Win an Ancestry.com World Subscription in the Olive Tree Genealogy Giveaway!

Great news! As part of their Death Contest and October Death Education Program, Ancestry.com has generously donated prizes for an Olive Tree Genealogy giveaway. 

Every Tuesday and Thursday from October 16 to November 2, I will be giving away TWO 3-month World Subscriptions to Ancestry.com to one lucky winner. There are two subscriptions being awarded because the winner keeps one and gives one to a friend!

Entry Requirements: For a chance to win you must do two things:

1. Share this blog post on a social media site such as Twitter, Facebook or Google+. You may provide a link to the blog post on your own blog as an alternate method of sharing the news. 

2. a) Send an email to otg.giveaway@gmail.com and tell me the Tip of the Day on Ancestry's Death Contest page
    b) Tell me where you shared the news of Olive Tree Genealogy Giveaway. 
    c) Be sure to put ANCESTRY.COM GIVEAWAY as the subject of your email

The Giveaways run every Tuesday and Thursday starting at midnight EDT and ending 24 hours later. Winners will be announced on Olive Tree Genealogy blog the day following the contest.

Important: Entries received for the first Tuesday giveaway will be deleted after a winner is randomly chosen. This means if you want to enter for a chance to win the Thursday giveaway, you must submit your entry again and follow the Entry Requirements.  You may continue to resubmit your entries (following all Entry Requirements each time) for each Tuesday and Thursday giveaway until the contest ends on Nov. 2

Contest Rules:
1. No purchase necessary.
2. Winner will be chosen at random from entries received. See details above for entry requirements
3. One winner will be chosen to receive the giveaway each Tuesday and Thursday.
4. Giveaways start Oct. 16th at midnight EDT and ends at midnight EDT Nov. 2nd
5. You are responsible for anything in regards to the legality of entering a contest in the area in which you live.
6. The winners will be notified via your provided contact information and the winners' names will be posted on Olive Tree Genealogy blog.

Please note that only entries received at otg.giveaway@gmail.com can be accepted.

Disclaimer: Ancestry.com subscriptions for the Giveaway are generously provided by Ancestry.com

WW1 Photo Album Archive: Page 5

 Continuing on with my WW1 Photo Album archive here is the fifth page.

We're still in WW1 era and there are 5 photos glued on to this page. 

 Uncle Ern, my grandmother's brother, may very well be in this photo but I haven't spotted him as a definite. It's a cavalry unit, no doubt the same unit we saw Ern in previous photos.

 This looks like my aunt Lily and if it is her, the photo was taken ca 1916. But it could also be Ern's little girl Edith who died at the age of one year in 1911.

 This is Auntie Cordie (Ern's wife), Ern, and their daughter Doris. Doris was my mom's cousin and it was Doris' home that these albums came from. Doris was born in Toronto in 1910 and lived in the same house her entire life.

 This is Auntie Cordie. She was born Cordelia Mary Cook in Ramsgate, Kent England in 1885 to parents Henry Stephen Cook and Priscilla Edith Curtis. Cordie's mother died in 1889 leaving her motherless until her father's remarriage to Rose Dugwell in 1891.

I don't know who this couple is.

Win Prizes with Ancestry's Death Record Challenges Oct. 15 - Nov. 2!

Want to win an iPad or other great prizes? Just solve mysteries from beyond the grave using Ancestry.com collections and your investigative powers through November 2.

The October Death Record Education Program starts today with your first challenge. You have 24 hours from the moment the contest starts to enter your answer on the site. The first contest  opens at 12:01 Monday morning October 15th, and will close at 11:59 pm on Tuesday. 

The winner will then be posted Wednesday along with the new question. Prizes will be given for Monday and Wednesday questions. 

 Friday questions simply give the participant an extra entry for the grand prize of an iPad.  Winners are announced at Death Contest or simply go to the main death page and click on the tab on the left labeled “Contest.”

The prizes for each day are as follows:

* Monday Oct. 15 - $100 Amazon.com gift certificate

* Wednesday Oct. 17 – Family Tree Maker, User Guide, & Advanced User Guide (Approximate Retail Value “ARV” - $114)

* Monday Oct. 22 – US Deluxe year membership (ARV - $155)

* Wednesday Oct. 24 - DNA test (ARV - $99)

* Monday Oct. 29 - $100 Spafinder.com gift certificate

* Wednesday Oct. 31 – World Explorer year membership (ARV - $299)

* Grand Prize: iPad 

Today’s Challenge: A Death in the Family.  You can back daily for tips, hints and more challenges—each one you answer is another entry in the grand prize drawing. So get started now at Death Contest for your chance to win!

Caveat: I am not running the Ancestry.com Death Contest Challenge. If you experience any difficulties or glitches in their contest submission form, please contact Ancestry.com directly. 

Case No. 16: George Coleman Dog Tags Need to Go Home

A. J. asked for help returning a found WW2 Dog Tag. Here is his email to Olive Tree Genealogy:

Hi Lorine from a very wet Isle of Anglesey in North Wales UK
My father who was a cinema manager in Amlwch Anglesey found two dog tags which I have in my possession and would be grateful if you could repatriate.
Details on the tags are
GEORGE COLEMAN
34245523 T42-43 0
and a small p in the bottom right hand side of the tag

Hopefully my readers will be able to help A.J.  and send George Coleman's Dog Tags home

Please note that Case #15 was sent to me as a comment on blog posts. That doesn't work well. I need to have a name and email so I can forward private details that are found by my generous readers.  It is also best to send me a photo or scan of the dog tag. So please be sure to send your emails to me directly at olivetreegenealogyATgmail.com

Please see our other Soldiers cases if you want to help send a dog tag home to the family

Get a Pink Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner Bundle for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Want to add some bling to your Flip-Pal mobile scanner and help find a cure for breast cancer?   Don't have a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner yet?

As part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner has introduced a special "pink" bundle consisting of a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner, a pink Deluxe Carry Case and a pink lid cover.

Here's your chance to get one and show that you support finding a cure.  A portion of your purchase will go back to the National Breast Cancer Foundation

This bundle, which will normally retail for $176.99, is being offered at the special introductory price of $159.29 during the month of October!

The pink lid cover  is also being offered separately, at the special price of $14.39.  Order your bundle today.

Peter Robinson Settlers Survey Responses1823-1825 online

Survey & Responses of George Buck

Olive Tree Genealogy received the following email which is pretty interesting in the world of Canadian genealogy, specifically for early settlers in Ontario

 Some months ago I came across an incredibly valuable set of records in the Archives of Canada -- the responses of 180 heads of families among the settlers who emigrated to Upper Canada in 1823 and 1825. For some time I've thought about how best to bring these records forward -- and decided to invite volunteers to join in a collaborative transcription of these records .

Lorine's note - Olive Tree Genealogy published excerpts from transcripts of the medical journals kept by the surgeons on board the nine transports that brought Robinson's Irish Settlers to the Peterborough area in 1825 at Filling in the Gaps 
The survey responses of these settlers at Peannairi is a unique and exciting find.

Have We Lost the Art of Writing Compelling Letters?

Take a look at some poignant letters written over 100 years ago.  Andrew Bass wrote to his wife from Camp Lee near Richmond Virginia in 1862 "Dear wife, don’t grieve for me it will do no good but let me say to you pray for me with all your heart that if we never meet on earth again that we may meet in heaven where parting will be no more."

John DeCamp wrote to his brother William about coming to Ohio in 1829 "Dear Brother at the last time we saw each other thee expressed a strong desire to come out here and I have frequently written to thee on the subject. Yet not withstanding I humbly desire that thee will not take up with my mind alone in this matter. But use thy own will herein. As I do not wish to over persuade thee or any of my friends."

Such beautiful writing! It is so expressive and for me it evokes strong emotions. But what would John or Andrew have said, and how would they have said it or sent it, if they were writing now?

Andrew might have sent an email "Hey sweetie, I'm okay. Keep your fingers crossed I make it home safe and sound but please don't worry."

John might have texted his brother William "Bro - r u coming 2 Ohio or not?"

They don't quite evoke the same emotions do they? And would they be saved? Would descendants of John or Andrew be able to read their words 100 years later?

Yes, I fear we've lost the art of letter writing. Don't get me wrong, I love technology. I love email and texting via smartphones. But I also love getting a letter by snail mail and prolonging the opening of the envelope. Anticipation builds while the kettle is put on to boil water for tea. It's almost a ritual.

But I don't get many snail mail letters anymore. In fact the last one I got was several months ago from my 89 year old auntie.

Have we lost letter writing forever? Is it too late to get it back? I often think of how our descendants won't have our words on paper to enjoy. How they may not have our photographs since most of us keep them in digital format.

I'm not sure what, if anything, can be done. But I sure love the sweetness of Andrew's words to his wife and the longing I can hear in John's note to his brother. And I hope we haven't lost that completely.

Pinterest: Time Waster or Useful Utility?

"What is Pinterest? Why would I want to join? Isn't it just another time-waster?"

 These are questions I see being asked constantly about Pinterest. I'm a Pinterest user. I like it. You can find me there under my Twitter handle LorineMS or by searching for Olive Tree Genealogy.

Here's what the Pinterest site has to say about what Pinterest is for:

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

Some of my Pinterest Boards

Once registered on Pinterest you simply create Boards and then you start pinning websites on your boards. I started off very simply by creating a Board for Genealogy Websites, Cooking, Technology and Antiques.

More of my Pinterest Boards

 As I filled those boards with my pins, I realized I needed to divide them into more precise categories such as Breakfasts, Slow Cooker Recipes, Veggies to Die For, and so on.  You can get as creative or plain as you want with your Board titles! Pinterest makes it easy to move your pins around if you find you want to create new boards with more specific topics.

One of my many cooking boards

 I use Pinterest to capture recipes that I don't have time to look through carefully. Because when I know I'm going to try a recipe I capture it on Evernote. But if I'm busy but I don't want to read through the recipe and think about whether or not I want to make it, Pinterest is the option I choose to save or bookmark it.

My Genealogy Board of Fav Websites

I also use Pinterest to organize my favourite genealogy websites. All I need to do is "pin" a website that I like. I do this by downloading the Pin It Button which I then can see on my Firefox browser. That means whenever I find a webpage I like (genealogy, cooking, technology, antiques, etc) I simply click on the button. Then I'm offered a choice of available photos from the webpage. I choose one and the photo plus the original site's URL are pinned to whatever board I choose.

Drop Down Menu with Pin It Button

Pinterest is very easy to use. There are drop down menus which allow you to quickly and easily create boards, move your pins from one board to another, reorganize the order of your boards on your Pinterest page, and so on.


Pinterest is also a social tool - you are meant to follow other people's boards and have them follow yours. I like following specific boards rather than every board one person has on their page. So I mainly follow genealogy and cooking boards that appeal to me.

Following other boards allows you to spot a yummy recipe or cool new genealogy website that you didn't know about. Then you repin it to your board of choice and you've got an automatic bookmark/reminder of that site.

There's a couple of drawbacks to Pinterest. You can't pin from Facebook. There may be other sites that are not Pinterest friendly. Some sites don't have any graphics that Pinterest recognizes so that blocks pinning unless you use a workaround I figured out.

Here's what you do if you want to pin a specific webpage but the graphics are not recognized by Pinterest. Copy the URL of the webpage you want to pin (highlight the URL and copy with your mouse).  Now poke around in the site until you find a graphic that Pinterest can use.

You can edit URLs in EDIT PIN mode

 Never mind if it's not the right URL to lead others to the page you want. Right now you just want the graphic. Pin that to your board. Now go in and EDIT that pin. You'll see a field where you can change the URL. This is where you will PASTE the URL you copied previously. Bingo you've got the graphic you want and the correct URL to take viewers directly the appropriate page.

So come and join me on Pinterest! It's fun, it's easy and it's such a cool way to  organize your favourite sites in a visual way.

Genealogy Treasure No. 11: Mortgage 1908 Dennison-Jemmett

This is the 11th set of documents in the batch I purchased at an antique store in Kingston Ontario July 27, 2012. For details, see Found! Treasure Trove of Land Documents from Ontario Canada

 This document is a Mortgage dated 25 February 1908 for $2000.00

Parties are Archibald Dennison & Gertrude Elizabeth his wife to Rebecca G. Jemmett, widow.

The land is noted as the East 75 Acres of Lot 16 Concession 6 in Richmond Township, Lennox & Addington Co Ontario and now owned by Archibald Dennison.

 Witness to the signing is Gertrude M. Anderson, Book-keeper

More documents will follow as I scan them and extract their details. To read details of documents I've published here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog, see Lennox-Addington Collection in the right hand navbar.

 If you are a descendant and would like to see these records, they are now with Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives,
97 Thomas Street East,
Napanee, Ontario
K7R 4B9

Case No. 15: Lester Lorfing of Texas, WW2 Dog Tag

Olive Tree Genealogy received another request for help finding descendants of a WW2 soldier.  One of the  missions of Olive Tree Genealogy is to reunite found items such as  Dog ID Tags, Medals, etc of soldiers with their descendants. To date my readers have worked on many cases and been successful in reuniting several soldiers' dog id tags with family members.


Here is the email for Case No. 15, Lester A. Lorfing

My husband found a US dog tag in our garden. We live on Lake Garda Italy. I gave the dog tag to my brother, who lives in the UK. The name is Lester A Lorfing and the serial no. is 38250774 T43 A P
I believe he died in 1999 in Texas, Wharton County.

My wonderful readers have a terrific track record in solving these lost and found Dog ID Tags and I'm hoping we can all jump in to this case and send Lester's Dog Tag home.

Please post your findings and ideas in the comment section of this blog post but remember if you have private information on living individuals (such as phone numbers or addresses) to send it privately to me at olivetreegenealogyATgmail.com

I did a bit of research already and found the marriage record of Lester and Inez Hoegemeyer in Texas in 1946 which led me to Inez Lorfing's online obituary. There is a great deal of information in this which may help with finding their sons.

We could also trace Lester's siblings and their children in case the sons cannot be found or have no interest in Lester's WW2 Dog tags.

WW1 Photo Album Archive: 4th Page

Continuing on with my WW1 Photo Album archive here is the fourth page in Doris' album.

One photo is missing and the rest have been glued to the page.

The time period is ca 1915 in Ontario Canada.

This appears to be my aunt Lily who was born in Guelph Ontario in 1915.

This is my favourite photo on this page. My grandmother's brother Ernest Simpson, is standing inside the door to the army tent, on the far left. This is some training area in Ontario, perhaps Base Borden. Tents like these were not used on the actual battlefield during WW1. 

I do not know who the people are in these two photos.

A Journey Down Memory Lane With Canadian Voters' Lists

Guelph Voters' List

 Ancestry.com and Ancestry.ca have brought Canadian Voters' Lists from 1935 to 1980 online. These act as a substitute census of sorts and are especially welcome since Canadian census records that are available to the public only go to 1911.

The lists are only available for the years below when there were Federal Elections. They are fully indexed for the years that are starred below, but not indexed for 1979 or 1980

1935* 1940* 1945* 1949* 1953* 1957* 1958* 1962* 1963* 1965* 1968* 1972* 1974* 1979 1980

Here I am living with my mom & aunt!

I had a lot of fun looking up my parents and grandparents and myself! Because I looked for so many people I discovered what a bad job of indexing has been done.

Ancestry used OCR (Optical Character Recognition) in place of transcribers, and so the results are messy. They recognize the issues that OCR causes and ask for viewers' assistance in correcting errors. Here's part of the blurb in the description of the database:

Because this collection uses OCR technology, we encourage you to correct any errors you find in the data by going to the image and editing the name in the correction panel at the bottom of the page.

If you are searching for your family and ancestors in this wonderful database (and you should!) be sure to use wildcards and limit your search terms if you don't get results. Here is an example of the  OCR issues:

 Above we have the typed voters' list for George McGinnis, farmer, in Alma Ontario. Below is the indexed entry for "Gwrgt'i Farmer McGinnis"

If you were looking for "George McGinnis" in the search engine, he won't show in the results. You'd pretty much have to just search on his last name. And since I found my McGinnis maiden name badly recognized in the OCR, I used wildcards to search for M*G*n*s

I found my surname indexed as Moginnis, Mrginnis and so on. There are many errors but don't let that keep you away. I was thrilled to get street names and numbers for my ancestors in Guelph Ontario. I can't wait to go back to Guelph to drive around and actually see where my Grandparents lived in 1935.

Voters' List 1867-1900

There is a companion database of Voters' Lists for Ontario for 1867-1900 but it is odd as it is not supposed to include women since they did not have the right to vote until 1918. But it does.

I have found thousands of women listed. For instance a search under just the first name "Susan" brings up 267 hits, all for women. A search for "Sarah" has over 1,200 results! It's not an error in names. I still haven't figured that discrepancy out! I'm also rather curious as to why Ancestry didn't OCR the last two years 1979 and 1980.

To search these wonderful Voters Lists, see Ancestry.com and Ancestry.ca

Genealogy Treasure No. 10: Land Deed 1905 Hall-Davis

This is the 10th set of documents in the batch I purchased at an antique store in Kingston Ontario July 27, 2012. For details, see Found! Treasure Trove of Land Documents from Ontario Canada

 This document is a Deed of Land dated 9 March 1905. It is from Frederick H. Hall et ux (and wife) to Alexander Dais, farmer, single man.

The witness is Viva May Lane, Stenographer

The land is the East 75 acres of Lot 16, Concession 6, Richmond Township, Lennox & Addington Co. Ontario

Price is $2600.00

More documents will follow as I scan them and extract their details. To read details of documents I've published here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog, see Lennox-Addington Collection in the right hand navbar.

 If you are a descendant and would like to see these records, they are now with Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives,
97 Thomas Street East,
Napanee, Ontario
K7R 4B9

Ancestry.com Acquires 1000Memories

(PROVO, Utah) – Oct. 3, 2012 – Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM), the world’s largest online family history resource, announced today it has acquired 1000memories Inc., the San Francisco-based startup that has been focused on helping people digitize and share the estimated 1.7 trillion paper photos stored in their albums, attics, and shoeboxes.

Founded in 2010, 1000memories’ mission has been to help families and friends preserve their personal memories and share those memories with others. 1000memories will provide Ancestry.com members a compelling new way to share their family history discoveries with friends and family as well as scan and add their old photos to their family trees. It also brings an innovative team to the Ancestry.com family to advance Ancestry.com members’ abilities to share the past with others.

The 1000memories acquisition also brings with it the popular ShoeBox app that turns mobile phones into photo scanners providing an easy way to digitize, save, and share photos online or on-the-go. With more than 500,000 downloads since its launch, the ShoeBox app has become a popular way for people to get their old photos out of their shoeboxes and into the cloud.

To mark today’s announcement, 1000memories has launched a new version of ShoeBox for iOS, enabling Ancestry.com members to post photos directly to their forebears’ profiles on Ancestry.com. This is the first step in a broader plan that will see tighter integration of the two services in the coming months.

“1000memories has built a popular way for people to capture and share their memories,” said Eric Shoup, Executive Vice President of Product for Ancestry.com. “The addition of the 1000memories team, their website and the Shoebox mobile app provides a powerful boost to Ancestry.com’s mission of empowering our users to discover, preserve, and share their family histories.”

“We began with the idea that the web provides an amazing vehicle for capturing and sharing the memories we hold most precious,” said Rudy Adler, cofounder of 1000memories. “We’re excited to expand our reach to Ancestry.com’s millions of users and help them share and preserve their family stories in a beautiful way.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Ancestry.com does not expect the acquisition to have a material impact on its financial guidance as issued in connection with its second quarter earnings release on July 25, 2012. It’s expected that all 1000memories employees will join Ancestry.com effective immediately.

Save $ and 7 Great Uses for a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner

What can you do with a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner? Lots of reader ask this question. Well, I'm going to share seven things I've done with mine over the past year. But before I do, you might want to order your own and save $20.00 until December 31st. 2012

“Carry On!” coupon promotion: Save $20 when you purchase a Flip-Pal mobile scanner plus a Deluxe Flip-Pal mobile scanner Carry Case with Pocket, valid October 1-December 31. Promotion Code: C412A at Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner

Seven things I've done with my Flip-Pal Scanner in the last year:

Instant Photo Border

1. Created instant photo borders and mat

Creating a Family Recipe Booklet

2. Scanned family recipes in a loved one's handwriting and created a treasured family recipe booklet

Scanning with 87 year old Auntie
3. Visited an older relative to scan their photos

Take Flip-Pal to a Museum

4. Taken Flip-Pal to a Museum and scanned documents

5. Been a Flip-Pal Couch Potato and scanned family photos while watching TV.

Documenting Civil War Photos

6. Documented a Civil War era photo collection

 7. Archived a collection of WW1 Photo Albums

 

Ontario Genealogical Society's 2013 Conference

The Ontario Genealogical Society's 2013 Conference will be held at Oshawa,
on the campus of Durham College/UOIT.  The dates will be May 30-June2, 2013.

The website and the blog for the event are being prepared and should be up
soon with all the information you will need to register.  Please go
to:  Ontario Genealogical Society website  and follow the links to the Conference.

My Top Ten Genealogy Websites

Randy Seaver posted  his list of his Top 10 Genealogy Websites.  I find it intriguing to know what other genealogists consider essential websites for research and decided to add my top ten. These are genealogy websites I use daily or weekly or perhaps only monthly but I use them frequently for my own ancestor research.

Of course each of us has our list of favourites depending on our research areas of interest so everyone's list should be unique. But Randy and I both agree that Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org are our top two. Here's my list of genealogy websites I'd be lost without:

1. Ancestry.com - ($) pay site but my absolute #1. I visit several times daily in my search for Canadian, American and English ancestors.

2. FamilySearch - (free) Lots of images and indexes world-wide. I probably only frequent it 2 or 3 times monthly. I confess that I find the search function not as friendly as it once was. I use it for my American and English ancestry

3. Free BMD - (free) Civil Registration Indexes. My mother's ancestry is solidly English so I use this site a lot (several times a month) to find ancestors in the index to Births, Deaths and Marriages after 1837.

4. The British Newspaper Archive ($) I love this site for finding newspaper articles about my English ancestors. I use it about twice a month.

5. The National Archives UK (free) Lots of online documents and very reasonably priced documents you can download instantly. I use this monthly for my English ancestors.

6. Library & Archives Canada (free) - dozens of free online databases for anyone with ancestors who lived in Canada. I use this site at least once a month.

7. Newspaper Archive ($) I love newspaper sites and wish there were more for Canada. But I use this one several times a year for my Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado and New York ancestors. It's tied with GenealogyBank ($) in my #7 spot.

8. Trove. (free) Another newspaper site (and more!) for Australia. I have found many newspaper records here for my Australian and English ancestors.

9. Cora Web (free) If I want to know anything about ships passenger lists to Australia I head to Cora's site. I don't go that often but I know it's there when I need it.

10. Olive Tree Genealogy (free) Yes I know it's my site. But I honestly use it as my first stop to find ships' passenger lists to Canada and to USA, and New York records (births, marriages, naturalizations, almshouse, orphans etc)