Take Our Quiz and Win
How closely did you read your last Family Tree Magazine? Let's find out: Go grab your February 2005 fifth-anniversary issue and use it to answer the following five questions. The first three people to e-mail the correct answers to
ftmnews-editor@fwpubs.com will each get a free copy of the 2005 Genealogy Guidebook, a special issue of Family Tree Magazine. Here goes:
1. What do geneticists call a single nucleotide polymorphism for short?
2. Tell us how many sites are listed in the "Web's Greatest Hits" article—and name any three of the featured sites.
3. Why should you avoid relying solely on an "acid-free" label when determining whether a pen is safe to use in your family photo album?
4. In Delaware research, what is a "hundred"?
5. What key piece of evidence helped Family Tree Magazine photo expert Maureen A. Taylor date photo number 5 in her "Pictures of Success" article?
Key Into the FHL
If you've always wondered about that disabled keyword-search button on the Family History Library online catalog (go to http://www.familysearch.org and click the Library tab), wonder no more. This
month, FamilySearch
activated the keyword button, allowing you to find words occurring in the Title, Author, Subject and Notes fields of each item's catalog description.
Compare the keyword search to a surname search, which finds words listed in the title or subjects field. I did a keyword search on a family name, Seeger, and got 38 results, including The Griesmers: A Century in Cleveland, Ohio, 1882-1982—the
Notes field in its catalog description states that Johannes Griesemer married Katharina Seeger in 1862. A surname search on Seeger returned 14 matches, and the Griesmer book wasn't among them. Without the keyword search option, I would've missed the mention
of Katherina's maiden name.
Another advantage: Instead of doing a place search on, say, Hamilton (the county in Ohio), then scrolling through topics until you find vital records on microfilm; you can keyword search on "Hamilton Ohio vital records" and get right to the list of matching
catalog listings.
A keyword search also gets more results than a subject search, which is based on the Library of Congress subject headings that are listed in each catalog description's Subject field. For example, a keyword search on "Oregon trail" yielded 174 matches;
a subject search returned 89.
Our advice? No matter what Web site you're on, make use of all the tools in your genealogical arsenal by trying different types of searches and search terms.
Family Values
A survey by British family history Web site Genes Reunited (http://www.genesreunited.com) suggests that although people like the idea of understanding their family history, they actually know
little about their
ancestors.
Of 1,800 British adults who participated in the December survey on Genes Reunited and its sister site, Friends Reunited, 96 percent said that knowing about their ancestors was important to them. But only 1.5 percent of respondents could name all eight
of their great-grandparents, and more than a third couldn't name any.
About 60 percent couldn't say what any of their great-grandparents did for a living, and a third didn't know where any of them lived.
"The responses are remarkably consistent throughout the age ranges," says Anthony Adolph, a resident genealogist with Genes Reunited. "People over 65, who you'd think would be more knowledgeable, don't appear to know significantly more than 18-year-olds
about their respective great-grandparents."
Census Sense
When 2010 rolls around, you won't have to worry about spending hours filling in tiny ovals on the census long form. But you may have to supply that information in another year. The Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov)
still will officially count us every 10 years using the familiar short form, but it has adopted a new method of collecting in-depth data such as home ownership, income, literacy, ancestry and more.
The bureau just mailed out the first installment of its American Community Survey (ACS), a mandatory survey sent to a rolling, random sample of about 3 million households. Roughly 2.5 percent of the nation’s 140 million households—about one
in 40—will participate in the survey each year. The Census Bureau has been testing and developing ACS since 1996; it currently produces data for areas with populations more than 250,000.
ACS will let the Census Bureau release community data sooner after it's collected, so the information is more up-to-date than facts from the long form. The first numbers from this month's ACS mailing will reach you in 2006.
You already know that answers to the census short form are released (with great genealogical fanfare) after 72 years. But your descendants won't be able to use the ACS to find out about you—as with the census long form, ACS answers are forever confidential.
Leap of Science
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 decides to try DNA testing.
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.
Label Maker
This week's tip comes from L. Hunsaker:
My grandma has done an incredible job tracing our family roots. Now that she's getting older and beginning to be concerned about her memory, Grandma has placed small labels on all of the framed pictures of ancestors hanging on her wall so we'll
know their names and relationships after she no longer does. This is a simple, thoughtful way of handing down our family history.
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 Plugging Into Your Past (Family Tree Books, $19.99) by Rick Crume, also available for purchase from http://www.familytreemagazine.com/store/display.asp?id=70624.
Overwhelmed by the number of family history-related Web sites popping up? FamilyTreeMagazine.com sorts through them all—whew!—to bring you only the very best. We recently recommended the following as Sites of the Week:
• Genealogy eBay Auction Course
http://auction.genealogymethods.com
Learn how to find good genealogy stuff on eBay.
• Tapping Tamme Tammen
http://www.rootdig.com/adn/tappingtamme.html
The coordinator of Rootdig chronicles his search for an elusive ancestor.
• A Civil War Soldier in the Wild Cat Regiment
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/tcrhtml
Take a journey into the lives of a Union soldier and his family.
• The History Channel Kwanzaa
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/kwanzaa/index.html
Discover the history and symbols of Kwanzaa.
Plan and Evaluate
Got some spaces to fill on your pedigree chart? Inspired by holiday-induced nostalgia to start looking into your family history? No matter where you are in climbing your family tree, written plans for research help keep you on target so you can get
to those upper branches. Heed this classic advice from Emily Anne Croom's article in the February 2005 Family Tree Magazine, a special fifth-anniversary issue.
• Looking at the unknowns in your information and the blanks on your charts, decide what you want to look for and list your questions before you go to research.
• Don't try to reach back too quickly by skipping a generation.
• Be open to discarding preconceived ideas and undocumented family stories.
• Follow up on leads and clues. A valuable clue, for example, might be a seemingly unimportant list of jurors with your ancestor’s name on it. To the genealogist, this proves the ancestor was alive and in that place on that date.
• Think as you research: Is this the right time and place for this ancestor? Does the information make sense for this ancestor? What makes me believe this really is my ancestor?
• Each time you research, review and analyze what you’ve found as you plan your next move. Did you get any direct answers? What clues did each record give you? What conclusion do the facts support? Or what further research do you
need to do before you can reach a conclusion?
—Emily Anne Croom
Emily Anne Croom is the author of the best-selling Unpuzzling Your Past, 4th edition and The
Sleuth Book for Genealogists. Both cost $18.99 and are published by Betterway Books, $18.99. Croom's Web site is http://www.unpuzzling.com.
And the Answer is...
Expert photo historian Maureen A. Taylor helps readers analyze old family pictures in her Web-exclusive column Identifying Family Photographs. This week, she opens her reader mailbag for a little Q&A.
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.
St. Paul, Minn.
Paula Stuart-Warren
Jan. 29
Minnesota Historical Society
Topic:
- Tracing Your Family History: Steps Online and Off
Contact the Minnesota Historical Society at http://www.mnhs.org (click Library).
Casa Grande, Ariz.
Paula Stuart-Warren
Feb. 12
Back Roads to City Streets . . . Paths to Your Family History
Topics:
- Untrodden Ground: Sources You May Not Have Encountered
- Using the Resources of the Family History Library
- 20th and 21st Century Research
- The WPA Era: What It Created for Genealogists
For more information, contact Bill Avis at billavis@cgmailbox.com.
San Marcos, Texas
Emily Anne Croom
Feb. 12
San Marcos/Hays County Genealogical Society seminar
Topics:
- The Territorial Papers of the United States
- Timely Tools for Genealogists
- Where in the World? Using Maps in Genealogy
- Scaling the Brick Wall
Contact Karin McArdle at mcardlekm@hotmail.com.
GenSmarts Automated Genealogy Research - finds missed research opportunities. Free trial at http://www.GenSmarts.com/ftmagDeals.asp.
Smoky Mountain Reunion Chalets
- 1-8 BR's. Reunion packages, facilities and coordinator. 1-800-561-5691 www.yoursmokymountainreunion.com.
Looking for a local history book? Our BIBLIOGRAPHY OF
AMERICAN COUNTY HISTORIES provides a state-by-state listing of all published county histories of any significance. http://www.genealogical.com/item_detail.asp?afid=&ID=1825.
RootsMagic
Genealogy Software - "An excellent choice for any genealogist" says Family Tree Magazine. Get a free trial copy at http://www.RootsMagic.com.
Get Family Tree Magazine back issues at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/mags.
Explore Family Tree Magazine E-mail Update past issues at
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/newsletter/archive.html.
Get free Family Tree News Service articles for your genealogy newsletter or Web site at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/ftns-subscribe.asp.
Sponsor This Newsletter
For information on sponsoring this newsletter or to
receive a rate card, e-mail kworkman@longshoremedia.com
You have received this e-mail because you expressed interest in receiving updates about genealogy and genealogy products from Family Tree Magazine and Betterway Books by e-mail. Thanks for your subscription!
You are currently subscribed as $subst('Recip.EmailAddr')
To unsubscribe, send a blank message to $subst('email.unsub')
To change the address we send messages to, click here: http://fwpubs.sparklist.com/read/my_account/?forum=familytree
To receive the text-only version of the newsletter, unsubscribe using the directions above, then subscribe to the text-only list by sending a blank email to join-familytree-text@fwpubs.sparklist.com.
Questions?
To ensure a timely response to your questions concerning magazine subscriptions or other general help, please see www.familytreemagazine.com/contactus.html
Please only reply to this message with newsletter-specific questions.
In the last few newsletters, we showed you photos of readers who are longtime Family Tree Magazine fans. Now we're turning the tables.
