A Sunday Walk Around the Blogs

There’s hope yet for burned records. The National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis is working to restore, among other things, military personnel records damaged in a 1973 fire that devestated the NPRC’s holdings. This is exciting news for those of us whose ancestors’ paperwork may have been affected by that fire.

Julie Tarr gives 4 Reasons to Convert Your Genealogy Research into Writing, a timely reminder to all genealogists. Julie’s blog focuses on genealogical writing.

Finally, Robyn at Reclaiming Kin has an informative post about Ex-Slave Pension Records, a source with incredible potential for documenting the lives of former slaves. Robyn has taken the time to capture several images showing a range of the documents one might find in this collection.

A Sunday Walk Around the Blogs

This week instead of featuring posts or articles from various places around the Internet, I wanted to highlight several blogs I try to keep track of.

Planting the Seeds is written by Michael Hait, a certified genealogist whose specialties include the Mid-Atlantic states and African-American genealogy. Michael generally uses his blog to discuss professional issues, but anyone who would like to grow as a researcher will find much useful information, including a series of discussions on methodologies.

Judy G. Russell is the Legal Genealogist, and she usually blogs about just that: the legal aspects of genealogy. For instance, Fi. fa. Fo Fum! helps genealogists decipher the abbreviations used in historical court records. While you’re visiting Judy, be sure to congratulate her on becoming a certified genealogist.

The Clue Wagon is the product of Kerry Scott, a Midwestern genealogist with a wicked sense of humor. Her front page reads, “My name is Kerry. I like dead people.” My favorite two posts are 7 Reasons Why the Zombie Apocalypse Would Be Good for Genealogists and In Which I Piss Off Pretty Much the Entire Genealogist Establishment. The latter describes a genealogy drinking game. Sprite recommended.

Finally, I wanted to highlight a very new blog by a genealogist who literally cut her teeth on historical records. Rachal Mills Lennon is a Southern genealogist whose blog is linked to her professional web site, Finding Southern Ancestors. Rachal’s blog has only three posts (so far!), but all three are excellent examples of how to solve difficult Southern research problems. Two of those three place Nancy (Justice) Wade with her correct husband using records from the old Pendleton and Spartanburg Districts in South Carolina, localities from which many Rabun County families came.

I hope y’all take the time to poke around on these blogs. They are all well worth the reading time.

A Sunday Walk Around the Blogs

Lots of new web sites and articles to share today.

Genealogist unearths contribution made by local militia in the War of 1812 from thestar.com discusses the work of genealogist Janice Nickerson documenting contributions made by Toronto militiamen to the War of 1812, and her upcoming book York’s Sacrifice.

Harold Henderson wrote a great article, Climbing the Spiral Staircase, about the learning curve all genealogists experience. I recommend this one to every genealogist, regardless of skill level or interest.

The Boston Channel published an article, Murder Suspect’s DNA Linked to Mayflower Kin, detailing how investigators hope to use DNA to eventually find the person who killed a teenaged girl near Seattle in 1991. Forensic genealogist Colleen Fitzpatrick is contributing to the investigation.

If Helen F. M. Leary is the Grand Old Dame of genealogy, then Elizabeth Shown Mills is certainly its First Lady. Mills recently debuted her web site, Historic Pathways, which features a collection of her writings over her several decades as a historian and genealogist.

A Sunday Walk Around the Blogs

Need a vacation? Try the new wave in travel: genealogical tourism. About research conducted by Carla Santos and Grace Yan.

Archaeologists comb newly found Civil War POW camp by Russ Bynum for the Associated Press, about Camp Lawton, located in southeast Georgia.

1890 Georgia tax digests online as census substitute by Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr., for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This nifty article gives brief directions for using a search function to find tax holders, as well as locations for the original records.

A Sunday Walk Around the Blogs

A headstone leads a deputy to an old grave in this article from the Athens Banner-Herald.

Historic events shifted families into, out of Western North Carolina. This column in the Asheville Citizen-Times was written by Franklin, NC, local Dee Gibson-Roles.

The Genetic Genealogist blogs about an additional Native American haplogroup discovered by genetic genealogists.

Here’s a wonderful story about a slave ancestor found in Southern Claims Commission records at Reclaiming Kin.

A Sunday Walk Around the Blogs

Copyright Issues from Ask Olive Tree. A reader asks about the copyright of a letter written by her deceased great-uncle.

Handwriting from iPentimento. Handwriting analysis. Interesting post.

Ordering FHL microfilm from your home from Relatively Curious About Genealogy. What will they think of next?

Slave Letters from Reclaiming Kin. A small glimpse into a little-known resource.

A Sunday Walk Around the Blogs

Stories of the LRWMA, a blog dedicated to documenting the history of what is now the Lake Russell Wildlife Management Area in northeast Georgia.

18th-Century Ship Found at Trade Center Site by David W. Dunlap for The New York Times.

Georgia Black Crackers. Not a blog post, but the blog itself. Mavis, the author, details (among other things) her search for Grandpa Jasper and Grandma Jane Pierce. Very interesting.

A Sunday Walk Around the Blogs

An old diary throws him a curve written by Joe Mozingo for The Los Angeles Times. A family historian discusses the discovery of a hidden jewel and the impact it had on his family.

Genealogy for the Rest of Us: A Writer’s Guide to Diving into Family History by Steve Luxenberg, author of Annie’s Ghost. Genealogy from a writer’s point of view.

Ancestry – Finding Your Island Roots by Diane Maclean for the Caledonian Mercury. The island being Great Britain, although the article focuses particularly on Scotland.

William Spiller, Died ca. 1774, King William Co., Virginia.

A Sunday Walk Around the Blogs

Save 2010 Census–no images to be preserved You know, the Census Bureau and NARA keep trying this, and every time, researchers and the general public have to step in and save these valuable records. You’d think they’d learn by now.

The Census Birth Date Calculator describes a nifty tool created by Sean, author of Sean on Family History. Be sure to read all the comments to catch the caveats.

A Sunday Walk Around the Blogs

Free People of Color Population in the US: 1790 – 1860, a demographics chart created by Erin Bradford of Free Blacks in Antebellum North Carolina. An interesting comparison of Free POC populations in the Northern states versus in the Southern (later Confederate) states.

…And then the fire alarm went off from Arlene H. Eakle’s Genealogy Blog.

The Census – then and now from Valerie at Begin with Craft. Links to a video about the 1940 US Census.

Look out world – here comes the iceberg! from Tami Glatz at Relatively Curious About Genealogy (I just love that name). This post gives a brief look at digitization projects and the availability of online records. Poke around, as Tami has written a couple of other good posts.