Veterans Day and Free Databases at WorldVitalRecords

Happy Veterans Day! Thank you to all the veterans, past and present, who have served our country. I appreciate your courage and sacrifice. You are the reason that America is free.

Today is a great day to also think about your ancestors who served in the military. WorldVitalRecords (http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/) is providing free access to a number of their military databases. This free access is from Nov 11-13, 2009.

Below, I have put together a list of the titles and the corresponding urls.

Australian Contingents to South Africa
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdaustraliaau0008_militarysouthafrica1899

Bergen County Historical Society Papers: Revolutionary War Round Table Papers
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_revolutionarywarroundtablepapers

British Military Officers
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=everton_uk_militaryofficers

Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, January 1, 1930
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_commissionedandwarrantofficerszjanuary1930

Connecticut Soldiers in the French and Indian War: Bills, Receipts and Documents
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcdct6068_frenchindianwar

Cross-Border Warriors: Canadian in American Forces, Americans in Canadian Forces
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=dundurn9781550022254_fredgaffen

Education Department War Service 1914-17
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdaustraliaau7018_educationwarservice

Fragments of War: Stories from Survivors of World War II
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=dundurn9780919670952_joycehibbert

Georges Vanier: Soldier, The Wartime Letters and Diaries, 1915 - 1919
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=dundurn9781550023435_cowleydeborah


Grant and his Campaigns: A Military History
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=godfrey_ulyssessgrantcampagins1866

History of the 27th Regiment New York Vols. : Being a Record of Its More Than Two Years of Service in the War for the Union, From May 21st, 1861 to May 31st, 1863
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcdny10642_27thregiment

How to be a Spy: The World War II SOE Training Manual
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=dundurn9781550025057_denisrigden

The Invisible War: The Untold Secret Story of Number One Canadian Special Wireless Group
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=dundurn9781550023718_murraygil

Korean War Casualties
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=usa_korean_casualty

The Last Invasion of Canada: The Fenian Raids, 1866 -1870
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=dundurn9781550020854_herewardsenior

The Making of Billy Bishop: The First World War Exploits of Billy Bishop, VC
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=dundurn9781550023909_greenhousbrereton

McGill University at War, 1914 - 1916, 1939 - 1945
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdcanadaca0211_mcgilluniversity1914

Michigan in the War
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd88_civilwar_michigan

Military History of Wayne County, N.Y. the County in the Civil War
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_militaryhistoryofwaynecounty

Muster Rolls of the Soldiers of the War of 1812: Detached from the Militia of North Carolina in 1812 and 1814
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcdnc3008_musterrolls

New Zealand Wars: Maori Campaigns
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdaustralianz0015_nzwars

New Zealanders and the Boer War
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdaustralianz0006_nzandboerwar

Notes and Observations Made During Four Years of Service with the Ninety-Eighth New York Volunteers in the War of 1861
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcdny3272_civilwar

Nova Scotia's Part in the Great War, 1920
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdcanadaca0204_nsgreatwar

Official History of the Canadian Forces in the Great War, 1914 - 1919, Volume 1
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdcanadaca0098_vol1

Official History of the Canadian Forces in the Great War, 1914 - 1919, Volume 1, Part 2
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdcanadaca0098_part2

The Official History of the Canadian Forces in the Great War, 1914 - 1919, Volume 1, Maps
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdcanadaca0098_maps

Official History of the Canadian Forces in the Great War, 1914 - 1919: The Medical Services
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdcanadaca0224_medicalservices

Official Military History of Kansas Regiments: During the War for the Suppression of the Great Rebellion
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcdks3000_militaryhistory

Paras Versus the Reich: Canada's Paratroopers at war, 1942-45
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=dundurn9781550024708_berndhorn

The Plattsburg Movement: A Chapter of America's Participation in the World War
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_plattsburgmovement


Queenslanders Who Fought in Great War
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdaustraliaau4007_queenslandersgreatwar1914-1918

Record of the Services of Illinois Soldiers in the Black Hawk War, 1831-32, and in the Mexican War, 1846 -1848
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_recordoftheservicesofillinoissoldiersintheblackhawkwar

Records About Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=nara_jpamwpu

Records of Officers and Men of New Jersey in Wars 1791 - 1815
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_officersandmenofnewjersey1909

Regimental Losses in the American Civil War , 1861 - 1865
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdusaus0221_regimentallosscivlwar

Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Marine Corps Reserve, January 1, 1931
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_registerofthecommissionedandwarrantofficers1931

Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, January 1, 1929
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_registerofthecommissionedandwarrantofficers1929

Reminiscences, Incidents, Battles, Marches and Camp Life of the Old 4th Michigan Infantry in War of Rebellion, 1861 - 1864
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_reminiscencesincidentsbattleszmichiganinfantry

Revised Register of the Soldiers and Sailors of New Hampshire in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 - 1866
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_soldiersandsailorsofnewhampshirezrebellion

Revolutionary War Pensions of Soldiers Who Settled in Fayette County, Kentucky
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_revolutionarywarpensionszfayette

Roster of Confederate Soldiers in the War Between the States, Furnished by Lincoln County, North Carolina, 1861 - 1865
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_rosterofconfederatesoldiersinthewarbetweenthestates

Roster of North Carolina Troops in the War Between the States, Volume 1
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_rosterofnorthcarolinatroopszwarbetweenthestates_vol1

Roster of Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines of the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the War of the Rebellion, Residing in Nebraska, December 1, 1897
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_rosterofsoldierssailorsandmarinesz1812z

Roster of the North Carolina Volunteers in the Spanish-American War, 1898 - 1899
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_rosterofthenorthcarolinavolunteerszspanish


A Sergeant's Diary in the World War: The Diary of an Enlisted Member of the 150th Field Artillery, Forty-Second (Rainbow) Division, October 27, 1917 - August 7, 1919
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcd_sergeantsdiaryintheworldwar

Soldiers of King Philip's War
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdusaus0315_kingphilipswar

1898 Spanish American War - Texas
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=everton_texas_spanishamericanwar

1898 Spanish American War Volunteers - Colorado
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=everton_colorado_spanishamericanwar

Tasmanians in the Transvaal War
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdaustraliaau6007_tasmanianintransvaalwar

Tasmanians War Record 1914-1918
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdaustraliaau6016_tasmaninaswarrecord1914-1918

Tennessee in the War 1861-1865
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcdtn6001_civilwar

USA World War II Army Enlistment
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=usa_wwii_armyenlistment

Vietnam Casualties 1956 - 1998
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=usa_vietnamwar_casualties1956-1998

The War Book of Upper Canada College, 1923
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdcanadaca0099_cameron1915-1916

The War of 1812: The War That Both Sides Won
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=dundurn9781550023367_turnerwesleyb

War Services Old Melburnians
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=cdaustraliaau7036_warservicesoldmelburnians1914-1918


World War II Prisoners of Japanese
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=usa_wwii_prisonersofjapanese

World War II Prisoners of War 1941 - 1946
http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=usa_wwii_pow1941-1946

Church Record Sunday: American Baptist Historical Society

Have Baptist ancestors? Check out the website American Baptist Historical Society, http://abhsarchives.org/services_genealogy.shtml. They have a section on Genealogy and a list of their fees for research requests.

Under the link for Collections, there are finding aids for original church records, manuscript collections and the archives of the American Baptist Historical Society.

There is even a section that includes ideas for churches on how to keep and deposit their church records.

Social History Saturday: The Life of a Civil War Soldier

In honor of Veteran's Day coming up this next Wednesday, November 11th, this Social History Saturday is a link to a description of the life of a Civil War soldier from the Gettysburg National Military Park.

The military records we order and the description of battles help to bring our ancestor's past to life but descriptions of their day to day life provides us with an understanding of how we owe so much to our Veterans.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/soldierlife/cwarmy.htm

Church Record Sunday: Eastern Orthodox Cross

I thought it was fitting, for the Sunday after Halloween, to share this About.com link that includes the image and explanation of the Eastern Orthodox Cross. You can also continue on with this slide show to see other cemetery gravestone symbols and their meanings. This is from Kimberly Powell's Genealogy About.com website.

http://genealogy.about.com/od/cemetery_records/ig/tombstone_symbols/russian-cross.htm

Memories of Halloween

What was Halloween like when you were a kid? I remember more homemade costumes than store bought ones. We used some imagination when thinking of what we should go as and then once we decided on something we raided our parent's clothes and mom's makeup. We lived in a trailer park when I was young which was always fun at Halloween because the club house would be transformed into a Haunted House and we had tons of houses to trick or treat at. We freely roamed around since we were fairly isolated from busy streets.

The experience of Halloween may differ from one generation to the next but it is a common experience most of us share. My children's experience of Halloween is somewhat different than mine but I'm sure we all have the same goal as children-getting the largest amount of candy! It is an experience that your kids and grandkids would be interested in hearing more about. Wondering what you should write about when doing your life story? Talk about these everyday experiences that your descendants can understand. I would love to hear what my grandmother dressed up as or any traditions she started with her children.

Halloween is a time for decorations, candy, trick or treating, harvest festivals, pumpkin carving, caramel apples and more.

How did you celebrate Halloween as a kid? Maybe there's some kids that would like to hear about your life at their age.

If you would like to see more vintage Halloween art, check out, http://hubpages.com/hub/vintage-Halloween-art

Church Record Sunday: Ellen G. White

This weekend was a conference that centered around Ellen G White (1827-1915), the co founder of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Ellen G White is an important figure in 19th century American religion and in American religion as a whole.

The Seventh-day Adventist church was founded in America in the 19th century at the the same time as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Church of Christ, Scientist.

Information from the conference will be published in a book, scheduled to come out in summer 2010. You can learn more about the participants in this conference at http://www.ellenwhiteproject.com/.

If you are interested in learning more about Ellen G White and the beginnings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, try a Google Scholar search, http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en or a Google Book search, http://books.google.com/books. For those with early Seventh-day Adventist ancestors, learning more and reading the writings of the early church will provide a better understanding of your ancestor's life.

Church Record Sunday: Disciples of Christ Historical Society

The Disciples of Christ Historical Society website provides a state by state inventory of microfilmed church records as well as an online catalog of books and archival materials.

By going to the website and clicking on “Congregational Material on Microfilm,” http://www.discipleshistory.org/catalog/default.htm, you can then choose from a pull down menu the locality you are interested in. The records cover the United States, Canada, and England. The site has a research request form where you can learn more about research services and prices, http://www.discipleshistory.org/catalog/default.htm.

Their online catalog of books, pamphlets, photographs and other materials can also be searched from their website at http://www.discipleshistory.org/catalog/alex.htm. The home page for the online catalog even features some search tips.

Plagiarism in the Genealogy Community

As I write this I am somewhat hesitant. You see, I am the kind of person that usually keeps to myself and doesn’t make waves. I don’t like for anyone to feel bad. So I tend to try to choose my words carefully, though I don’t always succeed. I write the following not as an indictment of anyone but more of a suggestion at looking how we write and publish content. I’m looking to start a dialogue so other genealogists can share suggestions for how they have dealt with this issue.

Many of us remind our audiences of the importance of citing our sources, but we usually mean to say “cite your sources when you research your family tree.” There are books about source citations, online guides, and computer programs to help you properly cite sources when you research and write up your results. But what about when you produce presentation handouts, newsletter articles, blog content and such?

It’s no surprise that when you have a semi public persona, people are going to ‘lift’ your intellectual property. That’s the risk that one runs when you post content to blogs, websites and social networking sites. Some of my fellow geneabloggers have posted warnings about blogs that steal content. Usually these are blogs that are, for lack of a better understanding on my part, robotic in that they are mining for data that they can post and take credit for. These warnings are done so that we can protect our intellectual property.

But it is in the last few months that I and some of my fellow members in the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (SCCAPG) have noticed another type of plagiarism. Plagiarism that involves other genealogists, authors and societies taking from the work of a fellow genealogist and passing it off as their own.

For clarification sakes, what is plagiarism? Two definitions that can be found by googling the phrase, “define: plagiarism” are:

a piece of writing that has been copied from someone else and is presented as being your own work
the act of plagiarizing; taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own
(from: http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=plagiarism)

Three of our SCCAPG members have had such recent experiences as having handouts, blog postings, articles and presentations copied without permission.

Now, there is no doubt in my mind that we all write on similar topics within genealogy-it’s bound to happen that an article you may write might be the same topic that a fellow blogger wrote about a month ago. We all have varying genealogical interests and we all have different points of view. I like to see what other bloggers/ presenters have to say about topics I have written or presented on. I like to see someone else’s different point of view.

That’s not what I am addressing here. I am talking about when your content is copied either verbatim or with just a few words modified. In some cases it may not be plagiarism but, permission still needs to be give. I have had situations where societies have taken articles I wrote, did give me credit, and published them in their newsletter. I don’t mind societies, association and others using my work when they credit me, but in some situations because of publishing contracts, I did not own the rights for that work to be reprinted. So the group was not so much infringing on my right as they were my publisher. Something they did not know-because they did not ask.

The California State Genealogical Alliance Newsletter (Vol. 27, Number 5 September-October 2009) has a front page article by Cath Madden Trindle on Plagiarism this month. Cath’s article, Notes on Plagiarism, states,

“In the educational world, plagiarism is considered to be academic fraud which can lead to censure for professors and researchers and anything from no credit to an assignment or loss of class credit to expulsion for students. In the journalistic world a reporter might be suspended or fired if he is found guilty of plagiarism.

The genealogical world seldom sees such repercussions. Only in particularly flagrant cases do we see censure for the use of another’s research.”

Cath goes on with an example of using other people’s family trees posted online, but I think her point could also be applied to other genealogical writings.

I’m not writing this to point the finger at anyone, I’m merely writing it as a suggestion. As we publish our thoughts, research and other content for the world to see, we need to cite our sources. Citing sources isn’t just for our family history research it’s for our writings also. It’s not just a matter of being professional; it’s a matter of respect.

At SCCAPG we are working on some remedies in the form of a position paper and recommendations for other genealogists. I would welcome your thoughts on this topic so that we may assist the entire genealogical community.

Stones, Bones, and Ancient Tomes

Tomorrow is the Corona (California) Genealogy Society 3rd Annual Event, Stones, Bones, and Ancient Tomes.

This is a great society that has a wonderful event scheduled with information tables, presentations, and genealogical door prizes.

Here is what's new for this year's event:

Display table for historic Riverside County, including the annual Sunnyslope Cemetery Stroll (scheduled for 25 Oct), hosted by Diane S. Wright & Kathleen Dever

Explanation of the 2010 Census - hosted by Mary Anne Vincent

Professional genealogist Mara Fein hosting a table on doing Jewish genealogy research

Display and demonstrations about music and period instruments and how they were employed by our ancestors, hosted by Jean & Butch Hibben

WorldVitalRecords table, hosted by Gena Philibert Ortega, representative for WVR & the new GenealogyWise social networking website


Presentations include:

The Corona Genealogical Society Overview - Debbie Stuckert, CGS founding member
Beginning Family History - Len Enlow, CGS founding member
How to Use WorldVitalRecords - Gena Ortega, professional genealogist
Corona Family History Center - Jim Miller, FHC director
The 2010 Census - Mary Anne Vincent, CGS VP & Census worker
Library Resources for Genealogy - Corona Public Library staff member

I will be there to answer questions about WorldVitalRecords and GenealogyWise. I'm even bringing a door prize...

To learn more, check out their website at, http://www.coronagensoc.org/stonesbonestomes.html