For %%emailaddr%% Oct. 12, 2006 A New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/09/technology/ 09ecom.html) Monday reported MyFamily.com is building on the popularity of social-networking Web sites such as MySpace.com and Match.com (former employer of MyFamily.com CEO Tim Sullivan) to expand its genealogy database services from a niche market to mainstream users. After introducing new Ancestry.com tools last month—Person Pages about individual relatives; indexed Member Trees; and free online family trees, photo uploads and the ability to share online trees and records with non-members—MyFamily.com says users have added 3,000 photos a day and invited 42,000 nonsubscribers to look at their trees. In The New York Times article, a media analyst predicted MyFamily.com won’t break into the mainstream because not enough people want to use its services. We'd like to know what you think: Can MyFamily.com’s appeal spill over the genealogical threshold to reach non-genealogists? E-mail ftmnews-editor@fwpubs.com. —Diane Haddad, Newsletter Editor ftmnews-editor@fwpubs.com P.S. Make sure you don't miss a single issue of your E-mail Update! Add our address (familytree-newsletter@fwpubs.com) to your email-address book—your software will recognize the Update as an e-mail you want to read. World Vital Records Opens for Business TV That Won’t Rot Your Brain Lady Liberty Drawing Contest PERSI Gets an Update AncestorNews: Historic Trees Tip of the Week: Heading for Home Worthwhile Web Sites Identifying Family Photographs: Aging Well Speakers' Schedule Advertiser Special Offers World Vital Records Opens for Business After offering free records since its debut earlier this year, online genealogy newcomer World Vital Records (http://worldvitalrecords.com) launched its subscription service last week. The site, a project of Utah-based Internet business incubator Provo Labs, aims to become the number-two player in the genealogy industry—behind MyFamily.com, the company started by Provo Labs founder Paul Allen (he departed MyFamily.com in 2002). Paid content includes genealogy classes and podcasts, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ membership records (1830 to 1848), Scottish death records and UK marriage witnesses. The site offers newspapers through a partnership agreement with Small Town Papers (http://www.smalltownpapers.com). World Vital Records’  Pennsylvania Gazette, The Liberator, African-American publications and Godey’s Lady’s Book also are available at Accessible Archives (http://www.accessible.com). Some of World Vital Records’ paid content is free elsewhere online, such as the 1880 US Census (at FamilySearch, http://www.familysearch.com), Kentucky Death records (http://ukcc.uky.edu/~vitalrec), Irish prisoners (http://www.pcug.org.au/~ppmay/convicts.htm) and UK marriage witnesses (http://www.genuki.org.uk/mwi/). Content that will remain free includes the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), Bureau of Land Management (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov) records, a few state death indexes and a host of miscellaneous Colorado records. Much of this also is on other Web sites. With all this overlap, World Vital Records needs more information on what'll be special about its site—spokesperson Whitney Ransom says that's coming. One boon: Many World Vital Records listings are geocoded. A relative’s SSDI record, for example, shows a Microsoft Virtual Earth map of his county of residence at death, with tombstones marking nearby cemetery locations (although my great-aunt’s cemetery wasn’t shown in her record). You can click See Neighbors for people in the SSDI who shared your relative’s ZIP code of last residence. If you purchase a $49.95 World Vital Records annual subscription before Oct. 31, you’ll get another year free. TV That Won’t Rot Your Brain The Internet television channel Roots Television (http://www.rootstelevision.com) debuted last week, with our own contributing editor Sharon DeBartolo Carmack interviewing Henry Z. Jones, author of Psychic Roots: Serendipity and Intuition in Genealogy. (Come on, we know you’ve heard your ancestors talking to you—listen to Jones relate similarly eerie research coincidences by clicking the Roots Living tab, then Roots Books). Other shows focus on Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak’s search for the “real” Annie Moore (read our coverage in the Sept. 14 E-mail Update) and genealogist/comedian Heir Jordan’s shtick about the five stages of genealogy (Bargaining: "OK, I’m related to you…but only on my mother’s side"). You’ll also find how-to footage including lectures and instructional CDs, storytellers’ recollections and a chance to say what you’d like to see (and would be willing to pay for) on Roots Television. We give it two thumbs up, but the addiction potential is high, so get hooked at your own risk. Lady Liberty Drawing Contest for Kids Get out the crayons and invite your grandkids over: To celebrate Lady Liberty’s 120th birthday Oct. 28, the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation is holding the Statue of Liberty Picture Contest contest for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade. Let the little ones render the Statue of Liberty in crayon, marker or other drawing implements, then send their artwork via postal mail by the Jan. 31 contest deadline. Twelve finalists will each receive a Statue of Liberty Fun Pack; three winners also get goodies including a children's genealogy book and special journal. See http://www.statueofliberty.org for rules and other details. PERSI Gets an Update The Periodical Source Index, affectionately known to genealogists as PERSI, has been updated to include nearly 2 million citations (up from 1.6 million in the previous version) from more than 6,500 genealogy and history periodicals published in the United States, Canada and abroad since 1800. Librarians at Allen County Public Library (http://www.acpl.lib.in.us) in Fort Wayne, Ind., started PERSI; it’s available online through the HeritageQuest Online libraries-only genealogy database service (http://www.heritagequestonline.com). You can access an older version of PERSI on CD and through the subscription Web site Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com). Search PERSI for surnames, places and how-to advice, then use matching citations to request the full article from your library, borrow the periodical through Interlibrary Loan, or order copies for a fee from the Allen County library (see http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/ArticleFulfillment.pdf). Historic Trees As you ponder fall's colorful foliage, peruse these Web sites about trees that've been beautifying autumn landscapes since your ancestors' days:  http://www.familytreemagazine.com/ancestornews/ historictrees.html. AncestorNews columnist nancy Hendrickson is a family historian, freelance writer and the author of the book Finding Your Roots Online, on sale now at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/store/display.asp?id=70583. Browse the archive of her AncestorNews columns at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/ancestornews/previous.html. Heading for Home Kelly Sutkamp of Louisville, Ky., offers this tip: If an ancestral home still exists but you live too far away to visit, try the county property valuation Web site for that specific county. [Editor’s note: Find the site by running a Google search on the county name plus auditor or assessor.] Some counties provide an online address search with property information and a photo of the home. Using this method, I showed my mother-in-law where her great-grandparents lived in early 1900s Newport, Ky. It's kind of fun because it adds more to the picture of their life than just knowing their names. Do you have a great idea for discovering, preserving or celebrating family history? E-mail us your tip at ftmnews-editor@fwpubs.com with "TIP OF THE WEEK" in the subject line. If we publish it, you'll win a free copy of Walking with Your Ancestors: A Genealogist's Guide to Using Maps and Geography by Melinda Kashuba, also available for purchase online at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/store/display.asp?id=70683. Overwhelmed by the number of family history-related Web sites popping up? FamilyTreeMagazine.com sorts through them all—whew!—to bring you only the very best. We recently recommended the following as Sites of the Week: • Talking Scot http://www.talkingscot.com Interact with other Scottish genealogists, find societies and learn about using censuses and registration districts in Scotland.  • Polly Glotto http://www.pollyglotto.com Use this fun tool to translate genealogical terms from 13 languages and hear the translation. • Dutch Jewish Genealogical Database http://www.dutchjewry.org Page through numerous user-submitted family trees. Soon to come: digitized information from Dutch cemteries. • Wooden Seeds http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mississippiwoods/index.html This family roots site covers the Wood/Woods families of Choctaw and Webster counties in Mississippi with links to census, vital records, occupational certificate images and more. Aging Well I’ve spent a lot of time this month cleaning out every nook and cranny in my house. All this tossing of goods made me think about the clothes people hang onto as they age. Using fashion to date a photograph of an older person presents a unique dilemma: Is the subject wearing contemporary fashion or an older style she's had for awhile? This week's column addresses that question. Read photo historian Maureen A. Taylor's solution at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/current.htm. If you have a family photo mystery for Taylor to solve, check out our Identifying Family Photographs Submission Guidelines at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/photohelp.htm. Poughkeepsie, NY Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak Oct. 28 Dutchess County Genealogical Society at Hyde Park United Methodist Church Topics: Trace Your Roots with DNA Beyond Y-DNA: Your Genetic Genealogy Options For more information, see http://www.dcgs-gen.org/. Genealogy Hotel Rates in Salt Lake-You will love the genealogy rates at the Holiday Inn-Downtown along with the free shuttles to & from the Family History Library.   www.holiday-inn.com/slc-downtown PUBLISH YOUR FAMILY HISTORY. Preserve and share your precious family research. Personal coaching. Many options.  www.GatewayPress.com RootsMagic Genealogy Software - "An excellent choice for any genealogist" says Family Tree Magazine. Get a free trial copy at http://www.RootsMagic.com DNA can help your genealogy research. There are good reasons why 9 out of 10 genealogists choose Family Tree DNA: we have the largest database in the world to match your sample with others to find a relationship our scientists are the top in this field and developed the right tests that will help your genealogy. PRINTING & BINDING:  Archival hardbound books with 4-color ink-based  printing.   Over 53 years experience as bookbinders. http://www.familyheritagepublishers.com Get Family Tree Magazine back issues at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/mags. Explore Family Tree Magazine E-mail Update past issues at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/newsletter/archive.html. Get free Family Tree News Service articles for your genealogy newsletter or Web site at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/ftns-subscribe.asp. 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