We wanted to write a post about our Family Statistics feature because we think it’s a great way to learn some interesting facts about your family and we’ve been receiving a lot of positive feedback from Genoom users.

The aim of Family Statistics is to provide a visual representation of demographic data about your family. This means you can view graphical charts and graphs that show you data about four distinct demographic categories: gender distribution, geographic distribution, births and names.

More specifically, the statistics include:

- Proportion of males and females

- Longevity by gender

- Location of birth

- Location of current residency

- Groups of actual pages

- Birthdays per month

You can even filter this data for specific groups within your family network. In other words, you can select to view statistics for your entire family network, just your family tree, your direct family or any custom group you have created.

Below is a screen shot of the statistics landing page (click on the image to see full size). Remember, this is a Pro feature and you can only  access your family statistics if you are a Pro member.

As always, we love to hear feedback and welcome you to suggest any ideas you think could improve this feature.

Today marks the 40th year of Earth Day, originally started by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson on April 22, 1970, that is now celebrated in 190 countries. Earth Day is an opportunity for us to reflect and raise awareness about important environmental issues and, more importantly, take action to improve our planet!!

Here are 7 interesting facts to reflect upon:

• 1/3 of all water is used to flush the toilet.
• Each person throws away approximately four pounds of garbage every day.
• An average family throw away about 88 pounds of plastic every year
• Almost 13 billion pounds of trash is dumped into the ocean every year
• Fossil fuels are being consumed 100,000 times faster than they are being formed
• For every ton of newspaper recycled,  17 trees are saved
• Approximately 27% of all food produced in North America is gone to waste

If you want to take action and don’t know how, we encourage you to visit Pick 5 for the Environment website. Also, if you have a twitter account you can follow: @epagov to get updates throughout the day.

You asked and we listened! We are happy to add yet another great feature to the Genoom Pro account: backup your family tree information. With this new feature you can now save your family tree data as a standard GEDCOM file with a simple click of your mouse button.

We have also included the option to save your photo albums and documents. Simply go to the backup page and select the photo albums and documents you want to download and the files will be saved on your computer.

To access this feature, you need to be a Pro member.

We wanted to find out what traits and personal qualities are important to have success in genealogy, so we posed this question to a few reputable genealogists who would know best. Whether you’re just starting out or already have some experience in genealogical research, here are some qualities worth thinking about to help bring out your inner genealogist…

What the Experts Say:

Megan Smolenyak (@megansmolenyak)
“Above all, curiosity!  That and persistence.  There’s almost always a way around those inevitable brick walls if you’re stubborn enough!  Also doesn’t hurt if you’re of a puzzle-solving mindset.  The real fun begins once you get past name-collecting mode.”

Miriam Midkiff (@Kidmiff)
“It is important to learn about the various genealogy resources, be they vital records, court records, or deeds. Learn why these resources are helpful and what can be gleaned from them genealogically, by reading up on them, taking classes, or attending genealogical society meetings.  Learn where to access these resources, too.  Are they microfilmed?  Are they online?  Do you have to visit a courthouse, archive, library, or other repository to access them?  Remember that not all resources are online, and many never will be! Cite your sources so when conflicting information comes up, you can determine which is more likely to be accurate by analyzing the source of that information. Finally, understand the social, religious, and political history of the times and locations in which your ancestors lived. I recommend reading Joy Hakim’s “The History of U.S.” as a great start to understanding American history.”

Leland Meitzler (@lemetizler)
“I believe that it’s important that anyone involved in exploring family history have the ability to analyze data, extract even the smallest of clues and locate additional data – leading to interesting and useful family history. These are usually learned traits, but I’ve met folks who just seemed to have it in their genes…

It’s good to have a “never give up” attitude, but it’s also important to know when to back off, and let the problem rest for a bit. A brick wall today may be successfully dealt with by letting time go by, allowing additional resources to surface. This has certainly been the case as the Internet has grown.”

Randy Seaver (@RJSeaver)
* A general knowledge of world history, and a specialized knowledge of the events and key persons that created national and local history in the times and places that our ancestors lived.  Governmental units, migration paths, legal issues, settlement patterns, social folkways and norms, etc. are all part of this history challenge.

* Experience in learning and using research techniques to perform genealogy and family history research in both traditional (libraries, archives, courthouses, cemeteries, etc.) and online (websites, databases, CDROMs, software, etc.) resources, plus the knowledge of how different record types (e.g., family papers, vital records, military, census, land, probate, newspaper, cemetery, directories, and many others) can be used.

* Conduct of a reasonably extensive search for all records pertaining to a person and his/her extended family and associates using cluster genealogy techniques.

* The personal discipline to cite record sources consistently in appropriate citation formats, for all records obtained.

* The critical thinking ability to analyze research needs, to determine where records might be found, to use the found genealogy records correctly, and to draw objective conclusions about relationships, names, places, and dates.

* An organizational system that provides ready access to all gathered research material – books, periodicals, papers, documents, images, etc.

* A network of like-minded researchers that can provide advice, encouragement and constructive criticism on seemingly unsolvable research problems.  This may be an online study group, a genealogy society small group, or an extensive mail correspondence.

* Sharing research knowledge and techniques with other interested parties through books, magazine articles, blogs, websites, society meetings, presentations, etc.

* This knowledge and experience is not gained overnight, or even in a year or two.  Most people learn these habits and skills over many years and gradually become more effective and successful.  There is no substitute for hard work and studying in genealogy research!

………….

What other traits or characteristics would you add?

• User First name
• User Last name
• Date of birth, city and country
• Date of death, city and country

The Quick Edit is a Pro Member feature and can be accessed by going to the List View and clicking on the “quick edit” link at the top of the page.

The holidays are here!!  That means you can now create personalized holiday cards to send to your friends and family using any of the photos you have in your Genoom photo albums.  The process takes about 60 seconds and best of all it’s free!

To get started, simply go to one of your photos:

1) Click on the “Send this photo as Christmas Postcard” button below the photo.

2) Customize your postcard

3) Select who you want to send it to (you can even import your contact lists from other email accounts!)

4) Hit send!

Here are some of the features:

Google powered search – search the web with a simple click of the mouse

Quick links – access your home page, family tree, list and other pages

Add photos – start your photo uploads

New messages – receive a notification as soon as you have a new message

Events - reminders of important events in your family calendar

People counter – the number of people in your family network

Users online - find out if someone in your family is online

Status updates – read the latest activity in your family

Look for the toolbar graphic in the right-side column of your home page to get started. Or you may click the following links:

Go to English toolbar »

Go to Spanish toolbar »

Go to French toolbar »

Go to Portuguese toolbar »

Records, Documents & Databases

WorldVitalRecords.com – Over a billion records including vital records, immigration lists, birth, marriage, death, military records and more…

Footnote – tens of millions of original source historic documents from the world’s finest archives available on the Internet

National Archives – preserves the records of the United States Federal government

Ancestry.com – records from the US, Canada and Europe including Federal Census records since 1790

DistantCousin – online archive of genealogy records and scanned images of historical documents

Interment.net – published transcriptions from 5,000+ cemeteries across the world

GenealogyBank – includes modern obituaries and historical newspapers, books, pamphlets, military records, government documents and more

Find A Grave – over 36 million grave records

Family Search – search records of your ancestors and explore free genealogy resources

Obituary Central – online database for finding obituaries and performing cemetery searches

GenWed – database and directory of marriage records in the U.S., Canada and UK

Genealogy Today – variety of sources including Masonic lodge rosters, funeral notices, school catalogues, yearbooks, telephone directories, church member list and more

DNA testing

Roots for Real – offers mtDNA, Y-DNA and autosomal DNA testing services

DNA Consultants – variety of DNA tests and personalized genealogical history reports

Family Tree DNA – self-proclaimed “world’s largest DNA testing company” in the new field of genetic genealogy

Nimble Diagnostics – full range of paternity, family relationship, drug, asthma, and ancestry DNA testing services

GeneTree – DNA testing services and visual representation’s of a family’s genetic history

DNA Heritage – DNA kits for paternal and maternal roots

Last Names

SurnameDB – free database containing over 50,000 surnames and their history

Behind the Name - etymology and history of surnames

Last Name Meanings – Ethnic origins and meaning of names of Irish, German, English, French, Italian, and Jewish descent.

Cousin Connect – database of surnames and genealogical query engine – store, search, and manage your queries

Blogs & Discussion

The Genealogue – insightful and funny genealogy blog authored by Chris Dunham

Eastman’s Online Genealogy – Dick Eastman’s genealogy blog and online newsletter

Genea-Musings – tips and commentary by Randy Seaver

The Genealogy Guys – podcasts and genealogy news since 2005 brought to you by George G. Morgan and Drew Smith

GenealogyBlog – genealogy insight and happenings co-authored by Leland & Patty Meitzler

Family Roots Radio – internet radio devoted to family history and genealogy, hosted by Kory L. Meyerink

Family Matters – as they say “tech support for the Family Historian”

GeneaBlogie – personal observations, news and tips by Craig manson

RootDig – resourceful genealogy blog authored by genealogy researcher and speaker Michael Neill

Dear Myrtle – online since ‘95, everything you need to know about genealogy

Genealogy Gems – online genealogy radio and free podcasts

Genealogy Insider – Family Tree Magazine’s genealogy blog written by Diane Haddad

Events

Genealogy Workshops – genealogical workshops and courses brought to you by the National Archives and Records Administration

Genealogy Meetup Groups – meet other local genealogists and people who are interested in genealogy near you

Federation of Genealogical Societies – calendar of genealogical society events in the U.S.

Events Calendar by NGS- conferences and events compiled by the National Genealogical Society

Genealogy Blog’s Events Page – comprehensive listing of events, workshops, conferences compiled by Genealogy Blog

Education & Resources

Cyndi’s List – massive directory of links and genealogy resources on the internet

Genealogylinks.net – over 50,000 genealogy links for US, UK, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Europe, Canada, Australia & New Zealand.

Genealogy Blog Finder – find blogs and content about genealogy on the web

Family Tree Magazine – special interest magazine covering everything related to genealogy; great overall resource

About Genealogy – lots of well-written content, links, tips and tutorials as well as a free genealogy newsletter

Genealogical.com – publisher of useful genealogy books and CDs that can be purchased directly from the site

Starting your family tree is something that requires a lot of effort and patience but the overall process can be a lot of fun and very rewarding. If you’re a newcomer and just beginning your adventure, get ready to roll up your sleeves but don’t get discouraged when you hit the occasional roadblock!

We’ve hand-selected three very knowledgeable genealogists to provide some insight about starting a family tree and presented them with the following question: 

What is the best piece advice you can give to someone that wants to start building their family tree?

Here’s what they have to say…

Dick Eastman (@dickeastman):
Write it down!

Researching your family tree is a very personal and rewarding experience. You can really find out who you are and where you came from.

One problem with collecting all the facts about your ancestry is that you can quickly become overwhelmed with the details. Names, dates, and places can become confusing as you find more and more ancestors. Luckily, the “problem” is easily solved.

Starting with your very first efforts, always record what you found. Record not only the names and the facts (dates and locations), always record where you found that information. In some cases, you found the information in a book. Other sources of information might be verbal from an older relative.
In any case, always write it down.

Your memory isn’t perfect! Someday you will ask, “Where did I obtain that information?” Recording it now solves future problems.

You can obtain a fancy computer program to capture your information or you can write it down on a plain piece of paper. The method is not important but make sure you record every scrap of information and the source where you found it.

Randy Seaver (@rjseaver):
Building your family tree will be a lifetime effort.  There is no such thing as a worldwide family tree with your family in it – you will have to search high and low for information about your ancestors and to find their family stories.

The search should be in all possible resources – in books, in court records, in state vital records, in passenger lists, in census records, in military records, in DNA testing, and in many more resources.  You may find information about your ancestors that is published by someone else in print or on the Internet.  You should use this information only as a finding aid – to help you find the original sources with primary information that prove birth, marriage, death and event facts and relationships.  You should attempt to verify or disprove every fact or story you find about your ancestor, and cite your source material.

Lastly, only a small percentage (probably less than 5% in 2009) of all genealogy information is on the Internet.  Enjoy the search for your ancestors, and honor them with your research.

Debra Fleming (@ancestrydetect):
The best advice I could give to a beginning genealogist would be to start writing your family history now.  Don’t collect documents and facts but start the narrative.  The reason for this is that it puts your focus on filling in the blanks of who they were and the time in which they lived, putting your ancestor into historical context and causing you to research in between the lines.  I inherited a narrative format from my father that he wrote for a college course when I was three years old.  The unusual thing about this narrative is the format.  It forces you to ask questions like:  What were their political leanings and why?  What Religion were they?  Did they attend church regularly?  Did their Religion influence their choices and decisions?  What does it mean that he was a member of the Knights of Columbus?  What kind of life was factory work in a Thread Mill?  Was it unusual to be an immigrant home owner in Willimantic, CT?  What was Willimantic like in 1919?

These are the actions of our ancestors lives.  We owe it to them to provide the verbs and adjectives that paint color on the lives of our ancestors.  They were not just a collection of facts or nouns.  They lived and we need to paint them that way with our narratives.  Starting out writing is the best way to keep our focus on what matters, the actions of their lives.  In other words, how they lived.

——

Thanks to Dick, Randy and Debra for their great advice!!

If  you do a search and no results show, that means there are no family members outside of your family network using Genoom.  However, if you do happen to find a relative in the external search results, you can then request to have your trees joined.