Scott_J on Family Tree Circles
Journals and Posts
Genealogy meme: So You Think You're Tech Savvy
Are you a tech savvy genealogist? Well if you're reading this, then I think that's a sign that you are. Even if you're not, here's a great list of things you might want to perhaps become familiar with.
The original blog post for this is here on Geniaus.
And here are my responses.
The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
Things you haven't done or found and don't care to: plain type
Feel free to add extra comments in brackets after each item
Which of these apply to you?
- Own an Android or Windows tablet or an iPad
- Use a tablet or iPad for genealogy related purposes
- Have used Skype for genealogy purposes
- Have used a camera to capture images in a library/archives/ancestor's home
- Use a genealogy software program on your computer to manage your family tree
- Have a Twitter account [Several, @familytreescott for genealogy]
- Tweet daily [Well, mostly]
- Have a genealogy blog
- Have more then one genealogy blog
- Have lectured/presented to a genealogy group on a technology topic
- Currently an active member of Genealogy Wise
- Have a Facebook Account
- Have connected with genealogists via Facebook
- Maintain a genealogy related Facebook Page
- Maintain a blog or website for a genealogy society
- Have submitted text corrections online to Ancestry, Trove or a similar site
- Have registered a domain name
- Post regularly to Google+
- Have a blog listed on Geneabloggers [I used to, but I think it got removed for inactivity]
- Have transcribed/indexed records for FamilySearch or a similar project
- Own a Flip-Pal or hand-held scanner
- Can code a webpage in .html
- Own a smartphone
- Have a personal subscription to one or more paid genealogy databases
- Use a digital voice recorder to record genealogy lectures
- Have contributed to a genealogy blog carnival
- Use Chrome as a Browser
- Have participated in a genealogy webinar
- Have taken a DNA test for genealogy purposes
- Have a personal genealogy website
- Have found mention of an ancestor in an online newspaper archive
- Have tweeted during a genealogy lecture
- Have scanned your hardcopy genealogy files
- Use an RSS Reader to follow genealogy news and blogs
- Have uploaded a gedcom file to a site like Geni, MyHeritage or Ancestry
- Own a netbook
- Use a computer/tablet/smartphone to take genealogy lecture notes [Well, I would if I attended a genealogy lecture]
- Have a profile on LinkedIn that mentions your genealogy habit
- Have developed a genealogy software program, app or widget [I'm going to count FamilyTreeCircles here]
- Have listened to a genealogy podcast online
- Have downloaded genealogy podcasts for later listening
- Backup your files to a portable hard drive
- Have a copy of your genealogy files stored offsite
- Know about Rootstech
- Have listened to a Blogtalk radio session about genealogy
- Use Dropbox, SugarSync or other service to save documents in the cloud
- Schedule regular email backups [I use GMail, which I think counts]
- Have contriibuted to the Familysearch Wiki
- Have scanned and tagged your genealogy photographs
- Have published a genealogy book in an online/digital format
What do you think about this list? Is it a good representative of being a tech-savvy genealogist? I think it is a pretty good list, except that it makes an assumption that the person going through this exercise attends genealogy lectures... which to me isn't in itself a technical activity. Anyway, not to be picky. I just didn't like losing those points. :-)
I think it would be fun if others here would like to post the same for themselves. Please feel free to do that in a journal here on Family Tree Circles.
instructions on making text bold and italics are on the add journal page.
Getting Help on Using FamilyTreeCircles
- Check out the FAQ page.
- Use the contact us form. This is best for issues like password problems, since you cannot use some of the other options without logging in.
- Send me a private message.
- Drop into the FamilyTreeCircles campfire chat. You can not only chat with me, but with other FamilyTreeCircles members, if they're in there.
- If you have a question that you think someone other than the owner of FamilyTreeCircles can answer, comment on this post. That increases the chances of getting a quick answer AND allows other to benefit from your question.
Getting into the Mayflower Society
If I remember the process correctly, there was little to do for my mother who actually took care of the correspondence. My grandfather was in and all we needed to do was provide some easily accessible birth certificates. It took a bit over a year for the actual approval process (I'm not sure why), but there wasn't any pushback that I recall. Just a lot of waiting.
Now I've got children of my own and I'd like to continue the tradition. About 8 years ago I embarked on the same process, (a) to get my daughter (my only child at the time) inducted, and (b) to document a second lineage to the Mayflower passenger William Brewster.
I provided the appropriate birth certificates and submitted the application with the $100 processing fee.
It was rejected!
It turns out that after 20 years, the Mayflower Society has become much more strict in their documentation requirements. The historian returned my William Brewster lineage papers all marked up with red stars where I was missing information. Further, even with my currently documented line to Stephen Hopkins, they cannot be admitted without further documentation.
They require all Birth, Marriage, Death and Divorce records for each person in the line. A tall order.
This was information not required for my Grandfather to get himself and two subsequent generations in. Now I've got three children, and more than ever I want to give them the same gift that my Grandfather gave to us.
It seems that I've got some work to do. And I know from personal experience, and listening to stories, that there are some pretty tough cases in the mix here.
Time has passed, and technology has advanced. We'll see if I can't get the holes filled. Maybe with a little help from my friends here on FamilyTreeCircles, Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere.
Will you follow along with me on this personal project?
I'll be documenting in detail what I am going through. Please follow along and see if you can't help me get through some brick walls as I attempt to complete the documentation of my lines to William Brewster and Stephen Hopkins.
At the very least, wish me luck!
Continue reading about my "Mayflower Project" here: The Mayflower Society application process...
Getting ready for some pretty major changes. And a chance at a Sneak Peek...
I've been hard at work on some pretty significant changes here on FamilyTreeCircles, big enough that I want to roll this out a little more carefully than I usually do.
For now, the only noticeable change is the header.
If yours doesn't look like that with the black bar at the top, try holding down the shift key while hitting the reload (or refresh) button on your browser. Or just wait and it'll update eventually.
So what's changing?
I've completely redesigned the user profile page. My goal is to make your user profile the hub of your activity, a much nicer home for you here on FamilyTreeCircles. The default view will be a full view of all your journals, formatted much like a blog. That way, anyone who follows your every post can easily see what you've been writing. If you organize your posts into categories, that will be much more visible. And your Assist! locations and surnames will be featured prominently as well.
In fact, it's going to be a lot like having your own blog, which is where I am headed with this.
And speaking of following, I'll be reintroducing he concept of "follow"ing. By following someone, you will be able to keep track of their new stuff.
When's it coming?
I'm still testing it out, but if you would like a sneak peek, just comment here on this post and I'll turn it on for you.
I'll probably grow impatient and make it available in the next few days, but I'd love to get some feedback first.
Again, just comment below if you'd like to try it out and give me some feedback.
Thanks!
Happy Mothers Day -- My Umbilical Line
On this Mother's Day I thought it would be fun to post our matrilineal lines, in other words, our lines up through our mothers, and their mothers, and so on.
In the genealogy blogosphere, there's a meme going on this weekend to post about our maternal line, like Randy Seaver has done here.
This, by the way, is where we get our mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, which is passed in its entirety from a mother to her children. It just so happens that I purchased a DNA test from 23andme.com a few weeks ago when they had their $99 special. Though as I stare at this test kit to spit into, I admit I'm getting cold feet.
Have you had a DNA test of any type for genealogy purposes?
Anyway, here's my line, that I've also posted as a journal here on FamilyTreeCircles.
- Scott JANGRO (that's me)
- [living] BAKER m. [living] JANGRO
- Dora Helen MCILWRAITH (1915-1982) m. Robert Slade BAKER
- Margaret HOURIHAN (1890-1931) m. Robert MCILWRAITH
- Frances Mary LYNCH (????) m. Thomas HOURIHAN
That's it! It ends quickly with the jump to Ireland, which is where the line ends. I don't even have documentation on Frances and Thomas.
This is where I get my Irish and Scottish blood. I wish we had more. Someday I'll make a trip to Ireland
Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!
If you'd like to post your own matrilineal line as a journal, just start here.
Hattie Rugg
Does anyone know this person?
Her name is Hattie RUGG and it appears that this picture was taken in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Help Support FamilyTreeCircles
When I started FamilyTreeCircles nearly a decade ago, I never imagined it would grow to nearly 100,000 members. It's humbling to be able to provide a resource that has brought so many people together in the common interest.
FamilyTreeCircles has always been a labor of love for me, but with the growing membership, usage, continuing to add new features, and fighting spammers, costs grow as well.
What you may not know about me is that as an entrepreneur, I actually run another web startup. This takes 60-80 hours of my time every week, and I have little left for much else. If you're interested, that's a web publishing platform called Shareist. I think it is a great resource for genealogists.
I would never have been able to even get this far without the patience and support of the people who use FamilyTreeCircles every day, and particularly those who volunteer to help moderate the activity. It's truly a wonderful community. I'd like to not only keep things running, but do even more.
For example, one thing that I've tried to start up several times, but have not been able to do so because of the costs is a periodic newsletter with great genealogy stories and content, as well as featuring fun stuff from FamilyTreeCircles members. But the cost of doing so has been prohibitive. I'd love to be able to do this as well as continue to add more features.
From the start, I promised that FamilyTreeCircles would be a free resource and I have no intentions of going back on that. Over the years, I have received generous offers from people that they would be more than willing to pay for this resource.
In response to that, I've finally added a way to do that, for those with the means to do so, while keeping the service free for the rest.
If you enjoy FamilyTreeCircles and want to see it continue on as a strong and independent genealogy resource, I hope you'll consider contributing even a small amount to its upkeep and further development. If you cannot, no hard feelings here.
Go here: FamilyTreeCircles Patronage
Thank you very much!
Scott
How do you cite as a source, a plaque in a precinct for a fallen policeman which details his heroism?
This is a question submitted by a newsletter reader.
How do you use the term née?
I always say it in my head, I think in the wrong direction (wrong name first). And is it a term that's commonly used when doing family history?
Introduce Yourself
Welcome to Family Tree Circles. Whether you're new here or have been around for a long time, please reply to this journal and introduce yourself.
I'll start...
I'm the owner and developer of FTC, and have been working on it on-and-off for maybe four years now. I recently got a boost of energy and redesigned it completely. I'm a full-time web developer and a part-time genealogist and the combination of those two interests has resulted in this website, for better or worse. It is very rewarding every time someone finds something useful here. Through FTC, I've connected with several cousins of mine, and I know that many others have as well.
Genealogically speaking, I'm lucky enough to have been handed some good family research. I've got two documented lines back to the Mayflower (Stephen Hopkins and William Brewster), that my grandparents researched. I'm also fortunate that my own father's line and my own name is well documented back about 12 generations to 17th century France via Quebec, CA. In the past 10 years or so, thanks to the Internet, I've added much to the research.
Personally, I have lived in Massachusetts (US) all my life. I've got two children who will hopefuly share some of my interest in this hobby.
