Free Friday

HAPPY FRIDAY ALL

 

Fridays are going to be free Fridays.  The day I really want to hear from you.  What would you like me to research??  Is there an app you want to know about??  Is there an ancestor your having trouble with??  Is there a form you need or something you help decoding. 

 

This is your day.  Tell me what I can do for you.  If I am unable to help you I will get you in the right direction. 

 

So jump in and comment and share share share!!!

 

Thanks

Welcome to App Review Wednesday!!!

Welcome to App Review Wednesday!!!

 

What a world we live in today.  We have access to so much information at our fingertips.  It is some what nice that we are able to turn on our computers and research right from home. 

 

The price of gas makes it expensive to travel from place to place when you are centrally located around those records.  But the cost of driving or flying to research and be even worse.  Many do not have the money to do these things.  I know I am one of them.

 

My family is mostly from New York and Connecticut and I lived in Florida for 12 years.  I lived in Florida when I decided to start researching.  And in just the past 12 years it is amazing how many documents have become accessible.  Every year that goes by more and more records can be accessed from the internet.  Most of us are truely greatful for that.

 

Still doing work on the internet at times can only get you so far.  And lets admit nothing really beats face time with loved ones and their stories. 

 

That being said how many of us have an iphone, ipad, ipod touch, or any of the other millions of new smart technology out there?  Now we not only can get our information by working on our computer but we have access to all the same information from out great smartphones.  This truely amazing.

 

I have an iphone and have downloaded a few free apps to try and see what they are like and what their is to like or not like about them.  Then I will share this information with you.

 

The first app I have scanned through is Tombfinder.com

While finding apps I found this app and then found out that there is a webpage.  Surprisingly I did not know about this webpage prior to the app. 

 

There informations

 

Tombfinder App

By SaasSoft LLC

Description

Use the TombFinder App to locate a Headstone wether you are walking or driving. You simply search the name of the headstone you're looking for and hit "driving directions" or "walking directions". Once inside of the cemetery your TombFinder App will lead you right to your destination.

There are currently 230 cemeteries in our database but if you cannot find the record you are looking for, never fear! Suggest TombFinder to your local cemetery. If your suggestion leads to that cemetery becoming our partner, we will give your loved one an eternal memorial account at no charge to you!

An eternal memorial account allows you to upload pictures and memories to the record of your loved one.

Otherwise, you can add your cemetery and upload records from your mobile device.

To get started using the app go to: http://www.tombfinder.com/docs/9

Check your app store soon for new TombFinder updates!

Now for my information. 

 

Right off the bat the app uses your phones gps technology to find your location.  You can touch search and it will bring up a map with your location.  Now you have a choice of local or global search. 

I used my grand fathers name BRYANT.  I know he is buried in Hartwick.  Typing in just BRYANT I recieved a lot of names.  Right off the bat I will tell you it does not tell me how many results.  It shows names and headstones but it does not tell you where they are located.

So I decided to type in Bryant, Douglas I get no response.  I have to figure there are no Douglas Bryants in the system.  I get the same response with just Doug.  Kind of disappointing.

So lets try another name BALCOM.  Globally I was sent 5 names, locally nothing.  Once again no information on where these tombstones are at first glance.  So I decided to click on one. 

Now as you can see from the picture its shows the headstone, the name, the year of birth and death.  Still no information on the cemetery.  I do have options as driving directions, walking directions, add to favorites, edit and add additional personal photo.  Lets click on driving directions.

What the heck??!!?!?  All the way across the country???  Well that is not my Balcom. 

 

Zooming in I see it is some place north of Seattle, Washington. 

While I like the concept of the app, it is not a good app for me.  Further investigation showed me that none of my family tombstones are on this app.  The description does say that there is currently only 230 cemeteries.  I hope they can get more.  The description also says that its users can help build their database by contacting their local cemeteries and suggest to them to particate.  Or you can add your local cemetery and upload your photos. 

While I do not have much of a following maybe we can help build their database by suggestioning the app/website to our local cemeteries or just help build the site by adding our own photos. 

I believe that this can be an extremely useful app when it gets going.  Especially if the walking directions work.  I have to extremely large cemeteries near me.  How great would it be to find a family member with literally step by step directions. 

http://www.tombfinder.com/



Terrific Tombstone Tuesday

Tombstones are an excellent source of infomation.  Sometimes it maybe the only source we have on some information.  Like a birth date for example.  Sometimes we have an approximate year and usually a tombstone at the very least will give a definate year.  Sometimes it will give us a death date and an age.  If you get lucky they will have put the age in years, months, and days and you can calcuate from there.  That really helps.  Of course the information is not always correct.  But its something to work with.

Here is one of my tombstones.




Ettore Colovi  1890 - 1967

This the tombstone of my great grandfather, Ettore Enrico Antonio CALOVI.  Now there is not much information on this particular stone but right of the bat the last name is spelled incorrectly.  That was my families doing.  Ettore came to America in 1909 from Italy, so my guess is when he was asked to spell it that is how it sounded.  I know when he signed his name you can tell the A from the O.  I have also been able to have contact with living relatives in Italy that did advise me of the correct spelling. 

But the misspelling is not a bad thing. (at least in this case) since pretty much every document I have been able to find has the name spelling this way.  Also if I did not know anything about him I could use this infromation to begin my search. 


Here is another stone.



 

 

This is the stone of my grandfather.  As you can see this stone has a little more than normal information about him.  We have the day he was born and died, also a piece of information about his military career.  This is a great stone because it tells you to look in military records as well as any other records you may have planned on searching.

 

 

 

So how about someone shares a headstone.  Also let me add that if you do take pictures of your family's tombstone please visit findagrave.com  See if their burial information is there and share the pictures as well.  It is a great resource for those who are not able to travel to see the stones themselves.  It is also a great resource to help those find out where an ancestor may be buried if they are not totally sure.  

Great Book Monday January 14th, 2013

Here we are again for Great Book Monday!!

 

While I have many books in my genealogy book collection, I decided to take a different approach this week. 

 

I am wondering if there are any of you out there working on creating your own family books.  I know that as I grow my tree one of the things I really want to do is to create a family book.  I would like to create a book about my family for a Christmas gift one year. 

 

One of my issues is do I create one book or two?  I do all my genealogy work for my children.  So my tree has my family and my husbands family.  Now while I know both sides would enjoy the gift a great deal, I do not think either side really cares about the other.  Especially when only our parents have met. 

 

While I have done some work in the form of small books to help my children with projects at school, I have not done anything on a large scale. 

 

So please share your experiences.  Are you working on one?  Do you plan on working on one?  Do you have questions that maybe others or I can answer? 

 

Looking forward to hearing from you!!!

 

:D

 



 

 

 

Great Book Monday

The Organized Family Historian

By Ann Carter Fleming CG CGL

 

Rutledge Hill Press

PO Box 141000

Nashville TN 37214

ISBN: 1-4016-0129-4

 

 

This is a great book for any genealogist who feels the seriously need to organize their collection or for the organized person who is seeking to reorganize or get a few more ideas.

 

 

The book is broken into 3 parts.

 

Part 1 - Organize Your Heritage Trunk

• Where to start
• What do I do with all this stuff
• Books, CDs, Maps, Tapes
• Objects of my affection
• Digital Direction

Part 2 - Organize your Research

• Tools of the trade
• Census: The records count
• Required by law
• Veterans affairs
• Around the town
• Ancestors research roadshow

Part 3 - Organize Your Family History For Publication

• Share your story

This book is full of great information.  There are interview techniques and helpful hints.  Samples of very useful worksheet.  Storage ideas and organization techniques and so much more.  273 pages of pure infomations.

 

While writing this, I researched where you could purchase the book.  I personally purchased some time ago probably from a Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million for about $20.  But now it does not seem that cheap to purchase.

 

Available at Amazon new & used ranging from $55 (used) to $395 (new) or to download on the Kindle for $10.  http://www.amazon.com/Organized-Family-Historian-Genealogical-Heirlooms/dp/B00069QN1K/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357523841&sr=1-1&keywords=the+organized+family+historian

 

On Ebay -  $28 http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Organized-Family-Historian-How-to-File-Manage-and-Protect-Your-Genealogic-/360551192821?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item53f28698f5

 

Google the ISBN or name and you can find the book else where new and used.  But only a couple of places seem to have the book for less than $50. 


 

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog. 

 

I LOVE genealogy.  I have been working on my family history since 1999.  The year before my first child was born.  I have built a large tree.

 

I travel when I can to find records and record headstones.  I take photos of everything I can.

 

I have wanted to share my passion with anyone and everyone I can. 

 

So I have decided to create this blog, along with a website that work hand in hand with each other.

I am hoping to connect people with others willing to help.  I am hoping that we can help each other.  We all live in different places and sometimes we can't always travel to locations where records are. 

 

I am also hoping that we can help each other break down walls,

find long lost ancestors, and even

living relatives. 

 

Anyone one who has been doing genealogy knows how it feels when you find a missing piece of information.

How it feels when you find new and unexpected information.

Find information on a person you have been looking for.

And finally find a  living relative.

These are all so exciting!!!

 

I am obsessed.  When I am researching and I find new information on a relative.  I can't stop.  I keep digging.  There are times when I am researching in the evening and don't relize that it is now late at night and I really should be in bed.