Archive for December, 2012

News from around the web.
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• The Southern California Genealogical Society has
  launched Oasis,
  its online library catalog featuring the society’s 26,000 books. The society’s
  library holds items from all 50 states, as well as German, Canada (French Canada),
  England and Ireland.

Over the next several months, CDs, maps, microfilms and periodicals will
be added to the catalog.

• Thanks to the Flip-Pal Cares response team, Hurricane
  Sandy survivors in Union Beach, NJ, may soon be reunited with family photos that have
  washed up on the Jersey shoreline.

Last weekend, the rescue team, volunteers and Monmouth County, NJ, Boy
Scout troops used donated Flip-Pal
mobile scanners to digitally scan thousands of photos, wedding albums and scrapbooks
collected from the shoreline, wetlands and piles of hurricane debris. All
scanned photos have been posted on Facebook for their owners to claim.

• Heredis software shares a preview
  video of the Heredis Blue Suite. In addition, Heredis is offering a 20 percent
  discount on all PC and Mac Heredis genealogy software through Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013.

 

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Do you have a Jesse James in your family? What about a Wyatt Earp?

Sifting through criminal case files to find your ancestors in criminal court records
is illuminating—whichever side of the law your ancestors are on.

The records created by the criminal justice system are “wonderful additions to any
family history,” says Using
Criminal Court Records Webinar presenter Judy Russell, The
Legal Genealogist, (For
a video sneak peek of this Tuesday, Dec. 11 live webinar [7 p.m. ET], click here.)

Russell sums up those who are in the criminal justice system this way: “They came
in all sizes, shapes, colors. They were men, women and even children. They acted out
of greed or foolishness or just desperation—or were wrongly accused. And they became
the criminals.

“They’re among the most colorful characters in our family trees. They didn’t toe the
line, they went their own ways, and they did one thing that can’t help but warm a
genealogist’s heart: They left records. Arrest records. Conviction records. Prison
records.”

“But they weren’t all bad guys (or gals),” she adds. “Your ancestor might have played
a different role: police officer, constable, judge, juror or witness.”

Next week, “we’ll take a look at a whole range of records created after a crime was
committed, from police reports all the way to prison records,” says Russell. “We’ll
look at cases prosecuted in local courts, state courts and federal courts. We’ll look
at some records from other countries. And we’ll look at ways to find the records that
relate to our ancestors in the many roles they played in the criminal justice system
… and what those records tell us about the times in which our ancestors lived.”

Register
now for this fascinating webinar!

 

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At this busiest time of the year, we’ve made it our mission to help make your web
research easier and more efficient. Ramp up your research skills and save time in
the process with December’s
Ultimate Collection: Genealogy Websites. The Family Tree Magazine editorial
team has hand-picked its favorite resources to help make you an online genealogy research
pro.

Gift yourself the gift of time this holiday season—at a 66 percent discount—to
take your research to the next level.

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What genealogy goodies would you like to find under your tree this holiday season?
Enter ShopFamilyTree.com’s Win Your Wish List Sweepstakes for a chance to receive
them!

To enter: Visit the Win
Your Wish List sweepstakes page to find out how to select the five books, CDs,
videos or other products you’d most like to win. One winner will be selected at random
from all the entries.

Hurry! The entry deadline is midnight ET Monday, Dec. 10!

News from around the web.
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Whether you’re just beginning to tap into popular search engine Google or are an experienced
user looking to leverage tools like Google Reader and the Google News Archive, we
can help.

Google
for Genealogy, Family Tree University’s new 4-week class, from Monday, Dec. 10
through Sunday, Jan. 13, will teach you how to effectively use Google to power to
your genealogical research.

Here are four keys to success for Google searching:

1. Keep it simple. Less is more when it comes to search. Start simple and then
   revise your search to follow the right path.
2. Use your imagination. Think like someone who would post a web page with the
   kind of information you’re looking for. Think like a genealogist for charts and reports;
   think like a railroad historian for background information on the railroad your grandfather
   worked for; and think like a librarian when searching for books.
3. Use focused, descriptive words. Each word should pack a search punch!
4. Try a variety of search options. Remember: “Search strategies” is a plural
   phrase and implies that a number of searches be conducted to get the best results.

Learn much more in Google for Genealogy, including:

• Google search essentials
• Advanced searching strategies
• Navigating Gmail, Google+ and Google Reader
• How and why to use Google Books and the Google News Archive
• Translating websites, documents and plain text with Google Translate
• Creating and managing Google Alerts
• Sharing documents with Google Drive (formerly Google Docs)
• Preview of Google Earth

Ready to amp up your search capabilities in 2013? Click
here to register.

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Check out this special sneak
peek of Thursday’s Kansas Genealogy
Crash Course: Find Your Sunflower State Ancestors. 

Don’t
miss your chance to register for this live webinar (7 pm EST)—and to get all the
info you need to find your roots from Topeka to Witchita, Dodge City to Kansas City!

News from around the web.
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What’s not to love about the holidays? Gaudy decorations, ridiculous costumes, unusual traditions, extended amounts of time spent with family—it’s a recipe for happy memories and hilarious photos.

Share
your funny holiday photo (of two- or four-legged friends!) with us, and it could
appear on our Facebook page and even in our upcoming book Hilarious Holiday Photos.

PLUS: Submit a photo before Jan. 3, 2013, for the chance to win a $50
Amazon Gift Card! The photo that the author and editors find the funniest will receive
the gift card.

So get out your camera this holiday season and capture those …
    •    Creepy mall Santas
    •    Santa-fearing, crying kids
    •    Bad Christmas sweaters (and sweatsuits)
    •    Pets in seasonal garb
    •    Hokey holiday decorations
    •    Terrible gifts
    •    Unfortunate New Year’s outfits
    •    … whatever strikes your funny bone!

We also want to see funny photos from other holidays, including:
    •    Funny couples photos that capture the love
of Valentine’s Day
    •    Photos that leave us green with St. Patrick’s
Day pride
    •    Funny All-American photos 

    •    Halloween costumes that make us howl with laughter
    •    Thanksgiving celebrations
    •    … and more!

Surname Forum Activity
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Scranton Times
28 Sep 1957
Gerald Manley Dies; Ex-City Fireman
Gerald Manley, 56, of 1424 Hollow Ave., a retired Scranton Fire Department member, died yesterday in State Hospital following a long illness. Prior to his retirement he served at Engine 5, Dickson Ave.
A native of West Scranton, he was the son of John and Sara Lally Manley. He had resided in North Scranton for 30 years and was a member of Holy Rosary Church and its Holy Name Society.
Surviving are his wife, the former Miss Irene McGuire; three sons Capt. Thomas Manley, serving with the Marine Corps. In Charleston W. Va., Gerald, Philadelphia, and Leo, at home; five sisters, Mrs. Sadie Jones, Miss Catherine Manley, Mrs. Stella McDonnell and Mrs. J. Warren Kimble, all of this city, and Mrs. Florence Culkin, Buffalo N. Y.; a brother, Peter, this city and four grandchildren.
The funeral will be Monday at 9 A. M. from the Jennings-Raffery Funeral Home, 415 West Market St., with mass at 9:30 in Holy Rosary Church, Interment, Cathedral Cemetery.
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Surname Forum Activity
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Hi and best wishes to you today.
I am helping my wife to find out more about her lineage.We are trying to find out more about JAMES MANLEY from NORTH CAROLINA father of ELIZABETH CHILDERS,MANLEY(DOB:2/24/1873)(DOD:8/22/1934).James moved to Dunkirk,Hardin, Ohio but we are not sure when he and his wife moved to Ohio. We don’t know his wife’s name. Elizabeth Manley’s husband was Albert Childers and they had four children.
Thanks for your assistance.
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As family historians, we always wish our ancestors had documented and passed down more. Especially around the holidays as I spend time with family, I think of my ancestors more than ever. What was Christmas like for them? What were their holiday traditions? What kinds of gifts did they give each other and more. The next thought comes as a jab in the ribs as I think to myself that I may not be documenting my own family and traditions well enough for future generations. So, to remind everyone of our own need to document, Ancestry is encouraging photo taking and sharing during this holiday season.

This year we’re encouraging everyone to document and share their family and traditions via Instagram. Simply take some family photos with the instagram app and tag the images with #ancestryholiday. Those that participate will be entered to win a variety of Ancestry.com products. You can learn more on Ancestry.com’s Facebook page here.

We’re looking forward to spending time with your family this holiday season.