Yippee! There's almost nothing as disappointing as when a cemetery has been sloppy in keeping records or in finding out the old cemetery keeper of the information's family thought it worthless and threw it out. I'm so glad this project to preserve the burial records and information of our nation's heroes is getting the assistance it needs from volunteers! Read on......
Northern Virginia Technology Council Member Organizations to Assess Arlington National Cemetery's Information Technology Requirements
/PRNewswire/ -- The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) announced today that the Department of the Army has accepted in principle the organization's pro bono offer to provide assistance in the assessment of the information technology requirements to rectify the unacceptable state of the records at Arlington National Cemetery. This effort stems from an Army investigation earlier this year that found the Cemetery's record keeping in shambles, burial records on index cards, improperly marked graves and serious difficulties in accurately locating the graves in the cemetery. All these issues persisted despite spending more than $5 million on a program to digitize burial records that has shown no results.
In response to public reports of this serious problem to record keeping, the following 15 NVTC member companies have volunteered their assistance to constitute an assessment group: ACS, a Xerox Company; Blue Canopy; Booz Allen Hamilton; CACI; CGI; Consumer Electronics Association (CEA); Corporation for National Research Initiatives; CSC; IBM; Lee Technologies; MAXIMUS; Microsoft; MITRE; SoltechOne; and Vistronix.
"The NVTC membership is eager and willing to support the U.S. Army as it responds to this difficult situation. We want to ensure that we honor the women and men who served their country and, in many cases, gave the ultimate sacrifice for this nation. We are united in our willingness to support Senator Warner in his efforts to remedy this crisis," said George C. Newstrom, President and COO of Lee Technologies and former Secretary of Technology for then-Governor Mark Warner.
"NVTC is made up of the country's most well respected and innovative technology companies and this collaborative pro bono effort demonstrates their loyalty, compassion and admiration for those who served in the armed forces, many making the ultimate sacrifice," said Bobbie Kilberg, President and CEO, NVTC. "We applaud Senator Warner for his leadership in trying to resolve this important matter. NVTC looks forward to working under the direction of Army Secretary McHugh and his team to help assess Arlington Cemetery's technology requirements. It is an honor and privilege to be involved."
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©2010 AS Eldredge
Ahhh, genealogy. A glimpse of the past shows of what I am made.....
Showing posts with label historical records. Show all posts
Showing posts with label historical records. Show all posts
Friday, August 06, 2010
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Georgia's Virtual Library Just Keeps Growing
Have you visited the Digital Library of Georgia recently? This worthy ongoing project has resulted in adding numerous old items of genealogy and historical value to readers everywhere. There is no cost to use the service, although a plug in (free) may be required to view some of the collections. It's been about a year since I spent time on the DGL and now I think I waited about 11 months too long to go back!
Recently added are old Atlanta newspapers which span the War of Northern Aggression time period. For those who are not familiar with the Recent Unpleasantness, the history books refer to it as the War Between the States.
Here is Dick Eastman's tidbit on the Atlanta collection.
The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.
Historic Atlanta Newspapers Online
A new digital database providing online access to 14 newspaper titles published in Atlanta from 1847 to 1922 is now available through the Digital Library of Georgia, housed at The University of Georgia Libraries. The Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive (http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/atlnewspapers) contains more than 67,000 newspaper pages and provides historical images that are both full-text searchable and can be browsed by date.
The archive includes the following Atlanta newspaper titles: Atlanta Daily Examiner (1857), Atlanta Daily Herald (1873-1876), Atlanta Georgian (1906-1911), Atlanta Intelligencer (1851, 1854-1871), Atlantian (1911-1922), Daily/Georgia Weekly Opinion (1867-1868), Gate-City Guardian (1861), Georgia Literary and Temperance Crusader (1860-1861), New Era (1869-1872), Southern Confederacy (1861-1864), Southern Miscellany, and Upper Georgia Whig (1847), Southern World (1882-1885), Sunny South (1875-1907), Weekly Constitution (1869-1882).
You will note that the above list includes a lot of Civil War newspapers. They should provide valuable information to historians, genealogists, reenactors, and many others.
The Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia as part of the Georgia HomePLACE initiative. The project is supported with federal LSTA funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
Other newspaper archives available through the Digital Library of Georgia include the Macon Telegraph Archive (1826-1908), the Columbus Enquirer Archive (1828-1890), the Milledgeville Historic Newspaper Archive (1808-1920), the Southern Israelite Archive (1929-1958, 1984-1986), and the Red and Black Archive (1893-2006). These archives can be accessed at: http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/MediaTypes/Newspapers.html
My thanks to Jean Cleveland for letting me know about this valuable new resource.
Recently added are old Atlanta newspapers which span the War of Northern Aggression time period. For those who are not familiar with the Recent Unpleasantness, the history books refer to it as the War Between the States.
Here is Dick Eastman's tidbit on the Atlanta collection.
The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.
Historic Atlanta Newspapers Online
A new digital database providing online access to 14 newspaper titles published in Atlanta from 1847 to 1922 is now available through the Digital Library of Georgia, housed at The University of Georgia Libraries. The Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive (http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/atlnewspapers) contains more than 67,000 newspaper pages and provides historical images that are both full-text searchable and can be browsed by date.
The archive includes the following Atlanta newspaper titles: Atlanta Daily Examiner (1857), Atlanta Daily Herald (1873-1876), Atlanta Georgian (1906-1911), Atlanta Intelligencer (1851, 1854-1871), Atlantian (1911-1922), Daily/Georgia Weekly Opinion (1867-1868), Gate-City Guardian (1861), Georgia Literary and Temperance Crusader (1860-1861), New Era (1869-1872), Southern Confederacy (1861-1864), Southern Miscellany, and Upper Georgia Whig (1847), Southern World (1882-1885), Sunny South (1875-1907), Weekly Constitution (1869-1882).
You will note that the above list includes a lot of Civil War newspapers. They should provide valuable information to historians, genealogists, reenactors, and many others.
The Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia as part of the Georgia HomePLACE initiative. The project is supported with federal LSTA funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
Other newspaper archives available through the Digital Library of Georgia include the Macon Telegraph Archive (1826-1908), the Columbus Enquirer Archive (1828-1890), the Milledgeville Historic Newspaper Archive (1808-1920), the Southern Israelite Archive (1929-1958, 1984-1986), and the Red and Black Archive (1893-2006). These archives can be accessed at: http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/MediaTypes/Newspapers.html
My thanks to Jean Cleveland for letting me know about this valuable new resource.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Sometimes Letting the Fingers do the Walking Works Wonders
No web site? How can that be? In this age and time, how can a small town historical society not be online? It seems, well, it seems so quaint.
I've been digging around in Sweden with the help of some online friends to try and find more documentation from the 1874-1877 time frame in Stockholm. We've made some progress and I hope more is to follow.
In the meantime, I took the time to go back and look at what I really have in the way of documentation from the state of South Carolina. There's work to be done.
After letting my fingers do the typing, the search in the probate court of Charleston left me with no more information than I had. Early family lore says my great grandparents were married there. If so, Charleston doesn't know it.
I checked the 1880 census in the place they moved and found them there. Of course, Orangeburg County searches had me pulling out my hair in vain. You just can't do a lot of online research there.
I found the birthdate of the couple's oldest child which is in 1880. So, logic tells me the marriage had to happen sometime between September 1879, which is when she got off the boat in New York, and the birth of the child. Logic says it, but there's no proof.
Time to let my fingers do the walking. I called the church at which the family were members in the 1880s. A very sweet older lady answered the phone. We chatted and then she asked for the surname. When I told her, I found out that my great uncle had worked for her brother in law and that her husband is kin to the wife of this same great uncle. Coincidence?
She didn't know of any records as she is only a sometimes volunteer, but I hope she found the common names of our blood lines sufficient that she will dig some in the past.
I also asked her about the local historical society and she tells me they just aren't real active. How can that be? Oh, I shudder at the thought.
Then, she pops up and tells me that my great uncle and his wife were very active members of the historical society. Perhaps there is more information to be found there!
The historical society is only open for a few hours a week and, of course, they are not open today.
So, while I haven't really found any evidence for my genealogy bug, perhaps, letting my fingers do the walking today will unearth a new treasure.
Tip of the day. Be sure to contact those old small churches. Their older members may dredge up some memories of some of your kin. Just another reason to smile as their memories get added to my memory bank.
I've been digging around in Sweden with the help of some online friends to try and find more documentation from the 1874-1877 time frame in Stockholm. We've made some progress and I hope more is to follow.
In the meantime, I took the time to go back and look at what I really have in the way of documentation from the state of South Carolina. There's work to be done.
After letting my fingers do the typing, the search in the probate court of Charleston left me with no more information than I had. Early family lore says my great grandparents were married there. If so, Charleston doesn't know it.
I checked the 1880 census in the place they moved and found them there. Of course, Orangeburg County searches had me pulling out my hair in vain. You just can't do a lot of online research there.
I found the birthdate of the couple's oldest child which is in 1880. So, logic tells me the marriage had to happen sometime between September 1879, which is when she got off the boat in New York, and the birth of the child. Logic says it, but there's no proof.
Time to let my fingers do the walking. I called the church at which the family were members in the 1880s. A very sweet older lady answered the phone. We chatted and then she asked for the surname. When I told her, I found out that my great uncle had worked for her brother in law and that her husband is kin to the wife of this same great uncle. Coincidence?
She didn't know of any records as she is only a sometimes volunteer, but I hope she found the common names of our blood lines sufficient that she will dig some in the past.
I also asked her about the local historical society and she tells me they just aren't real active. How can that be? Oh, I shudder at the thought.
Then, she pops up and tells me that my great uncle and his wife were very active members of the historical society. Perhaps there is more information to be found there!
The historical society is only open for a few hours a week and, of course, they are not open today.
So, while I haven't really found any evidence for my genealogy bug, perhaps, letting my fingers do the walking today will unearth a new treasure.
Tip of the day. Be sure to contact those old small churches. Their older members may dredge up some memories of some of your kin. Just another reason to smile as their memories get added to my memory bank.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
World Archives Project Launced by Ancestry.com
Note: This is pretty exciting.
Ancestry.com Launches World Archives Project to Help Digitally Preserve Millions of Historical Records Worldwide
/PRNewswire/ — Ancestry.com, the world's largest online resource for family history, today launched the World Archives Project, a new initiative dedicated to digitally preserving millions of the world's historical treasures. The World Archives Project accelerates the rate at which important historical records are digitized and made available online by giving people everywhere the opportunity to play an important part in preserving history.
The World Archives Project allows individuals to transcribe historical documents at their convenience, from their home computer. Using a free transcription program, contributors select from the many historical record collections that Ancestry.com has digitized – from naturalization records to ship manifests to marriage records, and type in the information from the scanned image. All of the online indexes that are transcribed as part of the World Archives Project are easily searchable and available for free on Ancestry.com.
"Because digitizing historical records and making them available online is both costly and time consuming, many governments and libraries don't have the budget to do so," said Tim Sullivan, CEO of The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com. "The World Archives Project contributors who donate their time play a critical role in preserving these important stories by helping us publish more historical content online, extending the opportunity for others to explore their family history."
Since the project's beta launch in June 2008, more than 11,000 contributors have collectively put in more than 200,000 indexing hours and have helped digitally preserve 6 million records. Devoted to making these documents easily available online, many of these contributors spend numerous hours each week transcribing from their home.
"Family history is about sharing," says Paula Bradley, a member of Ancestry.com from Wichita, Kansas. "The Ancestry.com World Archives Project has given me a chance to give back to the community and help other people discover their own family history."
Ancestry.com estimates that it will be able to digitize and index 20 percent more historical content in 2009 to put on its site as a result of the World Archives Project. Many of these transcription projects are small collections that would likely never be digitized were it not through this project and the dedication of these unsung heroes.
There are millions of historical records from around the world that are available to index through the Ancestry.com World Archives Project. Some of the current collections include:
Naturalization Index Cards – Index cards that can easily lead researchers to the documents created when their ancestors became U.S. citizens.
Slave Manifests Filed at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1807-1860 – These records document the transporting of more than 30,000 slaves to the port of New Orleans from other stateside ports as a result of the growing tobacco industry in the southern states.
England Newspaper Index Cards – Compiled in England between the 1880s to 1965, these index cards contain information on individuals taken from next of kin advertisements, will notices, unclaimed estates and missing persons listings found in several national and overseas newspapers.
For more information about the World Archives Project and how to play an active role in preserving history by becoming a contributor, visit http://www.ancestry.com/worldarchive
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Ancestry.com Launches World Archives Project to Help Digitally Preserve Millions of Historical Records Worldwide
/PRNewswire/ — Ancestry.com, the world's largest online resource for family history, today launched the World Archives Project, a new initiative dedicated to digitally preserving millions of the world's historical treasures. The World Archives Project accelerates the rate at which important historical records are digitized and made available online by giving people everywhere the opportunity to play an important part in preserving history.
The World Archives Project allows individuals to transcribe historical documents at their convenience, from their home computer. Using a free transcription program, contributors select from the many historical record collections that Ancestry.com has digitized – from naturalization records to ship manifests to marriage records, and type in the information from the scanned image. All of the online indexes that are transcribed as part of the World Archives Project are easily searchable and available for free on Ancestry.com.
"Because digitizing historical records and making them available online is both costly and time consuming, many governments and libraries don't have the budget to do so," said Tim Sullivan, CEO of The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com. "The World Archives Project contributors who donate their time play a critical role in preserving these important stories by helping us publish more historical content online, extending the opportunity for others to explore their family history."
Since the project's beta launch in June 2008, more than 11,000 contributors have collectively put in more than 200,000 indexing hours and have helped digitally preserve 6 million records. Devoted to making these documents easily available online, many of these contributors spend numerous hours each week transcribing from their home.
"Family history is about sharing," says Paula Bradley, a member of Ancestry.com from Wichita, Kansas. "The Ancestry.com World Archives Project has given me a chance to give back to the community and help other people discover their own family history."
Ancestry.com estimates that it will be able to digitize and index 20 percent more historical content in 2009 to put on its site as a result of the World Archives Project. Many of these transcription projects are small collections that would likely never be digitized were it not through this project and the dedication of these unsung heroes.
There are millions of historical records from around the world that are available to index through the Ancestry.com World Archives Project. Some of the current collections include:
Naturalization Index Cards – Index cards that can easily lead researchers to the documents created when their ancestors became U.S. citizens.
Slave Manifests Filed at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1807-1860 – These records document the transporting of more than 30,000 slaves to the port of New Orleans from other stateside ports as a result of the growing tobacco industry in the southern states.
England Newspaper Index Cards – Compiled in England between the 1880s to 1965, these index cards contain information on individuals taken from next of kin advertisements, will notices, unclaimed estates and missing persons listings found in several national and overseas newspapers.
For more information about the World Archives Project and how to play an active role in preserving history by becoming a contributor, visit http://www.ancestry.com/worldarchive
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www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
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