The Laurens District Genealogy Society will host Colleen Knights, who will speak about “The Future in Genealogy Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)” on Thursday, October 9, at 7:00 pm, at the Laurens County Museum, located at 116 South Public Square, Laurens, SC.  

Knights is vice chair of the SC Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Lineage Committee. She was recently featured in an article about a new memorial wall for American Revolution heroes in Greenville, SC, where she focused on soldiers who settled in the area. The lecture is free to the public.

For more information, contact the Laurens County Museum at (864) 681-3678, or go to LaurensCountyMuseum.org or Facebook.

Conference Title: 2-day Academic Conference - Beyond the Family Tree: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on AI, DNA, Education, and Community in Genealogy

Conference Dates: 25–26 June 2026

Location: University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland (Hybrid Format)

The Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies (SIGS) will hold an international academic genealogy conference in Scotland at the University of Strathclyde, June 25-26, 2026. The conference will be hybrid. While most sessions will be accessible online, some activities, including evening receptions, will be available in person only.

In addition, on June 24, a separate symposium on professional genealogy practice hosted by the Association for Professional Genealogists (APG) will be held on campus and via hybrid access. (Please note, speakers for the APG Professional Genealogy Symposium are by invitation only).

Call for Presentations

All proposals must be submitted via email by December 08, 2025. Acceptance decisions will be sent out by end of December 2025.

Speakers & poster presenters will receive free registration for the conference.

Full details, including themes and submission guidelines are available on the event website page > https://www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/centreforlifelonglearning/genealogy/beyondfamilytreeconference2026/

We look forward to your participation and contributions to this exciting event!

In another victory for forensic genealogy, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Franklin County Coroner Dr. Nate Overmire announced today that the skeletal remains of a white male found 36 years ago have been identified.

“Solving a cold case takes teamwork, technology and tenacity – all of which were are on display in this case,” Yost said. “This type of public-private partnership has a direct impact on so many and brings real results to loved ones.”  

The remains – discovered on Nov. 3, 1989, on Walcutt Road in western Franklin County – are those of Ernest Emerson Carter, who was born in 1923. Very little is known about Carter’s life or death.

“We believe each person is worthy of dignity and respect,” Overmire said. “Our patients can no longer advocate for themselves so we must on their behalf. I am extremely proud of the compassionate, talented staff who worked on this case from my office, BCI and our community partners. Together, we were able to utilize science to solve a mystery.”

Investigators from Overmire’s office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, part of Yost’s office, had long worked to solve the mystery of the remains.

BCI became involved in 2000, when the Franklin County coroner at the time submitted the remains to BCI’s Project LINK (Linking Individuals Not Known), an initiative that collects DNA samples from unidentified human remains and from people with missing loved ones in hopes of turning up a match. No leads were generated.

In the ensuing years, BCI conducted additional, advanced DNA testing on the remains – but, again, no leads were generated.

Last year, the nonprofit Porchlight Project, which funds forensic genealogy for families of the missing and the murdered, became involved, paying for the testing conducted by Othram, a Texas-based forensics technology company.

“I am grateful to Ohio BCI, the Franklin County Coroner’s Office, and Othram for their collaboration and dedication throughout the process of solving this decades-old mystery,” said Val Bogart, The Porchlight Project’s genetic genealogist. “I am hopeful the identification of Mr. Carter brings long-awaited answers and a step toward closure for all involved.”

Genealogists and BCI’s Criminal Intelligence Unit worked collaboratively to build a family tree to locate a close relative. This process turned up a match with a male relative, whose DNA was used to confirm the remains as those of Ernest Emerson Carter.

“There is technology here today that works, and it is able to give answers to a lot of families, like in this case,” said Kristen Mittelman, Chief Development Officer for Othram. “We’re proud to work with law enforcement who are working every day to solve cases and help families.”

Memories, milestones, and traditions fill Reinhardt yearbooks throughout the decades. From 1948 to 2004, these nostalgic issues captured and preserved cherished classmates, favorite professors, and the evolution of campus life.

Through digital versions now available on the lower portion of the University’s alumni page, the yearbooks offer a celebratory window to explore and remember the people, traditions, and rich history that shaped Reinhardt. We also invite all alumni to share their favorite moments and celebrate their legacy.

Click here to view yearbooks on the Alumni Page

Amgueddfa Cymru has released over 2000 images into the public domain making them freely available on a new platform.

It puts Wales at the forefront of open access and on par with global museums such as the Natural History Museum, Smithsonian, Rijksmuseum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Images available to browse on the new platform, Amgueddfa Cymru Images, include galleries of artworks by Van Gogh, Monet and Renoir, historic photographs of people and places, and images of objects from the national collection, all of which have special relevance to Wales.

Images on the platform represent the natural world, as well as archaeological, social and industrial history. The wide range of images reflects the breadth of items which are part of Wales’ national collection.

The museum’s Open Access Policy means that anyone can now download medium resolution images from the site free, for both commercial and non-commercial use. This allows them to be freely used whether that be for scholarly research, a website for a local pub, or television and film, all without fees or additional approvals.

A selection of Amgueddfa Cymru Images

Coal strike colliers in Cwmbach – by permission of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales

Some of the images available through the digital library include the museum’s collection of Blaschka glass models of sea creatures, historic images of the north Wales landscape, and a collection of Monet’s Waterlilies which were bequeathed to the museum by the Davies Sisters.

There are also hundreds of images of items reflecting Welsh history and life including lovespoons, clothing and quilts, and many historic images of Wales taken by some of the earliest photographers.

Dr Kath Davies, Director of Collections and Research at Amgueddfa Cymru said: “The national collection belongs to everyone, and we are thrilled to launch Amgueddfa Cymru Images which offers another way we can share the national collection and stories of Wales. We particularly hope that schools and educational institutions following the Curriculum for Wales will use this free tool to support their work, and we look forward to seeing how it will be used.

“This is only the beginning. We’re delighted to be launching with more than 2000 images, and will be continuing to add more images to the platform and to digitise new content. We’re also keen to collaborate with other institutions to reach as many people as we can and continue to share and encourage learning and enjoyment through the national collection.”

Amgueddfa Cymru Images can be accessed HERE.

In August 1978, a homicide victim was found burned in a fire at a boat ramp fire at the Poole Knobs Recreation Area in LaVergne, Tennessee. Rutherford County Sheriff’s deputies responded to find the remains of an unidentified male. The homicide victim was wrapped in a blanket and had been shot four times, twice in the face. Investigators suspect he was shot at another location before being dragged to the campsite and burned. Investigators determine the victim was a white male between 30 and 40 years old. He stood 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighed approximately 160 pounds, and had medium length brown hair. The only clues to his identity were a partial set of dentures and scars on his chest from a possible heart surgery. He also had a quarter-sized mole on his torso, about two inches from his waistline.

Investigators undertook a decades-long search to determine who the man was and what happened. Fingerprints, from one hand that was not burned, were collected but generated no matches to an identity. A traditional DNA profile was created but did not produce a match in CODIS. In 2018, a facial reconstruction and a sketch of the victim were generated but, to date, have not produced any leads. More than forty years later, investigators are still looking for leads that might point to the identity of the victim and those that might be responsible for his death. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP1585.

In 2020, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the victim. At Othram, scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence, which presented significant challenges given the burnt condition of the man's remains. After the successful extraction of DNA, Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the victim. Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.

Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the victim. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified man. This investigation led to the positive identification of the murder victim, who is now known to be 52-year-old Jessie Lee Williamson. An investigations into Williamson's death is ongoing. Anyone with information about the victim is encouraged to contact Detective Sgt. Richard Brinkley with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office at (615) 904-3045.

A portion of Othram's casework costs associated with the advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy completed in this case was contributed by donors through a DNASolves® crowdfund. We are grateful to everyone that helped crowdfund this case and other DNASolves cases. Remaining costs for the advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy used in this case was provided by NamUs, a national program that assists the criminal justice community with the investigation and resolution of missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases across the United States and its territories. NamUs is funded and administered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and is managed through a contract with Research Triangle Institute International (RTI). Othram is grateful for the support of RTI, NamUs, and the NIJ.

Individuals who have taken a consumer DNA test can aid ongoing forensic investigations by contributing their DNA to the DNASolves database. Expanding the number of available DNA profiles increases the likelihood of successful identifications, helping to reunite families with their missing loved ones and resolve cases that have remained unsolved for years.

The identification of Jessie Lee Williamson represents the 27th case in the State of Tennesse where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram. Visit DNASolves to learn about other Tennessee cases where your support can help bring long-awaited answers to families.

October 3 is Tag der Deutschen Einheit — German Unity Day — and October 6 is German-American Day. Let’s celebrate “Ahnenfest” – Geneanet’s German ancestor festival – with free access for American members to our Premium German collections from Oct. 3-10!

Do you have roots in Germany? October 3 is Tag der Deutschen Einheit (Germany Unity Day), a national holiday in Germany since 1990 which celebrates the reunification of the country at the end of the Cold War. And October 6 is German-American Day, when 40 million Americans celebrate their German heritage. At Geneanet, we have decided to celebrate these two holidays together as “Ahnenfest” – Ancestor Festival –, with a full week of free access to our Premium German records and collections from October 3-10 inclusive!

The upper Midwest has the highest percentage of German-Americans! Many German settlers bought through tickets from US railroad agents in German cities; passengers disembarked in Eastern seaboard ports and boarded trains West directly. Data source: US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, image: Abbasi786786 at Wikimedia Commons, license CC

Geneanet is available in German and we have over 54 million birth, marriage, and death register records in our collections — 155 million indexed individuals! –, usually reserved for Premium members, available free during Geneanet’s Ahnenfest. Search them through our German vital records search engine or our portal for all German documents or our main search screen with all options enabled or through our brand-new Collections Catalog page. You can even upload your family tree to Geneanet — perhaps you will connect with your German cousins!

Just getting started in German genealogy? It can be complicated: fluid borders, the impact of wars, records held mostly at local level, documents written in Kurrent or Sütterlin script or Fraktur typefaces, not to mention strict privacy laws! Read our comprehensive guide Resources for German Genealogy. Ancestors from Alsace-Lorraine? Read our in-depth guide Finding Your Ancestors From Alsace-Lorraine.

Take advantage of our rich collections with advanced Premium search options such as search by couple, by occupation, by parents, by events, as well as spelling variants, geographic area and wildcards. And search our Genealogy Library with millions of pages of books and newspapers. Tap into our archival records, books and newspapers and grow your tree!

Thanks to our partner, Alamance Community College, a batch of Scott Family ephemera is now available to view on DigitalNC. The ephemera includes everything from former North Carolina governor W. Kerr Scott’s campaign materials to photographs to medals.

Poster from W. Kerr Scott’s campaign for North Carolina Governor [1948].

From a farming family and a farmer his whole life, W. Kerr Scott is well-known for being an agricultural leader and champion of rural North Carolinians both in and outside the political roles he held during his life. After graduating from North Carolina State College in 1917 with a degree in agriculture and serving as an artilleryman during World War I, Scott worked as agricultural agent in Alamance County from 1920 to 1930. He then served as Master of the State Grange, an organization that is still active today, from 1931 to 1933. And then, in the two years before entering into politics, Scott was a regional director of the Farm Debt Adjustment Program of the Resettlement Administration.

Making good on a promise to his father (“Farmer Bob”), Scott began his political career in 1936 when he ran for and was elected State Agriculture Commissioner. He continued to hold that position until 1948 when he resigned to run for Governor of North Carolina. Scott was elected and served as Governor of North Carolina from 1949 to 1953. At the end of his term as governor, Scott made the decision to run for United States Senator. The campaign ephemera in this batch from Scott’s run for senate—such as the “Kerr Scott: Tar Heel Building” pamphlet pictured here—unsurprisingly highlights Scott as a man who comes from a family of successful farmers and politicians, united town and country, successfully advocated for rural North Carolina farmers, and never let the State’s money idle.

Over his two decade political career, Scott introduced a new era of progressive reforms. He was a leading proponent of rural electrification, led the fight to get rid of Bangs disease among cattle in the state, forced manufacturers of feed and fertilizer to eliminate sawdust and sand from their products; appointed the first Black member of the State Board of Education, Harold Trigg; appointed the first female Superior Court judge, Susie Sharp; paved more roads in his four years as governor than had been paved up to 1949.

To learn more about or view more materials from Alamance Community College, visit their contributor page linked here.

Information about W. Kerr Scott was gathered from NCPedia, DNCR, and materials from this batch.

To learn about the North Carolina Grange, visit their website, or browse our newspaper collection to read about their development in the state, going as far back as June 28, 1873.

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) is one of the best American stocks to buy and hold for the next 3 years. On September 25, Reuters reported that Private equity firm Blackstone is currently exploring strategic options for Ancestry.com, the popular genealogy and DNA testing platform. These options include pursuing an Initial Public Offering/IPO or an outright sale of the company.

Sources familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity, indicated that Blackstone has invited banks to submit proposals for an IPO, with requests being submitted earlier in the week of September 25. A public listing for the Lehi, Utah-based company could potentially value it at approximately $10 billion, although the discussions are in the early stages and details remain subject to change.

Blackstone is also considering the alternative option of selling the asset. However, the private equity firm has not finalized any decision and may opt to hold onto the asset for a longer period. Both Blackstone and Ancestry.com representatives have declined to comment on the matter.

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) is an alternative asset management firm that specializes in private equity, real estate, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt & equity and multi-asset class strategies.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars — proudly part of the MyHeritage family since 2017 — is expanding into French! Starting October 7, a new series of live genealogy webinars will be offered entirely in French, alongside more than 100 French-language sessions now available on demand. This is an exciting addition for French-speaking genealogists worldwide, and a great resource to share with anyone in your community who speaks French or researches in French-language records.  The first three live sessions (all free to attend) are: Filae : la maison des archives originales françaises with Yann Guillerm, Community Manager and Editor at Filae, Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at 2 P.M. GMT / 10 A.M. EST Explorer vos racines en France : méthodes et ressources en ligne avec les collections de MyHeritage with Marie Cappart, historian and professional genealogist, Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 2 P.M. GMT / 10 A.M. EST Explorer vos racines au Luxembourg : archives locales et ressources MyHeritage with Liliane Hierro, professional genealogist and author, Tuesday, November 4, 2025 at 2 P.M. GMT / 10 A.M. EST See the full French webinar schedule and register here