Longmeadow Cemetery in Hampden County, Massachusetts

The Longmeadow Cemeteery dates back to 1718 and has over 4,000 burial records available online. The landing page has links to the history of the cemetery, and to get to an alphabetized list of burials, follow the "Records" tab at the top of the landing page. Some of the entries have links to images of the grave stones.

http://longmeadowcemetery.org/aboutus.html

PGS Events for the Week of 1-6 October 2018

Monday, 1-Oct-18 at 6:00 PM --Newspapers Online in Genealogy—This class will explore the genealogy data to be found in newspapers (obituaries, weddings, human interest stories, etc.) and show where to find the online repositories and how to use them. Summers  , Local History Room, Largo Library.

Thursday, 4-Oct-18 at 10:30 AM--Female ancestors--locating and tracing the maternal line; tips and methods to finding maiden names, Bryan, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Saturday, 6-Oct-18 at 10:00 AM--Family Tree Maker User Group--Questions & Answers and Demonstration of how to use the Family Tree Maker genealogical database software. Bryan-Hosmer, Local History Room, Largo Library.

REMINDER--COMING ON SATURDAY, 13 OCTOBER...Invite your friends and neighbors to:

Family History Assistance Day--Genealogists from the Pinellas Genealogy Society will be on hand to help you find your ancestors.  Free, individual assistance will be provided to each person who attends.  Be sure to bring what you know (names, dates, places of birth, death, marriages, residence, etc.) concerning your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. We will help you find earlier generations. Location: Jenkins A and B, Largo Library.

London Convicts in Britain and Australia

The website "Digital Panopticon" gives a wealth of information about London, England convicts from the Old Bailey (about 90,000 of them). The database is name searchable and hits often have links to original sources.

In addition to the name search capability, the site offers historical background on topics such as prison ships, pardons, etc.

Check it out at:
https://www.digitalpanopticon.org/

Native American Records at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Pennsylvania

This searchable collection of files from the Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center may be helpful if you have Native American ancestors. The school was a federally funded boarding school for children from 1879 through 1918.

A relatively new addition to the collection falls under the heading "Cemetery Information" (found in the left pane of the landing page). The interments are name searchable, and each name is associated with an individual datasheet.

http://carlisleindian.dickinson.edu/news/cemetery-information-resource-launched

PGS Events for the Week of 23-29 September 2018

Monday, 24-Sep-18 at 6:00 PM--Documentation - Participate in this introductory course on the content of proper source citations and the use of modern genealogy programs to enter these citations. Summers, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Tuesday, 25-Sep-18 at 11:00 AM--Genealogy and DNA: The Basics--Learn about the types of DNA tests used for genealogy and popular testing companies. We compare the benefits of each type of test and each company’s database. Manning, Jenkins A, Largo Library.

Tuesday, 25-Sep-18 at 1:00 PM--DNA Interest Group--Share your DNA knowledge and discuss your results with others who are interested in making DNA connections. This is a group for DNA novices to learn together. Manning, Jenkins A & B, Largo Library.

Thursday, 27-Sep-18 at 1:00 PM--Introduction to Irish Genealogy- Learn the basics of how to get started in researching your Irish family roots. Padgett, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Abbreviations for First Names

First names were often abbreviation in historical documents, and even in modern day indexes of those documents to save space. So knowledge of those pesky abbreviations can be helpful in promoting your research.

Some abbreviations are fairly understandable: "Geo" for George and "Chas" for Charles. But some are not: "Hy" for Harry or "Xpr" for Christopher.

This list of first name abbreviations from GenealogyInTime Magazine may be worthy of bookmarking for easy reference.

Check it out at:
http://www.genealogyintime.com/dictionaries/list-of-first-name-abbreviations.html?awt_l=OVyig&awt_m=JBTKIRMUkwk.Vy

Sullivan County, Indiana Public Library Offers Many Genealogy Databases Online

Anyone with ancestors from Indiana, and especially Sullivan County, will want to check out the Sullivan County Public Library website.

It offers several genealogically relevant databases including funeral home indexes, coroner's inquests, newspaper death notices and obituaries, death index, school yearbooks, marriage returns, and wills.

This is a treasure. Check it out at:
http://www.sullivan.lib.in.us/online-resources/

PGS Events for the Week of 16-22 September 2018

Thursday, 20-Sep-18 at 1:00 PM--Irish Genealogy Interest Group – This group discusses resources and techniques for researching your Irish ancestry. Padgett, Local History Room, Largo Library

Friday, 21-Sep-18 at 10:30 AM--German Genealogy Interest Group – This group discusses resources and techniques for researching your German ancestry. Dietz, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Saturday, 22-Sep-18 at 10:00 AM--RootsMagic User Group - Q&A and a demonstration of how to use the RootsMagic genealogy database software. Summers, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Clearwater Historical Society Fish Fry To Be Held on 10 November 2018

Due to a scheduling conflict at Ross Norton center, the date of the fish fry has changed to the second Saturday of November which is November 10, 2018.

The annual meeting with short reports and the election of officers will begin at 11:00 am followed by serving of food at 11:30. The event will end at 1:00 pm.

All food (fried fish, hushpuppies, plain/cheese grits, coleslaw, cookies, tea, and coffee) is provided with ticket. Preparation, serving, and cleanup supplies used by volunteers are also supplied by the Society.

For nore information see www.clearwaterhistoricalsociety.org

"The Gazette" from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Available Online

Thanks to a partnership between the Cedar Rapids Public Library and The Gazette, millions of pages of the paper dating back to 1883 are available online.

The collection can be searched by name or key word, as well as browsed by title or publication date.

http://cedarrapids.advantage-preservation.com/

Database of Records from Cemeteries in Hillsborough, New Hampshire

This database contains records from nineteen municipal cemeteries in Hillsborough, NH. The period covered is 1788 through 2016.

The search tool allows you to search for all instances of a surname in your cemetery of choice, or to do a special veterans search.

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

PGS Events for the Week of 9-15 September 2018

Monday, 10-Sep-18 at 10:00 AM--INTRODUCTION TO GENEALOGY (Beginner) -  Learn the basics of how to get started in researching your family history. Bryan, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Tuesday, 11-Sep-18 at 6:00 PM--ANCESTRY FAMILY TREES – Part 2This presentation covers how to start a family tree on Ancestry.com, and how to maintain it.    Summers, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Saturday. 15-Sep-18 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, 15-Sep-18 at 11:00 AM--Program Meeting--Writing Brief Narrative Sketches--How to share your family history in brief, bite-sized chunks, one interesting ancestor at the time. Fortin, Jenkins B, Largo Library.

Saturday, 15-Sep-18 at 12:30 PM--Workshop tour of the Genealogy Center – Visit the Genealogy Center and get an understanding of how to use the materials in the space. Summers, Genealogy Center, Largo Library.

Online Death Indexes and Records for the United States

Thanks to Joe Beine for this helpful list of sites providing death indexes and records. Joe does a good job of keep the list current, and it has grown greatly over the years.

He lists links in the US, organized by state, and also focuses on some specific large cities (Chicago, Detroit, New York, Los Angeles, and St. Louis)..

https://www.deathindexes.com/

"Brick Walls" Class on 6 September 2018 Cancelled

The class on overcoming brick walls in your research that was scheduled for Thursday, 6 Sep 2018 at 10:30 a.m. must be cancelled. Sorry for the inconvenience, It will be rescheduled for a later date.

City Directories for Gaston County, North Carolina

The Gaston County, NC Public Library has consolidated applicable city directories, and where images exist, linked to them in the DigitalNC collection. The coverage of the communities in the county is spotty in that some directories were lost and in other cases the directories exist but were not published every year. In other words, situation normal when it comes to city directory research. But it doesn't matter what's missing if you find an elusive ancestor with what is present.

Check it out at:
http://gastonlibrary.libguides.com/city-directories

Online Editions of "The Reveille" from Fort Hays State University, Kansas

This introduction is from the FHSU website:

"The Reveille was the official Fort Hays State University yearbook. The first edition was published in 1914 by the Fort Hays Kansas State Normal School in Hays, Kansas. It was then published annually with the exception of 1918 and 1919 when it was released as a two year "Victory Edition" in the spring of 1919. In 1923 the Fort Hays Kansas State Normal School changed its name to the Kansas State Teachers College of Hays. In 1931 the name again changed to the Fort Hays Kansas State College. In 1977 the name changed a final time to Fort Hays State University. The last edition of The Reveille was published by FHSU in 2003."

You can search by keyword or browse the collection. You may also use an advanced search.

Check out the collection at:
https://scholars.fhsu.edu/yearbooks/

PGS Events for the Week of 2-8 September 2018

Tuesday, 4-Sep-18 at 6:00 PM--ANCESTRY FAMILY TREES – Part 1 This presentation covers how to start a family tree on Ancestry.com, and how to maintain it.    Summers, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Thursday, 6-Sep-18 at 10:30 AM--Brick Walls – This class will offer some ideas and suggestions for overcoming dead ends in your family history research. Bryan , Local History Room, Largo Library.