Somehow I am on a Texas jag this month, because my newest find is The Portal to Texas History, maintained by University of North Texas. I want to share a link to Dick Eastman’s blog about the site so you can see what he has to say about it and check it out. Enjoy!
Category: Websites
Update on the “Sheriff’s” badge mystery, and more on the Texas Rangers
I posted a blog recently about a photo of my great-grandfather, Jack Gooch, and the mysterious “sheriff’s” badge he was sporting.
One reader suggested it might be a Texas Ranger badge, so I looked up the history of Texas Rangers and found some interesting resources for this unique segment of law enforcement.
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum exists in Waco, Texas.
It has a number of online resources plus a research service. Some of the interesting links on the site are oral histories, links to e-books, and “A Short Course on Fantasy, Replica, and Toy Texas Ranger Badges,” among others.
The Armstrong Texas Ranger Research Center, a is an excellent starting place if you are trying to identify an ancestor as an early Texas Ranger. You can schedule an on-site visit for individual help, or download a research request form for long-distance help. I was prepared to do this before I looked at the short course on Ranger Badges. I found an image of one that could possibly match Jack’s, and decided to scan my photo at a much higher resolution to see if I could identify the words on the badge.
Do you see what I see? The image is reversed. This means the photo I have was developed reversed, because I scanned it as it was originally found, encased in a cardboard frame. And can you determine what it says? After adjusting the colors and contrast I believe it says, “Private Detective.”
Well, well, whaddyaknow? It is not a sheriff’s badge or even a Texas Ranger badge. It is, in fact, a genealogist’s badge! >wink<
“Bloomers and Beyond: A History of Underwear” and other awesome podcasts
I am happy to share my newest discovery with you…the “Stuff You Missed in History Class” podcast.
It is soooo fun and interesting you simply must check it out! I only happened across it yesterday and already have listened to “5 Historical Hoaxes”, “Ned Kelly’s Last Stand”, “Okichi the Tragic Geisha”, and “The Big Stink of 1858”. There are so many more I can hardly wait to listen to. Good thing I spend so much time in my car!
Each episode explores a fascinating story from history, researched by hosts Katie and Sarah. I appreciate their scholarly approach to historical research, and I also appreciate their wit and their “Get a load of this!” delivery. I have learned a lot of interesting history in the process, because they talk about these stories in context of the bigger historical picture.
If you are wondering what a podcast is, it is a kind of broadcast over the internet that you can download and listen to at your convenience. You can subscribe to a particular podcast and have episodes delivered to your listening device (phone, ipad, computer) automatically. Then when you are on the treadmill and are tired of watching Dr. Oz at the gym, just plug some headphones into your phone and there you go, A History of Underwear!
Here are some tips for podcast fans from iTunes. iTunes has a lot of podcasts available for free download, and you can find them for searching key words, like “Genealogy”. Be sure to spell it right!
Friday Finds: NEHGR, NYGBR and other journals online
So I was listening to the January podcast from Family Tree Magazine on a recent roadtrip, and was interested to hear that Google Books has digitized the New England Historical and Genealogical Register (published since 1847),
and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (published quarterly since 1870).
Cool! These are both genealogical journals that could help you once you follow your granny’s trail back in time, before she moved out west. There are probably other journals of interest to you in your research that have been digitized, especially if they are out of copyright. This includes publication before 1923.
By the way, Family Tree Magazine website has a lot of free resources, even if you don’t have a subscription to their magazine. The podcasts are one of them. I always learn something new when I listen to them, and it’s a good use of time when I in the car, gardening, or working around the house.
And if you haven’t heard about Internet Archive, you should check them out, too, as they have over 3 million digitized books and might have that journal you are seeking.
Genealogy toolkit: Linkpendium
In the continuing series “Dayna’s Genealogy Toolkit”, I introduce you to www.linkpendium.com, “The Definitive Directory” of genealogy links online. I liken it to Cyndislist, except that Cyndislist is organized by subject, and Linkpendium is organized by locality, and then by subject, so each index has a different function. Since I tend to organize my research by locality, I find myself turning to Linkpendium first.
You will get a bonus tool in this blog, because I am using the Penultimate app to illustrate the use of Linkpendium. To get started, go to Linkpendium and click on a state.
Check out the statewide resources or select one of the counties below:
A list of subjects will now appear, with links below each subject. To the right you will see the name of the website. A dollar sign indicates a subscription site, but there are links to many free sites.
Linkpendium should be one of your first stops as you identify each locality where your ancestors lived. I’d be interested to know if you have any luck with the site. Let me know what you find!
On Granny's Trail 