125 Year Old Letter Found in Floorboards

"A letter written in 1894 and found between the linoleum and floor boards of a house being demolished to make way for Hobart's State Library will finally be returned to the author's family." ABC News

The letter was written by Sidney Hulbert on May 13, 1894 while he was in Sydney Australia and was found by Rex Nightingale during construction. He held on to the letter for 60 years and then turned to Social Media to find descendants. After being posted to ABC Facebook pages in both Hobart and Sydney, the letter was identified by its author's grand-niece Robyn Lobb.

Continue reading 125 year old letter found under floor to be returned to writer's family after social media search

Learn How to Spot a Bot, Sockpuppet or Troll

In this day and age of the popularity and influence of Social Media, we all need to be cautious. We need learn how to spot disinformation, lies, and automatic bot tweets and comments. If we don't understand how to recognize bots, sockpuppets, and trolls, we may be guilty of sharing the lies and disinformation that these bots spread.
 
Bots

There are good bots, and bad bots. It is the bad bots we need to be aware of, recognize them, and avoid or ignore them. A bot performs an automated task without involving a human. Bad bots exist only to deceive. They exist to disrupt, to cause chaos and confusion in the population. They spread disinformation and sometimes malware as they attempt to trick readers into clicking on malicious links.

Retweet Bots are dangerous as they exist to take disinformation and normalize it. On Twitter they retweet false stories (we've all seen them!) and immerse social media users in the lie until it is believed, or at least widely shared and sent into mainstream media.

Sockpuppets

What is a sockpuppet? A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception. The term originally referred to a false identity assumed by a member of an Internet community who spoke to, or about, themselves while pretending to be another person.  Sockpuppets use a phony name or identity to argue and bully while hiding and pretending to be someone else.

Trolls

What are trolls? A troll doesn't hide behind a phony identity, usually they post under their own name. They post inflammatory and offensive comments meant to entice others into responding. They exist to disrupt and create an angry hostile environment.

Why should we care about learning to recognize these malicious bots and trolls? Because they help gaslight the population. They share lies and misinformation so often that the general population starts to believe lies are truth, reality is false, and that we cannot and should not believe our own eyes and ears.

Fact-Checking

Sharing stories or articles without fact-checking is one of the worst things we can do. As genealogists we should be fact-checking every "fact" or document or story we encounter. There are sites online that will help with that task - we can consult FactCheck.org , Snopes, or PolitiFact for example.

The bottom line is that we need to not only protect ourselves from bots, we need to protect others. So please, my fellow genealogists, do your fact-checking before you share or before you respond to online trolling.

The following is the best and most comprehensive article I have read on this new, and dangerous, phenomenon.

Spot a Bot: Identifying Automation and Disinformation on Social Media

All I Want For Christmas is 10K......

Followers at 10:50 a.m. ET December 10/15

All I want for Christmas is 10K. No I don't mean in dollars although that would be nice. I'm talking about Twitter followers. 

I am hoping to reach 10K Twitter followers by the end of 2015! I've been working on a goal to build my Social Media presence online with Twitter as my main focus. 

Since you don't get that magic "K" after your numbers until you reach 9,999 plus 1, that has been my goal - I want the big K! Then instead of seeing 9,757 as I do today, I will see 10K under the title "FOLLOWERS". Yep it doesn't take much to make me happy.

It's been really fun and informative learning how to do this while staying true to who I am, and what Olive Tree Genealogy is all about. 

A bit of shameless begging never hurts so if you or anyone you know thinks it might be cool to follow the Olive Tree Genealogy lady on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LorineMS please put the word out! I don't just tweet about genealogy. I also talk about Social Media, about cooking and antiques and... well, lots of other topics.  

Sometimes I even put up pictures of my dogs. Or something I cooked. Or one of my favorite antiques. 

So if you haven't joined me yet, why not do that today - come over to Twitter and join the fun!

Where (and Why) Are Canadian Genealogists Hiding?

In Gail Dever's blog post Some of the great Canadian genealogists we have lost she mentions that since the results of the Rock Star Genealogist contest, many of us in the Genealogy Community have been disappointed that very few Canadian Genealogists were recognized.

Why is this? Are we Canadians not good at self-promotion and getting known? Are Canadians so Americanized by our Television Shows and Movies that we automatically (and subconsciously) assume that if it's from an American Genealogist it's got to be better?

I should make it very clear that I am not trying to start a turf war of "us against them" - Canadians against Americans! I am merely advocating that we Canadian Genealogists need to get our game faces on and get to a level playing field with (not against) our American friends and neighbours. 

I believe part of the problem is that we Canadians are just not very well known, even in our own country. We don't promote ourselves and we need to do that. 

It was also obvious that it was mostly Genealogy speakers who were finalists in the Rock Star Genealogist contest. There are many excellent speakers and it's terrific that they are being recognized but what about the bloggers and writers? I'd like to see all of those who contribute to Canadian genealogy recognized, not just those who speak at Conferences. 
 


STAND UP AND BE NOTICED

It's time to stand up and be noticed if you are a Canadian genealogy blogger, speaker or author. Are Canadian Genealogy bloggers aware of, and using, Social Media to its full potential? Are they on Twitter, Instagram, Periscope, Facebook, Google+ and Instagram? How about YouTube - do they have their own YouTube Channel? Do they have a mailing list or newsletter? Do others in the genealogy community instantly recognize their name, their logo, or their slogan? 

Branding is the same as advertising. If you want to be known you have to advertise yourself. But that does not mean you have to spam Facebook groups or mailing lists with your posts! Be discreet. 

THE POWER OF PROMOTING OTHERS

We need to promote others. Co-operate with the rest of the Genealogy Community. It's much like the adage "win friends and influence people". We bloggers should not ignore our fellow bloggers  - we need to promote others as well as ourselves.

One of the things I did recently to promote other Genealogy bloggers was to invite several from different countries to respond to 10 Interview Questions I devised. I was happy to feature them with a photo on my blog. Any opportunity to be featured on another blogger's blog or in a newsletter or any other advertising media is a golden opportunity and should be jumped at.


But interestingly enough of the dozen genealogists I reached out to, one was not interested in participating, one never replied to my initial email, two never sent me their Interview Responses after expressing interest, and one told me I would have to remind them periodically as they were "busy" and would "probably forget". Wow. How rude is that response? 

First it implies that I am not busy and have all the time in the world to act as their (unpaid) personal assistant. Secondly it implies that they consider themselves far more important than me. Third they blew any chance of me ever offering to promote them again. I suspect they will lose many opportunities if they treat all offers of exposure and promotion as they did mine. And no, I did not remind this person. If you want to see which genealogists were featured, you can read their biographies here.
  
SOCIAL MEDIA IS YOUR FRIEND

Every Canadian Genealogy speaker, author and blogger should be on all Social Media  sites and should learn how to use them correctly.  There are lots of great articles with tips for using Social Media well. There are rules. There are protocols and there are etiquette expectations. If you are interested in my Social Media presence you can follow me by clicking on the icons below:

             
 
I confess that I almost certainly am unaware of all of the great Canadian genealogy talent that is out there. In fact when I discussed this with my friend Gail Dever, she gave me names of a few Canadian genealogists I had never heard of.



CANADIAN GENEALOGY PERSONALITIES

So here is my list of Canadian Genealogy personalities - and please, if I missed you, leave a comment or write to me and I'll add your name and website or blog. I'm sure there must be more. We live in the second largest country in the world. Why can I only come up with 19 names, one of them my own!

Denyse Beaugrand-Champagne of Histoquest
Fred Blair of War of 1812 Canadian Stories 
Ruth Blair of Blair Archival Research
Elise Cole of Librarians Helping Canadian Genealogists Climb Family Trees  
Gail Dever of Genealogy à la carte
Yvonne Demoskoff of Yvonne's Genealogy Blog
Allison Hare 
Kathryn Lake Hogan of Looking4Ancestors
Janet Iles of Janet the Researcher 
Ken McKinlay of Family Tree Knots
Brenda Dougall Merriman
Janice Nickerson of Upper Canada Genealogy
Dave Obee
John D. Reid of Canada’s Anglo-Celtic Connections
M. Diane Rogers of  CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt' 
Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy  website and blog
Diane Lynn Tibert of Roots to the Past 
Christine Woodcock of Scottish Genealogy Tips & Tricks
Glenn Wright

THE CHALLENGE 

Fellow Genealogists - here's a chance for you to promote a Canadian Genealogy Speaker, Blogger or Writer - who are they? Where are they hiding? Please provide their names and a link to their website or blog in the comment section below. Let's all get to know our Canadian Genealogists. I'm going to add one "rule" regarding bloggers - I only want names of those who are actively blogging and who post fairly regularly.  So please - only add a blogger who has posted within the last 2 weeks.

Fellow Genealogy Bloggers - here is my challenge to you. Promote one Canadian Genealogist on your blog, website, on a Facebook group, or in a Tweet next week. It's not always about self- promotion, it's about co-operation and promoting others too.

How to Introduce Yourself to Other Genealogists at a Genealogy Conference

Whether or not you are attending RootsTech or another Genealogy Conference or Convention, whether you're going as a participant (speaker, presenter, etc.) or as an attendee, you should have a card. Call it what you want - a business card, a calling card, a Genealogy calling card..... but you should have one.
 
A calling card allows you to connect more easily with other genealogists. You're more accessible with your name and contact details on a card.

Do you have a blog? A website? Are you a passionate genealogist? Are you a member of some genealogy societies, a volunteer for a genealogical organization? Are you on Twitter, Facebook, Google +, Pinterest, Periscope, Instagram, LinkedIn or another social networking site? You need a card to let other genealogists know about your interests and how and where they can contact you!

Victorian Calling Card

Perhaps you aren't involved in any of the things I mentioned above. But you love genealogy and you like to meet other genealogists. You could benefit from a genealogy calling card. Think of the 19th Century when visitors handed their calling cards to servants who placed them on a silver tray for the head of the house or his wife to look at later. 

I'm not advocating anything as fancy as the Victorian calling card shown here but a simple calling card is a great introduction and a good way to ensure that genealogists you meet will remember you.
Perhaps you've sat through a wonderfully inspiring and informative presentation on a genealogy topic. You managed to introduce yourself to the presenter. She gave you her business card. Wouldn't it be great for you to hand her your calling card too? Now she has a name, an email and any other information you want to put on it, to remind her of your meeting. Who knows, maybe you'll connect in the future.
 
Or you got chatting to the genealogists sitting on either side of you. Hand them your card if you think you'd like to continue to engage with them. Maybe you went to the Conference alone and you don't know anyone there. You might decide you'd like to meet one of them for a quick supper. If your card doesn't have your cell number, you can scribble it on the back and invite a phone call or text to arrange a meetup.
 
Kerry Scott, from Clue Wagon blog, wrote a very interesting post in 2011 called What Do Modern Business Cards for Genealogists Look Like? The business cards that I printed for RootsTech 2011 were too simple.  And I wish I'd done colour for my logo, not just black and white. I like simple. I like uncluttered. But mine don't contain enough details and I may take Kerry's suggestion and remove my cell phone number. If I want someone to have that I can easily add it, because unlike Kerry my cards are not glossy and they aren't double-sided. It's a personal preference re glossy or matte, there's no right or wrong.
 
I’m a writer-on-business-cards kind of gal! I always always jot a quick note on the back after someone gives me their card – a reminder of why I wanted it, or why I might want to reconnect. It’s faster and easier for me than entering it in my iPhone. I sometimes put notes on the backs of cards I hand out - such as a URL for a site they expressed an interest in or the name of another contact, so glossy doesn't work for me. I can't write on a glossy card so matte wins.

So I'm reviewing and re-doing my Business cards this year. I've got a funky case I carry them in (thanks to my granddaughter who gave it to me in 2011) and I need to update my cards. I'm thinking I'll add my Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook information so that folks have other methods of connecting with me.

I'll keep my Olive Tree Genealogy website URL of course, and my email address. If there's room and the card isn't too cluttered, I'll add the URL for my Facebook page for Olive Tree Genealogy but that's probably all I'll have on my card.
 
Oh and no QR codes on mine. A lot of people don't know what those codes are for on a business card, and I'm not convinced of their usefulness on a card that already has the information printed. 

 This is a business card printed for a distant McGinnis cousin of mine back in the early 1900s. He used front and back to promote his business as a builder.

I hope you are going to create calling cards or business cards for your next genealogy convention or think about whether or not it's time to revise old ones. There are many online companies that print business cards for a reasonable fee. So don't wait, think about which you prefer - modern business cards or old-fashioned calling cards.  Or maybe you will surprise everyone with a combination of the two. 

Are You on Social Media Channels?

My Twitter Page

Are You on Social Media Channels? If not, you might want to have a peek at some. You could be quite surprised at how many genealogists can be found on various sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram,  Google+ and Periscope (and LinkedIn but it's more business oriented)

I am all of the above. They are great for making connections with other genealogists and if you are trying to generate any kind of income from your genealogy pursuits, they are a must.

My Instagram Page Today

Each Social Media channel has its own flavor and rules. Facebook for example is more casual where Twitter is a bit more formal (and you are constrained by a limit of how many characters can be each of your tweets or updates). Periscope is streaming video which you create yourself to show your followers or you are the watcher, and there are some intriguing "scopes" out there! Instagram relies on photos to capture other people's attention.

If you want to check out these Social Media Channels, here's where I can be found:

• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Olive-Tree-Genealogy/16127378259
• Twitter https://twitter.com/LorineMS
• Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/lorinems/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/olivetreegenealogy/
• Perisocope Get the app on your iPhone or iPad and look for me under Olive Tree Genealogy @LorineMS
• Google + https://plus.google.com/+LorineMcGinnisSchulze/posts
• LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/lorineschulze 

My Facebook Page

So come on over to one of my channels (or all of them if you want!), check them out and join me. Say hello once you get there, I'd love to see you. I am most often found on Twitter and Facebook but I am on Pinterest, Instagram and Periscope daily. 

82 Year Old Wedding Photo Identified!

While going through my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's photo albums, this group was discovered.

Each photo was labelled on the back "June 3, 1933" That was it. There was no other identification given.

I recognized Doris in the wedding party photo on the left. She was standing beside the bride.

I knew the people were not in my Grandmother's family as I know who they were and I would recognize them. I was pretty sure they were not from Doris' mother's side but not positive.

I wasn't too sure how I could identify the people in these lovely photos but then it dawned on me that I might be able to find a wedding announcement in the local newspaper. I was almost certain that the photos were taken in Toronto Ontario Canada.

Since I don't have access to the Toronto papers for 1933 I put out a request on Social Media. Within an hour I had my answer and a lovely clipped announcement of the wedding. I knew it was the correct one because Doris was named as the Maid of Honour.

Luckily the entire wedding party was identified in the announcement and so I can put names to the faces in this photo from 82 years ago. I love it when something like this happens and Lost People are found.

My hope  is that descendants of some of the people in these photos will find these images here on my blog.

Wedding Annoucement in Toronto Star June 5, 1933. Courtesy of Ian Hadden.

Arnott-Turner

St. John's Rd. Baptist Church.

Hazel Louise daughter of Mr. & Mrs. G. E. Turner to John Thomas Arnott son of Mr. E. Arnott.

Miss Doris Simpson, Maid of Honour
Miss Gertrude & Miss Margaret Turner, sisters of bride, Bridesmaids
Claire Turner, Flower Girl
Lilly Bremmer, Train Bearer
Percy Marshall, Best Man
Edward Turner, brother of Bride, Usher (not in photo)
Harold Arnott, brother of Groom, Usher (not in photo)

Soldier's Letter from WW2 found Sixty Years Later and Returned

Representation of WW2 letters

This is touching story about a woman who found a letter written by a soldier that was 60 years old. She tracked down descendants and sent the letter home.

The letter was found in a pile of paperbacks that Sandi Blood purchased and was dated November 1951 and sent from a G. LeBlanc. U.S. Army Pvt. Gilles LeBlanc wrote the three-page letter to his girlfriend, Carole Petch in Toronto, Ontario Canada. 

With the help of social media, Blood was able to find the now 83 year old soldier living in Detroit Michigan

Read the complete story at "Woman finds love letter 6 decades old and tracks down soldier who wrote it" on the Washington Post.

Don't Be an Egg (Twitter Tips)

   Twitter is a really great Social Media Tool. But it can also be an aggravation. There are ways to use Twitter and there are ways to not use Twitter!

So if you are a genealogist and you are on Twitter because you want to follow (and be followed) by others with similar interests, here are some tips to make your Twitter experience a positive one

1. Don't be an egg! That is the faceless default profile picture that Twitter assigns every user until they upload their own photo. An egg is anonymous, faceless and doesn't fit with being social. Spammers often have an egg as their profile photo so it's a red flag to many of us. I don't follow eggs and I know many other genealogists pass them by too. My tip is to upload your profile photo before you start following others on Twitter.

2. Don't lock your account  Why make those you have followed jump through hoops to follow you back? To be very honest, I won't wait while you decide if I'm worthy of following you. Because if you followed me, I assume you'd like a follow in return. If I see that lock on your Profile Summary I'm not going to click the follow button .

3. Fill out your Twitter bio before you start following other Twitter users. It's important to let others see what your interests are so they know whether or not to follow you. My Profile Summary (bio) says "Genealogist, author, history buff, Creator of Olive Tree Genealogy website, antique collector" - just enough to let others know if there's something we have in common. When someone follows me I click on their name (which pops up their profile summary) to see what interests they have (i.e., do I want to follow them back) If all I see is "wife and mother" or "lives in xxx" or nothing but their name I don't follow back.

4. Set up your Twitter notifications so that you know whenever someone new follows you. The social convention is to return the follow if you have something in common with that person. But if you aren't getting notified when you get a new follower you won't be able to follow back. I get dozens of new followers daily. So every morning I check my email to go through the names, click on their Profile Summary and make a quick decision about following back. That is why the first 3 tips I've given you are most important for me and for other busy genealogists as well. 

5. Interact with your followers with tweets that are not just auto tweets from your blog. This is common sense advice (remember Twitter is a SOCIAL place!) and I need to do it more myself. I get busy and I neglect this for too long. Say good morning or share a link to a story you read that you found interesting or comment on someone else's tweet. 

If you want to follow me on Twitter you can do so at https://twitter.com/LorineMS

If you want more tips on Twitter you might want to read my friend and fellow blogger Caroline Pointer's 4YourFamilyStory blog. I call Caroline the Queen of Social Media and I think you will find her Twitter articles very helpful. Here's one to get you started called New to Twitter?

Pinterest Tutorial #1: Creating a Board & Pinning

I talked about Pinterest in an earlier blog post "Pinterest, Time-Waster or Useful Utility?"  Today I want to walk you through the basic steps of joining Pinterest, setting up your boards and pinning webpages and items to them.

The video below can also be found on Olive Tree Genealogy YouTube channel along with other tutorials and my Cemetery Walks

Playing with Uencounter.me and Loving it!

Uencounter.me is a very cool site. It's a virtual pin map site which allows you to mark significant events on a map and designate the timeframe for the event. There's a social aspect to it too as you can link to others who are using it. Best of all it's free!

It's great for genealogists and I've been playing around in it for a few weeks now. When I first tried this site out there was a problem with date choices in the drop down menu which didn't start early enough. I knew the site was new and so minor glitches were to be expected.  I sent an email about the date issues, received an immediate response and the problem was corrected very quickly.

A week or so later I encountered another glitch with the Google map search. Again I reported it and by next morning it was fixed by the site developer. And I was informed by email that it was now working properly. Immediate response and fast action to overcome glitches - it doesn't get any better!

Some ideas for genealogists based on my experiences with Uencounter.me:

* Mark an ancestor's residence in various years

* Drop pins for events such as a birth, death or marriage of an ancestor.

* Track an ancestor's migration pattern by dropping pins along his or her route.

I'm sure readers will come up with many more ways to use this site. 

When you first log in there are various choices represented by circular icons on the top right: Build your map; Say thanks; Find Someone. I've only used Build your map so far and it's easy.

Just use the built-in Google map to find the location you want for a pin. Then enter your information using the drop-down menus (how easy is that!). The colour of the pin is automatically chosen by the category you choose. Yes, genealogy is a category

Olive Tree Genealogy Profile Page

Uencounter.me recently added the ability to create user profile pages and I've got one under Olive Tree Genealogy  So if you are using Uencounter.me drop me a link request and we can link together.

I like this site and plan on spending more time here and dropping many more pins.

Pinterest - Oh No, Another Addictive Distraction!

A few days ago I dipped my genealogy toe into the waters of Pinterest.

I'd heard about Pinterest over the past year from many Facebook friends but never ventured into it, thinking it would just be a waste of time. How wrong could I be?

Pinterest is the bomb. I'm loving it!
It's a way of bookmarking sites and objects you like or things you want to try.

Part of my Genealogy Board on Pinterest

You set up Boards by topics - big surprise I have a Board called Genealogy. Then you Pin an object or website to your board.

It's so easy - you download the Pin button addon to your web browser. Then when you are on a website you like you hit that Pin button and a choice of images pops up. Choose the image you want to represent what you've chosen and add it to your board

Another part of my Pinterest Genealogy Board

The URL of the website is automatically given so anyone looking at your board or following your board can click through to learn or see more! 

The cool thing is that now you have a handy reference of things you might want to look at again, or try out, or read about. I found some really innovative family tree ideas (you can see some on the left) so I pinned them to my board. Now I can think about creating some of my own that are similar.

I also created a board for Recipes and Antiques and more things that I like. Pinterest is a social media site in that you need to engage with others on Pinterest, either by following their boards or repinning something they pinned or liking or commenting on something they pinned.

A look around Pinterest gave me so many great ideas for genealogy, antiquing and cooking that I spent an entire day on it yesterday! I found many others interested in genealogy so naturally I followed all of them.

I have now begun following individual boards rather than blindly following all the boards that one person created. I don't care about seeing a board on Scuba Diving for example.

Interested? Check out my Pinterest page at https://pinterest.com/lorinems/

Want to follow me or my genealogy board? Just click on the "Follow me on Pinterest" logo above. Warning: Pinterest is addictive! If you want to get a page quickly, drop me an email with your email address and I'll send you an invite. Send your note to olivetreegenealogy @ gmail.com (no spaces)

Rootstech Presentation: International Panel: Genealogy 2.0

Recently one of my fellow bloggers, Jill Ball of Geniaus, wrote to ask me if I would join her on an International Panel slated to present a discussion of Social Media at Rootstech 2012.

There were originally four members - Jill from Australia, Amy Coffin from United States, Audrey Collins from England and Joan Miller from Canada. Sadly Joan had to withdraw, and her slot was empty. I am very honoured that the group chose me to try to fill Joan's shoes.

The four of us will be at the Salt Palace for our presentation in Room 225B at 11:00 am on Friday February 3, 2012. I hope you'll join us!