On tour down under with Unlock the Past

In four weeks time I'm heading for a brief visit to Dubai to see my brother, and then flying onto Australia to take part in the now fully subscribed fourth Unlock the Past Genealogy Cruise, which takes place from February 4th-13th (see http://www.unlockthepastcruises.com/cruises/4th-cruise/).

Whilst the cruise itself has a packed agenda of talks, I will also be giving talks at seven shore based venues both before, during and after the cruise, along with fellow international presenter Thomas MacEntee and Unlock the Past stalwart Rosemary Kopittke, and joined by Noeline Kyle (at Adelaide, Hobart and Sydney), Tiggy Johnston (at Adelaide and Hobart), and Jane Taubman (Sydney).

Full details of this talks tour, with the talks programme at each venue, admission costs/ticketing and biographies on the speakers, are available at http://www.unlockthepast.com.au/events/chris-paton-and-thomas-macentee-downunder/brisbane.

The following is a summary of the talks I will be giving, and details of the venues themselves:

Saturday 1 February 2014, 9am - 4.30pm Broncos (Brisbane)
Broncos Leagues Club, Fulcher Road, Red Hill
11.15pm Irish land records
3.45pm Scottish inheritance records

Monday 3 February 2014, 9am - 4.30pm (Canberra)
Hellenic Club, Matilda Street, Woden, ACT
11.15pm British and Irish newspapers
3.45pm Scottish marriage: instantly buckled for life

Thursday 6 February 2014, 10am - 5pm (Melbourne)
Celtic Club, 316-320 Queen Street, Melbourne
10.30am The Godly Commonwealth: Discover Scottish Church Records
11.45am British and Irish newspapers

Saturday 8 February 2014, 10am - 4pm (Adelaide)
North Adelaide Football Club, Function Room, Menzies Crescent, Prospect
11.45am British and Irish Newspapers
3.15pm Irish Records Online

Tuesday 11 February 2014, 9am - 3.30pm (Hobart)
Philip Smith Centre, 2 Edward St, Glebe
Topics to be advised

Thursday 13 February 2014, 10am - 5pm (Sydney)
Parramatta RSL, Corner Macquarie and O’Connell Streets, Parramatta
11.45am Irish records online
4.15pm Scottish marriage: instantly buckled for life

Saturday 15 February 2014, 9am - 4.30pm
State Library of WA, 25 Francis Street, Perth Cultural Centre, Perth
11.15am British and Irish newspapers
3.45pm Irish records online

This will be my fourth visit to Australia since 2007, and my third giving talks - I am looking forward to a good few days in Brisbane before kicking off (I'll be staying with a cousin for a couple of nights before we get going!), meeting folk in Canberra, Adelaide and Hobart, cities I have not visited before, returning to the Paramatta RSL (were I previously spoke in 2010), the Celtic Club in Melbourne (my uncle's a member, and my first time speaking in the city!), and a return to the State Library in Perth, where I did some personal research in 2010. At each venue I will be present for the full duration, so will be more than happy to talk about Irish and Scottish research problems between talks, though I have to apologise in advance that I will be leaving early after my two talks in Melbourne to catch up with family for the afternoon before rejoining the boat.

A range of Unlock the Past publications (including from yours truly) and other genealogy materials will be on sale at the venues.

It's going to be fun both on board and ashore - hopefully we'll see you a few of you there!

Chris

My latest book, Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records, is now available from http://www.gould.com.au (print) and http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html (ebook), whilst Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet is available at http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-History-on-the-Internet/p/3889/.

WISE - Wales Ireland Scotland England group

Here is something I have just come across via Twitter - the Wales Ireland Scotland England Family History Society, aka, W.I.S.E, based in Denver, Colorado. The site's website has a list of forthcoming meetings at www.wise-fhs.org/meetings.html

Not quite a local effort, but I liked the acronym, so it gets an honorable mention! :)

(With thanks to @FranEllsworth)

Chris

Perpetual polygamy by the LDS?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints uses genealogy for its religious beliefs, hence its monumental efforts with the FamilySearch.org website and many other impressive projects. The Daily Mail has an article today on how this is being politicised in the United States just now, as part of the process to elect a Republican candidate for the forthcoming presidential election campaign. The target is Mitt Romney, who is apparently a Mormon.

Personally I couldn't care less about the church's religious beliefs, or any church's religious beliefs for that matter, as I am not at all religious - my idea of an afterlife is the preservation of the family history for future generations, so I am on a messianic mission of my own to find it all before I pop my clogs! I do, however, have a heck of a lot of admiration for what the Mormon church is doing in terms of its genealogical programme, as they kindly make their findings available for free. I am fascinated by the workings of churches, and their histories, however, and if the article is right, I've learned something new about the Latter Day Saints.

I know the Mormons believe in 'sealing ordinances', a ritual whereby family relationships are preserved for all eternity - a married couple can have their relationship 'sealed', for example, but a child can also be 'sealed' to its parents. They also have a programme of 'vicarious baptism', the process of posthumously baptising the dead by the use of modern day proxies, in order to guarantee that a soul can gain entry into Heaven etc. To find out who all these people are, they need to do the research - hence the interest in genealogy.

Another fact that is often quoted about Mormons is the use of polygamous marriages, which certainly used to be the case in the 19th century, though no longer the case today. According to the Mail, however, the church is posthumously marrying couples long after they have died, and more than once, with many different partners! I have no idea if this is the case, or whether the reporter has been mixing up his sealing ordinances - I certainly don't recall seeing any plural marriages on the IGI for my tree that weren't backed up with the right certificates!

In any case, it's an interesting article in the 'newspaper' (sorry, it is the Mail!), but has a slight whiff of with JFK being the first Catholic president, now it's the Mormons' turn. Read it for yourself at www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2107396/How-Diana-baptised-Mormon.html - oh, and as it's the Mail, it obviously features Diana in the headline! :)

Chris

DNA: US Indians are actually Russians

I don't normally do American news, but the irony of this one is too much - it looks like North American Indians are actually Russian in origin! For more on the DNA research behind the research see http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/120203-native-americans-siberia-genes-dna-science/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ng%2FNews%2FNews_Main+%28National+Geographic+News+-+Main%29

Thanks God no-one told McCarthy when he was hunting communists!

(With thanks to the Sorenson Molecular Genetic Foundation)

Chris

Rootstech lecture videos online

The three days of Rootstech (www.rootstech.org) lectures from the United States conference are available online at the main web address. I had intended to embed them here, but they all start playing at the same time when I do, and life's too short - so visit the site, you'll find them there!

In total there are about 22 hour worth of talks available, so a flask of coffee is highly advisable, and don't forget to stop for ten minutes half way through to remind your kids who you are...!

(With thanks to Rootstech)

Chris

Brightsolid's growing US army

Scottish based Brightsolid (www.brightsolid.com) has announced a series of new appointments for its new US based division, with which it hopes to break into the American market. Here's the release:

Brightsolid online publishing, a leading online provider of historical and genealogical content, today announces that top genealogist D. Joshua Taylor has joined its new US operation with immediate effect, as business development manager and media spokesperson.

D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS is one of America’s most prominent genealogists – a prolific genealogical researcher, speaker and author, who has also received numerous awards for his work. Adept at media interviews, he has twice been featured on the NBC series ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’, helping both Sarah Jessica Parker and Ashley Judd trace their family trees.

“We’re thrilled to have recruited such a dynamic and talented genealogist to represent us both to the media and the wider genealogical community”, says Neil Curtis, brightsolid’s new Senior Vice-President (SVP) of North America.

Speaking about his appointment, Taylor says: “Having seen what brightsolid has achieved on the UK genealogy scene, I’m excited about helping them fulfill their huge potential in the US.”

British-owned brightsolid has itself been at the forefront of technological innovations in family history for over three decades. It hosts over a billion genealogical records across its family of brands and was this month voted Best Genealogy Organization in the online Gene Awards.

As part of its move into North America, brightsolid is sponsoring RootsTech 2012, the major family history and technology conference, taking place in Salt Lake City from February 2-4 2012, where Taylor himself will be giving three talks. They will cover, respectively, the need for a universal standard in online digital archiving; best practices for using Cloud computing in family history research; and a forecast for future genealogy software developments.

Other new appointments to brightsolid’s new US operation:

D. Joshua Taylor is just one of several new appointments for brightsolid, following the opening this month of its new US operation, based in Santa Monica, California.

• Neil Curtis moves from his role as brightsolid Corporate Development Manager to focus on the US market as Senior Vice President (SVP) of North America.

• Rachel Denning joins as the General Manager of North America, after 14 years experience in the IT and web industries.

• Brian Speckart joins as Marketing Manager of North America, after a varied 15-year career in marketing and public relations, including teaching New Media Marketing at UCLA Extension.

• Katy Curtis will focus on North America as Finance Manager, after previously working as a director at KPMG.

(With thanks to @brightsolid_op and Carolynne Bull-Edwards)

Chris

Brightsolid's new baby - CensusRecords

OK, so it is not quite what I thought it might be! It would appear that the new announcement about to be made by Brightsolid at RootsTech might be for a new website called CensusRecords (www.censusrecords.com). The Genealogy in Time newsletter has picked up on it (see www.genealogyintime.com/GenealogyResources/NewGenealogyRecords/newest_genealogy_records_on_the_internet.html?awt_l=E0ZLd&awt_m=JmNteEts_Qk.Vy), and from the description it would seem to be another US census website. For more on what it has to offer read the newsletter's summary.

(With thanks to Genealogy in Time)

Chris

Online US SSDI databases under threat

Online access to Social Security Death Index (SSDI) numbers in the United States is currently under threat, due to concerns over identity theft of the recently deceased, with thieves apparently able to make fraudulent claims using the social security numbers which have been placed online. Ancestry.com has removed its SSDI database completely from the Rootsweb platform and restricted access to numbers for those deceased in the last decade on its main site, whilst Genealogybank.com has also limited access. FamilySearch is currently reviewing its stance on the matter.

The SSDI database contains information on over 90 million former US residents, with entries typically listing forename and surname of the deceased (with middle initial from the 1990s), death date (mostly post 1962), birth date, social security number, place of issue, and details concerning the place of death. If a person is found in the database, his or her application for a Social Security card (Form SS-5) can be ordered from the US based Social Security Administration. This contains extra information, such as birth place, father's name, and mother's full maiden name - as such, it has been an invaluable tool for US based genealogists for decades. A form of the SSDI database called the Death Master File has been available for decades, as it is is considered to be a public document, though this is now being challenged by various US based legislators.

For more on the matter visit http://genealogy.about.com/b/2011/12/16/genealogy-sites-pressured-into-removing-ssdi.htm and www.salemnews.com/nationworld/x1759193632/Genealogy-sites-remove-Social-Security-numbers-of-deceased. Information on the SSDI itself is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_Death_Index

Chris