Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Today's Newsletter is Sponsored by Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com to Collaborate with Family History Information Standards Organisation to Define Community Standards

The following announcement was written by the Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc.:

Gilbert, AZ USA—May 17, 2012—Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc. (FHISO) announced today that Ancestry.com, Inc. has finalized its plans to become a founding member of the organisation. FHISO is a newly-formed international organisation created to develop standards for the digital representation of family history and genealogical information. As a founding member, Ancestry.com will designate five organisational member representatives to participate with other FHISO members from the global genealogical community.

St. Louis Genealogical Society Completes Indexing 1.6 Million Burials

The following announcement was written by the St. Louis Genealogical Society:

St. Louis Genealogical Society Completes Indexing 1.6 Million Burials

Do you know what these people have in common? Engineer, James Eads; Blues hockey player, Barclay Plager; Negro Leagues baseball player, James "Cool Papa" Bell; sports broadcaster, Jack Buck; slave, Dred Scott; poet, Sara Teasdale; educator, Susan Blow; and humanitarian, Tom Dooley?

They are just a handful of the 1.6 million people buried in St. Louis City or St. Louis County, Missouri, who have been indexed by the St. Louis Genealogical Society. This unique project was completed entirely by dedicated volunteers who donated thousands of hours to finalize this massive task. With the publication of its fourth and final cemetery CD, the society has now indexed every known cemetery with only one exception in St. Louis City and County.

The Tables Get Turned: I Receive Visitors

When writing articles for this newsletter, I often get to visit with other genealogists. Last Friday, the tables were turned. Several genealogists came to visit me. In fact, they dropped by my motor home that is parked in an RV (recreation vehicle) resort in the suburbs of Cincinnati.

The group included Daniel Horowitz, Mark Olsen, and Schelly Talalay Dardashti (all from MyHeritage.com), Pamela Weisberger (from Los Angeles), Elise Friedman and Alex Yi (from FamilyTreeDNA.com), and Chris Mueller (from Albuqerque).

(Photo courtesy of Mark Olsen.)

All 1940 US Census Images and Six States' Indexes Now Published Online

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

20 Million Records for 21 Other Countries Also Added

The 1940 US Census Community Project, which includes FamilySearch, Archives.com, Findmypast.com, NARA, and ProQuest.com, have now published browsable images online for 1940 U.S. Federal Census and the completed searchable indexes for six of the states. Online volunteer indexers have indexed 35% of the census. At current rates, they anticipate wrapping up the indexing by late summer. Follow the progress online at the1940census.com/dashboard or search the records on FamilySearch.org/1940census. FamilySearch also published new, free records online for Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United States, Venezuela, and Wales. Search these diverse collections and 2.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.

British Columbia Man Seeks Descendants of Soldier Killed in World War I

A man from Surrey, B.C., faces a big challenge unlocking a First World War mystery that's landed on his doorstep. Curtis Unger, who says he believes in honouring soldiers' memories, has recently come across a memorial plaque from the Great War. The plaque, called a Death Penny, bears the name of a 20-year-old English private named Walter Ryles.

"I was thinking of framing it and putting it on a wall, but I realized that this is a memorial. It's like a tombstone. It deserves to be handed down the generations of Ryles' family," he says.

Unger says he wants to get the story out in the hopes that one of Ryles' descendants will come forward and claim the plaque.

Ancestry.com Adds New Board Member: Dr. Paul R. Billings

The following announcement was written by Ancestry.com Inc.:

PROVO, Utah, May 16, 2012 -- Ancestry.com Inc., the world's largest online family history resource, today announced that renowned genomics expert Dr. Paul R. Billings has been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors, increasing the Board's size to nine members. Billings was also appointed a member of the Company's Audit Committee.

"Dr. Billings makes a great addition to our Board at a time when our focus on genetic genealogy is just at its beginning stages," said Tim Sullivan, President and CEO of Ancestry.com. "Paul's addition shows our company's reinforced commitment to the science of DNA that we are convinced will provide a new way for customers to make amazing discoveries that they can share with family and friends."

(+) 129 Million Books Online and Growing

The following is a Plus Edition article, written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

Google’s plan to digitize the world’s books into a combination research library and bookstore is progressing at an impressive rate. It is expected to become the largest and most comprehensive library in the history of the world. Google has scanned more than 129 million books from the start in 2002  and the latest published number is now more than 129 million. Best of all, this number includes thousands of books of interest to family historians. [The 129 million number is from article at http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2010/08/books-of-world-stand-up-and-be-counted.html.]

Google claims its mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” The result is a huge library that is available on your computer, an attractive offering for many people. Most books also can be downloaded to Kindles, Nooks, iPads, and other e-reader devices.

Maine Man Who Cared for Famed Old Tree Dies at 103

This has nothing to do with genealogy, but is a heart-warming story that I think should be shared.

Frank Knight's decades-long battle to save New England's tallest elm served as an inspiring tale of devotion, so it is fitting that he will be laid to rest in a coffin made from the tree he made famous. Knight, who died Monday at 103, had affectionately referred to the 217-year-old elm nicknamed Herbie as "an old friend." The massive tree succumbed to Dutch elm disease and was cut down two years ago.

Wood from the tree was made into a casket, a secret that was kept from Knight, who will now be buried in that casket.

Mocavo Raises Another $4 Million in Venture Capital

I have written a number of times about Mocavo, the genealogy search engine. My past articles may be found by starting at http://goo.gl/MtdPs. Mocavo has now announced it has raised $4 million in its first round of funding in a bid to help people find their ancestors through its search engine.

This morning, Mocavo COO Ryan Hunter wrote on the Mocavo blog:

19th Century Graveyard Found Below California Construction Site

Construction at a portion of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center has stopped in San Jose, Calif. because crews have unearthed pine boxes filled with the bodies of those whose families couldn't afford their proper burials. The pine boxes date back to between 1875 and 1935, and were discovered in February when construction crews were doing seismic survey work.

There may be as many as 1,445 bodies on the site.

Wal-Mart and the Slave Cemetery

The graves of about 80 slaves in Florence, Alabama are being threatened by a planned new Wal-Mart store. The slaves were owned by Gen. John Coffee, a friend of President Andrew Jackson and a surveyor who drew the state’s border with Mississippi. There is archaeological and historical evidence that suggests his slaves’ graves may be precisely where Walmart plans to pave a driveway to the new store.

Walmart says it will avoid harming any burial grounds, and has pledged $25,000 to restore the crumbling cemetery. But determining the graveyard’s boundaries has proved challenging. Walmart says it will redraw construction plans in any way necessary.

Free Anti-Virus Software for Macs

Once upon time, such as last year, any time you discussed the subject of computer viruses, the Mac owners would always say, "Macs don't get viruses!" They were mostly correct. To be sure, there were a few esoteric Mac viruses floating around online, but they were so rare that Mac owners never worried about them and apparently never became infected. A lot has changed in the past twelve months.

Mac viruses now are growing. Viruses are still unusual in the Macintosh world and not often encountered by Mac owners. However, the numbers have grown enough to the point that a Mac owner should think about adding anti-virus and anti-malware software to his or her system. While still rare, a few Mac owners I know have encountered malware. Luckily, several companies have produced anti-virus and anti-malware products for the Mac.

Genealogy for Juniors Program Class in Youngtown, Arizona

Perhaps we should see more classes like this one. The following announcement was written by the West Valley Genealogical Society:

The West Valley Genealogical Society, 12222 N. 111th Ave., Youngtown, AZ, invites young people, ages 10-16, interested in learning about their family history and finding their ancestors, an opportunity to enroll in a four week Genealogy for Juniors Program.  The class will include the Scouting requirements for a Genealogy or Family History badge.  Scouting membership is not required.

RootsTech 2013 Call for Presentations

The following announcement was written by the organizers of the RootsTech 2013 conference:

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.

Last Remaining Revolutionary War POW Camp Has Been Saved

The last undeveloped Revolutionary War era prisoner-of-war camp has been saved from encroaching development. Camp Security is surrounded by residential neighborhoods just east of York, Pennsylvania. Between the summer of 1781 and spring of 1783, the camp housed more than 1,000 British and Canadian prisoners, who were guarded by members of the York County Militia and Convention troops. During the war there were very few camps like this constructed, and all have been destroyed by development – all except for Camp Security.

FBI Wants to Read Facebook, Gmail, Skype Messages, and More

This article has nothing to do with genealogy. However, I do believe every American should read this, or similar, articles.

I admit to being a bit of a privacy nut, but this proposal really bothers me. What do you think?

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently proposed a change in the U.S. law related to wiretapping. If passed, the change would allow government monitoring of Facebook, Skype, and some email services. The idea is to change the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which currently doesn't give investigators the right to monitor and intercept communications. The proposed new law forces telecommunications providers to set up their services in a way to allow wiretapping by the FBI and other unnamed government agencies.

Latino Ancestry is the Focus of Sunday's Season Finale of "Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr."

The following announcement was written by the folks at the Finding Your Roots television program on PBS:

What does it mean to be Latino? This Sunday, the season finale of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the PBS TV series that explores race and identity through the genealogy of some of America’s best-known personalities, seeks to answer that question. Through the family histories of actors Michelle Rodriguez and Adrian Grenier, and Linda Chavez, an author, syndicated newspaper columnist and political analyst for FOX News, viewers will discover that Latino identity emerged from the tangled histories of European, Native-American and African peoples.

Introduction to Digital Preservation Concepts Class in Indiana

I wish I could attend this session!  If you are in or near Indianapolis, perhaps you can do so. The Indiana State Library, the Indiana Commission on Public Records, and the Indiana State Historic Records Advisory Board are working together to provide a 6 hour hands-on workshop at the Indiana State Library on May 31.

Details may be found at http://goo.gl/wUwto.

Six Generations of Women, All Under One Roof

How many families can make claims like this one? Mother's Day has special meaning to Mollie Wood, who celebrated her 111th birthday last month. The family matriarch still lives at home, along with her daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, great-great-granddaughter, and with 7-week-old Braylin Higgins, her great-great-great-granddaughter.

That is an amazing six generations of daughters.

Ancestry.com Inc. Stock Drops 13.7%

Valued at $26.16 at the opening of trading this morning, Ancestry.com Inc.'s stock price dropped $3.59 during the day to close at $22.57 per share. That's a drop of 13.7% in one day. The only obvious reason for the drop is the company's announcement yesterday that NBC canceled “Who Do You Think You Are,” the TV program Ancestry.com was sponsoring.

See http://goo.gl/0n43A for yesterday's announcement.

A New Project to Build an Online Hub for Archival Materials

Imagine a central clearinghouse for letters, manuscripts, and other pieces of evidence used by genealogists, historians, and many academics. A new online hub that researchers can consult to find archival materials is now being proposed.

Social Networks and Archival Context Project, or SNAC, is a collaboration between researchers and developers at the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, or IATH, at the University of Virginia, the University of California at Berkeley's School of Information, and the California Digital Library. The project recently finished its pilot stage with the help of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Another grant, from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will support the project through another two years as it adds millions more records and begins beta testing with researchers.

Announcing FamNet's Database of Your Peer Reviews of Open-Source Books

A few days ago, I wrote and published an article of Peer Review of Open-Source Books: An Opportunity for Genealogists? I proposed a free and open review of new and old genealogy books be created online. I envisioned it would operate as a mix of CyndisList, eBay, and the University of Minnesota online catalog of open-source books. However, it would be strictly limited to reviews of genealogy books. You can read the entire article at http://goo.gl/Du7sC.

I was delighted when Robert Barnes of FamNet not only volunteered to construct such a service, he actually built it and placed it into operation! It is available TODAY to the genealogy community. You can access it now.

Plus Edition Newsletter Has Been Sent

To all Plus Edition subscribers:

The weekly Plus Edition weekly update notification was sent to your e-mail address a few minutes ago. If you have not yet seen it in your in-box, check your spam folder. If it is not there, please contact your e-mail provider to see why it was blocked. This week's entire Plus Edition newsletter is also available at: http://www.eogn.com/wp/thisweek.htm.

Here are the articles in this week's Plus Edition newsletter:

(+) The Paperless Genealogist

The following is a Plus Edition article, written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

Too many genealogists are addicted to paper. In this day and age, that's sad. I have no statistics about the amount of paper, ink, and toner consumed by genealogists every year, but I am sure we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars purchasing printers, paper, and supplies. That's a huge waste of money, in my opinion. I wonder how many filing cabinets are sold to genealogists for in-home use. I will suggest there is a better way to store personal copies of genealogy records and related information.

EOGN Readers' Dinner Held in Cincinnati

After the end most major genealogy conferences, I usually host a Saturday night dinner for readers of this newsletters as well as their friends, families, and anyone else who wishes to join in. Despite the short notice of this week's event in Cincinnati, 42 folks joined me at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant, just two blocks from the convention center where we had spent many hours this week. I think the dinner was a success.

The dinners are a tradition started years ago with an informal "pick up" dinner at a local restaurant. The dinners have since grown into far bigger events, now held in hotel or restaurant banquet rooms. The dinners are always completely informal with no presentations or speeches, except for a few welcoming remarks by myself.

Who Do You Think You Are? to be Canceled

The following announcement was written by Ancestry.com Inc.:

PROVO, Utah, May 13, 2012 -- Ancestry.com Inc., the world's largest online family history resource, today commented on NBC's decision not to renew the Who Do You Think You Are? television series for a fourth season.

"We want to thank NBC for their support of this terrific series, which over the last three years has inspired many viewers to follow their passion to learn more about who they are and where they come from," said Tim Sullivan, President and CEO of Ancestry.com. "We have a great partnership with the show's producers, Is or Isn't Entertainment and Shed Media, and we look forward to exploring other avenues of distribution."

2013 NGS Conference to be Held in Las Vegas

I have been writing all week about this year's annual conference of the National Genealogical Society. The conference ended on Saturday afternoon. However, I am already excited about next year's conference as it is being held in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas is one of my favorite cities, even though I am not a gambler. I was there just three weeks ago but never put a nickel in a slot machine during my visit. However, Las Vegas has the best shows, great restaurants, and reasonably-priced hotels. The airfare to and from Las Vegas from almost every city in the U.S. is also reasonably priced, as it is a very competitive route for the airlines. The "people watching" is probably better in Las Vegas than in any other city. In short, it is a great place to hold a conference of any sort. I suspect the genealogists will love it.

NGS2012 Conference - Fourth and Final Day

The annual conference of the U.S. National Genealogical Society wound down on Saturday. Most of the day continued in much the same manner as the first three days, which I wrote about previously.

Most everyone I talked with seemed happy with the conference. The biggest "complaint" I heard was actually a compliment: it was difficult to find space in some of the presentations. On a number of occasions, all chairs were filled fifteen minutes or even earlier before the start of the presentation. I consider this a compliment to the organizers and to the presenters: it is an obvious statement about how good the presentations were. The better-known presenters were in great demand!

Jason Sudeikis on "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Jason Sudeikis was the celebrity guest on last Friday's U.S. version of Who Do You Think You Are? A long-standing member of Saturday Night Live, Sudeikis has branched out to star in several movies. He was raised in Overland Park, Kansas, and was led to believe that his grandfather on his father's side died when his dad was only 2 years old.

He started out at his parents' home looking at pictures of his grandmother and trying to find out about his father's father which has always been a mystery. He soon discovered the reason his parents had never discussed the grandfather: he was an alcoholic and he died homeless.

Sudeikis also found out that his great-grandfather led a double life. It seemed he was married to two different women at the same time, one in Chicago and one in Connecticut.

NGS2012 Conference - Day #3

The third day of the annual conference of the U.S. National Genealogical Society continued on Friday at the Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. I have already written about the first two days and cannot add much more information about the third. It was a continuation of the first two. However, I can show a few more pictures that I took at the conference.

You can find a listing of all the presentations and the presenters' biographies at http://members.ngsgenealogy.org/Conferences/2012Program.cfm.

Two things struck me as being unique about this year's event:

Looking for the Relatives of a Deceased World War II RAF Fighter Pilot

Can you help? Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping crashed his American-made P40 Kittyhawk single-engine fighter in the Egyptian desert in 1942. The remarkably well preserved airplane was recently discovered near a remote place called Wadi al-Jadid by a Polish oil worker, Jakub Perka. The RAF Museum in Hendon, north London, says it is hoping to recover the plane as soon as possible.

Using Internment Serial Numbers for Genealogy Research

Here is a little-known resource: Internment Serial Numbers. There more than 16 million Americans, uniform or civilian, participated in World War II. Nearly 150,000 individuals who supported the war effort found themselves captured as POWs in internment camps run by the Japanese or Germans. Records of those prisoners exist today. The savvy genealogist just needs to know where to look and what information to have on hand when researching this information.

Announcing the ASG Scholar Award

The following announcement was written by the American Society of Genealogists:

The American Society of Genealogists gives an annual $500 scholarship that can be applied to any of three genealogy institutes: (1.) the National Institute of Genealogical Research at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.; (2.) the Institute of Genealogy and Historical research at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama; and (3.) the Certificate Program in Genealogical Research at Boston University.

For details, see the ASG website at www.fasg.org.

(+) eBay for Genealogists

The following is a Plus Edition article, written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

Genealogy information is wherever you find it. Have you ever thought of looking for genealogy books and records at everyone's online garage sale on eBay? I keep an eye on the genealogy-related offerings and have found some interesting items.

Perhaps the best thing I ever purchased on eBay was a tax collector's book from Corinna, Maine for 1907 that listed the taxes my grandfather paid that year. Another was a handmade quilt made by a distant cousin in the 1840s. I have also purchased limited edition history books for several of the small towns that I research with some of those books mentioning my ancestors. Some of the books were original editions that were 100 years old or more although recently I have limited my purchases to scanned images of old books that are sold on CD-ROM disks.

Peer Review of Open-Source Books: An Opportunity for Genealogists?

Is there a lesson to be learned from a University of Minnesota project? Could the same methodologies be applied to new genealogy books that become available for free on the Internet?

As a new University of Minnesota project expands, open-source college textbooks should become more readily available and easily vetted. Open source books have long been considered a promising way to cut costs. However, significant disadvantages have slowed the adoption of open source (free) textbooks: they are hard to locate, and they are of indeterminate quality. Few professors have adopted the cost-savings books because of the lack of quality control.

The University of Minnesota has launched an online catalog of open-source books (at https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/) and will pay its professors $500 each time they post an evaluation of one of those books. Minnesota professors who have already adopted open-source texts will also receive $500 per book, with all of the money coming from donor funds. You can read more at Inside Higher Ed at http://goo.gl/VhSSz.

NGS2012 Conference - Day #2

The annual conference of the U.S. National Genealogical Society continued on Thursday (May 9, 2012) in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.

As the conference settled down into its second day, a few things became clear. The conference is well orchestrated with very few problems. This is surprising for an event that is held in a different location each year with (mostly) different organizers. Most all of the volunteers and quite a few of the senior organizers have never worked at a major conference before. I was pleasantly surprised to see things flow so smoothly. I am sure there must have been a few "bumps" here and there, but I didn't see any.

Ancestry.com's Scanning at NGS2012

Ancestry.com is offering a free scanning service on their professional scanning equipment for attendees at the National Genealogical Society Conference in Cincinnati this week. I was a bit surprised yesterday when I stopped by room 238 where the scanning is taking place. There were no customers at all at the time I was there. I was told there had been customers earlier, but that "business" was generally slow.

This is a great service and has been very popular at past conferences. Conference attendees can provide the documents and photographs, while Ancestry provides flash drives to contain the scanned images. Scanning is done on professional-grade industrial scanners. The charge? Zero. Zip. NADA.

NGS2012 Conference - Day #1

The annual conference of the U.S. National Genealogical Society opened yesterday (May 9, 2012) in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.

The word "downtown" is a mixed blessing: it indicates the location is easily accessed by public transportation and has a number of excellent hotels within walking distance. Like the downtown areas of most other large cities in the eastern U.S., the word "downtown" also indicates that everything is expensive, including the same hotels, the restaurants, parking, and other necessities for those attending. It also is a very inconvenient commute for local genealogists who drive in daily to attend the conference. I am staying about 30 miles out in the suburbs in an RV resort. I got my introduction to Cincinnati's commuting problems on the opening day when the normal 30-minute commute required more than an hour!

The opening session started promptly at 8 AM. Well, I was told it started promptly as I was stuck in traffic at that moment. I arrived in the convention center about ten minutes later.

Do I Trust the Cloud?

I have often written about cloud-based computing, including file storage, web servers, and even genealogy applications that run in the cloud. The question asked most often concerns security: "Is it safe?" In fact, cloud computing can be safer than home computing or networked computers in the office. The keywords here are "can be." Security is not automatic but can easily be achieved by paying attention to common sense security issues.

D. Joshua Taylor addressed the security issues at the annual RootsTech conference held in Salt Lake City earlier this year. He described the efforts and especially the security safeguards implemented on recent genealogy web sites. If you have any interest in cloud computing or simply want to learn more about what constitutes cloud computing, I suggest you watch Josh's presentation at http://bcove.me/59xmxxg8 or click on the image below:

Henry Louis Gates Jr.: A Life Spent Tracing Roots

An article on the PBS web site contains an interview of  Henry Louis Gates Jr., known widely as "Skip." Gates is best known for his research tracing the family and genetic history of famous African-Americans. "There are just so many stories that are buried on family trees," says Gates. "My goal is to get everybody in America to do their family tree."

He says his goal in this work is twofold: "First, to show that we're all immigrants, and secondly, that we're all mixed — that we all have been intermarrying, or interrelated sexually from the dawn of human history."

The 1940 U.S. Census Community Project Announces Availability of Free, Name Indexed Records for Six States

The following announcement was written by the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project:

First Set of High-Quality, Easy-to-Search Records Now Available to the Public Thanks to Efforts of Volunteer Indexers
 
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (May 9, 2012) – The 1940 U.S. Census Community Project announced today the availability of a free, searchable index of 1940 U.S. census records for six U.S. states, including Delaware, Colorado, Kansas, Oregon, Virginia and New Hampshire. Records for these states are now searchable by name, location and family relations thanks to the efforts of more than 100,000 volunteers nationwide.

What's New at FamilySearch?

Here's one way to get the news out. The banner shown to the right was seen at the NGS 2012 annual conference. It sums up everything quickly and neatly.

Click on the picture to the right to see a larger image.

1000memories Releases ShoeBox App for Android, ShoeBox 2.0 for iPhone

The following announcement was released today by 1000memories (click on the amges to see a larger version):

Photo-scanning app unveils new design; adds the ability to organize photos into digital shoeboxes.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 9, 2012 — Building on the popularity of its mobile photo-scanning app, 1000memories today launched ShoeBox for Android as well as a completely redesigned version for iPhone.

ShoeBox, which debuted for iPhone in October 2011, is the first mobile tool designed for digitizing and sharing photos from the past. Following its launch, ShoeBox grew to reach top 3 free apps in the photography category and top 2 in the family history category.

The app gives individuals, families and organizations the ability to quickly scan and instantly share photos that have previously been difficult to digitize. ShoeBox can auto-detect the edges of a photo and then quickly crop and straighten accordingly. Users can then add information typically written on the back of old photos - such as dates, names, and locations.

Announcing the EOGN Newsletter Readers' Dinner in Cincinnati

You are invited to the EOGN Genealogists' Dinner!

Join us for dinner! You are invited to join me and many other genealogists on Saturday evening after the NGS 2012 conference for dinner. Rumor has it there will also be a few door prizes.

You can register now at http://eogn-ngs-2012.eventbrite.com/

We will meet in front of the Duke Energy Convention Center between 6:30 and 6:45 pm on Saturday, May 12, shortly after the close of the NGS conference. We will leave the convention center PROMPTLY at 6:45 pm and walk to the restaurant.

LeisterPro Releases Reunion 10 for Macintosh

A new version of the very popular genealogy program for Macintosh, Reunion, is now available.A video showing the new version is available at http://www.leisterpro.com/doc/video/lpVideo.php?video=r10ten.

New features in version 10 include:

• Pictures Everywhere - You can include pictures in all buttons in the family view: a couple, their children and parents.
• Places - new features include: mapping of places in Google or Bing, entry of geo codes for places (automatic or manual), internal place database that tracks all your place entries and encourages more consistency and accuracy, ability to merge places, room to record general notes about places.

RumbleSoft Incorporated GenDetective Releases Version 1.5 Update

The following announcement was written by RumbleSoft Incorporated:

GenDetective^TM: Tells you what you DON’T KNOW and what you need to FIND!
 
Plumsteadville, Pennsylvania (May 8, 2012) – RumbleSoft Incorporated, supplier of innovative solutions for genealogists has released GenDetectiveTM Version 1.5.  NGS attendees will be able to view demonstrations of the new software at booth # 412.  Additionally RumbleSoft will demonstrate GenDetective’s latest features on Thursday May 10th at 1:00pm and Friday May11th at 10:30am on Stage B.

RumbleSoft Incorporated GenDetectiveTM Releases Version 1.5 Support for Mac OS X Users

The following announcement was written by RumbleSoft Incorporated:

GenDetectiveTM: Tells you what you DON’T KNOW and what you need to FIND!
 
Plumsteadville, Pennsylvania (May 8, 2012) – RumbleSoft Incorporated, supplier of innovative solutions for genealogists has released GenDetectiveTM Version 1.5.  NGS attendees will be able to view demonstrations of the new software at booth # 412.  Additionally RumbleSoft will demonstrate GenDetective’s latest features on Thursday May 10th at 1:00pm and Friday May11th at 10:30am on Stage B.

23andMe Eliminates Subscription Model and Announces New Price

23andMe has listened to its customers and decided to eliminate the subscription model beginning on Thursday, announcing the new price going forward will be $299. Existing customers who have already completed their subscription commitment of 12 months will not be required to pay the ongoing subscription in order to remain part of the 23andMe community and the rest of us will only be required to finish out the remaining portion of our initial 12 month subscription. This eliminates the concerns of genetic genealogists who were worried about the impact of losing Relative Finder matches with subscription lapses.

You can read more on CeCe Moore's Your Genetic Genealogist blog at http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com/2012/05/23andme-eliminates-subscription-model.html

William A. “Bill” Mayer Named as NARA's Executive for Research Services

The following announcement was written by David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of William A. “Bill” Mayer as NARA's Executive for Research Services, effective June 18, 2012.

As the Executive for Research Services, Mayer will lead a nationwide team in delivering world-class services to customers wanting access to the National Archives vast holdings of accessioned Federal records. He will direct a program that acquires, preserves, and makes historical records accessible at fifteen facility locations across the country and on the archives.gov website. One of Mayer’s top priorities will be to build a systematic, ongoing program to identify and meet researcher customer needs through on-site and online services.

Who Do You Think You Are? on DVD or as Downloads

The very popular U.S. version of Who Do You Think You Are? draws millions of viewers on Friday evenings. If you happen to miss an episode or would like to watch one a second time, you can find them available for download free of charge for a week or two on NBC.com and on Hulu.com. However, if you missed a bunch of episodes or you want an older episode, such as one from last year, you still have options even after the programs have disappeared from both NBC.com and Hulu.com.