Many genealogists owe a debt to the many unsung heroes and heroines who convert  medieval documents from print to photography and finally to the internet where we all can read them while conveniently seated in our homes.

While Thomas Hoccleve was a 15th-century scribe, his workday complaints slipped into his poems: eyestrain from long hours staring at text, backaches from a lack of ergonomics, difficulty standing up straight.

His experiences aren’t that far removed from the teams who digitize texts today, which include librarians, curators, imaging specialists, conservators and preservation experts, catalogers and metadata specialists, technologists, project managers, production coordinators and sometimes students. As Hoccleve himself knew, copying texts is exacting and complicated work — and often unappreciated by readers.

That’s a dynamic that Binghamton University Associate Professor of English Bridget Whearty hopes to change. In her new book, Digital Codicology: Medieval Books and Modern Labor, she introduces readers to the digitization process and the highly trained professionals who perform this work.

“In medieval studies, we use digital copies constantly. If you’re a literary scholar, it’s really easy to pull up a copy of a poem you’re working on and see it in a 15th-century scribe’s handwriting,” she said. “But even though we use them, we don’t necessarily think about who makes them and how and why they’re made. And that’s funny, because we spend a lot of time thinking about those exact questions when it comes to the original copies.”

Whearty traces the preservation of manuscripts through media history, from print to photography and finally the internet, demystifying digitization along the way. To that end, she examines late-1990’s projects such as Digital Scriptorium 1.0 alongside late-2010’s initiatives like Bibliotheca Philadelphiensis, and world-renowned projects created by the British Library, Corpus Christi College Cambridge, Stanford University and the Walters Art Museum against in-house digitization performed in lesser-studied libraries.

She also traces the story of one manuscript: a book of Hoccleve’s poetry, created in the 1420s by his own practiced hand, which now resides at the Huntington Library in California. First printed in 1796, it was put on microfiche in the late 20th century and photographed for digitization in the early 21st century. During each rendering, editors, printers and copiers made choices about what needed to be represented and preserved.

You can read a lot more in an article by Jennifer Micale published in the Binghamton University web site at: https://www.binghamton.edu/news/story/4095/modern-scribes-how-medieval-books-go-from-parchment-to-the-cloud.

Here is a list of all of this week's articles, all of them available here at https://eogn.com:

(+) The Care and Maintenance of Tombstones

Presidential Ancestry

What We Found Out About 4 U.S. Presidents in the 1950 Census

Contributions of Black, Indigenous Soldiers Detailed in New Collection at Museum of the American Revolution

Historic Iwo Jima Footage Shows Individual Marines Amid the Larger Battle

Book Worth More Than $600 Stolen From Dayton, Ohio Metro Library

eBay for Genealogists

Association for Gravestone Studies 2023 Conference

Free BCG-sponsored Webinar, February 21, 2023

Findmypast Adds Two Brand New and Exclusive Record Collections

Recently Added and Updated Collections on Ancestry.com 

Black Death 700 Years Ago Affects Your Health Now

How to Cancel a Subscription Online Even When the Company Doesn’t Want You To

MyHeritage has an interesting article published in the company's blog. Amongst the highlights:

The current U.S. president, Joe Biden, was 7 years old in 1950.

The article describes family members that Biden lived with.

Donald Trump was 4 years old in 1950

He lived with 7 other people, all close relatives except for one Irish domestic worker.

Barack Obama is the only one of the past 5 U.S. presidents who hadn’t been born yet in 1950.

We will have to wait for the 2042 release of census records to learn about his living arrangements in 1970.

President Clinton appears in the 1950 U.S. census as 3-year-old William Jefferson Blythe III

He lived in Hope City, Arkansas at the time with his maternal grandparents.

You can read the full article at: https://blog.myheritage.com/2023/02/what-we-found-out-about-4-u-s-presidents-in-the-1950-census/.

Police are investigating after a book worth hundreds of dollars was stolen from a local library. On Jan. 28, a staff member at Dayton Metro Library’s E. Third Street location reported an unknown male had stolen a book from the genealogy department, according to a police report filed this week.

The book that was stolen was Catawba Confederacy by Richard L. Haithcock. The book is valued at $660, according to the police report.

Police looked over security video and saw the suspect take the book. He was caught on camera using a knife “to remove the stickers labeling it as Dayton Metro Library property.”

With Presidents' Day in the U.S. this week, this is a good time to look at the ancestry of the U.S. presidents. After all, if your ancestors have been in the U.S. for 100 years or more, there is a strong possibility that your ancestry intersects with at least one of the U.S. presidents. The same can be said for many others of Canadian, British, Scottish, or Irish ancestry, as well as a few from the European continent. 

You can find many sources of information about U.S. presidential genealogy. Probably the most scholarly resource is Gary Boyd Roberts' book, Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States. 

The Web is full of information about U.S. presidential ancestry, but with varying degrees of accuracy. Here is a list of some of those pages:

Presidential Genealogy and Family History:

http://www.presidentsusa.net/genealogy.html 

Ancestry of George W. Bush:

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~addams/presidential/bush.html

Ancestry of George Washington:

https://www.archives.com/genealogy/president-washington.html

Ancestry of Abraham Lincoln:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_family

Ancestry of John F. Kennedy:

https://famouskin.com/ahnentafel.php?name=8108+john+f+kennedy

Ancestry of Richard Nixon:

https://famouskin.com/ahnentafel.php?name=3502+richard+nixon

Ancestry of Lyndon B. Johnson:

https://famouskin.com/ahnentafel.php?name=15671+lyndon+b+johnson

Ancestry of Gerald Ford:

https://famouskin.com/ahnentafel.php?name=8007+gerald+ford

Ancestry of Jimmy Carter:

https://famouskin.com/ahnentafel.php?name=12937+jimmy+carter

Ancestry of Ronald Reagan:

https://famouskin.com/ahnentafel.php?name=15704+ronald+reagan

Ancestry of George H. W. Bush:

https://famouskin.com/ahnentafel.php?name=3103+george+w+bush

Ancestry of Bill Clinton:

https://famouskin.com/ahnentafel.php?name=15616+bill+clinton

Ancestry of George W. Bush:

https://famouskin.com/ahnentafel.php?name=3103+george+w+bush

Ancestry of Barack Obama;

https://www.thoughtco.com/ancestry-of-barack-obama-1421628

Patriots of color are getting their time to shine as once forgotten documents re-emerge in the public eye, in a special way. Nearly 200 rare documents bearing names of Black and Indigenous soldiers who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution will soon be on display for all to see, for free.

“I think the fact that now through Ancestry we’ll be able to have these so widely available is fantastic,” said Aimee Newell, the museum’s director of collections and exhibitions.

She says these documents — which will allow so many people of color to connect with a piece of their heritage they never knew about — will also give insight into army life at the time.

“There are handwritten receipts about men receiving a blanket from the selectmen of their town, a lot of pay vouchers, all kinds of really interesting tidbits,” she said.

You can read more in an article by Justin Udo published in the Audacy.com web site at: https://tinyurl.com/yb6mrpzn.

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

Civil Service Commission Appointments, Promotions and Transfers 1871-1942 

Spanning 71 years, these 872,439 records cover the British Civil Service, from postal workers, prison workers, the admiralty and more. You might find an ancestor’s name, age, occupation, plus details on their appointment, transfer, promotion or certification.  

Second World War Civilian Casualties In Britain 1940-1945 

This collection comes from multiple sources and includes 64,339 records. It is made up of mostly civilian casualties during the Second World War, in addition to 4,000 servicemen who died on the home front during enemy action. You may find an exact address, standard biographical detail, and even the type of enemy action.   

Newspapers 

After months of incredible work, Findmypast’s newspaper scanners are taking a well-deserved break this week.

NOTE:   This article is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, it is information that I believe every computer user should know.

Don't let unethical companies force you to call to cancel.

Most services are easy to sign up for. You enter some info, punch in those credit card numbers, and shazam! A subscription is born. The reverse isn’t always the case. Many companies make canceling their services way harder than subscribing, which should be illegal. And in some places, it is—a fact you can use to your advantage.

Being forced to call in is unacceptable when subscribing takes 30 seconds online. But if the FTC isn’t going to do anything more than issue a warning or rely on regular people to report these shady companies, there is something you can do to fight back: Lie. 

You can read the full article by Jake Peterson published in the LifeHacker web site at: https://lifehacker.com/how-to-cancel-a-subscription-online-even-when-the-compa-1850117577.

Comment by Dick Eastman: I have a similar method that I found works well. I go to privacy.com at https://privacy.com/ and sign up for a pseudo credit card for a maximum charge of $1.00 or some similar amount. Then I go to the questionable web site and change my credit card number on file to the new (low maximum price) card number. When it comes time to automatically renew, the charge bounces (as long as the charge is for more than $1.00). 

After sending me 2 or 3 notices that I "need" to change my credit card number (which I will never do), the vendor then cancels my account for non-payment.

Simple. Effective.

When most Americans think of the World War II battle for Iwo Jima – if they think of it at all, more than 75 years later – they think of one image: Marines raising the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi, the island’s highest point.

That moment, captured in black and white by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal and as a color film by Marine Sergeant William Genaust, is powerful, embodying the spirit of the Marine Corps.

But these pictures are far from the only images of the bloodiest fight in the Marines’ history. A larger library of film, and the men captured on them, is similarly emotionally affecting. It can even bring Americans alive today closer to a war that ended in the middle of the last century.

Take for instance, just one scene: Two Marines kneel with a dog before a grave marker. It is in the final frames of a film documenting the dedication of one of the three cemeteries on the island. Those two Marines are among hundreds present to remember the more than 6,000 Americans killed on the island in over a month of fighting.

Most of the cameramen on Iwo Jima used 100-foot film reels that could capture about two and a half minutes of film. Sgt. Genaust, who shot the color sequence atop Suribachi, shot at least 25 reels – just over an hour of film – before he was killed, roughly halfway through the campaign.

More than 50 Marine combat cameramen operated across the eight square miles of Iwo Jima during the battle, which stretched from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945. Many shot still images, but at least 26 shot motion pictures. Three of these Marine cinematographers were killed in action.

You can read a lot more and view videos in an article published in The Conversation web site at: https://tinyurl.com/ycktp2jd.

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. 

One of the best methods of honoring our ancestors is to take care of their tombstones. Proper cleaning and maintenance once every ten years or so can help a tombstone remain readable for decades. I also like to take pictures of tombstones; so, anything that improves the legibility of the lettering interests me. 

Sadly, many people do not know how to take proper care of tombstones. They use harsh chemicals, power washers, and, worst of all, wire brushes. These items will damage the stones and actually REDUCE the ability to read the lettering over time.

Here are a few rules to follow.

Never use wire brushes! The brushes will significantly damage the stones. Worst of all, brushes will damage the outer "skin" of a stone and expose the porous insides. Yes, many stones have a "skin" that is formed by years of exposure to the elements. This "skin" acts as a barrier to the elements. Even removing a fraction of an inch during cleaning exposes the porous insides of the stone. Then water gets absorbed, and the temperature changes of the seasons will cause expansion and contraction. The result is cracks in the stone, which may lead to further damage over the years.

While wire brushes cause damage, careful use of soft, white nylon brushes can remove dirt and plant growth. Toothbrushes are also good for cleaning tombstones. Rinse the brush frequently so as to not grind dirt into the stone. The key here is softness. If in doubt, use the brush to rub your face for a few seconds. Press hard. If the brush hurts your face, it will also hurt the tombstone. Instead of brushes, you might use wood popsicle sticks or bamboo skewers. Wood is softer than stone and therefore unlikely to cause scratching or other damage. 

The remainder of this article is reserved for Plus Edition subscribers only. If you have a Plus Edition subscription, you may read the full article at: https://eogn.com/(*)-Plus-Edition-News-Articles/13099231.

If you are not yet a Plus Edition subscriber, you can learn more about such subscriptions and even upgrade to a Plus Edition subscription immediately at https://eogn.com/page-18077.