The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke - Your Family History Show

Come along as we solve a family history mystery with high-tech and low-tech tools, discuss who to begin African-American research, explore newly available Canadian records, and contemplate the value of work as well as the values we want to pass on to our kids and grandkids.   NEWS: Canadian Genealogical Records Now Available If you have Canadian kin, you’ll be pleased to hear that the 1825 census of Lower Canada is now searchable online. The 1825 census of Lower Canada counted nearly half a million people. Heads of household were actually named, with other members of the household counted by category. You can search by household name or geographic location. The 1921 census counted 8.8 million people in thousands of communities across Canada. According to the Library and Archives Canada Blog, the population questionnaire had 35 questions. The census also collected data on “agriculture; animals, animal products, fruits not on farms; manufacturing and trading establishments; and [a] supplemental questionnaire for persons who were blind and deaf. This represents a total of 565 questions.” The census was released this past June 1 from the national Statistics office to the Library and Archives. That office is processing and scanning the nearly 200,000 images for public use. It hopes to have them posted soon. You can start looking for your Canadian ancestors in the at which include that 1825 census and a new version of the 1891 census, too. If your family arrived in Canada after the 1921 census, check out the website for The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, where a million immigrants landed between 1928-1971. The much-anticipated (but little-publicized) 1921 Canadian census is now online and available for browsing at  They anticipate releasing an index later this year. When you click on the first link above, you’ll see that Ancestry.ca’s collection of Canadian census data goes back to 1851. Check out my post above to learn about online data back to 1825. It’s getting easier all the time to find your Canadian ancestors online! Genealogy Roadshow on PBS: More Genealogy TV Lovers of Who Do You Think You Are! and other genealogy TV favorites will be pleased to know that Genealogy Roadshow is filming for airing this fall on PBS. This has already been a popular series in Ireland, where Genealogy Roadshow is in its second season. The series premieres in the U.S. on KQED on Monday September 23.   MAILBOX: Death Certificate Confusion  Scott writes: “I wanted to send this death certificate to you and maybe you could talk about it on your podcast.  It's a reminder we can't take what we see at face value even from a primary source created at the time of the event.  On one line it says he died Jan 17, 1937 and another it says the attending doctor saw him alive on February 17 of the same year.  But then he was buried on Jan 20th.  It's really not all that clear whether the events took place in January or February from just this document.”    Lisa’s Reply: What is really fascinating about this document is how the slight variation in handwriting gives away the problem. The doctor was very detailed with the variety of dates he entered as Feb. when events took place. His “3” generally stands up or even tips forward a bit. But the Registrar, Mr. Popeland, distinctly tilts his “3” and “7” back a bit. And his hand is also heavier. Very quickly you see that Dr. Brallier completed his portion of the form and then, I would guess later, Mr. Popeland completed the remainder of the form and filed it. The big question is who made the mistake: was Mr. Popeland correct that it was January, or was Dr. Brallier correct that is was February? I searched Ancestry and MyHeritage because I was anxious to know the answer. After an initial search neither Dempsey nor his wife Ruby Lee appeared, which is rather curious. After trying all types of name variations, I finally went to our old friend, . I search on his wife "Ruby Lee Danner" in quotation marks and up popped one result - . Searching “Dempsey Danner” in quotation marks resulted in 7 hits, 3 of which were him, including an obituary at the Dr. Braillier has been vindicated. Perhaps Mr. Popeland had filed one too many certificates that day, or had his mind on something else as he entered January in the remaining blanks. And once again, the case is made that the person who was there at the time of the event in person got it right, and the one recording the event later did not. Kate shares some old time photo resources:  “…Old Time DC on Facebook.  It's brilliant.  It's a collection of DC photos from the past.  It's not owned by anyone and anyone can post.    I love looking at old photos trying to figure out what the world was like before…It would be so wonderful if people in various cities starting compiling things like this Old TIme DC Facebook page.  Many families have shared interest in various places and streets but most people didn't think to take photos of those things.” Lisa’s Tip: Try searching for names of towns and keywords like “photos” and “history” to see if there are similar groups on Facebook that can benefit your research. My example: I found a similar Facebook page for Margate Kent . It's a terrific use of social media!   GEM:  Interview with Dr. Deborah Abbott Genealogy Gems contributor Sunny Morton interviews Dr. Deborah Abbott, Ph.D., an adjunct faculty member at the Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research (IGHR) at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and currently serves as a Trustee on the Board of the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS).   Dr. Abbott specializes in African American genealogy, slavery, court records as well as methodology. Her genealogical research project about an African American Family from Kentucky entitled "From Slavery to Freedom to Antioch" was highlighted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio) Newspaper under the title "Six-Volumes to Amplify a Family History" in 2008.   In this Gem Dr. Abbott shares her strategies for Starting the Search for African American Roots: Interview your family (both blood and non-blood!) Ask open ended questions Generate feelings Get an entire social history if you can. Try asking a question to frame the question. Like “who was the president when you were 12?” Debbie's Favorite Resources: Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org. Opened at the same time! Go back and forth between the two. Think of Ancestry as “the index” and FamilySearch as the “images.”  Example: Ohio Death Index 1908-2007   Slave Research: Follow the Census Research slave holder Pay attention to who is in the house, and who lives around them. Sometimes slave holders and former slaves share first names in addition to last names. “Once we get into the slave era African-America are no longer people, they are property.” You are looking for people as you would other property like land. You must look at the people making the transactions, all the way through their death.   Ohio had laws that governed the movements of African-Americans in the early years. Understand the history and the laws in the location and timeframe you are researching. In Ohio –African-Americans had to register.   Sat. Sept. 28, 2013 Detroit Public Library – Main Branch Debbie will be teaching on techniques for tracing African-American Roots Lisa will be teaching on Ultimate Google Search Strategies and Tips and Get the Scoop on Your Ancestors with Newspapers.   on the Value of Work, Looking to Ancestors for Values, and Passing on our Family’s Values to our Kids and Grandkids.

Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 158 August 2, 2013 NEWS: Attention Gmail Users:Google has revised the Gmail dashboard to now include tabs, separating your emails based on the type of content. Overall, I really like it, but I wanted to bring to your attention to the fact that your Genealogy Gems email newsletters will probably land in the Promotions tab, rather than your Primary tab. The problem with this is that we are used to focusing on what is in the in box in front of us, and I know I’m having a little difficulty retraining myself to check the other tabs. To ensure that you get your Genealogy Gems newsletter emails instantly, move the newsletter to your Primary tab. Click on the  email to grab, drag and drop it on the Primary tab. From that point forward your newsletter emails should show up in your Primary tab, and you won’t miss a thing!   The Genealogy Gems Podcast App is now available for Windows 8 phone, tablets and desktop! Our app provides you the ability to stream or download free Genealogy Gems Podcast content, and even share your favorite episodes. Here's what you need to know: Phone / Tablet:  First, for $2.99 from the Windows Phone Store.   Once installed, a live tile will be available on the start menu. Opening the app will provide you a list of episodes available for the show. You can swipe left or right to move through favorites, downloaded episodes, and recently played episodes.  Selected episodes will be highlighted with a check mark in the corner. Tapping on an episode you wish to listen to will open an in app player. Clicking on the three dots in the lower right hand corner will open up the menu shortcuts, giving easy access to marking episodes as favorites, downloading the episodes for offline listening, or sharing the episodes out with your friends. Desktop: ($2.99 from the Windows Desktop App Store.)   Opening the app will provide you a list of episodes available for the show on the right with a player on the left and utilizes all the standards of the Windows 8 navigation. Selected episodes will be highlighted with a check mark in the corner.   An episode can be bookmarked by marking it as a ‘favorite’, and episodes can be downloaded so that they are available offline.   When downloading a file, the status of the download will appear. Once an episode is favorited or downloaded, you can set the app to show only those favorite episodes or those downloaded files. You can also view a list of what episodes were recently played.   The Genealogy Gems Podcast app is the one and only family history podcast app available, and was named a Must Have Apps for Hobbies by App Advice.   Fold3 and Ancestry Trees Now when you discover an ancestor's record on Fold3.com, you can save it to your online tree at Ancestry.com.   According to Fold3.com's press release: "Whenever you see a green 'Save to Ancestry' button above a document or on a Fold3 memorial page, you can link that document or page directly to someone’s profile on Ancestry."   "You’ll be asked to log into your Ancestry.com account, and then you’ll see a drop-down list of your trees. Locate the tree you wish to save the document to, begin typing the name of the person to whom the record should be attached, choose the correct name from the list that appears, and then press save."   Watch this tutorial video to learn more and see how it's done:   OCLC and FamilySearch Partnership The patron catalog on FamilySearch.org is renamed the FamilySearch Catalog. It is re-branding of the FHL Catalog. FamilySearch is planning to load their catalog records into WorldCat by the end of the year. In the case of our very larger records, these may be abbreviated. Patrons discovering their catalog records on WorldCat will be able to click through from WorldCat to the FamilySearch Catalog to view the complete record. WorldCat will eventually show holdings in selected regional family history centers as well. There are currently no plans to change circulation policy. Films can be ordered to FamilySearch Centers as before. Other materials are not circulated.  However, they are scanning their books and have over 80,000 of them on line. There are links to them in the catalog. They can also be searched on Familysearch.org by selecting “Books”.   PAF Retires If you've been doing family history research for a while, you probably have heard of (and maybe used) PAF: Personal Ancestral File software. Well, it's been hard at work for a long time--as a true pioneer in genealogy computing--and now it's retiring.   It's not that your PAF software suddenly doesn't work. But as of today, July 15, 2013, you won't be able to get downloads, supports or upgrades from FamilySearch, which has made the software available since 1984.   What does that mean for PAF users? The current version of PAF supports exports to GEDCOM files, still a universal file type for genealogy software. So while GEDCOMs still remain supported on other software and online family tree hosts, you'll be able to transfer the data from your tree. Those who want to continue to use FamilySearch products (like Family Tree) are advised by FamilySearch to switch to software that partners with FamilySearch: Ancestral Quest, Legacy Family Tree or RootsMagic. Learn more about the PAF discontinuation, what it means to you and supported software options at FamilySearch.   And just to put in a plug for RootsMagic, a Genealogy Gems Podcast sponsor, RootsMagic 6 is the only software that is "share+ certified" by FamilySearch for use with Family Tree: the only software, as RootsMagic says, "certified to collaborate and share data and sources with FamilySearch Family Tree." If you're already using RootsMagic 4 or 5, you'll need to upgrade. Purchase RootsMagic 6 or order your upgrade here:     And speaking of RootsMagic: Now you can find short training videos in addition to free full-length webinars on RootsMagic's new YouTube Channel, RootsMagicTV at   If you're a RootsMagic user (or may be interested in becoming one), FamilySearch Family Tree or PAF user, you'll love these helpful tutorials.   And let your voice be heard: They are even taking suggestions for topics to cover in future short videos, too! email them at .     British Research The London Metropolitan Archives says that half the inquiries they receive are from family historians. This is likely due to their rich resources, click here to peruse the collection:   Because there is such a strong genealogy interest in the LMA, they are making a huge effort to reach out to genealogists. They're all about educating us and sharing what's at LMA through their website, hands-on classes, remote research services and partnerships with data sites like Ancestry and FindMyPast. All this from a city archive!   Check out this video they've made for family history researchers:     Were Your Ancestors "Vicious" or in "Chronic Want"?London Poverty Maps Map It Out! There is a fantastic blog posting on Mad About Genealogy about the Booth Poverty Maps, which look like a riveting way to understand your ancestor's 1880s London neighborhood.   According to blogger Linda Elliott,  "Booth employed a team of social investigators who walked around the London streets often in the company of the local policeman and recorded what they saw and heard. The notebooks that they filled out can be viewed online and make for fascinating reading with amongst other findings they record what the policeman thought of each street and sometime each building and its inhabitants."   Linda describes each category in greater detail in her blog post, along with everything a genealogist needs to know to use the maps   MAILBOX: Response to the update on Ancestry from Allen: “I just listened to your most recent show and wanted to comment on the Ancestry.com search updates you discussed.  I'm sure you have a direct line to them and wanted to offer some suggestions they might be able to use.   First, and I think you may have mentioned this specifically, it would be nice if there were a way to exclude certain records from a search, either automatically or by selection.  In particular, I am thinking that if I have a 1920 Census record attached to a person, there should be some way to exclude 1920 Census results from a search.  Clearly that is not a record I need if that person already has one attached.  Secondly, and related to the first, it would be nice if there were some "level of confidence" or other rating one could apply to a record match.  That way I could attach a record to a person with no confidence but still have it reference a certain person, or with a moderate confidence or high confidence.   This might also apply to relationships as well.  I think this would go a long way toward solving the problem of people posting incorrect information on their tree and others copying it.  The truth is, there is all kinds of information that we associate with our trees that we're not completely sure about but still feel reasonably confident about, but if there were some way to make that know, both to ourselves and others, it would help the situation.  Ancestry.com could then incorporate these into my first search suggestion, so that records with a high confidence would trigger a filter to remove other similar records that would not apply.  In any case, I love the show.  Keep it up.”   From Debbie Cook: My son sent me the interesting link below to a Flickr page that I thought might interest your subscribers.  They are older photos superimposed on to the existing landscape at:   UPDATE: Genealogy Gems Toolbar has been discontinued.   Sarah wrote in to say: “I want to learn how to use Roots Magic 6 that goes to Trees” Lisa’s Answer: You can watch the free RootsMagic class on "Using FamilySearch Family Tree with RootsMagic" on their website at   From Sherry, a Premium Member from British Columbia: “I wrote to you several months back to tell you about my new family history blog, "My Descent into Descent", (), and how you inspired me to create it. Well, you've also inspired me to use my new iPad, which my husband gave me for Christmas, as a tool for my research, and now for blogging. Recently, my sister and I took our long-awaited "Family History Road Trip" to New England, and I took my iPad along to blog from the road! I also brought along a keyboard, and would blog in the morning, using the Blogger app, while my sister and niece were still asleep. It was fun to share our experiences almost as they were happening, as well as the crisp and clear photos I was taking with my iPad. As my sister was more interested in the stories from our mutual family tree and less in the research, we tried to plan our trip to include destinations which would interest us both. As I have discovered that we are Mayflower descendants, one of the places we visited was the Plymouth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts. As you may know, it includes a near authentic replica of the village of Plymouth circa 1627, and has actors portraying the roles of the people living there that year. They are well-versed in the stories of the pilgrims they are portraying, and stay in character while they are conversing with you. I was hoping I might run into an actor playing one of our ancestors, but I couldn't believe our luck! Of the handful of actors we met, two were portraying our ancestors, Hester Cooke and Richard Warren! Who actually gets to talk to their long departed ancestors on a family history road trip? Thank you so much for the many ways you inspire and inform us all. I would very much like to recommend to your listeners that they consider blogging their family history. Since I started my blog in November, I have had over 4,000 hits, when I only expected to receive a few. Most excitingly, I had always wanted to connect with the descendants of my great grand aunt Lily. After telling the story of that part of the family in depth over several blog posts, I waited for several months before I heard anything. As it turned out, some of her descendants were curious about their family history, and while Googling some of the names, my blog popped up! They could not believe their good fortune in finding out so much about their tree all at once! I plan to visit them this coming week. They are excited to meet me and my husband, and have a family Bible to show me.” Leigh has a new genealogy blog! “I just wanted to let you know that I've been listening to your old Podcasts and working my way up to the present.  I'm on Episode 80 now, and I'm learning so much from you.  It has never occurred to me to start a blog, but after listening to your advice on the subject, I finally decided to give it a whirl.  I mentioned you and your Genealogy Gems podcast in the post and linked to your page.  I've heard you say that you appreciated that on previous podcasts, so I thought it would be okay.  If you'd like, you can view the blog at  . I love your podcasts, and once I'm caught up, I'm planning to become a Premium member.  Thanks for pushing me out of my comfort zone!" Winnie the Pooh Quote:  “You can't stay in your corner of the forest, waiting for others to come to you; you have to go to them sometimes.”   Thank you to our sponsor RootsMagic.com GEM: Behind the Scenes of the TV series Who Do You Think You Are? with Producer Allie Orton It was a sad day when NBC cancelled Who Do You Think You Are? here in the U.S., but genealogists are now drying their eyes and grabbing their popcorn because it’s returning to TV this month. The TLC channel has picked up Who Do You Think You? and the first episode featuring singer Kelly Clarkson premieres on July 23, 2013. Here to tell us all about it is Producer and Research Manager for the series Allie Orton. She’s a graduate of the University of Southern California, and began work as a researcher on the first U.S. season of "Who Do You Think You Are?" back in 2008. In her current role she oversees research development, coordinates communication between Ancestry.com and the research staff, and shepherds these compelling stories to completion! In this interview Allie shares: How she got involved in the show The impact of the cancellation How celebs are selected The research team makeup The art of storytelling Kelly Clarkson episode Stand out moments If it is getting any easier to produce the show Her favorite episode (hint: it’s this season) Her favorite person (OK, people!) to work with How she’ll be spending her time during the premiere What you can expect to see this season Book referred to: Exclusive for Premium Members: Allie’s Advice for Genealogists in Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast Episode 100   STAY IN TOUCH: You can stay in touch with me all month long by subscribing to the free Genealogy Gems Newsletter right on the homepage of my website And here’s a thought to ponder until we meet here again: People don't care what you know until they know that you care

In this Blast from the Past episode we are turning the time machine back to May of 2007.  First up is Genealogy Gems Episode #11, first published May 07, 2007, which includes two great gems for you: How to Find Pictures from the Past with Google.com, adn a Family History Decoupage Plate Project. This is easy even for you non-crafters out there and the result is an heirloom quality decorative plate that tells an ancestors story. Then in this double header, Genealogy Gems episode # 12, which was originally published on May 13, 2007  features ancestor educational records and my Top 10 Tips for finding the Graduation Gems in your family history. Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode: #11 Original Publish Date: May 07, 2007 GEM #1 – Discover Pictures from the Past with Google One of the easiest ways to find photos on the web is with Google.com.  The ability to focus your search on images is often overlooked.  Let’s go over the basics: Go to google.com Notice the search box at the top of the page Above the box reading left to right you will see the word WEB bolded.  This means that when you enter a word or phrase etc you will be searching everything on the web.  To the right of the word WEB is the word IMAGES.  Click on it -  and it will now be bolded. Now when you enter a word or phrase all of your results will come back as images that Google found on the internet.  This could be photos, drawings, graphics, etc. There are additional “modes” you can search in with Google such as video, news, maps, books, etc. but for right now we’re going to focus on images. To find photos of specific people try putting their first and last names within quotes (i.e. "laura ingalls wilder"). If you've got a bit more time or a really unusual surname, then you could just enter the name and that should get you started. You can also find photos of old items and places from your ancestor’s life such as tombstones, buildings, their hometown, the kind of old car they drove.  If the page containing the full image doesn't come up when you click on the thumbnail, here’s what you can do: Use your mouse to highlight the URL website address that appears below the thumbnail and press Control C on your keyboard to copy the address. Click where it says “WEB” above the Google search box to go back to website searches.  Place your curser in the search box by clicking inside it.  Press control V on your key board and that will paste the URL address into the search box. Click the SEARCH button. The first result or two should be from that website that had the image you wanted. Look at the last line of the result for that website and click on the "cache" link. Now you are looking at a cache version, or in other words an older version of the website, hopefully BEFORE the image was removed or moved. By browsing through this version of the website, you will hopefully find the image you are looking for!   GEM #2 – Mother’s Day Project – Decoupage plate In my book it’s not enough to find wonderful photos on the internet that help tell the story of your family’s past, or have a boxful of old family photos.  It’s sort of like the old riddle “If a tree falls in a forest with no one to hear it, then does it make a sound?”  If a photo is tucked away in a shoe box, is it adding to the value of your research?  Not in my book. Family History is meant to be shared.  However, I believe wholeheartedly that we, the family historian are not the primary “customer” if you will.   I constantly challenge myself to see my family today as my “customer”.  I want the family’s history to be meaningful to them and ignite in them a pride, loyalty and reverence for our family.  So I’m always trying to come up with new ways to share what I’ve found that they will enjoy. Decoupage Photo Plate: Decoupage was a hot craft for women in the early part of the century, and it's definitely gone through resurgence in the last decade. As I mentioned in a previous episode of the podcast, my mom recently brought me a truckload of family heirlooms.  She and my stepdad have taken the plunge to sell their home and travel in a motor home full time.  When I was preparing for this episode, I went looking for the decoupage plate that I made her a couple of years ago for Mother’s Day.  I assumed it was in one of the boxes that she brought me, but I couldn’t find it.  When I asked her about it, she said to me, “I gave you your great grandmother’s tea set, your grandmother’s china, and pretty much everything else I had. But I didn’t give you the plate.  I’m keeping THAT!”  Hearing her say that meant as much to me as the plate probably means to her. So may I just say, if you pour some love and time into creating this plate, I guarantee it will be treasured.  Here’s the plate I made for my mom:     Wasn’t she a cutie patootie?!  I started by selecting photos that told the story of her childhood…at the top is a photo of the house her parents built the year she was born.  Going clockwise, the next photo is her as baby, then as a toddler in her crib with her favorite teddy bear, then as a preschooler in the coat & hat her mother made for her.  In the center is my favorite childhood photo of her, probably just before entering kindergarten.  I love that it’s a close up, her BIG brown eyes, and the dainty bows in her hair.  The design in simple, and very focused on its subject matter – my mom! The photos are glued from behind so they show through the glass plate.  I painted the back black, which seemed appropriate for the black and white photos, but it could be gold, or any color you want.  Let’s get started making this modern family heirloom. The supplies you need are simple and inexpensive: A clear glass plate with a smooth finish.  You can usually buy these at craft stores, or discount stores very cheap.  Maybe a dollar each.  I got mine at a kitchenware factory outlet.  Make sure you’ve cleaned it very well before you begin, and that’s completely dry. A sponge craft brush A jar of decoupage glue Good, fine paper-cutting scissors.  Cuticle scissors also work very well. Paint – choose a color you would like for the back.  Just a small bottle of acrylic craft paint and A flat paint brush – another option is to use pretty paper or tissue. Clear brush on acrylic varnish if you want a glossy finish on the back. A selection of photos you want to use.  Personally, I like the more monochromatic look – either all color, or all black and white, but you can do whatever looks good to you.  You can also use other images that compliment the photos.  Make copies of the photos.  You can scan them and print them out on paper, or take them to a copy center and color copy them.  Whether you are using color or black and white, you’ll want to color copy them to get the best quality.  You can also play around with sizing the photos the way you want them.  While I fit just five on my mom’s plate, they are all large enough to be seen clearly, even at a distance when the plate is hanging on the wall.   Experiment with laying out your design to fit the plate.  Keep in mind that the plate likely has some slight curvature to it, so you don’t want to just turn it upside down and draw a circle around it, because your design won’t end up quite big enough.  Cut your copies a bit larger than the area they are going to cover.  Also, if you want to add any words, now is the time.  You can draw directly on the copy or print out something and cut it to fit.  In my case, felt like a picture was worth a thousand words! When applying the cutouts, you'll be working in reverse: the first images placed on the plate will be in the foreground of the design when viewed from the front of the plate. Start by applying the prominent images to the decoupage medium. Glue the edges firmly to the glass. Turn the plate over to check the placement of images Put a nice even coat of glue on the photo, on the side you want to see. Don't worry about brush strokes, but be careful not to go over it too many times, you don’t want the ink to run.  Place the image face down on the back of the plate and spread the glue over the back of the photo. Turn the plate around so you can see the image from the front and work out the air bubbles from behind.  (you can try placing a piece of wax paper over the photo and use a roller  over the wax paper to go over it and smooth it out and get the air bubbles out. Turn the plate over and check the results. Continue place the images until the entire plate is covered. Let it dry (24 hours should do it) Use painters tape to tape off the edges before you apply the acrylic paint to the back of the plate.  Let dry.  Apply a second coat, or sponge on a second color if you want to.  Let dry If you want a glossy finish on the back, apply an acrylic varnish.  Let dry   Genealogy GemsPodcast Episode #12 Original Publish Date: May 13, 2007 TODAY’S GEM – Top 10 Tips for Finding the Graduation Gems in Your Family History 1.  Establish the Timeline:  Check your genealogy database to figure out when your ancestor would have attended school.  I’m going to be focusing on high school, but this could just as easily apply to researching the college years. 2.  Family Papers & Books We always start our research at home, so go through old family papers & books looking for Senior Calling Cards, High School Autograph Books, Journals & Diaries, Senior Portraits, & Yearbooks   3.  Newspapers – Search for announcements,  honor rolls & other articles about end of the year activities.    It’s easy to say search newspapers, but it’s not always that easy to find them.  So here are some ideas of where to look for historical newspapers… - Ancestry.com ($) - The Local Public Library Website in the town where your ancestor attended school.   Check their online card catalogue, or send them an email to find out if they have the years you are interested in, and to see if they will cooperate with interlibrary loan with your local library.  - The Library of Congress  - Family History Center in Salt Lake City.  Search the Family History Library Catalog online for your ancestor's location to find what newspapers they may have.  - Historical and genealogical societies.  - U.S. state archives and libraries 4. The State Library – Wisconsin Dept of Education website list of state libraries:  < > 5.  State Historical Societies – in addition to newspapers as I mentioned before, state historical societies might have old yearbooks & photos. 6.  Rootsweb.com - Check the Message Board for the county & state you’re looking for, as well  post a message asking if anyone has access to yearbooks or other school info. 7.  Websites focused on Yearbooks –   Yearbook Genealogy.com website:    & The National Yearbook Project 8.  The US GENWEB site - Search on the county website where the school was located. 9.  Call the School – if they don’t have old yearbooks, they may be able to put you in touch with a local librarian or historian who does.  Go to www.whowhere.com and type in the school name in “Business Name”.  Call around 4:00 pm, when the kids are gone but the school office is still open.  EBAY:  Do a search on the school or town you’re looking for to see if anyone out there is selling a yearbook that you need.  Be sure and also search for old photographs or postcards of the school.  Here’s my extra trick: From the results page do a “Completed Listings” search & email potential sellers to inquire about the books you are looking for.  You might get lucky like I did! Don’t be afraid to ask – Ebay seller’s want to sell!  And if all else fails, set up an Ebay Favorite Search to keep a look out for you.  Go to my website and check out Episode #3 for instructions on how to do this.

In this episode you will get a sneak peek at new changes coming in Ancestry search, and we will look for women in naturalization records. But first here is what you can do... When Technological Changes Get You Down  The Mayhem commercials from Allstate are a riot, but of course all that mayhem is not all that funny when it’s happening to you. Sometimes it feels like technology companies are having a little mayhem fun with us when they get us all up and running with their software program, or app, or phone, or tablet, or whatever, and then bam they change it all up.  Mayhem! It’s not really that we don’t want new technology and that it’s always mayhem. But rather:   MAILBOX: A Listener Takes Action and Gets a Win! In most recent Genealogy Gems newsletter called “How Google Broke My Heart” I lamented the fact that Google is no longer digitizing historic newspapers, but put out a reminder that all of the newspapers that they have digitized to date are all still available for free online. And then I shared a cool webpage that my friend Dave Barney at Google shared with me that provides an easy to browse catalogue of all of the newspaper titles and they the years they cover. In response to that article, a listener, Chris, shared what happened after reading the newsletter.  Chris says... "Just read your article and went to check it out. I was able to find my grandfather's obituary, who died a month after i was born. Thanks for the tip!" So there you have it, the benefits of not just reading the Genealogy Gems newsletter, but taking action on it! I love hearing how you all take the gems and run with them!   Criminal Past Follow up Here is an email from a listener with Australian roots, and they are writing in about the last episode where I was talking about the new collection of criminal records at findmypast.com: “Your most recent podcast (excellent as always!) touched on transportation of convicts from UK.  The National Archives of the UK has an excellent podcast series, with many casts focused on genealogy issues.  Highly recommended for anyone with UK ancestors.  The podcasts are recorded talks given by their own professional Archives listeners. In one recent series, they discussed transportation, clarifying a lot of misunderstandings in the process. To start, the prisoners were not convicts in the sense that we use the term these days.  Violent criminals in those days were hanged.  Those transported were primarily debtors and those that committed property crimes.  These folks were not forced to emigrate.  Instead, they received a 7 year sentence.  After completing their sentence, they were free to stay or to return to England.  Perhaps the most interesting detail to me was the role the American Revolution played in the settlement of Australia.  Before the Revolution, transport was to North America.  After the war, that channel ceased to exist.  It took several years for the British to find an alternative, Australia.  So, if not for our revolution, Australia would not be what it is today.” Mike has a question about how to put names to faces. He writes: “I recently came across a class photo of a company of Navy recruits graduating on 13 June 1944 in Farragut Island, Idaho. My Father is one of them. But as I was looking at this mass of individuals (many of which would be dead within the year of the photo being taken); I thought “why not put the photo out to the general public and ask people to try and ID everyone in the photo.” I just do not know how to go about doing that the best way. That is when your name came to my mind to ask. Yes, I have digitized the photo, it is huge, so individuals would have to magnify the image.” Lisa’s Four Strategies for Crowd Sourcing Photo Identification: Well, Mike I’ve got 4 tips for you and anyone looking to try to put names to faces with the help of the genealogy community and the public at large. 1) - this is a free website where you can submit your photo, include as much info as you know about it, and then others can search the site and hopefully make identifications. This is a well-respected site that has been around a long time, and I have interviewed the founder (), who is great and passionate about old photos. 2) Consider creating individual photos of each man from the original digital scan. This might come in handy so that people can get a good look at their faces. 3) Consider creating your own free genealogy blog, even if it is just to post one article about the photo. Think of it as your own personal message board. You could include the photo (and some of the close-ups I mentioned creating) and then write up a description of what you know about the photo, the class, the location, etc. Make it as keyword rich as possible so that others will find it when they do Google searches on these keywords and topics.  is free and easy to set up in just a few minutes. 4) Another type of "personal message board" would be a YouTube video. Just film the photo, zooming in and out on the faces. Many video editing programs will let you add the photo to the software timeline and zoom in and out just like a camera.  There is a free program called Jing that might work. Or Windows Movie Maker, etc. Again, add all that keyword rich text to your video description and title, and be sure to add appropriate TAGS to the video. All of that will help it get found. Mike took my advice and set up his own free genealogy blog:   Gem posted on the Genealogy Gems Facebook page at . Marge Mero says: "Lisa, we found this quilt in the Main Street Museum at Polson, Lake County, Montana. It has my husband's grandmother's name stitched into this square. (Mrs. S. E. Salter). We also found a Red Cross quilt with relative names at a museum in Lanigan, Saskatchewan. Your posting was a good reminder to watch for quilts in museums." on Facebook because you’ve got to see this quilt!  This episode is sponsored by:   GEM: Women in Naturalization Records Women’s suffragists demonstrate in February 1913. Photographer unknown. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division. We’re also nearing the completion of the enormous Community Indexing Project of U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Records. Already we can search newly-created indexes to millions of naturalization records at FamilySearch.org. But often we don’t find the women we’re looking for. Let’s look at why. But I’ll warn you, the reasons aren’t pretty. In the past, women had very few legal rights. None could vote. Married women had even fewer rights. Their legal identity disappeared when they married, swallowed up in their husband’s. Married women did not handle legal matters in their own name, own property or keep their own money. Sometimes they did not even have legal liability for their actions. This was known as the legal principle of coverture. In 1855, a law was made that women who weren’t ineligible for other reasons (like race) were automatically made citizens when their husbands were naturalized. There was no extra paperwork or court costs. Their husbands’ papers (in combination with their marriage records) served as proof of the women’s citizenship, even though before 1906, you will not usually find the women’s names even listed on their husbands’ applications. This represented a step forward for most married women, but not all. If a husband didn’t naturalize, the wife couldn’t naturalize without him. (On the flip side, if a U.S.-born woman married a foreigner, she often lost her U.S. citizenship, whether or not she left the country. This problem wasn’t fully resolved until many years later; learn more about the laws and resulting paperwork in Naturalization laws were not applied evenly, and some women got their citizenship anyway. Eventually, as women won voting rights in various states in the early 1900s, men who applied to naturalize were sometimes denied because their wives, who would be granted citizenship and therefore voting privileges, didn’t speak English or meet other requirements. Men complained that their wives’ nationalities were getting in the way, a problem women had lived with for years! In 1922, women gained the right to naturalize independent of marital status. If their husbands were already citizens, they didn’t have to file declarations of intentions (the first step in the paperwork process), just a petition (the second step in the process). Otherwise, they had to fill out both sets of papers. Eventually even this link to their husbands’ citizenship disappeared, and they just filled out their own entirely separate paperwork. What about unmarried women and widows? They could apply for naturalization, but in especially before the 1900s, they sometimes didn’t if they had no property. They could not vote and the law didn’t always treat them fairly. They saw little benefit in investing the funds and time in applying for citizenship. It’s fascinating how much we can learn about the status of women by the way they were treated in the records we research. It reminds us to look past the paperwork to the reasons and intentions behind it, if we really want to understand how people lived. To our foremothers, both those who gained citizenship and those who were denied it, we salute you!   CLOSING: From Georgia: “First things First: Thank you so much for all you do for genealogists. I recently retired and it was my interest in your podcast long before the last day, that drew me to genealogy. While accurate data is of the most importance, I must confess, I am in it for the stories. Your website and podcast have captured my philosophy perfectly. I want the past to live for my family, not just sit politely on the dusty bookshelf. Second thing: It was with your encouraging podcasts and an unrelenting techie grand-daughter, I have begun a website and blog for my families (Doudna, Brown, Allison, and Gillingham), "Billies Girl" at . I am still in the beginning steps, but am having more fun than I ever expected.  I would like to add links to your website on the pages. But, as I am, admittedly, ignorant in the ways of web-world, I am not sure if this is something I can just do or if I need to get permission from other sites to link them. I would of course be identifying and giving credit for anything I link too. I think I can thank you for bringing me through that touchy first bit of retirement. Thanks again.”  Georgia Congratulations on your new blog! And I am always happy to have listeners link to Since my daughters are all now "leaving the nest" there have been many times over these last few years that I have been grateful to have the podcast and my listeners for helping me get through that "touchy" transition. I am very glad if I have been a help or encouragement to you in any way.

A lot has been happening in the genealogy world while I have been on the road, and my job is to boil it down so I can bring you the best genealogy gems and that’s what we are going to do in this episode.   NEWS: RootsTech If you didn’t make it out to Salt Lake City for the huge RootsTech conference – and I do mean huge – don’t fret because they have lots of video recordings online for you including a panel that I participated in where the topic was the Future of Genealogy. If you have ever wondered what is coming down the pike, and what some of the leaders in the genealogy community would like to see, I think you will enjoy this .  While it was a tall order to get up there on that stage and try to foresee the future, we had fun trying. I would be interested in knowing what you think is out on the horizon for genealogy, and what you would like to see on the horizon for genealogy.   and we’ll share some of those ideas on an upcoming episode. RootsTech Report from Sunny And if you would like to hear more about what went on at RootsTech here's a there written by our own Sunny Morton, contributing editor to Genealogy Gems.   FamilySearch Records Update There are new digitized images for Australia, Austria, China, England, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the U.S. – In fact in might be faster to announce where they are NOT digitizing records! Read Read Your Ancestor’s Criminal Past If you have British roots, you will want to check out the new collection available on Findmypast.com: a half million criminal records dating from 1770-1934!   This sounds like a pretty gripping collection, whether you've got British roots or not. It contains records like mug shots, court documents, appeals letters and registers from prison ships (which were used when mainland prisons were crowded). According to Findmypast.com, the records "provide a wide variety of color, detail and fascinating social history, chronicling the fate of criminals ranging from fraudsters, counterfeiters, thieves and murderers and their victims." The 500,000 records you can search now are only a fifth of the full collection of 2.5 million that will be online soon.   The company calls this the largest collection of historical criminal records from England and Wales to be published online and is done in association with the National Archives (UK). Findmypast.com members can to access the criminal collection directly (make sure the box for "Institutes and Organizations" is checked). Read more about it here:   Digitized War of 1812 Pension Files on Fold3 According to the National Archives, pension files for the War of 1812 rate among their most-requested materials. But the files haven’t been easy to use because they’re only at the National Archives–they haven’t been available in published, microfilmed or digitized form. You have either had to research the pension files onsite in Washington, D.C. or order copies from the Archives. Not exactly easy access. This is about to change. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS), The National Archives, Ancestry.com and Fold3.com are partners in a huge effort: to preserve and digitize 7.2 million pages of War of 1812 Pension Records and make them available for free online.    Who Do You Think You Are? TV Series Update #WDYTYA In recent weeks, that Kelly Clarkson has filmed an episode. A seeing her in Americus, Georgia and that they were shooting footage at . .   Newspapers are reporting that the Danish Broadcasting Corporation is filming its own version of “Who Do You Think You Are?” According to the and the (Illinois Valley), popular Danish actress Suzanne Bjerrehuus was in the area filming stories of her great-great-grandparents, who emigrated from Denmark to the American Midwest in 1869. (They apparently left behind one of their six children, from whom Bjerrehuus descends.)   Genealogy Jamboree:   Church Records for Genealogy on Archives.com About 4.6 million genealogical records from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are now available on Archives.com. This project represents a unique collection for Archives.com, which partnered with the ELCA Archives to digitize and index about 1000 rolls of microfilmed records of affiliated church. According to the company, this collection represents records that have never been online before. It eliminates the major barriers we usually have in researching church records: not knowing which specific congregation an ancestor attended; not knowing where those records are now and not having easy access to them.    Online Historical Maps: From David Rumsey to the DPLA Genealogists rely on historical maps to help us navigate the geography of our ancestors’ lives. One of the most important resources available online is the . Well, Rumsey recently announced on his website that he will be making more than 38,000 of his historical maps–everything he’s currently got online–available at the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).   Google’s free program Google Earth includes nearly 150 historic maps in the Layers panel.  You can also add historic maps downloaded from Rumsey’s site to Google Earth by using the Overlay feature. My video tutorial series called will show you how. You can also get step-by-step instructions in my book .   MAILBOX: Lee has some questions, and perhaps you do too: Question: How often do the premium podcasts come out?  Answer: Typically there is one new premium episode and one new premium video every month.  And the real value in Premium Membership is that when you join, you get the entire back catalogue of Premium podcast episodes and video. That means as soon as you become a Member you will have access to over 95 exclusive Premium episodes and over a dozen videos of my most popular classes and topics! Question: Does the premium version cover different material than the free version or the same topics but with more depth? Answer: Premium podcast episodes are commercial free, and very similar in format to the free show although the material I cover is different, and we often take time to go more in depth into particular genealogy topics. Question: Is it possible to buy one episode of Premium to try it out before subscribing for the full year?  Answer: Actually, the free podcast is the "free trial" for Premium. If you like the free podcast, you will love Premium! Question: While searching the iPad App Store for anything new in genealogy, I see there is a paid app for Genealogy Gems but little descriptive information. Is this just for listening to the podcast? Is the price one time or for each episode? Or, have I discovered something new that you are about to tell us all about?  Answer: The Genealogy Gems app is a one-time $2.99 purchase (which goes toward development and updates) and conveniently streams the free podcast on your mobile device. It also includes "bonus features" like unique short video, audio, images, and pdfs unique to the app. Click for the Genealogy Gems iPad app: Click for the Genealogy Gems iPhone app:   Joyce asks about region-locked video: Question: Is it possible to watch the UK version of Who Do You Think You Are? online?  If so I want to.  I need to attend their conference one of these days also. Looks like you had a blast! Lisa’s Answer: Unfortunately, the UK version is not available outside of the UK online. Many television video providers do what is called "region-locking."  However, if you are really determined to watch, a quick Google search can uncover some work around. From the BBC website: Currently BBC iPlayer TV programmes are available to play in the UK only, but all BBC iPlayer Radio programmes are available to you. One more thing - occasionally folks upload episodes to YouTube such as . Watch them soon as you can because they are often removed due to copyright issues.   New Genealogy Blogs Blogging is in the family at Matt’s house…I love your show and look forward to every episode. I've been researching for close to 20 years now, but because of podcasts, blogs and all the other electronic communications that have come along with the Internet, I feel more connected and involved in the genealogy community than ever. I want to thank you for always encouraging us to start our own blog. I finally made that jump yesterday. My daughter, who is only 11, and has her own blog about doll crafts has also been encouraging me, so I thought I better get with the program. You can check it out at I can't promise anything about how often I will post, but I do appreciate the encouragement you always provide to your listeners. Thanks for providing a great resource to the genealogy community. p.s. Just in case you want to check it out, my daughter's blog is: Amanda also has a new blog…I have been catching up on all the genealogy gems podcasts for the last month (I sometimes hear your voice when I don't have my headphones in!  :)  Anyway,  I just recently became a premium member, and I'm working my way through those podcasts and videos to catch up.  I just wanted to write to say thank you for doing what you do.  I can really tell when I listen that you love what you are doing.   I've been "working" on our family tree since 2003 or so, but only in the last year have I gotten serious about it... and only after I started listening to you have I realized about sources.  So, I now have a tree with over 13,000 people in it and most of it isn't sourced.   I wanted to let you know that I have started a genealogy blog (mostly so I can go back and source everything from the beginning).  I have had a blog in the past just about my kids and other general stuff, but I never kept it going.  I'm already thinking differently about this one because of all the possibilities there are...   the address is , I hope you'll check it out.  It's about more than just the Feeser line of our family, but since that's my last name now, that is what we used as the title.   Just after my very first post some of my first cousins (who I talk to a lot) let me know about some pictures and information they have, and one of my cousins even has a recording of our great grandmother that she did when she was younger (she's the oldest cousin).     Linda likes to blog and laugh…I have been meaning to write to you for some time now to thank you for your marvelous podcast. I have been a faithful listener to Genealogy Gems since the beginning and have enjoyed your stories, insights, and how-tos.  You have a gift for expressing the joys of learning about our family history, not to mention a contagious laugh!   Your podcasts have kept me company on walks, while doing chores, even when waiting in line. On a warm June afternoon a couple of years ago, I found myself doing just that - listening to your podcasts on immigration records and taking copious notes as I stood in line for several hours at the Palo Alto Apple Store, waiting to "early-adopt" my first iPhone.  Some hours later, I logged onto Ancestry.com to search for my elusive Italian Schiavone family, using your tips.   What a surprise when I found my great-grandfather Vito and his oldest son, Pasquale, in the Ellis Island records!  Your tips on how to read the ship's record led me to Pasquale's petition for immigration - and to so much more…When I finally tumbled into bed at 5:00 a.m.. my sweet (and very understanding husband) asked me why I had stayed up for so long.  I could hardly begin to tell him, because I was still crying tears of joy. Not long after that, I reconnected with a cousin I had lost touch with and since then have made new connections with long-lost cousins I had never known from this side of the family…It turned out the other cousin remembered my grandfather Schiavone.  He had invited her family to stay at our home while our family was away on vacation.  She actually rode my tricycle and played in my sandbox!  Can you believe what a small world?  And all of this thanks to you.  Unfortunately, this cousin passed away just last year, but I feel so blessed to have met her and to have made the other connections, who I will always treasure. By the way, I want to echo your enthusiasm for the rewards of blogging about family history.  It is so much fun, not to mention a great way to record family history for our children and for those who are searching for their roots.   But there are other rewards, too, in that researching and writing about our families allows us the opportunity to really reflect on their lives and understand them better.  This can in turn sometimes lead to some wonderful discoveries we may not have made if we had not reflected on their stories in this way.   I invite you to visit my blog, called Many Branches, One Tree, at Bill is celebrating 160 years down under on his blog…I thought you might like to hear about another blog you inspired.  I created a web site dedicated to the Jessep Family history back in 1997.  It holds just the facts and covers the many spellings of the name.  This is my father’s page so you can see what I mean.   My Jessep line arrived in Australia on the 29 Sep 1854 and I suddenly realized that in 2014 our line will have been Down Under 160 years.  Now that is something to get excited about and provided a starting point for the story.   The blog also allows the story to start and get added to with the help of others.  This gave it the  purpose it had been missing.  The about page has more information:    GEM: Interview with Chris Whitten, Founder of of my interview with Chris was done for the Family Tree Magazine podcast. In this episode, Part 2  Chris talks about the   According to Chris: "This is really a major advance on WikiTree. It makes it much more useful for people who just want to stick their toe in the water and see if cousins are already participating here.”

Travel back to #RootsTech - You'll hear 10 Top Tips for How to Bust Through Your Genealogy Brick Wall, and get the scoop on the new partnership between OCLC / WorldCat and FamilySearch. From Lisa: If you didn’t get a chance to attend a genealogy event yet this year, don’t fret, because in today’s episode while I get back to my laundry and packing to travel to Tennessee to present a genealogy seminar, you are going to hear two recordings we did at RootsTech. First up is Jay Jordon, President of which you may know as the WorldCat. We got a chance to sit down at to chat about their new partnership with familysearch which will bring the familysearch catalogue to . Watch the Video: Then you’re going to hear 10 Top Tips for How to Bust Through Your Genealogy Brick Wall – The winner of the free RootsTech registration that we gave away on the Sarah Stout, got an opportunity to sit down with me and Canadian Genealogy Guru to discuss her brick wall () which spanned the Canadian and US border. But the locations weren’t really the important thing here. The 10 Tips that Dave dished up can really be used by every family historian to achieve genealogy success. Watch the Video: Dave Obee’s Top 10 Tips: 1. Create a Timeline – “plot her life…it’s easier to see the holes.” 2. Understand Geography – “plot movements” 3. Find Every Possible Record 4. Understand How Records Were Created 5. Read Every Local Story in Newspapers at that Time 6. Tap into Local Knowledge – “Locals know more” (historical and genealogical societies) 7. Go There if You Can in Person 8. Look for Negative Proof 9. Collaborate with Other Researchers 10. Be Diligent About Proof Resources Mentioned in the video: by Lisa Louise Cooke by Lisa Louise Cooke   Lisa's Events: to see where Lisa will be presenting next to book Lisa for your next event

Enjoy a blast from the past with episode #10 featuring Steve Morse and his One-Step website. Then delight in Darius Gray, a genealogist and storyteller who provides tips on sharing your family history stories with your family, (recorded at #RootsTech 2013) GEM: A Blast from the Past -Episode: # 10        Original Publish Date:  May 01, 2007 GEM: Stephen Morse On August 21, 2007 I attended a seminar sponsored by a local genealogical society.  The speaker was Stephen P. Morse who is very well-known in the genealogy community for his ingenious database search tools available to everyone free from his website: It’s estimated that nearly 40% of Americans today have an ancestor who arrived in the United States at Ellis Island.  I know I certainly do.  Well, ship’s passenger records are really exciting to find and to work with.  If you have an ancestor who came through Ellis Island, you’re going to want to make it a priority to find their record.  Steve Morse, described to those of us at the seminar, the success and the frustrations that he encountered in trying to retrieve records from the ellisisland.org database. Steve experienced much of the same frustration that we often do.  However, he just happens to be a world renowned engineer.  He holds electrical engineering degrees from three universities, which he put to good use when he designed the Intel 8086, the predecessor to today’s Pentium processor.  And being an amateur genealogist he put those skills to good use by developing the One-Step Ellis Island website to make those records easier to find.  Since that time the One-Step site has really been expanded to include new search capabilities and an array of color-coded search forms. Today Steve recommends use of his Gold Form that searches all New York passengers using enhanced search options.  It uses the database at ellisisland.org but has its own search form and search engine that provides the enhanced features.  When you use the Ellis Island website you’ll most likely have to keep going back and revising and adding to your search to get what you need.  But using the Steve’s Gold Form website, all the search criteria are there on one page for you to choose from and use.  You’ll be using your search time much more effectively – and you know me, I want to get the most I can out of my research time. The One-Step website started out as an aid for finding these ship passengers in the Ellis Island database.  Shortly afterwards it was expanded to help with searching in the 1930 census.  Over the years it has continued to evolve and today includes over 100 web-based tools divided into twelve separate categories.  They range from genealogical searches to astronomical calculations.  He even has a last-minute bidding form you can use for e-bay!  If you listened to Episode 3 of the Genealogy Gems Podcast on Ebay, then you know that I was excited to hear that!   Please let other genealogists know about how much you enjoy the Genealogy Gems Podcast: If you’re enjoying the show & have an itunes account, would you please do me a favor?  Go to the  and leave a positive review.  Thanks!   GEM: Interview with Genealogy Guru and Storyteller Darius Gray at RootsTech 2013     your genealogy group about how to use Google Earth for Genealogy! to see where Lisa will be speaking next in person

Show Notes Lisa Louise Cooke I am back from speaking at the Who Do You Think You Are? Live conference in London, and I’ve brought back some gems for you for this episode which I’m excited about. I got to spend about a week in England and this time around got to do some touring with my friend Janet Hovorka owner of Family ChartMasters. We went to Windsor castle which I’ve always wanted to see, and it did not disappoint. What windsor castle can teach us about family history. It’s all in the details! The highlight for me was going to Jane Austen’s house in Chawton, Hampshire. I’m an Austenphile, and I soaked in nooks and crannies of the home where she lived with her sister Cassandra. It was fantastic seeing the little desk where she worked on her books like “Pride and Prejudice” and “Emma.” Janet and finished up the tour with tea at across the street, where hundreds of china tea cups hang from the ceiling, and where I had the best bowl of tomato soup in my entire life! Oh yeah, I was there for a genealogy conference. And yes, WDYTYA Live lived up to all expectations. Janet and I had a booth and I taught classes on Google Search and using your iPad and tablet for genealogy. The classes were sold out and people were lined up around the walls. The turn-out they get for this event is just incredible. I haven’t heard the final numbers, but word is it was well over 12,000 people over the three days. So here’s my own genealogy story from the event. Now, if you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while then you may remember me telling you about my first trip to WDYTYA Live and how after one of my presentations several of my husband’s distant English Cook cousins met up with us and we sort of had an impromptu family reunion upstairs in the expo hall. One of those in attendance was Louise Cook (without the “e”) who is married to my husband’s cousin Peter. I know, it gets a little confusing with Louise Cook and Lisa Louise Cooke! But anyway, Louise and I stay regularly in touch, and we met up at the conference this year.  She found me after one of my classes and we got to visit, and she told me that she was going to help out with her friend’s society booth. So we are walking back to my booth, and when we arrive, she looks up and laughs because the Lincolnshire booth was right next to ours and there was her chair!  Can you imagine if we had not already met, that Lisa Louise Cooke, and Louise Cook would have been sitting right next to each other throughout the conference not knowing that our husbands were related by way of their third Great Grandfather? ! The moral of the story: Next time you sit down at a genealogy conference introduce yourself to those next to you, you never know who you might be related to.     NEWS: Find My Past Series now on the website Find My Past, the hit UK television show, is now available to view via . Find My Past, now entering its second season, links living individuals to real historical events found in their family tree and now on for free and watch Find My Past episodes that aired in the last 30 days at no cost. Missed an episode or want to watch your favorites again? Findmypast subscribers can watch all episodes for an unlimited time. Every episode will be available to watch on a week after it airs.      MAILBOX: Delray wants to know where the Family History Podcast Show Notes have gone... “I've been listening to your podcasts for over two years now:  GenealogyGems and GenealogyGems Premium.  ALL of the podcasts are on my iPod, so that I can listen to them over and over.  It seems each time I listen to your podcast, I learn something new that I missed last time.  Somehow I missed the fact that you used to have a podcast called Family History: Genealogy Made Easy.  I'm going to be teaching a class to genealogy newbies in April, so I've been listening to these older podcasts to see what you shared with beginners.  You mention the "show notes" like you do in GenealogyGems, which are always a life saver when I miss a web address or something; however, I cannot locate any "show notes" for the Genealogy Made Easy show.” Lisa’s Answer: The Family History podcast is in a bit of transition right now. We are no longer part of the Personal Life Media network and so all of the show notes pages that they previously hosted have been removed from their website. We are now working to transition the Tunes podcast feed. As soon as that happens, we will start republishing the show on the Genealogy Gems website. Gus chimes in on Genealogy Podcast No. 148 “Here are my thoughts on internet rip offs. I have both a blog and a web site and my feelings are that if I put anything up there, people will steal anything and use it for their own use. I have copied myself from two books, one published in 1888 and another published in 1895, I don't feel that I am really stealing from these old books. In the book from 1888, I gave credit to the original author, (my ancestor) in a new book." Dan shares his experience with copyright: “When rock legend Ronnie James Dio died in 2010 I used his obituaries as a starting point for genealogical research on his ancestry, blogging about what I found at "".  Two people contacted me politely requesting permission to reprint the information, so in my experience people have been quite respectful of copyright.  One of those people wanted to add my findings to the Hungarian Wikipedia page on Dio, increasing my reach as a blogging genealogist beyond my wildest dreams.  Getting the Word out on a Genealogy Blog “I regularly listen to your podcast through iTunes and see that sometimes you feature blogs on your show.  I've been meaning to write to you for quite some time now and am hoping you can let your audience know of my genealogy blog. My blog, called “,” features a family history of the Breeding family.  Our roots are specifically in the following areas: Wythe County, VA; Overton County, TN; Carroll County, AR and Tulsa, OK.  Over the past two years, I have tackled genealogy from a different perspective: that of looking at my great-grandpa Hugh Breeding’s trucking company.  At first, I merely intended on putting together some basic facts and figures on the company and calling it a day.  However, I have really gotten into the history of the company and the place it held in the trucking industry…the employee vignettes featured throughout my company research really drives home the story of the company on a more personal level as well as adding much more color to the overall history of the firm.   GEM: WDYTYA Round Up Interview with Dr. Turi King Full interview on Premium Episode 97   Lisa’s Articles: Check out my two article in the March / April 2013 issue of Family Tree Magazine The Evernote vs. Microsoft OneNote Quick Guide  and The Toolkit Tutorial Using the David Rumsey Map Collection

In this episode we wrap up my 50 Fabulous Family History Favorites List On Friday I babysat my two grandsons Davy and Joey, and I put together a little game that was prompted by a listener email. You met long time listener and Premium Member Dot in Australia during our virtual Christmas Party in episode 147, and after the show aired, Dot wrote me to say how much she enjoyed it and to tell me about a little concentration game she put together for her granddaughter.  When my kids were growing up we called in the Memory Game and I know some folks call it the Match Game. But no matter what you call it, it’s the game where you have a set of cards that are all pairs, and you lay them upside down in rows on the table and two at a time turn them over trying to find matches. The person with the most matches wins. Dot made up cards with photos of her family members. She writes: “She opened the little box I was holding and went through the photos one by one. We put a few pairs down at a time, and as she turned them over she matched them. I included our pets as well.” I wrote Dot back to let her know that MyHeritage.com had something similar. You have to sign in to your free account. In the menu you will find the MyHeritage Family Game under the Apps tab When Davy, who is three years old, arrived on Friday I got to thinking about all this, and I quickly whipped together a set of cards using photos of family members and ancestors. How to Make a Quick Memory Game: Software:  Microsoft Publisher Create one rectangle outline shape the desired size of the cards Copy and paste the shape to fill up the page. (I fit 6 cards per page) Duplicate the page enough times to have enough cards for a game. (I just started with 9 pairs) Using the Insert Picture feature, fill each rectangle with a digital photo from your computer (adjust the size of the image to fit the rectangle so all the cards would be uniform.) Print them out on Glossy Photo paper Cut out the cards It was a lot of fun and a great way to incorporate family history in to daily activities. I think when we do that it makes family history more of a natural part of our kid’s lives. Dot also mentioned to me that she found an app for her iPad called Match. (Update: this app appears to be discontinued. Try Match the Memory at )  And the other fun things I did this weekend was watch a movie called Play the Game. My daughter Hannah told me about it and set it up in my Netflix Instant Queue when she was here over the holidays, and we finally got a chance to sit down and watch it. If you’re looking for a Valentine’s movie to watch with your sweetie, this is it. It is a little independent film from 2008 starring one of my all-time favorites – Andy Griffith. It’s about the relationship between a young man and his grandfather, and how they coach each other through their love lives. It’s funny, and sweet, and that’s very refreshing. You can check it out at the movie’s website called     GEM: 50 Fabulous Family History Favorites Free ChartsGenealogy charts in one form or another have been around since people started keeping track of their family history. And even with all the technology we have today, sometimes there is just no substitute for a paper chart to help you work through the complicated relationships in your family tree. My first favorite gems are in the chart category, free charts that you can use online and offline to help you keep things organized, as well as help you share your family tree with others.   26. About Genealogy View, download, save and print free family tree charts and forms including U.S. Census Extraction forms. In this collection you will find traditional family tree suitable for printing, as well as interactive charts that allow you to type in the fields online (using the free Adobe Reader program) before saving them to your computer.    27. Ancestry.com Deep in the Ancestry website are a diverse collection of free downloadable forms and charts. Select from Ancestry Ancestral Form, Research Calendar, Research Extract, Correspondence Record, Family Group Sheet, Source Summary, US, UK and Canadian Census forms.             28. Family Tree Magazine   Offers a wide selection of free downloadable charts including a Five-Generation Ancestor Chart, Family Group Sheet, Research Calendar, and Repository Checklist. You’ll also find forms for Cemetery Transcription, Immigration, Records, Oral History, Heirlooms, and census extraction forms for every US enumeration.   29. MarthaStewart.com At marthastewart.com they offer an online decorative Family Tree Fan Chart template suitable for framing.  In the search box on the site’s home page search for “Family Tree Charts” and you’ll find several lovely charts in the results list that include instructions and downloadable templates. You’ll also find other “good things” including free videos and family tree display ideas.   30. FamilyChartmasters.com The Family ChartMasters chart creation tool--Family ChArtist-- is a great way to make a decorative 8.5x11 chart suitable for scrapbooking, framing or other craft projects.  Enter your information manually or via gedcom and choose one of the simple pedigree chart designs.  You can edit your information and then choose from hundreds of borders, background and embellishments or even use your own pictures in your chart.  Movies You can tell by the way I opened this show that I love a good movie, and I particularly love movies with family history themes and stories of immigration. This next group of favorites is what I consider to be some of the best:   31. “Writer Nick and his wife Emily are expecting their first child. When a necessary home repair proves too costly to afford, Nick must swallow his pride and visit his father, a proud immigrant stonemason with whom he has a difficult relationship, and ask him to do the work. Confronting the issues of religious and family tradition which have separated father and son causes Nick and Emily to reevaluate their lives and the things they value most.” Starring the incredible Judy Holliday who you’ll remember from the original version of the movie Born Yesterday, and Richard Conte   32. Sweet Land The Movie website: When Lars Torvik’s grandmother Inge dies in 2004, he is faced with a decision – sell the family farm on which she lived since 1920, or cling to the legacy of the land. Seeking advice, he turns to the memory of Inge and the stories that she had passed on to him. The movie is based on Will Weaver’s short story A Gravestone Made of Wheat and shot on location in Southern Minnesota. 33. The Emigrants Starring Max Von Sydow. In episode 24 I mentioned the book which was made into a movie.  (Swedish: Utvandrarna) “The Emigrants” is a 1971 Swedish film directed by Jan Troell. It tells the story of a Swedish group who emigrate from Småland, Sweden to Minnesota in the 19th century. The film follows the hardship of the group in Sweden and on the trip. The film is based on the first two novels of The Emigrants suite by Vilhelm Moberg: The Emigrants and Unto a Good Land.”   34. (British title The Anatolian Smile) A 1963 American dramatic film directed, produced and written by Elia Kazan, from his own book. In this tale, loosely based upon the life of Kazan's uncle. Turner Classic Movies has started showing it occasionally, so check their schedule.   Conferences and Events One question I get asked a lot is about conferences. Most folks don’t have the time or money to attend them all, and I often get asked, if I could go to just one which would it be? Well, first and foremost it’s the one that has the kind of classes you are looking for  for your particular research, but I do have some overall opinions on conferences that I think you really can’t go wrong with. 37.   38. WDYTYA Live in London (Update: This conference has been discontinued) 39.   Stuff for Kids Every day that we invest in genealogy research it becomes even more important that we capture the interest of the next generation in family history. If we don’t, it could all be lost and for nothing. This next group of faves are tools you can use to accomplish this important task. 40. 41. 42. 43.   My Favorite Episodes 44. The Forensic Linguist Dr. Robert Leonard   45. My interview with Venice   46. Interview with Lisa Kudrow   47. Chris Haley sings   48. Steve Luxenberg and   49. Interview with Gena Ortega   and   50. Heritage Quilts

Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 150 In celebration of this 150th episode and my 50th birthday, I bring you: A Birthday from Long Ago 50 Fabulous Family History Favorites  Websites: 1. Familysearch.orgThey are the leaders in free online records. While it’s tempting to just start typing in ancestors name for searches and hoping for the best, a strategic genealogist determines what type of record they want to find for a question about their ancestor, and then uses the catalogue to determine if FamilySearch has those records. Catalogue is one of the links above the search box, and while it doesn’t stand out, that link is really the key to understanding what familysearch has to offer. Click it and try out all the variations of searches from place names to keywords. 2. Ancestry.com They are the big daddy of the subscription genealogy record sites, and of course in addition to records you can build your family tree on the site. One of the questions folks usually get around to at some point is how to delete and merge data in their Ancestry family trees, and I recently posted a video by Ancestry’s Krista Cowan that explain exactly how to do it. 3. Library of congress American memory I’ve discussed this gold mine of public domain free ephemera several times on the show including and of course in Episode 54 I explained how I used the American memory website to locate the original sheet music for one of the songs in the Name that Tune segment. 4. US Bureau of Land ManagementIf you are looking for U.S. Homestead records then this is the site for you. And if you haven’t been there in a while you’ve got to check it out because they’ve upgraded the site and added loads of new content in including original Field Notes. 5. Google books Premium Episode 91 – Paper, Ink and Books. One of the gems I tell my students in my Google classes is that even if they have no other interest in Google Books, go there and do a search on Ancestry Magazine, because although the magazine is no longer published, all ten years of issues are digitized, online and searchable at Google Books. Now that’s a gem! 6. Google.com How could I not include Google.com as a favorite website. I wrote an entire book about it for goodness sake. A piece of noteworthy news: have you noticed the changes to Google Image search lately?  I’ll be highlighting those in an upcoming episode. 7. Stanford University’s  Data Visualization Mapping Journalism’s Journey West You can see examples of it in action at my youtube channel in the newspaper Research playlist. And I give you everything you need to know about it in my book How to Find Your Family History In Newspapers 8. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries Published by the Newberry Library, it is a genealogist’s answer to changing county boundaries over the years.    Video in Premium Episode 70 9. FamilySearch’s Research Wiki OK if you’re not using this you are just plain old working too hard!  This site is where all the greatest research minds at the Family History Library come together just to help you find your family history. I particularly turn to the Research Wiki when researching internationally as they have some fabulous international consultants who outline what you need to know get started, all the way to the depths of the most obscure records that are available. 10. Davidrumsey.com Genealogy is all about location, location, location, and that means that historic maps are vital to your research. David Rumsey is a cartographer here in the San Francisco Bay Area who has spent his entire life collecting over 150,000 historic maps from around the world. And over 30,000 of them have been digitized and made available online through his website. Here’s a tip: be sure to sign up for a free account to his website so that the highest resolution maps will be available to you to download. And don’t just stop with downloading the map, import your maps into Google Earth so that you can view areas today and in the past. My Google Earth for Genealogy video series shows you have to do it step by step and it’s incredible what a difference it can make to you research. I’ll have a quick little video in the show notes for you so you can see a preview of it and the other techniques I teach on the video series. YOUTUBE CHANNELS: Another fabulous gem out there is YouTube. Did you ever think that YouTube would be a fabulous genealogy gem? Well, it really is, and video is the fastest growing segment online and it’s not just cute cat videos and stupid pranks.  There’s a ton of great genealogical related content, and I want to share some great family history channels to get you started 11. USNational Archives YouTube channel You’ll find hundreds of videos, and of course not every one of them would be applicable to genealogy, so I recommend you click the Browse Videos link under the banner at the top and then click Playlists. This will sort the videos into topics. And of course, as with all YouTube channels you can search by keyword in the channel’s search box in the upper right corner. Since Google owns YouTube, you can use all the Google tricks I’ve taught you over the years and in my book The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox to find exactly what you are looking for. I particularly love the 1940 census playlist and the one called Tracing WWII 12. AncestryCom Here again you will find an amazing number instructional videos and the great thing about Ancestry’s channel is that they give you a list of all the playlists right on the channel’s home page so you find all the videos for a particular topic you are looking for. If you are a paid subscriber to Ancestry, this channel is really key to getting the most out of the website. 13. FamilySearch Channel FamilySearch offers over 70 videos, and is a particularly worthwhile channel for folks who are new to family history research. But let me tell you, if you need a bit of inspiration, or just a feel good moment, don’t miss their new video called A Survivor’s Pearl Harbor Experience. I will have it in the show notes for you. It is one of my favorite videos. 14. UniversalNewsReels With over 600 videos you are almost guaranteed to find something on any world even topic. According to the channel’s description: “In the pre-TV era, people saw the news every week in their neighborhood movie theaters. Newsreels were shown before every feature film and in dedicated newsreel theaters located in large cities. Universal Newsreel, produced from 1929 to 1967, was released twice a week. Each issue contained six or seven short stories, usually one to two minutes in length, covering world events, politics, sports, fashion, and whatever else might entertain the movie audience. These newsreels offer a fascinating and unique view of an era when motion pictures defined our culture and were a primary source of visual news reporting.”  I fully admit that one of my favorites in the bunch is Much Ado About Hairdos filmed right here in the San Francisco Bay area in the early 1950s.  I think I might give that Leopard hairstyle a try. 15. Library of Congress channel 1218 videos. Use the Playlists!  You’ll find Timeless treasures and contemporary presentations from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. at the Library of Congress Channel. The Library is the steward of millions of recordings dating from the earliest Edison films to modern day presentations held at the Library. Again look to the playlists link to help you sort through the videos. Some gems of note are the Spanish-American War playlist of videos, and America at Work, America at Leisure playlist which is an incredible collection of 150 films. Here’s a description of that playlist from the channel: “Highlights include films of the United States Postal Service from 1903, cattle breeding, fire fighters, ice manufacturing, logging, gymnastic exercises in schools, amusement parks, boxing, expositions, football, parades, swimming, and other sporting events. The majority of the films presented here are from the Paper Print Collection, while the remainder are from the George Kleine Collection, both residing in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (M/B/RS) of the Library of Congress. Both of these collections have printed catalogs available in the Motion Picture and Television Reading Room at the Library. The films were selected from these two collections on the basis of the activities pictured in the films and the quality of the available prints. As many different types of work, school, and leisure activities as could be found were sought in order to show the broadest possible representation of activities at the turn of the century. The selection is limited, however, by what is available from these collections; not every possible occupation or leisure activity from the turn of the century is represented. The films in the Paper Print Collection were deposited for copyright from 1894 to 1912 as positive pictures on paper. Many were deposited in this manner on paper rolls frame by frame. For preservation and access purposes, the Library of Congress has made 16mm prints of these Paper Print titles, and has more recently been making 35mm prints of selected titles.” This collection is a wonderful way to revisit how folks spent their time in the early part of the 20th century. 16. Depression Era Cooking with ClaraClara Cannucciari is 96 year old cook, author great grandmother and YouTube star. In these fabulous videos Clara recounts her childhood during the Great Depression as she prepares meals from the era. You’ll learn how to make simple yet delicious dishes while listening to stories from the Great Depression. If you love these videos as I do, you’ll love Clara's book: "Clara's Kitchen: Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes from the Great Depression" and I’ll have a link to that in the show notes. 17. Mike O’Laughlin Channel If you have Irish roots this is a must see channel. Mike is an author of Irish Books, a producer of the Irish Roots Café Podcasts, and a lover of Irish folk Songs. And he’s been at all this since 1978. You’ll find over 25 videos including some really wonderful old Irish songs sung by Mike himself overlaying some captivating imagery.   MOBILE APPS: 18. Flipboard Download the free app, sign up for your free account, and then load Flipboard up with RSS feeds for all your favorite genealogy blogs, podcasts, and video channels. You will end up with a gorgeous color “glossy magazine-like” layout that you can easily flip through and enjoy. 19. Dropboxsign up for a free account and then download dropbox to your computers and mobile devices. You will then have seamless file sharing and synchronization, as well as the added benefit of having your files backed up on the Cloud. 20. PinterestThink of Pinterest as a fun online bulletin board that makes it easy to store and share the gems you find on the Web. Check me out on Pinterest and follow my family history boards: 21. EvernoteEvernote can help the genealogist remember everything! Sign up for a free account, download the desktop client to your computer, and then get the free apps for your mobile devices and you’ll be all set to start taking notes of every kind. Notes are automatically synchronized so you are never caught working on an old version.  Genealogy Gems Premium Members can watch the video of my full length Evernote for Genealogy class. 22. RootsMagicHot off the press, this long awaited free app allows you to take your entire genealogy database with you! Check out the free recorded video webinar called RootsMagic for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch at 23. CycloramicShell out 99 cents and you’ll have an app that will spin your  iPhone around in a circle taking glorious panoramic videos and photographs. Just set your iPhone on Vibrate, set it on a flat smooth surface and watch it spin. 24. Best Phone SecurityThis free iPhone app is produced by RV AppStudios LLC. According to the app’s description “It senses when it's been touched or moved. Then, a loud alarm starts blaring and a bright red light flashes, making the joke on the thief! To stop the alarm you have to enter your security PIN.  Use alarm on your iPhone/iPod/iPad when in public or also to catch those sneaky friends and family who try to peek into your iPhone when you're away. What really happens when you're in the shower, sleeping, or just away from your device. Use this high quality app to trigger an alarm.” This could come in very handy when you are researching at libraries! 25. PocketboothBy Project Box, 99 centsSnap old time photo booth film strips with your family and friends. A fantastic activity for Family Reunions! Stay tuned for the next episode where we wrap up with the second half of the list!