Using the Net for Genealogy

The internet has made the process of networking with distant relatives a great adventure without leaving the comforts of your home. Don’t get me wrong exploring the places that your dear relatives lived their lives is fun. But time and money doesn’t always afford those luxuries. So here comes the net, with millions of people connecting everyday. Recently I got a wonderful opportunity to visit a distant cousin in Las Vegas, while visiting the Titanic Exhibit.

The visit was wonderful, she is the niece of my grandfather whom I had never met. The visit was wonderful, it wasn’t awkward as some would think. I kept things basic, as I would with any new stranger. Got to know her, hear about her family. Listening skills are very important when learning about a side of the family you never knew. I was lucky to have met and forged this new friendship. It was family through Facebook that lead me to this relative, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes you can meet family through sites such as Ancestry.com and ProGenealogists. It’s worth the time to learn more from those who are still around, you never know if that information the personal experiences will be available to share later. I learned much more about my Grandfather than I had ever known.

 

Preserving your Stories

I have been working in preserving my families photographs and documents. In the process I started another blog that was solely on how to preserve your documents and photographs. I will from now on share those posts on Tracing Our Roots. The Blog is Dawns Delights-Preserving Your Stories, and will have not only Genealogy information but also information on Preserving your Stories.

Genealogy Research

As a Genealogist I understand how challenging it can be when you run into that Brick wall that we all eventually find. Little to no information on the relative, records destroyed in fires, or there were no records kept. One thing I have found to be a great help is ProGenealogists, this way you can work with someone in that area to find that information. Sometimes a local trip to a Cemetery or call to the state historian will help close those gaps.

Personal Archiving and Primary Documents – Brewster Kahle

RootsTech Conference will broadcast select sessions.

I received this information tonight. It states that the sessions will be free, I am still working their website to figure out exactly where these sessions will be. And if you all are interested in any of these online sessions- let me know. I personally am looking forward to these courses.

Especially since they are online and FREE.  RootsTech Conference Will Broadcast Select Sessions Free Online

SALT LAKE CITY—RootsTech, a new family history and technology conference
held in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 10-12, 2011, announced today that
six of its popular sessions will be broadcasted live and complimentary over
the Internet. The live broadcasts will give those unable to attend
worldwide a sample of this year’s conference content. Interested viewers
can watch the live presentations at RootsTech.org. The first-year
conference has attracted over 2,000 registered attendees.

The free online sessions include some of the keynote speakers and a
sampling of technology and family history presentations.  Following are the
six broadcasts, speakers, and times of the presentations. All times are in
Mountain Standard Time (MST):

Thursday, February 10, 2011
·       8:30-9:00 a.m., A World of Information, Shane Robison, chief technology
officer, Hewlett Packard
·       9-9:30 a.m., Turning Roots, Branches, Trees into Nodes, Links, Graphs,
Jay L. Verkler, chief executive officer, FamilySearch International
·       3-4:00 p.m., Digitally Preserving Your Family Heritage, Barry Ewell,
founder of MyGenShare.com

Friday, February 11, 2011
·       8:30-9:30 a.m., The Changing Face of Genealogy, by Curt Witcher,
manager of the Historical Genealogy Department, Allen County Public
Library
·       9:45-10:45 a.m., Cloud Computing: What is it and how it has been used
to create the next familysearch.org, by Brian Pugh, senior engineer,
FamilySearch International

Saturday, February 12, 2011
·       8:30-9:30 a.m. Personal Archiving and Primary Documents, Brewster
Kahle, founder of the Internet Archives
·       1:45-2:45 p.m., Virtual Presentations Round Table and Collaborative
Panel Discussion, Thomas MacEntee, professional genealogist and technology
specialist
·       3:00-4:00 p.m., The Power of PDF: Tools for Every Genealogist, D. Josh
Taylor, Director of Education and Programs at New England Historical
Genealogical Society.

About RootsTech

RootsTech is a new conference designed to bring technologists together
with genealogists to learn from each other and find solutions to the
challenges faced in family history research today. The conference’s
activities and offerings are focused on content that will help genealogists
and family historians discover exciting new research tools while enabling
technology creators to learn the latest development techniques from
industry leaders and pioneers.

Senior Citizen Centers

My grandma was very active her entire life and while she wasn’t famous, she was loved by many. I knew she had been very active in her local senior center the past ten years, but would never have guessed there would be an obituary there for her and others who had passed. To my surprise when I Google her name an published article came up from the Senior Center. It is a lovely tribute to her, and gave me a little more insight into her life. For me this is as personal as an obituary from the paper, and added just one more place to look for information on loved ones that have passed.

Click to access SeniorNewsDec09.pdf

Ola Mae Tryon, 83, died Friday, October 9th.
Her final days were spent surrounded by loving
family. Ola Mae was born in Albuquerque in 1926
and graduated from Business College in Nevada,
before proudly working at UNM, in Medical Records
for 15 years. She married and is survived by
her 3 children; six grandchildren, and ten greatgrandchildren.
Before Ola moved back to Albuquerque, she
was a member of the Edgewood Senior Center and
the Retired Senior Volunteer Program for 13 years,
where she shared her talents and friendship with many.

She enjoyed returning to see her friends at
the Center, where she is missed.

Facebook bridging the gaps in Genealogy?

When Facebook came out I really didn’t have any interest in the latest craze.  Then as more and more family were joining, I found it actually very beneficial.  I could chat with family who are in other areas of the world, and share photos.  Facebook has completely replaced the old school emails and forget snail mail that could get damaged or lost.  I have found lost relatives who have helped fill in gaps in my research, relatives that have done years of genealogy work and shared their findings with me.

Finding people on Facebook isn’t hard, at the top in the search button type in a name of someone you know is still alive.  No matter the age, unless they are under 13 yrs old they are most likely on Facebook. Send them a friend request, not a blind request, but one with a message explaining who you are and why you want to be friends.  Sometimes you will already have a friend(relative) in common and Facebook will suggest you may know them.

Whispers from the Dust

I am really excited about being part of this program, and assisting in the process of  preserving history.

ICAPGen

The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists

December 2010

The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) has recently announced a new cemetery grant program called “Whispers from the Dust”, to help fund cemeteries who want to preserve and modernize their databases and maps, and make them freely available online.

Imagine making a “virtual” visit to a cemetery with an online map that identifies each grave individually.  Imagine clicking on that grave and viewing birth, death, spouse, marriage, and military information along with a headstone photo.  Now, imagine zooming out and identifying everyone buried in adjacent graves. Integrated mapping and data will help solve genealogical puzzles that could not be solved with mere headstone transcriptions.  Off-site backup of digital records safeguard them for future generations. Online maps and databases are updated with one click of a sexton’s mouse.

This exciting and innovative technology is all part of the “Whispers from the Dust” cemetery grant program.

For more information please visit http://www.icapgen.org

Cordially,

Dayna Jacobs

Chair, “Whispers from the Dust”

ICAPGen

daynajacobs@gmail.com



Surprise

I have been taking photos of gravestones from Ogden City Cemetery now for awhile. I love how organized their data is online. And even though you can tell there are some stones that surely have seen better days, the peaceful atmosphere and tall pine trees add beauty to these old unique stones. The other day while walking around taking requested photos for Findagrave.com, a squirrel ran past and under a bush. As he ran under the bush something caught my eye. It was a headstone of a woman born in 1861- died in 1952. This got my curiosity up, because there are other stones under this huge bush. So I came home last night and noticed that she wasnt listed on Findagrave.com and that she was listed on the Ogden City Cemetery link. I added her to findagrave.com, and will dig a little more for information on her. All I have found for her as of now is that she is the Daughter of  Charles and Sine Simpson McKinley, born on 10/27/1861 and passed on 3/20/1952.

Tracing our Roots

Pumpkin pies, cranberry sauce, Turkey, laughter filling the kitchen as Grandma and Mom would share stories of family. It was never long after the deserts and Rum balls were being made that someone would bring out the photos, the notebooks of family history to share with us little ones. Passing along family memories of love ones long gone.

 

Sharing our roots was something that had always been a holiday tradition in our home for generations.  To me it was something that was as natural as walking, never did I ever consider something so fun to be a career.  In the past year since my dear Grandma’s passing, I have been verifying information, receiving photos from my Aunt, and had a few mysteries that popped up here and there.  Then I realized, this had gone from being a hobby to me becoming a genealogist. No longer was this just a past time hobby for me, but that I wanted to help others with their genealogy.

I have become  more involved in Findagrave.com, Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, and want to become Accredited Genealogist.  This has been  fun on all levels, helping others, and meeting other people.  It wasn’t the stressful paralegal setting, or business setting I was accustomed to.  I love it and am excited to not only expand on Tracing our Roots,  but helping others discover their heritage.