The Coolest Statistics Project Ever

This semester I am taking a statistics course that requires that I complete a semester long statistics research study. So as I pondered over possible research questions, I knew it has to relate to genealogy somehow. After discussing some options with my professor, we formulated the following research question:

Are there any differences between beginner, intermediate, and experienced genealogists with regard to the amount of money and types of expenditures they make to research their family tree?

I'm excited because my big semester long project is related to genealogy - and I am actually curious about the results. This project is a fun one to me all because genealogy is included.

So - I am asking all of my genealogy friends to help me out! Please, fill out the two part survey (part 1 and part 2). This survey is entirely anonymous - I never ask for your name. All of your answers are completely confidential, and the only two people who will ever see your individual answers are myself and my professor. However, at the end of my study (at the end of November), I will be posting my conclusions here on my blog. Besides - aren't you a bit curious about the question?

If you know other genealogists - ask them to participate also. The more answers I get, the better the findings.

So thank you to anyone who has already filled the survey out and thank you to everyone who will fill out the survey. Genealogists truly are the nicest people out there!

Update: Thanks to everyone who told me that the survey closed. I long story short, I fixed the problem.

COG 82 - A Youngster's View of Genealogy Societies

Genealogy societies are an important tool for genealogists: It is a way of making this hobby a social one. By talking to other genealogists, you are bound to learn something new or interesting - and you get to make some really great friends too.

While I wish I had unlimited amounts of money to join a TON of societies (oh and I have a loooooooooooong list of societies to join), that is not the case. So I currently only belong to one paid society - which is the Southern California Genealogical Society. The resources this society provides (a gigantic library full of lots and lots of books and materials as seen on this video tour of the society's library). This is also the genealogy society that puts on the Southern California Genealogy Society Jamboree every year - and that is a FUN conference. I met so many wonderful, nice, helpful people at the conference last year.

However, I am also part of a free genealogy society called the Youth Genealogists Society. This is an online genealogy society specifically for young genealogists. However, young genealogists are not the only members - it is hoped that older genealogists will mentor and guide us youngsters.

Personally, I think more people need to be joining these societies. They are fun, offer a chance to meet new people, and many research opportunities.

Update: I wrote this post when I had a headache. Now that it is gone I just want to clarify a few things.

1. For anyone that wants to join the Youth Genealogists Association, here is the link that explains how to do that. Remember, this group isn't ONLY for the younger crowd of genealogy, although that is the focus. We could use some mentors and some innovative people to spice up this society and make it better.
2. For anyone just plain curious about what other genealogy societies I would join if I had a lot of money, here is a quick list: NEHGS, my local genealogical society, East Tennessee Historical Society, and the California Genealogical Society. Mind you, this is a really short, quick list. My actual list is much longer.

My Review of Family Tree Builder

Family Tree Builder 4.0, the new and free genealogy program from MyHeritage.com is good choice for genealogists looking for a free program.

Every genealogy program has it's pros and cons - just like every genealogist has their preference on genealogy programs. Personally, I don't believe that there is a "one program fits all". So keep that in mind for this review.

The first thing that stands out in using this program is the easy navigation. On the left side is an individual list of everyone in the tree, making it easy to move from one person to another. That list also includes a tab called "Tree", which shows individuals in relation to their parents, siblings, children, and spouses. This is a convenient way to navigate to other families. These lists are also collapsible, which allows for you to have as much work space as needed.

When viewing the tree, you also have some options, such as number of generations visible. What is unusual (at least to me) is that you don't have different "views" of your tree (such as family, pedigree, etc.), instead you vary the number of generations visible.

What I really like about this, is the chance to link pictures to each person. This is a great way to show the link between your tree and the pictures that you've collected. This is also good because you can attach .jpg files of census and other records. These photos can then be easily organized into photo albums.

However, one of my absolute favorite feature of this program is the automatic face tagging (for all of you Facebook users out there, it is very similar to tagging people on Facebook). This is a great feature for identifying who is who in each picture. This program also has the capabilities to recognize faces (although, I must admit as a disclaimer that I don't have a lot of pictures loaded into the program and it has not recognized any faces for me - yet!).

Another thing I really like about this program, is the mapping capabilities. While this certainly is not a requirement, it can put your ancestors locations into perspectives of one another. It is also nice to have a visual representation of where your ancestors are from.

The program also has the ability to create websites (that can be private) - and it is relatively easy to do. This feature is a very useful feature for some, but not exactly required for myself.

Something that I find super important when using a genealogy program is lots and lots of tutorials - and this program has plenty of easy, step-by-step wizards that walk you through creating your family tree.

The only thing I would say that would improve the program is a cleaner feel - the screen can easily get to filled. For someone like me, I find it distracting from the task at hand.

My one major complaint is that this program does not have a good source wizard. I feel that for so many beginning genealogists (and just genealogists in general) this is not properly explained. We've all heard of citing our sources, but as a beginning genealogist it is so easy to get overwhelmed when there is an absence of a wizard that walks you through it. The reason I am particularly hard on this program for this feature is because generally beginning genealogists turn to free programs to experiment with the hobby (or obsession!). But I must admit, I am a huge believer in sources.

All in all, this is a good program choice for those who have small budgets. While it isn't my preference (I use Roots Magic 4), it is certainly a program that is beginning to rival many of the other free programs out there.

SNGF - Memories From 23rd Street

I remember being 4 and 5 years old living with both my parents on the bottom floor of an apartment building on 23rd Street. I spent a lot of time playing outside in the warm California sun.

Adopting the Neighbor's Cat

At my house we had one cat who would put up with me only to a certain degree before hiding from me. Therefore, I was forced to begin looking for other animals for me to play with. So, when I found a very friendly cat with a scratch underneath her eye, I instantly went into a panic. I begged my parents to help me take care of her. My dad cleaned her scratch and gave me some cat treats to feed her. I was thrilled.
For a long time this cat would come back to me each day and I would feed her food. My young mind determined that she was homeless and I needed to adopt her. So I named her "Sweet Cheeks".
Then one day, I saw my Sweet Cheeks entering a neighbor's house across the street. My heart was crushed - she wasn't really my cat. She belonged to the neighbors.

The Neighbor's Number Tattoo

My upstairs neighbor (also our apartment building owner) was an elderly lady by the name of Maria. Maria knew how to sew very well and often made me costumes to play dress up. Every year for Halloween, she would make my costume.

One year in particular when I was maybe 5 or 6 years old, I went up to her house for a fitting of my princess dress for Halloween. She had me try it on and she realized that she had made it too long. As she was pinning the bottom of the dress, I noticed that her arm was not wrapped in it's usual bandage. As she continued pinning the bottom of my dress, I noticed a tattoo. The tattoo was nothing but numbers.

I innocently remarked that her arm was "healed". She looked at me puzzled for a moment before I pointed out that she was not wearing a bandage on her arm. She then looked nervous and kept her arm close to her body.

Unknowingly, I asked what her tattoo meant. As I asked the question, she poked me with a pin. Then she told me to go home. I began apologizing, although I didn't exactly understand what I had done wrong. I had seen tattoos before - my dad even has one. I had always been told that tatoos meant something to the person who got it.

That night, my parents explained to me that Maria had a very different case. Her tattoo reminded her of something bad and terrible that had happened to her, which is why she always had it covered up.

It wasn't for many years later until I was told more about Maria's story. Maria was only a young girl when she was taken to a Nazi Concentration camp because she was a gypsy. The numbers on her arm were a form of identification to the Nazi's. It was only her and a sister that survived. At the end of the war, they immigrated to the U.S.

Applying Study Tips to Genealogy

These days, school is always on my mind. I am constantly trying to stay on top of all of my classes and not fall behind - which in turn leaves me with very little time for genealogy.



So when I finally tried to do genealogy this weekend, I couldn't escape my study mindset. So I decided to let myself brainstorm to discover what study techniques I can use towards genealogy. Here is what I came up with:

1. Look for more resources to expand your understanding. You can't fully understand your ancestors without looking at every single piece of information you can get your hands on. One record isn't enough - you need lots and lots of records. That means you need to look at census records, vital records, church records, diaries, local histories, land records, etc. By having more records, you are potentially gathering more leads.
2. Review, Review, Review. It is so easy to overlook an important clue to the puzzle of your family tree. The only way to make sure that you don't miss that important clue is to review what you have. If you can get another genealogist with fresh eyes to look at your work, all the better.
3. Get and Stay Organized. If you aren't organized in college, you are going to fall behind very quickly. Make sure that you have a system to organize all the elements of your genealogical life: your paper files, your computer files, your heirlooms, and everything else you are doing. Mind you, this is a lot easier said than done, but in order to be efficient and avoid mistake in your genealogy, you have to be organized.
4. Be Prepared. If you are going to take a research trip you need to have all of your supplies ready. You should know why you are at the particular library (or archive or cemetery, etc) and have a goal in mind. You should bring any necessary supplies along for the trip with you like a laptop, paper and pens, charts, etc.
5. Take Good Notes. As you surf the web, study microfilm, or read books, you are going to be taking notes on what you find. It is important that you write down the details that apply to your family tree and any identifying information about the website, book, or reel of microfilm you are looking at - this makes it possible for you to find this resource again in the future.
6. Ask for Help. Sometimes, you just need to ask for help - and that isn't something to be ashamed of. In this case you could hire a professional genealogist or ask a trusted friend for advice.

As you can tell, I just can't get school or genealogy off my mind - so I combined the two!