Friday, January 9, 2009

Looking For Future Hosts: Update ...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm still looking for people who would be willing to host a future edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. Here are the months that are still open:
  • February
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December

Again, those who host an edition get to choose the the topic of the edition, and the dates for the submission of articles and for the publishing of the edition. If you are interested, please e-mail me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

My Scotch-Irish Ancestors: My Key To Ireland?

For this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture I am supposed to write about any information that I have uncovered that would lead to a village or location that my Irish (or Scotch-Irish, in my case) ancestors came from. Well, to be honest, I have not yet been able to determine where in Ireland my Scotch-Irish ancestors came from, but I do have one place where I can look for a marriage record.

As you may remember, I wrote about finding my great-grandfather's military service records a couple of months ago; however, I did not tell you that my ancestor was born in Scotland. In Scotland at that time (and maybe in the present), a person's birth certificate required that the date and place of the person's parents' marriage be included on the certificate. (Of course, that is if that person's parents married.) Thus, the information on the marriage of my great-grandfather's parents was listed on his birth certificate, and so, I now know that his parents were married in Ballymena, Antrim County, Ireland.

So, my next step is to obtain my ancestors' marriage certificate and figure out where they were born. I already know from my ancestors' death certificates and the 1891 census record that they were born in Ireland. Unfortunately, I still do not know where and when they were born. I am hoping that the marriage record will give me at least an idea of when they were born, and in addition, I will have to try to obtain the birth certificates of my great-grandfather's siblings as well, since some of them were also born in Ireland. Please wish me luck as I try to trace my great-grandfather's ancestors. Thanks!

A Little Note ...

As you may have noticed, I have not posted very many articles lately, and I just want to let everyone know that I probably will not be posting very many posts in the coming couple of weeks. At the moment, I am busy finishing my applications for graduate school, so I will not have much time to post for a little while.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Forgot To Mention: An Article and Genealogy Databases

I keep forgetting to mention that FamilySearch Lab's Record Search has added some new records and that there is an update to when the Michigan Deaths will be posted online. In addition, Ancestry has added some more databases of vital records and books from Europe.

First off, Brenda left me a comment some days ago about an update as to when the Michigan deaths, 1897 to 1920, will be online, and you can read about it here. (Personally, I can't wait for the records to be posted as I have several people I want to look for in those records.)

As I mentioned before, FamilySearch's Record Search has added death records for Arizona, more church records for the Czech Republic, funeral notices for Hungary, vital records for Brazil, and some more records to the West Virginia vital records. Ancestry has also added some more databases, and among those databases are vital records for Denmark.

I just thought I would mention this in the hopes that it might help others.

Monday, January 5, 2009

The 99+ Genealogy Meme

Becky has come up with another genealogy meme, and I thought I would play along. So, here is my list:

The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) .
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group on Facebook.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board or forum.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme.
32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
33. Performed a record lookup for someone else.
34. Went on a genealogy seminar cruise.
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
36. Found a disturbing family secret.
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby. - (Correction: I think it is an obsession.)
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons).
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
45. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
46. Disproved a family myth through research.
47. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
48. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
49. Translated a record from a foreign language. - (Note: I am working on that right now.)
50. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
51. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
52. Used microfiche.
53. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
54. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
55. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
56. Taught a class in genealogy.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
58. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century.
59. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century.
60. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.
61. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
62. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
63. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
64. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
65. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
66. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
67. Visited the Library of Congress.
68. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
69. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War.
70. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
71. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
72. Can read a church record in Latin.
73. Have an ancestor who changed their name.
74. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
75. Created a family website.
76. Have more than one "genealogy" blog.
77. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
78. Have broken through at least one brick wall.
79. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
80. Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
81. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
82. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
83. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the "Psychic Roots" variety.
84. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War.
85. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.
86. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
87. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
88. Use maps in my genealogy research.
89. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK.
90. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.
91. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
92. Visited St. Catherine's House in London to find family records.
93. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country). (I found a couple in the U. K.)
94. Consistently cite my sources.
95. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don't live in) in search of ancestors.
96. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.
97. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more).
98. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
99. Organized a family reunion.
100. Published a family history book (on one of my families).
101. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
102. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
103. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
104. Offended a family member with my research.
105. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

63rd Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 63rd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read the edition here. The topic for the next edition is :
A Winter Photo Essay. Show us those wintertime photo(s) of your ancestors
or family members and tell us the story that goes along with them. Winter is
here! Let's record it and celebrate it! The deadline for submissions is January
15th.

Enjoy!