Family reunion contest: Winners named

When you read about contests, what do you do? Do you think you'll never win and forget about it?

What if the grand prize is a free family reunion?

For one lucky winner, her entry means she will soon meet with a cousin from Denmark, while two runners-up also received recognition for connections to family in South Africa and Norway.

MyHeritage.com and Family Tree Magazine partnered for the free family reunion contest in June.

Winners were recently named in a post on the Family Tree Magazine blog.

Patricia Skubis was the grand prize winner of the free family reunion. Her long-lost Danish relative Tage will travel to the United States so they can meet in person for the first time.

She will also receive a year-long VIP membership to Family Tree Magazine and a three-year Premium-Plus subscription with MyHeritage.com.

Skubis' Danish family immigrated to the US in 1888, while another branch had settled in Australia in 1873. Skubis made contact nearly three decades ago with someone from the down-under branch, but they couldn't find the connection.

 However, that was then, and today we have the power of technology.

There will be more detailed coverage in a future issue of the magazine, but here's some of it.

In March 2011, a Danish family researching THYGESEN posted information on MyHeritage.com and Skubis received a Smart Match notice. She wasn't sure about it because the parents' names were the same, but not the children. She asked for more details and was then able to confirm the match.

I went online to the Danish Church Records [on the Danish archives’ website] and found Tyge Jørgensen’s children between Neils Madsen Thygesen, born in 1794, and my great-great-grandfather Martin, born in 1805. What a great surprise I received when I found that the next son after Neils was Peder Andersen Thygesen, the great-great-grandfather of Alison Rogers.

Tage and I are fourth cousins once removed. Our great-great-grandfathers, along with Alison’s, were brothers.

Runners-up were Linda Mehlinger and Pam Ingermanson, who will each receive a digital subscription to Family Tree Magazine and a three-year Premium-plus subscription on MyHeritage.com. Read some details at the link above about a Zulu warrior pulling five schoolgirls in a rickshaw and Norwegians in Idaho and Ohio.

According to Diane Haddad of Family Tree Magazine:

Thank you to everyone who entered this contest. Both our team at Family Tree Magazine and our contest partners MyHeritage.com were touched by your stories of reconnecting with family, and we're impressed by your diligent research. You’re truly an inspiration to your fellow family historians!

The next time you read about a family reunion contest, what will YOU do?

MyHeritage: Win a reunion with a long-lost relative!

Have you discovered a long-lost relative - who may live anywhere in the world - but you haven't met him or her yet? Don't you want to meet them in person, share your research and reconnect your family?

MyHeritage.com has organized an online contest with Family Tree Magazine that will allow you and your relative to meet - IF YOU WIN.

The grand prize winner will receive a free, expenses-paid reunion with them, a year-long VIP subscription membership with Family Tree Magazine and a three-year Premium-Plus subscription with leading family history site MyHeritage.com. Two runners-up will also receive subscriptions to Family Tree Magazine and MyHeritage.com.

While entrants must live in the US, the long-lost relative may reside anywhere in the world.

Remember: You can't win if you don't enter - so read on for the details

What better time to announce such a great opportunity than just in time for the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree 2012?

Here's the MyHeritage Blog post, with entry guidelines and rules:

Participate in the contest and win a free family reunion! We're very excited to launch a joint contest with Family Tree Magazine, the leading family history magazine in the USA, to celebrate long-lost relative discoveries! Lots of amazing prizes to be won! Read on…

Ever discovered a long-lost relative through your family history research?

 

Share your “long-lost relative discovery” with us and enter a contest to win a free, expenses-paid reunion with them, a year-long VIP subscription membership with Family Tree Magazine and a three-year Premium-Plus subscription with leading family history site MyHeritage.com (among other prizes - a digital subscription to Family Tree Magazine and a 3-year Premium-plus subscription on MyHeritage.com for the two runners-up!).

It takes just a few moments to write a sentence or two about your discovery of a long-lost relative and what this meant to you- either in the comments section below this blog post, on the MyHeritage.com Facebook page or the Family Tree Magazine Facebook page.

This is all you need to do to enter the contest and win a chance to meet your long-lost relative for the first time!

A few tips regarding your entry:

• What relation is your long-lost relative?
• Did you actively search for them or find them by chance? Or did they find you?
• When was the discovery made?
• Describe the personal impact of this discovery. Did it change you or cast new light on your family's legacy?
• What would it mean to you to be able to meet your long-lost relative?

We'd love to hear from all of you - regardless of your location. Sharing family history discoveries and personal stories provides a great source of inspiration for others researching their own families. However, to enter the contest, there are a few rules:

• No purchase necessary.
• Each entrant takes responsibility for any third-party consent.
• Winners will be chosen randomly by Family Tree Magazine - although Facebook likes will be taken into account.
• Odds of winning are directly related to how many people enter the contest.
• One winner will be chosen to win the grand prize. Two will be chosen to win the secondary prize.
• The timing of the reunion trip will be scheduled during summer 2011.
• Restrictions apply to the paid-for reunion: Paid expenses include a round-trip economy flight ticket for one person to meet with the long-lost relative in the US (or alternatively, if the long-lost relative resides outside the US, an international return flight for the relative to the US), a two-night stay at a selected hotel and $300 personal expenses.
• Only those with no prior meeting with the long-lost relative are eligible for the grand prize – and must be willing to participate in a family reunion.
• The winning entry and long-lost relative (s) are required to participate in any related media opportunities/interviews.
• The contest begins at 12AM ET June 8, 2011, and ends at 12AM ET June 15, 2011.
• The entrant is responsible for anything in regard to the legality of entering a contest in the area in which the entrant lives.
• Rules may be updated at any time without notice.
• Winners will be notified via their provided contact information the week following the end of the contest.
• Winners have seven days to claim their prize.
• One entry per person.
• To be eligible to win, the entrant must live in the United States. There are no restrictions on the residential location of the “long-lost relative.”

There'll be three lucky winners (one grand prize winner and two runners-up)! If you have a favorite tell us by either commenting below (at the MyHeritage Blog post) or clicking on the “like” button on entries on the two Facebook pages: MyHeritage.com Facebook page or Family Tree Magazine Facebook page. 

Good luck!

Hmmmm. There are those Talalay cousins in Germany who found me on Facebook, and my scientist cousin who lives in Siberia.

The possibilities are endless, but the contest is only running from June 8-15!

Whom do YOU want to meet? How would it impact your family history?

Family Tree Magazine: 2011 best gen blogs

Tracing the Tribe hasn't checked email for two days as we are attending the Sephardic Memory and Movement Conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Today, during a schedule break, we managed to get an internet connection and discovered that Tracing the Tribe has been named in the heritage category of Family Tree Magazine's 2011 Best 40 Genealogy Blogs.

Thank you to Family Tree Magazine and to the Family Tree 40 Panel of blogger colleagues for this honor which includes us among so many distinguished colleagues.

Due to a few technical difficulties, the graphic and the links cannot be posted immediately. They will be added when the technical glitch is fixed.

Top 40 Gen Blogs: Voting deadline tonight!

The voting deadine for the 2011 edition of Family Tree Magazine's Top 40 genealogy blogs is tonight: Monday, December 20, at 11.59pm.

Don't forget to participate and vote - you may vote multiple times - for your favorites among the 117 blogs in eight categories. You may vote for five blogs in each category. [Tracing the Tribe is listed in the Heritage category.]

For more information on the authors of the blogs (and the URLs), click here to see Thomas MacEntee's post.

Click here for the voting form.

Results will be announced in the July 2011 issue of Family Tree Magazine.

2011 Top 40 Blogs: Tracing the Tribe nominated

Tracing the Tribe is deeply honored to be nominated - in the Heritage category - for the 2011 edition of the Top 40 Best Genealogy Blogs, sponsored by Family Tree Magazine.

This year, the magazine enlisted top bloggers to help formulate the categories, qualifications, with nominations provided by readers. The results of the voting - the Family Tree 40 - will be announced in the July 2011 issue of the magazine.

The Family Tree 40 panelists included experts Lisa Louise Cooke (Genealogy Gems),  Randy Seaver (Genea-Musings), Myrt (DearMyrtle blog) and Thomas MacEntee (Geneabloggers).

The list includes excellent blogs in eight categories:

• Local/regional history and genealogy: Blogs focused on research in a specific county, state or region. Most library and archive blogs, as well as many local historical and genealogical society blogs, are here.

• Heritage groups: Blogs focusing on the family history of a specific ethnic, religious or national background (such as African-American, Jewish, Polish, etc.) [Tracing the Tribe is in this category]

• Research advice and how-to: Blogs that primarily explain how to research, analyze photos or perform various family history tasks. These offer tips, strategies and examples; explain genealogical concepts; and write about how to use new resources.

• Cemeteries: These feature content primarily about cemetery research and visiting cemeteries. Many feature tombstone photos and transcriptions, with information about those interred.

• “My Family History”: Blogs about the blogger’s own roots, including accounts of personal research, personal family photos and heirlooms, stories, recipes, etc.

• “Everything” blogs: Blogs that cover it all - genealogy news, research advice, opinions, local history, family stories, etc.

• New blogs: Blogs launched during the past year.

• Technology: Blogs focused on genealogy websites, software, DNA testing or other aspects of technology as it relates to genealogy.

Click here to vote in the Family Tree 40.

Vote for five blogs in each of the eight categories, through 11.59am, Monday, December 20. Voters may vote as often as they wish.

Tracing the Tribe is delighted to have been nominated.

Back to school: Online gen classes begin, Oct. 11

It's back to family history school on October 11 with Family Tree University classes.

New classes this term at the education site of Family Tree Magazine include Death Records 101, Cemetery Research 101 and a two-week sampler class called "Discover Your Family Tree."

Here are all the classes offered at Family Tree University:

• Advanced Google for Genealogists: Techniques to Take Your Research to the Next Level
• Build a Family Website: Make a Site for Your Family in Four Weeks
• Cemetery Research 101: Dig Up Your Family History
• Creating a Family History Book: Start-to-Finish Guidance for Assembling and Printing a Family Keepsake
• Death Records 101: Find What Your Ancestors Left Behind
• Digital Photography Essentials: Techniques to Capture and Preserve Your Family History
• Discover Your Family Tree: Genealogy for the Absolute Beginner
• Exploring City Directories: How to Trace Your Family in Yesterday’s Yellow Pages
• Find Your German Roots: From America to Deutschland
• Finding African-American Ancestors in Newspapers: Research Strategies for Success
• Finding Ancestors in the US Census: Online and Offline Research Strategies
• Finding Your Ancestral Village: Strategies and Tools to Pinpoint Your Family’s Place of Origin
• Google Earth for Genealogists: Plot Your Ancestors’ Lives
• Google Tools for Genealogists: Four Resources to Enhance Your Family History
• Land Records 101: Using Deeds, Plats, Patents and More
• Mastering Google Search: Secrets to Smarter, Faster Online Research
• Newspaper Research 101: Find Your Ancestors in American News Sources
• Organize Your Genealogy: Get Your Research in Order (and Keep It That Way)
• Published Genealogies: How to Use Others’ Research to Grow Your Family Tree
• Research in Foreign Records: How to Find Your Family Across the Pond
• Reverse Genealogy: Working Forward to Break Down Brick Walls
• Trace Your Polish Roots: Strategies for Searching in the US and Poland
• Tracing Immigrants: How to Research Your Family’s American Arrivals
• US Military Records: Trace Your Ancestors’ Service
• US Vital Records: Researching Births, Marriages, Deaths and Divorces
• Writing Your Family Memoir: Create a Capitvating Record of Your Family’s Story

For more information on classes, instructors, cost and registration, click here.

Family Tree Magazine: Win! Win! Win!

Family Tree Magazine is offering an "ultimate family history giveaway."

Enter for a chance to win more than $2,000 worth of genealogy products, including a Family History Library research retreat and hotel stay, subscriptions, software, gift certificates and more.

It's okay to enter everyday - so bookmark the page and note your calendar - through October 31. Maybe you'll be the lucky one to win this fabulous package.

The prize package includes the following:

•A week-long Salt Lake City research trip! Free registration in a Family History Library Research Retreat from Family History Expos ($399 value) plus a free six-night stay at the neighboring Salt Lake Plaza hotel ($510 value)

•Annual subscription to FindMyPast.co.uk ($239 value)

•2-year PremiumPlus membership to MyHeritage.com ($238 value)

•RootsMagic 4 software, Getting the Most from RootsMagic book, RootsMagic tote bag, 4GB RootsMagic flash drive, Personal Historian software, Family Atlas software ($122 value)

•1-year Research Membership in the New England Historic Genealogical Society, including access to AmericanAncestors.org, plus a 1 hour consultation with a professional NEHGS genealogist ($125 value)

•3 gift certificates for any spiral-bound or paperback book from Arphax Publishing's Family Maps or Texas Land Survey Maps series ($90 value)

•Annual subscription to GenealogyBank ($89.95 value)

•Google Earth for Genealogy DVD and Genealogy Gems Podcast Premium annual membership ($42 value)

•10 Years of Family Tree Magazine DVD, The Family Tree Sourcebook and a 1-year Family Tree VIP membership ($185 value)

What are you waiting for? Enter today! Read the official rules here.

Webinar: Finding ancestors in EllisIsland.org

"Ellis Island: Find Your Ancestor in a Sea of Online Records" is a webinar with Lisa Alzo, scheduled by Family Tree Magazine on Wednesday, July 21.

Nearly half of all Americans have relatives who arrived at New York's Ellis Island. Those passenger records - some 22 million online records - are a key resource to help researchers jump back to the old country to pick up the trail.

The 60-minute webinar, presented by Lisa Alzo, will provide the tricks and tips of searching EllisIsland.org. It begins at 7pm Eastern.

Participants will learn:

-- Tricks to searching the Ellis Island passenger list database
-- Secrets from a demo search of a hard-to-find immigrant
-- How to use Steve Morse's One-Step search tools to locate elusive passengers
-- The differences between Ancestry.com and EllisIsland.org

To register, click here.

Scorecard: The genealogy industry

Family Tree Magazine has put together an interesting media kit.

Media kits are aimed at advertisers to persuade them to place ads in certain publications. This one provides many juicy gems for those fascinated by this field and its growth. Most stats are from 2007 surveys; the most recent is a 2008 survey by the magazine.

Tracing the Tribe believes that newer studies would show even better numbers in every category. The planner indicates what geneabloggers already know - that millions of people, in many countries, are discovering that the Internet offers accessible genealogy research.

The 2010 Media Planner has six sections: The Genealogy Market, Family Tree Magazine's Audience, 2010 Editorial Content, Editorial Calendar, Advertising Information and Contacts. Download it here (it's a 42-page PDF, so takes a bit of time).

-- 78% of Americans say they are interested in learning more about their family history.
-- Half of American families have ever researched their roots.
-- Genealogy isn’t just for older Americans: 83% of those aged 18-34 are interested in learning their family history, followed by 77% of those 35-54 and 73% of Americans over age 55.
-- 500,000 genealogists belong to more than 500 Federation of Genealogical Societies member groups.
-- 651,500 people have taken a genetic genealogy test.
-- 1,900 people visit the Family History Library in Salt Lake City every day.
-- 1 million+ people visit the National Archives annually.
-- The National Archives and its regional research facilities receive 1.1 million written research requests a year.

Some number for online roots digging:

-- 9.1 million US web visitors use genealogy websites each month.
-- 35 million Americans are interested in online genealogy research.
-- Four of the 10 most-visited genealogy websites are primarily fee-based services.

Sources for data, according to the media planner, include zOmnibus Survey, MarketTools, February 2007; Ancestry. com press releases; Federation of Genealogical Societies; The Genetic Genealogy blog, Nov. 6, 2007; Family History Library Media Kit; NARA 2005-2007 annual reports; comScore 2007 data; Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2007; ProGenealogists Internet study.

As far as the magazine's own readers:

-- 60% consider themselves intermediate genealogists; 24% are beginners.
-- have been researching for an average of 13 years, and spend an average of 6 hours and 10 minutes each week on genealogy activities.
-- 76.7% stay informed about genealogy by reading magazine articles and ads. [TTT: Not blogs?]
-- 90% use the Internet more frequently than any other research tool or method.
-- On average, they do 45% of their genealogy research online.

Genealogists spend on their research - a fact we can all relate to personally!

-- 74% spend $200+ per year on genealogy.
-- Most is for online subscriptions; then books, CDs and magazines; then research-related travel.
-- Despite the economy, 79% are not decreasing their genealogy spending.
-- 60% feel that prices of genealogy products and services are fair.

Results from surveys in 2004 and 2008 indicate that of those who read the magazine:

-- 74% spend $200+ per year on genealogy.
-- 82% visited a library or archive
-- 33% visited a courthouse
-- 73% visited a cemetery
-- 41% visited a Family History Center
-- 54% attended a genealogy class, meeting or conference
-- 48% participated in a genealogical or historical society
-- 50% traveled between 50-300 miles
-- 31% traveled more than 300 miles
-- 96% searched a free online database
-- 78% searched a fee-based online database
-- 60% requested a record copy from a repository
-- 61% posted on an online message board
-- 21% listened to a podcast
-- 32% watched an online video
-- 64% bought a book or CD
-- 43% bought desktop or Web-based software
-- 47% bought archival preservation materials
-- 22 % bought electronic equipment

How many of these have you done?

Thanks to Randy Seaver and Thomas MacEntee who posted early in May about this.

Podcasts: Cemetery records and more

Family Tree Magazine has just posted its free May 2010 podcast, availble through iTunes and online.

Cemeteries are the main focus with some NGS news. Here are the segments on this one:
Click the Podcasts Page to see all the episodes; June 2008 was the first!

-- The Editor’s Desk: Podcast host Lisa Louise Cooke chats with Allison Stacy about the magazine's upcoming book "Grave Humor," which finds the lighter side of cemeteries with contributors’ photos of hilarious headstones.

-- Top Tips: Sunny Morton, author of the July 2010 Family Tree Magazine article “Tombstone Tales,” discusses questions to ask when searching for cemetery records.

-- 101 Best Web Sites: Cooke talks to David Day about his Names in Stone cemetery mapping website.

-- Safe Keeping: Family Tree Magazine online editor Grace Dobush offers advice for tombstone rubbings.

-- News From the Blogosphere: Reviews news from the recent National Genealogical Society conference.

Family Tree Magazine: Brick Wall Solutions Webinar, June 15

Researchers often hit brick walls, and now there's a live webinar that can be accessed from everywhere to help with solutions to these problems.

Family Tree Magazine is offering a Brick Wall Busters webinar on Tuesday, June 15, from 7-8pm (US East Coast Time). Presenting will be FTM publisher/editorial director Allison Stacey and New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) online genealogist David Lambert.

According to the official description:

Sooner or later, every genealogist gets stuck. You run into an ancestor or family line you just can't trace any further. What do you do when you hit that dreaded "brick wall"? In this live, interactive Web seminar, Allison Stacy and David Lambert will walk you through strategies for getting around those research obstacles.

Participants will learn how to assess a research problem, tips for surmounting common brick-wall scenarios and professional genealogists' favorite methods for conquering research challenges.

Who may find this worthwhile: Genealogists looking for free and inexpensive ways to research online, genealogists who find themselves stuck with a research problem they cannot move past, beginning family history researchers, and "paper genealogists" who want to take advantage of online resources.

Registrants may submit their own brick wall problems and receive personalized advice from a professional genealogist. Some submissions will be tackled during the webinar. Although the magazine cannot feature all submitted brick walls during the event or guarantee results, every registrant who sends in a question will receive a personalized strategy email.

The early bird price is $39.99, and includes participation in the live presentation and Q&A, unlimited access to the recorded webinar, presentation slides PDF and a bonus handout.

For more information on this program, click here. For general information on webinars, click here.

NGS: An honor in Salt Lake City

The National Genealogical Society has recognized an article I wrote for Family Tree Magazine.

"Ties That Bind," on Jewish research strategies, received the "NGS Award for Excellence: Genealogical Methods and Sources," at the Friday night NGS conference dinner in Salt Lake City.

The Family Tree Magazine article (see cover page right) appeared on pages 52-57 of the September 2009 issue.

Although I could not be there in person, my heart was certainly there. My good friend Daniel Horowitz accepted the award (see image left) in my absence.

I sincerely thank the NGS, headed by president Jan Alpert, and Family Tree Magazine's Allison Stacey, Grace Dobush and Diane Haddad for their foresight in encouraging this topic, and for creating its important visual context.

Best 40 Blogs: Tracing the Tribe is honored!

Family Tree Magazine has just announced the list of 40 best genealogy blogs in the May 2010 issue. Winners just received an email from editor Diane Haddad.

Tracing the Tribe is honored to be among the five blogs in the Heritage category.


In the magazine's "Fab 40" on-line article, Maureen Taylor writes:

Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog

Schelly Talalay Dardashti's passion for Jewish genealogy comes through every post. Since August 2006, she's written on genealogy news and resources, research strategies, Jewish history, museums, and her experiences tracing her own Jewish ancestors through Belarus, Russia, Lithuania and Spain.

Read below for Diane's email and the list of all 40 winners.

Writes Diane:

That’s not to say, of course, that there aren’t many more stellar blogs among the hundreds family historians use to chronicle their successes and brick walls, share history, offer genealogy guidance and more.

All their legions of posts add up to an extraordinary store of collective knowledge about how to discover, preserve and celebrate your family history.

We’re hoping this look at the genealogy blogosphere inspires you to go exploring for more blogs to add to your reader.

See our online article for the complete "FT40" list, as well as tools to find more genealogy blogs. Congratulations to the following Family Tree 40 bloggers (listed in alphabetical order by category). We admire their writing, research and photography skills, and applaud their work to promote the pursuit of family history. I hope their blogs will proudly wear the Family Tree 40 logo!

All-Around
Creative Gene by Jasia Smasha
footnoteMaven by footnoteMaven
GeneaBloggers by Thomas MacEntee
Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver

Cemetery
The Association of Graveyard Rabbits by several authors
Granite in My Blood by Midge Frazel

Corporate
Ancestry.com Blog by various authors

Genetic Genealogy
The Genetic Genealogist by Blaine Bettinger

Heritage
George Geder by George Geder
Scottish Genealogy News and Events by Chris Paton
Small Leaved Shamrock by Lisa
Steve’s Genealogy Blog by Stephen Danko
Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog by Schelly Talalay Dardashti

How-To
Family Matters by Denise Barrett Olson
Genealogy Guys by George G. Morgan and Drew Smith
Genealogy Tip of the Day by Michael John Neill
The ProGenealogists Blog by various authors

Local & Regional
California Genealogical Society and Library Blog by Kathryn Doyle
Sandusky History by the staff of the Sandusky (Ohio) Library Archives Research Center
Midwestern Microhistory by Harold Henderson

News & Resources
The Ancestry Insider by theAncestry Insider
DearMyrtle by Pat Richley-Erickson
Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter by Dick Eastman
GenealogyBlog by Leland Meitzler

Photos & Heirlooms
The Family Curator by Denise Levenick
Shades of the Departed by footnoteMaven

Personal & Family
Ancestories: The Stories of My Ancestors by Miriam Midkiff
Apple’s Tree by anonymous
BeNotForgot by Vickie Everhart
Educated Genealogist by Sheri Fenley
Greta’s Genealogy Blog by Greta Koehl
Heritage Happens by Cheryl Fleming Palmer
Herstoryan by Herstoryan
Janet the Researcher by Janet Iles
Kinexxions by Becky Wiseman
Little Bytes of Life by Elizabeth
Our Georgia Roots by Luckie Daniels
WeTree by Amy Coffin
West in New England by Bill West
What’s Past is Prologue by Donna Pointkouski

Read the online article by Maureen Taylor at the link above.

Congratulations to all our geneablogger colleagues on this honor!

Family Tree Magazine: New issue

The March 2010 issue of Family Tree Magazine provides another great issue for researchers, providing many practical resources and articles.

It went on sale January 5 and, if you have a subscription, you're already enjoying it.

Diane Haddad covered the new issue in her Genealogy Insider post.

--Assess your genealogical fitness level with a “Shaping Up” survey. Find links to classes, websites, books and organizations to help everyone, from beginners to experts, brush up on skills or learn new ones.

--Learn about your ancestors with a social history of their times, such as childbirth practices in our grandmothers' and great-grandmothers' days, in"We Deliver for You." There's information on birth, hospital and midwives' records.

--"Flirting With Disaster” will help you understand about disasters our ancestors lived through ... or didn't. Find sources to victims' names.

--"Go Go Gadgets" tells researchers what to look for in seven technology tools - a practical article comparing popular models for each tool.

--There's a Toolkit Tutorial on Twitter and its new vocabulary for social networking.

--How to keep your family connected via a family website with the MyHeritage Web Guide, detailing how to use a tree on MyHeritage.com to do research and connect with family.

Other articles include Puerto Rican root tracing, color photography and sources to help African-American researchers.

IPhone: Genealogy podcast app launched

Geneablogger colleague Lisa Louise Cooke of Genealogy Gems Podcast has just informed Tracing the Tribe about the first genealogy podcast application for IPhone/iTouch.

Genealogy Gems Podcast - the top ranked podcast in the iTunes genealogy category - has launched the first genealogy podcast app, in partnership with Wizzard Media, for iPhone and iTouch.

The app will provide users with streaming genealogy audio and video on the go and exclusive bonus content. Genealogy Gems Podcast is a free "online genealogy radio show" and has provided innovative research strategies, family history expert and celebrity interviews, and genealogy news since 2007.

Tracing the Tribe was featured in an interview with Lisa at the 2009 Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree.

Her podcasts provide information that can inspire family history researchers of all skill levels and help them use their research time appropriately. With the new app, the podcast can reach many more people.

“Mobile technology is the wave of the future,” says Producer and Creator Lisa Louise Cooke. “At Genealogy Gems we strive to be out in front bringing the highest quality genealogy education to those seeking to enrich their lives through family history research. The app makes this possible on a whole new level.”

All the episodes are included (including show notes) and new podcasts are downloaded automatically. Bonus content includes audio files and custom genealogy-themed wallpaper, as well as Lisa's 20-page PDF ebook, "5 Fabulous Google Research Strategies for the Family Historian. " New content will be added as episodes are published.

Learn much more about Lisa's work at the link above.

In addition to Genealogy Gems Podcasts, she's also created the Genealogy Gems TV channel at YouTube, the Genealogy Gems News Blog, a toolbar, authored "Genealogy Gems: Ultimate Research Strategies," produces and hosts The Family Tree Magazine Podcast, teaches online webinars and writes and produces videos for the magazine. Contact Lisa if you have questions.

And you thought you were busy!

Now, if Tracing the Tribe only had an iPhone.

Chanukah: How do you spell it?

Ever wonder why there are so many ways to spell Chanukah? Is there one correct spelling?

Chanukah, Hanukah, Hanukkah, Hannukah, Channukah ....

This what it looks like spelled in Hebrew. Very simple. Five letters. No variations (although some scholars say there should be a dot under one or two letters, which messes up graphic design).

The names of the letters - from right to left - are CHET - NUN - VAV - KAF - HEY.

Five simple letters, so many transliterated spellings.

According to one site, here are the 2005 Google rankings for various spellings. The second column of numbers is Tracing the Tribe's search today, followed by a few that weren't ranked in the 2005 post: :

- Hanukkah: 12,700,000 - 8,940,000
- Chanukah: 2,440,000 - 2,990,000
- Hanukah: 739,000 - 486,000
- Hannukah: 631,000 - 793,000
- Chanukkah: 465,000 - 269,000
- Hanuka: 377,000 - 239,000
- Chanuka: 359,000 - 234,000
- Channukah: 191,000 - 140,000
- Hanaka: 163,000 - 141,000
- Chanukka: 119,000 - 86,800
- Hanukka: 95,100 (2009)
- Channukkah: 82,300 (2009)
- Hannukkah: 55,200 (2009)
- Januca (Spanish): 118,000 (2009)
- Hanouka (French): 61,500 (2009)

Jewish genealogists may have an easier time understanding this dilemma as we are familiar with transliterating names from other alphabets into English.

To my mind, it is rather simple and it is why Tracing the Tribe chooses to use Chanukah, which represents the word as written in its proper Hebrew characters.

The first letter is pronounced CH (the guttural KH) which is the same as in chutzpah, chazer, and christmas (well, not really, just wanted to see if you were awake!).

It is not pronounced as in chipmunk (see right for a cartoon character, either Chip or Dale - I could never tell which was which)). Although it's a cute little forest animal, it doesn't generally celebrate Chanukah. I seem to remember an Alvin and the Chipmunks perhaps doing something related to the holiday. Here's a Chanukah video parody of their Christmas Song.

There's only one K and one N in the Hebrew spelling - so why do some variations use two of one or even both in English? I have no idea and think it's silly.

Click here for more analysis of the variations, including a neat table of all the variations that author found in 2005. That posting refers readers to a funny point-by-point comparison of Christmas and Chanukah, click here.

For a great discussion on why there are so many spellings, click here for a National Public Radio (NPR) episode of "All Things Considered." It is a winner!

For Tracing the Tribe readers who may still be a bit perplexed about this holiday or who may wonder about getting started in Jewish genealogy, here's a post from Diane Haddad at Family Tree Magazine's Genealogy Insider blog.

Diane posted these suggestions:

-- Learn the history and traditions of Hanukkah, from the History Channel

-- The story of how Hannukah has evolved over the years

-- Descriptions of potato latkes and how they became a traditional Hanukkah food (according to this author, there’s more to it than just eating a food containing oil)

--Another winner is this site all about Sufganiyot (doughnuts, a tradition on Chanukah).

Diane also listed the following for those researching Jewish ancestors:

-- free JewishGen collection on Ancestry.com

-- Footnote's Holocaust records collection (free through the end of December).

And resources on FamilyTreeMagazine.com include:

-- Online resources for Jewish research (free article)

-- Ties That Bind: Seven research strategies, accessible to Family Tree Magazine Plus members, written by Tracing the Tribe's author.

-- Jewish heritage research guide (digital download, ShopFamilyTree.com)

Have a great holiday!

Family Tree Magazine: Photo-Retouch Webinar, Dec. 9

Look around your house now. Do you see faded or scratched photos? Tracing the Tribe has a few in this category.

I've tried to fix some of them with varying degrees of success, but need some expert help. Riding to the rescue is Family Tree Magazine's next Family Tree University webinar on Photo-Retouching, set for December 9.

Editor Allison Stacey and art director Christy Miller - who fixes photos on a daily basis - will help participants digitally correct flaws and bring your family pictures back to life. They are subtitling it "Give Great-Grandma a Makeover."

Early color photos are victims of fading as most of us know personally. Each webinar participant is invited to submit a photo and Christy will demonstrate the techniques on some during the session. Afterward, each webinar registrant will receive a digital copy of his or her retouched photo.

The two will also offer tips on getting good scans of pictures, recommend user-friendly (and wallet-friendly) photo-editing software, and tell you how to get professional help for repairing badly damaged pictures.

Learn all about it at 7pm, Wednesday, December 9, at "Photo Retouching: How to Bring Old Family Photos Back to Life." The cost is $49.99 and includes participation in the live session and Q&A, unlimited access to the webinar recording, downloadable Genealogy Guidebook featuring 100+ brick wall-busting tips, and a digital copy of your retouched photo.

Click here to register at ShopFamilyTree.com. After registering, use the link on your order confirmation page to confirm your webcast registration.

Footnote.com: Answering some questions

Every time that an online site announces the addition of new collections, you can be sure that geneabloggers will chime in with questions and suggestions.

Footnote.com's recent announcement has produced responses by both Diane Haddad of the Genealogy Insider blog at Family Tree Magazine and Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings.

Diane asked Footnote's Justin Schroepfer a few good questions about the recent interactive census announcement. Her post provided the questions (below) and Justin's answers:

1. Is Footnote creating new census images and indexes? How is this being done?

2. When will we start seeing the new censuses added to the site? What states will be first? When do you anticipate the collection will be complete?

3. Looking down the road, how will the census addition affect Footnote’s subscription pricing ($79.95 per year or $11.95 per month)?

4. Will changes to the workings of the site be necessary to accommodate the added data, searches and traffic?

Check out Diane's post at the link above for the answers.

On the same subject, Randy Seaver's post on Genea-Musings offered an excellent suggestion for Footnote.com to consider.

The site offers Footnote Pages for the 1930 Federal Census (and many other collections), so visitors can create a page for each individual of interest. This means that each census can create a separate page for each person. The problem is that there will be multiple census pages created for one individual listed in many censuses.

Randy's suggestion:

In my humble opinion, Footnote.com needs to find a way to combine the several records for a person so that there is only one Footnote Page for an individual. If they can accomplish that, then Footnote.com may well be the best place online to have a wiki environment collection of Person Pages, with user-submitted photographs, documents, stories, vital records, etc.

Excellent idea, Randy!

Top 40 Gen Blogs: Vote now!

Thank you to readers who nominated Tracing the Tribe for the Top 40 Best Genealogy Blogs at Family Tree Magazine.

Now comes the second part: Voting is now open. Vote HERE.

In the May 2010 issue of Family Tree Magazine, we’ll name the 40 Best Genealogy Blogs. It's time to vote on the blogs nominated by the genealogy community. We've divided the nominees into 10 categories. In each category, choose the number of blogs specified in the question (you'll get an error if you choose too many).

For more on the categorization methodology, click here.

From the 80 blogs receiving the most votes, Family Tree Magazine will select the top 40 for this honor.

Find Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog under HERITAGE, and MyHeritage Genealogy Blog under GENEALOGY COMPANIES.

The categories are:

All-Around (choose three)
Cemeteries (choose two)
Genealogy Companies (choose one)
Genetic Genealogy (choose one)
Heritage (choose four)
How-To (choose three)
Local/Regional (choose three)
News Resources (choose four)
Photos/Heirlooms (choose two)
Personal/Family (choose 12)

There's also an optional question on what you liked about your choices.

Vote now and help to recognize the best genealogy blogs.

Webinar: Footnote.com at Family Tree Magazine

If you'd like to learn more about Footnote.com, Family Tree Magazine is offering a free 30-minute webinar for your enjoyment.

Footnote launched in 2007, and the subscription site offers millions of photographs and other images, such as census, military records, naturalizations, newspapers and much more. Additional resources are added very frequently.

The webinar will cover what records are available at Footnote, search demos, the Footnote image viewer, how to create Footnote Pages about your ancestors with information and images you upload (these Pages are also available for non-subscription members).

To see the webinar, click here to read more at Diane's post in the Genealogy Insider blog. Click the big orange button in the blog post, type in your first and last names and email address. Then click "Register" to launch the webinar player.

Enjoy!