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Genealogy

Help Transcribe the 1950 Census

April 15, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

transcribe the censusThe National Archives launched the 1950 Census website on April 1st, and is seeking help from the public to transcribe and refine the name index.

The website has already had more than 1.4 million visitors, including 44 million page views and over 1.2 million names transcribed. Transcribing or submitting name updates helps improve the accuracy of the name index and make the records more searchable. [Read more…] about Help Transcribe the 1950 Census

Filed Under: History Tagged With: 1950 Census, Family History, Genealogy, National Archives

New York City Vital Records Now Online for Free

March 22, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

nyc birth certificateThe largest collection of publicly available New York City birth, marriage, and death records is now online and free to access.

The New York City Municipal Archives has been working to digitize the millions of birth, marriage, and death records it holds since 2013. With the project now 70% complete, 9,318,625 digitized records from the 1860s to the early 1900s are already available online.

The completely digitized collection will include records of birth (1866–1909), death (1862–1948), and marriage (1866–1949). The new vital records was released following legal efforts by Reclaim The Records, and is based on an index created by the Genealogical Federation of Long Island (GFLI) who used the microfilmed card file to create the indexes.  [Read more…] about New York City Vital Records Now Online for Free

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Archives, Family History, Genealogical Federation of Long Island, Genealogy, New York City, NYC Archives, NYG-B

The 1950 Census Has Been Released – Here’s How To Get It

March 17, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

a Farmer Supplies Answers to the 232 Questions on the Farm ScheduleAccording to the “72-Year Rule,” the National Archives releases census records to the general public 72 years after Census Day. As a result, the 1950 census records was released on April 1, 2022. The 1950 census was the first released in a digital, searchable form (name and place) from the outset. Previous censuses required time consuming and error introducing transcriptions and indexing.

Since the first census in 1790, the U.S. Census Bureau has collected data using a census “schedule,” also formally called a “questionnaire” or popularly called a “form.” Between 1790 and 1820, U.S. Marshals conducting the census were responsible for supplying paper and writing-in headings related to the questions asked (i.e., name, age, sex, race, etc.). In 1830, Congress authorized the printing of uniform schedules for use throughout the United States. [Read more…] about The 1950 Census Has Been Released – Here’s How To Get It

Filed Under: History Tagged With: 1950 Census, Economic History, Family History, Genealogy, Labor History

Ireland’s Public Record Office Virtual Reconstruction Primer

March 12, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Life, Death and Virtual Reconstruction of the Public Record Office of IrelandBeyond 2022 is working to recreate, digitally, Ireland‘s lost national treasure. This all-island and international research program combines historical research, archival discovery and technical innovation to track down copies and transcripts of original records lost in 1922.

Reuniting collections scattered around the globe, the aim of Beyond 2022 is to launch the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland — an open-access, virtual reconstruction of the Record Treasury destroyed at the Public Record Office of Ireland in the Four Courts Fire of 1922.

[Read more…] about Ireland’s Public Record Office Virtual Reconstruction Primer

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Events, History Tagged With: Genealogy, Irish American Heritage Museum, Irish History

Berne and Knox: German Heritage & Genealogy

February 1, 2022 by Harold Miller Leave a Comment

Berne and Knox Our German HeritageIn 1977 Our Heritage, a detailed history of the Town of Berne, was published by Hope Farm Press, Cornwalleville, New York. Mistakenly the book says it was produced by the Berne Historical Society.

An insert that accompanied the publication says “We regret to inform you there is a publication error. This book was produced by the Berne Bicentennial Commission, not the Berne Historical Society. The copyright should read the Town of Berne, not the Berne Historical Society. Virginia E. Mann, Town of Berne Bicentennial Commission Chairman.” [Read more…] about Berne and Knox: German Heritage & Genealogy

Filed Under: Books, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany County, Berne, Genealogy, German-American History, Town of Knox

A Saratoga County Cemetery Mystery

January 13, 2022 by Dave Waite 3 Comments

Mann Monuments - Powell-Wiswall and Ballston Spa Village CemeteriesAlong Plummer Road in the town of Milton in Saratoga County sits the Powell-Wiswall Cemetery, a peaceful rural cemetery where local residents have been laid to rest since the early 1800s.

Standing like a sentinel over it all is a large statue of Christ. On two sides are engraved the names Ella Frances Wood-Mann and her husband Enos Rogers Mann. This monument sits adjacent to Wood family plots, where over the years Ella’s parents and other family members have been laid to rest. [Read more…] about A Saratoga County Cemetery Mystery

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Cemeteries, Genealogy, Milton, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable

Harvard Library Focuses On Improving Access To Black History Collections

January 6, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

front page from The Genius of Universal Emancipation, an "anti-slavery journal, and register of news" published in Baltimore, July 26, 1828Houghton Library, Harvard University’s largest rare books and manuscripts repository, is home to hundreds of thousands of materials relating to history across the world. Houghton’s collections related to Black history range from the 18th century through today, but have been difficult to find among all the other material.

During the 2020‒21 academic year however, library staff paused their other digital projects to focus on building the collection related to Black American history. The effort has made more primary sources by and about African Americans available digitally, along with a considerable amount of context. [Read more…] about Harvard Library Focuses On Improving Access To Black History Collections

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Abolition, Archives, Black History, Cultural History, Featured Collections, Genealogy, Political History, Slavery

Finding Historic Maps: Tips from the New York Almanack

January 2, 2022 by Editorial Staff 8 Comments

Map of the CIty of Albany about 1770 by Robert YatesRecently libraries, archives, and museums around the globe featured some of their favorite maps and map-related records using #ArchivesYouAreHere.

Maps, atlases, pocket maps, maritime charts and other cartographic materials contain a wealth of information about places in New York State.

Here are some tips on how to find them: [Read more…] about Finding Historic Maps: Tips from the New York Almanack

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Genealogy, Geography, Maps, Transportation History

A Welsh Immigrant Writes Home from Upstate New York, 1856

December 15, 2021 by Daniel Koch 1 Comment

“Welsh Settlement in Upstate New York, 1795 to c. 1940s,”There is a fascinating letter from Evan Evans of Turin, Lewis County, NY to his relatives back in Wales. It is written in Welsh and dated August 1856.

The letter tells the story of a young man who had recently arrived in the United States who was struggling with homesickness and wrestling with doubts about whether he had made the right decision to move to America. He describes the sea-crossing, his arrival, and his new life in north-central New York State.

The letter now resides in the Meirionnydd Archives in northwest Wales. [Read more…] about A Welsh Immigrant Writes Home from Upstate New York, 1856

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Cultural History, Genealogy, Immigration, Lewis County, Oneida County, Turin, Utica

1.76 Million New Jersey Birth Records Now Available

December 2, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

geographic birth index for New JerseyReclaim The Records has released the New Jersey Geographic Birth Index, 1901-1929.

It’s the first-ever online publication of a twentieth century birth index from the Garden State, with the exception of the 1901-1903 birth index which was released a few years ago. The geographic birth index is a list of births that have been separated by county of birth, and sometimes by a major city within the county, not just a purely alphabetical list. [Read more…] about 1.76 Million New Jersey Birth Records Now Available

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Genealogy, New Jersey

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