Family History: Genealogy Made Easy Podcast
with Lisa Louise Cooke
Republished June 24, 2014
Listen to the Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast by Lisa Louise Cooke. It’s a great series for learning the research ropes and well as refreshing your skills.
https://lisalouisecooke.com/familyhistorypodcast/audio/fh37.mp3
Download the Show Notes for this Episode
Welcome to this step-by-step series for beginning genealogists—and more experienced ones who want to brush up or learn something new. I first ran this series in 2008-09. So many people have asked about it, I’m bringing it back in weekly segments.
Today’s show is all about YOU! Just like Episode 36, this episode is made up completely of your emailed questions, comments and stories. Joining me on today’s episode to read your emails again is my daughter, Lacey Cooke.
Question: Is there a way to get iTunes to download all of the podcasts instead of just the most recent ones? I thought I saw it on the website somewhere but now I can’t find it. –Melanie Armstrong
Answer: (updated since the podcast originally aired): In your iTunes LIBRARY, on the line where the Genealogy Gems Podcast is listed click the GET ALL button. This will download all the past episodes to iTunes on your computer, to be listened to at your convenience. Downloading will take several minutes. You will see a little spinning orange circle to the left of the podcast name as it downloads. Once the episode is downloaded the text will turn from gray to black. Double click the episode and it will start to play after a moment or two.
Question: I use the free forms at Family Tree Magazine’s website. Do you keep your old Family Group Sheets on file so you can double check them later? – R. Butler
Answer: I love all those free forms at Family Tree Magazine! I’ll tell you the truth, I decided to throw mine away. I transcribed everything into my database and threw away the paper. Everything is properly sourced there, which is key. I avoid duplicating efforts, which has happened to me when looking back at old paper forms. If I need to double-check things, I do it from the actual sources—the birth or death certificate or interview—not from the family group sheet. The only exception is if the group sheet is part of a brick wall case file that I haven’t solved yet. I keep them until the case is solved, and then the cited answers go into the database.
Question: How do you know when records/indices are complete? I have been looking for immigration records for my family and cannot find them.
They came in large family groups, so you would think it would be easy to find. Even though the name (Mauge) is often misspelled (Mange, Mauga) I cannot find them at Ellis Island, Steve Morse’s website, The National Archives or through my Ancestry.com subscription. The years span 1880 through 1885. Are these immigration records complete or am I looking in the wrong place? -Anne-Marie Eischen
Answer: There are many factors involved here, and many avenues to pursue. Based on other information you told me about your family’s arrival, here are some ideas:
Question: I wanted to share the results of my Google Alerts. My father had red hair and was called “Red” most of his life. So when I ask for “Red” Browning in my alerts, I have received information on the red Browning sweater (the Browning clothing line), a red Browning rifle case (they make guns) and recently the Cincinnati Reds Tom Browning went to jail (the Red’s Browning…). Alas, nothing yet on my Dad! Another family name is Gorry – you can imagine what I got last Halloween! I do love the alerts though – and have added eBay alerts too, thanks to you. Keep encouraging us and thanks for the great tips! -Joan Ketterman
Answer: I’m not sure how much I can help with that one – keep playing with the “plus” and “minus” signs in your searches to refine what you’re looking for. And I’m glad you’re using those eBay alerts. Learn more about eBay alerts in Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 140. Note: Genealogy Gems Premium Members can learn more about Google Alerts in Premium Podcast Episode 28.
Comment: On the podcast you recommended using Google Books. I have a “gem” for you….I have a link where the LDS church has archived loads of family history books: http://www.familyhistoryarchive.byu.edu. Follow the link and type in the surname of your choice. I have found some wonderful stories there about my ancestors. – Susan in West Palm Beach Florida
Note: The BYU Family History Archive she references has migrated into the Family History (Digital) Books collection at FamilySearch along with the digital book collections of other repositories/ They are now searchable at FamilySearch.org.
Question: This is just something that bugs me. WHICH is the correct pronunciation of Genealogy??? GEEN-e-alogy (with a long “e” at the beginning) or Gen-e-ology (with a short “e” at the beginning)?
Answer: I’ve heard it both ways and I’ve pronounced it both ways. But when I went to Dictionary.com, they actually have an audio pronunciation and they say, GEEN-e-alogy, with a long “e” at the beginning. However you pronounce it, it’s a barrel of fun!
Question: How can I learn more about the Freedom of Information Act?
Answer: Listen to Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 20 and Episode 21. It’s also covered in my book Genealogy Gems Ultimate Research Strategies.
Question: Hello, I just finished listening to the June Family Tree Magazine Podcast. I have been wanting to write to you for months now to ask you this question: Who is the musician playing the guitar music during the podcast? My husband is a big Chet Atkins fan and I thought it could be Chet but my husband says no just from listening to it. Can you please provide me with the musicians name? -Melissa Roberge
Listen to this episode to find out the answer!
AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: In episode #289 of the Genealogy Gems podcast, Lisa Louise Cooke covers the groundbreaking LiveMemory™ tool from MyHeritage, a revolutionary advancement that harnesses the power of AI to transform still photos into mesmerizing short videos.
Launched on November 22, 2024, this innovative feature is an exciting evolution of the Deep Nostalgia tool introduced in 2021, which focuses on animating individual faces. Now, with LiveMemory™, users have the remarkable opportunity to breathe life into their cherished memories by creating stunning five-second videos with just a few taps in the MyHeritage app.
This tool offers an unprecedented and captivating way to reconnect with the past, allowing users to share their family stories in a dynamic and engaging format that resonates across generations. Don’t miss out on this unique chance to see your family’s history come alive!
To Listen click the media player below (AUDIO ONLY):
Download this episode’s show notes. (Premium Membership required. Join today.)
LiveMemory™ is a new photo animation tool from the MyHeritage. It allows you to upload a digitized old family photo and turn it into a short video clip using AI technology. According to MyHeritage, “It animates the scene in the photo, reimagining it as if you had traveled back in time to watch it live. It’s the ultimate way to reminisce.”
MyHeritage is on the forefront of bringing new and exciting things to family history, ways to tell stories, to get people interested in family history and genealogy. In addition to all of the records, the tree building and the DNA, they have also focused a lot of their energy on photographs. I love that because I learn and I get inspired by seeing things visually, as do many of our relatives. So, it makes a lot of sense to focus on the photos that we have as a way to bring family stories to life.
Not surprisingly, in today’s age, MyHeritage is accomplishing these photo innovations with artificial intelligence (AI).
LiveMemory™ springboards off of a tool that MyHeritage launched in 2021 called Deep Nostalgia™. It’s still available on the MyHeritage website in the menu under Photos. That feature had the ability to take a static photo, identify the faces and give you the option to select one of those faces to be animated. It was truly amazing.
Understandably, many of us looked at that and thought, “that’s great, but when are you going to be able to animate the whole photo?” Well, that’s exactly what LiveMemory does. It brings the photograph to life using AI.
AI has been able to “learn” how people and objects typically move by analyzing the massive amount of video online . This is much like how machine learning first got going by devouring all the digitized books on Google Books. It was able to learn language and then shape it. Now you can use AI chatbot products like Gemini or Chat GPT to create language by uploading documents, providing prompts, and so on. So, it’s not surprising that AI has been able to devour all of this video content and determine that arms move this way and legs move that way. Clothing flows in certain ways when you’re running. The minute details that can be internalized and used are endless.
MyHeritage’s LiveMemory animations aren’t very long. They currently run approximately five seconds.
Would you like a longer video clip? One way to achieve that is to download the .MP4 file and then import it into a video editor. Within the editor you can copy the clip and loop it. This allows you to generate a slightly longer video so your viewers can really take in the magic of it.
Within a video editor application you could take it further by adding some text that identifies the people or other elements of the video. You can also zoom in and out and add other features depending on the app you use.
According to the company’s announcement, there are a variety of ways to gain access to LiveMemory to animate your photos. At the time of this writing, MyHeritage is making LiveMemory available for free but for an unspecified very limited number of videos. To create more than a few videos, an annual Photo plan or Omni subscription plan is required.
The annual Photo plan currently runs $49.90 yearly and is available exclusively on the MyHeritage app. It provides unlimited access to all of the MyHeritage photo features including MyHeritage In Color™, Photo Enhancer, Photo Repair, Deep Nostalgia™, and the Photo Scanner.
The Omni plan provides access to all of MyHeritage’s features. It currently runs $399 a year, with the first year being available for $239.
MyHeritage states, “As a thank you for their loyalty, Complete subscribers are eligible for a 25% discount on the Photo plan, and can purchase it for just $37.”
Users with a MyHeritage Omni plan can create 30 videos annually. Photo plan users can create 20 LiveMemory™ videos annually.
Again, pricing and limits are as of this writing. Visit MyHeritage for the latest details.
No, there isn’t a desktop version of LiveMemory, at least not yet. Currently, you’ll need to use the MyHeritage app to create your videos. You can download the app for free from your app store. If you already have the app, you’ll want to ensure that it’s up to date. If you don’t see the LiveMemory “Try it now” banner at the top of the app screen, update your app.
My first attempt was a photo from the late 1950s of my husband Bill, he’s probably about six, with his family and his dad is playing the organ. His mom is pregnant with his youngest sister, Carol. This photo has hung on the wall by our piano for decades. And now MyHeritage has brought it to life!
The animation is based on best estimates by AI. It usually comes out pretty natural-looking, but sometimes not so much. I did notice that sometimes the faces change a little bit as they’re moving and look some of the authentic look of the original photo.
Sometimes, things are just sort of this world. An example of that is the photo of my dad and I in the late 1960s playing on homemade Romper Stompers. Do you remember romper Stompers? If you watched Romper Room as a kid like I did, you’ll recall that they were sort of cups with long strings that you’d stand on and walk making yourself a sort of marionette. Hhmm, if you haven’t seen it. That doesn’t probably sound like it makes any sense! Back then we thought it was so cool. Well, my mom made me my own set of Romper Stompers with two tin cans that my dad drilled holes in and ran ropes through them. My photograph is of me and my dad on the back porch standing on Romper Stompers. You can only imagine what AI tried to make out of that. It didn’t understand that you lift one leg at a time. In the video, I end up hopping along two legs at a time, which would have been quite a feat!. My dad is even wider, leaping up and hanging in mid-air! So that video is a winner with my grandkids!
All this to say, keep this in mind as you are selecting photographs that might lend themselves more to movement and accuracy. if it’s an unusual action taking place, AI might not quite be able to make total heads or tails of it, but it’s entertaining anyway.
It’s important that family historians can differentiate between AI-generated content and the “real thing”. MyHeritage has stated their commitment to the responsible use of this technology. They add an “AI” watermark to all videos so everyone can tell the difference.
MyHeritage describes the video results as “highly realistic” “reenactments”, which is an interesting way to put it. They are reenactments created by artificial intelligence. They’re not authentic, so they distinguish them with that AI watermark around the area of privacy.
MyHeritage says they will not license or sell your photos to third parties and will not use them to train internal AI models. They also say in their blog post that it’s “based on technology from a third party that does not obtain rights to your photo or the output video. Your explicit consent is required granting MyHeritage permission to process your photo before activating the LiveMemory™ feature.”
They do ask you to use the tool responsibly and consider carefully the photos that you’re uploading. They do not allow pornography or offensive subject matter, or military scenes or photos of dead people. They actually have live people who will review the videos for violations.
As I saw the live memory results, I knew how I was going to be using it. Back in 2008 on the Genealogy Gems Podcast I talked about that we had received a box of Bill’s grandfather’s belongings from a cousin. Back in the day, Raymond and his wife Isabelle both played in the orchestra for silent films. In fact, that’s how they met. Bumpa played violin, and Nanna played the piano and organ. Later in the 1950s they used to get together quite often with the family for evenings of music. One evening they recorded the live music on a reel-to-reel audio tape and years later I had it digitized.
I’ve had this audio in the form of an mp3 file for years. And I have just one photograph from the 1950s of Nanna and Bumpa, dressed up in old-timey costumes, playing together. He’s playing the violin, she’s playing the piano. Finally, I had a way to create a video with the original music!
Raymond and Isabelle Cooke circa late 1950s (from the collection of Lisa Louise Cooke)
So, I animated the photo through the LiveMemory tool. Then I used my video editing skills to pull in the 5 second video and the audio file. I replicated the five second video clip a couple times, applied some zooming effects, added color adjustments, and added the music mp3. It all came together in a 35 second video of this photo coming to life complete with music.
I would not be surprised if down the road, MyHeritage finds a way to bring in audio. Perhaps some royalty-free music backing tracks. I’m sure that must be on their radar, because it’s just a logical extension of being able to expand into animating your photos. But if you want to see it now, here’s my version:
Here’s the video I posted on the Genealogy Gems podcast Facebook page and Instagram:
If you like what you see, head to the Comments section below and let me know. Then check out the links in the Resources section below to my video editing tutorial videos.
I recently spotted what could be called “fake family history” on TV news program recently. Get the show notes and watch Spot This Genealogy Error and Fix It Fast! as I share this weird example of mistaken identity on online & television news. I’ll explain how I went about solving the case. Then, try out these techniques when you spot errors in your own family history whether they occur on TV, in books, online family trees, genealogy blog posts or elsewhere.
What would you like to see next from MyHeritage? Longer clips? Full video editing capabilities? The ability to purchase a larger number of videos?
Learn more from our Genealogy Gems video on Photos and Video Creation:
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Do you have a DNA problem?
Maybe it’s as simple as having a ton of matches and not knowing what to do with them. How do you keep track of all those matches. How to you know which matches to focus on? How can you can use all your matches to do what you really want to do, which is learn more about my family history?
In this episode of Elevenses with Lisa we are visiting with someone who has worked past many of those problems. She uses her DNA matches to solve some of her genealogical questions and the questions of her patrons. Today she’s here to help you!
My special guest is Sara Allen, a librarian at the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library. I wanted to talk to Sara because she’s not a biologist, or a Genetic Genealogy Guru. She’s like you and me: she’s passionate about family history! She shares genetic genealogy with folks in a very practical, and easy-to-understand way.
As a side note, we were lucky to record this episode because the day Sara and I were to meet to record the library was closed due to a snow storm. I’m in Texas and we’re buried in a deep freeze with devastating power outages, and at our house, no water for a time. But we moved things around and got it done. However, in all the chaos I managed to put my microphone on the wrong setting, so I’m going to sound like I’m sitting in a Folgers coffee can. But that doesn’t matter because it is what Sara has to say that’s really important.
Oh, and they were also doing construction at the library the day we finally recorded, so it’ll sound occasionally like we use jack hammers on our DNA! However, neither snow nor ice nor lack of water nor construction zones will keep us (as your faithful genealogists) from the swift completion of this appointed show.
Special Guest: Sara Allen, Librarian, Genealogy Center at Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN
Email: genealogy@acpl.info
Sara shared her basic over-arching plan for using DNA to answer a genealogical question:
Then she shared the specific steps for her research plan.
Step 3 was to choose the most relevant DNA test. This is important because there are three main kinds of tests out there. Each has strengths and weaknesses. Understanding what each test is capable of is key to getting the results you need.
If you’ve decided that an Autosomal DNA test is what you need, a relative one or two generations older (on the correct side of the family) is always better. Examples: Parents, Aunts/Uncles, Grandparents, Great-aunts/uncles, Parent’s first cousin
If you’re going to do a Y or mtDNA, choose a family member who falls within the correct path of DNA inheritance.
If there is a family tree, copy it, either electronically or print it out on paper. Compare and contrast trees looking for common names, common ancestor couples, common places. Work on establishing relationship between the different matches based on their trees. In other words, do genealogy!
Here’s an outline of the case Sara covers in this episode so you can follow along.
Dovey Reynolds was born around 1822 in North Carolina and was married in 1846 in Owen County, Indiana to Phillip Allen. She died in 1901 in Jefferson County, Kansas. No records have been found naming her parents.
Autosomal DNA – test the closest living person to the mystery ancestor: Test my father or his sister (aunt) to get one generation closer.
Step 5: Complete Family Tree for Other Family Lines
Results of our search for “Reynolds” in matches’ trees: Look for Reynolds in key locations in Dovey’s life such as NC and IN, especially Owen Co. IN, and maybe KS:
24 matches to William Reynolds’ descendants (27 cM – 8 cM)
Granddaughter Kathy took the autosomal DNA test.
Ancestry DNA match sorting options:
Evaluated trees of the possible matches from Leroy’s side. Two match groups identified:
Can we find a marriage between these 2 families? Yes – Daniel Hedges married Alice Crute ca. 1894 probably Warren Co. PA.
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