There have been so many advances in technology that I can hardly remember what it was like to do genealogy in the “old days.” The newest technologies back then were microfilm and word processors. Searching and receiving a vital record could take a year. Even without a computer, we can use some new technology, such as GPS (Garmin and Tom-Tom to name just two) and digital cameras to help with family history.
The GPS machines can be used to pinpoint headstones in a cemetery, or the plot of land where the old family homestead used to be. Anyone who has researched a deed can explain the frustration of trying to find the remains of a boundary-marking tree that was cut down 50 years ago. GPS will provide actual longitude and latitude readings; so that future generations can be sure they have found the right spot.
You can use a digital camera for photographing books in libraries (with permission) and delicate newspapers. Even microfilm and microfiche can be photographed on the display screen.
One of the advantages of using a camera is that you can focus on just the section you want, rather than a large page. The digital camera has an added advantage. It does not need a flash. The light from a flash or a photocopier can be very damaging to delicate print over time.
Of course the third advantage is that you can take many different exposures and only print what you want, saving the cost of several photocopies. For example I always photocopied the title page, the Library of Congress page, and index pages relating to several family surnames; in addition to the pages in question inside the book. Now a digital camera makes the same information available for free, and does not damage the book during photocopying.
I used my digital camera this summer to copy an old newspaper obituary. The original had been bound into a book and could not be photocopied, and had not yet been digitized or microfilmed. Without a digital camera, I would have had to hand copy the information, and would not have had an image of the actual newspaper page. I am not a patient transcriber, and often have trouble reading my notes by the end of a page. Therefore this technology has been a blessing in several ways.
If you do use a computer and the Internet, I hope you will search information on ancestral hometowns. I was amazed to find that even the tiny Italian villages from which my father’s parents had emigrated had websites. Yes they were in Italian, but it was pretty easy to get a general idea of what they were showcasing. If I want particular translations, I can always use the translation feature on Google to translate individual words or entire web pages.
Do not forget that the State of Maine has made it possible for anyone to use the library’s computer to search for free on Ancestry.com. There has never been a better time to experiment with technology to see how you can put it to work on your family history.
Editor’s note: Columnist Nina Brawn of Dover-Foxcroft, who has been doing genealogy for over 30 years, is a freelance genealogy researcher, speaker and teacher. Reader e-mails are welcome at ninabrawn@gmail.com. The Aroostook County Genealogical Society meets the fourth Monday of the month except in July and December at the Cary Medical Center’s Chan Education Center, 163 Van Buren Road, Caribou, at 6:30 p.m. Guests and prospective members are always welcome. FMI contact Edwin “J” Bullard at 492-5501.
