Follow Friday: GenBlog Julie

 I've mentioned Julie Cahill Tarr's blog before. It's time to mention it again. It's just that good.
  This time I want to profile Julie's post on the Kremer family. Written to address the "Surname Saturday" post, the post very neatly outlines the lineage of the Kremer family. The family began in Luxembourg and ended in Illinois. She's carefully outlined her own family in blue. It's an interesting way to view the family's life.

Follow Friday: The Heritage Huntress

  I'm always on the look-out for new Luxembourg bloggers... There are so few of us that one new blogger may end up being connected to multiple families. Amber's new blog The Heritage Huntress has thus far focused on her British Isles ancestors. Entries include sections from various family documents and appropriate commentary. I can't wait until she talks about her Luxembourger side.

Those Places Thursday: Research in Jackson County, Iowa

   Do you have Luxembourg ancestors who passed through Jackson County Iowa? (Imagine my raised hand here!) Here are a few ideas for researching their past...
1) Start with reading more about the history of Jackson County in my previous posts: 
     a) http://luxembourggenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/05/society-saturday-jackson-county.html
     b) http://luxembourggenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/05/mappy-monday-jackson-county-maps.html
  
2) Check out what's available on FamilySearch.  These records trace birth, marriage, and deaths.
    a) https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/list#page=1&countryId=51

3) There's some historical information on Genealogy Trails.

4) Google News has links to modern newspaper articles.

And there's much more available!

Tech Tuesday: New FamilySearch Luxembourg collection

  I have to learn to stop skimming FamilySearch.org announcements of new collections - especially when they come through Dick Eastman's blog. I keep missing new Luxembourg collections. I did it again this week!
   Turns out FamilySearch has a new Belgium, Luxembourg collection. That's right... Belgium, Luxembourg. Are you confused yet? Wikipedia offers a good explanation. But the basic gist is this - sometime in the 1830s, part of Luxembourg broke off from the rest of the country. That part of Luxembourg is now part of Belgium. So if you have ancestors from that region, the Belgium Luxembourg collections should offer a good resource.
    What's actually in the collection? Like most civil registrations, it contains images of the town's birth, death, and marriage records. According to the collection descriptions, the records begin in 1795 and run through 1912. You'll need to know the town name to access the records. Click on that, and you'll have to choose the type of record and period. Click on that to search by page. Happy research!

Follow Friday: Weydert/Weidert Family History

   Do you have Weyderts or Weiderts in your family line? Run by Luxembourger Jean-Pierre Weidert, Weydert.com is an online tree. You can search by location, surname, and more. To see personal details, you'll have to create a user account and log-in. The site also offers links to the author's articles on the family history. Since the site is run by a person interested in one surname, you may have a harder time tracing your family line... but at least you'll have a place to start.

Those Places Thursday: Google Images

   This is one of those things I should have figured out a long time ago... but I guess logic finally caught up with me. I've always loved seeing where my ancestor is from. Unfortunately, much of the time going there in person isn't feasible. I've been lucky enough to visit the hometowns of many of immigrant ancestors, but I know that there are some I may never reach. Google Maps is a nice substitute - if it has street view. Street view does not exist for Luxembourg.
  So where to go from there? Google Images actually offers great photos of Luxembourg towns and cities. The search chooses images from sites that use your search terms. The end result may leave you with some photos you'll need to ignore - I ended up with photos of local construction sites - but also some nice images of town. It's a good place to "start" your visit.

Tuesday's Tip: Useful Tips for Tracing Luxembourg-American Families

  I've been doing a lot of digging in my Luxembourg family tree recently. I've hit a lot of blocks  - but also learned new research tricks. I thought I would share a few of my favorites.
    1) Work from specific to vague.  I know a lot about my family, which in theory, should help my research. Except when the family name is misspelled. I've seen spellings recently that had no resemblance to the actual family name. How did I find them? I started dropping information from my searches - and turned up a few things I wouldn't have found otherwise.
    2) Be open to looking elsewhere.  I've actually found Luxembourger relatives in Canada. Lose the location you expect  - you don't know what you'll find!
     3) Trust your instincts. I guessed about where one ancestor had died based on the last place I could find him living in the census. When I finally was able to check the death indexes, there he was.

I know these are basics, but it's amazing how I forget them!