Indholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2023 i Family Tree

THE NATIONAL GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (NGS) announced that the “Preserve the Pensions” project, which has digitized millions of pension application file pages from the War of 1812, will resume. The partnership between NGS, Ancestry.com <www.ancestry.com> and the U.S. National Archives <www.archives.gov> had been on hold partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project began in 2008, when the National Archives approached the Federation of Genealogical Societies (now part of NGS) about a need to save War of 1812 pension files. The files had never been microfilmed and were rapidly deteriorating. By 2016, individuals, various genealogy societies, FamilySearch <www.familysearch.org> and Ancestry.com contributed more than $4 million to fund the effort. NGS expects that pension files for soldiers who had surnames through the letter U should be digitized by April 2024. Learn more…

It’s been a royal few years, from Netflix’s dramatic series “The Crown” to Prince Harry’s tell-all Spare to King Charles III’s coronation. Given Americans’ fixation on British royalty, it’s almost as though we colonials would rather just forget all that unpleasantness back in 1776. Fittingly, then, this year’s annual celebration of the 101 best genealogy websites presents the “crown jewels” of online family history. We’ve hand-picked the sites whose offerings are fit for a king—and those virtually guaranteed to help resolve the royal pains in your ancestral research. If your pedigree isn’t quite as well-preserved as that of the Prince of Wales, these digital destinations can help separate true blood relatives from pretenders. This year’s honorees, by default, are largely free to use, unless noted otherwise with a dollar sign ($).…

FAMILY, HISTORY AND PROGRESS COLLIDE in the popular TV series “Yellowstone” and its various spinoffs, much of them set and filmed in Montana. If your roots in the state go as deep as the Dutton family’s, read on for how you can find your own genealogical gold in “The Treasure State.” BIG SKY, BIG HISTORY Montana was first home to a number of indigenous groups, including the: Assiniboine/Nakoda, Blackfeet, Cree, Crow, Northern Cheyenne, and Salish. Today, the state has 12 federally recognized tribes, as well as seven reservations within its present borders. Montana’s distance from other settlements (as well as its harsh western terrain) resulted in relatively late exploration by Europeans. The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through modern Montana in 1805 as part of its survey of the newly…

Many beginning genealogists are advised to be aware of the mistake called “the name’s the same.” That phrase refers to finding someone in a source—perhaps a census or tax record—and assuming they’re the person of interest simply because they have the same name. But that’s not always the case, as many people (even within one community) could have the same name. This creates a problem of identity. If you’ve also found people early in your research who you thought were relatives but later discovered they weren’t, you know the disappointment. You might feel you’ve wasted your time, or even resist letting go of these phantom ancestors if you’ve spent long hours in the search. But don’t despair. We can learn the skills and strategies to properly solve problems of identity…

Geography Quick Guide ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS POLAND Division Notes powiat (plural: powiaty) County; 300-plus counties today województwo (plural: województwa) Voivodeship (province); 16 voivodeships today AUSTRIAN PARTITION (CENTRAL AND EASTERN POLAND) Division Notes powiat (plural: powiaty) County RUSSIAN PARTITION (SOUTHEASTERN POLAND) Division Notes guberniya (plural: guberniyas) Province/governate ujedz (plural: ujezds) County PRUSSIAN PARTITION (WESTERN POLAND) Division Notes kreis (plural: kreise) District tip Because “Poland” didn’t exist as a country for several years, your Polish ancestor’s birthplace may be listed in records either as the country it was then part of or a descriptor (such as “Russian Poland”). THE PARTITIONS OF POLAND This chart and map show how the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was split between its neighbors in each of three partitions in the late 18th century—and which country each territory became part of.…

TurboScan to capture documents at repositories.Candice Lynn Buchanan via Facebook I RARELY USE ANY APPS ON MY PHONE. All my genealogy work is done on a desktop with a large monitor. Probably will add a second monitor because I do a lot of documentation while I am researching.Laura Clinton Vasut via Facebook Find a GraveJohn Brown via Facebook ANCESTRY APP. Today my niece called while I was at work and said she was at a cemetery with her children and could I tell her where her family is buried! I was able check the app, tell the religious section they were in, download a photo of one of the headstones so she knew what to look for, and find the address they resided at, all in an instant. And I…

Dr. Colleen Shogan began her tenure as Archivist of the United States in May. As the head of the National Archives and Records Administration, Shogan coordinates its mission of “safeguarding and preserving the records of our government, so people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage.” NARA holds several records of genealogical value, notably federal censuses, military records, and immigration and naturalization paperwork. Shogan was nominated to the position by President Joe Biden in August 2022, then confirmed by the U.S. Senate nine months later. She is the 11th person—and the first woman—to hold the position permanently. She takes over for David S. Ferriero, who retired in April 2022.…

ALABAMA Alabama Department of Archives & History <digital.archives.alabama.gov> AlabamaMosaic <www.alabamamosaic.org> ALASKA Alaska State Archives: Genealogy <archives.alaska.gov/genealogy/genealogy.html> AMERICAN SAMOA American Samoa Genealogy <americansamoagenealogy.atwebpages.com> ARIZONA Arizona Memory Project <azmemory.azlibrary.gov> ARKANSAS Arkansas Digital Archives <digitalheritage.arkansas.gov> CALIFORNIA Calisphere <calisphere.org> Online Archive of California <www.oac.cdlib.org> COLORADO Denver Public Library Digital Collections <digital.denverlibrary.org> CONNECTICUT Connecticut Digital Archive <collections.ctdigitalarchive.org> CT State Library <cslib.contentdm.oclc.org> DELAWARE Delaware Public Archives <archives.delaware.gov> DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DigDC <digdc.dclibrary.org> FLORIDA University of Florida Digital Collections <ufdc.ufl.edu> GEORGIA Digital Library of Georgia <dlg.usg.edu> Georgia Archives <www.georgiaarchives.org> GUAM Guam Genealogy <guamgenealogy.atwebpages.com> HAWAI’I Hawai’i State Archives <ags.hawaii.gov/archives> IDAHO Idaho State Historical Society <history.idaho.gov/searchable-indexes> ILLINOIS Illinois Digital Archives <www.idaillinois.org> Illinois State Archives Databases <www.ilsos.gov/departments/archives/databases/home.html> INDIANA Indiana State Library: Genealogy Collection <www.in.gov/library/collections-and-services/genealogy> IOWA Iowa Digital Library <digital.lib.uiowa.edu> The Iowa Heritage Digital Collections <www.iowaheritage.org> KANSAS Kansas Memory <www.kansasmemory.org> KENTUCKY…

VERMONT EVOKES IMAGES OF MAPLE SYRUP, dairy farms, fall foliage, winter sports, fishing, swimming, hiking in the mountains, and more. Its location between Lake Champlain, the Connecticut River and Canada has influenced its history and contributed to the rich variety of its people. From farmers to college professors, Green Mountain Boys to progressive politicians, Vermonters have always gone their own way. Vermont is a great place to research due to its good supply of accessible records. To learn how to find them, read on. A HISTORY OF THE GREEN MOUNTAIN STATE The area that became Vermont was home to about 10,000 Western Abenaki when French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed down the lake known as Bitawbwa in 1609. Champlain claimed the region for France (and named the lake after himself),…

Smartphones combine the functionality of multiple devices: a telephone, camera (both stillphoto and video), calculator, GPS-tracking unit, computer and flashlight. Now you can add another gadget to that list: scanner. In fact, a scanning app could replace a desktop scanner altogether. Maybe you want to scan a fragile document, an old family Bible or a picture that’s too big for a traditional scanner. When using a scanning app, you don’t have to hold items flat and risk damaging them. And you can hold your smartphone a little farther away to get a large object in the picture. Of course, you could simply use your smartphone’s camera. But it can be hard to line up a photo or document properly and get the lighting right. A scanning app can help you…

1 Clean selectively. Sometimes a shoe’s memories are in the wear-and-tear, and you’ll want to resist the urge to purge all signs of use. But dirt and debris can attract destructive pests, so remove surface dirt (inside and out) with a soft brush before storing. 2 Avoid inserts. Do not insert shoe trees, which can put stress on old fibers and leather. Instead, stuff each shoe gently with polyester batting or acid-free tissue paper. Wrap shoes individually with more batting or tissue and place inside an acid-free box. 3 Store appropriately. Place wrapped shoes in a dark, cool, dry, location with stable temperature (60° to 70 °F) and moderate humidity (40 to 50%). Label the outside of the box with descriptive comments including owner’s name, why the shoes are significant,…

When you live in your ancestral home, you may unexpectedly come across history that hits … well, close to home. Such is the case for Tom Neel of New London, Ohio. A local historian and the retired librarian for the Ohio Genealogical Society, Neel has spent decades exploring history relating to his family and community. About 35 years ago, he purchased the home his family had lived in since 1905, when his great-grandfather bought it. “This is where we always came when we were kids: It’s been the center of our family,” Neel said. “It’s got nice architecture and woodwork.” And the house happened to be on the market when Neel was shopping for a home. Over the years, he’s discovered family mementoes tucked away in closets: letters, photographs and…

When’s the last time you explored the world’s biggest family tree? Have you checked to see what others know about your relatives? Reconnected old photos of your grandparents’ neighbors with their descendants? Shared family recipes for others to find in the future? These are just some of the creative ways people are harnessing the power of the global Family Tree at the free genealogy website Family Search <www.familysearch.org>. With a community-tree model, all users contribute to the same public, common profiles for shared ancestors, rather than building individual trees as you do at sites such as Ancestry.com <www.ancestry.com> and MyHeritage <www.myheritage.com>. FamilySearch isn’t the only site to offer a unified tree. You can also find this model at Geni <www.geni.com>, WikiTree <www.wikitree.com> and WeRelate <www.werelate.org>. But with 1.5 billion ancestor…

Through the scientific method, researchers walk through a series of prescribed steps to solve a problem: asking a question, collecting data, developing a hypothesis, building a model and running an experiment that tests the hypothesis, then analyzing data and drawing conclusions based on results. See figure 1 for an overview. And because genealogy is derived from the word “theory” or “science,” it stands to reason that professionals can use the time-tested scientific method to investigate genealogical mysteries as well as physical ones. In fact, the genealogy industry has developed its own version of the scientific method: the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). When the paper trail comes to an end—as it always does—DNA testing can help establish familial relationships for which no records exist. Fortunately, the scientific method can be applied…

Q My ancestor in 1920s Minnesota got married under an assumed name. Wouldn’t he have had to show ID, like a driver’s license? A It’s true that people drove cars before the 1920s, and some places required licenses to do so—which could also double as identification. But Minnesota didn’t require driver’s licenses until 1933, or exams for driver competency until 1948. The state was hardly alone in slow adoption of licenses. Even by 1935, only about two-thirds of states required them to drive, and South Dakota (the last state to do so) didn’t require driver’s licenses until 1954. (To check the licensing history of your ancestor’s state, see <www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/summary95/dl230.pdf>.) The first statewide license requirements came in 1903 in Missouri and Massachusetts. Rhode Island instituted the first statewide driver’s license examinations…

Q What is endogamy and how can I overcome it? A Endogamy is the process of marriage within the same group of people over and over and over again. Jewish, Acadian and island populations (including Ireland) are all good examples of endogamous groups, as are many small insular towns where residents lived for generations. First, let’s be clear: You cannot “overcome” endogamy any more than you can overcome an inherited cleft chin or curly hair. It’s here to stay. But like the curly hair, there are techniques you can learn to manage (and make the most of) your endogamous heritage and harness the power of DNA in your family history. You’ll encounter two main problems when applying DNA to endogamous groups: the amount of shared DNA you have with matches…