Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch: FamilySearch Adds 19,206,333 Images to New United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920, Collection FamilySearch has added 23.9 million indexed records and images this week with new browsable image collections from Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, England, Italy, Mexico, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 19,206,333 images from the new United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920, collection, the 2,005,113 index records from the United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, collection, and the 930,622 index records from the U.S., New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists,... Dick Eastman

The Missouri State Archives is working with FamilySearch on a project that could allow people to look up old marriage records online. Secretary of State Jason Kander says the online database will include more than 3 million Missouri marriage records from the territorial period through 1969. Those records already are available at county courthouses and on microfilm at the State Archives in Jefferson City. But Kander says this will mark the first time they can be searched through a free state website. Details may be found in an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at http://goo.gl/Wtfy4. UPDATE: The above link... Dick Eastman

StoryPress is an iPad app (with an Android version promised "real soon now") that helps you preserve your memories in your own voice by recording spoken history. StoryPress can be used for many different purposes. I can imagine a genealogist using the program to share grandmother's stories, in her spoken words, for the eventual listening by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Of course, the app can also be used for many other purposes, including recording stories about how your father built a business from scratch, your wedding, your first child, capturing your child's thoughts on the first day of school each... Dick Eastman

The following announcement was written by the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History: WESTMINSTER, Colo., 1 April 2013—The International Society for British Genealogy and Family History announces the courses for the 13th annual British Institute, to be held 7–11 October in Salt Lake City at the Radisson Downtown, located two blocks from the Family History Library. Registration will open 9:00 a.m. Pacific daylight time on 8 April 2013 and class size is limited. “The best kept secret is out for continuing education institutes!” said ISBGFH President Ann Lisa Pearson. “The British Institute is the place to be, providing... Dick Eastman

I love stories about long-lost cousins finding each other! The Miami Herald has a story about two women shopping at CVS who discovered they were second cousins but had never met previously. I must admit I have never thought of finding relatives at CVS! You can read the heart-warming story at http://goo.gl/mkWA9. My thanks to newsletter reader Timothy Heck for telling me about this story. Dick Eastman

Here is a powerful combination: Steve Morse and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B). If you are in or near New York City, you won't want to miss this event. The following was written by the NYG&B: On Saturday, April 27th, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society will present Steve Morse, originator of the ingenious “One-Step” webpages for genealogy research, in a full day of lectures and discussions to help researchers get the quickest and most effective use from online data sources. This is a rare opportunity to learn from one of the nation’s leading innovators in... Dick Eastman

The Hennepin County Library in Minneapolis has digitized the Minneapolis City Directories from 1859 to 1917, using a grant from the former Professional Librarians Union of Minneapolis (PLUM) and the Minnesota Legacy Amendment program. City directories allow users to find former city residents, their occupations and local businesses. The city directories are available at http://box2.nmtvault.com/Hennepin2/. Images are available of each year's directory. The text has apparently also been converted by an OCR (optical character recognition) process. You can search for any words in the directories by clicking on SIMPLE SEARCH. Details about the optimum method of using the search software... Dick Eastman

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. Cloud computing is in the news almost daily—and for good reasons. It offers cost-effective capabilities that would have been very expensive only a few years ago. Probably the most popular cloud computing application for consumers is that of making off-site backups to protect your files against hard drive failures or from in-home disasters, such as fire, flood, burst water pipes, hurricanes, tornados, or other tragedies. Companies providing cloud-based backup services include Backblaze, Mozy, Carbonite, CrashPlan, McAfee Online Backup, Norton Online Backup, Jungle Disk, and dozens of... Dick Eastman

The Library of Congress recently released an e-publication, Perspectives on Personal Digital Archiving. The e-book contains a compilation of selected blog posts published in The Signal, the blog of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP). All of these posts are written by the NDIIPP staff members or by guest bloggers from inside and outside the Library of Congress. This free publication can serve as a primer for the digital archive novice, as well as a refresher for those with more experience. Details may be found in the NDIIPP blog at http://goo.gl/2BbfM. My thanks to newsletter reader Mike... Dick Eastman

The following book review was written by Bobbi King: Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album. by Maureen A. Taylor. Published by Picture Perfect Press. 2011. 192 pages Maureen Taylor began thinking about and imagining clothing styles worn decades ago when she was still just a teenager. She was invited to portray Mary Todd Lincoln in the school play for which she researched and re-created the look of Mrs. Lincoln. This could be called the prelude to a successful calling in photo identification. Examining photographs. exposing their details, and offering us the time periods in which they were created... Dick Eastman

Are you about to visit Salt Lake City? If so, one of the best bargains there is to travel around on TRAX, the trolley system. Now Google is providing real-time TRAX public transit updates via cloud-based Google Maps. TRAX is operated by the Utah Transit Authority, or UTA. Google Maps already includes UTA schedules, but users will now be able to get live departure and arrival times that account for variations in the schedule due to delays. The same system also tracks Salt Lake City's buses and FrontRunner trains. The new service is available to all iPhone and Android users... Dick Eastman

UPDATE: The web site now reports "Sold Out!." There has been a lot of discussion lately on this newsletter's web site about handheld scanners. (See http://goo.gl/vU1pM for my past articles.) These devices are great for genealogists when visiting libraries or archives as well as for dozens of other purposes as well. For instance, I scan all my incoming printed mail except for the junk mail and then I throw away the paper. I prefer to have a permanent record of everything worth saving in Evernote where I can find and retrieve anything within seconds, even when I am traveling. Now... Dick Eastman

The following announcement was written by the Federation of Genealogical Societies: March 28, 2013 – Austin, TX. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announces a new partnership with Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft genealogischer Verbände e. V. (DAGV), an umbrella organization of genealogical and heraldic associations in Germany, in order to further the exchange of ideas and information between genealogists and family historians across the globe. Originally announced during the recent RootsTech 2013 conference in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, March 23, 2013, FGS and DAGV will work to “develop technical solutions to preserve and present records and to increase the mutual... Dick Eastman

I recently had a chance to talk with Dirk Weissleder, National Chairman of the DAGV (Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft genealogischer Verbände e. V. ), the federation of genealogical societies in Germany. Dirk talked about his start in genealogy, beginning in 1982, and the work he has done since then. Our conversation took place at the RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dirk talked about the cooperative agreement that had just been signed between DAGV and the (U.S.) Federation of Genealogical Societies. Our conversation was videotaped and is now available at http://youtu.be/B_Jm71UxPvg or you can click on the image below: Dick Eastman

I have written before about Backblaze, the popular online backup service. You can see my earlier articles if you start at http://goo.gl/6aBis. Backblaze also was a sponsor last week at RootsTech. Now the company is offering a free introductory offer for new customers to try the service. Starting immediately and running through the end of World Backup Day (March 31, 2013 11:59 PM PDT), new Backblaze Mac and PC users can sign up to receive 3 months of the Backblaze online backup service for free (a $15 value). Here's your chance to get your friends, family, and coworkers backing up... Dick Eastman

You can now read this newsletter on your "smartphone" or tablet computer. If you go to m.eogn.com, you will see the same great newsletter as always except that it will be formatted especially for your iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, or Blackberry's small screen. Try it: http://m.eogn.com. Please note there is no "www" in the address as that will take you to the web site that is formatted for larger screens. For smaller screens, enter: http://m.eogn.com. You might want to bookmark that address in your handheld device. NOTE: http://m.eogn.com will also work on your desktop or laptop computer, but will look... Dick Eastman

The following book review was written by Bobbi King: Better Than Sliced Bread: Genealogy and Technology. Published by the Silicon Valley Computer Genealogy Group, Santa Clara, CA. 2009. 184 pages. This is a paperback edition of selected-as-best articles from the Silicon Valley Computer Technology Group’s newsletter, the “PastFinder.” Some readers may recognize this group in their earlier incarnation as the Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, originated as an early PAF Users Group. Their previous newsletter was circulated as the “PAFinder.” PAF (Personal Ancestral File) is the genealogy software provided by FamilySearch, and one of the earliest genealogy software programs available... Dick Eastman

The following information was received from Joshua Stahlman, Archivist at the Pennsylvania State Archives: Archives Without Tears is an affordable workshop for those who do or aspire to work or volunteer in organizations that deal with the past in an archival capacity—whether it’s a museum; private, non-profit, or college archives; the city clerk’s office; the library’s local history room; or a historic site. You’ll get practical archival advice, sample forms and policies, and learn basic practices so that you can collect, preserve, and assist researchers with the archival treasures in your care. The following information was received from Joshua Stahlman,... Dick Eastman

Over 389,000 South London (Surrey) burials for the period 1545-1905, with a handful (18) up to 1957 plus one as late as 1980, are available for searching on www.origins.net. The South London Burials Index contains surname and forename, age where given in the register, year of burial, parish and additional info / notes, which may include information such as addresses, parents names and other personal details. This collection can help you locate individuals who were living in Greater London at a particular time, i.e. before the date of their death. It is also likely (though you cannot be 100% sure)... Dick Eastman

The following announcement was written by the National Genealogical Society: ARLINGTON, VA, 27 March 2013: Speakers as well as organizations interested in sponsoring lectures or tracks are invited to submit lecture proposals by 1 April 2013 for the NGS 2014 Family History Conference, Virginia: The First Frontier, to be held 7–10 May 2014 in Richmond, Virginia. Building on the records and history that draw so many back to their roots in the Old Dominion, we will explore the origins of those who settled within Virginia’s borders whether they came by land or sea. Among the topics being considered are lectures... Dick Eastman