Handwriting Tips
Basic Handwriting Tip: The Long S
Deciphering old and faded handwriting is a common challenge for genealogists, especially for those just beginning their quest. Certain letters seem to have their twin counterparts, such as the capital S and L, the small t and c, or of the captial W and M.
The letter S is its own challenge, especially when there are two of the letter in a row. For example, to the untrained eye, the surname below looks like Crofs. The surname is actually Cross.
This is a typical example of the old style S, also known as the long S, the double S, or the long-tailed S. From Kip Sperry's Reading Early American Handwriting we learn that "the first s, or what is known as the leading s, was usually followed by a more regular looking or modern s." This style is seen in records through the middle of the nineteenth century.
When I was a beginner, I struggled to understand where Asa Clark Brown actually lived in 1840. The census seemed to show that he lived in Scrubgrafs Township:
This is another example of the leading s. Some other examples are:
Maps = Mass [Massachusetts]
Mifsouri = Missouri
Sufsana = Sussana
From:
http://www.google.com/reader/view/family history
Kimberly's Genealogy Blog
Family History Library Catalog 2.0
As announced at the National Genealogical Society conference this past week, FamilySearch.org and FamilyLink.com are partnering to publish the Family History Library Catalog as an interactive online tool. New functionality and enhancements to the catalog will make it searchable by major online search engines (meaning many more genealogists will discover and use this valuable resource) and will allow users to annotate item descriptions to make them more useful. This could mean anything from adding better record descriptions, tips for searching and using the record, or links to an online digitized or transcribed version of the record. FamilyLink.com will also be adding links to the online source for each record, when available, whether it's on FamilySearch.org; on other genealogical sites such as Ancestry.com, WorldVitalRecords.com, FindmyPast.com, Footnote.com, USGenWeb and WorldGenWeb; or on government, archival or library sites. Users will also be able to add or suggest a new source, and rate or review a source based on its usefulness.
New search functionality will also be added to the catalog, with guided searches to help beginners identify what they want to learn about their families, point them to relevant records, help them obtain and search the records, and assist them with applying the new information to their family history research. Users will also be able to browse the catalog as usual, with extra enhancements such as the ability to sort results by popularity, relevance, most used,etc.
For more details, check out FamilyLink.com CEO Paul Allen's great blog post on his exciting plans for the new Family History Library Catalog 2.0.
From:
http://genealogy.about.com/b/2008/05/15/family-history-library-catalog-20.htminvestigate local genealogy
Weekly Planner: Investigate a Local Genealogical or
Historical Society
Check out the websites of genealogical and historical societies for the areas in which your ancestors lived. You may find online exhibits or guides that are relevant to your research. And while you’re there, consider joining. You never know what goodies you’ll find in their periodicals and what benefits that may come with membership.
From:
http://www.google.com/reader/view/Bookmarking Tip
Beginner's Tip: How To Set A
Quick-Bookmark
If you have ever clicked more than once to try to navigate back to your own screen, this tip is for you. Whether you are in the Family, Pedigree, Descendant, Chronology, or Index View, it should never take more than one click to return to yourself.
Here's a scenario. You're in the Family View, looking at your 9th great-grandfather. To navigate back to yourself, either you 1) click on his child enough times until you're finally back to yourself or 2) you switch to the Index View, locate yourself, and then go back to the Family View. If this sounds familiar, you will be happy to know there is a quicker way.
All you have to do is first navigate to yourself, then set a Quick-Bookmark.
To set the quick-bookmark, simply right-click in the blank area in the lower left of the screen (see image below). Just to the right of the small "1" numeral is a blank space. Right-clicking in this blank space will set a quick-bookmark for the currently highlighted person.
Once this is set, you can be viewing your 13th cousin, 4 times removed, and all you have to do to navigate back to yourself, is left-click once on your name in the quick-bookmark section.
In fact, you can set up to three quick-bookmarks. Just navigate to the desired person, then right-click in any of the three quick-bookmark sections. Then, to jump to a quick-bookmarked person, just click on their name.
To clear a quick-bookmark, while holding down the Ctrl key, right-click in the box you want to clear. The name disappears.
From:
http://www.google.com/reader/view/Familysearch
From:
http://www.google.com/reader/view/
