Saving Your Family Treasures
There Goes the Bride
by Maureen Taylor

My parent’s marriage has met the test of time, but their black and white wedding photos are another matter. Their fifty-two-year-old pictures are stained yellow because all the photo chemicals weren’t rinsed off during processing. Of course this wasn’t immediately apparent; it took several decades for the damage to appear. My mom is pretty upset about it because her expensive wedding photos now need conservation. What happened to my mother’s pictures doesn’t have to happen to you. To avoid disaster ask your wedding photographer a few questions.

Photographs
Pick up a copy of any bridal magazine and look at the ads for photographers. Wedding images today are creative compositions and albums now resemble magazines in layout and design. The cost for these photographic memories can be in the double digits.

In addition to asking wedding photographers to show you their portfolio of work and to give you an estimate, inquire about how they process their pictures. Most photographers use digital cameras but it’s still possible to find a few that shoot film. In either case, ask them the following:

How long do they retain negatives/digital files?
If something happens to your photos, you’ll want to request new copies from the photographer.

• Who processes their prints?
  Find out who makes the prints and if they use long-lasting paper and ink. You can check the ratings for inks and papers on Wilhelm-Research.com. (http://www.wilhelm-research.com)
• Do they laminate their prints?
  Some photographers coat their photos or laminate them to protect the surface from the wear and tear of handling. While this is an attractive option, think twice about it. Lamination and chemical coatings accelerate the deterioration of your pictures.
• What type of adhesive is used to affix prints to a page?
  Some layouts are created using digital imaging and printed out as a single sheet while others are created on the page using the cut and paste method. Ask if the glue used is safe for photographs.
• What materials are used in the albums?
  Not all albums are constructed the same. A high quality album will use acid- and lignin-free paper and come with a slipcover to protect pictures from dust. Price is not necessarily an indicator of the quality of the paper and album.
• Which is longer lasting--black and white or color?
  For a long time black and white was considered a preservation quality pick, versus color that fades and discolors, but no more. Color photographs are a great choice for couples as long as fade resistant inks and acid- and lignin-free papers are used to produce the prints. Brides can choose either the vibrancy of color or the moody qualities of black and white and not worry about their decision.

Video and Digital Video
Today, digital videos of weddings are choreographed productions with digital editing touches that make them fun to watch. My wedding video, shot by a cousin, is barely visible today due to disintegration of the tape. If you have a VHS cassette of your wedding sitting on a shelf, take it out, and look at its condition. Before you think about placing it in a VCR (if you even have one!), consider its age. If it was taken more than ten years ago, it’s likely that you won’t be able to play it. Instead look for a video transfer company in your area and have it copied to a DVD because it’s a commonly used format.

There are ways to transfer video to DVDs yourself but old tape is a little tricky and you could end up with even more damage. VHS tape is not a very stable medium and neither are CDs or DVDs. Estimates on the life of a DVD vary from a few years to several decades. Do two things to make certain you’ll be able to see that footage in the future.

• Ask for multiple copies. Use one as a preservation copy master (not to be viewed) and one for showing to family.
• Regularly transfer those images to the current media so that you’ll still be able to look at it after DVDs have been replaced by some other medium.

No bride wants her marriage to outlast the pictures and digital video of their event. Be an educated consumer and you’ll end up entertaining your grandchildren on your 50th anniversary with pictures and video of your wedding day.

Maureen Taylor loves writing about photography and family history. You can search her website at www.photodetective.com.

Copyright 2006, MyFamily.com.

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Ancestry Quick Tip
America's Women

For Women's History Month, our book group is reading America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines, by Gail Collins (Harper Collins, 2004).

It's definitely a must read. Hispanics and Native American women are not well represented, but otherwise, the pages are packed with both interesting details of daily lives and broader trends regarding all sorts of women, those born here and new immigrants. The book starts about 400 years ago and ends with some brief pages on the 1970s and 1980s. There are a lot of quotes and an extensive bibliography and notes. It is making fascinating reading. There's so much I wanted to refer back to that I had to cut Post-Its into tiny slivers to save space and money!

Susan C. Hopkins
Urbana, IL

ADN Editor's Note: I have this book too, and have to agree with Susan’s comments. It’s a fascinating read that gives us a vivid look at what life was like for many of our ancestresses.

Thanks to Susan for today's Quick Tip! If you have a tip you would like to share with researchers, you can send it to: ADNeditor@ancestry.com.

Quick Tips may be reprinted, with credit to the submitter, in other Ancestry publications, so if you do not want your tip included in a publication other than the Ancestry Daily News and Ancestry Weekly Digest, please state so clearly in your message.

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The International Society for British Genealogy and Family History (ISBGFH) announces the sixth annual British Institute to be held October 2-6, 2006 in Salt Lake City.

The British Institute is a weeklong program combining instruction and practical experience. Each day, instructors experienced in British Isles genealogy and research methods conduct classes and seminars in the morning and assist students with their research in the Family History Library in the afternoon. In addition to guidance in the library, each student can take advantage of the opportunity to meet with the course instructor for a one-on-one strategy session.

Accommodations and classrooms for the British Institute are located in the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel; research and most one-on-one sessions take place in the LDS Family History Library. These facilities help make the British Institute an exceptional educational opportunity. The Institute is able to offer everyone expert instruction, small class size, individual attention, and personal research time with assistance. The Institute brings together resources, practical guidance, and the chance to improve skills in a helpful and friendly atmosphere.

Courses offered at this year’s Institute:

Welsh Research
Level: Intermediate
Time Period: 1858 back to early 1600s
Instructor: Darris Williams

This course is directed at researchers with some exposure to research in Wales or who took the introductory level course in 2005. Students will expand their experience working with fundamental and frequently used records and be introduced to more advanced sources.

Darris Williams: British reference consultant in the Family History Library for thirteen years, currently a reference consultant for World Wide Support in the Family History Department. After completion of a bachelor’s degree in family and community history at Brigham Young University, he studied at the University of Wales, Aberstwyth in 1996. Darris has lectured at the British Isles Family History Society Conference, UGS Institute, Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference and Federation of Family History Societies Conference. He is a contributor of materials on the Glamorganshire and Carmarthenshire portions of Genuki.org and transcriber of monumental inscriptions for chapels and churches in Wales published by the Glamorgan Family History Society. Darris is only the second person to pass the Wales accreditation test administered by ICAPGen.

British Isles Research: Solving Problems, Creating Strategies
Instructor: Sherry Irvine, MSc, CG, FSA (Scot)

Roadblocks in family history are opportunities to pause, re-examine work, review records and make a new start. Further progress is possible provided another approach is found, one arising from careful analysis. This course is for those with some experience in British Isles research (England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland) wanting advanced guidance in research planning and strategy.

Sherry Irvine: MS, CG, FSA Scot, lecturer, writer and online teacher specializing in British Isles methods; faculty member IGHR Samford University since 1996, internationally known speaker and a keynote presenter at the Australasian Congresses in Melbourne and Darwin; author of three books including the award-winning Scottish Ancestry: Research Methods for Family Historians; former president Association of Professional Genealogists and winner of the Graham T. Smallwood Award for services to genealogy; vice-president of ISBGFH.

An online registration form can be obtained at http://www.isbgfh.org. A brochure on the Institute can be requested by writing to:

The British Institute
P.O. Box 350459
Westminster, CO 80035-0459

Clipping of the Day
New York Herald
(New York, New York), 20 March 1870, page 5:

Irish Landlords in America

William Scully Practicing the Irish System in Kansas

Chicago, March 19.--About six weeks ago the Tribune published an article on alien landlordism showing that an Irishman named William Scully, now residing in London, England, is the owner of between 75,000 and 90,000 acres of the best farming lands in Illinois. The writer of this article, on visiting the estate, alleged that the lands were tilled by a wretched class of tenants, from whom are exacted enormous rentals. Almost the entire proceeds from the sale of their crops went to pay rent. The article attracted much attention, and numerous communications on the subject have been received from various parts of the country. Among others a prominent citizen of Kansas strongly deprecated alien landlordism, and called attention to his discovery that large tracts of land in his own State were owned by Scully. Following a suggestion derived from this letter, an investigation was instituted, the result of which is publshed this morning. The article says: "A tour of Kansas and certain portions of Nebraska developed the rather startling information that the title to more than 100,000 acres of the choicest prairie lands in the sister States of Kansas and Nebraska is vested in William Scully. All of these vast tracts have been added to his landed estates within the last five years, and, although a small portion is under cultivation, the same system of farm renting that exists in Illinois is rapidly being introduced into these States. Between 60 and 70 families have bound themselves to Scully, and so long as they remain on his land they cannot throw off the yoke that holds them in slavery. Before obtaining a lease they must agree to waive all rights of exemption, and until their rent is paid everything they possess, including the growing crops, belongs to Scully. As a rule they are the poorest farmers in every respect in the county, and very few of them can obtain credit from the merchants. The lease that binds them to Scully is virtually a chattel mortgage, and all other claims against the tenant are shut out until Scully gets his rent. Each tenant is obliged to sign a lease for a period of five years. On unimproved lands the tenant pays only the taxes the first two years. The third year he pays the taxes and $1 an acre, and the fourth and fifth years he pays the taxes and $1.50 an acre. No provision is made for the lease for a renewal, and at its expiration the tenant must either move off or submit to whatever rent the landlord chooses to exact. In leasing an unimproved farm the tenant gets nothing but the land. All improvements must be made at his own expense, the landlord furnishing absolutely nothing. Consequently the Scully farms do not present an attractive appearance. As a rule the tenants having no aspiration beyond the mere task of keeping body and soul together, are shiftless and improvident and make little or no effort to improve their condition, all ambition seeming to be exhausted in providing shanties for their families to live in and shelter for their stock. Having no money to start on, most tenants are compelled to hire out to their more prosperous neighbors during the first two years of their struggle, and they are satisfied if, during the first two years, they succeed in breaking the wild prairie lands and raising enough seed corn to feed their stock. The three remaining years they can raise from 30 to 50 bushels of corn to the acre, and by close economy quit the place when their lease expires as well of as when they began.

Much space is devoted to an explanation of the careful and systematic manner in which Scully secured the lands through the guidance of his agents, who are experienced and perfectly familiar with the country. The price paid ranges from $5 to $6 per acre, and it is claimed that much of the land is now worth at least $80 per acre.

Subscribers with access to the Historical Newspapers Collection can view this clipping.

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Fast Fact
Family Tree Maker Charting Companion

Users of Family Tree Maker now have a new tool available to allow for the easy creation of a variety of colorful charts and reports. The Charting Companion for Family Tree Maker (included with Family Tree Maker 2006 or sold separately for $24.95) makes it simple to view, customize, print and publish generations of your family tree.

The Charting Companion reads Family Tree Maker files directly so all you have to do is open your family file, choose your subject, select your chart and print! Or, to share with family and friends, choose the Publish to PDF option and send your chart by e-mail.

Charts can be customized allowing you to choose the number of generations, the events to include, the content of your box charts, date format, photos, etc. With the Cousin Smart option of Charting Companion for Family Tree Maker you can even avoid duplicate individuals on charts. For international users, Charting Companion for Family Tree Maker accommodates different paper sizes (e.g., A4, B3 . . .), metric units of measure, and western European characters with diacritics.

The Charting Companion also provides extensive search capabilities to help you find elusive information you may have stored in your Family Tree Maker family files, and the product comes with free unlimited product support.

You can purchase the Charting Companion and Family Tree Maker 2006 through the Shops @ Ancestry.com.

Product Spotlight

		Land and Property Research In The United States, by E. Wade Hone Normally, this book retails for $49.95, but today you can buy it in the Shops @ Ancestry.com for only $39.95.

Thought for Today
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Insist on yourself; never imitate.