The Genealogy Guys Podcast & Genealogy Connection

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: o Your Stripped-Bare Guide to Historical ‘Proof’ o Your Stripped-Bare Guide to Citing Sources Listener email includes: · Timo shares information about the German Church Book Portal (Archion), currently in beta test mode, at http://www.dergenealoge.de/archion-einblick-in-die-testphase. · 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.

The Genealogy Guys are celebrating their 9th podcast anniversary. We began on 5 September 2005 and are still going strong! The news includes: · MyHeritage Founder and CEO, Gilad Japhet, has been featured in the news for his work in identifying heirs to stolen artwork and property seized by the Nazis during the 1930s and 1940s. See the video (with English sub-titles) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvPjrpse92o. · Findmypast has launched the “Hall of Heroes” at its website to celebrate the heroes in everyone’s family. · Findmypast has also launched over 240,000 UK new parish records. · The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) honored six of its members for their achievements and services. They also named Eva Goodwin as the winner of the APG Young Professional Scholarship. · RootsTech and the Federation of Genealogical Societies have opened registration for their combined conference in Salt Lake City in February 2015. (See https://registration.rootstech.org/2015/portal/newreg.ww and https://www.fgsconference.org. · Drew shares the latest release of records by FamilySearch. · Drew’s research for surviving family members of the boys who died at the Dozier School for Boys inspired a listener to send a link to the Knoxville News Sentinel about comparable abuses at the Okeechobee School for Boys. · RootsMagic has announced the availability of MacBridge software that will run RootsMagic on the Mac. Drew discusses an exciting link with a cousin using DNA that has revealed marriage records of Irish ancestors in England in 1861. Listener email includes: · One listener is seeking more information about a Civil War ancestor from Ohio, and asks the guys for additional research suggestions. · Julie had a poor experience with a researcher in the UK and asks for tips on handling this type of problem.

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.

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 Library of Congress has collected more than 4,000 family records forms and registers. These are now being made available for free download, printing, and use at http://www.loc.gov/search/?q=+family+records+and+registers. 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.

Drew shares his last 2 interviews from the recent SCGS Genealogy Jamboree: Cyndi Ingle, noted genealogy speaker and writer, and the person behind Cyndi's List Katherine Hope Borges, DNA expert and Director of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG)

Drew shares 3 more interviews from the recent SCGS Genealogy Jamboree: Denise Levenick, heirloom preservation expert and blogger at The Family Curator Daniel Horowitz, Chief Genealogist at MyHeritage Paul Woodbury, winner of the 2014 Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Grant

In addition to the latest news, Drew and George share interviews from the recent Southern California Genealogical Society's annual Genealogy Jamboree, with guests: Angela Walton-Raji, expert on African-American and Native American genealogical research, and host of the African Roots Podcast CeCe Moore, genealogical DNA expert and blogger at Your Genetic Genealogist

The news includes: RootsMagic has released a new video on their YouTube channel titled "Using GenSmarts with RootsMagic for Research Help". FamilySearch has released a number of important items: "Norway Celebrates Its 200th Anniversary" U.S. Civil War Era Records "15-Year-Old Organizes Unique Genealogy Event for Eagle Scout Project" Drew discusses the highlights of the most recent FamilySearch collection additions and updates The Federation of Genealogical Societies has announced several important events in 2015 and 2016: FGS will partner with RootsTech for a joint genealogy conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 11-14 February 2015. An Alaskan Cruise is planned for the Fall of 2015. The 2015 New York Regional Conference returns to Syracuse on 17-19 September 2015, and FGS will help host the conference as a regional convention. The FGS 2016 Conference will be held 31 August – 3 September 2016 in Springfield, Illinois. There are now over 8 million newspaper pages online at The British Newspaper Archive Findmypast.co.uk has added Devon parish records spanning 1538 to 1915. Unlock the Past Crusies has announced a genealogy cruise to the Baltic from 11 July 2015 to 25 July 2015. Listener email includes: Jim asks whether The Guys’ “Down Under: Florida” videos are still available online. The episode about “The Zacchini Family” is available on YouTube.com. The other two, “The Miltons” and “The Ashleys”, are no longer online, but The Guys will see if those can also be added to YouTube. Jim also poses a somewhat complex scenario and asks Drew whether DNA could help unravel a mystery. A listener shares another Boddy for inclusion in Drew's Boddie One-Name Study. Drew shares interviews he recorded at the Ohio Genealogical Society Conference with two great genealogists: J. H. "Jay" Fonkert, CG, from Minnesota Michael D. Lacopo from Indiana, blogger at Hoosier Daddy

Drew continues to share interviews from the recent Ohio Genealogical Society annual conference, including: Judy G. Russell, The Legal Genealogist Melissa Tennant, Assistant Manager of The Genealogy Center at the Allen County [Indiana] Public Library Dr. Deborah Abbott Tim Pinnick J. Mark Lowe

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

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. RootsMagic has its own YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/RootsMagicTV. They have just added a new video called “Using Charting Companion with RootsMagic The Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) has announced 2015 plans for two institute weeks of its popular courses. 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. Members of AARP can obtain a 30% discount on an annual subscription to the Ancestry.com World Explorer package. Please see the details and terms of the discount at http://discounts.aarp.org/offer/ancestry-com/deal/707823/uSource/MTFP The National Archives in the UK announced that Operation War Diary, a key project in their First World War 100 program, won a Best of the Web Award at the Museums and the Web Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. 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. Richard responded to Beverly’s inquiry (in episode #264) with suggestions about software to use to create a genealogy website and free hosting possibilities. Richard uses Serif’s WebPlus X7 software and uses Filezilla to upload the data. He suggests several hosting options. He included links to three of his sites: FreePages at RootsWeb at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~yehle/; Comcast at http://home.comcast.net/~ryehle/; and GoDaddy at http://yehlegenealogy.info/ 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. Barbara suggests checking out the GenealogyInTime Magazine at www.genealogyintime.com Brett asks about becoming a credentialed genealogist and a professional researcher, and The Guys offer some suggestions.

The Guys will be at the Ohio Genealogical Society Conference on May 1-3, 2014, at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. George thanks Lora of Little Switzerland, NC, for the kind email about his article in the December-January issue of Internet Genealogy titled “ Tracing Frances Lamb Mims WIlson: A Case Study.” The news includes: RootsMagic ’s newsletters include articles about: Do I Still Need a Desktop Genealogy Program?; and Importing an Ancestry[.com] Family Tree into RootsMagic. WIkiTree announced the Global Family Reunion on 6 June 2015, organized by A. J. Jacobs. The Federation of Genealogical Societies has launched their 2014 Webinar Series with a new webinar presented by Jen Baldwin. Drew shares highlights of updates of almost 19.8 million records at the FamilySearch website. MyHeritage announced that it has added to their site The Jewish Chronicle newspaper archive, the world’s oldest continually published Jewish newspaper which dates back to 1841, with more than 200,000 pages and millions of names. MyHeritage also announced a pro bono global initiative with BillionGraves to preserve every cemetery and gravestone in the world and to provide the content online, for free. Click here to view a great short video about the project. Listener email includes: Brian poses an interesting and timely question about copyright on a family genealogy book published in 1993. The author is dead, so is the book still under copyright. Roy Hemmat of Crafted Knowledge in San Diego shared links to sites devoted specifically to immigration to the USA in the 19th century: o http://www.ukimmigrants.org o http://www.famineships.info o http://www.russianimmigrants.org o http://www.polishmigration.org o http://www.finnishimmigrants.org o http://www.italianimmigrants.org o http://www.germanimmigrants1850s.com o http://www.germanimmigrants1860s.com o http://www.germanimmigrants1870s.com o http://www.germanimmigrants1880s.com o http://www.germanimmigrants1890s.com Beverly is considering creating a family website and is looking for suggestions regarding software and free hosting possibilities. The Guys ask listeners to share experience and ideas. Marcie has questions about WWI draft registration cards and the physical descriptions of registrants. John suggests that attendees to the 2014 Ohio Genealogical Society Conference also consider visiting the nearby Ohio Veterans Home (http://dvs.ohio.gov/VETERANS_HOMES/Sandusky_Home) and the museum (http://www.shoresandislands.com/what/12384/Ohio-Veterans-Home-Museum). A friend of The Guys shares a story about unexpected ethnicity as revealed by a DNA test leading to difficult family questions, and asks for suggestions for continuing his search. Sue in Tasmania asks for suggestions about locating a family diary sold to a U.S. museum. Judy wants to know why there are not more records digitized and indexed from the 18th and early 19th centuries.

The News includes: Halvor Moorshead, founder of Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy, and History Magazine, passed away on March 7, 2014. Moorshead Magazines has just published “Tracing Your Ancestors: Beginner’s Guide,” a new title in their Tracing Your Ancestors series. It is available in the Internet Genealogy online bookstore at http://internet-genealogy.com/Books.htm. It is available in both print and PDF format. MyHeritage.com ’s CEO, Gilad Japhet, undertook a personal search to identify and reunite artwork seized from Jews by the Nazis during WWII. His story is published in the New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/arts/design/a-reporter-in-france-helps-to-return-art-taken-by-the-nazis.html MyHeritage.com has added a new feature to its site that allows you to add new profiles to your tree directly from historical records. MyHeritage.com has added 815 million U.S. Public Records to the MyHeritage SuperSearch. MyHeritage.com has also partnered with BillionGraves.com in a global initiative to digitally preserve the world’s cemeteries. A new BillionGraves camera app for iPhone and iPad is available to help expedite the cemetery recording process. The Michigan Department of Education issued a press release announcing that the Library of Michigan is expanding its library hours to include opening from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on the second Saturday of each month. FamilySearch International (online at FamilySearch.org) has announced collaborations with a number of commercial genealogical companies to partner in digitizing, indexing, and making available the records images they hold in one generation. FamilySearch ’s catalog records have now been fully integrated into WorldCat. The American Society of Genealogists has announced that applications are being accepted for its annual ASG Scholar Award until September 30, 2014. Details can be found at http://fasg.org/awards/asg-scholar-award/. RootsMagic has released its new mobile app for the Android. Find A Grave , a subsidiary of Ancestry.com, has just released a new iOS mobile app for the iPhone and iPad at the Apple Store. The National Archives (U.K.) has spent almost 20 years digitizing the Manorial Documents Register and getting the MDR online. Melinda Haunton’s TNA blog posting of 3 February 2014, titled “To the manor born?,” at http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/manor-born/ discusses the process and the how the documents can be used. HistoryGeo.com is a family history software subscription service that links old maps for your genealogical research. Learn more at http://s3.amazonaws.com/hg_media/press/HistoryGeo_Release_2014_Jan_28.pdf . Findmypast.com.au has announced the addition of 2.5 million records for the British in India. Findmypast.com.au has also announced over 640,000 convict records that are sure to be of interest and help to the estimated 20% of Australians who possess convict ancestry. A new national database, ForgottenAshes.com, has just been established to help reunite the cremains of individuals with their families. The Bureau for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) has just published its new standards manual, Genealogy Standards: Fiftieth Anniversary Issue. The Guys reviewed two new products from Genealogical Publishing Co.: The new Genealogy at a Glance reference titled Court Records by Wendy Bebout Elliott, PhD, FUGA. Finding Your Irish Ancestors in New York City by Joseph Buggy Listener email includes: Chris recommends the film negative and slide scanner by Wolverine, model F2D20. Arvind Nangia writes to tell us about the Pic Scanner app for iOS devices, that can scan up to three photographs simultaneously, saves them individually, allows them to be cropped, and they can be organized into digital albums. The Guys would love to hear your feedback. Matt shares a tip for listener Dianne who said in December that she needed help tracking down her grandfather’s town of origin in the Alsace-Lorraine area. He suggests http://www.auswanderer-bw.de. We describe his instructions in the podcast.

Drew shares his second and final set of interviews that he conducted at RootsTech 2014, including: Anneliese Van Den Belt, CEO of DC Thomson Family History, whose best known genealogy-related brand is FindMyPast Matthew Hovorka, a young genealogist who spoke as part of the RootsTech Youth Track Mike Davis, CEO of StoryPress Kim Harrison, a Senior Institutional Account Executive for Ancestry.com, on the topic of her Educational Grants.

Drew shares the first set of interviews that he conducted at RootsTech 2014, including: Dennis Brimhall, CEO of FamilySearch Michael J. Leclerc, Chief Genealogist of Mocavo Ed Thompson, developer of Evidentia

The news includes: · RootsMagic announces that their webinars are now indexed and that their Android app is coming soon. · Family Tree DNA and MyHeritage have teemed up to integrate DNA tests into the MyHeritage customer base of 75M users. · Findmypast announces that they are making improvements to their website and will be adding records more frequently. · GenSoftReviews announces the Top Genealogy Software Awards for 2013. · AmericanAncestors.org (NEHGS) has debuted their blog, Vita Brevis, at http://vita-brevis.org. · FamilySearch announces their new indexing website at https://familysearch.org/indexing/. · Ancestry.com and FamilySearch announce an expansion of their collaborative agreement to make more than 1 billion additional records from 67 countries available on Ancestry.com. · Drew highlights new record additions at FamilySearch. · There are news reports that indicate that Pope Francis will open the Vatican’s archives covering Pious XII and his pontificate of World War II and the role he played in supporting/facilitating the Nazi regime’s activities. (See http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=20240.) The Guys talk about upcoming conference appearances. Listener email includes: · Neal shared a website called American Radio History at http://www.americanradiohistory.com with over 1M page of magazines, periodicals, yearbooks, directories and more that can provide information about ancestors in the broadcasting industry and insights into your ancestors’ entertainment. · Karen asks questions about Family Tree Maker 2014. · Noi asks questions about rescuing family photos and documents. · Sam ask questions concerning DNA testing advances. · Joshua ask questions about the FamilySearch family tree facility and whether data submitted might be used by the LDS for baptism by proxy. Drew discusses the Arthur G, Dozier School for Boys and the role that the University of South Florida (and himself) are playing in researching the abuse and deaths of boys committed to the school. (See http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/students-skeletal-remains-uncovered-infamous-florida-school-boys-article-1.1448534 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_School_for_Boys.

The news includes: · The Genealogy Guys have been interviewed by Marian Pierre-Louis on episode 72 of her podcast, Fieldstone Common, at http://www.fieldstonecommon.com/george-morgan-drew-smith. · Restrictions placed on access to the Social Security Death Index. · Keynote speakers at RootsTech 2014. · News about 23andMe and its genetic genealogy testing service. · Matthew Batchelor is appointed as the new Chief Technology Officer at DC Thomson Family History, owner of Findmypast.com and Genes Reunited. · The National Archives in the UK has announced a series of six webinars, beginning in January 2014 They will be held at different hours that help assure most people all over the world can enjoy them live. The schedule and topics are available at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/webinars.htm. · RootsMagic has released a new update to Version 6, is working on the beta test of the Android app, and has a great collection of free recorded webinars online and videos about RootsMagic. · FamilySearch continues to add hundreds of thousands of new records each week, and Drew summarizes some highlights from December 2013. · MyHeritage announces a huge initiative into the Nordic countries and the addition of millions of names and records. · Ancestry.com has announced the release of Family Tree Make Mac 3. · Betty Kreisel Shubert’s landmark book, Out-of-Style: A Modern Perspective of How, Why, and When Vintage Fashions Evolved, has been named by Kirkus Reviews as one of the Best Books of 2013. Listener email includes: · Russ Worthington, in his October postings in “A Worthington Weblog,” discusses how he files his digital images. · William asks about the proper way to record surnames that were changed due to adoption or “Americanization” by immigrant ancestors. The Guys discuss how they are using technology and the hardware, software, and apps that they are using the most as of the beginning of 2014.

The news includes: · The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) announces the results of their elections. · Drew shares the latest FamilySearch collection releases at their website. · Aha! Seminars, Inc., reminds listeners that George and Drew are available for webinars for societies. Visit the website for presentation topics and descriptions. · George has a new article in the December 2013/January 2014 issue of Internet Genealogy. It is a case study, performed almost exclusively on the Internet, and includes complete source citations. · A television series in Ireland called Tar Abhaile is available at http://www.tg4.ie/en/player/tg4-player.html?id=2841564288001&title=Tar. · Drew will be an Official Blogger (Podcaster) at RootsTech 2014. Visit https://rootstech.org/ for details about the conference. (And email us with the names of people you want Drew to interview!) Book reviews include: · Hiding the Past, a genealogical mystery by Nathan Dylan Goodwin · International Vital Records Handbook, 6th edition, by Thomas Jay Kemp Listener email includes: · Gus has prepared a Podcast Kit for those who want to start their own podcast. You can request a copy from him at [email protected]. · Larry asks about the use of information found in other people’s online family trees. · Matt asks for suggestions about how to determine who is buried in each plot of his family plot where the graves are currently unmarked. · Dianne asks for suggestions concerning naturalization records and tracing her grandfather’s town of origin in Alsace-Lorraine.

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, George strongly 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. Matt Miller discusses genealogical proof in the attempt to demolish a brick wall in his blog at http://matthewkmiller.blogspot.com/2013/10/what-constitutes-proof.html. 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. The Guys shared information from an article from the New York Public Library about “Why Your Family Name Was Not Changed at Ellis Island (and One That Was).” 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.

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. The news includes: Ancestry.com has acquired Find A Grave. 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.

The news includes: The Guys’ new book, Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques, is now available in softcover and Kindle formats. George received an award on 23 August 2013 from the Association of Professional Genealogists, the 2013 Excellence in Writing Award, for his articles in the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly (APGQ). The Genealogy Guys Podcast has been named by Family Tree Magazine as one of the 101 Best Web Sites of 2013. RootsMagic announced new tutorial videos at RootsMagicTV on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/RootsMagicTV. MyHeritage has announced a new global photo archive at http://www.myheritage.com/photos. The Federation of Genealogical Societies has released a new mobile app for year-round information and annual conferences. The iOS version for iPad and iPhone is available at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fgs-app/id689433117?ls=1&mt=8 and the Android version is available at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fgs.fgsapp. The Federation of Genealogical Societies and FamilySearch have announced that they will be holding a joint conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 12-14 February 2015. The conference will include RootsTech 2015 and the FGS 2015 Conference, with separate registrations. Ancestry.co.uk has added nearly 900,000 digitized and indexed records of the Clandestine Marriage and Baptism Registers 1667-1754. These include Fleet Prison, King’s Bench Prison, The Mint, May Fair Chapel, and others. Ancestry.ca has added the newly released 1921 Census of Canada in browsable format, with indexing promised soon. Ancestry.com has announced the release of Family Tree Maker 2014 for PC. You can purchase it at a 30% discount through 9 September 2013. At http://www.ancestry.com/cs/apps/products. Wills of English World War I soldiers have been indexed and are available online at https://www.gov.uk/probate-search. FamilySearch has released another huge set of records at its website, and Drew mentions highlighted collections. Findmypast.com has recently added 200 volumes of digital books about Canada to its website. Information dates back to the 1600s in more than 71,000 pages. Listener email includes: Jenny discusses, English and Welsh BMDs, joining a local genealogical society, Clooz software, and using Family Tree Maker to sync with the online family tree she has uploaded to Ancestry.com. Michelle updates us on her success in obtaining NARA Railroad Retirement files from Atlanta. Katie discusses access to cemeteries, and provides an excellent example of the Congressional Cemetery (not associated with the U.S. federal government) and its excellent preservation and information access. Visit their site at http://www.congressionalcemetery.org. Mac reminds us that this is the time of year, with back-to-school deals at office supply stores, to purchase your genealogical office supplies at sale prices. Jenny wonders why people are adding icons and decorative graphics – non-photos – to their family trees at Ancestry.com. This causes unnecessary “hints” to be generated and wastes space on Ancestry.com’s servers. Mike asks about DNA testing, and asks what are the best types of tests to have performed. Timothy asked for an update on the project concerning the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. Drew discusses the funding of the project by the State of Florida, the start of the exhumations of remains, and more details. While at the FGS Conference, George interviewed Rick Kincaid, Project Manager for Operation Ancestor Search, and Kim Harrison of Ancestry.com. They discuss this collaboration between the Sons of the American Revolution and Ancestry.com, involving the Veterans Hospitals in the U.S. You can reach Rick Kincaid at [email protected] or (502) 588-6147 to learn more and to get involved.

The news includes: Information about the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference and the Illinois State Genealogical Society Fall Conference. WikiTree has added a DNA feature. Findmypast.com.au has released new content for the Royal Naval Division service records (1914-1920). Findmypast.com has announced that it will be adding the Periodical Source Index (PERSI) to its site in coming months. Findmypast.com.au has secured the rights to publish all of the registered wills from New South Wales from 1800 to 1952. Drew provides a recap of highlights in the newly released images at FamilySearch. RootsMagic has released an update to RootsMagic 6 that introduces Problem Alerts. RootsMagic has a YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/RootsMagicTV at which you will find shorter training videos. These supplement the Webinars/Online Classes at their website under the Learn tab. Megan Smolenyak has announced that one of The Guys' Down Under: Florida video episodes, about the Flying Zacchinis, has been re-released and is available at http://megansmolenyak.posthaven.com/584139. Origins.net has released many more older records at its website. Saving Memories Forever has announced a strategic partnership with the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO). The mail includes: Susan asks if The Guys' new book, Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques, will be available in digital form. It is now posted at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble in electronic formats and those will be available when it is released in September. Preordering is already available. Melody asks for guidance on how to download the podcast from our website. Stephanie has a question about Polish Armed Forces records for those persons who escaped Poland after Hitler's invasion in 1939 and who fought with the Allies. George cites a good Wikipedia article titled "Polish Armed Forces in the West" at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_armed_forces_in_the_west. Lisa asked about the Facebook group that deals with organization. Drew points her to "The Organized Genealogist" group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/organizedgenealogist/. Connie asks about SSDI records at Ancestry.com that add place of death from the "Last Benefits" field of the online records. Elaine asks questions about how and where we store our digital photos and about how we share those photos with others. Elizabeth LaPointe has developed an e-booklet titled The 1921 Canada Census User Guide that will be available when that census is publicly released. Its price is $5.95 CDN and copies can be reserved by sending an email to [email protected] and including "1921 Census" in the subject heading. Jenny has a question about linking Family Tree Maker trees at Ancestry.com. Mary asks about the expression "first generation American." Noi has some questions about locating a German place name for Noi's great-great-grandfather. Steve asks about how to locate information about his grandfather who he thinks was a census enumerator in Chicago for the 1940 U.S. federal census. Drew also discusses the Family History Information Standards Organisation.

The news includes: Drew has been appointed as Chair of the Family History Information Standards Organisation (FHISO). RootsMagic is now Share+ Certified by FamilySearch. Early Bird Registration for the 2013 Federation of Genealogical Societies' Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on August 21-24, 2013, ends on July 1st. Canada's Heritage Minister asks the Library and Archives Canada to reconsider restoration of funding to help museums preserve local history. The 1921 Census of Canada will be made available to researchers in the near future. A new season of Who Do You Think You Are? will begin on TLC (The Learning Channel) on July 23, 2013. The Digital Public Library of America has been launched. findmypast.com provides free access to its Irish Records Collection from June 27-30, 2013. findmypast.com has updated its Irish Petty Session Court Registers with 2.5 million new records. Drew tells listeners about DNA research that has identified the potato blight responsible for the Irish Potato Famine, using leaves from an herbarium. findmypast.com added 3 million baptism, marriage, and burial records from Westminster in London. findmypast.com has added 23 million records and 121 million newspaper pages from around the world. Drew shares information about major collections added to FamilySearch, including 5.7 million images to the New Massachusetts Land Records Collection (1620-1986). Moorshead Magazines has announced the publication of a new title, Tracing Your Colonial American Ancestors. Geni.com continues to enhance its offering with the addition of Record Matching and Smart Matching tools. Synium Software has released MacFamilyTree 7 and MobileFamilyTree 7, with special pricing for new and existing users through July 31, 2013. Drew reminds listeners how to subscribe to the podcasts. Listener email includes: Richard provides a suggestion for how to learn to pronounce names. George discusses meeting someone on Facebook who was able to photograph wills in the Maryland Archives of his fifth- and sixth-great grandfathers in his Alexander line.

Drew shares his three remaining interviews from RootsTech 2013: Elissa Scalise Powell, President of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, discusses BCG's upcoming 50th anniversary celebration and what genealogists might want to know about becoming certified. Janet Hovorka, The Chart Chick, tells Drew all about her newest project, Zap the Grandma Gap, a book, workbook, and website that helps connect children and their families to fun genealogy activities. David Pogue, a well-known technology writer and presenter, provides an entertaining interview that ranges from discussing apps to playing a virtual ocarina. But even Drew can surprise David with an app he's never heard of!

Drew shares three more interviews from RootsTech 2013: Alec Tritton and Else Churchill describe an upcoming genealogy conference in the UK: Exodus: Movement of the People. Lisa Louise Cooke, host of The Genealogy Gems Podcast, talks about using iPads and other tablets for genealogy, which she covers in detail in her latest book Turn Your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse. Syd Lieberman, a renowned storyteller and one of the keynote speakers for RootsTech 2013, shares his ideas about the importance of stories.

The Genealogy Guys celebrate their 250th episode! They discuss a wide variety of subjects, including: George's organizing projects to date this year The Guys' forthcoming book, Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques, to be published in September 2013. The book is available for pre-order at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Upcoming conferences at which The Guys will be speaking this year. Drew is providing research assistance on a project concerning the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. Drew is working on the Boddie/Bodie surname with the Guild of One-Name-Studies. He also discusses FHISO, the Family History Information Standards Organisation. The Guys enthusiastically thank their sponsors and the thousands of listeners around the globe for their dedication and support over all the episodes.

George is out of town speaking for the North Carolina Genealogical Society, so Drew hosts this episode, beginning with the following news items: British Origins adds South London burials to its London collection. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announces a new partnership with its German equivalent, the German Association of Genealogical Associations (DAGV). 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: Judy G. Russell, who blogs at The Legal Genealogist Chris van der Kuyl, CEO of brightsolid (provider of FindMyPast.com) David Adelman, CEO of ReelGenie

The news includes: The Family History Library's Saturday hours will change on April 13, 2013, to 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. FamilySearch announces the additions of new collections, including the addition of indexing projects in process or completed. Findmypast.com has released 2.5 million UK criminal records covering the period 1770 to 1934. Ancestry.com announces that, for a limited time, users can buy Family Tree Maker 2012 and receive Photo Explosion Album, a photo editing software package for free. An international genealogy conference in the UK, Exodus: Movement of the People- The story of migration to, from, and within the British Isles - will be held September 6-8, 2013, at the Hinckley Island Hotel in Hinckley, Leistershire, UK. For more information, visit http://www.exodus2013.co.uk. George provides reviews of some excellent materials: How to Archive Family Keepsakes by Denise May Levenick The Heirloom Registry, by Houstory Publishing (See more details at http://www.heirloomregistry.com.) A Week of Genealogy: Things to Know and Do Online and Offline by Dr. Margaret M. McMahon, Ph.D. Out-of-Style by Betty Kreisel Shubert Listener email includes: Stan provides an excellent website called FileRight for Genealogy and Military Records, which includes many great military and naturalization links, at http://www.fileright.com/naturalization-family-roots-military-records.html. Beverly wanted to know why she can't locate 1820 U.S. federal census records for Montgomery County, NC. Tom asks about the future of DNA testing. Drew talks about the resources he is using in two research projects in which he is participating.

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 [email protected] 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. The "Find My Past" TV show from the UK, seasons 1 and 2, is available for viewing online at http://www.findmypast.com/articles/find-my-past-tv/series-two. Ancestry.com has updated the 1850 and 1940 U.S. federal censuses online. The Federation of Genealogical Societies has launched a new blog for the War of 1812 fundraising at http://www.preservethepensions.org/blog/. 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." The Suzanne Winsor Freeman Grant Committee has announced that applications are being accepted for the 2013 student grant. Contact Denise Levenick at [email protected] for more information. 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. Rich identified an interesting site, WhatWasThere at http://www.whatwasthere.com. Ann recommends Google Picasa for organizing digital photographs. John makes multiple copies of the same digital photo and stores a copy with each person's record. George has bought a new CanoScan scanner and is busy digitizing all his documents and photographs.

The news includes: The Federation of Genealogical Societies announced the creation of a new society to promote the preservation of records in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Society of Preservation Patriots recognizes donors of $250 or more to the Rabbi Malcolm Stern-NARA Gift Fund of the Preserve the Pensions initiative. The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) announced its new blog, SpringBoard: News and Notes. The Newberry Library's Dr. William M. Scholl Center for American History and Culture announced the release of a new historical web resource, the Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey, a collection of translations of approximately 50,000 newspaper articles from the 1860s to the 1930s from 22 ethnic newspapers. MyHeritage has released a new version of the MyHeritage app (v2.0) that lets users "edit on the go." The Blog Book Tour brings new books and authors directly to users' computers January 10-26, 2013. WikiTree announced free comparisons of GEDCOM files. Mahlon discusses Oklahoma death records available at http://oklahomadeathindex.blogspot.com. FamilySearch announced the addition of 7 million new records on January 15, 2013. Listener email includes: Jane asks for pointers to record resources for the Boer Wars in South Africa Lori asks about problems obtaining SS-5 forms from the U.S. Social Security Administration. Carole describes her frustration at trying to obtain SS-5s. Shawn asked about the military pension records discussed in the December podcast at fold3.com. Ashley talks about her Slovak family. Anne purchased a Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100 and is very pleased with it. (Learn more at http://scanners.fcpa.fujitsu.com/scansnap11/s1100.html.) She also discusses how she solved a handwriting interpretation problem. Virginia asks for guidance for how to enter a family scandal into her genealogy database. Jonathan is seeking a genealogical researcher for his Scottish Cameron emigrant ancestor. (Visit the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) website, the ICAPGen website, the Association of Professional Genealogists website, and the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) website. Kelly asks about naming conventions for digital photos.

The news includes: 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. The North Carolina Genealogical Society and the Caswell County Historical Society are hosting an all-day seminar on 6 April 2013 in Yanceyville, NC, with speaker George G. Morgan. 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.

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. MyHeritage.com has announced its purchase of Geni.com. 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 Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) has announced their election results. 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.

The news includes: Ancestry.com agrees to a $1.6 billion buyout by Permira Advisors LLP. The governor and secretary of state of Georgia have announced that funding for the Georgia State Archives has been reinstated for the remainder of this fiscal year. FamilySearch continues to digitize and index millions of records and The Guys give an update. FamilySearch has been recognized for its "continued dedication and support" of African-American family history at the 2nd International Black Genealogy Summit held in Salt Lake City on October 18-20, 2012. WikiTree has announced the release of "MatchBot", a new automated matching tool. Origins.net has announced the addition of the first 25 of 176 Irish directories to its service. The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) has announced its new Board of Trustees, and additions of a one-hour video about certification and testimonials to its website. Listener email includes: Mac tells us that he was able to obtain records from the U.S. Veterans Administration's Freedom of Information Office for an ancestor who was a Spanish-American War veteran. They conducted a BIRLS (Beneficiary Information and Records Locator Search). Doug discusses Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK). Sharon tells us that the search for Ellen Chance (discussed on a previous episode) should have included both Ancestry.com and findmypast for both passenger lists and departure records. Brad asks for advice about his large genealogy publishing project. Jane shares information about Merchant Marine records, and particularly about a list published by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service. Dennis discusses Reunion 9 and MacFamilyTree. Helen asks about possible resources for tracing an ancestor who may have been slain by Native Americans in Iowa in 1858.

The Guys are very pleased to welcome a new sponsor for the Podcast, findmypast.com The news includes: WikiTree announces the re-opening of member registration. Mocavo has acquired ReadyMicro in a move to help the company and other organizations holding genealogical information digitize more content for genealogists. Origins.net announced that they have added two new collections to their National Wills Index: Lancaster Wills Index (1457-1748 and 1793-1812) and Surrey PCC Will Abstracts (1736-1812). Ancestry.com has acquired 1000Memories, Inc. Early Bird Registration is now open for RootsTech 2013, and Drew is one of their official bloggers. The Federation of Genealogical Societies has announced it's 2003 FGS Conference to be held in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Our new sponsor, findmypast.com, is offering a 20% discount on its world subscription. Check out their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/findmypastus. They are posting a genealogy tip each day of October in celebration of Family History Month. They also have 84 ancestry family history badges on their Facebook page that you can display and share. Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/findmypastus#!/media/set/?set=a.446586192058898.124787.302628856454633&type=1. In addition, click on the image of the flag and crown to take the “Are You Related to The Queen” 7-question quiz. George discusses his terrific experience at the Detroit Public Library and a behind-the-scenes tour of some incredible items in the Burton Historical Collection! The listener email includes: Mike asked for advice about a family story. An ancestor, Ellen Chance, supposedly did not sail on the Titanic, but took another ship to the U.S. in August, the RMS Campania. The Guys did some research and share their results. Lee asked for clarification as to which Veterans Affairs location he should contact regarding a Civil War pension file that was closed after 1929. Records for ancestors and surviving spouses who received pension benefits and died in 1930 and later are likely still held by the national Veterans Affairs. Blaise shared a fabulous link at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-19487335 for seven monarchs’ missing graves. Paul, who lives in Germany, asks whether his English translations of German records can be copyrighted. Jeryl asks about Reunion 10 software. Rick has recently purchased both the 2nd and 3rd editions of George’s book How to Do Everything: Genealogy. He talks about his research in South Carolina and in the Clayton Genealogical Library in Houston. Drew discusses his discovery of some delayed birth certificates at Ancestry.com

The news includes: FamilySearch announces that the 1940 U.S. Federal Census indexing project is wrapped up, and that indexing is beginning on the new U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Community Project. Visit http://familysearch.org/immigration for more information and to volunteer. Another indexing project has begun: the Italian Ancestors Project. Visit http://familysearch.org/italian-ancestors for more information and to volunteer. The Federation of Genealogical Societies has announced the publication of the new 2nd edition of Bylaws Workbook: A Handbook for New and Established Societies. The book is available through Amazon findmypast.com announces major expansions of its U.S. Records Collection. findmypast.com also announces a partnership with the Federation of Genealogical Societies to preserve, digitize, and provide access to local records from genealogical societies across the U.S. Listener email includes: Allen asked whether The Guys know anything about the Dutch research site at Genlias. The site will disappear on 1 November 2012, but another site may be taking its place as WieWasWie. The Guys suggest going to that site's blog at http://www.wiewaswieblog.nl, translating it from Dutch to English using a tool such as Google Translate, and reading details about the change. Connie and Sharon both wrote about the volunteer photographers in cemeteries as a result of requests made through Find A Grave Jim wrote about old small town newspapers that may have published lists of deaths for the week or deaths for the year. Carole asked for suggestions about where to locate records of Bronze Star military awardees. Thomas asked about using the podcast recordings in local genealogical society meetings. Pat asked about merchant ship records. Evan asked about an ancestor who left Germany for the United States and then went to South Africa. George discussed some information received about FamilySearch and its progress in digitizing microfilm. He also discussed current crews acquiring digital images around the world. You can contact [email protected] to learn about opportunities to become involved. Drew discussed the formation of the Family History Information Standards Organisation (FHISO) and its plans to develop data standards for genealogy-related data. Drew also discussed the discontinuation of the group, Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) and his search for other groups forming to take over this volunteer activity.

The news includes: RootsMagic announces the release of a new minor update to RootsMagic 5. They also remind listeners that they have more than 40 free online classes available at their website. Ancestry.com announces that they will not be releasing a 2013 version of their Family Tree Maker software, but will, instead, release free bonus features to Family Tree Maker 2012. The Federation of Genealogical Societies 2012 Conference will be held August 29 through September 1, 2012, in Birmingham, Alabama. Online registration is closed but walk-ins are welcome for single- or multiple-day registration. Aha! Seminars, Inc., announces a partnership with LearnSurge to provide live and recorded genealogy webinars by George G. Morgan. George just received the results of a Y-DNA test from Family Tree DNA. The Guys discuss how Drew (and George) pursued researching all the descendants of one of George’s great-great-grandfather’s sons. The Guys located records for almost 200 new people (descendants, spouses, and their parents) in just a few hours.

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. Listener email includes: Richard recommends episode 289 at This American Life. 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.

The news includes: FamilySearch.org has completed many states in the 1940 U.S. Federal Census and other projects including South American, U.K., Scotland, Slovakian, Philippines, and Swedish records. The Federation of Genealogical Societies announced that a generous donation of $135,000 has been received from the estate of the late Jon Stedman and is designated for the Preserve the Pensions – War of 1812 Pension Digitization Fund. The Illinois State Genealogical Society has announced a War of 1812 Pension Fund Challenge in the amount of $10,000. RootsMagic has announced the release of two new CDs of RootsMagic webinars, Volumes 3 and 4. The webinars are still available to view online or download, but there have been many requests to bundle the webinars into CDs. The Michigan Department of Education and the Department of Natural Resources have agreed to move selected materials of the Family History Collections at the Library of Michigan to the reading room of the Archives of Michigan. The 2012 winners of the Suzanne Winsor Freeman Student Grant were announced at the Southern California Genealogical Society Genealogy Jamboree in Burbank. The winners are Elyse Doerflinger and A.C. Ivory. Each received a check for $500. Congratulations! MyHeritage.com has announced that the milestone of 1 billion profiles has been reached. In addition, the company announced its new SuperSearch facility. The Guild of One-Name Studies announced the publication of a new book, Seven Pillars of Wisdom: The Art of One-Name Studies. Ancestry.com has recently added 7 more states’ indexes for the 1940 U.S. Federal Census at its site: CO, NY, OH, PA, TN, VA, VT. The Federation of Genealogical Societies announced the appointment of Patricia W. Rand as its treasurer. The Florida Genealogical Society (Tampa) has awarded its 2011 Volunteer of the Year Award to George G. Morgan. Listener email includes: Pat suggested additional meanings for the term “NG” that appears in some fields on census records. Henry shared several ways to perform and improve free searches on the Internet. Neil asks The Guys about the ethics of how to handle potentially damaging information discovered during one’s research. Phil reports back on advice The Guys gave him about contacting the Special Collections area of the library at Kent State University. He did so and was able to obtain 105 pages of copied materials from the 19th century for his family. He also contacted a presidential library and obtained some copies of extracted materials! Bill has been researching an ancestor, John Greenough. However, in his email, he also discussed the importance of using FamilySearch.org and becoming familiar with the ways that can be used to effectively search their millions of records. Richard marked a milestone in his listening to The Guys’ podcast episodes. Kyle McWhirter has been working on a tool that provides statistics for surnames in the U.S. It is a Surname/Family Name Popularity Index, and it can be accessed at http://family-names.findthedata.org. Richard asked The Guys several important questions about completing a family history started by a distant cousin for the Dimmitt family. Mike wrote to discuss “term graves” and his experiences with a Chicago cemetery. The Guys ask for comments and suggestions from our listeners. J.T. asks questions about autosomal DNA testing and database sizes. Janet wrote with questions about her husband’s ancestors (Mansfield) who moved from Virginia to Kentucky. She is trying to determine the correct Samuel Mansfield.

The news includes: The Guys will be at the Southern California Genealogical Society’s Jamboree on June 8-10, 2012. 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. Ancestry.com announced its AncestryDNATM service. Listener email includes: Michael asks about the notation on the 1880 U.S. federal census of “NG” under the birthplaces of an ancestor’s parents. Chris sent a link to a fascinating article about using DNA to determine the origin of the Melungeons.(http://news.yahoo.com/dna-study-seeks-origin-appalachias-melungeons-201144041.html) Rich also sent another link on the same subject right after the podcast was recorded. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/24/melungeon-dna-study-origin_n_1544489.html?ref=fb&ir=Black+Voices&src=sp&comm_ref=false#s=1022230) 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 ([email protected]) or Professor Suny ([email protected]) 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.

The news includes the following items: Ancestry.com has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Archives.com. 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. Paul provided us with a fascinating story about two children who survived the Titanic sinking from a newspaper clipping in his great-grandmother’s scrapbook. He provides a link at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Marcel_Navratil for more information. He also shared information about dogs on the Titanic and offers another link at http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/blogs/remembering-the-dogs-of-the-titanic to learn more - including a story of a mother cat and kittens. 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.

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. MyHeritage has announced: Introduction of DNA testing Release of cutting-edge personalized family calendars Release of a new app for the iPhone, iPad, and Android The Guild of One-Name Studies announced the results of the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) 2011 Awards. Calico Pie has announced the release of version 5 of Family Historian, its genealogy software program. The 1940 U.S. federal census was released by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on 2 April 2012. 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. The 1940 U.S. Census Community Project has issued a call for more volunteers to help create a free, searchable index to the 1940 U.S. federal census records. It is a joint venture between Archives.com, FamilySearch.org, and findmypast.com Listener email includes: 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. Caroleen shared her genealogy research blog with The Guys, at http://grampsandmamawsgirls.blogspot.com. 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.

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).

Drew shares the second set of interviews that he conducted at RootsTech 2012. This set includes FamilySearch Senior VP of Product Engineering David Burggraaf, Instructure CEO Josh Coates, FamilySearch Senior VP of Patron Services Don Anderson, and Google Software Engineer David Barney.

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.

The news includes: Who Do You Thing You Are? debuts for its third season on NBC on Friday, February 2, 2012. Fold3 announced that it is providing free access to all of its Black History Collection records throughout the month of February in celebration of Black History Month. brightsolid is one of the major sponsors for RootsTech 2012 in Salt Lake City this week. brightsolid has announced that they have recruited renowned genealogist D. Joshua Taylor as their business development manager and media spokesperson in the U.S. WikiTree has announced that they have closed new user registration. New members must now be invited by current WikiTree members. Ancestry.com, Behind the Name, and WeRelate have announced a new approach for searching for variant names. Learn more at http://www.werelate.org/wiki/WeRelate:Variant_names_project. Ancestry.com is partnering with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to bring more than 300 years of Pennsylvania records online. George G. Morgan's new book, How to Do Everything Genealogy, 3rd edition, has just been published by McGraw-Hill in softcover and in electronic format. George will soon announce how people can order a signed copy. Registration is now open for the Federation of Genealogical Society's 2012 Conference on August 29 to September 1, 2012, in Birmingham, Alabama. Registration is open for the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree on June 8-10, 2012, in Burbank, California. DNA genotyping is being used to help answer the centuries-old mystery of the so-called "Lost Colony" of Roanoke Island on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Learn more at http://the-scientist.com/2012/01/01/lost-colony-dna/. Listener email includes: Joel Weintraub tells The Guys about a collection of One-Step tools for working with the forthcoming 1940 U.S. Federal Census at Steve Morse's website. Patricia has a question about her great-grandfather, John A. Hamilton. Rob of New Port Richey, Florida, asks about access at the University of South Florida Tampa Library and at the Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library system to records outside of Florida. Margaret discusses how she shares family history information with relatives and others using her blog and Dropbox. Steve shares information with family members in a similar manner. He also talks about his experiences in transferring data between genealogy database programs, a topic that The Guys discussed in a previous episode. Avi asks questions concerning his family members who lived in the area of Troy, New York. Phil asks for help because he has discovered that his grandmother had four first names. The Guys reviewed several new items: Family Roots Publishing has a new book by Ruby Coleman titled Genealogical Research in Nebraska. (Order at http://www.familyrootspublishing.com/store/product_view.php?id=1545.) Genealogical Publishing Companyhas released three new QuickSheet publications written by Elizabeth Shown Mills. They are: The Historical Biographer's Guide to the Research Process The Historical Biographer's Guide to Finding People in Databases & Indexes The Historical Biographer's Guide to Cluster Research (the FAN Principle)

The news includes: FamilySearch ushers in 2012 by adding 119 million new records. The New England Historic Genealogical Society announces education programs at its Boston facility. The Association of Professional Genealogists has added back issues of the APG Quarterly for 2004-2011 available in the Members Only area of its website. Arphax Publishing Co. announces the launch of its historical maps website, HistoryGeo.com. GenSoftReviews announces the 2011 User Choice Awards. Listener email includes: Many condolences have been received from around the world for the passing of Fletcher, our dilute calico cat who "spoke" on many podcasts over the years. She died on 8 December 2011 and is deeply missed. Carole advises us that the Doña Ana County Genealogical Society in Las Cruces, New Mexico, will be holding its first conference in April 2012. She also discusses the recurrent problem of the accuracy of documentation and the conflicting data that can result. Dave recently wrote about his research in St. Croix. Listeners may be interested in reading his blog at http://200inparadise.blogspot.com. Mac tells us that if you are going to order any New York certificates, you might also want to cross-reference the databases at italiangen.org. Rich asks a fascinating question about how to represent the correct country in his RootsMagic software for Canada at different historical periods. Wayne reports that he cannot download the podcast using the latest version of the Ubuntu operating system. The Guys ask other listeners about their experiences with this. Maria asks Hank Jones and The Guys about Palatines in Australia. Sébastien has had good results with the DNA genealogy study between Coombs and Comeau descendants. He recommends the site at en.comeaunet.org/dna/big-annoucement-regarding-antoine-comeau-2/ to our listeners who may have a Coombs ancestor. Joel Weintraub tells us that the discussion on a previous podcast about markings on ships' passenger lists/manifests could also have pointed people to the site at www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/Manifests/. Mark shared with us a publication by the St. Louis Post Dispatch that discusses the new National Personnel Records Center facility. The 12-page PDF document is an excellent overview of the NPRC, where many U.S. military service records are stored. Noi asks for a recommendation of a good website that compares genealogy database software programs. We recommend going to Wikipedia and searching for the phrase “Comparison of Genealogy Software” for some excellent comparisons. Susan asks about whether she should use Family Tree Maker 2012 or RootsMagic. This spurred a detailed discussion by The Guys about the GEDCOM standard and how data is exported from one program and imported to another. They talk about the fact that there will be a need to manually handle some data after the transfer.

The news includes: The Guys announce the death of their cat, Fletcher, on 8 December 2011. Fletcher was a vocal contributor to the Podcast over the years and received email and inquiries from the show's listeners. She is very much missed. Three leading genealogy organizations, Archives.com, FamilySearch International, and findmypast.com, have announced that they are joining forces to launch a project to index and make available the 1940 U.S. federal census images. MyHeritage unveiled an innovative mobile family tree app for iPad, iPhone, and Android. MyHeritage has also released the new Family Tree Builder 6.0 FamilySearch added new records for the U.S., Canada, Estonia, Jamaica, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, and Sweden. A new effort called the Genealogists for Families Kiva Project that will make small loans to help those less fortunate. Ancestry.com has released two million North Carolina World War II Draft Cards at its site. Moorshead Magazines Ltd. is releasing on 1 January 2012 a new publication, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors. They are also carrying Maureen Taylor's newest book, Bonnets and Hats. Visit http://www.familychronicle.com/books.htm for more information. 1000Memories provides an excellent place on the Internet to organize, share, and discover the old photos and memories of your family and friends. George discusses two exciting finds in his genealogy from this month. Listener email includes: Peter asks for ideas about how to share his research with family members. Barb discusses how much she likes Family Tree Maker 2012's new sync facility. She also talks about Memeo Autosync (at http://www.memeo.com/autosync.php) and its ability to sync folders on different computers. Dave discusses his research on St. Croix and the different family perspective it gives. Maria discusses her problematic Northcote ancestor who emigrated from Exeter, Devon, England, to Australia. Connie has suggestions for Richard and his North Dakota research, including newspapers from across the state. Visit http://history.nd.gov/archives/whatnewspapers.html for many details. Eric wrote that Ancestry.com is requiring the purchase of a copy of Family Tree Maker 2012 to demonstrate the program to others. Judy asks for suggestions about how to lay out complicated intermarriage families so that they can be more easily conceptualized and understood.

The Genealogy Guys announce that there have been over 1,000,000 downloads of the podcast since it began on 5 September 2005! Thanks to all our listeners!!! The news includes: The British Library has announced the launch of the British Newspaper Archive website. It initially hosts more than 4 million pages from more than 200 British and Irish newspapers, primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries. RootsMagic has announced the official release of RootsMagic Version 5, the latest version of its award-winning software. The Guild of One-Name Studies has introduced flexible membership joining rates in six currencies. A new grassroots group called Saving Ours, concerned with preserving our archived materials, has launched a new website at SavingOurs.com. FamilySearch has added 18 million new records from 12 countries to its site, including 21 new U.S. collections. Ancestry.com has announced a newly upgraded app at the iTunes store. Ancestry.com has announced the release of Family Tree Maker software for the Macintosh. The Guys review the following new print resources: Applications for Enrollment of Creek Newborn Act of 1905, Volume I, transcribed by Jeff Bowen. (Clearfield Publishing, 2011.) Seminole of Florida, Indian Census 1930-1940 With Birth and Death Records 1930-1938, transcribed by Jeff Bowen. (Clearfield Publishing, 2011.) The Guide to FamilySearch Online by James L. Tanner. (Bookmark Graphics, 2011.) Available at Amazon.com. English Genealogy Research by Paul Milner, a new QuickSheet publication from Genealogical Publishing Company. The listener email includes: Richard is looking for clues to locating his grandmother's cousin Robert George Jones. Vickie is researching her great-great-grandfather, Francis Edward Johnson, a longtime brick wall. Susan describes how she copies PDF files between desktop, iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Rich adds to the PDF discussion and uses O'Reilly's free Bookworm services at bookworm.oreilly.com. Maria is researching her great-great-grandfather after his arrival in Australia, circa 1866. Michael would like to contact Judy to help chart her family tree. [Judy: Please email us again] Laura asks if there is a new edition of Professional Genealogy being published. Patti is researching the marriage of her great-aunt, who served with the Women's Army Corps, in 1945 in Italy while still in service. She is seeking Italian civil registration records. Brad is seeking a professional researcher to help with work in Georgia and Tennessee. The Guys suggested directories at the websites of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Board for Certification of Genealogists. Jason has questions about notations on ships' passenger lists and about the College of Arms and coats-of-arms.

The news includes: FamilySearch has announced a new CEO, Dennis C. Brimhall, who will succeed Jay L. Verkler on 2 January 2012. FamilySearch has added 2 million records to its U.S. collections. A new monthly podcast, the Polish Genealogy Podcast, has begun. You can learn more about the podcast at the FaceBook page at http://www.facebook.com/PolishGenealogyPodcast. The first episode can be downloaded from http://forums.ancestry-world.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1862. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration has awarded Archives.com the hosting of the 1940 U.S. federal census images when they are released on 2 April 2012. MyHeritage has announced that it has acquired FamilyLink.com, Inc., owner of FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com. Ancestry.com and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have announced that material from four museum collections containing information on more than 30,000 victims of Nazi persecution is now available at Ancestry.com and available at no cost. Ancestry.com has added more than 50 million new U.S. birth, marriage, and death records to its U.S. Vital Records Collection. Pennsylvania's new vital records bill (SB-361) would set at 50 years when death records and 105 years when birth records become open to the public. Britain's Prince Charles has stated that his genealogy connects him to Vlad the Impaler, the 15th-century Romanian warlord. "Who Do You Think You Are?," the popular genealogy television series, resumes on Friday, 3 February 2012. Listener email includes: Mac asks whether you need permission to publish screen shots taken at Internet websites. Christine asks for suggesions for places to search for information about servants and laborers in Minnesota in the first decade of the 20th century. Claire comments on using the iPad and popular genealogical software. She also discusses her participation in the Smith Surname Project. Don had a grandfather who would not talk about his past, and the things he once talked about he later denied. Don is looking for suggestions to help him get past his brick wall. Mary Ann reminds us that the Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org/) is another excellent place to search for digitized books online. Beth is using a program called Bento on her iPad to organize and show off her photographs. Judy asked for help in downloading a PDF book from her computer to her iPad and iPhone. Drew discusses some of his recent research work.

The news includes: Footnote.com has rebranded and changed its name to Fold3.com. Ancestry.com has released the 1930 Mexico National Census. RootsMagic has released Personal Historian, Version 2. Ancestry.com has released Family Tree Maker 2012 with TreeSync. findmypast.ie has launched online Irish family history forums. Arphax Publishing goes online with online maps HistoryGeo.com. South Georgia newspapers are now available online at the Digital Library of Georgia. The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania will hold its Pennsylvania Family History Day in Exton, PA, on Saturday, November 5, 2011. Early Bird registration for RootsTech 2012 in Salt Lake City on February 2-4, 2012, is available until November 30, 2011. Ancestry.com has expanded its U.S. School Yearbook Collection. The Federation of Genealogical Societies has introduced a new app for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, available through iTunes. FamilySearch continues to release massive amounts of new content. Drew discusses some new materials, but be sure to check back at FamilySearch often. The 1940 U.S. Federal Census digital images will be available at the National Archives and Records Administration website on April 2, 2012. FamilySearch and Ancestry.com will both have the images at their sites for free. FamilySearch is actively recruiting volunteers to index the records. Ancestry.com, too, will be working to expedite indexing of these important records. Listener email includes: Kevin asks about genealogy software for the Mac, iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Judy asks how to transfer a PDF book to her iPad and iPhone. You may want to check out a new site, Storytree, at http://www.storytree.me as a place to capture your family stories. Another new site, RestingSpot.com, at http://restingspot.com, seeks to record cemeteries and resting spots and mark them with GPS coordinates in a huge database. Brad asks about the availability of grants for genealogical projects. Sue recommends a book by Judy Jacobson titled History for Genealogists as a helpful resource for timelining your ancestors' lives and placing them into historical context. Jeff asks about the availability of Pennsylvania vital records. Judy follows up on her quest for ancestors in Southwestern Virginia in the late 1700s and early 1800s.