31 Jan 2006 DearMYRTLE's Family History Hour

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DearREADERS & LISTENERS,
This is the lineup for this week's genealogy podcast, now available for you review 24/7. Myrt's guests and topics this week include:

Darrin Lythgoe the author of The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding (TNG), http://www.tngsitebuilding.com  a dynamic method of displaying and managing your genealogy online. He graduated from BYU (Brigham Young University) with a degree in communications and computer science, but he learned how to be a web developer from books he found at the public library and that marvelous trick, "Right-click + View Source". He is married with three daughters and lives in Sandy, Utah. During the day he is also the full-time webmaster for a financial company in Salt Lake City.

Ol' Myrt found herself totally wrapped up in this TNG following last week's DearMYRTLE's Family History Hour. Apparently one of the users told Darrin that we lightly touched on the topic during that podcast. So, what have I discovered? A wonderful way for me to share my actual genealogy database with cousins on the web.

TNG is the best and most workable method for improving communication among family members who are working the same genealogy lines.

TNG cures the ills that overcome us when trying to send actual copies of our databases and numerous scanned images and photos to others who aren't perhaps as computer savvy. Most of us now have too many scanned images to fit on one CD.

Without TNG I'd have to resort to sending CDs to each of my family members on an annual or semi-annual basis.

If you'd like to see great sample TNG demo database go to: http://lythgoes.net/genealogy/demo.php

This is part of Myrt's paternal pedigree chart. When my family members sign in, the BLUE triangles work with a "mouse roll over" to show the details on that individual, the spouse and children.

At right is the individual entry screen for my paternal ancestor Betsey OADES, who was born in Kruel, Lincolnshire, England 25 Sept 1829. If you scroll down you will see the links to all her pictures, which were also uploaded to my TNG site.

One of the best things, is that the photos are all correctly linked, just as they were on my computer. Remember how Windows XP creates a different "My Documents" folder for each user? Well, that wrecked havoc when transferring my genealogy database to my daughter Carrie's computer. I am not one of her computer's users, so there is no special subdirectory for DearMYRTLE on her hard drive. Yes, we could have jumped through hoops to get around the problem, but with TNG we don't have to. Its just a matter of uploading the genealogy database, and then uploading all the attached documents. Bing, Bing and it's all in there for my newly discovered 1 cousins once removed to view at their leisure. Also, I can upload the latest information, and it is immediately available to all interested parties.

All my family members have to do is click on the link to view Betsey (Oades) Player's tombstone.


Using TNG I provided a USER NAME and PASSWORD for each person entitled to look at my compiled genealogy. I then determined whether they should have permission to:

• see info on living individuals in my database

• make changes to the database

• make suggestions for changes to the database

• etc.

The whole thing "lives" on my DearMYRTLE.com website, so I don't have to have my computer on for interested family members to see what's up. If they forget their password, TNG provides for an automatic reminder email. Ol' Myrt here doesn't have to lift a finger.  PRETTY NEAT, eh?

See more samples pages by visiting: http://www.tngsitebuilding.com

We'll also listen to award-winning songwriter, instrumentalist and vocalist Steve Lanza. Myrt plays the "Family Tree" track from Steve's Ancestral Songs CD. This track has just won 1st place Folk and 3rd place Overall in the 2005 West Coast Songwriters International Song Contest!

You'll just love this album of acoustic folk music that explores family history themes. Each song is an original composition by singer/songwriter (and fiddler) Steve Lanza. Check it out at: www.SteveLanza.com

 (Please note that DearMYRTLE's Family History Hour is recorded in 24kps quality, to make this file manageable for dial up listeners. This song sounds even better on the CD than it does on the show!)

Courtney Newton, BA (Family History) www.ProGenealogists.com Her areas of expertise include the US Midwest and

 Italian research. Courtney explains several methods for determining your immigrant Italian ancestor's home town. Thankfully civil registration records of birth marriage and death began typically in the 1870s in Italy, though some regions kept records earlier. We have Napoleon to thank for that! If you'd hit a brick wall and would like to contact Courtney directly her email address is: cnewton@progenealogists.com

Among the resources Courtney and Myrt discuss during the interview, see:

• Guide to the Genealogical Resources of Italy: Region of Sicily by George E. Ott. Published by www.HeritageCreations.com
• Italian Genealogical Records: How to Use Italian Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Other Records in Family History Research by Trafford R. Cole. Published by www.Ancestry.com  Courtney explains "This source has lots of great examples of Italian records and the type of information they contain. It also contains a brief history of Italy which helps understand when and why certain records were kept. This was one of the books required for an Italian research class I took while at BYU."
• The Italian Genealogical Group has searchable databases of naturalization, marriage and death records for New York City. They can be found at http://www.italiangen.org
• Courtney mentions that the peak of Italian immigration to the US occurred in the early 1900s, and they typically came through the port of New York. For that reason she recommends searching the Ellis Island database, using the interface provided by http://www.stevemorse.org.

For additional reading:

• If anyone is interested in the BA Family History-Genealogy degree, the requirements can be found here http://history.byu.edu/undergrad/ba_familyhistory.htm. One requirement of the program wants you to know about is the  internship. Although her own internship was done locally, research trips to Italy are among the possibilities for other students.
• Myrt recommends several research outlines provided by FamilySearch.org including these found by going to http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp and clicking "I" for Italy.
  • How Do I Begin?
  • Italian Genealogical Word List
  • Italian Letter-Writing Guide
  • Italy Church Record Baptism 1809-1865
  • Italy Church Record Baptism 1866-Present
  • Italy Church Record Christenings
  • Italy Civil Registration Birth 1809-1865
  • Italy Civil Registration Birth 1866-Present
  • Italy Historical Background
  • Italy Map
  • Italy Research Outline
  • Italy, Church Record Marriage 1520-1808
  • Italy, Church Record Marriage 1809-1865
  • Italy, Church Record Marriage 1866-Present
  • Italy, Civil Registration Marriage 1809-1865
  • Italy, Civil Registration Marriage 1866-Present
  • Latin Genealogical Word List
• Myrt also recommends these research outlines which might prove useful, and are found at http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp by clicking "U" for United States:
  • Tracing Immigrant Origins Research Outline
  • United States Naturalizations before 1906
  • United States Naturalizations after 1906
  • United States Research Outline

MightyMouse Tour

Let's visit Dick Eastman's Encyclopedia of Genealogy located at: http://www.eogen.com/

• You can search this encyclopedia at any time by clicking on Search in the menus.
• You can also click on Index to view a list of all the entries.

It works like "wikipedia" in that entries are submitted by folks like you and me, who may have developed some expertise in a particular term or area of genealogy. For instance, if you click on the "Index" and scroll down, you can discover that:

A more detailed explanation of the Dawes Rolls begins as follows "The Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes was appointed by President Grover Cleveland in 1893 to negotiate land with the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole tribes. It is commonly called the Dawes Commission, after its chairman, Henry L. Dawes.

Tribe members were entitled to an allotment of land, in return for abolishing their tribal governments and recognizing Federal laws. In order to receive the land, individual tribal members first had to apply and be deemed eligible by the Commission." For more information, and a link to an online searchable Dawes Rolls index see: http://www.eogen.com/DawesRolls.

From the BookShelf features Genealogical Publishing Company's  The EARLY GERMANS OF NEW JERSEY: Their history, churches and genealogy compiled by Hermann Theodore F. Chambers. 667 pp. This is the 2004 reprint of the original published in 1895, ISBN#: 0806300701. We often look to these old-timey genealogy books for clues to documents that prove family relationships. From the publisher we read:

"For over a century Chambers' Early Germans has been the standard reference for genealogical research on families of northwestern New Jersey. In spite of its title, it is as useful for families of English, Scottish, or Dutch origin as for German. The bulk of the work is devoted to genealogies of families from the counties of Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex, and Warren and to genealogies of the early settlers of old Roxbury Township from Southold and Southampton. In addition, there are chapters on the settlements, churches, and public institutions of that region between Lambertville and Newton and the Delaware and the Bound Brook where these families first settled, containing scores upon scores of genealogical and biographical notices of other early settlers. Appendix VII is of particular interest to the genealogist because it contains a variety of useful lists, including:

(1) Palatines in New York in 1710
(2) Persons Naturalized, 1714-1722
(3) Settlers on the Societies Tract, 1735
(4) Subscribers to Weygand's Pastoral Call, 1749."

For more info including a listing of major surnames mentioned in the book see: http://www.genealogical.com/item_detail.asp?afid=&ID=940 .

LISTENING TO THE SHOW  

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Happy family tree climbing!
Myrt      :)

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