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Civil War-era treasure from maps, charts

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BY SHARON TATE MOODY

Special correspondent

Published: June 5, 2011

It looks like everyone wants to join in celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. That includes some you might not have expected, like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

A division of the department of commerce, the agency has assembled a collection of maps, charts and documents prepared by the U.S. Coast Survey during the war. The survey was established in 1807 by President Thomas Jefferson to create nautical charts and maps with information helpful to ships plying the waters along the coast and inland. The agency adjusted its mission in 1861 to meet the Union's needs during the Civil War.

"Charting a More Perfect Union" includes 394 Civil War-era maps, including nautical charts used for naval campaigns, and maps of troop movements and battlefields. What genealogist doesn't love maps and charts?

Also in the collection are the 1861 U.S. Notes on the Coast that include secret documents used by the Union Blockade Board.

Maps and secret documents. Hmm — sounds like a genealogist's dream come true. But perhaps the best part is that they're all free at www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/history/CivilWar/.

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Those with roots in the United Kingdom will want to check www.findmypast.co.uk/home.jsp. It requires a paid subscription to access, but several options are available, viewable under the "Subscribe" tab at the home page.

Among the options is pay-as-you-go, which allows a researcher to purchase credits to view individual documents.

Findmypas is offering a 14-day free trial subscription, so this is a good time to check it out.

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Ancestry and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum have joined to create the World Memory Project, through which they will make available millions of historical documents on the Holocaust and Nazi persecution.

The museum has the documents, and Ancestry has the tools to make them searchable online.

The project now needs volunteers to key in names. Anyone with a personal computer (Macs will work only with a Windows emulator program) and an Internet connection can participate by downloading free software and typing details from the provided image.

The searchable database should be available starting in late summer or early fall. The documents themselves will not be viewable online, but names, dates and information from the documents will be in the database.

The museum says searches of the materials from this project will be permanently free through Ancestry and will not be rolled into the paid subscription section of that website (www.ancestry.com). The museum also says it will provide copies of documents to survivors and families at no cost, but the original documents will remain the museum's archives.

Those who would like to contribute to the project can go to www.worldmemoryproject.org and click on "Getting Started."

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In their haste and enthusiasm to find elusive ancestors, family historians sometimes unknowingly violate copyright law. David Ellis's presentation on "Copyright and Intellectual Property Law for Genealogists" may clarify those sometimes confusing legal lines.

Ellis also will tell participants how to protect their own published material. He will speak at 2 p.m. June 12 at the Jewish Genealogical Society meeting, 14041 Icot Blvd, Clearwater.

A Tampa attorney, Ellis specializes in copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, computer, cyberspace, internet, business, entertainment, arts, and intellectual law. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Law School.

For information on the organization or directions to the meeting call Sally Israel at (727) 343-1652.

Sharon Tate Moody is a board-certified genealogist. Send your genealogy questions and event announcements to her in care of Getaway, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St., Tampa, FL 33606 or stmoody0720@mac.com. She regrets that she is unable to assist wi

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