It would be a terrible shame after spending years researching your family history, to find that the data storage system used to record your info is no longer functional or manufactured. With so many people using modern technology and cloud computing options to upload genealogical data and photos, imagine how much information would be lost or inaccessible if current platforms are replaced by more advanced technology. The potential loss of so much data could impact genealogists of all levels, from the professional researcher right down to the individual just beginning to trace their family tree.

Of course, it is impossible to completely anticipate what sort of technology the future might bring, but there are certain things you can do to avoid negative consequences while at the same time preparing for future opportunities. For instance, if you have a digital photograph that had survived for 20 years on your hard drive and a traditional framed photo, which would you choose to keep? Amazingly enough, the traditional, framed photo might be the wiser option! Because technology has the capacity to change so rapidly and drastically, present day hard drives could possibly be obsolete at some point ion the future, and you might not be able to access the digital version of your photo. You can rest assured however, that there will still be methods of scanning traditional photos to digitize them, as different as they could be from current scanners.

As technology advances, file formats change and the platforms with which they are accessed change with them. It is possible for developers to have the mentality that “no one uses that file anymore,” and so omit conversion options for that particular file type in their programs. Suddenly an entire file type is no longer accessible with modern gadgets and you’re stuck with files of that type and no way to view them. Particular media can also become obsolete. A case in point would be the floppy disk. How long has it been since you’ve accessed one?

Steps You Can Take to Future-Proof Your Data

It is of the utmost importance to constantly upgrade your hardware and applications. You might feel that it is expensive to do so, but failing to keep up to date will cost you more down the road when you need to purchase a completely new version of an application. Updating your hardware is a much better option than purchasing platforms to convert your old data files. Rather than buying a floppy drive to add to your system, convert the data on them to CD, DVD, or diskettes. An even better option is to store them on an external hard drive. Keep current with what modern genealogists are using, and look for low-cost or free alternatives when you can. The point is, not to wait until it’s too late to convert.

You are actually future-proofing your data whenever you scan a document or photograph, but whatever you do, don’t throw away the original. Try to keep as many original documents or paper copies as you can, and maker use of dehumidifiers and acid proof paper as often as you can to ensure their longevity. Whenever you do save photos and other documents, save them as JPEG, PDF, or TIFF files to ensure their digital longevity. Slides and home movies can also be transferred to a digital format, and many stores such as CVS, Walgreens, Target, and Wal-Mart offer this service at their photo counters.

If you have old cassette recordings of interviews and such, you should also have them converted to digital format. There are many home and small recording studios that can do this for you, and it is relatively inexpensive to do so. Even CD’s and DVD’s will only realistically last 10 years or so. If you have data stored on aged disks, you should transfer it to a newer one as soon as possible. As an extra-cautionary measure, back them up on an external hard-drive, or upload them to an online data-storage service.

When you’re storing any digital files, try to avoid compressing at all costs. Once files are compressed the format is often lost, and there are other issues that could prevent access as well. Back-up drives are very inexpensive these days, and you can purchase external drives with 2TB of space for under $100.

It’s impossible to be one hundred percent prepared for every possible scenario, but you can take steps to ensure that your family tree will be available to future relatives who may have technology we never dreamed of!

It is no surprise that the LDS-run Brigham Young University offers a variety of genealogy courses. The courses are courtesy of their Independent Study department, a non-profit branch of the school. The study department’s courses range from beginning genealogy to courses specializing in individual record types (military, vital, and family records), and also regional and ethnic focused courses such as French and German research. The University has its own Center for Family History and Genealogy which hosts links to a number of online tutorials and helpful websites.

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology doesn’t offer genealogy-specific courses, but some such as American History to 1865, The Places of Migration in United States History, and the Economic History of Work and Family can be very useful to family historians.

Similarly, Yale University offers genealogy-relevant courses covering topics such as; The American Revolution,  African American History: From Emancipation to Present, and European Civilization, 1648-1945 can all be of immense value to genealogical researchers. The courses are offered through the Yale Open Courses program, which provides materials and lectures from variousYaleCollege courses to anyone with a computer and internet access for free.

There is a group known as Coursera which is a conglomerate of 62 Universities which offers a huge amount of course that are of interest to genealogists. Many of the courses are led by qualified instructors that are scheduled to begin and end at specific times, so you’ll have to sign it on time to “attend” them. There is plenty of pre-recorded material however, and many of the courses are graded and offer certification. Some of the genealogy related courses on offer are Immigration and US Citizenship, Useful Genetics, Women and The Civil Rights Movement, and The Camera Never Lies.

Another site that also offers excellent, high-calibre learning resources is Evidence Explained, developed by Elizabeth Shown Mills to assist researchers and historians of every kind. In the Quick Lessons section of the website you can find tutorials on a number of relevant topics such as; Census Instructions, Who Needs Instructions?, Chasing an Online Record into its Rabbit Hole, and What Constitutes Proof? All of the subjects are presented in tutorial form, so can be taken at your leisure.

At the Canvas Network website you will find a catalogue of free online courses that cover a number of topics. Many of them are of little use to the genealogist, but there are courses such as U.S. History: First Peoples to the Civil War and Reconstruction, and US History which may be of benefit to historical researchers.

There are definitely many additional free online learning opportunities out there, but I thought these were some of the highest quality. You can even tell your friends and family you’re taking a college course! Have a look for yourself at each of them, browse through the courses, and if you decide to take one, come back and tell us your thoughts and how you made out in our comments section!

Organizing Your Family Immigration History

The first thing I did before even purchasing a decent sized map was to list every ancestor that I knew of at the time, their place of birth or burial if applicable, last known place of residence, their dates of birth and death, and if I knew it – the year of their emigration. Of course for some I had more information than others, but what data I did have led me to other important facts about my family. I first sorted through all of the old documentation and photos I had in my possession, and put aside any information that placed somebody at a particular location at a specific time. These would become my first map points.  I chose red colored pins for this purpose, but of course you can invent your own color code system. For some ancestors I had information about where they lived, but not the time frame during they lived there. For these challenges I found the Period Approximation Chart very useful.

How to use the Period Approximation Chart

In one instance I had the birth dates of my great-great grandfather’s children, but there were rumours amongst our family members that they might not have been married. I decided to search for a marriage record for them, and the Period Approximation Chart gave me a ballpark time span to look for it in. You will notice that the chart is quite simple. It has three columns; one marked Date Wanted, the second titled Known Information, and the final column contains the Formula you should use. The date I wanted was Marriage, the Known Information I had was the birth dates of several children, and hence I used the corresponding Formula. I haven’t as yet found the marriage record, but at least I have minimized the time frame in which I should look.

Use Gazetteers to Pinpoint Place Names

In some instances documentation I had referred to place names associated with some of my relatives, yet contained no details of where that place might be. In some cases there are villages or towns around the world bearing the same name, and consequently finding the exact one in which your ancestor lived can prove challenging.  In such cases gazetteers are extremely helpful, as they list every place with that name and give a variety of information about each one. The minimum that they will do is to provide you with the region where your relative lived, and some even provide the latitude and longitude. Many countries have their own gazetteers, so if you have an idea of the country or region, you can simply Google a gazetteer for that area.  Keep in mind though, that especially in the UK regions, more than one village with the same name can be located in a single county, so take the time to make sure you have the correct one before searching for further documentation.

Using Land Records to Plot Your Map

I found it much easier to use land records and enter them into some land-plotting software before I transferred the information onto my wall map. I used DeedMapper, but there are others available that you can find by searching online for land plotting programs. What you do is take the information that you glean from land records and enter it into the software which creates a map showing land boundaries, but also organizes your data in a compact, easily accessible format. Before you decide whether or not to purchase and use DeedMapper, you can view their nine tutorial videos which show you the full potential of the program.

Use GIS (Geographical Information Systems) Software to Create Maps

GIS software is also a neat and unique way to create maps, as it allows you to build them using layers of information. You can start with a simple outline of a country, then add a second layer showing towns or villages, then a third denoting specific house or building locations and so on. You can build as many layers as you wish, even showing natural features such as rivers or streams, but to utilize GIS software you’ll need a GIS data viewer. This is basically another type of software, and a free version can be found at ESRI.com. The software is called ArcGISExplorer, and can be downloaded, or you can use an online version. You can research data at Data.Gov or the GIS Data Depot.

Directories and newspapers can also yield a wealth of information, both biographical and geographical. Make use of as many sources as you can, including libraries and local genealogy and geographical societies. Once you have collected and organized as much data as possible on your ancestors, you can begin transferring it onto your wall map. Mine took me the better part of three years to complete, but I never lack for interesting conversation when we have visitors!

Studying ancestors in their full context has evolved from simply looking for siblings to searching for important companions as well. But it doesn’t just stop there; in-laws, associates, and friends are then placed within their own geographical, cultural and sociological elements. The benefit of this type of genealogical research is that it places your ancestor and his associates in their historical content as well as developing them as individuals. Sometimes known as “cluster genealogy”, it can be very demanding, but equally as rewarding.

There are certain principles however that can make a full genealogical study such as this a little easier. Understanding the relationships between different parties, and how those relationships play out and affect each person, can help genealogists to solve the hardest genealogical problems. The key is in remembering that the relationships between people are important, not just names.

Some Helpful Principles and Their Genealogical Inferences

One thing that sociologists have discovered is that the strongest family ties are between women, the most enduring bond being between mothers and daughters. The implication of this principle for genealogists is that; the best family sources for your genealogical study are probably those related to people with a different surname than the one you’re researching.

Regarding Western society, studies have shown that ties to the family of the wife are stronger than those of her husband, unless the husband’s ties are connected to his occupation. How this is important to genealogical research is that: besides understanding the blood ties between family members, a researcher must also comprehend the business and economic dynamics of family relationships.

It has been shown that immigration or other geographical mobility does not break the social relationships among family members. This information can be especially useful when researching records that may have been destroyed by a fir, floods, or neglect. In such cases; the records detailing the various relationships of family members may have been maintained by a person outside of the geographical location in which you are presently searching, someone removed from the area of destruction.

It is also important to understand the language of the era in which you are researching, as terminology for family relationships may have been different from those used today. If a family relationship is misinterpreted, it could sabotage an entire family tree. For example the terms daughter-in-law and son-in-law at one time meant a child of a spouse from a previous marriage.

Always remember that genealogy is as much about relationships as it is name gathering. People are joined not just by blood, but by law and emotions as well. If you limit your research to only blood relatives of your ancestor, you may miss out on critical clues and important documents.

Sometimes the legal records created by family members who had no heirs, beneficiaries, or descendants can be more useful than those who did. Never overlook a family member, and obtain all the information and data that you can regarding every ancestor.

In colonial times it was assumed that after marriage, spousal relatives became the same as your own. For example, the wife’s nieces and nephews would become the husband’s, and he their uncle. This is a common assumption, but presumptuous in genealogy.

These principles of course can be applied to any genealogical search, but are especially relevant when researching collateral kin. A good practice is to search all the records of any families you think you may be connected to. It is easy to complain that pursuing every collateral line you encounter will produce an impossible amount of surnames to manage, but with modern technology – computers and software – it is made much easier. A last tip is to learn more about the community of the people you are researching. Every culture and community produces records outside of those required by governments. Find those records, and you will undoubtedly find more ancestors and their associates.

There are other items as well such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) that might not be so well known to the masses. Even little ole technology illiterate me has learned to make use of much equipment I thought I could never master. The truth is once you’re over the initial fear of technology and learn to make use of these implements; you won’t want to work on your project without them. Besides, they can save money and time, so what might seem like an expensive purchase is n fact a wise investment.  This Blog is especially for those who may not yet make use of as much of the digital technology that is available to us, or may not even be aware of some of the items at hand, so forgive me if I begin with the most common contraptions; digital cameras, scanners, and image editing software.

Digital Cameras, Scanners and Image Editing Software

When digital cameras first became available they were expensive, but as their popularity has soared and the technology behind them improved, they have become quite affordable. They are excellent tools which the genealogist can use for photographing fragile documents, tombstone inscriptions, or even the locations where your ancestors once lived. Of course the immediate advantage of a digital camera is that you can view the picture immediately, not having to wait for development to see if the picture turned out. This can be extremely important when photographing such things as tombstones, for which visits may be rare and expensive occurrences.

When there is no digital camera available, scanners can be used to digitize traditional photos. These are electronic devices that have also come well down in price, and there are models such as the Wolverine PASS-100 that are battery powered and small enough to pack in a briefcase. I have read four reviews of this model and they were all complimentary of it. It is also one of the more reasonably priced scanners on the market at around $70.00.

Once an image has been digitized, there is editing software available that can enhance it. Defects like cracks and spots on those old family photos can be removed, making for a clearer picture. Make sure that you always keep a copy of the original when you alter a photograph however, as this will ensure you have a backup if something goes wrong in the editing process.

Personal Digital Assistants

Palm Pilots as their affectionately called by those in the know, are becoming increasingly popular with genealogists. There are several software programs such as Personal Ancestral File (free download) that are compatible with them, enabling the family historian to take their entire family history with them wherever they go. These pocket sized instruments fit handily in your purse or coat pocket, and are great for note taking and checking off your research to-do lists. An excellent model is the Tungsten T5 which is one of the less pricy options, and one of the easiest to use.

Global Positioning Systems

These handy devices can pinpoint your position to within 15 – 20 yards. They are particularly useful for recording the locations of graves, ancestral homes, unmarked cemeteries and other important geographical locations. Some genealogical software programs allow you to record the latitude and longitude of significant places, thereby preserving that information for future family historians. In addition, when travelling or researching in an unfamiliar or foreign location, a GPS can help you to get where you’re going safely and speedily.

Removable and Portable Drives

Portable hard drives are becoming increasingly useful to genealogists. They are now available in capacities that even home computers didn’t have ten years ago, and are especially useful for copying files from a PC to a laptop for a research trip, or for simply backing up your files. Some are available in the size of a keychain; therefore you can take many of your files with you when wishing to share what you’ve accomplished so far with family or friends on their home computer.

IPods and IPads

Probably the most modern of all the electronic gadgets that can be useful to genealogists, both have their unique uses. Ancestry.com has recently released a software program specifically for use with IPads. Their software allows you to display multi-generational family trees, share photos, and display records with the touch of your finger. IPods are handy if you wish to take along a genealogical tutorial with you. There are many record or repository specific tutorials available to download online, so when you’re visiting that archive, you can simply plug in your headphones and research with the step-by-step help of an expert.

Hopefully you will see the benefit that modern technology offers to us as family historians. Of course you don’t need all of this equipment to research your family tree, but they all have their particular value, and can make researching and organizing your project much more efficient – and fun too! Aren’t sure what you want for Christmas, how about asking Santa or that special someone for an IPad!

In this part, we will study what can be found on Maude CARTER’s father: Lewis or Louis CARTER who married a Hattie or Harriet, who is the mother of Maude. So far the only ethnicity we are able to prove is black or African-American.

Whether Earl can claim one-quarter Native American genes, may rest on Maude’s father. There is a Lewis CARTER, age 40, on the Wallace Roll of Cherokee Freedmen, 1890-93 in Tahlequah District in Oklahoma. This Lewis is listed as an Authenticated Freedman. There is also a Louis CARTER on the Kern-Clifton Roll, age 46 in Tahlequah District in Oklahoma.

The Kern-Clifton Roll was compiled to cover omissions in the Wallace Roll. Both of these and other Indian census records can be searched at Access Genealogy (www.accessgenealogy.com/native), but even this should not be assumed to be all-inclusive. I searched these and other North American Indian census records to no avail, except for some people named Lewis CARTER in the U.S. Indian Census Schedules, 1885-1940 living in Idaho, Arizona and Oklahoma. None of these match up by place born or approximate birth year  for the Lewis CARTER in question.

There are a number of indications that none of the men named in the Rolls above are Maude CARTER’s father. Even if he was, being an authenticated freedman did not mean he was part Native North American.

Maude’s father, Lewis or Louis CARTER, always gave his birthplace as Missouri and he never gave his parents’ birthplaces as Oklahoma. His father is listed as from Kentucky and his mother from North Carolina. Although we cannot establish a closer birth date than somewhere between 1848-1857, the census records from 1875-1905 give the ethnicity for Lewis as black.

Furthermore, he doesn’t appear in any other jurisdictions than Missouri where he was born, Kansas where he spent his adult life and possibly Georgia, which may be where he was imprisoned as a Union soldier. When asked on the 1875 Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925 record where he came from to Kansas (other state or country), he answered Missouri and he always gave his birth state as Missouri. His location from 1875-1905 is always Stranger, Leavenworth, Kansas. There are no entries for Lewis or Louis CARTER on Indian rolls in any states where he is shown to have lived.

For Earl to be one-quarter Native American, he would have to have a parent who was half American Indian or two parents who were each a quarter. Since nothing matches yet on the WOODS side, much rests on the CARTER side. Maude would have to be half American Indian and one of her parents would have to be 100% or each parent 50% native. Since none of Maude’s records give her ethnicity as Indian, we would have to find a declaration of this ethnicity by one or both of her parents.

There is nothing at the moment to connect Lewis CARTER to any Native North American roots. Even if he were the same Lewis CARTER who is on the Wallace Rolls as a Freedman, this does not mean an instant link to native roots.

Whites were not the only ones to have slaves. Many “Indians” had slaves as well. Some did intermarry with their slaves or have children with them, just as did Caucasians with their slaves. In the Who Do You Think You Are series featuring Emmitt Smith, he did an ethnicity DNA test and it showed he had 7% American Indian roots. The realm of possibility is there, but there is not sufficient proof to say Lewis CARTER had enough Indian genes to give Earl WOODS one-quarter American Indian ethnicity. Unless Tiger is willing to give us DNA for testing, we are not likely to find such a precise percent.

In the Table for Lewis/Louis CARTER, you will see that he is never shown as anything but black. (As for Maude’s table, please note “blank” means no answer was given, “none” means the word “none” appeared in the column and “n/a” means not asked. The entries listed as June are United States Federal Censuses and those listed as March are from the Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925.) The reason the table stops at the 1905 Kansas census is because his wife is listed as widowed on the 1910 United States Federal Census.

Although the birth year and the spelling of his first name differ from census to census, the place of birth and ethnicity is consistent. There is a white Lewis CARTER, born in Missouri, but he stayed in Missouri. The main reason the white Lewis CARTER is ruled out as Earl’s grandfather is that the Lewis CARTER who moved to Kansas and had the daughter named Maude, is the one consistently shown as black, just as his daughter is shown to be in her Table.

Some interesting facts on the census records are that his address for all the years from 1875 to1905 is Stanger, Leavenworth, Kansas. On the 1875 Kansas State Census Collection, his occupation is not shown, but he is living on a farm owned by F. B. Burrell, a farmer.  The farmer’s family and all other people on the page, except for Louis are white.

On the 1880 United States Federal Census, Lewis is shown as Servant in the column for relationship to the Head of Household, which then was William Hazelwood, but in the column for occupation, he is shown as Farm laborer. Hazelwood is listed as a farmer. Hazelwood, his family and all others on the page, except for Lewis, are white. Lewis is marked as B for black.

He is shown as married on the 1880 census, but there is no wife listed and by 1885 he is widowed. No children are found on those two census records for this first marriage.

In the 1885 Kansas census, Lewis is a laborer living with John Allen, a post master. Allan and his wife Georgia are white and have a white domestic named Jane Pearson. Interestingly, William Hazelwood and family are listed in the very next house the census taker visited. There is one other black man listed and he is a farm hand living with William Ryan and family. All others on the page are white.

You may wonder why the 1890 United States Federal Census is not shown on the table. The answer is most of it was destroyed during a 1921 fire in the basement of the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C., where the 1890 census records were held. The little that is left does not include the jurisdiction where Lewis CARTER lived at the time.

The 1895 Kansas census is the first to list Lewis as a married man with a wife listed as Mrs. H. C. and three children: Reans, age 4, Maud, age 2 and George age 9. The 1900 United States Federal Census shows the marriage year as 1890, only five years prior. So who is George and why is she listed last? Yes, George is listed as F for Female. Was this the daughter of Lewis and his first wife? If so, where she was living before is a mystery, as is the identity of her mother.

In later census records, the first child of Lewis and Hattie is Fred. Fred’s card in the World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 and his marriage confirm his name as Fred and age to be consistent with being the eldest child of Lewis and Hattie. It is a mystery then, why the first name is different on the 1895 census, but even more mysterious is why is this first child shown as female when all the rest of the census records show the first child as a male named Fred?

On the 1895 census, Lewis is shown as the head of the household, but he is still a laborer. The 1900 United States Federal Census comes with the answers to some questions and yet more mysteries. It shows Lewis as head of household and wife as Hattie, age 36. Whoever gave the information for that census did not know the age for Lewis, as unknown is written in the space. However, the wide range of dates given leads me to the conclusion that Lewis was not sure when he was born.

Why would he not know it? It could be that he was sold as a slave and separated from the rest of his family. The slave owners were probably given an approximate age at the time of the transaction and may have kept track of the ages and first names of their slaves, but they may never have bothered to inform Lewis of his age. An early separation from his parents may be the reason he is not shown with the parents other genealogists attribute to him (more on that later).

By the 1900 census, Lewis now owns the farm on which he resides and it is freehold. This was quite an accomplishment, especially if he came from slavery to farm hand and is now owner of a farm.

There is no more Reans, female, on this census. In her spot at what would be her age on this census, we see Fred K CARTER as the first child, age 9. He is followed by Maud, age 7; Mabel, age 4; Charles, age 2, and Quimbia (a son), age 4 months. The number of years married for Lewis and Hattie are 10 and Hattie is shown as the mother of five children, all of whom are living. So we know George CARTER is not one of her children. He is not on this census, so where is he now?

Wait! Another mystery! If Hattie has only had five children and they are the five listed, who is Georgie STARNS? Georgie STARNS, age 14, is listed as Lewis’ stepdaughter. Presumably, then she was the daughter of his previous wife, but where has she been for the previous years and where did she go afterwards? If we look at the 1895 Kansas record, we see George, who defaults to CARTER, since no surname appears between Lewis and George, is a female. So the Georg(ie) in 1895 at age 9 is the Georgie STARNS age 14 on the 1900 census record. In 1905 she is still with the family, but you may have a problem searching for her on ancestry.com because the indexer misspelled it as Gerogia STARNS. I submitted a correction to Georgie. She is 18 on the 1905 census.  There is no occupation given for her. She is not found on the 1910 census by either the name STARNS or CARTER.

In 1905, Louis is shown as a farmer who owns the farm. Hattie and all the children, including Georgie, are shown as black and born in Kansas. Maud is mistakenly identified on the census record as Martha, but the age matches here and on the other records for Maude. Fred, Maude, Mabel, Charley and Quimbia are joined by two new children for Louis and Hattie. They are Dolly, age 3, and Josephine, age 5 months.

By 1910, Louis is no longer listed, Hattie is a widow and Fred is the head of household. A new child has been added: Edith who is one year and 10 months old. Therefore, we can guess that Louis died somewhere in the 1907-1910 range. Dollie is now listed as Viola M. CARTER. All are still listed as black and born in Kansas. A clue for tracing Hattie further back is that she shows her parents as both born in Missouri.

Returning to Louis or Lewis, we know he was in the Civil War because on the 1895 Kansas collection census, under the column “number of regiment or other organization to which attached” he gave 77; under the column “arm of the service” is written I for infantry; and for “name of military prison if confined in one” there are two letters that look like Ar, Kr, Hr. or Nr.

There was a 77th Regiment of Missouri Militia with headquarters in Kansas City.  The prison camp could be Ar for Andersonville, Georgia, Confederate Prison Camp Sumter. I tried to match it up to the prisoner of war camps on The American Civil War Prisoner of War Camps page at http://thomaslegion.net/americancivilwarprisonerofwarcamps.html and thought this was the closest match. If someone with more knowledge of the Civil War can suggest a better match, please let us know.

The closest corresponding entry on the U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 is the record for March 1, 1867, where there is a Lewis CARTER with the approximate birth year of 1846, born in Missouri, enlisting at Leavenworth, Kansas. His occupation was farmer. His hair was brown, eyes were brown, complexion was brown and height was 5’5″. He signed up for five years and was honourably discharged March (5?) 1872 at Fort Dill. There was a military fort named Fort Dill in Oklahoma and certainly Oklahoma shares borders with both Missouri and Kansas. There is no other indication that our Lewis lived or ever was in Oklahoma. The very next census puts him in Stranger, Leavenworth, Kansas.

Prior to 1875, the census records are not as easy to pinpoint for Lewis CARTER. All the records for him from 1875 and beyond, he is listed as black and nothing else. If we could find him with his parents or slave owners, we could perhaps match him with a parent who is some other ethnicity than black.

So the final matching and what ethnicity we can glean will be in PART IV. I promise, we are close to the end. There will not be infinite parts to this puzzle.

Many Sites Such as Obituarieshelp.org Depend on Advertising for Revenue.

Advertising revenue is how we are able to provide the many free genealogy resources that we do. Many ads are paid on a per view commission, and running an ad blocker when you visit sites that serve those ads consumes their resources (including bandwidth) without providing them with the revenue they need to keep operating. It is very much the same as eating at a restaurant and then leaving without paying for the food you ate. Imagine how many restaurants could stay in business if half the people visiting them left without paying!

For the first two years that ObituariesHelp.org was online, there were no ads whatsoever.  However, as the site grew, our operating costs in the form of infrastructure, bandwidth and resources also grew.  So to continue providing as many free resources as we could, we had a choice to make, either start running ads or shut down the site.

When You Block Ads on a Website, the Chain Reaction Can be Devastating.

Yes it can result in the loss of jobs, but more importantly, it can lead to a decrease in quality content, and consequently a decrease in precious free genealogy resources. Sometimes the only option a website that suffers a loss in advertising revenue due to ad blocking has is to run advertising that may be considered intrusive. It is not by choice that any website runs such advertisements, but a matter of survival.

Here at ObituariesHelp.org we try to minimize aggressive advertising, but it must be accepted that such ads are sometimes necessary.  We decline offers from advertisers with ads of a questionable nature on a regular basis.  You as an Internet user however, can minimize the need for intrusive advertising by simply not blocking regular contextual ads, at least on the websites you love and use on a regular basis.

Websites May Start Charging to View Articles and Resources

Another issue that arises when you use an ad blocker is your free resources, are no longer free.  Many websites whose visitors use ad blockers have set up “pay walls” so that anyone who wants to read an article or download a PDF, must first pay a fee to view the information or a fee to download the information they need.  Imagine paying for every article you want to read? To me, that does not sound like a better option than simply not blocking ads.

Subscribe to Sites That Offer an Ad-Free Experience

An option to blocking ads is to subscribe to a website that offers an ad-free version for members. A lot of time, talent, and hard work go into creating and maintaining websites. With sites that offer free genealogy resources that hard work includes hours of tedious research to locate and verify data before sharing it with you. As we surf the internet we sometimes forget that behind every website is a team or teams of various proportions, ranging from the individual to complete corporations. Many of those sites depend on advertising to various degrees, and because a huge number of internet users block ads, many have had to cut staff, content, or completely shut down because of losing their ad revenue.

If you use a site regularly and benefit from its content, don’t block ads. Show your appreciation of their hard work and research by subscribing if they offer.  Most people don’t block ads maliciously; they don’t even realize that they are harming the sites they love. The only way many websites that offer free genealogy resources can afford to do so is by making revenue from the advertisements on their pages. Keep those ad-blockers off, and you’ll keep the door to those free genealogy resources open.

The best way to decide on a genealogical society to join is to first have a look at their journal. They will all be of high quality, but there may be one that has content more relevant to your own project than the others. You can generally access information about the journal on any society’s website; normally they feature sample issues and extracts, as well as general information on the journal and how to subscribe. Following is a list of genealogical societies that offer free genealogical resources to their members, and a summary of their focus and journal content.

The Irish Genealogical Research Society

The Irish Genealogical Research Society was established in 1936 in the Office of the York Herald, London. The founding members were genealogists concerned at the loss of valuable genealogical material and their aim was to collect and preserve copies of documentation produced before the destruction of the Public Record Office in Dublin in 1922.  Their mission remains much as envisioned in 1936 and they are actively involved in the acquisition of manuscripts and other printed works of genealogical consequence.

Their present focus is on the collection of copies of wills and the acquisition of documentation regarding Irish births, marriages, and deaths up to 1864. Their journal is produced annually and is free to members. It is of a very high standard and can be found in many libraries around the world. It contains genealogical data such as abstracts of Irish Wills, periodicals, Baptismal registers, instructions on how to find and decipher Irish records, and much more. Membership for non-residents ofIreland is £20, or around $30 per year.

New England Historic Genealogical Society

The Journal of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), the New England Historical and Genealogical Register is the oldest in the field, and is considered the mother journal of American genealogy. The journal focuses on compiling authoritative genealogies from theNew England area. It features many articles of genealogical instruction, such as identifying immigrant origins, and is published quarterly.

Membership in the society not only gives you access to their journal and online archive, but to over 3,000 more online databases. The authenticity of the NEHGS and the degree to which it is respected in genealogical circles is reflected in their past and current membership. Some notables who have been, and currently are, members of the NEHGS include; Ulysses S. Grant, Washington Irving, Woodrow Wilson, Albert 1, King of Belgium,  Bill Clinton, Gerald and Betty Ford, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Julia Childs, and Charlton Heston. If you want to rub shoulders (even virtually) with the rich and famous while availing yourself of some incredible free genealogy resources, you can apply via email on their website.

National Genealogical Society

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) was established in 1903. Their aim is to “To serve and grow the genealogical community by providing education and training, fostering increased quality and standards, and promoting access to and preservation of genealogical records.” One of the ways the NGS accomplishes their mission is through the publication of their journal, National Genealogical Society Quarterly, which was first published in 1912.

The “Quarterly” contains a wealth of instructional material, covering topics such as; how to interpret records that do not mean what they seem to say; how to cope with name changes, illegitimacies, destroyed records, and other genealogical roadblocks. Specific articles address topics such as; how to research different ethnic groups; how to tell the difference between individuals of the same name; how to conduct research in specific states; and how to identify the origins of immigrant ancestors.

Membership in the NGS costs $65 per year, but you get much more than just access to their journal. They also publish a quarterly magazine which features genealogical instruction and articles. Typical topics include courthouse records, immigration, migration, case studies and more.  They also offer genealogy courses to members, some of which are; American Genealogy, Genetic Genealogy, Introduction to Religious Records, Transcribing, Extracting, and Abstracting in Genealogical Records, and Special Federal Census Schedules.

Genealogical societies provide a wealth of free genealogical resources to their members. An investment in a membership is an investment in your past, and in your future. One of the greatest benefits is the access to large libraries and online databases that contain hundreds of millions of names and many historical and genealogical records that can’t be found elsewhere. If you are serious about genealogy, you should serious consider joining a genealogical society; they offer much more than just free genealogy resources!

Many gravestone manufacturers now attach matrix barcodes to their headstones so that relatives or genealogical researchers can scan the code with their smart-phones, and then access an interactive online memorial page. These monument pages are extremely valuable genealogy resources, and obviously have a place in the future of genealogy. They allow families to personalize their memorial pages and update their information. The LegacyTec APP however will allow anyone to pull up a genealogical webpage on any gravestone in a cemetery. You simply need to point your smart-phone, shoot, and Voila, instant information.

The APP doesn’t need the marker to have a matrix barcode, that’s the really great thing. All it takes to connect a researcher to an online genealogical profile of the deceased person is a relatively good photo of the gravestone. At least that is the goal of the developers. The company’s vice-president, Hudson Gunn, admits that building such a custom platform for such a task is a bit of a logistics nightmare. They seem to have overcome those complications however. Rather than searching millions of records at a time, this APP uses GPS metadata from uploaded photographs to filter the search by location, usually by city or cemetery.

It’s really interesting how it works. The APP first narrows the search to a couple of hundred locations in the area using image recognition technology. The APP then compares the uploaded image of the headstone to an existing gallery of gravesite monument photographs. The company uses the huge database from around the internet, including their own website BillionGraves.com, which continues to grow in leaps and bounds. But the technology used is only half of the applications recipe for success.

The other element that could make this APP so useful is the number of contacts in the genealogy world that the company’s CEO, Devin Taylor, has appropriated over the years.  The APP would be useless without having access to a genealogical mega-database, andTaylorhas convinced FamilySearch.org, and Ancestry.com to partner with him. This is exciting news for the genealogy world, especially those who like the new technological advances and gadgets that are being produced.

The APP is also designed to increase its own genealogical databases as individuals use it. When someone photographs a headstone somewhere, they are asked if they want to create a record for that person. As each user does this, the database will continue to expand, by as many as seven million people by the end of this year according to Mr. Gunn.

As an added benefit, the APP doesn’t include advertisements, so kudos to Otter Creek Holdings. The APP is expected to be ready for download in the coming week, so stay tuned for news at the News Feed at BillionGraves.com.

Before 1871

The initial unification ofGermanytook place in 1871, but prior to that it was an association of small kingdoms (Saxony,Württemberg,Bavaria, andPrussia), free (self-governing) cities such asBremen,HamburgandLubeck, and even the personal estates of various prominent and wealthy families. Each of these entities in turn had its own system of record keeping.

Germanyremained unified until after the Second World War when it was divided into East andWest Germany, while parts of it were awarded toPoland,Czechoslovakia, and theUSSR. Even while it was unified between 1871 and 1945 however, parts of it were given toFrance,Belgium, andDenmarkin 1919 following the First World War.

What this means for family historians is that the records for the German ancestors they are searching might not be found inGermany. You may need to search the records of the countries that received portions of German territory (France,Belgium,Poland,Denmark,Czechoslovakiaand theUSSR), or if researching prior to 1871 in the records of the original states such asPrussia, or even in personal estate records. As you can imagine, this presents some unique challenges for genealogists, but they can be overcome by following some basic steps.

How to Find Your German Ancestors

Begin With You

As with every genealogical search, one for your German ancestors begins in your own home. Your more recent ancestors can provide you with links to the past, so speak with your family members and ask them to share any information they have. This can include photos, family bibles, and vital documents. If you need to brush up on your interviewing skills or refresh your genealogical knowledge, consult our Basics of Tracing Family Genealogy Insiders Guide.

Locate Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Birthplace

Once you have traced your family history back to your German ancestor, you’ll want to find out the name of the city or village they were born in. This is a crucial step, as most German records are not held in a central location. You may be able to find this information in passenger lists if they immigrated toAmerica after 1892. A record of them may also be held by the city or port from which they departed, so if you have that information you should check out German passenger departure lists. Other records that may contain their city of birth are naturalization records, church records from the area around the port they entered, census records, and BDM records.

Find Their Birthplace on a Map

Once you have found the name of the town or city where your ancestor was born, look for it ion a modern map to make sure it still exists. You can use online German gazetteers for this. If you can’t locate their birthplace on a modern map, consult historic maps or records to find out where it used to be and where those records might now be held.

German Birth, Death, and Marriage Records

Some German vital records date back to 1792 as many German states had their own civil registration systems. These records are held in the area that the event took place, as there is no central repository inGermany. You can find them in government archives and the local civil registrar’s office. Some are held on microfilm by the LDS Family History Library.

German Census Records

Censuses have been conducted inGermanyon a regular basis since the unification in 1871. Though they are deemed as national censuses, they were and are still carried out by each state or province, where the records can be found. You can get original returns from the Civil Register Office (Standesamt)in each area, or from the municipal archives (Stadtarchiv). Unfortunately,East Germanydestroyed all of the census returns for that area, and some records were destroyed by bombings during the war.

You may be able to locate some records from individual regions, as occasionally some cities and provinces conducted their own censuses between the national ones. The information you’ll find in German census reports varies according to the time period, and earlier ones may only record how many people occupied a household, though usually the name of the head of the household id given.

German Parish Registers

Some parish registers inGermanydate back as far as the 1500’s, and they can be a valuable source of ancestral information. Baptisms, marriages, burials, confirmations, and other events are recorded in them, and sometimes a complete family record is written containing information about an entire family.

Registers are generally kept by local parish offices, though some smaller churches may send their records to a larger central register. If you find that the parish no longer exists, the parish which took over may still hold those records. Some hand copied registers were sent to the district court, and they can sometimes serve as a substitute if the original records can’t be located. Keep in mind however that they are hand copied, and so may contain errors.

As with any genealogical search in any geographical location, research can sometimes be painstaking. Sticking to the task though will generally see you reap the fruit of your labors.