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Genealogy Roots Blog The Genealogy Roots Blog is for finding online genealogy databases, records and resources. The focus is on vital records (birth, marriage, divorce & death records), obituaries, census records, naturalization records, military records and ship passenger lists. The Genealogy Roots Blog is based in the USA, but online European, Canadian, and other records sources are sometimes included. Mixed in with all this you will occasionally find a fun post, a book review or genealogy news. October 2008 is the tenth anniversary of my German Roots: German Genealogy Resources website. It started off with just a handful of pages and now it has, oh I don't know, a whole lot of pages. I initially started the website as a directory of online resources for German-American genealogy research. Eventually I added some of my own content and articles. And a whole bunch of other genealogy stuff. It was originally put online in October 1998 at http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/ And it's still there today. In case you're wondering about the URL, Monster was my dog at the time. She died last year. She was wee :) You can also get to the site at www.germanroots.com which is easier to remember than the name of my dog, I suppose. Three other websites were eventually spun off of the German Roots site, when I realized it was getting too big and I wanted to expand it beyond German genealogy. These are: Online Searchable Death Records Indexes and Obituaries for the USA, which was originally a single webpage on the German Roots website. Online Military Indexes and Records, also originally a single webpage on the German Roots website. Genealogy Articles, Tips and Research Guides, which is where I put more general genealogy stuff. So here's to a very interesting ten years of German Roots. Thanks to all the people who have offered suggestions and comments and constructive criticism. Everyone gets a symbolic cyber German beer! Prost! Posted by Joe Labels: Genealogy News Monday, October 20, 2008 Ok, I admit it. Sometimes I can't remember where some of my own webpages are and I have to use Google to find them. How embarrassing. So I've compiled this list of many of my directories of online U.S. genealogy indexes and records. To help me find them myself and maybe it will be helpful to you too... Cemeteries, Obituaries and Vital Records Online Birth and Marriage Records Indexes Census Records State Census Records includes links to some online indexes County Histories and Biographies Immigration Records Online Naturalization Records and Indexes Military Records Newspapers (Historical)
Posted by Joe Labels: Genealogy News Friday, September 19, 2008 The state of Louisiana now has an online death index that presently covers the years 1911-1956. You can order copies of the death certificates by mail for a fee. The database also includes a few entries prior to 1911, but copies of some earlier records may not be available. See: Louisiana Death Records Index 1911-1956 For more online Louisiana death indexes see: Directory of Online Louisiana Death Records Indexes and Obituaries Thanks to Elizabeth for letting me know about the Louisiana database. Posted by Joe Labels: Death Records Monday, August 11, 2008 The Online Searchable Death Indexes and Records Directory has been updated with links to the following items... Alabama Arizona Georgia Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Michigan Mississippi North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee See: Online Searchable Death Records Indexes and Obituaries Posted by Joe Labels: Death Records Friday, August 08, 2008 Yesterday I went with my mom to see the movie Mamma Mia!. I am such a good son, taking my mother to see this completely ridiculous campy musical extravaganza. I also saw the Broadway musical version last year with my mom and two other friends. And now I'm going to admit that I'm an Abba fan. I've liked them since I was a young sprog and they were still together making records. And all married to each other. And I honestly thought I would hate Mamma Mia!. But I admit I liked the thing. It's just so silly and uplifting and fun. And it's filled with Abba songs. Tons of them. The movie is just about as much fun as the stage musical. And Meryl Streep looks like she's having a blast throughout. So now I know what you're thinking: What does Mamma Mia! have to do with genealogy? C'mon theatergoers, it's soooo obvious. The girl has three dads! And she doesn't know which one is really her dad. Sophie's mom had brief affairs with three men right in a row some twenty years ago. And now Sophie, who's about to be married, wants to know who her dad is. So she invites all three to the wedding. And they all show up. Mayhem and Abba songs ensue. C'mon if you had three dads wouldn't you dance around and start singing "Voulez-Vous" for no reason? While most of us are trying to figure out who our great great great great grandparents are, this poor girl has three potential dads lined up in a row and she doesn't know which one is the right guy. Hey, even own her mother, Meryl Streep, doesn't know. Now before you can say, "DNA test," please consider this: there are no Abba songs about DNA. Nope. Nothing about genetics either, or genealogy, or having three dads. And consider this: Sophie's dad is one of the following... 1. Remington Steele Er, actually that would be: 1. Pierce Brosnan Now would you have a DNA test, or perhaps just choose Mr. Darcy? Personally I think I'd run off with Sophie, who is just as cute as can be. Er wait a minute I've gone off track here. So pretend for a moment that you get to pick your ancestors. It would make genealogy sooo much easier. Yeah, I'm not sure if I'd want that Jane Austen dude as an ancestor, so I'm going with Remington Steele. Even if he can't sing. And for my grandparents... hmmm... let's see... All right now back to some real genealogy. Everyone go click on some links over on the right side. Posted by Joe Labels: Fun Stuff Friday, July 25, 2008 This is intended to be a bunch of silly nonsense. So please don't take it too seriously. In Mexico all the women are named Maria and all the men are named Juan. This was done to confuse genealogists. In Ireland all the women are named Mary and all the men are named James Patrick O'Connor. This was done for "fun in the pub." In New Mexico the "Kevin Bacon Game" is called the "Juan Baca Game." No one knows who Juan Baca was, but everyone in New Mexico can trace their ancestors to him. In Boston the "Kevin Bacon Game" is called the "James Patrick O'Connor Game." And you're only allowed to play with a Boston accent. For tips on fine tuning your Boston accent see the Academy Award winning Martin Scorsese film, the Depahhted. The record you need is always at the end of the microfilm roll. The records at the beginning of the roll are clear and easy to read with beautiful penmenship. By the time you scroll to the end of the roll where the record you need is located, everything is a blurry mess. Oh nevermind. They're gonna digitize all of it soon anyway, right? You actually know what M237 means. You freak. All of your ancestors settled in Chicago. Whenever you can't find something about them you curse Mrs. O'Leary's cow. That same cow is probably responsible for the loss of the 1890 census. Stupid cow. You wonder why a non-profit religious organization can distribute National Archives microfilm better than the National Archives. You wish the founding fathers had thought up Social Security so the Social Security Death Index would begin around, oh, 1780 or so. When someone first tells you their last name you immediately convert it into a Soundex code. This kind of behavior is so not normal. Er wait a minute, since everything has been/will be digitized we don't need Soundex codes anymore, right? Your ancestors did not swim to America. You are not a Cherokee princess. None of your ancestors knew Jesse James. But my Apache princess ancestor knew Billy the Kid. So yeah, my ancestors are cooler than yours. Well of course everyone thinks that... Ok, number 19 is not really true. Your ancestors are named Anna Maria and Johann. You'll love it here: German Roots: German Genealogy Resources Your ancestors are named Mary and James Patrick O'Connor: Irish Genealogy Resources You've been playing the "Juan Baca Game..." New Mexico Genealogy Resources Don't know what M237 means? You do now... National Archives Microfilm Publication M237: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, NY, 1820-1897, which of course, has been digitized. The Fate of the 1890 Census Stupid cow! This is a revised and reduced version of my original "25 Things that Make Genealogy Fun" list. So yeah basically I stole this from myself. Please don't bother with the original one. Note lack of link.
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