Important Changes Made to the Public Death Master File (DMF) and the Social Security Death Index (SSDI)

Courtesy of our old friend, Dick Eastman's newsletter at EOGN

Effective 01 November 2011, the Social Security Administration (SSA) changed its policy on what records it will use as source material for adding new entries in the Public Death Master File (DMF) which, in turn, is used to create the Social Security Death Index (SSDI).

The Agency decided that it can no longer use state death records to add new entries to the DMF. Furthermore, the SSA will remove approximately 4.2 million records currently on the SSDI because those entries were made based on information from state death records.

You can read a lot more about the new changes in Steve Danko's blog at http://stephendanko.com/blog/15164 as well as from a Fact Sheet from the Social Security Administration’s website at http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/ci/fattach/get/601/

Google Ditches the (+) Search Engine Math Symbol

Just as I put my last syndicated genealogy newspaper column to bed last week, there was a major change made at the Google search engine that conflicted with what I wrote in that column.

Google has changed the way one of their most useful search operators works: The (+) plus symbol operator.

Next time you want to make sure any single word or phrase appears in your search results, wrap it in quotation marks. To get exact results include specific keywords, you used to be able to add the (+) plus symbol operator to the front of a term, such as: +Georgia Atlanta

The search above would tell Google that the word "Georgia" must be on every search result and would ignore pages that don't have that word, such as a page that says, "Atlanta, Texas."

Now, rather than adding the (+) operator, you need to wrap the word or words in quotation marks, such as: "Georgia" Atlanta.

This will now give you the same results as if you had used the plus sign in the old way of searching on Google.

The iPhone: a Scanner in Your Pocket

Another great article courtesy of my friend and fellow ham radio operator Dick Eastman.

The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com. This article was originally posted on Dick's blog and newsletter at
http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2011/08/the-iphone-a-scanner-in-your-pocket.html

The next time you read a document that contains information about your ancestors, wouldn't it be nice to immediately scan an image of it and email the image to yourself? Even better, how about uploading the image immediately to Dropbox or to MobileMe iDisk? If you own an iPhone, you can do that right now by installing a bit of low-cost software.

Scanner Pro converts your iPhone into a scanner. How well does it perform? Click on the thumbnail-sized image to the right to see a larger picture of a page I scanned today with Scanner Pro on an iPhone 4. The page is from The Book of Dow written by Robert Piercy Dow and published in 1929. I think it is a great image for a cell phone camera! Best of all, I always have the iPhone with me so that means I also carry a scanner with me everywhere I go.

Scanner Pro handles any type of documents ranging from simple one page letters to multipage legal documents. It can add, move, delete pages and even combine pages in landscape and portrait orientations. The program first scans whatever you wish and then displays the image on the iPhone's screen. It even features automatic edge detection and advanced image processing. However, if the automatic edge detection doesn't match your needs, tap anywhere on the screen and manually adjust the crop area. I did that with the book shown above as I wanted only a section of the page, not the entire page.

The program stores all images as industry-standard PDF files. Once stored in your iPhone, the image(s) may be exported to Evernote, to Google Docs, to a photo library (such as MobileMe iDisk, Box.Net, Humyo and any other WebDAV enabled online storage system), or sent to any email address. The image is standard PDF and can be used by any Windows, Macintosh, or Linux computer as well as by many handheld "smartphones."

Multi-page documents can be scanned and processed together as a single batch. For instance, perhaps you wish to scan ten pages from a book. Once scanned, you can export all the pages at once to Evernote, to Google Docs, to a photo library, or to email.

I have only used Scanner Pro for a short time but have fallen in love with it. I will be taking it to every library I visit from now on. In fact, I always take my cell phone with me everywhere. In the past, I would enter a library and then go looking for a photocopy machine. I was always delighted whenever I found such a machine that created digital images. Not all libraries have digital imaging available. Thanks to the new Scanner Pro software, I now have digital imaging capability with me at all times. Not only can I use the iPhone in libraries, but also when visiting a relative.

Of course, Scanner Pro can be used for thousands of non-genealogy purposes as well. This morning, I had to send an email message to my insurance company about the new license plates on the motorhome. I snapped a picture of the license plate using Scanner Pro and sent it as an email message to the insurance agent.

Ever see a "for sale" sign of interest on the bulletin board at the local supermarket? Snap a picture and send it to yourself or perhaps to a friend who may be interested in the item.

I often write articles about new products and I use them for a day or two. Not this time. This one's a keeper! I plan on using Scanner Pro often for a long, long time.

Scanner Pro costs $6.99 and is available in the iPhone App Store or you can learn more about it at http://readdle.com/products/scanner_pro_iphone/

NOTE: Any iPhone can snap a picture of a book or most anything else and send it by email. You don't need Scanner Pro for that. However, Scanner Pro adds convenience, the ability to create PDF files, multi-page documents, automatic page edge detection, and image processing. It also adds the capability to add, move, delete pages and even combine pages in landscape and portrait orientations. You cannot perform those functions with the software included with the iPhone. I'd suggest the program is worth a lot more than $6.99.

My thanks to newsletter reader Claudia Breland for telling me about Scanner Pro.

1940 Census Will be Free on Ancestry.com

Subscription genealogy website Ancestry.com has decided to make the 1940 census images and index—which will be on the site after the 1940 census is opened next year for research—free to search and view through 2013.

That’ll be more than 3.8 million images with 130 million records. Even better, they’ll be indexed by 45 fields, meaning you’ll be able to search on the name, street address, county, state, parents’ birthplaces and more.

The records won’t be on Ancestry.com right when the census is released April 2, 2012, by the National Archives. Ancestry.com’s press release says they’ll commence “streaming onto the website in mid-April 2012.”

The digital images will be accessible free of charge at NARA facilities nationwide through our public access computers as well as on personal computers via the internet.

The 1940 Census will not have a name index when it opens on April 2, 2012. In order to locate someone, you will need to know his or her address and the Census enumeration district in which that address was located.

What can you do now in preparation for the opening of the 1940 Census?

1. Make a list of all the people you want to look for in the 1940 census. Think broadly--ancestors, their siblings, cousins, etc.--anybody to whom you are related.

2.Collect addresses for these people for whom you plan to search.

Sources for addresses include:

City Directories (NARA has original Circa 1940 City Directories for Washington, DC. The Library of Congress holds a large nationwide collection of city directories and many libraries hold local directories.)

The 1930 Census (useful for people who did not move between 1930 and 1940). If you have a person's enumeration district (ED) number from the 1930 Census you can use "The Converting between 1930 and 1940 Census ED1940s in One Step" search utility at http://stevemorse.org/census/ed2040.php?year=1940 to find the equivalent ED for the 1940 Census.

World War II Draft Records (contact the National Archives' Regional Location for the state in which your ancestor lived).

Naturalization Petitions or Declarations of Intent filed close to 1940 (contact the National Archives' Regional Location for the state in which your ancestor lived)

3.Identify the enumeration district (ED) in which each address was located. There are currently several ways to do this:

Search the 1940 Census Maps for Enumeration District Numbers
Go to the Archival Research Catalog (ARC): http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/

Enter 1940 Census maps + the county + the state: 1940 Census maps Sussex Delaware

You can narrow the search by including a town name in the search: 1940 Census maps Sussex Milford Delaware

Note: Not all towns will have individual maps. You may need to look at county maps for some towns. In the search results, click on the map to see a larger version of the map.

More to follow as we get closer to this major genealogical event.

Ancestry.com Post New NARA Civil War Records Online

Blog Editor Note: This digitization of Civil War records is part of a five-year deal with Ancestry.com and NARA. The public will have free access starting April 6 for a week before a paid subscription is required to access the records.

WASHINGTON, DC and PROVO, UT — 04/06/11 — Ancestry.com (NASDAQ: ACOM), the world’s largest online family history resource, and the National Archives, today launched millions of newly digitized Civil War records that are now available online for the first time. This effort is part of an ongoing partnership between Ancestry.com and the National Archives to make important historical records more easily available to the American public. Ancestry.com’s entire Civil War Collection of more than 42 million records, including 25 million records from the National Archives, will be free to access for the general public for one week beginning on April 7. Existing members will have immediate access beginning today.

Included are the entire U.S. Civil War Draft Registration Records, 1863-1865 and the complete 1860 and 1870 Censuses. These Civil War collections are in the National Archives and have been digitized by Ancestry.com to help preserve the original records and provide convenient online access. They now serve as a vital source of information for an estimated 17 million Americans(1) who have an ancestor who fought in the conflict. The entire Civil War Collection can be accessed for free at www.ancestry.com/civilwar150.

The highlight of the Civil War Collection is the newly digitized Civil War Draft Registration Records, 1863-1865. These records are among the most popular in the National Archives Civil War holdings and served as a virtual male census for the northern states during the war period. Famous 19th century Americans such as Andrew Carnegie, future President Grover Cleveland, Aaron Montgomery Ward and multiple Rockefellers are all found in these records. Previously only available by request in original form in the Research Room of the National Archives, the public will now be able to easily access these records on Ancestry.com without having to travel to Washington, D.C.

“The significance of these records, which document one of the most important events in American history, cannot be overstated,” said Ken Burns, director and producer of the award-winning documentary THE CIVIL WAR and longtime board member of the Foundation for the National Archives. “I’ve been able to make multiple discoveries about my own great-great-grandfather Abraham Burns through these and other records from the National Archives. I’m excited that more people will now be able to have similar discoveries through Ancestry.com.”

Ancestry.com is providing another special experience in searching for Civil War and National Archive information through the new interactive Military Headstone Archives. Dynamic visuals and multimedia tools will enable users to ‘virtually’ explore the cemeteries of the Civil War’s most famous battlefields at Gettysburg, PA; Sharpsburg (Antietam), MD; Stones River (Murfreesboro), TN; Petersburg, VA; Shiloh, TN and Vicksburg, MS. Users can search for their family’s heroes in Ancestry.com’s unique collection of headstone photographs from 33 national cemeteries in the North and South. The new Military Headstone Archives can also be accessed by visiting: www.ancestry.com/civilwar150

Since 2008, Ancestry.com and the National Archives have worked as partners to make important historical records available to the public as part of a shared commitment to preserving America’s heritage. A key component of this collaboration includes digitizing as many of the original paper National Archives’ Civil War records as possible and publishing those records on Ancestry.com.

“The National Archives continues to be a model for preserving important U.S. history and making those records available to the public,” said Josh Hanna, Executive Vice President for Ancestry.com. “We’re honored that our partnership with the National Archives has made millions of records, including the new Civil War Collection, available to the many Americans who want to learn more about their family history.”

“We are pleased that our partnership with Ancestry.com is making these important records available outside of our research rooms,” said Susan Cummings, National Archives Director of Access Programs. “This is just the first of many series of Civil War records that will be made available online that are scanned from original records, instead of from microfilm in the years to come.”

The expanded Civil War Collection now includes new National Archives records such as:

● U.S. Civil War Draft Registration Records, 1863-1865: This collection lists all Civil War Draft Registrations. There were four drafts between 1863 and 1865, which included 3,175,055 people in its rolls, although of those, just over 46,000 actually entered into service. Historically, the 1863 draft was one of the most tenuous moments in the Union outside of the battles fought on Northern soil. Most of the concern was due to the draft riots that took place in New York in 1863. These records include more than 630 volumes of registries and are lists of individuals who registered for the draft.

● U.S. Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865: This collection contains indices of compiled military service records for volunteer Union and Confederate soldiers who served with units organized in more than 20 states. The indices also include Confederate soldiers who later served with the Union Army, Union and Confederate soldiers, Generals and staff officers, and other enlisted men not associated with a regiment. Individual records contain both military and personal details useful for locating an ancestor in time and place by tracking his movements during the course of the Civil War.

Other additions to the Civil War Collection include:

Union records

● Kansas Civil War Enlistment Papers
● New York Civil War Muster Rolls
● New York Civil War City Registers

Confederate records

● Alabama Census of Confederate Soldiers
● Confederate Pension Applications from AL, AR, TX and VA
● Georgia Civil War Correspondence
● Register of Officers of the Confederate States Navy

To begin searching The Civil War Collection, current subscribers can visit www.ancestry.com/civilwar and new users can visit www.ancestry.com/civilwar150. For further stories and updates related to Civil War family history research, please follow Ancestry.com on Facebook and Twitter.

About Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com Inc. (NASDAQ: ACOM) is the world’s largest online family history resource, with nearly 1.4 million paying subscribers. More than 6 billion records have been added to the site in the past 14 years. Ancestry users have created more than 20 million family trees containing over 2 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries that help people discover, preserve and share their family history, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.

About the National Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration, an independent federal agency, is the nation’s record keeper. Founded in 1934, its mission is unique — to serve American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. The National Archives ensures continuing access to the essential documentation of the rights of American citizens and the actions of their government. It supports democracy, promotes civic education, and facilitates historical understanding of our national experience. The National Archives meets a wide range of information needs, among them helping people to trace their families’ history, making it possible for veterans to prove their entitlement to medical and other benefits, and preserving original White House records. The National Archives carries out its mission through a nationwide network of archives, records centers, and Presidential Libraries, and on the Internet at http://www.archives.gov/.

Blogger Disclosure Statements

I guess I'm the last genealogy blogger on this planet to discover the 2010 FTC regulation requiring bloggers to have a disclosure statements on their blogs.

This afternoon after Thomas MacEntee's live Legacy webinar, while looking at one of his blogs, I discovered to my horror, the new requirement by the FTC (that is the Federal Trade Commission for those of you who do not speak governmentese) to have a an FTC disclosure statement on your blog. If you mention any products, services, etc that charge real money for their stuff you have to have one of these statements posted somewhere on the blog. The fine for not doing so is $11,000 per post.

Now for some of you, including old Bill Gates, that may just be folding money. For the poor like us, that is food on the table. Now while I may not agree with the FTC and this ridiculous intrusion on free speech, I just can't afford that kind of cash to prove a point.

So that we are complaint with the imperial government's regulation, I have added a FTC Disclosure Statement to all of family of blogs that we maintain.

Bottom line, a big Family Roots and Branches "Tango Uniform" to Thomas MacEntee for the head's up. We poor mountain folk here in western NC do appreciate you looking out for us.

To learn more about blogger disclosure issues, go to Why You Need a Blogging Disclosure Statement at Geneabloggers. To get your own disclosure policy statement for your blog (yes, it is free), go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org/.

Do You Recognize the Organization They Belong To?

I have a friend here in the Brasstown area of western North Carolina who passed along the picture above to me and is asking for some help. He (and me) would like to know what fraternal or religious organization these fellows could have belonged to.

My best guess is this photo was taken sometime between 1900-1910, may have been taken in northern Georgia (Towns or Union County) or in Delta County, Texas.

My best guess is that these fellows belong to a IOOF (Independent Order of Odd fellows) lodge, but I am not 100% sure of it.

So if you have some insight and can help ID the organization that they belonged to, contact me at our email address teakpub at brmemc dot com. I do appreciate any and all input on this blog post.

Mocavo.com Launches as World’s Largest Free Genealogy Search Engine

Industry breakthrough provides instant search results for billions of names, dates and places worldwide

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mocavo.com™ (http://www.mocavo.com), a free search engine geared toward genealogists and people interested in learning more about their family history, launches today. Mocavo.com enables the search of more than 50 billion words - including billions of names, dates and places, all within fractions of a second. Mocavo.com fills an important industry need by providing the first large-scale, free search engine for family history research. Coupled with the speed and accuracy by which search results are produced, Mocavo.com represents a major technological breakthrough within the genealogy world.

Mocavo.com has already been met with critical acclaim by several industry experts. Dick Eastman, writer of Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter and a top blogger in the field, wrote, “All my future genealogy searches will start on Mocavo.com. I've been using the site for a while during its testing and have been very impressed. I suspect you will always have better luck searching for your own surnames of interest on Mocavo.com than on any other search engine.”

Randy Seaver, writer of the popular Genea-Musings blog, said, “Mocavo.com promises to be a genealogist's dream - a search engine focused on free online genealogy resources." Mr. Eastman’s and Mr. Seaver’s full reviews can be found at http://www.eogn.com and http://www.geneamusings.com, respectively.

Starting today, the general public can use Mocavo.com for free. Visitors to www.mocavo.com are simply required to type in the names of interest and click on Search. All related results from industry sources such as genealogy message boards, family trees, state and local historical societies, the Library of Congress, National Archives, Ellis Island, Find A Grave, the Internet Archive, various U.S. state archives, and many tens of thousands of genealogy sites built by individuals will be displayed. Similar to other search engines, Mocavo.com honors site owners by linking directly to their content.

Cliff Shaw, founder and CEO of Mocavo Inc., identifies the current trouble for genealogists and the solution that Mocavo.com provides, “Genealogy has always had the problem of information and potential clues being spread across thousands of disparate web sites and sources. Imagine a world where you have all of the Web’s free genealogy content at your fingertips within seconds. That is Mocavo.com.”

“Mocavo.com has the capacity to index every single piece of free genealogy content found anywhere on the web, and will be growing by leaps and bounds in the coming months,” said Mr. Shaw. “We expect Mocavo.com to shortly offer all of the web’s free genealogy information, searchable and accessible to all – something that has never been done before. It’s set to become the go-to search engine for every family history enthusiast.”

Mocavo Inc. is the brainchild of Cliff Shaw. Mr. Shaw is well known in the industry, having created four successful companies and many innovative technologies, including Smart Matching™, the most successful ancestor-matching algorithm. He created GenForum 14 years ago and it quickly grew to become the number one community for genealogists (now owned by Ancestry.com® (NASDAQ:ACOM)). In the early 2000’s, Mr. Shaw launched GenCircles and Family Tree Legends, becoming the number two family tree publishing site and number two family tree software package respectively (both are now owned by MyHeritage.com). More recently, Mr. Shaw launched the well-received BackupMyTree.com, the industry’s only automatic tree backup solution.

About Mocavo Inc.

Mocavo Inc. operates the world’s largest free genealogy search engine, Mocavo.com, giving genealogists access to the best free genealogy content on the web including billions of names, dates and places. Founded by industry veteran Cliff Shaw, and backed by prominent angel investor, David Cohen, (founder and CEO of TechStars), Mocavo.com seeks to index and make searchable all of the world’s free genealogy information. While Mocavo.com discovers new sites every day, some of the existing sites searchable on Mocavo.com include genealogy message boards, family trees, state and local historical societies, the Library of Congress, National Archives, Ellis Island, Find A Grave, the Internet Archive, various U.S. state archives, and many tens of thousands of genealogy sites built by individuals. For further information, visit http://www.mocavo.com.

Quick-Tip of the Month for Preservation--Scan and Share

by Dawne Slater-Putt and courtesy of the Genealogy gems newsletter published by the Allen County Public Library's Genealogy Center.

Perhaps the best way to preserve photographs is to ensure that the ones you have are not the only copies in existence – scan and share!

With improved scanning technology, it takes very little time to scan a photograph. Some libraries, including The Genealogy Center, have a scanner that patrons can use. The Genealogy Center’s scanner allows patrons to choose a file format (tif, jpg, etc.), scan their photos and send the digital copies to their own email addresses.

Once photos are scanned, the possibilities for sharing them are endless, ensuring that the images are preserved for future generations. Consider the possibilities:

*Email them to relatives
*Upload them to an album in Facebook or to another social media or photo sharing location
*Use a different ancestral photo as your Facebook profile picture each month
*Post them on a blog
*Upload them to a family website
*Print them and mail to relatives
*Include them in a print or online family newsletter
*Include them in a print or online local or state genealogical society newsletter
*Mass produce mugs, tee shirts, calendars, mouse pads … with ancestral photos and give as gifts or give away/sell at family reunions
*Include them in a family history book
*Insert them into your genealogy computer program
*Upload them to Ancestry.com’s family tree area
*Create a photobook using computer scrapbooking software

Scanning photos can seem like an overwhelming task. Prioritize!

Perhaps handle your oldest photos first, or those of your direct ancestors. Or tackle one side of the family, then the other. By scanning just a few photos at a time on a regular basis, you can make significant progress in a short period of time.

Who Do You Think Your Are? Renewed for Season 3

According to the TV Line website (http://www.tvline.com/2011/02/nbc-renews-sing-off-two-other-reality-shows/), NBC has renewed their Friday night hit, Who Do You Think You Are?. We will now have a third season of celebrity genealogy.

WDYTYA has had good ratings. For instance, the episode of Who Do You Think You Are? that aired Friday had 5.9 million viewers and a 1.3 in the imporant 18-49 demo.

So I hope to have more in the near future on who we will see next season. In the meantime, enjoy the remaining episodes this season at 8 eastern/7 central Friday evenings on NBC.

Storing CDs and DVDs

This quick tip is courtesy of the Genealogy Gems newsletter published by the Allen County Public Library's Genealogy Center, Steve Myers & Curt Witcher, co-editors.

Store CDs and DVDs in the same manner you would store books: on end, not flat. If you have a large number of discs, stacking them on top of each other can increase the chances of some cracking or being scratched by dust trapped between the discs. Ideally, each disc should be in its own case with each case bearing an appropriate descriptive label.

Western North Carolina Legacy SIG to meet this week

The Western North Carolina Legacy genealogy software Special Interest Group will hold its monthly meeting on Wednesday, February 9 at 6:30 pm at the Moss memorial Library in Hayesville NC (weather permitting). If you are interested in using Legacy software in your research, this free meeting is well worth your time.

Wilkinson Co GA Cemetery Book Now Available

If you are interested in the cemeteries of Wilkinson County, Georgia, a new reference book, published by the county genealogical society, may be the ticket to new family connections.

The Cemeteries of Wilkinson County, Georgia book has been published and is now ready for delivery. If you want a copy, drop a check in the mail to the Wilkinson County Historical Society, P. O. Box 476, Gordon, GA 31031, and Jimmy Lord will mail it to you immediately. The cost is $55.00 plus $6.00 S&H.

You can contact the Society directly through their websote at http://www.netstarz.net/wilco/

RootsTech Conference Will Broadcast Select Sessions Free Online

RootsTech, a new family history and technology conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 10-12, 2011, announced today that six of its popular sessions will be broadcasted live and complimentary over the Internet. The live broadcasts will give those unable to attend worldwide a sample of this year’s conference content. Interested viewers can watch the live presentations at RootsTech.org. The first-year conference has attracted over 2,000 registered attendees.

The free online sessions include some of the keynote speakers and a sampling of technology and family history presentations. Following are the six broadcasts, speakers, and times of the presentations. All times are in Mountain Standard Time (MST):

Thursday, February 10, 2011

· 8:30-9:00 a.m., A world of Information, Shane Robison, chief technology officer, Hewlett Packard

· 9-9:30 a.m., Turning Roots, Branches, Trees into Nodes, Links, Graphs, Jay L. Verkler, chief executive officer, FamilySearch International

· 3-4:00 p.m., Digitally Preserving Your Family Heritage, Barry Ewell, founder of MyGenShare.com

Friday, February 11, 2011

· 8:30-9:30 a.m., The Changing Face of Genealogy, by Curt Witcher, manager of the Historical Genealogy Department, Allen County Public Library

· 9:45-10:45 a.m., Cloud Computing: What is it and how it has been used to create the next familysearch.org, by Brian Pugh, senior engineer, FamilySearch International

Saturday, February 12, 2011

· 8:30-9:30 a.m. Personal Archiving and Primary Documents, Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archives

· 1:45-2:45 p.m., Virtual Presentations Round Table and Collaborative Panel Discussion, Thomas MacEntee, professional genealogist and technology specialist

· 3:00-4:00 p.m., The Power of PDF: Tools for Every Genealogist , D. Josh Taylor, Director of Education and Programs at New England Historical Genealogical Society.

About RootsTech

RootsTech is a new conference designed to bring technologists together with genealogists to learn from each other and find solutions to the challenges faced in family history research today. The conference’s activities and offerings are focused on content that will help genealogists and family historians discover exciting new research tools while enabling technology creators to learn the latest development techniques from industry leaders and pioneers.

Who Do You Think You Are Season 2 Starts Tonight

NBC's acclaimed alternative series "Who Do You Think You Are?" begins its second season tonight at 8 pm EST/7 pm CST on most NBC TV affiliates. The show will feature the compelling genealogical story of Vanessa Williams.

In this season of "Who Do You Think You Are?" they will follow some of today's most beloved and iconic celebrities as they embark on personal journeys of self-discovery to trace their family trees. From the trenches of the Civil War to the shores of the Caribbean, and from the valleys of Virginia to the island nations of Australia and Ireland, each episode will reveal surprising, inspiring and sometimes tragic stories that are often linked to events in American and international history.

The celebrities that will be featured in this second season are Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Rosie O’Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Vanessa Williams and Ashley Judd.

Each week, a different celebrity is taken on a quest into his or her family history. The search is one of surprising and deeply emotional encounters, resulting in one of the most compelling reality formats of recent years. During each episode, viewers will be taken on a personal and often mysterious quest following some of America's best-known celebrities into their ancestral pasts, as they uncover stories of heroism and tragedy, love and betrayal, secrets and intrigue, that lie at the heart of their family history.

At the same time, "Who Do You Think You Are?" celebrates the twists and turns of a great nation and the people who made their way here in search of freedom and opportunity. As each celebrity discovers his or her unknown relatives - most of whom overcame hard times - the show will take viewers back through world history to expose how the lives of everyone's collective ancestors have shaped our world today.

From Executive Producers Lisa Kudrow ("Friends," "The Comeback") and Dan Bucatinsky ("Lipstick Jungle," "The Comeback"), in conjunction with their production company, Is or Isn't Entertainment, and Shed Media U.S., the series is an adaptation of the award-winning hit British television documentary series from Wall to Wall Productions, created and executive produced by Alex Graham. Jennifer O'Connell and Al Edgington also serve as executive producers.

You can see a preview of tonight's show, watch shows from season one, and much more at http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/ The show is sponsored in part by Ancestry.com.

Athens Historic Newspapers Archive Now Available

The Digital Library of Georgia is pleased to announce the availability of a new online resource: The Athens Historic Newspapers Archive http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/athnewspapers .

The Athens Historic Newspapers Archive provides online access to five newspaper titles published in Athens from 1827 to 1922. Consisting of over 57,000 newspaper pages, the archive provides historical images that are both full-text searchable and can be browsed by date. The site will provide users with a view into the history of Athens in its early years as the home to the first state-chartered university in the nation and its eventual growth into the largest city in northeast Georgia.

The archive includes the following Athens newspaper titles: Athenian (1827-1832), Southern Banner (1832-1882), Southern Watchman (1855-1882), Daily/Weekly Banner-Watchman (1882-1889), Daily/Weekly Athens Banner (1889-1922).

The Athens Historic Newspapers Archive is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia as part of the Georgia HomePLACE initiative. The project is supported with federal LSTA funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. Digitization is also made possible through a grant provided by the Francis Wood Wilson Foundation, Inc.

Other newspaper archives available through the Digital Library of Georgia include the Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive (1847-1922), the Macon Telegraph Archive (1826-1908), the Columbus Enquirer Archive (1828-1890), the Milledgeville Historic Newspapers Archive (1808-1920), the Southern Israelite Archive (1929-1986), and the Red and Black Archive (1893-2006). These archives can be accessed at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/MediaTypes/Newspapers.html

And for my students the service is "free."

Families for Android Op System Now Available

Last Tuesday night one of my students in my beginner Legacy class asked if there was a Legacy app for the Android operating system. My answer was not yet. After class I go home, check my email inbox and that answer has now changed. I had the press release below in my inbox.

TelGen Limited is pleased to announce the release of the first version of Families for Android. This app provides the same functionality as the popular Families app for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, but now on the Android platform.

This application is designed to operate in conjunction with Legacy Family Tree, the leading Windows-based genealogy software from Millennia Corporation. Legacy family files can be easily transferred from a PC to your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or Android device, enabling them to be viewed and edited wherever you are. Families supports the following functionality:

•Multiple family files
•New family files can be created from scratch
•Family View and Pedigree View
•Index, searchable by Given Name, Surname or RIN
•Events
•To Do Lists
•Master and Detail Sources
•Locations and Addresses, with geolocation via Google Maps
•Alternate Names
•Pictures, including the ability to add pictures from camera or photo album
•Portrait and Landscape mode on all views
•Full screen support on the iPad
•Legacy file versions 6 and 7 are supported

Families uses a highly efficient database implementation, allowing very large family files to be supported. Users have successfully displayed and edited files containing over 300,000 individuals on an iPhone and a sample family file is included.

On iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad Families requires access to a Wi-Fi network or use of iTunes via a USB connection in order to transfer family files between your device and your PC. USB transfer uses iTunes File Sharing which requires your device to be running iOS 3.2 or above.

On Android Families uses a USB connection to transfer family files to and from your Android device's SD card.

Families requires a companion program running on the PC to transfer family files to and from the device. This program, Families Sync, can be downloaded free of charge from here. For iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, iTunes must be installed in order to use this program.

Families for Android can be purchased from Android Market for £8.99 or equivalent in other currencies (approximately US$14.30)

For more information see http://www.telgen.co.uk/families or email families@telgen.co.uk.

New Ancestry iPad, iPhone and iTouch app

How would you like to be able to see and navigate your Ancestry.com family tree on your iPhone or iPad so you can more easily share family stories visually? How would you like to be able to view the Census and other records you’ve attached to people in your Ancestry.com family tree on your iPhone or iPad at your next family gathering? Well good news – now there’s an app for that.

This week Ancestry announced the availability of an enhanced version of their iPhone app, Ancestry, that now has universal support for the iPad and offers several new features:

•Lighter version of your Ancestry.com family tree
•An interactive family tree viewer to visualize relationships in your family history
•Information is automatically available when you log in to your Ancestry.com account from your computer
•Easy to upload photos, add ancestors, correct dates, include notes and more, from within the app.
•Ability to view attached historical documents and source citations attached via Ancestry.com
•Access to family trees that were shared with you
•An improved user experience, Intuitive to use, with iPad functionality

Built with the tablet experience in mind, the new Ancestry app brings to life on iPad’s large screen multi-generational family trees complete with images of original family records and photos, making iPad a powerful tool for you to display and share your trees with family and friends in an interactive, highly visual way.

So check out http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ancestry-com-tree-to-go/id349554263?mt=8

Don’t have an iPad or an iPhone? Do not despair since Ancestry is considering the creation of an Android version of their Ancestry app down the road.

A headstone leads deputy to old grave

Thanks to my friend Al Swint on the ClayCountyGenealogyGroup Yahoogroup for the link to this interesting story. An Oconee county deputy sheriff and genealogists identified the cemetery from which came an old, mysterious headstone found on the side of a road near Athens, Georgia. It is a great story and thanks Al.

http://onlineathens.com/stories/012211/new_774400973.shtml

Oconee County sheriff’s Lt. David Kilpatrick makes a photographic documentation recently of the spot where he returned an infant’s gravestone in an abandoned cemetery. (Picture via link courtesy of the Athens Banner-Herald Online Athens website)

Legacy for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad

Got an iPhone, iPod Touch, or an iPad? With the Families application from TelGen Limited you can now easily transfer your Legacy Family Tree files from your PC to your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, enabling them to be viewed and edited wherever you are. Any changes you make on these devices can then be synced back to your Legacy file on your PC.




Features of Families:

•Family, Descendant and Pedigree Views
•Support for display and editing of privacy fields
•Pictures, including the ability to add pictures from camera or photo album
•Locations and addresses, with geolocation via Google Maps
•Multiple family files
•New family files can be created from scratch
•Index, searchable by given name, surname, or RIN
•Events
•To Do Lists
•Master and detail sources
•Alternate names
•Portrait and landscape mode on all views
•Full screen support on the iPad
•Legacy file version 6 and 7 are supported

Families uses a highly efficient database implementation, allowing very large family files to be supported. Users have successfully displayed and edited files containing over 300,000 individuals on an iPhone.

Families requires a companion program running on the PC to transfer family files to and from the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. This program, Families Sync, can be downloaded free of charge. Note that iTunes must be installed in order to use this program.

Families is available in the App Store for $14.95. For more information, and to view screen shots of Families, please click here.