History – Blog Added

I have now added a Blog for the History section of the site. The Blog is called ‘History for Today.’ A link to the Blog will soon be added to the History section of the site.

Visit the Blog at:
http://inhistorytoday.wordpress.com/

 

Kevin’s Portal now has a Blog and Guestbook

I have now added a Blog and Guestbook to Kevin’s Portal. The Blog is simply a news update Blog for the site, announcing changes to that site and comments on new links added to it and/or links removed from it.

http://kevinsportal.wordpress.com/

Latest News From Tracing our History

There have been a number of things happening at Tracing our History over the last couple of days, including the overhaul of Kevin’s Portal as mentioned in an earlier post. The latest happenings are listed below:

1. The latest issue of Research has been completed and is now available online via the link below:

   http://tracingourhistory.com/newsletter/research.html

2. The first collaboration project has been launched via the Tracing our History Stixyboard (a password is required – please request one). Details of the project and how to use Stixyboard are covered in the above-mentioned newsletter.

3. Collaboration features of the Tracing our History site have been moved to a new section of the site. Visit the collaboration page at:
   http://tracingourhistory.com/collaboration.html

4. The Kevin’s Portal updates can be found at:

   http://kevinmatthews.zxq.net/

   The updates and overhaul at Kevin’s Portal are also covered in the newsletter.

 

Kevin’s Portal Overhauled

I have been giving ‘Kevin’s Portal’ an overhaul today. Kevin’s Portal is the site I maintain with links to pretty much all of the places I have a footprint on the World Wide Web. This should be the last major overhaul for the site for some time – though there will be links to other sites added on a regular basis.

http://kevinmatthews.zxq.net/

Tracing our History Chat Chanels are Open

Tracing our History is developing a set of tools for enhancing the ability of family members to trace our history together in a collaborative and interactive manner. To do this I am setting up channels and groups within various social networks and web applications. All of these tools and sites provide a plethora of free opportunities for family members to help make our family research more interesting, exciting and useful for all. Please consider joining one or all of these sites listed on the ‘Research Collaboration Features’ page at Tracing our History.

http://tracingourhistory.com/collaboration.html

I have now set up two real time chat/file sharing possibilities via the collaboration page, with two different social networking sites (Pip.io and Micromobs). To get involved with either site or both you will need to join the site and the channel that I have set up (on each of the sites). You can find both sites via the link above or go directly to Pip.io and/or Micromobs at:

The Tracing our History channel at Pip.io can be found via the link below:
http://pip.io/#/channel/tracingourhistory

The Tracing our History ‘mob’ at Micromobs can be found via the link below:
http://micromobs.com/mob/3e663ac1686f86d36c9cb4d23da5cd77

Bagg/s and Jenkinson Family Trees Now Online

Two more family trees are now accessible on the Tracing our History website. These are the Bagg/s and Jenkinson family trees.

A username and password are required to view the family trees hosted on the site. These are issued to family members who are able to show their relationship to the family.

These trees can be found via the link below:

http://tracingourhistory.com/secure/tree.html

Lilley Family Tree Now Online

The first of a number of family trees associated with my family is now accessible via the Tracing our History website. A username and password are required to view the family trees hosted on the site. These are issued to family members who are able to show their relationship to the family.

The first tree posted on the site is that of the Lilley family, starting with William Lilley (Born 1624) and follows his descendants. The tree can be found via the link below:

http://tracingourhistory.com/secure/tree.html

Wow – Great New Features in Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader

As most people probably know, a PDF reader is required to read PDF files. Usually you would use Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader for that. Now there is even more reason to use Adobe’s piece of software for doing just that. Adobe has just released version X of the software and it has some massive improvements – improvements that will be of great help to family members at Tracing our History.

The following are the ‘new’ features of version X of Acrobat PDF Reader:

• Read, search and share PDF files
• Convert to PDF
• Export and edit PDF files
• Add rich media to PDF files
• Combine files from multiple applications
• Increase productivity and process consistency
• Streamline document reviews
• Collect data with fillable PDF forms
• Protect PDF files and content
• Comply with PDF and accessibility standards

OK, that all sounds very confusing I guess – it does a bit to me also. Now this is how I see at least some of the improvements and they are what I’ve been looking for for a long time.:

• There is the ability now to highlight text within a PDF file
• There is the ability to add a note to what is highlighted and make comments. If the PDF file is sent to someone else to look at it can be opened and comments can be made in reply to what you have written. This makes a PDF file very collaborative in research.
• There is the ability to place sticky notes onto the file – just as you would with a book or magazine. Again, these can be replied to or edited.
• Obviously the PDF file can be shared with others for their comments and be passed backward and forwards.
• The PDF file can also be sent to someone else right in the reader software by email or via Adobe Online.

So they are just some of the uses of version X, but they are brilliant for genealogy research.

To get Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader X visit:
http://www.adobe-new-downloads.com/

Latest Site News

Tracing our History is now very close to completing its move to the new domain http://tracingourhistory.com . In fact I will soon be removing most of the content from the old site and simply leaving a redirection URL on the main page. There are just a few more things to do before I can make the move complete.

I have now got the ‘history’ section of the site up and running – currently there are a few links not working quite right, but it is very close to being finished – with the exception of the local history part of the page (but that won’t be too long).

http://tracingourhistory.com/history.html

I have issued 8 usernames and passwords to the private/secure section of the site, allowing these family members access to the family history book and eventually the tree and various other files that will be stored there. So things are moving along nicely I think.

Once the site is fully operational my attention will turn to work on headstones/cemeteries and trying to get a better system up on the site for those. I am also continuing to work away at the family history database and getting all of that information sorted out properly.

Family Tree Database Update

I am working hard to get an updated version of the family trees onto the website as soon as I possibly can. There is a lot of work going on at the moment with additional information being added to the database that I have. There are now over 15 000 names in the database and some 4750 marriages – so you can see the extent of what is going on behind the scenes. I still have a lot of work to do and the names in the database will probably reach about 20 000 or so by the time I’m finished (it may even get to 25 000) and about 10 000 marriages.

It is possible that I’ll be able to add the family trees corrected to what I currently have in the very near future – however, an update for the book is some way off.

Have a peek at the new site at:
http://tracingourhistory.com