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  • 28 Dec 2023 8:36 AM | Anonymous

    When it comes to getting to know who we are, there’s few better places to start than on the branches of our family tree. As we take a look back and explore the generations, we are offered a greater understanding of who are ancestors were, from where they hailed, and how their lives led up to where you are today. If you’ve yet to dive deep into the world of genealogy, it can be an intimidating endeavor. With so many resources now available to researchers, it can be difficult to know exactly where to start. However, with a bit of patience and some guidance from the experts, you too will be a master of genealogy in no time.

    On Wednesday, January 10th, you are invited to join the New Jersey State Library for their very first webinar of 2024, “Electronic Resources for Genealogy”. This virtual event will be held from 12pm to 1pm on Zoom. For those planning on attending, please be certain to register in advanced by submitting the following form: Zoom – Register. This compelling conversation will be hosted by Regina Fitzpatrick, the Genealogy Librarian for the NJSL. If you are planning on attending, please do be aware that they will not be demoing personal research requests at the time of the talk.

    If you aren’t certain where to get started, not to worry – you can start from anywhere! With a wealth of genealogical information available online, you can access key information from anywhere in the world. Throughout the afternoon, guests will have the opportunity to learn more about these online resources and how they can be leveraged for personal research. The resources covered in this upcoming webinar are as follows:

    • HeritageQuest is a family history research database that any New Jersey resident can access from home with their local public library card through JerseyClicks.
    • FamilySearch.org is a free website accessible from home with tons of digital collections and research information.
    • The New Jersey State Archives has a series of searchable online indexes and records databases that are freely accessible from home.
    • Ancestry Library Edition is generally the most well known electronic resource for genealogy, but many users are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start.

    Your host for the afternoon, the New Jersey State Library, is a wealth of knowledge for residents all throughout the Garden State. Whether you’re trying to connect with your past through genealogical research or exploring the fascinating fields of history, science, and more, the New Jersey State Library is here to offer you a closer look at some of the most fascinating topics the world has to offer. From fun and free webinars led by subject matter experts to a whole host of resources available to patrons, visitors of the NJSL can look forward to a vast array of knowledge to explore. For more information about this and other upcoming events at the New Jersey State Library, please visit their website, available here:

    Guests with any questions can contact the New Jersey State Library at (609) 278-2640 for further assistance. The limbs of your family tree are waiting to be explored, so be sure to enroll now for a day of discovery!

  • 28 Dec 2023 8:05 AM | Anonymous

    Here is an article by Megan Banner published in the YorkshireLive web site that will interest many people:

    Have you ever wondered where your surname originates from? And, if in fact you are a true Yorkshireman or woman.

    Well, this list of historic Yorkshire surname can confirm if your name truly originates from God's Own Country. Names often carry deep personal, cultural, familial, and historical connections

    Many of us have ancestors from Yorkshire – if you have one of these surnames in your family tree, listed by Who Do You Think You Are, it could show that you have a connection to ‘God’s own country’

    Here is a full list of Yorkshire surnames, according to magazine, Who Do You Think You Are.

    ACKROYD

    This name is derived from the Old English words ac meaning ‘oak’ and rod meaning ‘clearing’.

    AINLEY

    This surname might be associated with Ainley Top, a village near Huddersfield.

    ALDERSON

    Alderson is a relationship name from the Middle English personal name Aldus and the word ‘son’.

    ATKINSON

    Atkinson is also a relationship name from the personal name Atkin which was a pet form of Adam.

    BARRACLOUGH

    This is a habitational name from Barrowclough near Halifax, which combines the Old English words for grove and ravine.

    BARWICK

    This name has the same root as the surname Berwick (from the Old English for an outlying grange or farm), but this form of spelling was more common in North Yorkshire.

    BLAND

    Although found throughout Yorkshire, Blands are particularly prevalent in the districts of Clayton, Keighley and Scarborough.

    BULMER

    This locative name comes from Bulmer in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire.

    COCKROFT

    This is a locative name from a place in Rishworth.

    COVERDALE

    This is a habitational name from North Yorkshire and Lancashire.

    CROSLAND/CROSSLAND

    This name is taken from Crosland in Almondbury.

    DINSDALE

    This name originates in Over Dinsdale and Low Dinsdale, which are on opposite sides of the Tees.

    EXLEY

    Heckmondwike, which today is part of the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, was historically a hotspot for the surname Exley.

    FEATHER

    In the 1881 census records this name was most common in Haworth, Keighley and Thornton, all in Bradford. It originates from the Middle English for father.

    FEATHERSTONE

    Although most common in North Yorkshire, the name comes from the place Featherstone in West Yorkshire.

    HAINSWORTH

    This habitational name comes from the hamlet Hainworth, near Bradford.

    HARDAKER

    Hardakers pop up all over Yorkshire in the 1881 census, although Horton in Bradford, Idle, Leeds, Eccleshill and Yeadon are the main local hotspots.

    HODGSON

    Widespread throughout the north of England, Hodgson comes from the Middle English personal name Hodge – itself a pet form of Roger.

    KNAGGS

    Knaggs is a topographic surname for someone whose home was by or near a rugged hill or an outcrop.

    LONGBOTTOM

    This topographic name for someone who lived in a long valley is relatively common throughout the county.

    LUMB

    This habitational name is most commonly found in West Yorkshire and Lancashire.

    METCALFE

    Yorkshire had over 5,500 Metcalfes in 1881.

    NEWSUM

    In the 1881 census this name crops up in the Rotherham registration district.

    OGLEY

    The surname Ogley can be found frequently in Barnsley, as well as wider Yorkshire.

    OLDROYD

    Oldroyd is a habitational name that derives from a number of places throughout the north of England.

    PULLAN

    This is the Yorkshire variant of Pullen, which was an occupational name for a horse-breeder or a nickname for someone frisky. It comes from the Old French word poulain meaning ‘colt’.

    SPIVEY

    This Yorkshire surname was originally a medieval nickname for someone who was blessed with business smarts.

    STANIFORTH

    The late Sheffield historian David Hey once suggested that a farm named Stonyford in Ecclesfield could be the origin of this South Yorkshire surname.

    STEPHENSON

    Although found all over the UK, there are concentrations of Stephensons in County Durham and East Yorkshire.

    WALKINGTON

    This habitational name derives from a village in the East Riding that was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under the name ‘Wachetone’.

    WILBURN

    Many Doncaster locals recorded in the 1881 census went by this toponymic surname, which is thought to be derived from Welbourn in Lincolnshire.

  • 27 Dec 2023 6:03 PM | Anonymous

    Did you ever consider YouTube as a resource for genealogy? No, it won’t show you the names of great-great-grandpa and of great-great-grandma. However, the online video site has dozens of introductory “how to” videos showing how to use some of the better genealogy resources (as well as about thousands of other topics).

    After all,  youTube is the second most visited website in the world, after Google Search. 

    Here are a few videos that genealogists, especially newcomers to genealogy, will find useful (and so will a lot of genealogy old-timers). This is a list I found on the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration’s web site. 


    You can find dozens more excellent introductions to most popular genealogical records at NARA at: https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/start-research. 



  • 27 Dec 2023 8:15 AM | Anonymous

    Now this is something I think I am going to use A LOT! The following is from the MyHeritage Blog:

    Many genealogists want to write detailed biographies of their ancestors and relatives, and add these biographies to their family tree, but cannot find the time to do it. If you can relate to this pain, we finally have a solution for you! We’re happy to introduce AI Biographer™, an exciting new feature that’s exclusive to MyHeritage. With a single click, it automatically compiles a Wikipedia-style biography article about a person’s life. It uses details from matching historical records and family tree profiles, and curates the information into a beautiful, well-written article that will make you proud.

    Beyond the time it takes to write a biography manually, sometimes facts in the family tree or data from historical records can seem dull. But when combined with the broader historical context, they can often tell a deeper and more colorful story. AI Biographer™ automatically creates a compelling life story for an ancestor or relative using facts from genealogical sources on MyHeritage and enriches it with information from the web, saving you time and creating a document that you can easily share with your loved ones. This is especially useful for creating biographies about the billions of individuals who were not famous, and therefore do not appear in Wikipedia.

    AI Biographer™ is available on the MyHeritage website on desktop and mobile web browsers, and will be added to the MyHeritage mobile app in the future.

    How it works

    AI Biographer™ uses MyHeritage’s acclaimed matching technologies to curate historical records and family tree profiles that pertain to a specific ancestor or relative, together with automated third-party Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology powered by OpenAI. An AI Biography™ can be created within your family tree on MyHeritage, and also from historical records found via AI Record Finder™, our exciting new AI chat-powered search engine. All information from the relevant records is then compiled into an article that is enriched with photos and scanned documents, and in some cases, additional information from the web. The resulting biography includes the person’s immediate family, describes the main events of their life, and includes rich historical context and the origins of their surname. Each biography is a unique narrative that can be shared with family and friends, and saved for posterity.

    When created from a family tree, an AI Biography™ is added to the family tree as a media item and tagged with the individual’s name. When a family tree is exported in GEDCOM format, the biography is referenced, ensuring that the enriched biographical information remains an integral part of the family tree. We will soon add the option to regenerate biographies whenever new information becomes available.

    AI Biography™ Example

    You can read a lot more at: http://tinyurl.com/2jf4sn4y

  • 27 Dec 2023 7:53 AM | Anonymous

    A new monument honoring Black Revolutionary War soldiers is being planned for the Maryland State House grounds.

    The monument stems from a proposal by Steven X. Lee, an adjunct history professor at Stevenson University and author and founding director of the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museumin Baltimore County.

    “Mr. Lee worked with the archives to create a proposal that was put before the State House Trust and unanimously approved to honor African Americans who served in the Revolutionary War in a figural monument that will be located in the general location of the historic front of the State House, where the statue of Roger Brooke Taney once stood,” said Elaine Rice Bachmann, state archivist.

    Lee is the author of “The Story or Mr. Thomas Carney,” a Black Revolutionary War soldier born in 1754 on the Eastern Shore.

    The monument will be the State House Trust contribution to the state’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

    You can read more in an article by Bryan P. Sears published in the  marylandmatters.org web site at: http://tinyurl.com/ykut6ma2.

  • 27 Dec 2023 5:08 AM | Anonymous

    Every year, the Supreme Court’s nine justices fill out a form that discloses their financial connections to companies and people. Using ProPub;ica's new database, you can now search for organizations and people that have paid the justices, reimbursed them for travel, given them gifts and more.

    The database may be found at: https://projects.propublica.org/supreme-connections/  

  • 26 Dec 2023 6:42 PM | Anonymous

    Angela Saucier, 68, experienced an 'emptiness' after being separated from her newborn daughter, but being reunited with Winona Nagy, now 49, 'just felt right'

    Angela Saucier always hoped she would one day reunite with the "beautiful" baby girl she was forced to give up for adoption — the daughter she held for mere minutes before she was taken away at the hospital.

    It's a memory she has kept close to her heart for the past five decades.

    "I didn't have her at all," 68-year-old Angela tells The Messenger. "When I signed the papers, they let me hold her, and that was the only time I got to touch her."

    "Then the emptiness came after she was gone, and it left a big hole, but I knew she was perfect, and she was beautiful," she continues.

    On Dec. 9, after 50 long years, Angela was finally able to hold her daughter for the first time since their brief time together in the hospital.

    It was a moment that only happened after Angela's daughter, Wesley, received an alert from the genealogy website MyHeritage that she was related to a woman named Winona Nagy, her long-lost half-sister.

    "I can't put into words how it felt to put my arms around her and to have her hugging me back," Angela says of her reunion with Winona, now 49, in Texas.

    You can read more in an article by Jason Hahn  published in the Messenger web site at: http://tinyurl.com/4vwx73s2

  • 26 Dec 2023 6:25 PM | Anonymous
    What began in 2022 as a one-paragraph public records request has morphed into a full-blown court fight over who owns digital copies of Pennsylvania’s historical records.

    Are they the property of the commonwealth? Or are the documents — which include birth and death certificates, veterans’ burial cards, and slave records — fully controlled by a private company?

    That question has pitted a New York City-based professional genealogist against the Pennsylvania agency in charge of a vast array of historical documents and artifacts, as well as Ancestry.com, an online genealogy company used by millions of people to search for family and other records.

    The genealogist is Alec Ferretti, a director at Reclaim The Records, a nonprofit that pushes governments to make genealogical information more broadly available.

    The state agency is the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), which in 2008 contracted with Ancestry to digitize a sweeping list of historical documents and make them available on the company’s website. Those records also include naturalization documents, prison records, and Civil War border claims and muster rolls, according to the contract.

    Those digitized records, according to PHMC’s website, are free to Pennsylvania residents who create a user profile with Ancestry.

    Ferretti, however, isn’t a Pennsylvania resident.

    So in September of last year, Ferretti asked PHMC for all records the state agency turned over to Ancestry. He also asked for the metadata on the digitized documents, as well as any indexes Ancestry created for them.

    PHMC denied the request, saying it had no responsive records in its possession. Ferretti appealed to Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records, an independent state agency that’s the first stop in deciding most disputes over access to government information.

    According to legal briefs in the case, PHMC said that documents Ancestry eventually digitized encompassed a huge amount of data — approximately 45 terabytes — that would have cost the agency roughly $300,000 annually to maintain. So it chose to have Ancestry house the scanned records for the state.

    Copying those records, indexes, and metadata, as Ferretti requested, would be considered a breach of its contract with Ancestry, PHMC argued.

    Ferretti countered that Ancestry could at the very least transfer the data using USB hard drives. He noted that because he doesn’t live in Pennsylvania, he would have to pay a subscription fee to the company to access the records. He also argued that though Ancestry houses the documents and their data, the state is their “legal custodian.”

    Ownership of the commonwealth’s physical records is not contested. Those are available to Pennsylvania residents and nonresidents alike at the state archives in Harrisburg.

    The Office of Open Records sided with Ferretti early this year, but the battle didn’t end. PHMC appealed to Commonwealth Court. Soon after, Ancestry stepped in, arguing that its work digitizing and indexing the records is proprietary. It also argued that though the company agreed under the contract to license copies of the digitized records back to the state, it owns the work product, and said it didn’t get a chance to weigh in on the initial Office of Open Records case.

    You can read more about this case in an article by Angela Couloumbis published in The Morning Call web site at: http://tinyurl.com/2p9nphb3.

  • 26 Dec 2023 9:55 AM | Anonymous

    If you are unfamiliar with Boxing Day, you might want to read the Wikipedia description at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_Day.

  • 26 Dec 2023 9:43 AM | Anonymous

    I recently read this word online but did not know it’s meaning. As a genealogist, I am a bit ashamed that I did not know the meaning of the word.

    According to Dictionary.com:

    grandfamily

    grand-fam-uh-lee, fam-lee ]SHOW IPA

    nounplural grand·fam·i·lies.

    a family in which one or more children live with and are raised by their grandparent or grandparents: Grandfamilies exist because of absent parents, and the circumstances behind that can vary greatly from one case to the next.

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