NYPL releases 20, 000 historical maps

The New York Public Library recently released a set of 20,000 historical maps on their website. This post on their site contains more details.

Online Search Strategies Webinar Released

We are very excited about the release of our webinar that had the largest online attendance ever: "Online Search Strategies." The presentation focuses on organizing your search process to avoid repetitive searching and for more effective troubleshooting. Visit this blog post for additional details.

Index to United States Veterans' Administration Pension Payment Cards 1907-1933

FamilySearch's index to United States Veterans' Administration Pension Payment Cards 1907-1933 is still in process as of this writing, but it is an everyname index. Which means if the widow's name happens to appear on the card (even as a reference) she is included. If for some reason another name is on the card, that name will be in the index.

Refresh Those Search Pages At Ancestry.com

Tonight when using Ancestry.com for a webinar, I noticed that the search box looked different--there were fewer search boxes. It wasn't that I had the simple search option checked. Somehow my browser had something in it causing it to alter the search screen. I went back to Ancestry.com home page and back into the census search I needed and all was find. Refreshing the page may have worked too.

Ths Irish in the American Civil War

If you've got Irish ancestors who fought in the American Civil War, this website/blog may have some interesting reading for you--"The Irish in the American Civil War."

What Sites Use Which Wildcards and When?

Do know which of the main genealogy database sites allow wildcards, which wildcards do what, and how many letters must be included before a wildcard can be used?

If not you might not be searching as effectively as you could be.

If it has been a while since you last searched on a site, consider reviewing their "help" information regarding the wildcards.

Webinars: Ancestry.com's "New" Search and Structuring Online Searching

We've added two new webinars to our schedule for next week:

• Using the "New" Search at Ancestry.com--26 March 2014
• Structuring Your Online Searching--27 March 2014

Both are at 7 PM Central time. Complete information is here. 

A Thousand Years of Europe

A map showing European borders over 1000 years. An interesting visual display on this site.

Google Alerts Don't Really Work

If you are replying on Google Alerts to find various "new" items, consider something else. My alert for "trautvetter" has failed to locate any web page that mentioned funerals and obituaries for two family members of that last name who died recently.

If Google Alerts is your only way of getting "new sites," try looking around for other options.

St. Patrick's Day Brick Wall A to Z webinar giveaway-all 4

Through midnight (11:59 PM Central) on 17 March 2014, I am giving away copies of my "Brick Walls A to Z" presentations. Details here.

Hathitrust Images of Territorial Papers

Hathitrust has scanned images of a complete set of the US published territorial papers. The main catalog entry can be viewed here.

Mississippi Territorial Censuses 1801-1816

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has put territorial censuses for the 1801-1816 era online at their website.

[9:55 PM Central 13 March 2014--post was edited to correct the post to read "Territorial" censuses instead of state]

If the Sliders at Ancestry.com Seem a Little Off

Make certain your search screen is not set to exact if the "sliders" on Ancestry.com are not working right (as shown in this post). No guarantee, but it may help.

Cincinnati Birth and Death Records 1865-1912

The University of Cincinnati has an index of Cincinnati Birth and Death Records 1865-1912 on their website.

Virginia Legislative Petitions

The Library of Virginia has an extensive collection of legislative petitions for the late 18th century and part of the 19th century. Those with Virginia kin during this time period may wish to learn more about this collection. It is name searchable.

Link:

http://www.virginiamemory.com/collections/petitions

Organizing Genealogical Information-March 2014

We are offering our 4 session "Organizing Genealogical Information" class this March. For additional details visit our more detailed blog post here.