Genealogy

Happenings across West Michigan: Week of March 14
The Grand Rapids Press - MLive.com
Muskegon County Museum of African American History, 2:30-5 pm Thursday-Saturday, 7 E. Center St., Muskegon Heights, free, (231) 739-9500. ...

Cazenovia Public Library News
Madison County Courier
... eight books and numerous articles and essays, many of them dealing with American abolitionism, the Underground Railroad, and African American history. ...

Let's make haggis!

April 6 will be the national holiday for all Scottish Americans. More than eleven million Americans claim Scottish and Scotch-Irish roots, making them the eighth largest ethnic group in the United States. From the framers of the Declaration of Independence to the first man on the moon, Scottish-Americans have contributed mightily to the fields of the arts, science, politics, law, and more. These are the people and accomplishments that are honored on National Tartan Day, April 6th.

The picture to the right is of Sean Connery with members of the United States Air Force Reserve's Pipe and Drum Band in Washington, DC. The occasion was Tartan Day, 2004.

On March 9, 2005, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted House Resolution 41, which designates April 6th of each year as "National Tartan Day.” National Tartan Day was created to recognize the contributions that were made by Scottish-Americans to the development of the United States.

Chief Sponsors were Congressmen Mike McIntyre from North Carolina and John Duncan from Tennessee. In addition to the two chief sponsors, the resolution had 54 co-sponsors, which include Congresswoman Candice Miller of Michigan, Congressman Danny K. Davis of Illinois and Congressman Alcee Hastings of Florida, who all addressed the House of Representatives in favor of the resolution.

This action completes the efforts that began in 1998 when the 105th Congress passed a similar resolution, Senate Resolution 155.

April 6 was chosen as that date commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, which asserted Scotland's sovereignty over English territorial claims, and which was an influence on the American Declaration of Independence.

Canada has been celebrating "National Tartan Day" since 1993.

Because April 6 falls in mid-week (Tuesday), New York City will celebrate Tartan Day the following Saturday: April 10. Two thousand pipers and drummers will assemble for the 12th Annual New York Tartan Day Parade – New York’s biggest celebration for pipers, drummers, Scottish music and single malt whisky! The 2010 Grand Marshal will be Alex Fergusson, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.

A post-parade party will be held at Stout NYC, 133 West 33rd Street, featuring popular live bands “Enter the Haggis” and “Barley Juice.”

You can learn more at http://www.tartanweek.com and at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartan_Day.

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

Free Classes Make Genealogy Expertise Accessible Anywhere

SALT LAKE CITY–It is rare that Marcia Covington can make the trip from her home in State College, Pennsylvania, to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Now, however, people like Covington can take classes from the world-famous library without ever leaving home.

The FamilySearch Family History Library is now making its popular classes available at FamilySearch.org, where anyone anywhere in the world can access them for free at a time that is convenient for them. The classes have been offered on-site in Salt Lake City for years. Until now, attendance has been limited to those patrons who are fortunate to live in the surrounding community or happen to be visiting the library as part of a research trip. Making the classes available online allows access to many more patrons.

“Most people do family history whenever they can fit it in their busy lives, on evenings, holidays, weekends, and so forth. Whether you are a beginner or experienced researcher, you can choose subjects of interest to you from the available classes and watch them anytime and anywhere,” said FamilySearch Community Services Manager Diane Loosle.

The online classes are a great complement to the free personal research assistance the Family History Library offers to its patrons in Utah and through its family history centers worldwide. According to Loosle, the free online classes are one part of the growing number of tools FamilySearch is building for its online patrons. That is great news to people like Covington.

“Very few people have the opportunity to come to Salt Lake City, but these classes give me the same access at home as I can get in Utah,” Covington said. “Our distances here are pretty long, and for some people it is a 40-minute drive to the nearest family history center. These classes make it possible to get training in your home whenever you want, and it is so nice that it is free.”

There are currently 23 Family History Library classes available online, with subjects ranging from European research to United States military records. The most popular offerings are the Beginning Research Series for Ireland and England and a class on descendancy research.

The classes vary in length from 6 to 58 minutes, with most lasting about 25 minutes. The format of the class varies, depending on the content being presented. One type of class shows a video that alternates between the teacher and the PowerPoint slides. Another kind of class integrates video of the presenter, the accompanying PowerPoint slides, and links to supplemental materials all in one screen.

Several of the classes are interactive, such as a course on reading German handwriting. In these classes, the teacher is represented with still photographs and audio narration, and the student can actively participate in learning activities, such as matching English and German characters or transcribing selected words from a document. As a student types, the correct text appears in green and incorrect answers appear in red, providing immediate feedback.

FamilySearch is continually adding new online offerings; classes on how to read English handwritten records are currently in development. All of the classes can be accessed on www.familysearch.org by clicking on Free Online Classes on the home page.

ABOUT FAMILYSEARCH INTERNATIONAL
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the renowned Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

African American history exhibit at Mooney Grove Park in south Visalia ...
Visalia Times-Delta
Tulare County officials will host a reception celebrating the opening of the exhibition “The African American Experience in Tulare County,” 2-4 pm Saturday ...

and more »

Montpelier Train Depot Restored
NBC 29 News
Chapman says, "We at Montpelier don't necessarily look at it as separate history to say it's African American history or it's American history but it's all ...

Collector Donates Tubman Trove to African-American History Museum
Chronicle of Philanthropy (subscription) (blog)
A Philadelphia historian and collector has donated 39 Harriet Tubman artifacts to the planned National Museum of African American History ...

and more »

Week In Quebec City; Ski New Mexico; New Exhibit At Graceland
Hartford Courant
800-238-2000; tiny.cc/4tL2u •Detroit's Museum of African American History is showing the exhibit " Joe Louis: Hometown Hero," about the famous boxer through ...

African-American 'Road Trip' Honored
WOWK
Episodes of the "Road Trip to History" series highlighting the Eastern Panhandle's African-American history will air on West Virginia Public Television ...

and more »

African-American 'Road Trip' Honored
WBOY-TV
Episodes of the "Road Trip to History" series highlighting the Eastern Panhandle's African-American history will air on W.Va. Public Television March 15. ...

African-American 'Road Trip' Honored
WVNS-TV
Episodes of the "Road Trip to History" series highlighting the Eastern Panhandle's African-American history will air on West Virginia Public Television ...

and more »

Conversation, not panel, is needed on high school course
Hometownlife.com
At the center of the debate is the district's first course in African-American history and culture. The course, developed by Salem High School social ...

Pittsburgh native's film is part of kids' film festival
California Chronicle
... been shown at the Hollywood Black Film Festival in 2008, and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture in Baltimore. ...

Wossman High School excels during 2nd semester
Monroe Free Press
The Student Council & SADD Organizations sponsored several African-American History Month activities, such as a trivia contest, an Internet scavenger hunt, ...

NOLA.com
Joe Louis Caldwell, first African-American chairman of UNO history department ...
NOLA.com
Dr. Caldwell, whose specialty was American history, taught courses on the Civil War and Reconstruction, African-American history and African-American ...

Read this: Are DC's 'Real Housewives' doomed? Also: Hillary Clinton's State ...
Ethiopian Review
A collector has donated 39 Harriet Tubman artifacts to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. ...

Harriet Tubman Artifacts Donated to New Museum in Phila.
KYW1060.com
... will be on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture, expected to open in Washington in 2015.

and more »

Printed newspapers are dying left and right, being replaced by online news and broadcast news. Yet there are reasons to keep print media alive. You may be happy getting your news online, but for some citizens the loss of the printed page will have a profoundly life-altering impact.

The Onion News Network presents its best argument for keeping print media breathing. Listen as a panelist describes life without thousands of old newspapers … at http://www.theonion.com/content/video/how_will_the_end_of_print?utm_source=videoembed or click on the image below.

How Will The End Of Print Journalism Affect Old Loons Who Hoard Newspapers?

Church News
Corsicana Daily Sun
Ray Emanuel is pastor, held a successful black history program, “What is African American History Month?,” on Feb. 28 with Lizzie O'Neal as narrator. ...

and more »

This is big news! The following announcement was written by Footnote.com:

FOOTNOTE.COM LETS PEOPLE CREATE AMERICA’S FAMILY TREE THROUGH THE ONLY INTERACTIVE U.S. CENSUS

-Finding Ancestors and distant relatives can be as easy as clicking a single button-

Lindon, UT - March 11, 2010  – In order to encourage more people to find their ancestors and connect with family, Footnote.com, the web’s premier interactive history site, is opening all of their U.S. census documents for free to the public for a limited time.

Unlike any other historical collection on the web, the Interactive Census Collection has the unique ability to connect people related to ancestors found on the historical documents.  Simply by clicking the “I’m Related” button for a name on the document will identify you as a descendent and also list others that have done the same.  Never before has it been as easy to connect with distant relatives through historical documents.  To learn how to get started with the Interactive Census, visit: http://go.footnote.com/discover.

Finding a record featuring an ancestor’s name provides not only an emotional experience but also a connection with the past.  On Footnote.com it’s more than just finding a name on a census record.  Interactive tools allow people to enhance the documents by adding their own contributions including:

• Photos
• Stories
• Comments
• Other related documents

Each contribution is linked to a Footnote member and provides a means for people to find each other and exchange more information about their ancestors.

“TV programs including ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ on NBC and ‘Faces of America’ on PBS will surely increase the interest in family history in the United States,” explains Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com.  “We believe that using our Interactive Census Collection is a great way for those who are new to genealogy to get started.”

In addition to providing the basic information about ancestors with the census documents, Footnote.com has been working with the National Archives and other institutions to digitize and index over 63 million historical records that include:

• Military documents
• Historical newspapers
• City directories
• Naturalization records

“Using the records on Footnote to go beyond the names and dates is like adding color to your tree,” says Roger Bell, Footnote’s Senior Vice President of Content and Product.  “The more details you add, the more colorful your family tree becomes.”

To search for an ancestor and experience family history like never before, visit: http://go.footnote.com/discover.

Additional Resources
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/footnote
Join us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Footnotecom/52981708480

About Footnote, Inc.
Footnote.com is a subscription website that features original historical documents, providing visitors with an unaltered view of the events, places and people that shaped the American nation and the world. At Footnote.com, all are invited to come share, discuss, and collaborate on their discoveries with friends, family, and colleagues. For more information, visit http://www.footnote.com.