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At its meeting in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on 20 October 2012, the American Society of Genealogists voted to give their annual Donald Lines Jacobus Award to The Descendants of Judge John Lowell of Newburyport, Massachusetts, by Scott C. Steward and Christopher C. Child.
Published by the Newbury Street Press of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in 2011, this genealogy treats some fourteen generations of Lowells, beginning with their English origins, following a line of descent from Percival1 Lowell to Judge John6 Lowell of Newburyport, and then branching out, treating descendants of John’s six children down to the present day. Generously illustrated, this book begins with short biographical accounts of some of the more renowned members of the family, of which there are many. It then presents 1089 family sketches with meticulous documentation.
The following announcement was written by the organizers of the Genealogy and Family History Q&A web site:
Over 200 Avid Genealogists Have Worked for Almost 2 Months to Make This Site Possible
After 20 days in "Definition" phase, 31 days in "Commitment" phase, and 7 days in Private Beta, a new resource for genealogists and family historians worldwide is now in Public Beta and is now open to everyone. Genealogy and Family History Q&A is where you can go to ask questions about genealogy and solve problems you are having in your research and get answers fast from experts in the field and other genealogy enthusiasts.
The following announcement was written by ProQuest:
Canada’s “newspaper of record” will be easily accessed and explored in the context of the world’s great newspapers
October 22, 2012 (ANN ARBOR, Mich.) -- ProQuest and The Globe and Mail will streamline research of Canadian life and history by making the complete works of Canada’s “newspaper of record” accessible in the powerful ProQuest digital research environment. As part of ProQuest’s Historical Newspaper collection, the archive of The Globe and Mail will be cross-searchable with a worldwide selection of both major and specialty newspapers – from The New York Times and The Guardian to the Chicago Defender and the Jerusalem Post – significantly enhancing productivity and efficiency of researchers and journalists exploring historical events.
Gov. Nathan Deal and Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced today that the state will restore $125,000 to Kemp’s budget to keep the Georgia State Archives open to Georgians for the remainder of the budget year.
“Georgia’s Archives are a showcase of our state’s rich history and a source of great pride,” said Deal. “I worked quickly with my budget office and Secretary Kemp to ensure that Georgians can continue to come to Morrow to study and view the important artifacts kept there. I appreciate Secretary Kemp’s commitment to work with me to find a solution.”
Ancestry.com has announced an educational contest. The Death Record Education Program is underway NOW. When you visit the contest page, you will see contest questions, educational materials and hints of death records in your own family tree. This will help you become more comfortable with Ancestry.com, better educated with death records and also practice new skills with death hints from your own family tree.
The contest contains questions that require you to dig through death records, thus helping you practice your genealogy research skills. You have until 11:59 PM Mountain time Tuesday to answer the questions. The winner's name will then be posted Wednesday along with the new question. A new contest will begin on Wednesday morning.
The following announcement was written by Genes Reunited:
At launch 2.7 million private images uploaded to keepsafe
Over 260 million relation profiles already created
New, fresh and easy to use design
New relation profiles where details can be see all on one page
Today leading family history website Genes Reunited added new and innovative features including a Keepsafe, for digitally storing all of your family records, photos and memories and Relation Profiles, where you can view and edit details about each individual in your tree. This latest addition comes after genesreunited.co.uk recently refreshed its appearance with a new, and easy to navigate redesign.
The following announcement was written by Tourism Ireland and Ancestry.ca:
Toronto, ON (September 28, 2012) – Tourism Ireland is delighted to announce an upcoming collaboration with Ancestry.ca to promote The Gathering Ireland 2013. The Gathering is an open invitation to the world to come and visit Ireland in 2013 for a unique celebration of all things Irish. Ireland may be a small country, but the Irish have put down their roots all over the world. More than 70 million people worldwide now claim Irish ancestry; quite something considering the total population of the island of Ireland is just over 6 million.
Canada’s connections with the island of Ireland go back at least 200 years and today nearly 5 million Canadians claim Irish ancestry. Tourism Ireland and Ancestry.ca will work together to reach these Canadians, helping them trace their Irish roots and inviting them to be a part of this unique celebration.
The following announcement was written by the U.S. National Genealogical Society:
Would your society like to honor a genealogist whose exemplary work lives on today? Perhaps there was a notable genealogist in your state or county whose name should be memorialized in the NGS Hall of Fame.
If so, the National Genealogical Society would like to hear from you. NGS is seeking nominations from the entire genealogical community for persons whose achievements or contributions have made an impact on the field. This educational program increases appreciation of the high standards advocated and achieved by committed genealogists whose work paved the way for researchers today.
Threats have been made before (see http://goo.gl/ohxGr) but now the orders have been given. Effective November 1, 2012, the Georgia State Archives located in Morrow, GA will be closed to the public. The public will only be allowed to access the building by a limited number of appointments. However, if enough opposition is generated, there is a chance this order could be overturned.
The following statement was issued by Jared S. Thomas, Press Secretary for Brian P. Kemp, Secretary of State for Georgia:
The [Georgia] Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget has instructed the Office of the Secretary of State to further reduce its budget for AFY13 and FY14 by 3% ($732,626). As it has been for the past two years, these cuts do not eliminate excess in the agency, but require the agency to further reduce services to the citizens of Georgia. As an agency that returns over three times what is appropriated back to the general fund, budget cuts present very challenging decisions. We have tried to protect the services that the agency provides in support of putting people to work, starting small businesses, and providing public safety.
brightsolid has been nominated for a major industry award for its part in a joint project with British Library for the digitisation of over 40 million news stories from old newspapers. The following announcement was written by brightsolid, the parent company of FindMyPast and several other genealogy-related companies:
brightsolid online technology is delighted to announce that it has been shortlisted for an award at the UK IT Industry Awards 2012.
brightsolid online technology have been shortlisted in the category of 'Big Data Project of the Year' as a result of their partnership with the British Library and the digitisation of over 40 million news stories over ten years. The awards focus on the contribution of individuals, projects, organisations and technologies that have excelled in the use, development and deployment of IT in the past 12 months.
The following announcement was written by the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS):
Boston, MA – Sept. 5, 2012 – Brenton Simons, President and CEO of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), announced today that staff member Ryan Woods, has been promoted to NEHGS Assistant Vice President for the Website and Library. Woods, a five-year veteran of the NEHGS staff, will oversee www.AmericanAncestors.org and the Boston-based library, bringing those two areas into greater alignment with each other and advancing the organization’s national mission. He will report to Thomas R. Wilcox, Jr., NEHGS Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and will succeed Marie Daly, who has served as the Director of the Library for ten years. Daly will be staying on with NEHGS in a new role she helped to craft as senior genealogist, with particular emphasis on Irish research. A new day-to-day manager of the library has also been appointed.
The International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE) recently held its annual Excellence-in-Writing competition (see the earlier announcement at http://goo.gl/51MCq for details). The results were announced this week at the annual conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies.
The following announcement was written by the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors:
The International Society of Family History Writers and Editors is pleased to announce the winners in this year's Excellence-in-Writing Competition. Any questions, please contact Competition@isfhwe.org
I have written about Funium before. (See http://goo.gl/qMQqC for my previous articles.) It is an online game for the family that is based upon your genealogy. The company has issued a new announcement this morning here at the FGS conference in Birmingham, Alabama:
Players of Free Family History Facebook Game Now Have Access to a NGS Custom Tutorial
BIRMINGHAM, AL (30 August 2012)–Funium and the National Genealogical Society (NGS) today announced a partnership that will allow players of Family Village, Funium’s popular Facebook game, to further explore their family trees by accessing a number of NGS resources and research aids. The collaboration was announced at the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2012 Conference in Birmingham, Alabama.
The following announcement was written by Findmypast.com and was announced today at the annual conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies:
Partnership makes records available to findmypast.com and creates a vital source of revenue for local societies
LOS ANGELES, August 30, 2012 –Findmypast.com, an international leader in online family history research, today announced a national partnership with Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) to preserve, digitize and provide access to local records from genealogical societies across the country.
Join us for dinner! You are invited to join me and many other genealogists for dinner on Saturday evening after the end of the FGS 2012 conference. Rumor has it there will also be a few door prizes.
The dinner will be held at the Birmingham Sheraton Hotel, the official hotel of the conference. We will meet and dine in a meeting room near in the Rotunda. This means no walking outdoors for those staying at the conference's official hotel.
Check the TV screens throughout the hotel on Saturday for the exact location.
The following announcement was written by Ancestry.com:
PROVO, Utah, Aug. 17, 2012 -- Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq:ACOM) today announced the completion of its acquisition of Archives.com, a leading family history website, for approximately $100 million in cash and assumed liabilities.
"Archives.com is a great addition to the Ancestry.com family. It is a fast-growing business that has expanded the addressable family history market through a simple and affordable approach," said Tim Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ancestry.com. "We are excited to increase our ability to help more individuals discover their family history."
The Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc. (FHISO) has been mentioned several times in past articles in this newsletter. You can see the past articles if you start at http://goo.gl/ACcVq. FHISO was "created to develop standards for the digital representation and sharing of family history and genealogical information. The standards will solve today’s interoperability issues independently of technology platforms, genealogy products or services." Another company has now joined FHISO to participate in the development of standards.
The following announcement was written by the Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc.:
The following announcement was written by the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations (CIGO):
The Irish Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, has published a report entitled Hidden History? The Law, the Archives and the General Register Office. Taking two years to complete, the report arose out of a complaint by a member of the public, a person well known to some members of the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland (APGI).
As was highlighted by CIGO during the Bill stages of the Civil Registration Act 2004, the complainant found that research in the actual original civil registers (dating back to 1845) was denied to him after the passing of the new Act. In giving the background to the case, and the issues which it highlighted, the Ombudsman's office sifted through all the available material, quoting only that which it saw as relevant. The Ombudsman's findings confirmed that the public has a right of access to all GRO records under the Civil Registration Act 2004 through searching the centralised indexes held at the GRO's Dublin-based research facility. However, in addition the Ombudsman found that under the National Archives Act 1986 the public also has a right of access to the original registers held at local registration offices around the country. The only caveat was that to fall under the provisions of the National Archives Act the registers must have been compiled thirty or more years ago.
The following was written by the staff at Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine:
The UK’s Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine featuring articles about tracing British and Irish family history, has launched on the Apple newsstand and is offering its March 2012 issue for just 99¢ for a limited period. The March issue was a British Army special edition but also has, amongst others, articles on tracing Lancashire ancestors, the bicycle industry and Thames Watermen. You can also download the current August issue for $6.99 including a huge free database of memorial inscriptions from Worcestershire plus tips on researching occupation records, how to track down land tax records and lots more. So, if you have an iPad and want to try out this title, visit the Apple newsstand.
Family Tree is proud to announce a family history first – a combined print and digital subscription! Now readers can access their favourite genealogy magazine as soon as it comes out, at any time, anywhere in the world.
When taking out a combined print and digital subscription, not only do you make great savings on your print magazine, you also receive a heavily discounted digital copy of Family Tree, priced at just 39p per issue.
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