• Want to know what was going on at the time your ancestors were living? On The Next Web blog, Paul Sawers tells us PopUp Archive has, um, popped up recently with hours and hours of historical radio broadcast interviews and the website has some pretty awesome search features. 
• Are you researching your Native American heritage? Jennifer Gonzalez guest posted on the In Custodia Legis blog [Law Librarians of Congress] and she highlights for us some of the Native American documents that were added recently to Law.gov.
• On the Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections blog, John informs us the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) is seeking presentation proposals for its 2014 conference which will be held at the Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa.
• Did your ancestors ever live, work, etc., in Ontario, Canada? On Genealogy Canada, Elizabeth tells us what is in the latest Ontario Genealogical Society's journal, Families, and some reasons for becoming a member of their society.

• If you have ancestors who were from County Wicklow, Ireland, you might be interested in these letters Claire tells us about on Irish Genealogy News.
• Also on Irish Genealogy News, Claire informs us Oireachtas Library and Research Service has recently opened its catalog to the public, and she highlights some collections and documents that can be found in the catalog. While those collections & documents are not online, she does include some links to their collections that are online.
• Again, on Irish Genealogy News, Claire tells us of the 1970-1974 documents released by the National Archives of Ireland to CAIN [Conflict Archive on the Internet].
• On Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections, John informs us of and gives us links to the English Parish Records that were recently added to findmypast.co.uk.
• On GenVines, Janell gives us the latest updates to Newspapers.com with links to each newspaper title which include the following US states: California, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.
• And USGenWeb [a free site] volunteer contributors uploaded 152 files yesterday for various counties in the following US states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

• Yesterday's 10 Genealogy Things You Needed to Know
• 9 Family Tree Apps for Your iPad
• The 20 Photo-Related Apps On My iPad

Happy Researching!
~Caroline
© Copyright 2013 4YourFamilyStory.com -- All Rights Reserved.

• From the SearchReSearch Blog, Daniel M. Russell shares the special technique we need to effectively search Google Scanned Newspaper Archives. [Daniel works for Google so he should know. You are using newspapers in your family history research, right?]
• On Genea-Musings, Randy gives us an overview of the look and feel of recently launched Legacy 8.0 genealogy database software.
• On Julie's Genealogy & History Hub blog, Julie points out to us 2 frustrations she's having with Legacy 8.0 and then in another post points out another potential problem with it and the solution she's found.
• Speaking of genealogy database software and what we'd like it to do, on Google+, Tamura Jones points out many of the articles he has written on the subject as well as points out a recent blog post Louis Kessler has written on the subject. [Hopefully the genealogy database software vendors will read them.]
• Nov 30th is the deadline for this awesome early bird discount for Rootstech registration. [Makes a great holiday gift. I'm going. Will you be there?]

• Here are some great holiday gift ideas for genealogists, for family historians, for tech geeks, and for family historians to give to their family members: Apple's Black Friday-only Sale, 10 Tech Bargains for Black Friday 2013 (Makeuseof.com), 50 Gifts for Genealogists this Christmas (One Rhode Island Family), How to Make a Photo Book This Weekend (The Armchair Genealogist)
• The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) announces its newly elected President and Board. Congratulations to them all!
• On GenVines, Janell informs us of 3 newly added databases to Fold3.com.
• On Wednesday, GenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 36 files for various counties in the following US states: Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington. And yesterday, they uploaded 187 files for Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.
• And a big thanks to Tamura Jones for naming 4YourFamilyStory's Things You Need to Know as Best New Blog Feature for 2013 in his annual Geneablog Awards!! And congratulations to the other award recipients, Tim Forsythe and Dear Myrtle!!

• 7 Genealogy Things You Need to Know This Morning, Wednesday, 27 Nov 2013
• 15 iPad Apps for Genealogy & Family History
• Budget-Friendly Holiday Gift Idea: Heritage Ornaments

Happy Researching!
~Caroline
© Copyright 2013 4YourFamilyStory.com -- All Rights Reserved.

Note: Tomorrow is the all-important day here in America where many of us stuff our faces with copious amounts of turkey and a whole slew of carbs. And top it off with pies in many, many scrumptious flavors. And we do it with family and friends. And talk to each other with our mouths full. And we watch American football. And then we nap. [Or is that just me?] Thus, tomorrow, the Genealogy Things You Need to Know blog post will not occur because the author is an American and she needs to cook, eat, talk, watch some football, & nap, y'all. [I'm Texan too.] But the posts will resume on Friday. [If you follow me on social media networks like Twitter, Instagram, Vine, and Facebook, & you're absolutely positively bored, I tend to post pics of what I'm cooking.]

But? Here's what you need to know today...

1. Don't forget Friday is StoryCorps' National Day of Listening. Ask questions, start conversations, and jog loved ones' memories over the holidays.
2. Planning to do some shopping for the holidays? When will you shop? And Chandra Steele from PCMag.com asks, "Are You Better Off Shopping Thanksgiving Thursday, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday?"
3. Google is always finding ways to make searching the Internet easier for us which is a good thing considering how much we use Google to look for our ancestors. Jerry Hildenbrand on Android Central informs us of a new free Chrome Browser Extension that makes searching even easier.
4. And here's Terry White's 2013 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide. [I want number 10.]
5. On The Root, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Eileen Pironti tell us how the holidays can help us with our research.
6. Yesterday, FamilySearch.org updated or added new records for the Billiongraves Index; for the countries of Bolivia, Germany, & Spain; and for the U.S. states of Illinois, New York, North Carolina, and Oregon.
7. And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded yesterday 244 files for various counties in the following U.S. states: California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

• Yesterday's 9 Genealogy Things You Needed to Know
• Genealogy Tip: Go Further, Go Longer
• 9 Family Tree Apps for Your iPad

Happy Researching!
~Caroline
© Copyright 2013 4YourFamilyStory.com -- All Rights Reserved.

A  handy genealogy research tip used to be [and still is if we're at the library] is to not pick up a book at the library and immediately go to the index in the back of the book to look up our ancestor's name without looking at anything else in the book. We need to understand why and how the book was created. In other words, we need to understand the context of the book and its information.

And this is a great tip when using Google Books, too. Except the book isn't on a shelf. And we're searching it not by its index but by a search box [usually]. And sometimes we don't have access to the whole book, but we do have a book description. [So the same. But not. But similar. Sorta.]

While researching for someone else, I came across a snippet from Google Books that indicated the persons of interest [of whom I had some interest ;) ] were married in Tennessee in 1829 which is before marriages were recorded in Franklin County; a county whose boundaries have changed no less than 13 times since 1807. [1] [Both of which make a researcher's head spin so fast it gives us whiplash, no?]

Taking a quick look at the information about the book and its contents, gives me another clue. It tells me a lot of good stuff about the information found in the newspapers included in the book. In particular, these newspapers are on microfilm at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. And, at times, the info found in the newspapers, not just what was published in the book, included the bride's and groom's fathers' names as well as their places of residence. [2] [Hot. Diggity.]

Then a quick look at the Tennessee State Library and Archives website and their online Newspaper Index tells me they, indeed, have this newspaper and issue on microfilm. [Ohmigosh. The book's introduction did not lie.] However, they only loan these films out via Inter Library Loan to Tennessee libraries. [Bummer 'cause I'm in Texas.] But, alas! With some key information provided they do provide a search and copy service for a nominal fee which is even more nominal for those in Tennessee. [And by nominal, I mean just a couple of fancy schmancy coffees or if you're in Tennessee, maybe just one.]

So, I ordered it. And, like magic, there was more information about Joseph H. Bradford and Maria Christina Spyker in the 1829 newspaper. It doesn't tell me who his father was [Perhaps, he had already passed? Maybe? Possibly?], but it does place Joseph's residence in Winchester and reveals Maria's father was Jonathan Spyker and she was Jonathan's "eldest daughter." 3 lines in the book expanded to 4 in the newspaper and brimming with more possibilities and clues to pursue. And an identification of a father to work with. [3] [Perhaps, a probate record exists for Jonathan and he listed Maria in his will? That would be nice for corroboration.]

But the point is don't give up.

Go further, go longer.

Happy Researching!
~Caroline
© Copyright 2013 4YourFamilyStory.com -- All Rights Reserved.

Sources

1. Sharon DeBartolo Carmack and Erin Nevius, editors, The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists: The Essential Guide to American County and Town Sources (Cincinnati: Family Tree Books, 2004), 639.
2. Lucas, Silas Emmett, "Marriages from Early Tennessee Papers, 1794-1851." (2005): 49; online archives Google Books ( http://books.google.com/books?id=6A4UAAAAYAAJ&q=maria+catherine+spyker++tennessee&dq=maria+catherine+spyker++tennessee&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hMGUUuCTBePhyQHv74CYAQ&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAA : accessed 26 Nov 2013).
3. "Joseph H. Bradford marriage to Maria Catherine Spyker," marriage, National Banner, 5 Dec 1829, p. 3, col. 4.; photocopy; citing microfilm publication [awaiting descriptive number from archives] (Nashville, TN: Tennessee State Library and Archives, [awaiting year from archives]), roll [awaiting roll number] for 5 Dec 1829.
   

• Not-so-good news for 23andme. FDA calls for a halt on sales until 23andme can give them needed verifications on the reliability of the medical testing predictions. Read more on Reuters.com. For more information also check out the 23andme Facebook Page.
• Meanwhile, if you had getting your DNA tested for ancestry research purposes on your holiday gift list, FamilyTreeDNA has a holiday sale going on through 31 Dec 2013 on their Y-DNA and their Mitochondrial DNA tests. And if you choose their Family Finder Test, then you can get a  free $100 Restaurant.com Gift Card.
• Don't forget the Office 15-minute webinar on the Excel Web App is today.
• Legacy Family Tree 8.0 genealogy database software has finally been released.
• The Personal Digital Archiving 2014 conference will be held in April in Indiana at the Indiana State Library. Currently, they have a call for papers. Registration begins in February of 2013.
• Promising, a "whirlwind tour of the globe" packed between its covers, the winter issue of Irish Roots is now available.

• On The British GENES Blog, Chris informs us of updates to the Original Record website and that Rootsireland.ie has a 40% sale on access to their online records.
• Yesterday, Ancestry.com updated 2 databases for UK and Poland and added indexing for 5 web-based sites for Ohio, Michigan, and Oklahoma.
• And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 265 files for various counties in the following US states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Texas Virginia, and Wisconsin.

• Yesterday's 6 Genealogy Things You Needed to Know
• 15 iPad Apps for Genealogy and Family History
• 7 Suggestions for Solving Your Genealogy Research Problem

Happy Researching!
~Caroline
© Copyright 2013 4YourFamilyStory.com -- All Rights Reserved.

1. Family Roots Publishing has a Gift Bundle at 25% off through this Wednesday, 27 Nov 2013. 
2. Speaking of buying & family history stuff, PCWorld.com has put together a handy dandy Printer Buying Guide. [It's like there's a gift-giving holiday coming up or something. ;) ]
3. On tomorrow's Office 15-minute Webinar, they'll be going over the latest features of the Excel Web App. [Can definitely squeeze in a 15-minute webinar between baking pies and cornbread. If you're an American celebrating Thanksgiving and you make the pies and cornbread, that is.]
4. Are you doing this? [I hope so. It's 1 of the reasons I keep listing the new records that have been added to online databases recently.] Travis illustrates to us how looking at his holes in his database and visiting databases like FamilySearch.org and looking for documents that can help fill-in the holes is beneficial. [Awkward sentence. I need coffee, but? He's getting it done. He's executing.]
5. For Americans, Thanksgiving is THIS WEEK. [In case you didn't know.] The Photo Detective, Maureen Taylor, reminds us to not forget to do this one very important thing this Thanksgiving. I usually forget to do this. Do you?
6. And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 236 files for various counties in the following U.S. states: Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin.

• Yesterday's 3 Genealogy Things You Needed to Know 
• 5 Steps to Get You Unstuck on Ancestry.com
• How Do I Use Microsoft OneNote to Make a Research Plan?

Happy Researching!
~Caroline
© Copyright 2013 4YourFamilyStory.com -- All Rights Reserved.

• Dear Myrtle shares with us this week's upcoming genealogy-related hangouts, webinars, and online events.
• Going somewhere during the holidays and want to know what research you can do in that (or those) location(s)? On the Family Tree Maker User blog, Russ shows us how to make a Road Trip report, of sorts, in Family Tree Maker.
• And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 77 files for various counties in the following U.S. states: Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan. Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington.

• Yesterday's 7 Genealogy Things You Needed to Know
• How a Family History Storyteller Uses Tech
• Holiday Gift Idea: Heritage Gift Coasters
  

Happy Researching!
~Caroline
© Copyright 2013 4YourFamilyStory.com -- All Rights Reserved.

1. Angela Y. Walton-Raji's latest African Roots Podcast #242 is up! [Time to download and listen on the go. Or on the couch with my iPad. In front of the fire place. With coffee.]
   
2. Recently, Ancestry.com updated existing databases for the UK, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Hamburg, and the U.S. state of Virginia.
   
3. Are you using Keynote on your iPad to make family history slideshows? Keynote for iPad recently got an update with some new transitions and builds.
   
4. 2 new databases were added to Tex-Share -- The American West Collection and the American Indian Histories and Cultures Collection. They're available to Tex-Share member libraries at no additional cost. So take a look at your local Texas library's website [if they participate in Tex-Share] to see if they've been added yet.
   
5. Yesterday, FamilySearch.org added new or updated existing databases for Portugal, Quebec, and New England.
   
6. Now, this is handy. On her blog, TK gives us a A Detroit City Directory Research Aid. She notes that sometimes the directories are incomplete for Detroit on Ancestry.com so she made a research aid. I've noticed the same problem on Ancestry.com for New Orleans, San Antonio, and Galveston City Directories. Time to make a research aid, methinks. Thanks, TK!
   
7. At this point, I think Michigan is just showing off. But? All the better for those of us whose ancestors were once in Michigan. USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 224 files for various counties in the following U.S. states: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia.
   

• Yesterday's 9 Genealogy Things You Needed to Know
• 5 Ways to Get Your Family History to Find You
• How Do I Use Microsoft OneNote to Make a Research Plan?

Happy Researching!
~Caroline
© Copyright 2013 4YourFamilyStory.com -- All Rights Reserved.

• In the market for a new computer to help you find you ancestors' stories & secrets? PC World gives us a Windows 8 Buying Guide to show us how Win8 looks and feels and such on different types of devices. [It took me just a bit to get the hang of my Win8 Touchscreen laptop, but it's easy to use now, and dare I say, fun?]
• Dear Myrtle is looking for panelists for her 2nd Mastering Genealogical Proof study group conducted via Google+ Hangouts on Air.
• On The British GENES Blog, Chris informs us Durham Records Online has added, um, more records, um, online. ;)
• Do you use Legacy Family Tree Software? Tessa Keough hosted and recorded the monthly Legacy Virtual Users Group's Google+ Hangout On Air yesterday, and they covered Geography & Mapping in Legacy.

• Dear Myrtle, Russ Worthington, and Randy Seaver took a look yesterday and discussed the finer points of collaborating with someone else using Ancestry Family Trees in a Google+ Hangout On Air. Very interesting, and, of course, it's recorded and you can view it now. [Or later. Or now. Whatever is convenient. ;) ]
• Family Tree Tours announced their 2014 European tour schedule. [Dear Santa: Want.]
• Taneya Koonce gives us a great look at the new Snagit Chrome browser add-on for snagging all sorts of genealogy-related material in her blog post, I Heart Snagit for Chrome. [I think she likes it.]
• Yesterday, FamilySearch.org added or updated records for Belgium, Italy, Japan, and for the U.S. states of Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. Did they add something we've been needing for our research? [For me, probably not because I don't have any research interests in those areas at this time, but if you do, you should have a look-see.]
• And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 175 files yesterday for various counties in the following U.S. states: Arkansas, California, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, and Washington. And [everyone together] did they add something we've been needing for our research? [Oh, it's very possible. Maybe.]

With the holidays fast approaching bringing with it the National Day of Listening, we are reminded just how much we need to record our family stories. Even if we aren't able to interview or record on the actual day, 29 Nov 2013, the point is to listen and record the stories when our family is visiting us or when we're visiting them. What do we ask? How do we record the stories? Well, the Institute for Oral History at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, gives us a very thorough Introduction to Oral History with how-tos and tips. Remember: we need to do it before we can't do it.

• Yesterday's Genealogy Things You Needed to Know
• 15 iPad Apps for Genealogy & Family History
• Doing These 3 Things Will Profoundly Help Your Genealogy Research

Happy Researching!
~Caroline
© Copyright 2013 4YourFamilyStory.com -- All Rights Reserved.

• Heredis has just released its 2014 Genealogy Software for the Windows platform. After watching their video highlighting its new features, I am definitely impressed with it. I'll be taking it for a trial run shortly so stay tuned. Just know, though, it takes a lot to get me excited about genealogy database software. This one seems to have most of the features I want and not much of what I don't. What particularly fascinates me is the Find Relationship feature because it doesn't seem to be talking about just biological relationships, and in that same vein, its Extended Family View seems pretty helpful for researching. And? The fact that they now offer free online publishing of our Heredis Family Tree? I like that. A lot. [Plus, I like the Heredis iPad app immensely. I have a comparison blog post that includes their app here.]
• This morning, Fieldstone Common released their latest podcast interview with none other than Elizabeth Shown Mills. Genealogy, books, prizes, Elizabeth Shown Mills -- do I really need to say much else? Oh yeah. Go listen now!

• Yesterday, My Heritage had a very helpful free Family History Q & A webinar where they went over viewers' research problems and answered questions.
• And yesterday USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 166 files for various counties in the following U.S. states: Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
• And make sure you check out the GeneaWebinars Calendar for any upcoming genealogy webinars, chats, and hangouts. Not all are on there, but many are.

Newspapers can be an awesome resource for revealing the every day ins and outs of our ancestors' lives or they can reveal phenomenal clues that can help to propel us right over that darn research problem we've been working on for a while now. Trying to find the newspapers, of course, is key. And NewspaperCat can help us out with that. Watch this quick and handy video tutorial from Kenneth R. Marks on The Ancestor Hunt blog where he introduces us to Newspaper Cat.

• Yesterday's 8 Genealogy Things You Needed to Know
• 5 Tips to Get You Unstuck on Ancestry.com
• 5 Free Resources for Texas Family History Research You May Not Be Using

Happy Researching!
~Caroline
© Copyright 2013 4YourFamilyStory.com -- All Rights Reserved.