Family Tree Magazine article: “How to Find Your Ancestors in the 1940 Census”

I haven’t been able to access any images at the “official” site (1940census.archive.gov). Needless to say it has been overloaded with people trying to access all of the states. Ancestry.com has done a great job of putting states on-line rapidly (for free I might add). I am bit disappointed that thus far the only southern state uploaded at Ancestry.com is Virginia. I was able to search Indiana and Pennsylvania on my husband’s line though.

Family Tree Magazine has a good article with links to several resources to get “up to speed” on the 1940 census.

http://familytreemagazine.com/info/1940census?et_mid=547367&rid=2653190

Enjoy!

Melissa
President, Birmingham Genealogical Society

BGS Meeting — March 24, 2012 — Counterfeiters in Alabama

The Birmingham Genealogical Society meets the fourth Saturday of each month (ex. Nov. & Dec.) at the Downtown Birmingham Public Library. Guests are always welcome!

Next meeting: Saturday, March 24th at 2 p.m.; Board Meeting at 1:15 p.m.

Meeting Room: Arrington Auditorium, 4th Floor, Linn-Henley Building

Speaker:  Miriam Fowler

Program Topic: Counterfeiters in Alabama

Many early Alabama settlers were running from something in a checkered past looking for a new start. When Tom Davis arrived in Alabama he was not looking to change his ways but he was running from the law in Georgia. He had broken jail in 1816 in Warren County after being arrested for passing counterfeit money and found refuge in Brown’s Valley in Blount County among the renegade Creeks, Cherokees and white outlaws hiding from the law. From newspaper accounts giving warnings of the circulation of bogus money, it is believed that Davis worked his counterfeit gang all up and down the East Coast in the early 1800s. By his own words, “he had been 38 years engaged in that business during which time he had made from $600,000 to $1,000,000.” Some of the men associated with him and Alabama may have been involved in other places as well, but maybe seem to have been a personal charisma that drew to him all that had a bent for larceny. So it was not difficult to find men to help him operate his counterfeiting ring in Alabama. Please join us as Miriam Fowler presents “Counterfeiters in Alabama.”

AGS Spring Seminar March 31, 2012

From our friends at the Alabama Genealogical Society:

LAST CHANCE TO PRE-REGISTER

The Alabama Genealogical Society Spring 2012 Seminar

DATA MINING THE RECORDS
Using Tax Lists to Solve Genealogical Problems
U. S. Territorial Papers, 1789-1873
Estate Records: More Than Just Wills
More Than Land Descriptions: Treasures Among the Deeds

Presented by Linda Woodward Geiger

Saturday March 31, 2012
Brock Forum Auditorium Dwight Beeson Business Building
Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama

To reserve a seminar packet your registration must be received by March 24. Use the link below for more information and a registration form.

http://algensoc.org/main/seminarFlyer.pdf

BPL Southern History Dept: Beyond the Basics of Genealogy 2012 is here!!

From our friends in the Southern History Department at the Birmingham Public Library:

Thank you for showing interest in our Beyond the Basics of Genealogy class
series. We have announced the classes for 2012.

See http://www.bplonline.org/about/press/Default.aspx?id=372 for more
details.

Take a look and register for the ones that look interesting. Space is
limited to the first 16, and they will go quickly!

Southern History Department
Birmingham Public Library

March 11, 2012 — BAAGSG Meeting — Researching African American Genealogy in Alabama

The Birmingham African-American Genealogy Study Group (BAAGSG) meets the second Sunday of each month (ex. May and November) in the Arrington Auditorium at the Downtown Birmingham Public Library. Guests are welcome!

Next meeting: Sunday, March 11, 2012, 3 p.m.

Program Topic: Researching African American Genealogy in Alabama

Instructor: Donald Debrow

Details: Josephine Martin (205-901-6387) or contact us via e-mail

The program will be an introduction and analysis of the resource guide by Frazine Taylor.

Please come and bring interested historian or genealogist with you. This will be our first official class this year. Come with your list of un-answered questions, be ready to take notes and have you pedigree charts on hand.   If you do not have one, we will be happy to provide one for you.

BGS Meeting — February 25, 2012 — Compiling Your Family History for Publication

The Birmingham Genealogical Society meets the fourth Saturday of each month (ex. Nov. & Dec.) at the Downtown Birmingham Public Library. Guests are always welcome!

Next meeting: Saturday, February 25th at 2 p.m.; Board Meeting at 1:15 p.m.

Meeting Room: Arrington Auditorium, 3rd Floor, Linn-Henley Building

Speaker:  Mary Taylor, Past-President of BGS

Program Topic: Compiling Your Family History for Publication

Whether you have researched your family tree for 1 month or 10 years, we all face the same challenge: what to do with all the information we have collected.  Mary’s rich background experience in genealogical research will enable her to share valuable tips on how to organize and publish all the work you have gathered.

NOTE:  Please note with this month’s meeting, we resume meeting in the Arrington Auditorium.

Save the SSDI – Sign the Stop ID Theft NOW! Petition

From our friends at the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS):

Call to Action – Help Save the
Social Security Death Index

Your help is needed in our Stop ID Theft NOW! campaign and our efforts to preserve the Social Security Death Index as an accessible record set for genealogists and family historians.

What you can do:

1. Learn more at the SSDI FAQ here.
2. Sign the We The People petition at http://wh.gov/khE.
3. Spread the word , especially to your genealogy society members and colleagues. Forward this email to them or send them the SSDI petition press release – download it here.

Our goal is to get as many signatures, as quickly as possible, so that the solutions to fraudulent tax refund claims based upon identity theft from recently deceased infants & adults can be taken seriously and implemented immediately. Doing so will help us ensure that the SSDI is available to not just genealogists, but all researchers and information professionals who rely upon its contents.

Thank you!

Note: click here for step-by-step instructions on using the We The People site to sign the petition. Some users have reported issues with creating an account and signing the petition.

Do not let technical difficulties keep you from signing! Contact petition@fgs.org if you encounter problems – we’re here to help!
Follow all the latest SSDI and other records access news
at the RPAC blog at .

Genealogy Database Heritage Quest Discontinued as Countywide Library Service

JCLC donations to retain the Heritage Quest databases fell drastically short of the dollars needed to renew the subscription.

We understand from the JCLC that the libraries in Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Hoover and Homewood have renewed their local licenses and Jefferson County library cardholders will be able to access HQ at these physical locations. Remote access will be limited to cardholders who live in these cities. For cardholders in the city of Birmingham, the Birmingham Public Library will continue to offer Ancestry.com Library Edition on-site as well.

Read the full article posted today on the Birmingham Public Library blog:

http://bplolinenews.blogspot.com/2012/02/genealogy-database-heritage-quest.html