• The National Genealogical Society's [NGS] 2014 Conference Brochure is now online & downloadable. Remember: Conference registration begins 1 Dec 2013. *putting on my calendar to remind you*
  
• Thomas Kemp informs us GenealogyBank.com has added over 31 million articles from over 300 newspapers to its newspaper archives this past month and he gives us direct links to some of the new additions.
• Take a look at Voyzee, an all-in-one mobile storyteller app & available for iOS and Android, let's you tell your story in your voice. Launched just last week, it's already had over 65,000 downloads and has made the top 5 in iTunes for free Photo & Video apps. 
• Yesterday, Ancestry.com added 3 new databases: 2 for TEXAS [images -- death & birth certificates] and then the U.S. Album for Criminals, 1906. [Exciting stuff!]

• Okay. I think Florida & Michigan USGenWeb volunteer contributors are in a competition. And Michigan is kickin' butt. Yesterday, contributors uploaded 2459 files. [2459!!!] And Michigan volunteers were responsible for 2318 of 'em. Anywho, contributors uploaded files yesterday for the following U.S. states: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
• Google Scholar Library, which allows you to create & maintain a personal library of Scholar articles, was launched recently. [Handy.]
• Some new pages were added to newspapers on Newspapers.com for Pennsylvania, Illinois, California, North Carolina, and Iowa.
• Am I the only one who gets excited when they see tweets like the one below? Criminals, prison records, and the like always do it for me. And "free" does it for me too. Another year of Indexed Dumfries Prison Registers is now online. Free. 

Correction: Yesterday's link for the updates to USGenWeb for Nov 18th was incorrect. My apologies. Here's the correct link.

Joe Beine is celebrating 10 years of maintaining the Online Death Indexes Website. Learn about his story behind the start of the website, and then go look up those ancestor deaths on deathindexes.com. It's free.

• Yesterday's 7 Genealogy Things You Needed to Know
• 10 Steps to Fix That Online Family Tree You Started
• Heritage Craft: WWI Shadow Box

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

1. Today's Office 15-minute Webinar is about using the Word Web App and they'll be going over all the new features they've added. [Short and free, too.]
2. Dear Myrtle's 2nd Annual Share a Memory Contest is upon us! And she shows us how to enter now. [The prizes are suh-weeeet.]
3. On the We Are Cousins blog, Moises informs us of a mtDNA Mexican Surname Project that needs our help if we fit the criteria. [And if we don't, maybe someone we know does.]
4. On the Irish Genealogy News blog, Claire Sentry tells us IGRS has added Irish Wills online. [And hat tip to @triginbrew on Twitter for tweeting that yesterday.]
5. Yesterday, Ancestry.com added 2 new databases -- one for New England and one for Pennsylvania.
6. FamilySearch.org added or updated 8 databases yesterday for Canada, Italy, Portugal, and the U.S., including New England, Illinois, and New York.
7. And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 347 files yesterday for various counties in the following U.S. states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
   

City directories are a great resource we can use to place our ancestors in a time and place between census records which really helps us to find more records about them. But where do we find what's available online for city directories? Try using the Online Historical Directories Website. Created and maintained by genealogist Miriam J. Robbins, this website doesn't just include where city directories can be found online, but where all sorts of historical directories can be found online.

• Yesterday's Genealogy Things You Needed to Know
• Simple Holiday Gift-Giving Idea: A Story Jar [Video]
• How Fraternal Orders Can Help You With Your Family History Research

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

1. Only 6 days left for a chance to get your family history story told on T.V. and/or help fund someone else get their family history story told on T.V. Great prizes at different pledge levels. ~ Kicking Up the Past Kickstarter Project.
   
2. On the Stories To Tell blog, Biff Barnes brings up a good point about making our written family history worth reading. Just like a Thanksgiving turkey, no one likes their family stories to be dry.
   
3. On the Adventures in Genealogy blog, Deb gives us a great example of why knowing and understanding what was going on at the time our ancestors were living can help us with our research problems. And she also shares a great research resource. 
   
4. Needing to buy a scanner to help you finally get your genealogy and family history digitized? PCWorld gives us a handy dandy Scanner buying guide.
   
5. On Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections blog, John D. Reid explains to us about the Isle of Wight Family History Society's website and the wonderful research resources they have.
   
6. And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 192 files yesterday for various counties in the following U.S. states: Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
   

Knowing the possible way(s) our ancestors got from point A to point B can really help to narrow down where records might be. Lucky for us, Beverly Whitaker, MA, has authored some free U.S. migration guides that teach us about these early migration routes. Check out her American Migration Fact Sheets.

• Here's What You Missed Yesterday Morning
• 9 Family Tree Apps for Your iPad
• Heritage Gift Coasters Make Great Gifts [and Talking Points]

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

• Are you ready for StoryCorps' upcoming National Day of Listening? [Make time. Turkeys, stuffing, pies, and football are important, but the stories are even more important.]
• Speaking of listening and recording our family's stories, here are 3 great tips for recording stories from photographer Jimmy Nelson in his  [short but very, very entertaining] TED Talk, Photographing the World's Most Secluded Tribes: Before They Pass Away. [from DPS Blog]
• Educator's Technology blog gives us 2 web tools to create and draw on maps.
• Want your family photos [and blog] to be found by potential cousins? The DPS blog shows us how to optimize our photos to be found by search engines.
• Speaking of photos, today at 3pm CT we have Sunday ScanDay, a scanning support group that meets virtually in a private Facebook Group every week to scan for an hour. Chatting optional. [And this totally includes scanning related activities like optimizing our photos to be found by search engines by adding meta data.]

• On his blog Planting the Seeds, Michael Hait shows us how to find a house in the UK census by using this really cool online finding aid.
• The San Jacinto Museum and Monument has a fabulous new website, y'all, that spotlights its collections and services.
• Dear Myrtle gives us this week's upcoming genealogy online webinars, chats, and hangouts.
• And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 895 files yesterday for various counties in the following U.S. states: Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia.

Looking for maps, atlases, biographies, directories, and photographs of your ancestors? Historicmapworks.com is one of my favorite resources to go to especially for Plat Maps, which contain the names of the landowners on the map when the map was published. Some of these atlases contained not only plat maps, but biographies, photos of those in the community, photos of homes, and photos of buildings in the community. I've had great genea-success with this site when researching ancestors in Iowa and Ohio.

• Yesterday's 7 Genealogy Things You Need to Know
• An App for That: My Remedy for Genealogy ADD - Guest post by Lisa Alzo
• Book Review: WWII London Blitz Diary, Volume 1

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

• On Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections, John D. Reid shares with us the 2014 schedule of Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Courses. [I signed up for the British Origins one since I'm ready to jump the pond on several of my lines and my DNA results indicate I'm almost 42% British and Irish. And I got in on a discount because I'm a member of NGS. And? I've got a handy dandy guide to help me translate the British language. ;) ]
• Speaking of crossing the pond, for me, many of those crossings start in the American Colonies. On Genea-Musings, Randy Seaver shares some great research reasons to join the New England Historic Genealogical Society. If you have New England roots, have you considered joining? [I'm a member -- lots of helpful resources!]
• WikiTree has an all new beautiful design which will make using it for research collaboration all the better.
• The Texas State Genealogical Society announced its 2013 election results. [I'll be busy but I'm looking forward to the challenge. =) ]
• Mocavo has added over 30,000 new databases and some new features. [Remember: Free Forever.]

• Yesterday, FamilySearch.org added records for Brazil, Chile, Italy, Mexico, and for the U.S. states of Louisiana and Maine.
• And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 156 files yesterday for various counties for the U.S. states of Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. Did they add something you've been needing for your research? A photo? A transcription? A clue? Something?

Research Forms from FamilySearch Wiki ~ You're probably thinking the use of research forms is pretty outdated. Well, stop giving me the stink eye. Here's my explanation. The [misguided] idea that everything's online, the fact that it's really easy to merge online "stuff" to our online trees, and [let's face it] our laziness all tend to make us think research forms are just SO 2005. And that would be where we are categorically wrong. And it's probably where a few of our research "brick wall" problems are trapped. Filling out a research form -- whether we do it electronically or by hand [after we find where we put that pencil the last time we used it] -- makes us slow down, makes us look at the information, and makes us critically think about the information. And just those 3 things can be like a wrecking ball for our research brick walls leaving a pile of rubble for us to march right over. To the next brick wall problem. But? FamilySearch Wiki Research Forms.

• Yesterday's 6 Genealogy Things You Needed to Know
• 6 Video Apps to Help You Share Your Research
• Book Review: Into The Briar Patch: A Family Memoir

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

Looking for an awesome tech tool to help you write your family history? Check out Scrivener in the Armchair Genealogist's free Scrivener how-to video tutorials on YouTube. The lovely Lynn Palermo gives insider tips on how to use this powerful application for family history writing. You'll also want to visit her website and sign up for her monthly newsletter for family history writers, Storylines, as well as think about committing to her Family History Writing Challenge held annually in February.

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

• On Deb's Delvings in Genealogy, Debbie informs us of FamilyTree DNA's Holiday Sale going on right now. [Perfect holiday gift for your favorite genealogist or for the genealogist to snap up and give their relatives. Just who is the real recipient of this "gift"? ;) Regardless, it's definitely worth pinning to our Gift Wish List Pinterest Board.]
• If we're needing a new laptop to help us keep up with all those DNA results we'll be receiving from all those kits we bought, PCMag.com gives us The Top 10 Best Laptops as well as How to Buy a Laptop. [You'd think the holidays were around the corner. Or something. *pinning*]
• Deb shares with us how going back and reviewing our genealogy "first blush" research might reveal we're "double Bohemian" and might get us an awesome birthday present. [And might help us get past a research problem or 2. And? Another great holiday gift idea for your favorite family historian. *pinning*]
• On the Genealogybank.com Blog, Gena gives us another great example of how newspapers can rock our family history research.
• And from news across the pond, more family deeds have been added to FamilyDeeds.com. [Nice how "across the pond" can just be a click away.]

• And from news Down Under, the National Archives of Australia is launching a new website to commemorate the centenary of the First World War -- Discovering Anzacs. [Down Under can be a click away too.]
• On the Olive Tree Genealogy Blog, Lorine shares with us the free Reconstructed New York Ships Passenger Lists from 1624-1664. 
• Yesterday, Ancestry.com added a new database to its World Subscription service: England & Wales, Quaker, Birth, Marriage, Death Registers, 1578-1837.
• And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 159 files yesterday for various counties in the following U.S. states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, and Wyoming. Did they add something you've been needing for your research?

It's always best to vary up how you search on a search engine. But you also need to vary up which search engine you use. Give Google a rest today and search for clues about your ancestors in DuckDuckGo.

• Yesterday's 13 Genealogy Things You Need to Know
• Off the Grid Genealogy
• The 3 G's that Make Researchers Smile: GoodReader, GeniusScan+, and Genealogy

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

• Quick. Go check out your local church's basement. Maybe you'll find something valuable like this. [And you'll have to check for me 'cause we don't have basements here in Texas.] But this goes to show, folks, history -- our history -- is truly everywhere. We just need to look for it.
• Speaking of looking, on Wired.com, Kif Leswing shares an awesome tip with us [for family history researchers especially] and explains why we need to be using the Google Custom Search Feature when we're searching Google.
• Have family emailing you with family images, memoirs, research they've done, transcripts of interviews, and such? Well, if you use Gmail and Google Drive, this new Google feature is going to make your collaborating life much, much easier. [And good for you with such generous researching cousins. The rest of us are not jealous. Much.]

• There are some changes to American Memory and myLOC.gov that will affect how we bookmark resources while using their website.
• If you're planning to do some research at the Texas State Library and Archives, you'll be happy to know they will be opening for research on the 2nd Saturday of each month beginning 11 Jan 2014. [I feel a road trip to Austin, Texas coming on.]
• If you've never researched at Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research in Houston before and have been wanting to give it a try, this Saturday they have an Orientation Class. You'll need to register online beforehand. [Highly recommend attending this class so you can get your bearings and be more efficient while researching at Clayton Library.]
• On his blog, Midwestern Microhistory: a Genealogy Blog, Harold gives us an update on the Wisconsin State Historical Society's Sanborn Fire Insurance Map digitization project and gives us a link to their free online map images database.
• On Genea-Musings, Randy spotlights Diana Boumenot's free Rhode Island research resources page. [Very nice and I'm bookmarking it right now since I've some Rhode Island research to do for my family tree.]
• Speaking of Rhode Island, Archives.com announced they have added new collections to their online databases for Delaware, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and D.C. Did they add something you've been needing for your research?
• Findmypast.co.uk has added the records of WW1 Ships Lost at Sea, and on their blog they tell us a little about what kind of information these records can reveal.
• Ancestry.com updated its existing database yesterday, Honolulu, Hawaii, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900-1959.
• Yesterday, FamilySearch.org added or updated records in its online databases for Spain, as well as for the U.S. states of Georgia, Missouri, and Montana.
• And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 425 files yesterday for the following U.S. states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Did they upload something you've been needing to solve your family history mysteries?

My Genealogy Hound, named as one of  Family Tree Magazine's 101 Best Websites in 2013, has thousands of family biographies browsable by state and county as well as by family surname. And? Totally free.

• Yesterday's 6 Genealogy Things You Need to Know
• Genealogists and the Tech Tools They Use to Research
• Book Review: Clara's Rib - It's gonna rock your world

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

Today's things

• Google Earth has new imagery uploaded. And? I already mentioned about Google Earth's new Tour Builder yesterday, but I think Terrence O'Brien on the Engadget blog does a better job of explaining it. Once you read his article, it should be really evident of how we, as family historians, can use this tool to tell our family stories.
• Bill from the West in New England blog teaches us a good lesson in The Shaking Leaf and the Missing File. Basically, we need to stay on our research/technology toes. [Plus his post title rocks.]

• Speaking of staying on our research/technology toes, Deb Ruth paints an excellent illustration for us of how to put tech tools to work to help us stay connected to solve our research conundrums.
• And speaking of tech tools, on her blog Ancestoring, Michele Simmons Lewis, shows us why Findagrave is such an essential tool in our research toolboxes. 
• It might be time to move to Albuquerque, y'all. Robert Baca tells us the Albuquerque Genealogy Center now has access to Newspaper Archive if we have an Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library Card. But? Before we pack our bags & head to New Mexico, we should probably check to see if our own libraries or genealogical societies that we already belong to have it. Or just got it. Or offer it and we just need to join. [Besides, typing Albuquerque is cumbersome. ;) ]
•  And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 274 files for various counties in the following U.S. states: Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia. Perhaps they uploaded something you've been needing to solve your family history mystery?

Have you tried this resource?

Okay. So, you've heard of and use the USGenWeb Project for family history sleuthing. But? Are you using the WorldGenWeb Project when your family history research [Read: Obsession.] takes you beyond the U.S. borders? It's like USGenWeb, but, you know, for the rest of the world.

Other days, other things...

• Monday's Genealogy Things You Need to Know
• 15 iPad Apps for Genealogy & Family History
• Holiday Gift Idea: Heritage Ornaments

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

Today's Things

• Need that genealogy or family history book by Sunday? If we live in these big cities, Amazon is adding Sunday delivery via the US Postal Service.
• The Google Earth Blog shows us how to use Google Earth to honor veterans.
• On the Verge Blog, Ellis Hamburger gives us a list review of the different styluses available for our iPad. {I use the Wacom one and it's superb.}
• This is a great idea for genealogical societies' boards to collaborate long distance if they are using Google Apps -- restricted Google+ communities for organizations.
• Newspapers.com has added new and updated existing newspapers in their database recently. Did they add one you've been needing for your research?
• Yesterday, Ancestry.com updated their Dawes Commission Index (overturned), 1896 database.
• And USGenWeb volunteer contributors uploaded 104 files yesterday for various counties in the following U.S. states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia. Did they add something you've been needing for your research?

Have you tried this research resource?

Today is Veteran's Day in America where we remember and honor all those who have served or who are serving in the military. And it's a perfect time to check out Fold3.com {formerly Footnote.com.} where you may add a veteran from your family tree to their Honor Wall or search the Honor Wall for free. Or if you don't already have a subscription, take this opportunity to look up your military ancestors in their military record databases by signing up for a free trial of their service. Don't forget to take a look at their YouTube channel which has free video tutorials on how to use their service. To whet your appetite, take a look at the following video of a World War II veteran talking about his service as well as the service of his brothers from the Fold3.com YouTube Channel. {Or watch it on YouTube here.}

Other days, other things...

• This past Sunday's Genealogy Things You Need to Know
• This past Saturday's Genealogy Things You Need to Know
• A book that is a must-read for everyone especially family historians: The Night Sky: A Journey from Dachau to Denver and Back by Maria Sutton

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