by Lisa Cooke | Nov 24, 2013 | 01 What's New, Australian, FamilySearch, Findmypast, Irish, Records & databases
More than 13 million new records recently appeared on findmypast.com, thanks to a new agreement between findmypast parent company DC Thomson Family History (formerly brightsolid online publishing) and FamilySearch International.
Among these millions of records are “major collections of births, marriages and deaths covering America, Australia, and Ireland,” according to a FamilySearch.org press release. Millions more records from about 600 additional collections are yet to be added. findmypast hopes these records will help current subscribers and allow the company to expand to non-English-speaking markets.
The FamilySearch press releases describes the overall purpose of the collaboration as delivering “a wide range of projects including digital preservation, records search, technological development and the means to allow family historians to share their discoveries.”
by Lisa Cooke | Jan 7, 2014 | 01 What's New, Ancestry, DNA, Family History Podcast, FamilySearch, Organization, Photographs

No episode! But lots of good updates. Keep reading….
UNLUCKY Episode 13: Genetic Genealogy and Photo Sharing
Episode 13 of the original podcast reviewed genetic genealogy and photo sharing products that are either now longer offered or are outdated. This episode is not being republished with the series.
Fortunately, lots of advances have been made in both genetic genealogy services and photo sharing and tagging, and we’ve got lots of current resources for you.
Genetic Genealogy (DNA)
Start here where you’ll find answers to common questions, a free introductory video, and additional DNA resources
Next, listen to my interview with Dr. Turi King, who used DNA to identify King Richard III. That interview is on my Premium Podcast (available by subscription) and talks about what DNA can tell us–and what it can’t.
Another interview you might enjoy is with Bennett Greenspan from Family Tree DNA, featured in Premium Podcast Episode 92.
(Not a Premium Member? Check out all the great membership benefits–including members-only premium podcast episodes, full access to the premium podcast archive for an entire year, video recordings of some of my most popular classes and even premium videos that teach you some of the most important skills for 21-st century genealogists.)
Free Photo Sharing Resources
Flickr
Photobucket
In addition, remember that Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, MyHeritage.com and other genealogy sites have excellent photo-sharing services for those who don’t mind sharing their images with the public.
by Lisa Cooke | Dec 1, 2013 | 01 What's New, FamilySearch, Military, Records & databases
FamilySearch recently added another 192 million+ images and indexed records from North and South America and Europe to its growing FREE online collections. In the list at the bottom of this post you’ll find content from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Spain, Switzerland, the United States, and Wales.
Notable collection updates include the 314,910 images from the Spain, Province of Barcelona, Municipal Records, 1387–1936,
collection, the 576,176 indexed records from the United States Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907–1933, collection, and the 189,395,454

Sample image from “United States Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933.” Index and images. FamilySearch. https://familysearch.org : accessed 2013.
indexed records from the United States Public Records Index.
Here’s an example of a V.A. pension card, created by the Bureau of Pensions and Veterans Administration to record payments to veterans, widows and other dependents. FamilySearch describes the cards this way: “On the front of the cards for invalid veterans are recorded the name of veteran, his certificate number, his unit or arm of Service, the disability for which pensioned, the law or laws under which pensioned, the class of pension or certificate, the rate of pension, the effective date of pension, the date of the certificate, any fees paid, the name of the pension agency or group transferred from (if applicable), the date of death, the date the Bureau was notified, the former roll number, and ‘home.’ On the reverse side of the form appears the name of the veteran, his certificate number, and the record of the individual payments. The army and navy widow’s cards are similar to the invalids’ cards with the addition of the widow’s name and occasionally information regarding payments made to minors, but they do not indicate if the veteran had a disability.”
Collection
|
Indexed Records
|
Digital Images
|
Comments
|
Brazil, Mato Grosso, Civil Registration, 1848-2013 |
0 |
126,870 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
Brazil, Minas Gerais, Catholic Church Records, 1706-1999 |
0 |
827 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
Brazil, Pernambuco, Civil Registration, 1804-2013 |
0 |
94,516 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
Colombia, Catholic Church Records, 1600-2012 |
0 |
111,526 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
Peru, Puno, Civil Registration, 1890-2005 |
0 |
176,918 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
Spain, Province of Barcelona, Municipal Records, 1387-1936 |
0 |
314,910 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
Switzerland, Fribourg, Census, 1839 |
0 |
2,552 |
New browsable image collection. |
Switzerland, Fribourg, Census, 1842 |
0 |
2,851 |
New browsable image collection. |
Switzerland, Fribourg, Census, 1845 |
0 |
3,062 |
New browsable image collection. |
Switzerland, Fribourg, Census, 1850 |
0 |
2,968 |
New browsable image collection. |
Switzerland, Fribourg, Census, 1860 |
0 |
20,530 |
New browsable image collection. |
Switzerland, Fribourg, Census, 1870 |
0 |
22,554 |
New browsable image collection. |
U.S., Alabama, County Marriages, 1809-1950 |
324,971 |
690,459 |
Added indexed records and images to an existing collection. |
United States Public Records Index |
189,395,454 |
0 |
Added indexed records to an existing collection. |
United States Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933 |
576,176 |
0 |
Added indexed records to an existing collection. |
United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 |
644,004 |
0 |
Added indexed records to an existing collection. |
Wales, Court and Miscellaneous Records, 1542-1911 |
0 |
84,676 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
by Lisa Cooke | Sep 23, 2013 | 01 What's New, FamilySearch, Organization, Photographs
FamilySearch users have created one of the largest family photo albums in the world in record time: one million images in just under five months. That’s a lot of pictures upload, tagged, linked to relatives and now just waiting for us to go in and snag copies.
Why the massive response? Pick your favorite reason:
- uploading photos from your computer, smart phone or tablet is easy;
- If you post a photo, you can share a direct link through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest or email;
- pictures are publicly available to anyone (with or without a FamilySearch account);
- you can caption pictures and tag subjects to link them to their profile in FamilySearch’s family tree;
- you can collaborate with other descendants to identify everyone in a group photo;
- the site promises free online storage of your digital images forever (“. Every photo is backed up with a redundant system and preserved in state-of-the-art archive facilities”).
If you have a tree at FamilySearch (which is free), you can easily click to see what pictures others have uploaded of your relatives. Just log in, click Photos, then Find Photos of your Ancestors.
FamilySearch offers these tips for sharing your photos on their site:
“If you don’t have a traditional scanner, you can use your cell phone. Just take a picture of your family photos, use the browser on your phone, and go to FamilySearch.org. Then click on Photos, and proceed from there.
If you know photos that exist of your ancestors but belong to other family members, contact these relatives and ask them to publish the photos to your family’s tree, or set a date to scan or take pictures of their collection. You can also send out a request for family photos over social media to your relatives. If there are family heirlooms (photos, furniture, bric-a-brac, letters, mementos, medals), take pictures of them and upload the photos to the profiles of your ancestors in the family tree. Then stories can be added by anyone to support the photos and describe them. These photos and stories will become keepsakes for everyone to have and will be preserved freely for future generations.”
Check out this 4-minute video on using Photos and Stories feature at FamilySearch, and you can contribute to the next million photos!
by Lisa Cooke | Sep 24, 2013 | 01 What's New, History, Inspiration, Maps
If your ancestors lived or worked in New York City, did you know you can follow them home from work? At least virtually.

New York City Subway History
David Pirmann runs a website dedicated to the history of the New York City subway system. NYCSubway.org includes great historical background, photos, maps and other documents.
Start by reading about elevated rail service that began in the 1860s and the development of the transit system since then. Then consult route maps for several time periods, either in the Historical Maps section or the Line by Line Guide (both under the Maps and Stations tab).
The fun part is browsing the rest of the site: learn how “The Great White Hurricane” snowstorm of 1888 paralyzed the city, or how things have worked behind the scenes (fares, power, signals, etc). You can even check out images of abandoned stations and old cars.
Thanks to Gizmodo.com for an article that pointed me to this fun resource.