A version of this article was presented at the 10th Annual Family History Technology Workshop (FHTW) held on April 28, 2010, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and also was published in the Workshop proceedings—Ed. A poignant film, the name of […]
Databases and Free-Text Searches: Some Advantages and Disadvantages
“Life is much richer than the structure of a database,” Jacek Leociak. In my capacity as deputy directory of Yad Vashem’s reference and information service, I observe that many genealogists do not realize that limiting their research to […]
A Secret Family History
Four generations, circa 1894. Clockwise from top, author’s grandmother Sylvia Fink (1891–1966); Sylvia’s grandmother, Mathilda Barmon Rosen (1842–1915), her great-grandmother Rebecca Goldman Barmon (1804–1896), and her mother, Yetta Rosen Fink (1867–1928). My father kept a cut-glass bourbon bottle on his […]
Photo Identification: The Process of Finding and Interpreting Clues in a Photograph
In an ideal world, a genealogist inherits the perfect family photograph—one in which relatives are thoughtfully posed in a well-lighted photography studio. The photograph had been passed down in pristine condition with the photographer’s imprint and logo clearly marked, and […]
Deep Linking and Deeper Linking: Getting the Most Out of Existing Search Applications
This article first appeared in APG Quarterly, the magazine of the Association of Professional Genealogists. My website at <http://stevemorse.org> consists of web-based tools that I’ve developed. Many of those tools use deep linking to allow you to search databases on […]
Finding the Genealogy Tree in the Sherwood Family Forest
The old saying goes “You cannot see the forest for the trees.” But for genealogists, the reverse is more likely. One finds genealogical material so overgrown with historical weeds that the tree must be uprooted in order to see its […]