Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

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Millions of original documents are added to Footnote.com each month. 

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• The Times - London 1788-1820 Historical newspaper documenting the major events and daily activities in 18th & 19th century England.
• WWII JAG Case Files, Pacific Army - Trial documents relating to Japanese prisoners of war and crimes       
• WWII JAG Case Files, Pacific Navy - Trial documents relating to Japanese prisoners of war and crimes
• Naval Press Clippings - Newspaper clippings from World War II through 1960
• Japanese Air Target Analyses -World War II  Japanese air target analyses, objectives, and aerial photographs)
• WWI Military Cablegrams 1917-1919 - Cablegrams exchanged between General Headquarters and the War Department
• American Colonization Society: 1792-1964  - Documents relating to the organization best known for its role in founding Liberia
• Admiralty Records, Key West: 1829-1911 Records covering ransom and salvage cases and maritime contracts
• Utah Territorial Case Files - Judicial records prior to Utah statehood

Coming soon to Footnote.com:

• Confederate Soldier Service Records - North Carolina & Georgia
• Papers & Minutes of Principal WWII Allied Military Conferences
• WWII Missing Air Crew Reports

Sign up for a free trial today to access all the records on Footnote.com.

(+) Where’s the Body Buried? by George G. Morgan

Cemeteries have held my fascination for as long as I can remember. My childhood friends thought I was strange because I always wanted to cut through the cemeteries along the way as we walked home from school. They would have none of it, so afraid of ghosts they were. As I strolled through the several graveyards along the way again and again, the stone markers and the names inscribed on them became familiar. As I grew up, I learned more about the families and the people who were buried there. My curiosity caused me to become interested in their stories. Perhaps that’s why the idea of working with RootsTelevision.com (http://rootstelevision.com) on the series, Down Under Florida, was so attractive to me. I often encounter a marker and somehow feel drawn to learn the story about the person interred there.

NGS Conference in Kansas City

One of the largest genealogy conferences in North America takes place this coming week in Kansas City, Missouri. The 2008 National Genealogical Society's Conference in the States and Family History Fair will be held May 14 through 17, 2008.

The NGS annual conference is always a major event, and this year's edition is no different. In fact, I hear that the society has already sold more advance registrations than the total attendance of last year's conference. More than 175 presentations will be offered on a wide variety of topics, including “getting started in genealogy,” DNA, maps, ethnic studies, military records, land records, online web sites, research techniques, becoming a professional genealogist, records in various European countries, Civil War topics, and much, much more. Those presentations will be intermixed with workshops, luncheons, tours, receptions, and a banquet.

On the Road Again, This Time to Kansas City

I am headed out again this week. I will attend the annual conference of the National Genealogical Society. This year's event is being held in Kansas City.

This will be my twentieth NGS conference. I have attended all the NGS conferences in the past twenty-one years except for the one held in 1995. It will be interesting to contrast this year's event against those of former years. This year's event should have 1,500 or more attendees as well as 100 or so vendors. Attendees are expected from all over the United States plus a few from Canada, and I know of one from England who plans to be there. Exhibitors likewise will be from all over the U.S. as well as from Canada, Ireland, and England.

The EOGN “Laptop Lounge” at the NGS Conference

Once again, I expect to supply free Wi-Fi networking at the NGS conference being held this week in Kansas City, Missouri. If you are attending the conference, you should be able to check your e-mail and/or surf the web a bit at no charge. There's no need to feel isolated from the outside world simply because you are traveling. You can bring your own laptop or PDA or use one of my laptops to check your e-mail.

Stolen Laptop Catches Its Own Thief

This has nothing to do with genealogy, but it is a great story. Perhaps you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Thieves recently stole an Apple laptop from Kait Duplaga, who works at the Apple store in the Westchester, New York, mall and thus knows how to use all Macintosh bells and whistles. What the thieves did not know is that Kait has remote control software installed on the laptop so that she can access it from any other Macintosh. She can sit at any other Macintosh computer, connect to the laptop across the Internet (wherever it is located), enter a user name and password, and then operate her laptop just as if she was typing directly on its keyboard.

The thief apparently connected the stolen laptop to an Internet connection and started surfing the Web. Kait sat at her home, using another Macintosh, and connected to the stolen laptop that apparently was now in use by the thief. She was able to see what the thief was seeing, and she watched as the thief went from web site to web site. Everything that appeared on the stolen laptop's screen also appeared on Kait's desktop screen.

Footnote Users Meeting

Are you a frequent user of Footnote.com? Or are you interested in learning more about the site? Will you be at the NGS conference this week in Kansas City?

The Footnote.com team is looking to hear from people that use Footnote. As the Footnote.com blog states:

Every time we go to these events, we meet with great people that give us straight talk about Footnote.com; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

(+) How Safe Are Your Old Documents?

A number of us are fortunate enough to own old books, birth certificates, marriage certificates, naturalization certificates, old newspaper clippings, or other family heirloom documents that we want to preserve. What condition will they be in 20 or 50 years from now? For that matter, will the fruits of your genealogy labor be available to your descendants 200 years from now? You should take steps now to make sure the documents remain in the best possible condition. I thought I would discuss the techniques of document preservation a bit more in this newsletter.

Free Content for Your Genealogy Newsletter, Newspaper Column, or Web Site

If you write a genealogy newsletter or other genealogy-related publication, you already know how difficult it is to constantly find new information to write about. I thought I would take this opportunity to remind you that you may use information from this newsletter in your publication.

I do copyright this newsletter, but then I grant rights to others to republish the articles with some minor restrictions:

Holocaust Archives Now Available to the Public

The International Tracing Service’s archives have now been opened for the public after more than 60 years.

For genealogists of Jewish families, tracing the 6 million Jewish victims that  disappeared without a trace has been a challenge. More than 50 million documents are held at the International Tracing Service (ITS) at Bad Arolsen, Germany. For years, this archive has collected documents to help trace what happened to family members.

Footnote.com Adds Interactive 1860 US Census

The following announcement was written by Footnote.com:

FOOTNOTE.COM ADDS TO ITS LEADING CIVIL WAR COLLECTION BY LAUNCHING THE FIRST-EVER INTERACTIVE 1860 US CENSUS

Footnote.com’s innovative tools enable members to enrich the census records by adding photos, comments, and related documents to names featured on the records.

Lindon, UT – Today, Footnote.com announced the addition of the 1860 US Census to their Civil War Collection. As the largest online collection of original Civil War documents, this new addition to Footnote.com provides a snapshot of America before the bloodiest war in its history.

The 1860 US Census reveals many details about individuals at that time. What was their occupation? Where were they born? What was their marital status? Did they attend school? Could they read or write? Was your ancestor insane, idiotic, or a convict? The 1860 US Census will let you know.

Video: Who Do You Think You Are? Live!

Roots Television now has a short introductory video that was filmed at last weekend's conference in London, England. This 81-second video gives a very quick introduction to the show with quick shots of the various exhibits.

You can watch the video at http://www.RootsTelevision.com. More videos from the same conference will become available in the near future.

Preserving the American Historical Record

Congressmen Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Chris Cannon (R-UT) have issued a “dear colleagues” letter to the members of the House of Representatives, inviting them to sign on as original sponsors to the “Preserving the American Historical Record” (PAHR) bill.

PAHR proposed to increase federal support for state and local archival records held by government agencies, historical societies, libraries, and related organizations. This initiative would establish a program of formula-based grants to states for re-grants and statewide services to support preservations and use of historical records. The program, to be administered by the National Archives, will provide a total of $50 million per year nationwide. Each state would receive a portion of these funds for redistribution to organizations within its borders. This program would be in addition to the existing national grants program within the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

First Genealogy Published in America – 7 May 1724

Tom Kemp wrote in his blog the first genealogy published in America appeared in a newspaper 284 years ago - today – May 7, 1724. It appeared in the American Weekly Mercury. It was a genealogy of King Philip V of Spain. Genealogy articles routinely appeared in colonial newspapers.

You can read more at http://blog.genealogybank.com/2008/05/1st-genealogy-published-in-america-7.html.

Vatican Orders Records Withheld from Mormons

The Catholic News Service has published an article about new Vatican orders to not cooperate with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the microfilming of records. The Vatican wishes to block posthumous rebaptisms by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a practice that Catholics, Jews, and some others find objectionable.

Catholic dioceses throughout the world have been directed by the Vatican not to give information in parish registers to the Mormons' Genealogical Society of Utah.

The Dark Side: Genealogy Rip-Offs Listed

Ninety-nine percent of the businesses that sell products and services to genealogists are legitimate companies that work hard at supplying the best products possible. This article will focus on the other 1%.

It seems that scam artists have been around forever in the world of genealogy. They existed centuries ago, and they exist today. I have written about a number of them in past newsletters, and you may encounter still more such scams if you use any modern Internet search engine.

As a convenience for newsletter readers, I am compiling a list of alleged genealogy scams. In short, this list will be updated as often as necessary and will contain the name and web site of each company that reportedly delivers less than what they advertise to the genealogy marketplace. Whenever possible, the listing will include a link to other web pages where the reader may find further details. These are the web sites and e-mail messages that generate the majority of messages that I receive from concerned newsletter readers.

What Might Have Been: The Census PC

The 2010 U.S. census was supposed to have been conducted by enumerators (census takers) who were carrying handheld computers. The high-tech equipment got scrubbed, as described in my earlier "'A Lack of Effective Communication Adds $3 Billion to U.S. Census Cost” article at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/04/2010-us-census.html.

All such equipment requires type approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The manufacturer of the handheld computers recently submitted a prototype for approval, even though the project has been scrubbed. I am guessing that the manufacturer still seeks approval so that similar computers can be sold for other projects.

(+) How to Host a Huge Conference

I attended a great genealogy/history/heritage/archaeology conference this past weekend with more than 15,000 attendees. I have been to the same conference in the past, as well as to other genealogy conferences that attracted 2,000 to 4,000 attendees. All the larger events were held in England. Returning to the United States, I see conferences ranging from a few hundred to perhaps 1,800 attendees, all held by organizers who would like to attract many more people.

When I compare the U.S. events to those held in England, I am struck by the fact that there is not a lot of difference in the amount of effort required of the organizers. Attracting 1,000 attendees appears to require about as much work as attracting 15,000. The conference organizers in England simply do things a bit differently, and the result attracts larger crowds. Indeed, I believe the events held in the United States could grow in size to compete with the British conferences.

(+) “Coming to Your Census” by George G. Morgan

There’s no doubt that the documents most frequently used by American genealogists are the United States federal population census records. The federal census population schedules are the milestones by which we track our ancestors’ locations between 1790 and 1930. And for the early census years when some states’ and counties’ records are missing or lost, and the 1890 census for which less than 1% of the schedules survived, there are any number of other document types that can be used as partial substitutes.

There are, however, more census records than just the federal population schedules, and these documents can tell you a great deal in addition to the data on the population documents. You need to know just what does exist and where to locate those resources.

FamilySearch and Findmypast.com to Provide Online British Historical Records

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch, a nonprofit organization sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

FamilySearch Teams with Findmypast.com to Increase Online Access to British Historical Records

Retired servicemen and merchant seamen records are first projects

SALT LAKE CITY-FamilySearch announced today it is working with the UK family history Web site www.findmypast.com and The National Archives of the United Kingdom to increase access to select British historical records. The first major projects will provide access to millions of names of deceased British soldiers and seamen from eighteenth to twentieth century.

Findmypast.com and FamilySearch were recently awarded licenses by The National Archives to digitize and make available both the Chelsea Pensioners retired soldiers records between 1760 and 1914, and the Merchant Seamen's collection of records dating from 1835 to 1941.

WDYTYAL - Day #3

If you have been reading this newsletter for the past couple of days, you know that I have been reporting from the "Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE!" event in London, England. Today was the third and final day of this exposition, and I have just returned to my hotel room. I'm exhausted, so I know that it must have been a successful event!

The final day was essentially a repeat of the first two. The crowds were a bit reduced today compared to Saturday although bigger than Friday's numbers. I never obtained a final count of the attendees as a few last-minute folks were still arriving when I was leaving. However, the crowds appeared to be significantly bigger than last year's report of nearly 13,000 people. I'm guessing the total attendance at this year's event was well over 15,000 paid admissions, perhaps 17,000 or more. I'll report the final numbers when I hear them. Whatever the final count, this has to be considered a successful show and one for others to emulate.

WDYTYAL - Day #2

Hello again from London. Today was the second day of the three-day genealogy/history/heritage conference held at the Olympia Exhibition Hall. The doors opened at 10 AM and, like yesterday, I approached the building at 9:55 AM. This time there was one major difference from yesterday: the queue of people waiting to get in was at least five times as long as yesterday's line! It went from the front entrance, up the street, around the corner and then stretched back for another long block on the next street. What’s more, the queue also stretched for some distance in the opposite direction. I never did see the end of the second queue; I have no idea how long it was.

I went for coffee.

Some time later I returned and was able to walk in into the exhibition hall without waiting. The place was already mobbed.

WDYTYAL – Day #1

Hello from London! Today I had an opportunity to attend the “Who Do You Think You Are? Live” exhibition held in Kensington. This is the second year of this huge show, and I believe it is the largest genealogy/history/heritage show in the world.

I arrived at the exhibition hall a few minutes before the 10:00 AM opening and found a long line of people patiently waiting to get in. I went for coffee rather than wait in line. I returned about twenty minutes later and found the queue had disappeared, the doors were open, and the show was underway. I already had a ticket, so I walked straight in.

Upcoming Events

The Upcoming Events section of this newsletter is published as a newsletter article once per month, usually in the first week of the month. However, you can also view the latest list of events at any time by clicking on "Upcoming Events" in the Navigation menu near the upper right corner of the page at http://www.eogn.com.

Each event is listed with the name, location and dates. Click on the name to see the details, including a link to the event's web page or to an e-mail address of someone who will provide still more information. The EOGN list of Upcoming Events is also available as an RSS newsfeed at http://www.trumba.com/calendars/eogns_calendar.rss.

If you would like to have your event added to this list, please send the information to meetings@eogn.com. We will publish the name of the event, the city and state/province/country where it is to be held, a very brief description and a web page URL or e-mail address to be used to obtain full details.

NOTE: We compile the list once a month. If you wait until the last minute to send the notice of your event, it might not make it into this month's listings.

Dick Eastman Joins Familybuilder Advisory Board

At last! I can now talk and write about this. I am delighted to accept a position on the Advisory Board of Familybuilder™, a software company that builds genealogy and family-oriented applications for online social networks. The company’s flagship product, Family Tree, is the first genealogy application to be introduced on Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, and Hi5.

I suspect that most genealogists have not yet heard of Familybuilder. In fact, I had not heard of the company a few months ago. However, when I discovered this online service, I was impressed. I believe that social networking sites will be the "next big thing" in online genealogy. I am delighted to have a small role in guiding that growth.

Important Announcement for Genealogist Enthusiasts on Facebook

The following was written by FamilyBuilder:

Recently, activities from individuals seeking to explore and expand their family genealogy on Facebook have been met with negative reactions from Facebook corporate and have had their Facebook accounts suspended.

The latest incident involved Rodrigo Sepúlveda Schulz who was accused of breaching Facebook's Terms of Service by apparently emailing his family members found on Facebook, and directing them to a third-party web site outside Facebook.com.   You can read about this incident on Rodrigo's blog:  http://rodrigo.typepad.com/english/2008/04/facebook-has-di.html.  There is also a growing reaction to this incident on Twitter from Robert Scoble, also once suspended by Facebook, among others.

DNA Links 17 Living People to Man Found in Glacier

Here's a fascinating family tree! Scientists have found a direct link between the frozen remains of a man found in a glacier in northern British Columbia, Canada and 17 people living in British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska. The news came at a symposium in Victoria this past weekend, focusiang on Kwaday Dan Ts'inchi', an aboriginal man whose remains were found in 1999 by hunters in Tatshenshini-Alsek Park, which is in the traditional territory of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations.

Kwaday Dan Ts'inchi' means Long Ago Person Found, and he's believed to have died some time between the years 1670 and 1850. His remains were revealed after a glacier started to recede.

Since the discovery, scientists have been studying all facets of the man, including his clothes, tools, migratory patterns, even the contents of his stomach. But it's the DNA link to living people that has created the biggest stir.

Hebert’s Careful Louisiana Work to be Preserved

Writing in the 2theadvocate.com web site, Damon Veach has penned a glowing tribute to the late Rev. Donald J. Hebert. Hebert was an outstanding genealogical preservationist. He is responsible for the publication of many records about the southwest Louisiana area, especially Catholic Church records.

Old Bailey Files Are Now Online

Files never before available to the public are now online. Transcripts of 210,000 trials from across four centuries are now available.

The site is the largest single source of searchable information about everyday British lives and behavior ever published, said co-director Professor Tim Hitchcock. 'Besides the desperate drama of crimes punished, the proceedings give us a new and remarkable access to the everyday. History is full of information about kings and queens and wars, but there isn't much that tells us about the everyday life of ordinary people.'

The web site contains the transcripts of every trial heard at the Old Bailey from 1674 to 1913, a total of more than 210,000 criminal trials. Sadly, it includes the biographical details of around 3,000 men and women executed at Tyburn.

(+) “Demystifying the Family Stories” by George G. Morgan

“Pass it down!” You remember that phrase from your early school years. Someone would hand you a note and ask you to pass it to another person so that it finally reached the addressee at the end of the row of students. That was a reasonably reliable communication system unless, of course, the teacher caught on and intercepted the message. If the message was delivered, at least it contained the original words. Another way of communicating with fellow students was by passing a spoken (or whispered) message down the line. This method is fraught with problems because, as everyone who has ever played the game of “Telephone” knows, the message has been altered by multiple repetitions. Sometimes the end product is nothing like the original.

The family stories and traditions that have been passed down to us through the generations are also susceptible to changes through their having been communicated from person to person. Every family has stories that have been embellished and whose details may have been “stretched”. What do you know to be true and what do you doubt? Some research is needed if you are to ferret out the truth, and then it is possible that you may never find the answers you seek. Let me share some of my family’s myths with you.

On the Road Again, This Time to London

I am headed out again this week. This time it is for an international trip. I will attend the annual Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE! show in London, England. The name of that show is a mouthful, so I'll abbreviate it as WDYTYAL.

I was at this show last year and was impressed to see nearly 15,000 genealogists and history buffs at one three-day event. In fact, you can see the video that I created (with a lot of assistance from Roots Television) at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/05/national_histor.html. This year's show promises to be bigger and probably better.

Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE! is sponsored by Ancestry.co.uk and is also supported by The Times Archive. It will be held May 2nd through 4th in the Grand Hall, Olympia, Kensington.

(+) Storing Data For the Next 1,000 Years

I have written before about the issues that genealogists, historians, and others face when trying to save information for hundreds of years. Floppy disks, CD-ROM disks, hard drives and most other technologies have a life expectancy of twenty-five years or so. USB jump drives probably won't even last that long. The paper most of us use today contains acids and probably will not last 100 years. Even worse, the laser toner and the inkjet inks in common use today will fade long before the passage of 100 years; so, our descendants may inherit blank pieces of paper.

Even microfilm will be unusable within a few years. To be sure, the films will last up to 300 years or so if they are never used (scratched). However, manufacturers of microfilm readers and cameras are now disappearing. You probably will not be able to purchase microfilm equipment 25 years from now.

The Care and Feeding of Flash Drives

It's official: the floppy drive is dead. Dell and a plethora of other PC manufacturers have simply stopped including floppy disk drives, thanks in no small part to the smaller, lighter, and faster USB flash drive that can carry over 1,000 times the standard 3.5" floppy.

In a recent conversation with a newsletter subscriber, I casually mentioned flash drives. These devices are also known as jump drives, thumb drives, USB drives, and probably a few other names as well. The subscriber mentioned that she had purchased a flash drive but didn't know how to use it. This article is for her and probably for a lot of other people who also have not yet used one of these great devices. I am also including information about programs and advanced uses that may be news even for experienced flash drive users.

First of all, flash drives/jump drives/thumb drives are not drives at all. So much for accuracy in naming! These pocket-sized devices contain a tiny circuit board, some amount of flash memory, and some supporting electronics. Flash memory is noted for its storage capabilities; when you turn the power off, the stored data does not disappear. It has been saved in the flash memory. You later can re-apply power and all the data will still be available, identical to what it was when the power was turned off.

Reginald Washington on Roots Television

Reginald Washington is an archivist at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. He is also a well-known expert on African American genealogy and the author of several books as well as a popular speaker on the lecture circuit. Megan Smolenyak had a chance to talk with him at the recent Mid-Atlantic African American Genealogy Conference, held in New Jersey. Roots Television was able to videotape the conversation and make it available to everyone on the Internet.

That's My Family - A Canadian Genealogy Search Engine

A new search tool searches genealogy and family history databases hosted by Canadian federal, provincial or territorial archives centres and libraries, as well as those of several commercial partners. "That's My Family," or "Voici Ma Famille," is free of charge and available in both French and English. It was launched and is maintained by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) with support from Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and the Council of Provincial and Territorial Archivists (CPTA) of Canada.

"That's My Family" hosts no data of its own. It is a search engine, similar to Google, that indexes data found on other sites. The difference is that "That's My Family" looks only at Canadian sites that contain genealogy information. As such, it can save you a lot of time; you do not have to search each site individually.

APG to Conduct Roundtable on Open Records Access

The following announcement was written by the Association of Professional Genealogists:

WESTMINSTER, Colo. – The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) will conduct a roundtable on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 during the National Genealogical Society Conference at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri.  The topic of the roundtable, which will be moderated by David Rencher, CG, AG, is Into the Future with the Records Preservation and Access Committee. The roundtable will be held from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the Chouteau A&B rooms.

Computer Program Reveals Anyone's Ancestry

Imagine being adopted, with no understanding of your cultural or genetic background. You don’t know your heritage or what diseases you are genetically predisposed to. Most of us have some idea about the roots of our family tree, but little understanding of what those lower branches mean in terms of our predisposition to a host of diseases and ailments.

Now, a group of computer scientists, mathematicians, and biologists from around the world have developed a computer algorithm that can quickly trace an individual’s genetic ancestry with only a small sample of their DNA. In fact, the program can trace the genetic ancestry of thousands of individuals in minutes, without any prior knowledge of their background.

A Guide to Genealogical Research at the Louisiana State Archives

If you’ve ever wanted to research your family history at the Louisiana State Archives, you’ll want to check out the latest publication by Le Comité des Archives de la Louisiane. A Guide to Genealogical Research at the Louisiana State Archives will help you navigate through the multitude of genealogical collections at this facility.

This long-needed book was compiled by Judy Riffel, a professional genealogist who has been a regular researcher at the State Archives since the building opened in 1987. Her years of experience are evident in this well-organized and easy-to-follow guide.

A Better Method of Printing the Conference Syllabus

As I was packing for the trip home after attending a recent genealogy conference in St. George, Utah, I was reminded of one thing: the syllabus is published on a CD-ROM instead of on paper. What a great idea!

I’m told that the BYU Technology conference does the same thing: publish the syllabus on CD-ROM instead of paper. Most other conferences I know of still publish on paper, an expensive and bulky process. That’s not too mention “old fashioned.” Dare I say “obsolete?”

Besides genealogy events, I frequently attend various conferences and conventions dedicated to various other topics: ham radio operators, private pilots, VOIP telephony, and more. All of them switched their syllabi to CD-ROM years ago. Nobody publishes on paper these days – except for a number of genealogy conferences.

(+) “More than Just a Will” by George G. Morgan

I’m making a new will. This is, I think, the sixth will I’ve drawn up in my lifetime. As I grow older and my circumstances change, I realize that leaving a valid will accomplishes several things. First and foremost, it expresses my wishes for the legal disposition of the contents of my estate and of my physical remains. Second, it provides guidance for the probate court and for an administrator or executor in performing the duties associated with my stated wishes. Finally, a will provides the beginning of a paper trail that can be researched by other people – including genealogists.

The probate process in most places in the United States is based on the laws we inherited from our English ancestors. Centuries ago, a will and a testament were two separate documents. One addressed the disposition of real property (land and property) while the other focused on matters concerning an individual’s body and his or her personal property. Over time, however, the two documents were combined into the single “last will and testament” used by most people today. Certainly there are other documentary instruments for managing the disposition and distribution of estates. A codicil is a document that alters the directions of an existing will without having to go through a complete rewriting of that document. Another special example is a trust which, when properly drawn up and funded, does not die when the creator dies. A trust allows a trustee to take over management of the trust’s components without the trouble and expense of going to court for the appointment of a conservator if the testator becomes disabled. It also avoids the probate process and facilitates a trustee to immediately take over all management of the trust, payment of bills, and distribution of the assets indefinitely until the trust is dissolved (if ever).

BCG to Co-Sponsor Skillbuilding Lectures at NGS Conference in the States

The following announcement was written by the Board for Certification of Genealogists:

The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) is pleased to co-sponsor with the National Genealogical Society (NGS) a series of skill-building lectures to be presented at the NGS Conference in the States, Kansas City, Missouri, May 14-17, 2008. These seventeen lectures include topics to help both beginner and experienced genealogists improve their research and writing skills.

Commentary About Social Security Numbers in the SSDI

Note: This article contains personal opinions.

This week's news about a woman fraudulently using Social Security numbers of deceased individuals got me thinking. This woman allegedly used the publicly available records on RootsWeb.com to locate people who had recently died. She then took over their credit cards, submitting changes to the mailing addresses for the deceased victims to one of her many rented mail drops and, in some cases, she'd add her own name as an authorized user of the card.

After the story was released, I read comments from several people stating that they shouldn't release Social Security numbers of deceased people. I have read many similar comments in times past. I have one comment:

WRONG!

In fact, releasing Social Security numbers in the SSDI is one of the most powerful identity theft prevention tools available today! Let’s use the data wisely to prevent identity theft.

Using the Social Security Death Records

The Social Security Administration's Death Index (SSDI) can be a boon to beginning genealogists. The Social Security number is the most valuable piece of information when seeking a number of other documents. It is essential for ordering paper copies of original death records, obituaries, and more. The SSDI is the first step in obtaining this information. If you can only trace your U.S. ancestry back to your grandparents or possibly great-grandparents, the Social Security Administration can help you find where they were born, the names of their parents, and more. The SSDI can be especially helpful for those researching immigrants as the data often shows where the individual was born in "the old country."

The Master Genealogist version 7.01

Wholly Genes Software has released an update to the powerful program, The Master Genealogist. The following is an excerpt from the free Wholly Genes Newsletter. (To subscribe to the newsletter, go to http://www.whollygenes.com/newsletter.htm.)

The Master Genealogist v7.01.0000 is now available. This free update adds a few new features and fixes a variety of issues that were brought to our attention by users.

NEW FEATURES

California Woman Uses RootsWeb to Commit Identity Theft

Federal prosecutors this week charged a Southern California woman with aggravated identity theft and other crimes for allegedly using a popular genealogy research website to locate people who had recently died, and then taking over their credit cards.

Tracy June Kirkland, 42, allegedly used Rootsweb.com to find the names, Social Security numbers and birth dates of people who, shall we say, had no further need for their consumer credit lines. She then "would randomly call various credit card companies to determine if the deceased individual had an … account," according to the 15-count indictment filed in federal court in Los Angeles Tuesday.

Utah State Archives Posts Prisoner Pardon Application Case Files Online

The following announcement was written by the State of Utah's Division of Archives and Records Service: 

Digital images of thousands of applications from Utah prisoners to the Utah Board of Pardons have been posted online by the Utah State Archives and Records Service.

The Board of Pardon’s Prisoner’s Application Case Files, 1892-1949, is the newest addition to the Archives’ Digital Collections. The series include 8,772 case files.

Bloodlines of Salem

David Nelson has created a very attractive as well as interesting web site about the Salem Witch Trials. David writes:

Bloodlines of Salem is the place where visitors share ideas and information about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, its participants and their families. Many of us have researched and proved our descents from one or more of the participants. The trials unfolded more than three centuries ago and continue to figure prominently in the studies of history, law and religion. As amateur and professional Salemologists, however, our study of the trials isn't limited to our lineages. While the facts about our infamous ancestors might be the focus of our work, it's the celebration of their memories and mysteries that continue to fascinate new generations of their families and the public. We welcome you to explore with us.