While this would be hard to pull of for the holidays – these books make great gifts for your family! Share all the things you’ve learned about your ancestors.
FamilySearch made some great changes that I think you’ll like – check them out!
Or if you’re into Ancestry.com – check out some of my time saving tricks!
#familyhistory #genealogy #ancestry #familyhistorybooks #genealogybooks #familysearch
I’m looking forward to speaking remotely to the Kentucky Genealogy Society about gathering family stories and pictures. If you would like to watch this free presentation, visit https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6006934812051695887.
On another note, my YouTube Channel “Aimee Cross – Genealogy Hints” just gained over 4000 subscribers! Thanks for your support!
In most cases thus far, I’ve been able to find family and friend’s family in 5-15 minutes. Where did your family live? Who was living with them? The first video outlines the methods of finding them and the second video, releasing Thursday at noon, answers questions about navigating between pages and some of the new responses to the census questions. Check them out and find your family!!
This weekend select genealogists, including Judy Russell, who is always worth watching, will be speaking at this event. It includes a stellar line-up of leading historians and genealogists from all over the world, and over 24 hours of live-streaming their talks for your entertainment.
There’s no charge to watch, and throughout the live stream, they’ll be inviting you to donate to their JustGiving page, with all funds being passed to the British Red Cross Society’s DEC Ukrainian Humanitarian Appeal.
Something worth putting on your calendar.
RootsTech is always a great place to renew memberships or get new products due to the discounts offered. Being virtual, not as many amazing deals this year, but here are my takes:
Go to RootsTech Expo Hall for more information and other deals not listed here! https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/expohall/
*Notes added are my opinions – I am not “sponsored” by anyone.
DEALS
MyHeritage is giving you free advanced DNA tools when you upload your DNA (which is free). They are also offering 50% off their complete subscription plan and DNA kits are on sale.
FamilyTreeDNA is offering a lot of discounts on their various DNA tests. They also allow you to upload your DNA for free.
American Ancestors – Society with a number of early American records – $25 off.
Geni – world family tree with sources – half off.
National Genealogical Society – very worthwhile membership – $10 off membership.
INNOVATORS
My favorite new innovator – TrackUBack.com – REALLY cool tree visualization, added historical facts and wonderful maps (and map layering capabilities) for your ancestors – Free Version or $63 a year for all the bells and whistles.
My second favorite new innovator – TheGenealogist.co.uk – Cool map capabilities with layering historical maps. They appear to be also a good resource for records in the United Kingdom, but I haven’t checked that out yet. Discount being offered for Diamond Subscription.
Check out other innovators – https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/innovators-portal-main-stage?lang=eng
MORE DEALS
DNA:
DNAPainter – great site! $10 off subscription.
GENEALOGY PROGRAMS:
FamilyTreeMaker – my preferred computer genealogy program – half off the program.
Ancestral Quest – $10 off.
MacFamily Tree – 50% off.
MAGAZINES:
FamilyTree (United Kingdom Ancestors) – ½ off subscription.
FamilyTree Magazine – save 22%.
Who Do You Think You Are? – British magazine – free issue download and other subscription discounts.
MEMBERSHIPS:
ArkivDigital – Swedish records – 13% off.
Cite-Builder – building source citations – 25% off first year.
Essex Society for Family History – United Kingdom records – extra 12 month membership with paid membership.
Legacy Family Tree Webinars – half off subscription – although I just watch the free webinars as they come out.
Mayflower Society – 10% off books.
New York Genealogical & Biographical Society – great for NY research – $7 off membership.
Ontario Ancestors – The Ontario Genealogical Society – 25% off membership.
Virtual Genealogical Association – virtual classes – $15 annual membership.
MEMORY COLLECTION AND GENEALOGY STORAGE:
Ancestral Logs – assign genealogy tasks with family – 50% off.
Audiobiography – audio memories – 10% off.
Collectionaire – Web app for organizing and sharing family memories – half off the annual basic subscription.
Fareloom – create family cookbooks – 20% off.
GenerationStory – 20% off.
A Life Story Video – creating your life story – 35% off.
MemoryWeb – photo organizer – 50-25% off.
Permanent – digital storage – 1G free.
Rankonto Inc – oral histories – 3 months free with paid subscription.
Rosetree Media – digitization of photos, videos, etc. – 20% off.
Shotbox – uses phone to replace scanner – various discounts.
Vivid-Pix – photo and document restoration – various discounts.
One of the events I look forward to each year is Rootstech in Salt Lake City, Utah. Next year it will be virtual and FREE! It is the world’s largest genealogy conference. There will be dozens of classes in multiple languages available on demand throughout the year! Don’t miss this great opportunity. Click here for more info and to sign up.
Curious what your house or any part of the neighborhood looked like a few years ago?
Google Maps has a feature that is kind of fun. Google has a “time slider” that will show a range of about 6-10 years.
Go to Google Maps and type the location’s name or address in the search bar in the top left corner and hit “Search.” Click on the “Street View” picture. Once the image loads, you will see a black box in the top-left corner. There is a month and year timestamp next to the clock, click that. A box will drop down and show a slider on the bottom (see picture to right). You can move the slider to select a different month and year to view.
My most asked question. It’s taken the U.S. by storm. Most people know about ethnicity results which often come through an autosomal DNA test but there are other options as well and these options are currently on sale. Should you do it? The debate continues – with recent prosecutions aided by DNA, many question whether they should take the plunge.
mtDNA is a test that examines your mother’s line. This test examines your maternal ancestors only, including their geographic origins. It can come in handy as women are often difficult to find with traditional records (they had few legal rights and thus were not recorded as frequently in history). Family Tree DNA is probably the most well know company to offer this test and their full sequence mtDNA test is on sale for $149 ($40 off) until August 31st. There are less expensive options as well.
Y-DNA is the second test that is unfamiliar to many. It examines your father’s line. The Y chromosome is passed from a father to his sons only. Testing the chromosome identifies the male’s paternal family line and can help determine your paternal surname as well as their geographic origins. This basic test is on sale now as well although it is recommended one complete the 67 marker test at a minimum(which in not currently on sale).
Ancestry.com is still the most popular autosomal DNA testing company with over 9 million people in their database. A good comparison chart of the various companies offering autosomal DNA testing can be found here. Most are currently running sales on these tests as well.
Should you do it? The New York Times recently published an article about genealogists cracking five more cold cases. In these examples the genealogist used an open-source DNA site called GEDMatch to find their matches. If you purchase a DNA test through Ancestry.com or Family Tree DNA your results remain secure on their sites. But many people pull their DNA results from those sites and upload them to GEDMatch in hopes of finding additional matches. Personally I’m happy to see criminals put behind bars, but many are concerned that eventually medical insurance companies will collect this information which could result in denial of service or expensive rates. On the other hand, DNA is very easy to obtain and I know people who were adopted and have found their family through DNA testing and genealogical research. The debate continues and each person must evaluate the situation for themselves.
FamilySearch discontinues microfilm lending. National Archives court records now only available online. MyHeritage now provides free ethnicity reports.
FamilySearch is discontinuing their microfilm lending on September 1, 2017. Microfilm will still be available at the library in Salt Lake City. The digitization process is taking less time than expected, with a projected completion in 2020. The change is driven because “he cost of duplicating microfilm for circulation has risen dramatically, while demand has decreased significantly,” says FamilySearch. See https://familysearch.org/ask/faq#overview for more information.
MyHeritage now provides free ethnicity reports to all who upload their DNA results. Previously they only provided DNA matching. Visit https://www.myheritage.com/dna/upload
National Archives closed bankruptcy, civil, criminal, and court of appeals case files now only available online. https://www.archives.gov/research/court-records/bankruptcy.html
Ancestry Consulting by Aimee 