Genealogy News for August 2007

Here is the August 2007 edition of the monthly Genealogy News discussed at the Research Group meeting on Wednesday.

A) GENEALOGY WEB SITES OF INTEREST

1. http://www.cyndislist.com/ has a list of the FREE databases available on http://www.ancestry.com/. The list is at http://www.cyndislist.com/ancestry.htm#Free.

2. http://www.phillyhistory.org/ - a web site devoted to Philadelphia history.

3. http://www.rootstelevision.com/ has video (in four parts) of the play "Making Up History: The Search for Annie Moore." Go to the Irish Roots section at http://www.rootstelevision.com/players/player_irishroots.php to view the play.

B) NEW GENEALOGY DATABASES ONLINE

1. http://www.ancestry.com/ new databases (see http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/recent.aspx):

* Mayflower Descendants books and records
* British Army WW 1 1914-1920 Pension Records,
* Irish Passenger Lists 1803-1806,
* Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825
* German City Directories - 130 Volumes
* Family and Local Histories
* Index to Irish Wills, 1536-1837, 4 volumes.

2. http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/ new databases (see http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/recentcontentlisting.aspx) - 10 day free access to each new database.

* Many more Quebec church records - baptisms, marriages, burials
* Many surname/family history books - letter A
* Some English history books

Note that http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/ is a commercial service, but will eventually be available at the LDS FHC sometime in the future. To get notices of the new databases, sign up for their free email newsletter.

3. http://www.footnote.com/ -- new databases in work (partially available) - see http://www.footnote.com/documents.php for all databases available. Footnote offers a 7 day free trial for all databases

* Confederate Amnesty Papers

* War of 1812 Prize Cases

* Texas Birth and Death Certificates

* Naturalization Index - NY, MA, PA, WW1, others.

Note that http://www.footnote.com/ is a commercial service, but will eventually be available at the LDS FHC sometime in the future. To get notices of the new databases, sign up for their free email newsletter.

C) GENEALOGY SOFTWARE

1. FamilyTreeMaker 2008 software is now available for $39.95 http://www.familytreemaker.com/. The look and feel of FTM2008 is completely different from earlier versions.

2. WeRelate genealogy networking database - http://www.werelate.org/. Upload GEDCOMs, create charts, collaborate with other researchers, search the databases.

D) ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. National Archives (NARA) raised their copy fees effective 1 October 2007. The cost of a Civil War pension file will be $75 for the first 100 pages, and the cost for a Revolutionary War Pension file will be $50. The official announcement is at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-16233.pdf.

2. FamilySearch has released a Request for Information to potential genealogy content providers for material to be digitized and indexed and included in the New FamilySearch. The project is called the Records Access Genesis Project. Providers (such as societies, web sites, libraries, etc.) have until mid-September to submit their proposals. The information will be available for free at FHCs and the FHL in Salt Lake city, but may cost money if the data resides on a commercial website that is accessed from home. See Dick Eastman's summary at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/08/familysearch-is.html#more.

3. http://www.footnote.com/ will begin to digitize content at the Allen County Public Library (http://www.acpl.org/), the largest public genealogy library in the USA. Presumably, this will be out-of-copyright material like county histories, surname books, city directories, etc.

4. http://www.ancestry.com/ and New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS, http://www.newenglandancestors.org/) to collaborate on making resources on both sites available to their subscribers. The announcement is at http://genealogyblog.com/ancestrycom/ancestry-nehgs-collaborate-to-promote-and-educate-about-family-history-6252.

5. The Allen County Public Library (ACPL) in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library, and FamilySearch’s Family History Library in Salt Lake City announced a joint project to digitize thousands of published family histories, city and county histories, historic city directories, and related records. It will be the most comprehensive collection of city and county histories on the Web—and access will be free at http://www.familyhistoryarchive.byu.edu/.