Wednesday, December 29, 2010

MISSOURI 24/7: RESEARCHING MISSOURI ANCESTORS USING THE INTERNET, PART 1

Tom Pearson, Reference Librarian
Special Collections Department, St. Louis Public Library

1. GENERAL RESOURCES
A. Access Genealogy- Free Missouri Databases & Links:
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/missouri/
B. Cyndi’s List- Missouri: http://www.cyndislist.com/mo.htm
C. Kindred Trails- Missouri Genealogy Resources:
http://www.kindredtrails.com/missouri.html
D. LinkPendium- Missouri: http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/MO/

NARA ONLINE PUBLIC ACCESS

NARA is now offering a federated search beta, which allows you to search all NARA online databases (ARC, AAD, ERA, etc.) at once:

LINK

PROLOGUE

Prologue is the wonderful magazine that NARA has been publishing since 1969. This wonderful blog post covers the magazine, the Prologue blog, and the numerous ways one can access Prologue issues and articles:

LINK

CIVIL WAR TALKS AT THE MISSOURI STATE ARCHIVES

They’ve got one scheduled each month during January-November 2011:

Date: January 20. Lecturer: Jeremy Neely. “The Border Between Them: Violence and Reconciliation on the Kansas-Missouri Border.” Time: 7 PM. Place: Missouri State Archives.

Date: February 24. Lecturer: Gary Jenkins. “Negroes to Hire: Slave Life and Culture on Missouri Farms.” Time: 7 PM. Place: Missouri State Archives.

Date: March 24. Lecturer: Thomas Curran. “Confederate Women and Military Justice in the St. Louis Area.” Time: 7 PM. Place: Missouri State Archives.

Date: April 28. Lecturer: Jack Morgan. “Through Irish and American Wars: the Life and Times of Thomas W. Sweeney.” Time: 7 PM. Place: Missouri State Archives.

Date: May 19. Lecturer: Daniel Sutherland. “Guerrillas, Bushwhackers, and Partisans: Rethinking the American Civil War.” Time: 7 PM. Place: Truman Building, Rooms 490/492.

Date: June 16. Lecturer: William Piston Garrett and Thomas P. Sweeney. “Portraits of Conflict; a Photographic History of Missouri in the Civil War.” Time: 7 PM. Place: Missouri State Archives.

Date: July 14. Lecturer: Robert G. Schultz. “General Sterling Price and the Confederacy.” Time: 7 PM. Place: Missouri State Archives.

Date: August 11. Lecturer: Walter Kamphoefner. “Missouri Germans and the Cause of Union and Freedom.” Time: 7 PM. Place: Truman Building, Rooms 490/492.

Date: September 22. Lecturer: Ann Raab. “What Archaeology Can Reveal About General Order No. 11.” Time: 7 PM. Place: Missouri State Archives.

Date: October 20. Lecturer: Robert W. Frizzell. “Bloody Bill” Anderson’s Raids on the Lafayette County Germams.” Time: 7 PM. Place: Missouri State Archives.

Date: November 10. Lecturer: Dennis Boman. “Lincoln and Citizens’ Rights in Civil War America: Balancing Freedom and Security.” Time: 7 PM. Place: Missouri State Archives.

Missouri State Archives
James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center
600 West Main Street
Jefferson City, MO

Harry S. Truman Building
301 West High Street
Jefferson City, MO

To see videos of past programs:

LINK

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

SOMETHING STAYS

This great post by Michael Lynch from the Past in the Present blog reminds us that traces of past events can “haunt” historic sites in very palpable fashion:

LINK

NOTE: You might also be interested in this blog post I wrote about secular sacred spaces:

LINK

OUR QUASI-WAR WITH FRANCE

From 1798-1800, our country was sort-of at war with the revolutionary government of France. A book published by the GPO provides background info on this little-known conflict:

LINK

CHRONICLING AMERICA- NEWSPAPERS

If you haven’t checked in on this Library of Congress project lately, the large number of newspapers now represented may surprise you:

LINK

NOTE: Some good Missouri coverage!

Friday, December 17, 2010

FREE EBOOKS

Looking for free ebooks/audio books? Look no further than this lengthy list of sites offering free ebooks / audio books:

LINK

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

December 16, 2010

NBC ANNOUNCES SEASON TWO CELEBRITIES FOR ‘WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?’

Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Rosie O’Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Vanessa Williams and Ashley Judd Take a Look Inside Their Family Histories on NBC’s Genealogy Alternative Series Produced by Lisa Kudrow

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – December 16, 2010 – Viewers can take an up-close and personal look inside the family history of some of today’s most beloved and iconic celebrities when NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” returns for its second season on Friday, February 4 (8-9 p.m. ET). The celebrities who star in the series are Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Rosie O’Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Vanessa Williams and Ashley Judd.

From executive producers Lisa Kudrow (“Friends,” “The Comeback”) and Dan Bucatinsky (“Lipstick Jungle,” “The Comeback”) – through their production company Is or Isn’t Entertainment and Shed Media U.S. (“Supernanny,” “The Real Housewives of New York City”) -- “Who Do You Think You Are?” is an adaptation of the award-winning hit British television documentary series that leads celebrities on a journey of self-discovery as they unearth their family trees that reveal surprising, inspiring and even tragic stories that often are linked to crucial events in American history.

“I've been a fan of the U.K. version of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ for a long time, so it's very rewarding that the U.S. version is back with more compelling stories this season that are illuminating, touching and aspirational,” said Kudrow. “This is such a unique show for network television and we're all thrilled that the American audience has embraced it.”

From the trenches of the Civil War to the shores of the Caribbean, and from the valleys of Virginia to the island nations of Australia and Ireland, “Who Do You Think You Are?” will reveal the fabric of humanity through everyone’s place in history. Each week a different celebrity takes a journey into their family’s past, traveling all over the world. While giving viewers an in-depth look into their favorite stars’ family tree, each episode will expose surprising facts and life changing encounters that will unlock people’s emotions, show just how connected everyone is not only to the past, but to one another.

Ancestry.com is NBC and Shed’s official partner on the series and will help provide the research used to tell each story. “We’re thrilled with this year’s strong lineup and look forward to helping Americans go on their own journey of discovery alongside the stars,” said Josh Hanna, Head of Global Marketing for Ancestry.com.

Who Do You Think You Are?” is produced by Shed Media U.S. in association with Is or Isn’t Entertainment. Alex Graham, Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky, Jennifer O'Connell and Al Edgington are the executive producers. The unique, award-winning series is based on the popular BBC television documentary series from Wall to Wall Productions, created and executive-produced by Graham.

Shed Media U.S. is noted for its strong characters and memorable casting, and produces several popular television shows including: ABC’s “Supernanny,” Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York City” and “Bethenny Getting Married?,” Animal Planet’s “It’s Me or the Dog,” VH1’s “Basketball Wives” and CMT’s “World’s Strictest Parents.” Is or Isn't Entertainment has been developing and producing television and online content since 2003, producing the critically acclaimed and Emmy nominated series “The Comeback” currently making its own comeback on The Sundance Channel.

Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with nearly 1.4 million paying subscribers. More than 6 billion records have been added to the site in the past 14 years. Ancestry users have created more than 20 million family trees containing over 2 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries that help people discover, preserve and share their family history, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.

For "Who Do You Think You Are?" embeddable clips and full episodes, visit NBC.com's official show site:

http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/

ROOTSTECH 2011

Awesome lineup of classes/workshops for all you genie tech geeks out there (you know who you are):

Below is a sampling of lectures and demonstrations for the Feb 10-12 first ever RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City.

Here is the link to the other lectures on day 2 and 3; registration; hotels:

http://www.rootstech.familysearch.org/

Early bird registration through January 7; higher after that.

· Internet Indexing for Societies and Groups
· jQuery and Web Services
· Mobile Application Development
· Software Forecast: What Genealogists Need for the Future
· The Fifty Most Popular Genealogy Websites (Really!)
· Using GPUs for Image Processing
· Virtual Fam
· Web Analytics: Measure and Improve
· Will Your Work Survive the Digital Age
· Census Extract
· Creativity Matters
· Easy Digital Newsletters
· Effective Database Search Tactics
· Genealogy Blogs: Impact and Influence in the Genealogy Community
· Interactive Genealogists Part 1
· Legado: An Open-Source Python for Family History Research
· More Cloud with Comparision NA
· Tech Tools for Finding Manuscript Sources
· Toy Story - Electronic tools for genealogists
· Tweet Your Ancestors: Social Media for Genealogists
· 360 Degrees: Photos/Photo Imaging for Producing Authentic
· On-Site Family History Root Experiences with Multimedia
· Design Eye for the Dev Guy
· Digitally Preserving Your Family Heritage
· Lessons from building Browser Plug-Ins
· Mobile Apps for Genealogy
· On the Road to Mashups: Integrating Data from API Providers
· Scalability in the Cloud
· Social Networking for Genealogists
· Using the internet to create family websites
· "No SQL" - Exploring the Super Powers of Graph and Document DBs
· Cool Tools to Enhance Your Online Research
· Digital Preservation Tips for Programmers
· Getting Your Book Published!
· Is the future of genealogy in the Cloud, on your phone or on the desktop?
· Leverage Google's Free Services
· One-Step Webpages: A Potpourri of Genealogical Search Tools
· Rapid Family Tree Client Creation Using Genealogy Cloud™
· Self-Publishing for Genealogists and Genealogical Societies
· Spring 3.0 meets Fam
· Using Microsoft Pivot to Show Genealogical Content
· Virtual Presentations: "Second Life"DearMYRTLE

RootsTech is sponsored by Microsoft, Dell, FamilySearch, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, brightsolid, Ancestry.com, the National Genealogical Society, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and Brigham Young University.

Friday, December 10, 2010

GENEALOGY & CIVIL WAR HISTORY CLASSES AT SLPL

Here's the latest list of upcoming programs now through March 2011. This list supercedes any previous list you may possess. All programs are sponsored or co-sponsored by St. Louis Public Library. All are free and open to the public. Please note that locations vary.

Sat, Dec 18, 10 AM-Noon—He’s a Rebel: Researching Confederate Soldiers & Regiments. Join us as Tom Pearson discusses print, microfilm, manuscript, and Internet sources of info on our Illinois soldier ancestors. Buder Branch. Pre-registration recommended but not required. To register or for more information: tpearson@slpl.org.

Weds January 12 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Research at the Illinois State Archives. Join us as Tom Pearson discusses the wealth of resources for the genealogist and historian available at this Springfield, Illinois institution (emphasis on researching Civil War soldiers). PSOP Building, 201 N. Church Street, Belleville, IL 62220. To register or for more information: tpearson@slpl.org.

Sat, Jan 22, 10 AM-Noon-- Prairie State Patriots: Researching Illinois Civil War Soldiers & Regiments. Join us as Tom Pearson discusses print, microfilm, manuscript, and Internet sources of info on our Illinois soldier ancestors. Buder Branch. Pre-registration recommended but not required. To register or for more information: tpearson@slpl.org.

Fri, Feb 4, 1 PM-2 PM— To Rally With the Hearts of Lions: the Story of the U.S. Colored Troops. Join us as Tom Pearson discusses print, microfilm, manuscript, and Internet sources of info on black Civil War soldiers. Carpenter Branch. Pre-registration recommended but not required. To register or for more information: tpearson@slpl.org.

Fri, Feb 18, 1 PM-2 PM— “The Crimes of This Guilty Land”: Captain John Brown’s Assault on Slavery. Join us as Tom Pearson discusses print, microfilm, manuscript, and Internet sources on John Brown, the man who led a war against pro-slavery men in Kansas, and then led an ill-fated assault on Harper’s Ferry in Virginia (now West Virginia). Schlafly Branch. Pre-registration recommended but not required. To register or for more information: tpearson@slpl.org.

Thurs, Feb 24, 7 PM-8 PM— Black Codes and Fugitive Slave Laws. Join us as Tom Pearson discusses the numerous restrictions placed on slaves and free black persons in the antebellum and post-Civil War periods. Buder Branch. Pre-registration recommended but not required. To register or for more information: tpearson@slpl.org.

Thurs, Mar 17, 10 AM-Noon-- Citizen Soldiers: Researching Revolutionary War Ancestors. Join us as Tom Pearson discusses print, microfilm, manuscript, and Internet sources of info on our patriot ancestors. Buder Branch. Pre-registration recommended but not required. To register or for more information: tpearson@slpl.org.

SLPL branch library locations and hours

Parking at Buder Branch Library is free!

Tom Pearson, Reference Librarian
Special Collections Department
St. Louis Public Library
1415 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63103
tpearson@slpl.org

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTMENTS 2010-2011

Lengthy list of planned re-enactments (lists for Missouri and nationwide), most with a website or phone number for further info:

LINK

EVERNOTE

Do you tend to forget things if you don’t take care of them right away? Well, make a note about that must-do task- and make that note right now, on virtually any computer, phone, or mobile device:

LINK

ANCESTRY.COM GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS

If you know somebody who loves doing genealogical research, but doesn’t have an Ancestry.com subscription, you can now give that person a gift that really keeps on giving: a gift subscription to Ancestry.com. You can give a 6-month or 1-year subscription, and you can limit it to U.S. records, or give that person the World. Interested? Go here:
LINK

TIFF'S GENEALOGY ADVENTURE

Interesting personal blog with a Missouri connection by a Midwest Genealogy Center staffer:

LINK

Friday, November 19, 2010

MYHERITAGE.COM UPDATE

If you’re still on the lookout for great gift ideas, you may wish to take a look at the MyHeritage.com blog. They have released some new online family tree charts and posters that will make the most of your family tree info and photos—and these new online charts and posters look great!

Interested? Take a look:

LINK

EVERNOTE

Do you tend to forget things if you don’t take care of them right away? Well, make a note about that must-do task- and make that note right now, on virtually any computer, phone, or mobile device:

LINK

GMAIL DEFAULT MAKER

When you click on an email link while surfing the Web, your computer probably defaults to Windows Mail / Microsoft Outlook. But what if you normally use Gmail, Google Apps, Yahoo Mail, AOL, or Hotmail instead? This handy little app allows you to choose the email service to use- or you can set one service as your default service:

LINK

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

MINORITIES AND WOMEN IN THE NAVY

List of materials dealing with naval service of women and minorities compiled by staff of the Naval Historical Center:

LINK

CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTMENTS 2010-2011

Lengthy list of planned re-enactments, most with a website or phone number for further info:

LINK

CIVIL WAR NEWS PHOTO GALLERIES

Numerous photos taken at various re-enactments 2002-2010:

LINK

Thursday, October 21, 2010

BEST STATE GENIE WEBSITES

Family Tree Magazine has released a list of 75 of the best state-related websites for genealogy:

SEAMONKEY



You can’t do everything with it- but you can do most things most people want to do:


NOTE: this free app includes an all-in-one Internet browser, email & newsgroup client with an included web feed reader, HTML editor, plus IRC chat and web development tools!

VOLUNTEERSPOT



Is keeping track of volunteers to work events/projects for your library, school, or organization a real chore lately?  It doesn’t need to be:

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

MIDWEST GENEALOGY CENTER

Not familiar with the Midwest Genealogy Center?  Then it's high time you got acquainted:

The Midwest Genealogy Center opened in June 2008. The largest free-standing public genealogy library in the United States boasts 52,000 square feet of resources for family history researchers. Last year (2009), 98,820 patrons visited this library.


ST. LOUIS PUBLIC LIBRARY RESEARCH AIDS

You may access our extensive collection of indexes, bibliographies, and finding aids here:

LINK

Included is our ongoing index of obituaries appearing in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Argus newspapers!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

ST. LOUIS PUBLIC LIBRARY PROGRAMS

 Upcoming Genealogy and History Programs

Classes listed are sponsored or co-sponsored by St. Louis Public Library, and are free and open to the public.  Please note that locations for classes vary.

Weds October 20  6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m.   Hoe! Hoe! Hoe! Researching Farmers & Other Rural Ancestors.  Join us as we discuss various ways that genealogists can find books, microfilms, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, and Internet sites that offer information about ancestors who owned / worked farms or other agricultural ventures. Hayner Public Library, 326 Belle Street, Alton, IL 62002.  To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.

Sat October 30  10 a.m.-Noon.  The Witches of Salem Village.  Join us as we discuss witchcraft and witch trials in Europe and North America; the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692; and ways to research ancestors who were accused as witches. Buder Branch.  To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.

Thurs November 4  7:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Thirteen Dollars a Month: Recruiting, Enlistment, Conscription, & Desertion in the American Civil War.  Join us at this monthly meeting of the St. Clair County Genealogical Society as we discuss how they joined the army during the Civil War; what they got paid for doing so; and how some of them took the money and ran. St. Luke’s Parish Hall, 301 N. Church Street, Belleville, IL 62220.  To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.

Thurs November 18  10 a.m.-Noon. Research at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.  Join us as we discuss the wealth of resources for the genealogist and historian available at this Springfield, Illinois institution. Buder Branch.  To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.

Sat November 20  Meeting starts 10 a.m.; talk at 10:30 a.m.   Hoe! Hoe! Hoe! Researching Farmers & Other Rural Ancestors.  Join us at this monthly meeting of the St. Louis Genealogical Society as we discuss various ways that genealogists can find books, microfilms, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, and Internet sites that offer information about ancestors who owned / worked farms or other agricultural ventures. St. Louis County Library, 1640 S. Lindbergh, St. Louis, MO 63131.  To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.

Sat December 18  10 a.m.-Noon.   He’s a Rebel: Researching Confederate Ancestors.  Join us as we discuss various ways that genealogists can find books, microfilms, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, and Internet sites that offer information about Confederate soldier ancestors. Buder Branch.  To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.

Buder Branch
4401 Hampton Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63109

Pre-registration is recommended but not required.  To register or for more information, please email me at tpearson@slpl.org.  Parking on the Buder Branch lot is always free.

It’s easy to add you to my programs notification list.  Just email me at tpearson@slpl.org and use NOTIFY in the subject line- that’s all you need to do!

WELCOME TO OUR BLOG!

The Genealogy and Local History Special Interest Group consists of members of the Missouri Library Association who have an interest in developing and promoting library services for genealogists, local historians, and others with an interest in genealogy and local history.

This blog is intended to serve as a place where members of the Missouri Library Association Genealogy and Local History Special Interest Group list-serve can post:

1) news about genealogy and local history events and activities taking place at their libraries;
2) news about interesting new genealogy and local history publications and websites
3) tips on research sources and methodology. 

We also welcome news from non-members about genealogy and local history events, activities, and publications of Missouri libraries, genealogical societies, historical societies, and lineage groups (submissions by non-members of our list-serve are moderated for length and content).  Need to contact us?  Click here.