Episode 209

The Genealogy Gems PodcastEpisode 209with Lisa Louise Cooke In today’s episode: David Ouimette of FamilySearch is known to his colleagues as “the Indiana Jones of genealogy” because of his globe-trotting adventures in curating record treasures. He joins us to talk about the millions of records being digitized around the world right now. Lots of excited emails from you! Compiled military service records from Military Minutes expert Michael Strauss GENEALOGY GEMS EVENTS Thanks for a great seminar, (shown right: the beautiful items you see in the foreground are Czech crystal and other traditional items) Bill at Jake's See Lisa Louise Cooke in October: October 15, 2017 Denver, CO October 21, 2017 Roswell, NM NEWS: ROOTSMAGIC UPDATE Free update for RootsMagic 7 users: version 7.5.4.0 (update primarily fixes bugs). Click on the "Update Available" indicator in the lower right corner of your RootsMagic 7 program screen. If you don't already have RootsMagic 7, to see what’s new Or to order the upgrade. MAILBOX Gray recommends Lisa’s free MAILBOX: FREE WEBINAR RESPONSES Click the image above to watch the video Click the red SUBSCRIBE button on the Genealogy Gems YouTube channel. NEW GENEALOGY GEMS PREMIUM VIDEO Develop your search superpowers to uncover information about your family history on the web with Google at lightning speed! Explore tools like Image search, facial recognition, finding specific types of files, how to find the answers you need, and more. to watch a class preview; to become a Genealogy Gems Premium member. BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App Users If you’re listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus content for this episode is an easy-to-access version of the new Genealogy Gems Premium video, “Google Search Secrets.” The and is only $2.99 for . INTERVIEW: DAVID OUIMETTE OF FAMILYSEARCH: “THE INDIANA JONES OF GENEALOGY” David Ouimette, CG, manages Content Strategy at FamilySearch. He has conducted research and analyzed archival materials in dozens of countries in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. David lectures regularly and has written for genealogists, including Genealogy Gems Contributing Editor Sunny Morton is the author of “.” Use this jammed-packed cheat sheet to quickly and easily compare the most important features of the four biggest international genealogy records membership websites: Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. Consult it every time your research budget, needs or goals change! Start creating fabulous, irresistible videos about your family history with Animoto.com. You don’t need special video-editing skills: just drag and drop your photos and videos, pick a layout and music, add a little text and voila! You’ve got an awesome video! Try this out for yourself at . is the place to make connections with relatives overseas, particularly with those who may still live in your ancestral homeland. : it’s free to get started. MILITARY MINUTES: COMPILED MILITARY SERVICE RECORDS If a clue found in your ancestor’s listed military service you will want next to search for his Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR). The Compiled Military Service Records (often abbreviated at CMSR or CSR) record the name, unit, and period of service of the veteran along with information related to military service from the Revolutionary War to the end of the hostilities of the Philippine Insurrection after the turn of the 20th century. The information varies greatly from each of the war periods that recorded this information. Besides the identifying features listed above, they typically contain muster in/out information, rank in/out details and further highlight the soldier career by recording promotions, prisoner of war memorandums, casualties, and a number of personnel papers which may include enlistment papers and other related documents. Several of the war periods also provide physical descriptions of the soldiers including; name, age, nativity, occupation, height, hair, eyes, and complexion information. This set of records represents the volunteer Army and doesn’t include regular Army enlistments. Except for limited records of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 for the Navy, the other branches of the military (including Navy, Marines, and Revenue Cutter Service) all have their equivalent set of records. Your ancestor may have multiple entries in the CMSR. This could occur if a soldier served in more than one unit, or in the case of John LeMaster, who enlisted in two different armies. The Civil War divided our nation, testing the loyalty of all persons who lived during this time. Lemaster chose the Confederacy (as least initially) when in 1861 in Charlestown, VA he enlisted with the 2nd VA Infantry fighting alongside of his Brigade commander Thomas J. Jackson who later would be known as “Stonewall Jackson.” (Photos: John H. Lemaster and his family in Martinsburg, WV. Photos courtesy of Michael Strauss.) After the Confederate loss at the...