FamilySearch Indexing Update - May 27, 2009

Eleven new indexing projects were added this week—most international (Argentina, Canada, and France). Five of the projects are birth, marriage, and death records for France. Please forward this update to any organizations or individuals that might be interested in helping create indexes to these or other FamilySearch indexing projects.

New indexing projects added this week are:

· Argentina Censo 1869—Jujuy Salta Tucuman
· Canada, British Columbia Births, 1854–1903
· France, Paroisses de Cherbourg, 1802–1907
· France, Paroisses de Saint-Lo, 1802–1907
· France, Paroisses de Coutances, 1802–1907
· France Registres Protestants, 1612–1906 [Part 1]
· France Registres Protestants, 1612–1906 [Part 2]
· Indiana, Blackford County Marriages 1811–1959
· North Dakota—1920 U.S. Federal Census
· Ohio Tax Records—3 of 4, Post 1825
· South Carolina—1920 U.S. Federal Census

(See the chart below for a complete list and current status of all indexing projects).

Recently Completed Projects

(Note: Recently completed projects have been removed from the available online indexing batches and will now go through a final completion check process in preparation for future publication.)

· Argentina Censo 1869—Catamarca y La Rioja
· Minnesota—1920 U.S. Federal Census
· Minnesota Probate Court Wills 1849–1918

Current FamilySearch Indexing

Projects, Record Language, and Percent Completion
Argentina, Buenos Aires 1855 Census Spanish 28%
Argentina Censo 1869—Corrientes y Entre Rios Spanish 87%
Argentina Censo 1869—Jujuy Salta Tucuman Spanish (New)
Arkansas County Marriages V, 1837–1957 English 93%
Arkansas County Marriages VI, 1837–1957 English 15%
Austria, Wiener Meldezettel, 1890–1925 German 1%
Belgium, Antwerp Foreigners Index, 1840–1930 Dutch, Flemish 36%
Brandenburg Kirchenbücher, 1789–1875 German 61%*
Canada, British Columbia Births, 1854–1903 English (New)
France Registres Protestants, 1612–1906 [Part 1] French (New)
France Registres Protestants, 1612–1906 [Part 2] French (New)
France, Coutances, Paroisses de la Manche, 1792–1906 French 9%
France, Paroisses de Cherbourg, 1802–1907 French (New)
France, Paroisses de Coutances, 1802–1907 French (New)
France, Paroisses de Saint-Lo, 1802–1907 French (New)
Germany, Mecklenburg 1890 Volkszählung, Div 24–38 German 12%
Illinois, Cook County Birth Certificates, 1916–1922 [Part 1] English 83%
Indiana, Adams County Marriages, 1811–1959 English 3%
Indiana, Allen County Marriages, 1811–1959 English 4%
Indiana, Blackford County Marriages 1811–1959 English 24%
Italy, Trento Baptism Records, 1784–1924 Italian 75%
Mexico, Censo de 1930—Sinaloa Spanish 95%
Mexico, Censo de 1930—Tamaulipas Spanish 54%
Mexico, Censo de 1930—Yucatan Spanish 16%
Mississippi—1920 U.S. Federal Census English 67%
New York 1905 State Census English 13%
Nicaragua, Managua Civil Records, 1879–Present Spanish 44%*
North Dakota—1920 U.S. Federal Census English (New)
Peru, Lima—Registros Civiles, 1910–1930 Spanish 24%
Russia, St. Petersburg Kirchenbuchduplikat, 1833–1885 German 1%
South Carolina—1920 U.S. Federal Census English (New)
Spain, Avila, Moraleja de Matacabras, 1540–1904 Spanish 19%
Spain, Lugo—Registros Parroquiales [Part 1], 1530–1930 Spanish 18%
U.K., Cheshire—Land Tax, 1778–1832 English 92%
U.K., Warwickshire Parish Registers, 1538–Present English 1%
Ukraine, Kyiv, 1840–1842 Russian 17%
Venezuela, Mérida Registros Parroquiales. 1654–1992 Spanish 15%*
(*Percentage refers to a specific portion of a larger project.)

Current FamilySearch Partner Projects, Record Language, and Percent Completion

Arkansas Marriages IV, 1837–1957 English 31%
Belgique—Registres Des Décès—En Français, 1796–1910 French 21%*
Belgique— Registres Des Décès—Charleroi, 1851–1900 French 21%
België—Overlijdens Registers—In het Nederlands, 1796–1910 Dutch, Flemish 84%*
België—Overlijdens Registers—Kalmthout, 1851–1900 Dutch, Flemish 17%
België—Overlijdens Registers—Mechelen, 1851–1900 Dutch, Flemish 6%
Bremer Schifflisten, 1904–1914 German 53%
Flanders Death Registration, 1796–1900 French, Dutch, Flemish 79%*
Indiana Marriages, 1882 to April 1905 English 89%
Norway 1875 Census [Part 1] Norwegian 31%
Nova Scotia, Antigonish Church Records, 1823–1905 English 81%
Ohio Tax Records—2 of 4, Post 1825 English 76%
Ohio Tax Records—3 of 4, Post 1825 English (New)
Vermont Militia Records, 1861–1867 English 39%
(*Percentage refers to a specific portion of a larger project.)

Current FamilySearch Regional Projects, Record Language, and Percent Completion

(These projects are being indexed by volunteers in specific areas of the world.)

Australia, Sydney Cemetery Inscriptions, 1800–1960 English 4%
Australia—Victoria Probate Records, 1853–1989 English 63%
Canada, British Columbia Marriages, 1859–1932 English 5%
Quebec—Trois-Rivières IC, 1800–1900 French 48%

Millions of Historic Southern Records Now on the Web

SALT LAKE CITY—FamilySearch announced today it has published millions of records from Southern states to its rapidly growing, free online collection. The collection includes both digital images and indexes. Millions of death records from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida were the most recent additions. Viewers can search the free collection on the Record Search pilot at FamilySearch.org (click Search Records, and then click Record Search pilot).

In the past 18 months, FamilySearch has been diligently publishing digital images and indexes from Southern states. It is part of a worldwide initiative to provide fast, economical access to genealogical records. Fueled by over 100,000 online volunteers, FamilySearch is digitizing and indexing historical records and publishing them online.

The most recent additions are from the following collections:

· Alabama Statewide Deaths 1908 to 1974 (Index)
· Arkansas County Marriages: 1837 to 1957
· Civil War Pension Index Cards (Digital Images)
· Florida Deaths 1877 to 1939 (Index)
· Florida State Censuses: 1855, 1935, 1945 (Digital Images)
· Freedman Bank Records: 1865 to 1874
· Freedman’s Bureau Virginia Marriages 1855 to 1866
· Georgia Deaths 1914 to 1927
· Louisiana War of 1812 Pension Lists (Images)
· North Carolina Deaths 1906 to 1930
· North Carolina, Davidson County Marriages and Deaths, 1867–1984 (Digital Images)
· South Carolina Deaths 1915 to 1943
· South Carolina Deaths 1944 to 1955 (Index)
· Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 (Index)
· Texas Deaths 1890 to 1976
· Virginia Fluvanna County Funeral Home Records 1929 to 1976 (Digital Images)
· West Virginia Births 1853 to 1990 (Index)
· West Virginia Marriages 1853 to 1970 (Index)
· West Virginia Deaths 1853 to 1970 (Index)

FamilySearch has also published free indexes to the 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1920 (partial) U.S Censuses—all important resources for Southern states research.

David E. Rencher, FamilySearch chief genealogical officer said, “This significant set of records fills a real need in Southern states research. To be able to search vital records across the South by name and locality leverages the best search techniques and greatly improves the odds of success for those researching Southern families.”

During both pre and post Civil War eras, there was general migration from the eastern seaboard, down through the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and on into Texas. “The publication of these records will begin to open up and answer many questions about family members that migrated and were never heard from again,” Rencher added.

With just a few clicks, visitors can now search millions of records online for that elusive ancestor. Or pore through digital images of historic documents that before this time were inconvenient or impossible for many to access because the original documents were located in an archive somewhere in the South.

“There is much more to come,” said Rencher. “FamilySearch has a large collection of records [on film] from the Southern states that still need to be digitized, indexed, and made available for the public online—and we are acquiring new records all the time. It’s a great time to be a family history enthusiast,” concluded Rencher.

FamilySearch is currently working on federal and state censuses and birth, marriage, death, and war records. New indexing projects and searchable collections are added weekly.

Video interview with Legacy's Ken McGinnis

As most of my genealogy class students know I recommend the Legacy Genealogy Software package. If you are still using the "free" standard edition, below is a link to a video report that describes the differences between the standard and deluxe editions. Wonder if you should take the #29.95 plunge?

"Ken McGinnis, vice-president of Millennia Corporation (that's us!), was interviewed at the recent St. George Family History Expo. His interview is now published online as a video for you to view. Ken talks about some of the differences between the free, Standard Edition of Legacy and the Deluxe edition. He also talks a bit about Legacy's Research Guidance and SourceWriter features.

"Ken is one of the main reasons we have Legacy Family Tree. Meet him online by watching the video at the link below. "

http://legacynews.typepad.com/legacy_news/2009/04/video-interview-with-legacys-ken-mcginnis.html

Our Cemetery Research Toolkit

The Van Horn Cemetery Toolkit Checklist

We have been asked on numerous occasions what gear we take with us when we are on a cemetery research trip. Below are some of the items that have traveled with us at one time or another. Not everything may be a go on every trip, but we take with us what we think we may need for the areas we are going to be researching in.

• Antibacterial liquid soap and/or waterless instant hand sanitizer (such as Purell)
• Batteries for the electronics
• Binoculars
• Boots/Sturdy shoes
• Cutoff broom or mop handle for probing.
• Brush; Soft-bristled plastic, nylon or natural bristle brushes only. Plain water, rags and a soft nylon brush are the items of choice for cleaning tombstones. Choose a brush, such as a kitchen scrub brush, with an easy-to-grasp handle and soft nylon bristles. No wire brushes - they can damage tombstones! Clean the tombstone from bottom to top to avoid further streaking or staining, rinsing well as you go. Old tootbrush for working small areas.
• Carpenters apron
• Cellular phone (sooner or later someone will fall over a tombstone or footstone)
• Composition book
• Digital Camera and accessories: memory cards, batteries, mirror, etc
• Digital Tape recorder
• Dog spray to keep away the stray dogs and animals.
• Drinking water and snack foods
• Family Radio Service Radios - pair
• First Aid kit and Snakebite kit (available from sporting goods stores that carry camping and hiking goods)
• Gardeners knee pads
• Gloves (leather work gloves, jersey work gloves and rubber gloves) Protective hand lotion (such as "Gloves in a Bottle" or Ivy Block (poison ivy, oak and sumac protectant)
• GPS device to record the position for your County and the DHPA's Cemetery and Burial Ground Registry.
• Hand tools: Rakes, Shovels and spades, Trowels, Clam-shell post hole digger, Grubbing hoe, Machete, Chain saw, Weed eaters, Pruning, shears, garden trowl.
• Insect repellant and Bee and wasp spray.
• Jumbo Wax Crayons. An inexpensive alternative to rubbing wax for tombstone rubbings is a jumbo crayon, such as the ones used by young children. Peel the paper off of the crayons (your toddler can probably do this quicker than you can) and use the side of the crayon for your rubbing, rather than the point.
• Kodak Photo-Flo (1/4 oz. to 5 quarts of water; used for initial cleaning) [wash stone with Photo-Flo and water, using a soft-bristled brush; rinse thoroughly]
• Long-sleeved shirt
• Magnifying glass
• Paper: Parchment, butcher paper, wax paper for rubbings
• Pens and pencils
• Plastic trash bags
• Probes (i.e., "Smart Stick" sold by T&T Tools, Forestry Suppliers Bench Meadows or your local plumbing supply dealer) Ask for tile probes.
• Rags
• Safety goggles
• Spray bottle with water
• Sunscreen and hats
• Tape Measure
• Tombstone cleaning compound; Also you might try 1 part Ammonia and 4 parts water. Be sure to rinse the stones well with clean water in the beginning and at the end. Start at the bottom and work upwards.
• Tombstone cleaning soap: Orvus soap by Proctor & Gamble (available at farm and animal supply stores; 1/4 cup to 1 gallon water for cleaning) Wash stone with Orvus and water, using a soft-bristled brush; rinse thoroughly
• Tombstone rubbing Pellon Interfacing. Soft non-fusible Pellon interfacing material is perfect for tombstone rubbings. It folds neatly in a bag without wrinkles, takes crayon beautifully and can even be ironed when you get back home to melt the wax into the fabric and preserve the rubbing for years to come. It is readily available from your local fabric store. Be sure to get the non-fusible variety!
• Water: Lots and lots of water, always start with water and finish with clean rinsing.
• Wet Wipes
• Whisk broom
• White Chalk (no colored chalk)

Genetic Genealogy Companies Under Fire - Comment

While prowling around my newsletters looking for a hook for my next newspaper column I ran across the blog article below on "Genetic Genealogy Companies Under Fire" on the Family Tree magazine blog. See http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/Genetic+Genealogy+Companies+Under+Fire+.aspx

Now I am not going to beat up on Diane who posted the piece on the Family Tree Blog. I'm aiming at the fools at the ASHG and their statement issued at http://www.ashg.org/pdf/ASHGAncestryTestingStatement_FINAL.pdf

Personally to stereotype all DNA testing companies by saying that they "aren't doing enough to make sure you understand the limitations and implications of DNA testing," is misleading at least and intellectually dishonest at best.

In their press release at the link above they made the following assumption,

"Ancestry testing is done on an individual basis, in an attempt to determine the ancestral origins or population(s) of origin for a person or family."

It is obvious these intellectuals do not have a clue what the majority of genealogist use DNA testing for. Like a majority of the genealogist who test, I was looking for guidance through Y-DNA to give me research guidance on my Vanhorn ancestoral line (narrowing down the candidates to advance my research). Do I care about haplogroups - nope. I understand the limitations.

If there are companies out there selling that sort of testing, I support the ASHG in their concerns. But to stereotype all DNA testing companies and genealogist in their use of DNA testing as they did in their press release, you folks need to get a grip and issue an apology.

I did my DNA testing with FamilytreeDNA

FamilySearch-Ancestry - New Images and Enhanced Indexes to the U.S. Censuses

Ancestry.com and FamilySearch, the two largest online family history resources, announced today they will exchange records and resources to make more historical records available online. The first project is a joint initiative to significantly enhance the online U.S. Federal Census Collection (1790 to 1930). The original census records are among the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

FamilySearch is digitally converting master microfilm copies of the original U.S. Federal Censuses from 1790 through 1930 and, under this agreement, will give these improved images to Ancestry.com. All census images and indexes will be available on Ancestry.com for subscribers. As projects are completed, images will be available for free in NARA reading rooms and FamilySearch’s 4,500 Family History Centers.

Ancestry.com, which currently offers indexes and images to the entire publicly available U.S. Federal Census Collection, will give FamilySearch copies of its existing census indexes. Through its online indexing system and community of volunteer indexers, FamilySearch is already indexing select censuses. FamilySearch will merge the Ancestry.com indexes with the new FamilySearch indexes to create enhanced census indexes, which will be added to both sites. Indexes to the enhanced censuses will be free on Ancestry.com for a limited time as they are completed. Indexes will also be available for free on FamilySearch.org.

Allen Weinstein, the Archivist of the United States, welcomed this agreement as a significant benefit for researchers. He remarked that, “Census records are among the most important documents the American people have to trace their genealogy and know their family history. Having two of our partners working together to enhance the indexes and images of these essential documents will enable an unprecedented level of access and understanding.”

The first census exchanged is the 1900 U.S. Census. FamilySearch completed a 1900 index in addition to Ancestry.com’s original. In the new index, FamilySearch added several new fields of searchable data, such as birth month and birth year, so individuals can search for ancestors more easily. The two indexes will be merged into an enhanced index, available on both sites. The new 1900 census images are now available on Ancestry.com. The enhanced 1900 index will be available for free for a limited time at Ancestry.com and ongoing at FamilySearch.org.

Ancestry.com will also provide FamilySearch its original 1920 U.S. Census index. Using the Ancestry.com index as a first transcription, FamilySearch will create a new second index with added fields and arbitrate any discrepancies between the two indexes. The 1920 project is currently in progress. Individuals interested in helping create the improved index can volunteer at FamilySearch.org. Once completed, the enhanced 1920 index will be available on both sites and will link back to images on Ancestry.com.

The 1850 through 1870 (partial) and 1880 and 1900 U.S. Censuses can be searched currently at FamilySearch.org; all publicly available U.S. Censuses are already available on Ancestry.com.

Tim Sullivan, president and CEO of The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com, said, “This collaboration represents a significant step forward in making family history research more accessible. The enhanced U.S. Federal Census Collection that will become available through this agreement is a gold mine for family history researchers, and we look forward to collaborating with FamilySearch in identifying other opportunities to help people discover their roots.”

“The U.S. Censuses are arguably the most important collection of U.S. genealogical records. FamilySearch is excited to see the complete, improved indexes of these collections freely available online over the next two years. And we look forward to working with Ancestry.com to enhance access to additional, significant collections in the future,” said Jay Verkler, Managing Director for FamilySearch.

Broaden Access to All Censuses for England and Wales by FamilySearch

FamilySearch announced today that it is joining forces with findmypast.com, The Origins Network, and Intelligent Image Management—companies that specialize in providing online access to British family history resources—to make significant British historical record collections more broadly available online. The first joint initiative seeks to publish online indexes to censuses for England and Wales from 1841 to 1901. The 1841 and 1861 Census indexes are the first targeted under the agreement and are accessible now at FamilySearch.org and findmypast.com.

In the agreement, FamilySearch, in conjunction with The Origins Network, will provide digital images for the 1851, 1871, and 1881 Censuses. It will also extend the 1871 Census index. Findmypast.com will provide FamilySearch copies of its English and Welsh Census indexes from 1841 to 1901. The Federation of Family History Societies will help complete the index for the 1851 Census.

Initially, users of FamilySearch.org will be able to do a free search by record type, given name, surname, age, gender, place of birth, and relationship to head of household (relationship was not recorded in the 1841 Census). The free search capability at FamilySearch.org will include additional fields of data in the future. Users will be able to search the full indexes and view original images for free at FamilySearch’s 4,500 Family History Centers or for a nominal fee at findmypast.com.

The addition of findmypast.com’s English and Welsh Census Collections to FamilySearch’s online databases will increase the use of the valuable record sets and increase traffic to findmypast.com.

Jay L. Verkler, Managing Director for FamilySearch, said, “The new images and additional information provided by FamilySearch will significantly enhance and improve the overall English and Welsh Census collection. And its addition to FamilySearch.org will increase awareness of the rich Web resources of FamilySearch affiliates and the likelihood of success for FamilySearch.org patrons doing British research.”

Elaine Collins, Commercial Director at findmypast.com, commented, “Findmypast.com is delighted to be working with FamilySearch to launch the British Census Collection online. Censuses are the core building blocks for family historians and genealogists alike, and now, at last, here is the definitive version. This has been a very exciting project for us, and we look forward to collaborating with FamilySearch in the future to bring other important collections to an ever wider international audience.”
FamilySearch will utilize its impressive online community of volunteer indexers to add more fields of data to select censuses. When finished, the improved census indexes will be available on FamilySearch.org, findmypast.com, and Originsnetwork.com. Individuals interested in volunteering as online indexers for British historical projects can do so at FamilySearch.org.

Ian Galbraith, CEO of The Origins Network and Upal Rahman, President of Intelligent Image Management (IIM) Inc. said, "The FamilySearch England and Wales Census project is clearly a milestone initiative in the history of genealogical research. It heralds a new era of easier accessibility to a mountain (literally!) of genealogical material available hitherto only to the privileged few, if at all. We are delighted to be working with FamilySearch and proud that they have chosen for the FamilySearch Website the 1841 and 1871 UK censuses—the most accurate available—which The Origins Network and IIM jointly developed."

The 50 Most Popular Genealogy Websites on the Net

ProGenealogists Inc earlier this year released a study that for the first time identifies the 50 most popular genealogy websites. This list was compiled using the "places rated" approach to average the website traffic rankings from four major web analytic companies.

The top two websites actually tied for first place -- Ancestry.com (a subscription based genealogy records website) and their sister -- Rootsweb.com. Sitting in third place is a little know website MyHeritage.com. This Israeli based website focuses on genealogy community building and networking, and it boast over 23.8 million members worldwide (with a large European and Israeli presence).

In the fourth spot is another subscription service, also owned by the parent company of Ancestry (The Generations Network) - Genealogy.com. Rounding out the top five Internet genealogy websites is a longtime favorite of genealogists - Familysearch.org. This is a major data website sponsored by the LDS Church and includes instruction and reference help.

Nine of the 50 sites on this list are pay or subscription websites. Bryce Barnett, ProGenealogists Operations manager noted, "This illustrates that genealogists understand the value of paying for information."

Half of the sites on this list are data-oriented and another quarter are sites that provide links to genealogy sites on the Internet and data. Longtime genealogists favorite Cyndi's List was number 15 in popularity.

You can see the entire list and links for this top 50 list of Internet genealogy websites on the ProGenealogists website at http://www.progenealogists.com/top50genealogy2008.htm

Update on FamilySearch online databases

Shortly after I put my weekly syndicated genealogy newspaper column (Finding Your Roots) to bed, I received a telephone call from Paul Nauta, manager of public affairs for the LDS church's FamilySearch Web site, letting me know that the FamilySearch Record Search pages have moved to a pilot page (http://pilot.familysearch.org/).

In addition, some new databases were added to the mix as indicated below"

Collection Name: Indexed Record Count/Unindexed Digital Image Count/Comments
1870 United States Census: 60,170 / 124,298 / New
1880 United States Census: 50,538,378 / 0 / Updated with add'l authorities
1900 United States Census: 79,191,470 / 1,663,024 / Updated with add'l relationships
Germany Baptisms 1700-1900: 4,905,598 / 0 / New
Germany Marriages 1700-1900: 1,347,321 / 0 / New
Mexico Baptisms 1700-1900: 1,926,938 / 0 / New
Mexico Marriages 1700-1900: 296,990 /0 / New
Michigan Births 1867-1902: 1,409,988 / 96,165 / New
Michigan Deaths 1867-1897: 507,342 / 24,628 / New
Michigan Marriages 1868-1925 : 1,533,863 /109,256 / New
West Virginia Births 1853-1930: 381,464 / 0 / New
West Virginia Deaths 1853-1970: 1,133,106 / 0 / Updated with add'l data
West Virginia Marriages 1853-1970: 415,770 / 0 / New

Total 143,648,398 / 2,017,371

I will have more on this in the next Finding Your Roots column. But in the meantime if you would like to help with the ongoing genealogical records indexing project being put online by the LDS church go to http://www.familysearchindexing.org/en/home/home.jsf?pname=homeTab.

I have been a record indexer for some time now and have had a ball working on index Louisiana Death records. It is nice to have a way of giving back to the hobby that has given me so much pleasure over these 30 plus years.

Free Online Genealogy Resources

You folks who have taken my genealogy classes know what my favorite word is . . . free! And the link below is an Adobe PDF list of free genealogy resources on the internet courtesy of the good folks at FamilySearch.org.

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Home/News/frameset_news.asp?PAGE=Press/Free_Online_Records.pdf

I also have some other surprises but you will have to read my syndicated genealogy column in order to discover those.

Good luck and good hunting all,

Larry

RootsWeb Announcement

The following was written by Tim Sullivan, CEO of The Generations Network, Inc. and is posted here at the RootsWeb blog: http://bigfile.rootsweb.com/newsroom/?p=111.

As you know, The Generations Network has hosted and funded the RootsWeb online community since June 2000, thereby maintaining RootsWeb as the world's oldest and largest free genealogy website. TGN remains committed to this mission and believes that RootsWeb is an absolutely invaluable and complementary resource to Ancestry.com, our flagship commercial family history site. We believe in both services and want to see both communities prosper and grow.

As part of this goal, we have decided to "transplant" RootsWeb onto the Ancestry.com domain beginning next week. This move will not change the RootsWeb experience or alter the ease of navigation to or within RootsWeb. RootsWeb will remain a free online experience. What will be different is that the Web address for all RootsWeb pages will change from www.rootsweb.com to www. rootsweb.ancestry.com. Again, the RootsWeb experience is not changing.

The decision to host RootsWeb on Ancestry.com is being made for one primary reason: we believe that the users of each of our two main websites can be better served if they have access to the best services available on both. Simply stated, we want to introduce more Ancestry.com users to RootsWeb and vice versa.

Today, despite the fact that Ancestry.com and RootsWeb.com are the two most frequently visited family history sites on the Web, only 25 percent of visitors to Ancestry.com visited RootsWeb in January 2008, while only 20 percent of visitors to RootsWeb visited Ancestry.com (according to Comscore Media Metrix). We think we will serve our users best by doing a better job of letting them know what is available on both Ancestry.com and RootsWeb. Hosting RootsWeb on Ancestry.com is the first step towards making this happen, but we will absolutely look for more and better ways down the road to advance this goal.

Hosting RootsWeb on Ancestry.com will also make it easier for us to make changes and improvements to the RootsWeb experience in the future.

All old RootsWeb URLs will continue to work, whether they are bookmarks or favorites, links to or from a hosted page or URLs manually typed in your Internet browser. We will have a redirect in place so that all old URLs will automatically end up on the appropriate new RootsWeb URL. You will never need to update your old favorites or links unless you want to. We have worked to make the transition as seamless as possible for our users, and this change should have a minimal impact on your experience with the site.

RootsWeb will remain a free online experience dedicated to providing you with a place where our community can find their roots together. If you have questions regarding this change please email them to feedback@rootsweb.com.

Thanks,

Tim Sullivan
CEO

New ways of finding elusive ancestors

It seems like fellow genealogist, Tom Kemp, is always coming up with creative ways of finding ancestors. In his blog, he explains how he used GenealogyBank to find historical documents about the Platter family.

He also alerted me to GenealogyBank's new pricing - just $9.95 for the first month. For the amount of data available at this site, it really is a good deal.

- Over 106 million historical newspaper articles (1690-1977)- More than 26 million obituaries (1977-current)
Read the whole story at:
http://legacynews.typepad.com/legacy_news/2008/01/new-ways-of-fin.html

The Relatively Speaking Genealogy program is on the air

I have found an interesting genealogy radio program that airs each Sunday from 4-6 p.m. MST (6-8 pm EST) on KSL-AM/FM in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Relatively Speaking is a new radio program hosted by long-time KSL NewsRadio personality Jackie McKay and features the genealogy expertise of Mary Slawson, a highly respected genealogy author.

If you don't get a chance to hear the program live, they have podcast of past episodes on the home page for this program on the KSL website. There is also some additional interesting genealogy material available on the program's website page.

So turn your web browser to http://www.ksl.com/?sid=640045 and check out this new weekly genealogy program.

You can get more information on listening to the program live via the internet at http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=21

PBS Ancestors TV Series Links Available Here

For the benefit of my genealogy class students and others who visit this site, I have added links to each of the PBS Ancestors episodes from Season 1 and 2 to the resource portion of this blog (see the bottom of this blog). These are courtesy of the Roots Television website. Just click on the link and it will open up the webpage and media player so you can view that episode. These are excellent training videos and is the same material that I use in my Beginner / Intermediate classes at Tri-County Community College in Peachtree, North Carolina.

So if you miss a class, you can at least get the jest of what I covered by reviewing the associated video for that class at the links to the left. If you are new to genealogy, or a reader of my syndicated newspaper column - Finding Your Roots, you can learn more about how to do genealogy by viewing all of these videos in both series.

Hope you enjoy the service and be sure to visit the Roots Television website for additional material that can aid you in your family research (link in our "Genealogy Related Links We Recommend" section of this blog).

New Genealogy and Family History Genealogy Blog Available

We are writing to tell you about our new blog, GenealogyandFamilyHistory.com. We hope you will check it out soon.

So why another genealogy blog, you may already be asking? Our purpose is to showcase our authors and their books/CDs and encourage you to contribute your own ideas and comments--it's that simple. As we say in our mission statement, "With 50 years of experience in the field, Genealogical.com will use its blog to inform researchers at all levels and to promote dialog about a variety of topics including resources, techniques, and items of current interest. We’ll provide an inside look into the world of genealogical publishing through interviews with authors and dialogs with senior members of our publishing companies. We’ll also post excerpts from our publications ..., so there will always be something for you to read about."

The first blog article entitled “The Small World of the 17th Century" is now up running. We hope to post new articles approximately once a week. You will also find postings for upcoming speaking engagements by our authors, links to other blogs, and more items as time and space dictate. We hope that you will become a regular visitor and invite you to participate with us freely and frequently. To access the blog, follow this link: http://genealogyandfamilyhistory.com/ .
Sincerely,
Your friends at Genealogical.com

CONTACT US
http://www.genealogical.com/ is the online home of Genealogical Publishing Company and its affiliate, Clearfield Company. For general information about our companies and their products, e-mail us at info@genealogical.com . To order on-line, you may e-mail us at sales@genealogical.com.

Family History Library now offering personal consultation sessions

The world's best library for genealogical research just got better! The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, recently added personal consultation sessions as one of their services. Sessions last from 30-45 minutes, depending on the nature of the problem.

Consultation sessions are not limited to genealogical research problems. They also include document reading, newsletters, organization, pictures/videos, PowerPoint, scanning techniques, and using flash drives.
Read more at:
http://legacynews.typepad.com/legacy_news/2008/01/family-history.html
(Source: Legacy News)

Just how good are the FamilySearch indexes ?

FamilySearch Indexing continues to grow. Today Headquarters announced that over 115,000 volunteers have signed up to help index records.

The fruits of the efforts are starting to help people more easily identify their ancestors. The completed projects, with the linked images, are freely available for searching at http://labs.familysearch.org. For
example, one of the first indexing projects was the 1900 U.S. federal census. The entire census (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) is now searchable at the labs website.
Read more on this at:
http://legacynews.typepad.com/legacy_news/2008/01/familysearch-in.html
(Source: Legacy News)

Ancestry.com Search Template

In my genealogy classes at Tri County Community college this week, the subject came up about the useless search basic and advanced search templates located on the home page of the popular genealogy service Ancestry.com. I mentioned in class that I would post a link to my favorite search template that I use on the site here on the blog.

So if you are looking for something a bit more user friendly, click on the "Search" tab at the top of any of the main pages or bookmark this link: http://www.ancestry.com/search/Default.aspx

Take a few minutes to famaliarize yourself with all the options you have on this page including the locality search at the bottom of the page and the record category search down the right side of the page.

Family Tree Announcement from Ancestry.com

Since 1999, our Online Family Tree system has helped almost 2 million people build family trees, upload GEDCOM files and add their trees to Ancestry World Tree. We’ve maintained this system for some time, but the it’s finally become outdated and will soon be replaced with the Ancestry Member Tree system introduced in July 2006. We realize this is a bitter disappointment for some of you who have worked in our Online Family Tree system for years. This is an important step for us that lets us focus all our ability on creating one great system for everyone to use. At nearly 8 years old, Online Family Tree is an ancient product (in internet years anyway), and we feel it is important to move everyone to the new system while this one is still running. If we prolonged this, it would be much more difficult to do this while the OFT system is on life-support.

What does this mean for you?

For those that have a file in the old Online Family Tree system, you’ll be able to access your tree in that system through about March 2008. Between now and then you can easily transition your family tree file to the Ancestry Member Tree system and get used to it before the Online Family Tree system expires.
We know how much time and energy you’ve put into your tree and we’ve done our best to make sure you don’t lose a bit of it as you change systems. There are basically two phases to this transition period for Online Family Tree:

Phase 1 — Trial and transition.

Between now and March 2008 you can move your family tree file to the Ancestry Member Tree system and get familiar with it. Your file in the old Online Family Tree system will remain intact so you can double-check everything. However, once you’ve transitioned your tree to the Ancestry Member Tree system, any new information added or edits made will not be reflected in your Online Family Tree file. Do nothing during this timeframe and nothing will change in your Online Family Tree file. If you make changes to your Online Family Tree file after you’ve transitioned to Ancestry Member Trees, you’ll have the option to send the updated file to the new system once again.

Phase 2 — Tree expiration.

At the end of March 2008 we’ll send you another reminder to transition your tree. At this point, your tree will no longer be accessible in the Online Family Tree system, but the file itself WILL remain on our servers and in the system for as long as we can maintain it. When you come to view your Online Family Tree file, you’ll see only a link to move your family tree file to the Ancestry Member Tree system.

After March 2008 we plan to remove the old feature set surrounding your file. This means that all Online Family Tree files previously submitted to Ancestry World Tree will remain there permanently, unless you take steps to remove it.

About Ancestry Member Trees

The Ancestry Member Tree system will give you most of the same features as the Online Family Tree system. That includes integrated record search, the ability to invite family members to edit and contribute, GEDCOM import and export and much more. The Ancestry Member Tree system will also offer many new and exciting features.

Below is a comparison chart to show which features from the Online Family Tree system are available in the Ancestry Member Trees system:

We believe you will find much to enjoy about Ancestry Member Trees, and we hope to continue to add features and make you excited about the product.

Already more than 3 million people have created trees using the Ancestry Member Tree system, and we’ve been amazed at the work that has been done:

• 4.2 million family trees created


• 378 million names added


• 937,000 family members invited


• 48 million Ancestry Hints™ accepted


• 4 million photos uploaded

Spring 2008 Genealogy Classes Set at TCCC

Do you want to learn more about your family history? Are you digging for those family roots on the internet, but not finding much?

Then consider taking one of the genealogy classes at Tri County Community College, Peachtree, North Carolina, this Spring. These inexpensive classes are available for all genealogy skill levels and are taught by local genealogy newspaper columnist and lecturer, Larry Van Horn.

Van Horn is professional family historian/genealogist who has been actively researching his many ancestral families for the last 30 years. He is currently working over 130 ancestral surnames, and has documented/sourced over 23,000 family ancestors and descendants in compiling his extensive family history. He lectures on genealogy topics to groups throughout the Tri-State area and writes the popular weekly syndicated newspaper column - Finding Your Roots. He has taught genealogy classes at Tri County for the last ten years.

Genealogy is one of the largest and fastest growing hobbies in the country. Millions of people all across the United States, and indeed the world, are digging up clues into their past. Google currently reports over 91.6 million pages on the net that contain the word genealogy. The most popular genealogy website on the internet, Ancestry.com, has more subscribers online than the Wall Street Journal.

Genealogy courses scheduled for Spring are:

Genealogy - Beginning/Intermediate
This course covers the usage of a variety of record sources in the pursuit of ancestor hunting. Sources such as vital records, census, church records, court, military, land property, and tax records will be discussed in detail. If you want to
learn how to find and use these records in genealogical research, this course is for you. This course is a requirement to take any of the advanced genealogy courses offered at TCCC. The class will be held Thursdays, January 10 * March 27, from 6:30 * 9:00 p.m. Cost is $50.

Researching an American Genealogy, Part 1
The first part of this course instructs the researcher in the timeless principles of
genealogical research. It incorporates the latest thinking on genealogy and computers, specifically the relationship between computer technology (the Internet and CD-ROM) and the timeless principles of good genealogical research. It also includes information on the evaluation of genealogical evidence and organization, analyzing the family pedigree, correspondence, research tools, reference materials, and cutting edge technology such using DNA in genealogy. Part 2 will be taught in the
spring of 2008. This is an advanced course and students must have completed the Beginner/Intermediate Genealogy and Part 1 of this course in order to register for this class. The class will be held Mondays, January 7 * April 7, from 9:30 * 11:00 a.m. Cost is $50.

Researching an American Genealogy, Part 2
For those who want to learn how to build pedigrees and reconstruct family groups, tying them from one generation to the next, this course is a must. This course also has value to other researchers. Historians, demographers, and sociologists studying people in the past will find that this course will provide important guidance in assessing which records will provide the facts needed. Part 2 of this popular advanced genealogy course will cover records and their uses. This course will look in-depth at vital records, census, probate and basic legal terminology, land records, court, church, and military records, and many more. The class will be held
Tuesdays, January 8 * March 25, from 6:30 * 9:00 p.m. Cost is $50.