DEAR MYRTLE GOES TO PAID SUBSCRIPTION FORMAT
(Please be aware this post was written in 2003 and published at that time in the Houston Chronicle (Houston, Texas) newspaper. Some of the news in this post, therefore, may not be current. Current and future posts on this blog may revisit and update news on this and other posts on this blog. If you have questions and/or suggestions, please send Mic a note using the comment page -Don’t forget to use the orange “subscribe” button to receive new posts-Thanks, Mic)
Effective December 1st the popular Dear Myrtle radio program will become a subscription based program. Dear Myrtle, through the personification of Pat Richey of Bradenton, Florida was and is a very popular genealogical columnist for a number of years in newspapers, genealogical periodicals and on the Internet.
For the past couple years Myrt, as she prefers to be called, has been broadcasting as a very successful Internet radio program. She also has a large website packed with her informative columns, answers to questions, genealogical pointers, past broadcasts and links to genealogical websites.
The Dear Myrtle 50-60 minute Internet radio program is recorded live each Tuesday night beginning at 9 O’clock CST. Once the program is over it may be heard over the Internet 24 hours a day 7 days a week for a week. During the past month over 400,000 unique listeners heard each weekly show live and over 3.2 million listened to the rebroadcast of each show.
Beginning December 1 the Dear Myrtle program will be available by subscription only. An annual subscription will be $20 while each individual weekly broadcast will be $4. Until December the broadcasts are free. So they will know what they would be getting by subscribing readers are urged to tune in and listen to the shows while they are still free.
To hear the program at any time, day or night, visit http://www.DearMyrtle.com and make note of the user name and password for free access to Dear Myrtle Plus and allow the radio to automatically load.
UNITED STATES CENSUS ONLINE
The Houston Public Library with the aid of the State Library’s TexShare program offers some extraordinarily great research sources for researchers. Included in the databases is the ability of the Houston Public Library patrons to search at no charge through nearly the whole United States census series. Libraries in surrounding areas likely also subscribe to the TexShare databases. One must check with their local library system to find out how to access the databases. Normally a library card number grants access.
Available are census images from 1790 through 1930 and indexes to nearly every state from 1790 to 1820; 1860, 1870, 1890, 1900, 1910, 1920 and some for 1930. Missing indexes are anticipated in the near future as soon as they can be added.
To access the census or any other database one needs a Houston Public Library Power Card, the library’s library card. Once in possession of a Power Card go to the library’s website at http://www.hpl.lib.tx.us/hpl/index.html and click on e-Services, then, on Power Search. At Power Search follow the directions how to access the databases.
Besides censuses the website has NUCMC, the National Union Catalogue of Manuscript Collections; the Biographical and Genealogical Master Index; the Sanborn Insurance Maps Collection for Texas; the HPL Catalogue and Heritage Quest’s Online Book Collection which has the census collection mentioned above and digitized images of 7,922 family histories, 12,035 local histories and 258 primary source references.
NEW BOOK ON WELSH RESEARCH
John and Sheila Rowlands have edited an advanced research guide to continue explaining and suggesting methods and sources one should use when conducting Welsh ancestral research. Second Stages in Welsh Ancestry ($21.95) is a sequel or second volume associated with Welsh Family History ($19.95) and their third title, Surnames of Wales ($19.95).
Postage for a first volume is $3.50 and $1.25 for each additional volume. The books may be ordered from the Genealogical Publishing Company at 1001 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 or from their website at http://www.genealogical.com .
Like Welsh Family History, Second Stages is based on family history courses offered annually as residential summer schools at the University of Wales. Each chapter is composed by a different author and several chapters together carry a specific theme.
The six themes incorporated in the book are: Religion and Society: Industry and Occupations; Documents and Specialist Studies: People and Places: and The Welsh at Home and in the Professions.
