Getting Motivated to Scan Old Family Photos

Auntie and I using Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner on the couch

Recently on Facebook, an impromptu bit of fun began among the genealogy bloggers and enthusiasts. One well-known genealogist Elizabeth Shown Mills started it by posting a high school graduation photo of herself. 

It was great to see what she looked like as a teen (gorgeous!). Then the rest of us followed suit. It was so much fun to see the hair styles from the 80s, the 70s and yes, the 60s! 

Everyone looked so pretty and full of enthusiasm. Some of the male bloggers followed suit and they were equally adorable. They ranged from cute geeky nerdy to sweet young boys. 

Lorine with "the flip" hair

I don't have grad photos but I did share one of me from first year University. I like how it shows my hair in the style of "the Flip"! You'll see why I like that a bit further down in this blog post. I had to scotch tape my wet bangs to my forehead to try to make them dry straight. Lucky me, my hair naturally flipped up.

There were many of my friends and colleagues who couldn't find an early photo of themselves or who knew where one was, but didn't have it scanned. 

And that leads me to my plea to you. It's time to scan your family photos!
 Don't leave it for some fay in the future. It's easy to put off something like organizing and scanning your own photos. It can be boring. There are other more important things you want or need to do.  But I strongly urge everyone to start the project now. 

And a good way to get organized and motivated is to take your Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner and your box of old photos, turn on your favourite tv program, get settled on the couch and start scanning while you watch tv. 

If you don't have a  Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner, now's a good time to buy one. Buy it for yourself as an early Christmas present. Right now there's a coupon so you're in luck. he coupon code is: Fall22 and it is good for $25 off the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner with Digital Creativity Suite and a Deluxe Carrying Case!

There is also SundayScanDay group on Facebook. They meet "virturally" every Sunday at 3pm CT [4pm ET / 2pm MT / 1PM PT] for one hour in order to scan photos, documents, etc. It's much more fun to scan when you have company.

There is another virtual group called ScanFest run by Miriam Robbins but I have not been able to find a location to give you. Perhaps one of my readers knows where and when this is held. 

Update: FamilySearch Adds More Than 2.7 Million Indexed Records and Images

FamilySearch Adds More Than 2.7 Million Indexed Records and Images to Collections from Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and Switzerland

FamilySearch has recently added more than 2.7 million indexed records and images from Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. 

Notable collection updates include the 1,459,211 indexed records and images from the England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1910, collection, the 534,245 indexed records and images from the new Mexico, Aguascalientes, Civil Registration, 1859-1961, collection, and the 172,333 indexed records from the Italy, Napoli, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1809-1865, collection. 

 Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.

Don't Miss RootsTech 2014 Coming in February!

Registration is now open for RootsTech 2014, which will be held on February 6-8, 2014, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

This annual family history conference, hosted by FamilySearch, is a unique global event where people of all ages learn to discover and share their family stories and connections through technology. 

 
Did you miss RootsTech 2013?  Watch archived streaming videos from RootsTech 2013.

A Story To Inspire All Genealogists

This is an endearing story that should inspire all genealogists. A Passion for History is the story of the journey one woman took into genealogy and helping others.

"What started as a way to entertain guests at a 50th anniversary party has turned into a lifelong passion for Rose Marie Hulse." sums it up.  Her family tree chart done for that Aniversary party for her parents was the first of what I like to call "the Domino Effect". 

One thing led to another. Rose joined a genealogy society in Nebraska. Then she joined the Nebraska State Genealogy Society. Eventually she organized and founded the Fillmore County Genealogical Society. 

Eventually Ms. Hulse began recording cemeteries and her transcriptions turned into published books.

Read more at A Passion for History

More Powerful Free Genealogy Search

The following announcement was sent to Olive Tree Genealogy:

 GenealogyInTime Magazine, the world’s most popular online genealogy magazine, and one of the world’s largest free genealogy websites, is announcing a very significant upgrade to our free Genealogy Search Engine.  It continues to become even more powerful:

·      An additional 532 million free genealogy records from around the world are now searchable.  In total, the Genealogy Search Engine indexes 2.7 billion records from over 1,000 websites.

·      In a first for a genealogy website, the entire Google Newspaper Archive can now be searched by the Genealogy Search Engine.  This extremely valuable archive covers over 2,000 historic newspapers going back as far as the 1700s.

·      The massive Australian Trove archive can now be completely searched with the Genealogy Search Engine.

To learn more about the latest upgrades to the free Genealogy Search Engine, read SearchOver 500 Million More Records.

Learn more about GenealogyInTime Magazine.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

No Response from Canadiana.org so here are the Heir & Devisee Commission Film Details

Heir & Devisee Papers re Richard Hainer

Last month I posted an article called Heir & Devisee Commission 1797-1854 on Canadiana.org - Listing Errors and a Workaround 

Canadiana.org erred in their description and their finding aid for this wonderful set of records so I spent several days going through each online microfilm and creating a corrected Finding Aid. As mentioned in that earlier blog post I also noted where each Volume began on each Microfilm.

I have the first set ready for genealogists to use to more easily find the set of records they are interested in. Here is the detailed listing for Microfilm H1133 Volumes 1-6. You can access this online film by using the link provided.

As an aside, I contacted Canadiana.org on August 30 about the errors, offering them my corrected Finding Aid. I've had no response to my email so apparently they are not interested in correcting a serious error on their site.

Whoever manages their Twitter account tweeted me when they saw my blog post saying "someone" would be contacting me to discuss the problem. But that has not happened. So I will continue correcting their errors on their site and publishing the correct details and Finding Aids here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog and on my Olive Tree Genealogy website.

Heir & Devisee Commission Films

H 1133 (V 1-6)

Image 14 V 1 Index to Location Certificates pre 1804

Image 15 A;   Image 16 B;   Image 18 C;   Image 20 D;   Image 21 D, E;   Image 22 F;   Image 23 F, G;   Image 24 G, H;   Image 25 H;   Image 26 J;   Image 27 K;   Image 28 L;   Image 29 L, M;   Image 30 M;   Image 32 N;   Image 33 O;   Image 34 P;   Image 35 P, Q;   Image 36 R;   Image 38 S;   Image 41 T;   Image 42 U;   Image 43 V;   Image 44 W;   Image 46 Y;   Image 47 Z

Image 51 V 2  Eastern District Commissioner Reports 1803-1804

Image 162 V 3 Eastern District Commissioner Reports no dates

Image 191 V 4 Eastern District Commissioner Reports 1797-1802

Image 192-199 Partial index

Image 344 V 5 Eastern District unresolved or disallowed claims 1809-1841

Image 335-336 List of Names of claimants

Image 513 V 6 Eastern District Location Certificates A-F

Image 514 “A” 1785-1797; Image 539 “B” 1785-1803

Jim Parsons Who Do You Think You Are? - the Research Team Tells More

--I loved the Who Do You Think You Are? episode with Jim Parsons. Who Do You Think You Are? is brought to television by Ancestry.com and TLC.

For those like me who are always curious for more details, here's a little scoop from the team that did the research on his ancestry:

When we went digging into Jim Parsons’ family tree we found his third-great-grandfather was Jean Baptiste Hacker, a physician who was raised in New Orleans but moved to Plaquemine, Louisiana, after starting his medical career. Just a few years later, Dr. Hacker, along with his daughter Leocadie and his nephew, was killed in a tragic fire on board the steamboat Gipsy in December 1854.

Using newspapers, we were able to document the accident in an article titled “The Burning of the Gipsy” on the front page of the Daily Picayune newspaper in New Orleans. The story was also printed in newspapers across the country, such as the Liberator in Boston, Massachusetts. Newspapers provided facts about the event that could not be found in any other record.

We also used online newspapers to learn about historic events that occurred in places where the family lived, such as the yellow fever epidemic in Plaquemine in 1853.

Newspapers can provide context and color to your family story, as well as obituaries and notices of marriages, births, graduations, court proceedings, and other noteworthy events in an ancestor’s life. And they are getting easier to find each day as more and more titles are digitized and added to online collections.

Watch the full episode on TLC.com.

Who Do You Think You Are? on TLC picked up for another Season!

Who Do You Think You Are? on  TCL  in partnership with Ancestry.com has been renewed for another season.

TLC has ordered another 10 episodes of the show from Dan Bucatinsky and Lisa Kudrow that’ll show in 2014. This year Who Do You Think You Are?  averaged 1.8 million persons.

This is great news, and I am quite excited about the next season. 

Who Do You Think You Are? with Jim Parsons Tonight

Who Do You Think You Are? on  TCL  in partnership with Ancestry.com tonight is going to feature Sheldon --- I mean Jim Parsons!

Tonight's episode will explore ancestors on his paternal side of the family. The Emmy-winning actor travels to Louisiana and eventually France, where he makes some astounding discoveries.

I am super excited about tonight's show and am already planning what nibbles hubs and I will enjoy while it's on.

Did you miss National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair?

Did you miss National Archives (NARA) first virtual Genealogy Fair last week? Not to worry as all the sessions are available online on Ustream.
 
Handouts

• Handouts for September 3 Sessions
  
• Handouts for September 4 Sessions

Tuesday, September 3

Time	#	Lecture Title	Presenter
10AM	1	Introduction to Military Records at the National Archives	John Deeben National Archives at Washington, DC
11AM	2	Introduction to Genealogy: Civilian	Rebecca K. Sharp National Archives at Washington, DC
12PM	3	Alien Files (A-Files)	Elizabeth Burnes National Archives at Kansas City, MO
1PM	4	Native American Records	Michael Wright National Archives at Fort Worth, TX
2PM	5	National Archives Online Resources for Genealogy	Nancy Wing National Archives at Washington, DC
3PM	6	Citizenship Matters: Bureau of Naturalization Files at the National Archives	Zack Wilske U.S. Immigration & Citizenship Services, Washington, DC

Wednesday, September 4

Time	#	Lecture Title	Presenter
10AM	7	Genealogy and the Freedman’s Bank: Records of the Freedman’s Savings & Trust Company	Damani Davis National Archives at Washington, DC
11AM	8	Military and Civilian Personnel Records:  The National Archives at St. Louis	Ashley Mattingly & Theresa Fitzgerald National Archives at St. Louis, MO
12PM	9	Union Civil War Pension Files	Claire Kluskens National Archives at Washington, DC
1PM	10	Federal Penitentiary Records	Jake Ersland National Archives at Kansas City, MO
2PM	11	Finding U.S. Colored Troops at the National Archives	Trevor Plante National Archives at Washington, DC
3PM	12	Genealogy Through Navy Deck Logs	Mark Mollan National Archives at Washington, DC
4PM	13	Oh, The Stories They Tell: Chinese Exclusion Acts Case Files at the National Archives & Records	Susan Karren National Archives at Seattle, WA

Traces found from 24,000 books lost when Canadian parliament in Montreal burned down

This is something we rarely read about. Archaeologists have uncovered traces of books lost when the Canadian parliament in Montreal burned down in 1849. So far the charred remains of seven books have been found.

The fire started when English speaking protestors set fire to the building over their rage at Francophones being compensated for losses in the 1837 Rebellion (also called the Patriot War in America)

Parliament eventually moved to Ottawa but for a short time Montreal was the home.


Credits: "Bonfire" by Simon Howden on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Answers to Concerns Over FamilySearch & Ancestry Partnership Deal

Recently FamilySearch and Ancestry.com announced a 5 year partnership to digitize over 1 billion records and publish them online.

As is often the case the nay-sayers, those who think anything Ancestry.com touches is evil, came out of the woodwork with doom and gloom accusations and prophecies.

The two most common complaints/accusations/questions I saw on social media sites were:


1. Why should I do any volunteer transcribing for FamilySearch if they are just going to let Ancestry.com put them online and charge for them??? 

2. So now FamilySearch is going to start charging us to see their records???

Well thanks to FamilySearch posting on their blog we have the answers to these concerns. A quick read will show you the concerns are unwarranted. 

Yes folks this is a GOOD THING. We will have access to many more records than we had previously. And the new records will be FREE to view. Always.

I call that win-win.

Credits: "Stressed Man Sitting On Globe" by Master isolated images on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Fabulous Find: A Manx Notebook

View from Falcon Cliff, Isle of Man

A Manx Notebook is my latest genealogy find. It would be listed under Featured Database but it's so eclectic that instead I'm creating a new topic for my Olive Tree Genealogy blog called Fabulous Finds.

Anyone with ancestors from the Isle of Man will want to visit this site. I have spent the last two days poring over the vast wealth of material found on its pages and I'm still making discoveries.

Francis Coakley is the person behind this site which is titled "A Manx Notebook: An Electonic Compendium of Matters Past and Present Connected With the Isle of Man"

There are wills, church records, biographies, maps, Directories - and the list goes on. Don't miss this wonderful site for your genealogy research.

All Our Relations on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network

A new series has just premiered on APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) called All Our Relations. It airs Wednesdays at 8:30 pm and Sundays at 11:30 pm. From the website:

6 celebrities, 6 journeys into the past, 6 inspiring stories for the future. Featuring Aboriginal celebrities such as actor Adam Beach and political figures such as former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, James Bartleman this series will take us on a journey through their individuals family histories, learning about how the experiences of their ancestors has shaped who these outstanding individuals would one day become.

Thanks to Brenda Dougall Merriman for posting the link to this series on Facebook this morning. I am not sure if I get this channel on my satellite but will definitely be checking it out. The APTN website has a spot where you can set your location and television provider and it will show you what channel number APTN is on.  I'm on Shaw Direct and it's showing me that APTN is on Channel 350 so now I just have to see if I am subscribed to that channel. Fingers crossed!

ANCESTRY.COM AND FAMILYSEARCH TO MAKE A BILLION GLOBAL RECORDS AVAILABLE ONLINE

Sample Genealogy Record

 

Ancestry.com AND FAMILYSEARCH TO MAKE A BILLION GLOBAL RECORDS AVAILABLE ONLINE

Groundbreaking Agreement to Deliver Valuable Historical Content Over the Next Five Years

PROVO, Utah, September 5, 2013 – Ancestry.com and FamilySearch International (online at FamilySearch.org), the two largest providers of family history resources, announced today an agreement that is expected to make approximately 1 billion global historical records available online and more easily accessible to the public for the first time. With this long-term strategic agreement, the two services will work together with the archive community over the next five years to digitize, index and publish these records from the FamilySearch vault.

The access to the global collection of records marks a major investment in international content as Ancestry.com continues to invest in expanding family history interest in its current markets and worldwide. Ancestry.com expects to invest more than $60 million over the next five years in the project alongside thousands of hours of volunteer efforts facilitated by FamilySearch.

“This agreement sets a path for the future for Ancestry.com and FamilySearch to increasingly share international sets of records more collaboratively,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of Ancestry.com. “A significant part of our vision for family history is helping provide a rich, engaging experience on a global scale. We are excited about the opportunities it will bring to help benefit the family history community and look forward to collaborating with FamilySearch to identify other opportunities to help people discover and share their family history.”

The organizations will also be looking at other ways to share content across the two organizations. Both organizations expect to add to the already digitized records shared across the two websites in addition to new record projects to be completed over the next five years.

"We are excited to work with Ancestry.com on a vision we both share," said Dennis Brimhall, President of FamilySearch. "Expanding online access to historical records through this type of collaboration can help millions more people discover and share their family's history."

This marks a groundbreaking agreement between the two services. But the two organizations aren’t strangers to working with each other; hundreds of millions of records have already been shared and are available on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. The companies also announced in early 2013 an additional project where they plan to publish 140 million U.S. Wills & Probate images and indexes over the next three years—creating a national database of wills and other probate documents spanning 1800-1930 online for the very first time.

I Learned Something New From Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? on  TCL  in partnership with Ancestry.com featured Country & Western singer Trisha Yearwood last night.

For me this was a very interesting episode as I learned something quite new. Trisha was given her ancestry back to Samuel Winslett, born in England in 1744 who emigrated to Georgia around 1760.

Notice: Spoiler Alert if you have not watched this episode!

Samuel and one of his brothers (Aside: what happened to the third brother who was part of the deer taking??) were found guilty of killing deer that did not belong to them and sentenced to hanging. They were then reprieved and sent to Georgia as convicts. Samuel's sentence was 14 years and once he arrived in America, he and other convicts were sold at auctions. This blew me away! I knew of convict transportation to Australia, and I knew of indentured servants but I have never read or heard about convict transportation to America.

So I had a look around this morning and found an interesting article about this little-known period of American history.  Convict Transportation to America: Epilogue is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. History fascinates me and I plan on reading the entire series today. Then I will purchase the Kindle version of the book Bound with an Iron Chain: The Untold Story of How the British Transported 50,000 Convicts to Colonial America 

Many of my readers know that I'm fascinated with immigration. My first exciting find in genealogy was one of my immigrant ancestors and that set me on a path to discover every immigrant ancestor I have. I'm fascinated with the stories - why did an ancestor immigrate? And what was behind their choice of settlement? What was their journey like? That's why my website Olive Tree Genealogy specializes in Ships Passenger Lists and immigration substitutes.

One of my secondary passions is learning about the lives of those who were impoverished and sent to almshouses, workhouses and poor houses, or removed from their homes in Great Britain and sent to the colonies. I scour little known records such as the Poor Law Union Records to find names and stories of those who were forced from their homes. Many of these "convicts" were sentenced for crimes that involved hunger or poverty and as such I find myself once again caught up in the tragedies.

Do you have a story of a convict ancestor sent to America? I'd love to hear about him or her!

Who Do You Think You Are? Live Tweets From Trisha Yearwood

Who Do You Think You Are? on  TCL  in partnership with Ancestry.com features Country & Western singer Trisha Yearwood tonight. She will be live tweeting throughout the episode so that should be very interesting.

I suspect her tweets will also add more details as to how the research was conducted, how long it took and so on.

The show airs at 9/8c. Be sure to follow her here: https://twitter.com/TYcom

Free Time Today? Don't Miss National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair!

The National Archives is holding its first-ever virtual Genealogy Fair on September 3 and 4 (2013) 10 a.m.–4 p.m. EST

The Fair will be streamed online through Ustream. It's free, and there's no reservations or passwords. You can ask questions through the chat function, or  tweet your questions to @usnatarchives #genfair2013.

Experts from the National Archives will be discussing Native American and African American history, immigration, Civil War pensions, U.S. Colored Troops, and Navy Deck logs.

We hope to "see" you there: http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/know-your-records/genealogy-fair/

Recorded sessions will be available online after the event.

Last Day for Free Access Entire US Census Collection

In honor of Labor Day, you can enjoy free access to the complete US Census collection on MyHeritage from August 31 through September 2 - during Labor Day weekend.

Here's the link to access the  entire US census records free this weekend

 

For more census links to US Census and Canadian Census records visit AllCensusRecords.com

Labor Day Sale on Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner

If you've been considering buying the amazing Flip-Pal mobile scanner but haven't done so yet, now's the time!  Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner! Labor Day Sale is on!  

The following specials are valid until 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time, Wednesday, September 4, 2013 or while supplies last.

Save $20 on the Flip-Pal mobile scanner and Deluxe Carry Case Bundle!
(Regular Price: $179.98, Sale Price: $159.98) Place your order

Save $25 on the Flip-Pal mobile scanner Rechargeable Bundle!
This bundle includes the Flip-Pal mobile scanner, a Deluxe Flip-Pal mobile scanner Carry Case and an Eneloop AC Battery Charger with a 4-Pack of AA Rechargeable Batteries. (Regular Price: $209.97, Sale Price: $184.97) Place your order

Save $40 on the Really Big Bundle!
Do you want it all? This bundle includes a Flip-Pal mobile scanner, a Deluxe Flip-Pal mobile scanner Carry Case, a Flip-Pal mobile scanner Sketch Kit, a Picture Keeper PK 8, an Eneloop AC Battery Charger with a 4-Pack of AA Rechargeable Batteries, a Flip-Pal mobile scanner Cleaning Cloth and a Flip-Pal Window Protector Sheets 3-pack.
(Regular Price: $288.93, Sale Price: $248.93) Place your order

Questions? Please contact  customer support staff at 1-855-477-3547 or at support@flip-pal.com

Read my reviews and about the wonderful projects I've completed using the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner. Create books, tea-towels, wall hangings, Christmas gifts and more.