Although its traditions and dates may vary, Mother's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world, dating back to ancient Greece. Honoring mothers, it seems, is a natural thing to do. In her article, "Mother's Day: More Than a Commercial Holiday," Melissa Slate reminds us of the origins of Mother's Day, and its long tradition in the U. S. and in England.

Labels: traditions

Vital records are those primary source documents genealogists have spent many hours, many dollars, and, at times, much frustration researching and acquiring. Today, the task is much easier (though not always less expensive), and the hope of finding a key record is much higher, thanks to the massive digitation efforts underway in many camps across the globe. In her article, United States Vital Records Online," Gena Philibert-Ortega observes, provides an update on vital records available in the U. S., noting, at this time, she is referencing only actual vital records documents, not all documents in which vital information may be found. So take heart -- even if the information you seek is not in vital records documents, it may well be someplace else. Among the records available online, a great many are indexes, which are subject to error. As the author points out, the information in indexes may vary across information providers. Information in one index may not include information revealed in another index, or information in one may be in error and another more accurate. So it's not all cakes and pies, kids. Even though more records are increasingly made available, considerable research is still required -- it's just a little easier today.

Labels: genealogy, vital records

Two big genealogy conferences are coming up, NGS in May and the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree in June.

As announced previously, The 2008 NGS Conference In the States and Family History Fair will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, 14-17 May 2008, while the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree and Research Expo will hold its annual Jamboree, June 27-29 in Burbank California. There's still time to register for either conference; be sure to reserve your hotel as soon as possible.

Labels: genealogy conferences and seminars

Pretty much anyone who uses the Internet is familiar with Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. Wikipedia differs from all other other online encyclopedias in that its information can be added and edited by anyone. That is, of course, both and good and bad. The goal is to build on the collective knowledge of everyone interested in the topic with the aim of arriving at an accurate record. Genealogy wikis have the same aim. You can add to and edit an online family tree or add new information to help to build a more complete picture of your family, collectively with all your kin, near and far. Wiki is another type of social network. Even FamilySearch has jumped on the wiki bandwagon. In her article, "Genealogy Wikis," Gena Philibert-Ortega exlplores the benefits of wikis and directs you to current wiki sites.

Labels: collaboration, family history, online resources

FamilySearch announced in a press release today it is working with the UK family history Web site www.findmypast.com and The National Archives of the United Kingdom to increase access to select British historical records. The first major projects will provide access to millions of names of deceased British soldiers and seamen from the eighteenth to twentieth century.

Findmypast.com and FamilySearch were recently awarded licenses by The National Archives to digitize and make available both the Chelsea Pensioners retired soldiers records between 1760 and 1914, and the Merchant Seamen's collection of records dating from 1835 to 1941.

Labels: British research, FamilySearch