Reflecting on Life and Death

I suppose it is an occupational hazard for genealogists to reflect on life and death more frequently than other people.  My uncle passed away on Saturday and that has me thinking about it more than usual.

I can't help but notice that when someone dies the first thing I reflect on is how well I knew the person. Usually there is a tinge of regret where I tell myself that I wish I had known the person better. The reality of life is that we know people to varying degrees based on how much time we spend being with them or speaking to them. 

I read my uncle's obituary this morning and found comfort in the fact that very little information in it was new to me.  I was more pleased that I knew what he loved most and what he was proud of such as his pro bono legal work and acting in amateur theatre.

This past July I had the chance to spend some time alone with my uncle.  The whole extended family had gathered for a reunion and everyone was dispersing to the beach or fishing.  I begged off saying I would stay behind with my uncle.  My aunt, his wife, gently told me he didn't need watching over.  But honestly I was gratefully using him as an excuse to give this overly busy Mom some quiet time.

During our brief hour or two together we got the chance to talk and just be in each others company.  My uncle had a distinctive deep voice which I always found very comforting. He was a man of much fewer words than my own enthusiastically verbose father.  Yet when he spoke, a wisdom and gentleness poured from his carefully chosen words.  Even pauses or silence seemed like a natural part of the conversation.

I'm so glad I had those few hours with my uncle.  It's something that I can call all my own. Somehow it makes up for, just a little, the fact that I wished I had spent more time with him when I had had the chance.

I like the idea of celebrating a life.  I think that when people get together at wakes or funerals that there should be joy in remembering the wonderful ways that the individual lived and touched our lives.

At the same time, as I get older, a little sadness seeps in.  I can't help thinking that I will miss hearing that person's voice or seeing them at the usual time each year.

I guess what death is teaching me is to live life to the fullest, express your love and joy, and hug your loved ones every day.  And when someone passes, it's ok to let the tears fall because it means you loved them.

Firefighters Genealogy 911 - Going Beyond Photos

In a recent blog post Susan Farrell Bankhead wrote about a request from her firefighter son.  He wanted to know whether genealogists could help locate photos of fallen firefighters so that they could be properly honored and remembered.  I hope you'll read Susan's post and consider joining in the effort to help.

I learned about the call to action thanks to Randy Seaver's Geneamusings Blog.  I want to acknowledge Randy for spreading the word and doing such a great job of bringing important things to our attention.

After reading this post I thought wouldn't it be great if genealogists took this a step further?  Not all of us are going to be able to help out with the Los Angeles firefighters.  But wouldn't it be great if we helped honor those that have fallen in our local communities?

We could help locate photos just as in this request.  Or we could take it a step further and do some genealogical research on the fallen heroes.  That would be a wonderful addition to a fire station's archives and history.  And what a tremendous gift it would be for the families left behind.

So I'd like to ask you, or perhaps your local genealogical societies, to reach out to fire stations in your area and see if you can contribute to honoring and preserving the memories of lost firefighters near you.


Photo Credit: "Knoxville Firefighters Memorial" photo by Joelk75 used under the creative commons license

My Ideal Season of Who Do You Think You Are?

I woke up this morning to a great, fun post over at Susan Petersen's Long Lost Relatives Blog. She asks us to imagine we are the producers of Who Do You Think You Are? and wants to know who we would pick for the perfect season.  I loved reading Susan's choices.  Now here are some of my own.  I hope you consider listing your favorites in the comments or on your own blog.

Melissa Gilbert - She played Laura for so many years on Little House on the Prairie.  It would be fun to see if her background even remotely resembles the character she played.

Alicia Keys - She's an amazing singer from New York City.  It would be interesting to find out if her roots are deep in NYC or from somewhere else.

Mark Harmon - The star of NCIS is what I consider to be one fine man. The son of a Heisman trophy winner and an actress/artist, it would be fun to see where his roots were planted before he was born in California.

Mariah Carey - Admittedly she seems a bit flighty but she has the most amazing voice.  Her mother was a singer too.  I wonder if there is a long history of singers in her ancestry.

Derek Jeter - Ok I'm a Red Sox fan but I've always liked Derek Jeter. I would like to know if anyone in his family history helped contribute to getting him where he is today.

Jason Varitek - Here's one for the Red Sox fans.  Jason has always been one of my favorite players.  With a name like Varitek he must have some Czech roots that should be explored.

Beyonce - She is larger than life and she seems to handle fame with such grace. It would be fascinating to learn if her background contributed to her success.

Jane Fonda - (I'm laughing at this one) This is in response to Susan's choice of Jane.  I'm including Jane because of her New York roots.  I have Fonda ancestors as well.  Maybe the researchers on the show can help sort them out for me!

Yes, that would be the perfect season of Who Do You Think You Are? for me! What would your perfect season look like?

Thanks again Susan for such a great idea!

Why Do Authors Bother with Publishers?

Subtitle: I'm surprised more authors don't use print on demand.

For the third time in six months I find myself going begging to get a hold of a newer, already out of print book.  It's really frustrating to have to go through hoops to get a copy of a book that should be fairly easy to get. 

First, I had to use local connections to get a copy of Dartmouth: The Early History of a Massachusetts Town by Beverly Morrison Glennon.  Then I had to go begging to the author to get one of the last copies of Joanne Hulbert's book Holliston, A Good Town.  Now I find myself in the same position as I try to find a copy of Forgotten Patriots: African American and American Indian Patriots in the Revolutionary War, A Guide to Service, Sources and Studies edited by Eric Grundset.  This is no longer available from the DAR website.

Ironically, as books are on the way out, as I've heard people say, I find myself trying to buy books faster and faster.  I'm in a race against them going out of print before I've bought a copy.  Perhaps someday (I say with a meniacal laugh) my books will be worth more because very few people will actually have copies.

The thing I don't get is why authors are doing the very old fashioned thing of using publishers instead of print on demand.  Publishers don't seem to be able to make the numbers work to have enough books available for the people who want to buy them.  They are going for a fast hit of a climactic sales in the first year after publication and abandoning the book after that.  With local history books in particular, researchers or history buffs might need the book five, ten or even fifteen years down the road.

Print on demand seems to be a win-win for everyone.  The author gets their book in print and the reader gets the chance to buy it when they need it.  In the meantime there is very little overhead for maintaining the book.

I hope more local history and genealogy authors will choose the print on demand option.  Let me tell you I am getting pretty tired and frustrated of tracking down books that are no longer available first hand for second.

Photo Credit: Photo by Stefan Baudy used under the Creative Commons license

Planning a Research Trip

I'm hoping to go on a brief research trip to New York before the summer is over.  I'll be going with my genealogy buddy, otherwise known as my Dad.

I have a lot of work to do before I can set foot in the car.  One of the places we'll be stopping is Germantown, New York.  In order to make the trip worthwhile I need to figure out what records are available before I leave home.

For Germantown, my target time frame is 1780 to 1800.  I will be chasing down every person with the Edwards surname in that town during that time frame.

Here's what I need to do as part of my planning:

1. Create a Research Guide

In order to effectively search for records I need to know what is available in Germantown.  I need to create a research guide that provides information on vital records, probate, military, church, land and every other kind of record that I can think of.  I will likely create an easy-to-read chart that separates the items by types of records and dates.  While my main focus will be on the 1780 - 1800 time period I will likely include more than that in my research guide.  I will start by looking in Ancestry's Red Book at the New York chapter.  Then I will hunt out a New York specific research guide.  I'll check FamilySearch too, to see if they have a research guide on New York. Of course, I'll have to check out the FamilySearch Wiki as well.

2. Conduct a Literature Search

Next I'll want to check what has already been published about Germantown, New York.  To accomplish this I'll do a Persi search.  I will also do a search of Worden's Index to the New York Genealogical & Biographical Record.  This should give me a good idea about the types of things that have been published about the town.

3. Get Local - From a Distance

Next I'll need to survey the catalogs of the local library, historical society and museums so I can get a good idea of what they have available.  I'll particularly keep my eye open for special genealogical or local history collections.  I'll make note of any that I feel will be helpful in my research.

4. The Hunt for Manuscripts

While I won't physically be going to other locations I will want to check the catalog of the New York State Library at Albany.  They may have relevant items that could help in my research.  And if they have more items than appear available in Germantown, I may need to rethink my research strategy. Other catalogs I'll check will include the New York Public Library, The New York Historical Society and the Library of Congress.

5. Make a Research Plan

After doing all this background research I'll need to create a research plan. The plan will outline specifically what records I want to check and where they are located.  The plan will include blank space for me to include notes about my findings.

6. Prepare a Contact List

The last thing I'll want to do is create a contact list.  You can see a sample here that I created previously (scroll to the bottom of the page to find the pdf sample).  I like to create a contact list with the names of the repository or archive that I'll be visiting along with their physical location, hours, phone and any restrictions, fees or pertinent information.  That allows me to see at a glance when they are open and lets me shift gears quickly if I need to alter my plans.

This is only my second research trip to New York state.  If you have any suggestions that would make my trip more productive please share them with me. I could use all the help I can get.

Photo Credit: photo by basykes used under the creative commons license

Essential NON-Genealogy Books about New England

Yesterday on my Facebook wall I asked my friends what they considered essential non-genealogy books about New England.  The list they provided was diverse and fascinating.  Some of the books I have already in my personal library.  Others I had heard of but never read.  And still other were completely new to me.  The list was so good I'm sharing it here with Roots & Rambles readers.  Maybe you'll be inspired to read one or two of these before the summer ends.

Thanks to all my friends for contributing to this list!

Essential Non-Genealogy Books about New England

Atwater, Edward Elias. History of the Colony of New Haven to its Absorption into Connecticut.

Beston, Henry. The Outermost House.

Boorstin, Daniel. The Americans: The Colonial Experience.

Cronon, William. Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England.

Deetz, James. In Small Things Forgotten.

Deetz, James. The Times of Their Lives: Life, Love, and Death in Plymouth Colony.

Ferrero, Pat and Elain Hedges, Julie Silber. Hearts & Hands, The Influence of Women & Quilts on American Society.

Fischer, David Hackett. Paul Revere's Ride.

Fischer, David Hackett. Albion's Seed.

Gross, Robert A. The Minutemen and their World.

Hoftadter, Richard. America at 1750.

Kurlansky, Mark. Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World.

Lepore, Jill. The Name of War.

Ludwig, Allan I. Graven images: New England Stonecarving and its Symbols, 1650-1815.

Morgan, Edmund S. The Puritan Family.

Nutt, Charles. History of Worcester and its People. (available for viewing on Google Books)

Philbrick, Nathaniel. Mayflower.

Puleo, Stephen. Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919.

Russell, Howard S. A Long, Deep Furrow: Three Centuries of Farming in New England.

Schultz, Eric B. and Michael J. Tougias. King Philip's War: The History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict.

Smith, Wynifred Staples. Pines and Pioneers.

Thorson, Robert. Stone by Stone: The Magnificent History in New England's Stone Walls.

Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. The Age of Homespun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth. (2001).

Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard based on her Diary, 1785–1812. (1990).

Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. Good Wives: Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England, 1650-1750. (1982).

Wagner, David. The Poorhouse: America's Forgotten Institution.

Watters, David. The Encyclopedia of New England.

Wilson, Donald A. Logging and Lumbering in Maine.

Upcoming Webinars - No Travel Required!

When I post announcements about my upcoming talks on Facebook, some usually says, "I would love to go if only I lived closer."  Well, now you don't have to worry about that! I'll be doing two webinars in the next two months. 

No travel is required! Better yet, the webinars are FREE. What you do need to have is a computer and an internet connection.  Here's your chance to sign up and hear me spread the gospel about genealogy!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011
6:00pm PST (California time)
9:00pm EST (New York time)
"Cemetery Research For Your New England Ancestors"
Sponsored by The Southern California Genealogical Society - Extension Series
Register for the Talk
This talk will help you locate the gravestones of your New England ancestors.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011
11:00am PST (California time)
2:00pm EST (New York time)
"Researching Your Connecticut Ancestors"
Sponsored by Legacy Family Tree  - Webinars
Register for the Talk
This talk will teach you how to research your Connecticut ancestors.  Join me in the discussion as I talk about my native state.

Google+ Hangouts are Fun!

Are you riding the Google+ wave?  It seems like a large segment of the genealogical community is giving Google+ a try.  I am on Google+ but I don't think I have been using it quite as actively as other people.

One thing I have been curious about is the Google+ Hangout.  If you've used Skype before then you may have experienced something similar with their video conference feature.  Google+ Hangout lets you have a video conference/chat with up to 9 other people for a total of 10 in the Hangout.

Today I've had the opportunity to have three Hangouts so I really got a chance to see how it works.  This morning fellow blogger and colleague, Russ Worthington, invited me to a hangout.  We were checking out whether it is possible to do a private hangout.  And, yes, it does seem possible.  You just need to specify the name of the person(s) that you want to invite to the hangout.  Then only that person(s) will see the invitation.  A hangout announcement/invitation gets posted to your wall but only the invitee can see it.

Later in the day I initiated my first ever hangout.  All the others I had joined.  This one I opened to anyone in my Google+ circles and waited to see who would randomly pop in.  A number of genealogy friends from Facebook joined - Heather in NH, Patti in MO, Pat in DE and Kirsty in Scotland. 

That hangout was interesting because some people had video and voice, one had voice only and one had no video and no voice and had to communicate through the chat feature.

It was fun to meetup face to face from so many different parts of the world and get to at least hear each others voices.

Lastly, I had a final, quick hangout with my cousin, Rusty. It was his first time doing a hangout.

What strikes me is how easy it is to do these hangouts.  While we were just testing them and not really doing more than gabbing, I can see how hangouts can be a great way to connect with family or collaborate with colleagues.  Being able to bridge distance so easily is exciting.

I admit that I don't love seeing myself on video but I've gotten over that.  I feel like I've entered the realm of Star Trek and soon this form of communication will be natural.  I'm looking forward to using it much more in the future.

If you want to try a hangout with me sometime leave a comment or drop me a line.  See you on the web!

BU Adds New Introductory Level Course to Genealogy Program

Boston University's Center for Professional Education has added a new introductory level course, Genealogical Essentials, to its Genealogical Research Program.  The new course, which starts in September, is geared toward newer genealogists or experienced genealogists who have gaps in their education.

After the announcement of the new course I took the opportunity to speak with Elissa Scalise Powell, CG, CGL who developed the content for the course and Melinde Lutz Byrne, FASG, CG who is the director of the program.  Here's what I found out.

This course was developed in response to numerous queries fielded by Boston University staff from genealogical students looking for a class but who weren't quite at the appropriate level for the Certificate in Genealogical Research class.  Both Powell and Byrne consider the new class as "ideal preparation for taking the certificate program." Students who take the class will gain familiarity with online classes as well as the Boston University format which will allow them to focus strictly on genealogical coursework when starting the certificate program.

Title: Genealogical Essentials

Targeted Audience: The class is geared toward beginners, including those who have little genealogically research experience.  It provides an ideal start for people who have become interested in genealogy from watching programs such as Who Do You Think You Are?, Faces of America and History Detectives. The course is also well suited for more experienced genealogists who are self-taught or have some gaps in their foundation education as well as for those who have been doing genealogy on and off for many years and need to be updated with current terminology and methodology.

Pre-Requisites: There are no genealogical pre-requisites, however, students should have familiarity with a computer keyboard and Microsoft Word.  High speed internet access would also be helpful.

Course Format: The class is being offered as an online class only.  It is run on the Boston University "Vista" platform and fully automated so that the students can immediately see how well they are doing. The self-directed class lasts for four weeks with required assignments on a weekly basis.

Workload: The weekly workload includes assignments, readings, quizzes and an optional "Family Fun" extension assignment that can be done with family members and acts as a way to get students to record and share their own family history.  The week four assignment includes a final project.  Powell anticipates that it will take an average student 10 hours to complete each weekly module.

Course Materials: The class requires the purchase of two additional books: The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy (3rd Edition) by Val D. Greenwood and The Everything Guide to Online Genealogy (2nd Edition) by Kimberly Powell.

Cost: $775.00 for the four week online class.

Enrollment Deadline: August 18, 2011.  Enrollment is limited. For those who do not find a slot in the fall class, there will be another class in January 2012.

Class Start Date: Tuesday, September 6, 2011.

A Look Toward the Future

As for the future of the Boston University Genealogical Program, when asked, Byrne tossed me this enticing tidbit, "There will continue to be one-week special topic classes offered on-site in the summer in the last week of July and the first week of August each summer.  The 2012 summer classes will include a forensic genealogy advanced course taught by two of the country’s top forensic genealogists. Specific names to be revealed at a later date."

 Testimonials

Want to hear what former students have said about the BU genealogy research program?  Testimonials that were filmed recently during the 2011 New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC) have been added to the BU website. If you attended NERGC you may even appear in the background of one of the short video clips.  I was surprised to see myself there!

Is it worth transcribing for publication any more?

It used to be that you could become a very well-published genealogist just by transcribing records and publishing them in books.  Genealogists want to leave their mark and add their contribution to the community and this was one way to do it.

I entered the genealogical community in the digital age. Straight transcribing of documents or records seems like a dicey prospect to me.  The problem is if you choose a large project to transcribe, will an organization have it scanned and indexed before you finish your transcription project?  That means you need to very carefully select the project you are willing to take on.

The Alternative to Simple Transcription

I believe the wave of the future where genealogists can make the most impact is with value-added projects.  These are projects where you are forced you analyze or refine the original raw data and present that new grouping for publication.

For instance, consider warning out notices in early New England record books.  It might not be worth transcribing the entire record books because they are already microfilmed and are potential (albeit much later) targets for scanning projects.  However, it may be worth extracting the warning out notices that randomly fall within  the text of the record books.  This too has its pitfalls.  If the entire record book is scanned and indexed then others can find what they need quickly from the index.  To make this effort truly value-added it would be good to provide further information on the people listed in the warning outs rather than simply what is found in the record books.  Perhaps information from vital or census records would add just the needed content to make your content unique.

Think Before Your Start

Before you take on a large transcription project in the hope of publishing it, think about how you can ensure that your project will be worth the effort in the event that someone digitizes it before you finish.

Photo Credit: Photo by kevinzim used under the creative commons license.

Authors - Get Strategic

I hear you already - "I only write about my specialization" or "I only write about what I'm passionate about."  There's no reason you can't write books about what you do best and be a little strategic too.

It is common knowledge that magazines follow an editorial calendar that is mapped out, often a year in advance.  The selected content frequently ties in with major holidays, events or anniversaries occurring during same time period. Magazine writers are encouraged to write content that will fit in well with the editorial theme of each issue.

There's nothing stopping authors from adopting a variation of this strategy to create a editorial calendar of sorts.  Here's one way that you can adapt it.

There are many upcoming town and city anniversaries.  Typically towns apply great fanfare to celebrate these events.  For instance, the town of Abington, Massachusetts will celebrate the 300th anniversary of its incorporation in 2012.  If you are an author or would-be author from the Abington area start to consider what you do best.  Are you a gravestone researcher, a house historian, a genealogist, a photographer?  Plan on writing a book that ties into your specialty and the upcoming celebration of the anniversary of the town.  Not only will you get greater publicity for your book but the town may be very appreciative of your efforts.

Towns or cities don't have to be celebrating their 300th for this to be effective.  Perhaps your location is a celebrating a 75th, 100th, 150th or 200th anniversary.  Those are all good candidates too.  The beauty of this technique is that you can plan your book years out if necessary.

If the town dates don't work to your advantage take a look at county incorporation dates.

Use a book like Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources (edited by Alice Eichholz, Ph.D., CG) for an easy way to look up town and county incorporation dates.

Here are some upcoming anniversaries happening in the northeastern United States in the next five years.  Maybe one of them will be near you.

Location	Anniversary	Year Celebrated
Pomfret, Connecticut	300th	2013
Fairfield, Hartford, New Haven and New London Counties, Connecticut	350th	2016
West Warwick, Rhode Island	100th	2013
East Providence and Pawtucket, Rhode Island	150th	2012
Troy, New Hampshire	200th	2015
Candia, Haverhill and Sandwich, New Hampshire	250th	2013
Weston, Massachusetts	300th	2013
Cherryfield and Corrina, Maine	200th	2016
Ludlow, Maine	150th	2014
Burlington, Duxbury and Williston, Vermont	250th	2013
Hamilton and Oswego Counties, New York	200th	2016
Putnam County, New York	200th	2012

Photo Source: Photo by InAweofGod'sCreation used under the Creative Commons license

The Top 3 Changes in Genealogy

I was speaking to a friend recently and she asked me what I thought the top changes were to genealogy in the last few years.  That made me pause as I had never really considered it before.  But what a great question!  Here are my nominees:

1) Awareness and Visibility 

Genealogy and Family History have become much more popular thanks to television shows such as Who Do You Think You Are?, History Detectives, Faces of America and African American Lives.  These particular programs have focused specifically on genealogy or history.  Family History has also made cameo appearances on popular television programs such as Top Chef.  All combined these shows have increased America's desire to seek out their family history and begin the quest to discover their roots.

2) Education and Outreach

The past few years have seen great, positive strides in educational opportunities and outreach accessibility.  One of the major new educational opportunities has been the establishment of the Certificate in Genealogical Research at Boston University.  Veteran genealogist Melinde Lutz Byrne, CG, FASG, is the director of the program.

Another great educational opportunity that has come up in the past few years is the ProGen Study Group.  Headed by Angela Packer McGhie, the study group is a peer group of genealogists who want a more formal process to help them with their transition to becoming professionals. It is quickly becoming one of the standards on the road to becoming a professional genealogist.

Another form of outreach includes greater accessibility to educational seminars through webinars.  Webinars bring genealogical seminars straight to your laptop.  That means that researchers who live at a distance from major educational centers can now receive training right from their home. The major providers of webinars at the moment are Legacy Family Tree, the Southern California Jamboree Extension Series and FGS.  There is even a GeneaWebinars calendar that allows you to track all upcoming webinars in one location.

The community has also discovered new methods of outreach in the form of internet radio programs.  Every Friday night genealogists can tune in to live discussion and chats on Geneabloggers Radio hosted by Thomas MacEntee.

3) Technology 

Blogging

The ability to share genealogical interests and information has never been easier with a journal-like format available on the internet called blogging.  Blogging has taken the genealogical community by storm.  The genealogical blogging community is headed up by Thomas MacEntee at the Geneabloggers website. There are currently over 1500 bloggers registered at the site which aids the bloggers by providing daily prompts and how-tos.  Bloggers write about everything from their personal family history, geographic-specific genealogy, gravestones, ethnic genealogy and much much more. Blogging has become so popular that bloggers are now featured as special guests at many conferences such as the Southern California Jamboree.

Facebook

While this is not scientific, I would venture to say that Facebook has been adopted more quickly and completely by genealogists than any other group.  Genealogists by nature are a spread out group of people.  Tools like Facebook help genealogists to get connected and stay connected.  A number of distant cousins have found each other serendipitously on Facebook.  Many genealogical organizations such as the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) also have pages on Facebook which can be followed by Facebook members.

Digitization

Rapid digitization has revolutionized genealogy in recent years.  Major groups like FamilySearch and Ancestry.com have harnessed the power of volunteers to index millions of records.  Some newly digitized records are freely available at FamilySearch and others are accessible on subscription sites like Footnote.com, Ancestry.com and GenealogyBank.com.  The upshot is that researching your family history is easier than ever using the internet.  But make no mistake, it will take decades before we reach saturation point on the internet so keep using libraries and archives to access non-digitized records.

What do you think of my Top 3 list?  Do you agree with my list or would you suggest something else?

Food For Thought: Birth Certificates

In yesterday's New York Times there was a very interesting article called "Who's On the Family Tree? Now It's Complicated" about how complex families have become.  The article digs into the issues of modern day families that include half-siblings, step-siblings (not that those both haven't been around for a very long time) sperm donation, surrogate mothers, same sex couples, etc.  It seems like future genealogists are going to have their hands full trying to keep track of it all.

One paragraph in the article really struck me:

"Even birth certificate reporting is catching up. New questions are being phased in nationally on the standard birth certificate questionnaire about whether, and what type of, reproductive technology was used, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

I was caught off guard that birth certificate questions had changed.  These questions weren't available when I gave birth to my last child just six years ago.  But the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea that these questions were being included on birth certificates.  

This is really pertinent information that a genealogist of the future might not otherwise know if the information weren't available on the birth certificate.  I think it will go a long way in helping future genealogists understand their ancestors.

I think that adding information about reproductive technology is a good start.  But maybe more information needs to be added. 

What information would you like to see added to birth certificates to help clarify details about birth? 

Do you think it's right, in the first place, for this information to be collected? 

How much information is too much or too little information?

Where do we go from here?

I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this.

Source: Holson, Laura M. "Who's On the Family Tree? Now It's Complicated." The New York Times, 4 July 2011. Online version. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/us/05tree.html?_r=1&src=tptw : 2011.