UpFront with NGS

18 January 2012

NARA -- Know Your Records Voting -- ends tomorrow!

Like to vote? Well here’s another chance. Through tomorrow, 19 January 2012, NARA is seeking your input on which of their “Know Your Records” Programs held from 2009-2011 and that are on video, you would like to see posted!

As the website says ...

The National Archives and Records Administration hosted more than 370 Know Your Records talks on topics including genealogy, ethnic heritage, declassified records, Civil War, social media, and more over the past two years. We want to make them available to a wider audience by posting the videos online, and need your help to figure out where to start: which talks are you most eager to see posted to YouTube and iTunes U? Read through the list of program summaries, vote on your favorites, and let us know what you think. This is just the start of an ongoing project, so we’re looking forward to hearing what you have to say!

I have voted. Have you? If not do so now by clicking VOTE.

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17 January 2012

Certificate of Irish Heritage is now available for Americans of Irish ancestry

A sample of a certificate of Irish heritage

Photo by www.heritagecertificate.ie

Irish government seeks to honor the Irish roots of close to 40 million Americans

The Certificate of Irish Heritage is now available in the United States and around the world. The certificate honors those ancestors who sacrificed so much by leaving Ireland and who created opportunities for later generations.

Up to 40 million Americans, 35 million with Irish ancestry and five million with Northern Irish roots are eligible to apply...

Read the full story at: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Certificate-of-Irish-Heritage-is-now-available-for--Americans-of-Irish-ancestry-135312133.html#ixzz1ibzcSWhA

Have Irish ancestors – share a story about them with us.

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16 January 2012

Copyright Matters: Digitization and Public Access

Came across this post about digital preservation on the Library of Congress blog ...

Providing Access to 70 Million Copyright Records

The U.S. Copyright Office has a comprehensive set of records about books, periodicals, music, motion pictures and other works that were registered with the Office between 1870 and 1977. The records include transfers and assignments of rights reported to the Office. Until now these records have existed only in paper and microfilm form, but the Office has an exciting project underway to convert these non-digital records and make them available via the web. Over 13 million catalog cards have already been digitized as well as more than half of the Catalogs of Copyright Entries published since 1891. This latter set is available for searching through the Internet Archive.

Attention now has turned to making the full set of records available via the web. The Copyright Office has launched Copyright Matters: Digitization and Public Access, a blog to publicize the project’s goals, objectives and progress as well as to elicit input from interested parties. If you have interest in the ownership records for intellectual property or in using them to learn more about the cultural history of the United States, please visit the blog and feel free to submit your thoughts and ideas about getting the most out of these records.

As a person who just two years ago visited the Library of Congress to look at the volumes on Copyrights for Musical Compositions in the early 1900s – how nice and easy it would have been to just sit at home and see these same volumes! Well, now I can!

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13 January 2012

The December 2011 edition of the NGS Quarterly is now available under the Members Only Section

The December 2011 edition of the NGS Quarterly is now available under the Members Only Section at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/members_only/publications_archive/ngsq_online/ngsq_disclaimer. Please be sure to log in under the User Login area to the right of the screen.

Please note that access to the NGS Quarterly online is available only as long as your membership is active.

Feature Articles

o Using Indirect Evidence and Linguistic Analysis to Trace Polin Ries of New Orleans, Teri D. Tillman, CG

o Nathan W. Dowd of Ohio: Whose Child was He?, Linda Dowd Vivian

o Using Indirect Evidence to Find In-Laws for Conrad Peters of Monroe County, New York, Nancy A. Peters, CG

Notes & Documents

o French Spoliation Awards: Heirs of Seth Russell of New Bedford, Massachusetts, Georgy Ely Russell, CG, FASG, FNGS

o The Usefulness of School Records: Uncovering Roberta Dyer Howard’s Withheld Story, Mary L. Mall

Update

o ‘Tout le Monde’ Revisited: The William Moyse Family in Saint John, New Brunswick, Ronald A. Hill, Ph.D., CG, FASG

Sidelights

o May They Rest in Peace, Separately

o An Illegal Vote for Lincoln

o Early Signs of Trouble—The French Won’t Pay

o Agency at Washington City

o The French Spoliation Claimants

o The French Spoliation Claims—The Causten Papers

o Divorce Unacceptable in Nineteenth-Century Canada

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12 January 2012

Special Discount for RootsTech 2012 Ends January 13th! Register Now!

If you haven’t registered for RootsTech 2012 yet, you will want to do so by January 13^th to take advantage of the special discount price of $149. The RootsTech 2012 Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 2-4, is a dynamic, one-of-a-kind event.

It is designed to bring technologists together with genealogists of all skill levels, so they can learn from each other and find solutions to the challenges faced in family history research today; hence the lineup of speakers this year from Google, Instructure, Ancestry.com, and FamilySearch!

Check out these exciting evening events:

Thursday, February 2: Exercise your Funny Bone with Comedian Ryan Hamilton

Friday, February 3: Late Night at the Family History Library

Of course, attending RootsTech 2012 is a great excuse to spend some productive research time at the Family History Library any time you want. The RootsTech 2012 Conference venue is practically adjacent to the conference venue in Salt Lake City! Come early, stay late, plan to satisfy your research needs.

Go to RootsTech 2012 to explore the full list of topics, sessions, speakers, and conference offerings.

Take advantage of the special registration rate now. We look forward to seeing you at RootsTech!

Don’t Miss the Final $149 Discount Rate for RootsTech 2012 in Salt Lake City!

· A new family history and technology conference

· February 2-4, 2012

· Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

· The special discount ends January 13, 2012.

RootsTech is sponsored by Microsoft, Dell, FamilySearch, Oracle, the National Genealogical Society, brightsolid, Ancestry.com, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Archives.com, Brigham Young University, and the Association of Professional Genealogists.

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11 January 2012

National Genealogical Society Announces Partnership with Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd

Arlington, VA, 9 January 2012: The National Genealogical Society proudly announces a strategic partnership with Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd of the UK to present My British Isles Origins: Where and How Do I Cross the Pond? This four-week online learning course begins 1 March 2012 and is designed to show genealogists with British ancestry how to “leap the pond” and discover their roots in the British Isles.

The presenter is Sherry Irvine, BA (History), MSc, CG^sm, of Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada. Sherry, a favorite lecturer across the United States, is an established teacher and lecturer of family history with over twenty-five years of experience. Further biographical information is available at either NGS website at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/or the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd website at http://www.pharostutors.com/ .

Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd was founded in 2005 by Sherry Irvine and Helen Osborn, two professional genealogists who share enthusiasm for helping others journey into the past. Their goal is to teach others the most rewarding ways to search for ancestors in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

My British Isles Origins: Where and How Do I Cross the Pond? offers students a mixture of history, population study, sources, and research strategies. Its primary objectives are to present practical guidance for launching research into the British origins of immigrant ancestors and to offer help on building contextual knowledge of migration patterns and history, at national and local levels. For more information on the course or to view course visit the course webpage on the NGS website at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/pharos_public.

For NGS members who register through the NGS member’s only site, the course is $55.25, a savings of 15% from the full, non-member price of $65.00

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. Please visit the NGS Pressroom at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/pressroom for further information.

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Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

There are just so many hidden research gems. I was just looking around and stumbled across references to the Virginia Gazette being available online for 1730-1786, either by browsing or searching. How had I missed that?

When I learned that it was available on the Colonial Williamsburg website, http://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary.cfm, I just had to check out what other gems might be there and learned there are also Manuscripts, York County Probate Inventories and other documents, digitized and waiting for eager researchers to discover!

Have you made a great discovery in these collections?

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10 January 2012

Elizabeth Shown Mills Has a New Website!

I, like many, have learned so much from hearing Elizabeth Shown Mills talk at national conferences and via reading her various publications!

Now, at the click of a finger you can access select articles, case studies and research reports and other materials, http://historicpathways.com/. It’s like having Elizabeth privately sharing some of her knowledge with you in the comfort of your own home! I have enjoyed sitting in my bathrobe and slippers as I sip coffee and “learn” from one of the genealogical greats!

As she states ...

“For a lifetime, I have pursued those whom history has forgotten. Many have teased me through trails of burned-out courthouses and decades in which no census takers found their cabins. Most have challenged me to separate their identities from hordes of other same-name people. Many have rewarded me. Some of their stories I have told already—as tales, as essays in scholarly journals, or in books of various ilk. At this site, as time allows, I hope to share their stories with those of you who might care to follow them down the pathways these men and women quietly blazed through our nation's past.”

Does any article, case study or research report particularly resonate with you? If so, please tell us which one and why!

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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 UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com.