Overlay... Window to the Past

The next feature in the Google Earth toolbox is the Overlay. This is by far my favorite component to use for my family history, but it can also be the hardest to get correct. When I say overlay I am talking about taking an image and stretching it out over the globe like a magic blanket. I say magic because not only can you lay it out over an area, but you can turn on the terrain and make a three dimensional overlay, so if you are in a mountain range then you can still see those features instead of just a two dimensional picture. But wait there is more, just like Polygons you can adjust the transparency of the overlay to see what is underneath it too.

Stargard, Germany abt Oct 1944

Like I said earlier this is my most used tools, I have used overlay for flying routes, shipping lanes, and mostly used for plat maps. I love plat maps, it's like my little window to the past. You can take a plat map, stretch it over the township your ancestors lived in and then use that to figure out where things from the past laid in today's land. For instance, how many times have you see a old farm field turn into a subdivision. What I have done is place that plat map over the township and then used placemarkers to mark the Church, School, and Cemetery and then my polygons to mark the farm.

New York Township, Caldwell Co, MO 1930

You can find historic plat maps in a county atlas, or even googling for plot maps will lead you to all sorts of digital images of different counties and townships. Just make sure you watch your copyright laws. Just like all the other tools in google earth overlays too have a description box. This is a perfect place to put your source citation. Any notes you have on that particular overlay, even just jot something down about how you feel about that family discovery. Overlays I think are a key piece when sharing with family too. You all have heard the phrase “You can't be a prophet in your own land” (Luke 4:24), sometimes your family might find it hard to believe that your placemarker marks the location of Great Great Grandpa's farm house. That's where the overlay is nice because it is someone elses drawling of the land, who was alive at the time that your ancestor lived there, all you did was overlay it onto a modern map. The last thing I usually do with my plat map overlays and I have started adding to all my google earth tools, is adding a time stamp. Its by no means required it just adds another layer of realism to the story you are telling. The time stamp also allows you to have multiple files clicked ON while not having them became a huge pile of mess. The time stamps can be set to only show then activated by the time slider.

I hope you all will find a piece of your families history to overlay and create your own window to the past.  

Polygon... Family Land

The Polygon feature of Google Earth is what I like to use when I find family land. Its a great feature where no matter what the shape of the land, you can outline the property with Polygon. It's a great way to highlight an area.

Just like placemarkers they have a Name and a Description, however their name field doesn't show text next to the Polygon like placemarkers do. Back to descriptions, you can use this to add pictures, maybe you have a picture of the old homestead or the original deed. I am usually using the Bureau of Land Management to find old land grants and I use the land description in the description box of the Polygon. Then when you create the Polygon you have the visual and when you click on it the balloon pops up with the raw description of the land. Color coding your family land can be very helpful as you are plotting family land. If your family is anything like mine, families that stayed in one place for very long, eventually end up marring the farmers daughter next door, and color coding will help you identify the different family groups. You may also be able to identify other locations to research, if a family owns all the land around but not a certain parcel of land, maybe you need to look into why they didn't purchase it or maybe you haven't discovered ownership yet.

The visualization benefit to using Google Earth and the Polygon feature is amazing. Helping identify migration patterns, the community church they worshiped at, or even the local burial ground. I have even had to do research into a old coal mine that was on the property, but wouldn't have known if I never took the land description and actually plotted the land out.

Family Land isn't the only thing I use Polygons for in Google Earth. I use them in cemeteries and military projects I have created too, really anything where I am trying to highlight an area of interest. The cool thing google has done is you aren't restricted to a two dimensional outline you can make it three dimensional also and either have it follow the shape of the terrain or even float above the area you are focused on.  Be on the look out for upcoming posts on how to make three dimensional Polygons.   

Why use Google Earth for Genealogy???

Genealogy Through Google Earth                       by Eric Stitt

We all know that Genealogy and Family research doesn't always happen in your back yard.  We can’t just get in the car and drive across the states to visit the old homestead, and I know I’ll be camped out in line when we figure out time travel.  But what if you could visit that old homestead or scroll back in time when your neighborhood was an old farm field, Google Earth can do that. 

Using geographic information found in Deeds and addresses from sources such as Census data, property where ancestors and neighbors once lived may be marked on historical maps, which can then be overlaid on modern Google maps. Geographic features mentioned in property descriptions such as rivers and creeks will appear on topographical maps and in Google’s satellite imagery. Using this information, it is possible to locate a family homestead on an historical map and compare the changes to those locations that have occurred over time as the area developed. In some instances, the old home may still be there or a family cemetery.

How many times have you found a source that quotes your family member is buried in Sec D, Row 12, Lot 52 and then turn around and still have to hunt through 100’s of tombstones just to find them?  In Google Earth we can make place markers to pin point your family member with GPS, and then you can print out a map for other family members to use next Memorial Day.

In Google Earth for Genealogy you can learn to do all these things.  Making your family stories really come to life with 3D models and giving your family a God's eye view of your families history.  

Check out www.earth.google.com/ to download Google Earth for yourself.

A New World of Family History Research

Hello everyone and welcome to my new blog Genealogy though Google Earth. I have been using Google Earth for my Genealogy from the beginning, and teaching a Google Earth for Genealogy Classes up in St Joseph MO for the Northwest Missouri Genealogical Society for a few years now. Just recently I was asked to present at the GenealogyKC Conference this spring and between the two thought I should start a blog dedicated to Google Earth and Genealogy.

My plan is start out describing how I use Google Earth in my family history and then move towards sharing more advanced features. All that being said it is going to take some time to write each post, in the mean while I still plan on writing on my original blog.  I all ready have some posts Google Earth related over at my other blog Genealogy by Eric and below are links to the individual posts.

The Missions of Merl Stitt WWII

Connecting the Dots... Scituate MA

Connecting the Dots... Deerfield MA

You can get a head start by downloading Google Earth at http://www.google.com/earth/.  So stay tuned as I help you explore the world of your ancestors with Google Earth.