Archives for January 2019

War of 1812 Pension Files recently updated

The War of 1812 Pension Files collection at Fold3.com has recently been updated. You do not need a subscription to Fold3 in order to view the records.

The pension files have now been digitized up to and including most of the letter P.  Pension files can be a valuable source for genealogical information. In 1813 and 1816, Congress approved a military pension for soldiers who served between 1812 and 1815 and suffered a disability or death. In 1871 and 1878, Congress expanded the pensions to include veterans who served at least 14 days in the war or any engagement and to their widows.

A pension can include rank, place of residence, age or date of birth, and time of service. A widow’s application can include her place of residence, her maiden name, date and palce of marriage, circumstances of her husband’s death and names of children under 16.

The collection is organized by state or organization and then by surname. Keep checking back as new records are added on a continuous basis.

To search the collection, go to: https://www.fold3.com/browse/247/h5iT6dgqR

 

Two local genealogy groups to meet Saturday

Two local genealogy groups will be meeting this Saturday, February 2.

The Huntington Historical Society will meet at 11 a.m. at the South Huntington Public Library. This month’s topic will be “Family Treasures”. Various members of the group will bring in family items to share.

For more information, call 631-427-7045.

The DNA Genealogy Group of Long Island will meet at 10 a.m. at the Sachem Public Library. This month’s topic will be “Sex, Lies and DNA” presented by Suzanne Danet.

DNA testing can produce surprises and unearth secrets. Unexpected parent-child relationships may be posted outright by your testing company, but other relationships are harder to identify. What do your matches look like when the secret is further back in your tree? Join us as we explore family mysteries that may be hiding in your matches and discuss ideas for solving them.

For more information, go to the club website at:  https://dggli.wordpress.com/

 

Free genealogy webinar to cover photo organization

Legacy Family Tree Webinars will present “Photo Organizing and Preservation” on Wednesday, January 30 at 2 p.m.

Are you sitting on a pile of old family photographs and wondering what is the best way to preserve them? Do you have boxes of family vacation slides, photo negatives or home movies? Participants will learn the best ways to organize and preserve family photos including outsourcing as well as the DIY approach. Learn quick and easy inventory and organizing tips as well as a strategic plan to get your photo project done.

To register, go to: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6107973303775917570

‘Finding Your Roots’ continues on Tuesday

“Finding Your Roots,” hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., continues on Public Broadcasting System (PBS) on Tuesday, January 29 at 8 p.m.

Jan. 29 – Dreaming of a New Land – Marisa Tomei, Sheryl Sandberg and Kal Penn find out the challenges faced by their immigrant forebears from Italy, Russia and India.

Feb. 5 – Freedom Tales – S. Epatha Merkerson and Michael Strahan both discover unexpected stories that challenge assumptions about black history.

Feb. 12 – Roots in Politics – Politicians Paul Ryan, Tulsi Gabbard and Marco Rubio each see a shared vision of the American melting pot reflected in their ancestors’ stories.

Feb. 19 – No Laughing Matter – Comedians Seth Meyers, Tig Notaro and Sarah Silverman find their family trees are filled with people whose struggles laid the groundwork for their success.

Feb. 26 – Hard Times – Filmmaker Michael Moore and actors Laura Linney and Chloë Sevigny find distant ancestors overcame great hardships in ways that resonate with their lives today.

April 2- The Eye of the Beholder – Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, performance artist Marina Abramović and painter Kehinde Wiley find their identities challenged—and affirmed.

April 9 – All in the Family – This show features actor Ty Burrell, and radio host Joe Madison. Also a look at how a summer camp for children is using genetic genealogy to help young people better understand their identities.

Three local genealogy groups to meet this weekend

Three local genealogy groups will be meeting this weekend.

The Brentwood Genealogists will present “Using Historic Burying Grounds in Genealogical Research” on Saturday, January 26 at 10 a.m. at the Brentwood Public Library.

For more information, go to the library website at:  www.brentwoodnylibrary.org

The Connetquot Public Library will present “Italian Genealogy Q & A” on Saturday, January 26 at 2 p.m. The speaker will be Alec Ferretti.

For more information, contact the library at 631-567-5079.

The Jewish Genealogy Society of Long Island will present “Lost and Found: Where Were the 4000 Members of the Richard Family of Hungary?” on Sunday, January 27 at 2 p.m.  The speaker will be  George Richard.  JGSLI member George Richard has been researching his Reichard family for eight years, creating a family tree that dates back to the 17th century. He’ll describe his experiences, including creative strategies that helped him break through “brick walls,” family myths that have been undone, and successes he has had through collaboration with others who are studying this family.

For more information, go to the club website at:  http://jgsli.org

 

Three free webinars to cover OneNote, Ellis Island and military research

Three free genealogy webinars will be offered this week covering the topics of OneNote, Ellis Island and military research.

Legacy Family Tree webinars will present “Using OneNote with Your Genealogy” on Wednesday, January 23 at 2 p.m. OneNote has been one of Microsoft’s best kept secrets. It is a robust program to use in conjunction with your genealogy management software. Learn how to get the most out of this great note-taking program.

To register for this webinar, go to: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1370867093474011905

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will present “Beyond the Image, Part 2: Documenting the Immigration Stories Behind Augustus Sherman’s Ellis Island Portraits” on Thursday, January 24 at 1 p.m.

Between 1905 and 1925, immigration service employee Augustus Frederick Sherman photographed hundreds of immigrants as they passed through the Ellis Island Immigration Station. Today, Sherman’s portraits serve as some of the most iconic images of American immigration during the Ellis Island years. This webinar will use historical Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) records to document the immigration stories behind some of Sherman’s photos. This webinar will not be recorded.

To attend this webinar, go to: https://www.uscis.gov/HGWebinars and scroll down the page until you see the webinars dates and then click on January 24.

The Utah Genealogical Association will present “Introduction to Military Genealogy Research” on Thursday, January 24 at 8 p.m. Conducting military research can be a challenge for those not familiar with the records, repositories, and the methodology employed to bring out the details of military service. This webinar focuses on the vast number of genealogy records, strategies, and techniques on how these records from the Colonial era through the Vietnam War can be used to discover facts about your ancestor’s life while in service.

To attend this webinar, go to: https://ugagenealogy.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hu_N_48mQn-grW4BSnSsxg

 

‘Finding Your Roots’ continues Tuesday

“Finding Your Roots,” hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., continues on Public Broadcasting System (PBS) on Tuesday, January 22 at 8 p.m.

Jan. 22 – Reporting on the Reporters – Journalists Christiane Amanpour, Ann Curry and Lisa Ling find the stories within their own family trees as compelling as the news stories they have covered.

Jan. 29 – Dreaming of a New Land – Marisa Tomei, Sheryl Sandberg and Kal Penn find out the challenges faced by their immigrant forebears from Italy, Russia and India.

Feb. 5 – Freedom Tales – S. Epatha Merkerson and Michael Strahan both discover unexpected stories that challenge assumptions about black history.

Feb. 12 – Roots in Politics – Politicians Paul Ryan, Tulsi Gabbard and Marco Rubio each see a shared vision of the American melting pot reflected in their ancestors’ stories.

Feb. 19 – No Laughing Matter – Comedians Seth Meyers, Tig Notaro and Sarah Silverman find their family trees are filled with people whose struggles laid the groundwork for their success.

Feb. 26 – Hard Times – Filmmaker Michael Moore and actors Laura Linney and Chloë Sevigny find distant ancestors overcame great hardships in ways that resonate with their lives today.

April 2- The Eye of the Beholder – Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, performance artist Marina Abramović and painter Kehinde Wiley find their identities challenged—and affirmed.

April 9 – All in the Family – This show features actor Ty Burrell, and radio host Joe Madison. Also a look at how a summer camp for children is using genetic genealogy to help young people better understand their identities.

Free access to Swedish records this weekend at ArkivDigital

The Swedish genealogy website ArkivDigital is offering free access to its All-In-One collection this weekend, today through Sunday, Jan. 20

With the six hour time difference, this offer will end at 5:59 p.m. on Sunday (EST).

ArkivDigital’s images include: church books, estate inventories, tax registers, military rolls, passenger ship manifests, aerial photos and more. There are over 81,000,000 images on the site.

You will need to create a free account if you do no have one already.

To get started with the free weekend, go to: https://www.arkivdigital.net/products/adonline/try-for-free

NYS death index recently updated

The New York State Genealogical Research Death Index was updated the beginning of January and now includes deaths up to and including December 31, 1968.

The index starts at 1957. However, the index does not include deaths for the five boroughs of New York City.

The index provides the date of death, gender, age at death, New York State file number and residence code. In order to interpret the residence code number, you must go to the far right of the page and click on the red tab that says About. Scroll down to attachments and open either the third attachment for Out of State codes or the fourth attachment for New York State Gazetteer.

To search the index, go to:
https://health.data.ny.gov/Health/Genealogical-Research-Death-Index-Beginning-1957/vafa-pf2s/data

Irish Family History forum to meet this Saturday

The Irish Family History Forum will meet this Saturday, January 19, at the Bethpage Public Library.

Genealogy Tips and Tricks will take place 10 a.m. with member Kathleen McGee. Ask the Experts will begin at 10:45 a.m. This is a chance to meet one-on-one with an experienced genealogist. The main program will begin at 11:15 a.m.

This month’s program will be “FamilySearch Features, Foibles, Tips and Tricks” presented by Marie Scalisi. Marie, a professional genealogist with more than 30 years experience, will show you how to maximize your use of FamilySearch.  She is also a volunteer at the Family History Center in Plainview.

For more information, go to the club website at:  www.ifhf.org