Make the Family History Library Catalog SING for you!

The up-to-date copy of this post will be maintained at http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/make-family-history-library-catalog.html

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Start at http://familysearch.org. Click the SEARCH tab, and then the Family History Library Catalog tab, or bypass the first two steps by going directly to: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp

Not all browsers will load an .asp page directly, so I give the alternate steps. Once you are there, click Place Search, then type the name of the village in the top box. Leave the bottom box empty. Once you get the results, be sure to investigate all the possible good options. If you want to keep that original results page open, right-click on the various options given, and choose to open in a new tab or new window. That helps me keep organized!

Once you get a list of what is available, there are a couple of interesting options that many people overlook. I put in "strasbourg" as an example, and here are the results:

Place France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg
References (Use for) France, Bas-Rhin, La Robertsau
Topics France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Archives and libraries - Handbooks, manuals, etc.
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Archives and libraries - Inventories, registers, catalogs
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Biography
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Church history
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Church records
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Civil registration
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Court records
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Genealogy
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Heraldry
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - History
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Naturalization and citizenship
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Nobility
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Nobility - Genealogy
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Notarial records
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Occupations
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Politics and government
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Population
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Probate records
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Schools
France, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg - Social life and customs

Of course, there are endless possibilities just in THAT list -- it could keep you busy for a long, long time. But look up on the top right -- there is a button called View Related Places. In this case, it doesn't give spectacular results -- the only choice is France, Bas Rhin, which yields:

Place France, Bas-Rhin
References (Use for) France, Rhin (Bas)
Topics France, Bas-Rhin - Archives and libraries - Indexes
France, Bas-Rhin - Archives and libraries - Inventories, registers, catalogs
France, Bas-Rhin - Archives and libraries - Inventories, registers, catalogs - Indexes
France, Bas-Rhin - Biography
France, Bas-Rhin - Census
France, Bas-Rhin - Chronology
France, Bas-Rhin - Church directories
France, Bas-Rhin - Church history
France, Bas-Rhin - Church records
France, Bas-Rhin - Church records - Bibliography
France, Bas-Rhin - Church records - Inventories, registers, catalogs
France, Bas-Rhin - Civil registration - Bibliography
France, Bas-Rhin - Civil registration - Indexes
France, Bas-Rhin - Dwellings
France, Bas-Rhin - Emigration and immigration
France, Bas-Rhin - Emigration and immigration - Guidebooks
France, Bas-Rhin - Emigration and immigration - Indexes
France, Bas-Rhin - Gazetteers
France, Bas-Rhin - Genealogy
France, Bas-Rhin - Genealogy - Periodicals
France, Bas-Rhin - Genealogy - Periodicals - Indexes
France, Bas-Rhin - Heraldry
France, Bas-Rhin - History
France, Bas-Rhin - History - Periodicals
France, Bas-Rhin - Jewish records
France, Bas-Rhin - Land and property
France, Bas-Rhin - Land and property - Inventories, registers, catalogs
France, Bas-Rhin - Maps
France, Bas-Rhin - Military records
France, Bas-Rhin - Minorities
France, Bas-Rhin - Names, Personal
France, Bas-Rhin - Notarial records
France, Bas-Rhin - Officials and employees - History
France, Bas-Rhin - Schools
France, Bas-Rhin - Taxation

The other special button that lots of people overlook is the View Film Notes button, once you have found the listing for the film you want to order. Click that Film Notes button, and you will find out *exactly* what is on the film you are proposing to order. This is where you find the number you need to take with you to the Family History Center. In fact, I often print out that entire page, so that when the film finally arrives, I know JUST what I'm looking for. To get the "printable version", click the link in the bottom sentence, For a printable version of this record click here then click your browser's Print button.

You can make the FHL Catalog sing for you! The more you use it, the easier it is to hear that siren song. :-)

Fred H. Held has a great hint -- consider collateral villages as well as collateral relatives. Fred says, "Several times I have found my village of interest data on a nearby village microfilm." He continues, "The immediate thought is to reach for a good map and check the LDS FHL catalog to see if the surrounding villages have records that might help me. Unfortunately, the German practice of consolidating village administrations has resulting in many villages disappearing from the detailed maps.

"There is a better way. Those old village names are still recorded in the ShtetlSeeker search engine database (http://www.jewishgen.org/ShtetlSeeker/loctown.htm). In addition, there is a little used ShtetlSeeker feature that will list ALL those old village names starting with a central point (your village of interest). (Look at the last line at the bottom of the web page.) It is now a simple task to cut the name from the list and paste it into the FHL catalog place name search engine.

"This is also useful when your ancestral village is Evangelische and your ancestral family was Catholic, or vice versa. To find the closest village with the desired church, do exactly the same exercise." - Post to TRIER-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com 10 Sep 2004 [note: This hint will not help you in France; just in Germany and further East. For the Alsace, you can use the Alsabase village map instead. Click: Bas-Rhin - Haut-Rhin.]

More about using your local FHC: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2004/07/your-local-family-history-center.html

To get to the free Research Guides, such as the one for France, either start at the top and work down (How do I get Started, > Resources > Research Helps), or go to: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp?Page=./research/type/form.asp&ActiveTab=Type and click Research Outline, and download the PDF file you want. These are GREAT!


I borrowed from all, without any exception.
I am sewn between ancestry and posterity.
I am a drop of water in a flowing river of time; a molecule in a
mountain; a cell in a great family tree. - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Books, New & Used

caution: only the top links have been tested. -v

Searchable Booksites: http://www.trussel.com/books.htm
   Uses javascript to put your search criteria into 28 different search sites. Timesaver!

Advanced Book Exchange: http://www.abebooks.com/

Care of Old Documents, Bibles & More: http://www.usgenweb.com/researchers/documents.html

Books We Own (lookups): http://www.rootsweb.com/~bwo/

Booksearch: http://www.booksearch.com/

Moe's Books: http://moesbooks.com/

HamiltonBooks.com - New Books at Bargain Prices: http://www.hamiltonbook.com/

WHSmith - UK Discounted books: http://www.whsmith.co.uk/

http://www.artisanpublishers.com/ : Artisan Publishers

http://www.opengroup.com : OpenGroup

http://www.scottishbooks.com : Books from Scotland

http://www.johnsmith.co.uk : James Smith

http://www.tor.com/ : Tor Books

http://www.powells.com/ : Powell's Books: The Stacks

http://acses.com : ACSES Universum Best Bookbuyer

http://www.bibliofind.com/ : Bibliofind

http://www.borders.com/ : Borders.com

http://www.interloc.com/ : Used books, maps

http://www.mxbf.com/ : Super used book finder

http://www.sandpiper.co.uk/postscript/ : Remaindered UK books

http://server.mediasoft.net/ScottC/ : Used Books

http://www.serv.net/shorey/index.html : Shorey Bookstore

http://web.mountain.net/hp/unicorn/ : Unicorn Books

http://www.jamesthin.co.uk/ : James Thin Booksellers

http://www.hearthstonebooks.com/ : HearthstoneBooks

http://www.wavenet.com/~genbooks/ : GenBooks

http://www.appletons.com/books/applinks.html : Appleton's Other Used Book Websites

http://www.genealogy-books.com/index.htm : GENEALOGY BOOKS, DISKS, CD-ROMS FOR SALE, FREE ONLINE GENEALOGY NEWSLETTER, ONLINE BIBLE RECORDS

http://www.advant.com/madigan/ : Madigan's Books - Buy & Sell Books of Genealogical Interest

http://www.bookfinder.com/ : BookFinder.com: Search for Out of Print and Used Books

http://www.frontierpress.com/frontier.cgi : Frontier Press - Genealogical and Historical Books

http://www.irishbook.com/ibm.htm : IRISH BOOKS and MEDIA

http://www.addall.com/ : AddALL book search and price comparison

http://www.sf3.org/wiscon/21/books.henry.html : Little Known Feminist Science Fiction Books

http://www.norfolkgenealogy.com/resources/mika.htm : Mika Publications

http://www.interlinkbookshop.com/index.html : Interlink Genealogy - Victoria, B.C.

http://www.lehmans.com/ : Lehman's Home Page

http://jadcox.home.mindspring.com/ : John Adcox's King Arthur Urban Fantasy Novel

http://www.freeride.com : FreeRide

http://www.musicforce.com/mf/album/1,1289,024350051688,00.html# : musicforce.com

http://www.avalontshirts.com/james.html : Avalon Creations - Celtic T-shirts

http://www.waxmancandles.com/ : Waxman Candles - The Coolest Candle Shop in The Whole Wide World

http://www.esi.co.nz/~hellrich/html/ordering.html : Ordering

http://www.addall.com/ : AddALL book search and price comparison

http://www.gypsymoon.com/Html_web_store/html_web_store.cgi : Welcome to the Gypsy Moon camp!

http://www.daphne1.com/public_html/1099.htm : Daphne - Women's designer clothes in larger sizes

http://www.twosisters.net/default.htm : Two Sisters

http://www.bottomdollar.com/ : BottomDollar

http://cyberrebate.com/catalog/default.asp : CyberRebate, Online shopping for free stuff after rebate coupon

http://www.genographica.com/eproduct.html : Large format genealogical tree print from GEDCOM on antique map: we print your genealogical tree from your GEDCOM file on antique maps

http://www.123genealogy.com/store/misc/chart.htm : 123 Genealogy

http://www.mosaicrecords.com/catalog.asp : Mosaic Records - Releases Still in Print


Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. - Sir Francis Bacon, 1561-1626

Immigration

The up-to-date copy of this post will be maintained here: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/immigration-and-emigration.html

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Emigration & Immigration Research Outline at http://www.familysearch.org/: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/Rg/guide/Germany14.asp#emigration_and_immigration

Ellis Island: http://ellisisland.org/ has the records online for 1892-1924. 22 million immigrants, passengers, and crew members came through Ellis Island and the Port of New York. Use Stephen Morse's forms to search if you can't find them with the standard search engine. These sites are free and open to all.

NEW! I've just found about a wonderful way to extend your use of the EllisIsland.org site. Megan Smolenyak says that to the left of the certificate, at the bottom of the menu are "View Annotations" and "Create an Annotation." She says:

If you click on "View Annotations," you'll find yourself in the Community Archives, which includes the annotation I contributed. By clicking on my name, you'll see a number of additional details I entered.... All of these are pre-set fields, so all you have to do is a little typing.

At this point, there is no field for your e-mail address, so I suggest making use of the fields you would otherwise leave empty to provide this information. For instance, I used the "religious
community" field to indicate how I could be contacted.

Eventually, the annotations themselves will be made directly searchable. That's not the case at present, but anyone who does a conventional search for the passenger arrival records of the same
people as you can find your notes appended.

   Stephen Morse's One-Step Ellis Island Search Forms: http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/eidb/intro.html

Megan Smolenyak's case history using the EIDB - Finding Knute Rockne in the Ellis Island Database: http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/8576.asp?o_iid=831&o_lid=831

Before Ellis Island, there was Castle Garden. The records from 1830-1892 are now searchable; 10 million records: http://www.castlegarden.org/

The Massachusetts Archives is indexing a million immigrants who came through Boston 1848-1891: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcsrch/PassengerManifestSearchContents.html

Finding Passenger Lists 1820-1940s (arrivals at US Ports): http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/passengers.html

TheShipsList: http://www.theshipslist.com/

Passenger Ship Arrivals: http://www.daddezio.com/genealogy/ships/

CIMO - Cimorelli Immigration Manifests Online: http://www.cimorelli.com/safe/shipmenu.htm

Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild (ISTG): http://www.immigrantships.net/
   More than 5,000 ships' passenger lists, citing over 1/2 million passenger arrivals.

NARA - Immigration Records (Ship Passenger Arrival Records): http://www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/research_topics/immigration.html

Finding Irish - the Missing Friends database: http://infowanted.bc.edu/

The St. Louis Naturalization Index Cards 1816-1906: http://stlgs.org/natsearch.aspx

The Alsachat.net project has a great collection of Immigration links on their Cool Links system: http://sdrescher.net/php/linkdex/index.php?cat=emigration
   Be sure to check the subcategories, too: Harbors, Algeria, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Mexico, Russia, USA

Emigration from/through Bremen and Bremerhaven 1820-1939 - Deutsche Auswanderer-Datenbank (DAD): http://www.deutsche-auswanderer-datenbank.de/enframeset.htm

Hamburg passenger list - 1872: http://www.horlacher.org/germany/hamburg/index.html
   All Hamburg departures alpha by surname. Done by LDS as a trial, for a year of high emigration.

Die Maus - Familienforschung in Bremen: http://www.genealogienetz.de/vereine/maus/index_e.htm

French Emigration Indexes: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2004/07/french-emigration-indexes.html

Olive Tree's Ship Passenger Lists: http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/

Immigration & Ships Passenger Lists Research Guide: http://home.att.net/%7Earnielang/shipgide.html

Passenger Lists on the Internet: http://members.aol.com/rprost/passenger.html

Ship Samuel Intro Page: http://members.aol.com/ShipSamuel/

Mariners Museum in Newport News, VA (ship photos): http://www.mariner.org/

British National Maritime Museum in Greenwich: http://www.nmm.ac.uk

Firstmom: http://khuish.tripod.com/ships.htm

Emigration / Ship Lists and Resources: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/5978/Emigration.html

Passenger List for the Winthrop Fleet of 1630 (11 ships); the Lyon 1632; the Griffin, 1634; the Planter, 1635; the Angel Gabriel, 1635 (partial); the Confidence, 1638; the Martin, 1638: http://members.aol.com/dcurtin1/gene/passent.htm

Ship Passenger Lists: Immigrants from Alsace (and Elsewhwere) to America 1820-1850: http://members.cox.net/smithgen/sources/ships/ships18201850.htm

Jacques de Guise's Virtual Tour on Emigration (emphasis on emigration from the Alsace): http://www.ceg-cgr-eig.blogspot.com/

Migrations.org - searchable database that collects and analyzes migration data: http://migrations.org/

Immigrant Ancestors Project: http://immigrants.byu.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx

Work in progress, sponsored by Brigham Young University's Center for Family History and Genealogy, uses emigration records in emigrant home countries to locate the birthplaces of immigrants which are missing on many port records and naturalization documents in arrival countries. Volunteers working with scholars and researchers at Brigham Young University are creating a database of millions of immigrants based on these emigration records. Available in English, Spanish, Italian, German, Portugues, and French.

Books - They Came In Ships: A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor's Arrival Record by John P. Colletta, PH.D. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, Third Edition, 2002. ISBN 091648937X.

Queens of the Western Ocean by Carl C. Cutler. History of ship-building and its evolution in the United States. Tables of specific ships, captains (masters), dates and ports of arrival.


Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago. - Bernard Berenson

PERSI - Periodical Source Index

PERSI is the largest and most widely-used subject index covering genealogy and local history periodicals written in English and French (Canada). The collection dates from approximately 1800. There are currently over 1.7 million searchable records and nearly 6,000 different periodicals, which library staffers at the Allen County Public Library have been compiling for over a decade. PERSI is widely recognized as essential for high-quality genealogy research.

PERSI gives family historians access to materials they would otherwise not have available. Note that due to the taxing nature of this work, individuals mentioned in passing will not appear in PERSI; this is not a full-text index.

PERSI also organizes articles into locality, but only those where the geographic categorization is clearly valuable, e.g., cemetery transcription or newspaper extracts. Locality entries are classified by the type of record the article includes, e.g., biography, cemetery, census, etc., to indicate the content of the article to researchers.

PERSI is available for search at Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest, which can be accessed through your local library (if you are lucky), the Godfrey Library ($35/year), Dodge/Jefferson Counties Genealogical Society of Wisconsin, ($25/year) and the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society ($60 annually).

More information on PERSI is available at Ancestry.com, and the website of the Allen County Public Library.

You may also contact the Allen County Public Library, which owns a copy of each periodical indexed in PERSI, for photocopies of articles. A form for ordering photocopies is available at:

http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/database/graphics/order_form.html

Send the form describing the articles to be copied, and provide the full entry from PERSI with the name of the journal. You may request a maximum of six articles at a time. The charge is $7.50 for each letter, pre-paid, plus $0.20 per page copied to be billed to you. Requests are NOT accepted by phone, fax, or e-mail. Mail the completed form to:

Allen County Public Library Foundation
P.O. Box 2270
Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270

Please allow at least eight weeks for processing. Also, be sure to double check your requests, and give the complete citation (Article Title, Periodical Title, Code, Volume, Issue, Date, etc.). Incomplete information may delay processing.



Knowledge is happiness, because to have knowledge - broad deep knowledge - is to know true ends from false, and lofty things from low. To know the thoughts and deeds that have marked man's progress is to feel the great heart-throbs of humanity through the centuries; and if one does not feel in these pulsations a heavenward striving, one must indeed be deaf to the harmonies of life. - Helen Keller

Common Occupations German / English

German                    English
Ackerbau . . . . . . . .  Farmer
Apothecker . . . . . . . Pharmacist
Bierbrauer . . . . . . . . Brewer
Huthmacher . . . . . . . Hat Maker
Jager . . . . . . . . . . . . Hunter
Lohgerber              Tanner
Oeconome             Small farmer
Schmidt                 Smith
Schneider              Tailor
Schuhmacher        Shoemaker
Tischler                 Carpenter
Uhrmacher              Watchmaker
Wagner                 Cartwright
Zimmermann           Carpenter
Zuckerback            Pastry Baker

Thanks to Patricia for compiling this list!


French occupations (in French): http://www.vieuxmetiers.org/

English Translations of French Occupations 1873: http://theshipslist.com/ships/passengerlists/french_occupations1873.html

Latin / German Occupations (in German): http://www.st2000.lu/st2000_communes/genealogie/alte_berufsbezeichnungen.htm
   Alte Berufsbezeichnungen = Description of old occupations, Bezeichnung = Occupation, Bedeutung = Meaning


All the discontented people I know are trying to be something they are not, to do something they cannot do. - David Graydon

Rites of Passage

Index of Rites of Passage literature (Australian): http://www.abc.net.au/compass/explore/rites.htm

Rites of Passage (academic articles): http://axe.acadiau.ca/~047073m/ROPHomepage.htm

Body Modification and American Rites of Passage: http://hamp.hampshire.edu/~tawF95/ropintro.html

U.S. Military Rites of Passage: http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/basic/

Death Rituals around the world: http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/death-1.html#cu

Modern Rites of Passage: http://wuzzle.org/cave/s_rites.html

National Rites of Passage Institute (Kwanzaa, Juneteenth & more): http://www.ritesofpassage.org/



People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. - H. Jackson Browne

Irish Research

The up-to-date version of this post will be maintained at: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/ireland.html

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Irish Counties are like US states, while the Baronies are more like our counties. Baronies are comprised of Parishes, which are somewhat like townships in the US. Parishes are divided into Townlands of varying size. They may be farms or platted sub-divisions, and can range from a few acres to over a thousand acres. So one needs to know County, Barony, Parish and Township.

Book: The General Alphabetical Index to Townlands and Towns, Parishes, and Baronies of Ireland published in Dublin in 1861 as an adjunct to the Census of Ireland. It has been reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1995, and 1997. John Giacoletti says "It is one of the essential must have and use tools for genealogical research in Ireland."

Brian Mitchell's A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland shows outline maps of all the parishes and baronies. There are also townland maps that will show the placement of the townlands within the parishes.

The townland outline maps are available in 78 microfiche maps through LDS. Notes for these fiches say: "It is the intention of this series to show, on a county basis, all townlands within their respective civil parishes. To 1898, the civil parish was the major administrative division. The two great surveys of the 19th century - the tithe assessment and the Griffiths valuation - were compiled on this basis with householders listed by their townland address. Use the index at the beginning of each county to identify the parish you need. Beside each map is a list of each parish's constituent townlands." You can find these in the FHL Catalog using the Topic search for Ireland - Maps, or click: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=402231&disp=Irish+townland+maps%20%20&columns=*,0,0
Fiches are only 10 or 15 cents, and are permanent. So ordering all of Ireland would be less than $12; individual counties can be ordered also. Townlands and parishes are listed on PRONI (Townlands in Northern Ireland) and the IreAtlas Townland database.

The 1837 edition of Samuel Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Ireland: http://www.libraryireland.com/topog/index.php

Tracing Irish Trees: http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/lesson21.htm

New aid to researching Irish immigrants to the USA has come online, an index to the Missing Friends column that ran in The Boston Pilot, the Roman Catholic newspaper in the city, from 1831 to 1921. For more information see this article at Boston.com: The Irish immigrant past gets tie to today. The database: http://infowanted.bc.edu/. More than 31,438 records.

Irish immigrants to the US 12 Jan 1846 - 31 Dec 1851: http://www.archives.gov/aad/

Click on the red Search button on the top left. See: All Series | People | Indexes to Other Records. Click on the People option. Don't enter any other data yet. This will get you to a page called List Series That Identify People. Scroll down almost to the bottom, to: Title: Records for Passengers Who Arrived at the Port of New York During the Irish Famine, 1977-1989
Creator: Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies. Center for Immigration Research.
Level of Description: Series from Collection CIR: Center for Immigration Research Collection.
Click on this entry and you will see a search screen where you can search by the person's name or by the ships name. Wildcard is available.

Centre for Migration Studies: http://www.qub.ac.uk/cms/ - Library, Irish Emigration Database Project, and Master's Degree studies

The Massachusetts Archives is indexing a million immigrants who came through Boston 1848-1891: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcsrch/PassengerManifestSearchContents.html

Finding Irish - the Missing Friends database: http://infowanted.bc.edu/, http://www.bc.edu/centers/irish/studies/

Genealogy Today: A formula to find that Irish pot of gold: http://www.columbian.com/03112004/neighbor/125154.html

The Study of Genealogy in Ireland: http://www.irishgenealogy.com/

Irish Origins: http://www.irishorigins.com/

Eneclann: http://www.eneclann.ie

OtherDays.com: http://www.otherdays.com

The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA): http://tiara.ie/

The Irish Genealogical Research Society: http://www.igrsoc.org

The Irish Genealogical Foundation, O'Lochlainn's Irish Family Journal: http://www.irishroots.com/

Irish Ancestors: http://scripts.ireland.com/ancestor

The Directory of Irish Genealogy: http://homepage.tinet.ie/~seanjmurphy/dir/

The Centre for Irish Genealogical and Historical Studies: http://homepage.tinet.ie/~seanjmurphy/

Ulster Historical Foundation, Irish and Scots-Irish Family History Research - some free databases, strong in County Antrim & County Down: http://www.ancestryireland.com

Irish Genealogical Society, International: http://www.rootsweb.com/~irish/

GoIreland: http://www.goireland.com/Genealogy

Irish Names: http://www.ireland-information.com/heraldichall/irishsurnames.htm

The Irish Times: http://www.ireland.com/ancestor/

Irish Phone Books Online: http://www.goldenpages.ie/extra/phonebook.html, http://www.11850.ie

Thanks to Eastman's Newsletter for some of these links.


When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you. - Lao Tzu

European Research

The up-to-date version of this post will be maintained at: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/european-research.html

For all European research, you must have a village name, or at least a small region with a few villages, because that is where all the records are kept! There are few to no departement, county or region-wide censuses or other general surveys such as our US Census records. The exception is the UK, which has searchable census for 1841-1901, and where records have been kept by the counties in England since 1837, in Scotland since 1851. So, you must do your American or Canadian research, before trying to "jump the pond" back to Europe.

Have you found the naturalization applications? Often the first and second application contain much more detail than the final certificate. How about obituaries, in particular those published in small local newspapers, church publications, or German or French newspapers? Many of the old newspapers are available on microfilm. For instance, see the holdings of the NYU: http://library.nyu.edu/research/german/. These microfilms will often be available by Inter-Library Loan. Talk to your librarian about local policies. (http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2004/03/obituaries.html and http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2003/12/death-records-obituaries-biographies.html) and http://german.about.com/library/weekly/aa071299.htm

If there are county histories (AKA mug books) available, those can be useful also, although they cannot be relied upon as anything more than clues. Also look at transfer records at the church(es) they attended, church histories, any family Bibles that may still survive, and any old letters or cards that someone may have stored up in an attic somewhere.

Remember -- don't just research your direct-line ancestor. Look at all the relatives, friends and neighbors, co-workers and fellow church members, too. People tended to stick together with family, friends, and neighbors from the old country.

With a relatively common surname, unless you find a passenger record listing the village, you must do your American research very diligently. You have to have that village name! Here are some links that might help:

GeneaNet: http://www.geneanet.org/

Rootsweb Guide to Tracing Family Trees: http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/

World GenWeb Europe: http://www.worldgenweb.org/europe.html
   France GenWeb: http://www.francegenweb.org/ - In English

Genealogy in Western & Central Europe: http://genealogy.about.com/cs/europegenealogy/

Genealogy in France - Civil Registers (les registres d'etat-civil): http://genealogy.about.com/library/weekly/aa070700b.htm

The French Républican Calendar: http://www.napoleon.org/en/essential_napoleon/calendar/index.asp and http://www.gefrance.com/calrep/calen.htm

French Telephone Directories: http://www.voila.fr/PagesJaunes/ or http://www2.eu-info.com/France/

$$$ New French search engine - NOMINA: http://www.france-genealogie.fr/

German Genealogy: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2003/12/german-genealogy.html

Europe Genealogy Links (by country): http://www.genealogylinks.net/europe/

Tinney's Europe links: http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~vctinney/geneal.htm#EUROPE

AllEnglishRecords.com - English Genealogy Records: United Kingdom Census (England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland), English Vital Registrations, Free BMD, Parish Records, Church Records: http://allenglishrecords.com/

The National Archives in Kew (England): http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Historical Directories (local & trade) England and Wales 1750-1919: http://www.historicaldirectories.org/

British Newspaper Collection: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dutillieul/

$$$ScotlandsPeople: http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
Births 1855-1904, Marriages 1855-1929, Deaths 1855-1954, Census, Wills & Testaments

Genealogy Resources on the Internet (Gaunt & Fuller): http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cgaunt/gen_int1.html

Ancestral Villages: http://www.ancestral-villages.co.uk/

Genealogy.net (German-speaking countries): http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/regio.htm

JewishGen: http://www.jewishgen.org/

Holocaust Global Registry: http://www.jewishgen.org/registry/

Message Boards - Western Europe: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/board/rw/localities.weurope
   Central Europe: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/board/rw/localities.ceeurope
   Eastern Europe: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/board/rw/localities.eeurope
   British Isles: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/board/rw/localities.britisles
   Scandanavian & Baltic States: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/board/rw/localities.scan-balt

Proceedings of the Old Bailey London 1674-1834: http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/
   100,621 trials, fully searchable

20th Century Archives of the London Gazette: http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/generalArchive.asp?webType=0
   Page has links to the Imperial War Museum, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Family Records Centre, Public Record Office, Federation of Family History Societies & The Times, making it a nice portal to English research

Very interesting concept for Scotland England, Wales, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands: http://www.lostcousins.com/
   You find a blood relative in the 1881 census, and enter the name as found. You are automatically matched with any other persons entering the same ancestral person -- your researcher cousins!

Victoria County Histories (England): http://www.englandpast.net/counties.html

ShtetlSeeker (villages in Eastern Europe): http://www.jewishgen.org/ShtetlSeeker/

Sacramento German Genealogical Society (Der Blumenbaum): http://www.SacGerGenSoc.org/

Dr. Don Watson's Hessen covers all of Germany: http://go.to/hessen

Southern California Genealogical Library: http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/

Central European Family History Assn.: http://www.cefha.org/

Federation of Eastern European Family History Assn.: http://www.feefhs.org/

Queries to FANA (Familienkundliche Nachrichten): http://www.degener-verlag.com/ (I couldn't get the javascript to work)

Thanks to Maureen Schoenky on the Pfalz list for some of these links.

Eastern Slovakia (Východoslovenský) & Environs Genealogy Research Strategies: http://www.iabsi.com/gen/public/index.htm

Slovak/English online dictionary: http://www.learnslovak.com/slovak-dictionary.html

Czech, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Latin online translator: http://www.slovnik.cz/

Hungarian (and others) online dictionary: http://www.freedict.com/onldict/hun.html

Fils du Vent (nomad ancestors, such as gypsies, bohemiens, circus employees, peddlers - posts in English are OK): http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/racinesnomades/

Country Studies, general descriptive files, such as this one about Romania: http://countrystudies.us/romania/40.htm

Luxembourg: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2004/10/luxembourg.html

Austrian Newspapers, Slovakia's Cemetery Database Online: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2004/06/austrian-newspapers-slovakias-cemetery.html

World War Two Aerial Pictures Go Online: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2004/02/world-war-two-aerial-pictures-go.html

Naming customs in Germany and France: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2004/02/naming-customs-in-germany-and-france.html

Huguenot Research: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2005/01/huguenot-research.html

Pfalz: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2003/12/pfalz.html

Alsace: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2003/12/alsace.html

Lorraine: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2003/12/lorraine.html

Maps: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2003/12/maps.html
   Language Map of France: http://www.lexilogos.com/france_carte_dialectes.htm


Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. - Eleanor Roosevelt

Obituaries

For US deaths since the 1970s, first get a date of death from the FREE Social Security Death Index: http://ssdi.rootsweb.com (use Advanced Search to narrow results, if necessary)

America's Obituaries & Death Notices: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2005/02/americas-obituaries-death-notices.html

Obituaries: http://www.genealogybuff.com/obits.htm

FREE - Search The Obituary Daily Times: http://obits.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/obit.cgi
   Death Records at Rootsweb: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/deaths/

Chicago Tribune Obituaries & Death Notices (2.5 million, 1860-1984): http://www.infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/HistArchive?p_product=CTHA&p_action=keyword&p_theme=ctha&p_nbid=Y55U5BPSMTA1OTg2MjI4Ni41Nzk3ODA6MTo1Omd1ZXN0&p_clear_search=&s_search_type=keyword&s_category=none
Last 30 days: http://www.legacy.com/chicagotribune/LegacyHome.asp (Many other obits are available through Legacy.com for the previous 30 days)

Obituaries 101 - US States and Canada: http://www.big101.com/OBITUARIES101.htm

Internet Obituary Network: http://www.obits.com/

Online Searchable Death Indexes & Records: http://www.deathindexes.com/

Obituary Links: http://www.obitlinkspage.com/

World Wide Cemetery: http://www.cemetery.org/

Obituary Depot: http://www.daddezio.com/obituary/

Obituary Lookup Volunteers: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~obitl/

Ancestors At Rest: http://ancestorsatrest.com/
   Coffin Plates, Funeral Cards, Cemetery Records, Cenotaph Records, Death Cards, Wills, Church Records, Family Bibles, etc. Also links to Death Records and information on where to find records that are not on line.

Good Bye! The Journal of Contemporary Obituaries (1996-2002): http://www.goodbyemag.com/

Google alt.obits: http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&group=alt.obituaries

Columbus Dispatch (Columbus OH) obituaries 1933-1997: http://www.columbuslibrary.org/cmlcnix/searchobitform.cfm

Life in Legacy: http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/

Find A Grave: http://www.findagrave.com/

The Political Graveyard: http://www.potifos.com/tpg/

Submitted Obituaries: http://www.blogofdeath.com/
   GREAT links too.

Canadian Obituary Search Englne: http://www.obituariestoday.com/

State by State
Arizona Obituary Search: http://mesarfhc.org/search/azobits.htm

California Death Records 1940-1997: http://vitals.rootsweb.com/ca/death/search.cgi
Pre-1905 CA Death Index: http://www.rootsweb.com/~cabf1905/counties.htm

Denver Colorado Obituary Indexes at the Denver Public library, 1939-2003 (some years missing): 1939-1940, 1942-1943, 1960-1964, 1965-1969, 1970-1974, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003. Extracted and compiled as a joint project of the Colorado Genealogical Society and Denver Public Library volunteers.

Delaware Public Archives Probate Records Database: http://www.state.de.us/sos/dpa/collections/probate.shtml

Georgia Death Records & Indexes: http://www.deathindexes.com/georgia/

Idaho Death index 1911-1951: http://www.rootsweb.com/~idgenweb/deaths/search.htm

Kansas - Topeka & Shawnee Co. (1906-1935, 1 January 2004 - the present): http://www.tscpl.org/

Michigan Deaths 1867-1884 (GENDIS - 170,000 records): http://www.mdch.state.mi.us/gendisx/

Ohio - 300,000 obituaries, death & marriage notices & other sources from Northwest Ohio from the 1830s to the present day: http://index.rbhayes.org/


Obituaries, deaths, epitaphs, obituary -- 4Obituaries.com
Cemetery Records on the Internet
Legacy.com: ObitFinder.asp
Cemetery Search
Obituary Central
AnyNewspaper, USA
Cemetery Culture: City of the Silent
Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid - OCFA - Genealogy
Cleveland Public Library
African American Cemeteries Online
Request a Lookup From Barb
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Obituaries
FinalJourney.com -----> HONORING THE MEMORY
PR Media Directory: Newspapers Radio TV Magazines Press releases, faxes, e-mail, publicity, freelance, journalism, marketing
Death Records: Online Searchable Death Indexes & Databases

some of these links are untested.


Teach children tolerance. No one need surrender his or her own beliefs while extending tolerance to those with other beliefs. - Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Mormon Church (LDS)

US Federal Prison System

Federal Bureau of Prisons Library: http://bop.library.net/
   Interlibrary loan program - discuss with your librarian. Mailing address:
Federal Bureau of Prisons Library
320 First Street NW; Bldg. 500, 7th Floor
Washington, DC 20534.
Phone: 202-307-3029, Fax: 202-307-5756
Email: LIBRARY@BOP.GOV.

BOP Library location: Central Office, Bldg. 500, 7th Floor. Hours: 9:00 a.m.-5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

Search the BOP Library: http://bop.library.net/
   More than 4,000 books, Governmental documents, and statistical and organizational publications covering all areas of
corrections and other criminal justice topics.Search for books by author, title, or subject. More than 70 periodicals, including journals, magazines, newsletters, and major newspapers, are found in the collection; primarily sociological, and criminal justice related.

Federal Bureau of Prisons Archives: http://www.dlomax@bop.gov/
500 First Street, NW
7th Floor
Washington, DC 20534

Mailing Address:
Federal Bureau of Prisons Archives
320 First Street, NW
Bldg. 500, 7th Fl.
Washington, DC 20534
Telephone: 202-307-2934, FAX: 202-307-5756

Archives does not loan out its materials. Photocopies of some items are available. Please note that many records in the BOP Archives are accessible only through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Mail FOIA requests to:

Federal Bureau of Prisons
Office of the General Counsel/ FOIA Section
320 First Street, NW
Room 738
Washington, DC 20534
Phone: 202-514-6655

BOP Inmate Locator: http://inmateloc.bop.gov/locatordocs/home.jsp

Federal Bureau of Prisons Office of Public Affairs phone: 202-307-3198.
Federal Bureau of Prisons
320 First St., NW
Washington, DC 20534

This is based on a 1999 post to the Gen-Tips list at Rootsweb.com, by Rhonda Houston.



It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

US Land Research

The Public Domain System: http://users.rcn.com/deeds/public.htm

Federal Land Patent Records: http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/
   Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States, image access to more than two million Federal land title records for Eastern Public Land States (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin), issued between 1820 and 1908.

Where to Obtain Land Patents/Warrants: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~haas/learningcenter/patentlocations.html

Locating Deeds: http://users.rcn.com/deeds/getdeeds.htm

Use tract indexes to search for the all property owned by a person or family - Tracking the Tract: http://www.rootdig.com/adn/moretracking.html

Public Records Online Directory: http://www.netronline.com/public_records.htm

Iowa Geographic Image Map Server - Search by Township Range Section: http://komodo.gis.iastate.edu/plss_search.html

Kentucky Land Records Online: http://www.sos.ky.gov/land/search/
   Includes city filings, 4748 Revolutionary War Warrants, West of Tennessee River Military Patents, Certificates of Settlement and Preemption Warrants, 4763 Lincoln Entries, 70239 County Court Order Patents, Jackson Purchase and County Formations, including Kentucky Co. VA, Fincastle Co. VA, and Beckham Co. KY.

Deed Platter: http://genealogy.bearnip.com/deeds/deed_platter.html

Cyndislist Land Records, Deeds, Homesteads, Etc.: http://www.cyndislist.com/land.htm

US Land & Property Research Class: http://users.arn.net/~billco/uslpr.htm

Booklet (pdf) Ohio Lands - A Short History: http://www.auditor.state.oh.us/Publications/

How much would that land be worth now? Inflation Calculator: http://www.westegg.com/inflation/


If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito. - Anita Roddick, 1942-  (The Body Shop)

Random Cool Stuff

The Secret Exchange: http://secretexchange.konky2000.com/
   Tell a secret, and then you can read someone else's secret. All anonymous. And very cool. It's like free therapy.

Along the same lines, with postcards: http://postsecret.com/

Really neato! This site helps you create a personalized Family Story, very quickly. Then you can email it it or print it out. I sure wish I had one of these from each of MY grandparents! Family Story Generator

Internet Archive WAYBACK Machine: http://www.archive.org/

Free encyclopedia - contribute YOUR knowledge!: http://en.wikipedia.org/ Auf Deutsch: http://de.wikipedia.org/
   The Book Stops Here: Jimmy Wales wanted to build a free encyclopedia on the Internet. So he raised an army of amateurs and created the self-organizing, self-repairing, hyperaddictive library of the future called Wikipedia: http://wired-vig.wired.com//wired/archive/13.03/wiki.html

Meetup is a free service that organizes local gatherings about anything, anywhere: http://www.meetup.com/
   1,159,000 people have already signed up for Meetups about 4,227 topics (as of 5 April 2004).

Found Stuff (especially writing): http://www.foundmagazine.com

Playing with Time: http://www.playingwithtime.org/

OnlineConversion.com - Convert just about anything to anything else (over 5,000 units, and 50,000 conversions): http://onlineconversion.com/

Growth of a Nation (US): http://www.animatedatlas.com/movie.html

Don't Do This! Conversational Cheap Shots: http://www.vandruff.com/art_converse.html

Wise Giving Alliance (Better Business Bureau): http://www.Give.org

US & World Population: http://www.census.gov/main/www/popcld.html

Calendars for the Years 1582-3000: http://www.aaronscollection.com/calendars/temp/

What Does your Phone Number Spell?: http://www.phonespell.org/

Amazing motorcycle trip through the Chernobyl area: http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/

The Human Clock - A Photo for Every Minute of the Day: http://www.humanclock.com/

AmazingMail - create and send a postcard to relatives and friends: http://www.amazingmail.com/

Airplane Flight Times: http://www.flightview.com/

How to Stay Safe and Avoid Fraud: http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~bobofwa/Great_Tip.htm

More Cool Stuff (Bonzer Sites of the Week): http://www.thisistrue.com/bonzer.html


The Citation Machine: http://www.landmark-project.com/citation_machine/
   Choose which type of citation you desire, fill in the blanks, and the citation/bibliography forms are generated in both APA and MLA style for cutting and pasting into your document or webpage.


CouchSurfing.com: http://www.couchsurfing.com/
   "CouchSurfing.com helps you make connections worldwide. You can use the network to meet people and then go and surf other members couches! When you surf a couch, you are a guest at someone's house." And idea whose time has, perhaps, come.


There is always something to do. There are hungry people to feed, naked people to clothe, sick people to comfort and make well. And while I don't expect you to save the world I do think it's not asking too much for you to love those with whom you sleep, share the happiness of those whom you call friend, engage those among you who are visionary and remove from your life those who offer you depression, despair and disrespect. - Nikki Giovanni