WikiTree Community Blog

Hello WikiTreers,

Did you see the site this week? We introduced a super-sweet round of improvements, many of which were suggested by you guys.

One suggestion that I heard from four or five of you was to add a bigger-picture way to view family trees. And you made clear: “it should be easy to print.” Check.

Every person profile now has a Five-Generation Family Tree page. Click on the green “Family Tree” link on your profile. It has the basic information going back to your great-great-grandparents, links to full profiles, and makes clear where information is missing.

Keep your suggestions coming.

Onward and upward,

Chris

Genealogists and family tree hobbyists often rely on vital records to put the pieces of their historical puzzles together. But what happens when a vital record is missing or simply not available? Does the quest stop there? It doesn’t have to as long as you know where to look and what resources can help fill in the blanks.

For starters, state, local and federal governments offer a wealth of information. Census data, land and property records and similar documentation can often provide little details to help you understand where to look next or possibly who to contact. State censuses, for example, can give you a heads up as to whether your ancestors moved (in between censuses); while earlier federal censuses tell how many years a couple was married and whether or not it was a first or second marriage. In addition, federal censuses provide details on births for everyone in the census including month, year, state and country of birth and the state or country where an individual’s parents were born. Check with state libraries on obtaining copies of state-level census reports. For federal census data, check with the U.S Census Bureau or the National Archives. When an official marriage certificate is not available, try looking at land and property records, military pension papers and emigration and naturalization records.

Newspapers are also a great place to check. Specifically, look for data provided in obituaries, birth, engagement, marriage and anniversary announcements and also local articles that tell a bit of history about a person or place. You’d be surprised what can be pulled directly from a newspaper search. Google offers a handy news archive search. The Library of Congress maintains one of the most extensive newspaper collections in the world, with over 9,000 U.S. newspaper titles and 25,000 non-US newspaper titles. You might also consider visiting a local Family History Center. And finally, there is the U.S. Newspaper Program, which is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. They have worked to locate, catalog, and centralize newspapers published in the U.S. from the eighteenth century to current day. Their national database is maintained by the Online Computer Library Center and can be accessed through the free FirstSearch service at thousands of participating libraries across the United States.

Yet another place to look is biographical indexes and databases, which contain vital information on people living in the 20th century. The most well-known example is Who’s Who in America. Various state and university libraries also have databases of information available. At the very least you’ll find the Biography and Genealogy Master Index CD-ROM extremely beneficial. You can typically find these at libraries, order one via Amazon or pick one up at your local bookstore.

I mentioned military pension records earlier in the post, but you also access service records for those who took part at one time or another in a U.S. war (through the Spanish American War). These records are available at the National Archives and all field branches, state and university libraries and also genealogical record repositories. Check the Consolidated Index of Confederate Veterans and the National Personnel Records Center for those who participated in World Wars I and II, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Schools and universities also keep detailed records on their students, alumni and faculty. Within these transcripts are the names of parents, emergency contacts, addresses, phone numbers and so on. And yet another source to check is employment records. The federal government keeps archives of all civilian employees, while other employment records can be obtained through the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections found at the Library of Congress and other major libraries.

So these are the substitutes for “living” docs, but what about death records? If those are unavailable who you gonna call? (Yes, sadly, I was headed in the direction of Ghostbusters.) Seriously, the following can often be used in place of officially death records: coroner’s reports, obituaries, probate and court records, funeral home archives, social security death index, census mortality records and cemetery files/databases.

No vital records? No problem.  Start your search today!

As I was researching the life and family history of the great American artist Norman Rockwell this past week, I came across the cover of the October 24, 1959 edition of the Saturday Evening Post. It featured a symbolic family tree (shown here) created by Mr. Rockwell. At first glance it looked very different from a great many of his works. But upon closer inspection, it was obvious that he was doing what he had often done in so many of his paintings: he was suggesting something powerful through illustrative interpretation. This tree – this glorious, quirky, indifferent tree – was Rockwell’s way of showing the true density of America’s roots and heritage; that people as a race and as a planet of living, breathing creatures are all seemingly connected. Maybe this explains my new-found fascination with genealogy and why I find myself so excited to dive into the life and times of people I never had the pleasure of meeting – Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), John Jay and, of course, Norman Rockwell.

My experiences here on WikiTree and through exploring the works of Mr. Rockwell have taught me a few things about genealogy. At the end of the day, it’s not just about DNA or one’s chemical makeup. And it’s certainly not about complex trees woven into knotted branches by fancy software or HTML programming. In fact, it’s not even about the possibility of being related to the great Rockwell himself. Genealogy is about simplicity; it’s about relationships and the connections of common man (and woman); that Yankees and Confederates, pirates and preachers all share a common bond. Humanity. It may not always be in the compassionate sense, but from a historical perspective – the people on Rockwell’s tree and yes, even you and I, are somehow connected. That’s genealogy…

WikiTree has seen a flurry of activity the past few weeks with many cool, courageous, crazy and otherwise cantankerous figures from history popping up all over our clever, creative site! (I know – enough with the adjectives that start with ‘c’!)

This weekend I was immersed in tracing the routes of renowned English philosopher John Locke and eccentric US President James Madison, while others were busy recreating the ancestries of the revolutionary Thomas Paine, valley forging General Henry Knox and world conquering Alexander the Great.

But the history doesn’t stop there. Here’s a partial list of who’s new on WikiTree:

Dale Earnhardt (NASCAR racing legend)
Thomas Jefferson (third President of the United States)
John Hancock (famous signer of the Declaration of Independence)
Edward Hopper (American realist painter and printmaker)
General Robert E. Lee (Civil War general)
Charles Lindbergh (historic aviator)
Jackie Robinson (first African-American MLB player)
Orville and Wilbur Wright (brothers famous for building the world’s first successful aircraft)

If you have some knowledge of a particular individual’s ancestry, you are encouraged to add to their tree and biographical timeline. WikiTree is all about collaboration and creating knowledge together.

Today we live in a world where the nuclear family is no longer the dominant family structure. In fact, blended families are now the norm rather than the exception - playing a fundamental role in the lives of many individuals… including mine. That’s why I love the fact that here on WikiTree all family types and relationships are embraced – making it easy to get my unique extended family online. The easiest way to do it is the order in which it actually happened. For example:

1. Create your page.
2. Add your first husband/wife as spouse.
3. Add children from either person’s page.
4. Replace first husband/wife with the second husband/wife from your page.
5. Add children from either person’s page.
6. Repeat the cycle (if you have children from other relationships/marriages).

If any of this isn’t as you expect, you can just go to the person’s page and change it. And, feel free to invite other biological parents and relatives to add to the family history of your stepchildren. It’s a great way to show you care and form positive relationships.

Enjoy!

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted about my personal historical journey. But I can assure you that I have been busy trying to dig up information from the trenches. To date, everyone I have approached (other than my mother) simply shrugs their shoulders and tells me to ask the next person. Now with all this pass the buck stuff going on, I’m starting to wonder if I really am the milkman’s kid and that everyone is covering up some dark family secret – but then again, I look just like my sister who is fourteen years my senior. This would have been one dedicated milkman. Realizing yet again that my family has no idea where we actually came from, I decided to call the State of New Jersey’s vital records department and order a copy of my father’s birth certificate – not that easy. I was directed to their Web site where it details the documents required to obtain such a record from their state. I was pleased to learn that for genealogical purposes, you don’t need to establish proof of relationship – which is good, since I could be the milkman’s kid. Here’s what I did need to provide:

• Full name on the record
• City or county where the event occurred
• Year the event occurred
• Copy of my driver’s license (with photo)
• Completed application form (printed off from Web site)

To be safe, I also included a copy of my marriage certificate which lists my maiden name. I’m assuming that most states function in a similar manner. Now, if you don’t have a license or your license does not include a photo, here are some alternate forms of ID that you can use:

• Vehicle registration
• Vehicle insurance card
• Passport
• Voter registration
• Green card/Immigrant visa
• Federal/County ID
• School ID
• Court documents
• W-2 for current/previous tax year
• Utility/bank statement from within the last 90 days

New Jersey offered an expedited service through VitalCheck, which I’ll talk more about in an upcoming post. I opted for the non-expedited service, because I’ve already waited 34 years to learn about my roots. I think I can wait another…16 WEEKS! Wow… This is worse than waiting for a passport.

So here’s my plan… Get my father’s birth certificate and confirm his parents’ names and places of birth. Order their birth certificates and follow the same process. I’ll do the same on my mother’s side once I get a feel for things. If I am doing anything terribly wrong, please point it out to me. Ideas, suggestions and tips are welcomed! Oh, and if you know anything about the milkman…please keep it to yourself.

My quest continues… And lo and behold, I have made some headway in my very unattractive attempt to recreate my family history.  My mother remembered her grandmother’s last name - although she cannot remember her first.  It’s McClellan, which takes me back to my childhood days and the colorful stories my grandmother shared about growing up on Prince Edward Island (Canada).  They always seemed like tales taken from Anne of Green Gables!  Aside from my dear mum’s epiphany, I had my own light bulb moment.  All this time my dad’s obituary has been sitting in my office, which lists the name of his mother - including her maiden name.  So Ella Unknown is no longer a mystery - she is Ella Jasko.  This got me thinking about obituaries in general, so I did a quick search on Google and found another great resource.  It’s call ObitFinder, which, according to its Web site, “searches obituaries from more than 650 national and international newspapers and the US Social Security Death Tax Index to provide the most accurate and timely obituary information available.”  I was able to acquire the birth and death dates for three of my grandparents using this in-depth site.   Not bad for a novice… More pieces of the puzzle filled in.

Hope your journey is just as exciting!

While doing a bit of research today, I found a site that is in the process of making public records easily accessible and free to all. The site is called FamilySearch.org, which is maintained by volunteers and is listed as an official Web site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They state that: “Millions of rolls of microfilm provide census, vital, probate and church records from over 100 countries for indexing projects. Governments, churches, societies and commercial companies are also working to make more records available.”

Remember in an earlier blog post when I said that I didn’t know much about my ancestors beyond my immediate family…? Well, I gave FamilySearch.org a test drive. Although I was able to find some interesting records that perhaps will turn into viable clues or actual relatives, I wasn’t able to confirm any of my findings - yet. But I will say that this is one of the most comprehensive sources of free public records that I have found to date.

Check it out!

Aside from wikis, social networking and German Shepherds, my greatest passion in life is the history of Queen Elizabeth I. She stands for everything royal, strong and admirable. As Queen, Elizabeth managed to overcome all adversaries. Her reign in fact is considered one of England’s most notable periods, dubbed the Elizabethan or Golden Age. This weekend I have been busy creating Queen Elizabeth I’s family tree here on WikiTree. It has been an honor and a privilege. If you are just starting out here, I encourage you to stop by and take a peek. It’s a great example that can be used as a basis for building your own family history.

And please… If you have something to add to the life and times of the Virgin Queen, please do. This is a wiki and I’d - she’d - love the help.

In an earlier post I mentioned that I was at a bit of a standstill researching my family history because I needed to obtain copies of birth certificates (and death records). And, of course, I had no idea where to get these or which state departments to contact. So after doing a little research online, I found several sources that I hope will prove to be very beneficial (for all of us!). I’ve added them to the Researching Genealogy - External Websites section here on WikiTree or you can access them individually below. And please, if you have additional resources or recommendations feel free to add them or post a comment.

Where to obtain vital records:

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)

Cyndi’s List - Birth and Baptisms

About.com – Vital Records – Genealogy