Genealogy

Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) : http://www.APGen.org ( I have just joined the APG ). Board for Certification of Genealogists : http://www.BCGcertification.org International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists : http://www.icapgen.org/ Study guide: Becoming an Accredited Genealogist by Karen Clifford, ISBN 0-916489-81-7 Book: Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Lecturers, and Librarians , ed. Elizabeth Shown Mills, ISBN 0-8063-1648-9 Other nations Australia and New Zealand: Australian Association of Genealogists and Record Agents : http://www.aagra.asn.au/ Canada: Genealogical Institute of the Maritimes / Institut généalogique des provinces Maritimes (the Maritimes of Canada): http://nsgna.ednet.ns.ca/gim/ Bureau Québécois D'Attestation de Compétence en Généalogie, Fédération Québécoise des Sociétés de Généalogie : http://www.fed...

Well, I've done it. I joined the APG, the Association of Professional Genealogists ( http://www.apgen.org/ ). Labor Day weekend we went to the cabin, as we do every year. I took only one book with me to read - Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Lecturers, and Librarians , ed. Elizabeth Shown Mills. Reading it filled me with respect for the authors of the various chapters, which cover most aspects of doing professional genealogy, and deepened my desire to raise the quality of my research and reporting. What triggered me to actually join, however, was my father's remark that one of his friends would be contacting me to do some research for him. I haven't decided whether or not I will take on a client, but if I do, I want to have the protection of membership in the APG. I've been on the APG list for quite a while, and have learned quite a bit as a reader and participant. I have no idea whether or not I'll decide to certify as a genealogist ev...

Health and Hygiene in the 19th Century (The Victorian Web): http://65.107.211.206/health/health10.html The Huddled Masses: Migration and Disease, 1880-1920 : http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=422 The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 : http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/ Map Stops Cholera : http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa070797.htm Major U.S. Epidemics : http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001460.html Epidemics : http://www.usgenweb.org/researchers/epidemics.html GenDisasters.com , train wrecks, fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, storms, mining explosions, ship wrecks, drownings, and accidents: http://www.gendisasters.com/ What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bipolar disorder (manic depression) is a treatable medical condition that affects approximately 5.7 million American adults. But the condition can be hard to recognize because it may come across as depression, euphoria, trouble at work, out-of-control spending, substance abuse or even suicide attempts. Now, a new program that addresses the family connection of bipolar disorder is available to help families get their doctors to more accurately and quickly diagnose this complex condition. The Mental Health Family Tree program : http://www.mentalhealthfamilytree.org/ , launched by the national non-profit organization Families for Depression Awareness (FFDA), draws attention to the important role a person's family mental health history can play in diagnosing bipolar disorder, while helping individuals identify some of the common - but sometimes unknown - behaviors associated with the condition. People concerned about the existence of bipolar disorder in themselves or in family members...

Irish Counties are like US states, while the Baronies are more like our counties. Baronies are comprised of Parishes, which are somewhat like townships in the US. Parishes are divided into Townlands of varying size. They may be farms or platted sub-divisions, and can range from a few acres to over a thousand acres. So one needs to know County, Barony, Parish and Township. Book: The General Alphabetical Index to Townlands and Towns, Parishes, and Baronies of Ireland published in Dublin in 1861 as an adjunct to the Census of Ireland. It has been reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1995, and 1997. John Giacoletti says "It is one of the essential must have and use tools for genealogical research in Ireland." Brian Mitchell's A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland shows outline maps of all the parishes and baronies. There are also townland maps that will show the placement of the townlands within the parishes. The townland outline maps are av...

Online Collections DeadFred (46,348 records): http://deadfred.com/ Ancient Faces (30,700+ photos): http://www.ancientfaces.com/ Family Old Photos (10,000+ photos) : http://www.familyoldphotos.com/ Lost Faces : http://www.rootsweb.com/~ote/faces/ - 50 albums, each with many surnames Family Fotos Online (1759 surnames): http://fourkings.freeyellow.com/Page2.html A couple of sites new, or new to me - FordandNagle (Kentucky based): http://fordnagle.com/ , and LostAndFoundPhotos.net , hosted by PhotoGrafix: http://www.lostandfoundphotos.net/ Dating Old Photos Follow the Clues - Dating Your Photographs : http://www.genealogy.com/genealogy/73_taylor.html Date an old Photo (links to Brit photo sites): http://www.cartes.freeuk.com/time/date.htm Dating Old Photographs : http://www.familychronicle.com/dating.htm Dating Old Photographs : http://genealogy.about.com/cs/photodating/ Carte-de-viste http://www.photographymuseum.com/histsw.htm http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/speak/carte...

Maps Shtetl Seeker : http://www.jewishgen.org/ShtetlSeeker/ Maps of Poland, provinces and towns : http://maxpages.com/poland/Maps_and_Towns_Poland Polish Historical Maps : http://www.progenealogists.com/poland/ Maps of Poland : http://www.masterpage.com.pl/maps/mapsofpoland.html Polish Maps 1921, 1939 : http://www.pgsa.org/polishmaps.htm Poltran for translations in Polish: http://www.poltran.com/ POLISH GENEALOGY - directory to Polish genealogy resources, databases and websites related to Polish ancestry and research of roots with links to Austrian, Belarusian, German, Jewish, Russian, Ukrainian and worldwide genealogy-related sites: http://polishroots.netfirms.com/ Please also see European Research for many more general links: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/european-research.html Poland And Information About Polish Business And Culture : http://www.masterpage.com.pl/ He who possesses the source of enthusiasm will achieve great things. Doubt not. You will gather friends aroun...

Fun, and practical! The latest from Google is Google Moon , which debuted on the 30th anniversary of "one giant step for mankind." Be sure to go to full magnification! Next, a program you must download from Google (9MB, free): http://desktop.google.com/download/earth/ ; Google Earth . Available is a tool where you can overlay images on top of satellite photos. Try importing a plat map image on top of a satellite photo of the area where your ancestors lived, and you will be looking at a photographic map of your ancestors' property! Adjust the size, orientation, and the transparency level of the imported image, so you can match up the roads, rivers, or other landmarks of the satellite image to your transparency. Drag to toggle between the map and the satellite image. This idea is from an Ancestry Quick Tip by Scott Aaron. Thanks, Scott! For $20, you can get Google Earth Plus, which allows you to integrate GPS information, and print higher-res maps. On Eastman's I saw a...

James Cowan Sr. in Biographical Sketches of Early Settlers of Wellington County , Ontario, Canada (Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario. Toronto: Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906): http://www.rootsweb.com/~onwellin/pioneers/cowan_james_sr.htm    James was born in Selkirk, Scotland in 1790. He married Margaret NICHOL (d. 1883 age 92), and came to Galt in 1829, and died there in 1867. James' son Thomas lived on the Galt homestead of 235 acres. The oldest son James Jr. was b. Selkirk SCT in 1825, and lived in Guelph on the West End Road. He m. Jane BEATTY (d. 1888 age 59). William Cowan (my gggrandfather): http://www.rootsweb.com/~onwellin/pioneers/cowan_walter.htm    William b. "Yarrow Fews, (sic) " Selkirkshire, Scotland, came to Canada in 1831. He was a weaver in Scotland. He took up a farm about one mile outside of Galt which he cleared and where he died. He was a Presbyterian and a Conservative. He m. (1) Jennie SCOTT, of the Scott...

from a copy of a typescript with notes, sent to me by Dr. Mathison. -v (Note across the top in JFCs writing: To keep up interest in the Cowans) FOUR COWAN FAMILIES By Jennie F. Cowan [written after 1985, JFmathison] In the early 1800's there lived in Selkirkshire, Scotland, four Cowan brothers, sons of a James Cowan, according to the family of [ii] Andrew, who was born in 1767. The other brothers were; [I] William, born in 1752, [iii] Thomas in 1771 and [iv] Walter in 1778. A couple of these dates have been calculated from newspaper articles at the time of their deaths. [i, ii remained in USA; iii died in Scotland, iv came to Canada) The people in Scotland had been hearing more and more about America, a land on the other side of the Atlantic needing settlers. There the common man could own land, cut down the trees on it, construct buildings, till the soil, sow seed and reap fruits of his handiwork. In Scotland most of the land was still in the hands of the Lords. [ii] Andrew and hi...

James & family, Wellington County 1901 Census - Guelph Guelph Township Census Index 1901 1901 Census Province/Territory: Ontario district name: WELLINGTON (South/Sud) District Number; 1S -Sub-district name: Guelph Sub-district Number: d -1chedule: 1 Reference: RG31 Statistics Canada Microfilm Reel Number: T-6505 Finding aid Number: 31-40 -13 Pages Entry may include: * The Name (and initials in many cases) * The Sex * The position in the household * Whether married, single, widowed, lodger, niece, etc * The complete date of birth * Age at last birthday * Place born The ‘u’ or ‘r’ that follows the Place born is important. Eg. Ont ‘r’ stands for rural or a ‘u’ stands for urban (although they are often difficult to distinguish). They can help you locate birth information. * Year of Immigration if born outside of Canada * Religion * Ethnic Origin * Occupation * The number of months worked * Wages, etc. Guelph Twp. Part 2 - Pg 4 C...

Canadian Federal Census of 1871, Wellington South (Ontario Index) ArchiviaNet: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/02/02010803_e.html I need to read these films! I left out the Irish Cowans. COWAN , WALTER Sex: Male Age: 54 Birthplace: SCOTLAND Religion: Canada Presbyterian/C. Presb. Origin: SCOTCH Occupation: FARMER District: WELLINGTON SOUTH ( 033 ) Sub-district: Puslinch ( A ) Division: 1 Page: 22 Microfilm reel: C-9945 Reference: RG31 — Statistics Canada COWAN , WALTER Sex: Male Age: 36 Birthplace: ONT Religion: Evangelical Union Origin: SCOTCH Occupation: CARPENTER District: WELLINGTON SOUTH ( 033 ) Sub-district: Guelph Township ( B ) Division: 3 Page: 18 Microfilm reel: C-9945 Reference: RG31 — Statistics Canada COWAN , WILLIAM Sex: Male Age: 51 Birthplace: SCOTLAND Religion: Canada Presbyterian/C. Presb. Origin: SCOTCH Occupation: FA...

Library and Archives Canada/Canadian Genealogy Centre have put the Upper and Lower Canada Marriage Bonds online: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/022/012/index-e.html Lower Canada later became Quebec, while Upper Canada became Ontario. Here are the Cowan Marriage Bonds: Lower Canada Name of Future Husband: O'SULLIVAN, Timothy Residence: Quebec Name of Future Wife: COWAN, Catherine Residence: Quebec Remarks: Reference: RG 4 B28 Volume: 30 Bond Number: 79 Date: 1819-09-21 Microfilm Reel Number: H-1129 Name of Future Husband: COWAN, James Residence: late of Belfast, Ireland Name of Future Wife: PATTERSON, Mary Residence: late of Belfast, Ireland Remarks: Reference: RG 4 B28 Volume: 31 Bond Number: 285 Date: 1822-08-06 Microfilm Reel Number: H-1129 Name of Future Husband: BARWIS, Thomas Bienvenue Residence: Quebec Name of Future Wife: COWAN, Ann Elizabeth Residence: Quebec Remarks: Reference: RG 4 B28 Volume: 33 Bond Number: 529 Date: 1825-10-31 Microfi...

COWAN , THOMAS (not Grandpa, though) Regimental number: 3032575 Reference: RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 2069 - 11

Finding places in old Germany: ShtetlSeeker : http://www.jewishgen.org/ShtetlSeeker/loctown.htm Meyers Geographical and Commercial Gazetteer of the German Empire ( Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs in German) now FREE at Ancestry: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/meyers-ort-online-and-free.html GEOserv (email process): http://www.genealogienetz.de/misc/geoserv.html German Place Database : http://www.saxonyroots.com/place/index.php?lang=en Topography Keyword list with links to sources: http://www.digitalis.uni-koeln.de/digitaletexte_keywords.html    in German German Maps : http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/german-maps.html Genealogy.net (German & English): http://www.genealogy.net Germany GenWeb : http://www.rootsweb.com/~wggerman/ Links for German Genealogy on the Internet : http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/germanlinks.html Ahnenforschung.net (in German; IRC chat as well as information): http://ahnenforschung.net/ and http://alsachat....

Interesting article from the the Ancestry newsletter - BEYOND THE INDEX: "MORE 1880 CENSUS SEARCH OPTIONS," by Michael John Neill =================================================================== We have looked at the 1880 census search interface at Ancestry.com in the past. This week we revisit the search interface, which now offers researchers eighteen fields upon which to search. The variety of search options allows researchers to potentially locate undiscovered family members. However, the increased number of search options requires the researcher to be organized and systematic. This week we look at some strategies I used in my attempts to locate two of my ancestors' lost siblings in the 1880 census. Note: The 1880 Census Index at Ancestry.com is free and use of the database does not require a paying membership. Access to images of the census is available for a subscription fee. The entire article is available at http://www.ancestry.com/rd/prodredir.asp?sourceid=...

I met Marleemia in the #Australia Rootsweb IRC channel tonight, and she directed me to the State Records NSW - The New South Wales Government's Archives and Records Management Authority: http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/indexes_online_3357.asp I know that family stories say that one of the Cowans went from Selkirkshire to Australia before 1832, when our bunch went to Ontario, Canada, but I have not learned WHO went, or exactly when. So I searched on the Colonial Secretary Index, 1788-1825 and found: COWAN, James. Came free per "Triton", 1825 1825 n.d., Nov 24 Memorial (Fiche 3125; 4/1841A No.166 pp.73-86) 1825 Nov 19,28 On list of persons who have received orders for grants of land (Fiche 3266; 9/2652 p.87); on list of lands granted and reserved by Sir Thomas Brisbane (Fiche 3269; 9/2740 p.7) and COWAN, Andrew. Came free per "Triton", 1825 1825 n.d., Nov 24 Memorial (Fiche 3125; 4/1841A No.166 pp.73-86) 1825 Nov 19,28 On list of persons who have received o...

New at NARA - World War II Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File - 9 million records The NARA website says: This series has records on about nine million men and women who enlisted during World War II in the United States Army, including Army Reserves and the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. NARA scanned War Department microfilmed punch cards on enlistments to support the reconstruction of the military personnel records at its National Personnel Record Center. Because of the microfilm's poor condition, approximately 1.5 million records could not be scanned. Also, the file has no records for Army officers, members of other services or enlistments for other time periods. In general, each record has the serial number of a soldier, person's name, state and county of residence, place of enlistment, date of enlistment, grade, branch, term of enlistment, place of birth, year of birth, race, education, civilian occupation, marital status, and component. These records present uniq...

History of the United States Naturalization Process : http://www.archives.state.co.us/natinfo.htm INS - History, Genealogy and Education: http://uscis.gov/graphics/aboutus/history/index.htm National Archives - Naturalization Records: http://www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/research_topics/naturalization_records.html Pledging Allegiance - Naturalization Records : http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/lesson16.htm Sample Certificate of Naturalization : http://www.history.rochester.edu/jssn/natucert.gif A Gold Mine Of Naturalization Records In New England : http://www.ilw.com/lawyers/articles/2005%2C0603-hickey.shtm    Index to naturalization records from 301 courts in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, & Vermont, available as NARA Microfilm Publication M1299, Index to New England Naturalization Petitions, 1791–1906 from NARA, and from the LDS as FHL US/CAN Film 1429671 - 1429787, 117 films in all. Consult the film notes page on the FHL Catalog for coverage...

From the Research Outline at http://familysearch.org : http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/Rg/guide/Germany14.asp#emigration_and_immigration Many Germans either lived in Elsaß-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine) or passed through it to emigrate. The following sources help identify many of them. Alsace Emigration Index . The Family History Library has compiled an index of persons who emigrated from or through Elsaß-Lothringen from 1817 to 1866 . About half the names are from southern Germany. The alphabetical index gives the emigrant's name, age, occupation, place of origin, residence, destination, passport date, and source microfilm number. Not everyone who emigrated via Alsace is in this index. The index is easiest to find in the Author/Title Search of the Family History Library Catalog under Alsace Emigration Index.Look this term up in the glossary. It is also listed as: France. Ministre de l'Intrieur. Registres des émigrés, 1817-1866 (Index of emigrants, 1817-1866). Salt Lak...