Family Tree Connection

The 2008 Artistry of Genealogy Awards, sponsored by ScanMyPhotos.com, awarded the Most Popular Genealogy Data Base to Family Tree Connection .

If you aren't familiar with Family Tree Connection, it is different from other commercial genealogy sites. Family Tree Connection specializes in unusual secondary genealogy sources found nowhere else. Family Tree Connection has the type of records that are from the day-to-day activities and daily lives of your ancestors - the little details that can turn genealogy into a more detailed family history. The materials are compiled from unusual documents, pamphlets and unique out-of-print books that contain genealogical tidbits about people from around the world.

The database is transcribed by hand from documents published between 1830 and 1930 -- including Masonic rosters, rural school and college books, vintage telephone directories, insurance claims, school records, church catalogues, clubs and societies, association memberships orphanage records, railroad employees, insurance claims, obituaries and necrologies, employment records, and lots more. New information is added most every day.

The best way to see if Family Tree Connection has details on your family is to try the free search. If you find a record that you want to further access, there is a small subscription fee to view the entire record.

Family Tree Connection
Surname:

If you don't find your family, you can sign-up for the FREE Surname Tracker to receive a notice by email whenever new surname information becomes available.

Illya D'Addezio, owner of Genealogy Today, is also the owner of Family Tree Connection

NEHGS Free Irish Genealogy Databases

When I heard the New England Historic Genealogical Society was offering access to its Irish databases free (for a limited time) to the public, I went over to take a look.

http://www.newenglandancestors.org/

The free databases include:

• Atlases, Maps and Reference Materials - An Hibernian Atlas
• Census, Tax and Voters Lists - Protestant Housekeepers in Counties Antrim, Derry, Donegal, and Londonderry, Ireland — 1740
• Church Records - Index to the Marriage Licence Bonds Diocese of Cloyne, Ireland
• Newspapers and Periodicals - The Search for Missing Friends in the Boston Pilot
• Societies and Organizations - Charitable Irish Society of Boston

Unfortunately for me, the databases are for a few specific Irish counties, none of which are the counties of my ancestors. I didn't find any of my Irish ancestors in these databases, but these are robust databases, so perhaps you will. However, I did download a beautiful map of County Waterford dated 1798. The map actually shows tiny Portlaw where my Powers ancestors originated. The Hibernian Atlas contains all the Irish counties.

The website doesn't say how long the databases will remain free. It only says "for a limited time", so you might want to head on over soon.

AncestorsOnBoard Now Online

http://www.ancestorsonboard.com/ (Subscription Based)
Ancestors On Board is now online. The site states:

Passenger lists with over 30 million records from ships sailing to destinations
worldwide.

Findmypast.com, in association with The National Archives, has opened ancestorsonboard, a new database featuring Outward Passenger Lists for long-distance voyages leaving the British Isles from 1960 right back to 1890.

With ancestorsonboard, you can search for records of individuals or groups of people leaving for destinations including Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and USA featuring ports such as Boston, Philadelphia and New York. Images of the passenger lists are available to download, view, save and print.

You can search many passenger lists to the US including Ellis Island, Castle Garden, and other ports at

Immigrant Passenger Lists
Passenger Lists Database Searches to USA