| 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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Upcoming Classes
This fall, our classes will focus on learning all aspects of the FamilySearch FamilyTree. Sessions will run from 9:30-11:00 a.m.
Saturday, October 26 - Photos and Stories - learn how to add photographs and personal stories to "bring your ancestors to life." [note: this class is on the 4th Saturday]
Saturday, November 16 - Searching & Finding - learn how to find additional information about your ancestors using FamilySearch
All classes are free of charge, but registration is requested.
* Join a Focus Group to Enhance Your Research Skills *
DNA Group: meetings at 7:00 pm on October 30, November 6 and 20, and December 11.
RootsMagic Users Group: In October, this group will meet on the 3rd Saturday, October 19. Generally, monthly meetings are on the 2nd Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
Irish Group: bi-weekly meetings on the 1st, 3rd & 5th Tuesday evenings at 7:00.
African-American Group: weekly on Monday mornings, 9:30 a.m.
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A Country Guide to Google Searches
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One of the most powerful (yet often overlooked) features of Google search is to make sure you use the correct Google search engine. Not only is this suggestion an excellent genealogy brick wall solution, it is often the major success factor for online genealogy searches.
To get the most out of any Google search for your ancestors, it is necessary to understand how Google works. An important consideration is to realize that Google runs different search engines in different parts of the world. For example, Google.com is the search engine for the United States, Google.ca is used for Canada, while Google.co.uk is the search engine for the United Kingdom. In total, there are over 150 different Google search engines.
Most people don't realize the choice of Google search engine has a profound impact on the search results that are delivered to you. Choose the right Google search engine when searching for your ancestors and you will get good results. Choose the wrong one and you will almost certainly come up empty handed. In this article, we show you how to choose the right Google search engine.
To read this article, which includes links to all Google country search engines, click here.
Source: Genealogy in Time newsletter
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No, Family Names Were Not Changed at Ellis Island
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This is an updated version of an article I first published on April 17, 2012....
There is a family myth amongst tens of thousands of American families: "The name was changed at Ellis Island." The stories claim the immigrant arrived at Ellis Island and was unable to communicate with the officials. A record was then created by some official who assigned the immigrant a new name.
That is a great story but is always false. This fairy tale refuses to die. Let's look at a few simple facts:
1. Passenger lists were never created at Ellis Island.
2. The passenger lists were always prepared in "the old country" by steamship company officials.
3. The idea that the immigrant was unable to communicate with officials at Ellis Island is ludicrous.
4. Later immigrants had to verify their correct names every year. Starting in July of 1940, the Alien Registration Act required every alien resident in the United States to register at their local post office every January.
When Did the Names Change?
After processing through Ellis Island and settling within the United States, many immigrants DID change their names. In numerous cases, the names were changed for them by public officials, schoolteachers, shopkeepers, and neighbors. Anyone from Eastern Europe, with a name long on consonants and short on vowels, learned that his name often got in the way of a job interview or became the subject of ridicule at his child's school. Any change that might smooth their way to the American dream was seen as a step in the right direction. In many cases, these later name changes were made without court papers or any other official recognition.
In any case, the records at Ellis Island and other ports of entry always contained the correct original names, although with frequent spelling variations.
To read the full article with details about the four points listed above, click here.
Source: Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, October 2, 2013
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Tips for Translating Records
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by Juliana Smith
Your family tree has roots beyond America's shores. For many of us, crossing the pond with our research can mean language challenges, but with a little help, it's possible to make sense of foreign records. It's just a matter of using clues and translation tools to puzzle things out. And who doesn't like a good puzzle? Here are some tips discussed in the article:
- Check Descriptions
- Translating Tools
- Creating a Cheat Sheet
- Foreign Alphabets and Script
- Other Translation Guides
- Take the Plunge and Learn the Language
To read the detailed information of this article, click here.
Source: Ancestry.com Blog, September 11, 2013 |
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Census Clues
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by Kimberly Powell
Census enumerators collected many details beyond just basic names, ages and relationships. Hidden among the census columns may be additional clues, from a street address to the age of a mother at the time of her first marriage, which could lead you to research in new records. As with all genealogy research, look at every single detail on the target census page (and the pages surrounding it as well) and ask yourself what it tells you about your ancestor. Do the marriage age, occupation, number of children, etc. all make sense with what you know about him or her? If you spot an anomaly that makes you pause, then follow it up - it could just be an error in the census, or it could be the source of a new discovery about your ancestor.
Every single detail in the census should be fully explored, but here are some of the more obvious items to look out for in U.S. federal census records.
To read this article, click here.
Source: About.com: Genealogy
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The Google Genealogist
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 | | The Google Genealogist (new tips and tricks) |
A few new Google tips and tricks for doing your family history research. Check out how to use web search, image search, newspapers, and translate in less than ten minutes!
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14 Ways to Find A Death Record
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When researching our ancestors, one of the most important events is obviously their death. Determining dates and location of death is important as we document the major events in their lives. Most folks limit their search to the obvious repositories, whether online or not.
That would include online or offline death indexes (such as the SSDI and State Death Indexes), death certificates, obituaries, and burial/cemetery records.
But there are many more ways to determine specifics about someone's death, as well as finding clues that help you narrow their death date to a decade, a year, or even less.
Most of these cannot stand alone as evidence of the actual date and location of an ancestor's' death - so you might want to check many of these sources to provide corroborating evidence.
Read this article to learn14 different ways to find clues and evidence about your ancestors' death: click here. Source: The Ancestor Hunt, September 17, 2013 |
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A Review of Naturalization Records
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by William Dollarhide
The first naturalization act of 1790 provided that an alien who desired to become a citizen of the United States should apply to "any common law court of record, in any one of the states wherein he shall have resided for the period of one year at least." Under this and later laws, aliens were naturalized in federal, state, county, or municipal courts. Records of aliens naturalized by way of local or state courts may still be located at the courthouse of that jurisdiction, or may have been removed for safe keeping to a state archives. Records of those aliens naturalized by way of the District Courts of the United States are located today in the District Court covering all or part of a particular state, or the National Archives branch facility covering that state's federal court records.
The process of naturalization involved several steps, for which multiple documents with genealogical information may exist along the way:
- Declarations of Intention.
- Naturalization Petitions.
- Naturalization Depositions.
- Certificates of Naturalization and Oaths of Allegiance.
To read the details of these records as described in this article, click here.
Source: Genealogy Blog, August 8, 2013
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Records of the Railroad Retirement Board
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From the Antebellum era through World War II, the nation's railroads employed huge numbers of Americans. They were one of the first industries to implement pension plans. But these plans were insufficient, and during the Great Depression, legislation was implemented to provide a safety net for these workers (as Social Security was implemented for non-railroad workers).
The records of the Railroad Retirement Board deal with employees who worked for the railroads in 1937 and later. It does not cover short-term employees, nor does it covers those who worked for local streetcars and electric railways. A person needed to be employed by the railroads for ten years, or be employed by the railroads at the time the legislation took effect in order to be eligible for benefits.
Like any government agency, a great deal of paperwork was generated in administering the benefits. Among the documents you might find in a person's file:
- Application for Employee Annuity Under the Railroad Retirement Act
- Certification in Support of Employer Service for Which No Records Are Available
- Description and Certification as to Eligibility of Evidence Submitted
- Employee Registration
- Employee's Certificate of Termination of Service and Relinquishment of Rights
- Employee's Statement of Compensated Service Rendered
- Record of Employee's Prior Service
You might also find a copy of the person's death certificate or other information about their death. Originally one needed to contact the RRB in order to obtain copies of a family member's file. These documents are now in the custody of the National Archives and Records administration. That regional archives at Atlanta are now the custodians of 54,000 cubic feet of RRB Inactive Claims Folders. NARA will look for a claim file for you, but you must provide as much of the following information as possible to them:
- Full name (first, middle, and last) of the railroad employee.
- Railroad Retirement Board Claim Number
- Social Security Number
- Year of Birth
- Year of Death
If they find a folder, they will photocopy the records for you. They will first provide you with an approximate cost estimate, based on the standard fee of seventy-five cents per page. For additional information, visit the NARA website.
Source: Mocavo Genealogy Blog, September 26, 2013
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Genealogy "Tips of the Day"
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by Michael John Neill
Aging Out of the System. If it took a decade or more to settle your ancestor's estate is it because the heirs were "really" fighting or is it because there were minor heirs? Postponing the settlement until minor heirs were adults may have eliminated the need for a guardian of the child's estate to be appointed, thus reducing fees and legal necessities for the family.
Clues in the Corners. Always make certain you look at the entire document, even the edges. There may be small or faint words lurking in the corners that could be significant pieces of information.
Split in Two? Is the town or village where your ancestor lived split into two counties or townships? In the United States, being in a different county should mean that vital and property records are filed based (usually) upon the county location. If a town or village is split among two townships, it can also impact the enumeration district used for the location in the census as well. Always know the boundaries and see if the "splits" are making it a "pain" to research your ancestor.
Grave Mapping. Locations of graves within a cemetery can hold clues as to possible relationships among people buried in relative proximity to each other. Don't just record names of burials and make a "list" of who is in the same cemetery. Proximity can be a clue, make certain you include a map showing geographic proximity and relative position of burials.
Get Past the Letters.
In determining whether a name is the "same" or not, get past the letters and concentrate on the sounds. Whenever I cannot find the last name of Habben, I always look for Hobbin as Habben is usually pronounced in a way that rhymes with "bobbin." Every name has variant spellings. Every one.
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Research Tips & Resources
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Canadian Naturalization Database
The Canadian Naturalization database contains references to people who applied for and received status as naturalized Canadians from 1915 to 1951. Search the database here.
English Jurisdictions 1851
A free mapping and research tool created by FamilySearch and available at maps.familysearch.org, visually displays parish maps of the 40 counties in England in Google Maps, accessible either by selecting a location on the map, or searching for a jurisdiction of interest.
Nationwide Gravesite Locator
Search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker. Click here.
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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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