Is Your Grandmother On Facebook? Ancestry.com Wants to Know, But Why?

There is a "new" feature from Ancestry.com that links your tree (or creates a tree) based on your friends list on Facebook. I say "new", because it's actually been out for a few months. They've taken it down, put it back up, taken it down, tweaked it, put it back up, tweaked it again...... And now they are touting this "new" feature. Naturally, people have a few questions: What does it look like? How does it work? What does Ancestry share with Facebook? Why would I want to use it? And of course How long before someone screws it up?

First, let's talk about where to find it on Ancestry and what it looks like. You can find a link on every living person asking "is so-n-so on Facebook?" The image below is from my tree with the personal information blotted out. As you can see, it's just a simple blue link on the page. Some have called it an "eyesore" already. I'm not so sure about that. I find it easily ignorable, but there are others that are saying this link is ugly and obtrusive. Is there a way to get the link to go away? Not at all. Wish there was? Send a feedback to Ancestry so they can get their developers on it.



So it's, like, this out-of-place blue link? Fabulous.



Ancestry's blog has a new post covering some of the complaints/concerns that have come their way. There are some points they put on the plus side. The "why would I use this?" is answered with:

• The app pulls the profile picture of the linked people and updates it as they update their Facebook profile.
• If your relative lists their birthday, the app will add it to your tree.
• With their Facebook profile linked, it's a simple click to go to that profile so you can message relatives.
• It searches your profile for those you've marked as relatives and then searches the profiles of those relatives for people they've marked relatives so you can connect to people you may not know are on Facebook.

Obviously Ancestry isn't going to bring up the cons in a blog post advertising this amazing new connectivity. That's what I'm here for. The photo below is from my brother's profile. The blue link is now just "Facebook Profile". Still there, still blue. So if you thought the first link was obtrusive, this isn't any less so. Then there's that profile photo. Sure it's nice to see my brother's smiling face when he's using it as his Facebook photo, but as you can see, he likes Lolcats too. Not something I want to see on my tree. Sure it's fun when your god-awful aunt has a crab for her photo. (It's just so fitting, isn't it?) But if they are passing along their political message in that photo (or showing off their favorite Suicide Girl), relatives you've invited to view the living on your tree may be upset. I also tested the photo for my own profile. When I changed the photo on Facebook, the original wasn't saved on Ancestry. So even though I at once had a photo of my grandmother and myself on my profile, it's not there anymore. If I'm linked in another relative's tree and change my photo, they don't get to have a copy of that picture. But that may be a bit of a good thing. At least I can be sure the media tab on my tree isn't being filled up with "Ice cream zombies".



So there are some issues.



While Ancestry makes privacy for the living a big deal, Facebook has had issues with that in the past. They are taking it more seriously now, but the trust once lost isn't easily restored. I recommend reading the Terms of Service for both sites. When you click the "Is so-n-so on Facebook" link, the first thing you get is a box that has links to the Terms of Use. READ THEM. Don't come back to me later saying you didn't know what was going on. It looks like they are tying up the privacy pretty well.... from your end that is. The thing is, I added 93 people to my tree using this application. 50 of them aren't in my friends list. I found them from the friends lists of my relatives. Of those 50, 20 are cousins I don't know personally. 10 are the relatives of my sister-in-law (whom I will admit I've never met in person as my brother is in the military and they've spent most of my life halfway around the globe). The others had to be deleted after finding out my idiot teenage cousins listed their friends as relatives when they aren't. How cute. I caught quite a few when I was loading them in (obviously my 13 year old cousin isn't married), but some I took on face value as one will do. Then I contacted my cousins to learn more about their "other side" relatives. Now, that's a step that not everyone will take. I am glad I did, because I was able to clean out those incorrect relatives and get the skinny on the right relatives (with a few friend invites from them- I do so love being the "family genealogist"). That's problem one with the privacy set up.

The second is that my relatives weren't notified when I connected their profile. Their relatives that I'm not connected to in anyway on Facebook didn't get a notification. I had the option of notifying them and asking if they wanted to view my tree, but I didn't have to. So here are 93 people that I've connected to with their profile photo. A public photo to be sure, but it's being shared on a site that they don't know about. As long as I'm the only person using the tree, it'll probably be no problem....... of course, I share my tree with relatives far and wide on both sides of my family. So now my 3rd cousin on my Whitfield side can see the profile pic of my first cousin on the Householder side. They aren't blood kin, but at least now each knows what the other looks like. Is that a good thing? I know Facebook requires the user to be at least 13 years old, but I also know my 10 year old cousin lied on his birth date to get a profile. So now not only is his birthday wrong on my tree, but his profile picture is visible to anyone invited to my tree. Ideally the people I'm sharing my tree with are family that I know and trust. That's why Ancestry NEVER shows living people even on a public tree. You have to invite someone to your tree AND give them permission to view the living. You can invite people without giving them the living. Keep that in mind if you have any worries.



The Facebook side of the application.

So Ancestry tries to tie up the privacy as good as it might. And I applaud their efforts. On the other hand, Facebook allows my public profile photo to be downloadable even by people who don't know me. (Not that people couldn't find a way to get a copy anyway). Facebook has a nasty habit of making privacy opt-in instead of opt-out. I can see where the worry comes from for this application. It's not Ancestry they don't trust, it's Facebook. Ancestry is trying to create this great social media campaign to increase its usability and increase interest in a younger market. I get that. What I don't like is the inability to opt out of this grand experiment. And I certainly wouldn't consider myself old or out of date. Heck, I know a few octogenarians who are tech savvy and proud of it. I really don't see the objections as an age thing. Young and old are worried about a permeable layer between a trusted and protected research site and a social media site with a spotty record on privacy. And there are those who don't like the link so prominent on the page. They'd prefer it in the right-hand column where one can add weblinks. And if the Facebook app takes off, how long before we have a Google+, Twitter or Pinterest link? How much clutter can the profile page take? What about those non-relations that your relatives mark as siblings, spouses or parents because they find it fun or honorific rather than factual? We already know how badly trees can be mangled with thoughtless clicking and merging and now we're adding another site into the mix. I agree with those who see more problems than blessings in this new venture.

With all that said, it's up to you whether you use it or not. I do recommend taking a moment to message Ancestry and ask for an opt-out option even if you plan to use the application. You may like it now, but hate it later (And you'll show support for those who wish to have the link removed from an aesthetic angle if nothing else). Let your relatives know you've connected their profile so that if they feel uncomfortable they can ask you to disconnect their profile from your tree. Take the same precautions you'd take with any personal information about the living. Know what is protected by default and what you need to take action to protect on both ends of the transaction. In the end, try it out. Know what's going on even if you disconnect it right after trying it. At least then your complaints will be educated and precise. Like mine: The darn application hasn't worked all day. I used it a month ago and wanted to reuse it today to get more screenshots. The stupid thing had so many errors that I ended up closing it out. Many people are experiencing problems. Probably because so many are trying it out now that it's being advertised. So even if you want to try it, you'll need the patience to stumble through the errors, report major problems, and receive a less than spectacular final product when compared to the troubles to use it.

That's my opinion at least,
-Ana

Repository in Review- Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com is one of my favorite sites. I often compare the quality of another site against it..... so why wasn't it the first "Repository in Review"? Quite simply, I talk about it so much I didn't want to bore you with it. On the other hand, I do use it daily and you may not be familiar with it, so it is unfair to never review the resource. Besides, even if you use it, you may not know all that is available to you. So for the third installment of my ongoing review series, we're going to get the low-down on Ancestry.com.

The Features and Benefits

Ancestry.com is the largest online family history resource. Starting as a publishing company in 1983, they began to digitise records for online use in 1996. The Card Catalog lists 30, 994 collections that cover 10 billion records. While most are English or German language documents, there are also French, Italian, Swedish and Spanish documents. The U.S. and Europe are the most represented areas, but there are records available for Asia, South America, Mexico, Australia, Canada and Africa. In their Card Catalog you will now find web links to other genealogy sites. Ancestry may own Fold3.com, but it is a separate website with a separate database collection and membership fees. They will also link you to websites they do not own (and may have made an index without specifically partnering with that website). Why are they linking you to other websites? Because no one site has everything, not even Ancestry. I have seen a great number of people complain about this link to other websites. They don't want to use those other websites. If you don't, just ignore those hints. Go ahead and cripple your research right off the bat. Or you can be honest with yourself and admit you'll need more than one repository for your research.

On top of records, they have their Learning Center that includes a Wiki, forums where researchers inquire and connect with each other, Facebook page for updates and socialisation, and YouTube channel full of specific lesson plans and recordings of their interactive Q&A sessions. All of this is provided for free to any registered member. Regardless of whether you pay or not, you can build a tree of your own and upload any photos or information in your possession. If you pay for a while but let your membership lapse, your tree is still available. I often have to let my membership slide for a while and use that off time to add information I've gathered from relatives, other websites, and offline sources.

Some points out of the Terms and Conditions (red indicates direct quote from the T&C):

• You may access the Website, use the graphics, information, data, editorial and other Content only for personal or professional family history research, and download Content only as search results relevant to that research. The Content may be downloaded onto mobile devices or desktop through the use of authorized Ancestry software. When downloaded, the Content remains subject to the limited use license contained in this Agreement. When I reviewed NewspaperArchive, I pointed out that professional use wasn't allowed. In this paragraph, Ancestry is giving you permission to use the site for professional purposes, as long as you continue to follow the guidelines of the site. That means you still have to follow copyright rules, so no publishing photos to a site or book (or final report to a client) without obtaining license to do so.
• Except for Web Records, which are governed by the third parties that host the records, all Content is owned, licensed to and/or copyrighted by Ancestry and may be used only in accordance with this limited use license. The Website is protected by copyright as a collective work and/or compilation, pursuant to U.S. copyright laws, international conventions, and other copyright laws. What this means is that the links to other websites (i.e. Find a Grave) are subject to the terms of use and copyrights of their original website. (You can't copy photos from Find a Grave and distribute them on Ancestry.com without permission of and credit to the photographer- hence Ancestry providing a weblink instead of a photo or image of the website itself). Whatever items you upload that you own (a photo of the family you yourself took, an oral history you record in the story section, etc.) are licensed to Ancestry.com without changing ownership or copyright transference.
• According to the Rules of Conduct, you cannot Reproduce, copy or sell any portion of Ancestry or Ancestry database contents, or systematically download contents and data of the Ancestry database to make or populate another database or for any other purpose. This kind of put me in the mind of a discussion I had with someone recently that had started a family website and wanted to take the images from Ancestry.com's databases and upload them to the new website. Nope, can't do it. You can link to the record. You can cite them as a source. You can download a copy to hold in your computer. But you can't copy a database in whole or in part for the purposes of distributing with other people.
• For User Provided Content, Ancestry is merely hosting and providing access. We cannot accept any liability with regard to such material (including with respect to its accuracy). In other words, family member trees aren't gospel and shouldn't be used as facts. Ancestry.com doesn't police those trees and won't change anything found there no matter how much you know it's wrong. The only time they get involved is when someone makes an obscene tree or something to intentionally malign a person.
• The decision to upload information to the Website is your responsibility and you should only submit content that belongs to you or that will not violate the rights of others. Be aware that content belongs to the creator of that content and you should not reproduce or submit anything without permission of the owner. This one trips a lot of people up. A picture of your great grandmother taken by a photographer is owned by the photographer or the studio that employed him, not you. Even if there are 100 copies in 100 people's hands, the photographer owns the copyright on each and every photo. By submitting User Provided Content to Ancestry, you grant Ancestry, its parent company and all of its affiliates, a transferable license to use, host, sublicense and distribute your submission to the extent and in the form or context we deem appropriate on or through any media or medium and with any technology or devices now known or hereafter developed or discovered. This basically just covers Ancestry's tail and says they have the right to have your photos and stories on a public tree in their search feature and on their servers. It doesn't mean Ancestry owns your items, but it does mean that their sister sites like Rootsweb and Mundia can also distribute your information without paying you to do so. It also covers technology changes (if the next big invention is a straight to brain interface, they don't have to ask for your permission for your items to go from the public website to the public brain wave). With that all said, if you own a copyright on something and someone obtains a copy of it without your permission, you can contact Ancestry's copyright department and they'll have it removed. You have to prove you own the rights to the work (and again, pictures of your grandmother as a baby aren't owned by you in any way).
• All subscriptions are automatically renewing with the exception of gift subscriptions and pay-per view. This means that once you become a subscribing member, your subscription will be automatically renewed and your billing choice will be charged based on the subscription program (semiannually, quarterly, monthly, etc.) you have chosen unless you opt out or cancel by following the instructions in this Agreement. Except in the case of monthly subscriptions, you will be notified via e-mail before your subscription ends and asked to correct any information which has changed and whether you wish to "opt out" of your renewal. The renewal of the subscription takes place subject to the terms in force on the date of renewal. That's right, another automatic renewal site. And they send you a reminder email for all but the monthly subscriptions (which should renew at the same time every month so I can see why they don't remind you).

Dollars and Sense

There are two levels available: U.S. and World. Now, this is coming at it from the U.S. (which I am) and admittedly if you live in another country it'll be your area and World, so probably the better way to say it would be Local and World....... either way, I'm dealing with it as a U.S. subscriber, and as I'm about to talk price, will just clarify that this is the subs available for U.S. residents. There are three price options to each level: monthly, 6 month and yearly. For the U.S. records only, it's $22.95 per month, $77 for the 6 month option, $155 for the yearly. (The 6 month and yearly make it about $12.95 per month, but are billed all at once, so be ready for that!). The all-access World subscription is $34.95 per month, $149 for 6 months, and $299 for a year. (The 6 month and yearly work out to $24.95 per month, again billed at the total price at one time).

From the T&C: Opting Out of Renewal. You may opt out of renewing your subscription by calling Ancestry at 1-800-262-3787 or by logging into your My Account page on the Website at least two days before the renewal date. If you do not let us know that you want to terminate your subscription at least two days prior to the end of the current subscription period the payment for the renewal period of the subscription will be made. So you have 2 days before your renewal date to cancel your subscription (AND you must cancel before 5p.m. Mountain Time!). That means that if my subscription ends on the 19th, I have until 5 p.m. Mountain Time on the 17th to cancel my subscription. Again, they give an online option, but just call them as it goes easier when you have a real person (and then someone to blame if they mess up your cancellation). Also of note: if you have a subscription longer than the monthly sub, you can get a refund as long as you cancel within the first 30 days. Renewals must be cancelled within 7 days. Month subscriptions receive no refund, but you have access to the website until your month expires. In fact, any subscription that they are unable to refund continues to allow access until the subscription runs out, so don't wait until the last minute to cancel your subscription. Take care of it early enough to ensure it's done and then use it up.

When searching the Card Catalog, you can narrow the field to free databases by searching for the keyword "free". When I searched free, I got a list of 728 free databases that can be searched by anyone at anytime. You will still need to make a user name and password, but you don't need to log a credit card or participate in the 14-day trial to get these records. Now, that includes 2 family tree databases that are about as useful as warm dog turds most of the time, so really you're at about 726 databases. Still an impressive number. Also keep these databases in mind when comparing with other sites. These are usually publicly available databases that no one is (or should) charge for. Others are part of Ancestry's World Archives Project and have been made available by Ancestry using volunteer transcriptionists. Also note that these are usually only an index and that to see other data on the record you usually need to pay for a copy or the more detailed database.

My Two Cents

You can't ignore the numbers:

• 2 million paying subscribers- 2 million people are so happy with the service that they choose to hand over their hard-earned money to Ancestry. Since that only counts the paying members, imagine how many more are using just the free side of the service. That speaks volumes (at least to me) about the quality and quantity of what's to be found on this site. Others may say it's because they have a near monopoly, but I can't help but think of FamilySearch and their impressive collection both on and offline (which I'll cover soon in another review).
• 10 billion records and counting- this is where that near monopoly thing comes into play. I don't know if it's a good or bad thing for the community as a whole, but for me I count it as a good thing. One place to start, compile and keep my research? Yes, please. With it being centralised for U.S. and Europe ancestry, however, there are glaring holes to be sure. On the other hand, what they don't have is usually not online or held by websites specific to a database, so it's certainly a place to start for just about everyone.
• 82¢ a day- Full site access is less than $1 a day for a full year. Heck, even if you do a month subscription for February (the shortest month), it's $1.25 a day for full access. You may not need full access. Maybe a simple U.S. (or local) subscription will do for a while. For what's available vs price to view, this is a rather cheap subscription. (Here's another way to look at it, how many records per dollar of a year's subscription: NewspaperArchives has 1,666,667 records per dollar, Fold3 has 1,175,735, and Ancestry has 33,444,816. While you will never need all of them, that's a hell of a lot of potential or "bang for your buck").

There is a 14 day trial. Use it. Even if you find the records useless, the ability to build an online tree and use their free databases and forums make up for that lack. There is a great potential for connecting to relatives who are also researching your lines. Of course, the records are the meat and potatoes of the site and most people will never get their fill. Don't go happily clicking away on all the hints that pop up though. They are just hints and you need to find out if they are facts. That requires critical thought and time. If you look at the family trees, consider any tree without records as suspect and only add what you already know to be true. If there are sources, review them to ensure the member hasn't made a mistake and led you down the garden path. If you have a recent immigrant or know quite a bit about your ancestors on this side of the ocean, go ahead and pay for full World access. If you are just starting out, don't bother with World, just get U.S. (or local) for the time being.

And remember, it's only one tool in your toolkit. You can let your membership lapse and still have access to your tree. I have a specific budget for websites. If I need a different site and I'm tired of Ancestry (I can't really say done, I'm never done), then I'll switch off one and pick up the other. I cite the other websites on my tree on Ancestry to keep my research together as well as to give hints of other work available for people who are connected to my tree. I'm proud to say that every member in my tree has at least one documented source proving they exist. It bothers me when a tree has 300,000 people and no sources. I wonder how they know they aren't wrong or duplicated. And to be honest, it's usually both. One last note on member trees: I've covered private vs public trees before. What I want you to take away today is that how and why other people research is their own business. If you wish to share your information, do so. If your information is taken by someone with a private tree, message them to welcome them to your family. If they respond kindly, you have a new friend. If they respond rudely or not at all, what have you really lost? Let them be and focus on your own work.

See you next week,
-Ana

Repository in Review- NewspaperArchive.com

If I had the time to write everyday, I could cover every topic I want to in a week. Well, maybe if I write twice a day. Unfortunately, I have other projects (and the need to eat/sleep), so I have to pick and choose. I figure I've given you loads of good tips in most of my posts, but really haven't expanded on links to my favorite websites. Today will be my second "Repository in Review" post, having reviewed Fold3 previously. I thought long and hard about which site to review next and chose NewspaperArchive.com. Newspaper Archive has become a daily research tool for me after a great many people told me how useful it has been for them. Honestly, it should be a site every genealogist uses daily.

The Features and Benefits

Newspaper Archive touts itself as the largest historical newspaper database online. Newspapers from several countries (the U.S., Canada and U.K. leading the pack, but there are a few from places like China, Denmark, and South Africa) dating as early as 1607 (the bulk of the papers being late 1800's to present) are available. The site says they have 120 million pages which is truly impressive. I have seen their logo in an Ancestry.com newspaper search, so they do share. With that said, however, they don't share everything. I've had a few people tell me they have found articles on the actual website for Newspaper Archive that never showed in an Ancestry search. Personally, my research hasn't led to many newspaper hits simply because of the names in my family (Householder is too common, Lavinski not common enough). I have been lucky to get quite a few newspaper hits for cousins that made their mark (a governor, a pioneer and a military columnist), but no direct line information. And yet I keep plugging way every day. Even when I can't find anything related to my topic of research, the articles in and of themselves can be fascinating. Knowing how WWI ended, it's interesting to read articles from the years leading up to it. I am always telling people to read more books from the contemporary authors of their ancestors for better perspective. Newspaper editorials are the living pulse of public thought. They can be hauntingly prophetic (or wantonly blind).

With any website, read and understand the terms of use and what you agree to simply by using the website. I read the Terms of Service and found this: You (or "your" defined by your status as an adult user and/or parent or guardian for any minor which you allow to use the Service) may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit or distribute in any way any amount of material from this site including, but not limited to, all documents, images, written material, code and software. You may download Content from this site for your personal, non-commercial use only, provided you abide by all copyright and other proprietary notices and keep any and all Content intact. Publications prior to 1923 are out of copyright (and are found on many websites). Any newspapers after 1923 are still in copyright. Newspaper Archive purchases the right to distribute the images from a newspaper still in copyright. This means you can NOT put that image on another website. You can NOT "clip" the article you need and post the image to another website. You CAN keep a copy on your computer for your personal use. You CAN print out a copy for your personal use. You MUST keep a source citation with it to give credit to where you found it. You CAN add a source citation on your Ancestry tree to let people know you have a copy of this paper and how they can obtain one from the copyright holder. If you wish to publish the article on a website or in a book, you can contact Newspaper Archive or the newspaper's publisher directly to license the image.

Dollars and Sense

There are three pay options: 3 month- $9.99, 6 month- $7.99, annual- $5.99. These are billed in bulk, so keep in mind that if you buy the annual option, you pay the full $72 now. Like most websites, they require a credit card and will use automatic renewal. At the end of your contract term, if you haven't cancelled, you will be charged for the next term. You must cancel 72 hours before your period ends. The Terms and Conditions state three times that it is Non-refundable. While there is an email option, I always advocate calling so you have someone live you can blame if the cancellation doesn't go through. Their phone number is 1-888-845-2887. I didn't mention all the ins and outs of membership charges and cancellations in my post about Fold3, but some recent complaints on Facebook have made me realise that many folks don't understand these basic website rules and I thought I'd do everyone the favor of letting you know up front. Like most websites, Newspaper Archive leaves cancelling your membership up to you. Be a proactive consumer and keep their contact info and your membership renewal date on a calendar or a folder or something so that you stay on top of the charges.

With all that said about the paid options, there is a FREE option. The upper right corner of Newspaper Archive's site has a blue button that says "Login with Facebook". Why would you want to login with Facebook? For the 10 Free images a day! You can search as much as you want, it's just looking at an actual page that counts against your 10 for the day. Now, this does give them permission to tell people what pages you look at. While writing this article, I wanted to know if the Chinese and Japanese pages were from English papers or actually in Kanji (they're English language). So now my timeline says "Rhi read North China Herald, August.... on NewspaperArchive." If a friend sees that and clicks the link, they'll be sent to NewspaperArchive and asked to sign up. Free advertising for them, free newspaper image for me. Fair deal.

My Two Cents

Like I said, I now use this site daily. I log my search on it just like I log any of my research. I know who I've tried to find, what newspapers I've checked, where I left off in the middle of a search, etc. I figure at 10 images a day, I can get what I need without a membership. Just like Fold3, if you have a relative that was pretty famous and written about often, you may want to purchase a membership. If you do a lot of research on historical news articles or are researching for others, you may want a membership to get more use out of the site. If you are a professional genealogist (or aspiring to be one) you should note that their Terms and Conditions specifically state this site is for non-commercial use. You can contact them to license the image for your professional endeavors. (On that note, the Legal Genealogist is a must-read for the legal aspects of genealogy including how to use websites responsibly).

Start with the "trial" by logging in with your Facebook account. If you use it and find nothing, don't go paying for a membership. If you go through your 10 images so fast that you're near tears thinking about waiting another day, pay for the year. Honestly, the 3 and 6 month options are all well and good, but who knows when your search will be fruitful? If you can seriously find all that you'll need on this site with the 3 month option, why not just use the 10 images a day? Keep it leisurely rather than trying to cram all your time into 90 days. The year will save you nearly $50 over the 3 month option if you end up needing to renew every 3 months. And if you get to the end of a year with no new research leads, you drop the subscription and use the 10 free images option until the next time a membership is needed.

Well, that's my opinion at least
-Ana

The 1940 Census Is Here!..... Uh, Now What?

On Monday, April 2, the U.S. 1940 census was released to the public amid much anticipation. Old researchers and new hobbyists clamored for the records; some with immediate success, some not so much. Ancestry has announced that today by 2 p.m. Eastern Time, they expect to have every image of the 1940 census up and viewable. An amazing achievement that they should be lauded for accomplishing so quickly.

Now I'm going to be quite honest. I wasn't planning on blogging about the census. I figured there were so many sources, blogs, videos, chats, twitter feeds and Facebook pages, that I wouldn't be needed on the scene. I thought that I had only the information everyone else had and you didn't need a repeat at the end of the week. I was wrong. I didn't take into account the people whose foray into the genealogy field would start with this census. I didn't think that people researching a new database wouldn't know where to find information prior to it's release and couldn't make themselves prepared for its arrival. Volunteering my advice on Ancestry's Facebook page has allowed me to see my error. So many questions that many of us "Aces" had thought answered thoroughly beforehand are asked frequently. And the expectations of some have been dashed when they found that a simple search of a name wasn't going to bring them their answer. Again, those who had been feverishly pouring over blogs and videos (as well as remembering the release of previous censuses) were well aware that an index wouldn't be immediately available. Even today I see people ask why a search isn't giving a 1940 census hit at all........ and the question will be repeated for months to come I'm sure. So my intent today is not to reiterate everything to be found, but to link you to the place to find it. I'll also point out some broad strokes that will hopefully answer a few of the more frequently asked questions I've seen.

In the beginning.....
Officially, NARA is the holder of the census. If you don't know, NARA stands for National Archives and Records Administration. The nation's records of legal or historical importance are preserved by NARA. They have local offices in many areas for researchers, but they also have online options. Many of their records are also provided or indexed by genealogy sites like Ancestry.

What I learned:

• The 72 year wait is a mandatory law enacted by Congress to protect the privacy of the citizens. Which is actually quite lucky considering that many states and countries require 100 years to pass before a record can be released.
• Certain questions were asked to gauge internal migration and usefulness of public programs after the Depression. These questions can also help a researcher that has lost track of the family sometime around 1930-1935.
• What all the questions asked and codes used mean. What do the numbers in the education column mean? What is the CCC and WPA? Find out in the FAQ on NARA's site.
• This census was done door to door. If the enumerator missed someone on a street the first time, they listed the people they caught up with on the final pages of the district (so relatives houses not listed in order may be in the back). Also, people living in a hotel or trailer park were enumerated separately, which is helpful if your family member was in a moment of transition in 1940.
• Two lines per page were chosen for extra questions that may lead to information for a lucky percentage of researchers. Why only two? Well, that way it was a random sampling of about 5% of the nation. A snapshot of the larger picture, if you will. I only hope to find a family member on one of those lines!

I learn by watching
Ancestry has always had a YouTube channel for it's instructional videos, and I've suggested them before. Now, with so much newness in the 1940 census, they've got a whole new batch of videos to explain the process in which the census will be indexed and how you can use it prior to the index being completed.

What I learned:

• How to use the new viewer on Ancestry.
• How to navigate a search without an index.

A quick read can help
Ancestry also has a Sticky Notes blog that has always been helpful, even more now that the census is available. Juliana has been giving her own personal testimony on census searching as well as a few hints even I didn't consider.

What I learned:

• print out or screen capture the map and make it a diagram to more clearly delineate the ED I'm looking in and easily determine if a street was skipped.
• Inverse the colors on the census so that the writing is white (and possibly more legible)

As I said earlier, there are hundreds of blogs to peruse. Some of my favorites are Olive Tree Genealogy, Genea-Musings, Archives.com, and FamilySearch. This is just a handful of the ones I keep a serious eye on for this particular topic. There are literally thousands of blogs, so finding information is not as hard as sifting through it.

And I've said it before, but I feel the need to say it again: You may need some knowledge of world, or at least local, history. If you love family history, but abhor the dry world history that your family lived and died creating, then you will stunt the growth of your own research before you even start. And if you have no intent to familiarise yourself with even a brief historical sketch of the time you are researching, then you have picked the wrong "hobby", my love, and should choose something else to spend your time on. It may sound harsh, but it is true. Without knowing where the world has been, you won't know where your family is going.

"I'd rather wait for a search by name feature, tyvm!"
To be honest, I think that's a nonsense idea. If you don't know exactly where your family was from, it is difficult. I have searched at least five enumeration districts so far for my paternal grandmother and still no luck. On the other hand, I expanded my search for my grandfather to include a little town I had a faint remembrance of hearing in passing with family. And there he was on page 14 out of 20. While that's the only direct link find, I was able to locate several cousins and soon-to-be kin in the towns and counties in which the family seemed to flourish. It could take months for an index to be complete, so small searches of page by page in between your regular research is something that could help break a few barriers in the meantime; even if they aren't exactly the line you wanted. Use city directories and other records from prior to the 1940's to narrow your research. It can be daunting, but its immeasurably easier for this census than any other. And for those of you who have never ventured outside of the Internet and your own home for research, take this as a bit of practice for that first time you will have to search a physical index in some corner of an archive. And no matter how much is found online, my dearest Reader, you will eventually have to journey to a far flung library and talk to a blue-haired lady who will be very shocked you've gotten this far without knowing how to use a projector (or why they get so upset when you mention how much easier your Internet searches have been in comparison). Not everything we want will pop up in a search bar for us, even though sites like My Heritage, Ancestry and FamilySearch are trying to make it so.

As of 8 p.m. last night, when I finished up this post, Ancestry had announced two states were ready for name searches: Nevada and Delaware. A great start, but remember, it'll take some time for all of them to go up and hints to start attaching. I'll add updates as I see them.

BTW...
Want to help create the searchable index? Several societies, companies and sites are indexing and looking for volunteers. Your society members can become volunteers and key a few pages for the community. You never know, you might see a relative on your journey! I've volunteered some of my scant free time to index with  FamilySearch.org. Ancestry isn't using volunteers, but an actual company to make their index. However, their World Archives Project is available for other projects (which are important to our communal history as well). So don't just stop with the 1940 census! Improve your genealogical karma and become a volunteer keyer today; every record is precious.

-And with that, back to the salt mines

Ana

Getting to Know Google

While the days of microfiche and dusty libraries aren't gone yet, technology is steadily improving to the point that one day we won't need to travel so far to find our roots. The majority of what we want to find isn't online; let me be clear about that. I've heard people figure it at about 5% of all the documents available are online. There are companies that are trying to digitise and transcribe as many records as they can. Ancestry has the World Archives Project and FamilySearch has Index projects that include the 1940 census. Until all the world's records are digitised, how do we know what's available online? And where do we find the documents that aren't? As I have already blogged, sometimes we just need to look to Google first. And interestingly, Google has a lot of tools that can make the life of a genealogist easier.

The most obvious is the search tool. Seriously, who doesn't know to "Google it"? Well actually, for many people it comes counter-intuitive to start with a Google search. I can't tell you the number of times I've "Googled it" for someone and found just what they were looking for on the first page. To others, the sheer volume of results can be daunting, especially for a common name. Well, take those hints from Crista about searching like a pro and use them here! Know what you are looking for and be specific. Use search operators like AND, OR, or - (Note and/or have to be in all caps to count or they'll be ignored). Lifehack did an article about searching Google like a pro, which I have bookmarked for easy reference. And did you know you could search Google Images by image now? That's right! There's a little camera on the right of the search bar. If you click on that, Google Images will let you add a photo to search. Now, it's still very new, so when you put in a black and white photo of a person, you get black and white photos of people new and old. Add some words "John So-n-so, 1864, Texas", and it'll help narrow your search.

But that's just the tip of our Google iceberg! Add to the search the toolbar download to have the search tool always ready. There are also a number of "buttons" you can add to help you. My favorite is the Translate tool. It can be very helpful when you are Googling where/how to find foreign records and the website is not in English. There's a Spell Checker to help when writing on a website (like Blogger). It's capable of spell check in a few languages, so if you know Spanish, but your spelling isn't always the best, Google will help! The "Highlight All" button will highlight the words from your search that are found on the page, making it easier for you to scan the page and decide if it's pertinent. You can add a share button so you can email, Facebook, Google+, blog, etc. your find to anyone you wish. Google has enhanced search features to find related content, auto fill forms and search bars with most likely information, and more. Please note: those features do take/share some of your information, so be sure to check all the settings to the level you want before proceeding! Also, there are third-party options that aren't Google, so check reliability of the company providing them.

There are three tools outside of searching that I use quite a bit. My favorite of course is Google Translate. I can input a bit of text from a document and Google will figure out what the language is and translate it for me. I used this tool to translate some postcards I got at an antique store that were from Germany 1912. Not life-changing information, but it was fun to read nonetheless. You can make special characters like å by using your computer's special characters map (You can find that in Accessories usually). It even suggested spelling changes if a letter was missed/unclear. Google Calendar is a great tool that can be accessed from a computer or smartphone. I share my calendar with family so they can see what I'm doing and when. This way, when they want to hang out with me, all they have to do is check the calendar. They can even add an event to a free moment if they want to reserve that time. If I'm headed to a library for the day, I've had relatives email me a list of items they need, or names of relatives that may be found in archives. Google Docs is a great place to store copies of pdf files, documents, and family group sheets. In fact, after clicking on "create" and choosing "from template", I was able to search "census" and found this 1790 census extraction form. Ancestry has a printable option, but here was one I could just type into. If I needed to do so, I could create and share a template for such a thing. And I know I've seen people asking for it, so there ya go.

In my blog post about genealogy and television, I mentioned YouTube. There are several channels devoted to genealogy by your favorite companies, but also by devoted fans and hobbyists. Judicious use of YouTube can also bring you finds like the 1940 census introduction. And the Google Books search was how I found an ebook of the Kemper line printed in 1899. It traced a great many Kempers back to our earliest ancestor, John Kemper of Virginia in 1714. There was a brief historical sketch of the earliest church record they found in Germany, but it was the names that were the most helpful. Using that book (with actual verified documents like birth records, marriage licenses and censuses) helped me connect to other Ancestry members who had information on their direct line to that tree as well. I only wish I could find more books about the other lines I'm working on! Picasa is Google's photo sharing option, and can be useful for keeping a centralised location for your digital photos. I use Flickr, but really it's personal preference, just like social networking. I'm sure a few of us use Facebook over Google+ just because our family and friends are more active on Facebook.

Speaking of social networking, Google+ is a clean version of what Facebook was pre-Timeline. Quite a few genealogy sites like Ancestry and Olive Tree have a presence on Google+, but it's underutilised......... so get over there now and give them a reason to patronise it! Google+ allows you to share photos, and tag people in them. Once they're tagged, Google can use their burgeoning face recognition options to find more photos of that person........ which sounds cool. Again, if you are privacy wary, this won't be something you want. Another great product from Google is Blogger. I won't link that one as you currently find yourself on Blogger reading this wonderful (and in my humble opinion, brilliant) article. You can create a blog to help others or just use as a journal of your own trials and tribulations. Share it with the world, or a select few. Blogger has it's own set of tools to make a useful landing zone for your information, be it in posts, photo or video. If you want something more of a website with the option for wikis and the like, Google Sites is your go-to area. (I actually have a draft blog about language study I'm thinking of transferring to a site instead. I think that'll be an easier format for what I really want to do.) Google Groups allows you to join or create a group on any topic you wish, from surnames to general genealogy. And Google Reader allows you to subscribe to a blog or site and get them in a simple news feed rather than hunt each one down every time you want to read them.

There are also a few I consider more "just for fun" than day-to-day useful. Panoramio is Google Maps meets Picasa. Search a location and see photographs of that location. Some old, some new, all beautiful. Really a great idea if you're planning a trip or want an idea of the environment your relatives lived in. Patent Search is useful if you had an inventor in the family and want to see their patent proposal (or if you want to invent something yourself and need to know if it's already in existence). Google Scholar will search out scholarly papers, legal opinions and journals and articles. A worthwhile option for someone wanting an opinion based on deep study; for example, how "experts" feel about archive handling and care. It's quite dry reading, as it's not prepared for common consumption, but the information can be invaluable to a serious mind.

We're always looking for ways to organise our research so that we aren't lost in it (or signed up for the show "Hoarders" by less than understanding relatives). There are so many great options in Google that you really should add it to your toolkit. Because I hear complaints about it all the time, it bears repeating that ONCE IT'S ON THE INTERNET, IT'S THERE TO STAY. Don't share what you are uncomfortable sharing. Read all privacy policies before using a product. Google spells it out very neatly in their new policies, so take the time to familiarise yourself with your options for protecting your rights. In the end, use it as much or as little as you are comfortable, but use it.

-See you on the interwebs!

Ana

How to Break Down, Scale, and Work Around Your Brick Wall

We all come to a point where we feel we have reached the end of our research on a branch of our tree. Plugging along, we happily add new members (always with documentation, right?) and keep going back, back, back..........BAM! Brick wall. An almost insurmountable conundrum. It's like the relative in question dropped out of the sky. Confused and hurt, we decide there's no getting around it.......... until there is.

If you've never watched "True Blood", there's a great quote in the first season that I keep in mind whenever doing a search. One character named Terry is talking about setting up a party like a debutant coming out and another character says he didn't realise Terry came from an "old family". Terry's response? "Everyone comes from an old family. Some just kept better records." And ain't that the truth? Even if you are one of the lucky few that find an unbroken documented line back to a verifiable family from antiquity, you will eventually reach a stopping point. For most of us plebeians, that's in the 1800's. Millions have come and gone without doing anything of historical importance, so there are more unknown than known relatives. There have been wars and natural disasters that have destroyed documentation, leaving us with a hole that only a leap of faith can bridge. Ancestors were human too, and as humans they made mistakes, told lies and stretched the truth....... a few fudged facts, and there's a line erased. How do we know we've truly reached the end and won't get around it? What can we do to break through this wall? In the word's of the great Taoist, Winnie the Pooh: "Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it".

My Brick Wall
When I started my family tree, I had one branch I was already resigned to never knowing. My great grandmother Brown was from Scotland. There was a story in the family that she was actually Jewish and from Germany or Poland or "something". She insisted she was Scottish and that was that. For about ten years, I lost track of my mother's side of the family. When I was able to reconnect, my great grandmother was gone and so was possibly the best link to the truth. I asked my mother, who insisted we were Jewish. She thought we were from Czechoslovakia and said her grandfather had changed his name, so it wasn't whatever it was before. My grandmother told me that her mother's maiden name had been Brown in Scotland, so I was essentially looking for a marriage contract between a Charles Brown and a Margaret Brown..... great. And if great great grandpa was going under an assumed name, how was I supposed to find the real name???? Occasionally, a relative would give me a new bit of information that I'd happily plug into my tree and search with no positive results. So I did like many a newbie, and I saw this as a wall far and wide that I'd never climb and forgot about it for the most part. Until a friend, Loretta, posted her Friday tip on her blog and a perfect stranger on Ancestry's Facebook page asked a question about one of Crista Cowan's tips for "researching like a pro". I resolved once again to chip away at the brick wall.

Back to the Family
A year ago, my aunt was in contact with a cousin in Scotland. The relative knew of a brother named Joseph, one Frank and a sister Mary. Mary died in Scotland at the age of 33, though birth and death dates weren't known. She was also able to get great grandma's original maiden name of Levingskas. It seems that the name change that great grandpa did was to change Levingskas to Lavinski..... really? That was it? That was the big name change that was going to stop me dead in my tracks? Actually, for a while it did, as I still couldn't find anything on a Margaret Lavinski. Then another aunt who had been doing some research in the family told me Margaret came to the states in 1927 or so.... back to the searches. No immigration records for Margaret Lavinski (she marries great grandpa Brown in the 1930's). The Scottish cousin also mentioned that some of the later family changed the name to Livingstone. That lead to bupkis. A few months ago, I finally get my grandmother to give me some pictures. In one is great grandma at 16 with the name Margaret Brown. Dang, back to that again. So when did great grandpa and family go by Brown? According to grandma "as soon as they moved to Scotland". According to my research "who the hell knows?"

Johnny, Margaret, Frank

There were a few rays of sunshine in our conversation, however. The picture of great grandma was with her friend and she had written on the back their names and her age with the date. She was 16 in 1929, living in Scotland. So she was born about 1907. Besides the picture of great grandma "Brown" and her friend, I was also given a photo of great grandma and two of her siblings with their names and ages on the back. That's right, now I had "This is me, Gramma Brown with my brothers taken in Scotland. Johnny aged 13, me 11, Frank 9." So Johnny was born in 1905, Frank 1909. New information, new relatives! Did they come to the States too? Grandma thought yes. I did a few searches and found some possible records that I saved to my shoebox (an excellent feature if used correctly), but without more information, I couldn't be sure these were my relatives. Once again, I was stuck.

Working Around the Wall with Siblings

Now, after reading Loretta's blog, I decided to put Margaret aside and find out about her brothers. Using Crista's advice, I wanted to find out if and when they came to the states. Off to Ancestry I went, searching out Frank or John(ny) Levingskas/ Lavinski. What I found was a naturalisation index for a Frank Joseph Lavinski. He had a birth date of August 22, 1908. He was born in Scotland. He lived in Chicago. Hmmm, grandma was born in Chicago. This might be a match, so it's off to find more proof!

But what is the next step? Well, stick with Frank and try to find a passenger list or census, right? I want to know when this Frank came to America. About five hints down is a Frank Lavinski in a 1930 census living as a boarder in Chicago..... could it be? According to his naturalisation, Frank didn't change his name to Lavin until 1937, so we have a possibility.

1930 U.S. Census

So now, Frank (age 21) is living as a boarder to a Walter Mitkus who is a widower with two children Martha (age 16) and Francis (age 14). Walter's sister-in-law Margaret Plunkus (age 23) and his niece Margaret Jr. (age 1 1/2) are also living with him. Walter is from Lithuania. Margaret and Frank are from Scotland. Could this be my great grandma with her brother and brother-in-law? If so, why is Frank a "boarder"? And why is she named Plunkus? Maybe I have it wrong. So I once again start a search for Frank, this time looking for a passenger list. I find a Frank Lavinski on a New York arrival log. And now I'm going to give you an invaluable piece of advice that was passed down to me from another researcher on Ancestry: CHECK THE PAGE BEFORE AND AFTER YOUR RECORD. On the first page, I found his name and birth year, port of departure and nationality. He was a Lithuanian who sailed from England. I checked the pages before and after and found a second page listing contact information. His contact for his departure was his father John Lavinski living in Mossend, Scotland. He was going to visit his brother-in-law WALTER MITKUS of Chicago!  I now felt I was on the right family..... maybe. It could still be a whole different group of Lavinskis. My aunt said great great grandpa was Jonas Levingskas/Lavinski, so could he have changed his first name to John?.... I wonder what happened to Walter's wife. Off to find Walter in the 1920 Census!

Scaling the Wall with Corroborating Documents

Report of death of a U.S. citizen abroad

I find Walter in 1920, Chicago with his children Martha (6) and Francis (4). I also see a wife Mary (23). Mary is was born in Lithuania. Well, the family could have moved after her birth. So how did Mary get from Lithuania to the States and then die in Scotland? After a search of Mary Mitkus in Scotland, I found this record for a death of a United States citizen abroad.

Seems Mary Mitkus died in 1929, so she'd have been 33. That seemed to fit with what my aunt had told me. The form states that her effects were in the hands of her father John Levinskas of Mossend, Scotland. At the same address as the contact for Frank's passenger list. Her daughters Martha and Francis were temporarily with their grandfather at Mossend. Her husband, Walter Mitkus was in Chicago with her sister Margaret PRUNKES. So the name on the 1930 census may be wrong (or this one is), but everything was starting to line up that I had the right documents about these people. But what about this Plunkus/Prunkes surname?

As it turns out, my great grandmother was married before she met my great grandfather. Grandma didn't know the name of her husband, but now I did. I confirmed with grandma that her oldest sister was in fact from this first marriage. Now to refine my search for a Margaret Prunkes/Plunkus. The 1930 census shows that Margaret Jr. was born in Illinois and her father was from New York. A search of Ancestry and Family Search don't come up with anything quick. I try a few spelling changes, try to search the husband's surname in New York only. I try to find a birth notice for Margaret Jr. in Chicago. Nothing is really fitting together. This may take a little time, but I've made more headway in a week than I have in a year.

Off to Break My Wall, BRB
I'm not giving up. I've got new avenues to explore and it could all be at my fingertips with a few website searches. Or I could have to get in touch with local parishes and authorities in Scotland to find out more about the Levingskas' immigration to Scotland from Lithuania. Knowing Mary was born in Lithuania and Margaret Scotland narrows down the travel time. I still have to find something about Johnny too. And there was a brother that stayed behind in Scotland named Joseph; but then again Frank's middle name is Joseph (of course, it's not uncommon for a family to reuse a name even in the same generation). I did a search for their father John/Jonas Levingskas/Lavinski (narrowed the search to just Scottish records) and found a WWI British Army Medals Index for Joseph Levingskas. I clicked on the photo and got:



Dear Researcher, F You. Love, Britain

  As disheartening as the lack of information first seemed, there was hope. I checked Ancestry's description of the index, which lead to a Google search for the Medal Rolls, which lead me to the National Archives. It's £2 to get a copy of the record (about $3.17), but it is available. I'm not sure I want it just now as I don't have proof that this is my relation (and sadly, I don't have a budget for records this month). So I also did the free surname research on Scotland's People just to see if there were records for Levingskas. Turns out, quite a few. I can't view them without paying (per view), so this will also be on the back burner until the budget allows. But can you feel how close we are? I am going to continue other avenues including hitting the message boards and other websites, but I'm also going to set aside some money to get at these records. I'm no longer blocked. I have many avenues to investigate. New names and dates to track down. New questions that could lead right back to the beginning of my search. Like, who was Margaret's first husband? What happened to Walter and his daughters? Where's Frank after 1930? (one more name waiting for the 1940 census!) Did John/Jonas ever come to the States? Mary has an immigration of 1909 according to the 1920 census; that's pretty young. What happened there, and who did she come with, if anyone?

One thing to remember: Having more questions than answers doesn't mean you have a brick wall. It may mean you have to dig deeper. Or check the branches to better get at the root. Or ask the right questions. You may have to put it to the side until you can view it with fresh eyes. You may have to ask someone else to look at it to see if they ask questions you haven't thought about yet. Unless there's a document that says "fell from the Heavens", you may be just around the corner from your breakthrough. Keep an open mind and save records that are possible until they are impossible. The more collateral proof you have, the better your chance of finding the real facts.

Ponder, Ponder, Ponder
-Ana

Genealogy, TV, and You

First, let me say that I hate reality television for the most part. I really could care less what drama is going on in the lives of a celebrity or someone looking for love by whoring it up with a large pool of potential mates that they never get to know. I don't have the patience for game shows that are so contrived that half the program is the "suspense" of waiting for the host to tell the contestant whether or not they answered a simple question correctly. There are two exceptions however. One is the "Amazing Race", which I love because I'd love to travel and they go to interesting places and learn fun new things. The other is "Who Do You Think You Are", where they take celebrities and follow their roots to find something that they didn't know about their family. It's genealogical crack. And it's on Prime Time! I have watched it and learned quite a bit. Sometimes how they get through to a new relative helps me get past my own brick wall. While on Ancestry's Facebook page, someone mentioned that there was a similar show on BYUTV for regular folk and that PBS also had a show coming out. I found myself wondering what other programs about genealogy were available. Turns out quite a few. Here are some that I found, what they're about and where you can buy/watch them.

Celebrity Themed
"Who Do You Think You Are?"- There is an American and British version of this show. This is actually a British import, having already eight seasons. The American version is currently airing their third on NBC, Fridays. The concept is simple: take a celebrity, research their history. The shows both have good tips and links on their websites and I recommend watching both if you can. Currently the American version has their first season for sale; the British has their seven completed seasons out. I was able to find both on Amazon, but they were also available on the respective websites of each version as well. They also sell companion books that go into more detail for each season. I haven't looked into those, but some people on Ancestry's facebook page have said it's well worth a look.

"Finding Your Roots" is a new one coming out middle of March 2012 on PBS. On this show, two celebrities from seemingly disparate backgrounds are connected together through their family histories. Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the producer, writer and presenter and this is just his latest genealogy show. "African American Lives" and "African American Lives 2" were his first forays into televised genealogy with notable African Americans as the guests. Dealing with the specific trials of tracing African American heritage, it is a compelling story at times. The best part is the many resources linked on the respective websites. That alone is well worth the look. "Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates Jr." was his series in 2010 for PBS. It also showed celebrities like the Who Do You Think You Are concept taking 12 celebrities on the journey in four episodes. These are already on DVD and you can find them in the PBS shop. There are also companion books for these programs.

"Family Historian" is a long running New York genealogical program that gave many tips on searching out family history. This website has the episodes for sale, but be warned, both the show and the website are decidedly low production. (There is music playing on the website that will drive you batty- mute your speakers)

"Where are shows about non-celebrities like me????"
Not a day goes by that someone isn't on a forum asking why celebrities get to have their genealogy researched for them while ordinary people have to work hard and do it themselves. Well, fear not! You too can find help while getting your 15 minutes of televised fame! "Generations Project on BYUTV" is one that deals with "everyday" people. BYUTV is a cable channel provided by Brigham Young University and their sponsor the LDS Church. There are currently 36 episodes on their website for viewing. Want to be on tv? Then this is your option! If you live in the United States or Canada, you can tell them your story and may be chosen to be on their program.

"Ancestors In the Attic" is a Canadian series in it's fourth season. This program also deals with "ordinary" folk. They take Canadians and travel through Canada and the world to solve their familial mysteries. I've not found a place to purchase the series, but they are viewable on their website. One other is "Genealogy Roadshow", which is an Irish program in the vein of Antiques Roadshow. They take ordinary people with rumors and stories and try to find the truth behind them. Actually very interesting.

Other viewing options
These don't deal with a specific history as much as give you ideas where/how to search. "Genealogy Quest Series" by the Larimer County Genealogical Society (Colorado) is an interesting series using experts to give tips and tricks on how to research. "Ancestors" by KBYU has two seasons (1997 & 2000) available for purchase. This one has a website full of links and tips, so even if you don't purchase the DVDs, you should check it out. "Genealogy Gems TV" has a website, a facebook page, iTunes podcast and a Youtube channel all dedicated to teaching you new things about genealogy. I like this one because it's very active and truly helpful. Ancestry also has it's own Youtube channel for short presentations from their resident genealogy experts on how to use the site as well as get around brick walls. In fact, there are quite a few channels and individual episodes available on Youtube if you just search "genealogy".

Many of the programs' sites have online viewing options. Remember, however, that international copyright laws may prohibit your country from viewing them online. Some I could even find a link to buy the DVD collection. I looked at Hulu.com by simply searching "genealogy" and came up with many clips and episodes from several different shows including History Detectives and Who Do You Think You Are. So if you have the will, you can find some interesting programs that may give you a new avenue for your own search.

And if you simply must watch Reality TV, isn't it better to have an option that is fun and informative?
-Ana

"I'm Related to Constantine!" and Other Things Not to Be Said Lightly

I doubt there is a human alive who does not have a deep-seated need to feel important. If we cannot do something special in our own life, we like to think that someone in our line has been of value to the world. While many of us rejoice in knowing any and all of our family history, to some others, their history will never be complete without a connection or two of a royal, native, or celebrity to illuminate their branches. They will accept half-truths and ignore contradictions to get it, too. And while you may legitimately have a claim, there are certain things that should never be said. Or at least have personal research and documentation in hand to back it up!

Coats of Arms
 "Here's my family Coat of Arms." "My surname is directly descended from _ and it means _"

Thanks to this website, I made my own coat of arms, motto and all!



Interestingly, this seemingly harmless error is also a very prolific one. If you are displaying a coat of arms for your surname, I have bad news for you. Traditionally in the U.K., Ireland and most of western Europe, the coat of arms is only to be passed on to direct-line male descendants of the original person to whom they were presented. They are not, I repeat not, simply attached to anyone with that surname. France and Germany have different rules. In the case of France, since becoming a republic, they don't bother with coats of arms. Germany used to give them away or have them bought. Many coats of arms are for cities and provinces, not families. Just because you have the surname that is attached to a coat of arms, doesn't mean you have the right to display it. If you believe you have the right to these arms, you should investigate the male line as far back as you can and contact the heraldic authority of the issuing country to confirm.

Surname histories and certificates fall into this same trap. These usually include a coat of arms in them, which should be a tip-off of their disingenuousness. The problem with surname histories lays primarily in the fact that surnames are inconsistent in morphology and origin. Since so many languages have similar bases (romance languages like Spanish, Italian, French and Romanian being formed from Latin for example), a name may be hard to pin down to one locality or meaning. There are hundreds of books and sites dedicated to telling you about your surname's illustrious history, however. So I decided to take my surnames and check them out. I used a few surname sources I found by Googling "surname history". Here's the list and what they told me about each of my surnames I tried. I used Gibson (which I presumed English), Householder (known German), Kemper (known German), Berrio (presumed Italian based on originator of the surname in our family), and Lavinsky which was the Americanised version our original surame Levingskas (known Lithuanian).

• Ancestry.com- Gibson- Scottish/English- Son of Gibb; Householder- Americanised Haushalter- Steward of an Estate; Kemper- German, peasant farmer; Berrio- Basque- new or variant of Barrios- Spanish/Arabic- slum; Lavinski had no meaning, but did show me a breakdown of census information of people with the surname (no Levingskas found)
• Ancestor Search- Gibson- Scottish- Son of Gilbert or Gib; Householder and Haushalter- not found; Kemper- not found; Berrio- not found; Lavinski/Levingskas- not found
• Behind the Name- Gibson- Scottish/English- Son of Gib; Householder and Haushalter- not found; Kemper- not found; Berrio- not found; Lavinski/Levingskas- not found
• Surname Database- Gibson- Scottish/English- Son of Gilbert (noted the Germanic origins of Gilbert just to confuse me I think); Householder and Haushalter- not found; Kemper- not found; Berrio- not found; Lavinski/Levingskas- not found
• House of Names- Gibson- German/Scottish- Son of Gibb (and then goes to tell me how I can pay for a slew of information including famous Gibsons who ironically are on both the German and Scottish surname report); Householder- English, Haushalter- not found; Kemper- Dutch/English- comber of wool or flax; Berrio- Spanish- a barrier/gate/or fence; Lavinski- Polish- Lion (no Levingskas found)

Two interesting points. First, according to the Genealogy of the Kemper Family book by Willis Miller Kemper and Harry Linn Wright, Kemper is supposed to be German for warrior. Second, even though Ancestry didn't have a lot of information on each surname, they did show a breakdown of census information like what countries the surname immigrated from, what occupations they held in the states and average lifespan based on death records. So while I wouldn't take it's origin information as gospel (or even assume that all people with that surname are related), the demographic information was kind of neat.

Royalty

"I've traced my family back to 1066 A.D. and William the Conqueror" "I'm directly descended from Constantine!" "I'm 9th cousins 4x's removed from Kate Middleton, OMG"

What exactly is the probability that the average American is related to royalty? Well, the fact is the odds of a royal connection becomes higher the farther back the connection. It also doesn't hurt if your family has been or is wealthy. I tried to find a reliable source on the probability and what research has been done, but what I mainly found was sites advertising books telling me that a lot of Americans are descended from royalty. I found claims for up to 15 million people being related to Kate and William and at least half of America is supposed to be related to Edward III or Charlemagne. What I found odd, was that many seemed to use Burke's Peerage as a source! Despite the fact that you can still find Burke's around online, the name has been sold from it's original owner who was infamous for fraudulent lineages, liquidated and sold off. Why anyone would trust them is beyond me.

There are ways to prove a royal connection, though. DNA is the most reliable, in as much as even if you were related to an illegitimate child, it'll come up in the markers. However, they aren't taking DNA from the dead royals to make the list, but living, provable descendants. As always, there's still a lot of guess work in this method. To be sure, the more people use this option, the better the database becomes. I am interested in the possibilities of DNA testing for genealogical research, but I've not yet taken a test. I've been told I should since the autosomal tests can break down ethnicity. Mitochondrial and Y chromosome tests are more reliable since those markers don't mutate as often, but only trace the mother to daughter, father to son connection. I have heard that every living person has a common ancestor of some 5,000 years ago; so in reality, we're all related and in that way, we are all related to royalty. So finding out you are related to Genghis Khan suddenly doesn't look so special, does it? And of course, there is always the pitfall of finding out you aren't who you think you are. I doubt any family is 100% sure of paternity from start to finish.

The common way to trace royalty is to find corroborating documents. The thing is, because of wars and natural disasters destroying documents, most people will only be able to trace their lineage to the 1800's. Even if you are lucky to go farther back due to the fact of an influential family line, you may only get to about the 1600's. It's so remote a possibility of going any farther back that most researchers will consider it impossible. So even if you are related to Charlemagne (742-814 A.D.), you may never find the documents to prove it. And don't take other people's word for it! Their research can be riddled with the erroneous data from vanity genealogies. Take their data and track down their sources, but never just accept it.

And saying you're a X cousin X times removed from a royal will mean almost nothing to many people. The average person won't understand what you mean and even more won't care. So you're the 10th cousin 5 times removed of some Nordic princess, how diluted is that bloodline? Does she even count as family then??? Will your family care or have a glazed look as they murmur, "oh cool."? Sadly, even after all that I've said, I know that many people will run out just to find that royal connection and prattle it back at anyone willing (or forced) to listen. Why are we so in love with royalty?

I blame Disney.

The "Lost" Indian Connection
First, let's start out with a phrase you should never use: "My grandmother was a Cherokee princess." Even if you have Native ancestors, this phrase will be dismissed out of hand by any serious researcher as misinformed and unsourced! The truth is there is no such thing as an Indian princess. It's a misnomer and the reasons why it came into use are vast. They also don't matter. Just don't say it.

I once wondered why it was always a Cherokee connection. Truth is, the Cherokee were once one of the most prolific tribes out there. The possibility for intermarriage was high, so if you do have a Native ancestor, the likelihood of it being a Cherokee is high. On the other hand, there were many tribes, so if you don't know for sure, it's best to keep your mouth shut until you do. There are specific hurdles to finding a Native link, and for a while it was in vogue to say you were somehow related to an Indian even if untrue; and just like royalty, you need to do your research. If you can't find the link, it may still be true, but you want to preface yourself with "the family rumor is that grandma was an Indian."

Lastly,
The Internet Genealogists for Quality have a list of quality guidelines that should be read and espoused by every researcher from day one of their journey. I recommend you view the link and take a moment to contemplate the quality of your own research.

And when you do go out in the world and tell people about your fantastic finds, be prepared for the skeptics. The false genealogies are so prolific, it is easier (and advised) to ignore any researcher who claims a distant link to a famous person or line. Too many times, a new researcher will see someone else's tree and find that connection and accept it without question. Always question. Even if it's your grandfather and he's been doing this for 30 years. He may have bought a surname book and based half his work on it. Or he may have made leaps of faith in his research, ignoring contradictions and omissions of facts. If you do want to share your success, the best way to do it is to have your facts right in the statement, "Thanks to a letter from the Duke of Windsor dated 1920, to his cousin, my grandmother, I was able to finally make that royal connection!" goes over a lot better than "My 50th grandfather was (insert famous name here)!"

As always, good luck and have fun!
-Ana