NEW RECORDS ON FINDMYPAST.COM

Click on the picture below to get information on new records that findmypast.com has added this last week.  Findmypast sends out a notice of added records each Friday and I will be posting the information on this blog.

Happy ancestor hunting.

FINDMYPAST.COM ONLINE GENEALOGY RESEARCH WEBSITE

Fellow family historians that know me well, know that I am always looking for a way to save money on my online genealogy research.  Yesterday, I posted a blog about free access through today to the records on the online genealogy research website FindMyPast.com.  I have just signed on to their "Starter Package" for $34.95 for one year.  The normal price for a year of Findmypast is $119 which is what the price will go to when renewing the subscription after your starter year.  I am going to give it a try for a year and then make a decision on renewing my subscription.  I will keep you updated on this blog with reviews of my genealogy/family history research on this site.

On a side note - the reason that I am interested in this site is that it is the only site that has a record collection of all of the issues of the Ruston Leader and Ruston Daily Leader in the early and mid 1900's.  These are the years that I grew up just north of Ruston in Unionville and I have found many articles that I use for references in my research and writing.  They have one of the best United States newspaper collections available so you might want to give it a try for this price.  It is a very user friendly site and it is easy to clip and copy the articles to your computer.  When doing so, do not forget to record the newspaper name, issue date, and page along with the record so you will be able to find it again if you need to.

Click on the picture below to sign up for the "Starter Package.

Happy ancestor hunting.

NEWBERRY - BRING BACK THE INTERACTIVE MAP

If you use the interactive county map at the Newberry Library website, this is an important message from the Legal Genealogist.

Quoting from her BLOG:
 
"As you can see, right now, if you go to the Newberry Library website and go to the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries page, you get a message right at the top.
One that makes my heart stop dead in its tracks.

Please note: the interactive map portion of this site is temporarily unavailable.

And, underneath that, a box for data entry with the comment “Enter email address to receive notification when this functionality has been restored.”
Now any time you see a message like this, you know that the most likely situation is that there’s some sort of technical glitch that will take some serious resources to fix… and that those serious resources won’t be committed unless and until the site has evidence that the missing functionality is important to the site’s users.
In other words, if we don’t tell the Newberry Library that we really really want and need this functionality back, we may well lose it forever.
So you know what we need to do, right?
You got it: head right over to the Newberry Library website, to the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries page, and add your email address to the list of those that need to be notified “when this functionality has been restored.”"

Happy ancestor hunting.

SHREVEPORT LOUISIANA FAMILY HISTORY CENTER IS NOW OPEN

The Shreveport Louisiana Family History Center is now open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  The Center is located at 200 Carroll Street, Shreveport, Louisiana.  (Click on address to see street map).

WHAT IS THE FAMILY HISTORY CENTER?

Family History Centers (FHCs) are branches of FamilySearch and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah (United States), located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources to assist you in the research and study of your genealogy and family history by:

• Giving personal one-on-one assistance to patrons
• Providing access to genealogical records through the Internet or microfilm loan program
• Offering free how-to classes (varies by location)

Come by and visit the Shreveport FHC anytime during these hours on Tuesday and Wednesday and see what new genealogy research discoveries are waiting for you there.  There are volunteers to help you at the Center when it is open.  The Center has four computers (another on order), a printer and microfilm readers.  You can order microfilm from the Family History Library and view them at the Center.  The GENCOM Genealogical Computer Society and the Family History Center are asking for volunteers from the Shreveport genealogical community to help as we work to get the Center up and running again.  If things work out as we hope we should be able to expand the hours the Center is open.

To gain access to the Center go from the parking lot around the front of the building to the right entrance.  Ring the bell and someone will come to the door to help you.

One great advantage to using the Center is the free access to the following subscription genealogy websites on the Center's computers:

• ·        19th Century British Newspapers
• ·        Newspaper Archives
• ·        Alexander Street Press (American Civil War Collections)
• ·        Ancestry.com (Family History Library Edition)
• ·        ArkivDigital Online
• ·        FindMyPast
• ·        Fold3.com
• ·        The Genealogist
• ·        Godfrey Memorial Library
• ·        HeritageQuest Online
• ·        Historic Map Works (Library Edition)
• ·        Origins.net
• ·        Paper Trail, A Guide to Overland Pioneer Names and Documents
•      WorldVitalRecords.com

Any questions about the Family History Center or volunteering to help at the center can be addressed by contacting Jim Jones - jgjones09@gmail.com or Esther Jones - ester.eley@gmail.com.

Happy ancestor hunting.

VALENTINE DAY PROJECT

This started out as a simple Valentine Day project to find out who had the longest marriage in my paternal and maternal direct line ancestors.  As always I got carried away with my spreadsheet, and worked all afternoon on it.  I think these are very interesting spreadsheets that provide many facts about my direct line ancestors in one place.  As you can see next year Esther and I will will celebrate our 54th wedding anniversary and pass my Jones' grandparents. This will give us the title of having the longest marriage in the Jones and Colvin lines.  I challenge all of you genealogist researchers to find the longest marriage in their direct lines and send me a comment on this blog.

Happy ancestor hunting.

NEW AND ADDED RECORDS ON FAMILYSEARCH FOR CHRISTMAS

The following were added or updated on FamilySearch.org on Christmas eve-eve.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy Ancestor Hunting for the New Year.

FamilySearch Records

Title	Records	Last Updated
Belgium, Namur, Civil Registration, 1800-1912	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Idaho, Elmore County Records, 1889-1972	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Maine, Nathan Hale Cemetery Collection, ca. 1780-1980	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Maryland, Baltimore Passenger Lists Index, 1820-1897	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists Index, 1899-1940	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Massachusetts, Worcester County, Probate Files, 1731-1881	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Montana, Toole County Records, 1913-1960	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
New Hampshire, Death Certificates, 1938-1959	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Ohio, Cuyahoga County Probate Files, 1813-1917	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Ohio, Trumbull County Court Records, 1795-2010	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Oregon, Grant County Records, 1851-1992	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Oregon, Harney County Records, 1870-1991	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists Index, 1800-1906	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Portugal, Santarém, Catholic Church Records, 1544-1911	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Saskatchewan Provincial Records, 1879-1987	Browse Images	*23 Dec 2013
Wisconsin, Milwaukee Naturalization Index, 1848-1990	71,819	*23 Dec 2013