"Tracing Our Roots" Newsletter Archive (A monthly genealogy newsletter written by the late Brenda Kellow, dec'd, for the Plano Star Courier newspaper. We've included all the ones we could recover.)
Do you know how to glean all the information needed to search your family history online? With so many sites advertising as the ‘best,’ how does one decide which megasites are the most creditable? Rich Crume just published a new book that can help with your dilemma. His book is “Plugging Into Your Past, How to Find Real Family History Records Online.” Rick says finding what you need is simply knowing how to use “online sources efficiently and when to turn to traditional offline sources.” In “Plugging,” Crume focuses on Web sites and CD-ROMs with real data containing databases with names, dates and places, and often images and pictures.
Each chapter is full of information such as is found in Chapter 1 on what to expect from an online database and what to do when the URL is no longer valid. In Chapter 2 Crume focuses on the megasites such Ancestry.com (a major site in my opinion), New England Ancestors, and US Gen Web Project. Later chapters show how to focus on specific kinds of records, books, journals, and manuscripts.
Crume describes the types of databases such as those containing digital images with and without hyperlinks from the index to the image, transcripts, abstracts, databases containing extracted information or those searchable by fields, and indexes.
Throughout the book, the author warns that regardless of the record found online it should be checked out against the original record to confirm correctness.
The appendixes offer guides for citing online information and explain how to save and organize electronic files in your personal computer so that you can find them quickly in the future. Finding the saved item is of primary importance. If you have to hunt for it, you need to rethink your filing system.
“Plugging Into Your Past” by Rick Crume is published by Betterway Books, now doing business as Family Tree Bookstore. It sells through your local bookstore for $19.99, or from the Family Tree Publications Web site at www.familytreemagazine.com/store/. It is the featured book on the site this week. If ordered from the Website, please add $3.95 for shipping and handling.
CIZMA TOMBSTONE FOUND
Sometime after Father’s Day, someone entered the Allen Cemetery and removed Marine Gerald J. Cizma’s bronze Korean War stone. “Jerry” was born October 17, 1938 and died on February 11, 1989 after a tragic automobile accident. Thank you for notifying the Allen Parks and Recreation Department with the location of his grave marker. It will be replaced at his burial site in the very near future. Sometimes it takes a 'village' to protect our cemeteries.
GENEALOGY CLASSES AT CCCC
Genealogy II will be offered October 21 through December 16 at the Preston Ridge Campus of CCCCD, Taught by Lynne Darrouzet, JD, CGRS, the course will build on the methods introduced in Genealogy I to further acquaint the students with original records sources, including land and tax, probate and court, military, immigration and naturalization, church and cemetery records. The course is open to those who have completed the basic course; those returning to genealogy or for the researcher seeking professional credentials. For more information call: 972-985-3758. To register go online: http://www.ccccd.edu/cs/areasofstudy/conted/contedmain.html or call 972-985-3721.
NEW URL FOR NEW YORK SOCIETY
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has launched their Web site on a new domain,
www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org. Information on the society is available on their brochures located in the genealogical section of the library.
Brenda Kellow, dec'd, Certified Genealogist and Certified Genealogical Instructor, had a Bachelor’s Degree in history and taught genealogy courses at the local Community College and computer genealogy at the University.
