| FHC Info | |
Hours of Operation:
Mon: Closed
Fri: 9:30 am-1:00 pm
Saturday:
9:30 am-4:30 pm
Tues, Wed, Thurs:
9:30am-4:30pm, & 7-9:30 pm
Directors: Linda & Kurt Christensen Washington DC Stake Carol & Gary Petranek, Silver Spring MDStake |
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WDC FHC News
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Annual Conference - May 4, 2013
Registration for our annual Family History Conference is now closed, as we have reached our maximum capacity of 350. If you have registered and find that you will be unable to attend, please send an email to conf2013@wdcfhc.org as there are additional people who would like to attend. Please remember that syllabi and handouts will be available on our website for download or print, after April 25. You will be able to access them at: http://www.wdcfhc.org/conf2013/handouts.php
DNA Focus Group
Reminder: the DNA Focus group will resume this week. This group is led by Jim Bartlett, who describes the various tests and explains how they may benefit your research. Upcoming meetings are: April 10 & 24 and May 8 & 22. Future dates will be determined in May.
Upcoming Classes
May 13 - 9:00 - 11:00 DC RootsMagic Users Group
Monthly meeting. Join us to learn how use the many features of RootsMagic genealogy software.
May 18 - 9:30 a.m. Learn the FamilySearch Family Tree
Presenter: Linda MacLachlan
The new FamilySearch FamilyTree is an innovative way to maintain and research your genealogy online, link to sources and collaborate with others. Important note: this class is intended primarily for people who have not begun to enter information on their family tree -- it will not address features pertaining to LDS temple work. After class, attendees can remain at the FHC and receive personal assistance in getting their own tree operational (please bring a bag lunch if desired).
April 20 - 9:30-10:30 a.m. Conducting Research on FamilySearch Using Parents' Names
Presenter: Natonne Kemp
While there are many ways to filter a search at FamilySearch.org, this session will specifically focus on various techniques of using the names of parents to locate your ancestor.
June 15 - 9:30-10:30 a.m. Using Chronologies to Enhance Your Family History Narrative
Presenter: Sue Mortensen
Learn how to use this invaluable tool to chronicle events in the life of your ancestor, identify the gaps in your research, and construct a comprehensive narrative of your ancestor's life.
Thank you to all of our presenters who volunteer their time to teach!
All classes are free of charge, but registration is requested.
Email info@wdcfhc.org, or call 301-587-0042
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| RootsTech Online | |
The RootsTech conference was three full days packed with the newest trends in genealogy & technology. More than 6,700 people attended, with an additional 2,000 teenages participating in special sessions on Saturday. Videos and syllabi are available to view and download at http://rootstech.org/.
To access the syllabi, from the homepage click on "Schedule," then "Sessions," then drill down to the class of interest. At the bottom of the class description will be a link to Syllabi, available both in Word and pdf.
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First Name Abbreviations
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In many historic documents, first names were abbreviated. For example, old street directories and city directories always abbreviated common first names. Parish records often abbreviated familiar Christian names. This was done to save space and paper.
Knowledge of first name abbreviations can be very helpful in tracking down ancestors. For example, knowing that Chas is short form for Charles, Geo represents George, My means Mary and Hy means Henry opens up many more possibilities when looking through ancestral records. To access the list, click here.
Source: Genealogy in Time Magazine
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Ten Brick Wall Strategies
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These 10 tips for what to do when your genealogy research runs up against a brick wall.
- Review and organize your research. Take inventory of what you've found and enter your information onto a family tree chart to help you identify holes in your research.
- Stick to realistic goals. Don't set yourself up for failure with overly broad or too-ambitious research objectives.
- Make a timeline of the brick-wall ancestor's life. Empty spots are avenues for further research.
- List all records your ancestor might appear in, using genealogy how-to guides for help. Create a to-do list of sources you haven't checked.
- Find out whether the records you're using have gaps that your ancestor might fall into.
- Look for alternative sources and substitute records. Rarely is there only one source for a genealogical event.
- Research your ancestor's friends and relatives-children, siblings, cousins, in-laws and neighbors. Their records might have the clues you need.
- Challenge your assumptions. Formulate alternative scenarios from what you believe to be true about your ancestor, then research those theories.
- Don't give up after checking online databases, indexes and other obvious places. You may need to browse an entire record set or community.
- See the problem with fresh eyes. Explain the brick wall to someone else or research another line for awhile.
Source: FamilyTree Magazine, March 28, 2013 |
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Build an Identity Profile of Your Ancestor
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by Barry J. Ewell
The identity of the ancestor is more than a name. It is every known detail of a human life, which includes information about the individual, their relationships, and their origin. Begin by targeting your research location. Search for any document created during the time your ancestor lived. Make sure you understand the circumstances under which every document was created, continually comparing, contrasting and questioning details.
From this analysis you will be able to do the following:
* Build a profile about the individual.
* Learn about their relationships.
* Determine their origin. Read the full article for details on each of these steps, as well as hints on analyzing the documents you find. Click here. Source: Deseret News, March 23, 2013
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| Adding Photos to FamilySearch FamilyTree | | |
by James Tanner
One of the most exciting features about the new FamilySearch FamilyTree is the ability to add stories and photos that are linked to a person on your tree. This video by James Tanner will give an overview on how this is done.
 | | Genealogy's Star Quick Views on FamilySearch Family Tree Photos |
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Use Patents to Enrich Your Family History
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by Kimberly Powell
A lot of everyday people filed for patents, with patent offices around the world. Search for your family names and locations, as well as for the items which most defined your ancestor's life. Patents are a rich source of information for adding color to your family history. You can search patents online through sites such as: Google Patent Search, the United States Patent and Trademark Office , or the European Patent Office
Source: About.com: Genealogy, February 20, 2013
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| Best Records for Female Ancestors | | |
by Diane Haddad
Don't overlook these resources when trying to locate female ancestors:
- Church records: Witnesses on a woman's or her children's religious records may be her relatives.
- Court records: Women typically didn't leave wills (in many times and places, married women legally couldn't), though a widowed or unmarried woman may have. Your female ancestor or her relatives may be named in her father's or husband's will. Also check divorce records, which may have been filed even if a divorce wasn't granted.
- Home sources: Examine letters, needlework and quilts, recipe books, address books, baby books, wedding albums, Bibles and calenders for names of-and details about-female ancestors.
- Land records: Women rarely owned land but may be named in deeds. A married woman may have signed a release of dower when her husband sold land. Those selling land to a couple, especially for a small sum, may be the woman's relatives. Also consider that the neighbors may be her family.
- Marriage records: These might include a license, certificate, return, church register, banns, bond or newspaper announcement.
- Military pensions: A woman could file for a military pension when her husband or unmarried son died of war-related injuries. Widows had to send marriage records to prove the marital relationship.
- Naturalizations: Until 1922, wives automatically became naturalized when their husbands did. Unmarried women rarely sought naturalization. Post-1922, look for separate records for married women.
- Newspapers: Pay special attention to society columns, announcements of births, engagements or anniversaries, and obituaries.
- Vital records: A woman's death record may name her father (later records are more detailed). Birth records often give the mother's maiden name.
Source: Genealogy Insider, March 14, 2013
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| Lutheran Church Records Online | | |
Archives.com has placed online the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) birth, marriage and death record collections -- nearly 4.6 million records. Archives.com, in partnership with the ELCA Archives, digitized and indexed approximately one thousand rolls of microfilmed records from churches now affiliated with the ELCA. The records in these collections date from the mid-1800s through 1940 and include births, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths, and burials. Details vary from church to church, but often include parents' names, dates and places of the event, and other biographical details. Many of the churches were founded by immigrants from Norway, Sweden, and Germany and had immigrant families as their members. These records could hold the key to finding origins in the Old World.
Archives.com offers a free 7-day trial membership. The ELCA collection can be accessed here.
Source: Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, March 26, 2013
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National Digital Newspaper Program
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by Dick Eastman
The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress have partnered to enhance access to historic newspapers for many years with the National Digital Newspaper Program. This long-term effort has developed an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages. Best of all, the information on the National Digital Newspaper Program is available free of charge. At this time, 6,025,474 newspaper pages are available.
To access this wealth of information, go to the Chronicling America website at http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/.
Simple search is good for:
- information on persons, places, or events;
- specific topics or news of the day;
- concepts or ideas;
- unique passages of text, such as the source of a frequently-quoted phrase.
The Advanced Search then provides many options:
- Years (any year(s) from 1836 through 1922)
- Search only front page(s) or entire newspapers
- Language (the National Digital Newspaper Program contains many foreign-language newspapers published within the United States)
- Several Boolean search options (search only specific words, search for ALL words, search for specific phrase, search for words within close proximity). For any options that do not apply to your search, leave the search boxes blank.
A third search option is called "All Digitized newspapers 1836-1922." While that sounds like a duplicate of simple search, it does add one important difference: the ability to search by ethnicity. Many newspapers were written for specific ethnic groups, including African-American, American Indian, Irish, Jewish, Latin American, Mexican, Pacific Islander, and Spanish. Those ethnic groups are best searched by using the "All Digitized newspapers 1836-1922" search option.
Newspaper pages may be viewed online as well as downloaded and stored locally.
Dick's article with further descriptions of this resource can be read here.
Source: Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, April 6, 2013
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Genealogy "Tips of the Day"
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by Michael John Neill
How Close is That Post Office? If your ancestor lived near the county line, his "post office address" might have been in the neighboring county. Members of my Rampley family lived in Hancock County, Illinois' Walker Township, yet for a time in the late 1800s and early 1900s, their post office address was "Loraine, Illinois" in neighboring Adams County. Always keep your ancestor's proximity to county and township lines in mind. My relatives didn't move--their post office was changed.
Delayed Birth Records. If there is not a "regular" civil record of your ancestor's birth, determine if the office has a record of "delayed" births. These records were those created years after the actual event when it was realized the person had no birth record made at the time of their birth and they needed a copy of their birth record. Delayed birth records were usually made based upon the testimony of those alive at the time of the birth or documentation submitted from other records (ie. church records, government census records, etc.)
Is the Story True? When trying to "prove" that family tradition, ask yourself what records would have been generated if it were true. And, when you are looking for those records and analyzing the information that they contain, keep yourself open to the possibility that the story may not even be true at all.
Hiding in pre-1850 Census Records? While the head of household in pre-1850 US census records is usually the oldest male, there are exceptions. The head of household could be an adult male in his forties or fifties and "grandpa" could be living in the household as well, but not named as the head of household. Older parents, or even grandparents, could be "hiding" in a pre-1850 census as a "tick mark" in one of those older age categories.
All Inmates are Not in Jail. Inmate can mean resident or patient. This reference from the 1890s refers to the widow of the veteran as an inmate of St. Mary's Infirmary in St. Louis. Do not conclude that inmate means prisoner--that's not always how it was intended.
Is There a Hidden Wife?
If all records indicate the wife of your ancestor is "Mary," keep yourself open to the possibility that the ancestor could have been married twice to women with the same first name. If other details about the Marys are very inconsistent, it could be that there were two Marys instead of one.
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Research Tips & Resources
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Missouri Land Patent Records Online
The Missouri State Archives has compiled a transcription-based database of
35,500 patents granted by the State of Missouri from 1820 to 1951. Search the database here.
Confederate Civil War Records
US Overland Trail Routes
Download a map and description of the most heavily used US Migration Routes: Migration Routes.
Source: FamilyTree Magazine, April 5, 2013
Philatelic Genealogy
The Philatelic Genealogy website is a searchable database of old envelopes and postcards gathered from postal history collections. Old envelopes and postcards can reveal an immigrant ancestor's place of origin, a family's migration after their arrival, or the location of siblings: http://philgen.org/
Thanks to Lorraine Minor for this tip.
Family History Library Lookups
The research firm Rootsonomy provides lookups of film, fiche, books, and magazines at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The lookup specialists are professional researchers and can do research if needed to find the records.
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Thank you for subscribing to Generations. We hope this publication will motivate you to successfully begin or continue your family history research. We would like to hear from you! Please submit your questions, research tips, and favorite websites to us at info@wdcfhc.org
Sincerely,
Carol Petranek, Newsletter Editor
Linda & Kurt Christensen
Gary Petranek
Co-Directors, Washington DC Family History Center
10000 Stoneybrook Drive, PO Box 49
Kensington, MD 20895
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