
President Obama has nominated the director of the New York Public Libraries to be head of the National Archives and Records Administration:
LINK
Note: The poor man may have to take a pay cut to accept the appointment. Since he currently makes around $350,000, however, I for one am not shedding any tears over his economic downturn…
LINK
Note: The poor man may have to take a pay cut to accept the appointment. Since he currently makes around $350,000, however, I for one am not shedding any tears over his economic downturn…
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
OBITS GO TO THE DOGS
Or, in this case, a particular dog named Gidget. Not familiar with Gidget, you say? Then I guess you never saw one of those Taco Bell commercials that featured a Chihuahua dog saying, “Yo queiro Taco Bell!” (I want Taco Bell):
LINK
Note: Do you also find it surreal to realize that the death of a dog is a bigger event news-wise than your death or mine is likely to be?
LINK
Note: Do you also find it surreal to realize that the death of a dog is a bigger event news-wise than your death or mine is likely to be?
CIVILWAR.COM
Largest online community of Civil War buffs on the Internet, with lots of goodies of interest to the Civil War researcher:
LINK
LINK
Saturday, July 25, 2009
MAKING A BIG SPLASH ACROSS THE POND
Social networking, that is-- it’s a runaway hit in the UK, where nine out of ten 25-34 year olds visited a social networking site like Facebook during May 2009:
LINK
Note: Eight out of ten 15-24 year olds also visited such sites. Lest you think it's merely a techno distraction for the youngsters, however, please note that two out of three persons 55 and older also did so!
LINK
Note: Eight out of ten 15-24 year olds also visited such sites. Lest you think it's merely a techno distraction for the youngsters, however, please note that two out of three persons 55 and older also did so!
CALIFORNIA DIGITAL LIBRARY WEB ARCHIVES
CDL’s Digital Archiving Service creates archives of captured websites and online publications using web archiving tools and services:
LINK
LINK
WHO SHOULD DECIDE WHAT YOU ARE ALLOWED TO READ?
The West Bend (WI) Citizens for Safe Libraries think they should:
LINK
Note: Their lawsuit against their local library demands that a book they don’t like be withdrawn from the local library-- and burned if possible. Nothing says "Freedom of speech" quite like a roaring fire, don’t you agree? Maybe somebody should hand the West Bend Citizens copies of Fahrenheit 451, just so they'll know what kind of world we'll wake up to if they get their way and every group with a complaint gets to censor any book it doesn't like…
LINK
Note: Their lawsuit against their local library demands that a book they don’t like be withdrawn from the local library-- and burned if possible. Nothing says "Freedom of speech" quite like a roaring fire, don’t you agree? Maybe somebody should hand the West Bend Citizens copies of Fahrenheit 451, just so they'll know what kind of world we'll wake up to if they get their way and every group with a complaint gets to censor any book it doesn't like…
LOOK TO THE SKIES!
These heavenly bodies aren’t the kind you’d see at a Hollywood party:
St. Louis Science Center Telescope Viewing
Friday, August 07, 2009
Location: St. Louis Science Center Planetarium in Forest Park
Hours: 7-10pm
The St. Louis Astronomical Society hosts public Star Parties at the Science Center on the First Friday of each month from January-October. Weather permitting, the St. Louis Astronomical Society and the Science Center will set up a number of telescopes and be on hand to answer visitor questions. The popular program "The Sky Tonight" WILL be done that evening. (Please beware that on September 4 a special event in the planetarium will not allow for the Planetarium presentation "The Sky Tonight". All activities on that evening will be outside with telescopes, weather permitting.)
Call the Night Sky Update, 314.289.4453, toll-free 800.456.SLSC, x4453.
St. Louis Science Center Telescope Viewing
Friday, August 07, 2009
Location: St. Louis Science Center Planetarium in Forest Park
Hours: 7-10pm
The St. Louis Astronomical Society hosts public Star Parties at the Science Center on the First Friday of each month from January-October. Weather permitting, the St. Louis Astronomical Society and the Science Center will set up a number of telescopes and be on hand to answer visitor questions. The popular program "The Sky Tonight" WILL be done that evening. (Please beware that on September 4 a special event in the planetarium will not allow for the Planetarium presentation "The Sky Tonight". All activities on that evening will be outside with telescopes, weather permitting.)
Call the Night Sky Update, 314.289.4453, toll-free 800.456.SLSC, x4453.
Friday, July 24, 2009
MEDIEVAL SOLDIERS DATABASE
The detailed service records of 250,000 medieval English soldiers (covers the period 1369-1453) have gone online in a free database. The database includes records of archers who served with Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt. The records of soldiers who fought in the Hundred Years War reveal salaries, sickness records, and records of knighthoods granted. These fairly records of soldiers of this time period will allow researchers to piece together fairly detailed accounts of the military service of nobles, knights, and common soldiers.
The database is the product of a research project by Professor Anne Curry of the University of Southampton and Dr. Adrian Bell of the University ofReading.
Dr Bell said: “The service records survive because the English exchequer had a very modern obsession with wanting to be sure that the government's money was being spent as intended. Therefore we have the remarkable survival of indentures for service detailing the forces to be raised, muster rolls showing this service and naming every soldier from duke to archer.”
Bell added that accounts from captains showing how funds were spent plus entries detailing when the exchequer requested the payments can be found. This free database (which was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council) even shows which mounted soldiers rode the furthest:
LINK
The database is the product of a research project by Professor Anne Curry of the University of Southampton and Dr. Adrian Bell of the University ofReading.
Dr Bell said: “The service records survive because the English exchequer had a very modern obsession with wanting to be sure that the government's money was being spent as intended. Therefore we have the remarkable survival of indentures for service detailing the forces to be raised, muster rolls showing this service and naming every soldier from duke to archer.”
Bell added that accounts from captains showing how funds were spent plus entries detailing when the exchequer requested the payments can be found. This free database (which was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council) even shows which mounted soldiers rode the furthest:
LINK
HISTORIC EAST AFRICAN PHOTOS
As a child, I was for some reason obsessed for several years with the idea of exploring Africa. I can recall carefully preparing supply lists using the ever-present Sears-Roebuck catalog. Naturally, therefore, I was thrilled to learn about this online exhibit of digitized photos from the Humphrey Winterton Historic East African Photos Collection (1860-1960):
LINK
LINK
Thursday, July 23, 2009
BABY STEPS WIN THE RACE
You may have thought about writing down your life story at some point, but somehow never got around to it. You might think that you’re not a very good writer, or perhaps you think your life story really wouldn’t interest anybody.
If that’s the case, stop and think for a moment. Would you like to have the life stories of your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.-- written by them in their own hands? I’m pretty sure you would-- so what about the people who will be chasing down the facts of your life 50, 75, 100 years from now? Do you want the record of your accomplishments to read simply BORN-MARRIED-DIED?
So what can you do? Write your own story using baby steps. That is, set aside one hour every month from now on to write about a year (or couple of years) of your life in a journal. A hand-written journal would be most meaningful for your descendants, but something written on and printed off from your computer and signed by you would be a lot better than no record at all. A journal illustrated with photos of the persons / places you are discussing would be even better.
Ways to Proceed:
1. Start with your first memories, and work your way forward year by year.
OR
2. Start with this year, and work your way back year by year.
3. Use your first hour-long session to leaf through scrapbooks, and quickly jot down memories that pop into your head. Then flesh out those quick impressions in future hourly sessions.
4. Plan on doing your hour-long writing session on the same day every month (1st, 15th, 30th- whichever number seems lucky / user friendly to you). This should help to make your monthly session a habit.
Need more inspiration? Here’s an article about a woman who’s been keeping a journal for the past 30 years:
LINK
If that’s the case, stop and think for a moment. Would you like to have the life stories of your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.-- written by them in their own hands? I’m pretty sure you would-- so what about the people who will be chasing down the facts of your life 50, 75, 100 years from now? Do you want the record of your accomplishments to read simply BORN-MARRIED-DIED?
So what can you do? Write your own story using baby steps. That is, set aside one hour every month from now on to write about a year (or couple of years) of your life in a journal. A hand-written journal would be most meaningful for your descendants, but something written on and printed off from your computer and signed by you would be a lot better than no record at all. A journal illustrated with photos of the persons / places you are discussing would be even better.
Ways to Proceed:
1. Start with your first memories, and work your way forward year by year.
OR
2. Start with this year, and work your way back year by year.
3. Use your first hour-long session to leaf through scrapbooks, and quickly jot down memories that pop into your head. Then flesh out those quick impressions in future hourly sessions.
4. Plan on doing your hour-long writing session on the same day every month (1st, 15th, 30th- whichever number seems lucky / user friendly to you). This should help to make your monthly session a habit.
Need more inspiration? Here’s an article about a woman who’s been keeping a journal for the past 30 years:
LINK
SNAKE IN THE GRASS
According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, you should be happy to see a black rat snake in your back yard, as it feeds on critters most people like even less:
LINK
Note: I've been told by a long-time reader that you would probably be happier if a king snake took up residence in your yard. The black rat snake apparently has something of a reputation as a biter (not venomous, but still hurts), while the king snake prefers to put the squeeze on its prey in true constrictor fashion-- and most humans are way too big to be considered prey by North American constrictors.
LINK
Note: I've been told by a long-time reader that you would probably be happier if a king snake took up residence in your yard. The black rat snake apparently has something of a reputation as a biter (not venomous, but still hurts), while the king snake prefers to put the squeeze on its prey in true constrictor fashion-- and most humans are way too big to be considered prey by North American constrictors.
DON'T FEAR THE GELATINOUS BLOBS...
Sure, characters in B-movies always run in terror from gelatinous blobs, but there’s no need to panic if you see one of these round mounds in a Missouri waterway. It’s not an invader from another planet out to conquer the Show-Me State: it’s a colony of invertebrate critters called bryozoans:
LINK
LINK
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
OUTER BANKS HISTORY CENTER
If you’ve got North Carolina coastal ancestors or current-day relatives (or just love the NC coast the way I do), you'll really like the website of the Outer Banks History Center:
LINK
LINK
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
Dick Eastman’s head is in the clouds right now-- and yours may be, too, after you read his thoughtful blog post on genealogical cloud computing:
LINK
LINK
ARMY LIMITS REENLISTMENT OPTIONS
The faltering economy appears to be making a military career look like a fantastic deal, even though we’re still involved in a two-front land war. The Army is doing so well retaining soldiers that it has had to limit reenlistment options, and has been able to suspend reenlistment bonuses for the rest of this fiscal year:
LINK
LINK
21st CENTURY FUND GRANT PROGRAM
The Missouri State Genealogical Association (MoSGA) announces the 21st Century Fund Grant Program. Grants of up to $1,000 are offered to Missouri genealogical societies, historical societies, libraries and/or archives to identify, compile, record, index and/or preserve non-public (non-governmental) records.
Funded through MoSGA’s 21st Century Fund, established in 2005, the Grant Program offers Missouri societies the opportunity to preserve and publish their unique local genealogical data.
The deadline for receipt of grant applications is October 31, 2009. Grants will be awarded prior to January 1, 2010. Grants are awarded on a requested amount up to $1,000 per project.
Grant application and guidelines are available here. Information about the Grant Program will also be available at MoSGA’s Annual Conference, August 7-8, 2009 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Martha Henderson, Chair
21st Century Fund Committee
20 July 2009
Funded through MoSGA’s 21st Century Fund, established in 2005, the Grant Program offers Missouri societies the opportunity to preserve and publish their unique local genealogical data.
The deadline for receipt of grant applications is October 31, 2009. Grants will be awarded prior to January 1, 2010. Grants are awarded on a requested amount up to $1,000 per project.
Grant application and guidelines are available here. Information about the Grant Program will also be available at MoSGA’s Annual Conference, August 7-8, 2009 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Martha Henderson, Chair
21st Century Fund Committee
20 July 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
WHAT LIES BENEATH
In Miami Beach, Florida, they've discovered that what lies beneath a construction site is a long-forgotten blacks-only cemetery:
LINK
LINK
MOUND CITY
St. Louis during much of the 19th century was known as Mound City, because there were several dozen Indian mounds in and around the city. Urbanization led to the destruction of mound after mound, until only a portion of the Sugar Loaf Indian Mound still remains. Now the Osage Tribe of Oklahoma has expressed an interest in buying what's left of Sugar Loaf, in order to preserve it for future generations:
LINK
LINK
EARLY ADVERTISING OF THE WEST, 1867-1918
Digital exhibition assembled by the University of Washington Libraries:
“The Early Advertising of the West collection consists of over 450 print advertisements published in local magazines, city directories, and theater pamphlets from 1867 to 1918. These advertisements were selected and digitized in order to help researchers and students examine social, cultural and economic trends during this period. The collection is categorized into thematic groups and features advertisements about health care and hygiene products, liquor, tobacco, machinery, manufacturing, transportation, fashion, food and household goods and local tourism. Due to the lack of government drug inspection and regulation during this era, patent medicines and medical treatments such as tonics, tablets and electrical body belts are well represented.”
LINK
“The Early Advertising of the West collection consists of over 450 print advertisements published in local magazines, city directories, and theater pamphlets from 1867 to 1918. These advertisements were selected and digitized in order to help researchers and students examine social, cultural and economic trends during this period. The collection is categorized into thematic groups and features advertisements about health care and hygiene products, liquor, tobacco, machinery, manufacturing, transportation, fashion, food and household goods and local tourism. Due to the lack of government drug inspection and regulation during this era, patent medicines and medical treatments such as tonics, tablets and electrical body belts are well represented.”
LINK
Saturday, July 18, 2009
NASA’S “OH, NO-- DID I DO THAT?” MOMENT
Somebody at NASA deserves a VERY thorough chewing out-- what else can you do to the person who decided that a good way to save money was to record over NASA’s official video of the first moon landing:
LINK
LINK
UNITED STATES ROLL OF HONOR
Civil War buffs and Civil War ancestor seekers may wish to take a look at the subscription site FamilyRelatives.com-- they've just added the complete U.S. Roll of Honor to the long list of items available full-text on their site:
“One of the largest and most complete Rolls of Honor for the US Civil War has been released by Familyrelatives.com. It is the first time that all 27 volumes have been made available online: over 276,000 Roll of Honor records.
The "Names of the Soldiers Who Died in the Defence of the American Union - Interred in the National Cemeteries" were recorded by the Quartermaster General's Office in 1866. In each case the original place of interment, the soldiers' name, rank, company, regiment, date of death, section of cemetery and the number of the grave are all detailed.
The Roll reminds us that the Civil War was a bitter conflict and one of the bloodiest and costliest in terms of the toll it took on both sides with an estimated 620,000 military deaths, two thirds of which were caused by disease (as well as an undetermined number of civilian casualties).
The Union Army consisted of a large number of immigrants including many ethnic groups. A million soldiers were native born Americans of British ancestry; half a million were of German ancestry; 210,000 were African Americans, of whom half were freed men living in the north, while the remainder were slaves or had escaped slavery. A similar number were of Irish, Canadian, English, French, Dutch, or Scandinavian descent, as well as Italian, Jewish, Mexican, Polish, Native Americans, and other nationalities numbering 2.2 million who fought for the Union.
The collection includes the Final Disposition: four additional volumes listing the original places of burial from which some of the bodies of Deceased Union Soldiers and Prisoners of War have been removed and the various National Cemeteries in which they were finally reinterred.
This collection together with 650 million other historic records is available to search online to all members and visitors by way of an annual subscription of only US$50.00 or £30.00 at http://www.familyrelatives.com/.”
“One of the largest and most complete Rolls of Honor for the US Civil War has been released by Familyrelatives.com. It is the first time that all 27 volumes have been made available online: over 276,000 Roll of Honor records.
The "Names of the Soldiers Who Died in the Defence of the American Union - Interred in the National Cemeteries" were recorded by the Quartermaster General's Office in 1866. In each case the original place of interment, the soldiers' name, rank, company, regiment, date of death, section of cemetery and the number of the grave are all detailed.
The Roll reminds us that the Civil War was a bitter conflict and one of the bloodiest and costliest in terms of the toll it took on both sides with an estimated 620,000 military deaths, two thirds of which were caused by disease (as well as an undetermined number of civilian casualties).
The Union Army consisted of a large number of immigrants including many ethnic groups. A million soldiers were native born Americans of British ancestry; half a million were of German ancestry; 210,000 were African Americans, of whom half were freed men living in the north, while the remainder were slaves or had escaped slavery. A similar number were of Irish, Canadian, English, French, Dutch, or Scandinavian descent, as well as Italian, Jewish, Mexican, Polish, Native Americans, and other nationalities numbering 2.2 million who fought for the Union.
The collection includes the Final Disposition: four additional volumes listing the original places of burial from which some of the bodies of Deceased Union Soldiers and Prisoners of War have been removed and the various National Cemeteries in which they were finally reinterred.
This collection together with 650 million other historic records is available to search online to all members and visitors by way of an annual subscription of only US$50.00 or £30.00 at http://www.familyrelatives.com/.”
BIBLIOMANIACS ASSEMBLE!
Here are 100 online communities where you can connect with other people who are just as obsessed with books as you are:
LINK
LINK
PROPOSED CHANGES AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES (UK)
Noticed on the ENG-MANCHESTER mailing list:
“These changes are being proposed so that a 10% reduction in TNA costs can be made by March 2010 to meet operating costs.
Impact on public services at Kew:
* We are proposing to move to five-day opening by closing the reading rooms on Mondays
* We will introduce charges for use of the public car park
* We will remove selected large microfilm and microfiche records series from the reading rooms
* We will streamline copying services with the introduction of a new online request service (we will no longer operate Digital Express and estimating services)
* We will focus advice and expertise where and when it is needed, for example not providing expert staff between 17:00 and 19:00 when there is minimal demand
You can take a closer look at these proposed changes to The National Archives here.
You can provide feedback on the changes here.
“These changes are being proposed so that a 10% reduction in TNA costs can be made by March 2010 to meet operating costs.
Impact on public services at Kew:
* We are proposing to move to five-day opening by closing the reading rooms on Mondays
* We will introduce charges for use of the public car park
* We will remove selected large microfilm and microfiche records series from the reading rooms
* We will streamline copying services with the introduction of a new online request service (we will no longer operate Digital Express and estimating services)
* We will focus advice and expertise where and when it is needed, for example not providing expert staff between 17:00 and 19:00 when there is minimal demand
You can take a closer look at these proposed changes to The National Archives here.
You can provide feedback on the changes here.
Friday, July 17, 2009
ITUNES U
From their website:
"Today’s students expect constant access to information—in the classroom and beyond. Which is why more and more faculty are using iTunes U to distribute digital lessons to their students. And now, with the 3.0 software update for iPhone and iPod touch, iTunes U is directly accessible over both cellular and Wi-Fi networks through the iTunes Store."
LINK
Note: Maybe you won't make use of it, but your children/grandchildren probably will!
"Today’s students expect constant access to information—in the classroom and beyond. Which is why more and more faculty are using iTunes U to distribute digital lessons to their students. And now, with the 3.0 software update for iPhone and iPod touch, iTunes U is directly accessible over both cellular and Wi-Fi networks through the iTunes Store."
LINK
Note: Maybe you won't make use of it, but your children/grandchildren probably will!
DYNASTREE
A new genie site that may prove of interest:
Press Release
Hamburg, July 15 - The family network dynastree.com recently launched a new version, including a Turkish language version, and also a new feature-- the extended search. It is now possible to use far more parameters to search for possible relatives and ancestors. The new parameters not only include more fields for names (birth name, second surname), but also fields for place of birth, death, and residence. Moreover, both year of birth and year of death can now be used as search parameters, either as exact matches, or allowing deviations from the year specified. Premium users can now use the new function to its full extent, and everyone can test it to see whether or not their search parameters did return any results. This upgrade allows users to find matches even if only a limited amount of data is known, it greatly improves the possibility to make full use of dynastree's database of more than 90 million profiles from Europe, Russia, and the Americas.
Profile of dynastree.com
According to experts, dynastree.com and its international language versions have been among the fastest growing social networks worldwide in the last two years. By now, more than nine million families have created their tree at dynastree.com, and more than 15.000 new family trees are added each day. The venture capital corporations Neuhaus Partners and Hasso Plattner (co-founder of SAP) Ventures recognized the young start-up’s potential early and support dynastree.com as investors. dynastree.com was founded by the experienced internet entrepreneurs Daniel Grözinger and Sven Schmidt.
Press Contact:
Nils Schnelle
OSN Online Social Networking GmbH
Heimhuder Straße 72
20148 Hamburg
Germany
UK +44 20 7193 2208
US +1 201 399 2207
Email: nils.schnelle@dynastree.com
Web: http://www.dynastree.com/
Blog: http://www.dynastree.com/blog
Press Release
Hamburg, July 15 - The family network dynastree.com recently launched a new version, including a Turkish language version, and also a new feature-- the extended search. It is now possible to use far more parameters to search for possible relatives and ancestors. The new parameters not only include more fields for names (birth name, second surname), but also fields for place of birth, death, and residence. Moreover, both year of birth and year of death can now be used as search parameters, either as exact matches, or allowing deviations from the year specified. Premium users can now use the new function to its full extent, and everyone can test it to see whether or not their search parameters did return any results. This upgrade allows users to find matches even if only a limited amount of data is known, it greatly improves the possibility to make full use of dynastree's database of more than 90 million profiles from Europe, Russia, and the Americas.
Profile of dynastree.com
According to experts, dynastree.com and its international language versions have been among the fastest growing social networks worldwide in the last two years. By now, more than nine million families have created their tree at dynastree.com, and more than 15.000 new family trees are added each day. The venture capital corporations Neuhaus Partners and Hasso Plattner (co-founder of SAP) Ventures recognized the young start-up’s potential early and support dynastree.com as investors. dynastree.com was founded by the experienced internet entrepreneurs Daniel Grözinger and Sven Schmidt.
Press Contact:
Nils Schnelle
OSN Online Social Networking GmbH
Heimhuder Straße 72
20148 Hamburg
Germany
UK +44 20 7193 2208
US +1 201 399 2207
Email: nils.schnelle@dynastree.com
Web: http://www.dynastree.com/
Blog: http://www.dynastree.com/blog
REMEMBERING HIROSHIMA’S AMERICAN CASUALTIES
There were 12, including three American POWs recently added to the official list of casualties:
LINK
Note: They were being detained about a mile from ground zero...
LINK
Note: They were being detained about a mile from ground zero...
DO YOU NEED TRIP INSURANCE?
It can be a good idea-- especially for once-in-a-lifetime vacations. Just don’t get it from the company you booked your tour with-- if they go belly up, you lose your trip and your trip insurance:
LINK
LINK
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
LEARN WEB 2.0 THE EASY WAY
Well, easier than some other choices, certainly… JISC NetSkills has posted the first five of eight planned animations to help get you up to speed on RSS feeds, podcasting, microblogging, social media, and collaborative writing:
LINK
LINK
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
THE ONLINE BEHAVIOR OF WOMEN
How do women of various ages / geographic areas / economic brackets / social situations use the Web? An extensive recent survey has some answers:
LINK
LINK
Friday, July 10, 2009
PAPERS PAST
If you’ve got Kiwi ancestors / relatives, you’ll love Papers Past:
"Papers Past contains more than one million pages of digitised New Zealand newspapers and periodicals. The collection covers the years 1839 to 1932 and includes 52 publications from all regions of New Zealand."
LINK
"Papers Past contains more than one million pages of digitised New Zealand newspapers and periodicals. The collection covers the years 1839 to 1932 and includes 52 publications from all regions of New Zealand."
LINK
THIS DECLARATION MADE SOMEONE HAPPY
Several times a year somebody comes to my library with a “real” Declaration of Independence. Each time so far, it has actually been one of the uncountable reprintings of the Declaration that is artificially aged to make it look older than it really is (brushing tea onto a certain kind of paper is one way to do it). But that doesn’t mean that there are no more “real” Declarations out there: one was found recently in the National Archives-- the archives in Kew, England, that is:
LINK
LINK
PREVENTING ID THEFT
The best ways to protect against ID theft (according to Dick Eastman) are to pay your bills online and to shred any mail you get that contains sensitive information like Social Security or account numbers:
LINK
LINK
NPRC GETS THE GREEN LIGHT
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has locked in funding that should allow construction to begin on its new Dunn Road (north St. Louis County) facility by August 15th:
LINK
NOTE: NPRC holds 20th century American military records, and many federal civilian personnel records.
LINK
NOTE: NPRC holds 20th century American military records, and many federal civilian personnel records.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
TWO NEW BLOGS
Two new blogs will prove of interest to many Missouri genealogists:
The State Library of Massachusetts now has a blog (available here) where you will discover information about library collections, acquisitions news, plus images of materials from their shelves. Recent posts include ones on historic maps of Chatham; preservation work being done on a printed pedigree chart and seals from the Vassall family; and one on essential New England books.
The Rhode Island Historical Society’s blog started earlier this year. It provides information about the society’s physical locations and hours, plus information about their collections. Recent posts include a poem by James Franklin, brother of Benjamin and the first printer in Rhode Island; a 1754 pamphlet concerning the elimination of debtor’s prisons; and the first Jewish calendar printed in America.
The State Library of Massachusetts now has a blog (available here) where you will discover information about library collections, acquisitions news, plus images of materials from their shelves. Recent posts include ones on historic maps of Chatham; preservation work being done on a printed pedigree chart and seals from the Vassall family; and one on essential New England books.
The Rhode Island Historical Society’s blog started earlier this year. It provides information about the society’s physical locations and hours, plus information about their collections. Recent posts include a poem by James Franklin, brother of Benjamin and the first printer in Rhode Island; a 1754 pamphlet concerning the elimination of debtor’s prisons; and the first Jewish calendar printed in America.
PSST! GOOGLE NEWS YOU NEED TO HEAR…
You know that persistent rumor that Google has been working on an operating system? Ladies and gentlemen, it’s NOT a rumor:
LINK
NOTE: Like most Google projects, this OS is to be open source...
LINK
NOTE: Like most Google projects, this OS is to be open source...
AN ID THEFT STORY WITH A (SOMEWHAT) HAPPY ENDING
A woman asked her cousin in the Library of Congress Human Resources Department to furnish her with some employee names, employment info, addresses, and Social Security numbers. He did-- in exchange for cocaine. She went on a spending spree with her new forged identities-- until the law caught up with her and she finally had to face the music:
LINK
NOTE: The cousin in Human Resources only got probation. Is it obvious to everybody except our lawmakers and judges that drunk drivers and ID thieves need to face stiff penalties if we are ever going to make these crimes “go away”?
LINK
NOTE: The cousin in Human Resources only got probation. Is it obvious to everybody except our lawmakers and judges that drunk drivers and ID thieves need to face stiff penalties if we are ever going to make these crimes “go away”?
MARINES AND NAVY ARE EXCEEDING RETENTION GOALS
Apparently the prospect of service in a war zone isn’t hurting the Marines or the Navy. Enough current Marines and sailors are re-upping that those services have been able to eliminate re-enlistment bonuses in many specialties:
LINK
LINK
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
HISTORIC AERIALS
Historic (beginning in the 1930s for most places) and contemporary aerial photos of most U.S. locations. You can view a reasonably good image online, with option to purchase a higher-quality image if desired:
LINK
LINK
ROBOTS AND THE RULES OF WAR
Can robots be taught to behave ethically in combat situations? One researcher certainly thinks that they can:
LINK
LINK
ST. CLAIR COUNTY (IL) GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY NEWS
Upcoming speakers for the Society:
August 6, 2009-- Sharing Your Story by Mark Bauer. Various methods of publishing your lifetime of research will be presented.
September 3, 2009-- Deciphering Handwriting in American Documents with Linda Osterdock. Genealogists will become familiar with writing styles, lettering, spelling differences, and weights and measures often found in American documents.
Meetings are held the first Thursday of each month. Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: St. Luke Parish Hall, North Church and East "C" Sts., Belleville, Illinois (guests always welcome). Programs of genealogical interest are featured and summarized in the SCCGS Newsletter.
Inclement weather and lecture information: Karen LaCroix, 1st Vice-President & Program Chair, phone 618.286.4392.
SCCGS Website: http://www.stclair-ilgs.org/stchome.htm
August 6, 2009-- Sharing Your Story by Mark Bauer. Various methods of publishing your lifetime of research will be presented.
September 3, 2009-- Deciphering Handwriting in American Documents with Linda Osterdock. Genealogists will become familiar with writing styles, lettering, spelling differences, and weights and measures often found in American documents.
Meetings are held the first Thursday of each month. Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: St. Luke Parish Hall, North Church and East "C" Sts., Belleville, Illinois (guests always welcome). Programs of genealogical interest are featured and summarized in the SCCGS Newsletter.
Inclement weather and lecture information: Karen LaCroix, 1st Vice-President & Program Chair, phone 618.286.4392.
SCCGS Website: http://www.stclair-ilgs.org/stchome.htm
CLARK COUNTY (MO) VOTER LISTS
Received from Mary Jo Sisson March:
“I made a very interesting historical discovery. I located and purchased, in the state of Washington, the original voter registration lists for the townships of Clark County, dated 1866. They are in very good condition. They were found in a trunk in an abandoned store. The trunk had belonged to Dr. Carothers of Clark County, who was a very important person in this county during the Civil War period. He is buried at Fairmont, here in Clark County.
We have the 1860 census, and the 1870 census, but nothing in between, so that is why I think these are so important. What I also found interesting, in each township, besides listing the qualified voters, they also listed the rejected voters. In this county following the civil war, a voter was required to sign an Oath stating that he was loyal to the federal government. Of course, there were many men here who had been southern sympathizers and ex-confederate soldiers who refused to sign the Oath. They were probably the ones listed as rejected voters.
I thought about donating the documents to the Missouri Historical Society, but then I thought they should stay in their original county.
So I decided to donate them to the local Sever Library (Kahoka, Missouri). I worked for a long time and very diligently to sort out and index their genealogical material. It was not in very good order. Now they have a complete room for it, and an Index which I put on a disk for them to use. So I am very proud of their genealogy room.
It was so amazing that I found these records on the internet, and I thought you would enjoy hearing about it.”
H.E. Sever Memorial Library: http://nemolibrary.lib.mo.us/sever/
“I made a very interesting historical discovery. I located and purchased, in the state of Washington, the original voter registration lists for the townships of Clark County, dated 1866. They are in very good condition. They were found in a trunk in an abandoned store. The trunk had belonged to Dr. Carothers of Clark County, who was a very important person in this county during the Civil War period. He is buried at Fairmont, here in Clark County.
We have the 1860 census, and the 1870 census, but nothing in between, so that is why I think these are so important. What I also found interesting, in each township, besides listing the qualified voters, they also listed the rejected voters. In this county following the civil war, a voter was required to sign an Oath stating that he was loyal to the federal government. Of course, there were many men here who had been southern sympathizers and ex-confederate soldiers who refused to sign the Oath. They were probably the ones listed as rejected voters.
I thought about donating the documents to the Missouri Historical Society, but then I thought they should stay in their original county.
So I decided to donate them to the local Sever Library (Kahoka, Missouri). I worked for a long time and very diligently to sort out and index their genealogical material. It was not in very good order. Now they have a complete room for it, and an Index which I put on a disk for them to use. So I am very proud of their genealogy room.
It was so amazing that I found these records on the internet, and I thought you would enjoy hearing about it.”
H.E. Sever Memorial Library: http://nemolibrary.lib.mo.us/sever/
Friday, July 03, 2009
HELP WITH ADOPTION SEARCHES
Ancestry.com’s Learning Center offers helpful advice for adoptees seeking birthparents and vice-versa, including lists of states with open records / closed records / records with some restrictions:
LINK
LINK
SHOPFAMILYTREE.COM HOLIDAY SALE
Yes, they’re also having a big holiday weekend sale:
Celebrate Your Heritage This Independence Day!
Learn more about your ancestry and SAVE!
Visit ShopFamilyTree.com now and take 25% OFF your order of $35 or more! Just enter offer code FTFOURTH at checkout to receive your savings.
Hurry! This special holiday offer ends June 8th!
Don't forget- shipping is FREE on any U.S. Order over $25– every day!
Celebrate Your Heritage This Independence Day!
Learn more about your ancestry and SAVE!
Visit ShopFamilyTree.com now and take 25% OFF your order of $35 or more! Just enter offer code FTFOURTH at checkout to receive your savings.
Hurry! This special holiday offer ends June 8th!
Don't forget- shipping is FREE on any U.S. Order over $25– every day!
GENEALOGICAL.COM HOLIDAY SALE
Received from this long-time genie publisher:
Dear Patron:
We are running a great holiday sale for our customers this Independence Day weekend!
From today through 11:59 PM EDT, Monday, July 6, 2009, you can order any product available at www.genealogical.com at a discount of 30% off the current selling price of the book(s) or CD(s) of your choice.
To take advantage of this special holiday discount, simply add the code 070409 in the Discount Code box on the "Calculate Shipping and Discounts" page during the check-out process.
You can use your special 070409 discount code as many times as you like, so long as you place your final order by 11:59 PM EDT, Monday, July 6, 2009.
Dear Patron:
We are running a great holiday sale for our customers this Independence Day weekend!
From today through 11:59 PM EDT, Monday, July 6, 2009, you can order any product available at www.genealogical.com at a discount of 30% off the current selling price of the book(s) or CD(s) of your choice.
To take advantage of this special holiday discount, simply add the code 070409 in the Discount Code box on the "Calculate Shipping and Discounts" page during the check-out process.
You can use your special 070409 discount code as many times as you like, so long as you place your final order by 11:59 PM EDT, Monday, July 6, 2009.
ALBERT CASHIER
Albert Cashier fought in the Civil War, and lived in a small Illinois town for forty years afterwards. He chewed tobacco, voted in elections, and received a pension for his Civil War service just like any other veteran. It was only discovered that Albert was actually a woman when “he” was hit by a car and hospitalized in 1910:
LINK
There’s an effort underway to restore the small house that Albert lived in for forty years:
LINK
LINK
There’s an effort underway to restore the small house that Albert lived in for forty years:
LINK
BOOKSONSTLOUIS.COM
BooksOnStLouis.com features books on St. Louis topics or authored by St. Louisans. We offer the top St. Louis books including titles on St. Louis Sports books, St. Louis History books, St. Louis Lore books, St. Louis Architecture & Scenery books (including coffee table books), St. Louis Food & Cooking books, and guides to Leisure Activities in St. Louis.
LINK
LINK
Thursday, July 02, 2009
CHRONICLING AMERICA TOPIC GUIDES
Chronicling America is the Library of Congress’s digital newspapers collection. They have created guides to some widely covered topics in the newspapers they’ve been digitizing. For example:
§ Annexation of Hawaii
§ Baseball's Modern World Series, 1903-1910
§ Battleships
§ Clara Barton
§ Comic Strips
§ Early Cinema
§ Ellis Island
§ From Territory to Statehood - Alaska and Hawaii
§ From Territory to Statehood - The Northern West
§ From Territory to Statehood - The West
§ Patent Medicines
§ Pullman Porters
§ Russo-Japanese War
§ Stanford White (so-called trial of the century)
LINK
§ Annexation of Hawaii
§ Baseball's Modern World Series, 1903-1910
§ Battleships
§ Clara Barton
§ Comic Strips
§ Early Cinema
§ Ellis Island
§ From Territory to Statehood - Alaska and Hawaii
§ From Territory to Statehood - The Northern West
§ From Territory to Statehood - The West
§ Patent Medicines
§ Pullman Porters
§ Russo-Japanese War
§ Stanford White (so-called trial of the century)
LINK
NPRC CIVILIAN RECORDS OPENED TO THE PUBLIC
From their website:
“The National Archives’ National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) opened more than 6 million individual personnel files of former Federal civilian employees from the mid-1800s through 1951. These records will be of special interest to genealogists, family members, researchers, sociologists, and historians.”
LINK
“The National Archives’ National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) opened more than 6 million individual personnel files of former Federal civilian employees from the mid-1800s through 1951. These records will be of special interest to genealogists, family members, researchers, sociologists, and historians.”
LINK
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
HOW MANY MEDALS DID HE GET?
Marine Corps pilot Ken Reusser (who passed away recently) received 59 medals during his long career, including two Navy Crosses and four Purple Hearts:
LINK
Note: Ken certainly had more than his fair share of close calls: he was shot down at least once during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam!
LINK
Note: Ken certainly had more than his fair share of close calls: he was shot down at least once during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam!
OGS FALL CONFERENCE 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sally McAlear (417) 887-1699
June 30, 2009
Ozarks Genealogical Society’s Sept. 25-26 conference topics announced
SPRINGFIELD — The Ozarks Genealogical Society will hold its 29th Annual Conference September 25-26 at University Plaza Hotel in Springfield, Mo.
Thomas W. Jones, noted genealogical researcher, author, editor, and educator is the featured speaker. His lectures will focus on Internet research, deducing ancestors’ identities, tracing common surnames, and solving problems with original sources. Jones’ research has encompassed records of every state east of the Mississippi, as well as Iowa, Missouri, Texas, France, Germany, Italy, and Ireland. His lectures are known to benefit genealogists at all levels of expertise.
The conference begins Friday evening, September 25 and continues throughout the day on Saturday, September 26. The following mini-sessions will be presented on Saturday morning: “Start with What You Know,” “Family Search Online,” “Dressed for the Photographer,” and “Searching with GenSmarts.” A vendor showcase will also be available.
The Ozarks Genealogical Society, Inc. (OGS) was formally organized in September 1969 by a group of individuals brought together by a common interest in researching family history. It was chartered in 1979 as a not-for-profit organization by the State of Missouri. The goals of the society are to encourage the research and preservation of family history, foster solid genealogical research practices, and preserve records of historical and genealogical interest.
The conference is open to the public. Registration information and additional conference details are available on the OGS website. Those needing a registration form may call (417) 885-9009.
Contact: Sally McAlear (417) 887-1699
June 30, 2009
Ozarks Genealogical Society’s Sept. 25-26 conference topics announced
SPRINGFIELD — The Ozarks Genealogical Society will hold its 29th Annual Conference September 25-26 at University Plaza Hotel in Springfield, Mo.
Thomas W. Jones, noted genealogical researcher, author, editor, and educator is the featured speaker. His lectures will focus on Internet research, deducing ancestors’ identities, tracing common surnames, and solving problems with original sources. Jones’ research has encompassed records of every state east of the Mississippi, as well as Iowa, Missouri, Texas, France, Germany, Italy, and Ireland. His lectures are known to benefit genealogists at all levels of expertise.
The conference begins Friday evening, September 25 and continues throughout the day on Saturday, September 26. The following mini-sessions will be presented on Saturday morning: “Start with What You Know,” “Family Search Online,” “Dressed for the Photographer,” and “Searching with GenSmarts.” A vendor showcase will also be available.
The Ozarks Genealogical Society, Inc. (OGS) was formally organized in September 1969 by a group of individuals brought together by a common interest in researching family history. It was chartered in 1979 as a not-for-profit organization by the State of Missouri. The goals of the society are to encourage the research and preservation of family history, foster solid genealogical research practices, and preserve records of historical and genealogical interest.
The conference is open to the public. Registration information and additional conference details are available on the OGS website. Those needing a registration form may call (417) 885-9009.
SCHOOL YEARBOOKS AND ALUMNI DIRECTORIES
Note: While the column refers specifically to items in their collection, it's a good reminder that all genealogists should be aware of school yearbooks and alumni directories!
From GENEALOGY GEMS: NEWS FROM THE FORT WAYNE LIBRARY
No. 64, June 30, 2009
SCHOOL YEARBOOKS AND ALUMNI DIRECTORIES
by Dawne Slater-Putt, CG
October 28, 1897, freshman Charles Krinn had a new haircut, according to the Marion High School “Juggernaut” (977.202 M33j 1897). Yearbooks can be a rich source of information for adding color to the names, dates and places on a pedigree chart.
For each class, the “Juggernaut” included a group photograph, names, history, officers, colors, motto and yell. The annual detailed clubs, football teams and excursions; listed the alma maters and degrees of teachers; and included poetry, essays and jokes. A calendar featured a fact about an individual student for each day. Many of these appeared to be tongue-in-cheek, including the note about Charles Krinn’s haircut. The Alumni Record listed each graduate in the school’s history and his or her status in 1897: occupation, residence and women’s married names. Some were noted as deceased.
The Genealogy Center collection includes yearbook titles from nearly 1500 schools and more than 500 colleges, as well as more than 200 alumni directories that each supply brief biographical details on the graduates of a single institution. The Center actively seeks yearbooks and new titles continue to be cataloged. To determine whether the collection includes a specific yearbook, researchers should search the online catalog for the subject “school yearbooks” or “college yearbooks” and the desired city or state. Also, a name index for the yearbooks of three of the larger high schools in Allen County, Indiana is available at:
<http://www.GenealogyCenter.Info/search_acyearbooks.php>
Information typically found in yearbooks includes names and photographs of students, teachers, clubs and athletic teams. Other information varies by time period and individual school. Earlier books may include class colors, yells, mottos, verses, essays, and sections on alumni. Recent books typically include candid photographs, individual student pictures and sometimes an index. Annuals of all time periods may have advertisements for local businesses.
Other sources for yearbooks include city, county and state libraries where the school is located and the collections of local and state genealogical and historical societies. In some cases, digital images of yearbooks may be available online. The U.S. School Yearbooks database at Ancestry.com contains an estimated 6,151,452 personal names. This collection includes digitized annuals from schools, colleges and universities. It is searchable by name, with limiters of state, city, school name and yearbook year. Researchers also may browse the database by state, city, school and year.
Virtually all yearbooks found in library collections or online will be second-hand, rather than pristine copies. This is a boon for genealogists since researchers may find the signature of a relative who was a classmate of the original yearbook owner. A high school annual also may be the only inspiration for a mental picture of
Grandma as a teenager, chanting her class yell: “Hobble, Zick, Rah! Boom-a-lack, Bah! ’99, right in line, Zig-sag, Ah!”
Publishing Note:
This electronic newsletter is published by the Allen County Public Library's Genealogy Center. We welcome the wide distribution of this newsletter and encourage readers to forward it to their friends and societies. All precautions have been made to avoid errors. However, the publisher does not assume any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, no matter the cause.
To subscribe to “Genealogy Gems,” simply use your browser to go to the website: www.GenealogyCenter.Info. Scroll down toward the bottom of the first screen where it says, "Enter Your Email Address to Subscribe to "Genealogy Gems." Enter your email address in the yellow box and click on "Subscribe." You will be notified with a confirmation email.
Steve Myers & Curt Witcher, co-editors
From GENEALOGY GEMS: NEWS FROM THE FORT WAYNE LIBRARY
No. 64, June 30, 2009
SCHOOL YEARBOOKS AND ALUMNI DIRECTORIES
by Dawne Slater-Putt, CG
October 28, 1897, freshman Charles Krinn had a new haircut, according to the Marion High School “Juggernaut” (977.202 M33j 1897). Yearbooks can be a rich source of information for adding color to the names, dates and places on a pedigree chart.
For each class, the “Juggernaut” included a group photograph, names, history, officers, colors, motto and yell. The annual detailed clubs, football teams and excursions; listed the alma maters and degrees of teachers; and included poetry, essays and jokes. A calendar featured a fact about an individual student for each day. Many of these appeared to be tongue-in-cheek, including the note about Charles Krinn’s haircut. The Alumni Record listed each graduate in the school’s history and his or her status in 1897: occupation, residence and women’s married names. Some were noted as deceased.
The Genealogy Center collection includes yearbook titles from nearly 1500 schools and more than 500 colleges, as well as more than 200 alumni directories that each supply brief biographical details on the graduates of a single institution. The Center actively seeks yearbooks and new titles continue to be cataloged. To determine whether the collection includes a specific yearbook, researchers should search the online catalog for the subject “school yearbooks” or “college yearbooks” and the desired city or state. Also, a name index for the yearbooks of three of the larger high schools in Allen County, Indiana is available at:
<http://www.GenealogyCenter.Info/search_acyearbooks.php>
Information typically found in yearbooks includes names and photographs of students, teachers, clubs and athletic teams. Other information varies by time period and individual school. Earlier books may include class colors, yells, mottos, verses, essays, and sections on alumni. Recent books typically include candid photographs, individual student pictures and sometimes an index. Annuals of all time periods may have advertisements for local businesses.
Other sources for yearbooks include city, county and state libraries where the school is located and the collections of local and state genealogical and historical societies. In some cases, digital images of yearbooks may be available online. The U.S. School Yearbooks database at Ancestry.com contains an estimated 6,151,452 personal names. This collection includes digitized annuals from schools, colleges and universities. It is searchable by name, with limiters of state, city, school name and yearbook year. Researchers also may browse the database by state, city, school and year.
Virtually all yearbooks found in library collections or online will be second-hand, rather than pristine copies. This is a boon for genealogists since researchers may find the signature of a relative who was a classmate of the original yearbook owner. A high school annual also may be the only inspiration for a mental picture of
Grandma as a teenager, chanting her class yell: “Hobble, Zick, Rah! Boom-a-lack, Bah! ’99, right in line, Zig-sag, Ah!”
Publishing Note:
This electronic newsletter is published by the Allen County Public Library's Genealogy Center. We welcome the wide distribution of this newsletter and encourage readers to forward it to their friends and societies. All precautions have been made to avoid errors. However, the publisher does not assume any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, no matter the cause.
To subscribe to “Genealogy Gems,” simply use your browser to go to the website: www.GenealogyCenter.Info. Scroll down toward the bottom of the first screen where it says, "Enter Your Email Address to Subscribe to "Genealogy Gems." Enter your email address in the yellow box and click on "Subscribe." You will be notified with a confirmation email.
Steve Myers & Curt Witcher, co-editors
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