Reunion Season

I hope you have been taking advantage of family get-togethers over the holidays to gather some genealogical information. We usually think of the summer as the time for reunions...a natural consequence of summer vacations and travel. But why not the winter holiday season as well?

Families everywhere get together as a matter of tradition and there is no reason those gatherings cannot be turned into genealogy events...at least in part.

Here are some websites that might give you some ideas about how to stage a mini-reunion:
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~dpsoc/reunion.htm
http://tinyurl.com/ye4ff5k
http://tinyurl.com/y9crcxd

Find Latitude & Longitude of any place

Eastman has an interesting article on how to find the latitude and longitude of any place on earth using a free site at www.GetLatLon.com.
Read the article at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/12/convert-an-address-to-latitude-and-longitude.html#more and check out the site. Pretty interesting!

Dating Old Photographs

Here is a link to a review of a book published by Family Chronicle titled Dating Old Photographs. I'm giving you this link because it describes a very helpful book and it may entice you to want to look at it. The review also suggests that a good way to use the book it to compare your own photographs with its 700 or so pictures covering the period from the 1840s to the 1920s. You will be able to compare clothing and hair fashion, the poses adopted by the subject and the background settings...all of which could help you date your photograph.

If the review strikes your fancy, I have good news. We have two copies of the book in our collection at the Largo Public Library, and at least one of those is circulating. And even better, there is follow-on book titled More Dating Old Photographs that we also have. The books have the call number 929.1028.

Check out the review to get a better idea of the book at http://www.familychronicle.com/datphoto.htm

Genealogy Articles in Local Papers

Have you been reading the genealogy articles in the Largo Leader and the Seminole Beacon? They come our monthly, usually near the end of the third week of each month. The subjects of the articles vary widely and are aimed at researchers with all levels of experience so there is something for everyone.

The timing of the articles is handy because you can pick up a copy of the Largo Leader in the Book Mark Cafe at the Largo Public Library on your way to the monthly Pinellas Genealogy Society meeting the third Saturday of each month.

What Immigration Passenger Lists are Online?

This site is a real gem if you are struggling with immigration research. It is a large list of sites that give passenger list information. It includes free as well as fee sites, and its author, Joe Beine, updates it frequently.

The site deals with US arrivals as well as those in other countries such as Australia, Canada, and Brazil. It also offers departure lists from Germany and Ireland to name just two. There are many more intersting links that are well worth exploring.

Check it out at: http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/onlinelists.html

Youngest PGS Member is a Hit

Beka Troyer brought her mom, Diana, to the PGS meeting on 19 December. As you can see, she has her membership card proudly displayed...I can only assume from the picture that a PGS membership card, in addition to opening the door to great genealogical opportunities, also tastes good.

And speaking of membership...have YOU renewed your membership yet? Now is the time to do that so you don't interrupt your membership and miss the next great edition of our journal, or forego the opportunity to attend the annual seminar in February at the special PGS member price, or fail to support our comprehensive education program of classes and speakers.

Temporary Free Access to World Vital Records

I just got an email advertising free access to World Vital Records through 28 December. This is a good opportunity to see what the site has to offer in case you were considering a subscription.



Check it out at http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/

PGS Elections Held

Just a quick news item for those of you who could not attend the monthly meeting on 19 December. The elections were held and this is your new board of directors (the names correspond to the picture...starting with the back row from left to right, and then the front row from left to right):

Education Dir.-Bob Bryan
Webmaster-Ed Deming
Sem. Dir.-Larry Hosmer
Journal Ed.-David Dellinger
VP-Damon Hostetler
Pres.-Peter Summers
Mbrshp. Coord.-Gladys Evan
Project Dir.-Pat Leconte
Corresp. Sec.-Flo Bickel
Finance Dir.-Sally Brown
Recording Sec.-Rosemary Hayes
Treas.-Beth Shields

Images of West Virginia Vital Records Searchable Online

Dick Eastman covered this announcement in his Online Genealogy Newsletter, and it is worth repeating. Unlike many states that provide online indexes to their vital records, West Virginia has made the images available also.

This is a boon to genealogists and other researchers. It is the result of a collaborative venture between the West Virginia State Archives and the Genealogical Society of Utah. The objective was to make selected birth, death, and marriage records available at the West Virginia Archives and History Web site. This is an on-going project with records being added as possible.

You can access the records at: http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/. At the top of the page is a link to an article that describes the project in detail.

Heirloom Show-and-Tell a Success

This past Saturday at the PGS monthly meeting we had an opportunity for attendees to bring family heirlooms to display for all to see and to talk about them a bit.

The event was a huge success. about 15 people brought things like newspapers, swords, certificates, scrapbooks, old photographs, jewelry and other interesting items...all with fascinating stories accompanying them. The picture here shows a small sample.

The event was so popular that we plan to make this an annual event. So those of you who didn't bring your treasures this year will have a chance to show them off sometime next year.

Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter Most Popular

As you've heard before from me, Dick Eastman is going to be our featured speaker at the Pinellas Genealogy Society Annual Seminar on 13 February 2010. Every time I have mentioned that, I have also commented on the popularity and reach of his online newsletter.

Well, now it is official--Dick's newsletter is the most popular online genalogy magazine as determined by Alexa. Alexa is the world’s leading company for measuring Internet traffic. The company monitors the web traffic of millions of Internet sources, including thousands of genealogy sites. Web traffic is objectively categorized based on the actual number of visitors to each web site. From these Internet traffic statistics, Alexa maintains a list of the most popular online genealogy magazines.

We are happy to see Dick get this recognition (although we suspected it all along), and it makes us even more excited about his participation with us at the seminar.

If you are interested in attending the seminar or seeing more information about it, visit our website at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~flpgs/index.htm.

If you would like to see an article listing Alexa's top ten most popular online genealogy magazines, go to: http://tinyurl.com/yhgubta.

Caladesi Chapter of the DAR Hold Seminar

On 27 January 2010 the Caladesi Chapter of the DAR isgoing to hold a seminar that will focus on researching Revolutionary War ancestors. This should be particularly interesting to you if you are thinking of gathering your research to apply for DAR or SAR membership.

The speaker will be Debbie Duay, Ph.D. who has over ten years of experience in genealogy. She is the Lineage Research Chairman for the Florida State Society DAR and the Registrar of the Lighthouse Point Chapter.

The seminar is free and will be held from 1 to 3 PM at the Dunedin Public Library.

The Scoop on the 2010 Census

Dick Eastman's Online Newsletter has an article about the 2010 census that is very informative. It gives a bit of history about the census in general and also gives some uses of the census that some of us may not be award of.

He then goes on to focus on the up-coming 2010 census and this is where it gets really interesting as he talks about the question content and compares the 2010 census with those of previous years. He even gives a link to the 10-question form that you will be receiving in the mail starting in March 2010.

Check it out at: http://tinyurl.com/yb6qluj

Alberta Family Histories

The Alberta Family Histories Society website shows an interesting collection of information for those of you with ancestors from that part of Canada.

It provides links to all sorts of transcribed data (births, deaths, cemetery inscriptions, etc). Of particular interest is the collection of newspaper announcements. Many of the papers from which indexes were made date back to the early 1900's, and in one case, South Edmonton News, from 1894 to 1899 is covered.

The site, like most, is a work in progress. This means that more data will be added over time. When and how much depends on the work of their volunteers. Just as we in the PGS strive to publish genealogy data for Pinellas County for the rest of the world to use, so too is the Alberta Society. This is a vital roll of all genealogy societies, and it is why most volunteers do not even have ancestors from the area in which they are transcribing information. If you are interested in getting involved in such a project, contact our Project Director at pgsfla@yahoo.com (Subject: Request Volunteer Information).

You will find the Alberta site at: http://www.afhs.ab.ca/registry/regab_birth.html

Elections and New Horizons

I usually don't get involved in expressions of philosophy on this Blog, but our pending election prompts me to make an exception this time.

Elections are a time of renewal for an organization. They are a time when the membership expresses their preference for the direction the organization will take. So often, I think, we forget that. Instead, we simply go through the motions of confirming the slate presented. In part we get into this frame of mind because there typically is only one person running for each position, and many of those running are doing so a second or third time. It is easy to think of the voting process as merely the application of a "rubber stamp."

But make no mistake, an election, regardless of its form or content, is an exercise of choice. This Saturday is the PGS memberships' opportunity to make their choice. So attend the meeting and enjoy the holiday food and fellowship, take in the heirloom displays that people are going to bring, get excited about the drawings for free membership and in-home computer assistance we do, but also be prepared to vote and actively participate in the renewal of our society.

Why Vital Records are Vital

George Morgan (a frequent speaker at PGS monthly meetings) wrote an article for Ancestry.com titled "Obtaining Vital Records." The article covers topics such as why seek out those records, where to find them, what to ask for when you order them, and how to interpret them.

This is a good, detailed article on the subject of vital records, and will be of value for experienced as well as neophyte researchers. Vital records are key to our documentation efforts, and George's article addresses basic issues about them.

Check out George's article at: http://tinyurl.com/ye4q5ma

Birth Date Calculator

The Long Island Genealogy website has a nifty date calculator that might come in handy. It will determine the date of birth if you provide the date of death and the person's age at death.

Check it out at: http://www.longislandgenealogy.com/birth.html

Elections and Food

The meeting at the Largo Library on 19 December is going to see lots of activity. It is the meeting where we hold our annual election of officers, so be sure to come to show support for those going into office.

We are also going to have tables set up for people to use to display their family heirlooms...see the post for 7 December for more information on this event.

The meeting is also a time for our holiday party. This, of course, requires food.

So cook up a dish for everyone to share, pack up your family treasures to show off, and join your friends at the 19 December meeting.

Drawing for Free Year-long PGS Membership

At the meeting coming up on 19 Dec 2009 we will have another in a series of four drawings for a free yearly membership in the PGS. One drawing has already taken place and two others will take place, one each at the January and February 2010 meetings.

To enter you have only to renew your dues to the Society and complete the membership questionnaire. In early November we sent letters to all PGS members with the forms and a pre-addressed envelope for return. At each month's general meeting a name will be drawn from among the forms that have been returned since the previous month's meeting. The person's whose name is drawn will be given a free year's membership in the PGS.

Remember, the only way to win is to renew your dues and return the questionnaire.

Review of FamilySeach Indexing Project

The FamilySearch Indexing Project (through Dick Eastman's Online Newsletter) provides an update that is most helpful.

For those of you not familiar with it, the indexing project is a familySearch initiative to index genealogical data worldwide, often with accompanying images. On the family search website you can find this project under the "Record Search" tab and then further by clicking on the drop-down menu selection of "Record Search pilot." (By the way, we cover this aspect of the family search website and our class "Getting the Most out of FamilySearch"; if you haven't attended that class lately, you're probably missing some great new information about that resource.)

Dick Eastman's news article gives a good overview of current indexing project status as well as new projects that have recently begun. Check it out at: http://tinyurl.com/ycuvokc

Brick Wall Strategies

I ran across an interesting article at About.com:Genealogy concerning brick walls. It outlines various steps that one can take to get through those research blocks that we all experience at one time or another.Perhaps the suggestions in the article are not going to be new, but it is also likely that we would all benefit from her review of the basics.

The article suggests that we should first review what we already have in terms of information. For a fact I know this works. By going back and carefully reading military pension files that I have had for some time, I've found additional information that I previously overlooked that was of value in continuing my research. Perhaps we have all done this even with a record as basic as the federal census.

The article also suggests that we go back to the original source for information. The supposition is that there might be additional material that we did not record from that source the first time we visited it.

These are but two of the several suggestions that the article gives. I suggest you check it out at: http://genealogy.about.com/od/basics/a/brick_walls.htm

Dues---Dues---Dues!

I hate to harp on this subject, but renewing your dues is of critical importance. As I have pointed out in other forums, the reason we have been able to keep our dues at the paltry level of $17 a year is because of the size of our membership. The more members we have, the easier it is to keep our dues at that low level.

And look at all the services that your dues support: classes, journal, newsletter, speakers, help at the genealogy desk in the library, various projects that make local genealogy data available to the world, speaker's bureau, field trips, collection development, etc.

Our educational program is second to none in the state, and I would also measure it against other programs nation-wide.

So take a minute and renew your membership. Send your dues to the society at the address below, or bring them to the next meeting (19 Dec at the Largo Public Library).

Here's the address: Pinellas Genealogy Society, 120 Central Park Drive, Largo, Fl, 33771

Ancestry Boasts Better Census Images

This was recently written by Ancestry.com and featured in Dick Eastman's online Newsletter:

"Today we’ve launched enhancements for six U.S. Census collections – in addition to the improvements on six censuses released a few months ago. In all, we’ve gone through more than 200 million records to improve images and many indexes.
"Enhanced and clearer images are now available for the 1790-1900 censuses, and indexes have been improved for the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1900 censuses. All of the images have a cleaner, crisper look. And occasionally names can be read that were illegible before—either because they were too light, too dark, too blurry, too faded, or covered in tape, etc."

If you haven't looked at the census lately, perhaps you should revisit them.

The Digital Library...An Example

The Allan County Public Library is well-known in genealogy circles. It has one of the largest collections in the United States.

It has introduced an initiative to increasingly digitize its collection and make those resources available to its patrons online. This is arguably a vision of the future of libraries.

You can read the fascinating article about the service at: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091129/LOCAL/311299914/1002/LOCAL

Florida Pioneer Descendants Certification Program

This program is sponsored by the Florida State Genealogical Society (FSGS). It honors descendants of Florida pioneers at both a state and county level.

Eligibility for award of a certificate is as follows:

1. Any person who shall provide documentary proof satisfactory to the committee, establishing a solid chain of evidence that he or she has an ancestor who settled in Florida (present boundaries) before the state was admitted to the union, 3 March 1845.
2. Any person who shall provide documentary proof satisfactory to the committee, establishing a solid chain of evidence that he or she has an ancestor who settled in a county of Florida (present boundaries) before the county was formed.

If you are interested in participating in the program, you can get more information on it at: http://www.flsgs.org/. The documentation requirements are quite precise, but the FSGS provides a workbook to help a person through the process. There is a fee for the certificate and to file an application. Before it is all said and done, you will probably spend about $60. But regardless of the time and the cost, having the certificate and the formal recognition of your ancestor as aFlorida Pioneer can be very gratifying.

After a little bit of research on your own, if you are interested, let me know (pgsfla@yahoo.com; Subject: "Florida Pioneer Certification).

Family History Center to Close for the Holidays

Just a heads up...the Family History Center (9001 106th Ave, Largo, FL) will be closed for the holidays from 12 December 2009 Through 4 January 2010.

Heirloom Day

This is your chance to show off a bit. At the meeting on 19 Dec at the Largo Library we are going to showcase family heirlooms. Bring yours to the meeting and show them off. Not only will it make you proud, but it may give others some ideas of family items they may have but have not thought of preserving.

We will provide tables to display your items. It may be helpful to make up some explanatory signs that explain your treasures in case you are not there to give explanations....you may be looking at another's contributions.

This is the first time (at least in my memory) that we have done this as a meeting, and it is shaping up to be a fun event.

Census Records on Line...Many Choices....soon?

Beau Sharbrough has published an article on his blog, The Unofficial Footnote.blog, where he reviews the status of both Footnote and FamilySearch to put US Federal Census indexes and images on line. Footnote is a pay site, and FamilySearch is pay-less.

It is an interesting article, especially since Ancestry and HeritageQuest are already in the hunt, and you have both fee and free sites in the mix.

You can read Beau's article at: http://tufblog.com/2009/12/05/footnote-census-and-familysearch/

PGS Endowment Now in Place

On the 27th of November, Sally Brown (the PGS Director of Finance) and I met with Julie Scales, the Pinellas Community Foundation Executive Director, to finalize the establishment of the PGS Endowment Fund.

The PGS has always been in a position to accept donations both from members and others, but now we have a specific place for donations to go that will, over time, increase their value and enable the PGS to benefit from them over the long term.

If you have any questions about the fund, please let me or Sally know and we will be happy to answer them. And if you are looking for a tax-free donation to make before the end of the tax year, keep the PGS Endowment in mind. We have already had some people donate to the fund and would welcome more.

Here is a photograph of Sally handing the signed Letter of Agreement to Julie (on the left).

Evaluate Conflicting Information with Discrepency Charts

Michael Neill writing for Genealogy.com tackles a problem all of us are confronted with at one time or another: conflicting information.

The PGS offers a class that deals with evaluating evidence and Michael's article fit right in with that. The title of the article is "Organize the Inconclusive with Discrepancy Charts," and it gives you a couple of examples of his use of the charts.

The discrepancy chart is a way to display all of the relevant information you have about an event, where it comes from, and what the source characteristics are. In other words, it is an evidence evaluation tool. You can see what Michael has to say on the subject at: http://tinyurl.com/ydcgj2t.

Our next class on evaluating evidence (we call it "Elements of Genealogical Proof") is at 10 am on 7 December at the Largo Library.

This program is sponsored by the Florida State Genealogical Society (FSGS). It homors descendants of Florida pioneers at both a state and county level.

Eligibility for award of a certificate is as follows:

1. Any person who shall provide documentary proof satisfactory to the committee, establishing a solid chain of evidence that he or she has an ancestor who settled in Florida (present boundaries) before the stae was admitted to the union, 3 March 1845.
2. Any person who shall provide documentary proof satisfactory to the committee, establishing a solid chain of evidence that he or she has an ancestor who settled in a county of Florida (present boundaries) before the county was formed.

If you are interested in participating in the program, you can get more information on it at: http://www.flsgs.org/. The documentation requirements are quite precise, but the FSGS provides a workbook to help a person through the process. There is a fee for the certificate and to file an application. Before it is all said and done, you will probably spend about $60. But regardless of the time and the cost, having the certificate and the formal recognition of your ancestor(s) as Florida Pioneers can be very gratifiying.

After a little bit of research on your own, if you are interested, let me know (pgsfla@yahoo.com; Subject: "Florida Pioneer Certification).

Ancestry.com Learning Center Offers Webinars

If you have not checked out the Ancestry.com Learning Center, you may be missing some wonderful opportunities to increase your skill in using the Ancestry site, as well as sharpening your research skills in general.

The site lists all of the webinars (a catchy phrase for on-line seminars) that Ancestry has presented. Initially you can watch a webinar "live" as it is being presented. After it's initial presentation, it goes into the archives which you can access for viewing at any time.

The topics range from those that help you get more out of your searches on the Ancestry website ("Best Strategies for Searching Ancestry.com"), to topics of more general interest ("European Research: Tips and Tools for Success").

You can see the entire selection at: http://learn.ancestry.com/LearnMore/Webinars.aspx