I only live about 30 miles from the Illinois Mennonite Historical and Genealogical Society's Illinois Mennonite Heritage Center in Metamora, Illinois. I finally took the time to visit their library. What a treasure!
To read the complete article, visit "Illinois Mennonite Heritage Center - Research & More!".
News item posted by ecolitgy.
To read this Genealogy Guide article, visit "folklore".
News item posted by elisabeth.
The value of folklore in family research
To read the complete article, visit "Folklore as an Overlooked Resource in Genealogy".
News item posted by mslate.
PROVO, UT, May 28, 2008 — [[GenClass.com]], a leading online genealogy course provider, has recently partnered with [[FamilyLink.com, Inc.]] to provide free introductory courses exclusively to WorldVitalRecords.com members.
"This partnership is a win-win proposition. One frequent request we get from our members is for help in starting their genealogy and family history. The training that GenClass provides will be a great help to those who want to learn more and expand their skills," said David Lifferth, President, FamilyLink.com, Inc. "We are happy to provide these two training courses for free to our members by a fast-growing leader in the genealogy field."
"We seek to work with people who are flexible, and look toward the future. We have been impressed with how WorldVitalRecords.com has partnered with a variety of organizations and companies to provide new resources, talent, and great products," said Schelly Talalay Dardashti, GenClass co-founder and instructor. "We like what we see at WorldVitalRecords.com, and think it is a good match for a partnership."
FamilyLink.com, Inc. and GenClass have been working together on this partnership over the past year. The initial success of this partnership has been overwhelming: All 400 openings for the first four free courses (June and July) were filled within five days.
"There are many genealogy courses out there in a variety of formats, but our operating model can be summed up as short-term, economical, information-packed courses with enthusiastic and passionate expert instructors," said Micha Reisel, GenClass co-founder, instructor, and administrator. "We recognize that people are busy, so we provide them with as much information as possible in the most practical way possible."
WorldVitalRecords.com members can begin registering on June 20, 2008 for August's free courses on genealogy basics. GenClass provides 23 additional for-fee genealogy courses taught by nine professional genealogists. See all courses— including Native American Genealogy, Eastern European Genealogy, Canadian Genealogy, Brick Wall Research and more— at http://genclass.com.
"People are bombarded with so much information, but what they really need is direction on how to approach this passion for genealogy that they have developed," added Reisel. "We want to empower these individuals from the beginning with knowledge to assist them with their genealogy and family history. All of GenClass.com's offerings are designed to fulfill that need."
News item posted by illyad.
One of the least used sources of information are local newspapers–and not just regular town papers but special ethnic papers, such as the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia.
To read the complete article, visit "Newspapers Can Be A Treasure Trove Of Genealogical Details".
News item posted by illyad.
To read this Genealogy Guide article, visit "genealogy search".
News item posted by illyad.
A look at how our ancestors treated ailments.
To read the complete article, visit "Medicine in Rural Appalachia".
News item posted by mslate.
Memorial Day has a rich history of traditions and is a good time to remember the soldiers who have given the ultimate price for our freedom.
To read the complete article, visit "A History of Memorial Day".
News item posted by genaortega.
I wonder if anything has been written about baseball in Canada, and it has - from all angles. There is even genealogy about the players!
To read the complete article, visit "Play Ball".
News item posted by illyad.
This agreement allows for the ongoing digitization of a wealth of historical content that will include birth, marriage, death, immigration and military service information.
To read the complete article, visit "National Archives Announces Digitizing Agreement with The Generations Network".
News item posted by illyad.
Another story validating the worth of genealogy.
To read the complete article, visit "Century-Old Tombstone Found on Houseboat".
News item posted by mslate.
To read this Genealogy Guide article, visit "secondary source".
News item posted by elisabeth.
Genealogists may be confronted by certain legal issues in the gathering of family history information.
To read the complete article, visit "The Law and Genealogy".
News item posted by asmith1.
FamilySearch announced today its records access agreement with Footnote.com to publish two significant Civil War Era databases online—the 1860 U.S. Census and Civil War Pensions Index.
To read the complete article, visit "FamilySearch Teams with Footnote.com to Publish Historic Civil War Era Records".
News item posted by jasperconker.
PROVO, UT, May 14, 2008 — [[FamilyLink.com, Inc.]] has teamed with [[FamilySearch.org]] to improve the user experience of the Family History Library Catalog for millions of people worldwide by adding new Web 2.0 functionality and enhancements. The improvements will also enable users to spend research time more efficiently by directing them to the information that will generate the quickest results.
FamilyLink.com's improvements to the catalog will make it searchable by major online search engines and allow users to annotate item descriptions—increasing their accuracy and enriching the content.
FamilySearch's Family History Library Catalog is used extensively by family history enthusiasts. It is a window to the vast collection of genealogical resources amassed by [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] over the past 100 years—millions of microfilms, fiche, and books from 110+ countries throughout the world.
Genealogists use the popular online catalog to see if FamilySearch has any material that can help them in their research. Materials are then ordered on an interlibrary loan one FamilySearch's 4,500 local family history centers worldwide.
"The enhancements FamilyLink.com will help make to the Family History Library Catalog will increase its usability and exposure. Beginners will find it particularly easier to navigate, and searching and browsing will be more rewarding," said Paul Nauta, Manager of Public Affairs, FamilySearch.
Improved Searching
In a typical search of the Family History Library Catalog, users first identify known facts about a family and then go through a step-by-step process to locate records. Newly integrated FamilyLink.com tools will help users better identify information. Guided searches will help users decide what they want to learn about their families, point them to relevant records, help obtain and search the records, provide clues to more information, and assist with the application of the new information.
As part of the enhancement, FamilyLink.com will make searches more useful by allowing the user to browse, sort (by popularity, relevance, most used, etc.), and perform multiple searches. A new "probability engine" feature will calculate the likelihood that a particular source contains the desired item. It will also be able to search across someone's entire family tree to determine which ancestry lines have the highest likelihood of success based on known sources.
"We are excited to work with FamilySearch and to add this extensive catalog to our database collections," said Paul Allen, CEO, FamilyLink.com, Inc. "We have looked at doing this collaboration for quite a while. We will enhance the catalog by connecting it with new innovative tools, along with the best resources of our WorldVitalRecords.com databases, the FamilyLink.com social networking site, and our We're Related application in Facebook. Putting all of these resources together will dramatically change the meaning of 'search' in genealogy."
Social Networking
Another enhancement to the Family History Library Catalog will be its increased interactivity. Every entry in the catalog will link to an online or digital source, if available. The user will then be able to link directly to the publisher, buy the book, or search for the nearest copy.
FamilyLink.com will also add an annotation feature that allows users to suggest a new source, enhance an existing source by adding a place (location) or a time period, and rate and review a source based on its usefulness.
"We know that search traffic will increase on both the FamilyLink services and FamilySearch's site when users discover the new guided search tools," said FamilyLink.com President David Lifferth. "Last month we had over 700,000 unique visitors and 8.5 million page views. We are predicting that these numbers will more than double after the first quarter of use."
News item posted by illyad.
PROVO, UT, May 13, 2008 — [[FamilySearch]] recently announced an inaugural project in concert with [[FamilyLink.com, Inc.]], to digitize and index a valuable German genealogy collection containing over 3.5 million names from the period of 1650-1875.
The Brenner Collection contains 3.5 million names on more than 750 rolls of microfilm, representing between 900,000 and 1.5 million images. A final count will be determined once all of the records have been indexed. The complete Brenner Collection database is scheduled to be online at [[WorldVitalRecords.com]] by the end of this year, although segments of the database will be launched in the interim.
"The genealogy market for German records is hungry for online data. FamilyLink.com was selected for this project because of the company's focus on international vital record sets," said Paul Nauta, Manager of Public Affairs, FamilySearch.
The FamilySearch Records Access Program (RAP), announced in 2007, works with record custodians and companies to preserve and publish the world's genealogical records faster, more effectively, and efficiently. Under the RAP agreement for the Brenner Collection, FamilySearch will digitize the records, and FamilyLink.com will create the indexes. When completed, the index will be available for free at FamilySearch.org and WorldVitalRecords.com. Access to the images will be free to FamilySearch members and WorldVitalRecords.com subscribers.
"This is our first project with FamilySearch, and we are excited to collaborate with them," said Jonathan Burton, COO, FamilyLink.com, Inc. "This database will be an invaluable part of our growing German collection. Certainly it will be priceless to the descendants worldwide of the families listed in these records."
The Brenner Collection was discovered in a Bavarian barn and includes data from approximately 97 parishes primarily within the vicinity of Ansbach, and also other places in Mittelfranken, Bavaria.
"I love that that these German records have found a home on our site," said Paul Allen, CEO, FamilyLink.com, Inc. "This collection will be a highlight of the German records coming soon on our site, and will provide important links to information for those with German ancestry."
Using the extracts found in the Brenner Collection is comparable to searching the original parish registers, with the exception that these records have been alphabetized and arranged in families by FamilySearch over a ten-year period.
"The Brenner Collection is a fabulous collection because you receive information on such a large section of the population. No other microfilm collection exists of this material," said Warren Bittner, German collection management specialist for FamilySearch. "You would have to go from village to village to receive the same information that you can now find in one place."
News item posted by illyad.
You don't have to cut back on the quality of your genealogical research to make ends meet.
To read the complete article, visit "Genealogy on a Budget".
News item posted by rcoleman.
To read this Genealogy Guide article, visit "transcription".
News item posted by elisabeth.
Footnote.com announced the addition of the 1860 US Census to their Civil War Collection. This project was a joint effort with FamilySearch, who provided the images to the 1860 Census.
To read the complete article, visit "Footnote.com adds to its leading Civil War Collection by launching the first-ever interactive 1860 US Census".
News item posted by wishbone.
Origins of this special day date to pre-Civil War times.
To read the complete article, visit "Mother's Day: More than a Commercial Holiday".
News item posted by mslate.
Increasingly, we are able to look at more and more vital records with just the click of a mouse. The following web sites provide just some of the places where you can find indexed and digitized vital records.
To read the complete article, visit "United States Vital Records Online".
News item posted by genaortega.
This report is the National Archives response to concerns raised by the Committees that the complete papers of America's Founding Fathers are not available online.
To read the complete article, visit "National Archives Creates Plan for Online Access to Founding Fathers Papers".
News item posted by illyad.
Collection Features More than 80,000 Photos from WWII and Vietnam Now Freely Accessible at Footnote.com
To read the complete article, visit "Footnote.com Releases Largest Online Collection of U.S WWII and Vietnam War Photos".
News item posted by madisoncat.
There's a really cute story by Arnold Lobel called, "The Letter." Toad is waiting by the mailbox, sure he's going to get a letter that just never comes. Frog decides to send Toad a letter to make him happy. He gives the letter to Snail, who agrees to deliver it. Frog rushes back to Toad's house and together they sit waiting for the letter to arrive. They wait four days. Snail mail is a little slow.
To read the complete article, visit "Snail Mail Revisited".
News item posted by elisabeth.
A wiki is a new kind of internet tool that might help you learn new research techniques, find cousins, or post your own research on the internet.
To read the complete article, visit "Genealogy Wiki's".
News item posted by genaortega.
To read this Genealogy Guide article, visit "collaboration".
News item posted by elisabeth.