A small Jewish cemetery in East Poultney, Vermont is almost impossible to find. That is apparently caused by 3 reasons: (1.) there never were a lot of Jewish citizens in the area, (2.) the cemetery is small, and (3.) years of neglect. Netanel Crispe, 18, a senior at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, is hoping to preserve the cemetery before it disappears forever. You might be able to help.

Crispe first learned of the cemetery while doing some metal detecting in town on behalf of a historical society. “I came across a house that I was told was a synagogue,” he explained. The family who owned the house “mentioned that there was a Jewish cemetery in town, and I was blown away because I had no idea.”

As both a 10th generation Vermonter and an Orthodox Jew, Crispe is keenly interested in the history of Jewish life in the Green Mountain State. “There are not many Jews in the area, so every time I meet one, it’s amazing,” he said.

The homeowner gave Crispe directions to the cemetery, but even so, it was difficult to find. “This was all grown up,” he said, waving his hand toward the entrance, “and I couldn’t even see the gate. But I finally found it on my third attempt.”

His research led him to “’Members of this Book’: The Pinkas of Vermont’s First Jewish Congregation” by Robert S. Schine, a professor of Jewish studies at Middlebury College. A pinkas is a notebook, a record of events kept by a Jewish community, and Poultney’s pinkas had somehow survived, discovered in a used bookstore in Denver in 1966.

Crispe has a threefold plan: Restore and preserve the cemetery and all of its stones, create a fund to ensure that it can be maintained in perpetuity, and obtain official recognition of the cemetery’s historical status. “I’m applying for a state historic marker to be placed here, and I want to get a nice gate – if we can raise the funds – that says ‘Poultney Hebrew Cemetery,’ which is what it’s referred to,” he said.

There is a lot more to the story by David Lachance published in the Rutland Herald newspaper's web site at https://bit.ly/3gJLadY.

The following announcement was written by the Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI):

At our recent Annual General Meeting it was announced that AGI Members Máire Mac Conghail and Helen Kelly have been elected Fellows of the Association.  Under its constitution, AGI may award Fellowship in recognition of "invaluable service...to AGI" or a "particularly outstanding contribution to the study of Irish genealogy".

As an 18 year old student Máire Mac Conghail (then called Doran) worked as a freelance researcher for the Genealogical Office and after graduating in the early 1960s she began practicing independently as a professional genealogist. After marriage and a number of years spent rearing her family, she returned to professional genealogy in the later 1970s and joined AGI in 1990.

Over her 30 years of membership, Máire has served AGI well.  Since 1990 she has participated AGI's running the Genealogy Services for the Genealogical Office, the National Library and the National Archives.  For several years she represented AGI on the now defunct semi-state body Irish Genealogy Ltd.  She has served as both Hon. Secretary and Hon. Treasurer, and more recently she was President of AGI for the period 2016-2018.

Commissioned by HarperCollins in 1997, she co-authored Tracing Irish Ancestors with her AGI colleague Paul Gorry. She has been a great ambassador for AGI in her external activities.  She was Chairman of CIGO (the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations) in 2001/2002.  She was also Chairman of the Ireland Branch of the IGRS (the Irish Genealogical Research Society) and she is currently on the Council of the IGRS.  Máire served on the Board of the National Library from 2005 to 2010, and on the National Archives Council from several years until 2017.  She was a member of the Irish Manuscripts Commission from at least 2004 until earlier this year.

Helen Kelly joined AGI in 1995, but she had been active in professional genealogy since the mid-1980s. She served on AGI's Council from 1996 to 2015 and during that time held the post of Hon. Secretary from 1998 until 2000 and then later that of President from 2010 to 2012.

A native of Co Westmeath, Helen has a deep interest in the descendants of the sizeable number of individuals and families from the adjoining counties of Westmeath and Longford who migrated to Argentina during the course of the mid to late-19th century. She has become an expert on the history of these migrants and has spoken widely on the subject

In 1997 with a professional colleague Francis Dowling (a former member of AGI) she co-edited and produced a video resource called 'Searching for Your Ancestors in Ireland - a Professional Guide'. One of the main ideas expounded in that video was a concept close to Helen's heart, which is to encourage those seeking to trace of their forbears to "walk the land": to visit where they came from, to experience where earlier generations had been born, had thrived and were buried. Since obtaining the National Tour Guide Certificate in 2002, Helen has been involved in delivering genealogy talks and lectures to various tour groups visiting Ireland.

In 2007 Helen brought an idea linking genealogy and tourism to Dublin's historic five-star Shelbourne Hotel. Shortly after, she took up the position of Genealogy Butler, providing genealogy advice and help to hotel guests. In the years since, the position has gained such a high profile and enviable reputation that it has led to her speaking about Irish genealogy on radio and television stations in Ireland, Britain, Europe, North America and the Antipodes. Helen was featured in RTE's 2014 six-part documentary on the Shelbourne Hotel and its guests.

Holding an extra-mural certificate in genealogy from University College Dublin (1992) and a diploma in Local History from Maynooth (1998), it's not surprising Helen has always been keen advocate for professional genealogists continuing to hone their skills throughout their career. She was one of the main proponents for AGI to begin to establish and develop a system of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

The Council of AGI and the wider Membership congratulate Máire and Helen on their election as Fellows.

The following message was posted to the IAJGS (International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies) Public Records Access Monitoring Committee mailing list and is republished here with permission:

David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States announced in his blog AOTUS, the granting of projects about making historical records happen. Archivist Ferriero chairs the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

The latest round of grants resulted in 36 grants totaling nearly $3 million for projects in 28 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Nineteen of the grants went to state historical records advisory boards which will go on to fund dozens of projects at the local level. They also support workshops for archivists, both professional and amateur, as well as traveling archivists, National History Day competitions, emergency preparedness, and much more.

To read about the funded project see:

https://aotus.blogs.archives.gov/2020/12/10/supporting-public-access-to-historical-records/

Jan Meisels Allen
Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

This week’s Findmypast Friday sees substantial updates to collections from the United States, Ireland and England, including;

United States Obituary Notices

This mammoth index has recently been updated with over 18.2 million new entries covering all 50 American states. Now containing over 50 million records, each result consists of a transcript that will reveal a combination of the deceased’s

• • Name
  • Birth year
  • Birth date
  • Death year
  • Death date
  • Obituary text
  • Place
  • Source link

Additional information such as images and details about the original obituary can be found on the source’s website.

Ireland Billion Graves Cemetery Index

New additions from all 32 Irish counties have been added to the Ireland Billion Graves Cemetery Index. BillionGraves is the largest online resource for GPS-tagged headstone and burial records. Each transcript will reveal the birth date, death date and burial location of your ancestor. Images links to the Billion Graves website are also included.

By partnering with BillionGraves, Findmypast aim to make all the cemetery records held on their site available to subscribers. Indexes covering England, Scotland, Wales, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are also available and, all of which are updated regularly.

Yorkshire Monumental Inscriptions

Over 28,000 new records covering over 300 years of Yorkshire history are now available to search. The new additions date from 1663-2008 and cover the following West Riding parishes;

• • Greetland, Methodist Chapel
  • Mytholmroyd
  • Norland
  • Northowram
  • Ogden
  • Ovenden
  • Pecket Well
  • Queensbury
  • Ripponden
  • Rishworth
  • Scammonden
  • Shelf
  • Sowerby
  • Sowerby Bridge

Monumental inscriptions can reveal when your relative died, where they are buried and the often detail-rich epitaph inscribed on their memorial.

Newspapers

With five brand new papers and additional pages for a further nine, Findmypast’s newspaper collection continues to grow. Titles published online for the first time include:

• • Cotton Factory Times covering 1885-1888, 1891-1895, 1897-1899, 1902-1911 and 1913-1920
  • Blackpool Gazette & Herald covering 1881-1886, 1888 and 1890-1893
  • Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette covering 1881-1886
  • Kenilworth Advertiser covering 1900
  • Bridgend Chronicle, Cowbridge, Llantrisant, and Maesteg Advertiser covering 1888

Branding itself as the voice of the cotton trade worker, the Cotton Factory Times provides fascinating insights into the lives of those who worked in Britain’s Cotton Mills. Sections including ‘Notes from the Factories’, ‘Thoughts on Home Life,’ and ‘Voices from the Spindle and the Loom’ paint a vivid picture of working conditions and daily life, from reports of accidents to reports of dismissals.

Findmypast have also added thousands on new pages to the following titles; 

• • Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) from 1889-1890
  • Leicester Evening Mail from 1946-1954, 1956-1959 and 1963
  • Kinematograph Weekly from 1945, 1950 and 1952
  • Widnes Examiner from 1883-1884, 1891, 1899, 1903, 1905, 1907, 1912-1914 and 1916
  • Runcorn Examiner from 1883-1884
  • Warrington Examiner from 1904
  • St. Helens Examiner from 1883, 1900
  • Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette from 1871, 1874-1892, 1894-1895, 1900-1902, 1904-1906, 1908-1909, 1912, 1914, 1916 and 1927-1929
  • Fulham Chronicle from 1888-1904, 1907-1912 and 1923-1933

The following article is a brief excerpt from the MyHeritage Blog. The blog article is much longer and also contains some nice example images of original records from this collection:

We are delighted to announce the addition of two new collections of Norway Census records — the 1875 Norway Census and the 1870 Norway Census. Digitized in collaboration with National Archives of Norway (Arkivverket), the 2 million records in these collections include high-quality scans of the original documents.

Search the new Norwegian Census Records 

The collections hold particular interest as they cover a unique time in Norwegian history. The largest single wave of emigration from Norway occurred between 1879 and 1893. Spurred on by the promise of new opportunities, 250,000 Norwegians left Norway for other countries like the U.S. The 1875 census offers the opportunity to catch a snapshot about these Norwegian ancestors while they were still in Norway. For those in the U.S. and abroad with Norwegian heritage, this census collection may unlock important details about their Norwegian roots.

Beyond their historical significance, the collections are important as they contain details that are not often found within a typical census collection. In addition to listing the person’s name, residence, position within the family, gender, marital status, and occupation, the census also includes information on languages spoken, birthplace of the residents, and their birth years. In specific cases, even medical conditions are listed.

Also included are individuals who were temporary residents of the household or those registered to a household who may have been absent at the time of the census count. This means that a single individual may have been listed in more than one entry, if they were visiting another home at the time the census was taken.

Here is more information about each of the collections.

1875 Norway Census

The 1.8 million records from this country-wide census collection includes the names, residence, position within the family, gender, marital status, occupation, birthplace, and birth year. The census was officially conducted on December 31, 1875 and was the first census in Norway to record information about a birthdate rather than age. Additionally, individuals were asked to report their permanent residence and any temporary residence where they may have lived at the time of the census.

Search the 1875 Norway Census

1870 Norway Census

The 1870 census consists of records from 60 cities and towns in Norway, of which records from 50 cities and towns survive. Recognizing the need for updated information due to the rapid population growth in urban centers, the government requested this special census of cities and towns. The records contain names, gender, place of birth, year of birth, marital status, and place of residence. 

Search the 1870 Norway Census

The full article, including example images of Norwegian census records, may be found at: https://blog.myheritage.com/2020/12/myheritage-releases-two-norwegian-census-collections/.

Records about Confederate soldiers are certainly less prevalent than those for their Union counterparts. But many more Confederate records exist than are widely known – and many of those records are online.

Unfortunately, they are spread across multiple web sites, some of which require a subscription, so they can be hard to find. It is also not widely known that some of the databases on subscription sites are available elsewhere for free.

The new GopherRecords.com web site offers a chart showing the most significant Confederate records that are available online with direct links to the search engines for those databases.

Note that these charts to not attempt to itemize county-specific Confederate records, veteran lists, specific Confederate cemeteries, or specific prisoner of war camps. FamilySearch.org, in particular, offers free access to hundreds of such records online and through their Family History Centers.

You can read a lot more information at https://www.gopherrecords.com/blog/confederate/.

* Rose Lerer Cohen will fill the one-year vacancy on the board, term ending 31 December 2021.

The words Certified Genealogist and its acronym, CG, are a registered certification mark, and the designations Certified Genealogical Lecturer and its acronym, CGL, are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluation.

Here is a web site you probably should bookmark: https://cloudconvert.com. You probably won't need to use it often but when you do have a need it can be a lifesaver. Best of all, it is a free service if you only want to convert a few files. However, if you want to convert dozens of files, there is a modest charge.

CloudConvert converts almost any file from one format to almost any other format. It recognizes files in more than 200 different formats, and connects with Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. I find it useful for converting PNG images into JPG format. It also can can turn a PDF file into a DOCX file, which you may open in Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, or Google Docs. It also can convert Macintosh Keynote presentation files into PowerPoint PPTX files. In fact, CloudConvert can convert about 200 different file formats into other file formats.

I find that CloudConvert does an excellent job of converting PDF files into editable .DOC or .DOCX files as its translation seems to be very accurate.

CloudConvert also allows you to extract audio from a video file. For example, I selected a .MOV file and converted it to .MP3 format. That gave me an audio-only .MP3 file. It also converts .MOV video files into .MP4 video files as well. Did you download a video from the web, only to find it doesn't display in your computer's video player? CloudConvert probably can fix the problem for you.

CloudConvert is a cloud-based application. That is, the program runs from a web site. There is no software to install in your computer. It works equally well on Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Chromebooks, and even on mobile and portable devices running Android or Apple iOS (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch).

For occasional use, CloudConvert doesn't charge. If you convert files smaller than 1 gigabyte, fewer than five files at a time, and use less than 25 minutes of file conversion time a day, CloudConvert's services are free of charge. For high volume users, CloudConvert does charge fees as described at https://cloudconvert.com/pricing. I suspect most in-home users will never encounter a need for fees.

CloudConvert is one of those useful web tools that you may not need immediately. But, the next time you say, "I can't open this file...," give it a try. CloudConvert may be able to convert that file you can't use into one you can.

CloudConvert is available at https://cloudconvert.com.

The following announcement about Online Repository Assistant (often called "ORA") was written by John Cardinal, the author of the program:

ORA v1.16 Released

Now Supports Hundreds of Repositories

Narragansett, Rhode Island, December 7, 2020 - Family History Hosting is pleased to announce the release of ORA version 1.16. ORA is the "Online Repository Assistant", a web browser extension combined with a Windows program to help you extract data from online repositories and capture the information in your preferred genealogy program. ORA has several features that will save time, reduce errors, and increase the consistency of yourdata entry.

Originally released in June with support for four popular repositories, ORA now has custom support for thirteen repositories and with its new Generic Service it supports thousands of sites that publish genealogy data!

Here's an example where ORA's Generic Service extracted data from a record on FreeCen.org.uk, a site that provides free access to 19th century UK censuses:

Using ORA's Auto Type feature, users can automatically copy the items shown in ORA's Control Panel to fields in the genealogy program of their choice.

Some of the many sites that are now supported by ORA via its Generic Service include vital record collections for many US states and several other countries, probate and will collections in several jurisdictions, BMD indexes for most of the counties in the UK, and hundreds of other sites. ORA can extract data from any site that publishes data in a tabular form as long as the site follows web standards and conventions, and most sites do.

If you publish a One-Name Study or similar, you need ORA. It will dramatically reduce the time you spend gathering data.

For more information about ORA, see its Introduction slideshow at https://www.ora-extension.com/en/intro.htm?v=1.01. The Introduction includes several videos that show ORA in action.

ORA is sold as a subscription service, $24 USD per year. ORA is not affiliated with any of the repositories it supports. ORA does not do any searching for you; it evaluates pages you visit during your normal use of a repository and makes it faster and easier to extract the information you find. For Ancestry, Findmypast, and other fee-based repositories, you must have an account with that repository.