Two more Bloggers of Honor for the Albuquerque Family History Expo

Bloggers George Geder and Valorie Elkins have also been selected as Bloggers of Honor for the Family History Expo to be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 13th and 14th, 2012.

		George Geder, Geder Genealogy Genealogist, Restoration Specialist and Civil War Researcher: In addition to his Civil War research and re-enacting activities, George is a restoration specialist who specializes in retouching and restoring old family photographs including Tin-types and postcards.

Valerie Elkins, Family Cherished A professional genealogist utilizing 25 years’ experience in blending research and technology with the art of storytelling. Valerie has worked as a research consultant for TV’s Who Do You Think You Are and Generation Project. Researcher, writer, lecturer, storyteller, and social media strategist.

Revisiting: Who are the genealogists?

I had a comment to a recent blog post that said,

I enjoy your reasoning, and the posts. However, I must point out, in the spirit of accuracy, that it is a common misconception that the majority of people doing genealogy are elderly. This idea, although popular, is wrong. Genealogists are of all ages. How do I know? I ran the largest study ever done so far -- please see the results at psych.fullerton.edu/genealogy/ and/or look through the Ancestry magazine past issues to find the article.

Well, this statement really challenges the demographics compiled by Internet analytics such as Alexa.com and my own unsubstantiated observations at every genealogy conference I have ever attended.  It also seems contrary to my perception from dealing with patrons at the Mesa Family History Center for the past seven or eight years.

In looking for the article, I found that the author claims a copyright and asks that she be notified "before publishing information about this study or the web address." Hmm. Looks like my commentator is the person who wrote the study. The commentator has not responded to my attempts at contact, so I will not refer to any of the information in the study, neither will I give the URL. 


Is it a common misconception that "the majority of people doing genealogy are elderly?"


How would we go about determining that fact? And who are the "elderly?" And just for fun, let's see if we can define a "genealogist." 


Let's talk about the elderly first. Do you define yourself as elderly? I'm not sure I will ever reach that point, no matter what my calendar age. There is always someone older than I am and more infirm that I will personally define as elderly. Do we define elderly as a simple chronological age or is there some kind of subjective criteria? I know some people over 90 who could challenge anyone at any time with their fabulous mental ability. On the other hand, I know a lot of much, much younger people who couldn't reason their way out of a paper bag. 


I assume that genealogy is a difficult and challenging activity, no matter what your involvement or mental ability. So is age a criteria? However, in this context, I think the issue is more about simple chronological age. 


What does it mean to be a genealogist? How do you determine if someone is or is not a genealogist? Isn't this somewhat of a self-appointed title? If I say I am a genealogist then I am one? Do I need to know how to spell genealogist to be one? That would probably eliminate a lot of us. How do we find out who thinks they are a genealogist?


What does it mean to "do genealogy?" I have seen surveys that claim huge levels of interest in genealogy where the question asked was "Are you interested in learning about your family's history?" Well, duh, almost everyone will answer yes. The real question is not whether you watch a certain TV show, but whether you actually do something about researching your family. So how do you find these people? I suggest that you look for them at genealogy conferences and Family History Centers. You may also wish to look at who subscribes to Ancestry.com by age, if that statistic is available? How about those who bother to read my blog?

Let's look at chronological age. One simple definition is those over 65. By that definition, I am elderly. 

I have always used the demographics for the readers of my blog as an indication of the age level of genealogists generally. I realize that by focusing on the readers of an online blog, I am eliminating a lot of older people whose involvement in the Internet is minimal, but if I am eliminating those older people, the statistics would be skewed towards an older interest group in any event. 


So who reads my blog? In an Alexa snapshot for 20 March 2012, Genealogy's Star ranks 303,507 in the world and 115,730 in the US. Hmm. The audience demographics show a dramatic level of interest by those over 65 compared to the general population. Also, that there are more women than the general population. Those women have graduate school experience and no children. 


I like to think those that read my blog define themselves as genealogists. I would further submit that the overwhelming statistics of my readership show a marked level of interest and involvement by those 65 years old and older. This indicates to me that the population of genealogists is heavily weighted towards the older population. So how do you prove otherwise?

Family History Expos Bloggers of Honor for Albuquerque

Family History Expos has selected its Bloggers of Honor for the Albuquerque Family History Expo. They are as follows:

Our Bloggers of Honor

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		Arlene H. Eakle, Ph.D., Genealogy Evidence Other blogs: Kentucky Tennessee Virginia New York Scots-Irish (launch soon) Dr. Eakle is president of The Genealogical Institute, Inc., she is a professional genealogist with more than 30 years’ experience in research, consulting, lecturing, and writing.

		James L. Tanner, Genealogy's Star James has more than thirty years experience in law and computers, and over twenty years experience as a research genealogist. He volunteers at the Mesa Regional Family History Center. James' family dates back to the Mayflower. With the exception of one great-great grandfather from Denmark, his family all came from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

		Leland K. Meitzler, GenealogyBlog Leland loves genealogy, as well as history in general. He also likes to blog, and GenealogyBlog is the product of that passion. He started blogging in 2003. The last 30 years he has worked as a magazine editor & publisher. He calls GenealogyBlog.com his “free daily online genealogy nautamagazine.”

		Scott Phillips, Onward To Our Past Genealogical historian and Owner of Onward To Our Past®. Scott specializes in Bohemia/Czech Republic, Cornwall, Italy, and Midwestern genealogy. Scott has been published by the National Czech & Slovak Museum and Library, MyHeritage.com, Ohio Genealogical Society, and several other organizations.

		Schelly Talalay Dardashti, Tracing the Tribe MyHeritage Concentrates on genealogy as journalist, blogger and speaker. Dardashti has traced her families for more than 20 years. She authors the Jewish genealogy blog, Tracing the Tribe; edits/contributes to MyHeritage Blog; is the MyHeritage.com US genealogy advisor, New Mexico Jewish Historical Society genealogy chair, and on the Sandoval County (NM) Genealogy Society committee.

		Robert J. C. Baca, New Mexico Genealogical Society Blog The Baca / Douglas Genealogy and Family History Blog Has been researching genealogy for over a dozen years. He is a blogger well known to both the local and national genealogy community. He is currently the president of the New Mexico Genealogical Society.

Henrietta Martinez Christmas, 1598 New Mexico A genealogical and historical researcher for 30+ years, descends from eleven soldiers that came with Oñate in 1598. A writer and speaker, she has written several genealogical and historical books, relating to New Mexico's towns and their people and more than 100 journal articles relating to genealogy and history.

1940 US Census Indexing Simulation

Quoting from a press release from the 1940 US Census Community Project,

1940 US Census Project Update
As the launch of the 1940 US Census Community Project draws near, we're making final preparations to support the indexing of this amazing collection—and you can participate. 

New! 1940 Census Indexing Simulation Try your hand at indexing the 1940 US Census through an indexing simulation. Simply download and launch the indexing software. Then click on the Download Batch button in the software interface. At the top of the list of available projects, choose either *SIMULATION* 1940 US Census (Part 1) or *SIMULATION* 1940 US Census (Part 2) and then click theOK button to download one of these batches.

The images for this simulation have been created based on the 1940 census form and are not real historical records. Additionally, there is only one training batch under each simulation. Use these simulation batches to learn what the 1940 census will be like or to train others prior to the release of the 1940 census.

If you haven’t already had a chance, you can download the indexing software and get started today.

Need Help Getting Started?

Video tutorials and documentation for how to get started with the indexing software are now available online at The1940Census.com.

Watch how to download the indexing software
Watch how to register for an indexing account
Download the guide Getting Started with Indexing
For those who are participating as members of societies, Getting Started with Indexing includes instructions on associating an indexing account with a specific society or other indexing group.

Spread the Word

You can help us spread the word. Getting others involved will make make the index of the 1940 census available more quickly.
Here are a few ways to let others know about this project:

Tell your friends to join the cause by registering at The1940Census.com.
Are you in a society? Index census records as a society.
Do you blog or have a website? Become an ambassador to spread the word.
Are you on Facebook? Like our page on Facebook.
Are you on Twitter? Follow @The1940Census and join the conversation using #1940census.
Why Will You Help?

If you have a specific motivation for helping to index the 1940 US Census, please send a message explaining why you are excited to participate to blog@the1940census.commailto:blog@the1940census.com.

Thank You!
The 1940 US Census Community Project Team

The Soul of a Genealogist

There was a U.S. national bestselling book published in 1981 that also won the Pulitzer Prize called "The Soul of a New Machine."

See Kidder, Tracy. The Soul of a New Machine. Boston: Little, Brown, 1981.

One of the conclusions reached by this, now classic, book is that people will give their best when the work itself is challenging and rewarding. See Wikipedia:The Soul of a New Machine. There are a lot of things about the process of designing computer systems that relate to the world of genealogy. One of those is the fact that breakthroughs come only after a huge effort of really boring and mundane work. The main theme of The Soul of a New Machine is that the "soul" comes from the endless hours of attention and toil. Likewise, the soul of genealogy only comes from the endless hours of attention and toil.

One reason I doubt that genealogy will ever be a universally appealing activity is exactly this; hard sweaty work. As long as genealogy is considered a "hobby" or a "pastime" very few people will be willing to put forth the real effort that is needed to do quality research and documentation. This is especially true among the "retired" generation, the one that has the most interest as shown by demographics. Who want's to retire to an activity that looks an awful lot like the work most people did when they were working full time? But there are those who are willing to rise to the challenge.

So why are we trying to convince people to do genealogy? Why am I traveling around traveling around the country presenting classes on how to do genealogy better? That turns out to be a really good and difficult question to answer. I recently wrote about how hard it was to do genealogy, but hard is only part of the story. Work, that is hard work, validates us a human beings. There is an interesting statement in the Bible that is almost universally misunderstood and misquoted. Quoting from Genesis 3:17-19 the Lord says to Adam:

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

The key here is the statement "for thy sake." The curse of work was given for Adam's (and by analogy for all of us) sake. That is for his benefit. From this the most common interpretation is that work is a curse. The work is not the curse. The ground was cursed but the reason was to benefit man. The work is the benefit. I truly believe that work is for the benefit of us all. Rather than shun the opportunity, we should embrace those things that are hard, like genealogy, and pursue worthwhile fulfilling activities and not idle away our time. In my case, I am ready to "retire" from the commercial world but I am not ready to retire from work. I can think of nothing worse than idleness and inactivity.

So, I would submit that whether or not you have any spiritual leanings and whether or not you think deeply about the nature of work, that the work of seeking out your departed ancestors is ennobling and regardless of your religious beliefs, will benefit your soul, the soul of genealogy is work.   

The 1940 US Census Project Contest Coming

Quoting from the 1940 US Census Project Blog:

Next week is all about getting people really ready to index the 1940 U.S. Census. On Monday, March 19, we will post a contest that anyone (as in, ALL your readers) can enter on the main 1940 blog.  The contest will require them to download the FamilySearch Indexing software and complete a practice batch that will simulate what indexing the 1940 U.S. Census will be like.  That’s all they have to do!  One entrant will be chosen at random to win a $100 Visa gift card and two entrants will be chosen to win $50 Visa gift cards.

The 1940 US Census Project is in full swing with lots of interest. Surprisingly, I have talked to non-genealogists who are aware of the advent of the 1940 US Census, so the word is getting out. You might want to visit the 1940 Census Project page to get started.  The target date is April 2, 2012 when the National Archives will provide access to the images of the Census. So get busy and find out what you can do to help.

I will be posting more next week.

Copied copyright?

What is original? If I spend hours and hours compiling a list of genealogy resources for my blog or website, is all my hard work rewarded with copyright protection? And what about all that time I spend doing my own research? Surely all those hard won names and dates are covered by copyright? Right? Wrong on both counts.

But, you say, I put prominent copyright notices on every single page. Doesn't that protect my work? Nope, wrong again. but with all things in the law, it isn't that simple. Copyright law in the U.S. (and most other countries) only applies to ORIGINAL works. If you compile lists of information (facts like links to websites or book or article titles) the facts, including names, dates etc., are not subject to copyright. Think about it, if you simply mentioned a famous person in a note or blog, do you want to face a copyright claim to the person's name? But I find a lot of genealogy bloggers and websites that think they own the facts they have gathered including the names of their ancestors.

There are parts of any blog or website that may be subject to copyright, but coverage is limited to those items, including design, that are original. Finding a link on the Internet and pasting it into your website does not constitute original work. If you write a story in your own words, it is covered, if you copy a name or date, those are facts and not covered. Your beautifully designed pink border might be covered but the names in your pedigree are not. Since the U.S. adopted the Berne Convention in 1989 there is no legal requirement to post a copyright notice. All original works created in fixed form are subject to copyright whether or not any actual notice appears. Only the parts of your work that are original are subject to your claim of copyright.

When I hear someone insist that their work is subject to copyright because they "put a notice on every page," it shows me dramatically that they know next to nothing about copyright. The irony of the whole copyright folklore is that people who have the least reason to worry about someone copying their work are the ones most worried about preserving their copyright. Ownership is a powerful force. The mentality is "what I work on, I own." Lack of understanding of copyright reinforces that natural tendency to claim "ownership", sometimes to the point of being ridiculous. I have seen people who had a book they wrote that no one in their right mind would copy, be so worried about someone copying their work, that they won't even let anyone read it! And do not think that this is an exaggeration.

 Ownership is a cultural/economic concept reinforced by traditional law. Copyright dates back to early privileges and monopolies granted to printers of books under the British Statute of Anne of 1710. This early grant of a monopoly ends up with genealogists thinking they own their own ancestors' pedigree.

This post isn't about why we shouldn't have copyright laws. It is about the folklore and misinformation that surround what is a purely legal right granted by somewhat vague statutes. There are no fundamental human rights, as we have come to understand the term, associated with the economic protection provided by the copyright laws of the U.S. and the other countries that recognize The Berne Convention. You do not have an unalienable right to copyright. It is an economic right of ownership that can be bought, sold and rented just like a car.

In the U.S. the term of a copyright has been extended to the point that none of us alive will ever see any of the current works pass into the public domain by virtue of the statute of limitations. Maybe there is some basic logic to this kind of expansive protection, but I have a hard time understanding what it is. The rights do not depend on the overall economic value of the work. My blog posts have the same protection as a novel that sells 5 million copies.

I guess I have had just one too many people threaten to enforce their copyright in court, without even the vaguest concept of what their rights might be. If you copy some one else, your work is not original and cannot be subject to a claim for copyright. This is especially true if you copy a work in the public domain. Incorporating public domain works into your own and putting a copyright notice at the bottom of the page does not give you a copyright.

Genealogy is about cooperation, sharing and mutual help. It is not about ownership.