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Family Tree Newsletter 7-7-05

Posted by GFA Terry <gfaterry@aol.com> on Thu, 07 Jul 2005

* Canada's 11th-hour Census Bill
* Tease Out Trafalgar Ancestors
* Hope for Historical Records
* Register Early and Save
* Worthwhile Web Sites
* Speakers' Schedule

CANADA'S 11TH-HOUR CENSUS BILL
After a harrowing ride through Canada's House of Commons, the
bill that will let Canadians access 1911 census records has
become law. The impending legislative recess almost prevented
the required third reading of bill S-18, which would've killed the
legislation.

But June 28 the House unanimously approved a member's
proposal that the bill be deemed to have passed its third reading.
That authorizes the immediate release of the 1911 census; the
public can see other 20th-century censuses 92 years after they
were taken. Starting in 2006, Canadians filling out census forms
will need to give consent for their census information to be
released 92 years later.

The Jewish genealogical publisher Avotaynu (http://www.
avotaynu.com) reported in its newsletter that Library and Archives
of Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.ca) has already scanned
1911 census records and plans to put them online ASAP.

Before S-18 passed, Statistics Canada (an agency akin to the US
Census Bureau) had refused to release 1911 and later censuses,
claiming that Canadians of the day were promised their
information would remain secret. Family historians have fought
since 1998 to see the records. See the E-mail Update article at
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/newsletter/5_12_2005.htm#2
for more on Canada's census struggle.

__________________________________________________
TEASE OUT TRAFALGAR ANCESTORS

The National Archives of Britain has posted a database of all who
fought for His Majesty in the Battle of Trafalgar--the 1805 victory
over France and Spain that thwarted Napoleon's plans to invade
Britain.

The database at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
trafalgarancestors lists names of the 18,000-plus men who served
in Viscount Horatio Nelson's Royal Navy fleet, and in some cases,
their service histories and biographical details. (Those details are
still being added.) You can search by surname, or do an advanced
search by first name, age, birthplace, ship's name, rating and rank.

According to the archives, Britain's Royal Navy employed about
110,000 individuals in 1805--that means if your ancestor served
at the time, there's roughly a one-in-six chance he was in the Battle
of Trafalgar. The information in the database comes from ships'
musters, certificates of service, biographies, applications to enter
Greenwich Hospital, and officers' examination passing certificates
and responses to an 1817 survey.

__________________________________________________
HOPE FOR HISTORICAL RECORDS

There's hope for the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission (NHPRC), threatened with de facto extinction by a
line item in the president's proposed 2006 budget that eliminates
its funding. The NHPRC is an arm of The National Archives and
Records Administration that makes grants for preserving and
publishing historical records. (See our report in the May 26 E-Mail
Update newsletter for more on NHPRC.)

Kathleen D. Roe, presdent of the Council of State Historical
Records Coordinators (CSHRC), says the House of
representatives has approved $7.5 million in NHPRC funds. "We
are very pleased that a reasonable restoration has been approved
by the House," Roe says. "In particular, we are incredibly pleased
to see the coalescing of archivists, genealogists and historians
who came together to make this happen." More than 10,000
people signed an electronic petition, and 1,000 sent letters to
Congressional representatives, urging them to fund NHPRC.

Next, CSHRC must convince the Senate to add NHPRC funds to
the budget bill. The Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury
and HUD and the Senate Appropriations Committee will act July
12 and 14, respectively. You can help by contacting your senator;
see http://www.savearchives.org for details.

___________________________________________________
REGISTER EARLY AND SAVE

Don't miss the July 15 early registration deadline for Midwestern
Roots, one of the country's largest state genealogical conferences,
this Aug. 19 and 20 in Indianapolis. You'll save $30 on registration
for the two-day event; single-day attendees save, too.

Visit genealogical exhibitors and choose from more than 30
presentations covering topics such as finding female ancestors,
using census substitutes, discovering family food traditions and
locating baptismal records. For more information, see http://www.
indianahistory.org/midwesternroots.

___________________________________________________________
WORTHWHILE WEB SITES

* I Hear America Singing
http://www.loc.gov/ihas
Discover the stories behind patriotic songs such as Anchors
Aweigh, Yankee Doodle and This Land Was Made for You and
Me.

* Maryland State Archives Census Indexes
http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/refserv/html/
censussearch.html
Search Maryland's 1776, 1778, 1870 and 1880 censuses by date,
first name, last name and county.

* A Very Grave Matter
http://www.gravematter.com
Looking for ancestors buried in New England cemeteries? Click
the name and location of a cemetery to find a list of people buried
there, along with gravestone information.

* Finding New York Passenger Arrival Records 1820-1957
http://home.att.net/~germanroots/ellisisland/nypassengers.html
This comprehensive guide leads you to finding aids for New York
passenger lists, including books, microfilm, CDs and online
databases.

_________________________________________________________
SPEAKERS' SCHEDULE

* Las Vegas
Sharon DeBartolo Carmack
July 10-15
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies
Topics:
- Finding Your Ellis Island Ancestors
- Painless Organization
- Cryptic Clues in the Bone Yard
For more information, see the International Association of Jewish
Genealogical Societies Web site at http://www.iajgs.org.

* Lufkin, Texas
Emily Anne Croom
July 22-23
Angelina College Genealogy Conference
Topics:
- The Old Dominion: Researching Virginia Ancestors
- The Territorial Papers of the United States: the Southern States
- Genealogy in the Urban South
- Sifting Through the Ashes: Research in "Burned Counties"
For more information, go to http://www.angelina.edu/
genealogy.htm.

***
Reprinted with permission from Family Tree Magazine Email
Update, copyright 2005 F+W Publications Inc. To subscribe
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http://www.familytreemagazine.com/newsletter.asp. For a
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