The following is a press release written by FamilySearch:

About FamilySearch

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 5,000 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The following is a press release written by the Genealogy Guys, George G. Morgan and Drew Smith:

The Genealogy GuysSM Podcast, a service of Aha! Seminars, Inc., is pleased to welcome two new sponsors to its family.

Effective immediately, Newspapers.com® and Find a Grave® are the newest sponsors of The Genealogy Guys Podcast and the Genealogy Connection podcast.

Newspapers.com is the largest online newspaper archive consisting of 695 million+ pages of historical newspapers from 22,000+ newspapers from around the United States and beyond. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ancestry®.

Find a Grave, begun in 1995, houses the largest international graving community in the world. It is the best place online to look for burial and other final disposition information for your family, friends, and famous people. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ancestry.

The Genealogy Guys Podcast, started in 2005, is the longest-running genealogy podcast in the world, with thousands of regular listeners around the globe. Co-hosts George G. Morgan and Drew Smith share news, interviews, book reviews, listener email, and more in each episode, available for free at http://genealogyguys.com, and through podcast apps.

Aha! Seminars, Inc. (http://ahaseminars.com) is a Tampa-based company specializing in delivering genealogy seminars for genealogical societies in the United States and abroad. It also provides genealogical continuing education through Genealogy Guys Learn, its online subscription site at https://genealogyguyslearn.com.

Here is a press release from our friends at FamilySearch:

Major milestones include completion of massive microfilm digitization project and unparalleled RootsTech attendance

SALT LAKE CITY, UT—In 2021, FamilySearch completed the digitization of its massive microfilm collection—2.4 million rolls to be exact—and welcomed over 1 million people to its first all-virtual RootsTech Connect online event. FamilySearch International noted these and other 2021 achievements among its efforts to help create fun, free, family discoveries for individuals worldwide, and create the family tree of humankind.

FamilySearch Family Tree

Imagine billions of people making new family connections by sharing what they know about their family history to a free online family tree that ultimately constitutes the family tree of humankind. That is one long term goal of the FamilySearch Family Tree. 

Crowdsourcing contributors worldwide added information about millions of deceased relatives to the FamilySearch Family Tree in 2021, making a total of 1.38 billion people now searchable in the world’s largest collaborative—and free—family tree!

Users also added hundreds of millions of sources—supporting facts—to their ancestors’ personal pages in the Family Tree. Sources can come from personal family records or hints generated by FamilySearch’s growing historical record collections. As the family tree of humankind grows, the number of ancestors that users have in common will also expand. Sources are important because they help strengthen the genealogical accuracy of ancestor pages—particularly for common, shared ancestors.

See what discoveries are waiting in the FamilySearch Family Tree for you. It’s free.

FamilySearch Searchable Records

To expand the branches of your family tree, you typically need access to genealogical records—documenting birth, marriage, death, census, military service, etc. FamilySearch now offers more than 14.3 billion searchable names and images from historical records from your ancestral homelands all over the globe. FamilySearch’s predecessors began gathering records in 1893 and started making these available on microfilm in 1938.

A major FamilySearch milestone in 2021 was the completion of the monumental task of digitizing its 2.4 million rolls of microfilm (See FamilySearch Completes Digitization of Massive Microfilm Collection). The initiative makes billions of ancestors from over 200 countries and principalities more readily discoverable online. FamilySearch’s Explore Historical Images feature enables users to effectively peruse digitized images from most of the microfilm collection online and more with a free FamilySearch account.

FamilySearch also added hundreds of millions of new, searchable, historical records in 2021. The top expansions included collections for Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland), the Netherlands, Spain, the Caribbean and Pacific Island countries, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Uruguay, Venezuela, Peru, and more.

Search these free collections to see what was added for your ancestral homelands in 2021 now using the enhanced search feature at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch Discovery Experiences

Global interest in personal family connections continues to grow. FamilySearch experienced over 200 million visits in 2021, with visitors combing through online ancestor records to extend their family tree and add family memories.

 2021 enhancements that visitors can now enjoy include new discovery pages for ancestors in the family tree. These pages are an easy way to see your relative’s life story at a glance, view photos and stories, and understand the historical events they may have lived through.

It’s also easier than ever to see what FamilySearch can tell you about your relatives with the discovery search feature. This search allows you to see results from the Family Tree, historical records, memories and a surname search, all at the same time.

Finding Help with Family History

Need help with your family history? FamilySearch made wonderful enhancements to its menu of helpful services in 2021. You can now simply type in a topic or challenge, and suggested results will appear. The new FamilySearch Community forum enables you to easily find family history solutions and ask questions from—or even join—a helpful community of conscientious volunteers worldwide who are quick to respond—for free.

For those just getting started, FamilySearch also has a new page to guide you through your family history journey. From personal discoveries, to searching records, to creating a family tree or having family history fun, this page can get you started with simple steps.

Get started on your family history journey.

RootsTech Connect 2021 HighlightsRootsTech Connect welcomes millions of people worldwide to celebrate family and make family connections at the world’s largest family history conference and year-long learning platform. It offers thousands of classes, inspiring speakers, and meaningful activities that lead to fun family discoveries and foster new connections. Undaunted by the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 and related travel restrictions, the 2021 event was held entirely online for the first time. The results were amazing and far reaching. The all-virtual RootsTech Connect 2021 attracted more than 1 million participants from 242 countries and territories (see RootsTech Attracts Over One Million Participants). 

A key learning is attendees are as intensely interested in connecting with their living relatives as they are in discovering their ancestors. The stunning demand for the online event led Steve Rockwood, FamilySearch CEO, to declare online learning a new core FamilySearch priority. He said FamilySearch would continue to explore ways to effectively globalize and localize learning and discovery experiences.

Register now for RootsTech Connect 2022 (March 3–5, 2022). It’s free! 

QUICK ROOTSTECH CONNECT 2021 LINKS

• Keynotes
• DNA
• Connecting with Family
• Getting Started
• Winning Song Contest Entries

Family History Library Reopening

People from all over the world flock to Salt Lake City, Utah, every year to take advantage of the abundant genealogical resources of FamilySearch’s Family History Library. The library serves beginner and professional family history patrons from all over the world and is a popular tourist attraction for the state of Utah.

The library was happy to begin a phased reopening starting in July 2021 (See FamilySearch Family History Library Reopening), following its closure on March 13, 2020, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Library took advantage of the prolonged closure to make needed renovations that will significantly improve patron discovery and research experiences. Enhancements include the addition of state-of-the-art patron workstations with dual monitors and adjustable height desks to accommodate sitting or standing preferences, enhanced workflow throughout the facility, a new patron dining area, and the addition of nearly 40,000 books from new acquisition and long-term storage.

The library also added or upgraded free patron services (Visit the new Family History Library web page). Guests can sign up for free, one-on-one virtual consultations with a research specialist (available in multiple languages). If you can’t come to the Library, a staff member can retrieve a book from its shelves or help you find what you’re seeking through the new record lookup service. In FamilySearch Communities online, guests can receive assistance from volunteers worldwide, including locating or interpreting ancestor records, asking questions, or sharing their expertise with others. The library also continued to expand its popular free online classes and webinars. 

Find and share this announcement and additional images online in the FamilySearch Newsroom.

About FamilySearch

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 5,000 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

© 2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Discover more family connections on FamilySearch this week in 15 million new church records from Spain, Venezuela, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico, and 3 million civil registration records were added for Brazil. Collections were also expanded for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and states throughout Mexico (Aguascalientes, Campeche, Chihuahua, Distrito Federal, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Jalisco, México, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, and Yucatán, among others), plus more records added to United States collections (Illinois Cook County Births 1871–1949, Missouri Obituaries 1880–1990, Texas Grimes County Deeds 1869–1917, and Virginia County Marriages 1771–1989).

Find your ancestors using the free archives listed below. Millions of new genealogy records are added each week to make your search easier.

Don’t see what you’re looking for? Check back next week and, in the meantime, search existing records on FamilySearch. For other exciting genealogy content, peruse over 1,000 free, on-demand sessions from RootsTech Connect 2021.

NOTE: The full list of newly-added records is very long, too long to list here. However, you can view the full list at: https://bit.ly/34b8xuP

The following press release was written by 23andMe:

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 23andMe Holding Co. (Nasdaq: ME) (“23andMe”), a leading consumer genetics and research company, today announced the results of the completed redemption (the “Redemption”) of all of its outstanding warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase shares of Class A common stock of 23andMe that were issued under the Warrant Agreement, dated October 1, 2020 (the “Warrant Agreement”), by and between 23andMe and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent. The Warrants include the public warrants (the “Public Warrants”) issued as part of the units sold in the initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 23andMe, which was formerly known as VG Acquisition Corp., and the private warrants that were sold in a private placement simultaneously with the IPO.

On November 22, 2021, 23andMe issued a press release stating that it would redeem all of the Warrants that remained outstanding following 5:00 p.m. New York City time on December 22, 2021 (the “Redemption Date”) for a redemption price of $0.10 per Warrant.

In connection with the Redemption, approximately 23,901,466 Warrants were exercised, representing approximately 95% of the outstanding Warrants.

In connection with the Redemption, the Public Warrants stopped trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and were delisted. The Redemption had no effect on the trading of 23andMe’s Class A common stock, which continues to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol, “ME.”

About 23andMe
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, 23andMe is a leading consumer genetics and research company. 23andMe’s mission is to help people access, understand, and benefit from the human genome. 23andMe has pioneered direct access to genetic information as the only company with multiple U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizations for genetic health risk reports. 23andMe has created the world’s largest crowdsourced platform for genetic research, with 80% of its customers electing to participate. The 23andMe research platform has generated more than 180 publications on the genetic underpinnings of a wide range of diseases, conditions, and traits. The platform also powers the 23andMe therapeutics group, which is currently pursuing drug discovery programs rooted in human genetics across a spectrum of disease areas, including oncology, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases, in addition to other therapeutic areas. More information is available at www.23andMe.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included or incorporated in this press release, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would,” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are based on 23andMe’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects, but there can be no assurance that these will be as anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of 23andMe), or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those risks factors described in the “Risk Factors” section and other sections of 23andMe’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other current and periodic reports 23andMe files with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by law, 23andMe does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contacts
Investor Relations Contact: investors@23andMe.com
Media Contact: press@23andMe.com

Claire Cronin was born to the son of an Irish immigrant from the Inishowen Peninsula in Northern County Donegal and all four of her mother's grandparents were Irish.

Claire Cronin was born Clare McLaughlin in Brockton, Massachusetts to parents, James Daniel McLaughlin and Phyllis Virginia Lucey who married in the early 1950s. James Daniel McLaughlin was the son of an Irish immigrant from the Inishowen Peninsula in Northern Co. Donegal and all four of Phyllis Lucey’s grandparents were Irish.

On both sides of her family, they experienced the terrifying ordeal of eviction as they were thrown out of their homes and off the land, leaving young and old without a place to go. Profiteering landlords saw a way of increasing their income by ridding themselves of these small holder tenants. It is not surprising that so many found other opportunities elsewhere.

You can learn the details at: https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/irish-ancestry-claire-cronin

The MyHeritage Blog has an article that will be of interest to many U.S. genealogists: If your ancestors traveled to New York from outside the United States during the years 1892–1954, there’s a good chance they passed through Ellis Island. On January 1, we’ll be celebrating the 130th anniversary of the day Ellis Island opened its gates. In honor of this milestone, we’d like to take the opportunity to dive into the history of the island and explore MyHeritage’s Ellis Island records — one of the cornerstone collections on MyHeritage.

You can read the article at: https://bit.ly/3sHsxzj

The following announcement was issued by the Genealogical Forum of Oregon:

The Genealogical Forum of Oregon, a local genealogical library, is hosting a free talk focused on the lives of the first groups of Chinese women to immigrate to Oregon. This virtual event will occur at 2:30 pm Saturday, January 15; pre-registration is required

Archaeologists and authors Dr. Chuimei Ho and Dr. Bennet Bronson will present an illustrated lecture at the GFO’s monthly GenTalk on the topic of “Merchants’ Wives, Prostitutes and Identities In Between: Early Chinese Women in Portland.”

Dr. Chuimei Ho was born in Hong Kong and received her Ph.D. in art history and archaeology from the University of London in 1984. She arrived in the U.S. in 1987 and served as adjunct curator at the Field Museum from 1989 to 2006. In 2001 she became a founder and first president of the Chinese American Museum of Chicago, and in 2008 she founded the Chinese in Northwest America Research Committee (CINARC) with Bennet Bronson.

Dr. Bennet Bronson received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1976. He was Curator of Asian Archaeology and Ethnology at Chicago’s Field Museum from 1971 to 2008, has done archaeological work in Guatemala, Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, and has published two books with Chuimei Ho; Splendors of the Forbidden City, Coming Home in Gold Brocade: Chinese in Early Northwest America, and Three Chinese Temples in California.

GenTalks are monthly presentations on a wide variety of topics of genealogical interest currently provided via Zoom and always available to the public for free. If interested, sign up ahead of time at gfo.org/gentalk.

About Us
The Genealogical Forum of Oregon is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, located at 2505 S.E. 11^th Avenue, Portland. As a secular, all-volunteer organization, we operate the largest genealogical library in the Pacific Northwest. GFO holdings include an expansive collection of resources to assist anyone interested in pursuing their own family’s genealogy, irrespective of the location. Although the physical library is currently closed to the public due to the pandemic, online talks and classes have continued virtually. GFO researchers also respond to the members and the public’s emailed queries about genealogy and history. You can learn more about GFO’s mission, activities, along with our publications and resources at https://gfo.org/.

The following announcement was issued by the Iowa Department of Public Health:

Open Adoption Records - Access to Original Birth Certificate

HF855 was signed into law on May 19, 2021. This new legislation allows an adult adoptee born before January 1, 1971 to apply for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption immediately. If the adult adoptee is deceased, an entitled family may apply for the record.

Beginning January 1, 2022, any adult adoptee 18 years old or older may apply for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption. If the adult adoptee is deceased, an entitled family may apply for the record.

• • Proper application, proof of identity and entitlement must exist before a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth may be issued to any party.
  • Contact preference forms and medical history forms may be on file for the biological parent(s) named on the record. If the contact preference forms and medical history forms are on file, the forms will be released with the noncertified original certificate of birth.
  • Biological parents may state their preference to release their identity and option for contact, or for their identity to be redacted from the original certificate of birth prior to adoption.
  • An original noncertified certificate of birth prior to adoption may be released regardless of any contact preference forms being filed when proper application has been made and proof of entitlement exists.
  • Any adult adoptee, or an entitled person, who was born before January 1, 1971 may apply for and obtain a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person who is the subject of the original certificate of birth at any time.
  • All other requests for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth by the adult adoptee, or an entitled person, may be submitted on or after January 1, 2022.

 

AS OF MAY 19, 2021, EXPECTED PROCESSING TIME TO COMPLETE COPY REQUESTS SUBMITTED IS 6 WEEKS

• •  Biological Parent Contact Preference Form
  •  Biological Parent Medical History Form
  •  Application to Request a Noncertified Copy of Original Certificate of Birth Prior to Adoption

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What does Iowa Code section 144.24A allow?

• • The new law allows an adult adoptee to request and receive a noncertified copy of their original certificate of birth that was created prior to their adoption. Biological parent information is listed on this document. 
  • The new law allows biological parents to file contact preference and medical history forms with the Bureau of Health Statistics. These forms shall be released to the adult adoptee or entitled person upon proper application.

Who else can request a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth for an adoptee?

• • An entitled person may request and receive a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption if the adoptee is deceased.

Who is an entitled person? 

• • An entitled person is the spouse of the adopted person who is deceased, or an adult related to the adopted person who is deceased within the second degree of consanguinity. The second degree of consanguinity is applied to individuals after adoption.

Who is within the second degree of consanguinity?

• • The following individuals are within the second degree of consanguinity of the adult adoptee: children, parents, grandchildren, siblings and grandparents.

Can an original noncertified copy of a birth certificate prior to adoption be released if no contact preference form has been filed?

• • Yes. For persons born before January 1, 1971, a request for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth may be submitted at any time.  For persons born after January 1, 1971, a request for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth may be requested on or after January 1, 2022.

If I am a biological parent listed on an original certificate of birth prior to adoption, when can I filed a contact preference form and medical history form?

• • The Bureau will accept contact preference forms and medical history forms immediately.  If the contact preference form and medical history form is submitted to the Bureau of Health Statistics after the release dates noted above, adult adoptees or entitled persons may have requested the original certificate of birth prior to adoption. Contact preference forms and medical history forms are provided with the noncertified original certificate of birth once filed.

Applications for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption, contact preference and medical history forms will only be accepted via mail or in-person at the Bureau of Health Statistics. These forms will not be filed at any other issuing office.

Mail contact preference and medical history forms to:

Iowa Department of Public Health
Bureau of Health Statistics
Lucas State Office Building
1st Floor, 321 E. 12th Street
Des Moines, Iowa   50319-0075

Queen Elizabeth II is looking for a new hire to be trusted with "bringing centuries of history into the digital age". The Royal Household has shared a new job advert for the position of Digitisation Technician.

A "help wanted" ad has been posted by the Royal Household of Queen Elizabeth II. The ideal candidate should be experienced at archival work. I suspect some genealogists in England may be very interested in this position.

The new hire would join a team of experts at the Queen's Berkshire home to work between February 2022 and March 2023.

During this time, the perfect candidate will tackle the challenge to "digitise material held by the Royal Archives and the Royal Collection, producing valuable content for high profile public access."

The job specification read: "You'll capture and produce high quality images of documentary items, before transferring them to permanent storage.

The help wanted advert warns, "However, it warned the "deadlines and standard of work" will be testing."

You can read more at: https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1541337/queen-news-queen-elizabeth-ii-hiring-windsor-castle-royal-household-royal-family-update