The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #213 with Lisa Louise Cooke NEWS: HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR TO KEYNOTE ROOTSTECH Click here to read about all RootsTech keynote speakers Click here to read about the Genealogy Gems experience at RootsTech 2018 Click here to hear Lisa Louise Cooke’s conversation with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in the Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 133 GEMS NEWS: UPDATED PREMIUM VIDEO Genealogy Gems Premium subscribers can now enjoy an updated version of Lisa’s Premium video, “Making Evernote Effortless.” You’ll learn how to use Evernote’s: Quick Keys: Help you get things done faster Search Operators: Digging deeper and faster into your notes Shortcuts: Learn how to set them up to accomplish repetitive tasks faster Reminders: Help you track and meet deadlines Note Sharing: Collaboration just got easier Source Citation: Merging notes to include sources; Source Citation with “Info” feature Web Clipper Bookmarklet: a hack for adding it to your mobile tablet’s browser   Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends RootsMagic family history software. Keep your family history research safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems. Learn more at https://www.backblaze.com/Lisa. Animoto.com.   BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App Users If you’re listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus content for this episode is a lightning-quick tech tip from Lisa Louise Cooke on how to undo that last browser you just closed and didn’t mean to! The Genealogy Gems app is FREE in Google Play and is only $2.99 for Windows, iPhone and iPad users MILITARY MINUTES: REGULAR, VOLUNTEER OR MILITIA? To gain a better understanding of what life in the military was like for your ancestors, it is essential to know in what capacity someone may have served. Did your ancestor serve in the regulars, or was he a volunteer soldier, or did he have service with the local militia? These terms are generally associated with the records of the United States Army. The other branches enlisted men using different terminology. Free download: Military Service Records at the National Archives by Trevor K. Plante (Reference Information Paper 109) Click here for National Archives reference materials for military acronyms, abbreviations, and dictionaries that will aid genealogists when researching how exactly their ancestors served Journal of the American Revolution: Explaining Pennsylvania’s militia: One of the best examples of how colonial militias operated (laws, rules, and regulations, and parent organizations). Pennsylvania followed very closely the doings of other colonies during the same period. Samuel Howard in the Civil War Because of his age he wasn’t able to enlist until 1865 when he turned 18. He was a volunteer soldier who served as a substitute for another man who was drafted. After his discharge, he again enlisted in the Regular Army in 1866. He was assigned to the 13th U.S. Infantry, where he served one month before deserting at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. Samuel was married in 1867 (this may have some relevance to his decision to leave the military). He lived in Pennsylvania from the end of the war until his death in 1913. Shown here in 1876, Lebanon, PA. Both his Regular and Volunteer Army enlistment forms are included here, along with the above photograph of Samuel with his wife circa 1876 from an early tintype. The forms look very similar, as each contains common information asked of a typical recruit. However they are decidedly different as the one covers his Civil War service and the other his post war service when he joined the regular Army after the men who served during the war would have been discharged.   GEM: AN INSPIRING FAMILY HISTORY VIDEO   Watch this inspiring Where I’m From video based on poem by Tom Boyer How to create your own family history videos Learn more about the Where I’m From poetry project and hear a conversation with the original author