UpFront with NGS

The Status of Geneabloggers Radio

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

In case you missed this, Thomas MacEntee posted this notice on his blog, GeneaBloggers, last month. I have to say that I have always been impressed with the “energy” that Thomas has brought to all his endeavors, his blog, the radio program, his FGS duties, conference talks and so much more! And, I’m not surprised that he’s had to make this decision – after all we all only have so many hours in a day during which we can do what we need to do and follow our passions!

Which GeneaBloggers radio program(s) have you personally found most helpful?

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So, what’s going on with GeneaBloggers Radio, you might ask? Well I’ve been doing a bit of soul searching – actually a lot of soul searching – in terms of goals and direction for my radio show. I hope you’ll let me share some of my thoughts and also allow me to give you a status update.

Status and Stuff

First, the status. I’ve decided to put GeneaBloggers Radio on an “irregular” schedule for the time being. This means the show won’t be broadcast on its regular Friday evening schedule.

Second, this doesn’t mean that GeneaBloggers Radio is ending or going away. I need a break and more than just the periodic night off. How can I tell? Well, for me there are two indicators of when it is time for a change – just like hitting a plateau in a diet:

o If I don’t feel that “fire in the belly” or that “driving force” to produce a body of work, like a weekly radio show, then it’s time to re-evaluate.

o And if something feels “forced” and I’m “going through the motions,” then that is also a good indicator that change is needed.

What It Takes To Produce A Weekly Radio Show

Producing a weekly radio show is hard work. It takes about five hours each week to just line up topics, guests and do the production work. Then there is the publicity and marketing. Then the actual show. All told, each 90 minute episode requires at least nine hours of my time each week. I can handle the amount of time, but when my heart isn’t in it, well then, as I said, it is time to figure out if that same nine hours can be used in another manner to help spread the good word about genealogy and family history.

Is Radio Right for Genealogy?

I still believe that Internet radio is a valuable venue and media channel for the genealogy industry. I also ask that while GeneaBloggers Radio is on hiatus, that my listeners follow some other great shows:

o Research at the National Archives and Beyond with Bernice Bennett on BlogTalkRadio

o Your Ancestors Want Their Stories to Be Told with Jane E. Wilcox on BlogTalkRadio

And don’t forget that there are over 60 archives episodes of GeneaBloggers Radio located in the On Demand Section here or via the iTunes store!

The Future of GeneaBloggers Radio

Finally, I’d love your feedback about GeneaBloggers Radio and the direction it should take in the future. I’ve thought about developing a genealogy radio game show similar to NPR’s Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! which would require a good deal of production resources. As I’ve said, the entire concept of genealogy radio is open for discussion . . . please email me your thoughts or let’s start a discussion in the comments or over on the GeneaBloggers Radio page on Facebook.

A Heartfelt Thank You

Whatever happens with GeneaBloggers Radio, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the many guests and co-hosts who’ve graced the air waves and helped make the show a success. However, the biggest thanks go to the many faithful listeners who made me and the show part of their “Friday night date.” The good times are not over . . . they’ll continue, but on a different schedule and perhaps a different format.

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NGS Announces Plans for 2013 Family History Conference in Las Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:02:00 +0000

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) announced at their Family History Conference in Cincinnati last week that the 2013 NGS Family History Conference, Building New Bridges, will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, from 8–11 May 2013. The conference hotel and venue will be the LVH−Las Vegas Hotel & Casino (formerly known as the Las Vegas Hilton). The hotel and conference center are under one roof offering excellent convenience for attendees. To ensure a reservation, attendees may reserve their accommodations now and must request the NGS conference rate when making a reservation. The LVH will accept reservations beginning 14 May 2012 via telephone 1-800-635-7711 or online at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/accommodations.

The LVH−Las Vegas Hotel & Casino is a cultural icon. In 1969 Barbra Streisand was the opening performer. The property was known as the International, and it was the world’s largest hotel. Elvis Presley quickly became the star performer. After the Hilton chain purchased the International in 1970, the building became the Las Vegas Hilton and starred as the Whyte House in the 1971 James Bond film, “Diamonds Are Forever.” Elvis lived in the hotel’s penthouse while headlining until his last concert in December 1976. In January 2012 the property became the LVH−Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. The LVH is ten minutes from McCarran International Airport and convenient to I-15 and I-515. The Las Vegas Monorail begins at the LVH and carries passengers to six major Strip resorts.

The conference theme for 2013 is Building New Bridges. The Mike O’Callaghan−Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, dedicated in 2010, spans the Colorado River on Native American land, connects the Las Vegas Valley to Route 66, and embodies the West as a timeless “bridge” where cultures, nations, and technologies connect. The bridge visually frames nearby Hoover Dam, which in 1935 opened the Southwest to urban and agricultural growth by harnessing the water and power of the Colorado River. In celebration of the 2013 theme, the four-day conference will offer more than 150 lectures on researching peoples and places of the West, migration to and from the West, law, military records, immigration, methodology, academic history, family history writing, BCG Skillbuilding, African American and other ethnic research, technological innovation in genealogy (GenTech), and more. In addition, Las Vegas and Clark County are home to several museums and repositories that highlight the history and culture of the area. Manuscript collections reflect the histories of immigrant, Eastern, and Midwestern families that migrated to and through the city in the twentieth century.

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Wolf's Head Books Closing

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Image as appeared with Sunshine Slate article

The NGS conference is a great place to meet some of the most fascinating people. One of those I met in 2009 was Harvey Wolf of Wolf’s Head Books. For the 2009 conference I was one of the people responsible for the vendor area. Harvey was a bright spot amongst the requests for power, services, tables, chairs, complaints and much more!

We talked about food! Specifically barbecue! He was polling around the vendor area for those of us living in Raleigh to figure out which place had the best barbecue so he could go eat there! Though he didn’t think the local establishment he tried lived up to the hype, he was the one person I looked forward to talking with each day! He made sitting at my table “fun” for the duration of the conference.

I was sad to learn, less than a year later, that Harvey had died. Read his obituary here.

And, now, I’ve learned that Wolf’s Head Books is closing. Read the Sunshine Slate article.

Some people just touch your life and Harvey was one of them! His energy, passion and enthusiasm will not be forgotten.

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Your Ancestors Stories - Nat'l Gen. Soc & Terry Koch-Bostic -- TONIGHT 9PM!

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Catch Terry Koch-Bostic, a Director and the Marketing Chair on the NGS Board of Directors, as she talks with Jane Wilcox on the Forget Me Not Hour (Radio Program) tonight at 9PM EST.

Tonight’s program is described as ...

If you missed the National Genealogical Society's annual conference in Cincinnati, this is the show to hear. Even if you were there, this is the show to hear since you couldn't be everywhere at once. Terry Koch-Bostic, a Director and the Marketing Chair on the NGS Board of Directors, joins Jane tonight to share highlights from the four-day conference. What speakers wowed their audiences? What did participants see at the Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati? What new technology was introduced? Find out here.

So, whether you were at the recently concluded NGS 2012 Family History Conference or not, you’ll want to listen tonight to get the scoop!

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rootstech Call for Presentations

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:51:00 +0000

March 21-23, 2013 | Salt Lake City, Utah

The world of genealogy is changing at an ever-increasing rate through the development of new technologies. Millions of people are passionate about discovering their roots. They share an interest in learning about the latest technologies and methods to help them in this pursuit. The third annual RootsTech Conference brings together thought leaders and consumers who want to share and experience the latest trends in genealogy and technology. Building on the success and growth of previous years, RootsTech 2013 will reach thousands of participants on site and around the world. RootsTech includes engaging, interactive sessions that promote learning and the free exchange of ideas on improving the way genealogy is done. Genealogists and technologists attending this conference share a stance that is progressive and forward thinking. They are interested in the application of technology to simplify and improve the family history experience.

Unique tracks will be offered that address the specific needs of genealogists and technologists, with an emphasis on how they can more effectively work together. We invite proposals that address technology challenges and solutions that have the potential to improve family history and genealogical research. Additional consideration will be given to proposals that provide hands-on or interactive experiences, with presenters giving step-by-step approaches and live demonstrations for using technology for genealogy, including tips and helps for using software, hardware, standards, APIs, plug-ins, etc. Since RootsTech is designed as an interactive conference, traditional lectures depending entirely on text-based slides are discouraged.

Possible sessions for genealogists include:

Solutions for saving, accessing and sharing data
Publishing and sharing family history online
Tools for online collaboration and community projects
Using popular applications for family history
Reaching and engaging new genealogists through technology
Online sites and services for getting started

Possible sessions for developers include: GPS and geo-mapping ancestral locations

Applications for mobile devices
Social applications
Standards and APIs
Records imaging and tree visualization
Gamification of family history experiences
Cloud-based solutions for saving, accessing, and sharing data

Submissions are due by June 15, 2012, with an extended deadline of October 15, 2012 for limited, late-breaking technology research submissions.

Types of Sessions

Presentations: Classroom settings that engage participants.
Panels or Discussions: Formal panels of experts discussing specific topics, led by a facilitator.
Hands-on Workshops: Labs where attendees have hands-on experience in a specific task or objective.
Unconferencing: Informal, participant-led discussion groups.

Submission Information

Proposals will be accepted online at rootstech.org from May 9, 2012 through June 15, 2012. Syllabus materials will be due from participating presenters on October 1, 2012 (other than late-breaking proposals).

Presenters participating in the RootsTech Conference will receive a complimentary conference registration and a syllabus. There is no monetary compensation for presenters at this conference. Out-of-state speakers selected to present three or more lectures will also receive hotel accommodations.

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NBC NOT Renewing Who Do You Think You Are

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:18:00 +0000

Thomas MacEntee via Facebook (FB) shared that NBC is NOT renewing Who Do You Think They Are. Here’s Ancestry.com’s response on Market Watch.

What’s your reaction? Post a comment!

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Check out the NGS 2012 Family History Conference FB Photo Albums

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Not at the conference? You can still “see” some of what’s happening through the albums posted on the NGS Facebook page!

As I sit at home, it’s nice to see some “familiar” faces in the albums! And, for other images, I wonder what the “story” is?

Editor’s Note: Next week we’ll resume our nice and eclectic mix of genealogical resource and news posts!

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Upcoming NGS Conference Events

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

If you still have room in your conference schedule, you might check out these events ...

Friday (11 May) -- NGSQ 100^th Anniversary reception, 5:30 until 7:00 p.m. will highlight the centennial anniversary of this premier genealogical journal. Emphasizing scholarship and genealogical problem solving in a clear, readable format, the NGS Quarterly sets the standard for genealogical excellence. The celebratory event will feature exhibits focusing on the history of the publication and influential individuals who have contributed to its success throughout the years. Admission to the event is $15.
Saturday (12 May) -- NGS Annual Meeting, 5:15 p.m. -- This is an opportunity for NGS members to meet the NGS officers and board members and hear an update on NGS programs, courses, and publications from NGS President, Ann Hilke, cg.

Editor’s Note: These are published here as suggestions. There may or may not still be openings for the reception (as you read this) and ask at the registration desk.

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For NGS Conference News -- Check out FB!

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:01:00 +0000

While at the NGS 2012 Family History Conference, the NGS Facebook (FB for short) page is a great place to learn about what’s happening at the conference!

And, when the conference is over – it’s a great resource for NGS news and other items of interest to genealogists!

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The NGS 2012 Family History Conference is NOW!

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Though the conference has started, it’s still not too late to register, http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/attendee_registration, or to take advantage of the following helpful materials.

o NGS 2012 Goes Mobile - Download the app today!

o Daily Schedule (PDF 3.5MB)

o Searchable Conference Program

o Registration Form (PDF 357KB)

o Registration Brochure 8.5" by 11" (PDF 1.21MB)

o NGS Conferences-What to Expect - An NGS Video Production

o Conference Blog

With the NGS 2012 Goes Mobile App, you can now have the conference with you every moment of the day (though, I might recommend using some discretion with that).

Do you have any “tips” to share to help make sure that conference attendees, whether “newbies” or “experienced,” have a memorable and valuable experience? Please share!

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The Wait is Over -- the NGS 2012 Family History Conference Starts Tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:57:00 +0000

For those attending the conference, you are probably in or on your way to Cincinnati.

And, if you are like me, you are sitting at your computer waiting to see what “News” is announced during the conference. It’s not unusual for “big announcements” to be made – now we just have to wait and see if any are made this year.

Whether you are at the conference or at home, to keep current on the happenings, do checkout the NGS 2012 Family Conference Blog at http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/. On this page, you will also find a list of official conference blogs (right side of page).

Additionally, for those attending the conference ...

The National Genealogical Society Board of Directors and staff are interested in receiving your feedback on the 2012 Family History Conference.

Your satisfaction is essential to us and feedback is an important aspect in maintaining the highest level of excellence. We invite you to tell us about your experiences at the conference by taking a brief survey. It should take no longer than two to five minutes of your time and your responses will help us prepare for the NGS 2013 Family History Conference.

There are two surveys: one for individual lectures, and one for the overall conference.

Lecture Surveys are at http://ngs2012sessions.questionpro.com/. You can also take the survey under the News Flash section in the conference app.

Conference Survey is at http://ngs2012.questionpro.com. You can also take the survey under the News Flash section in the conference app.

We thank you for taking a few minutes out of your busy schedule to give us your feedback. The surveys will be open during the conference and will stay open through Sunday, 20 May 2012.

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PeoplePlotr -- Web-based People Plots and Family Trees

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

As we all know, there are many ways to “share” a visual of our family tree (whether on or off line) and a new online one that caught my eye is PeoplePlotr. I also found it interesting in that it’s not “limited” to representing family connections in a traditional genealogical-way; you decide “how” to share. You can also plot personnel at your company, members of your organization and so much more!

Though there are paid subscription levels, you can start with a free account which allows the following:

Basic account that allows you to create a fully-functional plot*
Limited to one plot
Up to 30 people on plot
Add Flickr images
Embed YouTube and Vimeo vids
Share plots with others
Choose background image

If you’ve used this service – what do you think? Are there other similarly flexible family tree plotting services?

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The Things We’ve Handed Down

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This is a Great song by Marc Cohn from his LIVE 04-05 Album. You can catch the song and video on YouTube.

Other songs mentioned by EOGN readers as having a genealogy connection are The Family Tree (video) (by Venice), and Family Hands (lyrics) (by Mary Chapin Carpenter). Back in 2007, Genea-Musings posted a list. And, I stumbled across, Let the Mystery Be (video) (Iris DeMent) ...

What songs do you associate with genealogy and family research?

Editor’s Note: Thanks to Dick Eastman and his readers for sharing.

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18 Everyday English Words That Come from Irish

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Just like it’s fun to learn where our ancestors came from, it’s fun to learn where the words in our language come from. After all, our language reflects our cultural history!

Upfront with NGS reader Emma Taylor has written a fun piece “18 Everyday English Words That Come from Irish.”

Are you aware of or can you construct a similar list for another “source” of English words? If so, please share!

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Announcing Improved Access to Virginia’s Vital Records

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Thanks to Dick Eastman for originally sharing this update and making me aware of the news ...

The following status update was sent by Peter Broadbent, former President of the Virginia Genealogical Society:

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has signed into law two pieces of legislation passed by the 2012 Virginia General Assembly that will provide significantly improved access to Virginia’s vital records. Both bills were strongly supported by the Virginia genealogical community...

Read the full post and you can see the original post on the Virginia Genealogical Society webpage. Additionally, Peter E Broadbent, Jr (Former President, VGS) is asking that those appreciative of this increased accessibility to VA vital records send a thank-you not to Governor Bob McDonnell (details are on the VGS site).

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Forgotten food: 25 foods readers would like to revive (UK)

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Sprats (a kind of fish) have gone out of fashion

There was an article published in the BBC News Magazine with the above title. Basically, an article on reviving Britain’s forgotten foods prompted a response from readers about what dishes and foods they would love to bring back!

Though my mother was born in

England

, I can’t say that I recognized any of the missed items. And, cooking was not my mom’s favorite pastime! Though, having said that, I do associate food with growing up. A few years ago my sisters and I pooled our collective memories of our favorite meals as made by mom and compiled them into a little booklet containing those recipes and images of her throughout her life. It was fun to discover what we all remembered fondly and also the various dishes that only one of us particularly cared for. We still make our Trifle using her recipe and I'm always up for a shepherd's pie!!

What would be on your list of foods you remember from growing up (or remember hearing about when growing up) that are now pretty much forgotten and that you would like to see revived? Please post a comment!

Or, what dishes just bring back such fond memories of growing up?

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Serendipity: It's a Wonderful World

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:00:00 +0000

There was a genealogy colleague and friend of mine who always referred to “Sarah N Dipity” or serendipity as being a key element of our genealogy research!

So, you can imagine my delight when I saw this Ancestry Insider post on this topic!

Have you experienced some great serendipity in your genealogy research? Please share!

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David L. Greene, PhD, FASG: “Becoming a Genealogist” New Release in Voices of Genealogy Video Series

noreply@blogger.com (National Genealogical Society) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Today NGS offers the fourth in the Voices of Genealogy series celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and the great genealogists of our time. This is also the fourth in the series featuring editors of the major US genealogical journals.

In “Becoming a Genealogist” David L. Greene, PhD, FASG, tells the story of how he discovered genealogy through his grandmother’s DAR papers, massive charts that looked like “basketball playoffs” groupings, and how he eventually became co-editor of The American Genealogist (TAG). The American Genealogist is the country’s oldest independent genealogical journal.

Inspired to create “good genealogy” after reading TAG and other genealogical journals’ articles, Greene describes his journey to becoming co-editor of The American Genealogist in 1984 by studying writers like Mary Lovering Holman and her careful explanations of how a conclusion was reached and Milton Rubicam, who he considers may be the best editor in the field of genealogy. Dr. Green has now continuously co-edited TAG for twenty-eight years.

In a future episode Dr. Greene will describe his own research, notably his studies of the personalities involved in the Salem witch trials.

To enjoy the interview, visit http://www.ngsgenealogy.org, log in, click the Members Only tab, and then click the Videos link in the menu on the left of the screen.

The video interviews represent just one of the many opportunities NGS offers its members for becoming successful genealogists. Members receive the society’s outstanding quarterly publications, The National Genealogical Society Quarterly and the NGS Magazine, and can also take advantage of free courses and significant discounts on publications, courses, and the NGS annual conference to be staged in Cincinnati 9–12 May 2012 and in Las Vegas 8–11 May 2013.

Example of What One Person Can Do

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Photo of Beverly Kittinger, Killeen Daily Herald (associated with 2nd article mentioned)

This is a great story about what one genealogy “volunteer” can do for a community!

“Every Monday and Wednesday, 71-year-old Beverly Kittinger can be found in the reference section of the Killeen Public Library's main branch.

Poring through birth, death and marriage records for eight to 10 hours a week, she's a one-person genealogy department for the library, creating a database that can be used not only by Killeen residents but also by people across the country trying to find out more about their family histories.

Kittinger, a former library employee, said she been working on the database for the past nine years...”

Read the full article and another article about Ms. Kittinger.

Do you know of such a volunteer? Please post a comment with a “shout out” to that person and all they’ve done to help genealogists!

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Why can't I find my grandmother's passport?

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Bobeyka Family Passport (Russian)

This article on Genealogy Today is a reminder to us that passports are a somewhat modern requirement for international travel. Even my emigrant ancestors from Finland in 1900 had a Russian Passport!

And, we are also reminded how important it is to know the laws of what documentation is required and for who to best understand what we find!

What is the oldest passport you have for an ancestor? Post a comment as we’d love to hear about it!

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Ancestry.com Inc. to Acquire Archives.com

noreply@blogger.com (National Genealogical Society) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:53:00 +0000

Ancestry posted the following message from Tim Sullivan, President and CEO of Ancestry.com plus the press release that follows, on Wednesday, April 25, 2012.

First a note from Tim Sullivan:

I wanted to send you a note to provide a little more information about our announcement today of an agreement to acquire Archives.com. As you know, Archives.com is a fast-growing family history site that has clearly attracted new users to family history with a product that is easy to use and one that has proven to be a great way for people to get started with family history.

Like Ancestry.com, the team at Archives.com has an extensive roadmap of product and technology innovation that we believe will make their service an even more unique and well-differentiated player in the dynamic and growing online family history category. Additionally, they’ve done a great job building strong partnerships with a number of key family history organizations, including a smart and strategic partnership with the U.S. National Archives, FamilySearch and findmypast.com to index and provide free digital access to the recently released 1940 U.S. Federal Census. These types of relationships, along with some creative content acquisition strategies, have helped build out Archives.com robust collection of family history records and expand the interest in family history.

In some ways, we view our deal with Archives.com as a coming-of-age moment for the online family history category. The success of companies like Archives.com, and the innovation we see across our industry, in many ways validates the work we have all done over many years to build category awareness. Archives.com has found an area of excellence in the family history category and they are a welcomed addition to the Ancestry.com family.

We very much view the acquisition of Archives.com as a way for us to accelerate our strategy of serving multiple customer segments with well differentiated offerings. I want to emphasis that our plan is to keep Archives.com as a distinct brand and site, to continue to nurture its existing partnerships, and to continue to invest in new content, product and technology.

There have never been more products and services available to genealogists than there are today, and I’m sure you will agree with me that that is a great thing. We are excited to help the talented Archives.com team continue to grow alongside Ancestry.com and look forward to helping them achieve their vision for a great online family history service.

Tim Sullivan

ANCESTRY.COM INC. TO ACQUIRE ARCHIVES.COM

–“Simple and Affordable” Fast-growing Start-up Adds Complementary Offering to Ancestry.com–

PROVO, Utah, April 25, 2012 – Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Archives.com, a family history website, for approximately $100 million in cash and assumed liabilities.

This transaction will enable Ancestry.com to add a differentiated service targeted to a complementary segment of the growing family history category. In addition, Ancestry.com will welcome a team of talented engineers, digital marketers, and family history innovators into the Ancestry.com fold and also gain access to a proprietary technology platform that has supported Archives.com’s rapid growth.

Archives.com is owned and operated by Inflection LLC, a Silicon Valley-based technology company. Since Archives.com’s launch in January 2010, the site has rapidly grown to more than 380,000 paying subscribers who pay approximately $39.95 a year. Archives.com offers access to over 2.1 billion historical records, including birth records, obituaries, immigration and passenger lists, historical newspapers, and U.S. and U.K. Censuses.

“Archives.com has built a fantastic and fast-growing business that we think is highly complementary to Ancestry.com’s online family history offering,” said Tim Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ancestry.com. “We love their focus on making family history simple and affordable, and we are excited to help the talented Archives.com team continue to grow alongside Ancestry.com, Fold3.com, and Family Tree Maker.”

“Family history remains a dynamic and growing online category,” added Sullivan. “Archives.com’s focus is consistent with our mission to help everyone discover, preserve and share their family history, which will help continue our efforts in delivering amazing discoveries to an even broader audience.”

Over the past two years, Archives.com has partnered with multiple well-known family history organizations that have helped build out Archives.com robust collection of family history records. Most recently, Archives.com partnered with the U.S. National Archives to provide free digital access to the recently released 1940 U.S. Federal Census.

“We are proud of the experience we’ve built with Archives.com and believe strongly in its future potential,” said Matthew Monahan, CEO and Co-Founder of Inflection. “Combining with Ancestry.com positions Archives.com to best capitalize on that potential, pairing complementary visions of the marketplace and the opportunity. We’ve long admired Ancestry.com’s content and technology and the innovations that the Ancestry.com team continues to bring to market. We’re excited to see how this transaction expands the reach of family history to an even larger audience.”

Upon completion of the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including expiration of the HSR waiting period, Ancestry.com will continue to operate Archives.com separately retaining its brand and website. Multiple Inflection employees, including key product and engineering executives are expected to join the Ancestry.com team.

About Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with more than 1.8 million paying subscribers. More than 9 billion records have been added to the site in the past 15 years. Ancestry users have created more than 34 million family trees containing approximately 4 billion profiles. In addition to its flagship site, Ancestry.com offers several localized Web sites designed to empower people to discover, preserve and share their family history.

About Archives.com
Archives.com is a leading family history website that makes discovering family history simple and affordable. The company has assembled more than 2.1 billion historical records all in a single location. Archives also partners with other leading family history websites to provide a comprehensive resource for researching your family history. Archives.com is free to try for seven days, allowing anyone to explore the benefits of membership without risk or obligation. For more information and to start discovering your family history, please visit http://www.archives.com/.

About Inflection
Inflection is a Big Data and e-commerce startup headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley. Leveraging its proprietary technology platform, the company has built innovative data services like Archives.com, PeopleSmart.com, and Identity.com. Inflection was founded in 2006 and is backed by tier-one venture capitalists Matrix Partners and Sutter Hill Ventures.

Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or to future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "appears," "may," "designed," "expect," "intend," "focus," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "should," "continue" or "work" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements include statements concerning among other things, the proposed transaction between Ancestry.com and Archives.com, including the consummation and anticipated timing of the transaction as well as the expected benefits of the proposed transaction, and the effects of the proposed transaction on Ancestry.com, our subscriber base or reach. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include a variety of factors, some of which are beyond our control. In particular, such risks and uncertainties include the risk that the transaction does not close when anticipated, or at all; difficulties encountered in integrating acquired businesses and retaining customers, and the additional difficulty of integration when continuing the acquired operation; the adverse impact of competitive product announcements; failure to achieve anticipated revenues and operating performance; changes in overall economic conditions; the loss of key employees; competitors’ actions; pricing and gross margin pressures; inability to control costs and expenses; and significant litigation.

Information concerning additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements is contained under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, and in discussions in other of our SEC filings. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date and we assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Old Maps Online

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000

As genealogists, we love maps! They are such helpful tools for our research and sometimes just fun to look at!

The OldMapsOnline Portal is an easy-to-use gateway to historical maps in libraries around the world.

It allows the user to search for online digital historical maps across numerous different collections via a geographical search. Search by typing a place-name or by clicking in the map window, and narrow by date. The search results provide a direct link to the map image on the website of the host institution.

Basically you can move the “base map” around to select “where” in the world you are interested in. You can zoom in as needed and also select a time period range. On the right, you will then see the search results and you can click on any map to learn more about it (e.g. it’s source) and then you can click on “view this map” to go to it directly. I found a lot of maps from the David Rumsey Map Collection listed which is an excellent resource for maps!

About.com has a nice article about this site.

Any particular maps really catch your attention?

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The National Genealogical Society Announces New Director: Robert Raymond

noreply@blogger.com (National Genealogical Society) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) announces the appointment of Robert Raymond to the Board of Directors. Robert, a resident of Utah, was selected to serve as an NGS Director at Large by President Ann Christnacht Hilke. Ms. Hilke stated, “We are pleased that Robert Raymond has agreed to join the board of NGS as he adds to the breadth of excellent business, technology, and genealogical skills our organization has set as goals for our future board development.”

Robert Raymond is a deputy to FamilySearch Chief Genealogical Officer, David Rencher, helping to increase genealogical soundness of FamilySearch products and improving relationships with the genealogical community. Additionally, Robert helps set the record acquisition and publication strategy.

Robert is a popular speaker and writer. His blog (authored pseudonymously) has won many awards and recognitions and is consistently ranked among the top ten genealogical blogs. He is the author of an acclaimed family history website where he has published hundreds of digitized genealogical records and personal histories, written numerous articles, and created several maps. Before FamilySearch, Robert worked at Ancestry.com and before that he was vice president of an award-winning technology company.

Robert is a genealogy technologist with more than forty years experience in genealogy, and thirty years in technology. Robert holds over a dozen technology patents and earned a masters degree in electrical (computer) engineering from Brigham Young University where he was honored as a Kimball Scholar. He is a volunteer at a FamilySearch Family History Center where he can be found in the trenches every Wednesday night.

Republic of Ireland -- Will Calendars

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Image from PRONI, http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/will_calendars/history_of_probate.htm

Irish research continues to get easier with more and more resources becoming available online.

“The National Archives of Ireland has been busy updating its online catalogue with an entry for each of the Calendars of grants of probate of wills and letters of administration from 1858-1982.

... the updated catalogue is in good shape if you're looking for wills dating from Independence to the 1980s...”

Read the full article.

All calendars from 1923 to 1982 have been scanned and links are available here on the Council of Genealogical Organisations page.

Chris Paton of British GENES (British Genealogy News and Events) notes that the equivalent probate calendars for the counties of Northern Ireland, both before and after partition, from 1858-1943 are also available in database format at www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/will_calendars.htm.

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Everyone Makes Mistakes: Why You Should Review Your Research Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Diane L Richard) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This article on Olive Tree Genealogy (5 March 2012) caught my eye since just recently I had been reading someone else’s research notes about a census entry for a family. When I looked at the index entry at Ancestry.com and an image of the original census page – what becomes evident are two things – one, the handwriting is slanted across the page making it easy to get off “one” line when reading across AND two, that for this particular head of household, entries were erased and over-written with “corrected” entries [the researchers notes included both those erased and added – making for a much larger family].

The funniest part about this – is that the “corrected” entries are actually consistent with all the other records found for this family whereas the transcription that has been used as the basis for most of the research, actually required one to explain “away” the other individuals purportedly listed!

Again, we are reminded that both our own research notes and those of others may contain “errors” of interpretation and that it is critical to see original documents. We all do make mistakes when writing our notes, in how we interpret found records, etc. Be willing to re-look at your own notes and collected documents and you may find “new clues” hiding in plain sight!

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