Please join us for the following Chats on GenealogyWise

Sunday, August 16. No Pennsylvania Chat.
I will be in Waverly NY for an Avery Reunion and Research Bash. I will make this offer though. If you have relatives in Bradford County PA and I see reference to that name, I will copy information and send it to you. We will also be visiting cemeteries in Elmira and Waverly NY. Again e-mail only please to the address above. Your Chat Host, Jim Avery

Monday, August 17, 8:00pm (MDT) GENTREK: Orphan Trains
In the early 1850s, thousands of children roamed the streets of New York in search of shelter, food and money, many of them prey to disease and crime. In order to survive, many sold matches, rags, newspapers, or whatever they deemed saleable, and banded together in gangs to protect themselves from street violence. Your Chat Hosts, Jayne McCormick and Dae Powell

Wednesday, August 19, 1:00pm (MDT) Genealogy Blogging
In this class, we’ll discuss the benefits of having a blog and how to create a blog. We’ll go over the different blogging platforms, finding your niche in the genealogy blogging community, and writing ideas. By the time this class is over, you’ll have the confidence to begin your own blog! Your Chat Host, Elyse Doerflinger

Saturday, August 22, 8:00am (MDT) GENTREK- Genealogy Research & Resource Notebooks, Part 1
If you are among the majority of researchers who feel their information is in disarray, this discussion will guide you in the first steps of organization. Becoming organized is not an easy, one-step process. The important thing is to get started and organize your material in some way and SOON. Do you really want to spend an hour or two looking for a piece of paper that has suddenly become very important in your research? Your Chat Hosts Jayne McCormick and Dae Powell

Saturday, August 22, at 4:00pm (MDT) Educational Opportunities in Genealogy
This chat will focus on the educational opportunities available for genealogists, whether taking courses is right for you, and the standards that have been developed for professional genealogists. Your Chat Host Jennifer Eklund

Sunday, August 23, 7:00pm (MDT) Indian Paths and Trails in Pennsylvania – Routes of Settlers’ Migration
A discussion of the routes the Native Americans used to move about the state and their relevance to migration of settlers. I will also discuss the Susquehanna River and its role in the Great Runaway. Your Chat Host, Jim Avery

Monday, August 24, 8:00pm (MDT) GENTREK: Cluster Research
Collateral Research leaves the focus of the individual and expands to include siblings, cousins, and in-laws. Include neighbors and associates and you’ve expanded to Cluster Research. Cluster Genealogy is also known as whole family research and involves branching out beyond your pedigree ancestors to research individuals connected to your direct line ancestors and collaterals. The connections may be close, as in marriage, or loose, as in witnesses to a will. Genealogists who research by clusters are the most successful in extending their ancestral lines. Your Chat Hosts, Jayne McCormick and Dae Powell

Tuesday, August 25, 1:00pm (MDT) Organizing your Genealogy
This class will go over different organization methods for your paper files, digital files, and some suggestions for your heirlooms. We’ll discuss the benefits and cons of each method so that you can make an informed choice as to which method is right for you. Your Chat Host, Elyse Doerflinger

Saturday, August 29, 8:00am (MDT) GENTREK – Genealogy Research & Resource Notebooks, Part 2
To be successful in your genealogy research, you must be able to plan each research step, and organize the information you find there. What use is it to have great organizational skills if you don’t have a clue where to look for the information? It’s just as futile if you do well planning the research, but have lousy organizational skills! There is a happy medium — if you organize the results of your research, you tend to be more organized in your search for information, and more focused on specific research goals. Your Chat Hosts, Jayne McCormick and Dae Powell

Sunday, August 30, 7:00pm (MDT) Pennsylvania Research: A Jumping Off Point
The Great Wagon Road down the Valley of Virginia helped Pennsylvanians migrate into Virginia, The Carolinas and west. This chat will discuss the people and where they usually came from to make this journey. Your Chat Host, Jim Avery

Monday, August 31, 8:00pm (MDT) GENTREK: Verifying Online Sources
Many budding genealogists are excited when they find that many of the names in their family tree are easily found online. Proud of their accomplishment, they then download all the data they can from these Internet sources, import it into their genealogy software and proudly start sharing their “genealogy” with others. Their research then makes its way into new genealogy databases and collections, further perpetuating the new “family tree” and amplifying any errors each time the source is copied. While it sounded great at first, there is one major problem with this scenario; namely that the family information that is freely published in many Internet databases and Web sites is often unsubstantiated and of questionable validity. Your Chat Hosts, Jayne McCormick and Dae Powell

WorldVitalRecords.com Opens Site Allowing for Free Public Access to More Than One Billion Family History Records

With the addition of the largest number of records to be released in a single day since the site launched in 2006

PROVO, UT, August 11, 2009 – WorldVitalRecords.com, an online family history resource, today announced the addition of the largest number of records to be released in a single day since the site launched in 2006. To commemorate this milestone, for the first time WorldVitalRecords is offering free public access to its entire online collection of historical and genealogical records beginning August 11 and continuing through August 13, 2009. The public will have unlimited access to more than one billion records in over 11,000 databases from around the world including newspapers, census, birth, marriage, death, immigration and military records; family trees; stories and publications; and yearbooks.

“As a genealogy enthusiast, I’m thrilled that people can go to one
place like WorldVitalRecords.com, try family history research for free and find their parents or grandparents, and see how simple it is to start tracing back and discovering stories that bring family history to life,” said Jim Ericson, Vice-President of Marketing for Family Link. “This is a rare opportunity to delve into the records and discover information about your family and ancestors you may have never known.”

Featured records in this release include:

Historical Newspapers
Through a partnership with Newspaper Archive, WorldVitalRecords is adding access to pages from a variety of newspapers from all over the United States, dating from 1759 through 1923. This collection features images of entire newspapers from the western frontier, the Midwest at the turn of the century, and the long-time standard of our nation’s news, “The New York Times” which includes over 7 million names. Newspaper Archive produces the largest historical newspaper database online, and the collection is fully searchable by keyword and date, and individual pages can be saved or printed.

According to Gena Philibert Ortega, Genealogy Community Director for FamilyLink, “Part of the fun of family history is uncovering details about our ancestors’ daily lives — the events of the day, the goods and the services they bought. Newspapers allow us to better understand our ancestors.”

Immigration Records
Living in a country of immigrants, ship passenger lists and other records documenting immigration can be an essential part in learning more about your family history. It is a thrilling experience to see their names transcribed on paper the day they entered this country through the Port of New York. Browsing and searching these passenger lists is a perfect way for someone to start researching their family history.
This record collection provides documentation of over 150,000 passengers who arrived on nearly 8,000 ships at one of the busiest ports in the United States, New York, from 1820-1832.

Yearbooks
In partnership with the website E-Yearbook.com, WorldVitalRecords is doubling its collection of digitized yearbooks. This collection features university yearbooks from the late 1800 to mid 1950’s. E-Yearbook.com houses the largest collection of old college yearbooks on the Internet. Universities featured this week include Duke University, University of Oklahoma, Iowa State and the College of William and Mary.

Vital Records, Military Records and Tax Lists
Other records being released on the site include birth, marriage, tax lists, military records, and death records from Maine, North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Focused on helping users discover and share their family history, WorldVitalRecords adds new records to their online collection everyday.

About WorldVitalRecords.com
WorldVitalRecords.com is simplifying family history research by providing many easy-to-use tools and resources to discover and connect with others interested in family history. WorldVitalRecords provides access to more than one billion international and U.S. records WorldVitalRecords.com provides affordable access to genealogy databases and family history tools used by more than 258,000 monthly visitors. The site registers 3.6 million monthly pages views and serves tens of thousands of paying subscribers. With thousands of databases—including birth, death, military, census, and parish records—WorldVitalRecords.com makes it easy to fill in missing information in your family tree.

WorldVitalRecords is part of the FamilyLink.com, Inc. network of family-focused interactive properties including, GenealogyWise, WebTree, WorldHistory, and the We’re Related and My Family applications on Facebook.

Contact:
Mary Kay Crocker
(801) 592-5575
marykay@familylink.com

Please join us for a Sunday evening Chat with Jim Avery on GenealogyWise.

Sunday, August 9, 2009, 7:00pm (MDT) Pennsylvania Research
The first night’s chat will be about Adams County. I will explore the holdings of the Historical Society and the courthouse and explain the records held by each and researching each. Also every year people come to Gettysburg to visit the battlefield and wonder if any relatives fought here. The chat will also explain the holdings of the Historical Society, courthouse and Battlefield Visitor’s Center for those interested in Civil War records.

It’s 3 weeks until the SLC Family History Expo (August 28 and 29). There’s some great reasons to attend Expo including that registered attendees can have free genealogy consulting with a professional genealogist.

When you are at Expo, please come listen to FamilyLink employees Jim Ericson and Yvette Arts present about WorldVitalRecords, GenealogyWise, and GenSeek.

Some other great reasons to attend Expo, straight from Kimberly at Family History Expos, are:

1. Experts teach best practices for successful research and
how to avoid common mistakes (Value $25 per class)

2. Receive FREE research consultation (Value $50)

3. Receive handouts for all classes on one CD, there are 10
classes each hour so this is a great tool for getting more
information from the classes you are unable to attend

4. Talk directly with genealogy resource providers in
Exhibit Hall and try it before you buy it

5. Social networking with other genealogists and beginning
family history researchers, this is one of the most valuable
aspects of the Expo. Yes, you can connect with people who
want to help you reach success with your research goals

We have more than 100 classes being offered at this Expo,
when you add up the value you can see that the bargain cost
of attending is little in comparison to the benefits!

Register online today at http://www.fhexpos.com/

Sponsors and exhibitors include:
Family History Expos
FamilySearch
Ancestry.com
RootsMagic
Generation Maps
Genealogy Gems Podcast
The Genealogical Institute
Footnote.com
FamilyLink
Family Tree Magazine
Family Insight
LifeStory Productions
Ohana Software
BYU Print Services
Write Your Personal History
Fairview Retreat & Reunion Center
Incline Software
Heritage Makers
FEEFHS
Crash Course in Family History
PhotoLoom
Legacy Family Tree
Scentsy – 1st Light
Circle Mending
and the list is growing!

Our exhibitors give away fabulous door prizes too!

For more info contact Holly Hansen, Kimberly Savage, and Janene Morgan at Family HIstory Expos

You can also learn more about the SLC Expo and other upcoming Expos at their podcast , blog or on Twitter

The following is the schedule of Chats happening in August on GenealogyWise.  Please join us!

For more information on the Chats, including the Host’s biographies, please check out the “Chat” link on the home page of GenealogyWise.

Monday, August 10, 8:00pm (MDT) GENTREK – Genealogy Research & Resource Notebooks, Part 2To be successful in your genealogy research, you must be able to plan each research step, and organize the information you find there. What use is it to have great organizational skills if you don’t have a clue where to look for the information? It’s just as futile if you do well planning the research, but have lousy organizational skills! There is a happy medium — if you organize the results of your research, you tend to be more organized in your search for information, and more focused on specific research goals.

Monday, August 17, 8:00pm (MDT) GENTREK: Orphan Trains
In the early 1850s, thousands of children roamed the streets of New York in search of shelter, food and money, many of them prey to disease and crime. In order to survive, many sold matches, rags, newspapers, or whatever they deemed saleable, and banded together in gangs to protect themselves from street violence.

Monday, August 24, 8:00pm (MDT) GENTREK: Cluster Research
Collateral Research leaves the focus of the individual and expands to include siblings, cousins, and in-laws. Include neighbors and associates and you’ve expanded to Cluster Research. Cluster Genealogy is also known as whole family research and involves branching out beyond your pedigree ancestors to research individuals connected to your direct line ancestors and collaterals. The connections may be close, as in marriage, or loose, as in witnesses to a will. Genealogists who research by clusters are the most successful in extending their ancestral lines.

Monday, August 31, 8:00pm (MDT) GENTREK: Verifying Online Sources
Many budding genealogists are excited when they find that many of the names in their family tree are easily found online. Proud of their accomplishment, they then download all the data they can from these Internet sources, import it into their genealogy software and proudly start sharing their “genealogy” with others. Their research then makes its way into new genealogy databases and collections, further perpetuating the new “family tree” and amplifying any errors each time the source is copied. While it sounded great at first, there is one major problem with this scenario; namely that the family information that is freely published in many Internet databases and Web sites is often unsubstantiated and of questionable validity.

Your hosts for the above chats are Jayne McCormick and Dae Powell

Tuesday, August 11, 1:00pm (MDT) Organizing your Genealogy
This class will go over different organization methods for your paper files, digital files, and some suggestions for your heirlooms. We’ll discuss the benefits and cons of each method so that you can make an informed choice as to which method is right for you.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 1:00pm (MDT) Genealogy Blogging.
In this class, we’ll discuss the benefits of having a blog and how to create a blog. We’ll go over the different blogging platforms, finding your niche in the genealogy blogging community, and writing ideas. By the time this class is over, you’ll have the confidence to begin your own blog!

Tuesday, August 25, 1:00pm (MDT) Organizing your Genealogy
This class will go over different organization methods for your paper files, digital files, and some suggestions for your heirlooms. We’ll discuss the benefits and cons of each method so that you can make an informed choice as to which method is right for you.

Your Host for the above chats,  Elyse Doerflinger

Sunday, August 9, 2009, 7:00pm (MDT) Pennsylvania Research
The first night’s chat will be about Adams County. I will explore the holdings of the Historical Society and the courthouse and explain the records held by each and researching each. Also every year people come to Gettysburg to visit the battlefield and wonder if any relatives fought here. The chat will also explain the holdings of the Historical Society, courthouse and Battlefield Visitor’s Center for those interested in Civil War records.

Sunday, August 23, 2009, 7:00pm (MDT) Pennsylvania ResearchIndian Paths and Trails in Pennsylvania – Routes of Settlers’ Migration. A discussion of the routes the Native Americans used to move about the state and their relevance to migration of settlers. I will also discuss the Susquehanna River and its role in the Great Runaway

Sunday, August 30, 2009, 7:00pm (MDT) Pennsylvania Research
A Jumping Off Point. The Great Wagon Road down the Valley of Virginia helped Pennsylvanians migrate into Virginia,  The Carolinas and west. This chat will discuss the people and where they usually came from to make this journey.

Your Host for Pennsylvania Research Chats, Jim Avery

Please join us for a Chat on GenealogyWise hosted by Elyse Doerflinger. Elyse is a geneablogger who can be found at Elyse’s Genealogy Blog.  She was also this weeks’  WorldVitalRecords Newsletter guest author.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009, 1:00pm(MDT) Genealogy Blogging.

In this class, we’ll discuss the benefits of having a blog and how to create a blog. We’ll go over the different blogging platforms, finding your niche in the genealogy blogging community, and writing ideas. By the time this class is over, you’ll have the confidence to begin your own blog!

Please join us for our Monday evening GenWise Chat.

Monday, August 3, 8:00pm (MST) Genealogy Research & Resource Notebooks, Part 1
If you are among the majority of researchers who feel their information is in disarray, this discussion will guide you in the first steps of organization. Becoming organized is not an easy, one-step process. The important thing is to get started and organize your material in some way and SOON. Do you really want to spend an hour or two looking for a piece of paper that has suddenly become very important in your research?

Your hosts Jayne McCormick and Dae Powell
My name is Jayne McCormick. I live in the First State. I’ve been working on genealogy for at least 30 years. My family had put together a lot of information, but none of it was documented. I’m working on that.
I began to host a Civil War chat about 1995 in the old Golden Gate Genealogy Forum, and moved on through all the AOL changes. I joined Dae in GENTREK April 18, 2005.

I taught a beginner’s genealogy class at my local Senior Center, and now we get together once a month to ask questions and share stories.

I am on the Board of Directors of the Fort Delaware Society where I am the liason between the Society and the Volunteer Brigade who goes to Pea Patch Island and keeps the trail to the Heronry open. They take care of the garden, paint, anything that needs to be done.

This has been a fantastic journey.

This is Dae Powell, designer and operator of ShoeString Genealogy.com. I designed ShoeString Genealogy in order to share what I’ve learned with you and what I’m still learning. I designed GENTREK for the same reasons and to learn from the discussions the follow the presentations.

I’ve been researching my family’s history since 1972, but for the first 20 years my results were somewhat serendipitous. Once I studied what professionals do, which resources are trustworthy, and how to properly document my sources, I progressed more rapidly. It has been an odd odyssey.

Having been trained in research and analysis, I find those skills paramount in genealogy. I’ve extensive experience in English, Portuguese, Hebrew and German. (My Spanish is improving.) In the computer field I learned logic, flowcharting and procedural analysis. While an intelligence analyst, I learned to look at data from as many perspectives as possible. As a banker, I learned business acumen and financial strategies. My college education in history only whetted my appetite for the best parts of genealogy— the motivations, the customs, the stresses and the stories of our ancestors!

It will be so much fun sharing GENTREK here on GenealogyWise.com. Join us for some genealogical edu-tainment.

Documents of genealogical value are found in many different repositories including government offices, Family History Centers, libraries and archives. Manuscript collections housed at libraries, archives and museums provide valuable information written by your ancestor’s neighbors, fellow community members, friends and even other family members. Manuscript collections include diaries/journals, letters, organizational records, theses and dissertations, basically dany kind of unpublished documents. One place to search for manuscript collections is through the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC), http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/. When searching a manuscript collection, try several search strategies including searching by surname and locality.

by Brad Jencks

**Editor’s Note-

What started out as a 100 hour Eagle Scout project evolved into a labor of love that currently has logged in over 6,000 hours with help from community volunteers. Brad Jenks is no ordinary teenager. He has helped to take a ghost town cemetery, Bingham City Cemetery, and turn it into a cemetery that honors and respects those who are buried therein. He has not only documented the interments found there but has also replaced broken headstones and researched some of the inhabitants. His efforts can be found at the website, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~utsaltla/Cemeteries/Bingham/.

Brad is a recent high school graduate who says that he loves to research his ancestors. “My second great-grandparents are buried at Bingham City Cemetery, where I did my service. I found them along with five previously unknown babies. Ever since I was six years old, I have longed to do something to help. When the opportunity came for me to perform my Eagle Scout project, I jumped right in without hesitation.”**

Brad writes,

My school district inherited a ghost town cemetery with burials from 38 states and 30 nations. I organized 2,000+ volunteers over five years who restored, replaced and preserved grave markers, proved 1,100 unknown burials, authored a 1,500 page historical cemetery book, a military war hero book, installed a wall of honor for 1,825 burials, an information center, new fence, road, and a granite military monument honoring veterans from six wars.

This began with a proposed 100 hour Eagle Scout service project. After 2,790 man hours, I obtained the rank of Eagle Scout. From there, the service has been ongoing for the past five years and has now surpassed 6,000 hours. I worked with and led teams of volunteers from Boy Scout troops, National Youth Leadership, Girl Scouts, 4-H, students from four schools, Jordan School District Auxiliary Staff, The American Legion, The United Veterans Council, The History Channel, Roots Television, RootsWeb, USGenWeb, The National Federation of Genealogical Societies Youth Committee, Daughters of The American Revolution, Civil War Grave Registry Officers, Bingham Canyon Lions Club, The Utah State Historical Society, private businesses, and hundreds of volunteers ages 7-94 years.

Four Boy Scout troops helped me take a GPS reading and photograph of every headstone and burial. We hand recorded all information that we could read. Next I obtained an aerial photograph of the cemetery and made a map. My team helped place 2,400 flyers on gravesites and we involved the news media, requesting more information about the many unknown burials. I have spent the past five years at the cemetery each Memorial Day weekend interviewing all visitors for information. My team and I also conduct international interviews via email. I co-created a database that reconstructed records lost by fire, flood, deterioration and vandalism. Teams of students from four schools helped search old books, newspapers, 157 rolls/53,000 names on microfilm to find burial records. We repaired vandalism caused by devil worshippers. I made DVDs and amateur videos for The History Channel and Roots Television. This brought greater publicity to my project. Over the course of many years, scout troops, 4-H, Bingham High football team and others helped me install new headstones. Recently the Veterans Administration granted me the okay and all damaged or unreadable military headstones were replaced after years of extensive research. A formal military dedication took place, honoring those who risked their lives for us, our freedom and our nation. I also learned to decipher several new languages about the many immigrant graves. The challenges were many but each obstacle was met through the generosity of the community.

This project has taught me what it means to have complete respect for people of all nationalities. I have a greater appreciation toward people of all races, creeds and economic statuses. I esteem those who risked their lives for our country. This has brought my family and community together in a cause greater than self. A school service club was formed as result of this, plus I’ve spoken at a number of school assemblies motivating service. Now a school district can use tax payers’ money on education instead of cemetery issues. I made a historical brochure and educational walking tour for this ghost town cemetery. I teach lessons from tragic deaths resulting from drugs, alcohol, violence, rape, lack of medical care, and problems associated with past prejudice. These lessons change lives. I created a job for myself as International Research Correspondent and lead a four member team responding to inquiries helping people from distant lands receive answers to what happened when letters to home stopped. “Connecting Families Across The Globe” remains my lifelong hobby and endeavor!

**A full list of what Brad and his volunteers have done for the Bingham City Cemetery can be found at the website for the cemetery at http://tinyurl.com/lqxd58. Brad can also be contacted through email at binghamcemeteryinfo@jensgroup.com

What does the future hold for Brad and the Bingham City Cemetery? Brad is working on a new project he calls Connecting Families Across the Globe. This project is an effort to connect living relatives of those buried at the Bingham City Cemetery from places like Finland, Australia, and Italy. He says, “It has been very rewarding to see what kind of impact a project like this can accomplish. I am very grateful for the things it has taught me. There is something special about working for our ancestors that brings a whole new meaning to service.”**

 by Gena Philibert Ortega

We are as one with our ancestors and children

–Rosita Worl Tlingit

One of the problems I hear from genealogists is that the younger generation isn’t interested in family history; that the genealogists of today have no one to pass down their genealogy to when they die.  I think genealogy, like most hobbies, is one of those activities that one has to be introduced to and partake in before really becoming interested.  For kids, the prospect of researching in libraries, government offices and cemeteries may not sound exciting.  But how you introduce the idea of learning about ancestors to the younger generation may make all the difference and help start them on a lifelong pursuit. The following three ideas can help to introduce family history to the children in your life.

Tell Stories.  I have always loved genealogy and the reason is that my maternal grandmother told me stories of her grandmother and other ancestors.  And she didn’t tell me stories that made everyone look like angels.  No, she told me stories about the hardships in their lives and what they did despite them.  I felt like I knew these long-dead family members, because my grandmother had told me stories about them.

The stories you share with children don’t have to be just about dead ancestors.  What about telling them what life was like when you were young?  Share stories of your childhood, technology that you used, places you went to, what you did for fun.  I know my kids are just shocked to hear that we did not have color TV when I was younger and that my mom didn’t have TV until she was in high school.  I think sharing this information with kids helps give them some perspective on life.

Not sure what to share about your life?  Consult one of the many books that help guide you through the process of telling your life story.  Your Life and Times, by Stephen and Julia Arthur, available through the World Vital Records store, http://store.worldvitalrecords.com/other/guides-and-manuals/your-life-and-times-sku_180.html, for $5.50, can do just that.

Share Photos and Documents.  My kids start getting the glazed look in their eyes whenever genealogy is mentioned.  But when I tell them about their great-great grandfather and how he fought in World War I, they get excited.  When I show them pictures of the ship he was stationed on in the Navy, it brings it to life for them.  Names and dates mean nothing to non-genealogists; it’s the pictures and documents that bring everything to life. 

Don’t have photos of your ancestor?   Try online digitized image collections like Google Images, http://images.google.com/,  or the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Reading Room at http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/ to find pictures of occupations, military related photos, and places.  For more local or regional images, check out public and university libraries for their online digital collections. 

Go on Field Trips.  If you live near where you grew up, take the kids on a field trip to see the old stomping grounds.  Show them your elementary school, your favorite restaurant and where you lived.  If that’s not possible think about going to a museum and pointing out exhibits that depict events that occurred in your family’s life.  Living history museums provide kids with a glimpse of what life was like in the “olden days”.

Not able to travel?  Why not take a virtual field trip?  Find websites for historical landmarks in your ancestor’s hometown.  Find websites depicting pioneer or colonial life.  Try websites like Panoramio, http://www.panoramio.com/, that feature photographs taken in different cities around the world.