Genealogy Reviews Online

Mourning the Death of an Old Friend - Rocky Mountain News 1859-2009

This morning when I woke up I was jolted as I started my daily routine.  The Rocky Mountain News, my favorite newspaper (the first I ever read), will cease publication after today's edition.  I knew the end would probably happen soon, but that doesn't lesson the shock at the death of this great institution.  Newspapers all over the country are living on the edge because they just can't seem to figure out how to compete and thrive in the age of the Internet.  I'm afraid many papers like the Rocky will die in the coming years.  I almost feel responsible because I didn't click on any of their advertisements. 

The Rocky and I have been close friends for a long time.  I remember as a young child getting up in the morning and seeing my father sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast and reading the paper.  I would then try to copy him by doing the same thing...thumbing through the paper, but really not having a clue what I was looking at - until I got to the comics of course.  Eventually I actually started to read the articles and was even mentioned in the sports section a couple of times during the fall of 1974 when I played high school football in Denver.

As I went to college and beyond I still couldn't start my day without the good old Rocky Mountain News.  When I joined the Army in 1984 and began my first assignment in Germany, I couldn't live without it and I asked my brother to get a subscription mailed to me.  The papers came about 5 or 6 days late...and usually about 5 or 6 at a time...but I just loved having it with me to read.  I've lived away from Colorado for 25 years now, and I still always start my day by reading the Rocky on the Internet.  Tomorrow will be a tough day with no Rocky Mountain News.  I'll probably read the Denver Post...the last paper standing in the city.  I like it well enough, but we never developed the same kind of relationship.

Rest in peace, my friend. 

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The Great Clandestine Blogger Visit to Salt Lake City

(Update:  Ok, so I just learned there WERE a couple of genealogy events in SLC at the same time as this one...so...I was tracking two separate movements to the same location...one made for a good cover story for the other...hmmm)

No, I wasn't there, and since I don't communicate regularly with many other bloggers, inside information usually never comes my way...but I've had fun connecting dots and analyzing indicators leading up to this secret blogger summit in Salt Lake City.  Please forgive me...my line of work causes me to look at things differently than most - nothing is as it seems and the world is a puzzle just waiting to be solved.  I guess that's why genealogy suits me as a hobby.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the postings of bloggers who attended the secret gathering (Gena-Musings, Dear Myrtle, The Ancestry Insider, and Genealogy Insider), but I knew something was up...just didn't know exactly what.

It all started about a week or so ago on Facebook when someone on my friends list wrote in their status update that they were getting ready to go to Salt Lake City.  This is not unusual among a bunch of genealogists, but when a few others, every-now-and-then, piped up and said the same thing I thought "hmmmm...what's going on here?"  I checked to see if there were any conferences, or any other publicized gathering, but couldn't find any.  Still a few others were briefly discussing their upcoming trips on Facebook, but none of them went into any detail...something I found strange because the genealogy folks on Facebook usually say a lot about everything.

Then Randy Seaver wrote a post about his preparations for a trip Salt Lake City's Family History Library and briefly mentioned an "all-day meeting on Friday."  Ok, here is this chatter on Facebook and now Randy writes about going to Salt Lake City too...this didn't seem like a coincidence to me.  Then a day or so later Dick Eastman said he's going to New Zealand with a "quick trip" to Salt Lake City and no other explanation...he usually gives details about most of his trips.  Something definitely was up. 

I imagine The Generations Network required non-disclosure agreements for those they invited so the secret wouldn't get out too soon.  I should have written about my suspicions before everyone unveiled the purpose of their trips to Salt Lake City...it would have made a fun conspiratorial post...oh well...maybe next time.

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Everyone's Turning 2 This Year

It's strange.  Every time I check my favorite genealogy blogs and websites I learn someone is celebrating their 2 year anniversary.  For some reason, quite a few people decided to create some sort of genealogy presence on the internet during the year 2006.  Most of these folks have been involved in genealogy for years (decades even), but an internet presence is still somewhat new.  I did a little unscientific and unprofessional survey and it appears most of the very active bloggers have been on the scene since 2006 with many of them created in that year...to include mine (of course some did start much earlier). 

Not only was 2006 the year of the blogger, but it was the year of the genealogy content site too.  I believe both World Vital Records and Footnote started in 2006 with a slew of others popping up since then creating some great competition with Ancestry.com - making things better for all of us.  I've just discovered another one was created in 2006 - Roots Television got its start 2 years ago yesterday.  Despite the awards received, I still don't think Roots Television gets the credit it deserves.  What I like best is it's different.  I find it a really refreshing place to visit early on a Saturday or Sunday morning when everyone in the house is asleep and I can just kick back and enjoy some great shows while sipping a hot mug of coffee...as apposed to squeezing the perfect search query out of my little brain, or trying to decipher centuries old handwriting.  Happy birthday Roots Television...I've been a big fan since the beginning!

I wonder what it was about the year 2006 that stimulated all of these creative genealogy juices?

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Weird Genealogy Article in NY Times

I just read a really strange article in the New York Times Magazine about genealogy titled Ancestral Allure. I find it strange because, after reading it twice, I'm not really sure what to make of it.  It could be my intellect (or reading skills) aren't up to the challenge, but it appears to me (my opinion only) to show us genealogy types as a bunch of lemmings following each other around the internet chirping surnames, DNA results and other genealogy related terms at each other.  The author also seems to say genealogists seek online status by ever-increasing frankness in their "personal Web dairies"...whatever that means.  She ends the article discussing her vast genealogy experience (sarcasm intended) where she searched for her grandfather on a forum and was excited to find someone looking for the exact same person.  She later realized the person she was corresponding with was her father.  I actually find this kind of "drive-by genealogy" article interesting and amusing.  Why do people have to read so much into an activity instead of just taking it at face value...to me genealogy is just an activity I do because I'm interested and enjoy it.  For me it's not really much deeper than that.  Of course if I totally mis-read the article...never mind.

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Immigration from a Genealogy Perspective

Immigration Records

I've been rolling this topic around in my head for a long time, and finally decided my thoughts were mature enough to put them into print.  Immigration is one of those "hot button" issues everyone has an opinion on. However, I think most are only looking at the short term consequences and not the long term potential impact on our country over the course of several generations.  Some will say this long term impact will be bad, but I think that opinion is based on the emotion of the present, and not the facts involving how past immigration has effected our country.  Everyone accepts we are a nation of immigrants, but most seem to forget that every wave has gone through the same acceptance problems involving the dire warnings of disaster newcomers are facing today.  We've been through this problem multiple times in the past and if we thought about the actual impact, instead of looking at the short-term predictions, we'd probably find the correct solution.

Immigration Twilight Zone

Immigration Records

The issue of immigration really interests me because I'm the grandson of an Italian immigrant who was probably also in the US illegally.  I read all the time where people say they have no problem with immigrants, it's the people that come here illegally that are the problem (I actually think the unspoken "problem" is most of the immigrants are Hispanic...legal/illegal has nothing to do with it...it's the same as the way people thought about my grandfather, back in the early 1900s, who was an olive skinned guy who spoke a strange language and had strange customs.)  This column, by Diane Carman of the Denver Post, highlights the idiocy of the legal verses illegal debate through a weird twilight zone experience of a US citizen husband and a British citizen wife.  My favorite part of the column is where she calls congress "cowards" for failing to pass an immigration reform bill - I happen to think all politicians are cowards, but that's just my cynical side peeking through.  I'm still working on a post I've titled "Immigration from a Genealogy Point of View," but I've discovered it's a complex topic that is hard to wrap my arms around - I'm getting there though.

Tribute to a Medal of Honor Recipient from the Viet Nam War

Since this is Memorial Day weekend, I think it's fitting to write a few articles to honor those who served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.   War is a messy business full of terror, horrible sights, sorrow, pain, and extreme hardships.  The fact that there are people who can rise above these experiences, and function rationally in an irrational environment never ceases to amaze me.  First Sergeant Max Yabes was one of those people.  On February 26, 1967, First Sergeant Yabes faced the ultimate challenge, and while he lost his life on that day, his clear head and unselfishness saved the lives of many of his fellow Soldiers.  This American hero was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions, but I bet if he survived he would have said he was just doing his job - and that's what most Soldiers, past and present, would say.

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FamilySearch Partnership Announcement Fatigue

I'm tired.  All of these announcements of partnerships with FamilySearch are putting me to sleep.  It's not because of lack of interest, but because I have too much interest.  I pour over each announcement, like I'm reading a legal contract, trying to understand what this means to genealogy - and that leads to the fatigue part.  The problem is that they all sound the same to me.  All you have to do is substitute one company name with another and the announcements say the same thing.   It looks like FamilySearch is partnering with everyone - Footnote, World Vital Records, Walmart, ToysRus (I hear the genealogy action figure will be the big hit for Christmas).  The one company missing from the mix, besides Victoria's Secret, is Ancestry.com - What's that all about?  I think the partnerships are just great.  I love the talk of 40, 60, 80 billion records online, but I just want it to happen in my lifetime - at least before I'm too old to care.  The announcements are nice, but show me the records!

Virginia Tech Tragedy - Blame Game Beginning

For the past two days I've attempted to do genealogy research and blogging, but nothing seems important compared to this tragedy the nation is focused on right now.  I figured I would discuss some of my thoughts on this horrible event then hopefully get back on topic.  Right now I'm getting bothered by the blame-game that's beginning to take root.  Since hindsight is 20/20, it's easy to say things like the police were too slow in responding; Virginia Tech didn't do enough to warn of the impending disaster - both before and following the first two murders; the  local mental health community should have seen that this guy was a danger and kept him off the streets; the gun shop didn't do enough to keep the weapons out of his hands; I've even seen "talking heads" say that fellow students and faculty didn't do enough.  Everyone he came into contact with noticed how deeply disturbed he was, and some even took the step to report his behavior to various authorities.  Other then report him, what more could anyone have done? 

It's All in the Name

I was cruising the genealogy blogs I regularly visit and settled down to read Craig Manson's GeneaBlogie as I usually do.  The post I read first was a list of blogs he's been looking at lately and all of a sudden I find mine is listed!  I'm very appreciative that my humble effort is even mentioned among the genealogy blogs that he shared with us.  However, as I kept looking at Craig's list, all of a sudden I realized how boring and unimaginative the name of my blog is.  I mean just look at how cool some of these names are on his list - Ancestories, Rootdig, Kinexxions, Apple's Tree, and Untangled Family Roots.  Then there are the simple, but elegant names - Family Matters, Our Family History, and Taneya's Genealogy Blog...then there's mine...I'm feeling a bit self-conscious now so decided to punish myself even more...   

My Kids and Family History

I think I've finally found someone to continue my genealogy obsession when I pass on - my 2 kids.  Now they are only 10 years old (I have boy-girl twins), but they recently had a reason to become interested in their family's history.  My kids are in the 5th grade, and one of their assignments last fall in Social Studies was to put together a report on their family's heritage.   In the report, they were required to not only talk about where their family came from, but to also discuss the country, it's history and culture.  I was thrilled with this assignment because I've discovered, and my kids have too, that I'm not much help at 5th grade math...there's finally a subject I can actually help them with!

Being Thankful for Good Genes

A few weeks ago Randy Seaver, who writes the Gena-Musings blog, did a piece on family health history.  The Department of Health and Human Services has a site where you can create a family health portrait online.  This allows you to look for types of health issues that may run in your family.   As I was loading my family members into the website, I discovered an interesting thing - a lot of people in my family who died within the last 10 years lived into their 80s and 90s.  I decided to do a little (non-scientific) experiment.  I wanted to look at both my paternal and maternal lines and record my ancestor's age at death as far back as I could go.  I then wanted to analyze these numbers and see if I could draw any conclusion from them.