Pikes Peak Computer Genealogists

What's New

Helpful Genealogy Files

Pioneers to the Pikes Peak Region (PDF)

Oldest Document of El Paso County (PDF)

Gazette, July 3 & 4, 1903 - Rensselaer Smith, Colorado City (PDF)

The posting of meeting notes for 2007 has been temporarily suspended. However, we continue to have many interesting topics and ideas shared at all of our meetings!

January 18, 2006 - PPCG Meeting - 11:00 am
Host: Ronnie B. (Thank you!)

- Ben is collecting membership dues for 2006; $10.00 per family per year.
- The vote was unanimous to donate $200.00 to the Special Collections department of PPLD to go toward a Virtual Jukebox to be used for more efficient public use of genealogy CDs within the library.
- 160 GB USB port external hard drives are on sale this week; you can buy it with a separate storage case for about $160.00. Great for storing photographs or for using as a backup
- Scanners - Epson and HP seem to be moving toward archival quality with newer lines of ink; suggestion to be careful to use the paper brand recommended for your printer when printing photographs.
- Google Earth was suggested as a fun and useful download for aerial photographs/mapping; not all areas are covered, however. Google also has many other helpful search tools free to download and use.
- A ream of paper was donated by Nelson for PPCG meeting printouts.
- Chuck suggested members share the titles of genealogy books and CDs they own with him, he is making a list, for helpful genealogy lookups (like in "Books We Own" on the web).
- Civil War Draft Registration cards are at the National Archives in hard copy - they were never filmed.

February 15, 2006 - PPCG Meeting - 11:00 am
Host: Marilynn D. (Thank you!)

- Ben is still collecting membership dues.
- Microsoft Windows XP will be replaced with a new operating system by Dec. 2006 currently called "Longhorn." It will have new anti-virus and security features.
- The recent PBS program "African American Lives" - a 2 part series which features a study of Oprah Winfrey's heritage - aired recently and was very interesting. The program focused on people's DNA in relation to race and world origin; it was suggested to try to watch the program when it is rebroadcast.
- Linkpendium is a helpful online directory of genealogy websites.
- "Family Chronicle" magazine will be publishing an additional new magazine called "Internet Genealogy." "Heritage Quest" magazine is being discontinued. Also, this week's issue of "Newsweek" has an interesting article about gen. DNA.
- Ancestry.com moved Canadian records into the "International" category, thus changing its accessibility. Ancestry subscriptions must now include the "International" category to gain access. Ancestry.com one-year subscriptions are $300.00 for a comprehensive package. The "International" category may expand this year to include French and Italian records. The Pikes Peak Library District provides free access to Ancestry Library Edition within the library branches and it has many Canadian databases.
- World War II Army Enlistment Records Index is available at the NARA website.
- Jackie shared more information about genographic studies/tests through National Geographic, which has provided positive results in her genealogy research. She also brought samples of the new ancestor totebags she designed and had printed; they are very impressive and cost an average of $20.00 each to produce when ordering a set amount at one time.
- Chuck suggests members share the titles of genealogy books and CDs they own with him, he is still making a list, for helpful genealogy lookups (like in "Books We Own" on the web).
- The genealogy handouts featured a list of websites that are helpful in finding missing relatives who may be living. If you are a member or visitor who did not receive it and would like to, just ask Emily and it can be emailed to you.

March 15, 2006 - PPCG Meeting - 11:00 am
Host: Helen R. (Thank you!)

- The green Saint Patrick's Day deviled eggs were really great!!
- Chuck announced he has Volumes 1 - 37 of Family Tree Maker CD's and he would be able to access them for member genealogy queries. He reminded members to try to submit lists to him of genealogy CDs/Genealogy books that they own for sharing genealogy information when requested.
- Ancestry Library Edition (A.L.E.) is available at PPLD branches including Special Collections downtown. ALE differs in content from Ancestry.com, but is still comprehensive and helpful. There is a notebook at the Special Collections genealogy desk that contains current lists of ALE databases under various genealogy categories. Suggestion - sometimes it's helpful to start your genealogy database searches with less information and then build upon it with more, gradually. Some letters are confused with others by transcribers when a document is hard to read: confused letters include: L-S; T-F; J,G, and Y; I-J; K-R; O-Q; P-R; U-W; so take into account such possible variations when typing in your search. Also, when having difficulty with a family branch try looking into their neighbors for clues.
- Jackie now has lovely blank genealogy tote bags that you can customize yourself available for sale @ $15.00 each. The two she brought were sold right away, so if you would like one click here and she will receive your request. Archival pens such as Micron 5 work well. Archive pens are available at local hobby/craft stores. Do not use permanent markers as they blur on the fabric after being washed.
- Genograms were discussed in depth. Members have submitted DNA for genographic reports through the National Geographic study. Helpful hint - Google your genographic number(s) to find other matches quickly on the Internet. Also, the March, 2006 issue of National Geographic is featuring an article about DNA genographic studies - "The Greatest Journey" on p. 61. Family Chronicle magazine also has an article "Exploring Your Family Tree with DNA" - Jan/Feb 2006, page 11.
- A new website free to search by the public until May 31, 2006 is at archivegrid.org. It is similar to NUCMC (National Union Catalog) containing thousands of descriptions of archival collections located at many U.S. libraries, museums and archives.
- Internet Genealogy Magazine is a new subscription magazine from the publishers of Family Chronicle and History Magazine. We were able to review this at the meeting and there were several interesting articles.
- Blacks Law Dictionary covering publications 1891/1910 is available on CD from archivecdbooksusa.com
- Helen suggested she can email members as an additional reminder for upcoming PPCG meetings.

April 19, 2006 - PPCG Meeting - 11:00 am
Host: Emily A. (Thank you!)

- Reminder - The next meeting in May meets at 9:00 am! (May through September the meetings begin at 9:00 am.)

- New book suggestion: America's Women: 400 years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates & Heroines by Gail Collins, $14.95.

New websites:
- London Signatures from the London Metropolitan Archives provides a free index of 10,000 will from the court of Middlesex online. You can also download a digital copy of a will directly from the website for $6.75.

- Missouri is digitizing their death certificates and making them available as free downloads online. The index covers 1910-1955, and the images are 1910 thru 1920. Pre 1910 birth index is also available there. The web address is: http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/birthdeath/.

- Genetic Genealogy links are at. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3038411.

- United Kingdom Scottish Ports of Embarkations, 1890-1960 is free to search by clicking on the search tab at top bar of page. Also, the United Kingdom GenWeb is compiling an all-in-one free census database 1841-1891 at http://freecen.rootsweb.com/.

- West Virginia death index 1915-1955: http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_select.aspx.

Other news:
- Colorado Senator, Tim Isgar, is sponsoring a bill to permanently close all Colorado marriage license applications (CO #B1357). A compromise has been reached that opens marriage applications after 50 years; if the marriage record affected is less than 50 years old the district court would consider opening the sealed marriages on a case by case basis. Marriages before 1956 would remain open. The bill still has not passed.

- Jackie has written a family history article regarding her Quebec family that was recently published - "Des Grandbois du North Dakota" in Le Cageux SHGSC 2006 Vol. 9 #1.

- Computer printing on fabric was discussed - the fabric is attached to an 8 1/2 X 11 piece of paper; print from an ink jet printer, iron to set the print, peel off the paper backing - samples from junetailor.com were presented - they are also available at local craft supply chain stores. Suggested there is also a chemical solution you can purchase, soak the fabric in it to get the same results.

- For faded vegetable ink - suggested there is an acid spray you can buy; when used in conjunction with a black light the faded ink will be enhanced and more readable.

May 17, 2006 - PPCG Meeting - 9:00 am
Host: Beverly H. (Thank you!)

- New link suggestion - http://www.city-data.com/ - contains links of local information for cities and towns in the U.S. - arranged by state and then locality name.

- Ben reminded us that the "Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to American Colonies" is now available in the genealogy section of the downtown Carnegie library - 929.720973 R

June 21, 2006 - PPCG Meeting - 9:00 am
Host: Jeanne S. (Thank you!)

Meeting held. Nothing new to report.

July 19, 2006 - PPCG Meeting - 9:00 am
Host: Jan K. (Thank you!)

- The website http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/ now has included pre-1908 Ohio land records. The site is free to search.

- Irish Historic Maps are available at http://www.irishhistoricmaps.ie/historic/. However, this is a fee-based website.

- Family Relatives.org is also a fee based website for United Kingdom records - however, they have many databases free to search as well. You must register to use the website. Registration is free. https://www.familyrelatives.org/treequest/jsp/customer/index.jsp

- The Canon City Territorial Prison Museum http://www.prisonmuseum.org/ should have old prisoner records for that location. The Colorado State Archives has prisoner records also, with an index online. Colorado State Archives: http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/pen/history.htm

- Information about the Homestead Act is available at the National Park Service website http://www.nps.gov/home/homestead_act.html

- Preserving Books, Documents, and Papers is a helpful link at the Kansas State Historical Society - http://www.kshs.org/preserve/documents/preservepaper.htm

August 16, 2006 - PPCG Meeting - 9:00 am
Host: Harvey & Barbara (Thank you!)

Meeting held. Nothing new to report.

September 20, 2006 - PPCG Meeting - 9:00 am
Host: Lucy (Thank you!)

- Reminder - Our October meeting will start at 11:00 am - winter hours!

- Map My Family Tree is $50 and a $10 rebate is still currently offered. It "automatically geocodes your family tree in seconds so that you can see where your ancestors were born, married & died." There are additional spell check features and there is a demonstration at their website, also: http://www.progenygenealogy.com/map-my-family-tree.html

- FTM (Family Tree Maker)Version 16 is available for $39.95; it has GenSmarts and other features. Also, it was noted that Master Genealogist may be challenging to get used to but it has more flexibility with designing reports.

- Genealogy software reviews, or "report cards" can be found at http://www.mumford.ca/reportcard/