#genchat CHALLENGE: the Ultimate Genealogy Tech Tool of the Future!

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it... 

I wasn't even going to do a challenge tonight! Honest! I wasn't! But, the crowd demanded it, and so, it shall be done. Tonight's discussion was based on technology; as the community comes off of the high that is RootsTech, it was an appropriate topic. What did we gain from the conference? What is new, what is out? Are we on "tech overload" or do we just not have the right tools to effectively match our research goals? 

Your challenge today is to imagine the ultimate tech tool of the future. What will it be? What will it look like? 

I have thought often of a "dream software," and tonight, it was given a name: Genealogy Office. My tech tool of the future includes the best of all worlds; it should include the features of... 

• The best genealogy software (including the ability to preserve social history, citations, and more)
• Photography and scanning, photo editing
• Excel
• Word
• Social media connections for sharing
• Blogging platform
• Research log 
• Research plan
• Research trip planning - including a live map with links to Starbucks, my favorite restaurants and nearby libraries and courthouses
• It will connect to all the major free and subscription websites for research tools
• It will connect to BillionGraves, findagrave and any other grave app
• It will bring the best of OneNote (or Evernote, depending on your preference)
• it will include features found in Publisher, Scribner, mind mapping

Essentially, I want one software package that will combine all the software I currently use for genealogy - including websites and apps - into one big system. I don't want to have to open any other program. Ever. (Oh, and it has a voice, like Siri. Kinda.) 

So tell me... what is your dream genealogy tech? 

Share it on social media, in the comments here, however you like; just be sure to include a link so we can all read about it! 

Thanks for accepting the #genchat CHALLENGE! 

Headed South

The first weekend of August will bring another first for me in the world of genealogy: I will be presenting at the Colorado Springs Family History Expo. Held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Colorado Springs, the roughly two and half hour drive south of my current location should bring me some exciting moments.

First, and most obviously, I am excited to be presenting my session on "Blogging: Telling the Stories Behind Your Research." The piece I love about this prezy is that it really serves as an eye opener to many attendees; they link of a blog as a confusing, somewhat overwhelming thing to do. When you really break it down, however, and define it in personal terms, it becomes a much more approachable idea. I hope that somebody comes to hear about it. This is the first time I will be presenting in a setting where attendees have options of which session to go to; and I'm a little concerned no one will want to listen to me! It does fit in nicely however with this year's theme, "Top 10 Techniques for Fishing for Ancestors & Other Persons of Interest."

Secondly, I will finally be able to meet some of my "local" Colorado friends that I know well from Facebook and Twitter, but have never actually met in person. There are a few people on that list, and some of us have tried - and failed - to meet at other events. Somehow, it just has not worked out. This time, however, will be different, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity.

Lastly, the chance to attend a more regionally focused event like this one will be good for me. I've seen small workshops (up to maybe 50 people or so), and I've seen large events such as the National Genealogical Society Annual Conference, held this past May in Las Vegas. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens "in the middle."

If you happen to be in the area, please join us! And if you join us, please say hi if you see me! And if you say hi, please do so after you've attended my session! (Just kidding; you can say hi anytime...)

You can get all the information you need by visiting the Family History Expos website.

A Snapshot of SEO’s: Understanding Search Engine Optimization and How It Can Affect Your Genealogy Blog

My eBook, by the above title, was released on 27 Dec 2012. Addressing the need for all genealogy and family history bloggers to optimize their sites using simple and easy to understand SEO tactics, this step-by-step guide will walk you through it all.

The benefits of using SEO tools can be striking, allowing other researchers – and cousins – to find you easier and faster when seeking information via search engines.

Written specifically with genealogists in mind, the guide will provide examples that are easy to understand and graphics that make it simple to implement.

Don’t be intimidated by SEO’s! They can help you connect your blogs to the rest of the world.

Here’s what a couple of folks had to say about their purchase… these are screen shots captured from Twitter, and yes, I have their permission to post it here.





You can purchase your own copy on my website, Ancestral Journeys. 

My thanks go to Stephanie Pitcher Fishman of Corn & Cotton Genealogy and Mariann Regan for their assistance in this project.

Which #Hashtag is Right For Me, Revisited

Way back in June, I posted about Twitter hashtags ( # ) , and which were being used the most by the online genealogical community. I used the website HashTracking to compile some data. Six months later, give or take, I would like to revisit this information, to see where we are, and what might have changed.

The data from both June and December are the number of tweets generated within a 24 hour period.
June: 11 Jun 2012, 4:10pm MST.
December: Friday, 21 Dec 2012 at 8:47pm MST.

June	Tweets	Retweets	Mentions	December	Tweets	Retweets	Metions
#genealogy	35	89	21	#genealogy	348	40	8
#familyhistory	98	26	7	#familyhistory	59	17	2
#ancestry	28	2	0	#ancestry	94	4	0
#history	829	552	119	#history	947	266	54
#socialmedia	1194	269	37	#socialmedia	1279	189	19
#archives	187	81	4	#archives	257	218	8
				#familytree	25	9	2

Although I did not document this in June, for this month’s query, the 396 #genealogy tweets generated 1,929,435 impressions reaching an audience of 248,540 followers. Not bad!

Also, I added #familytree for December’s statistics.

Look at the difference in numbers on #archives. This hashtag has had the largest fluctuation by far. In 24 hours, it has had an almost even 50/50 split between original tweets and retweets; meaning that almost every tweet that was sent that included #archives got retweeted.

#familyhistory is stagnant, but #ancestry has seen some growth in usage. #genealogy has had the most growth since June. Notice there has been a reduction in the #history retweets.

The initial evaluation was done because of a question posed on Google+ by Mariann Pierre-Louis, when she wrote:

"Question for all you social media friends out there: Have any of you ever done a study to determine which Twitter keywords have strong, loyal followings and which keywords seem to remain rapid fire and random without a core group? Just wondering..."

Conversation that followed after my original post was regarding specific hashtags that other people use in the genealogy community. And the question is still valid: what do you use regularly that is not  on the list above?  I think we all use local tags, for example #Colorado, but is there a “category” style that you use to get your message across to a specific audience in the genealogy community?

SEO: Why It's Important for Your Blog

SEO.

If you cruise the internet, you may have come across this acronym. You may have thought it wasn't relevant to you, your blog, or your search for ancestors. It is, in fact, important. SEO stands for "Search Engine Optimization", and no, its not scary.

What is it, exactly?

If you want the technological jargon, you can read all about it on Wikipedia. This is my take, my version of that information, but into language I can understand.

Simply put, SEO is the way a search engine reacts to a website and lists it in your results page. For example, if you do a search for "genealogy blogging", you will see www.geneabloggers.com is almost always at the top of the list. How does that happen? Well, site creator Thomas MacEntee has done an amazing job of providing search engines with the proper search terms, so people find his site first and easily. (He may have other tricks up his sleeve, and probably does, but I know he is doing this, and doing it well.)

Chrome search results for "genealogy blogging"

Think of it this way. When you open your web browser and conduct a search - for anything - you use a certain set of terms to try to get the best results possible, right? For example:

"Brown + Nebraska genealogy"

This is essentially universal. Yes, there are other ways of conducting a search. But, think about when you are looking for a recipe. You might search for "spaghetti recipe" or "world's best spaghetti". You don't always use a complicated search pattern to find what you are looking for.

Applying these terms to your unique blog or website allows the search engine to identify what your site is about and related to. It makes it easier for the search engine to find topics on your site and match those topics with the search terms that people use in simple searches.

Why should I do this? 

Simple. You want people to find you. Don't you?  Are you writing your blog to find other relatives? Well, they search for surnames, locations, photos, etc. Lead them to you with the right terms. Are you writing about your business, or general methodology? Great! Use the applied terms to communicate that's what you are writing about!

Don't care if anybody reads your blog? Ok. You can still read the rest of this one, though.

• "Why does it matter if your site is at the top of the results page or on page 42?"

Wouldn't a dedicated searcher find it either way?  Well, yes and no. I recently read that the average user in the U.S. only looks through the first two pages of search results, then either adapts the search terms or stops all together.

• "So what? Genealogy is reportedly the second most popular hobby - they are still going to find it."

Eventually, yes, they could. No built in guarantee on that one. Imagine that this long lost cousin finds you today, or finds you in five years. What have you missed out on? What kind of relationship could you have developed with this new branch of the family in that time?  There is a whole series of "what if's" here, and my favorite one is this: "what if long lost cousin's grandmother is still alive today, but dies next year?" Think about that for just a minute.

Convinced yet? Ready to start? I hope so.

How do I do this? 


Caroline Pointer of BloggingGenealogy.com recently posted a great little piece entitled Want More Cousins to Visit Your Genealogy Blog? in which she introduced us to "Cousin Awesome Sauce", and using "alt text", which allows you to "'tell' the search engine what the image says..." (Read the full post, it's worth it, I promise.)  So, start with that. Create a way for your images to be identified with the text you are producing.

Once you've got your feet wet, take a look at Search Engine Optimization: Step By Step on the About.com Web Design / HTML page, by Jennifer Kyrnin. It's a visual - yes, visual - instructional post about how to do this, and gives a more technical look at why you should. She makes it pretty easy.

Do not overlook this! This little tidbit from the step by step guide I just told you about is priceless! Use Adwords from Google to identify the best, and most common, search terms for your blog. Ms. Kyrnin puts this in her tutorial, but I want to point it out specifically as a really useful tool for this process. Just putting my blog and my webpage through that one tool, I learned a great deal. It proved to be incredibly useful.

Have other ideas? Know something about SEO that I don't? Well, that's likely. I'm just starting to educate myself on this particular road to internet usage and success. If you have a great resource you have used to improve your site, I'd really like to see it. Please leave a comment.

In the meantime, here is a great graphic to explain the process just one more time. And one more tip: look on Pinterest. There are numerous "infographics" to help understand SEO.

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/6442/12-Amazing-SEO-Infographics.aspx

Genealogy: The Next Generation

What will genealogy look like in 2063? That is the question I am posing today, and I'm curious to see what responses I will get.

CER-10, Digital Computer, ca. 1963
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CER-10

In 1963, the idea of advanced technology looked very different than it does in reality. When they looked fifty years ahead, could they have imagined that we would be researching with tools such as Google Books, online records sources, digital cameras, and personal computers small enough to fit not just in one room, but in our laps?

With new tech and abilities hitting the market at an alarming rate now, what will genealogy look like in twenty or fifty years? Will everything be online? Will we be having the equivalent of webinar's instructing researchers how to walk into a courthouse and request records?  Will it even be necessary to do on site research, or will it all be available to us via some sort of mass media source? How will people be dealt with after death in the future? Will cemeteries still exist, or will society turn to something else?

The bigger question; will it, the research, even be necessary? Will there be a day when genealogy is just... done? Will we ever have all the answers?

(Personally, I don't think so, at least not in our lifetime, but its an interesting question to ask.)


What do you see for the future, the next generation of genealogy? 

1884 Snow Plow

Living in Summit County means you have to deal with snow. Sometimes, a lot of snow.

One of the heaviest winter's recorded was that of 1898-1899. The piles were massive, trains and supplies were stopped, and many of the mountain's small communities were cut off for weeks at a time. From the Breckenridge Heritage Alliance's website:

A record snowfall hits Breckenridge and residents are forced to dig snow tunnels to get around town. Rail service resumes on April 24th, after a 78 day blockade.

Miner's cabin in snow. Colorado, taken between 1882-1900.
Photographer: W.H. Jackson
Source: Denver Public Library Digital Collections

 So, it was a tough way of life. Miner's were known to build doors and/or window's into the roofs or upper eaves of their cabins, and then use that as their primary entrance during the winter. There was no real reason for them to continually shovel around the ground level entrance; that was certainly a lot of work, and removed helpful insulation from around the home.

There were some folks who were determined to do something about the labor intensive task of keeping town streets clean of snow. If you look at any of the photos from that era of our high country communities, you will see snow piles lining the streets, at times as high as two story buildings! That is a lot of shoveling. Not only where the streets and residential areas a concern, but the railroad tracks became extremely important in this matter. If the train could not get through the snow, and avalanches over tracks and trains were common occurrences  burying both, then supplies, mail, passengers and other necessities were unavailable.

I recently came across a patent record issued in 1884 by a resident of Red Cliff, Colorado. One Mr. John Q. Day issued Patent No. 299750 for a "Snow-Plow".  His design requires the machine to move along the tracks, and;

"...The snow is gathered on the curved mold-board n ... and is shoveled or scraped therefrom into the wheel groves by the shovels..." 

Partial Image from Patent No. 299750
United States Patent Office

If you have not included a patent search in your own genealogy process, I highly recommend it. You can do this easily through Google (what else?), by using the Google Patents Search. Filters include filing date and type of patent. In the past, I have found a few connected with my family tree, including one for a design of a head lice remover.

Even if you don't find one submitted by an actual family member, you can certainly find other ideas from their neighbors, giving you a great look at the problems they experienced in every day life, and the solutions they were trying to come up with.

I do not know if this snow-plow was ever used by any railroad companies, but I do not think it would be difficult to find out. It does, however, make for a very interesting topic around the dinner table!

Have you had any success searching patents? Do you have any interesting stories? I would love to hear them.

Using Mind Mapping

Recently, I stumbled upon the Google Chorme app "mindmeister." Always looking for new systems and programs to explore, especially when it comes to advancing my research and organization, I decided to give it a go.

mindmeister (no capital letters in their logo) is a mind mapping program that allows the traditional technique to transfer from pen and paper to computer screen. It appears to be easy to use, and has several available options, even in the free edition, that are appealing.

[Here's the fine print. I am in no way affiliated with mindmeister. They did not communicate with me in any way, and I am writing this review of my own will and of my own opinions.]

mindmesiter allows the use of several templates to use for your mind maps... anything from to-do lists to event planning to writing a good blog post. The app is available on Android and iPad formats as well.

Example of the Writing a Blog template in mindmeister. 

Here's what I like, especially, about mindmeister:

1. The free version still has enough features to satisfy someone with the tool they've just downloaded. If you need more, you have that option. 
2. Templates allow you to be as independent or guided through the mind mapping process as you want. 
3. The ability to move around the page, adjusting as your brain processes through the project, appears to have more flexibility than other apps I have tried. 

I really do enjoy being organized. I have lists of my lists. So, to have a writing project laid out for me like this is really ideal. I anticipate using mindmeister for blog posts, articles, family histories, and much more. I find it helpful to sit down and really examine the various elements of a project; no matter the size. What is the objective? Is there a need? What do I need to be successful in this endeavor? This app really does help me get through all of that... I can always move around the document to add, detract, or adjust accordingly as the project outline comes together. 

Bottom line: I'm giving mindmeister a 4 out of 5 on my personal scale of apps/tools I love. I would give it a 5 if I could get all the features free. But, hey, I get that; everyone has to make a living. 

So. Do you use the mind mapping technique? If so, how? Pen & paper; software; white board?  I'd be interested to see what everyone else is doing. If not... why not? 

Which hashtag is right for me? #Twitter

Recently, Marian Pierre-Louis posed a question on Google+:

"Question for all you social media friends out there: Have any of you ever done a study to determine which Twitter keywords have strong, loyal followings and which keywords seem to remain rapid fire and random without a core group? Just wondering..."

Although she was not referring to specifically genealogy related terms, her questions and further comments were intriguing to me, so I decided to do a little digging.

I found the site, www.HashTracking.com. You input a hashtag, and it tells you how many original tweets, retweets and mentions used that tag in the last twenty-four hours.

Here's a quick look at my results. I did this from 4:10pm - 4:15pm on 11 June 2012. For comparison purposes, I used common genealogy tags that I've seen used:

• #genealogy: 359 original tweets, 89 retweets, 21 mentions
• #familyhistory: 98 original tweets, 26 retweets, 7 mentions
• #ancestry: 28 original tweets, 2 retweets, 0 mentions
• #history: 829 original tweets, 552 retweets, 119 mentions
• #socialmedia: 1194 original tweets, 269 retweets, 37 mentions
• #archives: 187 original tweets, 81 retweets, 4 mentions

 I think, simply, an interesting look at the use of social media as our community continues to grow online. Personally, I try to use as many as possible in each post, within the confines of 140 characters.

The question posed is still one to be considered, and I thank Marian for putting it out there for us to spend a few minutes pondering. I would pass it forward to all of you: what hashtags do you use regularly, what do you use in passing?

Tweets from 2012 Jamboree: Day 3

The last and final installment of my favorite tweets coming out of the SCGS Jamboree, 2012. Please make sure to look over Day 1 and Day 2, as well!

• @ironhide781: "So sad to leave Jamboree, it's the best genealogy conference I've ever attended." [Figured we'd start with a nice compliment.]
• @terrifraser: "Takeaways: Blogger summit 2 #scgs12 Thomas MacEntee always moderates comments. Anonymous uses Microsoft Live Writer to compose blog posts."
• @baysideresearch: "Decided on What's New with RootsMagic 5 for my first #scgs12 session of the day."
• @demascot54321: "Genealogy research and Trip planning."
• @FamilyStories: "Will be attending Warren Bittner's Complex Evidence ~ Will be streamed. Who's joining me?"
• @AuntJill: "Best mindmapping tool I've seen yet is bubbl.us. Thanks to Ancestral Breezes for @scgs12 tweets." [You are most welcome. This has become a "thing" for me. It allows me to follow the conference from home, and also keeps everything in one place. If I'm going to make the list anyway, I might as well share.]
• @ACoffin: "Attending 'Mapping Madness' with @ronarons. I'm a sucker for anything maps."
• @terrifraser: "Attending 'Using the 1880 DDD Census' at #scgs12 with Jana Sloan Broiling CG."

(I included the above tweets so you would know which session the information was coming from. The twitter stream was very active Sunday morning, and it could be easy to get lost.)

• @toniasroots: "According to @megansmolenyak there are things in newspapers other than obituaries. Who knew?"
• @ACoffin: "Some free map sites: NYPL, David Rumsey, LOC, Perry Casteneda at UTexas."
• @ACoffin: "Don't forget Cyndi's List map page."
• @toniasroots: "All newspaper sites have some content everyone has and some content no one else has."
• @ACoffin: "Arons: search Google Images for maps, too. #scgs12 Use place name."
• @a3Genealogy: "@toniasroots LOL... This is a hard concept for some researchers. Slow down, take your time, and peruse the whole newspaper!"
• @ACoffin: "Arons showing different results between Google Maps and Bing Maps. He uses both. So do I."
• @toniasroots: "GenealogyBank has a great collection for people with New England and New York colonial roots."
• @toniasroots: "NewsLibrary.com can be used a la carte - no subscription necessary. Contemporary content, not historical."
• @ACoffin: "Bing maps:can only save 10 places in your collection. We all know Google lets you save more on your map."
• @toniasroots: "Newspaper search tip. Put in surname and keyword 'died'." [Also, death, buried, burial, grave, ceremony, etc.]
• @toniasroots: "Archives.com limits you to 10 newspaper searches per day."
• @FamilyStories: "This is EXACTLY why I wish census occupations were indexed. Bonus Points to the company who does that. @findmypastUS"
• @baysideresearch: "The CountyCheck feature in RM5 is great!"
• @rjseaver: "I like sequence of Bittner's slides. Document, discussion, source type, info type, evidence type, source citation. Logical."
• @toniasroots: "Elsewhere Around the World - a curated site with links to international newspaper sites."
• @rjseaver: "Bittner finally get to the evidence conflict stage-two direct pieces from original sources don't match. Indirect evidence proves."

ilovecoffeebook.com

• @rjseaver: "Bittner's talk is excellent tutorial on doing research in New York City."
• @toniasroots: "Major papers, like ATL Constitution, LA Times, etc. look for PQ in menu - this is their historical archives done with ProQuest."
• @ACoffin: "Arons: see if  your library has ProQuest Sanborn Maps Geo Edition."
• @toniasroots: "Ancestry.com obituary collection crawls sites of lots of smaller newspapers."
• @toniasroots: "Obitsarchive.com another a la carte site. Has contemporary obits."
• @rjseaver: "Bittner says software wants conclusions and limits evidence analysis. People lead complex lives."
• @ACoffin: "Hmmm.... LinkedIn Maps. Interesting." [Care to elaborate here?]
• @ACoffin: "Maps aren't just about places. Arons is discussing mind maps now."
• @baysideresearch: "RM reader for iPad/iPhone later this summer!"
• @amycrow: "Not correct. Limit is 10 views, not 10 searches RT @toniasroots Archives.com limit 10 newspaper searches/day @megansmolenyak" [Thanks for the clarification.]
• @baysideresearch: "Looks like @geneabloggers may have a full room for his Illinois session!"
• @rjseaver: "#scgs12 Lisa has her 10 Golden Rules of Genealogy on her website for free gotgenealogy.com."
• @ACoffin: "Take away from Hovorka's session: we need to allow new genealogists to be new." [Amen.]
• @toniasroots: "Be committed to ANALYZING your data."
• @amycrow: "That's the key: 'If I look at your citation, can I get back to the original?' - C Witcher (The comma doesn't matter! <g>)"
• @rjseaver: "Jana says to look for court cases associated with land deeds. Federal land records are largest pre 1900 set of records."
• @ACoffin: "Bertillon cards= predecessor to fingerprints. Incl. photos, measurements, etc of the subject."
• @rjseaver: "really need to check American State Papers for cases concerning my ancestors. Jana rocks!"
• @toniasroots: "Create timelines whenever you can."
• @baysideresearch: "It's expensive inheriting stuff from people. How to preserve?" [Ain't that the truth.]
• @baysideresearch: "Resolve to DO NO HARM to your inherited items. @familycurator"
• @susankitchens: "Frugal curation. Because we don't have budget n staff."
• @baysideresearch: "Archival cardboard storage boxes are acid-free, etc. #scgs12 they are layered to help protect docs, etc."
• @susankitchens: "First, do no harm. Temp swings not good. Moisture, pests, human handling, oils."
• @baysideresearch: "Newsprint is so inherently acidic it will break down."
• @baysideresearch: "Look for lignin-free boxes."
• @baysideresearch: "@familycurator showing damage to doll stored in china cabinet."
• @susankitchens: "Layered protection. The idea of the day for #stuff #preservation"
• @baysideresearch: "@familycurator has a curator's first aid kit w/tissue paper, sheet, tape, etc. all acid free!"
• @baysideresearch: "Make-it-yourself 4-flap-enclosure = most useful archival tool."
• @toniasroots: "Make your own archival container to fit any size item. @familycurator is showing us how." [Jealous.]
• @baysideresearch: "More DIY: custom cotton bag for multiple items."
• @ACoffin: "If you're into frugal curating, @familycurator has a book coming out about it in a few months."
• @baysideresearch: "Wash purchased muslin to remove all the sizing chemicals. No fabric softener!"
• @susankitchens: "Reversible is key for whatever you use to encapsulate it. Plastic is good for the foto to hand around @ family reunion. #preservation"
• @baysideresearch: "Put buffered paper behind newspaper to prevent acid build-up."
• @susankitchens: "Buffered paper - acid free, lignin free next to, say newspaper, in archival sleeve."
• @baysideresearch: "Avery sheet protectors are good option."
• @baysideresearch: "Also, funnily enough, ziplock sandwich bags are fine too!"
• @susankitchens: "Ziplock bags. GLAD are polypropylene. (good) @familycurator researched. Passed light test. #preservation"
• @susankitchens: "Who knew? Zip loc bags. Used by archaeologists, n for Police evidence bags."
• @baysideresearch: "Encapsulation not the best option for photos - image may stick to the plastic if you remove."
• @susankitchens: "Time capsule. Purpose, plan. AWESOME. Mama's got a milestone bay coming up."
• @baysideresearch: "Use a pretzel container. Seriously!"
• @susankitchens: "This presentation TOTALLY needs to go into #Maker magazine."
• @baysideresearch: "'just say no' to anything that will require a player 50 years from now. No good."
• @susankitchens: "Register your time capsule: International Time Capsule society, Oglethorpe Univ, Atlanta, GA"
• @baysideresearch: "@familycurator's book How to Archive Family Keepsakes coming out in August!" [You can pre-order on Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/How-Archive-Family-Keepsakes-Memorabilia/dp/1440322236/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=11ED8PIUYXZ2E&coliid=I30W1VQPVAQ2VA]
• @familycurator: "Caugt @acivory showing how to make genealogy Mac Dashboard #scgs12 - my take-away #1"
• @JanetHovorka: "What I learned at #scgs12 RT @susankitchens: XLNT question-how can we build more mentoring it's all about respect. Be it, act it. U got it."
• @JanetHovorka: "Nailed it. RT @susankitchens: The FEAR of doing it wrong gets in the way. Yes. You MUST make mistakes. Gatekeeping comes frm fear."

yogainthedragonsden.blogspot.com

And with that, it all comes to an end. I love the last two: 

Mentoring is all about respect.

You must make mistakes.

Well said, everyone, well said. 

Tweets from 2012 Jamboree: Day 2

Welcome to the world of tweets! As mentioned yesterday, follow the SCGS Jamboree event online using #scgs12.

Enjoy today's selections!

• @Toniasroots: "Pass judgement on each piece of family lore: true, false, exaggerated - all are possible."
• @a3Genealogy: "Mark Schaeffer says optimize social media apps/tools to improve Return On Influence. Ok!"
• @Ghyxion: "Only an hour until Genealogy Idol is streamed to the comfort of my recliner." [Yes! Enjoying from home thanks to the power of social media and streaming sessions.]
• @FamilyStories: all of the following...  
• "There is no correct way to organize your research. ~ @GenealogistEyls"
• "There is no magic pill  to become organized. It's a process that needs to be executed repeatedly. @GenealoigstElys"
• "And? @GenealogistElys is a NATURAL at this. Seriously. You should BE HERE listening & watching. #rockingit"
• "Tagging photos is suggested for photo organization. Picasa is gr8 for this. ~ @GenealogistElys"
• @toniasroots: "How do you think categorize your ancestors in  your mind? By surname, by couple, etc? Use that style for your organization system."
• @toniasroots: "Use consistent file naming, so that when you see the file name, you instantly know what the file contains. @GenealogistElys"
• @KinfoLit: "'Read broadly' to understand your ancestors' value system and priorities. -- Warren Bittner"
• @littlebyteslife: "Daughters of 1812 database of ancestors online - check it out!"
• @baysideresearch: "Unsubscribe from the email lists and newsletters you don't read."
• @KinfoLit: "Bittner recommends Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's A Midwife's Tail: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812."
• @baysideresearch: "Schedule time every 6 mos or so to organize your bookmarks." [Love this.]
• @toniasroots: "Every so often, go through your website "Favorites" and delete broken links."
• @Kimmyvon: "Elyse D. Tames the digital monster at #SCGS12 she's teaching what all these new fangeled things are."
• @baysideresearch: "@genealogistelys is demoing OneNote."
• @toniasroots: "Create a list of books/resources you want to access in your favorite note-taking software."

Random picture. Wild "high mountain" flowers in my back yard.
Copyright Jen Baldwin, Breckenridge, CO 2012.

• @KinfoLit: "Reading history is essential for 'understanding the way life was lived for the common man.' -- Warren Bittner at #scgs12"
• @FamilyStories: "Elyse has knocked it outta the park. Excellent. @GenealogyElys" [Love the support for this presentor from the audience.]
• @Kimmyvon: "Elyse Doerflinger recommends 'Remember the Milk' for your to do list."
• @toniasroots: Lists the following... 
• "Curt Witcher asks: Are you a genealogy researcher or an ancestor collector?"
• "Familiarty with how the military operates will ensure finding & effectively using the widest collection of resources. #Witcher"
• "Look for more than basic BMD info. What were they doing, where? Creates context. #Witcher"
• "Use secondary information (published records). They'll lead you to the primary. #Witcher"
• "Go to any college library or online to look for printed govermnet docs on Service Records. Wealth of information. #Witcher"
• "State archives are good sources of military records. #Witcher"
• "Pension records are golden for genealogists. Proof of service, eligibility & testimony from FANs. #Witcher"
• Confederate pension files are usually found in state archives, rather than NARA, but have some of the best information. #Witcher"
• Documenting the American South. Website with amazing military history information. #Witcher"
• Here's the link. docsouth.unc.edu"
• "Civil War Soldiers & Sailors database lets you download a spreadsheet of search results. Awesome. #Witcher"
• @baysideresearch: "@lisaalso: post -1892 passenger lists much more rich in info. Darn! All my ancestors arrived before that..."
• @baysideresearch: "Who was traveling w/your ancestor? Circumstances? Look for the clues. @lisaalzo."
• @baysideresearch: "Check all versions of ships' lists. Copies were made. Differences?  @lisaalso."
• @baysideresearch: "@lisaalzo: read the instructions for any new-to-you database!"
• @walkingyourtree: "Stunned by CWSS free website w/tons of great Civil War resources #CurtWitcher"
• @susankitchens: "EBay for heirlooms. Use to make shadowbox. Things are in other people's attics. Sve teh search in eBay. - @LisaCooke"
• @KinfoLit: "@SLuxenberg says genealogists are better researchers than historians and journalists. Really?!"
• @KinfoLit: "'We don't live in the times we're researching.' A challenge to overcome, says @SLuxenberg at #scgs12"
• @susankitchens: "SteveLux - we don't live in teh time we're researching. We got to think like the time period we're researching."
• @sooznebr: "Put emotions aside and think about what the document tells you #scgs12 Steve Luxenberg"
• @storybookgen: "My 2 cents: LOOK at the census record - don't just accept the indexed archives. They're incomplete and sometimes wrong."
• @storybookgen: "Memory is falliable, even when photos tells a different story."
• @storybookgen: "Steve Luxenberg welcomes emails asking for advice. Find him at steveluxenberg.com"
• @FamilyStories: From Megan Smolenyak's presentation... 
• "Why Reverse Genealogy? Find kin, heirlooms, etc. @megansmolenyak"
• "Hello?!? Had no idea @megansmolenyak does the heirloom rescue thing. Another reason to LOVE her!"
• "2 approaches to Reverse Genealogy: broadcast & seeking."
• "@megansmolenyak prefers the location-based message boards vs. surname to catch neighbors & family."
• "Zig zagging backwards and forwards thru time gets you to the finish line quicker."
• I love Heritage Quest, personally." [As do I!]
• @rjsearver: tweeting from the Blogger Panel
• "At Blogger Panel, Melissa says blog community is a network of knowledge and very helpful to beginners."
• "Denise says geneablogging has resulted in many cousins contacting her. Cousin bait works!"
• "Melissa says geneablogging is a great marketing tool for the GenealogyCenter at Fort Wayne Library."
• "Thomas talked quite a bit about affiliate programs on geneablogs. Made up to $200 in one month."
• "Ancestry Insider says to write geneablogs for yourself. Ought to use images in every post."
• "Thomas says Wikimedia Commons has copyright free images available for use on blogs."

Random photo #2. This the fox that has marked our yard as his territory.
Copyright Jen Baldwin, Breckenridge, CO 2012.

• @baysideresearch: "Add city directories to @megansmolenyak's list of best reverse #genealogy resources. Helped me unlock the Friends Album's past."
• @FamilyStories: "On genealogybank.com historical & contemporary collections sometimes overlap. Check both. @megansmolenyak"
• @FamilyStories: "Library of Congress website getting more useful. Info availability depends on each state. Keep checking back."
• @KinfoLit: "Explanatory notes at beginning of a compiled #genealogy often contains lots of useful info, so read them! -- @DJoshuaTaylor"
• @KinfoLit: "'Genealogy is a lifelong pursuit, not a five-minute hobby.' -- @DJoshuaTaylor"
• @FamilyStories: "Compiled genealogies are excellent secondary sources to gather clues for further research. @DJoshuaTaylor"
• @FamilyStories: "Sometimes, folks, we may never find anything that proves or disproves compiled genealogies. [hard to accept, no?] @DJoshuaTaylor"
• @toniasroots: "Always pull a hardcopy of compiled genealogies when you visit other libraries. Sometimes ppl WRITE in corrections."
• @FamilyStories: "Basically, u know all that stuff we get told 2 NOT EVEN look at cuz it's NOT 'pure'? Use it w/logic. They're clues. @DJoshuaTaylor"
• @FamilyStories: "Read the FOOTNOTES in published histories. Lots of clues."
• @FamilyStories: "Read peer reviews of comp. genealogies cuz genealogists love to point out corrections to other genealogists. *snort* @DJoshuaTaylor"
• @toniasroots: "Type author's name in Google Books. You may find revisions & corrections of compiled genealogies. @DJoshuaTaylor"
• @amycrow: "What?! A genealogist compiling info and not publishing it?! Say it isn't so! <g> @DJoshuaTaylor."
• @toniasroots: "Contact family associations. They may have a file of corrections to the compiled genealogy."
• @toniasroots: "Family-Association.com -> basic site that lists family associations."
• @KinfoLit: "The author of a compiled #genealogy may have donated research materials to an archive. -- @DJoshuaTaylor."
• @FamilyStories: "'Compiled genealogies - don't know if it's accurate but don't know if it's inaccurate."
• @Kimmyvon: "#SCGS12 I love the idea of giving back or paying it forward... maybe we could pool our money and get on this Grand band wagon."
• @Kimmyvon: "Seton Shields Genealogy Grants Program... pass the word."

More to come tomorrow! Have a great 24 hours! 

Photography: Dealing with Albums & Glass

In my vast collection of family memorabilia, childhood arts & crafts projects, diaries and letters, I only have one or two of those photos. You know, the ones that have been under the same piece of glass for a hundred years and you are so afraid to touch it, but really need a copy for preservation purposes, but you just don't know what to do!


So, I asked.

I didn't ask an archivist, though I could have. I didn't ask a historian, another genealogist, or anybody who I would consider an expert in framing and glass. Perhaps I should have.

Instead, I asked a photographer.

Because the glass and the frame, though probably of some historical value, is secondary. If something has to be damaged, ruined, or left in disrepair in the process, I'd rather it be one of those. I want the photo.

Keep in mind, I have a personal connection with this particular person, and we've struck up numerous conversations relating to genealogy and photography, and how those intermix. See my previous post, with significant contributions by Mr. Mike Brown, Photography: Questioning the Scanner.

The question I posed to him was this:

"How do we deal with old photos that we inherit that are glued to a photo album, or have been in a frame for who knows how long? Do you take it apart or try to preserve as is?"

His response is worth a read. I picked up a trick or two, I hope you will also.

"Reproduce before you try anything. Then if what you try goes wrong you have a backup copy. [Great advice for just about anything, right?] I have had customers that brought in photos that were cut out of the album page and still had the page glued to the back of them, this works if there are no photos on the other side of the page.

Sometimes it is possible to find something that will soften or remove the glue without harming the photo, but I really do not like to experiment with important or irreplaceable photos. Album pages cab be reproduced as a whole or one can just do a single photo at a time, to me much better than trying to take it apart. 

As for removing photos from a frame, the same thing applies, reproduce before you try anything. [Again, refer back to the techniques he describes in the post above to take a picture of a picture.] Here you really need to know what you are looking at. The usual problem is that the photo was not framed correctly and it is in contact with the glass. Moisture has gotten in and caused the photo to stick to the glass. If it has been in there for a very long time it can be quite difficult to get it apart without doing damage to the photo. If it is a black and white photo, remove the frame and try soaking the glass and photo in a tray of room temperature water. This may take several hours and one has to be very careful when trying to peel them apart, but it sometimes works. 

Most importantly, if you are at all unsure about the original or the process, don't do it. Take it to an expert and get some advice one on one.  

Be forewarned, if the photo looks like it has been retouched or colored, do not try this as the water may very well remove the coloring. I have had people tell me that they have done this with color prints, however, I do not like to do so. 

[How do you know if its been "colored"? Take a look at the examples below for an idea. Although this example is a "full" colored image, not all images were done this way. At times, it was much more pastel, or only part of the image.] 

Original image, non-colored.
William W. Brown and sister, Bessie, 
Colfax County, Neb.
Private holdings of author.

Same portrait session as above,
but with coloring added.
William W. Brown, Colfax County, Neb.
Private holdings of author. 

There is a special situation that I should mention. I have had customers who had house fires and when the fire department got done putting out the fire, every photo hanging on the walls was soaked and starting to get stuck to the glass in the frames. The cure for something that has just gotten wet is not let it dry out. As soon as possible, submerge the entire thing in water (ever see a bathtub full of framed photos?), carefully separate the photo from the glass while its wet, then let the photos dry. The damage to the house was extensive, but the house was rebuilt, and when all was said and done, the same photos, in new frames, hung proudly on the walls." 

 This brings me to a couple of questions for all of you; the readers.

• Have you found a product that works to remove photos from albums? I would especially like to find something that works on construction paper type surfaces, as I have a lot of those. 
• Have you done this? Does anybody have a story of submerging a framed photo to separate it from the glass? Success or failure, I would love to hear about it. Leave a comment, or put the story in your own blog, and send me the link. So far, I've been to chicken to try. 

Always willing to take questions and input on the issue at hand, please leave a comment for myself or Mr. Brown below. Between the two of us, we'll try to get to it as soon as we can. 

With over 50 years of photographic experience, Mike Brown is now semi-retired from the everyday hustle and bustle of owning a photographic studio. He now splits his time between consulting, teaching and mentoring in the photographic world and trying to keep up with a whole herd of grandchildren (another of which was just born!)

Photography: Questioning the Scanner

Photography. All genealogists use photography in some way or another. We preserve old photos and documents, we pursue images from around the world of headstones and cemeteries, we transcribe using digital imaging techniques. As we progress more and more into the world of technology and digital media, our photography skills must advance with us.

Breckenridge, Colorado
Image Copyright Jen Baldwin,
Ancestral Journeys, 2012

I am not a photographer. I have always been curious about the art, and have enjoyed the hobby as a creative outlet. However, the technical aspects behind a camera often elude me. My advantage is a personal connection with a semi-retired photographer, Mr. Mike Brown. So, I asked him a few questions that had been on my mind for a while.

One of his favorite things to tell me is how much better it is to take a picture of something versus scanning it. What?  My scanner is one of my best friends. Everything gets scanned! So, that was one of my first questions: why take a picture of something when I can scan it?  Although his answer is long, its worth reading through to the end:

"If one is serious about reproducing photographs, I am convinced that the only way to do so is to copy them using a digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR). You also need a couple of lights and some filters and a bit of knowledge. Your camera should have a lens that incorporates a "micro" mode and will accept a polarizing filter. You will also need a set of polarizing filters for your lights (two lights are recommended). A tripod rounds out the equipment list. Now this sounds like a lot of gear, but hang on, it's really not that bad. Of course the camera can be used for other things from family reunions to documenting grave stones, so it is not just a single purpose item. The polarizing filter for the camera ($30.00 or so, depending on the size needed and where you get it) is also a great thing to have when shooting a great scenic photo as it helps get those deep blue skies. For lights, get thee to the local farm store and pick up a pair of "chicken brooder" lamps, maybe $10.00 each. Put a 100W, Daylight balanced CFC bulb in each one. You will need a sheet of Polarizing film that is big enough to cover both of your lamps. Theater supply or larger camera stores carry this for about $50.00 or so a sheet (the sheet is 17 x 20 inches; one sheet would make a filter for both lights).

A tripod is a very handy item for photographers and they come in an extremely wide range of sizes and prices. For this you do not need a very big or too expensive one. In fact, a good way to use a small tripod while copying photographs is to lay the tripod flat on a table so at the camera looks down at the floor, place something heavy on the tripod so it does not fall from the table, lay the photographs on the floor, clamp the lights to a couple of chair backs, turn off the other lights in the room and you are in business! 

Once you have all of this, you can easily reproduce just about any photograph or document that you want. Originals that are too big too fit on a scanner are not a problem, just back up till they fit. Have one of the old oval convex portraits where the middle of the picture is several inches higher than the edges? Have a photo that is stuck to the glass and you are getting too much glare? Maybe a painting with glare from some of the brush strokes? Want to lighten up the image on that old tintype that is almost too dark to see? All of these problems can be easily solved with the equipment described above. The technique is called "Double Polarized lighting."

But the biggest use of this type of lighting is when you are faced with trying to reproduce an old photo that displays "Silvering". Silvering is usually visible in the darker areas of the image as a result of the halides breaking down and the metallic silver becoming visible. By simply turning the filter on the camera one can just dial out the unwanted reflections and capture the image!  

These are copies of the same silvered photograph, one taken with the Double Polarized Lighting method, the other scanned with a typical flatbed scanner. Neither has had any other work done to them except for resizing."  

With Scanner

With Camera

"And of course, if you really want to go first class, some of the more affordable cameras come with the ability to connect directly to your computer so you get to see the images as you take them. Doing so allows one to easily quality check each image as you work your way through the stack. 

I realize that not everyone may be all that interested in this kind of do it yourself photography and may want to send this out to someone else. If that is you, then I would suggest contacting photo studios in your area and asking them if they can do copy work employing the "Double Polarized Lighting Technique." If they say no or do not seem to know what the term means, go somewhere else!"

I'll have more from my conversation on photography within the realm of genealogy in future posts. Feel free to leave comments or questions for Mr. Brown, or myself, and I can include those, with his responses.



With over 50 years of photographic experience, Mike Brown is now semi-retired from the everyday hustle and bustle of owning a photographic studio. He now splits his time between consulting, teaching and mentoring in the photographic world and trying to keep up with a whole herd of grandchildren!

Adobe Creative Cloud

Have you ever considered renting your software?

Welcome to the Adobe Creative Cloud.

For $49.99 a month, you can have access to all of the software products available in the Adobe Creative Suite 6. This program offers many unique, and new, features to the consumer. According to the Adobe Creative Cloud website, their goal is to remove overhead and the process of moving files; streamlining your entire creative process. The system would provide you with a downloaded version of each of their products, including Photoshop, Photoshop Touch, Illustrator, Muse, Edge, Audition, Acrobat X Professional and much more. After downloading, you will receive automatic updates to your software through the cloud. All for that one price.

Do you have any idea how much an upgrade of Photoshop costs?  If you use Adobe products, this is a very good deal.

Along with the applications you also receive 20GB of cloud storage. The system will seamlessly update your work from one device to another, allowing you to make changes and updates on any system, and then accessing it immediately on another.

Slick, huh?

Share your files by uploading them to the web; publish apps and websites. All within the Creative Cloud.

Learn more on the Adobe website using the link provided above. This will certainly be an exciting venture to watch over the coming months as they release more options and information.

How in the world does this relate to genealogy, you ask? Well, let's put this into perspective. Here is what I use:

1. Photoshop Editor for my images.
2. A WYSIWYG free software program to write my web pages, called Composer. 
3. A separate program called Core FTP LE to upload those pages onto the net.
4. MozyHome for cloud storage.
5. Microsoft Word for creating documents. 
6. A Casio brand digital recorder for personal interviews, and its corresponding software to edit those files on my PC. 

If I were to buy into the Adobe Creative Cloud, all of those would be eliminated by features they offer in the package. More importantly to me, they would all be interconnected, so each would update with new information as I work in another. Neat. 

Please note, I am not speaking for Adobe or trying to sell you anything. I came across this new information thanks to a conversation with a retired photographer and thought it could be a useful tool for genealogists and family historians, among many other professions. 

What will they come up with next? 

1940 Census Release: My Thoughts From Day 1

As my research hours come to a close for 2 April 2012, I thought I would post my initial thoughts on the 1940 US Census roll out from today.

It was a big day. It was a big thing to try to do. Imagine, putting all of the images online, all at one time, and saying "Go!" I know many people complained about the overwhelmed system at the National Archives, but I personally found the day to be rather successful. Here's why.

1. The National Archives gave us a chance to be productive, even if we couldn't get to the images. By creating a user profile for the site, I was able to "bookmark" all the Enumeration Districts that were high on the list. So just finding it in the site, and saving it for later, I felt like I was making progress. It just means that future searches will be that much more efficient for me. 
2. I was up early. Right at 9:00am EST when they turned the switch, I was on the site, and was able to download a few images. It was enough to keep me interested and motivated during the rest of the day. Maybe I was lucky in this regard, I know many people didn't see an actual image until much later in the day. It did mean that I was up at 6:15am my time, but I feel that it was worth it. Dedication, people! :-)
3. The updates on Twitter and Facebook from the folks at the Archives kept me informed. I think this was probably the reason why I kept trying all day; I liked that they were obviously concerned about their audience, and wanted to keep us update on how they were trying to resolve the issues. Not a lot of detail, but just enough to satisfy me that things were going to improve, relatively quickly. 
4. Social Media! Woo-Hoo! I actually had a great time this morning on Twitter, just chatting about the census and being involved in the genealogical community. Up here in the mountains of Colorado, they're are not very many history & genealogy buffs for me to talk to, and my husband is getting tired of me talking about what was happening in 1940, so it was nice just to see how others were responding and have conversation. Although there were many negative comments about the backlog on the 1940 site, it was great to see the positive messages and encouragement to our friends at the Archives. 
5. The partnering sites, especially FamilySearch.org, were able to get a handful of states up and going. A few hiccups on my first search, but after that, FS ran very smooth. I was able to find my first two names via FamilySearch, and it felt like the waiting during the day was worth it. Ancestry.com was also moving quickly, and although they have yet to load any states that are helpful to me at the moment, their progress was impressive. 

My Disappointment.

The most significant disappointment to me today was first thing this morning. Cup of coffee in hand, ready to watch the live feed of the opening from Washington D.C., and the stream wouldn't work for me. I had to settle with still photos posted on Twitter from other viewers. Although this was a bummer, it actually allowed me to beat the crowd to the images initially, so in the long run, it worked out to my benefit. 

I will continue to filter through FamilySearch and Ancestry as they add more images, and try the National Archives again later tonight or tomorrow. Hopefully, I can get to Keya Paha County, Nebraska and Orting, Pierce County, Washington, today. Those are my "I'm so excited!" locations. Some of the images I have found so far are already posted on my blog, maybe it will help somebody. 

Soon I will have to switch modes from genealogist to Mommy, and that's perfectly ok with me. Making memories today is what she will value as an adult. History happens every day, in many ways, and today we all got to be a part of it, just by witnessing the release!  

Using OneNote to Prep for the 1940 US Census

I know, I know. All the hype lately has been on Evernote. I use Evernote, and I like it. It helps me. But for the 1940 US Census, I turned to OneNote. It just flows better for me.

So here is what I did. This may help you, it may not, but putting it all out there step by step helps me, so that's what I'm going to do.

I started with my Top 10, and created a new Notebook, simply called 1940 Census. Within it, I created a new page for each geographical area for my Top 10. There were a few goals that were simple, so I made a quick note for each on the page. (One thing I really like about OneNote is that I can write anywhere. My brain does not operate in list form, it's all over the place. So, my notes are too.)

Next, I went to http://stevemorse.org/ to use his One Step Tools (thank God for Steve Morse!). I used his Unified 1940 Census ED Finder tool to determine the Enumeration Districts for each city or town that I had previously listed. Then I just moved back over to OneNote, used the Screen Clipping tool, and *poof*! All those ED's were in my notes.

After watching the recent webinar by Thomas MacEntee on prepping for the big day (Navigating the 1940 U.S. Census), I decided to look at WWII draft cards for many of my individuals. Once found, and for some that meant going back through my paper records, and others it was searching online, I was able to again make a quick note on the geographical page for each person. Now I have their ED and their physical address all in one place. Hooray!

Then I thought... I don't want to have to toggle back and forth too much. So, I opened my genealogy database (I use Family Tree Maker 2010 right now) and did a screen clipping on just the vitals of each head of household I was interested in. *Poof* again!

I now have twelve geographic locations listed in OneNote. Some are tiny, with only one ED for the community. Some, like Birmingham, Alabama, have too many to count. I will continue to use the tools made available by Steve Morse and team to narrow down those as much as I can. I am thinking that before the census is actually released, I will have at least twice as many, if not more.

24 days and we're all counting!