UpFront with NGS

13 July 2017

RPAC Encourages Family Historians to Support NARA and Library of Congress

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RPAC Encourages Family Historians to Support NARA and Library of Congress

As many of us celebrated the 4^th of July holiday last week, the Records Preservation and Access Committee (RPAC) posted a message reminding us that the 2018 federal budget is being worked on and that the two named great resources to genealogists could be at risk. Each of us can work to ensure that invaluable and venerable programs are recognized for all that they have done in terms of preserving our history and ensuring access to it and what is still needed to be done.

With thanks to Jan Alpert and Barbara Matthews.

On May 22, 2017, President Trump released more details about his proposed Fiscal Year 2018 budget. Overall there were cuts to many of the programs that genealogists regularly use. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is targeted for a $16.6 million reduction in addition to the elimination of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), an archival grant making arm of the National Archives which provides local and state funding in the preservation of essential historical materials making them more accessible to the public. Since 1964 NHPRC has provided grants to every state and you can view a detailed list for the last thirty years at https://www.archives.gov/nhprc/projects/states-territories. When the NARA budget is cut the hours at the Washington D.C., College Park, Maryland, and Regional Archives are usually reduced. As staff cuts are made to meet the budget, our fees are often increased and the delivery time is extended for document requests. Genealogists are the largest customer base of the National Archives. If we don’t support NARA, who will?

The Library of Congress is slated to receive a $56 million increase in the FY 2018 proposed Trump budget. In addition to the library being a world-class research facility, genealogists also are benefitting from Chronicling America which is digitizing early American newspapers from 1836 to 1922 and digitizing the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of cities across the United States which have survived. If your state newspapers are being digitized, it is likely in partnership with the Library of Congress. The budget negotiations will continue for months, so although the Library of Congress is well positioned in the Trump proposed budget, funding could be reduced before the final budget is approved. Let’s not take that chance.

As genealogists, we need to support the funding of projects which provide digitization and online access to historical documents. We have the most impact if we write our Congressional Representatives. On the RPAC website http://www.fgs.org/rpac we have provided a copy of this article with links to sample letters you can send in support of NARA, NHPRC, and/or the Library of Congress. With each sample letter we have provided a chart showing the actual FY 2016 and FY 2017 funding in comparison to the proposed FY 2018 budget.

SampleLettertoCongressFY18NARA+NHPRC (002)

SampleLetterFY18LOCChronAmerSanborn (002)

If RPAC is new to you, check out the About RPAC page.

What other federal budget items could directly or indirectly affect genealogical research?

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12 July 2017

1926 Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States Now Digitized and Accessible on Library of Congress Website

Schoolchildren from Deszno, Sanok, an ancestral village for my ancestors,
https://www.loc.gov/resource/pldec.073/?sp=71

1926 Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States Now Digitized and Accessible on Library of Congress Website

Though my immigrant ancestors had already relocated to the U.S. by 1910, I know that family remained in their communities until at least the end of WWII. At which time, some were forcibly relocated to the Ukraine.

That’s why this new online addition caught my eye. I wondered if anyone bearing my ancestor’s surname, living in Poland, signed a declaration. I did find an entry for Deszno, though, no familiar surnames were listed. I was less successful with Pietrusza (aka Wola Pietrusza) … and, I didn’t look too hard.

You definitely want to do the following.

First, read the blog post, Ahead of July 4, a Unique Birthday Card to America Goes Online.

Second, review the About this Collection page.

Third, check out the place names index created by the Library of Congress staff. This index gets you exactly to which volume with page numbers where you will find the list(s) for your target community.

Did you find any of your extended family? If yes, you now have their signature, something you may not have had before!

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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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

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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11 July 2017

Founding Era of DC as Seen Through the Eyes (and Papers) of Women

Founding Era of DC as Seen Through the Eyes (and Papers) of Women

The Library of Congress recently put online two collections that will interest not just historians and also genealogists. First person perspective both through intentional writings and in the documents one leaves behind just really enrich our research as we learn more about the people, places and dynamics of a locale where our ancestors may have lived.

New Online: Margaret Bayard Smith Papers

New Online: Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton Papers

As stated in the blog post about Margaret Bayard Smith’s Papers …

For anyone interested in the founding era in Washington, D.C., the writings of Margaret Bayard Smith (1778–1844) and Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton (ca. 1775–1865) and are essential sources. Both lived their entire adult lives in the capital city and, as members of the city’s elite, were friends with one another and important political figures of the era. Their proximity to power made them unusual, but their writings also illustrate what it was like to be a woman in the early republic…

Beyond revealing her emotions and private life, the papers are rich with details of the politics of the early national era. Readers can get a further taste of the richness of Smith’s writing in her 1809 accounts of James Madison’s inauguration (original and published transcription) and her visit to Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello (original and published transcription). Those looking for political references will find the most in the correspondence with her sisters, Maria Bayard Boyd and Jane Bayard Kirkpatrick. Discussions of religion and slavery are found throughout the papers. The eight reels of microfilm now online are helpfully broken down by date, correspondent’s name or both in the finding aid.

As stated in the blog post about Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton …

Thornton came from much more humble origins than Smith. She was born around 1775 to Ann Brodeau, who emigrated to Philadelphia from England that year to establish a school. The identity of her father is a mystery. He may have been English clergyman William Dodd, who was hanged for forgery two years later. At only 15, she married 31-year-old William Thornton, an architect from the British West Indian island of Tortola. He helped plan the capital city, designed the United States Capitol and served as head of the Patent Office.

The couple came to Washington in 1792, before the city was built, and, like the Smiths, became fixtures of the Washington elite. While William Thornton is better known, and a volume of his writings has been published—the Manuscript Division also has a large collection of his papers—Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton’s writings are an important source of information about daily life in Washington.

What most surprised you about these women as documented in their papers?

What was your favorite find?

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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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

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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10 July 2017

Find A Grave – the same and yet different!

Find A Grave – the same and yet different!

Are you an avid fan of Find A Grave? Do you regularly add memorials to it?

If yes, check out the Beta revision of the website now available for you to review and also use.

The easiest way to get to the new site is to go to the old one and then click where it says “Changes are coming to Find A Grave. See a preview now.” Or, you can click here. When you get to the new page, a window will pop up telling you a bit about why the website is changing.

The search feature is quite different looking though seems to provide the same options. I often search on a surname within a particular county and in a way, it’s even easier as when I clicked on Cemetery Location and started typing in Wake, it then brought up Wake County, North Carolina, United States of America and I didn’t have to work my way down the old drop down menu.

As expected the look and feel of each memorial page has changed and the same information is still there, just organized and presented a bit differently.

Please do provide your feedback on the Beta version. In the bottom right-hand corner of each page is a mustard colored bubble which you can click on and provide feedback.

Do know that both the original and the Beta version are fully workable. You can use either platform to make changes to existing memorials or add new memorials.

You can easily go between the two versions of the website by using the toggles on the main page of each directing you to the other version.

What do you think? What is your favorite “new” aspect? Are there any older elements that you think don’t work quite as well in the Beta?

REMEMBER – your feedback on the Beta site is both encouraged and welcome!

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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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

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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06 July 2017

Internet Archive + HathiTrust + Google Books = Digital Book-apalooza!

Internet Archive + HathiTrust + Google Books = Digital Book-apalooza!

Continuing my nostalgic run through some resources that are part of my genealogy “go to” bag, let’s now talk about digital books (and more) and my three favorite resources – Internet Archive and HathiTrust and Google Books.

I didn’t realize until writing this article that I’ve not previously done a dedicated piece on HathiTrust. Sacre bleu as the French might say! At least I can spread the word about it now.

These are all excellent resources for digitized books. There are many many books of interest to genealogists and family historians that are now in the public domain. Directories, histories of churches, legislative journals and related, abstracted/transcribed records collections, and much more. These websites all make full digital books available.

HathiTrust and Google Books also give some insight into select books that are either incompletely digitized and/or are not digitized though searchable in a limited fashion. This latter option gives you some insight into a book that might interest you and which you’ll then need to get your hands on physically, either via purchase or interlibrary loan (check out OCLC & Worldcat + FamilySearch Catalog = Very Happy Genealogists!).

If you have not yet visited all three of these sites, stop whatever you are doing, grab a drink, settle in, and just explore. Odds are you will find some tidbit about either your family or community that you didn’t know before.

To learn more about these websites (except HathiTrust as already stated), check out …

· Google Books Wins When Court of Appeals Rejected Author Guild's Copyright Infringement Claim (2015)

· Internet Archive -- still a wonderful and free gem for genealogy and family history researchers! (2012)

· Internet Archive -- a FREE gem that just keeps getting better! (2015)

What “go to” resources for digitized books do you use regularly as you research your ancestors?

Editor’s Note: Catch up on my posts about some other favorites – Linkpendium, Archivegrid, Death Online, and Jstor .

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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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

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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05 July 2017

JSTOR … incredible resource – are you taking advantage?

JSTOR … incredible resource – are you taking advantage?

Continuing my nostalgic run through some resources that are part of my genealogy “go to” bag, let’s now talk about JSTOR.

Though the website looks a little different than it did back in 2011-2013 when these articles were written, it’s still the same powerhouse of information as ever! And, you can access much material for FREE (though you are limited in how much!).

My bookshelf is almost always filled with my allotted three journals!!! I find it especially valuable when doing early VA and NC research as so many juicy publications can be found such as:

o The William and Mary Quarterly

o The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography

o The Wisconsin Magazine of History

o The South Carolina Historical Magazine

o Register of Kentucky State Historical Society

o Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775)

and so much more!

04 July 2017

1776 – Musical Drama Film That Still Makes Me Really Think About What the Second Continental Congress Was Like

1776 – Musical Drama Film That Still Makes Me Really Think About What the Second Continental Congress Was Like

As genealogists, we always have to be careful of confusing fiction, fantasy and downright wishful thinking with reality.

That said, it doesn’t mean that we cannot appreciate fiction, fantasy and downright wishful thinking – we do it all the time outside genealogy in terms of what we watch on tv and in movie theatres or online and via our reading materials.

Recently, my daughter and I re-watched the movie 1776. Though the movie is filled, as are all historically-based ones with inaccuracies (see Wikipedia article for those details) and most find it mediocre, the premise of how our founding fathers and the Second Continental Congress played out is not without merit.

Every time I watch it, I am amazed at what it took for our nation to declare independence from the British Empire. The many varied interests and perspectives that had to come together to both agree on creating a Declaration of Independence and then hammer one out that was agreeable enough to most that 56 delegates signed it.

It is really thought provoking. It makes me stop and think that, in some ways, it’s a miracle that, today, we are celebrating a document that is 241 years old and just as easily might never have happened.

However you are celebrating today (or not for those serving in our military and staffing emergency services and more), please take a moment and realize the magnitude of this day in history and those who made it happen.

And, I will still enjoy the movie and the songs including “Is Anybody There?” and “The Egg” and more. Always remember the real people who authored such a monumental document.

Is there a “movie” that you like to watch that similarly makes you aware of elements of a historical event that you hadn’t previously appreciated in quite the same way?

Editor’s Note: If you liked this post, Historical fiction often involves a LOT of history and genealogy research! And 2016 Society of American Archivists Short Fiction Contest Winner -- Family Stories might also interest you.

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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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

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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03 July 2017

Archivegrid – The Manuscript Collection Resource You NEED to Check out!

Archivegrid – The Manuscript Collection Resource You NEED to Check out!

Over the course of the summer, I plan to republish some older blog posts written about some of my favorite resources …

Archivegrid is another “go to” resource for me. So many genealogical gems are hidden in manuscript collections. Historically, that was mainly due to the fact that it was very challenging to figure out who held what manuscript (aka private) collections. Now with Archivegrid and related platforms, we can get insight into manuscript collections – who holds them and increasingly the linked finding aids reveal digitized content!

I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t done a dedicated blog on this website before! And, phew, I realized that I had done a post as a follow up to NGS 2014!

Originally published 26 May 2014 … (links checked and still seem to be working!)

NGS 2014 Family History Conference – Session T260 – Diving into Archives: Uncovering ArchiveFinder and ArchiveGrid

T260 (R) Diving into Archives: Uncovering ArchiveFinder and ArchiveGrid, D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, Syllabus page 283

The talk was great in reminding us how many archives there are in the world and also the enormous task that archives are faced with in terms of identifying what they have and making their materials accessible to the public.

Recently, an archivist had mentioned ArchiveGrid to me. I did play around with it a bit though I didn’t appreciate using the “summary view” vs the “list view” mode as described by Joshua and that is the way I will look at results in the future. A long list of results was tedious to go through and it lacked contextual information; not so when using the summary view mode. Searching on “wake county” ledger brought up 14 results now characterized in a much easier-to-digest mode (see graphic above). Finding aids, if available from the participating institutions, are included in the search.

Joshua also suggested subscribing to the ArchiveGrid blog, which I have just done, to keep current on new collections. The most recent post was about 13 newly registered institutions from Australia and New Zealand. Good news for anyone researching for ancestors “down under.” [Editor’s Note – The blog seems to have been discontinued in late 2014. The site landing page does have a Recent Additions box]

I was unfamiliar with ArchiveFinder (Proquest) and that might be more explained by it being available only to institutional subscribers. ArchiveFinder is a current directory which describes over 220,000 collections housed in repositories in the US, UK and Ireland.

I was also unfamiliar with the Library of Congress Authorities list. Since many libraries, archives and other repositories use this system as the basis for their cataloguing. Having an understanding of what headings/references have been catalogued can help you better search in any catalogs that you come across.

So, two news tools in my genealogical research arsenal.

The associated syllabus pages provide a lot of detail about what you might find in each of these resources and how to best search the contents to identify possibly relevant archival material.

Missed the preceding posts on Linkpendium and Death Online? Just search on “Upfront with NGS” and the above words.

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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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

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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