Free, 7-Day Access to Civil War Era Records

To honor the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War, Ancestry.com and the National Archives have collaborated to release millions of Civil War records online for the first time. There are now nearly 25 million National Archives Civil War records available.

Ancestry.com is making available free access to its Civil War era records (more than 42 million records) from April 7th through 14th. This includes access to the newly digitized U.S. Civil War Draft Registration Records, 1863-1865, U.S. Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 as well as certain other Union and Confederate records. Additionally, free access will include the complete 1860 and 1870 U.S. Censuses.

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

www.ancestry.com/civilwar150

Note: To view search results will require registration for a “free account.”

Help for Users of Family Tree Maker 2011

Beyond The Basics - A Guide for Advanced Users of Family Tree Maker 2011, by Tana L. Pedersen, may provide that extra information that could benefit users of Family Tree Maker 2011. Some of what is covered: using Family Tree Maker and Ancestry.com together, using custom facts, organizing media items.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Filling Out Your Tree

Chapter 2 Defining Relationships

Chapter 3 Working More Efficiently

Chapter 4 Importing and Exporting

Chapter 5 Showing Off Your Family

Chapter 6 Analyzing Your Tree

Chapter 7 Preserving Your History

Chapter 8 Making the Software Work for You

Chapter 9 Using Family Tree Maker and Ancestry.com

Chapter 10 Cleaning Up Your Tree

Appendix A Keyboard Shortcuts

Appendix B Source Templates

World’s largest free genealogy search engine

Billed as the world’s largest free genealogy search engine, Mocavo.com, launched March 16, 2011. “Sites searchable on Mocavo.com include genealogy message boards, family trees, state and local historical societies, the Library of Congress, National Archives, Ellis Island, Find A Grave, the Internet Archive, various U.S. state archives, and many tens of thousands of genealogy sites built by individuals” according to the Mocavo website.

To use the new search engine, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

http://www.mocavo.com/

“Some Quick Tips on Using Mocavo” (posted March 17, 2011 in Mocavo Search Tips) can be viewed by copying and pasting the following URL into your web browser:

http://blog.mocavo.com/