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Ancestors by
People involve their ancestors in every aspect of culture. Individuals and societies worldwide and throughout history have incorporated ancestors into rituals public and private, religious and secular. Societies often organize their aristocracies, tribes, and other kinship groups around ancestral constructions which are defined through laws and customs governing marriage, naming, guardianship, inheritance, and other social practices. Medical professionals consider ancestral information important to a patient's diagnosis and to the study of disease; many psychiatrists consider one's relationship to ancestors important in understanding the mental and emotional disposition of subjects. Ancestry and perceptions of ancestry frequently function as a determinant of personal, ethnic, racial, and national identity. For all its larger philosophical, medical, psychological, and religious implications, one fascinating aspect of ancestry is how passionately many people hold to 'their own' ancestry, and to their own perceptions of the same. In Ancestors, David Hertzel offers an introductory foray into the nature of relationships people today have with their ancestors, and explores the significance of ancestry and ancestral belief in our modern world. Guided by two questions--"who are your ancestors?" and "what is your relationship to your ancestors?"--Hertzel interviewed thirty-five elders and people of prominence within particular social or intellectual communities. Interviewees were accomplished in an area related to ancestry, its nature or its meaning, and included genealogists, geneticists, tribal chiefs and elders, researchers in some aspect of family or ancestry, family elders, and experienced practitioners or supervisors of particular ancestral rituals. Interviewees were selected from a variety of cultural backgrounds for purposes of contrast, comparison, and breadth--but they are not spokespeople and were not asked to 'represent' particular belief systems, doctrines, or Peoples. Rather, the interviewees describe their own personal experiences and beliefs involving ancestors. From these interviews, Hertzel identifies common themes to ancestral practices and beliefs, such as the way we sanctify our ancestors, how we create a living narrative of our ancestry, and how experiences like suffering and love are shared across generations and appear to transcend death. Excerpts from interviews serve as examples throughout his narrative exploration of the concept of ancestry; a selection of full interviews are embedded throughout the text and offer glimpses into the diversity of ways that people think about who they are and where they come from.
Family Skeletons by
Did you know that until 1823 suicides were buried at crossroads to prevent them returning to haunt the living? Or that until the Contagious Diseases Act was repealed in 1886, women in naval ports who were suspected of prostitution could be medically examined by force? grapevine or your own research. Or you may simply be intrigued by the dark side of our past. This popular history explores the behaviour of our disreputable ancestors from the unfortunate to the criminal, and introduces a host of colourful characters including 17th century witches, 18th century 'mollies' and Victorian baby farmers. Thematically arranged by skeleton, the text also describes how society punished and provided for its 'offenders' - as well as the changing attitudes that could ultimately bring acceptance.
My Family Tree and Me by
This one-of-a-kind picture book provides a beautifully simple introduction to the concept of family ancestry. It uses two stories in one to explore a small boy's family tree: the boy tells the family story of his father's side starting from the front of the book, and that of his mother's side starting from the back of the book. Four previous generations are introduced for each, from his great-great-grandparents to his parents. The grand finale in the centre of the book reveals the boy's entire extended family, shown in one drawing with all the members from both sides identified by their relationship to him. Of particular interest is the cultural diversity of the boy's family, which includes European and Asian ancestors, and readers can visually interpret the family members' physical characteristics as they get passed on through the generations. Award-winning illustrator Dusan Petricic's classic artwork contains thoughtfully selected details with a touch of play and humour. And, since most of the story is told in the art, this is a wonderful tool for enhancing children's visual literacy as they spend time making connections and looking for clues. This book makes a great springboard for lessons on describing and sharing family histories and naming family relationships. Applicable in-class activities could include having children build their own family trees or imagine and draw portraits of their ancestors featuring period and cultural details. This title also lends itself to discussions on multiculturalism in families and in the larger community. AGES: 3 to 7 AUTHOR: Dusan Petricic is an award-winning children's book designer and illustrator whose books include 'The Enormous Potato' and 'Lickety-Split'. Colour illustrations
Quillen's Essentials of Genealogy - Mastering Census and Military Records by
The only book of its kind for amateur genealogists! This book covers the use of two of the most effective sets of genealogical information available to genealogists: Census and military records. Quillen's Essentials of Genealogy includes: what they are, how to use them, pitfalls, and issues concerning the information found.
Your Digital Afterlife by
Almost without realizing it, we have shifted toward an all-digital culture. Future heirlooms like family photos, home movies, and personal letters now exist only in digital form, and in many cases they are stored using popular services like Flickr, YouTube, and Gmail. These digital possessions form a rich collection that chronicles our lives and connects us to each other. But have you considered what will happen to your treasured digital possessions when you die? Unfortunately the answer isn't as certain as we might presume. There are numerous legal, cultural, and technical issues that could prevent access to these assets, and if you don't take steps to make them available to your heirs, your digital legacy could be lost forever. Written by the creators of TheDigitalBeyond.com, this book helps you secure your valuable digital assets for your loved ones and perhaps posterity. Whether you're the casual email user or the hyper-connected digital dweller, you'll come away with peace of mind knowing that your digital heirlooms won't be lost in the shuffle. "Death is the final frontier of cyberspace--and this book provides a road map to the key issues, problems and future prospects for bridging this ultimate transition with dignity, security and grace." -- Daniel "Dazza" Greenwood, Executive Director of the eCitizen Foundation "To be ahead of one's time usually means stepping to the side of one's time in order to see it clearly. This book does just that, putting our digital lives and afterlives into sharp focus. Fascinating." -- David Eagleman, neuroscientist and author nbsp;
Street-Wise Guide to Doing Your Family History by
This unusual book stands out in a crowded field. â It provides practical, expert, insider-knowledge.It includes a full guide to current websites.It offers many tips, short-cuts and helps to access the evidence you need. And to understandings of what this means.It is rooted in the many years of day-to-day enquiries in family history by the noted international expert Lady Teviot.It will be invaluable to the beginner and of great value to the more knowledgeable.It will help you rapidly to become `street-wise' in what will be a complex but fascinating personal endeavour.
Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com by
Discover the secrets to Ancestry.com success! This book will help you get the most out of your Ancestry.com subscription by showing you how to take advantage of what the world's biggest genealogy website has to offer - and how to find answers to your family tree questions within its billions of records and massive network of family trees. This newly updated guide reflects the site's many changes, with screenshots that demonstrate how to create family trees, navigate the site, and use Ancestry.com's search engines. A new section on AncestryDNA will also help you dive deeper into your research, with detailed guides to interpreting test results and applying them to research. What you'll learn: * Step-by-step strategies for structuring your searches to find what you're looking for faster * Details on each of Ancestry.com's historical record categories, including what you can expect to find in them * Tips for creating and managing your family tree on Ancestry.com, as well as connecting your tree to others on the site * Timesaving tricks to maximize your Ancestry.com experience, including Hints (the "shaky leaf"), AncestryDNA, and the Ancestry.com mobile app Whether you've just begun dabbling in family history or you're a longtime Ancestry.com subscriber, this book will turn you into an Ancestry.com power user! AUTHOR: Nancy Hendrickson is an experienced writer and instructor who has written several books and ebooks on genealogy, including two on Ancestry.com that have each become authoritative resources for the Web's most popular genealogy resource. She also runs a blog that is dedicated to finding and preserving family stories. 150 b/w illustrations
The Family Tree Historical Newspapers Guide by
There are more historical newspaper resources than you think - and they're easier to access than you know. When researched properly, no other type of record can beat historical newspapers in "taking the pulse" of their times and places, recording not just the names, but also information important to the community. This comprehensive how-to guide will show you how to harvest the "social media" of centuries past to learn about your ancestors and the times and places they lived in. With step-by-step examples, case studies, templates, worksheets, and screenshots, this book shows you what you can find in online (and offline) historical newspapers, from city dailies to weekly community papers to foreign-language gazetteers. The Family Tree Historical Newspapers Guide features: * Tips and techniques for finding crucial genealogy records in newspapers, such as birth announcements, obituaries, and even news reports * Step-by-step guides for using popular online newspaper databases such as GenealogyBank and Newspapers.com * Case studies that will put information found in newspapers to use AUTHOR: James Beidler is a longtime contributor for Family Tree Magazine who has also written two commercially successful how-to oriented guides for Family Tree Books. He is a regular columnist for German Life magazine and has written extensively about genealogy topics for both general-interest and industry audiences. In addition to his writing work, Beidler is also a staple speaker at many genealogy conferences and our own Family Tree University courses and webinars, where he lectures on historical newspapers as well as genealogy
Tracing Your Family History by
Accessible and clear advice on discovering your family's history in the UK, and geneology techniques.
The Family Tree Problem Solver by
Discover your family history with these practical, tried-and-true strategies for conquering genealogy's toughest problems. This guide, newly updated to reflect the latest trends in genealogy, will give you the helpful advice you need. Has your family history research hit a brick wall? Marsha Hoffman Rising's newly updated bestselling book The Family Tree Problem Solver has the solutions to help you find the answers you seek. Here, you'll find answers to genealogy's toughest problems. Inside, you'll find: * Work-arounds for lost or destroyed records * Techniques for finding ancestors with common names * Strategies for analysing your problem and creating a successful research plan * Ideas on how to find vital records before civil registration * Troubleshooting advice for interpreting your DNA results * Tips for finding "missing" ancestors in censuses * Instructions for investigating collateral kin to further your family tree * Methods for finding ancestors who lived before 1850 * Case studies that show you how to apply these strategies to real-life research problems AUTHOR: Marsha Hoffman Rising (1945-2010) was a professional genealogist with more than twenty-five years of experience who specialized in problem-solving related to nineteenth-century research. She served on a number of boards for genealogical organizations, including the Board for Certification of Genealogists, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and the Federation of Genealogical Societies. Marsha was known for her problem-solving lectures, and began teaching practical and effective methods for solving genealogical problems in 1981. During her time as a genealogy educator, she lectured at multiple National Genealogical Society and Federation of Genealogical Societies conferences, as well as at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. She was awarded the National Genealogical Society Award of Merit in 1989 and wrote for publications such as The American Genealogist, Ozar'kin, and National Genealogical Society Quarterly. 55 b/w illustrations