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Family Tree Newsletter 2-3-05

Posted by GFA Terry <gfaterry@aol.com> on Mon, 07 Feb 2005

* A Good Deal for Scotlands People
* Buff up Your Research
* Meeting Halfway in South Dakota
* Celebrate African-American History Month
* Sneak Peeks at FamilyTreeMagazine.com
* Speakers' Schedule

_________________________________________________
A GOOD DEAL FOR SCOTLANDS PEOPLE

Last month, the Scottish family records Web site Scotland's People
(http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk teamed up with the National
Archives of Scotland ( http://www.scottishdocuments.com) and the
Court of the Lord Lyon (http://www.lyon-court.com) to add millions
of records to what's already available on Scotlands People. (The
Court of Lord Lyon, Scotland's heraldic authority, maintains the
Scottish Public Registers of Arms and Genealogies.)

Scotlands People is the genealogy data site of the General
Records Office for Scotland. The site, which currently contains
nearly 40 million records and has 215,000 registered users, will
get the Scottish archives' historical wills and testaments, as well as
armorial and genealogical material from the Court of Lord Lyon.
It's scheduled for launch in spring 2005 as a new, rebranded site.

The three organizations also are collaborating on a Scottish
Family History research facility near the General Register House
and the New Register House buildings in Edinburgh. It's slated
to open by the end of 2006.
__________________________________________________
BUFF UP YOUR RESEARCH

A new site called GenealogyBuff.com (http://www.genealogybuff.
com) lets you search about 200 family history databases for your
surname in one fell swoop.

Type in a surname, click Submit and GenealogyBuff automatically
enters the name on search forms of data sites. You get a list of
links to each site's results page, even if the search on a particular
site comes up empty. I did a GenealogyBuff.com search on my
own surname, for example, and clicked on "Mennonite Obituary
Archive entries for Haddad." That page told me "No documents
found relating to your query" (which wasn't a surprise--my last
name is the Lebanese qualivalent of Smith).

GenealogyBuff mines databases large and small, many of them
free but some paid: RootsWeb databases, the Social Security
Death Index, obituaries, state vital records, user-contributed
pedigree databases and e-mail lists. Results for census records
link you to Ancestry.com search results, which you'll need a
subscription to view. A telltale dollar sign after the link warns you
when you're visiting a paid-access site; other helpful notations
indicate sites that load slowly or are updated often.

Use GenealogyBuff as a starting place: You'll find online
databases you didn't know about, and you might turn up a relative
without much effort. But don't stop there--GenealogyBuff doesn't
take advantage of unique search features each database might
offer, or look for surname spelling variations. Once you've clicked
to a results page, take a minute to learn about the data on that site
and look for an advanced search option that will let you customize
your search of that database.

___________________________________________________
MEETING HALFWAY IN SOUTH DAKOTA

A bill introduced last month in South Dakota's state legislature
would've barred most public access to birth, death and marriage
certificates. But now the legislation, called SB41,includes more-
genealogist-friendly provisions.

In its original form, SB41 would have limited records access to the
person named in the record, certain family members (spouses,
children, parents, guardians, next of kin) and authorized
representatives (lawyers, doctors, funeral home directors).
Genealogists and members of the media said the bill, intended to
prevent identity theft and increase security against terrorism, was
unnecessarily restrictive and punished researchers along with
would-be criminals.

At the request of the state health department, an amendment
added Monday would allow researchers to get photocopies, but
not certified copies, of the original documents. The amendment
also would allow county and health department clerks to withhold
requested copies of certificates for up to three days.

In both the original and amended forms of SB41, birth records
older than 100 years, and death, marriage and divorce records
older than 50 years are available without restriction.

The Senate health committee has approved the amendment and
sent it to the full Senate for a vote.

___________________________________________________
CELEBRATE AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH

The New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in
Black Culture started off African-American History Month by
announcing a new Web site about black migration into, out of and
within the United States over the last 400 years. The site, In
Motion: The African-American Migration Experience
(http://www.inmotionaame.org), gives you access to articles,
photographs, maps and historic documents about the 13 defining
migrations that formed African America. (The site was sometimes
slow to load, likely due to a large number of visitors, so keep
trying.)

That's only one of the learning opportunities this month brings you.
Here's a sampling of the African-American genealogy workshops
we found--check with your local public library, historical society or
museum to see what's going on in your area.

* The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in
Cincinnati is presenting a series of programs on African-American
research strategies Saturdays this month from 1 to 3 pm.
Attendance is free with Freedom Center admission. Call (513)
333-7737 or visit http://www.freedomcenter.org for information.

* Also on Family Tree Magazine's home turf, the Public Library of
Cincinnati and Hamilton County offers a free class on African-
American church records Feb. 27 at 3:30 p.m. Call (513) 369-6900
or see http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/
programs/calendar.html?id=42335 for details.

* The Chicago Public Library's Woodson branch has a free
African-American genealogical research conference Feb. 26 at
12:30 p.m. Learn more by calling (312) 747-6900 or visiting
http://www.chipublib.org/003cpl/
diversity/aahm05/aahm05_coe.html.

* If you're in Louisville, head to the Louisville Free Public Library's
Middletown branch for a free African-American genealogy seminar
Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. Call (502) 245-7332 or visit http://www.lfpl.org for
details.

* Professional genealogist and author Tony Burroughs will visit the
Library of Michigan Feb. 8 for a daylong workshop on finding
African-American roots. The $20 registration fee ($15 for students)
includes lunch. Get more information by calling (517) 373-1360 or
visiting http://www.michigan.gov/
minewswire/0,1607,7-136-3452-60032--M_2003_1,00.html.

__________________________________________________
SNEAK PEEKS AT FAMILYTREEMAGAZINE.COM

Be first to check out these new articles on our Web site:

* Pictures of Success
Learn expert photo detective Maureen A. Taylor's ID secrets --
and a few strategies for tackling your own mystery pics.
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/articles/feb05/success.asp

* Family and Local Histories Collection
Ancestry.com's newest database has tens of thousands of
published family and local histories--one of them may contain
your family or locality. Check out our review of the new service.
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/articles/feb05/flhc.asp

* Celebritrees
Oscar winner Halle Berry has a few shining stars in her family
tree! Get the scoop on her famous ancestors.
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/articles/feb05/berry.asp

__________________________________________________
SPEAKERS' SCHEDULE

* San Marcos, Texas
Emily Anne Croom
Feb. 12
San Marcos/Hays County Genealogical Society seminar
Topics:
- The Territorial Papers of the United States
- Timely Tools for Genealogists
- Where in the World? Using Maps in Genealogy
- Scaling the Brick Wall
Contact Karin McArdle at mcardlekm@hotmail.com.

Dallas, Texas
Emily Anne Croom
March 5
Dallas Genealogical Society seminar
Topics:
- Their Place in Time: Broadening the Perspective Beyond Dates
and Places
- Likely, Logical, Convincing: Resolving Conflicting Evidence
- You're Known by the Company You Keep: Cluster Genealogy,
an Essential Tool for Research
- Scaling the Brick Wall
Contact Tresa Tatyrek at president@dallasgenealogy.org

***
Reprinted with permission from Family Tree Magazine Email
Update, copyright 2005 F+W Publications Inc. To subscribe to
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