President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law on August 14, 1935. It was a major part of his New Deal plans, most of which were strongly opposed by the Republican Party. Three and a half months later, on December 1, 1936, the first block of 1,000 records were assembled and were ready to start their way through the nine-step process that would result in the creation of a permanent master record and the establishment of an earnings record for the individual.

When this first stack was ready, Joe Fay, head of the Division of Accounting Operations in the Candler Building, walked over to the stack, pulled off the top record, and declared it to be the official first Social Security record. This particular record, (055-09-0001) belonged to John D. Sweeney, Jr., age 23, of New Rochelle, New York. The next day, newspapers around the country announced that Sweeney had been issued the first Social Security Number.

Mr. Sweeney was the son of a wealthy factory owner. The younger Mr. Sweeney had grown up in a 15-room Westchester County home staffed with servants. In an effort to learn the family business, Mr. Sweeney was working as a shipping clerk for his father at the time he filled out his application for a Social Security card. The whole Sweeney family voted for Republican Presidential candidate Landon in 1936, although John Jr. allowed that he liked the new Social Security program, even though he didn't think much of the New Deal.

Ironically, John Sweeney died of a heart attack in 1974 at the age of 61 without ever receiving any benefits from the Social Security program. However, his widow was able to receive benefits, based on his work, until her death in 1982.

Here is a web site you probably should bookmark: https://cloudconvert.com. You probably won't need to use it often but when you do have a need, it can be a lifesaver. Best of all, it is a free service if you only want to convert a few files. However, if you want to convert dozens of files, there is a modest charge.

CloudConvert converts almost any file from one format to almost any other format. It recognizes files in more than 200 different formats. I find it useful for converting PNG images into JPG format. It also can can turn a PDF file into a DOCX file, which you may open in Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, or Google Docs. It also can convert Macintosh Keynote presentation files into PowerPoint PPTX files. In fact, CloudConvert can convert about 200 different file formats into other file formats. It can also convert an entire web page into PDF, JPG, or PNG formats.

I find that CloudConvert does an excellent job of converting PDF files into editable .DOC or .DOCX files as its translation seems to be very accurate.

CloudConvert also allows you to extract audio from a video file. For example, I selected a .MOV file and converted it to .MP3 format. That gave me an audio-only .MP3 file. It also converts .MOV video files into .MP4 video files as well.

Did you download a video from the web, only to find it doesn't display in your computer's video player? CloudConvert probably can fix the problem for you.

CloudConvert will also convert files into more efficient versions of file formats. For instance, you can use the service to convert .JPG files (also known as .JPEG) into more compressed .JPG files. The result is reduced image size without losing the image quality. It is widely used in web publishing to reduce the image size maintaining the image quality.

CloudConvert is a cloud-based application. That is, the program runs from a web site. There is no software to install in your computer. It works equally well on Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Chromebooks, and even on mobile devices running Android or Apple iOS (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch).

For occasional use, CloudConvert doesn't charge. If you convert files smaller than 1 gigabyte and use less than 25 file conversions a day, CloudConvert's services are free of charge. For high volume users, CloudConvert does charge fees as described at https://cloudconvert.com/pricing. I suspect most in-home users will never encounter a need for fees.

CloudConvert is one of those useful web tools that you may not need immediately. But, the next time you say, "I can't open this file...," give it a try. CloudConvert may be able to convert that file you can't use into one you can.

CloudConvert is available at https://cloudconvert.com.

The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) presented its 2022 awards and grants at its virtual 42nd International Conference on Jewish Genealogy Aug. 21-25. The conference had more than 800 attendees from 17 countries and 39 states in the United States.

Recipients are:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Harry Boonin, Philadelphia

Nolan Altman Volunteer of the Year: David Rosen, Boston

Outstanding Resource: Jean-Pierre Stroweis, Jerusalem

Outstanding Publication: San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois

Rabbi Malcolm Stern Grant: The Forward

John Stedman Memorial Grant: Stadtmuseum Hofgeismar, Germany – Jewish Department

IAJGS is an umbrella organization of more than 90 Jewish genealogical organizations worldwide. IAJGS coordinates and organizes activities such as its annual International Conference on Jewish Genealogy and provides a unified voice as the spokesperson on behalf of its members. The IAJGS’s vision is of a worldwide network of Jewish genealogical research organizations and partners working together as one coherent, effective and respected community, enabling people to succeed in researching Jewish ancestry and heritage. Find the IAJGS at: www.iajgs.org and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/iajgsjewishgenealogy.

Background information on winners:

Lifetime Achievement Award – Harry Boonin

Harry was recognized for his pioneering role and over four decades of leadership, scholarship and mentorship in Jewish Genealogy. In 1979 Harry founded what is today known as the Jewish Genealogical and Archival Society of Greater Philadelphia. IAJGS honored him for his trailblazing, steadfast and exemplary service to the international Jewish genealogy community.

A self-taught historian, Harry has authored a prolific body of scholarship in Jewish genealogy and history, including four books and 250 journal articles. Among the writing was his first book “The Jewish Quarter of Philadelphia.” For 15 years, he led Jewish Walking tours in the area of Philadelphia identified as -for about 120 years ago – the “Jewish Quarter,” which today still has original buildings from that bygone era. In 1995 he released a book he co-authored about his family: “The Davidows: The Experiences of an Immigrant Family.” He celebrated at Ellis Island with 75 descendants celebrating the 90^th anniversary of his grandfather’s arrival at Ellis Island with his wife and 7 children.

Nolan Altman Volunteer of the Year – David Rosen,

David was recognized for his outstanding support of Jewish genealogy. For more than 10 years, David has been an important contributor to the JGS of Greater Boston’s Memorial Plaques Project. Additionally, David’s’ great contribution to the Jewish genealogy community of the Boston area and beyond are the mountains of records he has transcribed and indexed himself without fanfare. He organizes the plaque photos, does the Hebrew-to- English translations and enters the data into the database template, having submitted 82,500 plaque transcriptions from 137 institutions. His award states, “His efforts exemplify volunteerism at its finest.”

Outstanding Resource - Jean-Pierre Stroweis

Jean-Pierre was recognized for the Online Memorial to the Jews deported from France, a free bilingual database of 80,000 Holocaust victims who were deported from France or murdered there. For the past 7 years, he has been working tirelessly to not only convert Serge Klarsfeld’s Memorial books into a searchable tool, but also to correct errors and add missing details based on his own research. His database links each victim’s name to other websites containing additional information pertaining to that individual, making it easier for researchers to find a victim in a range of sources via a single search. Search the Memorial at: https://stevemorse.org/france.

Outstanding Publication – Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois

The Illinois Society was recognized for its outstanding efforts to encourage engagement in research and educate its members in Morasha. Its 3-times yearly publication. Edited by Dale Amdur from Chicago, this newsletter features historical, anecdotal and research related articles written by JGSI members and concise recaps of the Society’s monthly meetings and conference participation.

Outstanding Publication – San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society

The Society was recognized for its outstanding efforts to inspire active participation among its members and excitement about Jewish genealogy in the wider community. The award recognizes the quarterly publication, ZichronNote. Edited by Janice M. Sellers of Gresham, Oregon, formerly of Oakland, CA, this journal features articles based on original research and timely commentaries written by members as well as a curated calendar of upcoming genealogy events.

Rabbi Malcolm Stern Grant – The Forward

The Forward will partner with JewishGen to create a searchable database of genealogical records found in the Forward’s “Seeking Relatives” advertisements during the period of 1920-1960. The goal is to extract the names of 500 individuals mentioned in “Seeking Relatives” ads, along with the sparse but valuable data accompanying their names. This information will be published in a free, searchable database on JewishGen.org. This project will be of particular interest to Holocaust survivors and their descendants; and scholars of 20th-century Jewish history/Holocaust history. Conducting research using the National Library of Israel’s digitized back issues is difficult, time-consuming and frustrating for non-Yiddish speakers. Creating this type of database will offer much needed guidance and ease of research. The Forward’s archivist Chana Pollack will lead the project.

John Stedman Memorial Grant : Stadtmuseum Hofgeismar, Germany – Jewish Department

The Stadtmuseum Hofgeismar is represented by Julia Drinnenberg, educational leader of the Jewish department. This “make old tombstones talk again” project will focus on nine large and small cemeteries in the Kassel district in Germany that have not been explored. The work will include measuring the terrain to create a site plan with the existing graves; translating their inscriptions for a visitor's handbook in German and English; making the translations available on the museum’s website and the database www.lagis-hessen.de/en; and adding inscriptions of tombstones that were destroyed after 1937. The tombstones will be cleaned and some re-photographed. The Hebrew and German inscriptions will be copied and translated by a recruited specialist. The data on the deceased will be compared with the existing registers of deaths.

This undertaking is planned as an educational project for high school students under the guidance of Julia Drinnenberg, introducing them to topics of Jews and Judaism.

The following announcement was written by West Virginia University:

The National Endowment for the Humanities is awarding the West Virginia University Libraries' West Virginia and Regional History Center a grant —  its sixth from the NEH, this one totaling $162,155 — allowing it to continue its important work of digitizing newspapers published in West Virginia from 1791 to 1927.

The award is part of the National Digital Newspaper Program, a collaboration between the NEH and the Library of Congress to enlist libraries and institutions around the country to create a digital database of historical United States newspapers.

This grant brings the NEH’s total funding of the WVRHC’s efforts to more than $1.29 million.

"We are honored that the NEH continues to support our efforts to enhance access to the historical newspapers preserved in the WVRHC," said Lori Hostuttler, WVRHC interim director. “It’s a testament to the incalculable value of these resources and the influential role West Virginia has played in our nation’s history.”

The Chronicling America website provides access to more than 15 million newspaper pages from 1690 to 1963. So far, the WVRHC has contributed 500,000 pages from more than 105 historic West Virginia newspapers. Because of this grant, another 100,000 pages will soon be added to the site.

WVRHC curator Stewart Plein said this round of newspapers will focus on the timber industry and its three major impacts within the state: its exponential growth, the effects of deforestation, and the rise of conservation and reforestation.

Newspapers selected for this grant cycle will cover six counties —  Greenbrier, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Randolph, Tucker and Webster — all in the mountainous region of the state.

“The story of the timber industry in West Virginia is as much a boom and bust cycle as that of the lumber towns that rose and fell in the path of clearcutting and deforestation.  The unprecedented growth in lumbering operations not only changed the face of West Virginia, but as the only state entirely within the borders of Appalachia, the impact on forestry and timbering was felt across the region,” Plein said.

Newspapers have been essential to documenting the timber industry because most companies destroyed their records as they left the state.

“West Virginia’s historic newspapers will reveal every pro-development argument, every move a company made after stands were clear cut, every accident, the travails of immigrants, the aftereffects of deforestation, and the rise of conservation in a state that has played a major role in the timber industry, in West Virginia, Appalachia and across the nation,” Plein said.

Stephen Kidd, National Humanities Alliance executive director, lauded the NEH for awarding $31.5 million in grants to support 226 humanities projects nationwide.

“The National Digital Newspaper Program grants will aid in the continued preservation of our nation’s history and culture through the digitization of local newspapers, including those that covered underrepresented histories,” Kidd said. “We are immensely proud of the NEH’s impact across the U.S. and will continue advocating for increased federal support for future grants in 2022 and beyond.”

Previously, the NEH funded WVU projects that focused on the Mine Wars, African American newspapers, the Civil War with reporting from both sides of the conflict, struggles between eastern and western Virginia, West Virginia’s statehood movement and establishment, West Virginia’s 1872 Constitution, reconstruction and the U.S. centennial.

It appears there's more to a doppelgänger than meets the eye.

DNA analyses of 16 look-alike couples have revealed some unrelated people with super similar faces also have similar heights, weights, habits, and behaviors.

Human resemblance, it would seem, is more than just skin deep.

In the study, 3 different facial recognition algorithms were tasked with scoring the likeness of 32 look-alikes pairs; half were classified as doppelgängers by all 3 algorithms. Researchers then conducted genetic analyses and found 9 pairs of "ultra" look-alikes.

Together, these super doppelgängers share 19,277 common genetic variations in 3,730 genes, many of which are to do with body and facial traits.

Their personal questionnaires suggest they share even more than that.

Some lifestyle features, like smoking habits, weight, and level of education, were also associated with many look-alike pairs.

You can read more in an article by Carly Cassella published in the ScienceAlert.com web site at: https://bit.ly/3dTcKbc.

The following announcement was written by the Armenian Genealogy Conference:

The Armenian Genealogy Conference has announced the preliminary agenda for its fifth conference to be held, for the first time, in Armenia on September 23-25. The conference is cosponsored by the Hamazkayin Cultural Association and the American University of Armenia (AUA). 

Recently added to the list of speakers at the conference is Dr. Tigran Matosyan, holder of a Kandidatskaya degree in history from the Armenian National Academy of Sciences for his comparative study of the Armenian Genocide and Holocaust. He has been teaching at AUA since 2015. Dr. Matosyan’s current research interests are in the realm of social and cultural phenomena in the history of Armenia. His presentation will lay out the patterns of Armenian children’s names given by their parents in the city of Van at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.

The preliminary conference agenda includes a welcome reception, along with presentations and multiple workshops on individual research questions throughout the weekend. 

Other presenters include Dr. Haroutune Armenian on “The Armenian parish microfilm collection of the Latter-Day Saints Family History Library;” Dr. Rafael Abrahamyan on “The genealogy of Artsakh: Sources, methodology and the history of its study;” Dr. Sonya Mirzoyan on “The Armenian National Archives as a resource for genealogical research;” George Aghjayan on “Ottoman population registers and their usage and value in Armenian genealogical research” and “DNA testing as an important resource in Armenian genealogical research;” Dr. Hayk Hakobyan on “The role of lithographs and memoirs in the field of Armenian genealogical studies;” Dr. Panov Dmitri Arkadievich on “Survey of Armenian genealogical research sources available in Russian archives;” and Andranik Nahapetyan on “Genealogy and origins of Simon Vratsian and resources available for researching Nor Nakhichevan (Crimean) Armenian genealogies.”

More information is available on the conference website, where individuals can also register to attend.

Conference Agenda (subject to change)

Day 1: Friday, September 23, 2022

5:30 p.m. Welcome Reception
Details Forthcoming

Day 2: Saturday, September 24, 2022

Room 106 PAB, Manoogian Hall
Paramaz Avedisian Building
American University of Armenia

9:30-9:45: Registration
9:45-10:00: Welcome – Opening Remarks
10:00-10:45: Presentation – Dr. Haroutune Armenian – The Armenian parish microfilm collection of the Latter-day Saints Family History Library
11:00-11:45: Presentation – Dr. Rafael Abrahamyan – The genealogy of Artsakh: sources, methodology and the history of its study
11:45-12:15: Coffee break
12:30-13:15: Presentation – Dr. Sonya Mirzoyan – The Armenian National Archives as a resource for genealogical research
13:30-14:30: Lunch break – Participants on own, AUA Cafeteria
14:30-15:15: Presentation – Dr. Hayk Hakobyan – The role of lithographs and memoirs in the field of Armenian genealogical studies
15:30-16:15: Presentation – George Aghjayan – Ottoman population registers and their usage and value in Armenian genealogical research
16:30-17:15: Panel – Workshop for individualized research questions

Day 3: Sunday, September 25, 2022

Room 106 PAB, Manoogian Hall
Paramaz Avedisian Building
American University of Armenia

9:30-10:15: Presentation – Dr. Panov Dmitri Arkadievich – Survey of the Armenian genealogical research sources available in the Russian archives
10:30-11:15: Presentation – Dr. Tigran Matosyan – Patterns of giving names to children by Armenian parents in the city of Van at the end of 19th and beginning of the 20th century
11:15-11:45: Coffee break
12:00-12:45: Presentation – Andranik Nahapetyan – Genealogy and origins of Simon Vratsian and the resources available for researching Nor Nakhichevan (Crimean) Armenian genealogies
12:45-13:30: Lunch break – Participants on own, AUA Cafeteria
13:30-14:15: Presentation – George Aghjayan – DNA testing as an important resource in Armenian genealogical research
14:30-15:15: Panel – Workshop for individualized research questions
15:15-16:00: Closing

You can make a career out of genealogy! How?

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people have turned their avocation into a vocation, either part-time or full-time. Indeed, there is a need for many people with skills and knowledge of family history research. Not only can you become a professional genealogist who researches family trees for other people, but there are many related positions available as well. In fact, for a few of these positions, you don't even have to be a skilled genealogist.

I thought I would describe a number of the job positions that you can find that are related to family history research.

NOTE: I will point out that very few of these positions will provide riches. Sure, Alex Haley did well after writing a book about his ancestry. However, unless you have the writing skills and publishing credentials to match those of Alex Haley, you are quite likely to earn less. Probably much less.

Most people select a career in genealogy because they love it, not for the financial rewards. If you are still interested, read on.

Professional Genealogical Researcher

Becoming a professional genealogy researcher is probably the most obvious path to making a living in genealogy. If you enjoy researching your own family tree, if you believe you can find records, and if you have a strong detective instinct to find the truth at all times, you are a candidate to become a professional genealogist.

Some professional genealogists work for clients who hire them to research an entire family tree. However, it is more common to find employment researching local records about specific ancestors or lines for clients or other professional genealogists who live some distance away and do not have convenient access to records in your locality.

Most professional genealogists specialize in specific, narrow areas of expertise. You might become an expert in local records and history near where you live. Another common path to becoming a professional is to become an expert in one or a few ethnic groups, such as French-Canadians, Pennsylvania German immigrants, Hispanics, Black Americans, or other specialty areas. Of course, you can always become expert in both local records and an ethnic group or two.

Anyone can claim to be a professional genealogist, whether certified or not. However, most professionals do have certifications. Knowledgeable clients typically ask for a person's credentials before hiring, whether it is for genealogy research, preparing income taxes, or performing brain surgery. Certified professionals generally are able to find more clients, which results in more income. If you are not yet certified, you probably won't be happy with the income you can produce.

Board-certified genealogists, whether professionals or highly skilled hobbyists, must pass rigorous tests and subscribe to a code of ethics. I would suggest that you settle for nothing less than that. Most certifying organizations also offer an arbitration service, should a problem ever arise with the conduct or work of a certified member. Arbitration services help protect both the client and the researcher.

You will want to be listed on the Board for Certification (BCG) roster at https://bcgcertification.org/directory/ and in the Directory of Professional Genealogists (APG) at http://www.apgen.org/directory/. Many clients will first look in those directories when looking for a professional to hire.

Many professional genealogists live in either the Washington, D.C. area or near Salt Lake City, Utah. This is obviously because of the convenient access to records in those locations. However, the fact that many pros live in those areas also means there is more competition in each area. Becoming a professional in either Washington or in Salt Lake City is probably more difficult than in other areas. Also, not all records are available in those locations. A professional genealogist in Maine or Louisiana or Ohio or Texas or Nova Scotia may find more work as well as generate higher income than equally-skilled researchers in the two genealogy "hot spots." After all, someone has to find local records that are unavailable elsewhere, and you typically have fewer competitors outside of Washington, D.C and Salt Lake City.

You can find two accrediting organizations in the United States as well as other certifying bodies in Canada, England, and elsewhere. There is no restriction as to residency. In many cases, professional genealogists who live in Canada, England, or elsewhere may obtain certification by a U.S. board, and those who reside in the U.S. may obtain certification in another country. In the U.S., both the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) and the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) offer certifications.

You can find information about the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) at http://www.bcgcertification.org while the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists, or ICAPGen, maintains its web site at http://www.icapgen.org.

Researcher for heir tracers and asset recovery firms

When a person dies, the person's estate usually is divided up according to the instructions in that person's will. When there is no will, the estate is divided up amongst the person's heirs. In either situation, someone has to find the heirs. Some individuals lose touch with family members before their deaths, and the estates may go unclaimed.

Heir tracers try to find inheritors of these unclaimed funds. Heir tracers tend to do a lot of subcontracting since heirs frequently live some distance from the deceased, which results in losing contact. These "lost heirs" are the ones the heir tracer seeks. The heirs are usually unaware that they have inherited unclaimed funds, stocks, bonds, or real estate.

Heir tracers have similar skills to genealogists but typically work with twentieth and twenty-first century records. They may occasionally look at nineteenth century records as well.

Heir tracers typically get compensated by one of two methods: (1.) they may be hired by a law firm and will be paid a set fee, or (2.) they may "free lance" to find heirs on their own, without an employer, and then charge a percentage of the inherited property when the heir collects.

The problem with becoming an heir tracer is finding clients. There is no national registry or any other method of effective advertising. Most heir tracers get started by contacting local legal firms, probate offices, and local genealogy societies. Business usually is slow for the first few years until the new heir searcher is able to build both a reputation for high quality work and a personal network of people who can refer business.

Writer of family history articles and books

Have you become an expert in some areas of genealogy? Perhaps you are an expert in French-Canadian records or in using the Family History Library in Salt Lake City or in the use of genealogy software. Whatever your area of expertise, share it! If you can write, you can help others and also earn money in the process.

Genealogy magazines and a few web sites will pay for genealogy articles. Payment varies from $50 to $500 per article, depending upon the length of the article, the topic covered, and the reputation of the author. A handful of national experts will command even higher prices, but you won't see those high prices when starting as a new author.

You could even start your own web site or blog. Many blog authors provide the information for free and then try to generate revenue by carrying banner ads or Google Ads. Typically, the ad-supported blogs generate very little revenue. A few web sites, such as Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, have provided private areas with articles available only to paid subscribers.

Don't want to write? You can also find a need for editors, copy editors, designers, marketers, and others who are necessary to publishing projects.

Lecture on genealogical topics

This subject is related to the "writer of family history articles and books" mentioned earlier. If you develop expertise in a genealogy-related topic, and if you are comfortable standing in front of a crowd and giving speeches, you can become a genealogy lecturer. Obviously, these won’t be in-person lectures as long as the pandemic is still raging worldwide but some of the better-known lecturers can find work even when delivering online, remote presentations. Whatever your area of expertise, share it!

Beginning lecturers usually give their talks for free although they may charge for travel expenses. Once your reputation starts to grow, you can command prices of $50 to $200 per lecture, or perhaps $500 to $1500 for a day-long series of lectures. A few nationally-recognized experts command higher prices, but you won't see those prices in your first few years of lecturing. Also keep in mind that most lecturers are invited to speak AFTER they have become well-known writers. If someone has seen your writing, they may seek you out as a speaker.

Assistance may be found at the Genealogical Speakers Guild at http://www.genealogicalspeakersguild.org/. Once you become an accomplished speaker, you will want to be listed in the directory of speakers that is available at the same web site.

Software developer who writes genealogy software

Are you a programmer? Do you enjoy researching family history? If you can answer "Yes" to both of those questions, you have an opportunity awaiting you!

Today's marketplace already has many Windows, Macintosh, Android, or Apple iOS genealogy programs, so competition can be stiff. Anyone who can develop genealogy programs that run “in the cloud” on web servers probably can command a premium payment.

The future appears to be bright for online genealogy programs, online and cloud data storage, online data matching, handheld computing, and other twenty-first century technologies. Do you know what LAMP refers to or the differences between MySQL and PostgreSQL? If so, you could be the next entrepreneur to launch a multi-million dollar genealogy product. The future appears to be in cloud-based genealogy applications, not in free-standing programs that are to be installed in a desktop or laptop computer.

To become a successful genealogy software developer, you don't even need to be a highly-skilled genealogist. You will, however, need to know all the basics and have an appreciation of the many ways in which people wish to use genealogy software. You also need to be willing to learn a lot more about genealogy.

Provider of genealogy information online (building databases)

As an individual, you can transcribe records or create scanned images of original records and place them online. Users seeking that information are usually willing to pay a reasonable fee to access your records. The web server software required to collect credit card payments is widely available for free.

Of course, you could "move up" and create huge databases to compete with Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, FindMyPast and other commercial database services. Creating large databases usually means hiring employees, including programmers, data acquisition experts, customer support, and others. However, it has been done before several times, and several genealogists have become wealthy in the process. You could be the next millionaire!

Scan old genealogy books and records

One "cottage industry" that appears to be doing well these days is the scanning of old, out-of-copyright books as well as public domain records, then selling the information on CD-ROM disks or online. You can spend hours scanning one out-of-copyright book and then sell many copies of it at rather low prices per copy. Selling 1,000 copies of a CD at $5 per disk can result in some attractive profits.

To become a successful merchant selling old genealogy and history books on CD or online, you don't even need to be a highly-skilled genealogist.

To see a few hundred of these "books on CD," go to http://www.eBay.com and search on "genealogy CD." I did exactly that when preparing this article, and eBay returned a list of more than 2,600 genealogy CDs. Most all of the providers of these disks appeared to be private individuals, not large corporations. You could do the same.

To see what is perhaps the largest and best-known provider of historical books on CD, look at http://www.archivecdbooksusa.com. (That website is not being updated anymore but continues in operation by listing its dealers, many of which still have an inventory of CD disks and also are adding new volumes as well.)

Like almost everything else, the technology of republishing out-of-copyright genealogy books is changing rapidly. Many years ago, most old books were republished on paper. In past few years, that has changed as books have typically been republished on CD-ROM disks. Now the wave of the future is online: most republished genealogy books are now available “in the cloud.” If you want to be competitive, you probably should do the same. Of course, there is nothing wrong with offering the same books in all three media: on paper, on CD, and online! Plan your business accordingly.

Teach genealogy classes

Many community colleges offer genealogy courses, as do a variety of other facilities. If you have education credentials and are also a genealogy expert, you can teach. You need to be familiar with developing lesson plans and with developing courses. Most educational facilities will be very interested in your education credentials before making a job offer.

Archivist, librarian, or society administrator

Not everyone has to be a genealogy researcher. You can find employment at many libraries, archives, societies, book publishers, and elsewhere. Archivists and librarians typically have to possess very specialized education and job skills. Administrative positions typically are less demanding. Don't overlook “side interests” or hobbies that can help you in what might appear to be a non-genealogy job. One expert genealogist I know found employment and financial success as the director of member services at a large genealogy society with a paid staff. She was a very effective director of member services because she understood what benefits members typically seek, and she was able to design membership campaigns to meet the needs of genealogists.

Genealogy vendor

More than one genealogist has created a successful and rewarding career by selling books, CDs, software, blank forms to record your findings, t-shirts, bumper stickers, and other tools of the trade that appeal to genealogists. You can become a merchant serving the genealogy community. Nowadays, that means developing a web site.

Summation

How much money can you make with these genealogy-related careers? There is no simple answer. It all depends on where you live, what kind of skills you have, and how you market those skills. Whatever the income, it certainly beats a 9-to-5 job down at the local factory!

Here are some organizations that can help:

• Association of Professional Genealogists - http://www.apgen.org
• Board for Certification of Genealogists - http://www.bcgcertification.org/
• The Family History Library - http://www.familysearch.org
• Genealogical Speakers Guild - http://www.genealogicalspeakersguild.org/
• National Genealogical Society - http://www.ngsgenealogy.org

The following is a press release from Othram:

Othram, the leading forensic sequencing laboratory for law enforcement, is pleased to announce the appointment of Carla Davis as Chief Genetic Genealogist. Mrs. Davis will lead efforts to scale Othram’s domestic and international genealogical research operations.

Carla Davis joins Othram after a year-long collaboration in which she led genealogical efforts to restore names to unidentified persons in Virginia, Alabama, and her home state of Mississippi. A member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, Davis has applied autosomal DNA testing to genealogical research, since 2016, to help over 200 people of unknown parentage identify their biological families. Leveraging advanced methods, including Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA testing, her research has led to the identification of familial relationships that extend back to the 1700s.

“I am incredibly honored to join Othram and become part of a team dedicated to making our world a safer place,” said Carla Davis. “Othram has emerged as a leader in forensic DNA sequencing, demonstrating a commitment to making this technology as broadly accessible as possible, so that victims and families can get the answers they deserve.”

Othram is the world’s only laboratory purpose-built to combine genome sequencing with advanced human identification applications. The laboratory, based in The Woodlands, Texas, is also the only facility in the United States or Canada offering end-to-end, in-house processing from forensic evidence to investigative leads. Over the last three years, this technology has helped law enforcement crack hundreds of cases at the local, state, and federal level, many of which had been unsolved for decades.

“Othram is building the underlying infrastructure to deliver justice to all victims and their families,” said Othram CEO David Mittelman. "We are excited to welcome Mrs. Davis and leverage her unique expertise to support genealogical research for investigations worldwide.”

About Othram Inc.

Othram is the world’s first private DNA laboratory built specifically to apply the power of modern parallel sequencing to forensic evidence. Othram’s scientists are experts at recovery, enrichment, and analysis of human DNA from trace quantities of degraded or contaminated materials. Founded in 2018, and located in The Woodlands, Texas, our team works with academic researchers, forensic scientists, medical examiners, and law enforcement agencies to achieve results when other approaches fail. Follow Othram on Twitter @OthramTech or visit Othram.com to learn how we can help you with your case. Visit dnasolves.com to learn how anyone can make a difference in helping solve the next cold case.

Anne Knowles believes that places provide important information about historical events. The University of Maine professor and graduate coordinator in the History Department has made an academic career studying the relationship between geographical circumstances and major societal shifts, exploring topics from Welsh emigration to the United States to why American entrepreneurs struggled to match the productivity of the British iron industry. Now, Knowles is working with a team of historians and geographers to create a digital platform for students and educators to trace the geographies of the Holocaust and connect victimsʼ stories to the places where they happened.

The project was recently awarded a $150,000 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Digital Humanities Advancement Grant, which supports innovative, experimental or computationally challenging digital projects that can scale to enhance scholarly research, teaching and public programming in the humanities.

“I have been very fortunate to receive a number of NEH grants for my Holocaust research. This one will enable me to share the results of years of work with a global audience. Mapping history with GIS is now mainstream in the Digital Humanities. Itʼs exciting that the University of Maine can contribute to this important trend,” Knowles says.

While Nazi actions were often recorded and can be mapped with geographic coordinates, the places of Holocaust victim experiences are difficult to map because their locations are vague or unknown and can only be located relatively.

You can read much more in the University of Maine web site at: https://bit.ly/3QFPlsB.

This is a follow-up story to my previous article, Kentucky’s Floods Took Appalachian History With Them, published at https://eogn.com/page-18080/12876700 on August 8:

Decades worth of Appalachian history was damaged in the flash flood three weeks ago.

Flood water broke through the Appalshop archive in Whitesburg, which held over fifty years of history. Now, a lot of the memorabilia is damaged.

“The idea of losing all of that would be devastating, and also as an archivist, it’s my responsibility to take care of these things so it’s, in that sense, very important to me,” Appalshop archivist Caroline Rubens said.

Appalshop staff and volunteers are now working hard to save whatever they can, cleaning through 24,000 damaged items.

You can read more in an article in the wkyt.com web site at: https://bit.ly/3K7yEDI.