Following a brief hiatus last week, Saturday Serendipity returns this week with the following recommended reads . . .
1. Jacqui Stevens, of A Family Tapestry blog, posted a piece today titled "Stuck at Home. Bored." Jacqui discusses the new feature on Ancestry that allows one to link DNA matches to people in an Ancestry tree. She has been spending time during these pandemic restrictions adding DNA information to her trees and she offers some insights into how others might want to think about using it with their trees. I admit I have not made use of this feature yet. You can read Jacqui's post here.
2. During this period of pandemic restrictions, more than ever it is useful to have a concise source for genealogy-related information we can use with extra, unexpected time on our hands. Randy Seaver, of Genea-Musings blog, provides a regular feature that does just that. If you have not done so before, check out Randy's latest "Genealogy News Bytes" here.
3. James Tanner, of Genealogy's Star blog, posted Part Two of his "How to Analyze Genealogical Sources" series this week. He likens the proces to the case method used in law schools and other disciplines. You can read the post here. And if you missed Part One, it can be accessed here.
4. I love illustrative stories/cautionary tales about genealogy research. They bring oft repeated mantra-like rules and advice into new focus that can be easier to remember later. I particularly like stories of experiences using the federal census and the care that should be taken in using this valuable, but fallible, source. I have blogged about my most important lesson using the census in "Federal Censuses -- Purveyors of Alterntive Facts? A Case Study (March 12, 2018)." This week, Marian Wood, of Climbing My Family Tree blog, posted a wonderfully illustrative story about making sure you always go to the actual census page image and not rely merely on a transcription. Marian points out the often neglected value of the supplements that are sometimes added to the bottom of a census page. You can read Marian's valuable cautionary tale here.
5. If you too have never heard of the 14th state of the United States honoring Benjamin Franklin, then you will want to read an article highlighted this week by The Weekly Genealogist newsletter of NEHGS. Read "A Look Back at Franklin, America's Lost State" and discover where it was located by going here.
6. And finally, speaking of Randy Seaver–and the excuse of "better late than never"–I am embarassed to admit that I completely missed the announcement of the well-earned and greatly deserved honor bestowed on Randy back in late February of this year. The awesomely prolific Mr. Seaver received a Lifetime Achievement Award almost two months ago. If you are like me and missed the annoucement, you can read about it here. CONGRATULATIONS Randy -- well done!
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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew
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John, thanks so much for including me in your recommended reads this week! Hope you and your family are safe and healthy.
ReplyDeleteMarian -- I always check your blog for posts since so many of them are interesting, thought provoking, and instructional. I'm happy to place a spotlight on them however small a light my blog might be able to shine. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWe are doing well -- thank you for asking. Being in NJ now is a bit daunting inasmuch as NJ ranks #2 for cases and deaths, but we have been sequestered for well over a month now and have younger family members nearby who are very good about doing necessary grocery shopping and errands to protect us "old folks." Best wishes to you and your family as we all make our way through this pandemic.