using footnote.com

After using footnote.com for a few days, I'm considering continuing on after the seven day trial. Although the available documents are somewhat spotty and random, are are quite interesting and valuable. The only hard part is finding the document you're looking for. 

The basic search is a Boolean search. You can type in keywords that you're looking for in a document and use NOT to keep out what you're not looking for. For example, whenever I search for 'Georgia' I always add 'NOT constitution,' otherwise I'd get thousands of results back from newspapers.

The Beta search is pretty good. It's an advanced sort of search, where you can search for keywords inside of an already exhisting search. For example, after searching for 'Georgia NOT constitution,' I can then search for 'Emanuel county.'

What's difficult is that not all documents have good keywords attached. It's nice when users have added annotations to documents, which is like adding searchable keywords. This will be what makes this site great - interactions from users.

Footnote.com

I signed up for a free seven day trial for footnote.com today. They have tons of historical scanned documents, but they're a little hard to explore. The search is a basic Boolean search of either all documents on the site, or specific categories, such as Revolutionary War Service Records, Naturalization Records for certain states, Newspapers, Confederate Papers, etc.

So far, I've only found records for one ancestor, Wiley Powell. Wiley died during the civil war from illness. I was able to find records of his service, illness and death.

There are a few more that you can check out on flickr.

Ashley's Family

I'v been working on my friend Ashley's family tree lately. Her family includes surnames such as: Short, Melvin, Mocaby, Murry, and Tallent. It's a nice brake from research my own family, because hers is very different. Her family lived mainly in Illinois, unlike mine (GA/SC) or my sister's husbands (PA/NY). 

Today I'm trying to back up my sources. I did the same thing with Ashley's family tree as I did with mine - I didn't record a lot of my sources. I've found two WWI Draft card registrations, that have really helped. I'm also waiting on more information from her mom to help flesh out the tree and help my research.

DNA Testing

It's been five months since Dad & I sent off a DNA test to the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF). We still haven't received any results back. Since it's a free service they make no guarantees on when you'll receive results, and I've found reviews that state that it can take a year! Even then you only see your results online in comparison to other testers.

Since the government is being nice enough to give us some free money, I decided to use part of my economic stimulus money to take a DNA test. As a female I have two options: 1) take a mtDNA test that follows a straight line of female ancestors or, 2) have a male relative (my dad) take a Y-chromosome test to research a straight line of male ancestors. I decided to go ahead and have my Dad do the test and trace my direct paternal line.

I also had to choose a test company. After some research I decided to go with Family Tree DNA and a 67 marker Y-chromosome test (Y-DNA67). I joined a surname project, which saved me money, but it still cost $271 (down from $349 without joining a group).

I'm supposed to receive the test in a week and the results within about seven weeks.