12 Christmas Gifts for a Genealogist

Here's a list of a dozen gifts your favourite genealogist might like for Christmas. Maybe you could even sneak one or two for yourself!

1. Ancestry.com subscription
2. DNA Kit 10% off AncestryDNA Nov 29-Dec 14 in U.S.A. or Ancestry DNA in Canada
3. Echo Smart Pen by Live Scribe for recording Family Stories and Memories. I love my SmartPen which I bought on Amazon. I use it to record my 93 year old auntie's stories of her childhood, then I plug it into my laptop and the digital record transfers. Using the pen while auntie speaks, I make jot notes in the special notebooks. Then I can play the recorded stories by touching any word in the notebook. Very cool!
4. Legacy Family Tree Webinars subscription
5. Rootstech 2017 Registration
6. A loupe for magnification so you can scrutinize old photos and documents for clues.
7. A Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, Nook, or other e-reader so you can purchase genealogy books and read them in airports, waiting rooms, on the beach or pretty much anywhere
8. A subscription to the Genealogy Magazine of your choice. I like Family Tree Magazine, but the one you drool over could be very different.
9. A beautiful journal for writing your own memoirs. I love Iona Handcrafted Books and have asked my hubby to buy me another one this Christmas as I'm on my last one. Tip: If the checkout won't accept a non-USA order, just email or phone as they do accept international orders.
10. A Shutterfly gift certificate  I love Shutterfly for creating family photo books or calendars. It's also great for simply getting copies of your family photos so you can share them with family members
11. Acid Free Storage boxes for your treasured family photos and original documents
12. A copy of the Genealogical Mystery Novel "Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery" by Lorine McGinnis Schulze, available in Paperback or E-Book. In this debut novel, middle-aged Janie Riley is off to Salt Lake City to research her ancestors. Little does she know that murder and mysteries await her!

Challenges We Face With Family or Pet Nicknames

This is Olive Tree Genealogy's latest article on Legacy Family Tree

Names are important in genealogy research. But names can be confusing and can add challenges for the genealogist.

I've written previously about about surnames that were changed, either deliberately or accidentally, over generations in 5 Tips to Help You Navigate the Confusing Maze of Surname Variations.

There are other surname variations that genealogists can find confusing and challenging. See Oh Those Dit Names!  and  Dutch Patronymics: Confusing or Helpful?

These surname variations can make research into those families challenging! But genealogical research can also be confusing when our ancestors used nicknames, or alternated between using their first and middle names.

Besides the standard nicknames that we discover as we research our ancestors, what other variant names might we encounter along the path of filling out our family tree?

Continue reading  What’s In a Name? Challenges We Face With Family or Pet Nicknames

A Grave Mistake - Even if it's Written in Stone it Could be Wrong

My article A Grave Mistake - Even if it's Written in Stone it Could be Wrong is now on Legacy Family Tree News. 

Everyone Makes Mistakes: Why You Should Review Your Research Notes

A few days ago I decided to have another look at some census records I obtained many years ago for my Peer ancestors in Pennsylvania. When the 1830 census first became available online I had quickly found, and copied, the information for the family. I wanted to verify what I’d copied.

I headed for Ancestry.com to search their census records. Using their wildcard feature which picks up variant spellings, I searched for Edward P*er in Pennsylvania in 1830.
An index transcription popped up. I was quite puzzled because the indexed notes did not match what I had copied a few years ago. Was it possible I had made a mistake in my entry?

Please see the rest of my article on Legacy Family Tree Everyone Makes Mistakes: Why You Should Review Your Research Notes

April Articles on Legacy Family Tree

If you missed these, here are my April articles I wrote for Legacy Family Tree.

Was Great-Grandpa’s Name Changed at Elllis Island?

Break Down Those Brick Walls

How Mobile Were Our Ancestors?

Do you think your ancestors stayed in one place? Guess again! A prevalent myth among genealogists is that our ancestors could not, and did not, travel freely.

The truth is that many of our ancestors traveled frequently. They were much more mobile than most of us realize. When you look across the centuries, you can find examples of our ancestors’ frequent trips in times when travel was difficult, slow, and often expensive.

While it may be true that our immigrant ancestors returned home more frequently in later centuries, after ships’ travel became faster, easier, and less expensive, we should not assume this is the case. I have found many 17^th century immigrant ancestors who frequently sailed back and forth from their new land to their homeland.

Read the rest of my article at How Mobile Were Our Ancestors?

Image credit: Original artwork copyright Brian L. Massey, used with permission

Legacy Family Tree Article Why Do We Do Genealogy?

Olive Tree Genealogy's latest article on Legacy Family Tree is proving very popular. If you haven't read it, you might want to take a few minutes to do so.

A friend asked an interesting question. "Why do you do genealogy?" The answer should be simple. One would think it would be something along the lines of:

"I do genealogy because I want to know who my ancestors were."

But guess what? Like most questions in life, the answer is not that simple. There are a myriad of reasons why we delve into genealogy research. Wanting to find out who our ancestors were is just the tip of the genealogy iceberg.

Continue reading at  Why Do We Do Genealogy?

Don't Miss My February Legacy Family Tree Articles

I hope my readers enjoy my February articles on Legacy Family Tree!
  
Original Sources: Are They Always Accurate?
 
Is your genealogy accurate? Genealogists strive for accuracy. We want to be sure we have the right great-grandmother, the correct year of birth or death, the correct parents for our 3^rd great-grandfather. 

We spend hours, days, weeks, even months looking for original sources. But what are original records and sources? They are documents and records that were created at or around the time that an event occurred. These include such documents as vital statistic registrations, newspapers, tax lists, court records, church records, land records, funeral home documents, census records, personal letters and diaries, and other more obscure items such as funeral cards, coffin plates, and so on.

Continue reading at Original Sources: Are They Always Accurate?



Getting Real With Naming Patterns 
 

 Genealogists have strong opinions. But are they always correct?

I've been following some online genealogy discussions recently and noticed that we genealogists often answer questions with an emphatic point of view. Very often the answer is an extreme leaning one way or the other, with no middle ground or room for a “perhaps…”
One recent discussion began after a seemingly simple question -- were there naming patterns for children in the 1800s in [fill in blank with any country]. 

Continue reading at  Getting Real With Naming Patterns

Heads Up! Bloggers Check for Unauthorized Use of Your Content

One of my Legacy Family Tree articles
published in its entirety without my permission

Copyright issues have raised their head again. The following website, TORGGG Blogger: Toronto Galician Genealogy Group, has many bloggers' articles on its site. Perhaps you gave permission for your work to be republished there. I did not give that permission, yet two of my articles written for Legacy Family Tree were found there. 

My articles and images, including graphics I created personally, were taken without permission and published on TORGGG. My name was also missing as the author. 

Other bloggers have reported on Facebook that their unauthorized work is also found on the site. I wrote to the owner, Jim Onyschuk, jodanji@rogers.com.ed to demand he remove all articles written by me which he published without my permission. 

There is an article outlining how to write such an initial take-down letter at Lorelle

In the one and only email I send to the person who used my content without my permission, I give 24 hours as the timeline in which such articles must be removed or a fee for the article must be paid to me. 

I make it clear to the webmaster that if one of these actions is not take when the 24 hour deadline rolls around, I will file a DMCA notice with his webhost, any ad services he uses such as Google AdSense and feed services if they are used. And I do it. I don't hesitate, I don't give second chances, I file the DMCA notice. I then copy the webmaster on my filing of the notice.  

You can file a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice by following instructions on How to File a DMCA complaint. 

My word of caution for today is to go and check out the TORGGG Blogger site if you have concerns that your work might have been taken and published without your permission.  

I won't link to the site and give him a nice backlink. Just use your favourite search engine to search for TORGGG BLOGGER or copy the link you can see in the graphic above.  If your work is there and you don't want it there, please do follow up with a takedown email to the webmaster or a DMCA complaint or both.

Copyright issues, splogs and using content without permission is not okay! We must all fight this attitude that if it's on the internet it's free for the taking. Anything published online is copyright to the author the second it is published. Don't let your rights be trampled on. Don't let your work be devalued. 

Easy Steps to Organizing, Scanning, Preserving & Sharing Family Photos

 In November and December of this year I wrote a 4 part series of articles for Legacy Family Tree on Organizing, Scanning, Preserving and Sharing Family Photos. They may be helpful for any of my readers wanting to create some structure and organization out of a mess of family photographs! 

I've followed my own advice and made giant leaps in my own chaos of shoeboxes of stored family photos and old photo albums tucked into corners of the attic.
 
In "10 Easy Steps to Organizing Family Photos" Part I and  Part II I will walk you step by step through easy ways to sort your family photographs and get them ready for scanning. Graphics such as the one I created below add a visual component to aid in following the steps.

 

In "10 Steps to Scanning, Preserving and Sharing Your Photos" Part 1 and Part 2 I explain resolution, file format, types of scanners and other details you need to know before you begin to scan those treasured photographs.

One of the first steps is  deciding on a file structure on your computer. Screenshots of my own directory setup should help in following my suggestions

You've probably heard of meta data but might not know what it is. That is all explained in my series and screenshots of using meta data will be helpful.

So don't wait - take a bit of time before the New Year and add organizing and scanning your family photographs to your 2016 New Year's Resolutions

New Blog Post on Legacy Family Tree

I have a new article published on the blog “Legacy News”.  I think my readers might enjoy it! 

 It's called “What Kind of Genealogist Are You?” 

Take a peek and weigh in with an answer! Where do you fit in the categories I came up with?

 Writing this article (which is based on a similar article I wrote several years ago) made me stop and think about what I'm lacking in my genealogy methodology. 

It's time for me to try to incorporate one or two into my research methods. 

Search Alternates to Ships Passenger Lists to Canada Before 1865

Barbara asked about finding a ships passenger list for her great-grandmother Elizabeth Hayes, born 1841 in Newcastle, England.

Read my answer at Search Alternates to Ships Passenger Lists to Canada Before 1865

Legacy Family Tree recently tweeted about my latest blog post  Find Your Ancestor on Ships Passenger Lists to Canada after 1865 at  http://bit.ly/1LydBpm

Find me on Twitter @LorineMS 

 

Join the Chatter on My Article on Legacy Family Tree

There's a lot of chatter over on my most recent article for Legacy Family Tree. If you haven't seen it, please do take a look and leave your own comment! There are some very interesting stories from readers of my article and I'd love to hear yours.


Don’t Let Mythology Guide Your Genealogy Research!  

I have written other articles for Legacy Family Tree:
 
Have You Used this Unusual Genealogy Resource?    

I Found My Great Great Grandfather Online -- Now What!!??? (Verifying Records Found On Webpages)  

Find Ancestors in Upper Canada Land Records   

5 Tips to Help You Navigate the Confusing Maze of Surname Variations


Image credit: Image by stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Loving Legacy Tree! (and a Special Offer for My Readers)

Recently I used Legacy Tree's research services. I was very impressed! The researcher assigned to my query was very speedy with her response and very professional. She showed a thorough understanding of what I knew and what I wanted to find out.

Within the week I received a detailed report which contained new information on my ancestor. The report also provided me with recommendations of more research that could be conducted. My particular search is in Germany which is an area of research unfamiliar to me and where I do not have access to the records. I will definitely use their services again to pursue this ancestor.

Because I was so pleased with their services, I reached out to Legacy Tree and they kindly agreed to let me offer a very nice special to my readers. And just in time for Mother's Day!


It’s Legacy Tree Genealogists’ 11 year anniversary! To celebrate, get a beautiful genealogy wall chart for just $11 with a qualified research project (includes tax/shipping; offer ends May 31, 2015). 

Legacy Tree Genealogists provides careful and efficient family history research for clients worldwide, including help with dual citizenship, DNA testing analysis and research, brick wall research, family biographies, and more. Learn more at https://legacytree.com/olivetreegenealogy.

Webinar on Immigration Free Until Sept. 17, 2012

Yesterday Lisa Alzo gave a Legacy Family Tree Webinar on Beyond the Arrival Date (Extracting More From Ships Passenger Lists).

I couldn't watch it live but I heard from other genealogists that it was excellent. I've listened to Lisa's webinars previously and they are always chock full of information.

The webinar is available at no cost until Monday, September 17, 2012. Unfortunately I can't view it due to bandwidth restrictions and my spotty internet connection but if you don't have any restrictions, I suggest you take 90 minutes and give yourself a helpful treat.

A little birdie told me that Lisa very kindly mentioned Olive Tree Genealogy ships passenger lists online - thank you Lisa!

Genealogy Idol Competition

This is an intriguing contest offered by Legacy Family Tree ....

Attend the first-ever Genealogy Idol competition - from home or in person

The first-ever Genealogy Idol competition will take place during the RootsTech conference on Thursday, February 2, 2012 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Anyone can participate regardless of where they live or whether they attend the conference.

Four contestants (2 live at the conference and 2 online) will compete (apply below to be a contestant). In the three rounds of competition, contestants will demonstrate their gen-tech expertise and try to woo you with their favorite gen-tech secrets. Everyone will learn - but only one will leave with the title of "RootsTech Genealogy Idol 2012."

For more details click on the link for Genealogy Idol competition at the start of this blog post. 

 

 

Webinar: Google+ the Next Big Thing

Did you miss yesterday's Webinar "Google+ The Next Big Thing"? Paul Allen, Dan Lynch and Mark Olsen gave a very good overview and explanation of Google+ :  streams, circles, hangouts, sparks and more.

Olive Tree Genealogy was one of the guests invited by Mark Olsen to appear in his segment about Hangouts on Google+.  It was an interesting experience. Mark's an expert at Hangouts and while I've been to many (including some of  his) this one was different.

If you missed the Webinar you can watch it for the next 10 days at http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/webinars.asp

Google+ the Next Big Thing. Join these three leaders in Google technology as they get together to put on what we think will be one of the best webinars ever. Learn about Circles, Hangouts, Streams, Sparks and more.

Paul Allen, the Founder of FamilyLink.com and Ancestry.com has quickly become known as the unofficial Google+ Statistician. His expert use of posting in Google+ features, stats and using his own insider tricks have helped to make a huge impact on the initial success of Google+. Those who are part of Paul's Circles have already benefited from his expertise. Paul's fame has quickly grown and he currently has more than 22,000 followers on Google+.

Dan Lynch, a.k.a. "Mr. Google" is a technology marketing consultant, professional genealogist, and popular international speaker. One of the first to recognize Google's strengths for family history research, Dan authored the award-winning book Google Your Family Tree Unlock the Hidden Power of Google , and is already helping the genealogical community understand the benefit of Google+ (see his blog at http://GooglePlusforGenealogists.com).

Mark Olsen, is the Marketing Manager for FamilyLink.com and holds a degree in genealogy. Mark is another famous name on Google+ as he is currently hosting the longest ever Google Hangout, nearly one month of a continual hangout. Mark is one of the leading experts on Google+ Hangouts and has been learning how to better connect families and genealogists around the world. His current Hangout has been receiving a lot of positive press and has had visits from many well-known industry leaders.