• FamilySearch has added another 30 million new, free records to its historical records website—16 million indexed names and 14 million browsable images. Highlighting the additions are new databases from Canada, England, Germany, Italy, Micronesia, Slovenia and the United States. The new records also include millions of US births, marriages and deaths, and over 9 million church records from Sweden. See the list of new collections here.

FamilySearch also has launched a free mobile app for the iPad, iPhone and Droid that lets volunteers index digitized records. You can find it by searching for FamilySearch Indexing in the Apple App Store or Android Marketplace.

• Ancestry.com is giving away not one but three grand prize $10,000 family history trips in its Ultimate Family History Journey Sweepstakes. And 20 first prize winners will get an Ancestry.com World Explorer membership. You can enter daily through May 18.

• Library and Archives Canada is starting a monthly podcast series called Discover Library and Archives Canada (LAC): Your History, Your Documentary Heritage. Episodes will introduce you to LAC services and archivists. You can subscribe to episodes using RSS or iTunes, or tune in on the LAC website.

• The Civil War Trust is holding its 16th annual battlefield cleanup called Park Day on Saturday, March 31. More than 100 sites in 25 states are taking part, with activities ranging from trash removal to trail building. Click here to find a site near you and learn about specific projects.

• The National Genealogical Society has a new online events calendar where organizations that have a valid subscription to NGS can list their events (and, of course, you can look for events to attend). The calendar isn't searchable, but you can use your browser's Find function (control-F or command-F) to look for a particular topic, place, date or speaker.

• Genealogists have formed the Family History Information Standards Organisation (FHISO), to develop standards for the digital representation and sharing of family history informaiton. The goal is to make data exchanging work with different genealogy websites, software, applications and other services. FHISO will sponsor the Build a BetterGEDCOM Project, a grassroots effort started last year.

Friday, February 10, 2012 3:00:43 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

Members of the public can submit statements for the hearing record. These statements must meet the specific format required by the Ways and Means Committee.

The genealogy Records Preservation and Action Committee (RPAC) recommends that such formal statements come from societies. RPAC is a joint task force of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and the National Genealogical Society (NGS).

FGS, NGS and the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) will submit statements.

The RPAC, however, says it's working on a mechanism for individual genealogists to speak up in an "appropriate but dramatic" way. RPAC members are meeting at the RootsTech conference this week and will monitor Thursday's hearing. The committee plan make an announcement about how you can help save the SSDI by Feb. 14.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 9:17:36 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• PBS' Winter-Spring 2012 lineup includes a 10-episode celebrity genealogy series called "Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr." premiering Sunday, March 25 at 8 p.m.
  

Gates will delve into the genealogy and genetics of famous Americans including Kevin Bacon, Robert Downey, Jr., Branford Marsalis, John Legend, Martha Stewart, Barbara Walters and Rick Warren. The show's website is here, though is hasn't yet been fleshed out with any content.

• A few updates to the genealogy web search engine Mocavo.com: You can now upload files to your account using Dropbox; just follow these instructions on the Mocavo.com blog. Also, if you log in before you search, you can mark off Mocavo.com search results you've already looked at with an "I've Read This" button, and you can rank matches as “The Person I’m Looking For," “Maybe A Good Match," “Not Who I’m Looking For” and “Broken Link.”
  

Finally, the site has introduced Mocavo Plus, an advanced version the site's developer says will get you more-relevant matches with features such as wild card searching, date-range searching, GeoSearching (in the US) and more. Subscriptions cost $9.95 per month or $79.95 (a sale price) per year.

• The California State Genealogical Alliance (CGSA) has started two new blogs: the CSGA Blog, with a goal to keep the California Genealogical community informed, and the Csgacopyright blog, which helps the genealogical community understand copyright issues. Learn more about the CGSA on the organization's website.

• The National Archives and Records Administration has launched "Know Your Records" online videos from the popular genealogy how-to workshops hosted at its facilities on topics such as such as census, immigration and military records. Catch the videos on the archives' YouTube channel.

• The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) announced its schedule of upcoming workshops at its Boston research library. If you'll be in the area, you can learn about the library's resources, local history, researching African-American ancestors and more (NEHGS also is organizing a research trip to Belfast in May). Check out the schedule on the AmericanAncestors.org website.
  

• Genetic testing site 23andme, which provides test-takers with medical- and ancestry-related analyses, has generated some controversy in changing site policies. Now, those who let their 12-month subscriptions lapse will lose access to their Relative Finder matches, Health Reports and other features that rely on their genetic data. They'll still have access to the raw data. Read more about the controversy on the Your Genetic Genealogist blog.

Thursday, January 05, 2012 9:42:06 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• Genealogy organizations Archives.com, FamilySearch, and Findmypast.co.uk, will work together on the 1940 US Census Community Project. The ambitious project aims to engage online volunteers to publish a name index to the 1940 US Census soon after the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) releases the records to the public April 2, 2012. All three partners will provide access to the free index on their websites. You can sign up to be an indexer at www.the1940census.com.

Last month, NARA selected Archives.com to host the digitized census records. Ancestry.com also has announced it'll offer a 1940 census index and the record images free, at least through 2013.

• FamilySearch's RootsTech conference, taking place Feb. 2-4 in Salt Lake City, is open for registration. The early bird rate of $149 is valid through Jan. 13, 2012.

• The National Genealogical Society 2012 Conference, taking place May 8-12 in Cincinnati, also is open for registration. Early bird prices ($175 for NGS members and $210 for nonmembers, plus extra if you want a printed syllabus) are good through March 20.

• I saw on Dear Myrtle's blog that genealogy expert and Evidence! author Elizabeth Shown Mills now has a website where she explains her research methodologies. You can visit Mills' Historic Pathways site here.

Friday, December 16, 2011 3:26:15 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [3]

• Findmypast.ie, the Irish website that FindMyPast.uk introduced earlier this year, has added a feature that lets you build your family tree on the site for free (you’ll need to register for a free account with the site). According to the announcement, it’s the first step in the site’s development of a fully integrated family tree program where you can store photos and historical information.

• Archives.com has partnered with Family Tree DNA to add genetic genealogy testing to its offerings. Archives.com visitors can now purchase Family Tree DNA’s Y-chromosome, mitochondrial and Family Finder tests (they’re up to 30 percent off on Archives.com for a limited time). Read the full announcement on the Archives.com blog.

• The National Genealogical Society has released its 2012 Family History Conference Program in searchable form. The conferene is May 9–12 in Cincinnati (our hometown—will we see you there?). Registration opens soon: This Thursday, Dec. 1.

Monday, November 28, 2011 12:15:58 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B) has a new website that's easier to use and enriched with expanded content. Additions to the eLibrary (accessible to members) include more than 500 NYG&B member biographies from the early 20th century, book two of the 1855 New York state census for Manhattan's Ward 17, 32 digitized books and more. Information also accessible t nonmembers includes research guides, News You Can Use with new resources for New York research and a Genealogical Exchange query board.

• Fort Monroe in Hampton, Va., an important Union fort in the Civil War, has been designated a National Monument. It was nicknamed "Freedom's Fortress" for Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler’s 1861 declaration that escaped slaves who reached Union lines would be deemed contraband of war and not returned to their masters. More than 10,000 enslaved men and women made the journey there by war's end. Learn about Fort Monroe during the Civil War here.

• The National Archives in Kansas City is offering these free genealogy workshops in November: Military Records at the National Archives Nov. 12, 10-11:30 a.m.; and Introduction to Genealogy Nov. 15 and 30, 10-11:30 a.m. You can find more details on the archives' Public Programs schedule.

Friday, November 04, 2011 2:59:10 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [1]

• The Genealogists for Families project, coordinated by genealogists Judy Webster and Joan Miller, uses the microfunding website Kiva.org to make small loans to those in need around the world. Borrowers use the funds for businesses that support their families, for example, a man in Rwanda used a Kiva loan to buy raw materials to expand his carpentry business. So far, Genealogists for Families has made 61 loans totaling $1,525. To get involved, sign up with Kiva. You can lend as little as $25. As the loan is repaid, you can lend to someone else.

• Did your relative die in service to the Prussian army during World War I? The Prussian Army Project database at Genoroots lets you search 100,000 names (and growing) on the Deutsche Verlustlisten—the list of the army's personnel losses during World War I. Go here to search.

• The Genealogical Society of Ireland and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland are working together on a DNA project to learn more about the Irish population. Coordinators will collect DNA samples and genealogical information from participants. Participants won't receive results unless important health information is discovered. You'll find more details in this article on TheJournal.ie.

• The Federation of Genealogical Societies is offering two new benefits to member societies: a website review and a newsletter review (whether print or digital). Evaluations may include suggestions on improving design, layout, ease of use, content and more. See the FGS Voice blog for more information.

Friday, October 28, 2011 4:22:51 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [2]

Each day at 4 pm ET (3 CT, 2 MT, 1 PT), we’ll announce the winner of that day’s giveaway. Plus, each daily prize will be on sale for a fantastic price.

Congratulations to the winner of today’s giveaway, a one-year membership to the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, a fabulous resource for anyone whose ancestors spent time in the state (you'll see genealogy expert James M. Beidler recommending it in our January 2012 Philadelphia Research Guide).

And the winner is ... Linette Edwards of Austin, Texas!

Here's the deal: Anyone purchasing an annual Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania membership today, Oct. 21, will have their membership extended from 12 to 15 months for the same annual rate of $60. Check out the benefits here.

The daily giveaway for tomorrow, Oct. 22, is our Research Remedies CD, which is chock-full of advice for tracking down elusive ancestors. Click here to sign up now on our Daily Deal & Giveaway page. (Even if you signed up for a previous giveaway, sign up again to get in the running for this one.)

Then just come back here tomorrow at 4 pm ET to see if you’ve won. Good luck!

Friday, October 21, 2011 4:37:16 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Archives.com is sharing an interesting infographic for Family History Month, showing US immigration numbers through the years and stats on the origins of immigrants from 1910 to 1919 and from 2000 to 2009, among other information. Check it out on the Archives.com blog.  

• The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), taking place Jan. 23-27, 2012, is having a contest for genealogy bloggers. Just blog about why you would like to attend SLIG before Sat., Oct. 15 at midnight (Mountain Time) and you could win free tuition. See entry details here. 

• British genealogy site GenesReunited has added more than 35 million baptism, marriage and burial records for England and Wales dating back to 1538. The parish records include Boyd's Marriage Index 1538-1840 and Boyd's 1st Miscellaneous Series 1538-1775, supplied by the British Society of Genealogists. You can view the records on a pay per view basis or Genes Reunited Platinum members can add one or more of the record sets to their package.

• Blogger Dick Eastman wrote about a neat site called Old S.F. with 13,000 historical San Francisco photos plotted on a Google map. Read Dick’s post here and visit the site here.
  

• The Federation of Genealogical Societies announced its new board members and directors, including George G. Morgan (Family Tree Magazine’s Document Detective columnist) as Vice-President Membership, Curt D. Witcher as Vice-President Development, Loretto “Lou” Szucs as Director, Kim Kasprzyk as Treasurer, Polly Fitzgerald Kimmitt as Director, Angela Walton-Raji as Director and Randy Whited as Director.

• The National Genealogical Society also announced a new board member: Teresa Koch-Bostic, of Mineola, NY, a professional genealogist in addition to her extensive background in business.

Friday, October 14, 2011 11:53:56 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [4]

A PBS film called "The War of 1812" is demystifying this conflict with re-enactments, exlanatory animation and the commentary of history experts. That’s a trailer for the show, above.

It premiered on TV last night, but you can watch it online here if you missed it. 

If you have a smartphone, you also can download a mobile app with more videos, guides to battlefields and historic sites, and more. 

Those with War of 1812 ancestors also will be interested in the Federation of Genealogical Societies’ Preserve the Pensions project to digitize pension files for War of 1812 soldiers. Many of these records are already available at Fold3.com. 

You can get more help finding War of 1812 ancestors with these related resources from Family Tree Magazine:

• Timeline of US military campaigns (free article)
  
• War of 1812 records online (free article)
• Find soldiers in 10 lesser-known wars (for Family Tree Plus members)
  
• Military Research Guide CD from ShopFamilyTree.com 

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 10:13:05 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [5]

• The National Genealogical Society 2013 conference will be in Las Vegas (May 8-11).

• AncestorSync, the folks in the booth next to me, is a way to share genealogy data or sync desktop and online trees without downloading a GEDCOM and uploading it somewhere else (or manually adding the same ancestors in multiple places). So far, it works with Ancestral Quest, Legacy, Mac Family Tree, PAF, RootsMagic and The Master Genealogist desktop programs, and FamilySearch, Geni and OurFamilyology online tree sites, with more to come.

• The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania (GSP) is having a Pennsylvania Family workshop with Ancestry.com Nov. 5. Twelve presentations include experts from Ancestry.com plus additional speakers including Lisa Alzo and Dear Myrtle.

GSP also is working on a new website, so keep an eye on GenPa.

• 1,000 Memories is a website where you and relatives upload photos, audio and video, and written stories about ancestors—a way of sharing the photos that you inherited, and seeing the ones handed down through your cousin Edna’s branch.

• Sort Your Story is software that helps you organize your data and digitized documents. You enter your data in the software’s profiler and use the software to organize documents. The profiler also helps you see what information you’re missing for each person in your tree.

• JustaJoy.com is a service that links orphaned heirlooms with the families that originally owned them. The site works with antiques dealers who have items with family connections—currently, it lists items associated with 40,000 families. You can search the site to see what’s associated with your surname, but you need to join to view information about the listings.

Friday, September 09, 2011 9:06:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [14]

If you missed it, you can order the Virtual Conference video classes for on-demand viewing at ShopFamilyTree.com. 

One of my favorite parts of the conference was the live chats, which buzzed with research tips, questions and inspiration. For example, Thomas’ Saturday evening chat, Pick Thomas’ Brain: Ideas on Creative Approaches to Genealogy, was chock full of advice.

I’ve pulled some comments from the chat to share here (I made some edits and added topic headings so the Q&A is easier to follow).

On brick walls:

• Thomas: First, very often I think what we call a brick wall isn't really a brick wall . . .
  
  
• Joan: What do you mean by a brick wall not being a brick wall?

• Thomas: To me it is a matter of perhaps not having all the right tools at one's disposal. Or it could be a matter of going back and rechecking spelling, surname variations, etc.

• Allison FTU: A true brick wall is when you have exhausted every possible avenue for research and there is no more information

In many cases, what we refer to as a brick wall is really just an exhaustion of ideas

• Patricia: A Brick Wall to me is having a timeline just end with no leads. Just solved 2 of my brick walls by reviewing current finds in detail as if I was looking at the finds for the first time.

On ancestral adoptions:

• Terri: My brick wall is my grandmother, born and adopted in 1900. I thought her SS application might help, but she apparently fibbed on the application! Gave her adopted info as official
  
  
• Kerry: I've used church records to find babies who were baptized prior to their adoption. Not all were adopted at birth.
  
  
• Allison FTU: If you know what area she was born in, you might try guardianship records.
  
  
• Terri: Are guardianship records civil records, private institutions, what?
  
  
• Allison FTU: Guardianships are typically court records. So you do need to know which county to look in.

On going beyond well-known resources:

• Carol: I have a line that went to Nebraska. FamilySearch and Ancestry seem to have nothing and GenealogyBank only later years. Any links for Nebraska?

• Thomas: What time period? Were they Homesteaders?

• Carol P: Late 1800s to early 1900s

• Thomas: Last night I did a GeneaBloggers Radio episode mostly on Nebraska. 

• Allison-FTU: Also take a look at Nebraska State Historical Society, one of FTM's "best state websites"

On ordering ancestors’ vital records:

• Mary Ann: When I look for birth, marriage, and death certificates in the US, I am taken to sites where it is free for 7 days and then you pay. Is there a good site to find these certificates?

• Thomas: I personally don't recommend those sites. In most cases, if you know how to order them directly from the state or county, it is better and cheaper. What do others think?

• Mary Ann: Yet, the states’ [vital records office websites] are sending me to those sites.

• Kerry: I totally agree; I'd much rather order directly from the source.

• Terri: I have seen some states that use a private online payment service for their records, but there's generally an option to pay the vital records office directly.

• Thomas: I want to share an odd tool from the Centers for Disease Control of all places—Where to Write for Vital Records! 

• Allison FTU: It's also available to download as a PDF 

• Kerry: Some states (Minnesota, for instance) house records at the state historical society, and you can order (and in some cases, view) them online.

• Thomas: Did you know that some societies have a vital records service where they will, for a much cheaper fee, pull the records? Illinois State Genealogical Society does this for Illinois Death Certificates.

• Mary Kay: Or borrowing microfilm from your local FHC.

On hard-to-trace immigrants and F.A.N. clubs:

• Christine: Ancestor arrived in 1750 from Rotterdam, based on PA baptism records which are German Lutheran—don't have a clue where to start across the pond. Strategy much appreciated....

how to get from point of departure (Rotterdam) in 1750 to where he might have lived...

• Thomas: Have you tried the F.A.N. club approach? Friends, Associates, Neighbors?

Elizabeth Shown Mills uses that F.A.N. club term all the time.

Last night on my radio show, Gail Blankenau from Omaha who specializes in German Parish Records used the term "10 up and 10 down" meaning always go up 10 lines from what you've found and down 10 lines as well.

• Allison-FTU: Christine, have you heard of something called manumission records?

In Germany during the time period, emigrants had to pay a tax to be released from serfdom. The resulting records are manumissions

There's an often-referenced index to German manumissions by Werner Hacker ... let me see if i can find a link

• Christine: Would they have been microfilmed by the Family History Library?

• Allison-FTU: Yes! Check out this page on the FamilySearch wiki for more info 

• Thomas: I just found this for Germans to America  

On online research tools:

• Thomas: Want to let you know that my entire research toolbox is on my Destination: Austin Family blog

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 9:50:10 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [6]

• The thousands of new record images at FamilySearch.org this week include testaments (wills) from Cádiz, Spain; US military records for Louisiana and Washington; and North Carolina estate files. The collections for Canada, Italy and Poland also were updated. Here’s the announcement from FamilySearch, with links to the updated collections. 

• The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) has a free mobile app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. You can use it to access information on FGS news and events (such as the conference coming up Sept. 7-10, in Springfield, Ill.), FGS Radio, the Voice FGS blog, and webinars. You also can interact with other users via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail.

• By the way, tomorrow, Aug. 20 is the last day to register online for the above-mentioned FGS conference, add luncheons and dinner events to your registration, or purchase a printed syllabus.
  

Friday, August 19, 2011 11:08:38 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [17]

• Congratulations to Lisa Louise Cooke, podcaster and blogger at Genealogy Gems (and Family Tree Magazine podcast host). Appadvice.com named Lisa’s Genealogy Gems Podcast app a must-have in the Hobby category of its AppList. Appadvice.com reviewers called it “a great resource for both amateur and professional Genealogists … The interface is easy to use and the type and controls are larger, making this application ideal even for older users.”

The Genealogy Gems podcast app features streaming of the Genealogy Gems podcast, plus show notes and bonus material. It’s available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad (at the iTunes store) and Android phone (in the Marketplace).

• FamilySearch added 4.3 million record images this week, nearly half of those to its Hungary Civil Registration, 1895–1980, collection (my husband is a quarter Hungarian, so this moves up his tree a few notches on my to-do list).
  

Other new records come from Austria, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Panama, and the US. Note these record images aren't yet indexed, so you'll need to browse them. See the updated collections and link to them from here.

• The California Genealogical Society and Ancestry.com are putting on an Ancestry Day Nov. 5 in San Francisco. It’ll include classes, Ancestry.com experts to answer your questions and one-on-one consultations with genealogists. The early bird price ends Oct. 5. You can register here. 

Friday, August 12, 2011 12:00:13 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [6]

• On its History Happens Here site, the Missouri History Museum is sharing the Civil War saga of soldier James Love and his letters to fiancee Eliza Mary "Molly" Wilson. Museum staff post each new letter 150 years to the day after it was written. Catch up on the letters you’ve missed here. 

• The free FamilySearch site has added records for 10 countries. The additions come from Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Guatemala, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the United States (Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Vermont and Wisconsin). Click here to see details and links for the updated collections. 

• British subscription site FindMyPast.co.uk has published the records of over half a million men who served in the British militia, the precursor to the UK’s Territorial Army. The militia was made up of men who held everyday jobs, but took part in regular military exercises and on occasion, fought. You can search the Militia Service Records, covering 1806 to 1915, here.
  

• The National Genealogical Society has created The NGS Weekly, a “newspaper” that pulls feeds from various genealogy blog posts. You can subscribe to get e-mail notifications when the page is updated.

Friday, June 24, 2011 1:21:58 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1]

• The renowned genealogy portal site Cyndi’s List has been upgraded with improved navigation, a custom database, and a custom administrative interface to make using the site quicker and easier for both visitors and Cyndi. Visit the site at CyndisList.com.

• British subscription/pay-per-view site GenesReunited has added passenger departure lists from British ports from 1890 to 1960. These records, also on FindMyPast.co.uk, cover the period of mass migration to Australia between 1947 and 1960, when an estimated 710,000 people traveled there from Great Britain. Search the departure records at GenesReunited.co.uk. Read the GenesReunited press release about the new database here.

• MyHeritage.com released an update to its free Family Tree Builder software. You can learn more about version 5.1 and download it at Myheritage.com. 

• Who’s the only man to be both father and son to US presidents? The answer is in the fun fatherhood facts gleaned from family tree site Geni’s database, which Geni is sharing in honor of Father’s Day (this Sunday). Another sampling: Worldwide, fathers average 3.5 children apiece, with Malaysia coming in at the highest, 3.8, and Germany bringing up the rear at 2.7. See all the Father's Day facts on Geni’s blog.
  

• The Britain-based Guild of One-Name Studies plans to offer a special membership rate of $26 for membership through Nov. 1, 2012. The offer will be available next Friday, June 24, to Sunday, June 26, on the guild's website. The guild is a clearinghouse for information about surname studies. Click here to see if its registry your surname is included in .

Friday, June 17, 2011 11:38:07 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [3]

Attendees can choose from 130 class sessions covering a range of ethnicities and geographies, technology tools and research at traditional repositories. The focus ranges far beyond Southern California, as most of today’s Southern Californians have roots someplace else.

Even if you’re not a paid attendee, you can attend a JamboFREE session on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. Several sessions also will be presented as free webinars for up to 1,000 registrants.

In the exhibit hall, which also is free to the public, you can browse 70 commercial vendors—look for the friendly face of Family Tree Magazine's own Allison Stacy. A Society Row in the convention center lobby lets you see what genealogical societies and heritage organizations have to offer.

Allison also will be a guest on Lisa Louise Cooke’s live Genealogy Gems Podcast, Sunday June 12 at noon. There’ll be giveaways, so plan to be in the audience in the “big tent” (seating is first come, first served, and you'll want to arrive early—the event filled to capacity at last year's Jamboree).

Jamboree preregistration is closed, but walk-in registration is available for all three days, or just for one day (there are separate rates for Southern California Genealogical Society members and nonmembers). You’ll find links to those rates here (look under Jamboree Registration)

Keep up with conference news on the Jamboree Blog and on Twitter (the conference hashtag is #scgs11).

Monday, June 06, 2011 4:02:56 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

Everyone’s invited to participate in the Great Illinois Genealogy Scavenger Hunt, going on now through June 30.

All you have to do is find information on Illinois genealogy resources—websites, databases, how-to articles, etc.—and say why a resource should be included in the Research Wiki.

First, visit the Illinois pages of the FamilySearch Research Wiki to see what content is already there (your submitted resources should be original). Then submit your resource using the entry form.

Prizes include a RootsTech 2012 conference registration and a one-year ISGS membership. In addition, a prize will be awarded each day between June 1 and June 30, 2011 to someone drawn at random. For complete details, consult the contest rules.

See a full description of The Great Illinois Genealogy Scavenger Hunt on the ISGS website.

Need ideas for Illinois genealogy resources? See our $3 Illinois State Research Guide digital download, the Illinois section of the Family Tree Sourcebook (which has research tips, resource listings and county-by-county records guides for every US state), and the other how-to products in the Illinois section at ShopFamilyTree.com.

Wednesday, June 01, 2011 8:57:42 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

This free site from GeneaBloggers has profiles and presentations of genealogy speakers, a calendar of speaking engagements, calls for papers for upcoming genealogy conferences, and posts about building speaking skills.

E-mail GeneaBloggers if you’d like to post your genealogy speaker profile to the site.

If you’re looking for a speaker for a genealogy society meeting or other event, you can browse the profiles here or use the search box at the top left of the site to type in a genealogy topic or a speaker’s name.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 9:06:34 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• As part of its annual conference next week in Charleston, SC, the National Genealogical Society will offer a one-day Genealogy 101 session on Saturday, May 14, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Registration costs $50. Online registration is closed, but you can register at the door. Space is limited, so get there early.

• A new organization has formed with the goal to provide in-depth genealogical education in the Mid-Atlantic region and nationally. The Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) is planning a weeklong genealogy seminar for Monday, July 23 through Friday, July 27, 2012, in Pittsburgh. Learn more on GRIP’s website.

• If you’ll be in the Washington, DC, are next week, you can learn how to research the National Archives’ records of Union and Confederate Army units and Navy ships at one of two free workshops: May 10, 11 a.m. at the Washington, DC, Research Center; or Thursday, May 12, 11 a.m. at the College Park, MD, research center. Learn more on the National Archives’ events page. 

• FamilySearch has added more than 2 million digital images to its record collections come from Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Switzerland, U.S., and Wales. More than 1.7 million of those images were added to the Brazil Civil Registration collection, and 346,000 church records were added for Honduras. The record images aren’t yet indexed, so you’ll need to navigate to the collection of interest on FamilySearch and browse the images. You can see the list of updated collections and link to each one here. 

Friday, May 06, 2011 3:26:44 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

The Civil War Trust is coming out with another smartphone “Battle App,” this one helping tourists locate and learn about historic sites at the Fredericksburg battlefield. Download and learn more about this app and the Devil’s Den & Little Roundtop app at CivilWar.org.

Want to attend the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree in Burbank, Calif., June 10-12? You could win a registration from GeneaBloggers. Click here to learn more and enter. 

Friday, April 29, 2011 2:47:34 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

Family Tree Magazine will be in exhibit hall booth 131 with a selection of our CDs, books and South Carolina research kits.

Attendees can log into their NGS accounts and download the conference syllabus as a PDF. 

A free trolley will run from the seven convention hotels (Embassy Suites, Holiday Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Residence Inn, Hyatt Place, Crowne Plaza and Hampton Inn Airport) to the convention center.

Local research opportunities include the South Carolina Room at the Charleston County Library and the South Carolina Historical Society, both in Charleston’s historic downtown. See more Charleston and South Carolina research sites here. 

The conference isn’t downtown, but NGS is organizing group tours of Charleston for a fee. 

I was lucky enough to visit a few years ago, and IMHO it’s totally worth taking the time out (or adding to your trip) to see local sites such as Fort Sumter, Rainbow Row, The Battery, Waterfront Park and Magnolia Plantation. To get to Fort Sumter (this Civil War sesquicentennial year would be a great time to go), you can take a ferry from downtown Charleston. 

Planning to go to the conference? Here are some tips on how to get ready and what to bring.

Friday, April 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Searching for an ancestor’s marriage in England or Wales from 1837 to 2005? This is your week. To mark the occasion of Britain’s royal wedding, Ancestry.co.uk is offering free access to its English and Welsh marriage indexes through April 30. The records from 1837 through 1915 already were free, but this is a good chance to search for 20th-century marriages. You’ll need to set up a free registration with the site to access search results.

• The Federation of Genealogical Societies is debuting an Internet radio show dedicated solely to genealogy societies. It’s called My Society, and it’ll air every Saturday from 2-3pm Eastern (1-2pm Central, 12-1pm Mountain, 11am-12pm Pacific) starting tomorrow, April 23. To listen, go to www.blogtalkradio.com/MySociety (under Upcoming Broadcasts, if you click the blue “more” link, you’ll see a phone number you can use to call into the show).

• The Southern California Genealogical Society has created an interactive smart phone app for the Genealogy Jamboree conference, taking place June 10-12 in Burbank, Calif. The app lets you review lecture sessions and add them to your calendar, search for exhibitors on a trade show floor map, get news updates and more. Download it using the links provided in the conference blog. 

• Genetic genealogy testing company GeneTree.com has introduced a series of specialty DNA tests including Extended Y-Chromosome Haplotype, X-Chromosome, Autosomal STR, and Y-Chromosome SNP test for Haplogroup Classification. Click here for more information about what each test can do.

Friday, April 22, 2011 4:22:17 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

It’s DNA Day! Today only (Friday, April 15), genetic genealogy company FamilyTreeDNA is offering a promotional code you can use to get a discount on several types of DNA tests. See FamilyTreeDNA’s Facebook page for details.

Family Tree University professor Tim Pinnick sent us a note that he’s moderating the new African-American-American Newspapers forum on the Afrigeneas website. Stop by to ask questions and share your finds from Black newspapers. 

FamilySearch announced this week that it’s released 500,000 new US county marriage records, as well as records from Costa Rica, England, India, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Spain, in the Historical Records Search. Click here to see the list of the updated collections. (Look for our guide to the new FamilySearch.org website in the September 2011 Family Tree Magazine.)

Subscription genealogy site Archives just announced the addition of 3.5 million new US vital records to the website, including the obituary index from the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Ohio (also searchable here). Other updated collections come from Texas, Kentucky, Maine, South Carolina, Arizona, South Carolina and Colorado.

iArchives, the records digitization arm of subscription site Footnote, announced plans to collaborate with the Federation of Genealogical Societies to digitize 180,000 War of 1812 pension applications. They’ll eventually be available on Footnote. Read more details on the FGS Voice blog.

Friday, April 15, 2011 9:52:35 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• The New Jersey state archives has released a database of 3,427 New Jersey residents named on cards recording those who died in World War I. Your search results link to the original card, sometimes with a photo, and information about the deceased and his service.

• The Digital Library of Georgia, one of the December 2010 Family Tree Magazine’s 75 best state websites for genealogy, has added the Athens Historic Newspapers Archive. You can keyword-search or browse (by title and year) five newspapers published in Athens from 1827 to 1922. 

• The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) just unveiled a new website featuring links to ISGS records projects, links to other Illinois resources and a new members-only section. Visitors also will find archived ISGS Newsletters back to 2008, listings of Illinois genealogy events, free databases and more.

• A highly combustible nitrate negative caused the evacuation of the LDS Church History Library in Salt Lake City (not the same as the Family History Library) this week. You can read more about the incident, which ended with everyone safe and sound, on Dick Eastman’s blog. How do you know if you have any of these dangerous nitrate negatives (produced between 1890 and 1950) in your home? This Now What? answer will tell you.
  

Friday, January 21, 2011 11:14:59 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• FamilySearch has added records to its overhauled website, including the Social Security Death Index, US state censuses and vital records, and records from Canada, Spain and Venezuela. Click here to see the full list  and search the collections here. 

• FamilySearch also has started several new volunteer indexing projects, including US censuses, tax and vital records, and its first project in Polish. See the FamilySearch blog for details on each project and a contact link if you can volunteer.

• FamilySearch’s RootsTech conference, taking place in Salt Lake City Feb. 10-12, has announced its lineup of keynote speakers. They include two technology types you might not expect to hear at a genealogy conference—Shane Robison, Executive VP and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer for Hewlett-Packard; and Brewster Kahle, founder of Internet Archive (where you’ll find digitized books and the Way Back Machine, among other delights)—as well as Curt Witcher, manager of the nationally known Allen County (Ind.) Public Library Genealogy Center (which has digitized documents and databases on its website); and Jay Verklar, CEO of FamilySearch International. Learn more about these speakers and get conference details on the RootsTech website. 

• British genealogy site Genes Reunited has added the original householder schedules for the entire 1911 UK and Wales census. The records are available by subscription or on a pay-per-view basis.

• A.C. Ivory, one of the young genealogists profiled in the November 2010 Family Tree Magazine (in one of my most favorite articles I’ve worked on), has given his Find My Ancestor website and blog a new look. You’ll find new downloads and resources, a new logo, easier navigation, social media integration and more.

• Those named to new positions in the genealogy world include Matt Wright as editor of the Federation of Genealogical Societies’ electronic quarterly, FGS FORUM; and Laura Murphy DeGrazia and Karen Mauer Green as co-editors of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society’s New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. 

Monday, January 03, 2011 5:26:38 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• Online registration is now open for the National Genealogical Society (NGS) 2011 Family History Conference. The conference will be May 11–14 at the North Charleston Convention Center in Charleston, SC.

Registration for the full event ranges from $175 to $245, depending whether you’re an NGS member, whether you make the early bird deadline (March 11), and whether you want a printed syllabus. You also can register for a single day of the conference, which costs $95 to $115.

• Tickets also are on sale for the Who Do You Think You Are? Live! 2011 show Feb. 25-27 in London. This event, affiliated with the British version of the “Who Do You Think You Are?” tv show, draws about 10,000 attendees. To save a little on tickets, follow the discount code link Kimberly Powell gives on her About.com Genealogy blog. 

• Family networking site MyHeritage.com has launched Family Tree Builder 5.0, the latest version of its free genealogy software. New features include to-do lists, a Tree Consistency Checker (helps find mistakes in your family tree data by automatically identifying errors and inconsistencies in 40 categories), improved privacy settings, support for your DNA test results, custom reports, and the customizable family tree charts announced recently.

Learn more about Family Tree Builder at MyHeritage.com.

• The New England Historic Genealogical Society, which announced its new AmericanAncestors.org site in August, has officially deactivated the NewEnglandAncestors.org website (the old URL redirects to the new site). You can get a tutorial on searching the AmericanAncestors.org databases in the March 2011 Family Tree Magazine, on sale Jan. 11.

Friday, December 03, 2010 2:08:44 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• Congratulations to Lisa Louise Cooke on the 100th episode of her Genealogy Gems podcast! This special episode celebrates the first 100 with a look at some of Lisa's favorite gems, interviews and milestones, plus some messages from listeners.

• Season 2 of Brigham Young University's genealogy show, "The Generations Project," airs Monday, Jan. 3 at 7 pm Mountain time on BYUtv. You can stream the channel online, or look for it on cable for your area. Learn more about the show on its website.

• FamilySearch Beta has added or updated 34 collections of genealogical records—that’s 15 million indexed records and 2.5 million images. The information covers 13 countries: Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Jamaica, Canada and the United States. Click here to see a list of the new/updated collections. 

• New York’s Larchmont Historical Society has created an online Photo Index of Fallen World War I Soldiers from New York State. The images, digitized from the book Soldiers of the Great War, don’t show all the state’s fallen soldiers, including those whose photos weren't available and those who grew up in New York but enlisted elsewhere. You can read more about the site and get search tips from the ResearchBuzz blog. 

• The New England Historic Genealogical Society is holding a technology-focused Weekend Research Getaway Jan. 27 to 29, 2011. The weekend will combine guided research at the NEHGS Research Library in Boston with educational lectures about using technology in your family search. Registration costs $300, or you can buy a day pass. See the program and register at AmericanAncestors.org.
  

• Ancestry.com and National Geographic Digital Media have developed an online family history “experience” on the National Geographic Genographic Project website where visitors can learn more about researching genealogy and search their roots. They’ll be able to start an online family tree, get tips on doing family history, and links to Ancestry.com’s subscription record collections. The Genographic Project is a DNA study of the genetic makeup of populations around the world in order to chart the migration history of the human species.

Friday, November 19, 2010 12:27:58 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• A friendly reader told us about another genealogy app for the iPhone called Traces, which searches the databases at the FamilySearch beta site. beta.familysearch.org. The reader (who’s not affiliated with the product other than using it) recommends it as “far and away the best iPhone app ... I've found to facilitate actual genealogy research and database searching.” See a list of iPhone/iTouch genealogy apps on the MobileGenealogy.com website.

• If you have Minnesota ancestors, you can use the index on the Minnesota Official Marriage System website to search for marriage records. You’ll get the names of the bride and groom, date, county and certificate number; and a link to order a copy of the record. See the County Index Dates page to find out which counties and dates are covered in the index.

• The National Archives is holding a day-long symposium called The Civil War: Fresh Perspectives on Saturday, Nov. 20, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m, at its Washington, DC headquarters. It’ll feature panel discussions related to themes from the archives’ special exhibit, Discovering the Civil War. Registration is required, along with a fee of $50. Click here to learn more and register.

• The National Genealogical Society has posted online video that shows you where Civil War Pension files are stored at the National Archives (in an area is closed to the general public) and lets you look inside a pension file with professional genealogist John Humphrey. It’s called Finding Your Family at the National Archives, and you can click here to watch it. 

• UK family history subscription website Findmypast.co.uk and FamilySearch are beginning a project to digitize the Greater Manchester County Record Office’s cemetery registers and institutional records (from gaols, schools and workhouses), which date as far back as the 16th century. When the project is complete, you’ll be able to search indexes free at FamilySearch. The indexed information will link to the records at FindMyPast.co.uk, where you’ll be able to view the record images for a fee.

• There’s more for those with UK roots: Old-maps.co.uk has added 60 more years of town plans and other maps to its collection, which now covers 1850 to 1996. In addition, new spy maps produced by the Russian military from 1950 to 1997 cover 16,000 sq km of the UK, including 103 major towns and cities. You can search and browse maps for free and purchase printed or downloadable PDF versions.

Friday, October 08, 2010 3:10:24 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1]

• The UK family history subscription and pay-per-view site Findmypast.co.uk has launched a collection of transcribed Devon parish records in association with the Devon Family History Society. The records include baptisms from 1813 to 1839, marriages from 1754 to 1837, and burials for 1813 to 1837.
  

• Mark Tucker, author of the Think Genealogy technology blog, has announced he’s creating a “cousin calculator” app for the new Windows 7 phone (slated for release sometime in October or November). You can read more about the app on Think Genealogy.
  
  
• The Illinois State Genealogical Society will honor five individuals for their genealogical achievements at its fall conference Oct. 23:

• Cheri Hunter of Decatur, Ill. will receive the Community Service Award
• Fred Katko of Peoria, Ill., will receive the Special Recognition Award
• Christian Bender a student from Oglesby, Ill., will receive the Youth Award
• Curt Witcher Senior Manager for Special Collections at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Ind., will receive the Distinguished Service Award
• Margaret Collins of Springfield, Ill., and Daniel W. Dixon, of Auburn, Ill., will receive the Individual Writer Award as co-winners.

• Genealogy Gems podcast host Lisa Louise Cooke has released volume 2 of her Google Earth for Genealogy video series. The video helps you use Google Earth’s mapping features to learn more about your ancestors. Here’s a sneak peek:
  

• In a late addition to today's roundup, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society announced today that all issues of the society's NYG&B Record (563 issues dating back to 1870) are accessible to society members on the society's website. You can search every word of the issues, or use a new surname search engine.

Friday, October 01, 2010 10:30:31 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• The Federation of Genealogical Societies has re-launched its Society Hall online directory. If you think you know the name of the genealogical society, historical society, family association or library you want to contact, you can search by keyword; otherwise, choose a state from the drop-down menu for a list of societies in that state (note that the directory might not include every society in the state).

• An Irish library and museum website called Ask About Ireland has posted an important Irish record group free online: Griffith’s Primary Valuation is an accounting of property values in Ireland that took place between 1847 and 1864. You can search by a family name and place, or use the Place Name search to search by just a place. 
  

Each result contains the family name, the first name, county and parish. Click links to see details for the individual (landlord and tenant names, location, and publication information for the original map), the person’s residence plotted on a map, and a copy of the original Griffith's Valuation page entry.

• Tonight you can watch the “Who Do You Think You Are?” episode in which pro football Hall of Fame member Emmitt Smith discovers his roots. It’s on NBC at 8 pm eastern (7 central). (See our “Who Do You Think You Are?” coverage.)

Friday, August 27, 2010 2:42:33 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Tuesday, Aug. 17: 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
• Wednesday-Friday, Aug. 18 - 20:  9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 21: 9 a.m.-7:00 p.m.

Thursday, August 05, 2010 9:49:20 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1]

• You can license one of our pre-recorded webinars for as little as $100, depending on the size of your group.
  
  
• You can have a Family Tree University instructor deliver a live webinar (giving your members the opportunity to ask questions) starting at $250.
  

Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:45:41 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• When you get stuck in the early 1800s, make the last known county your adopted home—that is, camp out with the microfilmed deeds, probates and other records for that place and look at all the people with your ancestral surname.

• Middle names came into common usage around the 1790s. If you see earlier folk recorded with middle names in compiled genealogies or other family charts, be suspicious of their accuracy.

• Have a New England immigrant who didn’t naturalize? Many New England tombstones have the deceased’s specific places of origin inscribed on them.

• If you suspect an ancestor died at sea, look for a “cenotaph”—a memorial (e.g., marker) for a deceased person whose body is not at that site.
  
  
• Military pensions provide much useful detail about your ancestors, but generally won’t name a soldier’s parents.

Friday, June 18, 2010 9:35:04 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Wear comfortable shoes. You’ll be walking to classes (I've even seen tardy folks running), through the exhibit hall, to a lunch locale and to the car or your hotel.
  
  
• Dress in layers and bring a sweater in case the rooms are too hot or cold.
  
  
• Carry a water bottle and a snack. Bottled water is pricey, as are concessions can be pretty expensive, too.
  
  
• You’ll meet a lot of people you want to keep in touch with. Bring business cards with your e-mail address, Facebook username and other contact information. Add the surnames and places you’re researching, too.
  
  
• Bring extra address labels, too, so you can stick them on entry forms for drawings in the exhibit hall.
  
  
• If you’re attending the conference alone and everybody else seems to know somebody, remember that genealogists are a friendly bunch. Just say hi and introduce yourself. Another great opener is “Where are your ancestors from?”
  
  
• Take some time before the day’s classes start to learn where the classrooms are. That way, you won't miss the first 10 minutes because you couldn't find the room.
  
  
• Try to get to classes a few minutes early to find a seat and get settled. Sessions may fill up fast.
  
  
• Not sure which class to attend? Ask fellow conference goers, who may have seen the same speakers or lectures you’re considering.
  
  
• Plan ahead for any genealogy research you want to do and be sure to pack all the charts and records you need, whether on paper or in digital form.
  
  
• In the exhibit hall, first take a reconnaissance walk and mark on your booth map all the exhibitor tables you want to return to. Check off each one as you visit it, but be sure to leave time for browsing. If you have a bunch of questions for a vendor, plan to stop by when everyone else is in class so you'll get the most personalized attention.
  
  
• A good question to ask when you visit a vendor booth: "What's your show special?" If you got a goody bag when you registered, look through the contents for coupons.
  

• Some exhibitors pack up early on the last day to catch flights or hit the road, so don't leave important business or must-have purchases for the very end of the event.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 1:55:37 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• The main event is the National Genealogical Society annual conference—where your friends at Family Tree Magazine will be in booth 510—is April 28 to May 1. Advance registration is now closed, but you can register at the door, and the exhibit hall is free. The conference will feature a special Gentech exhibit hall focused on genealogy technology, workshops for beginners and international researchers a Saturday kids camp and more.

There’s also a Celebration of Family History Concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Thursday, April 29 at 7 pm, and the Family History Library will extend its hours throughout the conference.

• Brigham Young University's Conference on Computerized Family History and Genealogy will be April 26 and 27. Classes cover topics such as FamilySearch online tools and resources, searching online databases, creating family websites, using genealogy software and more.

• The university’s Family History Technology Workshop, scheduled for April 28, is a daylong forum for discussing current and emerging research on technology in genealogy.

• The FamilySearch Developers Conference on April 27 is for software developers who want their products to work with FamilySearch’s online tools.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 1:37:16 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Posts to this blog about African-American genealogy resources

• African-American Research Toolkit (containing both free and Plus articles)

• African-American Research Guide digital download (available from ShopFamilyTree.com)

Tuesday, February 09, 2010 12:07:47 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [1]

• Registration is open for the Southern California Genealogical Society’s annual (and popular) conference, the Jamboree, happening June 11-13. Check out the details and find out how to register on the Jamboree blog.

• The Library and Archives Canada announced its website will be unavailable tomorrow, Jan. 16, from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. See the original announcement here.

• Ancestry magazine, published for 25 years by Ancestry.com, will be discontinued after the March/April 2010 issue. For more information, see the staff's message on the magazine’s website.

• If you have kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, students, etc., you’ll find ideas for getting them interested in genealogy in a new video from researcher Elyse Doerflinger, who blogs at Elyse's Genealogy Blog.

• In case you missed it, NBC has announced that the US version of "Who Do You Think You Are?" will air Friday, March 5, at 8 p.m.

Friday, January 15, 2010 3:36:48 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

Welcome to our first news roundup of 2010!

• The 2010 National Genealogical Society (NGS) conference April 28 to May 1 in Salt Lake City, will highlight genealogy technology with a GENTECH Hall sponsored by FamilySearch. (GENTECH is a technology-focused genealogical society that merged with NGS in 2005.) There, nearly 100 technology-oriented exhibitors will feature software, gadgets, social collaboration sites, 60 computers for attendees’ use, and more. A GENTECH lecture track will cover cloud computing, blogs, data storage, social networking, photo editing and other tech topics. Learn more on the conference website.
  

• Genealogy Gems podcaster Lisa Louise Cooke has released the first-ever genealogy podcast app for iPhone and iTouch. The Genealogy Gems Podcast app provides users with streaming genealogy audio and video, and exclusive bonus content including Cooke’s 20 page e-book 5 Fabulous Google Research Strategies for the Family Historian. You can get the app at the iTunes app store. 
  

• Ancestry.com and the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) will sponsor a Family History Day event Saturday, Feb. 20, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Westin Copley Place in Boston. The day will include six classes, a Q&A with Ancestry.com experts, one-on-one consultations with NEHGS genealogists, and the chance to have your photos and documents scanned on professional scanners. Attendance costs $30; click here to register.
  
  
• The 55,000-member Civil War Preservation Trust announced it helped permanently protect 2,777 acres at 20 Civil War battlefields in five states during 2009. The trust's lifetime total comes to more than 29,000 acres of protected battlefield land at 109 sites in 20 states.

Friday, January 08, 2010 10:44:41 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• The Genealogical Records Committee National Index (also called the GRC Index) was already on the site, but if you’ve used it before, it has a different interface as part of the Research System. It indexes 20,000 volumes of transcribed gravestones, family Bibles and other records (and not just from the Revolution era) DAR members have collected.
  

• The Ancestor Database of ancestral data from applications of DAR members (who must prove their descent from a Patriot).

• A Member search, which lets you enter a deceased DAR member's number for limited information on her ancestors.

• The Descendants index, still under construction, lets you search for names in generations between the DAR member and the Revolutionary War ancestor. It includes much 18th and 19th-century information.

Thursday, November 19, 2009 8:47:56 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [4]

• The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is publishing a new scholarly journal called American Ancestors Journal, which will be included as supplement in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. It’ll contain articles with a national scope, emphasizing New York State and out-migrations from New England. You can download the first edition as a PDF here. 

Subscriptions to these publications are included with an NEHGS membership, which starts at $75 per year.

• Search three Georgia newspaper archives free at the Digital Library of Georgia: the Macon Telegraph, the Columbus Enquirer and the Milledgeville Historic Newspapers Archive (this includes several titles published in Milledgeville). You can search the full text of the papers or browse by date, and view pages with the DjVu browser plug-in.

• Subscription site WorldVitalRecords has added newspaper content from Alaska, California, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, Mexico and the UK. Click here to see the titles and other details. The papers are accessible with a World Vital Records subscription ($39.96 per year).

• David Ferriero was sworn in this week as the 10th Archivist of the United States. The new director of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) was formerly the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the New York Public Libraries, and he’s served in leadership positions at other academic libraries. You can read more about Ferriero on NARA's website.
  

Friday, November 13, 2009 2:04:45 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• recordings of past webinars
• Family Tree Problem Solver

Monday, November 09, 2009 5:54:44 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

• I read an interesting post on the Archives Next blog about NARA’s record digitization agreements with firms such as Footnote and Ancestry.com. The blogger outlines possible good, bad and ugly outcomes when NARA is finally legally able to post online the record images obtained through contracts with third parties. 

• Pedigree database subscription site OneGreatFamily ($59.95 per year) plans to improve its search function by installing the Perfect Search Database Search Appliance from Perfect Search Corp. Each week, OneGreatFamily makes more than 18.8 trillion comparisons of names, dates and other details in members’ family trees, says CEO Alan Eaton. The new search tool should increase searching capability, improve indexing, and to deliver results faster.

• The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) has added several genealogical journals to its online subscription ($75 per year): Besides its own New England Historical and Genealogical Register, they are The American Genealogist, The Connecticut Nutmegger, New Netherland Connections and The Virginia Genealogist.

• Also from NEHGS: Fellow actors, Boston natives, best buddies and  People magazine sexiest men alive Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are 10th cousins once removed. Their common ancestor is William Knowlton of Ipswich, Mass., a bricklayer who died in 1655. Read the full story in the Boston Herald.

Family Tree Magazine Plus members can read our article about Matt Damon’s roots—including his link to Ralph Waldo Emerson—here. 

Friday, October 16, 2009 2:49:28 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• The National Genealogical Society (NGS) has launched a blog called UpFront With NGS, which will complement the society’s monthly e-mail newsletter of the same name. News will be posted regularly on the blog, so you don’t have to wait for the e-mail, and you can leave comments on the blog posts.
  

• Ancestry.com is hosting a free webinar to demo its recently released Family Tree Maker 2010 genealogy software. The webinar is Sept. 30 at 8pm EDT. Learn more about the webinar and link to the registration on Ancestry.com’s blog.
  
  
• The McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College has a Web site companion to its special exhibit of the Becker Collection: Drawings of the Civil War Era. The drawings by Joseph Becker and others from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly depict the Civil War, construction of railroads, Chinese in the West, Indian wars, the Chicago fire and more. You can browse drawings by date, place, subject, artist or reference number.
  
  
• Irish-ancestored people, take note: As posted by Dick Eastman, all counties have been added to the National Archives of Ireland's 1911 census Web site. Later this year, you’ll start seeing 1901 census records. The 1901 and 1911 censuses are the only surviving full Irish censuses open for research. Read what’s special about Irish censuses on Dick’s blog.
  
  
• Last, I wanted to point out this fun post by Randy Seaver (a re-post of his earlier post, which I missed the first time around) with links to lists of funny/strange place names.
  

Friday, September 11, 2009 11:16:06 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

Volunteer indexers from the Arkansas Genealogical Society have completed a quarter of the project so far--that’s 442,058 records linked to 199,431 digital images of original marriage certificates from the counties of Ashley, Baxter, Boone, Chicot, Clay, Crittenden,Desha, Drew, Fulton, Jackson, Johnson, Lee, Logan, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Nevada, Perry and Pike.

Friday, September 04, 2009 1:01:08 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1]

• To keep tabs on this weekend’s Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree in Burbank, visit the Genealogy Gems blog, Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter and Genea-Musings. Twitter users can search for #scgs09.

• The Federation of Genealogical Societies 2009 conference early bird registration deadline is next Wednesday, July 1. Make the deadline and you’ll pay $175, a savings of $50. Register online or by mail (must be postmarked no later than July 1).

The conference is Sept. 2-5 in Little Rock, Ark.

• The New England Historic and Genealogical Society is organizing a few genealogy research trips, led by expert genealogists. Groups are headed to St. John’s, Newfoundland, July 12-19; the NEHGS Library in Boston Aug. 10-15; Edinburgh, Scotland, Sept. 20-27; and Salt Lake City Oct. 25-Nov. 1.

Find more details and prices on NEHGS’ events calendar.

• Keep an eye on Miriam Midkiff's city directories portal Online City, County and Rural Directories. This week, she's added links to directories from more than a dozen US states and several Canadian provinces.

• In response to a survey, FamilyLink updated its We’re Related Facebook application to let users put pets at the bottoms of their pedigree charts. (I'm not sure what the chart-with-pet looks like, so if you've done this, send me a picture.) It sounds fun—let’s just hope no one gets Bruno and Great-grandpa Charlie mixed up.

Friday, June 26, 2009 3:13:56 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [2]

William C. Vann
Dec., 7, 1910 - May 5, 1972

Monday, June 08, 2009 12:17:52 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [18]

• The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) conference Aug. 2-7 in Philadelphia now has a $50 registration for people under age of 21—a great way to encourage the younger set to join in. The regular rate is $250 for the full conference.

Among the IAJGS' special workshops are a document- and photo-preservation session ($10) and the delicious-sounding Tasting World Jewish Cuisines: Turkish, Syrian, and Ashkenazi-Italkeni Recipes, with cookbook authors Sheilah Kaufman and Aliza Green ($20). Click here to register.

• Register by July 1 to save $50 off full registration for the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference Sept. 2-5 in Little Rock, Ark. Early bird registration costs $175; after July 1, it’ll be $225. Click here to register.

Bonus for early arrivals in Little Rock: A free Ice Cream Social Tuesday, Sept. 1, 3-5 pm for registered conference-goers.

The Federation of Genealogical Societies is an umbrella organization for genealogical societies. Its conference, planned in conjunction with the Arkansas Genealogical Society, features classes, an exhibit hall, genealogy field trips and banquets.

Thursday, May 21, 2009 5:33:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1]

• Printouts of flight itinerary and hotel confirmation
• Printout of downtown Raleigh map
  
• List of appointments, meetings and classes to attend
• Conference program
  
• Tips on what to do and where to eat in Raleigh from FamilyTreeMagazine.com Forum Members
  
• Laptop plus a low-tech backup: notepad and pen
• Camera, extra batteries, USB cable for transferring photos
• Phone and charger
• Digital recorder
• Flash drive loaded with stuff to work on during downtime
• Umbrella (forecasts call for a chance of showers most days)
• Sweater to keep warm in the exhibit hall
  

Monday, May 11, 2009 10:06:18 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]