NGS Conference Early Bird Registration Ends Today

Early Bird Registration Discount Ends

 2013 Family History Conference

Las Vegas, Nevada, 8–11 May 2013

Building New Bridges

ARLINGTON, VA, 18 March 2013: The NGS 2013 Family History Conference will be held 8–11 May 2013 at the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino (LVH), Las Vegas, Nevada. The early bird registration discount ends  Tuesday, 19 March 2013. In addition to enjoying a $35 discount, only early birds have the opportunity to order a printed syllabus. (Everyone will receive a syllabus on flash drive.) NGS members get even deeper discounts, so this is a great time to join. 


Space is still available for most breakfasts and luncheons, the NGS Banquet, and Tuesday bus tours. The BCG Education Fund Workshop is sold out. To be placed on the wait list, e-mail the NGS conference registrar, Courtney Holmes, at cholmes@ngsgenealogy.org .


All full-conference registrants will be entered in a drawing to win a seven-night stay at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel at Temple Square, courtesy of the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel. The prize will also include a free spot on one the Ancestor Seekers Salt Lake City research trips. Be sure to attend the opening session to find out if you are the winner. The winner must be present at the opening session to claim the prize.

To register online, visit the NGS website at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/attendee_registration and complete the registration form. 

Press Release from NGS - Voices of Genealogy Series

Two New Video Releases in Voices of Genealogy Series
Donna Valley Russell, FASG
“Becoming a Genealogist and an Editor”
and
Donna Valley Russell, FASG, with George Ely Russell, FASG, FNGS
“Married to Genealogy”

arlington, va, 27 december 2012: The celebration of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly’s 100^th anniversary closes the year with the release of two new videos featuring Donna Valley Russell in “Becoming a Genealogist and an Editor” and George and Donna Russell together in “Married to Genealogy.”

An expert in Western Maryland genealogy, Donna tells the story of her path from census taker to genealogist and editor. Originally from Michigan, Donna learned her skills there and served as editor of the Detroit Magazine for Genealogical Research. After she and George married, she moved to Maryland and founded her own journal, Western Maryland Genealogy. In 1985, based on the quality and quantity of her scholarly publications, she was named a fellow of the American Society of Genealogists. Her published works include Frederick County, Maryland, Wills, 1744-1794; First Families of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, 1649-1658; Frederick County, Maryland, Genealogical Research Guide; Michigan Censuses, 1710-1830; Selby Families of Colonial America; and The Ark and the Dove Adventurers (co-edited with George).

The second new video takes a lighthearted look at the genealogy scene with the George and Donna Russell cocktail hour. George Ely Russell, who first appeared in the Voices of Genealogy in January 2012, is also a fellow of the American Society of Genealogists and of the National Genealogical Society. He was the editor of the NGSQ from 1971-1986.

The videos were produced by award winning filmmakers Kate Geis and Allen Moore from interviews with Melinde Lutz Byrne, CG, FASG, co-editor of the NGSQ. Donna Valley Russell in “Becoming a Genealogist and an Editor” and Donna and George Russell in “Married to Genealogy” are now playing at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.

Previous releases in the Voices of Genealogy archive now on the NGS website (http://www.ngsgenealogy.org) present Mary McCampbell Bell, CG; John Frederick Dorman, CG (Emeritus), FASG, FNGS, FVGS; David L. Greene, PhD, FASG; Frederick C. Hart Jr., CG, FASG; Ronald Ames Hill, PhD, CG, FASG; Henry B. Hoff, CG, FASG, FGBS; Harry Macy, FASG, FGBS; George Ely Russell, FASG, FNGS; and Shirley Langdon Wilcox, CG, FNGS.

Video interviews with leading genealogists represent just one of the many opportunities NGS offers its members for honing their skills. Members receive the society’s outstanding quarterly publications, the NGSQ and the NGS Magazine, and can also take advantage of free courses and significant discounts on publications, courses, and the NGS annual conference to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, 8-11 May 2013; Richmond, Virginia, 7-10 May 2014; and St. Louis, Missouri, 13-16 May 2015.

Founded in 1903, the National Genealogical Society is dedicated to genealogy education, high research standards, and the preservation of genealogical records. The Arlington, Virginia-based nonprofit is the premier national society for everyone, from the beginner to the most advanced family historian seeking excellence in publications, educational offerings, research guidance, and opportunities to interact with other genealogists.

Take the Ancestry Death Challenge Contest to Win Great Prizes

Want to win an iPad or other great prizes? Just solve mysteries from beyond the grave using Ancestry.com collections and your investigative powers through November 2.

The October Death Record Education Program starts today with your first challenge. You have 24 hours from the moment the contest starts to enter your answer on the site. The first contest  opens at 12:01 Monday morning October 15th, and will close at 11:59 pm on Tuesday. 

The winner will then be posted Wednesday along with the new question. Prizes will be given for Monday and Wednesday questions. 

 Friday questions simply give the participant an extra entry for the grand prize of an iPad.  Winners are announced at Death Contest  or simply go to the main death page and click on the tab on the left labeled “Contest.”

The prizes for each day are listed on Olive Tree Genealogy blog.

Today’s Challenge: A Death in the Family.  You can back daily for tips, hints and more challenges—each one you answer is another entry in the grand prize drawing. So get started now at Death Contest for your chance to win!

Free Access to ALL U.S. Census Records for 6 Days!

With the completion of the 1940 census index there now are more than 713 million U.S. Federal Census records online and fully searchable from 1790 through 1940. To celebrate this unprecedented access to all publicly available censuses, Ancestry.com a great offer for you

Search all U.S. Censuses free
From August 29th through September 3rd, Ancestry.com is opening all of its U.S. census records – FREE.

You can also search these free records on Ancestry.ca during the same time period. 

Free Access to Ancestry.ca June 27-July 2

Ancestry.ca Family history website offers free access to more than 40 million historical records that trace the development of the nation over the last 145 years

June 27, 2012 (TORONTO) – In honour of Canada Day, Ancestry.ca, Canada’s favourite family history website, is offering free access to 40 million historical records that outline just how far the country has come as a nation in the past 145 years.

Available free from June 27 through July 2, the records cover the years leading up to and following Confederation and include censuses, birth, marriage and death records, passenger lists, military records and many more.

“Many Canadians today celebrate the diversity of our nation but that multi-culturalism only came following a period of incredible growth and development in the years immediately before and after nationhood,” said Ancestry.ca’s Julie Wingate. “These records really paint a picture of how much we’ve changed as a country and give us a real reason to celebrate Canada Day.”

In 1871, just four short years after Confederation, Canada conducted its first Census as a nation and the results showed it was a country made up of British and French immigrants and a stark lack of diversity.

In fact, according to the 1871 Census of Canada:

• Just 101 people are listed as being of Russian origin, compared to 500,000 in 2006
• Nearly 900 people are listed as being Italian, compared to 1.4 million in 2006
• Only one man is listed as being of Chinese descent in the 1871 Census, compared to 1.3 million in 2006

Between June 27 and July 2, millions of records will be accessible to Canadians for free on Ancestry.ca. The records are from some of the largest collections on Ancestry.ca, including:

·         Canadian Passenger Lists and Ocean Arrivals - outlining the masses of people who arrived by ship -- the only form of international travel available to people at the time -- at port cities across Canada

·         The 1871 Census of Canada - the first Census Canada conducted as a nation, which gives a snapshot of the life of the people living at the time, including who they lived with, their ages, their jobs, the birthplaces of their parents, their neighbours and more

·         Vital records (i.e. birth, marriage and death records) from British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia - outlining the significant moments in the people’s lives like children born, marriages and deaths.

Search Ancestry.ca for your family.

FamilySearch Adds New Genealogy Records

FamilySearch added just over 20 million new, free records online this past week for
Canada, Chile, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, and the U.S.

The 9 million new California death records and 5 million Nevada marriage
records should be a boon for those looking for ancestors in the western
U.S. Records were also added for 11 other states.

Search these and 2.5 billion other records now for free at FamilySearch.org.

Searchable historic records on FamilySearch.org are made possible by thousands of volunteers from around the world who transcribe (index) the information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online.

More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the amount of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about how to personally help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records as a volunteer indexer at  FamilySearch.org

Ancestry has free access to WW2 records Dec. 2 - 7, 2011

Million Historical World War II Records in Remembrance
of the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Attack

Collection includes the most comprehensive set of WWII Navy Muster Rolls ever released online and
exclusive Pearl Harbor veteran records 

PROVO, UTAH – (December 2, 2011) – In remembrance of the 70^th anniversary of the attack
on Pearl Harbor, which marked the United States’ entrance into World War II,
Ancestry.com  (Nasdaq: ACOM), the world’s largest online
family history resource,
today announced it is offering six days (December 2-7) of free access
to its entire World War II Collection.  One in five Americans is a
direct descendant of
a WWII veteran, with four out of five having a WWII veteran in their
families, according to research done by Ancestry.com[1].
The Pearl Harbor attack spurred millions of Americans into military
action. By the end of the war, nearly 16 million Americans had served in
the U.S. Armed Forces - more than a quarter in the U.S. Navy.

Highlighting the World War II Collection is the release of the
World War II Navy Muster Rolls (1939-1949), which includes more
than 33 million records detailing nearly all enlisted personnel who
served aboard a U.S. Navy ship between January 1939 and January 1949,
including more than 2,400 Americans who were killed
in the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Muster Rolls provided quarterly reports
of personnel assigned to a ship, duty station or other activity. These
reports noted sailors who experienced significant changes in status,
such as promotions, transfers, leave or time
in the infirmary.  In addition to all enlisted men, the Navy Muster
Rolls also include selected officers, female officers of the Army and
Navy Nurse Corps, wives and daughters of Navy personnel and civilians.
Nearly anyone searching for a family member who
was enlisted in the Navy during this time period should be able to find
their records in this collection.  These new U.S. Navy Muster Rolls and
the entire World War II collections can be found at
ancestry.com/pearlharbor

Carol
Horner-Iacona of San Marcos, Texas has utilized the U.S. Navy Muster
Rolls to create a book
of memory honoring her father who served as a Seaman First Class V-6
aboard the U.S.S. Helena, which was torpedoed on the morning of December
7th in Pearl Harbor. Charles Horner, now 91, was unable to speak of his
experience in the war until recently.  The
records Carol has uncovered have helped fill in the gaps to a family
story she hopes is never forgotten, including more than a dozen records
of his service during WWII, including the Muster Rolls detailing his
post on that fateful day at Pearl Harbor.

“The attack on Pearl Harbor pulled the United States into the deadliest conflict in world history,"
said Donald L. Miller, critically acclaimed author of The Story
of World War II and host and associate-producer of the new HBO
documentary, He Has Seen War. “Only 11 percent of World War II veterans
are still alive today, and as many of these veterans
continue to pass on, our connection to these historic events is being
lost. By making these records available, Ancestry.com is helping to keep
the stories of these brave men and women alive.”

Ancestry.com is further expanding the World War II collection by making these new records available
as part of the free access promotion:

• 
  National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl Cemetery) Database-
  This collection contains more than 120,000
  records from 1949 to 1976, including headstone images and photos of
  names on war memorials.  Seven hundred veterans who died in the attack
  on Pearl Harbor are buried at the Cemetery. This is the second largest
  final resting place for crewmen who lost their
  lives on December 7, 1941, the primary resting place being the USS Arizona Memorial.Together
  these two locations comprise the majority of the 2,402 Americans who
  died in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Also buried at Punchbowl Cemetery
  are veterans of the
  battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. This unique collection is available
  only on Ancestry.com and offers families the opportunity to pay their
  respects and discover information about their ancestor’s final resting
  place.
• 
  U.S. WWII Young Men’s Draft Cards -This
  collection includes draft cards from theseven draft registrations held
  between
  November 1940 and December 1942. Because of privacy laws, information
  on most of these registrations was not previously available to the
  public. The first installment of these cards includes almost two million
  filled out by men living in North Carolina who
  were born between 1897 and 1929.

“World
War II impacted millions of American families and we felt this was an
appropriate time to
make our collection available at no cost to provide the public an
opportunity to explore through records, how the War may have touched
their families,”
said Josh Hanna, Executive Vice President,
Ancestry.com. “Ancestry.com hosts the largest online
collection of historical military records and these new additions to our
World War II catalog add further depth to this important collection.”

Press Release: MyHeritage acquires FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com t

MyHeritage acquires FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com to enter US market

Significant move into US and addition of historical content mark major evolution for world's most popular online family network

PROVO, Utah & LONDON, UK & TEL AVIV, Israel-- MyHeritage, the most popular family network on the web, announced today the acquisition of FamilyLink.com, Inc., maker of the family history content sites FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com. This is MyHeritage's seventh and largest acquisition since 2007. The purchase marks a significant move into the US market commercially and operationally, and will boost MyHeritage’s offering to families with the addition of a vast database of more than 3 billion historical records. With offices and staff in Europe, Australia and Israel, MyHeritage will now be adding its first US-based office in Utah, the home of FamilyLink.com and often cited as the family history capital of the world.

 “We are delighted to join forces with the talented FamilyLink team in Provo to deliver meaningful value to families across the world,” says MyHeritage CEO and Founder Gilad Japhet. “Combining close to one billion family tree profiles on MyHeritage with FamilyLink's massive library of historical data delivers a perfect one-stop-shop for families looking to discover and share their family history".

Founded in 2006, both FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com are subscription services  which provide access to a huge database of historical content, covering several billion individuals within census, birth, marriage and death records, as well as the web’s largest archive of historical newspapers. This content will deliver new insights and value to the 60 million people who have signed up on MyHeritage in 38 different languages, creating more than 900 million profiles in 21 million family trees. When brought together under the MyHeritage umbrella, the company’s innovative Smart Matching technology will automatically match any of the new historical data to the relevant users' ancestors and relatives within the family trees.

“Our team of family history veterans couldn't be more excited about joining forces with MyHeritage”, said FamilyLink.com CEO Paul Brockbank. “This acquisition creates new horizons in exploring family history. People will receive the opportunity to search the most comprehensive historical content sources and make exciting new discoveries; share this information with their close family and save it into their family tree. Combined under the leadership of MyHeritage, the service will continue to flourish and add more value to millions of families”.

MyHeritage Founder and CEO Gilad Japhet adds: “The establishment of a US base for MyHeritage in Utah, the international center for genealogical research, is an important milestone in our growth and brings about an exciting opportunity for the company and the families we serve. MyHeritage provides the perfect service to collect the family’s treasured archive to share and keep for future generations in a setting that is friendly and secure – and now we're excited to top this off with vast amounts of content that will add more color and life to family trees. Through our powerful search engine and automatic Smart Matching technology we'll find your mother's yearbook, your great-grandfather's will and your ancestor's immigration record, leaving you with the time to marvel at, enjoy and share your family heritage. We'll do that on a massive, global scale, as we live in a world that is smaller and more tightly connected than ever before”.

This is the latest in a series of strategic purchases by MyHeritage since 2007 which have included Pearl Street Software, makers of GenCircles.com and the Family Tree Legends software; free family tree backup service BackupMyTree.com; European family social network market leader OSN (Verwandt) GmbH; Dutch family network ZOOOF; British family network Kindo.com and Polish family network Bliscy.pl.

The majority of the FamilyLink.com employees will join MyHeritage, based out of the company’s new US office in Provo, Utah: bringing the benefit of their collective expertise within the family history and North American genealogy market. The CEO of FamilyLink.com, Paul Brockbank, previously CEO of Logoworks and GM of Hewlett Packard Web Print Solutions, will play a key role in supporting the transition over the coming months and will later join the MyHeritage advisory board. FamilyLink.com founder Paul Allen, previously a co-founder of Ancestry.com, and FamilyLink.com's "We're Related" Facebook application, will not be part of the merger with MyHeritage. 

In the short-term, MyHeritage will continue to operate the two sites FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com, with the intention of achieving full integration within MyHeritage in 2012. With immediate effect and for an introductory period, loyal subscribers and users of MyHeritage will be entitled to discounts of up to 50% on FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com subscriptions, and vice versa.

Press Release: Archives.com Partners with Family Tree DNA to Offer DNA Testing

Archives.com Partners with Family Tree DNA to Offer DNA Testing

DNA Tests Available Through Archives.com for the First Time Providing Access to the World’s Largest Genetic Genealogy Database

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 22, 2011 -- Archives.com,
a website devoted to making family history simple and affordable,
announces another exciting way users can explore their family heritage.
Archives.com has partnered with Family Tree DNA ,
the world leader in genetic genealogy, to enable users to purchase DNA
tests through its website for the first time. These are being offered at
up to 30 percent off the regular price for a limited time. Archives
recognizes that DNA testing plays a critical role in family history
research, and is glad to offer a simple, convenient way for  users to
get started with genetic genealogy.

The growing field of genetic genealogy utilizes science to tell us more
about our ancestors, and maternal and paternal lineages. Family Tree DNA
can help researchers to verify known connections or uncover previously
unknown ethnic ties with the world’s largest genetic genealogy database
of over 350 thousand records, several times larger than the nearest
competitor. Archives.com now offers three types of DNA tests: the
Y-chromosome DNA test to trace paternal lines and surname matches; the
mitochondrial DNA test to determine maternal line matches; and the
Family Finder test kit, which tests autosomal DNA to reveal ethnic
percentages and trace genes across maternal and paternal lines.

Archives Director of Product Joe Godfrey commented, “Genetic genealogy is an
extremely exciting field. We’ve been interested in integrating DNA
testing into Archives.com for some time, and I’m glad we are working
with Family Tree DNA, the world’s largest genetic genealogy database, to
make this happen. This initial integration will give users the ability
to find historical records and start exploring their genetic genealogy
all in one place. In the future, we intend to provide users with more
robust tools and resources that will enhance the experience even
further.”

Family Tree DNA VP of Operations Max Blankfeld noted, “We are thrilled to
partner with Archives.com, a website we know will play an important role
in the future of online family history research. Archives.com provides a
genuine alternative to the more expensive websites out there. Easy
access to DNA testing will allow Archives.com users to explore this
important facet of genealogy research.”

Archives looks forward to collaborating closely with Family Tree DNA , the
community, and project managers, to provide the best integrated
experience between the two websites possible. Also Archives encourages
people to take advantage of the limited time discount on DNA tests found
on Archives.com.