Calling all bloggers: Required reading!

What kind of blogger are you?

Tracing the Tribe doesn't mean the category (e.g., geneabloggers), but personality type.

According to Stephen Guise of Deep Existence, who guest-posted on Problogger.net, there are at least 23 types, including the Machine, Ninja, Social Engineer, Name-Dropper, Comedian, Guru, Disruptor - even the Beloved - and some that Guise decided not to write about.

For each, he gives pros and cons.

The last time we checked, there were some 49 comments.

To read all about the 23, click here.

Consider subscribing to the Problogger newsetter which often offers articles of blogging interest. Check out the site's various sections.

Happy reading!

Poland: MyHeritage acquisition of Bliscy.pl will help researchers

Readers searching their Polish ancestry should be delighted by the latest MyHeritage.com acquisition of Bliscy.pl from Wirtualna Polska S.A., strengthening its leadership in the family history market and expanding its international community of users.

The most popular family network on the web, MyHeritage now offers 18 million family trees, 56 million registered users and 760 million profiles in a private and secure online environment. The move added more than 500,000 Bliscy.pl users to the global MyHeritage.com family network, which now has a Polish user base of more than 2.6 million users.

Translation: Finding relatives in Poland is now easier than ever!

Tools and technologies for managing family connections online with MyHeritage.com include the free software Family Tree Builder (available also in Polish); Smart Matching™ technology to discover matches between family trees across different languages, pronunciations and spellings; and advanced facial recognition technology for automatic tagging of family photos.

The acquisition was announced this morning on TechCrunch, and here is the MyHeritage Blog post. Here's some of the official press release:

“Having established ourselves as the leading international destination for families to connect to their past and to one another – acquiring Bliscy.pl is a natural step that enriches our global family network" said Gilad Japhet, founder and CEO of MyHeritage.com. "Our service and flagship Smart Matching™ technology enjoy a network effect, providing more value as more people use them. For this reason, this acquisition delivers great value both to the Bliscy.pl users and to the users of MyHeritage.com. Our international network of users consists of millions of families with roots in Poland, who will now find it even easier to connect to long-lost relatives and discover more about their unique family histories”.

MyHeritage.com holds a formidable international registered member base of more than 56 million and offers its services in 36 languages. As a market of increasing strategic and economic importance, the acquisition reaffirms the company’s foothold in Central Europe.  As Europe’s sixth largest economy, Poland is an economic power house within Central Europe, possessing more than 40% of 500 of the region’s largest companies measured by turnover. Since the end of the communist era in 1989, Poland has demonstrated significant development potential – with a high-income economy and ranking amongst the highest GDP growth rates in the EU.

Following massive migration, the number of ethnic Poles living abroad is estimated to be some 20 million, with the largest concentrations of 10 million and 1.6 million living in the USA and Germany respectively, countries where MyHeritage.com enjoys a mass-market following. 

The acquisition of Bliscy.pl marks the third major acquisition by MyHeritage.com within the last 18 months, following the acquisition of European family network OSN GmbH and its network of 10 market-leading family sites including verwandt.de, moikrewni.pl and verwant.nl, and Dutch Family Network ZOOOF. By merging the family networks into one international platform, MyHeritage.com is building a worldwide Family Graph that has grown to more than 18 million family trees and 760 million profiles.

According to Wirtualna Polska director of business development Anna Kesicka:

“The sale of Bliscy.pl is a continuation of our strategy to focus on expanding content, a key company goal for 2011. We place high value on cooperating with companies who are an ideal fit from a strategic business perspective. As the world’s largest family network, MyHeritage.com fits the bill, providing Bliscy.pl users with vast international platform for exploring family connections and a feature rich site to help users keep in touch with their family in Poland and around the globe.”

Definitely a big plus for researchers of Polish ancestry

Generations Maps becomes Family ChartMasters

Janet Hovorka announced that her company - Generations Maps -has changed its name to Family ChartMasters, as of June 1.

Located in Cedar Hill, Utah, the company was founded in 2004. The press release states:

“We’ve decided to rename in order to simplify and focus our message on exactly what we do the best, “ said Kim Hovorka, CEO, Family ChartMasters.  “We’re proud of the excellent customer service we provide and the way we can customize any family’s information to any design a genealogist is looking for.  Future users will be able to easily find us now, and future generations will benefit from the family history we are able to display for your family.”

The name Family ChartMasters also comes with a new concentrated tagline, Share•Honor•Inspire, expressing how a genealogist can use a genealogy chart to further their research.  Users are encouraged to Share their research, Honor their ancestors, and Inspire their family members with their family’s heritage.  Family ChartMasters continues to be an inexpensive, beautiful way to make your genealogy chart ideas a reality.

The company is the premier printing service for any kind of genealogy chart imaginable.  In addition to the design-it-yourself online Family ChArtist program, Family ChartMasters continues to offer a multitude of custom chart printing services, including both decorative and working genealogy charts.

The charts literally come in any size, and the company has printed working charts up to 800 feet long with information on more than 30,000.  Charts are over sized, inexpensive and can display family-reunion type charts with space to write on and add information.

For more information, click here, visit them on Facebook and Twitter.

New Mexico: Genealogy 'superstars' to speak, April 2-3

New Mexico family history researchers are in for a treat when two major genealogy superstars will speak on Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3.

Bennett Greenspan (left) - founder and CEO of FamilyTreeDNA.com - and Dr. Steve Morse - of One-Step pages fame - will be in Albuquerque next weekend to speak at two major events, co-sponsored by the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society, which is revamping and expanding its genealogy programming. The NMJHS is now a member of the IAJGS.

-- Saturday, April 2, from 10.30am-3.30pm, the Rio Rancho Library's Loma Colorado main branch will host a free "Blast Into Your Past" - a general program aimed at beginners and recent family history researchers, athough the entire genealogical community is invited to attend.

-- Sunday, April 3, from 11am-1pm, the Jewish Community Center in Albuquerque will host both speakers for sessions spotlighting Jewish issues and topics in genetic genealogy with Bennett, and One-Step helpful tools, such as demystifying the Jewish calendar, with Steve. The program is open to the public and all are invited to attend.

See below for more information on each event.

Judging from responses already received by organizers, attendees will be coming from many areas of the state for both sessions.

"Blast Into Your Past" will provide a good basic introduction to family history with the superstars and local experts. Beginning at 10.30am and running through 3.30pm - attendees should bring a brown-bag lunch - there will be an introduction to genetic genealogy with Bennett Greenspan, followed by Steve Morse's intro to the more than 200+ tools on his site.

After a short lunch break, there will be three additional sessions:

-- Michael Barger will present genealogy basics.
-- An ethnic research panel (Hispanic, Jewish, and others) will field questions from attendees and supply information on how to find additional information. Lionel Rael of the Hispanic Genealogy Society will be on this panel, along with others.
-- Social media for family history researchers will be presented by Schelly Talalay Dardashti.

There will also be an overview of genealogical resources at the library, including databases and subscription sites available in the computer lab or accessible at home for library card holders.

There will be time for Q&A.

On Sunday, April 3, both men will speak at the Jewish Community Center in Albuquerque from 11am-1pm. Bennett will address genetic genealogy through a focus on Jewish history and share stories of discoveries, while Steve will focus on One-Step tools that may assist Jewish family history researchers, such as demystifying the Jewish calender.

Again, the library program is free and its general topics are aimed at beginners and those who are recent to family history research. The JCC program - with more of a Jewish genealogy focus - is free for NMJHS members, and $5 for others (the fee may be applied to a one-year NMJHS membership).

We believe that many attendees on Saturday will want to know more about these topics and will also attend the Sunday program, which is open to the public.

The NMJHS, the Library and New Mexico genealogical community is looking forward to this "superstar" weekend. I'm looking forward to greeting Tracing the Tribe readers at both events.

For more information, click on the NMJHS website, or send an email.

Denver: Beginners' program, April 3

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado is offering a beginners' program - Planting Your Family Tree for the Next Generation - on Sunday, April 3.

The program will run from 10am-noon, at Temple Emanuel, 51 Grape St., Denver.

Learn how to share your hard-earned research!

Archives, software, websites, newsletters, family reunions, gifts, and artistic displays will be described.

This lecture and workshop is the final part of the seven-session Jewish Family Tree Initiative: Workshop and Mentoring Series.

There is a $30 one-time fee for non-members for a book and materials which includes a one-year membership in the JGSCo.

Instructors for the program are JGSCo members. The JFTI program will be repeated in fall 2011.

JGSCo is led by the creative, innovative Ellen Schindelman Kowitt. Tracing the Tribe was delighted to see Ellen recently at the Sephardic Memory conference in Colorado Springs, and hopes to speak this coming year in Denver.

For more information, send an email.

FamilySearch: 'Indexing the world's records,' March 24 bloginar

FamilySearch has scheduled a free bloginar, "Indexing the World's Historic Records: The Global Phenomenon Continues," for Thursday, March 24, at noon MDT.

News writers, genealogy media professionals and bloggers  are invited to attend the event, presented by FamilySearch indexing Workforce Communications Manager Katie Gale and FamilySearch Product Manager Scott Flinders.

The FamilySearch indexing program, fueled by incredible volunteers, has become a worldwide phenomenon since its launch in 2006, producing hundreds of millions of free, searchable, online records. Online crowds of volunteers, from all walks of life, in seven languages, pore over millions of digital images of historic records, 24/7, to provide free online indexes for the world community. Thousands of new volunteers continue to join the initiative each month.


In this exclusive FamilySearch event, featuring the FamilySearch indexing workforce managers, you will discover:


-- Who are these volunteers? Where are they located?
-- What drives the growing sea of volunteers to continually donate their time and talents?
-- How much data is being produced today?
-- What are the greatest challenges?
-- What are the latest enhancements to the software tool?
-- What are the 2011 production and software goals?


Participants will see demonstrations on their computers over the Internet and interact with presenters by phone or a live, e-text or chat forum.

For more information, click FamilySearch Bloginar Online.

Sweden: ArkivDigital offers free weekend access

Are you searching family that lived in Sweden?

That country will celebrate Genealogy Research Day on Saturday, March 19. Genealogical societies, archives and libraries will be hosting events many localities.

ArkivDigital and its online service - ADOnline2 - will be free this weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

According to a communication from ArkivDigital, "We hope that this offer also will help genealogical societies and archives to demonstrate what modern genealogical research is all about."

The site is the biggest private provider of Swedish church and historical records online. Some 500,000 images are added each month to the current 24 million images available. The digital color images are available via online subscriptions or as CDs.

There is a list of Swedish counties. Click on each county to see the parishes and volumes available.

Genealogists know that good digital images are as readable as the original register pages. While previous efforts were made to photograph the registers, ArkivDigital believes it was important to do it again, in color.

The site details the imaging (1948-1963) of records by the Mormon Church and recent changes in technology:

Future - digital photographs in color

During the 90's and 00's both SVAR and Genline digitalized many of the old microfilms. Many people think that the original books at the archives are as black, and in many cases, unreadable as those images sometimes are. Fortunately that is not the case. It is the copies that are black and hard to read because the technology in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s was not as advanced as today and the copies have been transferred several times since then, making the digital images copies of copies of copies. Since ArkivDigital photograph the old unique source material using modern technology the readability is far superior to the old images.

The site offers a good example of the old imaging (left) versus the new image (right):

Tracing the Tribe is sure that all of us have seen record images as difficult to read and wished that new projects would be undertaken to produce better images.

The procedure for obtaining free access this weekend is somewhat complicated, but check out the instructions here.  It involves installation of the ADOnLine2 program.

Do look at the ArkivDigital site if Swedish records are relevant to your research.

FGS: Strategies for societies now available online

The Federation of Geneaogical Societies (FGS) has placed a series of expert papers on society strategies on its website.

February 28, 2011 – Austin, TX. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announces that a vast collection of its Society Strategy Series papers is now available—free to the public—at the FGS website (http://www.fgs.org/societystrategy/).

The Society Strategy Series is a collection of papers filled with suggestions and instructions for the management of genealogical societies, historical societies, and family associations.

These papers have been expertly written by respected authors in the genealogy community to help you and your society grow and prosper.

Timely Topics by Well-Known Authors
Topics covered in the Society Strategy Series papers include:
·        Series I: Strategies for Societies
·        Series II: Strategies for Presidents
·        Series III: Strategies for Vice-Presidents
·        Series IV: Strategies for Treasurers
·        Series V: Strategies for Secretaries
·        Series VI: Strategies for Program Chairpersons
·        Series VII: Strategies for Librarians
·        Series VIII: Strategies for Editors

Most genealogists and genealogy society members will recognize the authors of the Society Strategy Series papers which include Jana Sloan Broglin, Karen Clifford, Betty Robertson Kaufman, Roberta “Bobbi” King, Gary Mokotoff, David Rencher, Curt Witcher, and the late Sandra H. Luebking and Marsha Hoffman Rising.

Newer Society Strategy Series topics are placed in the Members Only area of the FGS website for a period of one (1) year as a member benefit for FGS member societies. Additional new papers are being written and are planned for the coming year.

Helping Genealogy Societies Grow and Prosper
FGS is proud to make the Society Strategy Series available to the entire genealogical community as a means of helping societies become better at managing and growing their organizations.

About the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS)
The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) was founded in 1976 and represents the members of hundreds of genealogical societies. FGS links the genealogical community by helping genealogical societies strengthen and grow through resources available online, FGS Forum magazine (filled with articles pertaining to society management and genealogical news), and Society Strategy Series papers, covering topics about effectively operating a genealogical society. FGS also links the genealogical community through its annual conference -- four days of excellent lectures, including one full day devoted to society management topics. To learn more visit http://www.fgs.org/.

Editor’s Note:  Whether you have a robust society or are experiencing waning membership, whether you are a long-established society or just starting out as a society, this series is very useful to genealogy societies and similar organizations.

Society members should take a look and see if the articles can  help their organization solve problems and issues.

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.

RootsTech: Day 2

RootsTech' day two - Friday - was perhaps even busier than opening day.

One innovation at this event was the Microsoft Playground, a large space filled with billiards and ping pong tables, Wii screens and aso offering back massages. It was very popular!

My DNA presentation - It's In Our Genes: Revealing History via Technology ( A DNA Project Case Study - was delivered to a nearly full large room. One geneablogger - Joan Miller of LuxeGen - was tweeting my talk. It is always a great pleasure to talk about our IberianAshkenaz DNA Project at FamilyTreeDNA.com and explain the history behind it and how it can be used as a model for others to set up their own DNA projects. People who attended it were meeting me the rest of the day and commenting how much they enjoyed it.

Many conference attendees who are regulars at other annual events commented on the absence of FamilyTreeDNA.com at RootsTech, and wondered why they hadn't attended.

I also participated in a blogging panel, moderated by our own Thomas MacEntee, along with  A.C. Ivory (one of our youngest geneabloggers at only 23 years of age), Lisa Alzo and Pat Richley AKA Dear Myrtle. There was much discussion and many comments by the panel with questions by attendees and the hour flew by before we knew it.

Sessions at RootsTech are only 60 minutes (45 minutes presentation followed by 15 minutes of Q&A), and that time really goes fast!

Some of today's presentations included several by Steve Morse as well as:

• "Playground Rules for the Genealogy Internet Collaborative Space," with Janet Hovorka
• "Powerpoint 2010 for Presenters" (several labs), with Barbara Renick and Gena Philibert Ortega
• "Digital Images for Genealogists and Technologists," with Geoff Rasmussen
• "Names in Stone: Unique Approach to Cemetery Research," with DAvid Day and Bruce Cheney
• "Enhanced Smart Matches and Social Networking Technologies Applied to Facilitate Collaboration between Familes and Researchers," with Daniel Horowitz
• "Use Your Android Phone for Genealogy and Family History," with David Lifferth
• "Security and Disaster Recovery," with Kaeb J. Albee
• "Finding Your Family's Stories Online," with Tami Glatz
• "Genealogy Blogs: Impact and Influence in the Genealogy Commmunity," with Thomas MacEntee
• "Collaborating with Genealogists to Redesign a Digital Library," with Kathleen Murray
• "Easy Digital Newsletters," with Dear Myrtle
• "Google News and Timeline," with Dan Lynch

That's only a few of today's nearly 50 sessions.

This evening, many of us went to the Family History Library for a late night schedule, including the newest Who Do You Think You Are? segment, with Tim McGraw. 

Tracing the Tribe is not really into country music, so I'm the first to admit I barely recognized his name and didn't know much about him. I was rather impressed in that he came across as a really nice guy who was interested in his connections.

Of course, the show makes it seem so simple. Each time, one of the researchers told Tim, "I have this document for you," the audience of genealogists laughed. We all knew the number of hours it took to be able to say that one short sentence!

One researcher had connected him back eight generations, his ancestors were mentioned in George Washington's journal - GW was then only 16 and on a surveying team in the Shenandoah Valley where he met Tim's Hite family.

Although some geneabloggers have reported that Tim seemed disinterested or disengaged, our group didn't feel that way. Indeed, we felt that Tim came across as a modest person who felt very connected to his ancestors and their place in history.

We were a tired bunch when we got back to our hotel!

The general comments among attendees and geneabloggers were that we were all looking forward to RootsTech 2012, which is set for February 2-4. You might want to mark it on your calendar now!

Gen Business: NIGS acquires GenealogyWise.com

In an interesting turn of events, the National Institute for Genealogical Studies has just acquired the GenealogyWise.com website.

Some time ago, many of GenClass.com's instructors went on to teach at NIGS. GenClass.com was founded by Micha Reisel and myself following MyFamily.com's cancellation of its family history classes, known as the "best kept secret on the web." Tracing the Tribe also created the Jewish Genealogy group on GenealogyWise.

Genealogy community director for GenealogyWise - Gena Philibert Ortega - has officially joined NIGS.

According to the press release received by Tracing the Tribe, Gena says, "I would say that GenealogyWise is a great fit with the National Institute's goals. GenealogyWise is a place to connect with new found cousins, share resources, and learn more about genealogy. As part of the National Institute, GenealogyWise members will benefit from the opportunities that the National Institute provides."

For more information on courses, click here, and go to "Courses" and then "Alphabetical Listing," to see more han 60 courses (to be offered in March) and their descriptions.

To learn more about NIGS, click the same link, go to "Institute," then "Faculty" and click on an instructor's name.

NIGS now offers more than 150 courses in genealogical studies, including the records of Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, Germany, and the United States. Certificate programs and a librarianship certificate are also offered.

GenealogyWise is the social network for genealogists. This is the place to network with other researchers, and make discoveries about your family history.

You can join or create surname, locality, or topic groups. The Group feature allows you to collaborate, share, and ask questions of other members.

You can also join the Chat Room for a quick question about research, a chat with fellow genealogists, or attend one of our educational presentations. As well, you can post a blog entry or a forum question from the GenealogyWise homepage. This is a great way to share your knowledge on a genealogy topic or to ask a question.

To date, there are over 23,000 members online.

A new feature will be added - the Live Meeting. GenealogyWise members will be able to access Live Meetings onsite, and this will open up more education opportunities to members that the Institute has to offer.

For the month of March, the Institute is offering a number of US courses as well as courses on Methodology, Electronic Records, and in Analysis and Skill Mentioning.

Geneabloggers: 35 new genealogy, family history blogs!

Geneabloggers.com's Thomas MacEntee has discovered 35 new genealogy and family history blogs, bringing the total to 1,695.

Topics this week include: US Civil War, African-American, individual family history, Polish, Italian, German, Scottish, UK, North Carolina, education, technology, Massachusetts, genealogy industry, genealogy podcasts, Australia, South Africa, Iowa, surname, Midwest, Wisconsin, Japanese, professional genealogist, Virginia, cemetery and Indiana.

In addition to spotlighting the new Geneabloggers Radio, this batch includes several focusing on a topic dear to Tracing the Tribe's heart - genealogy education - so do check those out.

For more on each blog, click on Thomas' post.

About Our Freedom
African-American genealogy, US Civil War blogs

...To help people break free from the limitations which stem from lack of knowledge, misconceptions, and distractions in order to experience freedom to the fullest extent and to leave a legacy for future posterity. ...

Abruzzo Journal
Individual family history, Italian genealogy, Polish genealogy

... Abruzzo region of southern Italy, including Serramonocesca, San Salvo and Popoli. ... Podlachia region of Polond, including Bialystok, Knyszyn, Penskie, Dlugoleka, and the Podkarpackie region, including Brzyska Wola.

Bayern Roots
German genealogy, Individual family history

Beaudoin-Laroche
Individual family history (BEAUDOIN-LAROCHE)

Borders Family History Society
Genealogy society blogs, Scottish genealogy, UK genealogy

... Border counties (Berwickshire, Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire) of Scotland; adjacent counties of England and Scotland.

Civil War Emancipation Blog
African-American genealogy, US Civil War blogs

... a blog on emancipation...At its heart, slavery caused the Civil War and emancipation was its most important result. ...

Conner Trails of North Carolina
Individual family history (CONNER), North Carolina genealogy

Cudmore Family History
Individual family history (CUDMORE)

Deal With Your Past
Individual family history

Family Cherished
Individual family history

Family Folklore Blog
Individual family history

Family History and IT Tips
Genealogy education blogs, Technology blogs

Ge-ne-al-o-gy 101
Genealogy education

This blog site is intended for those who have started thinking about or have just started doing genealogy. The word genealogy comes from the Greek genea which means “race”, “family”. It is added to the Greek logia which means “akin”. Thus the akin family! It is an account of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor.

Genealogy for Kids
Genealogy education

...a professional genealogist, genealogy educator and author living in the Chicagoland area. ... I made the move from hobbyist to professional genealogist in 2010 and am expanding my genealogy business to include the education of children. ...Children stay engaged in genealogy and family history as long as the activities are fun and keep their attention. I believe they must be challenging, hands on, and include some history. I also believe we must incorporate history into our family stories and view our families within their historical context, not ours.

Genealogy Ink
Genealogy education, Massachusetts genealogy, New England genealogy

... longtime member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the National Genealogy Society, the Genealogical Society of New Jersey, and the USGenWeb. She’s also a freelance writer, editor, and researcher.

GeneaBloggers Radio
Genealogy industry blog, Genealogy podcasts

GeneaBloggers takes to the airwaves with its new radio show! GeneaBloggers is a community of genealogists and family historians who augment their passion for genealogy by blogging. We currently have over 1,600 genealogy blogs listed in our blogroll from around the world and have a vibrant and vocal group of people seeking to define what it is to be a genealogist in the 21st century.

Gerke Family Tree
Individual family history (GERKE)

Grow Your Family History
Australian genealogy, Individual family history

Hedding Family Tree – Africa/Australia
Australian genealogy, Individual family history (HEDDING), South African genealogy

Hollins Family History
Individual family history (HOLLINS, HOLLAND)

Hyde Cheshire
UK genealogy

Iowa Wisconsin Brassfield Genealogy
Individual family history (BRASSFIELD), Iowa genealogy, Surname blog, Midwest genealogy, Wisconsin genealogy

Japanese Genealogy Blog
Japanese genealogy

Kendall Family History Services
Professional genealogist, UK genealogy

Lesher Genealogy
Individual family history (LESHER)

Musings of a Genealogy Nut
Individual family history

Our Family Line
Individual family history (MATHIS)

Peg’s and MJ’s Genealogy Exchange
Genealogy education blog

Prince William County Genealogy
Virginia genealogy

Searchin’ for Kinfolk
Individual family history (GILL, HENDRICKSON)

Seeber-Wright Family Tree
Individual family tree (SEEBER, WRIGHT)

Shively Family Genealogy
Individual family history (SHIVELY)

Stone Gardens
Cemetery blog (mostly Texas)

Tangled Roots and Other Histories
Individual family history

Totally Related
Individual family history

White River Township
Indiana genealogy

To see the logos for each blog and read more about the authors and their goals, click on the Geneabloggers.com post link above.

Thank you, Thomas, for this interesting weekly roundup.

On the Road: Genealogists plan speaking tours

Are we coming to your neighborhood?

This is the time of year when many genealogy speakers are focusing on finalizing their schedules for the next few months.

Many - including Tracing the Tribe - will speak at both major conferences and local venues. All of these events are wonderful opportunities to meet, greet and learn from so many individuals speaking on a wide array of topics.

Tracing the Tribe will be speaking in the US, UK and Canada. This year will be much easier as we are now US-based, making it much easier to travel to events and return home without being away for extended periods of time. My presentations include DNA genetic genealogy, creating virtual communities and introductory sessions, and the current schedule looks like this:

FEBRUARY
6 - Rio Rancho, NM - DNA genetic genealogy and family history
10-12 - Salt Lake City, Utah - RootsTech 2011
13 - Albuquerque, NM Jewish community education event - A Taste of Honey -
24 - London UK - JGS of Great Britain
25-28 - London UK Who Do You Think You Are? Family History Fair

APRIL
2 - Rio Rancho, NM - Genealogy Library Day ("Blast into the Past"), Loma Colorado Branch

MAY
7 - London UK - Society of Genealogists' Centenary Conference
8 - Manchester UK - JGS of Great Britain, Manchester Regional Conference
11-14 - Charleston, SC - National Genealogical Society Conference

JUNE
10-12 - Burbank, CA - Southern California Jamboree
19-23 - Montreal, Canada - Association of Jewish Libraries

Our good friend and MyHeritage.com colleague Daniel Horowitz and I will both be speaking at the major conferences, at the Albuquerque JCC Taste of Honey event February 13, and at a special double-header February 24 for the JGS of Great Britain before WDYTYA Live! opens.

Daniel's upcoming schedule offers information-packed talks covering a broad range of topics - from MyHeritage features, technology, genealogy school projects, Israel resources and others.

FEBRUARY
8- Utah Jewish Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, UT
10-12 - RootsTech, Salt Lake City, UT
13 - JCC of Greater Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM
14 - CSU/ JGS of Georgia, The Breman Museum, Atlanta, GA
24 - JGS of Great Britain, London, UK
25-27 - WDYTYA Live, London, UK

MARCH
29 - JGS of Dayton, Ohio
31 - April 2 - VISIT Ohio Genealogical Society Conference

APRIL
5 - JGS of Cleveland, Ohio
6-9 - VISIT 11th New England Regional Gen Conference
10 - JGS of New York, Center for Jewish History, Manhattan
11 - Association of Professional Genealogists NY, NY
14 - JGS of North Jersey, New Jersey
24 - JGS of Long Island, Long Island, NY
26 - Bernards Township Library, Basking Ridge, NJ

MAY
2 - JGS of Greater Philadelphia, Elkins Park, PA
3 - New York Genealogy PC Users' Group, Manhattan, NY
10-14 - VISIT NGS Conference, Charleston SC
15 - JGS of Greater Washington, Washington DC, Washington DC

For more information on Daniel's schedule and the specific talks at each location, contact him, or see his personal website.

Tracing the Tribe looks forward to greeting readers!

Ancestry.com: Demise of 'Expert Connect'

Ancestry.com has just informed the genealogy community that its Expert Connect service will be "disconnected" as of March 18.

Here is the announcement:

Over a year ago Ancestry.com created Expert Connect as a way to expand its service offerings and provide additional assistance for members through an elite group of professional genealogists and researchers. Through this service, customers were given the opportunity to hire genealogists to retrieve records, perform research or simply acquire expert advice.

Though this service has been a positive experience, Ancestry.com has decided to focus on other business priorities, so as of March 18, 2011, Expert Connect will no longer be a service that Ancestry.com will offer to its members.

Both experts and members currently involved in Expert Connect have been notified of this update. We encourage members to finish out existing projects with experts they have located through the Expert Connect service and if needed, continue relationships for future projects they may have.

At the time Expert Connect was created, there was some controversy, on which numerous genealogy bloggers commented.

Webinar: Beginning genetic genealogy, January 18

Interested in genetic genealogy and how it can help you in your ancestral search, but wish you understood more about it?

Tracing the Tribe's good friend Elise Friedman (Boca Raton, Florida) - who works with and speaks on genetic genealogy - now has a website Relative Roots, a companion blog, and is beginning a series of free webinars, starting tomorrow.

Elise plans to host genealogy webinars several times a month beginning this month. She's starting with genetic genealogy and will offer others focusing on other topics in the future.

Participation is free, but requires pre-registration; click here to register. The software she's using is currently limited to 100 people per webinar - first-come, first-served - so consider registering right away.

The first session is for beginners:

Tuesday, January 18  (8pm East Coast, 5pm West Coast)
Genetic Genealogy for Beginners: DNA is the “Gene” in Genealogy!

If you don’t know the first thing about Genetic Genealogy, or even if you’ve heard about it, but don’t know which test you should take, this presentation is for you! Attendees will learn about the history of genetic genealogy, be introduced to DNA basics and inheritance paths, learn about the different types of DNA tests available for genealogy (Y-DNA, mtDNA and Autosomal), and learn about resources that will help you make the most of your Genetic Genealogy experience.

The next scheduled webinar is for beginners/intermediates:

Thursday, January 27 (8pm East Coast, 5pm West Coast)
Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Reading and Understanding Your Family Tree DNA Results

You’ve taken the plunge and ordered a genetic genealogy DNA test, but now that you have your results, you don’t understand them? This class is for you! Those who haven’t tested yet can also benefit from this class by getting a preview of what their results could look like. Attendees will get a tour of the MyFTDNA account, and detailed explanations of how to read and understand their Y-DNA, mtDNA and Family Finder results and matches.

See the webinar schedule here.

Elise Friedman is a professional genealogist, specializing in Jewish genealogy, genetic genealogy, and technology. She has given lectures and workshops at a variety of venues, from local genealogy and community meetings to international Jewish genealogy conferences. She has researched her own family history for more than 10 years, and has roots in Belarus, Russia, Poland and Ukraine (formerly Galicia).

Active in genetic genealogy, she is JewishGen’s DNA Projects Coordinator, manages several DNA studies at FamilyTreeDNA.com, and co-authored a genetic genealogy case study published in Avotaynu and Forum journals.

A member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, Genealogical Speakers Guild, International Society of Genetic Genealogy and Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County, Elise has a BS in Computer Engineering (Pennsylvania State University) and is a former information technology professional.

Software: 2010 user awards

Louis Kessler has been a genealogist and programmer for more than three decades.

In 1997, he launched his Genealogy Software Links page which, in 2008, became the GenSoftReview site. He also developed the Behold genealogy program.

Kessler has just announced his 2010 Users Choice Awards for the most-liked genealogy programs for 2010.

The 2010 winners are: RootsMagic, Brother's Keeper, The Next Generation, Genbox Family History, Legacy, Personal Ancestral File, Reunion and MyHeritage.com 's Family Tree Builder. Seven are repeat winners from 2009.

Genealogists have gone to his site for more than two years to review and rate genealogy software.

According to his press release, it isn't easy to pick what program - of more than 550 - is best to use for your research. At his site, people can search for the program they want or for a specific program. They can read the reviews posted by users and see how the programs are rated by those users. The site is free and no registration is needed to add reviews.

After two years, over 720 reviews have been submitted. The end of year ratings for 2010 have now been tabulated and eight programs have been awarded a Users Choice Award. All the programs with a user rating of 4 or more out of 5 and at least 10 reviews are being awarded a GenSoftReviews Users Choice Award.

Says Kessler, "Everybody is different and has different needs. Choosing a genealogy program is like choosing a vacation hotel. What's best for one person is not necessarily best for another person." He says his site helps researchers decide on their genealogy tool, using consumer ratings to help them decide on a program.

Questions about the site or the awards? contact Kessler.

Geneabloggers: 27 new blogs discovered!

Among the newest 27 genealogy blogs just discovered by Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers.com, Tracing the Tribe readers will be interested to find a Sephardic one.

To read more about each of the new blogs in this post, click here. The new crop includes blogs devoted to Jewish, Portuguese, Sephardic, individual family history, professional genealogists, Massachusetts, New England, West Virginia, crafts, Maine, technology, Indiana, Midwest US, Irish, Canada, southeastern Massachusetts cemeteries, Mississippi, Civil War, Acadian, French Canadian,

Of course, here's my favorite of this bunch:

Maduro Family Branches
Individual family history, Jewish genealogy, Portuguese genealogy

Welcome to my blog about branches on the Maduro family tree. This blog is about the Maduro family and associated families. Some of these include Brandon, Cardoze, de Castro, Delvalle, Fidanque, Halman, de Leon, de Lima, Lindo, Piza, Robles, Sasso, de Sola, and Toledano.

Over the years I’ve collected genealogical information about the Levy Maduro family of Amsterdam, their Portuguese ancestors, and their Maduro descendants around the world. In this blog I’ll describe the Maduro connection to some of those other families.

Click on Thomas' post above to read more about each of the rest. Visit the blogs and welcome them.

A Couple of Whiles
Individual family history

4 Hall Cousins
Individual family history, Massachusetts genealogy, New England genealogy
African-American Genealogy – West Virginia
African-American genealogy, West Virginia genealogy

Ann’s Scraps of Time
Craft blogs, Individual family history

Demarais Fish on Genealogy
Individual family history

Downeast Ancestors
Individual family history, Maine genealogy, New England genealogy

Easter Family Genealogy Blog
Individual family history, UK genealogy

Family History Across the Seas
Australian genealogy, Individual family history

Family Tree Rings: An Ancestral Birthday Blog
Individual family history

GenealogyNext
Technology blog

Gol Gol Girl
Individual family history

Hunting Ancestors
Australian genealogy, Individual family history

Indiana Dillmans
Indiana genealogy, Individual family history, Midwest genealogy

Irish Genealogy News
Irish genealogy

Accompanying blog to the Irish Genealogy Toolkit - a free online guide to Irish family history research, including news about latest record releases, occasional features and interviews with genealogy specialists, along with tips and hints.

Kathryn’s Quest
Individual family history

My interest in family history has spanned almost 30 years and I thought I would share some tips through this medium to my friends of how to enjoy the thrill of the chase of those elusive ancestors.  Starting week one of 2011, I will share ideas and tips of how to start your family history and to record it.  This knowledge is all self-taught by experiencing the journey myself. ...

Leaves of Heritage
Professional genealogist

Letters from Home
Individual family history

No More Wriggling Out of Writing Woman ...
Individual family history, UK genealogy

Norma Jean’s Genealogy
Canadian genealogy, Individual family history (BENOY)

The Genealogy Dude
Professional genealogist

The Old Colony Graveyard Rabbit
Cemetery blog, Massachusetts genealogy, New England genealogy

A blog devoted mainly to the cemeteries of Southeastern Massachusetts with occasional forays elsewhere in New England. A member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.

The Sand Creek Sentinel Oktibbeha County Genealogy
African-American genealogy, Mississippi genealogy

The USCT Chronicle
African-American genealogy

Tomorrow’s Memories
Individual family history

Whispers Through the Willows
Acadian genealogy, Canadian genealogy, Cemetery blogs, French-Canadian genealogy, Individual family history, Massachusetts genealogy, New England genealogy; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Massachusetts cemeteries.

Yankee Cousin’s Adventures in Ancestry
Individual family history

If any of these blogs coincide with your own research interests, do visit them.

Thanks, Thomas, for another great list!

Telling African American Civil War Stories, of Soldiers, Civilians, Contrabands, First Days of Freedom, and the Events that led to Freedom.

The Four Hall Cousins blog has been created to present the history of Edward Hall of Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, formerly of Henbury, Gloucestershire, England, who arrived in Plymouth about 1636/37. ... We hope that this blog will provide additional information to those researching these families, as well as allied families and other branches and stimulate productive discussions; we hope also that it will attract new cousins who will help add to our information base.

2011: Genealogy industry predictions

Our geneablogger friend, the awesome Thomas MacEntee, has just posted his 2011 genealogy industry predictions.

His very interesting list - posted at Geneabloggers - will entice many readers to try to puzzle out who and what he is writing about.

The list covers Ancestry.com, magazines, genealogical societies, FamilySearch, demographics, conferences, vendors and providers, publishing and media, education, social media, products and services, and even a category titled "Odd, Bizarre and Unexplained."

Nothing like insider tips to make the majority of us scratch our heads.

"Genealogy psychics," anyone?

Geneabloggers: 41 new blogs?

As readers know, Tracing the Tribe often lets them know about the new blogs discovered by Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers.

Although he recently posted 11 new blogs, he did post another, listing 41 new blogs on December 4.

One never knows how a particular blog might help you in your own quest, so check these out and you might receive some help for some aspect of your search. I've written only smatterings of the blog descriptions, so if you want more, see the link above, or click on each individual blog URL.

All About GEN
Individual family history

Ancestor Search
Australia genealogy, Individual family history

Anderson / Spence / McKenney, 1800’s
Individual family history

Annapolis Royal Heritage
Canadian genealogy

• Author is a museum director in Annapolis Royal, and will try to feature some interesting artifacts and archival resources in the collections.

Are My Roots Showing?
Individual family history

Arkansas Roots: The Stories of My Family
Arkansas genealogy, Individual family history

•  SMITH, SLOAN, HAWKINS & PATTILLO, Dallas County, Arkansas; POOLE, Union & Hemstead Counties.

Barnett Family Genealogy
Individual family history

• Barnetts of Parker County, Texas.

Borreson Cousins
Individual family history

• Norwegian immigrants Emil Borresen and Gina Estensen married in 1899 in Pigeon Falls, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, had 10 children and 29 grandchildren. Author is one of the grandchildren.

Butler Cemetery
African-American genealogy, Cemetery blog, New Jersey genealogy

• Butler Cemetery (established c1867 by Dempsey Daniel Butler, prominent businessman, real estate entrepreneur, and more. When he died in January 1900, he was noted as the wealthiest African American in New Jersey.

Digging Under My Family Tree
Individual family history

Dr D Digs Up Ancestors
Genealogy education

Exile’s Return
Individual family history

Fiji Genealogy
Fiji genealogy,

• Many resources and ideas for tracing your family tree and researching your family’s history in Fiji. Whether your ancestor was a temporary visitor who married or died in Fiji, or whether you are descended from a long line of settlers or natives, you will find something here to help you...lists of websites, books, and repositories of records and microfilmed records to help you...

Genealogie Blog
French genealogy

• Author is professional genealogist Stéphane Cosson.

Genealogy Dragnet
Individual family history

Genealogy of Oldendorf, und Nahrendorf
German genealogy

• Regional villages: Dannenberg area, Uelzen,Elbe region, Goehrde and Bleckede area.

Genealogy Quest
Individual family history

Geoff’s Genealogy
Individual family history, UK genealogy

Glasgow Ancestry
Scottish genealogy

Gregory Fearon’s Family History Blog
Individual family history

Glimpsing the Past
Individual family history, UK genealogy

Grow Your Own Family Tree
Genealogy industry blog, Irish genealogy, UK genealogy

• Author Alan Stewart writes regularly for UK magazines Practical Family History and Family Tree Magazine, and for North American-based Internet Genealogy and Discovering Family History, among others..

In Our Hearts: A Family Tribute & Scrapbook
African-American genealogy, Alabama genealogy, Individual family history

• Ford, Martin, Morton, Green(e)

Jen’s Genealogy Pages
Canadian genealogy, Individual family history

• St. John, Coulman, Fee, Hunter – and other associated families (including Davey, Summerville, Lusty, Salter, Thomas, Ansted, Burton, Doan and Oakley)...Ontario and Quebec in the 1800s...England, Ireland and Palatine Germany in the 1800s and earlier.

Jones Family Matters
Individual family history

• Jones, Ryan, von der Heide, Cronin, Probert, Dailey, Wainright, Reed and Hellmann.

Marilyn’s Family History News
California genealogy, Genealogy industry

Murmurd’s Franco-American and Quebec Genealogy
Canadian genealogy, French-Canadian genealogy

NGS Family History Conference Blog
Genealogy conference blog, Genealogical society blog

• Hello and welcome to the home of the NGS 2011 official conference blog. We are thrilled that you will be joining us in Charleston, South Carolina and hope to make this an interactive and fun experience leading up to the event... Stay tuned for updates on presenters, vendors, sponsors, registration, accommodations, local sites, and much more.

Our Family Quilt
Individual family history

Peter’s Family History Blog
Genealogy education

Pursuits of a Desperate Genie
Individual family history

• Brookyn, NY is exploding with history and the passion I have for preserving our heritage has overwhelmed my life. My family and friends have had their fair share of “Did you know…!” I love researching, googling for hours, visiting cemeteries, learning new technology and connecting with others to share stories and information. Whenever I hit roadblocks I start quizzing the next person I’m with and before you know it I am writing out their family tree!

Roots and Stones: A Canadian Girl’s Genealogy Diary
Canadian genealogy, Individual family history

• A 6th-generation Canadian, who has been hunting for her roots for the past decade-ish.

Seattle Genealogical Society
Genealogical society, Washington genealogy

• Welcome to the SGS President’s blog.

Smiddy Family Genealogy
Surname blog

Tattered Past
Individual family history

The Bowdens of Popes Creek
African-American genealogy, Individual family history, Virginia genealogy

• Four generations of (Mulatto) Indentured Servants to the Monroe & Washington Family.

The Historian’s Family
Individual family history,

• The author is an instructor at a community college in the Midwest, who completed a PhD in history at the University of Glasgow with a specialization in Scottish migration; also interested in the bridging the gap between academic and “armchair” historians.

They Came to Montana
Individual family history, Montana genealogy

TMG Sydney
Australian genealogy, Genealogical society blog, Technology blog

• This blog is authored by Carole Riley, whom I met on my trip to Australia last spring.

Virtual Tombstone Biographer
Cemetery blogs

Yesterday’s Girl
Individual family history (Engand, Ireand, Newfoundand, Boston)

For more information, see Thomas' original post (link above) or click on each blog.

Florida: Internet goldmines for genealogists, Nov. 10

Gerald Naditch will present “Internet Goldmines for Genealogists” at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County on Wednesday, November 10.

The day begins with the Poland Special Interest Group from 11.30am–12.15 pm, a brick wall session at 12.30pm and the main program at 1pm, at the South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach.

The presentation will review networking sites specifically directed to researchers of genealogy—blogs, e-zines, digests, forums, newsletters and more.

Some focus on helpful articles such as "How to Publish the Results of Your Genealogical Research" or "How to Make Proper Citations in Your Genealogy Program."

Others are in the form of a blog, which might be described as a stream of consciousness from a knowledgeable genealogist, often with comments from the general public.

Many are daily digests where researchers can exchange information, and websites such as Cyndi's List, a massive categorized and cross-referenced index to genealogical resources on the internet.

A computer expert, Naditch is the JGSPBC webmaster and vice-president of the Boca Raton Computer Society. He lectures frequently on topics of genealogical and computer interest.

Fee: JGSPBC members, free; others, $5.

The society is celebrating its 20th year. For more information, click here.