"Back to the Future!" (67 Days to 1940) - Revised

* [See revision at bottom of this blog.]

Ancestry.com is a paid online service, but offers a lot for the money... I nor TSGS endorses this commercial service. I wonder if I should have called this "Forward to the Past!" Anyhow, I just wanted to share with our readers the chart below from their web site.

Ancestry is also featuring a countdown to the official release of the 1940 U.S. Federal Census... only 67 days to go! The census will be released on 02 Apr 2012.

Ancestry is working with NBC to provide season 3 of "Who Do You Think You Are" beginning Friday Feb. 3rd 8/7c.

* Don Counts sent me this link http://the1940census.com/ that includes lots of good info about the census and an opportunity for genealogical societies like TSGS to help with the indexing project: http://the1940census.com/society/

"Who Do You Think You Are? - Review"

'


Kim Cattrall is like many people who may not be interested in following their ancestry back to the Civil War or Revolutionary War, but rather want to know about one person in the family. Usually it is a mystery or has been a family secret. In Kim's case it was a mystery of 70 years ago when her grandfather abandoned his wife & three daughters. Kim's mother was the oldest daughter at age 8. They never saw or heard of him again. They did not even really know what he looked like. The 25 Feb 2011 episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" NBC TV show was one of the best in my opinion and Kim used a lot of genealogical methods to track down her missing grandfather.

Kim found that her grandfather married another woman less than one year after he had left his family. From this she was able to use city directories and church records to find where he had gone & to track down some living children of the second marriage. This was a very sad story as Kim's family lived a very rough childhood, while her grandfather & his second family lived quite well.

My wife had a mystery that plagued her all of her life, but when she was 42 years of age, we found her birth parents' names and found them in Evansville city directories the year of her birth. Then we simply followed them back until her father was living without his wife. Then we looked for a marriage application and found it that provided her maiden name with his & her parents' names. Then we checked the Browning Obituary microfilm for deaths and found both of her parents listing their surviving children. Back to the city directories tracking down my wife's siblings... then we made a phone call and connected with all of her sisters & brothers. From her siblings (all older than her, she was the baby of 7 kids) she learned of the circumstances of her adoption! What she wanted to know her entire life was now known.

If you missed this episode or any of the others of season one or two, go to NBC.com to view the entire episodes.

- Review written by JGWest

"Kim Cattrall - Who Do You Think You Are? TV Show"

'

Tonight... Kim Cattrall stars

in "Who Do You Think You Are" NBC TV Show 8/7C.

Kim unlocks the 70-year-old mystery behind her grandfather's abandonment of his young family. This should be another interesting episode. These shows are great genealogical adventures, that shows a little of how to research and how the information is gathered. If you miss an episode, you can go to NBC.com to see full episodes for this season, as well as, season one.

RACING DOWN the RIVER -Brief Genealogical Notes

'
From Peggy Newton (Willard Library Staff): "The link is http://www.willard.lib.in.us/> Go to 'Tri-State Genealogical Society' on the lefthand-side list, click, then go to bottom of page. The newsletter should download as pdf file." Great newsletter written/edited by Peggy. Great job, Peggy. The current issue mentions: " What’s new…New Computers & Microfilm Scanners. You may have noticed some changes on our floor. We’ve recently purchased two new computers and two new Canon 300 ii microfilm readers/scanners.There should be fewer mechanical breakdowns and interruptions due to refilling paper or toner. If you haven’t tried using the new readers, don’t let them intimidate you. One of our staff members will be happy to show you how they work." I used the new system today and they were great; and, as Peggy reported, the staff was happy to teach me how to use it... if I can do it anyone can. Poor Vannetta was stuck with having to teach me... she is patient and a good teacher!

From the Hart County Kentucky Genealogy Interest Group (powered by MyFamily.com)... Ruth Rogers passed along an interesting site that works like wikipedia--but is for genealogy! The site is called Encyclopedia of Genealogy, a free-content encyclopedia created by its readers. The Encyclopedia of Genealogy is available to everyone, free of charge. Everyone can also contribute information. Check it out: http://www.eogen.com/

From Pat Sides (Willard Library Staff): "You are invited to attend author Harold Morgan's program Evansville and the Tri-State after the Civil War on Thursday, February 24, at 6:00 p.m. This is the fourth installment in his Home Town History series. Mr. Morgan will survey Evansville's prosperity in the post-war years that catapulted the Tri-State area into the global market, in large part due to its hardwood/furniture industries, among others. Reservations are appreciated. For more information, or to register, go to:
http://www.willard.lib.in.us/calendar_of_events/event_details.php?eventID=433

Last night's NBC TV show "Who Do You Think You Are?" with Rosie O'Donnell was quite interesting. She followed her Murtagh family back to Ireland and learned of her family's suffering during the potato famine. At the very end she and her brother walk into an Irish pup in Ireland "Murtagh's Corner!" If you missed this episode or one of the previous two, you can watch them in full at: http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/

"Who Do You Think You Are?" NBC TV Series

'

Rosie O'Donnell is featured tonight 8/7c

Friday is "Who Do You Think You Are?" NBC TV night. Taste o' thee Irish! She stated in one of the previews that *this [researching & finding her family] was not as easy as it looks on TV!* I was glad to hear that statement said as it seems so easy on the shows. This show is well worth watching by beginners in family curiosity to the experienced, advanced genealogical researcher.

"Episode 2 'Who Do You Think You Are?' Season 2"

'
Tim McGraw

When Tim found his Birth Certificate, he discovered that the man he called "Dad" was not his father after all! The country music superstar uncovers his father's heritage among the Founding Fathers. The show is on NBC tomorrow night (Friday, 11 Feb 2011).

As genealogical researchers, we teach others to look for primary records and to cite your findings about that person. We tell you to do that so you & others will be able to verify your proof of relationships in your family history. We always say: "Start with yourself and work back into time!" This episode with Tim McGraw illustrates the reason to start with yourself. You may not discover that one or both of your parents are not blood parents, but you may discover that they used different names for you or for themselves. My wife discovered that her birth certificate had the correct day & month, but had the year of her adoption instead of her birth year! When they typed up the birth certificate after she was adopted the typist carelessly put the current year and recorded it in the local county registry! We were getting our marriage license to get married. Becky was 19 years old, but the "new" birth certificate showed her as only being 17... and she would have to obtain both of her parents permission to marry. Without going into a lot of details, we got proof of her actual birth year and the wedding was on! I just demonstrated two examples of why you need to start with yourself and work backwards.

- Preview by JGWest

"First TV Episode to Feature the Civil War"

'

"Who Do you Think You Are?"
is in its 2nd. season on NBC TV starting this Friday 04 Feb 2011. The first episode will feature Vanessa Williams researching her ancestor, David Carll, a Civil War soldier. She will find his grave near her father's that will look very similar to my Great Grandfather's marker below. James Tobias Long (Jr.) has a typical Civil War marker. Usually without dates... he was born 17 Oct 1846 (Hart Co., KY) & died 12 Mar 1930 (Owensboro, KY).

[Click on images to enlarge]

Below is a photo of JT long taken about 1900.
I am very pleased to have a copy of James T. Long' honorable discharge!

I am excited to see the show on Friday night to learn more about this African-American Union soldier of the Civil War.

- Compiled by JGWest

"Ancestry.com Sponsors TV Contest"

'

You could win a $20,000...

...journey to your family's homeland.

Ancestry.com is partnering with NBC to help celebrities discover their family stories in Season 2 of Who Do You Think You Are? airing on Friday nights beginning on 04 Feb (8/7c). Ancestry is giving you a chance to win an amazing experience of your own.

It is called

The Ultimate

Family History Journey

Sweepstakes!

The Grand Prize includes $20,000 in travel money, plus:
Up to 8 hours of consultation time with an expert genealogist
Help from up to 5 experts in fields relevant to your family history
A yearlong Ancestry.com World Deluxe membership for you and 5 family members

20 First Prize winners will get an annual Ancestry.com World Deluxe membership

For additional chances to win, come back to Ancestry.com and enter once a day through April 8, 2011 for more chances to win.