Genealogy Storytelling

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Using Evernote to Organize Your Genealogy

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Are you using Evernote to organize your genealogy research? After reading this article you may start.

I have debated on writing this post for a few weeks now. Why? Because I am not an Evernote specialist by any stretch of the imagination. I began using the program about 6 months ago. What I’m going to do in this post is tell you where you can go to learn about this wonderful program.

I belong to several genealogy Facebook groups and I kept hearing about Evernote this and Evernote that. I’m always curious and continually strive to learn and improve my skills at all times. So, I downloaded the FREE program onto my desktop and my iPad. Once I downloaded Evernote I played around with it a bit, but have to admit that I wasn’t quite “getting it.” I didn’t do anything with it for a month or two. Then one day I decided that I needed to take some time and really explore this program everyone seems to rave about. I watched the tutorial online at their site. Then I did what I usually do when wanting to learn something new, I turned to YouTube. That is a site that can teach you about everything from composting to how to use software programs.Here are some links I found by Googling “Evernote tutorials.” Of course there are many more out there and you may find some that explain it better or differently, but these will get you started.

See full story on michiganfamilytrails.com

How To Digitize Oversized Records

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We love our Flip-Pal scanner to digitize oversized documents! Click the ad to the left of this article to get one today!

By Mary V. Danielsen of Documented Legacy

Oversized or large documents and photos pose a unique scanning challenge for family archivists looking to have them digitized. They dont easily fit into a standard folder and quite often there isnt an easy way to scan these images. Still, its important to protect these items as part of your family history archive. Whether you have a large collection of oversized documents or a single letter, you have more options today for how to preserve these awkward items.

This week, try to tackle a few of these rotund artifacts. The first step is remembering their importance and historic value in your family. If these are old images or fragile documents, you cant safely run them through an all-in-one scanner. Lets consider your other options using equipment and software you may already have.

Before you begin, wash your hands and wear protective archival cotton gloves. You dont want oils on your hands or random ink to get on your artifacts. Work in a clean space with good air flow. Lint, dust and mold are common problems when working with old stored items. Keep food and drinks away from where you are working. Slowly lay out these artifacts on a clean and dry surface.

 

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How To Scan Your Military Medals

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This is great articles on preserving your family military medals.

As with any personal life story, only a veteran can tell the complete story of what it was like to experience serving in the United States Armed Forces and being a moment in our American history. Few families, however, possess their military veterans complete records, medals and certificates either, because their veterans never compiled them or family members never bothered to preserve them.

Ones military history is a huge part in your family history. It is a branch on the genealogy tree that can connect generations through duty to serve. This weeks blog post talks about preserving the box of assorted military medals, ribbons, coins, citations and other memorabilia that are collected, but hidden away. Here is some advice to get you started.

The first thing you should do is obtain a copy of the service persons discharge papers that lists all their honors, awards or citations, according to Rusty Blair, Military Awards Specialist with Medals of America in Fountain Inn, South Carolina. If veterans are still alive they can request the papers themselves. The reason for doing this is twofold. You want to ensure that you have the complete list of honors and medals in case something went missing at home. Secondly, sometimes honors are bestowed on veterans after their time in service. For instance, in 2002 the Korea Defense Service Medal was created when it was signed into law by President George W. Bush to recognize those members of the United States Armed Forces who have served duty in South Korea after the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement. The medal is retroactive to the end of the Korean War and is granted to any service preformed after July 28, 1954. The National Personnel Records Center is responsible for verifying entitlement of the KDSM to discharged members of the military.

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Article By Mary V. Danielsen of Documented Legacy

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Louisiana Free People of Color

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The Bellazire Meullion receipt for women’s clothing is from LSU Special Collections’ Meullion family papers, 1776-1906 (bulk 1776-1796)

Great news! I look forward to seeing  this special collection.

In April 2013 the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded agrant of $194,152 to the LSU Libraries Special Collections to digitize, index, and provide free access to family papers, business records, and public documents pertaining to free people of color in Louisiana and the lower Mississippi Valley. With contributions from all of the participating partners, in total the grant is worth $330,192

The project, entitled “Free People of Color in Louisiana: Revealing an Unknown Past,” brings together collections held by Special Collections and partners including the Historical Center at the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans, the Louisiana Division of the New Orleans Public Library, The Historic New Orleans Collection, and Tulane University’s Louisiana Research Collection. The collection will be accessible through the Louisiana Digital Library.

See full story on lsu.edu

Image Credit by lsu.edu