Ellis Island Just Expanded It's Family History Reach

For many Americans, Ellis Island is synonymous with the immigration experience. And yet it didn't open until 1892 which means that if your ancestors arrived earlier, you may have felt like a visit to Ellis Island wouldn't apply to your family history research. All that is changing with the opening of the first phase of the Peopling of America Center.  Here's the scoop:

New York, NY (October 28, 2011) – Today, The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation and the National Park Service opened the first phase of the Peopling of America® Center, a major expansion of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, which will explore arrivals before the Ellis Island Era. This 10,000 square foot experience focuses on the history of immigration from the Colonial Era  to the opening of Ellis Island in 1892. Interpretative graphics and poignant audio stories tell first-hand accounts of the immigrant’s journey—from making the trip and arriving in the United States to their struggle and survival after they arrived and efforts to build communities and ultimately a nation.

“Until now, our exhibits have centered on the years when Ellis Island was open,” said Stephen A. Briganti, the Foundation’s President and CEO. “Of course the history of migration to America goes back to our nation’s beginnings right up to today, so there were many people whose stories weren’t told. The Peopling of America® Center will fill an enormous gap in America’s understanding of its past, present, and future.”

Also unveiled today was the American Flag of Faces™, a large interactive video installation filled with a montage of images submitted by individuals of their families, their ancestors, or even themselves which illustrates the ever-changing American mosaic.  A living exhibit, Flag of Faces accepts photo submissions and can also be viewed at www.FlagofFaces.org.

The Center’s second phase, which will open in Spring 2013, will present a series of interactive multi-media exhibits that focus on the immigration experience from the closing of Ellis Island in 1954 to the present day, including a dynamic radiant globe that illustrates migration patterns throughout human history.  The Peopling of America® Center was designed by ESI Design and fabricated by Hadley Exhibits, Inc. For more information, visit www.flagoffaces.org.

Here's an amateur video from YouTube providing a glimpse of the new exhibit...

A Change You Need to Know About in Google Search for Family History

When it comes to researching online, the only thing that is constant is change!  Just when you get all the search operators committed to memory Google goes and changes things. 

 

Not long ago I noticed that the Boolean operator NOT no longer seemed to be returning the expected results.  However, the minus sign can be used to remove unwanted words from your search results.  (Example: LINCOLN -ABRAHAM results in web pages that include the name Lincoln but NOT the name Abraham.)

The latest change is that the plus sign (+) no longer functions as a search operator that ensures a keyword is included in all search results. Now if you want to ensure a keyword is included, the keyword must be encased in quotations marks. For example:  LINCOLN -ABRAHAM "OHIO"

 

Interestingly Google has been fairly silent on the change.  Some in the Tech community suspect the move is in response to their growing focus on Google+ and the possibility of a new use for the "plus" sign.  Stay tuned!

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Meet the Author of a Riveting Family History Tale in the Newest Episode of The Genealogy Gems Podcast

Recently I got an email from Jay in New York :

“I have been catching up with all of your family history podcasts. Over the years I have collected a wealth of information on the family. Some good, some not-so-good, some out in-the-open, some hidden.

How do you deal with revealing "forgotten" items about family members to other family members? I had an uncle who had a marriage at a very young age, and would like to have forgotten about it. My mother told me about it. I put it on the tree. While showing off the fruits of my labor to his family this "forgotten" marriage was revealed with not happy responses.

The things we find in our tree may not always be "good", How does a person deal with that? and revealing it to others?”

This is a great question! And in the newest Genealogy Gems Podcast episode #120 I have some answers for you.

Secrets, small and large can be found in many families.  Skeletons in the closet are often secrets closely guarded by family members.

It’s a tricky business navigating your way through the shakier branches of the family tree, so I’ve invited a special guest to join me on the show who has done an incredible job of climbing those branches in his own family.

Steve Luxenberg is a Washington Post associate editor and award-winning author. In his 25 years at The Post, he has headed the newspaper’s investigative staff and its Sunday section of commentary and opinion.  Steve is going to join me for the full episode to talk about investigating and dealing with family secrets as he did in  his book Annie’s Ghosts.  It’s a riveting tale that kept me feverishly tapping the “Next Page” key on my kindle. 

Annie’s Ghosts is about a family secret that Steve stumbled upon in the late 1990s.  His mother, who had always claimed to be an only child, had a sister, Annie.  And while that was a big surprise all by itself, it was just the beginning of a series of secrets and revelations that Steve unearthed by tapping into his long career as an investigative journalist, and employing newly found genealogy techniques and strategies. 

In this interview we talk about being aware of what’s missing in records and stories, rather than just focusing on what is on the page.  For those of you who are Premium Members this discussion is a great follow up to Premium Episode #77 where we talked about being more keenly aware during our research.

Steve’s also going to share he thoughts on storytelling, which he truly masters in this book. 

And then we get into some of the genealogical techniques he used: how to avoid tainting memories in Interviews, and how to balance the give and take as well as win trust with the person you are interviewing.  


And speaking of trust, Steve describes how he was able to be incredibly successful in obtaining sensitive documents and getting cooperation from various government agencies and other repositories.

He’s also going to tell us about a little known legal maneuver that he made that really made the difference for him in obtaining some of the most closely held documents and how you can use it too!

And finally he’ll share his personal feelings about what it was like to get a add a new member to his family, his long lost Aunt Annie.


Enjoy!

Quotes from Annie’s Ghosts:

“What I didn’t expect, as the week wore on, was that the family would expand to take in a new member.  But that’s what happened.  As people dipped in and out of the records, as the debates flew about what we knew and what we didn’t and whether we should be digging around in the past, Annie gradually became a part of the family consciousness.  She was no longer just a name on a hospital record.  She was no longer just a secret.”

“I stopped thinking like a son and started thinking like a journalist.”

“I offer to send her the letters; it’s an unexpected present for her, and I’m glad to be able to make the offer, because it allows me to give as well as take, something reporters can’t often do. It’s also a good way to win trust.” 

“I want to make sure that if she knows about Annie, she tells me before I tell her, so that I capture her spontaneous memory first.”

Much Anticipated Personal Historian 2 Software Released

I'm proud that RootsMagic sponsors the Genealogy Gems Podcast because they consistently deliver such high quality products.  And this week, they have announced the latest version of Personal and Family History Writing Software.  Here's the scoop:

SPRINGVILLE, Utah. — September 28, 2011 — RootsMagic, Inc. today announced the official release of Personal Historian 2, the latest version of the ground-breaking computer software which helps you write the story of your life and of other individuals. Personal Historian breaks this seemingly monumental task into small, manageable pieces and then reconstructs it into a complete, publishable document. With the release comes a free “Essentials” version of the software as well as a discount offer for new users and previous owners of the software.

Bring Life to Your Life Stories

“Many people want to write a personal history about themselves or family members but get lost or overwhelmed,” said Michael Booth, vice-president and lead developer of the software. “It’s very gratifying to hear people tell us that they are finally able to write their life stories thanks to Personal Historian.”


Personal Historian creates an interactive timeline of a person’s life to keep the stories organized, give context to life events, and to allow users to write stories in any order they wish. When ready, Personal Historian will compile the stories into a finished book complete with table of contents, chapters, pictures, indexes, and more. The book may then be printed at home, edited in a word processor, published professionally, or shared with friends and family.

New Features

“The new features in Personal Historian 2 have been worth the wait,” said Bruce Buzbee, president. “While we’ve added many new and powerful features, we’ve worked hard to make the software even easier to use than before.”

Personal Historian 2 boasts an impressive list of over 40 features including streamlined step-by-step wizards; expanded timelines and memory trigger questions; easy filtering and searching of stories; management of categories, people, and places; improved outlining and writing analysis; wrapping of text around pictures; fonts and text styles; and more-powerful publishing and output options.


Free “Personal Historian Essentials”

RootsMagic is also releasing a new, free edition of Personal Historian named, “Personal Historian Essentials”. Personal Historian Essentials contains many core features from the Personal Historian software and the two products are fully-compatible with one another. “We wanted to give everyone a risk-free option,” said Booth. “Personal Historian Essentials is perfect for someone who wants to start writing a personal history but doesn’t know where to begin.” Personal Historian Essentials is available for download at http://www.personalhistorian.com/.
 
Discount Offer


To celebrate it’s release, RootsMagic, Inc. is pleased to offer a special introductory offer for Personal Historian 2. Through October 31, 2011, Personal Historian 2 is available for a special introductory price of only $19.95, saving $10 off of the regular price. The discount is available only on the Personal Historian website at http://www.personalhistorian.com or by calling 1-800-766-8762.

Archives.com Makes Their Big Move

To be honest, when I first heard about Archives.com I wasn't sure what to make of them.  The site almost had a "phishing feel" to it, and the vague responses to my inquiries just added to my lack of confidence.  And I wasn't alone.  Many genealogists were scratching their heads and wondering who they really were.

So it comes as somewhat of a relief to see Archives.com making their big move today with their announcement that they are adding the U.S. Census to their website in partnership with FamilySearch.  In actuality they made their big move when they brought FamilySearch veteran Anne Roach AG®, CGSM on board as Director of Content Development. It was clear that they were getting poised to pounce on the industry.

According to their press release, the "U.S. Census collections were made available by FamilySearch International, the world’s largest genealogy organization, as part of a joint effort to introduce more records to family historians worldwide. In conjunction with the Census effort, Archives will also embark on a joint project with FamilySearch to digitize tens-of-millions of additional historical records, the majority of which are not currently online." Archives has pledged a minimum of five million dollars to the project.

This answers the big question many have wondered since Archives.com launched in July 2009: Would they digitize original documents and host them on their site? Up until now it has appeared that the majority of the content was coming from other sources, some of which are free from other sites. This created a perception that their mission was to be more of a portal than a content provider, which didn't sit well with some genealogists. And it was hard to imagine anyone taking on Ancestry because they are already so far out in front.

But as the saying goes "Content is King" and Archives.com is making a move I'm sure they hope will put them in the line of ascension.

"We’re dedicated to bringing users new and compelling content, and that’s why we’re happy to contribute at least five million dollars to similar ongoing community projects," says Archives CEO Matthew Monahan. That's good to hear - and it's about time.

Archives.com's competitive edge is it's current low price compared to Ancestry's subscription rate. Monahan continued, "adding the U.S. Census and other unique collections as part of this initiative with FamilySearch will be a game changer.” 

Archives.com has integrated the full set of U.S. Federal Population Census indexes from 1790­ to 1930 consisting of over 500 million names along with 3 million images from census years 1850, 1870, and 1900. In the near future, they say the full set of census images will be accessible. 

While Archives.com has a long way to go to match the volume of Ancestry's content, a bit of competition may be very healthy for all concerned, and hopefully will mean more records for family historians.  We'll have to wait and see who will reign supreme.

R.I.P. Google News Timeline

I'm sorry to report that on August 17, 2011 Google quietly closed down one of my favorite Google Labs tools - the Google News Timeline with two simple sentences:

"As part of the phasing out of Google Labs, we have shut down Google News Timeline. It was a pleasure to serve you!"

Google News Timeline is not to be confused with Google News Archive.  Google did also recently announce that they were discontinuing newspaper digitization efforts, but that the Google News Archive would remain in tact as is.  Those digitized newspapers were also fed through the Google News Timeline which I considered a superior way to view the newspapers.

Since the Timeline had not been officially launched, it was kept where beta-baby tools were kept: in Google Labs. I say "were kept" because Google Labs is also now defunct.

So here's a recap:

Google News Archive - Still available, no new newspapers being added
Google New Timeline - No longer available.
Google Labs - Finis.  Poof!


Google Giveth...and Google Taketh Away

Family Tree Magazine Welcomes Kerry Scott as Online Editor

Here's the latest news from Family Tree Magazine.  Welcome Kerry Scott! 
Press Release: Family Tree Magazine, America’s No. 1 genealogy how-to magazine, is pleased to announce the addition of Kerry Scott to its team.

She’ll be the magazine’s new online editor, focusing on Family Tree University online classes, webinars and digital products. (And remember you can get 20% off any class at Family Tree University with the coupon code: GemsFTU)
Scott brings to the team her experience as a genealogy researcher, active member of the genealogy blogging community (she blogs at Clue Wagon), and human resources executive.

“This position gives me the opportunity to connect with and share great content with other researchers,” Scott says. “I'm especially excited about growing Family Tree University, which is such a great resource for the genealogical community."

The Milwaukee, Wis., resident and mom of two has loved family history since childhood. “My favorite ancestor is my Uncle Fred, who was my second-great-grandfather's brother. He was an attorney, politician and judge who left behind a mountain of paperwork. How can you not love a guy like that?”

Not all of her ancestors left so many records—a situation familiar to most genealogists. “The genealogical skill I'm most proud of is my ability to stick to a search until I hit pay dirt,” Kerry says. “I've been known to walk through every grave in every cemetery in an entire county, or search an entire big city in a particular census year until I found the family I needed. I don't give up easily.”

About Family Tree Magazine

Family Tree Magazine, America's No. 1 family history magazine, is part of the Genealogy Community at F+W Media, Inc., which also encompasses Family Tree University online courses and webinars; the Family Tree Books imprint; and ShopFamilyTree.com Free Shipping on US Orders Over $25. These publications and products are devoted to providing engaging, easy-to-understand instruction that makes genealogy a hobby anyone can do.