by Lisa Cooke | Nov 22, 2013 | Uncategorized
Genealogy Gems Podcast Episodes
2013 – 2014 Season Nine
Episode 161
I was so impresssed with Yngve Nedrebø, the Chief archivist at Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) who I recently interviewed for the Family Tree Magazine podcast that I’m publishing an extended version of that interview here on the Genealogy Gems Podcast. This is a “must hear” for those with Norwegian heritage. In this episode you’ll also hear from a fellow listener and get a chance to see his family history tour that he created in Google Earth using the techniques I teach in the Google Earth for Genealogy video CD series. And we’ll get a taste of the history of coffee.
Keywords: Norway, Norwegian, Google Earth, Family History Tour, Death Certificate, Coffee
Episode 162
Wondering how to get your kids and grandkids engaged in family history? Looking for worthwhile activities for the kids over the Christmas break? In this episode author Janet Hovorka provides answers. Our children are the future of our families, and there’s no better time to help them engage, explore and enjoy their family history! Special Guest: Janet Hovorka.
App Users: Be sure to check out the audio Bonus Content in the Genealogy Gems App!
Keywords: Kids, Grandkids, Zap the Grandma Gap, Contest Winner, Blog, Pinterest
Episode 163
Get ready to flip out with me over Flipboard. It’s a free app and web tool that you have to see to fully appreciate. In this episode I’ll take you behind the scenes at Flipboard in the Silicon Valley and talk to the folks who create the product that helps you enjoy the online content you love. I’ll also share a little discovery I made about family history when I threw my back out over the holidays (there’s got to be an easier and less painful way to do family history research!) and get you up to date on all the genealogy news.
Keywords: Flipboard, Pinterest, Rootstech, Family Health History, Magazine
Episode 164
In this episode you’ll hear what you’ve been missing and how to get it from the Ancestry Wiki. Also how to do a very specialized type of Google search you may have never tried, a French-Canadian genealogy resource, a living relative dilemma, and much more.
Keywords: Ancestry Wiki, Google Earth, Top 10 List, French Canadian, Purple Heart Video, Jamboree, DNA Swapped, BillionGraves, Evernote
Episode 165
A Blast from the Past: Revisit the remastered episode 13 (recorded back in 2007) which features World War II Service Records, and how to create a Family History Book your non-genealogist relatives will actually read.
Keywords: Print on Demand, Writing, Military
Episode 166
This episode is loaded with genealogy news, ideas, and tips. We focus on you, the listeners, and here some incredible stories of genealogical success!
Episode 167
Colonial American Genealogy with Beth Foulk. Also new online newspaper collections, NGS 2014 wrap up, and why you do research your family history.
Episode 168
This episode is all about DNA. First we’ll discuss Ancestry’s closure of some of their DNA tests, and then you’ll meet Your DNA Guide, Diahan Southard, a new regular contributor to Genealogy Gems.
Episode 169
Catch a glimpse of the silent movie era and how it was an integral part of your ancestors’ lives. In this episode, I find out more about the silent movies my grandmother cataloged in her diary, and how they molded a generation. Interview with Film Historian Sam Gill of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum.
Episode 170
Lisa Kudrow, Executive Producer of the TLC television show Who Do You Think You Are? is back to the podcast for another visit. Lisa shares her enthusiasm and feelings about the show, and her hope for its future. Also in this episode, Lisa Louise Cooke shares some incredible successes she’s experienced in her own family history journey lately.
Episode 171
Storyteller Ron Ploof discussed Project Lizzie, and sharing your family history stories with others. Other topics: A strategy for coping and excelling in the face of technological change, Online Seniors and a bit of reminiscing about party lines, a new feature for finding the genealogy topics you need at Genealogy Gems, A newspaper research tip that pays off big, family history jewelry, and the history of the first U.S. federal loan.
Episode 172
The official launch of the exciting news Genealogy Gems Book Club, a cool free online map tool British research, Google Translate, stories of inspirational finds, DNA for genealogy, and a Star Trek take on the innovations of yesteryear!
Episode 173
We all need a little inspiration now and then, and in this episode I’ll bring you some inspiring books to read, motivating comments from other listeners, and some new ideas to try. And a report on using Autosomal DNA for genealogy.
Episode 174
In this episode I’m going to share a personal story from my own family history just recently uncovered, and pull from it 3 powerful strategies that you can start using right away to further your own genealogy research in newspapers. We will also hear from author Emma Brockes in our Book Club, and Your DNA Guide will be here to explain the latest updates at AncestryDNA.
by Lisa Cooke | Jun 6, 2016 | 01 What's New, Apps, Book Club, Mobile, Smartphones |
Wish someone could read your Kindle e-book to you? Your iPhone can. Here’s how to turn a Kindle ebook into an audiobook. For free.
Turn eBook into AudioBook
I love to read. But when I’m on the road, doing chores or working out, it’s easier to listen to books. Sometimes I purchase an audio format or find one at my local library. But audiobooks are pretty expensive, and they’re not always available for the books I want.
So what if I have an e-book already on my Kindle and I want my iPhone to read it to me? It can.
Here’s how to turn a Kindle ebook into an audiobook on an iPhone 5s:
1. Customize VoiceOver settings. On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Accessibility.
2. Set the reading speed. On the VoiceOver screen, go down to the Speaking Rate bar and adjust it to a speed you like: toward the turtle image for slower, and toward the running rabbit for faster.
3. Choose the reading voice. On the same screen, you can select the voice you want to hear. Choose Speech. Under Default Dialect, you can choose among several English-speaking reading voices, categorized under U.S., Australian, U.K., Irish and South African English. Or tap “Add New Language” to enable one of many other languages.
4. Open your Kindle app (or download it here).
5. Choose a book from your Library. Or go to Amazon.com, select Kindle Store under the All Departments dropdown menu on the search bar, and search for titles (or search “Kindle free books” for free Kindle books to read). You should also check with your local library about borrowing Kindle ebooks.)
6. Open the book. Tap the book and swipe left to page forward through the front matter until you want to start reading.
7. Ask Siri to “turn on VoiceOver.” You can also do this manually by going back to Settings > General > Accessibility. Once you turn on VoiceOver, it reads everything to you. I find it annoying and more difficult to navigate in the iPhone with VoiceOver on, so I don’t enable it until I am ready to use it. After Siri confirms that VoiceOver is enabled, press the Home button once to return to your Kindle book.
8. Start the audio reading. A black border will appear around your Kindle book page. A voice will start to give you instructions. Swipe down with two fingers to begin reading continuously (beginning with the current page and continuing through the book until you stop.
9. Double tap the screen to stop reading and bring up the menu options.
If you’re used to audiobooks read by actors and professional readers, you’ll miss their polished performances. But the voice works for me in a pinch, when I just want to listen to an e-book I already have on my Kindle.
Why not try this with the current Genealogy Gems Book Club featured title, The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson? Click on the book title to order the Kindle e-
book. It’s a perfect summer read: a light-hearted romance with colorful characters and a compelling historical backdrop at the outset of World War I.
This post was brought to you by the free, no-commitment online Genealogy Gems Book Club. We choose titles for their appeal to family history lovers, AND we interview their (often best-selling) authors. Click here to learn more about the Genealogy Gems Book Club.
by Lisa Cooke | Feb 19, 2018 | Premium - All
Premium Video: YDNA Match Page There’s quite a bit to look at in the match table, let’s take it step-by-step. Length: 8 minutes Download the Handout The Presenter: Diahan Southard Diahan is Your DNA Guide at Genealogy Gems! She has worked with the Sorenson...
by Lisa Cooke | Nov 6, 2015 | 01 What's New, Ancestry, British, Church, Findmypast, Immigration, Records & databases
Our review of new genealogy records online this week includes the 1939 Register for England and Wales; church records for Illinois and Kyiv, Ukraine; New York naturalizations and Mexican vital and church records. Which of these may name your family members?
ENGLAND AND WALES POPULATION REGISTER. The 1939 Register is now online at Findmypast, as we blogged about earlier this week. Click here to learn more about this crucial record set for those researching English and Welsh families.
FLASH SALE! Receive a 10% discount off 300 credits on Findmypast now through Friday 13thNovember 2015 at 11.59pm GMT using the code 1939REG10. Click the graphic below to have the discount automatically set up for you.
(When you use our links and graphics you are helping to support the free Genealogy Gems Podcast – thank you!!)
ILLINOIS CHURCH RECORDS. Ancestry has updated its collection of United Methodist Church records for 87 counties in central and southern Illinois. The collection now spans 1824-2009, bridging record gaps like the lack of government vital records in the past and privacy restrictions for more recent records. Click here to search for baptisms, marriages, deaths, family buy worm medication for cats migrations and more. These records are for congregations that are no longer in existence.
MEXICO. For October, Ancestry announced the addition of “more than 250 million Mexican birth, marriage, death, and church records—plus U.S. census, border crossing, and naturalization records.” click here
to search Mexican records on Ancestry–through Monday, October 9, access to these collections is free.
NEW YORK NATURALIZATIONS. Ancestry’s collection of naturalization records for New York (1882-1944) have been updated. click here
to search for immigrant ancestors who may have naturalized in New York, which welcomed millions of immigrants who may have done this paperwork during that time.
UKRAINE CHURCH RECORDS. You can new browse a new collection of Orthodox church records for the Diocese of Kyiv, Ukraine (1734-1920) on FamilySearch. These include duplicate records of baptisms/births, marriages, and burials/deaths created by church officials for civil authorities. Click here to view these records for free (sign-in may be required).
Please help spread the great news! Thank you for sharing these new genealogy records online with your genealogy societies, fellow researchers and family.
Simply copy and paste the URL for this page:
- into an email
- on your Facebook page
- on your society Facebook page
- on Pinterest
by Lisa Cooke | Apr 9, 2015 | 01 What's New, Maps, Volunteer
The Beaver Map, 1715. By Special Collections Toronto Public Library. Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons.
Recently I’ve seen two calls for volunteers to help “georeference” old maps. Basically, you’re tagging the maps in a way similar to tagging photos of people on social media sites. This makes finding old maps online easier and more accurate. It also allows sites to overlay the old and new maps. “Some places have changed significantly or disappeared completely, creating a puzzle that reveals an exciting contrast,” explains the British Library.
These two sites are asking for volunteers:
The British Library Online Gallery. The British Library is asking for volunteers to help georeference 50,000 maps it’s put online. Go right to the site and you’ll see the invitation to help on the home page. You’ll also see that you can click on a tab to search maps that are already georeferenced! The British Library tells its volunteers: “Your name will be credited, and your efforts will significantly improve public access to these collections. Contributors can see the results of their work, as well as the progress of the pilot and other participants, and the top contributor will be publicly announced.”
David Rumsey Historical Maps. This mega-maps site is also looking for volunteers to help add locations to its online map collections. On the home page, click on the left where it says Georeferencer: Help Add Location to Maps.
We blog about maps a lot here at Genealogy Gems. To learn more about using old maps online and for genealogy, go to our home page and search on the Maps category on the lower left side of the page. Additionally, Genealogy Gems Premium members have access to full-length video classes like these:
Not a Genealogy Gems Premium member? Click here to become one!
