Paula's Genealogical Eclectic is moving to a new website

This is my last blog post on Paula’s Genealogical Eclectica. I will still be blogging but it will now be on .
GenealogybyPaula.com

That blogging will be just one part of my new website, Genealogy by Paula. If you have been a reader of this current blog, all the older content will be transferred to the new website.

I am able to share additional information with the new format. Be sure to bookmark the new website, continue to read my occasional posts, and peruse the tabs on the website for lots of added details.

See you over at GenealogybyPaula.com.

Genealogy, Donny, David, and comedy all wrapped into one in February.

Today's Press Release from the Federation of Genealogical Societies. This means Valentine's Day begins with Keynote Presenter Donny Osmond, followed by fantastic genealogy lectures, and ending with music and comedy. So glad I have already registered for this February 11-14 conference! www.fgsconference.org/.

"American Idol finalist David Archuleta is teaming up with the popular comedy sketch group Studio C from BYUtv to perform at FGS and RootsTech. The two talents will be performing for the Closing Event at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Both will be featuring new original pieces for the event, including a new song written by David Archuleta and a never-before-seen sketch by Studio C. 

David Archuleta has sold more than 1 million albums and earned numerous awards. According to David, this gives him a chance to celebrate his family and the influence they have had on his music. His father was a jazz musician who introduced the family to jazz, as well as gospel, pop, rock, and soul. His family’s heritage and history helped craft Archuleta’s unique style. 

“Music was always a part of my life growing up. My mother was also big on dancing and would teach my older sister and me to dance to traditional music,” he remembers. “I can’t think about celebrating my family without thinking about celebrating music.”

The sketch comedy group Studio C from BYUtv has grown to become a household name for people across the nation of all ages, but especially among teens and millennials. Since its launch in October 2012, its loyal fan base has helped grow the show’s online presence to more than 70 million YouTube views to date. 

David Archuleta and Studio C will be performing for thousands of attendees at the Closing Event on the final day of FGS and RootsTech, February 14, 2015. To reserve your ticket to see David Archuleta and Studio C, register today for FGS 2015"

A county clerk's 'Genealogy Corner' gets national recognition

If you have heard me at seminars, you know that I often say things similar to "these records are so good because I don't have family in that locality" or in that particular set of records.

I have several localities where I wish my family had settled just because of the great information online from the county or city. A few of these are:

• Alachua County [Florida] County Clerk of the Court's website of "Ancient Records" www.alachuaclerk.org/archive/default.cfm
• Oakland County [Michigan] Genealogy Research Service www.oakgov.com/clerkrod/vital_records/pages/genealogy.aspx
• Ulster County [New York] Clerk Archives Division  www.co.ulster.ny.us/archives/database.html
• DeKalb County [Illinois] Clerk & Recorder Online Genealogy search   www.dekalbgenealogy.com/

Then my news feed delivered news of another county with a great genealogy service and that has received a national honor from government colleagues. The Collin County [Texas] Clerk and staff have been "awarded the 2014 Best Practices Award from the National Association of County Recorders, Elections Officials and Clerks (NACRC)."  Just two of the online databases for this county are:

•  Marriage indexes, dating back to 1864
•  Birth indexes, dating back to 1903 with some delayed birth records from the 1800

Read the full article from the McKinney Courier Gazetter by clicking here. To access the county's Genealogy Corner click here.

You may have already guessed that I have no ancestral connections to Collin County, Texas! Dangitall.

2 days left to register: Nov 22 genealogy seminar in Tennessee

It's been a while since I did presentations in Tennessee. That changes on November 22, 2014 when I will be the speaker for the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society's all-day seminar. I will be presenting four topics and will be around all day to help audience members with genealogy questions. These are my topics:

• Railroad Records and Railroad History: Methods for Tracking
• The Three Rs: Reading, 'Riting and Research in School Records
• The WPA Era: What It Created for Genealogists
• Controlling Chaos: Organizing your Genealogical Materials

The event takes place near Nashville, in Brentwood. You must register by November 14th to be assured of a seat. The brochure and registration information is here: http://mtgs.org/calendar/2014%20Seminar%20brochure.pdf

Free weekend at Findmypast!

 From a Findmypast press release:
 

Explore Findmypast’s billions of historical records for FREE this Veterans Weekend

 

Free access to all Findmypast’s historical records throughout Veterans Weekend and a  Live Broadcast to be held on Saturday afternoon featuring an expert panel of historians and genealogists

 

This Veterans Weekend, we want to help everyone find their First World War ancestors and learn more about their family history.

 

So we’re delighted to announce that this Veterans Weekend, we’ll be opening up our archives and giving unlimited free access to billions of records and newspaper pages from all over the world. That means that between 7am on Friday, November 7^th and 7am on Monday, November 10^th (EST), absolutely everyone will have access to all our historical records, including:

• Global record sets that include census, birth, marriage, and death records from the 1600s to the present. 
• Millions of local newspaper pages from around the globe spanning 1710 to 2014. 
• Largest collection of local records from England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland dating back to 1500.
• Military records dating from 1760, encompassing the U.S. Civil War, World War I and World War II.

Join us LIVE on your computer tonight for Connect with FGS

How much can you learn about the upcoming February 2015 Federation of Genealogical Societies conference in 30 minutes? Join Cyndi Ingle, J. Mark Lowe, and me online tonight!

We are part of the inaugural edition of Connect with FGS. It is hosted by Caroline Pointer and Linda McCauley. Cheryl Hudson Passey is one of the FGS conference ambassadors and she will be on the show, too.

We are on live at 9 ET, 8 CT, 7 MT, and 6 PT.

You can watch all our smiling faces on Connect with FGS live from the FGS YouTube Channel or from the FGS Google+ Event.

For more details visit the FGS Voice blog and also learn how to view the program later. http://voice.fgs.org/2014/10/fgs-launching-monthly-hangout-on-air.html

The Voice blog also carries many other conference, FGS, and general genealogy news.

Beyond online: important genealogy guidebooks for your shelves

This past weekend I promised the audience at the South Dakota state archives that I would post a list of some basic genealogy guidebooks that are important to beginning and even more advanced researchers. If you are only checking online resources and yet wondering what else there might be, these guides will fill you with tons of ideas and places to look. This is not a list of all that is available

1.    Croom, Emily Anne. Unpuzzling Your Past. 4th Ed. “Expanded, Updated and Revised.” Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2010.

2.    Eichholz, Alice, ed. Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources. 3d ed. Provo, UT: Ancestry Publishing, 2004 [Overview guide to all of the states. [Online edition is part of Ancestry’s free Wiki <www.ancestry.com/wiki>.]


3.    Greenwood, Val D. The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy. 3d ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2000.

4.    Hinckley, Kathleen W. Your Guide to the Federal Census. Cincinnati: Betterway Books, 2002. [Includes case studies, appendices, glossary, forms, hints, and more. The best census guide! Out of print but in many libraries.]

5.    Morgan, George. How to Do Everything Genealogy. 3d ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. [Update will be out in 2015!]

6.    Rose, Christine and Kay Ingalls. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Genealogy. 3rd ed. New York: Alpha Books, 2012.

7.    Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, eds. The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. 3rd ed. Provo, UT: Ancestry, 2006. Now online at Ancestry's wiki <www.ancestry.com/wiki>

Registered for the NE Illinois Lake Co Genealogy Seminar 8 Nov?

I am home from a successful full day of presentations at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre, South Dakota. It's the home of the state historical society and the state archives. The audience was extra friendly as was the staff.

This next weekend I am off to northeastern Illinois to do a full day seminar. It's 8 November at the Round Lake Beach Cultural and Civic Center. The Lake County Genealogical Society is the host. Debbie Mieszala, CG and Daniel Hubbard, Ph.D. are also presenting lectures that same day.

My four lectures are:

• Your Anytime Library: Success in the Virtual Stacks
• Research Reports for Ourselves: More than a Research Log
• Midwestern Gems: Back Issues of Genealogical, Historical, and Sociological Journals
• Major Midwestern Archives and Their Records

The lectures and syllabus material is recently updated just for the attendees.

You may register at the door, but as with other day-of-event registrations, lunch and syllabus is not guaranteed for those who did not preregister. Caterers and printers usually need several days advance notice of the total numbers. My advice? Get there plenty early. It's a nice meeting place. Another reason to attend is that I have been told there are some really nice door prizes, vendors, and a silent auction.

The details are here: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~illcgs/lcigs%20flyer%202014%20final.pdf