The following announcement was written by the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG):

In the 19 May 2022 edition of this newsletter, I mentioned that Amazon is about to release it's new version of the 7-inch Fire tablet computer at a very low price: $60 (U.S.)

NOTE: I suspect that price is only for customers with shipping addresses in the U.S.

My original article mentioned that the Fire tablet was not available for ordering just yet at the date the article was published. That has since changed: the Fire tablet is now available for order with shipments expected on June 29.

You can read more, including a lot more details about the capabilities of the new tablet, in an article by Elaine Selna published in the Mental Floss web site at: https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/amazon-new-fire-7-tablet-pre-order.

A story by Jim Keithley and published in the WMTW-TV web site will make genealogists green with envy. "Why don't things like THAT happen to me?"

Quoting from the article:

"This is the box," said Valerie Guevara, historian for the American Legion Post 40 in Winthrop as she handed it over to Karen Breton.

"This is my grandmother and my great-grandmother on my dad's side," Breton said. "This means so much because my dad's not with us anymore," she said.

The two women met Thursday in a parking lot near the Maine Mall in South Portland, weeks after the Legion Post 40 received the old cigar box full photos. It was mailed to them from a man in California, another legion member, who saved the box from a junk pile during a renovation project two years ago. The box sat in his garage until he noticed an inscription that mentioned the American Legion Post 40 in Winthrop, ME.

It turns out Breton's brother, Russell Mundi, lived in Orange County, California. years ago. She said when her brother moved, he must have left behind the box of old family pictures. Mundi lives in Sebago now.

You can read the rest of the story at: https://www.wmtw.com/article/box-old-photos-found-returned-home-to-maine/40178871.

The following announcement was written by Find My Past:

With two brand new record sets and substantial additions to two other military collections, there's so much to uncover this Findmypast Friday.

British Army, Recommendations For Military Honours and Awards 1935-1990

This fascinating collection from The National Archives includes nearly 80,000 records. The transcripts include British Army personnel and some dominions armies' personnel. They also contain some recommendations for members of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Royal Marines. Reasons for recommendations vary, including gallantry in the face of the enemy, 'meritorious service' (not in the face of the enemy), or distinguished service. Covering the years in the lead up to World War 2 and beyond, the records reveal soldiers’ names, units, ranks, home addresses, and often poignant descriptions of the actions that warrant an award.

South Africa, Local Armed Forces Nominal Rolls, 1899-1902

Another entirely new collection from The National Archives, this series comprises over 53,000 records detailing some of the British Army units raised locally in South Africa during the Second Boer War. These local units mainly consisted of British men who had emigrated to South Africa before the war. The record transcripts feature names, ranks, army units and in many cases, enrolment and discharge dates.

Britain, Campaign, Gallantry & Long Service Medals & Awards

Findmypast has added over 51,000 new records to this collection, which details those that showed strength and courage in the face of war.

Specifically, these latest additions cover recipients of:

• • Long Service Good Conduct Medal
  • India General Service Medal Pegu (Army) 1852-53
  • India General Service Medal Pegu (Navy) 1852-53

These records have been collated from multiple sources, including The National Archives and the British Library, but also from musters, pay lists, and other service records. As a result, each record varies in its information but usually includes a combination of regiment and rank, reason for award, any other known medals, discharge date and more.

British Royal Navy & Royal Marines Service and Pension Records, 1704-1919

Findmypast has added over 19,000 more records to this collection, including a shore list of men who joined the Royal Marines in 1810. The records reveal the rank and division of the seafaring servicemen, as well as the date they joined and any remarks made by their superior. 

Newspapers 

In case you missed our announcement, Findmypast has made their entire newspaper archive free until 6 June to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. Their latest releases are included in the free access promotion, including:

New titles: 

• • Eastleigh Weekly News and Hants Gazette, 1895-1900
  • St Neots Town Crier, 1994
  • Stockport Times, 1989

Updated titles: 

• • Abergele & Pensarn Visitor, 1990
  • Accrington Observer and Times, 1912, 1990
  • Alderley & Wilmslow Advertiser, 1946
  • Aldershot News, 1978-1979
  • Anfield & Walton Star, 1992
  • Ashby Mail, 1992
  • Bebington News, 1991
  • Billingham & Norton Advertiser, 1992
  • Birkenhead News, 1991
  • Birmingham Journal, 1839
  • Burton Daily Mail, 1997
  • Cambridge Town Crier, 1992
  • Cheltenham Chronicle, 1860
  • Crewe Chronicle, 1980, 1994-1995
  • Daily Record, 1988, 1994
  • Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser, 1986
  • East Grinstead Observer, 1991
  • East Kilbride News, 1995
  • East Kilbride World, 1991, 1993
  • Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser, 1991
  • Gateshead Post, 1994
  • Glamorgan Gazette, 1984
  • Heartland Evening News, 1998
  • Herald Cymraeg, 1952
  • Herald of Wales, 1950
  • Hertford Mercury and Reformer, 1981
  • Herts and Essex Observer, 1980
  • Hinckley Times, 1993, 1998
  • Hoddesdon and Broxbourne Mercury, 1993-1994, 1998
  • Horley & Gatwick Mirror, 1992
  • Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 1993, 1995
  • Huntingdon Town Crier, 1987, 1989, 1996
  • Ilfracombe Chronicle, 1891-1892
  • Ilkeston Express, 1989, 1992
  • Kensington News and West London Times, 1937, 1951, 1964, 1968,
  • Long Eaton Advertiser, 1988, 1994
  • Loughborough Echo, 1912
  • Loughborough Mail, 1990, 1994
  • Macclesfield Express, 1989, 1998
  • Maghull & Aintree Star, 1991
  • Merthyr Express, 1990
  • Middlesex County Times, 1995, 1998
  • Midweek Visiter (Southport), 1995
  • Nantwich Chronicle, 1993-1994
  • Northampton Herald & Post, 1991
  • Nottingham Evening Post, 1994
  • Nottingham Guardian, 1872
  • Nottingham Recorder, 1996
  • Oldham Advertiser, 1992
  • Ormskirk Advertiser, 1876, 1894
  • Perthshire Advertiser, 1919
  • Peterborough Standard, 1986
  • Port Talbot Guardian, 1981-1982, 1984-1985, 1995
  • Rhondda Leader, 1987
  • Ripley Express, 1992
  • Rossendale Free Press, 1987
  • Rugeley Mercury, 1988, 1990, 1992
  • Runcorn & Widnes Herald & Post, 1989-1990, 1993
  • Sevenoaks Focus, 1992
  • Solihull News, 1994-1997
  • Solihull Times, 1994-1996, 1998
  • Somerset Standard, 1980
  • Southall Gazette, 1979, 1995, 1998
  • Southport Visiter, 1989
  • Stafford Post, 1989, 1991
  • Staines Informer, 1988, 1990
  • Stanmore Observer, 1987-1988, 1990
  • Stirling Observer, 1989
  • Stockport Advertiser and Guardian, 1877
  • Stockport Express Advertiser, 1992
  • Stockton & Billingham Herald & Post, 1989
  • Tamworth Herald, 1989, 1997
  • Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser, 1884
  • The People, 1998
  • Uttoxeter New Era, 1887
  • Wellingborough & Rushden Herald & Post, 1989, 1992
  • West Surrey Times, 1873, 1912
  • Western Evening Herald, 1993
  • Westminster & Pimlico News, 1998
  • Winsford Chronicle, 1996-1997

ExpressVPN has removed its servers from India, becoming the first major virtual private network (VPN) provider to do so in the aftermath of the recent cybersecurity rules introduced by the country's cybersecurity agency.

NOTE: See my earlier article at https://eogn.com/page-18080/12787685 for background information.

The rules require VPN providers to store user data for a period of five years. ExpressVPN said it "refuses to participate in the Indian government's attempts to limit internet freedom." The India Express reports:

In a blog post, the British Virgin Island-based company said that with the introduction of the new cybersecurity rules by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), it has made a "very straightforward decision to remove our Indian-based VPN servers." While ExpressVPN is the first to pull its services from India, other VPN providers like NordVPN have also taken a similar stance.

The guidelines, released by CERT-In on April 26, asked VPN service providers along with data centers and cloud service providers, to store information such as names, e-mail IDs, contact numbers, and IP addresses (among other things) of their customers for a period of five years. The government said it wants these details to fight cybercrime, but the industry argues that privacy is the main selling points of VPN services, and such a move would be in breach of the privacy cover provided by VPN platforms.

ExpressVPN described the cybersecurity rules as "broad" and "overreaching." "The law is also overreaching and so broad as to open up the window for potential abuse. We believe the damage done by potential misuse of this kind of law far outweighs any benefit that lawmakers claim would come from it," ExpressVPN said. It added that while CERT-In's rules are intended to fight cybercrime, they are "incompatible with the purpose of VPNs, which are designed to keep users' online activity private."

More details may be found at: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/expressvpn-services-india-new-vpn-rules-explained-7948845/

Ancestry, has integrated an automatic colorization feature that it says lets users bring make black and white photos more lifelike. The company says it already enables the ability to capture, digitize, retouch, and preserve old family photos, but it is now adding the ability to colorize them with a new tool. This allows users to gain “a more vivid, real-life snapshot of ancestors and their lives.”

The feature comes by a partnership with archiving specialist company Photomyne, whose technology was integrated into the Ancestry app in March to allow users to take photos and attach them to a family tree on Ancestry’s website.

While interesting, today's announcement about Ancestry.com is not the first web site to add such capabilities. Similar capabilities have been available on MyHeritage.com for some time,

The following is an excerpt from a (longer) announcement from newspapers.com:

We’re excited to announce that in conjunction with our publishing partner Gannett, we’ve added 13 more papers from five states to our archives! These papers date back to 1910 and chronicle more than a century of local, national, and international news. Our new papers come from:

Presented by the Augusta Genealogical Society

Augusta, Georgia

When:    Saturday, August 27, 2022

Time:      9:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m  EST

Where:    Online - Register at https://www.augustagensociety.org/

                Registration deadline is August 26, 2022

Price:      $35.00 for AGS members and $45.00 for non-members

Session 1: Guide to the 1950 US Federal Census

Speaker:  Lisa Louise Cooke

Guide to the 1950 U. S. Census. How to find your family in the newly released census by using census tract maps, initially available limited indexes, and what the 1950 Census tells us about our families.

Lisa Louise Cooke is the author of several books including The Genealogist's Google Toolbox.  She produces and hosts the popular Genealogy Gems Podcast and weekly videos at the Genealogy Gems YouTube channel.  She offers a Premium Membership service at her website at https://lisalouisecooke.com featuring exclusive on-demand genealogy education. Lisa also writes a regular column for Family Tree Magazine and produces the Family Tree Magazine Podcast.

Sessions 2, 3 and 4:  Genealogy and DNA

Speaker:  Diane Southard

Session 2: DNA Questions Answered. Understanding the basics of DNA and the terminology that is used.

Session 3: Using YDNA and mtDNA in Your Family History. Learn how both YDNA (thedirect male line), and Mitochondrial DNA (the direct female line) can enliven your familyhistory research.
Session 4: Connecting DNA Matches. How to identify and organize the cousin connections among those in your Autosomal DNA matches. Work together to determine how you are related to your matches and how to use that information to find ancestors.

Diahan Southard is a leading voice for consumer DNA testing, one of the world’s most fascinating, dynamic and socially-transformative new hobbies. As Founder of Your DNA Guide, Diahan teaches internationally, writes for popular magazines, and consults with leading testing companies. She authored Your DNA Guide–The Book and produced Your DNA Guide–the Academy, an online learning experience.

Click here for a program Flyer. 

JOIN AGS NOW and enjoy the benefits of several programs, which will be free to members in 2022.

The Augusta Genealogical Society is a non profit organization founded in Augusta, Georgia in September 1979.

This year, California's government approved a plan to pay reparations to residents of the state who can show that they are descendants of those formerly enslaved. Seeking the evidence will be a process, genealogists say.

Adrienne Abiodun knows she is a descendant of a once-enslaved man, named Phillip Branch.

She knows the name of his former enslaver, as well - John Whitaker. Ms Abiodun's fourth great-grandfather, Mr Branch, was born in North Carolina around 1795-1800 and then was brought to Mississippi.

Mr Branch's entire family was enslaved by the Whitaker family.

Ms Abiodun has several close family members in California who descend from formerly enslaved ancestors. Her grandparents fled the south to escape post-slavery segregation and were in California as early as 1947.

A professional genealogist at Legacy Tree Genealogists, she is closely watching announcements from the state.

On Wednesday, 1 June, the task force released a 500-page report detailing how it says the legacy of slavery has affected black Americans in the state, laying out the case for payments.

It will then deliver a reparations proposal in July 2023 for the California government to consider turning it into law.

While Ms Abiodun is based in Florida, her family would be eligible for these reparations. But first, they - and any of the 2.5 million black Americans in California who plan to seek the payments - will have to show the evidence of their relationships to their forbearers.

Ms Abiodun says that while proving lineage is "not necessarily the easiest to come by, it's not impossible."

You can read more in an article by Chloe Kim published in the BBC News web site at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60960524

Records that could offer insight into some residential schools in British Columbia are being handed over to the Royal B.C. Museum. The Sisters of Saint Ann staffed more than 30 residential schools in Alaska, Yukon and B.C.

Archives, which include information about day schools, residential schools, hospitals and more, will be transferred to the museum. The religious group will also fully fund an archivist at the museum to manage those archives.

The museum says they also plan to digitize the records — or at least those that can be digitized. Some of the content date back to as far as 1858 and may be too delicate to handle.

You can read more in an article by Courtney Dickson and published in the MSN News web site at: https://bit.ly/3x8lZvo.