Sunday, March 30, 2014

Source Snobbery

I'm sure we've all been guilty of this - and often we've learned the hard way *why* we feel like this - BUT if we remember to treat all as 'leads' or 'clues', who knows what we might find or learn! Excellent article with words of wisdom here http://www.bcgcertification.org/skillbuilders/skbld135b.html

Cheers - from our last full Sunday in the south. Now, my northern friends, will you *please* get rid of all that white stuff we keep seeing in updated shared pictures ......... please???? You've got two weeks to accomplish this! haha

Pat

MAPCO

Mostly British Isles and Australia .... fabulous maps http://mapco.net/

I lost a few hours yesterday working within these maps!! LOVE maps ... they almost always answer questions.


Cheers,
Pat

Friday, March 28, 2014

Twitter

Just when you thought there was nothing of interest for genealogists on Twitter! There are hundreds and hundreds of genealogy sites on Twitter. The following link is just one little picture. It shows the headstones of a couple who were not allowed to be buried in the same cemetery. Love wins out after all!!

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/32721534767358893/?e_t_s=pins&e_t=e307878d805944c19913350e7d685560&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_recs_140324_subj_fresh_pins


Cheerio,
Pat

Monday, March 24, 2014

German Research - hints

Thanks to Family Tree University:

"Not finding your German ancestor in genealogical records? The name you've been searching for may be wrong. Your ancestor may have changed his surname after immigration, or English-speaking clerks may have translated it. In colonial America, Bentz evolved to Pentz and eventually Pence; Zimmermann became Zimmerman or was translated to Carpenter; and Schwarzwälder became Blackwelder. As many as a hundred names could be derived from a single German surname. Extracted from the course German Genealogy 101, here are some hot tips for fighting through German name changes and translations:

1. Watch for regional customs. If you have ancestors from northern Germany around Ostfriesland, you may find a pattern of changing last names. This area used patronymics-surnames taken from the father's given name. For example, Peter Hansen's offspring would have the last name Petersen. Ancestors from around Westphalia may have based their surname on farm ownership. A telltale sign is when a man's surname changed at marriage-his wife was heir to a farm.


2. If an immigrant's name is different in US records than in those of his homeland, the change happened after he immigrated. Ellis Island officials didn't write names, they merely checked the passenger list that was created at the port of departure. Rather, your ancestor may have adopted an American-sounding name as a way to identify with his new home and avoid anti-German sentiments.

3. Don't use census records alone to conclude an ancestor changed the spelling of his or her name. People didn't write their own names on censuses. They (or a family member, or even a neighbor) stated their names to the census enumerator, who wrote them down. One census enumerator may write Müller, another Mueller and another Miller. Even within the same document, such as a will, you might find a name spelled different ways. Note all name variations you find and don't limit your research to the most common spelling.

4. North Americans typically use our first names. Looking at the name Johann Peter Schneider, we'd see Peter as just a middle name. But in Germany, people were often given saints' names (common ones were Johann, Maria and Anna) as first names and were called by their middle names. Your safest bet is to look for both Johann and Peter in records."


I have never taken any of their courses, but anyone interested can look into the German course here http://ftu.register.fwmedia.com/Course?CourseId=2110-28&utm_source=FTUPromo&utm_medium=NL&utm_campaign=ftutmnl031914-german101-button&et_mid=665209&rid=239005133


My maternal great grandparents came from Saxony Germany. I spent one month in the area and it's beautiful!
There are dozens of ways of wishing you 'good luck' in Deutsch. Here's one
Viel Glück!
Pat

Note Taking - Evernote vs OneNote

One person's comparison which may be helpful if you've not make a choice between Evernote and MS OneNote http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9247097/OneNote_vs._Evernote_A_personal_take_on_two_great_note_taking_apps

I have used both a bit, but one thing I've noticed: the battery, on my handwritten notes, never dies when I need it.


Cheerio,
Pat

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Ancestry Old Search - RIP

So it's finally gone, for good [or bad depending on your point of view]. Ancestry has a 'work around' solution, to get Old Search results. I haven't played enough with it yet to have made a solid conclusion, but perhaps it will help some of you. I'd be interested in your experiences! I can't give you a direct link BUT go to Ancestry, choose 'Get Help', input something like 'old search' and ta da ... the article will appear in the list.

Cheers,
Pat

Monday, March 17, 2014

European Borders - 1000 years of changes

This is an amazing video showing the border changes of Europe for the past 1000 years! http://loiter.co/v/watch-as-1000years-of-european-boarders-change/


Technology is truly mind-boggling ... when it works, and it works well here.
Pat

Image Citation How-to

This is an excellent article by one of my favorite genealogists Judy G. RUSSELL. She explains, in plain language, how to attach a citation to a photo. http://legalgenealogist.com/blog/2014/03/17/an-image-citation-how-to/ And on today, St. Paddy's Day, she uses an Irish photo.

Judy is the Legal Genealogist and writes a blog at http://legalgenealogist.com/ If you ever get a chance to hear her, take it! She's truly awesome.




Happy St. Patrick's Everyone, especially to my own Irish ancestors.
Paternal: all from Co. Down NI: gfather John GILMOUR b. 1872; ggfather David GILMOUR b. 1849; David's wife Ann/Nancy/Agnes CLYDESDALE b. ca. 1845; gggThomas GILMORE bca 1818 and his wife Rachel LITTLE bca 1818.

Maternal: ggfather Johnston McNIECE was also born ca 1818 *somewhere* in Ireland

Well this just makes me thirsty enough for a cold green beverage! :-)

Happy St. Paddy's Day 2014
Pat

Calendar of Genealogy Events

So you can follow the link to see the calendar, BUT any genealogy event can be added for FREE. Sounds like a great way to promote your event. http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2014/03/update-eogn-calendar-of-genealogy-events.html


Pat

Scottish Military Research Group newsletter

This is the first edition, but has lots of links etc. They are also looking for input from interested persons. Perhaps someone will find this helpful, or perhaps someone has something to contribute? https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=31471A884E56A78D!117&ithint=file%2c.pdf&app=WordPdf&wdo=2&authkey=!ADPF6YEXqinW7AU

Pat

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Irish Research Online: most recent updates

Lots of great links for Irish researchers!! See Chris Paton's blog at http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/ Any and all help we can get is much appreciated as Irish research is definately a challenge, especially earlier than 1846!!

I recently purchased Chris's book "Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet" as an ebook. I knew this was a mistake, but I could not afford the paper copy as it is only available overseas so a small fortune to get it mailed to Canada. Once I get back home, and perhaps more organized , I suspect this book will be gold mine. The reason I like paper copies for research purposes is I can flip through, mark pages for future reference, find that reference and go to the website, etc. I love love love ereaders, but this is one time I find a hard copy much easier to use. Just my two cents. AND I really hate to pay more for postage than for the book.


Cheerio,
Pat

Friday, March 14, 2014

Four FREE Sites this weekend - St. Patrick's 2014

Not sure what all is included in each, but thought I'd give you the chance to look for yourself!! Ancestry (Irish), Arkiv Digital (Swedish), Origins.net (Irish), and Macavo (All).

Best of luck! Happy St. Patrick's Day Saturday. Happy Birthday to .... ME ... Sunday!! Have to last as the government will finally begin sending me a cheque each month. Yupp, this is the BIG ONE!!!!!! WooHoo.


Cheers,
Pat