Exploring British Records from America

John Peter Bawden Roberts and his wife,

Emma Frances Warren, and children, Hilda,

Horace and Bertha (the baby) circa 1898

Leeds, Yorkshire, England

(My great grandparents, and my grandmother (Bertha) )

A few weeks ago in the US Ancestry.com offered a weekend of free access to the UK record collection.  The last time I noticed one of these offers we were on vacation, so I couldn't take advantage.  This time we were snowed in for a long duration blizzard, so I had lots of time to peruse the collection.

Note: If it weren't for social media, I wouldn't have been notified about this sale.  Many of my genealogist friends were sharing the post about free access to the UK records on Facebook and Twitter or on their blogs.  There was probably an email from Ancestry, but I have a tendency to clear out my e-mail box of advertising without reading any of the unsolicited offers.  I almost lost out on this deal!

My grandmother was born on 30 September 1897 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England.  She, her parents and siblings came to America in 1915 via Ellis Island, traveling in steerage on board the SS Orduna from Liverpool.  My cousin and I had already found the passenger lists, which listed the entire family, and my grandmother as a 21 years old.  I remember her stories, and her brother and sister’s stories (my great Auntie Hilda and great Uncle Horace).  

And so I began my search for my grandmother’s family roots via the vital records and UK census records on Ancestry.  I had used this collection a few years back and had a copy my grandmother’s family listed in the 1901 British Census.   Now I could look for them in the 1911 census, and perhaps work backwards in time to previous generations. .    The British census is conducted on years ending in “one”, and online the records are available from 1841 – 1911.  This would be the last British census for the Roberts family before leaving for America in 1915.

The Ancestry collection was very easy to use, and even though I was working with very commonplace surnames I was able to pinpoint the records easily.  

Above is the 1911 census of the Robert Family in Leeds, Yorkshire.  I was excited to see that it was the original census form with my great grandfather's signature.  I was not excited to see that my 13 year old grandmother, Bertha, was missing.  However, I remembered that she had been "in service" as a undernurse in a vicarage since she was age 12, so by searching for her own name (I had previously searched under her father's name) I found her enumerated in the vicar's household.  See below, Bertha is listed on line 11 as a servant:

Previous to this weekend, my only copy of my great grandparent's marriage record was a photocopy given to me by an uncle.  He only had access to an 8" x 12" photo copying machine, so I had never seen the entire certificate before, just a partial view. This was a terrific find for me!

This image has two marriage records, my great grand parents are on the top:

"1890 Marriage solemnized at Sheepscar in the Parish of St. Clements in the County of Leeds

No. 401  

When married:  May 24th, 1890

Name and Surname:  John Peter Bawden Roberts  and Emma Frances Warren

Age:  25 and 25

Condition:  Bachelor and Spinster

Rank or Profession:  Engine Tender

Residence at the time of marriage:  1 Henbury Terrace Bistol Street and 45 Benson Street

Father's Name and Surname:   Samuel Roberts and Oben Warren

Rank or Profession of Father:   Engine Tender and Miller

Married in the Parish Church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church

by --------- or after Banns by me, Henry A. Prem

This Marriage was solemnized between us:

John P. B. Roberts and Emma F. Warren  

in the Presence of us

Arthur Roberts and Ellen Roberts"  [John's siblings]

Again, I was thrilled to see that these were my great grandparent's signatures! 

Here is the 1853 marriage of Samuel Roberts and Mary Anne Stott, parents of John Peter Bawden Roberts and my 2nd great grandparents.  This image is slightly cut off, but you can see the dates, information and signatures, including the names of my 3rd great grandfathers:

I was not able to trace the Roberts family further back in time, nor the Warren family, but I had very good luck with the Stott family.  I found the marriage records for Mary Anne Stott's parents, grand parents and great grandparents.  This is the 1796 marriage of Jonathan Stott and Mary Brunyet, my 4th great grandparents, married in Leeds, Yorkshire. 

"No. 386   Jonathan Stott sawyer of this parish and Mary Brunyet of this parish spinster were married in this church by Banns this twenty ninth Day of September in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and ninety six by me Edward Watson, clerk.  

This marriage was solemnized between us Jonathan Stott and Marey Brunyet

in the presence of John Hardaker and Tho. Atkinsone"

With all the information I gleaned from the UK collection (mainly census and marriage records) I was able to start a pedigree chart for my grandmother Bertha Roberts. These are my roots in Yorkshire, England.  See below:

This was very exciting to me.  I have an audio tape made in the 1970s of my uncle interviewing my grandmother about her family in England.  Grammy Bertha had forgotten a lot of names, and also had the names of some of her grandparents incorrect.  These documents fill in the holes and extend her family back to the late 1700s!

After learning these new ancestor's names I joined a few Facebook groups on UK and Yorkshire genealogy.  I immediately had some help from genealogists living in some of the towns in Yorkshire where my grandmothers ancestors lived - Leeds, Dewsbury and Pontefract.  I also learned about a website called Curious Fox.  If you have UK ancestry, it is worth checking out with a free registration http://www.curiousfox.com/    If you like it, subscriptions are available.  

A genealogist’s guide to using Pinterest

 

Social media allows us to connect and interact with family and friends across the globe, as well as people who share our hobbies and likes. It is also a great way to promote or share your genealogy posts. We have all heard the old adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” and Pinterest really brings that thought home.

Pinterest is growing in popularity among adults as well. The Pew Research Center conducted a recent survey regarding social media use for those 18 and older. Facebook is by far the most popular, followed by Pinterest and Twitter.  

A word of caution: do not just pin and move on. During a recent #genchat session one person commented “Love Pinterest but it will take me 3 lifetimes to implement all the ideas I have pinned.” My suggestion: Schedule a time each month – or week if you really get addicted! – to sort through and evaluate your pins. 

Setting up your Pinterest page

1. Sign up. Obviously you will need to register and name yourself if you have not yet done so.
2. Set up your profile. I know it is tempting to hop in there and start collecting pins and sharing pins but take the time to create your identity. Add your name and a photo. Choose your username. There is a character limit. Use the About You section to introduce yourself. The location is of course optional, though chances are you probably listed it on Facebook! Be sure to add your website too!
3. Create a board. I currently have five boards: Genealogical Gems (which only promote my blog of the same name); Literary World; Social Media Tips; Places I’ve Been; and Maps (most of which have a genealogical purpose). To create a board, you simply click on “Create a Board.”  It will open a frame. Type a name for your board, for example “Genealogy Resources.”  Now type a brief description and select a category. There is, sadly, no Genealogy category. In this example, I chose “Education” since it will focus on resources. Now click “Create Board.” Your new board will open and allow you to add pins there. 

 

How to Pin from your blog

Pinning is also a great way to bring readers to your site. I use Blogger and after I post an article to my blog, Genealogical Gems, I click on the promotion tools, which includes Pinterest. So how do I go from my blog to Pinterest? It’s simple, really.  

For this example, I am using a post on my blog from last October titled “Mystery Monday: Who fathered George David Still.” This is a mystery I have been working on, on and off, for nearly 30 years now. I have made progress but I still do not know who my 4^th great grandfather is. Again, I use Blogger so the example is done from there. 

1. Go to the end of your article.
2. Select the social media icon for Pinterest.
3. A new window will appear. Pick your desired board and make any necessary changes to your description.
4. Click “Pin” and you are done!

Pinning from someone else’s page

The whole concept of Pinterest is in fact to share. So essentially a good general rule of thumb is: do not post it anywhere if you do not want it everywhere! That said, let’s say you found a pin that you would like to add to your board. Genealogists.com has a great pin about Social Security numbers that would be a perfect “Genealogy Resource.”  Backing up a moment, I found it simply by typing genealogy in the search field.

1. Mouse over the pin you like and click “Pin.”
2. Select the appropriate board (of yours) where you want it to go.
3. Edit the description, if you choose. In the example shown here I m editing it to state where I found the Tip.
4. Click “Pin It.” Simple!

You may have to refresh (hit the F5 key) if the new pins do not show automatically. 

Pinning Tips

Think vertical. When choosing an image, think how it looks vertically. Pinterest is widely viewed on mobile devices, such as your phone. A vertical image fits better. 

Always use captions. It does not matter whether it is your pin or a re-pin. Always use captions. This is easy to forget when repining. Unlike Twitter you are not limited to 140 characters, so make use of the space. Think of your caption as a teaser. It may be the deciding factor as to whether someone glosses over your pin or selects it. 

Think like a search engine. By this I mean simply, when writing your caption, ue keywords that someone might use when searching.  

Hashtags are not just for Twitter anymore. Twitter defines a hashtag as: “The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.” 

You can follow a person or a single board. I, by the way, am at: https://www.pinterest.com/jeanneeckman/.  Remember to make a widget for your blog!

Tracking

Ever wonder who is pinning from your site? Pinterest has a simple tool for that. To find mine, I type https://www.pinterest.com/source/genealogybyjeanne.blogspot.com/ and hit enter. Naturally you will replace “genealogybyjeanne.blogspot.com” with your site’s address. My pins – that is, from my site – seem to be mostly myself and GeneaBloggers. 

 

 

Share YOUR thoughts and suggestions

Have you started to Pin yet? If so, feel free to share your tips, thoughts and suggestions in the comment section below. Haven’t started yet? Still have questions? You can use the comment section below to ask your questions below as well.

How to research your New Hampshire Ancestor, even if you are nowhere near the Granite State

With permanent European settlement that started in 1623, New Hampshire has a long history.  It is also one of the thirteen original English colonies that revolted against King George in the American Revolution.  There are a plethora of documents, records and archives to explore if your American ancestry started in New Hampshire, or passed through here on their way to other states.  Here is a list of ways to access those resources from your home.

Places you can search online:

FamilySearch.org – This website has NH births from 1714 – 1904, Deaths from 1654 – 1949, Marriages from 1637 – 1959, several county probate files, and town clerk records.  Many are complete with scanned images.  There are 18,960 books that came up when I searched for the words “New Hampshire”.   All Federal Census records 1790 – 1940 (except for 1890) are available here. Their research wiki for the state of New Hampshire is: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/New_Hampshire

Cyndi’s List of New Hampshire resources - http://cyndislist.com/us/nh/

The Lane Library, Hampton, NH- Hampton was founded in 1638 and has a wonderful collection of online resources that include many of the original seacoast communities in Rockingham County.  See this page for their genealogy page: http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/genealogy.htm

Linkpendium New Hampshire links:  http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/NH/

New Hampshire Deeds Online http://www.nhdeeds.com/  dating from the 1620s to the present

NH Search Roots website http://www.nh.searchroots.com/

The Pelham Historical Society Online Library – from Pelham, NH, this is a wonderful, little known resource of local history records online http://www.pelhamnhhistory.org/library/onlinelibrary.html

Where to Write for New Hampshire Vital Records http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/new_hampshire.htm

Good books:

Documents and Records Relating to New Hampshire (known as the NH Provincial and State Papers) in 40 Volumes available online at http://www.library.unh.edu/diglib/bookshelf/NHPapers/volume.shtml  the links lead to Internet Archive, and you can read online (searchable) or download several versions of files.  These papers are the accumulated documents from the settlement of New Hampshire to the year 1800.

Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, by Charles T. Libbey, 1928  available online at http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3166&cj=1&netid=cj&o_xid=0001231185&o_lid=0001231185&o_sch=Affiliate+External  searchable and browsable with paid subscription

Genealogists Handbook for New England Research, 5^th edition, edited by Michael Leclerc, NEHGS, 2012

Index to Genealogies in New Hampshire Town Histories, by William Copely, 1988

The New Hampshire Genealogical Record, the journal produced by the New Hampshire Genealogical Society from 1900 to the present.

Social Networking  and Message Boards:

All Things History- Rockingham County, NH on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/200460270133276/

Descendants of the First Families of New Hampshire on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/groups/NHFirstFamilies/

New Hampshire Mayflower Society on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/groups/NHMayflower/

New Hampshire Roots at Yahoo  https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/newhampshireroots/info

NH Genealogy, Digging New Hampshire Roots on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiggingNHRoots/

New Hampshire Genealogy Network on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/205180789528062/

(don’t forget that many New Hampshire historical societies have websites and Facebook groups, and some even have Twitter accounts)

Societies:

American Canadian Genealogical Society    www.acgs.org

Association of Historical Societies in NH   www.historicalsocietiesnh.org

Manchester, NH Historic Association   www.manchesterhistoric.org

New England Historic Genealogical Society  www.americanancestors.org

New Hampshire Historical Society   www.nhhistory.org

New Hampshire Mayflower Society  www.nhmayflower.org

New Hampshire Society of Genealogists   http://nhsog.org

Order of the First Families of New Hampshire   http://offnh.homestead.com/

Strafford County Genealogical Society   www.straffgen.org

Places that can help you by fee:

American Canadian Genealogical Society – located in Manchester, NH, this is the largest resource facility for French-Canadian research in the United States.  See this webpage for their research services http://acgs.org/research/services/

National Archives at Boston, located in Waltham, Massachusetts.  The staff will provide reference assistance to you but also maintains a list of researchers for hire at this link:  http://www.archives.gov/research/hire-help/

The New England Historic Genealogical Society – Located in Boston, it is the oldest genealogical society in the world.  You can reach their research Services department at this link: http://www.americanancestors.org/research-services/

The New Hampshire Historical Society Library- located in Concord, NH, their research services can be ordered online and by telephone or mail.  For details see the page http://www.nhhistory.org/research-services.html or call the reference staff at 603-856-0641.  Photocopies are 35 cents per page for non-members and 25 cents for members, plus $7 for mailing or fax.

The Portsmouth Atheneum – This private library dates from 1817, and is the repository of hundreds of family papers, manuscripts, photographs, and ephemera from New Hampshire and New England.  It is located in Market Square in Portsmouth, NH, and the staff will do quick reference requests as time allows, and in-depth research requests for $30/hour with a 1 hour minimum.  See this link for more information: http://www.portsmouthathenaeum.org/collections.html

And…

Don’t forget your local Family History Library.  You can order microfilms from their website to be delivered to your local Family History Library, and you can look at them there for a small fee. If you need assistance, the volunteers will even help you to search for the records online and help you place your order.  

Do you use Twitter for genealogy?

What social media do you use to keep in touch with other genealogists and family historians?

You could be passing on tips, asking for or giving help, alerting your geneamates to new resources, talking about your successes (and setbacks), reporting from genealogy conferences, sharing a joke, having a grumble, just saying ‘hi’... the list is huge.

My favourite ways include blogging (no surprise there), Facebook and Google+, thought I admit I’ve been away from them for a while because my non-genealogy life has been mega-busy recently. I like Pinterest, though I don’t use it much for genealogy, and HistoryPin is a great idea. But today I’m going to think about one which has become central to my social and family history activities.

Photo by freakgirl on flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

I realised that today is my third Twitterversary. Yay! I can’t believe I’ve been tweeting for so long. It took me a while to join, because I’d got the impression that it was all about meals you’d eaten, or how much you love a band/celebrity, or trolling people you disagree with. And yes, that does go on, but not in ‘my’ Twitter. Which is one of the reasons I like it.

Twitter is so customisable. When I started out, I had a shortish list of people I followed: genealogists, bloggers, family history sites, a couple of fun ones and some friends. I was using Twitter specifically to communicate with the worldwide genealogy community, which is why I tweet as @ARebelHand instead of using my real name.

But I soon realised that if I wanted to follow any more tweeps (Twitter people), I’d need to get organised. And my goodness, there were enough great people to follow! So I sorted them into lists. One for general genealogy, one for Australia, another for Ireland, a fourth for the UK... you get the idea. And I could just look at tweets from people in that list, if I wanted to, instead of seeing everybody’s in my timeline. You can put someone in any number of lists, like you can put people in more than one circle in Google+. It’s a good way to manage all that information rushing down your timeline like a flooded river.

Then I discovered #hashtags. Of course, you don’t need to use them, and a tweet with too many hashtags can look a bit desperate for attention, but they’re a great way to get a picture of what people are saying about one particular subject. It could be general #genealogy talk, or reports on an event like #wdytyalive (Who Do You Think You Are Live in the UK) or #rootstech in the States, or Australia’s #unlockthepast cruises. Just type # plus the topic (all one word) into Twitter search, and... shazam! Lots of tweets from all over the world, from familiar names and from new ones you may end up following.

Larry the Twitter Bird's family tree? For credits see end of post

Another way to manage timeline overload and get some focus is to concentrate on one person you’re interested in. See a retweet (RT) and wonder about who the original tweeter is? Click on their username (begins with @). A new window will pop up with a profile summary, which contains a short bio and their two most recent tweets. If you want to find out more, scroll down to the bottom of the summary window and click on ‘Go to full profile’ and you’ll be able to read their tweets and retweets, and follow them if you want to.

The best thing for me about Twitter is that it works as my personalised news feed. If I’ve got some time to spare, I do love just letting my timeline wash over me, following up all the interesting-looking links and finding wonderful gems I never imagined existed. Of course this does waste pass quite a lot of time, but it’s as self-indulgent as a box of chocolates and totally non-fattening.

And if you thought genealogy was addictive (I’m willing to bet you do), here’s a warning – so is Twitter. That’s one reason why I’ve been focusing on ways to manage that seductive stream of 140-character goodies.

This isn’t even an attempt at writing a guide to Twitter, by the way. It’s just a snippet of some of the ways I use it. I’ll add some useful how-to links at the end.

The genealogy community is wonderful for passing on information, helping one another and providing support and laughs. I know some of my fellow bloggers here on Worldwide Genealogy are great at posting on Facebook and using the facilities of Google+. We’re a social bunch. So I’d love to know what social media you use for genealogy, and why. Pull up a chair and have a slice of cake!

Useful links about using Twitter: 

Digital Trends

Mashable

A fun one

... and Cyndi's list of links for Twitter and genealogy 

Image credits for Twitter 'family tree':
Dark blue birds, top left: Ceridian Index, via Creative Commons
Three cartoon birds, top right: freedesignfiles, via Creative Commons, attribution 3.0
Twitter logos by Twitter

Librarything for Genealogy

 I love Librarything the online social media tool that serves as my reading log, personal library catalogue, book recommendation tool and conduit to other booklovers with similar interests.

Although I use this tool for all things bookish I find that it is a wonderful tool for genealogy. As one enters books into the database one can tag them with descriptors. The tag "Genealogy" has been used 54,779 times  to date to describe works in the database.

The top ten books tagged genealogy are:

• Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills (428 times)
• Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills (273 times)
• The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy by Val D. Greenwood (269 times)
• The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy (Revised Edition) by Loretto Dennis Szucs (266 times)
• The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual by Board for Certification of Genealogists (251 times)
• Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians by Elizabeth Shown Mills(243 times)
• The Handybook for Genealogists : United States of America by George B. Everton (225 times)
• Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County & Town Sources, Third Revised Edition by Alice Eichholz (218 times)
• Unpuzzling Your Past: The Best-Selling Basic Guide to Genealogy by Emily Anne Croom (185 times)
• The Genealogist's Companion & Sourcebook by Emily Anne Croom (180 times)

The Librarything member who has used the genealogy tag the most is Robin from Westchester, PA. You can see her profile and list of books in her library here: http://www.librarything.com/profile/arjaygee


Librarything for Genealogists is the title of one of the talks I presented earlier in the year on the 4th Unlock the Past Cruise. I was pleased to have an opportunity to tell a few people about this product because it is one of my all time favourite sites and I was even more pleased when I had a sizeable audience who appeared to be most enthusiastic after the talk.


I don't use all of Librarything's social functions because I just don't have time but I do have a favourite.

Librarything Connection Page

On the Connections Tab of Librarything is "Interesting Libraries";  this is one element of Librarything that I love because I can follow what other people are adding to their personal collections if I add them to my list of "Interesting Libraries".  Most of the interesting libraries I follow are those of other genealogists and bookish friends. I like to see what they add, rate and review and to compare their libraries with mine. I could even check to see if they own a hard to find title and plead with them to do a lookup for me.

Among the "Interesting Libraries" I follow are those belonging to these genealogists (some of whom contribute to this blog). If you want to take a peek into their libraries here are some links for you.

alexdaw, AnglersRest, audreycollins, ausgenjourneys, BeckyJamison, caroleriley, cassmob, cdfhs, CMPointer, DebbieKennett, dougangene, drumcondra, johngasson, kingstongenealogy, KirstyF.Wilkinson, Leslie_Ann, Linda.Ottery, lmdhs, lovegenealogy, Merron, NSWGenealogy, perkinsy, ,pschultz, sheenatait, smbrennan. 

Librarything membership is free for your first 200 books added and a lifetime membership is $US25. 

Librarything is a fantastic tool to organise your personal library and record your reading. I suggest you give it a try.

Let's Have An Attitude of Gratitude

Between my catholic school education (complete with nuns) and spending quality time in the American South, I have learned that life is so much easier if you are polite, thankful, and try your darnedest to be a good sport.

Being polite means listening to hear what others have to say rather than to plan your response, asking for something with a smile and a please, receiving something with a smile and a thank you, disagreeing with someone without being disagreeable, and realizing that you don’t have to raise your voice or your blood pressure to get your point across.

Being thankful means appreciating what you have, not judging your good fortune based against others’ good fortune, taking joy in happy surprises that come your way, expressing gratitude for recognition that you receive with a simple thank you and not feeling the need to qualify it, demean it, or complain when others receive recognition.

Saying Thanks is Simple and Universal
Image made with Wordle.net - thanks

By being prepared and being respectful of those who assist me, I have always had excellent results with my research at libraries, archives, historical societies, funeral homes, cemeteries, and genealogy meetings and seminars. For the most part (whether online or offline) the genealogy community is welcoming and helpful. But everyone wants to be asked politely, thanked for their help, and acknowledged for their assistance. If someone provides genealogy services for a fee or cost, they should be treated with the same respect and courtesy that we treat our dentist, cashier, doctor, food server, teacher, lawyer, plumber, or accountant rather than harangued for charging a fee for services (it is not about the title, the degree, or the payment - it is about treating all others with respect).

By taking delight in my genealogy finds, offering to share my skills, and thanking people who have helped me, I express an attitude of gratitude. Sometimes we forget that the presentation, book, position, or award does not appear overnight (there are no genealogy fairies toiling away at night while we sleep). In order to give a presentation, that genealogist had to come up with a lecture topic and put together her presentation. In order to be the featured speaker at a conference, that genealogist had to respond to a call for papers and put together his presentation. In order to be the president or chair of an organization, that genealogist had to put in hours of volunteer time and work her way up the ladder. In order to be published either in a magazine or journal or publish a book, that genealogist had to sell his concept and then follow through with the entire writing, editing and rewriting process.

Oftentimes the genealogy world seems a bit like a school playground. The good news is that there is plenty of room on the playground for any genealogist who wants to join in, play nicely with others, and have some fun. 

Let's All Play Together and Cheer Each Other On
Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net ID-10072556

The bad news is that just like on every other playground, sometimes we won’t get picked for the team, or we might not win, or perhaps we don’t want to play the game of the day. And just like on the school playground – we are going to have to learn to get along, be kind, and encourage everyone to take a turn. Let’s not be those mean kids (the bullies on the playground) that none of us liked in school. Let’s be good sports (no matter how hard that is sometimes). I was reminded of this because of two recent events.

Many of us watched the Olympics, which dominated the news cycle in February. It is always interesting to watch the journey these athletes take – they have a real skill in a particular sport that only a few other athletes in the world can attain. Whether individually or as part of a team they do their best on a given day and hope to win. On that particular day talent, luck, persistence, and sometimes a judge’s subjective determination or the clock will be the deciding factor on whether they win, place or simply get to compete on the Olympic level. Watching the medal ceremony for women’s hockey I was a bit saddened and disappointed – I know that team USA played their hearts out and they wanted to win, but it was not their gold moment. Why? Because team Canada played just as hard and pulled it out at the end with talent, sheer determination and luck.  The majority of the team USA members accepted their silver medals with sad faces, tears and frowns – it was almost as if having not won gold, silver just did not matter. The few team USA members who smiled and had kind words in response to the medal presenter made me especially proud. Why? Because no matter how hard that moment was for them, those women exhibited good sportsmanship and were excellent role models for young athletes. It’s hard but sometimes, in sports and in everyday life, you have to suck it up and show good sportsmanship.

Last week Family Tree Magazine published an article entitled “Social Media Mavericks: 40 to Follow” which appeared online and is in their March/April 2014 print edition. I happened to see a link to the article Tuesday morning on Google+ and clicked through to see if I could find some new people to follow on the various social media platforms. The writer listed 40 feeds she considered worth following from blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest. As I read through the list I made a note of two new-to-me blogs, reminded myself that I should visit Facebook more than once a month, wondered what my Pinterest password was so I could check out her picks, and then was totally surprised (thrilled, excited and proud – the very definition of "doing the happy dance") to see my YouTube Channel listed as one to check out. No false modesty here - I put time and effort into my videos and it was so very nice to have Lisa Louise Cooke acknowledge it and direct other genealogists to check out my channel.

We Will Have Many Turns to Shine
Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net ID-100143548

Fast forward 90 minutes and the article, list and various posts on social media went viral in the genealogy community with posts both from those who received and those who did not receive a mention – some sharing the news, others wondering why their favorite social media genealogist was not included, others making additions to the list or suggesting in their opinion better choices, some writing separate posts about whether having these types of lists is a good or bad thing for the genealogy community. Wow, it didn't take long to smack that hornet’s nest – and the list was not even one of those that we often see that claims to be “the best, the top choices, the rock stars, the gurus, or the gold, silver & bronze medalists” – it was simply 40 to check out and perhaps follow. Now I might be biased because this time I was named to the list, but I know that in the past I have congratulated those who have been named to any of these types of lists, especially those who appear for the first time, and I am genuinely happy for them.

So while there were many responses to the article and the list (and in the past there have been many responses to many such lists) might I suggest that the polite, thankful and good sportsmanlike response is simply “thank you so much” if you were named to the list and “good for you” or “congratulations you must be so thrilled” if you see the name of a fellow genealogist.  Let’s all play nice, have an attitude of gratitude, and just be happy for others when get their moment.

Good on You!
Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net ID-100200659

Thanks for reading - Tessa Keough

My Favorite Virginia Genealogy Resource

The first successful English settlement in the new continent called America began in 1607 at what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia on a spit of land at the mouth of the James River. Everyone is likely aware that settlement was known as Jamestown. By the 1630s English settlements dominated the eastern portion of the Virginia Peninsula, though Indians still attacked intermittently.  Middle Plantation was established in 1638 halfway between the James and York rivers on high ground. By 1699 Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg in honor of the English king, William III, and replaced Jamestown as capital of the colony. The College of William and Mary began holding its first classes in temporary quarters at Williamsburg in 1694.

Print of the Bodleian Plate, depicting the colonial architecture of Williamsburg, Virginia. 
The plate, discovered in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, was critical to the reconstruction of Williamsburg 
in the early-mid 20th century. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The College of William and Mary includes the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. The institute publishes a wonderful resource for history buffs and genealogists entitled William and Mary Quarterly, which began publication in 1892. Chronologically it ranges from the first Old World-New World contacts to about 1820. The focus is North America and includes articles about all disciplines.

Why should family historians and genealogists care about the William and Mary Quarterly? Here’s one page from the table of contents of the July 1904, issue:

Index page from a William and Mary Quarterly

We should care because it’s loaded with 122 years of useful information. The trick is finding exactly the information you need. That’s when the Earl Gregg Swem Library’s Special Collections Database becomes very helpful. Some of the content is digitized, but not all. When something I am looking for has not yet been made available in an online format, I Google the issue specifics. I’ve found the issues I need on Ancestry.com’s Card Catalog, eBay, Google Play, available for sale at used bookstores through Amazon or ABE Books or I look it up on WorldCat and find the nearest library with a copy. I hope I’ve been able to help you discover a new source to use when tracing your Virginia ancestors.

I'll be attending the Fairfax Genealogical Society's Annual Spring Conference on 28-29 March 2014. I hope to see some of you there.

I'm using #WWGenealogy when tweeting about this collaboration project on Twitter (@TweetTRnT).

Hi from Another Aussie Blogger

Hi all, firstly I would like to thank Julie Goucher and  Jill Ball for drawing my attention to, and inviting me to join the Worldwide Genealogy collaboration. I don't know about you, but I continue to be amazed at how the world of genealogy and family history research is advancing. Every day, new and innovative programs, social media  and access to more and more records and information becomes available. One of the keys to this advancement is the collaboration and sharing of information and ideas, so I am really thrilled to be involved in this new venture.

A little about me. I live in Sydney, NSW, Australia and work at The University of Technology, Sydney. Yes, another Aussie! I think I have been interested in our family history ever since I was a little girl! when my father used to entertain me with colourful stories of our family history as passed down from older generations. Stories of life on the gold fields, working in the timber industry, driving bullock trains and bushrangers! A collection of elements made to ignite the curiosity of a young girl.

 

 In my early twenties (such a long time ago) I began to seriously research our family history, collecting photos, stories, old letters, newspaper clippings, writing to extended family, searching cemeteries and visiting elderly relatives. The luxury of Internet research wasn't even thought of at this time.

For me the fascination of family research is more than the dates of significant events in family member's lives. I want to know what they thought, if they went to school, what work did they do, what significant social events affected their lives, why did they immigrate, how did they contribute to their community and so on! I believe it is this approach to family history that has led me to take up blogging. It provides me with a platform to share stories, discover connections and in my small way preserve some of our family history.

 

I started my first blog, Family Stories:Photographs and Memories, about two years ago, not really knowing where it would take me. It has been an interesting journey, with my interests, experiences and connections expanding continually. The realisation that most of the family stories that had been passed on to me were about my great grandfathers and great uncles led me to start a second blog, The Other Half of My Tree - stories of my female ancestors. I view both these blogs as a learning process and an opportunity to connect and share with those who are researching similar themes. I also have to admit that I often procrastinate, have so many stories to tell but as yet haven't put pen to paper.

As others have mentioned access to family research and genealogy is accelerating with amazing developments in new programs, social media and the opportunity to share and collaborate with others.  Let me share a couple of sites and tools that I have found useful. 

Evernote: I have found Evernote to be an extremely helpful tool for collecting all my family tree bits and pieces. You are able to tag and file articles, pictures and websites with appropriate family connections for further use and reference. On my recent trip to the UK I used Evernote to tag and file photos (taken with my IPad) of gravestones, church and street signs, family homes as well as interesting articles, maps and pages of books discovered while researching in the local library.

Pinterest: Besides being lots of fun, this visual tool is a great way to collect photos and links to articles and blogs on "boards". I have found Pinterest a rewarding method to share blogs and to link with other people interested in genealogy and family tree research.

Two web sites that are definitely among my favourite are TROVE and The British News Paper Archives. These web sites which are being continually updated, hold collections of newspapers from Australia  (TROVE) and the United Kingdom (British Newspaper Archives). Both of these sites have not only provided me with many clues in solving family tree links, but also allowed me to learn more about the times and events surrounding the lives of my ancestors.

Though I am an amateur genealogist come family tree researcher I am only too happy to share or assist others with their family tree discoveries if I am able. Looking forward to future interaction and collaboration!