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

The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #217 with Lisa Louise Cooke In this special episode, host and producer Lisa Louise Cooke takes a look at the Golden State killer, one of the most notorious crime sprees in recent memory. She’ll talk about the role that DNA testing played in an ultimate arrest, and the impact that these events are having on genealogists and the use of DNA in genealogy. The Golden State Killer “” docuseries (As an Amazon Associate, Genealogy Gems earns from qualifying purchases) 48 Hours episode on CBSNews.com (44-minute episode) Between 1974 and 1986, activities attributed to the Golden State Killer include at least 12 murders, more than 50 rapes, and over 100 burglaries in California from 1974 through 1986. The criminal’s methods led some investigators to believe that these differently-labeled criminals were very likely one in the same. In 2001, DNA definitively linked several rapes in Contra Costa County believed to have been part of the East Area Rapist series, a series of murders in Southern California. In 2011, DNA evidence proved that the Domingo–Sanchez murders were committed by the same man, known as the Golden State Killer. BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App Users If you’re listening through the Genealogy Gems app, don’t forget to check out your bonus content for this episode! The and is only $2.99 for  is the place to make connections with relatives overseas, particularly with those who may still live in your ancestral homeland. : it’s free to get started. makes it easy and fun for Mom to share stories with loved ones every week. At the end of the year, she’ll get them all bound in a beautiful hardcover book. Strengthen your bond as you get to know her in a whole new way! Go to for $20 off when you subscribe. Give a gift for Mother’s Day that is actually a gift for you, too! Help solve DNA mysteries with these resources: “A DNA Match with No Tree? No Problem!” and “Take Control of Your Family Tree,” by Lisa Louise Cooke by Diahan Southard DNA Testing by Diahan Southard Caution: In this episode, Lisa shares her personal opinions on the use of technology for crime fighting and the implications for DNA testing for genealogy. She encourages everyone to do their own homework and make informed decisions in line with their own values, opinions and objectives.  Reality check: “The only way to ensure privacy is to never put anything of any kind online. Just like the only way to ensure you will never be in a car accident is to never—under any circumstances—get in a car.” Read more about DNA testing company partnerships: “,” Wired.com article by Katie M. Palmer, published 21 July 2015, on Ancestry.com’s partnership with Google-owned Calico biotech firm “,” Wired.com article by Davey Alba, published 12 January 2015, on 23andMe’s partnership with Pfizer Several ways we already use DNA matches Genealogists use to build family trees Adoptees use to identify birth parents (or other biological relatives) Orphans trying to find long lost siblings and relatives Anyone looking for estranged family members Researchers identifying unidentified human remains, including POW/MIAs Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends . From within RootsMagic, you can search historical records on FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. Keep your family history research, photos, tree software files, videos and all other computer files safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems. Learn more at . More information on DNA testing by Diahan Southard “,” News.com.au article by Gavin Fernando, published 3 May, 2018. “When you test, you are also making a decision on behalf of your parents, siblings, children, grandchildren, and future descendants. Regardless of good intentions or stated ethics codes in the genealogy community, it isn’t possible to write and get the express permission of everyone who could be affected by you having your DNA tested.” –Lisa Louise Cooke How Genealogy Gems can help you—whether you test or not! Keep listening to the for genealogy news, tips, inspiration and strategies (DNA is one of many tools talked about!) Read free online articles at . to read dozens of articles on DNA. to view our complete line of DNA quick reference guides , to get access to all the Premium video classes and the entire Premium Podcast: new monthly episodes plus the full archive of more than 150 previous ones. PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Diahan Southard, DNA Content Contributor Hannah Fullerton, Audio Editor Lacey Cooke, Service Manager Disclosure: This document contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting this free podcast and blog!

The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #216 with Lisa Louise Cooke   In this episode: Lisa introduces you to a couple of fantastic genealogists she met on her recent trip Down Under—the organizers of the 15the Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry, which she keynoted recently; Enjoy Lisa’s exclusive RootsTech 2018 interview with Findmypast CEO Tamsin Todd; Military Minutes contributor Michael Strauss shines a spotlight on women who have served in the U.S. military; Your DNA Guide Diahan Southard introduces the MyHeritage chromosome browser; and Genealogy Gems Premium membership gets its biggest boost ever. LISA AND BILL IN AUSTRALIA Wally the Humpback Wrasse and Bill at the Great Barrier Reef Soaring above the rains forest treetops of Queensland, Australia   NEWS: ROOTSTECH 2018 RECAP to watch the short RootsTech 2018 official recap video—and watch for Jim Beidler at the Genealogy Gems booth right at the beginning! NEWS: GENEALOGY GEMS PREMIUM eLEARNING Genealogy Gems Premium membership is now Genealogy Gems Premium eLearning! More than 20 DNA video tutorials have been added—but it’s still all available for one low annual price. And now you can really make the most of 50+ Premium Videos and 150+ Premium Podcast episodes with the new Premium eLearning Companion Guide book. It’s the ultimate ongoing genealogy education! to read the full announcement.   Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends . From within RootsMagic, you can search historical records on FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. Keep your family history research, photos, tree software files, videos and all other computer files safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems. Learn more at . BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App Users: Beginning German Genealogy: If you’re listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus content for this episode is some get-started-now tips from Legacy Tree Genealogists on tracing your German ancestors. The and is only $2.99 for . To learn more about Legacy Tree services and its research team, visit . Exclusive Offer for Genealogy Gems readers: Receive $100 off a 20-hour research project using code GGP100. (Offer may expire without notice.) MILITARY MINUTES WITH MICHAEL STRAUSS: CELEBRATING WOMEN IN U.S. MILITARY HISTORY to see the full article (and plenty of images!) on the Genealogy Gems website. INTERVIEW: TAMSIN TODD AND BEN BENNETT, FINDMYPAST.COM is the Genealogy Giant best known for its deep, unparalleled historical record content for England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Tamsin Todd is the Chief Executive Officer of Findmypast.com. She “has worked in the travel, retail and technology sectors, and brings with her a track record of leading successful growth businesses. She spent the early part of her career at Amazon and then Microsoft, where she led the introduction of ecommerce and search products into the UK and Europe. This was followed by stints as Head of Ecommerce at Betfair, and Managing Director of TUI-owned Crystal Ski Holidays. She joins Findmypast from Addison Lee, where she was Chief Customer Officer of Europe's largest car service company. Tamsin lives in London with her family, and is Digital Trustee of the Imperial War Museums.” Ben Bennett is Executive Vice President, North America and International at Findmypast.com, “focused on helping families stay connected in the United States and other markets across the globe.” EPISODE SPONSOR: CASPER MATTRESSES  The original Casper mattress combines multiple, supportive memory foams for a quality sleep surface with the right amounts of both sink and bounce. Breathable design helps you sleep cool and regulates your body temperature throughout the night Delivered right to your door in a small, ‘how do they do that?!’ sized box! Free shipping and returns in the US and Canada. Exclusive Genealogy Gems offer! Get $50 toward select mattresses by visiting  and using gems at checkout. (Terms and conditions apply.)   YOUR DNA GUIDE DIAHAN SOUTHARD: MYHERITAGE CHROMOSOME BROWSER Just last year, if you had asked me if I thought anyone could catch AncestryDNA in their race to own the genetic genealogy market, I would have been skeptical. However, it is clear that MyHeritage intends to be a contender, and they are quickly ramping up their efforts to gain market share–and your confidence. MyHeritage began 2018 by making a much needed change to their DNA matching algorithm, which had some errors in it. They were able to adjust it, and now it is humming right along, telling our second cousins from our fourth. Another development, launched in February, is the addition of a Chromosome Browser. THE NEW MYHERITAGE DNA CHROMSOME BROWSER  Much like you would browse the library shelves for the perfect book, or browse through the sale rack for a great bargain, you can use a Chromosome Browser to look through your chromosomes for the pieces of DNA you share with your genetic cousins. Chromosome Browsers can be everything from a fun way to review your genetic genealogy results, to a tool to assist in determining how you are related to someone else. Let’s go over three tips to help you make use of this new tool. NAVIGATING TO THE CHROMOSOME BROWSER There are actually two different kinds of Chromosome Browsers in MyHeritage: one to view only the segments you share with one match (the One-to-One Browser), and a browser where you can see the segments shared with multiple matches (the One-to-Many Browser). To get to the One-to-One Browser, head over to your match page and find a cousin for whom you would like to see your shared DNA segments. Click on Review DNA Match, then scroll down past all the individual match information, past the Shared Matches and Shared Ethnicities until you see the Chromosome Browser. USING THE ONE-TO-MANY CHROMOSOME BROWSER To find the One-to-Many Chromosome Browser, you can use the main DNA navigation menu at the top of the MyHeritage homepage. Click on DNA, then on Chromosome Browser, as shown below. In the One-to-Many Chromosome Browser you can compare yourself, or any account you manage, to anyone else in your match page. To choose a match to evaluate, just click on their name and they will be added to the queue at the top, as shown here. Clicking on Compare will then allow you to see the actual segments you share with each person: In this One-To-Many view, each individual match gets their own line for each chromosome. Since we have added 7 people to the Chromosome Browser, there are seven lines next to each chromosome number. Each match not only gets their own line, but also their own color. So you can easily match up the lines on the chromosome to the match that shares that piece of DNA with you. For the majority of people the majority of the time, these Chromosome Browsers are just another fun way to visualize the connection you have with your DNA match. In the end, it doesn’t matter where you are sharing on the chromosome, just how much DNA you are sharing. You can obtain that information from your main match page and never look at this Chromosome Browser image, and still make fantastic genetic genealogy discoveries. THE TRIANGULATION TOOL Another feature of the Chromosome Browser on MyHeritage is the Triangulation tool. To understand how this works, you first need to understand that you actually have two copies of each chromosome. Two copies of chromosome 1, two copies of chromosome 2, etc. One copy is from mom, and the other from dad. However, in the Chromosome Browser image, you see only one line for yourself (in grey). Therefore, when you see someone matching you on chromosome 14, for example, you don’t know if that person is matching you on the chromosome 14 you got from your mom, or the chromosome 14 you got from your dad. Likewise, if you see two people whose shared piece with you looks to be in the same location on the same chromosome, you can’t tell if they are both sharing on the same copy of that chromosome, or if one match is related to your dad’s family, and the other match is related to your mom’s family. However, this is what the Triangulation tool does for us. It tells us if two (or three or four, etc.) matches are sharing on the same copy of the same chromosome. Be careful when you use this tool, though. Many erroneously assume that when they see a segment shared between multiple people, that indicates the presence of a recent common ancestor for all of those people. However, that is not always the case.  is the place to make connections with relatives overseas, particularly with those who may still live in your ancestral homeland. : it’s free to get started. Ready to start exploring what the MyHeritage DNA chromosome browser may tell you about your family history? You have two options.  to upload your autosomal DNA test results from another company to MyHeritage for FREE. Or  to order a MyHeritage DNA test kit. Either way, you can start using all the great tools at MyHeritage DNA! PROFILE AMERICA: FORD LAUNCHES ASSEMBLY LINE PRODUCTION CREDITS: Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Diahan Southard, Your DNA Guide, Content Contributor Michael Strauss, Military Minutes Content Contributor Hannah Fullerton, Production Assistant Lacey Cooke, Service Manager Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting this free podcast and blog!   FREE NEWSLETTER: Enter your email & get my Google Research e-bookas a thank you gift! to receive a free weekly e-mail newsletter, with tips, inspiration and money-saving deals.

The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #215 with Lisa Louise Cooke In this “Blast from the Past” episode, Lisa gives voice to the era of silent films, in a unique approach to understanding her great-grandmother’s life. Her passion for this mostly-forgotten film genre comes through in her conversation with film archivist Sam Gill of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont, California. Don’t miss these fun segments, too: A listener writes in after discovering a birth mom’s story in passport records (see what lengths he goes to in order to access the records!). Just after RootsTech 2018, Your DNA Guide Diahan Southard reports on the latest DNA news you’ll want to know. NEWS: ROOTSTECH 2018 DNA NEWS ROUNDUP FROM YOUR DNA GUIDE DIAHAN SOUTHARD           First up was MyHeritage, showing their support for the 7 million adopted individuals in the United States with their new . MyHeritage will provide 15,000 DNA test kits to eligible participants free of charge, in order to help these adoptees use DNA to reunite them with their biological families. With this initiative they “hope to make this project a shining light for corporate philanthropy and an example to be followed by other commercial companies in their own lines of expertise to make the world a better place.” MyHeritage has assembled an advisory board of genetic genealogists and genetic counselors to help drive this project and ensure it meets the needs of the community. If you or someone you know is interested in participating, you can head on over to the DNA Quest website () to fill out an application. But you better hurry, the application deadline is April 30, 2018.  Next, addressing the biggest problem in genetic genealogy, namely the looming What Next? question facing millions of newly swabbed participants, MyHeritage announced the Big Tree – a giant network of genetic and genealogy results that will automate much of the match comparison and tree searching to replace your head-scratching with light-bulb moments. They have already made significant headway on this project, as , which MyHeritage’s own chief scientific officer Yaniv Erlich collaborated on. The journal reports that the team of scientists successfully extracted public family trees from Geni.com (a MyHeritage daughter company), and then used a computer program to clean up and link the trees together. It sounds like MyHeritage will be adding genetic data to this kind of tree data in their Big Tree project. MyHeritage isn’t the only company out to improve the DNA matching experience. UK based that they plan to add DNA matching to their popular origins test by third quarter 2018. When they launched in October of 2016, LivingDNA was not offering cousin matching, but opted instead to focus all of their resources on providing very detailed origins reports, including breaking down the UK in to 46 categories. In the months since their launch, they have been working on a genetic matching system, called Family Networks, that will appeal to a wide range of users and will “reduce the risk of human error and take away the tedious task of figuring out how each person on a user’s list are related to one another.” They are promising an experience that provides “a level of relationship prediction and specificity beyond anything currently on the market.”  So it sounds like if you are currently struggling with turning your DNA matches into genealogical discoveries, our testing companies want you to know you are not alone, and they are working hard to provide solutions to these problems. Time will only tell if they can succeed. Diahan also provides answers to questions asked about announcing updates to MyHeritage DNA matching technology and its new chromosome browser. MAILBOX: TOM’S PASSPORT SEARCH SUCCESS U.S. passport applications on  and  through 1925  on passport applications   BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App Users                 If you’re listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus content for this episode is a marvelous soundtrack of silent film music, played live (you’ll hear audience laughter occasionally in the background) and supplied by Sam Gill at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. The and is only $2.99 for .               Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends . From within RootsMagic, you can search historical records on FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com.             Keep your family history research, photos, tree software files, videos and all other computer files safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems. Learn more at . GEM: INTRODUCTION TO SILENT FILMS (Image above: a page from Lisa's grandmother's journal) Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #2 about transcribing family journals and letters was remastered in . Episode #8 , Palo Alto, CA (shows silent films) : the website for this museum is packed with resources: links to Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd film locations; the International Buster Keaton Society; Classic Images Magazine; a timeline and early history of film and more. Films mentioned in this episode: Diary of a Lost Girl starring Louise Brooks () Safety Last starring Harold Lloyd () The Mender of Nets with Mary Pickford () The Blot directed by Lois Weber () Don’t Park There with Will Rogers () Flivvering by Victor Moore Wife and Auto Trouble directed by Bill Henderson () A Trip Down Market Street () Wings () All Quiet on the Western Front () Destruction of San Francisco by Blackhawk Films () Four Sons () INTERVIEW: SAM GILL, FILM HISTORIAN AND ARCHIVIST               Shown above: Sam Gill and Lisa Cooke at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum on the day of this interview. Throughout their conversation, you hear the sounds of excited theater patrons filling the auditorium before a screening. Sam Gill’s interest in silent film dates to 1966, when as a college student he traveled to Hollywood to interview his aging heroes from the silent screen comedy era. For more than 20 years, he was Archivist of the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library, where he established the Academy’s Special Collections and helped it grow to its current status as the preeminent repository for the study of American cinema. He is currently a Board Member of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. Over the years, he has consulted on or otherwise contributed his expertise to numerous film festivals, museum film programs and film history books. Sam recently sent us these delightful photos (below) of himself over the years: (Image 1) 1966: His first trip to Hollywood (Image 2) 1974: A news article about a research trip to Florida (Image 3) 2017: A birthday party for Diana Serra Cary (Baby Peggy), the last surviving star of the silent screen, held at the Edison Theater of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum; also shown is Rena Kiehn, the museum's publicity director and store manager (a technique that adapts well to film!) ( to see where to find films they have helped preserve, including Japanese internment camp footage)             Start creating fabulous, irresistible videos about your family history with Animoto.com. You don’t need special video-editing skills: just drag and drop your photos and videos, pick a layout and music, add a little text and voila! You’ve got an awesome video! Try this out for yourself at .              is the place to make connections with relatives overseas, particularly with those who may still live in your ancestral homeland. : it’s free to get started. GEM: HOW TO FIND SILENT FILMS If you’re looking for a specific movie, start with a Google search with the name in quotations (and, if you like, anything else you know about it, such as an actor or director’s name or the year). You may find lots of results, including a Wikipedia page and film history write-ups, but if you want to WATCH it, limit your search results to Video. You can also turn to free curated collections online, such as: (links to free film footage on YouTube, Internet Archive, etc.) : feature and short silent films uploaded by Internet Archive users : watch several classic silent films Netflix.com: Netflix subscribers can access the service’s little-known collection of silent films by entering the Netflix link for browsing its film categories and then the category specific to silent films, 53310: ( to read an article about this tip, along with Netflix’ full list of specific film categories.) YouTube: watch for free, rent or buy, as shown here: More places to explore for silent films: (TCM.com): under TCMDb, click Database Home and search for a title you want to watch Amazon.com: Search for titles in the Video section; or search the Your local public library (search catalog: try searching for an actor’s name as author) Ebay: May be the right place to purchase a hard-to-find title. to view current results for a search on silent films, filtered to include only movie/film items.   PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Diahan Southard, Your DNA Guide, Content Contributor Hannah Fullerton, Production Assistant Lacey Cooke, Service Manager Disclosure: This document contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting this free podcast and blog! FREE NEWSLETTER:

The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #214 with Lisa Louise Cooke In this episode, Irish expert Donna Moughty joins host and producer Lisa Louise Cooke to talk about Irish genealogy—to help you get a jump on yours before everyone starts talking about their Irish roots on St. Patrick’s Day next month! Also in this episode: Your DNA Guide Diahan Southard has DNA news and an answer to a listener who called in with a question about YDNA. Other listeners write in with inspiring successes Michael Strauss musters in with tips on finding your ancestors in the five branches of the U.S. military. NEWS: MYHERITAGE DNA MATCHING UPDATE The matching algorithm has gotten better—AND they’ve added a chromosome browser. Time to or ? to read all about it! MAILBOX: LISTENERS ON FAMILY HISTORY VIDEOS Muffy in Seattle sent to her family history video. Great job! Melissa asked about finding copyright-free music to add to family history videos. Lisa’s tips: Unfortunately, free royalty-free music sites are few and far between. You're smart to be cautious because if you were to put your video on YouTube they have the technology to identify any song that is used that is a violation of copyright. YouTube does make free music available: Sign into YouTube with your Google account Click on your picture in the upper right corner and go to your Creator Studio. Upload your video (you can keep it private if you wish) and then on the video page click "Audio" (above the video title). Choose among the many music tracks there. Once you've added a track and saved it, you should be able to download the video with the music included. The other source of music I use is music that comes with the programs I use ( and ). GENEALOGY BUSINESS ALLIANCE ; . See websites for complete rules. Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends . From within RootsMagic, you can search historical records on FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. Keep your family history research, photos, tree software files, videos and all other computer files safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems. Learn more at . INTERVIEW: DONNA MOUGHTY ON IRISH RESEARCH by Donna M Moughty The following review appeared in the January 2018 newsletter of the , Mid-Continent Public Library:  “If you want a quick guide on how to get started on Irish research, this short, four-page guide is an excellent resource. This guide will help you start your research in the United States, so you can figure out where in Ireland your ancestor came from. It is organized into 12 steps with helpful websites added. This guide is the first in the by Donna M Moughty.” Donna Moughty, shown left with Lisa Louise Cooke, is a professional genealogist and former Regional Manager for Apple Computers. She has been conducting family research for over 20 years. She teaches classes for beginners and lectures on a variety of subjects including Internet, Irish research, and computer topics. In addition, she provides consultations, research assistance, and training. She is a member of Association of Professional Genealogists and the Genealogical Speakers Guild. Websites mentioned in their conversation: Donna’s Irish guide series Get the or purchase them individually through the links below: (reviewed above): Without the right preparation, researching in Ireland can be frustrating! Before you jump the pond, start your research at home to determine a place in Ireland, as well as details to help differentiate your person from someone of the same name. This research guide will walk you through the process of identifying records in the US to set you up for success in your Irish research. Civil Registration for all of Ireland began in 1864, with Protestant marriages dating back to 1845. Even if your ancestors left before that date, they likely had relatives that remained in Ireland. Prior to Civil Registration, the only records of births (baptisms), marriages or deaths (burials) are in church records. This Reference Guide will explain how to use the new online Civil Registration records as well as how to identify the surviving church records for your ancestors in Ireland.  Had the Irish census records for the 19th century survived, Griffith’s Valuation, a tax list, would not be one of the most important resources for Irish researchers. Without any context, however, it can just seem like a list that includes lots of people of the same name. This Guide explains how and why Griffith’s Valuation was done, and how to use it to glean the most information about your family. Once you know your ancestor’s locality in Ireland, Griffith’s Valuation can place them on a specific piece of land between 1846 and 1864. After Griffith’s Valuation, the Revision Books allow you to follow the land and in some cases, to the 1970s, possibly identifying cousins still living on the land. Start creating fabulous, irresistible videos about your family history with Animoto.com. You don’t need special video-editing skills: just drag and drop your photos and videos, pick a layout and music, add a little text and voila! You’ve got an awesome video! Try this out for yourself at .  is the place to make connections with relatives overseas, particularly with those who may still live in your ancestral homeland. : it’s free to get started. MILITARY MINUTES: 5 BRANCHES OF THE MILITARY Each of the military branches is listed below, detailing information about when each was organized and resources available to genealogists on your ancestors who served in any of these branches. United States Army. The largest of the five military branches dates back to June 14, 1775, during the early days of the Revolutionary War. Prior to the formation of the Army, each colony had companies and battalions of Associators and local militia. With the war, the need for a professional standing army to fight the British saw the formation of the Continental Army. With the end of the Revolutionary War, the Army disbanded in 1783 after the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Later in 1796, two legions formed under the command of General Anthony Wayne would later become the nucleus of the United States Army. The Encyclopedia Britannica published on the history of the Army from its inception to the present. A number of excellent genealogical resources are available to search for ancestors who served in the United States Army since the beginning. These databases are found on Ancestry, Fold3, and Family Search.  One of the largest collections of records covers the (available by subscription at Ancestry.com). Searching the card catalogs of , and will yield many databases that contain information about soldiers who served, and sacrificed their lives with the Army over the last two centuries. United States Navy. The United States Navy dates from October 13, 1775 when it was officially established by an Act passed by the Continental Congress.  At the end of the Revolutionary War it was disbanded, and again reestablished under the Naval Act of 1794 which created the Navy as a permanent branch of the military. The history of the Navy and technology can be divided into two major eras. The earlier period, called the "Old Navy," was the age of wooden sailing ships, and still later came the birth of the ironclads during the Civil War. The later period called the "New Navy" occurred with further innovations in late nineteenth century as the United States transformed into a global power recognized the throughout the world. The United States Navy website has a .   Numerous databases and searches for records of the Navy covering multiple war period detailing pensions, continental sailors, muster rolls, ships logs, and cruise books are located on , and .  Consult each database individually for records of interest. Another organization related to the Navy is the United States Merchant Marines. Although not officially a branch of the military, the Merchant Marines sacrificed and lost lives since the days of the Revolutionary War, carrying out their missions of supply and logistics during times of war. an excellent website on the history of the Merchant Marines.   United States Air Force. The modern day Air Force dates from September 18, 1947, when it was formed as part of the Security Act of 1947. The Air Force and aviation history began under the authority of the United States Army, starting on August 1, 1907 when it was organized under the name of the Aeronautical Division of the Signal Corps.  Over the next 30 years the service changed names several times: Aviation Section of the Signal Corps (1914-1918); Division of Military Aeronautics (1918); Air Service of the United States Army (1918-1926); United States Army Air Corps (1926-1941); United States Army Air Forces (1941-1947). In that final year, it was separated as its own organization as it is known today. for a complete history of the Air Force from 1907 to the present. Two excellent online sources covering the early history of the Air Force from World War I and World War II are located on Fold3:  and United States Marines. This elite branch of the military began with the organization of the Continental Marines on November 19, 1775. The mission of the Marines initially comprised ship-to-ship fighting, security onboard naval vessels, and assistance in landing force operations. This mission would continue to evolve over the years. At the end of the Revolutionary War, the Marines were disbanded on October 4, 1783. Along with the Navy, under the Naval Act of 1794, the United States Marines were again re-established and would serve faithfully in every major war period and in peacetime between conflicts. The Marines will forever remain true to their motto of "Semper Fidelis" or Always Faithful as they continue to live up to their long-running tradition of honor and service. to watch an interesting and accurate history of the Marine Corps is viewable online on You Tube. Ancestry.com has an excellent online genealogical resource for discovering Marine Corps ancestors: for enlistees. Coast Guard. The history of this seagoing service dates back to August 4, 1790.  Established as the Revenue Cutter Marines under the direction of Alexander Hamilton, the name was changed in 1894 to the Revenue Cutter Service until 1915. That year, an Act of Congress was passed and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson called the "Act to Create Coast Guard." The United States Live Saving Service and Revenue Cutter Service came together. Later, in 1939, the United States Light House Service was added to form the modern day United States Coast Guard.  The complete history of the United States Coast Guard from 1790 is on the . It includes information about each of the separate organizations that came together to form the Coast Guard at. Ancestry.com has a . Very few additional online sources are available online for this branch of the service. Researchers must access these documents and records onsite at the National Archives in Washington, DC.  Military Minutes Case Study By Michael Strauss Subject: Russell Strauss Died: December 27, 1981-Jonestown, PA Son of Harry B. Strauss & Agnes S. (Gerhart) Strauss Over the last 30 plus years doing genealogy research, I’ve discovered that nearly all of my family members who served in the military were in the United States Army. But I have been occasionally surprised to find relatives who served in other branches of the military. On the paternal family several years ago one of my cousins gave me a box of photographs. One of the images was marked Russell G. Strauss. He wore the uniform of the United States Navy during World War II. I recognized his name and knew that he was my grandfather’s first cousin. I was 16 years old when he died and didn't know him very well. His uniform indicated that he was a third class petty officer in the Navy during the war. I looked further at his uniform and noticed a diamond shaped "S" as part of the insignia. This military occupation indicated that he was a specialist that would require further research. I spoke with a couple of my older family members who knew Russell. All of my family interviewed said that he in the military police (M.P.) during the war. With additional research, I discovered that his insignia was that of the Shore Patrol. When I compared what my family said to me and his uniform told me the information matched very closely.  I found on Ancestry his application for compensation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1950 when he served in the Shore Patrol in Norfolk, Virginia as part of his military duty (inserted below). Putting information from his photograph together with what my family members shared with me helped answer questions I had regarding of my relatives.         PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Diahan Southard, Your DNA Guide, Content Contributor Vienna Thomas, Associate Producer Hannah Fullerton, Production Assistant Lacey Cooke, Service Manager Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting this free podcast and blog!

The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #213 with Lisa Louise Cooke NEWS: HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR TO KEYNOTE ROOTSTECH to read about all RootsTech keynote speakers to read about the Genealogy Gems experience at RootsTech 2018 to hear Lisa Louise Cooke’s conversation with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in the Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 133 GEMS NEWS: UPDATED PREMIUM VIDEO can now enjoy an updated version of Lisa’s Premium video, You’ll learn how to use Evernote’s: Quick Keys: Help you get things done faster Search Operators: Digging deeper and faster into your notes Shortcuts: Learn how to set them up to accomplish repetitive tasks faster Reminders: Help you track and meet deadlines Note Sharing: Collaboration just got easier Source Citation: Merging notes to include sources; Source Citation with “Info” feature Web Clipper Bookmarklet: a hack for adding it to your mobile tablet’s browser   Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends . Keep your family history research safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems. Learn more at . .   BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App Users If you’re listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus content for this episode is a lightning-quick tech tip from Lisa Louise Cooke on how to undo that last browser you just closed and didn’t mean to! The and is only $2.99 for MILITARY MINUTES: REGULAR, VOLUNTEER OR MILITIA? To gain a better understanding of what life in the military was like for your ancestors, it is essential to know in what capacity someone may have served. Did your ancestor serve in the regulars, or was he a volunteer soldier, or did he have service with the local militia? These terms are generally associated with the records of the United States Army. The other branches enlisted men using different terminology. Free download: by Trevor K. Plante (Reference Information Paper 109) for National Archives reference materials for military acronyms, abbreviations, and dictionaries that will aid genealogists when researching how exactly their ancestors served : One of the best examples of how colonial militias operated (laws, rules, and regulations, and parent organizations). Pennsylvania followed very closely the doings of other colonies during the same period. Samuel Howard in the Civil War Because of his age he wasn’t able to enlist until 1865 when he turned 18. He was a volunteer soldier who served as a substitute for another man who was drafted. After his discharge, he again enlisted in the Regular Army in 1866. He was assigned to the 13th U.S. Infantry, where he served one month before deserting at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. Samuel was married in 1867 (this may have some relevance to his decision to leave the military). He lived in Pennsylvania from the end of the war until his death in 1913. Shown here in 1876, Lebanon, PA. Both his Regular and Volunteer Army enlistment forms are included here, along with the above photograph of Samuel with his wife circa 1876 from an early tintype. The forms look very similar, as each contains common information asked of a typical recruit. However they are decidedly different as the one covers his Civil War service and the other his post war service when he joined the regular Army after the men who served during the war would have been discharged.   GEM: AN INSPIRING FAMILY HISTORY VIDEO   based on poem by Tom Boyer Learn more about the Where I’m From poetry project and hear a conversation with the original author, Kentucky poet laureate George Ella Lyon in the free . Hannah’s Animoto Advice: You’ll find when using the video templates, timing the photos to the narration can pose some challenges. Originally, when she put the photos in place and “previewed” the video, the narration didn’t line up at all with the images. Hannah explains: “When I was in “creator” mode, I selected a picture that I wanted to appear on the screen for a longer duration then I clicked the “spotlight” button that is on the left-hand side in the editor column. Or If you double click the image, it will open into a larger single view and you can select the “star” button which will do the same thing. I applied this spotlight option to several photos within my gallery. I knew which photos to do this to by previewing the video several times to make sure I liked the timing of it all. Now if your problem is not with just a few photos but the overall timing, then try editing the pace of your photos.  In the top right-hand corner, click the “edit song/trim and pacing” button. Here you can trim you uploaded mp3 audio as well as the pace to which your photos appear. My photos appeared too fast on the screen in comparison to the narration I had, so I moved the pace button to left by one notch and previewed the video. This did the trick and the result was a heart-warming poem, turned into a visually beautiful story.” Do you have a darn good reason to take action right now to get your family history in front of your family? Perhaps: a video of the loving couples in your family tree for Valentine’s Day a video of your family’s traditional Easter Egg hunt through the years a tribute to the mom’s young and old in your family on Mother’s Day your child’s or grandchild’s graduation a video to promote your upcoming family reunion to get folks really visualizing the fun they are going to have Or perhaps it’s the story of a genealogy journey you’ve been on where you finally busted a brick wall and retrieved an ancestor’s memory from being lost forever. 5 Steps to Jump-Starting Your Video Project Pick one family history topic Write the topic in one brief sentence – the title of your video Select 12 photos that represent that topic. On a piece of paper, number it 1 – 12 and write one brief sentence about each photo that convey your message. You don’t have to have one for every photo, but it doesn’t hurt to try. Scan the photos if they aren’t already and save them to one folder on your hard drive. And now you are in great shape to take the next step and get your video made in a way that suits your interest, skill, and time. 4 Easy Methods for Creating Video Got an iPhone? iOS 10 now has “Memories” a feature of your Photos app that can instantly create a video of a group of related photos. There’s the free Adobe Spark Video app which can you can add photos, video clips and text to, pick a theme and a music track from their collection, and whip up something pretty impressive in a very short time. Visit your device’s app store or There’s which does everything that Spark does, but gives you even more control over the content, and most importantly the ability to download your video in HD quality. You can even add a button to the end that the viewer can tap and it will take them to a website, like your genealogy society website, a Facebook group for your family reunion or even a document on FamilySearch. And finally, if you have the idea, and pull together the photos, you can book Hannah at Genealogy Gems to create a video with your content. Go to and scroll to the Contact form at the bottom of the home page to request ordering information. The most important thing is that your family history can be treasured and shared so that it brings joy to your life today, and also, to future generations. The thing is, if your kids and grandkids can see the value of your genealogy research, they will be more motivated to preserve and protect it.   PREMIUM INTERVIEW: SYLVIA BROWN In , publishing later this month, Sylvia Brown (of the family connected to Brown University) will join Lisa Louise Cooke to talk about researching her new book, , which traces her family’s involvement in philanthropy, Rhode Island history and the institution of slavery hundreds of years. A Kirkus review of this book calls it “an often riveting history of a family that left an indelible impact on the nation.”       PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Vienna Thomas, Associate Producer Hannah Fullerton, Production Assistant Lacey Cooke, Service Manager Disclosure: These show notes contain affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting this free podcast and blog!   FREE NEWSLETTER: Enter your email & get my Google Research e-bookas a thank you gift! to receive a free weekly e-mail newsletter, with tips, inspiration and money-saving deals.

The Genealogy Gems PodcastEpisode #212with Lisa Louise Cooke In this episode, Lisa Louise Cooke speaks with Contributing Editor Sunny Morton about turning our fleeting scraps of recollections into meaningful memories. Also: Genealogist Margaret Linford tells us how she got started in family history. Like many of our best stories, it’s not just about her, but someone who inspired her. 2017 could be called “the year of DNA.” Diahan Southard looks back with a special DNA news digest. Finding missing ancestors: tips and success stories from Genealogy Gems fans NEWS: WIKITREE HONOR CODE Learn more about using individual v. global/community family trees on Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com in Sunny Morton’s quick reference guide, NEWS: FAMICITY ADDS GEDCOM UPLOAD NEWS: DNA YEAR IN REVIEW WITH DIAHAN SOUTHARD As evidence of its now proven usefulness in genealogy research, the genetic genealogy industry is growing at a fast pace. Ancestry.com has amassed the largest database, now boasting over 6 million people tested, and is growing at breakneck speeds, having doubled the size of its database in 2017. As the databases grow larger and our genealogy finds become more frequent, we can’t ignore that this kind of data, the correlated genetic and genealogical data, amassed by these companies, has great value. In November, announced an effort by their scientific team to “study the relationship between genetics and behavior, personal characteristics, and culture.” These studies are not new, as is in open hot pursuit of the connections between genetics and our health, and always has been. All of our genetic genealogy companies are involved in research on one level or another and every person who swabs or spits has the opportunity to participate in other research projects ( to read up on the consent policies at each company). At the time of testing, you have the option to opt in or out of this research, and the ability to alter that decision at any time after you test, by accessing your settings. According to an article in , it seems we as a community are very interested in helping with research: 23andMe reports an over 80% opt-in-to-research rate among their customers. And I’ve got some breaking news for you: Family Tree DNA just started a to reinforce the message that they will never sell your genetic data. That’s another important topic worth talking about in a future episode, so stay tuned! All our genetic genealogy companies realize that you might want to do more with your data than just look for your ancestors. This year has partnered with in an effort to provide insight into your health via your genetic genealogy test results. Of course is the leader in health testing when we look at our top genetic genealogy companies. This year finally succeeded in , a huge leap forward in their efforts to provide health testing directly to consumers. While health testing has certainly seen an explosion of interest this year, it is not the only way that our companies are using the data they have amassed. took the DNA and pedigree charts of two million customers who consented to research and, using some really fancy science, were able to provide amazing insight into our recent ancestral past with the creation of their genetic communities. These genetic communities enhance our understanding of our heritage by showing us where our ancestors may have been between 1750 and 1850, the genealogical “sweet spot” that most of us are trying to fill in. , a relative newcomer to the genetic genealogy arena, announced in October of 2017 their intention to use their database to help create a One World Family Tree. To do so, they are collecting DNA samples from all over the world, specifically those who four grandparents lived in close proximity to each other. Along with this announcement, is allowing individuals who have results from other companies and want to help with this project, to transfer into their database. So it seems that with growing databases come growing options, whether to opt-in to research, to pursue health information from your DNA test results, or to help build global databases for health or genealogy purposes. Recognizing the growing appeal to non-genealogists as well, added to their list of options the ability to opt-out of the match page, and there are rumors that will soon be adding the option to opt-in to matching (they do not currently have a cousin-matching feature as part of their offering). It can be tricky to keep up with all that goes on, but be sure we at Genealogy Gems are doing our best to keep you up-to-date with any news that might help you make better decisions about your genealogy, and ultimately better equipped to find your ancestors. GENEALOGY GEMS NEWS (publishing later this month) NEW Premium Video: “” This video answers the questions: What is cloud backup? Why should I use cloud backup? How does cloud backup work? Is cloud backup safe? What should I look for when selecting a cloud backup service? My personal cloud backup choice to subscribe to Genealogy Gems Premium membership   Donna Moughty’s Irish Guide series has proven so popular, we’ve added a third one: This Guide explains how and why Griffith’s Valuation was done, and how to use it to glean the most information about your family. After Griffith’s Valuation, the Revision Books allow you to follow the land and in some cases, to the 1970s, possibly identifying cousins still living on the land. This quick reference guide includes: Explanation of the columns in Griffith’s Valuation Rules under which Griffith’s Valuation was done. Tips for using Griffith’s to find your family Using the Revision Books to identify life events The Tithe Applotment, an earlier tax list Landed Estate Courts Estate Records Pre-ordering is open for the print version: shipping starts around Dec. 11, 2017. The digital download version will be available for purchase around the same time. Get the and SAVE! The bundle includes:  Guide #1: Preparing for Success in Irish Records Research Guide #2: Irish Civil Registration and Church Records Guide #3: Land, Tax and Estate Records in Ireland BONUS CONTENT in the  If you’re listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus content for this episode a reading of an excerpt of by Thomas Kibble Hervey (The chapter Signs of the Season) published in 1845 – available for free in Google Books. The and is only $2.99 for MAILBOX Learn more about using Google Books and Google Patents in Lisa Louise Cooke’s book,   Keep your family history research, photos, tree software files, videos and all other computer files safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems. Learn more at .   Lovepop Cards Unlock special pricing for 5 or more cards AND get free shipping on any order by going to   GEM: MARGARET LINFORD’S GENEALOGICAL ORIGINS to read Margaret’s memories and see her pictures of Grandma Overbay Start creating fabulous, irresistible videos about your family history with Animoto.com. You don’t need special video-editing skills: just drag and drop your photos and videos, pick a layout and music, add a little text and voila! You’ve got an awesome video! Try this out for yourself at .   INTERVIEW: TURN MEMORY FRAGMENTS INTO MEANINGFUL STORIES Sunny Morton is a Contributing Editor at Genealogy Gems and presenter of the new Premium Video, “Share Your Own Life Stories More Meaningfully” ( to watch a quick preview). She is also author of (use coupon code GEMS17 for an extra 10% off by December 31, 2017). Strategies for turning memory fragments into meaningful stories (learn more about all of these in the Premium Video, ): Gather together even the smallest fragments of your memories together by writing them down. Think about what missing details you could research by finding pictures, books, chronologies, maps and other resources (both online and offline). Look for common patterns or recurring themes in groups of memory fragments. (For example, Sunny shared memories of swimming in this episode.) What kind of story do these memories tell over time about your personality, circumstances, relationships or other aspects of your life?   PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Diahan Southard, Your DNA Guide, Content Contributor Hannah Fullerton, Audio Editor Lacey Cooke, Service Manager Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting this free podcast and blog!   FREE NEWSLETTER: Enter your email & get my Google Research e-bookas a thank you gift! to receive a free weekly e-mail newsletter, with tips, inspiration and money-saving deals.

The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #211 with Lisa Louise Cooke In this episode, host and producer Lisa Louise Cooke talks with Barry Moreno, Historian at Ellis Island. Hear about the life cycle of this busy U.S. immigration station (1892-1954) and Barry’s research into thousands of Ellis Island employees—men and women—who worked there. HelloFresh: Visit  and use promo code gems30 to save $30 off your first week of deliveries. More episode highlights: Archive Lady Melissa Barker tells us about the National Archives Citizen Archivist program—and Lisa profiles a volunteer effort coordinated by the British Library to geo-tag thousands of old maps that are already online. A giant genealogy lost-and-found! Two listeners write in about rescuing old artifacts and returning them to those who might be interested. Military Minutes contributor Michael Strauss talks about Official Military Personnel Files for 20th-century US servicemen and women—files that were unfortunately partially destroyed. Hear what he learned about his grandfather. NEWS , reported by The Archive Lady, Melissa Barker of digitized maps from the British Library Collections—mostly 19th century maps from books published in Europe. Use Google Earth for genealogy! Check out these resources: FREE The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox, 2nd edition by Lisa Louise Cooke. This book has 7 full chapters on Google Earth! Available in  and  form. Google Earth for Genealogy Video Training by Lisa Louise Cooke. Available .     NEW FOR GENEALOGY GEMS PREMIUM MEMBERS “Share Your Life Stories More Meaningfully” Premium Video Every life is fascinating when it’s well shared! Learn from the author of what stories you have that are worth telling--and several inspiring reasons to write them. Review different kinds of memories, why some memories are more vivid that others, and how to flesh them out. Learn tips for researching gaps in your memories, how to turn a memory into a good story, what to leave out and several ways to share your stories.   BONUS CONTENT FOR GENEALOGY GEMS APP USERS If you’re listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus content for this episode is a preview of the new Premium video class, “Share Your Own Life Stories More Meaningfully” by Contributing Editor Sunny Morton. The and is only $2.99 for   MAILBOX: ROLAND’S HEIRLOOM RESCUE MAILBOX: NEW LISTENER PHOTO RESCUE PROJECT What can you do with a collection of unidentified photos? Return them to a loving home. In this case, it was a local historical society. Linda wisely kept the collection together because often there’s power in what some of the photos may tell you about others. Get them digitized and online so those who want them can find them. The historical society put images on and . They even plan to display them for locals to look at personally and try to identify! Historical and genealogical societies can also share mystery photos on their websites (or their local library’s website if they don’t have their own) or on their blogs, Facebook pages or even in their regular newsletters. These are great conversation pieces, especially when you can later report that you have solved the mystery! ( for more tips aimed at supporting genealogy societies.) Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends . From within RootsMagic, you can search historical records on FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. RootsMagic is now fully integrated with Ancestry.com: you can sync your RootsMagic trees with your Ancestry.com trees and search records on the site.   Keep your family history research, photos, tree software files, videos and all other computer files safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems. Learn more at . MILITARY MINUTES: OFFICIAL MILITARY PERSONNEL FILES The military service files for your ancestors who served during the twentieth century or later are located at the National Personnel Record Center in St. Louis, MO as part of the National Archives. The files are called the Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) and are available for each of the military branches; namely; Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. Researchers should be keenly aware of the devastating fire that occurred on July 12, 1973 at the research facility that destroyed or damaged between 16-18 million service files from the United States Army and the Air Force. Remember that the Air Force wasn’t officially organized until September 14, 1947. Before this date Air Force records were part of the United States Army Air Corps, then part of the U.S. Army.  . Overview of the holdings, media articles and PowerPoint presentations (download as PDFs) (Request an Appointment, Availability of Records, Copy Fees, Hours of Operation, Hiring a Researcher) (Online request for Veterans, Standard Form 180, or For Burials and Emergency Requests) (SF 180)   Zerbe H. Howard Start creating fabulous, irresistible videos about your family history with Animoto.com. You don’t need special video-editing skills: just drag and drop your photos and videos, pick a layout and music, add a little text and voila! You’ve got an awesome video! Try this out for yourself at .   Watch the video below for an example of a family history video made with Animoto:              is the place to make connections with relatives overseas, particularly with those who may still live in your ancestral homeland. : it’s free to get started.   INTERVIEW: BARRY MORENO, ELLIS ISLAND HISTORIAN Barry Moreno is a leading authority on the history of , the famous receiving station for millions of immigrants to the United States from 1892-1954. He has worked in the Museum Services Division at Ellis Island for more than a decade. He is the author of several books, including , (including Bob Hope, Bela Lugosi, and Max Factor) and (which includes information on displaced persons).      Ellis Island: Historical highlights Prior to 1890, immigration was handled by the states (primarily New York, as most passed through the Port of New York). 1920-1921: New regulations cut down immigration dramatically. Each country had quotas that could not be exceeded. New regulations were passed requiring immigrants to have a passport from their home country have medical examinations pay a tax to the American Consulate in their home country.  During the last 30 years, Ellis Island mostly handled immigrants who were "in trouble." Starting in the 1930s some immigrants arrived by air (Colonial Airways from Canada). After WWII, Air France started service, and German and Italian airlines came in the 1950s.  Ellis Island was closed in 1954 by President Eisenhower. Immigrants who were still detained when it closed were sent to jails. After 1954, Ellis Island was still used by the Coast Guard for training and by the Public Health Services department.  Barry’s research on workers at Ellis Island: Most employees were men. Interestingly, blue collar men tended to die before age 60, and better educated ones lived much longer.  Female employees were typically widows, unmarried or had husbands who did not support them. "Char woman" was a common role held by Irish, Swedish and German women. Char means "chores" (cleaning women). They worked often for about $400/ year with no pension, and lived to old ages. A nursery was opened at Ellis Island; many Christian missionaries worked there. Ludmila Foxlee (1885-1971) was one of them, a social worker with the YWCA. to read more immigrant aid workers at Ellis Island. Three more great resources for discovering the stories of your immigrant ancestors: Read this article and watch (for free) an award-winning, official documentary) If your search at doesn’t retrieve your ancestors, head on over to . There you will find dozens of links to search resources, including the Ellis Island Gold Form for arrivals between 1892 and 1924.  Even the folks at Ellis Island refer researchers to Morse’s site. Listen to Lisa’s interview with Stephen Morse in In Lias's free (episodes 29-31), genealogist Steve Danko covers immigration and naturalization records in depth and even offers up some little-known tips about deciphering some of the cryptic notes researchers often find on passenger lists.   PROFILE AMERICA:   PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Diahan Southard, Contributor: Your DNA Guide Melissa Barker, Contributor: The Archive Lady Michael Strauss, Contributor: Military Minutes Hannah Fullerton, Production Assistant Lacey Cooke, Service Manager Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting this free podcast and blog! Sign up for our FREE newsletter: Enter your email & get my Google Research e-bookas a thank you gift! to receive a free weekly e-mail newsletter, with tips, inspiration and money-saving deals.

The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #210 with Lisa Louise Cooke In this episode: You’ve heard of “burned counties,” a phrase used to describe places where courthouse fires or other disasters have destroyed key genealogy records? In this episode, a listener presents the problem of her burned city—Chicago. Your DNA Guide Diahan Southard shares some of the latest buzz about DNA health reports you can get with your DNA tests for family history—and some opinions about them News from the Genealogy Gems Book Club Get-started Swedish genealogy tips from Legacy Tree Genealogist Paul Woodbury The Archive Lady Melissa Barker shines the spotlight on archival collections that haven’t even been processed yet (and suggestions for getting to them) Five years away from the release of the 1950 US census, Lisa has tips on researching your family in the 1940s and preparing for its release MAILBOX: GEMS FOR YOU AND YOUR SOCIETY Gail mentioned the free step-by-step Great news! Your genealogy society or group may reprint articles from Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems blog! to learn more. MAILBOX: GENEALOGY GEMS BOOK CLUB by Frank Delaney (Thank you for supporting the free podcast by using our links to get your copies of these books.) by Frank Delaney   Book Club Guru Sunny Morton recommends the novels of Frank Delaney, beginning with (and now she’s reading ). Frank is a master storyteller, and family history themes wind throughout his stories. Tip: he narrates his audiobooks himself. They are well worth listening to! But they’re so beautifully written Sunny is buying them in print, too. MAILBOX: THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE Resource:  (an index of Cook County marriages and deaths) Recommended: : “I discussed a book specifically on Chicago research:  by Grace DuMelle. As I recall, it was a very comprehensive book and could give you good leads on where to look.” by Lisa Louise Cooke : Johnstown Flood story : Eastland disaster story and tips on researching disasters in your family history (includes mention of GenDisasters)   Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends . From within RootsMagic, you can search historical records on FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. RootsMagic is now fully integrated with Ancestry.com: you can sync your RootsMagic trees with your Ancestry.com trees and search records on the site.     Keep your family history research, photos, tree software files, videos and all other computer files safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems. Learn more at . ARCHIVE LADY: UNPROCESSED RECORDS As an archivist, working in an archive every day, I get very excited when someone walks through the door with a records donation in hand. Many of our archives would not have the genealogical and historical records they have without the generosity of others that make records donations. Archives receive donations of documents, photographs, ephemera and artifacts almost on a daily basis. Many archives have back rooms full of unprocessed and uncatalogued records collections. Sometimes they are even sitting in the original boxes they were donated. These records collections have not been microfilmed, they are not online anywhere but they exist and the genealogist needs to seek them out. Images courtesy of Melissa Barker and Houston County, TN Archives. One tip that I like to share with genealogists is to ask the staff at the archives about these unprocessed and uncatalogued record collections. Many times these record collections haven't even been processed yet but the archivist might let you look through a specific collection. Be prepared, sometimes the archivist doesn't allow patrons to view unprocessed collections. But like I always say "It doesn't hurt to ask!" The archivist should know what they have in those collections and should be able to help you decide if a particular collection will be of help to you and your genealogy research. Many of our archives and archivists are very busy processing records, helping patrons, answer email and much more. Maybe the archive is short staffed and can’t get to the unprocessed records as quickly as they would like. This is why there are record collections sitting on shelves in back rooms waiting to be processed. If you have made a research trip to an archive, it wouldn't hurt to ask about any new record donations or collections. There could very well be records in those boxes about your ancestors. If you are emailing or talking to the archives by phone, be sure and ask about any new records collections that have been processed or that have recently been donated and are waiting to be processed. Most likely you will have to travel to the facility to see the records but you can get an idea of what is available.  Archivists love to share the records in their care and usually know what is contained in those boxes that haven’t been processed yet. The answer to your genealogical question could be sitting in a box of unprocessed records. I like to always encourage genealogists to put “unprocessed records” on their to-do list. As genealogists, we should leave no stone or box of records, unturned. DNA WITH DIAHAN: MORE DNA HEALTH REPORTS Recently, offered its customers a new $49 add-on product: a wellness report that promises to “empower you to make more informed decisions about your nutrition, exercise, and supplementation.” The report comes via a partnership with Vitagene, a nutrigenomics company. How does it work? When you order the report, Family Tree DNA shares the results of your  with Vitagene and gives you a lifestyle questionnaire. According to the site, “this information, along with your DNA raw data results, will be analyzed using the latest research available in the areas of nutrition, exercise, and genomics. You can expect your results to be available on your dashboard within one week of purchase.” At this point, the test is only available to those who have taken the Family Tree DNA Family Finder DNA test (we called to check with them specifically about those who , but the Wellness Report isn’t available to them, either). Those who qualify will see a  option on their Family Tree DNA dashboard: There are several components to the Family Tree DNA and Vitagene Wellness Report. The site describes them as follows: Nutrition Report. “Personalized, actionable recommendations designed to help you reach your weight goals. Learn how your DNA affects traits such as obesity risk, emotional eating, weight regain after dieting, and more. Included Reports:  Obesity Risk, Alcohol Metabolism, Cholesterol Levels, Triglyceride Levels, Lactose Sensitivity, Gluten Sensitivity, Emotional Eating, Weight Regain After Dieting, Fat Intake, Sodium Intake.” Exercise Report. “Outlines the optimal physical activities for your body to start seeing better results, faster. Included Reports: Power and Endurance Exercise, Muscle Strength, Muscle Cramps, Exercise Behavior, Blood Pressure Response to Exercise, Weight Response to Exercise.” Supplementation Report. “Reveals which deficiencies you are more inclined to suffer from and recommends a supplement regimen that will help keep you healthy and feeling 100%. Included Reports: Full Supplementation Regimen, Vitamin D Intake, Vitamin A Intake, Folate Intake, Vitamin B12 Intake, Iron Intake.” And what about your privacy? According to Family Tree DNA’s Q&A, “Your data is 100% secure and protected by industry standard security practices. We will not share your information without your explicit consent.” This is just one of many services that are cropping up or will crop up in the future to offer additional interpretations of our DNA test results. (23andMe was the first major company in the genealogy space to offer these– to read about their health reports, and click  and  to read about the company’s long road to FDA approval.) Essentially, each DNA test you do for family history looks at a certain number of your SNPs, or little pieces of DNA (not your entire genome, which is costly and isn’t necessary for genetic genealogy purposes). A nutrigenomic profile compares your SNPs with SNPs known to be associated with various conditions or ailments. (These genetic markers have been identified by researchers, many in academia, and deposited in ClinVar, a large, publicly-accessible database that itself is part of an even larger genetic database, SNPedia.) In this case of Vitagene, they are likely mining ClinVar for specific places in your DNA that pertain to nutrition, and were also evaluated as part of the Family Finder test. Of course, many factors affect your health, nutrition, exercise capacity, and other wellness indicators, not just your genes. The purpose of reports like these is to give you just one more piece of information to weigh personally or with your health care provider. When considering whether to purchase a nutrigenomics report such as this, I’d look carefully at what’s promised in the report, as well as the company providing it and the cost. Vitagene does also sell vitamin supplements, so they have a clear motivation to tell you about what supplements to take. And, for your information, Vitagene also offers this . Of course, if it is health advice you want, for only $5 you can turn to  and receive a health report–based on any testing company’s autosomal DNA report–that includes some nutritional factors. (I’ve blogged recently about Promethease and another inexpensive recommendation for DNA health reports.  to read it!) Or, I will just tell you right now, for free, without even looking at your DNA: Exercise more and eat more green vegetables and less ice cream. There. I just saved you some money. You’re welcome. GEM: COUNTDOWN TO THE 1950 CENSUS: 5 TIPS Get a copy of a census record for yourself or a relative (1950-2010) This costs $65 per person, per census year. In addition to genealogy uses, census records are legally-recognized documents to prove your identity, citizenship or age if you’re applying for a passport and you’ve lost your birth certificate or other situations like that. Order it through the . : How to obtain a copy of your census record Find your family in all possible records before and during WWII City directories, , , the , military enlistments, and even alien registrations or internment camp records for foreign-born residents during WWII. 5 places to find city directories: (subscription required) to see holdings at different libraries (may require copy service request, since originals may not circulate through interlibrary loan) Local public libraries/societies Find your family in all possible records AFTER the war City directories, yearbooks, deeds, divorce records (the ) Post-WWII draft registrations: to order copies of draft registration records for men born 1897-1957. Requires full name of applicant, address at time of registration (tip: get it from a city directory).  Help create location tools for the 1950 US Census ” Google your family’s history during the 1940s and 1950s (FREE) Premium video: 2nd ed, by Lisa Louise Cooke (there’s an entire chapter on YouTube) Follow-up your discoveries with Google and YouTube search questions. Example: You find your grandmother working as a telephone operator in the 1940s in a city directory. What would her job have been like? Search YouTube: It appears from these videos that operators essentially served as emergency dispatchers. When did 9-1-1 service begin? Search Google: LEGACY TREE TIP: START YOUR SWEDISH GENEALOGY to read Paul Woodbury’s tips on the Genealogy Gems website. Receive $100 off a 20-hour+ research project from with code GEM S100. Expires Oct. 31st, 2017. PROFILE AMERICA: THE OPEN ROAD “The busiest spot on the Pennsylvania Turnpike,” Library of Congress photograph; image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. to see full citation. BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App Users If you’re listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus content for this episode is a lightning-quick tech tip from Lisa Louise Cooke on how to undo that last browser you just closed and didn’t mean to! The and is only $2.99 for PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Diahan Southard, Your DNA Guide, Content Contributor Hannah Fullerton, Audio Editor Lacey Cooke, Service Manager FREE NEWSLETTER: Enter your email & get my Google Research e-bookas a thank you gift! to receive a free weekly e-mail newsletter, with tips, inspiration and money-saving deals.

The Genealogy Gems PodcastEpisode 209with Lisa Louise Cooke In today’s episode: David Ouimette of FamilySearch is known to his colleagues as “the Indiana Jones of genealogy” because of his globe-trotting adventures in curating record treasures. He joins us to talk about the millions of records being digitized around the world right now. Lots of excited emails from you! Compiled military service records from Military Minutes expert Michael Strauss GENEALOGY GEMS EVENTS Thanks for a great seminar, (shown right: the beautiful items you see in the foreground are Czech crystal and other traditional items) Bill at Jake's See Lisa Louise Cooke in October: October 15, 2017 Denver, CO October 21, 2017 Roswell, NM NEWS: ROOTSMAGIC UPDATE Free update for RootsMagic 7 users: version 7.5.4.0 (update primarily fixes bugs). Click on the "Update Available" indicator in the lower right corner of your RootsMagic 7 program screen. If you don't already have RootsMagic 7, to see what’s new Or to order the upgrade.   MAILBOX Gray recommends Lisa’s free   MAILBOX: FREE WEBINAR RESPONSES  Click the image above to watch the video Click the red SUBSCRIBE button on the Genealogy Gems YouTube channel.   NEW GENEALOGY GEMS PREMIUM VIDEO Develop your search superpowers to uncover information about your family history on the web with Google at lightning speed! Explore tools like Image search, facial recognition, finding specific types of files, how to find the answers you need, and more. to watch a class preview; to become a Genealogy Gems Premium member. BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App Users If you’re listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus content for this episode is an easy-to-access version of the new Genealogy Gems Premium video, “Google Search Secrets.” The and is only $2.99 for .   INTERVIEW: DAVID OUIMETTE OF FAMILYSEARCH: “THE INDIANA JONES OF GENEALOGY” David Ouimette, CG, manages Content Strategy at FamilySearch. He has conducted research and analyzed archival materials in dozens of countries in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. David lectures regularly and has written for genealogists, including Genealogy Gems Contributing Editor Sunny Morton is the author of “.” Use this jammed-packed cheat sheet to quickly and easily compare the most important features of the four biggest international genealogy records membership websites: Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. Consult it every time your research budget, needs or goals change! Start creating fabulous, irresistible videos about your family history with Animoto.com. You don’t need special video-editing skills: just drag and drop your photos and videos, pick a layout and music, add a little text and voila! You’ve got an awesome video! Try this out for yourself at .    is the place to make connections with relatives overseas, particularly with those who may still live in your ancestral homeland. : it’s free to get started.   MILITARY MINUTES: COMPILED MILITARY SERVICE RECORDS If a clue found in your ancestor’s listed military service you will want next to search for his Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR).  The Compiled Military Service Records (often abbreviated at CMSR or CSR) record the name, unit, and period of service of the veteran along with information related to military service from the Revolutionary War to the end of the hostilities of the Philippine Insurrection after the turn of the 20th century. The information varies greatly from each of the war periods that recorded this information. Besides the identifying features listed above, they typically contain muster in/out information, rank in/out details and further highlight the soldier career by recording promotions, prisoner of war memorandums, casualties, and a number of personnel papers which may include enlistment papers and other related documents. Several of the war periods also provide physical descriptions of the soldiers including; name, age, nativity, occupation, height, hair, eyes, and complexion information. This set of records represents the volunteer Army and doesn’t include regular Army enlistments. Except for limited records of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 for the Navy, the other branches of the military (including Navy, Marines, and Revenue Cutter Service) all have their equivalent set of records. Your ancestor may have multiple entries in the CMSR. This could occur if a soldier served in more than one unit, or in the case of John LeMaster, who enlisted in two different armies. The Civil War divided our nation, testing the loyalty of all persons who lived during this time. Lemaster chose the Confederacy (as least initially) when in 1861 in Charlestown, VA he enlisted with the 2nd VA Infantry fighting alongside of his Brigade commander Thomas J. Jackson who later would be known as “Stonewall Jackson.” (Photos: John H. Lemaster and his family in Martinsburg, WV. Photos courtesy of Michael Strauss.) After the Confederate loss at the battle of Gettysburg he deserted and lived in Martinsburg in what was now West Virginia where on his Draft Registration he was listed as a deserter from the Rebel Army.  In 1864 he enlisted in the United States Army with the 3rd WV Cavalry, serving out the duration of the war until 1865. After the war he was granted a federal pension, with no mention of his former service in the Confederacy. Shown on following pages: his military service records for both the Confederate and Union armies.     Access various CMSR indexes and images online at the following: At fold3: Revolutionary War. C are online for CT, DE, GA, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, VT, VA, and Continental Troops. Genealogists should also search the local state where their ancestors were from as some Militia isn’t included in these records.    During the Revolutionary War additional Compiled Service Records were completed , which was broken down to include Naval Personnel, Quartermaster General, and Commissary General Departments.  One additional set of CMSR images covered Revolutionary War service along with Imprisonment Cards. Old Wars (1784-1811). After the Revolutionary War, the newly formed United States government sought to maintain a regular Army. However, volunteer soldiers who served from 1784-1811 were recorded. (One of the reasons for volunteers to be called up would have included the Whiskey Rebellion of 1793.)  Their Compiled Military Service Record full images are . are online for CT, DE, DC, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MS, MO, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VT, VA and also the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Shawanoe Indians along with United States Volunteers. Full copies of CMSR are online for the Chickasaw and Creek Indians, along with the men from Lake Erie and Mississippi.  are online for the various Indians wars from 1815-1858.  Mexican War. C for AL, AR, CA, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, MD, DC, MA, MI, MS, MO, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI, and the Mormon Battalion and the United States Volunteers. Full copies of the CMSR are online for AR, MS, PA, TN, TX, and the Mormon Battalion. Civil War. :  Union: Indexes are online for AZ, CA, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, ME, MA, MI, MN, MO, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT, WA, WI, United States Veteran Volunteers, and Veteran Reserve Corps. Full copies of CMSR for AL, AR, CA, CO, Dakota Territory, DE, DC, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MA, MS, MO, NE, NV, NM, NC, OR, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WV, United States Colored Troops, United States Volunteers, and 1st NY Engineers. Confederate: indexes are online for AL, and VA. Full copies of CMSR are online for AL, AZ, AK, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA, Miscellaneous, Volunteers, Indians, and Officers. Spanish American War. Compiled Military Service for AL, AR, CA, CO, CT, Dakota Territory, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY, and United States Volunteers.  At Ancestry.com: Revolutionary War. Full copies of the Compiled Military Service Records for CT, DE, GA, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, VT, VA, and Continental Troops.  This database often doesn’t list the local militia as most of the men listed were part of the continental line. Researchers can access this group of records and search by keyword or location. Old Wars. This database is an index and full images of the of those men who served after the Revolutionary War and before the War of 1812, covering the years of 1784-1811. War of 1812. Abstracted lists of names, state, and military units from the Compiled Service Records (no images). Indian Wars: : includes the Florida Wars, Second Creek War, and the Third Seminole War from 1835-1858 Mexican War. Full copies of the CMSR are online for MS, PA, TN, TX, and the Mormon Battalion. Civil War: Union:Compiled Military Service Records are searchable, with a link to the collection Confederate: Compiled Military Service Records are searchable, with a link to Fold3 to view original images . An additional set of Service Records comes from units that were raised by the Confederate Government and not from any of the states that comprised the Confederacy. The CMSR are available online to view the images and searchable by military unit . Spanish American War. Compiled Military Service Record Indexes are online that cover the same geographical areas as on Fold3 . Full copies of CMSR are online on Ancestry for Florida . Free at FamilySearch.org: Family Search has fewer Compiled Military Service Records available online that include images. One of the major collections includes the Revolutionary War CMSR’s that when , the images provide a direct link to Fold3. Most of the other major war periods are microfilmed and available through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. With online access through both Fold3 and Ancestry provided on the computers in the library, accessing the film is less desirable.   GEM: USNEWSMAP Suzanne’s comment: “Did you realize that this site from the Georgia Tech Research Institute is actually a wonderful search engine for Chronicling . website? I have used the LOC site often, but found it cumbersome sometimes. This is a real time saver. Thanks for the Genealogy Gem.” Lisa’s tip: In the timeline you can specify a date, like 1860 (date and month too!), then press play and it will play back and reveal the locations on mentions of your search query coming forward in time. It would be really interesting to take a word or phrase and see when it first occurred. This is a very feature-rich website! PROFILE AMERICA: A short : it’s a great example of the do-it-yourself video narratives you can make to tell your own family’s stories! KEEP UP WITH GENEALOGY GEMS Listen to the Genealogy Gems Podcast twice a month! Check in on or after October 26, 2017 for . What’s coming? Paul Woodbury of Legacy Tree Genealogists will share some great tips for beginning Swedish genealogy—and much more! Follow Subscribe to the   PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Diahan Southard, Your DNA Guide, Content Contributor Vienna Thomas, Associate Producer Hannah Fullerton, Production Assistant Lacey Cooke, Service Manager

The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke In this episode: A free webinar! Great comments from you: An inspiring Google Books success story, how one listener gets her shy husband talking about his life story, and a listener’s own version of the poem, “Where I’m From” The Archive Lady talks to us about historical scrapbooks at archives that may be packed with genealogy gems for us A genealogy hero who saved a life story Your first look at RootsTech 2018 NEWS: FREE WEBINAR Handouts: from Lisa Louise Cooke from Your DNA Guide Diahan Southard NEWS: FIRST LOOK AT ROOTSTECH 2018 for more on RootsTech 2018 Going to RootsTech for the first time? Read this . MAILBOX: PAT INTERVIEWS HER SHY HUSBAND video Pat’s tip: When someone is shy about sharing life stories, interview them informally while traveling. Pat uses her iPad to transcribe his responses, then polishes it up when she gets home and transfers it to her own computer. “Eventually we will have enough to write the story of his life, with lots of pictures. And it's completely painless.” MAILBOX: GOOGLE BOOKS SUCCESS STORY FROM KIM Link image to:  for another inspiring genealogy discovery using Google Books—with how-to tips and a free video preview of Lisa Louise Cooke’s Premium video tutorial, “Google Books: The Tool You Need Every Day” MAILBOX: “WHERE I’M FROM” POEM SUBMISSION : Learn more about the “Where I’m From” poetry project and hear a conversation with the original author, Kentucky poet laureate George Ella Lyon. THE ARCHIVE LADY: HISTORICAL SCRAPBOOKS Scrapbooks are one of my favorite record sources to do genealogy research in and to also process in the archives. There are all kinds of scrapbooks; each and every one is unique and one-of-a-kind. They were put together with love and the hope that what was saved and pasted onto those pages will be remembered. The origins of scrapbooking is said to go back to the 15th century in England and it is still a hobby enjoyed by many today. Most archives, libraries, historical and genealogical societies have scrapbooks in their collections. They will most likely be found in the Manuscript Collection as part of a specifically named collection. Scrapbooks contain all kinds of wonderful genealogical records, photographs and ephemera. There is even a scrapbook in the Houston County, Tennessee Archives that has candy bar wrappers pasted in it. This particular scrapbook is one of my absolute favorites. It was compiled and owned by Evelyn Ellis and dates to the 1930’s and 1940’s. Among the normal newspaper clippings and event programs are interesting pieces such as a Baby Ruth candy bar wrapper with a handwritten note by Evelyn that reads "Always remember June 11, 1938 at Beach Grove at the Ice Cream Supper." There is also an original ticket pasted into the scrapbook from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee where Evelyn Ellis visited and recorded her comments on April 1, 1939. There are scrapbooks for just about any subject. Aside from personal scrapbooks, you can find war scrapbooks, obituary clipping scrapbooks and scrapbooks that collected and recorded local or national events. The obituaries found in scrapbooks could be a real find because sometimes they are the only pieces of the newspaper that survive and can be a treasure trove for any genealogist. Many scrapbooks contain one-of-a-kind documents, photographs and ephemera. To find scrapbooks in an archive, ask the archivist if they have any scrapbooks in their records collections. Many times scrapbooks are housed with a particular manuscript collection and will be listed in the finding aid. Some archives have a collection of just scrapbooks that have been donated to them and can be easily accessed. Most scrapbooks will not be on research shelves and will be stored in back rooms at the archives and will have to be requested. You should also check the archives online catalog for any listings of scrapbooks before you jump in the car and drive to the archives. I encourage all genealogists to check with the archive in the area where your ancestors were from and see if they have any scrapbooks in their archived records collections. Scrapbooks are like time capsules: you don’t know what will be found in them until you open them up. BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App Users If you’re listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus content for this episode is a PDF with tips for what to do if your own scrapbook gets wet. The and is only $2.99 for . This episode is sponsored by: Use coupon code STORY17 to save 30% through 10/15/17! Start creating fabulous, irresistible videos about your family history with Animoto.com. You don’t need special video-editing skills: just drag and drop your photos and videos, pick a layout and music, add a little text and voila! You’ve got an awesome video! Try this out for yourself at .    is the place to make connections with relatives overseas, particularly with those who may still live in your ancestral homeland. : it’s free to get started. GEM: SAVING A LIFE STORY Original story on SWVA Today: by Margaret Linford, Columnist Genealogy Gems how-to resources to help you: Video record a loved one telling their life stories Digitize and share your research and your own life story: How to Start Blogging series in the free (episodes 38-42) and this article: RootsMagic family history software has publishing tools (for print and online publishing):   This episode is sponsored by: Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends family history software. From within RootsMagic, you can search historical records on FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. RootsMagic is now fully integrated with Ancestry.com: you can sync your RootsMagic trees with your Ancestry.com trees and search records on the site.   A BRILLIANT WAY TO “MEET” YOUR ANCESTOR Your DNA Guide Diahan Southard shared this story from Christine: “Friday night I brought out large cut out of my Grandmother, Christine Doering, sitting in an easy chair so it looks like she is talking with you, and I played a recording done in 1970's of her talking and giggling about coming to America in 1896 at the age of 9.  For some they had never heard her voice before.”   Learn more about Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems Podcast: Explore our website at , Subscribe to our free weekly email newsletter (from the home page on the website) Subscribe to the . PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Diahan Southard, Your DNA Guide, Content Contributor Vienna Thomas, Associate Producer Hannah Fullerton, Production Assistant Lacey Cooke, Service Manager FREE NEWSLETTER: Enter your email & get my Google Research e-bookas a thank you gift! to receive a free weekly e-mail newsletter, with tips, inspiration and money-saving deals.