Is Mysterious Jamestown Slate an American Rosetta Stone?

Using enhanced imagery and an expert in Elizabethan script, archaeologists have begun to discern the meaning of mysterious text and images etched into a rare 400-year-old slate tablet discovered this summer 2009 at Jamestown, Virginia, the very first permanent English settlement in America.

Digitally enhanced images of the slate helped to isolate inscriptions and clarify fine details on the slate — the first with extensive inscriptions discovered at such an early American colonial site, said William Kelso, director of research and interpretation at the 17th-century Historic Jamestown site.

The enhancement images have helped researchers identify a 16th-century writing style used on the slate and to discern new symbols. The characters may be from an obscure Algonquian Indian alphabet created by an English scholar to help explorers pronounce the language spoken by the Virginia Indians. See Jamestown Slate.

by Paula Neely  
for National Geographic magazine  

MyHeritage Genealogy Search Engine

How would you like to search on 1500+ databases FREE and in only one search?

MyHeritage Genealogy Search Engine can do it!

Enter the first name and surname (and other details if you have them) of a person and you will shortly receive results from more than 1500 free genealogical databases. How kewl izzat?

HeyStaks to unveil groundbreaking web search tool

HEYSTAKS, A UCD-based start-up has already won plaudits and awards for a software application that has yet to be fully released. They will unveil Version 1 of its groundbreaking search tool over the next few weeks.

They have developed a browser plug-in that complements popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. HeyStaks works by adding key organisational and collaborative tools on top of these search engines that enable users to organise and build on search results or "staks" on a particular subject. These staks can be kept private or shared with others and they can be added to by fellow members ensuring that a multitude of data on any given topic can be kept for future reference and expanded. Or, if you cannot wait for this, take a look at my review of Copernic Agent — it's free.

Census Search Tip

If you've ever hunted for a family in the census and gotten frustrated because they just don't show up — but you know they are there? One trick you can try is to search just using a first name (the husband or the wife or a child), NO last name, and the approximate year of birth of the person. Still no hits? Try searching just using a year of birth and a location of birth — NO names at all. Look for one of the children if you can't find the parents. You'd be amazed at how often you can find the family you are looking for by trying a variety of search techniques.

by Olive Tree Genealogy  

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is an academic search engine powered by Google for finding scholarly articles and books on topics related to history and genealogy. Although you may not find an article or book about your specific ancestors, there may be an article about the place, era, occupation, or religion of your forebears which can then help you learn more about their lives.

by Dæ Powell  

Surnames as a science

An online book by Robert Ferguson, originally published in 1883, Routledge (London). If surnames interest you, take a look at this one — it is over 125 years old! You can read it or even download it at the Open Library on the web.

by Dæ Powell  

Maps Compare

Which is your favourite map service? Google? Yahoo? Bing? Why not compare them and see? You can do that at Maps Compare

by Dæ Powell  

Interactive Family History Classes

Have you wanted to trace your family tree or learn about your ancestry, but you're not sure where to begin? Have you hit a brick wall in your research, and need a boost from an expert? Now, with Family Tree University, you can gain the skills and techniques in our online courses, taught by some of the best minds in the genealogy field.

by Family Tree Magazine  

Google Insights for Search Adds More Languages, Forecasting

Google announced new features for its Google Insights for Search, available at Insights. The new features include lots more languages (a total of 39!) and even a forecasting feature.

Have you used Google Insights for Search? You can enter one or more search terms, specify factors like a time range, type of search (news, images, Web, etc.) and geographic area of the world, and Google will give you a graph of how much that search has been requested over time, along with pointers to news stories about your query and information on the search’s popularity in different geographic areas.

by Dæ Powell