The Mad Genealogist

Exciting things are happening at Footnote! On May 8th, Footnote released the 1860 U.S. Federal Census
as a new addition to its already extensive Civil War Collection. This project was a joint effort with FamilySearch, who provided the images for the 1860 US Federal Census title. From those images, Footnote created an index enabling visitors to simply type in a name and search the millions of names contained within this title. The index created by Footnote is now available on FamilySearch as well.

Similar technology used on the interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial has enabled Footnote users to interact with the 1860 US Federal Census in ways that have never been previously available. Not only can Footnote users search and find names, but now they can upload or connect documents related to a particular individual. “Now they’re not merely names on a document,” explains Russ Wilding, Footnote CEO. “They become people as the contributions start to tell a story about that person.”

Check Out the 1860 US Federal Census today !

Footnote has done it again!. Family and friends of servicemen and women who died or vanished in the Vietnam War no longer have to travel to Washington to pay their respects at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. An interactive version debuted online this week, a project of Footnote.com in conjunction with the National Archives.The virtual version of the famous memorial which is a pair of 246-foot black granite walls inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 American military casualties is searchable.

Every name etched onto the real-world wall is viewable online and linked to the veteran’s service record. Online visitors can add photos and describe their memories of the servicemen and women who died in the war.

The good news is word spread fast and they have seen a tremendous response to the announcement. The bad news is that they are having trouble keeping up with the number of people who are coming to visit the site. at this writing I was geting some error pages because of the volume. But I spoke with someone there and they stated they we’re working to improve things, and hoped you’ll be patient with them. I expect they will add some bandwith today to fix this if they havent done so already. Below is their press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 26, 2008

Footnote.com and the National archives Launch an Interactive Vietnam War Memorial

Footnote.com’s innovative social website lets visitors pay tribute to Vietnam War heroes from their PC

Washington DC and Lindon, UT – March 26, 2008– Footnote.com and the National Archives and Records Administration held a press conference at the Archives in Washington DC to announce the release of an online interactive photo of the Vietnam War Memorial. In addition to releasing this unique version of the Wall, Footnote.com enables visitors to search the Wall for people they know and pay tribute by adding photos, comments and stories of those who lost their lives during the Vietnam conflict.
“The Wall is more than just 58,000 plus names,” explains Richard Schroepfer, a Vietnam War Veteran. “Many of these people were my friends. And now Footnote.com helps me create a remembrance of these fine gentlemen.”

To view a video of Richard Schroepfer and his experience with the Wall on Footnote.com, click here.

Footnote.com started the project by contracting the expertise of Peter Krogh, a National Geographic photographer, who was given the challenge to photograph the entire wall. Creating this online version of the Wall required almost 1,500 individual photos that were stitched together to create one single image. The process took over five months and resulted in an image that is nearly five gigapixels in size. Despite the immense size, just about anyone can view the image on Footnote.com via an Internet connection.

Footnote.com partnered with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to link the service records and casualty reports to each name on the Wall. “The records of the Vietnam War in the National Archives are essential resources for veterans to revisit their history and establish their rights,” explains Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein. “These extensive files are mined by scholars every day as they continue to interpret and understand this pivotal period in American history.” Footnote.com will also be digitizing National Archives photos from the Vietnam War.

Finding someone on the Wall is as simple as typing a name into a search box and letting Footnote.com quickly locate and zoom into the area of the Wall where the individual name can be viewed. Once the name is located, visitors can see the soldier’s service record and view comments, stories and photos that have been contributed by other visitors.

“Footnote.com is about discovering, discussing, and sharing the stories of our past,” says Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “We know that there are many untold experiences represented on that Wall, and we hope that this interactive version of the memorial helps those affected by the war by sharing their stories.”

Footnote.com also provides a way for visitors to create a tribute page dedicated to the brave men and women who served in Vietnam, who may not be on the Wall. These pages become a way for veterans, family and friends to share experiences and feelings about this event that has had a great impact on so many. Footnote.com hopes that this interactive Wall becomes a means for healing and paying tribute to those whose sacrifice and service have been underappreciated for so long.

To view the Interactive Wall on Footnote.com, click here.

About Footnote, Inc.

Footnote.com is a subscription website that features searchable original documents, providing users with an unaltered view of the events, places and people that shaped the American nation and the world. At Footnote.com, all are invited to come share, discuss, and collaborate on their discoveries with friends, family, and colleagues. For more information, visit www.footnote.com.

About The National Archives

NARA alone is the archives of the Government of the United States, responsible for safeguarding records of all three branches of the Federal Government. The records held by the National Archives belong to the public – and it is the mission of the National Archives to ensure the public can discover, use, and learn from the records of their government.

I personally have this book and have applied its principals to my research. This remarkably useful book is the definitive guide for how to cite every conceivable kind of source that a historian might use, from traditional archival materials to digital media to the most arcane sources imaginable. This volume will be indispensable to every serious scholar, writer, and editor. Amazon.com has this book listed for $38.81, but Footnote has a special offer right now where you can Immediately download your own electronic copy of this book now for $24.95.

Be sure to get what YOU want for Christmas! Footnote is the exclusive provider of the digital version of Elizabeth Shown Mills’ new book, Evidence Explained. This ground-breaking reference volume features over 1,000 citation models, including records created by digital media: websites, digital books, DVDs, CDs, podcasts and more. Download a digital copy of this valuable book from Footnote and get the convenience of easy reference searches, laptop portability, and thumb drive storage. The hardcover cost in bookstores is more than double the price of the digital version from Footnote, where it’s only $24.95.

FOOTNOTE.COM LAUNCHES THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF WORLD WAR II PHOTOS ON THE WEB-Tens of thousands of photos and documents are made available for the first time on the web for historians, genealogists and the general public-

Lindon, UT – December 6, 2007 – Footnote.com today announced the addition of thousands of US Air Force photos to their digital World War II collection. This release coincides with the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing, and contains tens of thousands of original World War II photos and documents from the National Archives. Among this collection are missing air crew reports, documents from allied military conferences and photos of Japanese air targets.

“They say that a picture is worth a thousand words,” says Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “What’s exciting about this collection of photos is they also include captions that tell stories of the people and events in the photos.”

Footnote.com has added these new pictures and documents as part of a much larger, ongoing effort to preserve the heroic memories and stories of the brave men and women that served in World War II and other wars.

“We are providing priceless content from our archives and libraries that is only a part of a much larger picture,” continued Wilding, “While this is an extensive collection of history, we understand that many people out there have valuable pieces of history in their personal record collections within their own homes. We encourage everyone to upload their own photos, letters and documents contained in their old shoeboxes.”

Footnote.com is leading the movement to preserve the documents and stories about World War II and invites everyone to join in this effort. Uploading photos and documents and creating memorial pages is completely free on Footnote.com. To view samples of these photos and other World War II documents, visit Footnote.com

Press Release I received from Footnote.com

- The Times (London) Includes Details About King George, Napoleon, As Well As Trials, Advertisements and Everyday Life

Lindon, UT – November 27, 2007 – Footnote.com today announced the release of original images from The Times (London from 1785 – 1820)

“Each page in this collection is full of intriguing details about European life during late 18th and early 19th centuries,” says Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com “We are excited to see what people will discover and share from this fascinating collection.”

In addition to details regarding prominent people, the newspapers provide interesting insight into everyday life in England at that time, including; reports on crimes and trials, advertisements from local businesses, weather reports and announcements about local interests like the release of the newly published “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen.

This is a new project by Footnote.com and what a large one it is. Browsing through what they have online right now is very promising. I am salivating at what states they are going to do next. The text below is from their website:

Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29 – Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If you’re unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu. These records can be searched by father’s first and last names, mother’s first and maiden names, year, county, and city. The certificates include the child and parents’ full names, residence, occupations, age, time and date of the birth, and the name of the physician attending the birth.

and this one

Texas Death Certificates, 1890-1976 – These records are searchable by first and last name of the deceased, year, county, and city. A certificate may include the decedent’s date, place, and cause of death; age; date of birth; last residence; and marital status. If known, it will also include occupation, birth place, parents’ names, and place of burial. Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu.

Although I don’t have many ancestors in Texas I am sure many of you do. At this posting the birth Certificates were 32% complete and the Death Certificate were 4% Complete. I will post on this again when they are near completion and/or I hear what state will be next!

What can I say about this new service and what a wonderful resource it is for the genealogy community! I have been a member since September and I can truthfully say that I love it. Granted, they have several areas that do not interest me but I have sure they interest others. This is not a genealogy site but a site with some great genealogical information. In the past I would write to the National Archives seeking documents and records of my ancestors, especially the military records. These are now available on Footnote.com.

They have the document categorized by era and they include these so far:

• Early America: Before 1775
• Revolution: 1775-1815
• A New Nation: 1815-1860
• Civil War: 1860-1880
• Emerging America and WWI: 1880-1920
• Boom and Bust: 1920-1935
• WWII: 1935-1950
• Post War: 1950 and After
• Naturalizations: 1700 – mid 1900s
• News and Town Records
• Photos

They have 3 types of memberships (with all memberships you can Create your own Story Pages; Search & browse all images; Spotlight images & documents; Upload your own images to a gallery; Annotate Member images; Upload, annotate and print your own images; View and search Member images):

1. Free Basic Membership, in addition to the above you can also Annotate, comment, print and save any Free Titles image
2. Monthly All-Access Membership ($7.95 per month), in addition to the above you can also Access to all Premium images; Annotate, comment, print and save any Premium image; Share Premium images for family & friends.
3. Yearly All-Access Membership ($59.95 per month), in addition to the above you can also Access to all Premium images; Annotate, comment, print and save any Premium image; Share Premium images for family & friends.

You can however sign up for a 3-day free trial first and give it a test run.

Over the next few weeks I will go over some of the more genealogy relevant areas of Footnote and give some examples of what I find as well as give you a heads up and upcoming databases.