Thanks to Jan Meisels Allen, recent recipient of the National Genealogical Society’s 2013 President’ Citation for her work in preserving access to genealogical records for alerting us to the National Archives of Ireland’s news.  Jan wrote:

"The National Archives of Ireland added to their genealogical collection by
releasing a new database: Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1858-1920 
- an index of wills and administration in Ireland. The database can
be searched by county, the name of the deceased person, the names of
executors and the names of beneficiaries.  Access to the database is free.

You may access these records by going to:
http://www.willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie/search/cwa/

A typical entry lists the name, address and occupation of the deceased, 
along with the date of death, the date and place of probate, the names and a
ddresses of the executors, beneficiaries of the will (and their relationship 
to the deceased) and the financial size of the estate.  I tried the name 
Cohen and several "hits" returned.

These calendars cover all of Ireland up to 1917. Since 1918, wills and
probate from the six counties of Northern Ireland are searchable on the
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) go to:
http://www.proni.gov.uk/"

Cross-Referencing the 1940 Census

We all know how important relatives are – after all, what would genealogy be without them?  In this case, though, it has more to do with my dad’s eagle eye in spotting this article in the New York Times.  The Milstein Division of the New York Public library has digitized old telephone directories and cross-referenced telephone listings with the 1940′s census!  https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/opinion/the-new-york-public-library-cracks-the-1940-census.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

Research in archives

This week I spent several days at my local Family History Center examining microfilms I had ordered.  Being able to adjust contrast and brightness, enlarge the image, or in a few cases, reduce it to eliminate blurred print, was really great.  Sitting in this environment caused me to reflect on my Eastern European archival experiences and to contrast it with the microfilm research.

Finding the microfilms in which I am interested and ordering them doesn’t take much time.  Going through the individual records (over 900 record images on each film I was interested in) is very time consuming, but getting access to the film is a simple process.

In Eastern Europe, I needed to ask the archivist for specific records, like getting material from the stacks in some library collections.  To my surprise  (and delight) the archivists brought me original books.  The paper was beautiful – something the microfilm doesn’t capture.  In some instances, it was a very thick, rich stock – elegant in appearance.  In others, it appeared to be handmade, what we would consider artisan quality.

In Eastern Europe I was not expecting to handle documents directly.  But the books in which the vital records (birth, marriage, death, divorce) were recorded were given to me with no gloves, no protection for the pages.  I am very glad that there are microfilms available that preserve the records.  I am also glad that I had the experience of sitting at a large library table with the original books spread out around me reading each page, looking for clues.

If you have the opportunity to visit Eastern European archives, go equipped with lists of names of people, dates and events, find out if you need to make an appointment in advance to get access to the archive.  Definitely find out what is permissible – can you bring a computer, can records be photographed, what are the charges to have copies made?  Are there additional charges for anything?  Remember to bring gifts with you for especially helpful archivists, guides, translators and researchers.

NGS Conference in Las Vegas

The National Genealogical Society’s annual conference will be taking place in Las Vegas May 8-11.  I am very excited to be attending this year – the line-up of speakers is terrific, and of course the opportunity to interact with other researchers is always terrific.  I am most excited, however, to be able to hear Marian Smith speak at the opening session at 8 AM on May 8.   I quoted Marian in my dissertation and relied  on her comments to guide some of my own research.  For those of you not familiar with her, she is Chief of the Historical Research Branch of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).  She has been a historian with USCIS, formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service, since 1988.  She now directs the agency’s History, Library, and fee-for-service Genealogy programs.  Her talk at the NGS Conference is entitled “People, Policy and Records: The Importance of Historical Background.”  Using immigration and naturalization as examples, this talk will explore the importance of national policy changes to ancestors, their records, and your genealogical research.  For me, the integration of history with our own family history, is of paramount importance.  Contextualizing the lives of our ancestors really brings them to life.

Security questions and family tree information

If you’ve ever set up an account on-line that requires a password, you may have had to choose some security questions which you need to answer if you forget your password.  A common choice is “mother’s maiden name.”  Sure, you figure, who is going to know your mother’s maiden name besides  a few carefully selected people or your closest relatives. Well, if you have your tree posted on any of the many family tree websites OR if one of your carefully chosen relatives has posted your tree on-line, OR if any of the millions of people out there who look at trees and incorporate almost every bit of information in anyone’s tree into their own, then almost EVERYONE has public access to your mother’s maiden name.  Choose something else, please, and make sure it is not something that is going to show up on a family tree database.

Free access to select Ancestry.com immigration records through March 17

Ancestry.com is offering free access to select immigration and border crossing records. Free access expires March 17, 2013 at midnight ET.

Go to: http://www.ancestry.com/cs/us/passengerlists  and for border crossings: http://www.ancestry.com/cs/us/passports

Immigration Collections include:

New York Passenger Lists 1820-1957

California Passenger and Crew Lists 1882-1957

Canadian Passenger Lists, 1986-1935

Titanic Survivors, Carpathia Passenger List 1912

UK Outward Ship Passenger Lists, 1890-1960

Hawaii Passenger Lists, 1941-1948

Honolulu, Hawaii Passenger and Crew Lists 1900-1959

Australian Convict Transportation Registers-Other Fleets and Ships 1791-1868

Border Crossings:

Border Crossings from Canada to us 1895-1954

Border Crossings from Mexico to US 1895-1957

US Passport Applications 1795-1925

Detroit Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists 1905-1957

US Consular Posts, Emergency Passport Applications, 1915-1926

You will have to register –its free.  Name, email and password.

If you access one of the collections that are not being offered free through Ancestry- you will be offered a paid subscription but will not be able to view the records for free.

California voter registration records

Under current California Election Code Section 2194 voter registration records are open to the public.   SB 112 (Monning-D- Santa Cruz/Monterey) as originally introduced would have established a 72-year waiting period for the public, and as amended places a 100-year waiting period for the public.  Voter registration cards are a valuable genealogical tool helping locate persons at a specific time—in between censuses that are available to the public– and provides such information as birth dates, signatures, address, country of origin, personal characteristics ( height, color of hair and eyes) and in 1994 California added the additional information: social security and driver’s license numbers.  The bill grants access  to candidates for office and to political campaigns, as well as to researchers and journalists, but not the general public. In the author’s fact sheet it states:” These access provisions do not include one of the most common reasons people want to access the historic roles, which is to learn about their genealogy or family history.” The fact sheet is not available on-line.

To read the bill go to: http://tinyurl.com/bchcko7

Original url:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/sen/sb_0101-0150/sb_112_bill_20130307_amended_sen_v98.pdf

Another California code section– Public Records Act, section 6254.4, states that voter registration records are confidential.  It appears as if there are conflicts between the two sections