Latest News Articles

Everyone can read the (free) Standard Edition articles. However,  the Plus Edition articles are accessible only to (paid) Plus Edition subscribers. 

Read the (+) Plus Edition articles (a Plus Edition username and password is required).

Please limit your comments about the information in the article. If you would like to start a new message, perhaps about a different topic, you are invited to use the Discussion Forum for that purpose.

Do you have comments, questions, corrections or additional information to any of these articles? Before posting your words, you must first sign up for a (FREE) Standard Edition subscription or a (paid) Plus Edition subscription at: https://eogn.com/page-18077.

If you do not see a Plus Sign that is labeled "Add comment," you will need to upgrade to either a (FREE) Standard Edition or a (paid) Plus Edition subscription at: https://eogn.com/page-18077.

Click here to upgrade to a Plus Edition subscription.

Click here to find the Latest Plus Edition articles(A Plus Edition user name and password is required to view these Plus Edition articles.)

Complete Newsletters (including all Plus Edition and Free Edition articles published within a week) may be found if you click here. (A Plus Edition user name and password is required to view these complete newsletters.)

Do you have an RSS newsreader? You may prefer to use this newsletter's RSS feed at: https://www.eogn.com/page-18080/rss and then you will need to copy-and-paste that address into your favorite RSS newsreader.



Latest Standard Edition Articles

  • 26 Jan 2024 3:18 PM | Anonymous

    The following is a press release written by the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy:

    The Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy (CAFG) is pleased to announce its first ever one day seminar. On 27 April 2024 at 9:00am CST, CAFG will present a seminar on forensic genealogy with the following speakers and topics: 

    9:00 am – 7 Case Studies and Tools for the Successful Heir-search in Eastern Europe – Alina Kuda

    10:00 am – An Introduction to Forensic Genetic Genealogy – Penny Walters

    11:00 am – Adoption Research – Michael Brophy

    12:00 pm – Finding the Living – Juli Whittaker, FGCSM

    1:00-1:30 pm – Lunch

    1:30 pm – Opportunities and Developments in IGG Education – Andrew Hochreiter

    2:30 pm – Probate Case Study – Juli Whittaker, FGCSM

    3:30 pm – 20th Century POW Records in the US, Europe, and World-Wide – Kathy Kirkpatrick

    4:30 pm – Military Repatriation – Juli Whittaker, FGCSM

    Find detailed course descriptions and sign up on our website at the following link:https://www.forensicgenealogists.org/virtual-forensic-genealogy-seminar . 

    The Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy (CAFG) is a professional business league dedicated to advancing public awareness and understanding of the Forensic Genealogy profession while promoting and maintaining high standards of professional and ethical conduct. CAFG encourages best practices in client services and promotes the interchange of information among members through electronic forums, meetings and seminars, and trade publications. Memberships are encouraged by applying at the website: https://www.forensicgenealogists.org/join/

  • 26 Jan 2024 11:59 AM | Anonymous

    The following is an announcement written by the folks at MyHeritage:

    Over 5 million individuals have been added to TheGenealogist’s Residential and Trade Directories Collection, helping you discover your ancestors, their addresses, and their occupations back to 1744.

    The new records cover England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Channel Islands, along with some from as far afield as America, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa, thus adding an international flavour to this release. 

    Dating from 1744 to 1899, the directories in this addition to TheGenealogist are a useful finding aid for ancestors' names, addresses, and occupations and can offer contemporary details of where your past family had lived.

    If a forebear had a business, then the commercial listings in the directory could help find where an ancestor may have worked.

    Early Directories can also be useful for finding the addresses of residents before the census, reveal the railways that may have served the area and to find other communications links to nearby towns. With this information, those who may have ‘lost’ an ancestor may make an educated guess of where a person may have moved to live in the past. 

    These directory publications can also be a great complement to a census record, as the topographical information can flesh out an ancestor’s area for the researcher. 

    In the case of a head of the household, we may be able to find an address different from that recorded in other records such as the decennial census. This may help fill in the gaps of where a stray ancestor moved to between the census counts.

    Complete Access for Under £10 a Month!

    To celebrate this latest release, TheGenealogist is offering its four-month Diamond package for just £39.95 – that’s less than £10 a month!

    To find out more and claim the offer, visit: https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/MGBDIR124

    This offer expires at the end of 9th February 2024.

    Read TheGenealogist’s article: An important resource in tracing ancestors and the man behind the popular Kelly's Directories.

    https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2012/an-introduction-to-directories-43/

    About TheGenealogist

    TheGenealogist is an award-winning online family history website, which puts a wealth of information at the fingertips of family historians. Their approach is to bring hard to use physical records to life online with easy to use interfaces such as their Tithe and newly released Lloyd George Domesday collections. 

    TheGenealogist’s innovative SmartSearch technology links records together to help you find your ancestors more easily. TheGenealogist is one of the leading providers of online family history records. Along with the standard Birth, Marriage, Death and Census records, they also have significant collections of Parish and Nonconformist records, PCC Will Records, Irish Records, Military records, Occupations and Newspaper record collections amongst many others.

    TheGenealogist uses the latest technology to help you bring your family history to life. Use TheGenealogist to find your ancestors today!

  • 26 Jan 2024 8:04 AM | Anonymous

    The following announcement was written by the folks at Findmypast:

    There are over 5,000 brand new records for you to explore this Findmypast Friday. Whether your family tree is rooted in England, Scotland or Ireland, these new and updated record collections may help you to uncover more about the lives of your ancestors. 

    This week, discover names in the British Jewish Commercial Directory, members of Scotland's Buchanan Society, Irish memorial inscriptions and more. 

    Britain, Jewish Commercial Directory 1894

    This new set contains 4,171 records from 1894. With both transcriptions and images available, gleaning those valuable details couldn't be simpler.

    Rothschild directory 1894

    Members of the famous Rothschild banking family featured in the directory. View this page here. 

    This one-off commercial directory lists the names of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish businessmen in alphabetical order. In addition to each person's occupation, you'll find a residence listed. 

    Scotland, Buchanan Society members 1725-1948

    This week's second new collection is made up of 1,053 records, documenting members of Scotland's Buchanan Society between 1725 and 1948. 

    Ireland Memorial Inscriptions

    Anyone with Irish roots will be delighted to hear that we've improved our existing collection of Ireland memorial inscriptions, meaning they are easier to search and explore than ever. 

    James Connolly grave

    The grave of Irish revolutionary James Connolly in Arbour Hill Cemetery, Dublin. View this record.

    In this new-and-improved set, you'll find 682 images and transcriptions spanning over 300 years. With the years 1711 to 2019 covered, there's no limit to what you might discover. 

    Over 95,000 new pages to explore

    This week we've added historical newspaper pages from Ballymena to Biggleswade, with one brand new addition and updates to ten of our existing titles.

    The Mearns Leader, 13 January 1950.

    The Mearns Leader, 13 January 1950.

    Here's a full rundown of all that's been added to our newspaper collection.

    New titles:

    • Mearns Leader, 1913-1948, 1950-1957, 1959-1975, 1981-1984, 1986-1989, 1991-1992

    Updated titles:

    • Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, 1997, 1999
    • Biggleswade Chronicle, 1970-1980
    • Buxton Herald, 1950
    • Derry Journal, 1991, 1997
    • Littlehampton Gazette, 1985
    • Maidstone Journal and Kentish Advertiser, 1887
    • Market Harborough Advertiser and Midland Mail, 1952, 1973, 1975, 1991
    • Northampton Herald, 1873, 1878, 1889, 1912
    • Pateley Bridge & Nidderdale Herald, 1990
    • Prescot Reporter, 1874

    Have you made a surprising family history discovery? Whatever you've uncovered about your past, we'd love to hear about it. You can now get in touch and tell us using this handy form.

    Last week we added over 32,000 new social and institutional records. Don't miss out on these exciting additions - explore the full release here.

  • 25 Jan 2024 2:34 PM | Anonymous

    In honor of Australia Day, from January 24–28, 2024, MyHeritage is providing free access to all records from Australia — encompassing 108 million records from across 297 historical record collections!

    Search the records now

    Australia_Day_January_2024-753-x-425

    MyHeritage's Australian collections come from all over the country and include birth, marriage, death, naturalization, military, passenger lists, and more types of records, and many include high-quality scans of the originals.

    You can find more details on the MyHeritage blog.

  • 25 Jan 2024 8:45 AM | Anonymous

    What does a library look like anymore?

    When Egyptian King Ptolemy I built the Library of Alexandria nearly 2,300 years ago, the great library became the intellectual center of the ancient world. Ptolemy hoped to gather as much human knowledge as possible. Even ships anchored in the port were impounded until all the manuscripts they contained could be copied. World leaders lent their scrolls for duplication, and library officials traveled far and wide to purchase entire collections. Meanwhile, dutiful scribes hand-copied the library’s awesome collection, which eventually grew to as many as 700,000 scrolls.

    NOTE: Books with bindings and covers had not yet been invented. 2,300 years ago, “books” were available only as long scrolls of parchment.


    Brewster Kahle is a modern-day Ptolemy: he wants to ensure universal access to all human knowledge. And now he thinks that goal is within our grasp. In fact, his web site, called The Internet Archive, has already stored 380 billion web pages. Yes, that’s BILLIONS of web pages. However, this online archive has a lot more than just web pages. It serves as an online library, the largest such library in the world. It also has 20 million books and texts, 4.5 million audio recordings (including 180,000 live concerts), 4 million videos (including 1.6 million Television News programs), 3 million images and 200,000 software programs, all available at no charge to you. As of the day I wrote this article, the Internet Archive has 7,295,193 users. In fact, this online library gets more visitors in a year than most other libraries do in a lifetime.

    Kahle is no stranger to the Internet. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982. He studied artificial intelligence with Marvin Minsky and W. Daniel Hillis. In 1983, he helped start Thinking Machines, serving six years as a lead engineer for the parallel supercomputer maker. In the late 1980s, he pioneered the Internet’s first publishing system, known as WAIS (Wide Area Information Server), which was sold to AOL in 1995. He then co-founded Alexa Internet, which was sold to Amazon.com in 1999.

    The Internet Archive is Kahle’s most ambitious project. He founded it in 1996 as a non-profit organization based in San Francisco, California. It started as a few servers running in Kahle’s attic. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to include more well-rounded collections. Today the Internet Archive includes texts (including complete books), audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages in its collections. It also provides specialized services for adaptive reading and information access for the blind and other persons with disabilities.

    The Internet Archive now includes several divisions: The Wayback Machine, Open Library, Audio Archive, and more. The web site proudly proclaims, “Our mission is to provide Universal Access to All Knowledge.” Web pages are normally found at http://www.archive.org while books and many other materials are found at http://www.OpenLibrary.org. Both of those addresses link to different parts of the Internet Archive.

    Brewster Kahle’s latest organization is working on digitizing and storing the entire World Wide Web and making what has been digitized so far freely accessible at http://www.archive.org. If a bit of genealogy information was published on the web in the past but has since disappeared, there is an excellent chance that you can find an old copy of the information on Archive.org. Six hundred thousand people use the Internet Archive every day, conducting two thousand searches a second.

    The Internet Archive is physically located at 500 Funston Avenue in San Francisco. It looks like a Greek Revival temple. There is a good reason for the similarity: it was built in 1923 by the Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, and remained a church until Brewster Kahle bought the building. He wanted to move the Internet Archive out of his attic and into a much larger facility that could hold rows and rows of servers and disk arrays containing petabytes of data.

    500 Funston Avenue in San Francisco

    Brewster Kahle also is working on making all the stored material available in many different places. The information is available on desktop computers, laptops, tablets, eBook readers, cell phones, and most anyplace else there is a demand. Many libraries around the world also have “print on demand” printers that will download a book from The Internet Archive/Open Library, print it, bind it, and make it available to a patron whenever requested. These books are actual digital images of the original books.

    Kahle’s associates also built an “Internet Bookmobile,” a van that drives around the country downloading public-domain books from the archive via a satellite network link and making them available as printed books to anyone who wishes to obtain one.

    Kahle describes his “Internet Bookmobile” this way:

    Why a Bookmobile? Just like the bookmobiles of the past brought wonderful books to people in towns across America, this century’s bookmobile will bring an entire digital library to their grandchildren. The Internet Archive’s mission is to provide universal access to human knowledge, and given the advancement of digital storage and communications, this goal is now achievable. Part of accomplishing that goal is to make sure that public domain books are available digitally. Another part is making sure people across the country have access to those works whether by reading on a screen, or more likely, to be printed back out again as a book.

    So what is the Bookmobile? It is a mobile digital library capable of downloading public domain books from the Internet via satellite and printing them anytime, anywhere, for anyone. It will be traveling across the country from San Francisco to Washington D.C., stopping at schools, libraries and retirement homes; places where people understand the value of a book. After the bookmobile leaves, each library will understand what it would take to make, print, and bind public domain books for their patrons.

    It is interesting that Brewster Kahle reports that it is cheaper to print a new book than it is to pay for the labor to reclaim the book, check it in, and reshelve it. The reprinted books are given away free of charge. Of course, donations are always gladly accepted.

    I visited the “Internet Bookmobile” a few years ago when it was parked at Walden Pond in Massachusetts. The van being used was the smallest “bookmobile” I had ever seen, much smaller than the usual buses used for bookmobiles. I assume it was cheaper also. However, the number of available books was much greater than that of any traditional bookmobile. When a patron asked for any of the millions of available books, it was downloaded and delivered as a printed book within 5 minutes or so.

    Archive.org bookmobiles have also visited other places that really need it — Uganda, Egypt, and India — printing out books for children at a cost to Archive.org of about $1 a piece. However, the books normally are given away at no charge. Then there are the archive’s newer offerings: music concerts and feature films.

    A book scanner at the Internet Archive

    As a reference of his goals, Brewster Kahle points out that the Library of Congress houses about 28 million books. Kahle estimates that his organization can scan and digitize each book for $10 a piece. That would cost about $280 million, or the equivalent of only half the Library of Congress’ annual budget.

    To be sure, legally obtaining copyrighted material has its challenges, especially music and videos. But Kahle is chipping away where he can. In 2003, the Archive encountered possible issues involving the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This act could make it impossible to legally archive early computer software and games. The Internet Archive worked with the U.S. Copyright Office to obtain an exemption for many copyright-protected works. Details are available at http://www.archive.org/about/dmca.php.

    In many other cases, authors and/or publishers actually give their books or magazines to the Open Library/Internet Archive, along with a signed release allowing the non-profit to give away the books or magazines without restrictions.

    When asked about intellectual property issues, Brewster Kahle responded:

    I see what we’re doing as being very much in the tradition of Ben Franklin’s and Carnegie’s vision of the library system and sort of the Thomas Jefferson ideal of making an educated populace.

    Then there is the question of “can we?” Within technological audiences, this is often the issue.

    The “may we?” question is legal and societal.

    The Internet Archive attempts to scan and digitize all books, not just the ones that are out of copyright. However, because of copyright laws, not everything the Internet Archive has digitized is available on the World Wide Web. In the archive.org headquarters building at 300 Funston Avenue, there is a scanning station and a listening room with armchairs, coffee tables, bookshelves, and headphones. Visitors can access everything, whether under copyright or not, from that room in the same manner as visiting any “bricks and mortar” library. Just as a traditional library legally allows in-person visitors to access materials that are still under copyright, the Internet Archive/Open Library does the same for its in-person visitors.

    Brewster Kahle chuckles at the cornerstone of the headquarters building that commemorates the date it was laid: 1923. Since books published prior to 1923 are free of copyright and made available online, the date seems especially significant. The building also closely resembles the logo of the Internet Archive, a logo that was created some years before the Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, building became available for sale.

    How big is the Internet Archive, including web pages, books, videos, programs, and more? A little math can give us a fairly reasonable estimate. A typical book contains about a megabyte of information. A megabyte is a million bytes. A gigabyte is a billion bytes. A terabyte is a million million bytes. A petabyte is a million gigabytes. In the lobby of the Internet Archive, you can get a free bumper sticker that says “10,000,000,000,000,000 Bytes Archived.” That’s ten petabytes. It’s also obsolete. That figure is from 2012. Since then, it’s more than doubled.

    Archive.org already has a huge collection of books, old Web sites, music, videos, and more. I used it recently to look at www.FamilySearch.org’s Web pages in 1999 and at www.Ancestry.com from October, 1996. My, how those pages have changed! So have this newsletter’s web pages at http://www.eogn.com.

    If you are looking for an old, out-of-print genealogy book, you probably should start first at https://archive.org/details/genealogy.

    I also downloaded the Grateful Dead concert of September 22nd, 1987, at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The entire show was a 69.6-megabyte compressed file and required about five minutes to download. Not bad for a one-hour recording! I then decompressed the file and listened to the entire one hour-plus show. I also was able to copy it to my MP3 iPod player so that I can listen at my leisure in the automobile, on airplanes and elsewhere. To be sure, this was not a professionally recorded show (The Dead always allowed amateur recordings of their shows.) However, it will appeal to Deadhead fans, and it records a moment in rock history.

    Music concerts are not the only audio recordings. The Presidential Recordings Collection is made up of two distinct sub-collections: public speeches made by U.S. Presidents and secret recordings made in the White House between 1940 and 1973. Yes, Richard M. Nixon’s famous—and infamous—White House tapes that reveal for the first time the President’s uncensored words, completely unfiltered and spoken by the President himself are available online. I suspect Richard Nixon never expected that to happen when he uttered those words between 1971 and 1973.

    The UK Central Government Web Archive is a selective collection of UK Government websites, archived from August 2003, which The Internet Archive has collected on behalf of the National Archives of the United Kingdom. You can read more about the UK Central Government Web Archive at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/preservation/webarchive/

    There are many, many more items available on The Internet Archive. It has become a major resource for Web users and especially for historians and genealogists. Even images of the original U.S. Census records from 1790 through 1940 are available free of charge at The Internet Archive. Those images have not been indexed by the Internet Archive’s organization, however. If you want to view indexed census entries, you will still need to visit one of the commercial sites that offer such indexes.

    If your personal search for a Web page yields a “404 — Page Not Found” error, you probably can still find an earlier version of the page on The Internet Archive. You can access the Archive now at http://www.archive.org.

    The Internet Archives also maintains blogs that you can read in any RSS newsreader. Point your newsreader to http://www.archive.org/services/collection-rss.php and to http://www.archive.org/iathreads/posts-display-new.php?forum=web&mode=rss.

    Where does all this information come from? Archive has many partners who supply the free information. In addition, YOU can add even more information. Anyone with a free Archive.org account can upload media to the Internet Archive.

    Thirteen years ago, I had an opportunity to interview Brewster Kahle and ask him a number of questions about the Internet Archive, Open Library, and the Wayback Machine. The interview was recorded, and you can watch a video of the conversation. It is available on the Internet Archive (naturally!) at https://archive.org/details/AnInterviewWithBrewsterKahle.

    While the video is now 13 years old, almost everything that Brewster talked about is still accurate today.

    Are you looking for information of some sort? You might start at https://archive.org.

  • 24 Jan 2024 5:26 PM | Anonymous

    The following is a press release written by the (U.S.) National Archives and Records Administration:

    WASHINGTON, January 24, 2024 – The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has eliminated the pandemic-related backlog of veteran records requests at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in Saint Louis, MO.

    “The National Archives plays a critical role in ensuring that our veterans and their families have access to the records they need for the benefits they've earned. Clearing the backlog of record requests at the National Personnel Records Center has been my top priority and I am proud that we’ve gotten this done,” said Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan. “I want to recognize the hard work and dedication of the National Archives staff. They have worked overtime and across weekends and holidays to achieve this goal and ensure we meet our obligation to those who’ve served.” 

    NARA accumulated a large backlog of requests for military service records due to on-site building occupancy limits during the COVID pandemic. While the NPRC never fully closed during the pandemic because of the need to respond to emergency records requests, such as those required to support medical emergencies, funeral services, and shelter for homeless veterans, the pandemic restrictions caused on-site production to be significantly curtailed. A backlog of over 600,000 requests was accumulated, which NARA has been working to clear over the last two years. 

    To eliminate this backlog, the NPRC team deployed technology improvements, added staff, expanded work hours and contract labor, and made numerous building improvements to support additional work capacity. NPRC also entered into multiple agreements with the Department of Veterans Affairs to expedite the digitization of NPRC holdings, which will continue going forward.

    “I have worked for the National Archives for 35 years and the pandemic and subsequent backlog presented the greatest challenges of my career, but they also led to many fast-paced, transformative changes, particularly with regard to transitioning NPRC’s holdings and processes to an electronic environment,” said NPRC Director Scott Levins. “We are routinely doing things today that were seemingly impossible before the pandemic and which position us for success for years to come.”

    With the backlog cleared, NPRC is now able to respond to most routine requests for separation documents in less than a week and other types of requests within 20 days, even as it continues to receive more than 4,000 new requests each day. 

    To request veteran records or check the status of an existing request, please visit https://vetrecs.archives.gov/VeteranRequest/home.html.

    About the National Personnel Records Center
    The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) located in St. Louis, MO, is a part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The NPRC stores and provides access to more than 2 million cubic feet of records documenting U.S. military service of American veterans of all branches of service. Each year, the NPRC responds to around 1.1 million requests for military service records from veterans and their families, or more than 4,000 requests per workday. The majority of NPRC records are only available in hard copy and can only be accessed in person, by NARA staff.

    About the National Archives
    The National Archives and Records Administration is the nation's record keeper. It safeguards and manages the official records of the U.S. government, ensuring the documentation of our nation's history. For more information, visit www.archives.gov.
  • 24 Jan 2024 8:56 AM | Anonymous

    The upcoming Genealogy Resource Fair will be held March 23rd at the Georgia Southern Continuing & Professional Education building. The event will be a full day of presentations given by genealogical and historical societies from all across Georgia. There will also be an expo hall for vendors and exhibitors.

    The upcoming Genealogy Resource Fair will be held on March 23rd, 9am-4pm, at the Georgia Southern Continuing & Professional Education building. This the second genealogy fair for Statesboro, spearheaded by Lillian Wingate, Regional Genealogy & Local History Coordinator at the Statesboro Regional Library. Last year the event was held at the library and drew hundreds of people from all over the region. 

    The event will be a full day of presentations given by genealogical and historical societies from all across Georgia. There will also be an expo hall for vendors and exhibitors. The event focus will be on genealogy resources. 

    You can read more in an article written by Ashlea Mask and published on the griceconnect web site at: http://tinyurl.com/wz6dbmee.

  • 24 Jan 2024 8:48 AM | Anonymous

    The following is a press release written by Esri:

    REDLANDS, Calif.--Today marks the launch of Maps.com, a groundbreaking platform dedicated to showcasing and celebrating the world’s most beautiful and remarkable maps. The innovative website is set to redefine the way people perceive the power of cartography and data visualization.

    Created by Esri, the global leader in mapping and location intelligence software, the new website is a platform for sharing and discussing visually engaging maps that inspire, challenge, educate, reward, and provoke across a range of topics and formats. The site will serve as a celebration of science and art, presenting maps that captivate not only with their insights but also with their aesthetics.


    Maps.com is focused on spotlighting distinctive, powerful maps and those who make them. As a creator-focused platform, Maps.com encourages individuals as well as organizations to submit their maps to be featured on the site. Submissions that are visually engaging, dramatic, and bold but understandable, with both style and substance, have already been highlighted on the site during soft launch.

    Featuring analysis and dynamic visualizations, videos, and 3D models, Maps.com explores topics such as climate change, the digital divide, and even the exploration of Mars. Intended as a way to bring the power of mapping to a wider audience, the website is approachable to non-professionals curious about cartography. But it is also valuable for academics and professionals seeking to access new and useful data resources or insightful real-world narratives.

    “Maps can help us tell stories about what’s happening on our planet, experience new ideas, and guide us where we want to go,” said Jack Dangermond, Esri president. “With Maps.com, we are proud to partner with some of the most innovative map makers to celebrate how they can show us the future we’re facing, bad or good, and which can help us to build a better world.”

    Maps.com is now live and accessible to anyone. Join us there to explore the latest and most fascinating maps–and if you have a great map that the Maps.com editorial team should know about, submit it for consideration at maps.com/submit-map/.

    About Esri

    Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, helps customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969 in Redlands, California, USA, Esri software is deployed in hundreds of thousands of organizations globally, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofit institutions, and universities. Esri has regional offices, international distributors, and partners providing local support in over 100 countries on six continents. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial technology and analytics, Esri engineers the most innovative solutions that leverage a geographic approach to solving some of the world's most complex problems by placing them in the crucial context of location. Visit us at esri.com.

    Copyright © 2024 Esri. All rights reserved. Esri, the Esri globe logo, ArcGIS, The Science of Where, StoryMaps, esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products or services mentioned herein may be trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of their respective mark owners.

  • 23 Jan 2024 4:46 PM | Anonymous

    The following announcement was written by Fold3:

    We are pleased to announce the addition of records for soldiers who resided in National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938. This free collection contains records for twelve National Homes where disabled soldiers and sailors could live following the Civil War.

    During the Civil War, many benevolent and philanthropical groups ran soldiers’ homes where disabled soldiers could live and receive care on a short-term basis. In 1865, Congress approved the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Later, the name was changed to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.

    National Soldiers Home in Togus Springs, Maine – The New England magazine

    The first Soldiers’ Home opened in 1866 in Togus Springs, Maine. This collection contains records for that home in Maine and others in New York, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, South Dakota, Tennessee, Kansas, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oregon, and California.

    National Soldiers Home in Wisconsin 

    Admission to Soldiers’ Homes was voluntary, and soldiers and sailors could request which home they wanted to live in. Once admitted, veterans were issued uniforms, assigned companies, and followed military-like rules. Soldiers were free to leave when they wanted, but residents had to request permission for temporary leave. Violators were subjected to extra work duty as punishment. Over time, National Homes became less bureaucratic and offered recreation, entertainment, games, and libraries.

    If you have an ancestor that resided in a Soldiers’ Home, this collection contains home registers. The register contained four sections: Military History, Domestic History, Home History, and General Remarks. These sections can provide valuable genealogical information such as which company and regiment a soldier served in, time and place of discharge, cause of disability, the soldier’s physical description, occupation, residence, the name and address of the nearest relative, and more. 

    The National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers was absorbed into the Veterans Administration when the VA was established in 1930.

    Start exploring the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers collection today on Fold3®.

  • 23 Jan 2024 4:41 PM | Anonymous

    The following is a press release issued by the people mentioned in the press release:

    Salt Lake City, UT - Following the resounding success of last year's pre-Rootstech-conference event, GSI: Sawtooth, the innovative team at Your DNA Guide, The Novel Guys, Diahan Southard, and Nathan Dylan Goodwin are excited to announce their latest collaborative venture, GSI: Superstition Mountains. This unique event combines a delightful dining experience with an intriguing murder-mystery experience, all set to unfold in Salt Lake City on the eve of this year's #Rootstech conference.

    GSI: Superstition Mountains is not just an event; it's an immersive evening that invites participants to step into a world of mystery and intrigue. The evening will unfold following a dinner, where guests will find themselves in the midst of a captivating murder mystery. Led by the expertise of Diahan Southard and Nathan Dylan Goodwin, attendees will use traditional and genetic genealogy alongside forensic science techniques to unravel the mystery while learning.

    This event is a perfect amalgamation of entertainment, education, and networking, offering a unique opportunity for genealogy enthusiasts and mystery lovers to come together. Participants will not only enjoy a memorable evening but also gain valuable insights into the application of DNA in solving real-world mysteries.

    "We are so thrilled to bring GSI Events back to Salt Lake City with Superstition Mountains. We've worked super hard to come back bigger and even better!" said Diahan Southard, one of the event's organizers. Joined by her 'GSI partner in crime', Nathan Dylan Goodwin added, "Absolutely! After the success of GSI: Sawtooth and the demand for the virtual on-demand product, we just knew we had to create something even more exciting. We're combining our passion for genealogy with the thrill of a murder mystery to create an unforgettable experience for Rootstech attendees and others."

    Tickets for GSI: Superstition Mountains are limited, cost $179 and are expected to sell out. The event promises to be an enchanting evening, filled with intrigue, investigation, and food and drink, set in an as yet secret location in Salt Lake City.

    The GSI: Superstition Mountains event, hosted by Your DNA Guide and The Novel Guys in collaboration with Diahan Southard and Nathan Dylan Goodwin, is scheduled for the evening of February 28, 2024, in Salt Lake City. The event includes hands-on experiences and expert guidance. It's designed for enthusiasts of puzzles, true crime, and immersive experiences, regardless of their expertise in genetic genealogy. For more detailed information and to reserve your spot, you can visit the event's page here.

    About Diahan Southard: Diahan Southard is a leading expert in genetic genealogy, with over two decades of experience in the field. She is renowned for her ability to make complex scientific concepts accessible to a broad audience.

    About Nathan Dylan Goodwin: Nathan Dylan Goodwin is a celebrated author known for his historical, genealogical crime mystery novels. His work brings together the intrigue of crime fiction with the fascinating world of genealogy.

    About Your DNA Guide: Your DNA Guide offers innovative and interactive experiences that explore the world of genetic genealogy. Founded by Diahan Southard, the company has been at the forefront of using DNA in genealogy and solving complex family mysteries.

    About The Novel Guys: The Novel Guys helps their author clients to manage and tell the story of their brand. Through international communications, research, representation and complete project management, among other creative work, they help authors connect, develop and grow.

Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter









































Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software