Podcasts about family tree magazine

In this episode of the Family Tree Magazine podcast, Judy Russell tells us what genealogists can expect to find in divorce records.

In this episode of the Family Tree Magazine podcast, photo expert Maureen Taylor offers tips for preserving cherished family photos for years to come.

In this episode of the Family Tree Magazine podcast, Editor-in-Chief Andrew Koch reflects on 25 years of Family Tree Magazine and discusses what the future holds.

In this episode of the Family Tree Magazine monthly podcast, YouTuber Lisa Lisson explains what makes a person a cousin and offers tips for determining cousinhood.

AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: Finding the maiden names of your ancestors can be challenging, but with the right research strategies they can be found. Author Shelley Bishop joins me in this episode to discuss 12 strategies for finding elusive maiden names of female ancestors. Then I'll cover additional resources to help you track down the records.  Genealogy Gems Premium Members Exclusive Download: Download the ad-free show notes for this episode from the for this episode. (Premium Member subscription required.) Not a Premium Member? .)  Become a Genealogy Gems Premium Member Premium Members have exclusive access to: Video classes and downloadable handouts The Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast Downloadable ad-free show notes PDF cheat sheets Become a member .   Our Sponsors for this episode: Archives  makes research quick and easy with an intuitive approach to genealogy.   Newspapers.com Get 20% off a Publisher Extra subscription.  and use coupon code GenealogyGems   MyHeritageDNA   Genealogy Gems Podcast App Don't miss the Bonus audio for this episode. In the app, tap the gift box icon just under the media player. .  Get the Free Genealogy Gems Newsletter The Genealogy Gems email newsletter is the best way to stay informed about what's available with your Premium eLearning Membership. . Follow Lisa and Genealogy Gems on Social Media:

Lisa Louise Cooke chats with David Fryxell about some of the highlights from Family Tree Magazine's 2024 list of 101 Best Websites.

In this episode of Best Websites, Family Tree Magazine editor Andrew Koch walks us through FamilySearch's full-text library.

AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: In our first segment, Lisa Louise Cooke and her guest Jenny Ashcraft from Newspapers.com discuss how to use newspapers to fill in the missing stories in your ancestors' lives. Jenny shares strategic tips on finding unique information many researchers miss.  In the second segment of this episode, Shannon Combs-Bennett, the author of the article A Genealogist's Guide to Finding and Using Historical Obituaries published in Family Tree Magazine, covers everything you need to know about obituaries including:  the important backstory on obituaries, what obituaries can tell you about your ancestors, where you can find obituaries, both online and offline, and strategies you can use when obituaries aren't where you expected to find them. These interviews are also available in video form on the show notes page. And if you're a Genealogy Gems Premium Member, you'll be able to download those show notes as a PDF cheat sheet in the Resources section at the bottom of the page. Visit the  for this episode.  Genealogy Gems Premium Members Exclusive Download: Log into your  and download the ad-free Show Notes handout that complements this episode: with Jenny Ashcraft with Shannon Combs Bennett Become a Genealogy Gems Premium Member Premium Members have exclusive access to: Video classes and downloadable handouts The Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast  downloadable ad-free show notes PDF cheat sheets Become a member .   Our Sponsors: Get your .   Get 20% off a Publisher Extra subscription.  and use coupon code GenealogyGems   Genealogy Gems Podcast App Don't miss the Bonus audio for this episode. In the app, tap the gift box icon just under the media player. .  Get the Free Genealogy Gems Newsletter The Genealogy Gems email newsletter is the best way to stay informed about what's available with your Premium eLearning Membership. . Follow Lisa and Genealogy Gems on Social Media:

This episode celebrates 15 years of the podcast with three past interviews from Rich Venezia, Denise May Levenick and Diahan Southard.

Send us a Text Message.In 1586 Sir Francis Drake arrived off the coast of present day North Carolina with a massive fleet, ships heavy with Spanish gold and riches he'd stolen privateering in the Caribbean, South America, Florida. He came to check in on the Roanoke colony - a group of 108 Englishmen who had set up a fort on the North end of Roanoke Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. He came bearing these stolen gifts to give to the colony he thought was surely flourishing by now. He found them in bad shape and whisked them back to England to save them from near certain death. But did you know, Drake had more than gold and silver aboard his ships? He had a reported 500 enslaved Africans and Indigenous South Americans that he had also stolen from the Spanish. Did you know that when he returned to England, 400 of them were missing? And did you know that despite the fame and infamy of the English Lost Colony that would disappear a year later, there may have been a whole nother lost colony left behind by Drake that no one even cared to look for? Let's fix that. Sources:"The Head in Edward Nugent's Hand" by Michael ObergWashington Daily News "The People Left Behind"Smithsonian Magazine "Did Francis Drake Bring Enslaved Africans to North America Decades Before Jamestown?"Family Tree Magazine "The Mystery of the Melungeons"Support the show! Buy Me a CoffeeVenmo @Shea-LaFountaine

I'm thrilled to be offering something new. Photo investigations. These collaborative one-on-one sessions. Look at your family photos then you and I meet to discuss your mystery images. And find out how each clue and hint might contribute to your family history. Find out more by going to maureentaylor.com and clicking on family photo investigations. Support the show

Show Notes: Professional Genealogist J Mark Lowe joins Lisa Louise Cooke on the show to share a marriage research case study that highlights the importance of understanding Gretna Greens. Then Professional Genealogist and blogger Robyn Smith shares her 3 step process for researching witnesses found on records from her new Family Tree Magazine article Witness Testimony.   Visit the Watch the Videos Watch Lisa Louise Cooke's on Marriage Research.  Watch Lisa Louise Cooke's on researching witnesses found on genealogical records. Genealogy Gems Premium Members Exclusive Download: Log into your Premium membership and then download the handy show notes PDFs that complement the topics covered in this podcast episode: Our Sponsors: MyHeritage Get your  Get 20% off a Publisher Extra subscription.  and use coupon code GenealogyGems   Visit Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, Indiana is the home of the second largest free genealogy library in the country. Make your plans to visit today. Learn more at   Become a Genealogy Gems Premium Member Premium Members have exclusive access to: Video classes and downloadable handouts The Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast  downloadable ad-free show notes PDF cheat sheets Become a member .   Genealogy Gems Podcast App Don't miss the Bonus audio for this episode. In the app, tap the gift box icon just under the media player. .  Get the Free Genealogy Gems Newsletter The Genealogy Gems email newsletter is the best way to stay informed about what's available with your Premium eLearning Membership. . Follow Lisa and Genealogy Gems on Social Media:

In this episode, Rick Crume highlights some of the websites that made Family Tree Magazine's lists of 101 Best Genealogy Websites and 75 Best State Websites.

This week Michala is joined by DNA Journey's Paul McNeil and Family Tree Magazine's Paul Chiddicks. This is an episode not to be missed! McNeil makes a shocking DNA discovery at the age of 64, and Chiddicks reveals the surprising distance his family has travelled since the mid-eighteenth century. For more information about Paul Chiddicks and his family history, check out his website, www.chiddicksfamilytree.com To learn more about Paul McNeil's work, check out his website www.timedectives.blogTo contact Michala, you can do so via her website www.michalahulme.comSupport the show

In this fourth episode of Series Five, host Andrew meets family historian, blogger, and Family Tree Magazine columnist Paul Chiddicks. He tells Andrew how he got into family history, about his Old Palace School Bombing project, and shares his ideas for some genealogy-themed Lego sets.The Life Story - William Wootton Paul has chosen to tell the life story of his maternal Great Grandfather William Tom Wootton, who was born in 1863 in Kentish Town, London. Paul describes him as an 'entrepreneur' although others might describe him as a 'chancer' given some of his actions.William had 7 children with his first wife Elizabeth Compton, but the final child saw Elizabeth die in childbirth. William re-married to an Emily Dodd, and they added a further 9 children to their family - and as you might expect - this came at a price! William worked as a lead glazier on some of England's most impressive architecture, but his determination to keep a roof over his family's head led him to take on a number of other jobs to make ends meet, including Punch and Judy shows, busking and there's even a family rumour about a sale of some well known East End songs.The Brick Wall - Samuel Chiddicks  It's a brick wall that's been standing for 30 years that is asking for help with, and it's one that he has tried to crack time and time again.Paul knows that Samuel Chiddicks was buried in South Fambridge in Essex, England, in 1816, with a given age of 55 years old, which in turn gives an approximate birth year of 1761.He is believed to have married a Mary Turner in 1787 in South Fambridge, but he is known to have married Ann Beard in 1794.Paul has undertaken an autosomal test with Ancestry, and a Y-DNA test with Family Tree DNA, and this has given him some Chiddicks matches in the USA and Northern Ireland, that all lead back to County Tyrone and County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland... but how?Where was Samuel Chiddicks born?Who were his parents?Is Northern Ireland in his Chiddicks ancestry? If you think that you can help Paul with his brick wall, you can contact him via his website chiddicksfamilytree.com or you can find him on Twitter @chiddickstree. Alternatively, you can send us a message via our website and we'll pass it on to him.Meanwhile, Paul is cautious of Andrew's offer of help, but maybe he has a good reason to be...- - -Episode CreditsSeries Five, Episode Four:Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerPaul Chiddicks - GuestJohn Spike - Sándor Petőfi.Thank you for listening!You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, or Instagram.If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review.

News You Can Use and Share! Family Tree Magazine announced their 101 Best Genealogy Websites for Genealogy for 2022, and the Genealogy Guys Podcast was again included. MyHeritage published 11 million new German historical records (Germany, Hesse, Deaths) MyHeritage added 1.3 billion historical records in 37 collections in April and May. The Genealogist is a tiered subscription website for English genealogical research at https://www.thegenealogist.com/. They have announced the addition of georeferenced maps for the 1901 census. These allow you to search to locate people in the census and then view a map that pinpoints the residence so that you can gain a visual perspective of the exact location. Findmypast has added: British Army, Recommendations for Military Honours and Awards, 1935-1990; South Africa, Local Armed Forces Nominal Rolls, 1899-1902; Britain, Campaign, Gallantry & Long Service Medals & Awards; England, Newspaper Birth Notices; England, Newspaper Marriage Notices; and England, Newspaper Death Notices. FamilySearch has published its 100,000th article on the FamilySearch Research Wiki. FamilySearch has announced that RootsTech 2023 will be a blended conference with both in-person and virtual presentations. Drew shares highlights of new historical records at FamilySearch. DNA Segment DNA expert Diahan Southard returns with a new discussion with Drew about Y-DNA. Listener Email Mark shares information about how his Eagle Scout group project mapped and transcribed tombstones in the Aldrich Family Cemetery in his Rhode Island hometown. They then cleared tons of small brush. He has recently worked to add missing entries to Find a Grave. Julie shared the 1950 U.S. Federal Census images with her parents. She downloaded the enumeration districts in which they lived. They enjoyed taking “a virtual” walk down the streets and remembering their neighbors, playmates, and schoolmates. Julie enjoyed their stories and learned a great deal about their lives. Bill writes about how he uses the FamilySearch Family Tree In conjunction with his desktop database and trees he has loaded to Ancestry and MyHeritage. Matt is seeking additional research strategies to obtain copies of a court case in Philadelphia for a 4th great-uncle. Tom wrote about himself, his mother, and a sister having a small trace of African-American ancestry at the GEDmatch site. The Ancestry DNA matches also show a small percentage. He wants to know more. Drew provides some advice, including the possibility that this may be “noise” in the matches. Curtis is looking for mug shots for his father's father since he was arrested and spent time in prison several times. Lynn asks about what to do with one's genealogy work as inheritance. Genealogy Guys Learn The Genealogy Guys Learn subscription site continues to grow. New content is regularly added, with another new video coming in early July. Subscribe to Genealogy Guys Learn at https://genealogyguyslearn.com/. Please Support Our Sponsors You can support our sponsors who bring these podcasts to you for free by visiting their links as follows: MyHeritage at https://www.myheritage.com/ RootsMagic at https://rootsmagic.com/ Vivid-Pix RESTORE at https://www.vivid-pix.com/restore/ Find a Grave at https://www.findagrave.com/?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=genealogyguys Newspapers.com at https://go.newspapers.com/radio.php?xid=4093&utm_source=referral&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=genealogyguys Thank you to all our Patreon supporting members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you'd like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started. Please also tell your friends and your local genealogy society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. Please let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

Paul Chiddicks is the face behind "Dear Paul" in Family Tree Magazine and a moderator on Twitter's #AncestryHour. He shares family history stories with research tips, discusses heirlooms and The Old Palace School Bombing in WWII. 

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. The guys talk about Fisher's recent effort to digitally restore some tattered family Bible pages and the result was astonishing. Then, FamilySearch has announced plans to work with Ancestry.com in the indexing of the 1950 Census when it comes out on April 1. And the big news is that Ancestry will be using special handwriting reading computer technology! Then World War II's American “Ghost Army” is to receive the Congressional Gold Medal for their service that is said to have saved 30,000 American lives. Hear their story. Next, the oldest pub in Great Britain is shutting its doors due to Covid. It only goes back 1,229 years! David shares the details. In segment two, Fisher talks with Sunny Morton, long time contributing editor at Family Tree Magazine, about her new book “Story of My Life- A Workbook For Preserving Your Legacy.” Sunny shares some great tips and thoughts on how to go about writing your own history, including how to deal with those “messy” stories. Andrew Parker, Director of Marketing for RootsTech, then joins the show talking about the upcoming mega-conference that last year attracted over a million participants from around the world. It's all free, and Andrew will tell you what you can look forward to. Then, David returns for Ask Us Anything as he and Fisher tackle questions on an old pair of pilot's lapel “wings,” and lighthouse keepers. That's all this week on Extreme Genes, America's Family History Show!

How long do you spend working on a photo mystery?  It might surprise you to hear that this week's guest spent more than a decade on her photo problem. The combination of family connections and research can helped her solve several photo problems.Early on in this journey, she asked me to weigh in on her picture. It resulted in an article in Family Tree Magazine. A few years later another article in Family Tree Magazine was a status update. Recently she sent me her analysis and I was amazed. In addition to the pictures, she explained her process. It made me smile. She listened to my advice and followed techniques that aren't usually applied to photos. You won't believe how this came together. In this episode, she talks about what sparked her interest in family history and how her search for family images is ongoing. Her advice: keep reaching out to cousins. They might hold the key. Related Episodes:Episode 137: The Walls Can Talk: Finding History in a Hidden Room with David WhitcombEpisode 132: The Wedding Detectives Charlotte Sibtain and Cole MoretonLinks:Sign up for my newsletter.Watch my YouTube Channel.Like the Photo Detective Facebook Page so you get notified of my Facebook Live videos.Need help organizing your photos? Check out the Essential Photo Organizing Video Course.Need help identifying family photos? Check out the Identifying Family Photographs Online Course.Have a photo you need help identifying? Sign up for photo consultation.About My Guest:June Thomazin's passion for solving her family photo mysteries is a case study on how to tackle even the toughest photo identification project.About Maureen Taylor:Maureen is a frequent keynote speaker on photo identification, photograph preservation, and family history at historical and genealogical societies, museums, conferences, libraries, and other organizations across the U.S., London, and Canada.  She's the author of several books and hundreds of articles and her television appearances include The View and The Today Show (where she researched and presented a complete family tree for host Meredith Vieira).  She's been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Better Homes and Gardens, The Boston Globe, Martha Stewart Living, Germany's top newspaper Der Spiegel, American Spirit, and The New York Times. Maureen was recently a spokesperson and photograph expert for MyHeritage.com, an internationally known family history website, and also writes guidebooks, scholarly articles, and online columns for such media as Smithsonian.com. Learn more at Maureentaylor.comDid you enjoy this episode? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

We gave away two copies of Genealogical Publishing Company's Russia Genealogy Research at a glance reference guide and announced the winners. News You Can Use and Share The Genealogy Guys Podcast is one of Family Tree Magazine's 101 Best Websites 2021. See full list at https://www.familytreemagazine.com/best-genealogy-websites/. MyHeritage announced its new Photo Repair tool. The FamilySearch Family History Library is reopening 6 July 2021. The Society of Genealogists announces that negotiations for a new home are underway. 1871 Irish Census transcriptions for the Roman Catholic parish of Drumconrath are now online at http://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000635150#page/5/mode/1up. The Early British Census project is now online at http://ebc.byu.edu. A new webpage has been launched for the Maps for Local History at the National Library of Scotland at https://maps.nls.uk/communities/local-history/. NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has a backlog of 500,000 outstanding records inquiries. It is estimated that it will take 18-24 months to resolve the backlog. The British Library and Findmypast have announced the renewal of their long-term partnership to digitize the British Newspaper Archive and make it available online. Findmypast has added new collections or new records to: Middlesex Baptisms; Carmarthenshire, Wales, Parish Records; Scotland Roman Catholic Parish Registers; Yorkshire Monumental Inscriptions; England Roman Catholic Parish Registers; and Crime, Prisons & Punishment records and mugshots. More than 400,000 naturalization records for the Bronx and Queens, New York, will become available online as part of a new federally-funded project. FamilySearch International announced the release of the FamilySearch GEDCOM 7.0 standard. The new data standard will accommodate media and other data in addition to text. Developers will certainly be busy programming to implement the new GEDCOM standard. Drew recaps the vast new and expanded collections at FamilySearch. DNA Segment with Diahan Southard Drew discusses working with distant matches with Diahan. Listener Email Jean congratulated us on our inclusion in Family Tree Magazine's 101 Best Genealogy Websites. She also shared that she had success with using the old Ancestry message boards to locate a grandfather's cousin. Donna Moughty won one of the Russia Genealogy Research guides and it gave her the incentive to restart her research into her grandfather who was born in what now is Ukraine. She also has a few openings for her Ireland research trips this October. Learn more at https://www.irishfamilyroots.com/ or email her at moughty@mac.com. Graeme wrote about the discovery of 215 unmarked graves on the property of a residential school in Canada for indigenous children. He asked Drew for what processes of investigating and repatriating the children's remains can be used. Tom wrote about his DNA research for his wife's biological grandfather. Thank you to all our Patreon supporting members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you'd like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started. You should also tell your friends or your society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. Let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com. George and Drew are available for virtual presentations for your local society. Contact us at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

Having common life experiences with an ancestor can draw you into learning more about what you have in common.  Annette Gendler shares some of the stories within her family history which she learned in her efforts to research one individual.In this episode Annette shares:How learning of an ancestor with a similar love story inspired her to research her family historyUnexpected discoveries that lent credibility of family storiesWhy she feels it is important to leave our own stories by writing them down About Annette:Annette Gendler is the author of the guide How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History as well as the memoir Jumping Over Shadows, the true story of a German-Jewish love that overcame the legacy of the Holocaust. Her writing and photography have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Family Tree Magazine, Tablet Magazine, Kveller, and Bella Grace, among others. In 2014-15, she served as the writer-in-residence at the Hemingway Birthplace Home in Oak Park, Illinois. She has been teaching memoir writing at StoryStudio Chicago since 2006 and has led workshops around the world on writing stories from family history. Born in New Jersey and raised in Germany, she lives in Chicago with her husband and three children.Annette’s story The Flying Dutchman is an excerpt from her memoir and is based on a letter her grandfather wrote about her grandparents' deportation from Czechoslovakia after WWII. Listeners can find it here.Connect with Annette:Website           annettegendler.com Facebook        @AnnetteGendlerAuthor Instagram        @annette.gendler Twitter             @AnnetteGendler Episode Sponsor:Episode sponsored by Heather Murphy's signature 1:1 service, Resilience in Your Roots. Get a free workbook, "Release Limiting Beliefs by Understanding Family History " to help identify your beliefs, where they come from, and how to choose your beliefs moving forward.

Paul has been researching his family tree for the past 20 years to find out more about his father who passed and it led him to some fascinating things. Not particularly doing this as a profession but more of a passion he enjoys finding a new branch of information and has even helped out friends and co workers where he started a blog "Family Tree Magazine’s ‘Dear Paul’ pages, where he posts his finds and chats with people who might have family members with similar discoveries. When it comes down to it all we all want to know more about the people before us.

Interview with Paul Chiddicks, author of the 'Dear Paul' Column for Family Tree Magazine. Interested in a free course, to blog your ancestral stories? Try this one: https://coachcaroleonline.thinkific.com/courses/BloggingInThePastLane

Helen Tovey explains why rabbit holes can be useful when researching your family tree, how Family Tree Magazine got started, how it has changed over the decades and who it is aimed at. We talk about why she setup the Family Tree Study Club and much more. Plus the chance to buy the March 2021 digital edition of Family Tree Magazine for just 99p.

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. David shares his remarkable find in reverse genealogy, pulling forward from his War of 1812 ancestor to family ties to the “X-Men” franchise! Then, hear about the shoes people are finding behind walls in Canada and why they’re there. David also talks about the dead cats behind walls in Scotland he learned about years ago. What was that all about?! He’ll tell you. Then, it’s another major archaeological find in Egypt. The guys wrap up the segment, in the wake of the recent inauguration, talking presidents, particularly David’s connection to one of the greats. Fisher then visits with well known researcher, speaker, and blogger Sunny Morton. Sunny has written a great article for Family Tree Magazine on how to plan out your research year, based largely on weather, holidays, and traditions. There’s no doubt an idea or two waiting for you. Next, Russell Shorto, a renowned author talks about his new book coming out on February 2nd that discusses the history of the Mafia in small town America. His grandfather was part of the illegal activities that proliferated from coast to coast. Dr. Henry Louis Gates returns to fill us in on the next episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS. Season Seven is underway with some fascinating celebrity guests and discoveries. David then returns to wrap up the show with Ask Us Anything. He answers a question about sources for railroad workers. That’s all this week on Extreme Genes, America’s Family History Show!

The Genealogy Guys and Vivid-Pix announce two exciting programs: The Unsung Heroes Societies Grant Program will award grants to two societies each year to facilitate their digitizing, indexing, and transcribing photographs and documents. The grantees will each receive a high-quality scanner, a backup and online storage software package, and two copies of Vivid-Pix RESTORE software to improve the legibility of documents, the color/contrast of photographs, and to add image tags and other important information to the image metadata. The grant package is valued at $500. The Unsung Heroes Awards Program continues to recognize individuals, societies, and libraries for their work in digitizing, indexing, and transcribing photographs and documents and making that work accessible to the genealogical community. Award winners will receive a commemorative certificate, a customized mug that can include an image of their choice, and a copy of Vivid-Pix RESTORE. Individual winners will also receive a one-year subscription to Genealogy Guys Learn. Grant applications and award nominations are due by midnight EDT on 1 August 2020. Full details are available on our blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com/2020/05/the-genealogy-guys-podcast-and-vivid.html. News You Can Use and Share MyHeritage has added 7 new reports to MyHeritage Health. MyHeritage launched its Photo Enhancer in June and within 10 days had enhanced more than one million photos. The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) will hold its 40th international conference virtually on 10-13 August 2020. Details and registration are available at iajgs2020.org. The Georgia State Legislature has passed SB372 which extends the privacy of birth records to 125 years and the privacy of marriage, divorce, and death records to 100 years. The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) has established three new scholarships. They will afford persons of color and those from underrepresented groups in society and culture the opportunity to attend APG's Professional Management Conference. Two of the scholarships, honoring Kenyatta Berry and the late James Dent “Jimmy” Walker, are intended to benefit genealogists of African-American or other African-rooted heritage. The third scholarship is intended to support a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or gender-questioning genealogist in attending APG's flagship conference. The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) announced a new scholarship, the “Board for Certification of Genealogists Scholarship for African American Students.” Up to three scholarships will be awarded each year to offset the cost of participating in an intensive genealogical education program, as well as the cost of applying for the CG credential. Findmypast has added: Scotland Roman Catholic Church Parish Records; Scotland, Linlithgowshire (West Lothian), Electoral Registers (1864-1931); more United States Marriages; U.S., Pennsylvania, Civil War Veterans' Card File; U.S., New Jersey, Military Records Index; U.S., Rolls of Soldiers in the Revolutionary War; and Yorkshire Baptisms. More than 400,000 U.S. naturalization records from the Bronx and Queens will become available online in 2022 as part of a three-year project. Drew recaps new record additions, updates, and indexes at FamilySearch. Diahan Southard Drew asks Diahan about the Leeds method. https://www.yourdnaguide.com/leeds-method Cyndi Says Cyndi Ingle discusses how to stay focused. Tools for Research Plans - Create them in:      Word Google Docs Evernote OneNote Trello Templates and forms for research planning:      Cyndi's List > Charts & Forms,  https://cyndislist.com/charts/research/ Cyndi's Routine Records Sources, https://bit.ly/2EY54CS   Cyndi's Records Checklist Template, https://bit.ly/2xZhDXR  Cyndi's Research Log or Research Notes, https://bit.ly/2R9lE4L  Cyndi's Simple Research Plan, https://bit.ly/2xLC6jp  Cyndi's Preferred Research Plan, https://bit.ly/2xKPLaI  Adventures in Genealogy Education, Research Plan Template in Word, https://bit.ly/2Y9lhgj  See also: Cyndi's List - Research Methodology, https://cyndislist.com/research-methodology/ Our Listeners Talk to Us Jean on Long Island congratulates The Guys on their inclusion in the 101 Best Genealogy Websites for 2020 published by Family Tree Magazine. Donna writes asking why Facebook has removed a friend's individual obituary posts made to multiple groups as “spamming” and has issued the friend a “final warning” to stop. She wants to talk with a human being at Facebook to explain her work and motivations. Our listeners are encouraged to share their suggestions. Andrew's great-great-grandfather owned three enslaved persons according to the U.S. federal census records of 1860 and no names are listed. He would like to trace the enslaved individuals and is looking for suggestions. Our listeners are encouraged to share their suggestions. Genealogy Guys Learn Subscription Sale The Genealogy Guys have placed Genealogy Guys Learn, their subscription genealogy education website, on sale through the month of July 2020. The first year's subscription is $79 (regularly $99). Visit the site at https://genealogyguyslearn.com/, click on the red ENROLL button at the bottom of the screen, and complete your information. Use the code JULYSALE to get the reduced price. See our blog post at http://blog.genealogyguys.com/2020/07/genealogy-guys-learn-july-sale.html for details, including a link to another blog post at http://blog.genealogyguys.com/2020/07/genealogy-guys-learn-list-of-full.html with the full list of videos and written course available and coming soon. And remember that we add new content every month! The Genealogy Guys are available for webinars using Zoom, a simple-to-use online video meeting tool that handles up to 100 people logged in at a time. Our catalog of Genealogy Topics is available at https://ahaseminars.com/ along with information about Genealogy Webinars. Contact us to schedule a webinar for your society. Thank you again to our Patreon supporters! You can support us at https://patreon.com/genealogyguys. You can also tell your friends or your society about our free podcasts, our blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. Send us email at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

Family Tree Magazine announced the 101 Best Genealogy Websites of 2020 and The Genealogy Guys Podcast was on the list. Thank you! The Genealogy Guys and Vivid-Pix announce two exciting programs: The Unsung Heroes Societies Grant Program will award grants to two societies each year to facilitate their digitizing, indexing, and transcribing photographs and documents. Each grantee will receive a high-quality scanner, a backup and online storage software package, and two copies of Vivid-Pix RESTORE software to improve the legibility of documents and the color/contrast of photographs, and to add image tags and other important information to the image metadata. Each grant package is valued at $500. The Unsung Heroes Awards Program continues to recognize individuals, societies, and libraries for their work in digitizing, indexing, and transcribing photographs and documents and for making that work accessible to the genealogical community. Award winners will receive a commemorative certificate, a customized mug that can include an image of their choice, and a copy of Vivid-Pix RESTORE. Individual winners will also receive a one-year subscription to Genealogy Guys Learn. Grant applications and award nominations are due by midnight EDT on 1 August 2020. Full details are available on our blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com/2020/05/the-genealogy-guys-podcast-and-vivid.html. News You Can Use and Share MyHeritage is seeking users of their mobile app with more than 100 individuals in the app to observe their behaviors while using the Discoveries feature. Users will be interviewed while using the app. If interested in helping out, contact Keren Szabason, the Product Designer, at keren.szabason@myheritage.com. MyHeritage launched an exclusive new collection: Germany, North Rhine Westphalia, Death Index 1870-1940. MyHeritage has introduced Cross-Language Record Matches to help users locate ancestors' records in different and often unexpected languages. Joel Weintraub has been working in advance of the release of the 1950 U.S. Federal Census. He has created YouTube videos about that, as well as other topics such as immigration. Visit https://tinyurl.com/ycsg7af8 for a page showing the title of the videos, running time, and YouTube address of each of the videos Vivid-Pix brings back memories of family reunions past and makes new reunion memories for this year. See our blog post at http://blog.genealogyguys.com/2020/06/relive-past-reunions-create-this-years.html for all the details. The FamilySearch Family Tree has added support for the entry of same-sex couples. BillionGraves has launched a new feature called QualityCheck to improve the accuracy of its searchable cemetery inscriptions. The Family History Show in the UK has moved online at https://thefamilyhistoryshow.com/online. It will be held on 20 June 2020. Early-bird registration is now available. All content on British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk is currently free through 30 September 2020. See their blog at https://blog.history.ac.uk/2020/03/british-history-online-makes-all-research-content-free-to-individual-users/. Findmypast has added 1939 Register Map Search. Findmypast has added new and additional content to: British Army Service Records; Royal Engineers Journals (1939-1945); Royal Air Force, Operations Record Books (1939-1945); Royal Air Force, Combat Reports (1939-1945); England & Wales, Electoral Registers (19201932); Britain, Histories & Reference Guides; Canadian Directories & Almanacs; and Canada, Ontario, Toronto Emigrant Office Records Index. Drew recaps new record additions, updates, and indexes at FamilySearch. DNA Segment with Diahan Southard Drew and Diahan talk about why someone might not share any ethnicity with a DNA match. https://www.yourdnaguide.com/ethnicity-results Cyndi Says Cyndi Ingle discusses her own website, Cyndi's List! Our Listeners Talk to Us Lisa Tompson of the Martin County [Florida] Genealogical Society tells us what their society is doing to conduct meetings these days. Jeff shared information with Drew about Private William Boddy in the Civil War. He provided a link to Boddy's journal: http://new.webfreemanual.asia/?q=Private+william+boddys+civil+war+journal+by+william+boddy&ref=cespolora.duckdns.org&base=pdfmans. Bruce is researching the Sailors' Snug Harbor retirement home on Staten Island, New York (1833-1976) and the mariners buried there. He is compiling information and stories, and listeners are encouraged to email us if they'd like to contact Bruce about his project. Floreen wrote about Drew's interview with Diahan Southard and about her own DNA research into her great-grandfather. Judy wrote to alert people that if you are paying for someone else's DNA test, make sure you will have access to the information. The Genealogy Guys are available for webinars using Zoom, a simple-to-use online video meeting tool that handles up to 100 people logged in at a time. Our catalog of Genealogy Topics is available at https://ahaseminars.com along with information about Genealogy Webinars. Contact us to schedule a webinar for your society. Thank you again to our Patreon supporters! You can support us at https://patreon.com/genealogyguys. You can also tell your friends or your society about our free podcasts, our blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. Send us email at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

Diahan Southard is the founder and CEO of yourdnaguide.com. After getting bitten by the DNA bug as a high school student, Diahan went on to study at Brigham Young University where she earned a bachelors degree in microbiology. She worked for the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, one of the first efforts to create a correlated genetic and genealogical database. She is the founder and CEO of Your DNA Guide, where she walks people step by step through any kind of DNA test in a way that they can understand—and even enjoy! She has lectured around the world to national and local audiences. She is the author of several quick guides on genetic genealogy, a featured writer for Family Tree Magazine, a regular contributor to Genealogy Today, a former contributor to Genealogy Gems, and contributor to several other publications. She is also the author of the book Your DNA Guide. In the episode we talk about her conversion as a teen, what genealogy means to her, what drives her passion for DNA and genealogy study and the eternal perspective of it all. Diahan is so energetic and engaging. You will love her story!

Join Lisa and her guests for an update on Family Tree Magazine's new edition of the best state websites for genealogy!

Phillip and Trisha give their gift ideas for the family research. With Christmas upon us, we share several gift ideas that you can gift to your family researcher or even purchase for yourself.These items are good for any researcher at any level, but are ideal for the beginner family researcher.Below are affiliate links for some of the items we discussed. If you choose to purchase, please use these links to purchase and we'll get a small commission. There's no additional cost to you. This will help support the podcast and help us continue providing content.External Hard Drive - https://amzn.to/2sun1TyPortable Audio Recorder - https://amzn.to/34pjUtoPortable Scanner - https://amzn.to/2YW6i84Ancestry DNA Test - https://amzn.to/35m1afDFamilyTree DNA Test - https://amzn.to/2Pledsk23andMe DNA Test - https://amzn.to/2PoDx0x*********************************************************ROOTSTECH 4-DAY PASS GIVEAWAY WINNER:Lori Lotlowski is the winner of the 4-day RootsTech pass.*********************************************************Social MediaFollow, Like, Subscribe and ShareBlog: http://www.journeythroughthegenerations.comEmail: mygenjourney@gmail.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDVodHWarer8oea90hmbG9QTwitter: https://twitter.com/GenJourneyBlog

News You Can Use and Share Unsung Heroes Awards for 3Q2019 will be announced at the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference in Washington, DC, this coming week. Ancestry.com has published two unique Holocaust Records collections for free, making them searchable for the first time. Ancestry.com has announced that it now shows parental relationships on each person. Vivid-Pix launched its Zoom/Transcribe software update on July 9th at the Allen County Public Library. Yankee Publishing has acquired Family Tree Magazine. American Ancestors and the Archdiocese of Boston have announced a major expansion in their partnership to digitize important sacramental records in the history of Boston's Catholic Church. Findmypast.com has announced numerous changes to a number of their collections: Middlesex Baptisms; Huddersfield Baptisms; Yorkshire Monumental Inscriptions; Essex Baptism Index, Marriages and Banns, and Burial Index; Derbyshire Births and Baptisms; Kent Burials; Maryland Index to Colonial Probate Records; and Maryland Wills and Probate Records. FamilySearch has announced that users can now correct name indexing errors in records.  Drew discusses many new and expanded collections from FamilySearch. Book Review  George delivers a review of David McCullough's book, The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West. The book brings to life the stories of the New Englanders who migrated west to settle the Old Northwest Territory, especially Ohio. Highly recommended. Blaine T. Bettinger This week's discussion between Blaine and Drew focuses on what happens to DNA samples after they arrive at the testing labs. Cyndi Ingle Cyndi Ingle's “Cyndi Says” segment discusses using YouTube for learning more about genealogical resources. U.S. National Archives, https://www.youtube.com/USNationalArchives Library of Congress, https://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryOfCongress The National Archives UK, https://www.youtube.com/c/TheNationalArchivesUK The British Library, https://www.youtube.com/britishlibrary National Archives of Australia, https://www.youtube.com/user/NationalArchives1 Archives New Zealand, https://www.youtube.com/user/archivesnz Library and Archives Canada, https://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryArchiveCanada National Genealogical Society, https://www.youtube.com/user/NGSGenealogy Ohio Genealogical Society, https://www.youtube.com/user/OhioGenealogicalSoci Ancestry.com, https://www.youtube.com/user/AncestryCom/ Findmypast, https://www.youtube.com/user/findmypast MyHeritage, https://www.youtube.com/user/MyHeritageLtd/ Fold3, https://www.youtube.com/user/Fold3Team GenealogyBank, https://www.youtube.com/user/GenealogyBank Cyndi's List - How To - Internet Video, https://www.cyndislist.com/how-to/internet-video/ Cyndi's List - Video & Audio - Internet Audio & Video, https://www.cyndislist.com/video/internet/ Our Listeners Talk to Us Don writes about DD-214 forms given to military personnel at the time of their discharge. Trisha asks Drew for recommendations about how to catalog Civil War books and manuscripts in their library. Margie writes to further discuss Bishops Transcripts of English and Welsh parish registers. Laura wants to know more about the demographics of AncestryDNA matches. Tom wants to know more about American social life in the late 1890s, and George finds a book for him. Mike shares details about how he has organized his genealogical records. Thank you to our Patreon supporters! You can also tell your friends or your society about our free podcasts. Visit The Genealogy Guys Blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com for more news and interesting ideas for your genealogy. Join The Genealogy Squad Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/genealogysquad/. Listen for a major announcement from The Guys on October 1, 2019!

Are you interested in reading or subscribing to a new genealogy magazine that has something for everyone? Family Tree Magazine is the one for you. Today I’ll give you a review of this amazing stalwart of the genealogical magazine industry. Show Notes:https://ancestralfindings.com/review-family-tree-magazine/  Listen via:- https://ancestralfindings.com/itunes  - https://ancestralfindings.com/youtube  Weekly Giveaways:- https://ancestralfindings.com/drawing  Free eBooks:- https://ancestralfindings.com/ebooks  Hard To Find Surnames:- https://ancestralfindings.com/surnames 

The Guys celebrate the publication of their 400th episode (of the two podcasts taken together)! George's first article in The In-Depth Genealogist magazine (http://theindepthgenealogist.com) has just been published. He will be writing a column called Genealogy, by George in every issue. Podcast listeners can get a $10 discount on a subscription using the coupon code GUYS+IDGmag at http://www.theindepthgenealogist.com/subscription-form/. Family Tree Magazine has published an e-book compilation of George's popular Document Detective column at https://www.familytreemagazine.com/store/document-detective-ebook?. The news includes: MyHeritage has become a Presenting Partner with Eurovision for its 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. RootsTech 2019 registration has opened for the annual Salt Lake City conference on February 27-March 2, 2019 Church of Ireland records will be digitized with the award of a €100,000 government grant. 200 million records for the Netherlands are now accessible at the multi-lingual website Open Archives – http://www.openarch.nl. Fans of Nathan Dylan Goodwin can preorder his new book, Ghost Swifts, Blue Poppies and the Red Star, in Kindle version at all Amazon websites. The Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed) has announced the opening of the Richard E. Lackey Scholarship to support attendance at Gen-Fed 2019. Details and application are available at http://www.gen-fed.org/. Findmypast has released new records for Welsh Parish Records, Kent Parish Records, Northumberland and Durham Burials, Middlesex Baptisms, the 939 Register, and more. Drew summarizes the new and updated collections at FamilySearch. Listener email includes: Jean writes about a Long Island library conference and the inclusion of The Guys' books as recommended buys. Ed writes about a cousin who is beginning her search for birth parents. Brad asks for advice on getting started on preparations for his family's upcoming 300th anniversary, including recommendations for what software or websites to use to collaborate with relatives. Robin is looking for a free GEDCOM viewer. Kelly follows up on her earlier email about mega-trees. Nikki poses questions about: Mega-trees Ancestors in psychiatric hospitals and suicides What to expect at a local genealogical society meeting Resources for researching slave ancestors What kind of education might be pursued so she can help others with their genealogy Richard asks Drew for more information about researching manuscript collections. Drew discusses GEDmatch, a tool for extending your research reach with your autosomal DNA test results and matching others who have tested.

The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #218 with Lisa Louise Cooke In this episode, Lisa answers your questions and shares your comments. Hot topics on your minds that are covered in this episode: discovering new records online, working with other people's online trees, hard-to-locate military records; and getting lost in Pennsylvania research   NEWS: GOOGLE EARTH STORIES COMING Lisa's FREE Google Earth video class: , 2nd edition and (you must use the Chrome browser to access) .      NEWS: FAMILYSEARCH REACHES 2 BILLION IMAGES (it's free! Everyone should use it!)   GEMS NEWS: LISA'S NEW COLUMN IN FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE Purchase the May/June issue in or format Subscribe to Family Tree Magazine: format, format or ! for Father's Day: Invite your dad to share stories with loved ones every week, and then get them all bound in a beautiful hardcover book at the end of the year. Go to for $20 off when you subscribe. This Father's Day is actually a gift for you, too!   BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App Users If you're listening through the Genealogy Gems app, don't forget to check out your bonus content for this episode! The and is only $2.99 for .   MAILBOX: SARA'S FRIDAY RECORD POST DISCOVERY to subscribe to the free Genealogy Gems newsletter to receive the weekly Friday records update by email. to view several recent Friday records posts—see what new records have appeared online lately! Tell Lisa Louise Cooke about your “Friday records post” discoveries—or anything else—at or call her voicemail at 925-272-4021.   MAILBOX: ONLINE FAMILY TREE MATCHES   MAILBOX: BACK TO RESEARCH AFTER 10 YEARS! Lisa's recommendations to a new for getting back into the swing of research: to the free Genealogy Gems newsletter. Watch the Premium video, “” (Premium eLearning membership required) Listen to the Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast by Lisa Louise Cooke. It's a great series for learning the research ropes and well as refreshing your skills.  Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends . From within RootsMagic, you can search historical records on FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. Keep your family history research, photos, tree software files, videos and all other computer files safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems. Learn more at .   MAILBOX: MILITARY DRAFT REGISTRATIONS to read about finding military draft registrations   INTERVIEW: JIM BEIDLER ON PENNSYLVANIA RESEARCH QUESTION James M. Beidler is the author of Guide and . Learn more Pennsylvania research techniques in his on-demand webinar download, . to read a summary of some of Jim's tips AND find a collection of links we curated to help you find more Pennsylvania birth records online.  is the place to make connections with relatives overseas, particularly with those who may still live in your ancestral homeland. : it's free to get started.     PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Hannah Fullerton, Audio Editor Lacey Cooke, Service Manager Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting this free podcast and blog!  FREE NEWSLETTER: Enter your email & get my Google Research e-bookas a thank you gift! to receive a free weekly e-mail newsletter, with tips, inspiration and money-saving deals.  

Need help deciding which DNA test is right for you? In this month's podcast we'll share tips for selecting your test. We're also discussing Family Tree Magazine's new look. Join us!

Lisa discusses the 101 Best Genealogy Sites of 2017, along with interviews from the editors of Family Tree Magazine.

  The International African American Museum's Center for Family History is a one of a kind research center with a special focus on African American genealogy. You can visit the IAAM CFH website at https://cfh.iaamuseum.org/. The exhibitions at the IAAM will use groundbreaking research to inform cutting-edge exhibit techniques, bringing historical events to life. The exhibition features eight distinct chapters that guide visitors through the African American story. Visitors begin in West Africa in the 17th century, and end with the formation of new African American communities in the 21st century. Toni Carrier is an anthropologist, historian and genealogist. She holds a Master’s degree in Applied Anthropology from the University of South Florida and is the founder of Lowcountry Africana (www.lowcountryafricana.com), the USF Africana Heritage Project (www.africanaheritage.com) and co-founder with Angela Walton-Raji of Mapping the Freedmen’s Bureau (www.mappingthefreedmensbureau.com ). Robin Foster has been researching and helping people discover and share information about their ancestors since 1985 and as a blogger and freelancer, she has worked to heighten awareness of genealogical and historical resources through social media. She has worked as a FamilySearch Missionary from May 2007 until July 2013. Robin is a HubSpot certified Inbound Marketer. She was selected as Family Tree Magazine’s Social Media Mavericks: 40 to Follow in 2014. Robin is currently consulting to establish the Center for Family History at the International African American Museum.

The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke In this Blast from the Past episode: Lisa reprises a favorite research detour into vehicle forensics—to identify an old family car—and shares tips for creating short family history books like those she given as holiday gifts to loved ones. Hear letters from listeners on a special adoption discovery and a 1940 census mystery that now makes more sense. Your DNA Guide Diahan Southard weighs in with 4 reasons to take a DNA test, if you haven't taken the plunge yet. Genealogy Gems Editor Sunny Morton spotlights the current Genealogy Gems Book Club title, Murder in Matera. The vehicle forensics and family book segments originally appeared in Genealogy Gems Podcast episodes 18 and 13, respectively, and are being republished here for web audiences. MAILBOX: RICHARD ON THE 1940 CENSUS 1940 census tip: Listen in or read it on the . software helps genealogists organize and analyze their research discoveries. Free 14-day trial available. MAILBOX: ADOPTEE DISCOVERY , taken from a conversation between genetic genealogy experts Your DNA Guide Diahan Southard and CeCe Moore from DNA Detectives. Join our conversations on the . BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App . If you're listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus content for this episode is an audio excursion with Lisa on an old railroad track up to a silver mine in the Colorado Rockies, an excursion she originally shared in Episode 18 of the Genealogy Gems Podcast, not now available online, and is being republished here exclusively for your enjoyment. The and is only $2.99 for GEM: MAKING FAMILY HISTORY BOOKS Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 2 with a segment on transcribing diaries was republished as . Qualities of a successful short family history book, from Lisa Louise Cooke The book conveys an overall theme. Start by reviewing all the available material you have. That will give you a good sense of what the time period was like for your ancestor. You'll also start to understand their goals, experiences, and emotions.  Ultimately a theme should begin to surface.  In the case of A Nurse In Training, I wanted to communicate my grandmother as a young woman taking on a new adventure away from home that ultimately led to this warm, caring woman's successful career as a nurse. I also tucked a bonus subplot in there of how she just happened to meet her husband at the same time! You don't need every scrap of research and every photo to get this theme across. It's your job to be a sharp editor and to pick out the critical pieces. You want the words and photographs that clearly communicate your theme to the reader. #2. The book can be read in one sitting. Like it or not, if it takes too long read, they probably won't.  Strive to create a book that doesn't look intimidating.  I create books that are ten to twenty double sided pages.  People will be willing to pick up a thinner book off the coffee table.  If it's well done they'll find that all of a sudden they've finished the entire book without wanting to put it down.  The final goal is that they will walk away with a real sense of having gotten to know that ancestor. #3. It contains the best of the best of what you have. This goes back to conveying the theme and being a strict editor.  My grandma had many funny stories, but there just wasn't room for all of them.  I picked the best of the best.  Anyone who reads the book should hopefully come away with the fact that she had a sense of humor and could laugh at herself.  So keep the content of your book focused, full of graphics and photos, and including the best of the best.  If you can capture their interest in the first three pages, you'll have them for the entire book. #4. There are lots of photos and graphics. A picture is definitely worth a thousand words.  Since the number of words in this size book will be limited, photographs will be your best friend.  If you're lacking in family photos, many of my previous podcasts will give you countless ideas for locating associated photos.  In A Nurse In Training I included scanned images of skating rink tickets, programs and announcements from my grandma's scrapbook, and journal pages in my grandmother's own hand.  These types of items really add texture and interest to your book, as well as help the reader to see that you've really done your homework. #5. Keep it in chronological order. This may seem obvious, but it's easy to get side tracked and start going back and forth in time.  Believe me, for the reader's sake keep things in chronological order. You as the researcher know this information backwards and forwards, but this is probably your reader's first exposure to it.  Be gentle with them and keep it straight forward and simple.  Your reader will thank you. #6. You choose only high-quality images and printing. High quality glossy pages, good image quality and a hard cover binding all shout to the reader “I'm worth your time, read me!”  For example, I found a drawing of Dameron Hospital where my grandmother worked, but it was a low quality image and didn't translate well in the book.  As much as I wanted to include it, I ended up leaving it out. I'm glad I did; it wasn't critical to the book and there were other ways to communicate the hospital to the reader. Start creating fabulous, irresistible videos about your family history with . You don't need special video-editing skills: just drag and drop your photos and videos, pick a layout and music, add a little text and voila! You've got an awesome video! Try this out for yourself at .   MyHeritage.com is the place to make connections with relatives overseas, particularly with those who may still live in your ancestral homeland. : it's free to get started. 4 REASONS TO RSVP YOUR DNA INVITATION with I used to think that economics was just a series of numbers and calculations that helped to gauge the future growth of companies and countries. In a word: boring. But that was before I discovered that you can study the economics of people and essentially use math to describe human behavior, and therefore in some ways make that behavior more predictable. This is of course especially intriguing to my current situation as the parent of a teenager, a pre-teen, and a daughter. Teenagers especially are always talking about the things that “everyone else has,” a phenomenon that Malcom Gladwell, one of these interesting people-economists, describes as the “tipping point.” He says that the tipping point is “the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.” For my kids it's everything from the point at which a party becomes fun to doing everything that is humanly possible to procure a fidget-spinner (if you don't know what that is, ask the nearest 11 year old). In DNA testing in the United States, that tipping point is now. We have reached the point where most genealogists at least have the passing notion that genetics can be useful in genealogy. Most genealogists (I would guess 85%) who attend the lectures I give have already had at least one DNA test completed. Let's stop for just one minute and recognize how incredible that is! Not too long ago I was still trying to convince people that this was a good idea and that you didn't have to dig up your ancestors to do it! But now we have scores of genealogists who have not only tested themselves, but have convinced half their family to test as well! This got me thinking though, who are those people who haven't tested? And why not? One category of people sans DNA test are those who have full pedigree charts. I have heard many of them say that they don't see the need to do DNA testing since they have most of their lines “way back.” To those with the blessing of ancestors who kept better records than mine, I am offering four reasons why you should RSVP to your invitation to DNA test. Record. First and foremost, your DNA is a record. Just as you have obtained birth certificates and marriage licenses for your ancestors, your DNA is a unique record. It does represent you and your family in a way that no other record can. It is a document of your genetic history, and should be preserved. Further, while you may doubt the ability of your DNA to shed light on your current genealogy, don't underestimate the contribution it might make in the future. Second Cousins. And third cousins, and fourth cousins, etc. Having your DNA tested means you can see a biological connection between you and other relatives that have had tested. For many, the idea of meeting or forming relationships with distant cousins is not appealing. But even if you have no intention of attending DNA family reunions or even in corresponding with these relatives, there is something reassuring about seeing them there on your match list. There is a certain thrill that comes with recognizing the connection between you and someone else. A connection that may not add any new names to your tree, but it helps you feel a deeper connection to your ancestor, and a greater appreciation for your biology. Verify. Which brings me to the next point. Seeing these cousins on your list can actually help verify the genealogy you have already collected and documented. It helps to reassure you that you have made the right steps along the way, and may help you gain additional resources about your relative through their descendants that you find on your match list. Resources that can help turn that ancestor from a name on a chart, to a story and a life worth preserving. Philanthropy. The last reason to go ahead and have your DNA tested is to help others. If you have been lucky enough to fill in most of the blanks on your tree, you can help others do the same by simply having your DNA tested. Your DNA provides a link to your tree that might be just what someone needs to overcome a brick wall in their family history. So, if you have been hanging out on the outskirts of DNA testing because you feel like your tree is full enough without it, remember to RSVP to your invitation to be DNA tested, and join the party! GENEALOGY GEMS BOOK CLUB: A FAMILY HISTORY MURDER MYSTERY! by journalist Helene Stapinski. A story of poverty and power, love, tragic decisions, and a courageous and desperate woman's leap for a new life across the ocean. continues to unravel a past Helene explored in her fantastic first family history memoir, . Find a whole list of fabulous family history-inspired reading at the Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends family history software. From within RootsMagic, you can search historical records on FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. RootsMagic is now fully integrated with Ancestry.com, too: you can sync your RootsMagic trees with your Ancestry.com trees and search records on the site.   Visit Keep your family history research, photos, tree software files, videos and all other computer files safely backed up with , the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems. Learn more at . GEM: VEHICULAR FORENSICS: Updated links, tips and resources Here's the original photo of my grandma next to her father's car:  The original zoomed in image of the license plate: The license plate with the "alternative light source" applied: Since I first published this episode, iGoogle has gone away. Websites for identifying old cars: From : “Veteran cars were manufactured before 1903, vintage cars were made between 1903 and 1933, and classic cars are considered to be vehicles manufactured from 1933 until fifteen years ago.” Learn more about ArchiveGrid in (Genealogy Gems Premium subscription required) and in this blog post: by Lisa Louise Cooke for Google searches and even YouTube: “ on YouTube More updated resources:  “ and TIP: Remember that you may be able to make great discoveries IN old photos with your photo editing software (even just with whatever free software is on your computer): 1. Open up the photo editing software 2. Open the photograph in question in the program 3. Use the trim feature to zoom in on the license plate—or whatever feature you want to focus on 4. Zoom in to make it easier to see 5. Try using both the Brightness and Contrast feature of your program in combination until you achieve a favorable result 6. Apply Auto Sharpen for further detail “Motor Trends” by Family Tree Magazine, by Maureen Taylor is your ultimate guide to identifying old objects in pictures to help you learn more about your family history.   PROFILE AMERICA:   PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Diahan Southard, Your DNA Guide, Content Contributor Hannah Fullerton, Production Assistant Lacey Cooke, Service Manager

In this episode of the podzine, Jess Fostekew tells us how to do fancy dan outdoor dining, Hannah Dunleavy chats geneaology with Karen Clare from Family Tree Magazine ahead of the new series of Who Do You Think You Are? and Anneka Harry gives us the lowdown on where the UK’s at with LGBTQ+ rights. Our Sarah answers a very important question and Dunleavy Does Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Parts of this episode were recorded at the Harwich Arts Festival. ADMIN: Our music was composed and recorded by Barry Hilton, all rights reserved. Thanks to David Young, Mary Young and John Clare for their help with the stings. We have an archive full of excellent articles at www.standardissuemagazine.com. You can write to us at mailbag@standardissuemagazine.com, follow us on Twitter at @StandardIssueUK or find us on Facebook and Instagram. All of our podcasts are available on iTunes and Podomatic. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 200 with Lisa Louise Cooke  Listen below: It's finally here—the 200th episode of the free Genealogy Gems podcast, also celebrating its 10th year. In this special episode, Lisa invites Professor Mark Auslander to share his discoveries about a mother and young daughter separated by slavery. Learn how he pieced together their story from a poignant family heirloom found at a flea market. Throughout the episode, you will hear from several listeners, past podcast guests, Gems staffers and supporters in the genealogy industry with congratulations, memories, stories, and favorite Gems tips. Listen for the DNA success story of an adoptee who never gave up his search for his biological roots. Thanks to all listeners and friends who sent congratulations! Among them are: Allison Dolan, Publisher, Family Tree Magazine. She mentioned the Bruce Buzbee, RootsMagic family history software DearMYRTLE, veteran online genealogy educator and author of the award-winning . She mentioned Lisa's podcast; her ; and during conferences. Geoff Rasmussen, , and author of Jim Shaughnessy, Mary Tedesco, host and genealogist on PBS' , founder of , co-author of and a guest on , talking about Italian research and her work on Genealogy Roadshow Steve Luxenberg, author of . Listen to Lisa's conversation with him in The Genealogy Gems Podcast episodes  and . This book and interview planted the seed for the ! Yev Pusin, Social Marketing Marketer, online computer backup service, also celebrating its 10th anniversary   NEWS: FAMICITY KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN : see several options for contributing, including options that come with a Famicity Premium subscription as a reward. Pledges will only be collected if they reach their Kickstarter goal, and subscriptions become active in the summer with the official launch. Tip: the Kickstarter page gives contributions in British currency. to see a tool for converting those amounts to your currency. ROOTSTECH 2017: IN PERSON AND STREAMING CLASSES IN PERSON: If you're attending RootsTech on February 8-11, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah, come by the Genealogy Gems booth for exclusive 30-minute classes on the hottest topics; prizes at every class AND a Saturday Grand Prize drawing; great Gems product specials and a new and wider selection of products we love. to learn more. LIVE STREAMING: Lisa will be live-streaming marked sessions (above) via the free Periscope app. Get it in  or . Sign up for a free account and follow Lisa Louise Cooke to tune in. Sign up for notifications in Periscope, and your phone will “ping” whenever Lisa starts streaming! Broadcasts stay in the Periscope app for 24 hours. Like and follow the  to hear about more streaming sessions. RootsTech offers a few free live-streaming sessions; to see the full schedule. Gems editor Sunny Morton will be streaming on Friday, Feb 10 at 3:00 pm Mountain Time with “The Big 4: Comparing Ancestry, FamilySearch, Findmypast and MyHeritage.” MAILBOX: LISA AND SUNNY The following were mentioned in listener emails and voicemails: by Lisa Louise Cooke. This is a FREE step-by-step series for beginning genealogists—and more experienced ones who want to brush up or learn something new. One listener mentioned the series on naturalization records in episodes 29-31. by Lisa Louise Cooke. Monthly episodes—and the full archive of past episodes—are available to . This podcast takes what you love about the free Genealogy Gems podcast and goes deeper, broader and more exclusively into topics of interest for U.S. and international audiences. and is only $2.99 for .   : free tips and great resources to help you make the most of this free app (or its Premium version) to keep all your genealogy research notes and links organized and at your fingertips. computer dashboard tool and : “I was robbed! They took the computer AND the backup drive!” Keep your family history research, photos, tree software files, videos and all other computer files safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems. Learn more at . DNA WITH YOUR DNA GUIDE DIAHAN SOUTHARD s, available to Gems fans for a special price. Diahan's series of DNA quick guides, available or as   IMAGE Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends . From within RootsMagic, you can search WebHints on FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. Soon RootsMagic will also be able to search records and even sync your tree with Ancestry.com, too.       is the place to make connections with relatives overseas, particularly with those who may still live in your ancestral homeland. : it's free to get started.   INTERVIEW: MARK AUSLANDER Mark Auslander is an Associate Professor and Museum Director at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA and the author of Mark's path to the probable family of this artifact used these techniques: Look closely at all clues from the artifact: the fabric, stitching, colors, facts conveyed in the text, etc. Look at both the historical clues and the artistic or symbolic aspects of it. Create a profile for the people mentioned based on what is known. Probable age for Ruth Middleton in 1921, etc. Use contextual and social history clues to hypothesize a scenario. The inclusion of “South Carolina” hints that the seamstress didn't live in South Carolina, so he guessed that she was part of the Great Migration of millions of African-Americans in the early 1900s who headed from the rural South to the industrial Midwest and other urban cities. Take advantage of unusual clues. Rose is a common name for an enslaved woman, but not Ashley. Look through all available records. Possible census listings for Ruth Middleton in 1920 didn't seem likely candidates. He dug through marriage records for Northern states until he found a woman named Ruth who married a man named Middleton who fit the profile he'd created. Use specialized sources for African-American research, especially records created by and about the slaveholder that relate to the holding, sale or transfer of enslaved people. Mark says that some researchers describe the search process as “guided by some force larger than yourself that keeps you going through those endless hours in microfilm rooms or online. But it does connect us all in very profound ways to those who came before and those who come after….Through genealogical work, in a sense we can triumph over death itself and we can move back and forth in time in the most remarkable way.” Coming up next month in : An interview with Angela Walton-Raji on finding African-American ancestors. She shares tons of resources! Even if you haven't found any African-Americans on your family tree, the challenges and rewards of African-American genealogical research are both fascinating and moving to learn about.  provides expert genealogy research service that works with your research goals, budget and schedule. The Legacy Tree Discovery package offers 3.5 hours of preliminary analysis and research recommendations: a great choice if you've hit a brick wall in your research and could use some expert guidance. GENEALOGY GEMS EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Go to and use coupon code GEMS100 to save $100 off your purchase of research services (expires 4/30/17). CONVERSATIONS WITH MORE GEMS Amie Tennant Lacey Cooke Vienna Thomas Amie Tennant, Gems Content Contributor: see the Lacey Cooke, Gems Service Manager Vienna Thomas, Associate Producer and Audio Editor; she mentioned a favorite title and interview were with Chris Cleave, author of   GENEALOGY GEMS BOOK CLUB   by internationally best-selling author Annie Barrows It's the summer of 1938, and wealthy young socialite Miss Layla Beck is now on the dole as a WPA worker, assigned to write a history of the small town of Macedonia, West Virginia. As she starts asking questions about the town's past, she is drawn into the secrets of the family she's staying with—and drawn to a certain handsome member of that family. She and two of those family members take turns narrating the story from different points of view, exploring the theme that historical truth, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder. to read an introduction to using WPA records for genealogy. Annie Barrows is also the co-author of . This novel takes place after World War II in a London recovering from the Blitz and an island recovering from German occupation. At the heart of Guernsey is an unlikely love story and the inspiring tale of a community that took care of each other in their darkest days with humor, compassion and good books. and how you can listen to Lisa's upcoming exclusive conversation with author Annie Barrows about . Music from this episode is from the band The song played at the opening was “We're Still Here,” from the album . The song played at the closing was “The Family Tree” from the album ; click to purchase the album or .   FREE NEWSLETTER: Enter your email & get my Google Research e-bookas a thank you gift! to receive a free weekly e-mail newsletter, with tips, inspiration and money-saving deals.  

Family Tree Magazine is celebrating our 100th episode with this special, hour-long podcast. From unusual surnames to special censuses, get the great genealogy search tips and tools, we revisit five highlights from the past few years. 

The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke In this episode, I'm celebrating the 100th episode of another podcast I host: the Family Tree Magazine podcast. So I'll flashback to one of my favorite interviews from that show, an inspiring get-in-shape conversation for your research skills: how you can strengthen your research muscles and tone those technology skills to find and share your family history. More episode highlights: News on Chronicling America and Scotland's People; Comments from guest expert Lisa Alzo on millions of Czech records that have recently come online; A YouTube-for-genealogy success story from a woman I met at a conference; An excerpt from the Genealogy Gems Book Club interview with Chris Cleave, author of Everyone Brave is Forgiven; Diahan Southard shares a DNA gem: the free website GEDmatch, which you might be ready for if you've done some DNA testing. Listen now - click the player below: NEWS: Genealogy.coach NEWS: GENEALOGY WEBSITE UPDATES NEW RECORDS ONLINE: FREE CZECH RECORDS AT FAMILYSEARCH.ORG On browse-only records: Though not fully indexed, the new Czech browse-only records number over 4 million. learn how to use browse-only collections on FamilySearch.org. Lisa Alzo, Eastern European genealogy expert and author of the new book comments on the significance of these records coming online: “These records are a real boon for Czech researchers because at one time the only to get records such as these was to write to an archive and taking a chance on getting a response or spending a lot of money to hire someone to find the records or to travel there yourself to do research in the archives.   The church records contain Images and some indexes of baptisms/births, marriages, and deaths that occurred in the Roman Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran, and Reformed Church parishes, as well as entries in those registers for Jews.  Land transactions containing significant genealogical detail for a time period that predates parish registers. The collection includes records from regional archives in Opava and Třeboň and from the district archive in Trutnov. School registers contain the full name for a child, birth date, place of birth, country, religion and father's full name, and place of residence. While researchers should keep in mind that not everything is yet online,and FamilySearch will likely add to its collection,  having these records from FS is an amazing resource for anyone whose ancestors may have come from these areas. And hopefully there are more records to come!” GENEALOGY GEMS NEWS Story of My Life by Sunny Morton, life story-writing journal available as a and as a Diahan Southard will be at the in Dublin, Ireland, October 21 to 23, 2016   Genealogy Gems app users:  For those of you who listen to this show through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus handout is a PDF document with step-by-step instructions and helpful screenshots for Google image search on mobile devices. The and is only $2.99 for   Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends . From within RootsMagic, you can search historical records on FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. And in the near future, RootsMagic will be fully integrated with Ancestry.com, too: you'll be able to sync your RootsMagic trees with your Ancestry.com trees and search records on the site.   Keep your family history research, photos, tree software files, videos and all other computer files safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems. Learn more at . Review your search results—especially those that pop up in the Images category.   MAILBOX: Robin's YouTube Success Story YouTube video with Robyn's father: has an entire chapter on using YouTube to find family history in historical videos   MAILBOX: FEEDBACK ON THE PODCASTS Free, step-by-step podcast for beginners and a “refresher” course:   SHAPING UP WITH SUNNY MORTON celebrates 100th episode   Sunny Morton has get-in-shape advice for us—from strengthening research skills to toning tech muscles--from the article "Shaping Up" featured in the  More resources for genealogy education: GENEALOGY GEMS BOOK CLUB: , the best-selling novel by British author Chris Cleave. A love story set in World War II London and Malta. This story is intense, eye-opening and full of insights into the human experience of living and loving in a war zone—and afterward. is inspired by love letters exchanged between the author's grandparents during World War II. Video: for more Genealogy Gems Book Club titles is the place to make connections with relatives overseas, particularly with those who may still live in your ancestral homeland. : it's free to get started.     GEDMATCH WITH DIAHAN SOUTHARD, YOUR DNA GUIDEThe genetic genealogy community has a crush. A big one.  Everyone is talking about it. “It has such great features.” says one. “It has a chromosome browser!” exclaims another. “It's FREE!” they all shout. What are they talking about? GEDmatch is a mostly free online tool where anyone with autosomal DNA test results from 23andMe, FTDNA, and AncestryDNA can meet and share information. All you need to do is download your data from your testing company and upload it into your newly created GEDmatch account. GEDmatch is set up just like your testing company in that it provides two kinds of reports: ethnicity results, and a match list. Remember that ethnicity results, meaning those pie charts that report you are 15% Italian and 32% Irish, are based on two factors: a reference population and fancy math. GEDmatch has gathered data from multiple academic sources to provide you with several different iterations of ethnicity reports. This is like getting a second (and third and fourth, etc) opinion on a science that is still emerging. It is a fun exercise, but will likely not impact your genealogy research very much. The more important match list does allow you to see genetic cousins who have tested at other companies. Of course, only those who have downloaded their results and entered them into GEDmatch will show up on your list. This means GEDmatch has the potential to expand your pool of genetic cousins, increasing your chances of finding someone to help you track down that missing ancestor. Many also flock to GEDmatch because they were tested at AncestryDNA and thus do not have access to a chromosome browser. A chromosome browser allows you to visualize the physical locations that you share with someone else. Some find this to be a helpful tool when analyzing their DNA matches (though in my opinion it is not essential). GEDmatch also has some great genealogy features that let you analyze your pedigree against someone else's, as well as the ability to search all the pedigree charts in their system so you can look specifically for a descendant of a particular relative. However, even with all of these great features, GEDmatch is still yet another website you have to navigate, and with that will be a learning curve, and certainly some frustration. So, is it worth it? If you are fairly comfortable with the website where you were tested, and you are feeling both curious and patient, I say go for it. It's too much to try to tell you right this minute how to download your data from your testing site and upload it to GEDmatch. BUT you're in luck, I've put step-by-step instructions for getting started in a FREE tutorial on my website at . After you've done the upload, you may need a little bit more help to navigate the GEDmatch site because there are so many great tools on it. I recently published a , where I have condensed into four pages the most essential features of GEDmatch to get you started and help you make use of this tool for genetic genealogy. Using my guide is an inexpensive and easy way to get a lot more out of a free online resource. I will also be adding more GEDmatch tutorials to my online tutorial series later this fall, which Genealogy Gems fans get a nice discount on ( for that discount). By the way, have you tried GEDmatch? I would love to hear about your experiences. You can email me at .   DNA QUICK GUIDE BUNDLES: NEW AND ON SALE by Diahan Southard: GEDmatch: A Next Step for your Autosomal DNA Test Organizing Your DNA Matches: A Companion Guide Next Steps: Working with Your Autosomal DNA Matches   by Diahan Southard with ALL 10 Guides Getting Started: Genetics for the Genealogist Autosomal DNA for the Genealogist Mitochondrial DNA for the Genealogist Y Chromosome DNA for the Genealogist and Testing Companies: Understanding Ancestry: A Companion Guide to Autosomal DNA for the Genealogist Understanding Family Tree DNA: A Companion Guide to Autosomal DNA for the Genealogist Understanding 23 and Me: A Companion Guide to Autosomal DNA for the Genealogist and Advanced Tools Next Steps: Working With Your Autosomal DNA Matches Organzing Your DNA Matches GEDmatch: A Next Step for Your Autosomal DNA Test   Genealogy Gems Podcast turns 200: Tell me what you think?As we count down to the 200th episode of the free Genealogy Gems Podcast, what have been YOUR favorite things about the podcast? Any particular topics, interviews or segments of the show? What keeps you coming back? What would you like to hear more of? Email me at genealogygemspodcast@gmail.com, or leave a voicemail at (925) 272-4021, or send mail to: P.O. Box 531, Rhome, TX 76078. FREE NEWSLETTER:  

In this episode, Lisa Louise Cooke and company discuss the best genealogy websites for 2016, recently published by Family Tree Magazine.

Featured Guest Lynn Palermo Lynn Palermo is a genealogy professional with a passion for the written word. As the owner and author of a family history blog, you'll find her most days blogging from her website The Armchair Genealogist. It's here she offers readers practical advice on researching and writing their family history.  The Armchair Genealogist was named one of the Top 40 Blogs by Family Tree Magazine. As a freelance writer, Lynn has published articles for Internet Genealogy, Discovering Family History, and Family Chronicle (now Your Genealogy Today). Her articles have been featured across the internet including The National Genealogical Society website, Ancestry.com newsletter and online magazines such as The In-Depth Genealogist. Lynn is also the proud author of her family history book, The Waters of My Ancestors. Lynn has published three how-to-books designed to help the family historian write their own family history book, including Getting Ready to Write, Authentic Ancestors and Finding the Story.  Her books can be found at The Family History Writing Studio where she coaches students through online courses, critiques, ebooks and webinars in their journey to use write creative nonfiction to write entertaining, engaging and inspiring stories. Every February, Lynn leads hundreds of family historians in The Family History Writing Challenge. For the past 5 years, she's guided writers through 28 days of focused writing of their family history stories. Lynn has been researching and writing genealogy for 15 years and loves to help others find their journey. Her perfect day is inspiring and motivating others to research and write their family history. Contact Links Website – The Armchair Genealogist Website - The Family History Writing Studio Facebook – @ArmchairGenealogist Facebook - @fhwstudio Other Links    MyCanvas CreateSpace Writing the Family History Scene course Plotting a Family History Story course Creating a Legacy Family History Book course Camtasia Adobe Premier Pro CC Wistia Norfolk Historical Society (Ontario)/Eva Brook Donly Museum and Archives The Family History Writing Challenge One Action Genealogists Can Take Right Now "Listen to your audience.” Recommended Book "On Writing" by Stephen King Productivity Tool Scrivener Advice "Start writing now. You do not have to wait until your research is done." Action Item For your action item this week I'd like you to do a brainstorming exercise. Think about your specific niche within genealogy. If you were to write a short eBook that you could publish as a pdf what topic would you choose? ACTION: Try to think of as many possibilities as you can.  Allow yourself to go in a direction that you normally wouldn't consider. Think about your niche in very broad terms and then narrow down and think about it with very specific topics. And then of course write down your ideas! I hope this exercise really gets you thinking about what you do and the various ways you can share your knowledge on the subject. I really strongly believe in brainstorming. I think it can open you up to possibilities and ideas you hadn't considered before. Direct link to this post: http://www.thegenealogyprofessional.com/lynn-palermo/ NEWS Here on the genealogy professional podcast we have been releasing episodes weekly for the last 5 or 6 weeks.  I just want you to know that we are not going to continue at that pace. While we don't have a set schedule yet what you are more likely to find is that we'll 6 episodes in a row and then we'll take a few weeks off. Then we'll do another 6 and take a few weeks off.  That will be a bit easier on us than trying to crank them out every week. We've reached that point now. So our next episode will be in a few weeks on August 21st. On that day we'll hear an amazing interview with NGSQ co-editor Melinde Lutz Byrne. If you'd like to become a supporter of the Genealogy Professional podcast head over to the website at www.thegenealogyprofessional.com and click on the supporter button. And of course, ratings and reviews in both iTunes and Stitcher are always welcome.

In this episode, we highlight another genealogy author.  I talk with Lisa Alzo about her latest book, The Family Tree Polish, Czech and Slovak Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Family Tree in Eastern Europe. Bio – Lisa Alzo Lisa A. Alzo, MFA, is a freelance writer, instructor, and internationally recognized lecturer specializing in Slovak/Eastern European genealogical research, writing family history, and using the Internet to trace female and immigrant ancestors. She has written hundreds of magazine articles and ten books, including the award-winning "Three Slovak Women." She is a contributing editor for Family Tree Magazine and teaches online courses for Family Tree University and the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. As a lecturer, she's been a frequently invited speaker for all of the largest US genealogical conferences, as well as genealogical and historical societies across the nation and in Canada. An avid genealogist for over twenty-five years, Lisa also chronicles her family history adventures on her blog, The Accidental Genealogist. Book Summary Trace your Eastern European ancestors from American shores back to the old country. This in-depth guide will walk you step-by-step through the exciting--and challenging--journey of finding your Polish, Czech, or Slovak roots. You'll learn how to identify immigrant ancestors, find your family's town of origin, locate key genealogical resources, decipher foreign-language records, and untangle the region's complicated history. The book also includes timelines, sample records, resource lists, and sample record request letters to aid your research. In this book, you'll find The best online resources for Polish, Czech, and Slovak genealogy, plus a clear research path you can follow to find success Tips and resources for retracing your ancestors' journey to America Detailed guidance for finding and using records in the old country Helpful background on Polish, Czech, and Slovak history, geography, administrative divisions, and naming patterns How the Three Partitions of Poland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire affect genealogical research and records Information on administrative divisions to help you identify where your ancestors' records are kept Sample letters for requesting records from overseas archives Case studies that apply concepts and strategies to real-life research problems Whether your ancestors hail from Warsaw or a tiny village in the Carpathians, The Family Tree Polish, Czech and Slovak Genealogy Guide will give you the tools you need to track down your ancestors in Eastern Europe. Publication Info Title: The Family Tree Polish, Czech and Slovak Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Family Tree in Eastern Europe Publisher: Family Tree Books (February 12, 2016) Paperback; 240 pages. The Family Tree Polish, Czech and Slovak Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Family Tree in Eastern Europe is available for purchase from shopfamilytree.com and Amazon.com.   The Interview Researching Polish, Czech, or Slovak ancestry is complex. Lisa and I discuss how to overcome the challenges of this research area.  Knowledge of the history of an Eastern European ancestor's country is essential as boundaries changed but ethnic identity remained intact. Locating and getting access to record repositories can be difficult. Hiring an on-site guide/researcher can make a research trip to the old country more efficient and successful. Proper planning increases the satisfaction of heritage traveling to ancestral villages. Links mentioned during the interview: Foundation for East European Family History Studies (FEEFHS) Polish Genealogical Society of America (PGSA) Cyndi's List University of Pittsburgh (Archives Service Center) Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Direct link to this post: Action Item Lisa Alzo wrote a book that filled a gap. There is no other book available covering Czech, Slovak and Polish research. Her book fills a real need. What I want you to do is to  is to think about your niche.  Where are the gaps in the area where you provide services? You might need to do some research to see what has already been written. Before you think that your niche is already done, think of your topic in a different way. For example, if you do Colonial New England research maybe  you could focus in on Catholics who came to Colonial New England. Or perhaps write a book about how cemetery research can help with colonial research.  You get the idea. Try to find a way for you to fill a gap in your niche. There could be a book waiting inside of you! News In Genealogy Business news, I mentioned it last week but I'll mention it again - the Association of Professional Genealogists is looking for a managing editor for the APG Quarterly magazine. Check out the publications page on www.apgen.org for more information about the publication.  Interested parties can send cover letters and resumes to admin@apgen.org. The deadline for that is coming up quickly on July 10th 2016. In other APG news the annual Professional Management Conference Early Bird deadline is coming up on July 15th. That's just 12 days away from the release of this episode. Be sure to register by then so that you can save money off the registration price. In addition to regular presentations there will be a number of workshops. These allow you to go in-depth on a particular topic.  William Beigel will be presenting a workshop called Researching and Interpreting WWII American Military Casualty Files. Karen Gridley will present the workshop Shift Procrastination to Get More Done in Less Time and with Less Stress. Bethany Waterbury will present a workshop on DNAGedcom. Michael Lacopo will present Finding Dead Ancestors is easy: Finding the Living Can be a Challenge! And lastly Melanie Holtz offers a workshop called Virtual Coordinator: Managing a Genealogical Business in the Internet Age. You can learn more about the conference at www.apgen.org/conference. As a reminder, I have started a newsletter for The Genealogy Professional podcast. You can sign up for that on the front page of the website . That is also your ticket for getting into the free but top secret Facebook Group. I want to give you a little peek behind the scenes here at the Genealogy Professional podcast. This show which we offer you for free is the work of four people. In addition to myself, Pam Wolosz is doing the show notes and learning audio editing. George Edwards, the creative producer,  critiques each episode and makes creative content suggestions in order to improve the overall quality of the program and finally Jean-Luc Pierre-Louis Jr. provides tech support and keeps the equipment and machines running. All told each episode takes 8-15 hours to produce. In the past I have had some people offer donations. I've always hesitated to accept those.  But no more. In recognition of all the efforts the team is putting in to make this show for you I will now have a PayPal donation button on the website if you feel so moved to donate. I want you to feel like a supporter or contributor to the show - part of the backbone that keeps us going. So head over to the Supporter tab on the website if you'd like to become a supporter of the show. The donations will be divided amongst the whole team. Also, a personal appeal from me. We are getting back on track with episodes and working hard to bring you the interviews that help you understand the genealogy profession better. At this point I really need to hear from you. I need to know that what we are doing is helpful to you. So if you could, please find the show in iTunes and leave a rating and review.  Signal to iTunes that the show is alive and let us know that you're happy to be listening. Without that, sometimes I just wonder if I'm talking to myself.

This New Year's episode is packed with fresh energy and perspective!  We welcome the  to the podcast. Judy takes on a Genealogy Gems listener's fantastic question about the bounty land his War of 1812 ancestor never claimed. Also: The latest on life after Family Tree Maker software; A fresh look at why family history software is still relevant today; New strategies for using Google to answer your genealogical research questions; The new Genealogy Gems Book Club title; Why I'm so excited about RootsTech 2016, which is coming right up; New records online and up-to-the-moment emails with questions, tips and inspiring successes. NEWS: Family Tree Maker Software Discontinued Here's the announcement and my initial comments that reached nearly 30,000 people on Facebook (at press time):   NEWS: New Records Online AUSTRALIA CIVIL REGISTRATIONS. A new browse-only collection of  (1839-1938) is now online at FamilySearch.org. It includes district registers, counterfoils of marriage certificates and some church records. ENGLAND PARISH AND ELECTORAL. Significantly-updated indexes of Kent  and  (both dating to the 1500s!) are now online at FamilySearch, as Lancashire  to 1538 and another collection of  back to 1603 that include Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire. ITALY CIVIL REGISTRATIONS: More indexed images continue to be added regularly to the free collection at FamilySearch.org! for the current list. PHILIPPINES (MANILA) CIVIL REGISTRATIONS: More than have been added to an existing collection of Philippines civil registrations at FamilySearch.org. WALES ELECTORAL REGISTERS. Over 1.6 million indexed names from  for Glamorgan and West Glamorgan, Wales (1839-1935) are now searchable at FamilySearch.org. BONUS AUDIO ON THE APP: BRITISH IN INDIA. Findmypast has published new record collections relating to British overseas travelers, workers and expatriates. The  includes “British people who either lived, worked or travelled in India from as early as 1664 up to 1961 with an index of births, marriages, divorces and deaths compiled by the Society of Genealogists.” There are also new collections from the India Office:  and . DIGITAL BOOKS. A new FREE collection of 150,000 digitized books is searchable at . Among the titles are family, local and military histories; city and county directories; school and university yearbooks and church and congregational minutes.   GEMS NEWS: RootsTech 2016: February 3-6 in Salt Lake City, Utah Here's the schedule for my official RootsTech lectures and those of our regular Gems contributors: Wednesday: 3:00 YDNA Testing for Every Surname in Your Pedigree, Diahan Southard Thursday: 4:30 Proven Methodology for Using Google for Genealogy, Lisa Louise Cooke Friday: 11:00 Soothe Your Tech Tummy Ache with These 10 Tools, Lisa Louise Cooke 1:30 Proven Methodology for Using Google for Genealogy, Lisa Louise Cooke Saturday: 11:00 Soothe Your Tech Tummy Ache with These 10 Tools, Lisa Louise Cooke 1:30 What's Special About US Special Census Schedules? Sunny Morton If you've been to my booth at a major conference in the past few years, you already know about the “Outside the Box” mini-sessions I've presented along with some of my partners in the past. These sessions have been SO popular that people end up lining the walkways around our booth, several deep, crowding the exhibit hall aisles in to listen and sign up for the free handouts. This year, I'm planning an even richer class experience at the Genealogy Gems booth. There will be 20 sessions, some of them shorter and some longer, taught by myself and my dynamic partners at Genealogy Gems and Family Tree Magazine. I have quadrupled the size of our booth so we can invite many more of you to come in, have a seat and hear these sessions in comfort, without having to stand in the aisles. Here are the FREE classes we're teaching at Genealogy Gems booth #1230 in the RootsTech exhibit hall: Remember, if you , you'll save a LOT on registration (you'll pay $169 instead of $249 for the full 4-day event). Come by and say hello at our booth!   GEMS NEWS: “Where I'm From” Winners: Everyone who entered will receive a year of Genealogy Gems Premium Website Membership! In this episode you'll hear Beverly Field's wonderful poem, and you'll hear from more winners in coming episodes. MAILBOX: Where I'm From Picture books by George Ella Lyon recommended by Katharine: Mama is a Miner Come a Tide Cecil's Story    MAILBOX: Family Tree Maker Sue's email: she decided to use family history software and, following my suggestion, signed up for . to read a blog post that answers Charles' question about why not to continue using Family Tree Maker after it “expires.” to read about specials for Family Tree Maker users and what I do with my master family tree. to access Moving your tree from Family Tree Maker to Reunion, for Reunion 11 (for Mac) software, as recommended by Bill to read which family history software I recommend and why for more Family Tree Maker questions and a couple of bonus questions about keeping Ancestry.com subscriptions or transferring to MyHeritage, which does offer free desktop family history software that syncs with its online trees.   MAILBOX: GOOGLE SEARCHING CORONER'S RECORDS to read a detailed answer to Lydia's question on Google searching coroner's records is available through the store on my website at www.genealogygems.com.     INTERVIEW: Judy Russell Robert from Covington, LA wrote in with this excellent question! Here's the full question and an accompanying image: “We have a copy of our great great grandfather's Warrant from the War of 1812. This has never been redeemed. I expect that the time for redeeming has long since expired but can't find confirmation of this anywhere. I have an affidavit from my grandmother dated 1911 stating the grant was lost or destroyed when she was a little girl being raised by her grandmother, the widow of one of the two brothers listed on the certificate. Her husband, one of those two, died before 1850 and therefore his will has no mention of the Land Grant. The certificate I have is a copy of a re-issue by the Commissioner of Pensions dated 1917. From the wording on the note the Commissioner scribbled on the copy he sent, it appears he hand copied the information on file onto a blank certificate and certified the copy.  I have attached a copy of the certificate we have (above) and a copy of what I have been able to fill in for what is not too legible (below). I have blanked out the family names and certificate number since it is not clear to me if it is or is not redeemable and I don't have any control where this information may end up once committed to the internet. My main interest now is whether or not the certificate could still be good or if these grants have all “timed out” and none could therefore still be redeemable. I spent about a half day researching on the internet but could not find any information indicating grants were still redeemable after all this time.” Listen to the podcast to hear Judy's advice about researching laws or statutes relating to our genealogy questions—and to hear how she answered this fantastic question.   Genealogy Gems Book Club: A New Book! by Tara Austin Weaver Tara Austin Weaver's Tea & Cookies blog: Tara's recipe for Orchard House is one part food, one part gardening and two parts family drama, liberally seasoned with humor and introspection. The “book jacket” summary of Orchard House, from the publishers: “Peeling paint, stained floors, vine-covered windows, a neglected and wild garden—Tara can't get the Seattle real estate listing out of her head. Any sane person would see the abandoned property for what it was: a ramshackle half-acre filled with dead grass, blackberry vines, and trouble. But Tara sees potential and promise—not only for the edible bounty the garden could yield for her family, but for the personal renewal she and her mother might reap along the way. So begins Orchard House, a story of rehabilitation and cultivation—of land and soul. Through bleak winters, springs that sputter with rain and cold, golden days of summer, and autumns full of apples, pears, and pumpkins, this evocative memoir recounts the Weavers' trials and triumphs, what grew and what didn't, the obstacles overcome and the lessons learned. Inexorably, as mother and daughter tend this wild patch and the fruits of their labor begin to flourish, green shoots of hope emerge from the darkness of their past. For anyone who has ever planted something they wished would survive—or tried to mend something that seemed forever broken—Orchard House is a tale of healing and growth, set in the most unlikely place.” In March, we'll play an excerpt from an exclusive interview with Tara Austen Weaver in this podcast. will be able to listen to the full interview in March's Genealogy Gems Premium podcast. RootsTech Book Club Open House: Thurs, Feb 4, 10am-11am at the Genealogy Gems booth #1230 in the Exhibitor Hall. Stop by and chat about books or family history or both! Free bookmarks, display copies of featured titles a win chance to win a great Book Club prize just for suggesting a book.   PROFILE AMERICA:

Drew goes solo this episode, hinting at an upcoming book and announcing his new Evernote "Genealogy at a Glance" publication.  He lets Amazon Echo users know that The Genealogy Guys Podcast is now available via TuneIn. And he is pleased to announce that Family Tree Magazine has selected the Podcast as one of their 101 Best Websites for 2015! News includes: RootsMagic provides updates to address issues with FamilySearch changes and the new Windows 10. Ancestry launches a new free service in beta, AncestryHealth, and also announces that 1 million users have tested with AncestryDNA. Findmypast has added military school records, more Norfolk parish records, more Irish newspapers, and an update to PERSI. The Guild of One-Name Studies has added its 7000th member. FamilySearch and the LDS Church History Library has redesigned the Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel website. FamilySearch has released tens of millions of new images and new indexed records from the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Listener email includes: Pat's story about the Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters records. Peter's humorous discovery involving an ancestor related in more than one way. Gus's investigation of his maternal-side Lange family from Norway. Patti's use of an unusual record set to add credence to a family story. Tracie's disappointment with an online subscription service. Sherlene's attempt to discover the identities of a couple in a combination photo that is marked only as being Lankfords from Clay County, Indiana. Gus's hope that listeners can identify a gravestone marking that refers to World War I service on the Iowa, using the abbreviation WAGR 356 AMB CO.

Have you ever felt like you got the short end of the genealogy stick when it comes to family heirlooms? Maybe you haven't inherited much in the way of family photos or memorabilia, or maybe you feel like you've tapped out all the potential goodies that are out there to find. In this episode I'll share an email I got from Helen, because she reminds us that you should never say never.  I've also got another amazing story about an adoption reunion. And we'll also check in with our Genealogy Gems Book Club Guru Sunny Morton about this quarter's featured book, The Lost Ancestor by Nathan Dylan Goodwin. And of course all kinds of other genealogy news and tips for you.  We're going to take all that genealogy and technology noise out there and distill it down into the best of the best, the genealogy gems that you can use. I'm just back from several weeks on the road. Since we last got together in episode 178 I've been to Cape Cod to talk to the Cape Cod Genealogical Society about Time Travel with Google Earth, and all you Genealogy Gems Premium Members have that video class and handout available to you as part of your Premium membership – and if you're not a member click Premium in the main menu at genealogygems.com to learn more about that.  And then Bill and I headed to Providence, RI where I was the keynote at the NERGC conference. That was my first time ever to New England so it was a real treat. And we teamed up once again with the Photo Detective and Family Chartmasters and held our free Outside the Box mini genealogy sessions in our booth which were very popular. Then I had a 2 day turnaround and Lacey and I were off to Anchorage Alaska to put on an all-day seminar at the Anchorage Genealogical Society.   Another great group of genealogists! And Lacey and I added an extra couple of days to explore, and explore we did. We booked a half day ATV tour to explore the National forest outside Anchorage. Now this was before the start of tourist season, so there we are, to gals driving out of town, onto a dirt road and waiting at the meeting spot in the middle of nowhere where we met Bob the Guide. He looked like he was straight out of Duck Dynasty! He showed us how to drive the ATVs, assured us that the bears weren't quite out yet, and then packing his side arm pistol lead us out into the wilderness for 4 ½ hours of amazing scenery. It was like we had the entire forest to ourselves. This guide would pull over every once and while, whip out a telescopic lens on a tripod and in seconds would zero in on something way over on the mountain across the valley, and he'd say “look in there. See that clump of snow with legs, that's a Mountain Goat, or that's a Dall Sheep.” It was incredible. We saw moose, and muskrat, the biggest rabbit's I've ever seen in my entire life, which Bob the Guide called bunnies, and he was right, the only thing we never saw was bear. But that was just fine with me and Lacey! So after our mountain safari we flew home and I gave an all-day seminar in my own backyard in Denton, TX, and then Bill and I jumped in the suburban and drove to St. Charles Missouri where I spoke at the National Genealogical Society Conference. St. Charles is just on the other side of the river from St. Louis, and we were pleasantly surprised to find the a quaint little main street. Diahan Southard Your DNA Guide here at Genealogy Gems was with us and Diahan and I drug poor Bill in and out of every “foo foo potpourri” shop they had when we weren't busy meeting so many of you at the booth or in class. It was a 4 day conference, which is A LOT of genealogy, but we had a blast and again teamed up with Family Chartmasters, The Photo Detective and Family Tree Magazine for an Outside the Box extravaganza of free sessions in the booth. And this time Diahan Southard joined in with sessions on Genetic Genealogy. And all this reminds me of an email I received recently from Shelly. She writes: “I am a new listener and new premium member of Genealogy Gems.  Thanks for getting me motivated to organize my research and get back into learning my family history. I had never thought about attending a genealogy conference before but listening to your podcasts has gotten me interested in going.  There is a conference coming up in less than two weeks only 1 1/2 hours from me in St. Charles, Mo. I can't afford to attend the actual conference, but would it be worth it to just go to the free exhibit space? I listened to one of your podcasts that mentioned you and a few others give free mini classes. Please let me know what you think. Thanks, Shelly” I told Shelly that I thought it would absolutely be worth it. In fact, that is one of our goals with our free Outside the Box sessions in our booth - to give everyone a free opportunity to experience a genealogy conference. The hall is very large, there will be loads of exhibitors, and you not only attend any and all of our sessions, but at most larger conferences you'll usually also find companies like Ancestry, MyHeritage and FamilySearch holding sessions at their booths. Well Shelly took my advice and she wrote back. She says: “Thanks for your encouragement to attend the NGS exhibitor area!  I was able to attend on Friday and enjoyed looking at all the booths and talking to some of the exhibitors.  I was also able to attend a few Outside the Box sessions also, although yours were too crowded to see or hear very well!  Thanks so much for doing this.  While waiting for a free session to start in another area, I overheard two men talking about DNA for genealogical purposes and privacy.  My ears perked up as they discussed an instance where a DNA sample sent to Ancestry.com was used to help solve a crime committed by a relative of the DNA tester.  I don't have enough information to form any opinions on that case, but the question of privacy came up when I was asked my mother to take a DNA test for me.  The first thing she said was that it sounded interesting but she was worried whether the government or the police could get ahold of the information.  I encouraged her to read the privacy information on the site and to let me know, but I told her I didn't see how anyone could get the information.  Her curiosity got the better of her, as I knew it would, and she agreed to the testing and I am awaiting the results.  The funny thing is that my mother does have a criminal history and has served over ten years in prison (I was raised by my father from age 5).  Hopefully there aren't any serious unsolved crimes my mom has been involved in!  She is 64 now so hopefully the statute of limitations has passed for most crimes.  I will let you know if the FBI come knocking on my door :)” I want to say thank you to all of you listening who stopped by the booth and welcome to all our new listeners who got to know us at these recent conferences and seminars, we are very glad you are here! Recent Family Tree Magazine Evernote Webinar: In the last year I've moved from Earthquake central (California) to Tornado Alley (Texas) and it's been a bit of an adjustment to say the least. 2 weeks ago while I was presenting a webinar on using Evernote for genealogy for Family Tree Magazine when my husband silently placed a note in front of me. It said that we were under tornado watch and if it got any worse he was hauling me off the computer and into the storm shelter! I hung in there, and thankfully it blew over and we finished the webinar. Genealogy wins again! (And yes, the video of the webinar is coming soon to Premium Membership.) Then last night we spent about an hour in our shelter room while our county got pummeled with torrential rain, non-stop lightening, and yes, even a few tornadoes touched down. Our devoted dogs Howie and Kota instinctively blocked the doorway to the shelter in an effort to keep us safe. They did a good job, and all is well! All this threat of danger and destruction has reinforced my decision to bring into our Genealogy Gems family a brand new sponsor. Backblaze is now the official back up of Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems. If you've been to the RootsTech conference then you may already be familiar with them. Backblaze is a trusted online cloud backup service that truly makes backing up all your most precious computer files super easy.  The thought of losing my genealogy files is too much to bear. Now I can concentrate on keeping my loved ones safe through the storms of life because I know Backblaze is taking care of my files and photos! Many of you have asked me which company I use to back up my files. I've done my homework and Backblaze is my choice. I invite you to visit and get all your files backed up once and for all.   “Dear Lisa, Thanks for the latest email. I have been using Backblaze for a year now. I thankfully have not needed their complete services :-), but I love the feeling of being protected. Have a great weekend! It was so nice to meet you at Roostech in February. Thanks, Ellen” Tyler Moss, the dean of Family Tree University wrote me after a recent webinar I gave for them: “One woman typed an ellipsis (…) in to the chat box. I messaged her back and said “I'm sorry, did you mean to send a question? All I see are three periods.” And she said, “Oh no, I'm just in wonder at all the awesome things I can now do in Evernote!” The webinar we were doing was called “Enhance Your Genealogy with Evernote” and in that session which we recorded on to video as well I covered 10 terrific genealogy projects you can use Evernote for to improve your research, organization and productivity.  My motto these days is, save time by being more efficient so you have more time to spend with your ancestors, and that's what this training session was all about. And the good news for all of you who are Genealogy Gems Premium Members is that the video and downloadable handout are coming very soon to the Premium Videos section of genealogygems.com. Look for the announcement of its release in our weekly free newsletter. You can sign up for the free Genealogy Gems weekly e-newsletter on our homepage. GEM: Evernote Library Project Create an Evernote Genealogy Book Library: Create a new notebook called “Library” With your smart phone or tablet, snap photos of the cover of each of your genealogical books Send the photos to the Library notebook in Evernote (on your mobile device tap the share icon and tap Evernote. You will need to have authorized the Evernote app.) Another option is to email them to your unique Evernote email address which will also place them in Evernote. Evernote will apply Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to each image making them keyword searchable. To see if you already have a book, tap the notebook and then search an applicable keyword. Inspiration and motivation from Helen: A recent email from listener Helen reminds us to search our basements and attics for unique and amazing family history finds. There's no substitute for being able to tell family members' stories through their own words and photographs. “I just had to tell you about my recent find. My late father-in-law served in the Canadian Navy for 39 years, entering Naval College when he was only 14. Most of my knowledge about his life came from talking with him before he died. Of course, then I did not know the questions to ask. “About a month ago, I was preparing for a lecture on his life for a local World War 1 Seminar. I starting looking around in our basement as I knew we had some material from when we cleared out his house when he died, but I had no idea of just what exciting material I would find. “I found his personal diaries, with the earliest from 1916! The journals give an amazing first-person record of naval service from a person who devoted his life to the service of his country. I was able to weave his actual words into the somewhat dry official record of his long time service [ending with] his being presented with a Commander of the British Empire medal shortly before his retirement. “I am so grateful that the family saved these invaluable documents through the myriad of moves that a naval officer's career entails. In a different box, I found his photographs from the same era—some even earlier than the journals. I am now seriously considering publishing the journals along with the photographs, as they deserved to be shared.” Genealogy Gems Premium members can to access Premium podcast episode 116 to hear a discussion between two authors of books on life-story writing, and to access a Premium podcast AND video on how to make a family history video Her Birth Mom Was Her Co-Worker! Birth Family Reunion A woman recently went searching for her birth mom after receiving a copy of her adoption records (these  in her home state of Ohio). She didn't have to search very far: just in a different department at her workplace. “When [La-Sonya] Mitchell-Clark first received her birth records in the mail on Monday and saw the name Francine Simmons, she immediately plugged it into Facebook,” reports the story on . It didn't take long for her to recognize her mother as a woman who worked at the same business she did. “Following a tearful reunion, the two…discovered that they live just six minutes away from one another,” reports the article. La-Sonya also learned that she has three birth sisters, one of whom also works at the same company. Wow! Company picnics and water cooler chats must suddenly seem a lot more meaningful after this birth family reunion. Learn to use your own DNA to search for genetic relatives (whether you're adopted or not!) in our with CeCe Moore, a leading expert who appears regularly on television shows to talk about finding family with DNA.     Genealogy Gems Book Club Our featured book for the 2nd quarter of 2015 is Sunny's Book Recommendations: by Nathan Dylan Goodwin by Nathan Dylan Goodwin by Stephen Molyneux by Yaron Reshef Jimmy Fox's Nick Herald Genealogical Mystery series: , and Nathan Dylan Goodwin does have two other titles in the same series. I've read them both. Hiding the Past takes us into a genealogical mystery set in World War II and it's a similar type of read as The Lost Ancestor. I enjoyed it. The Orange Lilies is a novella set at Christmastime. Here Morton puts his skills to work—and his emotions—to confront the story of his own origins and a family story from the Western Front in World War I a century ago. It's a more personal story and Nathan I think is pushing into newer territory as a writer in dealing with more intimate emotion. But I like seeing Morton have these experiences. I also have a few more titles to recommend along these lines. It's that “If you liked this book, we think you'll also like…” The Marriage Certificate by Stephen Molyneux. This is a novel. I opened to the first page and the About the Author made me laugh: Stephen, amateur genealogist, lives in Hampshire and the South of France with two metal detectors and a long-suffering wife.” The book opens with a scenario many of us may be sympathetic with. A genealogy buff buys a marriage certificate he sees on display at an antiques gallery. He begins researching the couple with an idea of returning the certificate to them. Eventually he uncovers several secrets, one with some money attached to it, but others are also chasing this money. It may sound a bit far-fetched but it doesn't unfold that way. I like the surprise twists that bring the story into the present day. I also liked living out a little fantasy of own through Peter, the main character: that of being that genealogical research hero who brings something valuable from the pasts to living relatives today. Another book I recently enjoyed is Out of the Shoebox: An Autobiographical Mystery by Yaron Reshef. This one's a more serious, and I think a little more sophisticated, read. In this memoir (so a true story), Yaron gets a phone call about a piece of property his father purchased in Israel years ago. He and his sister can inherit it, but only if they can prove that man was their father. He goes on an international paper chase into the era of World War II, the Holocaust and the making of Israel. Then a forgotten bank account surfaces. There's more, of course, in Yaron's two-year quest to understand the tragedies of his family's past and recover some of its treasures. There's another series I've been made aware of but haven't read yet. This is Jimmy Fox's Nick Herald Genealogical Mystery series: Deadly Pedigree, Jackpot Blood and Lineage and Lies. The hero is an American genealogist who lives and works in New Orleans, of course one of the most colorful and historical parts of the U.S. I'll put links to all of these on our Genealogy Gems Book Club webpage, which you can find at .  

In this episode we are going to check in with our Genealogy Gems Book Club Guru Sunny Morton on our featured book , and some additional books you'll want to add to your reading list that also provide insight in to how you can approach writing your own family's history. And Your DNA Guide here at Genealogy Gems, Diahan Southard, will be here to tell you how to Social Network Your YDNA with Surname Projects But first I've got the RootsTech Run down for you. Last week I spoke at RootsTech 2015 which was really a two-fer conference of both RootsTech and the Federation of Genealogical Societies national conference. So needless to say it was bigger than ever. If you didn't attend, why should you care? Because FamilySearch which is the organization behind RootsTech has really, and I mean really, upped the family history game if you will. Even though they are a non-profit, they are really leading the industry, and having a huge impact on the types of genealogy resources and services that are being developed, which directly affect your family history research. And “Family History” is the key phrase there. At a FamilySearch VIP event I attended the leadership made a point of saying there is a distinct difference between genealogy and family history. We may often use these terms interchangeably, but they made this point with purpose, to drive home the fact that they are concerned with more than just genealogy; the building of your tree and tracing of your lineage. They are extremely focused on “family history”, and from what I know about you, you are too. Family history is the holistic approach – the stories, the photos, the legacy you are creating through your research. It's not that its critical which words you use, but I think they focused on the distinction to really help the community understand what their focus is. For example, the keynote speakers included Former first Lady Laura and Jenna Bush, (who by the way did a phenomenal job and were witty and thoroughly enjoyable),   as well as Donny Osmond, and American Idol star David Archelta. There were some negative comments about these choices floating around on social media before the conference, but for anyone who attended and saw the presentations it all made perfect sense. They all spoke, and sometimes sang, to the heart of family history. I know for all you listening, your heart is certainly in it. They offered incredible inspiration and I think everyone walked away rejuvenated and recommitted to their research. And research just isn't the right word. They came away motivated to continue on the legacy of family history they are building. And really that is the job of the keynotes. To set the tone and inspire and motivate, because there were plenty of  indepth classes and a huge variety of topics to fulfill the educational component of why we attend conferences . Let me give you a run down on some of the stats: FamilySearch, which was formerly the Genealogical Society of Utah, celebrated its 120th birthday last fall. It now operates 300 cameras in 50 countries around the world collecting digital genealogical sources. They released two mobile apps in 2014, FamilySearch Tree, the mobile companion to Family Tree on the FamilySearch website, and The Family Search Memories app which helps you collect, preserve, and share your favorite family photos, stories and spoken words. They are launching a new indexing program which will be part of the FamilySearch website which can be used on most desktop computers, notebooks and tablets. And to give you an idea of the scope of FamilySearch Indexing , there are 321,000 volunteers who have indexed 160 million records in 2014 alone, bringing the total of records indexed to 1.26 billion. These are records being made available to all of us free on the familysearch.org website. In June of 2014 FamilySearch surpassed publication of 1 billion images. It took 7 years to get there and the billionth image was published in FamilySearch's growing collection of Peruvian records. IF you consider that a single digital image can have several historic records on it, that means there are actually billions of record images on FamilySearch. FamilySearch projects that it will take just 3 to 5 years to publish the next billion images. And as for new record collections, in 2014 FamilySearch published 38 million obituaries, 10 new Freedmen's Bureau field office collections, and new and updated collections all around the world. One of the coolest things they unveiled is their new Discovery Centers. This is something that they announced last year, and our contributing editor Sunny Morton got a chance to go through the one in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City while at the conference.  Here is a link to . The FamilySearch Discovery Center is focused on offering families simple and powerful in-person family history experiences. Each visitor gets a unique, personalized experience where they learn about themselves and where their family came from, and how they lived. They can even record a video about themselves or a family member.  You're in luck if you live in the Seattle area because a center is expected to open there in June of 2015. The two centers will serve as a testing ground to fine tune the centers and then open more around the world.   (Image above: Amy, Sunny and Lisa at the Genealogy Gems booth) So while I was at the conference I presented three classes for FGS which included using Evernote for Genealogy which was a packed house, using criminal cold case strategies for your brick wall genealogical cases, and video marketing for genealogy societies. For RootsTech I taught Turn your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse and, and building a genealogy business which was for the Rootstech Innovator Summit.   (Image above: Lisa and Diahan filming a segment at RootsTech) And of course we had the Genealogy Gems booth in the massive expo hall where we teamed up with FamilyChartmasters, The Photo Detective and Family Tree Magazine to once again present  our Outside the Box booth sessions where folks could join us for ½ hour session on topics like Google Search, Evernote and a whole lot more.   NEW! Map for African-American Genealogy Resources after the Civil War The time period after the U.S. Civil War is a messy era for searching for African-American ancestors from the South. Millions of people were emerging from slavery, without documented histories of who they were or who they were related to–many without even consistent first and last names. A new website helps researchers locate important African-American genealogy resources from the post-war Reconstruction era.  is a map-based tool for helping you find the Freedmen's Bureau offices and hospitals, Freedman's Bank offices, “Contraband Camps,” U.S. Colored Troops battle sites and other locations nearest your ancestors that may have created records about them. Many of these record sets are just coming online or are newly indexed and are free to search, so the timing couldn't be better. What it is a fantastic tool! I'm so pleased to see this site. Now those who know what location they're starting with can easily glance at a map and click to see which of these resources exist in a specific locale and where to find them online or offline. Listen to my interview with African-American genealogy research expert Deborah Abbott, PhD, in the FREE   Danish GenealogyMyHeritage has announced a new arrangement with the Danish National Archive to digitize, index and make available online millions of Danish genealogy records. According to MyHeritage, these include: “Danish national censuses, including approximately 9 million images and 31 million records, covering the years of 1787 through to 1930.  One of the most enlightening sources of historical content, census records provide a glimpse into a family's past listing information about each household including the names of occupants, information on residence, ages, places of birth and occupations. Church records (3.9 million images) containing approximately 90 million names from 1646 to 1915. The Parish Register provides information regarding anyone who was born, baptized or confirmed (after 1737), married or died in a particular parish. The records include rich information about a person's family: for example, for baptisms they list the date of birth, date of baptism, name of the child, parent's names, occupations and residence, and often names of witnesses and godparents.” According to MyHeritage, “The records, spanning almost 300 years, provide a window to the lives of Danish ancestors during fascinating periods in history including the Napoleonic wars, liberalism and nationalism of the 1800s, the Schleswig Wars and industrialization. “The records will illuminate the lives and times of noted Danish historical figures such as Kierkegaard and Niels Bohr. Celebrity fans will be able to look into the family history of Danish Americans such as Scarlett Johansson and Viggo Mortensen for clues on their success. Many of the records will be made available on MyHeritage as early as April 2015 and the rest will be added during the year. MyHeritage is a leader in family history for those with Nordic roots and is “the only major company providing services in Danish, Norwegian, and Finnish. With more than 430,000 users in Denmark and an additional 600,000 registered users in Sweden, 500,000 in Norway, and 280,000 in Finland, MyHeritage has amassed the largest Nordic user base and family tree database in the market.” Just one more reason we at Genealogy Gems are pleased to have MyHeritage as a    MAILBOX From Judy: "After reading your message about "getting materials back home", I thought I'd share something I've begun. Because of working on family genealogy, I have become the recipient of several family items. We have no children, just a niece and nephew who do not live nearby. So...To make sorting things easier for family at the end, I've begun a photo album with pictures of family heirlooms with a message included that tells whose item it was or who made it and/or a story about why it has been special. I'm in hopes that at least they can try to find and save these items instead of trying to guess or having to take the time to go through all of the family binders where most are also recorded."   From Sharon in California About Nov. 13 newsletter: "Lisa, in today's email you talked about walking through your front door and seeing things differently.  Since you are a big fan of Google and Google Maps, I wanted to tell you about a speaker that we had at our San Ramon Valley Genealogical Society meeting one time who talked about using maps in genealogy.  And he said the first map we should use is the map of our house.  I thought that was a little Silly, until I thought about the first house I remember, when I was 3 or 4 years old (and I'm now 74).  As I walked up those stairs to our apartment, I remembered so many things about that house.  As I “mapped” the layout of the house, each room brought back Memories.  Memories of my bedroom where when I had measles and my Dad brought me little Scotty dog magnets and we played with them on my bed.  In the kitchen, where my Mom taught me to eat vegetables that I didn't like by piling on the butter.  The back porch where the ice Man delivered blocks of ice.  And many, many more.  Each house, and it's map brought back individual memories.  Maybe this isn't genealogy, but it is family history, or maybe only MY history, but it was fun going through all those memories."   From Deanna: "I was very touched by the story of your husband's relative whose mother took her own life due to what sounds like depression.  I have a loved one who has anxiety and depression, and I am so thankful we live in a time where education, resources and medical options are available to assist those who are struggling. I am also thankful for your podcast, Genealogy Gems, which was a great source of encouragement to me during a difficult season of being the caregiver of my struggling loved one. The research tips inspired me to keep looking for those elusive ancestors, and the many stories reminded me that most life journeys have difficulties.  Most importantly, however, I was reminded that we humans are quite resilient.  Thankfully, my loved one is doing much better now, yet I still look forward to each and every Genealogy Gems podcast.  In addition, I am planning on attending the upcoming seminar in Vero Beach, FL, which is being hosted by the Indian River Genealogical Society.  Although it's a bit of a drive for me, I couldn't miss seeing you in person!  Thank you for all you do, and may God bless the life journeys of you and your family!"     GEM: Genealogy Gems Book Clubwith Sunny Morton Our current featured book,  by Christina Baker Kline, is getting some nice thumbs-ups from Genealogy Gems readers. Just to catch you up, this is the story of two women. It starts with Vivian, an Irish immigrant child who loses her family in New York City and is forced to ride the ‘orphan train.' She's placed with several different families across the Midwest, with different results, but it's the same premise at every home: her life starts over fresh there, with new rules and expectations and little or no recognition of her past or personality. After following Vivian's life through her childhood and young adulthood, we fast-forward. Vivian is 91, and a teenage girl named Molly comes to help her clean out her attic. Molly is a Penobscot Indian who is in the modern foster care system. On the show, I read a passage from when Vivian meets Molly. On first glance, they are so different: an old white lady with money and a Native American teenager without resources. Molly immediately judges Vivian. But Vivian's response totally disarms her. And that's when it starts to get fun. I hope you will have a chance to read Orphan Train before our interview with Christina Baker Kline next month! More Good Reads from the Genealogy Gems Book Club: Fabulous Family Histories I think a lot of people make genealogy goals at the new year: goals like writing up your research. I've noticed that one of things people often stumble over when they try to write family history is what style of writing to use. Do they want to write like a college professor, scholarly and objective? Or should their personal feelings and opinions be part of the story? Or, even more nontraditional, should they fictionalize their ancestors' stories like a novel? My book recommendations this month are three published family histories—all fascinating reads—that happen to be examples of different kinds of writing. by Emily Bingham is perhaps the most engaging scholarly family history I've read. It's based on thousands of letters and other documents that make me just go green with envy—like, how did she FIND that document??? There are more than 50 pages of endnotes. I don't think the author is related to the Mordecais. My sense is that she's a historian who came upon a gold mine of a family, in terms of documentation, personality and themes she saw emerge down the generations of this family. I do like to read well-written scholarly history, especially about families and religion. I am fascinated by how religious beliefs make people tick, and their effects on family and community life, especially for a family like the Mordecais who belonged to a marginalized faith at that time in U.S. history. On the show I read the opening paragraph of the introduction, to give you a sense of her voice. Many of you may have read  by Ian Frazier, which came out several years ago and was popular among genealogists. Ian also wrote the best-selling books  He's an expert observer, insightful, compassionate, funny and honest. So it's no surprise he also uses a first person voice, or the use of “I” when writing about his explorations into family history. On the show I read a passage from page 9 where he is writing about his ancestor's hometown of Norwalk, Ohio, and we compare how different his voice is, but how effectively he wraps together his own experience with his research.  by Patsy Trench is a first-person narrative about her Australian ancestors, who were among the first European settlers in that fascinating country. Patsy actually quit her job and traveled from London to Australia several times to research the story of her fourth great-grandmother and other relatives. She describes the book she wrote as “a hybrid: part family history, part memoir, part novel. The skeleton of the story…is as true as I could make it…. But I have put flesh on the bones, invented personalities for real people, circumstances behind the facts, all in the cause of turning my family saga into what I hope is an entertaining read. The dramatised scenes are from my imagination but the outcome of them is fact.” (Introduction, page 5) She cares a lot about her research, so she tries to make it clear in the text what's based on evidence and what's speculation, and she includes a detailed appendix that spells out where she took liberties. On the show I read a passage from page 86 about something her ancestor may or may not have done upon her arrival in the colony. You can hear the author's playfulness as she openly decides to buy into an unsubstantiated account for the purposes of good storytelling. Then she tells a good story, and we have a sense of the setting, other characters, social life and current events in her ancestor's new life in Australia (whether or not that specific incident actually unfolded as it did).  All in all, these three books—great reads in and of themselves—are also great examples of the different kinds of storytelling methods and voices we might choose to adopt when we write about our ancestors' lives. Happy reading from the Genealogy Gems Book Club!   GEM: Your DNA Guide at Genealogy Gems, Diahan Southard Family history organizations and studies based on individual surnames have been around for years. They are now integrating YDNA research into their efforts. Use surname projects to enhance your paternal DNA research!   Surnames are the flagships of our genealogical research. We name our files after them and we tag our research with them. We wear our last names proudly on pins and necklaces and T-shirts.   But surnames can also be misleading. Illiteracy, language barriers, and just plain carelessness led to misspellings and alterations, not to mention those ancestors who blatantly changed their name to avoid detection.   The advent of has changed the way many genealogists view surnames and their role in their genealogy. Because a man's YDNA is the same as the YDNA carried by each of the ancestors in his direct paternal line, the YDNA can act like a filter, clearly indicating which men with a particular surname, or variant, truly share a direct paternal line.   So how has YDNA testing affected family organizations that do surname research? I asked Debbie Kennett, a regular contributor to the International Society of Genetic Genealogy and who is also involved with the . The Guild of One Name Studies was established in 1979 to promote public understanding of one-name studies and preserve the information obtained by those studies.   “Virtually every common surname is now the subject of a DNA project,” says Debbie, including “just over 500 Guild members who are running a DNA project. That number has jumped up considerably just in the last couple of years.”   The quality of those projects varies. Debbie tells us that a quality YDNA project includes three elements: “presenting the DNA data, recruiting people from different countries and also correlating all of the genealogy information.”   Jean Morrison, a member of the Morrison surname project, says that because of DNA testing, “identifying where in Scotland this family originated prior to coming to America ca 1728 has become a realistic goal. The Morrison Q Group has identified through Y line testing at 111 markers, 22 individuals with an MRCA (most recent common ancestor) within eight generations.” In plain English, this means that a definite YDNA pattern has been associated with her Morrison surname and with a common ancestor eight generations back.   Noel and Ron Taylor were two early adopters of YDNA testing for their Taylor family project. Their first samples were submitted to the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation in 2000. The former president and currently the head of the board of trustees for the Taylor Family Society, Noel says that using DNA “caught the attention of many people in our organization….It renewed great interest in the hearts of many people who had been doing research for many years [who may have] lost interest and were somewhat discouraged.” The Taylors have made significant breakthroughs with their DNA testing. They have connected several Taylor lines back to a common ancestor, verified their paper trails, and even found a line of Hodges that were actually Taylors!   It appears that YDNA is becoming part of the research plan for most family societies. But Debbie tells us that there is still much room for improvement in her organization. “Not all Guild members are running [DNA] projects. We have something like 2,700 Guild members so we are still not at the stage where the majority of Guild members are running projects.”   Besides The Guild, other organizations have been created to assist genealogists with their surname research, including a new organization just launched in November. 's goal is to “to build a collaborative environment where members are encouraged to develop their own approach to the investigation of their surname.” Kirsty Grey, chairman of the Surname Society, says that DNA testing has taken a front seat role in the research of one of their founders as well as several early members. “DNA is one of the many strands of family history research (and to a greater extent, surname studies) which can connect individuals, often where genealogical research cannot.”   That really is the bottom line. DNA, especially , can tell you things about the surnames in your pedigree that you can't learn in any other way. If you haven't yet, it's time to jump on the YDNA bandwagon and see what your DNA has to tell you.   DNA for Genealogy Resources: Quick Reference Guides by Diahan Southard   (for the best deal): ; Get the NEW AncestryDNA and FamilyTreeDNA 2 guide bundle Digital Guid es:    to learn about expert consultations with me. You'll get customized guidance on which tests to order and how to maximize your results for your genealogy research.   New! MyHeritage Digital Guide: (Click image above to order)   Pre-Order the 2nd edition of           Watch the newly

In the 15th Anniversary episode of the podcast, host Lisa Louise Cooke asks the editors and writers of Family Tree Magazine to reminisce about the past decade and a half in genealogy, and to speculate on the future of family history.

In this episode I've got some exciting news, a cool free online tool, advice on translation, stories of inspirational finds, DNA for genealogy, and a Star Trek take on the innovations of yesteryear!  NEWS: FamilySearch's free  interactive map to see the FamilySearch England & Wales 1851 Parish map.   What Has Replaced Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness?Facebook is the new RAOGK. And the upside is that Facebook expands the resources to folks who may be in a position to help through a shared interest while not necessarily being a genealogist. If you don't see a group that meets your needs, create one! From your Facebook account: 1. on the left side of the page under GROUPS click “Find New Groups” 2. Here you can join groups (Facebook will likely recommend some based on your profile interests) 3. In the upper right corner click the green + CREATE GROUP button 4. Give your group a name and select whether it is public or private 5. Start posting content to your group page 6. Start promoting the page on your profile page while also friending other genealogists and soon you will likely have a vibrant group that can assist each other based on a shared interest.   MAILBOX: From Dot: Australian Newspapers - I had to let you know how grateful I am to you and your podcasts. Thank you so much for helping our family put flesh on the bones of our ancestors. In Episode 167 of Genealogy Gems you mentioned Paul Nauta at FamilySearch let you know “that the National Library of Australia has added an additional 35 historic newspapers to their online collection at . In the last couple of weeks we have found over twenty articles referring to our great grandparents and family, Charles and Margaret McIntosh.  Charles McIntosh came to Australia from Scotland in 1856 and worked for the NSW Railways in various locations before settling in a Gate House Cottage in Moss Vale  As well as finding obituaries for family members including our Great grandmother, we have found other interesting articles. I have included a few examples:  between the pub and the house , about $300. An unwelcome visitor was found in the house – a big black snake, A cousin in California sent a description of the Golden Gate Bridge. From Kathy Needs Help Translating Swedish Gems - I just returned from an amazing trip to Sweden.  Through the help of the local genealogical societies I was able to locate the descendants of an older sibling who did not emigrate to America.  My new found Swedish cousins were so delighted to meet my husband and myself.  They knew they had American cousins, but had no idea where we lived.  They had pictures and letters sent from California in the 1890's, describing my great grandparents' experience.  My grandfather even wrote inquiring about a nice Swedish girl who might like to come to California.  Priceless.  (He did find a nice Swedish girl in California). During this trip I picked up brochures, books etc....all in Swedish.  I remember that you had a question from one of your listeners about how to translate a book in another language.  You talked about scanning the pages and then what?  I would appreciate any ideas, thoughts you might have on this subject. Be sure to remind your listeners about the local genealogical societies.  Swedish genealogists spent 5 days with me looking for churches, graves and farms.  They were absolutely wonderful! Lisa's Answer: Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast episode 96 covers translation tools.   Check out the chapter on Google Translate in my book    Amy and Jillian's recorded comments Jillian's genealogy blog: Win a free PDF article! If you would like to receive a copy of the article I wrote for Family Tree Magazine called “Technology RX” which includes 10 of my top favorite tools for managing technology, a 5 page pdf article. All you need to do is call and leave a voice mail comment or question at  925-272-4021 Be sure to clearly leave your email address too and if we use it on the podcast you will receive the Technology RX pdf.      GEM: The Genealogy Gems Book Club Do you love to read? Then you'll be happy to hear that we are launching the new Genealogy Gems Book Club! This is an idea we've been percolating on for quite a while, and many of you have sent in recommendations for riveting books to dig into. I can't think of anyone who reads more voraciously than our own Contributing Editor Sunny Morton. So I've asked Sunny to be our Genealogy GemsBook Club Guru! The first month of each quarter Sunny will introduce our featured book. The next month we'll talk about it, as well as introduce you to a few more book gems in case you need a few other good reads to hold you over until, and our final month of the quarter where we'll give you a sneak peek at our interview with the author to get their insight. As always, Premium members get to take this feature to the next level. In that last month on the Premium Podcast, Sunny will join us for an extended chat with the author about the family history aspects of their book. Our first Genealogy Gems book is She Left Me the Gun: My Mother's Life Before Me by Emma Brockes. She's an award-winning journalist from the UK who, after her mother's death, began investigating hints of her mother's difficult childhood in South Africa. Here's a bit from the back of the book jacket, “Brockes begins a dangerous journey into the land-and the life-her mother fled from years before. A chilling work of psychological suspense and forensic memoir, She Left Me the Gun chronicles Brockes' efforts to walk the knife-edge between understanding her mother's unspeakable traumas and embracing the happiness she chose for her daughter.” This is an amazing, page-turning read. It's a memoir that is also, as one reviewer described, part family history, part investigative reporting, part travel narrative. It's beautifully written, funny in parts, very self-aware that she is working her way around a sensitive topic with relatives she's never met. Sunny tells us what she thinks you will especially appreciate about this book: "I think they'll love the way the writer describes her research and discovery process: online research, the South African archives, her discovery of her grandfather's conviction of a serious crime that her mom's family didn't even know about, on top of his crimes they did know about. Then there's the historical context: how her mother's life straddles apartheid-era South Africa and the UK. It's a first-generation immigrant's tale. I think they'll appreciate the difficulties she describes in intruding into people's lives to ask very personal questions about the family past, and her description of the relationships between her aunts and uncles. One marvelous take-home for family historians is her ability to absorb the tragedies of the past without being sunk by them. And finally, anyone who has ever written their own family history will be absolutely inspired by the way she writes so compellingly, with such compassion but without being too sentimental." In a couple of months, we will have an interview on the show with the author Emma Brockes. The interview is fascinating whether or not you've read the book, but the reason we're telling you ahead of time is that you'll love it even more if you read the book. Sunny gives us a hint: "So I've done the interview already and I'll give you a teaser. My favorite part of the interview is something she only touches on briefly in the book: how to tell the stories of living relatives in print without hurting their feelings or your relationship with them. That was one of my favorite parts of our conversation because I can tell she cares about her family a lot. I'm really excited to share this book with GG audiences. Again, the book is  by Emma Brockes." .     Your DNA Guide: National Geographic and New Zealand with Diahan Southard Recently a group of 100 residents from a very cosmopolitan city assembled together to determine what exactly it was they had in common. What they learned about themselves that evening, has a direct impact on you, a genealogist interested in identifying your ancestors. Those 100 residents were from Wellington, New Zealand. Their host? Dr. Spencer Wells, Director of the National Genographic project.  Their admittance fee to this party? A cheek swab. You see, 800 years ago the first inhabitants of New Zealand were just beginning to explore their new territory. They had arrived from the eastern islands of Polynesia and lived in relative isolation for over 500 years. While first discovered by the Dutch in 1642, New Zealand wasn't regularly visited by Europeans until the late 18th century. Therefore the study of New Zealand's populations can give us a relatively recent look at what has been going on all over the world for thousands of years: indigenous populations being mixed with outside population groups. For Spencer Wells and the National Genographic Project, sampling people of New Zealand would provide a rare opportunity to study the genetic effect of a recent collision of populations. We can think of mixing populations like adding a tablespoon of salt to a glass of water. At first it is easy to see the two different substances co-existing in the same location.  But soon the salt becomes part of the water- creating a new substance, with only a small portion of the original substances remaining. This is what happened throughout history as outside groups arrived and intermarried with indigenous populations. The goal of population genetics as a field of study, and specifically of the National Genographic project, is to look at the modern day population (in our example the salt water), and be able to identify which ancestral populations are present (in our example, determine which parts are salt, and which parts are water. This of course, without knowing beforehand that you were dealing with salt water!). The National Genographic project has identified 9 ancestral regions from which they believe all modern populations descend. These nine would be like our salt, and our water.  They have then described how 43 reference population groups (our salt water) are comprised of their own unique mix of these 9 groups.  They can also describe the origins of your direct maternal line, and if you are male, your direct paternal line. This information was gathered for the Wellington residents and it was determined that the original Polynesian population, and a small East Asian population, are certainly the minority among a predominately Western European population group. This information will help groups like the National Genographic Project to determine the possible migration patterns of other peoples and cultures. What does this mean for genealogy?  This kind of research helps fuel the Admixture results (the pie charts and percentages) reported to you by a genetic genealogy testing company when you take an autosomal DNA test.  It is this research that helps genetic genealogists look at your DNA and pick out the essential, ancestral elements- your salt and your water- and determine how your unique mix- your salt water- reveals information about the origins and migration patterns of your ancestors.  at the Genealogy Gems Store.     GEM: A Star Trek Journey Through October Innovations You know, through history October has turned out to be quite a month for technological innovation, particularly those that affect our every day lives through modern conveniences. In this very special Profile America segment, come with me as we boldly go where no man has gone before! From Census.gov: Tuesday, October 21st. An invention was demonstrated on this date in 1879 that lit the way for a dramatic change in the rhythm of Americans' daily lives. At his Menlo Park, New Jersey laboratory, Thomas Edison set up the first incandescent light bulb, which burned for almost 14 hours. Within a few years, some cities had installed electric streetlights. The number of homes across the U.S. with electricity grew steadily, but even in 1940, more than one-in-five houses was without power. Today, there are over 10,000 electric power generating establishments. American homes on average use nearly 11,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year. The national average bill for this power is just over $107 per month, but over $203 in Hawaii. Wednesday, October 22nd. "10 - 22 - 38 Astoria." That cryptic sequence indicating date and place was the very first photocopied image, created on this date in 1938 in Astoria, New York. A man named Chester Carlson developed a method of making dry copies of documents on plain paper, known as xerography -- which we take for granted in using photocopiers today. Before his invention, copies were made either by using carbon paper when typing or by a mimeograph machine for large numbers of copies. Both were messy and cumbersome. The first commercial copiers became available in 1959. Now, 76 years to the day after the first photocopy, making copiers is a $2.2 billion a year business in the U.S. Saturday, October 25th. A melted candy bar led to the invention of one of today's most-used kitchen appliances. Percy Spencer of the Raytheon company was working on a military radar device in the mid-1940s when he noticed that his snack had gotten soft. Intrigued, he experimented with irradiating some kernels of popcorn, which promptly burst. Further work led to the first microwave ovens, which cost only a little less than a new car. On this date in 1955, the first consumer models were introduced, but they required installation and cost $1,200. Countertop models came along in 1967. Now, more than nine out of 10 homes across the country have microwave ovens, and manufacturing microwave ovens and other electric cooking ranges is a nearly $2.5 billion a year business. Sunday, October 26th. Doing laundry was a wearying, time-consuming chore for many centuries. The industrial revolution and American inventiveness attacked the ancient chore on this date in 1858, when Hamilton Smith patented a rotary washing machine. But it was hand-driven and proved to be hard on both the operator and clothes. People continued to use the tub and washboard, even after the first electric washer came along in 1908. A few years later, the agitator-type machine appeared and gained immediate popularity. Finally, in the late 1930s, the fully automatic washer with a spin cycle went on sale. Today, over 85 percent of the nation's nearly 119 million households have a washing machine. Wednesday, October 29th. The scene on this date in 1945 at Gimbel's department store in New York City was shopping chaos. Big ads the day before had trumpeted the first sale in the U.S. of a new writing instrument that guaranteed it would write for two years without refilling -- the ballpoint pen. By the end of the day, the store had sold its entire stock of 10,000 at $12.50 each. The idea of the ballpoint pen was first patented in 1888 by John Loud of Massachusetts, who never made any pens. Now, ballpoints are the standard. Vast selections are offered by the nation's 7,400 office supply stores, which employ some 94,000 workers.   AmazonPlease use our Amazon box on any page of this website to begin your searches for online shopping. Doing so financially supports this free podcast at no cost to you.  Thank you!

Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast Episode #113 Who Do You Think You Are? has become a worldwide television phenomenon, starting in the UK and making its way around the world, telling the stories of well-known celebrities in search of their family history. July 23, 2014 marks the debut of season 5 of the series here in the U.S. and the show's Executive Producer Dan Bucatinsky is here to tell us more about it. We hope you enjoy the free access to this Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast episode! Benefits of Membership: 110+ Exclusive PremiumPodcast episodes Video recordings of Lisa's most popular classes New video & audio content each month All for just $29.95 a year. Don't miss another day… BONUS: For a limited time new members will receive the exclusive digital PDF ebook of a collection of Lisa's most popular articles from Family Tree Magazine! (the ebook will be emailed to you within 24 hours of purchase)   About Dan Bucatinsky Dan Bucatinsky won the 2013 Emmy Award in the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series category for his portrayal of James Novack on the hit Shonda Rhimes series, Scandal. Bucatinsky wrote, produced, and starred in the 2001 indie romantic comedy All Over the Guy (Lionsgate). In 2003 he and partner Lisa Kudrow founded Is Or Isn't Entertainment, which produced the cult, Emmy-nominated HBO comedy The Comeback co-starring Bucatinsky as publicist, Billy Stanton. Thanks in part to their rabid fanbase, The Comeback is returning to HBO for six episodes beginning this November. Dan and Lisa's acclaimed docu-series Who Do You Think You Are? recently received its' second Emmy nomination, for Outstanding Structured Reality Program. The show returns for a fifth season on TLC this month. Season five (and the second season on TLC) will feature six popular celebrities from TV and film: Valerie Bertinelli (One Day At a Time, Hot in Cleveland) Jesse Tyler Ferguson (ABC's Modern Family) Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls, and currently starring in NBC's Parenthood) Kelsey Grammer (Cheers and Frasier ) Rachel McAdams (movies like Mean Girls, The Notebook) and her sister, Kayleen McAdams. Cynthia Nixon (HBO's Sex in the City) Tune in to “Who Do You Think You Are?” Season 5 onthe TLC channel on Wednesday, July 23 at 9/8c. The 5th season opener features actress Cynthia Nixon (of Sex in the City) We hope you enjoyed this special episode of the Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast.  

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.

Wondering how to get your kids and grandkids engaged in family history? Looking for worthwhile activities for the kids over the Christmas break? In this episode author Janet Hovorka provides answers. Our children are the future of our families, and there's no better time to help them engage, explore and enjoy their family history!  App Users: Be sure to check out the audio Bonus Content in the Genealogy Gems App! NEWS: of the 1 year digital subscription to Family Tree Magazine. Amanda's Blog: Read about Where You Can Find Over a that are Now Indexed!    MAILBOX: From Gary: “There was a recent episode of the Las Vegas Based  “CSI” show in which a genealogist was used  to help solve a crime and the head CSI guy (Ted Dansen) and the Genealogist debated about Genealogy being a science.  Only took them 1 hr  (and 30 commercials) to do what takes us a live time –Hummmmmm!!!” Premium member Roger in Utah: “Thanks for another great podcast – this time on MY ancestral homeland of Norway.  I have spent many hours using the   website.    While you can use the English version, parts of it are only in Norwegian. Norway, like most Scandinavian countries, has put nearly all of their parish records online.  It is a wonderful resource. You have to learn what some of words are, such as birth, Christening, confirmation, marriage, death, etc. But even just these can help a lot. If you learn a few more Norwegian words, you can more fully access the vast amount on information available on that site.  In that podcast you also talked about taking a risk and contacting someone about possible family information. Through some of my Norwegian research I found a man who lives in a little town about an hour north of Oslo. He is the leader of a group called the Hadelandlag Society. Hadeland is a region of Norway. I got an email address for this man, Ole, and contacted him. He has been wonderful to me.  He went to a local repository and looked up information on my family from the information I gave him. Of course, I thanked him profusely for helping someone he did not even know. We have now emailed several times. Certainly the “risk” paid off. I have also found some US chapters of the Hadelandlag Society and have become a member.   And I found some distant cousins as a result,  one in Canada, and one in Minnesota. We email somewhat regularly. See what taking the “risk” can do.” Matt Has a Mystery and is Looking for Extra Sets of Eyes: “Thank you for your podcasts! … even listening to the older podcasts can provide needed perspective on how to break through your brick walls. Speaking of brick walls, mine may be crumbling. I've been trying to trace the parents/ancestors of my great-grandmother. Up until this past summer, I had no information whatsoever. On May 30, 2013, I found an 1855 New York State Census entry that may tell me who her family is. I wrote up a about the current status of the search and I'd be interested in your thoughts.”  From Alan in Minneapolis, MN: “I started listening to the podcast about a year ago, and it's been a great reminder of things that I had forgotten how to use Google for.  Thanks to your hints, I've found descendants for 2 of my wife's great-great uncles who moved away from the farm in Illinois and we lost track of. The Google tips from early on in the series have even helped in projects at work- my colleagues think I'm spending hours searching for things that I'm finding in a couple minutes with some of the tricks. Also after hearing about blogging your family history for at least the last 3 pod casts,  I've finally decided to take the leap and start publishing my discoveries on a blog () so I can post there rather than send emails and miss some of the cousins or send Facebook messages and miss the others.  I've only written two posts (one's up one set to publish Sunday morning), but I hope this is something I can keep up. Just a note to say thanks.” Janice in Montreal started a genealogy blog: “I attended several of your presentations at the BIFHSGO conference a few weeks ago and really enjoyed them. Partly as a result of hearing your advice, I have started a blog on which I'm posting the short family history articles I've been writing, as well as comments on the research process. The story called "An Economic Emigrant" explains why I'm a Canadian rather than an American. Please take a quick look when you get a chance.” . Ethan is looking for some Fold3 help: “I recently went to look for the graves of my great-grandparents and learned in doing so that their son, my grandpa's brother, died in WWII.  Since he has a very common name, George L. Allen, I have been unsuccessful in trying to look up his records on or other search engines.  Any hints on how to narrow my search?  This is the information I was able to obtain just from his headstone: Private First Class, 63rd armored infantry battalion, 11th armored division.  He died Jan 6, 1945, just as the war was dying down.  Other than that, I don't know if he was in the Pacific or in Europe.  My search yields thousands of results.  Any help would be appreciated!” Lisa's Answer: Fold3.com does have some educational videos on YouTube. In particular: . If you don't get the full answer you are looking for, leave a comment on the video to ask a more specific question or ask how to contact them with your question. YouTube is interactive when it comes to comments and I would anticipate they would respond. Family Tree Magazine Webinar Recording:   GEM: Helping Your Kids and Grandkids Engage in Family History with Janet Hovorka Janet is the author of the book Zap the Grandma Gap Available Workbooks:    Above: Janet Hovorka, Owner of FamilyChartmasters  Visit the free Website for more CLOSING: Sign up for the FREE Genealogy Gems Newsletter at Explore Lisa's brand new Pinterest Board:  

I was so impresssed with Yngve Nedrebø, the Chief archivist at Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) who I recently interviewed for the Family Tree Magazine podcast that I'm publishing an extended version of that interview here on the Genealgoy Gems Podcast. This is a "must hear" for those with Norwegian heritage. In this episode you'll also hear from a fellow listener and get a chance to see his family history tour that he created in Google Earth using the techniques I teach in the Google Earth for Genealogy video CD series. And we'll get a taste of the history of coffee. Linda from Ventura Seminar writes in about her recent success: “I just loved your presentation Saturday at the Ventura Genealogy Seminar.  I learned so much and feel very enthused to really get to work on all this.  In fact I was so encouraged I got brave and called a telephone number that I had found for a possible 1st cousin, once removed.  And surprise, it was him and we had a lovely 30-minute conversation and I'm going to send him information and he and his wife invited me to Florida to visit!!  How about that.  It was so exciting, still haven't gotten over it.” Linda said that she was encouraged enough to get brave and make that telephone call. That can be a pretty scary thing. We all have things that we need a bit of bravery to do. And that brings me to an important question that I posed in the most recent edition of the free Genealogy Gems Newsletter. Having you taken a technological RISK lately? This was the key question I posed in the newsletter: Are you fully embracing technology so that you can connect with those that matter to you, both living and in your family tree? There's not as much RISK as you might think. As I always say in my classes: "you can't break it, so go for it and give it a try!" And of course Genealogy Gems is here to help.   MAILBOX: Eric shares his Google Earth Family History Tour: “This is my most complex Google Earth Project ever.   I hope you enjoy it.  It's really been a hit with my family.  They don't glaze over right away, LOL!  After viewing it I couldn't help but wonder if there was video out there. And sure enough I found a few. I'm sure there are more with potential: B17s taking off from Podington:  Focke-Wulf Fw 190: YouTube video update: If you've had trouble embedding videos recently in your own family history tours, or genealogy blog, it's actually YouTube that is causing the problem. If you look closely at the YouTube embed code they are (for some unknown reason) leaving off the "http:" and so the code doesn't work. Copy and paste the embed code into a Google Earth placemark and then correct the URL so it is complete and it will work for you. (Do note though that the person who uploaded the video can opt not to allow it to be embedded. If that's the case, there will be a statement on the video page)   Cameron is Looking for Death Certificates “I am 23 year old recent graduate of nursing school and a huge fan of your Genealogy Gems podcast. I've been researching my family history for about 5 years off and on, and I've discovered more than I've ever imagined. I've been listening two your show for about 3 months now after I discovered it, and I appreciate all of the helpful tips. However, I still have a little problem. I can't seem to find the maiden name of one of my recent ancestors Sallie Mosley. She was born in 1863, I assume in Emanuel County, Georgia. She married James Mosley in the 1880's. I know that the courthouse in Emanuel county burned several times, so that could be why I can't find a marriage record. I have found a death certificate on Ancestry, but isn't very detailed unless you order the certificate. If I visited the courthouse, could they possible dig up a detailed death certificate?”   From Lisa: I ran a quick Google search and found the following on the "Death certificates are open to the public. You must be a member of the immediate family to acquire a death certificate with the cause of death. Our Death certificates on the local level begin at 1927 and back to 1917 in our state office." So depending on when she died they may be able to be of help.  I would also recommend contacting local historical and genealogical societies. They often have the inside scoop on what's available and how to access it locally. A quick Google search should help you make contact. Run the search in Google Earth and it will plot them out for you on the map!   GEM: Norwegian Genealogy and the National Archives of Norway One of the shining stars on the Internet that offer rays of research hope for those with Norwegian heritage is the National Archives of Norway's Digital Archive. Lisa's special guest: Yngve Nedrebø, Chief archivist at Riksarkivet.    GEM: Wartime Coffee Bean Counting Given what seems to be the ever-growing profusion of coffee vendors, imagine what a crisis it would be if coffee were suddenly rationed. That's exactly what happened this month in 1942 because the war had interrupted shipments and people were hoarding coffee. But rationing lasted only until the next summer. It's thought that coffee was introduced into America by Captain John Smith, one of the founders of the Jamestown Colony in Virginia. Its popularity jumped after both the Boston Tea Party and the beginning of Prohibition. For those who don't make their own coffee, there are just over 19,000 coffee shops across the country, and they sell more than $10 billion worth of coffee a year. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at . Sources:    

This month's theme is Family History Month. Learn how to convert old home videos, organize your genealogy, and how to use the site Tribal Pages. Plus: New section in Family Tree Magazine!

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 rkincaid@sar.org or (502) 588-6147 to learn more and to get involved.

A lot has been happening in the genealogy world while I have been on the road, and my job is to boil it down so I can bring you the best genealogy gems and that's what we are going to do in this episode.   NEWS: RootsTech If you didn't make it out to Salt Lake City for the huge RootsTech conference – and I do mean huge – don't fret because they have lots of video recordings online for you including a panel that I participated in where the topic was the Future of Genealogy. If you have ever wondered what is coming down the pike, and what some of the leaders in the genealogy community would like to see, I think you will enjoy this .  While it was a tall order to get up there on that stage and try to foresee the future, we had fun trying. I would be interested in knowing what you think is out on the horizon for genealogy, and what you would like to see on the horizon for genealogy.   and we'll share some of those ideas on an upcoming episode. RootsTech Report from Sunny And if you would like to hear more about what went on at RootsTech here's a there written by our own Sunny Morton, contributing editor to Genealogy Gems.   FamilySearch Records Update There are new digitized images for Australia, Austria, China, England, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the U.S. – In fact in might be faster to announce where they are NOT digitizing records! Read Read Your Ancestor's Criminal Past If you have British roots, you will want to check out the new collection available on Findmypast.com: a half million criminal records dating from 1770-1934!   This sounds like a pretty gripping collection, whether you've got British roots or not. It contains records like mug shots, court documents, appeals letters and registers from prison ships (which were used when mainland prisons were crowded). According to Findmypast.com, the records "provide a wide variety of color, detail and fascinating social history, chronicling the fate of criminals ranging from fraudsters, counterfeiters, thieves and murderers and their victims." The 500,000 records you can search now are only a fifth of the full collection of 2.5 million that will be online soon.   The company calls this the largest collection of historical criminal records from England and Wales to be published online and is done in association with the National Archives (UK). Findmypast.com members can to access the criminal collection directly (make sure the box for "Institutes and Organizations" is checked). Read more about it here:   Digitized War of 1812 Pension Files on Fold3 According to the National Archives, pension files for the War of 1812 rate among their most-requested materials. But the files haven't been easy to use because they're only at the National Archives–they haven't been available in published, microfilmed or digitized form. You have either had to research the pension files onsite in Washington, D.C. or order copies from the Archives. Not exactly easy access. This is about to change. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS), The National Archives, Ancestry.com and Fold3.com are partners in a huge effort: to preserve and digitize 7.2 million pages of War of 1812 Pension Records and make them available for free online.    Who Do You Think You Are? TV Series Update #WDYTYA In recent weeks, that Kelly Clarkson has filmed an episode. A seeing her in Americus, Georgia and that they were shooting footage at . .   Newspapers are reporting that the Danish Broadcasting Corporation is filming its own version of “Who Do You Think You Are?” According to the and the (Illinois Valley), popular Danish actress Suzanne Bjerrehuus was in the area filming stories of her great-great-grandparents, who emigrated from Denmark to the American Midwest in 1869. (They apparently left behind one of their six children, from whom Bjerrehuus descends.)   Genealogy Jamboree:   Church Records for Genealogy on Archives.com About 4.6 million genealogical records from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are now available on Archives.com. This project represents a unique collection for Archives.com, which partnered with the ELCA Archives to digitize and index about 1000 rolls of microfilmed records of affiliated church. According to the company, this collection represents records that have never been online before. It eliminates the major barriers we usually have in researching church records: not knowing which specific congregation an ancestor attended; not knowing where those records are now and not having easy access to them.    Online Historical Maps: From David Rumsey to the DPLA Genealogists rely on historical maps to help us navigate the geography of our ancestors' lives. One of the most important resources available online is the . Well, Rumsey recently announced on his website that he will be making more than 38,000 of his historical maps–everything he's currently got online–available at the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).   Google's free program Google Earth includes nearly 150 historic maps in the Layers panel.  You can also add historic maps downloaded from Rumsey's site to Google Earth by using the Overlay feature. My video tutorial series called will show you how. You can also get step-by-step instructions in my book .   MAILBOX: Lee has some questions, and perhaps you do too: Question: How often do the premium podcasts come out?  Answer: Typically there is one new premium episode and one new premium video every month.  And the real value in Premium Membership is that when you join, you get the entire back catalogue of Premium podcast episodes and video. That means as soon as you become a Member you will have access to over 95 exclusive Premium episodes and over a dozen videos of my most popular classes and topics! Question: Does the premium version cover different material than the free version or the same topics but with more depth? Answer: Premium podcast episodes are commercial free, and very similar in format to the free show although the material I cover is different, and we often take time to go more in depth into particular genealogy topics. Question: Is it possible to buy one episode of Premium to try it out before subscribing for the full year?  Answer: Actually, the free podcast is the "free trial" for Premium. If you like the free podcast, you will love Premium! Question: While searching the iPad App Store for anything new in genealogy, I see there is a paid app for Genealogy Gems but little descriptive information. Is this just for listening to the podcast? Is the price one time or for each episode? Or, have I discovered something new that you are about to tell us all about?  Answer: The Genealogy Gems app is a one-time $2.99 purchase (which goes toward development and updates) and conveniently streams the free podcast on your mobile device. It also includes "bonus features" like unique short video, audio, images, and pdfs unique to the app. Click for the Genealogy Gems iPad app: Click for the Genealogy Gems iPhone app:   Joyce asks about region-locked video: Question: Is it possible to watch the UK version of Who Do You Think You Are? online?  If so I want to.  I need to attend their conference one of these days also. Looks like you had a blast! Lisa's Answer: Unfortunately, the UK version is not available outside of the UK online. Many television video providers do what is called "region-locking."  However, if you are really determined to watch, a quick Google search can uncover some work around. From the BBC website: Currently BBC iPlayer TV programmes are available to play in the UK only, but all BBC iPlayer Radio programmes are available to you. One more thing - occasionally folks upload episodes to YouTube such as . Watch them soon as you can because they are often removed due to copyright issues.   New Genealogy Blogs Blogging is in the family at Matt's house…I love your show and look forward to every episode. I've been researching for close to 20 years now, but because of podcasts, blogs and all the other electronic communications that have come along with the Internet, I feel more connected and involved in the genealogy community than ever. I want to thank you for always encouraging us to start our own blog. I finally made that jump yesterday. My daughter, who is only 11, and has her own blog about doll crafts has also been encouraging me, so I thought I better get with the program. You can check it out at I can't promise anything about how often I will post, but I do appreciate the encouragement you always provide to your listeners. Thanks for providing a great resource to the genealogy community. p.s. Just in case you want to check it out, my daughter's blog is: Amanda also has a new blog…I have been catching up on all the genealogy gems podcasts for the last month (I sometimes hear your voice when I don't have my headphones in!  :)  Anyway,  I just recently became a premium member, and I'm working my way through those podcasts and videos to catch up.  I just wanted to write to say thank you for doing what you do.  I can really tell when I listen that you love what you are doing.   I've been "working" on our family tree since 2003 or so, but only in the last year have I gotten serious about it... and only after I started listening to you have I realized about sources.  So, I now have a tree with over 13,000 people in it and most of it isn't sourced.   I wanted to let you know that I have started a genealogy blog (mostly so I can go back and source everything from the beginning).  I have had a blog in the past just about my kids and other general stuff, but I never kept it going.  I'm already thinking differently about this one because of all the possibilities there are...   the address is , I hope you'll check it out.  It's about more than just the Feeser line of our family, but since that's my last name now, that is what we used as the title.   Just after my very first post some of my first cousins (who I talk to a lot) let me know about some pictures and information they have, and one of my cousins even has a recording of our great grandmother that she did when she was younger (she's the oldest cousin).     Linda likes to blog and laugh…I have been meaning to write to you for some time now to thank you for your marvelous podcast. I have been a faithful listener to Genealogy Gems since the beginning and have enjoyed your stories, insights, and how-tos.  You have a gift for expressing the joys of learning about our family history, not to mention a contagious laugh!   Your podcasts have kept me company on walks, while doing chores, even when waiting in line. On a warm June afternoon a couple of years ago, I found myself doing just that - listening to your podcasts on immigration records and taking copious notes as I stood in line for several hours at the Palo Alto Apple Store, waiting to "early-adopt" my first iPhone.  Some hours later, I logged onto Ancestry.com to search for my elusive Italian Schiavone family, using your tips.   What a surprise when I found my great-grandfather Vito and his oldest son, Pasquale, in the Ellis Island records!  Your tips on how to read the ship's record led me to Pasquale's petition for immigration - and to so much more…When I finally tumbled into bed at 5:00 a.m.. my sweet (and very understanding husband) asked me why I had stayed up for so long.  I could hardly begin to tell him, because I was still crying tears of joy. Not long after that, I reconnected with a cousin I had lost touch with and since then have made new connections with long-lost cousins I had never known from this side of the family…It turned out the other cousin remembered my grandfather Schiavone.  He had invited her family to stay at our home while our family was away on vacation.  She actually rode my tricycle and played in my sandbox!  Can you believe what a small world?  And all of this thanks to you.  Unfortunately, this cousin passed away just last year, but I feel so blessed to have met her and to have made the other connections, who I will always treasure. By the way, I want to echo your enthusiasm for the rewards of blogging about family history.  It is so much fun, not to mention a great way to record family history for our children and for those who are searching for their roots.   But there are other rewards, too, in that researching and writing about our families allows us the opportunity to really reflect on their lives and understand them better.  This can in turn sometimes lead to some wonderful discoveries we may not have made if we had not reflected on their stories in this way.   I invite you to visit my blog, called Many Branches, One Tree, at Bill is celebrating 160 years down under on his blog…I thought you might like to hear about another blog you inspired.  I created a web site dedicated to the Jessep Family history back in 1997.  It holds just the facts and covers the many spellings of the name.  This is my father's page so you can see what I mean.   My Jessep line arrived in Australia on the 29 Sep 1854 and I suddenly realized that in 2014 our line will have been Down Under 160 years.  Now that is something to get excited about and provided a starting point for the story.   The blog also allows the story to start and get added to with the help of others.  This gave it the  purpose it had been missing.  The about page has more information:    GEM: Interview with Chris Whitten, Founder of of my interview with Chris was done for the Family Tree Magazine podcast. In this episode, Part 2  Chris talks about the   According to Chris: "This is really a major advance on WikiTree. It makes it much more useful for people who just want to stick their toe in the water and see if cousins are already participating here.”  

This month, explore American history for genealogists with historic maps, social history tools and the Family Tree Magazine "Top 40 Genealogy Blogs".

In this episode we wrap up my 50 Fabulous Family History Favorites List On Friday I babysat my two grandsons Davy and Joey, and I put together a little game that was prompted by a listener email. You met long time listener and Premium Member Dot in Australia during our virtual Christmas Party in episode 147, and after the show aired, Dot wrote me to say how much she enjoyed it and to tell me about a little concentration game she put together for her granddaughter.  When my kids were growing up we called in the Memory Game and I know some folks call it the Match Game. But no matter what you call it, it's the game where you have a set of cards that are all pairs, and you lay them upside down in rows on the table and two at a time turn them over trying to find matches. The person with the most matches wins. Dot made up cards with photos of her family members. She writes: “She opened the little box I was holding and went through the photos one by one. We put a few pairs down at a time, and as she turned them over she matched them. I included our pets as well.” I wrote Dot back to let her know that MyHeritage.com had something similar. You have to sign in to your free account. In the menu you will find the MyHeritage Family Game under the Apps tab When Davy, who is three years old, arrived on Friday I got to thinking about all this, and I quickly whipped together a set of cards using photos of family members and ancestors. How to Make a Quick Memory Game: Software:  Microsoft Publisher Create one rectangle outline shape the desired size of the cards Copy and paste the shape to fill up the page. (I fit 6 cards per page) Duplicate the page enough times to have enough cards for a game. (I just started with 9 pairs) Using the Insert Picture feature, fill each rectangle with a digital photo from your computer (adjust the size of the image to fit the rectangle so all the cards would be uniform.) Print them out on Glossy Photo paper Cut out the cards It was a lot of fun and a great way to incorporate family history in to daily activities. I think when we do that it makes family history more of a natural part of our kid's lives. Dot also mentioned to me that she found an app for her iPad called Match. (Update: this app appears to be discontinued. Try Match the Memory at )  And the other fun things I did this weekend was watch a movie called Play the Game. My daughter Hannah told me about it and set it up in my Netflix Instant Queue when she was here over the holidays, and we finally got a chance to sit down and watch it. If you're looking for a Valentine's movie to watch with your sweetie, this is it. It is a little independent film from 2008 starring one of my all-time favorites – Andy Griffith. It's about the relationship between a young man and his grandfather, and how they coach each other through their love lives. It's funny, and sweet, and that's very refreshing. You can check it out at the movie's website called     GEM: 50 Fabulous Family History Favorites Free ChartsGenealogy charts in one form or another have been around since people started keeping track of their family history. And even with all the technology we have today, sometimes there is just no substitute for a paper chart to help you work through the complicated relationships in your family tree. My first favorite gems are in the chart category, free charts that you can use online and offline to help you keep things organized, as well as help you share your family tree with others.   26. About Genealogy View, download, save and print free family tree charts and forms including U.S. Census Extraction forms. In this collection you will find traditional family tree suitable for printing, as well as interactive charts that allow you to type in the fields online (using the free Adobe Reader program) before saving them to your computer.    27. Ancestry.com Deep in the Ancestry website are a diverse collection of free downloadable forms and charts. Select from Ancestry Ancestral Form, Research Calendar, Research Extract, Correspondence Record, Family Group Sheet, Source Summary, US, UK and Canadian Census forms.             28. Family Tree Magazine   Offers a wide selection of free downloadable charts including a Five-Generation Ancestor Chart, Family Group Sheet, Research Calendar, and Repository Checklist. You'll also find forms for Cemetery Transcription, Immigration, Records, Oral History, Heirlooms, and census extraction forms for every US enumeration.   29. MarthaStewart.com At marthastewart.com they offer an online decorative Family Tree Fan Chart template suitable for framing.  In the search box on the site's home page search for “Family Tree Charts” and you'll find several lovely charts in the results list that include instructions and downloadable templates. You'll also find other “good things” including free videos and family tree display ideas.   30. FamilyChartmasters.com The Family ChartMasters chart creation tool--Family ChArtist-- is a great way to make a decorative 8.5x11 chart suitable for scrapbooking, framing or other craft projects.  Enter your information manually or via gedcom and choose one of the simple pedigree chart designs.  You can edit your information and then choose from hundreds of borders, background and embellishments or even use your own pictures in your chart.  Movies You can tell by the way I opened this show that I love a good movie, and I particularly love movies with family history themes and stories of immigration. This next group of favorites is what I consider to be some of the best:   31. “Writer Nick and his wife Emily are expecting their first child. When a necessary home repair proves too costly to afford, Nick must swallow his pride and visit his father, a proud immigrant stonemason with whom he has a difficult relationship, and ask him to do the work. Confronting the issues of religious and family tradition which have separated father and son causes Nick and Emily to reevaluate their lives and the things they value most.” Starring the incredible Judy Holliday who you'll remember from the original version of the movie Born Yesterday, and Richard Conte   32. Sweet Land The Movie website: When Lars Torvik's grandmother Inge dies in 2004, he is faced with a decision – sell the family farm on which she lived since 1920, or cling to the legacy of the land. Seeking advice, he turns to the memory of Inge and the stories that she had passed on to him. The movie is based on Will Weaver's short story A Gravestone Made of Wheat and shot on location in Southern Minnesota. 33. The Emigrants Starring Max Von Sydow. In episode 24 I mentioned the book which was made into a movie.  (Swedish: Utvandrarna) “The Emigrants” is a 1971 Swedish film directed by Jan Troell. It tells the story of a Swedish group who emigrate from Småland, Sweden to Minnesota in the 19th century. The film follows the hardship of the group in Sweden and on the trip. The film is based on the first two novels of The Emigrants suite by Vilhelm Moberg: The Emigrants and Unto a Good Land.”   34. (British title The Anatolian Smile) A 1963 American dramatic film directed, produced and written by Elia Kazan, from his own book. In this tale, loosely based upon the life of Kazan's uncle. Turner Classic Movies has started showing it occasionally, so check their schedule.   Conferences and Events One question I get asked a lot is about conferences. Most folks don't have the time or money to attend them all, and I often get asked, if I could go to just one which would it be? Well, first and foremost it's the one that has the kind of classes you are looking for  for your particular research, but I do have some overall opinions on conferences that I think you really can't go wrong with. 37.   38. WDYTYA Live in London (Update: This conference has been discontinued) 39.   Stuff for Kids Every day that we invest in genealogy research it becomes even more important that we capture the interest of the next generation in family history. If we don't, it could all be lost and for nothing. This next group of faves are tools you can use to accomplish this important task. 40. 41. 42. 43.   My Favorite Episodes 44. The Forensic Linguist Dr. Robert Leonard   45. My interview with Venice   46. Interview with Lisa Kudrow   47. Chris Haley sings   48. Steve Luxenberg and   49. Interview with Gena Ortega   and   50. Heritage Quilts  

In this episode we are pulling back the curtain on the Antiques Roadshow, as well as talking a bit about what to include and not include in your family tree. I'm just back from Odessa Texas where I presented a full day seminar at the Permian Basin Genealogical Society. I got to enjoy a big dose of Texas hospitality and had an absolutely wonderful time. Next up I'm heading to Kelowna British Columbia for the Kelowna & District Genealogical Society Conference where I will be again doing four presentations as well as a Meet the Speakers panel.    MAILBOX: Family Tree Magazine Digital Subscriptions from Kathy:  “I subscribe to Family Tree Magazine.  Can I download my print subscription to my iPad....as you can with other subscriptions?  Or do I need to pay for each issue that I download? Family Chart Masters helped me with my Family Tree Chart.  It was beautiful and was a hit at our Family Reunion.  Janet was so helpful.  Thank you for the recommendation. Love your podcasts.” Lisa's Answer: The Family Tree Magazine digital subscription is separate from the print subscription, unless you have purchase their VIP Subscription. So you can either purchase individual digital issues from the Shop Family Tree Store, or you  can purchase a separate annual digital subscription. I think they keep it separate because not everyone wants both. Click here for a $10 off coupon for ShopFamilyTree and when you use that link it also supports the free Genealogy Gems Podcast.  Thank you! Get Lisa's Book: Mobile Genealogy   Replacement for RAOGK From Mary in Iowa: “In Podcast #139, Ricky asked about a successor to the Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness website.  There are actually three Facebook groups (not pages) carrying on the task of looking up genealogy information and other requests.  They are RAOGK, RAOGK - USA, and RAOGK - International.  You need to be a member of the Facebook group to post a message or request, but most requests for membership are granted quickly.”   Scott from Oakland Maine: “I am in need of some advice regarding an un-cooperative family member.  My father's brother wants nothing to do with our family, and in years past once referred to himself as the “black sheep”.  He has absolutely no interest in genealogy and is not at all willing to be a part of the family story that I am putting together.  My question is, how do I reference this character in my tree.”   Lisa's Answer: I imagine every family has a tough nut on a branch of the family tree!  I'm a firm believer in the truth, and what I would do if it were me is to include basic data (that is publicly available) on him on my private, personal family tree. On trees and other info you make available publicly, (such as an online family tree) I would list him and his immediate family only as "Living" and whether they are male or female. In the end you have to do what seems right for you.   From Glenn: “Just wanted to say a quick thanks for both podcasts you produce…I've been interested in the Family History for some time…Recently my interest has arisen again, of course I have made classic mistake in not documenting everything, and just collecting names, dates and so forth.  So in the last 6 months I've been citing sources and updating the database. One of the quandaries I have is when do you stop, not so much vertically, but how wide do you go, in relation to cousins, second cousins and families? Probably the main question I have is trying to decide whether to get a subscription to Ancestry.com or not, I feel I'm at that stage where online document will help out, in filling in the leaves on my branches.”   Lisa's Answer: Go as wide as you want and are interested in. I would recommend adding basic info for someone you find who you won't be pursuing, so that if down the road you run in to a brick wall and you need to do some cluster research or reverse genealogy, you will have new leads to follow. RE: Ancestry - I think you will find that Ancestry membership is a very cost effective and time saving way to do your research. Mine has been invaluable. See if you can find a 7 day free trial to check it out and confirm they have the kinds of records you need.   GEM: Diane Haddad Pulls Back the Curtain on Diane Haddad is the Managing Editor at Music in this segment: The Antiques Roadshow Remix By The Elusive MrHatchard   GEM: Halloween History Tidbits Follow Lisa on Pinterest   GEM: Newspaper Milestones On September 15, 1982, USA Today began publishing On September 18, 1851, the New York Times issued its first edition On September 25, 1690, the first newspaper in America was published for one day in Boston before being shut down by British authorities unhappy with its content.   Get Lisa's Book How to Find Your Family History in Newspapers  

Published June 19, 2012 In this episode we're going to follow up on Episode #133 and my interview with Henry Louis Gates about his show Finding Your Roots with an conversation with one of the celebrities profiled on the show, Linda Chavez.   NEWS: FamilySearch FamilySearch announced that it hit the halfway point for creating a searchable index for the 1940 U.S. census, which has been an unprecedented genealogical community effort made up of more than 125,000 volunteers More states will be added in the coming weeks. You can follow the day-to-day indexing status at and search completed states at However, the 1940 census is not the only record collection that FamilySearch has been working on .  They have recently added project for records from Argentina, Mecklenburg, Germany, Italy, Norway—1875 Federal Census [Part F], Panamá, Slovensko, and Venezuela   Find My Past TV SeriesAs you know by now the TV series Who Do You Think You Are? in the US has been cancelled. However, genealogy themed television in the UK seems to continue to thrive.  According to an article on the UKTV website called “UKTV signs deal with Brightsolid for second series of AFP Find My Past on Yesterday”   My HeritageOn June 11, 2012: MyHeritage held an international online press conference and  announced that it has reached the milestone of one billion profiles. The billion individuals in nearly 23 million family trees, created by the millions of families using MyHeritage worldwide, constitute a gigantic network for discovering family heritage and connecting to relatives.   MAILBOX: Janelle Collins in Australia: “Thanks to your podcast on creating a Google blog ! … Do I need to have my ancestors' names in the blog title rather than in the text of the post itself for a search to bring up my blog post?” “Also, LOVED the 10 Minutes More song...Do you know if there are lyrics available so I can show it to my husband to read instead? Many thanks for all your hard work in making so many podcasts. I listen to them daily while I drive to college and back most days.” Lisa's Answer: Congratulations on your blog!  When it comes to optimizing your blog for search, you want keywords included that other genealogists will be searching for.  So include them when possible in both the title and the body of the blog post. Consider also adding location names or other significant keywords that people will be looking for, and links to relevant websites.  You can find lyrics on the . Alvie in Florida: “I just got back from my morning bike ride - usually an hour - and I enjoyed listening to your interview with Dr. Gates.  He is such a fascinating man. Of course, I would never take away from the whole the fact that your interview skills played an enormous role in eliciting the right responses.  You were keenly aware of your audience and their desires. Thank you for this fantastic podcast.” Richard in Sacramento, CA: “I was wondering when someone would do it, and you did. Thanks. As all of the various genealogy blogs concerned themselves for three years with “Who Do You Think You Are”, Henry Louis Gates Jr. competed against two of those years. In both cases, I personally believe that he did a much better job than the NBC series.” Jay in Brisbane, Australia is New to Genealogy: "I really want to thank you for your show. Not only have I found each and every episode informative and inspiring (and, yes, I've downloaded every single episode in iTunes!), helping me get starting growing my fledgling family tree, but you've also inspired me to and share the stories I discover." If you are new to genealogy like Jay is, listen to my   If you haven't already discovered it, you've got another 46 episodes ahead of you. :-) Also New to Genealogy From Ricky: “I got totally hooked on Genealogy research this past January. In this short amount of time, I have gained A LOT of information and documents. I have listened to your podcasts. ALL of the Family History Made Easy, ALL of the Genealogy Gems and now I've started the Family Tree Magazine podcasts. I just can't get enough. I've subscribed to GG and FTM on iTunes, and I am a Premium GG subscriber. Now that I'm learning how I SHOULD HAVE been doing my research, I have a question. Should I, STOP and go back and try to do good source citations to all of the information I currently have???  Thank your for your advice.” Lisa's Answer: The answer is yes. However, all though it sounds like a lot of work, you'll actually benefit not only by verifying all of the data and getting it sourced properly (which will pay off big dividends in the long run) but all genealogists experience new finds and insights when revisiting sources.  You know more than you did when you first got the information, and that helps you see things in a new light.   Find-A-Grave Shocker from Roxanne in Vancouver, British Columbia: “Yesterday I put onto Find-A-Grave the details of my dad's cousin's grave in California. I was able to include the grave's exact location as I received that information a few years back from the cemetery office….I kid you not but I received a "success" email from within 1/2 hour. I couldn't believe it, is someone playing a game and put something else there? I clicked the link and oh my gosh, there was the picture of the headstone and even more exciting was that the cousin's wife shared the same headstone.”   GEM:  Interview with Linda Chavez Linda Chavez is chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a non-profit public policy research organization in Falls Church, Virginia.  She also writes a weekly syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country and is a political analyst for FOX News Channel.  Chavez authored Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation (Basic Books 1991)         A Key to Genealogy Brick Walls Before I wrap up this episode I wanted to share something that happened to me the other day, and the lesson it taught me about genealogy that I think we can all benefit from.  A few weeks ago my youngest daughter Hannah came home for a few weeks break when the college term ended.  Bill and I and Lacey and Hannah went out shopping on a Saturday afternoon, and when we go to the second store Hannah wasn't feeling very well so she said she was just going to wait in the car. So I handed her the car keys, and we all went inside to finish our final errand. 

Published April 16, 2012 In this episode learn more about APG, find out what's new with RootsMagic 5, and get started searching the 1940 census.   NEWS: Diane Haddad and I just spent some time on the Family Tree Magazine podcast going over everything that's been happening with the release of the 1940 census.  Diane is the Managing Editor of Family Tree Magazine and writes the Genealogy Insider blog, and she's been doing a terrific job covering the records release, indexing efforts and early finds in the 1940 census. You can hear the entire April episode of the Family Tree Magazine podcast at And you can read more about it my article called at the Genealogy Gems News Blog. where you can read about the official opening ceremony at the National Archives and check out a really cool infographic put out by Archives.com that guides you through the process of finding your relatives in the 1940 census before the index is finished and released.  Because there isn't a searchable name index yet, you'll need to follow a simple three step process: #1 Write down where you ancestor lived.  You can ask older references, check old city directories, voters registrations, previous census and the like to come up with a pretty reliable list. #2 Go to   Enter your family's location to find their enumeration district.  This is key to finding them without a published index. #3 Use the Census Maps to narrow your results #4 Enter the enumeration district number to view the image Who Do You Think You Are? on NBCIf you've been enjoying the new season of the TV series Who Do You Think You Are? on NBC, then you're really going to enjoy the deleted scenes videos I have for you on the Genealogy Gems News blog.    Rob Lowe   National Archives The National Archives continues to publish some great videos on their YouTube channel and here's one that I really enjoyed: Also part of that series is another new video that the National Archives released on …   New Free RootsMagic Webinars Announced RootsMagic has released Version 5.  At the Ohio Genealogical Society conference in Cleveland I got a chance to sit down with Bruce Bruzbee, the President of RootsMagic and he tells us what's new. It was so great to have a chance to sit down with Bruce and hear about all the upgrades, and he mentioned the free webinar series that they've been doing, and all of those have been recorded and are on their website at RootsMagic.com Installing and Upgrading RootsMagic 5 New Media Tagging in RootsMagic 5 New Source and Citation Features in RootsMagic 5 New Research Logs and Manager in RootsMagic 5 New Timeline View in RootsMagic 5 Installing and Upgrading Personal Historian 2 Apr 19 - New County Check in RootsMagic 5 Apr 26 - New Reports and Options in RootsMagic 5 To sign up for the free webinars, visit the webinar page at: Read     Thanks for the Shout Outs: by Jenna, Desparately Seeking Surnames Blog   By: Carolyn L. Barkley, Genealogy and Family History Blog   From Eylse's Genealogy Blog   MAILBOX: From Jean: "Thank you so much for letting me be a gem!".  I loved how you played the "Cooke's reel to reel version and then the iTunes version of "Thine Alone".  I definitely spent a lot of time talking with myself and debating whether I had the nerve to send that email!  I know you've always said that almost all contacts with genealogists are extremely rewarding, but this was just about my first attempt at communication.  I am so delighted that it solved your mystery! …You have a marvelous gift for making all of us feel special, and you've certainly helped me get even more motivated to explore my family history, thanks again.” From the Voice Mail Line: “What do you do with big or numerous files? How do you annotate them in your tree for future reference when you pass the tree on or share it with others? I'm talking about PDFs of big books or articles or a large collection of photos where hundreds of megabytes may be involved. They're too cumbersome to keep inside programs but they should still be referenced to be able to find that file later on.” Lisa Recommends: Cite your sources! Send large files for free with Share large files for free with   GEM: Interview with Kenyatta Berry, President of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) Kenyatta D. Berry is a lawyer, businesswoman and genealogist with over 15 years experience in genealogy research and writing. A strategic and tactical professional with over twelve years progressive experience in Business Development, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Product Marketing and Law. Kenyatta is looking forward to helping APG continue to grow as an organization and serve the needs of professional genealogists worldwide. Her research focus includes African American genealogy, Virginia genealogy, Land records and House Histories. Ms. Berry is a member of the Council Member of the Corporation for the New England Historical Genealogical Society. She has been featured in Jet Magazine, on XM Satellite radio and a researcher for NBC Dateline and WETV.  

Published Oct 5, 2011 When you were little did you play in card table tents or forts?  I sure did. When I was wandering around the house complaining of being bored on a rainy day, my mom would pull out the old folding table used for card games, throw an old blanket over it, pull out some old pots and pans and hand them to me and tell me to go play house.  Something magical seemed to happen when I crawled under the fabric walls.  My imagination would let loose and I could happily play for hours.  So I've decided to create a special card table house / fort for my grandson Davy.     Davy loves the old TV show "Blue's Clues" which was hugely popular here in the U.S. when my kids were little.  Nowadays the only place I seem to be able to find it is on Netflix and YouTube.  Blue is a dog and she lives in an adorable little yellow house with a red roof with her friend Steve who follows her clues.    Last week I headed to the fabric store with my trusty iPad full of photos I found online of the inside and outside of the Blue's Clues house, and I spent two hours up and down the aisles looking for the closest matching fabrics I could find.    Each side of the house is double sided – the outside fabric is the bright yellow and the inside is one that looks like the wall paper in blue's house.  And of course it will have the windows and curtains, and  flowers and lizards and frogs on the outside and I even found a little unfinished wooden mailbox at the fabric store that will be transformed into the purple mailbox outside Blue's house.  If Davy has half the fun playing in his Blue's Clues house as I am having making it then it will be a big success!   In addition to creating The “Blue's Clues fort” for Davy's birthday which is in December, I also still need to come up with Christmas present for the family.  Last year I did calendars for everyone in the Cooke family that sported images for events related to each month.   This year I'm thinking about framing charts.  It's amazing I haven't gotten around to this already, but I think it's about time. My friend Janet Hovorka just happens to own the company Family ChartMasters and she's going to be here in a day or two for the Family History Expo being held in my area (Northern California) this weekend.  So I will be picking her brain and spending a good deal of time on their website. She told me that I have there are loads of new styles of charts to choose from.   If you're looking for Christmas present ideas for the family this year, why not consider a family tree chart? Hopefully you've got your genealogy data in a database so you can just export your gedcom and make it gorgeous for a gift they can enjoy for years to come.    If you decide you'd like to check out Family ChartMasters– which of course I highly recommend – I'd really appreciate it if you would click the image above to visit their website because when you do you are also supporting this podcast and making it possible for me to keep the free podcast episodes coming.  So thank you very much!   And by the way, many of you have asked what happened to our Amazon links on the website which were another way that you were helping to support the podcast. Well, Amazon dropped their California affiliate producers because of some recent tax law changes.  But I just got an email saying they are reversing that. This is awesome news because I just can't get through  all my Christmas shopping without Amazon, and I know that many of you shop online too. So I'm going to get that reinstated asap – keep an eye out for the Amazon links on the homepage at genealogygems.com and I will also return it to the toolbar. (UPDATE: The Genealogy Gems Toolbar has been discontinued)  Thanks for being patient and being such incredible supporters of this little old podcast!   NEWS:   WDYTYA is reporting that Marisa Tomei has just been added to the roster of celebrities who will be featured on the new season of Who Do You Think You Are? here in the US.  Joining here are Martin Sheen and actor Blair Underwood.    has added records for China, Hungary, Mexico and U.S. Records Include Illinois, Maryland, New York and Washington.   Ancestry.com announced the release of the and it's free to the public.    also recently added some new records. Two million railway employment records from the UK National Archives are now available on the site.     Convict records available for free online for Australia The free website at   is based around the British convict transportation register compiled by the State Library of Queensland - it includes about three-quarters of the 160,000 convicts transported to Australia between 1787 and 1867.   Database of Virginia Slave Names The RVA NEWS is reporting that the has launched an online and searchable database called “.”  It's a free service featuring a sizable portion of the over 8 million records in VHS archives.    RootsMagic just released the long awaited Personal Historian 2.  This is their software that helps you write the story of your life and of other individuals.  If you'd like to learn more about the new Personal Historian 2 you can watch a recording of their recent free webinar at   For a limited time only, RootsMagic is offering a special introductory offer for Personal Historian 2. Through October 31, 2011, Personal Historian 2 is available for a special introductory price of only $19.95, saving $10 off of the regular price.  The discount is available only on the Personal Historian website at http://www.personalhistorian.com or by calling 1-800-766-8762.    New Aussie Genealogy Podcast There is a new family history podcast focused on Australian Genealogy called Genies Down Under.    A while back Maria Northcote, herself a Genie Down Under, wrote and asked me my thoughts on podcasting and said she was thinking about putting a show together, and I'm very happy to say that she has done it.  She has launched a brand new website called Genies Down Under and she wrote me again to tell me all about it and she writes:   “I really must say thanks for you for your inspiration to podcast in general, to blog and to get deeper into family history – one of my big passions in life. I dated the first podcast with a 1 October date as I didn't expect the launch to become live so soon!”   You can subscribe to .  Visit the       MAILBOX:   The background music for this segment is called  “Bethena” and is available on the fantastic CD by Frederick Hodges called Picnics. Visit   Grandparent Terms of Endearment I think I struck a chord with so many of you out there when I told you in the last episode who I'm hanging in there waiting for my little grandson Davy to call me Grandma.  My email box was over flowing with the most wonderful stories of the terms of endearment you use in your family for grandmothers and grandfathers.    Maria in Australia: In her family theydistinguish between her mother's parents and her father's parents by using their married surnames: Grandma Northcote or Grandfather Walters.   Elizabeth in Needham, Massachusetts: “While we've used Grandmother and Grandfather in my family, my uncle was known as "Grand Sir" to his grandchildren. (My aunt is known as Grandmother.) I really must find out how that name evolved and write down the story.   In my husband's Jewish family, grandparents are Bubbie (for grandmother) and Pop-pop or Zaydee (for grandfather), though when Bubbie's mother was still living, she was Bub-bub to her great-grandchildren, to differentiate her from Bubbie.”   Suzanne in Panama City, FL: “…my husband(‘s family) was much more creative. Two of his grandmothers were named after what kind of road they lived on: one was "Bumpy Road Granny" the other was "Smooth Road Granny". He had another grandmother called "Chicken Granny" because she had chickens running around her yard. And a fourth grandmother was called "Big Ole Granny". She was called that not because of her size but because she was actually the Great-grand mother.   Liz posted on my Facebook page: “When my daughter was learning to talk, she called my mother Daygar, my sister Elaine was E.T. and then became Aunty and my father was Pa. She had her own language! She called marshmallows yesyellows, O'Henry Bars were YoHomy Bars and gingerbread men were Bundermen. She was very inventive!”   Laurie in Calif. writes: “(This photo) was taken on the front porch of my great grandparents' home in Reeseville, Wisconsin c. 1928.  The names were written right on the bottom of the picture, thankfully, and the writer referred to Lena (my great aunt) first as "Bammy" before crossing it out.  I always appreciate it when someone writes names on photos, but this one is more appreciated as it reveals the quirky nickname "Bammy" for Grandma.  Gotta love it.     Christine writes: I just received my "Ultimate Google for Genealogists" Collection from Family Tree Magazine.  I can't wait to delve into it & get my "Lisa fix" between podcasts!  When my maternal grandparents were alive, they affectionately called each other "Pappy" for some reason.  Apparently when I was a toddler, I heard that as "Happy" & that's what my sisters & I called my grandmother for the rest of her life.  It was a well-fitting name, too, because she always was happy!   Teri in Iowa writes: My oldest daughter called her grandmothers "Little Grandma" and "Big Grandma" because my mother lived with her mother so that she could remain in her own home! Memories!   Elizabeth writes: “I have 3 grandchildren, girl twins, Ryan and Riley who are my son's children and a 2 year old boy, my daughter's son. When the twins were about 16 or 17 months old, Ryan couldn't say the "grr" sound of "Grandma and Grandpa" so she came up with the name  "Mo-ma" and when I pointed to my husband and asked "What is his name?". She quickly replied "Mo-pa". Her twin Riley, quickly picked up the name and started to call us "Mo-ma" and "Mo-pa". 3 years later when my grandson arrived he fell into step with his cousins, Ryan and Riley, and has started to call us "Mo-ma" and "Mo-pa". These grandchildren have 3 sets of grandparents: me and my husband; my ex-husband and his wife and my daughter in law's mother and father, who are called "Nanny" and "Pop Pop".   Debra writes: “My parents were named Bumpa and Nini. Bumpa started with the first born grandchild being unable to pronounce Grandpa and somehow it came out as Bumpa and stuck. Nini because my mom didn't want to be called grandma :) They ultimately had 17 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren before their passings in 2007. I'm Noni to my 7 grandchildren but dad is just plain ol' grandpa. Thanks for all the informative podcasts-love listening to them on my walks with my two Jack Russells, Leroy and Mabel!”   And then there was this terrific message from JT: “When our son Miles was just starting to talk, he had trouble with the usual consonants so "Grandma" just wouldn't come out no matter how hard he tried. One day when my mother-in-law stopped by he was so excited to see her he just stood in the center of the room, his arms held out as he tried to call her.   You could see in his face how hard he was trying. He rose up on his toes, his hands opened wide and he almost began shaking as the word traveled up his body and burst our his mouth.... "HEM-MIE!"   Not even close to "Grandma", but it seemed to work for him - seemingly satisfied, that's what he called her from that day on. Little sister Lily has adopted it as well and my mother-in-law couldn't be happier that she has what must be a completely unique name from her grandkids.   I enjoy your podcasts and always learn something new - thanks so much!”   But I have to say, I think my favorite email came from Tim in San Jose CA who writes: “I recently listened to your podcast which included your discussion of names given to grandparents. I thought I would share some of the names we used for our grandparents growing up.   When I was born, I had 4 living grandparents, and 5 great-grandparents, who were all direct ancestors -- not from second marriages. During my growing-up years, they all lived within 5 miles of my family and we saw them often. So, it was a challenge to uniquely identify each grandparent.   There were the usual names, such as Grandma and Grandpa McBride for one set of grandparents, and Grandma and Grandpa LaMonte for a set of great-grandparents. Another set of great grandparents were Granny and Louie. Why we called him by his first name, I don't know -- all of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren called him my his first name. I guess "granny" comes from my Ozark heritage.   But there were also a couple unusual names. If someone was just listening to my sister, cousins and me talk, they would hear something like Grandma In-da-green, or Grandma and Grandpa In-da-ellow. When my older sister was quite young (she was the oldest of all the cousins on that side of the family), she identified one of our great-grandmothers as Grandma In The Green House (which, over time, was shortened to Grandma In The Green) and one set of grandparents as Grandma and Grandpa In The Yellow House (which became Grandma and Grandpa In The Yellow).   I have not previously included these names in my genealogy data base. But, I have now added these names and stories behind them since I know we used these terms in family letters. It would be good to have notes how these names came about for when future generations are reading these letters so they know who we are talking about.   Thanks for the podcast. I enjoy listening to each one as soon as it come out!”   I think that is priceless!  Tim really got the message I was hoping to send in bringing this topic up.  This is part of your heritage. Take a few moments and get these wonderful terms of endearment and their origins into your family history records and database.  You'll be glad you did!   I'm sending out a 1 year premium membership to JT for recording his terrific story, and also to Tim for his Green House and Yellow House Grandparent story.  Simply wonderful!   And thanks to all of you who took the time to write in.  Thanks for being part of this podcast episode.  It's most fun when it truly is a conversation!   Genealogy Gems Premium Membership Clíona from Ireland wrote in with a questions about Premium Membership She writes: “I've been listening to some of your podcasts and I'm interested in signing up to see the Premium Videos. Would my subscription give me access to previous Premium Videos such as those mentioned in your podcasts, or just the future ones? Thanks and well done on some very good podcasts.”   Well Cliona, thank so much, I'm so glad you're enjoying the free podcast! When you become a Premium Member, you get: .        The 6 most recent Premium Podcast episodes .        The Google Earth for Genealogy video series (7 videos) .        The Google: A Goldmine of Genealogy Gems video series (13 videos) .        The 2 part Hard Drive Organization video series As each new premium podcast episode is released the oldest drops off.  For now, all of the videos listed above remain - when I'm going to change some out I provide advance warning. So as you can see there's lot of video content waiting for you :-)        GEM: 1000Memories Interview with Michael Katchen, Director of Business Development at     CLOSING:   Here's one more email from a listener. Kate in Ann Arbor Michigan took the time to write in and just make my day.  She says:   “Thanks for the updates to your podcast. Your app is wonderful. Each day I find new ways to enjoy your presentations. Now I can share your podcast by text. I can now easily share your podcast with my tech challenged friends. Your discussion with "ole Myrt about quilting will be sent to my sister-in-law who  is part of a large quilt group inLancaster Virginia. You inspire me with both genealogical info and your tech info.  Last week I was at an Apple store. The young geek saw my ipod touch and asked me my favorite app. Of course your app was the first mentioned. I think he was impressed. We  shared info on "DropBox". I learned about that from you.”

Published Sept 17, 2011 Everyone has a special name for grandparents in their family.  In ours we have Nanna, Grandma, and even Pat-Pat.  I look forward to the day my grandson Davy calls me Grandma.  While I wait, tell me the unusual terms of endearment used in your family for grandparents.  Email or leave a voice mail and be included on the show:  (925) 272-4021   Listen to the episode:   NEWS: FamilySearch has added millions of new records of both Confederate and Union soldiers who served in the American Civil War. Also now available for viewing are newly added notarial records from Canada, church records and civil registrations from Mexico, and records from England.  From the UK National Archives: The UK National Archives announced that findmypast.co.uk has just released 1 million , dating from 1918 to 1941.  at the UK National Archives website to help with your research into merchant seamen.   Apprenticeship recordsOver half a million have been added to the site.  They cover Scotland, England & Wales during the years 1710-1811. To learn more about apprenticeship records, check out the   Australian military recordsYou can now access the records of Australian soldiers who fought in the Great War free at the . If your relative was an Australian soldier, the Office of Australian War Graves at the offers free photographs of Australian solder's graves. Our wonderful sponsor absolutely free.     What's New in Personal Historian 2 Creating a Shareable CD with RootsMagic If the webinars don't fit your schedule they will be posting a recording of the class on their website at that you can watch at your convenience absolutely free!  And it stays free – it doesn't disappear in a month.  I love that about the RootsMagic webinars!   Lisa's Upcoming Speaking Engagements:  9/25/11 - Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, CA 10/7 & 8/11 - Northern California Family History Expo, San Mateo, CA 10/21/11 - Waterloo Iowa Public Library Webinar 10/22/11 - Webinar for the Hayden Idaho Family History Center Fall Family History Seminar 10/29/11 - Victoria Genealogical Society Seminar, Victoria, British Columbia 11/11 & 12/11 - Georgia Family History Expo, Duluth, GA Feb 2 – 4, 2012 – RootsTech, Salt Lake City, UT   MAILBOX: As you'll remember I had an interesting conversation with DearMYRTLE in Episode 117 about the abbreviation FL that showed up in podcast listener Dot's family history research. She was wondering what it stood for, and DearMYRTLE was intrigued as well so she did a bit of investigation on it which we discussed in the show. Well several of you wrote in with your thoughts on the subject: Sean writes: “My first thought was that the abbreviation would stand for "found living" and it sort of makes sense based on the discussion.  Finding this abbreviation in research could provide an important clue to narrow down when and where a person lived.” And Dot chimed in with: “Rob and I do however think there is a time when it is handy for genealogists to use it. If you don't have birth and death dates, we think that  instead of having nothing, fl. gives you dates  as a rough guide as to when the ancestor lived  and you can always extend the dates once more information is found.” Dave wrote in with a different take: “It does refer to someone's “productive” time, but typically it refers the time that someone is known to have practiced their profession.   Usually, it is used when no biographical information exists…In genealogy, it is less likely that this kind of sourcing is useful, since the person is tied, biologically, to a time and place.  We know the age ranges for life events, so we can guess better. That said, it is very useful to be able to interpret information of this kind.” It's always nice to hear when the gems I talk about here on the show sparkle in your own research.  Tina wrote in recently to share not one but two examples: “I just wanted to thank you for putting the idea into my head that Paula Sassi might be able to contribute something to my knowledge about a relative…  I gave her a bit of background to the handwriting I submitted and she came back with insights and suggestions in areas that I hadn't mentioned, but nonetheless knew or suspected - all astonishingly accurate.  I am just so grateful to her - and to you!” “And can I give you another thank you?  This is an old one, but still the most useful tip I think I have ever had: go back and look at original documents again, and again, and again.  Each time I do so, I seem to notice something I had missed the first few times, or now meant more because I had more information.  Invaluable.  Thank you!”   Thomas On Facebook asked about using children's sidewalk chalk as a mediaum to read gravestones better. Lisa says: Tombstone rubbing is a touchy subject and there is no concensus on the matter.  Some people are against rubbing any substance on a tombstone because each one reduces the clarity of the stone. Certainly the chalk wouldn't harm it, but the application could.  Be  careful to check with the local authorities at the cemetery to get permission if you decide to go forward. My preference is to take multiple photograph and manipulate them with an editing program to alter the light, contrast and sharpeness which can often reveal what can't be seen with the naked eye. Watch the video I produced for Family Tree Magazine called  "Grave Transformation" iGoogle ChangesBeing the Genealogy Google Guru has some challenges.  It seems like as soon as I tell you about something Google is doing, or publish a tutorial video or article Google goes and changes everything.  Like the Google News Timeline which bit the dust recently. Well all iGoogle hasn't been immune to that constant change and after some serious hair pulling Pam wrote in asking for help. She says: “My iGoogle page has changed in the last week. The whole left side is different but I can't remember what was there before.” Lisa answers: The only significant change I see is that "add stuff" link has been removed and now is an "add gadgets" button on the left above the tab names.  If you don't see your tabs it's because the are now retractable.  There is a little arrow that hides and reveals the tabs column.   GEM:  PERSI with Allison Stacy of Family Tree MagazineAs you know in addition to the Genealogy Gems Podcast I also produce and host the monthly for my friends at Family Tree Magazine.  In the September 2011 episode I recorded a segment with Allison Stacy the publisher of Family Tree Magazine about PERSI at Heritage Quest Online.  My guess is that you've heard of PERSI but maybe it's been a long time since you checked it out or maybe you've never gotten around to searching this incredible database. It's been ages for me, so I really enjoy chatting with Allison about it and it really reminded me what a goldmine it is.    GEM: Another Free Transcription Software ProgramA big hat tip to podcast listener Phil Rowly who wrote in to share a gem he spotted recently. Phil writes: “I keep a regular eye on some of the best sites covering freeware and I've recently noticed another piece of transcription software - with the advantage of being free - which is specifically aimed at transcribing data in tabular - rather then free-form - layout. The resulting data is then saved as a csv file, which can be imported into a wide range of standard programs for further analysis &c - eg Excel, Word, databases, etc.”     Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast, it was GenScriber is a desktop application, designed for transcribing genealogy documents from images of census registers, church/parish records etc. and was designed to be easy to use. No installation is required. Just unzip and run it. You can even run it from a pendisk.  There are versions for Linux and Windows, and it's free for personal and non-commercial use    

Published Sept 6, 2011 Are you having a Picnic?  Problem In Chair Not In Computer! r - says Google  They had a recent failure but Google says it wasn't the car it was a PICNIC! See the photos at Kiera posted on my Facebook wall after the webinar saying  “I listened to your Webinar on Google Tools today. I wanted to hit myself over the head for not having those tips sooner. I've put them to use today, and already, they're helping me immensely! A million thanks!!!!!!!!”   Book Lisa to Speak If your genealogy society doesn't have the budget to fly out speakers in person, webinars are a fantastic alternative.  Find out more about .   NEWS: AppList for Hobbies has finally been released! We also had some exciting news around here recently.  Appadvice.com published their and named the Genealogy Gems Podcast app as a must have for family history. In other genealogy news, Ancestry made an interesting move recently.  They decided to put out a press release about the fact that the images and indexes to the 1940 U.S. Federal Census will be made free to search in the United States when it becomes available in mid-April 2012. Interestingly it was just before Archives.com made their big announcement that they are going to be addint the entire US Federal Census to their website.  I blogged about this at length in an article on my website called   It really is going to be interesting to see Archives approach to challenging the Big Fish, and Ancestry's response to being challenged. Footnote.com has decided to focus primarily on military records, and they have a new name for it that reflects that.  Footenote.com will now be known as Fold3 which comes from the third fold in a traditional military flag folding ceremony.  Ancestry has also explanded their U.S. School Yearbook Collection    MAILBOX: I caught by surprise the other day when Ruth replied back to that email and she said: “I owe you a Thank You!  I have learned so much about Google in just the first 50 pages! Wow! Do to time constraints, most of my genealogical research is conducted online and Google is certainly my favorite search engine. You book is a fantastic guide to the Google universe!  P. S. I've been listening to The Genealogy Gems Podcast for a long time. Also a great help to my research!” Aisha wrote: “I grew up away from my extended family and my grandparents died before I got to know them. So, genealogy is helping me to connect and learn about my relatives. Thanks for the tips and gems.” To learn more about vital records check out my Family History: Genealogy Made Easy Podcast series. focuses on the search process and specifically death records.  Maria asked “What should my next research step be? I've been googling his name, as well as searching on Ancestry.com. My MIL may have half-siblings, and a biological father who could still be alive somewhere! I would love to further my research...Any suggestions would be appreciated! I love your podcast!” In addition to standard genealogical searching methods, focus on unique identifiers about the man.  A name of one of the boyfriends siblings? His father's occupation? One of their neighbors? How far he lived from her? Something that can be used to narrow down the right man in the census. When things look the same on the surface, we need to find what is unique about them and follow that lead. Good luck Maria! Randy in Nebraska wrote in with a question just about everyone faces at some point. He says: "My questiion is: how do you cite information from someone else's work while they have great citations themselves?  How much should a person retrace sources when the information is 'published' on the internet or in family histories?” Published family histories are wonderful finds, and yet they can have errors or omissions. First I would spot check a number of the sources to see if they are verifiable and accurately recorded.  Ideally you would verify all of them, but realistically that is difficult to do with lengthy published works.  Also published and properly cited family histories are in a different category than a family tree published online, which can be notoriously inaccurate and not properly sourced.  It's very easy for errors to get picked up and added to an online family tree. I would recommend that you read the article Using Published Family Histories from the Mar-Apr 2002 issue of Ancestry magazine, And as for proper citations, the go-to book is Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills. Ericson in California wrote to tell me that he's been bit – hard! He writes: “Thank you for all the guidance and inspiration you have given me. In a matter of six months, I've caught-up listening to your Family History podcast, Family Tree Magazine podcast and the Genealogy Gems premium podcast. To date, I have cataloged 265 individual relatives. My parents think I've gone off the deep-end with this bug! Is there an easier way to understand and remember the degree/removal terminology, such as "first cousin twice removed"? When I reach-out and introduce myself to new relatives, they give me a blank look when I say these terminologies. It's gotten to the point where I would just say "distant relative" or "cousin", which seems overly simplified.” Check out the But in reality "distant cousin" makes the point and can be less aggravating for all concerned!   GEM: Should Your Genealogy Research Flourish?My good friend Dear MYRTLE joins me in this episode to discuss a listener's question about the abbreviation "fl" which stands for "flourish."  Check out with all the details on the history of the term and genealogy experts opinions on it's use in our research. Myrt also gives us the scoop on the Genea-Quilters 1812 Preserve the Pensions Quilt. "Our Genea-Quilters Group on FB has just agreed to support the Federation of Genealogical Society's 1812 Preserve the Pensions by doing a quilt. We're very excited about this project, and find it a wonderful way to support this wonderful digitization project. The records will always be free.     The        

Published August 20, 2011 This special episode of the Genealogy Gems Podcast was recorded in front of a live audience at the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree held in June 2011 in Burbank, CA. My special guests are Allison Stacy, publisher of Family Tree Magazine, and Paula Sassi, Certified Graphologist.    Paula analyzed the handwriting of Allison's She also interpreted the handwriting of John Owen Dominis, the ancestor of our contest winner Heather Wilkinson Rojo.

Get acquainted with Family Tree Magazine's 101 Best Websites of 2011. David A. Fryxell points out some of his favorite resources, and Allison Stacy gives us the scoop on the Family Tree University Virtual Conference in August. Plus: Google Earth for Genealogists, online backup services and 1940 census enumeration districts.

Published July 4, 2011 In this episode you'll pick up tips for family history writing success from John Paul Godges, the author of Oh, Beautiful, An American Family in the 20th Century.   Jamboree   Genealogy Gems Podcast LIVE! featured Allison Stacy, publisher of Family Tree Magazine and Handwriting Expert Paula Sassi   Click the “Like” button on the   Genealogy Gems Facebook Fan Heather Wilkinson Rojo's letter dated May 11, 1887 written by her first cousin 4 times removed John Owen Dominis was featured.  What a fascinating story that turned out to be.  The Live podcast is coming soon!   where Denise Levenick did a nice write up of the Live Genealogy Gems Podcast.   from Jamboree     Colorado Family History Expo Bev wrote me after the Colorado conference to say... “Thank you so much for your help in getting this up and running for me.  I went to all of your classes on Saturday at the Colorado Expo and I learned so much from you and enjoyed your very upbeat and enthusiastic demeanor.  I love your book on the Google Toolbox.  I had no idea that Google had so much to offer.  And you made it so simple to understand for someone who is somewhat knowledgeable about computers like me.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I can't wait to see your next book.”    Ruby Coleman's at her Genealogy Lines Blog.  Thanks Ruby!   MidWest Family History Expo In Overland Park Kansas July 29 & 30, 2011   San Mateo County Event Center Oct 7 & 8, 2011   November 11 & 12, 2011    New Television Programme: Find My Past on the UK's Yesterday Channel UKTV has signed a deal with Brightsolid, the company that owns Find My Past and Genes Reunited, to launch a new 10-part one-hour series called Find My Past. Each week the show will use the findmypast.co.uk website to focus on a famous moment – such as Dunkirk or the Jack the Ripper attacks – to connect "three seemingly unrelated members of the public."     Genealogy Gems named one of the 101 Best Websites   The website has been named one of our annual 101 best family history websites in the September 2011 issue of Family Tree Magazine.       MAILBOX: New listener Barbara from Sydney Australia “I just wanted to thank you for your genealogy gems pod cast.  I discovered it recently and downloaded all the episodes so I can listen to them on my commute to work on the train.  It is the best ½ hour, each way, of my day and this morning I had to drive to work and really missed listening to you!  Only 2 weekends ago I had an email from a cousin in California I knew nothing about, and she was able to give me some clues that meant I was able to find my (I should say our) family in Ireland.   I think that making that connection has been the most fantastic thing about researching my family history so far.  My mum always said we had family in the US, but I never knew who they were.  Now I have a cousin there.  How fantastic! Thanks again for your pod cast, It's really fun to listen to, and I thought you might like to know how far you have traveled.”   Ancestry Thoughts Carol wrote in to share her thoughts on Ancestry and other genealogists she's attempted to contact for collaboration:   “Almost everyone I have contacted has chosen not to respond – either their email bounces or there's just silence.  This ‘silence' is so prevalent in my genealogical inquiries (historical societies, message boards, surname websites, etc) that I have to wonder if genealogy is a collaborative sport at all.   Carol also shares her Ancestry wish list: “Here's what I want from Ancestry (besides better indexing):   - I want members to populate their public trees with accurate info (tall order, I know). - If they're using Ancestry as a whiteboard, then make it a private tree. - I don't want Ancestry deciding what's correct info and what isn't.  - And I would like the courtesy of a reply when I attempt to make contact or to correct wrong information.   Thanks, Lisa, for providing tips and techniques to the genealogical podcast community – keep up the good work!"   Marilyn also wrote in with a common question of folks new to family history about Ancestry and Family Tree Maker.   Just Do It Roger emailed recently about how timely was: “The Christmas gift was still given but how grateful we are for the precious moments we shared. You never know – do it while you have time. So, thanks again for another great podcast and for all you do.”     GEM: Interview with the author of Oh Beautiful! John Godges   John's Three Point Process for Writing About Family History:   Outline: Start with a hypothesis providing a focused theme and starting point.  Including and excluding info. John carefully selected his chapter titles because they are what guided him in his writing.   Talking: Having a talkative family is helpful, but even if your family is low-key, strive to help them feel comfortable to share.   Questions – Asking the write questions goes a long way to helping relatives open up.  John emphasized 3 questions about “reflection”:   1) When in your life was it most difficult for you to be true to yourself?   2) Was there any particular group or role model that had a particularly important influence on your life?   3) When in your life did you most feel connected to something larger than yourself?   Read Oh Beautiful, An American Family in the 20th Century by John Paul Godges   If you decided to buy a copy of this compelling book, I sure appreciate it if you do so through by clicking this Barnes & Noble image to get to their website to make your purchase.    (As you may have recently heard, Amazon has cancelled California resident affiliates, which unfortunately has affected Genealogy Gems.  Thanks for your continued support of the free podcast through our other fine online shops like Barnes & Noble.)     Lisa on the Genealogy Guys Podcast Check out the Genealogy Guys podcast and    

Hit the road with Family Tree Magazine this summer -- the June episode of the podcast offers up advice for taking research trips and preserving your ancestors' souvenirs. Plus: Learn about our state research webinars and the Early American Roads and Trails website.

The news includes: The New England Historic Genealogical Society, together with the Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts and the American Jewish Historical Society of New England have made available for the first time online acess to a growing database that currently includes 13 Massachusetts Jewish cemeteries, with more added each week. Genealogist Anthony Ray of Palmdale, California, has been named the recipient of the 2011 Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Grant. WikiTree announces that it has reached 1 million profiles. The California Genealogical Society will host a family history day with Ancestry.com on 4-5 November 2011 at the Hyatt Embarcadero in San Francisco. George extends a special thank you to Miriam in Spokane, Washington, for taking photos of a tombstone there and for locating and sending a copy of the obituary. Listener email includes: Russ enjoyed the episode in which Drew unpacked a box of family materials that his brother sent to him. Lee has enjoyed the interviews that Drew conducted at RootsTech, but suggests that RootsTech provide a quieter venue for such interviews next year. Bill reports that NARA will hold its annual genealogy fair on 24 April 2011 in Washington, DC. One of the main themes is WPA records. View the schedule at http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/know-your-records/genealogy-fair/2008.html#schedule Judy is seeking advice on researching her mother's family in Southwest Virginia. Mark in Plymouth, UK, asks about the availability of apps for the iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7, and Blackberry phones. Sean reports on the status of RootsMagic's work to import freeform source citations and place them into formatted source citation templates. Gordon provides excellent advice for flattening curled or rolled up paper by humidifying it. He also strongly warns that photographs should not be treated this way. He suggests a more detailed discussion in Photographs: Archival Care and Management, by Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler and Diane Vogt-O'Connor published by the Society of American Archivists. Cheryl provides the pricing at NARA for copies of military files. Michelle thanks The Guys for their help in making contact with her Irish cousins. It's a real success story. The Guys review and recommend a number of great genealogy books: Our Daily Bread, German Village Life, 1500-1850, by Teva J. Schee, is published by Adventis Press. It sells in softcover for $19.95. It is also available in eBook format for Kindle for $9.95. The Last Muster: Images of the Revolutionary War Generation, by Maureen Taylor, is published by The Kent State University Press. It retails for $45 but is currently listed at Amazon.com for $29.70. The Ultimate Search Book, 2011 Edition, by Lori Carangelo, is published by Genealogical Publishing Company for the Clearfield Company. It sells for $39.95. Revolutionary War Pensions (Awarded by State Governments 1775-1874, the General and Federal Governments Prior to 1814, and by Private Acts of Congress to 1905), by Lloyd de Witt Bockstruck, is published by Genealogical Publishing Company. It sells for $89.50. The Family Tree Sourcebook: Your Essential Directory of American County and Town Records, from the editors of Family Tree Magazine, is published by Family Tree Books. It also provides a 30-day free membership to http://www.familytreemagazine.com. It sells for $34.95. Online State Resources for Genealogy, by Michael Hait, is published at Lulu.com as an eBook. It sells for $15.00 and is delivered electronically.

Sept 23, 2010 Lisa share her latest research breakthrough with Google Earth, and Susan Kitchens joins her on the show to talk about recording family history interviews.     NEWS: The Genealogy Gems Podcast is featured in Elyse Doerflinger's article called Podcasts: Download Your Genealogy! which appears in the of Internet Genealogy magazine. at the Library of Congress just announced they have added 380,000+ historic newspaper pages including 3 new states: Louisiana, Montana, and South Carolina. The next episode will feature Lisa's interview with genealogist and author Lisa Alzo about tracing immigrant ancestors. is celebrating its 20th year this month. Disney is adding a bit of history to its TV lineup.  The Marblehead Patch News out of   The series is going to launch in November 2010 although no specific date has been announced.   MAILBOX: Belinda Slocumb's asks about records for military families. Brats : Our Journey Home  DVD with your suggestions for Belinda.   RE: Scanners From listener Ermadene Tilly: on-line and on phone class "Joy of Organizing Photos. Mentioned: Canon CanoScan 200, (not for slides) Note: not available through Amazon. Grace Dobush the preservation expert at Family Tree Magazine covers scanners in the September 2010 episode of The Listener Bruce Horn also chimed in on Scanners: "Hi Lisa, Thank you so much for your wonderful podcasts.  I have really found them useful as a beginner in the world of genealogy.  If you only want to scan prints, I would recommend the Canon Lide 100 mainly because it is small and cheap."   Pat Kirkwood wanted Lisa's previous podcasts on Organizing Your Hard Drive, "P.S. Love the podcasts.  I recently discovered them and Love, Love, Love, listening to them." Listen to the by Lisa on Organizing Your Hard Drive. There are 2 premium videos on the subject as part of Genealogy Gems Premium .   GEM: Recording Relative Interviews with Susan Kitchens   Lisa's Upcoming Speaking Engagements: , Oct 8 - 9, 2010 (Attend the on Friday night!) , Oct. 23, 2010 California Genealogical Society , Oct. 30, 2010  

Published August 5, 2010 NEWS:   Canadian Census    at the Vancouver Sun online about why genealogists are up in arms about the new restrictions on Canadian census information.       National Archives UK Take a listen to the National Archives UK podcast episode  that explores the creation of the census, with the mass organisation of enumerators, temporary clerks, permanent civil service clerks and registrars, and according to the podcast webpage, it includes fascinating stories that lie behind each census, to help us better understand the records we think we know so well.   U.S. census training films online  The US censuses are released when they are 72 years old so the 1940 Census is due out in 2012.  for U. S. Census enumerators.   Family Tree Magazine  Listen to the new of the Family Tree Magazine Podcast featuring my interview with David Fryxell who's article Fancy Free features the brand new 101 Best websites for genealogy research which just came out in the September 2010 issue of the magazine.   Online Classes  Free Webinar   Family Tree Magazine Answers Your Questions   Recorded Webinar How to Find Living Relatives: Unleash Your Inner Private Eye. Get the full hour video recorded webinar as part of your . There's a TON of information there for you including some little known websites providing online access to information.      FamilySearch Over 12 million digital images from thousands of microfilm, representing 8 countries, were published online for free viewing this month at (FamilySearch.org, click Search Records, and then click Record Search pilot) and coming soon to .     New Google Images Tip: for faster scrolling through many pages, taking advantage of standard web keyboard shortcuts such as Page Up / Page Down. It's all about getting to the info you need quickly   MAILBOX: "I recieved my copy of "Internet Genealogy" magazine today. One of the articles is called Genealogy Podcasts.... Where to download your favoriite shows! I am happy to report that the very first Podcast listed in the articel is none other than my favorite "The Genealogy Gems Podcast"! Congratulations Lisa! You're the BEST!!!"   Cherie Bonebright Baxter on Facebook     July 24th is ""   Listener Tim thinks that would be a great day for a family reunion.“I really enjoy the podcast ... keep up the great work!”    Lacey comes up with gems too! Family History calendars for Christmas presents.   Thanks to Listener Belinda for bringing a neat film project to our attention.   A Documentary   Will of Louisiana writes: “I must say I have really enjoyed the extremely useful information! I started by downloading your first podcast and have "listening" my way toward the most current.”    Is there a way to access these Agricultural and/ or Manufacturing Census records online?   Nonpopulation Schedules at NARA including Agriculture and Manufacturing Episode 9 & 10     GEM: Interview with Project Genealogist for Who Do You Think You Are? Canada Specialist in early Ontario (Upper Canada) records.    Who Do You Think You Are? at the The including Email for the Canadian Broadcasting CentreCall toll-free phone (Canada only): 866-306-4646      

The news includes: Announcements about the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee, on August 18-21, 2010. ALERT: The IRS has reviewed non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporations and is planning to revoke non-profit status on October 15, 2010, for those that still have not complied with their reporting. Details can be found at http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=225889,00.html and The Guys strongly urge you to check your society's status on the respective state reports. The Guys provide an update about the situation on the Library of Michigan, both from Tom Koselka and from an article in Library Journal. Family Tree Magazine is hosting a Giveaway Sweepstakes at http://win.familytreemagazine.com through August 31, 2010. Enter the sweepstakes every day to win your choice of hundreds of genealogy books, CDs, and DVDs. Drew reads a question from Jim about a French puzzle. Drew will respond on this after he has a chance to review the details. The Guys discuss technology, including the iPhone and Drew's new iPad and a number of applications - apps at the iTunes store and on the Web: E-reader apps (at iTunes) Wikipanion (at iTunes) GoodReader (at iTunes) iSpeak (at iTunes) to translate languages Dropbox(on the Web at http://www.dropbox.com and a free app at iTunes) Evernote (on the Web at http://www.evernote.com and a free app at iTunes) Skype(on the Web at http://www.skype.com and a free app at iTunes) Google Docs (on the Web at http://www.google.com)

We talk about our list of Family Tree Magazine's 101 Best Websites for 2010, and give you links to some of the best preservation resources online.

Published July 5, 2010 The LIVE Genealogy Gems Podcast #91 has been reformatted for the iPod.  You may need to delete the downloaded episode from iTunes and download it again by clicking the GET button to get the reformatted video. "Attend the Jamboree virtually" by checking out these online resources: The Blog posts about Jamboree: "I especially enjoyed her presentation on Google Earth for Genealogy" by Craig Manson by Joan Miller by Schelly Dardashti Blog by Cheryl Upcoming Conference: 42nd BYU Conference on Family History July 27-30, 2010 BYU Conference Center, 770 E. University Parkway, Provo, UT Information  Family History Expo in Pleasanton, California New at FamilySearch: New Family History Library in Riverton, UT Library of Congress Who Do You Think You Are? UK lineup announced Find out what the Brits think of the U.S. version of the show Lisa's guest blog series at Family Tree Magazine's MAILBOX: Update: iGoogle as been discontinued Liz Thompson wrote: "You sure interview some interesting people!" Brandt Gibson wrote to say how the Genealogy Gems Podcast has helped him get the scoop on his ancestors!  "Thanks for helping restore my faith in a gold mine of genealogical information!" Check out the Get the Scoop on Your Ancestors in Old Newspapers recorded webinar which is part of   New Listener Blogs: Marie Peer asked who the podcast guest was that provided custom family charts:  Janet Hovorka of Generation Maps.  Marie wrote: "Thank you for the excellent podcasts.  I really enjoy listening to them.  I keep thinking that you are going to run out of topics but you don't. You are very creative." Darren Engh posted on Facebook about a website he really likes called for records in Norway.  He asked for recommendations for information about Candian immigration.  Lisa recommends the book by Dave Obee. (This link supports this free podcast - thanks!!) GEM: Interview with Dave Obee "Every province is different.  Canadian research is fairly recent research." Canada doesn't have anything like the SSDI.   Websites the Dave recommends:  

NEWS: Findmypast.com has expanded its collection of British military records with the release of the Royal Marine Medal Roll 1914-1920. They have also announced their take over of It will be relaunched as  (using this linked image helps makes this free podcast possible - thank you!) Ancestry has launched a new wiki that includes two books - The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy and Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.  The wiki can be found at the Ancestry also has announced that it plans on releasing Family Tree Maker for the Mac later this year. FamilySearch Over 300 Million new names have been added online at the FamilySearch Record Search Pilot 1. Go to   2. Click Search Records 3. Click Record Search Pilot Genealogy Gems My article Undercover Genealogy appears in the July 2010 issue of Family Tree Magazine (and you'll also be supporting this free podcast - thank you!) Upcoming Classes: Attend one of my classes at Family Tree University I'm also now a contributing blogger for the Visit Salt Lake City website. on Newspaper Research. Get my books in the iPhone / iTouch / iPad users be sure and MAILBOX: New Listener Blogs: Maria in Australia.  Try out the free Shapes tool for creating collages like Marie did Connie Williams, Califonia.  Challe Talbot wrote in asking about how to approach incorrect data in online family trees.  I have some thoughts on that. GEM: A Criminal Past Interview with author Ron Arons about his book GEM: Google Look Alikes Check out the new features of Google Search Be sure and scroll all the way to the bottom of your search results page. on the Google News Timeline Be sure and Subscribe for free to my while you are there! Related Search - in the search box type related:keyword by Lisa Louise Cooke

All 6 videos are also part of Family Tree Magazine's   Lisa's recent blog posts about the new TV series Who Do You Think You Are?         Upcoming Conferences: Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree June 11 - 13, 2010 Marriott Los Angeles Burbank Airport Hotel and Convention Center   Ontario Genealogical Society May 14 - 16, 2010 Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 15 is the last day to take advantage of their early-bird registration rates.    MAILBOX:  Marian asks about and citing sources.    Lisa recommends Elizabeth Shown Mills' book   Carol asked for advice in purchasing a new mp3 player for listening to podcasts and audio books.        Cathie asked about adding New Family Search to the toolbar (2013 Update: The toolbar has been discontinued).    Jean wrote in about Who Do You Think You Are? "The more we can support shows of this nature and quality, the better in my estimation.  They make history come alive and as Lisa said gives me an appreciation for what my ancestors endured.  I like to think I have benefitted from their sacrifices and it has helped make me the person I am.  As always, thanks for your informative podcasts.  I can hear the smile in your voice and your enthusiasm is catching.  Keep it up!"    Kevin asked about getting started with British Research Lisa's recommended sites:     Subscription Record Sites:   Nancy wrote in about the two part Hard Drive Organization video series in   Susan in Wisconsin writes "I work at the Family History center in Brookfield, Wisconsin.  I am currently teaching our consultants how to use Roots Magic 4 in an effort to transfer their huge PAF files onto New Family Search. I have been looking at different information regarding the upcoming NBC show "Who Do You Think You Are" and came across this page. I am very interested in learning new searching tools to help our staff and patrons without paying the high cost of conferences. Thanks for all you are doing."   GEM: Paper Preservation Listener Debra wrote in looking for advice on preserving newspaper clippings. Sally Jacobs, The Practical Archivist at Read her article   Sally's Tips:  Decision to make:  keep or reprint   Sources:      Sign up for the e-newsletter and reeive the free e-booklet 8 Blunders People Make When They Scan Photos and How To Avoid Them All   While at Sally's site, check out The Preservation Answer Machine   Encapsulation kits:       GEM:  Genealogy is Reconstructing the Dash Listener Gail Hamilton sent in a gem of poem that will get you thinking not only about your research but about the "dash" you are creating today!   App users check your Bonus Content for special Motivational "Dash" Wallpaper!  

  MAILBOX:   for the Genealogy Gems Podcast e-Newsletter You'll get Lisa's 20 page e-book called 5 Fabulous Research Strategies for the Family Historian free in your welcome email.  Follow the techniques in the e-book and you'll better results with your Google Searches when you're online doing your research!   And if by chance you have already signed up you haven't been receiving the newsletter be sure and add genealogygemspodcast at gmail dot com to your email contact list so that your email provider won't think they are spam.    Thank you to genealogy blogger Joan Miller for her wonderful review of the Genealogy Gems Podcast iPhone App on .     Teri wrote in asking for suggestions for genealogist training and certification.  Lisa recommends the article Shaping Up by Sunny Morton in the March 2010 issue of   at the Seattle campus of the University of Washington   program at Boston University. You can take that program online.   Genealogical certification is offered by:     BCG does offer   Listen to Lisa's interview with Sunny about the article in the February 2010 episode of   or subscribe for free in   Michelle writes in about her new blog and how much she enjoyed Lisa's Google Earth presentation on at the recent Family History Expo in Mesa.  “I was so excited about it I went home and shared your tips with my husband who likes Google Earth but had NO IDEA what it could do.  The next time I go hunting for a homestead, I'm going to do it this way.  It's much easier than getting the old state highway maps that also show the township, range, info!  Plus like my hubby pointed out, it would be much more comforting when we are out in the backcountry after riding down 20 miles of dirt roads to have that visual to tell us that yes, we ARE on the right track.”   “As always, I'm looking forward to what wonderful new adventures you will be taking us listeners on in your upcoming podcasts.  You are a treasure chest of information!”   Stay tuned for the release of Lisa's new Google Earth for Genealogy DVD.       GEM: Interview with Lisa Kudrow   Lisa talks with Lisa Kudrow about her new television series Who Do You Think You Are? premiering March 5, 2010 at 8:00 pm on NBC   Spread the Word!  Email your friends and family and share this episode with them to generate excitement and viewership for this new genealogy themed show.   The Genealogy Gems Podcast is sponsored by Rootsmagic         Lisa will be teaching for Family Tree Magazine called Search Engine Tips & Tricks: Google Techniques to Boost Your Research  on Tuesday February 23, 2010 at 4pm Pacific and 7 pm Eastern.  For more information go to the .   podcast will wrap up with one more episode.  

The January 2010 episode of our podcast is celebration of Family Tree Magazine's 10th anniversary. Founder and contributing editor David Fryxell talks with us about the origins of Family Tree Magazine and shares some of the top tips from its pages over the last decade. Managing Editor Diane Haddad goes behind the scenes at Ancestry.com. And you can hear our latest segment, the Family Tree University Crash Course.

The Podcast has been nominated by Family Tree Magazine's Top 40 Genealogy Blogs in the HOW-TO Category. Please cast your vote for us at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/article/40BestVoting. This week's news includes: Ancestry.com will present a free online presentation on Wednesday, October 14, 2009, at 8:00 PM Eastern Time titled "Learn the Best Strategies for Searching Ancestry.com" - and you can register at http://learn.ancestry.com/LearnMore/Webinars.aspx; Ancestry.com also announced that they have expanded their agreement with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to scan and index documents there, and have therefore opened a new scanning facility in the Washington, DC, area - new content collections from this new facility are discussed in this episode; UK Minister Ed Miliband, visiting Moscow on official business and appearing on a call-in radio program, received a call from a relative. You can read the BBC news story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8295394.stm. The City of Kennesaw, Georgia, received a grant that enabled them to begin underground imaging of their cemetery, and you can read all about it at http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/2/.Note: Another update on the Library of Michigan crisis will be provided next week.Maureen A. Taylor, well known as The Photo Detective, has just published a new book, Fashionable Folks: Hairstyles 1840-1900. It can help you date those mystery photos you have. The book is available at http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/fashionable-folks-hair/7559085.The Guys have a busy speaking schedule coming up! Drew will speak about DNA on Sunday, October 11th, for the Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~fljgstb). George will be presenting at an all-day conference for the Louisville Genealogical Society (details at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kylgs/seminar2.html) in Louisville, KY, on Saturday, October 17th. And George AND Drew will be speaking for the Western Michigan Genealogical Society (http://www.wmgs.org) in Grand Rapids, MI, on Friday and Saturday, November 6th and 7th. The society is celebrating its 55th anniversary with a banquet on Friday evening, and an all-day seminar on Saturday, titled Got Ancestors?! Guydes to Genealogical Research. Details are available at http://gotancestors.com. The day's festivities will conclude with The Genealogy Guys LIVE!, a live recording session of the podcast with questions and answers.Drew interviews Dick Eastman, author of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter (http://blog.eogn.com). Dick will be appearing for the Pinellas Genealogy Society in Largo, Florida, Saturday, February 13, 2010. The listener email includes: Carolyn raves about how much she likes RootsMagic software; Lee continues discussing wives' maiden names on gravestones; Roger tells us that the Scottish practice of using maiden names of married women in birth entries in parish registers and on gravestones. Roger shares two examples:http://roger.lisaandroger.com/showmedia.php?mediaID=81 shows a parish register; examples of headstones appear at http://roger.lisaandroger.com/browsemedia.php?mediatypeID=headstones. Pat shares concerns about official, raised seal birth certificates from New York that are using different birth locations now rather than the actual (and original) locations. TC shares information about Dropbox software, a free tool to help keep data on multiple computers in synch. It is available at http://www.getdropbox.com and is free.George talks about Internet Genealogy magazine from Moorshead Publications, the last magazine covering Internet research topics. (Visit http://www.internet-genealogy.com for more information and to subscribe.) Katie asks for guidance for using pre-1850 U.S. federal censuses and getting past some roadblocks created because only the head of household was listed, followed with tick marks representing gender, age, and race.

Google announced last week that it has quadrupled its searchable archive of historical news articles, many of which are free to access.From the The National Archives just announced that it has launched what it calls a Narations blog.  The is going to focus on online public access to records of the U.S. National Archives MyHeritage.com, has announced the release of Family Tree Builder 4.0.   The Family Tree Builder software is available for about Google's new improved search BBC News  MAILBOX:Sean shared his recent discoveries and then had some questions about the 1930 census and the Office Use Only columns.   GEM:  The site is described as "Census microdata for social and economic research".  It's an excellent and little known web site that is dedicated to collecting and distributing US census data. Its goals are to: Collect and preserve data and documentation Harmonize data   Disseminate the data absolutely free    But as the column implies, the census taker was instructed not to write in column 26D so in this case the instructions can't help much.  Column 26D was filled in by the staff at the census bureau after the census taker completed the task.  The codes written in the column were to assist them in tabulating statistical information which they reported to Congress. Unfortunately these numbers really don't provide additional information because they just reflect what was written in the Occupation columns by the census taker GEM: Tools for Occupation CodesBut if you have a curious streak and would like to see exactly what the codes meant I've got a gem for you.  Steve Morse the author of the One Step Tools shares your curiosity and he created a page on his website called  You can learn what the occupation codes in Column 26D mean by visiting this page:     GEM: Agricultural Census (Non-Population Census)Farm # - It refers to the Special census called the Farm ScheduleListen to Family Tree Magazine podcast #12 Census secrets with Curt Witcher for more information. at the National Archives at the National Archives   GEM: Member Connect with David Graham. Director of Product Management at Ancestry.com gives us a tour of the new Member Connect feature.    This episode is sponsored by Rootsmagic

NEWS: For the month of August 2009 Footnote.com is providing free access to the 1930 census images.  To get the free access just go to   and register with your email address.  by Diane Haddad at Family Tree Magazine.  National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections  (NUCMUC) is celebrating it's 50th year. National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections is a free Library of Congress program.  Information about the manuscript collections of participating US libraries is being entered into the catalog search engine. Family History: Genealogy Made Easy - Features the Footnote Maven on the Genea-musings blog about the episode of the Family History podcast features the very gifted writer Denise Levenick who write the blog, and also has an alter ego known as Penny Dreadful who writes occasionally for the Footnote Maven's blog. And you get two bloggers in this episode because it also features my interview with Schelly Talalay Dardashti who writes the blog on Jewish genealogy.  Both these ladies are very experienced bloggers and will give you great tips on blogging, including dispelling the myth that you have to be technically inclined to blog!   Google Books: on the subject    So what do you think about this?  Have you published your family history?  Does it matter to you who owns the digital rights to your work?  I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.  or call the voice mail line at 925 272-4021 to have your thoughts included on the show. GEM:  Profile AmericaAugust 1 - First US Census GEM: Tony Burroughs is an internationally known genealogist, author, and former adjunct genealogy professor at Chicago State University. He lectures throughout the United States and Canada on all aspects of genealogy.   He is the author of the book Black Roots: A Beginners Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree published by the Fireside Division of Simon & Schuster and I recently had a chance to sit down and talk with Tony about his work and his approach to the research process.   Tony was so much fun to talk to  and has so much knowledge about such a variety of subjects.   If you'd like to see my interview with Tony that was filmed at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree you can view it in it's entirety at the . GEM: My Mother Was A Quilter by Lee Drew his   and his blog GEM:  Profile AmericaAugust 2 - The First News Reel for the free Genealogy Gems e-Newsletter:  To stay up on everything going on at Genealogy Gems be sure and sign up for the free e-newsletter. Just go to the website and click the Sign up button in the column on the left and when you do that youâll get the 20 page e-book on Google Research strategies as a thank you gift.  See Lisa in person: Family History Expo Sandy, Utah just outside Salt Lake City August 28 & 29, 2009 with your questions and comments