Tag Archives: video

Virtual Genealogy Fair 2013

Posted on by
Reply

The United States National Archives will be hosting a Virtual Genealogy Fair September 3rd and 4th, 2013. Thirteen presentations will be made over the two-day period. There are no registration fees; all you need is a computer and an Internet connection.

NARA Virtual Genealogy Fair 2013 flyer

Scheduled presentations will cover a wide range of Federal records available through the National Archives: Civil War pension files, United States Colored Troops, immigration, naturalization and citizenship, Federal penitentiary records, Native American records, Chinese Exclusion Act, Freedman’s Bank records, etc. Details can be found at this link: http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/know-your-records/genealogy-fair/

Webcast instructions are here:
http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/know-your-records/genealogy-fair/webcast-instructions.html

For those who cannot attend “live”, the sessions will be recorded!

Follow or contribute to the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #genfair2013.

I imagine this virtual offering is being made due to the prior cancellation of the on-premise 2013 National Archives Ninth Annual Genealogy Fair. For those unable to travel to Washington, D.C., a virtual genealogy fair is preferable. Perhaps if they do decide to resume the Annual Genealogy Fair they will also simulcast online via webinar.

Chronicling America Video Resources

Posted on by
Reply

I recently completed an article for publication in the Seattle Genealogical Society’s semi-annual Bulletin, introducing the Chronicling America historic newspaper website. Space constraints prevented the inclusion of additional resources which may be of use to genealogical researchers.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Ohio Historical Society (OHS), one of the participating state partners in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), have each released short videos about the Chronicling America project. Both groups have YouTube channels, but it may be easier to begin your search elsewhere.

In 2013, NEH released two brief videos, one an overview of Chronicling America, and one on how to clip and save content from the site. Both of these videos can be accessed via the EDSITEment! Chronicling America portal, aimed at educators and students. Additional content is promised.

EDSITEment Chronicling America pagehttp://edsitement.neh.gov/what-chronicling-america

The Ohio Historical Society released a series of eleven video podcasts in early 2012, addressing a variety of topics on using the Chronicling America website. Basic search and navigation are included, of course, but other videos cover topics such as advanced searches, optical character recognition technology (OCR) and “controlled vocabulary”. I highly recommend watching all of them. The Chronicling America website was revised earlier this month so the images from the video series will differ somewhat from what you see on the Chronicling America website today.

http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/ondp/index.php?title=Podcasts

Alternately, download a PDF file with links to video content on YouTube from the Ohio Historical Society (OHS) here.

In addition to the links to the OHS YouTube videos, a lot more content regarding the Ohio NDNP program can be accessed from the main page of their wiki. Do not miss this if you are interested in historic Ohio newspapers!

Civil War Widows’ Pensions on Fold3

Posted on by
Reply

If you, like me, are interested in history and technology, you’ll find this short video on digitizing the Civil War Widow’s Pensions fascinating.

Until now, Civil War pension files existed only in textual format at the National Archives. When you visit the Archives in Washington, D.C., you can request a file be pulled, and then you may view that file in person in the reading room on the 2nd floor. And while nothing quite compares to handling the documents yourself, touching the same page as your family member once touched, having this series of records available online will be a tremendous resource for genealogists and historians alike.

From the video, we learn that there are 1.28 million approved case files of widows and dependents that will ultimately be digitized and made available online. 25,000 – 30,000 case files are processed by volunteers each year, working since about 2007. The first digital images became available online on what is now Fold3.com in the fall of 2008. As of today’s date, 4% of the collection has been digitized and posted, representing roughly 75,000 pension files. In April 2012, Fold3 indicated on their site that the highest WC (Widow’s Certificate) number posted is WC95971.

Civil War Widows' Pensions Online

Note the emphasis on the word approved in the above description. Rejected application files will apparently not be filmed or otherwise placed online. For those files, you will still need to order the file online from the National Archives, visit in person, or hire a researcher to copy the file for you.

Who will you look for on Fold3?