Genealogy Insider - Genealogy fun

So a Genealogist Walks Into a Bar . . .

Diane — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:57:11 GMT

Just when I needed a laugh this morning, reader Crystal Pickett emailed links to a few of her favorite funny genealogy sites. Yes, there is such a thing as genealogy humor. For example:

Cyndi’s List: Humor (from Crystal)

My Elusive Ancestors (from Crystal)

Strange but true epitaphs (On an auctioneer's tombstone: "Going! Going!! Gone!!!")

Genealogy Humor (turns out you can be your own grandpa)

Census Whacking (blogger Randy Seaver's links to funny names in census records)

Heir Jordan, Extreme Genealogy (video on Roots Television)

The Genealogue

To thank Crystal, here are the lines she’s searching: Shaw/Burtley from Mer Rouge, La.; and Crutch/Crutcher and Wilburn from Vaughn Miss. and Pickens, Miss.

Click comments if a name rings a bell, or to add a link to your favorite funny genealogy site.

How to Win Your ShopFamilyTree.com Wish List!

Diane — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:13:35 GMT

It’s fun playing Santa this time of year, so we’re offering a chance to win your favorite how-to genealogy books, CDs, digital downloads and more.

Just fill out your ShopFamilyTree.com wish list by Wed., Dec. 2, and you’ll be entered to win everything on your list up to $150. (You’re still entered if you already had a wish list.) No purchase necessary to create a wish list or to win.

Four lucky winners will be announced on ShopFamilyTree.com on December 3. You’ll find wish list instructions and giveaway details on ShopFamilyTree.com.

And Our January 2010 Cover Model is …

Diane — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:04:44 GMT

Way back in September, when we put out a call for readers’ ancestral family photos, one of which we’d feature on the January 2010 Family Tree Magazine, we didn’t know we’d get so many terrific candidates. It was difficult to choose just one, but we persevered.

Gracing our January 2010 cover—and helping us unveil the new look of Family Tree Magazine—is [cue drum roll] Marjorie May Newell, grandmother of submitter Sandra Simon-Rosa of Belgrade, Mont.

Sandra says Marjorie was a fashionista with a great sense of humor.

Subscribers are starting to receive the January issue now; it’ll be available on newsstands and at ShopFamilyTree.com starting Dec. 1.

See the rest of the photos in our slideshow and on Flickr.

You’ll see the images inside issues throughout the year, and in the 2010 Family Tree Magazine Desk Calendar, available soon (we’ll let you know) from ShopFamilyTree.com. Thanks to Sandra and all who sent photos for sharing their family memories with us.

Now's the Time to Start on Family History Gifts

Diane — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:07:21 GMT

We don’t mean to rush you into the winter holidays—it was just Halloween—but if you’re thinking of giving family history-related gifts this year, now’s the time to start.

Many such gifts require prep work: For example, you’ll need to gather, scan, digitally touch up and label photos for a photo CD; start laying out an online photo book or calendar; or collect and transcribe family stories. Maybe you want to check another record or two before finalizing a compiled family history.

And by starting early, you can watch for coupon codes and sales; and make sure anything you order online will get to you in time.

As our early gift to you, here’s our December 2006 article with 13 family history gift ideas you can make. The projects range from very quick and easy to moderately quick and easy. The article has supply lists and step-by-step instructions for seven of the projects.

A few more sources of family tree gift ideas:

Perennially popular gifts for genealogists, from inexpensive to a little pricey

Maureen A. Taylor’s gift ideas for photo fanatics

How to create a family cookbook

Family Tree Magazine Plus members can access this article on making photo gifts using online services

Our very own how-to books, CDs and other helps for your genealogy friends (or wanna-be genealogy friends). You can sign up for our e-mail newsletter to learn about specials in ShopFamilyTree.com.

I’m kinda partial to this one: Family Tree Legacies, a book Family Tree Magazine editor Allison Stacy and I put together for recording all kinds of family history information—not just names and dates, but also family stories, news articles, house history, military service details, where people lived and more.

Tell Us Your New Year's Traditions (You Could Win a CD)

Diane — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:29:36 GMT

We’re still taking entries for our November 2009 All in the Family challenge, but only for another week. If we publish your entry in Family Tree Magazine, you’ll win our Organize Your Genealogy Life! CD.

Here’s how to enter:

1. Think of your family’s weird, wacky or wonderful New Year’s traditions. Did you irritate the neighbors by banging pots and pans at midnight? Play board games and watch the ball drop on Times Square? Consume cabbage, donuts or black-eyed peas for luck?

2. Next, describe that tradition in 200 words or less.

3. Send us your description either by posting it to our Talk to Us Forum (you must register with the FamilyTreeMagazine.com Forum to post) or by sending us an e-mail.

Please include your name and your city and state with your entry, like so: Diane Haddad, Cincinnati, Ohio. If we pick your entry, that’ll make it easier for us to credit you in the magazine.

And in that case, we’ll contact you by e-mail to ask for your mailing address so we can send the CD (so keep an eye on your in box).

You have until Nov. 10 to enter. Let’s hear those New Year traditions!

Truths Behind History-Inspired Halloween Costumes

Diane — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:02:24 GMT

Even when you’re beyond the age of trick-or-treating (and I’m not saying any of you are!), it’s fun to dress up at Halloween to entertain the little ones or impress fellow partygoers.

You’ve might’ve donned one of these history-inspired costumes at one time or another. We dug up some hidden history not revealed in the Halloween costume clichés:

Uncle Sam isn’t just a character: During the War of 1812, Samuel Wilson of Troy, NY, provided the army with beef in barrels labeled U.S. The letters stood for United States, but people joked they referred to "Uncle Sam." The term came to mean the federal government; depictions of Uncle Sam appeared starting in 1852. In 1961, Congress officially saluted “Uncle Sam Wilson” as the “progenitor of America's national symbol."

You can morph into Rosie the Riveter with rolled-up sleeves and a red handkerchief in your hair. The name was popularized in a 1942 song, but there wasn’t any one Rosie. The most famous image we associate with Rosie the Riveter, J. Howard Miller’s “We Can Do It!” poster, isn’t her. Miller created the poster for the Westinghouse Co.’s War Production Coordinating Committee, and it was posted at the Michigan plant for only two weeks in February, 1942. He didn’t intend for it to portray Rosie.

Read more on the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Memorial Park website.

Most Viking costumes involve a horned helmet, but in reality, Viking helmets never had horns, according to the American Museum of Natural History. Instead, these Norse explorers and warriors wore conical leather hats as they raided the European coast from the late 8th to the early 11th century. Fun fact: Vikings were quite clean for the time—they bathed every Saturday. Get more Viking fact vs. fiction here.

The witch of popular culture—black robe, pointy hat and warts a lá the Wicked Witch of the West—got her start in Shakespeare’s MacBeth and the fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. But those accused of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693 looked like anybody else. The series of trials resulted in the hangings of 14 women and five men. Another man was crushed to death under stones in an attempt to force him to enter a plea.

Learn more about the trials and see related historical documents in the Famous American Trials website.

Vampire costumes are big this year, thanks to the book Twilight and the movie based on it. The name of late 19th-century novelist Bram Stoker’s fictional vampire, Dracula, was inspired by a real historical figure: Vlad III (aka Vlad the Impaler), Prince of Wallachia, born in Transylvania in the 15th century. His Romanian surname, Dracula, meant “son of the dragon;” Vlad’s father had joined the Order of the Dragon.

Thanks to Treasure Island, Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean and other popular depictions, pirate costumes sport colorful bandanas, jewelry, an eye patch, a stuffed parrot and maybe a hook or wooden stump. Your typical early 18th-century pirate dressed for the most part like sailors did. The parrot cliché probably arose because many pirates benefited from the trade in exotic animals; the eye patch and hook/stump because of the risky profession. See more theories in this pirate Q&A.

Stupid Inventions of the Past

Grace — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:14:30 GMT

From LIFE magazine (who knew it was still around?), a slideshow of 30 dumb inventions. I'd like to think my ancestors survived being put in a baby cage.

Family Tree 40 Blog Voting is Open

Grace — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:37:39 GMT

Voting is now open for the Family Tree Magazine 40 Best Genealogy Blogs (“Family Tree 40” for short).

Go to FamilyTreeMagazine.com to vote. Voting takes place from Oct. 5 to Nov. 5, and you can vote more than once. We grouped the nominated blogs into categories, and you'll be asked to vote for a specified number of blogs in each category. (We aimed to have you vote for a quarter of the total number of blogs in each category, but rounded the number in some cases because, well, you can't vote for half a blog.)

URLs are included on the voting form, so you can check out the blogs if you want. For those who wonder how the categories were determined, here's a rundown:

All-around
These bloggers give you a little (or a lot) of everything: news, research advice, their own family stories, photos, opinions and more. There’s no one quite like the Genealogue, so we thought about that blog for awhile. It landed in this category because the Genealogue posts a satirical take on genealogy news, holds occasional research challenges and blogs about his own family history every so often.

Personal/Family
These blogs primarily cover the blogger's (or, in a case or two or more, bloggers') own research and ancestors. Family historians write what they know and what’s important to them, so this is our biggest category.

Local/Regional
Most posts in these blogs cover resources, genealogy events and history for a city, town, state or region.

Cemetery
These blogs focus on cemetery research, gravestone photos and the like.

Photos/Heirlooms
Content on these blogs is primarily about sharing, researching and preserving family photos and/or heirlooms.

Heritage
Here, blog content focuses on a particular heritage group, such as African-American, Jewish or Irish. We had some tough decisions in this category, as some family-related genealogy blogs by nature also examine that family’s ethnic heritage.

News/Resources
Blogs in this category deliver a range of genealogy news and information about new resources.

How-to
These blogs have instructional content on genealogical resources and methodology. In some cases, bloggers wrote about their own research and ancestors, but framed posts in an instructional manner.

Genealogy Companies
Blogs in this category are written on behalf of a genealogy company, and contain helpful (but not overly advertising-oriented) information on the company’s products, as well as other resources.

Genetic Genealogy
Blogs that are primarily about genetic genealogy and family health history.

The top 80 vote-getting blogs will make it through to a "final" round, and our editorial staff will select 40 blogs from that list. The Family Tree 40 will be announced in the May 2010 Family Tree Magazine and in the Genealogy Insider e-mail newsletter. You also can follow us on Twitter for contest updates (we'll use the hashtag #FT40).

Click here to get voting!

By the way, feel free to grab either of the little logos below to promote your blog or someone else's!

Genealogy News Corral: September 7-11

Diane — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:16:06 GMT

After skipping last week's news corral due to the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference, I'm back in the saddle and rounding up genealogy news items:

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) has launched a blog called UpFront With NGS, which will complement the society’s monthly e-mail newsletter of the same name. News will be posted regularly on the blog, so you don’t have to wait for the e-mail, and you can leave comments on the blog posts.

Ancestry.com is hosting a free webinar to demo its recently released Family Tree Maker 2010 genealogy software. The webinar is Sept. 30 at 8pm EDT. Learn more about the webinar and link to the registration on Ancestry.com’s blog.
The McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College has a Web site companion to its special exhibit of the Becker Collection: Drawings of the Civil War Era. The drawings by Joseph Becker and others from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly depict the Civil War, construction of railroads, Chinese in the West, Indian wars, the Chicago fire and more. You can browse drawings by date, place, subject, artist or reference number.
Irish-ancestored people, take note: As posted by Dick Eastman, all counties have been added to the National Archives of Ireland's 1911 census Web site. Later this year, you’ll start seeing 1901 census records. The 1901 and 1911 censuses are the only surviving full Irish censuses open for research. Read what’s special about Irish censuses on Dick’s blog.
Last, I wanted to point out this fun post by Randy Seaver (a re-post of his earlier post, which I missed the first time around) with links to lists of funny/strange place names.

Special All in the Family Challenge: Ancestral Anniversaries

Diane — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:18:42 GMT

For the All in the Family department in the 10th anniversary issue of Family Tree Magazine, we thought it would be fun to go with the theme by including readers’ stories of ancestral anniversaries.

Tell us about your family's longest-wedded couple: who they are, when they were married, how they met or how they celebrated a milestone anniversary, and maybe even their secret for a long, happy union.

If we publish your story in the January 2010 issue, we'll send you one of our genealogy how-to CDs.

Things to remember before you enter:

Post your entry to the Ancestral Anniversaries thread in the Talk to Us Forum. (To help combat spammers, forum registration is required for posting. You can register by clicking here.)
Please keep your entry under 125 words, so we can include more stories in the magazine.
Please add your city and state to your entry for publication in the magazine.
We'll contact you for your mailing address and possibly for a photo of your anniversary couple, so please keep an eye on your e-mail account.
By submitting, you give Family Tree Magazine permission to feature your contribution in all print and electronic media.

We'll need your entry for this All in the Family challenge on or before September 15. Thanks for sharing your family's stories!

Put Your Ancestors on Our Cover!

Diane — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:36:48 GMT

We're looking for a great ancestral photo to feature on the cover of the January 2010 Family Tree Magazine (that's our 10th anniversary issue!).

Maybe your family photo is the one.

Post your ancestral photo to our Ancestral Cover Photos Flickr group or e-mail it to us (we'll then post it on Flickr), and we may use it on the cover!

Before you start flipping through those albums, please note these requirements:

The image must be dated before 1920 and not show any individuals still living (we don't want to upset any of your more-modest relatives).
The image must be high-resolution (at least 300 dots per inch) so it will reproduce well in print.
The image must show people (five or fewer is best, that way we'll be able to see everyone).
Include your e-mail address and/or phone number with your submission—we'll need to be able to get a hold of you if your image is chosen.

Some disclaimers for you to be aware of: By submitting your photo, you affirm that you are the owner of the image and it is not subject to copyright by any other party. You also grant Family Tree Magazine permission to crop the digital image as necessary for publication, and to use the image in any and all print and electronic media.

Got questions? Click Comments to ask them, or e-mail them to us.

Update: Please submit your photo(s) by September 15. Also, it's fine to submit more than one image, but please try your hardest to choose up to your five favorites to send. Thanks!

Pick a Mascot for Family Tree University

Diane — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:58:30 GMT

Would you rather be a Fighting Kin-garoo or a Family History Hawk? Or maybe a Missing Lynx?

We’re on the hunt for a mascot for Family Tree University, the series of online genealogy classes we’re launching in late fall. Family Tree Magazine subscribers can read more about it in the November 2009 issue—coming your way right about now—or visit the Web page and sign up for e-mail notifications.

You can help choose a Family Tree University mascot by clicking here and voting for your favorite (or if you don’t see a mascot you like, you can suggest one).

We'll let you know when classes are starting. Hope to see you on "campus"!

Full Circle

Diane — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:21:51 GMT

In April, I interviewed Ian Frazier, who penned the story of his northern Ohio ancestors into a book called Family, for the November 2009 Family Tree Magazine (on newsstands Sept. 8).

A half-hour after our interview, Frazier was the keynote speaker at the Ohio Genealogical Society's golden anniversary banquet. During dinner, he sat next to the loquacious Kenny Burck, president of the Hamilton County (Ohio) Genealogical Society.

Frazier’s account of their conversation about Kenny’s son Bobby, aka New York City's Naked Cowboy, appears in the Aug. 24 New Yorker.

And my husband of almost a year was Bobby Burck’s lab partner in high school.

UGOs (Unidentified Genealogical Objects)

Diane — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:05:30 GMT

Yesterday evening, our company had a trade show, wherein each community (genealogy, writing, woodworking, crafts, etc.) displayed its latest how-to publications and resources.

The Family Tree Magazine staff enjoyed showing off our CDs, webinars and forthcoming Family Tree Legacies book, and sharing genealogy tips with coworkers. I think one guy is searching the free 1911 Irish census as I type this.

The best part was our guessing game. For a chance to win a prize, our colleagues guessed the identity of this object, commonly used in the course of genealogy research:

Here were some of their guesses (obviously, we’re dealing with some wise guys here):

“toddler’s crayon”
“fossilized chocolate cake”
“worry stone” (over those unsolved brick walls, we presume)
“paper weight”
“scrubber to get your pen started” (huh?)
“thumbprinter thingie”
“It’s used to help you separate papers. You rub your fingers on it so you can easily rifle through your records”
"a secret listening device"
“a template for drawing circles for names on your family tree”
“a starter for the center of your family tree”

What’s your guess?

The correct answer is tombstone rubbing wax, used for making impressions of tombstones. The astute Holly Davis, an editor over at The Artist’s Magazine, is the winner of a scrapbook album kit!

For step-by-step instructions on making tombstone rubbings (including ensuring the stone is sound), see this FamilyTreeMagazine.com article.

And to avoid arrest while making said tombstone rubbing, read our Now What? blog post.

Meet Our Family Tree Huggers

Diane — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:19:09 GMT

For people who research genealogy, “tree hugging” has a second meaning. That's the one we have in mind as we recognize several members our online community as Family Tree Huggers.

Over the years the FamilyTreeMagazine.com Forum has been up and running, these especially active members have enhanced the entire community’s experience with their observations, research advice, questions and inspiration.

These folks, who represent a range of research levels, will have this nifty badge to use as a forum avatar and to put on their own Web sites and blogs. They’ll serve as a sounding board for feedback on article topics, genealogy Web sites, industry news, etc.

Thanks to Valerie Craft, Jackie Fry, Linda Matthews, Dae Powell, Cat Smith and Linda Swisher for helping to make our Forum a welcoming place. Get to know this group of researchers a little better.

And we’re on the lookout for more Family Tree Huggers who post frequently to the Forum and help make it a great place for genealogists to hang out. Let us know if you're interested.

OGS in Pictures

Grace — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:23:15 GMT

Diane and I spent the weekend up by Lake Erie at the Ohio Genealogical Society Conference to give away copies of the magazine and show our latest CDs.

The table where Diane and I sat saw a steady stream of visitors. We love meeting fans! Surprisingly, the gigantic cover of our November 2007 issue only got knocked over once.

Diane took advantage of downtime to edit an upcoming story about the National Archives by Rick Crume, who was also in attendance.

And there was time for cake.

Our fan club!

An impromptu family reunion—my mom stopped by! Mom was in town to visit her family, which is from the north central Ohio area.

On the way back south, Diane and I got a teensy bit lost and ended up driving past a nuclear power plant. No gills so far, so I think we're good!

If you went to the OGS conference, leave a comment and let us know how your weekend was!

Quiz: Are You an April Fool?

Diane — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:14:27 GMT

Can you pick out the historical hoax? Take our April Fool's Day quiz and find out.

The quiz is on Survey Monkey. Once you've submitted your responses, you'll be redirected to the answers on FamilyTreeMagazine.com.

Genealogist Discovers Royal Roots*

Diane — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:10:15 GMT

Our warmest congratulations to this lady:

*April Fool's! Think of all the fun** you can have today with the Newspaper Clipping Generator.

**Please play responsibly. Not for purposes of "discovering" Great-grandpa's long-missing obituary or giving "evidence" of Aunt Helen's secret career in international espionage.

America's Next Top Immigrants

Grace — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:00:00 GMT

What do modeling and genealogy have in common?

Absolutely nothing—until last night, when the girls of "America's Next Top Model" did a photo shoot at Ellis Island as very fashionable immigrants.

Watch this season's girls impersonating new arrivals in the video below:

Is It Just Us?

Diane — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:56:43 GMT

We couldn’t help but notice the similarities between this chart:

and this one:

(Available on TeamRankings.com.)

Just sayin'.

St. Patrick’s Day Stats

Diane — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:41:28 GMT

Enjoy these numbers along with your celebratory corned beef and cabbage, soda bread and green beer:

30.5 million US residents claim Irish ancestry, the second most frequently reported ancestry, according to the Census Bureau's Ancestry 2000 report.

4.5 million Irish immigrants traveled to the United States between 1820 and
1930.

4.2 million, roughly, is the population of Ireland.

248 is the number of consecutive years New York City has put on its St. Patrick’s Day parade.

100 pounds of green dye were added to the Chicago River St. Patrick’s Day, 1962. The river was green for a week. (See the 2009 dyeing in this video.)

24 percent of Massachusetts residents have Irish ancestry, says the Census Bureau.

9 cities or towns in the United States are named Dublin (also from the Census Bureau).

0 is the number of snake species native to Ireland (which has more to do with geography than St. Patrick, if you ask the National Zoo).

And you'll find innumerable tips and resources for tracing your Irish roots in our Irish genealogy research toolkit.

Show and Tell: All-American Girls League Player Card

Diane — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:06:27 GMT

Phyllis correctly guessed the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) player whose card I'm excited to show off: Pat Scott, pitcher for the Springfield Sallies and Fort Wayne Daisies.

After meeting her, my husband said he bets she could still get out there and throw a pretty good fastball.

See last week's post for AAGPBL research resources.

Second Life Residents Take Genealogy To a New Level

Diane — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:38:19 GMT

Illya D’Addezio at Genealogy Today sent a note about his new Genealogy HUD for the virtual world Second Life (SL). The HUD (short for heads-up display) lets SL residents seamlessly use the genealogy search engine Live Roots from within SL.

SL is an online role-playing game in which residents have characters (avatars) that interact with each other, participate in group activities, travel, etc.

A child of the 80s, I hear "role-playing" and tend to think of Dungeons & Dragons—but this is more like, well, real life.

"Many people think SL is all about games and role playing, which there is plenty of," D'Addezio says. "But there are also an increasing number of genealogists joining, dozens of genealogy content areas developing, and numerous voice chats taking place on a regular basis.”

Besides letting SL residents access Live Roots, the Genealogy HUD also helps them compile a list of surnames they're researching to compare with other residents wearing the HUD. Learn more and get the HUD at Genealogy Today.

D'Addezio says he’s also building an interactive family history village where “SL visitors will be able to issue actual search queries to many of the Live Roots data partners from within SL, learn about different genealogy companies, purchase books, magazine subscriptions, etc.”

Tips From Genealogy Geniuses

Diane — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:24:55 GMT

Shout out to the Green County (Ohio) Genealogical Society, which hosted us at Saturday’s meeting. We administered a light-hearted genealogy IQ test and had a great conversation about preserving photos, reading gravestones and putting family information online.

The tips flowed in both directions. A couple from this enthusiastic group:

Newsletter editor Diana Nelson suggests checking what’s behind old framed photos (not to be confused with encased photos such as daguerreotypes, which shouldn’t be taken apart). Someone might’ve enclosed a written identification or more photos inside the frame.

A person whose name I didn’t catch (I’m sorry!) uses aluminum foil to safely capture impressions of gravestone transcriptions. After making sure the stone is sturdy and secure in the ground, she’ll mold a sheet of foil onto the stone. You can reuse the foil, or save and frame the impression the same way you can a wax rubbing.

Here’s the group pondering our quiz (there were some smart cookies in the room!).

I vigilantly made sure all kept their eyes on their own papers.

Our Organizing Extravaganza

Diane — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:29:39 GMT

If you’re feeling guilty because you haven’t jumped on that New Year’s resolution to organize your genealogy files, this post won’t make you feel any better. (But be consoled by the tips at the end.)

The accumulated paper and other stuff was getting to be a bit much here at Family Tree Magazine. So last Friday, we held an all-out, all-day organizing extravaganza.

Not a file drawer, bookshelf, box, or folder on the server escaped our critical “do we really need this?” collective scrutiny. (Here, Allison displays her recycling skills.)

Associate editor Grace Dobush and art director Christy Miller sorted through props and film from way back before photo shoots went digital.

Where was I? Taking care of my desk drawer, an “after” desperately waiting to happen.

It always looks worse before it looks better. We emptied boxes in a requisitioned cubicle and sorted and arranged. This …

became this …

and this …

I feel refreshed. Energized! Like our time investment in revising filing systems and straightening storage spots will make us more efficient and quicker on the job.

If you want to have your own organizing day, pizza for lunch helps the motivation. And see these tips on FamilyTreeMagazine.com:

Organizing photos

Getting your e-mail in order

We’re All Atwitter

Diane — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:40:03 GMT

… and by that I mean you can now follow Family Tree Magazine on Twitter.

What’s Twitter, some of you might ask. It’s a free social network that lets people communicate via short messages (140 characters or fewer) called tweets.

Go here to see our Twitter page. Under “Following” on the right, click the icons to see Twitter pages we’re following.

To join Twitter, you first create a profile and search for others to follow. A genealogy search brings up bloggers, enthusiasts, libraries and publications, who tweet about news, their research, what they’re doing and random thoughts. When you log in to your profile, you can tweet and view the tweets of people you’re following.

This is just the basics. For more details, go to Twitter’s home page.

Winter Wonderland

Diane — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:15:14 GMT

It’s a wintry wonderland here at Family Tree Magazine HQ. We’ve seen it all in the past day and a half—snow, sleet, ice, freezing rain, weird little white pellets.

The office is closed in honor of this layer cake of winter precipitation. My car is a Corolla-shaped white lump, but the backyard looks lovely and Janie’s thrilled.

Do You Know Your Inaugural History? Take Our Quiz!

Diane — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:26:46 GMT

In honor of tomorrow’s presidential inauguration, we’ve set up a a little quiz to test your knowledge of inaugural history trivia.

After you’re through, click Submit to access the answers on our Web site.

Click here to quiz yourself.

Climbing Down Santa's Tree

Grace — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:14:25 GMT

Cryptozoologists (people who study animals whose existence has not been proven) have traced the evolution of Santa Claus back to his ur-grandfather, Wildman. Santa Claus belongs to the Winterman branch of the family; Reindeer come from the Myth branch; Snow Queens and Elves are two branches of the Folklore crew. Click here to see the whole family tree.

Secret Genealogy Blogger Revealed! (Partially)

Diane — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 05:04:21 GMT

Before I left for Salt Lake City, we Family Tree Magazine staffers were speculating whether I’d finally encounter the anonymous and well-informed Ancestry Insider blogger.

And I did! Dear Myrtle and I were sitting across the table from him, though silhouetted as he was against a bright window, I couldn’t really see him. But I did snap a photo:

Shoot. Well, he says to tell you that if Brad Pitt wore suspenders, they could be twins.

Genealogy Books Discounted at Warehouse Sale

Grace — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:32:39 GMT

And if you're in the Cincinnati area, you might remember the legendary warehouse sales F+W used to host—people came from all over to browse through thousands of overstock items.

This year we've brought back the sale in the form of ClearanceBooks.com with a bricks-and-mortar location where you can browse thousands of books under $10—including plenty of genealogy, family history and writing titles! The warehouse sale runs until January 4 at the site of the former Linens N Things:

Governor’s Plaza Center

9131 Fields Ertel Road (exit #19 off I-71)
Cincinnati, OH 45249

9 am-9 pm Monday through Saturday
10 am-7 pm on Sundays

What Your Favorite Genealogist Really Wants From Santa

Diane — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:08:32 GMT

Funny how a weekend that seemed endless when I woke up that first free day passed by so quickly. But it was nice and full: celebrating with friends and family, walking the dog (I was at home during daylight hours!) and finishing 85 percent of my Christmas shopping.

With the onset of holiday shopping season, may we suggest these gifts for the family historian in your life:

Annual or monthly membership to Ancestry.com, Footnote, World Vital Records, Genealogy Bank or another subscription site

Family Tree Magazine tote bag (to take to the library), t-shirt or mug.

Membership in a local genealogical society (do a Google search or see Society Hill for contact information)

Registration for a genealogy workshop or conference (use Family Tree Magazine's online events calendar or contact a local genealogical society to find one)

Family Tree Magazine CDs: State Research Guides; 2005, 2006 or 2007 annual compilation; or International Genealogy Passport

Genealogy reference or how-to book such as the Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists

Gift certificate to a Web site such as Snapfish or Shutterfly, where your favorite genealogist can turn old photos into photo books, collages, picture mugs, notecards and more

a chauffered trip to a research repository or genealogy workshop, maybe with lunch (your treat)

a day at a history museum

What’s on your genealogy wish list this year? Click Comments (below) to tell us (then slip your significant other the link to this post!).

For readers in Family Tree Magazine’s hometown of Cincinnati, our company is holding a warehouse sale that includes how-to books on sewing, writing, woodworking, painting and tons of other hobbies—including, yes, genealogy. Click here for the location and directions.

No matter where you live, you can check out this bargain book selection online at ClearanceBooks.com.

Where Do We Find All That Old Stuff?

Grace — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:41:33 GMT

Readers occasionally ask us if we have information on the photos or letters we show in our articles. Unfortunately, for the most part, we don’t. "Many of our old photos have come from antiques stores and flea markets," says our editor, Allison Stacy. "We used to have a photo stylist go out and buy props for us—kind of like a mystery shopper." So where do we get all the stuff we show in Family Tree Magazine?

Without a stylist these days, we have to get a little creative in finding props, and we aren’t too proud to scavenge. "I brought home copies of some documents and burned the edges of them on my patio one night for a photo shoot" for a story about burned courthouses, says our art director, Kathy DeZarn. "The next morning on my way to work I spotted a bunch of charred wood and broken bricks from a house fire just a few blocks from my home. It was just too good to pass up."

Kathy got the Mason jars in the May 2008 History Matters from her aunt’s basement, and "the boxes of stuff I inherited when my parents died has been the source for all sorts of letters, photos and stuff including one (I only found one) of the shoes my mom wore on her wedding day."

Managing editor Diane Haddad’s grandmother's purse and burgundy dress have been in photo shoots for the magazine, as have various family pictures. My own parents happen to have a house full of antiques and ephemera, which comes in very handy! That's a picture from their living room below. (The telephone, directory and telegraph key in the "Getting the Message" article in the January 2009 issue pictured above came from them.)

Hello, Sunshine: The Family History Expo in Mesa

Diane — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:02:25 GMT

To show you the lovely weather in Mesa, Ariz., host of the Family History Expo whence I just returned, here’s a photo of Friday morning’s 8 a.m. opening session:

(Warm sunshine probably isn't a big deal to everybody who's reading this, but it is for someone who just came home to overcast skies and temperatures in the 30s.) That’s Don R. Anderson, senior vice president at FamilySearch, giving tips on finding ancestors in a digital world.

After snapping this photo, I raced to the Family Tree Magazine booth to prepare for the onslaught of researchers stopping to take magazines and handouts, start or renew subscriptions, and purchase our State Research Guides CD for their very own.

I had a great time meeting family historians from Mesa and beyond, including some (hi, Happy Dae!) whose posts I’ve read here and on our Forum. One visitor’s dad went to high school with my dad.

Keeping my sugar intake nice and steady, I took a Hershey’s Kisses tour of the exhibit hall (many exhibitors tempt conference-goers with candy). I scored a limited-edition macadamia nut kiss, sold only in Hawaii, from Ohana Software, makers of Family Insight.

Sacha, my neighbor over in the Genetree booth, brought cake to celebrate Genetree’s first birthday.

Some of the newer genealogy exhibitors I met on my tour include:

Photoloom, a site where you and your family can organize pictures around a photo-based family tree

Echo Media, a service for digitizing slides, prints, film and video- and audiotapes
LDSJournal, a personal journaling and memoir-writing site
Genlighten, a site where you can hire an amateur genealogist to do a research tasks in a distant repository
I-ASK, the International Association of Story Keepers, a network of oral history interviewers who also help you digitize photos and videos and share them online with family
Prepared Binder, a kind of kit for organizing family records and personal, medical, insurance, financial and other papers

Happy Halloween From Family Tree Magazine!

Diane — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:37:09 GMT

We're all ready for trick-or-treating.

Have you answered our Forum poll about your favorite Halloween traditions? You'll find it in the Back Fence Forum.

Old Yearbooks of the Future

Grace — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:36:57 GMT

Soon after reading Diane's post on old yearbooks the other day, I found this article about the growing trend of non-traditional senior portraits. Oh, to be a fly on the wall when she has to explain to her grandchildren who Harry Potter is.

Fun at the Fair

Diane — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:37:53 GMT

Congratulations to Jean Nathan of Cincinnati, winner of Family Tree Magazine’s door prize at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Family History Fair last Saturday.

She was one of the researchers who attended how-to classes and visited with representatives of local genealogical societies, the Hamilton County Recorder’s Office and others. It was great to see familiar faces from other genealogy gatherings and talk with newbie researchers.

Jean will go to her mailbox in a few days and find The Family Tree Guide to Finding Your Ellis Island Ancestors by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, our International Genealogy Passport CD and our November 2008 issue.

The fair marked Family History Month, observed in October in many states. See if your local genealogical society (run a Google search or look here for links) or library (find links here) has any events going on.

Family Tree Firsts: Inside a Library Lock-in

Diane — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:20:27 GMT

I’ve always been an early-to-bed, early-to-rise kind of girl. As a kid, I was the first one to fall asleep at slumber parties and get her hand dipped in warm water (it doesn’t work, by the way).

So when I signed up for last Friday’s genealogy lock-in at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, I was worried I’d pass out on a city directory and end up with street names tattooed on my forehead. But I managed to last almost 'til the end.

If you've never been to a lock-in, it’s an after-hours research session at a library. Around 30 researchers (all the tables were taken!) had the genealogy and periodicals departments all to ourselves. I recognized a few people from April’s Ohio Genealogical Society conference.

The pursuit of family history kept everyone awake and focused, including me. I hadn’t made a firm research plan, so I wasn’t expecting thrilling discoveries. And I didn’t make any, but I got some groundwork laid.

I started off using the library’s free wireless to try some Ancestry.com searches for my dad’s family, who remain absent from the 1920 census. I did find the Social Security Death Index entry for the man who vouched for my great-uncle when he applied for a delayed North Carolina birth certificate in 1971.

Next I turned to Cincinnati city directories. My great-great-grandfather on my mom’s side started a cigar store in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, and his family ran it for years. When I was little, my mom drove me by the building—it had an outline where the “H.A. Seeger Cigar” sign used to be.

Here's a photo from around 1910:

(My great-great-grandfather is third from left; his son is in the doorway).

I wanted to see how long the store was open. My ancestor H.A. Seeger showed up in printed directories starting in 1875, when he boarded downtown, then in 1877, when he opened the cigar store (the family moved in above it). The store's listing disappears after 1955. Here’s a Google street view of the building today:

It was late by the time I was through photocopying directories. I decided to save map research for my next library trip, and browsed the compilations of vital records, church records and cemetery transcriptions from counties across the country.

Then I found my husband’s late-80s photographs among the high school yearbooks. That was entertaining.

I don’t know if it was the 80s hair or the hour, but I could feel my brain switch to Off mode, so I packed up my laptop and papers, checked my forehead for accidental tattoos (none), said goodbye to the bleary-eyed souls still scrolling microfilm, and went home to get some shut-eye for the next day’s Family History Fair. I’ll write about that tomorrow.

Playing Blog Tag: Fives and 10s

Diane — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:21:29 GMT

This is my first game of blog-tag. To play, I’m supposed to answer questions my tagger, Dear Myrtle, sent. Here goes:

10 Years Ago I ...
1. Became assistant editor of Decorative Artist’s Workbook magazine.
2. Took a week-long painting workshop in Florida so I’d know what I was talking about.
3. Would answer the magazine’s e-mail using an AOL account on a shared computer.
4. Moved into my first apartment that was all mine.
5. Knew the names of only two of my great-grandparents.

Five Things on Today's To-Do List
1. Finish up our E-mail Update newsletter.
2. Edit an article about library online catalogs.
3. Be interviewed for the DearMyrtle podcast.
4. Prepare for my first-ever genealogy lock-in tomorrow night.
5. Get together with a friend to plan another friend’s baby shower.

Five snacks I enjoy (just five?)
1. Nature Valley granola bars
2. Snyder’s of Hanover Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzel Pieces
3. Trader Joe’s Jo-Jo cookies
4. Chocolate-covered pretzels
5. Fig Newtons

Five Places I’ve Lived
1. Beaverton, Ore.
2. St. Louis
3. Cincinnati
That's all there is, guys, and I might be here awhile.

Five Jobs I’ve Had
1. Ice cream scooper
2. Cashier/hostess at a Big Boy
3. Department store gift-wrapper
4. University law library information desk staff
5. Newspaper stringer
(Don’t worry, I’m qualified to work for Family Tree Magazine—the odd jobs are just more interesting to mention.)

Five Blogs I Tag
1. Maureen A. Taylor at our Photo Detective Blog
2. Bruce Buzbee at the RootsMagic Blog
3. The editors of our sister publication Memory Makers magazine at their blog.
4. Lisa Louise Cooke at Genealogy Gems
5. Schelly Talalay Dardashti at Tracing the Tribe

I Heart Awards!

Diane — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:56:07 GMT

A great big thank-you to Renee Zamora over at Renee’s Genealogy Blog, who honored us with the I Heart Your Blog award!

Now it’s my turn to nominate seven—only seven!—blogs I heart. (I tried to avoid any repeats.) Here are my picks:

Geneablogie
I’ll forgive lawyer Craig Manson for coming up with this blog title before we could. He offers thoughtful takes on topics you don’t see covered many other places.

The Genealogue
I love me some irreverent genealogy humor. Chris Dunham probably spent half his grade school career writing on the blackboard (I’m half afraid of what he’ll say about getting an I Heart Your Blog award.)

Granite in My Blood
I can definitely appreciate someone who appreciates a cemetery. Midge Frazel (who’s related to none other than Isaac Denison) posts a potpourri of intriguing gravestone photos, family photos and research updates.

Library of Congress Today in History Blog
The library's director of communications Matt Raymond researches blog-worthy historical events and then tells us about them . . . not a job I'd love at all.

Photo Detective
Besides writing our Photo Detective blog, Maureen A. Taylor keeps a photo news and research blog on her own site. It’s the first place I heard of a photosynth.

The Practical Archivist
Archivist Sally Jacobs has sound photo-preservation advice with titles like “The Chemical Sandwich of Doom.” And I couldn’t not like her blog description.

Q&Q Blog
I’m a writer, and Brian Klems of our sister magazine Writer’s Digest eloquently answers writers’ questions.

Here are the rules for award recipients:
1. Can put the logo on his/her blog
2. Must link to the person who gave the award
3. Must nominate seven other blogs and link to them
4. Must leave a comment on each of the nominated blogs

Congrats to Family Tree Magazine's FGS Door Prize Winner!

Diane — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:24:08 GMT

Congratulations to Noreen Manzella, of West Haven, Conn., who won Family Tree Magazine’s Federation of Genealogical Societies conference door prize. (Here's Genealogy Gems Podcast and Family Tree Magazine Podcast host Lisa Louise Cooke about to draw her name.)

And here’s Noreen's loot: a Family Tree Magazine tote bag stuffed with our State Research Guides CD, International Passport CD, The Family Tree Guide to Finding Your Ellis Island Ancestors, Your Guide to Cemetery Research and The Genealogist’s Question & Answer Book.

Genealogy Conference Underway in Philadelphia

Diane — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:58:58 GMT

The Federation of Genealogical Societies conference in Philadelphia got started last night with exhibit hall preview hours. The hall was busy with genealogists; a live events area features product demos and presentations. This morning is the opening session, followed by three days of conferencing—genealogy classes, meetings and exhibit hall shopping.

We'll keep you updated on conference news. Meanwhile, some show-and-tell. I got into Philadelphia early and tooled around to some of the historic sites, including:

… Christ Church Burial Ground, whose walls guard Benjamin Franklin’s gravesite (not in this photo) and those of other founding fathers and Christ Church congregation members. Few of the headstones are still readable, but a church record book has told caretakers the inscriptions many stones used to bear.

… Independence Hall, where the Constitutional Congress debated the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. (The chair at the head of the room is the one from which John Hancock presided over Congress; other chairs aren't original.)

… The Liberty Bell (this is the side opposite the famous crack), which used to be in the Pennsylvania State House. I learned it didn’t crack when the Declaration of Independence was signed—no one knows exactly when the large gap formed, but it was some time between 1817 and 1846.

Prairie Home Companion Star Talks Family History on 50th Genealogy Gems Podcast

Diane — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:38:23 GMT

Congratulations to Genealogy Gems podcaster Lisa Louise Cooke (also host of our own monthly Family Tree Magazine podcast) on her 50th episode!

She celebrates by interviewing Tim Russell, voice actor on Garrisson Keillor’s radio show “A Prairie Home Companion” and Al, The Stage Manager in the eponymous movie. Turns out Russell's also an avid family historian.

In the same episode, Cooke chats with fellow pocasters The Genealogy Guys, DearMYRTLE, and Mike O'Laughlin.

Tune in to the 50th Genealogy Gems Podcast free at Genealogy Gems.

Show Your Stuff in the Genealogy Blogger Olympics

Diane — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:20:23 GMT

Challenge yourself to go for the gold in your family tree research by participating in the Summer 2008 Genea-Blogger Group Games.

The Games, sponsored by bloggers at AnceStories and elsewhere, are open to members of the Facebook Genea-Blogger Group (which you can sign up for after becoming a member of Facebook).

No shotput-hurling or pole-vaulting here. The five events in the Genea-Blogger Games include citing sources, backing up data, organizing your research, writing about your family history and performing acts of genealogical kindness.

You’ll keep track of your own points and record your progress on your blog. Win enough points, and you’ll receive a medal to display there.

Competitors must register by 3 pm PDT Aug. 7, and the Games are on Aug. 9-23. See the AnceStories blog for registration instructions, detailed descriptions of each event and scorekeeping guidelines.

Now’s the time for all that genealogy training to pay off—let the games begin!

Let the Games Begin!

Grace — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:48:15 GMT

Attention around the world is already turning to Beijing, where the 2008 Summer Olympics begins this Friday. To get you in the sporting mood, we've collected some great resources on Olympics history.

The New York Times has a great audio slideshow about legendary Olympians. The interviewees include John Carlos (the runner who raised a gloved fist during the awards ceremony in 1968), Nadia Comaneci and Mark Spitz.

Britannica.com has an in-depth history of the games, and Kodak shows great Olympics moments in pictures.

The New York Times' Olympics blog also has a roundup of past official songs of the games complete with YouTube videos. Some are very memorable (like Gloria Estefan's "Reach")—others I'd much rather forget I ever heard.

> >

More current Olympics information:

A Match Made in History

Diane — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:08:04 GMT

How cute is this story? Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross—or rather, two people who impersonate them in Philadelphia—have fallen in love, and they’re getting hitched the day before the Fourth of July.

J. Smith for GPTMC

The lovebirds beneath the costumes are Ralph Archbold, a nationally recognized Ben Franklin re-enactor, and Linda Wilde, who often appears as Betsy Ross.

What better place for Ben and Betsy to wed than Independence Hall? The couple will dress in Colonial attire and exchange vows in a public ceremony there. Then they’ll head to a private reception at the old City Tavern, one of Benjamin Franklin's favorite restaurants.

The pair met last Sept. 1, when Wilde begged Archbold to give a friend’s wedding toast as Franklin. They talked history at the event, and Archbold later called Wilde in search of a last-minute Betsy Ross.

The rest is history.

Listen Up: Podcast Episode 2 is Live!

Grace — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:28:06 GMT

Have you already checked out the Family Tree Magazine Podcast? Episode 2 is live today, and features a sneak peek at the September issue, news from the blogosphere, an inside look at our 101 Best Web Sites awards with David A. Fryxell, plus news about WeRelate, genealogy "wikis" and the Mid-Continent Public Library's new Midwest Genealogy Center.

New to podcasts? It's easy peasy! Click the "Listen to this episode" link following the episode summary. Your browser will open a new window or tab displaying a bar that allows you to pause, play, fast-forward and rewind through the episode. (You can also read our Podcast Primer for step-by-step instructions.) Watch for a new episode every month!

In related news, we're thrilled that DearMYRTLE featured the premiere episode of our podcast in the latest installment of her Best of the Internet for Genealogists awards. If you haven't listened to episode 1, just follow this link to listen. And we can't help but give a plug to DearMYRTLE's own podcast—check it out on her Web site.

The Importance of Enunciation in Genealogy

Diane — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:51:42 GMT

Reason No. 437 why you can't always believe oral history ...

One of our coworkers just celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary. The other day, she told her husband that after this year’s family reunion in New England, she wants to go up to Prince Edward Island to see where her dad came from, and taste the nearly golf ball-sized blueberries and swim in the Gulf Stream-warmed water he always talked about.

"Prince Edward Island?" my coworker told me her husband answered. "I thought your dad was from Ireland."

True story. He confessed that throughout their half-century of marriage, he's also told people her mom was born in Scotland (it was Massachusetts).

My coworker wonders what else they don’t know about each other after 50 years together. At least they kept a sense of mystery, I say.

This is just one example of how family stories can get altered over the years—and why it's a good idea to look for records that confirm what Great-grandma or -grandpa told you.

Happy Blogiversary to Us!

Diane — Fri, 23 May 2008 15:06:43 GMT

Today’s the day—the Genealogy Insider’s first blogiversary. Not only has blogging here let us tell you about new family history developments, resources and tips faster than before; it’s also helped us stay in closer contact with all of you.

We've also been able to have a little fun here. My favorite blog post of the year has to be our staff's Simpsonized selves, which look remarkably like our actual selves (if we all had jaundice).

If you haven’t already entered our celebratory T-shirt contest, yesterday’s post tells you how. And you’re invited along with us on a quick, nostalgic look back at our inaugural year in Wednesday’s entry.

Enter to Win a Genealogy Insider T-Shirt!

Diane — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:19:04 GMT

You, too, can be a Genealogy Insider! To celebrate the Genealogy Insider’s first blogiversary tomorrow, we’re holding a drawing for one of our new T-shirts.

To enter, click Comments below and answer these three questions:

How many times a week do you read the Genealogy Insider blog?

What is your all-time favorite Genealogy Insider blog post?

What family history topics would you like to see the Genealogy Insider cover more often?

We’ll draw one commenter at random to win a short-sleeve T-shirt proclaiming his or her Genealogy Insider status. Remember, you must provide your e-mail address when you post—we’ll contact the winner for a size and mailing address. (Your e-mail address will appear with at, NOSPAM and dot to keep spam robots from harvesting it.)

You have until 5 p.m. EDT next Tuesday, May 27, to post your comment.

Want to guarantee you get a shirt? Genealogy Insider T-shirts and other gear are available in our CafePress store.