Podcasts about your family history

Join Hosts Janice and Cherekana of Speak On It ! for a conversation with Stacey Bell on Family Matters! The importance of knowing your family's story. Every life has a story, but stories of the lives lived by Black people are not told often enough.   We should use genealogy and history to tell the stories of our families as Black people in the diaspora because their lives mattered. Stacey Bell, BS, MPA,  is currently the Program Chair and former Vice President of The Afro American Historical & Genealogical Society – New York Chapter,  current Girl Scout Greater New York Board Member, Urban Women's Safe Haven DV Shelter - Community Advisory Board President, and Genealogist.

In this episode of the Genealogy Girl Talks Podcast I discuss 5 Ways to use Instagram for your Family History, my favorite app to add text to pictures, a Quick Genealogy Tip, and an Instagram Tip. This episode also features a Blogger Showcase where I feature a Genealogy & Family History blogger.BLOGGER SHOWCASE:On this episode I feature Owain Couch from TheGenealogyGuide.comYou can find him at the following: Website | Facebook | TwitterClick HERE to have your Genealogy/Family History blog and/or website featured on the Genealogy Girl Talks Podcast!Connect with Melissa | Genealogy Girl Talks on Twitter | Instagram | WebsiteDon't forget to join the #GenealogyPhotoADay Challenge on Instagram!You can listen online at the link below:Listen online HERE!

The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #205 with Lisa Louise Cooke This episode breaks two huge pieces of genealogy news and shares two great conversations: FamilySearch ends microfilm lending:  how you can get the records you need; RootsMagic adds Ancestry.com compatibility: sync your Ancestry.com tree to your master RootsMagic file and search Ancestry.com from within the software; Melissa Barker, the Archive Lady, talks about visiting archives to explore original manuscript record treasures; Nicole Dyer shares a fun family history activity idea to do with kids—do you have a family gathering coming up that could use this inspiration? A SURPRISE IN MY MAILBOX! NEWS NEW PREMIUM VIDEO! Lisa Louise Cooke shows you how to use the free Google Earth Pro software to create your own historic map collection customized for your genealogy and family history research. By the end of this class you'll have a permanent collection of hundreds of gorgeous historic and vintage maps from around the world, organized and ready to use for family history. to watch a free preview of this full-length video class. Genealogy Gems Premium website members can watch the whole thing: to learn more. LISA: I thought the resolution of the jpg version wasn't good, so I just left this ad as text. The 4th Annual Northwest Genealogy Conference This episode today is brought to you by the 4rd Annual Northwest Genealogy Conference, hosted by the Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society, north of Seattle in Arlington, WA. Centering on the theme, “Where Does Your Story Begin?” it's four days PACKED full of genealogy. There will be well-known and respected keynote speakers, including our friend and genetic genealogist Diahan Southard, speaking on DNA; Kenyatta Berry of Genealogy Roadshow fame, speaking on Caribbean research and using slave schedules in research; and Daniel Earl speaking on Putting History in Your Family History. Starting off with the Free Day Wednesday afternoon, Speaker Peggy Lauritzen will address beginner's issues in her Genealogy 101 presentation, which is also a good refresher for the more seasoned genealogists.  There will be such great genealogical information for all levels, AND it'll be lot of fun! Between classes take a chance to meet a distant cousin with the “Cousin Wall”. Participate in the genealogy-related scavenger hunt, the Wednesday evening meet and greet and the Friday dress-as-your-ancestor day, and much, much more! Go to  for details and to register. Check it out now -- registrations are limited, so it's good to get in early. It's August 16-19, 2017. It'll be a great show: don't miss it! INTERVIEW: MELISSA BARKER, THE ARCHIVE LADY Melissa Barker is a Certified Archives Records Manager, the Houston County, Tennessee Archivist and author of the popular blog and bi-weekly advice column . She has been researching her own family history for the past 27 years. Preserve your own family archive: Items in danger: Original items in attics, basements What to preserve first: The most precious and original items you have! Restoration tips: Clean documents and photos with archival sponges. Lay the item perfectly flat. Gently place a finger or hand to hold it steady. Work with the sponge from the center outward, in small sections. Keep two-dimensional items as flat as possible. Encase fragile items in Mylar sleeves (buy from archival supply companies). Visiting an archive: Call ahead! Don't trust the operational hours from the website. Ask about parking – it's often very limited. Ask ahead about access to archival items of interest. Archive etiquette: Follow the rules. Be courteous when working with staff. Museums, societies, archives, and libraries may all have collections in back rooms you can't see—but you can ask for them. Vertical Files – in folders in cabinets Manuscript Collections – underused in genealogy! Ask for finding aid. Loose Records – the working papers of a court case, for example Unprocessed Records – not yet incorporated into the official collection Tips for using your mobile devices in archives: Ask for procedures for taking photos with your own device. There may be rules against this or a use fee. Capture the source information by photographs: cover page, page number, folder, box number, manuscript collection name, etc. BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App Users If you're listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus audio content for this episode comes from Melissa Barker, the Archive Lady,  with more about finding and using original manuscript records in your genealogy research. The and is only $2.99 for . 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. Learn more about 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 .   INTERVIEW: NICOLE DYER Nicole has been researching her ancestors and delighting in their stories for the past 15 years. Nicole volunteers at the Tucson Family History Center teaching a family history story time group for young children.    Lisa suggested the free program Jing for video screen capturing: (Full disclosure: this podcast blog contains affiliate links. We will be compensated if you make a purchase through our link. Isn't that an awesome way to help keep the free podcast free?!) and start a free trial Start creating fabulous, irresistible videos about your family history with Animoto.com. 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 .  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. GENEALOGY GEMS BOOK CLUB: A FAMILY HISTORY MURDER MYSTERY! Journalist Helene Stapinski's new family history memoir:   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   PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Vienna Thomas, Associate Producer Lacey Cooke, Service "Happiness" Manager

For over 100 years, from 1796 to 1903, the Inland Revenue maintained a series of registers recording the payments of death duties. These registers are now held by The National Archives and represent one of family history's best kept secrets. This talk looks at the surviving records in detail and explains how they can be used to uncover some fascinating facts about the lives and times of our 19th century ancestors. Dave Annal worked for The National Archives for ten years, at the Family Records Centre and at Kew. He now runs Lifelines Research. Dave is the author of a several family history books, notably the second edition of his bestselling beginners' guide Easy Family History. He is a resident expert on Your Family History magazine and regular speaker on the family history circuit.

In this Blast from the Past episode we are turning the time machine back to May of 2007.  First up is Genealogy Gems Episode #11, first published May 07, 2007, which includes two great gems for you: How to Find Pictures from the Past with Google.com, adn a Family History Decoupage Plate Project. This is easy even for you non-crafters out there and the result is an heirloom quality decorative plate that tells an ancestors story. Then in this double header, Genealogy Gems episode # 12, which was originally published on May 13, 2007  features ancestor educational records and my Top 10 Tips for finding the Graduation Gems in your family history. Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode: #11 Original Publish Date: May 07, 2007 GEM #1 – Discover Pictures from the Past with Google One of the easiest ways to find photos on the web is with Google.com.  The ability to focus your search on images is often overlooked.  Let's go over the basics: Go to google.com Notice the search box at the top of the page Above the box reading left to right you will see the word WEB bolded.  This means that when you enter a word or phrase etc you will be searching everything on the web.  To the right of the word WEB is the word IMAGES.  Click on it -  and it will now be bolded. Now when you enter a word or phrase all of your results will come back as images that Google found on the internet.  This could be photos, drawings, graphics, etc. There are additional “modes” you can search in with Google such as video, news, maps, books, etc. but for right now we're going to focus on images. To find photos of specific people try putting their first and last names within quotes (i.e. "laura ingalls wilder"). If you've got a bit more time or a really unusual surname, then you could just enter the name and that should get you started. You can also find photos of old items and places from your ancestor's life such as tombstones, buildings, their hometown, the kind of old car they drove.  If the page containing the full image doesn't come up when you click on the thumbnail, here's what you can do: Use your mouse to highlight the URL website address that appears below the thumbnail and press Control C on your keyboard to copy the address. Click where it says “WEB” above the Google search box to go back to website searches.  Place your curser in the search box by clicking inside it.  Press control V on your key board and that will paste the URL address into the search box. Click the SEARCH button. The first result or two should be from that website that had the image you wanted. Look at the last line of the result for that website and click on the "cache" link. Now you are looking at a cache version, or in other words an older version of the website, hopefully BEFORE the image was removed or moved. By browsing through this version of the website, you will hopefully find the image you are looking for!   GEM #2 – Mother's Day Project – Decoupage plate In my book it's not enough to find wonderful photos on the internet that help tell the story of your family's past, or have a boxful of old family photos.  It's sort of like the old riddle “If a tree falls in a forest with no one to hear it, then does it make a sound?”  If a photo is tucked away in a shoe box, is it adding to the value of your research?  Not in my book. Family History is meant to be shared.  However, I believe wholeheartedly that we, the family historian are not the primary “customer” if you will.   I constantly challenge myself to see my family today as my “customer”.  I want the family's history to be meaningful to them and ignite in them a pride, loyalty and reverence for our family.  So I'm always trying to come up with new ways to share what I've found that they will enjoy. Decoupage Photo Plate: Decoupage was a hot craft for women in the early part of the century, and it's definitely gone through resurgence in the last decade. As I mentioned in a previous episode of the podcast, my mom recently brought me a truckload of family heirlooms.  She and my stepdad have taken the plunge to sell their home and travel in a motor home full time.  When I was preparing for this episode, I went looking for the decoupage plate that I made her a couple of years ago for Mother's Day.  I assumed it was in one of the boxes that she brought me, but I couldn't find it.  When I asked her about it, she said to me, “I gave you your great grandmother's tea set, your grandmother's china, and pretty much everything else I had. But I didn't give you the plate.  I'm keeping THAT!”  Hearing her say that meant as much to me as the plate probably means to her. So may I just say, if you pour some love and time into creating this plate, I guarantee it will be treasured.  Here's the plate I made for my mom:     Wasn't she a cutie patootie?!  I started by selecting photos that told the story of her childhood…at the top is a photo of the house her parents built the year she was born.  Going clockwise, the next photo is her as baby, then as a toddler in her crib with her favorite teddy bear, then as a preschooler in the coat & hat her mother made for her.  In the center is my favorite childhood photo of her, probably just before entering kindergarten.  I love that it's a close up, her BIG brown eyes, and the dainty bows in her hair.  The design in simple, and very focused on its subject matter – my mom! The photos are glued from behind so they show through the glass plate.  I painted the back black, which seemed appropriate for the black and white photos, but it could be gold, or any color you want.  Let's get started making this modern family heirloom. The supplies you need are simple and inexpensive: A clear glass plate with a smooth finish.  You can usually buy these at craft stores, or discount stores very cheap.  Maybe a dollar each.  I got mine at a kitchenware factory outlet.  Make sure you've cleaned it very well before you begin, and that's completely dry. A sponge craft brush A jar of decoupage glue Good, fine paper-cutting scissors.  Cuticle scissors also work very well. Paint – choose a color you would like for the back.  Just a small bottle of acrylic craft paint and A flat paint brush – another option is to use pretty paper or tissue. Clear brush on acrylic varnish if you want a glossy finish on the back. A selection of photos you want to use.  Personally, I like the more monochromatic look – either all color, or all black and white, but you can do whatever looks good to you.  You can also use other images that compliment the photos.  Make copies of the photos.  You can scan them and print them out on paper, or take them to a copy center and color copy them.  Whether you are using color or black and white, you'll want to color copy them to get the best quality.  You can also play around with sizing the photos the way you want them.  While I fit just five on my mom's plate, they are all large enough to be seen clearly, even at a distance when the plate is hanging on the wall.   Experiment with laying out your design to fit the plate.  Keep in mind that the plate likely has some slight curvature to it, so you don't want to just turn it upside down and draw a circle around it, because your design won't end up quite big enough.  Cut your copies a bit larger than the area they are going to cover.  Also, if you want to add any words, now is the time.  You can draw directly on the copy or print out something and cut it to fit.  In my case, felt like a picture was worth a thousand words! When applying the cutouts, you'll be working in reverse: the first images placed on the plate will be in the foreground of the design when viewed from the front of the plate. Start by applying the prominent images to the decoupage medium. Glue the edges firmly to the glass. Turn the plate over to check the placement of images Put a nice even coat of glue on the photo, on the side you want to see. Don't worry about brush strokes, but be careful not to go over it too many times, you don't want the ink to run.  Place the image face down on the back of the plate and spread the glue over the back of the photo. Turn the plate around so you can see the image from the front and work out the air bubbles from behind.  (you can try placing a piece of wax paper over the photo and use a roller  over the wax paper to go over it and smooth it out and get the air bubbles out. Turn the plate over and check the results. Continue place the images until the entire plate is covered. Let it dry (24 hours should do it) Use painters tape to tape off the edges before you apply the acrylic paint to the back of the plate.  Let dry.  Apply a second coat, or sponge on a second color if you want to.  Let dry If you want a glossy finish on the back, apply an acrylic varnish.  Let dry   Genealogy GemsPodcast Episode #12 Original Publish Date: May 13, 2007 TODAY'S GEM – Top 10 Tips for Finding the Graduation Gems in Your Family History 1.  Establish the Timeline:  Check your genealogy database to figure out when your ancestor would have attended school.  I'm going to be focusing on high school, but this could just as easily apply to researching the college years. 2.  Family Papers & Books We always start our research at home, so go through old family papers & books looking for Senior Calling Cards, High School Autograph Books, Journals & Diaries, Senior Portraits, & Yearbooks   3.  Newspapers – Search for announcements,  honor rolls & other articles about end of the year activities.    It's easy to say search newspapers, but it's not always that easy to find them.  So here are some ideas of where to look for historical newspapers… - Ancestry.com ($) - The Local Public Library Website in the town where your ancestor attended school.   Check their online card catalogue, or send them an email to find out if they have the years you are interested in, and to see if they will cooperate with interlibrary loan with your local library.  - The Library of Congress  - Family History Center in Salt Lake City.  Search the Family History Library Catalog online for your ancestor's location to find what newspapers they may have.  - Historical and genealogical societies.  - U.S. state archives and libraries 4. The State Library – Wisconsin Dept of Education website list of state libraries:  < > 5.  State Historical Societies – in addition to newspapers as I mentioned before, state historical societies might have old yearbooks & photos. 6.  Rootsweb.com - Check the Message Board for the county & state you're looking for, as well  post a message asking if anyone has access to yearbooks or other school info. 7.  Websites focused on Yearbooks –   Yearbook Genealogy.com website:    & The National Yearbook Project 8.  The US GENWEB site - Search on the county website where the school was located. 9.  Call the School – if they don't have old yearbooks, they may be able to put you in touch with a local librarian or historian who does.  Go to www.whowhere.com and type in the school name in “Business Name”.  Call around 4:00 pm, when the kids are gone but the school office is still open.  EBAY:  Do a search on the school or town you're looking for to see if anyone out there is selling a yearbook that you need.  Be sure and also search for old photographs or postcards of the school.  Here's my extra trick: From the results page do a “Completed Listings” search & email potential sellers to inquire about the books you are looking for.  You might get lucky like I did! Don't be afraid to ask – Ebay seller's want to sell!  And if all else fails, set up an Ebay Favorite Search to keep a look out for you.  Go to my website and check out Episode #3 for instructions on how to do this.  

April 26, 2012   NEWS: The big news is Ancestry.com's acquisition of Archives.com My Classes at the Genealogy Jamboree Conference: TH-001 - Conversation with the Author: Steve Luxenberg and Annie's Ghosts TH-013 - Common Surname Google Search Strategies SA-020 - Sharing The Joy: Projects That Will Captivate The Non-Genealogists In Your Life SA-034 - The Google Earth Scavenger Hunt – Fascinating Family History Fun! SA-040 - 10 Ways to Add Volume to Your Family History with Video  MAILBOX: Ashley discovers the important of citing her genealogy sources: I wanted to drop you a note to express my deepest thanks for all of the work that you put into the podcast.  I'm just shy of 30 years old and I've been working on my family tree since I was about 15, but even after all of that work, I'm still learning something new every day! …I wanted to share with you is that I just finished listening to episode 20 of the FH:GME podcast (all about the GPS and the importance of sourcing) and my own sad tale with sources:  Like I said, I started family tree research when I was about 15.  I stumbled on a four page report that my grandmother had ordered through a professional genealogist in the 1970s and was immediately hooked.  Unfortunately, NOTHING is sourced in that report.  I asked my Gramma about it and she told me that even she had found some errors (for example: she had four older half-siblings that were stillborn or died shortly after birth.  The report said that they were all born and died in February, which my Grandmother adamantly claims isn't true.) But I based almost my entire tree on that report.  Then I made things worse by accepting any family trees on Ancestry.com as fact, adding names, dates and information willy nilly from people who may or may not have been related to me.  It wasn't until I realized that one branch of my tree had "traced" itself back to Julius Caesar (who was his own grandfather, according to the tree) that I went, "... wait a minute." I'm starting the process of creating a new, sourced, accurate tree.  It's probably going to take me just as long to fill out the branches, but it will be worth it in the end.  And I have you, and the fantastic resources you bring to the podcast, to thank!   Thank you so very, very much.  Your podcasts are such an invaluable tool and listening to them make me so excited to try a new method in my own research. Jack in Newport News, Va wants to know what do to with the folks who may or may not be ancestors: “We all are searching for the "right" people but sometimes we find, or seemingly find, the "wrong" people. With the massive number of records on-line these days, it seems quite easy to find someone with the right name and age-range and, often even close to the right area. Sometimes I can eliminate a find based on some fact, but often there's less certainty. What is the suggested best practice for handing a wrong, or possibly wrong, person/fact?” Lisa's Answer: This is a good question and one we all face at some point. In the end I think it comes down to two things: 1.      What works best for you 2.      And however you decide to handle it, do it consistently! My personal preference is to make notes in the correct person. If there is no "correct" person in my database, then I will create an "unknown" person in that spot and start adding my finds to that profile, even if it's just in the notes section, so that it's all in one place. It's critical to cite your sources on ALL data along the way so that you know where it came from and you can find it again. Challe needs help saving old books: “What does one do to get the information out to the next generation that might not have access to these books?  How do you continue the work without reinventing the wheel of all the research that they did?  How do you make corrections if needed? I am concerned that the information will be lost and I am unsure as to what to do about it.” Lisa's Answer: I turned to my friend and book publisher Leland Meitzler owner of Family Roots Publishing at , for an answer to your question and here's what he said: “This is an ongoing conundrum, and a question that's not easily answered. The bottom line is that the person should contact the next of kin, and attempt to buy the copyright, or at least the publication rights - just as a publisher would do. And it needs to be in writing. Failing that, use the "data" within a succeeding publication, being very careful to obtain, and cite the original sources, and if those are not available, cite the book and author without copying word for word what they published. Honestly, it's tricky, and not something I'd want to attempt. If the book was published prior to 1923, all this is not an issue. The item is in the public domain. If published after that date, but before 1978, there's still a good chance that the book may be out of copyright, if the author didn't renew. After January 1, 1978, the copyright is good for the authors lifetime, plus 70 years. Actually, it's even more complicated than that, but that's the basics.” Leland recommends:     GEM: The Defective, Dependent and Delinquint Special Census of 1880 with Jana Broglin, CG, OGSF The DDD: Supplemental Schedules 1 through 7 Download Jana's pdf "s".  A special thank you to Jana for making this available!  U.S. Federal Census – Visit Jana's Website:  

This week our show is entitled Telling The Story of Your Family History with this week’s co-host Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist. Our special guests will include:  Carol Rice, founder of Cherish Bound and Executive Chair of the upcoming Story@Home conference in Salt Lake City, March 9-10, 2012. Carol will explain this exciting new event to our listeners and how you can get involved. Lynn Palermo of The Armchair Genealogist blog in Ontario, Canada will be with us to discuss the Family History Writing Challenge she recently developed. Finally, we’ll chat with Tami Koenig of Your Story Coach and author of the Creating Your Personal Timeline eBook and discuss the importance of writing your family history. And, as usual, you never know what other aspects of genealogy and family history will be covered at GeneaBloggers Radio so tune in! GeneaBloggers Radio is about the most fun you can have with your genealogy on a Friday night!

This week our show is entitled Telling The Story of Your Family History with this week’s co-host Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist. Our special guests will include:  Carol Rice, founder of Cherish Bound and Executive Chair of the upcoming Story@Home conference in Salt Lake City, March 9-10, 2012. Carol will explain this exciting new event to our listeners and how you can get involved. Lynn Palermo of The Armchair Genealogist blog in Ontario, Canada will be with us to discuss the Family History Writing Challenge she recently developed. Finally, we’ll chat with Tami Koenig of Your Story Coach and author of the Creating Your Personal Timeline eBook and discuss the importance of writing your family history. And, as usual, you never know what other aspects of genealogy and family history will be covered at GeneaBloggers Radio so tune in! GeneaBloggers Radio is about the most fun you can have with your genealogy on a Friday night!

Published Dec 10, 2011 This Sha Sha has been busily working to finish making Davy's birthday present since his big birthday number 2 is coming up on Dec. 15.   In Genealogy Gems Podcast I told how I decided to make Davy a Blues Clues card table playhouse.  You remember throwing a blanket over a card table when you were a kid and it became a play house on a rainy day, right?  Well this one was a bit challenging because there is no pattern for a Blue's Clues playhouse so I just made it up as I went along.  But thanks to the Internet and my trusty iPad I was able to come up with something that looks pretty close to the real deal. Here are a few snapshots of the playhouse.  And it doesn't just look like Blue's house from the outside, but I lined the panels with fabric that looks like the wallpaper in her house, and even sewed some features in felt like the table and telephone and the framed picture of the felt people on the wall. You know to me what we are doing today with our kids and grand kids and in some cases great grand kids is just as important as researching our family history – in fact it's more important!  Creating memories with our loved ones is creating family history right now.  And to me there's nothing more important than that.  Get your free audio book and over 40,000 audio book titles to choose from at Audible:     NEWS: Genealogy Gems Premium Members have been enjoying episodes on the lately covering how to use the iPad and other tablets out there in the marketplace for our family history.    New Ancestry App UpdatesAncestry.com has a popular free app that lets you take your Ancestry.com family tree with you on your iPad.  The newest version of the app now includes the shakey Leaf Hints that you also see on their website.  Plus there is a simple merge tool that helps you quickly add new relatives and information to your family tree.  It also allows you to automatically adds information to photos, allows you to change your tree privacy settings, adds an integrated user feedback support feature, and is faster and more stable than previous versions.  New Free Podcasts by National Archives Records Administration in iTunes U features WWII news reels     Irish Records:  FindMyPast.ie has recently announced that they have launched exclusive access to the Irish Prison Registers 1790-1920. The collection is made up of over 3.5 million entries across 130,000 pages. Provides useful tips and recommend tools to help you discover your documentary heritage and navigate the LAC website.   Lisa's Book Featured in Online Magazine was featured in the most recent issue of  (p.40) A big thank you to all of you who have bought the book because those purchases I think helped bring it to the attention of a non-genealogy publication!   My Presentation Schedule for 2012 Feb 2 – 4 , Salt Lake City, UT We'll be celebrating the 5 year anniversary of The Genealogy Gems Podcast!    FamilySearch has just announced that the RootsTech 2012 . RootsTech will reward developers who introduce the most innovative new concepts to family history with $10,000 in cash rewards and increased visibility.    Feb 24-26 - Who Do You Think You Are Live! In London. Presenting Harness the Power of Google Earth for Your Family History and Google Search Strategies for the Family Historian. And I am very excited to have been invited to be part of a very special panel discussion on using technology for genealogy as well.   March 3  in Bountiful, Utah   March 10  Phoenix, AZ   April 12 – 14  Cleveland, OH   April 28  San Mateo, CA   May 5 , San Luis Obispo, CA   May 9 – 12 , Cincinnati, OH I'll be there not only debuting some brand new presentations, but you will also find me at my booth in the exhibit hall so be sure and come on by and say hi. June 1 – 3 in Kinston, Ontario Canada. The new version 5 of RootsMagic now offers us a Timeline view.  Now we can really put a person's life in context with events from their own life and from the lives of family members. But the awesomeness doesn't stop there. They have added even more customer requested features: a research manager which lets you create and track unlimited research logs, the ability to filter the people view, as well as enhancements to multimedia, sources, to-do lists, and much more.  There's a little something for everyone! See the free demo of the new features in RootsMagic 5 at RootsMagic Webinar page called .   MAILBOX: A Genealogy Newbies: It's amazing to me that the podcast is about to celebrate it's 5th birthday, and I know many of you have been listening for almost that long.  But it's also so rewarding to know that there are new folks coming on board all the time.  Not just to the podcast, but also just discovering the joy of family history. Newbies Eric and David wrote in about their experience. Eric says “I'm still fairly new to genealogy, only getting started after last New Years and have to say your podcasts have helped a lot (and are always entertaining). Thank you! Your newest premium member, Eric” David in Australia writes: “Thank you for making this kind of information available to everyone, it shows a truly kind nature in a person who wants to share their experiences and I have found this the trait of most people I encounter who are into genealogy. You have done a wonderful job and I love it all.” Dan in North Carolina wrote in to say he is also Enjoying the Show . "have been enjoying your podcasts for a while now. This summer I took on a project to write a ." Linda in Sweden and Line in Denmark wrote in about a Swedish TV show Everything for Sweden on the webiste Guy Interview on a Swedish Morning Program   Line says: “I recently stumbled over one of your Podcasts, and after listening to just a few episodes I was hooked. I listen to them every day at work. Some times even twice. Extra benefit: I´m shaping up my english! While waiting for the next episode, I always listen to older episodes.” Jennifer in Napa, CA wrote in about the new ordering system at the Family History Center branch libraries.  “As of August 23, the U.S. West and Northwest have been added to the areas already using this system.  You can now place an order for films online, instead of having to make a trip to the library just to place an order.” (blog post)    GEM:  Taking Family History to Young and Old in the Community Interview with Merv Scott, Project Director, Victoria Genealogical Society Ask Granny Fore more information Visit the VGS Programs page at the Victoria BC Genealogical Society “Ask Granny”© founders Judy Russell and Greg Crane are pleased to announce that the Victoria Genealogical Society of Victoria, BC, Canada, has been named “Ask Granny”© chapter of the year.   The project group, led by Merv Scott, has not only worked to revise our “Ask Granny”©materials for Canadian spelling and usage, he has graciously offered to share those files with others in Canada.  Merv  reports that their calendar is filled up through Spring of 2012 with “Granny” session in local retirement facilities.     Your Life in 5 Minutes (Part 3) with Sunny Morton  Get Sunny's book Your Life & Times: A Guided Journal for Collecting Your Stories by clicking this link:  Profile America: Christmas Lights

Published August 6, 2011 In this episode you're going to learn the details that go into planning a trip to your ancestor's homeland. NEWS: called Monday Midwest Family history Expo posted on 8/1/11.  GEM: More Online Newspapers This week the Library of Congress updated Chronicling America to include newspapers from 3 new states added to the program in 2010 and additional coverage for 1836-1859. New Mexico, Tennessee and Vermont are now included with 22 other states and the District of Columbia in Chronicling America's almost 4 million pages of historic newspaper pages, published between 1836 and 1922.  So you can start searching at   Swedish Genealogical Society of Colorado is going to host the SwedGenTour 2011 September 17, 2011 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Aurora, Colorado.  You can register at the       Genealogy Gems Podcast App Users are getting a special bonus with this episode.  Swedish Researcher  Yvonne Hendrickson has graciously provided a a terrific pdf file called How to Find Your Swedish Roots.  GEM: Railway Records has partnered with the UK's National Archives to launch the Railway Employment Records, 1833 – 1963, an online collection containing the employment-related records of British railway workers dating back to the invention of the locomotive in the early 19th century. The records date from 1833 and by the middle of the 20th century. FamilySearch recently announced that they have digitized historic records from eight countries and added them to FamilySearch.org.  In addition to 1.8 million new U.S. records, collections from seven other countries were added including Canada, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Mexico, Philippines, and Poland. Newspapers The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced on July 27, 2011 awards totaling $3.8 million to 13 institutions representing their states in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). These means there will be new digitized historic  newspapers coming to the free section of the Library of Congress website in mid-2012.     Your chance to help bring the 1812 records Indiana Genealogical Society - You can find out more about the .Thanks for a wonderful podcast and all your genealogy gems!  Visit Tina's Blog: New Video Cast on YouTube on UK News at YouTube packed with over 50 family history related videos.  Nick Barratt and Laura Berry of Your Family History magazine out of the UK at . They have created a new YouTube video channel called appopriately enough . MAILBOX: RootsMagic questions so  I went right to the source Bruce Buzbee, founder of RootsMagic and he's got the answers.  “Would I create a "land" fact in the entry for my great-grandfather, and just describe the land in it?  Thanks again for your terrific podcasts. I just started listening to the Family Tree podcasts, and am excited to start using the tips shared in those episodes as well.” Bruce recommends adding a "Property" fact type (which is one of the fact types built into RM and which is officially supported in GEDCOM).  You can use the date field to show the time period the land was owned, and can use the note to enter any description of the land. Then he recommends using the various documents as sources for that fact type. When you are adding a new source to RM, you can type "land" into the "Search for source type" field on the "Select Source Type" screen to filter the list of source types down to ones relating to land records. Kai has a question about image and source citations. "I've always attached source media to events/facts and now I'm wondering whether  there's any point in going through and removing every media item from the individual events/facts and instead attaching it to the relevant source. Since sharing events between people is so easy, I haven't seen much point in doing it before now.”  Bruce says there probably isn't a compelling reason right now to move existing images from events to sources or citations.  There may be in the future, but we would also work to make it easier to do that at that time.  Kai's second question is “I'm wondering whether you record your negative research (i.e. searched particular resource, nothing found) within RM."  Bruce says "RootsMagic allows you to add facts (of any type... birth, marriage, death, etc) and set the "Proof" for that fact to "Disputed" or "Proven false".  It then draw that fact on screen with a redline through it. Second, when entering a source citation, you can enter the "Quality", which follows the BCG standard and allows you to set the "Evidence" to negative.  However, that doesn't mean the source is wrong.  It means that the source didn't contain the information you expected to find in it.” And finally Kate wrote in asking for help with migrating from Family Tree Maker to RootsMagic and found a right on the RootsMagic web site.  .  GEM: Preparing for a visit to the National Archives Here are Lisa's tips for preparing for a research visit: 1.  National Archives in the UK video series called 2. Do a Google search by file type SEARCH:  National Archives Genealogy Research .ppt at the National Archives powerpoint presentation  3. Check out Lisa's interviews with Margery Bell of the Family History Centers which are full of great ideas for preparing for a research trip, regardless of whether it is to the National Archives or the Family History Library.  episodes 17, 18 & 19  Genealogy has no borders! Keith in the UK sent me one of those recently through Google+.  He writes: “I've only just started listening to your podcasts, and think they're brilliant! I like the fact that you cover off places outside of the US as well, as its hard to find a good UK podcast. Keep up the great work” British Home children Follow up Bill wrote in recently to share his connection to a recent episode:  “I love your podcasts! Episode 111 featuring a gem on British Home Children touched my heart especially. My mother's father was one of the Britsh Home Children.”  During my stay with them in England, Mom's cousin said that she thought that my grandfather Richard Ing had come to Canada as one of the Barnardo Home children, mentioning that she and her husband knew some of the Bernardo family personally. I said that I had never heard of him coming out with Barnardo Homes. Much later, I discovered that she was right about him being one of the British Home Children!  You can read more from Bill about his Ing family at his genealogy blog at blog: GEM: How to Travel to Your Ancestor's Homeland Kathy Wurth About Family Tree Tours: Family Tree Tours provides research assistance to genealogy enthusiasts and ancestry trips to German-speaking countries. Whether a group heritage tour, private genealogy tour, or independent heritage trip, owner Kathy Wurth and on-the-ground German expert Matthias Uthoff provide you the opportunity to learn more about your family roots, to connect with family, and to learn about your ancestors before they made their emigration journey. With a passion for both genealogical research and travel, Kathy and Matthias work closely with you to ensure your family research trip is a success. “No family tree research is complete until you experience the place your family came from,” says Kathy Wurth, owner of Family Tree Tours. “There's no feeling more exhilarating than walking the streets your ancestors walked. Even if you don't know your hometown, our European Heritage professionals help you paint the picture of your ancestors' lives. Our new website helps us make your research come alive.”