Have you ever wandered through a cemetery and wondered about the meanings of the designs carved on old gravestones? While we can only speculate what our ancestors were trying to tell us through their choice of tombstone art, you can explore the meanings and interpretation of tombstone symbols commonly agreed upon by gravestone scholars in this photo tour of tombstone symbols and engravings.

On July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, two of America's founding fathers died. Former president Thomas Jefferson died at his Monticello estate in Virginia, just a few hours before his close friend, former president John Adams. Even more interestingly, James Monroe, the last of the founding generation presidents, also died on the 4th of July - in 1831.

It makes me wonder if they held on, waiting to relish in that momentous day one last time before departing this life. Clearly, the anniversary would have had a great deal of meaning for each of them. Both Jefferson and Adams were old men, 90 and 83 respectively, which was extremely old for that time. Thomas Jefferson had been ill for an extended period, and most likely knew he was dying. He signed a final codicil to his will on March 17, 1826, and about that same time he also designed his own gravestone and wrote his own epitaph. As you might expect, some people attributed the most interesting occurrence to divine intervention. When he heard the news that his father and Thomas Jefferson had died on the same day and that it was also the 4th of July, President John Quincy Adams wrote in his diary that it had to be more than mere coincidence - that the time, manner and coincidence of their deaths were "visible and palpable marks of divine favour." Some have even speculated that each man allowed himself to die that day or were allowed or caused to die by others. No matter how they managed to both die on that very coincidental day, it's a romantic story irrevokably wrapped up in the founding of our nation.

Boston University's new genealogy program will be expanded to include an online format this coming fall. Developed in coordination with nationally recognized experts, the Certificate in Genealogical Research is an excellent opportunity for serious genealogical students who want to develop or augment their genealogical skill set, covering foundations of genealogical research, problem-solving techniques and technology, evidence evaluation and citation, forensic genealogical reearch and genealogical research in ethnic and geographical specialties. Instructors for the genealogical certificate program include Melinde Lutz Sanborn, Elissa Scalise Powell, Sharon Sargeant, Tom Jones, Richard Andrew Pierce and Carol Prescott McCoy. A course brochure is available online. Members of the New England Historic Genealogical Society receive a 10% discount on tuition.

I never thought I would say this about a cell phone, but the iPhone my husband gave me for Christmas finally has me enjoying my phone. It makes it so easy to text my daugher, check my email, and snap impromptu photos at any interesting cemetery that I stumble across.

Now that I'm finally beginning to use my iPhone on a regular basis, I've started looking for useful genealogy apps. The iTunes store offers a number of family tree viewers for the iPhone (and iPod Touch), including:

• Shrubs - Dick Eastman just reviewed this interesting genealogy program for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Unlike many of the genealogy apps available for the iPhone, Shrubs is a stand-alone program and can import a GEDCOM file from your desktop genealogy program of choice. View it in iTunes

• FamViewer - Another stand-alone genealogy viewer, FamViewer accepts GEDCOM imports from your desktop genealogy software, as well as from Ancestry.com. View it in iTunes

• GedView - Yet another stand-alone GEDCOM viewer for the iPhone. GedView, by David Knight, offers individual and family views, as well as sources and notes.View it in iTunes

• Reunion for iPhone - As you might expect from the name, this iPhone/iPod Touch app works directly with the Mac OS X genealogy software, Reunion 9, including syncing capabilities. View it in iTunes

• MobileFamilyTree - Designed to work with Synium's MacFamilyTree software, this mobile application for the iPhone and iPod touch lets you view your tree and even make changes to it on the go, and keeps these changes in sync with your MacFamilyTree files. View it in iTunes

Another iPhone / iPod Touch app that genealogists might find useful is FamCam, a free photo sharing application by FamilyLink.

The most popular handwriting style in Elizabethan Europe is a script commonly known as the Secretary Hand. This handwriting appears in official documents such as wills, deeds, and parish records, as well as personal correspondence throughout much of Western Europe from the 16th and early 17th centuries. In many areas, including the American colonies, a mixed hand style will be found, including elements of this Secretary Hand as well as Italic and other handwriting styles.

For help reading the letters, check out this example of Secretary Hand created from a beautiful Secretary Hand font available from Crazy Diamond Design in Cheshire. For even further information and practice with Secretary Hand, I love the guidance offered at Scottish Handwriting. Here you can choose from a 1-hour basic tutorial and several more advanced tutorials (all free), as well as sections on letter identification and problem solving. There is also an excellent online tutorial available in the Palaeography Guide from the UK National Archives.

2.4 million people in Wales were recorded in the census taken on the night of April 2, 1911. Today the records of those people living in Wales in 1911 are being made available online for the first time at www.1911census.co.uk, where they join the 1911 census records from England first released in January 2009.

The 1911 census is the most detailed census since UK records began, and the first for which the original census schedules have been preserved - complete with our ancestors' own handwriting. Completed by all householders in Wales and England on Sunday, 2 April 1911, the census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home, as well as their relationship to the head of the household. Because these records were released in advance of the scheduled 2012 date, certain sensitive information relating to infirmity (e.g. 'deaf', 'dumb', 'blind', 'lunatic' etc.) and to children of women prisoners is not yet available.

Search results offer access to both transcribed text versions, and high quality color images of the original handwritten census returns. Read more...

There's been a bit of discussion on genealogy mailing lists recently regarding historical overlay maps available for Google Maps. This technology has actually been in use for some time, with historic overlay maps first available for Google Earth back in 2006. The premise behind these historic overlay maps is that they are layered directly on top of current road maps and/or satellite images. By adjusting the transparency of the historic maps, you can "see through" to the map behind to compare the similarities and differences between old and new maps, and study the changes in your selected location over time. A great tool for genealogists!

More recently, the Google Maps API has encouraged a number of organizations, developers, and even individuals like you and me, to create historic overlap maps for the online tool Google Maps (nice for people who don't want to download the Google Earth software). 120 historical maps from the David Rumsey Map Collection, for example, were integrated into Google Maps last year. Additional historic map overlays you might want to explore, include: Read more...

Iconic quarterback Joe Namath; Nobel laureate Dr. Eric R. Kandel; comedian and producer Jerry Seinfeld; and music superstars Gloria and Emilio Estefan were the distinguished honorees recognized on May 19, 2009, by The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. for their contributions to the "American tapestry." I was especially pleased to see Joe Namath honored, as his grandparents came from Hungary to Western Pennsylvania about the same time as my great-grandparents moved to the area from Poland.

The Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards, now in its 8th year, are presented by The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. to celebrate "exemplary Ellis Island/Port of New York immigrants or their descendents who have made a major contribution to the American experience." The B.C. Forbes Peopling of America Award, sponsored by the Forbes Family, honors the lives of immigrants who arrived at another time or through another port of entry. Read more...

An additional five counties have been added to the National Archives of Ireland's Census of Ireland 1911 Web site. Census returns for Cork, Donegal, Galway, King's County (Offaly) and Wexford join those from Antrim, Down, Dublin and Kerry that were released last year. Best of all, these census records, including the searchable index and digitized images, are free!

The 1911 and 1901 Ireland censuses are the only surviving censuses that cover the entire island of Ireland open to the public. They are also unusual because Read more...

When surnames first came into popular use in 14th-century Europe, many people came to be identified by what they did for a living. A blacksmith named John, became John Smith. A man who made his living grinding flour from grain took the name Miller. Does your family name come from the work your ancestors did long ago? Read more...