Friday Tip: Familysearch Learning Center

Familysearch has an incredible number of online courses available for free.  Perhaps you are a newbie genealogist who wants to get started; or you have just found an ancestor from France (or another country), and you want to learn how to research French records; or perhaps a course on a particular type of record --say probate records-- is of interest.  Check out the Learning Center Genealogy Courses at Familysearch.  Have fun learning and searching!

Find your Norwegian Great-Grandmother on your Smartphone

The Norwegian Archives have made an App available for download onto your iPhone or Android.  The App allows you to search for your ancestors in records before 1910.  I tried it and found several ancestors, mostly in the 1910 census.  They are continuing to improve the records available to search with the App.  It is free.  Make sure you try different spellings of the names you search since records vary quite a bit.  Click here.

Finding Ancestors with DIS Gravminner -- A Grave Database

The DIS Gravminner Web site is an excellent database to use when searching for graves in Norway. The database was created to help genealogists find graves, deaths and burial dates of relatives.  They have also been collecting and uploading photographs of the churches and tombstones.  However, some patience is required as there are graveyards that have not been catalogued yet.  I have not been able to research people in Baerum, for example, but I have been able to find records of graves in Østfold.  I have even been able to find records for the graves that no longer exist.  One can find out where the relative was buried and as much information as is known about the grave.  I have to admit, though, that finding out a grave no longer exists is pretty disheartening; but it seems when a grave is old enough and the lease no longer paid, then the grave is removed.  At least I think this is how it works.  Here is an example of a record for the grave of my great-great grandmother Nikoline Andersdatter, married name Hansen.  The grave no longer exists, but I can still obtain this record, which tells me where she was buried and when the grave was removed.  In this case, they must not know what was written on the headstone as there are no birth and death dates listed. 

The site is pretty easy to use.  There is a button to view the site in English.  Click on "Finn Gravplass" or "Choose Cemetery."  You will have to put in the county of interest and then you may search by parish.  Finally, insert the name of the ancestor you are seeking.  Please keep in mind naming practices in Norway.  Also, many graves will use a married name for a female ancestor.  Here is a picture of what the database search page looks like.  As you can see, it is pretty intuitive.

Legacy 7 or Family Tree Maker 2010???

This past Christmas I received TWO genealogy programs -- Family Tree Maker 2010 and Legacy 7.  Which one do I use?

I have a substantial tree online WITH pictures and documents on Ancestry.com.  The reason I liked the FTM software is that it claims I can download what I have online with all the pictures and everything.  I can also integrate with the Ancestry database for searches.  On the other hand, the more I read about how much you can do with Legacy and how versatile it is and intuitive, the more I want to try the Legacy program.  People seem to love Legacy so much more than FTM, and it has received higher ratings in reviews than FTM, but I don't think I can communicate with my online Ancestry tree or searches in the same way.

Anyone have any suggestions or experiences?

My Norwegian Family Web site

I will be going to Norway this summer on a genealogy tour and hunt, and I am very excited to see what I have seen before with new eyes.  I mean now I will know who lived where, whereas before starting on this voyage into the past, I didn't really know the history behind the areas surrounding my grandparents' home.

My goal is to see as many sites of interest as possible this summer and to meet as many relatives as I can.  I want to share my knowledge, pictures, and treasures in return for theirs.  I figured a Web site was essential to spread the word and serve as a point of contact, so I created one... and it is now available to view!  It is simple, mind you, but a good start.  I can always improve it as I go along.  So here it is:

My Norwegian Family Website: click here!

Inter-Library Loan Failure

Well, I tried ILL, but I guess the books I wanted were the "ungettable get."  I ordered several Norwegian Bygdeboks -- books with a wealth of genealogical and historical information -- that I know exist at St. Olaf's University in Minnesota and the University of North Dakota.  I guess they are not sharing!  I will have to try another set of books next.  I will keep you posted....

Photo Restoration

I have many old pictures in need of restoration, so I sent a few to my software engineer husband to see what he could do.  He has been doing image processing for 24 years and decided to get into the picture/photo restoration business.  Here is a picture he fixed for me recently.  More to come!

Agrippina Strano is my maternal great-grandmother.  She was from the Catania area of Sicily, probably Mineo or Palagonia.  I estimate she was born around 1880 and died around 1910.

2010 Resolutions

It has been a busy couple of weeks.  My parents came to visit, and we did some shopping, traveling, and eating!  I have a lot to undo regarding the last item on that list.  However, some genealogy excitement did occur over the holidays.  My father gave me a bowl for Christmas that belonged to my great-great grandmother Hanna Andreasdatter (Haugen).  It is blown glass that looks wavy, beautifully pink, and sits on a silver pedestal. I looked it up and found out it is a Victorian Bride's Bowl.  It was often used for berries or other fruit and was given as a wedding gift, hence the name.  My gg-grandmother married in 1889, so I am guessing the bowl dates back that far.  My mother brought me a few items to scan and maybe hold on to for a while until she misses them -- my Italian grandfather's diary written in 1915; a letter from my great-grandfather to my grandfather, written in 1914; a diary with a play written by my grandfather's aunt while he was in boarding school and that also contains a first draft of a play written by him; and she also brought a few other other things for me to see and photograph.  Another exciting thing that happened during the holidays was that I was asked to write an article for a Norwegian genealogy society magazine.  I worked really hard on this and had my father help me translate it into Norwegian... I think it might come out January 5th or 10th.

So what are my resolutions for 2010?

1) Organize, organize, organize!
2) Get everything into a software program on my computer and keep a copy on Ancestry.com.  Right now, I only have the latter.
3) Scan, scan, scan.  Share, share, share.
4) Finish my genealogy Web site and make it live.
5) Contact as many people related to family history as possible.
6) Clean up the holes on my tree.
7) Order several items from the LDS library for my research.
8) Write more articles.
9) Have my husband restore a few old photos for me.
10) Protect and restore old family history books and items I own. 

I wish everyone a Happy New Genea-Year!

Why Do You Study Genealogy? Pass the Question

Over the summer I did quite a bit of running, fueled by my IPOD and ancestors in my thoughts.  The more I could focus on stories of my past, the farther I ran.  Somehow, knowing the history gave me a reason to keep going. Genealogy and uncovering past lives has given more meaning to my life. 

I truly have come to believe what my byline says:  You don't really know who you are until you know where you've been.  But not everyone feels as I do.  I have relatives who have said, "I don't look at the past, I only look forward."  And, yet, there are millions of people interested in their past.  So, I'm curious... why are you interested?  Is it medical history? Is it curiosity? Is it love for a grandparent and knowing more about her/his history?  Please let me know by posting on your blog.

Here are my reasons:
1) My grandparents lived in Norway and Italy -- far from me.  Although I regularly visited, I always felt there was something missing... something my cousins had that I did not.  I wanted to learn their history and where I really came from.  Through genealogy research, I remember my grandparents and honor their lives. 
2) I love history and the tangents I learn by studying an ancestor.  I have learned about lumber on the Glomma, the soldier's life in Sweden, living in a Salesian college in Sicily.  When someone is born in 1750, I immediately think we were colonies of England at the time.  An ancestor died or was baptized in 1865?  Well, there was the end of the civil war in the U.S.  Historic events give the dates and people I learn about so much more meaning.  And then to unfold a person's life, completely unknown at one point, is like watching a flower blossom from a bud. 
3) I am somewhat of a romantic at heart.  These people lived and loved, and I honor their lives by not forgetting them and bringing them back to life.  Don't we all want to be remembered and feel like our lives had more meaning than our short time on this planet? 
4) There are so many questions I did not get to ask my grandparents, and this is how I know them better and still have conversations with them, though they are now gone.
5) I grew up on Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys.  I still like nothing better than seeking the answers to mysteries.
6) I have made new friends and met new people, some of them relatives I did not know.

Please tell me why you do it!

Me with my Norwegian grandparents.  Do you think the retro-loveseat dates me?

My Italian grandparents together.  I'm not sure, but this was probably taken in Rome in the early 60's.

As Spock likes to say: Live long and prosper. (You have to be a Trekkie to get that, by the way.)

Genealogy Blog Finder

I sent a request to be accepted into the directory of blogs at the Genealogy Blog Finder site. Let's see if this blog is interesting enough to make their list. The site is great for finding information about what is going on in the world of genealogy -- conferences, blogs, information, etc...

http://blogfinder.genealogue.com/

Check it out!

I hope to keep writing the next few days, but I have to fly to Houston for work. So if I am quiet, you will know why.

Tips for Norwegian Genealogical Research

Here are some links for the new genealogist interested in Norwegian ancestry. These links will tell you most of what you need to know.

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~norway/articles.html

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~norway/census_abbreviations.html

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~norway/DigitalArchives.html

Here is the link for the Digital Arkivet site where you can find most of your ancestors' records:

http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/WebFront.exe?slag=vis&tekst=meldingar

Good information about translating the formats of Norwegian parish church records during various time periods, many of the basic terms used, and understanding how to use the information can be studied at this Web site:

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~norway/na20.html

Here is where you can find invaluable information on the Bygdebøker --local history books filled with genealogical information:

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~norway/bygdebok.html

Good luck!

Ancestry (Dot) Com

I have been creating my family tree on Ancestry.com. I do like the interface, and I can load pictures and records. People can also comment when I load something new. However, it dawned on me at one point that all this hard work is being kept on a server somewhere and not on my computer. What if they delete it all one day?

The problem is that I have work computers that I use to log into Ancestry on the weekends and evenings, but I don't have a personal computer where I can actually store my family tree. But as soon as I do, I plan on buying the latest Family Tree Maker 2010 software. Supposedly, it will suck my tree, and all my hard work uploading pictures and records, and save it on my computer. I don't know if this will end up being a dead link soon, but here is the link for the software, so anyone who reads this can see the details:

http://store.ancestry.com/index.aspx?p=4751&sssdmh=dm13.215130&o_iid=39916&o_lid=39916