Genealogical Society of Utah, National Archives and Footnote.com work to digitize Civil War Era pension files

The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) and the National Archives have announced a partnership to “digitize approved pension applications of widows of Civil War Union soldiers…” Operating as FamilySearch.org, the GSU, in conjunction with Footnote.com, intents to work with the National Archives to release more than 1.2 million files.

These records, of great interest to genealogists and others, are currently available only at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. The widows’ pension application files, a rich source of information about ordinary American citizens of the time, include supporting documents such as affidavits, depositions of witnesses, marriage certificates, birth records, death certificates, and pages from family bibles.

Six million military personnel files to be released

Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) will be made available by the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) for the first time. The initial release will include more than 6 million records, however more than 57 million total files are expected to be released through the year 2067.

These archived files are treasured by family members, historians, researchers, and genealogists. Contained in a typical OMPF are documents outlining all elements of military service, including assignments, evaluations, awards and decorations, education and training, demographic information, some medical information and documented disciplinary actions. Some records also contain photographs of the individual and official correspondence concerning military service.

For more information, please refer to the original press release, “National Personnel Records Center Opens more than Six Million New Military Personnel Files”

Parent Company of Ancestry.com to be acquired for $300 million

The Generations Network, parent company of Ancestry.com, MyFamily.com and many other genealogy-related websites has agreed to a $300 million majority-interest purchase from investment group, Spectrum Equity Investors. The investment group has been a shareholder in The Generation Network for about four years. The acquisition should be finalized this year.

“As an investor in The Generations Network for the past four years, we have watched the company revolutionize the family history category by leveraging the power of the Internet to make it more accessible and easy for anyone,” said Vic Parker, Managing Partner, Spectrum Equity Investors. “Ancestry.com and myfamily.com are clear category leaders in the growing and rapidly evolving family history and family networking markets. We are excited to partner with The Generations Network management team to continue growing this truly unique company that has the power to impact users at a very personal and emotional level.”

Digital Scrapbooking now available at Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com, the popular genealogical research website, has released a tool that allows members to create their own personal family scrapbook. AncestryPress® is one of the many features Ancestry.com has launched over the past few months, which have added a community aspect to the website.

“Family history is about discovering and telling the stories of the people whose lives shaped our own,” said Tim Sullivan, president and CEO of The Generations Network, parent company of Ancestry.com. “For ten years, Ancestry.com has been an indispensable resource for anyone interested in family history, from the most serious genealogist to someone just starting to build their family tree. Our members have always asked for ways to preserve and to share their hours and hours of research. Now AncestryPress gives our members the ability to create high-quality books of astonishing beauty and personal significance. We think that this is one of the most unique digital scrapbooking products on the market.”

Call for Papers: 2008 BYU Computerized Genealogy Conference

The following is found at Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter and written by the organizers of the 2008 BYU Computerized Genealogy Conference:

Lecture proposals are now being accepted for the 2008 Brigham Young University Computerized Genealogy Conference, which will be held Friday, 14 March, and Saturday, 15 March 2008, at the Conference Center, BYU campus, Provo, Utah. Each lecture period will be 60 minutes, including questions and answers. All presenters are expected to use PowerPoint slide presentations and/or live Internet presentations. Conferences and Workshops will provide LCD projectors, screens, and PC laptop computers with wireless Internet connection. Speakers should plan to bring their PowerPoint slide show on a flash drive, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM. Please be sure to also bring a backup of your presentation.

The deadline for lecture proposals is 1 November 2007. We welcome proposals that address the role of computers and technology as applied to genealogical topics, such as:

• Subscription Web sites and databases
• Research collaboration
• Genealogical methodology
• Digital sources (Web sites, CDs, DVDs, etc.)
• Web-based tools or services
• Research in ethnic, religious, or racial groups, or other topics
• Research in specific record types, such as census or vital records
• Research in U.S. or international regions
• Reference tools and finding aids
• Publishing (books, Internet, CD-ROMs, etc.)
• Hardware or electronic tools
• Software (including comparisons of features between several programs)
• Geographic hardware, software, and other tools
• Genetics or family medical history
• And similar topics

For additional information on conference topics and guidelines, visit Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter to view the complete announcement.

Public beta released: MacFamilyTree 5

Synium Software has announced the public beta release of MacFamilyTree 5, one of the most popular genealogy applications for Mac OS.

Version 5 has been completely redesigned and rewritten application, and Synium claims it will provide biggest leap in performance and product design so far. [...]  Also new are much improved Views, including a virtual globe to interactively visualize your family tree through time and space, and integrated web-hosting service, allowing all registered customers free of charge to upload their family trees as HTML to the Internet.

For more information and to take a look at the new and improved interface, visit the MacFamilyTree 5 Public Beta website.

A new way to keep up-to-date on your ancestors

Barry & Associates, an enterprise software solution consultant, has released a new website, GenealogyAgent.com, which uses “software agents” to monitor the web while you are away. According to the press release, these agents “use the details that you provide about your ancestor (birth, death, parents, siblings, etc.)” to locate information when it comes available.

“The GenealogyAgent.com site is the latest in a series of sites that I have created as I progressed in my own genealogical research,” noted Doug Barry. “I am now at the point of having ‘brick-wall’ ancestors. It becomes tedious to keep searching the Internet when you might find something new a few times in a year. So, I wrote this site to help me catch those new details and I am sure it can help others.”

GenealogyAgents.com is among series of genealogical websites released by Barry & Associates, which include Family Tree Searcher, Free Genealogy Search Advice, and Free Genealogy Search Help for Google.

Related Links:

GenealogyAgent.com Automates Web Searches

For those of you who have experience using any of these websites, please feel free to share your opinions.

Historic resources at the Maine State Library

For those of you interested in New England history, the Bangor Daily News has posted an article about the great amount of research materials available through the Maine State Library.

Here are a few of the resources that “caught the eye” of the Bangor Daily News staff writer:

“Hollis Street Church, Boston: Records of Admissions, Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths, 1732-1887,” transcribed by Robert J. Dunkle and Ann Smith Lainhart from the copy by Ogden Codman (1918).

“Deaths in Boston, 1700-1799,” compiled by Robert J. Dunkle and Ann Smith Lainhart.

“Inscriptions and Records of the Old Cemeteries of Boston,” compiled by Robert J. Dunkle and Ann Smith Lainhart.

The Generations Network signs advertising deal with Interevco

According to Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter, The Generations Network, parent company of the popular genealogy resource website Ancestry.com, announced that it has selected Interevco as its online advertising representative.

Interevco will also consult with the organization in developing online advertising sales strategies for their leading genealogy and family history database sites, including the Ancestry.com network of sites, Genealogy.com, Myfamily.com and RootsWeb.com.