Tuesday, January 31, 2012

SSDI Call to Action

Efforts to save access to the SSDI are mobilizing through various social media methods. "The Legal Genealogist" has a great blog on what we can do as professional genealogists and family historians.

There are 3 steps:
  • Get the facts
  • Understanding the Arguments
  • Speak Up
Please note that the deadline for submissions for upcoming hearings is February 16th. We need all the help we can muster so spread the word...

Comments and Suggestions are always welcomed!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

Claire (*)
Timeless Genealogies
We're Your Family is "No. 1"

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(c) 2005-2013, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved

     claire@timelessgen.com   

Monday, January 30, 2012

Webinars

Today it is easy to learn just about any topic through an online class called a "Webinar". Just a simple 'Google' search on the specific topic plus 'webinar' brings up so many choices it can be overwhelming.

In spite of this, the convenience combined with the individual presenter's expertise usually far outweights most arguments against them. While some are totally free many have a cost to attend, the market is wide open this media format.

Some common groups that provide great 'Genealogical' webinars are as follows:
Geneawebinars 
Legacy Family Tree
Genealogy Webinars with Michael John Neill
Ancestry.com

Cyndi's List provides another comprehensive list to choose from that definitely will not disappoint anyone interested in learning new information!

Take some time to check out the available online classes and you may be just pleasantly surprised there is one just for your current need!

Comments and Suggestions are always welcomed!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

Claire (*)
Timeless Genealogies
We're Your Family is "No. 1"

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Twitter @TimelessGen

(c) 2005-2013, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved

     claire@timelessgen.com   

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Google Web Search

Google has become a household word as most know today. Its' search capabilities are well know throughout the world. To increase their ability to provide the best search results possible they have also customized searches for a number of countres and regions across the world.

If you want your results to be centralized in England, one simply uses http://www.google.co.uk/, for France it is http://www.google.fr/. They have the full list with matching flags at the bottom of their page under "Language Tools" which really could be a great single page to promote their versatility throughout the world.

It is nice to see each flag with the matching URL and is a great learning tool when working with children and also for those who have ancestors from other countries. Their language translation ability is also a great asset for translating not only words but web pages and sites, too.

Google itself is a great asset to genealogists and family historians as shown in Dan Lynch's book entitled, "Google Your Family Tree". The book illustrates many search tips and how to use filtering and other command techniques to locate new or additional information on an ancestor.

His blog provides additional online tips. It is never too late to learn new and improved ways to research one's ancestors!

Comments and Suggestions are always welcomed!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

Claire (*)
Timeless Genealogies
We're Your Family is "No. 1"

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Twitter @TimelessGen

(c) 2005-2013, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved

     claire@timelessgen.com   

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Preservation through Sharing

As genealogists we tend to keep paper; a census record, an address and contact information of a new found relative, a photo of a tombstone taken while researching a cemetery to mention just a few of the many documents collected for ancestral research.

Various filing systems and organizational methods have been mentioned and are still taught at various conferences to cope with the extensive collection in our homes. A simple 'Google' search for 'genealogy filing system' brings up a number of different ways to handle this situation.

Once the physical papers are organized then one needs to organize the electronic versions. The above link also brings in some ideas for digital organization, however, adding 'electronic' in front of the original search request does bring up a slightly different set of choices.

Regardless of which method is chosen for both situations, once done or even before, the research needs to be shared with other family members in case of loss as well as another opinion of your research. Recently, an acquaintence lost everything in a house fire and another colleague I know is dealing with water damage after torrential rains for 3 to 4 days in a row.

Other news items have been unusual tornados and storms in places where they are not normally. By sharing the research you are in essence helping to preserve it for future generations. No one wants any of these things to happen but they do and so it is important to take the necessary steps to protect and preserve all your ancestral research. Don't wait till it happens and it is too late!

Comments and Suggestions are always welcomed!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

Claire (*)
Timeless Genealogies
We're Your Family is "No. 1"

Blogs

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Twitter @TimelessGen

(c) 2005-2013, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved

     claire@timelessgen.com   

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Occupations

Knowing an individuals occupation can help follow a family through the censuses as well as through a country. Individuals may have the same names and live in the same areas, however, different occupations can help to assure the correct ancestral family is researched.

As one does research, various strangely named occupations are often listed causing one to wonder what their ancestor did for a living. The working world of today is not much of a reflection on the working world during the times of your ancestors. Many jobs they held have now been either eliminated or taken over by a machine. This is often termed 'progress', however, to the one who lost their job it was devasting and often part of a long list of reasons to emigrate to another country.

Occupations varied from country to country and so one may need to have a glossary of terms from different countries. "Hall Genealogy Website: Old Occupation Names" has a good collection of old terms. While some terms may still exist today, most do not. Some examples include a "Danter" which is a 'female overseer in silk winding room' or a 'Palister' which was a 'Park keeper'.

Another good list is provided by the "World Through the Lens" which covers old English occupations.There are some great resource pages on occupations in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. One can view the list by simply going to the Research Wiki and typing in "occupations', the results will be England Occupations, Wales Occupations, Jewish Occupatins and many others.

If you need a different country one just needs to use their search engine to type in "Old occupations of (name of place) and the results should take you to a website that has the needed information.

As a closing note, many times trades and tendencies are generational and it is not uncommon to discover that an occupation held by an ancestor is something a descendant may have an inclination to do. For instance, if my ancestors were farmers I may enjoy gardening, if my grandfather worked on the railroad, I may enjoy trains, etc.

Remember, a greater understanding of the actions of one's ancestors developes as a researcher digs and discovers more information about their lives during their time period.

Comments and Suggestions are always welcomed!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

Claire (*)
Timeless Genealogies
We're Your Family is "No. 1"

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Twitter @TimelessGen

(c) 2005-2013, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved

     claire@timelessgen.com   

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Name Studies

Often when researching individuals seem to forget that names have changed over time for a large variety of reasons. Sometimes this happens when coming to a new country and the family wants to assimilate as quickly as possible. So someone with the last name of "Blanche" became "White" or "Des Neiges" became "Snow" and so on.

Names were also shortened for convenience as in the case of surnames from Poland, Germany and other countries. Additionaly names could easily be misspelled as they were written down by another person because the original person was unable to write or even read.

Donna Pizecha wrote an excellent article on this subject on Genealogy.com entitled "They Changed our Name at Ellis Island". In order to do a proper search one has to be open minded about an exact spelling of a last name. There are lots of studies on names and many websites offer meanins a names which can sometimes explain the origins of the name and help guide a research to look in place not thought of originally. I have had personal success in one of my family lines and was able to break through a very stubborn line following this method.

The Guild of One Name Studies is a good place to start as well as the large variety of message boards already suggested in an early post.

Take the time find out the meaning of your family name and see if there are any studies on that name, it could help and lead to finding just the right clues to aid in your ancestral research!

Comments and Suggestions are always welcomed!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

Claire (*)
Timeless Genealogies
We're Your Family is "No. 1"

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Facebook


Twitter @TimelessGen

(c) 2005-2013, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved

     claire@timelessgen.com   

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Collaboration

Many times it is good to get a new perspective on a research problem. To do this are many avenues available online as well as taking some time to sit down with a colleague and discuss the research problem.

Remember that no two people see the problem the same and I have been able to solve a number of research issues by sharing it with a colleague or online.

Some online locations are discussion forums like 'FamilySearch Forums', or a message board like Rootsweb, Ancestry.com, or Genealogy.com. New on the scene is reaching out to the community through Facebook Research Communities. An example of one is the England Genealogy Research Community and there are many more! Read about these new research communities to help you with your queries in the FamilySearch Research Wiki!

Collaboration is the way to go to get help...

Comments and Suggestions are always welcomed!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

Claire (*)
Timeless Genealogies
We're Your Family is "No. 1"

Blogs

Facebook


Twitter @TimelessGen

(c) 2005-2013, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved

     claire@timelessgen.com   

Friday, January 20, 2012

City Directories

Long before telephone books there were city directories. According to an article entitled Effective Use of City Directories published online by Kory L. Meyerink, AG, FUGA their history begins in the United States in 1785 with earlier attempts in a few locations.

These directories can help to determine the location of ancestors year after year if the directories are available in ancestral location. Different companies provided listings of individuals in cities throughout the United States. There are directories for other countries, one just needs to check various library catalogs to locate them.

Ancestry.com and Fold3.com have city directories online along with other. Online Historical Directories provided some online also. Just put " (city) + online city directories into a search engine to locate any online. This is just another resource that should not be overlooked!

Comments and Suggestions are always welcomed!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

Claire (*)
Timeless Genealogies
We're Your Family is "No. 1"

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Twitter @TimelessGen

(c) 2005-2013, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved

     claire@timelessgen.com   

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Footnotes

I use footnotes all the time when writing reports, etc. They contain enough information to trace an entry in that report.

One of my colleagues, Patricia Hendrickson wrote a nice blog article on footnotes and their worth. One should consider using some form of citation method when doing any kind of reporting. It makes a difference to the reader if they wish to pursue the subject further along with validating the information in the actual report!

Comments and Suggestions are always welcomed!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

Claire (*)
Timeless Genealogies
We're Your Family is "No. 1"

Blogs

Facebook


Twitter @TimelessGen

(c) 2005-2013, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved

     claire@timelessgen.com   

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Certificate Exchange

There are times when you order a certificate for a birth, marriage or death and it turns out to be the wrong one. What happens to the certificate? There is a website that helps you get the certificate to a rightful owner entitled "Certificate Exchange". Currently they have 3,118 documents in the database.

This database allows an individual to add an 'unwanted certificate' as well as look to see if one is there for them. This is a great way to continue aiding one another in ancestral research!

The website is Certificate Exhange.

Comments and Suggestions are always welcomed!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

Claire (*)
Timeless Genealogies
We're Your Family is "No. 1"

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Facebook


Twitter @TimelessGen

(c) 2005-2013, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved

     claire@timelessgen.com   

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Simplicity

Often when doing genealogical research one can find themselves going in a million different directions and getting lost in the process and leads to confusion and a lack of success at the time.

If this happens, simply take a short break, reassess the original purpose for the research being conducted and stay focused on what the end result should be before getting lost again!

Comments and suggestions welcomed to help us all achieve or research goals!

Comments and Suggestions are always welcomed!

Building Bridges for All Generations!

Claire (*)
Timeless Genealogies
We're Your Family is "No. 1"

Blogs

Facebook


Twitter @TimelessGen

(c) 2005-2013, Timeless Genealogies, All Rights Reserved

     claire@timelessgen.com