From golden-age radio scripts to rare recordings of legendary broadcasts, the American Radio Archives (ARA) hold a trove of stories that shaped the airwaves. 

Now, thanks to a $100,000 grant from The Ahmanson Foundation, UC Santa Barbara Library will be able to bring those stories to a wider audience. The funding supports the cataloging and digitization of the archive’s rare materials, making them accessible to researchers, students and the public — and ensuring that the voices of radio’s past continue to be heard.

The collection was acquired by UCSB Library in 2021 from the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation, which was supported for many years by the late Robert Ahmanson, founder of The Ahmanson Foundation. The ARA, one of the nation’s largest collections documenting the history of radio broadcasting, comprises over 50 collections, including the papers of radio legends Norman Corwin and Rudy Vallée, the archives of the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters (PPB) and KNX radio materials. With thousands of scripts, tapes and transcription discs, this remarkable archive complements UCSB Library’s extensive collections on broadcasting, media and the performing arts.

“The American Radio Archives hold an extraordinary place in preserving our cultural and media history,” said David Seubert, curator of the library’s Performing Arts Collection. “The continued support from The Ahmanson Foundation ensures that we can complete the work of cataloging and digitizing this essential collection, making it accessible to scholars, students and the public.”

The recent award is The Ahmanson Foundation’s second grant in support of the ARA. The first, made in 2022, supported the initial processing and cataloguing of the collection by UCSB Library staff, and the integration of collection inventories and finding aids into library systems. To date, approximately 40% of the ARA has been processed. 

With the new grant, the library will complete cataloging the collection and further integrate its materials into library systems. The project will also digitize select high-research-value materials, making fragile audio recordings and rare documents accessible online to support research and scholarship in broadcasting and media history.

In October 1999, the decomposed remains of a woman were found in wooded area behind a truck stop near I-20 in Weatherford, Texas. Investigators believe she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was found wearing a white bra, white socks, white or beige panties and a blue and white windsuit. She also had a large blue shoulder bag with expensive prescription beige glasses, a long brown wig and a bottle of mineral water. Investigators determined she was between 35 and 55 year-old and had $30,000-$35,000 worth of extensive dental work including gold foil fillings with porcelain veneers.

Despite an extensive investigation, her identity could not be determined and she became known as Weatherford Jane Doe. Details of the woman’s case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP3572.

In September 2023, retired Deputy Chief Greg Lance encouraged Lieutenant Johnny Qualls and the Cold Case Unit to reexamine the case with modern forensic DNA technology. After consulting with Dr. Crowder at the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, the team decided to explore forensic genetic genealogy, a method that has helped identify unknown individuals in numerous cold cases. 

In 2023, the Weatherford Police Department and the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office sent forensic evidence to Othram's laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas in hopes that advanced DNA testing could help identify the woman. Othram scientists produced a suitable DNA extract from the remains. A comprehensive DNA profile was then developed for the woman using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. Othram's forensic genetic genealogy team then conducted a genealogical search that resulted in new leads, which were provided to law enforcement. 

The follow-up investigation led investigators to potential relatives of the woman. A reference DNA sample from a possible relative was compared to the DNA profile of the unknown woman leading to the positive identification of the woman, who is now known to be Nellie Faye Gillespie. She was last seen in Jackson, Mississippi on August 15, 1998. She had called her son informing him she was planning on going to Arizona but was never heard from again.

The identification of Nellie Gillespie is the 18th case in Texas where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram. Visit DNASolves to learn about other Texas cases.

We are pleased to announce two new collections of Civil War records on Fold3: The Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865, and Civil War Lists of Persons Employed in Army Hospitals, 1860-1865. These collections will provide new insights for Civil War researchers and family historians.

The Civil War Prisoner of War Records contains some 1.6 million records for both Union and Confederate POWs. Each soldier’s name is indexed and searchable. Please note when searching that the records often include a soldier’s initials rather than a full name (e.g., P. Jackson).

Confederate prisoners at Camp Douglas, Chicago, Illinois, in 1862

The records in this POW collection are organized by location, allowing you to search all records for a particular prison camp. The information contained within the records varies but can include name, regiment, place of capture, date of imprisonment, information on exchanged and paroled prisoners, release date, date of death, location of burial, list of effects, letters, and more.

Our second new collection contains the names of female nurses, cooks, and laundresses employed at Army Hospitals during the Civil War. This single volume is not a complete list and does not include all hospitals or all women who served in these roles.

Elmina P. Spencer, Civil War Army Nurse 

Each person is listed by name, but the record does not include what specific position was held or the dates of employment. The records reference other volumes and “Old Books,” but those books have not been identified or located.

This collection is divided by the hospital and includes the following hospital transport vessels: Atlantic, Baltic, Ben DeFord, Charles McDougall, D. A. January, Daniel Webster, J. S. Pringle, John Warner, Knickerbocker, and State of Maine.

This collection may serve as a starting point for further research on women’s contributions during the Civil War.

Explore these new Civil War records today on Fold3!

Inspired to learn more about your roots? Here’s how to start your journey into family history.

 Step 1: Start at home

• Gather what you already have: Old photographs, family Bibles, letters, birth/marriage records, military records, obituaries, quilts, or heirlooms.
• Digitize important documents for safekeeping.

Step 2: Talk to your elders

• Interview your oldest living relatives—parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or family friends.
• Ask about names, places, traditions, and stories passed down.
• Record conversations using your phone or a voice recorder for future reference.

 Step 3: Visit your local library

• Get a library card—most libraries offer free access to genealogy databases.
• Use resources like census records, city directories, and historical newspapers.

Step 4: Use free online resources

• Create a free account at FamilySearch.org for access to a vast collection of genealogical records.
• Explore databases like:
  • Ancestry.com (some records free, others require a subscription)
  • FindAGrave.com (cemetery records and family connections)
  • African American Genealogy groups on Facebook and online forums.

 Step 5: Join a genealogy research group

• Learn methods, strategies, and documentation tips from experienced researchers.
• Connect with local or national genealogy societies for African American family research.

 Step 6: Be patient – it’s a journey, not a destination

• Researching family history is not a weekend project—it unfolds over time.
• Each new discovery leads to more relatives, more stories, and more history to uncover.

Ever wondered which ancient civilizations you descend from? Now you can find out! We’re thrilled to announce the release of Ancient Origins, a major new product that complements your MyHeritage DNA ethnicity reports. Ancient Origins enables you to trace your origins up to 10,000 years into the past and discover the ancient populations from which you descend, such as Imperial Romans, Norse Vikings, Phoenicians, and Ancient Egyptians.

Ancient Origins offers a comprehensive ancient DNA analysis and is a fascinating new addition to MyHeritage. It forms an important part of one’s wider family story, and is a must-have for lovers of history and archaeology, and anyone who is curious about their ancestral roots. The results are calculated based on your existing DNA results on MyHeritage, so there’s no need to take a new test. Ancient Origins is immediately available to all MyHeritage DNA customers and to all those who uploaded their DNA to MyHeritage from other DNA services. Ancient Origins is a premium feature on MyHeritage and requires a Complete or Omni subscription. It is available on desktop and mobile web, and support for it on the MyHeritage mobile app will be added very soon.

What is Ancient Origins?

The new Ancient Origins product is the result of a partnership between MyHeritage and Illustrative DNA, a startup company that is at the forefront of ancient ethnicity analysis. Ancient Origins complements MyHeritage DNA’s Ethnicity Estimate, which provides a percentage breakdown of an individual’s modern ethnic origins going back a few hundred years. Ancient Origins compares your DNA to ancient DNA samples uncovered in archeological excavations, and ancient populations from the Neolithic Period through the late Middle Ages.

Ancient Origins provides a set of detailed reports. They include a percentage breakdown of the ancient populations from which you descend in different historical eras; a breakdown of how much of your DNA traces back to populations of hunter-gatherers and early farmers; advanced reports that indicate one or more ancient populations that are closest to you genetically; and genetic distance maps visualizing your genetic proximity to ancient populations. A vast encyclopedia of ancient populations and ancient DNA samples is included for reference.

Ancient Origin reports are dynamic and will be updated periodically as more ancient DNA samples are added to the database, and as new scientific research papers are published with new findings on ancient DNA.

By the way, unrelated to Ancient Origins, the long-awaited update to the Ethnicity Estimate, v2.5, was released earlier this month. If you haven’t done so already, visit your DNA results on MyHeritage to view your Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 results. It’s also a great opportunity to check out your Ancient Origin results!

How it works

Ancient Origins is based on the latest developments in archaeogenetics, which is the study of ancient DNA. Advanced DNA extraction techniques that did not exist until recently enable scientists to analyze human samples excavated from archaeological sites around the world, date them, and extract DNA segments and genetic markers that are thousands of years old, or older. Using the location, time period, and additional archaeological evidence, researchers can associate samples with ancient civilizations. Many of these findings are published in scientific papers, and the samples are made publicly available.

The Ancient Origin reports are generated using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), which is an approach used to measure genetic distances using multi-dimensional vectors. Subject to your consent, Ancient Origins first processes your raw DNA data to create a vector known as DeepAncestry Coordinates. DeepAncestry is a 25-dimensional vector derived by comparing your DNA data to a reference set of modern and ancient populations. The DeepAncestry Coordinates are then used anonymously to generate the Ancient Origin reports.

The results are presented in comprehensive reports that are both informative and visually appealing. These include ancient populations that are now extinct or that have merged into other populations over time, such as Canaanites, Scythians, Visigoths, Etruscans, and many others. The Yellow River civilization, Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greeks, Insular Celts, Ancient Bantus, Central Amerindians and Ashkenazi Jews of the Middle Ages are among the many ancient populations represented in the Ancient Origins product.

Accessing Ancient Origins

To access Ancient Origins, log in to your MyHeritage account on the web and select “Ancient Origins” from the DNA menu.

The ‘DNA Discoveries’ online event is set to take place on from 24 March to 24 April 2025, featuring eight expert talks designed to help family historians understand their DNA results and use the information to uncover more about their ancestry. 

Returning for its second year after a successful launch in 2024, DNA Discoveries will feature an impressive line-up of expert speakers, insightful case studies, and practical sessions to help you make sense of your genetic matches and build a clearer picture of your family tree. 

Family Tree publisher Matt Hill said: ‘With DNA testing becoming an increasingly powerful tool in family history, this event gives family historians the chance to really improve their understanding and make much more of their DNA test results. The eight talks cover a range of topics and together provide a comprehensive programme for anyone interested in using DNA to trace their ancestry.’ 

In addition to the talks, Family Tree are excited to be publishing a 100-page ‘bookazine’, also entitled ‘DNA Discoveries’, which provides a comprehensive guide to using DNA for family history. The publication will be made available in WHSmith, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco stores across the UK, as well as Gardners book wholesalers and digitally. 

Customers who purchase bundle tickets for the event, will receive a digital copy of the publication as part of the ticket price. 

Tickets are now available at: https://www.family-tree.co.uk/how-to-guides/webinars/dna-discoveries-2025

Join us and take your family history research to the next level with DNA Discoveries 2025!

For Jewish families, tracing their roots isn’t just a hobby—it’s a way of reconnecting with history, reclaiming lost stories and understanding where they come from. Now, a new television series is taking that journey to the screen.

On March 3, Jewish Life Television will premiere “Generations,” the first-ever Jewish genealogy TV series, produced in collaboration with the Museum of Jewish Heritage and JewishGen, an online resource with more than 30 million Jewish genealogical records. The debut episode follows Emmy-winning actress Camryn Manheim, known for “Law & Order” and “The Practice,” and her son, Milo Manheim of “Zombies” and “School Spirits,” as they uncover their Jewish ancestry through DNA testing, historical records, and heirlooms.

“For me, learning about my ancestors and my Jewish heritage holds immense significance,” Camryn Manheim said. “It allows me to connect with my roots, understand the rich history of my family, and appreciate the unimaginable struggles and triumphs that have shaped my life today.”

The series, hosted by Brad Pomerance, goes beyond standard genealogy research. Using JewishGen’s extensive digital archives, the Museum of Jewish Heritage’s historical collections it will explore Jewish family histories, some dating back centuries.

For Jewish families, genealogy presents unique challenges. Name changes, immigration records and lost documents—often due to persecution and displacement—can make piecing together a family tree difficult. “Generations” aims to bridge those gaps, offering deeply personal, historically rich narratives.

“This show is about more than just tracing names on a family tree,” Pomerance said. “It’s about understanding the journeys our ancestors took, the obstacles they overcame and how those experiences shape us today.”

Connect with your community every morning.

Future episodes will feature other well-known Jewish figures exploring their own family legacies with guidance from genealogists and historians.

St. Louis’ own Jewish genealogy treasure trove

For St. Louisans inspired by “Generations,” there’s no need to wait for a TV crew to start digging into their own Jewish ancestry. The Jewish Special Interest Group of the St. Louis Genealogical Society provides expert support, quarterly meetings, and access to vital resources for local research.

J-SIG, co-led by Ilene Murray, helps individuals navigate historical records, debunk genealogy myths, and find lost family connections. Their meetings, which are open to the public, include expert talks and workshops on researching Jewish heritage.

The Emerson History & Genealogy Center at the St. Louis County Library also offers one of the most extensive collections of Jewish genealogical resources in the Midwest. Whether you’re just starting or stuck on a family mystery, these local institutions provide hands-on support.

The premiere of “Generations” airs March 3 at 8 p.m. on JLTV. To learn more, visit JLTV’s website.

Thanks to our amazing partners at the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, DigitalNC is pleased to announce a stunning collection of ledgers is now available online!These twelve new ledgers include meeting minutes, membership rolls, and correspondences between members of the Masonic Lodges across North Carolina. They cover a breathtaking span of history, and have been meticulously attended to both in their creation and preservation. The oldest ledger dates all the way back to 1853, while the most recent book was logged as recently as 1994. Generations of Masons are chronicled in these books, and each book records how Lodges change over the course of decades. Meticulous notes are maintained in each volume, befitting North Carolina’s oldest and largest fraternal organization.

One of the Mark Masters Marks in Minute Book No. 1 of the Louisburg Chapter of Masons.

Many of the new ledgers hail from the Louisburg Chapter No. 26 of the Royal Masons. Each account book was maintained by a designated Mason, each of whom had their own particular method of note-taking and minute-recording. The individual nature of the note-takers provides a sense of individuality and personality to each book, which are otherwise uniform in their scope. A particular highlight from these books are the “Mark Masters Book of Marks” from Book No. 1. Found near the back of the ledger, the author has drawn a series of circles wherein other Masons have signed their names. The regularity of the signatures and the accuracy of the circles are beautiful, especially considering the age of the volume. Each volume is similarly filled with tantalizing glimpses into the often secret operations of Masonic Lodges (for instance, did you know that each Masonic year begins on October 31st?). 

You can find more of these Mark Masters circles, as well as over a century of meticulous North Carolina record-keeping, online now at DigitalNC here. Thanks again to our amazing partners at the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina for making these stunning account books available online. If you’re interested in finding more records from the Grand Lodge, you can find their DigitalNC partner page here.

In 2023, Yale launched LUX: Yale Collections Discovery, a groundbreaking research platform that allows people to search across the university’s vast museum, library, and archival collections from their laptops. 

Now the data framework behind LUX has been made available to any cultural heritage institution worldwide seeking to make its collections more open to researchers and the public. 

On Feb.19, Linked Art, a community of museum and cultural heritage professionals devoted to making museum collections more discoverable and accessible, released the Linked Art 1.0 specifications, a standard method to share and connect information about these collections. 

Yale, which is one of 25 institutional members of the Linked Art collaboration, implemented Linked Art 1.0 in creating LUX, which allows single-point access to more than 17 million objects in the university’s collections. 

“This is an exciting moment for the cultural heritage sector,” said Robert Sanderson, senior director for digital cultural heritage at Yale and co-chair of Linked Art’s editorial board. “Linked Art 1.0 is poised to revolutionize how museums and other cultural heritage institutions manage and share knowledge about the objects in their collections. 

“Our success at Yale in building LUX would not have been possible without the hard work of the Linked Art community over the past seven years.”

Linked Art 1.0 is not software. Rather, it is a standard model for describing cultural heritage objects and associated knowledge that ensures consistency of meaning. It also includes a standard web application programming interface (API) that allows a museum’s digital systems to interact intuitively with that knowledge. 

By implementing these standards, cultural heritage institutions can join a network of cultural heritage collections through which researchers can make connections between objects in collections across institutions, explained Sanderson, who helped develop the specifications and API. 

Other institutions that have implemented Linked Art 1.0 include the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, making tens of millions of objects searchable by users worldwide.

Prior to the introduction of LUX, researchers working in Yale’s collections needed to visit the websites of the individual campus repositories to search their collections. For example, a search on Yale University Library’s website would not return related items housed at the Yale University Art Gallery and vice vera. With LUX, a single search produces relevant items from all campus collections. 

The release of Linked Art 1.0 could create a network of cultural heritage institutions wherein a search on one museum’s search platform could return results from other institutions within the network. 

For example, Van Gogh Worldwide — a free digital platform that provides information on the works of Vincent van Gogh — relies on Linked Art 1.0 to allow users to search for paintings by the Dutch artist housed at institutions across the globe.

Museum exhibitions often feature web-based tools that allow visitors to search digital records of artworks on view at that institution but usually need to exclude records for works on loan from other institutions that use different methods for describing collections online. Linked Art 1.0 removes that barrier by allowing museums that have implemented them to easily share digital records with each other, Sanderson said. 

“Linked Art represents a transformative step forward for the National Gallery’s digital strategy, enabling us to bring our world-class collection to audiences in ways that were previously unimaginable,” said Nick Sharp, chief digital officer at the National Gallery of Art.

“By leveraging the Linked Art open standard, we’re not just enhancing the discoverability of our collection — we’re fundamentally rethinking how we connect artworks, artists, and exhibitions across time and place.”

The Museum of Fulton County is pleased to announce the merger of the Fulton County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society with the Fulton County Historical Society. The new interest group of the society is known as the Fulton County Genealogy Group (FCGG).

“We are excited to have the members of the genealogical society joining the Historical Society and look forward to our collaborative activities to promote a better understanding of genealogy and local history in Fulton County,” shared John Myles, board president of the Fulton County Historical Society.

“The merger of these organizations will enable the Historical Society to support the excellent informational and instructional programs sponsored by the FCGG.”

“Meanwhile, the members of the FCGG will bring their expertise and robust resources to enhance the genealogical research services offered at the Spiess Research Center at the Museum of Fulton County.”

As a result of the merger, the members of the FCGG have become members of the Historical Society and the Historical Society has become an affiliate of the Ohio Genealogical Society.

New this year, a series of genealogy workshops will be presented by members of the FCGG at the Museum of Fulton County.

Beginning Genealogy 101: How to Climb Your Family Tree One Step at a Time, will be held on Monday, March 10 from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.

This free workshop is open to the public and historical society members. Workshop participants will learn where to start, how to set goals, and how to keep accurate records when beginning genealogical research.

“During this one-hour class we will discuss how to start digging for information, what tomb stones can tell, and share information about free library resources,” shared Carolyn Stilwill, FCGG workshop coordinator. “Time will also be provided to work on a genealogy research plan with experienced mentors.”

While the beginning genealogy workshop is free, pre-registration is required. The class is limited to the first 50 registered participants.

To learn more about the workshop and view the genealogy research plan that will be used during the class, visit www.museumoffultoncounty.org/upcoming-events. Interested individuals can register at the museum, call 419.337.7922 or end a message to info@museumoffultoncounty.org

Additional genealogy workshops are slated for later this year. The Beginning Genealogy 102 workshop will be held on Monday, May 12 at 7:00 p.m. On Monday, November 10, members of the FCGG will present a workshop about searching veteran records.

The Fulton County Genealogy Group’s collection consists of more than 1,300 books and over 200 rolls of microfilm located at the Evergreen Community Library, 253 Maple Street, Metamora, Ohio.

Research appointments at the library are available with advance notice by contacting www.fultoncoogs.org/contact-us. The microfilmed records include newspapers for towns in the county through 1910; birth and death records beginning in 1867; marriage records from 1864 (although the county was formed in 1850, a fire in July 1864 destroyed many early records).

The collection also includes family histories, county histories, obituaries, tombstone inscription books, as well as a wide variety of other Ohio county records.

For additional information regarding genealogical research visit research page of the museum’s website at www.museumoffultoncounty.org/research

The Museum of Fulton County is located at 8848 State Highway 108, across from the Fulton County Fairgrounds. The Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm.

To learn more about special events, classes, shopping, memberships, or how to plan a visit to the Museum of Fulton County call 419-337-7922 or visit museumoffultoncounty.org. Additional information is also available on the museum Facebook and Instagram pages.