FamilySearch Photoduplication Service -- A Free Resource

It isn't anything new but since February of this year it is being done a new way.

For years, the Family History Library has had a photoduplication service for items that could not be sent to a local family history center. For these items (most often books), patrons could fill out a request form and receive by mail a few pages for a small fee.

Since February the service has gone completely electronic/digital -- from the request form to receipt of the "copies." A few new rules have been implemented since going digital. One new rule is each person is limited to 5 requests/single copies per month. Another is that if the service can be completed completely digitally then it is free.

To learn more about the service and for a link to the request form, see the Photoduplication Services page. Remember to read all of the information on the page before filling out the request form.

Wondering what you could request with this service? How about a family member's death certificate from the "Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952" database on the FamilySearch website?

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair Begins Tomorrow, October 28, 2014

The National Archives is holding its Virtual Genealogy Fair this week, October 28 to October 30.

You can find the schedule of classes at the National Archives website including speaker bios, handouts and slides for each class. The live classes can be viewed on YouTube.

Tuesday's classes viewable at YouTube are:

• 10:00 a.m. Introduction to Genealogy
• 11:00 a.m. Preserving Your Personal Papers
• 12:00 p.m. When Saying "I Do" Meant Giving Up Your U.S. Citizenship
• 1 p.m. Overview of American Indian Records and Resources on the National Archives Website. 

Wednesday's classes viewable at YouTube are:

• 10:00 a.m. Great Granny Eunice came from Ireland, Grandpa Fred was in the War, Can Access Archival Databases (AAD) Help Me?
• 11:00 a.m. World War I Draft Registration Cards
• 12:00 p.m. Ancestry.com
• 1:00 p.m. Finding the Correct Ancestor: Using Civil War and Census Records
• 2:00 p.m. FamilySearch
• 3:00 p.m. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
• 5:00 p.m. Federal Land Records at the National Archives

Thursday's classes viewable at YouTube are:

• 10:00 a.m. Family History and the FOIA: Researching 20th Century FBI records
• 11:00 a.m. Discovering Your Family's Past in Military and Early Veterans Administration Personal Data Records and Selective Service Records
• 12:00 p.m. Individual Deceased Military Personnel Files (IDPFs)
• 1:00 p.m. Vets and Feds in the Family Tree
• 2:00 p.m. Alien Ancestors during Times of War
• 3:00 p.m. Patently Amazing: Finding Your Family in Patent Records

If the fair is like previous ones held, many of these classes should be viewable after the fair has concluded.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

MCGG Friday Meeting: Researching Your Family History at the Archives of Michigan

On Friday, November 7, at 1:00 pm in the auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, Kris Rzepczyski, senior archivist at the Archives of Michigan, will present Researching Your Family History at the Archives of Michigan.

If you are in the Mount Clemens area, PLEASE JOIN US.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library! 
 
LE

MCGG Resource Development Session is tomorrow Friday, October 24

On Friday, October 24, at 1:00 pm in the auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, we are holding one of our MCGG Resource Development Sessions.
What is a Resource Development Session? It is where those of us who want to contribute back index circuit court and other Macomb County records to create databases to help other researchers. It does not matter if you have Macomb County ancestors or not. It's a nice way to help others; learn what is involved in an indexing projects; and if you do have Macomb County ancestors ... who knows you might just find one. 

So for those of you who are in the Mount Clemens area, PLEASE JOIN US. 

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library! 

LE

Revision to CNN Schedule for Roots: Our Journeys Home

Apparently, there was an error in the schedule for the CNN's take on genealogy/family history television programming. The two-hour special for "Roots: Our Journey's Home," which wraps up the a week of segments on its various anchors segments, will air on this Tuesday, at 9 p.m. not tonight (Monday.)
 
CNN is on most cable and satellite providers. Check your local provider's channel listing to learn the channel number for CNN. For Comcast in Macomb Township, CNN is on channel 40 or for HD service channel 213.
 
It appears many of the segments (or portions of them) are available for viewing on CNN's website in the video area.
 
Here is the corrected description.
 
TUESDAY 10/21

ROOTS: OUR JOURNEYS HOME – 9 pm ET – CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Michaela Pereira will host a two hour special featuring 12 of the network’s hosts and anchors stories. The special will also include interviews with Anderson Cooper, Michaela Pereira, Erin Burnett and Dr. Sanjay Gupta about what the experience has meant to them personally.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

CNN adds New Twist to Genealogy/Family History on Television with its project Roots: Our Journeys Home

It appears the news channel CNN is putting a new twist on genealogy/family history programs. Rather than create a stand alone show dedicated to genealogy/family, it is running genealogy/family history segments featuring 13 of the network's prominent hosts and anchors throughout the week on its various shows. The project, one year in the making, is called ... Roots: Our Journeys Home.

It begins on the night of Sunday, October 12 at 9 p.m. with Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown food/travel show and continues throughout the week culminating on Monday, October 20 at 9 p.m. with a two hour special.

CNN is on most cable and satellite providers. Check your local provider's channel listing to learn the channel number for CNN. For Comcast in Macomb Township, CNN is on channel 40 or for HD service channel 213.

Here is the Roots: Our Journeys Home schedule from CNN's blog:

SUNDAY 10/12

Anthony Bourdain – (9 pm ET) This investigation into the puzzling history of the Bourdain’s great, great, great, grandfather, Paraguayan émigré Jean Bourdain, serves as a springboard to his first tour of this South American country. In Paraguay, Bourdain explores both jungle and desert land, a rich culture, and savory local dishes that include Bife Koygua, Bori Bori, and Sopa Paraguaya.

MONDAY 10/13

Michaela Pereira – (6am ET on New Day) Michaela Pereira’s adoption journey began when she was very young—just three-months-old in Canada. Although she “hit the jackpot” with her adoptive family, she also knows that much of what you see in front of you—the color of her skin, the curl of her hair—comes from her biological parents. After a brief search years ago led to closed doors, Michaela embarks on her roots journey again—this time not in pursuit of her birth parents, but for the place that her ancestors came from—in St. James Parish, Jamaica.

Anderson Cooper – (8pm ET on AC360) Many people know Anderson Cooper as having come from one of America’s most famous families – the Vanderbilts. But growing up, Anderson was always drawn to the southern roots of his father, Wyatt Cooper. Anderson travels to Mississippi where his father grew up and discovers ties between the poor farming family and the rich Vanderbilts that existed before his parents ever met.

TUESDAY 10/14

Chris Cuomo – (6 am ET on New Day) The son and brother of two governors of New York, Chris Cuomo thought he knew all there was to know about his roots, but he discovers a mysterious figure, Germana Castaldo, at the heart of it. Chris travels to the bedrock of the Cuomo family in Italy to retrace her steps.

Jake Tapper – (4 pm ET on The Lead) Jake Tapper grew up in Philly, blocks from Independence Hall, steeped in Americana. He was surprised to learn his family members were Colonists. He was even more surprised to learn that, during the Revolutionary War, they were traitors who sided with British and fled to Canada. Jake travels to Canada to unravel the mystery of why his family remained loyal to the Crown, and how that changes his own story.

Erin Burnett – (7 pm ET on Erin Burnett OutFront) After 50 years of living on a farm in Maryland, Erin Burnett’s parents are packing up their memories and moving on. The move prompts Erin to learn more about her roots beyond the home she grew up in and loves so much. Her journey takes her to a remote Scottish island where she uncovers her ancestors' struggle to survive the potato famine, and meets relatives who still call Scotland home.

Don Lemon – (10 pm ET on CNN Tonight) Because of poor record keeping, it’s nearly impossible for descendants of slaves in America to trace their ancestry past 1870. So CNN’s Don Lemon sets off to find his roots and fill the gaps in his family tree. It’s a journey that takes him from a Louisiana plantation to the hub of the transatlantic slave trade in West Africa.

WEDNESDAY 10/15

Christine Romans – (6 am ET on New Day) As a journalist, Christine Romans interviews newsmakers every day. But in her family, the real newsmaker is just an ordinary girl who had the courage to leave a small town in Denmark, and everything she knew, behind to start all over again in America. Christine goes there, to where it all started.

Wolf Blitzer – (5 pm ET on Sit Room) Wolf Blitzer pays a visit to Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust museum. While there, this son of Holocaust survivors discovers his paternal grandparents actually perished in one of the most brutal extermination camps of WWII, Auschwitz. Wolf returns to his roots in Poland: to visit the camp where more than a million Jews were murdered by the Nazis. He travels to his father’s hometown in the neighboring village, where not one Jew lives today. Wolf also looks for any trace of his maternal grandparents – including his namesake Wolf Zylberfuden – a task made more difficult by a Poland completely rebuilt after the war. Wolf then heads to his own hometown of Buffalo, New York, where his parents managed to start a successful new life in America.

Sanjay Gupta – (8 pm ET on AC360) CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, takes his family half-way around the world to uncover his roots. Their trip, from his mother’s tiny village in Pakistan to his father’s hometown just outside Delhi, is full of surprises. And you won’t believe how mom and dad actually met, right here in America. (re-air Saturday 9/18 at 4:30pm ET on Sanjay Gupta MD)

THURSDAY 10/16

Kate Bolduan – (6 am ET on New Day) Kate Bolduan just gave birth to her first child, a daughter, so finding out about her family tree comes at a perfect time. Bolduan grew up in the Midwest, and was surprised to learn that she comes from a long line of glass blowers from a tiny village in Belgium. Pregnant during her journey, Bolduan set off to find out more about the family business, learning her great great grandmother traveled to America while SHE was pregnant, too. And you'll never believe what historic event happened just weeks before she set sail.

FRIDAY 10/17

John Berman – (6 am ET on New Day) Could John Berman be royalty? Is he related to the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza, noted as the Prince of Philosophers? John Berman travels to Amsterdam, the country where his ancestors, the Spinozas, lived for 140 years in search of his “Inner Spinoza”… and the truth.

Fareed Zakaria – (8 pm ET on AC360) Fareed Zakaria takes viewers on a historical journey as he explores his family’s roots and discovers how his personal story intersects with critical moments in history. Fareed’s father, an orphan and self-made man who eventually became a Minister in India’s government, often claimed that he had Central Asian “warrior” ancestry. Given the lack of records in India, Fareed takes a DNA test to see whether his father’s jocular claims can be validated. True to form, Fareed puts what he learns along the way into greater historical context. (re-air Sunday 9/19, 10am ET on Fareed Zakaria GPS)

MONDAY 10/20

ROOTS: OUR JOURNEYS HOME – 9 pm ET – CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Michaela Pereira will host a two hour special featuring 12 of the network’s hosts and anchors stories. The special will also include interviews with Anderson Cooper, Michaela Pereira, Erin Burnett and Dr. Sanjay Gupta about what the experience has meant to them personally.

Beginning Friday, October 10, a sneak peek at Roots will be available on CNN.com. As the journeys unfold on-air, viewers online will be invited to watch and share the segments as well as explore more of each anchor’s story through video extras, exclusive photos and first-person accounts of their individual journeys. They will also be able to compare their habits and hobbies to CNN’s anchors with a new “Which anchor are you?” quiz. Throughout, the Roots experience will extend across on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr using the hashtag #CNNRoots.

See you soon at the Mt Clemens Public Library!

LE

This Wednesday's Let's Talk...Genelaogy meeting topic is My Tallest Brick Wall and Where do I go from Here?

This Wednesday, October 8, at 7 p.m. in the Genealogy/Local History Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library is MCGG's Let's Talk...Genealogy meeting. The discussion topic of the night is My Tallest Brick Wall and Where Do I Go From Here?

Whether you have a big find or a small find, are not sure where to go next or what to do, or have a problem/wall you could use another view of -- bring them with you Wednesday night. We'll give everyone a turn.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

 LE

October is National Family History Month! Do Something for your Genealogy!

Worldwide, nationally or locally we observe or commemorate public issues, social causes, heritages/ethnicities, historic events, or noted individuals. Just a day may be selected, occasionally a particular week is designated, but sometimes a whole month is chosen.

October is Family History Month in the United States. You have 31 days to celebrate. Okay, technically just 29 are left but it is up to you how you choose to do so.

Need some ideas? Attend a genealogy event this month. See our Southeast Michigan Genealogy Events Calendar for ideas.

Want to do something for your own research? Plan a short research trip or try some of these ideas (inspired by other designated days) you can do at home.

• Since the first week of October is Get Organized Week, plan one or two days or an hour each day to organize your genealogy papers.
• Since October 3 is Techies Day, spend sometime tomorrow organizing the files on your hard drive and backing up your hard drive. Or simply entering into your genealogy program that information you have been meaning to do.
• Since October is also Computer Learning Month, check out a book or watch a webinar on how to use one of your genealogy-related programs ... or your computer.
• October 5 is the generally the end of OktoberFest in Germany, try to do some research on a German ancestor if you have one.
• October 9 is Curious Events Day, try investigating a mystery in your family tree. This day is also Lief Erikson Day, if you have a Norse ancestor research him or her.
• October 12 is Moment of Frustration Day, re-examine one or more of your "brickwall" ancestors and create a plan to knock down that wall.
• October 13 is Columbus Day, research a Spanish line if you have it or research an ancestor's emigration/immigration. It is also International Skeptics Day, take another look at those family branches that might be a little shaky.
• October 18 is International Newspaper Carrier Day, search for your ancestors in the newspaper. Or re-read your newspaper finds to see if you missed something. This day is also Sweetest Day, search again for those missing marriage records.
• October 19 is Evaluate Your Life Day, in the spirit of this day spend some time re-evaluating your research efforts on a particular problem.
• October 27 is National Tell a Story Day in Scotland and the U.K., so try writing your memories about a particular relative. Or, write down those stories of your ancestors/family that you heard growing up.

I think you get the idea, just do something genealogy related no matter how small or big.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Pubic Library!

LE