UpFront with NGS: February 2012

29 February 2012

The Jan/Feb/Mar 2012 Issue of the NGS Magazine Now Online in the Members Only Section

NGS is happy to announce that a new issue of the NGS Magazine, Jan/Feb/Mar issue of the NGS Magazine (PDF 5.2MB) is now available to NGS members.

Here is the table of contents for this issue:

Features
NGS Family History Conference, Cincinnati, by Kenny Burck
Celebrating 100 years of the NGSQ, by Arlene V. Jennings^CG
American colonies in Cuba, by Boyd Leuenberger
Problems reading German immigrant passenger lists, by Kathy J. Stickney
Picture the past at your convenience, by Smiljka Kitanovic, PhD
Treating the southern sick and wounded: Confederate hospital records at the National Archives, by John P. Deeben
Case study: Questionable marriage information in death certificates, by Allen R. Peterson^CG

Columns
National Archives, by Claire Prechtel-Kluskens
Reference desk, by Kathy Petlewski, MSLS
Review, by Barbara Schneck
Technology, by Jordan Jones
Writing family history, by Harold E. Hinds Jr., PhD

Departments
President’s message, by Ann Christnacht Hilke^CG
Editor’s Column, by Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens^CG
NGS news
Genealogy news
Upcoming events

Editor’s Note: Remember that members are able to access the Magazine Archives as part of their membership.

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Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to [email protected]. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

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28 February 2012

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Premieres Later This Month

Later this month, Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the renowned cultural critic and Harvard scholar, will premiere, Sunday, 25 March at 8:00 p.m., the 10-part series delves into the genealogy and genetics of famous Americans, combining history and science in a fascinating exploration of race, family, and identity in today's America. Professor Gates shakes loose captivating stories and surprises in the family trees of Kevin Bacon, Robert Downey, Jr., Branford Marsalis, John Legend, Martha Stewart, Barbara Walters and Rick Warren, among many others.

You can catch a preview video here.

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FamilySearch Launches Mobile Indexing App

To facilitate its world-wide volunteer-based indexing project, FamilySearch has launched a mobile application for indexing. The mobile app works on Apple iPads, iPhones, and Droid smartphones.

To download the free app, search for the FamilySearch Indexing app in the Apple app store

... or Droid Market store online.

If you’ve used this app (via either platform), let us know your thoughts? Easy to use? Convenient?

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Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to [email protected]. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to [email protected].

27 February 2012

File Naming -- Much More Important Than We Often Think!

Anyone who has not been able to find a file on their computer or who has wondered what the file name “Sm Rev” could possibly mean (surely it made some sense when you originally chose that name!?!?!) might find this four-part video tutorial (created by the NC Department of Cultural Resources) helpful. It describes why file naming is important, how to change a file name, what not to do when changing a file name, and best practices for file naming. These brief videos simply and clearly describe how deliberate file naming, a common everyday practice, can lead to responsible file management and ongoing digital preservation.

Do you have a file naming horror story (or success) to share with us?

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to [email protected].

24 February 2012

National Genealogical Society Announces New Release in Voices of Genealogy Video Series: Robert Charles Anderson, FASG

Arlington, VA, 24 February 2012: In celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, NGS has created for its members a historical archive of interviews with some of the most important genealogists of the twentieth century. Beautifully filmed and produced by award winning filmmakers Kate Geis and Allen Moore, these video portraits capture for posterity the irreplaceable legacy of genealogists who have had a major influence on scholarship in genealogy.

The second release in the series features Robert Charles Anderson, FASG, and is now playing for all NGS members on the Society’s website. Interviewed by Melinde Lutz Byrne, CG, FASG, co-editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Bob shares stories of his youth, his intriguing military service, his work in biochemistry, the discovery of genealogy, and how he developed his skills for historical research. Future episodes with Anderson are The Great Migration Study Project, Building Bridges between Genealogy and History, and The Goal and The Future of Genealogy. More information about the interviews is available in the January-February-March issue of the NGS Magazine.

The video interviews represent just one of the many opportunities NGS offers its members for becoming successful genealogists. Members receive the society’s outstanding publications, The National Genealogical Society Quarterly and the NGS Magazine, and can also take advantage of free courses and significant discounts on publications, courses, and the NGS annual conference to be staged in Cincinnati 9–12 May 2012 and in Las Vegas 8–11 May 2013.

Founded in 1903, the National Genealogical Society is dedicated to genealogy education, high research standards, and the preservation of genealogical records. The Arlington, Virginia-based nonprofit is the premier national society for everyone, from the beginner to the most advanced family historian, seeking excellence in publications, educational offerings, research guidance, and opportunities to interact with other genealogists.

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23 February 2012

Variant Names Project

The purpose of this project is to create a comprehensive database of name variants that should be searched whenever a particular name is searched. As anyone who has done research knows, sometimes every document you find “spells” a surname and/or forename spelled differently? Eventually your list of name variants can get pretty long! When you are starting out, it can be hard to “know” what are all the different spellings that you need to be searching on are! This project will help with that!

As stated on the project page ...

Currently, providers of genealogical records use algorithms like Soundex, or home-grown solutions to the problem of returning records with names that are spelled similarly and are likely matches for the searched-for name. A large part of genealogical expertise involves learning alternate spellings for the surnames in your tree. Why not share this knowledge with others?

The goal is to create a free resource that all genealogy websites use, so that genealogy searches are consistent across the Web.

Ancestry.com and WeRelate worked together to create an advanced algorithm for determining the level of similarity between two names. That algorithm was used to create the starting point for this database. The algorithm was used to find similarly-spelled names for the 200,000 most-frequent surnames and 70,000 most-frequent given names in Ancestry's database. This includes every name that appears more than once every 5,000,000 names in Ancestry's database. On average, 26 variants were found for each surname, and 32 variants were found for each given name...

In addition, BehindTheName.com has donated their excellent list of given name variants ... To the BehindTheName and Ancestry list of names ... additional variants from the WeRelate community, The New American Dictionary of Baby Names, and A Dictionary of Surnames [were included].

You can help! Review the database and provide your input!

Here is an example of what’s currently included for the surname FOUNTAIN, a name found in my family?

Were you able to add a name variant? Or, were you helped by learning of one you hadn’t previously come across? As always, please share with us!

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22 February 2012

But Who Will Read The Record? Does Not Learning Cursive Mean Our Descendants Will Be Less Able to Read Handwritten Documents?

Meridian Magazine published a provocative piece titled "But Who Will Read the Records?" by Carol Kostakos Petranek (one of the Directors of the Washington DC Family History Center) which discusses a possibly frightening movement underway to eliminate cursive handwriting from public schools (see Cursive Handwriting Getting Erased) and the impact this might have on genealogists.

My experience has been that an emphasis on cursive writing went by the wayside about 10 years ago – by the time my son was a 3^rd grader, they spent much less time on cursive and even print writing than for my slightly older daughter. As a result of that, he doesn’t have terribly legible hand-writing, though his typed documents look just fine?!?!?!

I don’t know my thoughts on whether his lack of schooling in cursive would make it more challenging to read handwritten documents? As it is – between spelling variations, vagaries in handwriting, etc, I struggle to read handwritten texts, regardless of when or where written.

Do you think that a generation taught typing instead of cursive writing (with a reduced emphasis on even print writing for that matter) will be more challenged in the future to read hand-written documents or not?

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to [email protected].

21 February 2012

The King Center Unveils Personal Documents Belonging to Martin Luther King Jr

The King Center has published 200,000 personal documents belonging to Martin Luther King Jr. The online archive contains personal notes, telegrams to John F Kennedy and a handwritten draft of King's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.

Read the full BBC article.

Visit the online archive.

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to [email protected].

20 February 2012

Mother-daughter letters open digital window to Colonial era

There are nothing like letters or journals to give us a sense of those we are researching and the life they led. Soon, the letters of Colonial South Carolina’s most prominent mother and daughter will become part of a nationally recognized digital project through the University of Virginia Press and its electronic imprint arm, Rotunda.

Read about this project.

Are there other projects like this we should be aware of?

Did any of your ancestors leave an extensive collection of correspondence or journals?

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to [email protected].

17 February 2012

NARA -- You Can Transcribe It! Project

Are you helping NARA transcribe our nation’s documents yet? If not, do check out the You Can Transcribe It Page!

The posted documents range across time periods, places and types of documents and in transcribing skill range from beginner to advanced. A nice feature of the site is that not only can you see those documents “available” for you to help with, you can review documents already transcribed by others and help improve upon those already transcribed (if needed).

If you have already participated – let us know how it went?

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to [email protected].

16 February 2012

In Honor of Black History Month, Fold3 Invites You to Enjoy FREE Access to its Black History Collection

In celebration of Black History Month, Fold3 is providing free access to its African American collection which includes many enlightening historical records documenting African American achievements since the earliest days of our nation.

Please share any neat finds!

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to [email protected].

15 February 2012

The National Genealogical Society has announced their new Social Media Policy

This policy begins immediately and will be in effect for the NGS 2012 Family History Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, 9–12 May 2012.

Except by specific prior written permission, NGS does not permit the recording of presentations at the NGS Family History Conference under any circumstances or in any form or media, including but not limited to audio recordings, still photography, video recordings, or literal transcripts. (JAMB, Inc. contracts with NGS to audio record the lectures of speakers who provide their written consent to be recorded. CDs may be purchased at the conference or ordered after the conference for $12 per CD.)

NGS permits and encourages the use of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and blogging at the conference as a way to summarize, highlight, excerpt, review, critique, and/or promote the presented materials, syllabus materials, or the conference in general, provided that

1. the material is not shared in full, and

2. the author or speaker is referenced and cited appropriately in each case.

Please keep in mind that our presenters have invested many hours in the development of this material and copyright laws apply.

Out of respect for the other participants, we ask that noise-making electronic devices be silenced, though they need not be turned off, so that they may be used to follow along in the syllabus, tweet, or take notes in accordance with the above stated social media policy.

We encourage participants in the conference to:

· Follow us on Twitter (@ngsgenealogy).

· Friend us on Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/ngsgenealogy).

· Subscribe to the NGS conference blog at http://www.facebook.com/ngsgenealogy.

· Send us a tweet @ngsgenealogy for general information or use the hashtag #ngs2012 for Annual Conference-related tweets.

· Blog, post, and tweet about what you are hearing and seeing at the conference (highlighting or commenting on, but not sharing in detail, any of the material presented).

· Suggest sessions to attend and luncheons to enjoy; chat about products and services in the Exhibit Hall.

· Feel free to take and share photographs at any time in the Exhibit Hall.

· Request the permission of speakers if you would like to take their photograph directly before or after a session. (Unless you are an official NGS photographer, please obtain the permission of the speaker before taking pictures, and please take photographs only before a session starts, or after it concludes.)

· Provide feedback to NGS staff and the Program Committee. (For example, you could discuss topics of interest and/or speakers for next year's conference, make suggestions for sessions, or comment on the conference format.)

· Keep criticism constructive.

We request that participants in the conference refrain from:

· Using audio and/or video recording devices. These are strictly prohibited in sessions and in the Exhibit Hall, except in the interview area or by prior written agreement.

· Using photographic devices during sessions.

· Using photographic devices in the session rooms without permission of the speaker.

· Capturing, transmitting, or redistributing syllabus materials or the bulk of the material presented in a session. Doing so infringes on the intellectual property rights of the speakers.

· Engaging in rudeness or personal attacks.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to [email protected].