The Genealogy Guys Podcast & Genealogy Connection

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**The Genealogy Guys Podcast & Genealogy Connection**

“The Genealogy Guys” are two avid genealogists who host a weekly chat. The podcast includes news of the genealogy community, book and software reviews, guest interviews, and a lot of fun chat.

Latest Episodes:

The Genealogy Guys Podcast #307 - 2016 May 30 May 30, 2016

Show notes

The news includes:

MyHeritage unveiled an exciting new global initiative called Tribal Quest that seeks to preserve the histories of remote tribes. The first two Tribal Quest expeditions visited Namibia and Papua New Guinea. Video is available at the new websitehttp://www.tribalquest.org, and a video explaining the venture can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDKsQnru36s.
The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) honored Christine Rose, CG, CGL, FASG, with Emeritus Status for her serive to BCG and her distinguished fifty-year career.
Findmypast has released Battle of Jutland records, 13.5 million new British newspaper articles, and Ireland Electoral Registers (1885-1886).
The German-American Genealogical Partnership announced the 2017 International Germanic "Connections" Conference to be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 28-29 July 2017. More information is available at http://www.ggsmn.org/cpage.php?pt=70 and http://www.ggsmn.org/upload/files/2017_GAGP_Int._Conf._Flyer_COLOR_Version_(1).pdf .
The Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research has announced its schedule for Summer and Fall of 2016. Information is available at http://vigrgenealogy.com.
Drew discusses the newest releases from FamilySearch.

Listener email includes:

Keith asks for details about connecting a second monitor to his computer, and Drew responds.
Vic responded to Arthur's inquiry in Episode #305 concerning sharing/donating family papers. He states that the Delaware Historical Society Research Library might be willing to accept the donations. More information can be found at https://www.dehistory.org/directions-parking/3-research-library.
Tara writes to advise that Mary Page Greenleaf was her great-aunt, and that she is interested in the audio disks made at Ms. Greenleaf's birthday party that Richard mentioned on Episode #300.
Matt Miller shared his recent successes on tracing his Miller ancestors in New York City and Germany, and he shares four very important lessons that he learned. Read more at his blog post at https://matthewkmiller.blogspot.com/2016/05/miller-brickwall-shattered.html .
Gus Marsh shares his Marsh brick wall from the Genesee County, New York, and asks for suggestions for locating more information about the Beekman Patent.

Drew reviews a new book by Lisa A. Alzo titled The Family Tree Polish, Czech, and Slovak Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Family Tree in Eastern Europe.

Visit the Aha! Seminars, Inc., website at http://ahaseminars.com for Our Speaking Schedule and join us at conferences across the United States.

The Genealogy Guys Podcast #306 - 2016 May 9 May 12, 2016

Show notes

The news includes:

Congratulations to Drew Smith on his receipt of the 2016 Filby Award for Genealogical Librarianship! He received the prestigious award on 3 May 2016 at Librarians Day at the National Genealogical Society's 2016 Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Evidentia has just hired Elizabeth Swanay-O'Neal as its new Director of Marketing and Social Media.
MyHeritage has just launched its new MyHeritage Community section, a new online Q&A hub that fosters family history research collaboration.
RootsMagic has added support and hints from Findmypast.com to Version 7 of its software, joining hints from FamilySearch and MyHeritage. The addition of Ancestry hints is under development and there are plans for implementation later this year.
Findmypast has added 5.4 million Yorkshire records and over 10 million new U.S. marriage records to its collections.
The Federation of Genealogical Societies has opened registration for its 2016 conference, "Time Travel: Centuries of Memories", to be held in Springfield, Illinois, on 31 August to 3 September 2016. An early bird discount is available. Visit http://www.FGSConference.org.
Michael J. LeClerc, CG, has announced that Genealogy Professor has launched an exciting new educational opportunity for genealogists. Their offerings include self-paced courses and genealogy master classes. More information is available at http://www.genprof.net.
Bill Nelson of RevGenea Software, LLC, has announced the availability of a new, free Android app named OldNews USA that makes it easy to perform quality research using the Chronicling America collection of historic newspapers at the Library of Congress. Learn more about features and see screenshots at http://revgenea.com.
The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg Emigrants database just passed the 100.000 person mark. Learn more at the blog at http://www.familienkunde-oldenburg.de/auswanderer-datenbank-enthaelt-jetzt-100-000-personen/ , and access the database at http://www.auswanderer-oldenburg.de. (Access the database using Google Chrome and translate the page from German to your preferred language.)
Drew discusses the newest releases from FamilySearch.

Listener email includes:

In episode #305, Tom asked for suggestions about obtaining passport applications. George suggested contacting the USCIS. They referred Tom to NARA where he filled out a Freedom of Information Act request for the passport applications. He will keep us apprised of his progress.
Alan poses a question concerning nieces and nephews who appear on census records in a family.
Peter asks for advice about how to present genealogical information at a family gathering.
Tim will be taking his older brother on a road trip to where his ancestors lived and are buried. He asked for suggestions about things to listen to as to why genealogy matters or why it is fun and rewarding.

George urges listeners to visit their local libraries, and to support them by volunteering to work on genealogical and historical projects.

Visit the Aha! Seminars, Inc., website at http://ahaseminars.com for Our Speaking Schedule and join us at conferences across the United States.

The Genealogy Guys Podcast #305 - 2016 April 17 Apr 18, 2016

Show notes

The news includes:

MyHeritage has released an exclusive book matching technology that matches 450,000 books with 91 million pages to match against your family tree and provide new hints.
A new Jefferson Tayte genealogical mystery, Kindred, by Steve Robinson, has been published.
The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) will hold its 36th annual conference on August 7 to 12, 2016, at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Seattle, Washington.
Findmypast has released a significant collection concerning the Easter Rising and Ireland under Martial Law to commemorate the centennial of the event. They have also added 1.2 million Quaker records as the first phase of their project to add all surviving Irish Quaker records.
Findmypast announced the renewal of their partnership with the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) for another ten years.
Findmypast has published over 911,000 Royal Navy Pension records.
Calico Pie, Ltd., announced the addition the addition of automatic record matching and hints for Findmypast databases to their Family Historian desktop software program.
Drew recaps the new FamilySearch collections.

Listener email includes:

Michael responded to Debi's inquiry about Kentucky ancestor Andrew Yandell and may be able to help her with that brick wall.
Rich offers another suggestion for how to get the word out that might dispel long-held incorrect beliefs about a well-known person in the past.
Arthur wants to share his research about his grandmother's Jenkins line and asked for suggestions on how to accomplish this. He also has reached out to the USCIS for naturalization papers for his Eastern European family, and asked for other suggestions for tracing those ancestors.
George complained that the Erie County, New York, Public Library has not responded to an ask-a-librarian inquiry. He seeks help from anyone who can check the city directories that include Williamsville, NY, for 1946-1948 for names of any orphanages operating in the area.
Tom is seeking passport information about his wife's mother and family, and asked for suggestions on where to obtain passport documentation.

Drew and George each discuss recent research cases they have been working on.

George urges listeners to visit their local libraries, and to support them by volunteering to work on genealogical and historical projects.

Visit the Aha! Seminars, Inc., website at http://ahaseminars.com for Our Speaking Schedule and join us at conferences across the United States.

The Genealogy Guys Podcast #304 - 2016 March 27 Mar 29, 2016

Show notes

The news includes:

MyHeritage has released Family Tree Builder 8.0, a new version of its genealogy software program. There is also a new Audio Recordings feature in the MyHeritage mobile app.
The Guild of One-Name Studies has implemented a major new project – The Guild Members’ Website Project. Learn more at http://one-name.org/the-members-websites-project-mwp.
Mocavo has closed down and has been merged into Findmypast.
Findmypast announced the release of new records.
Drew recaps the new FamilySearch collections.

The Guys discuss the activity initiated by J. Paul Hawthorne on Facebook wherein people compiled geographical pedigree charts showing the places of birth of five or more generations of their ancestors.

Listener email includes:

Mike asked The Guys for suggestions to help identify the origins of his ancestress, Ellen Delaney, who married Teunis Westdijk in Paterson, New Jersey.
Drew responds to inquiries about the recent controversy concerning GEDmatch.com. Debi asks a question about a note found with an early Kentucky Land Grant file for her ancestor.

Drew discusses his research on his great-grandmother, Elizabeth “Betty” Foshee, as a result of a DNA match and other evidence he has found.

Visit the Aha! Seminars, Inc., website at http://ahaseminars.com for Our Speaking Schedule and join us at conferences across the United States.

The Genealogy Guys Podcast #303 - 2016 March 6 Mar 08, 2016

Show notes

The news includes:

MyHeritage introduces Record Detective II, a new technology that expands record matching capabilities to more than 2.2 billion new record matches.
TLC has announced the celebrities for the Spring season of Who Do You Think You Are? which premieres on Sunday, 3 April 2016.
Registration is now open for the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records at http://www.gen-fed.org.
Calico Pie Limited has released an upgrade to its Family Historian program.
Findmypast has added more indexed Irish records.
FamilySearch announces that the transcriptions of the Freedmen’s Bureau have reached the halfway point, but more volunteers are needed.
Drew recaps the new FamilySearch collections.

Listener email includes:

Michael shares his file name system.
Chad is seeking information about genealogy degree and certificate programs.
Jenny asks for tips for using GEDmatch.
Debi shares two online newspaper resources for Oregon:
- Historic Oregon Newspapers at http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu
- Genealogical Forum of Oregon (GFO) at http://www.gfo.org.
George shares an interesting story about a lock of hair for his ancestor John Hart, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Paul asks a question about copyright on translated/transcribed original documents, and another question about how to correct a long-standing piece of erroneous information.

The Guys discuss the GEDCOM format and what it does.

The Guys also discuss putting your ancestors into context in the community.

The Genealogy Guys Podcast #302 - 2016 February 21 Feb 24, 2016

Show notes

The news includes:

Aha! Seminars, Inc., celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Findmypast announces a number of partnerships as part of its U.S. growth strategy.
Findmypast announces the beginning of the release of the largest online collection of U.S. marriages from 1650 to 2010.
Findmypast announces the launch of 10 million Irish parish register records.
Findmypast has made its 1939 U.K. National Register browsable; announces 6.4 million new British newspaper articles; and more than 45K new images in its PERSI collection.
RootsMagic has announced that its software will be able to display Ancestry.com hints, search for Ancestry records, and share data with your Ancestry tree, all from within RootsMagic.
RootsMagic has also announced that it will be adding the ability to include hints from Findmypast.
MyHeritage introduces a new Family Tree Builder software version 8.0 that includes rewritten internal infrastructure that supports very large family trees (up to 500,000 individuals) and accelerates performance.
The Suzanne Winsor Freeman Grant Committee and the Southern California Genealogical Society have announced that applications are being accepted for the 2016 Student Genealogy Grant. Applicants between the ages of 18 and 23 and a current student are eligible for the $500 cash award and a full registration scholarship to the 2016 SCGS Jamboree to be held in Burbank, California, on 3-6 June. Application deadline is midnight PDT on 20 March 2016. Full details are available at http://thefamilycurator.com/swf-grant/.
Ancestry.com announces the launch of 10 million Irish parish register records.
Drew recaps the recent releases of records by FamilySearch.
A new family history-related reality show titled Relative Race premieres on Sunday, 28 February 2016, on BYUtv.
An eight-episode docu-series, Long Lost Family, will premiere on Sunday, 6 March 2016, on TLC.

Listener email includes:

Jody would like to connect with joshthegenealogistguy. He should send an email to The Guys at genealogyguys@gmail.com and we will help them connect with one another.
Geoff asks about source and file naming conventions.
Nancy writes to share the NYS Historic Newspapers site at http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/.
Mac’s New Year’s Resolution is to blog more, and an example can be found at ( http://aweekofgenealogy.com/finding-joseph-mcmahon-and-the-51st-pioneer-infantry-regiment-ny-company-b/ )
Carla asks for suggestions for locating church records in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The Guys discuss RootsTech 2016.

The Genealogy Guys Podcast #301 - 2016 January 31 Feb 02, 2016

Show notes

The news includes:

· MyHeritage has added Audio Recordings to its mobile app.

· Evidentia has filled all the preorders for The Evidentia Companion and has produced a supplemental Evidentia Quicksheet Guide.

· RootsMagic is shipping backorders of its book, and an e-book is also now available.

· The Federation of Genealogical Societies has surpassed the $2 million mark in its fundraising efforts for the Preserve the Pensions project.

· Findmypast and its sister site Mocavo have come together, and all of the free materials at Mocavo will continue to be free. Findmypast has released a number of new collections including the England, Phillimore Marriage Registers, Scotland Registers & Records, additional Irish Newspapers, and others.

· The National Archives in the UK has announced new prices for a variety of services, effective February 1, 2016.

· FamilySearch, in partnership with Ancestry.com, has released more than 220 million new searchable Mexican birth, marriage, and death records dating back to the 1500s.

The Guys provide a recap of upcoming conferences, seminars, and webinars that they will be presenting in the next several months.

Listener email includes:

· Richard acquired audio discs recording the 80th birthday of Mary Page Greenleaf, and reports that he made a typo on the date of the event. It should have been 21 September 1954. Listeners Donna and Lucia report that they have uncovered more information about the lady, and The Guys will forward their emails to Richard for follow-up.

· Matt is seeking suggestions to help locate information about his Houghtaling ancestors in New York state.

· Chris acquired a book in 2014 on the Dyer family in Oregon that came with an envelope with over 200 black-and-white original photographs, as well as draft pages for inclusion in a future edition of the book. He would like some assistance in locating any descendants so that he can get the pictures to the appropriate owner. He can be reached at chistopher.hettinger@gmail.com.

· Jackie asked for clarification about transcribing newspapers and other, more modern documents, and the benefit of doing so.

· Jim had questions about the new Newspapers.com Publisher Extra, a subscription service that provides unique access to many newspapers' archives that are still under copyright.

· Jenny had a couple of DNA questions concerning her husband's Y-DNA test results and potential matches.

The Genealogy Guys Podcast #300 - 2016 January 18 Jan 20, 2016

Show notes

The Guys are pleased to announce their 300th episode of the podcast.

The news includes:

· Evidentia has been reviewed by the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine in its Winter 2015 issue.

· D. Joshua Taylor has been appointed president of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

· MyHeritage has been featured on the popular Israeli TV program HaTsinor. You can view the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZJ--TAM2q0.

· The New England Historic Genealogical Society has partnered with the Congregational Library & Archives to digitize more than 28,000 pages of early manuscript church records, 1641 to the mid-1800s.

· ScotlandsPeople has released new Scottish births, marriages, and deaths from the 20th century.

· Findmypast has released updates to its Irish and British newspapers collections.

· The Guild of One-Name studies released its membership numbers for 2015. They have reached a new membership landmark.

· Drew provides a recap of new and updated FamilySearch collections.

Listener email includes:

· Richard has acquired audio discs recording the 80th birthday of Mary Page Greenleaf on 21 September 1984, probably in Northern California. He is trying to locate relatives or descendants in order to restore the discs to the family. He would appreciate any assistance from our listeners.

· Debbie provides a link to an interesting article about how one man rescued files from the norm Berg Trials after World War II. The digitized files can be freely accessed at Cornell University. The article can be found at http://ezramagazine.cornell.edu/Update/Nov15/EU.Nuremberg.collex.html.

· Tom asked for information about where on the MyHeritage website their digitized books and publications can be found.

· Jenny reports in a follow-up email that her father's Y-DNA finally has a very close match.

· Doug asks for recommendations about transcribing and what The Guys actually do.

· Eddie shares information about a Mac genealogy database program called GEDitCOM.

· Danny, Barb, and Melissa shared their research goals and projects for 2016.

The Genealogy Guys Podcast #299 - 2015 December 31 Jan 01, 2016

Show notes

The Guys announce that Drew’s new book, Organize Your Genealogy, to be published by Family Tree Books, will be released on 1 July 2016. It is available for pre-order at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

The news includes:

· RootsMagic has released an update to its RM7 software to facilitate migration of Family Tree Maker (FTM) data.

· MyHeritage offers its Family Tree Builder for PC and Mac with tree-syncing capabilities with their online tree.

· MyHeritage announces the addition of a huge and diverse free collection of over 150,000 digitized books relevant to family history.

· Findmypast has recently added new materials, including additions to the British Newspapers and a quarterly update to the Periodical Source Index (PERSI).

· FamilySearch, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), and the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) have announced exciting milestones in the historic Freedmen’s Bureau Project (DiscoverFreedmen.org).

· Drew recaps recent additions and updates to FamilySearch.

· The National Institute on Genealogical Research has announced that the institute’s name was changed on 22 December 2015 to the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed) and its website is now located at http://www.gen-fed.org.

Listener email includes:

· Discussions continue about Ancestry.com’s retirement of its Family Tree Maker desktop genealogy software. Opinions are expressed about whether to change to another software program, remain with the existing program, or migrate to a cloud-based family tree facility.

The Guys discuss their upcoming genealogical research goals and projects for 2016. They also want to hear about yours!

The Genealogy Guys Podcast #298 - 2015 December 14 Dec 15, 2015

Show notes

In this themed episode, George and Drew discuss desktop genealogy software. The episode begins with Drew's quoting from the Ancestry.com announcement about retiring Family Tree Maker. George and Drew discuss what programs they have used over the years, and Drew provides a history of the Family Tree Maker product. Drew and George explain what GEDCOM means and why it is useful, and discuss issues involving syncing of any kind of data. Finally, the Guys make recommendations as to what genealogists can do going forward.

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