Friday, May 31, 2013

Early Women Occupations and A Quiz

Mary Harrell-Sesniak, writing in the GenealogyBank Blog, gives us a valuable and interesting explanation of some occupations that your early female ancestors may have engaged in. She starts the article with a fun little quiz that tends to “hook” the reader.

You can find Mary’s article at:

Early Women Occupations, Jobs & Avocations- GenealogyBank Genealogy Blog

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Bureau of Land Management Map Searches

Thanks to Michael John Neill in his Search Tip of the Day for this lead. The Bureau of Land Management website no gives you the option to search for land records by clicking on map locations in addition to using text searches.

Check out Michael’s tip and get a link to the BLM site at:

Search Tip of the Day--Almost Every Day: Bureau of Land Management Allows for Clickable Map Searches

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Try Using Ancestry.com Location Filters

Most of us do name searches on Ancestry.com, but that search may uncover a database that gives us a hit that is far enough down the list that we may never see it.

There is another approach to searches that might prove valuable to you. Click on the search tab at the top of the Ancestry screen, then click on "Card Catalog" in the drop down menu. Next scroll down the page looking on the left side of the window for the heading "Filter by Location." Choose your country, and then keep drilling down to the county or even community (if one is listed) where  you suspect you ancestor lived. As you are doing this, the number of databases listed gets progressively reduced. Then select a promising database from those on the list and start your name search there, or just browse the images.

This approach may reveal an unexpected find.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Cloud Storage…It Pays Off

You have probably heard a lot about storing your data in the cloud these days. Articles about the many services available, as well as the pros and cons of using those services.

Recently, Dick Eastman, writing in his Online Genealogy Newsletter, gave an interesting circumstance where cloud storage paid off in an unexpected way.

Check out his article at:

Another Reason to Store Your Data in the Cloud - Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Date Calculator in Windows 7

If you ever need a quick date calculator, Windows 7 provides one for you. It will give you the number of years, months, weeks, and day between two dates; or the date a specified number of days from a specified date.

Thanks to Technology Tamers for highlighting this capability. You can read their article with detailed instructions at:

Technology Tamers: Date Calculator...in Windows 7...Way Cool...

Monday, May 20, 2013

Online Naturalization Records & Indexes

Joe Beine’s list, “Online Searchable Naturalization Records and Indexes” is a must-view for anyone on the hunt for ancestors’ naturalization records.

The prospect of finding naturalization records online is changing rapidly, and Joe’s list is frequently updated.

Check it out at:

Online Searchable Naturalization Records & Indexes

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Survivorship and Your Digital “Possessions”

Michael J. Leclerc, writing in the Mocavo Genealogy Blog, poses some interesting questions about what happens to the investments you may have made in digital material once you are gone.

Although he is short on answers—actually there are few around at this point—his questions may hit a nerve if you have purchased copies or licenses to digital music, books, data, etc.

Read Michael’s thought provoking article at:

Digital Detritus: What Will Happen to Your Electronic Files When You're Gone? » Mocavo Blog - News, Announcements & More from the World's Largest Free Genealogy Search Engine

Thursday, May 16, 2013

First Name Abbreviations

This article appearing in a recent issue of Genealogy In Time Magazine gives information on a subject you don’t see too often; that is, abbreviations used for first names.

Sometimes when those abbreviations are used, they can confound a name search. I ran into such a problem until I figured out that “Jno” was an abbreviation for “John.”

The list you find at the link may be worth keeping handy.

List of First Name Abbreviations

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

RootsMagic Wins Two 2013 About.com Readers’ Choice Awards

This reference will be of particular interest to users of the RootsMagic genealogy software program. It seems that the product just keeps winning awards. Follow the link to read about the latest ones.

RootsMagic Blog » RootsMagic Wins Two 2013 About.com Readers’ Choice Awards

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Paying Attention to Census Dwelling and Family ID Numbers

Michael John Neill, writing in his blog RootDig.com, gives a good example of why we should pay attention to the often ignored dwelling and family ID numbers recorded on census documents.

Check out his article at:

RootDig.com: Being Frank about Dwelling and Family ID Numbers in Citations

Friday, May 10, 2013

Keeping the Genealogy Players Straight

Ever get confused about all the players on the genealogical field…Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, NARA.gov, etc.? Or why you often have to pay for what seems like data that should be free?

Randy Seaver, writing in his blog Genea-Musings, addresses those issues as he explains them to one of his readers. His review is a great read that helps put things in perspective. If you have any of the questions listed in the first paragraph, check out Randy’s article at:

Genea-Musings: Dear Randy - Why Does LDS Church Exert So Much Control over Genealogy?

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

This Cannot Wait…Deal with Those Photos Now!

This falls under the learn-what-you-already-know category. Michael John Neill in his Genealogy Tip of the Day blog reminds us to not tarry in identifying people in old photographs.

We all pretty much know that already, but often need to be reminded of it. Michael’s article is short, and is well-worth the read. You can find it at:

Genealogy Tip of the Day: This Cannot Wait

Monday, May 6, 2013

Lee County Genealogical Society Meeting -- 11 May 2013

This comes from Lee County Genealogical Society concerning their 11 May 2013 meeting where the topic will be Virtual Cemeteries:

   "Virtual cemeteries are electronic memorials to our ancestors which can be an invaluable source of genealogical information, and one that is always growing. Join in to explore virtual cemeteries such as Find-A-Grave, Internment.net, BillionGraves, Genealogy.com's Virtual Cemetery,  plus many more."

The meeting is held at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall at 4141 Deleon Street, Fort Myers. The time is 10 am.

Changing Probate Terms

James Tanner, writing in his blog Genealogy’s Star, gives us an interesting history of some of the terms applicable to probate, and how they have changed over time.

James has legal training which he brings to this discussion, and it makes for interesting reading. If you have found yourself lost in the many terms you have come across in your probate research, you will find this article valuable to your overall understanding of the area.

You will find the article at:

Genealogy's Star: Understanding the Changing Probate Terms

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Speculation, Hypothesis, Interpretation and Proof

Confused about the meanings of “speculation,” “hypothesis,” “interpretation,” and “proof” as they apply to genealogical research? An article by Elizabeth Shown Mills recently published on her Evidence Explained blog may be just what you need.

Mills explains the terms and then provides a case study to illustrate them. Check it out at:

Evidence Explained | QuickLesson 16: Speculation, Hypothesis, Interpretation & Proof

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Minneapolis City Directories Available Online

Minneapolis, Minnesota city directories from 1859 to 1917 are now digitized and available online from the Hennepin County Library.

Thank to Dick Eastman for the alert on this resource. Check it out at:

http://box2.nmtvault.com/Hennepin2/

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Kim Garvey to Speak at Tarpon Springs Public Library

Historian and librarian Kim Garvey will speak at Tarpon Springs Public Library on 18 May at 2 pm. Her topic will be "The Lure of the Frontier: Cowboys, Indians, Immigrants, and the American Frontier Identity."

Kim was a speaker at our monthly meeting in October of 2011, and we welcome her back in the area.

Kim is also the owner of Tree Trax, a genealogical services company.