AncestryDNA kits $44.25 each when buying 4 kits to 12 December 2018

AncestryDNA kits $44.25 each when buying 4 kits to 12 December 2018. Lowest price ever! I was just saying this over the Black Friday weekend when a price of $49 was available, but this deal even breaks that one. I recommend this test to anyone with interest in family history or finding relatives.

Feel free to ask in the comments any questions you have about DNA tests.

#affiliate

Tips about Newspaper Websites and Sale Ends 2 December

Special Newspapers website deal ends this weekend. The basic plan is normally $45 every 6 months. Until the end of this weekend (2 December, 11:59 PM MT) it is $20 off, so you could get the basic 6 months for just $25!

A more expensive "Publishers Extra" plan is available that is also $20 off. This one includes many papers up into recent years, and is ideal for those who also search for the living or more recent events.

Choose your subscription. The best way to find out if it is worthwhile before joining is to check the list of their papers to see if they cover the areas you need. Here is the list: Link to list of papers.
 This is my favorite newspaper search website to use, with the best user interface.

There are also other subscription newspaper websites. Some papers can be found on more than one site, but many papers are unique to one of them. I personally maintain subscriptions to this site and GenealogyBank.

You can find a list of the papers GenealogyBank includes on their website at this link.

NewspaperARCHIVE.com is my third recommendation when considering subscriptions to newspaper websites. It has less papers useful for my research, with many of the papers it has being on the other two sites as well. However, sometimes it has what I have needed and I have used it to have success finding some important newspaper articles. So although it is in third place among my recommendations, you never know which of the three will have the articles you need until you check.

There are also really good newspaper websites for Britain, Ireland, and probably other countries that have sites of which I am not aware.

Disclaimer: Please use the provided links in this post if you plan to register for a subscription because this way a small percentage of the sale will be sent to me as compensation for marketing their product. My opinions are not affected.
Newspapers.com
GenealogyBank

Recommended genealogy books: Germany and Mexico

Here are some recommendations for German and Mexican genealogy books. These are my main European and Latin American specialties.

Germany

 

There are so many books out there as general guides to German genealogy. I have not been able to pick one of them as a stand-out superb guide, but have a few on my shelf. 

The German Research Companion ($90+) 

https://amzn.to/2TNcDzB  

The Family Tree German Genealogy Guide ($10-25)  

https://amzn.to/2FIrUyy  

Finding Your German Ancestors ($5-15)  

https://amzn.to/2FLKE0b

 

Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents: Analyzing German, Latin, and French in Historical Manuscripts ($28+) 

https://amzn.to/2DIQHjD 

German handwriting is one of the first challenges someone faces when they become determined to trace their German ancestry. With hours of determined practice the handwriting can become a non-issue. Books like this one help a researcher learn to decipher it.

 

German Church Books: Beyond the Basics ($25+) 

https://amzn.to/2FJAtcF 

This book is under the radar for most German genealogists, in part because most learn about German church books by experience. This is the most used record type for German genealogy. Those who want to understand the records well, to use them to their fullest extent, can get a jump start by studying this guide.

 

German Census Records 1816-1916 ($28-35)  

https://amzn.to/2DZzaVm 

This guide brings to light the usefulness and availability of German census records for research, a resource typically underutilized in German genealogy. Some German genealogists have even said that census records are not available. This book sets that myth straight, though access to these records remains challenging.

 

German – English Genealogical Dictionary ($32)  

https://amzn.to/2Qkkvtu 

This is an important guide for expanding your genealogical vocabulary far beyond the German Word List at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/German_Genealogical_Word_List

 

German Names: A Practical Guide ($6+) 

https://amzn.to/2SdggNO 

This is a great reference to flip through any time you see a name in a record and cannot quite make it out because it is unfamiliar to you. It is also useful for determining if a name that seems unusual is a variant of a more common name. The number of unique German names is impressive.

 

Spelling variations in German names: Solving family history problems through applications of German and English phonetics ($40+) 

https://amzn.to/2TOFEuD 

An issue of German genealogy that quickly becomes apparent to those who do this type of research is that names are often spelled quite differently from one record to the next even within the original church registers. In a family where several children were listed in a baptismal register, it is common to see given names or surnames spelled at least three different ways. When a family settles in America, often new spelling variations appear. These variations sometimes are related to German phonetics that are unclear to the average English speaker.

 

Mexico

 

There is not as much English literature on the field of Mexican genealogy as there is on the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. 

Finding Your Mexican Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide ($6-20)  

https://amzn.to/2FKWvLV 

 

Like with any topic, having a general guide is a great way to make sure you do not overlook important research techniques or records. This is the newest of the three guides I will recommend, but does not include all the examples or details of the other guides. 

Finding Your Hispanic Roots ($10-28) 

https://amzn.to/2E1BEm2  

 

Tracing Your Hispanic Heritage ($45+) 

https://amzn.to/2E3REUy 

This is the largest of the three guides, but the oldest of these three guides.  

 

Genealogical Historical Guide to Latin America (~$50)  

https://amzn.to/2zwvMgF 

This guide is relatively small, and older, though it does contain some useful information.

 

Hispanic Surnames and Family History ($12-20)  

https://amzn.to/2Rju49a 

When working in any language or culture, having a good list of names will help the genealogist to properly recognize names in records.

 

Census Records for Latin America and the Hispanic United States ($15-25)  

https://amzn.to/2DKPtEt 

Like almost every place except the United States, genealogists researching Mexico will find that most research is done using only a couple record types: church records and civil registration. This is not because other records do not exist, but they are much less available. It is good to have guidance on the availability and usefulness of other records.

 

Disclaimer: It is my hope that this list helps you. That said, it takes time and expertise to provide these useful resource lists. Please use the provided links to make any purchases, as Amazon will send me a small percentage somewhere around 5% and it wont affect the price you pay. Opinions are not influenced by this arrangement.

Recommended genealogy books: Britain and Ireland

This post on my series of recommended books covers Britain and Ireland.

 

Britain

 

Ancestral Trails ($38-60)  

https://amzn.to/2TNusP9 

I was impressed with my reading of the book as a stand-out general guide for Britain, as well as impressed with the endorsements or reviews it received. 

 

The Parish Chest ($20-43) 

https://amzn.to/2TNvCtZ 

This book on my shelf was recommended to me in my genealogy master’s program from the University of Strathclyde and I appreciate it for the lengths it goes to in discussing parish chest records. Any lengthy and well-done guide on one specific type of records always draws my interest as it treats that record in much greater depth than a general guide can.

 

Manorial Records ($17-55) 

https://amzn.to/2Qn3xKZ 

Like The Parish Chest, it is enlightening to have a full book dedicated to manorial records. Such records are touched on in more general guides. Due to land ownership differences, these records are foreign to those familiar with United States research, but are a valuable record set for early British, Scottish, or Irish families.

 

Understanding Documents for Genealogy and Local History ($28-45)  

https://amzn.to/2KzQvEH 

This book on my shelf has an impressive coverage of many various documents a genealogist researching in Britain would come across, including treatments of numerous lesser known or ancient document types.

 

Referencing for Genealogists: Sources and Citation ($12-27)  

https://amzn.to/2Bzbkxg 

Buyer beware, this guide contradicts what you are taught about citing sources in educational programs in the United States. The author speaks out against using Evidence Explained and Chicago style which is the accepted standard in the United States. However, I list it because I believe the very best genealogists will make themselves aware of any conflicts in methods used by genealogists worldwide. I list it with British books because it comes from a citation tradition springing out of Scotland’s University of Strathclyde.

 

Genealogy: Essential Research Methods ($13-20)  

https://amzn.to/2QhkCGl 

This one on my shelf is one I recommend just if you want to get a flavor for how a more general guide focuses on genealogy methodology in general, written from the perspective of a British genealogist. As I said, I am a fan of understanding multiple perspectives. 

 

Tracing Your Ancestors from 1066 to 1837 Kindle Edition ($9) 

 https://amzn.to/2DMRdgz 

It is of interest to have guides that focus solely on the earlier period when the research gets harder pre-civil registration.

 

Ireland

 

Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide 4th Edition ($23-42) 

https://amzn.to/2DZ2E5s 

This is my top recommendation for a general guide on Irish genealogy.

 

Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors: The essential genealogical guide to early modern Ulster, 1600-1800 2nd Edition ($10-30)  

https://amzn.to/2TNFIe8 

I’ve been reading this one over the past month or so, and really enjoying the detailed dive into research in this specific region during this difficult period. The author is insightful and details an impressive number of various record types. He recommends some more books as well in his book.

 

One of my favorite Irish genealogy bloggers Claire Santry is a stand-out expert in the field who keeps on top of all new developments. Her blog IrishGenealogyNews.com is well worth adding to your RSS feeds. She has a book on Irish genealogy called The Family Tree Irish Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Ancestors in Ireland. ($13-19) https://amzn.to/2TNo0Yo

 

Disclaimer: It is my hope that this list helps you. That said, it takes time and expertise to provide these useful resource lists. Please use the provided links to make any purchases, as Amazon will send me a small percentage somewhere around 5% and it wont affect the price you pay. Opinions are not influenced by this arrangement. 

Recommended genealogy books: United States

In this list in the series I will highlight some books about record types or regions within the United States. There are books that exist for just about every state and just about every type of record, so this list does not aim to be comprehensive. The idea is to suggest some that impacted me, and for the reader to understand the value of these types of books.

The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy. 4th Edition ($50)  

https://amzn.to/2FG4ES0 

This is my favorite general guide to United States research. It gives great insight into many different record types, and how they are used in research. Other general topics are covered as well.

Your Guide to the Federal Census ($7-45)  

https://amzn.to/2ztiamd 

Digging for Genealogical Treasure in New England Town Records ($27+) 

https://amzn.to/2r5AUUn 

These guides are examples of books on a specific record type. Such guides, like the following types of guides, can be more than worth the investment of money and time to read them. Specialized guides typically contain insights about specific records or regions that even a genealogist who has some experience will not have gleaned from their own experience.

New York Family History Research Guide and Gazetteer ($90) https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/publications/nyfhrgg 

This is an exemplary example of textbook-sized guides that give an in-depth view of genealogy research in a specific state. Guides this large on specific states are rare, but almost all states have genealogical guides available of a more moderate length. Your favorite guides will of course depend on which state you are most interested in. If you want to earn the Accredited Genealogist® credential from ICAPGen, it is advisable to obtain such guides for all the states in your intended region of specialty. Many state guides can be found as part of the National Genealogical Society’s research in the states series at https://ngsmembers.ngsgenealogy.org/books/ngs-books…
FamilyTree Magazine also sells short guides on each state. Click here for the list of available guides.

New York City Municipal Archives: An Authorized Guide for Family Historians ($35) https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/publications/muni 

Another type of useful genealogical book is the type that focuses on a single archive. This type is less common, but well worth considering when you have a brick-wall problem in a certain area. This guide to the New York City Municipal Archives is a stand-out example.

New York Probate Records, A Genealogist's Guide to Testate and Intestate Records ($28-30) https://amzn.to/2E0N1L3  

Pennsylvania Land Records: A History and Guide for Research ($40+) 

https://amzn.to/2RhkZxM 

These are examples of another category of book: those that discuss a specific record type within a specific state or smaller location. Like guides on specific archives, a researcher seeking advanced specialization should keep an eye out for guides like these.

Click through one of the links and search Amazon for other record types or states that have a genealogy guide. Try the name of the state or topic plus the word genealogy.

Disclaimer: It is my hope that this list helps you. That said, it takes time and expertise to provide these useful resource lists. Please use the provided links to make any purchases, as Amazon or FamilyTree Magazine will send me a small percentage and it wont affect the price you pay. Opinions are not influenced by this arrangement.

Recommended genealogy books: The profession, writing, and analysis

This is part 1 in a series of posts on genealogy books I recommend. Each post categorizes books into larger topic categories, so you can easily look for books on topics that interest you.

 

The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy ($3-20) 

https://amzn.to/2DW3tMC (Kindle) 

DNA is clearly a popular topic, and this guide is written by one of the top respected genetic genealogy educators in the field. It is an important topic for the professional to understand.

 

Evidence Explained: History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace 3rd Edition Revised ($60) 

https://amzn.to/2DKsCcf 

This has a couple great chapters on understanding evidence in sources, with the remainder being a reference that I frequently use to ensure my citations are to standard.

 

Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards ($60)  

https://amzn.to/2SafBg4 

This is a long-awaited companion book to the earlier publication: Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians.

 

Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians ($50) 

https://amzn.to/2Sd4KBJ 

This book inspired the long-running and highly acclaimed ProGen study groups. It is a textbook-sized tome that includes helpful examples that I personally found useful as a reference in learning to write better reports.

 

The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual, Millenium Edition ($7-$28) 

https://amzn.to/2DWpWZN 

This manual includes useful examples of written reports. These examples are not included in more recent versions, so this edition retains value for those examples. This can be useful doing writing projects.

 

ICAPGen’s Becoming an Excellent Genealogist: Essays on Professional Research Skills ($10 Kindle) https://amzn.to/2P1lsC5 

This underrated book is a brilliant compilation of articles written by true experts on many important topics. Perhaps it has trouble standing out because it has no single focus, or the value is not obvious from the title alone. There are great articles on writing, analysis, DNA, the history of ICAPGen, and many other interesting topics.

 

Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide Kindle Edition ($5)

https://amzn.to/2TSY8u5

Any book on being a genealogy professional is interesting to me, and this one is a modern, understandable take on the subject published earlier this year.

 

The Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried-and-True Tactics for Tracing Elusive Ancestors ($20+) https://amzn.to/2S6Leae 

This was one of the first genealogical guides I read that really opened my eyes about techniques I could use to break down my ancestral brick walls, and always retains a special place on my list for that reason.

 

Elements of Genealogical Analysis ($30) 

https://amzn.to/2ReGmQg 

Most books that get exposure these days in our genealogical community about analysis talk about the 3x3 evidence analysis classification system popularized by the Board for Certification of Genealogists. Robert Charles Anderson provides an interesting perspective on analysis that purposefully sidesteps the more regimented system. I’m a fan of well-reasoned books that give another perspective on issues of our profession. This is one such book.

 

Genealogical Research Standards ($3-8)  

https://amzn.to/2DZll9d  

Genealogical Research Essentials ($4-27) 

https://amzn.to/2ScVJJ1 

Genealogy as Pastime and Profession ($6+)  

https://amzn.to/2S9fqBm 

These are each classic books published between the 1930s and 1960s on the methods and profession of a genealogist. It is enlightening to see the underlying principles come across that are still practiced today, though often different wording was used to express these ideas. It really gives you a sense of the profession over time.

 

Disclaimer: It is my hope that this list helps you. That said, it takes time and expertise to provide these useful resource lists. Please use the provided links to make any purchases, as Amazon will send me a small percentage somewhere around 5% and it wont affect the price you pay. Opinions are not influenced by this arrangement.

Using Y-DNA and other tests at FamilyTreeDNA

Recently I received a question specifically about Y-DNA.

Ancestry. com's DNA test, 23andMe, MyHeritage, and LivingDNA/Findmypast, all offer one type of DNA test you can buy. The scientific term for that test is an autosomal DNA test. They all have different features and ways they look at that DNA (like 23andMe looking at it for health information). However, they are all the same kind of test, testing the same kind of DNA.

Years ago when I started taking DNA tests the only big company in the business was Family Tree DNA. They were the first to offer the autosomal test, which they now market as the Family Finder test. I remember taking it from them before the others released.

Prior to that, they offered more focused tests that remain useful: Y-DNA, and mtDNA. They also offer some more niche tests like X-DNA, BigY, or specific markers. None of the other big genetic genealogy companies offer any of these. Some like 23andMe will tell you your Y-DNA haplogroup if you are a male as part of their testing, but they do not look at the Y-DNA in the helpful detail that Family Tree DNA can.

There was an old rumor going around that only males could do DNA tests. That rumor is based on the Y-DNA test. Y-DNA is for the male line only and only males inherit any Y-DNA at all. Female=XX. Male=XY. Don't worry if you do not get those letters, but just know only males have Y-DNA. The main value of it over the general (autosomal) DNA test everyone else sells is that Y-DNA is strictly on the straight male line so that it remains largely unchanged for many generations and focuses on one line. Autosomal tests are awesome at finding close family as distant as 4th cousins with very good accuracy. Relatives more distant have an increasing chance of not appearing as cousin matches because you may possibly not share enough DNA. To put it simply if you begin with yourself having 50% mom and 50% dad, then your kids only have 25% of each grandparent, and so on. So several generations down you only get such a small amount of DNA from an ancestor that autosomal testing gives the clearest results for recent family. Y-DNA remains largely unchanged for many more generations, so two solid Y-DNA matches can estimate a relationship many, many generations earlier. Sadly it can only be done on the male line.

If you have a specific issue like proving two Smith families have the same male Smith ancestor then having descendants from both lines test could prove it for you or disprove it. If you had your brother Mr. Smith test and had another Mr. Smith person test--or people you do not know randomly test someday and appear as matches--then you can determine those two lines have the same paternal ancestor if the match is strong enough. Sometimes genealogists use this to prove their Smith line had the same common ancestor as a well documented Smith line, even if they could not document their line that well with paper records. You often get a lot of Y-DNA matches that are not very strong and those matches mean little, except perhaps that most of them come from the same region of the world and have a prehistoric common ancestor. To take a match seriously within meaningfully recent history you typically want to match almost exactly on 30+ Y-DNA points. You may be able to see who you match at 12 or 25 points, but these matches mean much less.

So the unfortunate truth is that Y-DNA does little practically for a genealogist unless they have a second person test that they can compare too (or someone randomly tested who appears as a match).

That being said, you can also loosely determine a region of origin from Y-DNA too without any close matches. For example, I had my uncle Mr. Schilling tested (a German surname) and the majority of his matches had Irish/Scottish surnames. This scientifically supported a hypothesis I had previously developed that his great grandfather was the biological son of a man surnamed Callaham(?) and raised by a Schilling family whose name he took. In this case the Y-DNA provided useful evidence of something without even needing to have a close match.

In summary, Y-DNA can be a powerful tool, though it is generally only worth doing if you understand what it will do for you and need to solve a problem like what I discussed above.

mtDNA is similar. It passes through women, opposite of Y-DNA. Think of your tree like a triangle starting with you as the tiny point like this <. The top line is what Y-DNA tracks and the bottom like is what mtDNA tracks. It tends to be used less often for genealogical applications, but you could use it to prove or disprove a person's descent from the same direct maternal woman. It would have to be the direct maternal ancestor of both parties though (not on a different line). Males can do this as well as females because they do get the DNA from their moms, but they do not pass it down, so if their kids test the DNA that shows up will be the mom's DNA. There was news going around lately that challenges this, but last I checked a well known genetic genealogist had said that the news does not change how this works. The other tests are even less useful so I wont discuss them right here right now (X-DNA, etc.).

The current holiday sale prices for these tests are as follows:

Y-DNA: $99

Family Finder (autosomal): $49

mtDNA: $139

If you do decide to buy please go to the website using my affiliate link so that I will make 5% from your purchase. It is not much, but it motivates me to take the extra time to share this extra knowledge. You can also have your friends or family members go to the site through my link if they intend to buy, and this article was helpful.

https://affiliate.familytreedna.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=2159

I would love to talk with you more about these tests in the comments.

One resource I love to learn more about these tests is their own learning center. It explains the results you get and how to determine how many generations apart you may be from a Y-DNA match on your list.

FTDNA Learning Center – Paternal Lineages Tests

You can also access that page of the site directly through this custom link to ensure that if you end up purchasing a kit it will count for me too, but this way you can start on this help page and read all about it.

https://affiliate.familytreedna.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=2159&url=260

Thankful November - Family tree found at a historical society

The purpose of this post is to highlight something I am thankful for in my genealogical discoveries from 2017. My list could include many discoveries and things I learned.

One discovery was a collection of original family papers held at a historical society in New Jersey. I started writing to the society two years ago to request copies, and each time I would write I got a response that they would help me when they had time. After this continued for two years I hired a genealogist to go there and make copies for me.  

Lesson: Persistence and be willing to pay when paying is the most effective way to get results.

The copies I received included several pages of hand-copied and typescript genealogical notes from the 1830s until the 1910s. The information traced many descendants of my French immigrant ancestor John Baptiste Brognard born 1761. One chart in particular gave many names on one single page. I was amazed to find that I had cousins in the 1830s and 1887 who cared enough about family history to record the information and leave it in a place where it would be discoverable many years later.

Lesson: Genealogy is not a new hobby. Donate your materials to the best historical societies or archives, and they may last longer than they would if left among your personal papers to be distributed upon your death to an unknown end. After that I have begun to speak to various societies and library archives about donating some of my important family papers that date back to the early 1900s or before.

My photo scanning journey: High-speed scanner

Many of you mentioned you have been putting off scanning your old photos for years because you know that scanning photos takes hours, days, weeks, and maybe even months.

That was true a few years ago. Now you can scan boxes of photos in just minutes.

At least fourteen major FamilySearch Libraries have these special scanners available for use.

It is so much faster here that I actually paid for an extra checked bag on my last flight back from my parents' home so that I could fill it with family photos for scanning in the Salt Lake City Family History Library. I have completed scanning all our known extant photos that we had as prints. It took me less than 5-10 days with just 2-6 hours each day, and I went through over 4,600 scans, mostly scanning at the slower rate of 600 dpi for recommended high quality (while 300 dpi is unbelievably fast).

Not all of you will live close enough to Salt Lake, but might live close enough to one of the other major libraries that has these. Ask your local major FamilySearch Library if they have one.

Read about the technology and deal with FamilySearch: http://graphics.kodak.com/DocImaging/MY/en/Industry_Solutions/Photo_Scanning/Photo_Scanning/FamilySearch/index.htm

Here are examples of scans that came out of the high speed scanner from my own family photos:

The author lifting weights

My parents and older brother

These are the same special scanners (among others) that are brought to RootsTech each year for 2-3 years now. If you do not live near a major library, you may want to gather your photos for scanning when you fly in for RootsTech next year (at least you might consider it, RootsTech is a wonderful conference).

If you have a huge project, you might even find it worth renting one of these scanners for a few days. It might be a few hundred dollars, but you will be able to finish your several boxes of photos in just a few days, when you have been possibly waiting years to have time to do it the old fashioned flatbed way.

Note: Oversize and extremely delicate photos will still need to go on the flatbed, but even the paired flatbed (attached to this special scanner) is faster than most other flatbeds. The high speed feeder is delicate enough to handle most photos (including many types of old photos) and even standard newspaper (which is a good example of delicate paper). You may want to test it on some types of paper and photos to get a feel for what it can handle before putting your most delicate items through.

Warning: Other high-speed scanners that were made for scanning documents in an office setting will tear up all photos. Don't assume those will work the same.

This project is about recent prints from the 1970s through about 2004, but the same ideas can be applied to old prints in some circumstances.

My #RootsTech & FGS 2015 impressions

Warning: This may not mean anything to genealogy beginners or even some experts. The following are some of my rough impressions from RootsTech, and some of what I felt were highlights. This is not intended to be authoritative or all encompassing.

Two of the major genealogy conferences in the United States, RootsTech and FGS conference, combined this year resulting in the largest reaching genealogy conference in the world.

This year the theme of the conference (in my opinion) seemed to be big, international, and together.  

I have been attending each year since 2012, so I will not talk as much this time about the free soda, popcorn, and mini-arcade. I will not talk as much about the stellar keynote speakers, the incredible energy of the crowd, or meeting up with other enthusiastic genealogists. Note: These things--even if everything else was taken away--make the conference worth attending every year.

Another major highlight every year for me is the opportunity to hear about the most groundbreaking technology (or collaboration) for genealogy. There is always exciting news, although much of the cutting edge technology is the same discussed during previous years. Some large genealogy organizations announced exciting plans a year or two ago, and these very technologies are still in beta this year. Examples of long-time-still-coming technologies include the new FamilySearch Indexing program, handwriting recognition, and the ability to clean up some large FamilySearch Family Tree profiles that have bad data. The excitement about some of those has worn off a little for me, since they have been promised for two years or more in some instances.  I'll still be excited when the improvements come, but hearing about them each year is less of a novelty.

Now I am much more interested in the collaboration aspect of RootsTech. This year there was a major new theme in the collaboration that was going on, fostered further by the presence of the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference (FGS). Much of the most exciting news (in my opinion) was related to collaboration between societies and societies collaborating with major genealogical organizations. 

• Affiliate LDS member access for New England Historic Genealogical Society's website http://AmericanAncestors.org
• BillionGraves Rewards Program for your genealogy society http://youtu.be/-6UYe2GAamA
• Findmypast Partners with New York’s genealogical society for access to records http://pulse.me/s/3oIjzG
• Robert Charles Anderson of the NEHGS spoke alongside David Rencher of FamilySearch and others, to developers at the Innovator Summit. This panel of society experts and FamilySearch executives encouraged developers to design tools for serious genealogists.

Collaboration falls under the overarching theme as part of together, but often also ties into big and international. Here are some other announcements or items that demonstrate one or more of these themes.

• Many quoted a figure of 22,000 attendees on the busiest day (Saturday). This surpasses Who Do You Think You Are Live, a conference in the UK that has been reported to garner about 17,000 attendees. More than 150,000 are expected to watch the recordings in several countries worldwide. The recordings are translated into nine additional languages. 170 exhibitors had booths in the expo hall.
• FamilySearch and FamilyTreeDNA announce partnership at #RootsTech? "DNA in SLC" http://pulse.me/s/3uo5Xs
• 80 million Mexican vital records will soon be available because of our partnership with @ancestry. Amazing! (Tweeted @FamilySearch)
• "This fall Ancestry will release more than 170 million name-searchable images of million Probate and Wills records" (Press release)
• Apps allow reaching a wider international audience: Devin Ashby of FamilySearch says smartphones are Family History Centers of today. BillionGraves testing new Windows app, beta announced during #RootsTech
• Strathclyde University from Scotland brings a booth about their online genealogy master's degree to the RootsTech expo hall.  
• David Archuleta sings in Spanish to an audience of some twenty thousand during the RootsTech closing social: http://youtu.be/2wWwXJnV56Q
• Tan Le, originally from Vietnam, gives one of the best talks of the entire conference http://youtu.be/VK74LRhXaac
• The Vice President of International for FamilySearch was the person to introduce most keynote speakers

There is a lot more that could be said about RootsTech, and the international collaborations. I hope this conveys the theme in general. The community is growing, and we are learning that collaboration is key to that growth.

For further reading I recommend:

• https://twitter.com/hashtag/RootsTech?src=hash
• http://www.ancestryinsider.org/
• http://blog.eogn.com/
• http://www.geneamusings.com/
• http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/
• http://blog.myheritage.com/
• http://blog.findmypast.com/
• https://familysearch.org/blog/en/
• http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/ 
• https://www.youtube.com/results?search_sort=video_date_uploaded&search_query=rootstech

Even all the posts on these blogs and sites cannot cover the experience, but it gives you enough to think about what you might have missed. Even if you attended, you cannot possibly soak it all in.

Note: Looking for themes can be fun. One theme from FamilySearch was partnerships, and one uniquely promoted undercurrent this year was that Indexing powers Hints. Some noted that it was more of a FamilySearch conference than a technology conference--although having FamilySearch front and center is good for the community. They are doing amazing work!

Another blogger noted that nothing too innovative came up in the innovator challenge event--even though the conference is RootsTech. While it may be true that most of the technology was not new, the finalists did present things in new ways that will be helpful to the community. I listed some of the most exciting things (in my opinion) above. These were not specifically part of the innovator day or challenge. Those innovator events seem more like ways to try and get developers started or discuss APIs. A developer who is just starting is unlikely to release huge record collections or never-heard-of technologies that would get serious genealogists jumping for joy. Having 80 million Mexican records indexed by the end of the year is enough to get a serious genealogist jumping for joy though.

FamilySearch, Ancestry, Findmypast and others mentioned a few more features or technologies they have under development. I mentioned a few on my Twitter feed. Some of them are too vague, small, or too early in development to get very excited about right now.

What did you find exciting or as a theme at RootsTech?

I'm an Accredited Genealogist®!

I'm an Accredited Genealogist®!

See my ICAPGen profile by clicking here.

For those few loyal readers who have been following my blog closely for a couple of years, you will know that I set a goal way back in 2012 to get my AG® credential.

It did not work out that year, as I let other goals and my intimidation of doing such a big project block me from it at the time. I did accomplish some other huge genealogy goals back then.

In 2014 my genealogy employers got behind the idea that I should have the credential. That did a lot to motivate me!

If any of you are struggling in the same manner as I was or have questions about the credentialing process with the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists, please feel free to find me on social media or comment to this post.

By the way, my accreditation region is the Mid-Atlantic US. I chose it because that is the region where I did the most research for the first ten years of my life as a genealogy lover. I do research in other places more often these days. 

Note: I am not accepting clients, but I do like to network/educate.

Using Snagit to add source citations to document images

Productivity tools. We all need them, especially when we do tasks repetitively. Some tools make mundane genealogy tasks a little easier, and more fun.

My focus recently has been on tools that can be used by professional genealogists to make repetitive tasks more efficient.

As I prepare for my upcoming test with ICAPGen (click to learn more), I have to practice meeting their reporting standards, which includes source citations on the front of every document image. There is good reason to have a source citation on the front, as I have learned over the years by experience.

I am creating a lot more reports than usual as I prepare for accreditation. Now I need a way to make it quicker and more fun to add citations to the front of images.

You can add text to images with Microsoft Paint or any number of other free image editors. They are often not suited well to this task though. I like to have a way to go back and correct the text if I made a mistake.

I have found two programs which make that easier. Adobe Acrobat (if you want to save your images as pdf files) and Snagit (for everything else).

Check out this screencast that shows how I use Snagit for adding source citations:
Snagit for Genealogists - Intro (click the link) on TechSmith hosting site (requires Flash)
Using Snagit for Citations on Images (same video as above) on YouTube

Adobe Acrobat 
Pros

• Edit citations easily any time you open the PDF (because they open in Acrobat if you have that software)

Cons

• Slow and bulky compared to Snagit
• More expensive

Snagit
Pros

• Snagit is a faster and more streamlined software
• It is easier to save the images you want because you can clip them from anything you can see on your screen.
• Snagit doubles as a good tool to make snippets of portions of documents to insert directly into genealogical reports

Cons

• In Snagit you will have to export the image again after any citation edit you make because the text editing will have to be done in Snagit.  A different copy of the image is saved in Snagit and that is the copy you will edit, and re-export.

Buy Snagit at TechSmith.com They also sell a screen recording software called Camtasia which I have found useful as an online educator.

Disclaimer: A small percentage of each purchase made after using my links to enter the website may be paid to me in an affiliate arrangement. This arrangement does not affect my honest opinion given on the software.

What do you think? Do you have any favorite programs to add source citations to the front of an image? What about other productivity tools that you use as a professional genealogist?

Announcing my Website: MichaelWMcCormick.com

Sometimes I feel like my posts on this blog have a sporadic quality about them. I am not sure if that will change very much or not, but I do want to tell you that I moved back into the world of having my own website recently.

My new website is MichaelWMcCormick.com

It is a place people can go to learn about my involvement in family history and genealogy. It has a professional and educational emphasis. For those closest to me, you already know that professional and educational genealogy is what fills most of my life, besides doing my own genealogy and helping other people with genealogy of course.

Anyway, I really do love genealogy because it has helped me love my ancestors, bond with my living family members, and have perspective that goes beyond myself. I think it will do the same for anyone who gets involved, so I like to educate other people too.

The website is an effort to show my professional side and my qualifications. I intend to have work samples and resources listed. There are very few of those so far.

I have a new blog over there where I am considering talking more about my journey as a professional. Perhaps that will give me an excuse to be even more casual on this blog?

I'm thinking of writing about some of my experiences with genealogy education and ICAPGen accreditation.

Either way, it has been long enough since I posted last and I wanted to let you know about the new site. I hope someone enjoys visiting it. If you do, please leave a comment.

Recording your research: Calendar, Log or Journal?

Any experienced genealogist knows that you should record research that you've done, whether you found anything or not. A list of steps taken and reasons for those steps will help you prevent doing the same research in a few years once you've forgotten what you've done before. It will also provide documentation, so that anyone else could pick up where you left off. The sound reasoning you might include in such a written record will also help substantiate your conclusions, and help them withstand peer review.

This article is not about the purpose of a written research record. It is not a discussion of how to create one either. This article focuses on what to call such a record.

Highly respected professional genealogists and organizations use various words to describe this type of research record. The most common titles include: Research Calendar, Research Log, and Research Journal.

There is also a form you can create called a Research Planner, but that functions as a detailed to-do list. It is similar to a calendar/log/journal in the instance that each must include the source citation and objective (before or after research is completed).

Research Calendar is a preferred term for the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen). 
Research Log is a preferred term among average genealogists in the U.S., and the term is often used in teaching classes at genealogical conference, or in other educational settings.
Research Journal is the preferred term of ancestryProGenealogists, the official genealogy research firm of Ancestry.com.

Most genealogists suggest creating your own table or spreadsheet to record your genealogical searches. During this process you may want to decide what to call it.

First, consider the actual definitions of the various words. It seems practical to choose a word that fits the style of your particular design (the fields you choose to include in your table or spreadsheet). Before you do this, it will help to have a significant genealogical research background, and a list of items you feel are essential to your written record of research. I suggest putting that together before you read on.

Okay, now think about that list as you proceed.

Definitions

Calendar

"1 :  a system for fixing the beginning, length, and divisions of the civil year and arranging days and longer divisions of time (as weeks and months) in a definite order — see month table

2 :  a tabular register of days according to a system usually covering one year and referring the days of each month to the days of the week

3 :  an orderly list: as

a :  a list of cases to be tried in court

b :  a list of bills or other items reported out of committee for consideration by a legislative assembly

c :  a list or schedule of planned events or activities giving dates and details

4 British :  a university catalog" 

Merriam-Webster, Inc., Dictionary, (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calendar : accessed 17 August 2014). 

Log
"1 :  a usually bulky piece or length of a cut or fallen tree; especially :  a length of a tree trunk ready for sawing and over six feet (1.8 meters) long

2 :  an apparatus for measuring the rate of a ship's motion through the water that consists of a block fastened to a line and run out from a reel

3 a :  the record of the rate of a ship's speed or of her daily progress; also :  the full nautical record of a ship's voyage

   b :  the full record of a flight by an aircraft

4 :  a record of performance, events, or day-to-day activities"

Merriam-Webster, Inc., Dictionary, (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/log : accessed 17 August 2014).

Journal

"1 a :  a record of current transactions; especially :  a book of original entry in double-entry bookkeeping

   b :  an account of day-to-day events

   c :  a record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly for private use

   d :  a record of transactions kept by a deliberative or legislative body

   e :  log 3

   f :  log 4

2 a :  a daily newspaper

   b :  a periodical dealing especially with matters of current interest

3 :  the part of a rotating shaft, axle, roll, or spindle that turns in a bearing"

Merriam-Webster, Inc., Dictionary, (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/journal : accessed 17 August 2014).

Okay, now stop and think about which best fits for your purposes. What term best describes the fields and format of your table or spreadsheet? You could even make your record of research in a free-form word document, a database, or cloud program like ResearchTies. There are pros and cons to each. For example, a free-form word document may not be deemed acceptable by genealogist peers who are accustomed to tables and spreadsheets. It does, however, allow more flexibility than a table with pre-set headers.

You may have a different format for your genealogy clients than yourself, and you might have a different format for your ICAPGen application (because they require certain data) or other submissions to specific organizations. The important thing is that you choose the most efficient and effective format and fields for each type, as well as ensuring that your forms are clear to the reader.

Have you decided? Okay, maybe later I'll tell you what I did.

FamilySearch handouts: Historical Collections Wiki Project

This is the seventh in a short series of posts that will highlight some of FamilySearch's pamphlets, flyers, and handouts.

Disclaimer: I do not have any legal affiliation with FamilySearch, and believe it is okay to publish these because the flyers are available to the public at no cost. I am simply bringing them to the attention of my blog readership, for their interesting content.

This flyer was at RootsTech 2014 as I recall. It is a little unique because it talks about a lesser known volunteer opportunity. FamilySearch uses volunteers to do a lot of the work of keeping such a big organization going. They do so much to make records available for us to research.

This FamilySearch Historical Records division has a project on the FamilySearch Wiki where they create and maintain pages about every online collection that FamilySearch has. These pages are where you go if you ever click the Learn More link for a collection you are searching on FamilySearch. Some of these pages are wonderfully helpful because of the volunteers. Every collection has quirks and needs special research techniques.

What do you think?

Click the image to view.

FamilySearch handouts (LDS): Change a Life--Change Your Life

This is the sixth in a short series of posts that will highlight some of FamilySearch's pamphlets, flyers, and handouts.

Disclaimer: I do not have any legal affiliation with FamilySearch, and believe it is okay to publish these because the flyers are available to the public at no cost. I am simply bringing them to the attention of my blog readership, for their interesting content. This pamphlet makes some references to doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including a spiritual emphasis on knowing one's ancestors.

This pamphlet is similar to the fifth pamphlet in my short series of posts. It seems geared toward the LDS Family History Department. I still found it encouraging to see the quality of the materials and the overarching goal.

 Click an image to view.

FamilySearch handouts (LDS): Family History Progress Update

This is the fifth in a short series of posts that will highlight some of FamilySearch's pamphlets, flyers, and handouts.

Disclaimer: I do not have any legal affiliation with FamilySearch, and believe it is okay to publish these because the flyers are available to the public at no cost. I am simply bringing them to the attention of my blog readership, for their interesting content. This pamphlet makes some references to doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including a spiritual emphasis on knowing one's ancestors.

I found this pamphlet on a table at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is very LDS in nature, focusing on motivating the church's Family History Department to take a new approach to helping church members have family history experiences. I'm glad to see such good quality work going into reaching out to more people to help them with their family history. 

 Click an image to view.