We are delighted to share genealogy tech tips with you each week in these new videos. It’s Lisa’s way to share tips and tricks for your genealogy and your overall internet research success. You don’t have to be a lover of all things genealogy to love a good tech tip and we think you’ll agree!
Our Google guru, Lisa Louise Cooke, has been busy creating short, informative tech tip videos for you. You will find these videos first posted to our Facebook page. Be sure to always see what’s new by “liking” The Genealogy Gems Podcast page.
Additionally, you can comment, like, and share directly from Facebook. This is a great way to share these tips with your genealogy friends and society members.
Each week, Lisa will share with you what’s new in the world of technology and especially those tips that will make you a better and more effective genealogist.
Lisa’s first video, Free Google E-Books for Genealogy and Family History, walks you through the steps of accessing free digital books from the comfort of your home. From county histories to family histories, Google e-books are a treasure trove of genealogical information. Using Google e-books helped me find several pictures of ancestors that I had never seen—and that was just the start.
We think you’ll also enjoy our most recent tech tip video entitled How to Use Google Chrome to Identify Old Photos and Images for Genealogy and Family History. Using Google Chrome for your internet browser can be an effective tool for identifying images that are more universally known. While this likely won’t be able to identify an unknown person in your ancestry, you may be able to figure out the location a postcard image was taken.
Join us each week as Lisa shares these great tips for genealogy and more! If you find the information helpful, why not share with your genie friends too!
The Genealogy Gems website is now mobile-friendly. Your go-to family history resource just got a whole lot easier to read on-the-go!
Here at Genealogy Gems we are working hard every day to create a compelling resource for genealogy inspiration, tips, tech tools and news you can use RIGHT NOW. That’s why we are pleased as punch to let you know that our new mobile-friendly site design makes it easier to soak up all the ideas on our pages regardless of the size of your device’s screen.
Here are some of our website highlights that are especially mobile-friendly:
The free Genealogy Gems podcast (with over 1.75 million downloads) has been entertaining and educating family history lovers around the world for almost 10 years. Back in the “old” days (circa 2007) the only way to get your hands on a podcast (recorded “radio” show) was to download iTunes, subscribe to the podcast, and listen through your computer speakers. If you were lucky enough to have an iPod you could plug it in and figure out how to transfer the audio files so you could listen untethered from your computer. Today, smartphones make it oh-so-easy to take us with you when commuting, exercising, gardening and more. You can subscribe to the free show through the Podcasts app (iOS) or better yet download the Genealogy Gems app (in the iTunes Store and for Android) and you’ll also get access to great bonus content.
Our daily blog keeps readers up to date on new genealogy record collections, industry news, the genetic genealogy industry and technology tools. We boost your research skills, take you to must-see news articles and more. Mobile readers can get their daily dose of genealogy gems from our website or by following our Facebook page (See us First on Facebook to stay current on our posts). Our convenient category search (you’ll find it in the upper left corner of our home page) makes it easy to target posts on your favorite topics.
The free Family History Made Easy podcast teaches listeners step-by-step, episode by episode, how to start their genealogy research off right–and keep it going. Refresh your skills with the entire series or catch individual episodes for a targeted brush-up.
Premium Members-Only videos and podcast. Genealogy Gems Premium members can access over 2 dozen instructional videos on Lisa’s most popular topics (the same standing-room-only content Lisa delivers at top conferences). The premium podcast delivers more of Lisa’s signature brand of warm conversation, expert interviews, how-tos and more. Click here to learn more about Premium membership and take the best of Lisa Louise Cooke along wherever you go.
Join me for Elevenses with Lisa, the online video series where we take a break, visit and learn.
In this episode I share viewers’ family tree display, the latest genealogy news, answer your questions about my genealogy organization method, and show you how I file use Evernote and cloud notetaking in conjunction with my organization system. (This series on genealogy organization began with Elevenses with Lisaepisode 6.) Scroll down for all the show notes for this episode.
About a month ago YouTube alerted that our Genealogy Gems channel had qualified to have a merch store. I couldn’t resist the temptation to create a mug of our very own for our time together each week!
Elevenses with Lisa Merch availabe at the Genealogy Gems Store on YouTube
Genealogy News:
Free Access to Military Records and Yearbooks at MyHeritage for a Limited Time
In honor of Memorial Day, MyHeritage is offering free access to all if their military records from May 20–26, 2020. The MyHeritage collection consists of 57 million records and includes draft, enlistment, and service records, pension records, and other military documents from North America and around the world, dating back to the American Revolutionary War in the late 18th century.
Remember, Colorized U.S. Yearbooks are available at MyHeritage for free through May 23, 2020.
Linda wrote in this week and shared her family history display. She said her daughter-in-law started it in 2009 and she took the ball and ran with it, and she even added family photos.
“I am really enjoying your Elevenses videos.”
Linda’s Family Tree Display
Organizing Your Genealogy Files Q&A
From Lynnette:
Q: I have my “working” tree on Family Treemaker 3–a very old version and not supported now. Can I make a GEDCOM from this program to upload into Roots Magic?
A: Yes!
From Barbara:
Q: By “master database” do you mean, e.g., My Heritage or Ancestry?
A: The buck stops with you. Click here to listen to Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #229 to hear more on the importance of a genealogy master database.
From C Davis:
Q: How will your family know how to use your genealogy database, let alone program name?
A: It’s the same challenge when it comes to your passwords, bank accounts, etc. The Family Heirloom Tracking Binder offers a solution. Download the template from Elevenses with Lisa Episode 6 Show Notes here.
From Janice
Q: So, if you have recent documentation(not available online) for living people, like birth certificates, do you save those in a binder?
A: You can. I have mine in easy to grab folders with “official documents” in my file cabinet.
From Robin:
Q: Do you download and save the census docs from the main sites like Ancestry and FamilySearch – as those are not most likely going to close and can be retrieved anytime…
A: Absolutely! Click here to read my article “If My Ancestry Subscription Expires, What Happens to My Tree?”
From Linda
Q: What year do you put first? Is it the birth year of the person or the date and place of the photo?
A: The year and location of the photo.
From Robin:
Q: Why do you use underscores in your file names?
A: It’s not necessary. Nice for spacing.
From MargtheCar
Q: Does Evernote work if the URL is behind a paid wall?
A: No. You will be prompted to log in to the website.
From BeeMelo
Q: What kind of scanner do you use?
A: My scanner: The Epson Perfection V550 Photo flatbed scanner. (I LOVE this scanner! It can do the high resolution I need for all my projects. If you decide to buy online, I appreciate it when you use my links because we will be compensated at no additional cost to you. This helps support this free show.)
Organizing Web Information with Evernote
Note-taking software is your active research.
Final archiving of documents: on your hard drive backed up to the cloud.
Select a free note-taking tool such as:
Evernote
OneNote
Benefits:
Web Clipper built in
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Syncing across devices
Note restoration to a new device
Free software, mobile app
Universal use
Get the Evernote Web Clipper from your browser’s app store.
Types of Notes: typed, handwritten, audio, photos, videos, drawings.
Don’t Print, Clip!
Types of Tags I recommend:
Record Type (ex. Census)
Surname (ex. Jones)
Locations (ex. Minnesota)
Action to be taken (ex. Follow Up)
BSO (AKA Bright Shiny Object!)
The options are limitless!
Stay Smart, Stay Brave
I always think very carefully about what I want to say to you each and every week, and particularly how I close each episode and the thoughts that I leave you with. Lately, it seems like everyone says “stay safe” particularly as they say goodbye or end an email. I’d just like to share a few thoughts with you about this phrase. “Be safe” implies fear, and when fear kicks in, it replaces reason. “Be safe” also implies that it’s attainable in this life, and it’s not really possible to be completely safe.
I like more empowering salutations like “be smart”, “think, and make good decisions for yourself”, and “be brave”.
At the end of episode 6 I told you that I believe that not knowing your family history is like arriving 60 minutes into a movie and expecting to understand the story.
Family History is Knowing the Full Story – Lisa Louise Cooke
And of course if we know this story then we can also help our kids and our grand kids know theirs. And that’s so important for children to hear about the adversity the family has faced and how it overcame it. This helps them be resilient. This current adversity we face, like all adversity, is temporary in nature, and will evolve. We have the opportunity to help the kids in our lives understand that and gain a longer range perspective. (Click here to watch my conversation with New York Times best-selling author and television personality Bruce Feiler on How Family History Creates Happy Families.)
This is SO on my mind because my family is my number one priority. So, I’ve been looking carefully again at my family history these last few weeks, and I noticed something very interesting about my ancestors. None of them appeared to be preoccupied with staying safe.
In fact, there were an overwhelming number of brave and hard-working people in my family. So this week, consider taking an inventory of your family, and cultivate the simple stories of bravery and persistence that exist there in your family tree.
With Memorial Day approaching this weekend here in America, it’s a timely reminder that we are a country with a rich history of risk-taking and bravery, particularly in the name of freedom. So I’d like to end this episode with a short video I produced a few years ago that pays tribute to the very brave men and women who have served their country, featuring an historical author who happens to be from the other side of the ocean.
Stay wise, stay brave, and thanks so much for watching friends.
Note: Author Chris Cleave was my guest in Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast episode 139. Premium Members can click here to listen now. Click here or the image below to get your copy of this wonderful book:
From New York Times bestselling author and Genealogy Gems Podcast guest Chris Cleave.
Learn much more about strategic web clipping with Evernote in Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast episode #101
Evernote for Genealogists Quick Reference Guide by Lisa Louise Cooke in the Genealogy Gems Store.
I’d Like to Hear from You
In this episode I encouraged you to leave your comments in the Comments section below the video on YouTube. Silly me, I didn’t realize that the Comments section doesn’t appear under the Live video because there is a live chat in progress. It only becomes available after the show has ended and the video replay is posted. However, I thank all of you who left comments in the Live Chat about what you would like to talk about in future episodes of Elevenses with Lisa. Two topics I suggested were How to Save Your Research from Destruction and Using Google Photos for Genealogy. Please leave a comment below to let me know what you would like to hear about and learn about in upcoming episodes. And of course I welcome your questions. Thanks for watching!
Choosing genealogy apps can be like watching a three-ring circus, but not when you let me, your ringmaster, direct you to the best genealogy tools for your mobile device.
In my brand new article Under the Big Top featured in the March / April 2016 issue of Family Tree Magazine, we’ll skip the side shows and get right to main acts of the best apps for genealogy, like:
The Strong Men – the genealogy apps that pull a lot of weight, giving you constant access to your online tree and or the ability to search for historical records.
The Lion Tamers– A genealogy database on your computer puts you in control of your tree, but you also want to be able to access that data when you hit the road. These companion apps to two popular desktop programs let you take your master family tree with you.
The Balancing Acts– There’s a lot to juggle when it comes to genealogy: documents, stories, photos, trees, and more. These genealogy apps will help you find the right balance and fly through your research with the greatest of ease.
Send in the Clowns – Clowns bring smiles to our faces, and these apps will bring smiles to your face and the faces of the children in your family – the future genealogists!
This issue also features an excellent article by our own Sunny Morton. It’s called “Triple Threat,” and Sunny explains how the “big three” genealogy sites (Ancestry, FamilyMyPast, and MyHeritage) measure up to each other—and to your research needs. She compares the sites’ records, search features, and more.
For many more on the genealogy apps to use for your family history research, turn to Mobile Genealogy: How to Use Your Tablet and Smartphone for Family History Research.
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Watch this free video class for more tips from your app ringmaster!
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!
Using Evernote for genealogy yet? I hear from people all over the world who are harnessing this free software to finally organize their family history research FOR GOOD!
Evernote users can easily import online research finds–along with the URL and other important source information. Many people are bringing their family history papers (original documents and paper-based research) into Evernote, too. All their research materials together, keyword and OCR-searchable, in one space, accessible from and fully-synched across all your devices. Sigh! It’s wonderful!
There’s so much demand in the genealogy community for learning to use Evernote for genealogy that I’ve started a YouTube series: Evernote for Genealogy. Two videos are posted so far:
These videos are absolutely free to watch, and they’ll get anyone started using Evernote for genealogy. And of course all the Evernote applications are free too! Who do you know who would benefit from getting organized? I hope you’ll share these videos with your friends and relatives! How about the students in your life? Or your co-workers? We may be using genealogy, but note-taking and organization are important to everyone.
Ready to take your Evernote learning a little further? Become a Genealogy Gems Premium member. Members have a full-year’s access to the ultimate Evernote education: my in-depth video series! Full-length classes for Premium members include:
Premium members also get access to my “Get Started with Evernote” mini video series:
Episode 1– Signing Up for Your Free Evernote Account & Downloading the Desktop App Episode 2 – Getting the Web Clipper Episode 3 – How to Clip Using Evernote’s Desktop Clipper Episode 4– How to Clip Content Using Evernote’s Browser Web Clipper Episode 5– How to Use Evernote’s Web Clipper for Chrome
Click here to find even more resources for using Evernote for genealogy! And thanks for sharing this post with others who would benefit from using Evernote to organize their genealogy research.
Convert Files for Free with this Online Tool I Use
your mobile device.
you in control of your tree, but you also want to be able to access that data when you hit the road. These companion apps to two popular desktop programs let you take your master family tree with you.
measure up to each other—and to your research needs. She compares the sites’ records, search features, and more.
research FOR GOOD!