Michigan Genealogist Newsletter 1st Edition of 2009 Posted!

The first edition of the 2009 Michigan Genealogist Newsletter has been posted! You can read it here! Enjoy!

Genealogy and History Thoughts Column 17 - My Thoughts on the IGI and LDS Rite, Baptism of the Dead, Controversy

Last year, when the controversy between the Catholic church and LDS occurred over Catholic parish records, I thought about writing a column on, but I eventually chose to not do so because I waited too long to write my column. So, when I happened to notice Schelly's post on the news about the baptism of the President's mother, I thought I would write about my thoughts on this issue. (But, before I continue with my column, I just want to mention that I understand that the LDS rite, baptism of the dead, does not mean the deceased person becomes a Mormon after the rite or being listed on the IGI.)

So, what I think about this controversy? Well, to be honest, I am torn between two different views on the rite and IGI listings. On the one hand, I am bothered by the rite but my issue with the rite is due to the fact that I am an Evangelical Christian. On the other hand, I do not have a problem with deceased people's names being listed in the IGI as the IGI has been useful in my research. For instance, I would not have uncovered the birth date for my great-grandfather as quickly as I did if someone had not entered the put the information on the FamilySearch website. I have also found other information on many other ancestors, such as marriage and birth dates, on the site and was able to confirm that information by using it as a guide in my search for sources and further research. The IGI has been a wonderful tool in researching my family's history.

With that said, I also understand that other people might object to their ancestors being listed in the IGI. Do I believe that it is insensitive for a person to have non-related people baptized in this rite? Yes. Those who object to having their deceased relatives listed probably do so out of privacy, religious or other concerns, and I think it is rude for someone who is not connected to a person to have the rite done. (Of course, I have not had a problem with finding any of my ancestors in the IGI only because the ancestors listed are at least separated by a generation from my living relatives, and thus, I haven't had to worry about any privacy concerns.) I realize that the person doing so may be doing it out of the goodness of their heart, but if that person is not connected to the person baptized, I think it would be best for that person to not submit the person's name unless the family has given him or her permission to do so. (I do not have as much of a problem if that person is descended from an ancestor, although I think he or she should consider the feelings of other family members before submitting a name.)

So, what does one do if one wants to memorialize the deceased? Well, in the case of uncovering the names of Holocaust victims, I think the proper procedure would be to donate the research uncovered on victims to a Holocaust survivor group or museum, and allow the members of those groups to decide if and how they would like to memorialize the victims. In other cases, I would avoid baptizing anyone who isn't connected to the person doing the research, and for those are having dead relatives baptized, I would check with relatives before having the names posted on the internet. I think depends on the situation of each case.

Should one donate the names of their ancestors to the IGI, if the IGI has been useful to their research? I think it depends upon the feelings of the researcher and his or her family. As to whether or not I will ever submit ancestors whose names are not listed in the IGI, I am not completely sure what I'll do. Right now, I believe my answer is no due to the fact that I do not want to offend any family members and that I want to respect the privacy of my relatives. Of course, I might change my feelings in the future, but I don't know for sure. Of course, I do not believe there are easy answers or guidelines for all of the issues connected to this controversy.

So, what do you think? Am I right or Wrong? As always, you can leave your thoughts in the comments section.

A New Award!

I just learned that Diane of Random Relatives has awarded me the "One Lovely Blog Award." Thank you Diane!

So, what does one have to do after receiving this award? Well, the recipient has to nominate seven other blogs for the award. So, here are the seven blogs I am nominating:

1. Wendy of All My Branches Genealogy
2. Diane of CanadaGenealogy or 'Jane's Your Aunt'
3. Claudia of Claudia's Genealogy Blog
4. Greta of Greta's Genealogy Blog
5. Cheryl of In Deeds
6. Lori of Smokey Mountain Family Historian
7. Alana of A Twig In My Tree

Enjoy!

71st Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 71st edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on

Mothers! Mother’s Day is right around the corner and this is the perfect
time to honor your mother, grandmother, godmother, step mother, den mother,
aunt, neighbor, or friend who happens to be a mother. If you’ve written about
your own mother for the COG before, consider writing about another mom on your
family tree. Let’s make all our moms famous! The deadline for submissions is May
15th and next edition will be hosted at Creative Gene.

Enjoy!

Family History Center Visit 7

Yesterday, I visited the local Family History Center, and started to take a look at the two microfilms that had come in. I had only about an hour to do research, so I wasn't able to get too far into my research.

The first microfilm that came in happened to be of marriages from St. Matthew's Church in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. I had hoped to find my great-great-grandparents marriage record in this microfilm, since it was the church where my great-grandparents got married. Although the records went back to the time of my great-great-grandparents' marriage, their marriage was not recorded in this church. I'll have to take a look at other church records in the area, and order another microfilm. (Of course, before I return the microfilm, I will double check to make sure that I haven't overlooked any of the marriages of my great-grandmother's siblings as well.)

So, after quickly determining that my great-grandparents were not in that film, I decided to look at the other microfilm. This microfilm contained the records of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania's cemetery, church and bible records, and I quickly discovered that the microfilm contained a typed transcript of those records done by the local DAR branch in Huntingdon county. Despite being disappointed at not viewing the originals, I still decided to go through the film and see if I could find my ancestors mentioned. Unfortunately, I only got through about a third of the microfilm, so I'll have to make another trip to the center to finish going through the microfilm. Hopefully, I will get lucky and uncover more information on my ancestors on my next visit. Stay tuned for future updates ...

Google Analytics Report for April 2009

I cannot believe that April is already over, but since it is, that means it is time for another Google Analytics report! Here are the results for April:

The top ten countries, in number of visits, are:

1. United States - 470 visits
2. Canada - 43 visits
3. United Kingdom - 24 visits
4. Netherlands - 20 visits
5. Germany - 6 visits
6. Australia - 4 visits
7. South Korea - 3 visits
8. Israel - 2 visits
9. New Zealand - 2 visits
10. France - 2 visits

The top ten states in the United States, in number of visits, are:

1. Michigan - 84 visits
2. Illinois - 51 visits
3. New York - 41 visits
4. California - 34 visits
5. Virginia - 28 visits
6. Texas - 25 visits
7. Ohio - 22 visits
8. Tennessee - 21 visits
9. Colorado - 18 visits
10. Pennsylvania - 15 visits

The top ten locations in Michigan, in number of visits, are:

1. Whitmore Lake - 57 visits
2. Hamburg - 9 visits
3. Washtenaw County - 3 visits
4. Algonac - 2 visits
5. Flint - 2 visits
6. Lansing - 2 visits
7. Muskegon - 2 visits
8. Kent County - 1 visit
9. East Lansing - 1 visit
10. Roseville - 1 visit

The top ten articles, in number of views, are:

1. 18th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - 24 views
2. 34th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted! - 17 views
3. More Death Records Added to the Seeking Michigan Site! - 16 views
4. Tombstone Maker Website - 15 views
5. Forgot To Mention: It Has Been Two Years! - 15 views
6. Researching My Central and Eastern European Female Ancestors ... - 13 views
7. 12th Edition of the Smile For the Camera Carnival Posted! - 13 views
8. 69th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted! - 13 views
9. Madness Monday - More on Irene Havens, Part 5 ... - 13 views
10. Question About Pre-1906 Naturalization Records ... - 13 views

Well, that is it for this month's Google Analytics report. To all my readers, "Thank you for reading!" Stay tuned for next month's report! Enjoy!