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

Published May 3, 2012 Decipher your ancestor’s head gear with Maureen Taylor (AKA The Photo Detective) with tips from her new book Bonnets and Hats. And then grab your spouse for a genealogical musical number. NEWS: Thanks for the Shout Outs: Going the Extra Yad by Emily Garber  at the blog   FamilySearch Update The 1940 U.S. census indexing project was launched this April as part of a broad . - Over 85,000 volunteers have already completed 20 percent of the census project. - A record number of active indexers used the program in a single day—34,947 volunteers.  - In one day more than 3.2 million records were indexed and 1.5 million were arbitrated.    The Genealogy Gems News Blog   Pinterest My pinterest boards Pins from genealogygems Follow me on pinterest icon  MAILBOX: Sterling is lucky to have old family photos but needs some help preserving them. He writes:  “I've become a regular listener of your Genealogy Gems podcast and I find that I'm enjoying it as much as any of the NPR radio shows that are my listening mainstays. I've learned so much from listening to you over the past few months and I'm deeply grateful. I have a question that perhaps you or one of your listeners know the answer to. I have a family photo album, circa 1915, in which all the photos have been glued to black construction-type paper…Can you or anyone listening suggest a safe method for removing these photos from their old pages in order to recover the information that's on the backs of them? An answer from The Practical Archivist Sally Jacobs Sally also writes: “My advice was to use interleaving sheets to protect the image side of the photographs from the acidic paper, rather than deconstruct her ancestor's scrapbook. That advice still stands, but your listener has brought up one of the few exceptions to this rule: Information has been written on the back of the glued photographs. That doesn't mean I'm giving Sterling a green light to soak his ancestor photographs.  NOTE:  Water and photographs should not be mixed by anyone who isn't a trained conservator! The scrapbook format is difficult to process because of the different elements from which it is made. The adhesive may be water soluble and simple to soak off. Try to isolate a leaf of the book with some plastic sheeting (i.e. place a piece of plastic under the leaf to avoid damaging the leaf below). Place a damp piece of blotting paper over one of the newspaper clippings under a light weight. Leave it for about twenty minutes then very carefully, using a spatula, lift the newspaper from the leaf. Place the newspaper clipping between two pieces of dry blotting paper to dry." Thanks to Sally Jacobs the Practical Archivist.  You can get lots more greats preservation advice from her at   Swedish TV Series: Line in Denmark wrote in again to give us an update on a popular Swedish TV show about family history: “I have some exiting news about the Swedish tv show that I mentioned in my last email. "Everything for Sweden."  On this link they are “I have taken up your advice on contacting long lost family members. I still don't have the courage to phone them, but instead contacting them on e-mail. So far it has been a big success. I would never have done it if I hadn't listened to your show. So thanks! Love your podcasts - please keep on making them!” Beverly Loves the Podcast: “I'm a relatively new listener and premium member. I was bitten by the genealogy bug when I was about 12 years old and now I'm a grandmother. I've been calling myself a reformed genealogist because the "bug" has been dormant for a while…Thank you for all you share with your listeners. You have a real gift for communicating in a clear and personable way. I look forward to all your gems I have yet to uncover.”   Get your free audio book and over 40,000 audio book titles to choose from at Audible:     GEM: Interview with The Photo Detective Maureen Taylor, author of the book Bonnets and Hats     GEM: The Genealogy WidowerThe other day I was doing my usual trolling of the web searching for new genealogy gems, and I found a very musical oe that I want to close out the show today with.  If you have a wife or husband like mine who really isn’t in to genealogy, gather them around the computer or iPod because I’ve actually got something on the show they are going to totally identify with.  This is a special song that comes to us from Michael Stewart also known as The Genealogy Widower…  You can download a free copy of Michael Stewart’s song the Genealogy Widower .

April 26, 2012   NEWS: The big news is Ancestry.com’s acquisition of Archives.com My Classes at the Genealogy Jamboree Conference: TH-001 - Conversation with the Author: Steve Luxenberg and Annie's Ghosts TH-013 - Common Surname Google Search Strategies SA-020 - Sharing The Joy: Projects That Will Captivate The Non-Genealogists In Your Life SA-034 - The Google Earth Scavenger Hunt – Fascinating Family History Fun! SA-040 - 10 Ways to Add Volume to Your Family History with Video  MAILBOX: Ashley discovers the important of citing her genealogy sources: I wanted to drop you a note to express my deepest thanks for all of the work that you put into the podcast.  I'm just shy of 30 years old and I've been working on my family tree since I was about 15, but even after all of that work, I'm still learning something new every day! …I wanted to share with you is that I just finished listening to episode 20 of the FH:GME podcast (all about the GPS and the importance of sourcing) and my own sad tale with sources:  Like I said, I started family tree research when I was about 15.  I stumbled on a four page report that my grandmother had ordered through a professional genealogist in the 1970s and was immediately hooked.  Unfortunately, NOTHING is sourced in that report.  I asked my Gramma about it and she told me that even she had found some errors (for example: she had four older half-siblings that were stillborn or died shortly after birth.  The report said that they were all born and died in February, which my Grandmother adamantly claims isn't true.) But I based almost my entire tree on that report.  Then I made things worse by accepting any family trees on Ancestry.com as fact, adding names, dates and information willy nilly from people who may or may not have been related to me.  It wasn't until I realized that one branch of my tree had "traced" itself back to Julius Caesar (who was his own grandfather, according to the tree) that I went, "... wait a minute." I'm starting the process of creating a new, sourced, accurate tree.  It’s probably going to take me just as long to fill out the branches, but it will be worth it in the end.  And I have you, and the fantastic resources you bring to the podcast, to thank!   Thank you so very, very much.  Your podcasts are such an invaluable tool and listening to them make me so excited to try a new method in my own research. Jack in Newport News, Va wants to know what do to with the folks who may or may not be ancestors: “We all are searching for the "right" people but sometimes we find, or seemingly find, the "wrong" people. With the massive number of records on-line these days, it seems quite easy to find someone with the right name and age-range and, often even close to the right area. Sometimes I can eliminate a find based on some fact, but often there’s less certainty. What is the suggested best practice for handing a wrong, or possibly wrong, person/fact?” Lisa’s Answer: This is a good question and one we all face at some point. In the end I think it comes down to two things: 1.      What works best for you 2.      And however you decide to handle it, do it consistently! My personal preference is to make notes in the correct person. If there is no "correct" person in my database, then I will create an "unknown" person in that spot and start adding my finds to that profile, even if it's just in the notes section, so that it's all in one place. It's critical to cite your sources on ALL data along the way so that you know where it came from and you can find it again. Challe needs help saving old books: “What does one do to get the information out to the next generation that might not have access to these books?  How do you continue the work without reinventing the wheel of all the research that they did?  How do you make corrections if needed? I am concerned that the information will be lost and I am unsure as to what to do about it.” Lisa’s Answer: I turned to my friend and book publisher Leland Meitzler owner of Family Roots Publishing at , for an answer to your question and here’s what he said: “This is an ongoing conundrum, and a question that's not easily answered. The bottom line is that the person should contact the next of kin, and attempt to buy the copyright, or at least the publication rights - just as a publisher would do. And it needs to be in writing. Failing that, use the "data" within a succeeding publication, being very careful to obtain, and cite the original sources, and if those are not available, cite the book and author without copying word for word what they published. Honestly, it's tricky, and not something I'd want to attempt. If the book was published prior to 1923, all this is not an issue. The item is in the public domain. If published after that date, but before 1978, there's still a good chance that the book may be out of copyright, if the author didn't renew. After January 1, 1978, the copyright is good for the authors lifetime, plus 70 years. Actually, it's even more complicated than that, but that's the basics.” Leland recommends:     GEM: The Defective, Dependent and Delinquint Special Census of 1880 with Jana Broglin, CG, OGSF The DDD: Supplemental Schedules 1 through 7 Download Jana's pdf "s".  A special thank you to Jana for making this available!  U.S. Federal Census – Visit Jana’s Website:

Published April 16, 2012 In this episode learn more about APG, find out what’s new with RootsMagic 5, and get started searching the 1940 census.   NEWS: Diane Haddad and I just spent some time on the Family Tree Magazine podcast going over everything that’s been happening with the release of the 1940 census.  Diane is the Managing Editor of Family Tree Magazine and writes the Genealogy Insider blog, and she’s been doing a terrific job covering the records release, indexing efforts and early finds in the 1940 census. You can hear the entire April episode of the Family Tree Magazine podcast at And you can read more about it my article called at the Genealogy Gems News Blog. where you can read about the official opening ceremony at the National Archives and check out a really cool infographic put out by Archives.com that guides you through the process of finding your relatives in the 1940 census before the index is finished and released.  Because there isn’t a searchable name index yet, you’ll need to follow a simple three step process: #1 Write down where you ancestor lived.  You can ask older references, check old city directories, voters registrations, previous census and the like to come up with a pretty reliable list. #2 Go to   Enter your family’s location to find their enumeration district.  This is key to finding them without a published index. #3 Use the Census Maps to narrow your results #4 Enter the enumeration district number to view the image Who Do You Think You Are? on NBCIf you’ve been enjoying the new season of the TV series Who Do You Think You Are? on NBC, then you’re really going to enjoy the deleted scenes videos I have for you on the Genealogy Gems News blog.    Rob Lowe   National Archives The National Archives continues to publish some great videos on their YouTube channel and here’s one that I really enjoyed: Also part of that series is another new video that the National Archives released on …   New Free RootsMagic Webinars Announced RootsMagic has released Version 5.  At the Ohio Genealogical Society conference in Cleveland I got a chance to sit down with Bruce Bruzbee, the President of RootsMagic and he tells us what’s new. It was so great to have a chance to sit down with Bruce and hear about all the upgrades, and he mentioned the free webinar series that they’ve been doing, and all of those have been recorded and are on their website at RootsMagic.com Installing and Upgrading RootsMagic 5 New Media Tagging in RootsMagic 5 New Source and Citation Features in RootsMagic 5 New Research Logs and Manager in RootsMagic 5 New Timeline View in RootsMagic 5 Installing and Upgrading Personal Historian 2 Apr 19 - New County Check in RootsMagic 5 Apr 26 - New Reports and Options in RootsMagic 5 To sign up for the free webinars, visit the webinar page at: Read     Thanks for the Shout Outs: by Jenna, Desparately Seeking Surnames Blog   By: Carolyn L. Barkley, Genealogy and Family History Blog   From Eylse’s Genealogy Blog   MAILBOX: From Jean: "Thank you so much for letting me be a gem!".  I loved how you played the "Cooke's reel to reel version and then the iTunes version of "Thine Alone".  I definitely spent a lot of time talking with myself and debating whether I had the nerve to send that email!  I know you've always said that almost all contacts with genealogists are extremely rewarding, but this was just about my first attempt at communication.  I am so delighted that it solved your mystery! …You have a marvelous gift for making all of us feel special, and you've certainly helped me get even more motivated to explore my family history, thanks again.” From the Voice Mail Line: “What do you do with big or numerous files? How do you annotate them in your tree for future reference when you pass the tree on or share it with others? I’m talking about PDFs of big books or articles or a large collection of photos where hundreds of megabytes may be involved. They’re too cumbersome to keep inside programs but they should still be referenced to be able to find that file later on.” Lisa Recommends: Cite your sources! Send large files for free with Share large files for free with   GEM: Interview with Kenyatta Berry, President of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) Kenyatta D. Berry is a lawyer, businesswoman and genealogist with over 15 years experience in genealogy research and writing. A strategic and tactical professional with over twelve years progressive experience in Business Development, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Product Marketing and Law. Kenyatta is looking forward to helping APG continue to grow as an organization and serve the needs of professional genealogists worldwide. Her research focus includes African American genealogy, Virginia genealogy, Land records and House Histories. Ms. Berry is a member of the Council Member of the Corporation for the New England Historical Genealogical Society. She has been featured in Jet Magazine, on XM Satellite radio and a researcher for NBC Dateline and WETV.

Published March 22, 2012 Genealogy Gems Book Club: Our featured book is Running Away to Home by Jennifer Wilson. In this book, Jennifer takes us on a once and a lifetime genealogical journey where she walked in her ancestors shoes and lived among their descendants. : and help support the free Genealogy Gems Podcast.    Thank You!   Visit Jennifer Wilson’s website:     About Jennifer: Jennifer Wilson has been writing for 15 years for folks like Esquire, National Geographic Traveler, Better Homes & Gardens, Traditional Home, Budget Travel, AAA Living, Parents, Midwest Living, Iowa Outdoors, the Chicago Tribune, the St. Paul Pioneer-Press, (the dearly departed) Gourmet and many others.   SPECIAL VIDEO CONTENT: watch on   Genealogy Gems App Users will find a special video about the interview as bonus content for episode 129. Get the (Search "Genealogy Gems")   If you enjoyed this episode and the video, please do me a favor and click the thumbs up button for the video at YouTube, you’ll find it right under the video.  And you’ll also find ways there on Youtube to share the video through Facebook and Twitter for all you Tweeters out there. Thank you for sharing!      for more information on Jamboree.

Published March 9, 2011 In this episode we'll talk to Chris van der Kuyl, CEO of brightsolid. By Andrew Martin of the History Repeating Blog Mark Olsen of  MyHeritage / World Vital Records WDYTYA recap at the MyHeritage blog Else Churchill and her team from the Society of Genealogists in the UK really do a brilliant job organizing the classes for Who Do You Think You Are?   NEWS: I’m honored that my Genealogy Podcasts and Blogs 101 class is included in the group. I really enjoyed introducing more people to podcasts and blogs I’ve heard from a lot of folks that this really opened their eyes to a medium they didn’t realize was out there for them to enjoy for free.  Debbie writes: “Wow.  All I can say is Wow.  I am a 52 year old mother of 4 in Bountiful, Utah.  I have been watching the RootsTech Live presentations online and have just finished watching yours.  It was amazing and inspiring.  I consider myself somewhat tech savvy but have veered away from Blogs.  (Just the sound of the word Blog infers something that will weigh you down.)  But after your presentation I am anxious to try iGoogle and add blogs and podcasts tailored to my interests.  I had no idea.  And thanks for pointing out the Google blog search option.  All the genealogy-focused search options now available through Google are exciting. I am hopeful you will add all your RootsTech presentations to your podcasts.  They sound fascinating.” And during that presentation I encouraged viewers to get their own genealogy blog started so that they can get information out there that might help them connect with other genealogists researching the same family line.  And Carol wrote me shortly after the conference to let me know that she did just that! She writes: Marlene also wrote in about RootsTech. She says: “The Rootstech Conference was so awesome.  I learned so much about podcasts, I am willing to try it out. But first I am the craft queen, especially when it comes to crafting my family history.  The last day of the Rootstech I had to leave early.  I didn’t get to your last class that I had waited so long for.  Do you have a podcast of the steps for creating the crafts you make with your family history?? I see the instructions, but I wanted to watch you in action.  p.s. Thanks so much for your signed book on find family through newspapers.  I can’t wait to get started. Marlene” Genealogy Gems YouTube channel: And the 4 part Family History Christmas Wreath series Also, several projects discussed in class are featured in my book "Genealogy Gems" available at my .   MAILBOX: Hi Lisa, I love your podcasts, but I'm still catching up!! Back in 2009. you ran a series of "Name that Tune" challenges, which I absolutely loved, I think I have old time music in my DNA. It took me a day to recognize the "Missouri Waltz," I knew "The Dark Town Strutters Ball" right away; when I was little I named my doll "Honey" and always thought of those first lines "I'll be down to get you in a taxi, Honey...", I knew "I'll see you in my dreams" don't know if you are old enough to recall "Sing along with Mitch" when it was on TV, but we had all Mitch Miller's Sing Along albums and "I'll See you in my dreams" was among them. Okay, so that brings me to the reason for this email. In Episode 56, you celebrated "I'll See you in my dreams" and then played a brief 30 seconds of another tune, it was a violin instrumental. Well as I said I've listened up to 59 and I've never heard the result for that last tune. I think it may be "Thine Alone" by Victor Herbert. It was from the operetta "Eileen". Herbert was born in Ireland and emigrated to America, his more famous songs include "Ah Sweet Mystery of Life" and "The March of the Toys" from "Babes in Toyland" but he seems to have written hundreds of songs.  You had a loyal listener named "Jeannie" who called you with the names of the first 4 songs, I laughed at the similarity in our names, but anyway, I'm going crazy, did anyone else ever recognize that song? If you go to iTunes, there is a good instrumental version of "Thine Alone" on the Album "The Music of Victor Herbert & Sigmund Romberg" performed by George Melchrino. It is a lovely song. I can't tell you how many wonderful memories those songs gave me!! Yes, I am working on my Family History and really enjoy all your podcasts, videos, blogs and advice. I did finish your Family History: Genealogy Made Easypodcast series, got to get to work on the  too!! Thank you so much for all you do! Jean  Sue:    Paula really is amazing and if you’d like to learn more about her and handwriting analysis head over to   GEM: Interview with Chris van der Kuyl, CEO of  brightsolid companies:

Published Feb 21, 2012 In this episode you'll hear from UK presenter and historian Nick Barratt.   GEM: Listener Betty Wynn Betty talks about how she uses my book   GEM: Interview with Nick Barratt   “Dr Nick Barratt obtained a PhD in history from King's College London in 1996, editing the 1225 Exchequer pipe roll and several Exchequer receipt rolls from the 1220s when the National Archives: Public Record Office maintained a site at Chancery Lane. On joining the National Archives: Public Record Office at Kew later the same year as a reader adviser. Nick started work in television whilst working at the BBC as a specialist archive researcher for a number of programmes. His valuable links to the largest archival institutions in the country and expertise helped lay the foundation of the network he has in place today. This network allows Nick and his team of researchers to effectively complete projects in any archive across the country.”

Published Feb 10, 2012 In this episode we cover the latest news from RootsTech 2012, my video interview with Nick Barratt, and an in depth look at Find A Grave with the website's creator, Jim Tipton. NEWS: Watch the recording of my presentation website. It’s part of the Saturday Recap Video. Roots Tech was the public debut of my new book Everything You Need to Know About How to Find Your Family in Newspapers and I just want to thank everyone for the amazing response.  It’s really obvious that a comprehensive book on newspaper research was LONG overdue. Get the book at the   Autographed copies still available a very limited time about and watch my chat with Genealogy Gems Podcast listener and contest winner Carol Genung. GENEALOGY GEMS APP BONUS CONTENT:  Listen to the interview with podcast listener and contest winner Carol Genung.  Watch my chat with television presenter and historian Nick Barratt.   Brightsolid (Now FindMyPast)Now one of the big players in British online records brightsolid made a HUGE splash at RootsTech 2012 not only with it’s huge and colorful display at the front of the Exhibit Hall, but also by announcing while there that they have formally entered the US genealogy market with the launch of a ground-breaking, "pay-as-you-go" website: . Read all about it: Customers of the new site will be able to search all US census records from 1790 to 1930 and it will also house the 1940 US census records, when they are released later this year. My Heritage / World Vital RecordsAlso making news was MyHeritage.com. They have recently acquired World Vital Records.com and now are also making a splash onto the U.S. scene.  I spoke with CEO Gilad Japhet and he told me they have just opened a U.S. office in Provo Utah and will be introducing some exciting new changes in the near future that take advantage of the huge new record collection they have acquired from World Vital Records and will make it easier than ever to build your existing MyHeritage family tree.   FamilySearch Launches Mobile Indexing AppFamilySearch announced a mobile Indexing App at RootsTech that is meant to expand the capability of volunteers to help make the world’s historic records searchable online.  The mobile device app works on Apple iPads, iPhones, and Droid smartphones. MAILBOX: From Pat in New York: “Lisa--Once again I find myself driving along listening to you and mentally adding "To Do" items faster than the speed limit will allow! :)  It's like having tea again with a childhood friend -- your comforting tone is oh-so-soothing at the end of the day for the drive home.” Read Pat’s blog post at      “Lost Goose” newspaper notice which was a particular gem found in old small town newspapers.  From Tina in the UK: “Your new newspaper book: I wondered if the content might be solely to do with US newspapers, or do you cover other countries too?  I'm interested as I haven't had a lot of luck.” The book is first and foremost a newspaper research process.  This applies to newspapers regardless of their location.  It does however include a fairly extensive International newspaper Appendix.  It is of course impossible to make it complete, however it will certainly give you some great leads, and also provide you with a sense of what is out there and other types of similar websites to look for.  While newspaper research starts online, it very often ends offline.  And certainly the worksheets would be applicable to all newspaper research. Sandi wrote: "Just got my signed copy today. Thanks, Lisa! I know I will get lots of GEMS :) I foresee this being a well-used workbook." Nancy wrote: "Got my signed book in the mail today. Well done. Lots of fantastic tips.  and references for all states. I'm reading through it. Thanks, Lisa,  for a great book" Newspaper Lecturer Bret Petersen wrote: "I sure wish that I had had a book like that when I started researching newspapers!” Question from Dave:  “It's funny that I feel like I can call you Lisa although I have never met you in person.  I just renewed my premium membership for the second year So I have been following you for quite a while.  I love your shows; Gems, premium, and family tree magazine! I listen regularly and always can't wait for the next issue to come out!” “On to my question: I was reviewing your hard drive organization videos (fantastic by the way)  and noticed you mentioned Springfield Ohio as an ancestral home.  I too have relatives there. I am currently fascinated by my civil war veteran ancestor Samuel S Cowan…I was wondering where to locate possible obituaries for Springfield?  What News Papers were commonly read there?  Thanks again for all you do to feed mine and others addiction to family history!” of the Jerseyville IL Victorian Days festival.  Lisa Recommends:   Also check out my video on Using Newspapers in Genealogy at     Alison Shares a Grandma Names Followup “I saw this article in The Australian newspaper today & it reminded me of your stories about Davy so I thought you may like to read it. (Click image below to enlarge) From Alan: “I very much enjoy your podcast.  I wanted to share the name my granddaughter uses for me, one that I think any genealogist might love.  We were Skyping one day and my son referred to me as Dad.  This was confusing to my granddaughter, so he explained that I was Old Dad – and that has ever since been my name.”   GEM: Jim Tipton – FindAGrave   GEM: Your Life in 5 Minutes (Part 6) with Sunny Morton  Get Sunny's book "Your Life & TImes: A Guided Journal for Collecting Your Stories by clicking this link:

Published Jan 24, 2012 In this episode Genealogist Shirley Gage Hodges will share her genealogical wisdom with you as well as talk about her status as "perennial student." NEWS Marilyn attended my class called Inspiring Ways to Captivate the Non-Genealogist in Your Life and wrote in “I attended your class during the Arizona Family History Expo.  I enjoyed it very much!” Hear Me in Persongo to the Genealogy Gems Website at and Seminars in the menu. That’s what I do to be sure I’m in the right place at the right time! Jamboree:The 43rd Annual Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree is now Burbank, CA  June 8 through the 10 of 2012. My Brand New Book is Available: Here’s what Steve Luxenberg, Washington Post associate editor and author of Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret said about the book:   "Read it. Study it. Absorb it. But above all, use Lisa Louise Cooke’s new book as the guide and instructional tool that it is meant to be. As a veteran of research and libraries, I found all sorts of nuggets and new resources. Beginners will find an embarrassment of riches, including an impressive appendix with a comprehensive list of online routes to national, international and local newspapers. This is as close as you’ll get to one-stop shopping for learning about historical newspaper research." And that’s really what I wanted it to be – One stop shopping for everything you need to know about finding your family history in newspapers.  There are some incredible stories out there waiting to be found, and this book is going to get you there!    MAILBOX: Myron from Iowa writes: “I have a Genealogical Gem that I think you would like to hear about. I have a recording of my Great Grandma's voice. My father served in the army 1946-1950, sometime while he was in the service his family took a trip from Nebraska to New York City. While visiting the Empire State Building, at the top there was this coin operated machine that would cut your own record, recording your voice, that you could mail to your friends.  My mom has that record. I recorded the record to a wav file and it sounds really bad.  I don't understand German so I hope they aren't saying anything bad. Enclosed are some photos of it and the wav files from it.”    Is there anyone out there who speaks German who could translate this recording for Myron?  If that’s something you can help with, that would be amazing.  .  I’ll share the results here on the show. there was definitely genealogically serendipity involved in this email from Myron because just before receiving it I had come across a video on YouTube that I thought was absolutely wonderful, and right along the same lines. Video:  No More Questions! from on . GEM: Interview with Genealogist Shirley Gage Hodges, “The Perennial Student” “Everyone has something to learn.” You can read Shirley’s articles on genealogy at the The Immigration Experience Genealogy Gems App users check the Bonus Content for this episode for additional Immigration notes from Shirley!  What keeps Shirley motivated: Finding the stories of her ancestors Learning more about ancestor’s connection with our country The lesson Shirley learned after her search for Grandpa Larkin: “We do have to be so careful!  He was a grand old gentleman, and I would have loved to have him as a Grandfather.”  Alas it turned out the he was someone else’s Grandpa! Shirley Has Her Eye on the Future with These Historical Projects: The Harvey Girls Amazing Women of the West Creating a Family History Christmas Wreath. Learn how to make one for yourself!   s of Family History Christmas Wreath at the Genealogy Gems YouTube channel.   CLOSING: Thanks for the Shout Out I want to say thank you to some bloggers who have given me a shout out lately: The Posted the blog article about my recent speaking engagement at the Sacramento Central Public Library. And Genealogy Blogger and podcast listener Kim Von Aspern invite me to sit down with her a few weeks ago for one on one interview and she is publishing it as a blog series at her Check out her articles:

Published Jan 10, 2012 What’s Black, and White and READ all over?  Your Ancestors in old newspapers! In fact, your ancestors could be anywhere!  Most likely they were mentioned at some point in their own local paper, but they might also show up in a neighboring towns paper, or in a paper located thousands of miles away. Nothing is more exciting than finding information in an old newspaper that adds to your family history!  And I’ve been working feverishly on a new book that I can finally tell you about that is going to finally give you the answers and resources you need to be successful finding your ancestors in the new.  It’s called and that’s exactly what it is.  It’s everything you need to know.  This book is going to change all that. I spell out a step-by-step process and give you a worksheet you can copy and use again and again.  There are tons of websites, search tips, and 3 very Cool Online tools that probably aren’t using but you should be! Stay tuned because we’ll be doing an official launch very soon, and I’m going to have a very special opportunity for you to get a signed copy of the book first.   NEWS: Polish Genealogy Podcast by Dave Newman New Website:  . Also now in iTunes Keynote Workshop at Who Do You Think You Are? Live in London I’ll be on the . is FINALLY published! My Classes at RootsTech: Thurs. Feb 2 at 11:00 am a hands on Google Workshop Friday Feb. 3 at 9:45 am Genealogy Blogs and Podcasts Saturday Feb. 4 at 1:45 Inspiring Ways to Captivate the Non-Genealogists in Your Life Improved Blog Search from Google Now you can search for blogs specifically focused on the family history topics that mean the most to you! New Google Search Option: 1. Go to Google.com 2. Search on specific keywords (ex. County Cork Ireland Genealogy) 3. Click “More” in the Search Options Column on the left side of the page 4. Click “Blogs” 5. Click “Homepages” or “blog Homepages” 6. Now your search results are for blogs focused on those keywords and not just individual articles 7. Click the RSS or “Google” button to add the blog to your Homepage in a Gadget (Learn more about transforming Google.com into your own Genealogy Research Dashboard by )   MAILBOX: Timothy wrote: “I want to thank you for having Steve Luxenberg on podcast episodes #120 and #121 to discuss his book Annie's Ghosts.” PBS documentary “Triumph at Carville: A Tale of Leprosy in America”    “Your interview with Steve also spurred me on to conduct further research into two other folks that I have been researching, both of whom died in the South Carolina State Hospital. The following brief history is from the South Carolina Department of Archives and    History, "The State Dept. of Mental Health has undergone several name changes in its history. The original name was the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum (1821-1895) which was followed by the South Carolina State Hospital for the Insane (1896-1919), the South Carolina State Hospital (1920-1963), and finally the State Dept. of Mental Health (1964 to the present)." I am now currently awaiting to hear back from the archives.” Book Reviews Have a Voice:  Post positive reviews on Goodreads, Amazon and Lulu for genealogy books you enjoy! Richard Needs Your HelpAs I was going back over some items I have in my Aunt’s photo collection, I found two items that I can’t seem to find out anything about. Maybe you or your listeners can help. They are called “Foto Folds" and are raised pictures in a foldable container. I’ve attached three photos: 1)      Foto Fold – Closed image shows the two closed. One is the back and the other the front which is die cut. 2)      Foto Fold – Opened image shows both opened. One is a single picture and the other my Aunt, Her Brother and their Mother. 3)      Foto Fold – Side View shows that the item is not flat but raised. The raised part fits into the cut out piece on the right which then closes to the foldable container. They are most likely dated between the late 1940s and early 1950s.   What do you think our descendants will wish they had of ours 100 years in the future? Chris in Norwalk, CT chimed in with “Voice recordings (or, to go a bit further, video).  My family has had a touch of music for a few generations now.  My great-grandfather was a musical performer & my great-grandmother played piano. In fact I had recorded him singing shortly before he died.  Unfortunately, the tape was lost long ago.  In another branch of my family, I had a great-grandfather who was a bandleader in Providence, RI.  He played cornet & years later my father took it up as well…I play as well, but can't hold a candle to him.  I wish I thought to record him as well.” Google Earth Sharon in White Lake, MI   “I watched your webinar on the Roots Magic  It was fantastic.  In October, I went with my elderly parents and my husband to the Rives, Michigan cemetery where my great great grandparents were buried.  With the information I picked up in your webinar, I discovered that the original homestead was on the same road less than a mile north of where they were buried.  It was so neat being able to see where my family first located.  Thank you very much!” Kevin Writes to Share a Success Story“I have you to thank.  If not for your podcast about Familysearch.org and Family History Centers, I may not have found my great grandfather, Emanuel Babiuk's birth record from Ukraine…Your podcast (even though it was published several years ago) pointed me in the right direction to help me find, order and view the film at the local FHC.  If not for you, I may have had to wait for the film to be digitized and indexed.  P.S.  I subscribe to anything Lisa Louise Cooke and have 66 Gems and 13 Premium Gems to entertain me.” From Dan in North Carolina“I have been listening to you podcast for a while now and have gotten a lot from it…I decided to write a book about my father. I spent the summer collecting stories and photos. I decided to use the web site . This way anyone that wanted a book could order one. I finished about a month ago and had a lot of fun in the process.  I know most of the stories if not all but when you put them all down in a book it takes on a new life.  Again thank you for the motivation I need. Next? Maybe my grandparents.”  GEM: Interview with Tom Kemp, Director of Genealogy Products at GenealogyBank Click here to search   GEM: Your Life in 5 Minutes with Sunny Morton Part 4 Get Sunny's book "Your Life & Times: A Guided Journal for Collecting Your Stories by clicking this link:

Published Dec 10, 2011 This Sha Sha has been busily working to finish making Davy’s birthday present since his big birthday number 2 is coming up on Dec. 15.   In Genealogy Gems Podcast I told how I decided to make Davy a Blues Clues card table playhouse.  You remember throwing a blanket over a card table when you were a kid and it became a play house on a rainy day, right?  Well this one was a bit challenging because there is no pattern for a Blue’s Clues playhouse so I just made it up as I went along.  But thanks to the Internet and my trusty iPad I was able to come up with something that looks pretty close to the real deal. Here are a few snapshots of the playhouse.  And it doesn’t just look like Blue’s house from the outside, but I lined the panels with fabric that looks like the wallpaper in her house, and even sewed some features in felt like the table and telephone and the framed picture of the felt people on the wall. You know to me what we are doing today with our kids and grand kids and in some cases great grand kids is just as important as researching our family history – in fact it’s more important!  Creating memories with our loved ones is creating family history right now.  And to me there’s nothing more important than that.  Get your free audio book and over 40,000 audio book titles to choose from at Audible:     NEWS: Genealogy Gems Premium Members have been enjoying episodes on the lately covering how to use the iPad and other tablets out there in the marketplace for our family history.    New Ancestry App UpdatesAncestry.com has a popular free app that lets you take your Ancestry.com family tree with you on your iPad.  The newest version of the app now includes the shakey Leaf Hints that you also see on their website.  Plus there is a simple merge tool that helps you quickly add new relatives and information to your family tree.  It also allows you to automatically adds information to photos, allows you to change your tree privacy settings, adds an integrated user feedback support feature, and is faster and more stable than previous versions.  New Free Podcasts by National Archives Records Administration in iTunes U features WWII news reels     Irish Records:  FindMyPast.ie has recently announced that they have launched exclusive access to the Irish Prison Registers 1790-1920. The collection is made up of over 3.5 million entries across 130,000 pages. Provides useful tips and recommend tools to help you discover your documentary heritage and navigate the LAC website.   Lisa’s Book Featured in Online Magazine was featured in the most recent issue of  (p.40) A big thank you to all of you who have bought the book because those purchases I think helped bring it to the attention of a non-genealogy publication!   My Presentation Schedule for 2012 Feb 2 – 4 , Salt Lake City, UT We’ll be celebrating the 5 year anniversary of The Genealogy Gems Podcast!    FamilySearch has just announced that the RootsTech 2012 . RootsTech will reward developers who introduce the most innovative new concepts to family history with $10,000 in cash rewards and increased visibility.    Feb 24-26 - Who Do You Think You Are Live! In London. Presenting Harness the Power of Google Earth for Your Family History and Google Search Strategies for the Family Historian. And I am very excited to have been invited to be part of a very special panel discussion on using technology for genealogy as well.   March 3  in Bountiful, Utah   March 10  Phoenix, AZ   April 12 – 14  Cleveland, OH   April 28  San Mateo, CA   May 5 , San Luis Obispo, CA   May 9 – 12 , Cincinnati, OH I’ll be there not only debuting some brand new presentations, but you will also find me at my booth in the exhibit hall so be sure and come on by and say hi. June 1 – 3 in Kinston, Ontario Canada. The new version 5 of RootsMagic now offers us a Timeline view.  Now we can really put a person’s life in context with events from their own life and from the lives of family members. But the awesomeness doesn’t stop there. They have added even more customer requested features: a research manager which lets you create and track unlimited research logs, the ability to filter the people view, as well as enhancements to multimedia, sources, to-do lists, and much more.  There's a little something for everyone! See the free demo of the new features in RootsMagic 5 at RootsMagic Webinar page called .   MAILBOX: A Genealogy Newbies: It’s amazing to me that the podcast is about to celebrate it’s 5th birthday, and I know many of you have been listening for almost that long.  But it’s also so rewarding to know that there are new folks coming on board all the time.  Not just to the podcast, but also just discovering the joy of family history. Newbies Eric and David wrote in about their experience. Eric says “I'm still fairly new to genealogy, only getting started after last New Years and have to say your podcasts have helped a lot (and are always entertaining). Thank you! Your newest premium member, Eric” David in Australia writes: “Thank you for making this kind of information available to everyone, it shows a truly kind nature in a person who wants to share their experiences and I have found this the trait of most people I encounter who are into genealogy. You have done a wonderful job and I love it all.” Dan in North Carolina wrote in to say he is also Enjoying the Show . "have been enjoying your podcasts for a while now. This summer I took on a project to write a ." Linda in Sweden and Line in Denmark wrote in about a Swedish TV show Everything for Sweden on the webiste Guy Interview on a Swedish Morning Program   Line says: “I recently stumbled over one of your Podcasts, and after listening to just a few episodes I was hooked. I listen to them every day at work. Some times even twice. Extra benefit: I´m shaping up my english! While waiting for the next episode, I always listen to older episodes.” Jennifer in Napa, CA wrote in about the new ordering system at the Family History Center branch libraries.  “As of August 23, the U.S. West and Northwest have been added to the areas already using this system.  You can now place an order for films online, instead of having to make a trip to the library just to place an order.” (blog post)    GEM:  Taking Family History to Young and Old in the Community Interview with Merv Scott, Project Director, Victoria Genealogical Society Ask Granny Fore more information Visit the VGS Programs page at the Victoria BC Genealogical Society “Ask Granny”© founders Judy Russell and Greg Crane are pleased to announce that the Victoria Genealogical Society of Victoria, BC, Canada, has been named “Ask Granny”© chapter of the year.   The project group, led by Merv Scott, has not only worked to revise our “Ask Granny”©materials for Canadian spelling and usage, he has graciously offered to share those files with others in Canada.  Merv  reports that their calendar is filled up through Spring of 2012 with “Granny” session in local retirement facilities.     Your Life in 5 Minutes (Part 3) with Sunny Morton  Get Sunny's book Your Life & Times: A Guided Journal for Collecting Your Stories by clicking this link:  Profile America: Christmas Lights