The following announcement was written by TheGenealogist:

Family historians with an aristocratic ancestor in their family tree will be pleased to hear that TheGenealogist has just significantly boosted the number of records in its Peerage, Gentry and Royalty collection. While many family history researchers believe that their forebears were simply ordinary folk, it turns out that many of us can find a link to a family that has a published pedigree. We only have to look at how Danny Dyer or Josh Widdecombe discovered their Royal and Aristocratic ancestors in their episodes of the Who Do You Think You Are? UK TV series.

While this relationship to the upper levels of society may be as a result of an illegitimate line, nonetheless a link to an ancestor that features in a pedigree is of huge help in tracing back many generations, as much of the work has been done for you by the compilers of the records.

Heraldic visitations, one of the records to be included in this release, were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulate the coats of arms of nobility, gentry and boroughs, and to record pedigrees. A number of later books, while they can not precisely be described as Heralds Visitations, provide similar information and can likewise help the researcher to populate their family tree back through the ages and are also in this record release.

This latest release covers the following searchable book records:

Armorial Families, Arms Authorized by The Laws of Heraldry 1863, Boyle’s court guide 1888, Burke’s Handbook to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire 1921, Burke’s Landed Gentry Volume 1886, Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1887, Encyclopedia of Heraldry or General Armory of England Scotland and Ireland 1844, Genealogica Bedfordienses Landed Gentry of Bedfordshire 1538-1700, Grantees of Arms to The End of The XVII Century, Herefordshire Visitation Of 1569, His Majesty the King 1910-1935, Imperial British Calendar 1823, Index Nominum to the Royalist Composition Papers, Kelly’s Handbook To The Titled Landed and Official Classes 1909, Landed Gentry of Bedfordshire 1538-1700, Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica - Third Series Vol IIIV, Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica - Third Series Vol IV, Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica Fourth Series Vol II 1908, Nottingham Visitation 1569 and 1614, Short View of the Peerage of Ireland 1759, Standing Council of the Baronetage Official Roll of the Baronets 1929, Suffolk Visitations of 1561 1577 1612, Sussex Visitations 1530 and 1633-4, The Pedigree Register for London 1907-1915, The Peerage of Ireland 1754, The Royal Kalendar 1786, The Royal Kalendar 1788, The Royal Kalendar 1796, The Royal Kalendar 1804, The Royal Kalendar 1820, Webster’s Royal Red Book Court and Fashionable Register January 1915, Worcestershire Visitation 1569

Read TheGenealogist’s article: The Castle Ruin and its connection to the Australian ‘King’

https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2022/the-castle-ruin-and-its-connection-to-the-australian-king-1530/

About TheGenealogist

TheGenealogist is an award-winning online family history website, who put 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, 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!

The Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts will hold a free spring Zoom Webinar on Saturday, April 23, 1 p.m. The topic, “The Polish Village, Town and Castle: Non-obvious Historical Sources to Enrich Your Genealogical Knowledge” by Jakub Jurek. Register at www.pgsma.org by Thursday, April 21. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

You can read further details at: https://bit.ly/3uFsnsO.

According to an article by Nicole Wetsman and published in The Verge web site:

"Consumer genetics and genealogy company Ancestry announced a new feature, called SideView, that will give customers information about which bits of their DNA — and which parts of their ethnicity — were inherited from each parent. The tool can do that without having genetic information from the parents, which Ancestry says is a first in the industry."

"Genetic information is packaged in pairs of chromosomes, and each parent contributes one copy of most chromosomes. DNA analysis, though, reads the sequence of genetic information without sorting out which half different sections came from. Usually, the best way to sort that out is by comparing sections to the DNA of one or both parents. But Ancestry developed a technique that uses the company’s large DNA database — which includes 20 million people’s genetic information — to find overlaps between each user and cousins or distant relatives also in the system. It uses those overlaps to sort each section of DNA by which parent it was inherited from."

The article also cautions:

"The database, though, is largely made up of people with European ancestry — the feature is less accurate for users who have other ancestry from other parts of the world, according to a scientific article from Ancestry describing the technique. The paper has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal. Blind spots around people of color are a longstanding bias in genetic databases and genetic research more generally. DNA tests like Ancestry’s that tie your genetics back to a particular ethnicity are also often criticized for giving people an incomplete picture of what genetic heritage actually means and conflating ancestry with race."

Also:

"Ancestry can have 95 percent precision for 90 percent of customers."

You can read more at: https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/13/23021782/ancestry-dna-sort-genes-parents-ethnicity.

I have written often about the advantages of making backups online to file storage services in the cloud. However, I have never written about WHICH services are worthwhile so here is that article.

The following is a list of the more popular services and my opinion of the strengths and weaknesses of each. I am also including the amount of FREE file storage space each service makes available.

1. MEGA

Mega is perhaps the greatest offer of all that most people have never heard of. It’s also the one that offers the most storage for FREE: 20 gigabytes. In addition, You can even obtain even more FREE storage space by various achievements, such as installing the mobile and desktop apps or referring a friend, each of which nets you an added 5 gigabytes of space. However, this extra free storage space only lasts for a year. If you are using that space, you will need to pay for it beginning in the second year. The first 20 gigabytes remains free of charge, however.

Another advantage of Mega is that everything is encrypted inside your own computer BEFORE the data is stored on Mega. Not even the Mega employees will be able to read your information, not to mention hackers and spies who seek to find your personal information. Some of the other services listed in this article do the same thing but (1.) not all of them do and (2.) I couldn't find statements about encryption in all the services when writing this article.

2. Google Drive

No list of online cloud file storage services could ever omit mentioning Google Drive, the huge online service. It works well, is easy to install, and is used by millions of people around the world.

Google Drive offers 15 gigabytes of FREE storage space. You will need to make a free Google account and that includes a number of other services that you may or may not want, including a Gmail address and access to all of Google’s office-style products, like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

3. Microsoft OneDrive

Here is a service from another huge powerhouse: Microsoft. Like Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive is part of a larger suite of apps and you access it through a free Microsoft account. If you own a Windows computer or use any other Microsoft products, including Skype, you already have one.

Signing up gets you 5 gigabytes of FREE storage space as well as access to a number of apps in the Office 365 package. However, I prefer the free Google apps and Google also offers triple the FREE storage space. (However, you might prefer the Microsoft Apps if you already use Microsoft Office.)

4. pCloud

pCloud is another online file storage service that many people have never heard of. However, its list of services appears to be top-notch. When you register for pCloud, you receive 2 gigabytes of FREE file storage space. You then can unlock up to 10 gigabytes for free by following the Beginner's Tutorial or with Invite friends. However, once you start paying for the service, you can never run out of file storage space. The service continuously accepts additional files although the storage fees will increase as you start to save more and more data.

A major advantage of pCloud is that the company is registered in Switzerland, which has strong privacy laws. As a result, I would trust pCloud to keep my files private more than I would trust Google, Microsoft, any other North American-based service.

pCloud also works with Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Android, and Apple's iOS operating systems (most other cloud-based file storage services only work with Windows and Macintosh). Another feature of pCloud that will appeal to some is that you may (optionally) have all of your mobile photos and videos safely backed up to the cloud through the Automatic Upload feature on your mobile device(s).

pCloud also offers an (optional) Public Folder, a special folder in your pCloud's file structure, which allows you to create Direct links to files and folders. You can then provide access to other people to files stored in the Public folder. It works like a file server for static content, but without having to run a file server on your home computer.

5. Sync.com

While Sync.com offers a robust and secure service, there is little that is "the best" offer in the service with one possible exception: Sync.com does seem to be the best service for sharing files with others. That may or may not be important to you. Also, Sync.com only offers a measly 5 gigabytes of FREE file storage space.

6. IceDrive

IceDrive is a relatively new player in the cloud-based file storage services arena. It claims to be the most secure service available (although I was unable to verify that claim) and IceDrive also offers a 10 gigabytes of storage space for free. All you need to do is supply your email address to create an account and it’s all yours.

There are numerous other providers of cloud-based file storage services. However, I limited this article to the major players.

Honorable Mention: NextCloud

Technically speaking, Nextcloud is not an online cloud storage provider. Rather, it's a self-hosted file sync and content collaboration platform, which provides free software you can install on your own server, and administer cloud storage yourself. That server (or servers) could be located in your home, in your place of employment, or in the cloud.

The benefit of a self-hosted product is that you get to keep your data on your servers, offering complete control and faster performance. While this might seem intimidating for beginners, or futile for serverless users, the service offers preconfigured hardware that runs Nextcloud out of the box.

As free open-source software, you can download and install it at no cost, but need to factor in the cost of setting up, running, and administering your own servers. However, if you already have infrastructure in place, using Nextcloud instead of a commercial cloud storage solution could save you money.

I would recommend NextCloud only to experienced technical experts, not to computer novices.

You can learn more about NextCloud at: https://nextcloud.com.

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

The following announcement was written by the Augusta Genealogical Society:

When: Saturday, April 23, 2022

Where: On Line - Webinar - Virtual Genealogical Program

Time: 1:00 to 2:00 PM

Cost: Free to AGS members and $10.00 for non members

Speaker: Steven D. Tuttle, Deputy Director

Steven D. Tuttle

Program specifics: Steven D. Tuttle has worked at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History since 1984 and is currently Deputy Director for Archives and Records Management. He has a bachelor's degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Asheville (1981) and a master's degree in library and information science from the University of South Carolina (1992). Steve is the author of two publications, Census Records at the Archives and African American Genealogical Research.

Registration deadline is April 16. To Register please visit www.augustagensociety.org

The Augusta Genealogical Society is a non-profit organization established in September 1979.

Who says archives are important? For one, the government of Nepal says so.

Fragile historical parchments and records are rotting away in the government’s archives due to negligence.

In June 2019, a team from the National Archives reached Taplejung in eastern Nepal to find decaying handwritten parchments, centuries-old manuscripts, and stone inscriptions all lying abandoned.

There were invaluable centuries-old lalmohar documents and deeds with official seals stacked in nooks and carnies of households, mouldy and decomposing.

The initial plan for the Archives team was just to copy the text from two historic bronze bells in front of the Nageshvar Temple, but they decided to stay for three more days, digitising 77 historic documents and 95 letters.

The images of those documents are now in the digital archives, even though the originals have been lost. And these were most likely just a tiny proportion of all the material still out there waiting to be discovered.

“With neither the resources nor expertise, we have been unable to collect and conserve other historic documents,” admits Bishwa Nath Sitaula, mayor of Aathrai Tribeni municipality in Taplejung.

You can read more in an article written by Anita Bhetwal and published in the Nepali Times web site at: https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/saving-nepals-archives-from-oblivion/.

MyHeritage is proud to share the third installment of the 1950 U.S. Census indexed records (and their corresponding images) from Alaska, New Hampshire, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Last week, MyHeritage published the initial installments of the 1950 U.S. Census Index from Wyoming, Delaware, Vermont, and American Samoa. Today, an additional 763,697 records were added for a total of 1,847,635 historical records in the collection. All of the records are available to search, view, and add to your family tree on MyHeritage for free!

Search the 1950 United States Census Index collection

On April 1st, MyHeritage became the first commercial company to publish a full collection of the 1950 U.S. Census images. Additional releases are expected in the weeks ahead until the index is complete. Stay updated on all MyHeritage 1950 Census releases by checking our U.S. Census content hub and dedicated 1950 Census page.

Taken in April of 1950, the census encompasses the then 48 states in the continental U.S. and its territories: then Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, the Panama Canal Zone, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Alaska and Hawaii were later added as states in 1959. 150 million Americans were enumerated in the 1950 U.S. Census, an increase of 14.5% over the 1940 U.S. Census. The MyHeritage 1950 United States Census Index collection contains names, ages, locations, households, relations, genders, races, education, places of birth, and other details of those who were enumerated.

You can read more in the MyHeritage Blog at: https://bit.ly/3uHUeZH.

Gravestone cleaning can turn back the wheels of time to make your ancestor’s final resting place nearly as beautiful as the day their family members gathered there to wish them farewell.

Time has been hard on gravestones that were originally considered nearly permanent. Weathering, erosion, neglect, and vandalism have all taken their toll.

While some of this damage cannot be reversed, in other cases, preservation and prevention can make all the difference. And as more people become interested in genealogical research, there is a greater desire to preserve what is left of our ancestor’s legacies in stone.

By cleaning and caring for historic resting places you can provide an opportunity for future generations to glimpse the past. Then burial grounds will become treasures of information that would otherwise have been forgotten or lost.

Comment by Dick Eastman:

I believe that every genealogist should be familiar with the information in this article, whether or not that person ever intends to do the cleaning himself/herself.

You can learn a lot from the article written by Cathy Wallace and published in the BillionGraves web site at: https://blog.billiongraves.com/gravestone-cleaning-101/. Topics in that article include:

• Why Should You Clean a Gravestone?
• When Should You NOT Clean a Gravestone?
• Sources of Gravestone Damage
• Understand Laws and Regulations
• Headstone Cleaning Tips
• Methods for Gravestone Cleaning

Kay Haviland Freilich, a genealogical records specialist, died on Sunday, March 20, 2022. She was 81.

In the late 1980s, she discovered her real passion for genealogy and became a board-certified genealogical records specialist in 1994 and then a certified genealogical lecturer. In 2012, she was elected as a fellow of the National Genealogical Society.

She was president of the Board for Certification of Genealogists from 2002 to 2004 and was also a trustee and a member-at-large.

Freilich authored several articles focused primarily on genealogical research techniques in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. In 2014, she and her husband authored Genealogy and the Law: A Guide to Legal Sources for the Family Historian.

Her obituary is available at: https://bit.ly/363Zb5i.