Telling Your Family Story on Crestleaf

Telling Your Family Story on Crestleaf

If you're looking for a place to create an online family tree with photos, the website Crestleaf might just suit your needs.

 The company states that 

Crestleaf is a free online family tree builder that has been used by tens of thousands of people to document their family history.  Along with the family tree tool, we provide free access to 90 Million+ historical records. 

 

So I checked Crestleaf out and it looks intriguing.

When you go to the website you have the option of using your Facebook login or signing up with an email account. 

Once logged in you can search for records of ancestors but be forewarned that Crestleaf is in beta mode and only has the S.S.D.I. death records at present. I decided to create a family tree.

Crestleaf walks you through this process and when you have completed a few names, you see a note that you are being given free space for 250 photos. You also have the option to purchase more space.

Here is what a Crestleaf representative told me about this option:

Users can upload up to 1 GB of photos (about 250 old photos).  In the future,  users will be able to get more storage in one of two ways:

1) Invite your relatives to collaborate with you on your tree - we'll give you more free storage for each relative that joins.
2) Upgrade to a paid account for a nominal fee (this fee amount has not yet been finalized)

My readers know that I am a huge fan of telling and preserving family stories and Crestleaf indicated that they are focusing on that same goal

We're building a place where users can add all of that information into one place where they can tell their family's story.  So, our future focus will be less on adding more historic records and more on improving the ability to tell your story via the family tree and through historic photos 

I suggest you give Crestleaf a try. They also have a blog with some interesting articles. 

SSDI Restrictions Passed by Senate

Recently senators voted 64 to 36 to approve  an agreement containing Section 203. This section restricts access to the Death Master File (also called the SSDI) to certified individuals under a new program established under the Department of Commerce. The access restrictions are for 3 years from the date of death.

For more details see  the Washington Post article Senate passes bipartisan budget agreement

You can also read section 203 pages 32-37 to read the restrictions at 

http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20131209/AMNT-113-HJRes59sa-1R_xml.pdf
Barbara Mathews has written an excellent blog post on the S.S.D.I. called What is it about genealogists and the SSDI?

As well you can listen to the 2012 testimony regarding the Social Security Death Master File courtesy of Michael John Neil

The SSDI is Disappearing From Sight

Genealogists who use the free online SSDI (Social Security Death Index) to find ancestors may have a tougher hunt ahead.

In the past, genealogists could access the SSDI through numerous websites - Ancestry.com, Rootsweb.com, GenealogyBank and others.

But concerns arose that the Social Security Numbers given with the SSDI were being used in Identity Theft scams and  U.S. Senators blitzed these websites to request that they stop displaying this information. In the face of mounting pressure, many of the genealogy websites caved.

This week, many of the sites withdrew access entirely (Rootsweb for example withdrew the SSDI completely) or blocked access so only paying members could view the details. Ancestry blocked access by putting the database behind its  subscrption membership wall and will no longer provide the Social Security numbers for anyone who died in the previous 10 years. Genealogy Bank still has free access to the SSDI but you must register with a name and email to view the data.

It seems quite a leap to me to make the assumption that thieves were using the SSDI to gather  Social Security Numbers. I'm quite sure they found much faster and easier ways to get these numbers. And so the genealogy community is forced to watch as the SSDI slowly disappears, either behind closed membership walls or removed completely. Is this yet another example of a few bad apples spoiling it for the rest of us (genealogists)?

For more articles on this topic see Website stops displaying Social Security numbers for recently dead and Stealing from the dead.

Caveat: the two articles above from ABC News are in favour of the SSDI being removed.  I expect to see other bloggers discussing this topic from a different point of view than ABC so keep your eyes open for other articles

Footnote.com hits 60 million image milestone!

Footnote,com Marks Family History Month with 60 Million Image Milestone

-Adding more than 1 million new records per month, Footnote,com continues to expand valuable collection of digitized content-

Lindon, UT – September 22, 2009 – Adding more than 1 million new records per month, Footnote.com will mark the month of October, designated Family History Month, with the addition of its 60 millionth image. Since its launch in January 2007, Footnote.com has partnered with organizations including The National Archives and Gannett to digitize and index valued historical documents and photos and make them available online.

“Footnote.com is more than just a repository of documents and images,” said Russ Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “It’s a social gathering place where visitors can add photos, documents and other personal contributions, to create a more detailed and rich picture of our past.”

A favorite site of scholars, historians and genealogists Footnote.com has hundreds of rare and unique record collections including:

Historical Newspapers
Revolutionary War Documents
Civil War Records and Photos
The Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial
WWII Collection

Included among the millions of records are a number of free collections like the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), which gives visitors the opportunity to create interactive experiences from a simple index. For each of the SSDI records Footnote.com has created a page that features a dynamic timeline, map, photo gallery, and section for others to contribute stories and insights about an individual.

“The SSDI is a very popular database for genealogists and historians,” added Wilding. “What makes the SSDI more powerful on Footnote.com is the ability to enhance the records through member contributions.”

The Social Security Death Index has a span that includes individuals who were born back in 1875 and also those that have died as recently as last week. The index provides valuable information including name, birth date, death date and last known residence.

Footnote,com encourages visitors to share and preserve their own family histories, including photos, letters, and documents by scanning and uploading them to the site. User contributions combined with the original documents, Footnote.com is reveals a richer and more contextual side of history that few have seen before.

Visit Footnote,com to explore these and other historical collections.