My friend, Jeff Bockman, just sent me a link to an interesting obituary . Not an old one, but an obit for a guy that just passed away on the 30th of August. This guy sounds like he was an interesting character, and whoever wrote the obit had a sense of humor… Following is just a teaser. Ya’ gotta’ read the whole thing , found currently in the Naperville Sun. James J. Dutton James J Dutton ‘Jeem‘ passed away unexpectedly on Monday, August 30th, 2010, while hiking the Appalachian Trail. He passed doing something he loved, in pursuit of his dreams and, perhaps, ...

The Eliis Island Oral Histories are now available at Ancestry.com. There will be no charge for accessing these files. In addition, Ancestry.com is making their immigration records available to the public at NO CHARGE through September 6 - that’s all the way through the Labor Day weekend. The following news release was received from Heather Erickson at Ancestry.com: More than 1,700 first-hand audio recordings now available for free online PROVO, Utah, September 1, 2010—Ancestry.com announced today it has launched a collection of more than 1,700 recorded oral histories from ...

Tom Kemp just finished giving the keynote address for the 2010 Salt Lake City Family History Expo - which is actually held at South Towne Center in Sandy, Utah. Dale and I are working in the exhibit hall, and it’s starting to fill quickly. I’d guess there are somewhere close to 300 people here. The line-up of classes is superb, and it should be an exciting weekend.

As usual, Dale & I had a great time in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the annual FGS Conference. Door prizes are one of the important aspects of the FGS Conference, and our winner was Ms. Charlotte Powers of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. We didn’t make contact with her before the end of the conference, so her prize will be mailed today. She won a copy of Dollarhide’s “Genealogical Resources of the Civil War Era .” We drove to Knoxville and back, making the trip in about 3 days each way. We spent Monday, August 16, at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. ...

The following news release was received from Heather Erickson at Ancestry.com: World’s Largest Family History Web Site Continues Sponsorship of Critically Acclaimed TV Series That Takes a Personal Look at Celebrity Family Histories PROVO, Utah, August 25, 2010 – Ancestry.com is pleased to announce it has extended its relationship with NBC for the second season of the “Who Do You Think You Are? ” television series. Ancestry.com worked with NBC on the first season of “Who Do You Think You Are? ” that debuted in March 2010. The company provided important ...

The following news release was received from Tom Champoux, with the New England Historic Genealogical Society. AmericanAncestors.org reflects the organization’’s expanding national collection and resources. Boston, MA – August 19, 2010: – D. Brenton Simons, President and CEO of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), today announced the launch of AmericanAncestors.org , the organization’s new website that will serve as the home of its growing regional and national genealogical resources. AmericanAncestors.org will contain all of the ...

Records for Dekalb County, Alabama, dating to the very early 1800’s will be moved from the barn where they are currently housed in about 2 months according to an article in the August 17, 2010 edition of The Times-Journal . Following is an excerpt from the article. Circuit Clerk Pam Simpson asked the DeKalb County Commission for a place to move the records, which are being housed in the old county barn. “They don’t have much protection from the outside elements, and some are beginning to deteriorate,” Simpson said. “The dates range from the early 1800s, when ...

I see that more digital newspapers will be coming online at the “Chronicling America” site soon. Now it’s New Mexico papers. Cool… Following is an excerpt from an article in the August 16, 2010 edition of the Daily Lobo. UNM Libraries received a more than $350,000 grant to resurrect hundreds of thousands of New Mexico newspapers, some of which are 150 years old. The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded UNM Libraries the grant to digitize 100,000 pages from New Mexican newspapers that date between 1860-1922. Michael Kelly, director for the Center of ...

The following news release was received from my my friends, Elizabeth Lapointe and Louise St. Denis: (Toronto: August 16, 2010) The National Institute for Genealogical Studies is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, and Louise St. Denis, Managing Director of the Institute, will be at the FGS Conference. Louise will be there on Thursday, August 19th from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Friday, August 20th from noon to 7:00 p.m., and Saturday, August 21st from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. This year, the Institute will be offering a special package of nine courses to be drawn on Friday night. ...

Just in time for the FGS Conference in Knoxville, the Tennessee pages of the FamilySearch Research Wiki have been updated. The following news release was written by FamilySearch staff. The Tennessee page on the FamilySearch Research Wiki has recently been updated and now includes a wealth of new information and resources to help people find their ancestors in the Volunteer State. The link for this revised page is: http://wiki.fam...en/Tennessee Background The FamilySearch Research Wiki is a free resource created by the genealogy community. The core content for the Tennessee ...

If you die and want to be buried in New York City, you might have to accept something less than what you wanted. Not the the deceased will be worrying about it… But the issue of burial space is a real one in the Big Apple. Following is an excerpt from an interesting article in the August 15, 2010 edition of the New York Times about the quickly dwindling supply of grave sites. THOSE of us among the living all know New York City can be maddeningly expensive, whether one is shopping for a $40 million mansion on Fifth Avenue or a $2,500 studio walk-up in a former tenement on the Lower ...

MOCKSVILLE [North Carolina] - A local group wants to establish a driving trail to connect historical sites in several North Carolina counties that relate to folk hero Daniel Boone. When finished, the trail would span Alexander, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Iredell, Rowan, Watauga, Wilkes and Yadkin counties. It would include Joppa Cemetery in Mocksville , where Boone’s parents, Squire and Sarah Boone , are buried. This spring, the group decided on a proposed path, and plans were announced for the first time at the Yadkin Valley History and Genealogy Fair and Conference in Mocksville ...

Prompted by an article in the Deseret News, quoting Curt Witcher, Betty Malesky wrote an interesting column this week. She speaks of a “genealogical dark ages.” Now how could that be? With all this technology-related data coming available you’d think we we in “genealogical heaven.” However, according to Witcher, and Malesky it’s not so… I see their point. While we are getting access to digital documents by the million, we’re losing the records produced - or should I say “not produced,” today. When was the last time you got a ...

Korea’s genealogy is gaining global attention with the unveiling of a digital database of genealogical records by the Paik Inje Memorial Library of Inje University at the 76th World Library and Information Congress in Gothenburg, Sweden. During the congress, Director Park Jae-sup proudly introduced Inje’s Digital Genealogy Library, after three years of dedicated preparation. The genealogical materials have been collected by the library since 2007 in an effort to preserve Korea’s ethnic history. In association with the Utah-based organization Family Search, the library ...

Boxford {Masachusetts] - Tucked into the heart of West Boxford Village is an unassuming building that houses many of the town’s treasures — the Boxford Historical Document Center . The modest one-story brick building, situated next to the Second Congregational Church at the corner of Washington and Main streets, is jam packed with historical records, photographs, maps, genealogies, microfilm, models and numerous artifacts that have meaningful connections to the history of the 325-year-old town. Built in 1930 as a library in memory of Catherine Ingalls, the structure was ...