Geni.com is giving away a free one year Geni Pro membership.  You must already have a free geni account to claim the prize if you win.  The contest closes on April 1, 2011 at 3:00 PM Pacific Time.  This is from wetree.blogspot.com:

"Geni.com is holding a contest to win a 12-month Geni Pro account. It's easy to enter! Find all the details at this Geni blog post.

But wait, there are TWO ways to win! I am also holding a drawing where you can win a 12-month Geni Pro account. How is that possible? It just is, my friends.

You know the drill. Send me an email at amybean2 at gmail dot com with "I want a Geni Pro Account!" in the subject line. This contest runs now through April 1, 2011 at 3:00 PM Pacific Time. Entries will be numbered in the order in which they were received, and one number will be randomly drawn from this set.

This contest is open to everyone on Earth (sorry, Mars) and you must already have a Geni.com free account to claim the prize.

Ok, I was lying about there being two ways to win, because there's actually THREE. Go to FindMyAncestor.com and enter there, too."



GM

Tombstone rubbings

Tombstone rubbing is quickly becoming a lost art.  It's hard to believe on those headstones of relatives that are only 25-30 years old that someday they might be impossible to read, but it doesn't take many decades of being in the sun, wind, and rain to erode the names and dates into an unreadable mess.  

There are two reasons to do Tombstone Rubbings.  First, they can keep a record of the names and dates on the headstone.  Second, they can be passed on to future generations.  Grandchildren might not believe they're interested in genealogy, but seeing a book of tombstone rubbings may be the thing to spark their enthusiasm.

This is a wonderful way to introduce your children to genealogy and teach them some of the wonderful stories and findings you have discovered in your searches for your roots! For a complete 'How to' on rubbing go to http://www.familytreemagazine.com/article/Tombstone-Rubbing-Step-by-Step


GM & CB

Help your youth get connected to their roots!

Many youth today are interested in tracing their roots.  Some are more interested in the way they lived and others are interested in their ethnic customs.  What can make genealogy alive for youth is to take them to a museum to show them the tools and objects of daily lives their ancestors would have used. 
Teach them games or activities that would have been common a hundred years ago.  For youth with artistic talent, have them create the family tree and incorporate the ethnic roots or a family coat of arms.  Proudly hang it on your walls to remind your kids from where they came.

Are some of your roots Native American?

Have you recently discovered Native American roots in your history?  Tracing those roots can be difficult.  Depending on which tribe your ancestors belonged to there may be virtually no records earlier than the 1880s.  Early Native Americans were not taxed, therefor they were not included in the U.S. Census.  

With some tribes, the U.S. Government required anyone trying to claim a portion of the monetary judgment to prove their ancestry back to 1838.  Many other nations, such as the Navajos, did not even speak English until the 1950s and 1960s.  Reading the few records they had would be difficult and if the histories weren't passed down then as children lost interest in their family roots, the ancestry roots could be impossible to find.  

Your best information sources are usually through family records; Family Bibles, journals or passed down history and stories. Remember, you are the researcher; so find as much information as possible before you contact the Indian Bureau. They do not have the time, ability or funds to do the research for you!

Genealogists become handwritting specialists

Have you ever studied the old Bible entries for Births, Marriages, and Deaths, or read an ancestor's journal, but couldn't read the cursive writing?  Handwriting has changed so much over the last few generations, that today it's often hard to decipher the writing. 

 For example, the letter "S" has appeared many times over like a cursive "T" or even the number five.  Sometimes the small letter "S" can even appear as a backwards cursive "f".  Sevens and ones were so similar that it was hard to tell what year is written.  Then there were also abbreviations that today are not as well known as the Wm. for William.  

Did you that the name Jonathon was written with a capitol "J" and then an "o" with a line drawn under it and a "n" under the line?  Without knowledge of what handwriting was like, names and dates can be almost unrecognizable.  So just remember when you come to cursive writing to study how the author made his different letters and abbreviations or your great Aunt may become a grandmother!   
GM

Make your Mark on the world!

Have you ever wondered how a saying got it's start? Putting your Mark on the world before the 1900's was done to allow illiterate people to sign a contract or bill of sale. Education wasn't available to everyone and was especially hard for emigrants from non-English speaking countries. For bills of sale and contracts this worked quite well, but if you are researching your family it can sure be hard to prove ownership to land etc now.

Shakespeare asked "What's in a name?" To him, not much.  A name doesn't change what the object is, but it sure does make it hard to locate ancestors records. 

Given names weren't necessarily required for any formal documents.  Did you use a nickname?  That's fine, just sign here.  You don't know how to write?  That's fine, just make you're "mark" here.  Most of our ancestor's didn't know how to read or write.  Many of the documents are signed by court clerk's with the "mark" beside it for approval. An individual's "mark" could be as distinct as the person.  Follow the records as far as can be, but if all else fails, watch for a marking that might look familiar.

GM 

Check Check and double check!

Aren't sites like Ancestry.com and Family Search.org wonderful?  They make it so simple for beginners to start their family history.  But websites aren't infallible.  Mistakes are made.  Just remember to double check the dates and locations that those wonderful "leaves" pop up.  It doesn't take much extra time and may save a lot more work in the end.

I got sloppy once and when I realized my error it was 4 months down the line and everything had to be undone and redone. Relationships that were made with the new family sadly were lost because I couldn't prove they were a part of me, so keep those research notes up to date and don't rely on anyone else's research, they may have taken someone's word for something and didn't know that the story had been changed through the years. It happens so don't let it happen to you. 


Check Check and double check! 
GM

Your personal history may be tomorrow's handcart story:

Remember the future generations.  There is more to genealogy than just tracing the names on our tree.  The stories of what makes us who we are is just as important as the stories of the pioneers crossing the great plains and mountains.  We may not have to pull a handcart over the Rocky Mountains, but we will have our own stories of faith, courage, and hope that will inspire future generations.  Keep your journal!  Let your grandchildren and great-grandchildren know who you were. GM

When you write a journal sometimes it is hard to write those things that are personal, but if you are writing to someone, then it is much easier. Do you have a child or granddaughter, niece or nephew that you could leave what life has taught you? Write to them this year, write to another one next year if you are blessed with many.


Share with your 'audience' what you have learned about life-today because you may not have a tomorrow to share.

Help is available just for the asking!

With all the praises being sung about the wonderful technologies available, there is an often over-looked resource that deserves high praise.  The tireless volunteers at historical societies and genealogy libraries that constantly work to preserve the art of genealogy.  Many libraries have knowledgeable volunteers who can help teach you how to use the U.S. Census online records, give a list of web sites to visit, and give you a good start about where to look next!

GM

Who really dumped over the outhouse with Grandma Betty in it?

With today's cell phones and the new upcoming iPad it is so easy to record your Aunt and Uncle arguing over which of his brothers was the one who tipped the outhouse over that Grandma Betty was sitting in! Imagine hearing and watching a video of that in 10 or 20 years. With the changes in society maybe you had better add a picture of what an outhouse looks like!

With every addition of new technology we are blessed with a new way to save and share important, and maybe not so important but funny, family history. Have you tried to create a video from your phone? It's not that hard really, just aim and press the button basically. But then what? Check out  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-r5cKzjwB0. Easy!