The Genealogy Guys Podcast & Genealogy Connection

News You Can Use and Share! MyHeritage added 168 million historical records in February. MyHeritage launched OldNews.com, a new website for exploring historical newspapers. MyHeritage introduced all-new profile pages with hints. Vivid-Pix announced the roll-out of Memory Stations, integrating scanning, its correction software, tagging, and more. Findmypast has begun digitizing, indexing, and publishing British Home Children records. The National Archives (TNA) announced that it will digitize the 1941 National Farm Survey records thanks to a generous grant from Lund Trust. DNA Segment with Diahan Southard In our DNA Segment, DNA expert Diahan Southard discusses Family Tree DNA and Y-DNA haplogroups with Drew Smith. Listener Email Laura writes about backup GEDCOM files and MyHeritage, and Daniel Horowitz responds. Jenna writes to respond to Sheila’s quest to digitize and tag a 30” long x 6” high-resolution photograph. She shares FamilySearch’s ability to tag people in a Memory at https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/tagging-people-in-a-memory. Anne writes in response to Jean Daniels' email about researching an ancestor. Anne cites Anabaptists in New York State. Kristen is seeking more advice for locating records for a missing family member, Arthur Tozer. Ashley wrote about changes that people make to FamilySearch records without sources. 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. And don’t forget to order Drew’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com. Please let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

David from Addison, Texas, is the winner of our drawing for a MyHeritage DNA kit. More drawings will be announced later this year. News You Can Use and Share! RootsTech, the world’s largest genealogy conference, takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah, and online next week, 29 February through 2 March 2024. FamilySearch International and American Ancestors announced a collaboration on the 10 Million Names Project. The project “seeks to recover the names and restore information to families of the estimated 10 million men, women, and children of African descent who were enslaved in pre- and post-colonial America, including the area that would become the United States.” DNA Segment In our DNA Segment, DNA expert Diahan Southard discusses Ancestry DNA with Drew Smith. Listener Email Douglas responds regarding our discussion of slide and negative scanners. He reminds people to check with their local library for the availability of a scanner for checkout. He was able to use a Wolverine slide and negative scanner. (It and the Kodak model discussed on the last podcast are available through Amazon.) Jeannie discusses FamilySearch’s computer indexing problems. Mike writes again to provide additional information about the Old Fulton Postcards website and the New York local government historians’ (LGH) roles. Ryan asks about two different marriage records dated the same date in adjoining states for the same couple. Laura writes in response to Dennis’ questions about writing a family history, and uses the “52 ancestors in 52 weeks” approach presented by Amy Johnson Crow. Matt is seeking a missing Pennsylvania death record from 1914. He has conducted extensive research and is looking for more suggestions. Kristen is seeking advice for locating records for a missing family member, Arthur Tozer. 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 genealogical society about our free podcasts, blog, and the Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. And don’t forget to order Drew’s book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com. Please let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

Drew's guest is Donna Moughty, who led the research trip to Dublin that Drew joined in October 2023. In this episode, Drew and Donna discuss her experiences over many years in leading research trips to Ireland, and how researchers need to prepare before going on a research trip (no matter where their ancestors were from). To learn of Donna's background, see GC episode #002. 

News You Can Use and Share! Don’t miss the opportunity to win a free MyHeritage DNA Kit. Listen to the MyHeritage ad later in this episode for details on submitting your entry to our raffle. MyHeritage recapped their activities in 2023: 4M DNA kits in their database 9M faces tagged with Photo Tagger 700M historical records added in 366 new collections 320M new Family Tree profiles added 4M MyHeritage and Reimagine mobile app downloaded 19M new Theories of Family Relativity™ New AI tools added: PhotoDater™, AI Record Finder™, and AI Biographer™ 3M photo dates estimated with PhotoDater 26M photos uploaded 2,112 webinars on Legacy Family Tree Webinars 605 articles added to the MyHeritage Wiki George recaps MyHeritage’s Historical Record Collections added in December 2023. Drew recaps FamilySearch’s 2023 highlights. FamilySearch announced the historic release of the 1931 Census of Canada. Drew shares what to expect from FamilySearch in 2024. DNA Segment Our popular DNA Segment returns with expert Diahan Southard and Drew Smith in conversation about 23andMe. Listener Email Mike writes about genealogy podcasts and the lack of references made to the newspaper research site, Old Fulton New York Postcards website at https://www.fultonhistory.com/ for a collection of New York newspapers and postcard images, and Advantage Archives at https://www.advantagearchives.com/. Sheila writes concerning how to get a “long photo” (30” long x 6” high) scanned and then how to locate software to tag each person’s face with their name. The Guys suggest obtaining advice from archivists at university archives and special collections, and state/provincial/national archives, to find out who offer large scanning jobs services. Julie writes to discuss her and her daughter’s interesting DNA matches (and non-matches) with another individual on different websites. Dennis’s 40 years of collecting data in Germany and Ireland was entered into Family Tree Maker and uploaded to Ancestry. The data seems to have disappeared and he asks for suggestions. He also seeks suggestions about how he and his sisters can/should format the family history they are planning to compile. Laurie writes to ask about the possibility of a researcher being able to bulk-download data from databases such as Ancestry for a specific county. Diana writes to advise us that there is a law in New York state requiring that each county have a county historian to help preserve and promote the history of that county. They can guide you to resources and other organizations. There is a website at https://www.aphnys.gov where you can identify and contact these people. Judy asks for advice and recommendations about sorting potential ancestors who share the same name in a specific area at the same time. Tom has inherited family photos, slides, and negatives from his mother. He is seeking information about scanners to effectively digitize these things. George suggests the Kodak Slide N Scan with a 5” color LCD screen which scans to an SD or SDHS card. 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 genealogical society about our free podcasts, blog, and the Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. And don’t forget to order Drew’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com. Please let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

News You Can Use and Share The Genealogy Guys Learn site is still on sale through January 1, 2024! MyHeritage announces the release of a new exclusive collection: marriage certificates for North Rhine and Westphalia from 1874 through 1899. MyHeritage announces the release of AI Record Finder™, an interactive, free text chat to help locate historical records about an ancestor among MH’s 20 billion records. MyHeritage announces the release of AI Biographer™, which compiles a Wikipedia-like article about a person’s life. It uses details from matching historical records and family tree profiles. The Society of Genealogists has officially reopened at its new address on Wharf Road in London, England. The Society of Genealogists has launched a brand-new search tool called SoG Explore. The Guys give a shout-out to Graham Walter, who has been named Chairman of the Society of Genealogists’ Trustees. Scottish Indexes reached a new milestone with the addition of 180,000 prison record entries among over half a million records from 38 Scottish Prisons. Visit https://www.scottishindexes.com/ScotlandsCriminalDatabase.aspx. Drew recaps the highlights of the newest record releases at FamilySearch from October and November 2023. Listener Email Ashley asks about uploading Ancestry DNA results to MyHeritage as compared with taking a test there. Ashley also asks about searching probate court books for records of the institutionalization of a great-grand-uncle in Dayton, Ohio, and needs suggestions to help find his records. Jean Daniel from Metz, France, asks for suggestions about locating records for a 4x grandfather who spent some years in the U.S. Kelly is looking for ideas to help locate records about her great aunt, Wilhemine Mae Rauch (b. 1909 in Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, USA), and twice married to Floyd Stevens. Listener suggestions are also requested. The Guys give a shout-out to Scott Fisher for his years of work on the Extreme Genes Podcast, which is ending this month. The Guys recommend a new podcast by Mike Scozzari called “Roots: Everyone Has a Story,” which can be found at https://www.michaelscozzari.com/podcast. Drew and George talk about some of the topics most likely to dominate in 2024, including AI, DNA, and conferences. 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 genealogical society about our free podcasts, blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. And don’t forget to order Drew’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com. Please let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

News You Can Use and Share We just added a new video to the subscription Genealogy Guys Learn site. It is "Archives and Special Collections: An Introduction" by associate librarian emeritus Drew Smith. MyHeritage memorializes two of its employees, Ron Shemer and Ilay Nachman, who were killed on 7 October 2023 at the onset of the Hamas-Israel War. My Heritage announced the addition of 43 million historical records in September 2023. MyHeritage released the 1931 Canada Census with a new index. Drew recaps the highlights of the newest record releases at FamilySearch on 10, 17, and 24 September 2023. Listener Email Gavin reminds everyone to check multiple websites for record collections that may have been indexed differently. He was researching his great-grandfather's family's immigrant arrival at Ellis Island, NY. He searched at MyHeritage and found his wife's brother and family indexed with his great-grandfather's name as the individual they were traveling to meet. He found a great match. He performed a similar search at Ancestry.com, and the result did not show up because Ancestry doesn't index the name of the individual the immigrants were traveling to meet. Therefore, different sites' collections are often indexed differently and may yield different matches and clues. Kayla wrote about her exhaustive efforts to trace her great-uncle, James Edward Farden. The family story is that he went AWOL and disappeared from subsequent records. Judi writes again about her Irish Bannon ancestry and asks Drew and his brother about possible DNA matches with her line. Julie wrote about her great-great-grandmother Ann Marie Delaney, who was born in County Laois in Ireland and immigrated to the U.S. She asked Drew about a possible connection to his ancestors. Drew discusses his 10-day research trip to Ireland with his brother that began on 4 October 2023, with a week in Dublin led by expert Donna Moughty. He shares some places he visited, some of the things he learned, and the vital importance of advance preparations that he recommends for all research trips. 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 genealogical society about our free podcasts, our blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. And don't forget to order Drew's new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com. Please let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

In the previous episode, The Genealogy Guys Podcast announced that, in partnership with MyHeritage.com, we were giving away a FREE MyHeritage DNA Kit. The winner is Shontè Anthony from Maryland. An email with the code to redeem the kit is in the mail! News You Can Use and Share! The Black Cemetery Network (BCN) at https://blackcemeterynetwork.org is hosting an event in Tampa, Florida on 14 October 2023 from 10 AM to Noon to commemorate Black History and the Memorial Park Cemetery. It will begin with presentations at the C. Blythe Andrews Library, 2607 E. Dr. MLK Jr. Boulevard, followed by an on-site walk in the Memorial Park Cemetery next door. You are cordially invited to join us for this exciting event and to help spread the word. Drew Smith and I, along with volunteers from across the country, have been deeply involved with the Zion Cemetery Project in Tampa for several years. It seeks to document all of the people interred in the "erased African-American cemetery" and bring their stories to life. All of the tombstones were removed, and portions of the property were "developed," leaving this sacred ground partially covered by buildings and the cemetery erased. The University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa has been supporting and promoting this work. The Black Cemetery Network was established and strives to support and publicize efforts across the U.S. to trace the "erased" cemeteries and promote projects like the Zion Project to un-erase them and to honor those buried in these cemeteries. As the Zion Project work is approaching its end, Drew and I, USF, and the Black Cemetery Network are about to begin work on three (3) "erased" cemeteries in St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida, and beyond in that county. We are very proud to be part of these projects and to recognize and celebrate the lives of those early residents who built and shaped our communities. Registration for RootsTech 2024, the premier global family history conference, is now open. The event will be held from 29 February through 2 March 2024 in both in-person and virtual formats, from the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Learn more and register at https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/home. MyHeritage has announced the release of PhotoDater™, a groundbreaking, free new feature that estimates the year a photo was taken using AI technology. MyHeritage added 89 million historical records to its site in August 2023. George summarizes these collections. Drew recaps the highlights of the newest record releases at FamilySearch in August 2023. Interview Drew talks with Rick Voight, CEO of Vivid-Pix, and Sue Kaufman, manager of the Genealogy Collection at the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research in Houston, Texas. They discuss the initiative of the National Genealogical Society and Vivid-Pix and the cross-country tour that Rick is making to share the information. Listener Email In a follow-up to our discussion in episode #418 about the U.S. Patent and Trademark Database (USPTO at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/search, Kim writes about a patent filed and approved by great-grandfather James D. Nairne (#1,088,443), and wants to know more, including whether it was used and/or whether it was transferred. Carol Ansel, Director of the Godfrey Memorial Library (https://www.godfrey.org/scholar/godfrey-home.html), wrote to expand on Drew’s description of their collection and services. Jean wrote about a recent search in the deed records in Suffolk County [New York] for an entry for her great-grandfather, Adolph J. Mueller. The deed concerned the sale of paint to the Charles H. Brown Paint Company for the sum of $1. She is looking for the reason why this transaction was recorded in a deed book. Nicole is researching her Dulaney ancestral line from Virginia, supposedly back to Ireland. Drew shared some insights during our last episode. Nicole describes her research and asks for recommendations for more records of Samuel Delany. Ashley wrote about her Irish research into Andrew Dickey triggered by a small Bible, inscribed to him in 1847. He was a teacher in Ireland. She is also looking into his sisters in the U.S. Drew begins his 10-day research trip to Ireland on 4 October 2023 with his brother, led by expert Donna Moughty. He shares some preparations he has made and will tell us about his adventures in upcoming podcasts! 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 genealogical society about our free podcasts, blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. And don’t forget to order Drew’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com. Please let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

The Genealogy Guys Podcast, in partnership with MyHeritage.com, is giving away a FREE MyHeritage DNA Kit. Please send an email to genealogyguys@gmail.com with your name and mailing address by no later than midnight U.S. Eastern Time on 31 August 2023 for your chance to win! News You Can Use and Share American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society has announced the 10 Million Names Project. The Project is a collaborative effort dedicated to recovering the names of the estimated 10 million men, women, and children of African descent who were enslaved in pre- and post-colonial America (specifically, the territory that would become the United States) between the 1500s and 1865. Learn more at https://10millionnames.org/. A great new book written by African-American and Native American expert Angela Walton-Raji has been published by Arcadia Publishing, Inc., titled Oklahoma Freedmen of the Five Tribes. It is now available at Amazon.com. Drew recaps the highlights of the newest records releases at FamilySearch. Listener Email Lisa sent a follow-up about her census mystery searching for her ancestor Felice Giuseppe Maturo and his brother, Liberato Maturo, in the 1910 U.S. Federal Census in New Haven, Connecticut. Mell wrote to ask for suggestions to research her ancestor Felix White in the area around Columbus, Muskogee County, Oklahoma. Lisa wrote about the Ancestry Hints, what they are and aren’t. This includes the “Family Data Collection” and “Geneanet Community Trees”. Nicole is researching her Dulaney ancestral line from Virginia, supposedly back to Ireland. Drew shares some insights. 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 genealogical society about our free podcasts, our blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. And don’t forget to order Drew’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com. Please let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

News You Can Use and Share! The International African American Museum (IAAM) has officially opened in Charleston, South Carolina, and is partnering with Vivid-Pix with the installation of Vivid-Pix Memory Stations that allow visitors to scan, restore, save, and share their precious photos, documents, and stories. The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has been gifted a new index containing 3.2 million searchable names to mark the centenary of PRONI. These are related to Valuation records between 1864 and 1933. The General Register Office for England and Wales (GRO) now allows you to order instant-access images of birth records from 1837 to 1922 and death records from 1837 to 1887. The digital images cost £2.50 each and can be downloaded, and then printed. (The records are images of the details from the certificate but not the certificate itself.) Drew recaps the newest records releases at FamilySearch. Listener Email Lisa wrote about her census mystery searching for her ancestor Felice Giuseppe Maturo and his brother, Liberato Maturo, in the 1910 U.S. Federal Census in New Haven, Connecticut. The Guys researched and Drew shares our findings. Tom wrote about his ancestor who served in the Revolutionary War and who he just discovered was a enslaver in Kentucky. The Guys discuss U.S. patents. For both of them, one of their great-grandfathers filed two patents for inventions. The Guys were able to search the USPTO (United States Patents and Trademarks Office) patent database at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/search or Google's Patent database, and quickly located the patent files. Each file contained a schematic diagram of the invention and text pages with detailed descriptions. (Trademarks can be searched in the trademarks database at https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/search.) Please listen to the podcast for details about disconnects and reloading pages in the databases. Drew recommended acquiring a small glass desktop whiteboard that can sit between the keyboard and display and provide additional storage. An example (the one that Drew bought) can be found on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09PBK52W5, but many companies sell them in a variety of colors. Don’t forget to order Drew’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com. 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 genealogical society about our free podcasts, blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. Let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

News You Can Use and Share! SUMMER SALE CONTINUES! The Genealogy Guys Learn subscription website is on sale for $64.00 per year – a 35% saving! We have scores of videos and written courses, and new content is added each month. Visit https://genealogyguyslearn.com/, click the Enroll Now button, and complete the subscription form. Be sure to click on the Add Coupon link and use coupon code Summer2023. This deal is for new subscriptions only and is in effect until midnight ET on 30 June 2023. Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has announced the release of the 1931 Census of Canada. They are also collaborating with Ancestry and FamilySearch to make images and indexes available. MyHeritage has released ReImagine, a new photo scanning and editing tool for iOS and Android mobile phones. MyHeritage announced a recap of the release of 46 million historical records collections in May 2023. George recaps those collections. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) is pleased to announce a new partnership with the University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries. The TSLAC Newspaper Collection is now live and available for free online. More than 4,500 issues of historical Texas newspapers from TSLAC’s collection, published from 1855 to 1930, are available online through UNT’s Portal to Texas History. The National Genealogical Society (NGS) and Vivid-Pix announced the Family Matters Community Outreach Toolkit Lending Service for NGS member organizations. Read the full press release at the Genealogy Guys Blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com/2023/05/ngs-and-vivid-pix-announce-family.html. Drew recaps the newest records releases at FamilySearch. Listener Email Judy in Avon, Ohio, wrote again to state that she had not fully explored the RootsMagic tutorial videos. She is now much more comfortable with RM9 and fully endorses it. Judy also wrote that she has tested DNA with Ancestry and discovered one match that has taken her research back another generation. Drew provides some guidance about how to proceed. Michael wrote to reinforce the idea of focusing research on one’s great-grandparents and setting goals for what you want to learn about them. Cindy wrote again concerning her Swedish conundrum. She thanked The Guys for their advice. She has also done more research without success and asks listeners to share suggestions. Jerry wrote to reference our Episode #407 and a link http://www.ancestrallines.net/overview/, a page that presents a new pedigree numbering system that has been developed for the family history and genealogy community as an alternative that visibly displays ancestral lines and generations in multiple presentation formats. He had trouble accessing the site, but The Guys confirmed that the .net site is still available. Drew will be presenting this weekend, June 23-24, at the Barbara J. Brown Family History Seminar being held at the Archives of Michigan in Lansing. This annual event is a hybrid event. Participants can attend sessions either online or onsite. Registration details are available at https://www.michigan.gov/mhc/archives/family-history-seminar#RegistrationDetails. Drew is busy preparing for his Irish research trip in early October with Donna Moughty and accompanied by his brother. He stresses that, before you make any research trip, prepare as much as possible in advance so you don’t lose valuable onsite time having to do that preliminary work there. Don’t forget to order Drew’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com. 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 genealogical society about our free podcasts, blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. And the Genealogy Guys Learn site is on sale through 30 June 2023. (See above.) Let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

News You Can Use and Share! SUMMER SALE! The Genealogy Guys Learn subscription website is on sale for $64.00 per year – a 35% saving! We have scores of videos and written courses, and new content is added each month. Visit https://genealogyguyslearn.com/, click the Enroll Now button, and complete the subscription form. Be sure to click on the Add Coupon link and use coupon code Summer2023. This deal is for new subscriptions only and is in effect until midnight ET on 30 June 2023. MyHeritage has released a new update to the data in its Theory of Family RelativityTM. The number of matches has increased by 78% to 136,713,021! MyHeritage announced the release of 20 million historical records collections in April 2023. George recaps those collections. MyHeritage recently added the 1910 Norway Census Collection. It now announces the addition of high-quality images for the collection. Ancestry and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) announced the resumption of the digitization of the War of 1812 Pension Files project. The indexed images will be available for free at Fold3 forever. Listen for updates about this important project. Drew recaps the newest record releases at FamilySearch. Listener Email Jennifer in Oberlin, Ohio, responded to the email from Judy in Avon, Ohio, that we discussed in Episode 415. Judy wanted help with learning to use RootsMagic more effectively. Jennifer suggested attending the weekly drop-in genealogy group at the Oberlin Public Library. Missi wrote a long email asking for The Guys’ suggestions for how to restart her genealogy, what methodology to employ, how far to research collateral lines (siblings, in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) There are lots of things discussed and some good suggestions provided. Eric responded to Cindy from Episode 412 and her search for a Swedish immigrant. He suggested obtaining and reviewing naturalization records, which include the name of the person, country, and place of origin, name of the ship, port of arrival, and arrival date. The Petition for Naturalization form (second papers) required the name of the person now applying and the name under which the person arrived at the port. (They could be different.) The Swedish Household Examination Records are accessible at MyHeritage and can help in tracing the person back to birth, and the names of family members in the household. The Guys responded to Tom in Episode 415 who was searching the 1910 U.S census records in Cranesville, Erie County, Pennsylvania, to locate ancestors. The Guys did a great deal of research, and then asked Tom to provide names. Drew researched again and unfortunately could not find the people in any of the townships or precincts in the county. He concluded that the family was away or missed by the enumerator. Kathleen also responded to Judy in Avon, Ohio, offering supportive comments about learning basic tasks and then expanding her range, using RootsMagic’ videos, its online help, and maybe the new RootsMagic book. Ashley wrote with a question about ancestors’ passport application records. The Guys suggested using Ancestry’s or MyHeritage’s collections: U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925. Don’t forget to order Drew’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com. 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 genealogical society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website. And the Genealogy Guys Learn site is on sale through 30 June 2023. Let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

News You Can Use and Share! Drew's new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, has been published by Genealogical Publishing Company. It is being acclaimed as the best new book for beginning genealogists. You can order it at https://genealogical.com/store/generation-by-generation/ or at Amazon.com. A color ebook version will be available soon. MyHeritage announced the release of 38 million historical records collections in March 2023. George recaps those collections. FamilySearch has named Debbie Gurtler as the new Assistant Director of the FamilySearch Library. Findmypast has released two important collections: Ireland, Diocese of Dublin Marriage Licenses, 1638-1858, and Ireland, Diocese of Dublin Wills and Grants, 1270-1858. Listener Email Jean wrote to announce that she has purchased Drew's new book for the West Hempstead Library in New York. Laura in Connecticut wrote about researching the Smith surname in Ireland. Judy in Ohio wrote to ask about getting help with learning how to use RootsMagic more effectively. The Guys suggested watching the scores of recorded videos at the RootsMagic site. (Visit https://www.rootsmagic.com/ and click the Learn dropdown list. There also are short videos on RootsMagic TV on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/RootsMagicTV. D. A. wrote about the print quality of images in the new RootsMagic 9 book. Donna Moughty responded to address Gabriel's Irish research request for suggestions in researching his ancestor James Thomas Donoghue. Donna's thoughtful comments will be helpful to all Irish researchers. Rick in Wisconsin wrote concerning reporting formats that he can use for use in documenting his family's Benedict Arnold, who was not the infamous Benedict Arnold. Tom posed a research conundrum he has encountered in researching his family in the 1910 U.S. Federal census in Cranesville, Erie County, Pennsylvania. He cannot locate the enumeration district (ED) for that place. The Guys spent some time replicating his research and delving into EDs in that area and, using people living in Cranesville in 1920 and locating them at the same residences in 1910, narrowed the ED down to #66. We've asked for specific names and will recheck those as well. Listener suggestions are also very welcome. Don't forget to order Drew's new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com. 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 genealogical 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.

News You Can Use and Share! Drew Smith’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, has been published by Genealogical Publishing Company. It is being acclaimed as the best new book for beginning genealogists. You can order it at https://genealogical.com/store/generation-by-generation/ or at Amazon.com. A new Kindle version will be available soon. MyHeritage announced the release of cM Explainer™, an innovative, free new feature on MyHeritage that estimates familial relationships between DNA Matches with high accuracy. Learn more at https://blog.myheritage.com/2023/03/introducing-cm-explainer-to-predict-relationships-between-dna-matches-with-greater-accuracy/. MyHeritage announced the third installment of their pro bono DNA Quest initiative with 5,000 free DNA testing kits to be donated to help reunite adoptees with their birth families through genetic testing. Learn more at https://blog.myheritage.com/2023/03/myheritage-announces-third-installment-of-dna-quest-initiative/. MyHeritage added 19 million new records to its collections in February 2023. See the complete list at https://blog.myheritage.com/2023/03/myheritage-adds-19-million-records-in-february-2023/. RootsMagic has released RootsMagic 9 for both PC and macOS with the addition of new tools. There is a new book, Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic 9, that describes how to use the new version. As always, there are new videos about all the operations of the software. Learn more at http://blog.rootsmagic.com/?p=3635. Ancestry has launched a new mobile app called Storymaker Studio to assist in creating and sharing family stories on the go. Learn more at https://www.ancestry.com/corporate/newsroom/press-releases/ancestry--launches-storymaker-studio-. FamilySearch has announced that the 1931 Census of Canada will be released on 1 June 2023 at the Library and Archives (LAC) Canada website. Read more at https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/corporate/website-updates/pages/census-1931.aspx. Following the release, LAC will collaborate with Ancestry and FamilySearch to create an advanced searchable database. The International African American Museum has set its opening day in Charleston, South Carolina, for Tuesday, 27 June 2023. Learn more at https://iaamuseum.org/. Listener Email Susan wrote to say she was unable to order software from Evidentia at https://evidentiasoftware.com/. Apparently, they were migrating their website and encountered some delay with the transfer. However, the site is up and running again. Gabriel wrote about an Irish mystery for his ancestor, James Thomas Donoghue. Listeners are urged to share ideas and suggestions. Rosemary wrote about finding Order Book B (1812-1822) for Lewis County, Kentucky. Work is underway with the Kentucky Department of Library Archives and FamilySearch to make the images, transcription, and index available for use. Debbie wrote about her search for her husband’s gg-grandparents, Corbin Gallaher and Elizabeth Johnson Riley. She shared her research and was looking for advice. George located an 1860 U.S. census record that shows Corbin Gallagher and wife Elizabeth operating a hotel in Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky, USA, with a John and Elizabeth Gallagher, as well as staff and guests. (See https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/39477398:7667?_phsrc=nPp614&_phstart=successSource&gsfn=corbin&gsln=gallagher&ml_rpos=1&queryId=98f1cd13552743d06264ab0091c344ad. George later found a marriage record listing at Ancestry for the couple dating from 25 June 1836 in Mason County, Kentucky at https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2586443:61372?tid=&pid=&queryId=e3e3038ff052. 3aeb5f8f53e8eefabe27&_phsrc=nPp617&_phstart=successSource. The Guys suggest also searching for surname spelling variations. Suggestions are urged from our listeners. Don’t forget to order Drew’s new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, from Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) or Amazon.com. 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 genealogical 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.

News You Can Use and Share Drew Smith's new book, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, has been published by Genealogical Publishing Company. You can order it at https://genealogical.com/store/generation-by-generation/. On January 4, 2023, the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) proposed substantial increases to the fees required to access historical records held by the USCIS Genealogy Program. The proposed hikes are especially infuriating, given that many of these records should already be publicly and readily available at the National Archives. They have proposed a fee as high as $340 for a single document. Send your comments by Monday, March 6, 2023. Visit the "Records, Not Revenue" website at https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/ to learn more about how to make your voice heard. RootsTech, the FamilySearch annual genealogical mega-conference, will be held March 3-5. There's still time to enroll for in-person attendance or virtual participation at https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/event/rt2023. MyHeritage added 41 million historical records in January 2023. George details each collection. Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com/) has announced the “My GPC Library” subscription service that provides access to nearly 800 titles spanning 70 years of publishing. A 15% introductory discount is currently available for 6-month and 1-year subscriptions at https://genealogical.com/subscriptions/. More titles will be added over time. Listener Email Curt and Lisa both wrote to offer suggestions for Cindy's questions in Episode 412 regarding Swedish research. Nancy responded to Donna's inquiry in Episode 412 concerning suggestions about methods for how to pay for foreign genealogical research. Joshua asks about a format for a letter to be used in disproving incorrect family connections. Judi sent a detailed email to Drew regarding Bannon families in Essex County, New Jersey, and in Ireland. Timo wrote to advise how to turn off AirTag notifications for usual places. Drew's Upcoming Ireland Research Trip Drew discusses a genealogy research trip he and his brother are making to Ireland in October 2023. He continues to talk about the preparations he is making and will provide more over the coming months. And you can be sure he will report back about how well his preparations served him on the trip. 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 for as much as you would like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started. Please also tell your friends and your genealogical 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.

News You Can Use and Share! MyHeritage announces a new, free, searchable collection, Israel Immigration Lists, consisting of 1.7 million records from 1919 onwards, transcribed by MyHeritage from images stored at the Israel Archive. Dr. Wanda Wyporska, Chief Executive Officer of the Society of Genealogists, is stepping down in March 2023 to accept a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at another organization. World Archives has rebranded as Storied and has launched a new, next-generation family history platform at https://storied.com/. The Family History Library has been renamed the FamilySearch Library, and Family History Centers have been renamed FamilySearch Centers. Drew recaps the vast new and expanded collections at FamilySearch from January 2023. Listener Email Dave asks for suggestions about the thousands of genealogy research tasks he has entered into his Family Tree Maker software. He would like suggestions for how to view these tasks on his iPhone and iPad. Donna wants suggestions about methods for how to pay for international genealogical research, and The Guys ask listeners for input. Irene provides tips for Drew on his upcoming Irish research trip. Cindy is researching a friend’s Swedish grandfather who emigrated from Sweden to the U.S. She is looking for his origins in Sweden, and has performed extensive research but without success. George suggested MyHeritage’s collection of Swedish Household Examination Books and asks listeners for other suggestions. Drew’s Upcoming Research Trip Drew discusses a genealogy research trip that he and his brother are making to Ireland in October 2023. He continues to talk about the preparations he is making and will provide more over the coming months. And you can be sure he will report back about how well his preparations served him on the trip. 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 genealogical 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.

News You Can Use and Share! MyHeritage announces Global Name TranslationTM for DNA Matches. (See our Genealogy Guys Blog posting at http://blog.genealogyguys.com/2022/12/myheritage-announces-new-global-name.html. Drew shares the 2022 FamilySearch Genealogy Highlights. Drew recaps the vast new and expanded collections at FamilySearch from November and December 2022. Book Review George and Drew review Nathan Dylan Goodwin’s latest genealogy mystery book, The Sawtooth Slayer, a Venator Cold Case. Top-notch! Listener Email Deborah wrote about the 60 Minutes segment concerning Black cemeteries in Florida. See the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT9TaQcWcFs. Shannon wrote concerning how to locate and obtain medical information for people who were institutionalized in asylums. Drew’s Upcoming Research Trip Drew discusses a genealogy research trip that he and his brother are making to Ireland in October 2023. He talks about the preparations he has begun and will provide more over the coming months. And you can be sure he will report back about how well his preparations served him on the trip. 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 genealogical 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

Watch the Genealogy Guys Blog (blog.genealogyguys.com) or our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/genealogyguys) on Friday, 25 November 2022, for a big announcement! News You Can Use and Share! MyHeritage has completed publishing the 1950 U.S. Census for all the states and territories. MyHeritage has released a new, fun photo tool called AI Time MachineTM. The Society of Genealogists has announced the purchase of new premises for themselves in London. Drew recaps the vast new and expanded collections at FamilySearch. Listener Email Melissa contacted us to make a connection in Chester County, Pennsylvania, about the Worrall family. Phoebe asks Drew about pursuing an MLIS degree. Tom wrote concerning the possible unreliability of dates chiseled on tombstones. Edward asks for advice about breaking through a brick wall in 1750s Pennsylvania. Donald wrote about the excellent holdings of the Chester County Archives in Chester County, Pennsylvania. (http://chesco.org/192/Archives-Records. George talks about the record types he uses in researching the Zion Cemetery Project in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida. 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 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.

We apologize for the delay in the publication of this episode. Hurricane Ian and some severe computer problems have presented production challenges. News You Can Use and Share American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society celebrated the lifetime contributions of David Rencher, Chief Genealogical Officer of FamilySearch, with its Preservation and History Award on 27 October 2022. MyHeritage has announced three major improvements to their service: Sorting abilities for Shared DNA Matches; The addition of 30 new historical record selections and 31 million new records added in September; and New and improved Family Statistics for your uploaded family tree/GEDCOM. Nathan Dylan Goodwin’s newest book, the second book in the Venator Cold Case Series, The Sawtooth Slayer, has just been released in paperback and Kindle formats. RootsTech 2023 registration is open for the largest genealogy conference, to be held 2-4 March 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. You may register to attend in person or virtually at https://www.rootstech.org. George shares information about the BYU Family History Technology Lab at https://familytech.byu.edu. Genealogy-related games and research and visualization tools are fun and fascinating. Drew highlights new and updated collections added at FamilySearch in September. Listener Email Daniel writes to describe a DNA brick wall challenge. Tom B. discussed WWII-era photos and the fact that he has scanned them. Now, what should he do with the originals? Tom S. wrote to share a brick wall breakthrough that he, his cousin, and his mother made by checking various online services and then going back and checking them for new record additions. George discussed his work on scanning photos he has carried with him for as long as 60 years. He discussed the Fujitsu SV600 Scanner, the ScanSnap software that comes with the scanner, his storage in Dropbox, his naming conventions, and using Vivid-Pix Restore to improve the images. He discusses his conundrum about how to obtain images from photo negatives, Kodak photo disks, and other non-paper media. He shares surprises he found that help him identify persons in many unlabeled photos. Finally, he shares Tom B.’s concerns about what to do with originals. 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/ 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 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.

News You Can Use and Share! MyHeritage has added 74 collections with 130 million new historical records. Read our blog to learn more. Unlock the Past has announced that the Family History Down Under 2022 Conference will be held 8-11 November 2022 at Castle Hill, near Sydney, Australia. You can attend in person or virtually. Full details and registration can be found at https://www.fhdu22.com/. Findmypast has implemented Tree Search at its site “with instant connections and new discoveries waiting to help your family tree bloom.” Findmypast has added Derbyshire Baptisms, Durham Marriages, and Northamptonshire Burials Baptisms. FamilySearch was presented with the Historic Preservation Award by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Drew highlights new and updated collections added at FamilySearch in July and August. Listener Email Angela had written asking for suggestions for locating railroad employment records in the U.S. for his Italian great-grandfather. Expert Paula Stuart-Warren provides a wealth of resource suggestions. Karl asks about using DNA testing to identify the parents of Nathanial Oak, born circa 1645 in England or Wales. Drew provides suggestions regarding Y-DNA testing and joining a DNA surname group at Family Tree DNA. Kristina writes to celebrate her success in finding a wealth of criminal records for her great-grandfather at the Indiana State Archives. Giveaway The Guys are giving away a copy of their Brick Wall Research Strategies quicksheet, based on their book, Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques (McGraw-Hill, 2013). Send an email to genealogyguys@gmail.com by midnight EDT on 30 September 2002. Write BRICK WALL in the subject line, and include your name and postal address in the body of the email. This offer is only valid for U.S. residents. 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/ 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 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.

News You Can Use and Share! The Genealogy Guys Learn subscription website has added several new written and video courses, with more coming regularly. You can subscribe at https://genealogyguyslearn.com/. MyHeritage released 22 new collections in June. Findmypast has added new records to its Middlesex Baptisms, Surrey Baptisms, and Greater London Burial Index collections. Drew highlights new and updated collections added at FamilySearch this week. DNA Segment Drew and DNA expert Diahan Southard discuss AncestryDNA's new SideView feature.  https://www.yourdnaguide.com/ydgblog/ancestrydna-sideview Vivid-Pix Memory Segment Drew interviews Allison Singleton of the Allen County Public Library about their plans to mobilize photo scanning to retirement facilities. Listener Email Kathy writes to thank George for his spot-on coverage of the 1950 U.S. Federal Census and what is and isn’t available. Karen in Australia tells us the difference of update frequencies at Ancestry’s ThruLines and MyHeritage’s Theory of Family Relativity. Brian writes about digitizing your family history research as a method of guaranteeing that your work is preserved after you are gone. He also talks about surname binders and other organizational considerations. He suggests you check out the Ancestral Lines Pairing System at https://www.ancestrallines.net/overview/. Judith is interested in the possibility of obtaining records from the Orange Orphan Home in East Orange, Essex County, New Jersey. George responds to Jim about James Berry Holder [Sr.] and available records to verify both his birth and death dates. Mark shares his six-step plan for organizing his genealogical materials. It is a focused task list that can be used by anyone. 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/ 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 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.