Historical records subscription site Footnote is making its US census records free for a limited time. Footnote spokesperson Justin Schroepfer says there’s not yet a firm ending date, but the records will be free at least through the end of this month. You’ll need to register as a free member to view the records.  Footnote is  carrying out plans to host the complete US census back to 1790. Here are the census records on the site so far: the complete 1860 census 5 percent of 1900 3 percent of 1910 3 percent of 1920 98 percent of ...

Just look at the packaging for our 10 Years of Family Tree Magazine 2000-2009 DVD. It’s so pretty, you might not want to open it. But go ahead. Here’s what you’ll find: A DVD with the past decade’s worth of Family Tree Magazine issues. All our genealogy research guides, tips, tools and tutorials—more than 4,700 pages, Allison declared after one-on-one time with a calculator—on a convenient, space-saving DVD. A Family Tree Magazine library, if you will. All the issues are PDF files; open them ...

Finding an ancestor’s immigration record is the goal of many a genealogist, which is why I’m selecting an excerpt from Rick Crume’s February 2007 Family Tree Magazine article on Stephen P. Morse’s One-Step search site for this week's “Best of” installment. Morse has searches for many sites, but his Ellis Island search forms are among the most popular. I have a soft spot for them: I found one of my ancestors by using the Gold form to search passenger lists month-by-month around the arrival date given on a naturalization record. ...

I just saw on Twitter that subscription genealogy site Footnote’s new image viewer is now live. (We told you last month how to get a sneak preview of the “Newer Viewer.”)   This is what it looks like (that's my great-grandfather's Petition for Naturalization): The viewer controls are better organized by function, and it’s easier to navigate within the collection and to other records. More specifically, the changes include: The source information panel has moved from the right to the left side of the page (you can click an ...

Good news for fans of genealogy video site Roots Television: After being flooded with e-mails and tweets in response to her announcement of the site’s shutdown, Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak will keep Roots Television going. "I honestly had no clue how valued it was by the genealogical community, and I agree with the many of you who pointed out that it serves a somewhat different purpose than the prime time programming that's on TV at present," she says in an e-mailed message to the site’s newsletter subscribers. Roots Television videos will soon feature ...

For those of you yearning to know more about how a small army of genealogists uncovered Sarah Jessica Parker’s Gold Rush and Salem Witch trial ancestry, shown Friday night in NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” premiere, Ancestry.com has provided a look at the behind-the-scenes research process. I'll send you over to Geneabloggers, where Thomas MacEntee has posted it. For even more details, see Kimberly Powell's About.com Genealogy post about a letter she found that mentions Parker’s ancestor John S. Hodge. The show came in second in the ...

We’ll be doing quick recaps of every “Who Do You Think You Are?” episode right here. So if you haven’t yet watched the Sarah Jessica Parker episode and you don’t want to know, stop reading this second. Here are some of my thoughts (and Facebook posts) while I watched:

Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP) and her brother are joking about being related to a Mayflower passenger. I smell foreshadowing.

SJP's father is Eastern-European Jewish, but she has lots of questions about her mother’s side. Her mother born and raised in ...

Our Georgia Roots blogger Luckie Daniels (one of the Family Tree 40) spent part of Thursday tweeting during a close encounter with "Faces of America" host Henry Louis Gates. Read how Luckie asked Gates about highlighting the genealogy of “ordinary people,” who, she said, represent America’s greatest strength—and stay tuned for the follow-up.  The National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC, is holding its sixth annual Genealogy Fair April 14 and 15th. Look for free classes and workshop, as well as a "Help! I’m ...

Dick Eastman’s blog caught my eye with a post about a Maine bill that might close birth and marriage records. The bill is LD 1781, An Act To Allow Electronic Filing of Vital Records and Closing of Records To Guard against Fraud and Make Other Changes to the Vital Records Laws, was the subject of a hearing yesterday before the legislature's Health and Human Services committee. You can see the text of LD 1781 here. It was sponsored by Rep. Anne C. Perry of Calais, Me. Sec. 12. 22 part 2706, Disclosure of Vital Records, reads “After 100 years from the ...

So pretty soon, your friends who’ve seen “Who Do You Think You Are?” and know you’re into genealogy might start asking you how they can start digging into their family history. Here are some beginner friendly resources: A downloadable, one-page PDF Get Started cheat sheet with 10 tips to start tracing your family tree, plus beginner-friendly websites and books. Great for printing and giving out at your “Who Do You Think You Are?” viewing party. A nice, concise online article with 10 steps to start your research A ...

…. and we don’t mean because of the weather. We took our CDs, books and webinars that offer genealogy help with three of the topics you’re most interested in, packaged them up into themed “bundles” and discounted them to give you a great deal. Three bundles are available at ShopFamilyTree.com: The Organized Genealogy Bundle: Organize Your Genealogy Life! CD, Organization Made Easy webinar recording, Organize Now! book, 2010 Family Tree Magazine Desktop Calendar The Beginner ...

Lisa Kudrow appeared on "Today" this morning to talk about “Who Do You Think You Are?” which premieres (in case you hadn’t heard) this Friday on NBC at 8 pm (7pm central). She describes the episode about her own roots (airing March 19) as “relentless” because it deals with the Holocaust—but if you hang in there, she adds, there’s a "happy surprise" at the end. Kudrow also calls Emmitt Smith, whose episode airs March 12, a “great teacher.” Here’s the "Today" video:

Interest in genetic genealogy was expanding beyond genealogy circles by April 2006, when this week’s “Best of Family Tree Magazine” article was published. Colleen Fitzpatrick shared an example of how DNA testing can help you theorize how and where your family may have migrated. Though not everyone’s looking to trace their roots back to the Vikings, I like this example because it shows some of the possibilities of genetic genealogy—a field where scientists continue to make door-opening discoveries for family historians. Follow genetic ...

Roots Television, a website launched in 2006 with genealogy videos, will close March 10—unless an interested party acts quickly to buy the site. An e-mail to Roots Television mailing list subscribers from Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, who launched the site along with media producer Marcy Brown in September 2006, said other outlets are now helping to fill the “genealogy channel” void. “Genealogy is finally going mainstream. Some of you are probably already watching 'Faces of America' on PBS and 'The Generations Project' on BYU,” Smolenyak ...

Here are some of this week's genealogy news bits: Ancestry.com is holding an Ultimate Family History Journey Sweepstakes to help launch “Who Do You Think You Are?” The grand prize is $20,000 in travel money (!), expert help with your genealogy research, and Ancestry.com subscriptions. Twenty first prize winenrs get a World Deluxe Subscription. Enter at Ancestry.com (scroll to the bottom of the home page and click on the sweepstakes promo) before April 30, 2010, at 11:59 pm ET. British subscription and pay-per-view site Findmypast has launched a ...