.jpg)
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 recommendations for inclusion on your reading list.
1. OK, so who is our "family" anyway? See if you think this photographer is on to something about the Human Family! It will only take 2 minutes 34 seconds of your time here. [Thank you Tim O'Connor and Cathy Petrilla.]
2. Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist, had an interesting series of "Term of the Day" posts about the meaning of some obscure legal terms in late October. To balance with those posts, how about some terms from the other side of the coin so-to-speak -- the meaning of criminal slang terms of the past? For example, do you know what the slang terms blue-plum, balsam, altitudes, squeaker, or heavers meant in the criminal slang of the 1850s? Read about the meaning of these terms and others and get a link to George W. Matsell's 1859 Rogue's Lexicon here. [Matsell was the first New York City Police Chief!]
2. Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist, had an interesting series of "Term of the Day" posts about the meaning of some obscure legal terms in late October. To balance with those posts, how about some terms from the other side of the coin so-to-speak -- the meaning of criminal slang terms of the past? For example, do you know what the slang terms blue-plum, balsam, altitudes, squeaker, or heavers meant in the criminal slang of the 1850s? Read about the meaning of these terms and others and get a link to George W. Matsell's 1859 Rogue's Lexicon here. [Matsell was the first New York City Police Chief!]
3. With the 100th anniversary of WWI almost upon us, we will see increasing numbers of articles and posts about the WWI era and the war itself. One of the ugly sides of war is how it turns citizens against one another. During WWII there was the internment of U.S. Citizens of Japanese ancestry. During WWI many parts of our country turned against citizens of German ancestry. Miner Robert Prager was lynched in St. Louis in 1918 and a German-American farmer named John Meints was tarred and feathered in Luverne, Minnesota. My great grandparents, Anton and Johanna Hasselbaum, were from Germany and lived a prosperous life in Providence, Rhode Island where Anton had a successful liquor business -- but he forbade his children from learning or speaking any German in the home. Anton died in 1916 while WWI was still raging in Europe. You can learn more about the treatment of German-Americans during WWI and see some photos John Meints took of himself after being tarred and feathered to support his suit against the 32 perpetrators here.
4. So you think your British ancestors all spoke English as we could sort of understand it even today? Not so fast. The NEHGS newsletter The Weekly Genealogist had an email in response to the weekly survey feature in the newsletter that recently asked about languages other than English spoken by ancestors. Diane Brook of Wales responded and cited to an article she published in Family Tree back in November 2011 titled "Mother Tongues." Based on an inquiry from Lynn Betlock (editor of The Weekly Genealogist), Family Tree decided to make the article available here. I suggest you have a look to learn about the 10 languages in Ireland and Britain that were spoken before 1066 and survived into the 1500s and later. There is some reference to emigrant communities who preserved some of these languages too.
5. If you have some Irish roots, The Weekly Genealogist provided us with a link to an announcement article about the various Irish records to be available soon to researchers. It will include fragments of the surviving 1821 - 1851 censuses and other materials. Find out the details here.
4. So you think your British ancestors all spoke English as we could sort of understand it even today? Not so fast. The NEHGS newsletter The Weekly Genealogist had an email in response to the weekly survey feature in the newsletter that recently asked about languages other than English spoken by ancestors. Diane Brook of Wales responded and cited to an article she published in Family Tree back in November 2011 titled "Mother Tongues." Based on an inquiry from Lynn Betlock (editor of The Weekly Genealogist), Family Tree decided to make the article available here. I suggest you have a look to learn about the 10 languages in Ireland and Britain that were spoken before 1066 and survived into the 1500s and later. There is some reference to emigrant communities who preserved some of these languages too.
5. If you have some Irish roots, The Weekly Genealogist provided us with a link to an announcement article about the various Irish records to be available soon to researchers. It will include fragments of the surviving 1821 - 1851 censuses and other materials. Find out the details here.
6. It looks like you will need a digital subscription to read the entire piece, but NYT op-ed columnist has an interesting, well-written ode to cemeteries that will have all Graveyard Rabbits and would-be Rabbits nodding in knowing agreement. The first page alone is well worth the read! See the first engaging page here.
7. Heather Rojo's at Nutfield Genealogy posts a reminder (with illustrations) about the importance of having access to marginalia contained in original records. She also provides an explanation of the actual meaning of being "warned out."
8. You should check out a great analysis of copyrights as applied to an 1890 photograph by Judy Russell at The Legal Genealogist.
9. A very useful resource is provided at Genealogy's Star blog by James Tanner -- links for use in deciphering old and perhaps out of use abbreviations and acronyms. A keeper post with links to keep handy.
10. There are still five more chances to win 20 hours of ProGenealogist research in the "Branch Out Sweepstakes" on Ancestry.com (approximate retail value = $3,346). The first grand prize winner was
selected on November 5th, but others will be selected in January, March, May, July and September 2014. See the details and registration requirements here.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Copyright 2013, John D. Tew
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thanks for the mention again, John! You have a good list here, and I think I'll be spending my Sunday evening catching up on some blog reading with your recommendations.
ReplyDelete