Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them. If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post in the comments.
This week I transcribe two newspaper articles, in which appear the name of Ben Cruvant, a brother to my great grandmother, Bertha Cruvant.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Weekly Genealogy Picks
Weekly Genealogy Picks --August 22 to August 26
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere
I am posting this on Friday as I know I will be away from the internet for most of the weekend, and I'm not sure how much time on Sunday I will have. Next week's will cover the two days missed this week.
10. Entering college this fall in a country where a quarter of young people under 18 have at least one immigrant parent, they aren't afraid of immigration...unless it involves "real" aliens from another planet.
20. DNA fingerprinting and maps of the human genome have always existed.
Press Releases
(In some cases multiple blogs have posted these press releases, but I have chosen one representative.)
Other Weekly Lists
The genealogy bloggers below provide their selections for the week - many different from my own.
[Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blogging theme I began in February of 2009, where participants transcribe letters, audio, and other documents. Why I do this.]
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere
I am posting this on Friday as I know I will be away from the internet for most of the weekend, and I'm not sure how much time on Sunday I will have. Next week's will cover the two days missed this week.
- Schelly Talalay Dardashti at Tracing the Tribe catches the New York Times perpetuating the myth of names being changed at Ellis Island, and wonders when this myth will finally be put to rest.
- The JewishGen blog notes that Hungary has passed a new law requiring the passage of 90 years from entry into a register for record release. FamilySearch has removed images of Hungarian records back to 1920 in compliance - however, they haven't been asked to remove their microfilm from circulation. Yet. There is also a movement to get the Hungarian law changed.
- NARAtions has a post on what you may find about family black sheep in the National Archives' Federal Penitentiary Records.
- Blaine Bettinger at The Genetic Genealogist discusses the sequencing of Sitting Bull's genome and poses some ethical questions.
- Silver RavenWolf at The Gravediggers Blog writes about The Trouble With Harry. Silver details a difficult journey locating the grandparents of husband, Mick.
- Lorine McGinnis Schulze at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog posts the fourth in a series of posts on designing a genealogy board game for children.
- For those planning a marriage proposal, Robert at the MyHeritage Blog lists Five Unconventional Marriage Proposals which will be difficult to top.
- Every year Beloit College creates its Mindset List. They list items the incoming class of college Freshmen know about, and don't know about. Are you ready to feel old?
10. Entering college this fall in a country where a quarter of young people under 18 have at least one immigrant parent, they aren't afraid of immigration...unless it involves "real" aliens from another planet.
20. DNA fingerprinting and maps of the human genome have always existed.
Press Releases
(In some cases multiple blogs have posted these press releases, but I have chosen one representative.)
- The National Archives announces recieving the originals of the Nuremberg Laws from Huntington Library. (Dear Myrtle)
- Denise Olson at Moultrie Creek Gazette has some information for bloggers on customizable stylesheets and how they get interpreted by newsreaders.
- You can now call phones from your gmail account. Free for at least the rest of the year to the U.S and Canada.
Other Weekly Lists
The genealogy bloggers below provide their selections for the week - many different from my own.
- Best of the Genea-Blogs - from Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
- New Genealogy Blogs and Upcoming Genealogy Blogging Events - from Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers
[Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blogging theme I began in February of 2009, where participants transcribe letters, audio, and other documents. Why I do this.]
- Valerie C. at Begin with Craft
- Anonymous at filioagnostic
- Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
- Anonymous at Nolichucky Roots
- Heather Wilkinson Rojo at Nutfield Genealogy
- Lisa Wallen Logsdon at Old Stones Undeciphered
- Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee
- J.M. at Tracing my Roots
- John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch
Monday, August 23, 2010
Amanuensis Monday: H.S. Feinstein and the 1920 Election Inquiry
Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them. If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post in the comments.
This week I look at a few newspaper articles pertaining to St. Louis election fraud in 1920 - and a case that went to the State Supreme Court. In 1920, the ballot boxes, tally sheets, and poll books were subpoenaed during an election inquiry. An election judge, named H.S. Feinstein, objected - arguing that the subpoenas violated the secrecy of the ballot.
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them. If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post in the comments.
This week I look at a few newspaper articles pertaining to St. Louis election fraud in 1920 - and a case that went to the State Supreme Court. In 1920, the ballot boxes, tally sheets, and poll books were subpoenaed during an election inquiry. An election judge, named H.S. Feinstein, objected - arguing that the subpoenas violated the secrecy of the ballot.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
The Unusual Nature of the Letter
It appears my maternal grandmother, Myrtle, kept every letter my grandfather, Martin, sent home during the war, and preserved them in their original envelopes inside a shoebox.
Martin didn’t save every letter Myrtle sent him. Realities of war probably prevented that. He moved around from base to base, and there wasn’t a lot of room for personal belongings. But I suspect all the letters that he did bring home with him ended up being preserved with everything else the two of them saved.
Myrtle also saved a large number of letters her father sent her during the latter half of the 1920s. He wrote her weekly, and the letters indicate she wrote him weekly as well. Though we don’t have any of the letters she wrote to him.
On the other hand, Martin’s mother, Helen, saved many of the letters Martin and Myrtle sent her. And when she passed, those letters were discovered and preserved by my grandfather.
***
A recent conversation brought to mind the unusual nature of the letter. It is one of the few mediums where it is rare that the author maintains a copy of his/her work.
I am addicted to writing. Blog posts, poetry, fiction, emails. For all of these, I have preserved electronic copies of that which I consider important. However, this isn’t the case with the letters I have written.
I have had a computer since the mid-1980s, and there are a handful of letters I’ve written that were saved, and somehow made it through multiple hard drive crashes. (some were sent, some unsent). However, other letters didn’t get preserved. At least, not by me. And I wonder if the recipient still has a copy.
Martin didn’t save every letter Myrtle sent him. Realities of war probably prevented that. He moved around from base to base, and there wasn’t a lot of room for personal belongings. But I suspect all the letters that he did bring home with him ended up being preserved with everything else the two of them saved.
Myrtle also saved a large number of letters her father sent her during the latter half of the 1920s. He wrote her weekly, and the letters indicate she wrote him weekly as well. Though we don’t have any of the letters she wrote to him.
On the other hand, Martin’s mother, Helen, saved many of the letters Martin and Myrtle sent her. And when she passed, those letters were discovered and preserved by my grandfather.
***
A recent conversation brought to mind the unusual nature of the letter. It is one of the few mediums where it is rare that the author maintains a copy of his/her work.
I am addicted to writing. Blog posts, poetry, fiction, emails. For all of these, I have preserved electronic copies of that which I consider important. However, this isn’t the case with the letters I have written.
I have had a computer since the mid-1980s, and there are a handful of letters I’ve written that were saved, and somehow made it through multiple hard drive crashes. (some were sent, some unsent). However, other letters didn’t get preserved. At least, not by me. And I wonder if the recipient still has a copy.
Weekly Genealogy Picks
Weekly Genealogy Picks --August 15 to August 21
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere
Cynthia at ChicagoGenealogy shows how to use birth registers to find birth certificates that aren't appearing in the results for searches at FamilySearch. She has a similar post for the Chicago Death Records. Just because you can't find something in a database, doesn't mean it isn't there. Sometimes the handwriting on documents is poor, making the job of the indexer quite difficult, and that of the researcher even more so.
NARAtions (the National Archives blog) illustrates how you can distinguish US Citizens on passenger manifests.
Tamura Jones at Modern Software Experience presents two different definitions of genealogy in conflict with each other - the legal and the biological. He expands upon this in A Framework for Classical Genealogy.
James Tanner at Genealogy's Star discusses What You May or May Not Find in Court Documents for Genealogy.
Donna Pointkouski at What's Past is Prologue reminds us in her post about A Killer Chair that family photographs often contain more than just the people.
J.M. of Tracing My Roots has found a number-code in some letters from the 1920s-1940s she has been unable to decipher.
Gena Philibert Ortega at the World Vital Records blog describes 5 ways to document a death.
According to The Korea Times there's a new Korean genealogy database. (Hat/Tip: GenealogyBlog)
The Daily Digi shares some resources on family history scrapbooking
Several bloggers are at the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference in Knoxville, TN and have been blogging about it. Geneabloggers has a list.
The Jewish Museum of Maryland shares a fun video on why they love the archives - along with the inspiration leading up to the video, including an advertisement for the Discovery Channel that went viral, and an XKCD comic.
Blogging/Social Networking
Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers reminds us why we need a blogging disclosure statement.
Julie Cahill Tarr at GenBlog shows how to create a table of contents for your blog
Users of Facebook may be interested in reading the ACLU's guide to protecting your privacy with respect to Facebook's new Places feature.
Other Weekly Lists
The genealogy bloggers below provide their selections for the week - many different from my own.
[Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blogging theme I began in February of 2009, where participants transcribe letters, audio, and other documents. Why I do this.]
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
Anonymous at Nolichucky Roots
Heather Wilkinson Rojo at Nutfield Genealogy
Lisa Wallen Logsdon at Old Stones Undeciphered
Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee
RootsResearcher at So That's Where I Get it From
Deborah Andrew at The Sum of All My Research
J.M. at Tracing my Roots
John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch
Kevin Walker at Who We Were, Are & Will Be Our Family
If you participated, but don't appear on this list, please, let me know.
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere
Cynthia at ChicagoGenealogy shows how to use birth registers to find birth certificates that aren't appearing in the results for searches at FamilySearch. She has a similar post for the Chicago Death Records. Just because you can't find something in a database, doesn't mean it isn't there. Sometimes the handwriting on documents is poor, making the job of the indexer quite difficult, and that of the researcher even more so.
NARAtions (the National Archives blog) illustrates how you can distinguish US Citizens on passenger manifests.
Tamura Jones at Modern Software Experience presents two different definitions of genealogy in conflict with each other - the legal and the biological. He expands upon this in A Framework for Classical Genealogy.
James Tanner at Genealogy's Star discusses What You May or May Not Find in Court Documents for Genealogy.
Donna Pointkouski at What's Past is Prologue reminds us in her post about A Killer Chair that family photographs often contain more than just the people.
J.M. of Tracing My Roots has found a number-code in some letters from the 1920s-1940s she has been unable to decipher.
Gena Philibert Ortega at the World Vital Records blog describes 5 ways to document a death.
According to The Korea Times there's a new Korean genealogy database. (Hat/Tip: GenealogyBlog)
The Daily Digi shares some resources on family history scrapbooking
Several bloggers are at the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference in Knoxville, TN and have been blogging about it. Geneabloggers has a list.
The Jewish Museum of Maryland shares a fun video on why they love the archives - along with the inspiration leading up to the video, including an advertisement for the Discovery Channel that went viral, and an XKCD comic.
Blogging/Social Networking
Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers reminds us why we need a blogging disclosure statement.
Julie Cahill Tarr at GenBlog shows how to create a table of contents for your blog
Users of Facebook may be interested in reading the ACLU's guide to protecting your privacy with respect to Facebook's new Places feature.
Other Weekly Lists
The genealogy bloggers below provide their selections for the week - many different from my own.
- Best of the Genea-Blogs - from Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
- Genealogy Round Up - from Megan Smolenyak2 at Megan's Roots World
- Links - from Liz Haigney Lynch at Ancestral Archaeologist
- New Genealogy Blogs and Upcoming Genealogy Blogging Events - from Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers
[Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blogging theme I began in February of 2009, where participants transcribe letters, audio, and other documents. Why I do this.]
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
Anonymous at Nolichucky Roots
Heather Wilkinson Rojo at Nutfield Genealogy
Lisa Wallen Logsdon at Old Stones Undeciphered
Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee
RootsResearcher at So That's Where I Get it From
Deborah Andrew at The Sum of All My Research
J.M. at Tracing my Roots
John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch
Kevin Walker at Who We Were, Are & Will Be Our Family
If you participated, but don't appear on this list, please, let me know.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Tuesday Tech Tip: Google's "Site:" command is not always better
Kerry Scott over at the Clue Wagon discusses Google's site search function.
Below are the Google results searching my non-genealogy blog for the word 'Napoleon'. It yields 8 results.
Here are the results if you use the Wordpress search box on the blog. There are 9 results. The entry Google missed contains the word 'Napoleonic.' That's only part of the reason Google missed it.
Two identical searches, conducted about 3 minutes apart, with different results. So Google's results aren't even consistent. However, even if it were consistent, Wordpress's ability to find different word-endings of the same word makes it a superior method.
What about for this blog?
Here I use Blogger, which is owned and operated by Google. Does this make a difference?
When I use Blogger's search function on this blog, and search for Horton, I get 17 results.
Google gives me 68 results. This at first glance seems a marked improvement. However, the word "Horton" appears on my blog's sidebar, and Google's search function can't tell the difference between the sidebar and the blog entry. Theoretically, Google should return all 925 entries as hits, if it counts the sidebar. Not counting the entries in the results that only appear there because of the sidebar, I think there are 11 results. I don't feel like spending the time figuring out which entries it missed, but I'm pretty sure it did miss some. And the extra chaff it provides makes it more difficult to find the wheat.
What about using the site: command at Google's blogsearch?
This provides interesting results. Blogsearch finds all 17 entries for Horton (and only these 17 entries.) Google's Blogsearch understands the difference between sidebar and entry, while Google's main search site doesn't. And (maybe) because Blogger is a Google product, they've indexed Blogger blogs better.
My search for Napoleon at Blogsearch yields only two results.
This isn't an adequate study, but I think I might avoid using blogsearch for non-blogger blogs.
Blogger and Wordpress blogs make up a sizable number of the blogs out there, and I am quite happy with the results their database search functions yield. Google's results are inconsistent, and incomplete. But if you are at a site that doesn't have a search function, Google's sitesearch command is useful to remember. It's better than nothing.
As she points out, this can be a very useful function for searching websites that don't have a search function. However, she concludes:
- Go to the Google homepage.
- Type in site:[name of site] [keywords] For example, if you wanted to search for mentions of Glenbeulah on this site, you’d type in site:cluewagon.com Glenbeulah.
I almost never use a site’s native search box, because I prefer the consistent results of doing it this way.Be careful. Google doesn't index every page of every website. And the pages it indexes, it doesn't always capture every word. In many cases, if a blog or website provides a native search function, it will actually yield more results than Google will.
Below are the Google results searching my non-genealogy blog for the word 'Napoleon'. It yields 8 results.
What about for this blog?
Here I use Blogger, which is owned and operated by Google. Does this make a difference?
When I use Blogger's search function on this blog, and search for Horton, I get 17 results.
Google gives me 68 results. This at first glance seems a marked improvement. However, the word "Horton" appears on my blog's sidebar, and Google's search function can't tell the difference between the sidebar and the blog entry. Theoretically, Google should return all 925 entries as hits, if it counts the sidebar. Not counting the entries in the results that only appear there because of the sidebar, I think there are 11 results. I don't feel like spending the time figuring out which entries it missed, but I'm pretty sure it did miss some. And the extra chaff it provides makes it more difficult to find the wheat.
What about using the site: command at Google's blogsearch?
This provides interesting results. Blogsearch finds all 17 entries for Horton (and only these 17 entries.) Google's Blogsearch understands the difference between sidebar and entry, while Google's main search site doesn't. And (maybe) because Blogger is a Google product, they've indexed Blogger blogs better.
My search for Napoleon at Blogsearch yields only two results.
This isn't an adequate study, but I think I might avoid using blogsearch for non-blogger blogs.
Blogger and Wordpress blogs make up a sizable number of the blogs out there, and I am quite happy with the results their database search functions yield. Google's results are inconsistent, and incomplete. But if you are at a site that doesn't have a search function, Google's sitesearch command is useful to remember. It's better than nothing.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Amanuensis Monday: Myrtle V Ridgely and the US Post Office
Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them. If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post in the comments.
A few weeks ago I transcribed the severance papers and letters of recommendation documenting the move of my grandmother, Myrtle Van Every, from the El Paso, Texas QuarterMaster Corps to the St. Louis, Missouri Post Office. She worked at the post office from November 20, 1920 until May 17, 1927. And then she resigned, as she was getting married. This marriage to Dale Ridgely lasted three months. So she returned to the Post Office. But they refused to give her back her old job at her old salary, and forced her to start again as a junior substitute clerk. She fought hard, and tried to pull every string she could:
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them. If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post in the comments.
A few weeks ago I transcribed the severance papers and letters of recommendation documenting the move of my grandmother, Myrtle Van Every, from the El Paso, Texas QuarterMaster Corps to the St. Louis, Missouri Post Office. She worked at the post office from November 20, 1920 until May 17, 1927. And then she resigned, as she was getting married. This marriage to Dale Ridgely lasted three months. So she returned to the Post Office. But they refused to give her back her old job at her old salary, and forced her to start again as a junior substitute clerk. She fought hard, and tried to pull every string she could:
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Weekly Genealogy Picks
Weekly Genealogy Picks --August 8 to August 14
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere
This week, the Geneablogging community lost one of its own. Terry Thornton of the Hill Country of Monroe County, MS and Hill Country H.O.G.S. Webbpress blogs, and founder of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits, passed away on August 9, 2010.
Many have been posting memories and tributes. Below are a few of them:
Other Weekly Lists
The genealogy bloggers below provide their selections for the week - many different from my own.
[Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blogging theme I began in February of 2009, where participants transcribe letters, audio, and other documents. Why I do this.]
Apple at Apple's Tree
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
Ginger Smith at Genealogy by Ginger
Leah at The Internet Genealogist
Barbara Poole at Life from the Roots
Anonymous at Nolichucky Roots
Heather Wilkinson Rojo at Nutfield Genealogy
Lisa Wallen Logsdon at Old Stones Undeciphered
Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee (2 entries)
RootsResearcher at So That's Where I Get it From
John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch
Kevin Walker at Who We Were, Are & Will Be Our Family
If you participated, but don't appear on this list, please, let me know.
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere
This week, the Geneablogging community lost one of its own. Terry Thornton of the Hill Country of Monroe County, MS and Hill Country H.O.G.S. Webbpress blogs, and founder of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits, passed away on August 9, 2010.
Many have been posting memories and tributes. Below are a few of them:
- What's Past is Prologue
- The Educated Genealogist
- Creative Gene
- The Graveyard Rabbit (3 posts)
- Genea-Musings
- Lincecum Lineage
- AnceStories
- footnoteMaven
- GenealogyBlog
- West in New England
- Smoky Mountain Family Historian
- Tamura Jones at Modern Software Experience discusses Adoption in Genealogy and introduces a modified ahnenlist that accommodates both adopted and birth families.
- A joyful story of two twin adoptees being reunited after 59 years (hat tip: Leland Meitzler at GenealogyBlog)
- Dick Eastman at Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter explains the Soundex code in detail.
- The National Archives has been expanding and improving their online collection of Matthew Brady's Civil War photographs.
- Dan Curtis provides 12 ways to ensure your personal history business fails - for those tired of reading lists of ways to succeed.
- Robert at The MyHeritage Blog asks - What's in a name? - looking at some studies that have shown how names can impact success, and even life expectancy.
- Linda McCauley at Documenting the Details reminds us that a documented source isn't always a valid source.
- James Tanner at Genealogy's Star compares Scanners vs Digital Cameras for preserving genealogical documents.
- Daniel Hubbard at Personal Past Mediations discusses Geneanthropology and the need to understand the cultural context of our ancestor's lives.
- Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers discusses making a Facebook page for your ancestor
Other Weekly Lists
The genealogy bloggers below provide their selections for the week - many different from my own.
- Best of the Genea-Blogs - from Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
- Follow Friday - from Greta Koehl at Greta's Genealogy Bog
- Genealogy News Corral - from Diane Haddad at GenealogyInsider
- Links - from Liz Haigney Lynch at Ancestral Archaeologist
- New Genealogy Blogs and Upcoming Genealogy Blogging Events - from Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers
[Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blogging theme I began in February of 2009, where participants transcribe letters, audio, and other documents. Why I do this.]
Apple at Apple's Tree
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
Ginger Smith at Genealogy by Ginger
Leah at The Internet Genealogist
Barbara Poole at Life from the Roots
Anonymous at Nolichucky Roots
Heather Wilkinson Rojo at Nutfield Genealogy
Lisa Wallen Logsdon at Old Stones Undeciphered
Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee (2 entries)
RootsResearcher at So That's Where I Get it From
John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch
Kevin Walker at Who We Were, Are & Will Be Our Family
If you participated, but don't appear on this list, please, let me know.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Amanuensis Monday: Interview with Melvin Lester Newmark - Conclusion
Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them. If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post in the comments.
This week I conclude transcribing an interview of my paternal grandfather, Melvin Lester Newmark, conducted on December 23, 1987, by a personal historian. A good portion of the final fifteen minutes has been edited out below either because I was unable to understand what was on the tape, or it directly mentions a living person. These portions have been indicated by: [...]
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them. If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post in the comments.
This week I conclude transcribing an interview of my paternal grandfather, Melvin Lester Newmark, conducted on December 23, 1987, by a personal historian. A good portion of the final fifteen minutes has been edited out below either because I was unable to understand what was on the tape, or it directly mentions a living person. These portions have been indicated by: [...]
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Weekly Genealogy Picks
Weekly Genealogy Picks --August 1 to August 7
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere
These may appear at multiple sites, but I have chosen one representation.
The genealogy bloggers below provide their selections for the week - many different from my own.
[Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blogging theme I began in February of 2009, where participants transcribe letters, audio, and other documents. Why I do this.]
Valerie C at Begin with Craft
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
Ginger Smith at Genealogy by Ginger
Heather Wilkinson Rojo at Nutfield Genealogy
Lisa Wallen Logsdon at Old Stones Undeciphered
Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee
Chris Staats at Staats' Place
John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch
If you participated, but don't appear on this list, please, let me know.
Pet Peeves
Since I know more people read this weekly post than any other post on my blog, and since I see this error often, and saw it again just this weekend in some submission guidelines for a poetry competition, I am going to remind all my readers:
Copywrite and Copyright are both English words. However, they have different meanings.
Copywriting is the process of creating copy to promote a person, place, or business - often copywriters are hired by companies for advertising, marketing, public relations, etc. Copywriters write for a living, hence the word 'write' is found within the job title.
Copyright refers to the rights granted to the creator or author of a work (or assigned to someone else). It has nothing to do with writing since copyright can refer to photographs, artwork, recordings, etc. It has to do with legal rights. That's how you tell the difference.
When someone uses the wrong spelling, I assume they don't know the meaning of the word, for if they did, they wouldn't get confused.
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere
- Dear Myrtle, in Proving your Point, reminds us to evaluate our sources.
- Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings provides some tips on working with the Archive.org text archives.
- James Tanner at Genealogy's Star discusses Notes and Note Taking, and how he made it through law school without being good at taking notes, and what he is now doing as a genealogist to counter this deficiency.
- Blaine Bettinger at The Genetic Genealogist discusses Genome wide SNP scans.
- Barbara Poole at Life from the Roots asks (and answers) how three death records of the same individual can all be wrong, in some way.
- Carol at Reflections from the Fence also discusses how death certificates can have errors in them, with a personal narrative about her mother-in-law's recent passing.
- The verdict overturning Proposition 8 inspired Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee to wonder if someone in the future will collect all the certificates for his and his partner's domestic partnerships and marriages.
- Elyse Doerflinger at Elyse's Genealogy Blog provides some tips on writing a genealogy query at an online messageboard.
- Schelly Talalay Dardashti at Tracing the Tribe writes about databases containing the Israeli census from 1915 and 1922 available for searching at the Israel Genealogical Society website, and recently transliterated into English.
- Tom Fiske at Genealogy Blog helps us learn from others' mistakes. Do it Now! -- Before the Termites Get at It!
- Kate T. at Archives Next discusses Anthologize, a tool that converts blog posts into book form.
- The National Park Service's 11th annual photo contest is underway.
- World Turn'd Upside Down has an interesting historical look at Primers in the Colonial Northeast
These may appear at multiple sites, but I have chosen one representation.
- Family Tree Maker 2011 is available for pre-order.
- The 96th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been released.
- The 3rd Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Societies has been released.
- Those of you who have more than one Google account will be interested in Google's announcement that you can now access more than one Gmail account at the same time in the same browser.
- Google also announces that Google Wave will likely disappear at the end of the year.
The genealogy bloggers below provide their selections for the week - many different from my own.
- Best of the Genea-Blogs - from Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
- Follow Friday - from Greta Koehl at Greta's Genealogy Bog
- Links - from Liz Haigney Lynch at Ancestral Archaeologist
- New Genealogy Blogs and Upcoming Genealogy Blogging Events - from Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers
- August Calendar of Events - from Miriam Robbins Midkiff at AnceStories
[Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blogging theme I began in February of 2009, where participants transcribe letters, audio, and other documents. Why I do this.]
Valerie C at Begin with Craft
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
Ginger Smith at Genealogy by Ginger
Heather Wilkinson Rojo at Nutfield Genealogy
Lisa Wallen Logsdon at Old Stones Undeciphered
Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee
Chris Staats at Staats' Place
John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch
If you participated, but don't appear on this list, please, let me know.
Pet Peeves
Since I know more people read this weekly post than any other post on my blog, and since I see this error often, and saw it again just this weekend in some submission guidelines for a poetry competition, I am going to remind all my readers:
Copywrite and Copyright are both English words. However, they have different meanings.
Copywriting is the process of creating copy to promote a person, place, or business - often copywriters are hired by companies for advertising, marketing, public relations, etc. Copywriters write for a living, hence the word 'write' is found within the job title.
Copyright refers to the rights granted to the creator or author of a work (or assigned to someone else). It has nothing to do with writing since copyright can refer to photographs, artwork, recordings, etc. It has to do with legal rights. That's how you tell the difference.
When someone uses the wrong spelling, I assume they don't know the meaning of the word, for if they did, they wouldn't get confused.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Amanuensis Monday: Interview with Melvin Lester Newmark - Part 8
Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them. If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post in the comments.
This week I continue transcribing an interview of my paternal grandfather, Melvin Lester Newmark, conducted in 1987 by a personal historian. My grandfather is discussing starting his own law practice in approximately 1938.
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them. If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post in the comments.
This week I continue transcribing an interview of my paternal grandfather, Melvin Lester Newmark, conducted in 1987 by a personal historian. My grandfather is discussing starting his own law practice in approximately 1938.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Weekly Genealogy Picks
Weekly Genealogy Picks --July 25 to July 31
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings, posted some information about his Horton descent. JT at filioagnostic commented and posted some additional information. If JT is correct, I am cousin to both of them through a Joseph Horton (1572-1640), father of Barnabas Horton.
Michael deGroot, in The Mormon Times, wrote about the coming genealogical dark ages. There have been many responses in the geneablogging community. (See my post yesterday.)
Schelly Talalay Dardashti at MyHeritage Genealogy Blog suggests: Make Someone Happy, Talk Tradition. She has learned, as a journalist, that starting a conversation with family history, even when the interview isn't about family history, is a great ice-breaker. At Tracing the Tribe, Schelly discusses DNA and the recent FDA hearings.
Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee has written several posts this week about his application to become a Certified Genealogist, and their rejection of said application: C.G. Application; Why I applied; Acknowledgements; What I Did Wrong; Why I Won't Apply Again; Aftermath. His detailed account of where he went wrong in his application could be of great assistance to someone else going through the process.
James Tanner at Genealogy's Star asks Are there limits to genealogical research? -- addressing those who claim to have researched their ancestors "back to Adam."
Linda Hall-Little at Passage to the Past shares some suggestions on finding living relatives after the 1930 census.
Lindsay at Genealogy Insider asks Is Lindsay the Intern a Mayflower Descendant? She details some research she has done on that question.
Lynn Palermo at The Armchair Genealogist shares some pros and cons of Private vs Public Family Trees.
Dan Curtis shares 15 movies of interest to Personal Historians
Senator Claire McCaskill (MO) believes that between 4900-6000 graves at Arlington National Cemetery may be unmarked or misidentified on cemetery maps. This estimate far exceeds a prior Army estimate of 211.
And while not genealogically related:
Kyle Komarnitsky shares an amazing video of a hummingbird feeding its babies. (hat/tip: Craig Newmark, who, to my knowledge, isn't related to me. )
Other Weekly Lists
The genealogy bloggers below provide their selections for the week - many different from my own.
[Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blogging theme I began in February of 2009, where participants transcribe letters, audio, and other documents. Why I do this.]
Valerie C at Begin with Craft
"anonymous" at filioagnostic
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
"anonymous" at Nolichucky Roots
Heather Wilkinson Rojo at Nutfield Genealogy
Lisa Wallen Logsdon at Old Stones Undeciphered
Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee
John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch
Bill West at West in New England
If you participated, but don't appear on this list, please, let me know.
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings, posted some information about his Horton descent. JT at filioagnostic commented and posted some additional information. If JT is correct, I am cousin to both of them through a Joseph Horton (1572-1640), father of Barnabas Horton.
Michael deGroot, in The Mormon Times, wrote about the coming genealogical dark ages. There have been many responses in the geneablogging community. (See my post yesterday.)
Schelly Talalay Dardashti at MyHeritage Genealogy Blog suggests: Make Someone Happy, Talk Tradition. She has learned, as a journalist, that starting a conversation with family history, even when the interview isn't about family history, is a great ice-breaker. At Tracing the Tribe, Schelly discusses DNA and the recent FDA hearings.
Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee has written several posts this week about his application to become a Certified Genealogist, and their rejection of said application: C.G. Application; Why I applied; Acknowledgements; What I Did Wrong; Why I Won't Apply Again; Aftermath. His detailed account of where he went wrong in his application could be of great assistance to someone else going through the process.
James Tanner at Genealogy's Star asks Are there limits to genealogical research? -- addressing those who claim to have researched their ancestors "back to Adam."
Linda Hall-Little at Passage to the Past shares some suggestions on finding living relatives after the 1930 census.
Lindsay at Genealogy Insider asks Is Lindsay the Intern a Mayflower Descendant? She details some research she has done on that question.
Lynn Palermo at The Armchair Genealogist shares some pros and cons of Private vs Public Family Trees.
Dan Curtis shares 15 movies of interest to Personal Historians
Senator Claire McCaskill (MO) believes that between 4900-6000 graves at Arlington National Cemetery may be unmarked or misidentified on cemetery maps. This estimate far exceeds a prior Army estimate of 211.
And while not genealogically related:
Kyle Komarnitsky shares an amazing video of a hummingbird feeding its babies. (hat/tip: Craig Newmark, who, to my knowledge, isn't related to me. )
Other Weekly Lists
The genealogy bloggers below provide their selections for the week - many different from my own.
- Best of the Genea-Blogs - from Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
- Follow Friday - from Greta Koehl at Greta's Genealogy Bog
- Genealogy Round Up - from Megan Smolenyak2 at Megan's Roots World
- Links - from Liz Haigney Lynch at Ancestral Archaeologis
- New Genealogy Blogs and Upcoming Genealogy Blogging Events - from Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers
[Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blogging theme I began in February of 2009, where participants transcribe letters, audio, and other documents. Why I do this.]
Valerie C at Begin with Craft
"anonymous" at filioagnostic
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
"anonymous" at Nolichucky Roots
Heather Wilkinson Rojo at Nutfield Genealogy
Lisa Wallen Logsdon at Old Stones Undeciphered
Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee
John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch
Bill West at West in New England
If you participated, but don't appear on this list, please, let me know.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
The Genealogical Dark Ages - Yeah, right.
I sense a meme...
What do I have to add to the conversation?
There are basically two parts to the article.
1) Disappearing vital records
Digital records will be lost. Most people have probably suffered hard drive crashes where we've lost important documents. This will happen to some digital records preserved by the government. Just as some paper documents have been lost to fire. Every means of storing information has an achilles heal. We, as a society, need to learn the weaknesses of these new storage systems, and what we need to do to avoid them.
Looking at Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and other genealogy websites, I can't look at the phrase "Genealogy Dark Ages" without laughing. Some records will be lost. But overall, the technology of computers and the internet is preserving records, and making them more accessible, not destroying them or making them less accessible.
2) The Decline of Letter Writing
Decline of Letter Writing (Apr 29, 2008)
Decline of Letter Writing (Feb 27, 2009)
and now it's July 31, 2010
Let me sum up my major points in those two entries:
1) It is not email's fault. People like to blame email for the decline of letter writing, but the things that I usually get in my email box from friends and family aren't the things I see in letters my ancestors and their kin sent. Silly jokes, and are you interested in breakfast/lunch/dinner/happy hour?
About the only thing that gets sent via email that got sent via letter, is the enclosed photograph. (And of course, the technology of the internet is making this easier, so more photographs are being sent -- and likely being preserved -- via email than via post office in the past.)
If laying blame is important, it is most likely the fault of the telephone and free long distance. Why write a letter to the relative who lives a few states away, or further, when you can pick up the phone and talk to them directly?
2) Instead of being the cause, email is the cure. Those letters are now easier to send. As long as the emails are preserved, but that's the way things were with the letters too. Many letters weren't saved. Many emails are being deleted. Those who care about preserving their family history need to learn not to delete those emails, how to print them to pdf documents (and/or print them to their printer), how to make backup copies. These are new storage techniques that must be learned, but it's not like it can't be done.
While I may not agree with the "dark age crisis" mentality, I do agree with the suggestions.
What's new is it's actually now easier to write and share. So, yes. Let's do it.
Have you heard about my Amanuensis Monday project? Combined with the popular "Sentimental Sunday" and "Memory Monday" memes, there is a lot of weekly preservation going on in the geneablogger community.
- Write as you have never written before at DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog
- The Ancestral Golden Arches of Genealogy at Genea-Musings
- Are We Entering the Genealogical Dark Ages? at Elyse's Genealogy Blog
- The Coming Genealogical Dark Ages Parts 1 2 and 3 at West in New England
- Why there will not be a genealogical Dark Ages at Genealogy's Star
- I'm Changing the Purpose of My Blog at Grace and Glory
- Genealogy Dark Ages Coming? at Genealogy Geek
- Will We Have to Go Dumpster Diving for Our Records at The Ties that Bind (warning: music automatically plays at link)
What do I have to add to the conversation?
There are basically two parts to the article.
1) Disappearing vital records
"I believe we have a crisis in our midst," Witcher said. "We have left the care of our written records largely in the hands of disinterested strangers." He said these records include everything from birth records to tombstones — and more and more they are disappearing.
Libraries are limiting hours and public access to materials. Courthouses are engaging in "radical sampling," where they take a few samples of large collections of old records and destroy the rest. "This is going on now," Witcher said.In my belief, libraries limiting hours and public access is a factor of the economy. When the local governments have more money to spend, they will keep the libraries open longer. The concept of 'radical sampling' I hadn't heard about, and it is disturbing if it is happening. What I have heard about is courthouses digitizing all their records, and then destroying the originals. Which may be OK, if the digital counterparts are all backed up, and re-backed up regularly, and are moved to new storage mediums as new storage mediums are invented. Maintaining digital records takes less space, but is more work than maintaining paper records.
Digital records will be lost. Most people have probably suffered hard drive crashes where we've lost important documents. This will happen to some digital records preserved by the government. Just as some paper documents have been lost to fire. Every means of storing information has an achilles heal. We, as a society, need to learn the weaknesses of these new storage systems, and what we need to do to avoid them.
Looking at Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and other genealogy websites, I can't look at the phrase "Genealogy Dark Ages" without laughing. Some records will be lost. But overall, the technology of computers and the internet is preserving records, and making them more accessible, not destroying them or making them less accessible.
2) The Decline of Letter Writing
Records are also disappearing on a personal level. "Who is writing letters anymore?" Witcher asked. "When was the last time you received a letter?"
But even if letters are a thing of the past, Witcher worries about e-mail. "Do you organize your e-mail well? All those Christmas greetings? All those family stories that have been exchanged through e-mail? How are you doing with that file management? It's a part of living history."This isn't a new complaint. I've written twice on this topic.
Decline of Letter Writing (Apr 29, 2008)
Decline of Letter Writing (Feb 27, 2009)
and now it's July 31, 2010
Let me sum up my major points in those two entries:
1) It is not email's fault. People like to blame email for the decline of letter writing, but the things that I usually get in my email box from friends and family aren't the things I see in letters my ancestors and their kin sent. Silly jokes, and are you interested in breakfast/lunch/dinner/happy hour?
About the only thing that gets sent via email that got sent via letter, is the enclosed photograph. (And of course, the technology of the internet is making this easier, so more photographs are being sent -- and likely being preserved -- via email than via post office in the past.)
If laying blame is important, it is most likely the fault of the telephone and free long distance. Why write a letter to the relative who lives a few states away, or further, when you can pick up the phone and talk to them directly?
2) Instead of being the cause, email is the cure. Those letters are now easier to send. As long as the emails are preserved, but that's the way things were with the letters too. Many letters weren't saved. Many emails are being deleted. Those who care about preserving their family history need to learn not to delete those emails, how to print them to pdf documents (and/or print them to their printer), how to make backup copies. These are new storage techniques that must be learned, but it's not like it can't be done.
While I may not agree with the "dark age crisis" mentality, I do agree with the suggestions.
To counteract the trend, Witcher encouraged people to write. "Write as you never have written before." This writing can be about memories, describing a family photograph or center on themes such as a family's rituals.
After something is written, Witcher said to share it with others. Otherwise, he said "many of those precious pieces of living history go into landfills."As I said above, it's always been this way. If our family history wasn't written about, it got lost. If it wasn't shared, it got lost. This isn't a new trend. What did Joe the Caveman think, feel? We don't know. It wasn't written down. I have boxes of letters my maternal grandparents preserved. Very few from or to my paternal grandparents. I doubt they didn't receive the same amount of letters. They just didn't preserve them as well.
What's new is it's actually now easier to write and share. So, yes. Let's do it.
Have you heard about my Amanuensis Monday project? Combined with the popular "Sentimental Sunday" and "Memory Monday" memes, there is a lot of weekly preservation going on in the geneablogger community.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Family History Interviews
I have listened to and transcribed two sets of family history interviews. There is the recording my maternal grandfather, Martin Deutsch, his brother, Ted Deutsch, and sister, Berta Deutsch Freed put together in 1977. My grandfather took on the role of interviewer, though he actively participated in the discussion. There is also the interviews of my paternal grandmother and grandfather conducted by a professional personal historian in 1987.
I think I've noticed things I like about each, and problems with each, and perhaps my reflection on these tapes might help someone considering interviewing their own family members make a decision.
1) My maternal grandfather, and his siblings, each had their own recollections of the events. As they talked, they helped each other bring up old memories. Sometimes their memories were opposed to one another. I was happy to see my great uncle, Ted, remained firm in his recollections, when my grandfather questioned them. Ted was the older, and more likely to remember things correctly. And the documents that have been found have supported Ted's memories.
However, this could have gone awry. My grandfather's faulty recollections could have persuaded his older brother to question his. This is one reason personal historians use to explain to potential clients that hiring someone is actually better than doing it yourself. In his book, Annie's Ghosts, reporter Steve Luxenberg uses the legal phrase, 'leading the witness.'
2) The personal historian who interviewed both of my paternal grandparents, grew up in St. Louis as well, in the same general area. While a few years younger, her shared experiences helped her ask the right questions to spur their memories. She knew which parks they were likely to have picnicked in. She knew street names and streetcar lines.
I've seen advertisements online where you can hire someone to interview a relative by phone. If there is no one in your community to hire, I think I might recommend doing it yourself, as long as you are capable of remaining neutral enough to avoid prejudicing the answers. Someone who doesn't know the community, no matter how much experience they have, aren't going to do as good of a job.
Similarly...if you grew up half way across the country from your grandparents, and only occasionally visited, you might not be as good an interviewer as someone in their hometown, even if you have some experience.
3) During the interview process, don't interrupt a story with a question. Write your question down, and ask the interviewee when they are finished. I cringed several times when my grandfather interrupted a story his brother was telling, and sidetracked the conversation.
4) Take notes during the interview. Listening to the tapes, it's clear the personal historian took excellent notes while interviewing my grandparents. She was able to keep family relationships straight, so when my grandparents mentioned a name later on, she knew who they were.
5) Go chronological. It provides order to the interview, and helps both interviewer and interviewee keep straight what happened when.
6) Unless you plan on doing a series of interviews, cover the interviewees life up to that point. Don't decide just to interview them on their childhood. I am certainly not ungrateful for the information contained on the tapes my maternal grandfather and his siblings made. I love what I learned. But their focus on their childhood in Transylvania, and the first few years in Chicago was somewhat frustrating, as they were battling their dissipating memories. All three of them could have spoken at great length on their young adulthoods with greater certainty.
They probably thought their childhood in a foreign country was the 'most interesting' part of their lives to pass on to posterity, and perhaps, to a non-family member it might be. But 'most' isn't equivalent to 'only.'
Click on Amanuensis Monday Index at the top of the page to find links to the transcriptions of all three interviews.
I think I've noticed things I like about each, and problems with each, and perhaps my reflection on these tapes might help someone considering interviewing their own family members make a decision.
1) My maternal grandfather, and his siblings, each had their own recollections of the events. As they talked, they helped each other bring up old memories. Sometimes their memories were opposed to one another. I was happy to see my great uncle, Ted, remained firm in his recollections, when my grandfather questioned them. Ted was the older, and more likely to remember things correctly. And the documents that have been found have supported Ted's memories.
However, this could have gone awry. My grandfather's faulty recollections could have persuaded his older brother to question his. This is one reason personal historians use to explain to potential clients that hiring someone is actually better than doing it yourself. In his book, Annie's Ghosts, reporter Steve Luxenberg uses the legal phrase, 'leading the witness.'
2) The personal historian who interviewed both of my paternal grandparents, grew up in St. Louis as well, in the same general area. While a few years younger, her shared experiences helped her ask the right questions to spur their memories. She knew which parks they were likely to have picnicked in. She knew street names and streetcar lines.
I've seen advertisements online where you can hire someone to interview a relative by phone. If there is no one in your community to hire, I think I might recommend doing it yourself, as long as you are capable of remaining neutral enough to avoid prejudicing the answers. Someone who doesn't know the community, no matter how much experience they have, aren't going to do as good of a job.
Similarly...if you grew up half way across the country from your grandparents, and only occasionally visited, you might not be as good an interviewer as someone in their hometown, even if you have some experience.
3) During the interview process, don't interrupt a story with a question. Write your question down, and ask the interviewee when they are finished. I cringed several times when my grandfather interrupted a story his brother was telling, and sidetracked the conversation.
4) Take notes during the interview. Listening to the tapes, it's clear the personal historian took excellent notes while interviewing my grandparents. She was able to keep family relationships straight, so when my grandparents mentioned a name later on, she knew who they were.
5) Go chronological. It provides order to the interview, and helps both interviewer and interviewee keep straight what happened when.
6) Unless you plan on doing a series of interviews, cover the interviewees life up to that point. Don't decide just to interview them on their childhood. I am certainly not ungrateful for the information contained on the tapes my maternal grandfather and his siblings made. I love what I learned. But their focus on their childhood in Transylvania, and the first few years in Chicago was somewhat frustrating, as they were battling their dissipating memories. All three of them could have spoken at great length on their young adulthoods with greater certainty.
They probably thought their childhood in a foreign country was the 'most interesting' part of their lives to pass on to posterity, and perhaps, to a non-family member it might be. But 'most' isn't equivalent to 'only.'
Click on Amanuensis Monday Index at the top of the page to find links to the transcriptions of all three interviews.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Wolfram|Alpha Widgets - Calendar Converter
Note: the widget below will not be visible via RSS feed, or on Facebook. Follow this link.
Wolfram|Alpha - the computational engine/database which provides quick answers to mathematical problems and relationships as well as pulls information from its databases of facts - has released a Widget Developer.
This allowed me to create this calendar widget:
The input boxes can be modified from their default values. I was unable to figure out how to populate a pull-down menu, but possible calendars include:
Gregorian Calendar
Julian Calendar
Jewish Calendar
Islamic Calendar
Chinese Lunar Calendar
If you wished to convert from January 1, 2010 - Julian to Gregorian, in the first input box you would enter:
January 1, 2010 Julian Calendar
and in the second input box you would enter
Gregorian Calendar
Otherwise, it assumes "January 1, 2010" is Gregorian.
The other calendars have different names for the months, so it knows what you mean.
If you follow the link to the widget above, you can access the code to embed it on any page you want. Or follow instructions on how to customize the widget, or build an entirely new one.
Wolfram|Alpha - the computational engine/database which provides quick answers to mathematical problems and relationships as well as pulls information from its databases of facts - has released a Widget Developer.
This allowed me to create this calendar widget:
The input boxes can be modified from their default values. I was unable to figure out how to populate a pull-down menu, but possible calendars include:
Gregorian Calendar
Julian Calendar
Jewish Calendar
Islamic Calendar
Chinese Lunar Calendar
If you wished to convert from January 1, 2010 - Julian to Gregorian, in the first input box you would enter:
January 1, 2010 Julian Calendar
and in the second input box you would enter
Gregorian Calendar
Otherwise, it assumes "January 1, 2010" is Gregorian.
The other calendars have different names for the months, so it knows what you mean.
If you follow the link to the widget above, you can access the code to embed it on any page you want. Or follow instructions on how to customize the widget, or build an entirely new one.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Amanuensis Monday; Interview with Melvin Lester Newmark - Part 7
Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them. If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post in the comments.
This week I continue transcribing an interview of my paternal grandfather, Melvin Lester Newmark, conducted in 1987 by a personal historian. My grandfather is discussing dating my grandmother, even though they lived on separate sides of town, and he often didn't have much money beyond what he needed for the car fare to get back and forth.
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them. If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post in the comments.
This week I continue transcribing an interview of my paternal grandfather, Melvin Lester Newmark, conducted in 1987 by a personal historian. My grandfather is discussing dating my grandmother, even though they lived on separate sides of town, and he often didn't have much money beyond what he needed for the car fare to get back and forth.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Weekly Genealogy Picks
Weekly Genealogy Picks --July 18 to July 24
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings looks at the maps and other information provided by FamilySearch's England Jurisdictions 1851. As he points out, the URL is a generic: maps.familysearch.org. So while currently the title of the subdomain is "England Jurisdictions 1851," that could become more generic in the future, if FamilySearch has, or develops plans for more maps.
Randy also reminds us about the New Genealogy Message Searcher Chris Dunham at The Genealogue created in 2007. It still works, and is still useful. Though, arguably, it is no longer "new."
Linda Hall-Little at Passages to the Past illustrates how the American Genealogical Biographical Index can be useful, and lead you places Google Books and The Internet Archive won't lead you to on their own.
Digital Content Quarterly issue #3 has been released, with articles on The Internet Archive, Wikipedia, and more. (hat/tip: Digitization 101)
Katherine at NARAtions discusses the records kept by the Department of State on the Overseas Deaths of US Citizens. The records from 1963-1974 are available at Ancestry.com, and prior to 1963 can be ordered from the National Archives. (Unless the deceased was active military personnel, in which case the death was reported to the Department of Defense)
Dick Eastman at Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter discusses Google's entry into the E-book market with Google Editions.
After World War II, Jewish emigres in France were encouraged by the state to Frenchify their surname. Many descendants now want to change them back. (hat/tip: JewishGen Blog)
Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, at The Huffington Post writes Don't Protect Us From Our Own Genetic Information - arguing against expansion of FDA regulation of Direct-to-Consumer DNA tests.
I like how Tom Kemp at the official GenealogyBank Blog responds regularly to user mail. This week he helped a reader find a newspaper article, illustrating that searches on surname only are the way to go, if the surname is unique enough.
Justin at The Footnote Blog announces their Interactive Slave Records Collection formed through a partnership between Footnote and Lowcountry Africana.
LineageKeeper at FamHist reminds us that faulty memories can impact the information on death certificates.
Schelly Talalay Dardashti at Tracing the Tribe writes of her trip to the 7th Sephardic Bnai Anousim Conference. (Bnai Anousim are the descendants of Jews who were forced to convert to Catholicism due to the Spanish inquisition)
A Scottish author is seeking the descendants of the 6,500 Lost Boys.
Other Weekly Lists
The genealogy bloggers below provide their selections for the week - many different from my own.
[Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blogging theme I began in February of 2009, where participants transcribe letters, audio, and other documents.]
"anonymous" at Family History Writing
Sherry Stocking Kline at Family Tree Writer
"anonymous" at filioagnostic
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
Leah at The Internet Genealogist
"anonymous" at Nolichucky Roots
Heather Wilkinson Rojo at Nutfield Genealogy
Lisa Wallen Logsdon at Old Stones Undeciphered
Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee
"anonymous" at So That's Where I Get it From
John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch
Bill West at West in New England
Kevin Walker at Who We Were, Are & Will Be Our Family
If you participated, but don't appear on this list, please, let me know.
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings looks at the maps and other information provided by FamilySearch's England Jurisdictions 1851. As he points out, the URL is a generic: maps.familysearch.org. So while currently the title of the subdomain is "England Jurisdictions 1851," that could become more generic in the future, if FamilySearch has, or develops plans for more maps.
Randy also reminds us about the New Genealogy Message Searcher Chris Dunham at The Genealogue created in 2007. It still works, and is still useful. Though, arguably, it is no longer "new."
Linda Hall-Little at Passages to the Past illustrates how the American Genealogical Biographical Index can be useful, and lead you places Google Books and The Internet Archive won't lead you to on their own.
Digital Content Quarterly issue #3 has been released, with articles on The Internet Archive, Wikipedia, and more. (hat/tip: Digitization 101)
Katherine at NARAtions discusses the records kept by the Department of State on the Overseas Deaths of US Citizens. The records from 1963-1974 are available at Ancestry.com, and prior to 1963 can be ordered from the National Archives. (Unless the deceased was active military personnel, in which case the death was reported to the Department of Defense)
Dick Eastman at Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter discusses Google's entry into the E-book market with Google Editions.
After World War II, Jewish emigres in France were encouraged by the state to Frenchify their surname. Many descendants now want to change them back. (hat/tip: JewishGen Blog)
Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, at The Huffington Post writes Don't Protect Us From Our Own Genetic Information - arguing against expansion of FDA regulation of Direct-to-Consumer DNA tests.
I like how Tom Kemp at the official GenealogyBank Blog responds regularly to user mail. This week he helped a reader find a newspaper article, illustrating that searches on surname only are the way to go, if the surname is unique enough.
Justin at The Footnote Blog announces their Interactive Slave Records Collection formed through a partnership between Footnote and Lowcountry Africana.
LineageKeeper at FamHist reminds us that faulty memories can impact the information on death certificates.
Schelly Talalay Dardashti at Tracing the Tribe writes of her trip to the 7th Sephardic Bnai Anousim Conference. (Bnai Anousim are the descendants of Jews who were forced to convert to Catholicism due to the Spanish inquisition)
A Scottish author is seeking the descendants of the 6,500 Lost Boys.
Other Weekly Lists
The genealogy bloggers below provide their selections for the week - many different from my own.
- Best of the Genea-Blogs - from Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
- Follow Friday - from Greta Koehl at Greta's Genealogy Bog
- Genealogy Round Up - from Megan Smolenyak2 at Megan's Roots World
- New Genealogy Blogs and Upcoming Genealogy Blogging Events - from Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers
[Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blogging theme I began in February of 2009, where participants transcribe letters, audio, and other documents.]
"anonymous" at Family History Writing
Sherry Stocking Kline at Family Tree Writer
"anonymous" at filioagnostic
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings
Leah at The Internet Genealogist
"anonymous" at Nolichucky Roots
Heather Wilkinson Rojo at Nutfield Genealogy
Lisa Wallen Logsdon at Old Stones Undeciphered
Martin Hollick at The Slovak Yankee
"anonymous" at So That's Where I Get it From
John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch
Bill West at West in New England
Kevin Walker at Who We Were, Are & Will Be Our Family
If you participated, but don't appear on this list, please, let me know.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Tu b'Av - A Day of Love
Tu b'Av is a relatively obscure Jewish holiday that falls on the fifteenth day of the month of Av (sundown Sunday, July 25 to sundown Monday, July 26 this year).
The fifteenth day of each month on the Hebrew calendar falls on a full moon, and the holiday was observed as a sort of fertility festival during the period of the Second Temple. After the destruction of the Second Temple, it was forgotten for the most part in the Diaspora, only to be revived in modern times as a Jewish alternative to Valentine's Day.
To A Lady
by Victor Hugo,
From Les Feuilles D'Automne
Child, were I king, I'd yield my royal rule,
My chariot, sceptre, vassal-service due,
My crown, my porphyry-basined waters cool,
My fleets, whereto the sea is but a pool,
For a glance from you!
Love, were I God, the earth and its heaving airs,
Angels, the demons abject under me,
Vast chaos with its teeming womby lairs,
Time, space, all would I give--aye, upper spheres,
For a kiss from thee!
translation by Thomas Hardy
photogravure by Goupil et Cie, from a drawing by Deveria, appears in a collection of Hugo's poetry published by Estes and Lauriat in the late 1800s.
The fifteenth day of each month on the Hebrew calendar falls on a full moon, and the holiday was observed as a sort of fertility festival during the period of the Second Temple. After the destruction of the Second Temple, it was forgotten for the most part in the Diaspora, only to be revived in modern times as a Jewish alternative to Valentine's Day.
by Victor Hugo,
From Les Feuilles D'Automne
Child, were I king, I'd yield my royal rule,
My chariot, sceptre, vassal-service due,
My crown, my porphyry-basined waters cool,
My fleets, whereto the sea is but a pool,
For a glance from you!
Love, were I God, the earth and its heaving airs,
Angels, the demons abject under me,
Vast chaos with its teeming womby lairs,
Time, space, all would I give--aye, upper spheres,
For a kiss from thee!
translation by Thomas Hardy
photogravure by Goupil et Cie, from a drawing by Deveria, appears in a collection of Hugo's poetry published by Estes and Lauriat in the late 1800s.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Xmas in July
As Wikipedia says: "Christmas in July celebrations may be held in July to provide a second joyful celebration in the year." Many of those in the Southern Hemisphere celebrate the arrival of winter weather commonly associated with Christmas, and many of those in the Northern Hemisphere start to miss that winter weather, as they are sweltering in the summer heat.
While the comic below originally appeared in December of last year, I find it a perfect fit for this post.
Click on the image to go to the comic, and read the "mouseover" text.
I should note, the comic doesn't fit 'me' very well. I do observe the gift giving aspects of December's Christmas, and I'm not a physicist, but I still find it humorous.
For those interested in understanding the physics behind the comic:
"Schrödinger's Cat" shouldn't be confused with "Schrödinger the Cat" -- who, when I last observed him, was sitting on a chair a few feet away from me. Yep, still there.
While the comic below originally appeared in December of last year, I find it a perfect fit for this post.
Click on the image to go to the comic, and read the "mouseover" text.
I should note, the comic doesn't fit 'me' very well. I do observe the gift giving aspects of December's Christmas, and I'm not a physicist, but I still find it humorous.
For those interested in understanding the physics behind the comic:
"Schrödinger's Cat" shouldn't be confused with "Schrödinger the Cat" -- who, when I last observed him, was sitting on a chair a few feet away from me. Yep, still there.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Don't use shorthand, abbr., or otherwise leave out
Inspiration for blog posts can come from anywhere, including the daily comics:
In the above Dilbert comic, the humor is predicated on the assumption Dilbert makes (and most readers will make, too) -- that the pointy-haired boss implies an "if I were you" at the end of his initial statement. He reveals in he final panel that he doesn't. And it completely changes the meaning of his statement.
It's good advice not to leave out information in your genealogy record keeping. You may know what you mean, but someone else looking at your work later on might not. And few genealogists are writing down the information for themselves only. Here are a few examples:
1) If you are labeling a photograph, don't forget to identify yourself, as well as the person standing next to you. Use last names. You know who "Jack" is, but your grandchildren might not.
2) Names of people can be similar. Sometimes exactly the same. Nicknames, vital dates, and phrases such as "son/daughter of ___" can help to clarify who you mean.
My second great grandfather, Selig Feinstein, had several grandsons named after him. Three had the name "Seymour Feinstein". All three of them were the youngest of siblings, and two ended up with the nickname "Babe." I distinguish them by the identity of their fathers, Harry, Herman, and Morris.
3) For geographical entries, include city, county, state, and country. If all four exist. (Don't make something up if it doesn't.)
For example, I write a lot about "St. Louis." There is a St. Louis in Missouri, Saskatchewan, Michigan, and Mauritius. Not to mention a St. Louis Park, in Minnesota. Using abbreviations for some of these could lead to confusion. (You may also note that indicating the country is helpful, but doesn't solve all the issues.)
Furthermore, in Missouri, the City of St. Louis is independent The complete description is "St. Louis City, Missouri, USA." St. Louis City is its own county, so inserting "St. Louis" into the description as the county, actually makes it incorrect. It has been this way since 1876. Tamura Jones' Place Name Standardisation Basics is a good primer on how to record place names.
Note: Non-commercial usage of the comics at Dilbert.com is permitted, provided you use the embedding code they provide.
In the above Dilbert comic, the humor is predicated on the assumption Dilbert makes (and most readers will make, too) -- that the pointy-haired boss implies an "if I were you" at the end of his initial statement. He reveals in he final panel that he doesn't. And it completely changes the meaning of his statement.
It's good advice not to leave out information in your genealogy record keeping. You may know what you mean, but someone else looking at your work later on might not. And few genealogists are writing down the information for themselves only. Here are a few examples:
1) If you are labeling a photograph, don't forget to identify yourself, as well as the person standing next to you. Use last names. You know who "Jack" is, but your grandchildren might not.
2) Names of people can be similar. Sometimes exactly the same. Nicknames, vital dates, and phrases such as "son/daughter of ___" can help to clarify who you mean.
My second great grandfather, Selig Feinstein, had several grandsons named after him. Three had the name "Seymour Feinstein". All three of them were the youngest of siblings, and two ended up with the nickname "Babe." I distinguish them by the identity of their fathers, Harry, Herman, and Morris.
3) For geographical entries, include city, county, state, and country. If all four exist. (Don't make something up if it doesn't.)
For example, I write a lot about "St. Louis." There is a St. Louis in Missouri, Saskatchewan, Michigan, and Mauritius. Not to mention a St. Louis Park, in Minnesota. Using abbreviations for some of these could lead to confusion. (You may also note that indicating the country is helpful, but doesn't solve all the issues.)
Furthermore, in Missouri, the City of St. Louis is independent The complete description is "St. Louis City, Missouri, USA." St. Louis City is its own county, so inserting "St. Louis" into the description as the county, actually makes it incorrect. It has been this way since 1876. Tamura Jones' Place Name Standardisation Basics is a good primer on how to record place names.
Note: Non-commercial usage of the comics at Dilbert.com is permitted, provided you use the embedding code they provide.
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