Genealogy Pages on Pinterest

I have been blogger for a while now, and as a result, I am "plugged in" to a lot of other bloggers out there.  The blogosphere is jam packed with information on genealogy, and bloggers are very nice about sharing.  A lot of what I post to D.I.R.T. will be things I am "re-posting".  I will always give credit to the blogger I am borrowing information from as well as a link to the original source of the information.

One very cool way to find new "stuff" is using Pinterest.  The best way to describe it is a "visual inspiration board".  It's a cool place to store stuff you find online, instead of emailing it to yourself or printing it out or bookmarking it, you can set up an account and as many "boards" as you like and start pinning.

If you would like more information on what Pinterest is and how to use it, click here.  Family Search has also published a short piece on using Pinterest for your family history resarch.  Click here  to take a look.

On 20 Nov 2014, Family History Newsletter posted the "8 Best Genealogy Pages on Pinterest".  I have summarized and provided links for a few of them.  I hope you will take a look and perhaps have some fun exploring this resource and finding interesting ways to use it to enhance your own family history research.

Ancestor Help
Ancestor Hunter's Vintage Maps board features nearly 60 maps pinned from around the web.  Click the pinner's name you you'll find 26 other boards devoted to genealogy and history

Caroline Pointer
Caroline has more than 70 boards, the majority of which are dedicated to genealogy.  Don't miss:  Productivity Tips and Apps for Researchers featuring pins that prompt you to be more efficient, organized and productive.

Genealogy Tip Jar
This board, spearheaded by GeneaBloggers' Thomas MacEntee, has tips from 10 contributors.  If you want to see the genealogical potential of Pinterest boards?  Check out Thomas's 70-Plus Other Boards as well.

Janet Hovorka
Among Janet's many boards are more than 10 for genealogy.  Her pining specialty is family history displays (she's the owner of Family ChartMasters) and you'll find plenty of inspiration.  Don't miss her Genealogy Fun Board, either.

--Submitted by Denise Doyon

Legacy Box

If you are a genealogist, it isn't hard to figure out what a "legacy box" is - a box filled with the photos, documents, recordings, videos, etc. of your family.  It is the collection of many lifetimes and is probably residing in various boxes, drawers, closets and cupboards waiting for someone (perhaps you) to put it all in order and preserve it for generations to come.  Not an easy task.  I have been working on it for years and am still not done - and I don't have all that much stuff.  Most of it has been scanned and digitized and lives on a thumb drive.  So now I have two collections, one physical and one digital.  Some of it will be worked into my family history narrative, some into my memoir, but in the end, if I don't figure out how to preserve it, it will all just stay where it is and get passed along to someone else in the family.  Ideally, it would be great to organize all the digital stuff onto a DVD in a format that would make it fun to watch and turn it into a true keepsake of our family.  Again, a lot of work, particularly for someone who is not adept at making "movies".  Wouldn't it be great to be able to just hand it all off to someone else who could do it for me?

Well, there is just a someone.  It's called Legacy Box.  You fill a legacy box with all your memories (tape, file, photos, audio) and send it off to the folks at Legacy Box, and in a few weeks they send it all back to you with everything preserved on DVDs.  The cost runs anywhere from $75 to $500 (depending on how much stuff you have).  When you order your box they will send you a package containing three crush-proof boxes, a welcome guide and reference card, a pre-paid FedEx shipping label and packing material.  All you have to do is fill it up, slap on a label, and get it to a FedEx drop off.  What you get back are archival DVDs with digital copies, a legacy box (for keepsakes) and your original collection of stuff.  Easy peasy.  

Today, 2 Dec 2014, when I was perusing their website, I noticed they are offering 25% off and also have a bogo special.

So check out www.legacybox.com and start preserving those memories!

NOTE:  I have not used Legacy Box.  In preparing this blog post, I did scour the Internet for reviews of the company and their services and did not find a great deal.  In all fairness, the company is only about a year old.  They do have a Facebook page, and you can find extensive material on the company by visiting their Kickstarter page.  

--  submitted by Denise Doyon

Calling All Mentors!

Seabrook's new genealogy group, D.I.R.T. - Digging Into Roots Together, is looking for residents who can mentor some of the group's less experienced genealogists.  As those of you who have been researching for a while know, getting started and finding a way to organize your research is the hardest part.  Resources, research opportunities and information about family research is expanding exponentially.  It's hard for even the experienced among us to keep up.  As a group, we possess a vast amount of knowledge and experience we can pass along. The original vision for D.I.R.T. was that of a forum to share, learn, and grow together as genealogists.  

We have a list of people who would appreciate some assistance finding their way.  If you are willing to work with one or more new genealogists to help them begin their journey (either as part of our monthly meetings or off-site at times and places more convenient to you and a budding genealogist), please contact Denise Doyon at diggingtogether@yahoo.com.  It is our hope that once our "newbies" get organized, they will be able to use the resources of D.I.R.T. to continue their journey and themselves become productive, contributing members of our genealogy community.

Family History Writing Challenge

Every February, Lynn Palermo (The Armchair Genealogist), runs a program called The Family History Writing Challenge.  It is a 28-day commitment to writing your family history.  I took the challenge in February of 2014 because I was spending all my time researching and I needed something to kick-start me into actually WRITING.  It worked.  If you would like more information about the challenge, please go to Lynn's About FHWC page.  If you want a little help turning all that research into a written family history, I think this may just do the trick!

--  submitted by Denise Doyon

Book Review: Crash Course In Family History, 5th Edition, by Paul Larsen

There are a ton of books out there about genealogy.  You could spend all your time reading these, and have little time left for actual research.  But every once in a while one comes along that grabs your attention.  I personally read this book in its 4th edition printing, and was impressed.  It was an excellent tool for anyone getting started.  Randy Seaver recently posted his review of the new 5th edition printing, which you can read here.  Please take a look at the blog post for his review and links to information about the book.  You can see pages from the 344 page book on the preview page.  It is not an inexpensive resource ($32.99 on Amazon.com).  The 3rd edition is available at the Charleston County Public Library - I have shown the CCPL catalog listing at the end of this post.

 

There is more information about the book on the book product page.

Randy Seaver thought one of the most useful features of this book is the Jump-Start Chart (two screens below):

There is a lot of great information in this book and with technology changing by the hour, and the available resources growing on a daily basis, it is a great to have an updated edition!

Happy Researching!

_______________________________________________________________

Crash Course in Family History - 3rd edition - CCPL catalog listing.

Freebies from Family History Library

Family History Library Offers Free Webinars Online

If you are interested in attending some of the upcoming free webinars being offered by the Family History Library in 2015, please click here to go to their official listing page and to get more details about each webinar and instructions on how to join a live webinar.

A short summary of what's coming up in the next few months:

January 2015

Thursday, 8 January @ 6:00 pm, MST, Beginning Research Techniques:  Let's Start at the Very Beginning

Thursday, 22 January @ 6:00 pm, MST, Using Research Logs

 February 2015

Thursday, 12 February @ 6:00 pm, MST, US Research Series Family Search Library Catalog

Thursday, 26 February @ 6:00 pm, MST, US Research Series  Family Search Historical Records Collection

March 2015

Thursday, 12 March @ 6:00 pm, MST Solving Tough Research Problems

Thursday, 26 March @ 6:00 pm, MST  Document Analysis

The Beginners Among Us

We have all taken that first step.  We sat down armed with some basic information and the strong desire to find out about our family history and dove into the pool.  Some of us have been at this for a very long time; others, not so long.  Some of us have had help and guidance; others have "gone it alone".  In either case, we have learned a lot and have a great deal of knowledge and experience to share.

The purpose of assembling this group of Seabrook genealogists is to provide a forum to share what we know.  This can be a very valuable resource for all of us, and especially for those of you among us you are just starting out.

If you have just begun, are thinking about beginning, or are just plain curious, and would like some help "getting your feet wet", let us know.  We will partner you with someone who can help you get started.

Please contact Denise Doyon at diggingtogether@yahoo.com and we will help you take those first steps on your journey to find your roots.