Digging Up the Past Together

Back in February, 2009, the volunteers of the Pickaway County Historical and Genealogical Library decided to undertake a huge project for Pickaway County’s Bicentennial. They would rebuild the 1890 census. Plans were made to list all persons known to be living in Pickaway County in 1890. A source of each bit of information would also be attached, so that researchers could verify all research. The full names of individuals, his or her birthdate and place, marital status in 1890, when the marriage occurred, the parents' names (including maiden name of mother), occupations, and residence are be included in this recreated... Dick Eastman

Marsha Allen Gold, a Utah native, raised and living in the Phoenix Valley of the Sun, will be the September 13, 2010 Meeting speaker. Knowing the history of an area is invaluable to genealogical research. Her topic will be "Using Printed County Histories". Marsha's interest in genealogy began when she visited her grandparents and cousins, heard their life's stories and spent time going through old photograph albums. Later in life, she spent one day a week writing family stories that her mother related. Marsha has spoken to several genealogical societies in the area and has taught beginning classes to the... Dick Eastman

The following announcement was written by the East Tennessee History Center: Come celebrate “First Friday” at the Museum of East Tennessee History on Friday, September 3, from 5:00-8:00 pm. The Museum of East Tennessee History will feature the infrared photographs of local photographer and businessman, Daniel Brent Golden, manager of Hart Graphics, Inc. In his artwork, Golden combines his two favorite avocations, photography and fly fishing, to create large panoramic images of North America's fly-fishing waters. Golden has recently taken an interest in the invisible light of infrared (IR) photography, using this technology to capture waterways throughout East Tennessee. For... Dick Eastman

Betty Clark Rodgers was instrumental in the founding of the first county archives of its kind in the state of Mississippi, serving from 1993 until 2005. Now she will be honored and recognized for her life achievement by the Jackson County Historical and Genealogical Society (JCHGS). A founding member of the Jackson County Genealogical Society, she also served for many years as an active member of the Jackson County Historical Society and was one of the first serious researchers and archivists of the Colonial period on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. You can read more in an article in the GulfLive... Dick Eastman

DNA is proving all sorts of things about various individuals throughout history. DNA tests have now revealed that Adolf Hitler may have been related to both the Jews and black people that he earmarked for extermination. Brussels news magazine Knack has claimed that DNA obtained from the Nazi leader’s relatives led to the discovery. A farmer in the Waldviertel region of Austria is known to be a cousin of the German dictator. (To protect his privacy, the name of the cousin is never made public.) The cousin gave researchers a sample of his saliva. Since this cousin shares the same... Dick Eastman

Here is one of the dumbest ideas I have ever heard from our bureaucrats and elected officials, and that's saying something. There is a lot of competition for the title of "dumbest idea." If you live in Philadelphia and if you write a blog, the city says you need to obtain a $300 business license plus pay taxes on any profits made. The taxes seem reasonable but a $300 business license?!? All this is in spite of the fact that most blogs make less than $50 a year, there is no outward sign of a business at the blogger's residence,... Dick Eastman

I arrived home about midnight last night from the FGS conference in Knoxville, Tennessee. After a good night's sleep, I am creating and sending the weekly Plus Edition newsletter about eighteen hours later than usual. It normally gets sent on Sunday evening but yesterday I was on an airplane at that time. Therefore, this week's Plus Edition newsletter is being sent on Monday afternoon. Here's a bit of a "heads-up" notice: next week's Plus Edition newsletter mailing may or may not be the same. I am staying home just long enough to do my laundry, then am heading out on... Dick Eastman

The high point of my week at many major genealogy conferences actually occurs after the conference closes. This past week in Knoxville, Tennessee was no different. Thirty-four newsletter readers joined me for dinner at Calhouns, a restaurant on Knoxville's waterfront that is well known for its barbeque. Actually, we also proved that the restaurant had many other delicious items on its menu. Adult beverages were also consumed. We were a noisy group, although I doubt if any other customers noticed. Calhoun's is a rather noisy place on a Saturday evening. My congratulations to Lila Davis for winning the free meal... Dick Eastman

Three years ago, one of the older genealogy societies in North America "downsized" itself. Formed in 1869, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society owned a beautiful building and one of the better genealogy libraries in the country. Blaming competition from the Internet, the Board of Directors decided to sell the building and to give away the library's 75,000 books, 20,000 microforms and 30,000 maps and manuscripts. When members objected, the Board of Directors pushed through a resolution that stripped members of their right to vote on important business and approve the naming of trustees. Left with no oversight, the... Dick Eastman

The Primary Valuation was the first full-scale valuation of property in Ireland. It was overseen by Richard Griffith and published between 1847 and 1864. It is one of the most important surviving 19th century Irish genealogical sources. AskAboutIreland and the Cultural Heritage Project is an initiative of public libraries together with local museums and archives in the digitisation and online publication of the original, the unusual and the unique material from their local studies' collections to create a national Internet resource for culture. The participating organisations have selected material of particular public interest from their holdings within a variety of... Dick Eastman

The annual conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies drew to a close late Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, Tennessee. I was at the conference for four days and enjoyed myself. From what I could see and hear around me, all the other attendees enjoyed it also. This year's event was co-sponsored by the East Tennessee Historical Society and by the Kentucky Historical Society. Together, these organizations produced a first-class event in a very nice, modern facility. I wandered around for four days, attending presentations, attending luncheons, snapping pictures, and talking with lots of people. I also hosted about 35 people... Dick Eastman

The following announcement was written by the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors: The International Society of Family History Writers and Editors is sponsoring its annual "Excellence in Writing" competition to recognize excellence in genealogical columns and articles. For the first time this contest is open to members and non- members of ISFHWE, both published and unpublished authors. Members of ISFHWE will receive an entry fee discount. (Entrants may join ISFHWE at the time they submit their competition entries.) The contest is judged by professionals in the fields of genealogy and journalism. The contest has five categories: Category... Dick Eastman

FamilySearch's Record Search has added a new database useful for anyone searching early to mid-20th century Illinois: Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths from 1916-1947. These records were previously only available on microfilm from the Family History Library. The database does not have digitized images. It is only an index, but each record transcribes far more information than other available indexes, including some or all of the following:

xbull; County and city in which death took place
xbull; Address where death occurred
xbull; Sometimes the voting ward of that place
xbull; Deceased's full name
xbull; Gender
xbull; Marital status
xbull; Birth date
xbull; Age at death
xbull; Date of death
xbull; Occupation
xbull; Employer
xbull; City and state of birthplace
xbull; Name of the informant providing the above information
xbull; Filing date
xbull; Name of the registrar

The database can be accessed here.

More news from the annual conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies being held this week in Knoxville, TN: Association of Professional Genealogists Awards Five Members for Contributions to the Field of Genealogy KNOXVILLE, Tenn., and WESTMINSTER, Colo., August 20, 2010 −Today at the 2010 Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference in Knoxville, Tenn., the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG®) honored five of its members for their outstanding achievements in the field of genealogy. APG President Laura Prescott presented the awards at today’s luncheon, which featured Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FNGS, FASG, FUGA, who presented, “Writing Genealogy: Are You... Dick Eastman

Compelling Stories, Verifiable Facts: Getting the Best of Both Worlds

Date: Saturday, August 21
Times: 10:30-12:00 xamp; 2:30-4:00 (two standalone sessions)
Where: Loyola University (Water Tower Campus), Chicago
Who: Grace Dumelle and Daniel P. Smith
Cost: $75 for full-day workshop (Bookfair is free)
More information: http://emeofchicago.com/SummerWritersConference.aspx

Executive Meetings and Events of Chicago presents a Summer Writer's Workshop and Bookfair, featuring a full day's program and events about "Reaching Your Writing Potential."

Quotable quotes and juicy anecdotes liven any type of writing and are especially welcome when writing the history of a family, business, or municipality. How do you get page-turning stories AND the facts to back them up? In this tag-team program, journalist and author Daniel P. Smith (On the Job: Behind the Stars of the Chicago Police Department) provides key interviewing techniques to solicit the personal stories and voices necessary to create an engaging human portrait while genealogist Grace Dumelle shares 10 tips from her award-winning Finding Your Chicago Ancestors on sourcing the details you've gotten from your subjects, including newspapers and public records. Incluedes handouts. Smith and Dumelle will sell and sign copies of their books.

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. In 1854 self-educated English mathematician George Boole published a paper that eventually resulted in 21st century genealogists finding more information about their ancestors. Boole published The Laws of Thought that illustrated new ways of looking at mathematical data. Boolean algebra emerged in the 1860s and went on to become a standard method of analyzing all sorts of data. In the last half of the twentieth century, computer scientists and programmers found many applications for Boolean logic. Now Google and many other search engines and quite a... Dick Eastman

The following announcement was written by the New England Historic Genealogical Society: AmericanAncestors.org reflects organization's expanding national collection and resources Boston, MA - August 19, 2010 - D. Brenton Simons, President and CEO of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), today announced the launch of AmericanAncestors.org, the organization's new website that will serve as the home of its growing regional and national genealogical resources. AmericanAncestors.org will contain all of the Society's New England and New York content, features, articles, and resources, as well as weekly updates and databases in a variety of regional and ethnic specialties, such as sources... Dick Eastman

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. The rampant spread of disease was common in the days before penicillin and other "wonder drugs" of the twentieth century. Our ancestors lived in fear of epidemics, and many of them died as the result of simple diseases that could be cured today with an injection or a prescription. If you ever wondered why a large number of your ancestors disappeared during a certain period in history, you may want to investigate the possibility of an epidemic. Many cases of people disappearing from records can be... Dick Eastman

The following announcement was written by findmypast.co.uk: Leading family history website findmypast.co.uk has added 22,000 baptism, marriage and burial records to its Dorset parish record collection as follows: 12,325 baptism records covering the years 1549 – 1812 8,368 marriage records covering the years 1560 – 1839 1,307 burial records covering the years 1651 – 1795 These records, which have been provided by the Dorset Family History Society, bring the total number of Dorset parish records available at findmypast.co.uk up to almost 450,000. Now that the records are available online, findmypast.co.uk has been able to unearth some unusual names in the... Dick Eastman

On August 18, 1775, British general Thomas Gage declares martial law in Massachusetts. The British offer a pardon to all colonists who lay down their arms. There would be only two exceptions to the amnesty: Samuel Adams and John Hancock, if captured, were to be hanged. Dick Eastman