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, it indicates where—locations for information and the relative value of each.

Here you will find useful, free Genealogy Charts and free Genealogy Forms; free Presentations on Genealogy Topics; Tips and Techniques; new Developments and Resources; and diversions such as Trivia Quizzes and Crossword Puzzles.

ShoeString Genealogy focuses on lowering the costs of research and raising the quality of information obtained. Although not all online resources are free, many are. Same for other repositories. We'll show you an abundance of excellent resources that are quite inexpensive, too.

• Fridae, 9-May-08, GLF-Wohlford and GLF-Debbie explore the world of paranormal activity in our lives, our ancestors' lives and in our research. They may talk about ghosts, psychic phenomenon in research, or beliefs of our ancestors—whatever interests you. They even have some Reiki Masters who can discuss energy sources and ancestral guides and their influence on research. Hope to see you 9pm-10pm EDT in the StateRoom.

• Saturdae, 10-May-08, Dae & Jayne re-appear in Mugs & Hugs, Saturdae edition. These are friendly chats, where any topic may come up—including genealogy. And you don't have to remain the entire hour. <grin> Each Saturdae, from 9am-10am EDT in AOL chatroom Ancestral Digs.

• Saturdae, 10-May-08, UK Genealogy Chat Room, dedicates the evenings of Wednesdays and Saturdays as Search Only days for anyone wishing to discover their Ancestors. If you are interested in discovering your Roots, please join us. Regulars in the room are also willing to do searches on any other days — just ask when you enter the room. Join us at 4 pm EDT, or 9 pm British, in the AOL Genealogy Chatroom—UK.

• Saturdae, 10-May-08, Linda01720 will hold her genealogy trivia game event at 9:30 pm EDT in the GLF Trivia Room.

• Mondae, 12-May-08, GENTREK will present Adoption Research. We don't do adoption research for other people, especially research on living persons, for obvious legal reasons. But we can offer information that might be of some help to you and guide you in the direction you need to go. Come learn more in AOL Chatroom: Genealogy   Chat from 9pm-10pm EDT.

• Tuesday, 13-May-08, GLF-GEORGE will hold the New England States chat starting at 8pm EDT. This chat will be held in the StateRoom. George discusses researching in New England, with emphasis on Maine and New Hampshire. He also has resources in Massachusetts, since he resides in its western part. And he has full membership at NEHGS, along with ANCESTRY.COM and GENEALOGY.COM. Take advantage of these New England States chats.

• Thursdae, 15-May-08, GENTREK presents Genealogy Research/Resource Notebook, part 2 by Dae Powell. To be successful in your genealogy research, you must be able to plan each research step, and organize the information you find there. What use is it to have great organizational skills if you don't have a clue where to look for the information? It's just as futile if you do well planning the research, but have lousy organizational skills! I feel that there are three areas of organization, each one of which can take a while to put in place. Once you have all three parts working, you should be able to quickly and easily find any bit of genealogical data you have gathered, know what information you have and what you still need, and have a comprehensive knowledge of what resources you've already checked. Please join us at Genealogy Lookup Forum Chatroom: GENTREK from 10pm-11pm EDT.

• Thursday, 15-May-08, "Vital Signs: using obits, newspapers, funeral records, cemetery records and more" with hosts GLF-CARI & GLF-RITA. It all happens at 9 pm EDT in the Ancestral Room.

• Fridae, 16-May-08, GENTREK presents Why Families Migrated to America, part 3. Religious émigrés seemed to be similar in motivation to the ideological émigrés on the surface, for both groups were reacting to traumatic events affecting their ethical sensibilities.  However, the two groups differed considerably in education and socioeconomic status. One difference is that the religious groups stayed together. We'll cover more at 4 pm EDT, or 9 pm British, in the AOL Genealogy Chatroom—UK.

• Fridae, 16-May-08, GLF-Wohlford and GLF-Debbie explore the world of paranormal activity in our lives, our ancestors' lives and in our research. They may talk about ghosts, psychic phenomenon in research, or beliefs of our ancestors—whatever interests you. They even have some Reiki Masters who can discuss energy sources and ancestral guides and their influence on research. Hope to see you 9pm-10pm EDT in the StateRoom.

• Saturdae, 17-May-08, aworkinprogress2 will hold her genealogy trivia game event at 9:30 pm EDT in the GLF Trivia Room.

• Saturdae, 24-May-08, Floozy will hold her genealogy trivia game event at 9:30 pm EDT in the GLF Trivia Room.

• Wednesdae, 28-May-08, LeeW will hold his genealogy trivia game event at 9:30 pm EDT in the GLF Trivia Room.

• Saturdae, 31-May-08, Linda01720 will hold her genealogy trivia game event at 9:30 pm EDT in the GLF Trivia Room.

Census Atlas of the United States

The complete content, in PDF format, of the recently published Census Atlas of the United States, the first comprehensive atlas of population and housing produced by the Census Bureau since the 1920s is now available for free download. The Census Atlas is about 300 pages and contains nearly 800 maps. Data from decennial censuses prior to 2000 support nearly 150 maps and figures, providing context and an historical perspective for many of the topics presented.

A variety of topics are covered in the Census Atlas, ranging from language and ancestry characteristics to housing patterns and the geographic distribution of the population. A majority of the maps in the Census Atlas present data at the county level, but data also are sometimes mapped by state, census tract (for largest cities and metropolitan areas), and for selected American Indian reservations. The book is modern, colorful, and includes a variety of map styles and data symbolization techniques.

by U.S. Census Bureau

Genealogy Dark Side

Mr. Dick Eastman has compiled a list of alleged genealogy scams. He indicates he will update this list as often as necessary and it will contain the name and web site of each company that reportedly delivers less than what they advertise to the genealogy marketplace. Stop by and take a look at Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter.

by Dae Powell

FamilySearch with British Partners Will Digitize UK Records

In partnership with FamilySearch, British site FindMyPast, and The National Archives of Britain will render access to millions of names of British soldiers and seamen from the 18th to the 20th century to genealogists on both sides of the Atlantic. They will digitize Royal Hospital Chelsea documents dating from 1760 to 1914. This hospital served disabled soldiers and opened in 1692. These records may include each ex-serviceman's name, age, birthplace and service history, physical appearance, conduct sheet, previous occupation, and sometimes the reason for discharge. After 1883, details of marriages and children may also appear.

Merchant Seamen records from 1835 to 1844 and 1918 to 1941, which will provide the name and the date and place of birth. Many 20th-century records include photographs of the sailors and details of their voyages. Nearly a third of UK families have ancestors who were merchant seaman, according to FamilySearch's announcement. For this three-year project, FamilySearch staffers will digitize the records at the UK National Archives, and FindMyPast will create indexes and transcriptions. When they're through, the indexes and images will be searchable at FindMyPast and FamilySearch.

by Diane Haddad, FamilyTree Magazine editor

GRAMPS — FREE Genealogy Software

GRAMPS is a Free Software Project for Genealogy, offering a professional genealogy program, and a wiki of 396 pages open to all. It is a community project, created, developed and governed by genealogists.

Installation: Install GRAMPS, the Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System right away. GRAMPS currently runs on Linux and Windows. Guides for installation on MAC OS X, BSD and Solaris are available.

Documentation: Read the User's Manual and reviews, discover the features of GRAMPS, learn by example or improve your GRAMPS knowledge with tutorials.

Genealogy: Learn more about genealogy itself: What are the best sources, where to find information, how to store it, etc.?

by Dae Powell

IRS Taxes on Ancestry.com

Click here to search the IRS Tax Assessment Records at Ancestry.com. Here are the NARA Film numbers, with states and years covered:

• M754: Alabama, 1865-1866, 6 rolls
• M755: Arkansas, 1865-1866, 2 rolls
• M756: California, 1862-1866, 3 rolls
• M757: Colorado, 1862-1866, 3 rolls
• M758: Connecticut, 1862-1866, 23 rolls
• M759: Delaware, 1862-1866, 8 rolls
• M760: District of Columbia, 1862-1866, 8 rolls
• M761: Florida, 1865-1866, 1 roll
• M762: Georgia, 1865-1866, 8 rolls
• M763: Idaho, 1865-1866, 1 roll
• M764: Illinois, 1862-1866, 63 rolls
• M765: Indiana, 1862-1866, 42 rolls
• M766: Iowa, 1862-1866, 16 rolls
• M767: Kansas, 1862-1866, 3 rolls
• M768: Kentucky, 1862-1866, 24 rolls
• M769: Louisiana, 1863-1866, 10 rolls
• M770: Maine, 1862-1866, 15 rolls
• M771: Maryland, 1862-1866, 21 rolls
• M773: Michigan, 1862-1866, 15 rolls
• M775: Mississippi, 1865-1866, 3 rolls
• M776: Missouri, 1862-66, 22 rolls
• M777: Montana, 1864-1872, 1 roll
• M779: Nevada, 1863-1866, 2 rolls
• M780: New Hampshire, 1862-1866, 10 rolls
• M603: New Jersey, 1862-1866, rolls 1-17 (with New York)
• M782: New Mexico, 1862-1870, 1 roll
• M603: New York, 1862- 1866, rolls 18-218 (with New Jersey
• M784: North Carolina, 1864-1866, 2 rolls
• M787: Pennsylvania, 1864-1866, 107 rolls
• M788: Rhode Island, 1862-1866, 10 rolls
• M789: South Carolina, 1864-1866, 2 rolls
• M791: Texas, 1865- 1866, 2 rolls
• M792: Vermont, 1862-1866, 7 rolls
• M793: Virginia, 1862-1866, 6 rolls
• M795: West Virginia, 1862- 1866, 4 rolls.

by Juliana Smith, Ancestry newsletter

University Libraries

Investigate the libraries of campii near you. Although university or college library collections are not dedicated to genealogical research, they often contain books, government publications, maps, newspapers, periodicals, and other special collections that may richly reward family historians. Even if your research is not based in that particular area, you may be surprised at the breadth of the materials available. Visit the library's website and explore the catalog and any collection descriptions and research guides that are available.

To learn about their databases, indices, article abstracts, occupation directories, ethnic databases, and other electronic items that might aid in your search or add background to your family history, check the database holdings of college and university libraries. The institution may allow on-site access to non-alumni community members. If you are an alumnus, you are more likely to be able to also gain home computer access to some databases. Access is also governed by the owner of the database, and the subscribing institution must abide by contractual usage limits. While on university websites, browse the Special Collections and Archives sections for a look at the superb holdings in these areas.

Here's a sampling of university library websites:

• St. Cloud State University St. Cloud, Minnesota
• University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming
• West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown
• University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville
• University of California, Berkeley

by Dae Powell

87 Databases at WVR from Genealogical Publishing Company

These databases are excellent resources for people researching immigrants who came to America during its early colonial days and its infancy as a nation. There are also a number of resources for Ireland, Canada, Barbados, Germany and England.

Today, World Vital Records highlights a seven-volume series titled Colonial Families of the United States of America. This series is an excellent resource for people researching families with roots in Colonial America. These volumes list prominent colonial families and outline details including dates and places for births, marriages and deaths as well as derivative family lines. The information included in these volumes can be particularly useful because it can give clues to more primary sources that might be available.

Also included is a three-volume series titled Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. These volumes are particularly interesting because they are a record of the day-to-day happenings of a certain area in Virginia where many Scotch-Irish settled. Within these commonplace occurrences are an extraordinary amount of names that might not be found elsewhere.

by World Vital Records

Delayed Birth Certificates

Many folks born before the advent of birth certificates obtained delayed birth certificates to get Social Security benefits or pensions. One could apply for a delayed certificate by proving one's age with other documents, such as baptismal certificates, signed affidavits, family Bibles or insurance papers. Delayed birth certificates may not be subject to the same privacy restrictions as regular certificates, and you may find them on microfilm. Note: these are usually filed by Delayed Date, not actual Birth Date. Run a keyword search of the Family History Library online catalog for delayed birth certificates to see if there are records for your ancestor's birthplace and time period.

by Dae Powell

Dictionarist is a FREE online talking dictionary which provide translation in 13 languages. This cool language tool translates to and from English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Russian, Turkish, Dutch, Greek, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Give it a try at Dictionarist.

Dictionarist also pronounces the words in all these dictionaries. If you have ever wondered how a German would pronounce the word Gesamtkunstwerk, click the speaker icon next to the word and a German gentleman speaks.

There’s also a dictionary index, which lets you browse the indices for words and phrases. Browsing the English dictionary, you learn that the expression a bolt from the blue translates into Spanish as como un balde de agua fría, which means "like a bucket of cold water."

by Dae Powell