Here are the important system and records updates from industry leaders. Each new feature and record offers a new opportunity to learn more about your family history. Let’s get started!
MyHeritage Updates
MyHeritage announced an update their Related Records features on December 16, 2019. Here’s the latest from their blog:
“We recently revamped Related Records in SuperSearch™ to ensure that you don’t miss any important historical records that can lead you to new discoveries.
Related Records, previously known as Record Detective™, shows additional records or family tree profiles that might belong to the person or people featured in the historical record you are currently viewing.
The technology scans the record you’ve discovered in SuperSearch™ and matches it to our entire database of over 10.2 billion historical records and family tree profiles to locate related records.
For example, a birth record could point to a newspaper article about the wedding of the same person, where you could learn about new family members that you weren’t aware of.
To make Related Records more practical and ensure that you won’t miss them, we now show them in a convenient panel on the right-hand side of the record instead of below it.
Related Records are generated by MyHeritage’s record-to-record matching technology, and we’ve just re-calculated these matches, adding hundreds of millions of additional Related Records. This will open the door to many new and exciting discoveries.”
MyHeritage Records
MyHeritage has also been busy adding new records:
Germany, War Graves Index, 1902-1961
An index of 4,234,266 records
“This index of over 4.2 million records containing information on German soldiers and civilians who died in wars or military operations between 1902 and 1961.
Many of the records are for soldiers killed during World War I or World War II. While the amount of information in each record varies, the vast majority of records contain the following searchable data: first and last name, date of birth, date of death, and place of death. Some records also include birth place, burial place, and military rank.
The burial place is seldom recorded, but when available it can provide valuable information about the location of the grave.
While this is largely an early 20th-century military death index, many women are present in this collection.
In the case of soldiers who went missing, the date of death field may refer to the date on which they went missing. Similarly, the place of death may refer to the place from which they went missing.”
Australia, Military Lists and Awards
An index of Australian military rolls.
960,081 records
United States, Index of Burials, 1900-2019
An index of records from various cemeteries located in the United States.
492,002 records
Australia, Index of Burials, 1900-2019
An index of records from various cemeteries located in Australia.
438,587 records
England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Index of Will Registers, 1384-1858
An index of wills proved before the Prerogative Court of Canterbury and other jurisdictions.
979,653 records
United Kingdom, Royal Navy Ratings’ Service Records, 1853-1928
An index of Royal Navy service records for ratings who entered the service between 1853 and 1928.
803,684 records
United Kingdom, Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Royal Navy Reserve Ratings’ Records of Service, 1908-1958
An index of service record cards of Royal Naval Reserves, mainly those who served during the First World War.
129,896 records
United Kingdom, Royal Air Force Officers’ Index, 1918-1919
An index of service records of those who served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the First World War (1914–1918).
101,411 records
United Kingdom, Royal Marines’ Service Records, 1842-1925
An index of service registers of men who joined the Royal Marines between 1842 and 1925.
112,012 records
United Kingdom, Index of Merchant Seamen’s Campaign Medals, 1939-1945
An index of 108,387 records
United Kingdom, Index of Merchant Seamen’s Campaign Medals, 1914-1918
An index of recipients of British War Medals, Mercantile Marine Medals, and Silver War Badges issued to merchant seamen and officers in the First World War.
157,424 records
United Kingdom, Recommendations for Military Honours and Awards, 1935-1990
An index of recommendations for military honors and awards between 1935 and 1990 to British Army personnel and army personnel from British dominions.
78,497 records
United Kingdom, Royal Navy Officers’ Service Records, 1756-1931
An index of service records for officers who joined the Royal Navy between 1756 and 1931.
66,686 records
United Kingdom, Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve Index, 1903-1922
An index of First World War service records for officers and ratings of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR).
59,784 records
United Kingdom, Index of Death Duty Registers, 1796-1811
An index of 51,146 records
United Kingdom, Admiralty and War Office: Royal Naval Division: Records of Service, 1914-1919
An index of service records of ratings and officers in the Royal Naval Division (RND) during the First World War.
50,017 records
FamilySearch has also continued to add indexed records. Most are to existing collections, but some are new collections. Here’s what they announced on December 9, 2019.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT—New, free, historical records were added to FamilySearch.org from American Samoa, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Venezuela and the United States.Over 800,000 records were added from the Cape Province of Africa(1895-1972.)
FamilySearch Adds Ability to Document All Family Relationships SALT LAKE CITY, UT (10 December 2019)
“The FamilySearch Family Tree now provides the ability for users to document all family relationships, including same-sex relationships.”
(FamilySearch) “encourages genealogical accuracy based on original source records and contains over a billion user-contributed lineage-linked records. Patrons are now able to document same-sex relationships, including same-sex marriages and same-sex adoptions.”
“When adding a spouse or parent to the FamilySearch Family Tree, the user can now add a spouse or parent of the same sex. The Family Tree mobile app will also support this new capacity after users install the necessary updates.”
The Genealogy Gems Podcast is the leading genealogy and family history show. Launched in 2007, the show is hosted by genealogy author, keynote presenter, and video producer Lisa Louise Cooke. The podcast features genealogy news, interviews, stories and how-to instruction. It can be found in all major podcasting directories, or download the exclusive Genealogy Gems Podcast app to listen to all the episodes and receive bonus content.
Do you love genealogy, mysteries and puzzle solving? Well in this episode we have not one but two tales of mystery.
The first has a Valentine’s theme centered around a mysterious love letter. Professional genealogist Kathleen Ackerman will be here to share how a love letter that was missing its last page took her on a genealogical journey full of surprises.
Our second story is a mystery full of twists, turns and murder that will ultimately resurrect your faith that what you think is lost, may still be found.
Frank recently wrote in saying that he listened to Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 227 and my conversation with Ran Snir, MyHeritage DNA Product Manager about their genetic genealogy tools The Theory of Family Relativity™ and AutoClusters. This got him thinking about his own test results and a frustration he has had trying to find matches and records in pursuit of this Galician roots.
Frank writes:
“Ancestry’s records are almost non-existent, except for some parish records, but this is the region from which Cuba and Argentina were populated, and the ultimate ancestry of Cubans in the US. I have done the AncestryDNA test but my matches are few and far between.
On the other hand, I have worked with a Spanish genealogist and have some records that go back to the 17th century. Is there any program like Ancestry, 23andme, or My Heritage, that can do Galician (Spanish) genealogy well.”
Regarding DNA matches and testing pools:
DNA companies test all types of people and because testers can download their results and upload them to other companies, their pools of people are becoming more similar. Generally, they don’t focus on particular groups. They just report the results based on the pool they currently have.
Regarding genealogy records:
Start with the FamilySearch Wiki page on Galicia includes links to records within each province.
Conduct a Google Search: Galician (Spanish) genealogy “Galicia”. Click here to see the Google search results.
Additional Resources:
The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox Third Edition by Lisa Louise Cooke available in the Genealogy Gems Store.
Available in the Genealogy Gems Store.
Lisa’s video classes and handouts on Google search are included in Genealogy Gems Premium Membership. Learn more here.
Click to learn more about Genealogy Gems Premium Membership.
From Linda:
“I am a regular listener to your podcasts. And I am the family historian. I recently received a trove of documents from my Uncle who had been working to chart the family for 25 years. He passed away last year. His most recent quest was to find as many old family pictures as possible and I have continued to reach out to distant relatives. I enjoyed the recent podcast about the New York photographer website and hope it will help me identify people in some of these very old pictures.
(Episode 236 – Interview with David Lowe, Specialist for the Photography Collection at the New York Public Library on a free tool they provide that can help you identify your old photos. Also a discussion of how to find unindexed records at Ancestry.com.)
My question: a friend of mine has inherited all of her family’s old family pictures. The pictures are from the late 1800’s. She doesn’t know who most of the people are. She is not interested in learning and apparently there aren’t any members of the family who have taken the role of family historian. Is there anything to do with these pictures other than to dispose of them? It makes me sad to know that no one is interested. When I learned a branch of my family tree had tossed all of their old family pictures, I felt awful and it has taken me some time to accept that I might not ever find replacements for this branch.”
There are ways to make real progress identifying photos. I’m going to be covering more of this on upcoming episodes. I would start by asking your friend to write down states / counties / towns where she thinks her family lived, as well as her direct ancestors as far as she knows (even if it’s just grandparents or great grandparents.) With some basic genealogical info on the most recent members of the family and some possible locations, you could then post at least some of the photos on Deadfred.com.
This is a site where people search on families and locations and other identifying information to find unidentified photos of their family members. Many, many photos have made their way to family historians through DeadFred.
If you don’t have time to post them on DeadFred, and you do know the county where some of the photos came from, you could offer to donate them to the local genealogical society. They might be willing to take them, and their volunteers might be willing to do it.
I agree with you, it would be such a shame to toss them because you can be sure there is someone out there who would treasure them and may even hold answers.
Learn more about how to blog about your family history. It may just lead to a treasure like it did for Bill. Here is a collection of articles at Genealogy Gems on family history blogging.
Learn more about how to set up your own blog by watching the videos on how to blog at my Genealogy Gems YouTube channel.
Kathleen Ackerman graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of General Studies: Family History degree in April 2012. She now has her own research company, Finding Ties that Bind. She is also working on a Master’s Degree in Genealogy, Paleography and Heraldry from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.
Kathleen Ackerman
Kathleen is the director for the Cave Creek Arizona Family History Center. She loves to help others as they learn about their family history. For seven years, she served as the Treasurer and British Institute Director for the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History. Besides her volunteer and school work, she spends most of her free time either working on her husband’s English and Scottish lines or playing with her granddaughter.
“In 2010, my mother found three pages of a letter addressed to “Mamie” among my grandparent’s things. My grandmother has passed away and my grandfather did not remember who Mamie was or why they had the letter. My mom sent me the letter in hopes that I could figure it out.”
Miriam (Mamie) Smith Patelzick 1891-1911 (Photo courtesy of Kathleen Ackerman)
The last page which may have contained the writer’s signature was missing. This is where Kathleen’s search began.
The first three pages of the love letter. (Courtesy of Kathleen Ackerman)
Kathleen turned to census records from the time period, and Google Maps to verify where Medicine Lodge was in comparison to Small, Idaho, the place from which the letter was sent. No such town could be found.
She then turned to old maps to see if the town had once existed. She used maps on the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection website. She found a map of Idaho from 1909, that showed Small, Medicine Lodge river and Reno (all mentioned in letter). They were all in Fremont County, Idaho. Her confidence that she had the right person grew.
1909 Idaho map published by Geo. F. Cram, Chicago (DavidRumsey.com)
The search moved on into vital records. A marriage certificate for Mamie and William Patelzick in Dec 1910 was located.Perhaps they had eloped?
Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t listened to the episode yet. The next image reveals the writer of the letter.
Later, Kathleen’s mother surprisingly found the final page of the letter:
Found! The last page of the love letter. (Courtesy of Kathleen Ackerman)
A surprise indeed, and a mystery solved!
Thank you to Kathleen Ackerman for sharing her story! You can visit her at her website, Finding Ties that Bind.
Announcing the Next Generation of Google for Genealogy
The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox By Lisa Louise Cooke
Discover the answers to your family history mysteries using cutting-edge Google search strategies. A comprehensive resource for all of Google’s free tools, this easy-to-follow book provides the how-to information you need in plain English. You will first gain a strong foundation in how to search quickly and effectively. Then you’ll dig deeper into solving real-life challenges that genealogists regularly face. This book will show you how to flex your new Google muscles by mining each of the free tools to deliver satisfying and enlightening results. You will develop a mastery of Google that will serve you now and for years to come.
This book features:
Step-by-step clear instructions and loads of images that help you easily follow along.
Tips for searching faster and achieving better results to solve the real challenges that genealogists face.
How to go beyond Google search by using the wide range of powerful free tools that Google offers.
Cutting-edge technology like Google Earth to tell your family’s stories in new and exciting ways!
Join me for Elevenses with Lisa, the online video series where we take a break, visit and learn.
This episode is a follow up to material covered in Episode 6. You will enjoy it much more if you watch episode 6 first. Then click the video below to watch Episode 7, and scroll down for all the show notes and details. (Organization training begins at the 17:28 mark.)
The company was founded in 1775 by John Aynsley in Lane End, Longton, Staffordshire.
From You:
Lori writes:
I know you are asking what we have been doing and I wanted to share this with you.
I have an old photo of my mother’s side of the family and they are sitting down at the table to celebrate my GG Grandmother’s birthday.
Anyway I am a tea cup collector and tea drinker and so was my great grandmother who is also in the photo to the right holding onto my mom.
I wanted to find her china and as you can see this photo is not very good at being able to identify. I sent a close up of this picture on the china pattern to Replacements LTD.com and they were able to help me find the china and pattern!
Here is the photo of the family (and) the china pattern that they helped me discover. I didn’t know that you could send them a photo so when I discovered this I have been telling everyone!
Love the Elevenses show!
Lori’s family and their lovely china place settings.
You may have noticed the watch on my wrist in this episode. I don’t usually wear a watch, but this actually isn’t a watch. It’s a DIY bracelet that I created using one of my grandmother’s old watches.
Click to watch (below) how you can make one yourself:
Answers to Your Questions About My Genealogy Organization Method
From Julie Q: How do you handle legal size papers?
and from MargtheCar
Q: What do you do about oversize documents, panorama photos etc that don’t fit in a binder?
A: Hopefully you won’t have a lot. You can use a legal size binder like this one, or an archival safe box. Gaylord
From Joyce Q: What weight of protectors?
A: Avery Heavyweight 3.3 mils #76003
From Linda Q: Do you put each sheet of a letter in a separate sheet protector or do you put the entire letter in the one sheet protector?
A: One each although sometimes I place one-sided items back to back. You can slip a piece of acid-free paper or cardstock between them if you wish.
From Kathryn Q: Does it matter whether the binders themselves are archival?
A: As long as everything is in the archival safe sheet protectors they should be fine. Gaylord makes a 3 ring archival box but it’s expensive – about $30 each
From Betty in the Episode 6 Show Notes Comments Q: Beginning with “the 4 ancestral lines”…don’t those notebooks become extremely large? Have you gone from a 3” on a name and then added a second for same line?
A: For a few family lines (the ones closest to me because they have the most archival paper) I do have multiple binders. I indicate on the spine the time frame that the binder covers.
From Marilyn Q: For a couple do you make a copy and file it in both of their binders.
A: A couple is in the same binder. The wife goes behind the head of household tab.
From Pamela Q: Do you move the women into another binder when they married and how do you make a note in her birth family binder?
A: The last item in the father’s binder should be her marriage application / license. This tells you the surname of her fiancé. If she is a direct ancestor I create a new binder for her husband’s surname. You are welcome to put a sheet of paper that references the new binder, although my database would also tell me who her husband was, so I would look for that binder. I would only create a binder if there was enough material to warrant it, and if she were a direct ancestor.
From Ginny Q: Are the male sons listed with their father until they marry?
A: Yes – they only move to a new binder if paper warrants it and they are a direct ancestor.
From Keck Q: Do you put photos in the same binders?
A: Yes, for now. I’m setting up archival boxes. If you have a lot of old family photos, I recommend storing them separately. However, I think it’s wonderful to scan them and print copies of some of your favorites to include in their section of the binder.
From Pamela Q: Do you scan all your paper and keep it organized on your computer as well?
A: Yes, if it’s worth keeping for future reference. I don’t keep all paper though. I only keep and archive paper items that are precious and irreplaceable. My goal is to download the digital records I find online and store them on my computer (which is backed up with Backblaze.) And keep in mind, there is no pressure to file ALL paper before resuming your genealogy research. I schedule regular scanning time, for my backlog, and I scan and file as I go with current research. Eventually you will get caught up.
From Susie Q: Do you mark the paper to show that it is also digitized?
A: Yes, with a pencil check mark. Or you could use a thin sharpie and mark the sheet protector.
From Regina Q: Do you keep copies of census records in your files? Or do you rely on the big name websites and attach it to an online tree?
A: Not typically, although I have kept a few from when I first started my research when I was a kid. Now I download the digital file and save it on my hard drive which is backed up to the cloud.
From Kay Q: Do you put new items in your heirloom binder? e.g. a gift you received that you think will be passed on? {of course, some things need to go in a will.)
A: Yes, absolutely!
From Carol Q: I’ve really been enjoying your YouTubes and have become a member. I love the idea of the heirloom template, but for some reason when I try to insert a picture, only a small portion shows. I’m obviously doing something wrong. Would you do a quick summary of how to insert the picture?
A: I’m going to show you how to do that, and the best way to find all of the show notes:
I use my online tree as a lead generator, NOT a master tree.
Do the Genealogy 2-Step to Protect Your Family Tree
Step 1: Purchase a genealogy software program and load it on your computer
Step 2: Back up your entire computer with a cloud-based backup service
The best type of backup protection involves:
Multiple copies
Updated regularly
At least one copy stored in a different physical location than your computer
What I look for in a cloud backup service:
Backup of all files automatically (including video!)
Free app for accessing files on mobile
Encryption and security
Ease of restoration
Competitive price
I use Backblaze. If you decide to check them out, please use this Backblaze link. If you do we are compensated at no additional cost to you, and that supports the free Elevenses with Lisa show. Thank you! Whatever you choose, start backing up today!
More Answers to Questions About Genealogy Organization
From Jennifer Q: Do you use the card catalog (behind you) for family “cards” to show what you have and what is filed where?
A: No. My database is my master. If I need to know something about someone in my family tree, I look them up in my database. That is the final word on what I currently know about them. Armed with that information I then know where to look in my computer digital files, and in which binder I will find the archival paper.
From Julie Q: Do you reference the documents in your regular binders so you know how to find them?
A: No. My database is where I turn because it is the most accurate and up to date information on each person in my tree. If I need documentation on any aspect of a person’s life, I turn to my hard drive where the bulk of my documents are. If it’s not there (although it probably is because I scan my archival paper) then I pull the family binder. I can ALWAYS find what I need. I’m happy to say that I haven’t lost an item yet.
From Keck Q: Do you have a Table of Contents in each binder?
A: No – it’s chronological and matches my database. See my previous answer to Julie above.
From Sherry Comment: Cross referencing is great and saves in duplicating paper…that being said, put a cross reference sheet in the front of each binder and list each item that you reference on that sheet.
A: I designed my system so that I would not have to cross reference. People are not duplicated in multiple binders because they can only be in one household at a time. They are either in their father’s household, or their own household. (Yes, an adult may live or rent from someone else, but they are still their own “head of household”.) The database is my guide as to their surname and the life events which is the information I need in order to know which binder to look in. This is the beauty and the simplicity of this system. All filing and organization is driven by the master database. And remember, the goal is keeping the least amount of paper possible. Most items will be digital on your computer.
From Stephen Q: If you have both paper and digital of the same document, do you discard the paper once done with it and reference the digital version in the binder?
A: I discard the paper if it’s not archival-worthy. (In other words, it is not previous, irreplaceable or highly sentimental. Most isn’t.) There’s no need to reference the digital version. If I need backup documentation on anything noted in my database, I know where to find it on my hard drive. We’ll talk more about hard drive organization in Episode 8. There is also an in-depth two part video series on how to do it step-by-step in Genealogy Gems Premium Membership. (Learn more about membership here)
From Karen
Q: My big problem is I have about 8 different Brown families. How do I label them to know which is which?
A: My first questions would be, are all of them direct lines? I tend to archive only the most important items for direct ancestors. Digitize the rest, and toss the paper. If they are collateral relatives you can also file their paper in the direct line binder under the Collateral tab.
You can also include the unique number assigned to the person in Rootsmagic, or use their birth year to identify each unique Brown head of household.
Multiple genealogy binders for one family
From Keck Q: Do you duplicate that in Evernote or in your digital file for the same family?
A: Evernote is my “active workspace”. It is not a complete look at my research. It is only the notes and clippings associated with my research. The paper organization we’re talking about is archival. All genealogy records are digital on my computer. If you want to remind yourself about an archived item, you can certainly make a mention of it in your Evernote notes.
From Jennifer Q: I’d like to list on Twitter for you and Facebook, are we doing Elevenses with Lisa for forever or are we just looking at May for now? (I want to open the invite.)
A: I plan on continuing indefinitely. I have nowhere to go! And besides, I love meeting with you all each week. thank you for sharing the show – I really appreciate it!
Thank you for sharing Elevenses with Lisa with your friends and genealogy society!
These video classes (each with a downloadable handout) are included in Genealogy Gems Premium Membership and will help you further implement my system and become more productive (Members log in and then click the image to watch the video and download the handout):
Step-by-step 2 part video tutorial series.
Essential viewing!
One hour video class.
Do you have a questions about organizing your genealogy?
