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.