I first learned about this blog from Jasia's post. You can find this blog and other genealogy and history blogs on the lower left hand side of the page. Any suggestions for other history or genealogy blogs are welcome.
Goal One: Obtain the death notices and obituaries for my ancestors and their siblings who lived in Detroit. Results: I obtained some of the death notices for this branch. I was only able to go through the Detroit Free Press, and I did not find all of the notices. I have not yet checked the Detroit News, so the notices might still exist.
Goal Two: Order microfilms from the LDS of church records for the area of England that my ancestors lived. Results: I was able to order a couple of microfilms, but I was only able to find a couple of ancestor's marriage records. I did not find any baptismal records for my ancestors.
Goal Three: Order Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania probate records on microfilm. Results: I was able to order one microfilm from the LDS. I found the probate entry for my ancestor. It confirmed the name of his two sons, but did not mention the names of any other possible children.
Goal Four: Find the naturalization records for one of my ancestors. Results: I have not found it yet, but I have not had any time to go the state archives and look up the naturalization records.
Goal Five: Look up the death record of a possible sibling of an ancestor. Results: I was able to look up the record, and have a couple of the leads. I am still looking for more information to confirm the relationship.
Goal Six: Visit the local family history center. Results: I went a handful of times to the local center. I was not able to as much research as I liked, but a did a little.
Goal Seven: Find the marriage record of my great-grandparents. Results: I was only able to go to the state library once, and I did not have a chance to search for to search for their marriage record. I hope to find it this upcoming year.
Well, I remember of any more goals that I set-up as I did not write them down. As you can see, I did not accomplish all of my goals. I had hoped to be much further a long now than I am. I know I still have a lot more researching to do, and I hope to do more this summer than I did this past summer.
Well, those are my resolutions. I realize that it is not a lot, but I believe that I probably will be able to accomplish most of these resolutions. Well, I'll just have to wait until next year to see how I did.
I think this has been one of the polls that has had the most participation. To those who voted, thank you for voting. Enjoy!
You can choose more than one choice, and you have about a week to vote. Enjoy!
To those who voted, thank you for voting. Please keep an eye out for the next poll. Enjoy!
You can choose more than one category when voting. The poll will close in about a week.
To those who participated in the poll, thank you. A new poll should be coming out soon Enjoy!
You can find these and other blogs on the lower left side of the page. Any suggestions for other genealogy or history blogs are welcome.
As you can see, the three flags are the flags of my heritage.
These articles are ones that I thought were interesting. If I have missed any interesting article, please let me know. Enjoy!
You can choose more than one answer for this poll. The poll will close in about two weeks. Enjoy!
To those who voted, thank you for voting. At least two or three more polls will be posted in the future, so keep an eye out for them. Enjoy!
I realize that is not a large list of articles. I have been very busy lately with school work, and these were the articles that I noticed the most. If I have missed any other articles, please feel free to let me know. Thanks. Enjoy!
Well, that is all that I can think of. I realize that this a pretty generic wish list, but then, I don't really have the time to sit down and think about what I want exactly.
You can choose more than one location in voting. The poll will be opened for eight days. Enjoy!
To those who voted, thank you for participating.
So, now I encourage those I just tagged to do the same. Enjoy!
From this poll, it appears that most people want to read about Thanksgiving, so I'll write about Thanksgiving in articles in the days following up to Thanksgiving. Thank you to all of those who voted.
So, as you can see, if an online translator ignores the case of the noun, one could potentially miss some important information, especially if the information on a document (like a vital record) is in a sentence instead of a form. One could potentially miss out information such as how someone is related to someone else if the document mentions more than one person. So, the case of a noun is quite important when it comes to translating a document.
And then there is the issue of translating something in English into another language. Online translators could very easily use the wrong word in translating a sentence. If someone was trying to write a letter in another language for information, that person could easily use an online translator and get something back that might mean something else to a native speaker reading that letter. (Obviously, they would be able to tell right away that the letter was written by someone who isn't fluent in the language.) A human translator does a much better job than an online translator, but I realize that can cost quite a bit of money, unless you can find someone who is willing to do it for free. The other option is to try to learn that language, but then again that costs money and time.
Even though I am taking German language classes, I am not fluent in German yet. I still make quite a few mistakes, but unlike a computer, I can probably come up with a better translation (with a dictionary) than a computer's literal translation. I know that these online translators can be awful because I decided to test a couple for fun. (Yes, I wanted to see how bad they were.) I have a document in German and know roughly what the document says. I decided to try Microsoft Word 2003's translator (okay, this one isn't on the internet, but I think it falls into the computer category.), and well, it did a poor job. One of the reasons was that it restricted the number of words that could be added at a time. The problem is that sentences in historical documents can be quite long and the sentence meaning will be skewered if words are cut out. In German, there are times when the verb can be at the end of a sentence, and if one does not have that last verb, the sentence meaning will be wrongly translated (if it makes any sense at all). So, for me, the Microsoft translation was quite funny because of all of the mistakes it made. (Again, I did this just to make myself laugh.)
Here is an excerpt of my document in German:
"WorĆ¼ber wir gegenwƤrtige Urkunde in Gegenwart der nachgenannten vier Zeugen: 1. Philipp Jantzer/Jentzer, Kaufmann, drei und dreiĆig Jahre alt wohnhaft in Waldfischbach;2. Ludwig SchƤffer, BƤcker und Wirth, fĆ¼nfzig Jahre alt, wohnhaft in Trippstadt;3. Johannes Drescher, Schullehrer, sechs und dreiĆig Jahre alt, wohnhaft in Trippstadt;4. Jakob Jung, Kaufmann, ein und dreiĆig Jahre alt, wohnhaft in Kaiserslautern,alle vier mit den Brautleuten nicht verwandt und nicht verschwƤgert,gefertigt und mit denselben und den kontrahirenden Theilen, benebst den anwesenden Eltern, nach geschehener Vorlesung unterzeichnet haben.So geschehen zu Trippstadt im Jahre und am Tage wie Eingangs erwƤhnt."
Here is Microsoft Word's translation:
" ... 1. Philipp Jantzer/Jentzer, Buyer, three and thirty years old resident … all four related to the bride people not and does not verschwƤgert manufactured and with the same and the contracting Theilen, benebst that present parents, after happened lecture signed. As happened at Trippstadt in the year and by day as entrance mentions."
(Note: I have elipses in this excerpt of the Microsoft translation because Microsoft's program restricts the number of words to about twenty-five and by the time I got to the end of the document, I was tired of having to continually copy and past.)
As you can see, Microsoft's translation of this excerpt is not very good. It left several words in German, and the sentance clearly does not make sense.
The other translator that I have tried is Babelfish. Babelfish did only a slightly better job. Here is Babelfish's translation:
"About what we present document in presence of the following four witnesses: 1. Philipp Jantzer/Jentzer, buyer, three and thirty years old resident in forest fish brook; 2. Ludwig Schaeffer, baker and Wirth, fifty years old, resident in Trippstadt; 3. Johannes Dre, school teachers, six and thirty years old, resident in Trippstadt; 4. Jakob young, buyer, and thirty years old, resident in Kaiserslautern, all four related not verschwaegert to the bride people and not, not manufactured and to the same and the kontrahirenden Theilen, benebst present parents, after happened lecture signed. As happened at Trippstadt in the year and by day as entrance mentions."
And here is my translation of the excerpt:
"We, four witnesses were present at the aforementioned deed:
1. Philip Jantzer/Jentzer,* merchant, 33 years old, resides in Waldfischbach; 2. Ludwig Schaeffer, Baker and innkeeper (or land lord), 50 years old, resides in Trippstadt; 3. John Drescher, school teacher, 36 years old, resides in Trippstadt; 4. Jacob Jung, merchant, 31 years old, resides in Kaiserslautern; neither of these four are related to the bridal couple, and they happened to be present in the signing of the contract, instead of the parents' presence. And so came to pass in Trippstadt in the year and day mentioned."
(*I had someone transcribe my document for me because at the time I could not make sense of the German hadwriting, and the transcriber wasn't sure if the letter was an a or an e.) If anyone can come up with a better translation, please feel free to correct me.
Of course, when it comes to only translating one or two words, these online translators can do a fairly good job, but I wouldn't use it for phrases or sentences. Also, I noticed that these dictionaries do not have archiac words in their databases. So, if you're looking for the translation of an old occupation, the chances are greater that you might not find it. I did do some browsing a few minutes ago, and I found a website that has translations for old German occupations. Here is the link: http://worldroots.com/brigitte/occupat.htm. I can't vouch for its accuracy, but it appears as though it might be helpful when it comes to looking for older words.
Again, as I mentioned before, I am not attempting to attack those who use online translators. I just want to let others know that these online translators are not as accurate as they might appear. If anyone has a better translation of that excerpt, please feel free to leave a comment correcting me. So, what do you think? Feel free to leave me a comment.
| You Are Mashed Potatoes |
 Ordinary, comforting, and more than a little predictable You're the glue that holds everyone together. |
| Your Pilgrim Name Is |
 |
| You Are 77% Thankful |
 You are a very thankful person - for both the big and little things in life. Your optimism is powerful. Getting through hard times is fairly easy for you. |
If you have a preference, please let me know. Thanks. Enjoy!
| You Are a Practical Gift Giver |
 Your gifts are useful, appropriate, and custom tailored to each person. In your opinion, the best gifts are gifts that someone will actually use. Your gifts may not be the most glamorous, but they are always appreciated. |
| You Are a Snowman |
 Friendly and fun, you enjoy bringing holiday cheer to everyone you know! |
| Your Christmas Song Is |
 It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year It's the most wonderful time of the year With the kids jingle-belling And everyone telling you Be of good cheer It's the most wonderful time of the year Hands down, Christmas is your favorite holiday ever And you always enjoy every moment of it |
| You Are a Cranberry and Popcorn Strung Tree |
 Christmas is all about showcasing your creative talents. From cookies to nicely wrapped presents, your unique creations impress everyone. |
| You Are a Gingerbread House |
 A little spicy and a little sweet, anyone would like to be lost in the woods with you. |
| You Are Prancer |
 You are the perfect reindeer, with perfect hooves and perfect flying form. Why You're Naughty: Because you're Santa's pet, and you won't let anyone show you up. Why You're Nice: You have the softest fur and the sweetest carrot breath. |
You can find these and other blogs on the lower left side of the blog. Any suggestions for other genealogy and history blogs are welcome.
You can find these and other genealogy blogs on the lower left side of this blog. Any suggestions for other genealogy or history blogs are welcome.
On a side note, this is my 15oth post. It is hard for me to believe that I have published that many posts.
| What Your Handwriting Says About You |
 You are a fairly energetic person. You know how do pace yourself, and you deal well with stress. You range from very outgoing to very shy. You are a shapeshifter who is very versatile. You adapt well, and you look at things from many angles. You are balanced and grounded. You know how to get along well with others. You need a bit of space in your life, but you're not a recluse. You expect people to give you a small amount of privacy, and you respect their privacy as well. You are conservative, old fashioned, and a little stubborn. You are resistant to change. You are a good communicator. You work hard to get your ideas across effectively. |
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