I have just done an unofficial review of the newest version of Family Tree Maker (2008) if you would like to take a look at it on iPentimento.
Family Tree Maker 2008 Review: Newer Isn’t Always Better
Also there is a new way to monitor the internet for your ancestors. Read about it in the article below. It's not free, but then, not much is these days, eh?
Wouldn't it be great if you could tap into some of Ancestry's databases? Did you know that you can, and that some of them are free. Actually, there are over 200 free databases you can access. So, if you have some free time and want to check them out, go through GenealogyBuff's website and see the lists of free DB's. I intend to do just that today, and to bookmark the site! Thanks GenealogyBuff!
The main purpose for my new blog iPentimento was to have a central location where people researching Oregon state history, the Holmes surname, or Oregon City history, could find a well-sourced biography of my 1st cousin William Livingston Holmes. William was one of the first sheriff's of Clackamas County when it was still Oregon Territory. Just this last weekend I uploaded the files for his biography to a page on iPentimento. I have also included some pictures I took at Rose Farm, the house William Holmes built; also included on the page is a two generation family tree for the Holmes family.
William and his wife Louisa, along with there three children were members of the 1843 Oregon Trail wagon train that left Missouri in late spring and traveled many months to get to the end of the Oregon Trail at Oregon City in November of that year.
It was a long and arduous trip for them, and it is likely they walked most of the way. One thing that many people may not think about is that when the wagon trains left Missouri the land was somewhat flat and the travelers were fresh, as were the oxen teams pulling the wagons. It is a sad fact that as the trip wore on, the terrain was more difficult to traverse, and their energies were flagging by the time they got to the Columbia River. They would have to either try to make it overland to Oregon City, or lower their wagons and livestock into the treacherous river and hope that they didn't drown in the process. A good book to read about this wagon train is Blazing a Wagon Trail to Oregon: A Weekly Chronicle of the Great Migration of 1843 (Paperback) 
This family was just one of 1000 souls who were on this particular wagon train, the first organized one to make it to Oregon City. There are some great Oregon Trail web pages online. One of them is Stephenie Flora's Oregon Pioneers page. She has been kind enough to link to the William Holmes page from her site.
I don't know if any of you have discovered this site yet, but it is called Family Link and might be a good place to start if you plan on sharing any of your family trees and/or photos. I have just signed up, and I will add new information as time permits. My direct link to my profile will keep you updated, so be sure and bookmark it please. Just a caution here. I am not totally sure this is going to be a free site forever, so please check the site before signing up. I do see that they encourage you to sign up for World Vital Records. Hey, just don't blame the messenger, ok? Thanks!
History Ignored
I had an interesting email exchange with a mannamed Robert who was representing Find A Grave. I had posted some new information to their site about my cousin William Livingston Holmes under the section of "famous" persons. My posting included a photo of William's headstone, and also a photo of the man. The reply I got was 'canned', but it tells me that our national history is certainly not important to a site like Find A Grave. Here is what he said:
Greetings...
Thank you very much for submitting a memorial to Find A Grave. You indicated that William Holmes
should be considered for inclusion on the 'famous' pages. Unfortunately, William Holmes does not
appear to fit our criteria for a 'famous' listing. You can learn about Find A Grave's famous
listings, including what we look for in a 'famous' entry, by reading our 'Famous FAQ'. You can jump
directly to our FAQ by following the link below:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/faq.cgi?faqMode=famous#32
So, what's my gripe? Here is my reply to "Robert":
Hi Robert,
I am not writing to "argue" or anything. I listed William Livingston Holmes as 'famous' because he was the first sheriff of Clackamas county in Oregon. That probably sounds mundane, but at the time he was elected in 1845 the size of the county extended from the Rocky Mountain divide to San Francisco*, up into British Columbia and west taking in parts of Puget Sound. He was the first and only law man for the area before Oregon even became a state.
He might have been famous in his time, and not ours. Thanks anyway, and for the email.
* I was incorrect about how far south it went. 
As an interesting side note to this, on the same Find A Grave site, it lists two 'real' famous people in the same cemetery as William L. Holmes. One is Howerton, Clarence Chesterfield 'Major Mite' who was a dwarf and one of the Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz. The other is Ogden, Peter Skene, a trapper and a fur trader who first sighted The Great Salt Lake and who they named Ogden, UT after.
Granted, Clackamas county, Oregon was sparsely populated at the time, but in the wild and untamed 'far west' that it was, there were still murders and other acts of mayhem committed on a regular basis. William Holmes may have had deputies to help him, but at age 38 he was the only man who was sheriff of the county that took in a very large expanse of real estate while he was in office.
William Livingston Holmes is my first cousin, five times removed. I just think that he should be given his due acknowledgement as an Oregon Trail Pioneer, as well as one of the first to settle in Oregon and become one of its contributing citizens (see Rose Farm). I am currently writing a biography about Wm. Holmes.
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Have you visited Dead Fred lately? This is a very handy site where you can upload your family photos and let the world know just where your ancestors are buried. The younger generation might go "ewww" about this, but for those of us who do genealogy and want to share the wealth of our records and photos, this site is a good place to start. Besides, it is free to register, and they only ask that you donate now and then. The usual amount is $1. Not too hard on the wallet, eh? 
One of the things I like about the site is that you can also leave a sentiment and flowers on a virtual grave. With my ancestors spread all over the country, that is a nice way to show you are thinking of them.
There are five ways to search on the site: by surname; location, check the mystery photos to see if you can identify anyone; or just do a keyword search. You might want to look through the section on school annuals too.
You might also like to visit Find a Grave also. Another good site for genealogy research. On this site you can even search for famous person's gravesites too. A friend of mine is the step-granddaughter of Henry Travers (Clarence in "It's a Wonderful Life") and I found where he was buried, and even who was buried nearby and sent that information to her.
Happy hunting!
Link: Medal of Honor could be back in family soon | IndyStar.com. This is a great story. I do hope that it turns out that there really is a concrete connection that they can use and the Medal of Honor will go to the descendants of Joseph F. Carter.
Our own Medal of Honor recipient in the family was John Whitmore. His medal was lost in one of the two house fires his family suffered. So sad to have these family artifacts lost to fire or just misplaced. It breaks my heart to see the lack of family pride and honor some people show too.
I know of many family photos just tossed in the garbage because the descendants didn't want to deal with them. My husband's grandfather burned his wife's family photos because he was "mad' that she up and died!
Make sure you visit Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak's new website at Roots Television.
My blog is worth $196,459.92.
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