The Genealogy Guys Podcast & Genealogy Connection

Drew's guest is Bruce Buzbee, the RootsMagician himself. In this episode, Drew and Bruce discuss the recent release of RootsMagic 8.

To learn of Bruce's background, see GC episode #027

Drew's guest is Lynn Turner, Assistant Director of the Family History Library. 

Learn more about the Family History Library at familysearch.org/family-history-library/

The Guys announce the winner of the drawing for the “Basic Birth Certificates” quicksheet as Francis from Cumming, Georgia. The next drawing is announced later in the program.

News You Can Use and Share

• MyHeritage announces its new and improved colorization model for MyHeritage in Color^TM.
• MyHeritage has added two significant new collections. They are the Newspaper Name Index, USA and Canada, and the Scotland Census, 1841-1901. MyHeritage will be adding an index to the other half of the newspaper collection soon.
• The Society of Genealogists in London announced that its library catalog has been made available on the Library Hub Discover service.
• Findmypast has added the largest collection of historical local photographs, the Francis Frith Collection, to its searchable collections.
• Findmypast has added a new feature to the 1891, 1901, and 1911 censuses. It is a link for every search result to the Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales 1895 and a detailed map is displayed on which you can see where your ancestors lived.
• Findmypast has added new parish records for Warwickshire, the Warwickshire, Coventry, Midwife’s Birth Register 1845-1875, and Turks & Caicos Life Events.
• Ancestry has released its new DNA ethnic estimates and includes 8 new regions.
• Drew recaps the vast new and expanded collections at FamilySearch.

DNA Segment with Diahan Southard

Drew discusses endogamy vs. pedigree collapse with Diahan.

Listener Email

• Judy writes to discuss challenges with New York State marriage records.
• Pam asks about records included in the updates from FamilySearch. George responds with suggestions, including a detailed discussion about how to use the search records facilities at FamilySearch for the following categories of records: indexed collections; image-only collections; and the catalog. He also recommends the use of the FamilySearch Research Wiki to access records online.
• Stacy Cole shares keen insights into the idea that the enslaved, once emancipated, took the surname of their last enslaver.
• Ryan wrote to provide an update on his research from six years ago about records relating to his great-grandmother’s suicide. He has had success finding elusive records and shares his experience.

Update on the Zion Cemetery Project

Drew provides an update on the fascinating Zion Cemetery Project in Tampa. He and volunteers are working to identify descendants and family members, gather information about the interred's lives and historical context, and create a lasting memorial. They are collaborating with University of South Florida faculty and alumni, members of local genealogy societies, community members, and nationally known professional genealogists. More updates will be shared in future podcast episodes.

Quicksheet Drawing

The Guys will give away a quicksheet reference guide for “Brick Wall Research Strategies”. Send an email to genealogyguys@gmail.com no later than 12 midnight Eastern Time on October 1, 2021. Put BRICK WALL in the subject line and your name and postal address in the body. The winner will be announced on the next Genealogy Guys Podcast.

Thank you to all our Patreon supporting members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you’d like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.

Please also tell your friends and your society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website.

Let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

George and Drew are available for virtual presentations for your local society. Contact us at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

Nicka Sewell-Smith returns to Genealogy Connection, and the discussion focuses on the newly released Freedmen's Bureau records freely available on Ancestry. 

To learn more about Nicka, listen to episode #073 of Genealogy Connection, and visit her website at Who Is Nicka Smith?

News You Can Use and Share!

• Ancestry announces the release of a massive collection of Freedman’s Bureau records with every-name indexing and images. The records are free to use with your free Ancestry guest membership.
• Ancestry announced a change in its Terms of Service concerning their rights to use content that members upload.
• MyHeritage announced that it is acquiring Filae, the French genealogical company.
• MyHeritage has released 9.7 million new and updated records for Pernambuco, Brazil, and 4.7 million birth, marriage, and death records from New Zealand.
• MyHeritage has made major improvements to its Online Family Tree, and these improve navigation and access to records links.
• The Society of Genealogists in London, England, has appointed Dr. Wanda Wyporska as its new CEO, effective 1 October 2021.
• Findmypast has released new and updated collection records: Scotland, Parish Births (1564-1929), Marriages and Banns (1561-1893), and Deaths (1564-2017); British Army, Royal Engineers (1900-1949); British Army tracer cards; Essex Parish Records; Royal Engineers Casualty Cards; an expanded Greater London Burial Index, and more.
• Findmypast is making over 1 million pages of 158 historical British newspapers available for free.
• Drew recaps the vast new and expanded collections at FamilySearch.

DNA Segment with Diahan Southard

Drew discusses the importance of descendancy research with Diahan.

Listener Email

• Stuart reported on his recent success with Drew’s Key Lime Pound Cake recipe. (Drew originally discussed this recipe in a December 2019 episode, and emailed copies to anyone who requested it.)
• Jane asks for suggestions about what to do with her mother’s 60+ years of genealogical research files.

Quicksheet Drawing

The Guys will give away a quicksheet reference guide for “Basics of Birth Certificates” in the U.S. Send an email to genealogyguys@gmail.com by midnight U.S. Eastern Time September 1, 2021. Put BIRTH in the email subject line and your name and postal address in the body. The winner will be announced on the next podcast.

Drew’s WikiTree Challenge

Drew’s genealogy was the focus on a one-week genealogy challenge at WikiTree. Volunteer researchers delved into his genealogy to break through brick walls and to expand his knowledge. Watch the two YouTube videos – the Challenge and the Results – to share the excitement. Here are the links:

The Challenge (the first 5 minutes and then again starting at minute 31): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDAtp16w5pU&t=5s

The Results!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lmu1Lc-fVM&t=4s

Thank you to all our Patreon supporting members for their support. Your Patreon support helps us improve our technology and provide even more podcast content to you! You can join us for as little as $1 a month or as much as you’d like to contribute. Visit https://www.patreon.com/genealogyguys to get started.

Please also tell your friends and your society about our free podcasts, our free blog, and our Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education website.

Let us hear from you at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

George and Drew are available for virtual presentations for your local society. Contact us at genealogyguys@gmail.com.