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  • 15 Aug 2022 10:01 AM | Anonymous

    Residents of southwest Missouri with photographs, letters, pamphlets and other artifacts related to African-American history are wanted.

    The State Historical Society of Missouri put out a call for individuals to bring the personal and family items to a free digitization event.

    The free event is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20 at the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri. It is located 65 miles west of Springfield in Newton County.

    Residents of Newton, Jasper, McDonald, Barry, Barton and Dade counties — and others living in the southwest part of the state — are invited.

    “By participating, residents will not only be advised on the best practices for protecting these materials, but also offered the opportunity to digitize and preserve them as part of the larger African American Heritage in the Ozarks Project,” said Sean Rost, oral historian and project lead, in a news release.

    Families will be able to submit their items to be digitized, and preserved, and they will also receive complimentary copies of their digital files. They will also be asked to record an interview with an oral historian about their items, community history and genealogy.

    You can read more in an article written by Claudette Riley and published in the Springfield News-Leader web site at: https://bit.ly/3AlubtX.

  • 12 Aug 2022 3:42 PM | Anonymous

    The following Plus Edition article is written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. 

    Ah, the glamorous life: flying from city to city, giving presentations before genealogy conferences and society meetings. How would you like to do the same?

    First of all, I'll warn you there isn't much glamour in genealogy public speaking. Indeed, the busiest and most popular speakers on the genealogy circuit usually grow weary of a life of hotels, living out of suitcases, interminable hours spent in airports, and a constant diet of "rubber chicken and peas" at conference banquets. Going through airport security for the eighth time in one month also isn't fun. Glamour? Maybe not.

    Next, the money isn't so good except for a handful of top-notch superstars who have been doing this for years. The high-paid experts are usually seasoned public speakers and writers and probably professional genealogy researchers as well. Some of them even have television experience. As a beginner, you won't see those big paychecks for a long time.

    The constant travel can get you down as well. Sometimes you forget where you are or where you are going. I used to do more speaking than I do now and was on the road two or three times a month. More than once I woke up in a hotel room in the early morning hours and briefly wondered, "Where am I?"

    One day I walked up to the ticket counter at the local airport, and the lady behind the desk asked innocently, "Where are you flying to today?" I stammered for a bit and then realized that I couldn't remember! Luckily, a printed itinerary in my jacket pocket rescued me. At that moment, I decided I was traveling too much. I travel less these days.

    Despite the drawbacks, public speaking also provides a lot of gratification. Providing instruction or expertise to those who are eager to learn what you can offer is a rewarding experience. I suspect teachers are familiar with those feelings. Public speakers enjoy the same “rush” of doing the job well. I suspect that few others can say the same.

    I thought I would share a few of my experiences and a lot of my observations of other genealogy speakers.

    How to Get Started

    The remainder of this article is reserved for Plus Edition subscribers only. If you have a Plus Edition subscription, you may read the full article at: https://eogn.com/(*)-Plus-Edition-News-Articles/12881952.

    If you are not yet a Plus Edition subscriber, you can learn more about such subscriptions and even upgrade to a Plus Edition subscription immediately at https://eogn.com/page-18077.


  • 12 Aug 2022 9:24 AM | Anonymous

    The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

    Over a million records added for North of England  

    Findmypast adds 1.8 million records for York and beyond this Friday  

    City of York Electoral Registers 1848-1938 

    This new collection comprises of 1.76 million records, and should help you find an ancestor’s name and address. Be sure to check the original for further details about their property.  

    Durham Baptisms 

    Over 16,000 new records have been added to this existing collection. Spanning 1664 to 1921, the new records cover 19 churches across the county, and you can find an ancestor’s baptism date, parents, residence and more. 

    Northumberland Baptisms 

    Another 9,500 records have been added to this set, bringing the number to over 700,000. The new records are for 11 parishes, and even include the All Saints Dissenter church of central Newcastle.  

    Newspapers 

    Findmypast have reached 55 million newspaper pages this week, with new titles from Barbados and England.   

    New titles: 

    ·         Barbados Herald, 1879-1896 

    ·         Tunbridge Wells Journal, 1862-1904 

    ·         Weekly Register and Catholic Standard, 1849-1870 

    ·         Wimbledon News, 1894-1915 

    Updated titles: 

    ·         Billingham & Norton Advertiser, 1988, 1995 

    ·         Birkenhead News, 1994 

    ·         Birmingham Daily Post, 1910 

    ·         Birmingham Mail, 1969, 1971, 1998 

    ·         Birmingham Weekly Mercury, 1963, 1980 

    ·         Bracknell Times, 1980 

    ·         Buckinghamshire Examiner, 1999 

    ·         Burntwood Mercury, 1994 

    ·         Cambridge Town Crier, 1989 

    ·         Central Somerset Gazette, 1987 

    ·         Cheshunt and Waltham Mercury, 1998 

    ·         Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore), 1939-1945 

    ·         Crewe Chronicle, 1988 

    ·         Derbyshire Times, 1922, 1931 

    ·         Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser, 1991 

    ·         Ealing & Southall Informer, 1993 

    ·         Ellesmere Port Pioneer, 1920-1936 

    ·         Evening Despatch, 1930-1931, 1936 

    ·         Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald, 1993, 1995 

    ·         Gloucestershire Echo, 1894 

    ·         Grimsby Daily Telegraph, 1993 

    ·         Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette, 1969 

    ·         Harlow Star, 1993 

    ·         Herald Cymraeg, 1989 

    ·         Horley & Gatwick Mirror, 1994 

    ·         Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 1999 

    ·         Isle of Thanet Gazette and Thanet Times, 1987, 1994 

    ·         Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph, 1968 

    ·         Liverpool Mercury, 1872 

    ·         Llanelli Star, 1994 

    ·         Long Eaton Advertiser, 1891-1892, 1902, 1905-1909, 1911-1912 

    ·         Nantwich Chronicle, 1998-1999 

    ·         Neath Guardian, 1991 

    ·         Oadby & Wigston Mail, 1993 

    ·         Plymouth Extra, 1986 

    ·         Pontypridd Observer, 1988, 1990 

    ·         Retford, Gainsborough & Worksop Times, 1999 

    ·         Rossendale Free Press, 1897, 1995 

    ·         Royston and Buntingford Mercury, 1993 

    ·         Rugeley Mercury, 1989, 1994 

    ·         Runcorn Guardian, 1905 

    ·         Sevenoaks Chronicle and Kentish Advertiser, 1993 

    ·         Sevenoaks Focus, 1993 

    ·         Solihull News, 1993, 1999 

    ·         Staffordshire Newsletter, 1998 

    ·         Stirling Observer, 1993 

    ·         Stockport Times, 1993 

    ·         Strathearn Herald, 1994 

    ·         Surrey Herald, 1993 

    ·         The People, 1988 

    ·         Town Talk 1822, 1822 

    ·         Walton & Weybridge Informer, 1990 

    ·         Wellingborough & Rushden Herald & Post, 1991 

    ·         Wembley Leader, 1990, 1993 

    ·         Western Morning News, 1913 

    ·         Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald, 1994 

    Plus, if you’ve solved a mystery using the 1921 Census of England and Wales, Findmypast want to hear from you. Email discoveries@findmypast.com with the details.  

  • 12 Aug 2022 9:02 AM | Anonymous

    NOTE: This article has nothing to do with genealogy. If you are looking for genealogy-related information, I suggest you skip this article. However, if you use Meta.com (previously known as Facebook.com), you might want to know the company is tracking you (which shouldn't surprise anyone as the company has been tracking its users for years) and your data is secretly being used for nefarious purposes. I suggest that all Meta.com (previously known as Facebook.com) users should be aware of the true purpose of the company:

    According to an article in the news9live.com web site, Meta is injecting code into external sites visited via Facebook and Instagram. Meta is able to track every single interaction with external websites, including inputs like passwords and addresses, to every single tap.

    Invasion of user privacy isn't a new charge for Meta or its products like Facebook and Instagram. An ex-Google engineer has now made damning accusation about the company's practices via a new research. Privacy researcher Felix Krause claims that Meta is stalking users by rewriting scripts of websites visited by users, via its apps or platforms. Krause, who developed a tool acquired by Google, claims that this activity allows the company to track a user, once they click a link on any of its platform. This allegedly lets the company track every single interaction with external websites, including inputs like passwords and addresses, to every single tap.

    You can read the full report at: https://bit.ly/3BXMZAz.


  • 11 Aug 2022 8:34 PM | Anonymous

    I love e-books: books and other publications that are available in electronic format instead of on paper. I have several hundred such books stored on my desktop and laptop computers and many on an Amazon Kindle, including newspapers, books downloaded from Google Books, many blogs, and more. I read the Wall Street Journal every day on an Amazon Kindle. I almost never print anything these days; I prefer to read text on a computer screen or on the Kindle or on a normal computer.

    Making the switch from printed documents to an on-screen display of the same information is a significant psychological adjustment. For a while, it felt "funny" to read books, newspapers and newsletters on a computer screen. The adjustment was easier on the Amazon Kindle as its "e-paper" display is much closer to printed paper. Once I became accustomed to reading things on-screen, I found the process to be easier than ever. Searches are usually easier since many digital documents and ebooks allow one to quickly search for any word or phrase. Just try doing that in a book printed on paper! Of course, e-books are also cheaper and eco-friendly; I no longer consume as much paper and laser printer toner as I used to.

    I suspect that the economics of publishing books on paper will soon mean the end of paper-based genealogy books, as well as all sorts of other books and newspapers. A printed book costs a lot more to publish than an e-book. Consumers and publishers alike will appreciate the savings available when publishing electronically.

    Reading documents on a computer screen is good, but the use of a portable reader with "e-paper" is much better. For instance, use of an Amazon Kindle simplifies the process. Computerworld has a new article that takes a look at the development and the future of e-paper. E-paper is rapidly becoming its own industry.

    The article notes some of the current limitations of the technology and looks ahead to a few upcoming ideas. 

    You can read "The Future of E-Paper" in Computerworld at https://www.computerworld.com/article/2552045/the-future-of-e-paper.html.

    You can read more about the Amazon Kindle at: https://bit.ly/3BYtuYC.

    What I Use

    I have to admit that I prefer to using my Chromebook to read Kindle formatted ebooks. The Chromebook has a larger screen versus a Kindle e-reader and operates in full color. It is easy to read Kindle ebooks on Windows, Macintosh, Chromebooks, and even in a web browser. To read Kindle ebooks on your present computer, go to the App Store for your computer and search for “Kindle.” That will quickly show the FREE Kindle app designed for your computer. Download and install that app and you now have the (better) equivalent of a Kindle in your present computer.

    If you prefer, you can simply find a Kindle ebook of interest in Amazon, then click on “Deliver to” and then select “Cloud reader.” The launch your favorite web browser to read it. No new hardware is required! It is also cheaper (as you do not need to purchase a Kindle).


  • 11 Aug 2022 11:24 AM | Anonymous

    The following announcement was written by the organizers of the FHF REALLY USEFUL Family History Show:

    The premier online family history event operated by family historians for family historians!

    The 2022 virtual REALLY USEFUL Family History Show takes place on evening of Friday 11th and all day on Saturday November. Friday evening will see family history societies available for all comers – no ticket required: come and ask questions of those local experts with founts of knowledge. Show tickets are selling fast and provide full access to all areas including extended time to immerse yourself in the expert presentations plus a raft of practical workshops are being announced over the coming weeks.

    Today, the keynote speakers are announced:

    Friday 11th at 7pm Diahan Southard is a leading voice for consumer DNA testing from her position as founder of Your DNA Guide.

    Connecting Your DNA Matches

    While it is possible to analyse your DNA matches one at a time to determine how you are related, there is much accomplished by first identifying the connections between those on your match list, organising those matches, and then working together to determine how you are related to each other. Learn the tips and tricks to this powerful method of match analysis.

    Saturday 12th at 10.15am Paul Nixon has a keen interest in military history and in particular the British Army and its campaigns between 1850 and 1920.

    British Army Detective – Piecing Together the Jigsaw

    Making the most of what scant information survives in order to build a fuller picture of service is like a jigsaw. This presentation includes a deep dive into regimental numbers and what these can tell us. This presentation is ideal for beginners and seasoned researchers alike.

    Buy your ticket today! www.fhf-reallyuseful.com/full-ticket-for-november-2022-show

    Review the last show and watch for details of the upcoming event: www.fhf-reallyuseful.com

  • 11 Aug 2022 11:05 AM | Anonymous

    Citizen science and advances in DNA sequencing help identify Jane and John Does.

    “Lake Stickney John Doe” spent almost a decade underwater before surfacing in June 1994 — a pair of fishermen found him among a patch of lily pads in Snohomish County, Washington.

    An autopsy revealed only a few details: He had been shot in the head, likely dumped in the late 1980s and was somewhere between 25 and 35 years old.

    Discovering his identity would be an uphill, if not impossible, feat. One-fifth of a nanogram — fewer than 20 human cells worth of DNA, all of it incomplete and contaminated, were recovered from the body. This, compared to a traditional cheek swab which generates between 750 and 1,000 nanograms of clean, complete DNA. The case stayed cold for over 26 years.

    This summer, as lakes dry up due to climate-change induced drought, there have been an alarming number of similar John and Jane Does found — their remaining genetic material compromised after being submerged years in lakewater. At Lake Mead, four bodies have been discovered in the reservoir since May, the latest turning up on Aug. 6.

    The growing sector of genetic genealogy combines advances in two distinct scientific fields — DNA sequencing and genealogy. Scientists are able to recover trace amounts of DNA to build a genetic profile and then infer familial relationships by searching databases of DNA profiles from people who have paid to have their genetic material sequenced. Though only a decade old, the method has helped solve cases where law enforcement had DNA samples, but nothing to compare them to.

    You can read a lot more in an article by Christian Thorsberg published in the Grid.News web site at: https://bit.ly/3phwuaU.


  • 11 Aug 2022 10:40 AM | Anonymous

    The following is a press release from TheGenealogist:

    TheGenealogist has been praised for its innovative tools that allow you to discover exactly where your ancestors lived, using Map Explorer™. This innovative feature has now been added to Gold and Starter level subscriptions.


    Home of Joseph Chamberlain (father of the WW2 prime minister) found on the 1891 census in Map Explorer™

    Census pins identify properties on Map Explorer™

    Image Archive records located on Map Explorer™

    From today, a significant number of databases including the 1891, 1901 and 1911 census, plus TheGenealogist’s Image Archive pictures and along with the Domesday Book 1086, are now available with pins on georeferenced maps in Map Explorer™. This makes Starter & Gold Subscriptions powerful resources for researchers to see where their forebears lived, as well as to investigate the neighbourhood and surrounding area. Accessing Map Explorer™ on a mobile allows researchers to walk in the footsteps of ancestors and discover where homes, schools, places of work and other buildings may once have stood but have now disappeared.

    This interface will place a pin on the house using historical data to identify its location where possible or if not, the street or parish on an appropriate map of the area connected to the record. As this resource makes use of a number of historical and modern maps matching the same precise coordinates, Starter & Gold subscribers are in a much better position to see where their ancestors had once lived even if the area has now changed.

    To find out what’s included in the discounted Starter and Gold subscriptions go to www.thegenealogist.co.uk/PRTGAUG22

    To read about using the Census collection, Image Archive and Domesday Book 1086 linked to mapping for an area recently in the news see our article: Mapping the records from a PM’s house to the Conqueror’s Manor

    https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2022/mapping-the-records-from-a-pms-house-to-the-conquerors-manor-1604/

  • 10 Aug 2022 5:56 PM | Anonymous

    Microsoft Word is by far the most popular word processor in the world. Although it is outrageously expensive with a price of $99 up to $429 (U.S.) for a version bundled with other office applications, a lot of people would never dream of switching to another product, especially if the other product is FREE.

    That attitude always amazes me. I stopped using Microsoft Word about 20 years ago and switched to various free word processors. They varied in quality, as might be expected, but several of them met or even exceeded all my needs. I cannot imagine that I will ever go back to the Microsoft product.

    This week I downloaded and installed a new product (at least, it is new to me) called ONLYOFFICE. I have only used it for a few hours, including for writing this article, but so far it has been a perfect replacement not only for Microsoft Office but also for Excel and for PowerPoint. In addition, it incudes a form creator, a PDF reader and converter, an email program, a rather simple but nice customer relationship management (CRM) program for sales management and productivity improvement, project management software for excellent team performance, and a calendar program for organizing and managing all the events in you life.

    In short, ONLYOFFICE is a powerful online editor for text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations for the platform you use.

    Yes, that's right: platforms (with an "S"). The software is available for Windows, Linux, Macintosh and (sometimes with slightly simpler versions) for Android and Apple iOS systems.

    Best of all is the price: ranging from FREE for personal use up to several thousand dollars for use by hundreds of individuals in a corporate office environment. The pricing is a bit complex so I will refer you to the ONLYOFFICE web site at https://www.onlyoffice.com/ for all the details.

    So far, I have only used the free versions and doubt if I will ever upgrade to the paid versions.

    ONLYOFFICE headquarters are located in Riga, Latvia so all documents created by ONLYOFFICE are fully compliant with the European and North American General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) acts. Along with the main office in Riga, there are offices in London and Dallas. Besides, the company also has a wide community of project contributors all over the world. All software is open source.

    Most of the various applications in ONLYOFFICE are available in two versions : one that is installed in the user's computer and a second version that is installed in a central server (such as in the cloud) that can be used simultaneously by dozens or even hundreds of users.

    Describing all the features of ONLYOFFICE is a task that is beyond me. My plan for this article is to simply give you a taste of the product's primary features and then refer you to the company's web site at https://www.onlyoffice.com/ for all the details. That web site has thousands of words, images, and videos that describe the various features far better than I can. The same web site even includes a number of online tutorials explaining how to install and use the various software products. After all, describing ALL the features and functionality of this impressive suite of programs would fill dozens of these newsletters.

    Am I impressed with ONLYOFFICE? You bet I am.

    If you are interested in switching to a more powerful and sometimes FREE suite of office software products, one that has MORE functionality than Microsoft Windows, I suggest you go to https://www.onlyoffice.com/ and start reading. Make sure you have lots of time available; it will require all that time to become familiar with the ins and outs of these products!


  • 10 Aug 2022 4:50 PM | Anonymous

    The next time you are looking online for some obscure historical fact, make sure you check archive.org. The following is an article from Archive.org's blog:

    From 1970 to 2004, Colgate University amassed as many as 1.5 million microfiche cards with documents from the U.S. federal government. 

    The small, private liberal arts institution housed the collection in a central location accessible to the former reference service point and the circulation desk in Hamilton, New York. 

    “Every single campus tour that goes through the library walks past this collection. Our well meaning student ambassadors would announce ‘Here’s our microfiche that no one uses,’” said Debbie Krahmer, accessible technology & government documents librarian at Colgate. 

    Since the popularity of the miniaturized thumbnails of pages waned several years ago, many libraries have struggled with what to do with their microfiche collections, as they contain important information but are difficult to use. 

    Krahmer was looking for ways to offload the materials and discovered the Internet Archive would accept microfiche donations for digitization. It was a way to preserve the content, make it easier for the public to access, and avoid putting the microfiche in a landfill.

    “These government documents are meant to be available and accessible to the general public. For many there’s still a lot of good information in this collection,” said Courtney L. Young, the university librarian. “While the microfiche has been stored in large metal cabinets on the main level, many of our users do not see them. This project will improve that visibility and accessibility.”

    About the donation

    In July, the Internet Archive arranged for the twelve cabinets of microfiche, each in excess of 600 pounds, to be loaded onto pallets and shipped to the Internet Archive for preservation and digitization. Materials include Census data, documents from the Department of Education, Congressional testimony, CIA documents, and foreign news translated into English. 

    Microfiche cabinets ready for shipping to the Internet Archive for preservation and digitization.

    Colgate also gave indexes of the microfiche that will be “game changers” for other government libraries once they are digitized because the volumes are expensive and hard to acquire, Krahmer added. 

    Krahmer said the moving process with the Internet Archive was easy and would recommend the option to other librarians.

    “This is a lot easier than trying to figure out how to get these materials recycled,” Krahmer said. “In addition to improving discovery and access, this supports the university’s sustainability plan. It’s going to get digitized, be made available online, and preserved. This is win-win no matter how you look at it.”

    Public access to government publications

    Government documents from microfiche are coming to archive.org based on the combined efforts of the Internet Archive and its Federal Depository Library Program library partners. The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), founded in 1813, provides designated libraries with copies of bills, laws, congressional hearings, regulations, and executive and judicial branch documents and reports to share with the public.

    Colgate joins Claremont Colleges, Evergreen State College, University of Alberta, University of California San Francisco, and the University of South Carolina that have contributed over 70 million pages on over one million microfiche cards. Other libraries are welcome to join this project.

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