Saturday Serendipity -- April 6, 2013

Saturdays often allow a more leisurely approach to life than work days. I can more easily post links to some blog posts or other materials I have discovered during the week, or even to those discovered during a Saturday morning coffee and extended surfing of the blogosphere/internet.

Here are a few serendipitous discoveries that I commend for inclusion on your reading list.

1.   As I have often said, The Weekly Genealogist of NEHGS is always a good source for interesting articles.  This week's edition is no exception.  There are two links to stories you might like to read.  First, check out the follow-up to the recent discovery of the body of Richard III of England.  His distant relatives are now threatening suit! And then there is the article on a credit union where the  membership requirement is to be a descendant (or the spouse of a descendant) of Manley and Lucy Williams.  Read and watch to learn about "Our Family Social Credit Union of Omaha" and its 511 members.  

2.   UpFront With NGS has a piece on Legally Using Photos Online with some useful links to articles -- and a shout out to one of my favorites, The Legal Genealogist (Judy G. Russell).

3.   Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog  is having a free give away of a PDF book 13 Ways To Tell Your Ancestor Stories.  The drawing by Jana will be midnight on April 10th so you must get your entry in by midnight, Tuesday, April 9th.  

4.   If you have any ancestors or relatives from Providence, Rhode Island and its environs, you really should take what almost amounts to a virtual tour of the Providence City Archives provided by Diane Boumenot at her blog, One Rhode Island Family.  And as a bonus, check out Diane's recently posted ode to the Great Migration Newsletter in what is a quick primer on the Great Migration Study Project to remind us all of what an awesome resource that project provides.

5.   I find myself visiting Heirlooms Reunited on a regular basis and always get immersed in a leisurely look at the beautiful Autograph Books that Pam Beveridge has collected and shared with the genealogy blogosphere.  The covers, drawings and often stunningly lovely handwriting can just pull you back to a time when penmanship was an art (one I never came close to mastering).  But, Pam's project also provides a little-known resource for genealogy research and yet again I encourage readers to make Heirlooms Reunited a regular stop on your blog surfs.  Recent Autograph books with signatures and names from Oil City, PA; East Palestine, OH; Augusta, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Liberty, PA; Dushore, PA; and Utica, PA are presented in beautiful detail and could provide some "Eureka moments" for some lucky browsers!  Go have a look and let me know if you are one of the lucky ones.

  6.   And finally, a Happy 1st Anniversary to Jana Last's blog!  I was amazed to learn that Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog is a mere infant in the genealogy blogosphere.  Jana is so consistent and engaging in her posts that I just assumed she had been doing it far longer and that the blog was at least a seasoned toddler.  Congratulations to Jana!  Here is a look at her very first posting back on April 5, 2012.        

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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew

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