Genealogy News
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February 2017
RootsTech This Week – RootsTech was held this week from February 8-11 in Salt Lake City, Utah. It has grown to become the largest genealogy conference in the world. Check out their website. [RootsTech]
RootsTech also livestreams some of their sessions for those who did not attend. You can watch the Saturday morning sessions here. Also, keep watching the RootsTech homepage. They are kind enough to record the sessions for later viewing for those sitting at home.
Top New Genealogy Apps – Every year RootsTech has an Innovators Showdown where app producers can showcase their latest genealogy apps. As we go to press, they have just announced the winners for this year. This article talks about all the winners from last year. [Best New Genealogy Apps 2016]
Launch of a New Archive of Roman Catholic Parish Records – FindMyPast has announced a major new initiative for ancestral records. They will be creating a new Catholic Heritage Archive. It will consist of Roman Catholic parish records from Ireland, the United States and the UK. Eventually, this collection will consist of up to 100 million records and will be exclusive to FindMyPast. You can read the full announcement here [Roman Catholic Parish Records].
Already this week, FindMyPast has released Roman Catholic parish records from Philadelphia and the 1893 Roman Catholic census from the Archdiocese of Westminster, UK. You can read about the latest records here.
A New App to Help You Trace Irish Ancestors – Ancestor Network, a leading provider of genealogy services in Ireland has just released a new app to help guide people around Dublin who are looking for ancestral records. It shows you the location of libraries, archives, research centres, historic sites and museums that are related to genealogy.
For each site, it lists location, details about the site, opening hours, etc. The app currently runs on Apple products only. Here is the full press release. [Ancestor Network App]
The Popular Website Twile is Now Free – Twile is a popular UK-based interactive timeline website that genealogists can use to trace everything that has happened to their ancestors. The company has just announced that the product will now be free to all users. They have also added some new features to the product, such as a family infographic. [Twile]
Crowd Source Your Record Indexing – Are you a small genealogy society or an individual with ancestral records that you would like to index? Need help? A new genealogy website called Crowd Sourced Indexing has launched in beta. It provides a web platform to help societies and people index their records. You can even crowd source the transcription process. Pretty impressive. [Crowd Sourced Indexing]
June 2016
Franklin Roosevelt on D-Day
This past week was the anniversary of D-Day, which occurred on 6th June. On that day in 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt gave a radio address to America talking about the invasion. You can listen to it below.
For those genealogists who like to attach multimedia content to their family tree, FDR’s speech provides great historical context to the period.
For those fans of politics, this speech provides a refreshing look-back at how politicians addressed the public, as opposed to what we hear from politicians today.
Redrawing the Carolinas Border
One of the challenges genealogists face when looking at historic documents is that town, city, county and state lines tend to get redrawn over time. Bet you thought that was a thing of the past? Apparently, it is not.
For a small group of residents in South Carolina it is a problem for the present. They woke up one morning to find out that they now officially live in North Carolina. [Redrawing the Carolinas Border]
May 2016
Genealogy Latin Dictionary
Latin words are fairly common in some type of ancestral record sets like land records, parish records and wills. Use this dictionary to help you understand these terms. [Genealogy Latin Dictionary]
A Country Guide to Google Search Engines
This is probably the single most important factor in finding your ancestors using Google. [A Country Guide to Google Search Engines]
Australia’s Trove has its Financing Cut Off
For anyone with Australian ancestors, the Trove collection of historic newspapers, images and documents is an incredible resource. For anyone without Australian ancestors Trove is the gold standard in free online historic government records. Or, at least it was....
The latest Australian government budget for the National Library of Australia has no new funding for Trove. That means going forward there will be no new additions to their extensive collections. Yikes! Jennifer McLaren’s genealogy blog provides more information.
April 2016
Genealogy Search Engine Update
We have just completed another quarterly update of the Genealogy Search Engine. Some notable new records added to the search engine include:
• United States: Arizona Memory Project, 1940 New York City Census, WWII airmen service records, various marriage lists from all 50 states, a few university newspaper collections and local cemetery records from several states.
• Canada: personal records from Alberta and tombstones from Saskatchewan.
• England: historic military cadet records.
• Ireland: historic government documents, inquiries, legislation and debates.
• Germany: historic newspaper articles.
• Belgium: various parish records.
• Australia: lots of new records from the Trove system.
Mocavo Website Shuts Down
The Mocavo website has shut down. Mocavo was an ancestral search engine. It was backed by a firm based in Boulder Colorado. They launched with great fanfare in March 2011.
Mocavo started out as a free search engine. Their original platform found free genealogy records available on the internet. By the end of 2011, however, they began the switch to a subscription model. Apparently, the increase in subscription revenue was not enough to sustain the company. In May 2012 (just 14 months after launch) they received $4.1million in venture capital money to help expand their operations.
Mocavo used some of the funds to buy a small scanning company. They started scanning and putting online some unique records. In particular, they started putting online US high school yearbooks at a time when there were not many available on the internet. They also expanded to a full subscription model at around the same time.
Although Mocavo had some initial success, they were never able to gain the traction needed for a company funded by venture capital. In particular, their rankings over the years in the Top 100 Genealogy List showed that they were never able to break into the top ten (the Mocavo rankings were 2012 #45 | 2013 #25 | 2014 #28 | 2015 #20 | 2016 #32).
Mocavo was eventually purchased by FindMyPast in June 2014. Presumably they were interested in Mocavo’s search technology. FindMyPast has now decided to fold Mocavo into the FindMyPast website. This is a common approach in the genealogy industry when a large company buys out a smaller competitor. Eventually they tend to shut them down. Here is the official announcement.
We always viewed Mocavo as a bit long on promise and a bit short on delivery. When they launched in March 2011 they also claimed to be the first large scale ancestral search engine on the internet. That was not quite true. For example, we had launched our own Genealogy Search Engine in January 2011, about two months prior to Mocavo. What they had done is launch a website with some unique search technology, which has now been folded into FindMyPast.
March 2016
Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2016
This is our fifth annual ranking of the top 100 most popular genealogy websites from around the world. Since we started compiling this list five years ago, it has become the gold standard for ranking genealogy websites. [Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2016]
February 2016
Does Genetic Ancestry Work?
We will make a disclaimer right up front – we know little about genetic ancestry. But apparently, some people who know a lot about genetic ancestry have some serious concerns about the field. You can read the article here. [Genetic Ancestry is Basically a Horoscope]
Google Translate Now Covers 13 More Languages
Google Translate is a great tool for genealogists trying to figure out any historic document written in a language that they don’t understand. This week in a blog post, Google announced that 13 additional languages can now be translated using the service. The languages include (in alphabetical order) Amharic, Corsican, Frisian, Kyrgyz, Hawaiian, Kurdish (Kurmanji), Luxembourgish, Samoan, Scots Gaelic, Shona, Pashto and Xhosa. Have fun! [Google Translate]
TreeView Launches
A major new family history software package just launched this week. Called TreeView, it is designed for both Windows and Mac. The software is backed by the popular UK genealogy website TheGenealogist. It looks intriguing.
Obviously, given the size and scope of this software package, it has been in development for a very long period of time (certainly many months before the Ancestry announcement to abandon Family Tree Maker in December 2015).
We find it interesting that one company (Ancestry) decides to abandon the desktop genealogy software market at the same time another company (TheGenealogist) decides to enter it.
TreeView comes with a basic free version for those who want to give it a go before buying. Check it out. [TreeView]
Family Tree Maker Lives On
Ancestry announced this week that it has sold the popular Family Tree Maker software program to a company called Software MacKiev. This is a bit of an about-face by Ancestry who announced in December 2015 that they were going to retire the popular Family Tree Maker program (see the December 2015 news section below).
Now it looks like the software will have a new life under a different company. Apparently, this will mean regular software updates and new versions in the future. The program will also continue to have access to Ancestry functionality like hints, searches and the ability to store your family tree on Ancestry.
Ancestry also announced this week that they are working with the RootsMagic software program to enable it to connect/interface directly to Ancestry by the end of 2016.
For those who are not familiar with Software MacKiev, they seem to specialize in buying and running end-of-life software primarily for the Mac computer. They own Print Shop (for Mac) and Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing (also for Mac). These are two titles that may be familiar to readers from the early days of personal computers. The company is based in Kiev, Ukraine. Presumably the name of the company is a combination of Mac + Kiev = MacKiev.
In the background, Software MacKiev has apparently been the developer of the Mac version of Family Tree Maker for several years. Obviously, they are very familiar with the product.
This recent announcement buys some time for Family Tree Maker users. However, we are not convinced that it would be a good idea to remain with this software program over the longer term. Clearly Ancestry is getting out of the desktop software business.
If you are a current user of Family Tree Maker, you might also want to seriously think about your options going forward. It is never a good sign when a company abandons its own product, like Ancestry did with Family Tree Maker in December 2015 (see December news below).
If you have any comments/questions/concerns, we suggest you address them to the official Ancestry blog post on this announcement.
January 2016
Follow RootsTech at Home
RootsTech takes place this week from Wednesday Feb 3 to Saturday Feb 6 in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the largest genealogy conference in the world. You can follow all the action at RootsTech live from the comfort of your home using our free Genealogy Tweet Stream.
The Genealogy Tweet Stream is a nice tool to have running in the background as you work on your computer. It also works well on your phone. Bookmark the page for easy access. [Genealogy Tweet Stream]
Death of our Genealogy Toolbar
This week unfortunately we made the news.
Many of our newsletter readers have written to us because our popular (and free) Genealogy Toolbar no longer works with the latest version of Firefox. This happened with the latest Firefox update that occurred near Christmas time. The message from Firefox is that the toolbar is corrupted.
First of all, let us say that the Genealogy Toolbar is not corrupted. What has happened is that the latest version of Firefox has enhanced privacy functions. This requires all add-ins (including our toolbar) to have a certification license. Unfortunately, we cannot afford to spend a few thousand dollars to certify our free product.
We have tried hard to find various workarounds, but to no avail. So sadly, we must tell you that our Genealogy Toolbar is no longer functioning.
We feel really bad about this. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
December 2015
Ancestry Moving All Customers to the New Ancestry
In a blog post this week, Ancestry made it official. They are now moving everyone to the new Ancestry website.
This has created a certain amount of controversy in genealogy circles since some people don’t like the new Ancestry. The need to interact with family trees as opposed to doing a simple ancestral search is a feature that many find particularly annoying.
It is certainly no coincidence this announcement comes one week after the announcement of the shutting down of the popular Family Tree Maker software (see our previous article below).
From a business perspective, what Ancestry is doing is fairly straight forward. They now have a two-step process for retaining customers. They not only want you to find the ancestral record you need, but they also want you to keep it on their website – forever.
Obviously, someone at Ancestry has done the math and realized the number of annoyed customers they will lose from these two moves (shifting to the new Ancestry and shutting down Family Tree Maker) will be more than offset by the extra revenue the company will generate from other people keeping their subscriptions longer because they want to hold onto their online family trees. Big corporation thinking really.
Before we get flooded with emails asking us to contact Ancestry, we thought you should know that we gave up sending emails to Ancestry a long time ago.
For us, they seem to employ a standard strategy that large corporations use in many industries - they view us as a potential competitor so they don’t acknowledge that we exist. They do this by not sending us press releases (Ancestry is the only one in the industry that does not send us press releases even though we have asked them), not acknowledging our sent emails, never mentioning our website in any of their publications (including via the bloggers they pay) or if they have to mention us, then it is done in a negative manner, etc. Basic big corporate stuff really.
They probably don’t like our free Genealogy Search Engine (a free alternative to their search engine) or our Top 100 Genealogy Websites List (which provides an accurate overview of the genealogy industry, including how much they dominate the space). All this to say you would be wasting your time if you sent us an email. We have no voice with Ancestry.
One thing that has been missed in all the online discussions about this issue is that it has been several months since Ancestry has actually added any new major record collections to their website (just go through our newest genealogy records list to see the last time we mentioned Ancestry).
For several months now, Ancestry has been incrementally updating old record collections, scrapping free record collections from the internet and publishing free data sets they received from FamilySearch. But no major new record collections. We doubt this can be a coincidence since some of their competitors (like FindMypast) have been going great guns this year with original new record collections (once again, you can see the pattern if you scan through our newest genealogy records list for the last several months).
In our September 2015 genealogy news (scroll down below to the September section) we mentioned back then that we thought Ancestry had quietly shifted strategy from historic records to keepers of life records for the current generation. Perhaps we were right?
Something to think about before you renew your Ancestry subscription if your main purpose for doing so is to stay on top of potential new record collections. Going forward, you might not see many new original ones from Ancestry.
On a more positive note, we have decided to sit down during this holiday season and add as many new genealogy records as we can find to our free Genealogy Search Engine. We have already indexed over a thousand websites in total for our search engine and we will continue to add more over the holiday period. This will be our Christmas present to you. Merry Christmas!
Ancestry to Retire Family Tree Maker
This week, Ancestry announced they are going to retire Family Tree Maker. Here is the official announcement.
The company has decided to stop selling the program effective 31 December of this year. They will continue to provide technical and other support until the end of 2016. Obviously, this is going to be frustrating for many users.
What this means to you will depend on how you use the program. For example, the company says that their popular TreeSync feature will continue to work for another year (until the end of 2016). So basically, you have a year to either migrate to other software or continue to use Family Tree Maker beyond 2016 recognizing that there no longer will be any support for the product. If you don’t use the links to the online family trees or any other online content then this may be a perfectly acceptable solution.
Not surprisingly, other family tree software companies are now actively gearing up to court Family Tree Maker users. If you do an online search for genealogy software, lots of options pop up, including lots of recent blog posts recommending product A over product B.
One thing you might want to consider carefully in your decision is to think about what programs are likely to be around for the long time. You don’t want to switch to a new software package only to have it too disappear in a year or two.
A good place to start your search for new genealogy software is to go through our latest Top 100 List. It will give you an (unbiased) idea of who the biggest players are in the space. Just look for the categories ‘software’ for desktop and ‘family tree’ for online.
For what it is worth, for the desktop we like Gramps (which was just beyond the Top 100 List last year) because it is a) free and b) supported by a large community of volunteers. They just came out with the latest version of their software two months ago. For people who have multimedia files and want to store their information in the cloud, we are partial to Crestleaf.
Incidentally, if you have any comments, concerns or issues, here are the contact details for the Ancestry Member Services Team.
23andMe Changes Terms Again (and Not for the Better)
The genetic testing company 23andMe is at it again. First they got slapped hard by the US Food and Drug Administration for trying to sell unauthorized medical tests. Then after several months they finally got this sorted out just last month and received the proper approvals from the USFDA.
Now they have changed their terms eliminating some aspects that were very important to genealogists. And did we mention, they just doubled their prices in the US from $99 to $199? Judy Russell at the blog Legal Genealogist does a good job of describing the situation. [23andMe Changes Terms]
First Christmas Card
Ever wondered what the first Christmas card looked like? Below is what is thought to be the first ever Christmas card from 1843. Today, people still send some 750 million Christmas cards each year.
November 2015
Coke Bottle Turns 100
This month, the iconic coke bottle turns 100. Read all about it and see the original patent for the coke bottle. [Coke Bottle Turns 100]
New Fine Art Photography Website
This week, we have launched a new website devoted to fine art photography. Many of the images have a heritage theme that will appeal to genealogists. Our new website allows you to purchase museum quality prints at reasonable prices.
In addition to framed prints, we also offer canvas prints, phone cases, tote bags, throw pillows, duvet covers and greeting cards. Just match the image you like with the product you want. For example, imagine having personalized Xmas greeting cards with a heritage theme or a phone case with a nice image of a classic car on the back. They make unique gifts. Check it out. [Fine Art Photography]
October 2015
Ellis Island Immigration Facts
Ellis Island was the main entry port for immigrants to America. Some estimates suggest at least 1/3 of all Americans can trace their ancestors through Ellis Island. This article tells you what you need to know. [Ellis Island Immigration Facts]
Ancestry.ca Has a New Look
Ancestry.ca has a new look. The objective is to try to transform how people look for, display, and talk about their ancestors. Included with the update is the ability to provide a richer view of your ancestors through life stories, historical insights and galleries. The video below describes how the process works. [Ancestry.ca]
#AncestryHour – an Interesting Website
A website called #AncestryHour is devoted to people who use Twitter to look for their ancestors. To quote the website “#AncestryHour is a Twitter base where everyone, professionals and amateurs alike, with an interest in Genealogy and Family History can meet, exchange tips, promote their services, ask questions, etc.”. The video below describes how it all works.
We have already updated our Genealogy Tweet Stream with the hashtag #ancestryhour for those who want to follow along and learn more or who may not currently have a Twitter account. [Website #AncestryHour]
September 2015
Ancestry.com Quietly Shifts Gears
Two announcements out of Ancestry.com this summer suggest the company has made an important change in their future growth strategy. The first was an announcement of the launch of a new service called AncestryHealth. This service allows users to combine their personal family health knowledge with family trees that have been created on Ancestry websites. The second was an announcement that AncestryDNA had sold the results of DNA sequences collected from some one million Ancestry customers to a Google-affiliated company called Calico. Calico is focussed on longevity research. What makes the dataset so valuable to Calico is both its size and the fact that it comes with extensive family trees. Calico will be studying the DNA results combined with the family trees of Ancestry’s DNA customers to look for patterns in longevity across families.
These two announcements combined represent an interesting transition for Ancestry.com The company appears to be making the jump from provider of historical records for past generations to keeper of life records for the current generation. Considering that Ancestry websites control a combined 35% of internet genealogy traffic (see Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2015), this is an interest shift in strategy for Ancestry and for the genealogy marketplace at large.
In the future, there might be more money to be made managing (and selling) the lifestyle data of the current generation than the historical records of past generations.
June 2015
PBS Suspends Finding Your Roots Genealogy Show
PBS announced this week that it has suspended the genealogy show Finding Your Roots. Hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr., the show examined the family histories of celebrities and public figures.
The integrity of the show came into question as a result of the recent release of the WikiLeaks cache of hacked Sony emails. The hacked emails revealed that Ben Affleck, one of the show’s celebrity guests, had successfully pressured the show’s producers into omitting any reference to a slave-owning ancestor.
PBS has demanded several changes before the show will be reinstated. This includes hiring an independent genealogist to verify the show’s content. You can read the details in this New York Times article.
May 2015
Ancestry is for Sale?
Reuters published a story this week implying that Ancestry has been put up for sale. The firm is currently owned by Permira Advisers, a European-based private equity firm. The story suggests that investment bankers have been hired to market Ancestry to potential buyers. The expected price range for the company is somewhere between $2.5 billion and $3.0 billion.
As highlighted in the article Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2015, Ancestry dominates the genealogy industry. The firm controls eight of the top 15 ancestral websites. GenealogyInTime Magazine estimates there is slightly more than 350,000 visitors a day across all genealogy websites and that Ancestry gets 32% of that traffic.
The core strength of the Ancestry franchise is the size and convenience of its database, which currently numbers some 16 billion historic records. Subscription fees from 2.2 million paying subscribers account for the bulk of total company revenue, which amounted to $631 million over the last four quarters. Ancestry also has a DNA service, which has seen strong growth over the last couple of quarters.
Ancestry’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was $228 million in the last four quarters. An EBITDA multiplier is often used to value established companies such as Ancestry. In this case, it implies that Permira Advisors is looking for roughly an 11.0X to 13.0X EBITDA multiple on the sale of the company. Ancestry is one of the few technology companies with strong cash flow generation capabilities. This allows the company to leverage its balance sheet by issuing debt. The firm had $862 million of long-term debt as of the end of March 2015.
The potential sale of Ancestry is not likely to have any impact on current subscribers. Unless, of course, FindMyPast or MyHeritage were to purchase the company.
Iceland Originally Settled by Scots?
An intriguing new book by archaeologist Dr Kristján Ahronson suggests that Iceland may have been visited and even partially settled by people from Scotland several years before the first wave of Norse settlers arrived on the island in the year 874 AD. The evidence is based on a series of some 200 man-made caves in the southern part of Iceland. Some of the caves show clear evidence of crosses carved into the walls. These crosses bear a striking resemblance to similar crosses of early Christian communities found in parts of western Scotland. One of the Icelandic caves was accurately dated to show that it existed before Norse settlers arrived on the island. The website MedievalLists.net has more detail.
March 2015
Genealogy Search
We have added dozens of more websites to the Genealogy Search Engine. Some highlights include:
- We have indexed several US college collections of historic photographs and digital newspaper collections.
- Multiple local library collections of obituaries have been added to the search engine.
- We have indexed emigration records from Scotland.
- Some regional parish records from Belgium and Spain are now covered by the search engine.
With these most recent additions, we believe the Genealogy Search Engine now provides the largest and broadest free ancestral search on the internet. [Genealogy Search Engine]
February 2015
Why Obituaries Contain Hidden Family Trees
Wouldn't it be nice if someone had already written out your family tree? Maybe they already have? [Why Obituaries Contain Hidden Family Trees]
New Collaboration between FamilySearch and the New England Historic Genealogical Society
This week, FamilySearch and the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) announced a new collaboration. It will see some one billion records from FamilySearch added to the NEHGS website AmericanAncestors.org. The records will consist primarily of US federal census transcripts (1790 to 1930), civil registrations for Italy, Germany, Scotland and the Netherlands and English parish records. In addition, one billion family tree records from FamilySearch will also be available on the NEHGS website.
In turn, members of the Mormon Church will have free accounts on AmericanAncestors.org to access the society’s large collection of New England genealogy records. [Press Release]
Google Earth Pro is Now Free
Google has announced that Google Earth Pro is now free (thanks to Lisa Louise Cooke for pointing out the announcement). You can think of Google Earth Pro as Google maps on steroids. Basically, it allows you to look at satellite images from a three dimensional perspective. For those who already use the standard Google Earth version, the Pro version has more features, such as advanced measuring tools. For example, it has the ability to measure the size of irregular properties as well as the distance between any two points.
Both of these are useful for genealogists who want to determine the actual size of an ancestral estate or to find out how far grandma really had to walk through the woods to get to school. The process is shown in the YouTube video below. If you already use Google Earth, you should be able to merge your data into Google Earth Pro. [Free Signup for Google Earth Pro]
Become a Beta Tester on the New Ancestry.com Website
Ancestry.com is in the process of revising/upgrading their website. They are looking for beta testers. If you are interested, and have an existing account, then follow the link. [Ancestry.com Beta Website]
New Emblem for Last Year's Top 100 Genealogy Websites
We now have an emblem for websites that were in the top 100 list from last year (2014- see image below). Follow the link to the emblem and associated code. [Top 100 Emblem for 2014]
Dig Out Your Old Wales WWI War Letters
The National Archives of Wales is looking for people to donate their letters from World War I pertaining to soldiers and citizens of Wales. [Wales WWI War Letters]
Cool Infographic of Top 100 Genealogy Websites
The website Crestleaf has put together an interesting infographic highlighting in graphical format the key outcomes of the Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2015 list. [Infographic of Top 100 List]
How to Scan Old Photos for Genealogy Research
Read this step-by-step guide on how to convert old photographs to digital format for your family tree. [How to Scan Old Photos for Genealogy Research]
Follow RootsTech from Home
RootsTech will be held this Thursday 12 February to Saturday 14 February in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is one of the largest genealogy conferences in the world. In addition to their excellent website, you can follow all the action in real-time from the comfort of your living room.
Simply use the Genealogy Tweet page on our website. It picks up all the tweets from RootsTech. You don't even need to know anything about Twitter to use this handy gadget. We do all the work for you. Just click and enjoy. [Genealogy Tweets]
January 2015
British Library Opens Newspaper Building
The British Library has opened their new high-tech building for long-term storage of their national newspaper collection. The new building stores some 60 million historic newspapers spanning three centuries. The newspapers are kept in a dark, low-oxygen, constant temperature and humidity environment. See the images below.
We talked extensively about this building about two years ago. It is good to see that it has been completed. So far, only a small fraction of the newspapers have been digitized. Roughly 10 million pages out of 750 million pages in total housed in the building have been put online through the website British Newspaper Archive.
Social Media and Seniors – Pew Research has released an updated study on how people use social media websites like Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. Not surprisingly, Facebook remains by far the most popular social media website. Certainly for our website, we get more traffic from Facebook than all the other social media websites combined.
According to Pew, 56% of adults aged 65+ are now on Facebook. This is a large increase from 45% in 2013. The other social media websites popular with seniors are (in order) LinkedIn used by 21% of seniors, Pinterest used by 17% of seniors, Twitter used by 10% of seniors and Instagram used by 6% of seniors. [Pew Research Social Media Study]
23andMe Sells Your Genetic Data – Here is a story from the tech website Gizmodo on how 23andMe has found another way to monetize their customer’s DNA. It is a must read for anyone who has used their products or is considering using their products.
We find the article a bit disturbing on several fronts. DNA is like a fingerprint that uniquely identifies an individual. It also contains a person's complete heritage and medical history. So who controls this extremely personal information? In the case of 23andMe, apparently not the customer.
For those who don't follow 23andMe on a regular basis, we should point out the company has run seriously afoul of US regulators and was ordered to halt sales of their testing kits in the United States. [Of Course 23andMe’s Plan has been to Sell Your Genetic Data All Along]
Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2015
We present our fourth annual roundup of the top 100 most popular genealogy websites from around the world. If you want to stay up to date with what is going on in genealogy and discover some interesting new websites then this is the article for you. [Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2015]
Newest Genealogy Records
We have updated our website with the newest genealogy record sets from around the world. [Newest Genealogy Records]
Google Year in Review
Now that 2014 is over, Google has prepared an excellent video describing some of the major search themes of the year.
Ancestry Family History Report
Ancestry.com has produced a report on the current state of the company and of the genealogy industry in general. The full report can be read below (click on the expansion button near the bottom right hand corner to read the report in full screen mode).
December 2014
Simple Ways to Improve Your Genealogy Productivity
Looking to improve your productivity? In this article, we present fifteen simple ways to make you more productive to save time, money and effort when researching your ancestors. [Simple Ways to Improve Your Genealogy Productivity]
November 2014
Our Best Articles
November 2014 marks the sixth anniversary of GenealogyInTime Magazine. To celebrate, we decided to list our best articles and resources as voted on by our readers (the articles and resources that have the greatest number of Facebook Likes). [Our Best Articles]
Searching Electoral Rolls for Ancestors
Most genealogists focus on birth, marriage, death and census records. However, electoral rolls can be just as powerful a source for tracing your ancestors. This article will help you learn what you need to know to use this powerful, interesting and often overlooked type of genealogy record. [Searching Electoral Rolls for Ancestors]
Powerful Genealogy Search
We have made several significant enhancements / upgrades to the Genealogy Search Engine to make it even more powerful. Read the highlights. [Powerful Genealogy Search]
Hot Tips on How to Use Google for Genealogy Searches
Google is the number one search engine for genealogy searches. it is an ideal tool for genealogists wanting to track down their ancestors. In this article, we show you how to do it. [Hot Tips on How to Use Google for Genealogy Searches]
Let's Talk About Plagiarism
Plagiarism is something that plagues the genealogy industry. Let's talk about it by presenting an interesting case study. [Let's Talk About Plagiarism]
October 2014
Ancestry 2014Q3 Results
Ancestry.com the world's largest genealogy company released their results for the third quarter of 2014. Here are the highlights for the quarter:
- Revenue of $154.7 million.
- Profit/loss of -$1.2 million.
- Free Cash Flow of +$31.0 million.
- Subscribers 2,125,000 (+0.75% quarter over quarter).
- 3.3 million new records on UK website.
- 2.6 million new records on Canadian website.
- 1.2 million new records on Australian website.
- Tens of millions of new records on US website (exact amount not specified - many appeared to have come from FamilySearch given their new sharing agreement).
Ten Innovations in Online Genealogy Search
Think you know how to do online genealogy searches? Think again! This article provides tools and techniques to allow you to think outside the box when searching online for your ancestors. [Ten Innovations in Online Genealogy Search]
MyHeritage Now Available Through Libraries
MyHeritage has launched a library edition of their popular genealogy website. According to the Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2014, MyHeritage.com is the fourth largest genealogy website in the world. This new service launches with more than 5 billion historic records. Check to see if you can access it for free through your local library. [MyHeritage Library Edition]
Obituary Photos are Getting Younger
Are obituary photos an accurate reflection of the deceased? It turns out the answer is not really. Obituary photos have some built-in biases. Find out what they are and how this can affect your genealogy research. [Obituary Photos are Getting Younger]
Are People with the Same Family Name Related?
Family names (also known as surnames) provide an obvious clue to a person’s origin. And yet, as any genealogist can tell you, surnames can be difficult to work with and research into surnames often yield unexpected surprises. In particular, two people with the same surname do not necessarily share a common ancestor. [Are People with the Same Family Name Related?]
September 2014
More Great Genealogy Brick Wall Solutions
This is our second major collection of genealogy brick wall solutions. [More Great Genealogy Brick Wall Solutions]
What First Names Say About Someone
It turns out that you can tell a lot by a person’s first name. Family (or last) names rarely change, but parents often put a considerable amount of thought into a first name. The end result reflects the parents’ level of education, social background (class) and cultural preferences. You can use this to your advantage when searching for someone. [What First Names Say About Someone]
Genealogy Search Engine FAQs
Want to get the most out of the free Genealogy Search Engine? We have put together the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) with answers. Discover all sorts of useful facts, such as what types of records are searched and what countries are covered by the search engine. Also find out why you should use the Genealogy Search Engine to complement searches done on subscription websites like Ancestry and FindMyPast. [Genealogy Search Engine FAQs]
Updated Genealogy Toolbar
Want to take your genealogy research to the next level? GenealogyInTime Magazine has released version 2.1 of the free genealogy toolbar that integrates into the Firefox internet browser. This popular toolbar is used by thousands of genealogists around the world. [Free Genealogy Toolbar]
DNA Confirms Remains of Russian Royal Family
We look at another royal family with an interesting genealogy past. See how DNA testing was used to confirm the final fate of the Russian Royal Family. [DNA Confirms Remains of Russian Royal Family]
Inbreeding of Spanish Royalty
Most people think of genealogy as a hobby. However, sometimes it can have a significant impact on world history. Read this fascinating case study on the genealogy of the Spanish royal family. They have the most messed up family tree we have ever seen. [Inbreeding of Spanish Royalty]
Rare Book Search Engine
GenealogyInTime Magazine offers two independent search platforms to help you track down and purchase second hand, rare and out-of-print books about your ancestors. [Rare Book Search Engine]
Mocavo Sold to FindMyPast
Mocavo, the US-based genealogy search website, quietly announced in a blog post in late June 2014 that they were sold to FindMyPast. We have all the details in our US genealogy records section. [US Genealogy Records]
Ancestry.com Drops BillionGraves
Ancestry.com has quietly dropped access to cemetery records on BillionGraves from the Ancestry.com website. Previously, Ancestry users could directly search the BillionGraves database when they were logged into Ancestry. No more. BillionGraves became a competitor of Ancestry when Ancestry bought out the other major cemetery record website Find A Grave in October 2013. We have all the details in our US genealogy records section. [US Genealogy Records]
How Many People Live to 100?
A centarian is someone who lives to 100. Have you ever wondered how common it is to have a centarian in your family? [How Many People Live to 100?]
FamilySearch Reaches One Billion Images
FamilySearch.org announced an important milestone this week. They have now put online one billion digital images of historic ancestral records. This is big news for anyone who appreciates free genealogy records. Here are several fascinating facts behind the headline that would be on interest to genealogists. [FamilySearch Reaches One Billion Images]
The Key to Understanding Family Relationships
One of most common issues in genealogy is to understand the relationship between two people in a family. For example, what exactly is a second cousin twice removed? In this article, we will answer this question by providing a method to determine the relationship between any two people in a family tree. [The Key to Understanding Family Relationships]
Ancestry Rationalizes Websites
Ancestry.com announced in a blog post this week that they were rationalizing their product offerings. Several of their websites will be discontinued and some of their DNA tests will also no longer be available. We have all the details and an analysis of what you need to know. [Ancestry Rationalizes Websites]
Free Images
Need some inspiration in your genealogy research? We maintain a large collection of free images with a genealogy theme. Check it out. [Free Images]
Genealogy Latin Dictionary
This dictionary gives a comprehensive list of latin terms as they relate to genealogy. Latin terms are common in wills, parish records and land records. [Genealogy Latin Dictionary]
Best Free Online Genealogy Tools
Looking to take your ancestral research to the next level? In this article, GenealogyInTime Magazine has gone outside the box to find new and interesting websites to help trace your ancestors. We vetted hundreds of websites looking for those underpublicized gems that will help you get ahead. We then condensed the list down to the very best ones. [Best Free Online Genealogy Tools]
Common Genealogy Mistakes
At GenealogyInTime Magazine, we notice people keep making the same mistakes when building their family tree. So we decided to put together an article that pokes fun at how not to build a family tree. See if you can recognize all the subtle and not-so-subtle mistakes.
Tips on How to Travel Light
Anyone planning a long-distance trip will want to read this article. It is stocked full of tips and tricks to make travel more enjoyable. [Tips on How to Travel Light]
A Date Guide to English Genealogy
This in-depth guide is a must read for anyone with English ancestors. It lays out what records are available when in a detailed timeline. [A Date Guide to English Genealogy]
An Olympic Milestone - 7 Billion Free Genealogy Records
GenealogyInTime Magazine has reached an Olympic milestone in free genealogy search. With the most recent updates to our two free ancestral search engines, users can now search 7 billion free genealogy records on the internet. [An Olympic Milestone - 7 Billion Free Genealogy Records]
Google Search Provides More Information on Websites
Google began rolling out a new function this week to help make search safer. It is incorporating background information on websites directly into search results. The objective is to help people make better judgements about the websites they visit. [Google Search Provides More Information on Websites]
Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2014
This is our third annual review and ranking of the top 100 most popular genealogy websites. Once again, we spent countless hours compiling an extensive list of genealogy websites from around the world. The list and the accompanying article provide considerable insight into the genealogy industry. It can also help you discover some interesting new genealogy websites. [Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2014]
How Popular is Genealogy?
At GenealogyInTime Magazine, we like to think outside the box. In this article, we tackle a fundamental issue: How popular is genealogy? The answer, it turns out, depends on the specific question being asked. We examine the evidence and takes a hard look at the facts. In the process, we dispel some common myths and misunderstandings about the popularity of genealogy. [How Popular is Genealogy?]
A Major Milestone in Genealogy Search
A major milestone was reached this week in online genealogy search. An additional 300 million records were added to the Genealogy Search Engine. The free and very popular Genealogy Search Engine now searches over 3.0 billion free ancestral records from around the world. [A Major Milestone in Genealogy Search]
List of Occupation Abbreviations
Occupations are often written in abbreviated form in historic documents. This was done to save space and money. For example, old city directories would often abbreviate occupations of residents. This was done to allow more names to be written on each page. Some census records also abbreviate occupations due to the lack of space on census forms. In this handy reference list, we provide abbreviations for several hundred occupations. [List of Occupation Abbreviations]
City Directory Abbreviations
This dictionary provides a reference list of the most common abbreviations found in city directories. [City Directory Abbreviations]
More Great Genealogy Brickwall Solutions
This is the second GenealogyInTime Magazine collection of genealogy brickwall solutions. This collection is all about looking at the less obvious. Enjoy! [More Great Genealogy Brickwall Solutions]
Ancestry.com Buys Find A Grave
Ancestry.com announced this week the purchase of cemetery website Find A Grave for an undisclosed amount of money. Read the story behind the Ancestry.com purchase of the largest free and independent genealogy website. [Ancestry.com Buys Find A Grave]
Why Genealogy is Important
Why do people research their ancestors? What makes genealogy important? In this article we look at some of the practical and philosophical reasons that motivate people to spend time with their ancestors. [Why Genealogy is Important]
Google Limitations on Genealogy Searches
Google quietly limits results from standard searches to a maximum of two website listings per page. This hidden limit is a significant issue that every genealogist needs to know and understand. [Google Limitations on Genealogy Searches]
Search Over 500 Million More Records
GenealogyInTime Magazine is announcing a very significant upgrade to our free Genealogy Search Engine. An additional 532 million free genealogy records from around the world are now searchable. In another first for a genealogy website, the entire Google Newspaper Archive can now be searched by the Genealogy Search Engine. [Search Over 500 Million More Records]
A Country Guide to Google Search Engines
GenealogyInTime Magazine continues its tradition of leading-edge genealogy research in this article that looks at the single most important factor in determining your success in finding your ancestors with a Google search. [A Country Guide to Google Search Engines]
A Guide to Performing Online Genealogy Searches
Our most popular article on how to get the most out of your Google searches for your ancestors has just been revised and updated. [A Guide to Performing Online Genealogy Searches]
50 Best Genealogy Brick Wall Solutions
Looking to kick-start your genealogy research? Check out this article. [50 Best Genealogy Brick Wall Solutions]
Google+ Stuggles Against Facebook in Genealogy
Two years after launching its social network, Google continues to struggle to attract people to the Google+ platform. In this article, we look at the relative popularity of Google+ versus Facebook for people who are interested in tracing their ancestors...[Google+ Struggles Against Facebook in Genealogy]
Tips on How to Travel Light
Visiting an ancestral homeland, a far way archive, or a distant cemetery all involve travel. In this article, we look at specific tips on how to travel light. It can save time and money. Travelling light also provides a more enjoyable travel experience...[Tips on How to Travel Light]
A New Way to Find Obituaries
GenealogyInTime Magazine has made another major upgrade to its free Genealogy Search Engine. The most recent enhancement is designed to make it quick and easy to find recent obituaries. Now instead of searching all over the internet for an obituary of a friend, family member or acquaintance, the Genealogy Search Engine will find it for you. Simply enter the name of the person in quotes into the search box... [A New Way to Find Obituaries]
Less Advertising, More Genealogy
At GenealogyInTime Magazine, we are always looking for ways to improve our user experience. It is part of our mandate to find new and innovative ways to help people connect with their ancestors. This week, we have made two major changes to our website... [Less Advertising, More Genealogy]
List of First Name Abbreviations
In many historic documents, first names were abbreviated. For example, old street directories and city directories always abbreviated common first names. Parish records often abbreviated familiar Christian names. This was done to save space and paper. It took us months to collect and compile a list of common abbreviations for first names. As far as we know, this is the most exhaustive list available on an important but often overlooked aspect of genealogy. [List of First Name Abbreviations]
The Death of Google Reader
Google has announced in a company posting that it was ending the popular Google Reader service. In this article, we look at the reasons why Google would shut down such a popular product and what it means for genealogy. We also provide some good free alternatives to Google Reader for those wanting to trace their ancestors. [The Death of Google Reader]
Five Great Productivity Tools for Genealogy
At GenealogyInTime Magazine, we like to think outside the box. We are always looking for new and innovative ways to help people connect with their ancestors. In this article, we look at five free productivity tools that will make you a better genealogist. [Five Great Productivity Tools for Genealogy]
The Key to Understanding Family Relationships
One of most common issues in genealogy is to understand the relationship between two people in a family. For example, most people are familiar with the concept of a sibling (brother or sister) and a cousin, but what exactly is a second cousin twice removed? In this article, we will answer this question by providing a method to determine the relationship between any two people in a family tree. We also include a convenient relationship chart that you can print out and keep for your records. [The Key to Understanding Family Relationships]
Classic Car Wallpaper
At GenealogyInTime Magazine, we like images of nostalgic items. It helps us connect with our ancestors. We also like to give away great things for free to our readers. In this original collection, we present 66 high-resolution images of classic cars from the 1950s and 60s. We know you are going to like these photographs. So put on your seatbelt and take a sentimental ride down Route 66. [Classic Car Wallpaper]
A Simple Way to Read Old Tombstones
Old tombstones are often worn and difficult to read. Here is a simple trick to help you overcome this common problem. [A Simple Way to Read Old Tombstones]
Six Billion Free Genealogy Records
At GenealogyInTime Magazine, we have a passion for genealogy and a determination to make it better. Our mission is to find new and innovative ways to help people find their ancestors. We reached a major milestone this week in that objective. Our two free genealogy search engines now index over 6 billion free genealogy records from around the world. Both search engines also continue to grow in popularity, getting over 50,000 queries a month. [Six Billion Free Genealogy Records]
Top 100 Genealogy Websites for 2013
This is our second annual list of the top 100 genealogy websites. Once again, we spent countless hours compiling an extensive collection of genealogy websites from around the world. We then ranked the websites based on their popularity, as measured by Alexa the internet traffic people. In addition to many old favorites, some interesting new genealogy websites made the top 100 list for 2013. Several rising genealogy stars also made big traffic gains compared to last year. Read all about it. [Top 100 Genealogy Websites for 2013]
Million Short: a Different Kind of Search Engine
GenealogyInTime Magazine continues its tradition of coming up with creative and innovative ways to help people find their ancestors. In this article, we review a search engine called Million Short that is specifically designed to search for less popular items on the internet. It does a good job of searching for ancestral records and living relatives. [Million Short: a Different Kind of Search Engine]
Genealogy News Made Easy
The free Genealogy News Gadget is a great way to get the latest genealogy news. No longer will you have to surf across multiple websites to find out what’s new. Instead, the Genealogy News Gadget does all the hard work for you. It continuously scans the internet collecting and amalgamating genealogy news from 300+ reliable sources. The best results are then streamed direct to your desktop. [Genealogy News Made Easy]
Why Immigrants Change Their Name
A common problem in genealogy is tracing people who have changed their name. This occurs most often when someone migrates to another country. The general assumption in genealogy is that immigrants change their name to help them become more assimilated into their new homeland. There are, however, a variety of other reasons why immigrants may change their name. [Why Immigrants Change Their Name]
Marriage and Age Differences
The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research has an interesting study on marriage, life expectancy and age differences. An analysis of the study provides an interesting genealogy brick wall solution. [Marriage and Age Differences]
Top Trends in Genealogy
It is difficult to find reliable statistics on genealogy. How fast is it growing? What are the most popular areas? Where is it headed? In this article, GenealogyInTime Magazine releases a comprehensive analysis on the field of genealogy that provides some thoughtful answers to these questions as well as several other related issues. The purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of how genealogy is progressing, where it is evolving and what this means for someone trying to find their ancestors. [Top Trends in Genealogy]
Genealogy Toolbar for Chrome
Great News! Many people had asked us to make our Genealogy Toolbar work with the Google Chrome browser. We are happy to report that our very popular Genealogy Toolbar now works with Chrome in addition to Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Just download and run it.
The powerful Genealogy Toolbar is used by thousands of people to help them find their ancestors. And best of all, it is free. Click on the link to learn more. [Genealogy Toolbar]
Ellis Island Immigration Records
Ellis Island was the main port of entry for immigrants to America. More immigrants arrived through Ellis Island than all the other North American ports of entry combined. Thus, anyone searching for ancestors in North America (even Canada) should check the Ellis Island immigration records. This article shows you what you need to know when searching for Ellis Island immigration records. [Ellis Island Immigration Records]
Google Drive for Genealogy
Online storage is popular with genealogists who want to store and share their research ‘in the cloud’. On 24 April 2012 Google launched a new service called Google Drive. It allows users to store and access files online. The service is similar to Dropbox, but with a distinctive twist. Google offers different features and a lower price. This article discusses this new service from Google, which is likely to become popular with genealogists. [Google Drive for Genealogy]
Pinterest and Genealogy
GenealogyInTime Magazine has selected some of the most popular photographs from our large desktop genealogy wallpaper collection and formatted them especially for Pinterest. We have done this as a service to our many readers who are interested in both genealogy and Pinterest. [Pinterest and Genealogy]
How to Read Old Handwriting
You can train yourself to read old handwriting. This is a necessary skill to read handwritten census records or any type of record that was produced before the wide-spread use of the typewriter in the 1920s. This article lists free online resources and tutorials to help you read old handwriting. [How to Read Old Handwriting]
A Restarted Google Newspaper Archive?
Google has started this week to give more prominence to their historic newspaper archive. After an absence of almost ten months, there is even the potential that Google may once again restart digitizing more historic newspapers. If it happens, this would be big news for the genealogy community. Even if it doesn’t happen, genealogists now have better access to one of the best free collections of historic newspapers on the internet. [A Restarted Google Newspaper Archive?]
Amazing Brick Wall Images
GenealogyInTime Magazine presents an amazing collection of 41 artistic photographs of brick walls. These images are free to download for your personal use as background wallpaper for your computer. The objective of this collection is to provide inspiration in the search for your ancestors. [Brick Wall Images]
Migration within a Country
Trying to trace an ancestor who migrates within a country can often be challenge. Unlike ancestors who emigrate across an ocean, there are multiple routes that an ancestor can take when migrating within a single country or region.
To understand the complexities of migration within a country, watch the amazing video produced by Bengler, a Norwegian company that specializes in building social websites. It visually traces the migration patterns of every Norwegian who moved within the country during 2006 and 2007. [Migration within a Country]
Five New Google Search Tricks
At GenealogyInTime Magazine, we are always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to help people search for their ancestors. This article addresses five radically new approaches to Google search to help you find your ancestors. [Five New Google Search Tricks]
Searching Electoral Rolls for Ancestors
An electoral roll (known formally as an electoral register) is a list of people who are eligible to vote in a given jurisdiction. Electoral rolls are valuable to genealogists because they tie the name of an individual to a specific address.
A typical historic electoral roll lists the full name of the individual and their address. Some electoral rolls also include additional information such as age, the occupation of the individual and the reason they were eligible to vote. In this article, we discuss the ins and outs of electoral rolls, including where to find this valuable resource online. [Searching Electoral Rolls for Ancestors]
Upgraded Genealogy Search Engine
GenealogyInTime Magazine has made a major upgrade to its free Genealogy Search Engine. An additional 256 million more ancestral records can now be searched for free. The Genealogy Search Engine now indexes 1.8 billion free ancestral records across more than 600 websites from around the world.
The primary countries covered by the search engine include Canada, the United States, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. A considerable number of records for Continental Europe have also been added. [Upgraded Genealogy Search Engine]
What are the Most Popular Internet Browsers?
Given all the claims and counterclaims on the internet, it can be difficult to know what internet browsers are the most popular and what internet browsers people actually use. In the interest of our readers, we thought we would share the actual numbers from GenealogyInTime Magazine. [What are the Most Popular Internet Browsers?]
Highlights of GenealogyInTime Magazine
This article provides an overview of the most popular features found on the GenealogyInTime Magazine website. [Highlights of GenealogyInTime Magazine]
Top 100 Most Popular Genealogy Websites for 2012
GenealogyInTime Magazine has put together a global list of the Top 100 Most Popular Genealogy Websites. This is the first time a comprehensive list has been published of the most popular genealogy websites from around the world. Other genealogy lists exist, but they tend to focus on only one country, on only certain types of genealogy websites, or the list contains personal preferences.
Since our mission at GenealogyInTime Magazine is to find creative and innovative ways to help people connect with their ancestors, we thought it would be useful to publish an objective Top 100 list that was both comprehensive and complete. [Top 100 Most Popular Genealogy Websites for 2012]
How to Say the Year 2012
Think you know how to say '2012'? Think again! Take our little test. [How to Say the Year 2012]
A Country Guide to Google Search Engines
To get the most out of any Google search for your ancestors, it is necessary to understand how Google works. An important consideration is to realize that Google runs different search engines in different parts of the world. For example, Google.com is the search engine for the United States, Google.ca is used for Canada while Google.co.uk is the search engine for the United Kingdom. In total, there are over 130 different Google search engines. Most of the Google search engines are organized by country. They all use identical search algorithms, but the actual search results are different. This has significant ramifications if you use Google to search for your ancestors. [A Country Guide to Google Search Engines]
A Guide to Performing Online Genealogy Searches
This article is designed to help you get the most out of your ancestral searches using the powerful genealogy search engine and the family tree search engine. Both search engines are free to use and combined they look for over 5 billion free online genealogy records in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. [A Guide to Performing Online Genealogy Searches]
Genealogy Tip: Look for Missing Marriages
Looking at historical records, it is not always easy to identify an ancestor who has been married more than once. Yet, it is one of the most common reasons for misconstrued family trees. Missing a marriage can often mean missing an entire branch of your family. It can also result in assigning descendants to the wrong parent. Are there any clues that can help you identify missing marriages? [Look for Missing Marriages]
Updated Genealogy Toolbar
We have updated our popular genealogy toolbar with a button for Twitter users. Now you can conveniently and easily tweet about any page on the internet without having to look for a tweet button or mess around with url address shorteners. If you already have the toolbar installed, you don't need to do anything. The new Twitter button will automatically appear on your toolbar over the next couple of weeks. [Free Genealogy Toolbar]
Genealogy Tip: Look for Hidden Family Trees
One of the most frequent comments we receive from people tracing their ancestors is a desire for a pre-built family tree. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone had already written out your family tree? It would certainly speed up the process of tracing your ancestors if you already knew who was related to whom...[read Look for Hidden Family Trees]
How Many People Live to 100?
A centenarian is someone who lives to 100. Have you ever wondered how common it is to have a centenarian in your family tree? For the last several years, various reports have suggested that people are living longer and healthier lives. Better diets and improved medical care have been at the forefront of this trend. If more people are living longer, does this mean more people are reaching the century mark?...[How Many People Live to 100?]
Updated Genealogy Search Engine
We have added dozens of new websites to our free genealogy search engine. It now searches over 1.5 billion genealogy records across more than 500 different websites in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand...[Free Genealogy Search Engine]
Combined with our family tree search engine (which now searches over 2.5 billion names), our two search engines give you access to over 4.0 billion records...[Free Family Tree Search Engine]
You can access our free genealogy search engine anywhere on the internet using our very handy and popular genealogy toolbar...[Free Genealogy Toolbar]
How to Find the Most Popular Genealogy Blogs
Looking for the Most Popular Genealogy Blogs or just want to find the latest genealogy blog postings? We have a new tool to help you...[How to Find the Most Popular Genealogy Blogs]
Free Genealogy Toolbar
Looking for a cool new tool to help you find your ancestors? Look no further! GenealogyInTime™ magazine is pleased to announce a free toolbar that will take your genealogy research to the next level. Fun, easy to install, and easy to use, our genealogy toolbar sports an elegant interface and several innovative features.
Genealogy News Reader
Want to spend more time working on your family history and less time keeping up with the latest genealogy news? We do, so we invented the Genealogy News Reader.
Version 2.0 of our popular Genealogy News Reader has been totally rebuilt. It scans thousands of news sources looking for stories related to genealogy. It then amalgamates all the stories onto one web page.
The Genealogy News Reader updates itself automatically. You can keep the web page open in the background as you work or just refer to it every couple of days when you want to know what is going on.
We have done all the hard work so you can spend more time tracing your ancestors. What could be better than that?...[Genealogy News Reader]
Google+ Introduces an 'Ignore' Option
Here is a feature that Google+ users will want to know - how to ignore someone. A new feature was introduced by Google that allows you to only see content from people that interest you. Basically, the new 'ignore' option allows you to hide content from people you want to interact with but don't necessarily want to read everything they say...[Google+ Introduces an 'Ignore' Option]
How Does Google Improve Search?
Have you ever wondered how Google improves search? This 3 1/2 minute video from Google is something every genealogist should watch. It will give you more insight than most books on the topic...[How Does Google Improve Search?]
Tracing Ancestors by Their Accent
At GenealogyInTime™ magazine, we are always looking for new and creative ways to help people find their ancestors. It is part of our passion for making genealogy better one step at a time. In this article, we are going to discuss another first, a radically new approach to helping people trace their ancestors. To the best of our knowledge, this method has never been explored or discussed before by the genealogy community. Basically, it involves using an ancestor’s accent as a type of fingerprint that can be used to help trace someone back to a particular region within a country...[Tracing Ancestors by Their Accent]
Genealogy Twitter Reader Version 2.0
GenealogyInTime™ magazine has launched version 2.0 of its popular Genealogy Twitter Reader. This free tool has many enhancements over the previous version...[Genealogy Twitter Reader Version 2.0]
Searching Historic Small-town Newspapers
Newspapers have often been described as the first draft of history. They can be an excellent source for chronicling the lives of our ancestors. Newspapers are particularly useful in countries and times where government records are thin to nonexistent. Some newspapers, however, are more useful than others for genealogists searching for their ancestors...[Searching Historic Small-town Newspapers]
Common Genealogy Mistakes or How to Build a Family Tree Without Really Trying
At GenealogyInTime Magazine, we notice people often make the same mistakes over and over again when building their family tree. Sometimes these mistakes are subtle and sometimes they are not. The obvious mistakes are the ones that really bother us. With that in mind, we decided to take a rather unique approach to solving this problem.
Every piece of advice in this article is either outright wrong or highly misleading. That’s right, wrong. We do this so we can present these common genealogy mistakes in a fun and light-hearted manner. The objective is to use a bit of humour to encourage new users avoid these issues. Meanwhile, experienced users should get a good laugh out of this article...[Common Genealogy Mistakes]
Genealogy Tip of the Week
GenealogyInTime Magazine has started a new column called Genealogy Tip of the Week. This column is packed with useful tips to help you break through those genealogy brick walls. Combined with our two genealogy tip articles, we now offer 85 great genealogy tips...{Genealogy Tip of the Week}
Ten Million More Canadian Genealogy Records
Interest continues to grow in GenealogyInTime™ magazine’s free genealogy search engine. We are now receiving well over 10,000 queries a month. We have also just completed a major upgrade to our search engine that will be of great help to anyone with Canadian ancestors...{read Ten Million More Canadian Genealogy Records}
Got Genealogy Buzz?
GenealogyInTime Magazine is happy to introduce Genealogy Buzz, a fun new way to observe and interact with the genealogy community.
Using real-time technology, Genealogy Buzz streams to you the latest genealogy blogs, tweets, news and press releases from over a thousand sources. If you tweet about genealogy, write a genealogy blog, or are just interested in what is going on, then you will definitely want to check out Genealogy Buzz. The service is free...{learn more about Genealogy Buzz}
The Death of Google News Archive
Google just announced that it will stop its historic newspaper archive project. This is a sad day as the Google news archive was an important source of information for genealogists wanting to trace their ancestors. The project had already scanned roughly 2,000 historic newspapers from around the world. Some of the scanned newspapers were particularly valuable because they were from less developed countries that lacked traditional genealogical records...{read the full article The Death of Google News Archive}
Genealogy Blog Reader
GenealogyInTime Magazine has created another fun tool called the Genealogy Blog Reader. It works very similar to the Genealogy Twitter Reader. Every 5 minutes the reader will automatically stream the latest genealogy blog postings to you from the internet...{learn more about the Genealogy Blog Reader}
Genealogy Twitter Reader
GenealogyInTime Magazine has created a fun little tool called the Genealogy Twitter Reader. It streams the latest genealogy tweets to you in real time from hundreds of genealogy users. Every 5 minutes the reader will automatically update with the latest genealogy tweets from the internet.
The Genealogy Twitter Reader is a fun and interesting way to follow what is going on in the genealogy world. It is a great way to track your own tweets and to look for other genealogy users to follow.
Finally, this is a fun web page you can leave on in the background. As you do other work on your computer, the Genealogy Twitter Reader will automatically update, and you can refer back to it occasionally to read the latest genealogy tweets.
Ten Innovations in Online Genealogy Search - Part II of our article looks at more great innovations to help you get the most out of your online genealogy searches...{Ten Innovations in Online Genealogy Search - Part II}
Ten Innovations in Online Genealogy Search - Think you know how to do online genealogy searches? Think again. This major article breaks new ground by exploring ten novel ways to use search engines to find your ancestors online. Many of the innovative approaches discussed in this article have never been seen before in the genealogy community. Learn how to break through genealogy brickwalls by maximizing your online search capability...{Click here to read Ten Innovations in Online Genealogy Search - Part I}
Major Milestone Reached in Free Genealogy Search - GenealogyInTime Magazine reached a major new milestone this week with the indexing of an additional 200 million more genealogy records on the internet. GenealogyInTime™ now offers the world’s largest free genealogy search engines, covering over 3 billion genealogy records...{Click here to read Major Milestone Reached in Free Genealogy Search}
Understanding Julian Calendars and Gregorian Calendars in Genealogy - Anyone who can trace their ancestors back to the 1700s needs to understand the workings of the old Julian calendar. It is the predecessor to the modern (Gregorian) calendar that we use today. Dates recorded in the old Julian calendar are different than dates used today. Even the year end was different (25 March instead of 31 December). This article explains what you need to know to be able to track your ancestors back into the 1700s...{Click here to read Understanding Julian Calendars and Gregorian Calendars in Genealogy}
World Time Zone Map - This week we have updated and improved one of our more popular tools. Use the World Time Zone Map to find the current time anywhere in the world. This is a very handy tool to use if you are corresponding with family or friends from around the world by email or social network. It allows you to quickly and easily find their current time. It is also a great tool to use when travelling, or even if you want to know the local time for some event that you are watching on the news. We have been using it recently to follow events in Japan...{World Time Zone Map}
A Date Guide to English Genealogy Part III - This third and final installment of A Date Guide to English Genealogy examines the time period from the 1840s to the present. This covers census records, school records, hospital records and other records that are useful in tracing your English ancestry...{A Date Guide to English Genealogy - Part III}
A Date Guide to English Genealogy Part II - England has arguably the richest set of ancestral records in the world. Navigating through all these records, however, can be a challenge even for a seasoned researcher. This second part of A Date Guide to English Genealogy presents a useful strategy to help you overcome this complexity. It presents English genealogy records from a chronological perspective starting in the 1700s. This corresponds to a period in time when there was a substantial increase in family history records...{A Date Guide to English Genealogy - Part II}
A Date Guide to English Genealogy Part I - This date guide to English genealogy has been prepared to help you trace your ancestors from England and Wales. Instead of following the traditional method of looking at types of genealogy records, this GenealogyInTime Magazine guide takes a different approach and looks at genealogy research from a chronological perspective. This more innovative approach has several advantages...{Click here to read part I of the guide}
Fun Genealogy Video - We have posted a fun and amusing genealogy video on YouTube. This short cartoon revolves around a character called John who tries to build his entire family tree all in one weekend. Check it out...{Click here to watch the video}
Searching Online for Your Ancestors - There is an unprecedented amount of genealogy information on the internet. Tapping into this information, however, can be difficult because ancestral records are spread out over many different websites. Consequently, a key challenge facing genealogists is to determine the best and most efficient approach to finding ancestors on the internet.
We created the free Genealogy Search Engine as a tool to help you overcome this barrier. This article describes how it works and provides a geographic breakdown on the distribution of ancestral records...{Click here to read the entire article}
Fun Facts About FamilySearch - FamilySearch has the largest collection of free genealogy records on the internet thanks to the dedicated work of thousands of volunteers.With the latest large release of 72 million records, FamilySearch has reached a very important milestone. Volunteers have now transcribed over 500 million genealogy records. Here are some interesting genealogy statistics courtesy of FamilySearch...{Click here to read the story}
Searching Online Family Trees - This week, we are launching the beta version of a family tree search engine. It is designed to enhance your ability to find your ancestors. The idea for this new genealogy tool came from our Newsletter members, who wanted to be able to see what others were saying about their ancestors. The new Family Tree Search Engine complements our existing Genealogy Search Engine. And, like everything else on our website, it is free...{Click here to learn more and try the new Family Tree Search Engine}
Google Quietly Kills Phonebook Search - Google has quietly dropped its phonebook search feature after receiving too many privacy complaints. This feature was a popular tool for genealogists looking for living relatives in the United States. Unfortunately, it no longer works...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 9 October 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. Google has recently made several changes to their products that will impact genealogy. This week we discuss these changes to show how you can take advantage of the latest Google tools to improve your genealogy research...{Click here to read the full column}
Genealogy This Week - 25 September 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week, we focus on some interesting resources for people tracing their Scottish and Irish ancestries...{Click here to read the full column}
Genealogy This Week - 4 September 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Bielefeld Search Engine; Old European Telephone Books; Enhanced WorldCat Search; UK Library Use Continues to Decline; Making Free Telephone Calls from Airports...{Click here to read the full column}
Genealogy This Week - 21 August 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Warsaw in Ruins; How Many Books Have Ever Been Written?; How Much Space Do All Those Books Take Up?; Yahoo Search Becomes Bing Search; Finding Old US Government Websites...{Click here to read the full column}
Genealogy This Week - 14 August 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: National Archives of Australia; British Royal Family Launches Historic Photo Website; Try the Twitter Predictor; Does Anyone Read Newspapers Anymore?; Top Five Things Americans Do Online...{Click here to read the full column}
Genealogy This Week - 24 July 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Update on Australian Trove; Zip Code Finder; The End of Forgetting; What the Library of Congress Archives Today; Who Needs an E-book Reader?...{Click here to read the full column}
Genealogy This Week - 17 July 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Tracking American Counties; Your Privacy; More About Us; Preserving 2010 Sounds; Ancestry Expands to Sweden; Building Anglo-Saxon Roots; The Rise of the Silver Surfer...{Click here to read the full article}
Canada Alters Format of Future Censuses - Census data composes the core of most family trees. A census is often the only official historical source that tracks the evolution of the family unit. Thus, genealogists get upset when governments propose radical changes to the way censuses are conducted. Canada is the latest country to propose a radical rethink of their census...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 10 July 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Searching for Free Public Records; US National Archives Launches First Wiki; National Archives YouTube Channel; JFK Library to Build First Digitized Presidential Archives; Top 1,000 Websites Worldwide...{Click here to read the full article}
Apple iPad and Genealogy - Apple announced this week that it has now sold three million iPads just 80 days after the product was launched in the United States. To put this in perspective, it took Apple 270 days to sell an equivalent number of iPhones and 2.5 years to sell that many iPods. Clearly Apple has a winner on its hands. What makes the iPad so special? We have completed our extensive testing of the iPad and present our thoughtful impressions on the product and its usefulness for genealogy...{Click here to read the full article}
Google Caffeine = Big Genealogy News - A very important announcement came out of Google this week that will have a profound impact on genealogy. Google launched a new search index called Caffeine. Why is this important to genealogy? Let us explain...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 5 June 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: A Great Genealogy Brick Wall Solution for Newspapers; Genealogy Travel to Ireland; Genealogy Travel to England and London; Ireland 1901 Census Now Online; Personalize Your Google Search...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 22 May 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: How to Find the US 1890 Census; British Library to Digitize Newspaper Collection; Google to Offer Encrypted Search; Google Wave Goes Public; Genealogy Triage...{Click here to read the full article}
Marriage and Age Differences - The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research has just put out a study on marriage, life expectancy and age differences. An analysis of the study provides an interesting genealogy brick wall solution. The study is interesting in itself (the study proves that men live longer if they have a younger wife, whereas women are best off if they marry someone the same age). However, what caught our eye was the graph showing the average age of marriage in the United States...{Click here to read the full article}
US 1780s Census Found - A researcher at Kean University in New Jersey has stumbled upon a rare find. Buried in John Kean’s papers (for whom the university was named) was a ledger summarizing the population of the United States in the mid 1780s. According to the Kean ledger, the 1780s census was based on an “actual enumeration”. If true, then this is at least four years before the first official national census, which was held in 1790... {Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 15 May 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: A Tool for Tracing First Names; A Tool for Tracing Last Names; Personal Archiving Week; Nominate Your Favorite Genealogy Article; How Do You Store Lots and Lots of Genealogy Records? ... {Click here to read the full article}
A Ray of Hope for India Genealogy Records - Genealogy records from India are as rare as albino tigers, unless your ancestors were expats from the UK. Not only are genealogy records generally not available online, but many of the paper records are also not accessible to the general public. This is somewhat surprising given that a) India was a former British colony and b) as such, has some decent genealogy records. So where are all of India’s genealogy records? The answer may surprise some people...{Click here to read the full article}
Facebook Blatantly Breaches People's Privacy Again and Again and Again - It seems like an entire week cannot go by without another story surfacing about Facebook blatantly breaching people’s privacy. Recently, MacWorld magazine reported that Facebook is secretly adding applications to people’s profiles. This kind of aggressive behaviour on the part of Facebook has happened so many times that we have lost count. What does this mean to Facebook users? ...{Click here to read the full article}
Charles Darwin's Tangled Family Tree - Charles Darwin’s family tree was a tangled mess of inbreeding and ill health according to a recent study in the medical journal BioScience. Darwin, famous for his studies of evolution, crossbreeding and inbreeding, actually did not follow his own advice. He married his first cousin from the Wedgwood family. Apparently, cousin-to-cousin marriage was not uncommon in the Darwin family...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 8 May 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Europeana; Directory of Genealogy Libraries in the US; Facebook Blatantly Breaches People's Privacy Again and Again and Again; Two Free Genealogy Books...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 24 April 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week it is all about genealogy brick wall solutions. Here are four of them: US National Archives Publishes Complete List of Subscription Genealogy Records; Tracking Down People; Tracking Down US Government Employees; Tracing Names of British Origin...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 10 April 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: National Library Week = Free Genealogy Databases; Rare 1790 First US Census to be Auctioned; A Beautiful 1798 Map of Dublin...{Click here to read the full article}
Apple's iPad Takes a Bite out of Reading - This week Apple launched the iPad. This device has the potential to be a game-changer in terms of how people read on the internet. Certainly, it will be of interest to genealogists and others who like to read electronic books, magazines or newspapers online...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 27 March 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: FamilySearch Labs; Links Between China and the West Go Back Millenium; A New Person Seach Engine; Are You a Google Chrome User?; How Pervasive is Google?...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 20 March 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Free Irish Records Until Sunday; Members of the UK's National Trust Can Save 25% on Genealogy Records; The Census is Tracking You; The Inside History of Facebook; Fun Facts for St. Patrick's Day; Decapitated Vikings Found at London Olympic Site...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 6 March 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Searching for Ancestors in Kent; Tag Galaxy; Tracking Tweets in Real Time; Data Tagging a Headstone; Stealing IDs from Genealogy Websites...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 20 February 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Take the Genealogy In Time™ Date Test; Identify the Language; The Great Genealogy Microfilm Giveaway; Test Your Internet Speed; Check Your Computer Stats; Build a Runway, Destroy a Cemetery; Secrets of King Tut Revealed...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 13 February 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: A Useful African American Web Portal; The USGenWeb Project; Get Ready for the US 2010 Census; The Forgotten US Federal Census of 1885; Google Buzz; The Growth of Social Media in RealTime...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 6 February 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Tracing Your Ancestors Through Drink; Black History Month; Big Changes at Facebook; Who Has the Biggest RSS News Reader?; How to Get Through to Customer Support; Don't Get Buried in Denver...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 30 January 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: How to Read Old Handwriting; British Library Launches Virtual History Timeline; Luxembourg National Library Now Online; US National Archives to Ban Photography; Lowcountry Africana; Bing Adds Features; Microsoft to Delete Yahoo and Bing Search Data After Three Months; Facebook Privacy - What Privacy?...{Click here to read the full article}
Apple's iPad: Changing the Way We Read Online - Apple launched their new electronic book reader this week, calling it the iPad. Thin, elegant and cool, it is everything that Apple fans have come to expect from the company. Technically a tablet computer, the iPad is positioned to fill the gap between the small screen of a smart phone and the full functionality of a laptop. It has the potential to greatly change the way we read and do our genealogy research online...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 23 January 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: View Historic Sites with Google Street View; UK National Archives Podcasts for Genealogists; An Apple, a Tree and Sir Isaac Newton; When Genealogists Get Angry; Updated Stats on the Internet; Is This Website Down?...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 16 January 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Using Maps in Genealogy; Online Versus Offline Records; Civil War Records; Remove Unwanted Programs From Your Computer; Consolidate Your Instant Messaging and Social Networks; The Library of All Libraries...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 9 January 2010 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Celebrating Christmas at the White House; Australians Descended from English Aristrocracy?; Surnames Traced on Facebook; Victorian Diary Now Online; Interactive Map of Native American Place Names; Google Real-time Search Really is Real Time...{Click here to read the full article}
Top Ten Genealogy News Stories and Genealogy Themes of 2010 - We have searched through the Genealogy In Time™ News Archive to highlight what we consider to be the Top Ten Genealogy News Stories and Genealogy Themes of 2009. This is the second year we have presented our top ten genealogy list...{Click here to read the full article}
Facebook Announces Tighter Privacy Standards - Facebook announced this week that they were going to implement tighter privacy standards. The announcement came after a year in which Facebook was heavily criticized on multiple fronts for its weak privacy settings. We were part of that criticism as the first genealogy website to warn people in the spring of this year that there were serious privacy concerns with popular genealogy applications on Facebook like We’re Related...{Click here to read the full article}
Genealogy This Week - 5 December 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Use a Map to Navigate the News; How to Stay Safe on Facebook; Interesting Statistics About Facebook; Rare Chance to Look at the Culture of Old Europe; How the US Once Tried to Bail Out Thanksgiving...{Click here to read the full articles}
Genealogy This Week - 21 November 2009 - It was a very quiet week in genealogy. We thought we would take the time to review a trio of free Windows utility software programs that are particularly useful to genealogists....{Click here to read the full story}
Private Archives of Franklin Roosevelt to Become Public - Franklin D. Roosevelt was a pivotal figure in the history of the United States. As president, he brought the United States out of the Great Depression and led his country through much of World War II. In spite of his prominence in American history, however, there is still much about the man that historians do not know. This may soon change when the last major archives of Franklin Roosevelt become public. These archives consist of 14 boxes of handwritten notes and correspondence that have been held in private hands until now...{Click here to read the full story}
Genealogy This Week - 14 November 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: PRDH - A Great Internet Site to Trace Your French Canadian Roots; US National Archives Launches an Online Reservation System; The Map that Named America; Sources Database from the National Library of Ireland; Visual Mapping of the National Archives of Australia; Man Accidentally Attends His Own Funeral...[More]
Google Adds New Privacy Tools: Implications for Genealogy - Google added new privacy tools this week in an attempt to stay ahead of privacy concerns. Users who have signed up for Gmail, Blogger, Picasa and YouTube will now be able to see a “dashboard” that shows what privacy information Google has collected about them. Users will then have the ability to edit and delete the privacy information. This has implications for genealogy...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 7 November 2009 - This week we thought we would do something a little different and talk about the Ancestry.com IPO (Initial Public Offering) share listing that occurred this week. This is the first time a private genealogy company has done a large public share listing. What makes this particularly interesting to genealogists is that Ancestry.com is by far the largest company in the field of genealogy.
When a company goes public, they have to release a wealth of information about their company, their business model and their industry. In this case, the company, the business model and the industry is all about genealogy. The IPO document alone runs to 156 pages. We read it. We also read several analysts’ reports on the company and talked to various people in the industry.
Here are some of the key points that we have gleaned about Ancestry.com, the field of genealogy and how genealogy is evolving...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 31 October 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: London Cemetery Reusing Graves; I Don't Recognize That Old File Extension; How to Spot Email Scams; Facebooklite...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 24 October 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Link Genealogy In Time™ to Social Network Sites; Finding Free UK Genealogy Records; US National Archives and Records Administration to Shrink Services; British Library to Preserve National Newspaper Collection; Childhood Home of Canada's First Prime Minister to be Demolished; Microsoft's Bing Search Engine to Focus on Social Search; Google to Index Tweets and to Launch Social Search...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 17 October 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Facebook's We're Related Application in Trouble Again; How Big is Facebook; Windows 7 Launches Next Week; Windows 7 to Usher in a New Era of Computing; Google to Launch an Electronic Bookstore; A Camera That Can Capture Your Entire Life...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 3 October 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new resources, tools and stories for genealogists. This week: Searching US Land Patent Records; Funny First Names; October is American Archives Month; Microsoft Issues Free Security Software; Dropbox Now Available for the iPhone; Apple Quietly Buys a Mapping Company; Cemetery Thefts Back on the Increase...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 26 September 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new tools, resources and stories for genealogists. This week: Large Hoard of Anglo-Saxon Gold Found; Longest Family Tree; Footnote.com Hits 60 Million Mark; Co-workers Discover They are Brothers; Family Reunion Celebrates the Centennial...[More]
Ancestors of Modern Scandinavians Immigrated to Region - A new DNA study from ancient remains has thrown into question the origin of modern Scandinavians. The study just published in the journal Current Biology suggests that modern Scandinavians do not come from ancient hunter-gatherers who inhabited the region more than 4,000 years ago. Until now, it had always been believed that modern Scandinavians were the direct descendants of people who had always lived in the region...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 19 September 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new tools, resources and stories for genealogists. This week: Searching Canadian Genealogy Records; Volunteers Do Make a Difference at FamilySearch.org; Rebuilding Rome in a Day; How the World is Connected by Internet; Read Google News by Flipping Pages...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 12 September 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new tools, resources and stories for genealogists. This week: David Rumsey Map Collection; Historic Map Works; Become a Cloud Computer User Today; Twitter to Allow Ads; Facebook Lite; FanCheck; Go to the Cemetery to Get Internet Access...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 5 September 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new tools, resources and stories for genealogists. This week: Google QuickLinks; Software that Can Read Ancient Handwriting; First Names Do Run in Families; The Internet Celebrates 40 Years; Keeping Your Friends Too Close...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 29 August 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new tools, resources and stories for genealogists. This week: Finding Gravesites of US Veterans; Early Advertisements; Apple Launches a New Operating System; Do IPhones Explode?; Volunteers Needed to Translate Swedish Church Records; How Newspapers Write Obituaries of Famous People; Remember the Alamo? A New Battle is Brewing...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 22 August 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new tools, resources and stories for genealogists. This week: Online Irish Records, World Archives Project, A Free Tool to Read Text in Images; Collaborate on Picasa Web Albums; On Top of Marilyn Monroe for All Eternity...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 15 August 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new tools, resources and stories for genealogists. This week: Google Creates a Serious Newspaper Archive; US Library of Congress Genealogy Reading Room; US National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections; US Federal Depository Libraries; Last Name Distribution Heat Maps; Google Reader Allows You to Share Content...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 1 August 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new tools, resources and stories for genealogists. This week: Microsoft and Yahoo are Getting Married; Make Your Own Tombstone; Free Access to UK 1911 Census; Amazing 1920s Iconic Photographs; Visit Stonehenge for Free; American Civil War Website; African American Cemeteries...[More]
Genealogy This Week - 25 July 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new tools, resources and stories for genealogists. This week: Tough Move to Microsoft Version 7; Directory of US Genealogical Libraries; Using Cemeteries to Track Global Climate Change; How Quickly Things Change; Oldest UK Television...[More]
Genealogy Learned This Week - 18 July 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new tools, resources and stories for genealogists. This week: Bing versus Google for Genealogy Searches; Ontario Invests $15 million in Online Genealogy Research; Understanding the UK National Archives; Late Motherhood Linked to Longer Family Lifespans; News Websites to Charge for Content?; Oldest Archaeological Site in Maryland; US Revolutionary War Gravesite Overrun?...[More]
Regulator Finds Facebook has Serious Privacy Gaps - The world’s largest social networking site has been taken to task over its “serious privacy gaps”. Facebook has become the focus of an investigation by Canada’s Privacy Commissioner. The results of this investigation are likely to have significant implications for genealogy even for those genealogists who do not use Facebook...[More]
Learned This Week 11 July 2009 - Our weekly compilation of interesting new tools, resources and stories for genealogists. This week: Library Thing; World's Oldest Bible Reunited Online; Software Cannot Sort Out Human Relationships; US National Archives Losses Stuff (Again); Long Forgotten Old Hobbies; Wimbleton Fans Park in Graveyard...[More]
