OUR FAMILY ARCHIVE

It’s a digital scrapbook application. It’s not free ($24.95), but if your computer runs XP or Vista, it just might be worth the money:

LINK

HISTORY OF THE MILITARY DRAFT

Article from the Ancestry Learning Center:

LINK

ANCESTRY.COM GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS

If you know somebody who loves doing genealogical research, but doesn’t have an Ancestry.com subscription, you can now give that person a gift that really keeps on giving: a gift subscription to Ancestry.com. You can give a 6-month or 1-year subscription, and you can limit it to U.S. records, or give that person the World. Interested? Go here:

LINK

KATHRYN’S GENEALOGY HELP COLUMNS

Genealogical tips and advice provided in blog entry format-- interesting:

LINK

TIFF'S GENEALOGY ADVENTURE

Interesting personal genealogy blog (with a Missouri connection) by a Midwest Genealogy Center staffer and-- I should add in the interest of full disclosure-- fellow MoSGA Board member:

LINK

EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT EBOOKS…

But were afraid to ask, you can find out from Kim Komando:

LINK

HONOR THE COLORS: IOWA’S CIVIL WAR BATTLE FLAGS

Information about conservation efforts, with photos of conservation tools and processed flags:

LINK

EBAY FOR THE THRIFT-MINDED

There’s a special section of eBay where all the items offered cost you nothing- that’s right, they’re free. Just click the link below, and type in Free Stuff to the left of the All Categories search box:

LINK

TWISTY NOODLE

If you’re cursed—err, blessed—with young children to entertain during the coming holiday season, you may want to provide some crayons and let the little scamps color their hearts out. But instead to running to the local discount store for coloring books, download thousands of pages they can color from Twisty Noodle—and they’re all free:

LINK

VINYLSOFT

Need an easy-to-use music player that eats up very little precious drive space? Vinylsoft may be just what you’ve been looking for:

LINK

NOTE: Works with XP, Vista, or 7.

THE MoSGA BOOK STORE

If you’re still searching for suitable gifts for genealogists and history buffs on your Christmas list, here’s a way to do your shopping in jammies and bunny slippers while helping MoSGA at the same time. Just click the link below, which will take you to the MoSGA Book Store on Amazon.com. Doing your Amazon.com shopping via our Book Store costs you nothing extra, yet it adds to the bottom line of one of your favorite genealogical organizations! And if you order more than $25 worth of books or other items, your order is shipped for free:

LINK

Following is a list of just a few of the many items highlighted in the MoSGA Book Store:

Clemensson, Per, and Kjell Andersson. Your Swedish Roots: A Step by Step Handbook. Provo, UT: Ancestry, 2004.

Egan, Timothy. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 2006.

Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.

Fitzpatrick, Colleen. Forensic Genealogy. Fountain Valley, Calif: Rice Book Press, 2005.

Mann, Charles C. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. New York: Knopf, 2005.

Grenham, John. Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide. Baltimore, Md: Genealogical Pub. Co, 2006.

Hatcher, Patricia L. Researching Your Colonial New England Ancestors. Provo, UT: Ancestry, 2006.

Herber, Mark D. Ancestral Trails: The Complete Guide to British Genealogy and Family History. Baltimore, Md: Genealogical Pub. Co., Inc, 1998.

Millard, Candice. River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey. New York: Doubleday, 2005.

Mills, Elizabeth S. Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co, 2001.

Morgan, George G. The Official Guide to Ancestry.com. Provo, Utah: Ancestry Pub, 2007.

Pedersen, Tana L. The Official Guide to Family Tree Maker 2010. Provo, Utah: Ancestry Pub, 2009.

Rose, Christine. Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures. San Jose, Calif: CR Publications, 2004.

Szucs, Loretto D, and Matthew Wright. Finding Answers in U.S. Census Records. Orem, Utah: Ancestry Pub, 2002.

Sykes, Bryan. Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006.

GMAIL DEFAULT MAKER

When you click on an email link while surfing the Web, your computer probably defaults to Windows Mail / Microsoft Outlook. But what if you normally use Gmail, Google Apps, Yahoo Mail, AOL, or Hotmail instead? This handy little app allows you to choose the email service to use- or you can set one service as your default email provider:

LINK

ARKANSAS CIVIL WAR BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lengthy list of books, periodical articles, and dissertations about participation by Arkansas military units in the Civil War:

LINK

NATIONAL INFANTRY MUSEUM

Didn’t know we had one? It’s at Fort Benning, Georgia:

LINK

MYHERITAGE.COM UPDATE

If you’re still on the lookout for great gift ideas, you may wish to take a look at the MyHeritage.com blog. They have released some new online family tree charts and posters that will make the most of your family tree info and photos—and these new online charts and posters look great!

Interested? Take a look:

LINK

A BLOG ABOUT HISTORY

Fascinating posts about various periods in world history:

LINK

OUR FAVORITE BLOGS

PC Magazine staff have compiled a list of their favorite blogs for 2010:

LINK

A GIFT FROM UNC PRESS

Looking for Christmas gift ideas? University of North Carolina Press is here to help. They’re offering 20% off popular titles (and free shipping) for a limited time period:

LINK

OBITUARIESHELP.ORG

This website offers help with all things funeral, burial, and obituary. Whether you’re planning a funeral or just looking for an obit, this site may be able to help. Also available is a section of free genealogy forms:

LINK

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

Returns January 21st. No word yet on celebs covered this go round:

LINK

ANCESTRY.COM CREATES STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIGITAL MEDIA

New Features Bring Further Discovery of Family History Online

PROVO, Utah, November 16, 2010 – Ancestry.com is pleased to announce it has created a strategic alliance with National Geographic Digital Media to help individuals make new discoveries in their family history. As part of the relationship, NationalGeographic.com will host a family history experience online, developed by Ancestry.com, which enables visitors to learn more about researching their genealogy and provides specific tools for them to search their ancestral roots located on the Genographic Project website.

“We are always looking for unique ways to connect with people interested in their family history and have forged a great alliance with NationalGeographic.com,” said John Pereira, Vice President of Business Development, at Ancestry.com. “With our development of this new experience on the Genographic Project website, we believe we can help individuals understand how exciting family history can be as they find further success in discovering their own family history.”

The new feature is an add-on to National Geographic’s existing Genographic Project Web portal that helps chart the migration history of the human species using DNA analysis. This additional online experience offers the ability to start an online family tree, tips on how to get started with researching family history and links to important historical record collections that are searchable on Ancestry.com.

For anyone interested in learning more about their ancestors, or to experience the family history tools offered by Ancestry.com and National Geographic, visit here.

About Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with more than one million paying subscribers. More than 6 billion records have been added to the site in the past 14 years. Ancestry users have created more than 20 million family trees containing over 2 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local websites directed at nine countries that help people discover, preserve and share their family history, including its flagship Web site.

About National Geographic Digital Media

National Geographic Digital Media (NGDM) is the multimedia division of National Geographic Ventures, the wholly owned, taxable subsidiary of the National Geographic Society, one of the world’s largest education and scientific nonprofit organizations that works to inspire people to care about the planet. Holding many top industry awards, NGDM publishes Nationalgeographic.com; produces short-form video for broadcast markets; manages marketing and content partnerships across broadband, mobile, gaming and other consumer digital platforms; and provides video and film footage to commercial, theatrical, educational and other digital footage markets.

MAINE STATE ARCHIVES CIVIL WAR SESQUICENTENNIAL

Access to items they've digitized in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Civil War:

LINK

OPEN COURSEWARE FINDER

Want to get smart- for free? Use Open Courseware Finder to discover free college-level courses available on the Internet. Click on “Browse using tag cloud” for best results:

LINK

NEW JERSEY CIVIL WAR TREASURY VOUCHERS

A new database of interest to persons with NJ Civil War vets on their tree:

“New Jersey’s Civil War-period treasury vouchers collection includes 15,770 payment receipts for military expenditures and wartime purchases made by the State of New Jersey from 1861 through 1866. It includes soldiers' discharge certificates for final pay (over 9,300 items), affidavits of family members for pay due to deceased soldiers (over 1,400 items), and quarterly returns of the counties and cities listing the names of soldiers’ families and dependent mothers who received subsistence pay during their service. In all, nearly 114,000 index entries provide access to the content of the documents.”

This link provides access to the NJ Treasury Vouchers and other NJ Civil War items of interest:

LINK

VOLUNTEERSPOT

Is keeping track of volunteers to work events for your school or organization a real chore lately? It doesn’t need to be:

LINK

THE COAST GUARD AT WAR

List of materials dealing with the history of the U.S. Coast Guard compiled by staff of the Naval Historical Center:

LINK

MINORITIES AND WOMEN IN THE NAVY

List of materials dealing with naval service of women and minorities compiled by staff of the Naval Historical Center:

LINK

HATHI TRUST DIGITAL LIBRARY

Who are they, and why should you care? Because they’ve already digitized nearly 1,800,000 public domain volumes, that’s why:

LINK

TRI-COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY UPDATE

The October 2010 Tri-County Genealogical Society newsletter has been posted to our website.

Regards,
Nancy Thompson
Tri-County Genealogical Society
218 W. Walnut St., Nevada, MO 64772

HOT CAL

Trying to get into better physical shape (or has your doctor and/or spouse not so subtly encouraged you to do so)? If so, there’s an easy (and free) way to keep track of foods you’re eating and exercise you are getting:

LINK

SLIM COMPUTER

You may well be in great shape, but your computer probably needs to shed some ugly excess kilobytes. It’s likely chock-full of programs the experts call bloatware- pre-installed programs that came with your new computer that you never, ever use (plus programs you’ve since installed that you also never, ever use). Bloatware slows down your computer- and if any of it is scheduled to start up every time you boot up your computer, it slows down your computer A LOT. Now there’s an easy way to shed that ugly bloatware:

LINK

NOTE: Now, if only people could shed unwanted pounds with the click of a mouse…

CIVIL WAR NAVIES: A BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lengthy list of materials dealing with Civil War navies compiled by staff of the Naval Historical Center:

LINK

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR BIBLIOGRAPHY

List on Wikipedia of fairly recent (2000-2010) books about the Civil War:

LINK

WORLD WAR I BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lengthy list of books about WWI compiled by a college history professor:

LINK

SHSM ASSUMES MANAGEMENT OF WHMC

November 10, 2010
Contact: Jennifer Hollingshead
Office: (573) 882-0601

Move Underscores University’s Continued Focus on Mission, Results

COLUMBIA, Mo.—University officials today announced they will transfer full management of the Western Historical Manuscript Collection from the University of Missouri System to the State Historical Society of Missouri, which was founded in 1898 by the Missouri Press Association. Today this society is considered the preeminent research facility for studying and sharing the Show Me State’s heritage with the public.

This organizational realignment of the 67-year-old collection with the State Historical Society will allow the university to streamline management, direction and support for the collection, and reduce the unit’s $1 million annual budget from resulting operational efficiencies and cost savings. Previously, the collection was jointly managed by the University of Missouri System and the State Historical Society.

“The system’s continuing review of organization alignment with strategic priorities and core mission identified this historical document collection as a better direct fit with the expertise and focus of the State Historical Society,” said Steve Graham, senior associate vice president-academic affairs for the University of Missouri System.

“Going forward, the State Historical Society will become solely responsible for the custody and processing of the collections and the reference services associated with this manuscript collection,” he added. “Our aim will be to maintain quality service while taking advantage of statewide efficiencies we can achieve by drawing on the strengths of the State Historical Society.”

Gary Kremer, executive director of the State Historical Society of Missouri and director of the collection, said the transition of the organization will take about two months and could involve a reduction of positions. There are currently 24 staff who oversee the statewide collections operation. The four campuses of the University of Missouri System will continue to provide office and storage space, the cost of utilities and access to the courier service for distribution of the collection’s documents.

The Western Historical Manuscripts Collection was created in 1943 to collect, preserve and make readily available to prospective users records that illuminate all aspects of life in Missouri and the Midwest. The collection encompasses political, military and diplomatic records; information on religion, the arts, education, the professions, ethnic and social groupings and movements; all aspects of the economy; and data on the lives of both famous and obscure individuals who illustrate the experience and culture of the region.

“This collection is an important statewide resource readily available to faculties, students, visiting scholars and the public,” Kremer said. “This management change will provide us with an opportunity to evaluate how we can serve their needs more effectively and cost-efficiently.”

State Historical Society of Missouri

Western Historical Manuscripts Collection

LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Ready to learn a foreign language, but need some great free advice on how to go about it? Gill James is there for you:

LINK

BIOGRAPHICAL LISTS & REGISTERS

Researching an officer who served in the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard? This list of sources of such information may help:

LINK

SPY VS. SPY

Lengthy list of books about espionage and intelligence gathering:

LINK

GEORGE WASHINGTON, SPYMASTER

Washington (and some other founding fathers) were heavily involved in espionage and intelligence gathering:

LINK

SEARCH ANCESTRY'S MILITARY COLLECTION FOR FREE

Site Commemorates Veterans Day with Free Access to Entire U.S. Military Records Collection

PROVO, UTAH, November 10, 2010 - Ancestry.com, which has the largest online collection of historical military records, today added more than 115,000 U.S. Military Academy Cadet Application Papers from West Point to its online collection of military records to commemorate Veterans Day.

“Handwritten cadet application papers are true gems in family history research, as they provide such depth and personal insight into the military veterans that came before us,” said Quinton Atkinson, director of content acquisition for Ancestry.com. “It is a treasure when we can see personal letters and records intersect with our shared history as a country. This Veterans Day, we hope this new collection will allow millions of Americans to explore their military ancestry, while inspiring them to discover the rich history of our nation’s past military leaders.”

The West Point Application Papers include letters from applicants from 1805-1866 requesting appointment, letters of recommendation and notification from the War Department if the candidate was accepted and letters of acceptance from the candidate. Over 115,000 candidates are listed and include well known graduates of West Point, including:

William Tecumseh Sherman (1835) – known for his outstanding military strategy as a Union Army General during the Civil War, this collection contains several letters of recommendation for Sherman from his guardian, Thomas Ewing. Ewing’s letter praises 16-year-old Sherman as a “stout athletic lad, and very well prepared for entrance, a good Latin, Greek & French scholar… His father died insolvent… [and] it was his father’s wish… that he should receive an education which would fit him for the public service in the Army or Navy.”

Thomas J (Stonewall) Jackson (1842) – one of the most well-known Confederate commanders, eighteen-year-old Stonewall Jackson was the subject of a nomination letter for West Point from South Carolina Governor F. W. Pickens. In his letter, Pickens asks if there are any vacancies at West Point for the state of South Carolina, and requests a copy of the department rules and qualifications for admission. Jackson went on to graduate 17th out of 59 students in the Class of 1846.

George Pickett (1842) – an acceptance letter now available on Ancestry.com shows that Pickett, known for leading the appropriately named “Pickett's Charge” at the Battle of Gettysburg, was accepted as a cadet at West Point in 1842. Also included in the collection is Pickett’s resignation letter from the US Army’s 9th Infantry in 1861 to join the Confederate army, which also shows that upon resignation from the Union army he owed $96.38 in “expenses recruiting.”

George A Custer (1856) – most remembered for a disastrous military engagement at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Custer’s nomination letter describes him as “17, 5’ 9¾”, good health, no deformity, reads well, spells correctly, writes a fair and legible hand, able to perform with facility and accuracy the ground rules of arithmetic, fully possesses all the qualifications physical, mental, and moral required.” This nomination letter sent to Jefferson Davis was written and signed by Congressman John A. Bingham, the judge advocate in the trial of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and a principle framer of the 14th amendment. Custer went on to graduate last in his class at West Point.

The collection includes many other records and letters relating to artist James Whistler, Dupont dynasty heir and Civil War veteran Henry Dupont, and Union Army Major General George B. McClellan.

The West Point Cadet Application Papers are part of Ancestry.com’s U.S. Military Collection, which includes 100 million names that span more than three centuries of American military service.

In honor of America’s military heroes, the entire U.S. Military Collection on Ancestry.com can be searched free from Veteran’s Day through Nov. 14. To begin exploring your family’s military heritage, visit www.ancestry.com/military.

About Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with nearly 1.4 million paying subscribers. More than 6 billion records have been added to the site in the past 14 years. Ancestry users have created more than 20 million family trees containing over 2 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries that help people discover, preserve and share their family history, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.

YOUR NEWSLETTER PREFERENCE

For all you MoSGA members:

Starting in 2011, MoSGA members will be able to choose the way they access their newsletter:

1. in traditional print format, mailed to you as before;

2. in PDF format, accessed via special URL on the MoSGA website

Why would you choose PDF format over traditional print newsletter? Four main reasons:

1. you'll be able to access it three-four weeks before print subscribers get their copy
2. you'll be able to click links and email addresses in the newsletter- no more typing them into your browser's address bar
3. if your vision (like mine) is not as sharp as it used to be, zoom the font to whatever size you like
4. if you really like having a print copy of the newsletter, go ahead and print a copy of the PDF for your files

If you want to receive a hard copy of the newsletter, click the link below and put PRINT in the Subject Line. Include your mailing address.

PRINT COPY LINK

If you want to access the newsletter via PDF, click the link below and put PDF in the Subject Line:

PDF COPY LINK

Thanks for your continuing support of MoSGA!

MICROSOFT EXPRESSION ENCODER 4

Want to put a video you’ve created on a website like Youtube, but aren’t sure how to do it? Your BFFs at Microsoft are here to help (if you’re running Windows XP or higher) with a free program:

LINK

JOURNAL OF THE TEXAS SECESSION CONVENTION (1861)

Available full-text online:

LINK

AND THE BLIND SHALL SEE...

Well, not see exactly- but a new procedure can give some blind persons the ability to detect objects without the need for clumsy external devices:

LINK

LOTUS SYMPHONY

Don’t want to shell out the big bucks for Microsoft Office? Lotus Symphony does documents, presentations, and spreadsheets- and it’s free:

LINK

NOTE: It also plays well with WORD documents, so you can easily work with existing WORD documents using Symphony.

SOLDIERS MEMORIAL (ST. LOUIS, MO)

If you haven’t looked at their website recently, you may want to take a second look. It looks great, and provides some interesting stuff to look at and listen to. Check especially “Events and Exhibits” and “Photo Gallery.”

LINK

EASY IMAGE MODIFIER

Need to make simple changes (rename, sort, realign, change format, or add a watermark) to one or more photos? Now there’s an easy (and free) way to do so:

LINK

HOW TO PICK YOUR NEXT COMPUTER

Nice guide for average (not power) users from the Wall Street Journal:

LINK

ATTENTION AUTHORS!

Submit Your Book to the Missouri State Genealogical Association’s (MoSGA) Library Program.

The MoSGA Library program is seeking complimentary copies of recently published books on family histories, genealogies, local histories, and any other books relevant to genealogists. Every book will be reviewed in the MoSGA Journal, and a copy of the review will be sent to the author.

A bookplate naming the donor will be placed in the book and the book will be placed in the circulating collection at the Midwest Genealogy Center of the Mid-Continent Public Library, Independence, Missouri. This collection is available for use at the library, and more importantly, available for interlibrary loan, reaching genealogy patrons across the United States.

Please include with the book the following information: title, author(s)/ editor(s)/ compiler(s), place of publication, publisher/self-published, year of publication, contact/ordering information, including price and shipping.

For more information contact Jean Foster Kelley, MoSGA Library Director, by email at jean@fosterkelley.com. Book donations may be mailed to MoSGA Library Director, P.O. Box 833, Columbia, MO 65205-0833.

SPREADING HOLIDAY CHEER THE MoSGA WAY!

You can order Christmas gift items via the MoSGA Book Store. That way you take care of your gift list and lend MoSGA a helping hand. Take a look today at the available offerings:

LINK

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN…

Time to renew your MoSGA membership (or become a member if you aren't already)! You may copy and paste this blog post into your word processor, or fill out the form on the back page of your newsletter (if currently a MoSGA member).

Remember, too, that a MoSGA membership is a great gift idea for the genealogist in your family!

MoSGA Membership Application & Renewal Form

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP: ____ $20 per year. 4 journals & newsletters; one vote and one conference discount.

FAMILY MEMBERSHIP: ____ $30 per year. 4 journals & newsletters; two votes and two conference discounts.

INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP: __$20 per year: for societies & libraries. Same benefits as individuals; one vote can be assigned.

CONTRIBUTING MEMBER: ____ $40 per year; same benefits as individual. Donation advantages.

PATRON MEMBER: ____ $100 per year; same benefits as individual; 20% discount on publications (not to be used for resale) and 20% discount on annual conference. Donation advantages.

LIFE MEMBERSHIP: ____ $400 One time payment; other benefits same as individual. Active member status for life. Never needs renewing; non-assignable.

Email address: ______________________________________________________.

MoSGA Newsletter Preference: PDF format ____ Print copy ___
I have a home computer and home access to the Internet: Yes ___ No ___
I have home access to at least one genealogy subscription service: Yes ___ No ___
I have written an article for the MoSGA Journal: Yes ___ No ___
I am interested in working as a MoSGA volunteer: Yes ___ No ___

Name ______________________________________________________________
Address ___________________________________________________________
City ______________________________________ State _____ Zip ____________

New member _____ Renewal _____ Include check payable to MoSGA and send to:

MoSGA Membership, PO Box 833, Columbia, MO 65205-0833

Thanks!

REQUEST FOR 2011 MoSGA CONFERENCE SPEAKERS

Request for proposals for supporting speakers for the 2011 MoSGA Conference

The Missouri State Genealogical Association is calling for lecture proposals in preparation for its 2011 Annual Conference, August 5-6, 2011, to be held at the Hilton Executive Center in Columbia, Missouri.

Lectures should be approximately 50 minutes in length. Speakers will be compensated $100 per lecture and will receive a full registration to the conference, which includes the Friday night banquet and Saturday luncheon.

Two-hour workshop proposals will also be considered. Compensation for each workshop will be $200 plus a full conference registration, which includes the Friday night banquet and Saturday luncheon.

Our keynote speaker, Henry Z “Hank” Jones, will be lecturing on “18th Century Emigration”; “When the Sources are Wrong”; and “Family Tradition: Separating Fact from Fiction”.

Lecture proposals from speakers with the following areas of expertise would be welcome (but other topics will be considered): Missouri research; Records & searches in England; Technology in research; Newspaper research using repositories & online databases; Land Records; Migration; Kentucky & Tennessee research; Cemeteries; Ulster & Scottish research; Simplifying research in online databases.

Please include information regarding your experience in lecturing, giving dates and location of recent lectures. MoSGA Conference Committee reserves the right to make the final selection of supporting speakers and therefore makes no guarantee that all submitted proposals will be accepted. Please designate preferred lecture date (August 5 or 6) in your proposal. Thank you.

Proposals must be submitted by e-mail by January 15, 2011 to:

NancyThomas@Centurytel.net

or by postal mail postmarked by January 10, 2011 to:

Conference Speaker Proposal
Missouri State Genealogical Society
PO Box 833
Columbia, Missouri 65205

Nancy Waller Thomas
Conference Chair
Columbia, MO
573-443-6052 [home]

FONT FRENZY

Free fonts manager you can use to (temporarily) disable fonts you rarely use. Plays well with Windows XP and Vista:

LINK

STILL USING INTERNET EXPLORER?

Then here’s yet another compelling reason to switch to Firefox, Safari, Opera, or Chrome:

LINK

NOTE: If you must use IE, then be certain to use its latest incarnation (least vulnerable to hack attacks):

LINK

MICROSOFT VIRTUAL PC

If you’ve updated to Microsoft Vista, but still wish you could use XP sometimes, stop wishing-- Microsoft Virtual PC allows you to run both on the same computer (and it’s free):

LINK

NOTE: Microsoft has been so generous lately with free stuff for its loyal customers, it’s getting more difficult (but not impossible) to think unkind thoughts about Billy Gates & his Redmond posse…

ANCESTRY.COM AND THE GENEALOGIST ACQUIRE THE 1911 CENSUS

Provo, Utah, November 5, 2010 – Ancestry.com, in collaboration with UK Web site Thegenealogist.co.uk, is pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached with The National Archives to acquire and publish online the 1911 England and Wales Census.

The two family history companies will work together to transcribe the 1911 Census, creating a searchable database which enables users to type in a name and go directly to the full color digital image of the actual census document, handwritten in their ancestor’s home a century ago.

The complete set of 1911 Census records go live on Ancestry.com by county, starting in late 2010 and completing in 2011.

“We are thrilled to acquire the 1911 Census and look forward to the moment members can access these valuable records on our site,” said Olivier Van Calster, Vice President of Ancestry International. "The addition of this vital genealogical material means we will be able to offer our members the complete set of England, Wales and Scotland Censuses, as well as the only fully searchable England and Wales Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes and exclusive online access to the World War One British Army Service and Pension records.”

Part of the archival holdings of The National Archives, the 1911 Census is the largest and most recent census available to the public[i]. A crucial genealogical resource, it offers detailed insight into how people lived in the years leading up the First World War, showing who lived where, with whom, their age at the time of the census, their place of birth and what they did for a living.

“The 1911 Census is a crucial step for many in finding their roots and we feel this is a vital resource that will benefit family historians everywhere. Our members voted this resource their number one dataset in a recent survey,” said Nigel Bayley, Managing Director of Thegenealogist.co.uk. “The 1911 census will be added to our Diamond subscription to accompany our complete set of English & Welsh Census and Birth, Marriage and Death indexes, Official Non-Conformist records, Parish Records, Wills, Roll of Honor and Military records.”

About Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with nearly 1.4 million paying subscribers. More than 6 billion records have been added to the site in the past 14 years. Ancestry users have created more than 20 million family trees containing over 2 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries that help people discover, preserve and share their family history, including its flagship Web site.

About Thegenealogist.co.uk

TheGenealogist.co.uk is the major online family history research Web site of the British founded S and N group. Collections include a comprehensive set of Birth, Marriage and Death records, the census for 1841 to 1901, Wills and Will Indexes, Parish records, The official site for Non-conformist records, Roll of Honour database, Electoral Registers and Directories. The group started providing services for family historians in 1992 and provides everything from research books and CDs to a range of sophisticated online services.

THE WAR AGAINST TERROR

Terrorism didn’t begin on 11 September 2001: it just kicked into high gear on that awful day. This bibliography includes both non-fiction works on terrorism past and present, plus a lengthy list of novels that deal with the topic:

LINK

MAD MINUTES AND CHEAP CHARLIES

American GIs in Vietnam employed an extensive amount of slang expressions. This extensive glossary provides definitions for hundreds of them:

LINK

LEARNING FROM OCTANE BLUE

Want to learn how to do something? There’s probably a Jedi master of that subject who’s waiting on the Web to teach you- for free:

LINK

NOTE: Who’s octaneblue? Why, he’s the Web’s Jedi master of video games, of course…

THE GOLDEN HOUR

If your outdoor photos look washed out, you’re probably shooting when available light is at its least flattering. There’s an easy way to figure out when you should be snapping those outdoor photos:

LINK

NOTE: I like shooting cemetery monuments and statuary, and best available light normally occurs early morning (7:30 am-9:30 am).

THE CZECHS AND THE LANDS OF THE BOHEMIAN CROWN

Available full-text online:

LINK

THE WASP: FIRST IN FLIGHT

The story of the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots, in their own words:

LINK

NOTE: Adela Riek Scharr was a prominent WASP who hailed from St. Louis.

ANCESTRY.COM UNVEILS NEW FAMILY TREE MAKER FOR MAC

#1-Selling Family History Software Now Available in Mac Version

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., November 4, 2010 – Ancestry.com today announced the launch of Family Tree Maker® for Mac, the new Mac version of the world’s No.-1 selling family history software. Family Tree Maker for Mac provides an easy way to save and organize your family tree conveniently on your Mac computer and has a variety of tools that can help you share your discoveries with family and friends.

“Family Tree Maker for Mac has been a long-requested feature from our customers. We are committed to delivering the same powerful experience on the Mac that millions of Family Tree Maker customers have been enjoying for the past 20 years,” said Eric Shoup, Senior Vice President of Product for Ancestry.com. “We couldn’t be happier to provide yet another way for our members to interact with Ancestry.com and discover, preserve and share their family history.”

Family Tree Maker for Mac combines intuitive tools with robust features and flexible options, making it ideal for family history novices and experts alike. A dynamic user interface and integration with Ancestry.com makes it simple to create family trees, record memories, and organize photos, videos and audio clips, plus share ancestors’ stories. It’s even possible to explore family migration paths by viewing timelines and interactive maps that highlight events and places in ancestors' lives.

The first step is to start a family tree by entering and organizing family history information. From there, a myriad of features help you bring your family history to life:

***Grow your family tree – Search Ancestry.com directly from Family Tree Maker and seamlessly merge historical records and important information you find into your tree. Family Tree Maker for Mac comes with either a free trial or subscription to Ancestry.com.

***Organize photos and documents in one location – Add photos, documents, audio, video and other media files to the people in your tree to help make their stories even more fascinating.

***Create family books, charts and reports – Publish beautiful keepsakes and books to share with friends and family.

***Craft slideshows – Create slideshows from photos in your tree.

***Cite the right information – Standard source templates make it easy.

***Explore family migration paths – View timelines and interactive maps, highlighting events and places in your ancestors' lives.

***Track information – Powerful sourcing tools let you document and rate each citation.

Family Tree Maker for Mac is now available for purchase online starting at $69.99. The program is also available in select retail stores, including Apple Stores, Amazon, Office Depot, and Office Max.

System requirements for Family Tree Maker for Mac include:

***Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later
***Intel-based Mac
***Hard Disk Space: 500MB for installation
***Internet access is required for all Web integration

Family Tree Maker for Mac is built on the functionality of Family Tree Maker 2010, the PC-version of the software, and is constructed from the bottom up to take full advantage of the Mac platform in terms of technology and user experience.

Early this year, Ancestry.com expanded to another Apple® platform: the iPhone®. With the launch of its Tree To Go iPhone application in January 2010, Ancestry.com now gives users access to generations of family history at every turn. From their iPhone, users can easily upload photos, update sources and edit trees. The Tree To Go iPhone application is available for iPhone and iPod touch® for free through the iPhone App Store or iTunes®.

About Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with nearly 1.4 million paying subscribers. More than 6 billion records have been added to the site in the past 14 years. Ancestry users have created more than 20 million family trees containing over 2 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries that help people discover, preserve and share their family history, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.

DONALD DUCK TAKES THE WAR TO TOJO

World War II illustration of a rather determined-looking Donald Duck riding a torpedo towards its target:

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FUNNIEST GOB IN THE NAVY

Scans of several pages of a cartoon booklet that follows a young Iowa man from his hometown through basic training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station:

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IF YOU CAN’T FLOG ‘EM, BETTER KEEP ‘EM ENTERTAINED…

What the U.S. Navy did to discipline its sailors (and uphold morale) after flogging was outlawed:

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GENEALOGY RESOURCES DAY AT LAWRENCE (KS) PUBLIC LIBRARY

Join them on 7 November 2010 for a full afternoon (1 pm-5 pm) of genealogical workshops:

1-1:55 pm: Beginning Genealogy, presented by Beth Foulk of the Midwest Genealogy Center, a branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library system, Independence, MO.

2-2:25 pm: Lawrence Public Library staff will provide a brief look at the Genealogical Record Databases available online through the Library web site.

2:30-2:55 pm: Rebecca Christenson will talk about the resources available at the Family History Center in Lawrence, a branch facility of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

3-3:25 pm: Kimberlee Ried from the National Archives at Kansas City, a regional depository for federal records for the North Central Plains, including Kansas and Missouri.

3:30-3:55 pm: Douglas County Register of Deeds Kay Pesnell will tell us about helpful genealogy resources available at the courthouse.

4-4:25 pm: Sheryl Williams of the Spencer Research Library, home to the Kansas Collection and KU Archives, will talk about the resources available there.

4:30-4:50 pm: Mary Burchill and members of the Douglas County Genealogical Society will talk about their organization and answer questions.

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THE ROLE OF FEDERAL MILITARY FORCES IN DOMESTIC DISORDERS

Three-volume book set available from the Government Printing Office:

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