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April 04, 2002
See Rhonda's Previous
Columns
How
to Hire a Professional
Q:
We have been searching for a first cousin for years. Her last known place of
residence is Yonkers, in the mid-late 1940s. We know her birth date and birthplace,
full maiden name, and that she married in the late 1940's. We keep hitting brick
walls in our search and have decided that using the services of a professional
genealogist in Yonkers would be wise; we are in Northern California. Any recommendations
or names of individuals who might be amenable to doing a Yonkers mid-20th century
search would be greatly appreciated. -- Maira
A:
I would encourage you, and anyone else who is thinking of hiring a professional
genealogist, to turn to one of two professional associations: the Association
of Professional Genealogists (APG) and the Board for Certification of Genealogists
(BCG). Both of these organizations exist so that there is a quality and ethics
in the professional genealogy community.
The Association of Professional Genealogists
maintain a searchable database of its members. You can search by the professional's
residence or by their area of interest. In this case, I would suggest that you
run both types of searches just to make sure you find all researchers who may
be available. You may want to find a professional who specializes in 20th century
research.
While you are at APG's site, be sure to check out their informative pages devoted
to hiring a professional. The guide brings up a number of important issues that
many of us do not think about before hiring a genealogist. You might want to
print out the information so that you can refer back to it whenever you need
it.
The Board for Certification of Genealogists
is a professional body intent on ensuring that ethics and quality be maintained
in genealogical research. Those who have passed the rigorous test can be proud
of the accomplishment. As a potential client, you can rest assured that these
individuals are the highest caliber of researcher you'll find.
By contracting with researchers you find through the APG or the BCG , you can
have a certain element of confidence in the person you are hiring. Both groups
take ethics in research and in professionalism seriously. Should you be dissatisfied
with the work done by a member of these organizations, you'll have options to
help in rectifying the situation. I know that I would not hire a professional
that did not have an association with at least one of these groups.
Tracing
an Emigrant
Q:
I have been trying to trace a great-great aunt who went to United States in
1924 to join a son, living on 185th Street in New York. Her name was Catherine
McEntee and his name was James McEntee. We believe there may have been a John
there too. I have reached a dead end. This was my great-great grandmother's
sister and she used to say to me "Our Kate went to America and we never
heard from her again." I would like to find out just what did happen to
her. Don't think she would have had a social security number since she was 61
when she went to America. So far, I've been able to find her on an Ellis Island
passenger list. -- Panchoshel
A:
If you have found record of her on Ellis Island's site then you have a lot of
information about her and where she went to stay. Perhaps that is where you
got the information you shared with me in your message.
The passenger list would have told you where she was going and who she was
meeting, among many other things. While the passenger list told you where she
was going, it did not tell you what happened to her after she got there.
Of particular interest in her case were the notations made on the second page
of the S.S. Celtic's passenger list. While she stated she was going to join
her "Mr. McEntee, 421 East 85th Street" you will want to notice the
handwritten notation of "2 sons & 1 daugh." Also, written across
columns 21 through 27, you will find "Cert 5772 Senility." Intrigued
by this, I took a look the two special forms (one for those detained and another
for aliens held for special inquiry) at the end of the passenger list for her
ship. The Wilde family listed above her on the passenger list were shown to
have been sent to the hospital and they show up on the list of those aliens
held for special inquiry (they were eventually admitted into the country). I
thought perhaps a clue to her certificate might be found in these forms, but
there was nothing. However, it is something that might be worth following up
on.
When working in New York, you'll find that some records are easily accessible
while others don't make research easy for you. If you haven't visited your local
Family History Center, you may want to. Through them you have access to the
vast holdings of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
There is an index to New York death records that goes up through 1965 that
may help you determine when your great-great-aunt died. If you find her in the
index, you could then request a copy of the death certificate which would tell
you her last residence and would let you know how she died. Since she was already
61 when she arrived in 1924, you may be able to order a microfilm of the death
record after you find her in the index. Some of the boroughs have death certificates
on microfilm up into the 1940s available through the Family History Library.
Another record that may be useful is the just released 1930 census. Many genealogists
all over have been patiently waiting for the release of the 1930 United States
Federal Census. Because of a privacy law that protects these records from being
viewed for 72 years, the 1920 has been the most recent since its release in
1992. However on Monday, April 1, the 1930 was released. It will take a little
while for the films to make their way to local repositories and be catalogued,
though. A colleague of mine who is the manager of the genealogy section of his
public library estimated that you can expect to find the 1930 census in your
local genealogy section by mid-May.
If she was still living in 1930, she would have been enumerated in this census.
Unfortunately, the 1930 census is not indexed for the state of New York. Only
12 southern states were indexed, using the Soundex method. For those of us researching
in the other states, we must locate our ancestor through other means, relying
on the geography of the area. City directories, which are available on microfilm
for New York City up to about 1935, are an excellent way to determine where
in the city she was living. For more on this method of tracking someone in the
census using the city directory, you may want to read Federal
Census County Index in USA and There
May Be More than One Way
Updating
My Online Tree
Q:
I have all of my family data online. However, I am coming across new data all
of the time. How can I change the information that I have online? I do not understand
the process for editing and changing the information on the people in my tree
online. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated. -- Nancy
A:
The information you have posted to the Internet, is available on the User
Home Pages section of Family Tree Maker's site. Since you created the page
using Family Tree Maker, everything was done from within the program itself
when you initially uploaded it.
Now, to update the site, you will need to investigate the "Edit Your Page"
link that appears at the top of your site. By putting in your user name and
password, you can make changes to your pages.
Once in the Edit section, you will notice that you can select certain trees and other items on the site. Select those that you want to update. You will then need to delete them from your site. You should see the delete option on the page you are working in.
Once you have deleted the reports in question, you can then regenerate them
in Family Tree Maker and post them to your site. Then, your site will incorporate
your latest family history discoveries. To update your site again later, just
follow these steps again.
Rhonda R. McClure is a professional genealogist specializing in celebrity trees
and computerized genealogy. She has been involved in online genealogy for fifteen
years. She is the author of the award-winning The
Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy, now in its second edition.
She is the author of four how-to guides on Family
Tree Maker. In late 2001, she wrote The
Genealogist's Computer Companion. She is a contributing editor to Biography
Magazine with her "Celebrity Roots" column and a contributing writer
to The History Channel Magazine. Her latest book is Finding
Your Famous and Infamous Ancestors. She may be contacted at rhondagen@thegenealogist.com.
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