When we first introduced Record Matches and Smart Matches™ on Geni, we told you that you could look forward to additional collections of historical records in the future. Today, we’re happy to announce that the entire collection of U.S. Federal Censuses are now available to Geni users through Record Matches. This collection is the nation’s largest and most important set of records and includes a huge searchable index and all scanned images of the original census… Read the full story

Lydia Field Emmet was best known for her work as a portraitist. Her paintings can be found hanging in the White House, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and many other prestigious art galleries. In 1883, at the age of sixteen, she was commissioned to illustrate Henrietta Christian Wright’s children’s book Little Folk in Green. Emmet was an illustrator for Harper’s Bazaar magazine and was commissioned to paint an official portrait of the First Lady, Lou Henry… Read the full story

Just last week we launched Record Matches and Smart Matches™ on Geni and already it’s made a huge impact on the quality of the World Family Tree. Many users are finding new and exciting information and relatives that they never knew before. Check out what some Geni users are saying about their latest discoveries: Wendi Newman: “The new matches between Geni and MH are not just Smart, but extremely intelligent and very easy to use. I’m adding… Read the full story

Having fun finding your new Matches? Why not take a short break to check out some of the latest genealogy articles on the web? The Genealogy Sphere Geni.com adds Historical Records to Advance Family Tree Collaboration (Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter) – Dick Eastman shares the good news with the genealogy community Geni.com adds Record Matches and Smart Matches (Geneamusings.com) – Randy Seaver checks out his latest Record Matches on Geni Patricia Ward Kelly on her… Read the full story

When Geni joined the MyHeritage family in November 2012, our combined teams started working together to bring the best features of MyHeritage to Geni. Today we’re very excited to announce the first fruits of this work – perhaps the most important new feature on Geni since we launched the site in 2007 – MyHeritage’s powerful Record Matching and Smart Matching™ technologies are now available on Geni! Two new technologies for Geni Record Matching automatically finds… Read the full story

The Genealogy Sphere Oldest child doesn’t always ‘know it all’ about family history (Bangor Daily News) – Keep in mind younger siblings may know some stories older siblings may not have heard Long-lost brother reunited for the first time in 80 years after being fostered apart as babies (Daily Mail UK) – Two long lost brothers find each other 80 years after they were separated Fraternal Orders and Your Family History Research (4yourfamilystory.com) – Carline Pointer shares… Read the full story

Are you planning a family reunion in the near future? Here are some fun activities to get your entire family involved in learning about your family history. 1. Fill in the family tree Here’s a fun game to get some of the younger members of your family interested in their genealogy: make copies of blank family trees for each youngster and have them ask relatives to help them fill out the tree. This is a… Read the full story

Francis Preston Blair, Sr. was an American journalist and politician. He was made editor of the Washington Globe in 1830 which was the recognized organ of the Andrew Jackson party. Blair was a member of Jackson’s “Kitchen Cabinet” that gave him a powerful influence. The Globe was the administration organ until 1841 and the chief Democratic organ until 1845. In 1849, Blair ceased to be its editor.  He was convinced after the Mexican War that slavery should not… Read the full story

Check out some interesting genealogy related articles from the past week! The Genealogy Sphere Warning! Don’t do THIS (Nutfield Genealogy blog) – A good warning to all genealogists – keep your old paper journals Medial records useful in genealogical research (Examiner.com) – Great explanation on how medical records can be helpful in genealogical research Auschwitz survivor’s social media search for long-lost twin (CNN) – Auschwitz survivor Menachem Bodner looks to Facebook to find his long… Read the full story

We recently shared an article on Facebook about how two Norwegian relatives who found each other at a Miami CVS. By chance, these two women struck up a conversation while shopping. Soon they discovered that their families both came from a remote village in Norway and that they were cousins! It’s always interesting to hear these type of stories and several of you had a few to share of your own on Facebook. Here are… Read the full story