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Another New Digitization Project from NARA and Footnote: The Native American Collection

Friday, November 20th, 2009

Working together with the National Archives and Allen County Library, Footnote.com has created a unique collection that will help people discover new details about Native American history.

The Footnote Interactive Native American Collection features original historical documents including:

+ Ratified Indian Treaties – dating back to 1722

+ Indian Census Rolls – featuring personal information including age, place of residence and degree of Indian blood

+ The Guion Miller Roll – perhaps the most important source of Cherokee genealogical research

+ Dawes Packets – containing original applications for tribal enrollments

+ And other documents relating to the Five Civilized Tribes

Footnote’s Native American microsite creates an interactive environment where members can search, annotate and add comments to the original documents. Additionally, visitors can view pages for many of the Native American tribes that include historical events on a timeline and map, a photo gallery, stories and comments added by the community.

Source: Footnote

Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Genealogy, History, Information Industry, Resources | No Comments »

More Digitization Underway: This Time Footnote.com is Digitizing the U.S. Census from 1790-1930

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Footnote.com is once again partnering the National Records and Administration Agency (NARA) to digitize massive amounts of content and then make that material available, often for a fee, available online. Footnote is becoming–and for some has already become–and important resource for historians, genealogists, students, and others.

This time around, Footnote.com, is digitizing all publicly available Census materials from 1790-1930. These dates represent the period when all materials (including names) from a given census have been made publicly available. Through its partnership with NARA, Footnote.com will add more than 9.5 million pages of content when the census database project is complete. We’ve learned that Footnote.com is digitizing all of this material on their own.

From a Footnote.com Blog Post:

With over 60 million historical records already online, Footnote.com will use the U.S. Census records to tie content together, creating a pathway to discover additional records that previously have been difficult to find.

The Interactive Census Project Home Page offers much more detail and examples. You can also create email alerts when new states are added to the census database. On the lower-left side of the page you can track the progress of each census has been digitized. As you’ll see, the 1860 census is complete and the 1930 census is just about done.

Searching is free, Footnote provides numerous options to refine your search (here’s an example). Accessing the complete record is fee-based either subscribing to the database for a annually or monthly. You can also by individual documents for $2.95. Btw, Footnote.com also sells institutional access to libraries through EBSCO.

Footnote looks at the census project as a “highway” to assist the researcher in finding more information in other databases.

If you’ve been reading ResourceShelf for a while you’ve seen an increasing number of mention their services. Here’s a list of a few of them,

+ In August of 2009. we posted on the release of a joint project with the National Archives (NARA) to digitize holocaust material.

+ In December of 2008, in a partnership with NARA, Footnote released the largest interactive World War II collection online.

+ In March, 2008 we posted about Footnote.com offering an interactive version of the Vietnam Wall.

Our first post about Footnote dates back to January, 2007.

If you run this search using the ResourceShelf database, you’ll be able to see and read all of our Footnote.com posts.

But wait, there’s more. A quick review of the Footnote “press room” offers up even more projects. You can learn about them here.

Posted in Digitization Projects, Genealogy, Geographic, History, Information Industry, Resources, Search News | No Comments »

Genealogy Research: Finding Obituaries

Monday, September 28th, 2009

From the Article:

Ready to find an obituary? While there’s no all-inclusive online obituary search resource, trying a few new search strategies can help.

+ Start with Ancestry.com for historic newspapers and obituaries. Remember, a tree posted by another branch of the family could include a scanned obituary for your relative.

+ Next, search the websites of newspapers that were considered local to the community in which your ancestor lived. Be sure to check newspapers in the hometown, birth town, and town of death, if different. And realize that small town residents may have considered a larger city’s newspaper to be local, too.

+ Newspaper not online and no longer in business? Inquire at a local library to see if it has a historical collection (they may even help you locate the obituary).

+ Cast your net wider with Internet searches. Omit the words obituary, obituaries, and memorial at first. Enter the person’s name, place of death, and year, if known.

+ Narrow your search by enclosing names in quotation marks to make an exact phrase. If that doesn’t yield any results, enclose both the name and the word “obituary” in quotes. Search using all forms of the name, such as “W. C. Weatherly,” “Walton C. Weatherly,” and “W. Carey Weatherly.”

+ Visit sites where you can search for older obituaries and death notices, including Ancestor Hunt, which combs through resources held by libraries and other institutions in the United States.

+ Want to add an old obituary to an online collection? You can build free obituaries or memorials at GoneTooSoon.org, the Eternal Portal, and ObituariesFree.com. Since these sites’ contents are not included in search engine results, to locate obituaries other people posted on those sites, you’ll need to conduct searches of each individual site yourself.

+ And lastly, review archives of message boards and mailing lists. You never know what you’ll find there.

The article continues with even more information.

Source: Ancestry Magazine

Posted in Genealogy, Reference Tools, Resources, Source File | No Comments »

Online Database: Footnote.com Providing Free Weekly Updates to Social Security Death Index (SSDI)

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

From an E-Mail from Footnote.com:

The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is one of the most widely used and valuable databases for genealogy research…Footnote has created a page for each record that includes:

+ The complete indexed information
+ A place to add additional facts
+ A photo gallery
+ A timeline
+ A map
+ A place to add stories and comments

Access the SSDI Database (Updated Weekly, Free)
Btw, note the many ways to refine search results. They are located in the left-side column of a results page.

Note: Two other places to find the SSDI (free) are Ancestry.com (updated weekly) and FamilySearch.org.
Both services also provide the social security number of the person you are hoping to locate.

Note: Footnote.com also provides both free and fee-based services. You can compare free vs. fee on this page.

Genealogy Online Database and Digitization: Technology Helps FamilySearch Hit Major Milestone

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

From the Article:

FamilySearch volunteers expect to have transcribed more than 325 million names by the end of 2009, just three years after the organization began its online indexing program.

The milestone was a number once thought impossible to reach in such a short period of time. In 2006, a few thousand volunteers indexed only 11 million names. But thanks to continuing advances in technology and a growing number of volunteers — more than 100,000 across five continents — an estimated half-million individual names are indexed each day.

At that rate, Paul Nauta, FamilySearch public affairs manager, expects that 500 million names will be transcribed by the end of 2010.

[Snip]

Over time, the LDS Church’s Family History Department has developed new ways to preserve records not only as quickly as possible but at the highest quality possible. This has resulted in specially designed digital cameras, innovative scanning technology, and new computer software.

[Snip]

Digital cameras that have been adapted to the work are at the center of each operation. They are the tool used to capture images of the original documents once a project is identified and permission gained.

[Snip]

After the negotiations are finalized, an area is set up on-site where the cameras are used to create digital images of the historical documents. The process can take from a few weeks to several years, depending on the size of the collection, the type of documents being copied and the workers’ experience levels.

With cameras similar to those used by NASA and in other industrial settings, workers produce an image at a high resolution of 50 megapixels, or 50 million pixels. Adjustments to the cameras’ technology, made by church camera specialists, increase their durability.

Source: Mormon Times

Posted in Digitization Projects, Genealogy, Information Industry | No Comments »

European Address/Telephone Directories at the Library of Congress: Indexes and Digitized Versions

Sunday, September 6th, 2009

From the Directory:

The Library of Congress began systematically collecting residential and organizational telephone directories from many countries in 1937, but the records for these items, in general, are not included in the Library’s online catalog. To fill that gap, the indexes provided here detail the Library’s specific holdings of these directories from each of the countries listed. In addition, the Library has earlier address (non-telephone) directories and business directories that are reflected in the online catalog – only a few of them are included in these indexes. Historians, biographers and genealogists greatly value older directories, for such resources tell where a person lived and what years he or she resided there. Some directories provide additional information, such as profession or trade.

A comprehensive microfilm collection of telephone directories from France, including overseas departments, published by the French national library and the French post and telecommunications office, may be found under the title Annuaires téléphoniques, 1883-1959, [microfilm] reproduits sur microfilm avec le concours du Ministère des Poste et Télécommunications. Sable-sur-Sarthe : Bibliothèque Nationale, 1988. A comprehensive microfilm collection of telephone directories from France, including overseas departments, published by the French national library and the French post and telecommunications office. Collection is available in the Microform Reading Room under the call number Microfilm 2000/54. A guide to that collection is available in the Main Reading Room: Microform Guide 530.

The Library has also digitized a few directories from Bulgaria, Poland and Romania, with links from this page.

Source: European Reading Room, Library of Congress

Posted in Business and Economics, Genealogy, History, Reference Tools, Resources | No Comments »

Ireland: Searchable 1911 Census Goes Online

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

From the Article:

A new database for Irish genealogy and research was yesterday released online by the National Library of Ireland.

The free searchable version of the April 1911 family census contains information from the 32 counties and is searchable using any combination of name, surname, age, sex and place

It gives access not only to a database of information but to images of the original census forms which would have been handwritten by the head of the household.

The project, which has so far taken three years of work, has information which is much more personal than the online census release by the CSO earlier this year.

In June, the results of every census conducted in Ireland from 1926 to 1991 were made available online to the public for the first time.

Access the Database

Source: IrishTimes.com

Posted in Genealogy, History, Resources | No Comments »

From highwaymen to poachers – trial records go online

Saturday, August 8th, 2009

From the Announcement:

Ancestry.co.uk has launched online the registers of 1.4 million individuals across England and Wales who were indicted for trial from the late 18th to the late 19th centuries.

[Snip]

The registers show details of the crime, the full name and date of birth of the accused, the location of the trial and the judgment passed.

You can search the trial records for free, but there is a charge to download images of the original documents.

Source: The National Archives (UK)

Posted in Genealogy, History, Resources | No Comments »

Databases: New Version of the Canadian Naturalization 1915-1932 Database

Monday, July 27th, 2009

From the Announcement:

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is pleased to announce the release of a new version of the Canadian Naturalization 1915-1932 online database. It now includes the names of 206,731 individuals who applied for and received status as naturalized Canadians from 1915 to 1932. This database is one of the few Canadian genealogical resources specifically designed to benefit those researchers with roots outside of the British Commonwealth. References located in the database can be used to request copies of the actual naturalization records, which are held by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Source: Library and Archives Canada

Posted in Genealogy, History, Resources | No Comments »

Genealogy: 101 Best Family History Web Sites 2009

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Note: Many of the sites listed in the article linked below are likely to be of interest to various user groups not only family historians. Absolutely worth a look and review by any Internet researcher.

From the Post:

If our ancestors had swung down from the trees with six fingers on each hand, we’d probably be counting by dozens. But thanks to humanity’s development of 10 fingers and 10 toes, we count things in 10s, group the years in decades and celebrate anniversaries ending in 0—such as this 10th annual installment of Family Tree Magazine’s 101 Best Web Sites.

We’re marking the occasion by honoring 10 categories of 10 noteworthy sites each (plus one to make 101, of course). With this 10th roundup of meritorious sites, we’ve also sought to break the mold a bit and encompass more of the “Web 2.0″ sites that are paving the way for changes in online genealogy over the next 10 years. Something had to give, however, to keep our count at a manageable 101, so we’ve omitted some old favorites—still worth bookmarking, nonetheless—and several excellent foreign research sites of interest to genealogists with that particular ancestry.

Sites that are mostly free but where you might still wind up pulling out your credit card for some purchase or other are marked with a $. Subscription-only sites and those where you have to pay for any meaningful results are indicated with $$

Categories Include:
+ 10 Best Web Sites to See Dead People

+ Best Web Sites for Vital Records

+ 10 Best Web Sites for Storing and Sharing

+ 10 Best Big Web Sites

+ 10 Best Web Sites for Maps

+ 10 Best Web Sites for Local Searches

+ 10 Best Web Sites for International Searches

+ 10 Best Cutting-edge Web Sites

+ 10 Best Web Sites for Military Research

+ 10 Best Virtual Library Web Sites

Access the Complete List (by Category)

Source: Family Tree Magazine

Posted in Genealogy, Resources, Source File | No Comments »

For ResourceShelf Readers: Free Trial Access to New U.S. History Database

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

First, a bit about the database from the Alexander St. Press Web Site:

Produced in partnership with Arcadia Publishing, Local and Regional History Online: A History of American Life in Images and Texts includes more than 150,000 images—it will continue to grow to include thousands of Arcadia volumes and more than one million photographs and other primary materials. Each Arcadia book tells a small piece of American history, but when searched together, the collection becomes a massive and powerful primary-source research tool for academic libraries, and a great way to bring local history and genealogical information into the public library.

To Access the Database Simply Enter:

Username: reviewer
Password: 69preventative2

in the appropriate boxes.

This trial is through July 31, 2009.

Thanks to Alexander Street Press for making it available.

Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Genealogy, History, Information Industry, Resources, Resources for Educators | No Comments »

Just Completed: Entire UK 1911 Census Now Online

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

From an Announcement:

The complete 1911 census records for people living in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are now online at 1911census.co.uk, including full details of British Army personnel and their families stationed overseas.

On completion of the project, Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com which has developed the 1911census.co.uk website service in association with The National Archives, said: ‘We’re delighted that the final records have been uploaded from the 1911 census including the military records and the records for Wales, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands. We hope many generations will gain a huge amount of valuable information about their ancestors by consulting the records and that they’ll discover new chapters of their family history that they previously knew very little or nothing about.’

Source: National Archives (UK)

Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Genealogy, History, Resources, Source File | No Comments »

National Archives (UK): Census maps from 1871 now online

Friday, June 5th, 2009

From the Announcement:

Digital versions of the original Registration District maps from the 1871 census (Catalogue reference RG 18/1-110) are now available to browse and download at cassinimaps.co.uk.

The maps are based on the Ordnance Survey ‘Old Series’ but were hand annotated to show the Registration Districts of England and Wales as they existed then. This additional hand-drawn information makes the maps a vital resource to family and local historians, as well as offering a fascinating geo-political snapshot of how England and Wales were administered at the time of the 1871 census.

Cassini used scanned images of the originals that were then digitally stitched together to create a seamless mosaic of mapping. The maps are free to view online and you can search by postcode, place name, parish and district name. There is a charge to download the maps.

Source: National Archives (UK)

Posted in Genealogy, Geographic, History, Resources, Source File | No Comments »

National Archives (US): Signing Ceremony Permits Millions of Alien Files to Become Permanent Records at the National Archives

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

The ceremony mentioned below is scheduled to take place tomorrow at the National Archives in Washington, DC.

From the Announcement:

A joint signing ceremony between the National Archives and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the National Archives will designate as permanent the immigration files created on the millions of aliens residing in the United States in 1944, as well as those arriving since then. These Alien Case Files (commonly referred to as A-Files) document the famous, the infamous, the anonymous and the well-known, and are an historical and genealogical goldmine. The new agreement authorizes the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services/Department of Homeland Security to send A-files to the National Archives when 100 years have passed since the birthdate of the subject of a file. The National Archives expects to receive the first transfer of A-files later this year, and will store the files at National Archives facilities in San Francisco and Kansas City. Researchers will be able to access the files at these two sites, or request copies of files. An index will be available to support research use.

Source: NARA

Posted in Archives and Special Collections, Genealogy, History | No Comments »

Webcast: Amish Resources at the Library of Congress

Friday, May 1st, 2009

From the Summary:

Paul Connor, reference specialist in the Local History & Genealogy Reading Room, draws on the Library’s extensive resources in Amish Studies to discuss the unique history and culture of Amish Americans.

Direct to Video
The video runs 12 minutes.

Source: LC

Posted in Genealogy, Resources | No Comments »

Database: Scotland puts three centuries of deaths online

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

From the Kable’s Article:

ScotlandsPeople, which makes a charge for detailed search results, already contains birth and marriage records from the old parish registers kept by the Church of Scotland for 300 years before civil registration began in 1855.

On 1 April the site added records of deaths from the same sources, which parishes were required to provide to the creation of Scotland’s Registrar General in 1855. It now holds records for births, marriages and deaths from 1553, along with census records from 1841 to 1901, wills and testaments from 1513 to 1901 and coats of arms from 1672 to 1907.

Source: Kable’s Government Computing

Posted in Archives and Special Collections, Databases, Directories, and Guides, Genealogy, Source File | No Comments »

Brochure from NARA: Finding Information on Personal Participation in World War II

Friday, March 13th, 2009

A five page brochure (PDF) details the tools and records NARA makes available.

Direct to Brochure

Source: National Archives and Records Administration

Posted in Genealogy, History, Resources, Source File | No Comments »

New: Irish-Canadian Documentary Heritage at Library and Archives Canada

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

From the Web Site:

This website is a portal to various resources on Irish heritage and culture available at Library and Archives Canada and elsewhere on the World Wide Web. It is also your guide to festival activities happening at Library and Archives Canada.

Source: LAC

Posted in Archives and Special Collections, Arts and Humanities, Databases, Directories, and Guides, Genealogy, History, New Websites and Resources, Resources, Source File | No Comments »

New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages Now Available Online

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

From the Article:

New Zealand’s Ministry of Internal Affairs announced today the launch of a new Web site that offers online access to New Zealand’s historical birth, death and marriage records. To protect the privacy of living people, the following historic data is available:

* Births that occurred at least 100 years ago
* Stillbirths that occurred at least 50 years ago
* Marriages that occurred at least 80 years ago
* Deaths that occurred at least 50 years ago, or the deceased’s date of birth was at least 80 years ago

Searches are free, and certificates can either be purchased as a digital image to be downloaded immediately, or as a paper certificate sent through the mail.

Direct to Database

Source: About.com

Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Genealogy, Resources, Search News, Source File | No Comments »