Index of Prisoners of the First World War

The International Committee of the Red Cross has launched a website providing an index of prisoners of WWI. The site’s goal is to put up approximately five million records, and the vast majority of that has been accomplished already.

The records (index cards) represent many of the combatants, even some of the lesser known ones like Serbia and Bulgaria.

Check it out at:  Prisoners of the First World War | International Committee of the Red Cross - Index

PGS Events for the Week of 29 March to 4 April

Monday, 30-Mar-14 at 9:30 AM--Memorial Park Cemetery Canvass—9:30-11:30 AM. Meet at the south parking lot at 5750 49th Street N (intersection of 49th St. N. and 54th Ave, west side). Bring your digital camera and sun protection. Water and other refreshments will be provided. Wear your PGS shirt if you have one. Please RSVP to Debbie Schuler: deborah.e.schuler@hotmail.com, (727) 470-9967. Memorial Park Cemetery, 5750 49th St N

Tuesday, 31-Mar-15 at 6:00 PM--WAR OF 1812-- This class seeks to provide an understanding of the historical significance of the War of 1812: it looks at the causes of the war, how it was fought, and its consequences. It then explores the genealogically relevant records generated in relation to the war: what they are, and where to find them. Summers, LH Room, Largo Library.

Wednesday, 1-Apr-15 at 10:00 AM--DNA Testing for genealogy—What you can and cannot do with DNA testing relating to your family history—an introduction. Summers, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Saturday, 4-Apr-15 at 10:00 AM --Family Tree Maker User Group--Questions & Answers and Demonstration of how to use the Family Tree Maker genealogical database software. Hosmer/Bryan, Jenkins C. Largo Library.

Doris Lefebvre Honored as 2014-15 Largo Library Genealogy Volunteer of the Year

Doris Lefebvre recieved the 2014-15 Genealogy Volunteer Award at a volunteer appreciation ceremony at the Largo Library on 26 March. Making the presentation were Casey McPhee, Library Director, and Peter Summers, PGS Volunteer Coordinator.

Doris' many years of contribution to genealogy services at the Largo Library's Genealogy Center make her well-deserving of the award. Job well done!

St Cloud Times Index Available Online

The Great River Regional Library serving St. Cloud, Minnesota has two indexes online that will be of interest to those whose ancestors lived there between 1928 and 2008.

There is an obituary index and a news article index. The former is searchable by name, and the latter by key word. Note when you enter your terms, that the search is exact.

The results are extractions from the articles, but a link at the top of the page allows you to order the article from the library.

Check it out at:  St Cloud Times Index | Great River Regional Library

Annual Family History Conference at St. Petersburg Stake Center

There will be a Family History Conference at the St. Petersburg Stake Center, 9001 106th Avenue North, Seminole, Florida on 28 March from 9am to 3pm.

Learn the basics of starting your fmaily tree, plus:
  >US Family History
  >Russian/Prussian Family History
  >Spanish Family History
  >African American Family History
  >Austria/Hungary/Eastern Europe Research
  >Familysearch.org
  >Internet Family History Research

For more information contact marklaymonjones@gmail.com

Births and Obituaries From Willard, OH   

The Huron County Public Library (northern Ohio) has made available online a birth announcement and obituary index for the Willard area.d

The two collections each have in excess of 10 thousand records entered, and it is growing.

Check it out at:  Willard Area Births & Obituaries | Huron County Community Library    

PGS Events for the Week of 22-28 March 2015

Monday, 23-Mar-15 at 6:00 PM--Pre-1850 Census analysis--Many researchers become frustrated with the difficulty in researching the US Census prior to 1850 because of only the heads of households being explicitly named. However, those early censuses contain more information than one might initially think. This class examines the characteristics of the pre-1850 census, the information available, and some strategies for analyzing those census years. Summers, LH Room, Largo Library

 

Tuesday, 24-Mar-15 at 10:00 AM--City Directories in Genealogy research--City directories are a valuable genealogy resource. They can give information on household composition, residence and business location, and insights into the lives our ancestors led. They can also be used as a substitute for the US Federal Census, or used in conjunction with the census to locate hard-to-find ancestors. This class explores the history of this resource, the research value of the information they provide, and where to find the records. Summers,  LH Room, Largo Library.

 

Wednesday, 25-Mar-15 at 6:00 PM--bounty lands in genealogy research -- Bounty Lands were used from before the Revolutionary War up until 1858 to reward military service and stimulate enlistment. Those records can confirm military service and even locate ancestors during and after hostilities. This class gives the history of the subject, what records are available, and where to find them. Summers, LH Room, Largo Library

 

Saturday, 28-Mar-15 at 10:00 AM--RootsMagic User Group--Questions and answers and demonstrations of how to use the RootsMagic genealogy database software program. Summers, LH Room, Largo Library

Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2015

Every year GenealogyInTime Magazine publishes its top 100 genealogy websites list. It covers both free and fee sites, and each site listed is hot-linked.

One of the more interesting parts of the article is the explanation of the methodology used to build the list. Knowing that makes the list much more interesting if not more useful. For instance, popularity is a function of not only how many visitors to the site, but also by how much time they spend there, and how much of the site content is consumed.

You may find some sites on the list that didn’t make it on your radar. Check it out at:  Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2015

“Many Roads” Features Many Links

The “Many Roads” website offers an interesting collection of genealogy links. They focus mainly on French, German, Polish, and Scandinavian research, but the is certainly more if you hunt around.

To explore the site, follow the link below, and then click on any title in the list of links to see a dropdown list of sites associated with that title.

Don’t forget to explore the various tabs at the top of the page also.

Links

PGS Events for the Week of 15-21 March 2015

Tuesday, 17-Mar-15 at 1:00 PM--Italian Genealogy Interest Group (GIG), LeConte, Local History Room, Largo Library

Tuesday, 17-Mar-15 at 6:00 PM--RootsMagic-5, Concluding session of how to use the RootsMagic Genealogy Database program. Summers, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Wednesday, 18-Mar-15 at 10:00 AM--Caribbean Research and US Naturalization--In Coordination with Largo Library's "Turn a Page" event, PGS is offering a special class on the two topics of Caribbean research and US Naturalization. This touches on the history of the Caribbean settlement and emigration, the availability of genealogical records and the process immigrants followed when becoming US Citizens. Summers & Fortin, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Thursday, 19-Mar-15 at 12:30 PM--Death Records--where to find vital records, funeral home, newspapers, and more. Bryan, Aging Well Center, 1501 N. Belcher Rd., Clearwater, FL

Friday, 20-Mar-15 at10:30 AM--German Genealogy Interest Group (GIG). Hayes, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Saturday, 21-Mar-15 at 10:00 AM--Computers in Genealogy--Question and answer session on the use of computers in genealogy research and record keeping.Bryan, Jenkins B, Largo Library

Saturday, 21 Mar 15 at 11:00 AM—Program Meeting. Google + for Genealogists. How can genealogists use Google+? Learn to use its features to tell others about yourself, to store and quickly share photos and digitized documents, to form organized groups of researchers, to facilitate ad hoc face-to-face group meetings, to set up topics of interest, and to keep up with information shared by others. Drew Smith, Jenkins B, Largo Library

Saturday, 21-Mar-15 at 12:30 PM--Workshop tour of the Genealogy Center showing the many genealogical research resources there. Stokes, Genealogy Center, Largo Library.

Free Webinars at American Ancestors

The website “American Ancestors,” sponsored by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, features webinars that are free for viewing.

Follow the link below to get to the list of webinars, and simply click on the play arrow in the center of the screen image to start. Once the audio begins, click on the bottom right corner of the image to expand the screen to full size.

Check it out at:  Nehgs

Obituary Database From Williams County, Ohio

The Williams County Public Library, located in the northwest part of Ohio, offers an online obituary index listing the date and page location of an obit from local newspapers.

One you find an obituary of interest, you can order it from the library. There is no fee, but donations are appreciated.

Williams County Public Library - Obituaries Database

PGS Events for the Week of 8-14 March 2015

Monday, 9-Mar-15 at 6:00 PM--Documentation-An introduction on the content of proper source citations. Using modern genealogy programs to enter citations will also be covered (Roots Magic, and Family Tree Maker will be addressed). Summers, LH Room, Largo Library

 

Tuesday, 10-Mar-15 at 6:00 PM--Fold3, Dropbox & Evernote for Genealogy, Summers, LH Room, Largo Library

 

Wednesday , 11-Mar-15 at10:00 AM to 4:00 PM--English & Welsh Poor Law Records (1601-1948)--Records of Poor Law Officers and Parish Paupers. Pearson, LH Room, Largo Library.

 

Friday, 13-Mar-15 at 10:30 AM--French Canadian & Acadian Discussion Group, Grandmaison, LH Room, Largo Library.

 

Saturday, 14-Mar-15 at 9:30 AM--Memorial Park Cemetery Canvass—9:30-11:30 AM. Meet at the south parking lot at 5750 49th Street N (intersection of 49th St. N. and 54th Ave, west side). Bring your digital camera and sun protection. Water and other refreshments will be provided. Wear your PGS shirt if you have one. Please RSVP to Debbie Schuler: deborah.e.schuler@hotmail.com, (727) 470-9967. Memorial Park Cemetery, 5750 49th St N. St. Petersburg.

 

Saturday, 14-Mar-15 at 1:00 PM--Introduction to Genealogy, Luce, Clearwater Public Library, 100 N. Osceola Avenue, Clearwater, FL 33755-4083 .

The Freedmen's Bureau Interactive Research Guide

The Freedmen’s Bureau, the full name of which is The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, was establish after the end of the US Civil War by the US Government to aid former slaves in transitioning to their new life circumstances. It helped them get clothing, food, jobs, etc. It also extended that service to white Southerners, although the focus was certainly on freed slaves.

The Freedmen’s Bureau records have been available for some time through Heritage Quest, normally subscribed to by public libraries and other institutions (the Largo Library has such a subscription). It is worth looking at especially since you can access it from home by going through the library website.

The website which is the focus here has a different approach. It has interactive maps you can use to see if there are records available near your area of interest. Although the site contains no records, it does provide hot links to where the records are located.

The site offers research guides, example documents, and instructions on how to use the maps. Take some time an explore all this site has to offer.

Mapping The Freedmen's Bureau | An Interactive Research Guide

Online Searchable Death Indexes, Records & Obituaries–Updated

Joe Beine’s “Online Searchable Death Indexes & Records” has been mentioned by me several time previously, but every now and then I feel the need to remind you about it. That is especially true now that it has been recently updated with several new entries.

This is a great resource you should frequently check out. You can find the index at:  Online Searchable Death Indexes, Records & Obituaries

Obituary Indexes For Barberton, Ohio

If you have ancestors associated with northeastern Ohio, especially Summit County, you may find this site helpful.

The Barberton Public Library offers an obituary index covering several of its newspapers from as early as 1892 and up to 1960.

Check it out at:  Barberton Library - Obituary Indexes