Thursday, July 12, 2012

MyGenShare.com Beta Test Experience


I've really enjoyed the privilege of being allowed to use MyGenshare site during beta testing . I've just scratched the surface in the past few days. I have spent many hours looking over a wealth of genealogy information shared here. This is certainly a very important site for beginners. It will provide them with a great reference library and how-to articles. I've been researching many years, and I've pretty much read every genealogy book available at the many libraries in my area. I still consider myself at an intermediate level, and continue to pursue further education. I have picked up many great tips this week at MyGenShare. It's been a very fruitful experience. The books and many referenced articles contain helpful advice on every aspect of research. They also contain inspirational articles. The genealogy humor book series "Collecting Dead Relatives" and "Further Undertakings of a Dead Relatives Collector" are at the site. I've read those books so many times and never get tired of them. There is also a genealogy search engine, and link directory which is very extensive.
Some of the notes I made while using the site:
  1. Found a query placed by a Forgey cousin of mine in the 1960's in Everton's Genealogy Helper.
  2. Discovered that Scots-Irish was seen as a derogatory term. Ulster Scot was the term preferred by Scots who settled in Northern Ireland.
  3. When my Ulster Scot ancestors came to America the ship likely only had an approximate date of departure, so they would sometimes spend an extended time living and working in the port town. Liverpool was sometimes a departure port for the Ulster Scots.
  4. Ulster Scots often came over in groups led by a local preacher (you can also sometimes determine a place of origin if you know the date of emigration based on emigration patterns).
  5. Local histories are also a great source for Ireland.
  6. A majority of the felons transported to Virginia were non violent criminals. The transportation of  criminals to the American South during the Colonial period gave the area a bad reputation. These people often served their sentences as slave labor on tobacco plantations.
  7. I found an article about someone with a similar background who had European ancestors who settled in Nicaragua. I believe some of my ancestors were Germans who settled in Nicaragua. I found the research as difficult as the person sharing their story in this article. Did get some good tips. I will try to get a baptismal certificate for my grandmother, if it has survived all the disasters? 
  8. I also was reminded that deeds can be filed well after a person in the deed's death. Someone found one filed 110 years later.
  9. In order to own a piece of property you had to be over 18 years old.
  10. A lease record my be the only way to find out more about the Forgey's in Ireland. These records can contain a significant amount of genealogy. More people leased land than owned land.
  11. Landlords' personal records are a great source for Irish research.
  12.  Talk to members of the local historical society where my ancestors lived. They are the most knowledgeable about local families.
  13.  Between 1922 and about 1940 a woman could lose her citizenship for marrying an alien.

2 comments:

Barry J. Ewell said...

I just wanted to say thank you for the kind words about MyGenshare.com.

Regards, Barry J. Ewell, founder of MyGenShare.com

Annette Kapple said...

You're welcome! Thank you very much for allowing me to test your great site!