Episode 142 – Family History Bloggers

Listen to the episode here.

Have you ever wondered how the Internet works?  I mean, how data from your computer actually makes to another computer somewhere else around the world? I found a very cool video that really manages to explain a very complex process that happens in a matter of seconds in a way that actually makes a lot of sense. And yet while it made sense, after I watched it it was almost harder to believe that it really works at all because it’s so amazing. Even if you are typically a person who doesn’t bother to click on videos, you have got to check out How Does the Internet Work in the newest of an edition of the free Genealogy Gems Podcast email newsletter

RootsTech

RootsTech 2013 Promo Video

Ancestry

Read Lisa’s blog post: Money Growing on Trees: Ancestry Buying and Selling

While the world’s largest online family history resource, Ancestry.com, awaits a possible buyout, they are keeping busy buying other companies. Reuters reported that Permira Advisers LLP has emerged as the front-runner to take Ancestry private in a deal that could exceed $1.5 billion. (Read more about the possible acquisition at PEHUB)

Ancestry also released the following press release about the company’s latest acquisition, San Francisco based 1000Memories. You can learn more about 1000 Memories by listening to my interview with Michael Katchen, Director of Business Development at 1000Memories in  Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 119.

Google Books
Google Books and Publishers Reach Settlement over Digitization

Learn more about using Google Books for genealogy in my book The Genealogist’s  Google Toolbox.  

New Premium Episode 92

Old maps can tell us a lot more than just where our ancestors lived: They put events into geographic context, reveal surprising genealogical clues, and can be incorporated into Google Earth for analysis and storytelling.

In the newest episode (#92) of the Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast I’ll tell you about a terrific example of a website that has set the goal of have every image they possess (allowable by copyright) digitized and on their website by early 2013

I’m also going to tell you about something pretty shocking that happened to me recently while speaking at an international genealogy conference. I was really taken by surprise, and received some unexpected questions. I will share those with you as well as some solid answers.

It’s another packed episode. If you are a member sign in now to start listening.  Become a Member today.

MAILBOX

Stephanie also wrote in with an opinion about Ancestry Trees
“So here are my “2 bits”.  I am new to all this and honestly never considered my public tree as published.  I have used the Ancestry tree as a if were my workbook, just as if it were a software package like Roots Magic.  Because I consider it a workbook I add names as I find them and work the family as a group to document the information AFTER I add them.  It simply never occurred to me that others would see this as complete, documented information.  I have kept my tree open since I want to be open to contacts.  When I see hints from other trees I simply avoid the un-sourced ones.  The Ancestry hints have moved me along much faster than I ever could have before.  I truly hope others who get angry could see my point of view. Thank you so much for teaching us, you have made this journey so much more enjoyable and effective!!!”

From Loretta: Ancestry Trees
“I’ve had a little different reaction towards the “polluted” online trees… sarcasm. At the beginning of the year I started a blog, Barking Up The Wrong Tree. I post on Tuesdays and Fridays. Both days could be considered tips for beginners but Tuesdays are examples of what NOT to do. All the examples are actual online trees and because of the propensity of newbies to mindlessly copy other trees most examples are not just on ONE tree. It makes for a lot of head meets desk moments but I’m enjoying it. Hope you and some of your listeners will too.”

Ricky in Birmingham, Alabama asks about citing sources and paper and file organization

GEM: New Family History Bloggers

Family History blogging is hotter than ever and the ideal way to get your research out on the web where others working on the same family lines can find you through Google searches!  Many of you have been taking advantage of free blogging services like Blogger at Mom Cooke’s nagging here on the podcast, and reaping some rewards.  So let me highlight a few listeners who have turned in their “Round To It” for a “Gitter Done!”

First up is David Lynch who started a blog on his St. Croix research
“I recently started in my genealogy and find your show both entertaining and helpful.  My 200 Years in Paradise

The reason I’m writing is that sometimes we forget that the world wasn’t homogeneous throughout the 1800s. Right now, I’m writing a series on illegitimate births on the island of St. Croix from 1841-1934. From my research, it seems that over 77% of the children born were to unmarried households.  Typically they formed stable family units, but just didn’t marry. In fact, in my personal family history, I have a set of ancestors who had 16 children and got married after their 12th child was born.  In the US at the same time, only about 4% of the children were illegitimate.”

Jennifer shares her blog
“Just wanted you to know that I’ve started my own blog, based largely on the encouragement in your podcasts.  What appealed to me was that it’s a medium where I can share information, but not in a way that’s an online family tree.  This will prevent readers from copying and pasting family tree branches, without slowing down to learn some context.  It also allows me a forum to correct some gigantic errors floating around out there about my ancestors.  I finally woke up to the fact that I’ve moved to the head of the line in the experience department.  I’ve placed a lot of tags on the entries, so the information is easily located in Google.” http://jenongen.blogspot.com/

Sonja Hunter wrote in to share her blogging success
First, I would like to thank you for putting together your podcasts!…I only became a listener about a year ago, but have been working my way through old Genealogy Gems podcasts as well as the Genealogy Made Easy podcasts, mostly while gardening. 

I also wanted to let you know you inspired me to start blogging. I rang in the New Year by starting a blog about doing genealogy in my hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan. One primary goal is to highlight helpful area resources. I imagine this will be most helpful to those new to conducting family history research in the area.

In addition, I am trying to include Kalamazoo area or Michigan history items that I think are interesting. One example is an article I found in the local paper describing what Kalamazooans from 1884 imagined life would be like in 1984. I’ve also written about poisonous cheese in the 1880s, diphtheria and the case of my gg-grandfather’s brother-in-law who may or may not have committed suicide by slitting his throat. I consulted Paula Sassi for that case and plan to blog about her handwriting analysis in the future. 

Thank you for inspiring me to embark on this project! I’m learning a lot. And keep up the good and valuable work you do on your podcasts!

Bushwahacking Genealogy Kalamazoo and Beyond 
John Harrigan: Who Done It? (With Handwriting Analysis by Paula Sassi)

From John in Maryland:
“I want to thank you again for everything you do to inspire people to be enthusiastic about their family history.  I learn so many “Gems” within all of your resources and put many of them to practice.   You are the family history “Go-To” person in my book.  I recently started a blog for the primary reason of documenting my findings so that I wouldn’t forget what I’ve been discovering.  The blog also appears to be a good way to share my success stories with others that may be interested.  I credit you for introducing the idea of using a blog in Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast.  When I first listened to the podcasts about blogs, I didn’t think it was something that was applicable to me, as I felt I had no new information to share with others since many experts like yourself already handle this.  However, I’m giving it a try and enjoy it so far.  I really like how I’m able to place images within the text to help convey my information.”
http://recordetective.blogspot.com/  

And finally Shannon Bennett has really made a blogging splash.  She writes:
“I have been hemming and hawing on writing to you and finally took the plunge to do it.  Last spring a friend of mine told me about your podcasts (yes all of them) since I had just started into family research.  She thought I would like it, and boy was she right!  I have taken you on my iPod to drop my kids off to school and pick them up again, cleaned house, grocery shopping as well as everywhere in between. The wealth of information I have gathered from your podcasts have been very helpful, and I have loved all the interviews and tid-bits that have come along the way as well.  There is no way that I could just pick one out of so many to be my all-time favorite.  Maybe a top 10 list would cover it.

However, I do have to blame you for the latest adventure in my life, which is why I am writing.  Listening to you tell us, in almost every episode, about the importance of having a family blog finally sank in.  The first couple of times I heard you say it I thought to myself “there’s no way I would/could ever do such a thing, I barely have time to keep up with my Live Journal account.”  A few weeks went by and the thoughts began to change to “hmmm…maybe I could do this.”  Then after 4 months of thinking about it I started to do some research into how to run a successful blog.”

Shannon took the plunge and applied to Family Tree University to write for their Family Firsts Blog.  “I come to find out that they are looking for their second blogger.  I sat…I thought…I clicked the application button.  Yes, on a whim I entered because I thought I had nothing to lose.  You see I never win these types of things.

A month goes by, and I have given into the feeling that well it was a good try but of course I didn’t get it.…then later on that week I find out I won it!

So thank you, I never would have entered let alone thought about creating my own blog less than a year into my family research, without you and your wonderful podcasts.”

Trials and Tribulations of a Self-Taught Family Historian

Family Tree Firsts Blog

Check out this episode

Eastern Cherokee Applications for Native American Research

Many American families have a tradition of Native American ancestry. Now, Fold3.com has made access to their Native American records collections free between November 1 and 15th. Here are the step-by-step instructions you need to know to effectively navigate the Eastern Cherokee Applications collection at Fold3.com.

Eastern Cherokee Applications for Native American Research

Original image provided by Boston Public Library via Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/24029425@N06/5755511285.

Our Purpose

Our goal is to open the doors to using all types of available genealogical records, and provide you with the skills to explore them with confidence. Our Genealogy Gems team is excited to share with you the opportunity to utilize the free access to Native American records on Fold3.com. While it can be difficult and confusing to know how to navigate these important records, this post will provide you with information to get you started and to feel a little more comfortable jumping in! Now, let’s get started.

Eastern Cherokee Applications Collection for Native American Research

The Eastern Cherokee tribe sued the United States for funds due them under the treaties of 1835, 1836, and 1845. [1] Applicants, or claimants, were asked to prove they were members of the Eastern Cherokee tribe at the time of the treaties, or descended from its members. [To learn more about the lawsuits and allocations, read “Eastern Cherokee Applications of the U.S. Court of Claims, 1906-1909,” in .pdf form provided by the National Archives and Records Administration.]

The courts ruled in favor of the Eastern Cherokees and the Secretary of the Interior was tasked to identify the persons entitled to distribution of funds. The job of compiling a roll of eligible persons was given to Guion Miller.

It is interesting to note that the funds were to be distributed to “all Eastern and Western Cherokee Indians who were alive on May 28, 1906, who could establish the fact that at the time of the treaties, they were members of the Eastern Cherokee tribe or were descendants of such persons, and that they had not been affiliated with any tribe of Indians other than the Eastern Cherokee or the Cherokee Nation.” [Source: page 4, 3rd paragraph of NARA document Eastern Cherokee Applications of the U.S. Court of Claims, 1906-1909.]

The collection at Fold3 titled “Eastern Cherokee Applications” contains these applications submitted to prove eligibility. [Important: Because this act was about money allocation and individuals filling out these applications would have received money if approved, this may raise the question, “Did our ancestor have a reason to lie or exaggerate the truth so that they might be awarded funds?” Further, the Genealogy Standards produced by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) reminds us: “Whenever possible, genealogists prefer to reason from information provided by consistently reliable participants, eyewitnesses, and reporters with no bias, potential for gain, or other motivation to distort, invent, omit, or otherwise report incorrect information.” [2] In this case, those filling out the Eastern Cherokee Applications did have potential for gain. So, be sure to take any genealogical data, like names, dates, and places, with a grain of salt and find other documentation to back-up the facts.]

The first step in locating whether your ancestor applied is to check the index. If you are not a member of Fold3.com, you will first need to go to www.fold3.com. Click in the center of the homepage where it says, “Free Access to Native American Records.” Next, on the left you will see “Records from Archives.” Go ahead and click that.

From the list now showing on your screen, choose “Eastern Cherokee Applications.” Then click “learn more” at the bottom right of the collection description.

Eastern Cherokee Applications Learn More

From the new screen, choose “Browse by title.”

Index and applications for Eastern Cherokee Applications

Notice, there are two general indexes. The first choice is for surnames between the letters of A and K, and the second general index is for the letters between L and Z. The index is alphabetical by surname.

Scroll through the digital images of the index and find the surname of your targeted ancestor. For example, my ancestor’s last name is Cole.

You will see the state they were currently living in and a number listed to the left of each name. This number is what you will need to find the application of your ancestor. In the example here on the left, Anderson Cole’s number is 31697. Though the step of using this index could be omitted, I wanted you to know how to use it.

Eastern Cherokee Applications Anderson Cole

Anderson Cole’s name appears on the General Index of the Eastern Cherokee Applications.

Armed with this number as confirmation, let’s go back to the list of options and this order medication online for pain time, choose Applications.

Eastern Cherokee Applications for ancestor

Applications are broken down by the first letter of the surname, so in my case, I would click on the letter C and then from the new options list, click the appropriate indicator until I reach Anderson Cole.

Cole Anderson Eastern Cherokee Application

Anderson’s application is eight pages, however applications vary in size from fewer than eight to several more.

From Fold3.com, you can see each page of the application. Some of the information you may find on the applications include, but is not limited to: name, birth date and location of applicant, names of parents and siblings, name of spouse and marriage date and place, tribe affiliation, Cherokee name, grandparents names, and residences.

The application was sent in to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and then it was decided whether the applicant was eligible or not.

Lies and Rejection

Rejected Eastern Cherokee Applications

Anderson Cole’s Eastern Cherokee Application was rejected but held genealogical data.

In Anderson Cole’s case, he was rejected. This is found on the very first page of the application. In other words, the commission did not find him able to prove his relationship with known members of the Eastern Cherokee tribe and therefore, he was not given any allotment of money. This rejection neither proves or disproves whether Anderson was of Native American descent. However, it does suggest that something in his lineage was questioned.

Further, when reviewing the information recorded on any genealogy record, we must ask the question, “Did this person have any reason to lie?” When money is on the line, lying is always a possibility. According to further research, it appears Anderson either lied, omitted details, or was seriously mistaken about many names and dates of close family members. Even then, there are some great hints within the pages of his application and I was happy to find it.

Additional Information in the Eastern Cherokee Applications

In addition to an application being filed for our ancestor, if the ancestor had children under the age of 21, they may have also applied in behalf of the child as a Cherokee Minor.

Anderson’s son, W.T. Cole, applied under the same application number as Anderson. I found his application in the last pages of Anderson’s file. This type of record is direct evidence of a parent/child relationship and can be a wonderful substitute when other vital records can not be located. However, direct evidence (which is anything that directly answers a specific question…like ‘who are the parents of W.T. Cole?’) does not have to be true. In this case, just because Anderson says his son is W.T. Cole, doesn’t mean it is absolutely true. We should always find other records or evidence to back up our findings.

How is the Roll of Eastern Cherokees Different from the Eastern Cherokee Applications?

You may have noticed that besides the Eastern Cherokee applications and general index, there is also a record set titled “Roll of Eastern Cherokees.” Another name for this roll is called the Guion Miller Rolls. This is a roll, or list, provided by commissioner Guion Miller of all those who were approved to receive the allocated money. [We will be discussing the Guion Miller Roll Collection from Fold3 in a later blog post. Be sure to sign-up for our free newsletter so you don’t miss it!]

Anderson Cole and his son do not appear on this Roll of Eastern Cherokees. If however, your ancestor does, additional information on this roll could include application number, the names of minor children, ages of all parties, current residence, and a death date.

Eastern Cherokee Rolls

A partial page of the Roll of Eastern Cherokee found online at Fold3.com.

More on Native American Research

Using Native American collections for genealogy research can be challenging. We hope this has helped you to better understand the ins and outs for using the record collections at Fold3. For even more helpful tips, read:

How to Use the Dawes Collections for Native American Research

sign up newsletterStay tuned as we bring you additional instructions for exploring the Guion Miller Roll and Indian Census Rolls at Fold3.com in the days to come. Sign up for our free Genealogy Gems newsletter for our upcoming posts on this important subject.

 

 

 

 

Article References:

[1] “The U.S. Eastern Cherokee or Guion Miller Roll,” article online, FamilySearch Wiki (https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/The_U.S._Eastern_Cherokee_or_Guion_Miller_Roll : accessed 1 Nov 2016).

[2] Genealogy Standards, 50th anniversary edition, published by Board for Certification of Genealogists, 2014, standard 39, page 24.

Disclosure: This article 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 Genealogy Gems!

5 Genealogy Gems from 2024 that will boost your research – Podcast and Video

AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: In episode #290 of the Genealogy Gems podcast, Lisa Louise Cooke covers 5 of the top gems that came out of 2024. Use these to boost your family history now!

Watch the Video

Listen to the Podcast Episode featuring 5 Genealogy Gems

Click the media player below (AUDIO ONLY):

Download this episode’s show notes. (Premium Membership required.  Join today.)

5 Genealogy Gems from 2024

#1 MyHeritage LiveMemory™

Get all the basic details on LiveMemory on the show notes page for Genealogy Gems Podcast episode #289.

Since the launch MyHeritage has added a set of 10 custom animation options. Now you can choose the action and resulting emotion for more fun. You can choose from emotional gestures such as hugging. laughing, kissing, dancing, and singing. You can also go more playful with zero gravity, underwater, rain, balloons, and even add a T-Rex to the scene!

With the newest update your videos will now be stored in your MyHeritage account. This makes them easily available through the app gallery. Photos with a LiveMemory™ have a play icon on the bottom. Tap the photo, then tap “LiveMemory” to play your video. You can also download the video to your device.

It’s now easy to share your videos with friends and family directly from the app to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, Bluesky, WhatsApp, and other social media. Tap the Share button at the bottom of the screen, then select the social media platform of your choice.

Tips from MyHeritage for Best Results:

  • Make sure you have the latest updated version of the MyHeritage mobile app installed.
  • MyHeritage recommends that you upload “an iconic family photo with interesting content. If you upload an ordinary selfie or a photo showing two people standing, there is no scene to speak of and the output video may look boring, unless you use one of the custom animations.
  • The results can vary depending on the resolution of the original photo and the angle of a person’s face. If you aren’t satisfied with the results, try uploading higher-resolution photos or photos with larger, more visible faces.”

Check out Lisa’s extended LiveMemory™ video on the Genealogy Gems Facebook page.

Extra: New Records:  Read Major Breakthrough: 3.4 Billion Records Extracted From Historical Newspapers Were Added to MyHeritage.

#2 Ancestry.com New Records

Ancestry added loads of new records in 2024. The best way to quickly find and review them is in the Card Catalog:
1. Go to https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/catalog/
2. From the Sort by drop-down menu select Date Added
3. Records will be listed starting with the most recently added. They will be marked New.

#3 FamilySearch new records updates

FamilySearch also added millions of new records. Most were added to existing collections, expanding them even further. FamilySearch also used AI to generate indexes for many of their existing collections making them much more usable. This all means it’s worth revisiting collections where you came up empty in the past.
If you’re looking for free international records, FamilySearch is hard to beat! It includes,

#4 Library of Congress’ Chronicling America

Chronicling America is a huge collection of free digitized old newspapers from the United States. However, in the past it did not include all of the newspapers available through the Library of Congress website. Now all digitized newspapers have come under one search umbrella with the new Chronicling America website.

Chronicling America is in the process of transitioning from the legacy Chronicling America interface to a new Chronicling America interface and back-end search infrastructure. Read more about it.

Search the 4,000+ newspaper title with the Advanced Search at Chronicling America.

Explore all the titles using the interactive map.

chronicling america interactive map

Use the interactive map at Chronicling America to search for family history in old newspapers.

#5 AI Increased Use in Genealogy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here and will be with us in 2025 and many years to come. AI has been incorporated into genealogy websites for quite some time. However, in 2024 we saw a real uptick in genealogists using stand alone AI sites like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others to assist with their research.

If you’re going to start using these AI sites, keep a couple of key things in mind.

1) It’s not a person.
No matter how realistic it sounds, or how many times it refers to itself as “I”, it’s not a real person. This is important to remember as you’re interacting with it. When AI talks to you like it’s a person, and you work with it for a period of time, you can start to have the impression or the feeling that it knows what it’s talking about. It can come across as authoritative. You can get the impression that it understood what you asked for, and that’s just not the case. It’s a language tool, and it’s trying to put together what it thinks makes sense based on what it has already “learned”.

This means you must be in the driver’s seat and stay in the driver’s seat. Continually analyze what you’re getting from AI. Think about what it is “saying: Go check it out and verify the information and get more evidence to back it up.

2) It’s not a stand-alone search engine.
At this point AI isn’t ready to be used as a stand-alone search Q and A tool. However, it does have strengths we can use today for such activities as:
• Translating typed text,
• Summarizing large documents,
• Reassembling information into desired formats,
• Finding information buried within a document.
• Quickly determining if particular items appear in a document.

It can do much of the legwork, thereby speeding up the research and writing process.

If I had to predict, I would say we’re going to see AI and search merge more and more. In fact, over at Google’s Gemini, we’re noticing that it sometimes provides users with a check this at Google button. For now though, be aware that Google’s search results are not fully represented in Gemini’s responses. Go search it separately on Google, and then review the results provided. Make sure you can actually find sources for yourself that verify everything that AI tells you.

Learn more about AI and Genealogy with Genealogy Gems:

Resource

Download the show notes cheat sheet PDF

 

DNA and Privacy: No Man is a Genetic Island

The recent identification of the Golden State Killer through a DNA database for genealogy is just one way your DNA may be used in unexpected ways. Lisa Louise Cooke shares 5 key principles to keep in mind when considering your online DNA presence.   Golden State...

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