National Archives in Riverside, California

On Tuesday, May 11, 2010, I drove out to the National Archives in Riverside, California. I arrived around 11:00 a.m. and I was the only one there. The parking was free and as I walked into the front door, a very nice lady greeted me and asked me what I was looking for.

I told her I was researching an ancestor’s military records from the War of 1812. She asked me to sign in and then she called someone from the back to help me out. After a few minutes, two gentlemen meet me in the front office and I explained to them what I was looking for. They invited me into the research room and the three of us sat down, I explained what research I had completed and what I was looking for. After a few minutes, one of the gentlemen excused himself, and the other guy named Terry help me find the index to the War of 1812 records and told me where I could order the full records.

I also found out that all the records from the National Archives in Laguna Nigel were transferred to the National Archives in Riverside. This is a modern one-story building, well lighted, and has a very friendly staff to answer your questions. They also have Ancestry on all the PC’s there and printing is free. I asked Terry how they could do this and he replied that it was my tax dollar at work.

I really enjoy my day at the National Archives in Riverside and I would highly recommend this place to anyone researching in Southern California.

http://www.archives.gov/pacific/riverside/

Franklin Marsh as a Witness

My ancestor Franklin Marsh was a witness in a famous murder trial that was of national importance regarding the Masons (which was a catalyst for the formation of the Republican Party, ultimately). Franklin testimony is in the book “Letters on Masonry and Anti-Masonry”, which you can read on Google Books. For more information on the Anti-Masonry, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Masonic_Party

Cluster Genealogy Research

Why Cluster Genealogy? 
Even if you don't really care who your ancestors siblings, cousins and associates were, cluster genealogy can still be a very effective research technique:

The records of siblings, cousins, and other family members may provide clues to the next generation that you haven't been able to find in the records left by your direct ancestor.

Neighbors may actually turn out to be relatives. Family groups often migrated to the same town, lived near each other, attended the same school or church, and were buried in the same cemetery.

Knowing and recognizing the names of other family members can sometimes help you locate your own ancestor when he has been missing an indexed or had his name mangled in a record where you expect to find him, such as the census.

Tracking ancestors as they move from place to place can often be a daunting task. Knowing the names of relatives and neighbors who may have moved with him can make it easier to identify him in a new location.

Researching more people means an increased chance of making connections and possibly sharing research with other genealogists.

How Cluster Genealogy Works 
The cluster genealogy technique involves expanding your genealogy search beyond your direct line ancestors to include their brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors and friends. Check for as many of these individuals as time and finances will allow in major records, including birth, marriage and death records; census records; land deeds; published family histories, etc. Collect information on them just as you do for your direct ancestors and record it all in your notes or genealogy software program.

Don't neglect the spouses of these "cluster" individuals. Even if your family tree appears to be sadly lacking in genealogists, perhaps theirs were not. Published family histories for spouses of siblings can often provide an unexpected gold mine of information.

Census records and estate records are especially useful for identifying additional family members, including brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Land deeds, newspapers, and church membership rosters can often prove useful for pinpointing neighbors and friends.

By increasing the pool of individuals whom you are researching, cluster genealogy improves your chances of locating records and details on your ancestors. In the process, you'll also learn more about the place and time in which your family lived.

Since a single record is often not enough to "prove" an ancestral connection, cluster genealogy offers additional documents to support accurate research.

Our ancestors did not live in isolation, although we often research them as if they did. They were part of a family, with siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, cousins and other relatives. They were also part of a community, with friends, neighbors, classmates, and co-workers. This "cluster" of family, friends and neighbors can provide valuable clues to the lives of our ancestors.

Cluster genealogy, sometimes referred to as whole family or extended family genealogy, is the practice of extending your research on a person to the individuals and families to which he was connected. These connections could range from his brother or spouse, to the neighbor who appeared as a witness on a land deed.

Collateral Research leaves the focus of the individual and expands to include siblings, cousins, and in-laws. Include neighbors and associates and you've expanded to Cluster Research. Cluster research is implied in my Death Record Research Flowchart. 

Cluster Genealogy is also known as whole family research and involves branching out beyond your pedigree ancestors to research individuals connected to your direct line ancestors and collaterals. The connections may be close, as in marriage, or loose, as in witnesses to a will.

Remember, Collateral = Direct Line Siblings and Cluster = Other Family, Friends and Associates. Genealogists who research by clusters are the most successful in extending their ancestral lines.

You've heard the expression, 'We're all in this together.' Try thinking of your ancestors the same way. Just like you, your ancestors were not isolated individuals:

They were part of a family, with siblings and cousins, aunts and uncles, parents and grandparents. Groups of relatives often lived near each other, worshipped together, witnessed each other's documents and were buried in the same cemetery.

Like you, ancestors had friends and neighbors. Often their spouses came from neighboring families or were the siblings of classmates and military buddies.  They and their friends were lodge brothers or officers in the ladies' literary society.

Your ancestors had business partners and co-workers, were clients of local doctors and lawyers and bought dry goods from the local mercantile store. They were known in their communities and occasionally got their names in the local newspapers.

Sometimes, even small communities had several families by the same surname.  When you start researching, you may not know whether these same-name families were related to yours. They may have been, and it could be to your benefit to find out.

Studying your ancestors in the context of this community of relatives, friends, neighbors, associates and same-name families are practicing Cluster Genealogy."

                   

Consider Family Groups rather than individual direct-line ancestors.  Use your ancestor chart as an index to your family group sheets, your main organizing form.

                   

 Complete Family Group Sheets for ALL family members.

                   

Collect family information: birth, marriage, death, burial, census, obituary, published family histories, land and probate records, etc. on ALL relatives, especially siblings of direct-line ancestors before extending your pedigree chart.  This could help you avoid "barking up the wrong tree," to use another common expression.

                   

When reviewing locality records such as census, tax list, church, newspaper obits, search for and note ALL occurrences of your surname of interest.

                   

  Search neighboring localities, usually townships and counties, if your initial search reveals nothing.

                   

 Widen search to neighbors, witnesses, and so on if documents on collaterals are unproductive.  Look for unrelated people who lived near your ancestors and who may have lived near them in their previous home, too.

                   

 Look for patterns. Migrating families often went due west, and they looked for valleys to settle in that reminded them of the place they'd just left. They moved in clusters, with one family member or even a neighbor being the first to try a new area, and others in the cluster following later. Children of migrating families were more likely to eventually migrate again themselves.

If you do whole-family publishing, a "descendants-of" family history, in which you begin with a "source couple" and cover all of their descendants for a number of generations, you MUST employ Cluster Research.

When publishing information on a whole family, you can't exclude anyone. You must include everyone. And you cannot apply any lesser standards to analyzing their information. You may also find you must rearrange other family groups.

The Internet sites have greatly changed how much information we can access, the facility of that access, and how rapidly data can be acquired. Databases such as those on Ancestry.com, on CD-ROMs with census images, or on printed material save literally hours of library research time. Some online family trees may reveal information about missing members of our family, such as where they went when they disappeared from our records (may haps taking both grandpa and the family records with them). These data are constantly being revised, updated and augmented online.

It always pays to do the Collateral Research before moving on to the next generation. Cluster research includes the associates as well as the family while collateral specifically is about the siblings of your direct line. Doing them all will give you more solid footing before moving on to the quicksand of the next generation.

In order to progress back to the previous generation, one must stand on firm ground knowing about the ancestral couple *and their brothers and sisters*. After all the siblings have the same parents as your ancestral couple and what was not said or published or preserved for your direct line might be said, published or preserved for their sibling. And if about their parents then it is also about the parents of your direct line. Only after researching the siblings as hard as the direct line should movement backward be done and is also greatly more possible with many more clues to string together if not an outright document of facts of relationships.

Honing in on only one record group, for example church, or cemetery or birth records, is to limit our search and chain us to our expectations. What if the record doesn't exist and we ignore all the clues around the siblings and children of the couple in our zeal for that "one clue"?

What about the neighbors and associates? Tax lists and deeds should be researched extensively along with the census in order to place everyone in their proper physical places in the neighborhood. They had to get within kissing distance (couples) and usually stayed within hugging distance (relatives). While building a community around our ancestors we will discover who they are and where they came from and why they did what they did. They were real people with real expectations and real reasons for migrating and making their life's choices. By opening ourselves up to them and discovering them through the records -- all the records -- they may yet surprise us with their unique selves who caused us to be what and who we are.

 Copyright © 2010 by Gus J. Marsh

Orange County California Genealogical Society Meeting

Last week, I received e-mail from Joan Rambo, the president of the Orange County California Genealogical Society that a reported from the Orange County Register would be there on April 3, 2010 to interview several people. Joan asked me to bring over my family history posters and I spent the last week printing up new posters.

Saturday arrived and I drove over to the Huntington Beach Library. During our meeting, Joan asked several times if the reporter from the Register had arrived, but no one replied. I was there from about 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and finally left, very disappointed.

iTunes and Genealogy PodCast

Genealogy Podcast via ITunes

If you are like me, you probably heard someone talk about pod cast and it perked your interest. The big advantage is that it’s a genealogy radio show available online, all the time! Listen from your computer or MP3 player. You'll hear research strategies, the latest Internet search techniques and advice from the top genealogy experts.

The mode of delivery differentiates pod casting from other means of accessing media files over the Internet, such as direct download, or streamed webcasting. A list of all the audio or video files currently associated with a given series is maintained centrally on the distributor's server as a web feed, and the listener or viewer employs special client application software known as a podcatcher that can access this web feed, check it for updates, and download any new files in the series. This process can be automated so that new files are downloaded automatically. Files are stored locally on the user's computer or other device ready for offline use, giving simple and convenient access to episodic content. Commonly used audio file formats are Ogg Vorbis and MP3.

Download iTunes for Mac or PC

You will need to install free iTunes and possibly some type of MP3 player, so you can listen to genealogy pod cast at you leisure. If you don’t have iTunes installed, go to http://www.apple.com/downloads/ On the left hand side click on Download iTunes 9, free for Mac + PC. When you have iTunes installed, you may have to restart you Mac or PC.

Your favorite movies and TV shows. Apps, games, pod casts, and more. ITunes is home to everything that entertains you. Go to iTunes Store and on the right hand side, type in the word “Genealogy” and enter return. You will then be presented with a list of over 50 genealogy related pod casts. There are pod cast for almost any genealogy for you. I currently subscribe to four Genealogy pod cast.

Finding Podcasts

Go on a free podcast spree.

The iTunes Store puts thousands of free podcasts at your fingertips. To find them, select Music Store in the iTunes source column; then click “Podcasts” to journey Inside the Music Store. Or, here’s another way to get there: select the little podcasts icon in the Source column, then click the arrow next to “Podcast Directory” at the very bottom of the iTunes window. Once you’ve downloaded or subscribed to a podcast, click the Music Store button to return to the home page of the Store.

Search podcasts by popularity.

Of course, before you subscribe, you’ll want to find podcasts that appeal to your interests. And you have several ways of tracking them down. For example, you can tell iTunes to find them for you. Although you could use the iTunes search box in the upper right-hand corner of the jukebox window, iTunes provides a search window specifically for podcasts in the left column. You can use it to search by podcast title, podcast authors, or by all podcasts. And once it returns a list of podcasts that meet your criteria, you order your results by popularity. Just control-click or right-click the column headers and select “Popularity” to see the most popular podcasts that contain your search term.

Choose a subject.

Looking for a specific podcast category? Try browsing podcasts in the iTunes Store’s featured podcast rooms. Each room lists popular podcasts that iTunes editors have selected for special feature by subject.

See what tops the podcast charts.

Take a look at the right side of the podcasts page on the iTunes Store. The “Top Podcasts” list displays the top 25 podcasts based on recent subscriptions. Click “Today’s Top Podcasts” to see the entire top 100.

Find more from your favorites.

If you find a podcast artist that you like, there’s an easy way for you to see — and preview — other podcasts she’s created. Just mouse over the Author’s name and, if that author has created more than one podcast, you’ll find a link that will whisk you off to a page with more podcasts.

Playing Podcast's

Listen up.

To preview any podcast in the Music Store, just double-click an episode for a sample. If you like what you hear, click the “Subscribe” button at the top of the podcasts page. Or, if you’d rather download only certain episodes, click the “Get Episode” button next to the episode you want.

Get caught speeding.

If you find you understand spoken audio content at a faster playback rate, it’s easy to speed things up. Just right-click or control-click your podcast episode and choose “Show song file.” From there:

Open the selected song file with Quicktime.

Choose “Show A/V Controls.”

Move the “Playback Speed” slider at the bottom of the window to your preferred speed.

Watch the way you want.

When you play a video podcast, playback starts in the “Now Playing” window in the lower left-hand corner of the iTunes window. To see the video at the optimum playback size, just click the video image to open a larger, resizable player. You can even play video back in full-screen mode by clicking the “Fullscreen” button at the bottom of the player.

Save it for later.

If you can’t finish a podcast in one sitting, never fear. You can always pause playback in either iTunes or on your iPod and resume playback later from the point you left off. Listen to the first half of a podcast on your way to work, and on your way home, pick up right where you left it.

By default, podcast files are set so that iPod and iTunes will remember playback position. You can turn the feature off by clicking on a podcast file, choosing “Get Info” from the contextual menu, and unchecking “Remember Playback Position.” You can even turn the same option on for non-podcast files, letting you resume playback on any track in your library.

Trouble? Shoot.

When iTunes encounters a problem downloading a podcast episode, it displays a small “Exclamation Point” icon to the left of the episode title. Click on the point to reveal more detail about the error. Generally, such errors are related to the feed set up by the podcaster. In most cases, the episode will be available again in about a day.

Play it again (and again).

Once an episode is finished downloading, a blue dot appears to the left of the podcast, indicating that it has not yet been played. As soon as you begin to play the podcast, the blue dot disappears. When the blue dot disappears, it’s a reminder that the episode will be automatically removed from your iPod the next time you sync it with your computer. If you want to make sure the episode stays on your iPod, right-click it and choose “mark as unread”.

Enhance your spoken word experience.

ITunes and iPods with displays allow you to change the EQ settings for playback. If you listen to a lot of podcasts, the “Spoken Word” EQ setting may enhance the sound quality for you. This EQ setting reduces bass frequencies — especially handy for amateur podcasts, where mic pops and other noise might otherwise distract.

Managing Podcast Subscriptions

Get smart playlists.

When a podcast finishes playing, iTunes does not play the next podcast episode in your Source List by default. To keep a steady stream of episodes playing, consider creating a smart playlist. A smart playlist of podcast episodes allows you to listen to episodes continuously and to further refine your podcasts. For example, you might create a smart playlist for news podcast episodes longer than 40 minutes.

To build an all-podcast playlist, Choose “New Smart Playlist” from the file menu. From the first drop-down box, select “Podcast” and leave the second drop-down set to “is true”. To include only podcast episodes you haven’t yet listened to, click the “+” symbol to add a new rule and choose “Play Count”, “is”, 0. Add additional filters to further refine your smart playlist.

Keep podcasts forever (or just for a day).

It’s easy to tell iTunes how long to keep podcasts in your library. When browsing the podcasts you’ve downloaded, you’ll see a Settings button at the bottom of the jukebox window. Click it, and iTunes takes you right to the podcasts tab of the iTunes Preferences dialog. See the “Keep:” drop-down menu? It lets you decide exactly how long to keep podcasts, helping you keep your library neat and tidy.

Not in the Store? Not a problem

If while surfing the web, you ever come across a podcast that you can’t find in the iTunes Store, here’s an easy way to subscribe to it anyway. From the Advanced menu, choose “Subscribe to Podcast...” and enter the podcast feed URL. ITunes will subscribe you to the podcasts and begin downloading immediately.

Hold on to your hits.

If you like the auto-remove feature for most podcasts but want to keep all episodes of a particular podcast, you’re in luck. Select a podcast (either at the episode or podcast level) and from the right-click menu, choose “Do Not Auto Delete.” iTunes holds onto that podcast’s episodes until you manually delete them.

Expand or collapse.

Once you subscribe to a podcast, iTunes checks for new episodes at regular intervals. In time, the list of available episodes could grow out of control. To hide or reveal all available episodes, click on the display triangle for that podcast. You can also hide or reveal all of your podcasts at once by pressing cmd+] or by holding down the command key and clicking.

What’s the frequency?

You may subscribe to podcasts that update more often than once per day. Just go to podcast preferences and edit the rate at which iTunes checks for new podcasts to “Once per hour.”

Time to unsubscribe.

Podcast's are like audio or video magazines. Once you subscribe, you can expect a new “issue” of that podcast at a regular interval. But if you find you have more than you can handle, it’s easy to unsubscribe. Just highlight the podcast you want to unsubscribe from, and click the “Unsubscribe” button in the lower left hand corner of the screen. To unsubscribe and delete all files related to the podcast, simply press the Delete key after selecting a podcast.

Take notes.

Many podcasters write extensive show notes — text that accompanies their programs. To access a window that displays the full show notes, click the “i” icon in the right side of the podcast’s “Description” column.

Sharing Podcasts

Links to share.

When you find a podcast you love, you may want to share it with others. You can grab links to a podcast in the iTunes Store by hovering over the “cover art,” right clicking, and selecting “Get iTunes Store URL.” With the URL in your clipboard, you can paste it into an email, a chat, or a web site. Use the same process to get links for subject rooms, podcast episodes, artists and today’s top podcasts.

Or, if you already subscribe to a podcast you want to share, simply drag it from your podcast’s source to your desktop. That creates a standalone Podcast file that you can email to friends as an attachment. If they have iTunes, clicking on the Podcast file will automatically subscribe them to the podcast, and iTunes will immediately begin to download the most recent episode.

Share your whole playlist.

You can export a list of all of your subscriptions, either as a personal archive for yourself or to share with others. This option comes in handy when you’d like to introduce someone you know to podcasting because it allows you to send a file of “starter podcasts” for your newbie friend to subscribe to — all at once.

To export a list of your subscriptions, mouse over “Podcasts” in the source menu, right-click or control-click, and choose “Export.” Choose “OPML” as the format. (OPML is a generally recognized format for sets of subscriptions.) Name and save the file wherever you want. At any time, you can re-import that file and iTunes will re-subscribe you to all of the podcasts inside. Or email it as an attachment to your uninitiated pals.

To subscribe to the podcasts in an OPML file, choose “Import” from the file menu and choose the OPML file. ITunes will begin downloading immediately.

Make subscriptions one-click simple.

The simplest possible link you can send or post to your site is the podcast feed URL. It usually looks something like: http://www.example.com/feed.xml

Many bloggers and site owners post the link as-is. 

To make a one-click subscription link, instead of “http”, add "itpc” in front of your podcast’s url to make subscription one-click simple

ITunes immediately takes over and begins downloading the first episode.

Genealogy Guys, Genealogy Gems, African Roots and others.

The oldest and most respected is the genealogy guys, George G. Morgan and Drew Smith. They produce a genealogy pod cast about every 10 days, depending on travel and other commitments. Their web site is: http://genealogyguys.com/

Lisa Louise Cooke has been producing pod cast for several years and has a great following. She has several, including Genealogy Gems Podcast, Family Tree Magazine Podcast and Family History: Genealogy Made Easy. Her web site is: http://www.genealogygems.tv/

Another good one is the African Roots Podcast: http://www.africanrootspodcast.com/

By Angela Y. Walton-Raji

There are more than 50 other genealogies Podcast available, even special ones for Polish, Irish, Italian and German and many others.

Reward Offered in Wake of Kane Cemetery Vandalism in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

The National Park Service is hoping a $1,000 reward will lead to the capture and arrest of those responsible for desecrating gravesites at the historic Kane Cemetery within Montana's Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.

The crime has been under investigation since late last month, when vandals pushed over, broke or spray-painted tombstones on 31 graves and other monuments.

The Park Service is asking for help from within and beyond nearby communities, and the reward is being offered "for the successful prosecution and conviction of the individuals responsible for the vandalism to the historic Kane Cemetery," according to a news release issued today.

The first recorded burial in the cemetery was in 1903, three years after the settlement of a nearby Mormon community called Iona. The town of Kane, named after rancher Riley Kane, sprang up south of the confluence of the Bighorn and Shoshone rivers and was a trading center and railroad depot for homesteaders in the Dryhead and Crooked Creek areas.

Anyone with information regarding the vandalism is urged to call Pete Sawtell or Jessica Korhut at (307) 548-5421.

Sources: Pete Thomas, LA Times, December 14, 2009

Photo: Some of the Kane Cemetery destruction. Credit: National Park Service

Printing Large Posters - Tips & Tricks

How to make a family history poster using software and a color printer

If you are like me, you have collected hundreds of family names into your database over the years. I started thinking about what will happen to this database when I pass on. I then came up with the idea of printing large family history posters for my family, cousins and extended family. This turned out to be a big hit with my family and genealogy friends.

It also forced me to complete my genealogy research by downloading or purchasing birth records,  marriage  records and death certificates and other vital records as needed.

Have you collected all of your information?

Information about your family, ordered Military Records, read any books for reference.

Check RootsWeb, Ancestry and World Vital Records for links.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

http://www.ancestry.com/

http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/

In Ancestry, go to: One World Tree, type in name of person, on right hand side, click: Find Famous Relatives.

Software for Mac or PC

Microsoft Word, PageMaker (no longer made), QuarkXPress, Adobe In Design (my favorite). Adobe sells a package called Adobe Creative Suite (ACS) and they have several different versions and prices.

I use ACS-3 Design Premium, which includes Dream Weaver, Photoshop, Illustrator, In Design and Acrobat Professional. They also have Web Premium, Production Premium and Master Collection. There is ACS-4 out and ACS-5 is coming soon.

Photos

Most printers require TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) photos in CMYK format. You will need some version of Photoshop and possible a good scanner for editing your photos.

If someone sends me a JPEG (Joint Photographer Expert Group) photo at 72-DPI, I will print it on my printer, than scan it into Adobe Photoshop and save as a TIFF file.

I usually have to spend a few minutes cleaning up the photo, however in Photoshop there is something called “dust and scratches” that does a great job cleaning up photos.

Printing

Printing at home is fun and inexpensive, you can see the results in minutes, and if you make a mistake, no problem. Using a service bureau or a local printer, you should make a PDF file and purchase your own paper supply.

Be careful of paper supplied by the printer, it may or may not be acid free. Try to estimate how many prints you really need, how many “cousins” in your family.

You must have a good understanding of CMYK and RGB. RGB (Red, Green & Blue) is for web, DVD, and e-mail; CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black) is for printing.

In Photoshop, go to Image, then to Mode. Then click RGB Color, CMYK Color, or gray scale. Learn to make a PDF file.

What type of printer do I need?

Check and see your printer prints 11, 12 or 13 inches wide paper.  Most printers connect to your computer using USB and some use Ethernet and FireWire (IEEE 1394). As your project grows larger and more complex, you may want to invest in a fast printer with a high-speed connection.

Some people prefer Premium Glossy Photo Paper. I prefer Matte Paper Heavyweight as my choice. I like paper that is thick and can be handled by several people without developing wrinkles.

I also use paper that is compatible with inkjet, laser, color copier, acid free, 2-side printing and 30% PC fiber compatible.

What sizes do you like for printing posters, 8.5 x 11, 11 x 17, and 12 x 18; the choices are yours.

What weight, 30#, 60#, 80# or 100# Cover, you decide what is best for you, I use 100 pound cover, acid free, archival paper.

Acid Free – always, if you walk into a local printer and ask them about acid free paper, and they say they don’t know what you are talking about, run out as fast as you can.

What is the difference between ink-jet & lasers printers? Laser is inexpensive when printing 12 or more, Ink Jet is more economical when printing 10 or less.

I currently use my color printer for proof printing only, and then I make a PDF and use a local printer for laser quality prints on my paper.

Using your own printer

If you have a printer with 3-4-ink cartridges, it’s probably prints RGB

If you have a printer with 6-8-ink cartridges, it’s probably prints CMYK.

Please check your printer guide for more information.