The Genealogy Guys Podcast & Genealogy Connection

Timothy Pinnick is a popular speaker at genealogy conferences as well as a noted author.  His company History and Genealogy Spotlight specializes in African-American history and genealogy books. You can find out more about Tim's books and other activities at www.blackcoalminerheritage.net

The news includes:

• MyHeritage announced release of a Pedigree View mode for MyHeritage family trees.
• MyHeritage added 27 million new historical records in March. They also have added Inbox and Scanner features to their mobile app.
• Parabon NanoLabs announced the general availability of its Snapshot Genetic Genealogy Service, which provides investigators with a new tool for solving crimes with evidence from an unknown DNA source. (See https://snapshot.parabon-nanolabs.com) for additional information. CeCe Moore is leading this new unit.
• Findmypast has added Scots-Irish in North America Histories, Surrey Baptisms, more Yorkshire Burials, and new images and articles in PERSI.
• The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has begun work on a guide to New York State Archives. It is expected to be released in 2019.
• FamilySearch has added its 2 billionth image of genealogy records.

A new book, Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards, edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills, with 26 chapters written by 22 experts, has just been published by Genealogical Publishing Company.

George reviews the latest book by Nathan Dylan Goodwin, author of the Forensic Genealogist crime mysteries. It consists of two publications. The Wicked Trade is a book about smuggling on the coast of southeastern England in the 1820s and an investigation into a woman associated with smugglers. The Suffagette’s Secret is a novella about the British women’s suffrage movement in the early 1900s and about the women who made it happen. Both works are based on well-researched, historically accurate events, and include composite characters investigated by Morton Farrier, the Forensic Genealogist. George gives an enthusiastic thumbs-up to these installments in Goodwin’s impressive series.

Listener email includes:

• Joseph writes about the reenactment of the wedding at Pennsbury Manor, William Penn’s home.
• Tom wrote again to review his work with Tropy at https://tropy.org/, the document management tool
• Tom asks for suggestions about equipment/hardware for capturing digital oral interviews.
• Mahlon Erickson wrote with an update of his Pre-1920 Oklahoma Death Index, which now contains over 650,000 entries.
• Larry wrote to discuss the AncestryDNA testing service and issues about access to family trees for non-subscribers.

Brooke Schreier Ganz is the founder and president of Reclaim the Records, a not-for-profit group dedicated to obtaining access to important genealogical records held by state and local government agencies under the relevant state freedom of information laws. Learn more about Brooke and Reclaim the Records by visiting www.reclaimtherecords.org

The news includes:

• MyHeritage announced the expansion of DNA Quest, its pro bono initiative to help adoptees and their birth families through genetic testing. DNA Quest is extended worldwide, with the deadline for applications being received through the end of April. Learn more at http://dnaquest.org.
• Ancestry has announced that Margo Georgiadis, formerly of Mattel, will become its new CEO on 10 May 2018.
• Findmypast has added a new collection, the England & Wales Electoral Registers 1920. They have also begun beta testing of their new world FindMyPast family tree. See https://www.findmypast.co.uk/worldtree for more details.
• Drew shares updates from FamilySearch.

The Guys share some interviews with attendees at the 2018 Ohio Genealogical Society Conference, held in Columbus, Ohio, on 11-14 April 2018.

Actionable Information You Can Use: Your new challenge is to spend one hour going through the Library of Congress Digital Collections at https://www.loc.gov/collections/ to locate items that can help you put your ancestral family into historical context. Send your interesting finds to The Guys at genealogyguys@gmail.com.

Listener email includes:

• Ed writes about using JewishGen (https://www.jewishgen.org/) as a resource for locating Russian villages, especially prior to WWII.
• Barb shares an important story about her father’s AncestryDNA testing, his death, and how she obtained ownership of his DNA test materials and results. The Guys also share information about Blaine Bettinger’s Informed Consent Agreement and Beneficiary Agreement forms at https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2018/02/15/informed-consent-agreement-and-beneficiary-agreement/.

James M. Beidler speaks and writes on a number of genealogy topics, with a focus on German and Pennsylvania research.  He is the author of several genealogy books, including his newest book about historical newspaper research. To learn more about Jim, visit his website at http://jamesmbeidler.com/