I’ve been volunteering all these past months by
transcribing the 1940 Census. Thanks to
the more than 100,000 volunteers, the state of New Hampshire 1940 census
records have been completely transcribed, and are available for full searching
on several websites. It was a very
enjoyable, easy job, and I set a goal of doing at least two pages a night. Since the entire 1940 census has been completely transcribed (all the states and territories) I’m going to continue transcribing
for www.familysearch.org There are US draft cards, foreign records,
vital records and all sorts of projects that need transcribers. If you are interested, please click on https://familysearch.org/volunteer/indexing/ and sign up, too. This helps make records free and searchable
online for everyone.
What other volunteering have I done for
genealogy? I was a volunteer for Random
Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK), which has now closed and reopened as a
wiki at this link: http://raogk.wikia.com/wiki/Random_Acts_of_Genealogical_Kindness_Wiki
However, I continue to do “random acts”
through the Londonderry Historical Society, and answer several genealogy
queries a week. You can do this through
Rootsweb.com or your local historical society.
My “random acts” include lookups, photographing gravestones and
homesteads, and finding obituaries on microfilm. This is relatively easy, and a good way to
hone your research skills.
If you join a genealogy club or society, you can
volunteer to speak, write in the newsletter, find speakers, start a website or
hold a workshop. You can even start up a
genealogy club in your local neighborhood or library if there is not one near
you. Genealogy libraries such as the
American Canadian Genealogy Society in Manchester or the New England Historic
Genealogical Society library in Boston are often looking for volunteers to work
in the stacks, help with research, conservation, or to assist librarians. For our local New Hampshire Mayflower Society I sit on the board, edit the newsletter and chair the scholarship committee.
There are many groups transcribing and photographing
cemeteries. The biggest international
online project is www.FindAGrave.com ,
but www.BillionGraves.com is a new
one that takes advantage of the GPS function built into smart phone
cameras. Check out both on-line projects
and consider participating.
In 2013 the New England Regional Genealogy
Conference will be held in Manchester, New Hampshire on April 17 to 23. There is a need for many volunteers to help
out, even if you aren’t attending.
Please see the website www.nergc.org/volunteers.html or contact the volunteer chair Christine Bard
at bardc@comcast.net or call (603)
424-0961.
If you know of any other volunteer opportunities in
genealogy, especially any local projects, please leave a comment on this blog
post.
Hi Heather!
ReplyDeleteI haven't done much in the way of volunteering so far, except looking things up for people on paid sites that I subscribe to that they don't, and taking photos of headstones in a local cemetery for Find-A-Grave members.
Glad to see that RAOGK has reopened.
Heather -
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I've done many of what you list here but haven't gotten involved yet at RAOGK now that they are running again with the wiki. I've got a few people that I am starting to help create genetic family histories because of need with their kids. This is a fun project that makes me feel like I'm helping out individuals in a tangible way. I wish that I had more time to volunteer locally. Unfortunately, with work schedules and my daughter's schedule (we homeschool) my volunteer time is limited at the moment.
Great post!
~ Steph
Amazing that you find time to volunteer in so many areas. It's people like you that make it easier for the rest of us to research our famility histories. I too volunteer but on a smaller scale. Thank you for your kind works.
ReplyDeleteNEHGS members can also volunteer from their homes if they have a computer, an Internet connection, and are detail-oriented enough to do record transcribing or proofreading. I've been doing this for several years and it's great when a new database is made available at AmericanAncestors.org and I know I helped, in a small way, to make it available.
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth! I didn't know that about NEHGS. I've always wanted to volunteer there, but the communte would be horrific from New Hampshire. I'll have to look into this way of volunteering from home. Thanks so much for leaving your comment.
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