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AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors

Welcome to my blog about my genealogical research: my triumphs, my challenges, my research notes...plus some tips and links for you.

Wordless Wednesday: Midkiff Road (Thanks, Julie!)Yesterday

Source: Midkiff Road Sign, Interstate 20, Midland, Texas. Photographed by Julie Cahill Tarr. Digital copy privately held by Miriam Robbins Midkiff, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington. 2009.

Tuesday's Tip: Getting More Traffic to Your Blog, Part OneJanuary 6

I'm going to deviate from tips about doing genealogical research or organizing genealogical files and address a topic that I think will be of use especially to new genea-bloggers. There are many new bloggers out there who've decided to start blogging, perhaps as a New Year's resolution or after family gatherings during the holidays have prompted them to take genealogy to a new level. The focus of these tips could also be directed at those who have been blogging awhile, but for one reason or another are in the background, not getting much reader traffic to their site. And I know there are always "oldies" who may have not considered some of the following points.

Wouldn't you like to see more people visit your blog? Wouldn't you like to have a distant cousin find your blog and leave a comment so that you can share research or break down a brick wall? Wouldn't you like to have someone more knowledgeable about genealogical resources in your ancestral locations tell you about a wonderful repository (online or off) that could end up being a mother lode of family history treasure? Of course you would! But you must get readers to your blog!

I would like to preface my tips with a little walk back in time. Several years ago, I decided that I wanted to blog about genealogy. I had a genealogy website, but it took up quite a bit of time to update information and create pages for the different ancestors that I wanted to highlight. Bravejournal was m

FamilySearch Indexing Update: New International and State Census ProjectsJanuary 5

New International Projects/Two New Languages
Several new international projects were added to the list of active FamilySearch indexing projects (see chart below).There is now a need for volunteers with an interest in or knowledge of the new Norwegian and Russian records—Norway 1875 Census and Ukraine Kyiv 1840–1842.
The indexing program’s interfaces have not been translated into Norwegian and Russian yet; however, the instructions for the Ukrainian project are available in Russian and English.

State Censuses
New state census projects were added for Florida (1885 and 1935) and Massachusetts (1855 and 1865). Additional online volunteers are always needed. Patrons or indexers are encouraged to forward these updates to anyone they feel will be interested in helping to index the current projects. New volunteers can register quickly online at www.familysearchindexing.org.

Current Projects, Record Language, and Percent Completion Status
Argentina Censo 1869 - Buenos Aires 2
Spanish
42%

Argentina Censo 1869 - Cordoba y San Luis
Spanish
30%

Arkansas Marriages [Part 1]
English
74%

Arkansas Marriages – Part 3
English
8%

Arkansas Marriages IV
English
12%

Belgique – Registres Des Décès (Français)
French
14%

België - Overli

Who Are Our Brickwall Ancestors, and Why Aren't We Blogging About Them Regularly?January 5

Tombstone Tuesday. Wordless Wednesday. The carnivals. Memes and challenges. As a group, we Genea-Bloggers are pretty good about posting our ancestral stories and photographs on a regular basis. BUT...why aren't we blogging on a regular basis about our brickwall ancestors?

Oh, I realize that many of us have mentioned them in passing. We'll write about someone and say "He/she is my brickwall ancestor," but we won't give very many details.

What if we were to blog about them on a regular basis? Maybe not every week, like Tombstone Tuesday or Wordless Wednesday, but once or twice a month. Not in carnival style, because that would mean a lot of work for one person to put it all together. We wouldn't have to designate a certain day of the week or date of the month. It would just be nice if we could all commit to writing a detailed post once or twice a month about a brick wall ancestor, and include the following:

1. A title of "My Brickwall Ancestor: [Name], [dates, if known]"

2. List what we want to know: "I want to discover solid evidence of who Levi E. McCLELLAN's parents and siblings were, and when and where he died and was buried."

3. A chronological list (timeline) of known information. For instance:

1850 Federal Census - living in China Twp., St. Clair Co., Michigan as the head of the household. Levi "McCLENAN," age 27, la

FamilySearch Record Search Update: Four Million New Records AddedJanuary 5

FamilySearch added about 4 million new records to its Record Search pilot over the holidays. Patrons will find records from Brazil, Hungary, Czech Republic, Southern Bohemia, Třeboň, West Virginia, and the much anticipated Indian Territory records from the 1900 U.S. Census. See the chart below for more details. The new records can be searched for free at FamilySearch.org (Click Search Records, then Record Search pilot).

Collection Name: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro Civil Registration
Indexed Records: ---
Digital Images: 1,291,670
Comments: Updated – New localities added to browse

Collection Name: Hungary Funeral Notices
Indexed Records: ---
Digital Images: 539,096
Comments: New

Collection Name: Czech Republic, Southern Bohemia, Třeboň Archive Church Books
Indexed Records: ---
Digital Images: 24,835
Comments: New

Collection Name: Arizona Death Certificates
Indexed Records: 265,726
Digital Images: 264,534
Comments: New

Collection Name: West Virginia Births
Indexed Records: 242,781
Digital Images: ---
Comments: Ten new counties added

Collection Name: West Virginia Deaths
Indexed Records: 402,154
Digital Images: ---
Comments: Ten new counties added

Collection Name: West Virginia Marriages
Indexed Records: 393,867
Digital Images: ---
Comments: Ten new counti