A Genealogy Facebook Frenzy

[Note: My Kith N Kin is moving! Though this site will remain open, new genealogy techniques, articles, and more will now be posted to The Genealogy Reporter. Come on over and subscribe!]

Do you use Facebook for genealogy and family history? It might seem strange, but if you think about it, using a Facebook group to ask your most challenging questions is like asking thousands of people all at once. Surely, someone knows something...right?

10 Genealogy Facebook Groups You Need to Join

There are literally dozens of great Facebook groups dedicated to genealogy. Many of them have different purposes. There are Facebook groups for genealogy related technology, genealogy software, genealogy scrapbooking, geographical areas, and groups for genealogy sharing.

Here is a list of nine top Facebook groups for genealogy and family history and why I love them. [Note: This list is not in any order]

1. FamilySearch Research Communities: These groups are categorized by geographical area and reach all over the world. I like them because there are people trolling the site all hours of the day and night just waiting to answer your questions. They have a particular focus on using FamilySearch.org for records. This is great because FamilySearch.org is free and learning to really utilize their extensive record collections is an amazing tool.

2. Technology for Genealogy: This is a must-join when you are trying to keep up-to-date on all the tech gadgets, apps, and so forth for genealogy. No need to call a help line for that new genealogy software you bought, just ask your question and get an answer in 3 seconds flat! (Okay, maybe not quite that quick.) Or, you can poll nearly 20,000 people in this group and get their opinion before purchasing your next scanner for digitizing family photos - that's a big help.

3. Genealogy! Help Me!: A new Facebook group dedicated to all things genealogy. You can ask your questions and get your answers from lots of really knowledgeable genealogists. Whether it is a brick wall question or a "where can I learn more about...", you will find it here. In particular, this is an education based group with links to how-to articles, YouTube videos, and webinars. They share all sorts of great content to help genealogist's of all skill levels. If there is some great free or new resource for genealogy, you'll hear about it here. [I am the creator of this group.]

4. Genealogy Bloggers: Hosted by Janice Webster Brown, this group is especially for sharing blog content. I like to go here to share my own blog posts, but to also read others blogs for inspiration. When I am feeling overwhelmed in my own work or just need some "down time," I shoot over there and read to my hearts content.

5. GeneaBloggers: This group is hosted by Thomas MacEntee. When it comes to learning the ins and outs of how to keep a family history blog, Thomas is the go-to guy. At this group, you can ask your questions regarding the specific topic of how to create and maintain a family history blog.

6. Genealogy! Just Ask!: Actually, this is a series of Facebook groups. They are set up by location. You can find just about any place you need. There's Kentucky Genealogy! Just Ask!, Germany Genealogy! Just Ask!, and everything in between. It's super helpful for asking specific questions regarding the types of records available for any given state or country. It was particularly helpful when learning about resources in State archives. Also, very beneficial when beginning your research overseas.

7. Genealogy Network: Again, these are a series of Facebook groups, but I believe they are only available for states within the U.S. Examples are Florida Genealogy Network, California Genealogy Network, etc.

8. County Facebook Groups: Typically, there are more than a couple Facebook groups dedicated to your targeted county or parish. These might be called something as straight forward as Harlan County, Kentucky Genealogy Group or it might be more wordy like Lee County Virginia Genealogy, History, and Pictures. To find these groups, try putting in a county and state name with the word "genealogy" in the Facebook search group. Then, you will see some options. Always be sure to click "See all results" so you don't miss anything.

County Facebook groups have been vital for creating my family history narrative. What I mean by that is, they often include members that turn out to be cousins. Further, I have found many pictures of ancestors while participating in a county Facebook group.

9. Genealogy Chit-Chat: This is a Facebook group for chatting and venting about genealogy. Did you find an awesome picture of great-grandma today? If so, you can share it here and like minded people will share in your success. Or, if you just need to vent to someone who understands the ups and downs of family history, these are your peeps! Another fun Facebook group that is very similar is Genealogy Addicts Anonymous.

10. Groups for DNA: Though I don't have a favorite DNA Facebook group, there are many! You can type in "DNA" or "DNA Genealogy" and get a whole bunch of options. I would also suggest joining a group that will assist you best in your DNA test results. For example, if you tested with Ancestry, join Ancestry DNA Matching.

Again, there are too many wonderful groups to mention in this post. Do some digging and join the genealogy Facebook frenzy! Happy posting!

Learn More About Using Facebook for Genealogy:
"How'd She Do That?! Using Facebook to Break Through Brick Walls"

What is a Hashtag and How do I Use it for Genealogy

[Note: My Kith N Kin is moving! Though this site will remain open, new genealogy techniques, articles, and more will now be posted to The Genealogy Reporter. Come on over and subscribe!]

What is a hashtag used for and how can it help me with genealogy? That's a question I am often asked when giving my social media presentation. That silly little pound sign (#) that all the kids are using really does mean something. Once you learn the power of hashtags, you will be amazed at what you can find online!

Hashtag History

It was Twitter that introduced the hashtag in the summer of 2009. By putting that little symbol in front of a word or phrase, you could hyperlink associated material.

Hashtags are keywords with a pound sign in front. #Genealogy, #familyhistory, #funnykitten, and the list goes on...and on...and on! Genealogists are learning the power of hashtags to both organize their own information into categories to be easily found, and to find new information that can directly effect their research.

Using Hashtags to Organize and Categorize

Hashtags for organizing and categorizing can help when sharing on social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If I wanted to share the pictures from a recent family reunion on Instagram so that all the cousins could enjoy them, I might add a hashtag like #ColeFamilyReunion2016 to each of the images. Then, a person need only search #ColeFamilyReunion2016 on Instagram to have all the pictures pop-up.


Now you may notice in the image here on the right, that not all of the images associated with the #ColeFamilyReunion2016 are those from my family reunion, but that's okay. Why? Because these other Cole Family's may be long lost relatives!

If you want to differentiate your family reunion, you may have to be creative in your hashtag. You might try something like #RobertColeFamilyReunion or #ColeFamilyReunion2016Ohio. Be sure to share your designated hashtag with all the family members so that they too can cache the images they took. By doing so, all the family pictures at your family reunion will be hyperlinked together.

Registering a Hashtag

Lots of people wonder how or if they can register a hashtag. The short answer is no, not really. CustomFitOnline.com says of registering hashtags:

"The first and most important thing that must be understood is that you cannot legally own a hashtag. The goal is that you habitually use a chosen hashtag and people will associate it with your brand. The hashtag selected should be a distinctive phrase or word associated with your company or messaging."

There are websites online that help you determine if a hashtag is already being used. Hashtag.org is one of these websites. Here, you can enter in a hashtag you are interested in to see how many people have used it in the last 24 hours.

In this example above, it looks like the hashtag #everyonelovesamie is unique! There is a lot of information on the web about registering a hashtag. I will let you Google that and "hash" it out for yourself!

Organizing My Research Findings with Hashtags

Let's say I have been researching the Bowser family of Clark County, Ohio. I would like to post some old photographs I found or some pictures of the tombstones I took at the local cemetery. I might post them with three hashtags like #Clark, #Ohio, #Bowser. Now, I have organized all my pictures with this combination so that I can easily find them on whichever designated platform I choose.

Remember, if you hashtag your images on Facebook, you won't be able to search for them on Instagram, so many of us share to both platforms at the same time. You can do that by starting at Instagram and before posting, click on "Facebook" under the Share options.

In this way, you have captioned and hashtaged your image to be found on Instagram and Facebook at the same time. Others searching for these same hashtags on either platform would then find the images.

You can imagine the endless possibilities. Hashtags can be used to cache images for weddings, vacations, graduations, and your family history.

Finding New Information Using Hashtags

If I posted something on Facebook about the death records for Ohio I found online, I might type something like:

"FamilySearch #deathrecords for #RossCountyOhio can be found online and include digital images of the death certificates. #genealogy #familyhistory."

In fact, many genealogists, big companies, and societies are doing this very thing. They want to share with you their findings and collections. It's happening on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media hotspots.

Because they are doing this, you can search for hashtags like you would a person. Take a look at this example at Facebook:

In the search field at the top left of the Facebook homepage, you can type in any combination of hashtags. In this example, I searched for #RossCountyOhio #genealogy. The post regarding probate records for Ross County, Ohio pops up. Scroll down further and you will find the post regarding Ross County death records, too. In this way, you may locate records and collections that you did not know even existed.

Sadly, you can't possibly know what a genealogist or society will hashtag their posts with. You may have to try your search in several different ways. Maybe you will just search #Ross #Ohio...or maybe you will decide to only search with #Ohio #genealogy. There is no limit to the combinations, so just have fun with it and see what you can find.

Hashtags on Instagram

On Instagram, you can do the same thing. In particular, I love to search for a hashtaged surname on Twitter.

I follow DeadFred on Twitter. DeadFred.com is a genealogy photo archive online. Now, they are putting images on Instagram and hashtaging them by surname and location. Take a look at some of these examples on the left.

Notice how they are hashtaged. In the top example, they have used #NY instead of #NewYork. In the second example, #VT was used instead of #Vermont. Some have been hashtaged with surnames and some have not. So again, be thoughtful and methodical when searching for relevant hashtags.

Hashtags on Twitter

Have you ever been disappointed that you couldn't go to a big genealogy conference like RootsTech or the National Genealogical Society Conference? Did you know that you can virtually follow along with Twitter hashtags? Yep! If you were to go to Twitter and search #RootsTech or #NGSconf or #WDYTYA (that's Who Do You Think You Are?) you can follow the tweets that are being posted about the event. You will see news information, pictures, and even videos in real time as you participate virtually using hashtags.

I hope this information about hashtags for genealogy will inspire you to use them. Let me know what fun things you find by searching for hashtags in the comments section below.

To learn more about social media tools for genealogy, I think you'll enjoy reading:
Using Facebook to Break Through Genealogy Brick Walls
Using the Power of Pinterest for Family History

3 Ways to Enjoy RootsTech From Home!

This year I am heading to Salt Lake City, Utah for RootsTech. It is a dream come true to be able to attend this magnificent event and especially to have the opportunity to teach two class sessions!

FreeImages.com/Alberto Grilo

As I was preparing, I remembered back to last year. I couldn't go, was rather sick with a cold, and feeling pretty bummed. Somewhere, I read that I could enjoy RootsTech even from home. That is exactly what I did!

Would you like to participate in RootsTech from home? Let me share with you how!

RootsTech is being held Wednesday - Saturday, February 3 - 6. Remember, times are based on Mountain Standard Time.

Go to the RootsTech website at www.rootstech.org. If you click "Attend" at the top, a pull down menu will appear. Click on "Video Archive." Here you can enjoy nineteen class sessions from 2015. Once this year's RootsTech conference is over, there will be videos of the sessions from 2016.

Last year, class sessions were also LIVE STREAMING from the RootsTech website. While many of my friends were sitting in the classroom, I was sitting comfortably on my couch! This year, the new sessions will be live streaming too. You will see the schedule for live streaming soon and can plan accordingly. The great thing about watching from home is that if something comes up, you can always watch it later.

These sessions will be archived at the website for your viewing until 2017.

The next important thing to do is "like" the RootsTech Facebook page. You want to make sure you are "liking" the correct one (I found three), so I have included the link here. You can keep up with all the announcements, articles, and pictures from the event.

In addition to Facebook, follow along in real time by using Twitter. Follow your favorite bloggers, favorite speakers, and RootsTech itself. Don't forget to tweet your own thoughts as you watch from home! Use the hashtag #RootsTech.

Bowser Family Photo, 1966

Lastly, there is a special Saturday event titled "Family Discovery Day." Many of these sessions will be streaming live as well. The times, sessions, and speakers for Family Discovery Day can be found here. These sessions will be archived and later available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Conclusion

There you have it. Three great ways to enjoy RootsTech from home. I hope to write a post or two from Salt Lake, so don't forget to check back in. Follow me on Twitter @mykithnkin. For those of you attending the event, come by the RootsBid.com booth and see me, or attend either of my class sessions. (See below.)

Session Title: "Overcoming Genealogy Roadblocks by Crowdsourcing with RootsBid."
Session Time for Thursday: 11:00 AM, room 155 E
Session Time for Friday: 1:30 PM, room 255 B

How'd She Do That?! Using Facebook to Break Through Brick Walls

I continue to be AMAZED how social media can QUICKLY give you the answers to break through your family history brick walls.

In just the last 2 weeks, I have turned to Facebook for help and was not disappointed. Here's how I did it!

FamilySearch.org has created new Facebook groups. I joined them all. In the U.S., the groups are entitled "U.S. Northeast Genealogy Research Community," "U.S. South Genealogy Research Community," "U.S. Midwest Genealogy Research Community," and "U.S. West Genealogy Research Community." 

Other places in the world are not left out. "Europe Genealogy Research Community" and "Northern Europe Genealogy Research Community" are just the tip of the iceberg.

These Facebook pages, or groups, are being viewed by people like yourself. People who love genealogy and family history and are ready to help if they can.

My first experience was with the "U.S. Northeast Genealogy Research Community." After joining, I put a little message that read:
     "Hello! I am a professional genealogist, speaker, and writer of a family history blog at www.mykithnkin.blogspot.com. One of my biggest brick walls is locating where in New York my Louis Lockwood and Sabrina Robinson came from! Can't wait to ask some questions here!"

That's it. That is all I wrote. In less than 24 hours, I had the answer (and more!) that had eluded me for more than 10 years. Patricia Morrow, the town historian for Windham, New York, saw my post and quickly found Lewis [yes, there was a spelling change] Lockwood and Sabrina in the 1855 New York State census. Then, she uploaded biographical sketches of Lewis, documentation of Lewis' previous wives and tombstone pictures. I was shaking my head in amazement. That was a genealogy miracle if I ever heard one! [Note: Typically, you will want to put more information in your request for help than I did.]

In the weeks to follow, I have been able to find Lewis' parents and the parents of his wives which have been added to my family tree. Help from Patricia gave me the answer to break through that brick wall and I was able to then continue my own further research.

Yesterday, I had another wonderful experience, this time with "Europe Genealogy Research Community." While researching some Scottish records, I found a birth record that included the marriage date and location for the child's parents. Unfortunately, I could not make out the name of the town they were married in. I could read that the village was located in Ireland, but I am not familiar with that country's towns. I searched all village and town names in Ireland trying to find one that "looked similar," but to no avail.

I knew I needed help. Facebook to the rescue! I posted the image of the birth record to "Europe Genealogy Research Community" and Becky Pate took a look. "Banagher," she said. Yes! I could see it now. And wouldn't you know it was in County Offaly right next to County Tipperary where the couple's older children were born.

FACEBOOK FOR BEGINNERS

If you are not Facebook savvy you will need some instructions. First, go to www.facebook.com and create your account. You will need an email address. They will also ask you for your birth date. Don't worry, your birth date will not show on your page if you don't want it to. You can fix that later.

After you create a Facebook account, you will need to confirm it. An email will be sent to you and you will click "Confirm Account."

You will be directed back to your Facebook page. You may skip the steps of adding friends and adding a profile picture if you wish. Now, you will search for the FamilySearch groups I mentioned above. [If you do not see the search field I have indicated in the picture below, just refresh your page.]

When you have clicked on the group you are interested in, you will be directed to their page where you will need to click "Join Group."

These FamilySearch Facebook groups are being monitored and managed, so you will need to wait until you are "approved." I was approved within a few hours. Once you are approved, when you return to this page, you will see that you can "write something" on their page. Others will see your post and hopefully you will get the answers you are looking for.

So join the social media movement and break through your family history brick walls using Facebook!

Learn to do courthouse research from home for FREE. Read more here: http://mykithnkin.blogspot.com/2015/03/courthouse-research-from-home.html

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Translating Letters From Hungary

Did you know that it is a fairly common practice among the Mormon faith to send out their young men and women at the age of 18 and 19 respectively, to serve a full time mission?  Yep.  And did you know that those missionaries are sent all over the world?  In fact, in my own family we have a French speaker, a Tagalog (a Filipino dialect) speaker, a Japanese speaker and three Spanish speakers!!

                

So what does this have to do with “Translating Letters From Hungary” you ask??

                

About a year ago, my cousin contacted me to do some genealogy work for her father’s Hungarian line.  At that time, she knew only that her father’s parents were Joe and Lillie (Eldridge) Nimety of Lee County, Virginia.  She had been told that Joe had had a family before marring Lillie and that there were other children.  She hoped to connect with these children and introduce her father to his half siblings. 

                

We started in the censuses and were fortunate to find Joe and Lillie listed in 1930 living in Lee County, VA.  On that census, Joe is listed as having arrived in America in 1903 and was naturalized.  From there, we went to Ancestry.com to the database entitled “US Naturalization Records – Original Documents, 1795-1972” to see if we could find his naturalization papers.  Sure enough, Joe had first filed a Declaration of Intention on 18 Dec 1920 and listed his first wife’s name!  What a find!  On this Declaration of Intention, we found other important information.  Joe listed his birthdate as 21 Sept 1886 and his birthplace as Kormend, Hungary.  He also stated that his wife, Mary Super, was born in Kormend, Hungary.

                

The next set of paperwork we located was the Petition for Naturalization dated 1 Nov 1927.  This time Joe listed his wife as Lillie Eldridge.  Uh oh…what happened to Mary!   Well, according to family tradition, Mary and Joe had divorced and Mary had gone back with the children to Hungary.  Using this paperwork and the marriage record I found for Joe and Lillie, the divorce seems to have occurred sometime between the year 1920 when the Declaration of Intention was filed and 1923 when Joe married Lillie Eldridge.  But how could I find the children born to that first union?  I searched the 1920 census high and low and found nothing.  I searched birth records in Lee County, I searched death records in Lee County, I searched everywhere I could think of!!   And just as I was about to give in, my cousin called.  She had in her possession 2 letters written to Joe in the years 1946 and 1947.  Perhaps these letters held some much needed information, but they were written in Hungarian and who could we find to translate them here in the small town of Piqua, Ohio?

                

Off to Facebook (a wonderful social networking site that has been a wiz at finding treasure troves of genealogy information and connecting with long, lost cousins)!   I posted, “Attention all my Mormon returned missionaries!!  Does anyone speak Hungarian?”  Sure enough, in just a couple of days I had a response!  A friend-of- a- friend served his mission in Hungary and would be happy to translate them for us…for free!  I emailed the scanned letters and in no time, we had our translations.  Following are the letters.  I will let you judge for yourself if it was a real “find” or not!

               

So remember, even though you many not live in a big city, you can always find a translator among your friendly, neighborhood Mormon returned missionaries!!

Letter 1

8 Mar 1946

My dear father,

I give thanks to God that I am well now.  From the bottom of my heart I wish good health and lots of luck to you and to my stepmother and siblings.

I am happy to tell you that we have endured this difficult war with the exception of poor Liysa. God rest her ashes.  She was killed in a bombing.

Please don’t be upset that I haven’t written much but the winds of fate have again separated us from each other and I didn’t know your address.

I found my little sisters.  Thank God they are also well.  They have both married.  Vilma has a small family; one boy, one girl.  Iren has a little girl.  My little girl is five years old.  You have four beautiful granddaughters here in Hungary who all send kisses to their grandfather, who they may not see in this life.

Dad, I don’t want to beg because I understand your situation as well.  I know that it is difficult to provide food for a family even in America.  But I am finally able to search for work if there were any.  I am a [something similar to a central heating and or plumbing] contractor’s assistant.  Unfortunately, it is not possible to get along here in Hungary.  I don’t say this to complain.  To this point in my life I have not starved, even now with no work.  I ask just one thing of you; that you find my birth certificate and send it to me.  I believe you can find it in Mount Morris, Michigan as that’s where I was born.  I hope that will enable me to travel to America for work.  I would not be a burden on you for a single minute.  I am able to find my own place and work.  Thank God I am healthy and I wish the same for you, dear father.

Again, I ask just this one thing.  Find my file and send it to me.  And, if you are in excellent material standing, help me to collect the money to come there, God willing, I’ll make it to America and give back what you’ve given me.  If you cannot do without, even a few dollars would help.  The dollar is very valuable here.

Dear father, I must end my letter.  Lots of kisses to my whole family.  To you, to mom, to my siblings.

Kisses, 

Jozsef Joska, Monci, my wife and Ersik, my little girl

Letter 2

25 Jun 1947

(Iren speaking)

Dear Dad, I hope this letter finds you in the best of health and strength.  I write these few lines with tear-filled eyes.  I, rather we, live in a world without mother and without father.  These rows don’t allow me to express the joy and happiness I feel at exchanging words with my dear dad, if only in letters.

Of course, I would be happier if we could see each other and speak with one another.  But I am so happy to be able to write to you.   After all, not even this was possible until now.  Dad, I would have written much sooner but, unfortunately, I did not know your address. My elder brother, Jozsi, finally sent it to me in mid-June.

I am your youngest daughter, Iren.  I have been married since 1940 and now have two children.  We have a 3.5 year old daughter and a 3.5 month old son.  Our daughter is named Irenka and our son is Imre.  We thank God they are healthy.  We had one son die who would now be 2 years old.

Dad, how is your health?  Write more about your life.  Are you alone or do you have someone?  I hope things are better for you there than they are for us here.  Besides our health we don’t have much to be happy about.

My husband, Jani, is a machinist with a few jobs going.  It is very difficult to be happy in our current situation.  He is overcome with bills that need to be paid.  We hope the situation will someday be better.

(Janos, husband of Iren, now speaking)

Dear Dad,

First off, I need to ask your forgiveness for calling you Dad so confidently despite our not being familiar with one another.  Getting to know each other gives me endless joy, even if it is only through letters.  We could do it better in person but that seems nearly impossible.  I’m happy to have this much.  I write these few lines in silent faith and with eager hopes that my father-in-law is in America and when this is over we will live in milk and butter.  But it feels good to be able to write these few sincere lines.

I have undertaken the role of a spouse in your lovely daughter’s life.  I express my complete satisfaction with her as a good wife and mother.  Charitable children come from charitable families and so I ask you to accept my sincere appreciation and respect.

We are going to prepare a family portrait and will send it in the next letter so that you can see your grandchildren as well.  I would also ask, if it is within your power, please obtain and send my wife’s birth certificate.  This isn’t urgent and please don’t postpone your next letter for it.  In case you need the information, Iren was born 24 Mar, 1920 in Virginia.  For now we bid farewell and send out kisses with love.  We await your reply.

Iren and Jani

Irenka sends kisses to her grandfather