750,000 Visitors Can't Be Wrong
At least three-quarters of a million Web surfers, including Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (shown, left), have accessed the Yad Vashem online database of Shoah Victims' Names since its launch on Nov. 22. The Hebrew word shoah, which means
catastrophe,
has become synonomous with the Holocaust.
Holocaust remembrance organization Yad Vashem's names database, located at http://www.yadvashem.org, is an international project to reconstruct the names and life stories of Jews who died in the Holocaust.
The database
contains about 3 million names gathered from family members' "Pages of Testimony" identity cards, as well as other victims lists.
Users can search on a victim's name, birth city, place of last known residence, death camp or the name of the submitter. The database offers dozens of variations for each name entry to account for spellings, languages, nicknames and synonyms.
Yad Vashem says site users live in 151 countries—37 percent from Israel; 34 percent from North American nations; 25 percent from Europe; and 4 percent from the rest of the world. Sharon searched the Shoah database for names of his late wife Lily's
family. (Yad Vashem chairman Avner Shalev is pictured with him.)
The organization continues its International 11th Hour Collection Project (http://www1.yadvashem.org/remembrance/index_remembrance.html) to gather more names. Family
members and friends
can use the Web site to complete Pages of Testimony with information such as a name, date and place of birth, pre-war residence, profession, parents' and spouses' names, and date and place the person died. Photo courtesy of Yad vashem.
Photo Finish
Wasn't it summer just yesterday? With holiday family gatherings quickly approaching, now might be a good time to brush up on your photo-taking skills.
Camera company Nikon has a new Web site, http://www.nikonscrapbooking.com, with answers to picture-taking questions such as "What's the best way to take photos at night?" and "How can I prevent
red eyes?"
You'll also find articles on special-occasion photography and ideas for creating family scrapbooks.
For more help, see Kodak's Taking Great Pictures site at http://www.kodak.com, software manufacturer Ulead's Imaging Learning Center at http://www.ulead.com/learning/imageinfo.htm,
and How to Take Better Pictures at http://www.fotofinish.com/resources/centers/photo/takingpictures.htm.
Get the Gift of Knowledge
Start being extra nice to your spouse now, and maybe for Christmas you'll get a family history researcher's dream trip. The National Institute on Genealogical Research (http://www.rootsweb.com/~natgenin/2005.htm)
happens July 10-16 at the National Archives in Washington, DC. This advanced seminar includes classes on using federal immigration, military, and land records; maps; African-American and American Indian records; and often-overlooked sources.
Tuition is $350, not including your travel and lodging (some financial assistance is available). Enrollment is limited; visit the Web site or e-mail natinsgen@juno.com for information or to request an application
form (they'll be mailed in February).
Crossing the Pond
A new pay-per-view Web site for British records is in its final testing phase and will launch Dec. 9, according to site spokesperson Charles Murdoch.
Familyrelatives.org (http://www.familyrelatives.org) will offer more than 300 million General Register Office (GRO) records of birth, marriage and death indexes for England and Wales.
Transcriptions of more than 150 million records from 1866 to 1920 will be fully searchable by surname, first name, district or area, year and depending upon the period, by mother's maiden name, spouses name, date of birth and age at death. Transcriptions
of records for 1921 to 1983 are searchable on surname and first name.
Sixty credits, called units, cost $10; visitors will spend one to four credits to access a record.
The 1837 to 2002 indexes also are available from 1837Online.com (http://www.1837online.com)—you can view, save and print up to 50 pages of images for about $9. The subscription site BMD Index
(http://www.bmdindex.co.uk)
has the index, too, as well as birth records from 1880. A year's access costs about $28. The indexes on both sites are searchable by first and last name.
Words Get in the Way
Having trouble tracking down those elusive ancestors? In this biweekly, Web-exclusive column, contributing editor Nancy Hendrickson points to new and helpful ways to do your computer-related genealogy research. This week, she suggests places to get help
reading your ancestors' old-fashioned handwriting. Read more at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/ancestornews/current.html.
Hendrickson is a family historian, freelance writer and the author of the book Finding Your Roots Online, on sale now at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/store/display.asp?id=70583.
Browse the archive of her AncestorNews columns at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/ancestornews/previous.html.
Shed Light on the Issue
This week's tip comes from C. Zabel:
"I was searching through a cemetery and finding some stones difficult to read. My husband went back to the car and got his flashlight. By shining the light on the inscription at an angle, we were able to read stones that otherwise would have
been illegible. (Yes, even husbands who have no interest in genealogy can be a blessing.)
Do you have a great idea for discovering, preserving or
celebrating family history? E-mail us your tip at
ftmnews-editor@fwpubs.com with "TIP OF THE WEEK"
in the subject line. If we publish it, you'll win a free
copy of the Family Tree Magazine 2005 Guidebook, also available at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/mags/display.asp?id=1644.
Be first to check out these new articles on our Web site:
Positively Negative
Q . My grandfather gave me boxes of family research materials with hundreds of early (pre-35mm) black and white photo negatives. Many were taken at family reunions. I'd like to have prints made of some or all of the negatives, but I've
been unable to find a company that can process them. Do you know where I might have my negatives made into prints?
A . First, you'll want to determine if the negatives are safety-based film. Some early negatives are made of highly flammable nitrate and must be handled carefully. If the word safety doesn't appear along the edge of your negatives,
read the Northeast Document Conservation Center's technical leaflet on handling and duplicating these negatives. It's online at http://www.nedcc.org/leaflets/nitrate.htm.
You have a couple of options for obtaining prints of older black-and-white negatives. Most standard photo developers should be able to produce a print the same size as the negative (called a contact print) for a reasonable fee. Enlargements are more expensive.
A photo specialty store (not a one-hour processing setup) that offers photo finishing may be able to produce standard 4x6-inch prints if your negatives are larger than 35mm. The lab I use for professional projects charges $3 per picture.
You also can call local photographers who have darkrooms and ask about contracting with them to do the work. I'd begin by calling the photography department at a nearby college or university to inquire about students who might be interested in printing
your negatives for a fee. Also look under "Photo Finishing" or "Photo Restoration" in the Yellow Pages.
A scanner made for negatives and slides might be able to produce good quality digital images from your negatives, but this equipment can be expensive. Some traditional scanners come with negative-scanning attachments; for details, see Rhonda R. McClure's
Digitizing Your Family History (Family Tree Books, $19.99, available online at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/store/display.asp?id=70660).
—Maureen A. Taylor
Maureen A. Taylor writes Family Tree Magazine's Photo Detective column and is the author of Scrapbooking your Family History (Betterway Books, $24.99), available online from http://www.familytreemagazine.com/store/display.asp?id=70633.
Read more Q&A with the experts at
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/nowwhatonline/previous.html.
Questions and Answers
Expert photo historian Maureen A. Taylor helps readers analyze old family pictures in her Web-exclusive column Identifying Family Photographs. This week, she answers a series of questions about one reader's mystery photo.
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/current.htm.
If you have a family photo mystery for Taylor to solve, check out our Submission Guidelines at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/photohelp.htm.
SugarLand, Texas
Emily Anne Croom
Jan. 8
Ft. Bend Genealogy Society
Topic:
- For the Settling of My Temporal Estate: Using Probate Records in Genealogy
Contact the Ft. Bend County Library
SugarLand branch at (281) 277-8934.
Salt Lake City
Paula Stuart-Warren
Jan. 10-14
Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy
Topics:
- Never Enough Time! Strategies and Organizational Tips and Tools for Busy Researchers
- Finding Ancestral Places of Origin in U.S. Records
- The WPA Era: What It Created for Genealogists
- Miracles in County Courthouses and Town Hall Records
- Newspaper Research: The Dailies, Weeklies, and Beyond
- Genealogical and Historical Periodicals In Print and Online
- The U.S. National Archives: The Nation's Attic
- The Art of Genealogical Research Trips
Contact the Utah Genealogical Association at http://www.infouga.org.
Smoky Mountain Reunion Chalets - 1-8 BR's. Reunion packages, facilities and coordinator. 1-800-561-5691 www.yoursmokymountainreunion.com
New England Regional
Genealogical Conference: "New England Crossroads" March 31- April 3, 2005 in Portland, Maine. Enjoy seminars, speakers and exhibits. For more information and registration: www.nergc.org
Save
50% on Photo Restoration through December 15
Your heirloom family photos can be restored to prime condition by Bellamax. Fix creases, missing corners, tears, fading, water spots, etc for only $19.99! Great holiday gifts!
RootsMagic
Genealogy Software - "An excellent choice for any genealogist" says Family Tree Magazine. Get a free trial copy at http://www.RootsMagic.com
UNIQUE SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE TOURS
Visit
ancestral villages, parish churches, archives, connect with family. Fluent guides and genealogy experts included. www.scandgen.com
Genealogy Hotel Rates in Salt Lake-You will love the genealogy
rates at the Holiday Inn-Downtown along with the free shuttles to & from the Family History Library. www.holiday-inn.com/slc-downtown
GenSmarts Automated Genealogy Research
- finds missed research opportunities. Free trial at http://www.GenSmarts.com/ftmagDeals.asp
LIQUIDATION SALE at Genealogical.com.
“Early Connecticut Probate Records”
& 57 other books are 65% below retail price. http://www.genealogical.com/item_detail.asp?afid=&ID=3690
Get Family Tree Magazine back issues at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/mags.
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