On most Mondays, I publish brief e-mail interviews with some of our lookup providers. This week I’d like to introduce you to Melissa Barker, who goes by the username kaitysmom on Genlighten.

From kaitysmom’s profile:

Melissa has been doing Tennessee and Kentucky research for about 20 years. She started her own professional research business in 2004. She does single document retrievals, larger research projects and “everything in between.” She completed the ProGen Study and graduated in 2009 with a certificate.

Nine questions with Melissa:

1)      How did you get started doing genealogy lookups/research?

About 20 years ago I attended a funeral for one of my husband’s ancestors.  While at the visitation there was a lady running around talking to all the family members and writing in this notebook.  I asked her what she was doing and she and I talked for about an hour about genealogy research and I was hooked!!

I don’t give up!  I search every source available to try locate the information that a person is asking for.  Since I have been researching for so long in the Tennessee and Kentucky areas, I have personal knowledge of the records that are available and also records that are not so well known.

Just recently I did a research project for a Client where he wanted me to locate the burial location of his Civil War ancestor.  The ancestor died of disease during the Civil War in Bradley County, Tennessee.  I was able to locate burial records where the ancestor had been buried in Bradley County in 1863 and a year later was disinterred and reburied in the newly formed Chattanooga National Cemetery in Hamilton County, Tennessee in 1864.  I was also able to obtain photos of the ancestors headstone.

A well-formulated query should include the name of the person in question, all dates necessary to complete the request and the specific location where the records should be found.

I conduct most all of my research through the Tennessee State Library and Archives.  This repository is very well known in my area for the amount of information and records they house for all 95 counties in Tennessee.  They also hold a large collection of Kentucky records as well as a large collection of records for all States that adjoin the State of Tennessee.

I use a Epson Perfection V350 Photo Scanner.  This scanner produces very clear scans and my Clients are always impressed with the quality.

My looks ups consist of Tennessee records at this time.  However, I am considering including Kentucky look ups since I do research in Kentucky as well.

Offer look ups in the areas that you are familiar with the records.  Make your turn around time as short as possible.

Riding motorcycles with my husband, reading and writing.

Lookups Melissa Offers

• Tennessee Birth Records, 1908-1912
• Book or Publication Search, years vary
• Tennessee Published Cemetery Records, years vary
• Tennessee Death Certificates, 1908-1958
• Tennessee Deed Record, years vary by County
• Tennessee Marriage Record, years vary by County
• Tennessee Microfilmed Records, years vary by County
• Civil War Service Records, 1861-1865
• Tennessee Obituary, Varies by County
• Tennessee Will and Probate Records, Varies by County
• Tennessee Tax Records, Varies by County

On most Mondays, I publish brief e-mail interviews with some of our lookup providers. This week I’m highlighting Carolyn McNicholl of McNicholl Genealogical Services.

From McNichollGenService’s Profile

Carolyn’s firm specializes in genealogical document retrieval for Scotland. She has convenient access to all the major Scottish record repositories in Edinburgh. Carolyn is a member of APG, the Society of Genealogists, and the Scottish Genealogical Society, among many others. She’s undertaken genealogical studies through the University of Toronto, the University of Strathclyde, and the University of Dundee.

Nine Questions with Kathy

1)    How did you get started doing genealogy lookups/research?

Genealogical research has always interested me since I was young. Lookups and research are part of my work everyday as a professional genealogist to help others with their own family history since 1994.   Sometimes a person cannot get to go
to a particular facility to obtain a document, and this is where we step into the gap to help.

2)    Do you have a genealogy “superpower”? If so, what is it?

I would say that my “superpower” would be that I cannot let go of something - dogged determination to find the answer to a problem.

3)      Describe a tricky research problem you’re particularly proud of having solved?

A client who could not find the birth of an ancestor in Scotland or Ireland, but I was able to find out that the first name of the person was incorrect in the marriage certificate - the flood gates opened after that.

4)    What are the ideal elements you like to see in a well-formulated lookup request?

Really just to have as much information as possible that a person may know, especially if it is a very common name such as Smith or McDonald, etc.

5)    What’s the most interesting record source or repository you’ve utilized in your area?

The National Archives of Scotland is a fantastic place for all those “non-vital” records.

6)    What technical tools do you use to produce the digital images you provide to clients?

Paintshop Pro, MS Paint, Adobe

7)    Any new lookups you’re considering offering?

None at this time.

8)    What advice would you give to someone who wants to get started as a lookup provider?

I would say go for it.  If you have some experience in your own family history research than you should have a good chance at providing lookups for others.

9)    What other passions do you pursue when you’re not at the archives doing lookups/research?

Hillwalking, Camping, Cooking, Music, Surfing the Web, Reading.

Lookups Carolyn Offers

• Scottish Birth Certificate (Certified Copy), 1855-2010
• Scottish Death Certificate (Certified Copy), 1855-2010
• Scottish Marriage Certificate (Certified Copy), 1855-2010
• Scotland Monumental Inscriptions , 1700-1900
• Scottish Wills and Inventories, 1600-1901
• Scottish Census Returns , 1841-1901
• Scottish OPR Births and Christenings, 1600-1854
• Scottish OPR Marriage Bann, 1600-1854
• Scottish Birth Certificate , 1855-2010
• Scottish Death Certificate , 1855-2010
• Scottish Marriage Certificate , 1855-2010

On most Mondays, I publish brief e-mail interviews with some of our lookup providers. This week Kathy Zavada was nice enough to respond to my interview invitation.

From Kathy Zavada’s Profile

Kathy specializes in Will County, Illinois research, especially for Irish ancestry. She has experience with probate records, estate and guardianship extracts, cemetery transcriptions, newspaper article lookups and more.

Nine Questions with Kathy

1)    How did you get started doing genealogy lookups/research?

Always interested since high school. I am adopted. Once I had children, I started looking for natural parents for health records. Made a promise to myself to help others if I was able to find info which I did.

2)    Do you have a genealogy “superpower”? If so, what is it?

Civil records of all sorts because I worked as a bureaucrat for many years. Able to assimilate records out of order, put them together in order due to mnemonic memory. My daughter says I have an unofficial degree in paper pushing.

3)      Describe a tricky research problem you’re particularly proud of having solved?

Locating my natural birth record. Adopted in one county, natural birth record in another. Got court record of adoption
in one county, then able to locate natural birth record in another.

4)    What are the ideal elements you like to see in a well-formulated lookup request?

Specific location I work in, names, and general time frame.

5)    What’s the most interesting record source or repository you’ve utilized in your area?

Will County probate/estate and guardianship records since they begin in 1838 and predate birth & death records by at least 40 years. Records contain listings of heirs, exact dates of death, listing of household items, and other interesting items found nowhere else.

6)    What technical tools do you use to produce the digital images you provide to clients?

Digital camera and Microsoft Picture It!

7)    Any new lookups you’re considering offering?

None currently

8)    What advice would you give to someone who wants to get started as a lookup provider?

Start out small, don’t bite of more than you can

9)    What other passions do you pursue when you’re not at the archives doing lookups/research?

Granddaughters, knitting, science fiction movies, and history

Lookups Kathy Offers

• Joliet, Will County, Illinois High School Alumnae Directories, 1985-1992
• The First Catholic Church in Joliet,Will County, Illinois, 1838-1851
• History of Will County, Illinois , 1837-1878
• Grundy-Will-LaSalle-Kendall Counties,Illinois-Published Births,Marriages & Death notices, 1840-1889
• Will County, Illinois 1878-1915 Death Index compiled by Will Grundy Genealogy Society, 1878-1915
• Obituary lookups Wilmington,Will County, Illinois Library only, 1865-current

In a fun blog post entitled “The Genealogy Instant Answer Line“, Arlene Eakle educates her impatient (and by implication, naive) clients on just how long it’s going to take to pole vault them over their brick walls:

Please do not expect to have your 20-year problem resolved, with documentation, with full analysis, with pertinent comments and follow-up in supporting sources, in 20 days.  Not happenin’–with your ancestry nor anybody else’s.  When you engage me to solve your hardest-to-find ancestor and link him to an unknown family unit, allow sufficient time for me to do it.

I love this kind of candor. Arlene’s obviously a truly professional genealogist who’s going to be completely straight with you. And she’s clearly right. You probably wouldn’t have come to her for help unless yours was the kind of problem that needed her unique divergent thinking skills and research expertise, applied over months, not days.

But what if the “Instant Answer” was available from a single offline document?

Would it be realistic to expect to have that document retrieved on the same day you decided you wanted it? What about if you wanted it in an hour? A few minutes?

“Just In Time” On-Demand Genealogy Document Digitization

Consider the following (admittedly contrived) scenario. You’re browsing the Family History Library catalog online  at about 9 pm Central time on a Thursday evening. You notice there’s an FHL film (say 1671673) that has a pretty good chance of holding the marriage record for your great-great-grandparents. It hasn’t yet been digitized and indexed on the FamilySearch Record Pilot, unfortunately. You could go to your local FHC tomorrow and order it for $5.50. It’d probably arrive in 2-3 weeks.

But what if you wanted to know RIGHT NOW if film 1671673 contains that marriage record, or if you should try a different research avenue instead, all without interrupting your genealogy flow? What if you could log onto a website, enter that film number, and immediately see a list of people who were at the FHL right this minute and who could go pull the film for you? What if the researcher you selected could then browse through the film on a reader, locate the marriage record you’re after, scan it directly to a digital image, and upload that image to the website for you to view and download, all within about 15 minutes of receiving your request?

We have the technology…

As it turns out, this scenario is completely plausible. In fact, here at Genlighten we’ve already begun building the infrastructure to make it real. It will probably end up relying on web-enabled smartphones and make use of Twitter’s APIs. Clients who want this kind of near-real-time response will need to pay a premium for it. But the cost of this service will still be comparable to that of requesting the film.

So… are you interested?

Can you think of a situation where you might use this? How much would an “Instant Genealogy Answer” be worth to you?

It’s high time I offered my Follow Friday endorsement of Taneya’s Genealogy Blog. Taneya Koonce is an absolute dynamo when it comes to online genealogy content. She maintains six separate blogs covering newspaper research and specific county resources for numerous localities in North Carolina. She runs her own TNG-powered personal genealogy site. She’s the webmaster for seven different USGenWeb sites, including the main one for North Carolina. All of these sites display a professionalism in content, design, and functionality that is sorely lacking in many Geocities-era pages out there on the web.

Her main blog covers pretty much every topic you’d expect from a top-tier member of the geneablogging community: her own surnames and favorite research localities; reviews of books, genealogy gadgets and web resources; geneablogging memes like Tombstone Tuesday and loads of personal research stories. Her stellar NCGebWeb work gets frequent mention too.

In a recent post, she riffed on Amy Coffin’s “52 Weeks to Better Genealogy“  WorldCat.org challenge and talked about how she’d reached out to the WorldCat folks and even snagged a guest blogging stint as a result.

Of course, I’m a little biased, since Taneya is one of our providers and offers genealogy lookups for Tennessee. But if you don’t already have Taneya’s Genealogy Blog bookmarked or subscribed in your feed reader, I heartily recommend that you do.

I’ll be giving two presentations at the upcoming South Davis Family History Fair on March 6th in Bountiful, Utah. One will be an updated version of a talk I gave at last year’s SDFHF: “Twitter: Can It Really Help Me With My Genealogy?” The other will be a newly-developed introduction to Genlighten for potential lookup providers: “Genealogy Lookups 101“.

I just uploaded a draft of the “Genealogy Lookups 101″ slides to our account on Slideshare.net. I’d be grateful if you’d take a look and offer any feedback you might have so I can improve it prior to the Fair.

Lots of Slides, But Very Little Text

Please don’t be put off by the number of slides — 137 in all. There’s almost no text on the pages… they’re basically just simple images with brief captions, for the most part — so you can page through it quite quickly.

I’m particularly interested in your impressions of how the talk flows, and if the images I chose seem like a good match to the headline text. But I also hope the presentation piques your interest in becoming one of our lookup providers, and any feedback along those lines would be very welcome too. Thanks for your help!

Checking our current lookup offerings for a presentation I’ll be giving tomorrow, I find that we have providers offering lookups for 35 states plus the District of Columbia. Here’s a list of states for which we still don’t offer any lookups:

• Alaska
• Arkansas
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Texas
• Utah
• Wyoming

I’d love to see a few of these states on the “Yes, we offer lookups there” list soon. How about it? Texas? Pennsylvania? Arkansas? Iowa? I know you’re out there! Let’s banish the “No Results Found” label from Genlighten as soon as possible.

I’ll be visiting the Salt Lake area to talk over partnership and collaboration possibilities with several Utah genealogy companies this Thursday and Friday. I’d love to meet readers of this blog while I’m in town, so I’ve scheduled a Genlighten meetup both Thursday and Friday nights. If you’re in the area, please stop in. I’ll answer any questions you have about the site, becoming a provider, whatever you’d like. I’ll even spring for dessert!

Here are the details:

Thursday, February 11th

Kneaders Bakery

742 East Ft. Union Blvd.
Midvale, Utah
Time: 7-9 pm
RSVP on Facebook here

Friday February 12th

Trio Cafe

680 S 900 E
Salt Lake City, Utah
Time: 7-9 pm
RSVP on Facebook here

I first met Banai in August 2009 at the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies Conference in Philadelphia. I was struck immediately by her intensity and passion, her technical savvy, and the degree to which she was connected to other researchers and leaders at the conference. She was one of only a few attendees who “live-tweeted” from numerous conference sessions. I quietly hoped to one day recruit her as one of our providers, and was thrilled several months later to see that she had signed up.

From BanaiFeldstein’s Profile

Banai specializes in Eastern European research — including Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Lithuania, and Belarus– and in Jewish research. She’s the President of the Utah Jewish Genealogical Society and an APG member.

Nine Questions with Banai

1) How did you get started doing genealogy lookups/research?

I was living in Nashville when I had a relapse of the genealogy bug. A few years later,  I wasn’t getting any web design clients, so I figured I could move to Salt Lake City and not get any web design clients there, but at least I could do more genealogy research. I also hoped to turn it into a business, which I have.

I’ve read many times that you should find something you love to do, then find a way to make money at it. I’ve always loved puzzles and detective work, and that’s what genealogy often is.

2)      Do you have a genealogy “superpower”? If so, what is it?

I am really good with languages. Some clients ask for records in languages I haven’t worked in before, and I tell them so up front, but they trust that I can do the work anyways. I usually can. Dutch was tricky, but all the Eastern European languages I’ve found pretty easy.

3)      Describe a tricky research problem you’re particularly proud of having solved?

My mother has told me numerous times that she had an older sister who was given up for adoption. Late last year, I found her birth record. We’re still in the middle of trying to find and contact her now.

4)      What are the ideal elements you like to see in a well-formulated lookup request?

My favorite potential clients are the ones who provide me with specifics: locations, dates, religion. When they ask for something generic like “Polish research”, that doesn’t help. If I lived in Poland, maybe I could do something, but I need to know the exact location to know if I have access to any records. When they openly share their information, that’s the best query and gets the most thorough response as to whether or not I can help. Also, it’s good when they’re at least slightly organized. Figuring out what they’re asking and putting their family information in order takes extra time.

5)      What’s the most interesting record source or repository you’ve utilized in your area?

There is nowhere else on Earth like the Family History Library.

6)      What technical tools do you use to produce the digital images you provide to clients?

The FHL provides the equipment for me. I just need to bring along my flash drive.

If I have to order a record from an archive, then I use my trusty CanoScan LIDE, which I’ve had forever. This scanner has travelled all over with me, scanning photos and documents from relatives too. It’s one of those 1 inch tall scanners that fits right into my large laptop bag.

7)      Any new lookups you’re considering offering?

Plenty. I can do almost anything at the FHL. It’s just a matter of entering it all into Genlighten.

8)      What advice would you give to someone who wants to get started as a lookup provider?

They should be very familiar with the archive and the records that they want to provide. Know which record types and years are available, the hours of the facility, any costs involved, and be sure that they can get there often.

9)      What other passions do you pursue when you’re not at the archives doing lookups?

I love improving my house. It was neglected for at least three owners and empty for two years before me, so it needs a lot of TLC. The current project is refinishing the hardwood floors.

I love ice skating and the Utah Olympic Oval is conveniently a few blocks from my house.

I also love to write. I’m the newsletter editor for the Utah Jewish Genealogical Society (as well as the president now), so I get some genealogy writing in there several times a year. I participate in National Novel Writing Month every November. And I just started a  blog this year; I’m enjoying the extra writing.

Lookups BanaiFeldstein Offers

Jewish Polish Birth Records, 1830-1900
Jewish Polish Marriage Records, 1830-1900
Jewish Polish Death Records, 1830-1900
Jewish Polish Birth Records & Translation, 1830-1900
Jewish Polish Marriage Records & Translation, 1830-1900
Jewish Polish Death Records & Translation, 1830-1900

The Salt Lake City area probably has more professional genealogists per capita than just about any metropolitan area in the US. So it comes as no surprise that Genlighten has several lookup providers who live near the LDS Church’s Family History Library and know its resources well. Barbara Smythe is one of them. She joined our provider network only recently and already offers an extensive collection of vital record lookups covering eight states plus Chicago and Manhattan.

From FamHistFinder’s Profile

Barbara has a BA in Social Science and Library Science. She’s been a school librarian and teacher of reading and geography in Kansas, California, Hong Kong and China.

Nine questions with Barbara

1)  How did you get started doing genealogy lookups/research?

About thirty years ago a close friend asked me to help her find out something about her mother and we both became hooked.  We lived in Southern California where there was a National Archives and several good libraries.  We then began doing family history for friends and family, we have never stopped.

2)  Do you have a genealogy superpower? If so, what is it?

My “superpower” is my husband of 53 years.  He is an historian and will always go to libraries with me and do his research as long as I want to do mine. We once spent 27 days at the Library of Congress, and have been to many of the State Historical Libraries. I’m a detail person and never tire of going from one lead to another in order to solve a problem, and I love huge libraries.

3)   Describe a tricky research problem you’re particularly proud of having solved?

A friend said that his wife, who was adopted as a baby, wanted to find who her birth parents were.  All she knew was when and where she was born.  She was adopted soon after her birth.  I was taking a trip to the Salt Lake Family History Library and there I started looking at birth records for a female baby born on the date and place given.  There were two girls born that day, one with the right first name, but no father mentioned.  I then looked for the mother in the census.  I found her with her parents at a younger age and found her marriage later, tracked her down in the same town where she still lives.

The problem was how to get in touch with her.  Do you just call one day and ask if she had put a baby girl up for adoption 50 years ago?  I took the information back to my friend, and he said that his wife had decided since her adoptive parents were still alive and lived close to them that she would not try to find her birth parents.  I am pretty sure that my information was correct, but will never know whether this lady ever used that information to find her birth mother.

4)     What are the ideal elements you like to see in a well-formulated lookup request/research query?

It is always important to have a specific goal. Give names, places, dates and any clue about the people who the person is looking for. If they know where the people are during a census year, it is great to have siblings and other people who might be living with the family on a census.

5. What’s the most interesting record source or repository you’ve utilized in your area?

The Salt Lake Family History Library.

6)  What technical tools (hardware, software) do you use to produce the digital images you provide to clients?

Desktop PC with Windows Vista. HP Deskjet 4480 (3 in One, Printer, Scanner, Copier).

7. Any new lookups you’re considering offering?

Any lookup which can be answered with records from the Salt Lake Family History Library.

8. What advice would you give to someone who wants to get started as a lookup provider?

Live near a large library or repository that has a great number of records.

9. What other passions do you pursue when you’re not at the archives doing lookups/research?

I’m always working on my own and my husband’s family history. I am a member of a local chapter of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution and help prospective members and friends with their applications for joining the DAR. I have done the research for 14 DAR applications which have been accepted.

Lookups FamHistFinder Offers

Manhattan, New York Birth Certificates, 1866-1897, $10.00
Manhattan, New York Marriage Records, Index to all Boroughs, 1866-1937
Chicago, Cook, Illinois Birth Certificates (not yet online at FamilySearch), 1916-1922
Alabama Death Certificates, 1908-1974
Florida Death Records, 1877-1939
Georgia Death Records, 1914-1927
Idaho Death Records, 1911-1937
South Carolina Death Records, 1944-1955
New Mexico Death Records, 1889-1945
Minnesota Death Records, 1908-1955
Louisiana Death Records, 1850-1875, 1894-1954