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Showing posts from February, 2006

Finding Scots

The first place to search is the IGI (International Genealogical Index) : http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=igi/search_IGI.asp&clear_form=true Start with a bit of information, and only enter more details to narrow down your search results. Usually the indexed baptisms and marriage information are part of the IGI. If you have searched the IGI without success for your person of interest, searching the Old Parish Register (OPR) indexes and OPRs themselves is still useful, in case they were missed. Baptisms and marriages in the OPRs can be searched using a computerized index, either on a county basis or searching over the whole country. The index gives the reference number for the relevant microfilm roll together with the frame number (page), allowing you to go directly to the record you are interested in, once you order in the OPR film. You can access the Old Parish Registers online, by opening an account at http://www.scotsorigins.com/ . However, you mu

Language Translation

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Genealogy and Genetics

Our DNA does not fade like an ancient parchment; it is not rust in the ground like the sword of a warrior long dead. It is not eroded by wind or rain, nor reduced to ruin by fire and earthquake. It is the traveler from an antique land who lives within us all. - Dr. Bryan Sykes, in The Seven Daughters of Eve Famous DNA lists DNA Haplotypes (DNA signatures) for famous, or infamous, people: http://www.isogg.org/famousdna.htm International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) , new non-profit promoting greater understanding of the uses of DNA within genealogy, and support network for genetic genealogists. No dues, no treasury, donated web server space and donations. Side-by-side comparison charts of Y-chromosome and mtDNA testing services: http://www.isogg.org">http://www.isogg.org . Journal of Genetic Genealogy : http://www.jogg.info/ Genetealogy - Using DNA testing to learn about your genealogy and family history : http://www.genetealogy.com/ Andy's Guide to DNA in Family

Keep in touch when you change your email address

When you change your email address, register at one or all of these services: FreshAddress.com : http://www.freshaddress.com 99.am : http://www.99.am/ Email Change.com : http://www.emailchange.com/ Find mE-Mail : http://www.findmemail.com/ ReturnPath : http://www.returnpath.net/ $$$ SwitchEmail.com : http://www.switchemail.com/index.asp I have registered with them all, and so far, no spam because of it. No old buddies have gotten in touch with me either......::sigh:: If you are trying to contact someone with an expired address, it is worthwhile to search for them at each of these places, plus the common "search for email" sites, such as My Email Address Is , MSN, Addresses.com . Don't forget the new Rootsweb search engine, to search all Rootsweb list archives at one go: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/search . And of course, google for the old email address and name, too! Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. - Albert Einstein

Finding Living Persons

Estranged or Lost Relatives and Friends IMPRESSIVE new site! http://www.pipl.com/ , and http://allfolks.com/ A couple of new sites, established in Europe. Great American coverage, though. http://www.yasni.com/ and perhaps even more complete, http://www.123people.com/ . An interesting feature is that if you want to see more matches, they will email them to you. So we'll see who wins in the end! First, search telephone records - The Ultimate White Pages : http://www.theultimates.com/white/ Be sure to play around with the search parameters. The more slots you fill out, the fewer matches you will get. Sometimes a surname and state are all you will want to enter. Private Eye.com searches Criminal,Sex Offenders, Business, Corporation, FBN, Employment, Professional Licenses, Property, Bankruptcies & Liens, Marriage, Divorce, and Death indexes: http://www.privateeye.com/ Effective Use of City Directories : http://www.progenealogists.com/citydirectories.htm Search Polk City Director

Information Is Power

Our public records are under attack. If you aren't involved in genealogy research, you might not know or care about this. However, you should . These are YOUR public records "they" are trying to keep you and other citizens from viewing and using, while reserving to themselves the right to look at ANY records they want to -- now, without even a warrant. The following article is from Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright 2006 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com. Information Is Power Terry Allen has written an article about the current state of affairs when it comes to looking at public records. The U.S. Government's Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 will bar genealogists and many others from looking at birth and death certificates for 70 to 100 years. The proposed regulations are now causing widespread concern among

Win PC Essentials

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European Research

For all European research, you must have a village name, or at least a small region with a few villages, because that is where all the records are kept! There are few to no departement, county or region-wide censuses or other general surveys such as our US Census records. The exception is the UK, which has searchable census for 1841-1901, and where records have been kept by the counties in England since 1837, in Scotland since 1851. So, you must do your American or Canadian research, before trying to "jump the pond" back to Europe. Recently, the 1836 Census of the Alsace has started to become available. To see if your surnames are found therein, search at: http://www.census1836.com/ Have you found the naturalization applications ? Often the first and second application contain much more detail than the final certificate. How about obituaries, in particular those published in small local newspapers, church publications, or German or French newspapers? Many of the old newspape

Deciphering Older Writing

Older English and Latin handwriting Tutorial about Paleography : http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/ English Documents in Latin : http://www.bibliographics.com/PALAEOG-lite/HECTOR.htm BEGINNERS' LATIN Introduction to the problems you may find with Latin vocabulary and grammar in British documents from 1086-1733: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/beginners/reference/default.htm Deciphering Old Handwriting in Genealogy : http://amberskyline.com/treasuremaps/oldhand.html How to Read 18th Century British-American Writing : http://www.dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/writing.html Martha Ballard's Diary Online : http://www.dohistory.org/diary/    Story of a midwife's life and career; examples of handwriting Book Palaeography for Family and Local Historians by Hilary Marshall, pub.: Phillimore & Co., Ltd., 2004, Chichester, West Sussex England. http://www.phillimore.co.uk Book Latin for Local and Family Historians: A Beginner's Guide Denis Stuart,

Alsace Genealogy Lists

Alsace-Lorraine-L : http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~valorie/Alsace-Lorraine-L.htm FRA-Alsace-L : http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/FRA/FRA-ALSACE.html Alsace-Genealogy@Listserv.aol.com : http://www.fedda.no/~jacques/alsace/en/g_listserv.html La_genealogie_alsacienne@yahoo.fr : http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/la_genealogie_alsacienne/ Toute la généalogie et l'histoire en Alsace et en Moselle. Départements 57-67-68-90 et régions aux alentours. Histoire, généalogie, onomastique, héraldique, toponymie, dans les régions germaniques du nord-est de la FRANCE. Aides à la recherche, traductions, interprétations, transcriptions, des actes de l'état-civil, des registres paroissiaux protestants et catholiques, des différents notariats et autres textes historiques anciens. Since 2001, in French. 1195 members. DEU-Regio-L : http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/DEU/DEU-REGIO.html    The ancient "Regio" cities (Alsace, Baden, Nordwestschweiz/Northwest Switzerland German-

Slavery Research

The State of Illinois has put their report of the policies issued to slaveholders for death or damage of their slaves during the slavery era from every licensed insurer (or predecessor company): http://www.ins.state.il.us/Consumer/SlaveryReporting.nsf Listed are compiled reports by slave name , and by slave holder name . The slaves and slave holders aren't just in Illinois, but all over the United States. A sample finding for the search "walters": Slave Holder Name: Wm Bowen Slave Holder County/Parish: Fredricksburg Slave Holder State: VA Slave Name: John Walters Slave County/Parish: Fredricksburg Slave State: VA Slave Other: Policy Number(s): 453 Slave Job/Skill: Machine builder and pattern maker Clicking on Wm Bowen's name, I get a bit more information: Name of Slave: John Walters County/Parish: Fredricksburg State: VA Other Identifying Info (policy no. etc): Policy Number(s): 453 Job/Occupation/Skill (optional if known): Machine builder and pattern maker Slave Hol