Welcome to the May 4, 2010 edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. The topic for this edition is: "How-To" Series! This time around all our participants have written a series of articles in which they share their expertise. There is sooo much to be learned from these genealogy blog authors! If you read this edition of the COG from start to finish you'll learn the nuts and bolts of how to do genealogy research in Eastern Europe, Norway, the Netherlands, and Ohio. You'll also learn how to do genealogy research the "old fashioned way" (before computers), while saving money and coming in on budget. Not only that... you'll also learn how to organize and preserve your heirlooms and research documents, make and preserve an audio recording of your loved ones, create a composite photo of a place near and dear to your heart, write a compelling and inspirational family history, and do so with all of your sources cited correctly. Whew! Have I got your attention yet??? This edition of the COG is loaded with great information from true experts in the field. I couldn't have chosen a better group of writers and topics if I'd hand picked them myself!
So, without further ado, I suggest you mix yourself a nice thick fruit smoothie (you're going to need the good nutrition for all the learning you're about to do ;-) and prepare to take a lot of notes. The Carnival is in town and your education is about to begin!
So, without further ado, I suggest you mix yourself a nice thick fruit smoothie (you're going to need the good nutrition for all the learning you're about to do ;-) and prepare to take a lot of notes. The Carnival is in town and your education is about to begin!
[In this edition I've commented on several articles. As is most often the case in the COG, the articles are presented in the order I received them. The articles I've selected to comment on were chosen not because they are "better" than the rest but because there is something about them I want to call your attention to. Maybe they are especially well researched, maybe they made me laugh, maybe they are a good example of storytelling, maybe they taught me something I didn't already know, etc. Just think of it as me pointing out some of the various rides offered at a carnival ;-)
And now, on with the show!
Susan A. Kitchens presents Family Oral History Using Digital Tools | From Digital Audio Recording to Audio CD: Part 1 - Audio into Audacity posted at Family Oral History Using Digital Tools [News], saying, "It starts with the audio recording you made after you said, “Hi Mom, I want to interview you about your memories about Grandma and Grandpa.”* (titles of relatives may vary) It ends with your burned Audio CD. This set of tutorials takes you through freely available software -- Audacity and iTunes -- to process audio files of your family's stories. (Pssssst! Secret! There's an audio cameo by Sheri Fenley, another geneablogger!)" Oh yeah, oh yeah! I was absolutely delighted to see this submission from Susan. And if you're like me and you're intimidated by the whole sound recording and editing thing you will be too! Susan takes us step-by-step through all the stages of creating and preserving an audio recording. If you've ever wished you knew how to do that, read on my friends! Thanks Susan! I'll be coming back to your blog soon to work my way through making an audio CD with some of my audio recordings :-)
Susan's articles are easy to follow and understand. Not everyone can write step-by-step instructions and be entertaining at the same time. But Susan does it and she does it well. Don't miss her terrific series!
Please join me in congratulating Susan Kitchens for being the Featured Author of the 93rd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy!
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blog carnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Thanks for the poster, fM!
Dorene Paul presents 93rd Carnival of Genealogy: How To Series posted at Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay, saying, "Dorene from Ohio has presented three blog posts related to genealogical research in the Buckeye State. If have ancestors in Ohio, check out her site."
Jennifer Shaw presents COG 93: The Genealogical Proof Standard posted at ShawGenealogy, saying, "I wrote this series on the Genealogical Proof Standard as I was preparing to give a lecture on the topic. Each post looks at a step, breaking it down and explaining what it means and how to do it." I really enjoyed reading Jennifer's 7-part series on the Genealogical Proof Standard. It's a great series that gets to the point and gives very good examples. If you're wanting the nuts and bolts of GPS without having to read a book 2 inches thick, don't miss this series! Thank you, Jennifer, for breaking it all down for us!
Astrid Haugen presents Researching Norwegian Ancestors: What's the Deal with those Norwegian Names? posted at Of Trolls and Lemons. Astrid writes of Norwegian naming conventions, and online research methodology. I've heard about the challenges of researching Norwegian surnames before. After reading Astrid's series of articles the surname convention finally makes sense to me. If you have Norwegian ancestors you'll truly appreciate Astrid's series of articles! She did a wonderful job of explaining the naming convention and how to look for ancestors in online Parish Registers and in the online Grave Database. Very thoroughly and well done, Astrid! Thanks!
Tina Lyons presents Saving Money with Society Memberships - Part One posted at Tina's Genealogical Wish List, saying, "How to save money by joining genealogy societies."
Steve Danko presents A Beginner's Guide to Eastern European Genealogy - Part 1 posted at Steve's Genealogy Blog, saying, "To start off the fifth year of Steve's Genealogy Blog, I've published a three part series with some basic information that those beginning to study Eastern European Genealogy may find useful. The first installment describes background and first steps, the second installment describes the history of Eastern Europe, and the third installment discusses how records of birth/baptism, marriage, and death varied in different parts of Poland at different times in history." Oh to have had this information and advice when I was getting started with my Polish genealogy research! Steve does a terrific job of identifying the key elements of Eastern European genealogy research. I especially liked his synopsis of Polish history which tells why certain events are important for genealogy researchers to understand. And his descriptions of what format to expect to find vital records in is very, very helpful too. Bravo Steve!
Cheryl Schulte presents The Family Kolberg/Colberg, Part One posted at Two Sides of the Ocean, saying, "An example of how to achieve success in genealogy research with using a variety of available tools." Cheryl's 9-part series takes you step-by-step through her entire research history of one family line. She starts way back in the pre-computer age (doesn't get to using computers until Part 7!), back when letter writing was the way to get things done, and gives a good time frame for how long it took to request and receive information. She includes lots of photos, maps, and documents to illustrate her findings. And Cheryl leaves us with some mystery photos, research yet to be done. I don't know how she can remember the details of so many years of research! Seriously, this is a fantastic series and should be a must-read for those who give up when they can't find what they're looking for online!
Steve Danko presents Describing Place Names in Poland - A Summary posted at Steve's Genealogy Blog, saying, "How do you record the names of the places where the vital events of your ancestors' lives occurred? Do you report the names of the places as they exist today or do you report the names of the places as they were at the time of the events? In this series of articles, Steve Danko discusses why the conscientious genealogist should report the place names as they were at the time of the event and he describes how to report the names of places in Poland throughout Polish history. The lessons are far from complete, however, and the reader should consider this a work in progress." If you're not into Polish genealogy this one might make your eyes glaze over ;-) Steve gets down and dirty with Polish place names... digging into Poland's history to determine the many governmental boundary changes that have taken place over time. It's invaluable if you are researching family history in Poland! Thanks for another great series, Steve!
Cynthia Shenette presents Letters and Photos and Stuff, Oh My!: Sorting Through a Loved One's Estate (Part 1) posted at Heritage Zen:, saying, "I'm new to blogging, though I've been reading the Carnival of Genealogy for a while. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to submit my work. If you have any questions regarding my entry feel free to e-mail at any time. Thanks again! Cindy" Oh Cindy, you'll fast become a favorite of COG readers if you keep writing articles like these! Here we have a series of 3 articles on the topic of sorting and organizing documents, heirlooms, and the like. Who hasn't been faced with a big box (or several) of someone's precious "stuff" to deal with? Cindy has lots of good ideas for how to approach and proceed. Very good advice here! Thanks so much Cindy!
Jasia presents Creating a Composite Photo, Part 1 posted at Creative Gene. "How'd you do that?" That's the question I was asked repeatedly after I shared some composite photos in a recent blog post. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share with my Creative Gene readers just how I did it. Part 1 deals with obtaining the necessary photos, Part 2 deals with obtaining the necessary software, and Part 3 deals with the nuts and bolts of putting it all together. Step-by-step screen shots in Part 3 illustrate how I put the composite picture together. I look forward to seeing the results of anyone who has tried it!
J.M. presents How-to Guide to Genealogy in the Netherlands posted at Tracing My Roots, saying, "This guide is my way of sharing my knowledge of Dutch genealogy. It is my hope that this guide helps both people located within the Netherlands who are researching their ancestors as well as people outside of the Netherlands who want to research their Dutch roots. It is an on-going series." J.M. gives us very nice directions on how to obtain vital record information for those researching their Dutch ancestory. She also has links to articles with examples of the documents provided by the Central Bureau of Genealogy in The Hague. She makes it sound so easy but also points out that it isn't always so. The series currently has 3 parts but it's ongoing and more will be added. It's a gem! Thanks for information J.M.!
Joan Hill presents 93rd Carnival Of Genealogy:"How To" Confessions of a Storytelling Family Historian; Part III, On Writing posted at Roots'n'Leaves, saying, "Confession 1: In this community of serious genealogists, being a teller of stories places me in a space apart, and indeed intimidates me. Confession 2: A desire to be recognized as a serious historian, as well as a gifted story teller. Confession 3: When I started this series, I did not have a clue as to how I write." Joan is a natural storyteller. If you've read her blog you know that she makes her writing seem effortless. This is not the case though! There's a lot more that goes into her stories than you might think. This 3-part series takes us through the thought process, research, and editing that goes into her writing. It's a good lesson for those who aspire to be as good a writer a Joan is (that would be me ;-) ! Thanks for the lessons, Joan!
M. Diane Rogers presents How To Budget Your Genealogy $ - Part 3 - Carnival of Genealogy - 93rd Edition posted at CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt', saying, "Genealogy information isn't always free - nor do I think it's reasonable to assume it should be. Often deciding how to spend your genealogy dollars involves research and asking lots of questions. (Sounds much like genealogy itself, doesn't it?)" This is a series we can all benefit from. Genealogy can get expensive but there are ways to manage the costs. Diane shows us a myriad of ways to examine our research strategies and choose the best ways to allocate our money to cover the costs. Way to go Diane! Thanks for showing us how to stretch a dollar and save some money!
~*~*~*Feature Article *~*~*~
Susan's articles are easy to follow and understand. Not everyone can write step-by-step instructions and be entertaining at the same time. But Susan does it and she does it well. Don't miss her terrific series!
Please join me in congratulating Susan Kitchens for being the Featured Author of the 93rd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy!
That concludes this edition of the COG. Thanks to all the participants who so generously shared their expertise with us. What a caring, sharing, and knowledgeable group you are! This edition required more than usual from our participants, at least three posts. So please be sure to leave a comment and thank them for their commitment to genealogy and family history education. That's the very least they deserve!
Call for Submissions! The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be: The Changing Role of Women. In honor of Mother's Day, which is just around the corner, we're going to reflect on the changing roles of the women on our family trees. Do you have a "Rosie the Riveter" in the family? What about a "Suzy Homemaker"? Is there a woman who has made her way in a field traditionally dominated by men... a doctor, engineer, scientist, astronaut, police or military officer, etc? Or maybe you come from a long line of domestically oriented women. Discuss the changing roles of women in your family and share them with us in the next edition of the COG. The deadline for submissions is June 1st.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blog carnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Thanks for the poster, fM!
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