Genealogy Book Club: Facebook Chat and More Book Picks
Many of you are reading (or have already finished) our Genealogy Book Club featured book for the quarter, She Left Me the Gun: My Mother's Life Before Me by Emma Brockes. In the just-published November episode of the Genealogy Gems podcast, Lisa and I...
MyHeritage Library Edition: Now at Family History Centers
MyHeritage has launched the MyHeritage Library Edition™ for libraries and other educational facilities around the world. Among the first to sign up for this service? The Family History Library. MyHeritage Library Edition™ is now available for free at every...
Historical Photos You Don’t See Every Day: Civil War Soldiers and Settlers of the American West
Recently listener Stacy sent us links to two fabulous collections of historical photos. The stories they tell--and the back story of one of the photographers--are just stunning. Civil War Soldiers The first collection is a sobering visual record of wounded Civil War...
HOW are We Related?? Use a Cousin Calculator
Recently, I heard from Shirley in Austin, Texas (U.S.) with a question about how her relatives are related to each other: "My GGM (Caroline 's) great grandfather (Franz Joseph) is the same as my GGF (Eduard 's) grandfather (Franz Joseph)....
1865 New York State Census Now on FamilySearch
Good news for those who had relatives in New York in the 1860s: the 1865 New York State Census is now searchable online at FamilySearch.org. Just five years earlier, the 1860 U.S. federal census counted nearly four million people in this its largest state. New York...
Read History As It Was Written via Chronicling America
If you research ancestors in the U.S., you've probably already used the Library of Congress' Chronicling America website for searching digitized newspapers. Now they've added a new feature: you can subscribe to receive "old news" on many of your favorite historical...
“Just a Mom” and Becoming a Professional Genealogist
Recently I heard from Emily, a mom of younger children who is feeling inspired to take her love for family history in a more professional direction. Have you considered becoming a professional genealogist yourself? You'll want to check out an interview I told her...
Ebola Patients Would Likely Have Been Sent Here 130 Years Ago
When Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola it was unnerving for everyone here in the U.S. As a new Dallas area resident, and someone who was hopping from plane to plane for a Fall series of speaking engagements, it definitely gave me pause....
How to Transfer Google Earth Files from One Computer to Another
Genealogy Gems reader and listener Walt has enjoyed creating some exciting family history and genealogy maps and files in Google Earth using the strategies I teach here at Genealogy Gems. He wrote me recently to say that he is thrilled to have a new computer, but...
AncestryDNA Results Improving for Jewish and Hispanic Ancestry
Ancestry.com has improved the ability of AncestryDNA to find good matches for Jewish, Hispanic and other ancestries that maybe weren't so precise before. Here's the lowdown, quoted liberally from Ancestry.com's press release: The problem: Predicting genetic relatives...
Prison Inmate Photos: “The Eyes Are Everything”
Matt from Omaha, Nebraska (U.S.) recently told me about a project his cousin is working on that is so cool the story was picked up by U.S.A. Today. While poking around at an 1800s-era Iowa prison about to be torn down, Mark Fullenkamp came across boxes of old glass...
NEW Genealogy Book Club: Here’s a Gem Inspired by You!
We've heard from you, our readers and listeners that you LOVE to read! Well, we've just launched a great new FREE program for you: the Genealogy Gems Book Club! This is an idea we have been percolating on for quite a while with your encouragement. You regularly...
Here’s How AncestryDNA is Improving Autosomal Testing
You may recall from our recent DNA discussion on the Genealogy Gems podcast (Episode 168) that Ancestry.com recently discontinued their mtDNA and YDNA tests (the two that trace our direct maternal and direct paternal lines) to focus on autosomal DNA (which delivers...
Hard Drive v. Evernote for Genealogy: Which Should I Use?
Recently I heard from Genealogy Gems Premium member Barbara with this question ab0ut using Evernote for genealogy: "I'm a fairly experienced general researcher but am just starting to get serious about genealogy. I plan to use Evernote. I have a number of...
English Parish Boundaries: A Little-Known Online Tool
Did you know that FamilySearch has an interactive map to help you find English parish boundaries in 1851? Daniel Poffenberger, who works at the British desk at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, showed me this map gem. He says this map was about 7 years in...
The Google Search Operator That Got Away
One of my favorite Google Search Operators is the Tilde (`) which is Google lingo means Synonym. In the past you could add~genealogy to your searches and Google would look for 'genealogy', 'family history', 'ancestry' etc. Unfortunately, it is no more. Google...
What Has Replaced Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness?
What Has Replaced Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness? It's a question on many family historians minds, include Genealogy Gems Podcast listener Richard who wrote in with this question: "Many years ago Bridgett Schneider hosted the Random Acts of Genealogical...
Genetic Genealogy: DNA Tests Another Step Forward
Recently a group of 100 residents from Wellington, New Zealand assembled together to determine what exactly it was they had in common. Their host? Dr. Spencer Wells, Director of the National Genographic project. Their admittance fee to this party? A cheek swab. What...