#GiveThanks - What I'm Thankful For

As we come up to the Thanksgiving holiday we have been asked to flood our social media with the things we are thankful for and use the #givethanks hashtag. Many of us have had losses of friends and/or family members or faced other adversity this year but we all have a lot to be thankful for even in this time of uncertainty and COVID-19. We need to remember the things that we are thankful for and let those lead us through our life.

I have many things to be thankful for: my family, my health, having a home to live in (even though some of it is torn up now due to the burst pipes we had over the summer), and of course everything I do in family history research - being able to research my ancestors, learn about their lives and difficulties, and my ability to reach out to others through various programs and by speaking around the country virtually at this time. 

Did you know that this blog started 12 years ago yesterday? During that time I have written over 150 posts and hopefully helped others find resources to help them in their research. I am not the most prolific writer but I do enjoy doing it when I have the time and feel inspired. I am thankful for those who have been following me from the start including Becky Jamison and Thomas MacEntee who were the first people to comment on my first post back in 2008.

So much has changed since 2008. My first couple posts were about planning a family reunion on a budget, a ward service project that I helped organize, newspaper collections from Australia and New Zealand, and the National Day of Listening. It is always interesting to see where we started in our blogs. I seem to recall Becky Jamison mentioning once after she posted a new blog post that she realized she had already done a very similar story a few years earlier. I know I have probably done the same thing over the years.

After reading through some of my early blogs, I wanted to follow up on my 2008 post about the National Day of Listening. National Day of Listening is celebrated the day after Thanksgiving and was started in 2008. The intent is for each of us to spend some time listening to the stories of others so we can understand more about those around us. Story Corps has provided a great website and tools to help you listen and record the stories of your family, friends, and neighbors. 

Following up on the National Day of Listening, one of the projects that I have helped to develop this year is the creation of a youth family history workshop which will be held during the Christmas holiday. This initiative is part of the Indian River Genealogical Society's community outreach plan and will be kicking off this year. We are inviting youth, aged 12-18, to join us in learning more about their family's history and the history of others in their community. The workshop will be held remotely by Zoom. We have pre-workshop activities including scavenger hunts and escape rooms similar to those that I developed earlier this year, short lessons on researching the census and newspapers, and group discussions where they can share their discoveries. Our first events will be held in cooperation with the Laura Riding Jackson Foundation's Teens Listen Project. The Teens Listen Project engages youth in the community in developing their interviewing and listening skills while recording the stories of members of their community.  They will be interviewing the pioneers of our area, veterans, "river folk", and others to preserve their stories. We will be working with these same youth to help them discover some of the back story through various records before they perform their interviews, so they will be prepared and have specific researched information to use in their interviews.

It has always been my intention to give back to the community, whether that be through this blog, my family history activities, my daily life, or in my career where I supervise an incredible team of dedicated scientists working to restore the Everglades ecosystem. I hope that each of us takes the time to pay it forward and do something nice for someone.

Now, for one additional thing that I am thankful for....Hulu has brought back the Animaniacs after 22 
years. They went off the air at the end of the last century (1998). What I love most about the Animaniacs is their satirical way of looking at the events in our world. It is fun for children since they like the surface level slapstick comedy but adults will get the deeper meanings of the stories. Last night we started our marathon viewing of the new season but we still have several more episodes to complete for this season. Guess what I will be doing this afternoon.

Have fun, take some time to enjoy life and your family, and most of all relax and find pleasure in the things around you. Have a great Thanksgiving!

Giving Back to Your Community Through Family History

 As family historians, much of our work is to record the history of our families and try to tell the stories of our ancestors. Some of us have specialized in specific parts of our research such as DNA, photographs, or home histories. Through all of our research we have found new cousins who are thankful for the work that we have done recording these stories. But much of the information we use originates as a result of work by others. Those people, the ones who do indexing, record burial places, and provide access to the various records that we use, are the angels that we don't always recognize. There are many ways that we can give back to our community through participating in the preservation of information and making it available to others. I have participated in many of these projects and have created a few of my own over the years.

Some of the easiest projects to find are indexing or transcription of records. There are many indexing projects available online and with the isolation and closure of many repositories due to COVID-19, many more are making their records available to indexers. Here are just a few examples:

FamilySearch Indexing is the standard for indexing records. FamilySearch has a wide variety of records available for indexing in many different languages. They really need your help if you are able to read other languages. There are several interesting projects available which you can participate in. This year is the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote in the United States. As part of this centennial event, FamilySearch is providing more voting records that need indexing. Additionally, they have released a large number of city directories from around the US. Some of these city directories have up to 300 names per page. FamilySearch Indexing allows you to create groups where you can work with your genealogical society, church group, or any other organization to index records together. All of the records indexed on FamilySearch are freely available to researchers.

Zooniverse is a crowd sourcing platform where organizations and researchers can place their projects for citizen volunteers to participate in. There are a variety of projects posted there including some record indexing projects. One indexing project that they are hosting is the American World War I Burial Cards Project. This project helps to record the burial locations of over 78,000 American soldiers from WW I. The Every Name Counts Project is an attempt to record the names of the millions of people who were held prisoner or killed in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II. The ANZACS Project works to record the stories of the men and women from New Zealand who served during WW I. Another project, the Criminal Characters Project, tells the story of the English criminals who were sent to Australia as punishment.

This period of social distancing has also made archives rethink their operating plans. Many archives have allowed their staff to work from home digitizing documents and preparing them for online access. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has a Citizen Archivist Project where the public can help transcribe some of the many records held by the archive.

The Library and Archives of Canada has a similar project where volunteers can help record information so other researchers can use that information to discover their ancestor's stories.

Many states have also provided projects for volunteers to help record information. The Ohio Memory Project has their Ohio Memory Transcriptions Project where volunteers can work on several projects including the Toledoans in WW II, the Warren G. Harding Collection, and the Ohio History Collection. Search for your state to see if they also have projects.

We all need time outside to get exercise and just relax. Many of us have participated in FindAGrave and BillionGraves projects over the years. Both of these have their own mobile apps: FindAGrave app, BillionGraves app. You can see which cemeteries in your area still need burials recorded and spend a few hours in the fresh air, getting some exercise, and helping others find information on their ancestors.

BYU Linking Labs also has a variety of projects. These projects are developed by students at BYU to test many of the most advanced technologies such as handwriting recognition software. Assisting with these projects not only helps index records but is also used to develop more accurate computer algorithms. A list of their projects can be found on their Projects Page. Their African-American Families and Customized Geo Hints Projects allow you to search in a specific area or surname and attach records to their families in FamilySearch. The Automated Indexing Project uses a computer algorithm to select similar information such as surnames or cause of death. This is an easy way to index records by selecting choices that match the record you see on the screen and letting the computer program know if any of the words are not correctly matched.

There are also projects that individuals are working on to make more records available. The Family Bible Preservation Project is one such project. This project has over 5,000 pages, many of them from family bibles, which have been digitized and saved to FamilySearch Memories. Volunteers can select pages and attach them to the people on FamilySearch. Many of these family bibles have been separated from their families and found in various places such as online auctions, flea markets, antique shops, and yard sales. Without this project, many of these families would never know that there was a family bible with their ancestor's information.

You can even start your own projects. Over the years, I have purchased old photographs at antique sales and have attached them to their records in FamilySearch. Imagine doing your research and finding a picture of your great-great grandmother already attached to her profile. My current project is reading the stories in my hometown newspaper and connecting them to people from the community. My current focus is connecting stories about individuals during WW II. Some of these stories are about furlough visits, their letters, injuries, or missing or killed in action.

All of these activities are available for volunteers to participate in to make more records available to researchers. I don't always have time to contribute to these projects but last month I was able to index over 1,000 records for FamilySearch. Even if you only have a few minutes to participate in these projects, the records you contribute could be the one that someone has been looking for to break down their brick wall.

Virtual Family History Escape Rooms

Hello everyone. We have been preparing for Hurricane Isaias this weekend and now it is a tropical storm. So what do you do when you are waiting on a storm that doesn't come? You catch up on some projects that you have been planning on doing for a few months.

You might have noticed the series of Family History Scavenger Hunts that I included here during June. Since then I had been wanting to do some family history themed virtual escape rooms. So, yesterday and today I wrote up the first two. The links are posted below. Each of these escape rooms lead you to discover facts about an individual through searches in various records. Correct and incorrect answers take you down different paths and some may result in the end of the game. The ultimate goal is to escape the game by answering as many questions correctly as you can. 

As I develop more virtual escape rooms I will add them below.

• The Life of Raymond Bernard Westerheide

• A Trek Across the Country with Corydon Reeder

I hope you have fun exploring these virtual family history escape rooms. Please provide feedback if you find any problems or have suggestions. Feel free to use these and my scavenger hunt events for your own activities.

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 27

Overview & Purpose

Today is the last day of the Family History Scavenger Hunt. I hope those who participated enjoyed themselves and learned about some new sites. We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. All of the Scavenger Hunt activities are posted on my genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/ along with a link to the answers.
I hope you have fun with today's tasks.

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/xzUj8s7AKgKLLMdZ7.   
Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #27 of the Family History Scavenger Hunt. Today we are going to explore the Digital Public Library of America (https://dp.la/).

Hint

• The Digital Public Library of America (https://dp.la/) gathers the digital collections of many sites including the Hathi trust, Google Books, and various universities.

Questions

1. Search for the Decennial record of the class of 1903, Princeton University. Read the full text version of the book. Who was the class president?
2. Search for the Postmaster Appointments for Mercer County, Ohio. Who are the two people listed as Postmasters in New Bremen during 1835 and 1837?
3. Search for William V Westerheide.  What war did he fight in?
4. Search for the Petition for Naturalization of William E. Harris. Where was he born?
5. Search for Sylvester Reeder. What college did he attend in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Search for Francis Marion Coker and find a letter from W. B. C. Coker written on July 28, 1861. Look at the first page of the letter. Who did India Coker marry?

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/xzUj8s7AKgKLLMdZ7).  I will provide the answers to all who have completed the scavenger hunt by 8:00 pm EST on June 30.  I hope you had fun participating in the Family History Scavenger Hunt during June. The answers for all scavenger hunt events are being posted at the link below.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 26

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur daily during the month of June.

The clues will be posted each evening on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. 

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before. 

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/5NjEZ7CYxQRFe7JX6.    

Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #26 of the Family History Scavenger Hunt. Today we are going to explore the Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System database managed by the National park System (https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm). 

Hint

The Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System can be used to search for individuals, regiments, cemeteries, battles, prisoners, monuments, and medals of honor.

Questions

1. Search for James F Coker from Georgia. What battle unit was he a member of?
2. Click on the battle unit that James F Coker was a member of. How many members of this unit were present at Gettysburg?
3. Click on the Battle of Gettysburg link. How long was the train of wounded Confederate soldiers?
4. Search for the 37th Ohio Infantry memorial. At which battlefield is it located?
5. Search for William E Harris from Florida who fought for the Confederacy. What battle unit was he with?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• How many armed conflicts occurred during the Civil War?

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/rYeJbTSh5MGemAi66).  I will provide the answers to all who have completed the scavenger hunt by 8:00 pm EST on June 29.  Even though we no longer have any prizes, I hope that you will continue to participate and invite your friends to join in the fun.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 25

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur daily during the month of June.

The clues will be posted each evening on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before.

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/rYeJbTSh5MGemAi66.   

Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #25 of the Family History Scavenger Hunt. Today we are going to explore a newspaper search engine called Elephind (https://elephind.com).

Hint

Elephind (https://elephind.com) allows you to search many of the large newspaper databases simultaneously with a total of over 4,000 titles. Try this site before you go to the other databases. Sometimes when searching a name you will want to place the name in quotes “Jim Smith” to narrow down your results. Try the searches with and without the quote marks.

Questions

1. Bernard Garmann was ordained a priest in 1909. In what seminary did he study?
2. Henry Aufderhaar was shot and killed by his father-in-law in 1872. What was the name of the murderer?
3. Artrude Westerhedie was married in 1933. What was the name of her husband?
4. Homer Wesner and his wife Gertrude filed for divorce in 1921. What monthly amount was Homer ordered to pay his wife for child support?
5. Viola Truesdale died in 1914. What was the cause of her death?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• How many newspapers (not newspaper titles) can be searched with the Elephind search engine?

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/rYeJbTSh5MGemAi66).  I will provide the answers to all who have completed the scavenger hunt by 8:00 pm EST on June 28.  Even though we no longer have any prizes, I hope that you will continue to participate and invite your friends to join in the fun.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 24

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur daily during the month of June.

The clues will be posted each evening on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before.

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/8AQm7o2SLZ63n7SN9.   

Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #24 of the Family History Scavenger Hunt. Today we are going to explore the genealogy resources available at the National Archives Resources for Genealogists (https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy).

Hint

Before you dive into the National Archives you may want to read through the Catalog Guide (https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/catalog-guide) to become familiar with how records are searched on the site.

Questions

1. Visit the National Archives Catalog (https://catalog.archives.gov/) and search for WWII Army Casualties: Ohio. In the search results select Web Pages and click on the link to WWII Army Casualties: Ohio. Read the Forward pages so you understand what is in this collection. Select Auglaize County and find Robert L Griner. What was his rank and type of casualty?
2. Return to the National Archives Catalog and search for John Westerheide. During the Civil War, what was his military unit?
3. Search the Catalog for Samuel Truesdell in the Revolutionary War pension and Bounty Land Warrant records. What is his file number?
4. Search the Catalog for Minster Ohio. Find the National Register of Historic Places record for Minster Elementary School. What year was the school constructed?
5. Search the Catalog for Joseph Bornhorst living in Auglaize County, Ohio in the 1900 US Census. What is his birth month and year?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Search for the Enemy Alien Registration Affidavit for Bernard Garmann. Read through the pages of his file to find some very important genealogical information. What was his occupation?

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/8AQm7o2SLZ63n7SN9).  I will provide the answers to all who have completed the scavenger hunt by 8:00 pm EST on June 27.  Even though we no longer have any prizes, I hope that you will continue to participate and invite your friends to join in the fun.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 23

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur daily during the month of June.

The clues will be posted each evening on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. 

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before. 

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/xbMskbi8bq3sZGTU9.    

Today’s Challenge

Yesterday’s scavenger hunt was a bit more challenging than previous days. I wanted to give you a new resource but also demonstrate how different sites can be harder to navigate, especially foreign language sites. We are now on Day #23 of the Family History Scavenger Hunt. Today we are going to return to the US and look at veteran’s records. The US Department of Veterans Affairs maintains the National Gravesite Locator database (https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/) where you can find the burial locations of your veteran ancestors.

Hint

The National Gravesite Locator (https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/) database is updated daily. You can search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker.

Questions

Search for burials with the surname Westerheide. How many individuals with this last name are listed in the database?

Locate the burial information for Vernon J Westerheide. What branch of the military did he serve in?

What war was Vernon Westerheide a veteran of?

Search for William H Coker who died in 1861. Where is he buried?

Search for Estill Herbert Walker and click on the cemetery he is buried in. Read about the history of the cemetery. What was the battle that the original soldiers who were buried here fought in?

Bonus Points (Optional)

The American Battle Monuments Commission (https://www.abmc.gov/) provides information on service members buried in overseas cemeteries. Go to this website and search for Lexow. What was this individual’s name, rank and where was he interred?

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/xbMskbi8bq3sZGTU9).  I will provide the answers to all who have completed the scavenger hunt by 8:00 pm EST on June 26.  Even though we no longer have any prizes, I hope that you will continue to participate and invite your friends to join in the fun.

Answers

The Inspiration of Blogging and Family History

Lately my blog has been focusing on the Family History Scavenger Hunt activities that I am creating to introduce people to the wide variety of free resources that are available for their research. I have a small number of people who have been participating throughout the entire month and I hope they have come across some sites that they weren't aware of before. There are only a few days left in the month until I end the scavenger hunt but the events are still here for anyone else to participate in when they have time.

Sometimes, as a blogger with a smaller following, I wonder how my posts affect people or may be used to inspire them in their research. When my son was younger, we home schooled him and many of his homework assignments centered around family history and how his ancestors interacted with historic events. Topics such as the Irish Potato Famine, German migrations, the Civil War, and the westward advance of the pioneers were easily tracked through his ancestors' stories.

Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island (1911)

Today I received an email from a mother who has been homeschooling her children through the COVID pandemic. They had been watching a show on PBS about immigration and Ellis Island and she had told her children about their great great grandmother who came to the United States through Ellis Island. Most of my ancestors came to the country prior to the opening of Ellis Island but I have written about Ellis Island records in several of my blog posts. Her children came across one of my blog posts in their research and found some information that helped point them in the right direction for their assignment.

As a teacher at heart (16 years as an adjunct professor) and a previous Boy Scout leader, I have a great passion for helping people learn, whether that be the sciences (marine science, biology, conservation ecology) or about their family history and I really appreciated the email that I received telling me how my blog had inspired them to continue their research. They also suggested that I look at another website that they found in their research "New York City History: Ellis Island" (https://www.yourlawyer.com/library/new-york-city-history-ellis-island/). That website lays out the history of Ellis Island and why it is a significant landmark to New York City and the nation.

When we are researching our family history we need to go beyond the names, places and dates. We need to understand the times they lived, the cultures that surrounded them, and the events of their lives. Many of our ancestors survived the Spanish Flu epidemic a little over 100 years ago. Some of our ancestors died during that epidemic. Many of our ancestors lived through the Great Depression. Others fought and died in World War I and World War II. I had previously been working on a blog where I told the stories of my ancestors in context of their times. My OurAncestories blog is located at http://ourancestories.blogspot.com and hasn't been very active for the last four years. I do need to go back and start telling their stories again.

Remember, family history can be an inspiring and educational hobby. We can learn about the times of our ancestors, the challenges they faced, and realize that if they could do it so can we. I challenge each of you to focus on your last 4-generations and begin to tell their stories so that your children and grandchildren will remember them for what they accomplished.

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 22

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur daily during the month of June.

The clues will be posted each evening on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. 

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before. 

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/8eSPrwJp4euvjkHA8.    

Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #22 of the Family History Scavenger Hunt. Many people have ancestors from the Alsace-Lorraine region of France/Germany. The region has changed hands several times and the records for that region are in several languages including Latin, German and French. Part of this region is now known as Bas-Rhin and they have a great online archive at http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/.

Hint

• Be aware that the records in the Bas-Rhin Archives (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/) may be in various languages and even had their own calendar during the reign of Napoleon that does not match other calendars. In the collection, books with N are births, D are deaths, S are burials, and M are marriages.

Questions

1. At the bottom of the webpage there are three images. The first is for the parish registers and civil status documents. The second image is for population censuses. The third is inventories and online libraries. Select the parish registers image. Click on the link for the L'application Adeloch on the next page to open the search tool. Select the town of Strasbourg to search. In the timeline under the books, pull the marker to 1922 and select the last book by double clicking on it. What is the date of the first page of this book (certificate number 2081)?
2. The names of the individuals are usually written in the left margin of the page. What was the name of the deceased person who is listed on certificate number 2081?
3. How old was the person listed on certificate 2081?
4. Return to the Adeloch application. The black books are parish and hospital records. Find the books for Saint-Laurent. What is the name of the first individual on this record?
5. Return to the Adeloch application and select Tables Decennales and select the TD 1943-1952 (last book in this color). The first page of this book lists Johann Maas. What was the death date for Johann?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Return to http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/ and select the Recensements de population (population census). Click on Ellenbach to access the census records. Again select Strasbourg for the location. The most recent census available on this archive is 1888. What language is the 1888 census?

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/8eSPrwJp4euvjkHA8).  I will provide the answers to all who have completed the scavenger hunt by 8:00 pm EST on June 25.  Even though we no longer have any prizes, I hope that you will continue to participate and invite your friends to join in the fun.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 21

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur daily during the month of June.

The clues will be posted each evening on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. 

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before.

 

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/rn4HbZvWAFr8mnqdA.

    

Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #21 of the Family History Scavenger Hunt. Have you ever heard of the Channel Islands? They are a set of small islands in the English Channel close to France but part of the United Kingdom. They even have their own language which isn’t quite French and definitely not English called Jèrriais. Today we will explore family history records for the area using the Jerripedia BMD records (http://www.jerripediabmd.net/).

Hint

• There are two main sets of records that can be searched from the http://www.jerripediabmd.net/ website, birth/marriage/death records and wills. Make sure you are using the correct search engine for the records to answer the questions.

Questions

1. Search the Birth/Baptism records for James Le Boeuf baptized in 1820. What was his baptism date?
2. Who were James Le Boeuf’s parents?
3. Find the marriage for George Vickery from St. Helier. What was the name of his bride?
4. Go to the Wills search and search for Frederick Le Boeuf which was probated July 27, 1896. What was his occupation?
5. Where were Frederick Le Boeuf’s children born?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Wills can have more information than just the abstracted information. Click on the file number for Frederick Le Boeuf’s will. This will bring you to the Jersey Heritage website. How much would it cost to get a copy of the will?

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/rn4HbZvWAFr8mnqdA).  I will provide the answers to all who have completed the scavenger hunt by 8:00 pm EST on June 24.  Even though we no longer have any prizes, I hope that you will continue to participate and invite your friends to join in the fun.

Answers

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Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 20

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur daily during the month of June.

The clues will be posted each evening on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before.

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/Nb5A8vb47DSzUQy17. 

Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #20 of the Family History Scavenger Hunt. Today we will explore the Irish Genealogy website (https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/). Irish Genealogy provides access to a variety of Irish civil and church records.

Hint

• Explore the various records available on Irish Genealogy (https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/) to see which areas are included in their record collections.

Questions

1. The first task is to search the church records for Joseph Faul, born 1891. What were Joseph’s parents' names?
2. What was Joseph Faul’s address and which city did he live in?
3. Now search the civil records. You will have to put in your name to get access to the civil records. Search for Edward Faul from Tubbercurry. What year did he die?
4. View the image for Edward Faul’s death. What was the cause of his death?
5. Return to the civil records search and look for Samuel Vickery from Bantry. What was the date he married Sarah Anne Vickery?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Remaining on Samuel Vickery. What was his father’s name and occupation? 

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/Nb5A8vb47DSzUQy17).  I will provide the answers to all who have completed the scavenger hunt by 8:00 pm EST on June 23.  Even though we no longer have any prizes, I hope that you will continue to participate and invite your friends to join in the fun.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 19

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur daily during the month of June.

The clues will be posted each evening on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. 

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before. 

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/a8akv39HQa6CUo1J8.  

  

Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #19 of the Family History Scavenger Hunt. Today we will explore Linkpendium (http://www.linkpendium.com/). Linkpendium is a 10,000,000+ resource directory to everything on the Web about families worldwide and genealogically-relevant information about U.S. states and counties.

Hint

Linkpendium allows you to search by location and name for a wide variety of web pages that have information on your topic.

Questions

1. Use the Jump to Surname search box (on the right side of the page) to search for Bielefeld. Go to Obituaries and Funeral Home Records and follow the link to the list of obituaries. Find Betty Bielefeld. What was the date of her death?
2. Return to Linkpendium.com and search the County search box for Mercer County, Ohio. Go to Biographies, Oral Histories, Diaries, Memoirs, Genealogies, Correspondence and select History of Mercer County, Ohio and Representative Citizens (1907). Whose biography is on page 271 of the book?
3. Return to Linkpendium.com and search for Vero Beach, Florida in the Jump to a City search box. Go to the Census Records and Indexes section and select 1945 State Census Index A-C. Who is the first person listed on the 1945 index?
4. Return to Linkpendium.com and search for Bernadine Westerheide in the Family Discoverer Search Engine. Go to the listing for Mercer County, Ohio Birth Records. What was Bernadine Westerheide’s daughter’s name?
5. Return to Linkpendium.com and find the Genealogy Links for Montana. How many site links are listed for Flathead County?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Follow the link to Flathead County, Montana and find the Flathead and Lincoln Counties Directories 1901-1922. Browse the 1913 Directory for Kalispell City. What was the occupation of Lizzie Bickett? 

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/a8akv39HQa6CUo1J8).  I will provide the answers to all who have completed the scavenger hunt by 8:00 pm EST on June 19.  Even though we no longer have any prizes, I hope that you will continue to participate and invite your friends to join in the fun.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 18

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur daily during the month of June.

The clues will be posted each evening on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before. 

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/M5RhkTGPB7jxXpEPA.    

Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #18. I hope you were able to find some useful information yesterday exploring The Family History Guide (https://www.thefhguide.com/), a training site for family history researchers. Today we will explore the Catalog of FamilySearch.org.

Hint

The Search function on FamilySearch.org provides several ways to search for information. You can search the Records, Images, Family Tree, Genealogies, Catalog, Books, and the Wiki.

Questions

1. Search the Catalog on FamilySearch for Film/Fische Number 1030759. What is the title of Item #3 on this film?
2. Click on the camera icon for Film #1030759. Item #3 starts on image 392/479. What are the names and ages of the three siblings who were admitted on October 22, 1888?
3. Using the same film, find Bert McKee who was admitted on October 15, 1895. When did he leave the institution and what was the reason he left?
4. Search the Catalog for Gainesville, Florida. Find the yearbooks. What school’s yearbooks are online at FamilySearch?
5. Search the Genealogies on FamilySearch. How many individuals are listed in the International Genealogical Index (IGI)?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Search Books for the “West Florida Rebellion”. For how long was West Florida a free and independent nation?

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/M5RhkTGPB7jxXpEPA).  I will provide the answers to all who have completed the scavenger hunt by 8:00 pm EST on June 18.  Even though we no longer have any prizes, I hope that you will continue to participate and invite your friends to join in the fun.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 17

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur daily during the month of June.

The clues will be posted each evening on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. 

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before. 

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/kJ2vsMcUjqraN9oY6. 

   

Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #17. I hope you were able to find some useful information yesterday with the Catholic Church records from central Europe (Austria, Germany, Poland and Serbia) from Matricula. Today we will be exploring The Family History Guide (https://www.thefhguide.com/), a training site for family history researchers.

Hint

The Family History Guide (https://www.thefhguide.com/) can be a great resource for any topic you want to learn about in family history. Goals are near the top of each page. Choices are in the text of the pages.

Questions

1. The Family History guide provides instructional lessons on using various genealogy websites. What are the major websites that are included in the lessons?
2. Under the Faiths tab, go to Catholic. In Goal 1, Choice B, #1 provides a link to three strategies for finding Catholic Church records. What are the three strategies?
3. Under the Countries tab select British Isles then Scotland. In Scotland select Goal 8 Maps and Gazetteers then explore the Gazetteers of Scotland link. Who was the publisher of the 1806 Gazetteer of Scotland?
4. On the Countries tab select the United States then select Goal C Census 1: Records. Scroll down the page until you discover the section on mortality schedules and follow the link. What happened to the 1900 mortality schedule?
5. In the US records, select the state of Florida and find the section on Florida Counties at the bottom of the page. Select Indian River County. What is the date that Indian River County was created? 

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Let’s have some fun. Under the Activities tab select Family. Look over the activities listed on this page and do one with your family this week!

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/kJ2vsMcUjqraN9oY6).  I will provide the answers to all who have completed the scavenger hunt by 8:00 pm EST on June 17.  We are out of prizes but I hope that you will continue to participate and invite your friends to join in the fun.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 16

Overview & Purpose

We are nearing the end of the Family History Scavenger Hunt, with the last prize being tomorrow. I hope you had fun learning about new websites and records during the last 2 weeks. I can continue to provide more scavenger hunt activities if there is interest, we just won't have any more prizes after tomorrow.

The scavenger hunt clues have been posted daily on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The purpose of the event was to introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before.

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/otUuLxS4CiLAAHjN8.   

Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #16. I hope you were able to find some useful information yesterday with the land records at the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land Office Records. Today we will explore Catholic records from central Europe (Austria, Germany, Poland and Serbia) with Matricula (https://data.matricula-online.eu/en/). You will have to read some German to do this challenge but it won’t be that hard.

Click on the globe on the Matricula homepage to see the map of where the records are from. In the search box enter Damme, Germany. Zoom in until you see the pin for St. Viktor in the center of Damme. Click on the pin and go to the St. Viktor page to learn about the history of the church.

Questions

1. What is the first year that records are available for this site?
2. Go to record set KB15 Taufen (baptism) 1820-1839. Select page TA_032 and find the individual born on 8 May 1822. What was his name?
3. Who was the father of the person born 8 May 1822?
4. Go back to the Damme page and select record set KB14 Beerdigungen (funerals) 1819-1829. Go to page B_030 and look in the Gestorben (died) column. Who died on 15 December 1821?
5. On the same page, look in the Begraben (burial) column. What day was this person buried? 

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Visit the Familienregister (family register) record set FR_19Jh and search the index for Heinrich Poppelmann. What page is the family listed on?  Find the family’s listing. What was his wife’s name? Did they have any kinder (children)?

Hint

Knowing just a few German words can make the task easier. I have provided some translations in the questions. For more German words that are important to genealogy research visit the FamilySearch Wiki (https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/German_Genealogical_Word_List).

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/otUuLxS4CiLAAHjN8).  All answers received before 8:00 pm EST on June 16 will be considered for today’s prize which is a 1-year Ancestry World Explorer subscription.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 15

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur during the month of June and will include daily prizes for a lucky winner who gets all the answers correct in the allotted time.

The clues will be posted each morning on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. Those who get the answers correct will be entered into the daily drawing for prizes.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before.

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/s2LySboeFK2XUhEH6.   
Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #15. I hope you were able to find some useful information yesterday at Wikipedia’s List of Online Newspaper Archives. Today we will research land records from the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land Office Records (https://glorecords.blm.gov/).

Questions

1. Search the Land Patents database for James A Walker in Lake County, Florida. In what Section, Township and Range is his property located?
2. On what date was the Land Patent issued To James A Walker?
3. How many acres were included in the parcel he purchased?
4. Look at the related documents and find the Tract Book for the area where his property is located. How much did the land cost?
5. Find the date of sale for the property in the Tract Book. When did James purchase the property? 

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Find the Land Survey map for the area around James A Walker’s property. What is the name of the large lake to the southeast of his property?

Hint

Land Patents and Surveys can provide information about neighbors and the kind of land your ancestors may have owned. They also place your ancestors in context with their surroundings.

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/s2LySboeFK2XUhEH6).  All answers received before 8:00 pm EST on June 15 will be considered for today’s prize which is a 1-year subscription to Newspapers.com.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 14

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur during the month of June and will include daily prizes for a lucky winner who gets all the answers correct in the allotted time.

The clues will be posted each morning on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. Those who get the answers correct will be entered into the daily drawing for prizes.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before.

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/aNgZ8bbHrYdngwEY9. 

  
Today’s Challenge

We are now on Day #14. How many of you have been with us for the entire 2 weeks? Today’s challenge is to research international newspapers. My favorite site to find online newspaper collections is Wikipedia’s List of Online Newspaper Archives (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_online_newspaper_archives).

Questions

1. Using Wikipedia’s List of Online Newspaper Archives, find the newspaper archives for Quebec. How many newspaper titles are listed for the Canadiana Discovery Portal?
2. Check out the newspapers for Ohio. What range of years is available for the Minster Post?
3. Find the newspaper titled “Manx Cat”. What region was this paper published?
4. Which Irish newspaper was published from 1905-1909?
5. How many newspapers are included in the Cuba collection? 

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Find the National Library of Australia Collection. Search the collection to find out what Mr. Bielefeld did with papier mache.

Hint

This one is pretty easy but make sure you are looking in the right countries for the newspapers.

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/aNgZ8bbHrYdngwEY9).  All answers received before 8:00 pm EST on June 14 will be considered for today’s prize which is a 1-year World Explorer Subscription to Ancestry.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 13

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur during the month of June and will include daily prizes for a lucky winner who gets all the answers correct in the allotted time.

The clues will be posted each morning on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. Those who get the answers correct will be entered into the daily drawing for prizes.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before.

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/QV9UcpMCMrPexPV57.   
Today’s Challenge

Yesterday we explored the Ohio Memory Project. Today we will go international and explore Wie Was Wie (https://www.wiewaswie.nl/en), the Netherlands’ archives website. Many countries have their archives online with a variety of great resources that you won’t find anywhere else.

Questions

1. Search for Justus Weise. What is the date of the document for Justus Weise?
2. What type of record is this?
3. What was Justus’ wife’s name?
4. What was Justus’ occupation?
5. Where was his wife born?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Now for something more challenging. You will have to find additional documents to answer this question. Christian Wilken and Louisa Homan were the parents of the bride. What was the name of their son who was married in 1845 and what was his occupation?

Hint

The first record may be easy to find. You will have to figure out how to find additional records to answer the bonus question.

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/QV9UcpMCMrPexPV57).  All answers received before 8:00 pm EST on June 13 will be considered for today’s prize which is a 1-year individual subscription to Fold3.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 12

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur during the month of June and will include daily prizes for a lucky winner who gets all the answers correct in the allotted time.

The clues will be posted each morning on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. Those who get the answers correct will be entered into the daily drawing for prizes.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before.

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/S3EH5xhpp2G7w4LV7.
 
Today’s Challenge

Yesterday we explored the Florida Memory Project. Today we will explore the Ohio Memory (https://ohiomemory.org/) website. Many states have their own version of this site with a variety of great resources that you won’t find anywhere else.

Questions

1. On the Ohio Memory website select the Browse Subjects button. You should have an alphabet list, go to Z and select Zane’s Trace. Who was Zane’s Trace named after?
2. Go back to the home page and select Browse Places. Click on M and then select Minster. What is the name of the canal that went through Minster, Ohio?
3. Go back to the homepage and select Browse Time Periods. Click on 1850s. What was the name of the person who wrote a poem in support of women’s suffrage?
4. On the home page enter the name Bielefeld in the search bar. Select the Times-Democrat (Lima) from 1909. What happened to Mr. Bielefeld?
5. The Ohio Memory website is celebrating what anniversary this year? 

Bonus Points (Optional)

• On the home page select collections. Find the “Ohio Canal Plat Map Collection” then find “Miami and Erie Canal past Fort Loramie plat map”. Explore the map and list the name of the sawmill?

Hint

You will have to go back to the home page and select a new topic for each question. Take some time to explore the “Collections” area to see what is available.

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/S3EH5xhpp2G7w4LV7).  All answers received before 8:00 pm EST on June 12 will be considered for today’s prize which is a 1-year individual subscription to American Ancestors.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 11

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur during the month of June and will include daily prizes for a lucky winner who gets all the answers correct in the allotted time.

The clues will be posted each morning on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. Those who get the answers correct will be entered into the daily drawing for prizes.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before.

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/t4fRQ26R9ynDRBYV9.   
Today’s Challenge

We had a problem with the links in yesterday’s scavenger hunt. All of the links worked fine for me and several others but I received several comments that the links did not work, so today we will be using the same prize, a 1-year subscription to Internet Genealogy.

Today we will explore the Florida Memory Project (https://www.floridamemory.com/) website. Many states have their own version of this site with a variety of great resources that you won’t find anywhere else.

Questions

1. In the Historical Records collection go to Early Auto Registrations. What was the model of car owned by Mrs. Gaston Drake?
2. Go to the Fernandina Death & Burial records and search for James LeBoeuf. Where was he a native of?
3. Go to the World War I Service Cards collection and search for Andrew Jackson Phares. What was the first vessel that he served on?
4. Visit the Voter Registration Rolls (1867-68) and find Frank Harris in Marion County. How many years had he lived in the state?
5. Visit the Confederate Pension Applications and search for Francis Harris. What was his wife’s name? 

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Go back out to the home page and select Videos. Search for Weeki Wachee. How long can a mermaid hold her breath?

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/t4fRQ26R9ynDRBYV9).  All answers received before 8:00 pm EST on June 11 will be considered for today’s prize which is a 1-year subscription to Internet Genealogy Magazine.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 10

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur during the month of June and will include daily prizes for a lucky winner who gets all the answers correct in the allotted time.

The clues will be posted each morning on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. Those who get the answers correct will be entered into the daily drawing for prizes.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before.

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/Gm274RwaG4hgwMxj7.   
Today’s Challenge

Did you know that there are over 4 billion (yes - BILLION) images on FamilySearch that have not yet been indexed? So, how do you find these records? Under Search choose Images or visit directly with https://www.familysearch.org/records/images/. You can see how quickly images are being added to the FamilySearch database. In the search field, look for records from Vero Beach, Indian River, Florida. Select the first record set (it should say Journal, 45 images). This is the NewsBank collection of obituaries from the Vero Beach Press Journal.

Questions

1. Select image #1. Who’s obituary is this?
2. Select image #16. What cemetery was this person buried in?
3. Select image #27. What was the occupation of this person?
4. Select image #34. What company did this person work for?
5. Select image #36. What city was this person born in? 

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Go back out to the results page and go to the set of images with 304 images. This should be for the year 1999. Go to image 304. What is the claim to fame for this person?

Hints

These records are not indexed and the record types may vary so you might have to explore many different sets when you research your own area.

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/Gm274RwaG4hgwMxj7).  All answers received before 8:00 pm EST on June 10 will be considered for today’s prize which is a 1-year subscription to Internet Genealogy Magazine.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 9

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur during the month of June and will include daily prizes for a lucky winner who gets all the answers correct in the allotted time.

The clues will be posted each morning on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167) and the genealogy blog at https://milesgenealogy.blogspot.com/.

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. Those who get the answers correct will be entered into the daily drawing for prizes.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before. 

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/fipZGS8zZxcX1FAW7.    

Today’s Challenge

Today we will explore the Internet Archives website (https://archive.org/). This site has a large collection of books, radio and television shows, software, images, and other items. Sometimes yearbooks provide interesting tidbits about our ancestors as well as photos of them in their youth. The items that you will need to answer the following questions can be found in the 1953 Marlborough High School Yearbook.

Questions

1. Locate the Class Prophecy section of the 1953 Marlborough High School Yearbook. What was the prophecy for Daniel Griffin?
2. Who was the only male member of the National Honor Society and what was he voted Most Likely to do?
3. Where did Shirley A. Shanahan live? 
4. What sport did Barbara A. Frado participate in?
5. Who was the class of 1953 Class President?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Which girl set the all time high-scoring record in basketball with 210 points in one season and where does she plan on going to school after graduation?

Hints

You will need to use every part of the yearbook to find the answers to these questions.

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/fipZGS8zZxcX1FAW7).  All answers received before 8:00 pm EST on June 9 will be considered for today’s prize which is a 1-year subscription to Your Genealogy Today Magazine. 

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 8

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur during the month of June and will include daily prizes for a lucky winner who gets all the answers correct in the allotted time.

The clues will be posted each morning on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf) and Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167).

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. Those who get the answers correct will be entered into the daily drawing for prizes.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before.

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/8zteREDh9XdBCtQCA.

Today’s Challenge

Free UK Genealogy (https://www.freeukgenealogy.org.uk) is a website with a mission of transcribing the Census (FreeCEN), Parish Registers (FreeREG) and Civil Registration (FreeBMD) index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales. Your task today is to explore the Free UK Genealogy website to answer the following questions.

Questions

1. Search the FreeBMD records for Charles Frederick Bielefeld. You should get two results. What are the two Districts that have death records for Charles Frederick Bielefeld?
2. What volume and page would you find the death record for Charles Bielefeld who died in 1844?
3. Search the FreeBMD records in the Marlybone District for a birth record for George Vickery. What was the middle name of George Vickery born in 1875? 
4. Search the FreeCEN records for George Vickery, born 1875, living in London. What were his parent’s names?
5. According to the 1891 UK Census, in what Ecclesiastical Parish did the family of George Vickery live?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• According to the 1891 UK Census, what are the birth counties of George Vickery’s parents?

Hints

Check the search filters to make sure you have the right search terms for each question.

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/8zteREDh9XdBCtQCA).  All answers received before 8:00 pm EST on June 8 will be considered for today’s prize which is a 1-year Ultimate British and Irish Subscription at FindMyPast.

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 7

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur during the month of June and will include daily prizes for a lucky winner who gets all the answers correct in the allotted time.

The clues will be posted each morning on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), and Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167).

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. Those who get the answers correct will be entered into the daily drawing for prizes.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before. 

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/5cDc2vRBWQaJtE6VA.

    

Today’s Challenge

We have all heard that the 1890 census was destroyed and, if you are like many of us, that is the most important record you need to solve your family mystery. But not all of the 1890 census was lost. Today, we will search the remnants of the 1890 census to see what valuable information it can provide to those few lucky people who have ancestors on the remaining pages. To access the 1890 census go to https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1610551 and then Browse the images.

Questions

1. Select Texas, Ellis, Mountain Peak, 172 and look at image 1 of 28. What is the surname of the family on this page?
2. How many children in this family had died before this census?
3. What was the age of the youngest child?
4. Who served in the Confederate Army?
5. What was the name of the 8 year old son?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• Did the family own or rent their home?

Hints

Sometimes records have more than one page. Explore more of the 1890 census to see all of the valuable information that has been lost.

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/5cDc2vRBWQaJtE6VA).  All answers received before 8:00 pm EST on June 7 will be considered for today’s prize which is a 1-month Ultimate British & Irish Subscription to FindMyPast. 

Answers

Family History Scavenger Hunt - Day 6

Overview & Purpose

We all love scavenger hunts, hunting for the clues and discovering new things. This scavenger hunt will occur during the month of June and will include daily prizes for a lucky winner who gets all the answers correct in the allotted time.

The clues will be posted each morning on the Indian River Genealogy Conference Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IRGConf), and Friends of Vero Beach Family History Center Facebook group (www.facebook.com/159642411143167).

The tasks will introduce you to a variety of online sources and help you learn new research sites and how to use them effectively to discover your ancestors. Those who get the answers correct will be entered into the daily drawing for prizes.

Join in the fun, discover new sites, and learn how to research on sites that you may have never used before. 

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form found at https://forms.gle/rXcasmyqRKkTBHhP8.  

  

Today’s Challenge

We all love newspapers when we research our ancestors. They provide a lot of useful information but sometimes they are not the easiest to find online. Today we will take a look at Ancestor Hunt’s links to online newspaper collections and select Ohio Online Newspapers to begin your hunt (https://www.theancestorhunt.com/newspaper-research-links.html). 

Questions

1. How many newspaper titles are included in the Coldwater Public Library’s collection?
2. What is the name of the East Technical High School newspaper in Cleveland?
3. Use the link to visit the Coldwater Public Library’s collection. Search for the death notice for Bernard Westerheide in 1932. What was his wife’s name?
4. Return to the Ancestor Hunt website and select the East Technical High School’s newspaper. What library houses this collection?
5. Does the Ancestor Hunt blog include links to newspapers outside the US?

Bonus Points (Optional)

• On the September 23, 1926 edition of the East Technical High School’s paper, what was the name of the dazed student who was baffled by the clue on the civics test?

Hints

Explore the page beyond the newspapers to discover BMD records, yearbooks, and many more types of records that may help your research.

Action

Answers will be submitted using a Google Form (https://forms.gle/rXcasmyqRKkTBHhP8).  All answers received before 8:00 pm EST on June 6 will be considered for the prize which is a 3-month subscription to HistoryGeo.com (www.historygeo.com). 

Answers