150 years ago today, 12 April 1861, the Civil War started in earnest with a Confederate attack on the Federal position at Fort Sumter, in advance of supply ships arriving with food to resupply the fort. For American genealogists and historians of the United States, the Civil War is the central event, even more calamitous… Continue reading 150 Years Ago Today: Fort Sumter
US Census Bureau — Data Access Tools
The United States Census Bureau has a page outlining its data access tools. While the data being made available is statistical data, not personally identifiable genealogical data, it should be of interest to genealogists to understand trends and the population trends and geography of the United States. The site provides large datasets for analysis, but… Continue reading US Census Bureau — Data Access Tools
WDYTYA Episode 208: Ashley Judd
Tonight, Ashley Judd was the celebrity on the season finale of Who Do You Think You Are? Her family story is compelling, and includes a Union Civil War veteran from Kentucky, who was captured twice by the Confederates, and was a battlefield amputee. Additionally, her line goes back to the earliest days of the Plymouth Bay… Continue reading WDYTYA Episode 208: Ashley Judd
WDYTYA Episode 207: Gwyneth Paltrow
This week’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? returns to a more traditional research methodology, starting from what is known, and moving backward to illuminate the unknown. While many critics will note that the star did not engage with much of the research, and was being handed hours of research in a moment,… Continue reading WDYTYA Episode 207: Gwyneth Paltrow
WDYTYA Episode 206: Steve Buscemi
This week’s installment of Who Do You Think You Are? with Steve Buscemi has an entertaining story about depression, suicide, servitude, and the Civil War … but it’s not about genealogy as it is generally understood. After a fairly standard, but solid beginning, with Buscemi talking to his parents about his maternal grandmother, the show… Continue reading WDYTYA Episode 206: Steve Buscemi
Some Future Directions for Google Books
Google received a painful judgment from Judge Denny Chin on its $125 million agreement with the publishing industry. Judge Chin felt the agreement gave Google a “de factor monopoly.” Google had been sued by the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild in 2005. These groups objected to the fact that Google was in the… Continue reading Some Future Directions for Google Books
Dead Men Don’t Win Cribbage Tournaments
In going through family heirlooms, great and small, we came across a small trophy in the form of a cup. “O. F. D. / Cribbage Trophy / Won By / Hill & Hallen” I am not sure who the winners are, or what the year was, but my mother told me, years ago, that this… Continue reading Dead Men Don’t Win Cribbage Tournaments
Arkiv Digital: Free Weekend
ArkivDigital, the premier independent subscription-based genealogical research website in Sweden, will be free this weekend in celebration of Sweden’s “Genealogy Research Day” (March 19th). The site boasts 26 million records online in color. I have written about the site previously (“Review: Genline vs. Arkiv Digital”). The site is continuing to improve, and there is a beta… Continue reading Arkiv Digital: Free Weekend
Wordless Wednesday: Alice Margaret Gregg
To the left is a picture of my great grandmother, Alice Margaret Gregg (b. 29 Apr 1870, Nodaway, Adams, Iowa; d. 29 Mar 1919, Ord, Valley, Nebraska). She married the farmer Nels Johnson on 26 Sep 1888 at her father’s farm near Alliance, Box Butte, Nebraska). They had three children. She died just one month shy… Continue reading Wordless Wednesday: Alice Margaret Gregg
Mocavo: New Genealogy Search Site
Mocavo, a new Internet search engine, launched today. Its focus is on searching free genealogical websites. It has gained the attention of the genealogy bloggers, showing up in Randy Seaver’s Genea-Musings (“First Look at Mocavo — A New Genealogy Search Engine”) and Dick Eastman’s EOGN (“Mocavo.com — A Genealogy Search Engine”). The site offers a… Continue reading Mocavo: New Genealogy Search Site