Thanks to a sponsorship from GenealogyBank, registration in the four-week session starting Feb. 20 is just $39.99 (down from the regular $99.99). So if you've been thinking about taking this course, now's the time.

You can learn more about the class and see the syllabus here. Past students have been surprised at the number of newspapers that have been published in the United States covering African-American communities.

Also check out Tim's Newspapers forum at Afrigeneas, one of our favorite genealogy websites for those tracing African-American roots.

Thursday, February 09, 2012 10:00:55 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

The Virtual Conference, taking place March 9 – 11, is packed with video classes, live chats, message board discussions, a virtual exhibit hall and more.

See all the Virtual Conference details at FamilyTreeUniversity.com and use promo code FTUVCEARLY to get the early bird rate.

Wednesday, February 08, 2012 9:00:19 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

This weekend workshop is full of video classes, live chats and virtual exhibits where you’ll learn strategies and resources to boost your research. Because it’s web-based, you can participate from anywhere, at any time during the weekend.

Get details on the conference program here.

The conference takes place 9 a.m. Friday, March 9, to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, March 11, 2012. You get a three-day, all-access pass to watch 15 prerecorded video classes and participate in live chats. 

Expert instructors include Lisa Louise Cooke, Thomas MacEntee, Diana Crisman Smith, Nancy Hendrickson, Lisa A. Alzo and others.

Register now for the Spring 2012 Virtual Conference and get the early bird rate of $149.99 for entire conference—use promo code FTUVCEARLY when checking out.

Want a taste of what you'll experience?

• Here's a snippet from one of the Summer 2011 Virtual Conference classes, on city directories.

• And here are some of the brick wall research tips I picked up in the Summer 2011 Virtual Conference "Pick Thomas’ Brain: Ideas on Creative Approaches to Genealogy" live chat session.

Thursday, January 12, 2012 10:00:40 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

Besides obituaries, newspapers are sources for birth announcements, social column notes and other news stories mentioning your ancestors—even if they weren't prominent community members. 

I still get nostalgic over my first big genealogy find, a 1924 Dallas Morning News article about my grandfather who grew up in an orphanage and was putting himself through college (you can see the article here). I discovered it by chance on GenealogyBank soon after the site launched. 

Newspaper microfilm from the Arkansas state archives helped me fill in details (otherwise absent due to missing court records) about my grandfather's arrest and trial for bootlegging.

In the Newspaper Research 101 course, taught by James M. Beidler, you'll learn:

• what type of information to look for in newspapers
• how to find and access papers most likely to mention your kin
• how to effectively search digital and microfilmed papers

Learn more and take advantage of this once-in-a-blue-moon Newspaper Research 101 tuition on FamilyTreeUniversity.com.

Thursday, December 15, 2011 9:43:07 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

Family Tree University's new Power Courses are designed for genealogists who do their family history research (and learning) in spurts. When you sign up for one, you’ll have access for one week (Monday through Sunday) to a number of learning tools: videos, lessons, downloadable guides and forms, even coupons good for 25 percent off future FTU courses.

You pick the topic you need and the week you want, and we’ll be ready to teach you what you need to know to immediately tackle the problems you’re facing in your research.

Two Power Courses are coming up in December. Click each course name for more details about it:

• Coming to America: Learn all about how to trace your immigrant ancestors, from their departure from the old country to their new life as US citizens.
  
  
• Tear Down That Wall! Bust through the brick walls that keep you from furthering your genealogical research. Got ancestors who seem to have beamed down from outer space? This course is for you.

We’ll be offering many more Power Courses in 2012. In fact, there’s quite a bit of new stuff coming at Family Tree University. Stay tuned!

Monday, December 05, 2011 10:08:44 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

Congratulations, Jennifer Alford! You're the winner of a Virtual Conference OnDemand Collection in today's Family History Month Daily Deal and Giveaway!

Didn't win? There's still time to buy the collection at half price (regularly $199.99): Today's Daily Deal lasts until midnight ET today, 10/30.

Sunday, October 30, 2011 3:13:40 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

Each day at 4 pm ET (3 CT, 2 MT, 1 PT), we’ll announce the winner of that day’s giveaway. Plus, each daily prize will be on sale for a fantastic price.

Today’s giveaway is any November or December Family Tree University course. Want to learn how to trace your German ancestors? Find a soldier in the Civil War? Figure out how to get your research organized?

Well, if you're Linda Donham, you can do any of the above, or take one of our other course offerings. Congratulations!

Here's today's deal: Register for any Family Tree University November or December class and get $40 off. Build A+ research skills from the comfort of home!

Check out the classes here and use offer code FHMDD to get the deal. The code is good today only, Oct. 27

The daily giveaway for tomorrow, Oct. 28, is our Digitize Your Family Photos Value Pack. This collection of digital downloads will help you build a digital archive of your family's cherished memories.

Click here to sign up now on our Daily Deal & Giveaway page! (Even if you signed up for a previous giveaway, sign up again to get in the running for this one.)

Then just come back here tomorrow at 4 pm ET to see if you’ve won (and check out the next deal). Good luck!

Thursday, October 27, 2011 4:06:45 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1]

German
People with German heritage make up the largest ancestry group in the United States, according to the 2000 US census. I'm part of this statistic, at one-half German.

• Tips for using the Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reiches, which German genealogy expert James M. Beidler calls the “seminal handbook for tracking down German villages”
• Family Tree Magazine's German genealogy glossary
• German Genealogy Home Page
• Surviving passenger departure records from the port of Bremen
• German records on FamilySearch.org
• Beidler’s German Genealogy 201 Family Tree University course

Italian
Those with Italian heritage make up the seventh largest ancestry group in the United States, with 15.6 million Americans claiming Italian roots in the 2000 US census.

• Italian genealogy records at a glance
• Finding Italian military records
• Italian Genealogical Group
• Ancestry.com’s Italian records (includes recently released civil registrations and a free index to Palermo birth records)
• Italian records on FamilySearch.org
• Family Tree Magazine Italian Genealogy Guide digital download, available in ShopFamilyTree.com

Polish
If you have Polish ancestors, you share heritage with 9 million Americans and are part of the country's eighth largest ancestry group.

• Polish Genealogy Terms
• Tracing Polish town-name changes
• Federation of East European Family History Societies’ Poland Genealogy Resources
• Polish Genealogical Society of America
• PolishRoots.org
• Poland, Roman Catholic Church Books, 1600-1950 on FamilySearch
• Family Tree Magazine Polish Genealogy Guide digital download from ShopFamilyTree.com

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 2:40:33 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

Videos are about 30 minutes long and compatible with Macs and PCs. This snippet from Maureen A. Taylor’s class City Directories: Key to Your Family’s Past shows a demo of the free city directories on the Internet Archive website.

Other classes cover

• Irish research
• German newspapers in the United States
• using naturalization records
• platting your ancestors’ property
• pre-1850 censuses
• digitizing your family’s documents
• … and more

You can get the Virtual Conference videos individually or in tracks (Tech Track, Ethnic Track or Research Strategies Track), or get all 17 videos in one fell swoop.

Monday, August 29, 2011 11:43:49 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [5]

If you missed it, you can order the Virtual Conference video classes for on-demand viewing at ShopFamilyTree.com. 

One of my favorite parts of the conference was the live chats, which buzzed with research tips, questions and inspiration. For example, Thomas’ Saturday evening chat, Pick Thomas’ Brain: Ideas on Creative Approaches to Genealogy, was chock full of advice.

I’ve pulled some comments from the chat to share here (I made some edits and added topic headings so the Q&A is easier to follow).

On brick walls:

• Thomas: First, very often I think what we call a brick wall isn't really a brick wall . . .
  
  
• Joan: What do you mean by a brick wall not being a brick wall?

• Thomas: To me it is a matter of perhaps not having all the right tools at one's disposal. Or it could be a matter of going back and rechecking spelling, surname variations, etc.

• Allison FTU: A true brick wall is when you have exhausted every possible avenue for research and there is no more information

In many cases, what we refer to as a brick wall is really just an exhaustion of ideas

• Patricia: A Brick Wall to me is having a timeline just end with no leads. Just solved 2 of my brick walls by reviewing current finds in detail as if I was looking at the finds for the first time.

On ancestral adoptions:

• Terri: My brick wall is my grandmother, born and adopted in 1900. I thought her SS application might help, but she apparently fibbed on the application! Gave her adopted info as official
  
  
• Kerry: I've used church records to find babies who were baptized prior to their adoption. Not all were adopted at birth.
  
  
• Allison FTU: If you know what area she was born in, you might try guardianship records.
  
  
• Terri: Are guardianship records civil records, private institutions, what?
  
  
• Allison FTU: Guardianships are typically court records. So you do need to know which county to look in.

On going beyond well-known resources:

• Carol: I have a line that went to Nebraska. FamilySearch and Ancestry seem to have nothing and GenealogyBank only later years. Any links for Nebraska?

• Thomas: What time period? Were they Homesteaders?

• Carol P: Late 1800s to early 1900s

• Thomas: Last night I did a GeneaBloggers Radio episode mostly on Nebraska. 

• Allison-FTU: Also take a look at Nebraska State Historical Society, one of FTM's "best state websites"

On ordering ancestors’ vital records:

• Mary Ann: When I look for birth, marriage, and death certificates in the US, I am taken to sites where it is free for 7 days and then you pay. Is there a good site to find these certificates?

• Thomas: I personally don't recommend those sites. In most cases, if you know how to order them directly from the state or county, it is better and cheaper. What do others think?

• Mary Ann: Yet, the states’ [vital records office websites] are sending me to those sites.

• Kerry: I totally agree; I'd much rather order directly from the source.

• Terri: I have seen some states that use a private online payment service for their records, but there's generally an option to pay the vital records office directly.

• Thomas: I want to share an odd tool from the Centers for Disease Control of all places—Where to Write for Vital Records! 

• Allison FTU: It's also available to download as a PDF 

• Kerry: Some states (Minnesota, for instance) house records at the state historical society, and you can order (and in some cases, view) them online.

• Thomas: Did you know that some societies have a vital records service where they will, for a much cheaper fee, pull the records? Illinois State Genealogical Society does this for Illinois Death Certificates.

• Mary Kay: Or borrowing microfilm from your local FHC.

On hard-to-trace immigrants and F.A.N. clubs:

• Christine: Ancestor arrived in 1750 from Rotterdam, based on PA baptism records which are German Lutheran—don't have a clue where to start across the pond. Strategy much appreciated....

how to get from point of departure (Rotterdam) in 1750 to where he might have lived...

• Thomas: Have you tried the F.A.N. club approach? Friends, Associates, Neighbors?

Elizabeth Shown Mills uses that F.A.N. club term all the time.

Last night on my radio show, Gail Blankenau from Omaha who specializes in German Parish Records used the term "10 up and 10 down" meaning always go up 10 lines from what you've found and down 10 lines as well.

• Allison-FTU: Christine, have you heard of something called manumission records?

In Germany during the time period, emigrants had to pay a tax to be released from serfdom. The resulting records are manumissions

There's an often-referenced index to German manumissions by Werner Hacker ... let me see if i can find a link

• Christine: Would they have been microfilmed by the Family History Library?

• Allison-FTU: Yes! Check out this page on the FamilySearch wiki for more info 

• Thomas: I just found this for Germans to America  

On online research tools:

• Thomas: Want to let you know that my entire research toolbox is on my Destination: Austin Family blog

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 9:50:10 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [6]

Seven reasons to register:

• You can improve your genealogy skills by taking 15 video classes (see the conference program here)  

• Your all-access pass lets you download the videos to watch again later (or see them for the first time if you missed one), as well as download PDFs of the presentation slides

• Join live chats with your instructors (see the chat schedule here). And I hope to meet you in the chat with Family Tree Magazine editors Friday at noon.

• Tour the virtual exhibit hall (answer quiz questions to be entered into prize drawings).

• You’ll get a virtual swag bag of freebies from ShopFamilyTree.com

• Log in any time during the conference to watch classes or chat (9 am Friday, Aug. 19, to 11:59 pm Sunday, Aug. 21)

• Participate from anywhere you can access the internet

Thursday, August 18, 2011 9:53:39 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [4]

Missouri, a border state, supplied troops (nearly 110,000 to the North and 40,000 to the South) and equipment to both sides. Separate state governments represented each side during the war, and both the Union and Confederacy considered Missouri theirs.

Initially, Missouri tried to stay neutral by remaining in the Union but not contributing men or supplies. After Wilson’s Creek, Union Gen. John C. Fremont imposed martial law, but the remnants of the elected government voted to secede.

The state suffered from its own internal war, in addition to the larger one. “Conflict in Missouri was characterized by savage guerilla warfare that led to the destruction of entire towns,” writes Michael O. Varhola in Life in Civil War America. 

Learn more about Missouri in the Civil War in Varhola's book and at the state’s sesquicentennial website.

Also, the free Missouri Digital Heritage (one of our 101 Best Websites for genealogy) has a Civil War section with several collections of digitized records, newspapers and research guides that’ll help you trace ancestors of the era and walk in their shoes.

See Missouri research resources at ShopFamilyTree.com here. 

Get research guidance for Civil War service members from Missouri and elsewhere in our Family Tree University course Civil War Research: Find Your Ancestors in the War Between the States, with instructor Diana Crisman Smith. The next session starts Aug. 29. (You can use code FTU0811 to get 20 percent off tuition.)

Friday, August 12, 2011 11:09:38 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [3]

Aliquot parts is an important element in the public land survey system (PLSS), also called the rectangular survey system, which was used to survey and divvy up land starting shortly after the Revolutionary War.

States with land surveyed under the PLSS, called Public Land States, are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

That's everything except the original 13 states, Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and Hawaii. (Parts of Ohio were surveyed with the old metes-and-bounds system, too.)  

The PLSS established principal meridians—imaginary north-south lines—to serve as the starting point for surveying each 24x24-mile tract. A tract is divided into 16 townships; townships (23,040 acres) contain 36 sections, each 1 square mile (640 acres), like this: 

A section could be split into halves, quarters or other parts. A description of your ancestor’s subdivision on a land record might look like N½ SW¼, which you’d read as “the north half of the southwest quarter.”

Here’s an example of how land might be divided and described in aliquot parts:

This free FamilyTreeMagazine.com article has more information about the PLSS and the Bureau of Land Management’s free federal land patent site.

One of the video sessions in Family Tree University’s Summer 2011 Virtual Conference, Aug. 19-21, is Diana Crisman Smith’s demo on platting your ancestors’ properties using PLSS. Learn more about the conference and register here. 

Thursday, July 28, 2011 9:19:52 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [9]

These classes start Aug. 1:

• Build a Family History Website: Make a Site for Your Family in Four Weeks with instructor Nancy Hendrickson 

• Civil War Research: Find Your Ancestors in the War Between the States with Diana Crisman Smith 

• Death Records 101: Find What Your Ancestors Left Behind with Diana Crisman Smith 

• Digital Photography Essentials: Techniques to Capture and Preserve Your Family History with Nancy Hendrickson 

• Finding African-American Ancestors in Newspapers: Research Strategies for Success with Timothy Pinnick 

• Finding Ancestors in the US Census: Online and Offline Research Strategies with Diana Crisman Smith  

• Google Master Class: Improve Your Online Search Skills in 8 Weeks with Lisa Louise Cook 

• Newspaper Research 101: Find Your Ancestors in American News Sources with James M. Beidler 

• Organize Your Photos: Preserve Your Family’s Pictorial Legacy with Nancy Hendrickson 

• Time Management for Genealogists: Make Time for Your Tree, Yourself and Your Sanity with Nancy Hendrickson 

A refresher course on how FTU works: You download a lesson each week and work through it at your own pace, then practice your skills in an assignment you turn in to your instructor. You also can communicate with class members and the instructor via a private message board, or on-on-one with your instructor via e-mail. 

Take this opportunity to save a few bucks, bust through some brick walls, improve your research skills and rejuvenate your family search!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 11:32:40 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [5]

The Battle of Cold Harbor, May 31-June 12, 1864, was part of Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign, during which Confederate troops defended Richmond with six miles of trenches.

I picked up a brochure and map at the small visitor center, then we drove the short park loop and walked a trail tracing over and around the remains of trenches soldiers dug 150 years ago. (My husband gets props for pushing Leo’s stroller up and down the gravel path in Virginia humidity).

The ground looked like corduroy. Markers explained how for days soldiers would crouch in misery in the trenches. They dug “zig zags” between lines of trenches so they could retrieve supplies without getting their heads blown off. They would top the trench with a header log and shoot through a narrow gap below it.

This depression is a rifle pit occupied by a Union soldier. It was the closest position to enemy lines, just 50 yards from Confederate rifle pits.

Most fighting at Cold Harbor took place June 1-3, when Union forces launched assaults. They were unsuccessful. "I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made,” Grant wrote in his memoirs. “No advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained." 

On June 3 alone, nearly 6,000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded, most in just an hour’s time. Both sides’ casualties over the two weeks totaled 16,000. A nearby creek was named Bloody Run. According to the brochure, Cold Harbor was the beginning of modern trench warfare, showing how trenches, supported by artillery, were practically impenetrable.

I have to admit that my eyes tend to glaze over when faced with a battlefield map full of lines and arrows. But standing in the places where soldiers took cover in trenches, hid in rifle pits and charged across fields opened a small window into the past and helped me understand what happened 150 years ago. 

You can listen to a podcast tour of the Battle of Cold Harbor, with vivid battle descriptions, on the Civil War Traveler website. 

See our slideshow of Civil War images on FamilyTreeMagazine.com here and get resources for researching Civil War ancestors here. 

You also can sign up for our Family Tree University course Civil War Research: Find Your Ancestors in the War Between the States with instructor Diana Crisman Smith. The next session starts Aug. 1, and you can use code FTU0811 to get 20 percent off your tuition.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 4:30:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [6]

More about those live chats -- Virtual Conference registrants get exclusive access to live chats with our genealogy experts. No fancy software is needed—just log on to the conference and join a live session. All chats are text-based and 30 minutes long. If you can’t join a live session, no worries—all chat transcripts will be saved in the conference area for you to read at your leisure. We just posted the live chat schedule, so check it out!

PS: Diane is out on vacation this week, so I apologize for the brief radio silence. We could never be as prolific as the original Genealogy Insider!
Family Tree University | Genealogy Events

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 5:35:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [5]

Most researchers agree it’s important to cite sources, but the hows, whens and wheres have caused a bit of a stir. Genealogy blog readers may notice what my mom and dad used to call a “discussion” over the importance of adhering to the finer points of source citation style (which might be intimidating to newbie or casual researchers) versus just getting the source information down.

Another component to the issue (and something else that can make source citation look complicated) is evaluating a source's reliability:

Is the information likely to be correct because the source—say, a birth certificate—was created when the birth, marriage or other event happened? Or is the source less reliable because it’s a transcription of a digitized book written years later by someone who read a newspaper article about the grandson of the person whose neighbor was actually there? Do several less-reliable sources that provide consistent information equal a reliable source? Can you ever really prove when certain events happened in your ancestor’s life? What does it all mean??

These folks weigh in with their opinions and encouragement:

• In his Citation blog category, the Ancestry Insider writes in depth about source citation principles and the quality of source information given on genealogy records sites such as Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.

• Source Citations in Genealogy: Church or Cult on the Clue Wagon blog encapsulates the above-mentioned discussion. The comments here include 10 commandments of source citation from Evidence Explained author Elizabeth Shown Mills.

• The Genea-Musings Source Citation posts describe sourcing in genealogy software and online family trees, review presentations on citing sources, link to others’ posts on the topic and more.

• On his Planting the Seeds blog, Michael Hait explains why the way you format source citations is important. 

• James Tanner on Genealogy’s Star writes here about genealogical evidence as opposed to proof. Dear Myrtle links to several of his related posts here. 

• On Luxegen Genealogy and Family History, Joan Miller writes about how to educate new researchers regarding citations, and her Good/Better/Best citation philosophy.
  

• Posts in the GeneaBloggers Source Citation category link to the site's quick reference citation guide and a discussion of blogs' reliability as sources. 

Source citation doesn’t have to be scary. The key is to note every bit of information available about the record, website, book, newspaper, person or other source you used, and make sure it doesn't get separated from the information the source provided. Whenever possible, get the original record rather than stopping when you find an index or a transcription.

Use your knowledge as a researcher to decide whether the information in the source makes sense, and how far you can trust that source. If you have any doubts, don’t add the information to your tree, but use it to form a hypothesis you can keep researching.  

Related resources:

• Family Tree Magazine free, downloadable Source Citation Cheat Sheet
  
  
• Source Documentation 101: How to Cite Genealogy Sources Accurately and Effectively Family Tree University course
  
  
• Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills, available in ShopFamilyTree.com 

Thursday, July 14, 2011 9:08:57 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [8]

We're planning our Family Tree University Summer 2011 Virtual Conference to give you an intensive dose of genealogy education without leaving home (or the library, or your sister’s house, or the table at the coffee shop where you’ve parked your laptop). 

The Virtual Conference is an online workshop from Friday, Aug. 19, to Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011. Attendees get an all-access pass to view 15 pre-recorded video classes and participate in live chats. You can join in every day or as your weekend schedule allows.

Classes are organized into three tracks:

• genealogy technology
• research strategies
  
• ethnic research

A detailed list of classes and instructors is coming soon.

You’ll be able to download classes to watch again later or access ones you’ve missed, and you'll get a swag bag of ShopFamilyTree.com goodies.

Stop by Family Tree University for more Virtual Conference details and our early bird discount code on tuition (good until July 15). 

Thursday, June 16, 2011 11:08:00 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [7]

Courses run for four weeks with one lesson per week. That's except for Lisa Louise Cooke’s Google Master Class, which combines three courses over eight weeks; and Discover Your Family Tree, a two-week course especially for beginners.

Click each link for more about the class, including a syllabus, student feedback, and even preview videos for some. You can save 20 percent on registration by using offer code FTU0511.

• NEW: Computer Boot Camp for Genealogists, taught by Nancy Hendrickson
  

• Cemetery Research 101, taught by Midge Frazel 

• Creating a Family History Book, taught by Nancy Hendrickson  

• Discover Your Family Tree, taught by Grace Dobush 

• Discovering Your Czech and Slovak Roots, taught by Lisa A. Alzo 

• Finding Ancestors in the US Census, taught by Diana Smith 

• German Genealogy 201, taught by James M. Beidler 

• Google Master Class, taught by Lisa Louise Cooke 

• Land Records 101, taught by Diana Crisman Smith 

• Organize Your Genealogy, taught by Nancy Hendrickson 

• Source Documentation 101, taught by Charlotte Bocage 

• Trace Your Polish Roots, taught by Ceil Wendt Jensen 

• US Military Records, taught by Diana Crisman Smith 

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 8:58:14 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Creating a Family History Book, taught by Nancy Hendrickson
• Discover Your Family Tree, taught by Grace Dobush
• Discovering Your Czech and Slovak Roots, taught by Lisa A. Alzo
• Exploring City Directories, taught by Diana Smith
• Finding African-American Ancestors in Newspapers, taught by Tim Pinnick
• German Genealogy 201, taught by James M. Beidler
• Google Earth for Genealogists, taught by Lisa Louise Cooke
• Land Records 101, taught by Diana Crisman Smith
• Organize Your Genealogy, taught by Nancy Hendrickson
• Source Documentation 101, taught by Charlotte Bocage
• Trace Your Polish Roots, taught by Ceil Wendt Jense

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 2:47:41 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• Build a Family Website, taught by Nancy Hendrickson
• Digital Photography Essentials, taught by Nancy Hendrickson
• Death Records 101, taught by Diana Crisman Smith
• Google Master Class, taught by Lisa Louise Cooke
• Newspaper Research 101, taught by James M. Beidler
• Organize Your Photos, taught by Nancy Hendrickson
• US Vital Records, taught by George G. Morgan
• Write Your Family History, taught by Sunny McClellan Morton

Friday, March 11, 2011 2:37:45 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• Creating a Family History Book, taught by Nancy Hendrickson
• Death Records 101, taught by Diana Crisman Smith
• Discover Your Family Tree, taught by Grace Dobush
• Discovering Your Czech and Slovak Roots, taught by Lisa A. Alzo
• German Genealogy 201, taught by James M. Beidler
• Land Records 101, taught by Diana Crisman Smith
• Organize Your Genealogy, taught by Nancy Hendrickson
• Source Documentation 101, taught by Charlotte Bocage
• Trace Your Polish Roots, taught by Ceil Wendt Jensen
• US Vital Records, taught by George G. Morgan

Family Tree University

Tuesday, January 25, 2011 10:58:13 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

One of the newest course offerings over at Family Tree University is an eight-week master class designed to help you make progress, step by step, on writing a family history book or personal memoir.

In the first half of Write Your Family History, you'll craft an outline for your book and start putting your family's legacy down on paper. The second half of the course is a workshop, in which you'll share your writing with instructor and professional writer Sunny McClellan Morton, and receive feedback on how to move forward. 

The Write Your Family History master class starts Jan. 17, and you can use coupon code FTU114 for 20 percent off your registration and a free 2011 desk calendar.

Here’s an excerpt on gathering and organizing your thoughts:

One of the most important habits you can cultivate as a personal or family historian is keeping a journal. Chances are you already keep one or have in the past; many writers do so almost instinctively. If you aren't in the habit of recording your personal thoughts, now's the time to make journaling a part of your routine.

Use whatever style suits you for writing your journal—you're the only one who will see what you write. Any scrap of memory or personal impression may become important later, so just get everything down now and worry about sorting it all out when the time comes. 

When you start thinking about writing a memoir or family history, it's natural to feel overwhelmed—so many colorful characters, inspiring stories, and dates and places to keep straight. You'll need to make some choices, perhaps difficult ones, about what will and won't fit into your book. Before you begin writing, it's important to devise a plan to organize your ideas and the information you'll be gathering as you complete your research.

We suggest you start by filling in the beginning and ending dates of your book, so you have the boundaries of your complete dateline. Then associate an event with each date. Use only a few key words or a phrase to denote each event—just enough to jog your memory when you refer to the dateline later.

After you've filled in as many dates and events as you can at this point, go back and determine the historical theme relevant to each event. The historical theme is crucial to your story; it will help place your "characters" into historical perspective.

Here are two examples of personal events with their historical themes:

Date: 3 June 1907
Event: Eleanor arrives alone at Ellis Island.
Historical theme: What was it like for a woman to go through processing at Ellis Island on her own?

Date: 25 Apr 1920
Event: Uncle Harry moves to Florida and buys land.
Historical theme: What drew people to Florida in the 1920s?

Register for Write Your Family History at Family Tree University.com (remember to use coupon code FTU114).

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 4:42:29 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

4. We've got three top Massachusetts experts lined up: David Dearborn, Midge Frazel and David Lambert.

3. You get to ask them your most pressing questions about Massachusetts research!

2. You get a copy of the Massachusetts State Research Guide and a PDF of the presentation slides.

1. The early bird discount -- $10 off -- ends Friday at midnight, so if you want to save some cash, sign up soon so you don't miss out.

Family Tree University | Webinars

Thursday, January 06, 2011 5:29:26 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

You can give the gift of genealogy learning, even if it’s too late for shipping by Christmas. FTU Independent Study downloads include the lessons, recommended reading, resource lists and other materials from Family Tree University classes.

Nearly 20 courses are available, including Tracing Immigrants, which helps you find important clues for tracking ancestors in their homelands. In the first lesson of this course, you’ll learn what key facts that will help you start tracing ancestors overseas:

• The immigrant’s name (before and after immigration—many immigrants Americanized their names once they got here)
• Date of immigration
• Port of entry
• Port of departure
• Town or village immigrant came from
• Place immigrant settled in the United States
• Names of siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins
• Religion (may give clues to parish back home)
• Native language 

Click here to explore the available FTU Independent Study course topics. 

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 5:11:31 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

Family Tree University Independent Study courses have all the materials from FTU online classes, with the advantage that you can truly proceed at your own pace. The CDs cover about 20 course topics, including Finding Your Ancestral Village (shown above), Google Tools for Genealogists, Newspaper Research 101 and more. 

From the Land Records 101 course, for example, you’ll learn essential terms such as

Widow’s Examination: Required in many jurisdictions until the early 1900s. A wife was entitled to “widow’s rights” or “dower rights” (typically one-third) of her husband’s property—although she often could not directly control or sell it in her own right. Before he could sell the property, she was required to sign an independent statement that she was aware he was selling the property and she was therefore losing her dower rights. If she did not sign, the property could not be sold. 

You’ll also learn how to find and read deeds, land patents, bounty land warrants and more.

FTU Independent Study CDs are available for about 20 course topics. You also can choose a downloadable Independent Study course

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 1:44:31 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [1]

By nature, genealogists are hoarders. The thought of getting rid of any old photos could very well send shivers down your spine. But the truth is, most of us have photos that aren’t worth keeping. Your first task is to do a rough pass through all the photos. You’re not organizing them yet. This time, you’re just making piles of images you want to…

• keep and organize
• scan and organize
• discard
• give away
• or use in a scrapbook

As you sort into piles, you may find yourself torn between keeping something and throwing it away. For example, one image I have is very poor quality, and couldn’t be improved upon even with expert photo editing.

Did I keep it? Yes. Why? Because it’s the only photo I have of my grandfather with all of his children and their spouses. This is why considering the content of a photo is important when it comes to a culling your collection. Even if a picture is of poor quality, it may be the only one you have of a certain person or place.

NOTE: I want to stop here and point out that keeping or discarding an image is a matter of personal preference. Your choice may be to never discard an image, regardless of quality or subject matter. When it comes to editing photographs, you have to decide what’s right for you.

Friday, December 03, 2010 10:10:37 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

It’s easy to get tunnel vision when researching an ancestor. But your research is best served by considering your focus ancestor as part of a community. (Emily Anne Croom, author of the best selling genealogy guide Unpuzzling Your Past, call this "cluster genealogy.")

Not only is your great-grandfather a member of his nuclear family, but also of an extended family. When you do reverse genealogy, you go a step beyond him and then research forward, broadening your search to his relatives and even friends. Any of the folks in your ancestor’s “cluster” could have provided him with housing, worked for him, asked him to witness a document or attended his funeral.

Here’s how this can work in a real-life research situation:

Several years ago, I was trying to locate my great-grandfather in the 1880 US census on microfilm without success. I found his parents and his siblings who were still living at home. Since Great-grandpa was 17 at the time, I expected to find him there, too. I searched for his future wife thinking perhaps they married younger than I thought. But she was living with her parents. Great-grandpa was nowhere to be found.

In an attempt to find him, I traced great-grandfather’s father back to the 1860 census, where he was listed in the household with his parents. I noted everyone in the household. Then I systematically researched forward, locating each sibling in the 1870 and 1880 censuses.

Sure enough, in 1880, I found my then-17-year-old great-grandfather living with his uncle (his father’s brother) in a neighboring town. Because of a variation in his name spelling, I probably never would’ve found him in online censuses.

Take a look at this picture of an ancestor’s potential family “cluster.” Every one of these relatives has the potential to help you make progress on researching that ancestor.

Click here to search or browse all the Family Tree University December course offerings. 

Tuesday, November 30, 2010 3:54:27 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [3]

You can get an in-depth education in how to find and use military records from Family Tree University’s US Military Records Course.

The course lessons cover:

• Terminology and concepts important to understanding the records

• An overview of US wars and types of records are available for each

• How to find records including rosters, muster rolls, compiled military service records, pension records, bounty land warrants, draft registrations—using both online and offline sources Examples of the records discussed 

• Supplementary military research articles from Family Tree Magazine are included with the course lessons.

You can take this course in two ways:

• Register for the online course through Family Tree University, and take advantage of the opportunity to interact with instructor Diana Crisman Smith and your fellow students. The November session started Monday (you can register through the end of this week) and lasts five weeks (instead of four) to give you extra time during your holiday preparations.

• Get the Independent Study digital download from ShopFamilyTree.com, so you can get started right away and go at your own pace. The independent study course is on sale this week in ShopFamilyTree.com! 

Thursday, November 11, 2010 11:55:27 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

Family Tree University | Genealogy fun

Friday, November 05, 2010 3:48:11 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

That's why I'm pumped about our upcoming Family Tree University class, Source Documentation: How to Cite Genealogy Sources Accurately and Effectively. 

Source citation can sound complicated, but you'll learn that it's just a way of making sure you—or anyone else—can go back to the original source of the genealogical information you've recorded.

Different kinds of genealogy sources—books, census records, online databases, oral histories—require different citation styles. For books, for example, record the title, author, publisher and location, year of publication, where you found the book, library call number (if applicable), and the pertinent page numbers, like so: “Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo and Erin Nevius, eds., The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists (Cincinnati: Family Tree Books, 2004), 219-220.”

Our downloadable Source Citation Cheat Sheet has examples of citations for censuses, vital records and other sources. ProGenealogists also has a guide to citing online sources, including databases such as those on Ancestry.com.

Where you cite sources is important, too. Some genealogists include a full citation on the front of every photocopied record so the citation doesn't get separated from the data. Most genealogy software lets you type in citations or link to a digitized record when you add information to your tree. See our article for advice on adding source citations in your genealogy software. 

The classic tome on source citation is Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills (Genealogical Publishing Co.), also downloadable in digital format from Footnote.com.

The Family Tree University course Source Documentation: How to Cite Genealogy Sources Accurately and Effectively, taught by Charlotte Bocage and available for the November session (starting Nov. 8), goes into depth about why to cite sources, how to cite them, including them in genealogy software, and using them in the course of your genealogy research.

(To register, click the “view upcoming course schedule” link or the Register link, then scroll down a little to find the Source Documentation course link.)

Monday, November 01, 2010 3:02:38 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• filling out forms
• calculating cousin relationships
• myths to avoid
• choosing genealogy software
• using popular websites
• researching at the library, courthouse and cemetery
• using genetic genealogy

• a seven-day free membership to Family Tree Magazine Plus
• a seven-day free trial to genealogy records site Archives.com
• $25 off a Family Tree University course
• 15 percent off a purchase at ShopFamilyTree.com

Thursday, October 14, 2010 9:30:39 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Death Records 101: Find What Your Ancestors Left Behind: Learn what your ancestors’ deaths can tell you about their lives. This course teaches you how to use death certificates, wills, obituaries funeral home records and other related sources to further your research.
  
• Cemetery Research 101: Dig Up Your Family History:We'll get you excited about exploring your ancestors' final resting places and give you tips on how to read tombstones, decipher plot maps and keep your research organized.
• Discover Your Family Tree: Genealogy for the Absolute Beginner: This FREE two-week sampler course will start you on the fun and rewarding journey of discovering your roots.
  

• Organize Your Genealogy
• Advanced Google Search
• Reverse Genealogy

• Find Your German Roots
• Finding African-American Ancestors in Newspapers
• Trace Your Polish Roots
• Tracing Immigrants
• Finding Your Ancestral Village

• Newspaper Research 101: Find Your Ancestors in American News Sources
• US Military Records
• Exploring City Directories
• Land Records 101

• Writing Your Family Memoir
• Build a Family Website
• Digital Photography Essentials

Wednesday, October 06, 2010 3:33:26 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Find Your German Roots by James M. Beidler (CD or PDF download)
  
  
• Google Tools for Genealogists by Lisa Louise Cooke (CD or PDF download)
  
  
• Land Records 101 by Diana Crisman Smith (CD or PDF download)
  
  
• Creating a Family History Book by Nancy Hendrickson (CD or PDF download)
  
  
• Digital Photography Essentials by Nancy Hendrickson (CD or PDF download)

Thursday, September 23, 2010 10:29:57 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1]

• Space-saving ideas for your genealogy stuff, from Family Tree Magazine contributing editor Rick Crume

• My update on the new FamilySearch Beta website

• Lisa’s overview of the Digital Library of Georgia website

• Digital photography tips from contributing editor Nancy Hendrickson’s Family Tree University class Digital Photography Essentials 

• Grace Dobush talks about new scanners that are small enough to take along on your next research trip

Thursday, September 16, 2010 9:16:11 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

The first step to finding your Polish ancestors starts here in the United States. The core records to look for are the US census and naturalization papers. The census will pinpoint the date of arrival in the US for the family members and state if the males had alien status or were naturalized. It will also offer the key to finding the region the family hailed from: German Poland, Russian Poland or Austrian Poland. Poland was not on the map for 123 years, so ethnic Poles carried papers stating they were subjects of the governing countries.

Thursday, September 09, 2010 5:43:05 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Mastering Google Search
• Reverse Genealogy

• Find Your German Roots
• Finding African-American Ancestors in Newspapers
• Tracing Immigrants
• Research in Foreign Records

• US Military Records
• US Vital Records
• Exploring City Directories
• Land Records 101
• Finding Ancestors in the US Census

• Creating a Family History Book
• Writing Your Family Memoir
• Build a Family Website
• Digital Photography Essentials

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 1:22:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

An 1846 Cincinnati city directory reveals that photographer Charles Fontayne operated a business in Cincinnati in 1845. In fact, in the 1840s and early 1850s he did not live in Cincinnati, but instead one mile across the river in Newport, Ky. However, he did not appear in any US census schedules until 1860. 

William S. Porter's family knew he moved to Cincinnati by 1850, but knew little about him before then, including his reason for migrating to Cincinnati. The 1849 directory reveals Porter's arrival about a year after Fontayne's, and shows Porter becoming Fontayne's business partner in a photography studio.

The photographic method of the time, the daguerreotype, was extraordinarily expensive and could only be supported by a large and prosperous city. Cincinnati was the sixth largest city in the United States, just behind Baltimore, and very cosmopolitan as revealed through the wide range of products, including luxury goods, advertised in the directories. Photographers were an elite group with only eight listed in the 1850 Cincinnati directory.

Applying the cluster strategy to the business associates led to looking for connections between Fontayne and Porter before their partnership in Cincinnati. Baltimore city directories from the early 1840s show Fontayne and Porter as business partners there. We can conclude that Porter followed Fontayne to continue the business, a successful endeavor as demonstrated by their ornate advertisement.

The Fontayne and Porter case study illustrates several of key concepts of delving deeper into city directories:

• Use the cluster strategy with co-workers. Business associates may have worked together elsewhere prior to their arrival in their current city.

• Chain migration—one individual traveling ahead to be joined later by another—can apply to occupational groups.
  
  
• Business location is important and strategically chosen.
  
  
• Business owners may have lived in a different city or state.
  
  
• Read between the years and compare information about the industry and your ancestor.
  
  
• Look to advertisements for further information about the ancestor or company, including its target audience and prosperity.
  
  
• Identification in a city directory points to new leads for genealogical sources.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 9:53:40 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

Mainstream newspapers carried a wide range of stories covering the African-American. A considerable number of white newspapers in both the North and South carried columns or special sections of news specifically for black readership. Stories ranged from items about local residents to those on a state or national scale. The Joliet Evening Herald News in April of 1926, for example, ran an article on the awarding of a charter to the first black Boy Scout troop in the city.

Obituaries or stories reporting the deaths of black community members can be found with regularity. Researchers report great success in finding items such as these on their ancestors. In most cases these ancestors have not lived a life of great acclaim, but have merely established themselves as amicable neighbors.

In general, it's not unusual to find obituaries in mainstream newspapers to be more extensive than those in African-American newspapers. I would guess that this is particularly true in cases when the white paper is published in town, while the black newspaper is national in scope and published elsewhere.

A case in point would be the death of African-American Nancy Greenly of Kankakee, Ill., in 1920. Her death notice in the Chicago Defender on January 17 consisted of one paragraph on page 7, compared to front-page coverage of the event in eight rich paragraphs in the Kankakee Daily Republican.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010 11:07:37 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

In personal/family memoir or narrative family history, you, your family, and ancestors are now characters in a story. Obviously, you're not creating characters out of your imagination—you have real-life people to portray. But you can—and should—borrow the characterization techniques fiction writers use.

One of the first things a fiction writer learns is to reveal characters to the reader bit by bit, not all at once as can be seen in so many family histories:

"Felice Vallarelli was born on 28 March 1880 in Terlizzi, Bari, Italy."

When we meet someone in real life, no one stands there and reads us life statistics (or if he did, we would consider him a terrible bore). Why should we meet you or your family that way? Reveal your characters slowly—through their actions, how they dressed, their beliefs, and so on.

Thursday, August 05, 2010 10:51:58 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Build a Family Website with Nancy Hendrickson, Family Tree Magazine contributing editor and author of Finding Your Roots Online (Betterway Books)

• Finding African-American Ancestors in Newspapers with Tim Pinnick, author of Finding and Using African American Newspapers

• Exploring City Directories with genealogy librarian Patricia van Skaik

• Writing Your Family Memoir with frequent Family Tree Magazine contributor Sunny McClellan Morton

• Google Tools for Genealogists with Lisa Louise Cooke
• Reverse Genealogy with Lisa Louise Cooke
• US Vital Records with George G. Morgan
• Finding Your Ancestral Village with Lisa A. Alzo
• Digital Photography Essentials with Nancy Hendrickson
• US Military Records with Diana Smith
• Published Genealogies with George G. Morgan
• Find Your German Roots with James M. Beidler
• Tracing Immigrant Ancestors with Lisa A. Alzo

Monday, August 02, 2010 3:21:51 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1]

• At ShopFamilyTree.com, you can save 40 percent on Family Tree Magazine products by entering offer code SFT111 when you check out (some exclusions apply). This offer expires July 5.
  

Click here to start browsing our genealogy how-to books, CDs, back issues, digital downloads and webinar recordings.

• At Family Tree University, you can take $13 off any genealogy course registration by entering the code 13COLONIES. This offer also expires July 5.
  

Courses include Land Records 101 (starting July 19 or Sept. 13), Tracing Immigrants (starting July 21), Digital Photography Essentials (starting July 19) and more—click here to see all our FTU offerings.

Thursday, July 01, 2010 9:27:05 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

Because land doesn't move, it's one of the few elements of our ancestors' lives that we can always count on. Consider an old photograph: Buildings may have changed but the surrounding landmarks such as hills, valleys and rock formations still stand today and can aid in identification.

Let's start using Google Earth by searching for an address that you probably have to get a feel for what I mean by this: the house where one of your sets of grandparents lived.

1. In the Search panel type the address in the Fly To box and click the magnifying glass icon.
2. The globe in the 3D viewer will start to turn and very quickly will zoom in to that location.
3. Place a placemark on that location so you keep track of the exact spot by clicking the Placemark button in the Viewer Toolbar.
4. When the New Placemark box opens, label the placemark with the exact street address and your grandparents' names.
5. Click OK.

You have now located your first ancestral home on Google Earth. Great job! 

Friday, June 25, 2010 12:49:02 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

Anecdotes are the heart and soul of interviews—they are those wonderful little stories we all love reading. But how do you get those anecdotes? Author John Brady writes, "If he says, 'I owe my 40 years of marriage to absolute understanding and compatibility,' ask him, 'What do you mean by understanding and compatibility? Can you give me some examples?'"
 
Asking follow-up questions is important because it lets the subject know you're genuinely curious and interested in what they’re saying. Although you have a prepared list of questions, don't be afraid to follow one of your subject's comments off into unexpected territory. 
 
If this is your first interview, you may feel nervous and awkward. Take heart. You'll improve with practice. When you think the interview is over, ask one last question: "Is there anything else I should have asked you?" You'll be surprised at the great information this question elicits.

Friday, June 18, 2010 10:07:17 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

A new feature in Google Earth is Historical Imagery. Click the clock icon on the Tool Bar and a slider bar will appear at the top of the map indicating how far back map images are available for your location. In the case of San Francisco we can turn the hands of time back to 1946 image. To return to modern day just unclick the clock icon or move the slider back up to the current year.

Go to Image Search and look for a portrait of a historical figure such as George Washington. In the results pages you'll see many faces of George Washington. However, as you move on through the search results, soon you'll come across other things, like a photograph of George Washington’s false teeth. Not exactly what you were looking for.

To eliminate the unwanted images and narrow in on the desired images, go back to the search box and click the Advance Image Search link. You'll see a blue box near the top and then a white box below. Within that box the first option is Content Types: return images that contain. Click on Faces and click the Search button again.  

Now every search result is a facial image. It might be a portrait on a stamp or on a coin, but it will be a face. We have succeeded in narrowing the original search results down from 6.7 million images to 548,000 images. Think how well this might work with an ancestor who is not quite is famous as George Washington!

Tuesday, June 08, 2010 4:55:14 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Finding Ancestors in the US Census: Online and Offline Research Strategies, taught by Jana Sloan Broglin
  
  
• Land Records 101: Using Deeds, Plats, Patents and More, taught by Diana Smith
  
  
• Tracing Immigrants: How to Research Your Family’s American Arrivals, taught by Lisa A. Alzo
  
  
• US Vital Records: Researching Births, Marriages, Deaths and Divorces, taught by George G. Morgan
  
  
• Reverse Genealogy: Working Forward to Break Down Brick Walls, taught by Lisa Louise Cooke
  
  
• Digital Photography Essentials: Techniques to Capture and Preserve Your Family History, taught by Nancy Hendrickson
  

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 10:27:47 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• recordings of past webinars
• Family Tree Problem Solver

Monday, November 09, 2009 5:54:44 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]