Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

(+) AutoPlay Your CD-ROM Disks

Many people are creating CD-ROM disks of their genealogy data. Creating your own CD-ROM disks has become very cost-effective in the past year or so; internal CD-ROM writers now sell for as little as $39.95 and frequently come packaged with new computers. The blank disks are also cheap. It is now easy to write your reports and databases to a CD-ROM disk to give to someone else.

NGS is Moving

The U.S. National Genealogical Society is moving into new headquarters this week. As a result there will be a short disruption in services.

Phone numbers and e-mail addresses will remain the same. The new address is:
3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22204-4304

Computer Internet Security Class

I have written several times about computer security issues, such as viruses, Trojan horse programs, scammers, spammers, hackers, and other nasties that affect computer users. As a result, I often receive questions from newsletter readers asking about problems they have recently experienced. One common question asked is, "Was this the result of someone hacking into my computer?" The next question almost always is, "What can I do to prevent this in the future?"

National Archives now accepts Online Orders

The National Archives' most frequently requested genealogical records may be ordered online. Using "Order Online", you can order copies of passenger arrival records; copies of specific pages from the Federal Census; copies of Eastern Cherokee applications; copies of Federal land entry files; Federal military pension files for the Revolutionary War through the Civil War; and military service records for the Revolutionary War through the Spanish American War — all from the comfort of your own home.

World War I & II Military Posters

Someone at Lackland Air Force Base (Hey! I remember that place!) is digitizing historical U.S. posters from both World Wars I and II. You can see the collection at http://afsf.lackland.af.mil/

CensusTools

Do you or your local genealogy society want to extract hundreds, perhaps thousands, of census records? Any experienced computer user who attempts to extract census records quickly realizes that the records are a natural for a spreadsheet application, such as Excel. You can create titles for each column and then starting typing in the rows of data.

Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation Relaunches Web Site

The following is an announcement issued today by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. Note the last sentence. In a conversation I had recently with one of the Foundation's staff members, he mentioned that they have a number of new things in the works and will be releasing them one at a time over the next few months:

Yard Sale for Genealogists

The following is an announcement from the U.S. National Genealogical Society:

Sat. Oct. 30, 9am-3pm, 4527 17th St N, Arlington, Virginia

NGS is leaving historic Glebe House. Genealogical books, maps, genealogical CDs, microfiche, microfiche reader, microfilm, microfilm reader, NGS clothing and logo items, antiques, computers, typewriters, printers, office supplies and furniture will be sold. Take this opportunity to enhance your personal genealogical library and office!

Sending Cash Overseas

Did you ever need to pay for a copy of a birth or marriage record held in some archive outside of your own country? This can sometimes be difficult. Not every repository of genealogy data in the world is equipped to handle credit card transactions. While credit cards are becoming more pervasive, you may well find places that still require cash or checks. The problem is that they normally require payment in the currency of their own country. How do you pay them when you cannot easily purchase pounds or francs or crowns or rubles?

Death Caused by a Pea

Death is never humorous but one has to wonder about the circumstances that led to Mrs. Mary McHard's demise. The following is a tombstone inscription found in Newburyport, Massachusetts:

(+) Selecting an Appropriate Database Program for Genealogy

I received an e-mail this week that bothered me. In fact, I often receive e-mails asking similar questions. The questions usually are more or less like this example:

My organization has been entering data for a long time in a general-purpose database program, not a genealogy program. We use Microsoft Access (or FileMaker Pro or SQL or some other general-purpose database program) or Excel spreadsheets. We have thousands of entries in our database. We now want to put this information on the Web (or on CD-ROM or in a book), and we want to use the report generation capabilities of the Brand X genealogy program. Can we convert our Access (or other) database to GEDCOM and import it into the genealogy program?

Ancient City in Illinois

Genealogists often forget that U.S. history did not start in 1620. In fact, ancient peoples were here long before Europeans arrived on the shores of North America. Some of these people built advanced civilizations, dispelling the belief that all the previous inhabitants of North America were savages. For instance, a city that is now called Cahokia was among the largest metropolitan centers in the world. About 15,000 people lived in the city, with another 15,000 to 20,000 residing in its surrounding "suburbs" and outlying farmlands. It was the region's capital city, a place of art, grand religious rituals and science.

HtmlPedigree

HtmlPedigree is a new Windows program that produces Web pages from genealogical data in a GEDCOM file. The Web pages combine hyperlinked textual information with an interactive pedigree chart.

Proving US Citizenship is Difficult for Political Candidate

Cort Gallup wishes to run for a seat in Hawaii's House of Representatives. However, he is having a difficult time qualifying. The Maui County Clerk’s Office has ruled that Gallup has not proven that he is a U.S. citizen. He is therefore ineligible to vote or to run for office. Gallup says that this is rubbish; he claims U.S. citizenship because of his Native American ancestry.

MitoSearch.org

Family Tree DNA has launched a new free public service. MitoSearch allows any person who has already received his or her HVR-1 or HVR-2 results from any testing lab to upload those results for comparison purposes. MitoSearch will then compare that person's DNA numbers against others who voluntarily have done the same. Both people are notified of close matches.

Peter Reid, English Historian & Genealogist, R.I.P.

Peter Reid, the architectural historian who has died aged 70, was an unsung hero of country-house conservation, a genealogical genius and an endearing eccentric with a capacity to inspire both affection and exasperation. You can read about his life and work on the News-Telegraph's web site.

Church Dig Uncovers Centuries-old Markers in Virginia

Headstones marking the earthly passage of about a dozen Augusta County, Virginia, residents were unearthed recently during construction work at St. Peter's Lutheran Church. In August, members decided to build a fellowship hall and a pastor's office. Shortly after excavation began, an excavating tool struck a tombstone, cracking it in three pieces. Beneath it, a pile of nine other headstones were stacked like cards, and others were scattered nearby.

October 31st Extended Research Hours in the Allen County Public Library

The following is an announcement from the Allen County Public Library:

October 31st Extended Research Hours in the Historical Genealogy Department of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Join us for this special night on October 31, 2004 in Fort Wayne, Indiana! The Genealogy Department will be open from 1pm until midnight. To participate in these special hours on this special day, you MUST be in the genealogy department at 6pm. No one will be admitted to the library building after 6pm. In staying open until midnight, that gives you another 6 hours to research in one of the most exciting genealogical research collections in the nation!

GEDCOM Estimator

Let me guess: You probably have some missing dates in your genealogy database, right? You know the death date of great-aunt Emma but don’t know her birth date. Perhaps you have both of those dates but not her date of marriage. GEDCOM Estimator may be able to help make educated guesses.

Evolution of United States County Boundaries

It seems like my ancestors didn’t move around too much, but the county lines where they lived kept moving. I have an ancestor who lived in three different counties, even though he never moved! Instead, the county lines were twice redrawn. Of course, this is critical for finding records; I need to look in the records of the county where he lived at the time, not where the location is today. Dover-Foxcroft may be in Piscataquis County today, but his purchase of the family farm was recorded in Penobscot County Deeds as the land was part of Penobscot County when he purchased it.

Ed Stephan of Bellingham, Washington has created a Web site that will simplify the searches for many genealogists.