Irish Ancestors?

Waterford, Ireland, Central Library has acquired the Roman Catholic Parish Registers for Waterford City and County.

These Registers are one of the main sources for genealogical researchers beginning to investigate their family history as they provide the earliest direct source of family information in Ireland. These Registers previously were difficult to access but are now freely available to researchers who visit the Central Library in Waterford.

For more information, contact Central Library at +353 051 849975.

New Genealogy Book: African American Genealogy

The Glenview Public Library has purchased the following book, available for checkout at call number 929.108996 WIT, and in the Reference Room at call number R929.108996 WIT GENEALOGY:

African American Genealogy : a Bibliography and Guide to Sources, by Curt Bryan Witcher.

Glenview History Center Dolls

See these and more at the Glenview History Center.

Bring your favorite doll to tea on September 12! Reservations required, call (847) 724-4115 for more information.

German Genealogy Group

Do you have German ancestors, but don't know how to get started researching your family tree?

The German Genealogy Group can help.

They were established in New York in early 1996 by a group of genealogists interested in providing support to all those researching their Germanic ancestors. If your ancestors came through New York, a variety of online databases for church records, naturalization, surnames, and yearbooks may contain information you have been searching for.

There is more information about German Genealogy at Cyndi's List.

Researching Land Records

Genealogist Sharon Tate Moody has written a good article about researching land records at county courthouses.

She says that finding land records at the courthouse can be tricky because the indexes to the records may be confusing or non-existent.

Usually there is an index for grantors (those selling the land) and grantees (the buyers).

You must actually read the deeds, and not stop with the index or the abstract, to get tidbits such as the names of adjacent or previous landowners, etc.

The Glenview Public Library iwns a book that will help you in this process. Read Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures by genealogist Christine Rose, at call number 929.1 ROS (there is another copy in the Reference Room.)

Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center

The Allen County Public Library (ACPL) Genealogy Center is a major resource for genealogists. Many of its valuable resources are availaible online.

The collection includes more than 350,000 printed volumes and 513,000 items of microfilm and microfiche.

If you are new to the Center, you may want to view the orientation video.

Their resources include seven major online databases (for which an ACPL card is required), and access to the 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical and historical records at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

The Genealogy Center actively contributes significant portions of its collection to Footnote.com, and digitized family histories from Indiana and beyond to the BYU Family History Archive

They own a large microfilm collection of federal, state and territorial records, passenger lists, miltary records, and other significant local, ethnic, and U.S. collections along with more than 50,000 citiy directories from 1785 to the present. These collections can be searched by category.

Their enormous periodical collection led to the development of PERSI (the PERiodical Source Index) , which can be accessed through Heritage Quest Online with your Glenview Library card number.

The GenealogyCenter Info website includes databases for Military Heritage, Family Bible Records, and a surname file to which visitors to the Center have been contributing since 1998.

You can also subscribe to their monthly e-zine Genealogy Gems, which lists information about the department's collections and useful research tips.

Historic Glenview Cemeteries

There is a new information link for historic Glenview cemeteries on the Library's genealogy web page. It lists cemeteries in or near Glenview in which members of Glenview founding families are buried. Included under the name of each cemetery are its location, a few significant family names associated with it, and where it is transcribed.

If you are interested in cemetery transcriptions, some of them are included in Some German Name Cemeteries, Cook County, Illinois Volume 1, by Gertrude Lundberg, at call number RL920.07731 LUN, and in the microfilm Cemetery Records by Gertrude W. Lundberg, which is kept at the Reference Desk.

Cemeteries not mentioned in this list can be researched at at Graveyards.com Transcriptions of cemetery headstones are often done by genealogical societies, and may be found by searching the OCLC FirstSearch database or Google Books by name of cemetery.

NARAtions

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has a new blog about online public access to their records.

They invite NARA researchers and anyone interested in the Archives on topics related to online access and historical research in general, to share their opinions, ideas, and stories. NARA plans to post questions periodically and encourage your comments. They will also post news items about descriptions or digitized archival materials available online.

You can read about NARAtions, and learn about the bloggers and how to comment and post.

NSGS Meeting: September 12

The North Suburban Genealogical Society invites you to hear Kevin Leonard, Archivist at Northwestern University, speak on the archives at Northwestern. and what rich records on local histories are available to you.

Kevin has been on the NU staff for 30 years and is anxious to tell you about the manuscripts, photographs, audiovisual recordings, directories, and other records kept at the University.

When: Saturday Sept 12, 2009
1 p.m.: Problem Solving
2 p.m.: Kevin Leonard on NU Archives.

Program ends by 3:30 p.m.
Where: Glenview Library 1930 Glenview Rd., Glenview 60025
Contact: Jim Boyle 847 401 2579
Open to anyone interested in genealogical research. Free admission.

FamilySearch Labs

FamilySearch Labs showcases new family history technologies that are in process of being developed by FamilySearch.

It features the latest scoop on their current projects, including Family Search Alpha, which involves a major renovation of their web site; Record Search, which lets you quickly search millions of historic documents; Forums, which allow you to discuss and ask questions; the Family Search Wiki, which makes available the research guidance of millions of users, and allows you to share your own expertise; Family Search Family Tree, which allows users to collectively and collaboratively organize information into its appropriate node on this shared tree; the Standard Family Search Finder; Family Search Indexing, in which you can volunteer to extract family history information from digital images of historical documents to create indexes that assist everyone in finding their ancestors; the Life Browser Prototype, which lets you get to know ancestors through pictures, records, stories, maps, timelines and collaboration; and the Pedigree Viewer, which allows you to see and interact with a large pedigree or descendancy.

The Family Search Labs Blog shares the latest updates as they occur, and lets you search the progress on each of the technologies by clicking on them in the Categories section.

Newspapers Online

Here is a list of online newspapers by state. The listing also has a convenient link to the archived versions of the papers.

Finding newspapers online can be complicated, with lots of analysis required to sift through access points and third party providers.

The Library of Congress (LoC) Chronicling America web page provides a searchable/browseable directory of all known American papers (use the 'Find' box).

Each state has a newspaper program, part of the National Newspaper Program. Content varies, but some states will not only provide their subset of the LoC database, but also say what libraries in the state have what newspaper titles for what years.

The International Coalition of Newspapers page highlights and links to past, present, and prospective digitization projects of historic newspapers.

Wikipedia also lists online newspaper archives, and so does Cyndi's List.

Historical Newspapers and Indexes on the Internet has some unique items.

Genealogist Jeffrey Bockman has also made available a list of online newspapers.

Do You Have Native American Ancestors?

If you are doing Native American Genealogy, the Department of the Interior provides resources for tracing your Indian ancestry.

Tribes can determine their own membership, so you may have to contact each tribe to find out what the requirements were in your ancestor's day. Requirements are particularly different for Cherokees.

If the Cherokee ancestor chose to assimilate into white culture it will be extremely difficult to document that person. However, if you would like to find out if an Indian ancestor had any relationship with the federal government, you can check the extensive records that were generated during the time of Indian Removal beginning in 1831. These records relate to treaties, trade, land claims, removal to Oklahoma, allotments, military affairs, military service and pensions, trust funds, and other activities.

Eastern Cherokee researchers should check the indexes for the Baker Rolls for these records. Western Cherokee should check the Dawes Rolls. The Miller Rolls are also useful. There are other Native American Rolls which are in print and available at local libraries.

These and other Native American Records are available through the National Archives , which also provides useful educational material such as how to search the census for Native American ancestors.

Libraries: a Treasure Chest for Genealogists

When you are trying to find an obituary or a cemetery, think local...local library, that is.

Libraries are devoted to collecting their local newspapers and history and making them available to researchers. The public library in or near the town where your ancestor lived or died may have the obituary you need. If they do not actually have it, they will know how to obtain it.

The reference librarians in your ancestor's town can also advise you about local cemeteries, historical societies, genealogy groups, local churches, town history, and more.

If you need further assistance, you can contact a state library from the state where your ancestor lived or died, a national library, or an academic library.

Some services may require a library card...but many others will not. You won't know until you call or e-mail them and ask!

Libraries can help your genealogical research in ways you never dreamed possible. Call them first!

The Lundberg Collection

We are proud of the Lundberg Collection, a special collection of more than 300 books, periodicals, original genealogies, local histories and microfilms donated to the library by Mrs. Gertrude Lundberg and her family, who were professional genealogists.

Her books are kept in a locked case. In order to use them, patrons need to leave a library card or ID with the librarian.

Mrs. Lundberg developed her own classification system in order to arrange her books and magazines for maximum usefulness to genealogists.

The Lundberg Genealogy Periodicals, shelved on the south-east wall of the Reference Room, are arranged according to this classification system, which is based on migration patterns.

There is an un-cataloged part of the Collection, for which you need to ask the Reference Librarian / Genealogy Specialist.

Mrs. Lundberg also donated her original genealogical research on specific families, and owned some published genealogies about them. If you are researching these lineages, you may ask to see them by filling out a Locked Case Form and leaving your I.D. at the Reference Desk.

To see a list of titles and call numbers in the Lundberg Collection, click on the link below. You can also search the GPL catalog under subject heading "Lundberg Collection," as well as by author, title, or keyword of specific books.

Civil War Symposium

Annual Civil War Symposium

Saturday, October 3, 2009, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the First Division Museum, Cantigny in Wheaton, IL. Cost: $40.00 for the general public; $20.00 for teachers and round table members; $10.00 for senior citizens (60+), students with valid ID, and veterans and active duty military.

Join noted Civil War historians Craig Symonds, John Marszalek, Daniel E. Sutherland, and Paul Finkelman as they discuss notable events and personalities of the Civil War including Abraham Lincoln and John Brown. Tour a Civil War encampment; meet Abraham Lincoln; hear a cannon's roar; spend some quality time doing period activities with your children; see a realistic Civil War surgeon's operating tent; watch the First Infantry Division's mounted color guard in action, or just tour the magnificent museum and grounds at Cantigny. Teachers can earn continuing education credits for attending.

Cook County Vital Record Images Online

Have you tested the new FamilySearch Pilot Website?

It makes available the actual images on microfilms from the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City UT, or through a local Family History Center.

Since this is a pilot website, there are a limited number of FHL microfilms that are available to view. But there are a number of Cook County related microfilms that are partially indexed with links to the actual microfilm images. You can save these free images to your computer's hard drive.

Here's how: click on the map of North America at the Family Search Pilot Website. Scroll down the list of items for the US until you come to Illinois. Select the category you want to search. These records are not yet completely indexed, but you will still find a fair number of them. In the search result, click on the blue underlined name. It will open a partial transcription.

It is important that you click on the thumbnail image of the document, or the "view original image" link, to see the original document. You can enlarge the image as much as you want. You can also search by first name alone, or last name alone, which can be useful in cases where errors in transcription or indexing might make records hard to find.