Rootstech 2012

This time last week I was catching up with the Live streaming of Rootstech 2012.
I watched what I could last year and found the 2011 Rootstech to be an eyeopener even though only a small part of it is shown online.
The opening speaker set the scene of the coference well and there are some great plans in the pipeline.
The advances being made to upgrade from GEDCOM to something more useful is probably the most significant point made by Jay Verkler this will impact on anyone who uploads a tree to the internet or shares information.
I look forward to seeing this come to fruition as it will impact on how we use genealogy websites.
I felt that the theme was where are we going with collaboration and it appears that we are heading towards the models of Geni and WikiTree but with more links between the various website providers.
To see the sessions that were streamed go to  http://rootstech.org/live#

What goes around comes around : Civil disturbance

I have been looking at the recent releases on the National Archives website. One thing struck me as events in our lifetime become history what little we learn from events of the past.
I was a student at London University in the early 1980's and in my second year I lived in a student house in Park Hill Clapham Common. In April that year the Brixton Riots took place. I was at home in Southampton as it was the Easter vacation but housemates said it could be heard from where we were living.
These riots took place in the early years of prime miniter Margaret Thatcher's conservative government and here we are some 30 years later with a new conservative government and further riots.


That same year the IRA bombed Chesea Barracks and some years later the centre of Manchester was also an IRA target both were places which I had frequented many times. I recall thinking at the time that how would I have felt being caught up in either disaster, but life is full of coincidences and near misses.

Do not forget that your experience will be your descendants history and the more we record what we think then the greater chance they will have of knowing more about you and your beliefs.

Plans for 2012

This is the time of year when we make those resolutions we hope to keep but oten don't so what plans do you have for 2012?
With lots going on at home and work I have decide not to make any big plans for my research this year,
In February I am hoping to attend WDYTYA Live but am still undecided as to whether to stay overnight or not and whether to just go on an early train and make a full day of it.
Last year I saw some of the webinars from Rootstech and I have also joined some of the Legacy Family Tree webinars and would recommend these to anyone who has the time.
I am not sure if they will be showing any of the presentations from Rootstech live this year but if they do it is a great way to see what is happening if you cannot make the conference.
I hope to post again soon with more about my own research.
Meanwhile don't forget to checkout Wikitree. If you contact me I will be happy to allow you access to edit your part of the tree.

WikiTree

I recently uploaded a GEDCOM file to WikiTree.
If you are a relation who is in my tree you may receive an invite.
This site has a high level of privacy and will only allow trusted individuals see details of living people.
Please add any memories you may have of others in the tree.

Some Family Connections to the Sea

Having been born and living in a major port you would expect to find some connection with the sea in the occupations of your family.


My grandfather and my father's younger brother however both made a career in the maritime industry as did one of his son in law's.
I have been fortunate to have all of my uncle's discharge books and a book of my grandfather's used when he entered Argentina in the 1920's as a merchant seaman on the Royal Mail Steam Packet service.
My Uncle worked on the great Cunard liners and I have found him on a number of passenger lists travelling between New York and Southampton. I also have a number of photographs of him taken with other members of the crew and some of the passengers he served as a steward.

My maternal grandfather had a more shortlived connection with the sea as he served on HMS Amphirite (see photo) during WW1.
His step grandfather and fathers half brother also had connections to the sea. His grandmother's husband was a fisherman and his son has been found in Cornwall, Sussex and the Isle of Wight on census night with occupation of mercantile mariner.
I have found the following website useful for researching my family in Southampton. There are also sites for some of the other major UK ports which may be useful for others wanting background information on the lives of this maritime ports.
http://www.portcities.org.uk/

Documenting Sources in online trees

The genealogy community can be very critical of those who do not cite their sources.
A regular topic that comes up on genealogy forums is the lack of documentation of sources especially on large trees.

I believe there are a number of reasons why the larger online trees do not have sources.

Many people start trees online then give up once they get to grandparents or beyond the people they remember and these trees are often unsourced as they have been produced as a passing whim. There are a large number of these on websites such as Genes Reunited which are free or minimal cost. When they go back to these later they do not think that they have not added information as to where they found out how these people fit in their family.

Very few of us can say we documented all our sources from the start and we can be reluctant to go back and add them later, even though it may save us time overall.

Few of us trust everything we read and given the rate information is added to the internet we do not always want others to use the information we have obtained at our own expense.

Basically the reasons for not including sources in online trees as I see it are :

1. Laziness
2. Lack of trust of others
3. Cost associated with obtaining the information

Genealogy is not a cheap hobby and those who would call it their hobby are well aware of this.
Don't criticise others who seem to be unwilling to share but do as you would like to be done by.
If you choose not to put your sources on your tree mention this in the opening page.
If you are willing to share with others invite them to contact you.
Some of my best leads have come from others but by confirming things for myself I have found information beyond what others have given me which has made this hobby so much more enjoyable.

Those who just include other peoples research do not know the joy of discovering something new for themselves.

Roots Television - A look back at how we used to live

Today I watched a short film on Roots Television.
It was made in 1948 and was aimed at showing what life was like for a young boy growing up in York at this time.
This year I spent a week on holiday in York (not for the first time). It was interesting to contrast the picture I have today with that of 50 years ago.
The view from the city walls has changed remarkably little, possibly due to much of the area having protected status.
The railway station has changed and we no longer travel in trains with compartments (usually) as we did even in the sixties when I was a child. For longer journeys we even have air conditioning in the trains. Beeching cuts in the sixties mean we cannot get a train to Whitby from York so our journey this year will have taken a lot longer.
Whitby itself has changed in the number and type of boats in the harbour. The fishermen, if there are any left, do not sit there mending their nets.
I cannot comment on the schools.
However homelife has certainly changed as many families no longer sit down together for their evening meal and few that do would be listening to the radio.
Television would be more likely today and many will eat a meal with a tray on their lap whilst watching the television. The traditional tea will have been replaced by the ready made meal and the stove by the microwave. In our family for one we have not yet done away with the traditional cup of tea, still a firm favorite with many of the english.
Some houses still have the open coal fires so common in post war britain but with the creation of smoke free zones the majority of us now live in centrally heated homes.
How many of us or our descendants will look back in another 50 years and reflect on how life has changed?