Online tutorial for paleography of Scottish Documents

Another amazing Website for help with genealogical research is the Scottish Handwriting.com. As the site states, "Welcome to Scottish Handwriting.com, the website offering online tuition in palaeography for historians, genealogists and other researchers who have problems reading manuscript historical records written in Scotland in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The emphasis of the website is on practical help to improve the palaeographical skills, rather than on the academic study of Scottish handwriting." (Spelling in original).

There are three different tutorials offered. The site indicates that there might be more to come, but parts of the Website do not appear to have been updated for a while.

The site states that "The primary purpose of this site is to provide online tuition in palaeography (reading old handwriting) in the context of early modern Scottish historical documents. It is aimed mainly at those whose research involves reading Scottish historical records written in the period 1500-1750,although some assistance is given with 19th century writing too."

Parade of States -- online digital genealogy resources -- Wisconsin

Image from Wisconsin Public Land Survey Records

I had very little contact with Wisconsin until two of my children moved there for school. As I found out, Wisconsin is in the forefront of almost everything academic and its genealogical resources are no exception. Wisconsin has one of the most extensive collections of online materials of any state.

Here are a few samples:

• Dictionary of Wisconsin History The Wisconsin Historical Society explains more than 8000 terms, including people, places, things and events, used in writings about Wisconsin history.
  

• Digital Collections The Digital Collections at the UWM Libraries include over 41,000 photographic images, maps, and books drawn from the collections of the American Geographical Society Library, the Archives, Special Collections, and the Curriculum Library.

• Online Collections at the Wisconsin Historical Society An extensive collection of county histories, magazine articles, museum collections, biographies, Civil War soldiers, pioneer memoirs and a host of primary source material.

• Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910 Part of the American Memory series at the Library of Congress.
  

• The State of Wisconsin Collection The collection includes published material as well as archival materials. The materials were digitized from a variety of formats including books, manuscripts, sound recordings, photographs, maps and other resources deemed important to the study and teaching of the State of Wisconsin.
  

• University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Quoting the Website, "Resources within the collections are free and publicly accessible online. They are loosely organized into collections that span a range of subjects including art, ecology, literature, history, music, natural resources, science, social sciences, the State of Wisconsin, and the University of Wisconsin. Digital resources include text-based materials such as books, journal series, and manuscript collections; photographic images; slides; maps; prints; posters; audio; and video."
  

• Wisconsin Electronic Reader A cooperative digital imaging project of the University of Wisconsin - Madison General Library System and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
  

• Wisconsin Genealogical Index Search for pre-1907 Vital Records (VR), including birth, death, and marriage records as well as for 150,000 Wisconsin Name Index (WNI) records, including biographical sketches, obituaries, and newspaper articles published before 2000.

• Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles (Wisconsin Historical Society) Also check out the Wisconsin Historical Society Portal. Thousands of historical newspaper articles on Wisconsin people and communities.
  

• Wisconsin Pioneer Experience The Wisconsin Pioneer Experience is a digital collection of diaries, letters, reminiscences, speeches and other writings of people who settled and built Wisconsin during the 19th century.
  

• Wisconsin Public Land Survey Records Original field notes and plat maps.

• Wisconsin State Genealogical Society Not too many online sources but a lot of good links and information.
  

Duplications in New FamilySearch

In past posts, I have been discussing some of my impressions of the New FamilySearch program. Admittedly, New FamilySearch has a limited number of users, only those members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) that have registered and can register. At the present time, the last few English speaking Temple Districts are being scheduled for access.

I do not have any official connection with FamilySearch. I do not have any particular inside knowledge of New FamilySearch other than that obtained through official channels and through blogs and the news media. I have used the program extensively for over two years and my impression are my own. But I would have to add that many, many of the knowledgeable users I associate with have the same opinions.

Back in the October, 2005 LDS Conference, then President Gordon B. Hinckley states, "One of the most troublesome aspects of our temple activity is that as we get more and more temples scattered across the earth there is duplication of effort in proxy work. People in various nations simultaneously work on the same family lines and come up with the same names." New FamilySearch was originally intended to address this serious problem of duplication of effort. This is not a new problem, in 1934, President Joseph Fielding Smith said,

Temple work should not be done in a haphazard or disorderly way. Those who labor for the dead should endeavor to prepare their records in an orderly and systematic manner. Let each family do the work for their own kindred, and if they do work for others, it must be at the instance and with the consent of the living relatives who are immediately concerned. No person has a right to select names for other than their own family and go to the temple to perform the work for them. This cannot be tolerated, for it would lead to confusion and duplication of work. When names are copied in an improper way and incomplete records are sent to the temples. but one thing will be the result--confusion. The compilers of records should try to find the information so that records can be made in family groups with all the necessary data for correct identification. When names are taken out of books without any accompanying information that will identify them or show relationship to parents and other members of the family, little, if any, good can follow. If work in the temples is done with records that are incomplete and inaccurate it will more than likely have to be done over again. In this way the records are burdened with unnecessary matter which cannot be properly arranged.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation Vol.2 pgs. 207-209, 1955)

All I can say to this quote, is Amen. This quote should be included in every opening screen of the New FamilySearch program. However, Neither President Hinckley nor President Smith were addressing the present problems with duplication caused by misuse of the New FamilySearch program. In a Deseret News article on the new Draper Temple, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Church's Quorum of the Twelve is quoted as praising modern technology and how computers are preventing duplication in temple work. That may be the ultimate effect of the New FamilySearch program but presently, my perception is that the program is facilitating even more duplication that was previously possible. Temple work for my own ancestors continues to be duplicated even since the introduction of the program. By checking back from time to time, I can literally see additional copies of my ancestors' records being added to New FamilySearch and additional work being done. Duplication is not being prevented, in some cases, it is being facilitated.

There are a number of reasons why I think this is happening. First, there are no standards for submission of additional names to New FamilySearch. Ordinance work can be done with nothing more than a name or even a partial name. No dates or places are necessary for redoing the Temple work. It is impossible to tell if the "Mary" being done is not the same as any other "Mary" when there are no dates, no places and no complete names.

Nothing prevents someone from re-entering a name either ignorantly or purposefully by making a minor change in the record, thereby creating an entirely new "person" whose work can then be submitted to the Temple. I have actually found instances where changes were made to an existing record, apparently for the purpose of creating new records to do additional Temple work for those whose work had already been done. If I wanted to re-do my own father's Temple work, all I would have to do is put his name into the program again and click on the green arrow and then refuse to combine him with existing records. I could produce a Family Ordinance Record for him in a few minutes and take his name to the Temple.

Although there are cautionary messages when names are being selected for submission, there is nothing that prevents a user from clicking on a green arrow, without doing any further search for duplicates, and then printing the Family Ordinance Request form and taking the names to the Temple. The program will ask if there are duplicates, but if the person does not agree or ignores the suggested duplicates, then the work will be done over. The existence of the suggested duplicates does not prevent duplication of effort.

Members of the Church are being told in meetings held by Stake officers that all they need to do is go home, log on to the program, and start doing Temple Work from the green arrows.

Users are allowed to add entire GEDCOM files to New FamilySearch. Many people who create GEDCOM files are ignorant of what the file contains and the records included may be entirely duplicative of the records already online.

Ward and Stake Temple excursions require hundreds or thousands of names to be generated by pushing for a specific goal. It is regularly announced in meetings that the youth are going to the Temple and we need so many names by such and such a date. There is an intense pressure to produce names. Genealogy is not something that is done well or at all under pressure.

There does not seem to be any official statement about the duplication of effort but there are several suggested methods by which the amount of duplication in the present program could be reduced. These methods include allowing corrections to existing information, requiring some kind of collaboration when existing relatives are already in the program and other ideas which I will present in future posts.

My comments are my own and as always, I welcome comments and feedback.

Additions to Family History Archive and Record Search

Through the efforts of FamilySearch and Brigham Young University, both the Family History Archives and Record Search continue to increase their collections and online holdings at a steady pace. These records, which can be viewed for free online, include many items not available anywhere else except the participating libraries. Record Search continues to make available records from around the world that have been entirely unavailable previously without ordering the microfilms from the Salt Lake Family History Library.

The total number of books scanned and indexed in the Family History Archives has now risen to 48,018. The number of collections in Record Search has risen to 151. I keep a counter on the side panel of my blog showing the total items for both the Family History Archives and Record Search. Whenever there is a significant increase, I edit the counter to show the new number. Compared to some of the online subscription services these may not seem like huge numbers, but there are some major differences.

In the case of the Family History Archives, many of the items now going on line have not been available outside the participating libraries. Some of the items are one-of-a-kind and are likely unknown to any but the most dedicated researchers. Now, they are fully seachable on the Web and freely available to everyone who may be interested.

The Research Pilot will continue to grow dramatically. The vast collection of microfilmed records being indexed and put online will soon become one of the largest free collections in the world. Contrary to subscription Websites, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has no need to make a profit. Therefore, the collections include records from areas of the world entirely ignored by the large commercial databases.

The newest records online include: (All descriptions are quoted from the Website. I have reported on some of these collections in previous posts.)

• Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers from 1871 to 1915. Name index and images of birth registers as recorded at Cook County, Illinois – including the City of Chicago. Collection currently includes years 1871-1879, 1906-June 1907, and July 1908-1915. 43% complete.
• Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Marriage Indexes, 1885 to 1951. Marriage indexes are arranged by the names of brides and grooms with the year of the marriage and the license number. The surname of the spouse is shown in parentheses. Use the license numbers listed in this index to find copies of the marriage license records. Marriage license records for years 1885-1915 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. Marriage license records for years 1916-1951 are available at the City Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• U.S. Census 1920. Name index of population schedules listing inhabitants of the United States in 1920. this was the fourteenth census conducted since 1790. There were 107.5 million individuals enumerated this census year. Data currently available for the following: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. Now 51% complete.
• Wisconsin State Census of 1855. Name index and images of the Wisconsin state population census taken in 1855. This census only identifies the head of family by name. The rest of the census is statistical.
• Mexico Census, 1930. Images of population schedules listing inhabitants of Mexico in 1930. This was the fifth census conducted after 1895. Only the schedules preserved in the National Archives were microfilmed. If desired locality is not found, search nearby localities listed. Either the locality was not filmed, i.e. the Federal District, or it is included in a waypoint that has multiple localities. This version of the census includes a front page [lines 1-50] and back page [lines 51-100]. The second page of the census was not scanned if it was blank. The searchable data currently covers the following states: Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahulia, Colima, Guerrero, Quintana, Morelos, Tlaxcala, Nayarit, Tabasco, Sonora, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas.
• Mexico, Tlaxcala Civil Registrations from 1867 to 1937. Civil Registration of births, marriages and deaths for the following municipios with the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico: Barrón Escandón, Calpulalpan, Chiautempan, Santa Cruz Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala and Zacatelco.
• England, Cheshire School Records from 1796 to 1950. Admission registers for Cheshire schools.
• Hungary, Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kis-Kun, Budapest Civil Registration 1895 to 1972. Images of births, marriages and deaths of Budapest, Hungary.
• France, Protestant Church Records from 1612 to 1906. Protestant church records for various parishes throughout France. This collection includes ten year indexes, births, marriages and deaths. 11% complete.
• Italy, Palermo Province, Monreale Diocese, Catholic Church Records, 1530 to 1919. Images of parish registers (baptisms, confirmations, marriages, marriage supplements, deaths, census, and miscellaneous church documents) of Monreale Diocese, Palermo Province. About half to two thirds of the volumes are self indexed.
• Slovakia, Presav Region Church Books from 1592 to 1952 with both Hungarian and Slovakian Place Names. Images of baptisms/births, marriages, and burials that occured in the Roman Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran, and Reformed Church parishes, as well Jewish congregations within the area of Northeastern Slovakia. The original records, created by local priests of each parish and by Jewish rabbis are located in the State Regional Archive of Prešov. These images were scanned from microfilms. The entries are in Latin, Hungarian, Slovak, and German.
• Argentina National Census for 1869 and 1895. For 1869, images of population schedules listing inhabitants of Argentina in 1869. This was the first national census conducted in Argentina. 37% complete. For 1895, name index and images of population schedules listing inhabitants of Argentina in 1895. This was the second national census conducted in Argentina. This collection is complete.
• Argentina, Tucuman, San Miguel de Tucuman, Catholic Church Records, 1727 to 1949. Catholic Church records primarily of baptisms, marriages, and deaths for the city of San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina. Complete.
• Ghana, Census 1982 - 1984. Ghana census of 1982-1984 for the Adansi district, Ashanti Region in Ghana.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Another look at New FamilySearch

In the last posts, I began a discussion of some of the issues associated with the introduction of New FamilySearch. The interface for the program is deceptively simple. It is only through clicking on links at the bottom of the screens to show combined individuals, that you can begin to appreciate the complexity of the data being represented. For each name shown on the screen at any given time, there may be many hundreds of combined files of the same individual lurking beneath the simple looking lists of names in a pedigree-like format. There may also be many more duplicates of the same individual waiting to be combined.

On the other hand, it is possible that an individual is not in the file at all or that there is only one or perhaps, two copies of the individual's record. However, if you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have ancestors who were also members, it is very likely that there are multiple copies of every individual to whom you are related. It is also possible that the number of copies is growing as current users of the program add people to the file without first checking to see if the file already contains the information. This problem is especially egregious when a number of names are submitted to the file at once in a GEDCOM format.

I have also found, over the past two years, that to understand what you are looking at, it is necessary to understand some of the limitations of the data. New FamilySearch is a huge database of names collected from several sources. Only a very limited number of the entries could, under any criteria, be considered as original sources. In this sense, New FamilySearch is not a place to go to do research. It is more like a place to do an original survey, to see what others may have done on your family lines. I cannot recommend downloading a pedigree line from New FamilySearch under most circumstances. The entries are likely a mixture of fact and fantasy and it is very difficult, in some cases, to tell the difference.

In looking at the data from the five original source databases, (the Ancestral File, the Pedigree Resource File, the International Genealogical Index, LDS Church records and Temple records) none seems to be more reliable than the others. All of the entries in each of these databases are copies and sometimes multiple layers of copies from any record that could be considered an original source. In each separate database, there could also have been multiple submissions. I know that many of my relatives have dozens of copies of their information, some entirely wrong, in the Ancestral File and Pedigree Resource File. Some of the wrong information in the Pedigree Resource File was submitted by me many years ago, before I found the correct information. The two most reliable databases contained in New FamilySearch, the membership and Temple records, often disagree about the date for the same event. Although the Temple records are generally reliable, the general Church records relied on the accuracy of the person inputting the records, generally, a Ward Clerk who was not related to the person and not present at the event being recorded.

Given that the information may be either unreliable or reliable and given that there is no easy way to either correct the unreliable information or distinguish between the reliable and unreliable information, it is a tragedy that many users of New FamilySearch take the attitude that it is online (written) and therefore it is true.

This attitude, that the information is from the Church and therefore true, is pervasive among many the users of the program. When confronted with the inherent rampant contradictions among the various contributors, some users are astonishingly angry that someone would have the audacity to put the wrong date or place for their ancestor. They are totally put off by the program when they find out that the user has only a very limited ability to correct information. The only way to make a correction by removing wrong information is with the cooperation of the FamilySearch staff through E-mail or telephonic correspondence.

The fact that new users, unfamiliar with the program continue to come online, do not help the attitude of those who have been working with the data for some time. At first, there was a common consensus that the information needed to be corrected through collaborative effort. However, in most cases, this proves to be impossible since the contributors either cannot be identified, have died, or are unresponsive to attempts to enlist their assistance. There is a mechanism for claiming a legacy user but it is cumbersome and not always available.

I don't want to leave this post in a negative mode. I am merely pointing out some of the limitations of the data, not the program itself. For a person with no LDS heritage, the program will appear to be much simpler and easier to use.

More later.

A little more on proof in genealogy

When and attorney is getting ready to go to trial, one of the many things that has to be explained to a client is the standard or level of proof necessary to prove the case. In the U.S. there are basically three levels; a preponderance of the evidence, clear and convincing and beyond a reasonable doubt. For a simplified discussion see Burden of proof in Wikipedia. If a legal case is tried to a jury, the jury is specifically instructed by the Judge as to the standard of proof through written statements called jury instructions. For example, here is some wording from a common jury instruction about preponderance of the evidence:

"Preponderance of the evidence" means evidence that has more convincing force than that opposed to it. If the evidence is so evenly balanced that you are unable to say that the evidence on either side of an issue preponderates, your finding on that issue must be against the party who had the burden of proving it.

About a hundred years ago, some genealogists began applying these legal standards of proof to genealogical research and kinship determination. This application has become generally accepted in the professional genealogical community, but outside of the professional realm, the fact that there even is a standard is not generally known.

In my experience in hundreds (probably thousands) of law cases, I have seldom found a client who had the vaguest clue or understanding of the standard of proof. They figured that was why they hired an attorney. However, usually, the practice of law is limited to those instructed in the law. In the case of genealogy, the vast majority of the practitioners have no instruction at all in the standard of proof and so it is completely disregarded.

This lack of knowledge on the part of the non-professional genealogical community causes some hand wringing on the part of the professionals and a few classes and seminars, but the existence of a standard really has little or no impact on the majority of those researching their family lines.

The Genealogical Proof Standard (sometimes referred to as the GPS, which is somewhat confusing given the very common use of that term in direction finding, but there is a nice symbolism in the relationship of the two terms) goes way beyond the mere legal standard of proof. For a reference see The Board for Certification of Genealogists articulates the standard in detail in their BCG Genealogical Standards Manual.

The fact that someone would read a blog on this topic probably indicates that the reader is aware of a need for a proof standard in genealogy, but I have found very few of the day to day researchers at the Mesa Regional Family History Center and even most of the volunteers, who even knew that genealogy blogs exist, much less were aware of any kind of standard for research.

Notwithstanding this situation, I think it would be a great loss to the world if people were forced to hire professional genealogists to do their own genealogy, like a person is forced to hire an attorney, in most cases, to represent them in court. First of all, unlike attorneys and the law, most people don't even know professional genealogists exist. It is true that from time to time people attempt to represent themselves in court. However, in my long experience, this usually results in a disaster for everyone involved, including the court system itself. The only time self representation works in the court system is with very small claims. Unfortunately, even hiring an attorney doesn't guarantee adequate representation. One of the most popular features of our local Bar Association Journal is the list of attorneys disciplined by the Bar Association for failing to follow legal standards of one sort or another. Likewise, hiring a professional genealogist would not guarantee adequate family research.

Although there are professional genealogical organizations, unlike the law, they do not have the ability to force all of the genealogists to join and adhere to their standards. In today's world, anyone wanting to be a professional only needs to advertise and begin charging. There are no state laws requiring genealogists to be certified. Certification is very desirable but not required and unfortunately, few people know that certification exists.

Now back to proof. Without a standard, there is no way that anyone can determine if the research done on a family line is valid or not. For example, in reading a lot of surname books published by families or individuals, there is a vast difference in the validity of the information presented. I find many books without even one source citation and others where the source citations do not correspond to the information presented. Without a standard of proof, there is no way to determine whether a claimed kinship is valid or not.

As an attorney, I am appalled at the lack of standards for most of the research I see every day. Meanwhile, I will just keep writing and teaching and hoping that a few more people interested in genealogy start to adhere to some kind of standard in the presentation of their family history.

A boon to genealogists -- Google Toolbar for Firefox in-page translation

A new version of the Google Toolbar makes advanced in-page translation available at the click of a mouse. To quote Google, "The Translate feature automatically detects if the language of a webpage you're on is different from your default language setting and allows you to translate it. With one click, you can now instantly translate the page and all of its text will appear in the new language."

Google Translate only works on Web content, not on documents that appear in images or from databases that create the content through Adobe Flash or other such mechanisms, but there is enough use for this program to make it a very valuable tool for those searching foreign language Web sites.