Sunday, December 30, 2012

Are You Performing Reverse Searches?

Sometimes it does not hurt to search for people you have already found in an index using different search parameters.

I also search for images I've found on FamilySearch databases as some are incomplete without making it clear to the user that they are still "in progress." This recent blog post on Rootdig discusses an incomplete database with such an issue.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Does that First Image at Ancestry.com Give Clues?

When using databases at Ancestry.com sometimes the source citation leaves something to be desired. With digital images at Ancestry.com sometimes looking at the first image will give you an idea of where the actual records came from. Not always, but sometimes.

This image is from a database of Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971.  The source at Ancestry.com is not too specific, but the first image provides sufficient detail for me to craft a better citation than the one provided on Ancestry.com.

The problem is that not all image databases at Ancestry.com are set up this way.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Some States Don't Report to the Social Security Administration


The Social Security Death Index does not include data from states that elect not to share their vital records with the Social Security Administration. The easiest way to tell if "your state" of interest is not reporting them is to search for how many entries that state has in the SSDI in 2012 and compare that number to an earlier year of 2009 or 2008. If the number in 2012 is significantly lower, then chances are the state is not reporting them.

I knew this, but it took me a while to remember it when I kept failing to locate a death in the spring of 2012 in Rhode Island.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Manual May Be Necessary

If database queries are not giving you the desired results, consider that you may have to resort to a manual search of the records.Sometimes it still is what is required.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Tip for Bloggers

I almost always edit my blog posts in Microsoft Word instead of Blogger or any "cloud" based system. There are several reasons, but if my connection dies, I've still got my content. I also find it easier to manipulate tables in Word than I do in Blogger.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

60% Off Genealogical Webinars


Give yourself the gift of genealogical education this holiday season!

Grow your genealogy research skills with one of our over 30 genealogy webinars--immediately downloadable. 

 Coupon code "sixty" at check out will reduce your order by 60%. Downloads are immediate. Our rates are the best in the business. 


Check out our list of over 30 presentations here:
You can view the presentations at your convenience after they have been downloaded. It is not necessary to view them immediately and you can view them as many times as you want.
Thanks!
Michael

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

My Little Trick For Fold 3 Images

Maybe I'm the only one that needs to do this, but it works for me.

Fold3.com.requires users to download images from record sets, such as Civil War pensions, one document at a time. It takes a while. I usually save all these documents in one large folder and use the "page x" file name that Fold3.com.assigns to each image--just to help me keep track. The name of the folder contains my "source" information.

Then I open up Microsoft Word and import all the images in at once to a Word document. Then I set a footer with the type of file and page number. The page number corresponds to the image number. I can take notes on the pages, print them out, etc.

Note on Using the CW Pension Unit Index at Fold3

If you use the unit index to Civil War pensions at Fold3.com be aware that not all the cards appear in the browseable form in the appropriate unit. Apparently some are classified under "blank" which makes it difficult to browse these by unit.

This post on my other site provides more detail for those interested:

http://rootdig.blogspot.com/2012/12/harming-aaron-and-unit-index-at-fold3com.html


Monday, December 10, 2012

Google Searches Don't Catch Image Text

As a quick reminder, searches of Google are conducted on text as text--not text that may be contained in an image on a blog post, website, etc.

There is a longer blog post I wrote about this idea for those who have more of an interest in the subject:

http://rootdig.blogspot.com/2012/12/google-alerts-wont-catch-this-trick.html

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Friday, November 30, 2012

Hyphens in OCR Searches

If you are looking for a search term that could be hypenated, determine how the site handles words that end up being hyphenated on the printed page. Some sites "catch" the hypen, delete it, so that searches are not impacted. Others don't as in this illustration on my Rootdig blog.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Directory Of Online Newspapers

This site has links to free and not-so-free online newspapers in the United States--United States Online Historical Newspapers.

Don't forget about the online newspapers at the Library of Congress.

Organizing Genealogical Information: Short Course-January 2013

I was asked to give people a little advance notice about our next offering of "Organizing Your Genealogical Information."

Our next series of classes and follow up sessions will begin in January 2013. More details are here.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Decimal Problems at Ancestry's Illinois Land Database

If you've got Illinois ancestors, you might want to look at this blog post on the Illinois Public Land Sales 1800-1990 database at  Ancestry.com .

http://rootdig.blogspot.com/2012/11/does-ancestrycom-know-about-decimals.html

Online Historical Newspapers

Looking to see if there are online historical newspapers for your area or city of interest?

This blog ("Online Historical Newspapers) has links to quite a few. Be certain to check out the Library of Congress site ("Chronicling America") as well.

Digital Copies of Out Of Print Books


Try these sites in your search for a free digital copy of that out-of-copyright book:

Local libraries may have copies as well.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving

Here is wishing a "Happy Thanksgiving" to our readers regardless of their location. Don't neglect your living relatives while searching for the deceased ones.

When you need a break from your holiday activities, check out some of the blogs and posts:





Tuesday, November 20, 2012

War of 1812 Service Records on Archive.org


National Archives Publication M602 contains compiled service records from the War of 1812--234 rolls of film. These rolls have been digitized and are available on Archive.org at no charge. This chart lists the roll numbers, what range of names they contain and has a direct link to the digital film on Archive.org

Roll
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
I
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
Russ - Sai
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234