search strategies

18 Aug 2016

Free Aerial Photography Resource for Genealogists

The ASPRS Aerial Data Catalog is a free aerial photography resource for genealogists to use in their research.

Provided by the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), this is a useful tool for locating aerial photography for both U.S. and international geographic areas of the past and the present. ASPRS bills this database as “the Source for Finding Aerial Collections”.

The ASPRS Aerial Data Catalog aggregates aerial photography from private companies, universities, states, non-governmental organizations, and federal sources. The catalog contains metadata allowing users to determine if coverage exists over an area of interest. The acquisition date, film type, sensor type, and scale are also provided along with the repository contact information. Click here for more information.

Once you have located a set of records, you can narrow a search by applying a filter once, or multiple times, to refine your search. If you need assistance, please check the Help page for more tips.

Here are some of the latest uploads to this site, […]

21 Feb 2016

Your Ancestors’ Birth Year Words

Have you ever wondered how recent the language is that you use everyday? What are your ancestors’ birth year words? What new word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) the year you were born? 
Today’s post is a bit of fun (while I’m still catching up after Rootstech with clients, new colleagues (hi Katherine Willson! readers of this blog already know about her fabulous Facebook genealogy list), email, and research results from the Family History Library, plus life outside genealogy with fascinating things like laundry and taxes.

Now you can find out you and your ancestors’ birth year words – words that were “born” or entered the lexicon the same year you or your ancestors were born, courtesy of the seminal research work, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). For subscribers, they provide a blog with an online search tool delivering examples by month and year for birth year words. Their more traditional role of providing access to the […]

4 Dec 2015

Searching LOC.gov Webinar

Join Library of Congress staff for their Searching LOC.gov webinar on Thursday, 10 December 2015 at 4pm EST.
The nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, the Library of Congress holds millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections.

Do you want to find Library of Congress primary sources? What search strategies does a power user need to know? Because the holdings of the Library of Congress are massive and so it its Web site, the Searching LOC.gov webinar can help.

During the Searching LOC.gov webinar, Library of Congress staff will break it down for you to make it easier to navigate. As a result, you will gain greater understanding of the breadth and depth of the Library’s collections.

Although the Searching LOC.gov webinar  is marketed to educators, genealogists will also find the “tips and shortcuts to finding primary sources, suggestions on how to plan effective searches, and how to ask […]

18 Oct 2015

NARA Free Online Genealogy Fair 2015

The National Archives of the United States is hosting the NARA Free Online Genealogy Fair 2015 this coming Wednesday and Thursday.
This annual event is a live two-day program via webcast on YouTube, offering family history research tools for all skill levels on Federal records dealing with immigration, military and civilian personnel, and bankruptcy.

Sessions on are available on genealogical research using traditional and electronic records. The National Archives’ lead preservation expert will hold a special question-and-answer session on how to preserve family records. Sessions and handouts will be available free of charge during and after the event. For complete schedule and participation instructions, visit the Virtual Genealogy Fair website.

WHEN: October 21 and 22, starting daily at 10 a.m. EDT [7 a.m. PDT ouch!]

WHO: Experts on genealogy-related records from National Archives’ facilities nationwide.

WHERE: Anywhere! The Fair will be video streamed on the US National Archives’ YouTube channel::

Day 1: Wednesday, October 21 –Watch live on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-rDaFVYJhU

Day 2: Thursday, October […]