FREE WEEKLY GENEALOGY NEWSLETTER
Brenda Kellow
June 19, 2011
The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) offers a free online subscription to Weekly Genealogist electronic newsletter. The editors are Michael J. Leclerc and Valerie Beaudrault. My invitation said there are articles and features from the quarterly member magazine American Ancestors. The information covers New England ancestors as well as those from New York and beyond. The weekly electronic newsletter contains the latest information about NEHGS and the greater genealogical community including periodic emails specific to your interests, updates, helpful information, research tips, articles, unique databases and access to their expert staff.
The free registration also gives free access to important databases such as: Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850; Irish Immigrant Missing Friends Advertisements 1831-1920; Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati; Social Security Death Index; Index of Revolutionary War Pensioners; Gloucester, Massachusetts Burials; New England Ancestors Magazine; New York Wills 1626-1836; and Massachusetts Genealogies of the Ware Family.
After registering, I accessed the site and under “What’s New”, I selected Daily Genealogist. Editor Michael J. Leclerc addressed the topic of name changes of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. He pontificates that the names were not changed entering Ellis Island [or Castle Island] because they had to exit the ship with the same name they entered it. He goes on to say ancestors may have gone from their country of origin into England where they changed their name or perhaps the spelling changed before boarding the ship. He goes on to list the reasons for this siting as one example the Russian Jews escaping the massacres may have taken an American name. They might have changed their names only after arriving here. Still another reason might be the widespread literacy problem causing misspelling their names. It was interesting to follow his directive and search Google for “myth of name changed at Ellis Island.”
After studying Leclerc’s take on name changes, I decided he did not factor in human error at either the embarkation port or the port of arrival, or an unexpected chance opportunity to spell the name differently or to change it altogether. Although rare, these are a possibility. Never say never! Remember, there was no photo ID back then as we have today.
I was pleased to read in the privacy statement that they do not sell, rent, or give out subscribers’ names or addresses. Also, at the bottom of each newsletter is a link to unsubscribe quickly and easily.
To register online to receive the free Weekly Genealogist newsletters go to the site American Ancestors, www.americanancestors.org. Registration is easy. They ask for your first and last name, email address and a password.
GENEALOGY APPS FOR YOUR iPHONE and iPOD: For users of Legacy Family Tree genealogy database software from Millennia Corporation, you have an app for keeping track of your family history. For a nominal price, you can download Families and install a GEDCOM file of your ancestors. I downloaded it and transferred my database into it. The only problem I encountered was due to my limited knowledge of downloading from iTunes. It works. Now I don’t have to carry around my net book or Palm Pilot to check my database. Moreover, I can take pictures of tombstones and upload the pictures immediately, then synchronize it with the file on my PC. I loved using it on my recent trek through Georgia and Florida. See it at www.telgen.co.uk/families/.
Shrubs is free but only handles up to 4 GB upload. FamViewer is free and lets you view an ancestor tree of eight generations. GedView is inexpensive, but it seems to have a couple of problems, therefore check it out before you download it. The longtime popular Reunion is available for a small fee. Unfortunately, it only operates with Macintosh. Reviews of purchasers of Mobile Family Tree reported having problems with bugs, interface issues and incorrect instructions. Family Tracker is not free and reportedly has a battery drain problem. The free Billion Graves app lets you collect photos, transcribe tombstone information and search for graves. Download all apps from the iTUNES store.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].
The free registration also gives free access to important databases such as: Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850; Irish Immigrant Missing Friends Advertisements 1831-1920; Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati; Social Security Death Index; Index of Revolutionary War Pensioners; Gloucester, Massachusetts Burials; New England Ancestors Magazine; New York Wills 1626-1836; and Massachusetts Genealogies of the Ware Family.
After registering, I accessed the site and under “What’s New”, I selected Daily Genealogist. Editor Michael J. Leclerc addressed the topic of name changes of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. He pontificates that the names were not changed entering Ellis Island [or Castle Island] because they had to exit the ship with the same name they entered it. He goes on to say ancestors may have gone from their country of origin into England where they changed their name or perhaps the spelling changed before boarding the ship. He goes on to list the reasons for this siting as one example the Russian Jews escaping the massacres may have taken an American name. They might have changed their names only after arriving here. Still another reason might be the widespread literacy problem causing misspelling their names. It was interesting to follow his directive and search Google for “myth of name changed at Ellis Island.”
After studying Leclerc’s take on name changes, I decided he did not factor in human error at either the embarkation port or the port of arrival, or an unexpected chance opportunity to spell the name differently or to change it altogether. Although rare, these are a possibility. Never say never! Remember, there was no photo ID back then as we have today.
I was pleased to read in the privacy statement that they do not sell, rent, or give out subscribers’ names or addresses. Also, at the bottom of each newsletter is a link to unsubscribe quickly and easily.
To register online to receive the free Weekly Genealogist newsletters go to the site American Ancestors, www.americanancestors.org. Registration is easy. They ask for your first and last name, email address and a password.
GENEALOGY APPS FOR YOUR iPHONE and iPOD: For users of Legacy Family Tree genealogy database software from Millennia Corporation, you have an app for keeping track of your family history. For a nominal price, you can download Families and install a GEDCOM file of your ancestors. I downloaded it and transferred my database into it. The only problem I encountered was due to my limited knowledge of downloading from iTunes. It works. Now I don’t have to carry around my net book or Palm Pilot to check my database. Moreover, I can take pictures of tombstones and upload the pictures immediately, then synchronize it with the file on my PC. I loved using it on my recent trek through Georgia and Florida. See it at www.telgen.co.uk/families/.
Shrubs is free but only handles up to 4 GB upload. FamViewer is free and lets you view an ancestor tree of eight generations. GedView is inexpensive, but it seems to have a couple of problems, therefore check it out before you download it. The longtime popular Reunion is available for a small fee. Unfortunately, it only operates with Macintosh. Reviews of purchasers of Mobile Family Tree reported having problems with bugs, interface issues and incorrect instructions. Family Tracker is not free and reportedly has a battery drain problem. The free Billion Graves app lets you collect photos, transcribe tombstone information and search for graves. Download all apps from the iTUNES store.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].