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MyHeritage Launches Colorized Photos!

MyHeritage Launches Colorized Photos!

Today MyHeritage launched MyHeritage In Color™ — a breakthrough new feature that automatically colorizes your black and white photos in seconds!

I’ve tried my hand at colorizing, both by hand many years ago, and more recently with software. It brings depth and life to old family photos. However, both methods are time-consuming. When making a choice between colorizing and more genealogy research, research definitely wins out. 

The exciting news is that we don’t have to make that choice any more. This amazing new technology from MyHeritage makes it almost instantaneous! These are going to make great conversation pieces both online and in person. 

Here’s the MyHeritage Announcement About MyHeritage In Color™ 

Based on deep learning technology, MyHeritage In Color™ brings your family history to life, revealing never-before-seen details — the results will blow you away! 

This feature uses the world’s most advanced technology for photo colorization, which is available exclusively on MyHeritage and is under license from DeOldify, created by Jason Antic and Dana Kelley. It allows you to do more than look at old photos — it lets you experience them, creating a deeper connection with your family history than you ever thought possible. 

A Commitment to Authentic Preservation

Moreover, as part of our commitment to preserving the authenticity of historical documents, colorized photos will appear with a special embossed palette symbol at the bottom left corner of the photo to differentiate them from images photographed originally in color. All original black and white photos will, of course, remain intact and are not changed by the colorization process. 

Symbol indicates the photo has been colorized

Supporting authentic preservation.

Use our new MyHeritage In Color™ page to upload photos to MyHeritage and colorize them instantly or scan in your photos using MyHeritage’s free mobile app. 

Examples of MyHeritage In Color™ Colorized Photos

Here are some incredible examples of historical photos that we’ve colorized using MyHeritage In Color™.

Before:

After:

 
Manager of the Alamo bar, and Mildred Irwin, entertainer – North Platte, Nebraska, 1938

Before:

After:

 
High school cadet marching band – Johannesburg, South Africa, early 1940s. Photo courtesy of Adam Fisher

Before:

After:

 
The Cow Boy

Before:

Family Dinner

After:

 dining_family_color

Family of Timothy Levy Crouch, a Rogerene Quaker, at their annual Thanksgiving Day dinner – Ledyard, Connecticut,

We sincerely hope that you enjoy bringing your family’s black and white photos to life with MyHeritage In Color™.

My Experience with MyHeritage In Color™

My husband has been peering over my shoulder, fascinated as I colorized old photos from his side of the family. I love what MyHeritage In Color™ did with the photo of Eddie Larson and his new bride:

myheritage photo colorization

And I’ve shared this photo of myhusband’s grandfather Raymond at his father’s motor works home business in England:

cooke before colorizing

And here it is after colorizing:

cooke after colorizing

 

Happy colorizing!

Genealogy Gems Book Club:  Q & A with Genealogist Nathan Dylan Goodwin, Author of The Sterling Affair

Genealogy Gems Book Club: Q & A with Genealogist Nathan Dylan Goodwin, Author of The Sterling Affair

After a long day of genealogical research, what could be more satisfying than curling up with a good book about genealogical research?! Nathan Dylan Goodwin’s new book The Sterling Affair promises a satisfying return journey into the life of forensic genealogist Morton Farrier. 

(This article includes affiliate links. If you decide to pick up a copy of this book, using our links for which we will be compensated by the book seller helps support our ability to bring author Q&A’s like this to your screen. Thank you!)

Click here to purchase your copy of The Sterling Affair

Genealogy Gems The Sterling Affair by Nathan Dylan Goodwin. Click image to order your copy.

The Sterling Affair by Nathan Dylan Goodwin

Goodwin sets the scene of his new book as follows:

“When an unannounced stranger comes calling at Morton Farrier’s front door, he finds himself faced with the most intriguing and confounding case of his career to-date as a forensic genealogist. He agrees to accept the contract to identify a man who had been secretly living under the name of his new client’s long-deceased brother.

Morton must use his range of resources and research skills to help him deconstruct this mysterious man’s life, ultimately leading him back into the murky world of 1950s international affairs of state.”

A Conversation with Author Nathan Dylan Goodwin

Don’t worry, we won’t be spoiling the exciting read you have ahead of you. Today I will be chatting with Nathan about his life as an author, his writing process, and how the main character, Morton Farrier, almost didn’t make it past the first book!

Lisa Louise Cooke: The Sterling Affair is your eighth novel in the Morton Farrier genealogical crime mystery series. When you first began writing the series did you imagine an eighth book?  And today can you imagine even more?

Nathan: I literally had no concept that there would be so many books in the series! At first, it was written as a one-off, then I started to have ideas for two or three more.

I think when I wrote book three, The Orange Lilies, I knew that the series had plenty more scope, especially as DNA-testing was just beginning for genealogists, opening up a whole new world of potential storylines! As to the future of the series, I’m currently plotting books nine and ten. I don’t see an end to the series just yet!

The Sterling Affair - a genealogical crime mystery

Click the book image to order your copy.

Lisa Louise Cooke: I heard you speak at THE Genealogy Show conference in Birmingham England in 2019. In that presentation you told the audience that you almost killed off Morton at the end of the first book. I imagine you’re glad now that he survived. What exactly happened back then? 

Nathan: Killing Morton would have been the most stupid thing I could have done!

I started writing Hiding the Past (the first book in the series) as part of my studies for a Master’s Degree in creative writing and I think I’d been reading a novel at the time, which went along the lines of ‘if you’re reading this then I’m dead’. I thought this angle might work for the first draft of my story but thankfully, as the book progressed, I was able to see several plotlines, which could continue into further stories.

I knew from the outset that I wanted the main character, Morton Farrier, to have been adopted and be totally unaware of his biological family, so there was plenty of scope there to continue that subplot in future books.

Lisa Louise Cooke: How has the advent of DNA testing changed the course of your writing?

Nathan: DNA-testing has completely changed the course of my writing—in a good way, I like to think! There are now so many more possibilities for Morton to solve his cases in different ways.

Morton took an Ancestry DNA test back in 2014 when it had not yet even become possible in the UK. He did what I had to do, which was to order one in the US and have a friend ship it over, then post it back to the US for testing and analysis!

From that point onwards, DNA has played an ever-increasing role in helping Morton to solve his cases. In the most recent book, The Sterling Affair, Morton uses a variety of real tools and websites which are familiar to genealogists.

Lisa Louise Cooke: When you start a book like The Sterling Affair, do you already have it well mapped out, or are there surprises even for you along the way as to the path it will take?

Nathan: I usually spend at least three months conducting research for the books. This involves reading, visiting record offices, libraries, churches, etc. Basically, anything which Morton does in the book, I do first.

 

Novel Research - photo courtesy of Nathan Dylan Goodwin

Photo courtesy of Nathan Dylan Goodwin

At the point when I actually start writing I probably have about 60% of the storyline mapped out. It’s a big cliché to say so, but for me the characters really do come to life and do things which I hadn’t anticipated. For the first few books I found it a little unnerving to be starting to write something that I didn’t know pretty well 100% what was going to happen, but now I trust myself and I know I’ll get to the end if I let the characters lead the way!

Lisa Louise Cooke: Where do you get your inspiration for the story lines in your books? 

Nathan: My ideas come from a variety of sources, but never by actively searching for the next story; I just seem to stumble on a nugget of an idea, which I think could make for an interesting genealogical crime mystery and make a note of it! It can be a news story involving history or genealogy in some way, something I’ve picked up from a family history publication, or a Facebook group where people share their own genealogical mysteries.

Increasingly, the books have more real-life characters, plotlines and locations. For example, The Spyglass File, which is set on the frontline of Kent during the Battle of Britain, was loosely based on my grandmother’s story, whereby she gave birth to an illegitimate child in 1943, whom she put up for adoption whilst my grandfather was a POW in Thailand.

Nathan Dylan Goodwin Genealogy Gems Podcast

Nathan’s Grandmother – Photo courtesy of Nathan Dylan Goodwin.

The Sterling Affair is based on nefarious goings-on during the 1950s and involves real undercover MI6 operations and real spies. The idea for this story came from the National Archives newsletter, which mentioned the release of some previously closed MI6 records. This got me thinking about someone trying to conceal their real identity and Morton having to use his skills to work out who he might be! 

Lisa Louise Cooke: For those new to your books, they will see that this is the eighth novel in the series and wonder if it’s too late to join in. Can the book be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone novel? 

Nathan: I always say that the books can be read as a stand-alone, but you would be missing out on Morton’s backstory. However, with The Sterling Affair there is not too much given away about his own past, so, of all of the stories, this is the most readable out of sequence!

Lisa Louise Cooke: When you’re not writing about Morton Farrier, what is your favorite way to spend free time? 

Nathan: I’m not sure what you mean by ‘free time’!? Obviously, I spend a lot of time on genealogy. I’ve been researching my own family for thirty years now and I feel very fortunate to be able to combine my two loves of writing and genealogy. Aside from that, I enjoy reading, running, skiing, theatre and spending time with my family, friends and dog.

Lisa Louise Cooke: You’re a man of many talents. Do you have other “wishlist” projects you yearn to do in addition to writing?

Nathan: I enjoy photography and would like to develop that at some point in the future and I really would like to take a watercolour painting class at some point. I just need some of that free time you mentioned!

Photography by Nathan Dylan Goodwin

A man of many talents – Photography by Nathan Dylan Goodwin

Lisa Louise Cooke: I’ll be at RootsTech again this year. Will we see you there?

Nathan: I shall have a booth at RootsTech SLC this year signing books and also at THE Genealogy Show in Birmingham once again. So people can come and say hello and let me know what they think of my stories. I love chatting with my readers!

Hear More from Nathan Dylan Goodwin

Read and hear more from genealogical author Nathan Dylan Goodwin in the following exclusive Genealogy Gems content:

  1. Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 180 features an Interview with Nathan Dylan Goodwin author of The Lost Ancestor.
  2. Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 179 features a discussion of The Lost Ancestor by Nathan Dylan Goodwin.
  3. Interview with Nathan Dylan Goodwin: Genealogy Gems Book Club – In this article from 2015 Nathan discusses the second book in the Morton Farrier series, The Lost Ancestor. 
  4. Listen to the full-length Genealogy Gems Book Club interview with Nathan Dylan Goodwin, as he discusses The Lost Ancestor (The Forensic Genealogist) in Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast episode 125 (exclusive for Genealogy Gems Premium Members.)
  5. Listen to our interview with Nathan Dylan Goodwin about his The Wicked Trade and The Suffragette’s Secret in Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast episode 159 (exclusive for Genealogy Gems Premium Members.

Catch up on the Morton Farrier

Learn more about the entire book series featuring Morton Farrier here in this Genealogy Gems Book Club article. 

The Story I Discovered in this Week’s New Online Genealogy Records!

The Story I Discovered in this Week’s New Online Genealogy Records!

Once again, this week’s newest genealogical records to come online don’t disappoint. As I compiled this list for you this week, I jumped with joy as I discovered records that confirm the stories of my youth.

find your story in new online genealogy records

Like many families, mine is complicated. After my paternal grandparents divorced in 1956, my grandmother married her ex-husband’s brother in 1958.

Pauline_&_Elzie_Moore

Uncle Elzie and Grandmother Pauline Moore

Elzie Moore was not only my great uncle, but my step-grandfather (if there is such a thing.) As a child all I knew was that I was lucky to have what amounted to three grandfathers, although we respectfully called him “Uncle Elzie”.

This photo very much represents how I remember him:

Pauline and Elzie Moore Thanksgiving 1974

Pauline and Elzie Moore Thanksgiving 1974

He was devoted to my grandmother and ready to help whenever needed.

But well before I was born, he was ready to help his country when Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941.

Genealogy Military Records Elzie Moore

Elzie Moore in 1941.

He didn’t talk much about it, but I remember the day I was sitting on his lap examining his face. I asked him about the prominent scar on the side of his chin. He laughingly told me a variety of wild hair-brained stories as to how he got it. He then simply and quietly told me he had been shot during the war. That was that.

The story was later confirmed by my dad, who went on to explain that was just one of several wounds Uncle Elzie sustained through a heroic career.

And now, so many decades later, the details from the records themselves appear on my screen. In the WWII Hospital Admission Card Files released this month by Ancestry, I discovered not one but three different admission records.

The first was the admission record for that chin injury. He was admitted to the hospital in July of 1944 for a facial wound by a “bullet, missile” sustained in battle. He was discharged in September 1944 and sent back to the front line.

WWI Hospital Admission Records at Ancestry.com

WWI Hospital Admission Records at Ancestry.com

The next record was an admission in November 1944 (although there appears to be a discrepancy in the transcription because the discharge date is listed as May 1944.) This time his injuries were shells and fragments to the thigh, buttock and hip in battle.

When working with these records it’s important to closely examine the service number listed. The third record had also matched “Elzie Moore” which you wouldn’t think was a common name. However, closer inspection revealed a different service number – he was not the same man.

Check the service number to confirm

Check the service number to confirm you have the right person.

Though the man himself rarely spoke of his service, the genealogy gems I found today in the records speak volumes. I’m grateful to have more of the story behind the “Purple Heart” inscription that appears on his grave marker.

Elzie Cecil Moore grave stone - genealogy military records

Elzie Cecil Moore grave marker

I hope this week’s list below brings you new genealogy gems!

New Records at Ancestry

Denmark
Denmark, Church Records, 1812-1918
Updated 1/15/2020

United States
U.S. WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954
NEW as of 1/6/2020

Washington State, U.S.
Washington, Death Index, 1940-2017
Updated 1/21/2020

New Records at FamilySearch

New Free Historical Records on FamilySearch: Week of 6 January 2020

United States

Georgia
Georgia, Chatham, Savannah, Laurel Grove Cemetery Record Keeper’s Book (colored), 1852-1942
129 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Georgia, Columbus, Linwood and Porterdale Colored Cemeteries, Interment Records, 1866-2000
114 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Hawaii
Hawaii, Board of Health, Marriage Record Indexes, 1909-1989
12,560 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Louisiana
Louisiana, New Orleans, Interment Registers, 1836-1972
868 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Louisiana, New Orleans, Slave Manifests of Coastwise Vessels, 1807-1860
115,098 New indexed records collection

Michigan
Michigan, Civil War Centennial Observance Commission, Committee on Civil War Grave Registration, Burial Records
2,957 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Mississippi
Mississippi, County Marriages, 1858-1979
2,419 Added indexed records to an existing collection

North Carolina
North Carolina, Center for Health Statistics, Vital Records Unit, County Birth Records, 1913-1922
239 Added indexed records to an existing collection

South Carolina
South Carolina, Charleston City Death Records, 1821-1926
37,437 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Tennessee
Tennessee, Shelby County, Memphis, Board of Health Death Records, 1848-1913
1,330 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Missouri
United States, Missouri, Recruitment Lists of Volunteers for the United States Colored Troops, 1863-1865
17,881 New indexed records collection

American Samoa 
American Samoa, Vital Records, 1850-1972
2,237 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Australia
Australia, South Australia, Immigrants Ship Papers, 1849-1940
145,165 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Brazil
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Civil Registration, 1829-2012
75,768 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Brazil, Santa Catarina, Civil Registration, 1850-1999
3,314 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Canada
Nova Scotia Church Records, 1720-2001
4,881 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Chile
Chile, Catholic Church Records, 1710-1928
806 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Chile, Cemetery Records, 1821-2015
203,870 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Colombia
Colombia, Bogotá, Burial Permits, 1960-1991
6,371 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Ecuador
Ecuador, Catholic Church Records, 1565-2011
2,277,196 Added indexed records to an existing collection

England
England, Oxfordshire Parish Registers 1538-1904
43 Added indexed records to an existing collection

England, Yorkshire Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1613-1887
1,898 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Haiti
Haiti, Port-au-Prince, Civil Registration, 1794-2012
193,434 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Ireland
Ireland, Poverty Relief Funds, 1810-1887
691,210 New indexed records collection

Italy
Italy, Trieste, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1924-1944
1,305 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Netherlands
Netherlands, Noord-Holland, Civil Registration, 1811-1950
72,937 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Peru
Peru, Áncash, Civil Registration, 1888-2005
140,119 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Peru, Ayacucho, Civil Registration, 1903-1999
3,733 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Peru, Huánuco, Civil Registration, 1889-1997
10,307 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Peru, Prelature of Yauyos-Cañete-Huarochirí, Catholic Church Records, 1665-2018
550 Added indexed records to an existing collection

Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone, Civil Births, 1802-1969
1,200 Added indexed records to an existing collection

South Africa
South Africa, Civil Marriage Records, 1840-1973
425 Added indexed records to an existing collection

South Africa, KwaZulu Natal, Vital Records, 1868-1976
4,543 Added indexed records to an existing collection

MyHeritage

Sweden
Sweden Household Examination Books, 1840-1947
Updated January 19, 2020
Total number of records in the collection: 125,672,188

“The Household Examination Books are the primary source for researching the lives of individuals and families throughout the Parishes of Sweden, from the late 1600’s until modern times. The books were created and kept by the Swedish Lutheran Church which was tasked with keeping the official records of the Swedish population until 1991.

Each book or series of books represents a 3-10 year period of time within a parish. Every year until 1894 the Parish Priest would visit each home and test each individual’s knowledge of the catechism. They would also collect information about birth dates, marriages, deaths, where people had moved to or from, etc. Each year the priest would come back and update the information of the previous year, noting changes within the population of the home. After 1894 the examinations were less focused on doctrinal knowledge and more focused on enumerating the Swedish population.”

The British Newspaper Archive

 “This week we are delighted to welcome 71,598 additional pages to The Archive, as well as five brand new titles. Two of these titles, the Wakefield Express and the South Notts Echo, originate in England, while the other three, the Leinster Reporter, the Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald, and the Times of India are spread out across Ireland, Wales and India respectively.”

Start searching the British Newspaper Archive here.

New historic newspaper titles added:

Leinster Reporter
Years added: 1897-1925, 1927-1928

Caernarvon & Denbigh Herald
Years added: 1850-1872, 1874-1877, 1897

Times of India
Years added: 1861-1865, 1867-1888

Wakefield Express
Years added: 1879, 1892, 1897-1898, 1902, 1911, 1918

South Notts Echo
Years added: 1919-1923, 1927-1939

What Have You Found this Week?

Did you find some genealogy gems in any of these new records? We’d love to hear your story. Please leave a comment below.

And if you enjoyed this article we’d be grateful if you shared it on Facebook and other social media to help other family historians. You’ll find convenient sharing buttons at the top of this article. Thank you!

England Wales electoral registers Be_A_Dear_Please_Share new records Ancestrycom

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