Friday, August 01, 2008

Families of Western Massachusetts in 1790 Migration Seminar

If your ancestors came to Upstate New York from Western Massachusetts, then the following press release should be of great importance.

The NEHGS is sponsoring a seminar on the migration period of 1790 for Western Massachusetts.

-----------------

Families of Western Massachusetts in 1790
September 20, 2008
University of Massachusetts, Amherst—Amherst, MA 01003

The New England Historic Genealogical Society is pleased to offer a comprehensive one-day seminar at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, dedicated to helping you find your ancestors of Western Massachusetts.

Western Massachusetts was a crossroads of migration. In 1790 the population of Berkshire County was 30,291, and that of Hampshire County 59,681, making a total of just under 90,000 — slightly larger than Vermont’s 85,425, and slightly less than Maine’s 96,540. New Hampshire was significantly larger, with a population of 141,855.

Join Michael J. Leclerc and Christopher C. Child, editors of the upcoming NEHGS publication Western Massachusetts Families in 1790 for a day-long program examining the history of Western Massachusetts and hear how you can participate in this exciting new book series.

Registration fee: $75. For more information or to register, click here: http://www.newenglandancestors.org/events/6499.asp

New York State Vital Records -
Revolutionary War Patriot or Loyalist -
Palatine DNA Project -
Visit our main website at www.unyg.com

Add to Technorati Favorites


Digg!

Just an Announcement of some changes coming with the UNYG Blog

Nothing for you to worry about, but there will be some changes coming.

We have been publishing this free blog information on how to find your Upstate New York ancestors for several years now, by using Google's Blogger Blog service. It has been free to produce other than the time invested. Thank you very much Google.

However, there are many features that we want to provide for you, still all going to be Free, don't panic. \grin/

But we will be converting this Blog over to WordPress which will give us the ability to provide a far better user experience with this Blog's information and access to tons of other really cool things.

This will not be happening right away, but we have the new domain and will be experimenting some until we figure out how to migrate all of the archived articles from here, over to the new website.

We know you are going to LOVE IT. This Blog sometimes loads so slowly that people get discouraged and leave, and I don't blame them. We're going to fix that with the new website.

Stay tuned. (We think that the end result should be rather seamless to you, but when it happens you will see our all new design!)

Here is a rather disturbing piece of news that was in the Washington Post. It has to do with laptops and other digital devices being seized at the border and should be of great concern to genealogists traveling abroad for genealogy research..Read about it on our sister Blog, Genealogy Miscellanea .

http://tinyurl.com/5zn8me

New York State Vital Records -
Revolutionary War Patriot or Loyalist -
Palatine DNA Project -
Visit our main website at www.unyg.com

Add to Technorati Favorites


Digg!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Old Maps of New York Towns Online

Digital Topo Maps Free.

Our friend Bill Hecht, the consummate map and documents poster, just informed us of a link to the University of New Hampshire Digital Map Collection that has an excellent collection of the older USGS Topographical Maps.

When you compare these maps to some of the current ones that are available online from the USGS / GNIS Tiger system you will see variances in roads, landmarks and buildings as they have changed with the times.

Here is the link to the UNH Digital Maps of New York.

http://docs.unh.edu/towns/NewYorkTownList.htm#L

Thanks Bill, as always.

Read some previous articles about Bill Hecht here.

Here is another Bill Hecht article.

Some of Upstate New York Genealogy Blog's popular posts:
New York State Vital Records -
Revolutionary War Patriot or Loyalist -
Palatine DNA Project -
Visit our main website at www.unyg.com

Add to Technorati Favorites


Digg!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Footnote Opens its FBI Collection of Over 2 Million Records

In Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the FBI, Footnote Opens Its FBI Collection Featuring over 2 Million Original Records.

Lindon, UT July 23, 2008 – Espionage, bootlegging, war crimes, illegal aliens, and political wrongdoing.

While this may sound like the latest Hollywood blockbuster it’s actually a review of some of the investigations the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has carried out over its 100 year history.

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the FBI, Footnote announced their entire collection of FBI Case Files will be freely accessible by the public through the end of August. The collection contains over two million records featuring some very surprising hidden stories.

A few examples include, J. Edgar Hoover opening an investigation into actor Charlie Chaplin for allegedly making a contribution of $100,000 for socialist propaganda. Baseball great Babe Ruth was investigated for draft dodging and newspaper mogul William Randolph Hurst was investigated for suspicion of funding the Mexican-American War.

The FBI Case Files date from 1908 to 1922 and feature cases involving espionage during WWI, investigations into German aliens who were politically suspect, reports of violations of prohibition and more. Serious, as well as far-fetched, accounts provide a fresh insider’s perspective to the history of this time period.

“Original documents are not only interesting but also provide a way to verify historical facts that may have been previously considered conspiracy theories,” says Russ Wilding, CEO of Footnote. “It’s important to have records like these available so people can understand and appreciate our nation’s history as well as the circumstances that lead to the actions taken..”

Through their partnership with the National Archives, Footnote has digitized and indexed over 41 million original records; the majority of which have never been seen on the Internet before. Footnote continues to add millions of new documents to the site every month.

With easy to use tools and a social component to the site, Footnote is changing the way people access and interact with history. “We’re more than just an online repository of historical records,” continues Wilding. “We’re an outlet where people can go to add their own viewpoints on history and to share their own insights and discoveries.”

Footnote also enables people to upload their own shoeboxes of photos, letters and other documents - adding to the ever-changing face of history.

Visit Footnote today to view the FBI Case Files and the millions of additional historical records.

About Footnote.
Footnote is a history website where real history might just surprise you. Footnote features millions of searchable original documents, providing users with an unaltered view of the events, places and people that shaped the American nation and the world. At Footnote, all are invited to come share, discuss, and collaborate on their discoveries with friends, family, and colleagues.

Footnote is a subscription based company, however many collections are accessible at no charge whatsoever. Check out the Footnote site and use the "Browse" button to see what is available.

For more information, click here to see what Footnote has to offer in Genealogy.

Personal note from Dick Hillenbrand: "Footnote is the very best data bargain on the Internet in my opinion."


New York State Vital Records -
Revolutionary War Patriot or Loyalist -
Palatine DNA Project -
Visit our main website at www.unyg.com

Add to Technorati Favorites


Digg!