New Ancestry.com Family Tree Maker 2011 Introduces More Than 100 Enhancements to Software

No. 1 Selling Family Tree Software Offers Simplicity and Depth for Recording Family Histories

PROVO, Utah, August 31, 2010 – Ancestry.com today announced the release of Ancestry.com Family Tree Maker® 2011, an improved version of the world’s No. 1 selling family history software.

For the last 20 years, Family Tree Maker has provided tools that make it easy to build family trees, record memories and organize family photos. Family Tree Maker also enables users to capture stories, and attach videos and audio clips in a way that will help them easily capture and share the story of their ancestors both on-and offline.

“Family Tree Maker 2011 delivers significant improvements on many fronts.  By incorporating changes recommended by a diverse base of novice and experienced family researchers, we have arrived at what we believe to be our best release yet,” said Eric Shoup, Senior Vice President of Product at Ancestry.com. “With the recent surge in interest in family history, Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker have an important role to play in creating new family historians.”

Without leaving Family Tree Maker, users can search the robust collection of family history records on Ancestry.com and simply incorporate matching results directly into their tree. Family Tree Maker 2011 automatically searches Ancestry.com for historical documents about the individuals in the user’s family tree when connected to the Internet. Family Tree Maker 2011 comes with either a free trial or subscription to Ancestry.com.

Ancestry.com Family Tree Maker makes it easier than ever to discover your family story, preserve your legacy and share your unique heritage. Of the more than one hundred enhancements added to the software, the following are some of the new and improved features found in Family Tree Maker 2011:

• Smart Stories™ – Ready to start on an ancestor’s story? The Smart Story editor makes it easy to drag and drop text and photos from your tree into story pages that will update automatically when you make changes to your tree.
• More Complete and Relevant Timelines – Find and add more events to your ancestors' lives. Add, edit and delete your own historical events and apply historical events by time and geography.
• New and Improved Charts – Enjoy four new fan chart styles. Enhance charts with backgrounds, borders and embellishments. And use fonts you can change based on fact type.
• Improved Integration with Ancestry.com – Ancestry.com has millions of members all over the world. Now you can find out if any of them are searching for your ancestors by viewing Member Connect activity on your home page, plus links to related message boards and new messages in your inbox. You'll also enjoy faster uploading and downloading of your tree.
• New Media Management Tools - Drag and drop, cut and paste, and even categorize multiple items at the same time. You'll also find a new tool that will help you locate missing media files.
• Enhanced Reports – Enhanced ancestor and descendant reports, added a surname report and allowed you to sort custom reports, plus you can now save and reuse report settings.

Family Tree Maker 2011 will include either a printed or electronic Companion Guide to help users quickly master the simple and even advanced tasks. The Companion Guide will come with easy-to-understand screenshots of the software.

Family Tree Maker 2011 is now available to purchase online at http://www.familytreemaker.com/ starting at $39.95. The program is also set to be released in select retail stores.

Internet access required for all Web integration.

About Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with more than one million paying subscribers. The company has digitized and put online more than 5 billion records over the past 13 years. Ancestry users have created over 18 million family trees containing nearly 1.8 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.

Ancestry.com Launches the Largest Searchable Online Yearbook Collection

Ancestry.com Launches the Largest Searchable Online Yearbook Collection that Includes Photos of Will Smith, Sandra Bullock and Betty White

World’s Largest Family History Website Adds 58 Million New Yearbook Records

PROVO, UTAH – August 27, 2010 – Ancestry.com today launched millions of records that now make up the largest searchable collection of yearbooks available online. Along with Ancestry.com’s existing collections, there are now more than 60 million yearbook records available in the site’s U.S. School Yearbook collection, which also includes class and candid photos of famous celebrities.

The 10,000 yearbooks included in the new U.S. School Yearbook collection feature yearbooks from high schools, junior highs, academies, colleges, and universities—military, public, parochial, and private—from almost every state in the United States spanning 1875-1988.

“The new U.S. School Yearbook collection just made starting your family history even easier by adding an entirely new dimension to your research,” said Christopher Tracy, Senior Vice President of Global Content at Ancestry.com. “Yearbooks contain graduation and candid photos, which add insight into an ancestor’s extracurricular activities in school. Along with our ever-expanding database of billions of other historical records, the U.S. School Yearbook collection will help people discover the deeper details about their ancestors that they would not have otherwise been able to find.”

What can be found in an old yearbook? Perhaps you will find a photo of your great grandfather or even a famous classmate. Like Ancestry.com that discovered the Academy Award-winner, Sandra Bullock, at her high school homecoming dance was already fighting off men – or in this case a young man – trying to steal a kiss on the dance floor, or a teenage Will Smith tackling science class before he ventured off to be the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Below are more details on the new celebrity photos found in the U.S. School Yearbook collection. In addition to their official yearbook photos, many of today’s biggest stars were captured in their school activities exhibiting the dynamism that later brought them to fame and fortune.

• Sandra Bullock – “To be a varsity cheerleader, the girls had to sacrifice a lot of time, money and energy,” appeared in the 1982 Washington-Lee High School yearbook story on the Arlington, Virginia Varsity Cheerleaders, which included Academy Award-winner Sandra Bullock. Bullock had no shortage of energy since Ancestry.com also discovered her high school photos from the Thespian Honor Society and the German Honor Society. Of course she still had time to attend the Homecoming Dance where her dancing partner was captured trying to steal a kiss.
• Betty White - The Emmy Award-winning actress is experiencing a career comeback after a Facebook campaign landed her a gig as the most popular guest host on this past season of “Saturday Night Live”. Along with her newly discovered popularity, White’s fans can now share her newly discovered high school photo from Beverly Hills High School in 1936.
• Will Smith – The Overbrook High School yearbook photo of top international box-office star and Academy Award nominee, Will Smith, shows he was once a high school student perplexed by science, in 1986 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before he was a ‘man in black.’
• Alec Baldwin – Alexander Baldwin was no high school activity slouch at Alfred G. Berner High School in Massapequa, New York. In 1976, he served as Class President, and was a member of the youth council, drama club, the student activities council, the lacrosse and football teams.
• Brad Pitt – Academy Award-nominee and Angelina Jolie’s significant other exercised his creativity in high school as a member of the 1981-82 Kickapoo High School Student Council in Springfield, Missouri. This newly discovered photo finds Pitt creating the decorations for the school’s “Chief Ceremonial.”
• Nicolas Cage – A very young Nicolas Coppola is pictured in his Beverly Hills High School 1979 yearbook official picture looking quite serious hiding any glimpse to the versatile star’s great sense of humor.
• Jay Leno – The “Tonight Show” host was recognized early on by his classmates who named him the “funniest” in this candid photo of Leno in his Loyola Academy (Andover, Massachusetts) 1966 yearbook. Also noted next to his class yearbook photo, Leno listed his possible future career as “retired millionaire.”
• Matt Lauer - The popular "Today" show anchor revealed his secret to success as a broadcast journalist, who often has to ask tough questions, in the quote he selected by English writer William Hazlitt that ran under his official 1975 Greenwich High School (Connecticut) yearbook photo, "He will never make true friends who is afraid of making enemies.”

The entire yearbook collection will be available on Ancestry.com to existing members or through a 14-day free trial for new members.

For anyone interested in discovering their ancestors in the yearbook collection, visit www.ancestry.com/yearbook to search the full collection of 60 million records.

About Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with more than one million paying subscribers. More than 5 billion records have been added to the site in the past 13 years. Ancestry users have created more than 18 million family trees containing over 1.8 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.

Ancestry.com and NBC Team Up for a Second Season of "Who Do You Think You Are?"

World's Largest Family History Web Site Continues Sponsorship of Critically Acclaimed TV Series That Takes a Personal Look at Celebrity Family Histories

PROVO, Utah, August 25, 2010 – Ancestry.com is pleased to announce it has extended its relationship with NBC for the second season of the “Who Do You Think You Are?” television series.

Ancestry.com worked with NBC on the first season of “Who Do You Think You Are?” that debuted in March 2010. The company provided important family history research for the show, including tracing the roots of the seven celebrities featured, and collaborated with NBC to promote the series. Each episode took one celebrity on an emotional, and often times soul-searching journey to discover the lives of family members who came before them.

“It is remarkable to work on this series with the leader in the online family history category, Ancestry.com,” said Paul Telegdy, Executive Vice President of Alternative Programming & Production at NBC Universal. “A show of this caliber takes a lot of research and ground work to make the celebrities stories come to life. With the valued collaboration of Ancestry.com, we’ve been able to tell seven amazing stories in the first season, and look forward to even greater family history discoveries to be uncovered in season two.”

“We are excited to continue working with NBC on this series,” said Josh Hanna, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Marketing for Ancestry.com. “The first season of the show has truly elevated awareness around the family history category and we couldn’t be more pleased to be an integral part of a television series that brings excitement to the discoveries people can make when researching their ancestral roots.”

“Who Do You Think You Are?” is produced by Wall to Wall Entertainment in collaboration with Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky for their production company, Is or Isn’t Entertainment. NBC has announced the show will air in the 2010-11 season.

About Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with more than one million paying subscribers. More than 5 billion records have been added to the site in the past 13 years. Ancestry users have created more than 18 million family trees containing over 1.8 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.

Thomas MacEntee Featured Speaker at Annual EWGS October Workshop

The Eastern Washington Genealogical Society presents its annual October Workshop Saturday, October 2, 2010 at the Spokane Public Library, 906 W. Main, 1st Floor Meeting Rooms in Spokane, Washington. Noted genealogy blogger, writer, and lecturer Thomas MacEntee will be our featured speaker. His presentations include:

• Facebook for Genealogists
• Become a Genealogy Blog User
• Building a Genealogy Blog
• Google Docs for Beginners

Thomas specializes in educating the “non-techie” crowd on various types of technology in a friendly and non-threatening environment.

Cost will be $20 for EWGS members or $25 for non-members, which includes a choice of three box lunches from Apple Spice Junction for pre-registered attendees. A special presentation, "Building a Research Toolbox," will be held for EWGS members only on Friday evening, October 1 from 6:30 - 8:00 PM, in the same location. A registration form can be downloaded here.

Check in will be at 8:30 AM Saturday and the workshop will be held from 9:00 AM through 3:30 PM. A lunch break will take place from 11:45 AM to 1:15 PM. Paid parking is available across the street in River Park Square. For more information, contact Miriam Robbins Midkiff.

2010 WSGS Conference

WSGS Annual Conference 2010

Journey of Discovery


When: Friday, September 17, 2010 (bonus) 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Saturday, September 18, 2010 8:00 -3:45 pm

Where:
Assembly of God Bethel Church
132 Kirkland Road
Chehalis, Washington

Hosted by
Lewis County Genealogical Society and
Lower Columbia Genealogical Society




Speaker: Saturday - Diane VanSkiver Gagel


Topics:
1. No AAA? How did our Ancestors get here?
Depending on what your ancestors migration trail may be in America, have you ever thought that they came without having Triple A maps and guidebooks? Knowing why and how our ancestors moved west provides clues and insights into our ancestors' lives.

2. Women and the Law: Researching our Female Ancestors
Tracing our foremothers can often be difficult; however, knowing the laws at a particular time can provide information and clues about our female ancestors that most genealogists overlook.

3. Ancestors in the Attic: Finding and Sharing Family Photographs
This session provides information on finding photographs or seeking identification of photographs of our ancestors from distant relatives, libraries, and on the net, preserving, and sharing our photographs with others in using cameras, computer technology and the net.

4. Social History and Genealogy: Filling in the Gaps
During this session, Social History will be discussed to find clues about our ancestors and their lives as well as using Social History to write family histories through fleshing out the bones of information from our genealogical research.


For more information:click here

NEHGS Launches New Website

AmericanAncestors.org reflects organization's expanding national collection and resources

Boston, MA - August 19, 2010 - D. Brenton Simons, President and CEO of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), today announced the launch of AmericanAncestors.org, the organization's new website that will serve as the home of its growing regional and national genealogical resources. AmericanAncestors.org will contain all of the Society's New England and New York content, features, articles, and resources, as well as weekly updates and databases in a variety of regional and ethnic specialties, such as sources for mid-Atlantic, Irish, and African American research.

AmericanAncestors.org provides online access to some of the most important research tools and resources available, and includes a new image viewer, faster navigation and search results time, and more unique content. This expanded scope allows greater opportunity for NEHGS to bring unique content to its members and the public while establishing new and beneficial collaborations with likeminded non-profit organizations and important commercial entities.

Simons said, "This website marks a transformative experience in our 165-year history, the first genealogical society founded in America. It represents the next major step ahead as we continue to expand our resources." Simons added, "AmericanAncestors.org is a new, dynamic platform from which we will grow in our position as a leader in American genealogy and as the nation's largest genealogical society."

Simons also said that NEHGS remains committed to its core strength, namely New England genealogical scholarship. "New England will always be our greatest strength and primary focus, as well as our cherished institutional name. We have much New England material to bring to the public and the new website will add 25 million additional New England names to search."

NEHGS Board Chairman, Eric B. Schultz, said, "AmericanAncestors.org will help family historians of all levels have a much better understanding of our core assets and resources. We are proud of the fact that NEHGS has worked to define genealogy in America, and this site will help advance our important national mission."

Among other things, AmericanAncestors.org will provide:

• More exclusive content: more unique, searchable, highly vetted materials for New England, New York, and other regions added weekly
• Enhanced search engine: an all-new, true "master search" that will search across all databases and other web-based content, with faster results and easier navigation
• Personal research profile: a social networking feature for NEHGS members to develop an online profile and input family research information, and even share them with others
• Improved images: a state-of-the-art new image viewer that will provide easier saving, and viewing of images and data
• Timely information: more news on our homepage and an enhanced blog "The Daily Genealogist" will bring our weekly electronic newsletter to the next level with stories and helpful research tips

In addition, NEHGS is inviting people to sign up for the NEHGS "Guest User" program. This free registration gives anyone access to the popular weekly news stories as well as special access to a variety of databases, resources, articles, and other tools to help with their research. More information can be found on the NEHGS website at www.AmericanAncestors.org.

The Society's "American Ancestors" identity was announced earlier this year, when its quarterly member magazine was rebranded American Ancestors: New England, New York, and Beyond. In October 2009, NEHGS began publishing American Ancestors Journal, an annual supplement to its quarterly journal, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.

Feature Update: Tennessee Page on FamilySearch Research Wiki

Summary

The Tennessee page on the FamilySearch Research Wiki has recently been updated and now includes a wealth of new information and resources to help people find their ancestors in the Volunteer State. The link for this revised page is: http://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Tennessee

Background

The FamilySearch Research Wiki is a free resource created by the genealogy community. The core content for the Tennessee page was contributed by the expert researchers at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. The page also includes tips and research advice from local experts.

The Wiki staff is currently working on updating all of the state pages; Tennessee is one of the first because the 2010 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference will be held in Knoxville August 18 to 21. For more information about the FGS conference, please visit: http://www.fgs.org/2010conference/index.php .

Page Highlights

• A clickable county map on the main page
• Easy navigation at the bottom of each page
• How to find Tennessee sources in archives, libraries, in print, and online
• Information on substitute sources when records are lost
• Local lists of published family histories
• Links to published Tennessee county tax lists
• Audio files of locals pronouncing Tennessee county names
• Contact information for volunteers who will look up information in local resources

Quotes 

“These pages are beautiful and contain a wealth of valuable information.”

 --Charles Reeves Jr., Cartographer and TNGenWeb County Coordinatorfor Bedford, Clay, Jackson, and Putnam Counties

“We’ve pulled together Family History Library staff and local experts to create outstanding research guides for Tennessee genealogists. The web 2.0 format allows new information to be added as soon as it becomes available, unlike printed guides, where updates wait until the next edition. If you were to print all 154 Tennessee Wiki county, topic, and archive guides found on this site, and bind it into a book, this Tennessee genealogy encyclopedia would be more than 1000 pages long."

--Nathan W. Murphy, MA, AG, Tennessee Wiki Project Team Leader

EWGS Presidents: Donna Ruth Potter-Phillips

This is the forty third in the series on the Presidents of EWGS leading up to the 75th anniversary in 2010. See the previous posts on Samuel Pool Weaver, Leora Cookingham Thiel, Susan Marie West Jack, Ruth Churchill Austin, Alfred Denman, Florence Ballou Brown, Harriet Jefferson Pinkham, Mary Elizabeth Dow Maltbie, Achsah Maltbie Rawlings, Lee DeGolyer Patchen, Susie Elliott Faubion, Edith Webb Nelson, Carrie Teats Lartigue, Guy Alfred Clumpner, Grace Ellis Woodward, Mabel Rue Frederick, Nell Hartman Peel, Edwin Allan Poole, Mabel Enid Rice Conrad, Helen Elizabeth Osborne Rowe, Dr. Herbert Hoover Osborne, Jane Merritt Logie Webster, Beatrice Cutler Mitcham, Marie E. Stone Larson, Lorena May Saylor Wildman, Raymond J. Fisher, Grace E. Kelso Garner , Catherine P. Cornehl Hyslop, Barbara J. Wirt Clarkson, Ruby L. Simonson McNeill, Jeanne J. Jones Holder , Jeanne M. Polumsky Coe , Maxine E. LeGrant Pence, Mary Kay McGlothlin Gant, Elizabeth Dale Hastin Smith, Bette Butcher Topp, Gordon Dean Clay, John R. Zeimantz, Shirley E. Penna-Oakes, Marvelene E. Roach Carney, Susan Beamer, and C. William (Bill) Hire.

Donna Ruth Potter-Phillips was EWGS President in 1991 and 1992 and is now in 2010 EWGS President again. Donna was born in Vicksburg, Michigan to Francis Harold Potter and June Magdalen Gurney and on September 21, 1961 Donna married John Charles Phillips in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

What can I say about Donna? She first appears in the EWGS member list in 1976; she is one of the original incorporaters of EWGS. Since she came along at that time she authored several surname booklets, including Gilbert Gallery, Potter Profiles, Oswald Outline, and Texas Queries. Donna has taught beginners' classes, and has probably gotten more people to join EWGS than anyone else. Donna has been program chairman and presenter at many seminars. It was her idea to run the multiple presentations at the same time for EWGS seminars like the national seminars. Donna wrote the Heritage Hunting column in the Spokane Daily Chronicle for years (Note: the Spokane Chronicle is online in Google News Archive so you can read her columns online).

Donna also wrote many articles for the Bulletin, as well as wrote the News Hotline column in that publication for years. I think Donna has also written articles for nearly every genealogical magazine published in the last thirty years. If you read the old Bulletin, you will see Donna donated many books and microfilms to EWGS and the library. She is listed as a co-author of one book in the Spokane Public Library, and has volunteered for nearly every call for volunteers including being a gene helper at the library. Donna has indexed records for the Washington State Digital Archives, and has been the FGS delegate for as long as I can remember. Donna is also the "mother hen" for the Annual Christmas Tour at Salt Lake City with Leland Meitzler. (If you ever get a chance to do the Christmas Tour, it is a wonderful way to visit the Family History Library).

For the Spring 1992 seminar EWGS hosted Dr. Brian Trainor from Ireland at Cavanaughs River Inn March 21, 1992, which cost $15.00. The October workshop was October 3, 1992 at Spokane Falls Community College, which cost $18.00.

The top picture is the one in the scrapbook of pictures of EWGS Presidents, the bottom one is Donna and Jeanne Holder, another EWGS President.

In the fall of 1990 my sister Jacque Lane and I took the beginning genealogy class offered by the Spokane Community College and the class was at Pines Junior High School. Donna was the teacher, and she told us about EWGS and said we should join, so we joined in 1991 (thanks for the advice to join, Donna!) EWGS has had wonderful group of people to befriend and so many very knowledgeable genealogists willing to share with newbies.

Online Genealogy Classes Available in Spokane Area

If you live in the Spokane area, you are invited to take one or more Online Genealogy Classes from EWGS member, Miriam Robbins Midkiff, available through the Community Colleges of Spokane's Institute for Extended Learning.

The first class is "Finding Your Ancestors in Online Vital and Cemetery Records" (Course L207) and will explain what vital and cemetery records are, why they are useful to family historians, and where to find them on site and online at both free and subscription websites. This class will be held Tuesday, October 5th from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at the CenterPlace campus, 2426 N. Discovery Way, Spokane Valley, Washingon.

The second class will be "Finding Your Ancestors in American Military Records" (Course L204). Is there a veteran in your family tree or a family story that an ancestor served in the Civil or Revolutionary War? This class will teach you how to locate military records from the present to the American colonial period, and will be held Tuesday, October 26th from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, also at the CenterPlace campus.

For both classes, it's important to have a working understanding of the Internet as well as an e-mail address. You may register for either course by calling the IEL at (509) 279-6030 or (800) 845-3324; you can also register online by going to the course webpages here (vital/cemetery) or here (military).

Who Do You Think You Are? Reruns Showing Friday Nights

I apologize for this late notice; these episodes are also available to watch online at the NBC website here.

Four encore episodes of NBC's Who Do You Think You Are? series will be shown Friday evenings beginning August 13 at 8/7c PM. The episodes will feature Lisa Kudrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Emmitt Smith and Brooke Shields.

180,000 new Chelsea Pensioner Records Now Available at Findmypast.co.uk

180,000 NEW CHELSEA PENSIONERS SERVICE RECORDS GO ONLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME AT FINDMYPAST.CO.UK

• Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1854 now available to search online
• In-depth and colourful insight into the lives of ordinary ranking soldiers
• Records include servicemen born in the UK and throughout the world, including India and Jamaica

Leading family history website findmypast.co.uk has added a further 180,000 records to the Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records collection currently available online. The new additions comprise the service records of men pensioned out of the British Army between 1760 and 1854. The update means the collection now totals over four million full colour images of the service records of almost 700,000 soldiers pensioned out of the British Army between 1760 and 1900. Findmypast.co.uk has been working in association with The National Archives and in partnership with FamilySearch for nearly two years to scan, transcribe and publish online these records.

Many of the soldiers listed will have served in some of Britain’s most significant wars, including the Battle of Waterloo (1815), the Crimean (1853 – 1856) and both Boer Wars (1899 – 1902). Each individual soldier’s record consists of a bundle of a minimum of four pages, full of fascinating personal details, and could even be up to 20 pages long.

The details that can be found in these records are invaluable to family and military historians, providing a rich and colourful story of our ancestors’ lives, with a level of detail that is hard to find in any other historical records. Among the information included in these documents are the soldier’s date and place of birth, name and address of next of kin, height, hair and eye colour, distinguishing features such as tattoos, rank and regiment, occupation before joining the army, medical history and countries where, and dates when, the soldier served.

The records not only relate to servicemen born in the UK, but also throughout the world, with many soldiers born in India and even the Caribbean. These records are also invaluable to Irish, Scottish and Commonwealth researchers, as many men joined the British Army from these countries throughout the centuries.

The records list only those soldiers who either completed their full service in the army or who were wounded and pensioned out of the army. The records do not include those killed in action or army deserters or officers. The connection with 'Chelsea Pensioners' is that the pensions were administered through The Royal Hospital at Chelsea. The great majority of pensioned soldiers were out-pensioners and did not reside at the Hospital itself.

Debra Chatfield of findmypast.co.uk said: “The Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records are a rich resource for family historians. For each soldier you’ll find a minimum of four pages of information, including a physical description and even details of other family members, such as their dates of baptism and marriage. These fascinating records enable you to find out so much about your soldier ancestors, including what they looked like, long before the invention of photography.”

NGS Online Interview Series: Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA

NGS is proud to announce the presentation to our members of the newest in the NGS Online Interview Series:

Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA

Arguably the most influential genealogist of our time, Elizabeth Shown Mills was for many years, with her late husband, Gary B. Mills, Ph.D., the editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.  She edited Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians and authored Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace as well as many other works valued by genealogists.

The video provides an opportunity to meet Elizabeth “up close and personal” as she shares her thoughts on our work and her own personal experiences as a researcher in these five short features:

• Genealogy Is History, Up Close and Personal
• The Importance of NGS
• Family Traditions: My Choctaw Princess
• We Are All Cousins
• The Search

Now showing for Members Only:

• Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA
• David E Rencher, AG, CG, FIGRS, FUGA
• Willis H. White, CG

Also showing:

• Thomas Adams, 2009 Rubincam Youth Award Winner
• Helen F. M. Leary, CG (emeritus), FASG, FNGS
• Paths to Your Past
• American Genealogy: Home Study Course
• NGS Conferences-What to Expect

Log in and go to NGS Videos http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/ngs_videos

Coming attractions:

• Thomas  H. Jones, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA
• Leslie Anderson, MSLS, Alexandria Library
• National Archives and Records Administration
• Laura DeGrazia, CG

The NGS Online Interview Series was produced by the award winning team Kate Geis and Allen Moore.

FamilySearch News: New RootsTech Conference to Bring Technologists Face-to-face with Genealogists

SALT LAKE CITY­—Technologists and genealogists from around the world will gather at the first annual RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 10-12, 2011. The new conference, hosted by FamilySearch and sponsored by leading genealogical organizations, aims to bring technologists and genealogists together to help deepen understanding of current technologies and discover new ideas in applying technology to genealogy.  Learn more at rootstech.familysearch.org.

“When the users and creators of technology come together, innovation occurs,” said Jay Verkler, president and CEO of FamilySearch. “The RootsTech Conference will accelerate that innovation through panels, discussion groups, and interactive demonstrations.”

Josh Taylor, Director of Education and Programs for the New England Historic Genealogical Society, says the time is right for such a conference. 

“The collection of technologies present at the last National Genealogical Society Conference in Salt Lake City was so impressive that we see a need and opportunity for a strong annual technology genealogy conference to pursue solutions for the unique challenges facing genealogists,” Taylor said.

The RootsTech Conference is designed to foster innovation by bringing technology users and creators together in a meaningful way. Thousands of genealogists who use technology in pursuit of one of the most popular hobbies in the world will discover how new and emerging technologies can improve and simplify their activities. Genealogists will be treated to technology prototype demonstrations, interactive workshops, and opportunities to test innovative new product and service concepts. Technology providers will get the opportunity to demonstrate product concepts face-to-face to their customer—the family history enthusiast—and better understand their needs.

“Technology is driving a revolution in family history,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of Ancestry.com. “We’re excited to participate in the RootsTech Conference, and we see it as a great chance to explore with genealogists how technology can help them even more in the future.”

The RootsTech 2011 conference will be hosted by FamilySearch and sponsored by Ancestry.com, New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), Brigham Young University, and other leaders in the genealogy community.

“Brigham Young University is pleased to participate in this conference, which brings together the Conference on Computerized Family History and Genealogy and the Family History Technology Workshop under the same umbrella. We think this creates a new and unique national forum for genealogists, software developers, and researchers to move genealogy forward,” said Christophe Giraude-Carrier, Associate Chair and Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Science at Brigham Young University.

Technology creators will discover new and existing technologies and techniques to help their development practices and also see how they can be applied to the unique discipline of genealogy. Anticipated themes for the conference include: using social networking to collaborate as families and societies, data backup and digital preservation, using multimedia, records and media digitization, how to use cloud computing to deploy reliable, scalable systems, handwriting recognition and automated transcription, mobile computing devices and applications, GPS mapping, and much more.

EWGS Presidents C. William (Bill) Hire

This is the forty second in the series on the Presidents of EWGS leading up to the 75th anniversary in 2010. See the previous posts on Samuel Pool Weaver, Leora Cookingham Thiel, Susan Marie West Jack, Ruth Churchill Austin, Alfred Denman, Florence Ballou Brown, Harriet Jefferson Pinkham, Mary Elizabeth Dow Maltbie, Achsah Maltbie Rawlings, Lee DeGolyer Patchen, Susie Elliott Faubion, Edith Webb Nelson, Carrie Teats Lartigue, Guy Alfred Clumpner, Grace Ellis Woodward, Mabel Rue Frederick, Nell Hartman Peel, Edwin Allan Poole, Mabel Enid Rice Conrad, Helen Elizabeth Osborne Rowe, Dr. Herbert Hoover Osborne, Jane Merritt Logie Webster, Beatrice Cutler Mitcham, Marie E. Stone Larson, Lorena May Saylor Wildman, Raymond J. Fisher, Grace E. Kelso Garner , Catherine P. Cornehl Hyslop, Barbara J. Wirt Clarkson, Ruby L. Simonson McNeill, Jeanne J. Jones Holder , Jeanne M. Polumsky Coe , Maxine E. LeGrant Pence, Mary Kay McGlothlin Gant, Elizabeth Dale Hastin Smith, Bette Butcher Topp, Gordon Dean Clay, John R. Zeimantz, Shirley E. Penna-Oakes, Marvelene E. Roach Carney, and Susan Beamer



Claude William (Bill) Hire was EWGS President 2007-2009, the only EWGS President to serve three consecutive terms as EWGS President. Early by-laws did not allow any officer to serve more than two consecutive years as an officer, but that had been changed to four consecutive years before Bill became EWGS President. Bill also acted as treasurer after the death of Gary Taylor, so Bill was very busy until a new treasurer was found. Bill was born in Wolf Lake, Indiana to Thomas C Hire and Hermona J Magnuson. Bill grew up in Ligonier, Indiana and upon graduating from High School in 1965 he went to Indiana University and graduated in 1969 with a degree in Business Administration. Bill enlisted in the Navy in 1969 and spent his enlisted career in Hawaii working for the Commander Submarine Forces Pacific as a radioman. Bill got out of the Navy in 1973 and in 1974 applied to Navy Officer training. Bill was accepted and was commissioned an Ensign in October 1974. In December 1974 he married Marianne Iwasa whom Bill had met while stationed in Hawaii. Bill served as a Surface Warfare Officer for 17 years and retired from the Navy in 1991 as a Lieutenant Command. Bill went back to school in 1991 at the University of Idaho and graduated in 1993 with a B.S. in Cartography. He went to work for Spokane County in 1994 as a GIS Specialist doing computer mapping and analysis and retired from county employment in July 2010. We raised two children, Peter and Katharine.
Bill always had a passion for learning my family history. His genealogy researching really took off in 1985 after a couple of my aunts gave me handwritten pedigree charts for my Hire and Bender ancestors with accompanying handwritten notes with family group information for several families on one sheet. Bill needed a magnifying glass to decipher the tiny print. But that is all it took and Bill was off and running. After moving to Spokane in 1995 he joined EWGS. Bill was membership chairman for a year and in 2003 joined the EWGS board as Junior Trustee.
The Spring 2007 seminar was Halvor Moorshead on May 5, 2007 at the Spokane Public Library and it was bring your own lunch and cost $20.00. Also in May EWGS passed a motion to host the 2009 Washington State Genealogical Society Conference, and in June EWGS decided to hold the WSGS Conference at the Davenport Hotel and Bill signed the contract with the Davenport. We tentatively scheduled Halvor Moorshead and Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak for the speakers and planned on 200 people. The WSGS Board that had lost a ton on the last conference they held were all over EWGS for such an expensive venue and for two national speakers, so Halvor agreed not to come and we just had Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak for the national speaker. Still two more years to the WSGS Conference and so we planned a lot and hoped for 200 people. The October workshop was October 6, 2007 at the Southside Senior Center, cost $17.00. Next year the October workshop was October 4, 2008 at Mukogowa Fort Wright with Barbara A.H. Nuehring, cost $25.00. We liked Barbara so much that we had her back in May of 2010. The 2009 WSGS Conference was September 11-13, 2009 and Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak was great. The beginning genealogy classes were overflowing, and I think the last count was 199 people. Every one was surprised by the Davenport, and we nearly broke even after all the bills were paid. I paid $160 for the three days and had a great time.
Bill was an energetic EWGS President and always willing to help others, have a good retirement Bill.

EWGS Presidents Susan Beamer

This is the forty first in the series on the Presidents of EWGS leading up to the 75th anniversary in 2010. See the previous posts on Samuel Pool Weaver, Leora Cookingham Thiel, Susan Marie West Jack, Ruth Churchill Austin, Alfred Denman, Florence Ballou Brown, Harriet Jefferson Pinkham, Mary Elizabeth Dow Maltbie, Achsah Maltbie Rawlings, Lee DeGolyer Patchen, Susie Elliott Faubion, Edith Webb Nelson, Carrie Teats Lartigue, Guy Alfred Clumpner, Grace Ellis Woodward, Mabel Rue Frederick, Nell Hartman Peel, Edwin Allan Poole, Mabel Enid Rice Conrad, Helen Elizabeth Osborne Rowe, Dr. Herbert Hoover Osborne, Jane Merritt Logie Webster, Beatrice Cutler Mitcham, Marie E. Stone Larson, Lorena May Saylor Wildman, Raymond J. Fisher, Grace E. Kelso Garner , Catherine P. Cornehl Hyslop, Barbara J. Wirt Clarkson, Ruby L. Simonson McNeill, Jeanne J. Jones Holder , Jeanne M. Polumsky Coe , Maxine E. LeGrant Pence, Mary Kay McGlothlin Gant, Elizabeth Dale Hastin Smith, Bette Butcher Topp, Gordon Dean Clay, John R. Zeimantz, Shirley E. Penna-Oakes, and Marvelene E. Roach Carney



Susan Beamer was EWGS President in 2006. Susan was born and raised in Omak, Washington a third generation Washingtonian. She is researching Beamers from Virginia to Washington, Bell from North Carolina to Iowa to Oregon and Washington, other surnames are Stull, Eightme, Millard and Franz or Frans. Susan has a BA and MA degrees in history and works as the Records Manager and archivist for Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc in Pullman, Washington. They make equipment and provide services for the electric power industry.
EWGS only had one seminar in 2006 the October workshop was October 7, 2006 at the Spokane Library, with Michael John Neill, cost $20.00 plus $5.00 for asandwich lunch or bring your own sandwich.
Susan is probably the EWGS President with the highest energy of any I have known, and she shares my interest in odd records that may have our ancestors history hidden away somewhere. Getting her picture for the records took a lot of running to catch her. :)