Ancestor Research Log

FamilySearch Wiki

FamilySearch (web site from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) has launched a new wiki to help researchers in tracing their family history. Find this wiki at: https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Main_Page. You may search by country or explore general topics. This site is in beta format which means that it is still being tested and so you may experience some program errors from time to time.

Michigan Death Records, 1897-1920, Will Be Digitized; Microfilm Will Be Unavailable After May 24

From the Library of Michigan's web site comes this exciting news for genealogists:

"The Michigan death records, 1897 to 1920, will be available to researchers through Saturday, May 24. At that time, the microfilm set will be sent for digitization, which will take several months. The digitized death records will be loaded into a free database that will be indexed and easily searchable. Users from across the country will be able to access the database and download death records from the comfort of their home computer."

Proceedings from the Old Bailey now online

The Proceedings from the Old Bailey, London's primary criminal court on now online for the time period 1674 - 1913. These are searchable by keyword and results are in full text. According to their web page, this site is "A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court."

Free Family History Workshop at Library of Michigan

The Library of Michigan released this announcement:

LIBRARY OF MICHIGAN'S FREE FAMILY HISTORY WORKSHOP MARCH 29 SHOWS HOW TO MAKE MOST OF INTERNET RESEARCH AND RESOURCES

"Learning More at the Library of Michigan," a free annual genealogy seminar set for
Saturday, March 29, will focus on utilizing online resources for family history
research. The half-day workshop will highlight a number of Web sites and
subscription databases, including Footnote.com and Family History Archive, two new
resources gaining popularity and respect among genealogists.

Seating is limited, so registration is recommended. Sign up online at
www.michigan.gov/familyhistory, by e-mail at librarian@michigan.gov or by phone at
(517) 373-1300. For more information, please contact the Library of Michigan's
Special Collections Services at (517) 373-1300.

1-2 p.m.

-Effectively Using HeritageQuest Online
Heritage Quest is now available to Michigan residents anytime, anywhere through MeL,
the Michigan eLibrary, at http://mel.org. Hear how to find information in this
growing resource, which now offers six database collections.

-Negotiating Online Passenger and Immigration Lists
Discover the latest additions to online immigration resources and learn search
strategies to trace your ancestor's journey.

2:15-3:15 p.m.

-Online Research with U.S. Census Records
Learn how to put the digitized census records and indexes on both HeritageQuest
Online and Ancestry Library Edition to full use.

-Vital Records on the Internet
Find out which Web sites are available and pick up tips to improve your searches as
more states and counties put indexes to birth, marriage and death records online.

3:30-4:30 p.m.

-Utilizing Footnote.com at the Library of Michigan
Explore this interactive repository containing millions of images of original
documents, many from the National Archives, including naturalization records and
Civil War service records.

My New "Old" Scrapbooks

Treasure of all treasures - my grandmother's old photo album has recently passed into my hands. Problem of all problems - how to get those 90 year old photos off the old black pages that are now falling apart!! My grandmother used several different kinds of glue to attach these precious family photographs to a black scrapbook -- and they are all industrial strength, I think. I spent the weekend with a razor knife trying to gently pry several of them off the pages. I finally got smart and "googled" my problem. I am linking to the resulting article http://scrapbooking.about.com/od/gettingstarted/a/removingphotos.htm from scrapbooking.com. My first priority will be to purchase some Un-Du, a product I've never heard of before. Then I will also haul out my dental floss. Who knew about these things?? I will let you know if I have any luck. The best news of all is that my 92 year old father is alive and sharp enough to identify 90% of the people in the photos. Now that is a real treasure!!

Scanning Old Photographs

Kay Spears from the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne Indiana shares these tips online for scanning old photographs. I thought they were worth passing on:

"Do you have some old photographs you want to scan, but you're not sure
what format to use when saving them? Well, here's the definitive
answer: it depends. Yes, what format you choose for saving images
depends on how you intend to use them once they are scanned. Here are
some general guidelines.

1. If the image is to be used for the Web/online, use JPEG, PNG or
GIF. If the image is to be printed or used in a print publication, use
TIFF.

2. JPEG should be used when you need to keep the file size small and
don't mind giving up quality for a significant reduction in size.
JPEGs are optimal for posting and transferring photos online. JPEGs
aren't suitable for images with text because crisp lines will blur.
If you plan on doing any kind of restoration work on your photograph,
JPEGs are not the format to use.

3. PNG is ideal when you need smaller file sizes with no loss in
quality. PNG supports alpha transparency (soft edges). PNG files
offer greater compression and a much wider range of color depth than
GIFs. However, not all web browsers support PNGs.

4. GIF is a good choice for simple Web graphics with limited colors.
GIF should rarely be used for photos.

5. TIFF is good for any type of bitmap image. If you want to archive
your family photographs, this is the format to use. This is also the
format to use if you are planning on doing restoration work. Unlike
JPEGs, TIFFs do not lose any compression when edited and resaved. I
recommend that you scan your family photos as TIFFs; you can always
reduce them to JPEGs for sending through emails or putting online.
Always keep the original TIFF saved in a separate file. The downside:
TIFF files are extremely large and take up a lot of storage space.
However, the cost of disk storage continues to plummet while options
continue to increase.

6. BMP may be used for any type of pixel-based image. BMPs are huge
files, but there is no loss of quality. BMP has no real benefit over
TIFF, except you can use it for Windows wallpaper.

A final tip: for sharing a photo via the Web or email, scan at 75 or
100 dpi. A standard computer monitor is only 72 to 96 dpi, so it's
not necessary for anything larger. For printing, scan at 300 dpi.
Printers have higher resolution than monitors. If you're planning on
enlarging an image, the general rule of thumb is double the resolution
when doubling the size."

New Genealogy Books

We have just added two new books to the Library's genealogy collection. Both are from Ancestry Publishing and may be found on the Upper Level in the Genealogy Collection - 929.102 call number.
1. The Official Guide to Rootsweb.com by Myra Vanderpool Gormley.
2. The Official Guide to Ancestry.com by George G. Morgan.

These books may be checked out for a three week lending period. Enjoy!!

ARCHIVES ANNOUNCES INITIAL RELEASE OF MILITARY PERSONNEL FILES

This is a press release from the National Archives:

The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has announced it will open for the
first time all of the individual Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) of
Army, Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard military
personnel who served and were discharged, retired or died while in the service,
prior to 1946.
Collectively, these files comprise more than six million records. This is the
second step in the progressive opening of the entire paper and microfiche OMPF
collection of over 57 million individual files. Additional military personnel
records will be made available to the public each year through 2067 until the
entire collection is opened.
To view an original record, individuals may visit the NPRC Archival Research Room
in St. Louis, MO. Research room hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central Time Tuesday
through Friday. Visitors are strongly encouraged to call ahead (314-801-0850) to
make reservations.
The National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records (NPRC-MPR) is
the repository of millions of military personnel, health, and medical records of
discharged and deceased veterans of all services during the 20th century (Records
prior to WWI are in Washington, DC). NPRC (MPR) also stores medical treatment
records of retirees from all services, as well as records for dependent and other
persons treated at naval medical facilities.

Meeting of the Mid-Michigan Genealogical Society

The Mid-Michigan Genealogical Society will feature Barbara Madison at their
meeting Wednesday, October 24 speaking on:

"Who says there ain't no Indian records? An overview of the many records created for the Great Lakes Anishnabe."

Meetings are held at Plymouth Congregational Church

2001 East Grand River Ave., Lansing, MI. 7pm-9pm.

All are welcome.

Ten Ways to Celebrate Family History Month

October is Family History Month. About.com has a new list of Ten Ways to Celebrate Family History Month. Find this article here: http://genealogy.about.com/od/holidays/tp/family-history-month.htm

Free Genealogy Workshops during Family History Month!

This posting comes to us from the Library of Michigan:

October's genealogy workshops will focus on a wide range of resources, from rare,
printed primary sources to online databases and Web sites. Classes will cover the
following topics:

Getting Started
9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2 or 1-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3
Beginning Your Family History Research
Discovering the Genealogy Resources at the Library of Michigan
Family History Resources at the Archives of Michigan

Using Rare and Unique Items
9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9 or 1-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10
Rare Book Resources
Preservation Hints for Your Family History Treasures
Genealogy of a House

Online Resources
9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16 or 1-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17
Effectively Using HeritageQuest Online
Family History Resources on the Internet
Ancestry Library Edition

Special Collections
9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23 or 1-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24
Vital Records at the Library of Michigan
Filling In for Missing 1890 Census Information
Military Records at the Archives of Michigan

Catching Up
9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30 or 1-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31
Beginning Your Family History Research
Effectively Using HeritageQuest Online
Genealogy of a House

Additionally, the Library of Michigan and the Michigan Genealogical Council will
co-sponsor the Michigan Genealogical Council Seminar from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on
Saturday, Oct. 20. The event includes tours, workshops and the presentation of the
Genealogist of the Year Award. Registration is $17, which includes a $5 donation to
the Library of Michigan and a $5 donation to the Michigan Genealogical Council.

Seating for Family History Month programs is limited, so registration is
recommended. Sign up online at www.michigan.gov/familyhistory, by e-mail at
librarian@michigan.gov or by phone at (517) 373-1300. If you have any questions,
please contact the Library of Michigan's Special Collections Services at (517)
373-1300.

Abrams Genealogy Seminar

There is a new two-day seminar taking place in Lansing Michigan on July 20 - July 21st of interest to genealogists. For a complete listing of topics and times, please see the Michigan Dept. of History, Arts, and Libraries web site.

New Local History and Cemetery Books

The Northville Genealogical Society offers several great resources for sale and the Library recently purchased the following from them:
1. Northville Township...from the Beginning..a journey recalled.
2. Rural Hill Cemetery, Northville Michigan. Burials August 15, 1835 to November 22, 2003.
3. Waterford Cemetery, Franklin Road, Northville Township Michigan. Burials September 1, 1819 to June 21, 1961.
4. Thayer Cemetery, Six Mile and Napier Roads, Northville Township, Michigan. Burials May 24, 1811 to October 21, 2003.
5. Yerkes Cemetery, Eight Mile Road between Silver Springs and Meadowbrook, Northville, Michigan.
6. Oakwood Cemetery, Cady Street, one block south of W. Main Street, Northville, Michigan. Burials 1808-1990.
7. Knapp Cemetery, 43005 Nine Mile Road, Novi, Michigan.

Choosing Genealogy Software

A patron asked me last week about my opinion of genealogy software packages. Rather than go strictly by personal preference, I found this fairly recent review of several different commercial products in About.Com. Although done in 2006, I believe it offers some good points to consider when purchasing your own genealogy software.
(For what it's worth, I've used PAF for both Apple Computers and PCs; Family Tree Maker; and Legacy Family Tree, Deluxe Edition. Each has its strong points.)

New Genealogy Book

The Library just added the book Courthouse Research for Family Historians to the genealogy collection. Find it at 929.1 R. This book may be checked out for three weeks.