Wednesday, March 30, 2016

More Accusations of Plagiarism Leveled at Barry Ewell

Do Not CopyAccusations of plagiarism have once again been made against author, speaker, and website publisher, Barry Ewell.

On 11 March 2016, Thomas MacEntee presented evidence of alleged plagiarism by Barry Ewell of information written by Kimberly Powell. See “Review: Google Guide for Genealogy: 1001 Ways to Search the Internet Like a Genealogist,” GeneaBloggers (http://www.geneabloggers.com). Thomas purchased a copy of Barry’s book, Google Guide for Genealogy: 1001 Ways to Search the Internet Like a Genealogist. In reviewing the content he found “much of the information can easily be located on the Internet, including entire articles by other authors.” As an example, Thomas presented a side-by-side comparison of about 20 paragraphs from a Kimberly Powell article, copied without attribution. Thomas verified with Kimberly that she had not given permission to Barry to copy her work. Here are a few of the paragraphs Thomas presented:

Kimberly Powell Barry Ewell Alleged Plagiarism
Step One: Search for the Source Step One: Search for the Source
Whether its a personal Web page or a subscription
genealogy database, all online data should include a list
of sources. The key word here is should. You will find
many resources that don’t. Once you find a record of
your great, great grandfather online, however, the first
step is to try and locate the source of that information.
Whether it’s a personal web page or a subscription
genealogy database, all online data should include a list
of sources. The key word here is should. You will find
many resources that don’t. Once you find a record of
your great, great grandfather online, however, the first
step is to try and locate the source of that information.
   Look for source citations and references – often noted
as footnotes at the bottom of the page, or at the end
(last page) of the publication
1. Look for source citations and references – often noted
as footnotes at the bottom of the page, or at the end
(last page) of the publication.
Check for notes or comments 2. Check for notes or comments.

This is not the first time Barry has published a book containing information copied from the web without attribution. In 2012 Barry Ewell published a book that copies from the website of the 1997 KBYU Ancestors series.

KBYU Ancestors Series Website Barry Ewell Book
The content varies somewhat by religion with
Scandinavian Lutheran, for instance, generally
providing more details.
Information will vary somewhat by religion, with
Scandinavian and Lutheran, for instance, generally
providing more details.
Minutes or communicant lists can also be
helpful in reconstructing family history. The sudden
disappearance of a couple from the list may signify their
departure from the community. The disappearance of
one but not the other may indicate death, an important
clue if the death records no longer exist. They may
also contain information as to where some moved…
They also help you to learn more about
what your ancestors were like and how they worshiped.
Minutes or Communicant Lists. These records can be
helpful in reconstructing family history. The
disappearance of a couple from the list may signify their
departure from the community. The disappearance of
one but not the other may indicate death, an important
clue if the death records no longer exist. These lists may
also provide insight as to where persons have moved.
These records also help to build a picture of
what your ancestors were like and how they worshipped.
Source: “Other Church Records,” Ancestors (http://www.byub.org/ancestors/records/religious/intro4.html). Source: Barry J. Ewell, Family Treasures: 15 Lessons, Tips, and Tricks for Discovering Your Family History (Cedar Fort, Utah: Plain Cite Publishing, 2012), 326; digital images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=mjkJ0TmDOu4C).

Other parts are obvious copies as well. The list of denominational archives on pp. 81-2 of Barry’s book is such an exact copy of the list at http://www.byub.org/ancestors/records/religious/extra.html, he even copied the alphabetization problems of the BYU website.

Barry Ewell has also copied information from the web for newspaper articles. On 27 April 2013, the Salt Lake City Deseret News published a story written by Barry Ewell titled “Genealogy: Use and Record What You Learn.” The editor has appended this notice:

Editor's note: The original version of this story posted on April 27, 2013, failed to properly attribute all source materials, which violates our editorial policies. The story was revised on March 19, 2014, and attribution to original sources were added. A version of this column also appeared in the print edition of the Deseret News on August 8, 2013. The Deseret News demands accuracy in attribution and sourcing and considers any lapses to be a serious breach of ethics. The Deseret News is no longer publishing Barry J. Ewell's writings. (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865579049)

That story presently attributes information to a FamilySearch wiki article, “A Guide to Research.” (https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/A_Guide_to_Research)

The Deseret News published another Barry Ewell article on 6 July 2013 (“Genealogy: Five steps to finding ancestors”) which now bears the same notice (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865582698). That story presently attributes information to the same FamilySearch Wiki article.

The Deseret News published another Barry Ewell article on 7 September 2013 (“Use Your Camera to Document Family History Research”) which now bears the same notice (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865585957). That story presently attributes information to a Dennis Ridenour article published in the 1 February 2003 issue of UpFront with NGS newsletter (http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/NGS/2003-02/1044160664) and a Maureen Taylor article, “Tips for Photographing Gravestones: Documenting Without Damage” (http://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/64_gravestones.html).

Sound like a broken record?

The Deseret News published another Barry Ewell article on 14 September 2013 (“Share Oral History Between Generations”) which now bears the same notice (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865586360). That story presently contains one unattributed quote and attributes a FamilySearch wiki article, “Involve Children and Youth in Family History” (https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Involve_Children_and_Youth_in_Family_History). Ironically, an Iranian website plagiarized Barry’s original article, should you wish to read it. (Google search for “ever be grateful that I was able to visit my relatives in Iceland.”)

The Deseret News published another Barry Ewell article on 30 November 2013 (“Sharing family history: Write and share your story”) which now bears the same notice (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865591494). That story presently attributes information to FamilySearch, Kimberly Powell, Laura Weldon, Lorelle VanFossen, and a Ginger Hamer.

Barry Ewell has also copied information from the web for his videos, according to Thomas MacEntee in a 10 March 2014 article titled “Plagiarism: A Venereal Disease in the Genealogy Community” (http://www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-plagiarism-venereal-disease/).

One trick that Ewell uses is to embed content in videos – content which is not easy to compare with an original source since much of it is in the form of audio or images: Listen to the audio at http://genealogybybarry.com/7-slideshow-series/arician-american-research/ and then read http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/afam/index.aspx?id=3000#Why.

On 6 July 2013, DearMYRTLE published an example alleging Barry Ewell had plagiarized Cyndi Howells’ interview on the Ancestors television show. (See “Is There Such a Thing as Ethical Plagiarism?” on DearMyrtle: Your Friend in Genealogy Since 1995.)

Cyndi Howell Barry Ewell Alleged Plagiarism
It is important to know that vital records searches are
most useful for finding relatively recent information.
With some exceptions,
most U.S. states did not assume legal responsibility for
vital records until around the turn of the last century.
The first to start keeping vital records was
Massachusetts in 1841 and the last was New Mexico in
1920.
It is important to know that vital record searches are
most useful for finding relatively recent information.

Most US states did not assume legal responsibility for
vital records until around 1900.
The first state to start keeping vital records was
Massachusetts in 1841, and the last was New Mexico in
1920.

Barry also copies other people’s information for his blog. Consider a single article, “Sharing Family History: Write and Share Your Story” (http://genealogybybarry.com/sharing-family-history-3-write-share-story/ : 21 November 2015). As of the date of this writing, none have attribution even though Barry copied the entire article almost word-for-word.

Originals Barry Ewell Blog

Create a Family Newsletter
Consider creating a family newsletter. Get others
involved. Be creative. A well-written newsletter is a
wonderful way of keeping families together. Newsletters
can include stories about an ancestor or share research
successes and assignments. You might have an entire
issue dedicated to family history or a regular feature on
family history…

Create a Family Web site
A family Web site is a wonderful way of involving family
members who have computer skills. Let them design,
create, and maintain the Web site, while you and others
contribute the information. The Web site …
encourage extended family members to take an interest in the family’s history. …

Write a Family History Book
A family history book is a major undertaking, but it
might provide a wonderful opportunity to involve
extended family members. You might ask them to
contribute information on their own family or research
information on a specific ancestral family.

Source: “Involve Your Extended Family in Family History,” FamilySearch [Wiki] (https://familysearch.org/wiki : rev 14:33, 30 May 2012).

Create a family newsletter
Consider creating a family newsletter. Get others
involved. Be creative. A well-written newsletter is a
great way of keeping families together. Newsletters
can include stories about an ancestor or share research
successes and assignments. You might have an entire
issue dedicated to family history or a regular feature on
family history…

Create a family web site
A family Web site is a great way of involving family
members who have computer skills. Let them design,
create, and maintain the Web site, while you and others
contribute the information.  The website …
encourage extended family members to take an interest
in the family’s history.

Write a family history book
A family history book is a major undertaking, but it
might provide a wonderful opportunity to involve
extended family members. You might ask them to
contribute information on their own family or research
information on a specific ancestral family.

Scrapbook Your Family Heritage
The perfect place to showcase and protect your precious
family photos, heirlooms, and memories, a heritage
scrapbook album…

Source: Kimberly Powell, “10 Ways to Celebrate Family History Month,” About Parenting http://genealogy.about.com/od/holidays/tp/family-history-month.htm : rev. 29 October 2014), no. 6.

Scrapbook your family heritage
Showcase and protect your precious
family photos, heirlooms, and memories in a heritage
scrapbook album.

Develop a book of family lore.
Compile family recipes and any anecdotes that go with
these foods. Add family sayings, funny stories,
traditions, timelines, anything you’d like to record for
coming generations.

Source: “26 Ways to Make History Relevant,” Laura Grace Weldon (http://lauragraceweldon.com/2011/08/10/making-history-relevant/ : 10 August 2011).
Develop a book of family lore
Compile family recipes and any anecdotes that go with
these foods. Add family sayings, funny stories,
traditions, timelines, anything you’d like to record for
coming generations.

A family history blog is a chronological posting of
articles, stories, news, tips, and information on the
family’s history. The website is dynamic, with the front
page changing with the addition of new material. It is
also interactive, as comments are allowed, giving
people an opportunity to comment and give feedback on
the information you have to offer. A family history blog
can be maintained by one person or dozens.

Source: Lorelle VanFossen, “What Do You Put Into Your Family History Blog?” Family History (http://family.cameraontheroad.com : 30 January 2007).
Write a family history blog
A family history blog is a chronological posting of
articles, stories, news, tips, and information on the
family’s history. The website is dynamic, with the front
page changing with the addition of new material. It is
also interactive, as comments are allowed; giving people an opportunity to comment and give feedback on
the information you have to offer. A family history blog
can be maintained by one person or dozens.


Sundays are a good time for making weekly entries. Remember to make it a family rule that each person’s journal is private and must not be read without the owner’s permission.

If your children are too young to keep journals
themselves, you can start a notebook for them.
Use plastic protector sheets to preserve birth
certificates, blessing and baptism certificates, and
other important papers.
Ask your young child to tell about an event in his own
words and write it down for him.
Each year on the child’s birthday write a short history
of the preceding year, recalling the child’s growth and
recording amusing anecdotes so quickly forgotten
otherwise.

Source: Ginger Hamer, “Family Fun with Genealogy,” Ensign, online edition (https://www.lds.org/ensign/1984/09/family-fun-with-genealogy : September 1984).

Encourage family members to keep journals
Sundays are a good time for making weekly entries.
Remember to make it a family rule that each person’s
journal is private and must not be read without the
owner’s permission.

If your children are too young to keep journals
themselves, you can start a notebook for them.
* Use plastic protector sheets to preserve birth
certificates, blessing and baptism certificates, and
other important papers.
* Ask your young child to tell about an event in his own
words and write it down for him.
* Each year on the child’s birthday write a short history
of the preceding year, recalling the child’s growth and
recording amusing anecdotes so quickly forgotten
otherwise.

These examples have been easy to find, but I’ve run out of time. I will leave you with one final example.

Michael Hait reported on 7 July 2013 that some of his work had been plagiarized by Barry Ewell. (See “Copyright, Plagiarism, and Citing Your Sources” on Planting the Seeds: Genealogy as Profession.) In the slides attached to the blog post, he presented side by side comparisons to illustrate the plagiarism. For example, one set of slides shows this:

Michael Hait Barry Ewell Alleged Plagiarism
GET LOCAL Get local
Know the geography of the area in which your ancestors
lived, not just physical terrain but also political
jurisdictions.
Know the geography of the area in which your ancestors
lived, not just physical terrain but also political
jurisdictions.
Know the laws that governed your ancestors’ time. Know
the local history – the local leaders, the local churches,
the common occupations of the area at that time.
Know the laws that governed your ancestors’ time. Know
the local history – the local leaders, the local churches,
the common occupations of the area at that time
All of these help to recreate the world in which your
ancestors lived, and all of your “evidence” was created.
All of these help to recreate the world in which your
ancestors lived, and all of your “evidence” that was
created

After 26 slides of comparisons, Michael asks, “Plagiarism? You Be the Judge.”

 


Note: Sources are either cited inline or, in the cases of examples from other websites, cited in those respective articles. All websites were accessed the weekend of 27 March 2016. The illustration comes from Merlin2525, “Do Not Copy Business Stamp 2,” Openclipart (https://openclipart.org/detail/172061).

Friday, March 25, 2016

Recognize These Television Celebrities? The Answers Are…

Here are the identities of the genealogists shown last week. Television is abuzz with genealogy television shows. But we are now one year away from the 20th anniversary of one of the first: KBYU’s Ancestors. Here’s some photos of genealogists from that first season. Can you recognize them?


“Census and Military Records” (15 February 1997), 23:33.

”The 1920 census is the one most people encounter first.”

Curt B. Witcher
“Census and Military Records,” 12:56.
   

“High Tech Help” (9 March 1997), 13:35.

“Internet is the buzzword these days.”
 
Dick Eastman
“High Tech Help,” 13:43.
   

“The Paper Trail” (2 February 1997), 0:22.
 
John Phillip Colletta
“The Paper Trail,” 12:53.
 
   

“African American” (23 February 1997), 12:21.
 
Tony Burroughs
“African American,” 12:05.

   

Okay, I admit to exaggerating by a little bit. Josh wasn’t quite as young as pictured. He was 12. (Thanks, Josh, for permission to use your photo.)
Josh Taylor
“Nashville” (23 September 2013), Ancestor Roadshow (Public Broadcasting System, 2013), 17:30. Caption added.

Many more genealogists appeared In season two.

   

“Records at Risk” (4 June 2000), 2:06.
David Rencher
“Records at Risk,” 1:54.
   

“Cemetery Records” (24 June 2000), 3:51.
Elissa Scalise Powell“Cemetery Records,” 3:41.
   
image
“Cemetery Records” (24 June 2000), 21:47
Cyndi Howells
“Cemetery Records,” 21:41.
   

“Census Records” (24 June 2000), 1:01
Elizabeth Shown Mills
“Census Records,” 0:52
   

“Census Records” (24 June 2000), 1:27.
Darius Gray
“Census Records,” 1:24.
   

“Census Records” (24 June 2000), 6:54.
Reggie Washington
“Census Records,” 6:40.
   

“Census Records” (24 June 2000), 14:21.
Warren Bittner
“Census Records” (24 June 2000), 14:21. Caption added.
   

“Census Records” (24 June 2000), 1912.
Kathleen W. Hinckley
“Census Records,” 19:16.
   

“Census Records” (24 June 2000), 20:07.
Tony Burroughs
“Census Records,” 3:30.
   

“Immigration Records” (9 July 2000), 1:57.
John Philip Colletta
“Immigration Records,” 1:47.
   

“Immigration Records” (9 July 2000), 15:18.
Loretto "Lue" D. Szucs
“Immigration Records,” 4:22.
   

“Genealogy and Technology” (11 June 2000), 2:19.
Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak
“Genealogy and Technology,” 1:26.
   

“Genealogy and Technology” (11 June 2000), 5:24.
Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens
“Genealogy and Technology,” 5:12.
   

“Genealogy and Technology” (11 June 2000), 8:52.
Alan Mann
“Genealogy and Technology,” 8:45.

My apologies to you who are pictured who don’t like your pictures. While you look fine in motion, it is amazingly difficult to capture a good freeze frame. When we speak we blink a lot or move (causing blurring) or speak with our mouths in odd shapes. Sorry! And no, I don’t want to delete your picture. You look just fine. And yes, John always speaks with his hands and the camera always loves Megan. ;-)

Photo credits: KBYU, Ancestors (1997, 2000); online archive (http://www.byutv.org : accessed 29 February 2016).

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Full URLs in Citations?

Dorothea Lange, “Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California,” 1936When citing a web page, one must decide whether or not to use a full URL or a URL to the home page. One usually cites the website home page and includes the additional information necessary to guide users to the target page. Citing the full URL is a good alternative under two conditions: 1. The URL is long lived. 2. The URL is not too long. The longer the URL, the harder it is for a user to enter it without making a typographical error.1

How do you know if a URL is long lived?

URLs suffer from a process called link rot. For various reasons, they cease to work. Companies cease to exist or rename or reorganize websites. Some URLs are set to expire within minutes. Others never work anywhere but on your computer in your current browser. How might you know? Try copying and pasting the URL into a different browser. If it fails, you know right away it is not long lived.

For example, NARA included descriptive pamphlets at the beginning of their microfilm publications that sometimes contain rich information. Some are available online only through the NARA microfilm store. In the store, the product page for each microfilm contains a link (“View Important Publication Details”) to download the pamphlet. Unfortunately, the URL of the pamphlet (such as the one for M1328) is nearly impossible to obtain, is seven lines long, and won’t work again. And the URL of a product page expires immediately; even refreshing the page sends you back to the welcome page. The only way to access a pamphlet in the store is through a lengthy set of instructions.

Another class of URLs that fails to work are URLs of records found using databases at your public library or through their website.

Some publishers provide URLs that they intend to work for a considerable amount of time. How long? Let’s say they will work almost to eternity. However, remember that “Internet time” runs much faster than regular time. “Eeternity” is no more than 30 years away.

What are some of the systems and websites providing long lived URLs?

PURL and the GPO

The U.S. Government Publishing Office utilizes a system called PURL (persistent uniform resource locator) for some online publications.

As part of the online dissemination of Federal information, the FDLP uses persistent uniform resource locators (PURLs) to provide stable URLs to online Federal information. When a user clicks on a PURL, the request is routed to the Federal publication. As Federal agencies redesign and remove information from their sites, GPO staff reroute PURL entries to the appropriate location.2

For example, the PURL for the tri-fold brochure, USCIS Genealogy Program, is http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo64668. When you enter that URL into your browser, the GPO server reroutes you to the current location of the brochure, where ever that might be. Similarly, http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo26239 sends you to Guide to Tracing Your American Indian Ancestry. Apparently, GPO even supports some government publications on non-government websites. http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo43102 sends you to a poster, National Atlas of the United States of America. Presidential Elections, 1789-2008, on the University of Iowa’s website.

The GPO PURL system will work if resources haven’t been altogether removed from the Internet and if GPO personnel have the time to update the links. I would use PURL links in a citation unless they were too long.

ARK and FamilySearch

FamilySearch provides long-lived URLs for its historical records, record images, IGI, and personal genealogies. Any URL containing “ark:” (archival resource key) or “pal:” (persistent archival link) is expected to work for a long time. I consider these safe to use in citations. Also, I think it is safe to remove the question mark and everything past it.

URLs to collections, persons in Family Tree, photos, user uploaded documents, wiki articles, and other pages don’t contain the “ark:” characters so I don’t consider them long lived.

LOC DIGITAL IDS and Handles

Online items on the Library of Congress website often have a permanent URL containing a digital ID.

To find a permanent URL for an item first look at the bottom of the item record. In some collections, you will find shorter permanent addresses in the "Digital ID" field of the item record. The URLs begin with "http://hdl..." and are called "handles" or "handle addresses."3

The URL https://www.loc.gov/item/mfd.45004/ currently leads to three death certificates from the Frederick Douglass family. But that URL may not work in the future. On that page one can find a digital ID in URL form: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mfd.45004. If you use the digital ID URL, the LOC computers will interpret it and generate a URL that currently works. Go to it and you find yourself back at https://www.loc.gov/resource/mfd.45004. LOC has the latitude of changing the latter URL, but the digital ID URL is longer lived. I consider it safe to use in a citation.

The URL https://www.loc.gov/item/fsa1998021539/PP/ used to point to an instance of a famous Dorothea Lange photograph (shown at the top of this article).4 That link is broken now and I don’t know the digital ID, so I am unable to return to that webpage. You can see the original, unretouched photograph using digital ID URL http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.12883.

CONTENTdm and Reference URLs

CONTENTdm is software many universities use to display their digital collections. It has a reputation for links that fail. Let’s say I search the Robert Hawley Milne papers from Lewis University on the CARLI digital collections website and find the birth certificate of Flora Jane Putnam. The URL displayed by my browser is http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/lew_rhm/id/311/rec/4. It is not guaranteed to work if I change browsers or clear my cookies or use it tomorrow. If I poke around, I find a link labeled “Reference URL.” I click it and am rewarded with this URL: http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm/ref/collection/lew_rhm/id/311. If you wish to share a URL to Flora’s birth certificate, shre this one. But I wouldn’t use it in a citation. Why?

If an institution switches from CONTENTdm to another software solution, CONTENTdm reference links will break. This is true for the software systems employed by most universities and small- to medium-sized archives. That brings us full circle.

Conclusion

It is often better to cite a homepage and include information inherent to a digital artifact—information that is likely to survive a switch from one software solution to another. That information can then be used with the search function. Digital identifiers, titles, and author/creators are information likely to survive.

In the Flora Jane Putnam example, the digital artifact title is “Birth Certificate for Flora Jane Putnam” and the identifier is “Flora Jane Putnam Birth Certificate 1893.tif.” One or both of these are likely to survive. I could cite the certificate and the digital artifact like this:

Illinois Department of Public Health, certified copy of delayed record of birth no. 201472, Flora Jane Putnam (1893); Robert Hawley Milne Papers; Canal and Regional History Collection; Lewis University Library, Romeoville, IL; digital image, (http://www.lewisu.edu : accessed 18 March 2016), search the library’s Milne digital collection for "Flora Jane Putnam Birth Certificate 1893".

My personal practice is to use complete URLs sparingly and, if there is any doubt as to their persistence, include enough other information that a user can find the webpage even after the URL has rotted. 

 


Portions of this article were adapted, with permission, from a post made on the BCG ACTION mailing list.

SOURCES

     1.  Elizabeth Shown Mills, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, third edition, Adobe Digital Edition, (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 2015), 59, 269, 283, 597, 626, 767.
     2.  Federal Depository Library Program Persistent URL Home Page (http://purl.access.gpo.gov : accessed 19 March 2016).
     3.  “Frequently Asked Questions,” The Library of Congress: American Memory (https://memory.loc.gov/ammem : accessed 19 March 2016), Bookmarking [and] Linking.
     4.  Dorothea Lange, “Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California,” 1936; retouched photograph of Florence Thompson with left thumb removed, LC-USF34-T01-009058-C (b&w film dup. neg.); Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives collection; Prints and Photographs Division; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; digital image (http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8b29516 : accessed 19 March 2016).

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Annual Fine Print

Caution: Fine Print AheadIt’s about time for me to publish my somewhat annual fine print.

The Ancestry Insider is the unofficial, unauthorized view of Ancestry.com and FamilySearch. The opinions expressed herein are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. I try to be fair and unbiased, honest and forthright. I call it the way I see it. But there are things that unavoidably bias my subjectivity and I want you to know what they are.

Employment

I am employed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sponsor of FamilySearch. I am an ardent adherent to the Church, its doctrines, and its practices (which is a good thing because it is a requirement for my continued employment :-). I feel I have a responsibility to represent the values of the Church and I try to do so, including being kind to those I write about. I try not to write anything that would be damaging to the Church or its interests. I try to keep this column about genealogy, not religion (although I allow myself a small exception at Christmas).

I have legal obligations to my employer. I cannot write anything that violates my non-disclosure agreement. (Yet being an insider makes it easier to find publicly available information that I can write about.) I cannot write anything that is a conflict of interest. (Fortunately for my forthright nature, I feel it is in FamilySearch’s best interests to have an independent, critical voice. Still, I don’t want to get fired! My bosses’ ideas of what is in FamilySearch’s best interests trump my own.:-)

Independence

FamilySearch does not pay me to write the Ancestry Insider. I write entirely on my own time, almost exclusively on weekends when my employer has less claim on my time. FamilySearch has been exceptionally tolerant of my rantings and ravings. They have not dictated what I write about nor what I say about it. They don’t review or edit my work. Rarely, rarely do they see what I publish before I publish it. Like other journalists, I regularly receive press releases from FamilySearch, most of which I ignore.

There is one situation in which I write the Ancestry Insider during business hours: national genealogical conferences. FamilySearch sends me to FGS, NGS, and RootsTech for several reasons. One is the desire to have the Ancestry Insider present and writing about FamilySearch. They don’t tell me what to write about, but I feel an expectation that some be about FamilySearch. (In practice, these conferences are the best sources I’ve found for gathering new, interesting, and publicly available news about FamilySearch.)

There is one area in which I tread lightly: FamilySearch partnerships. A couple of FamilySearch partners have taken exception to things I have written. They contacted FamilySearch and raised big stinks. Since then, I regularly pass up opportunities to talk about FamilySearch partnerships.

Ancestry.com

I am not a spokesperson for Ancestry.com. I do not work for Ancestry. The name “Ancestry Insider” does not refer to Ancestry. My editorial policy is to be generally supportive of both Ancestry and FamilySearch. I attempt to give equal time between the two, but that’s difficult for a couple of reasons that I may cover in a future article.

I accept complimentary products and services from Ancestry. They are personally useful beyond being subjects for review. Yet it would not be proper to review them if I weren’t using them for real life research. 

I try to maintain a healthy relationship with Ancestry so that I am accorded the privileges they extend to other journalists, and so that I can expect responses to queries I make of them.

Other

I sometimes accept complimentary products, services, and conference registrations from other vendors for review purposes. I am an active volunteer for the National Genealogical Society.

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Thank you for reading my articles. And kudos for hanging in there to the bitter end of this one. Five points for Gryffindor.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Insider Ketchup for 22 March 2016

Ancestry Insider KetchupOnce again I have more articles to write than I have time to write them. Time to ketchup.

FamilySearch tree bulletFamilySearch is giving genealogists the opportunity to submit questions to chief genealogical officer, David Rencher. He’s posted several responses on YouTube. They run about two minutes in length.

Bullet Ancestry.comAncestry.com is inviting customers to star in a new Ancestry TV commercial. Make a short cell-phone video of yourself (three minutes or less) telling how you got started with Ancestry.com. Submit it by 4 April 2016. You must be available for filming between 25 April and 13 May. (I hope that doesn’t keep anyone away from attending the NGS Family History Conference, 4-7 May 2016, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida!) Watch a short promotional video on YouTube. For more information, and to submit your video, visit http://www.ancestrycommercial.com/experience.

BulletTreeThe U.S. Government Publication Office has published an interesting little e-book about Chinese and Mexican immigrations. It is titled Unsettled: A Story of U.S. Immigration. It is available free from Apple iBookstore, Barnes and Noble Nook, and Google Play. For instructions on finding the title, visit https://bookstore.gpo.gov/marketplace/47021.

Bullet Ancestry.comI wanted to share with everyone your reports about the status of RootsWeb.

  • Grandma Shirley reported last Wednesday that her Homepages website is back up.
  • William reported last Tuesday that FTP to http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com was back up.
  • William Romanski was able to update his World Connect tree last Tuesday.
  • Mailing lists came back up that same day. LetsTalkGenealogy received a bunch of digests that morning just after 4am, the first he had received since 24 February. Ruth C, administrator for the Kincaid mailing list started receiving administrative notifications. Geolover received a bunch of old messages, which might mean the last RootsWeb tape backup occurred while those messages were being processed.

LanceHall reported that when his pages came back up, they were old copies. You may recall I warned that when everything came back, you could expect to be missing information you’ve added since the last time Ancestry made a backup of the RootsTech server. Does anyone have information on what changes were lost?

Gack! Out of time!

Monday, March 21, 2016

Monday Mailbox: Death at Sea

The Ancestry Insider's Monday MailboxAfter my comments about standardizing “on the boat” in “RootsTech: Ron Tanner – Looking Back at Family Tree,” a reader had a follow-up question. I’ve reread my comment in that article and I disagree with myself. I’m liking the approach of the lady in the class, and here’s why:

Dear Ancestry Insider,

So what should we do for a “death at sea”? I would have thought recording the next port of call would be the correct answer, but what does Family Tree want us to record? What about born at sea?

Regards,
Colin

In my opinion, when you are asked to specify the location of an event, you should specify the location of the event.

But you’re on the right track thinking about ports. My initial reaction in class that day was “No! If all you know is that it occurred “on the boat,” then don’t make things up! Especially don’t make things up to satisfy the bad behavior of a computer program!” Now I’m thinking the lady in class had given it more thought than I had.

Like any good genealogist, you’re going to follow the genealogical proof standard. You won’t be relying on that single source that states nothing more than “at sea.” You’ll find indirect evidence that will enable you to say something more specific like, “In the North Atlantic, approximately 600 miles en route from Liverpool, England to New York, United States.” Then you’re going to write up how you came about that conclusion. Where indirect evidence is involved, your explanation might be longer than a short proof statement that you could put in the Family Tree Reason Statement. If your explanation is only a couple of paragraphs (what we might call a proof summary) you would save it in a Family Tree Note and reference it in the Reason Statement. If you’re obsessive compulsive like me, by the time you include citations to the passenger manifests and passenger accounts and sailing schedules and weather reports and death records created by corporations and governments, and by the time you explain how you got as specific as you did, you may find it easier to use a word processor. Then you’re going to save it as a PDF and upload it to Family Tree as a source Document that you reference in the Reason Statement.

Will Family Tree “like” that location? Sure it will! You won’t find it in the list of standardized localities, but Family Tree is designed to accept non-standard locations. It will show you its best guess as to a standardized location. And there is a chance it will standardize to something on the other side of the planet. But if it does, ignore it. Stand your ground. Don’t contort the location just so the standardized place isn’t absurd. That’s FamilySearch’s problem to fix, not yours.

Okay, okay. So you’re not as compulsive as me and you’re heads down on finding a new cousin instead of over refining old information. The principles still apply. Specify the location of the event as closely as your evidence allows, and don’t let the computer bully you.

Signed,
---The Ancestry Insider

Friday, March 18, 2016

Recognize These Television Celebrities?

Television is abuzz with genealogy television shows. But we are now one year away from the 20th anniversary of one of the first: KBYU’s Ancestors. Here’s some photos of genealogists from that first season. Can you recognize them?

”The 1920 census is the one most people encounter first.”
  
 
“Internet is the buzzword these days.”  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

Many more genealogists appeared In season two.

   
   
image   
   
   
   

 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

My apologies to you who are pictured who don’t like your pictures. While you look fine in motion, it is amazingly difficult to capture a good freeze frame. When we speak we blink a lot or move (causing blurring) or speak with our mouths in odd shapes. Sorry! And no, I don’t want to delete your picture. You look just fine. And yes, John always speaks with his hands and the camera always loves Megan. ;-)

Photo credits: KBYU, Ancestors (1997, 2000); online archive (http://www.byutv.org : accessed 29 February 2016).