(dead link) reports new Scottish census records from the 19th century at genesreunited.com. Available for subscribers or on a pay per view basis....This post from genealogyeducation.blogspot.com  lists free webinars avaible from MyGenShare-look for reviews in future posts here.

Genealogy for food lovers

Followers of the Armchair Genealogist blog have submitted these  family recipes. The blog's author invites readers to submit their own.  No doubt someone from Hernando County can serve up  a good old Cracker recipe, or maybe something more ethnic? This blogger is partial to beef stew, like Mom used to make it.

Personal History writing prompts

If you are interested in putting your own personal history in writing for your descendants, here's a list of weekly writing prompts from the Olive Tree Genealogy blog. The author began the list in January, and there's 50 prompts, to date. In case you didn't know, the library offers Personal History Workshops at all branches throughout the year. Check our events calendars for dates, times, and locations.

Other sources of genealogical data

We return again to the What's Past is Prologue blog for this brief article on "unusual resources" for genealogy.
We like the blog- colorful, informative, well laid out, and well-written. Helpful for newbies like us.

Scanning photographs

If you need some advice on scanning your photos, try this article from the Generous Genealogist website. Sorry- this article is no longer available

Genealogy Society Newsletter highlights

The Society will be electing new officers today....The Pinellas Genealogy Society will hold its annual seminar February 9th at the Largo Public Library, with Sharon DeBartolo Carmack as guest speaker. To register go to www.flpgs.org/NMbrs/seminar/2013/SeminarRegForm. Dick Eastman will be at the Bethel Baptist Church in Bradenton on February 16th to speak on several topics. Information and Registration at www.flpgs.org/moteloffer.aspx.

The Genealogy Society of Hernando County meets at 6:30 on the 4th Thursday of every month at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints(Mormons). The church is located at 21043 Yontz Road in Brooksville. For more information, please call Kathleen Marsh at 352-796-1623 or Bunny Ryczek at 352-796-4419

Happy Thanksgiving!

We kick off the holiday season with these facts about Thanksgiving from randomhistory.com

Civilian Conservation Corps

If you've ever visited a national park or national forest, you have probably come across a marker placed in honor of the Civilian Conservation Corps. President Roosevelt created the CCC in 1933 to put young men to work building parks, roads and other infrastructure during the Depression. Someone in your family may have participated. This article from the "What's Past is Prologue" genealogy blog lists a few sources for your research. We would suggest also checking out the extensive CCC links at Cyndi's List.

National Archives of Ireland genealogy blog

The Geneanet genealogy blog has alerted us to the new genealogy website from the National Archives of Ireland.

African American Genealogy: Slave burial database

Coming in January from Fordham University: a database of slave burial grounds from across the U.S., built by submissions from the public. The article is here.

Expansion of the South Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive

15 titles covering 9 Georgia cities from 1845-1922. Read all about it and find the link here.

Gathering family history during the holidays

Ever think of including some family history /genealogy questions with your holiday cards? Read about it here.

Georgia archives to stay open

Read all about it.

Brooksville Then & Now

Mark your calendars:  Bob Martinez, longtime Brooksvillian and publisher of "Old Brooksville in Photos and Stories" will present "Brooksville Then and Now" a photo presentation contrasting downtown as it was in the early 20th century 's with today. That's Friday November 9th, at the Main library from 11 a.m -12 a.m.

Also on November 9th, the East branch will host a "Write Your Personal History" workshop from 10-noon. A written record your memories will be a great complement to the genealogical record of your family. Contact the library to register and then come out to the East branch and get started!
We will being taking a 2 week break from our blog - back on November 5th.

New Genealogy resource @ the Main library

Thanks to the generosity of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Winding Waters Chapter , here in Hernando County, the library now owns   America's Women in the Revolutionary Era 1760-1790. Click on the link to read a description.

 

Mystery Photos: Who ARE those people?

Do you have any old photos showing people you can't identify?
 Take  a  look  http://www.deadfred.com/. Someone may know who your mystery person is and may be looking for a photo of him or her. It works like this:
You submit your photo, along with information such as when and where the photo was taken(or your best guess), names of the people you can identify and anything else helpful. (All persons in the photo must be deceased and the photo taken prior to 1960). In 3 - 5 days, people searching for photos matching some of your details will be able to review your photo and possibly identify the mystery person. For example, we have a photo of Grandma, Uncle John, and an unidentified Catholic priest. We know it was taken in Greenwich, Connecticut during World War II. And of course, we can provide the full names of Grandma and Uncle John. Another person who is searching for a relative who was a priest in Connecticut during World War II will put that criteria into a search box, and your photo will pop up.

It's may be a long shot in most cases, but there are testimonials from people who have found photos of long lost ancestors. And it's free, so what do you have to lose? You can also submit photos of people that you have identified, and search for photos yourself.

Make sure you read the FAQ's first.

Hi- tech in the cemetery

What will they think of next? This article  from the Glendale(California) News Press reports that for around $580, a British funeral home will place a bar code that, when scanned, will download  a website that contains whatever information the deceased wishes to share. This includes an obituary, biographical info- even photos and videos. Almost makes us want to change our plans to be cremated.

"Find A Grave" webinar

The genealogy blog "DearMyrtle" has posted this webinar on using FindAGrave.

Also, the latest on the closing of the Georgia state archives.

GSHC Newletter highlights

Some notes from the Sep-Oct newsletter of the Genealogy Society of Hernando County:

Ruth Wohl will present a program on researching female ancestors on October 23rd...The Florida Genealogical Society will hold its Fall Seminar at USF on November 3rd, featuring D. Joshua Taylor of the TV show, Who Do You Think You Are?....If you had an ancestor who was a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Great Depression, you may be interested in the PBS presentation, American Experience, which can be seen online at pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/ccc/player.... The August 21st entry on this blog by Sonja Hunter describes falsified passenger lists....FamilySearch is recruiting volunteers to index millions of civilian registration records documents from the National Archives of Italy. Read all about it here.

The Genealogy Society of Hernando County meets at 6:30 on the 4th Thursday of every month at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints(Mormons). The church is located at 21043 Yontz Road in Brooksville. For more information, please call Kathleen Marsh at 352-796-1623 or Bunny Ryczek at 352-796-4419.

  

Petition to keep the Georgia archives open

You can sign the petition here.

Georgia state archives closing to the public

Another casualty of state and local budget cuts. Read about it here.

New data on UK @ Ancestry.com

spittalstreet.com reports that Ancestry.com has added a lot of new information, most of it regarding the UK, with a smattering of U.S. stuff.

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness

Just learned of the passing late last year of Bridgett Schneider, half of a husband and wife team that administered the Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness website for 11 years. As the message board at the site shows, many people benefited over the years from RAOGK. The service has been discontinued, but a new one has been created to fill the void: generousgenealogists.com/. They are soliciting volunteers to assist with obituary lookups, etc, in their area. We have already volunteered to be the contact for Hernando County. In addition, there are RAOGKusa and RAOGKinternational groups on Facebook, and there is also  FIGB.

Scottish ancestors

If your roots go WAY back to  medieval Scotland... Haur ye gae! *  This database contains the names of 21,000 Scots found in documents  created between 1093 and 1314.


Be happy while you're living, for you're a long time dead.
Scottish Proverb


* here you go!

Be ye a witch?

We never know who will tumble out when we shake our family tree.
 A whopping 35% of respondents to a survey by the New England Historic Genealogical Society said that they had an ancestor tried as a witch either in Salem or somewhere else.   The NEHGS  newsletter also provided some good links to the trials, including original documents:
A Note from the Editor: Salem Witchcraft Trial Resources
by Lynn Betlock, Editor
Last week’s survey question on ancestors accused of witchcraft prompted many reader emails on the Salem witchcraft trials and the genealogical connections of those who were affected. Given the interest in the topic, this week we present some resources for further study.
Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project
A collaborative effort undertaken by the University of Virginia and various partners, this website contains seventeenth-century documents, historical maps, biographical sketches, full-text volumes, and more.
Salem Witchcraft Trials 1692
The Salem witchcraft trials are among those profiled in the Famous Trials series by Douglas O. Linder of the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law.
Salem Witchcraft Hysteria
Presented by National Geographic, this interactive site allows users to “experience the trials.”
The Salem Witch Museum’s 1692 Sites Tour
Users can click on a modern map of Essex County to find out more about witchcraft-related sites in Salem and ten other area towns.
The Comprehensive Salem Guide
A guide to today’s Salem.
"A Genealogical Perspective on the Salem Witchcraft Trials" by Marilynne K. Roach
This spring 2008 New England Ancestors cover story “presents four cases that illustrate how genealogical analysis proved useful in adding detail and identifying key people.” The article includes over a page of suggested resources that cites genealogical articles for specific individuals and families, including Bishop, English, Bridges, Burroughs, Corey, How, Jacobs, Martin, Proctor, Putnam, Tyler, and Wilkins.
"Hunting for Salem 'Witches” in Your Family Tree" by Maureen A. Taylor
This article on AmericanAncestors.org describes a number of Salem witchcraft trial resources.

Georgia's "Virtual Vault"

If you're roots are in the Peach State, this  website might be for you.

 "The Virtual Vault provides virtual access to historic Georgia manuscripts, photographs, maps, and government records housed in the state archives".

There is a lot of information here, all free.

Write your own obituary

We'd all like to be remembered in the best possible light after we're gone. Who is in a better position to present the highlights of our time on the this planet than ourselves?  This article, published by the Boston Globe and  linked on the weekly newsletter of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, talks about doing just that. There's even an ObitKit, to help you get started. Might make for an interesting, if somewhat morbid, library program.

Grave blog

Here's and interesting blog about graves and gravestones.

Social History websites

"Gena's Genealogy", a blog for women's genealogy, has posted this list of 100 social history websites to  provide some background on how our ancestors lived. A sample: What did you do in the war Grandma?;

Digital Archive of American Architecture;

How to Make Moonshine;

Old Catalogs;

and

Online Guide to Traditional Games. 

Completed 1940 Census is online!

Read about it  here. Come in and search the census at any one of the library's 4 branches(sorry- the Ancestry.com Library edition can not be accessed from home).

Genealogy Society newsletter

Some notes from the July-August issue of   Links and Bridges, the newsletter of the Genealogy Society of Hernando County:
The Florida Genealogical Society (Tampa) will meet Saturday, Aug 4th and 11 a.m. at the John F. Germany Public Library in Tampa. Ann Staley will present a program on death record research sources....Irish Lives Remembered (irishlivesremembered.com) is an online genealogy community for those look for the Irish ancestors. Free to join.....
familysearch.org offers New York Probate Records 1629-1971. Covers 45 NY counties, but not indexed or searchable- browse only.
The Genealogy Society of Hernando County meets at 6:30 on the 4th Thursday of every month at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints(Mormons). The church is located at 21043 Yontz Road in Brooksville. For more information, please call Kathleen Marsh at 352-796-1623 or Bunny Ryczek at 352-796-4419.

More links to free genealogy books online

http://genealogybooklinks.com/ provides links to free online genealogy books  by state and type, plus  a extensive list of old  books on all kinds of subjects.  The quantity of material is impressive- 30,000 links, according to one review. Take a look.

Digital Cameras and Genealogy

This article comes from the   New England Historic Genealogical Society:
A Note from the Editor: Digital Cameras and Genealogy
by Lynn Betlock, Editor
This week we present an interesting article by NEHGS member Philip Hermann of Melrose, Mass., on using digital cameras for genealogical purposes.
Digital Cameras and Genealogy
by Philip Hermann
Today’s genealogist is faced with the challenge of digitally storing records. I have tried to use limited financial resources on equipment that will perform a variety of tasks — such as copying vital records and photographing tombstones. I started looking at cameras as a way of preserving important information. 
Some genealogical applications of a good camera:
1. Tombstone photos — Early morning or evening provides the best light for pictures of tombstones. Make sure to check both the front and back of the tombstone since there could be information on both sides. I also take pictures of the name of the cemetery at the front gate and the plot markers to help identify the tombstone location. You can use http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HcuVtFZCAsTygadVmYfGnVz6lehSCYWR-kMhLz94oSa2cctkb0_ASZEJy78aT6V8seppLw1A8R5hndUJ6Sz1vK4o4myD6DjE2rroO3T9SG-n4UO5bntR2A== to make a virtual memorial at no cost.
2. Photos of documents — Preserve significant documents such as vital records, newspaper articles, mass cards, and school records by photographing and downloading them to a computer photo storage program such as Picasa. This free program allows the user to manipulate a duplicate of the photo without permanently altering the original. I use the text function to write names and dates on the copy of the photo.
3. Photos of photos — Many of my old photos are stored in albums with “magnetic pages.” The adhesive chemicals in these pages speed the rate of deterioration. All printed photographs are affected by handling, light, moisture, and chemicals. Digital storage of photographs on computers and portable memory devices will preserve them for future generations. When photographing photos, I find it helps to use a table lamp to provide lighting from different directions.
4. Family History — Use your camera to record the current members of your family. At family reunions, take pictures of the different generations. After downloading the images, use your photo program to label the names of family members.
My requirements for a camera would include the following:
1. Less than $300 and easy to use
2. Takes pictures in low light (in archives and libraries)
3. Fits into my pocket (I hate carrying equipment.)
4. Image stabilization function (reduces blurring)
5. Excellent close-up functionality
6. Large LCD screen display (3 inches)
7. Preview photos quickly on LCD screen
8. Useful for different types of shots (indoor and outdoor)
9. Easy process to download to computer
10. MP greater than 10MP (# of mega pixels = greater detail, larger prints)  

There are some outstanding digital cameras on the market that will meet all these requirements, including the Nikon Coolpix P310 Digital Camera, which features 16.1 MP (excellent detail), ultra-fast f/1.8 aperture glass lens for low light, and handheld image stabilization. There are other manufacturers that make good, easy to use cameras. Search the web particularly for cameras that take high quality pictures in low light. These cameras are constantly improving and their prices are decreasing!

Hernando Today Obits

We have completed indexing the Hernando Today obituaries from the bound editions of the newspaper, which are located at the Main library. The publication dates range from November 11th, 1987 to December 24th, 1988. There are a total of 663 obituaries,  from "Lorilland H. Ackerman" to "Byron Wayne Zuber". Obits weren't always published quickly, so the November '87 obits may include deaths from October, and some deaths from December '88 may not be included.  We can check the index for you- just call the 754-4043. Whoever picks up can find the the index on  the "F drive"   in the "Reference Master Folder" under "Local History and Genealogy".

Potential damage from storms like  TS Debby are a good reason to scan old records, photos, and other genealogical materials.  You can keep them on your computer,  and  on a CD or a flashdrive.
Storm damage to your home may cost you the originals, but at least you won't lose them completely.

Free Genealogy ebooks

This article is from the New England Historic Genealogical Society newsletter:

A Note from the Editor: Free eBooks for Genealogy Research
by Lynn Betlock, Editor
A recent survey question on eBooks prompted member George McKinney of Santa Rosa, California, to write an article about the availability of free eBooks.
Free eBooks for Genealogy Research
eBooks — or electronic books — exist in a variety of digital formats and can be read on your computer, smart phone, or eReader (Kindle, Nook, iPad, etc.). Different eReaders utilize different digital formats, but, in most cases, an eBook can be converted to work on your device by using calibre-ebook.com.
A number of websites offer free eBooks — generally out-of-copyright books or works made available by their authors. Categories of particular interest to the family historian are family genealogies, compendiums of genealogical facts (such as military records), directories, and local histories.

Here are some examples of free eBooks I’ve used in my own research:
History of the Families of McKinney-Brady-Quigley, 1905
History of Southwest Virginia, 1746–1786, Washington County, 1777–1870, 1903
Commemorative Biographical Record of Tolland and Windham Counties, Connecticut, 1903
San Francisco City Directory, 1850

Sources of free eBooks for genealogical research
Family History Books is a collection of over 40,000 books made available by FamilySearch. All books on this site are free and relate to genealogy.
Google Books is provided by Google. This site contains literally millions of books. After you enter your search terms, you can limit your search to free books by clicking “Free Google eBooks” halfway down the left side of the page. Further down the column, you can also select a custom date range, or choose a 19th, 20th, or 21st century search.

The non-profit Internet Archive offers a wide range of volumes. To limit a search to books, select “Texts” from the drop-down menu labeled “All Media Types.” 

The NEHGS website, AmericanAncestors.org, offers free eBooks for members. From the homepage, click on Library, then Library Catalog, and then enter your search terms in the "Search the Digital Library & Archive only" box. You can also browse through available eBooks by clicking the "Browse the Digital Library" link found at the bottom of the library catalog pages.

Popular names for newborns

Ever wonder how an ancestor got his or her first name? The Social Security website has a page for baby names. You can search for the most popular names, going back to the 1880's, and you can search by state or by decade.  The source of the information is from Social Security card applications for people born after 1879, so it doesn't include people born before 1937 who never applied for a card.

New records at Family Search

familysearch.org has added millions of new records, accessible for free online. A sample includes records from the Maine State archives, 1790-1966; court records from Queens and Orange counties in New York; court records from Jefferson and Stark counties in Ohio; and obituaries for Crawford County in Ohio. They have also added a large amount of international records.

1940 census update

Read about it @ familysearch.org

Dating and identifying persons in your old photos

Take a minute to visit the Photo Detective blog at familytreemagazine.com/. The blogger, Maureen A. Taylor,  has authored several books that will aid genealogists in dating their photos by looking at clothing, hairstyles, etc. The blog itself includes archived articles with photos and information and tips for solving your own photo mysteries. Worth a look.

Some highlights from the May-June Links and Bridges, the newsletter for the Genealogy Society of Hernando County: Pam Treme and Patti Schultz will present Posting Queries to Mailing Lists and Message at the May 22nd meeting... 1940 census update: Delaware, Colorado, Kansas, Oregon, Virginia, and New Hampshire are ready for searching by name....the New York Public Library has digitized the 1940 NYC phone books and linked them to the census. You can visit their website here. The Genealogy Society of Hernando County meets at 6:30 on the 4th Thursday of every month at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints(Mormons). The church is located at 21043 Yontz Road in Brooksville. For more information, please call Kathleen Marsh at 352-796-1623 or Bunny Ryczek at 352-796-4419.

Florida's State Archives

The State Archives of Florida, located in Tallahassee, are a very good source of information for Florida-related genealogy. Most of the the holdings are available for viewing by the public during business hours, and reference assistance is also available via phone or email. Some material is also available on line at Florida Memory Project. This includes service cards for Florida veterans of World War I, Confederate Pension applications (these were for Confederate veterans or their widows who were living in Florida when they applied for the pension, regardless of where they were living when they enlisted). Also online are guides to Civil War Records, African American Resources, and New Deal Records

Preserving Your Personal Papers

See this brief article from the National Archives on preserving your personal papers.

Vacation

We will be taking a break from now until Monday April 23rd for a much needed vacation, so there will be no new posts until then. In the meantime, take a look at Fl Gen Web for Florida Genealogy resources and volunteer projects.

Old issues of Hernando Today

We found recently, on a bottom shelf in the reference area, bound editions of the Hernando Today. Coverage runs form Nov 1987 to Dec 1988. Obits are being indexed.
Interesting to read about what was happening in the county at the time. The November 11th, 1987 issue features an announcement by the BOCC that the library would start allowing patrons to call in holds via telephone- they would be allowed a single hold request, and only if they knew the author and title. This was a compromise between the library director, who believed that the library didn't have enough manpower (2 people at the circulation desk without automation), and the Friends of the Library, who wanted to accommodate seniors who couldn't visit the library every day or wait in long lines.
This was before computers were installed to speed up the process; at the time of the article, a "county wide computer system" was in the works.

1940 Census begins loading

Read about it here. The 1940 form includes amount of income from 1939, as well as the level of education. This curious genealogist will be interested to learn how much education his grandfather had.

Genealogy show on PBS debuts March 25th

Harvard history professor Henry Louis Gates will host Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr. , featuring well-known Americans, on PBS. Read more and see a clip here.

Genealogy Society of Hernando County

The Genealogy Society of Hernando County meets at 6:30 on the 4th Thursday of every month at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints(Mormons). The church is located at 21043 Yontz Road in Brooksville. For more information, please call Kathleen Marsh at 352-796-1623 or Bunny Ryczek at 352-796-4419.

Hernando County cemetery records at the library

If you can’t track your Hernando County ancestors through obituaries, you may be able to find them through cemetery records. These listings include any information found on the gravestones, such as the names of family members.

The Main library on Howell Avenue has the following cemetery indexes:

Hernando County burial records through 1992 . These records, compiled by the Hernando County Genealogy Society, go back to the 1800’s, and cover most, if not all county cemeteries. You can also find them online at the Hernando Historical Museum Association website- just click on “cemetery records” on the menu bar at the top right. You may need to give the index a minute to download.

Brooksville City Cemetery burials through 2004 – this data used to be online at the Florida Genweb site- if you find it online anywhere, please let us know. In the meantime, we have it in print at the library.

The USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project – this very valuable source is available in print at the library or online here.

Also, if you need directions to a cemetery, you will find that at the library as well. If you can’t make it downtown, please call or come in to your local branch and we will fax the pages you need to that branch.

African-American Genealogy

See this guide at afrigeneas.com. Its a gateway to resources and other websites for AA genealogy.

'Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!'

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner. A 2009 report by the U.S. census bureau reported that nearly 12 percent of the U.S. population claim some Irish Ancestry.
Take our survey (on the right of the page)an let us now which province your people came from. If you're not sure, this link will tell you which counties are in which province:

Genealogy webinars

If you have high speed Internet, you can participate in genealogy webinars. They are interactive, and some are free. Your genealogy group can also host a webinar. Learn more at blogspot.geneawebinars.com

The 1940 U.S. Census Community Project

If your club or organization is looking for a community service projec, look no further. This if from the1940census.org:

Community Outreach
1940 Newspaper Article

Historic Census to Shed New Light on the Greatest Generation

What do General George Patton, John F. Kennedy, Dan Rather, Betty White, and Jesse Owens have in common?

They can all be found in the 1940 U.S. Census, newly released by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. The challenge, of course, will be finding them in the hundreds of thousands of digital images of the census pages online until a searchable name index can be created. Unless you know the state, county, and street address where they were residing in 1940, locating them without a name index will be daunting. Fortunately, that challenge is being resolved by thousands of good-hearted volunteers online at the1940census.org. If you are looking for a meaningful project for your next act of community service, The 1940 US Census Community Project is a great one.

Supported by genealogy giants archives.com, FamilySearch.org, and findmypast.com, and local and national genealogy and historical societies, the project is trying to rally tens of thousands of individuals to join an online community of volunteers to create a free, high quality, searchable index online of every single name found in the 1940 census. Volunteers use an Internet application found at the1940census.org to look at digital images of 1940 Census pages and type in the names and information highlighted on the screen. About 30 to 40 minutes is all that’s required to do one census page. The data extracted by volunteers is saved online immediately and ultimately made available as a free, every name, searchable index at FamilySearch.org. With enough volunteers, the project aims to complete the index before the end of the year.

Many are all familiar with the 2010 Census just completed, but it will be of little use to family historians until 2082, when the 72 years privacy right expires. The 1940 U.S. Census, however, is now available, and family researchers can’t wait to unlock its long held mysteries. In addition to name, age, gender, race, education, and place of birth, 1940 census takers also asked individuals for their place of residence 5 years earlier, their level of education, occupation, and income.

Coupled with the earlier census indexes (1790 to 1930) now available online for free at FamilySearch.org, it will be easier than ever for family historians to extend their genealogical trees beyond their living memories. The 1940 U.S. Census index online will most likely become the most searched online database for the next decade, and a boon to growing consumer interest in genealogy.

The Greatest Generation would be proud of The 1940 US Census Community Project.

For more information or to participate, go to the1940census.com/society and register to participate with the project team in your area, <society name>. Simply select <society name> on the profile screen when creating your account. You’ll be on your way to contributing in an impactful way to this national service project.

How to find obits in the local papers

The library has archived editions of both Tampa papers in our databases, and they include Hernando County obituaries.

From the library’s home page, click on research, then Infotrac OneFile. Enter your library card number when prompted. Scroll down to Popular Magazines and click on it. Click on publication search, enter the name of the newspaper and then click on the search button or hit ‘enter’. A link to the newspaper will appear in the center of the page.

The St. Petersburg Times (as of January 1^st, 2012, the Tampa Bay Times) is covered back to August 31, 1998. Search by last name, first name. For obits prior to that date the Times website  has an archive search going back to 1987. Enter “obituaries” and select “archives”, then click on “go”.

Search Site   Web   Archives - back to 1987

On the next screen you can use the “advanced search” to search by name and date.

As of this writing, database coverage for The Tampa Tribune is from March 23, 1996 to June 22, 2011. Don’t ask me why, but in addition to The Tampa Tribune, you will also see Tampa Tribune(minus the The); it covers April 23, 2000 to March 21, 2008. We searched for a particular article, and found it in both, so there’s probably no need to search both databases. Curiously, some editions, such as those of March 24^th and 25^th of 2008, are missing,  probably due to some sort of copyright issue.

Anything from the Tribune after June 22^nd will have to be found on their website. Scroll about half way down to find the obituaries link. When you click on the link, it takes you to an obituaries page, with a search box on the right hand side.

Regardless of whether or not you’re not a member of the library, our reference librarians will be happy to do a look up for you. Just call us at 352-754-4043, and select the ‘3’ option from the menu. You can also email us at hcplonline@tampabay.rr.com

Genealogy and DNA

DNA testing, often used to solve crimes and establish paternity,  can be useful in researching your family tree. Read about it here.  Family Tree and Ancestry,  among others, sell kits for submitting DNA samples for inclusion in a nationwide database. This article , from Access Genealogy, lists some drawbacks.

If you're looking for Hernando County obituaries

The library owns more than 100 reels of old Brooksville newspapers, ranging from 1923 editions of the Southern Argus to the final edition of the Brooksville Sun Journal, which ceased publication on June 17^th, 1992. The coverage for 1923 to 1933 is somewhat spotty, due to missing issues and some of the original paper being mutilated.

Unfortunately, our machine (which was donated) broke down frequently, and the cost of repairs was more than the budget could accommodate. Our efforts to find grant money to digitize the film fell short.

So what are your options?

The librarian at the Main branch can search for the obit and deliver it to you via email, snail mail, or fax. There’s no fee, and you don’t need to be a resident of Hernando County.

 If you’re a do- it -yourself-er, and you’re a library card holder, you can check out up to 4 reels at a time from the Main Library on Howell Avenue in Brooksville, and keep them for a week. You can renew if no one is waiting for them, and we’ll need to make a copy of your photo ID.

To view them, you have several options:

The Russell Street Train Depot museum, owned and operated by the Brooksville Heritage Museum, has a microfilm viewer for use by the public. There’s no printing available, however. If you don’t want to transcribe the obit, bring a digital camera with you and photograph it. The depot is located at 70 Russell St, just off South Main Street, and its open Tuesday through Friday, from 12-3, and most, but not all, Saturdays at the same time. Call 352- 799-1729 on Saturday, before you come. If you don’t know the exact newspaper and edition you’re looking for, the depot also has index of obituaries from the local papers going back to the 1920’s. (Also available are Brooksville city directories going back to 1959, and the New York Times on microfilm, from the 1850’s to the 1990’s). 

The Church of Latter Day Saints Family History Center, at 21043 Yontz Road in Brooksville, has machines for viewing and printing. The hours fluctuate, so call 352-796-7403, or email them at fl_brooksville@ldsmail.net.

The PHCC campus libraries do not have microfilm viewers, but if you don’t mind taking a ride, St. Leo University, at 33701 SR 52 in Dade City, does.  They’re open 8 am to 2 am, Sunday through Thursday, and Friday and Saturday, 8 am to 7 pm. Call 352-588-8258 if you have questions.

 As for public libraries, the Homosassa branch of the Citrus County Library, at 4100 S Grandmarch Ave, has a new viewer/printer.  They’re open Monday through Thursday, 10 – 7, and Fri and Sat 10 -5. Their number is 352-628-5626

Finally, if you have a few thousand dollars burning a hole in your pocket and an overdeveloped sense of civic duty, I saw a very nice used machine on ebay…..

Irish Court Records 1850-1910

Cut and pasted from ResearchBuzz:
Irish court records covering 1850-1910 are now available online. “The new database at findmypast.ie, which will have another 15 million cases added during 2012, lists court Petty Sessions order books from 1850 to 1910.”

Get started on your family history

So, you've spent who knows how many years ferreting out your ancestors- tracking down the obituaries, scrutinizing the censuses and the passenger lists, roaming the cemeteries. You have your family tree, your dates of births and deaths, your tidbits of miscellaneous information. You know that Uncle Franz arrived in 1911 aboard the Rotterdam; that great-aunt Katie was living in Newark in 1920, that your great-great-grandfather was a general in the Confederate army or that you are a descendant of a Mayflower signer. 

However glorious or humble your family history is, it’s worthy of a write-up. Here's another brief article from About.com(where would we be without our friends at About?), that helps you kick start the culmination of all your work:

10-steps-to-writing-your-family-history 

Not enough?  Visit your local library and peruse the collection of books on writing your family history.

Names Being Removed from SSDI-

Read about it here:
http://genealogy.about.com/b/2011/12/12/social-security-administration-to-cut-names-from-public-death-master-file-aka-ssdi.htm

The 1940 Census is on the way!

You've waited 10 years, and now your patience is about to be rewarded: at midnight on April 2nd, the National Archives will release the 1940 Census. Ancestry.com will immediately begin the process of downloading each page. Read more about it here:
http://www.ancestry.com/1940?o_xid=21837&o_lid=21837&o_sch=Search

The Ancestry.com Library edition is available at the Hernando County Public Library for library card holders and reciprocal borrowers.