RootsTech Conference presentations available free online

March 21-23, 2013,  Family Search  hosted the annual Roots Tech Genealogical Conference in Salt Lake City. This conference was  sponsored by  Ancestry.com, Archives.com, Find My Past ,  NGS (National Genealogical Society), and FGS (Federation of Genealogical Societies, among others. More than 4,000 people attended from the US, Canada, and 23 other countries, making this an international genealogical event.

The purpose of this annual conference is to focus on the use of technology in genealogy, with an emphasis on helping people to become familiar with various technological innovations and to learn how these methods can be used in their own genealogical research. There are many opportunities provided for those in attendance to become updated on the latest tech tools. Keeping true to the technological theme of the conference, each day several presentations were live-streamed so that those of us who did not attend would have an opportunity to participate. I viewed several of those sessions over the last few days and found them to be quite  informative.

One session that I found particularly interesting was a panel discussion held on Thursday, entitled The Future of Genealogy. Panel members included  Josh Taylor, from FindMy Past, formerly from New England Historic Genealogical Society and Dick Eastman, who publishes Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter. In response to the question, "What is holding back the growth of genealogy?", they both agreed on two points. First was records access -- however, they did not mention privacy issues, rather that records are becoming unavailable due to financial limitations. Repositories worldwide are beginning to limit public access to their records because they have had to decrease staffing.  Secondly, they both stressed that "we" are the biggest problem -- both genealogical societies and individuals are not changing to keep up with the 21st century. We need to learn to take advantage of new technological methods and resources to research and share our discoveries.

 Some of the topics included in other sessions were:

•  What is new or coming soon on Google and Family Search
•  Social media
•  Telling Stories
•  Researching your genealogy online

These sessions are still available and may be viewed online at Roots Tech. In addition to the livestreamed sessions from this year, you may also view a few from last year's conference at RootsTech 2012.

This is a great way to keep up to date with the technology being used today, as well as learrning what is new for genealogists, without having to spend a lot of money to attend a large conference.

Bake Sale reminder!

Greetings all!  I hope you are able to attend our Easter-themed bake sale this Saturday March 30th, between 10AM and 1:30PM in the Conference Room at the Dennis Public Library.  Your donations of baked goods may be brought to the Library during regular opening hours (unless you already turned them in at our last meeting -- thank you!).  Please note, if your items require refrigeration, other arrangements will need to be made, or you can bring them on the day of the sale.

Bring a friend!  You can explore the resources in the Genealogy Room between 10 and noon.  We hope to see you all there in support of our Association, and thank you for your contributions!

Received at the Library

Recent journal and newsletter receipts may be of interest to Society members:

American Ancestors (winter 2013) deals with a subject near to my heart and perhaps to yours, the lives of New England mill workers.  My maternal grandmother's maternal grandparents Robert and Ann Dewsnap Robinson came from Glossop, England to Lowell in 1854, and in the 1860 census my great-grandmother Caroline was listed as a spinner at 17 years old, along with several older siblings.  According to the feature article, textile manufacturing was the nation's largest industry for a time in the 19th century, employing millions, and the first major US employer of women outside the home.  Related articles give glimpses of ordinary and notorious lives of mill workers: a boardinghouse keeper's letters, a Manchester NH mill girl's death at the hands of an abortionist; an Irish immigrant's successful career in the Fall River mills; the death and injury of two Irish immigrant sisters in the destruction of the Pemberton Mill (Lawrence MA) by collapse and fire.  Other topics in the issue include a review of the Rhode Island roots database, a visit to an ancestral village in Finland, ethnic groups in Colonial New York City and environs, and reminiscences by NEHGS staff members Marie Daly and David Dearborn.  A most interesting issue.

Mass-Pocha (February 2013), journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston, announces the 33rd International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, August 4-9 in Boston at the Park Plaza (early bird registration before April 30).  Article topics include a summary of Ulysses S. Grant's expulsion of Jews from the area covering Illinois to northern Mississippi in 1862, a surprising episode of the Civil War; Archives of the Joint Distribution Committee in New York and Jerusalem; and the Pale, the area of western Russia where Jews were allowed permanent residence.

Received at the Library

Recent journal and newsletter receipts may be of interest to Society members:

In the fall 2012 issue of the Nova Scotia Genealogist, there's an announcement that after 2013 the journal will only be available in electronic format.  An article about the Hillcrest [Alberta] Mine Disaster of 1914, Canada's largest mine disaster, lists what is known about the 23 Nova Scotia victims, many of whom were English or Scottish immigrants.  On p.140 (and not in the table of contents) is a list of free genealogy podcast sites.  Many sources relating to Nova Scotia research are listed in various notices throughout the issue.

Family Chronicle for March/April 2013 has short, interesting articles on Italian immigrants' naming practices; fords and ferries; research logs; researching the British Army abroad; and more.

The January 2013 issue of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register contains articles on several New England families, including surnames: Adcocke, Sutton, Pratt, Harris, Bacon, Sherman, Dunbar and Whitten.

Newsletters were received from the Dennis Historical Society (March 2013, includes an article on the Fisk family, four master mariner brothers); the Falmouth Genealogical Society (Jan.-Apr. 2013, announcing meetings for 2013, and giving reports on presentations on a research trip to Portugal, Marcia Melnyk's two talks at our joint meeting. and "Paddy on the Net: Irish genealogy databases"); and the Lothropp Family Foundation (spring 2013, including notes on the passing of the Society's founder Helen Lathrop Tabor).

America's women in the Revolutionary Era : Featured library resource for March 2013

At the February program meeting, the Society received a marvelous gift from the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). This substantial three-volume set is titled in full America's women in the Revolutionary Era, 1760-1790 : a history through bibliography, and was published in 2011.   Editor Eric G. Grundset is the DAR Library Director, and the book compiles references to revolutionary era women in books, dissertations, articles and online documents, from contemporary 18th century to present day sources.

The three volumes in this set cover the same material, accessed in different ways: subjects (v.1 and 2), authors, and a chronology of publications (v.3). Detailed citations provide information on names of women covered, chapter or article headings, and often brief annotations about the scope of the information as it pertains to women.  Although many famous women are covered, there is a conscious effort to include information on the lives of everyday women and girls, to give a well-rounded depiction of how life was lived by our ancestors in revolutionary times.

The subject chapters are divided into 5 parts: [vol. 1] 1. General studies (includes African American and Native American women); 2. Women in the family and society; 3. Women, culture, education, and creative arts; 4. Women, girls, and the war effort during the American Revolution; [v. 2] 5. Women and girls of the regions and states of the United States.  (Massachusetts is particularly well represented.)  An index to the subject chapters is found at the end of volume 2.

Citations in this book begin as early as 1716 with "Letters to a young lady" by one John Bennett, and end with 2011.  As the brief introduction to the chronology states, "many publishing and topical trends become clear" when citations are viewed chronologically, including the surge of scholarship around the time of the Nation's bicentennial in 1976.

We are grateful to the DAR for this gift and delighted to add it to the holdings of the CCGS Library.  Please stop in to see it!  We are open Tuesdays noon-4, Thursdays 10-4 and Saturdays 10-noon.

DAR Donates Resource Books to CCGS Library

The Cape Cod Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) made a donation of the new three-volume set of the DAR Resource Book, to the CCGS Genealogical Library at Dennis Public Library. The donation was enthusiastically received, and the photograph shows the DAR members at the donation time in February 2013. From left to right are Margo Lewis, Sara Baker, Sally Davis, Barbara  Knisell, Nancy De Nise, Grace Anastasia, Carol Kelley, and CCGS President David Martin.  All except Sally Davis are members of the Society. The three-volume set is available for research at the Library in Dennisport, particularly on topics related to women.

Judy Lucey to Speak on Integrating Manuscripts in Your Genealogical Research

In anticipation of our April Research Bus Trip to Boston, our speaker this month will talk to us about the value of using manuscripts while researching our family history. Many of us never take advantage of the extensive collections of unpublished materials found in libraries, which can contain valuable information relevant to our ancestors. These materials can include unpublished genealogies, as well as diaries, letters, journals, and records from churches, cemeteries, and other businesses.

Judy Lucey

Join us on Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at 10AM at the Brewster Ladies' Library, as Judy Lucey will tell us about the materials available at New England Genealogical Society and other repositories. She will give us tips on how to locate resources that will benefit each of us and how to use these materials in our own research.

Judy has worked at NEHGS for the past 10 years and is currently their Assistant Archivist. A Boston native, she received her Bachelor's in Education from Northeastern University and her Master's in Library and Information Science from Simmons College. Her genealogical areas of expertise include Irish genealogy, Newfoundland, 19th and 20th century genealogy, and Italian research.


Click to see the complete listing of monthly programs.

Canadian Genealogy Group to meet March 13, 2013

The CCGS Canadian Special Interest Group will meet in the History Room of the Brewster Ladies' Library on Wednesday, March 13, 2013, at 10 a.m.

Bring your questions and ideas about Canadian research and join our lively and helpful discussion group!

Click for more on CCGS Special Interest Groups.