Revolutionary Roots
Did your ancestors fight in the American Revolution 233 years ago? Thousands of men answered the call to arms in 1776. These thousands probably have many millions of descendants today. Many Americans can find a Revolutionary War veteran in the family tree if they expend a bit of time and effort. Luckily, there are a number of online and offline sources to help you in that search. Finding Revolutionary ancestors isn’t much different than finding anyone else in your family tree. You always start with yourself and then work your way back, one generation at a time. You can search...

Nothing Lives Forever, Especially Newspapers
I always assumed that newspaper articles had an infinite lifetime. Anything printed in today's newspaper would be stored for some time in the newspaper's archives department as well as at local libraries. Eventually, those papers would be microfilmed and therefore preserved forever. Well, I once thought it was forever. The world is changing. In case you haven't noticed, printed newspapers are dropping like flies. Today's economics as well as pressure from the Internet and from broadcast journalism is ruining the business models of printed newspapers. Many papers still follow the same business rules that were created 150 years ago or...

APG Award Nominations Due July 10
The following announcement was written by the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG): APG will be awarding its third "Professional Achievement Award" at the Professional Management Conference, Little Rock, Arkansas, September 2, 2009. Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG received the award in 2007; and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking received it in 2008. Nominations for this award can be made by individual APG members, by APG chapters, and by the APG Board of Directors. The Awards Committee will select the award recipient from the nominations. Selection is approved by the Executive Committee. Nominees not selected in a given year may be nominated...

Call for Recommendations - APG Board of Directors
The following announcement was written by the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG): Call for Recommendations for Nominations for APG Board Positions and Nominating Committee that take effect 1 January 2010. Deadline for Recommendations: Postmarked or e-mailed by 1 August 2009. Executive Committee for Two Year Terms for 2010-2011 President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Board of Directors Positions for Two Year Terms for 2010-2011 Region 1 (Western Canada; Western U.S.; Mexico): Two vacancies Region 2 (Middle Canada; Middle U.S.): Two vacancies Region 3 (Southeastern U.S., Caribbean; Central America): Two vacancies Region 4 (Eastern Canada; Northeastern U.S.) Two vacancies International Region 5B:...

Video Interview: Paula Hinkel at Jamboree 2009
In the latest Roots Television interview, Matthew Poe talks with Paula Hinkel, conference co-chair, about the 2009 Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree. Paula and her associates recently produced the largest genealogy conference in the western United States and, indeed, one of the biggest in the country. The Southern California Genealogy Jamboree attracted more than 1,500 attendees and offered more than 100 lectures. In this interview , Paula tells how to organize a large conference that attracts a large attendance. She especially focused on electronic advertising. You can watch the interview at http://www.rootstelevision.com/players/player_conferences3.php?bcpid=6933799001&bclid=27965007001&bctid=28265383001 or click on the image below.

(+) From Lloyd's Library by Lloyd Bockstruck: Tapping the U.S. Serial Set
The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Lloyd Bockstruck. One of the often overlooked sources for genealogical research is the U.S. Serial Set. It began as a 38-volume set known as the American State Papers. Records were arranged by subject in ten separate series. The more useful ones for tracking ancestors are Military Affairs, Naval Affairs, Public Lands, and Claims. Some of the series, notably the latter two, have been reprinted and improved with an every-name index. Although one can never eliminate in what context an ancestor might appear, the private claims from ordinary citizens...

Preventing Identity Theft with the SSDI
Identity theft is a major concern these days, as it should be. Many legislators seem to think that the problem can be solved by locking up all the birth, marriage, and death records, which, of course, has an impact on genealogists. The legislators apparently have never checked with the security experts who deal with identity theft every day, however. The security experts report that public domain records of birth, marriage, and death are rarely used by identity thieves. Instead, the thieves have easier methods. First, most ID theft begins at home. A high percentage of identity theft is perpetrated by...

Rare Copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence Found
An original first print of the United States Declaration of Independence has been discovered gathering dust after nearly 250 years. The poster size proclamation, which is in perfect condition and is said to be worth about $8 million, is one of only 26 surviving initial copies of the document that changed the course of history. The interesting thing is that this copy was found in The National Archives. That's NOT the National Archives and Records Administration in the United States. Instead, this copy was found in The National Archives of Great Britain in Kew, West London! Apparently, this copy has...

Tukufu Zuberi at the Genealogy Jamboree
Last weekend I had a chance to interview Tukufu Zuberi, the keynote speaker at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree. Dr. Zuberi is one of the four hosts on History Detectives, a popular program on PBS. In this interview, he talks about the program and he also ties genealogy and history together in a very personal way. The folks at Roots Television kindly videotaped the interview and have now made it available online. You can watch the interview right now at http://www.rootstelevision.com/index.html?bcpid=7225568001&bclid=240119644&bctid=28247555001 or by clicking on the image below.

(+) Casefile Clues: Getting Occupational and Spousal Clues from an Estate
The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Michael John Neill. Estate records can do more than tell us an ancestor died and how his property was settled. They can provide clues to an ancestor’s occupation, marital status of his heirs, and much more. Many times what the record tells us is not explicitly stated. We have to look a little deeper. In this column we return to an estate that was looked at earlier in Casefile Clues. Our previous reference to the estate of Peter Bieger in 1850s Illinois focused on his two minor children....