Since March 2006, I’ve been posting newsletter-related items and other tidbits here on the 24/7 Family History Circle blog. Similar to the Ancestry.com blog, my posts were created with the intent to provide readers with helpful information as their research their family history. Since both blogs share the same goal, I am joining my colleagues on the Ancestry.com blog, where you will now see my blog posts moving forward. This move will make it easier for you, so that you won’t have to jump back and forth between the two blogs, and will provide a one-stop resource for those ...

Session Start Time: Wednesday, 24 June 2009 08:00 PM Eastern (New York) Speakers: Stefanie Condie and Jennifer Curry Make a lasting impression at this year’s family reunion with a descendant family tree poster or descendant-based family history book. In this hour-long webinar, you’ll learn how to create a book or poster that your relatives will be talking about long after the reunion’s over. Descendant books and posters also make great birthday and anniversary gifts. During the webinar, three randomly chosen participants will receive coupons for a free ...

Session Start Time: Thursday, 18 June 2009 08:30 PM Eastern (Toronto / New York) Come join our Ancestry.ca specialists, Lesley Anderson and Karen Peterson, and Canadian Genealogist, Glenn Wright, in this one hour online seminar as they walk through the history of the Canadian Census. They’ll tackle effective search techniques, and tips which will cover each census year – 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1906, 1911 and 1916. Click here to register now!

An estimated half of all Canadians will have an ancestor in the historical censuses / one in four Canadians cannot trace roots back beyond their grandparents 32 million names and 1.3 million images of original records Famous names with ancestors in the censuses include Conrad Black, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Party Leader Michael Ignatieff, Pamela Anderson and Alanis Morissette - original images available (Toronto, June 10, 2009) - Ancestry.ca, in partnership with Library and Archives Canada (LAC), today completed the world-first online launch of the Historical Canadian ...

If you’ve been to Ancestry.com this morning, you probably noticed the new navigation bar at the top of the page. Tabs now include a drop-down menu so that you can navigate to sections of the site that previously would have required several clicks with just one. In the Family Tree menu, you’ll find all of your trees listed, and in Search, you’ll find links to search individual collections, all collections, and the card catalog. The Collaborate tab includes direct links to Message Boards, the World Archives Project, Member Connections, the Member Directory, and your Public ...

In response to your requests to limit search results to more relevant date ranges, Ancestry.com has added a new feature that automatically limits your search results to the years you specify for birth and death, helping you to locate your ancestors faster. It includes a “fudge factor” of five years before and two years after. If you only specify a birth year it will search for 100 years after that date; if you only enter a death year it will search for 100 years before that date. So, if you enter a birth year of 1901 and a death year of 1929, the search engine will return ...

The following is from the Utah Genealogical Association. Congratulations Mom! It is with great pleasure that the Board of the Utah Genealogical Association announces the awarding of the UGA Silver Tray Award to Loretto “Lou” Dennis Szucs. Instituted in 1973, the award was initially given to an individual or organization for “Scholarly Contributions in the Field of Genealogy.” Since 1988 the award has focused on efforts in the field of publications. Mrs. Szucs’ untiring efforts as an author, compiler and editor of superior quality genealogical publications ...

One in two Brits with ancestors in collection, including J.K. Rowling, David Beckham and Patsy Kensit 77 million records when complete, including workhouse, parish, school Famous names include Oliver Cromwell, Samuel Pepys and William Blake, as well as ancestors of contemporary celebrities JK Rowling, David Beckham, Patsy Kensit and Britney Spears An estimated 165 million people around the world has an ancestor in the collection, including more than half of the British population[ii] The definitive collection of records detailing the rich history of London and its inhabitants over 400 ...

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d browse around Ancestry.com and post a recap of some of the more popular Irish databases that are available through World Deluxe memberships. Here’s are some favorites I found: Ireland, Index to Griffith’s Valuation, 1848-1864 This database, an index to one of Ireland’s premier genealogical resources, Griffith’s Valuation, references approximately one million individuals who occupied property in Ireland between 1848 and 1864. The Griffith’s Valuation, or Primary Valuation of Ireland, was executed under ...

Mike Wolfgramm Appointed to Chief Technology Officer, Jonathan Young Takes Vice President of Development Position PROVO, UTAH – March 5, 2009 – The Generations Network (TGN), parent company of Ancestry.com, today announced that current Senior Vice President of Technology, Mike Wolfgramm, has been appointed the company’s Chief Technology Officer. Additionally, Jonathan Young has joined The Generations Network as Ancestry.com’s Vice President of Development. “For the last ten years, Mike has spearheaded efforts to stay ahead of the company’s continually ...

Last week I posted a story about a fascinating reunion that was to take place this past Saturday in London, England, at the Who Do You Think You Are?-Live conference. This morning, our friend Megan Smolenyak of RootsTelevision sent us a link to a video of the reunion . The video gives lots of information on how they made the connection and explains how the DNA testing made the reunion possible in a fun and easy to understand way. Click here to view the video of the reunion at RootsTelevision.com. Learn more about DNA testing at Ancestry.com.

Back in November of 2007, Megan Smolenyak wrote an article for the newsletter after Chris Haley, the nephew of Alex Haley of Roots fame, and Director of the Study of the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland at the Maryland State Archives took a DNA test through Ancestry.com at the 2007 FGS Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In his book, Queen, Chris explored the Haley line, which he shares with his famous uncle. He and Alex Haley both descend from Alec Haley about whom he wrote, “Following the common custom among slaves, Alec had taken the name Haley from his true Massa, although his real ...

When it comes to family history, we’re constantly learning. As our research progresses to a new era, a new location, or a new type of record, we have to learn new skills and refine old ones. For eleven years Ancestry has been e-mailing free newsletters to help family historians keep up with the latest news and tools of the trade and now we’re stepping up our efforts to keep you inspired and informed. Ancestry has been expanding its educational resources to include webinars and a much more in-depth monthly newsletter—the “Monthly Update.” You’ve ...

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. ~ Winston Churchill

U.S. Deluxe California Spanish Mission Censuses, 1796-1798 New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1972 (Oswego passenger lists and alien vessel crewmen who were discharged or deserted at New York, New York) World Deluxe Como and Lecco, Lombardia, Italy, Civil Registration Records, 1866-1937 (updated, in Italian) Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 (update, in German) Sweden, Kugelberg Newspaper Clips, 1888-1904 (browsable by name, in Swedish) More… View a list of all new and updated databases Learn more about what’s new at Ancestry.com Search the Ancestry.com ...