21 September 2013

DUCK DUCK GO, YAHOO, BING and GOOGLE

Duck Duck Go, Yahoo, and Bing, are currently the search engines that compete with Google.  Since this Google Blogger is gratis the Google company, I always use Google to find it.  I feel lucky to be able to blog without paying for the opportunity, though I do put a lot of energy and effort into it, which is my contribution.

I was amazed to find out, when a library I use changed their search engine to Bing, that the ranking of this blog is number one or higher than on the Google search engine itself at Bing, and at Duck Duck Go, the search engine that is taking over a lot of Google and Yahoo's business since the NSA/ Edward Snowden news.  One of the reasons for this is the paid advertising that comes up for companies with names similar to the title of this blog. The other reason is that other search engines use different criteria for ranking, and one of those criteria is that bloggers sometimes have more freedom of expression than advertisers. 

I always hope I'm providing interesting and valuable information for my readers.  Recently I installed a link so that people who come to the blog through a post that is not the most recent post can go to the top of the blog with a click.  The Google Blogger statistics help me see what posts the readers find most interesting.  Many of my posts are read some time after posting.

I'm also looking more at where the readers are coming from and am composing a Page that lists the countries from which readers approach this site.  I'm always wondering if those readers are interested in or involved in Genealogy research in their own countries, or if they are more interested in the spirituality I present here as an alternative!

18 September 2013

MIDDLETON COAT OF ARMS : THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW NOBLE FAMILY

Thought this article was one of the best about the new Coat of Arms used by the Middleton Family, which of course includes daughter Catherine, Kate, Prince William's wife, the Duchess of Cambridge.

DAILY MAIL : MIDDLETON FAMILY COAT OF ARMS link

The simple design features 3 acorns to represent the Middleton's three children.

Illustrations and this:

..."Coats of Arms came into being during medieval tournaments like jousting when knights would be recognised by the motifs on their shields or helmets and heralds quickly learnt the different ones in use, taking up responsibility for the control of their use.

Their use declined in competition and battle but they became more widely used in society.
The College of Arms, a branch of the Royal household, is the official body in the UK that deals with coats of arms and their team of experts - funded by the fees they charge and not taxpayers money - design and research heraldic or genealogical issues.

The arms are given for free while the money people pay is for the research and design of the coat of arms.

However, that doesn't mean that just anybody can pay the fee and get a coat of arms. The cumulative knowledge of the Earl Marshal gathered over hundreds of years has given them the skill of tactfully suggesting that people don't proceed with their application.
The late Peter Gwynn-Jones, a former Garter King of Arms, once said: 'In practice, eligibility depends upon holding a civil or military commission, a sound university degree or professional qualification, or having achieved some measure of distinction in a field beneficial to society as a whole.'..."


14 September 2013

BARBRO KARLEN EARNESTLY BELIEVES SHE WAS ANNE FRANK IN HER LAST LIFE

May 2021 :The original three video documentary that was inclusvie of Doctor Walter Semkiw, has been taken off YouTube,

This is what I had written about it:

This is the full mini documentary film.  Barbro Karlen was born into a Christian family in Sweden this time around. She has retained her skill and talent as a writer, like Anne Frank, and published her first book at 12.  Her priest was concerned.  A psychiatrist said she was normal, but she didn't tell him about her memories.

Barbro's parents, especially her mother, believed her after a trip to Amsterdam. Then, around the age of 15 she began to forget the dreams and memories that were with her as a child.  She had a brief marriage at 19 and a son, and needed to find a way to support them besides writing.  She retained a fear of men in uniforms but she trained horses for the Mounted Police, which was her career for 15 years. Her past life memories came back to her.  Why had she remembered a past life when most people don't?  Feelings of persecution on the job brought nightmares that she'd had as a child came back to her  - day and night.  She even considered suicide.

I'm posting this video as a substitute which he also posted:

11 September 2013

BERGA : SOLDIERS OF ANOTHER WAR :PBS VIDEO

American GIs trapped in the tragedy of the holocaust - an untold story.

In December 1944 thousands of American soldiers who were captured during the Battle of the Bulge were transferred to a Nazi concentration camp , Stalag 9B. When commanders explained that religion made no difference to the Americans men were selected because they had a Jewish surname, their mother's maiden name was Jewish, or their name sounded Jewish or they looked Jewish.

About a third of the men captured were then sent off to Buckenwald's satellite camp Berga, a slave labor camp. Though using captured soldiers as labor was against the Geneva Convention these men were used anyway. Some of them didn't make it. Some were alive to tell their tale in 2002 when this PBS video was made.


Lots of black and white film and photos.  Sometimes I wish the filming had been in color as black and white distances us from what happened in that war and in those camps.  This film truly did present a story I'd never heard before.

10 September 2013

U.S WAR BRIDES : MICHELE THOMAS SITE : FOR THE WOMEN WHO CAME TO THE US AS BRIDES AFTER WORLD WAR II

US WAR BRIDES link - site by Michele Thomas

There are testimonials here: "This is the largest immigration of women to ever come to the U.S. They left their families and everything they knew behind for the love of a soldier. Many of these brides knew that they would never see family and friends again. These brides hoped for a better life, some had a wonderful life while many did not. Fear of never being able to see their children if they left plus the lack of money keep them here."

07 September 2013

HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHAT TOWN IN ENGLAND MY MOTHER LEFT AS A CHILD? : QUESTIONS FOR ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY

Question for ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY:

All I know about my mother's past is that she came over from England on a steamship with her mother when she was a child right after World War II.  I don't know where in England they were from.  I think they left Liverpool.  How can I find out more about my mother and grandmother, both who are now deceased?



Answer:

You probably want to start with SHIP MANIFESTS since your grandmother and mother will first show up on the United States Census in the 1950 census which won't be out for another decade.  A ship manifest may tell you where they left and where they are going to.

AND

An alternative would be to send away to the SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION for the ORIGINAL APPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY FOR YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR GRANDMOTHER.

A person may have APPLIED for Social Security without ever collecting it.  You can check the SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH INDEX to see if either ever collected.  They may have collected nothing but the death benefit but, if so, they should be on the Index.  Even if they are not on the index it's worth the time and money to send away for the original application.

The original application should give you their mother's maiden name as well as where she was going to work, if, like many people in the past, she only applied because she had to for employment.  Be aware that a person may not have applied if they were self employed, if they or their spouse was a doctor or if they or their spouse worked for the rail road.

As for ship manifests there are a number of independent sites such as THE SHIPS TRANSCRIBERS GUILD that have looked at original handwritten manuscripts and turned them into text on the Internet.  You can check ANCESTRY, FOLD3, or another SUBSCRIPTION genealogy research database for NEW YORK SHIP RECORDS.   My guess is that they will be listed as having left SOUTH HAMPTON, England to NEW YORK, but there were a lot of other ports open and operating in that era.  Ships from German ports and from Liverpool stopped in South Hampton.  Some people got off one ship for a few days and continued their voyage across the Atlantic on another.


PS: I did a search for British War Brides and found that the Queen Mary was used as a ship to bring brides to the United States.  

05 September 2013

WORLD WAR II SHIPS : SHAYNE WALLESC and WENDY HOCHNADEL : RECREATING MISSING INFORMATION ON TROOPS

LINK TO WORLD WAR II SHIPS inc QUEEN MARY used as troop carrier  Site by WW2troopships.com & WWIItroopships.com
Web Site Copyright © 2007 Shayne E. Wallesc & Wendy J. Hochnadel

Example:

1946

February 3 - May 19, 1946 Six war bride voyages, transporting 12,886 European brides and children to the United States and Canada.

May 23 - September 18, 1946 Seven war bride voyages transporting European brides and children to Canada. Ten stowaways were discovered on the first crossing.

September 1946 Carried a total of 765,429 military personnel. Sailed a total of 569,429 miles (916,407 km). Carried up to 15,000 troops at one time. Carried wounded returning to the United States. Transported Winston Churchill three times to conferences. Carried 12,886 G.I. brides and children.

THIS SITE IS ATTEMPTING TO RECREATE USEFUL INFORMATION.  If you go to the site you'll link to a form to fill out for reportage of specific crossings called CROSSING SUBMISSION FORM. That includes those of you who were in the war and the brides!