GenCircles Puts a Price Tag on SmartMatching
Pearl Street Software began selling subscriptions to its formerly free, user-contributed pedigree database GenCircles (http://www.gencircles.com) earlier this month.
The four-year-old GenCircles database, which contains information on 90 million ancestors submitted by researchers like you, is known for SmartMatching—a search technology Pearl Street staff created. When you upload your family tree files to GenCircles,
the site compares people in your file to the GenCircles database and shows you where your relatives match individuals in other people's files. SmartMatching weeds out irrelevant search results, letting you see where other users have information you're missing,
and vice versa.
Pearl Street president Cliff Shaw has promised on the site that "True to our word, GenCircles will continue to be free and always will be." (See http://www.gencircles.com/info/ftl.) But he
says almost no one complained when GenCircles proposed the subscription. "I'd say about 500 people wrote in positively, with about five complaining."
You still can search the site for free—results show matching names and the submitter's name. But the SmartMatches link now takes you to a message explaining that GenCircles' growth has led to increased costs and slower development that threaten to
shut down the site.
An update to that announcement posted at least a week ago says “overwhelmingly positive” user feedback led GenCircles to implement the subscription. People who take advantage of the limited-time $30 initial offer lock in that price for life.
Shaw hasn't decided how long that will last or what the new price would be: "Maybe $40," he says.
Subscribers can view matches' birth and death dates, burial information, parents, spouse and children; related message board postings and other notes. Users of Pearl Street Software's Family Tree Legends genealogy program, which includes automatic searching
of GenCircles' database, will continue to receive free access.
The British Are Here
Familyrelatives.org http://www.familyrelatives.org, a pay-per-view database site with more than 300 million English and Welsh births, marriages and deaths, is up and running a little behind
schedule.
Webmasters originally planned to launch the site last December, but a letter sent to registered users said the testing phase went on longer than expected. (See the Dec. 2, 2004, Family Tree Magazine E-mail Update newsletter for our report.)
Registration is free, but it's required in order to search. Viewing most records costs 2 "units"—you can buy 60 units for $10 and must use them within 30 days. Get your units before April 17 and you'll receive 25 to 33 percent more free, depending
how many you buy.
FamilyRelatives.org has images of all the birth, marriage and death indexes for 1866 to 2002, with transcriptions for 1866 to 1920 and 1984 to 2002. You can search the transcribed indexes by surname, first name (the site calls it a called forename), spouse's
name, year, quarter-year and locality.
Indexes for 1921 to 1983 are partially transcribed, so search results show a list of surname ranges—pick the range encompassing your ancestor's name and scan the page image.
England's First Every-Name Census Goes Online
The subscription-database site British Origins (http://www.britishorigins.com) announced last week it now has the 1841 census of England and Wales—the earliest enumeration to list everyone
living at a residence, rather than just the head of household. British Origins' offering is the first version of the 1841 census available in a searchable online database. You can subscribe to the records collection—which also includes marriages, wills
and court documents—for $44 per year.
For more advice on researching your British ancestors, see the April 2005 Family Tree Magazine, available online at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/mags/display.asp?id=1665.
Best of Ancestor News: Republic of Texas Claims
Having trouble tracking down those elusive ancestors? In this biweekly, Web-exclusive column, contributing editor Nancy Hendrickson points to new and helpful ways to do your computer-related genealogy research. Got Texas ancestors? You'll want to
hear about this week's online resource. Read more at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/ancestornews/current.html.
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.
Packing a Punch
This week's tip comes from Carla Anders:
One snowy November day, I was trying to find my great-grandfather's grave in a cemetery. My 5-year-old daughter grabbed some snow and smeared it on a gravestone just for fun—the snow packed into the carvings, making them clear as day.
Following her lead let us read old and worn stones. We eventually found our ancestor's stone and I have pictures to remember the day.
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 Plugging Into Your Past
by Rick Crume, also available for purchase online at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/store/display.asp?id=70624.
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:
• In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience
http://www.inmotionaame.org
This New York Public Library site has articles, photographs, maps and historic documents about black migration into, out of and within the United States over the last 400 years.
• Genetealogy
http://www.genetealogy.com
Let the author of Trace Your Roots With DNA (Rodale, $14.95) answer your burning genetic-genealogy questions.
• Moon Point Cemetery
http://geocities.com/mp_cemetery/
Find a history, tombstone photos and burial list from this Livingdtone County, Ill., cemetery.
• Dunham, Wilcox, Trott and Kirk
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jdevlin
Get more than 2,100 free data files for Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York and Michigan.
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The Modern Squad
Expert photo historian Maureen A. Taylor helps readers analyze old family pictures in her Web-exclusive column Identifying Family Photographs. This week, she gives you clues to help you identify your 20th-century photos.
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/current.htm.
If you have a family photo mystery for Taylor to solve, check out our Submission Guidelines at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/photohelp.htm.
Akron, Ohio
April 14-16
2005 Ohio Genealogical Society Conference
Rick Crume
Topics:
- Ohio Genealogy on the Web
- Pennsylvania Genealogy on the Web
- Genealogy Meets the Jetsons
Paul Milner
Topics:
- Effective Internet Use of England's National Archives
- Irish Emigration to North America: Before, During, and After the Famine
For more information, see http://www.ogs.org.
Huntsville, Texas
Emily Anne Croom
April 16
Walker County Genealogical Society
- Topic: The Territorial Papers of the United States
For more information, see http://www.wcgen.com.
Moline, Ill.
Jim Warren
April 23
Quad Cities Genealogical Conference
Topics:
- The WPA Inventories: Road Maps to Record Treasures
- American Indian Records and Research at the National Archives
- Writing Your Family History in Small, Manageable Pieces
- Simple Steps to Organize and Document Your Research
For more information, see http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilbgsrim/news/2005GenConference.html.
West Chester, Ohio
Allison Stacy
April 26
Barnes & Noble
- Topic: Tips and Tools for Onlne Genealogy
For more information, contact Linda Keller at crm2170@bn.com
The brand new 5th Edition of the GENEALOGIST'S ADDRESS BOOK on CD-ROM puts you in touch with all the key sources of genealogical information in North America. http://www.genealogical.com/item_detail.asp?afid=&ID=7427
GenSmarts Automated Genealogy Research - finds missed research opportunities. Free trial at http://www.GenSmarts.com/ftmagDeals.asp
UNIQUE SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE TOURS
Visit ancestral villages, parish churches, archives, connect with
family. Fluent guides and genealogy experts included. www.scandgen.com
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
RootsMagic Genealogy Software - "An excellent choice for any genealogist" says Family Tree Magazine. Get a free trial copy at http://www.RootsMagic.com
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