Tag: genealogical records

Matthew Greer, son of John

Matthew Greer, son of John

Posted on by Jack

This is about Matthew Greer. But there are 3 people in my family tree named Matthew Greer and so I specified above that he was the son of John Greer.

This Matthew Greer lived at home, first with his parent and then his widowed mother. In the last record I found on him, he was living with his mother in the 1925 New York census. Then the trail went cold. I could not find him in subsequent census records or in any type of record. Continue reading “Matthew Greer, son of John”

Keep genealogy records free by indexing

Keep genealogy records free by indexing

Posted on by Jack

I mentioned before that I am a big fan of volunteer indexing. Family search has has millions of genealogy records free. Yes, free and millions is an understatement. Continue reading “Keep genealogy records free by indexing”

David Greer and Giovanna Tesio of NYC

David Greer and Giovanna Tesio of NYC

Posted on by Jack

I don’t think anyone ever said that genealogy was fast. Sometimes things happen quickly but, in my experience anyway, that is not very often.

For example, over a year ago I posted something here about the John Greer and Julia Mary Hopkins family of New York City and made note of the fact that their son David John Greer, his wife Anna, and baby daughter Rita Continue reading “David Greer and Giovanna Tesio of NYC”

Limerick Genealogy Day 2014

Limerick Genealogy Day 2014

Posted on by Jack

For those who plan on being in Limerick or can travel to Limerick, you may be interested in Limerick Genealogy Day 2014. It is a free event and many groups of historical and genealogical interest will be there for 1 day only. Full details are available on the web at http://limerickcityofculture.ie/content/genealogy-day.

The event will be on March 15, 2014 in Limerick city. This is a chance to view many genealogical records from Limerick and surrounding areas and get advice from the participating groups. Many are listed on the website. In addition, I know that the Letters of 1916 project will participate.

I decided to renew GenealogyBank for a year

I decided to renew GenealogyBank for a year

Posted on by Jack

I’m impressed with GenealogyBank. I took a trial for a month and impressed with the number of old newspapers on the website and the ease of finding information.

I like the newspaper search but I’m still learning. Continue reading “I decided to renew GenealogyBank for a year”

Trying GenealogyBank

Trying GenealogyBank

Posted on by Jack

I am still trying GenealogyBank. See my earlier post for more (or maybe less) on my initial impressions.

I’m about half-way through the trial and I’m very impressed with the old newspapers aspect of the website. So far I haven’t had much luck searching the historical documents and books in their collection but given time I may get better at that. The GenealogyBank search box to the right is free to use and gives you an idea of the site but you do need to pay to actually view the documents.

I find the newspaper search much better than the one at Ancestry. I think the search function works better and there is quite a collection of newspapers to search. I’ve not had much luck with my New York City ancestors. Part of the problem is common names such as Greer and Tracey.

Reidy is not so common but in most of the records my great grandfather’s name was spelled Ready. So a search for William Ready pulls up articles with headlines such as “William ready to do this or that”.

But I have found quite a bit on other lines, especially those in Maryland and Delaware. And despite all the difficulties I have found some things in New York City. Despite my ancestors being mostly obscure, they got into the papers at times.

Some of the findings are the types of things I expected. Some are total surprises. So far I’m impressed with GenealogyBank.

Free resource and free trial: Fold3 for genealogy and history

Free resource and free trial: Fold3 for genealogy and history

Posted on by Jack

Fold3

I just got an email from Fold3. Fold3 holds many documents of historical and genealogical interest. The emphasis is on military records but there are many others. Fold3 just added a set of records called Navy Casualty Reports, 1776-1941.

Free Trial

I had tried a free trial, stayed on for a year, but decided it wasn’t worth it for me after that. But I think I may try again.

But your family and situation are surely not the same as mine. So give it a try. By the way, it really was easy to leave paid membership and go to free membership. Of course, the free membership is the lesser of the two and many documents are called premium images and these are reserved for paying customers (after all, free doesn’t pay the bills). But with free membership you can search and see what is available.

But I think the best deal is to take the free trial and see what they have, including the premium images. If you think there is enoough there to be worth the price, just continue. But if not, simply inform them and move to the free membership. It doesn’t cost to look. You might find stuff duing the trial.

One of the things I had disliked during my trial was I thought the search function was kind of clunky (to use the technical term). A recent Fold3 blog entry discusses the improvements in searching. Here is a link to the Fold3 blog.

My brief experience indicates the search is much better now.

Somethings are free for everyone

Fold3 just added a set of records called Navy Casualty Reports, 1776-1941. Despite the name which would make you think these are Navy seamen only this includes both seamen and others who died in Andersonville Prison. These free offering may change from time to time so you might want to check periodically if you elect not to keep your paid membership.

I currently have the free membership and found a record on the death of Wiliam Greer on the USS Maine when it was blown up in Havana harbor in 1898. Oddly, Fold3 does not have the Spanish American War as a category but you can search by year or year range. Since this event led to the war but was not part of the war, I don’t know if it would have been included in that category even if they had one.