Tag: Family History (Page 1 of 3)

‘Webtrees’ on a Home Server: Installing the Webtrees Software

July 17, 2020 / tim / 0 Comments

⬅️ Previous post: Getting online with LAMP and No-IP

Installing Webtrees • Installing ‘intl’ and preparing the data folder • Creating the MariaDB database • Tweaking the default PHP configuration • Troubleshooting SELinux errors • What’s next for the server?

Now that I have a server machine running Linux and a LAMP stack accessible via the internet, I’m ready to install the Webtrees software. Debugging the SELinux permission errors took some time, and got much easier once I learned how properly troubleshoot. Here’s what I went through to get it running. Continue reading

‘Webtrees’ on a Home Server: Getting online with LAMP and No-IP

July 1, 2020 / tim / 0 Comments

⬅ Previous Post: My Machine and Operating System

Installing and Configuring the LAMP stack • What about a firewall? • Opening the router to web traffic • Launching the site for free with No-IP • Visiting my new server for the first time

My laptop server is wedged discretely between my desk and my tower. Lights at the bottom show that it is on.

When last we left my Webtrees project, I had installed Gentoo Linux on an old 2005 HP Compaq nc6230, and hardened it for security with SELinux. This formed the foundation of my server machine. Since then, I’ve installed OpenSSH, which allows me to access the server laptop from other machines, over the network, without opening the laptop lid. All work on the server will now ideally be done over an SSH connection.

On today’s episode, I install the LAMP web server software and have it go live to the public. Compared to the work of installing the Gentoo system, this part is really a piece of cake. Even so, I’m still a noob when it comes to web servers. This series can not be read as a full how-to. It can only be a general inspiration and a nudge in the right direction. Continue reading

‘Webtrees’ on a Home Server: My machine and Operating System

June 21, 2020 / tim / 0 Comments

⬅ Previous Post: 2020 Summer Project #1: ‘Webtrees’ on a Home Server

My server computer • The Gentoo Linux operating system • Installing Gentoo • Hardening Gentoo with SELinux • Hardening other Linux distros • Next on the agenda

Of course the first step in running Webtrees on a home server is to choose the machine and operating system. While it is certainly possible to launch a web server from my regular desktop (and I have in fact done this), a better idea is to set up a machine dedicated to this purpose.

2020 Summer Project #1: ‘Webtrees’ on a Home Server

June 20, 2020 / tim / 0 Comments

The summer of 2020 is upon us. I just wrapped up my second year of teaching math full time for the School District of Philadelphia. In the wake of nationwide coronavirus business closures, I find myself without summer employment for the first time in about a quarter-century. ? That means it’s GeNeALoGy TiMe once again!!! ??

One project I’ve had on the back burner for the last decade or so is re-launching a family history website on a home server.

52 Ancestors, No. 31: Charles J. Butera, Tribute to A Fallen Soldier

May 28, 2018 / tim / 0 Comments

CharlesButera

I’ve let my 52 Ancestors series lapse. Hard to believe I left off four whole years ago, but here we are. I ought to pick it up again. I’ve received messages from at least three distant relatives who contacted me after finding mutual relatives on my blog. Continue reading

The Majesty of Side-Lit Gravestones

September 27, 2015 / tim / 1 Comment

“The biggest improvement in my photos since I learned to take the lens cap off.” ~ ajmexico

The next big thing, not only in my own genealogy, but also for the genealogical research services that I will begin to offer this fall, will be gravestone photos lit from the side by an off-camera flash. I’m hard pressed to imagine a better method for photographing gravestones. This method produces higher contrast without recourse to smearing foreign substances onto the fragile monuments with grubby hands. No chalk, no flour, just pure white light. Continue reading

Tutorial: How I prepare my newspaper articles for genealogy

August 7, 2015 / tim / 0 Comments

I’ve got new tutorial video up today. In this one, I basically ramble as I prepare a newspaper article for presentation in my genealogy. When researching on such sites as Chronicling America and Fulton History, I like to download the full page containing the relevant article. I then crop out the relevant article and make that the first page of a PDF file. I leave the full page as the second page of the PDF file, but I highlight the relevant portions. If, as in this case, only a small portion of an article is relevant, I’ll make faux tears in it to show that I’ve skipped some of the article. The software I’m using here is the GIMP image editor and the PDF Split and Merge document editor. Although I’m using Linux in this video, the software is available for all platforms. Enjoy!

Tutorials: How to install the free GRAMPS genealogy software.

March 17, 2015 / tim / 2 Comments

Yes, it’s been quiet here at RestorationsByTim.com, but I’ve been busy on a couple projects. One of these projects has been to get a couple videos up on my YouTube Channel. Continue reading

Find-A-Grave Community Day 2014, Part 2: Philadelphia National Cemetery

October 30, 2014 / tim / 0 Comments

Aron Mackiey’s landscape photo turned out rather well. His marker is at left.

I wrote last week about the fine time I had with the Lansdowne meetup for Find-A-Grave Community Day at Fernwood Cemetery. We have kept quite good contact since then, and now have a keen mailing list were we keep our discussion topics in order. One of these topics, if I’m not prematurely announcing it, is a return to Fernwood Cemetery as a group in late November to continue whittling away at the rather large photo request list that still remains.

I also wrote of an expected sequel to that post, and I’d like to deliver on that prognostication. Continue reading

Genealogy Tip: Trouble Transcribing? Google the Legal Boilerplate

September 17, 2014 / tim / 0 Comments

I have a tip for you today regarding the transcription of old documents—especially legal documents, like deeds and wills. This was inspired today by a tweet from @BKlynAncestry, requesting transcription assistance via the twittersphere. Here is the tweet:

https://twitter.com/BKlynAncestry/status/512337479698243584

Clicking through, the document is again reproduced at the Brooklyn Ancestry blog. Looking at a document like this, one might be tempted to think: “Wow. Look at this. It’s handwritten. Someone put a lot of care and original thought into this. It must be unique. How will I ever decipher it?” Don’t despair. Your document may not be as unique as it looks. Continue reading