Some Genealogical Valentine Treats

Mrs. Harders, unknown location, to Rena Lerfald, postcard, c. 1909 - 1913, unpostmarked; Lerfald-Westaby Postcard Collection; privately held by Troy Midkiff, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Vancouver, Washington, 2010.

Happy Valentine's Day! There are some very special Valentine treats that have been put together by the genealogical community! The first one is the Valentine's edition of Shades of the Departed, the beautiful and incomparable genealogy, history, and photography e-magazine! Oh, and I did I mention, it's free?

True to their quality standards, the writing and editorial team headed by the footnoteMaven have put together a fabulous issue featuring vintage African-American photos (this is African-American history month, after all!), a sweet fiction piece, an article on what the archival process involves, and much, much more! Plus, it's just so fun to actually turn the pages of this online magazine--go check it out, if you haven't done so--and you can download it for reading again later!

The next treat is from another one of my favorite people, Lisa Louise Cooke. She recently had the privilege of interviewing Lisa Kudrow, with whom you will be familiar from the television show, Friends. If you haven't already heard, Ms. Kudrow is the executive producer of a new genealogy show airing on NBC March 5th, Who Do You Think You Are? Lisa C. interviewed Lisa K. in her latest episode of the Genealogy Gems podcast, which is available to listen to today.

Now if you've never listened to a podcast, don't be intimidated! You don't need an iPod, an MP3 player or any fancy technological equipment. All you need is the computer you're using right now to read this, and either speakers or headphones. Go to this link and look at the little white podcast player in the right-hand column. Click on the play button ( > ) and listen to this fascinating and exclusive interview!

A genealogical Valentine magazine and radio show...or at least the modern versions of such...it doesn't get any better than this!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Free E-Book Offer From Family Tree Magazine

Family Tree Magazine is giving away a free e-book to those who sign up for our free, weekly E-mail Update newsletter.

The book is our 42-page Best of the Photo Detective, a step-by-step guide that helps you examine old family photos for hidden clues to when they were taken and who’s in them. It includes an exclusive excerpt from Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs by our Photo Detective, Maureen A. Taylor.

Family Tree Magazine’s E-mail Update newsletter delivers the latest news, tips and resources for doing family history research. You can sign up at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/enews. After you submit your registration, you’ll get a link to download the book as a PDF file.

Washington State Named Number One by Ancestry Magazine

Recently, Family Tree Magazine ranked Washington State the Number Two state for online resources in its May 2009 issue (already mailed to subscribers; coming soon to a newsstand near you).

Today, I read an article in the March/April 2009 issue of Ancestry magazine online, titled "The Wired States of America: A Look at Digital Records Near You." On page 10 of this online article, Ancestry names Washington State as its Number One state for online resources, thanks to the over 60 million searchable records in its state Digital Archives collection, the same reason that Family Tree Magazine gave us a thumbs up.

Have you checked out the Washington State Digital Archives yet?

Washington State Named Second Best

Washington State was named the second best state in the country for genealogy in Family Tree Magazine (May 2009). Massachusetts came in at No. 1, thanks to its Mayflower passenger list and the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

The article says, “Washington ranks No. 2 on our best list – but with a footnote: Next time, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it rise to No. 1.”

Everton Online Edition FREE Access

Since the initial launch of the Genealogical Helper as an Online Edition, it has been determined that hosting the magazines on World Vital Records' servers was causing too much confusion and difficulty of access for subscribers. To alleviate the confusion, Everton's have undertaken the hosting themselves, with a much simpler user interface.

Everton apologizes for any inconvenience that genealogists experienced with the initial launch of the Online Edition, and are confident that your experience will now be a pleasant and rewarding one. Everton is offering access to the two Online Edition issues now available at the site: Jul-Aug 2008 and Sept-Oct 2008 absolutely FREE until October 17. Simply go to: www.everton.com. ALSO - until October 27 the $12 annual subscription fee to the Online Edition of the Genealogical Helper will be reduced to $10.00, and the $29.00 annual subscription fee for the hard copy edition of the magazine (includes access to the Online Edition) will be reduced to $25.00.

The Genealogical Helper is widely recognized as having no equal in terms of amount of total content, educational and research information, and lists of organizations, events, and repositories. The complete magazine is online, and all websites listed in either the content or advertisements are hot-linked.

Everton’s Genealogical Helper Adds New Online Edition!

New Online Edition of Everton’s Genealogical Helper will debut July 1!
Subscribe today for only $10.00!

LOGAN, Utah, June 12, 2008. Genealogy Online, Inc., publisher of Everton’s Genealogical Helper, today announced the publication of the Genealogical Helper in an Online Edition. The Online Edition is an identical copy of the 176-page paper edition – complete with hotlinks to the hundreds of website addresses found therein.

Launch Date – The new Online Edition will launch on July 1 – simultaneous with the home delivery and newsstand date of the paper edition of the July-August issue.

Free Access – Subscribers to the traditional Genealogical Helper will have 100% FREE online access to the magazine – with no extra fees whatsoever. See http://www.everton.com for sign-up information.

Online Edition subscriptions – Everton’s Genealogical Helper, Online Edition, will sell for just $12.00 per year! That is only $2 per issue! And it’s only $10.00 for subscriptions made before July 1 at http://www.everton.com or phone 1-800-443-6325.

Net Family History – An important feature of Everton’s Genealogical Helper is the magazine within a magazine entitled Net Family History. New information specific to using the Internet for genealogy is always found in this portion of the bimonthly publication. Extensive website reviews are always located here, as well as articles dealing with Internet-related activities.

Why an online edition? – Every issue of Everton’s Genealogical Helper now contains hundreds of website addresses. The Internet is where some of the most exciting genealogical resource advances are taking place, so it’s required that information about these resources be disseminated to the Helper’s thousands of readers in every issue. Everton’s Genealogical Helper, Online Edition, will allow readers to go from their paper edition to the hotlinked Online Edition and access any of the websites with just a keystroke or two – no more typing in those lengthy website addresses! The Online Edition offers more than just the links found in the magazine – it is the entire magazine itself!

Format & hosting – Everton’s Genealogical Helper, Online Edition, will be in .pdf format, readable by anyone, with any computer running an Adobe Acrobat Reader (Available at Adobe.com as a FREE download.) The Online Edition will be hosted by FamilyLink.com, Inc.

Why subscribe to the Genealogical Helper? – Subscribe to have access to the Helper’s how-to & historical articles, Net Family History (see above), genealogical sharing, extensive book and CD-ROM reviews & announcements, queries, the most complete event calendar available anywhere, and hundreds of ads detailing new products and services. In addition to these day-to-day features, you will also have access to the NEW updated, hotlinked Directory of Genealogical and Historical Societies – to be published in the Sept/Oct and Nov-Dec issues! Edited by Leland K. Meitzler, the Helper is guaranteed to help you extend your lines and fill in those blanks in your family tree.

WHAT A DEAL! – Your cost for a full subscription (the paper magazine & online access both) is less than 3 cents per page – delivered to your home, and now accessible online. Subscribe to the Online Edition alone for just over a penny a page! Subscribe by July 1 and it’s less than a penny per page!

Subscribe NOW at: http://www.everton.com or phone 800-443-6325.

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About Genealogy Online, Inc.

Genealogy Online, dba Everton Publishers, is the publisher of Everton’s Genealogical Helper, now in its 62nd year of helping genealogists find their ancestors. Genealogy Online, Inc. also publishes the Handybook for Genealogists, 11th edition, a top-selling guidebook for family historians. Their website is found at: http://www.everton.com. Also see: http//www.GenealogyBlog.com.

Family Tree Magazine Launches Podcast

From Diane Haddad, editor of Family Tree Magazine:

Family Tree Magazine Podcast Offers Genealogy News and Tips

Now you can hear about the best genealogy tools and tips by tuning into the free, monthly Family Tree Magazine Podcast.

In this online radio show, host Lisa Louise Cooke—creator of the popular Genealogy Gems podcast—takes you behind the scenes to learn more about the topics covered in Family Tree Magazine. Each 30-minute episode features interviews with genealogy experts and Family Tree Magazine editors on using genealogy Web sites, records and resources. Plus, editor Allison Stacy gives you sneak previews on upcoming issues and managing editor Diane Haddad delivers the scoop on the latest genealogy news.

You can listen whenever it’s convenient to you by visiting the FamilyTreeMagazine.com podcast page at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/podcast/.

I heard about this new Family Tree Magazine podcast through Lisa Louise Cooke's podcast, Genealogy Gems, and since I'm a big fan of Lisa's podcasts AND a big fan of the magazine, I went and listened to the FTM podcast. It was well done, of course, and I look forward to many more in the future!

What's a podcast? Remember how you loved to listen to your favorite radio show as a kid? Well, podcasts are like radio shows, only they are offered through the Internet. There are podcasts for nearly every subject under the sun, and you can use Google to find podcasts for history, quilting, gardening, or whatever your second-favorite hobby may be (genealogy being your number one favorite, of course!).

By the way, you don't need an iPod or an MP3 player to listen to a podcast. All you need is a pair of speakers or headphones plugged into your computer and you can listen. If you have dial-up for your Internet connection, you probably will need to download the audio file to your computer first (instructions below), then listen to it with Windows Media Player, Quick Time, Real Player, or whatever you have on your computer, rather than listening to it straight off the Internet. There are many genealogy podcasts, and links to them can be found at Cyndi's List here.

Instructions: I've found that using Firefox (my browser of choice) does not allow me to download the podcast easily. So I connect to the Internet using Internet Explorer and go to the podcast site. At the bottom of each of the site notes for each podcast is usually a link that says "download." Right-click and chose "Save Target." Decide where you want to download the file (I have created a podcast folder in "My Music"). After the file has downloaded, go to the file wherever you have stored it on your computer. Double-left-click on the podcast file for it to start playing. If you have a little trouble getting it going, or want to choose which player will play the file for you, right-click instead on the file and choose the player you prefer.

"Using Podcasts to Further Your Genealogy" is on the list of computer classes we will be offering EWGS members in our new lineup for 2009 - 2010!

Halvor Moorshead Retiring February 29th

I received the following e-mail today. Many of us have enjoyed the magazines that Halvor started: Family Chronicle, History Magazine, Internet Genealogy, and very recently, Discovering Family History. I wish Halvor and Marion the best in their retirement, and know that the individuals he's chosen to sell Moorshead Magazines will continue to publish quality publications for the genealogical community.

I am retiring on Friday, 29 February 2008.

I wish I had the capacity to e-mail everyone with whom I do business - and my friends – individually about the following but this is not practical so I am sending out this general announcement about important changes affecting our publishing company.

I have sold Moorshead Magazines - which includes Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy, History Magazine and the new Discovering Family History and will be retiring. The sale finalizes on Friday 29 February 2008.

This is not quite as radical as it first sounds.

I am selling the company to two of the staff - Ed Zapletal and Rick Cree. They have made it clear that their main reason for buying the company is that they do NOT want any changes. There will obviously be some differences as I will be out of the picture, but there will be no staff changes. Victoria, Marc and Jeannette will be continuing in the same roles.

I turned 65 in November and want time to travel and do other things with Marian (my wife) while we are still capable (I also plan on spending a lot of time researching my own genealogy!). I also want to do more lecturing.

I am intensely proud of what we have done with Moorshead Magazines - we have dedicated, loyal and highly experienced staff. Ed and Rick have both been with me for 24 years - way, way before we published Family Chronicle. We work very well
together and we have been pretty successful. Things are going well – Discovering Family History looks as though it will become another success story and this is important to me; I very much want to retire on a high note.

Part of the sale agreement is that I will act as a consultant related to the magazines for three years so I am not entirely cut off. In addition, I plan to be at the NGS Annual Convention in Kansas City in May, largely to say goodbye personally to the many friends I have made in the genealogy field over the years.

Halvor Moorshead

New Beginner's Genealogy Magazine

Discovering Family History – a new beginner’s magazine from the publishers of Family Chronicle and Internet Genealogy

Toronto – 15 February 2008 Discovering Family History, a new genealogy magazine targeted at beginners, will shortly start publishing. A 24-page preview is included in the March/April issue of Family Chronicle and the April/May issue of Internet Genealogy. A full 56-page preview issue can be downloaded at http://www.discoveringfamilyhistory.com.

Halvor Moorshead, the publisher and editor of all three magazines, says that the seed of the idea for Discovering Family History was sown when Family Chronicle and Internet Genealogy magazines exhibited at an event in Toronto last September, called “The Word on the Street”. Some 200,000 people attended this event, put on for those interested in books and literacy.

“We sold plenty of subscriptions to both magazines,” said Moorshead, “but I found that I was continually explaining to new subscribers some real genealogy basics, ­ steering them to Cyndi’s List and other places that listed beginner’s courses. These people were smart enough; they just needed something more basic than what we were selling. It was sobering to realize that there might be a big market for a genealogy magazine that dealt with the basics.

“This triggered us to conduct market research among Family Chronicle and Internet Genealogy readers. We sent out questionnaires, via the Internet, to 1,000 readers and were more than pleasantly surprised by the response. A few people said they thought the idea for a beginner’s magazine was a bad one, but for each one of these, 12 people were excited by the idea. We had not expected to find that many people, who had been researching their genealogy for many years, still considered themselves beginners. But then we realized that most of us are beginners when we tackle a new area for research. Most of us are beginners in some area or another.”

The free online preview issue contains such articles as Free Family History Websites, Obituaries, the Ultimate Guide to Subscription Databases, Who Else is Researching Your Name?, What is a Vital Record?, Citing Sources, a genealogical Case Study, The 10 First Steps, Computer Basics, It’s All About Parents, Genealogical Societies, Web 2.0 and Making Sense of the US Census. The articles are targeted at beginners, but Moorshead says that great care has been taken not to talk down to the reader.

“I consider myself a fairly experienced genealogist but I continue to come across aspects of research that bewilder me. For example, until recently I had never investigated land records – I would find a basic article on this subject very useful,” said Moorshead. Discovering Family History will be published six times a year. There is an introductory subscription rate of $20 per year (same rate for the US and Canada). For more information visit the magazine’s website
http://www.discoveringfamilyhistory.