Genealogy Insider - Thursday, June 28, 2012

1940 Census Now Searchable for California + 30 Other States
Posted by Diane

The western half of the country is almost entirely orange on FamilySearch's 1940 census index progress map, indicating states with free, searchable name indexes.

California—the fifth largest US state in 1940—is the latest addition. Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico and Washington also have been added, bringing FamilySearch's total of searchable states to 29.

The 29 states also are searchable on the websites of FamilySearch's 1940 Census Community Project partners findmypast.com and Archives.com.

In all, you can search the 1940 census for 31 states plus Washington, DC.

On Ancestry.com, Delaware, Maine, Nevada, New York and Washington DC are searchable by name for free.

MyHeritage.com has Rhode Island and part of New York indexed, also free to search.

Remember, you can browse the records for all states and territories for free on FamilySearch.org, findmypast.com, Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com and the National Archives.

Thursday, June 28, 2012 10:10:51 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Online Workshop: How to Research Genealogy Records
Posted by Diane

You know the saying: A genealogy class a day keeps the brick walls away.

That's how I heard it, anyway.

FamilyTree University’s weeklong How to Research Genealogy Records summer workshop, July 9-15, will show you how to find and use essential genealogy records.

The virtual workshop gives you an all-access pass to eight pre-recorded video classes, plus message board discussions and daily chats.

You can watch a class a day, view them all in a marathon session (maybe with an iced coffee in hand), or download them to watch later, as many times as you want—whatever's convenient for you. Then immediately apply what you learn to your own genealogy research.

Classes cover topics including naturalizations, land records, city directories, guardianships, pre-1850 censuses and more. Click here to see the full program.

Benefits of the workshop:

Learn from experts how to research your ancestors in essential genealogy records.
Watch eight 30-minute video classes on how to research genealogy records for half the cost of buying each class individually.
View classes whenever you have time, even download them to watch later.
Ask questions and exchange ideas in exclusive daily chats and message board discussions.
Log in anytime that's convenient over the week, from wherever you can connect to the internet.

Click here to get more details on the How to Research Genealogy Records summer workshop.

Family Tree University | Genealogy Events | Research Tips

Thursday, June 28, 2012 9:31:46 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Search Canadian Genealogy Records Free Through July 2
Posted by Diane

In honor of Canada Day, which celebrates the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North American Act uniting three colonies into the country of Canada, Ancestry.ca is offering free access to 40 million historical records today through July 2.

The free records cover the years leading up to and following Confederation and come from some of the largest collections on Ancestry.ca, including:

Canadian passenger lists and ocean arrivals: These name the masses of people who arrived by ship at port cities across Canada

The 1871 Census of Canada: This was the first census Canada conducted as a nation. It reveals household members, ages, jobs, parents' birthplaces and more.

Birth, marriage and death records: These come from British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Military records: These come from the War of 1812 and World War I, as well as lists of officers from 1832 and 1863 to 1939.

Visit www.ancestry.ca to search the free databases. You'll need to register for a free Ancestry.ca account to view your full search results.

Canadian roots | Free Databases

Wednesday, June 27, 2012 2:10:15 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, June 25, 2012

MyHeritage Launches SuperSearch Genealogy Research Feature
Posted by Diane

Genealogy website MyHeritage officially launched its new SuperSearch feature (previously in beta) today. This brings it into more direct competition with genealogy sites offering historical records in addition to online family tree sharing.

SuperSearch, part of the site's subscription offerings, lets you search records and family trees on MyHeritage. You can run a basic search or used the advanced search to enter name, relatives' names, life events (such as birth, marriage or death), and keywords.

The search will translate names and search records in 38 languages.

Record Matching, another new feature still to come, will automatically search the records and trees for you.

In addition to MyHeritage family trees, types of records searched include vital records, census records and indexes, military records, immigration records, school yearbooks, newspapers and historical books, and more.

The records come from the World Vital Records website, which MyHeritage purchased last year, as well as MyHeritage's own additions. New records are being uploaded to the site.

Every day, large numbers of historical records and data are being added and we also plan to have our time-saving Record Matching technology up and running in a few weeks. Watch for more information - we'll let you know when Record Matching is live!

SuperSearch is an exciting new service that adds color to family history, improves by the day, and which positions MyHeritage as a top player in the historical content market.

You can run a search and use filters on the left side of the page to narrow the results to the types of records (census, immigration, etc) you want to see. Some collections, such as the 1940 census, are free to view. If you click on a result for a premium collection, you'll get a prompt to subscribe or upgrade your free MyHeritage account.

You can read more about SuperSearch in my interview with MyHeritage founder and CEO Gilad Japhet this past March.

Here's a video that shows you a little more about how SuperSearch works:

Genealogy Web Sites | MyHeritage

Monday, June 25, 2012 3:44:53 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, June 22, 2012

Genealogy News Corral, June 18-22
Posted by Diane

Origins.net, which has genealogy records subscription sites for British and Irish records, plus a Scottish research site, has launched a new records image viewer. It'll allow easier searching, including for users on Macs.

To test it out, Origins.net is inviting you to browse the Children’s Employment Commission of 1842 records free. The viewer requires the free downloadable Java plug-in, which most browsers have pre-installed. (You can access the Origins.net image viewer Help page here.)

FamilySearch has updated the historical records search at FamilySearch.org with more records for Austria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, England, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain and the United States. You can check out the list of updated databases here.

Meanwhile, FamilySearch has extended the deadline to submit presentations for its RootsTech 2013 conference to June 30. If your presentation has to do with "limited, late-breaking technology research," you have until Oct. 15. Visit RootsTech.org to download the submission guidelines and submit applications to present.

The Indiana Historical Society's (IHS) Midwestern Roots conference takes place Friday and Saturday July 20 and 21 in Indianapolis. Attendees can choose from more than 30 sessions from presenters including genealogy blogger and tech guru Dick Eastman, GeneaBloggers founder Thomas MacEntee, Hey America, Your Roots Are Showing author Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, findmypast.com's Joshua Taylor and other well-known genealogy experts. There'll also be a book fair and marketplace.

Full conference registration costs $150 for non-IHS members—but the early bird price ends next Wednesday, June 27. Click here to learn more and register.

FamilySearch | Genealogy Events | Genealogy societies | Genealogy Web Sites | UK and Irish roots

Friday, June 22, 2012 12:32:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, June 21, 2012

FamilySearch Adds Four States to 1940 Census Index, Plus Other Genealogy Records
Posted by Diane

Across all the websites hosting 1940 census records, a total of 27 states now have free, searchable name indexes for this census.

FamilySearch has added four more searchable state indexes to its 1940 census indexed states we listed last week: Alabama, Indiana, Maine and North Dakota.

The indexes are searchable on FamilySearch.org and its volunteer 1940 Census Community Project partners findmypast.com and Archives.com.

On Ancestry.com, Delaware, Maine, Nevada, New York and Washington DC are searchable by name.

MyHeritage.com has Rhode Island and part of New York indexed.

In addition to its 1940 census indexes, FamilySearch has added new digitized records or indexed names for the United States and Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, England, Georgia, Indonesia, Italy, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Spain and Sweden. You can see a list of updated databases and link to each one from the FamilySearch site.

Thursday, June 21, 2012 9:32:56 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Forces War Records Genealogy Website Hosts British Military Records
Posted by Diane

Did your British ancestor serve in the military? You might be interested in this genealogy website: A British company called Forces Reunited, founded in 2001 by a military veteran, has launched a military records subscription site called Forces War Records.

The site holds more than 4 million British military records from World Wars I and II, the Boer War (1899-1902), the Crimean War (1853-1856), African wars (1815-1853) and Napoleonic wars (1799-1815). Search results are cross-matched to information on more than 4,000 regiments, bases and ships of the British Armed Forces dating to before 1350.

You can set up a free account, but you'll need a subscription to see full details of records matching your search. Subscription prices range from 25.95 pounds (about $41) for three months to 85.95 pounds (about $135) for 12 months.

The site has a free search for Prisoners of War (1939-1945), an index giving you the name of the servicemember, camp, regiment linked to information about the regiment) and branch of service, plus a link to search results in the site's other records for that name.

You also can search a free index to information from Medieval military records, with data from a free site called the Soldier in Later Medieval England.

Genealogy Web Sites | Military records | UK and Irish roots

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 5:15:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Get Expert Advice for Researching German Genealogy
Posted by Diane

People claiming German ancestry still outnumber any other heritage group in the United States—which is why we're offering a new German Genealogy Value Pack that'll help you trace your German roots in the United States and in your ancestral homeland.

This Value Pack is full of practical advice for overcoming the challenges of tracing your German ancestors.

Our German Genealogy Value Pack includes:

Find Your German Roots Independent Study Course download, with four lessons to help you use genealogical records and more to determine who your German ancestors were and from where in Germany they came.

A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Germanic Ancestors e-book download by Chris Anderson and Ernest Thode, with expert instruction on researching German ancestors.

Tracing German Ancestry in Eastern Europe download, with guidance on tracing the German ancestors from Slovakia, Romania, Russia and other places beyond Deutschland's borders.

Genealogy Cheat Sheet download, a quick reference designed to deliver the information you need to understand the records of your German ancestors

Plus, you'll get a coupon for 25 percent off coupon for our Family Tree University course German Genealogy 201: Strategies and Skillbuilding.

Best of all, this collection of German genealogy guidance is on sale for $49.99—64 percent off the price of buying each item individually.

Learn more about the German Genealogy Value Pack in ShopFamilyTree.com.

Editor's Pick | German roots | ShopFamilyTree.com Sales

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 4:37:11 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, June 18, 2012

ISGS Will Match Donations to War of 1812 Pension Digitization Projects
Posted by Diane

The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) has pledged to match donations to the Federation of Genealogical Societies’ Preserve the Pensions campaign up to $10,000.

Preserve the Pensions raises money to help digitize War of 1812 pension records, now on paper at the National Archives, and make them free to access online. The archives has more than 180,000 pension files totaling 7.2 million pages.

You can see War of 1812 pension records that have already been digitzed on genealogy website Fold3.com.

ISGS will match any contribution made to the Preserve the Pensions project before Dec. 31, 2012, up to the first $10,000. For instance, if you donate $100, the ISGS will match it for a total of $200.

In addition, Ancestry.com will also match all ISGS contributions, which means any contribution you make will be quadrupled: Your $100 contribution would become a $400 contribution.

A $10 contribution to Preserve the Pensions allows about 80 pages of pension files to be digitized. A total of $3.7 million is needed to digitize the entire collection.

You can donate via Paypal or by check. See the ISGS website for details on making a contribution.

Fold3 | Free Databases | Genealogy societies | Military records

Monday, June 18, 2012 3:31:58 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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1940 Census: Big Deal or Not?
Posted by Diane

Genea-Musings blogger Randy Seaver has posted a response to a letter to the editor printed in the July/August Family Tree Magazine. The letter-writer thought that we at Family Tree Magazine, as well as other genealogy organizations, got overly giddy about the 1940 census. He thought that the time spent browsing for an ancestor's listing in the then-unindexed 1940 census yields little to no new genealogical information (now, though, 24 states are searchable by name).

Randy disagreed—you can see why in his post—and he wants to know what others think.

Personally, I've found the census useful. In some cases, I just confirmed what I knew; in others, I found evidence to support educated guesses. And as Randy points out, until you check a record, you don't know whether it'll hold a surprise. I was looking for someone else entirely when I found my grandfather staying at the YMCA in Cincinnati. When the Ohio name index comes out, you can bet I'll be searching for my grandma, who met my grandfather here soon after 1940.

A Family Tree Magazine Facebook fan says she's using the 1940 census to help in her search for living relatives. Another Facebook fan gets a kick out of finding his family members' names, whether he learns anything new or not. So do I! What about you?

census records | Family Tree Magazine articles | Genealogy Industry

Monday, June 18, 2012 3:02:12 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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