Free Genealogy Resources

Free Resources for African-American Research

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:07:00 +0000

In honor of Black History Month, I thought I'd share some free resources for researching African-American ancestors.

Chronology on the History of Slavery and Racism

An excellent timeline, complete with references, has been published online by Eddie Becker of Holt House as the Chronology on the History of Slavery and Racism. It is broken up into three sections: 1619 to 1789, 1790 to 1829 and 1830 to the end (which appears to be the 1990s).

This is one of the best timelines I've come across by far. It covers laws regarding slavery, historical background, the spread of slavery, the civil rights movement, literature and more.

The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. A collection by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and University of Virginia documents the lives of slaves through images. The collection is broken down into 18 sections including maps, plantation life, military activities and portraits, just to name a few. Sources and comments are given for each image.

Lowcountry Africana

Lowcountry Africana is dedicated to documenting the people and culture of South Carolina, Georgia and northwest Florida. The site is an amazing resource for individuals doing genealogy research of African American ancestors from the area. It offers a research library, helpful information on researching, resources by state and a records search function.

If you would like to aid others researching African American genealogy, sign up for the Restore the Ancestors Project. Through a partnership between Lowcountry Africana, Fold3, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, and FamilySearch, researchers can search and view the South Carolina Estate Inventories and Bills of Sale for free at Fold3. Not all of the records have been indexed yet so volunteers are needed to help make more of the records searchable. Have you done your ten yet?

What Locking Myself In Taught Me About Genealogy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:38:00 +0000

This morning I did one of those things that are frustrating at the time, but funny in hindsight. I went in to straighten up my daughter's room and shut the door to keep our dogs out, completely forgetting the door has a malfunctioning doorknob. From the outside of the room, the knob works correctly. From the inside of the room, the knob turns but doesn't release the latch. Needless to say, since I was inside the room when I shut the door, I was stuck.

To make things even worse, my husband is out of town working right now. So it wasn't like I could call him to come home and let me out. Of course, I called him anyway, not because I wanted him to spend the day driving back to rescue me, but because I thought he might have an idea. Climbing out the window wasn't really an option because it's a pretty good drop to the ground and I'd then have to deal with being locked out of the house.

His solution: pop the lock with a screwdriver or butter knife. On the surface, this sounds simple, but there was a problem. Did you see it? I was locked in our five year old daughter's bedroom. I don't know about you, but I personally don't store items like that in my child's room. A screwdriver in my bedroom, sure, but not in hers.

While he was ~~pouting about my veto of his idea~~ thinking up another idea, I was searching the bedroom in the hopes of finding something I could use. In the top of the closet, I found her microscope case so I decided to check it to see if it had anything I could use. I found a small plastic spatula.

It was thin enough to do the job, but I was concerned about it breaking in the process because it was pretty flimsy. Since I was stuck in a room with no food or drink and a rapidly dwindling cell phone battery, I gave it a shot. About the time my husband came up with an alternate idea (having a neighbor pass me a screwdriver through the window), the lock popped open and I was free.

So what does all this have to do with genealogy?

As family historians, sometimes the tool we need to get information just isn't there. Registration of vital records may not have been implemented yet. The record may have been lost to fire, natural disaster or time. The records may be hidden away in a closet just waiting for someone to find them.

Just because the record you need isn't available doesn't mean all is lost. You have to look to alternate sources. Just like the flimsy plastic spatula worked in place of a screwdriver, you may be able to use another record source to get the information you seek. It may not be as strong in terms of evidence, but it can work in a pinch.

I've listed some suggested alternate sources below.

Births
Birth announcement
Obituary

Family Bible
Draft record
Pension record
Headstone
Baptism/christening record
Marriage record
Death record
Social Security Death Index

Marriages
Marriage announcement
Obituary

Family Bible
Headstone
Pension record

Deaths
Obituary
Spouse's obituary
Family Bible
Headstone
Cemetery/funeral home record
Pension record
Military record
Will/probate record
Social Security Death Index

Parents' Names
Records for younger siblings
Marriage record
Death record
Obituary
Social security card application
Headstone

Maiden Names
Vital records for children
Marriage announcement
Death record
Obituary
Social security card application
Headstone

Are you stuck because you're only looking for the record that traditionally has the information? What other alternate sources have you used for your genealogy research?

Gearing Up for the 1940 Census

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:23:00 +0000

In just a few more months, the 1940 census will released. It won't be indexed, although I'm sure several genealogy websites will begin immediately. Unless you're satisfied waiting until indexing is complete, it's time to start preparing so you can extend your lines.

Make a list of individuals you wish to find in the 1940 census. This should include people that you found in the 1930 census that should still be living as well as anyone born between 1930 and 1940. Don't forget to include female children from the 1930 census who may now be married. If you haven't check to see if they're married yet, now is the time to do it..

Determine a probable location. In families that tended to stay in the same place, this will be easier than with families or individuals that frequently moved. For frequent movers, check city directories, WWII Draft Records, and records of vital records or immigration that occurred close to 1940. This can help narrow down possible locations to search.

Find the enumeration district. If the person appeared in the 1930 census and you're relatively sure they didn't move by 1940, you can use Steve Morse's Census ED Converter. If you have an exact address from another source (aren't you lucky?), you can use the ED Finder or ED Definition tool at the top of that page.

Make your list. Put it in whatever format you prefer-a handwritten list, a Word document or a spreadsheet. I would suggest grouping individuals by location to make your search a little easier when the census is released. It's more efficient to locate all wanted individuals in a single area rather than jumping back and forth.

A final note. If you haven't yet volunteered in the genealogy community, this is your chance to give back in a big way. FamilySearch is seeking volunteers to index the census.

The Best Free Genealogy Resource of All

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:44:00 +0000

In two years of blogging about free genealogy resources and five years of using them, I've came across a lot of great stuff. Some of it I've found for myself, others I've found to help my readers. But there is one resource that stands above the rest, that keeps giving long after the publish post button is clicked.

Do you know what it is? Can you guess?

It's the geneablogger community.

When I first wandered into the geneablogger community, I started out as an observer. I would read what others were posting and get a tip here and there. After a while, I began printing out some of the posts I was reading and put them together in a binder, my own personalized genealogy textbook of sorts. To me, that made it a great resource in itself.

However, it wasn't until I stepped out of my observer role and began participating that I realized how much of a resource the community really was. I started my personal genealogy blog with a little bit of trepidation. After all, there were some great bloggers out there and I didn't have a lot of hope of standing out, especially since many are more advanced researchers than I am.

I found that the geneablogger community is a welcoming one. It didn't matter that you knew more than me or that I was a total newbie to blogging about my family history. You made me feel at home.

The real resource, though, was still to be uncovered. I remember writing a post about one of my brick wall ancestors and being surprised that someone had stopped by to offer me a tip. Then someone offered advice on another genealogy problem I was having. It was great.

Then I decided to get more active in social media. I had been on social media for a while, but I wasn't really using it a whole lot. I was mostly sitting back and observing like I had done with the genealogy blogs.

I have to admit I was surprised to find that social media could be an amazing free genealogy resource as well. I've got recommendations for books and software, advice on citation, tips on dealing with problems and someone to celebrate when I have a woohoo moment that a non-genealogist wouldn't understand.

We may fuss and squablble at times, but who doesn't? When it comes down to it, we're the best resource for genealogy there is. Where else are you going to find such a wide spectrum of researchers all over the world in one place?

If you're like I was, just watching from the sidelines, maybe it's time you took that step and started participating. You may be surprised what you'll get in return.

Free Genealogy Resources Turns Two!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:57:00 +0000

Has it been two years already? Who knew that there was so much free stuff for genealogy available online? Anyway, I always like to round out birthdays by looking back at what I've done so here's the list of the top posts, the searches that led you here and where you come from. Don't worry. I'm not peeking in your window to see what else you were reading or searching for.

It's been a great year and here's hoping the next will be just as good. P.S. If you didn't see my other blog, I'm working on a book about doing genealogy on a budget so keep your eyes peeled for updates. Once it's complete, I'll be celebrating by giving away a few copies here at Free Genealogy Resources to my loyal readers.

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Get Genealogy Books (Almost) Free

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:54:00 +0000

Recently I've been exploring PaperbackSwap. The site has been around for a while and I've actually looked at it in the past. However, it wasn't until this past week that I realized that it offers genealogy books.

If you're not familiar with the site, I'll give you a quick run down. When you sign up, you list the books you want to get rid of. PaperbackSwap gives you a few site credits in return to get you started. Credits are the site's currency.

If a member wants one of your listed books, they purchase it with a credit (audiobooks are 2 credits) and you ship the book to them at your expense. Once they receive the book, you get the credit, which you can use to request books of your own.

While not completely free, it is an inexpensive way to expand your personal library. In most cases, books can be sent via USPS media mail for just a couple dollars. To give you an idea of what kind of genealogy books you can find, a few I saw on the list of available books include:

Unpuzzling Your Past by Emily Croom
The Genealogist's Companion & Sourcebook by Emily Croom
Climbing Your Family Tree:Online and Off-line Genealogy for Kids by Ira Wolfman
Tracing Your Civil War Ancestor by Bertram Hawthorne Groene
Writing Family History and Memoirs by Kirk Polking

Keep in mind that the books are used, but are generally in good shape, sometimes even in like-new condition. Books vary in age. Some are fairly recent while others are older. Don't be misled by the name PaperbackSwap; the site allows swapping of more than just paperbacks. You can also swap hardbacks, audio books and textbooks.

Disclosure: The links to the PaperbackSwap site are referral links. If you sign up through my link and post your first ten books, I get a credit for referring you, which I can use to order books for myself. If you prefer a non-referral link, click here.

Guest Post by Michael Hait: Researching Maryland land records online at no cost

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:24:00 +0000

Today I am excited to be bringing you a guest post by Michael Hait on free resources for Maryland land records. Thank you Michael for sharing your knowledge and expertise with the readers here at Free Genealogy Resources.

Michael Hait, CG(sm), is a full-time professional genealogist, with over fifteen years of research experience across the United States, from Connecticut to Louisiana, Tennessee to South Dakota. His specialties include research in Maryland, African American genealogy, and records of the Civil War and Reconstruction era. Michael is a frequent contributor to genealogy magazines and journals, and a popular lecturer in the Mid-Atlantic area. For more information on Michael’s available services, visit http://www.haitfamilyresearch.com.

Researching Maryland land records online at no cost

Few record groups contain as much information as do land records. Deeds of course report sales of land from one owner to the next. But deeds might also provide direct evidence of family relationships, when deeds of gift record transfers of land from father to child. This would of course include a father to his married daughter, providing direct evidence of the heritage of the often-unknown wives. Also recorded in deed books might be transactions concerning slaves, estate distributions, bonds for various public offices, etc.

Deeds can be even more useful in cases involving indirect evidence. Even when they do not explicitly identify family relationships, land records allow researchers to recreate entire neighborhoods of adjoining farms and resident families. These neighborhoods might help a researcher discover networks of associates and families of origin.

The state of Maryland was originally established as a proprietary colony in 1629, when King Charles I granted the land to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore. George died in 1632, and his son Caecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore actually received the charter and began sending settlers to the land in 1634.

The Land Office of the Lord Proprietor offered patents for land both through purchase in common soccage and through headrights awarded to settlers prior to 1680 when the headright system was retired. Warrants were first issued upon petition to the Land Office, then the tracts of land were surveyed and final patents issued. Each patent carried a name for the land tract. These names were usually unique—at least within individual counties—and remained with the land until resurveyed. This aspect of Maryland’s land records allows for following a tract of land through multiple owners, even when the exact metes and bounds descriptions do not appear in the deeds.

There are several online resources available for researching colonial Maryland land records, from headrights to surveys to patents to deeds.

(1) Dr. Carson Gibb, “New Early Settlers of Maryland,” online database, Maryland State Archives website

This database combines two earlier published indexes to Maryland warrants and patents in the Land Office records: Gust Skordas’s Early Settlers of Maryland and Carson Gibb’s Supplement to the Early Settlers of Maryland. The database can be searched by given or surname (including partial names), Liber, Folio, Description, or Reference. Obviously, the name searches will be most useful. The results of the search will include relevant settlement information. Some of these dates are taken from warrants and patents granted under the pre-1680 headright system, but other dates simply reflect settlement proved by the purchase of land warrants. Each entry provides reference to the Land Office patent record books, where warrants, surveys, and patents were recorded.

(2) “Digital Image Reference System for Land Survey, Subdivision, and Condominium Plats,” online database and digital images, Plats.net

This website requires the use of a user name and password provided by the Archives. The user name is “plato” (without the quotes) and the password is “plato#” (without the quotes). This is the same for all users.

The site is divided by county. Records for land lying in counties created after the land was patented may appear in either the original county or the new county.

The most effective method for using the site is to use the “Advanced Search” option under the “[County] Land Survey, Subdivision, and Condominium Plats” link on each county’s home page. Here you can search for the names of land tracts or land owners. The best part is that you can search using partial words (though not wildcards). You will still want to try a few different variants of the name, as names are not always transcribed perfectly, and of course spelling might differ.

The index contains references to most existing surveys and plats, including those appearing in deed books, plat books, land commission records, equity court proceedings, and patent records. Not all of these are digitized, but you will find the complete collection of the Land Office certificates of survey online, generally in TIFF format. These contain not only the original metes and bounds descriptions of each land tract, but also usually contain a hand-drawn plat of the tract.

(3) Archives of Maryland Online, online indexes and digital images

The Archives of Maryland series began in the late nineteenth century as a series of publications transcribing and preserving mostly colonial Maryland records. Since 2003 the Maryland State Archives has added hundreds of electronic-only volumes. There are now over 800 individual volumes in the online series.

Several volumes contain land record information. These volumes can be accessed directly from the “Land Records” hub page.

Volume 680, “Index to Maryland Provincial and General Court Deeds, 1658-1790” is the starting point for this series. This volume provides an alphabetical index, by the names of parties to deeds as well as the names of the lands transferred. Unfortunately, though organized alphabetically, it is not searchable and must be browsed to locate relevant entries. However, digital images of most of the volumes referenced in this index can also be found among the Archives of Maryland Online from the “Land Records” page.

Any researcher working with colonial land records should also read the seminal 1946 book by Elisabeth Hartsook and Gust Skordas, Land Office and Prerogative Court Records of Colonial Maryland, available as Volume 415.

(4) MDLandRec.Net, “A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland,” online digital images

This website is also password-protected, however there is an automated system in place to provide users with a unique password attached to their email address.

Once you are registered, you will find that nearly all surviving deed books for all 23 Maryland counties and Baltimore City have been digitized, including all existing deed indexes. These deed books, recorded and maintained by the county courts from the colonial period until 1851 and the county circuit courts after 1851, contain most of the extant land records in the state. Most counties are up-to-date, with some counties making available deeds within the past seven days.

If you are researching in Maryland, from the seventeenth century through the twenty-first century, these four sites will provide you with almost every land record you will ever need!

Free Resource for Virginia Land Records

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:17:00 +0000

I love the Library of Virginia. Every time I poke around their website, I unearth something else I can use in my genealogy research. The Land Office Grants database is no exception. It is fully searchable and covers pre-1779 land patents, grants issued by the Virginia Land Office after 1779, Northern Neck grants from 1692 to 1862 and recorded Northern Neck Surveys from 1786 to 1874.

The search interface is easy to use. You have the option to search or browse. To search, put your name of interest in the box that requests word or phrase. Then choose whether you want it to search for the word(s) anywhere, in the name, in the title, in the subject or by system number. If you're searching a full name rather than only a surname, you can have it find only results that have the names adjacent.

For the purposes of test-driving the database, I searched for records related to my Radcliff surname. Personally, I found the best results when using only a surname and selecting words anywhere for the field to search option. Once you put in your information and hit go, you get the results screen. It lists the author, title and year, among other details. The grantee is the author.

You may notice different names than what you searched. This isn't an error. By searching for a particular name anywhere in the land grant, it not only finds people with that name who were granted land, but also people with that name who were mentioned in the grant. So if someone is listed on the land grant as owning the land bordering the land being granted, they will be found in the search.

If you click on the hyperlinked title, it will take you to a page with more detail. Items on this page include URL, author, title, summary, other format, related, subjects (personal, topical and geographic), genre/form, added entry and system number. The summary gives you the size and location of the land grant and the source for the information.

By clicking on the URL hyperlink, you can get the image of the actual land grant. Some results do have more than one URL hyperlink. These are an especially nice find. They include both the land grant and the land survey.

I do want to offer one point of advice when searching these land grants. While the search does look for some variations of a name, it doesn't look for all variations. When I searched Radcliff, it brought up results for Radcliffe. However, it didn't include results for Ratcliff, Ratcliffe or Ratliff. Make sure you search all variations of a name so you don't miss records.

7 Mistakes that Are Holding Your Genealogy Back

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:02:00 +0000

Genealogy is much like a Rubix cube.You search through endless combinations before you hit on the right one that will enable you to complete the puzzle. A mistake in making a move can set you back, causing frustration and lost time while you struggle to get back on the right track. Are you making mistakes that are holding your genealogy back?

Mistake #1-Not Citing Your Sources

There's a reason professional genealogists cite every source of information they use in their research. While it lends authenticity to your work, there's another more important reason to cite. It leaves a trail for you to backtrack through if you hit a wall.

If you've been researching merrily along and suddenly hit a solid brick wall, one of the first steps to try is retracing your steps. This helps you to find details you may have overlooked at first glance. It can also show you where you may have made a mistake.

Mistake #2-Relying Only on Online Sources

It has been said that only a tiny percentage of existing genealogical material is online. If you're relying only on what you can find at your seat behind the keyboard, you may be missing out on valuable clues to your ancestors' lives.

When a brick wall pops up, the answer to solving it may be hiding away in a courthouse basement. Take some time to go back through your research. If the only sources you have are ones available from your computer, it's time to step back from the keyboard and seek out other record sources.

Mistake #3-But Grandma Said...

While it's good to talk to family members for clues on your ancestry, it's important to verify everything you hear through other records. Information can be wrong for a variety of reasons-a fading memory, hiding less savory aspects of family history, wishful thinking or an informant not having the correct information to start with. Even if the informant doesn't intend to give you misleading information, it can and does happen.

This also applies to published genealogies or online family trees. The person researching for the book or tree may have gotten bad information at some point and unknowingly passed it on. If you're taking their word without looking for yourself, you will be passing it on yourself.

Mistake #4-Not Looking at Less Reliable Sources

A core element of the Genealogical Proof Standard is a reasonably exhaustive search. While this is generally assumed to mean reliable sources, to exhaust all possible sources means you need to look at the less reliable ones as well. Just like a broken clock is right twice a day, unsourced trees and books can hold kernels of truth.

When exploring an undocumented tree online, take a minute to send a polite message asking where the tree's creator got their information from. You may be surprised. The creator may have something that you don't such as a family Bible or other record.

Mistake #5-Disorganization

If you find yourself constantly hunting for where you filed a document, whether in paper or digital form, it's holding you back. Wouldn't that time be better spent on actual research?

Take some time to research organization systems and commit to one. There are a variety of systems available, all good in their own way, but the best is the one that works for you. After a few years of trial and error, I've settled on a combination of systems, modified to fit my needs.

Mistake #6-Needing Concrete Evidence

Genealogy is much like a police investigation. Except in rare cases, police generally don't see a crime in progress. They have to gather the evidence, analyze it and piece together who did it based on what they have. Sometimes in genealogy there is no concrete evidence of a relationship. If vital records weren't recorded in your ancestor's state until 1900, it's a waste of time and energy searching for a birth certificate for an ancestor born in 1800.

Look for clues in other areas. Have you researched siblings? The name of your ancestor's parents may be on a younger sibling's death certificate. Have you looked at wills from the area for people with the same surname? It might list your ancestor as a child of the deceased.

Mistake #7-Not Resolving Conflicts

Going back to the Genealogical Proof Standard, another core element is resolving conflicting evidence. When there is conflicting evidence, it's generally a sign that something isn't right and you need to take a closer look at the evidence.

If you've run across conflicting evidence in your research, take the time to see if you determine why there is a conflict. Is there a reasonable explanation for the variation? A woman may have claimed to be older so she could get married without parental consent. Are you positive you're tracing the right person? It's not unusual to find people with the same or similar names in an area.

Free Resource for Adding Historical Context and Interest to Locations

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:35:00 +0000

I recently stumbled across a site that could keep me busy for hours. Waymarking calls itself "a scavenger hunt for unique and interesting locations in the world." While some of the posted locations are probably not interesting to genealogists (I doubt McDonalds was around when my ancestors were there), others can help you flesh out the historical details of the area.

You can search or browse the site. If you browse, it's by category rather than location so I prefer the search. The search box is right on the home page. Just put in a keyword (if desired; I left it blank) and a location. The default distance appears to be 100 kms, but you can adjust this by using the additional search options.

For the purposes of trying it out, I put in Sparks, GA and narrowed it down to a distance of 10 km (a little over 6 miles), which is where my great grandmother lived as a child. It returned 23 records. These included pictures of the veterans memorial, the courthouse, a local cemetery, a state park, several historical markers and a few miscellaneous items (rest area, McDonald's).

The amount of additional information provided varies. Many people have transcribed inscriptions on the markers, added information on the background or the exact location. Some have additional photographs when you view the full record.

I tried out several locations based on my ancestor's movements and never failed to find something in the area, although some locations required increasing the distance. Since waymarks are user-submitted, it depends on how many people from that area have uploaded items. As I said before, some of it isn't extremely useful for family historians, but I'm definitely interested in the possibilities for further research Waymarking can bring to the table.

Looking for Guest Posters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:55:00 +0000

Microsoft ClipArt

Do you know of a genealogy tool, information source or database that's free? Do you have a tip on dealing with a common genealogy problem (organization, brick walls, etc) or sharing your work? Do you have a great idea related to genealogy that you would like to share? Free Genealogy Resources is looking for guest posters. Let me know by sending a message through the contact link at the top of the page.

The Details

Posts need to be at least 200 words. Feel free to go beyond this minimum if you have a lot to say. If one post isn't enough to get all the details in, I'm open to continuing it into another post or doing a series.
You don't have to be a professional to contribute, although if you are, that's fine too.
Pictures are welcome, but not required. If you do want to use a picture in your guest post, please provide attribution so we can make sure credit is given where due.
Please include a brief bio, including links to your social media accounts and website/blog(s). If my readers love what you say, they'll want to know where to find you so they can read more.
Posts may be edited for clarity or length, but all edits will be sent for approval prior to posting.

Canadian Genealogy Resource

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 01:20:00 +0000

Most of the resources I come across are for the US. Occasionally, I do come across a good site for other countries. Today's genealogy helper is Canadian Genealogy.

The site is filled with genealogical information for your research. On the left side of the page is links to information for each province in Canada. At the bottom of the list is a link to the Canadian Indians page. Even if you have Native American blood in the United States, you might want to take a look at this page. It includes the 1906 Handbook of American Indians, which documents tribes that traveled between the two countries.

On the right side of the homepage is links to other information. These include 22 of the 36 volumes of Chronicles of Canada, writings on the Jesuits in North America, Passamawquoddy Folklore and more.

One feature I really like about the site is that it includes both paid and free resources for your genealogy research. While Free Genealogy Resources is geared towards freebies, sometimes it becomes necessary to pay for the information you seek. The Canadian Genealogy website notes whether the links are for paid or free resources.

Personal Feelings and Genealogy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:55:00 +0000

By Sklmsta (Own work) [CC0 (creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

Lately, I have been working on a family wiki for one of my lines. I'm writing a page for each person in my tree. Each page gives information on the individual, including the name of their parents, spouse(s) and children; sources I have used to research the individual; and notes.

When I got to my grandfather's page, I found myself slowing down and finally stopping. He just passed a year ago so my feelings are still pretty raw, especially since I lost my other grandfather just a few months later.It was months before I could enter a death date for either of them in my files.

The thing that stopped me in my tracks was the space for his spouses. My grandfather was married three times, the first marriage being to my grandmother. I never met his second wife. I have met his third wife and, for reasons I won't get into here, have strong (read not nice) feelings in regards to her. Suffice it to say that I'm not the only one in the family that feels the way I do.

As a genealogist, I want to record the details of his life. As a family historian and his granddaughter, feelings have come into play. I can't bring myself to type the name of his third wife. It's extremely painful for me to see my grandfather's name in connection with her and I know there are other family members who would feel the same. On the other hand, there are some family members that don't know the reason behind my feelings and probably won't understand why the name is missing.

As genealogists, we're bound to come across things in our research that either we or other family members don't necessarily want to include in our family history. It may be a black sheep ancestor, an ancestor who didn't always divorce before moving onto the next spouse, an illegitimate child or something else. Like it or not, these things are part of our family history.

However, there's nothing that says we have to share that part of our history with others.When it comes to deciding whether or not to include these items in your history, it comes down to a choice. For me, the choice was easy. Rather than put myself and other family members through pain, I have chosen to omit that person.

It doesn't change the fact that she was married to my grandfather. Whether I include that fact or not, I'm still aware of it. I'm sure eventually somebody is going to come along and put her name in our tree, not realizing why I have chosen to exclude her from my files. If and when that day comes, I'll deal with it then. For now, I'm happy that when I look at my family tree, I see no connection between that woman and my grandfather.

In other cases, the detail you've found may not be painful to you, but might be to others. When this happens, use discretion. While it's understandable to want to have all the facts on your family, if sharing that fact may cause pain to someone else in the family, keep it to yourself. Enter it into your private files if you need to, but don't share it with other family members or the internet at large.

How do you deal with painful or scandalous facts you have uncovered in your research? For those that research for a fee, do you share all facts you come across, even though it's not necessarily something good?

Irish Research Resource

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:42:00 +0000

Recently, as part of Ancestry's 15th anniversary celebration, they gave access to Ireland's Griffith's Valuation. If you're not familiar with it, it was a valuation of property in Ireland overseen by Richard Griffin and published between 1847 and 1864. This valuation was the basis for determining the taxes paid by landowners. For genealogists and family historians, it offers an opportunity to locate Irish ancestors since all census records prior to 1901 were destroyed.

If you didn't get a chance to search this genealogy resource while Ancestry had it offered for free, it's not too late. I found another place that allows you to search it for free. Ask About Ireland has the index and images available. Searching the Griffith's Valuation is easy.

In step one, enter the surname of interest. There is an option to include similar names just below the box where you enter the surname. This is the only mandatory step. If you know the given name of your ancestor and where they were located, you can enter those in step two. Then hit the blue search button.

The results will give you a list of the occupier (who may or may not be the landowner), county and parish. You can click on the detail icon to get the landlord's name, more details on the location and information on the publication. To the right of the details icon is where you can view the original page.

Beside the original page icon, you have the option to get a map view of where your ancestors home was located. This is especially helpful for cases in which the name of the area or even street has changed over time.

If you find your ancestor and want to share some photos, documents or information about that person, the site has an option for that as well. Just click on the icon at the far right column on the results page. You do have to register with the site (appears to be free) in order to use this option.

Free Software for Transcribing Documents

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:38:00 +0000

Today's freebie comes thanks to Bart Brenner, one of my fellow members of the US-Records Study Group. Transcript is a helpful program that you can use when transcribing documents. Previously when transcribing documents, I had to use a notepad to hand-write my transcription while viewing a document image on my computer screen or shrink down both the image and my word processor screen so I could see both at once.

Transcript allows you to import a document image into the program which already has a text editor embedded at the bottom of the screen. You can zoom in or out of the image, rotate it, or edit it to improve readability all within the program, improving the odds that you will get a correct and accurate transcription of the document in question.

The program is freeware, meaning it doesn't cost anything to use as long it's for private, non-commercial use. There is a registered (pay) version which comes with additional features. It is currently available in English, French, German, Danish, Finnish and Dutch languages. More languages will come available as volunteers complete translating the program.

Keep in mind that the program is not an OCR reader and does not do the transcription for you. Rather, it makes it easier for you to do it. If you haven't transcribed a document yet, you should give it a try. It's a great way to make sure you get every bit of information available from a document and improves your skill in deciphering old handwriting, a skill every genealogist and family historian needs.

Links to Help with the Genealogy Research Process

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:11:00 +0000

Most of the posts here at Free Genealogy Resources show you where to find data on your ancestors. However, we haven't talked much about how to go about finding the information you seek or how to deal with it. The other day, I came across a blog post at Susan's Genealogy Blog that gives a great step by step guide to research from starting with your objective all the way to filing your results.

While the guide is geared towards genealogists researching at libraries and archives, it still has some good information that even the at-home budget genealogist can do.

If you need help developing a research plan, check out Ancestry's Learning Center article, Plan Your Attack.
The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) has an excellent article by Elizabeth Shown Mills in their skill building section under Analyzing and Reviewing Published Sources that will help you perform a thorough analysis of your findings.

If you haven't yet implemented a filing system for your genealogical data, there's plenty to choose from. DearMyrtle has an excellent series on organization. Legacy Family Tree Webinars has a webinar by Karen Clifford on Organizing for Success (about halfway down the page at the time of this post. Kimberly Powell, the About.com guide for Genealogy has written a good article on Organizing Digital Genealogy Files.

Freebie for Newfoundland Genealogy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:36:00 +0000

Yesterday I was poking around on the internet and came across a great site for those tracing ancestors from Newfoundland. According to the Newfoundland's Grand Banks website, it offers "genealogical and historical data for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador." I'm still exploring to learn the true depth of the site, but from what I've found so far, it could be an invaluable free resource for those tracing their genealogy.

The site offers a message board for genealogists researching families from the area, a wide array of transcriptions and historical information on the area. Specific genealogical data you can expect to find includes

Cemetery Transcriptions
Census (Newfoundland, US, Canada and British
Directories
Family Bibles
Legal Documents
Newspapers
Photographs
Passenger Lists
Parish Records
Voter's Lists
Vital Statistics
Wills

On the historical side, the site offers

Colonial Office Records
House of Assembly Records
Historical information on some communities
Disasters
Military Records
Stories

If your family has a connection to Newfoundland and you haven't yet checked out this free genealogy resource, make sure to add it to your to-do list. You may be surprised what you can find.

Free Resource for Photo Editing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:50:00 +0000

This weekend, I've been playing with a new (to me anyway) photo editing program. I had found another cousin on Facebook who was sharing family pictures and I wanted to get them edited and organized on my computer. While I do have a couple editing softwares on my computer already, I remembered that I had heard a while back about a program that not only edited your photos, but also ran them through a facial recognition program to help identify the people in them. It sounded like something that could be helpful, especially for the old family photos that I have got from various people.

It didn't take me long to find the program that did it, Google Picasa. After letting it run through all my photographs, I started tagging some. It wasn't long before it started recognizing some people. The more photos that were tagged, the better it got at identifying other ones. My daughter's pictures make up the majority of my photographs so it was pretty good with her face.

One thing I like about the program is that if it isn't sure about an identification, it offers the most likely people as suggestions. Since facial features tend to be similar in family members, the suggestions were often family members.

Are these pictures of the same little girl?

Picasa often confused these three. The top picture is me as a baby, the second is my daughter and the third is my sister's daughter. As you can tell, there is a strong resemblance. The resemblance between my daughter and her cousin is strong enough that when they are together, most people assume they are sisters.

Free Access to Historical Documents from the American South

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:01:00 +0000

While browsing at the local library, I came across a book that listed a large number of local and family histories that are available for viewing free online. The book, The Genealogist's Virtual Library: Full-Text Books Books on the World Wide Web, was an amazing find, especially since it wasn't anywhere near the history or genealogy section in the library.

One of the sites listed in the book was Documenting the American South, available through the University of North Carolina website. DocSouth in short, it is a gathering of fifteen collections. Part of the collections are specific to the state of North Carolina, while others cover the South as a whole. Collections include:

The Church in the Southern Black Community
The Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
The First Century of the First State University
First Person Narratives of the American South
Going to the Show
The James Lawrence Dusenbery Journal (1841-1842)
Library of Southern Literature
North American Slave Narratives
The North Carolina Experience
North Carolina Maps
North Carolinians and the Great War
Oral Histories of the American South
The Southern Homefront, 1861-1865
Thomas E. Watson Papers
True and Candid Compositions: The Lives and Writings of Antebellum Students at the University of North Carolina

Visitors to DocSouth can browse by collection, author, title, subject or geographic location. You can also search using the box at the upper right of the screen. In addition to books, the collections hold letters, diaries, government papers, posters, pamphlets and more. Even if you don't find anything specific to your family, it's really worth taking a look to get a better sense of the culture and history of the South.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 22:06:00 +0000

Maps are an integral part of any genealogist's toolbox. They can help when trying to pinpoint ancestors' locations in the midst of boundary changes. They can also bring to light factors which may have affected the lives of your ancestors.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps first appeared in 1867. Originally designed as a tool for insurers to assess risk and determine fire insurance premiums, they are now used by genealogists to see the towns their ancestors are from. In some cases, researchers may even be able to locate an ancestor's home, which may no longer exist in the present.

The UC Berkeley Library has put together a listing of available Sanborn and other fire insurance maps. The list is broken down by US state, with additional links for British Columbia, Quebec and Mexico. Clicking on a particular link will take you to a breakdown of cities available in that particular state or area with a note of which institution currently holds the maps.

If you go back to the front page and click on the owning institutions link, it will give you a list of the institutions, some of which are linked. I know for a fact that some of the ones that aren't linked are available for viewing online so it's worthwhile to do a quick internet search if you find one you're interested in. I've included a few below that I'm aware of.

Georgia Sanborn Maps via Digital Library of Georgia
Kentucky Sanborn Maps via Kentuckiana Digital Library
South Carolina Sanborn Maps via University of South Carolina Libraries

Another Way to Give Back

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:21:00 +0000

I'm a big fan of giving back to your community, whether its your local community or the global community. I recently came across a new site where genealogists can give back. Families for Forgotten Heroes was started in April 2011. It works similar to Unclaimed Persons, where genealogists work to find the next of kin for unclaimed individuals. The key difference is that Families for Forgotten Heroes focuses on finding next of kin for unclaimed veterans.

Volunteers are given known information on the veteran and set free to research. Once the volunteers have amassed enough data to find a family member, the requesting agency is notified so they can contact the family. For individuals who the volunteers are unable to find family for, the site maintains a database in the hope that a family member or someone who knew the veteran will find them.

In addition to helping bring our unclaimed heroes home to their families, the site also raises money for Homeless Veterans Programs and the Missing in American Project, which seeks out unclaimed veteran cremains and makes sure they get a proper military burial.

Access Canada's Censuses for Free

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:53:00 +0000

When someone on Twitter mentions free and genealogy in the same 140 characters, I have to take a look. Thanks to @BBPetura for alerting me to today's resource, the Library and Archives of Canada. The library offers free access to Canada's censuses from 1851 to 1916.

Some censuses are for the entire country, while others are for only specific areas. What they have:

Census of 1851 (Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia)
Federal Census of 1871 (Ontario Index)
Census of Canada, 1871
Census of Canada, 1881
Census of Canada, 1891
Census of Canada, 1901
Census of Canada, 1911
Census of the Northwest Provinces, 1906
Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1916

Most of the censuses are searchable by name, age, province and district. The fact that they have an 1891 census while us American researchers are stuck trying to reconstruct where our ancestors were in 1890 is a major source of envy for me. Happy hunting.

Thrifty Thursday: Genealogy Study Groups

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:31:00 +0000

Remember how in school, you would get together with a group of friends or classmate and worked together to study together. Everyone benefited from the the collaboration because you could discuss problems with the other members of the group until you had the topic mastered.

Until recently, at least as far as I'm aware, there was only one genealogy study group, the ProGen Study Group. Small groups are put together to study and learn from Elizabeth Shown Mills' Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers and Librarians. The group works through the book together, with assignments based on the chapters covered. Assignments are shared with the group so everyone gets feedback. You can sign up by visiting the ProGen website.

Recently, a new genealogy study group was put together and it will be started soon. Headed by Tonia Kendrick of Tonia's Roots and Valerie Elkins of Family Cherished and Advantage Genealogy, the group will be studying two books, The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy and The Source. The group will cover one to two chapters per month with monthly assignments based on the chapters covered. At the end of the 15 month study group, each member will put together a capstone project that encompasses all skills learned. You can sign up by contacting Tonia or Valerie.

Free Genealogy Book-Basics of Genealogy Reference: A Librarian's Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:27:00 +0000

Earlier today I was looking at the free digital version of The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy. It's offered through Scribd so I decided to poke around the website and see what other genealogy books they had available. As it turns out, the site has a lot of genealogy material, including presentations by libraries, genealogies and a couple books.

One of the books I came across was Basics of Genealogy Reference: A Librarian's Guide. While written for librarians who will be assisting patrons with genealogy, it's also a good reference for those looking for more avenues to take their research.

Basics of genealogy reference a librarian’s guide

Lots of Michigan Genealogy Resources for Free

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:31:00 +0000

I spent the last day going through the many posts I've written here. As I looked through them all, I realized that I have a lot of resources for some states and little to none for others. In the next few weeks, I'm going to try to remedy that. With that in mind, today's freebie focuses on the state of Michigan.

Seeking Michigan offers a wealth of genealogy information at no cost. Clicking on seek allows you to search the collections. Discover shows you the collections available. These include:

Architecture
Civil War Battle Flags
Civil War Manuscripts
Civil War Photographs
Civil War Service Records
Death Records 1897-1920
Early Documents
Early Photography
GLO Plat Maps
Governors of Michigan
Lighthouses and Life-saving Stations
Main Streets
Maps
Music of Michigan
Oral Histories
WPA Property Inventories

The look tab takes you to the site's blog which posts weekly highlighting an item from the archives' collections.