GenWeekly, Vol. VI, No. 50

It's Genealogy. It's Weekly. It's GenWeekly.

December 11, 2009
Elisabeth Lindsay, Editor

All articles are copyright (c) 2009 Genealogy Today, LLC.

This Week's Articles

The original article(s) in this section are available only to subscribers. You can learn about our $9.95 annual subscription at http://www.genweekly.com/subscribe.html

Songs of Yesterday: How Our Ancestors Sang in the Holiday, Part 2

by Jean Hibben. Reflecting on the holidays songs born of wartime.

Genealogy on Film: Industry On Parade

by JudyRosella Edwards. Films from the 1950s offer another genealogy resource.

Recent News

• Footnote.com Honors WWII Veterans with the First-Ever Interactive USS Arizona Memorial. Footnote.com opens their WWII Collection free to the public during December.

• Give the gift of family history. Genealogy gifts are great for genealogists and non-genealogists as well. 

• Traditions across cultures. Even though our faiths and practices may differ, this "season of celebration" is about love and family and shared tradition.

The Genealogy Guide

In the interest of helping readers gain better insight into genealogical terms, Genealogy Today has created a Genealogy Guide. Each week, GenWeekly features a new term from the continually expanding Genealogy Guide.

Citation

A citation is a brief notation describing a source of information or quoted passage. The purpose of a citation is to acknowledge or give credit to the source and identify its location. A citation typically includes the source title, author, publisher, date and place of publication.The exact format and content of a citation may vary from one discipline or field to another, depending on the style guide used for a particular field. The Chicago Manual of Style is a good, general style guide, often used in the social sciences, which includes genealogy.

In genealogy, citations are used when documenting sources. A good citation allows others to verify the accuracy of information and can lead others to a source that may have additional information relevant to their research. Good citations are the hallmark of a good researcher. A popular reference for citing sources in genealogy is Evidence: Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills.

Archive Articles

For additional reading on the topics covered in this week's newsletter, you may wish to read the following articles from the GenWeekly archive:

• Christmas Traditions Past and Present
• Genealogy Gifts for the Non-Genealogist
• A Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker?
  
• Start the New Year Right: Cite Your Sources
• Primary Sources: When One When?

Give the gift of family history

Gifts with a genealogy theme are not for genealogists only, but may also be given to engage others in their family history. An article on NRToday.com, "Give the gift of family history," offers some great ideas. Another article,  from the Niagra Falls Review, "Think outside the gift box," suggests a couple more ideas, although you might want to think carefully before giving DNA test kit to make sure it would be a welcome gift. But the Photo Opoly board game sounds fun.

Traditions across cultures

An article in the Detroit News, "Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa: A time for joy, traditions and reflection," highlights traditions across cultures, reminding us that even though our faiths and practices may differ, this "season of celebration" is about love and family and shared tradition. It's is good to recognize, appreciate, and share with our children the traditions from other cultures,  bringing us closer together as a people and making the holiday season even more meaningful.

Songs of Yesterday: How Our Ancestors Sang the Holidays, Part 2

The holiday season is a time of joy. In times of war, on the battlefield and for those at home, the holiday season takes on even greater meaning. In her article, "Songs of Yesterday: How Our Ancestors Sang the Holidays, Part 2," Jean Hibben reflects on holiday songs born of wartime. With emphasis on the song, "Christmas Bells," better known as "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," written during the Civil War by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the author recalls and performs the song, including the more somber verses "almost lost to obscurity."

Genealogy on Film: Industry on Parade

It is said the "old times" were simpler times. Whether that is true or not is debatable. Seems the same lament is repeated in every age. Even so, those of us that lived in the 1950s tend to think it was, indeed, a simpler time. Life did not seem to be set on fast forward back then, although we may be viewing it from a child's point of view. In many cases, it's too late to ask our parents. 

In her article, "Genealogy on Film: Industry on Parade," Judy Rosella Edwards explores a fascinating resource from the 1950s, a collection of films showcasing the industry of America and Americans. As the article points out, the workers in the film were actual workers on the job -- not actors: hence, simpler times. In today's promotional films (including folksy commercials), you can pretty well bet actors are playing the roles. The genealogical value of the Industry on Parade film, given its scope, is pretty amazing, and certainly worth checking out the titles to see if any of the films fit the time and place of your ancestors. 

More and more we are seeing film being made available as a genealogical resource. The WWII ‘United News’ Newsreels, being one example. Edward's article brings to our attention yet another area to explore -- documentaries and other films featuring real people, mostly without "staging." It may take some sleuthing to find out what's available and where, but then, that's what we do.

GenWeekly, Vol. VI, No. 49

It's Genealogy. It's Weekly. It's GenWeekly.

December 4, 2009
Elisabeth Lindsay, Editor

All articles are copyright (c) 2009 Genealogy Today, LLC.

This Week's Articles

The original article(s) in this section are available only to subscribers. You can learn about our $9.95 annual subscription at http://www.genweekly.com/subscribe.html

Lexicons of Lost Lifestyles: Words of Holidays Past
by Jean Hibben. Bringing a greater sense of meaning to our holiday observations.

Three Reasons You Need Local History Books
by Rita Marshall. Easy to bypass, but worth the effort to research.

Recent News

• Avoiding common research pitfalls -- a gentle reminder. Everyone makes mistakes, oh yes, they do -- beginning and experienced researchers, too.

• Genealogy Magazines Offer Valuable Insight. An in-depth review of Family Tree Magazine's December 2009 issue, "Complete Guide to Genetic Genealogy" -- fact or science fiction?

• Allen County Public Library Digital Collections. Nearly 8,000 titles are listed with more than a million visitors a month.

The Genealogy Guide

In the interest of helping readers gain better insight into genealogical terms, Genealogy Today has created a Genealogy Guide. Each week, GenWeekly features a new term from the continually expanding Genealogy Guide.

Full Text

Genealogists may encounter the term full text, in two contexts. Most commonly, full text refers to an electronic resource that provides access to the complete (or full) text of an item, as opposed to an abstract or citation only. For example, some resources (or publishers) make certain chapters or pages of a book or article available for review, but require payment for access to the full text -- the complete work, in its entirety. Others offer full text access free of charge. Less familiar and perhaps less visible to the average user, the term is also used in "full text search," which refers to a computer search engine that searches the full text of documents or web pages, as opposed to searching only select parts, such as abstracts, etc.

Many online resources, paid and free, offer full text books and articles online. Full text works are often found by entering the title into your favorite search engine. You may also want to check library, archive, and museum web sites. It may also be good to do a search of subscription or other paid web sites known to carry full text works, in the event the title you seek is available and worth the price. Another resource that may lead you to full text works is Wordcat, an online catalog of library holdings.

Archive Articles

For additional reading on the topics covered in this week's newsletter, you may wish to read the following articles from the GenWeekly archive:

Don't Forget Local Histories

Genealogical Books in Print and Online

Revisiting the Research Library

Finding Digitized Books Online

Family History Archives: Buried Treasure

Allen County Public Library Digital Collections

An interesting article on JournalGazette.net, entitled, "Fiction lovers, history buffs go digital at library," provides a review of digital holdings at the Allen County Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. While many of the services offered are available to local patrons only, the genealogy section has material available to everyone. Under the heading Popular Picks, the article explains the digitizing effort and resources available.

"The non-profit Internet Archive scans the materials and hosts the Web site, which draws about 1 million visitors a month," according to genealogy manager Curt Witcher. At present nearly 8,000 title are listed.

"Currently the most popular download is the '"Yorkshire Marriage Registers, West Riding, Vol. 2" from 1914. Internet patrons have downloaded the text more than 3,300 times," library spokeswoman Cheryl Ferverda said. Options for viewing the book are in the lef-column.

Marriage records are important resources for genealogists, but library officials aren’t sure why that volume is so popular, she said."

The Allen County Libarary is a great resource for genealogists, long known for its Periodical Source Index (PERSI). 

Genealogy Magazines Offer Valuable Insight

An article on BangorDailyNews.com, "Genealogy Magazine takes on genetics," provides an in-depth review of the  Family Tree Magazine December 2009 issue and it's theme, "Complete Guide to Genetic Genealogy," as the article says, "an ambitious claim." The article highlights one article in particular, "DNA Fact or Science Fiction,"and follows up with a number of useful links and additional information on vaccinations over the years.

Watch for end-of-year specials. This time of year, many of the popular genealogy magazines are offering their complete 2009 editions on CD, with searchable content -- a good way to catch up on valuable content you might have missed.

Avoiding common research pitfalls -- a gentle reminder

A brief but insightful article on al.com out of the Press-Register Community News, "Avoiding pitfalls in genealogical research," identifies a number of common mistakes made by beginning and genealogy researchers alike. The article lists it source, and -- It's good to be reminded

Three Reasons You Need Local History Books

In our heart of hearts, we know the benefit digging into local history books. But with more information available online, we may be less inclined to head for the library. Also, as Rita Marshall points out in her article, "Three Reasons You Need Local History Books," when were are enjoying a great bit of success in our research using other resources, it's easy to bypass the often "thick, somber history books detailing a town's history." And yet, local histories often contain hidden gems we that are hard to anticipate. The article offers insight into different ways local histories might be used. It's also important to note that many local histories can be found online at no charge; it's worth entering the title into your favorite search engine to see if the book you seek is offered in full text format -- some offer previews only. However, not all local histories will be offered online, free or otherwise, which means, back to the library: it's worth the trip.

Lexicons of Lost Lifestyles: Words of Holidays Past

As with so many other things, we take often holiday traditions and practices for granted, seldom stopping to think about their origins. It may also be that some traditions and practices of the past have become antiquated and rarely practiced, caroling from door to door being one example. Our ways of passing the time and socializing and certainly changed. In the article, "Lexicons of Lost Lifestyles: Words of Christmas Past," Jean Hibben explores the language of Christmas, clearing up some commonly held misconceptions and, perhaps, bringing a greater sense of meaning to our holiday observations.