Elevenses with Lisa Episode 22 Video and Show Notes
Live show air date: August 20, 2020
Join me for Elevenses with Lisa, the online video series where we take a break, visit and learn about genealogy and family history.
Please note: As is often the case with technology, sometimes things just don’t work like you think they will. As it turns out, items displayed clearly on my computer in Google Earth were not displaying in the live stream or captured on the video. Don’t worry, if you ever want to create a digital movie of your Google Earth maps, Google Earth has a video recording feature built in so this won’t happen. However, I did everything in this episode live and in real-time through live stream which apparently was at the root of the problem. Keep reading, because I have all the notes for you on what we covered, as well as screen shot images of everything that did not appear on the screen in the video!
Using Google Earth to Capture Your Ancestors’ Neighborhood
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, and we are going to have some fun exploring one of my ancestors’ neighborhoods. Along the way I think you’ll pick up some interesting ideas on how you can explore your ancestors’ lives in a deeper way by getting to know their neighbors.
While you may not find it worthwhile to create a project like this for every family in your family tree, it could prove very helpful for:
writing a story
writing a family history blog post or article
writing a book
creating a family history story video
teaching kids about the family history
satisfying your curiosity!
We see our ancestors’ neighborhoods when we review census records. But have you ever wondered what was life really like in their neighborhood? This project can answer questions such as:
Did they live close together?
Did they share the same backgrounds?
Did any of them work together?
Did they have things in common?
Were there a lot of children on the street?
The Google Earth Neighborhood Project
The genealogy project I’m creating in Google Earth in this video is the neighborhood of my great grandparents who lived in San Francisco from 1900-1912. Now, don’t be discouraged if your ancestors were farmers. Remember, everyone has neighbors and a community. Every community has records.
The Census: The 1910 U.S. Federal Census tells us that they lived at 288 Connecticut Street, San Francisco, CA.
Most of their close neighbors, don’t appear on the same page with them. Instead, the neighbors of Connecticut Street appear on the previous page. Always look at the pages before and after the page where you find your ancestor. Often you will find other relatives, close friends, and other people with connections to your family.
For this project we will need the free Google Earth Pro software. Although Google Earth is available in a Web version and an app, these do not include all of the same tools. I always use the software. If you already have Google Earth, check to see if you have the most recent version.
You will also need an a good internet connection to operate Google Earth.
Follow along with the video with the notes below.
Rumsey Historical Maps
In the Layers panel, turn on Rumsey Historical Maps in the Gallery by clicking to check the box. Gold medallion icons will appear on the map. Hover your mouse over the icons to see the title and date. Click the select a map. In the pop-up box, click the thumbnail image of the historic map to automatically overlay it.
The map will be listed in the Temporary Places at the bottom of the Places panel. You can click drag and drop it to any location within the Places panel.
Videos in Placemarks
Videos before and after the great earthquake of 1906 (See Images) Add videos from YouTube to placemarks by copying the Share embed code and pasting it into the Description area of the placemark.
Historical YouTube video displayed in a Google Earth placemark.
Map Overlays
Click the box to activate items like the custom map overlay I created using the 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Connecticut Street.
Search for Addresses
Search for addresses like 288 Connecticut, San Francisco in the search box in the upper right corner of Google Earth.
Add Placemarks in Google Earth
Set a placemark for a home by clicking the Placemark icon (yellow pushpin) in the toolbar the top of the screen.
Use Street View to Get a Closer Look
Visit the street up close and person with Street View. Click on the Street View icon in the upper right corner, drag it over to the map, and drop it on the blue line.
Add Photos to Placemarks
Photos can be embedded into placemarks, such as the photo of my Grandpa and his father (See Image)
Photo of my grandather being held by his father displayed in a Google Earth placemark.
and the photo of my Great Grandfather next to his streetcar. (See Image)
Click the placemark to display the photo.
If you add images from your computer, they will only appear when the map is viewed in Google Earth on your computer. If you host the image in cloud on a photo sharing site or your own website, you will be able to share your map file with other people and they will be able to view the images.
Plot Where Your Ancestors Lived Using Placemarks
Search for each family address and mark the locations with placemarks.
3D Models in Google Earth
3D models (like the streetcar I showed) are created by other Google Earth users and are available online. The HTML code is pasted into a placemark. (You can learn more about this in episode 13 of my Google Earth for Genealogy video tutorial series.
Search for Neighbors
Search for the addresses of neighbors you find in the census and other records.
The census image displayed in a Google Earth placemark.
In this case I searched for the address I found for Bertin & Lenora Hall (293 Connecticut.) Bertin was a locomotive engineer, born in the United State, and they were renting their home.)
Add a Folder to the Google Earth Places Panel
You can add folders to help keep your items organized in the Places panel by right-clicking on MyPlaces, and selecting Add > New Folder. Name the folder as desired, and then drag and drop it to the desired location in the Places
Use Historical Maps from a Variety of Years
Comparing the locations with maps from various years helps you see the evolution of the neighborhood. Notice that some maps don’t line up exactly with the modern map. This is due to inaccuracies often found in old maps.
Add Country of Origin Icons
We can learn more about the makeup of the neighborhood by designating their country of origin. Some neighborhoods may be predominately filled with many people from the same country or even village. Others, like my Great Grandfather’s neighborhood, were quite diverse:
Burkett – U.S.
Hall – U.S.
Dunne – Ireland
Becker – German
Harrington – England
Crawford – Scotland
McTiernan – Irish
Rutherford – Canada
Geib – Germany
Customize Placemark Icons
Add custom icon images to represent the family’s country of origin. Images around 40 px x 40 px work well. (Premium Members click here to download the icons I used.)
Customizing the placemark icon in Google Earth
The Google Earth Opacity Slider
Use the Opacity slider to make a map overlay being displayed more transparent. Start by clicking the space just below the map in the Places panel in order to select it. Then click the Opacity button at the bottom of the Places Slide the slider to change the transparency.
Add Details to the Placemark Description
I typed information into the Description area of my placemarks such as their occupation, fully street address and country of origin. Typically the first two lines of text will be visible in the Places Click the placemark to open and read or add all of the information desired.
Researching and Recording Occupations
Explore old maps, city directories, county histories and other resources to locate possible places of employment. You can then mark each location with a placemark. I used the “wrench” icon to represent work.
Search for Locations
Where did David Rutherford work? I searched for “Cannery San Francisco” and sure enough Google Earth found a site in the northern part of the city.
The Neighborhood School
Let’s not forget the children – I marked the school attended by my grandfather and a photo of him with his classmates. (SeeImage Below)
My grandpa and his school mates c. 1911.
The Future of the Neighborhood
The neighborhood continued to grow well after they left as revealed by another David Rumsey historic map from 1938 found in the Layers Panel > Gallery.
The newest genealogy records to hit the Internet are exciting because of the wide range subjects they cover. Peruse these carefully because there just may be a genealogy gem waiting just for you!
New and Updated Free Records from FamilySearch
The newest additions to the FamilySearch collections are global in their reach, and best of all they are free. Here’s the latest:
Obituaries are a staple of genealogical research. Here’s the latest from the folks at Ancestry:
“Ancestry® updated its collection of US obituaries by combing through millions of digital obituaries to key names, relationships and other facts so members can now easily search these records with just one click.
This initiative first announced at RootsTech uses new sophisticated artificial intelligence technology.
The new Newspapers.com Obituary Collection and the upgraded Ancestry U.S. Obituary Collection will expand Ancestry’s unparalleled historical record collections that enable people around the world to uncover their family history, spark their own journey of discovery and inspire meaningful conversations.
Obituary collections include over 262 million worldwide obituaries and death announcements with almost 1 billionsearchable family members
US Obituary Collection, 1930-Current search is the world’s largest, searchabledigital archive, now includes 4x more searchable family members
Newspapers.com Obituary Index includes facts from nearly 200 millionNewspapers.com obituaries
Newspapers.comis the largest online newspaper archive, with over 525+ million pages of historical newspapers, including obituaries, from thousands of printed newspapers across the United States and beyond.
Members with an Ancestry All Access or Newspapers.com Basic subscription have a 1-click option to view the full obituary on Newspapers.com. Some images may require a Publisher Extra subscription as certain newspapers require additional licenses to view their content.”
From the State Archives of North Carolina blog comes a very interesting addition ton an existing Civil War digital collection:
A selection of 12 volumes from the Soldiers’ Home Association have been added to the Civil War digital collection. These volumes document the history of medical care for veterans and the elderly around the turn of the 19th century.”
“These volumes provide recorded information on veterans’ military service, illnesses or injuries that might not have been recorded elsewhere. Some volumes include patients’ requests for their burial and funeral wishes. The volumes included are listed below:
Discover your Scouse ancestor’s address, occupation and who they were living with in 1801. Findmypast now offers over 13,000 new and exclusive early census records. Don’t miss the images because they provide additional information about your ancestor’s abode.
The 1801 census was the first official census to be carried out in Britain. It estimated the population of England and Wales to be 8.9 million, and that of Scotland to be 1.6 million.
The 1801 census comprised two parts:
the first was related to the number of people, their occupations, and numbers of families and houses.
The second was a collection of the numbers of baptisms, marriages and burials, thus providing an indication of the rate at which the population was increasing or decreasing.
Over 75,000 new records covering 52 parishes across the Cornish peninsula are now available to search at Findmypast.
These transcripts reveal 5 key pieces of information:
when your ancestor was buried
where your ancestor was buried
their age at death,
residence
and relatives’ names.
Click here to search the Cornwall Burials collection.
Kent Burials
And finally, Findmypast has added 12,000 new records to their collection last week. The majority of these new additions cover Swanscombe municipal cemetery and will reveal where and when your ancestor was buried as well as the names of their spouse and father. Click here to search the Kent Burial records.
New Records Coming Soon
Recently announced on the University of Georgia website:
“Through a new partnership with Google, about 120,000 of the Libraries’ 4.5 million volumes will be digitized, allowing further access to literary, historic, scientific and reference books and journals through UGA’s library catalog as well as one of the largest digital book collections in the world.”
“In addition to more modern materials that will be available for preview online, other examples of volumes available in full text include shipping registers from as far back as 1764 and Atlanta city directories dating back to 1870.
The project also advances a longstanding effort to provide digital access to state and federal government publications, and free digital access will be available to works by Balzac, Sir Francis Bacon, Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Hardy and other historically significant authors, thanks to UGA Libraries.”
Did one of these new and updated digital genealogy collections deliver what you’ve been waiting for? Please share your discovering in the Comments below. And click here to subscribe to the free Genealogy Gems newsletter to receive all the latest in new and updated genealogy records for your family history.
The new featured title of our genealogy book club has been announced. We’re guessing this NYT-bestselling British novelist will win your heart, if she didn’t already with her breakout first novel.
A smart young woman who’s traveled the world finds herself suddenly in a much more provincial setting: East Sussex, England. She spends the summer distracted by petty local politics, financial frustrations and the beginnings of a possible romance. Then the Great War begins–not so far from her new home.
That’s the premise of British author Helen Simonson’s new novel, The Summer Before the War, and our newest Genealogy Gems Book Club title. Those who have been waiting for Helen’s follow-up to her stunning debut, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, won’t be disappointed. Her first book became a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into 21 languages. The Summer Before the Waris another great read: light and charming, with a dash of romance and humor, a lovable heroine and a compelling historical setting. It’s so easy to read and love this book!
It’s the early 1900s, and main character Beatrice Nash has recently lost her father. The estate settlement lost her control over her own funds and freedom. She comes to a small English town as a Latin teacher and must mind her manners and local politics to keep her job. Beatrice meets a man and the appeal appears mutual, but he’s already engaged.
This isn’t just Beatrice’s story, though. You’ll meet an entire buy psoriasis medication online village full of charming and irascible and expatriate and unconventional and way-too-conventional and mysterious characters, including the local gentry and the local gypsies. They all have their own stories, which unfold as they begin to experience the first great shock of the 20th century close-up: World War I. First it’s the stunned refugees who take refuge in their village. Then locals begin enlisting. Eventually you’ll see the battlefront through their eyes, but not all of them may make it back to the town that to Beatrice is becoming home.
Genealogy Book Club Podcast Interview with Helen Simonson
Despite the awful realities her characters face, Helen Simonson somehow writes a novel that is easy and enjoyable to read. I ask her how she did that–and lots of other questions–in an exclusive interview coming this June on the Genealogy Gems podcasts. You’ll hear more about the idyllic setting she chose and her personal connection to it; how she researched the historical setting; and what it’s like to be an emigrant who longed to leave home and now misses it dearly.
Get Your Copy & Support the Free Podcast Featuring Author Interviews
So snatch up a copy from our links here (which support the free podcast–thank you!) or your local library. And let us know what you love about it!
English parish records top this week’s list of new online genealogy records. More new or updated family history collections: British newspapers, pensions and India records; records for Brazil, Germany, The Netherlands, Peru, and Poland; UK images and deaths; US...
The mysterious deaths of a father and son present a perfect opportunity for using Google for genealogy.
Recently I heard from Lydia, who has just started listening to my podcasts. She asked a great question that Google can help answer:
“I have two relatives, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, who died under conditions where an inquest was conducted. I wrote to the county clerk’s office in Joplin, MO. They were only able to send me the “bill” for both inquests, stating they had no other information. What I want to know, what they didn’t answer, was are they the ones to ask for the inquest report? If it still exists who would have it?”
She shared their names (both Esterline) and details about their deaths and I just couldn’t help myself: I had to Google them myself. There’s nothing like a couple of mysterious deaths–two generations in a row!–to pique my curiosity.
Here’s the path I took and take-home tips to offer anyone looking for genealogical records:
1) A Google search for: coroner’s inquest 1928 Missouri delivered the Coroner’s Inquest database at the Missouri Digital Heritage archive. From there, you discover that you can request copies of records by emailing the citation for the record you want to the Missouri State Archives at archref@sos.mo.gov. According to the instructions, “The record will be located, the number of pages counted, and you will be notified by email of the cost of the copies. Upon receipt of a check, the copies will be made and mailed to you. There may also be additional notations in the record about other locations where the files can be accessed.” Interestingly, when I searched for her two relatives, I didn’t find them, but there was a file for a woman with the same surname: Esterline. It’s worth seeing if she’s related somehow.
2) I was suspicious about no other Esterlines coming up in the database, so I tried a search in the Archives on Joplin and Jasper to see if other cases from that town or county come up in the results, and they don’t. Further digging reveals: “The Coroner’s Inquest Database project is ongoing; additional counties will be added to the database as completed.” However, it would be very worthwhile to contact them by email and inquire as to where this county is in the queue and where the physical files are now. Another result in that same Google search reveals which counties the Archive currently does have: includes Andrew, Cape Girardeau, Clinton, Cole, Greene, Pemiscot, Perry, St. Charles, St. Francois, St. Louis, and Stoddard (coverage varies by county).
3) After searching a single database on a website like Missouri Digital Heritage, I always look for a global search page, where I can search all databases on the site at once. Missouri Digital Heritage has one here. A search on Esterline brings up not only death certificates (which you probably already have) but city directory entries, newspapers and more.
4) I always recommend that genealogists get to know their record sources. Again, through my Google search I discovered The Laws of Missouri Relating to Inquests and Coroners (1945). This may provide some further insight. And the FamilySearch Wiki is always invaluable. Here’s the page on Missouri Vital Records and it states that “original records are available on microfilm at the Missouri State Archives.”
5) I pretty much always do a quick search specifically at Google Books since they have over 25 million books. I searched Ben Esterline and the first result was a listing in the Annual Report of the Bureau of the Mines (1932) (the year he died!): “FATAL ACCIDENTS— LEAD AND ZINC MINES Ben Esterline, prospector.” The book is not fully digitized in Google Books, but click “Libraries that have it” and you’ll be taken to the card catalog listing in WorldCat which will show you where you can obtain it.
I’m telling you, Google is the most powerful, flexible, furthest-reaching free genealogy search engine out there—and it’s right at our fingertips! But you do need to learn how to use it effectively, or you could find yourself wading through 87,400 results for an ancestor like “Ben Esterline.” Instead, learn the strategies I teach in The Google’s Genealogist Toolbox. This second edition–new in 2015–is fully updated and loaded with techniques and examples on search strategies and tools that help you use Google for genealogy (and everything else in your life!). Click here to order your copy and you’ll start Google searching much smarter, much sooner.
breakout first novel.
, won’t be disappointed. Her first book became a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into 21 languages. 
Despite the awful realities her characters face, Helen Simonson somehow writes a novel that is easy and enjoyable to read. I ask her how she did that–and lots of other questions–in an exclusive interview coming this June on the Genealogy Gems podcasts. You’ll hear more about the idyllic setting she chose and her personal connection to it; how she researched the historical setting; and what it’s like to be an emigrant who longed to leave home and now misses it dearly.
Missouri delivered the 