Historical Maps of Major U.S. Cities and More in New Online Tool

1836 map of New York City compared to modern satellite image, shown with each map in "spyglass" format. Image from David Rumsey Map Collection blog at DavidRumsey.com.

1836 map of New York City compared to modern satellite image, shown with each map in “spyglass” format. Image from David Rumsey Map Collection blog at DavidRumsey.com.

I love showing people how to use online tools to compare historical maps to modern ones. You can map out your ancestor’s address, check out their neighborhoods “then and now,” map their route to work, see if their old home still exists and more.

Well, the online Smithsonian magazine has created an exciting new interface for six American cities. Now you can compare modern satellite imagery with bird’s-eye views of:

You’ll see great city layouts before the fire that claimed much of old Chicago, the San Francisco earthquake, the Lincoln memorial and more. The historical map of New York City is the oldest, but the other maps capture each city at a critical point in their growth. For each city you can look at a historical map with a “spyglass” mouse-over of a modern satellite image, or vice-versa, as shown in the New York City map on the right. Each map is accompanied by a fantastic Smithsonian article; the historical maps come from the amazing David Rumsey Map Collection.

As many of you know, it’s possible to do something similar (or even better) with Google’s amazing mapping tools. Learn how to do that with these three Genealogy Gems resources:

1. My FREE Google Earth Video, which teaches you how to unlock mysteries in your research, from unidentified photographs to pinpointing homesteads;

2. My Google Earth 2-Disk Bundle, with detailed demonstrations and examples so you can SEE for yourself how to use Google’s mapping tools;

3. My new Time Travel with Google Earth video, in which you’ll see old maps, genealogical records, images, and videos come together to create stunning time travel experiences in Google Earth. This is available to Genealogy Gems Premium Members (learn more membership here).

 

 

 

 

Switch to Inbox by Gmail App or Improve Your Existing Gmail: It’s Your Choice

 

Switch to Inbox by Gmail App or Improve Your Existing Gmail: It's Your Choice

 

Inbox by Gmail app has some great features and if you’re willing to go all-in and are up for a big change, go for it. If not, here are some ideas for improving your regular Gmail experience. 

About a year ago, Google announced the new Inbox by Gmail app. I didn’t cover it then because they had bugs to work out. But, I’ve been keeping an eye on it. It’s a bit overwhelming, however, if you are up for the change here’s a quick video summary of what it does.

As a recap, the Inbox by Gmail app can:

  • Bundle similar messages for you, like offers and promos;
  • Recognize emails about travel reservations and bundle those together; and lastly,
  • It allows you to browse photos in emails without opening the message.

You can also do a lot of housekeeping and organizing tasks yourself. For example, you can:

  • Pin messages that you want to come back to, then click on a thumbtack icon to show all pinned messages;
  • Snooze an email message by marking it to pop back up to the top of your list at the time and date you indicate;
  • Create easy reminder messages for things you need to do; and
  • Keyword-search your emails just like you do in Google. Sometimes, the search function is even smart enough to answer questions for you. Like when I type in “flight Indianapolis” for my upcoming trip to the Midwestern Roots conference in July, I get an email with my flight reservation in my search results. At the top, I will also see a nice summary of my flight information that Google extracted from that email and puts right in front of me.

These are pretty slick features, but they come with a price: Inbox by Gmail is a dramatic change from Gmail which some might find a difficult transition.

Improve Your Regular Gmail Experience without Using the Inbox by Gmail App

If you’re not quite ready to switch to Inbox by Gmail, there are ways to enhance and improve your experience using regular Gmail. I don’t know about you, but I don’t use the “Chat” feature on Gmail very often. However, that little chat box pops up right below the labels, and that means that when you select a label lower down on the list, it’s easy to accidentally open the chat box. Frustrating indeed!

Make your life just a little bit easier by changing the location of your chat box. Go to Settings, then click on Labs. Click to Enable the Right-side chat feature. Chat moves out of the way over to the right and the problem is solved.

For those of you who don’t use the Chat feature at all, you can completely turn it off. Simply go to Settings, Click the Labs tab, click to select Chat Off, and then click Save Changes.  Ah, this gives you a cleaner, less cluttered, Gmail to work with. Nice!

Inbox by gmail 1

An important thing to remember about changing any of your Gmail settings is that you must click the Save button on the page to apply the changes.
Switch to the new Inbox by Gmail app or just improve your existing email with this little tip, the choice is yours. Thanks for sharing this tip with your friends…it’s nice to share, isn’t it?

More Genealogy Gems on Apps for Genealogy

4 Great Local History Apps for Genealogists

Best Genealogy Apps Under the Big Topshare

The Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast 134: Tips and Apps for Oral History Interviews on Your Mobile Device (The Premium subscription required)

 

Upcoming Events and Lectures for Lisa

We know you want to keep up-to-date with where Lisa will be giving her lectures and presentations. This fall, we have three upcoming events. Here all the details:

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Lisa Louise Cooke speaking at the Columbus Ohio Metropolitan Library

Upcoming Events: Kansas

The Johnson County Genealogical Society will be holding an all day seminar on the 22nd of October. Lisa’s topics include:

  • How to Reopen and Work a Genealogical Cold Case
  • The Great Google Earth Game Show
  • Tap Into Your Inner Private Eye: Nine Strategies for Finding Living Relatives
  • Ways to Enhance Your Genealogy Research with Old Maps

What: Johnson County Genealogical Society 2016 Annual Seminar

When: Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016

Where: The Ritz Charles Event Center, 9000 West 137th Street, Overland Park, KS 66221

The event will take place at the Ritz Charles Event Center, 9000 West 137th St., Overland Park, Kansas. Registration is now open. To register online, click here.

Upcoming Event: Texas

Next on the list is the four day conference hosted by the Texas State Genealogical Society. This conference will take place in Dallas on October 27th through the 30th, and includes 35 speakers and an exhibit hall. Lisa will be giving two lectures:

  • Beginning Evernote for Genealogists
  • Using Google Earth for Genealogy

What: Texas State Genealogical Society Conference

When: Oct. 27 – 30, 2016

Where: Crowne Plaza Dallas Downtown

Online registration and payment is available through October 21st, but after that date you will need to register and pay in-person at the event, if space is still available.

Upcoming Events: Florida

Lisa’s final in-person speaking engagement for 2016 will be presenting as the Keynote Speaker for the 20th Annual Central Florida Family History Conference.

What: 20th Annual Central Florida Family History Conference

When: Saturday, November 12, 2016

Where: Olympia High School at 4301 S. Apopka Vineland Rd., Orlando, Florida.

You can register for the all-day conference online here. If you have a young person who is interested in genealogy, you’ll want to be aware that all students under the age of 18 are admitted free! Learn more details by visiting the Central Florida Family History Conference homepage.

Can’t Make it to an Upcoming Event?

Premium_2016A Premium Membership to Genealogy Gems will give you access to over 30 of Lisa Louise Cooke’s video classes. From Evernote to DNA, Cloud computing and advanced research techniques, you will find this a great resource for your learning and inspiration. For more information on becoming a Premium Member, click here.

 

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