Last week I wrote about a fascinating new bit of technology called Deep Nostalgia™, a groundbreaking new photo feature on MyHeritage that allows you to animate the faces of your loved ones in still photos. This new addition to MyHeritage's suite of photo tools produces a realistic depiction of how a person from an old photo could have moved and looked if they were captured on video.

That article is still available at https://eogn.com/page-18080/10140564 and it points to a couple of links on MyHeritage.com that offer all the details. One part of the announcement was an offer to upload your DNA data (even if it was the results of tests performed by a different company.) In return, you will be given "free access to all DNA features on MyHeritage — forever!"

This was planned to be a limited time offer. However, yesterday the folks at MyHeritage extended the "limited time offer" even more:

"Due to the enthusiastic response to our week-long offer to waive the unlock fee on the advanced DNA features for uploaded DNA, we have decided to extend the offer another week!

"Now those of you who haven’t yet uploaded your DNA data to MyHeritage and enjoyed free access to all DNA features — including the brand-new Genetic Groups — will have another chance!"

The announcement also states:

"However, we are waiving that fee for an additional week, from March 1–7, 2021. Users who upload their DNA data this week will receive free access to all DNA features on MyHeritage — forever!"

Yes, you now have another chance to upload your DNA data (even if created by one other DNA testing service) and "receive free access to all DNA features on MyHeritage — forever!"

The latest announcement, along with the details, may be found at: https://blog.myheritage.com/2021/02/upload-your-dna-for-free-access-to-all-dna-features-offer-extended/.

Remember, this offer will only last through March 7, 2021.

Today is the first day of the month. That is still a good time to back up your genealogy files. Then test your backups!

Your backups aren't worth much unless you make a quick test by restoring a small file or two after the backup is completed.

Actually, you can make backups at any time. However, it is easier and safer if you have a specific schedule. The first day of the month is easy to remember, so I would suggest you back up your genealogy files at least on the first day of every month, if not more often. (My computers automatically make off-site backups of all new files every few minutes.)

Given the events of the past few months with genealogy websites laying off employees and cutting back on services, you now need backup copies of everything more than ever. What happens if the company that holds your online data either goes off line or simply deletes the service where your data is held? If you have copies of everything stored either in your own computer, what happens if you have a hard drive crash or other disaster? If you have one or more recent backup copies, such a loss would be inconvenient but not a disaster.

Of course, you might want to back up more than your genealogy files. Family photographs, your checkbook register, all sorts of word processing documents, email messages, and much more need to be backed up regularly. Why not do that on the first day of each month? or even more often?

The following is an announcement from the Genealogy Guys and Vivid-Pix:

The Genealogy Guys Podcast, co-hosted by George G. Morgan and Drew Smith, producers of the oldest continually produced genealogy podcast, and Vivid-Pix, makers of RESTORE photo and document restoration software, are pleased to announce the recipient of an Unsung Heroes Grant at the RootsTech Connect 2021 conference being held online.

The Unsung Heroes Grant program is designed to provide a scanner and software to facilitate genealogical societies, historical societies, and museums making images available to the genealogy community. The grant includes a high-quality scanner, software to save and back up images, and two copies of Vivid-Pix RESTORE software. The package is valued at $500.

The recipient selected for an Unsung Heroes Grant for February 2021 is:

Ontario Ancestors (the Ontario Genealogical Society of Ontario, Canada)

The Ontario Genealogical Society was founded in 1961 and has been operating under the name Ontario Ancestors since 2018.

Ontario Ancestors has access to unique microfilm collections, including content published as early as 1750 and as late as the 2000s. The materials include newspapers, wills, and local church records, among others. These record collections are relatively small and are currently held by local genealogy branches or by public libraries, none of which can afford the cost to commercially digitize their materials. Ontario Ancestors performs this service for free.

The project originated with their Societies Tech Team building their own Provincial Heritage Cloud system and purchasing a microfilm scanner. The system is loaned out to society branches and to libraries across the Province of Ontario to do the work, and the only cost to the Society is that the Society retains a copy and assists with making the digital material available online. Since 2019, over 300,000 images have been digitized.

Because these records have been previously housed in small, local collections, without exposure to the mainstream genealogical community, placing these records online will have a huge impact. The goal of the Society is “Free the Data.” The Society is careful to ensure compliance with all privacy and copyright laws.

In addition to the scanning equipment and software, the recipient society will receive a beautiful custom-made commemorative mug from Vivid-Pix with their choice of one of their own images, and an announcement on a future episode of The Genealogy Guys Podcast. Recognition will be published at the Vivid-Pix Unsung Heroes Blog at https://vivid-pix.com/blog as well.

The Genealogy Guys Podcast and Vivid-Pix salute these selfless volunteers whose efforts make invaluable genealogical and historical information available to researchers around the globe. “We Sing Your Praises!”

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

• • Millions of new records added in partnership with the Family History Federation
  • Latest instalment of this major transcription project available to search exclusively at Findmypast
  • Index now contains over 16 million records from all corners of England & Wales, many of which can’t be found anywhere else online

Leading UK family history website Findmypast have today announced the addition of over 3.4 million new and exclusive records to the National Burial Index For England & Wales.

Published online for the first time in partnership with the Family History Federation, this latest update sees Findmypast provide users with access to the most comprehensive edition of this major transcription project to date.

The project of creating the National Burial Index began in 1994 with the aim of providing genealogists with improved access to pre-civil registration burials. Until then, researchers had been over-dependent on baptisms and marriages so the NBI sought to redress this by giving burial records the attention they deserve.

Version 1 was first published in 2001 containing 5.4 million records. This vast collection, derived from parish registers, bishop’s transcripts, earlier transcripts or printed registers by local family history society volunteers, continued to grow over time with versions 2 and 3 being published to include new additions.

Findmypast are proud to now provide access to version 4 of this vital resource. Containing over 16 million records from all corners of England & Wales, the majority of the index covers the period from 1813 - 1850 but does extend significantly in both directions from these dates.

Each transcript reveals a combination of the deceased’s name, birth year, death year, burial date, burial place, place of worship and denomination. For more information on the exact locations covered, see Findmypast’s parish list.

Vice-chairman of the Family History Federation, Ian Waller, said; “We are pleased to announce that 3.4 million additional burial records have been added to our National Burial Index at Findmypast. All the data was collated from the burial records of Anglican parishes, nonconformists, Roman Catholics, Quakers and other cemetery records within England and Wales. The results of this project, which is still incomplete, is made possible because of the stalwart work of family history societies who are members of the Family History Federation and through our long-standing partnership with Findmypast which also hosts millions of other records provided by our member societies.”

Findmypast will continue work with the Family History Federation and society volunteers across the UK to bring new and exclusive records online for the first time. Local societies play a vital role in enabling access to essential family history resources and, to date, these valuable partnerships have resulted in over 57 million records being published online at Findmypast.

OTHER RECORDS AVAILABLE TO SEARCH THIS FINDMYPAST FRIDAY

Lincolnshire Monumental Inscriptions

Are your relatives buried in England’s East Midlands? Find out with over 21,500 new records from over 60 Lincolnshire parishes. Check the parish list to see what's new.

Monumental inscriptions can reveal fascinating facts about your ancestors’ lives and deaths. On Findmypast, you’ll find an extensive collection from England, Scotland, Wales and Australia.

Caribbean, 1st Bn Royal Regiment Of Foot Deaths 1801-1811

These unique records reveal names, ranks and death details of British Army soldiers stationed in the West Indies in the early 19th century.

The 1st Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Foot was the predecessor of the Royal Scots and it appears that many of the men listed in the records hail from Scotland.

Newspapers

Findmypast have also released two new papers and updated 10 others with additional pages. New to our collection are:

• • St. Austell Star covering 1889-1895, 1898-1911 and 1913-1915
  • North Bucks Times and County Observer covering 1879-1895, 1898, 1900-1918

While more pages have been added to:

• • Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) from 1886
  • Coleshill Chronicle from 1901-1910, 1950 and 1952-1980
  • Manchester Evening News from 1951
  • South Eastern Gazette from 1866-1869, 1877 and 1889
  • Newry Telegraph from 1901
  • Reynolds’s Newspaper from 1930-1932
  • Leicester Chronicle from 1918, 1920 and 1922
  • Luton Times and Advertiser from 1885 and 1892-1893
  • Retford and Worksop Herald and North Notts Advertiser from 1891-1892 and 1903
  • Illustrated Police News from 1875 and 1891

I mentioned the unofficial word in yesterday's newsletter. Now here is the official press release:

TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah & SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--MyHeritage, the leading global service for discovering your past and empowering your future, announced today that Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the company. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Since 2003, MyHeritage has pioneered a new approach to discovering family history, making it easier and more accessible to millions of people around the world. Founder-led and fueled by a deep-seated passion for genealogy and a commitment to innovation, MyHeritage has built a successful, subscription-based global enterprise. Powered by unique and proprietary technologies, the MyHeritage platform is currently used by 62 million users worldwide and is available in 42 languages, which is a testament to the company's international reach and diverse user base. MyHeritage users have collectively created more than 58 million family trees.

Making History

MyHeritage has invested heavily in developing technologies designed to help users make breakthrough discoveries in their family history research. The company amassed an extensive database of 13 billion historical records, including exclusive collections from many countries. The platform's many features include world-class tools for colorizing and enhancing historical photos that are based on artificial intelligence.

“When I founded the company from my home eighteen years ago, I had a clear vision that drove me, and continues to drive me today – to make family history discovery easier using technology and to unlock the fun in genealogy: the human pursuit that bonds people,” said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “With the help of an excellent and dedicated team, years of hard work, and with constant technological innovation, we created new and exciting ways for people to learn about their origins. In Francisco Partners we see a true partner for our journey ahead, not only demonstrated by the trust they are placing in our company through this acquisition, but in their desire for us to remain true to our vision by continuing along our path and helping us do what we do best – putting our users first and giving them life-enriching, and sometimes life-changing, experiences. This move will enable us to reach new heights, invest more resources in creating greater value for our users and to reach a larger audience. We’re incredibly excited for this next chapter in our company’s evolution.”

“By leveraging our operational expertise, market resources and strong industry networks, we believe Francisco Partners is uniquely positioned to help MyHeritage accelerate its vision for growth. We are deeply impressed by the incredible achievements and relentless determination of Gilad, a visionary leader in genealogy who has grown the company from a start-up to a profitable global market leader,” said Eran Gorev, Francisco Partners‘ President of Israel & Senior Operating Partner, who will join the MyHeritage board of directors upon the closing of the transaction. “We are looking forward to partnering with Gilad and the entire MyHeritage team to help drive market expansion for the company.”

“With its unmatched presence across Europe combined with its development of unique, cutting-edge technologies, MyHeritage is an ideal investment for Francisco Partners. The company has proven itself to be an innovation powerhouse through its robust subscription business, unique positioning, advanced technology portfolio, and international focus that has enabled it to build a superior user experience,” said Matt Spetzler, Co-Head of Europe and Partner at Francisco Partners, who will also join the MyHeritage board upon closing. “Francisco Partners shares MyHeritage’s vision for growth as well as its intense commitment to ensuring the privacy of its users. The users’ personal data is an extremely important priority and we will work together with MyHeritage to expand its already strong privacy framework going forward.”

Since its inception, MyHeritage has raised $49 million in 5 rounds of financing, the last of which took place in 2012, after which the company turned profitable. The company’s investors have included private investors Yuval Rakavy and Aviv Raiz, who invested in the company in 2005 and have continued to support it ever since, as well as Accel, Index Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners. With their support, the company accelerated its growth and completed 11 strategic acquisitions.

Some of the company's current investors will be re-investing into the company alongside Francisco Partners, including HP Beteiligungs GmbH, Yuval Rakavy, the company's founder and CEO Gilad Japhet, and independent investor Gigi Levy.

Doing Good

MyHeritage is a company that not only believes in doing well, but also in doing good, and seeks opportunities to use its tools and services to leave a profound positive impact on the world. Its pro bono initiatives include DNA Quest, a program that helps adoptees reunite with their biological families by providing thousands of free DNA tests to select applicants, and Tribal Quest, an initiative that helps to document the family histories and cultural heritage of remote tribes around the world. In addition, with the onset of the coronavirus in 2020, MyHeritage established a COVID-19 testing lab in Israel in an effort to save lives and help Israel fight the pandemic.

Committing to Lead in Privacy

MyHeritage takes a best-in-class approach to user privacy and does not sell or license personal data. Under MyHeritage’s partnership with Francisco Partners, this commitment will be further strengthened and users will benefit from enhancements to the company’s privacy framework. As a first step in this strategy, MyHeritage will shortly update its privacy policy to include the unequivocal prohibition for the company to license or sell genetic data to any 3rd party. These updates will be highly unique amongst the larger genealogy and genetic DNA industry and are a testament to the commitment both MyHeritage and Francisco Partners share to privacy and consumers.

Goldfarb Seligman acted as legal advisor and J.P. Morgan acted as exclusive financial advisor to MyHeritage on the transaction. Meitar and Fried Frank advised Francisco Partners. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory review.

About MyHeritage

MyHeritage is the leading global discovery platform for exploring family history. With billions of historical records and family tree profiles, and with sophisticated matching technologies that work across all its assets, MyHeritage allows users to discover their past and empower their future. MyHeritage DNA is one of the world’s largest consumer DNA databases, with 4.8 million customers. MyHeritage is the most popular DNA test and family history service in Europe. Since 2020, MyHeritage has also been home to some of the world’s best AI technologies for enhancing and colorizing historical photos. www.myheritage.com

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has invested in more than 300 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. With more than $25 billion in assets under management, the firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com

A major new announcement was made at RootsTech Connect 2021 today. Here is the announcement:

ROOTSTECH CONNECT 2021 NEWS VIVID-PIX BRINGS FAMILY HISTORY HOME AT ROOTSTECH CONNECT 2021 WITH FREE EDUCATION & RESEARCH   New Family History Series for Families, Family Historians & Librarians   Vivid-Pix Partners with achi & Tellegacy to Provide Research to Assist Older Adults, Families, & Health Providers   February 25, 2021, Salt Lake City, UT – Vivid-Pix www.vivid-pix.com, the leading provider of AI-powered image restoration software, announced today at RootsTech Connect, the world’s largest family history event, Vivid-Pix Education for family “Chief Memory Officers” (those who enjoy taking pictures and sharing family stories), family historians, and librarians. In addition, Vivid-Pix announced today that it is partnering with achi and Tellegacy to provide academic and business research to help older adults and families and assist health providers.  Family History/Genealogy is 2nd Most Popular Hobby in the U.S.  As published by Time, USA Today, and the NY Times, family history/genealogy is the second most popular hobby in America, especially for those over the age of 55. Integrating photos is an important component of this hobby, with photo popularity continuing to grow in the U.S. for all age groups. “Photo ubiquity is illustrated by how we communicate today in social media – a picture says a thousand words. Most online conversations revolve around photos – whether viewing last night’s dinner or yesteryear’s photos where we see older adults as children. Photos connect us across languages and other differences,” said Vivid-Pix CEO, Rick Voight.    Vivid-Pix Creates Education for Families, Family Historians, and Librarians  Have you ever wanted to tell your story and your family story? To harness photography’s impact on family history, Vivid-Pix has launched new education for families and family historians. In this six-part series, author / storyteller and genealogist Laura Hedgecock teaches us how to share stories in bite-sized videos, starting with the class Witness to History: Now and Then. Classes are available at: https://www.vivid-pix.com/education.html. Vivid-Pix is also providing education for librarians. The American Library Association (ALA) estimates that there are 116,867 libraries in the United States. Very few universities offer a genealogy course path for librarians pursuing a Master of Library Science. Working with experts in the field, Vivid-Pix has created a twelve-part Genealogy Librarian Education Series at:  https://www.vivid-pix.com/librarian with classes and special panel discussions, including: ·        “Introduction to Genealogical Research and the Role of the Genealogy Librarian”: taught by Drew Smith, MA LIS, USF Libraries. ·        “The Genealogical Reference Interview, Orientation to Library Resources & Services”: taught by Sue Kaufman, MLIS, Sr. Manager, Houston Public Library – Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research. ·        “Working with Local Genealogical and Historical Societies”: panel discussion hosted by Cherie Bush, Deputy Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch Intl. ·        “Marketing the Genealogy Library”: panel discussion hosted by Allison DePrey Singleton, MA, MLS, Sr. Librarian, Genealogy Center, Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana.   The CDC estimates that 20% of people age 55 years or older experience some type of mental health concern. The most common conditions include anxiety, severe cognitive impairment, and mood disorders (such as depression or bipolar disorder) - see:  https://www.cdc.gov/aging/pdf/mental_health.pdf .Research has shown that loneliness and social isolation can result in long-term negative health outcomes. Studies also illustrate the health benefits of using photos to reduce loneliness, stress, and anxiety, as well as the recollective benefits for those that suffer from early-onset of dementia, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. achi, Tellegacy & Vivid-Pix (ATV) Launch Academic and Business Research to Assist Aging Population  Vivid-Pix is also announcing ATV, a partnership with achi and Tellegacy to study and improve older adult population health. Dr. Jeremy Holloway, Assistant Professor and Director of Geriatrics Education at University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, will lead the primary research utilizing student caregiver/senior engagement. Rick Voight, MBA, CEO, Vivid-Pix, will lead the effort on business research and Hayley Studer, CPA, FHFMA, will lead financial modeling to study how to reduce cost and improve older adult health. The inter-generational Tellegacy program helps keep older adults connected. ATV activities will integrate photos into loneliness, isolation, and reminiscence therapy research. Read research info at: “Photo Reminiscing Can Reduce Stress & Depression During Coronavirus.  Vivid-Pix at RootsTech Connect and Beyond  Vivid-Pix is a bronze sponsor and exhibitor of RootsTech Connect, which is being held virtually from Feb. 25-27, 2021. In addition to RootsTech Connect, Vivid-Pix is also the title sponsor of NGS Conference’s SLAM (Societies, Libraries, Archives, Museums) and Focus on Societies (genealogical societies, historical societies, and family organizations), two pillars of the five-day National Genealogical Society (NGS) virtual conference, held May 17-21, 2021. NGS and RootsTech Connect are the backbone of the genealogy community and an important source of information and knowledge for budding family historians and experts alike.   Vivid-Pix also recently announced the acquisition of Reunions magazine, a leading publication for reunion planning and celebration for the past 30 years. This resource provides family, class, and military reunions ideas, features, and education to connect in person and online. For more information on Vivid-Pix, see the website: www.vivid-pix.com.  About Tellegacy  Tellegacy is an intergenerational program created to combat loneliness and social isolation among older adults, keeping them connected and engaged through weekly phone or virtual visits with university students. As research shows, loneliness and social isolation can result in long-term negative health outcomes. Tellegacy founder, Jeremy Holloway, PhD, is determined to change that narrative with his flexible, relationship-oriented, mindfulness, goal-setting and guided imagery curriculum. In partnership with Hayley Studer, founder of achi, a holistic care management company that lowers overall expenses by actively engaging people and connecting them to organizations to address the social determinants of health, the infrastructure for which Tellegacy was built. To learn more about the Tellegacy program and how it can save lives, visit www.achi.solutions/tellegacy.

This is something you need to see in order to appreciate it. I don't have enough words to properly describe it but watching a video will provide all the basic information within seconds.

In short, You should see a new feature that converts still photographs into Deep Nostalgia™, a groundbreaking new photo feature on MyHeritage that allows you to animate the faces of your loved ones in still photos. This new addition to MyHeritage's suite of photo tools produces a realistic depiction of how a person from an old photo could have moved and looked if they were captured on video.

You can see examples of this new technology in the MyHeritage Blog at: https://blog.myheritage.com/2021/02/new-animate-the-faces-in-your-family-photos/.

Convinced? To animate your own photos that haven’t been uploaded to MyHeritage yet, you can upload and animate them at myheritage.com/deep-nostalgia.

GEDCOM 7.0 is being announced this week at the RootsTech virtual conference. If you did not attend the virtual conference, you can still read all about release candidate 1 (7.0.0-rc1) at https://gedcom.io/specifications/GEDCOM7rc.html.

GEDCOM 7 includes some important changes, but perhaps most important of all, GEDCOM-related activity was dormant at FamilySearch for a long, long time but now it is active again. That is great news for the genealogy community.

TechCrunch is a website that often publishes news stories about online services. Today, TechCrunch published the following:

"Genealogy tracking online is a big business, and today comes some M&A [Merger & Acquisition] news for one of the bigger names in the field. TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that Israel’s MyHeritage.com — a profitable site that lets people test DNA and track their family lineage and has some 62 million users — is getting acquired by Francisco Partners, for a price that a source close to the deal tells us is $600 million.

"A spokesperson for MyHeritage confirmed the deal to TechCrunch over the phone but not the price. Francisco Partners has not responded to our request for comment but we’ll update this post as we learn more.

"From what we understand the deal will be announced officially very soon. Update: we [TechCrunch] now have received a press release, so I guess that makes it 'official.'"

The article goes on to to detail the rise and profitability of MyHeritage.com at some length. TechCrunch also states, "In addition to its 62 million active users of its site — which is available in 42 languages — it also has a database of some 13 billion historical records. Users have built and expanded on some 58 million family trees on its platform. It’s also run nearly 5 million DNA tests for its users.

Finally, the article states:

"'By leveraging our operational expertise, market resources and strong industry networks, we believe Francisco Partners is uniquely positioned to help MyHeritage accelerate its vision for growth. We are deeply impressed by the incredible achievements and relentless determination of Gilad, a visionary leader in genealogy who has grown the company from a start-up to a profitable global market leader,' said Eran Gorev, Francisco Partners‘ President of Israel & Senior Operating Partner, in a statement. 'We are looking forward to partnering with Gilad and the entire MyHeritage team to help drive market expansion for the company.'

"Gorev is joining the board along with Francisco’s Europe head Matt Spetzler with this deal.

“'Francisco Partners shares MyHeritage’s vision for growth as well as its intense commitment to ensuring the privacy of its users. The users’ personal data is an extremely important priority and we will work together with MyHeritage to expand its already strong privacy framework going forward,' said Spetzler."

You can read the full TechCrunch article at: https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/24/francisco-partners-is-acquiring-myheritage-sources-say-for-600m/

Comment by Dick Eastman:

This newsletter has been sponsored by MyHeritage for the past several years and I have learned to respect the business methods of MyHeritage. I have been very impressed with the fact that the company CEO, Gilad Japhet, became a serious genealogist when he was a teenager, unlike the CEOs of most other genealogy-related companies. That fact shows in his business philosophies and actions.

I had no "inside information" about an acquisition but must say that I am not surprised. I have always assumed that most web-based businesses in the genealogy world have always had a business plan that states something similar to: "Either become wildly profitable and become acquired by someone else or else remain unprofitable and hope that someone else will purchase whatever is left of the company."

It looks like MyHeritage has successfully achieved the first part of that plan: becoming very profitable.

It is rare that any legislative body proposes to REDUCE the embargo periods for public domain records. However, a proposed bill in the state of Georgia may do exactly that.

The following is an announcement from the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS)) Public Records Access Monitoring Committee mailing list:

There is a bill currently in the Georgia House, HB 92, that proposes to lower the embargo periods for birth records to 100 years and death, marriage, divorce and annulment dates for vital records to 75 years respectively. The records would then be transferred to the State Archives from the State Registrar. The bill may be read at: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/58923.

Currently, the embargo periods are 125 years for birth records and 100 years from date of death, application for marriage, divorce, or annulment.

Jan Meisels Allen
Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee