Free FOOTNOTE Webinar

Many (if not most) of you have likely heard of Footnote. You may be somewhat familiar with this website and its offerings of digitized historic documents, including military and census records, naturalizations, city directories, newspapers, photographs, etc. Membership is required but there is “basic free membership” available which offers limited benefits.

If you would like to know more about Footnote, you have the opportunity through a free webinar - which provides a tutorial of the site and a personalized tour. The webinar is available anytime you want to view it - requiring 30 minutes of your time. It addresses what records are available, a search demonstration, as well as explanations of how to use the Footnote viewer and how to create Footnote pages.

To view the webinar, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

<http://blog.footnote.com/the-worlds-first-footnote-webinar/>

Recommendation: Prior to activating the webinar (accomplished by clicking on the white triangle in the center of the black viewing box), maximize and center the viewing box on your computer monitor. This will result in improved viewing capability.

To access Footnote, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

<http://www.footnote.com/>

Removal of USB Flash Drive

Care should be exercised when removing USB flash drives in order to minimize the chances of data loss or corruption. Prior to removal, all files located on the flash drive should be closed. Windows users can then disconnect the flash drive by executing the “Safely Remove Hardware” command while Mac users can drag the flash drive icon to the wastebasket.

An alternative to the “Safely Remove Hardware” command for Windows users is USB Disk Ejector - a small, free program that allows for instant, quick 1-click ejection of a USB flash drive. It is a no-install program that can be run from anywhere, including the removable USB flash drive itself, and is compatible with Windows 2000, XP and Vista.

Copy and paste the following URL into your web browser for additional information about USB Disk Ejector and to download:

<http://quick.mixnmojo.com/software#usbdiskeject>

It may be necessary to scroll up a line or so in order to see the beginning of the section: “USB Disk Ejector.” To download, click on “[Download Latest]” following “Current Version: 1.1.2” - unless you want to download the beta version which includes additional features.

USB Disk Ejector will eject any USB or firewire device that windows sees as a disk (including flash drives and external hard drives). It can also eject flash cards from card readers.

When the software download is complete, the following icon will identify USB Disk Ejector:

Clicking on the icon, wherever it is stored (including a flash drive or external hard drive) opens a window on the desktop which shows all of the drives connected to the USB ports. Simply click on the drive to be removed.

Free Genealogy Toolbar (from Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society)

The Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society (MLFHS) has issued the following announcement:

Manchester, United Kingdom, September 15, 2009 -- Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society (MLFHS), based in the U.K. is pleased to announce the release of its genealogy toolbar which integrates seamlessly with the users browser (IE, Firefox, Safari) to provide instant access to family history sites including online BMD, Archives, Societies, Pay to View and many more.

The toolbar is completely free to download and use and has been developed by Family Historians for use by Family Historians.

Changes to the toolbar are made centrally and can be instantly reflected in each user's personal copy. MLFHS keep track of the links so that users do not have to. The range of links provided is especially strong for GB and Irish research. There are currently over 170 links and these will be expanded in response to user comments and suggestions.

Users can turn individual menus on and off and can also choose to add items from a selection of non genealogy links.

The toolbar can be downloaded via the MLFHS home page www.mlfhs.org.uk or from http://MLFHS.OurToolbar.com or from http://MLFHS.OurToolbar.com.

Note: It is suggested that prior to downloading the M&LFHS Toolbar potential users go to MLFHS's home page <www.mlfhs.org.uk> and press "CLICK HERE" under "M&LFHS Toolbar" to learn about system requirements as well as other information about the toolbar. The new toolbar, if desired, can be downloaded from the screen that will appear.

Free Online Class: “Genealogy in Gotham: New York City Research”

Ancestry.com will offer another free webinar on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 beginning at 8:00 PM Eastern. "Genealogy in Gotham: New York City Research" will address how to trace persons who immigrated through New York City on their way elsewhere and those who made it their more permanent home.

For more details and to register, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

<https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=160968&sessionid=1&key=EEC45BC930E460063DED7EBB0CBBDDC5&sourcepage=register>

Chapin Memorial Library Adds To Its U. S. Census Collection

Chapin Memorial Library has added the following states to its 1850 U. S. Federal Census collection on microfilm:

• New York (71 rolls; Call #: MFilm M432-0548)
• North Carolina (31 rolls; Call #: MFilm M432-0619)
• North Carolina Slave Schedules (7 rolls; Call #: MFilm M432-0650)
• Ohio (85 rolls; Call #: MFilm M432-0657)
• Oregon (1 roll; Call #: MFilm M432-0742)
• Pennsylvania (98 rolls; Call #: MFilm M432-0743)
• Rhode Island (7 rolls; Call #: MFilm M432-0841)

The 1850 census collection also includes South Carolina (46 rolls; Call #: MFilm M432-0854).

GenealogyBank.com adds to its historical newspaper collection

Billed as the largest online newspaper archive for family history research, GenealogyBank.com, a subscription website, has “added and expanded 32 newspapers from 23 states.” For a complete listing of the recent additions, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

<http://blog.genealogybank.com/2009/09/newspapers-from-22-states-go-online.html>

For a complete, state-by-state listing of GenealogyBank.com’s newspaper collection, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

<http://www.genealogybank.com/gbnk/newspapers/sourcelist/>

Note: A 30-day trial subscription is available for $9.95.

New Look for FamilySearch.org’s “Record Search”

If you haven’t visited FamilySearch.org’s “RecordSearch” in the last few days, you’ll find a whole new look and feel. Version 2.0 was released September 1st and has different colors and screen layouts as well as other enhancements.

For a more complete description of the update, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

<http://labs.familysearch.org/blog>

See the second item - “A New Release of Record Search” by Bryce Roper.

To visit the website itself, click on “FamilySearch.org - Record Search” under Favorite Links.

50 Most Popular Genealogy Websites for 2009

Please note that the listing under Favorite Links for ProGenealogists’ “50 Most Popular Genealogy Websites” has been updated. The link now connects to a listing of the most popular genealogy websites created during the first quarter of 2009. Rankings for 2008 are shown in parentheses.

New to the top 50 are numbers “35" (Genealogytrails.com), “37” (GenoPro.com), “45” (ObitLinksPage.com), “47” (FamilyHistory101.com) and “49” (DAR.org).