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How to Locate Australian Wills & Probates

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:58:50 +0000

Wills and probate records are a rich source of genealogical information for anyone researching their family tree. They may name heirs, include locations for these heirs and other relatives, and give us a better picture of our ancestors' lives, including their land and other possessions. In Australia there is no national index or central archive of wills and probate. Instead, you'll find wills and probate registers maintained by each Australian state, generally through the probate registry or probate office of the Supreme Court.

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Pennsylvania Death Index Now Online

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:14:44 +0000

Pennsylvania has long been considered one of the most difficult states for genealogists trying to access older vital records, but a bill signed into law in December 2011 has finally helped us catch up with the times - at least a little. As of 14 February 2012 the PA Division of Vital Records has opened death records older than 50 years and birth records older than 105 years for public access, and put up free online indexes to both record sets to help facilitate access. The free PA birth index only covers the year 1906, as births from 1907 to the present are still covered by privacy laws, and pre-1906 birth records are held by the counties. The free PA death index covers the years 1906-1961. Unfortunately, the new indices are in digitized, PDF format - organized by year and first letter of the surname. At least they are available online! The birth index for 1906 appears to be currently searchable, but be aware that a search does not necessarily pick up all of the names.

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DIY Historical Map Overlays in Google Earth

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:59:56 +0000

Whether you download a historical map from an online digitized collection such as the Warrantee Township Maps available online from the Pennsylvania State Archives, purchase a historical map on CD, or scan one yourself at home, it is really easy to overlay the map on Google Earth and see your ancestor's property as it exists today.

To begin, all you need is a digital map image of some type - saved as an image file. Permissible file types include the most common graphic file types such as JPG, TIFF, GIF, BMP and PNG, as well as PGM, PPM, DDS and TGA. This can be something such as the Pittsburgh Warrantee Township Map that I used here, a land plat you have drawn yourself, or a historical map scanned from an atlas.

If you don't already use Google Earth (not Google Maps as the functionality is different), then you will need to begin by downloading and installing the free Google Earth software, available for both Windows and Mac. Then just open a new file and zoom in to the city or other location where you want to place your map overlay.

Next, click the "Add Image Overlay" icon and browse to the file on your computer that you want to add. When the image displays

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DIY Historical Map Overlays in Google Earth originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at 12:59:56.

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Sign the Petition! Genealogy Community Responds To Efforts To Remove Access to Social Security Death Index and Other Records

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:50:10 +0000

I don't usually post straight press releases, but this one is too important and well-written to not pass along:

RPAC ANNOUNCES STOP ID THEFT NOW! CAMPAIGN WITH WHITE HOUSE PETITION

February 7, 2012- Austin, TX: The Records Preservation & Access Committee (RPAC) - a joint coalition of international genealogical societies representing millions of genealogists and family historians - announces the launch of its Stop ID Theft NOW! campaign with its We The People petition posted at WhiteHouse.gov.

Call To Action For IRS To Do Its Job
Each year, fraudulent tax refund claims based upon identity theft from recently deceased infants and adults are filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The current target is the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) or Death Master File since this file, as found on numerous genealogy-oriented websites, could possibly be the source of identity thieves acquiring a deceased person's Social Security number.

The IRS could close the door to this form of identity theft if, in fact, it were to use the Death Master File for the purpose for which it was created: to reduce fraud. If returns claiming a tax refund were screened against the Master Death File and matching cases identified for special processing, the thief should receive a rejection notice for the filing.

Tax Fraud and Identity Theft: Genealogists Are Not To Blame
The House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Social Security is proposing to completely shut down use of the SSDI by genealogists as well as other industries such as banking and insurance that rely upon its information. Such an attempt is short-sighted and runs counter to the original purpose of the SSDI: to actually combat fraud.

Loss of Access to SSDI Affects More Than Genealogists
The SSDI is accessed by many different companies, non-profits and other entities besides individuals researching their family history.

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Sign the Petition! Genealogy Community Responds To Efforts To Remove Access to Social Security Death Index and Other Records originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at 21:50:10.

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Advocating Records Access - How You Can Help!

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:41:38 +0000

I wrote last week about the very real threat of losing all public access to the Social Security Death Master File, or SSDI. This would be a HUGE loss to anyone researching individuals in the U.S., whether you are researching ancestors, relatives, descendants of recovered military MIAs, missing heirs, etc. That's on top of the enormous threat to identity theft if this public database is no longer freely available to the many small and medium-sized businesses that use the death master file to verify an individual's identity in an effort to prevent fraud.

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Advocating Records Access - How You Can Help! originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 at 11:41:38.

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Cool New FamilySearch Indexing App!

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:05:55 +0000

Yep, FamilySearch Indexing can now follow you everywhere. And guess what? It was out for the Android market first! But FamilySearch was able to quickly get through all of the Apple hoops, and the FamilySearch Indexing app is now also available in the Apple app store for both iPhone and iPad.

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Cool New FamilySearch Indexing App! originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 18:05:55.

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Call to Action - Save the SSDI

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:49:29 +0000

Last month I wrote about several popular genealogy sites being pressured into removing or altering access to the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) through the actions of four Senators in support of a bill by Representative Sam Johnson (R - Texas) to remove all public access to the Death Master File, often referred to as the SSDI. This is an extremely valuable tool for anyone researching 20th century U.S. ancestors, and loss of access would be a huge blow for genealogists.

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Call to Action - Save the SSDI originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 03:49:29.

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RootsTech Live from Home for Free

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:59:14 +0000

The popular RootsTech conference, now in its second year, will once again broadcast a number of its popular sessions over the Internet for those unable to attend the conference in person. These 14 sessions, a large increase over last year's live broadcast sessions, are free for anyone to view over the Internet -- the only caveat is that you have to watch them as they are streamed live during the conference which is being held later this week in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 2-4, 2012.

The free online sessions include

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RootsTech Live from Home for Free originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 12:59:14.

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Search for Sources, Not Just Surnames

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 07:04:57 +0000

Genealogy records and documents are easy to find online, but it is not uncommon for genealogists to overlook unknown resources in favor of sites they use on a regular basis. Even if you keep good notes and try to stay on top of new sites and databases, there are new resources coming online every day -- and not all of them are advertised to the genealogical community (every few weeks I seem to find a new U.S. county has put its deed records online). This is why your search for ancestors should always include a review of known resources and a search for new ones (i.e. explore the website for each of the suggestions on this list!).

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Search for Sources, Not Just Surnames originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at 07:04:57.

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Registration Open Today for the Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research (IGHR)

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:48:34 +0000

It's one of the most popular of the many genealogical education opportunities open to genealogists, and one of the highlights of my year! Registration opens today, Tuesday, January 17, for the 2012 Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research (IGHR) at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. A few of the courses sell out within minutes, and many are closed by the end of the first day of registration, so if you're interested at all in attending I strong suggest you register today.

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Registration Open Today for the Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research (IGHR) originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 at 09:48:34.

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