Genes-R-Us

Mocavo – A Genealogy Search Engine

2011-09-27T10:12:00.000-04:00

One of the problems with using Google/Bing as a genealogical search engine is the broad range of "hits" that may seem overwhelming as you try to narrow your search to something more managable. Mocavo, a relatively new genealogical search engine tries to address this problem. By entering just an ancestor's name in quotes, Mocavo's targeted search can slim your results pages more accurately. Instead of looking at thousands of exact and potential hits, Mocavo reduces "hits" to tens. This allows you to conduct genealogical searchs for ancestors more quickly and efficiently.

One of the bonuses of such ancestral hunting is the ease in which female ancestors are matched with parents and spouses. Such pinpointing makes tracing elusive maternal lines easier. Another area which Mocavo excels is the ability to bring up burial information for families across many different cemeteries. This is a nice way of consolidating a genealogical search for a "family unit," and also help find the next generation of descendants and/or ancestors.

A new feature coming to Mocavo will allow you to upload your family tree. Once completed, your tree will be scanned for results across the web and emailed directly to you. At the same time, your tree remains private unless you choose to publish it. Uploading the tree can be done through Facebook. A link to their Facebook page is provided at the Mocavo web site.

To check out, Mocavo, click here. It's free.

Are You Dead and Don't Know It? - CNN Money Points Out Genealogical Mistakes in Social Security Death Index

2011-09-26T21:16:00.000-04:00

CNN Money recently ran an article that should give all genealogists pause. According to the article, the Society Security declares 14,000 people each year wrongfully dead. Imagine the ramifications that such errors can cause for the living who find themselves suddenly dead. Read the full story here.

Besides checking for our ancestors in the SSDI, maybe we should be checking for ourselves as well.

Talk to Your Family Elders Before It's Too Late!

2010-09-07T21:49:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wished that you knew more about your grandparents or your great-grandparents? If they are still alive, now is the time to sit down and have a chat. Here's a few quick tips on how to conduct an "elder" interview.

Treat it less like a formal interview and more like a conversation. Elderly parents', grandparents', aunts' and uncles' memories are not as sharp as they used to be in many cases and pushing them to remember heightens their distress. Never say, "remember when ...". If they can't remember, it scares them because they know they should remember and can't. It's better to start with information that's a visual or creates a sense of smell or sound. Start with something you know about connected family like "Aunt Ruby played a mean ragtime piano." And you might get something like, "She gets that from Grandpa Pat. He played in a jazz band down in New Orleans." One memory will trigger another, then another. Before you know it, you'll discover that Grandpa Pat came from County Kerry where he learned to play fiddle from his father Joseph. That might trigger stories about The Great Famine and why Grandpa Pat came to the US.

Have patience. Your elders may ramble a bit before they get to the point. Treasure the process because the journey reveals not only history but character, description, new avenues of ancestral research, and a little bit about the storyteller. You may learn that Great-grandpa David had the clearest, bluest eyes ever or that he fought in The Great War. You may discover that his unit saved another unit, but he was personally mustered out due to wounds received.

Each piece of genealogical information you discover may take a few minutes or a few hours or several interviews but it's always worth the time and effort. Capture it on tape, or better yet, video. Today's video cameras are easy to use; many of them (i.e. Flip cameras) are one-touch. Press a button and it will record from one to two hours. Just set it up on a tripod and let it roll. On playback, you'll discover family history in the making that is both personal and a family heirloom for future generations.

First Look at AmericanAncestors.org

2010-08-24T23:32:00.000-04:00

On the 19th of August, the New England Historical and Genealogical Society (NEHGS) announced the launch of its new website, American Ancestors.org to host its ever expanding genealogical library. Visitors to the site can register free, but genealogists and family historians using this site will only have access to nine of the nearly 3000 online databases offered. They are The Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850; Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements 1831-1920; Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati; SSDI to Feb. 2010; Index of Revolutionary War Pensioners; Gloucester, MA: Burials; New England Ancestors magazine; New York Wills: 1626-1836; Ware, MA Families. The rest of their databases are only fully accessible by subscription (starting at $75 per year for individuals). A preliminary search can be made for all genealogical databases, but results for non-free databases will ask you to become a member. The membership is worth the price. One look at the database catalog shows the website has a lot to offer in the way of online genealogical data. Here are just a few tantalizing tidbits: The Boston Sea Fencibles' Roll, Boston, MA: Boston Smallpox Innoculation Census of 1824 - Boston W. District, Ward 7; Thomas Lamkin of the Northern Neck of Virginia, Descendants; Nobleboro, ME: Elder Phinehas Pillsbury's Journal. There's plenty to explore besides the usual town vital records, censuses, and court records.

There are some glitches in running searches through the Firefox browser. When trying to browse the collection, sorting by state does not also work. When randomly searching all categories for California data, the results included "Death Notices from the New York Evening Post" among other erroneous hits. Also, if the advanced search results bears more than one page of results, when you try to go to the next page, it sometimes brings you back to the first page results rather than advance to the second page of results.

The web site also offers news features, a calendar of events, "The Daily Genealogist," "The Question of the Day," "The CEO Corner," and an online store featuring books, memberships, and specialty items. AmericanAncestors.org also offers research support in their "Connect" tab which gives you access to communications with the staff and a virtual tour of NEHGS.

At first glance, NEGHS has provided another service that family historians and professionals genealogists will love. Give them a chance to work out the kinks first but definitely put it on your bookmark menu.

New Mac Version of Family Tree Maker By Year's End

2010-08-22T00:49:00.005-04:00

When Family Tree Maker first came on the scene to challenge other genealogy software in the late 1990s, it produced a PC and a MAC version. After one update an announcement was made that the MAC version would be discontinued much to the chagrin of MACaphiles who continued to see the genealogy software choices dwindle. Fortunately, this May, at 2010 National Genealogical Family Historical Conference held in Salt Lake City, Ancestry.com announced the revival of Family Tree Maker for MAC which hopefully is still on schedule to be released by the end of this year. A formal release date is yet to be made public. But as the time approaches and MAC addicts patiently wait, it will be a welcome addition to MAC genealogy software.

Genealogy Over the Border

2010-08-21T19:34:00.007-04:00

The Library and Archives Canada (Bibliothèque et Archives Canada), a free web site, was formed in 2004 after the passage of the Library and Archives Canada Act "to create a new knowledge institution for Canadians." The organization is actually the merging of the now defunct National Library of Canada and the National Archives of Canada. Fortunately for genealogists their mission includes documenting and preserving Canadian heritage. To this end, the Library and Archives Canada has created a repository which includes include vital records, censuses, immigration and naturalization, military records, land records, and employment. Genealogists who visit the web site have the option of choosing French or English as the language to conduct genealogical searches of their archived materials. The site is easy to use, has a search engine that covers all its genealogical databases, portrait galleries, online exhibitions, extensive offsite genealogical linkage, and an online help section plus a link where you can ask questions.

From the home page, click "Genealogy and Family History," then click "Canadian Genealogy Centre." This page is the heart of their genealogical research pages. To search the site, just enter your ancestor's surname, then first name, then click "go." If no results appear, try just the surname. A list of results will appear and indicate the record available to view. Click on your ancestor's name and the data will appear. Be careful not to overlook the results. Instead of seeing your ancestor's name first, you may see the spouse's name first with your ancestor's name as a notation on the second line. In some case, surnames will be anglicized. For example, Langlois may be listed as Longley. Despite some of the quirkiness, it's packed with information. If the image of the record is available, there is a little page box after the name. When you click your ancestor's name, you have a choice of viewing the document PDF or jpg format from the text page. From the online image, you can save or download the file to your computer's hard drive.

Genealogical Finds at Online Parish Clerks (OPC)

2010-08-14T20:47:00.008-04:00

If you have English ancestry, especially if you can trace your ancestors to Dorsetshire, the Online Parish Clerks projects is a must visit. Originally the project began in Cornwall before spreading to Devon, then Dorset. There are now 15 counties included as part of the website. The online parish clerks consist of a group of volunteers who research and transcribe parish records to assist family historians to further their genealogical hunt. These genealogical records include births and baptisms, marriages and marriage intentions, deaths, burials and gravestone transcriptions. Other information you may find, depending on the county or parish are Bishop Transcripts, wills, census records, directories, Rolls of Honour for the war dead, photographs, ordinance map surveys, a brief history of the village/town and militia lists. Additional genealogical data is always being added and users of the site are encouraged to contribute or donate their own genealogical finds. All the records are free to use, but can not be used commercially.

One of the best OPCs is the Dorset OPC and it also serves as the home page for the online project. It boasts a complete list of Dorset parishes. After the parish name, there is a code (example: [P]). The "P" indicates that a online parish clerk is assigned to that parish; if it is grayed out, the post is vacant and users can apply to be the clerk for that particular parish. The code lists over the list of parishes and provides the code's meaning.

Content is spotty for some parishes, but others offer genealogical data as early as the 1500s to the 1700s. A few parishes require you to contact the online parish clerk to perform lookups for you and still others, have barely gotten off the ground requesting that you return to the site at a later date. Some parishes link to external sites where the genealogical data sits offsite.

There is a "search" function which allows a genealogist to search across all Dorset parishes except for external sites. Three separate search portals comprise the expanded search capability and each is clearly marked on which portal you need to use. This is a bit more awkward than the previous search portal, but greatly speeds up the results process. Dorset OPC also offers an updates and contacts page that keeps you updated on new additions to the site and personnel changes in parish clerks. All in all, it's a very useful site and you can't beat the price.

Google Books - A Genealogical Gold Mine for Family Historians

2010-08-09T19:16:00.004-04:00

When you can't go to a library, let the library come to you. Flesh out your ancestor's history with a quick and free search at Google Books. Just type in an ancestor's name in the search box and hit "enter". Your results could net you valuable genealogical information.

A search of Gen. Nathan Ranney of St. Louis, Missouri, netted over 1650 hits packed with biographical information, his part in the Yellowstone Expedition, an entire speech he gave on the plight of American 1812 war veterans, an account of Ranney's military service at the battle of Plattsburg, and letters Gen. Ranney wrote to Presidents Polk and Lincoln. Granted not all searches are so revealing and not all the 1650+ hits are relevant to the ancestral search, but a simple Google Books search may help you reclaim forgotten and lost genealogical paths. If the number of search results is too overwhelming, it's simple to narrow your search. Just enter quote marks around your ancestor's name like so: "Gen. Nathan Ranney." Even a few books can push through genealogical roadblocks.

The Google Books' library is primarily broken into three types of books: 1) books that offer "full view" of text (complete text pages), 2) "snippits" that provide only a small sample of the book's content, and 3) "no preview", books that are unavailable to view online. Books that offer "full view" can be added to your library, read online, linked, and downloaded as PDF files. So the next time you pine about living to far away to take advantage of great genealogical libraries in person, turn on your computer and experience Google Books search. It's another fine example of how the internet has made genealogy more productive without ever leaving the house.

Best Free Genealogy Website to Start Your Genealogical Search

2010-08-07T22:49:00.005-04:00

If you are new to genealogy, one of the best places to visit is FamilySearch.org. The online service, which is provided free by the Church of the Later Day Saints, is a vast repository of genealogical records from around the world. The search site is simple to use. Simply key in your data and hit enter. The site does the rest. A search of all the results of their databases can provide clues and trails that will keep any family historian busy. Databases currently include the 1880 US Census, the 1881 British Census, the 1881 Canadian census, the US Social Security Index, the Vital Records Index, the Ancestral File, the Pedigree Resource File, Family web sites, and the popular International Genealogical Index (IGI). While many of their records are taken from primary records, the amateur genealogist must further document ancestry when using this site. In addition to primary records, a great deal of their information has been gathered from family members in which the documentation is sketchy at best. Without proper documentation, a family's pedigree can be called into question, so it's also important to add supporting primary documentation. Do not assume the genealogical information contained at the site has been proved. However, FamilySearch.org a great internet web site for beginners and professionals alike, and best of all, it's free to use.

Is Computer Genealogy For You?

2009-06-15T22:00:00.004-04:00

Now that you have an idea of the basic genealogical source documents you'll be researching, you need a place to gather and organize your information. The big question is how will you proceed: by old-fashioned paper files or hi-tech genealogical programs?

The answer may be both. You may want to initially start with paper files and move to computer genealogy or, depending on the nature of your primary records, you may wish to preserve certain documents and photographs for future generations.

Personally, I use both. I like having the original documents stored in a file cabinet for comparison sake, but I back up all my records and photographs on computer and back up the computer data again. In essence, I have three sets of records.

That said, computerizing your genealogy brings with it several advantages. It takes the place of massive amounts of paper and reduces the footprint of having to store all that data in bulky, large file cabinets. The computer also provides a space in which to neatly combine your genealogical pedigrees, your photographs, your videos, and your family stories in an organized fashion. And, if you use a laptop, your entire ancestry is available in a nice portable vehicle that you can transport to libraries, genealogical societies, or state archives where documents are not available online.

The computer also opens up the world of internet genealogy. Amateur genealogists and family historians gain access to records previously unavailable to them. Genealogical forums help reconnect families and sort out pedigree problems. Website development creates a new media to display family history and share ancestry among relatives.

So, is computer genealogy for you? Yes, it just makes sense. Computers are much more affordable and you can safely keep your ancestral records on your preferred storage device or post to your own website. With backups of your ancestry, it's a no brainer. Computerized genealogy is the way to go.

What Military Records Can Tell You About Your Ancestry

2009-06-01T10:37:00.002-04:00

Have a soldier in your family tree? Did you know that military records can provide you with a whole host of information about your ancestry? Whether it's draft registration cards, pensions, enlistments, or muster rolls, the vast number of military records out there provide a wealth of information on your ancestry to help populate your genealogy.

For example, don't know anything about your great-uncle. A well-placed search for WWI draft registration cards might reveal the next of kin, parents or a spouse, the occupation of your ancestor, where he worked, where he lived, birthplace and birthdate, and even a brief description of your ancestor. A complete search of Civil War military records unveils not only any military engagements of your ancestors, but a medical history, and if you are very lucky, perhaps a photograph of his military company. Especially valuable to genealogists are the pension records which include spouse's name (if any) and any minor children. In lieu of a spouse, a pension may also have gone to a parent.

It pays to explore the military heritage of your family history. Fantastic glimpses into the past offer the family genealogist an insider view to American and world history on a personal level ... and you never know what you will find. In my case, it turns out one of my ancestors fought in the War of 1812 and was a very vocal veteran advocate. My personal search uncovered a long forgotten speech of his that was published first in a newspaper and later in a book. It turns out that veterans affairs sadly haven't changed at all over the years. It also made me realize just how much of a debt we owe to our military families.

Over the course of this blog, I'll be exploring military records in depth. For now, this brief overview gives you an inkling of what's yet to come.

Gateway to Your Ancestral Roots - How Passenger and Naturalization Records Transport Your Genealogy Across Borders

2009-05-19T23:45:00.004-04:00

One of the major problems family historians and genealogists have is finding the ancestral home of the immigrant ancestor. While census records and often vital records narrow down the country of an ancestor's place of origin, that may be the only clue provided. Fortunately, there are additional genealogical primary sources: passenger records and naturalization records.

If you are lucky with your census search, you may discover the date your ancestor immigrated and if he and/or she was naturalized. Armed with these discoveries, you can then look at available passenger records. Passenger records list the name, age, and sometimes place of origin of the immigrant ancestor as well as any family members. It also lists places of departure and destination, ship name, date of arrival. Naturalization records may contain more detailed information about the ancestor's homeland including town or city, county, and country as well as an exact birthdate.

Armed with such information, passenger lists and naturalization records, serve as a gateway to your ancestry beyond borders and ultimately a look into the many cultures that have contributed to make your family what it is today.

What Census Records Can Do For Your Genealogy

2009-05-14T10:42:00.004-04:00

Some of the most useful, though not always accurate, genealogical resources for your family history, are the state and federal censuses. Why? Because they help flesh out your family tree by adding more branches and leaves. In other words, they help to broaden your ancestry by including collateral lines — your extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins to the "n"th degree.

During George Washington's term as President of the United States, an act of Congress established the first federal census, taken in 1790, as a means of determining the proper representation for each state in the federal census. To put it simply, the population determined the number of government representatives and electoral votes a state received in the federal government. Since then, the census has been taken every 10 years to measure the population and states have added their own censuses.

Over the years, the census recorded more and more information, gathering numerous other data to provide a statistical snapshot of our growing population. Fortunately, for the family historian, this wealth of information not only includes the names and numbers of people in the household, it also includes ages of residents, addresses, when they immigrated to America, if they were naturalized, where they and their parents were born, occupations, and more.

All this information helps to fill out your genealogy and reveal the clues of your lineage. In future posts, you'll learn where to find and to use the census to discover your ancestral roots and how collateral lines can help you bypass genealogical roadblocks.

How Vital Are Vital Records to Your Ancestry?

2009-05-10T16:04:00.003-04:00

Vital records are the framework of genealogical house. They allow you to link one generation to the next. From your own birth certificate, you learn your parents' name and their age and if you are lucky, their birthplace. In turn, this sets up an approximate search time to hunt for primary information about your parents. Since your parents generally provide most of the information contained in your birth certificate, the information is most likely pretty accurate. However, do keep in mind that what is contained in a birth certificate does vary from state to state and errors do happen when recorded into state records. For example, parents could name their son, Charles Nicholas, and the state has actually reversed the names on the birth certificate to Nicholas Charles. There are also cases in which only the parents' names are given and there is no further background information on the parents.

Finding genealogical information on the parents broadens to includes some if not all of the following: death certificates, marriage certificates, census records, and birth certificates and/or baptismal records.

The death certificate (if your parents have died) contains date of death, cause of death, full name, residence at time of death, place of death, and martial status. It also provides birth information — date of birth, birthplace, names of parents and the bonanza, place of their parents' birth. Again, not all states provide the same information. In addition, an informant, most likely a relative, gives much of this information to the proper authorities before the actual death certificate is made.

Marriage certificates provide the names, ages and birthplaces of the bride and groom. It always lists the date and usually the place of marriage. In addition, these documents may also contain the bride and grooms parents' names as well as their birthplaces. In some cases, they also list the priest or minister who married them as well as their religion.

The introduction of the marriage and death certificates now establishs a relationship between your parents and their parents. Based on the information you gleaned from these documents, you now can seek the birth certificates of your parents.

Once you have all these documents, analysis of the information connects the evidence to confirm the parentage of your parents and by direct descent, to your grandparents. You have now established the frame for your house.

This process can be repeated ad infinitum.

The Difference Between Primary and Secondary Sources

2009-05-08T13:39:00.002-04:00

Collection of genealogical material divides into two main sources: primary and secondary. Primary sources include vital records, church records, censuses, wills, military records (muster rolls, enlistments, discharges), land deeds and grants. Secondary sources come from published town histories, published family genealogies, hearsay information gathered with no supporting documentation.

The strength of any genealogy is the documentation. Primary records are always preferred over secondary sources. That's because secondary sources are just that — secondary. It usually comes from a third-party source. The information could be accurate or inaccurate, but may be "unsupported" — that is, not proved with vital records, wills, etc. Primary records usually have a direct link to the ancestor. A child's birth certificate contains information provided by the parents; marriage certificates includes information supplied by the bride and groom; information reported on death certificates usually comes from a close kin member.

Even primary records may contain errors so it's important to gather and compare additional primary source information. The more supporting evidence you collect, the stronger the facts become in our own genealogy. This is especially important if you intend to join a society such as the "Daughters of the American Revolution." Primary records become the key to your acceptance. In you cannot prove, for example, that your ancestor fought in the American Revolution, then your application would be denied.

So take the time to analyze the details of the information you research or you will be barking up the wrong tree.

How to Begin!

2009-05-06T10:43:00.001-04:00

If you are like most people at some point in your life, you want to know more about your personal family history. I did. ... And like most people, you learn that you know next to nothing about your own family. For example, many people don't even know "grandma's" or "grandpa's" real names. So the question becomes "How do I begin?"

For the budding family historian, the answer is simple. Begin with "what you know" — yourself! You know your name, your birthday, your parents, and where you were born. All this information is contained on your birth certificate, which if you don't have one, you can request from the town or state in which you were born for a fee.

From yourself, you begin to work backwards — to your parents to your grandparents and so on. Hopefully, your parents are still alive and can provide you with copies of the own birth and marriage certificates and clues and facts about your grandparents. If not, the hunt begins and you'll begin the most surprising adventure you've ever undertake. The fields are rich with knowledge and sometimes as elusive as a fox, but the end result of the mountains of vital records, family letters and photos, is well worth the time and effort.

Over the course of this blog, you'll piece together the greatest jigsaw puzzle and discover the most important treasure of all — your family. And that's what it's all about, isn't it?