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THE GENCLASS NEWSLETTER - September 2007
http://www.genclass.com
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TOPICS:
= Findmypast.com
by Pat Ryan, MCCSG
=
Tip of the Month: Family History Month .
=
Upcoming classes: October and November
Welcome back to the GenClass newsletter!
This
month's spotlight is on using the AncestorsonBoard feature
of Findmypast.com.
If this is your first time reading this newsletter, welcome!
Our monthly newsletter includes a featured article by an expert
GenClass instructor, a tip of the month, and a list of upcoming
courses.
October
is Family History Month. To celebrate, why not take one
of the great classes being offered at GenClass during October.
There’s
no better time to start discovering your roots!
--------------------------------
Findmypast.com
by Pat Ryan, MCCSG
--------------------------------
My
father and grandmother left Scotland for Canada in April 1904
to rejoin my grandfather who had come over earlier. So when
www.findmypast.com
announced the release of their Ancestorsonboard offering I
decided to see
if I could find them. Ancestorsonboard lists passengers leaving
the UK
between 1890 and 1960. It is an ambitious task, and the web
site says
that records will be completed in the coming months. To date,
the database
has records from 1890 to 1929. It is not just British who
are
included in the database. Many Eastern Europeans traveled
through England
to reach major shipping ports, such as Liverpool, so this
may be a
valuable source for those researchers too. Having already
located my
family on Canada’s ships passenger lists, I felt this
should be an easy task.
Of
course … it wasn’t!
My
grandmother’s name was Margaret or Maggie Gilmour, born
1875,
and her travelling companion was my Dad, William Muir Gilmour.
It is helpful to know years of birth, which I did. Armed with
everything
I already had, why couldn’t I find them in the Ancestorsonboard
database?
As
with all databases, there are ‘little’ things we
must learn.
The
first thing I learned was that there are payment options available
–
pay per view from 5p; subscriptions offering unlimited access;
vouchers to buy and redeem on census records, BMDs and more;
and periodic special offers. If we choose the pay-per-view
we can
purchase a transcript – for 5 units (5p) – which
tells little more than
the free search. Buying the associated image costs thirty
units.
Fair enough. Just be sure to read through the payment options
BEFORE buying – this is good advice for other websites
as well.
Once
you have chosen a transcription, or an image, and paid your
money …
you can download it to your hard drive (an excellent idea),
and you can
print your copy (also an excellent idea). HINT: be sure to
cite your
source AND ensure that you can open the saved document from
your hard drive!
The
Ancestorsonboard site will automatically save the document
to
my hard drive as a DjVu format – which happens to be
one my computer
[and possibly yours] cannot open. Here’s how to solve
the dilemma.
On your viewed image, right click your mouse, choose File,
then
choose “Export to File” which will now save the
image as a BMP (bitmap).
Most computers can open bitmaps, and you can now manipulate
the image
to your satisfaction. This hint may work for other websites
too.
I
did eventually locate my father and grandmother in this database
indexed
as Mrs. J. Gilmour and my father as William Mair Gilmour.
Once you
purchase either a transcript or an image, you can look at
it as many times
as you wish … providing this is all done without leaving
the web site.
When you sign in next time, you will need to re-purchase,
so save it the first time round.
--------------------------------
Tip of the Month: Family History Month
--------------------------------
Set the stage for Family History Month by listening to inspiring
tunes
such as Neil Diamond’s “America” or “Lady
Liberty” by Orleans.
Steve Lanza’s Ancestral Songs album is another good choice.
For
more great tips on Family History Month activities,
see “365 Ways to Discover Your Family History”
by Lisa Alzo in the February 2006 issue of Family Tree Magazine.
See
<www.lisaalzo.com/articles.htm>
+---------------- UPCOMING CLASSES -------------------+
Register for a class at http://www.genclass.com
OCTOBER 2007: Classes start October 4, 2007
*
Adoption Investigative Class:
Detailed search advice and assistance for successfully
locating and reuniting adoptees and birth families.
*
Canadian Research - Part 2:
This course picks up where Part 1 ended. Here you will learn
to
knowledgeably use even more detailed records,
many of which are on-line.
*
Basic Jewish Genealogy:
A step-by-step overview of what you need to know to track
your family.
*
FTM 2008 - The Basics:
Help finding your way around this new Family Tree Maker program,
as well as learning how to enter your information including
names,
dates, media and sources.
*
Lost Friends and Family Investigative Class:
Detailed search advice and assistance on the methods to use
for successfully tracing "lost" relatives and friends.
*
Northeastern United States Genealogy
Research in the NE states is fundamental to the trees
of many Americans.
*
Salt Lake City - The world's largest genealogical library-
Part 2:
Continuing from Part 1, this course takes you into the sections
that most people never use - AND what a mistake that is!
*
Scottish Genealogy:
Learn about civil registration, censuses, church records,
handwriting,
Soundex systems, reference books, an introduction to Internet
research.
NOVEMBER 2007: Classes start November 1, 2007
*
Adoption Investigative Class:
Detailed search advice and assistance for successfully
locating and reuniting adoptees and birth families.
*
Canadian Research - Internet Resources - Part 3
Armed with the knowledge gained from Parts 1 & 2, you
will be
guided through the 'drill down' process of website layering.
*
Eastern European Genealogy Research: Part 1 (Basic)
This class will continue on from the basic Eastern European
research class,
focusing on how to expand your research beyond your own family
into a
more community-oriented protocol.
*
Genealogy Research in the Great Lakes States
This course will focus on generalized and locality specific
resources
of six area states - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
Ohio and Wisconsin.
*
Jewish genealogy - Internet (Part 2)
This class builds on the basics course, providing detailed
information
about search engines, general genealogy sites, Jewish genealogy
sites.
*
Lost Friends and Family Investigative Class
Detailed search advice and assistance on the methods to use
for successfully tracing "lost" relatives and friends.
*
Native American Genealogy
Learn how to start your research for your Native American
Ancestors.
*
Organizing Your Family History
Learn the techniques to ensure efficient organisation of your
research.
Learn more at http://www.genclass.com
Register for a class at http://www.genclass.com
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That's all for now, until next month!
-- LISA ALZO, Newsletter Editor
============[
GenClass Information ]==============
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contact Micha Reisel, GenClass Administrator
at micha@genclass.com
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