Martin Sheen on WDYTYA?

Last night's (Feb 3, 2012) episode of Who Do You Think You Are  followed the family history quest of Martin Sheen, American actor and the child of immigrants from Ireland and Spain.  I found it interesting that Martin Sheen,  also a political activist,  has ancestors on both sides of his family who also had a passion for social justice.

Martin Sheen has always been interested in his maternal uncle who was involved in the Irish Civil War, so that is where he began searching for his family history.  I had to chuckle to myself when Martin Sheen began by searching on Ancestry.com for his mother's brother, Michael Phelan,  found his death certificate showing he died in County Tipperary, and then said,  "Looks like I'm going to have to go to Ireland myself to find out more about Michael Phelan.  I'm going to go the Military Archives in Dublin (Cathal Brugha Barracks)."

Well, heading off to Ireland at the beginning of a family history search makes for interesting television, but the TV show makes it seem as traveling to your ancestral homeland is the only way to research your family tree.  If that were true, that would make genealogy a hobby out of reach for most of us.   You do not have to travel around the world to start your family history search.  Instead, if interested in an uncle's involvement in the Irish Civil War, most of us would just do additional search on the Internet.  I poked around a bit and it didn't take long to find the Irish Military Archives, which is the repository for  the Military Service Pensions Collection where Martin Sheen found his uncle's pension:

http://www.military.ie/info-centre/military-archives

I read in the Archives FAQ and found out how to do the same research by mail that Martin Sheen traveled to Ireland to do.  And note the pension records are only available to next of kin and only available by mail - definitely the type of thing to double check in advance before booking a trip to the homeland.

Your ancestors who served during the 1916 Rising or during the War of Independence may have made application for a medal or pension in respect of their service during that time. Pensions were awarded under the 1924 and subsequent Pension Acts. Due to data protection requirements, these pension records are currently available to direct next of kin only. Direct next of kin should write to the following address for information in respect of their relatives’ service during 1916 and the War of Independence:

Veterans Administration Section,
Department of Defence,
Renmore, Galway, Ireland

Please provide Veterans Administration Section with as many personal details as possible to include full name (and any variations in spelling), date of birth, the address/s resided at during the period in which they may have made the application (1924 to 1949 most likely) and the name of any next of kin at that time.

Here are some additional websites that can help you find out more about Irish Ancestors:

• Ireland GenWeb
• Genuki (UK and Ireland Genealogy)
• Ancestry.com Ireland Databases
• Irish Genealogy
• Ireland Genealogy Project

I think people are fascinated by family history because it helps them understand themselves.  We see our own selves reflected in those who came before us.  In Martin Sheen's case, the same passion for political activism was present in both his maternal and paternal ancestors.    Martin Sheen described his involvement in political activism:  "You do it because you cannot NOT do it".    He discovered his ancestors felt the same way.  It's in his DNA.  As the TV show says, "To know who you are, you have to know where your story began."

You can see the entire Martin Sheen WDYTYA episode online

Want to get started in your own family history?  You don't have to travel the globe.
 Get started in genealogy.

Google Introduces Verbatim Search

Google has just introduced Verbatim Search which can be used when you want an exact search to your query.

Doesn't Google already give exact search results?  Well, actually, Google may make the following changes to a search query:

• Make spelling corrections
• Personalize your search by using information such as sites you’ve visited before
• Include synonyms of your search terms (matching “genealogy” when you search for [family history])
• Find results that match similar terms to those in your query (finding results related to “burial” when you search [cemetery])
• Search for words with the same stem like “obituary” when you’ve typed [obit]  
• Make some of your terms optional, like “circa” in [died circa 1843]

Google call these changes to a search query "normal improvements"  and most of the time these improvements really help broaden your search and give better search results.  But for the times you want an exact search, you may want to try Verbatim Search.

How does a Verbatim Search affect your Google search results?  With Verbatim Search:

• Every search term must be included in results 
• Spelling must match exactly (even if your search term is mis-spelled) 
• No word stemming - obit and obituary will not match, cemetery and cemeteries will not match, research and researching will not match.

Verbatim Search is NOT the same as putting a phrase in quotes.  A phrase in quotes must appear on the page exactly in the same order as the search query.  The words in a Verbatim Search must appear on the page but do not have to appear consecutively.

A few weeks ago, Google announced they would replace the Google + operator used to search for exact terms with double quotes around the word.   I think Verbatim Search may be Google's answer to the many requests to bring back the + operator.  But Verbatim Search and the + Operator are not the same.  With the + operator, you could choose only one of the words in your search query to be exact.  With Verbatim Search, all the words in your query must be exact.

You can access the Verbatim Search tool under “More search tools” on the left-hand side of Google Search Results.

When Verbatim Search is enabled, the word Verbatim in the left column of your search results will be red.

Try the same search query with and without Verbatim Search and you will see the huge differences in search results.

Cached Pages in Google Search Results

Google has removed the cached page link from the search results page.  Until last week, it used to appear with every link in the search results.  In its place, if you hover your cursor over a search result, you will notice two arrows in a light gray box appear.   

Click on the arrows in the box, and you will see a preview thumbnail of the website along the new location for the link for the cached site.

I use a website cache for many reasons:

• On cached pates, each search term is highlighted instantly and in a different color making keywords easy to find especially on long pages. 
• Cached pages load faster. 
• Cached pages are available for pages that are altered, deleted, hard to load, or firewalled. 
• Cached pages are available for pages that are updated frequently such as forums, blogs, and news, many times taking me to the page that has moved on that contains the search items.

Once you try using cached pages for the above reasons, you may find them useful, also.

To me, Google's "Instant Preview" of a website is pretty much useless.  It's too slow to load and too small to read except perhaps the title.   I'm always accidently clicking on it - it gets in my way while viewing the search results page.   And with a pop-up blocker turned on or javascript disabled, you may not even be able to see the arrows.  But that is now where you have to get the link to see cached results.

I find the new method to click on the link for cached pages user-unfriendly.  Now, there are two extra steps to use the cached links.  First, you must hover over the result to make the arrows appear and then click on the instant preview arrows and wait for the "instant preview" to appear (which on my computer isn't always instant). Then click on the cached link.  Much more time consuming to get a link for something I consider very useful and necessary. 

  

I'm sorry to see Google making such user-unfriendly decisions recently - see Google Removes the + Search Operator.  The great search results and interface simplicity are what drew me to Google years ago.  Cached pages are one thing that makes Google unique - Bing and Yahoo don't have links for cached pages.

Google is always on a quest for greater search speed hence Google Instant  which shows results as you type and Google says takes 2 to 5 seconds off each search.  It surprises me that they would then make two changes  in one week that makes things slower on the user end.

Google Removes the + Search Operator

Google has just recently removed the + search operator and replaced it with quotation marks functionality.  Instead of placing the Google + operator before a single word that you want to appear in your search results as-is, you now must add quotation marks around the word.  Quotation marks have always worked to give exact results for a phrase, but they now also give exact results for a single word.

If you search using the + operator, you will get a message that says:

The + operator has been replaced.
To search for an exact word or phrase, use double quotation marks

When asked why the + functionality was removed, a Google employee replied:

 "We've made the ways you can tell Google exactly what you want more consistent by expanding the functionality of the quotation marks operator. In addition to using this operator to search for an exact phrase, you can now add quotation marks around a single word to tell Google to match that word precisely. So, if in the past you would have searched for magazine +latina, you should now search for magazine "latina".  "

I'm not sure I see this as an improvement - it will now take two keystrokes to replace one, and I have to remember not to do something that has become second nature to me during my searches.

How does this affect genealogy searches?  Well, now if  I want to search for any word, including surnames, and get exact results, I must use quotation marks.  For example to search for the surname Meyer without getting results that also show Mayer, Myers, and other spelling variations, I must now search for the surname in quotes.  "Meyer"  

It almost seems counter-intuitive to have to tell Google that you want to search for an exact word, after all, isn't that what you expect when you enter a keyword?  But if you remember that Google does synonym searches, it becomes easier to remember that you have to tell it when you want an exact search.  Sometimes getting spelling variations and synonyms in search results is a good thing as it broadens your results and helps you find things you might not otherwise find, but there are time when only exact spelling results are appropriate.

I just hope Google doesn't do away with any other operators such as the minus sign and the OR operator.  So far, they are still working.  Check out the Easy Google Genealogy Searcher for other ways to use Google.

15 Days of Free Databases

Ancestry.com 15th Anniversary Sweepstakes

Starting October 1st, Ancestry.com will celebrate its 15th Anniversary with 15 days of free databases and a sweepstakes giveaway with prizes awarded everyday!  

Each day for the next 15 days a new database will be opened for free.  And each day day a new prize is awarded.

The Sweepstakes Grand Prize will be a trip to California to go behind the scenes of an episode of Who Do You Think You Are, meet Executive Producer Lisa Kudrow, the celebrity guest, and see how the show is made.

PLUS,  Ancestry.com have a variety of daily prizes throughout the promotion!

Now this is one contest that really interests me.  I would love to go behind the scenes of an episode of Who Do You Think You Are to see how the show is made.

Enter Here to Win Daily Prizes

Family Tree Maker 2012 About to Ship

The 20% pre-sale discount for Family Tree Maker 2012 ends Wednesday, September 28, at about 10:00 AM MST and, shortly after, Ancestry will begin shipping the pre-orders.   Yes, the much anticipated FTM 2012 with TreeSnyc will start to ship tomorrow.

  

If you are planning to order FTM 2012, you can still get the pre-sale price until the morning of Sept 28.  And you can receive an additional 20% discount if you use the coupon code G5JXTRY at checkout in the box marked Redeem Coupons for additional savings.  If you miss the pre-sale discount, you can still use the coupon code for a 20% discount.

There are a number of FTM 2012 versions:

• Family Tree Maker 2012

• FTM 2012 Upgrade 
For those who already own an earlier version

• FTM 2012 Complete
Family Tree Maker 2012 program plus:
• Printed version of the The Companion Guide to Family Tree Maker 2012
• The Family History Toolkit on DVD,
• Photo Explosion Album

The FTM 2012 for Mac pre-sale will be available sometime mid to late October and the ship date is mid to late November.


FTM 2012 Blog Posts:

1. Questions and Answers About FTM 2012
2. Family Tree Maker 2012 List of Improvements
3. Differences Between the FTM 2012 Tree and Ancesty Member Tree

FTM 2012 TreeSync - Differences between Desktop and Online Trees

Ancestry.com has released the following FAQ about Family Tree Maker 2012 's TreeSync.

Differences Between Desktop and Online Trees

Most content in trees is uploaded and/or synced seamlessly between Family Tree Maker and Ancestry. However, because Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker trees are in different formats, there are a few differences you should be aware of.

• Facts
  In general fact dates, names, places, and descriptions (including custom and alternate facts) are the same in Family Tree Maker and Ancestry trees. However, you may find that some fact types are labelled differently. For example, the Physical Description fact in Family Tree Maker is the Description fact in Ancestry trees.

• Media items
• The caption of a media item in Family Tree Maker is the same as the Picture name field on Ancestry.
• Audio and video items are not transferred between Family Tree Maker and Ancestry.
• Media items attached to relationships in Family Tree Maker are not uploaded to Ancestry.com.
• Records you've found on Ancestry.com and merged into Family Tree Maker won't be re-uploaded to Ancestry.
• Documents in Family Tree Maker will be uploaded to an Ancestry tree only if they are in one of these formats: .pdf, .doc, .txt, .rtf, and .htm.
• Photos uploaded to Ancestry Member Trees cannot exceed 15MB, so a photo in your desktop tree that exceed this size limit will be resized when it is copied to Ancestry - your original file will not be affected. Images need to be in one of these formats: .jpeg, .bmp, .png, .gif, and .tiff.

• Notes
  In Family Tree Maker you can create a variety of notes: person, research, fact, relationship, media, and source citation. When you upload a tree to Ancestry only person notes will be included; they can only be viewed by people you have invited to your online tree.

• Places
  If you have entered shortened display names for locations or custom GPS coordinates in Family Tree Maker, they will not be included in your Ancestry tree.

• Publications
  Saved reports, charts, and books cannot be transferred from Family Tree Maker to Ancestry.

• Relationships
  In Family Tree Maker only you can view information you've entered for a living individual. In your Ancestry tree, anyone who is invited to your tree can view information about living individuals.

• Sources
  • Sources created in Family Tree Maker using source templates will transfer to Ancestry, but you cannot edit these sources online.
  • Media items attached to source citations in Family Tree Maker will be uploaded; media items attached to sources in Family Tree Maker will not be uploaded.

• Stories
  • A story created on Ancestry.com will become a .htm file in Family Tree Maker, which can be viewed in a Web browser. You can edit the text in a word-processing program.
  • Smart Stories created in Family Tree Maker will become .rtf text files in Ancestry. The story can't be viewed within your Ancestry tree but the document can be downloaded. (Smart Stories are uploaded only if they are attached to individuals.)

Get 20% off Family Tree Maker 2012 with pre-sale purchase

Family Tree Maker 2012 List of Improvements

Family Tree Maker 2012 List of Improvements

Family Tree Maker 2012 will be released the last week of September and the new features have been announced.  The biggie, the feature that many have been waiting for, is the new TreeSync which links the FTM desktop tree and online Ancestry Member Tree together.  But FTM 2012 is also introducing other new features.  Here is a list of all:


TreeSync™
Now you can work on your family tree anywhere with the new TreeSync feature. When you link your desktop and online trees together, you can update either tree and then synchronize those changes into the other tree — manually or automatically with your Internet connection. Syncing your Family Tree Maker tree and online Ancestry tree has many benefits:

• Access and update your tree anytime, anywhere. With an Internet connection, you can continue your research wherever you are.  This means that you could transcribe information from a book while at the library or transcribe facts from an out-of-town interview with Aunt Sally right into your online Ancestry.com Member Tree using your laptop or smart phone or ipad .  Next time you have an internet connection,  it would sync with your Family Tree Maker database on your home computer.  Or now you could take a photo at a cemetery and attach it to your online Ancestry Member tree, and with an internet connection, it will sync it to your Family Tree Maker database on your computer.  And, conversely, while you are out researching, your know your online tree will always be up to date and the same as your tree on your home computer.
• Share your tree online. Family and friends can view your tree (and even work with you) without any software or an Ancestry subscription.
• Collaborate with the largest family history community in the world. If you share your tree publicly, other Ancestry members who are researching the same family lines can find you.
• If you already have a tree in FTM 2012 and a Member Tree online at Ancestry, there is no longer a need to do double entries .

Improved Smart Stories™
When Family Tree Maker creates a Smart Story for you, the story now includes facts about the individual and his or her spouse and children. Previously a generated Smart Story included information about the individual only.

New Combined Family View
The family group view has a new “blended families” option that displays all of a couple’s children in one location. An icon next the child’s name lets you see at a glance whether he or she is the child of the father, mother, or both parents.

Simplified Interface for Upgraders
When you install Family Tree Maker 2012, the software detects whether you are upgrading from a previous version of Family Tree Maker (version 16 or earlier). If you are, Family Tree Maker displays a simplified user interface that looks more like older versions of Family Tree Maker.

Customized Fact Sentences
When you create an Ahnentafel, descendant report, or Smart Story, Family Tree Maker generates descriptive sentences for each fact or event. Now you can change the wording to customize these sentences and the data included in the sentences.

Reports

• Improved Notes Report - The Notes Report lets you display person, research, relationship, or fact notes you’ve entered for individuals in your tree. The  old Research Notes Report is changed to Notes Report with options to include other types of notes 
• New Index of Individuals Report - The Index of Individuals Report lists every individual in your tree and their birth, marriage, and death dates.

Charts

• Generation Labels - Now you can display generation labels (such as parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents) in charts to highlight the relationship between the primary person in the chart and other family members.
• Additional Options in Descendant Chart - You can create a descendant chart that shows the relationship between two people whom you select. You can limit descendant chart to the direct line between two people.
• Adding Text to a Chart - In addition to adding your own images to a chart, you can now personalize your charts even more by adding your own text—creating a chart that is completely unique.

New and Updated Tutorials
You can learn to do more - like creating trees and using Ancestry.com features - with new and improved tutorials accessible in the software.

Gedcom
You can now include media links in the GEDCOM 5.5 export.


Get 20% off Family Tree Maker 2012 with pre-sale purchase.  Enter the coupon code G5JXTRY at checkout in the box marked Redeem Coupons for double savings - an additional 20% discount.

Family Tree Maker 2012 Now Available for Pre-Sale

Family Tree Maker 2012, which is now available for pre-sale, includes a most requested and anticipated FTM feature - an automatic synchronize between your Family Tree Maker database on your computer and your Ancestry Online Family Member Tree.

Once you link your desktop and online trees together, you can update either tree and then synchronize those changes into the other tree - manually or automatically -  using your internet connection. 

Syncing your Family Tree Maker tree and online Ancestry tree has many advantages:

• You can access and update your tree anytime, anywhere. While on the Internet, you can continue your research wherever you are using your laptop, your iPhone, or iPad.
• You can share your tree online. The family and friends that you invite to your tree can view and collaborate on the tree without any software or an Ancestry subscription.  If one of your relatives makes an addition to your tree, it will automatically update in your FTM 2012 tree.
• If you already have a tree in FTM 2012 and a tree online at Ancestry, there is no longer a need to do double entries to keep both trees up to date. Now update one tree and automatically update the other with Tree Sync.

The Sync works automatically at the open or close of the program, or you can manually request a sync using the Sync Now button.

When you create your family tree at online at the ancestry site, you have 3 privacy options:

• You can make your tree public
• You can make your tree private yet still in the Ancestry search engine
• You can make your tree completely private and not included in the Ancestry search engine.

I had a chance to review FTM 2012 during the Public Beta, and can say that the sync worked beautifully for me.  I uploaded my Family Tree Maker 2012 tree to a new Ancestry Member Tree.  My tree in FTM 2012 had media files -  census and other documents downloaded from Ancestry - attached to both persons and facts and they appeared in my new Ancestry Member Tree which was now linked  to my FTM 2012 tree.   I added people and attached documents to my online Ancestry Member Tree and it synced to my desktop tree in FTM 2012.  I added people to my desktop FTM 2012 and these additions synced to my online Ancestry Member Tree.   Basically, my tree was now residing in multiple locations, and I could update either location and keep the trees synced.

I'm really looking forward to receiving my copy FTM 2012.  I can see the advantages of having my tree online for family collaboration. 

Ancestry.com is offering a  20% pre-sale discount of Family Tree Maker 2012 .

Enter the coupon code G5JXTRY at checkout in the box marked Redeem Coupons for double savings.

The release date is the last week of September 2012.

Family Tree Maker 2012


FTM 2012 Blog Posts:

• Family Tree Maker List of Improvements
• FTM 2012 TreeSync - Differences between Desktop and Online Trees

Genealogy Webinars

Webinars (WEB semINARS) are online seminars, and genealogy webinars have become incredibly popular. It's easy to see why. You can learn from some of the biggest names in Genealogy while attending in the comfort of your home.

Legacy Family Tree is one of the leading webinar providers. You can attend their FREE live events or view the archived presentations. . Some of the biggest names in genealogy have presented in the Legacy Webinars including Thomas MacEntee, Karen Clifford, Lisa Alzo, DearMYRTLE, and Maureen Taylor.

Here are some of the upcoming webinars that you can sign up for and they are all FREE

• Google Images and Beyond
• Organizing for Success
• Newspapers for Genealogists: Using GenealogyBank.com to document every day of your ancestors' lives
• Best Internet Resources for African American Genealogy.
• Watch Geoff Live: Adding a Census Record.
• Facebook for Genealogists.
• Researching Your Connecticut Ancestors.
• Uncovering your Irish Family History.

Archived Webinars are also available at Legacy Family Tree.  Scroll down to find the archived webinars