Explore every episode of The Genealogy Guys Podcast & Genealogy Connection
Dive into the complete episode list for The Genealogy Guys Podcast & Genealogy Connection. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
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Pub. Date
Title
Duration
22 Sep 2018
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #350
01:06:53
The news includes:
AncestryDNA released new ethnicity estimates for all its DNA users.
MyHeritage now supports uploads of 23andMe v5 and Living DNA data files.
MyHeritage has partnered with British retailer WHSmith to sell DNA kits in their stores in Europe.
RootsTech announces plans for an international RootsTech in London, England, 24-26 October 2019 at the ExCel London Convention Centre.
David Rencher, Chief Genealogy Officer at FamilySearch, has been appointed Director of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
The Federation of Genealogical Societies announces leadership changes.
The Association of Professional Genealogists announces the three winners of the 2018 Young Professional Scholarships.
Findmypast has released new Irish records, Wiltshire registers and records, Westmorland registers and records, Nebraska births, Electoral Registers, Jersey German Occupation Identity Cards, and Jersey German Occupation Prosecutions.
Drew summarizes the new and updated collections at FamilySearch.
As follow-up to the discussion about organizing browser bookmarks on Episode #345, George announces publication of his article, "Use Bookmarks to Cluster Your Resources", in the September 2018 issue of the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly.
Listener email includes:
Julienne wrote to express how much she enjoyed Drew’s interview of Amy Johnson Crow (Genealogy Connection episode #46).
Linda replied to Kelly (Episode #349) on the subject of why someone would have a massive online family tree. She explains her extensive research of family from the 1600s and the links she has made to build and successfully research her lines.
Teresa asks about genealogy software programs, Family Tree Maker and RootsMagic.
Hugh discusses finding vintage photos and secondhand postcards at flea markets and other venues.
Judy provides two very important tips for researchers:
Don’t assume the ethnicity of people who settled an area as you might miss excellent documentary sources.
The Library of Virginia has made indices and images of Chancery Court records for many counties available online at http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/.
Laura wrote to describe the “mess” she found as a result of DNA testing, particularly with people whose fathers were revealed as not their fathers. She asks about the ethical issues involved with revealing such findings. Listeners are encouraged to share their opinions and experiences.
28 Nov 2021
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #397
01:02:58
The Guys announce the winner of the drawing for the “Basics of Birth Certificates” quicksheet as Karen Webster of Queensland. Look for the next drawing later in the program.
News You Can Use and Share!
MyHeritage has introduced labels for DNA matches.
News by way of the Society of Genealogists (https://www.sog.org.uk/)
The National Library of Scotland has added Ordnance Survey maps for more than 400 English and Welsh towns (1840s to 1890s) at https://maps.nls.uk/os/townplans-england/towns.html. More will be added later.
The Society of Genealogists has launched its Forum, an online place at its website (https://www.sog.org.uk/) for members to connect and share with others with common interests.
Findmypast has added to its United States Obituaries Notices collection. It has also added the United States Freedmen’s Bureau Marriages. Indian Army Records of Service 1900-1947 have also been added. The 1939 Register has been updated to make available a number of previously redacted records.
Drew provides an overview of the latest vast updates from FamilySearch.
DNA Segment with Diahan Southard
Drew discusses how to get your DNA out there in as many places as possible with Diahan. Diahan provides directions here: https://www.yourdnaguide.com/transferring?rq=transfer
Listener Email
Kathleen talks about Facebook and finding our podcast.
Dana discusses searching for records of a great-grandfather from Poland who relocated first to Canada and then to the United States, and what challenges citizenship records presented. Dana also shares that creating a spreadsheet comparing the timelines of the great-grandfather and others can be very useful.
Natalie thanks The Guys for suggestions about how to join a FamilySearch indexing group for Eau Clair County, Wisconsin.
Matt discusses his ancestors’ frequent movements between Germany and France before emigrating to the U.S.
Tom discusses DNA matches, and the fact that some people upload a tree that may not be a biological family tree. The difference between a ‘genealogical family tree’ and a ‘biological family tree’ can confuse matters when adopted people are researching DNA matches.
Donna M. Moughty, who leads excellent research trips to Ireland, has two planned trips in 2022: one in May and another in October. The trips will go to both Dublin and Belfast. Please visit her website at https://www.irishfamilyroots.com/ for details about the 2022 trips.
The Guys discuss using fan charts to represent your family tree and to help maintain focus on your linear research.
Quicksheet Drawing
Our next quicksheet giveaway is a trifecta! Donna M. Moughty has donated her three excellent guides in her Irish Research Series. Guide #1 is “Preparing for Success in Irish Research”; Guide #2 is “Irish Civil Registration and Church Records”; and Guide #3 is “Land, Tax and Estate Records in Ireland”. Send an email to genealogyguys@gmail.com by midnight Eastern Time on 15 December 2021. Put IRELAND in the subject line and your name and postal address in the body. Winner will be announced on the next podcast.
Thank you to all our Patreon supporting members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you’d like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.
Please also tell your friends and your society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website.
HOLIDAY SALE! The Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education site is on sale for only $69 this holiday season. Our regular annual subscription price is $99, and this sale price of $69 is a 30% savings!
Genealogy Guys Learn currently offers 40 video and 20 written courses with new content added every month. Courses range from beginning to advanced topics. A complete list of current courses and new topics coming soon can be found at https://ahaseminars.com/cpage.php?pt=29.
Learn from The Genealogy Guys, producers since 2005 of the longest-running genealogy podcast, and expert researchers, presenters, and prolific authors!
This sale is in effect from November 25, 2021, until 11:59 PM Eastern U.S. time on January 1, 2022. Take advantage of this great price by going to the website at https://genealogyguyslearn.com/, click the red Enroll Now! box at the bottom of the screen, fill in the information requested, and add the code HOLIDAY2021 for your discount.
30 Jul 2024
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #428
00:55:18
News You Can Use and Share!
MyHeritage added 20 million historical records in June.
MyHeritage and Family Tree DNA announced a new partnership to connect DNA tests to family trees.
JewishGen announced a new partnership between its Romania Research Division and the Jewish Federation of Romania to photograph and document Jewish graves.
Drew talks about 19.4 million historical records released by FamilySearch in May 2024.
Book Review
The Guys review the latest book by Nathan Dylan Goodwin, The Deserter’s Tale, a new Morton Farrier genealogical crime mystery.
Listener Email
Sam writes about the new RootsMagic 10 update and the book. Drew warns listeners about some fake book entries in Amazon.
Stacy Cole responds to an earlier email about her strategies in researching the James James family in Georgia.
The Guys discuss their experiences at the South Carolina Genealogical Society's summer workshop at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.
George shares how Patrick McCawley, the Deputy Director of Archives and Records Management, spent time sharing with him a history of South Carolina’s geopolitical organization from colonial times to the present. From parishes to electoral districts to counties and boundary changes, George now has a deeper understanding of South Carolina for his research there.
Thank you to all our Patreon supporting members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you’d like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.
And don’t forget to order Drew’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com.
FamilySearch announces the discontinuation of its microfilm distribution program effective 1 September 2017. The Guys discuss this in greater detail later in the episode.
RootsMagic has released the long-awaited interface of their software with Ancestry. It is a facility called TreeShare and joins the Web Hints functions for FamilySearch, Findmypast, and MyHeritage.
Julie Cahill Tarr is named the new editor of the Association of Professional Genealogists’ APG eNews.
Unclaimed Persons commemorates its ninth anniversary, and you can learn more at http://unclaimedpersons.org. Volunteers are needed to help.
Findmypast announces the release of more than 6 million Ontario records in the first phase of a new partnership with the Ontario Genealogical Society. Findmypast also announces their release of the 1861 and 1871 Canada Census records, new baptism, banns, marriage, and burial records for Yorkshire, additional Irish newspaper records, and additions to PERSI.
Drew shares updates from FamilySearch’s recent records additions.
Listener email includes:
Matt discusses a “Lazarus Project” in response to Julienne’s email about Paul Woodbury’s interview.
John asks for suggestions for how to obtain cause of death for someone who died as recently as 2013.
Nancy cites the interview with David Rencher and discusses Artificial Intelligence (AI) with regards to online genealogy hints.
The Guys have an extensive discussion about microfilm, the announcement by FamilySearch that it will discontinue distribution of their microfilm as of 1 September 2017, and ways to continue and expand your research.
Polly FitzGerald Kimmitt is a nationally recognized researcher with special expertise in New England and a focus on helping clients with membership in lineage societies. She is also known for her work with repatriation of military remains. Learn more about Polly at www.kimmittgenealogy.com
19 Sep 2019
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #367
01:11:56
Listen for a major announcement from The Guys on October 1, 2019!
News You Can Use and Share
MyHeritage acquires Promethease and SNPedia.
MyHeritage announced the launch of MyHeritage Education to enhance your understanding of their website platform.
MyHeritage has added a new French record collection, the Nord Civil marriage Records, 1792-1937.
Findmypast has added Scotland Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, and Congregational Records.
The JewishGen website has reorganized its homepage and made vast improvements to the organization and speed of access to its databases.
The National Genealogical Society and the Federation of Genealogical Societies have announced their intent to merge.
Drew discusses many new and expanded collections from FamilySearch.
Blaine T. Bettinger
This week’s discussion between Blaine and Drew focuses on triangulation.
Cyndi Ingle
FamilySearch is much more than just a large family tree. FamilySearch is misunderstood. FamilySearch is made up of multiple pieces and parts. Today Cyndi Says pay attention to the FamilySearch Catalog.
FamilySearch Catalog https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search/ Search the catalog of genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) made available by FamilySearch online and in libraries and centers worldwide.
FamilySearch Digital Library https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/ The Family History Library is actively digitizing its family histories, local histories, and other collections to make them searchable and available online to researchers worldwide.
A collection of individual genealogies contributed to or collected by the church
FamilySearch Wiki https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Main_Page A free, online genealogy and family history guide that lists websites, provides research strategies, and suggests records and resources to help you find ancestors from all over the world.
FamilySearch Memories https://www.familysearch.org/photos/ The Memories Gallery is a place where all of the photos, stories, documents, and audio recordings that you add to FamilySearch are collected.
FamilySearch Indexing https://www.familysearch.org/indexing/ The volunteer indexing project running worldwide to index all the record collections on FamilySearch.
Our Listeners Talk to Us
Debra thanks us for the podcast and for The Genealogy Squad on Facebook.
Kelly is a teacher in Idaho and asks for inexpensive suggestions of materials to help her students’ research.
Jim commented about Mike’s ahnentafel filing system discussed in episode 366.
Robin wrote to describe another personal filing system.
Tom asked for learning links about GEDmatch.
Ginny asked whether there is a DNA testing company that only matches to your paternal side.
Corrine found a DNA cousin match on both sides of her family that helped with multiple brick walls.
Kim was talking at work about a funeral she had just attended, when a coworker commented that the name was familiar. It turned out that their grandmothers were cousins. It’s a very small world!
Thank you to our Patreon supporters! You can also tell your friends or your society about our free podcasts.
Visit The Genealogy Guys Blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com for more news and interesting ideas for your genealogy.
MyHeritage has become a Presenting Partner with Eurovision for its 2019 Eurovision Song Contest.
RootsTech 2019 registration has opened for the annual Salt Lake City conference on February 27-March 2, 2019
Church of Ireland records will be digitized with the award of a €100,000 government grant.
200 million records for the Netherlands are now accessible at the multi-lingual website Open Archives – http://www.openarch.nl.
Fans of Nathan Dylan Goodwin can preorder his new book, Ghost Swifts, Blue Poppies and the Red Star, in Kindle version at all Amazon websites.
The Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed) has announced the opening of the Richard E. Lackey Scholarship to support attendance at Gen-Fed 2019. Details and application are available at http://www.gen-fed.org/.
Findmypast has released new records for Welsh Parish Records, Kent Parish Records, Northumberland and Durham Burials, Middlesex Baptisms, the 939 Register, and more.
Drew summarizes the new and updated collections at FamilySearch.
Listener email includes:
Jean writes about a Long Island library conference and the inclusion of The Guys’ books as recommended buys.
Ed writes about a cousin who is beginning her search for birth parents.
Brad asks for advice on getting started on preparations for his family’s upcoming 300th anniversary, including recommendations for what software or websites to use to collaborate with relatives.
Robin is looking for a free GEDCOM viewer.
Kelly follows up on her earlier email about mega-trees.
Nikki poses questions about:
Mega-trees
Ancestors in psychiatric hospitals and suicides
What to expect at a local genealogical society meeting
Resources for researching slave ancestors
What kind of education might be pursued so she can help others with their genealogy
Richard asks Drew for more information about researching manuscript collections.
Drew discusses GEDmatch, a tool for extending your research reach with your autosomal DNA test results and matching others who have tested.
23 Apr 2018
The Genealogy Guys #342
00:59:02
The news includes:
MyHeritage announced the expansion of DNA Quest, its pro bono initiative to help adoptees and their birth families through genetic testing. DNA Quest is extended worldwide, with the deadline for applications being received through the end of April. Learn more at http://dnaquest.org.
Ancestry has announced that Margo Georgiadis, formerly of Mattel, will become its new CEO on 10 May 2018.
Findmypast has added a new collection, the England & Wales Electoral Registers 1920. They have also begun beta testing of their new world FindMyPast family tree. See https://www.findmypast.co.uk/worldtree for more details.
Drew shares updates from FamilySearch.
The Guys share some interviews with attendees at the 2018 Ohio Genealogical Society Conference, held in Columbus, Ohio, on 11-14 April 2018.
Actionable Information You Can Use: Your new challenge is to spend one hour going through the Library of Congress Digital Collections at https://www.loc.gov/collections/ to locate items that can help you put your ancestral family into historical context. Send your interesting finds to The Guys at genealogyguys@gmail.com.
Listener email includes:
Ed writes about using JewishGen (https://www.jewishgen.org/) as a resource for locating Russian villages, especially prior to WWII.
Genealogy Connection #009 - Paula Stuart-Warren, Researcher, Speaker, and Writer
00:54:08
Paula Stuart-Warren is a noted researcher, speaker, and writer who specializes in such topics as Native American research and railroad records. To learn more about Paula, visit her website at genealogybypaula.com.
25 Jun 2021
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #392
01:04:14
We gave away two copies of Genealogical Publishing Company’s Russia Genealogy Research at a glance reference guide and announced the winners.
NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has a backlog of 500,000 outstanding records inquiries. It is estimated that it will take 18-24 months to resolve the backlog.
The British Library and Findmypast have announced the renewal of their long-term partnership to digitize the British Newspaper Archive and make it available online.
Findmypast has added new collections or new records to: Middlesex Baptisms; Carmarthenshire, Wales, Parish Records; Scotland Roman Catholic Parish Registers; Yorkshire Monumental Inscriptions; England Roman Catholic Parish Registers; and Crime, Prisons & Punishment records and mugshots.
More than 400,000 naturalization records for the Bronx and Queens, New York, will become available online as part of a new federally-funded project.
FamilySearch International announced the release of the FamilySearch GEDCOM 7.0 standard. The new data standard will accommodate media and other data in addition to text. Developers will certainly be busy programming to implement the new GEDCOM standard.
Drew recaps the vast new and expanded collections at FamilySearch.
DNA Segment with Diahan Southard
Drew discusses working with distant matches with Diahan.
Listener Email
Jean congratulated us on our inclusion in Family Tree Magazine’s 101 Best Genealogy Websites. She also shared that she had success with using the old Ancestry message boards to locate a grandfather's cousin.
Donna Moughty won one of the Russia Genealogy Research guides and it gave her the incentive to restart her research into her grandfather who was born in what now is Ukraine. She also has a few openings for her Ireland research trips this October. Learn more at https://www.irishfamilyroots.com/ or email her at moughty@mac.com.
Graeme wrote about the discovery of 215 unmarked graves on the property of a residential school in Canada for indigenous children. He asked Drew for what processes of investigating and repatriating the children’s remains can be used.
Tom wrote about his DNA research for his wife’s biological grandfather.
Thank you to all our Patreon supporting members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you’d like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.
You should also tell your friends or your society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website.
George and Drew are available for virtual presentations for your local society. Contact us at genealogyguys@gmail.com.
10 Oct 2013
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #256 - 2013 October 8
00:58:37
Note: It appears that there are problems with the audio quality in portions of this episode, causing one of the two stereo tracks to drop out at random times. We apologize for this.
Ancestry.com and FamilySearch have formed an agreement to make a billion global records available online.
RootsMagic has added more tutorial videos at RootsMagic TV
Drew shares highlights from the last month's record additions at FamilySearch.
FamilySearch announced that it has received its one millionth photo on the new Family Tree Photo Preservation Service.
Findmypast.com has several announcements: Findmypast.com.au has added a further 2.5 million Irish Petty Court records to its site. Findmypast.com has launched its Irish Newspaper Collection, making almost 2 million historical Irish newspaper articles available for searching. The company's survey reveals America’s most popular celebrity families.
Ancestry.com makes scientific breakthroughs in West African ethnicity that can help researchers determine the geographical origin of their ancestors.
The Society for One-Place Studies has been launched to help individuals and societies advance their work on specific geographical locations.
DNA testing was sought after two headstones were found for the same woman in a Kentucky cemetery.
Listener email includes:
Jenny asks about English and Welsh BMD digitization; joining a local genealogical society; the Clooz software program; and the sync feature on Ancestry.com family trees and Family Tree Maker software.
Ed talks about downloading our podcast and about his experiences with RootsMagic software.
Cris discusses the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), also known as the Social Security Death Master File.
Richard discusses his use of Legacy Family Tree software, Ancestry.com family trees, and publishing his tree on RootsWeb.com.
Cheryl raises the topic of how to name and label photographs, and Drew discusses metadata.
Marina has a suggestion for Noi about place names in Germany, and suggests the book series Map Guide to German Parish Registers.
· MyHeritage has unveiled their new MyHeritage Stories website, showcasing some videos and stories capturing amazing discoveries made by users around the world. It can be found at http://www.myheritage.com/stories. (A link labeled User Stories can also be found at the bottom of the MyHeritage website.)
· The Federation of Genealogical Societies has announced new editors of their electronic FORUM Magazine. Julie Tarr is the new Managing Editor and Jennifer Alford is the new Associate Editor. Congratulations!
· Drew discusses the more than 13.4 million new records released by FamilySearch in recent weeks.
· Findmypast has released a large collection of Dublin Workhouse records and additions to British newspapers.
The Guys review new books and magazines available for your reading and reference pleasure. All of the items are available through Amazon.com unless otherwise noted. The list includes:
The In-Depth Genealogist is a publishing company that provides educational resources to the genealogical community. Drew reviews: Going In-Depth magazine and a new book, Ancestors in a Nation Divided: An In-Depth Guide to Researching Your Civil War Ancestors, by Cindy Freed.
Other reviews include:
George reviews Discover English Parish Registers, and Buried Treasure: What's in the English Parish Chest, both written by Paul Milner and published by Unlock the Past. The books are available at their website at http://www.unlockthepast.com.au.
Drew reviews Photo Organizing Practices: Daguerreotypes to Digital by Maureen A. Taylor.
He also reviews How to Archive Family Photos: A Step-by-Step Guide to Organize and Share Your Photos Digitally by Denise May Levenick.
MyHeritage has published 5.8 million records from 28 collections from JewishGen (https://www.jewishgen.org/) made possible through a collaboration with the Museum of Jewish Heritage (https://mjhnyc.org/) and JewishGen.
Ancestry announces the new Ancestry Stories on the Ancestry mobile app to combine photographs, shared historical records, and text to craft a story about an ancestor in your family tree.
Drew shares complete details about the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the upcoming release of the 1950 U.S. Census on 1 April 2022. (See the NARA page at https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1950
Drew talks with Sue Kaufman, Senior Manager of the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research (part of the Houston Public Library) in Houston, Texas.
Listener Email
Drew follows up on Kendra’s cemetery project work previously discussed in Episode #401. (The Zion Cemetery Project uses Trello as a database management tool.) Kendra works with the Randolph County Public Library in Asheboro, North Carolina. They have an interactive cemetery map at https://www.randolphlibrary.org/ under History & Genealogy>Randolph County Cemeteries (or https://randolphlibrary.libguides.com/c.php?g=710731&p=8447398).
Pam asked about GEDmatch (https://www.gedmatch.com/) and the ability to specify that you do or do not want your data to be accessible by law enforcement.
Sunni asked about headright, especially concerning her ancestor in Georgia, and asks why headrights might possibly only be partially executed. George provides an explanation of what a headright is and how some may not have been completed.
Michael asks Drew about his Boddie/Bodie family. Drew provides lots of details and refers Michael to the book, Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County Virginia, by John Bennett Boddie.
Genealogy Guys Learn
The Genealogy Guys Learn subscription site continues to grow. New content is added every month, and the March 2022 video is “Using AncestryDNA Today” by Drew Smith. You can subscribe at https://genealogyguyslearn.com/.
Please Support Our Sponsors
You can support our sponsors who bring these podcasts to you for free by visiting their links as follows:
Thank you to all our Patreon supporting members. Your support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you’d like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.
Please also tell your friends and your society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website.
· Elephind – free, 1803-present, OCR. Over 2700 titles, of which over 1000 are from Chronicling America. Includes Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. https://www.elephind.com
· GenealogyBank (personal subscription, $20/month, $70/annual, over 7000 titles, 1690-present) and America’s GenealogyBank (library subscription, over 4200 titles, 1690-1922) – product of NewsBank, OCR. http://www.genealogybank.com
· ProQuest Historical Newspapers (library subscription only) – major U.S. cities, international newspapers, African-American newspapers, Jewish newspapers. OCR.
· Access World News (library subscription, over 2400 titles) – 1977-present, product of NewsBank, born digital.
For additional reading, we recommend:
Breland, Claudia C. Searching for Your Ancestors in Historic Newspapers. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2014.
20 Aug 2017
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #331 - 2017 August 19
01:03:50
The news includes:
MyHeritage has surpassed 8 Billion Records on its Supersearch,
My Heritage has acquired Millennia Corporation, producers of Legacy Family Tree desktop genealogy software and the Legacy Family Tree Webinar platform.
Evidentia is offering a $5 off coupon to everyone who orders the software through the end of August. Visit the Store, select the version of the software you want, and use the coupon code mentioned in the episode when you check out to obtain the $5 savings.
The Federation of Genealogical Societies announces the resumption of the document conservation of the War of 1812 Pension Records at the National Archive and Records Administration covering surnames beginning with M(Moore) through Q, with digitization and indexing commencing in September. The remainder of the project will follow. All images and indexes will be accessible at Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com) for free forever.
Findmypast has added new records from Billion Graves; Middlesex Monumental Inscriptions (1485-2014); the New York Researcher; The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record; 4.3M new U.S. marriage records; West Lothian, Scotland, Poorhouse Records (1859-1912) and Burials (1860-1975); a PERSI Quarterly Index update; Buckinghamshire Indexes, to Baptisms, Banns, Marriages, and Burials; Ireland Calendars of Wills & Administrations; and new titles and records in the British Newspaper collection.
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society announced the retirement of Karen Mauer Jones as editor of The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record and the appointment of Laura Murphy DeGrazia as the new editor.
The In-Depth Genealogist announced the launch of its new online IDG Academy (http://www.idgacademy.com) with 4-week classes beginning on 11 September 2017. Enrollment is now open at idg.moodlecloud.com.
Drew shares record updates from FamilySearch.
George reviews an excellent genealogical mystery book by Dan Waddell titled The Blood Detective: A Case of Murder by Family Tree …”
Listener email includes:
Brandon asks for advice about a newly-discovered DNA match that concerns a non-paternal event. He fears that exposing this to his elderly grandfather will cause great distress and wants some guidance.
Christine has long been researching her Sharrod line who spent more than 170 years in Crawford County, Ohio. She heard The Guys announce that the county obituaries are now online and she found exactly 254 obituaries that have just opened a huge research door on that line!
Gordy asks about his ancestor, Julius Rockstroh, who appears on the 1880 U.S. federal census for Middleburgh, Schoharie County, New York, and asks whether another man named Gethard who may have that same surname at the same address might also be a newly-arrived immigrant family member.
Neil is researching his Clark ancestors who were married in 1849 in Indiana and asks for suggestions of additional places and record types to seek for these people who “disappeared” afterward.
Drew discusses making a cousin connection through a DNA match and has had a great telephone call to begin comparing notes on some orphaned Jewish ancestors and other Jewish family members.
Drew previews four interviews upcoming on the Genealogy Connection podcast.
Drew discusses his professional service and research that he's focusing on this semester.
29 Mar 2016
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #304 - 2016 March 27
01:02:40
The news includes:
MyHeritage has released Family Tree Builder 8.0, a new version of its genealogy software program. There is also a new Audio Recordings feature in the MyHeritage mobile app.
Mocavo has closed down and has been merged into Findmypast.
Findmypast announced the release of new records.
Drew recaps the new FamilySearch collections.
The Guys discuss the activity initiated by J. Paul Hawthorne on Facebook wherein people compiled geographical pedigree charts showing the places of birth of five or more generations of their ancestors.
Listener email includes:
Mike asked The Guys for suggestions to help identify the origins of his ancestress, Ellen Delaney, who married Teunis Westdijk in Paterson, New Jersey.
Drew responds to inquiries about the recent controversy concerning GEDmatch.com. Debi asks a question about a note found with an early Kentucky Land Grant file for her ancestor.
Drew discusses his research on his great-grandmother, Elizabeth “Betty” Foshee, as a result of a DNA match and other evidence he has found.
Visit the Aha! Seminars, Inc., website at http://ahaseminars.com for Our Speaking Schedule and join us at conferences across the United States.
Janet Hovorka, the "Chart Chick", is the co-owner with her husband Kim of Family Chartmasters, a company that produces beautiful printed family trees. She is a popular speaker at genealogy conferences and the author of the Zap the Grandma Gap books.
Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please tell your genealogy friends or your local genealogy society about our free podcasts.
Visit The Genealogy Guys Blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com for more news and interesting ideas for your genealogy.
16 Dec 2020
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #388
01:32:40
The Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education site is on sale through December 31, 2020 for $69 for your first year's subscription (new subscribers only). Regularly $99, this is our lowest price of the year! Visit http://blog.genealogyguys.com/2020/11/genealogy-guys-learn-on-sale-through.html for full details of obtaining the discount and our current course catalog. (Listen to the podcast to get the discount code.)
The winner of the Genealogy Publishing Company’s At a Glance sheet on “Polish Genealogy Research” is John from North Tonawanda, New York.
The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) presented its 2020 awards. Included are Loretto Dennis “Lou” Szucs as recipient of the Laura G. Prescott Award for Exemplary Service to Genealogy and Amy E. K. Arner, who received the Honorary Life Membership.
Michael J. Leclerc has been selected as the new managing editor of the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly.
Findmypast has added new collections or new records to: Scotland Monumental Inscriptions; US World War II Casualty Lists; Essex Baptisms; Devon Baptisms; Berkshire Probate Index; Yorkshire Monumental Inscriptions; U.S. Obituary Notices; and Ireland Billion Graves Cemetery Index.
Enslaved.org has built a robust, open-source online facility to discover and explore nearly a half million people and 5 million data points for enslaved Africans. From archival entries to spreadsheet entries, the lives of the enslaved can be seen in richer detail. Visit https://enslaved.org/.
FamilySearch has announced that it is has added 20 languages – up now to 30 languages – for researching in its website.
Drew recaps three weeks of huge new and expanded collections at FamilySearch.
DNA Segment with Diahan Southard
Drew and Diahan discuss CODIS, the DNA database used by U.S. law enforcement, and how the major DNA testing companies interact (or not) with U.S. law enforcement.
Cyndi Says
Cyndi Ingle tells us that it is time to review.
We Hear from Our Listeners!
Tom wrote to thank The Guys for leads to books and other materials about life in Scotland and its history between 1900 and 1930. He also describes some ironies he has discovered in WWI and WWII in his wife’s family.
Mark shared his brick wall happy dance that resulted from locating a social item in a 1902 newspaper gossip column.
William is trying to locate a birth certificate in Texas for his grandfather. He has located one for his grandfather’s brother but not for his grandfather. Suggestions are welcome from our listeners.
Lisa wrote to discuss her genealogical numbering using the Ahnentafel method and how she files her evidence.
We’d like to thank all our supporting Patreon members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you’d like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.
You should also tell your friends or your society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website and the current sale through December 31, 2020.
George and Drew are available for virtual presentations for your local society. Contact us at genealogyguys@gmail.com.
12 May 2015
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #288 - 2015 May 11
00:46:13
Drew shares two interviews that the Guys conducted while they were at the 2015 Conference of the Ohio Genealogical Society:
Kris Rzepczynski, Senior Archivist at the Archives of Michigan, who tells the Guys all about the Seeking Michigan website and the great records in his archives
Cyndi Ingle, speaker, writer, and the person behind the amazing Cyndi's List website
29 Jan 2024
Genealogy Connection #84 - Donna Moughty, Irish Research Expert and Research Trip Leader
00:56:20
Drew's guest is Donna Moughty, who led the research trip to Dublin that Drew joined in October 2023. In this episode, Drew and Donna discuss her experiences over many years in leading research trips to Ireland, and how researchers need to prepare before going on a research trip (no matter where their ancestors were from). To learn of Donna's background, see GC episode #002.
Colleen Greene is an academic librarian at CSU-Fullerton who specializes in both technology and Mexican research. To learn more about Colleen, visit her website at colleengreene.com.
24 Aug 2019
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #366
01:12:27
News You Can Use and Share
Unsung Heroes Awards for 3Q2019 will be announced at the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference in Washington, DC, this coming week.
Ancestry.com has published two unique Holocaust Records collections for free, making them searchable for the first time.
Ancestry.com has announced that it now shows parental relationships on each person.
Vivid-Pix launched its Zoom/Transcribe software update on July 9th at the Allen County Public Library.
Yankee Publishing has acquired Family Tree Magazine.
American Ancestors and the Archdiocese of Boston have announced a major expansion in their partnership to digitize important sacramental records in the history of Boston’s Catholic Church.
Findmypast.com has announced numerous changes to a number of their collections: Middlesex Baptisms; Huddersfield Baptisms; Yorkshire Monumental Inscriptions; Essex Baptism Index, Marriages and Banns, and Burial Index; Derbyshire Births and Baptisms; Kent Burials; Maryland Index to Colonial Probate Records; and Maryland Wills and Probate Records.
FamilySearch has announced that users can now correct name indexing errors in records.
Drew discusses many new and expanded collections from FamilySearch.
Book Review
George delivers a review of David McCullough’s book, The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West. The book brings to life the stories of the New Englanders who migrated west to settle the Old Northwest Territory, especially Ohio. Highly recommended.
Blaine T. Bettinger
This week’s discussion between Blaine and Drew focuses on what happens to DNA samples after they arrive at the testing labs.
Cyndi Ingle
Cyndi Ingle’s “Cyndi Says” segment discusses using YouTube for learning more about genealogical resources.
Listen for a major announcement from The Guys on October 1, 2019!
08 Oct 2018
Genealogy Connection #049 - Angela Walton-Raji, Speaker, Writer, and Podcaster
01:10:21
Angela Walton-Raji is a popular genealogy speaker, writer, blogger, and podcaster, with a focus on African-American and Native American research. You can learn more about Angela and her podcast at her website, African Roots Podcast.
07 Aug 2012
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #239 - 2012 August 5
00:57:37
The news includes:
Ancestry.com has announced their completion of the indexing of the 1940 U.S. Federal Census.
RootsMagic announced a new update to their software, version 5.0.4.0.
Online registration for the 2012 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference (August 29-September 1) in Birmingham, Alabama, closes at 7:00 PM CDT on August 17th.
findmypast.com has officially launched its new site in the U.S. with a special World Subscription at $4.95 per month.
Unlock the Past has announced their 3rd genealogy cruise in February 2013.
The Greenoughs thank The Guys and Bill for help locating James Greenough and his wife in Saint John, New Brunswick. Their son has also earned his Boy Scout Genealogy Merit Badge.
Nancy writes about the Archdiocese for the Military, USA.
Ed attempted to help another listener seeking Samuel Mansfield in Fayette County, Kentucky.
Beverly thanks The Guys for recommendations for genealogical education.
Anne asks how much information should be stored in a genealogical database program and recommendations for how to store it.
Richard asks about how to find more information about a Hungarian immigrant who is seeking information about her father's parents.
Roger responds to the discussion about cemetery staff difficulties.
Rich discusses privacy and security issues.
20 Jan 2016
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #300 - 2016 January 18
00:59:08
The Guys are pleased to announce their 300th episode of the podcast.
The news includes:
· Evidentia has been reviewed by the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine in its Winter 2015 issue.
· D. Joshua Taylor has been appointed president of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.
· The New England Historic Genealogical Society has partnered with the Congregational Library & Archives to digitize more than 28,000 pages of early manuscript church records, 1641 to the mid-1800s.
· ScotlandsPeople has released new Scottish births, marriages, and deaths from the 20th century.
· Findmypast has released updates to its Irish and British newspapers collections.
· The Guild of One-Name studies released its membership numbers for 2015. They have reached a new membership landmark.
· Drew provides a recap of new and updated FamilySearch collections.
Listener email includes:
· Richard has acquired audio discs recording the 80th birthday of Mary Page Greenleaf on 21 September 1984, probably in Northern California. He is trying to locate relatives or descendants in order to restore the discs to the family. He would appreciate any assistance from our listeners.
· Debbie provides a link to an interesting article about how one man rescued files from the norm Berg Trials after World War II. The digitized files can be freely accessed at Cornell University. The article can be found at http://ezramagazine.cornell.edu/Update/Nov15/EU.Nuremberg.collex.html.
· Tom asked for information about where on the MyHeritage website their digitized books and publications can be found.
· Jenny reports in a follow-up email that her father's Y-DNA finally has a very close match.
· Doug asks for recommendations about transcribing and what The Guys actually do.
· Eddie shares information about a Mac genealogy database program called GEDitCOM.
· Danny, Barb, and Melissa shared their research goals and projects for 2016.
02 Jan 2017
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #320 - 2017 January 1
01:02:15
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017!
The Guys welcome their new sponsor, Genealogists.com.
The news includes:
Findmypast releases new records about Gloucester apprentices, Kent parish records, and records from Scotland.
FamilySearch presented historic Freedmen’s Bureau Database records to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
Drew shares new record releases by FamilySearch and a recap of 2016 FamilySearch genealogy highlights.
Listener email includes:
Lise corrects George about the draft registration requirement for both WWI and WWII.
Jenny asks two questions: 1. What is the correct way to record a child before it was named? 2. What is the best way to establish your own genealogy website including a blog?
The Guys discuss what they have been working on the last several weeks, and many ways to access and listen to both of their podcasts.
Please help The Guys spread the word about our two podcasts:
Tell your friends and genealogy society members about us.
Leave a review at iTunes.
Leave comments at iHeartRadio.
Visit the Aha! Seminars, Inc., website at http://ahaseminars.com for Our Speaking Schedule and join us at conferences across the United States.
22 Mar 2022
Genealogy Connection #082 - Katrina Madsen, Ancestry.com Community Manager for Find a Grave
00:49:45
Drew's guest is Katrina Madsen, Community Manager at Ancestry.com for Find a Grave. In this episode, Drew and Katrina discuss the history of Find a Grave, some of the recent changes in memorial management, and tips on how to search Find a Grave for your ancestors and relatives.
The Genealogy Guys and Vivid-Pix announce two exciting programs:
The Unsung Heroes Societies Grant Program will award grants to two societies each year to facilitate their digitizing, indexing, and transcribing photographs and documents. Each grantee will receive a high-quality scanner, a backup and online storage software package, and two copies of Vivid-Pix RESTORE software to improve the legibility of documents and the color/contrast of photographs, and to add image tags and other important information to the image metadata. Each grant package is valued at $500.
The Unsung Heroes Awards Program continues to recognize individuals, societies, and libraries for their work in digitizing, indexing, and transcribing photographs and documents and for making that work accessible to the genealogical community. Award winners will receive a commemorative certificate, a customized mug that can include an image of their choice, and a copy of Vivid-Pix RESTORE. Individual winners will also receive a one-year subscription to Genealogy Guys Learn.
MyHeritage is seeking users of their mobile app with more than 100 individuals in the app to observe their behaviors while using the Discoveries feature. Users will be interviewed while using the app. If interested in helping out, contact Keren Szabason, the Product Designer, at keren.szabason@myheritage.com.
MyHeritage launched an exclusive new collection: Germany, North Rhine Westphalia, Death Index 1870-1940.
MyHeritage has introduced Cross-Language Record Matches to help users locate ancestors' records in different and often unexpected languages.
Joel Weintraub has been working in advance of the release of the 1950 U.S. Federal Census. He has created YouTube videos about that, as well as other topics such as immigration. Visit https://tinyurl.com/ycsg7af8 for a page showing the title of the videos, running time, and YouTube address of each of the videos
The FamilySearch Family Tree has added support for the entry of same-sex couples.
BillionGraves has launched a new feature called QualityCheck to improve the accuracy of its searchable cemetery inscriptions.
The Family History Show in the UK has moved online at https://thefamilyhistoryshow.com/online. It will be held on 20 June 2020. Early-bird registration is now available.
Findmypast has added new and additional content to: British Army Service Records; Royal Engineers Journals (1939-1945); Royal Air Force, Operations Record Books (1939-1945); Royal Air Force, Combat Reports (1939-1945); England & Wales, Electoral Registers (19201932); Britain, Histories & Reference Guides; Canadian Directories & Almanacs; and Canada, Ontario, Toronto Emigrant Office Records Index.
Drew recaps new record additions, updates, and indexes at FamilySearch.
DNA Segment with Diahan Southard
Drew and Diahan talk about why someone might not share any ethnicity with a DNA match.
Bruce is researching the Sailors' Snug Harbor retirement home on Staten Island, New York (1833-1976) and the mariners buried there. He is compiling information and stories, and listeners are encouraged to email us if they'd like to contact Bruce about his project.
Floreen wrote about Drew's interview with Diahan Southard and about her own DNA research into her great-grandfather.
Judy wrote to alert people that if you are paying for someone else's DNA test, make sure you will have access to the information.
The Genealogy Guys are available for webinars using Zoom, a simple-to-use online video meeting tool that handles up to 100 people logged in at a time. Our catalog of Genealogy Topics is available at https://ahaseminars.com along with information about Genealogy Webinars. Contact us to schedule a webinar for your society.
Thank you again to our Patreon supporters! You can support us at https://patreon.com/genealogyguys. You can also tell your friends or your society about our free podcasts, our blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website.
Genealogy Connection #048 - Lisa Alzo, Writer and Speaker
00:53:41
Lisa Alzo is a popular genealogy writer and speaker, and the author of the book The Family Tree Polish, Czech and Slovak Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Family Tree in Eastern Europe. You can learn more about Lisa at lisaalzo.com.
08 Jul 2020
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #381
00:52:18
The Genealogy Guys and Vivid-Pix announce two exciting programs:
The Unsung Heroes Societies Grant Program will award grants to two societies each year to facilitate their digitizing, indexing, and transcribing photographs and documents. The grantees will each receive a high-quality scanner, a backup and online storage software package, and two copies of Vivid-Pix RESTORE software to improve the legibility of documents, the color/contrast of photographs, and to add image tags and other important information to the image metadata. The grant package is valued at $500.
The Unsung Heroes Awards Program continues to recognize individuals, societies, and libraries for their work in digitizing, indexing, and transcribing photographs and documents and making that work accessible to the genealogical community. Award winners will receive a commemorative certificate, a customized mug that can include an image of their choice, and a copy of Vivid-Pix RESTORE. Individual winners will also receive a one-year subscription to Genealogy Guys Learn.
MyHeritage has added 7 new reports to MyHeritage Health.
MyHeritage launched its Photo Enhancer in June and within 10 days had enhanced more than one million photos.
The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) will hold its 40th international conference virtually on 10-13 August 2020. Details and registration are available at iajgs2020.org.
The Georgia State Legislature has passed SB372 which extends the privacy of birth records to 125 years and the privacy of marriage, divorce, and death records to 100 years.
The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) has established three new scholarships. They will afford persons of color and those from underrepresented groups in society and culture the opportunity to attend APG's Professional Management Conference. Two of the scholarships, honoring Kenyatta Berry and the late James Dent “Jimmy” Walker, are intended to benefit genealogists of African-American or other African-rooted heritage. The third scholarship is intended to support a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or gender-questioning genealogist in attending APG's flagship conference.
The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) announced a new scholarship, the “Board for Certification of Genealogists Scholarship for African American Students.” Up to three scholarships will be awarded each year to offset the cost of participating in an intensive genealogical education program, as well as the cost of applying for the CG credential.
Findmypast has added: Scotland Roman Catholic Church Parish Records; Scotland, Linlithgowshire (West Lothian), Electoral Registers (1864-1931); more United States Marriages; U.S., Pennsylvania, Civil War Veterans’ Card File; U.S., New Jersey, Military Records Index; U.S., Rolls of Soldiers in the Revolutionary War; and Yorkshire Baptisms.
More than 400,000 U.S. naturalization records from the Bronx and Queens will become available online in 2022 as part of a three-year project.
Drew recaps new record additions, updates, and indexes at FamilySearch.
Jean on Long Island congratulates The Guys on their inclusion in the 101 Best Genealogy Websites for 2020 published by Family Tree Magazine.
Donna writes asking why Facebook has removed a friend’s individual obituary posts made to multiple groups as “spamming” and has issued the friend a “final warning” to stop. She wants to talk with a human being at Facebook to explain her work and motivations. Our listeners are encouraged to share their suggestions.
Andrew’s great-great-grandfather owned three enslaved persons according to the U.S. federal census records of 1860 and no names are listed. He would like to trace the enslaved individuals and is looking for suggestions. Our listeners are encouraged to share their suggestions.
Genealogy Guys Learn Subscription Sale
The Genealogy Guys have placed Genealogy Guys Learn, their subscription genealogy education website, on sale through the month of July 2020. The first year’s subscription is $79 (regularly $99). Visit the site at https://genealogyguyslearn.com/, click on the red ENROLL button at the bottom of the screen, and complete your information. Use the code JULYSALE to get the reduced price. See our blog post at http://blog.genealogyguys.com/2020/07/genealogy-guys-learn-july-sale.html for details, including a link to another blog post at http://blog.genealogyguys.com/2020/07/genealogy-guys-learn-list-of-full.html with the full list of videos and written course available and coming soon. And remember that we add new content every month!
The Genealogy Guys are available for webinars using Zoom, a simple-to-use online video meeting tool that handles up to 100 people logged in at a time. Our catalog of Genealogy Topics is available at https://ahaseminars.com/ along with information about Genealogy Webinars. Contact us to schedule a webinar for your society.
Thank you again to our Patreon supporters! You can support us at https://patreon.com/genealogyguys. You can also tell your friends or your society about our free podcasts, our blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website.
Drew gives George one more week off by making this another all-interview episode (the remaining 3 interviews that Drew conducted while attending RootsTech 2011 in Salt Lake City in February). The interviews were with:
Tami Glatz, President of the Second Life chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and genealogical lecturer;
Paul Nauta, Manager of Public Affairs for FamilySearch;
Audrey Collins, Family History Specialist at The National Archives, UK.
12 Dec 2016
Genealogy Connection #013 - David McDonald, Researcher, Educator, Speaker, Author, and Society Volunteer
01:16:07
Dave McDonald is a long-time genealogy researcher and educator who specializes in a number of research topics, including church records. To learn more about Dave, visit oldnorthwestresearch.com.
03 Jun 2019
Genealogy Connection #056 - Sunny Morton, Writer and Speaker
00:56:44
Sunny Morton is an internationally known and award-winning writer and speaker. In this episode, Sunny shares her thoughts about writing, and discusses her upcoming book about using U.S. church records for genealogical research.
Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please tell your genealogy friends or your local genealogy society about our free podcasts.
Visit The Genealogy Guys Blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com for more news and interesting ideas for your genealogy.
27 Nov 2024
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #431
00:59:44
For all who celebrate it, the Guys wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
News You Can Use and Share!
MyHeritage has introduced LiveMemoryTM, a new facility to animate entire photographs. It runs from an app on your phone and is currently free.
Ancestry announces its project to index and digitize Korean War-era military records housed at NARA.
Vivid-Pix announces it will expand Alzheimer’s Research by donating 5% of sales through 3 December 2024.
FamilySearch celebrates 130 years of family discovery!
Listener Email
Brian asks whether there is a genealogy podcast that shares people’s stories of family history research.
Julie asks if there is a user guide/book discussing how to effectively research at MyHeritage. George has contacted Daniel Horowitz at MyHeritage for information. Stay tuned!
Peggy expands on requesting U.S. military records from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri, and what is available there.
Anne suggests seeking information about WWII military service information in newspapers published near the basic training camps and through local libraries’ scrapbooks and vertical files.
With Donna Moughty retiring from leading Irish genealogy research trips, Judy asks whether other people might be conducting such trips.
Kevin comments about natural disasters and how they impacted our ancestors. He cites his paternal great-grandfather who was born 3 days after the Johnstown Flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on 31 May 1889.
Mike writes a follow-up about German immigration, discussed in Episode #429, and shares his research about his German ancestor. He also cites the sinking of the PS General Slocum on 15 June 1904 and its impact on the immigrant German community of Kleindeutchland in Manhattan, New York.
Michael comments on annulments and the lack of divorce records, and about circumstances that might make such records non-existent.
Book Review
Drew reviews Nathan Dylan Goodwin’s newest book, The Hollywood Strangler, the third installment of the Venator Series.
Drew also comments on how he has just submitted his final assignment to Nathan for the pilot genealogy mystery writing online course.
Stacey Adger is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Genealogical Society, and the OGS Publicity Chair. You can follow Stacey on Twitter at @adger_stacey
19 Nov 2018
Genealogy Connection #050 - Ari Wilkins, Speaker, Researcher, and Library Associate
00:52:43
Ari Wilkins is a popular speaker at genealogy conferences and a faculty member at IGHR. She is on the genealogy staff of the Dallas Public Library, and has an expertise in African-American research.
21 Aug 2014
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #273 - 2014 August 18
01:00:25
The news includes:
· Whollly Genes has announced the discontinuation of The Master Genealogist (TMG) genealogy database program.
· RootsMagic’s Weekly Tips are on their blog and are available on Facebook if you Like and Follow their page there.
· The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) has announced that registration for its 2015 APG Professional Management conference is now open. It will be held on 8-9 January 2015 at the Hilton Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.
· Genealogical Publishing Company has just published a new laminated "Genealogy at a glance" sheet titled Scots-Irish Genealogy Research by Brian Mitchell.
· The Family History Information Standards Organisation (FHISO) has announced that it is ready to begin the technical process of developing standards for genealogy.
· The British Newspaper Archive has announced the beginning of digitization of eight new titles. There are more than 8 million newspaper pages from 1710-1954 online at their site, and they estimate that by 2021 there will be up to 40 million pages from historical newspapers across the UK and Ireland.
· The National Archives (TNA) in the UK is implementing its new online catalog, Discovery, which will contain information about all the records held at TNA, records held in other archives, data from the National Register of Archives, ARCHON, Access to Archives (A2A), and the Manorial Documents Register (MDR). They are working to deliver a revised, updated, and online MDR on a county by county basis, in the Essex section is now complete.
· Drew highlights the new collections for FamilySearch from 25 July 2014 and 15 August 2014
Listener email includes:
· Jenny asks whether there is any point in having siblings take an autosomal DNA test.
· Timothy asks about birth date discrepancies between an SS-5 and the SSDI.
· Kelly wants to know what The Guys’ top 10 list of genealogy books for the beginner or intermediate genealogist might be.
· Virginia asks if there is an easy way to play the downloaded podcast episodes in chronological sequence.
· Mac asks about obtaining permission for screenshots for inclusion in books, and George shares insights from his experiences.
· Jim is looking at the 1910 U.S. federal census for his father and cannot find him with his parents and siblings. He may have run away from home but Jim has questions. He also asked about Enumeration Districts and how to learn more information about them.
· Eric is looking for information about his paternal line, which came from the Azores. The surname was Gomes, but has been misspelled as Gomez. He shares information about his research and how he got around a set of problems.
Drew shares his excitement at connecting via a DNA match with a distant cousin who shared with him the places of origin of his Irish Bonnon and Hyland ancestors and the fact that they were married in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England.
28 Feb 2017
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #324 - 2017 February 26
01:03:11
The news includes:
MyHeritage appoints prominent DNA expert Dr. Yaniv Erlich as Chief Science Officer.
MyHeritage announces the new Consistency Checker for online family trees, and the launch of a new feature called Photo Discoveries.
Evidentia Software will be sharing tips and information on this podcast in the near future.
The new Journal of Genealogy and Family History (JGFH) will be launched in April, published by the Register of Qualified Genealogists. The online publication will be an academic platform for peer-reviewed articles about a wide array of topics. More information can be found at http://www.qualifiedgenealogists.org/jgfh .
Results of the Innovator Showdown at RootsTech 2017 are shared by Drew.
Findmypast launches the Catholic Heritage Archive, beginning with records from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the British Archdioceses of Westminster and Birmingham.
The Early Bird Registration for the 2017 Ohio Genealogical Society Conference (26-29 April 2017) in Sandusky, Ohio ends on 10 March 2017.
Drew shares the latest releases from FamilySearch.
Drew also discusses the newly announced policy changes announced by Ancestry.com for their DNA testing.
Listener email includes:
Rich asks for recommendations for the best DNA company and tests.
Ann has finished reading The Guys’ book, Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques and asks for research options for a particularly difficult brick wall problem.
Terry responds to Margie’s question about GEDmatch, and recommends a webinar from Legacy Family Tree Webinars (http://familytreewebinars.com).
Laura expresses concern about having all her family tree information online at Ancestry.com. She asks about best ways to download the data and store it, and about backup options.
George discusses a recent consultation he did through genealogyDOTcoach (https://genealogy.coach) for a client looking for evidence of an ancestor’s death in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He shares some of his research suggestions.
11 Dec 2012
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #244 - 2012 December 9
00:58:02
The news includes:
FamilySearch.org has contributed $250,000 to the Federation of Genealogical Societies' War of 1812 Pensions Digitization Project.
RootsMagic has just released Version 6 of its family tree software program. A new video is available at their site, and the software is on sale through December 20, 2012.
Origins.net announced 169,100 burial indexes (1560-1909) and 140,000 baptism indexes (1538-1882) covering Middlesex and London.
Ancestry.com has announced the launch of its new newspaper site, Newspapers.com.
The University of Indianapolis is teaming up with Ancestry.com to encourage students to explore and reflect on their family history.
Ancestry.com has announced the launch of two new collections at their website: U.S. Headstone Applications, 1825-1963 and U.S. Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries, 1862-1960.
Ancestry.com has announced a new Community Support site at its website.
WikiTree announces "Cousin Bait" Toolkits.
FamilySearch.org continues its digitization and indexing projects. Learn more on the podcast.
The New England Historic Genealogical Society has announced that their organization has won the 2012 Society for the Study of American Women Writers (SSAWW) "Edition Award" for its book Reminiscences and Traditions of Boston by Helen Mather Crocker, edited by Eileen Hunt Botting and Sarah L. Houser.
George reviews three new publications:
Family History Library Research (At a Glance sheet) by Carolyn L. Barkley
Birth, Marriage & Death Records: A Guide for Family Historians by David Annal and Audrey Collins
Marriage Law for Genealogists: The Definitive Guide by Rebecca Probert
Drew mentions his upcoming appearance at the FGS-sponsored lunch at RootsTech 2013, and discusses a new Google+ facility called Communities.
Listener email includes:
Jonelle responds concerning her poor experiences with obtaining records assistance from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
David updates us on the passage of legislation in Northern Ireland to bring access to its BMD registers in line with the practice in Scotland.
13 Apr 2020
Genealogy Connection #067 - Diahan Southard, DNA Expert
00:46:28
Drew brings back Diahan Southard to Genealogy Connection in order to discuss Diahan's new book, Your DNA Guide: the Book. Diahan explains how the book is structured and outlines the 4 basic DNA research concepts that have made her own work successful.
RootsMagic has invited the public to participate in a community preview of RootsMagic 8 to provide pre-release feedback. Visit https://www.rootsmagic.com/preview/get/ to get involved.
MyHeritage ...
... announced the release of a new record collection, United States Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956.
... introduced Photo Storyteller, a new way to record stories and add narrative behind your favorite family photos.
... .announced Deep Nostalgia to animate faces on your family photos.
... added millions of historical Lithuanian-Jewish records from the LitvakSIG’s work, 1795-1940.
... introduced Genetic Groups using high resolution of 2,100+ geographic regions.
Nathan Dylan Goodwin has a new book, The Chester Creek Murders, featuring new characters and forensic DNA research.
Findmypast has introduced a new and improved image viewer and has added many new and expanded collections: Ireland, Londonderry City Burials (1853-1961); New York Catholic Parish Registers (browse) for Bronx, Yonkers, and Ulster Counties; additions to the Denbighshire Parish Records; and additions to Essex Baptisms, Kent Baptisms, and Kent Marriages
FamilySearch has remodeled its library in Salt Lake City and has launched a new webpage.
Drew recaps huge new and expanded collections at FamilySearch.
We’ll be participating in the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society (WSGS) Gene-A-Rama on April 9-10 and the Ohio Genealogical Society Conference on April 14-17.
Drew has been writing a daily blog entry throughout March about his work with his ancestors on the collaborative FamilySearch Family Tree.
Drew is also coordinating the project to document African Americans interred in Tampa’s Zion Cemetery and their descendants.
We have new Patreon members this week. We’d like to thank all our supporting Patreon members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you’d like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.
You should also tell your friends or your society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website.
ProQuest and Ancestry have extended remote access to Ancestry Library Edition in participating libraries through March 2021.
MyHeritage announced that Family Tree Builder software is now available for the macOS Catalina and macOS High Sierra platforms.
MyHeritage has published three new collections from Wales: Wales, Parish Births and Baptisms; Wales, Parish Marriages and Banns; and Wales, Parish Deaths and Burials.
The National Archives (TNA) in the UK has announced that they are doubling the monthly limit on downloading free digital records from their website from 50 to 100. You must register for a free account on their site.
Findmypast has released: Warwickshire, Coventry Blitz, German Air Raids 1940-1941; British Armed Forces, First World War Soldiers’ Medical Records; new Yorkshire Baptisms; new Yorkshire Monumental Inscriptions; British Armed Forces Soldiers’ Wills 1850-1986; Ireland, Londonderry (Derry) War Memorial 1914-1918; and British Red Cross & Order of St. John Enquiry List, Wounded & Missing 1914-1919.
Newspapers.com announces the first phase of their Marriage Index Collection – 50 million wedding announcements.
Geni announced that its World Family Tree now connects over 150 million profiles.
Drew recaps the huge new and expanded collections at FamilySearch.
DNA Segment with Diahan Southard
Drew discusses with Diahan how traditional paternity tests differ from the autosomal DNA tests that genealogists use.
Cyndi Says
Cyndi Ingle tells us to file as we go.
We Hear from Our Listeners
Tom asks about having hired a consultant who created his tree at Ancestry.com under her account. He wants to download that GEDCOM to RootsMagic but cannot share that tree with other people per the Ancestry settings. He is looking for suggestions for how to deal with this.
Tom is looking for books and other materials about life in Scotland and its history between 1900 and 1930. Drew provided some book references, but we welcome our listeners’ input and suggestions.
Mark is searching for a great-grandfather ostensibly born in Alabama in 1881. He thinks his great-great-grandfather may have been “insane”. He is seeking suggestions on how to research the legal and practical aspects of “insanity” in the 1800s. We ask our listeners to share their knowledge and suggestions.
Review and Drawing
Drew reviewed “Polish Genealogy Research”, a Genealogical Publishing Company quick sheet by Rosemary A. Dembinski Chorzempa. GPC is giving one copy of this quick sheet away to one Genealogy Guys Podcast listener. Listen to the episode on how to enter this drawing. But act fast!
Contact Us!
We’d like to thank all our supporting Patreon members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you’d like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.
You should also tell your friends or your local genealogical society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website and the current sale through December 31, 2000.
George and Drew are available for virtual presentations for your local society. Contact us at genealogyguys@gmail.com.
02 Aug 2017
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #330 - 2017 July 30
01:05:29
The news includes:
The International African American Museum (IAAM) announced the launch of its Center for Family History in Charleston, South Carolina – an innovative national genealogy research center dedicated solely to celebrating and researching African American ancestry. Its tremendous website has launched at https://iaamuseum.org.
MyHeritage has introduced its new DNA Ethnicity Analysis with a percentage-based estimate of ethnic origins covering 42 ethnic groups.
MyHeritage has returned from its third Tribal Quest expedition visiting with the Nenets people of Siberia, and working to preserve their family histories.
MyHeritage has released seven new Dutch collections in their SuperSearch service online.
RootsMagic has released a new update (version 7.5.2.0) to add more functionality to the Ancestry TreeShare feature.
Donna Moughty announced that she will be leading research groups to Ireland in October 2018: a Belfast Research Tour from 7-13 October 2018, and a Dublin Research Tour from 14-21 October 2018. More information is available at www.moughty.com.
Findmypast has added new records including: England Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, Congregational Records, and browse functions; Somerset Baptisms Index, Somerset Banns Index, Somerset Marriage Index, and Somerset Burials Index; 1.6M new British Newspapers articles; Philadelphia Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms, Marriages, Parish Registers Browse; Staffordshire Monumental Inscriptions; Yorkshire Memorial Inscriptions; Monmouthshire Burials, and 1.6 new Irish Newspapers articles.
The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) announce a collaboration to digitize the Fifth Generation of Mayflower Descendants from the GSMD “Silver Books” and 50 years of the Mayflower Quarterly and add them to AmericanAncestors.org.
The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announces the launch of their free Society Management webinar series. Registration is required, and details are available at https://fgs.org/cpage.php?pt=30 .
Drew shares updates from FamilySearch’s recent records additions.
Listener email includes:
Jerry discusses an alternative image capture strategy when microfilm machines don’t copy or print.
Dale asks about the effectiveness and ease of use of Dragon voice recognition software for dictating family histories, blogs, and other work.
George reviews a new book titled Murder in Matera by Helene Stapinski, a real-life tale of researching for the truth about family stories of a murder committed by ancestors in Italy.
Drew discusses his experiences at the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies Conference held in Orlando, Florida, last week.
29 Apr 2014
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #265 - 2014 April 27
01:00:24
The Genealogy Guys would like to welcome its new sponsor, MyHeritage.com!
Genealogical Publishing Company has released a new Genealogy at a Glance (GAAG) laminated resource document written by George G. Morgan titled FamilySearch.org Research. This joins George’s recent Ancestry.com Research (GAAG) and 23 other titles in the series. They are available from the publisher and at Amazon.com.
Drew reports on the status of the Dozier School project which is researching the remains of students who died and were buried at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida, during the 20th century.
The genealogy news includes:
FamilySearch has added more than 1.2 million images of Italian civil registration records.
The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) has announced its calls for Award Nominations, with a nomination deadline of June 15, 2014. Details can be found at http://www.fgs.org/cpage.php?pt=56awards
Professional genealogist and house historian Marian Pierre-Louis has developed a new genealogy show in audio (podcast) format called The Genealogy Professional. The show shares the experiences of genealogy professionals in developing and running their businesses.
The “Family Names of the United Kingdom Project” has completed the first phase of a project to create a database with surnames researched and explained. The project is being conducted by a team from the University of the West of England, Bristol. Details are available at http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/cahe/research/bristolcentreforlinguistics/fanuk.aspx.
Drew reviews Families of Southeastern Georgia by Jack N. Averitt. The book is a reprint of a 1964 book and is published by Genealogical Publishing Company using its Clearfield Publishing imprint.
The news includes:
Doug asks about some available books about land records. The Guys make some suggestions, including one titled Digging for Ancestors: An In-Depth Guide to Land Records by Michelle Goodrum.
Debbie responded to our call for suggestions (in episode #264) for the researcher whose 82-year-old mother discovered through DNA testing that her legal father was not her biological father.
Debbie also asked about the book reviewed in episode #263, Finding Your Irish Ancestors in New York City by Joseph Buggy, and whether it also included information about immigrants from Northern Ireland.
Caroleen expands on The Guys’ answer in episode #260 about LDS temple work done for individuals entered into the FamilySearch Family Tree.
Chris/Jenny responded to Sue’s question (in episode #260) about locating a diary of the ship Shannon sold to a museum in the U.S.
Chad asks about the DNA testing he had done with DNA Tribes into his South American Ancestry and the results he received.
Brett asks about becoming a credentialed genealogist and a professional researcher, and The Guys offer some suggestions.
17 May 2014
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #266 - 2014 May 14
01:00:28
The Guys begin with a recap of the Ohio Genealogical Society's 2014 conference in Sandusky, Ohio. The conference was a great success and kudos to the society and the organizers. The Guys will be at the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree on June 6-8, 2014.
The news includes:
Randy Riley has been selected as the next State Librarian of Michigan.
MyHeritage announces that it has reached a milestone, surpassing 5 billion historical records.
FamilySearch has added more than 5.4 million images to collections from England, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and the United States.
FamilySearch also issued a document titled “Six Tips to Find Your Mexican Family History.”
Ancestry.com announced the release of 11.5 million new records for Quakers living in the United States and worldwide from the late 1600s to the late 1900s. They estimate that it now has more than 75% of all the American Quaker records in existence.
The Suzanne Winsor Memorial Student Genealogy Grant Committee has announced that Paul Woodbury will receive $500 from the Freeman Memorial Grant program and a three-day registration to the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree.
The Federation of Genealogical Societies invites bloggers, societies, writers, and editors to participate in their 2014 conference by becoming FGS 2014 Ambassadors. Visit https://www.fgsconference.org/media/ambassadors/ for more information and to register.
Listener email includes:
One listener made a suggestion for the person whose elderly mother recently discovered that her DNA didn't match her lifelong presumptions about her father. The suggestion was a New York newspaper resource called Old Fulton New York Postcards at http://www.fultonhistory.com
Jim wrote to praise the podcast of 15 July 2007 in which George detailed his research steps to locate Brisco Holder, and then to place a marker on his grave.
Drew responded to two emails concerning DNA: one from Jennifer about GedMatch.com and one from Chad concerning DNA Tribes. He suggests that they and anyone else interested in more information about DNA visit the website of the international Society of Genetic Genealogy at http://www.isogg.org/
Matt wrote about the Miller surname and y-DNA test results.
Lee wrote with a suggestion for Sue in Tasmania who was searching for a diary that had been sold: the General Society of the War of 1812 at http://societyofthewarof1812.org/
Timothy reports on a success story that employs the use of “sideways genealogy” to locate information.
The Guys are pleased to present the first two of a number of interviews recorded at the OGS 2014 Conference:
Craig Roberts Scott, CGSM
Paula Stuart-Warren, CGSM
23 Mar 2020
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #375
01:06:31
The Genealogy Guys Learn site (https://genealogyguyslearn.com/) will be on sale for the entire month of April. Look for details and instructions on the Genealogy Guys Blog on March 30, and links to the blog will be placed on Facebook at The Genealogy Guys Podcast and The Genealogy Squad pages. This is your opportunity to get more written and video education at a bargain price, and new content is added every month.
News You Can Use and Share
MyHeritage introduced MyHeritage in ColorTM to colorize your black-and-white photos.
MyHeritage has added 1.3 billion records of U.S. City Directories.
MyHeritage has introduced fan charts as a way to display your family trees online.
Geneanet, the leading genealogy website in Europe, has launched its DNA matching service.
Ancestry announced the completion of a project to digitize and index 36 million of the U.S. WWII young men’s draft cards.
Ancestry has updated and improved its collection, New York, New York, Index to Birth Certificates, 1866-1909.
Findmypast added 18 million new U.S. marriage records for Texas, 1937-2010.
Findmypast added 36K new Wales Billion Graves records, Hampshire baptisms, marriages, and burials, and Surrey baptisms, marriages, and burials.
Findmypast published more than 190K new records in partnership with the Galway County Council. They include Galway Poor Law Union Records, Galway county burials, and more records from the Waterford Poor Law Union Board of Guardians Minute Books.
Church of England will begin a project, “Google Maps for Graves.”
The Genealogy Squad Facebook group passed 30,000 members this week. Share the link with your friends so that they can join!
FamilySearch has introduced the Explore Historical Images tool to search digital-image-only records.
Drew recaps new record additions, updates, and indexes at FamilySearch.
Use your library card to explore all the databases offered at their website.
ProQuest has arranged for Ancestry Library Edition to be made available remotely from home.
JSTOR is offering free registration.
Be sure to use Google Books for public domain content.
Another article about The Guys will be published at the end of March in Podcast Magazine.
DNA Segment with Blaine T. Bettinger
Blaine and Drew discuss the use of DNA data for research at the 23andMe site.
Cyndi Says
Cyndi Ingle says that there is no such thing as a brick wall! She suggests:
The brick wall is you - what you don't know, where you don't know to look, etc. She encourages you to take advantage of:
Genealogical education
Read, read, read
Books, magazines, guides, wikis
Podcasts
Webinars
Seminars
Conferences
Institutes
Our Listeners Talk to Us
Tom wrote some time ago about the availability of facial recognition software for personal use. Rick Voight of Vivid-Pix tells us that this is a combination of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. It’s not available to individuals yet at any kind of reasonable price, but he believes “the ability and technology are on the horizon.”.
Jenn wrote to ask how to research ancestors' patents.
Susan wrote a fascinating account about she discovered that she was donor-conceived.
Marise is looking for information about marriage and naturalization records that were probably destroyed in the fire that was an aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Listeners, share whatever you can with us!
Thank you to our Patreon supporters! You can also tell your friends or your society about our free podcasts, our blog, and Genealogy Guys Learn.
26 Oct 2020
Genealogy Connection #73 - Nicka Sewell-Smith, Speaker and YouTuber
00:59:26
Drew's guest is Nicka Sewell-Smith, host of BlackProGen LIVE, an online show focused on people of color genealogy and family history. In addition to being a popular speaker at genealogy conferences, she is a professional photographer.
Ancestry.com's sale to Permira Advisors, LLP, was concluded on December 31, 2012.
Findmypast.com announced the release of of significant records from 1790 to present for the U.S., the UK, Ireland, and Australia.
Findmypast.com announced release of records concerning "The Green Redcoats" and more.
RootsTech has announced the addition for its 2013 conference of Story@Home with a full selection of classes and workshops.
The Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRC) has announced that it has released a new search engine for their AID (All Israel Database). While each database is presented in the language of the material found, the search engine can understand both Hebrew and English, thereby making the search more effective than ever.
The North Carolina Genealogical Society announces its first full webinar, Tarheels in the Family Tree, presented by Helen F. M. Leary, CG Emeritus, FASG, FNGS, to be released on the NCGS website. It is free to all from 18 to 20 January 2013. It will be available after that to NCGS members for free.
FamilySearch.org continues to add millions of digitized records.
The listener email includes:
Carolyn provides a number of suggestions to Evan in South Africa for his search as described in our 26 September 2012 episode.
Timothy asks if there are any widespread problems or gaps within the 1940 census. He is having difficulty finding his grandfather, Eugene Langford Padgett (b. 1894). He also asks for suggestions concerning source citations for vital records materials found in his family's possession.
Matthew shared information about a new application under development called "Storied" at kickstarter.com.
Tom discusses errors that result and are perpetuated from people accepting without question information on online family trees. He urges the use of "critical thought and evaluation" before accepting such information as definitive.
01 Mar 2012
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #232 - 2012 February 29
01:02:34
Drew shares the first set of interviews that he conducted at RootsTech 2012. This set includes FamilySearch Chief Genealogical Officer David Rencher, author and speaker Lisa Alzo (an expert on Eastern European genealogical research), past FamilySearch CEO Jay Verkler, and new FamilySearch CEO Dennis Brimhall.
23 Jul 2018
Genealogy Connection #045 - Randy Whited, Speaker and Volunteer
01:01:25
Randy Whited is a popular genealogy speaker on such topics as DNA and technology, as well as genealogy society management. He is the current president of the Texas State Genealogical Society.
29 Dec 2017
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #336 - 2017 December 27
01:03:28
The news includes:
MyHeritage has added 90 million new New York Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger Lists (1820-1954).
MyHeritage has added a new feature, Do-It-Yourself Historical Record Fixes, in its SuperSearch facililty.
Findmypast has added a new collection for tracing immigrants from the British Isles. They have also added records from Kent, and updates to the U.S. Marriages collection and additions to PERSI.
Drew shares updates from FamilySearch’s recent records additions.
Listener email includes:
Tom shares his saga of obtaining copies of passport applications and photographs, and the rich details they contained.
Neal asks about formats of genealogy charts to represent the family in a graphical way.
Judy wants FamilySearch to add a priority to the digitization of microfilmed land and property records. She has had great success in locating genealogical data in these documents.
Neal wants advice on how to record/represent foster children in his family tree for children who probably were not adopted.
Chris shares his organizational methods for paper documents and scanned items, and he uses Evernote to great advantage.
Jim shared a story from Omaha, Nebraska, about a man who used his DNA test results to find a brother he had never met.
05 Nov 2023
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #421
01:04:54
News You Can Use and Share
We just added a new video to the subscription Genealogy Guys Learn site. It is "Archives and Special Collections: An Introduction" by associate librarian emeritus Drew Smith.
MyHeritage memorializes two of its employees, Ron Shemer and Ilay Nachman, who were killed on 7 October 2023 at the onset of the Hamas-Israel War.
My Heritage announced the addition of 43 million historical records in September 2023.
MyHeritage released the 1931 Canada Census with a new index.
Drew recaps the highlights of the newest record releases at FamilySearch on 10, 17, and 24 September 2023.
Listener Email
Gavin reminds everyone to check multiple websites for record collections that may have been indexed differently. He was researching his great-grandfather's family's immigrant arrival at Ellis Island, NY. He searched at MyHeritage and found his wife's brother and family indexed with his great-grandfather's name as the individual they were traveling to meet. He found a great match. He performed a similar search at Ancestry.com, and the result did not show up because Ancestry doesn't index the name of the individual the immigrants were traveling to meet. Therefore, different sites' collections are often indexed differently and may yield different matches and clues.
Kayla wrote about her exhaustive efforts to trace her great-uncle, James Edward Farden. The family story is that he went AWOL and disappeared from subsequent records.
Judi writes again about her Irish Bannon ancestry and asks Drew and his brother about possible DNA matches with her line.
Julie wrote about her great-great-grandmother Ann Marie Delaney, who was born in County Laois in Ireland and immigrated to the U.S. She asked Drew about a possible connection to his ancestors.
Drew discusses his 10-day research trip to Ireland with his brother that began on 4 October 2023, with a week in Dublin led by expert Donna Moughty. He shares some places he visited, some of the things he learned, and the vital importance of advance preparations that he recommends for all research trips.
Thank you to all our Patreon supporting members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you'd like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.
Please also tell your friends and your genealogical society about our free podcasts, our blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website.
And don't forget to order Drew's new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com.
Drew's guest is...Drew Smith! After receiving a number of requests from listeners, George interviews Drew as the Genealogy Connection guest.
Drew is the genealogy librarian at the University of South Florida Libraries in Tampa, has authored or co-authored several genealogy books, is a regular columnist for the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, and speaks regularly at local, national, and international genealogy meetings and conferences.
Genealogy Connection #027 - Bruce Buzbee, Technologist and RootsMagic CEO
00:54:23
Bruce Buzbee is the programmer behind RootsMagic, the popular genealogy database software. Learn more about Bruce and the history behind the development of RootsMagic at http://blog.rootsmagic.com/?cat=41
25 Feb 2015
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #283 - 2015 February 24
00:44:49
Drew and George have returned from RootsTech 2015 (a combined conference with the Federation of Genealogical Societies), and they share their interviews with:
Jill Crandell of ResearchTies
Ed Zapletal of Moorshead Magazines
Angie Bush, a genealogist specializing in DNA
A.J. Jacobs, the well-known journalist behind the upcoming Global Family Reunion event
George talks about the record types he uses in researching the Zion Cemetery Project in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida.
Thank you to all our Patreon supporting members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you’d like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.
Please also tell your friends and your society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website.
The Guys ask that you visit iTunes and leave a review for The Genealogy Guys Podcast. This will help support our efforts that have been going on for nearly 13 years, making us the longest-running genealogy podcast.
MyHeritage will host MyHeritage Live, an international conference in Oslo, Norway, on 2-4 November 2018. Full details about the event are at https://live2018.myheritage.com/.
FamilySearch has released an expanded, indexed collection of the Ellis Island Immigrant Records 1820-1957. The records are accessible at their website and at the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation site.
Listener email includes:
Two of our listeners named Jim shared news that a new genealogical mystery by Steve Robinson in the Jefferson Tayte series, Letters from the Dead, has been published.
Andrew asks about when to trust other people’s family trees.
Kelly asks how reliable the mega-trees are on Ancestry.
Kathleen shared that Texas residents can obtain a free library card from the Houston Public Library that will provide remote access to many online databases, including genealogical ones.
Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please tell your genealogy friends or your local genealogy society about our free podcasts.
Visit The Genealogy Guys Blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com for more news and interesting ideas for your genealogy.
24 Mar 2012
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #234 - 2012 March 24
00:51:36
Drew shares his third and final set of interviews from RootsTech 2012. This set features Janet Hovorka of Family ChartMasters and her three children; D. Joshua Taylor of brightsolid; Michael Leclerc of Mocavo; and Elissa Powell (noted genealogical educator and professional genealogist from Pennsylvania).
29 Apr 2019
Genealogy Connection #054 - Crista Cowan, The Barefoot Genealogist
00:50:01
Crista Cowan is Corporate Genealogist at Ancestry.com and known widely as "The Barefoot Genealogist". Crista and Drew discuss the widespread use of video to educate genealogists, and what other directions genealogical education might take going forward.
Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please tell your genealogy friends or your local genealogy society about our free podcasts.
Visit The Genealogy Guys Blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com for more news and interesting ideas for your genealogy.
03 Feb 2020
Genealogy Connection #064 - Randy Fredlund, Co-Founder of Vivid-Pix
00:48:42
Drew speaks with Randy Fredlund, co-founder of Vivid-Pix, the makers of RESTORE. Randy explains how an electrical engineer who once worked for Eastman Kodak became interested in how to improve personal underwater photography, and how that led to developing software to help genealogists recover the details in old faded or discolored family photos.
Genealogy Connection #025 - Laura Prescott, Educator
00:55:13
Laura Prescott has a long career in genealogical researching, speaking, and education, and has previously served as the president of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG). Learn more about Laura at http://www.lauraprescott.com.
29 Nov 2017
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #335 - 2017 November 26
01:03:50
The news includes:
MyHeritage adds a collection of New York newspapers (1806-2007) to its SuperSearch facility, and New York City Marriage License Index (1908-1929).
Ancestry has made a change to the Privacy Settings for its DNA product enabling people to not see who they match.
Evidentia has added a new Evidence Summary Report in a table format.
The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) announced their new officers, board, and committee members.
Ancestry and NEHGS announced that they have partnered in a Historic Catholic Records Project. It will digitize Massachusetts Catholic records from the late 1700s to the early 1900s.
The Federation of Genealogical Societies has announced that the Preserve the Pensions Project has resumed with digitization and indexing of War of 1812 pensions at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). New records will begin to be added to Fold3.com for free access.
NARA has announced the digitization of over 100 Confederate Maps in Record Group (RG) 109, available for download through their online catalog.
Findmypast announced a two-year project to digitize materials from the Trinity Mirror Archive.
Findmypast announced plans to publish the Cincinnati and Chicago Sacramental Registers online, beginning in 2018.
Findmypast has added English Roman Catholic Parish browseable images for the Archdiocese of Westminster
Drew shares updates from FamilySearch’s recent records additions.
Listener email includes:
David asked for guidance to access Dawes Rolls and other Native American records. George recommended:
an Ancestry Academy webinar by Paula Stuart-Warren;
a Legacy Family Tree Webinar by Angela Walton-Raji; and
Brandon provided an update to his research for his great-great-grandfather. While he could not locate the probate records, he discovered court records about his ancestor’s insanity and institutional commitment.
Margaret asked about American citizens coming through Ellis Island.
Sam shares a great story about his successful use of DNA to solve a mystery about the birth parents of an adoptee.
06 Mar 2015
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #284 - 2015 March 4
00:57:28
The news includes:
· RootsMagic has more than 40 free online classes in the form of recorded webinars at its website.
MyHeritage announces:
o They have added 900 million records to its global digital archive.
o They have added millions of new records from Scandinavia, including the 1930 Danish census and the Swedish Household Examination Rolls from 1880-1920, with more scheduled for addition this year.
· Their Family Tree Builder software is now available for the Mac, and a native Mac version is in the advanced stages of development.
· The Federation of Genealogical Societies has announced several important items:
o Registration is underway for the FGS 2015 Regional Conference in Syracuse, NY, on 17-19 September 2015.
o The FGS Alaska Cruise sails from Seattle, WA, for its voyage on 28 August through 4 September 2015.
o The Call for Presentation Proposals for the 2016 FGS Conference in Springfield, IL, has been released. Proposals are due by 10 April 2015.
· Findmypast has made a number of important announcements recently:
o Listen to the podcast for specifics about Findmypast’s fee access to all records this coming weekend.
o They have released 2.5 million new British newspaper articles to their collection; British Army Bond of Sacrifice records; East London Marriages; Derby Railway Servant’s Orphanage Registers; Irish Poverty Relief Loan records; British Merchant Navy WW1 Medal Index Cards; Dorset BMDs; and another 101 million US, UK, and Australian records.
o The company has partnered with the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society to bring wider access to New York records.
o They have announced a partnership with BillionGraves to bring more than 12 million grave marker indexes available.
o The company has begun offering DNA testing to its customers through a new partnership with FamilyTreeDNA.
· The British Library has opened its new National Newspaper Building for long-term archival storage and retrieval at Boston Spa, West Yorkshire.
· The National Library of Ireland ahs announced that it will give free online access this summer to its Catholic Church Records collection, the earliest of which dates back to the early 1700s.
· Ancestry.com has announced major developments for 2015:
o The website will receive a new and easier to use look.
o It’s iOS mobile app will introduce a full search feature to access their more than 15 billion records online.
o The company will launch Ancestry Academy in April 2015 with excellent educational videos on a wide array of topics.
o AncestryDNA is being improved in the US and UK markets, and AncestryDNA is being launched in Australia and Canada soon.
o Later this year, Ancestry will announce resources for users in Germany and Mexico.
o Many new record collections are planned for launch later this year for the US, Australia, and the UK.
FamilySearch has made many announcements recently:
o The FamilySearch Discovery Center was recently opened in Salt Lake City, and others are planned for around the US.
o FamilySearch ahs announced a multi-year collaboration agreement with the New England Historic Genealogical Society
o Drew highlights the millions of new records added in the last month to FamilySearch.
o The Family History Library has announced its free on-site classes for March. You will want to check the schedule each month if you plan to visit the library in Salt Lake City.
Listener email includes:
· Kari has a question about ships’ passenger records for her 2X-grandmother whose ship sank coming from Denmark in 1889 and whose passengers were rescued by another ship, then sailing to Philadelphia.
o Both sites can be translated to English using Google Translate.
· Jim and Timothy share information about new genealogy mystery books/stories/novellas available.
· Jenny asks why there are no Greek records at the FamilySearch.org website.
· Several listeners responded with comments about Find a Grave and the ability to add records for persons who were cremated.
· Connie comments about cemetery photographs, Find A Grave, and copyright.
The next episode of the podcast will focus on the theme of Using Newspapers for Your Genealogical Research.
30 Jul 2018
Genealogy Connection #046 - Amy Johnson Crow, Speaker and Blogger
00:53:23
Amy Johnson Crow is a popular speaker and blogger on a wide variety of genealogical topics. Learn more about Amy at her website amyjohnsoncrow.com
21 Jul 2014
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #272 - 2014 July 20
00:59:55
The news includes:
The new season of Who You Think You Are? begins on 23 July on the TLC Network.
Ancestry.com has recovered from the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on 16 June 2014, and Scott Sorensen, Chief Technology Officer, assures the public that no data was compromised.
MyHeritage has made all of its World War I military records free to search through the end of July. They also will present their first interactive webinar highlighting their newly updated mobile app on Wednesday, 23 July 2014.
RootsMagic has introduced its new Weekly Tips on their blog and, you can also see these by Liking RootsMagic on Facebook and Following them there.
The British Newspaper Archive has recently added 240,000 new digitized newspaper pages to their subscription service.
Blaine Bettinger has started a new website called "How-To DNA" at http://www.howtodna.com. The site will include short instructional videos for beginners as well as presentations and webcasts for the advanced genealogists, all created and produced by DNA experts.
WikiTree has announced the DNA Ancestor Confirmation Aid, a tool to help genealogists confirm their ancestry.
Findmypast.co.uk announced that it has bought Origins.net, the vast online subscription service with more than 156 million British, Scottish, and Irish records.
Findmypast.co.uk announced that it has acquired Mocavo, the genealogy-focused Internet search engine.
Drew highlights the new and updated collections from FamilySearch that have been added in the last month.
The Georgia Archives, located in Morrow, Georgia, south of Atlanta, has announced that it has returned to a five-day operating week, Tuesday through Saturday.
The South Carolina State Library is offering Digitization in a Box, a complete digitization solution, to the state's libraries to put their historic photos and documents online.
The National Archives (TNA) in the UK has announced the release of digitized images for the following collections: Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force service records, 1899-1939; Royal Air Force combat reports, 1939-1945; Royal Air Force officers' service records, 1918-1919; Household Cavalry service records, 1799-1920.
It has been announced that funding in the amount of £2.2 million is to be given to Welsh museums, libraries, and archives. Part of these funds will be used for archives to open up their collections and resources to the community.
Ancestry.com and ProQuest have announced an expanded distribution agreement to deliver enhanced online solutions to and through libraries, including Ancestry Library Edition and HeritageQuest Online.
The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced that William (Bill) Forsyth of ProQuest is the recipient of the 2014 Genealogical Publishing Company award.
Kirkus Reviews has named Out of Style: A Modern Perspective of How, Why and When Vintage Fashions Evolved, by Betty Kreisel Shubert as “One of the Best Books of 2013.”
Gavin Laboski has shared news of a new iPad app called Timeline Builder, available at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/timeline-builder-create-design/id733989611?mt=8.
The Guys review two books of interest to genealogists:
Drew discusses Mind Maps for Genealogy: Enhanced Research Planning, Correlation, and Analysis, by Ron Arons.
George discusses The Family Tree Historical Maps Book: A State-by-State Atlas of U.S. History, 1790 – 1900, by Allison Dolan and the Editors of Family Tree Magazine.
Listener email includes:
Carole asks for advice about how to cite information about a child that only lived a few days and for whom there is neither a birth nor death certificate. Using the 1900 and 1910 censuses, she may be able to infer the child’s birth, and The Guys provide some suggestions.
Jenny wants to know how far out The Guys study and record collateral lines.
01 Apr 2019
Genealogy Connection #052 - Margaret Cheney, Ohio Genealogical Society President
00:52:03
Margaret Cheney is the current president of the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS), and has served in many roles at the state organization level and as part of her local OGS chapter. She talks about how she first became involved with her local society, about the upcoming OGS conference, about lineage societies, and about why it is important for society members to volunteer.
14 Jun 2018
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #345
01:00:56
The news includes:
MyHeritage announced the addition in May of another 1 billion records, bringing the total to over 9 billion records. They just added 11 new collections with another 9.8 million records.
MyHeritage has moved the Pedigree View of family trees from View Only Mode to full Edit Mode, allowing the addition, deletion, and editing of records while viewing the tree.
Findmypast has added Chicago Roman Catholic baptisms, marriages, and burial records, as well as parish records. New Irish National School Registers have also been added.
Drew shares highlights of new and expanded FamilySearch collections.
Drew discusses the recent security hack of MyHeritage user email addresses and hashed (encrypted) passwords. In addition, he discusses MyHeritage’s release of its new Two-Factor Authentication facility, which provides stronger security if you choose to use it.
Listener email includes:
Judy asks about Mindy Jacox’s Online research log.
Barbara tells us about libraries’ use of RBDigital’s service that provides library patrons with free access to magazine titles.
George reminds everyone that public libraries provide online access to people with library cards to databases, newspapers, magazines, and digital collections with a simple login.
Ralph wants to know more about the New York records that are being focused on by Reclaim the Records (reclaimtherecords.org).
Margie discusses Drew’s interview with Tim Pinnick and his mention of Roslyn, Washington. She talks about the many diverse cemeteries there and its historical past.
Jim provides insights into Kristopher’s search for ancestors in Poland (Episode 341) and suggests some excellent free resources at JewishGen (jewishgen.org).
The Guys extensively discuss how to get the most out of bookmarks in your browser. George discusses how to organize bookmarks, and the fact that you can bookmark more than just webpages. Drew provides some insights from his experience.
The Society of Genealogists in London (http://www.sog.org.uk) has accorded to Cyndi Ingle the prestigious Prince Michael Of Kent Award for services to genealogy for many years of dedication with Cyndi’s List (https://www.cyndislist.com).
Blaine Bettinger has announced that DNA Central (www.DNA-Central.com), the world’s first and largest membership website dedicated entirely to DNA and genetic genealogy education, has issued a request for webinar proposals for its 2018-2019 webinar schedule.
Findmypast has released new Berkshire registers and records, Scotland Jacobite Histories, and 109K additions to the Greater London Burial Index.
Drew shares highlights of new and expanded FamilySearch collections.
Listener email includes:
In response to the topic of the slave bill of sale discussed in Episode #346, we obtained permission to post the document images. We received several listener and reader comments almost immediately:
Sharon advises us that the images are actually two separate documents: the bill of sale for the slave named Jack, and one page from the estate inventory of Major Joseph Ryan.
Laura asks for advice about how to enter data on transgender family members since their gender and name changes.
Nick discussed the Family Historian program and alternatives.
Linda is a longtime genealogist and is feeling overwhelmed with many new areas and features of genealogy. Drew provides some methods for becoming savvier over time and setting goals for yourself.
Steve writes about locating World War II Draft Cards for the younger men’s draft at FamilySearch.
Debra Dudek has written a book, World War I Genealogy Research Guide, and is sending a copy for The Guys to review. Stay tuned for this and other reviews!
The Guys discuss the importance of setting research goals to avoid getting distracted by the BSOs (Bright Shiny Objects) or going down the genealogy rabbit hole. There are some great ideas for you, and Drew has posted about Goals at The Genealogy Guys Blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com. Let us hear your best ways to set goals and focus your research.
19 Nov 2013
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #257 - 2013 November 17
01:00:01
The Guys have several announcements:
Genealogical Publishing Company has just published a new Genealogy at a Glance laminated reference guide. This one is titled “Ancestry.com Research” and is written by George G. Morgan. You can order it from GPC or at the Aha! Seminars, Inc., website.
All of George and Drew’s publications can be ordered at the Aha! Seminars, Inc., website, and the links there take you to the best pricing available.
The company that purchased Ancestry Publishing’s business several years ago has published the second edition of The Official Guide to Ancestry.com in Kindle format and Nook format. That book was published in 2008 and is extremely outdated. In addition, the current publisher has not paid any royalties to this author for more than two years. Therefore, Georgestrongly recommends that you do not purchase either ebook version of this book.
Drew will be an Official Blogger at RootsTech 2014.
The news includes:
Ancestry.com announced the Fold3 Honor Wall at Fold3.com. They also announced the addition of man new record additions to the Ancestry.com site.
DC Thomson, owner of findmypast.com and Genes Reunited, and formerly known as brightsolid online publishing, has announced a deal with FamilySearch.org to make billions of records available online.
MyHeritage has announced a strategic partnership with FamilySearch.org to make billions of records available online.
Drew covers major additions from mid-October to mid-November by FamilySearch.org to its collections of records available online.
MyHeritage announced a partnership with BillionGraves to add 5.5 million gravestone records and with Tributes.com to add 3.5 million obituaries to their site.
MyHeritage announced an enhancement to their site that allows users to extract information form historical records into multiple profiles on your family tree.
Listener email includes:
Lee asks about Family Tree Maker 2014. He also provides information about the Ohio Genealogical Society’s important library holdings.
Maria Northcote, producer of the Genies Down Under podcast in Australia, wrote to thank us for our review of Betty Kreisel Shubert's book, Out of Style, in our March 2013 podcast.
Ben wrote about name changes at Ellis Island as well.
Mike asked if there is an equivalent of the SSDI in other countries, specifically Italy.
Mac writes that she believes that the suggestion that silhouettes and clip art in family trees was made by genealogist Lisa Louise Cooke in her Genealogy Gems podcasts.
The Guys reviewed a number of books in this episode:
Applications for Enrollment of Chickasaw Newborn Act of 1905, Volumes 1, 2, and 3, transcribed by Jeff Bowen. Printed for Clearfield Company by Genealogical Publishing Company.
Without Indentures: Index to White Slave Children in Colonial Court Records [Maryland and Virginia], by Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D. Published by Genealogical Publishing Company.
Sustainable Genealogy: Separating Fact from Fiction in Family Legends, by Richard Hite. Published by Genealogical Publishing Company.
19th Century Photos Kwik Guide: A Step-by-Step Guide to Identifying and Dating Cartes de Visite and Cabinet Cards, by Gary W. Clark. Published by PhotoTree.com.
06 Feb 2017
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #323 - 2017 February 5
01:02:20
The news includes:
MyHeritage announces their new Discoveries page, which combines Matches by People and Matches by Source onto the same page. You can work through one or the other or both.
Findmypast has released additional records in their Australia Electoral Roles collection, and a new collection of records of Early Immigration from Britain, 1636-1815.
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society announces an innovative space, the NYG&B Labs.
George shares information that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is investigating the death of journalist and TV star Dorothy Kilgallen on 8 November 1965. The action comes in response to the book George has discussed here by Mark Shaw titled The Reporter Who Knew Too Much.
Listener email includes:
Christine comments about the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago and the book The Devil in the White City.
Barbara also commented on the same event, and she found a book titled The Congress of Women: Held in the Woman’s Building, World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, U.S.A., 1893 .
Christine was looking for assistance in locating a family in Ohio that appear in the 1850, 1870, and 1880 censuses – but not in 1860.
The Guys discuss more tips for preparing for a successful trip.
Aha! Seminars, Inc., can deliver webinars by George and/or Drew to your genealogical society for an affordable price. Learn more at http://www.ahaseminars.com/cpage.php?pt=10 .
Please help The Guys spread the word about our two podcasts:
Tell your friends and genealogy society members about us.
Leave a review at iTunes.
Leave comments at iHeartRadio.
Visit the Aha! Seminars, Inc., website at http://ahaseminars.com for Our Speaking Schedule and join us at conferences across the United States and at sea!
17 May 2021
Genealogy Connection #076 - Rick Voight, Vivid-Pix and Edith Wagner, Reunions Magazine
00:50:26
Drew's guests are Rick Voight, CEO of Vivid-Pix, and Edith Wagner, Publisher and Editor of Reunions Magazine.
MyHeritage.com now offers shared group subscription payments.
Family Tree DNA is now accepting third party transfers of test results.
Synium Software has released MacFamilyTree 6.1 and MobileFamilyTreePro.
FamilySearch has released 12 million new records and images for England and Mexico, 1.8 million records to 23 U.S. collections, and 2.3 million images to its Hungary collections.
Joel Weintraub and Steve Morse announce a new One-Step Tutorial at http://stevemorse.org about the forthcoming 1940 U.S. federal census release in April 2012.
WikiTree announced that they have passed 2 million profiles and that they have released a new Relationship Finder. In addition, they have announced that Thomas MacEntee has joined the WikiTree team as their Genealogy Ninja.
The Admiral Nimitz Foundation has recently created the Society of the Sons and Daughters of World War II Veterans. The Society's goal is to preserve the stories of sacrifice and achievement of America's "greatest generation." They plan to preserve important materials in digital format to preserve them and make them available.
Listener email includes:
Nancy suggests that Colleen expand her New York query by checking city directories.
Sue asked about the availability of software for genealogical societies' websites. The Guys suggested that she contact EasyNetSites which provides modular society software service.
Russ asked if The Guys were aware of the blog about the Stockton School in East Orange, New Jersey. Drew replied that it belonged to his brother!
Alan advised that there is OCR software that reads Fraktur. He obtained FreeOCR from http://www.freeOCR.net.
John asked whether Drew's Twitter feed had been compromised.
Erin asked Drew about using his iPad for genealogical research vs. using a netbook.
Melanie asked about a relationship term used in the 1910 U.S. census wherein an ancestor, his wife, and four children have an older widow living with them whose relationship is listed as "companion." Listeners can send in their comments and suggestions about this to us.
Grace is our new "Marathon Woman." She also asked about RootsTelevision. Megan Smolenyak advised George recently that the site has been taken down. The Guys hope to learn more at the FGS Conference in Springfield, Illinois, next month.
Carole made some suggestions for Beverly's quandary about Canadian immigration information.
The Indiana Genealogical Society issued a matching $10,000 grant challenge to help funding for the FGS "Preserve the Pensions" program. See their site at http://www.indgensoc.org/projects/1812_pensions.php and donate to make your dollars grow! And learn more at http://fgs.org/1812.
Dave installed the new Mac OS X Lion, but was really upset that Carbonite (back up) is not ready to support it!
RootsMagic announces new webinars and additions to its catalog of recorded webinars.
FamilySearch announces the addition of millions of new records on its site and the completion of almost half of the 1940 U.S. federal census.
The Federation of Genealogical Societies announced that its Malcolm H. Stern-NARA Gift Fund has participated with NARA recently in digitizing and making available the records of the Sultana Disaster at the Fold3.com website.
Ancestry.com announced that it has added its 10 billionth record to its site.
Laurie asked about the available DNA tests, and Drew weighs in based on his experience.
Walter asks whether there is a DNA test available to determine whether his mother and a good friend, who looks like his mother’s twin, are related.
Susanne asks about genealogy sites that are free.
Bob talks about the work he and his wife are doing as arbiters for the 1940 indexing project.
Tom asks when we think an index to the 1940 census will be available, and comments about the indexes not being made available until an entire state is indexed.
Amy shares information about Titanicat by Marty Crisp.
Linda writes about resources for the descendants of the Armenian Genocide. She tells us that University of Michigan Professor Fatma Muge Gocek has done extensive research on this issue with other area specialists (one is also here at U Michigan – Ronald Suny in Political Science). If the person who asked the question in an earlier podcast is still trying to find resources that might help her find information on her ancestors, she might send an e-mail to either Professor Gocek (Gocek@umich.edu) or Professor Suny (rgsuny@umich.edu) to see if they know where information on where people were moved or killed and records that might be useful. Gocek, Suny, and another scholar, Norman Naimark at Stanford, co-wrote a book, A Question of Genocide: Armenians and Turks at the End of the Ottoman Empire (http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryWorld/MiddleEastern/?view=usa&ci=9780195393743) about the genocide. The Guys both recommend checking the University of South Florida’s Holocaust & Genocide Studies Center site at http://lib.usf.edu/hgsc.
Ann has a question about her husband’s paternal grandfather who was born in international waters while his mother was emigrating from Wales to the United States. In another email, she reports on remarkable files uncovered in the possession of a library.
Jo wrote to provide some clues and resources to Moshe who is researching a Jewish man named Markowsky.
14 Mar 2022
Genealogy Connection #081 - Crista Cowan, Corporate Genealogist at Ancestry.com
00:53:10
Drew's guest is Crista Cowan, Corporate Genealogist at Ancestry.com and also known as the Barefoot Genealogist. In this episode, Drew and Crista discuss the upcoming release of the 1950 U.S. census, RootsTech 2022, and some recent announcements from Ancestry.
To learn of Crista's background, see GC episode #054.
24 Feb 2025
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #433
00:54:21
News You Can Use and Share!
MyHeritage added 1.2 billion historical records in January.
MyHeritage released Ethnicity Estimate v2.5, the long-awaited ethnicity model, including 79 different ethnicities
Listener Email
Tom asks if there are reference materials for using AI in genealogical and historical research. (Not YouTube)
Tom is seeking ships’ passenger lists for ancestors who came to the U.S. or Canada in 1879-1880. George suggests the same records he recommends to Pam above.
Jean Daniel in France provides us a fascinating update on his research into his 4x grandfather, Blaise Farny.
Anne wrote to follow up on research into Calvin and Rhoda Reed. She discusses Cayuga County, New York, and places that she has used for different records resources.
Drew will be presenting at RootsTech 2025 in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 6-8 March. Registration for RootsTech is open for on-site attendance and virtual sessions. Visit www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/ for details.
The Genealogy Guys travel to Boston, Massachusetts, to the headquarters of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, where they record this episode in front of a live audience.
13 Feb 2013
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #247 - 2013 February 10
00:59:58
Drew, an official RootsTech 2013 blogger, reminds listeners that Early Bird Registration for RootsTech 2013 ends on February 15th. Drew invites our listeners to email us at genealogyguys@gmail.com with suggestions for interviews while he's at RootsTech 2013.
Other news includes:
RootsMagic announces a free viewer app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
BillionGraves has been acquired by Otter Creek Holdings.
Findmypast.com adds 21 million new Irish birth, marriage, and death records.
MyHeritage has launched a special campaign offering deep discounts on DNA tests through Family Tree DNA. They also have released a new version of the free MyHeritage app that allows you to "edit on the go."
Saving Memories Forever announces the first community outreach by starting a fundraising campaign on February 11, 2013, on behalf of the American Widows Project.
OCLC and FamilySearch have announced a combination of resources. FamilySearch's catalog will be incorporated into OCLC's WorldCat and WorldCat will be linked into the FamilySearch catalog.
Drew discusses the FamilySearch announcements of new records added to their site.
Family Chartmasters has announced announced a new book, Zap the Grandma Gap: Connect with Your Family by Connecting Them to Their Family History. The book is available at https://zapthegrandmagap.com.
Drew suggests using Blogtrottr to notify you when there's a new episode of the podcast. Add the RSS address and an email will be sent to your mailbox.
Listener email includes:
George provides more information about locating Boer War records to Jane, a follow-up to the discussion on episode #246.
Michelle asks for advice about obtaining Railroad Retirement Board records.
FamilySearch indexing volunteers reach the 1 billion record milestone.
Houstory thanks The Genealogy Guys for their previous coverage of their Heirloom Registry product.
Ancestry.co.uk adds Wiltshire Church Records and Wiltshire Quaker Birth & Death records to its collection.
AncestryDNA makes it easier to communicate with people who match, improves its website for mobile users, and provides the ability to download raw DNA data.
Tim Sullivan, CEO of Ancestry.com, makes several important announcements at RootsTech 2013, including the new partnership with FamilySearch to digitize 140 million pages of U.S. probate records; spending $100 million to digitize, index, and put online new content; the availability of AncestryDNA for $99 for everyone (not just Ancestry subscribers); the increase in size of the AncestryDNA database; the update to the Ancestry.com iOS app; and the significant percentage of younger users coming into Ancestry.com using mobile devices.
FamilySearch adds significant new collections for such areas as Georgia and Washington county marriages; civil records for Bologna, Italy; and court records for Trumbull County, Ohio
Drew shares 3 interviews from RootsTech 2013, including:
Genealogy Connection #061 - Julianna Szucs, Researcher and Speaker
00:55:38
Julianna Szucs speaks at many national genealogy conferences and is part of the Research Team at Ancestry.com that uncovers the stories behind some of the genealogy-themed videos we see. Learn more about Julianna at https://www.biography.com/author/juliana-szucs
Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please tell your genealogy friends or your local genealogy society about our free podcasts.
Visit The Genealogy Guys Blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com for more news and interesting ideas for your genealogy.
09 Dec 2024
Genealogy Connection #085 - Brian Rhinehart, Civil War Records
00:47:40
Drew's guest is Brian Rhineheart, owner of CivilWarRecords.com, a service that retrieves military-related records from the National Archives in Washington, DC. In this episode, Drew and Brian discuss the various types of military-related records available either online or only in physical form, and how genealogists can learn more about their ancestors' military connections prior to requesting records.
Brian also offers listeners a code ("connection") valid from the original posting date of this episode for two weeks, good for a discount on his record retrieval service.
05 Oct 2017
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #333 - 2017 October 3
01:04:26
The news includes:
MyHeritage introduces its new DNA Match Review Page.
MyHeritage has recently released more than 14 million Australian birth, baptismal, marriage, burial, and death records from the state of Victoria (1836-1942).
MyHeritage has redesigned the Help Center at its website and added more than 750 up-to-date help articles and expanded the content.
RootsMagic announces a new software update. It also announced that the application now works under the new macOS High Sierra operating system.
RootsMagic reminds users that there are both a video tutorial and a written user reference to help you master the new TreeShare for Ancestry feature.
Evidentia released an update, version 3.1.5. They have added a new Direct Line (Lineage) Tracker allowing you to record links in a new way. It’s perfect for your work applying for membership to lineage and heritage societies.
Evidentia has also added a new advanced feature that supports Custom Style Sheets for reports.
Ancestry’s CEO Tim Sullivan has stepped down and becomes Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors effective 1 October 2017. Howard Hochhauser, the company’s CFO, will assume the interim role of CEO as the company conducts a search for a permanent replacement.
Findmypast has appointed Tamsin Todd as its new CEO. She takes over from interim CEO Jay Verkler and brings an impressive CV to the position.
Sue Tolbert, the Executive Director of the Three Rivers Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is stepping down after having reorganized the museum, added a wealth of new historical holdings, developed educational programs and annual cultural events, and expanded the museum’s presence in the region. She is succeeded by Amy Bradshaw, who brings her impressive background experience with several museums in Oklahoma and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Association of Professional Genealogists just concluded its annual Professional Management Conference in the Washington, DC, area. Two important awards were made:
Meryl Schumacker of Minnesota was the winner of the APG Young Professional Scholarship.
APG has established the Laura G. Prescott Award for Exemplary Service to Professional Genealogy. Laura was the first recipient of this new annual award.
The Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (GEN-FED) has announced that the 2018 Institute will be held July 16-20. Online registration will be held on 24 February 2018 at its website at http://www.gen-fed.org. You can also sign up for email announcements at http://www.gen-fed.org/gen-fed-2018.
RootsTech 2018 has been expanded to four days, 28 February through 3 March, and it will introduce a new Innovation Showcase.
Findmypast has added baptisms, marriages, burials, and wills for Lancashire, Herefordshire, new browseable parish registers for Warwickshire, and new records for Gloucestershire. New Connecticut records (1600s-1800s) have been added, along with some UK monumental inscriptions, and several new Irish newspapers.
Go Ahead Tours and Ancestry have announced that they will partner in a portfolio of guided genealogical tours, including Sicily, Southern Italy, German, and two tours in Ireland. Call Go Ahead at 1-800-242-4686 to learn more and to obtain details about specific tour destinations and learn about what is entailed in each tour.
FamilySearch has released a new web-based indexing tool that makes the process of indexing and searching much easier. In addition, FamilySearch will hold a Worldwide Indexing Event again this year on 20-22 October 2017.
Drew shares updates from FamilySearch’s recent records additions.
Moorshead Magazines is the publisher of Your Genealogy Today, Internet Genealogy, and History Magazine. They also publish special books on the Tracing Your Ancestors Series. George discusses three of these publications:
Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors, written by Christine Woodcock
Tracing Your Germanic Ancestors, written by Leland K. Meitzler
Tracing Your Ancestors: Heritage Travel Tips, Tricks & Strategies, written by Lisa A. Alzo and Christine Woodcock
George reviews the following books in this episode:
The Fabulous Flying Mrs. Miller, by Carol Baxter. This biography of Jessie “Chubbie” Miller, a contemporary aviatrix of Amelia Earhart and other female fliers who hailed from Australia, is an excellent read. The book describes what it was like to engage in air races to set records, get financial endorsements, and earn money in the 1920s and 1930s. The excitement and danger make for an engaging story, but then Chubbie becomes involved in two other news-making events: when she goes missing on a flight, and when she becomes a central figure in a high-profile murder trial. Order the book directly from the publisher, Allen & Unwin in Australia, at https://www.allenandunwin.com. It’s a great read!
English author Nathan Dylan Goodwin continues his excellent series of genealogical crime mysteries with several new titles featuring Morton Farrier, the forensic genealogist.
The Spyglass File focuses research on the case of a woman who was abandoned by her family during the Battle of Britain (1940 and 1941) and wants to trace them. Morton learns about the young English women with fluency in German who were recruited to listen to radio traffic of German fliers in order to anticipate air raid sites and scramble receiving planes. He researches the fliers, the women in the service, and more as he seeks out the elusive Spyglass File and its contents. The mysterious story is a page-turner you’ll find nearly impossible to put down.
The Missing Man continues Farrier’s search to learn more about his biological father from the U.S., track him down, and possibly even meet him. In the source of his research, he discovers some strange family history and some startling criminal activities. This book is a compelling read as piece after piece of the puzzles are uncovered.
Finally, Goodwin has written a Morton Farrier short story titled The Suffragette’s Secret. This is only available as a Kindle e-book. We’ll review this as soon as we’ve had a chance to read it. We also know from his newsletter that Nathan is at work on another forensic genealogist mystery, and he has decided to attend RootsTech 2018.
Listener email includes:
Angela just finisher previewing a cookbook titled Pantry and Palate: Remembering and Rediscovering Acadian Food, written by journalist Simon Thibault. The book is a compilation of Acadian family recipes from the author’s family, photographs, and family stories. It is a tribute to the author’s ancestors and really brought another aspect of their lives to light.
Jean cites our announcement about the New York State Death Index that we discussed in Episode # 329. Specifically, she addresses the organization of the index. It isn’t always in alphabetical sequence; between 1940 and 1956, the names are organized using Soundex.
Tom is tracing his biological parents using DNA, and asks if there a program or tool available that could be used to enter names and matches and then perhaps put unknown matches into some kind of order where they might be more usable.
Liv Birgit in Norway uses Dragon Dictation with both English and Norwegian with quite good success,
10 Aug 2023
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #419
00:51:57
The Genealogy Guys Podcast, in partnership with MyHeritage.com, is giving away a FREE MyHeritage DNA Kit. Please send an email to genealogyguys@gmail.com with your name and mailing address by no later than midnight U.S. Eastern Time on 31 August 2023 for your chance to win!
News You Can Use and Share
American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society has announced the 10 Million Names Project. The Project is a collaborative effort dedicated to recovering the names of the estimated 10 million men, women, and children of African descent who were enslaved in pre- and post-colonial America (specifically, the territory that would become the United States) between the 1500s and 1865. Learn more at https://10millionnames.org/.
A great new book written by African-American and Native American expert Angela Walton-Raji has been published by Arcadia Publishing, Inc., titled Oklahoma Freedmen of the Five Tribes. It is now available at Amazon.com.
Drew recaps the highlights of the newest records releases at FamilySearch.
Listener Email
Lisa sent a follow-up about her census mystery searching for her ancestor Felice Giuseppe Maturo and his brother, Liberato Maturo, in the 1910 U.S. Federal Census in New Haven, Connecticut.
Mell wrote to ask for suggestions to research her ancestor Felix White in the area around Columbus, Muskogee County, Oklahoma.
Lisa wrote about the Ancestry Hints, what they are and aren’t. This includes the “Family Data Collection” and “Geneanet Community Trees”.
Nicole is researching her Dulaney ancestral line from Virginia, supposedly back to Ireland. Drew shares some insights.
Thank you to all our Patreon supporting members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you’d like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.
Please also tell your friends and your genealogical society about our free podcasts, our blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website.
And don’t forget to order Drew’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com.
Genealogy Connection #047 - Diahan Southard, DNA Expert, Speaker, and Writer
00:56:11
Diahan Southard is a very popular speaker and writer on the topic of DNA testing. Learn more about Diahan at her website Your DNA Guide.
05 Sep 2016
Genealogy Connection #006 - Bernice Bennett, Speaker, Writer, Researcher, Citizen Archivist, and Internet Radio Show Host
00:55:49
Bernice Bennett is a popular speaker and one of the authors of the book Our Ancestors, Our Stories. In addition to being a professional genealogical researcher, Bernice volunteers as a Citizen Archivist at the National Archives. Her Internet radio show, Research at the National Archives and Beyond, is celebrating its 5th anniversary. To learn more about Bernice, visit her website at geniebroots.com.
01 Jan 2016
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #299 - 2015 December 31
01:06:56
The Guys announce that Drew’s new book, Organize Your Genealogy, to be published by Family Tree Books, will be released on 1 July 2016. It is available for pre-order at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
The news includes:
· RootsMagic has released an update to its RM7 software to facilitate migration of Family Tree Maker (FTM) data.
· MyHeritage offers its Family Tree Builder for PC and Mac with tree-syncing capabilities with their online tree.
· MyHeritage announces the addition of a huge and diverse free collection of over 150,000 digitized books relevant to family history.
· Findmypast has recently added new materials, including additions to the British Newspapers and a quarterly update to the Periodical Source Index (PERSI).
· FamilySearch, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), and the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) have announced exciting milestones in the historic Freedmen’s Bureau Project (DiscoverFreedmen.org).
· Drew recaps recent additions and updates to FamilySearch.
· The National Institute on Genealogical Research has announced that the institute’s name was changed on 22 December 2015 to the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed) and its website is now located at http://www.gen-fed.org.
Listener email includes:
· Discussions continue about Ancestry.com’s retirement of its Family Tree Maker desktop genealogy software. Opinions are expressed about whether to change to another software program, remain with the existing program, or migrate to a cloud-based family tree facility.
The Guys discuss their upcoming genealogical research goals and projects for 2016. They also want to hear about yours!
10 Dec 2019
Genealogy Connection #063 - Jennifer Mendelsohn, Researcher, Writer, and Speaker
00:57:49
Jennifer Mendelsohn is an expert on Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish genealogical research and the use of DNA. She and Drew discuss how she applies her journalistic skills to her research, how she demonstrates the universality of the immigration experience of our ancestors, and how she ended up being part of the 2019 memoir Inheritance by Dani Shapiro. You can follow Jennifer on Twitter - @CleverTitleTK
Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective, is a popular speaker, writer, and consultant on the subject of analyzing photographs for historical and genealogical purposes. Learn more about Maureen by visiting her website at maureentaylor.com.
20 Jun 2020
Genealogy Connection #070 - John Boeren, Dutch Genealogist
00:50:10
Drew's guest is John Boeren, a former archivist and an expert in Dutch Genealogy. Learn more about John at his website, Antecedentia.
10 Apr 2012
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #235 - 2012 April 8
00:59:21
The news includes:
FamilySearch continues to add millions of new records online each month. They also state the 10 new digital records are created every second.
FamilySearch is indexing the 1940 U.S. federal census records.
Ancestry.com has made its collection of 1940s-era materials free through 10 April 2012. They are indexing the 1940 U.S. federal census records.
Findmypast.com is also participating in indexing the 1940 U.S. federal census records. Furthermore, the company has announced that it will search for your ancestors for you as soon as the records are indexed. They will then send you an email when they have located the census record for you.
Dennis asks about some of the questions on the 1940 U.S. federal census. George also advises Dennis that the Farm Schedules and Housing Schedules were destroyed, and that 1940 was the last year in which an annual enumeration by Bureau of Land Management Indian Agents of Native Americans on reservations was performed.
Phil lives and works in Spain, and he is seeking suggestions on how to learn more and access materials that were donated to Kent State University in Ohio in about 1996.
Laura in Ireland shares a way that she has gotten her eight-year-old daughter interested in looking at the Irish censuses of 1901 and 1911.
Ben asked about the term “New York-ODM” which he has encountered in looking for records in the FamilySearch.org catalog.
Emily responds to Avi's question in the 31 January episode, and suggests contacting the cemetery in the event that it still has the transit permit for the body. It will usually indicate the origin of the shipment of the body, and sometimes contains the deceased’s address, age, and cause of death.
Richard submitted a follow up on his Robert George Jones, along with an impressive profile of his extensive research.
The Guys talked briefly about their own research into the 1940 U.S. federal census records.
14 Aug 2022
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #407
01:07:30
News You Can Use and Share!
The Genealogy Guys Learn subscription website has added several new written and video courses, with more coming regularly. You can subscribe at https://genealogyguyslearn.com/.
MyHeritage released 22 new collections in June.
Findmypast has added new records to its Middlesex Baptisms, Surrey Baptisms, and Greater London Burial Index collections.
Drew highlights new and updated collections added at FamilySearch this week.
Drew interviews Allison Singleton of the Allen County Public Library about their plans to mobilize photo scanning to retirement facilities.
Listener Email
Kathy writes to thank George for his spot-on coverage of the 1950 U.S. Federal Census and what is and isn’t available.
Karen in Australia tells us the difference of update frequencies at Ancestry’s ThruLines and MyHeritage’s Theory of Family Relativity.
Brian writes about digitizing your family history research as a method of guaranteeing that your work is preserved after you are gone. He also talks about surname binders and other organizational considerations. He suggests you check out the Ancestral Lines Pairing System at https://www.ancestrallines.net/overview/.
Judith is interested in the possibility of obtaining records from the Orange Orphan Home in East Orange, Essex County, New Jersey.
George responds to Jim about James Berry Holder [Sr.] and available records to verify both his birth and death dates.
Mark shares his six-step plan for organizing his genealogical materials. It is a focused task list that can be used by anyone.
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The Genealogy Guys Podcast #297 - 2015 November 29
01:04:45
Listen to the ads for RootsMagic and Evidentia for great holiday savings for a limited time!
The news includes:
· RootsMagic announces the availability of Personal Historian for the Mac, a new book, videos, and a Facebook group for users. You can also install PH on both a PC and a Mac with the same user key.
· The Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy (CAFG) is accepting applications for a $225 scholarship to the 5th Annual Forensic Genealogy Institute (FGI), to be held March 10-12, 2016. Registration for the FGI is open at http://www.forensicgenealogists.org/institute/. The scholarship is open to anyone wishing financial assistance to attend. Send a request of not more than 400 words to institute@forensicgenealogists.org explaining how the scholarship might best help you in the field of forensic genealogy. Deadline is Friday, December 4th, 2015.
· MyHeritage adds a new search innovation called SearchConnectTM which enables users to connect with others who are searching for the same ancestors or relatives and to take advantage of search synergies.
· Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin will be one of the keynote speakers at RootsTech on Saturday, February 6, 2016.
· The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) has elected Billie Stone Fogarty as president for 2016-2017.
· Findmypast has announced the release of a number of new collections and the addition of 3.7 million new articles to its Historic British Newspapers collection.
FamilySearch has marked the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War by releasing two new online collections of records of casualty records from NARA.
· Drew highlights new and updated record collections at FamilySearch.
Book Review:
George reviews an excellent new book by Kerry Scott, How to Use Evernote for Genealogy: A Step-by-Step Guide to Organize Your Research and Boost Your Genealogy Productivity.
Listener email includes:
Jim asks about DNA.land at https://dna.land and how it compares to GedMatch.
· George recaps his research information for Nona concerning her Suit/Suits family in the Rome, Georgia, area.
· Mike would like to connect with Ryan regarding New Jersey death records.
· Michael has questions about the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) and the Social Security Applications and Claims collection now at Ancestry.com.
· Kathy has questions about the Wilson families of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. George restates the information about two books he mentioned on an earlier podcast, and he will check again for possible family connection in his ancestral line. The books are:
Alexander, John Brevard: Biographical sketches of the early settlers of the Hopewell section and reminiscences of pioneers and their descendants by families. (Originally published in 1897 in Charlotte, NC, by the Observer Printing & Publishing House.) Reprint. University of California Libraries. Unindexed.
Syfert, Scott. The First American Declaration of Independence? The Disputed History of the Mecklenburg Declaration of May 20, 1775. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. 2014.
George talks about the recent news from Russia concerning the investigation into the murders of the Romanov family, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna and their five children, on 17 July 1918. New DNA testing has confirmed all the remains are from the same family, and the tomb of Nicholas II’s father, Alexander III, was opened to obtain DNA to confirm that the remains of the male was, indeed, Nicholai Alexandrovich Romanov.
Drew names four essential websites for genealogical research:
FamilySearch.org uploaded 14 million new records for 19 countries, and the 1940 U.S. federal census indexing project is in full swing.
The Southern Genealogist’s Exchange Society in Jacksonville, Florida, is hosting a virtual tea party on Mother’s Day (U.S.) on 13 May 2012 as a fundraiser and as a way to honor female ancestors.
Drew reviews the book Family Matters by Michael Sharpe.
Listener email includes:
Jason asks about a program that keeps track of digital source materials and about cloud computing.
Doug reports that volunteers for the FamilySearch U.S. federal census indexing project can only specify the state for which they would like to index.
Eric wrote to discuss copyright and fair use, and discusses a research problem involving a colleague.
Beth Cook of Best Public Relations wrote to share information that Dracula was Irish and not Transylvanian.
Janet asks for advice about whether DNA testing might help her in her quest for her husband’s ancestor.
Moshe sent document images and asks for suggestions about his search for a Jewish man, Irving Markowsky.
03 Oct 2014
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #275 - 2014 September 30
01:00:50
The news includes:
· The Association of Professional Genealogists announced a Young Professional Discount for its 2015 Professional Management Conference.
· Geni.com, a division of MyHeritage, announced that it now supports multilingual profiles.
· RootsMagic announced that it now has direct file import support for the soon-to-be-discontinued program The Master Genealogist.
· Registration is now open for the fourth annual Forensic Genealogy Institute (FGI) at www.forensicgenealogists.org/institute. FGI will be held on 26-28 March 2015 in Dallas, Texas.
· The Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research will be presenting year-round educational genealogical courses. For more information, visit www.vigrgenealogy.com.
· Findmypast has begun a new weekly records release program called Findmypast Fridays. The first release began on 19 September 2014 with many Irish county records. They've also released 4 million Yorkshire records online.
The Guys review a number of new publications:
Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic Version 6 by Bruce Buzbee
Tracing Derry/Londonderry Roots by Brian Mitchell
Searching for Your Ancestors in Historic Newspapers by Claudia C. Breland
The Parrett Migration by Dawn Parrett Thurston
Maryland Genealogy Research (a Genealogy at a Glance research guide) by Michael A. Ports
· Two new laminated QuickSheet guides by Elizabeth Shown Mills:
· Timo also shares information about the Verein für Computergenealogie (Computer Genealogy Society of Germany), which is the largest genealogical society in Germany, which hosts a large free online database with approximately 35,000,000 free records available. The website at http://www.genealogy.net will redirect you to http://www.genealogy.net.
· Tom asked a question about interpreting the results from his mother's AncestryDNA test, specifically about the origins of her great grand parents and their ancestors.
· Terri and her niece are attempting to interpret their DNA test results to figure out if they are actually half-sisters.
· Matt writes about a project involving the scanning of old glass negatives of the Fort Madison State Penitentiary in Iowa. There are many inmate photographs, and paperwork associated with the prisoners was also found. That information is being matched being matched to the photographs. The project website is IncarceratedinIowa at http://www.incarceratediniowa.com, and Matt’s blog postings are accessible at http://matthewkmiller.blogspot.com.
· Dawn discusses her genealogical research, and in particular discusses seeking information about her grandfather. No one wants to talk about him and there is some speculation about whether he was on trial in the 1930s for homosexuality or pedophilia. She asks for research guidance, and whether librarians would be reluctant to help her.
27 Feb 2011
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #217 - 2011 February 27
00:51:58
Drew gives George the week off by making this an all-interview episode (3 of the interviews that Drew conducted while attending RootsTech 2011 in Salt Lake City earlier in the month). The interviews were with:
Louise St Denis, Director of the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (www.genealogicalstudies.com), an educational organization affiliated with the University of Toronto. NIGS has just acquired the social networking site Genealogy Wise.
Brewster Kahle, Chairman of the Internet Archive (www.archive.org) and long-time Internet entrepreneur and activist.
Genealogy Connection #028 - Caroline Gurney, Research and Speaker
00:53:30
Caroline Gurney is a professional researcher who specializes in British research, as well as research into house histories. She is also known for her work in researching the descendants of the crew of the Cutty Sark. Learn more about Caroline at http://www.carolinegurney.com/
21 Mar 2023
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #414
01:01:41
News You Can Use and Share!
Drew Smith’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, has been published by Genealogical Publishing Company. It is being acclaimed as the best new book for beginning genealogists. You can order it at https://genealogical.com/store/generation-by-generation/ or at Amazon.com. A new Kindle version will be available soon.
RootsMagic has released RootsMagic 9 for both PC and macOS with the addition of new tools. There is a new book, Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic 9, that describes how to use the new version. As always, there are new videos about all the operations of the software. Learn more at http://blog.rootsmagic.com/?p=3635.
FamilySearch has announced that the 1931 Census of Canada will be released on 1 June 2023 at the Library and Archives (LAC) Canada website. Read more at https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/corporate/website-updates/pages/census-1931.aspx. Following the release, LAC will collaborate with Ancestry and FamilySearch to create an advanced searchable database.
The International African American Museum has set its opening day in Charleston, South Carolina, for Tuesday, 27 June 2023. Learn more at https://iaamuseum.org/.
Listener Email
Susan wrote to say she was unable to order software from Evidentia at https://evidentiasoftware.com/. Apparently, they were migrating their website and encountered some delay with the transfer. However, the site is up and running again.
Gabriel wrote about an Irish mystery for his ancestor, James Thomas Donoghue. Listeners are urged to share ideas and suggestions.
Rosemary wrote about finding Order Book B (1812-1822) for Lewis County, Kentucky. Work is underway with the Kentucky Department of Library Archives and FamilySearch to make the images, transcription, and index available for use.
Don’t forget to order Drew’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com.
Thank you to all our Patreon supporting members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you’d like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.
Please also tell your friends and your genealogical society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website.
MyHeritage announced release of a Pedigree View mode for MyHeritage family trees.
MyHeritage added 27 million new historical records in March. They also have added Inbox and Scanner features to their mobile app.
Parabon NanoLabs announced the general availability of its Snapshot Genetic Genealogy Service, which provides investigators with a new tool for solving crimes with evidence from an unknown DNA source. (See https://snapshot.parabon-nanolabs.com) for additional information. CeCe Moore is leading this new unit.
Findmypast has added Scots-Irish in North America Histories, Surrey Baptisms, more Yorkshire Burials, and new images and articles in PERSI.
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has begun work on a guide to New York State Archives. It is expected to be released in 2019.
FamilySearch has added its 2 billionth image of genealogy records.
A new book, Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards, edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills, with 26 chapters written by 22 experts, has just been published by Genealogical Publishing Company.
George reviews the latest book by Nathan Dylan Goodwin, author of the Forensic Genealogist crime mysteries. It consists of two publications. The Wicked Trade is a book about smuggling on the coast of southeastern England in the 1820s and an investigation into a woman associated with smugglers. The Suffagette’s Secret is a novella about the British women’s suffrage movement in the early 1900s and about the women who made it happen. Both works are based on well-researched, historically accurate events, and include composite characters investigated by Morton Farrier, the Forensic Genealogist. George gives an enthusiastic thumbs-up to these installments in Goodwin’s impressive series.
Listener email includes:
Joseph writes about the reenactment of the wedding at Pennsbury Manor, William Penn’s home.
Tom wrote again to review his work with Tropy at https://tropy.org/, the document management tool
Tom asks for suggestions about equipment/hardware for capturing digital oral interviews.
Mahlon Erickson wrote with an update of his Pre-1920 Oklahoma Death Index, which now contains over 650,000 entries.
Larry wrote to discuss the AncestryDNA testing service and issues about access to family trees for non-subscribers.
22 Oct 2014
The Genealogy Guys Podcast #276 - 2014 October 19
00:57:15
The news includes:
· ICAPGen Conference will be held on Saturday, 1 November 2014, on the Brigham Young University campus in Salt Lake City, Utah. Details and the link to the conference registration can be found at www.icapgen.org.
· MyHeritage and EBSCO have partnered to bring the service MyHeritage Library Edition to libraries and educational institutions.
· The 35th International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) Conference will be held on 6-10 July 2015 in Jerusalem. Registration is now open for persons living outside of Israel; Israeli residents' registration will be announced. The conference will take place in cooperation with MyHeritage.
· RootsMagic has announced a free update for existing Charting Companion 5 owners. RootsMagic has also added direct import support for The Master Genealogist (TMG) software users.
· The State of Tennessee has announced its partnership with Ancestry.com and will become the first state to offer access to Ancestry.com in every K-12 classroom throughout the state.
· The Board for Certification of Genealogists welcomes its new president, Jeanne Larzalere Bloom, and two new board members.
· FamilySearch and GenealogyBank have announced an agreement to make over 1 billion records from historical newspapers searchable online. Volunteer indexers are needed, and more information is available at http://familysearch.org/indexing.
· FamilySearch and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania announced a joint initiative to digitally preserved select collections of the historical society's holdings.
· FamilySearch has announced a new facility for its Family Tree to upload audio files. They also announced the availability of two mobile apps.
· The New England Historic Genealogical Society will host an exclusive evening on 13 November 2014 to honor critically acclaimed actress Dame Angela Lansbury at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston. Details are available at http://www.americanancestors.org/Lansbury/.
George begins a new series about available cell phone apps for the iOS and Android operating systems. He discusses the following:
FamilySearch Tree (available for both platforms)
FamilySearch Memories (available only for iOS)
Pic Scanner (available only for iOS)
Billion Graves Camera (available only for iOS)
Drew reviews two new publications:
Guide to DNA Testing by Richard Hill
The Invisible History of the Human Race by Christine Kenneally
Listener email includes:
· Gus asks what software The Guys are using on their Macs to run Windows programs.
· Jane asks about the availability of any free American newspaper websites that she could browse, particularly for New Jersey.
· Julie asks for recommendations for learning more about genealogy and becoming a professional genealogist.
· Emily discusses finding some shocking information about a grandfather, and asks advice for combating genealogy burnout and about what information is and is not appropriate to share.
09 Nov 2020
Genealogy Connection #74 - Michael Cassara, Speaker
00:53:32
Drew's guest is Michael Cassara, a New York City-based genealogy speaker specializing in Italian and Sicilian research topics, as well as topics about research in NYC and New Jersey. In addition to being a speaker at genealogy conferences, he is a casting director.
Learn more about Michael by visiting his website at DigiRoots.net.
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