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Do you have any writers in your family tree? On this day in 1937, author Edith Wharton died at the age of 75 in Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt, France. Image: Edith Wharton / Wikimedia Commons Wharton was born Edith Newbold Jones on January 24, 1862 to George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander. The saying “keeping up with the Joneses” is said to refer to her paternal family, who were a very wealthy and socially prominent New York… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Edith Wharton first appeared on About Geni.

On this day in 1874, Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, was born in West Branch, Iowa. Image: Herbert Hoover / Library of Congress Hoover was the son of Hulda Randall Minthorn and Jesse Hoover, a blacksmith. Sadly, by the age of 9, he was an orphan. He was raised by his uncle, John Minthorn, a physician and businessman. Before the presidency, Hoover worked as an engineer in China. He and his… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Herbert Hoover first appeared on About Geni.

One hundred and fifty years ago, a failed monsoon helped set in motion one of the deadliest subsistence crises of the 19th century. The Great Famine of 1876–1878 devastated large parts of southern and western India, including the Madras and Bombay presidencies and the princely states of Mysore and Hyderabad. As the crisis spread during The post The Great Famine of 1876–1878: What It Could Mean for Your Family History appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

Recently published photos offering a first glimpse of Dakota Johnson’s striking portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the upcoming short film Flesh Impact have justifiably sparked excitement. Amidst this buzz, our Research team discovered that the two stars are actually related: This family connection traces its origins to the 17th century, rooted in the lives of The post Dakota Johnson Is Playing Marilyn Monroe. Turns Out, They’re Actually Related appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

Happy birthday to actress Charlize Theron! Today the star turns 51. Image: Charlize Theron / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Theron was born on August 7, 1975 in Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa and grew up on her family’s farm outside of Johannesburg. She spent her childhood studying ballet, and although she saw herself as a dancer, she began her career as a model. After an injury left her unable to pursue a career as… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Charlize Theron first appeared on About Geni.

Today we remember actress Lucille Ball, who was born on this day in 1911. Image: Lucille Ball / Wikimedia Commons Lucille Désirée Ball was born on August 6 ,1911 in Jamestown, New York. After her father died of typhoid fever in 1915, the family moved in with her maternal grandparents. She and her brother were later cared for by their step-grandparents after her mother remarried. As a teen, Ball attended the John Murray Anderson School for… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Lucille Ball first appeared on About Geni.

People who are adopted have a constant hole in our hearts. Throughout our lives, we have the need to fill it. That is how I have felt for as long as I can remember. I had a wonderful life growing up. I was raised by an incredible woman who loved me unconditionally, and I will The post Healing the Hole in My Heart: I Found My Biological Father at 42 appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

Today we celebrate what would have been astronaut Neil Armstrong’s 96th birthday! Image: Neil Armstrong / NASA Neil Alden Armstrong was born to Stephen Koenig Armstrong and Viola Louise in Wapakoneta, Ohio on August 5, 1930. Armstrong’s love of flying began at a young age when his father took him on his first airplane flight at the age of five. After serving in the Korean War and finishing college, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Neil Armstrong first appeared on About Geni.

We’re thrilled to announce some new improvements to MyHeritage Record Matches on Geni! Finding historical records for your ancestors is crucial for building a high-quality family tree, and now, we’ve made it easier than ever to discover and confirm records that are completely free to view with no MyHeritage data subscription required. While a MyHeritage data subscription gives you full access to billions of historical records, there are many incredibly valuable collections that are available… Read the full story The post Discover Free MyHeritage Record Matches and the New Match Center first appeared on About Geni.

On this day in 1792, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was born in Sussex, England. Regarded as one of the greatest English Romantic poets of the 19th century, Shelley’s work was often characterized as visionary and radical by his peers. Image: Percy Bysshe Shelley / Wikimedia Commons Shelley was the eldest legitimate son born to Sir Timothy Shelley, a member of Parliament, and Elizabeth Pilfold. He grew up learning to fish and hunt in the meadows around… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Percy Bysshe Shelley first appeared on About Geni.

Do you have a connection to Norwegian royalty? On this day in 1872, Haakon VII of Norway was born. Regarded as one of the greatest Norwegians of the 20th century, Haakon VII is one of the few monarchs in history to have been elected to the throne. Image: Haakon VII / National Library of Norway, Flickr The Norwegian king was born Christian Frederick Carl Georg Valdemar Axel on August 3, 1872 in Denmark at Charlottenlund… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Haakon VII of Norway first appeared on About Geni.

In July 2026, MyHeritage published 152 million historical records across 23 new and updated collections from France, the United States, Italy, Austria, Canada, Spain, and more. The collections include church and civil birth, marriage and death records, parish registers, obituaries, tax registrations, military headstone applications, and newspaper pages. Many of these collections feature images. Search The post MyHeritage Adds 152 Million Historical Records in July 2026 appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

Did your ancestors fight in the American Civil War? On this day in 1816, Union general George H. Thomas was born. Image: George H. Thomas / Library of Congress Thomas was born on July 31, 1816 in Newsom’s Depot, Virginia to John Thomas and Elizabeth Rochelle. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Thomas chose to stay with the U.S. Army despite his Virginian heritage. His decision to remain loyal to the Union caused… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: George H. Thomas first appeared on About Geni.

Happy birthday to Arnold Schwarzenegger! Today the star turns 79. Image: Arnold Schwarzenegger / Library of Congress Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria to Gustave Schwarzenegger, a local police chief, and Aurelia Jadrny. His father was once a member of the Nazi party and favored his eldest son over Arnold. Struggling with a tough home life, Arnold turned to movies as an escape and dreamed of moving to the U.S. At 15, he began weight… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Arnold Schwarzenegger first appeared on About Geni.

Today we remember Vincent van Gogh, who died on July 29, 1890. Although he is widely considered to be one of the most influential painters of the 20th century, van Gogh was virtually unknown during his lifetime. Image: Vincent van Gogh / Wikimedia Commons Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Zundert, Netherlands to Theodorus van Gogh, a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, and Anna Cornelia Carbentus. The eldest of… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Vincent van Gogh first appeared on About Geni.

On this day in 1929, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was born. Image: Library of Congress Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was born on July 28, 1929 in Southampton, New York. Her father, John Vernou Bouvier III, was a wealthy Wall Street stockbroker whose family had come from France in the early 1800s. Her mother, Janet Norton Lee, was a socialite and accomplished equestrian with Irish heritage. In 1961, she became First Lady of the United States… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis first appeared on About Geni.

Today we remember legendary comedian Bob Hope, who died on this day in 2003 at the age of 100. With a career that spanned more than eight decades, Hope conquered almost every entertainment medium, from vaudeville and Broadway to radio, television, and film. Image: Bob Hope / U.S. National Archives and Records Administration He was born Leslie Townes Hope on May 29, 1903 in Eltham, London and was the fifth of seven sons born to… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Bob Hope first appeared on About Geni.

Today we celebrate the 129th birthday of pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart! Image: Amelia Earhart / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution Earhart was born on July 24, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas in the home of her maternal grandfather, Alfred Gideon Otis. Since she was a child, Earhart had a strong sense of adventure. During World War I, she trained as a nurse’s aide in Toronto. On December 28, 1920, Earhart took her first plane ride that… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Amelia Earhart first appeared on About Geni.

Happy birthday to actor Woody Harrelson! Today the star turns 65. Image: Woody Harrelson / LBJ Library photo by Gabriel Cristóver Pérez Harrelson was born Woodrow Tracy Harrelson on July 23, 1961 in Midland, Texas to Diane Oswald and Charles Harrelson. His father was a convicted contract killer and received a life sentence in 1979. He died in prison in 2007. His mother worked as a legal secretary and raised Harrelson and his two brothers alone. In… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Woody Harrelson first appeared on About Geni.

Image: Emma Lazarus / Library of Congress “Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled Masses yearning to breathe free” – Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus” These are the iconic lines inscribed on a bronze plaque at the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The words were written by American poet Emma Lazarus in 1883 in her sonnet “The New Colossus.” The poem was originally written to help raise funds for the construction of the statue’s pedestal, but… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Emma Lazarus first appeared on About Geni.

Today we remember actor Robin Williams on what would have been his 75th birthday. Image: Robin Williams / Eva Rinaldi, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Williams was born on July 21, 1951 in Chicago, Illinois to Robert Fitzgerald Williams and Laurie McLaurin. His second great grandfather, Anselm J. McLaurin, served as a senator for Mississippi and later, the state’s 34th governor. Williams described himself as a shy child and didn’t break out of his shell… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Robin Williams first appeared on About Geni.

Today we remember Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi, who died on this day in 1937. Known for his pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission, Marconi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the development of wireless technology. Image: Guglielmo Marconi / Smithsonian Institution, Flickr Marconi was born on April 25, 1874 in Bologna, Italy to a wealthy Italian family. His father, Giuseppe Marconi, was an Italian aristocratic landowner, while his mother, Annie… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Guglielmo Marconi first appeared on About Geni.

I grew up in Medellín, Colombia, surrounded by love. My parents gave me a beautiful childhood — one I would never trade for anything. Until I was 15 years old, my life felt ordinary in the best possible way. Then, in a matter of months, everything I thought I knew about myself changed forever. A The post ‘It’s a Miracle’: I Found My Biological Mother 54 Years After I Was Taken From Her appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

Today we remember actor Donald Sutherland on what would have been his 91st birthday. Image: Donald Sutherland / Frantogian, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) Sutherland was born on July 17, 1935 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada to Dorothy Isobel McNichol and Frederick McLea Sutherland. As a young teen, Sutherland worked as a news correspondent for a local radio station. He studied engineering and drama at Victoria University before leaving for England to study drama… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Donald Sutherland first appeared on About Geni.

Today we celebrate Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen on what would have been his 154th birthday. Image: Roald Amundsen / National Library of Norway, Flickr He was born on July 16, 1872 in Borge, Norway to Jens Amundsen, a successful sea captain, and Hanna Sahlquist. Although he came from a family of ship builders and captains, his mother hoped he would pursue a career in medicine instead. However, after her death in 1893, Amundsen chose to quit school… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Roald Amundsen first appeared on About Geni.

While your family tree is perfect for illustrating relationships across generations, it isn’t always easy to visualize the geographical journeys behind those lives. Today, we are thrilled to introduce the birth location view, a new enhancement to the family tree fan chart that adds a splash of color to your family history. With this new feature, you can instantly see where your ancestors were born, mapping out your family’s global migration and heritage at a… Read the full story The post NEW! Visualize Your Ancestral Origins with the Fan Chart Birth Location View first appeared on About Geni.

Today marks the 420th anniversary of the birth of Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn. Image: Rembrandt van Rijn / Wikimedia Commons The 17th century painter was born on July 15, 1606 in what is today the Netherlands. The ninth child born to Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn and Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuijtbrouck, Rembrandt showed an early talent for the arts. He trained as an artist under two masters before beginning to practice as a professional portrait… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Rembrandt first appeared on About Geni.

Today we remember folk singer Woody Guthrie, who was born 114 years ago today. Image: Woody Guthrie / Library of Congress He was born Woodrow Wilson Guthrie on July 14, 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma. His parents named him after Woodrow Wilson, who had become the Democratic candidate for president just weeks before his birth.  The Great Depression hit his family hard. In 1935, he join the thousands of “Okies” migrating West in search for work…. Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Woody Guthrie first appeared on About Geni.

In honor of Bastille Day, MyHeritage is pleased to offer free access to the France, Tables of Successions and Absences, 1890–1970 collection from July 14–18, 2026. This is a great opportunity to discover new details about your French relatives and uncover valuable clues for your family history research. Search France, Tables of Successions and Absences The post Explore Your French Family History with Free Access to French Inheritance Records for Bastille Day! appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

Happy 84th birthday to Harrison Ford! Image: Harrison Ford / Wikimedia Commons, Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0) He was born on July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois to Christopher Ford and Dorothy Nidelman. His maternal grandparents, Harrison Nidelman and Annie Lifshitz, were Jewish immigrants from Minsk, Belarus. While his paternal grandparents, John Fitzgerald Ford and Florence Niehaus, were of Irish and German ancestry. Ford was working as a carpenter before he finally found success as… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Harrison Ford first appeared on About Geni.

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic movie Rocky — as well as the 80th birthday of its star, Sylvester Stallone — the MyHeritage research team set out to explore whether the film’s popularity had any effect on naming trends when it was released. What we found in our deep-dive analysis was a The post 50 Years Later, Children of ‘Rocky’ Fans Are Still Rocking His Name appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

In the pre-dawn hours of July 28, 1976, a catastrophic magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck the industrial city of Tangshan in Hebei Province, China. In just 23 seconds, an entire city was flattened. It remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history, officially claiming 242,419 lives, though unofficial estimates climb much higher. While the The post How the Tangshan Earthquake Reshaped Family Histories and Migration appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

Today we celebrate the 170th birthday of inventor Nikola Tesla! Tesla is remembered for his groundbreaking discoveries in the production, transmission, and application of electric power. Image: Nikola Tesla / Library of Congress Tesla was born in what is now Smiljan, Croatia on July 10, 1856. He was one of five children born to Milutin Tesla, an Eastern Orthodox priest, and Đuka Mandić.  In 1884, Tesla came to the United States and began working for Thomas Edison. However, a… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Nikola Tesla first appeared on About Geni.

Do you have a favorite Tom Hanks movie? Today the beloved actor turns 70! Image: Tom Hanks / Wikimedia Commons Hanks was born Thomas Jeffrey Hanks on July 9, 1956 in Concord, California to Janet Frager, a hospital worker, and Amos Mefford, a cook. In 1979, he moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. After appearing in low-budget movies and bit parts on television, Hanks landed the lead role in the television comedy Bosom… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Tom Hanks first appeared on About Geni.

Happy birthday to Kevin Bacon! Today the actor turns 68. Image: Kevin Bacon / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Kevin Norwood Bacon was born on July 8, 1958 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Edmund Norwood Bacon, a prominent architect, and Ruth Hilda Holmes, a teacher and activist. The youngest of six children, Bacon left home at the age of 17 to pursue an acting career full time. In 1984, Bacon skyrocketed to fame after starring in the box-office… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Kevin Bacon first appeared on About Geni.

Behind the grand titles of Europe’s modern monarchies lies a surprisingly deep Mediterranean blueprint. While names like Windsor, Bourbon, and Orange-Nassau dominate contemporary royal history, their biological and political foundations were heavily paved by the merchant-bankers, baronial commanders, and sovereign princes of the Italian peninsula. From the strategic geopolitical maneuvering of the ducal Farnese family The post 10 Italian Last Names That Shaped European Royalty appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

Today we celebrate musician Ringo Starr’s 86th birthday! Image: Ringo Starr / Library of Congress The former Beatle was born Richard Starkey to Elsie Gleave and Richard Starkey in Liverpool, England. He spent some of his childhood in and out of hospitals. After an appendectomy at the age of 6, he contracted peritonitis, which left him living in a children’s hospital for a year while he recovered. A few years later, he contracted tuberculosis and was… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Ringo Starr first appeared on About Geni.

In June 2026, MyHeritage published 414 million historical records across 32 new and updated collections from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, and more. The collections include newspaper records, census records, marriage and death records, and military, pension, and burial records. Many of these collections feature images. Search them to discover a The post MyHeritage Adds 414 Million Historical Records in June 2026 appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

Do you have Mexican ancestry? On this day in 1907, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo was born. Image: Frida Kahlo / Library of Congress She was born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón in her parents’ house, known as La Casa Azul, in Coyocoán, a town on the outskirts of Mexico City. Her father, Guillermo Kahlo, was born Carl Wilhelm Kahlo in Pforzheim, Germany. A photographer, Frida’s father traveled to Mexico at the age of 19 and changed his… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Frida Kahlo first appeared on About Geni.

Happy birthday to Tom Cruise! Today the actor turns 64. Image: Tom Cruise / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Tom Cruise was born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV on July 3, 1962 in Syracuse, New York. When he was young, Cruise had considered becoming a priest, however, he left after a year in seminary school. He was encouraged to join the drama department in high school and caught the bug for acting. After making… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Tom Cruise first appeared on About Geni.

Every genealogist knows the unique thrill of uncovering an ancestor who played a role in shaping history. This week, that connection feels more profound than ever. On July 4th, the United States will celebrate a monumental historic milestone, the Semiquincentennial, marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Thanks to Geni’s World Family Tree, millions of our users are already deeply interconnected with the very fabric of America’s founding story. To celebrate… Read the full story The post Celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary on Geni first appeared on About Geni.

On this day in 1903, Olav V of Norway was born. Nicknamed “the People’s King,” Olav was immensely popular during his reign for his down-to-earth style. Image: Olav V of Norway / National Library of Norway The Norwegian monarch was born with the name Alexander Edward Christian Frederik on July 2, 1903 at Appleton House at the royal Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England. He was the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud, the… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Olav V of Norway first appeared on About Geni.

“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” Today we remember Diana, Princess of Wales on what would have been her 65th birthday. Fondly known as the People’s Princess, Diana was one of the most adored members of the British royal family.  Image: Princess Diana, Wikimedia Commons Diana Frances Spencer was born into an aristocratic English family on… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Princess Diana first appeared on About Geni.

Trailblazing performer and civil rights activist Lena Horne was born on this day in 1917. Image: Lena Horne / Library of Congress Horne was born on June 30, 1917 in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of 16, she dropped out of school and began performing at the Cotton Club in Harlem. It was at the infamous club that Horne was first introduced to the jazz community. She made her Broadway debut in the chorus… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Lena Horne first appeared on About Geni.

Today we remember actress Katharine Hepburn, who passed away on this day in 2003 at the age of 96. Image: Katharine Hepburn / Wikimedia Commons Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut. The second of six children, Hepburn grew up in a very progressive household. Her father, Thomas Norval Hepburn, was a successful urologist who sought to educate the public about venereal diseases. Her mother, Katharine Martha Houghton, was the head… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Katharine Hepburn first appeared on About Geni.

On this day in 1892, author Pearl S. Buck was born. In 1938, Buck became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. Image: Pearl Buck / Library of Congress Buck was born Pearl Sydenstricker in Hillsboro, West Virginia on June 26, 1892 to Southern Presbyterian missionaries, Absalom and Caroline Sydenstricker. When Buck was 5 months old, the family moved to China, where she would live for much of her life. In 1931, Buck… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Pearl S. Buck first appeared on About Geni.

Remember reading Nineteen Eighty-Four? On this day in 123 years ago, author George Orwell was born. Orwell is often considered one of the most influential voices of the 20th century. Image: George Orwell / Wikimedia Commons The author was born Eric Arthur Blair on June 25, 1903 in Motihari, Bihar, British India. His father, Richard Walmesley Blair, worked in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service. At the age of one, his mother took him and his sisters… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: George Orwell first appeared on About Geni.

Happy birthday to Lionel Messi! Today the soccer star turns 39. Image: Lionel Messi / Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok, Wikimedia Commons, public domain Messi was born on June 24, 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Argentina to Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini. The third of four children, Messi began playing soccer at an early age. He joined the local soccer club at the age of 4, where he was coached by his… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Lionel Messi first appeared on About Geni.

Today we remember British mathematician Alan Turing, who was born on this day in 1912. Considered the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, Turing is remembered as one of the most influential minds of the 20th century. Image: Alan Turing / Wikimedia Commons Turing was born on June 23, 1912 in London, England to Julius Mathison Turing, and Ethel Sara Stoney. From a young age, Turing was a natural at mathematics. During World War… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Alan Turing first appeared on About Geni.

Happy birthday to Meryl Streep! Today the star turns 77. With a record of 21 Academy Award nominations, Steep is often considered to be one of the greatest actresses in history. Image: Meryl Streep / Wikimedia Commons She was born Mary Louise Streep on June 22, 1949 in Summit, New Jersey to Harry William Streep, Jr., a pharmaceutical executive, and Mary Wolf Wilkinson, an artist. Streep’s father was of German and Swiss ancestry. Her second… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Meryl Streep first appeared on About Geni.

Do you remember watching The Three Stooges? On this day in 1897, Moe Howard was born in Brooklyn, New York. Image: The Three Stooges He was born Moses Harry Horwitz to Solomon Horwitz and Jennie Gorovitz and was of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry. The fourth of five brothers, Moe developed an interest in performing early in his life. He got his start as part of the vaudeville act with Ted Healy and His Stooges. Eventually, Moe, along with… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Moe Howard first appeared on About Geni.

On this day in 1983, astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman in space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger for NASA’s 7th space shuttle mission. Image: Sally Ride / U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Ride was born on May 26, 1951 to Dale Burdell Ride and Carol Joyce Anderson in Encino, California. Her path to NASA began when she responded to an advertisement in the Stanford student newspaper for NASA’s Astronaut Group 8. It would be the first… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Sally Ride first appeared on About Geni.

Every genealogist knows the thrill of the hunt, but for Julia Miakota, family history became an unexpected lifeline and a global adventure. Originally from the city of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, Julia and her husband traveled to the Philippines in 2020 to escape the freezing winter for what was supposed to be a brief 3-5 month stay. However, when pandemic border closures went into effect that March, their short tropical getaway turned into a permanent residency… Read the full story The post How One Researcher is Using Geni to Reconnect Families and Rescue History first appeared on About Geni.

Happy birthday to Barry Manilow! Today the singer-songwriter turns 83. Image: Barry Manilow / Alan Light, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) Manilow was born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943 in Brooklyn New York to Harold Pincus and Edna Manilow. His father left the family when he was two and he eventually adopted his mother’s maiden name as his last name. He began his career working as a commercial jingle writer, penning memorable jingles… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Barry Manilow first appeared on About Geni.

On June 16, 1829, legendary Apache leader Geronimo was born in the upper Gila River country in what is today New Mexico. Image: Geronimo / Library of Congress He was born to the Bedonkohe band of the Apache and named Goyathlay, meaning “One Who Yawns.” In 1851, a band of Mexican soldiers attacked his camp, killing his mother, his wife, and three small children. From then on, he harbored a deep hatred for Mexican soldiers. During the Apache… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Geronimo first appeared on About Geni.

Have you found any Norwegian connections? On this day in 1843, Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg was born in Bergen, Norway. Widely considered one of the leading Norwegian composers of the Romantic era, Grieg brought the national folk music of Norway to international audiences. Image: Edvard Grieg / Bergen Public Library, Flickr Grieg was born on June 15, 1843 to Alexander Greig, a merchant and vice-consul in Bergen, and Gesine Judith Hagerup, a music teacher… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Edvard Grieg first appeared on About Geni.

“Where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again.” – Anne Frank Ninety-seven years ago today, Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany to Edith Holländer Frank and Otto Frank, a businessman. By 1934, the family had moved to Amsterdam after the Nazi party came to power in Germany. Image: Anne Frank / Wikimedia Commons For her 13th birthday, Anne was given a diary and immediately began writing in it. Shortly… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Anne Frank first appeared on About Geni.

Today we remember actor Gene Wilder, who was born on this day in 1933. Image: Gene Wilder / Library of Congress Wilder was born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the son of William J. Silberman, a Russian Jewish immigrant and a salesman, and Jeanne Baer. When his mother was diagnosed with rheumatic fever, an 8-year-old Wilder was told by her doctor to try to make her laugh. This point… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Gene Wilder first appeared on About Geni.

Today we remember Judy Garland on what would have been her 104th birthday. A star by the age of 16, Garland is remembered as one of the greatest performers in film history. Image: Judy Garland / Wikimedia Commons She was born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922 to Ethel Marion and Frances Avent Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The daughter of vaudeville performers, Garland had a knack for song and dance and made her… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Judy Garland first appeared on About Geni.

Today we remember Victorian writer Charles Dickens, who died on this day in 1870 at the age of 58. Image: Charles Dickens / Library of Congress Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England. He was the second child of John Dickens, a clerk in the Navy Pay Office, and Elizabeth Dickens. When his father was imprisoned for debt, a twelve-year-old Dickens was forced to leave school and work in a… Read the full story The post Profile of the Day: Charles Dickens first appeared on About Geni.

Dear friends, I’m afraid the time has come for the Ancestry Insider to say goodbye. Over ten years ago I put virtual pen to virtual paper. Now it is time to put it down. I wonder if a couple of times a year you might still see something from me, but this may be it. This newsletter has brought me lots of enjoyment. I’ve enjoyed trying to bring you news you didn’t get anywhere else. I’ve enjoyed teaching how to better utilize Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. Through my reports about national conferences, I’ve enjoyed promoting education. Through my series on serendipity, I’ve enjoyed sharing my belief about the miraculous nature of life and family history. Through my Monday mailbox series, I’ve enjoyed answering your questions. Through my series, “Records Say the Darnedest Things,” I’ve enjoyed teaching about records and methodology. I have enjoyed the opportunities to acknowledge FamilySearch’s sponsor—and my current employer—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This newsletter began at a time when Ancestry’s communication policy was to say nothing. FamilySearch didn’t do much better when I started reporting on the rollout of New FamilySearch. Today, both organizations have healthy, vibrant communication programs. This newsletter has also consumed about six hours of my personal life each week and I think it is time for a change. But I put down this pen with a great measure of sadness. This newsletter has given me the opportunity to rub shoulders with many wonderful people. Thank you. For that I am most grateful. Of myself, I am pretty insignificant and I am forever humbled that you would consider this newsletter worth a little of your time. Before I say goodbye, I’d like to personally thank each and every single one of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you… Wow! This is going to take some time… Please feel free to go about your lives while I finish up. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …;  (inside joke), …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, … Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Julie Granka, of AncestryDNA, spoke about “Understanding the Science Behind Your DNA Results” at the 2017 National Genealogical Society Conference last week. I’m hardly qualified to report about this session, but I’ll give it a try. Julie started by defining several terms, utilizing lots of diagrams. I was hoping to link to some pages on Ancestry.com that contain explanations as clear and simple as Julie’s. No luck. If I am going to provide links to basic information about DNA and genealogy, I will have to send you to someplace other than Ancestry. That is too bad. They should publish Julie’s presentation on their website. Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist, has provided a nice list of links to introductory information. See “DNA Basics for a Sound Foundation.” Suffice it to say, there are basic building blocks of DNA that are represented by the letters A, C, G, and T. Our chromosomes are composed of long strings of these—3 billion, in fact. Almost all the letters are the same in every single person on the planet. Julie said that only about 10 million are different among different individuals and populations. A DNA test looks at about 700,000 of them. A location in the string of letters where the letters differ between individuals is called a SNP (pronounced “snip”). A group of inherited letters is called a haplotype. Julie studies SNPs and haplotypes in the context of human populations. “Patterns of SNPs and haplotypes among human populations are driven by history,” she said. “As humans migrate, they bring their DNA with them.” She explained the founder effect: Not everyone in a population has the same SNPs and haplotypes. If a small number of people migrate somewhere, their most common SNPs and haplotypes are likely to be different than the parent population. They have founded a population with a different profile than the parent population. A related phenomena is isolation. If I understand correctly, newborns in an isolated population are statistically more likely to have the most common SNPs and haplotypes of their population. These effects make different populations look different genetically. AncestryDNA uses the SNPs and haplotypes to determine three things.  Tiny amounts of the haplotypes and SNPs associated with a population from the distant past (hundreds of thousands of years) survive in our DNA. AncestryDNA uses this information to provide your ethnicity estimates. To determine what SNPs and haplotypes are associated with distant populations, AncestryDNA uses reference panels. These are individuals whose haplotypes and SNPs are thought to be representative of the distant populations. AncestryDNA has 26 reference panels. Founder effect and isolation make ethnicity estimates easy. Migration makes ethnicity estimates difficult. Large amounts of shared haplotypes between two persons indicate recent common ancestors. The more closely related, the more DNA is shared. AncestryDNA uses this information to provide your DNA matches. There are several challenges in determining DNA matches. Just sharing DNA doesn’t mean you are closely related. DNA you share for other reasons is called identical by state (IBS). DNA shared because of recent common ancestry is called identical by descent (IBD). AncestryDNA has to determine the difference. Another challenge arises from the way DNA is processed in the laboratory. For any given SNP, the data coming from the lab does not differentiate between the value contributed by your father and the value coming from your mother. AncestryDNA uses tools to estimate which came from which. She didn’t say this, but I would guess that if they ever get it wrong, you could be shown relatives who aren’t really your relatives. In between the two extremes, AncestryDNA searches for groups of people who share large numbers of matches to others within a group. They use this information to provide your Genetic Communities. It is possible to share no DNA at all with cousins. The closer the cousin, the higher the probability of shared DNA. Julie showed these numbers: Cousin Probability of shared DNA 1st 100 2nd 100 3rd 98 4th 71 5th 32 6th 11 7th 3.2 She showed a chart that looked like the one below. I think it indicated the average amount of shared DNA between two close relatives. It went by so fast, I am not certain. However, Blaine T. Bettinger provides similar data, which I’ve charted below. Source: Blaine T. Bettinger, “The Shared CM Project – Version 2.0 (June 25, 2016),” The Genetic Genealogist (http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com : updated 31 July 2016). AncestryDNA uses these numbers to estimate your relationship to your DNA matches. She covered more, but that’s about all I have time and space for here. I’m sorry that I’m not as clear as she was, but hopefully you learned something.     Chromosome inheritance diagram credit: Catherine A. Ball, et. al., “DNA Circles White Paper,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com/cs/dna-help/circles/whitepaper : updated 18 November 2014), figure 2.1. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

The 2017 National Genealogical Society conference wrapped up last Saturday, and after a couple of articles, so will I. Diane Loosely of FamilySearch spoke at the FamilySearch luncheon. Her title was “FamilySearch: A Global Experience.” She described three definitions of global for which FamilySearch is global. One definitions of global refers to world-wide global reach. Diane showed us a FamilySearch booklet, My Family: Stories that Bring Us Together. It is available in 66 languages. FamilySearch has 5,000 family history centers located in 33 countries. They offer support to patrons in 13 languages. FamilySearch operates cameras in countries across the globe. They have 5.6 billion names published online from many countries. They publish an additional 2 million names a day. Diane showed a video, “Preserving and Accessing the Records of the World,” documenting record destruction in the Philippines resulting from super-Typhoon Yolanda. One town’s records, indeed all the town offices, were completely destroyed. All that was left was the cement floor of the building. Because FamilySearch had photographed their records, FamilySearch was able to restore all the records to them. Diane said that FamilySearch is gathering the genealogies of villages in Africa that, today, are preserved only by “Rememberers.” Aging village elders have memorized the genealogies of the village. Many are old and their knowledge is perishing with them. In the case of 95-year old Opanin Kwame Nketia, FamilySearch interviewed him and documented 12 generations and 1,000 people. A couple of days later when they returned to thank him, they discovered he had passed way. Diane said that 50 years ago FamilySearch canvassed Mexico, filming their records. It is thought that today 15 to 20% of those records have perished. Another sense of the word global is the idea of operating on a whole set of things. To find and search all of FamilySearch’s records, you have to know a few ways of accessing the records. Diane showed a Kentucky probate collection containing 12,000 names and nearly a million images. Obviously, FamilySearch had not completely indexed the collection. To access all the records, you have to be prepared to browse through the images like you would microfilm. She also pointed out that some records are accessed only through the catalog. Another sense of the word global is embracing the whole of something. “We feel a responsibility to help everyone discover their family history,” she said. She shared the quote from the Emory university study stating that the more children know about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives and the higher their self-esteem. FamilySearch recently remodeled the first floor of the Salt Lake Family History Library to appeal to a younger generation. Diane shared the well-known quote of Alex Haley: In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage—to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness. She then challenged us to choose a person we would like to introduce to family history. Prepare beforehand. Then go and give them a meaningful experience with family history.     Note: I was interested in where one might find Alex Haley’s original quote, as very few people cite the source. Barbara Renick in her book Genealogy 101: How to Trace Your Family’s History and Heritage (Thomas Nelson Inc., 2003) is the only source I could find who cited a source: “What Roots Means to Me,” Reader’s Digest (May 1977), 73-74. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Tracy Reinhart is a long-time researcher who remembers way back when accessing the census meant scrolling through microfilm. Long ago she discovered her Braford ancestors’ family in Cannon, Kent, Michigan was one of those split across pages in a census. Online publishers like Ancestry and FamilySearch have to identify these split families and join them back together. That’s a fairly straightforward process unless you run into the situation Tracy ran into recently. “Part of the 1870 census for Cannon, Kent Co. Mich.  was not filmed in page order,” she told me.  “As a result,  when a family list carries over from one page to the next,  you will find wrong family associations.” She found that for Cannon, Kent, Michigan: Image 28 on Ancestry.com is page 28 and ends with the Henry Wolaver family. Image 29 on Ancestry.com is page 30. Notice page 29 was skipped. It starts with Emma Braford. Since Emma has no family or dwelling numbers, we know that she belongs to the family on the previous page. Because the pages were filmed in the wrong order, Ancestry erroneously places her in the Henry Wolaver family. This page ends with the Harry (or Harvy) Haines family. Image 30 on Ancestry.com is page 31, which correctly continues with Mary Haines. Image 31 on Ancestry.com is page 29, the skipped page. It ends with the A. B. Brayford family. I was interested to see how FamilySearch handled this situation. Researchers with access to both Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org universally advise using Ancestry.com for census research and the 1870 census on FamilySearch.org is a good illustration of why. If you search for Cannon, Kent, Michigan, you get everyone living in the entire state of Michigan! If you don’t know where your person lived, but you somehow find them, FamilySearch doesn’t indicate where the person was! The only advantage I see for searching FamilySearch’s 1870 census is that in a search you can specify another family member (in the “Other Person” field). That’s not possible on Ancestry. But I digress… As I compared FamilySearch.org with Ancestry.com, I noticed several interesting things. The image order on FamilySearch.org matches Ancestry.com. FamilySearch didn’t erroneously combine the Wolaver and Braford families. But they also didn’t correctly join the the two parts of the Brayford/Braford family. While Ancestry has 31 images for Cannon, Kent, Michigan, FamilySearch has 32. Ancestry has left out one of the pages from the microfilm! I’ve seen FamilySearch do the same thing. Neither company discloses the censure. The companies deem the image to have no genealogical value so they delete it. This is a very bad practice! There is no guarantee the decision maker understands advanced methodologies that may require a knowledge of the existence of that page, its contents, or the lack thereof. (A little looking showed this particular page is facing page 31 on folio 139. It has no names on it.) The digital folder number (004271429) and image number (00268) for Emma Bradford on FamilySearch.org match the image URL on Ancestry.com: https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7163/4271429_00268. That’s kind of techie, but the takeaway is that Ancestry seems to be using FamilySearch images. FamilySearch misindexed the name Braford on page 30 as Bradford. Ancestry did not. Ancestry doesn’t seem to be using FamilySearch’s index. I see several lessons we should draw from this: If you don’t find your ancestor on one website, check others. Search several images forward and backward from your ancestor. Your ancestor’s name can be spelled differently by the same person in the same record. Look at and try to understand all the information on a page. When the day comes that we no longer have access to microfilm, there will be errors that we can no longer detect or overcome. Everybody makes mistakes. Ancestry. FamilySearch. Microfilm. Everybody. ”Just a heads up for something that I never expected to find on Ancestry,” Tracy said. “Grrrrrrr” Thank you, Tracy. Image credit: Ancestry.com. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Today marks the opening of the 2017 National Genealogical Society Conference. At the conference NGS is announcing Mastering Genealogical Documentation by Thomas W. Jones. Tom is considered one of the top educators in the genealogical community. He is a PhD, Certified Genealogist, Certified Genealogical Lecturer, Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists, Fellow of the National Genealogical Society, and Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association. He is the author of Mastering Genealogical Proof, another in the NGS Special Topics Series. According to NGS, “Mastering Genealogical Documentation teaches genealogists how to describe and cite their sources—including sources for which no model citation exists. … In this new step-by-step guidebook, Dr. Thomas W. Jones provides a foundation in the principles, logic, and decisions that underpin genealogical documentation. Exercises are provided at the end of each chapter (with answers at the back of the book) to reinforce concepts and provide opportunities for practice.” You can order the book in the store on the NGS website. It’s true that I’m prejudiced (I volunteer for the NGS), but I’m genuinely excited to get this book. I’ve attended Tom’s lectures on documentation at national institutes and they have been most helpful. Speaking of the NGS Conference, it’s not too late to attend. You can register onsite. For more information, visit the National Genealogical Society Conference website. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

The 2017 National Genealogical Society conference started today (10 May 2017) in Raleigh, North Carolina. The exhibit hall is free, so even if you don’t register for classes, come see mini-classes, product demos, product announcements, sell prices, and give-away prizes. If you are in the area, you should come down and check it out at the Raleigh Convention Center. The exhibit hall opens at 9:00am each morning with the exception of 9:30 on Wednesday. It closes at 5:30pm each day, with the exception of 3:00pm Saturday.The Ancestry booth presentation schedule for Wednesday, 10 May is: Ancestry, Thursday, 11 May: Ancestry, Friday, 12 May: Ancestry, Saturday, 13 May: Other vendors do product demos, either on a schedule or by request. Lisa Louise Cooke included the Genealogy Gems schedule in the conference bag: Stop by the National Genealogical Society’s booth to enter daily drawings, buy their latest books, and get books signed by the authors. Judging from the advertising inserts in the conference bag, I imagine at the MyHeritage booth they would give you a coupon code for 30% off MyHeritage subscriptions. Likewise for a 15% coupon code from jigsaw genealogy. Genealogical Studies might give you a promo code for a free course and let you enter a drawing for additional free courses. Excelsior College has a drawing for an AncestryDNA kit. It’s not too late to register for one or more days of the conference. Come on down and check it out. Oh, and FamilySearch is offering free accounts in their booth. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Somehow I missed the release of the Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com by Nancy Hendrickson. When I reviewed Unofficial Guide to FamilySearch.org, I became a big fan of Family Tree Book’s unofficial series, so I was very happy when I received a review copy of the new Ancestry book, Unofficial Ancestry.com Workbook: A How-to Manual for Tracing Your Family Tree on the #1 Genealogy Website. Chapters are organized around record types. The chapters of the book are: Search and the Card Catalog Census Records Birth, Marriage, and Death Records Military Records Immigration Records Historical Maps, Images, Newspapers, and Publications Social History [directories, tax records, land records, histories, etc.] AncestryDNA Each chapter contains overviews of the databases of the chapter’s record type and helpful instructions on using that type. For example, from the vital records chapter: Death records can open up new lines of research, primarily because they can contain the name of the person’s parents (including the mother’s maiden name) as well as where the parents and the decedent were born. Each chapter has a number of exercises. Don’t think workbook quizzes; think step-by-step walkthroughs.  Each chapter also contains some helpful “search strategies” for the chapter’s record type. Here is an example search strategy from the census chapter: Don’t assume your ancestor was skipped during an enumeration. Look for alternate surname spellings, first name shown as initials, or location in a neighboring county. Each chapter contains workbook forms and worksheets for things like searching the census and abstracting birth records. Appendices have additional checklists, worksheets, and census abstract forms. While a book obviously isn’t going to contain enough copies of each form or worksheet, additional copies can be downloaded from the Family Tree Magazine website.   Unofficial Ancestry.com Workbook: A How-to Manual for Tracing Your Family Tree on the #1 Genealogy WebsiteNancy Hendrickson8.2 x 0.6 x 10.9 inches, 192 pp., paperback. 2017.ISBN 1440349061Family Tree Books1-855-278-0408, shopfamilytree.com$10.99 Kindle$13.19 Google eBook$14.57 Amazon$21.99 Paperback/eBook list price, plus shipping. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

We depend upon records to reveal the “truth” about the past. Yet sometimes records have anomalies. Some are amusing or humorous. Some are interesting or weird. Some are peculiar or suspicious. Some are infuriating, or downright laughable. Records say the darnedest things! Reader Steve Squier shared this: Hello, I thought you might like to use the attached image for one of your “Records Say the Darnedest Things” posts. The first entry in this register of births is for an unnamed daughter of a Miss Knox, of whose father the clerk wrote: “hain’t got none just growed.” Source: Taylor County, Iowa, Register of Births, vol. 1 (1880–1897): 160, entry no. 110 for [unnamed female]; County Courthouse, Bedford; digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/679412 : accessed 16 April 2017); imaged from FHL film no. 1,035,143, item no. 1. Unfortunately, I can’t show you the image. To see it, visit your local family history center and click here: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DYWS-4V5. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

For those headed off to the 2017 National Genealogical Society Conference, in Raleigh, North Carolina, from 10‒13 May 2017, I have two items: syllabus and conference app. I attended a genealogy conference recently and heard that some attendees—first time conference attendees—were confused when presenters kept referring to handouts and syllabi. They were surprised that other attendees seemed to have copies of these handouts when they, themselves did not. Don’t be caught in the same situation at NGS. If you paid for a printed syllabus or syllabus on a flash drive, then you will receive said syllabus when you check-in at the conference. If not (or even if you did), you should download the syllabus PDF file beforehand and print any pages that you wish to hold in your physical paws during the conference. All conference attendees should have received by now an email with instructions on how to download the syllabus. (I received my email on Friday, 28 April 2017.) The file is 70 megabytes, so it will take forever to download if you wait and try to do it using the conference center wi-fi. Wi-fi connections at conference centers are seldom robust. I also wanted to point out that the conference app is available now for download. To download it, visit http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/mobile-app. The app offers another way to access class syllabi. To access the syllabus through the app requires a password. You received that password in the same email that gave instructions on downloading the PDF. Reading the syllabus on a phone is difficult, but it isn’t bad on a tablet. If you have attended an NGS conference before and never deleted the conference app, then when you install this time, there is an additional step you must take to see this year’s conference. The new conference app uses a blue color scheme (below, left). If you see the green color scheme from last year (below, right), you need to tap the icon on the bottom row that is titled “Exit to Conference List.” Then select the 2017 conference. The third of the two things I wanted to mention was the class schedule. Look through it beforehand to decide which classes you wish to attend, and which classes to attend if your first choices are full. If you are inclined to purchase recordings of some sessions, consider attending other sessions at corresponding times. Sessions marked “(R)” will be audio recorded and those marked “(LS)” will be lived streamed and video recorded. Hope to see you next week, at the 2017 National Genealogical Society Family History Conference! Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

If you can’t make it to the 2017 National Genealogical Society Conference, all is not lost. NGS is offering select sessions via live streaming or for three-month’s later viewing. You can purchase five sessions for Thursday, 11 May 2017 and five sessions for Friday, 12 May 2017. Thursday: Viewers will be able to stream five lectures on DNA from 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. These lectures will demonstrate how DNA has revolutionized genealogy problem solving, clarified contradictions in records, and found female ancestors without a known maiden name. They will also offer advice on the best practices for analyzing autosomal DNA. $95 member, $115 non-member.      Friday: View five “BCG Skillbuilding” lectures by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) from 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. This set of lectures will teach how to probe documents beyond the obvious, find rich evidence in deeds, use an ancestors’ neighbors, prepare a Genealogical Proof Summary, and build a solid conclusion from disparate evidence. $95 member, $115 non-member. x     All ten sessions can be purchased for $150 member, $185 non-member, if purchased before midnight, 10 May 2017. After 14 May 2017, the price jumps to $175 member, $215 non-member. Sessions can be viewed for three months following the conference. All packages include a full, electronic conference syllabus. For more information, or to purchase sessions, visit http://www.playbackngs.com/7770. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Four million. It’s staggering, really. AncestryDNA has exceeded four million samples in its DNA database! It took AncestryDNA three years to get the first million samples. (See “AncestryDNA Exceeds Million Mark” on my blog on 22 July 2015.) It took them 11 months to reach two million. (See “AncestryDNA Database Reaches Two Million” on 28 June 2016.) It took just seven months to get to the three million mark. (See “AncestryDNA Zips Past 3 Million Samples” on 19 January 2017.) Less than 4 months later, AncestryDNA has reached four million persons in the DNA database. (See “AncestryDNA Reaches 4 Million Customers in DNA Database” on the Ancestry blog, 27 April 2017.) AncestryDNA must be selling over 8,000 kits a day to grow that fast. Ancestry says as many people took their DNA test during that period as got married in the United States. They said “that’s about as fast as babies are born in the United States.” That’s astonishing. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Dear Ancestry Insider, Hello, I enjoy reading your emails, and wonder if I missed something important, such as:         Did Familysearch.org change how personal family trees are managed?    Last week I looked up my Wilmot tree there, and found someone had changed a last name of an ancestor to Wilmont, when the father and grandson were right there as Wilmot. Duh??? A friend said the family trees are now wide open and anyone can add or change information.         Normally, all information is good, but in this case I am dealing with an idiot.   Then someone else gave my Hessian ancestor, John Stegman, a wife who was his mother-in-law, Does this mean that my tree can be changed by anyone going online to FamilySearch.org? If that is the case, I will not use the program anymore.  It would be a waste of time – I am not a church member – have served/helped many years in a local Family History library.Too many people are well meaning but uneducated on proof of sources.     Ellen Thorne Morris, Monmouth Co., New Jersey Dear Ellen, May Day! May Day! (Yes, today is the first of May. But I digress…) There has been no change. FamilySearch has Genealogies (personal trees) and it has Family Tree (a shared tree). What you are using is Family Tree, and yes, anyone can change anything. FamilySearch’s Genealogies feature is a GEDCOM preservation service. It is not an online tree management program like Family Tree or Ancestry Member Trees. It is merely a repository to preserve and share your life’s work. Export a GEDCOM file from your genealogy program. Go to FamilySearch.org. Select Free Account in the upper-right corner and create an account. Or if you already have an account, sign in. Select Search > Genealogies. Scroll to the bottom. Underneath “Contribute Your Research to the FamilySearch Community,” select Submit Tree. Follow the instructions to add your tree. You will be given the opportunity to synch your tree with Family Tree. That step is unnecessary, especially since it sounds like you already have. I don’t know how long it takes to appear, but when others go to Search > Genealogies and search for a person, they will see results from your tree along with the other contributed GEDCOMs. Ellen, let me close with a heartfelt thank you for your service in a family history center. Several times last month I had patrons express frustration at the limited hours of their local center. It is only through volunteers like yourself that FamilySearch family history centers are open at all. Thank you, thank you! Signed,—The Ancestry Insider Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

We depend upon records to reveal the “truth” about the past. Yet sometimes records have anomalies. Some are amusing or humorous. Some are interesting or weird. Some are peculiar or suspicious. Some are infuriating, or downright laughable. Records say the darnedest things! What parent names their child after some kind of cancer?! Brain Cancer Lung Cancer Prostate Cancer Skin Cancer Cancer de la Laringe (larynx) Cancer de la Matriz (uterus) Cancer Primitivo del Higado (Primitive Cancer of the Liver) Cancer del Riñon (kidney) Yes, records say the darnedest things! Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Still need convincing? Pre-registration for the 2017 National Genealogical Society Conference ends today (27 April 2017), so you need to get on the stick. NGS has put together a heck of a program. NGS has loosely organized sessions into 10 tracks each day: Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday BCG Skillbuilding BCG Skillbuilding BCG Skillbuilding BCG Skillbuilding DNA DNA DNA DNA Research Planning Solving Problems Records & Repositories Research in the States North Carolina Historical Context Methodology North Carolina Historical Context Religion Military Records & Repositories Working with Records North Carolina African American Family Stories Tips & Techniques Records & Repositories Historical Context Methodology Military Technology Technology Records & Repositories Records & Repositories Organizing Research Native American Religion Methodology Beyond the Borders Methodology Solving Problems Pretty much every speaker is a nationally known expert or an expert in subjects in and around North Carolina. You may know these names (in no particular order): D. Joshua Taylor Thomas W. Jones Elizabeth Shown Mills J. Mark Lowe Judy G. Russell Mary M. Tedesco John Philip Colletta From Ancestry: Anne Gillespie Mitchell Anna Swayne Peter Drinkwater (Find A Grave, Newspapers.com) Juliana Szucs From FamilySearch: James Ison Diane C. Loosle David E. Rencher David S. Ouimette Robert Raymond To see the program online, go to http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/program. To see the PDF registration brochure, click here. The National Genealogical Society 2017 Family History Conference is being held 10-13 May 2017 at the Raleigh, North Carolina convention center. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Pre-registration for the 2017 National Genealogical Society Conference ends tomorrow, 27 April 2017. The conference will be held in Raleigh, North Carolina, 10-13 May 2017 at the Raleigh Convention Center. While you can register onsite starting noon on 9 May 2017, you must register by tomorrow for meals, events, and workshops. As I write this, some luncheon choices and workshops are already sold out. According to NGS, The conference program, Family History Lives Here, features more than 175 lectures from basic to advanced genealogical research, including eighteen presentations on DNA science and methodology. Finding records and effectively using them is the focus of fifty-seven lectures. Among the types of records discussed are a wide range of religious records, military and associated records, North Carolina and regional U.S. records, and African American and Native American records. Organizations sponsor luncheons during the conference and provide entertaining speakers ($32). The North Carolina Genealogical Society is hosting an evening event, “Pig Pickin” ($45). Pig Pickin’ features North Carolina BBQ, a five-member blue grass band, and local artisans. NGS is hosting its annual banquet with speaker Stuart Watson, an award-winning investigative reporter ($45).  The conference costs $240 for society members and $275 for non-members. One day registrations are available for $110 (member) and $120 (non-member). For more information or to register for the conference, visit http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org. I’m happy to serve again this year as an official social media reporter for the conference. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Happy DNA Day! Today (25 April) is the anniversary of the publication of articles theorizing the helical structure of DNA. Ancestry is celebrating with a 20% sale on its DNA kit. (Thomas MacEntee has put together a list.) Normally priced $99, Ancestry is offering the kit for $79 (plus taxes and shipping) through 26 April 2017 at 11:59pm Eastern Time. While I sometimes see a $89 sale price, I don’t recall seeing the $79 price since DNA Day last year. After Thanksgiving the past couple years they have offered the kit for $69. It seems likely they will do the same this year. At RootsTech this year they were trying to overshadow the announcement of kits from other vendors by selling AncestryDNA for $49 (with no shipping since you purchased in-person). I don’t know that you will ever see that happen again. Bottom line, if you aren’t willing to wait until after Thanksgiving, today’s the day to order AncestryDNA for $79. To see what scientists, teachers, and students are doing to commemorate DNA Day, visit the National Genome Research Institute website. Click here to order AncestryDNA for $79. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Over 40 years ago Glen and Joyce Alt lived in Platteville, Wisconsin where they became friends with Glenda Clyde and her husband. After several years, the two couples moved their separate ways, the Alts to Massachusetts, the Clydes to Washington state, and the couples had no further contact. Years passed by. One day Glen’s parents were participating in a household auction in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. When they bought a box of stuff for a few dollars, the auctioneer threw in another for free. The Alts found the second box contained a bunch of old photographs and a piece of paper with names, dates, and places. For some reason, Glen’s mother threw them into a drawer instead of throwing them away. Eventually, she passed them on to Glen. Glen felt there must be someone out there who would place great value on the photographs, so he began investing great efforts in finding them. He had a clue. The paper identified the family as the Urens of Blanchardville, Wisconsin. Glen started looking, but without success. When he went to Wisconsin on vacation three years later, he availed himself of the opportunity to ask around. He asked some old friends in Platteville if they knew any Urens. One remembered that they had a mutual friend whose maiden name was U’Ren: Glenda Clyde. Twenty-eight years after they had last communicated, Glen found Glenda on social media. She thought the photographs and information might be of her family, so Glen sent the photographs and the paper to her. Glenda discovered that the pictures and paper were of her great-grandfather’s brother’s family. The information gave her seven new families and 31 new names. “These precious pictures/paper were bought in the Midwest, given to Glen on the East Coast and then sent to me, a family member, on the West Coast,” Glenda wrote. “Considering the incredible preservation and journey of this valuable information, to us, it truly is a miracle.”   Retold with the permission of Glenda Clyde. You can also read her story in R. Scott Lloyd, “Family History Moments: Package Deal,” Deseret News (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865675767/Package-deal.html : 16 March 2017). Photograph contributed by Glenda Clyde. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Ancestry ProGenealogists, in conjunction with Go Ahead Tours, is offering an 11 day tour to the Emerald Isle. “Discover the country’s highlights and enduring heritage with special insight from the expert AncestryProGenealogists team.” This guided tour visits Dublin, County Cork, County Kerry , Galway, and back to Dublin. For an extra cost, “continue your experience by adding an ancestral home visit to the places where your family members once lived, worked, worshipped, and went to school.” The tour runs 22 October through 1 November 2017. For more information, visit https://ancestry.grouptoursite.com/. Photograph by Gary Deane, used under license. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Reader Clytee Gold wrote me about an apparently erroneous AncestryDNA Genetic Community assignment. One of her two communities is “Mormon Pioneers in the West.” (First, I am jealous that she has two community assignments.) She is rather positive that none of her ancestors were ever Mormons. She has done extensive research and has never found any connection to the Church. As there are still pockets of prejudice against members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this assignment could be highly offensive to some people. Coincidentally—or not—it is not offensive to Clytee. Forty years ago she joined the Church and moved to Utah. She is, literally, the “Mormon Pioneer in the West” of her family. I’m not qualified to explain how this misassignment occurred, but fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Perhaps experts among my readers can correct me. Clytee gave one possible explanation: The only thing I can figure out is that is based on OTHERS testing (guess that makes a community – who else took the test to compare to), and that somewhere, 5-6 generations back a sibling of a great-great something of mine joined the church in Denmark in the late 1800’s and came to Utah as a “Mormon Pioneer in the west” and populated the west and there are lots of descendants who took the DNA test. Ancestry has explained that they use an algorithm called community detection to detect groups of individuals with a large number of interconnections. I think of it like large DNA Circles that don’t require common ancestors. The Mormon Pioneers community contains 89,000 testers. Just like a DNA Circle, Ancestry states a confidence level for your membership in the genetic community. My connection to the Mormon Pioneers community is “Very Likely.” Ancestry says they then examine the Ancestry Member Trees of the genetic community “to learn about the historical forces that may have brought their ancestors together.” Of course, some testers don’t have trees, some don’t include all their ancestors, some have ancestors without complete location information, and some have complete garbage in their trees. I assume Ancestry looks for common locations in 25-year increments. If they find a large number of ancestors who lived in the same place at the same time, they look into the history of that time period and why there was a large number of individuals there. Then they give that community a name. For example, the sweet spot for one genetic community is centered on Massachusetts in 1725-1750 (shown on the map, below left). Ancestry chose to name that community, “Settlers of Colonial New England.” Another centered on Utah at a much later time period, 1875-1900 (below, right). Ancestry called this one “Mormon Pioneers in the Mountain West.”   I assume Ancestry can follow the group forward and backward in time, up and down the member trees. This provides additional touchpoints to compare against historical sources and decide if they have correctly identified and named the genetic communities. Moving forward in time gives an interesting view on migration that may not be available from other demographic sources. This may truly be groundbreaking demographic tools. For example, look at the 1900-1925 map (below) of the descendants of early residents of Chihuahua and Durango. If I am interpreting the map right, by that time they were as likely to be living in El Paso as Chihuahua. (The large circle over central Texas represents ancestors whose member trees didn’t specify where in Texas they lived.) Moving backwards in time gives an interesting view on where the Mormons who settled in Utah came from. In the period 1825-1850, most were living in England, with a fair number in Denmark. (See map, below.) The surnames associated with the Mormon pioneer genetic community further point to Denmark: Jensen, Christensen, Larsen, Hansen, Allred, Nielsen, Olsen, Sorensen, Nielson, Rasmussen, Christiansen, Madsen, Peterson, Anderson, Barney, Leavitt, Child, Andersen, Petersen, and Jorgensen Once they are sure they have identified the genetic community, Ancestry can take information from history books about that group and display it next to the migration map. However, the information may not apply to your ancestors who didn’t participate in the chain migration. That is how Clytee may have been put in a migratory group that her ancestors didn’t participate in. She told me her ancestry: My father was half Swiss (4 generations from the immigrant to Missouri) and half German (5 generations from the immigrant to Missouri).  Mother half Norwegian (2nd generation from the immigrant to Iowa) and half Danish (2nd generation from the immigrant to Iowa). I think the conjunction on Denmark is more than coincidence. Clytee’s Danish ancestors didn’t have to join the Mormon church for her ancestors to share DNA with those that did. I don’t think it had to have been a sibling in genealogic-time, either. I think Ancestry is looking at shared DNA in a closed community with hundreds of years of intermarriages. There is a possibility that the genetic community Ancestry has identified is actually more specific than “all Mormon pioneers.” Ancestry may have identified DNA of Mormon pioneers of Danish origin. Look back at the dominant surnames for this genetic community. Does it look more English or Danish? There are other possibilities. Remember the mention of confidence level? Clytee may not belong to the genetic community at all. Her DNA may just be a statistical anomaly. Remember the mention of garbage trees? Ancestry may be running calculations overwhelmed by erroneous information. GIGO. Garbage in—garbage out. Thank you, Clytee, for your message. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Dear Ancestry Insider, The database “Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993,” offers the subscriber a “Browse this collection” window which works perfectly for all Pennsylvania counties except for Philadelphia County. The list of available images for Philadelphia County never shows up anymore—it did when the database was first launched. Perhaps because it is such a huge amount of data, it cannot load properly. Because the list of digitized probate files for Philadelphia County can only be accessed by clicking on a link from this “Browse” function (administrations, etc), it is now not possible to access those files since there is no dropdown menu. If you know someone at Ancestry who could correct this, I know many researchers would be grateful. With thanks, Sandi Hewlett Dear Sandi, I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, there is a workaround. There are two ways to access the browse capability of an Ancestry collection. One is the browse you have identified on the collection page. The other is accessed via the breadcrumb path at the top of the page, underneath the title when viewing an image. If you can find a way to see any image, then you can browse to any other image. You can get to an image via browsing one of the other counties that works, or by searching for a common name. Or do this: 1. Start at https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/8802/005871739_00002. 2. Underneath the collection title at the top of the page, click on “Administration Files, 1764.” 3. Select from the available options. Signed, —The Ancestry Insider Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

We depend upon records to reveal the “truth” about the past. Yet sometimes records have anomalies. Some are amusing or humorous. Some are interesting or weird. Some are peculiar or suspicious. Some are infuriating, or downright laughable. Records say the darnedest things! Kenneth H. Rich was the undertaker. He was also the decedent. Weird. After 30 years as an undertaker, Kenneth retired just 7 weeks before his doctor started treating him for interstitial nephritis. Less than 6 weeks later, Kenneth was gone. His son, Robert, took over the family business. Six years after his father’s passing, Robert had his first born son. He named him Kenneth. Reader Naomi Martineau shared this record with me. Thanks, Naomi! Image credit: Ancestry.com. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

A coworker alerted me to this video from the CBC show, This Hour Has 22 Minutes. It is titled, “”Have you ever questioned your family’s ancestry?” Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Dear Ancestry Insider, I was playing with this new feature but I did not see the list of Associated Last Names. Would you tell me where to find it please? It is fun to play with but I don’t see that it gave me any new information; anything that I have not already researched. Signed,Colleen G. Brown Pasquale Dear Colleen, Do you see on the third line down in the screen shot, below, where it says “STORY | CONNECTION”? Click on CONNECTION. Scroll to the bottom of the page; it’s on the right hand side. Signed,—tai Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Ancestry launched Genetic Communities last week. “Think of the AncestryDNA ethnicity estimates on steroids, and you’ll have a sense of what this is,” Tim Sullivan told RootsTech attendees last February. While ethnicity estimates show your genetic origins from hundreds to thousands of years ago, the Genetic Communities feature shows groups of people you are related to in the last few hundred years. Ancestry defines a Genetic Community as “a group of people who are connected to each other through DNA, most likely because they share a common history or lived in the same places.” Kendall Hulet said, “Applying rigorous statistics and scientific development, we’ve created a unique experience that can connect you through your DNA to places your ancestors called home and the migration paths they followed to get there.” This doesn’t necessarily pin your particular ancestors to a particular place, since your ancestor may have been an outlier. Chances are good, however, that Ancestry will nail part of your ancestry to a particular region and timeframe. AncestryDNA has identified over 300 communities with plans to release more in the future. Brad Argent of AncestryUK says that most people are members of at least one Genetic Community, some people are members of two, and, rarely, some are members of three. In my case, I am a member of one. My ethnicity map now shows my ethnicity estimates on a dark azure map. (Can I just say, I don’t like this new color scheme?) Notice that Ancestry has narrowed (not!) my Native American ancestry to the entire Western hemisphere. Not very helpful in determining my tribal origin (Massachuset). But notice the small Orange spot on Utah? That’s my genetic community, “Mormon Pioneers in the Mountain West.” While my genetic community is of no surprise to me (I’m 5th generation Mormon on every single line—my ancestors all being good genealogists—I was born into a completely full, 7-generation pedigree), a Genetic Community could be very interesting to someone vaguely aware of—say—Germanic roots. Your Genetic Communities are listed beneath your ethnicity pie chart on the left side of the page. The way statistics work, AncestryDNA can’t say with 100% confidence that you are a member of a community. When you click on your community, you are given an overview of the community. Scrolling past the overview reveals migration time periods with commentary. Selecting a time period shows a migration map, different for each time period. Orange dots show birthplaces from community members’ Ancestry Trees during that time period. Pins show birthplaces from your own tree. Animated lines show the direction of migration. Did you notice, I’m aboot one-fourth Canadian, eh? Beneath the community name, two buttons select between the default Story view, which I’ve shown above, and Connection view. Connection view states that they are 95% confident that I am a member of the Mormon Pioneers Genetic Community, and that it has 89,000 members. Connection view provides a link to see all 737 of the ones that I am related to. It also lists common surnames in the community: Hmmm. Anything jump out at you? To see Genetic Communities, you don’t need to have a tree or a paid Ancestry subscription. It is available for free to everyone who has had an AncestryDNA test. Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.

Dear Readers, Many of you had strong feelings about Ancestry’s new design of Find A Grave. You can see it at www.gravestage.com. Here are some representative samples: This new format sucks!!! … So disappointed! … I absolutely HATE IT. … Another website ruined by people who don’t use it. … Do.. Not.. Like.. It … New and improved??? It’s absolutely horrible, isn’t it??? … From Irene Sheridan: The new site would not take my email and password. Is it a separate registration to try the test site? I don’t want to mess with my “real” login info. 🙂 Dear Irene, If I understand correctly, the account systems are currently separate. Your email address and real password won’t work on the staging site and vice versa. You have to register again to try some of the functionality of the staging site. Angela and others found that the information is messed up: I just looked at my great grandfather’s memorial on the new site. It doesn’t have his wife, children and parents attached to him like it does on the old site. It says there are no family members currently associated with this memorial. So that is not right and did not flow over to the new site like it should have. I also now manage his memorial as the lady who originally made his memorial transferred him over to me. It does not list me as being the person managing his memorial. The new site also says that there is no bio information on him but I added his obituary to the old site so it is not on the new site. I also left a flower on his memorial for the old site but he does not have any flowers on the new site. I don’t like the new site at all. I forgot to warn you that the data isn’t always real. Don’t worry about that. It is just test data. A corollary is that any changes you make on this staging site is thrown away! Don’t do any real work on it. Diane Gould Hall commented that the layout is a step backward: Everything should still be nicely located on one page, as it is now. Now made so you have to click, click, click to find things. The photos are put into that little box, just like on the new and horrible Ancestry site. I understand updating code. I don’t understand a complete new format that makes this beloved website more difficult to navigate and ugly to look at. Toot echoed that theme: Just from what I see here, the grey with white text is difficult to read, hard on the eyes. The pleasant colors on the “old” site with black text was very easy on the eyes, and pleasant to look at (why the ugly colors of death needed?). Understand the need for new code, but don’t understand the need to change to ugly colors, hard to read text, and reformat of the page. Hopefully, the attached spouse, children, Bio, etc., will flow over in the “new.” And hopefully, the name and date will continue to be on the photo’s contributed, as well as Flowers contributed. Photo size needs to be large enough to see the text on the Headstones (as it is now,) not some little Thumbnail you can barely see. Name of person (with link) who manages the Memorial is important, unless FaG is going to “manage” all Memorials, which I don’t forsee. The current page format is easy to use, easy on the eyes, and does NOT need to be changed. As someone else stated in their comment, it is obvious that the persons coding, and changing the platform/format, are NOT users of FaG! As did Anna: The new site is not a pleasant one to use, at least in this beta version. Too much wasted space, too much scrolling, the photos look funny, and too much clicking around to see what used to be one tidy page with everything instantly visible. It has caused me great wonder that design experts mess up websites when they get involved. Designers think that poorly utilizing screen space and decreasing contract is somehow a good thing. (Do a Google search for [graphic design white space] and [design “never use black”] . After the designers have been paid and move on, websites FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com relent to user demand and switch back to black text on white. Unfortunately, they never seem to fix the “whitespace is good” problem that results in so many extra clicks scrolling or switching tabs. Michael Dorsey Iams stole my thunder and preached my usual sermon: I work in the software industry although not for any of the genealogy companies. I thought it would be useful to talk about how users can most effectively provide actionable feedback to software developers. First of all, I applaud the Find A Grave team for publishing a public beta site. Developers are reluctant to show work they know is not complete, but it is in everyone’s best interest to get direct user feedback early and often during the development process. Second, we all need to acknowledge that user interfaces need to change over time although the benefits of those changes are not often immediately apparent. And finally, recognize their job is to make money. On a free site, that means they need to increase traffic. Concepts such as internationalization and mobile support are significant to them. 1) Generally, don’t focus on colors and fonts. Everyone has difficulty accepting the unfamiliar, and everyone adjusts with time. Although Google is an extreme example (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/05/why-google-engineers-designers), major companies employ experts and detailed processes for deciding these things. 2) One exception to this I believe is handicapped people. Although there are tools and guidelines for accessibility, real-world feedback is still encouraged in this area. 3) Mobile support is about providing a good user experience a variety of resolutions. Try this experiment. Pick up a corner of your browser displaying the Gravestage site. Adjust it bigger and smaller. The elements change to accommodate. A good design finds ways to continue to show the most important information as the screen size drops. This is called responsive design and it takes a lot of effort to do it well. Pick a resolution that matches your mobile screen resolution and provide feedback in this context. 4) Developers aren’t genealogists so it is all too easy for them to make false assumptions. Help them understand with specific, actionable insights into what you want to accomplish and how you go about it. If there are enough people like you, they will surely try to accommodate. 5) It is generally accepted that reducing number of clicks is important, and I think this is a very fair criticism. 6) Provide your feedback with context describing what type of user you are and how you use the site. Even a specialized site such as Find A Grave has dozens of different types of users that use the site in different ways. They need to be able to all these constituencies. 7) It is safe to assume they are familiar with similar sites in the industry, but the internet is a very big place and I find it helpful when someone says “I like to do X with the site, and I find that Y site does this particular function very well”. As they finish the site, they will fix all the bugs like photo cropping and stuff. But, they need help with understanding the many diverse use cases that ultimately affect the broad structure and design of the site. Mander asked: Is there a link we can use to send our feedback and suggestions to Find a Grave? Lisa replied: Yes, when you are on the page, there is a feedback link in the bottom right corner of the page. So, good readers, go use it! Notice: The opinions expressed herein are those of the Ancestry Insider, not necessarily those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. See http://ancestryinsider.org for other important legal notices.