Thursday, December 10, 2015

Kathy's Gates to the Past : Family Tree Maker--Part 2

Kathy's Gates to the Past : Family Tree Maker--Part 2: In the aftermath of Ancestry's announcement to discontinue of the Family Tree Maker (sales ending at the end of this month, and product ...

Family Tree Maker--Part 2

In the aftermath of Ancestry's announcement to discontinue of the Family Tree Maker (sales ending at the end of this month, and product support in January 2017), there have been a LOT of comments,  discussions, and blogging. The comments/discussions range from heartbreak, disappointment, questioning the business practices of Ancestry.com, and some considering cancelling their Ancestry membership. In short, it's been a whirlwind week!
Among the many blogs posted is Judy Russell's The Legal Genealogist blogpost of her thoughts about Family Tree Maker. She blogged on the best recommendations and alternatives to Ancestry's announcement. I certainly agree with her, including looking at two fantastic software programs--RootsMagic and Legacy Family Tree. No, you don't have stop using Family Tree Maker, but should you decide to switch programs, give these two programs a look. 
Here's Judy's blog:
http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2015/12/09/check-out-the-alternatives/

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Family Tree Maker to be discontinued

I am heartbroken to learn today that Ancestry will no longer support the Family Tree Maker software program in January of 2017.  It will no longer be sold after this year. I have been using the program since the late 1980's, long before Ancestry bought the program. It has always been a sturdy program, and one of the best in the industry.  A truly sad day for the FTM users.

Here's the Ancestry blog notice:
Posted by Kendall Hulet on December 8, 2015 in Family Tree Maker Ancestry is proud to have made a significant investment this year to bring valuable new content and records to the Ancestry site. In 2015, we’ve made 220 million searchable historical records from Mexico available, more than 170 million pages from the largest collection of U.S. will and probate records, among others. We’ve also introduced new features such as Ancestry Academy and major advancements for AncestryDNA. We remain dedicated to helping people gain new levels of understanding about their lives, and who and what led to them, harnessing the information found in family trees, historical records and genetics. As a company, we’re also continually evaluating ways to focus our efforts to provide the most impact and best product experience for our users through our core offerings. True to this focus, we’ve taken a hard look at the declining desktop software market and the impact this has on being able to continue to provide product enhancements and support that our users need. With that, we’ve made the decision to stop selling Family Tree Maker as of December 31, 2015. Our subscription business and website, on the other hand, continue to grow and we are doubling down our efforts to make that experience even better for our Ancestry community. Ancestry will continue to support current owners of Family Tree Maker at least through January 1, 2017. During this time, all features of the software, including TreeSync™, will continue to work, and Member Services will be available to assist with user questions. We will also address major software bugs that may occur, as well as compatibility updates. These changes are never easy, but by focusing our efforts, we can concentrate on continuing to build great products for our loyal Ancestry community. If you have inquiries regarding Family Tree Maker, please reach out to our Member Services team. We’ll also provide updates on our blog as needed leading up to January 1, 2017. - See more at: http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2015/12/08/ancestry-to-retire-family-tree-maker-software/#sthash.bIUwRwfq.dpuf

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Kathy's Gates to the Past : Free Google Workshop and Viva La France

Kathy's Gates to the Past : Free Google Workshop and Viva La France: One of my favorite speakers is Lisa Louise Cooke, known for her Genealogy Gems podcasts. She's also one of the best experts on how to us...

Free Google Workshop and Viva La France

One of my favorite speakers is Lisa Louise Cooke, known for her Genealogy Gems podcasts. She's also one of the best experts on how to use Google as a tool for genealogy research. The link below is from one of her recent posts on using Google Earth for genealogy--and as one who has used Google Earth in my own research, it is so much fun to use!!! So, if you're interested in "flying" around the world to the places your ancestors have lived--the street or farm they lived on, the church or synagogue they worshiped at, the schools they attended, you need to fly on Google Earth.

And, special thanks for Legacy Webinars for making this online video class available!  Although I don't use the Legacy software (I'm a Family Tree Maker user), I highly recommend the Legacy webinars.
http://lisalouisecooke.com/free-google-earth-for-genealogy-video-class-by-lisa-louise-cooke/
On a personal note, my thoughts and prayers to the people of France--may your wounds heal and all good graces shine on you  and your nation. The world mourns with France. Viva la France.

Enjoy! 

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Fun Halloween Names

Thanks to fellow genealogist and blogger, Randy Seaver, here are some fun Halloween names.
http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/10/more-halloween-name-whacking.html

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Kathy

Friday, September 4, 2015

Kathy's Gates to the Past : Labor Day Weekend freebies!!

Kathy's Gates to the Past : Labor Day Weekend freebies!!: Holiday weekends are awesome weekends--time off from work (at least I hope you get some time off), time to hang out with friends, take a wee...

Labor Day Weekend freebies!!

Holiday weekends are awesome weekends--time off from work (at least I hope you get some time off), time to hang out with friends, take a weekend trip, or just sleep in. I'll be doing a little of each this Labor Day weekend.
Sometimes holiday weekends come with delightful freebies. In this case, I've got a couple to share.
Firstly, Thomas MacEntee has a new ebook out called "The 15 Habits of Highly Frugal Genealogists".  What is especially delightful about this book is that it contains a lot more than 15 habits!! And, if you go to Amazon.com you can get this ebook for free.  Thanks to Thomas for being so generous with your newest  book.
Secondly, check out Ancestry.com this weekend. They are offering free access to roughly 1200 of their databases. Always free are their census and naturalization records. Did I mention free? And Ancestry just uploaded a whole bunch of new records that has set the genealogy world on fire--mainly Will and Probate records from each of the US states. I've already found a couple of probate records. One other new set are the records from the US Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, 1875-1940. If you have some German ancestors who were also Lutheran, check out these records. 

By the way, Fold3 is offering a free 7-day trial access. This is a great offer--albeit brief, especially if you have ancestors who served in our wars.

Have a great weekend!

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Father's Day perspective

Sixty-six-year-old Fay Hauser-Price stands before a weather-worn tombstone with a spire taller than her in a graveyard marinating in an early morning mist. There is a hand carved into the marker’s side with its finger pointing upward and the words “At Last” etched below.
Fay Hauser-Price knows the name on the stone because it’s her name, too. She got his light green eyes but not his white skin. She thinks she got some of his ambition. He certainly gave her a lot of internal conflict about what is and what could be.
His name was Theopolis Christian Hauser. He was her great-great-grandfather who had three children by her great-great-grandmother — a house slave. He owned at least a dozen other slaves too.

About the author, David Montero: Reach the author at david.montero@langnews.com or follow David on Twitter: @DaveMontero.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Kathy's Gates to the Past : German Naming Conventions

Kathy's Gates to the Past : German Naming Conventions: Last Saturday, I attended a webinar hosted by the Southern California Genealogical Society on the subject of common naming conventions.  Th...

German Naming Conventions

Last Saturday, I attended a webinar hosted by the Southern California Genealogical Society on the subject of common naming conventions.  The title of the presentation was She has the Same Name  Is She her Sister? Naming Conventions of our Ancestors, by Nancy Waters Lauer. Her email is nanlauer@comcast.net. She did a phenomenal job explaining the naming process of our ancestors.
This presentation resonated with me because I have been submerged in researching my German ancestors (see my last post on the Strassburgers), and discovered that in the Strassburger line, many of the children had the same first name, but a different middle name. This is typical from one generation to the next--which makes it interesting in trying to sort out who's who in looking at both civil and church records. In fact, my cousin Lynn (also a Strassburger descendent and partner extraordinaire in Strassburger research) and I have been going around and around sorting out Strassburgers this past week. So, thanks to Nancy's webinar presentation, all the naming craziness now makes sense!
 
The following passage was written by Nancy, to help explain naming practices. Any questions or comments about the following should be directed to Nancy, at nanlauer@comcast.net. Thank you, Nancy!!

German Naming Conventions
A good understanding of the conventions used by German families for naming children is essential to German genealogy research. This knowledge helps identify family relationships and explains multiple children with similar or, in some cases, the same name. Both Catholic and Protestant religions adopted this method of naming children. Customarily at baptism a child was given two names. The first was a religious name and the second their call (Rufnahme) name. Unlike today, people were known by their second or middle name. Johann Ludwig Steck was called Ludwig or Louis. However, he can be located in various records as Johann, John, Ludwig, and Louis. Families often used the same saint’s name for most or all their children’s first names. Mary or Maria were popular for girls and St. John and St. George were popular for boys. Consequently, 12 Georges in the same family! 

Male and female children were named in a pattern that held true for generations. This naming scheme is defined below:
1st son after the father’s father
2nd son after the mother’s father
3rd son after the father
4th son after the father’s father’s father
5th son after the mother’s father’s father
6th son after the father’s mother’s father
7th son after the mother’s mother’s father

1st daughter after the mother’s mother
2nd daughter after the father’s mother
3rd daughter after the mother
4th daughter after the father’s father’s mother
5th daughter after the mother’s father’s mother
6th daughter after the father’s mother’s mother
7th daughter after the mother’s mother’s mother 

Where a duplicate name occurred, the next in the pecking order was used. Often children were named after a deceased sibling. To complicate this trend of same name designation, when there is a second marriage, the method is often repeated from the beginning. It isn’t unusual for half-brothers or half-sisters to have the same name.
 
She has the Same Name  Is She her Sister? Naming Conventions of our Ancestors
Nancy Waters Lauer, nanlauer@comcast.net
SCGS Webinar presentation, 4 April 2015

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Serendipitous Strassburgers!!

Serendipity has happened to me these last two weeks. I found a microfilm (ordered from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City) with more information that I could have imagined. The film contains birth and marriage records from the very small town of Steeg, in the Rheinland area of Germany. Rheinland (or Rheinland-Pfalz) is the southwest section in Germany. Steeg itself is just west of Bacharach, which is west of Frankfurt.

The records on the microfilm are dated from the 1660's to the 1780's. On the film, I originally expected to find only 5-6 Strassburgers. Instead, I found 16. Plus, I found another 16 Wambachs, part of Wombacher family line. (Of note--I have one Wombacher and one Strassburger who were married in 1881 in Illinois). And--references that led to another 8 microfilms--covering more of the same time period--of which I've ordered from Salt Lake City.  So, to say that I'm drowning in Strassburgers is an understatement. But, the good news is that I've stretched the family line back to the early 1700's, with the possibility of moving into the 1600's. Whew!!

So, now I get a breather until the next round of films arrive....and have a great April!!

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Kathy's Gates to the Past : Jamboree!!

Kathy's Gates to the Past : Jamboree!!: The Southern California Genealogy Society's annual Jamboree is now open for registration. The dates are June 4-7, 2015 in Burbank, Cali...

Jamboree!!


The Southern California Genealogy Society's annual Jamboree is now open for registration. The dates are June 4-7, 2015 in Burbank, California. The location is the Burbank Marriott, right across the street from the Burbank/Bob Hope Airport.
The first day (June 4) is the highly popular topic of DNA!

Genetic Genealogy: DNA Day Plus!
Thursday, June 4, 2015

The full weekend of Genealogy Jamboree
Friday-Sunday, June 5-7, 2015

 Website: www.genealogyjamboree.com

 


Monday, March 9, 2015

Kathy's Gates to the Past : NGS Conference Live Streaming of Workshops

Kathy's Gates to the Past : NGS Conference Live Streaming of Workshops: The National Genealogical Society (NGS) will host its annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri, starting on 13 May 2015. For those who can&#...

NGS Conference Live Streaming of Workshops

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) will host its annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri, starting on 13 May 2015. For those who can't make it, NGS will broadcast, via live streaming, several lecture workshops.
For those new to genealogy, and especially for beginner genealogists who want to improve their skills, click on this link for additional details:

http://upfront.ngsgenealogy.org/2015/03/national-genealogical-society-announces.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UpfrontWithNgs+%28UpFront+with+NGS%29&utm_content=FaceBook

Kathy

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Kathy's Gates to the Past : Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War

Kathy's Gates to the Past : Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War: Today I recieved notice that I have been accepted into the lineage society Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War. I am a direct d...

Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War

Today I recieved notice that I have been accepted into the lineage society Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War. I am a direct descendent of a Union soldier, Jacob Strassburger, who served as a private in Illinois' volunteer infantry. He only served for 6 months, and later joined the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) post in Peoria.
For more information on this organization, go to http://duvcw.org/

Some of you might remember that just last spring I was accepted into the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR; http://www.dar.org/), via my ancestor William Fosdick.  Honestly, I never imagined when I began my genealogical research so many years ago, that I would qualify and join any lineage societies, let alone two! If you have any questions about these two organizations, let me know!

Monday, January 26, 2015

Kathy's Gates to the Past : 1888 Census for Peoria Township, Illinois

Kathy's Gates to the Past : 1888 Census for Peoria Township, Illinois: Recently I came across the Peoria County Genealogy Society website, and found an unusual but amazing find.  While many of us are familiar wi...

1888 Census for Peoria Township, Illinois

Recently I came across the Peoria County Genealogy Society website, and found an unusual but amazing find.  While many of us are familiar with the US Federal Census decennial records that occur every ten years since 1790. And we may be familiar with several state censuses that have occurred, mostly throughout the 19th century. But did you know that Peoria did one of their own, just for the township, in 1888? Yes, folks, the society actually has an 1888 Census for the Peoria township! What a great alternate to the missing 1890 Census. Because of this unique census, I now have two more branches of my Wombacher and Strassburger family trees.
The 1888 census is in book form, but it is no longer in print. But, for those of you who get into Peoria, the Peoria Public Library and the Allen County Library (in Fort Wayne) each have a copy. But if you know the names of people who lived in Peoria at the time, go to the Peoria County Genealogy society's website and you can do a quick lookup. Alice Brophy and Laraine Wessels can help provide additional information. Their website: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/il/county/peoria1/1888Explanation.htm


For a complete list of those state census records (and keep in mind that many of these are no longer available), go to
https://www.census.gov/history/www/genealogy/other_resources/state_censuses.html.
And, you can access the available state census records at Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.com.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Kathy's Gates to the Past : Conferences, Conferences, and more Conferences!

Kathy's Gates to the Past : Conferences, Conferences, and more Conferences!: Happy New Year! I'm attending the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) this week practicing on my analytical skills in Angela McGhie...

Conferences, Conferences, and more Conferences!

Happy New Year!
I'm attending the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) this week practicing on my analytical skills in Angela McGhie's Advanced Evidence Analytical Practicum. The first case was a challenge--I had to 5 female relatives of an unnamed woman. My only clue was her married name and a location. I found three of the women, then I ran short on time to find the others. Not an easy assignment to do in just a few hours.
Before I start the next assignment, I wanted to mention that there are a few other conferences coming up this spring.
RootsTech and FGS are side-by-side in February in Salt Lake City. Former First Lady Laura Bush will be a keynote speaker. Here's the blog: https://rootstech.org/?lang=eng
Jamboree (hosted by the So. California Genealogy Society) will take place the first weekend in June in Burbank, CA. Here's the blog: http://genealogyjamboree.blogspot.com/
NGS will be in St. Louis, Missouri the 2nd weekend of May. Here's the blog: http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/
I'll definitely be at Jamboree in June, but I won't make it to the others. And if you can't either, here's the good news--these conferences will air several sessions online so we can watch them in the comfort of our homes with our computers. So, check their websites for details.