Sun, 6 September 2009
And at this conference I am debuting a brand new item that I've been working on for months and it"s ready, and it will be available for the first time at the Expo. Itâs actually inspired by you - you know you are all such gems to listen in to the show, and I was thinking about that, and it just seemed to me that there ought to be something wonderful to wear that shows off what a real genealogy gem you are. So this weekend Iâm making available for the first time the Genealogy Gem rhinestone jewelry pin My grandmother always wore sparkling costume jewelry and I was fortunate enough to inherit it, and this pin fits right in with all the wonderful vintage pieces. So if you would like your very own pin to declare to the world that you are someone you care about is a genealogy gem, be sure and stop by the Genealogy Gems booth in the exhibit hall. MAILBOX: Russ from Tucson, AZ wrote in to ask about how to locate some Californians in his family tree, and a very happy outcome followed: Well the "little angels" were in my court because the same day I emailed you I was listening to your old archives in the premium member section when I heard you mention the "acts of random kindness" which I emailed the same day, well someone who lived near the cemetery was able to get a hold of a record of my great grandfather's burial date but said there was no date of death. Using that date, I manually went into the Oakland Tribune obituary archives and went back a few days before the burial date and there was his obituary! Kay wrote in to share her experiences with Member Connect on Ancestry. Email your comments to Lisa GEM: Member Connect with Ancestry Part 2 In this episode, we wrap our personal tour of Ancestryâs new Member Connect feature. GEM: Family History Thoughts with Lee Drew In this gem I am happy to feature another wonderful blog post from genealogy blogger Lee Drew called "Choices and Consequences.â Iâm going in for some surgery in early September and I know that recovery may take around 4 weeks, so you may not be hearing from me as regularly as usual, but I hope that you stay in touch and be patient until Iâm up on my feet again. Iâm going to try to get some things wrapped up before hand, so hopefully you Genealogy Gems Premium members wonât notice any difference in the regularity of premium shows and videos. And actually Iâm having a blast with this new video series coming up and I know youâll love it. I appreciate your understanding and patience and really canât wait until I can get back to the microphone with more genealogy gems. Thanks so much for listening friend, Iâll talk to you soon! |
Wed, 19 August 2009
Family Tree University
Google announced last week that it has quadrupled its searchable archive of historical news articles, many of which are free to access.
The National Archives just announced that it has launched what it calls a Narations blog. The new blog is going to focus on online public access to records of the U.S. National Archives
The Salt Lake City Family History Expo is almost here
MyHeritage.com, has announced the release of Family Tree Builder 4.0. The Family Tree Builder software is available for free download
Read the article about Googleâs new improved search BBC News
GEM: IPUMS USA website
The site is described as âCensus microdata for social and economic researchâ. Itâs an excellent and little known web site that is dedicated to collecting and distributing US census data. Its goals are to:
1850 â 1950 Enumerator Instructions But as the column implies, the census taker was instructed not to write in column 26D so in this case the instructions canât help much. Column 26D was filled in by the staff at the census bureau after the census taker completed the task. The codes written in the column were to assist them in tabulating statistical information which they reported to Congress.
Unfortunately these numbers really donât provide additional information because they just reflect what was written in the Occupation columns by the census taker
You can learn what the occupation codes in Column 26D mean by visiting this page: âDeciphering Occupation Codes Appended to the 1930 Census in One Step.â
GEM: Agricultural Census (Non-Population Census) Non-population census at the National Archives
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Sun, 2 August 2009
NEWS: For the month of August 2009 Footnote.com is providing free access to the 1930 census images. To get the free access just go to www.footnote.com/1930census/ and register with your email address. Genealogy Insider Blog by Diane Haddad at Family Tree Magazine. National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMUC) is celebrating it's 50th year. National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections is a free Library of Congress program. Information about the manuscript collections of participating US libraries is being entered into the WorldCat library catalog search engine. Family History: Genealogy Made Easy Randy Seaver"s article on the Genea-musings blog Footnote Mavenâs post about the episode Episode 39 of the Family History podcast features the very gifted writer Denise Levenick who write the Family Curator blog, and also has an alyer ego known as Penny Dreadful who writes occasionally for the Footnote Mavenâs Shades of the Departed blog. And you get two bloggers in this episode because it also features my interview with Schelly Talalay Dardashti who writes the Tracing the Tribe blog on Jewish genealogy. Both these ladies are very experienced bloggers and will give you great tips on blogging, including dispelling the myth that you have to be technically inclined to blog! Google Books: So what do you think about this? Have you published your family history? Does it matter to you who owns the digital rights to your work? Iâd like to hear your thoughts on this. Email Lisa or call the voice mail line at 925 272-4021 to have your thoughts included on the show. GEM: Profile America GEM: Tony Burroughs
He is the author of the book Black Roots: A Beginners Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree published by the Fireside Division of Simon & Schuster and I recently had a chance to sit down and talk with Tony about his work and his approach to the research process. Tony was so much fun to talk to and has so much knowledge about such a variety of subjects. If youâd like to see my interview with Tony that was filmed at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree you can view it in itâs entirety at the Genealogy Gems YouTube Channel. GEM: My Mother Was A Quilter by Lee Drew GEM: Profile America Sign up for the free Genealogy Gems e-Newsletter: See Lisa in person: Email Lisa with your questions and comments |
Sat, 18 July 2009
NEWS: The Genealogy Guys are going to be at the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference in Little Rock, AR Sept 2-5 2009 recording their show before a live audience on Sept 3 at 3:30 pm. Listen to Drew Smith interview Lisa on the Genealogy Guys Podcast Episode 177 The Library of Congress has launched "The Library of Congress on iTunes U, featuring historic video and sound recordings. Lisa discusses the start up and rocky road of the new social networking website for genealogists called Genealogy Wise by familylink.com Paul Allen's Apology to Terry Thornton So where do we go from here? Well, I still wholeheartedly encourage genealogists to network Join the Genealogy Gems Podcast facebook group Join the Genealogy Gems Podcast group on GenealogyWise Where Are Paper of Record's Records? It"s all still pretty murky. But it seems to be a pretty unanimous decision that Paper of Record was really a terrific newspaper website and though Google and WVR so far are not offering the same kind of search capabilities, they both seem to have some of the content. So my recommendation is to check Google News Archive first - which is free, and then check to see if WVR has the newspaper youâre looking for. Lisa's Video on the Google News Timeline Premium Members can watch the Premium Video Using The Google News Archive for Genealogy. Become a Premium Member Today. If you have information about the progress being made with the paper of records content Iâd love to hear from you so I can update everyone here on the show. Email me or call the voice mail line at 925-272-4021 to leave a message that I can play on the show. GEM: Profile America Visit NASAâs websiteâs Apollo 40th Anniversary pages Watch the Launchâ GEM: Interview with Geneablogger Thomas MacEntee Watch the video version of this interview at the Genealogy Gems TV Channel at YouTube Thomas MacEnteeâs Blogroll: The Graveyard Rabbit of New York Rural Cemeteries GEM: The July 2009 Family Tree Magazine Podcast Episode Ericâs fave collection: Mark your calendars: Join Lisa at the Family History Expo in Sandy, Utah just outside Salt Lake City August 28 & 29, 2009. Sign up for the Family Tree Webinar... |
Mon, 6 July 2009
For more info on next year's Jamboree: My Table Mates at the Friday Night Jamboree Banquet Read Lisa's Blog Posts about this year's Jamboree: Tukufu Zuberi Wows Researchers at Jamboree Listen to Lisa's one on one interview with Tukufu in Episode 63 How My Mom Prepared Me For The Geneablogger Summit Top 10 Things I Noticed At The Geneablogger Dinner NEWS: Family Tree Magazine Webinar Lisa's article called Grave Transformations appears in the September 2009 issue of Family Tree Magazine on news stands now. Watch the Grave Transformations video for step-by-step instructions. GEM: Interview with Randy Seaver, Genealogy Blogger Randy's Blogs: To purchase an "Iceberg" poster that Randy refers to in the interview, email the California Genealogical Society and Library at calgen1898@calgensoc.org or call 510-663-1358. |
Sun, 7 June 2009
GEM: 65th Anniversary of D-Day I've written a blog post about the D-Day anniversary that includes an article that appeared in the Yorkshire Post about how the memory of WWII is slipping through the cracks of time. In my own family my grandfather"s brother Elzie Cecil Moore who we called Uncle Elzie participated in the invasion of Normandy and received the bronze star and a purple heart for a shot he took to his shoulder during the invasion. Shortly after that he received a second purple hear for a shot he received through his face. Growing up I always noticed that scar on his chin and thought it was a cute dimple, not realizing until I started asking questions about family history that it was from a bullet.
Above: Elzie in Boot Camp My Grandmother Pauline Moore worked at the Kaiser Shipyard in Richmond, California building the Navy ships that sailed the Pacific. She was the secretary to the Dock Yard Manager for Yard #2 and that meant that she helped hire and process all the Rosies. In fact, when the Yard was finally closed down at the end of the war, Grandma was the last women through the gates. Like so many women she sacrified time with my dad was born in 1939 and was not yet in school. But she often told me it was one of the happiest times in her life because everyone was pulling together.
Above: Grandma Pauline and my dad during WWII Check out the post D Day Anniversary on the Genealogy Gems Blog where you will find a link to the Yorkshire Post as well as a video of the events of D Day. NEWS: The Family History Expo in Loveland, Colorado June 12 - 13, 2009. The Southern California Genealogical Jamboree in Burbank, CA on June 26 â 28, 2009 which Iâll be attending. Iâll be teaching two classes on Google, a beginning and Advanced, and Iâll also be on the panel for the Son of a Blogger Summitt with Dick Eastman, Steve Danko, DearMyrtle, George Morgan and others. And when Iâm not doing that Iâll be at the Family Tree Magazine booth in exhibit hall. You can get more information about the Jamboree at the Jamboree 2009 Blog. And you can register at the Southern California genealogical society Website. The 29th annual International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies International Conference on Jewish Genealogy being held August 2 â 7, 2009 in Philadelphia, PA You can register at the IAJGS website. Iâll also be at the Family History Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah August 28 & 29, 2009 Genealogy Records Update: The most recent additions to the Indexing Project: Thank you for supporting this free podcast GEM: Interview with Kathy Meade of Genline.com Lisa talks with Kathy about Genlineâs new Transcription Service Also check out Lisaâs other interview with Kathy Meade in the June 2009 episode of the Family Tree Magazine Podcast Swedish Parish Look Up She will also be at the Southern California Genealogical Jamboree in Burbank, CA June 26 â 28, 2009. Become a Genealogy Gems Premium Member GEM: Paper of Record / Google News Archive Google News Archive Timeline Video
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Sat, 23 May 2009
This special Memorial Day episode is dedicated to the men and women who lost their lives defending our country. (This podcast episode is an Enhanced Version which will include images that will appear on your Video iPod screen or in iTunes artwork area. Download the mp4 file to your hard drive or download in iTunes)
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Sat, 23 May 2009
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Mon, 11 May 2009
MAILBOX: Lisa reads an email from Mark Winter in Hixson, TN QUESTION: “I have had several relatives ask for book of the family. In a podcast do you discuss considerations in what kind of "book" to produce?” ANSWER: The Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 13 I think these books are great for creating something beautiful and easy to read to share with non-genealogist relatives. They love them because they can read them in one sitting and they can be packed full of wonderful old family photos. Of course there are many different approaches you can take when publishing a family history book and the Kodak books are just one approach. Stay tuned because I plan on covering publishing more in depth in the future on the Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast. If you want to share your genealogy stories or have a question do like Mark did and drop me a line. GEM: Profile America - Odometer GEM: Interview with George Morgan The Southern California Genealogical Jamboree Website
The Official Guide to Ancestry.com
How to do Everything Genealogy 2nd Edition
Become a Genealogy Gems Premium Member Today GEM: Profile America - Mother's Day Since this episode is being published on Mother"s Day I want to wish all of you mom’s out there a wonderful relaxing day with your family. And I want to send a personal Mother’s Day greeting to my Mom – Ellen Koehn - thank you and I love you very much!
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Sun, 26 April 2009
Get a free copy of my e-book 5 Fabulous Google Strategies for the Family Historian as a thankyou for signing up for the free e-newsletter. NEWS: Lisa discusses 9 newspaper databases being launched by Genealogy Bank MAILBOX FOLLOWUP: Russ Worthington's answers to a listener"s question on familial relationships in Family Tree Maker. How to Enter Intra-Familial Marriages  Listen to Family History: Genealogy Made Easy GEM: Online Downloadable Source Citations The heart of his proposal is this: In order to encourage quality genealogy research among their customers, shouldnât the websites that sell access to genealogical records online also provide a source citation for those records that the user can download and include in their research? As it stands today, when we download letâs say a page from a census record or a page from a newspaper, thereâs often times nothing on the digitized image itself to indicate which database it came from, or even a location or date. Mark emailed me to say âever since our interviews in St. George, I have not stopped thinking of ways to get the message out for simplifying citing sources using Evidence Explained.â And he sent me a link to a message board post from Elizabeth Shown Mills. Randy Seaverâs comments on the subject at the geneamusings blog This last week I had a chance to sit down and interview genealogy blogger and lecturer Stephen Danko for the Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast and I took the opportunity to ask him for his input. We really need to hear from at this point are the genealogy subscription records websites themselves. Itâs their product that we are talking about. And in the end, these digitized genealogy records we are talking about citing sources for are indeed âproducts.â And for companies like Ancestry and World Vital Records / familylink.com this is about business. I contacted both Ancestry and World Vital Records to do brief interviews with their reps about this proposed idea, and how they see it potentially fitting in to their future business plan, and also to hear what they think of this grass roots effort amongst their valued customers - In these tough economic times it must be great to see the interest that their customers have in their product and their willingness to stay engaged with them and provide input as to what elements could be added to their products to add increased value and draw for their customers. Iâve done many interviews with folks from Ancestry with the help of their very efficient and responsive publicist, as well as interviews with folks at familylink. Most recently I had a great time interviewing the COO of familylink Steve Nickle who gave us a terrific sneak peek at their newest venture called Genseek. And you can listen to that interview in Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 61. In this episode I will play for you the responses from both Ancestry and familylink / World Vital Records to my inquiry about whether record sites providing source citations for the records they provide to their customers. Yep, you heard it correctly. For the first time in two years of this podcast not only did they not provide a telephone interview, they didnât respond to my inquiry at all. Thatâs never happened before. The silence is deafening! As a genealogy media producer Iâm pretty disappointed in both Ancestry and World Vital Records responses because any time they send out a press release or want to talk about a new venture they are launching I have welcomed the information and provided it here on the show and on my blog, as so many of us who podcast and blog do â and that kind of passing the word on has got to help their bottomline. This is the first time that I havenât had a reply within 24 hours of an interview inquiry with Ancestry. And I think that tells us a lot! Elizabeth Shown Mills: âI suspect theyâll do that catch-up (and sheâs referring to how these companies will have to go back and cite sources for the thousands of databases theyâve built up over the years) only if newer companies adopt Markâs recommendation and the older companies then feel the pressure to compete.â So what do you think? This is one of those questions that affects all of us. Send me an email or leave your comment on the Genealogy Gems voice mail line at (925) 272-4021 and I will play it on the next episode. Let your voice be heard! GEM: Google News Timeline
So letâs do a search that could possibly help us with our family tree. In my case Iâm going to search on the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.
The Timeline then appears and youâll see columns running across the screen from left to write, each column representing a month on the timeline. To edit the columns:
You can also click the SIZE drop down and you can select from small medium or large. GEM: Interview with Maureen Taylor GEM: Profile America Share the Podcast...If you enjoyed what you heard in todayâs show and you find this free podcast helpful then be sure and spread the word. Podcasts are still fairly new to most folks, and your friends, and genealogy society may just need someone like you to introduce them to the wonderful world of free podcasts. So I hope youâll help me get the word out by sharing the website address www.genealogygems.tv |
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The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke - Your Family History Show (podcasts)
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