Free International Research Group on Skype

We are excited to announce the creation of an online international research group sponsored by Rootsonomy, and we would like to invite you to join! This new community is called Rootsonomy Research Group and is being created to help you and others:

• Collaborate via instant messages on your family history research
• Ask questions of professional genealogists
• Share knowledge you have gained from your own research
• Learn from the experiences of others

Q: How do I join? 

It's a simple two-step process to join the Rootsonomy Research Group:

1. Download the Skype program at Skype.com and register for an account.
2. Send an e-mail to Rootsonomy@gmail.com requesting access.  Be sure to include your Skype username.

That's all you need to do.  It's that easy.

Q: What is Skype?

Skype is a leading chat program that allows interaction and communication between individuals or groups. You can learn more or download the software at Skype.com.

Q: What are the benefits of joining?

Joining the Rootsonomy Research Group will enable you to have your questions answered by a professional genealogist.  You will also be able to collaborate with other researchers.

Q: Will there be a cost to join?

You have hopefully noticed that Rootsonomy loves to help people.  One way we do this is by giving away as much as we can.  Membership in this group is free and you can come and go whenever you like.

Q: How does this group compare to other online communities?

Skype is a chat program that allows for more detailed communications and interaction between individuals or groups of users than what is provided by other social communities.  Unlike e-mail or Facebook, Skype allows groups to participate together in group discussions.  It also allows for sending documents that others can review in order to help evaluate records, and if desired, live video discussions or screen sharing are also enabled.

Q: Who will answer the questions I post?

Questions will be answered by the other members of the group.  Membership is open to everyone and includes the professional researchers who make up the Rootsonomy research firm. 

Q: What kind of questions will that person answer?  For example, will he or she tell me who my paternal great-great grandmother was?

Yes, if you provide sufficient information, it may be possible to get specific answers to your questions.  At a minimum, you will receive advice on how you can conduct the research to provide the answers you are seeking.

Q: What days of the week and hours of the day will this community be accessible?

You can post your questions at any time, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

Q: Who will moderate this group?

The primary moderator will be Jan Edwards, who achieved distinction as one of the leaders in launching the FamilySearch Skype research community and is one of the lead researchers for Rootsonomy.  Other members of Rootsonomy will also help monitor the discussions.

Viewing Restricted FamilySearch Collections

Magritte's "La Trahison des Images" ("The Treachery of Images") (1928-9) or "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" ("This is not a pipe").

René Magritte's message was that images do not convey the full sense of an object.  Observers are often fooled into thinking that a simulacrum is the real thing.

In the field of genealogy research, nothing can substitute for “the real thing”; i.e., the actual record, as opposed to an index or a transcription of a record.  The real thing contains the complete information that you need in order to identify an ancestor, locate his or her parents, and in general, make the connections you need to fill in those blanks on your family tree.

When presented with the opportunity to access the real thing, no one wants to be confronted with yet another obstacle to getting up-close and personal with that long-lost ancestor.  Yet that is happening with increasing frequency on the FamilySearch website, among others.

Many of the record collections in FamilySearch are restricted, and the number of restricted collections is increasing due to privacy laws, among other reasons. This blog explains your options for viewing a particular document you have located through FamilySearch but which has restrictions placed on it. 

For example, recently FamilySearch teamed up with FindMyPast to create the Ireland, Landed Estate Court Files, 1850–1885:

https://familyshttps://familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1804886earch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1804886

This searchable collection contains 682,055 Irish land-occupation records from the nineteenth century. These records include details on bankrupt estates as well as on landowners and tenants from all counties in Ireland.

However, when you try to display any of the actual records, the following message appears:

Unfortunately, FamilySearch has limited access to these records.  This could be for numerous reasons, including the archive's request, copyright laws, or the fact that FamilySearch purchased only limited access rights.

In order to view the image, you have the following options:

• Go to an LDS FamilySearch Center or other LDS-affiliated institution (such as the Family History Library or Brigham Young University). To find the LDS FamilySearch Center closest to you, go to:  https://www.familysearch.org/locations

• Go to the pay-to-view site FindMyPast: http://www.findmypast.ie/

• Submit a request for a lookup by the research firm Rootsonomy.  Facebook users can submit a request by going to: www.fb.com/RootsonomyGenealogy and clicking the button "Request Research or a Lookup".  All other users can submit requests at: http://goo.gl/MlzYC 

Here is another example of a restricted collection.  This time, let's suppose you want to access the book entitled, History of the Jacob Bastian family: histories, pictures and genealogy of Jacob Bastian, his four wives and their children.  Using the FamilySearch catalog (familysearch.org/#form=catalog OR familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlc/), you learn that the book is online at:

https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/show?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fcatalog-search-api%3A8080%2Fwww-catalogapi-webservice%2Fitem%2F1335473

Clicking this link displays the following screen:

However, when you click "here" as directed, the following error message is displayed:

Once again, FamilySearch has limited access to this book.  This might be due to the author's request, copyright laws, or any number of other reasons.  To view a specific page from the book, you have the following options:

• Go to an LDS FamilySearch Center or other LDS-affiliated institution.

• Submit a request for a lookup by the research firm Rootsonomy.

The next time you are unable to view a record, whether because it is not online or viewing is restricted in some way, don’t settle for a mere representation or summarized version of it.  Remember that Rootsonomy provides free lookups and will send you the desired record via email usually within 72 hours of receiving your lookup request.  We are dedicated to helping you overcome those viewing restrictions and providing the most accurate and complete picture of your family’s past.

Why Give Away Free Research?

As a result of our new partnership with the research firm History & Heritage, we now offer three FREE services:

• Lokups of Family History Library records
• Research of your Civil War ancestors
• Photo age determination

This blog examines the reasons behind offering free Civil War research.


It seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? We do research for a living. We get paid to find family members, create family trees, and build the document sets necessary to provide a firm genealogical foundation. So w

hy in the world would we offer to do free Civil War research for total strangers?

The answer is simple. We love this era: the sacrifices these men (and women) made, the idealism on both sides that propelled them into America’s bloodiest conflict ever, the honor that meant a man’s word was worth something, the honest public soul-searching and moral wrestling that we did as a nation when it came to matters of color and conscience and race and right and wrong.

My family is heavily involved in Civil War reenactment. I have been participating in it for nearly 20 years. And although my experiences are, for the most part, “pretend,” they can seem very real to me. I have written letters of daily happenings at home in an effort to maintain the bond with my beloved who is far off and fighting his own countrymen. In a way, I have experienced the death of my sons on the battlefield, and I have watched my husband breathe his last breath with his blood dripping from my hands while an exhausted surgeon turns wearily to the next patient.

I have many soldier ancestors from the Civil War and they were a mixed bag of individuals. Infantry and cavalry. Wounded. Promoted. Deserted. At least two suffered from what they called “Soldier’s Heart,” their quaint way of discussing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

As we spend time learning about the battles in which my ancestors fought, the lives they lived, the food they ate, the clothes they wore, and the families they left behind worrying and waiting, we find these men more and more fascinating. They become real people. Not just a name, or a photograph, but a real member of our families. Someone we care about. Someone we would have liked to have talked to and really gotten to know.

Re-enacting this turning point in our nation’s history is one way to honor these men: our ancestors and their compatriots. By presenting their lives on a stage we do our part to make sure they are not forgotten, that their sacrifices are respected, and that their memories are honored.

What does this have to do with offering free research? We think you already know. We want everyone to take the time to learn about their Civil War ancestors. We want you to discover your ancestor’s life and try to understand it. Where did he live? Where did he fight? Was he a prisoner? Did he get wounded? Why did he fight? Who did he fight alongside? Who was this man?

And so we offer some free research about your Civil War ancestor. We hope to pique your curiosity. We want you to become interested enough to do your own research (or hire us!). Maybe you will discover some things about your family you never knew. And in the process of learning his story (or their stories!) you will be honoring and remembering those men and their lives.

Giving away our time for free might seem a bit foolish. In business, time is money. Each Civil War ancestor we research for free is an hour of “billable” time we lose. Each of the mini-reports we prepare takes an hour (or more) to complete.

Once we get your request, we search a variety of websites and data bases to find digital or transcribed copies of military and/or pension records. We never know what is out there, so we never know what we will find. Some states have every page digitally recorded and online. Others simply have a transcribed list of names and units.

Of course there are always multiple men with the same name, occasionally from the same state, and sometimes even from the same regiment or company. So we spend time sorting through multiples of John Jameses from Pennsylvania. At times the names are misspelled or a middle name is used as a given name or a middle name is different from what we thought it was. It’s all a part of good, old-fashioned genealogical research: pay attention to the details, take good notes, and document your sources.

Once we locate the Civil War ancestor and his unit, our next task is to read through the records. This sounds easy, but can be quite time-consuming. The handwriting isn’t always legible, and there are random abbreviations and archaic words to puzzle through.

Next, we search out his military unit—when or where were they formed? where did they fight? were they involved in any famous or infamous battles? did their company suffer any heavy casualties?

Finally, we make some comparisons to today or look for interesting facts or tidbits to pass along to your family members. We choose a document (or two) to include, write up the mini-report, and email it to you.

All of the research and writing, detective work and winnowing is done for free so you can learn about your Civil War ancestor and, hopefully, keep his memory alive.

We hope that some of these hours of free genealogical work we give away lead to paid projects. We need paying clients and/or donations to support the work we do for free.

We are confident that regardless of whether you satisfy your hunger for more in-depth knowledge about your Civil War ancestor by becoming a paying client, you will appreciate learning whatever you can about your Civil War ancestors. Why not avail yourself of this opportunity?

Trust us—the more you learn about them, the more you will learn about yourself.

Kate Eakman

Owner, History and Heritage

https://www.facebook.com/HeritageNFamily

Family History Firms Partner to Enhance Research Services

Rootsonomy and History & Heritage Announce Joint Partnership

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah and GRESHAM, Oregon — 12 December 2012 — In a move designed to capitalize on their diverse skills and their specialized knowledge, while continuing to offer their clients the highest-quality family research without the assembly-line feel, locally-owned and operated Rootsonomy of Salt Lake City, Utah and History & Heritage of Gresham, Oregon announced today a partnership between their two companies.

Rootsonomy, with its history of providing North American and European research is expanding its client offerings to include specialized Civil War research. Rootsonomy is also well-known for offering free look-ups of records from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City,

History & Heritage is staffed by Civil War and military historians with access to experts in related fields. Both firms offer one hour of free genealogical research to assist those stumped by brick walls. 

“This partnership is simply a leveraging of each other’s strengths. Living and working here in Salt Lake City gives my research team access to the Family History Library with all of its resources, something that not every genealogical firm can offer. Kate Eakman [owner of History & Heritage] has been invaluable to assisting Rootsonomy. I believe that our two companies together will be stronger than either of us alone. It’s the principle of synergy at work,” explained Jim Heddell, owner and president of Rootsonomy.

“With thousands of professional genealogists in the U.S. competing with each other plus the big-box firms out there trying to corner the market, Jim and I believe that our combined talents and areas of expertise will make us more attractive and competitive, while maintaining the personal element that is important to us both. We retain our individual companies, but we will be working together, sharing resources and knowledge, in this specific area,” added Kate.

Clients of Rootsonomy and History & Heritage will notice a few visible changes, such as the addition of the partner company’s logo on websites and social media pages, but the biggest changes, the additional resources and expertise, will be evident in the broader and deeper scope of the two companies’ offerings . “We are the same, only better,” stated Jim.

Those interested specifically in learning about their Civil War ancestors or about their ancestors who served in any of the wars will find that this new partnership provides Rootsonomy with access to experts in areas such as military history, medicine of the Civil War, clothing and fashion of the Victorian era, and more.

Clients of History & Heritage will benefit from the partnership with Rootsonomy in that they will now have unlimited access to documents found only in the famous Family History Library without the need for lengthy delays while records are researched and mailed from Salt Lake City.

Neither Rootsonomy nor History & Heritage will experience any layoffs of researchers.  Both companies will remain independently owned and operated.

About Rootsonomy

Rootsonomy is a family history research firm that specializes in foundation building, lineage extension, and both online and archival lookups. You can find Rootsonomy at http://www.rootsonomy.com/, https://www.facebook.com/RootsonomyGenealogy, and https://twitter.com/rootsonomy.

About History & Heritage LLC

History & Heritage is a family history research company that specializes in narrative histories, particularly those of Civil War soldiers, both Union and Confederate. You can find History & Heritage at http://www.historyandheritage.co/, https://www.facebook.com/HeritageNFamily, and https://twitter.com/HeritageNFamily.

###

For more information, call either Jim Heddell at 510.517.0924 or email him at rootsonomy@gmail.com or call Kate Eakman at 503.737.9557 or email her at kate@historyandheritage.co.

Anatomy of a Social Security Number

By knowing just the first three digits of someone's SSN, you can correctly guess their birth state.  The nine-digit SSN has been used since 1936 to track a person's wages for the purpose of accruing benefits with the Social Security Administration.  The SSN has 3 sections.

Area Numbers

The first three digits of the SSN are called the area numbers.  This is because they originally corresponded to the state that a person lived in at the time they were issued their SSN.

Beginning in 1972, the area numbers began being assigned based upon the zip code in the mail address to which the individual requested his or her card to be sent.  Thus, it is possible for someone to reside in one state but ask that the card be returned to another states, thus rendering the area number less than area specific.

(Click the following image to enlarge it.)

Group Numbers

Digits four and five in the SSN are referred to as group numbers.  They identify the block of numbers currently being issued.  As an example, the SSNs 123-01-0001 through 123-01-999 would all be issued before moving on to the next group number.

Serial Numbers

Digits six through nine are known as serial numbers.  They are issued consecutively from 0001 to 9999.

By dissecting someone's SSN you can learn the state in which they lived when they applied for the number for those SSNs issued prior to 1972 and the state noted in the return address for those applied for after 1972.

In some cases, letters may appear after a social security number .  For example, I have a California death certificate that reports a social security number with  an "A" appended to the end of the number.  For example: "000-00-0000A." 

The Social Security number followed by one of these codes is often referred to as a claim number.  The SSA assigns these codes once someone applies for benefits.  These letter codes may appear on correspondence from Social Security or on a Medicare card.  They will never appear on a Social Security card.

For example, if the wage earner applying for benefits and your number is 123-45-6789, then their claim number is 123-45-6789A. This number is also be used as their  Medicare claim number, once they become eligible for Medicare. 

Code	Identification
A	Primary claimant (wage earner)
B	Aged wife, age 62 or over
B1	Aged husband, age 62 or over
B2	Young wife, with a child in her care
B3	Aged wife, age 62 or over, second claimant
B5	Young wife, with a child in her care, second claimant
B6	Divorced wife, age 62 or over
BY	Young husband, with a child in his care
C1-C9	Child - Includes minor, student or disabled child
D	Aged Widow, age 60 or over
D1	Aged widower, age 60 or over
D2	Aged widow (2nd claimant)
D3	Aged widower (2nd claimant)
D6	Surviving Divorced Wife,  age 60 or over
E	Widowed Mother
E1	Surviving Divorced Mother
E4	Widowed Father
E5	Surviving Divorced Father
F1	Parent (Father)
F2	Parent (Mother)
F3	Stepfather
F4	Stepmother
F5	Adopting Father
F6	Adopting Mother
HA	Disabled claimant (wage earner)
HB	Aged wife of disabled claimant, age 62 or over
M	Uninsured – Premium Health Insurance Benefits (Part A)
M1	Uninsured - Qualified for but refused Health Insurance Benefits (Part A)
T	Uninsured - Entitled to HIB (Part A) under deemed or renal provisions; or Fully insured who have elected entitlement only to HIB
TA	Medicare Qualified Government Employment (MQGE)
TB	MQGE aged spouse
W	Disabled Widow
W1	Disabled Widower
W6	Disabled Surviving Divorced Wife

NOTE: This list is not complete, but shows the most common beneficiary codes.

Content for this article is from CR80News Fall 2008 and from the Social Security Administration.