RootsTech 2012

RootsTech is a one-of-a-kind,leading edge conference designed to bring technologists together with genealogists, so they can learn from each other and find solutions to the challenges they face in family history research today. More than 3,000 people attended the inaugural conference in 2011 and their feedback on RootsTech was overwhelmingly positive. Don’t miss out in 2012!

Take advantage of the special $129 registration rate and we look forward to seeing you at RootsTech 2012!



A new family history and technology conference

• February 2-4, 2012


• Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah across from the Family History


• Early bird registration discount of $129 available through November 30, 2011.
  
  At RootsTech, genealogists and family historians of all skill levels will learn technology-based solutions to accelerate their research. From the Expo Hall and participant-driven unconferencing discussions to the RootsTech Playground, this conference is ground-breaking and unique. Check out rootstech.org for the most current information.
  
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  Be one of the thousands of RootsTech 2012 attendees to:


• Experience hands-on workshops and interactive classes to accelerate your research


• Help influence the future of genealogy


• Learn and share new ways to adapt technologies to genealogy


• Help leading-edge technology providers better understand your needs


• Participate in panels, product demos and many networking opportunities

There will be sessions of interest to novices through advanced technology users, including:

Hands-on workshops

• Sneak peek demonstrations of new products and services


• Interactive presentations and panels


• Unconferencing discussions (last minute, on-the-fly sessions by attendees)
  
  Go to RootsTech.org to see the full list of topics and sessions.
  
  
  
  Register at RootsTech.org today to take advantage of the early bird special registration discount:


• $129 Early bird rate until November 30, 2011


• $189 beginning December 1, 2011

RootsTech is sponsored by Microsoft, Dell, FamilySearch, Oracle, the National Genealogical Society, brightsolid, Ancestry.com, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Archives.com, Brigham Young University, and the Association of Professional Genealogists.

Another story on "water dowsing" and unmarked graves.............

Since our program in July with Penny Kennedy and her water witching demonstration at the IOOF cemetery, several articles have appeared on Dick Eastmans site. Dick writes about the latest findings from a workshop for the Southwest Nebraska Genealogical Society. You can view Dick's article and a link to a newspaper story at:

http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2011/10/witching-workshop-seems-to-confirm-airmans-resting-place.html            



The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.

Its all about...the 1940 population census

A newsreel movie that was done in 1939 about the upcoming 1940 population census to be released April 2, 2011.

SSA removing protected death records from master file Nov. 1, 2011

Article from GenealogyInsider, Family Tree Magazine -



The Social Security Administration is making changes to the public Death Master File—the source of the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) that genealogists know and love to use—that’ll impact your research.

Effective today, Nov. 1, the Death Master File will no longer contain “protected�? records the SSA receives from states. According to a notice from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), which disseminates the Death Master File, “Section 205(r) of the Act prohibits SSA from disclosing state death records SSA receives through its contracts with the states, except in limited circumstances.�?



4.2 million of the 89 million deaths in the Death Master File will be removed, and approximately 1 million fewer deaths will be added each year.



I’m working on getting clarification on when and where the removed deaths occurred, and whether genealogy websites will have to remove those deaths from their current versions of the SSDI.



Update: The records now in Ancestry.com's version of the SSDI will stay, says spokesperson Matthew Deighton. "The current records that we have on Ancestry.com will remain unaffected," he says. "We understand that we may receive fewer records from the Social Security Administration, but it is not clear which record sets will be impacted at this point. We recognize the importance of these databases to the family history community and will do our best to minimize the impact of this to our users. Ancestry.com will continue to monitor this situation."



The changes are bad news for the genealogists who use the SSDI. Banks, employers and others who use the public Death Master File for security reasons—for example, to see whether an applicant is using a dead person’s SSN—will also undoubtedly be unhappy. (So, the Death Master File actually helps prevent identity theft.) Medical researchers use the database to track former patients and study subjects, too.



Here’s the full notice from the NTIS (it's in a PDF linked on this page):

We receive Death Master File (DMF) data from the Social Security Administration (SSA). SSA receives death reports from various sources, including family members, funeral homes, hospitals, and financial institutions.

Q: What change is SSA making to the Public DMF?

A: Effective November 1, 2011, the DMF data that we receive from SSA will no longer contain protected state death records. Section 205(r) of the Act prohibits SSA from disclosing state death records SSA receives through its contracts with the states, except in limited circumstances. (Section 205r link - http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title02/0205.htm)

Q: How will this change affect the size of the Public DMF?

A: The historical Public DMF contains 89 million records. SSA will remove approximately 4.2 million records from this file and add about 1 million fewer records annually.

REMINDER: DMF users should always investigate and verify the death listed before taking any adverse action against any individual.

Internet Archive reaches the 3 million book mark

The website Internet Archive reached its 3 million book donated for archiving on September  17, 2011.

The site which started in 1999 as The Wayback Machine has expanded to a gigantic archive featuring scans from library and history archives, movies from early film archives, music and audio recordings and recently has archived televisions news archive of 9/11. Internet Archive also offers a scanning service for libraries and the public around the world. It  is a endless resource of history and family history texts.

The site can be accessed at http://www.archive.org/ , text resources can be accessed at http://www.archive.org/details/texts  .