Mission Statement
ShoeString Genealogy provides Family Historians with information about how to research their ancestors both on the Internet and in libraries and other repositories. Besides how, we will show you where—locations for free and inexpensive information and the relative value of each.
Weekly Chat Calendar
Currently, we do four GENTREK chats each week; Jayne McCormick also does two American Civil War chats. We publish other chats and activities here, too.
Tip o' the Dæ
Genealogy techniques that can make your researches easier and/or more efficient. Computer and Internet tips that you'll also find useful.
Tip o' the Dæ
Search Google like a Pro
Google rose to the World's most popular search engine by the quality of its search results. But the Web has evolved since Google was launched and so has Google. With these ten tips you can use Google to search new media or old sites in more advanced ways.
- Find faces: Add &imgtype=face to the end of the URL after doing an image search to limit your image search results to faces, e.g. bean (for Mr. Bean and not the legume).
- Find document types: With the filetype operator, you can find certain file types, e.g. "elizabeth shown mills" filetype:pdf for finding pdf versions of Elizabeth Shown Mills' books.
- Get definitions: Find definitions for words, abbreviations, and more using define:, e.g. define:GENTREK.
- Search images by style: You can sort your image search results by photo, clip art, line drawing or face by selecting the relevant options after clicking Images in the left hand menu to find e.g. photos of Friends Meeting House.
- Search video dialogue: Use Google Video to find video dialogues between your favorite podcasters, e.g. title:george morgan drew smith.
- Find reusable content: With Google Advanced Search you can find Creative Commons content, content the creators have tagged as reusable. Click the + sign at the bottom of the page for "date, usage rights, numeric range, and more".
- Conversion: Google's search makes it easy to convert any unit of measurement, e.g. convert 10 kilometers to miles.
- Limit time: Sometimes you need to limit your search to a certain period or point in time.
- Wonder Wheel: Use Google's Wonder Wheel (available as an option in the menu on the left in the search results) as a search term thesaurus for a more precise search.
- Compare products: Add "better than" to your search to see compare products or find competitors, e.g. better than Legacy.
These 10 tips are extracted from the article 100 Google Search Tricks for the Savviest of Students by Online College Courses.
The Source Online
In 2010, Ancestry.com digitized the content of The Source and made it available in wiki format as one of the foundational sources for the Ancestry.com Wiki. Each chapter has been broken into one or more series of articles, links to which are found below:
Third Edition Table of Contents- The Foundations of Family History Research
- Computers and Technology
- General References and Guides
- Business, Institution, and Organization Records
- Census Records
- Church Records
- Court Records
- Directories
- Immigration Records
- Land Records
- Military Records
- Newspapers
- Vital Records
- African American Research
- Colonial English Research
- Colonial Spanish Borderland Research
- Hispanic Research
- Jewish American Research
- Native American Research
- Urban Research
Genealogy Chats Calendar
-
Fridae, 27-Jan-12, the American Civil War History chat presents "Dear Mother and Father." Soldiers wrote many letters during the war and we are lucky that so many of them have been preserved. When we read those letters, we can get an idea of what the soldiers were like and what they thought of while they were away from home. We meet at 10pm EST in the AOL chatroom, Ancestral Digs.
-
Saturdae, 28-Jan-12, GENTREK presents "Gravestone Symbols – part 2." We continue with many motifs that are found on gravestones along with some of the more commonly held interpretations of their symbolism. Please join us at 10am EST in the Genealogy Wise Chatroom.
-
Mondae, 30-Jan-12, GENTREK presents "Bastard!" Finding bastards amongst Royalty and the Nobility is not very difficult as the conduct of the rich and powerful always draws attention. The affairs of the lower orders tend to be more parochial matters. It is not realistic to imagine that a family tree can grow with neatly named ancestors in regular pairs throughout the past centuries. Join us at 9:00pm EST in the AOL Genealogy Chatroom to learn more.
-
Mondae, 30-Jan-12, GENTREK presents "Your Home Genealogy Library." "Documents are the primary sources of history; they are the means by which later generations draw close to historical events and enter into the thoughts, fears and hopes of the past." ~~ John F. Kennedy We meet at 10:00pm EST in the Genealogy Wise Chatroom.
-
Thursdae, 2-Feb-12, GENTREK presents "A Chest of Genealogy Gold — Parish Records." Ancestor digging in the many records of the Church of England parish chest is like panning for gold. The large nuggets are the parish registers which include christenings, marriages, and burials. From the information found in the parish registers, the skeleton or framework of a pedigree can be constructed. Join us at 10pm EST in the chatroom of Looking4Kin.
-
Thursdae, 2-Feb-12, The American Civil War History chat will be Open Chat. Come join our chat at 11pm EST in the AOL chatroom, Ancestral Digs.
Classic Sketch
"The Signal"
by Juanita Hamel, 1922
What a wealth of romance there may be in an action which to the observer may seem merely casual. When she hangs that lantern out upon the porch — by day or by night — it seems but a natural action. And yet, how fast her heart beats and how her fingers tremble because somewhere within easy view is one who is waiting and watching and — who understands!
Thought
Open to awareness
"Mindfulness means moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness. It is cultivated by refining our capacity to pay attention, intentionally, in the present moment, and then sustaining that attention over time as best we can. In the process, we become more in touch with our life as it is unfolding." — Myla & Jon Kabat-Zinn
Why do we want to become more aware?
If we remain unaware, we:
- - repeat the past,
- - remain stuck in relationships,
- - live superficial, literal and one dimensional lives,
- - lack experiences of love and beauty, and
- - have limited connection to others and the universe.
With awareness, we are fully involved with life. Awareness is sensing deeply and sensitively for what really is. To do this, we need to approach the present as totally new. When we can be open and attentive in each moment, we begin to free ourselves from the conditioning of the past and the suffering that it so often brings.
"If moment by moment you can keep your mind clear then nothing will confuse you." — Sheng Yen
Weekly Reminder
Happy Dæ Says:
Our Friends
-
-
Join Genealogy Wise -
Join Genealogists in Second Life
-
-
- Records Project — Public Records Database
-
Check out
-
May the music of the meadow, with its songs of silver streams, bring sunlight to the paths you walk, and magic to your dreams.
Design by Data-Dae Research, LLC