Saturday Serendipity (December 13, 2014)

The following are a few recommendations for inclusion on your reading list this weekend. 

1.  The Weekly Genealogist of NEHGS noted a sometimes humorous and definitely thought-provoking essay on family heirlooms when there are no heirs to leave them to. You can read the essay here.   

2.  While I do not see a likelihood that it will help me in my genealogy research any time soon, James Tanner of Genealogy's Star blog, passed on the information that Google has just added ten new languages to its Google Translate tool. Since a total of some 202 million people speak one of the ten new languages, some folks out there just might find one of these new added languages of use in their genealogy research -- and if not one these ten new additions, then one of the 80 or so others could be useful. Don't forget the possible use of Google Translate in your research.    

3.  Anyone can quote the Bible at length and not have to worry about copyright infringement, right? Well, not so fast. The answer will surprise many and The Legal Genealogist, Judy Russell, does her usual great job of explaining. Have a read here.        

4.  As we near Christmas Day, Heather Rojo of Nutfield Genealogy blog provides an interesting post on the Scots-Irish celebration of Christmas. You can read the post here and find some further reading links to boot. 

5.  And speaking of The Weekly Genealogist newsletter of NEHGS (often a source of recommended reads here on Saturday Serendipity), Janine Adams of Organize Your Family History blog mentions her use of The Weekly Genealogist and other FREE genealogy newsletters. Read Janine's post and get her personal list of free newsletters here. 

6.  UpFront With NGS brought us the news that Ancestry.com and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have collaborated on a new textbook on using family history as a means of teaching history. Read the post here where you can also get a link to a PDF download of the textbook.

7.  What about accuracy and faithfulness in genealogy and historical research? Harold Henderson of Midwestern Microhistory blog, has a very short but thoughtful post about leaving out or even changing part of the historical record due to personal sensitivities or beliefs. It is worth the quick read here.     

8.  And finally, Barbara Poole, who I now dub the "Ambassador of Lowell," continues her wonderful photo tour of the Land of Lowell at Life From The Roots blog.  You can see #15 in the series here and then follow earlier installments in Barbara's "Lowell Series" by going to that label in her Labels list.     
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Copyright 2014, John D. Tew

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _