Show Notes
News You Can Use and Share! George recommends listening to MyHeritage's podcast, "Blast From My Past", which can be found at https://shows.acast.com/blast-from-my-past. Ancestry introduces its Ethnicity Inheritance powered by SideViewTM Findmypast has added new records to its UK collection Electoral Registers & Companies House Directors. Lynn Turner has been named the new Director of the FamilySearch Family History Library. Drew shares an overview of new and expanded record collections at FamilySearch. 1950 U.S. Federal Census Discussion Drew discusses the AI indexing processes in use by Ancestry and FamilySearch, and census records at MyHeritage. Kathy from California emailed us with questions about the availability of a number of the different census record forms from this census. George covers the different forms used and whether they were imaged before they were destroyed and which are digitally available. These include P1 (Population Schedule), P2 (Individual Census Report), P3 (Infant Cards), P4 (Crews of Vessels Report), P5 (Overseas Census), P8 (Native Americans), and various P forms used for enumerating territories. Michael from Germany used Stephen P. Morse's extensive census tools at https://stevemorse.org/ to locate enumeration districts and access a sample P1 form. Detailed information about the 1950 Census is available on the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) pages at https://1950census.archives.gov/ and on subsequent pages. Don't overlook the FAQs at https://1950census.archives.gov/howto/faq.html which is filled with a wealth of information you should know. Listener Email Chris asks for suggestions about how to locate/pinpoint a specific headstone. George provides some suggestions. Rebecca wants to know if there is a way for Find a Grave to notify a person when their memorials have been deleted or reassigned to another person. Tina wrote to say she enjoyed the Vivid-Pix Memory Segment regarding using photographs with patients suffering from dementia patients. We will be hosting more interviews soon. Keep listening! Tina also asked about how to balance using RootsMagic, Ancestry, and FamilySearch without feeling that she is duplicating efforts. Timo in Germany wrote with suggestions about place name changes and how to structure them in your genealogy. He suggests the use in German research of the website at http://gov.genealogy.net/search/index. He says: "The GOV is for Germany and many former German places the place to go to look up the former names, belongings in civil registers or churches. It might happen that a village belong[s] to the one civil register and to another church. With the GOV you could search for the current or the former name of a city, village, or a place itself.” 'Let me give you the example of Riegersdorf (German name), now Rudziczka (Polish): http://gov.genealogy.net/item/show/object_188576.” 'You will find both names and the time period, type (village), population (1492 in this case), webpages (GenWiki), external ID (which is for library uses), link to GenWiki, geo position = coordinates to find the place on a map."
Maya wrote to say that she had about 200 letters written in Yiddish, which she does not read. She offered them to the National Library of Israel for digitation and preservation and possibly translation. Jo Ann has an ancestor from Rowan County, North Carolina, whom she thinks may have been a spy during the American Revolution. She asks for places she might go to in order to investigate the story. Matt in Omaha, Nebraska, tells us he uses quotation marks around a name – such as "Mr King" – to force the search for that exact string. Laura writes to ask why someone might have/use two desktop genealogy database programs. Ed is working on publishing a family history for distribution within his family. He has an older work that he would like to use and incorporate some of its content. He asks about how to give credit to the original author.
More from The Genealogy Guys Podcast & Genealogy Connection
News You Can Use and Share RootsMagic 12 has just been released. MyHeritage has added 338 million records in August and 450 million records in September. Ancestry released an update to its DNA regions. Registration is now open for RootsTech 2027. Drew shares newly released records at FamilySearch. Listener Email Carol writes about obtaining Swiss canton records from FamilySearch online or in person from the FamilySearch Library. George discusses how he used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate a handbook of genealogical AI prompts. He steps through his process and how he combined three results into a single prompt library in an MS Word document. Drew describes how he used AI to migrate from one iMac computer to the new Studio and display. The checklist this assistant compiled captured the details and nuances of migrating computers. Please email us at [email protected] with your questions and comments. And please support us on Patreon!
News You Can Use and Share! Drew talks about the new Y-DNA offerings from MyHeritage. George highlights millions of new records added at MyHeritage during July and August. Drew discusses a new Ancestry DNA feature for finding relatives from particular regions. Nathan Dylan Goodwin has released a new book from a new series; The Dover Trunk Murder is the title. Drew highlights the millions of new records made available at FamilySearch during July and August. Drew discusses the establishment of an AI SIG in our local genealogical society and recommends that other societies do the same. George discusses MyHeritage's OldNews and the plethora of information available from these records. Drew talks about genealogy institutes such as SLIG, IGHR, GRIP, and GenFed and their value. CORRECTION: IGHR does not now offer an in-person option, only a virtual one. Apologies from Drew for that error. Please let us hear from you at [email protected] with your questions and comments. And please support us at Patreon!
News You Can Use and Share! Highlights of awards made at the NGS Conference this year. NewspaperFinder is a database for locating and accessing digitized newspapers at https://newspaperfinder.com/. George highlights millions of new records added at MyHeritage during May and June. Archivists from 30 countries convened in Kazakhstan to explore digital records access. Drew highlights the millions of new records made available at FamilySearch during May and June. Listener Email Jean complimented Drew's recent appearance on DearMyrtle's online show. Drew discusses his recent participation in the GRIP immersive genealogy training institute, and he fills us in about other institutes. Please let us hear from you at [email protected] with your questions and comments. And please support us at Patreon!
News You Can Use and Share The Zion Cemetery Project in Tampa has moved a step closer to the realization of the creation of a dedicated memorial site. The City of Tampa has agreed to trade land with one of the two major landowners whose building spans some of the Zion Cemetery site. This is a project win in which The Guys were deeply involved, and they celebrate this victory. MyHeritage has introduced Infographics, a new tool that takes your MyHeritage family tree data and generates an attractive graphic highlighting the individuals and events in their lives. MyHeritage's new AI tool, Scribe AI, is now available for iOS and Android devices. George shares details about My Heritage's new record releases. The BBC reported on a new database that allows you to search Nazi Party Membership Cards from Germany for the names of members. Margaret Lance Cheney was awarded the Fellow of the Ohio Genealogical Society. She has served OGS for many years as president and in other capacities. Congratulations on this well-deserved, long-overdue recognition! RootsMagic has announced that Ancestry has changed its API (Application Program Interface) and that RootsMagic has released a new version of the software, Version 11.2.0.0, and that users should upgrade to the newest version in order to connect with Ancestry changes. Older versions of the program still work, but they will no longer connect with Ancestry. FindMyPast has released Ireland, Directories and Almanacs 1844-1928, and the Ireland National Census of 1928. In March, FamilySearch added more than 30 million records from 28 countries. Drew highlights the millions of new records available at FamilySearch. What We're Up To Drew recently presented in person at the Sacramento Genealogical Society in California. Drew announces that RootsTech 2027 is now accepting speaking proposals. Drew will be presenting at the Genealogy Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), hosted by the National Genealogical Society (NGS). There are both in-person courses and online courses available. George shares that his research on two intermarried lines can be traced back to 15th-century England. These include his fourteenth great-grandparents. The Guys discuss the need for backups for all of your genealogical society officers. This can prevent the loss of access to essential resources and procedures for the organization. Please let us hear from you at [email protected] with your questions and comments.
The Guys return after George has been exploring new treatment options for effective management of severe depression. More details can be shared if you email [email protected]. The Guys are devastated at the news that the historic courthouse in Rome, Floyd County, Georgia, was destroyed by fire on 23 March 2026. This is the epicenter of George's research into his maternal ancestry. The Guys are celebrating 20 YEARS of the podcasts! News You Can Use and Share WikiTree is one of the biggest collaborative genealogy research sites on the Internet. WikiTree invited George to share his GEDCOM and allow WikiTree volunteers one week to collaborate on his ancestral research. The WikiTree Reveal can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Ea6XxZFRY&t=2402s. Nathan Dylan Goodman's latest book, The Hop-Picker Murders has been released. Drew reviews the latest installment of the Forensic Genealogist mysteries with Morton Farrier. MyHeritage has released UK and Ireland incoming and outgoing passenger lists (1678-1960). They also released Nonconformist Births, Deaths & Burials. MyHeritage has released the Spanish Newspaper Collection on OldNews.com. MyHeritage has published the England & Wales Probate Index (1858-1995) and the 1890 New York Police Census. MyHeritage has now expanded its contents and it is now available in 50 languages, perfect for precise research! MyHeritage is now home to the complete Swedish Births (1850-1920), Marriages (1850-1945), and Deaths (1850-1945). MyHeritage introduced Scibe AI, a powerful new feature that uses AI to transcribe, translate, and analyze historical documents and photographs. FamilySearch announces a collaboration with America250 to celebrate the founding of the United States in 1776. FamilySearch in March added more than 30 million records from 28 countries. Listener Email Judy asks about legal obligations to register a name change in the U.S. Drew responds in detail. Laurie asks about George's deep dive into Scots-Irish records and reference books he has found helpful and instructive. Drew recaps his experiences at RootsTech 2026 in Salt Lake City. Drew will be presenting in person for the Sacramento Roots Cellar Spring Seminar on 18 April 2026. Get the details and register online at https://www.rootcellar.org/. Please let us hear from you at [email protected] with your questions and comments.