Saturday, June 30, 2012

Patriotic Branches

At this time of year (in the United States), many of us take time to remember the lives of our patriotic ancestors. We proudly recall the genius of the men who developed our founding documents and try to appreciate the sacrifices of our fallen heroes. Try as I might, I can't read about the beginning of the USA (or subsequent, formative periods) without wondering "what was MY family doing at that time?"

Even those of us whose family didn't even live in the country when it was founded take pride in how our ancestors eventually helped to make it greater by their blood, sweat and tears. Wouldn't it be great to find our own "Founding Fathers and Mothers", the ones who came here first and set the family in the blue field of stars on the flag? As you've read in other postings on this Blog, I'm convinced that genealogists are blessed with the capacity to add flesh to the bare bones of the human story of all of us (not just the famous and infamous). Connecting our family history to our nation's history allows us to find out where we fit into the American Experiment.

Before anyone gets worried that I'm wearing my heart on my flag colored sleave, I want to reiterate that I believe the search for ancestors (and collateral relatives) should be rooted in trying to understand them as people. In working so hard to find them, we can also come to understand ourselves (and other people walking in the world around us). Pride in a common purpose or goal (national, religious, etc.), shared across decades/centuries in the hearts of colonist descendants or new immigrant families, makes our country stronger and binds us together. It is one thing to proudly pronounce that we are "hyphenated"- Americans, but most of us are linked by a common thread - the desire of our ancestors to make a new life in an "undiscovered country."

If you hit a brick wall in the last year, consider this: you don't have to get discouraged about one line while excluding work on another. Often, we find new energy to pursue our genealogy projects when we tackle a "less glamorous" branch. Somewhere in the past, your mother's father's mother's family was working in a smothering coal mine in Wales and found that they just couldn't accept such a life. Someone (brave) in the family decided that a drastic change was needed and looked for a place to go where new opportunities were there for the taking. Sometimes it was the USA, but there are plenty of other places on the globe that are populated by the kin of people who simply wanted to seize the brass ring or throw off shackles imposed by landed gentry. When they found the place to do it, they embraced that land as their own.

Here's to Patriots old and young, past and present - may their spirit inspire us to build the best family history we can. Happy hunting!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Genealogy Software

Over the years, I've had several requests for my opinion on the best type of genealogy software. In each case, I've been hesitant to answer - everyone has a different feel for what is user-friendly (and what isn't). In fact, the program I bought back in 1998 (Ultimate Family Tree) is still useful to me today, despite its antiquated capabilities. Most people, however, want something new.

To provide an objective perspective, I recommend you visit a great site I found recently - it provides reviews of (at least) the top ten genealogy software products and has links for purchasing them. If you want to learn more about available programs to file and publish your genealogy research data, visit No1Reviews.com. Happy hunting!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Discovering Your Health History

One side benefit to genealogy research is that you can sometimes learn about your own destiny in the process. If you are able to determine the the types of diseases that your family members are predisposed to (especially those that led to their deaths), you could (potentially) discover a means to avoid the impact of these ailments on your own life.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has developed a very useful tool to collect a family health history, My Family Health Portrait. This is just one way to organize data as you recover it. When you are finished, you can provide the output to your health care practitioner.

In addition to the resource above, here are some additional examples of sites that can guide you in your pursuit of your family's health history:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Genealogy.com
Mayo Clinic

Some people begin researching their family history with the sole goal of finding out about their medical vulnerabilities. They may discover other items of value to a traditional genealogist, but may actually discount the information in the pursuit of purely health-related data. When you encounter someone like that Online, attempt to collect the data that you need while assisting them with if you are able.

On the other hand, you could encounter some resistence if you approach members of your family (or potential members, as you have successes in your research). Medical information is, after all, private. You may have to settle for simply reviewing death certificates of your ancestors. Use whatever data you can find to shape a health history to use during discussions with your doctor. Happy hunting!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

What (or Who) Makes News?

We now live in a well documented society. For every story, both good and bad, there is a very good possibility that someone will capture the event as it happens. Some stories are pieced together from circumstantial evidence, but many times the clincher comes from DNA found at the scene (especially in criminal investigations). It is hard to imagine a time when we couldn't pull up a news story on demand. But, actually, it wasn't that long ago that people lived in relative anonymity, their lives a "closed book" to all-but the most tragic or scandalous events.

A short remove from the digital capabilities of our age, there were still intrepid news reporters who traveled to the site of disasters (sometimes a few days after the event) and attempted to record the event for readers around the country. Nothing proved more attractive than a tragedy (small or large) - readers didn't have Soap Operas or the Internet to distract them...

Even though many of the stories that resulted from media attention in an earlier age have not survived anywhere in modern parlance, some still exist in the archival records of libraries and online digital collections. Hidden amidst the vital statistics sections and major international news headlines, you can find gems of family history you might never have considered. During the past few years, I have located several relatives - some appearing as witnesses to crimes, some described by their neighbors (since they were too embarassed or humble) after the tragic death of a family member. If you are interested in pursuing potential stories of your family, here is a great example of a research methodology you can use.

Always remember: without intersections of our relatives' lives with documented history, family trees would be dull and only a mere skeleton of what they could be. Interviews, obituaries (and relevant news articles found in a similar way) or the lucky discovery of a biography of a relative, you might never know your ancestors. Peristence is the key to discovering additional ancedotes - happy hunting!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Mississippi Death Certificate Index Reaches 20,000 Names

The Statewide Index to Mississippi Death Records (1912-1943) achieved an important milestone today: 20,000 entries! These are indexed by year and by county - check out the site!

The process is difficult, but we make progress each month. If you would like to assist us in our efforts, we'd love to hear from you (email us at webmaster (at) cooganresearchgroup [dot] com)!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Correcting Genealogy Errors

The Internet provides us with many new opportunities. Perhaps the most exciting capability it allows is that people can share information they discover and even update details as soon as they are available (e.g., Wikipedia. We are now able to read about almost everything and learn the small details even insignificant issues and events. The flip side of this benefit is that errors can often quickly become "facts" when they reach the web.

If you think about it, it doesn't take the Internet for made-up stories to morph into the truth. Even before the 'Net provided a viral opportunity to spread inaccurate information as fact, there were paper records that propogated errors - often with as much finality. A great example of this recently came to light, when an amateur historian determined that Union soldiers were inadvertantly buried in a Confederate Cemetery. The story shows how errors became "fact" - and were chiseled in stone for good measure.

The news story portrays a situation that hasn't been completely resolved. While the correct flags can now be placed near the cemetery stones on Memorial Day, it will take additional effort to solve the problem made when those brave men were buried. The metaphor of stone-carved mistakes works almost the same way with the Web - it may be difficult and time consuming to correct the error. Unfortunately, except for one "stone," there are thousands of virtual replicas in the "Ether" that can't simply be erased or re-chiseled.

A great article about the different types of errors that affect genealogists (recordation, transcription and misinformation) can be found at Archives.com. The first one is usually beyond the control of people conducting research in the Twenty First Century (like the story above). The last two - incorrect digital transcribing and spreading false family stories as "fact" - are definitely within the control of our generation. We need to always be vigilant that we do not contribute mistakes to the pool of genealogy data.

So, what it if you discover mistakes that have made their way into the category of "the truth"? For starters, it will take a lot of work to fix them. Don't let that deter you, though! Locating the errors online may be the easy part, but you need to look at righting wrongs as a worthwhile pursuit - one step at a time. One useful guide to making corrections in Internet genealogy databases can be found at Genealogy.com.

You should be committed to the pursuit of genealogy "truth" (as best as we can know it) - for your own family and the records that are located in the area where you live. Always assure your notes indicate uncertainties and unknowns - and add them to other works whenever possible. Happy hunting!