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Today Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrate their 66th wedding anniversary! The couple met when the then Princess Elizabeth was only 13 years old. It was love at first sight for the young princess and throughout her teen years, the pair continuously exchanged letters. In 1946, Prince Philip asked King George VI for his daughter’s hand in marriage. The King granted his request provided any formal engagement was delayed until Elizabeth turned 21 the following April. On November… Read the full story

Have you ever found an old photo that appears to have a ghostly presence amongst the individuals pictured? You may have stumbled upon a “spirit” photograph. During the late 19th century, spirit photography sprang into popularity. The practice attempted to capture images of a passed loved one’s ghost or spirit within a photograph. With Halloween upon us, let’s take a closer look at the history behind these spooky photos. In the 1860s, photographer William H. Mumler discovered… Read the full story

It’s competition time! Help come up with a unique caption for the image below for your chance to win a free Geni Pro subscription. With Geni Pro you will have access to advanced tools to help grow your family tree, including: Tree Matches – achieve faster tree growth with instant tree matches to connect with new relatives Unlimited data – upload unlimited photos, videos and documents Premium support – communicate directly with our expert support staff… Read the full story

Not even death can keep this couple apart. Below are the graves of Colonel JWC van Gorkum, a Protestant, and the Catholic CJHP van Aefferden, a woman of nobility in the region. In 1842, the Dutch couple were married in the Netherlands. Because of their different religious affiliations, their “mixed” union was quite controversial for the time. Despite the scandal, the couple remained married for 40 years, until van Gorkum died in 1880. He was… Read the full story

It’s that time of year again! Back-to-school season is upon us in the U.S. as children get ready to start the new school year. Do you have little ones in your family about to start their first day of school? As you are researching your family history, you may find a tradition of relatives, generation after generation, attending the same schools. In many cases, family’s that share deep roots within a community and have stayed relatively… Read the full story

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’” On August 28, 1963, over 200,000 people marched to Washington, D.C. to participate in a peaceful civil rights rally known as the March on Washington. From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a… Read the full story

How do you usually spend quality time with your family? If you were the Steinlauf family, you would probably all go out for a nice bike ride…on the same bike. In 1939, Charles Steinlauf invented the “Goofybike,” a two-story bicycle contraption to carry the entire family. Here’s a photo of Charles pedaling up top to help guide the bike, while his son pedals down below. His wife sits below him with the fully operational sewing… Read the full story

Six Geni Curators from around the world – Adam Brown, Randy Schoenberg, Pam Karp, Kevin Hanit, Malka Mysels and Hatte Blejer – will fly to Boston this weekend to represent Geni at the 33rd IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy. Located at Boston’s Park Plaza Hotel, the conference will run from Sunday, August 4th through Friday, August 9th. The Curators will staff the official Geni exhibit all week as well as a table sponsored by… Read the full story

It is with a heavy heart to report that we have lost an important member of the Geni community. On Wednesday, July 17, 2013, Geni Curator Marvin Caulk passed away after a long battle with cancer. In January 2011, Marvin joined the ranks of Geni’s dedicated group of volunteers to help Curate the World Family Tree, a daunting task and one that Marvin embraced wholeheartedly as one of Geni’s ever-watchful eyes, guardians and mentors. He… Read the full story

Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge! Today William and Kate welcomed their first child – a healthy baby boy! Kate went into labor earlier today and was taken to St. Mary’s hospital, the same hospital where William and his brother Prince Harry were born. The birth announcement stated the future monarch was born at 4:24pm local time and weighed 8 pounds and 6 ounces. While his name has not yet been released, here… Read the full story

This weekend we had the pleasure of attending the 44th Annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboree in Burbank, California. It was a blast meeting Geni users and seeing familiar faces, old friends and first timers. This year we had a much larger space as part of the MyHeritage family with a lovely day-in-the-park theme and green “grass” to complete the look. We even had new Geni banners to show off! Below is a picture of Mark Olsen,… Read the full story

Chad Woodburn is descended from a long line of pioneers. From his nine ancestors who were on the Mayflower to his father, who came to California in a covered wagon, it’s no wonder Chad became interested in his family history at a young age. Chad Woodburn His interest was first peeked upon reading handwritten family genealogy tables that went back a few hundred years. As a child, he would listen to his parents and grandparents… Read the full story

We’re excited to attend the 44th Annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboree next week! From June 7 – 9, genealogists and family history enthusiasts will gather at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel for one of the funnest genealogy events of the year. And with the conference so close to home, you can expect several folks from the Geni office to stop by throughout the weekend.  We’ll be there along side MyHeritage, with a huge space… Read the full story

We love hearing how valuable Geni users are finding their new Record Matches and Smart Matches™. Recently, we shared how Record Matches and Smart Matches™ have led to exciting new discoveries for many users. We’re happy to share even more amazing stories from users who have made great breakthroughs in their family tree. Check them out below: Jennifer Lynn Young: “So far Smart Matches have led me to 17 collateral ancestors (siblings of ancestors in my… Read the full story

In just one week, Geni will be at the National Genealogical Society 2013 Family History Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada! Between May 8 – 11, genealogists from around the country will meet in Sin City for a fun-filled genealogy adventure.  The conference is a great opportunity for genealogists and those interested in family history to meet and share ideas on how to advance family research. Will you be at NGS? We love meeting Geni users… 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

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

We had an amazing time at RootsTech in Salt Lake City, Utah. Over 6,700 people came out to the conference, drawing an even larger crowd than last year. The first day was a whirlwind as the booth was crowded with people interested in learning more about MyHeritage and Geni. This was the first time we attended as a part of the MyHeritage family and we had an amazing team manning the booth. It was a… Read the full story

We had a great first day at RootsTech and we wanted to share a few pictures from the day with you. Within minutes of the expo hall opening, we had swarms of people at the booth. It’s estimated that there are over 6,800 people registered – that’s over 2,000 people than last year! This year was especially exciting as it was the first time we attended RootsTech as a part of the MyHeritage family. Check… Read the full story

We’re happy to present a guest post written by blogger Leslie Ann of Ancestors Live Here. Today she shares some interesting facts about the Idaho Territory and how you can honor your Idaho ancestors by sharing their memories in the Idaho Pioneers Project on Geni. It has been 150 years this March since Idaho Territory was created. President Lincoln signed the bill creating Idaho Territory March 4, 1863 from  Dakota Territory, Nebraska Territory, and Washington… Read the full story

Today, the world celebrates International Women’s Day. Celebrated since the early 1900s, the holiday found its roots in the United States when 15,000 women marched through New York City protesting inequality and oppression in the workplace. In 1911, the first official international women’s day was celebrated across Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland as women banded together to demand women’s worker rights. Now the day is celebrated in over 100 different countries all around the world… Read the full story

Now that it’s the start of a new year, we’re putting together a helpful list of genealogy conferences for 2013! Check out the list of upcoming conferences below and we’ll continue to update it as more dates become available. If you know of a conference that’s not on the list, please let us know in the comments below. Which conferences will you be attending? January Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (Salt Lake City, Utah) January 14… Read the full story

Shmuel, Yuval, Gilad, Noah, Yigal, Daniel and Raziel This week, Noah Tutak paid a visit to MyHeritage headquarters in Israel and took the opportunity to spend some time with local Geni Curators. All of the Geni Curators in Israel were invited to MyHeritage HQ for a visit and a chance to sit down with MyHeritage founder and CEO Gilad Japhet, EVP of R&D & Operations Yuval Ben-Galim, Chief Genealogist Daniel Horowitz and Noah, General Manager,… Read the full story

To cap off Curator Appreciation Month, we invited all of the local Curators out to lunch with the Geni team. It was great to finally meet face-to-face! Thank you to Randy Schoenberg, Richard Wilson, Eldon Clark, and Kwame Welsh for taking the time to stop by and have lunch with us! It was a blast! We also want to thank all the Curators for your hard work, dedication and commitment toward building the World Family… Read the full story

We’re happy to announce our fourth Curator Appreciation Month Winner! Congratulations John Hersey! We hope you enjoy your free 6-month subscription of Geni Pro! Thank you for sharing your great experience with Curator Lea Herbst! Check out his story below: I found an incorrect link in my mothers genealogy that was prepared for her in 1976 by a researcher. Other genealogy sites and programs offered some clues, but not sufficient information to make a reliable… Read the full story

We’re happy to announce last week’s Curator Appreciation Month winner, Kathleen Marie Puckett (Rose)! Kathleen just won a free 6-month subscription to Geni Pro! Thanks for sharing your amazing experiences with German Curator Tobias Rachor. Read her story below: Tobias Rachor (Deutscher Kurator) is always willing to help. I do not read or speak German. Tobias has cited many, many facts from Norbert Schmitt (Pfarrer in Neunkirchen), Neunkirchener Familienbuch 1685 – 1910. German facts that… Read the full story

The Curators are an integral part of the Geni community. They are essentially the architects of our most prized asset, the World Family Tree. Celebrating them this month gives me an opportunity to tell the story of how the curators enhanced a special event for my family. We recently had a wedding in my family, which to any genealogy fan is already incredibly exciting. This one was even more so for me, as my sister,… Read the full story

We’re excited to announce our second Curator Appreciation Month winner, Laura Harmon! We hope you enjoy your complimentary 6-month subscription to Geni Pro! Laura shared her experience with Curator Erica Howton. Check out her story below: I was looking up something and I ended up finding her and I found out that I was connected to her, so I asked how. She told me how we were connected and I didn’t realize one of the… Read the full story

Today we’re happy to announce our first Curator Appreciation Month winner. Congratulations to Pia Hanslep! She’s won a 6-month subscription of Geni Pro! Hanslep shared her story about Estonian Curator Jaak Tulp and his passion for assisting the community. Read her story below: A couple of years ago, when I started using Geni, I was so excited about it that I shared the news with everyone. Most of the people had never even thought further than… Read the full story

It’s November, which means it’s that time of year when we traditionally take time to acknowledge all the things we are thankful for – family, friends, those we love and cherish. We wanted to take the time to thank and acknowledge all of the amazing Curators and the tremendous work they all do to help the Geni community. We’re calling November “Curator Appreciation Month.” Have you ever asked a Curator for help with your family tree?… Read the full story

Geni user Paul Hart recently shared a wonderful story with the Geni community. For years, he has been in possession of old photographs belonging to his grandmother’s foster family. After years of searching for the family’s descendants, he finally tracked them down to return these long lost family items. And along the way, he solved a mystery about his own grandmother’s whereabouts. Read the full story below: My grandmother (Fern) went into a foster home… Read the full story

We’re back from Birmingham, Alabama, where we attended FGS 2012 Conference. We had a great time meeting Geni users and chatting with librarians and genealogy society members about Geni’s Public Access program. We arrived a couple of days early to set up the Geni booth. The expo hall was a good size, with lots of vendors. It was great to see some familiar faces and new products making their conference debut. We had fun chatting… Read the full story

Next week we’ll be heading to Birmingham, Alabama for the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2012 Conference! This year’s theme is “Indians, Squatters, Settlers and Soldiers in the ‘Old Southwest.’” Do you have ancestry from the “Old Southwest”? The conference will be held between August 29 – September 1 at the Birmingham Convention Center and is hosted by the Alabama Genealogical Society. If you’re planning on attending, be sure to stop by the Geni booth (615,… Read the full story

We had a great three days at the 43rd annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboree in Burbank, California! It was a blast introducing Geni to the uninitiated and chatting with lots of long time users. And many thanks to the genealogy bloggers who stopped by the booth! It was great to finally meet you all in person! Our Jamboree-fun started a week earlier for us. Not only did we sponsor the bags this year, but we helped provide… Read the full story

Today marks the anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy. Code named Operation Overlord, over 160,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy across a 50-mile span of its coast. Never before had an operation of this magnitude had been attempted. U.S. Army troops wade ashore on Omaha Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944 / NARA On the day before, (June 5, 1944), General Dwight D. Eisenhower, then the Supreme Commander of the… Read the full story

The 43rd annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboree is next week! Are you as excited for the fun-filled genealogy conference? Jamboree 2012 will be taking place June 8 – 10 in Burbank, California – that’s right in our own backyard! Several Geni team members will be making an appearance too! We’re giving away a free Geni “Who’s Your Daddy?” t-shirt to all Geni users who come to our booth (410, 411). We’d love to meet you, so… Read the full story

We’re back from Cincinnati, Ohio where we attended the NGS 2012 Family History Conference. We met lots of Geni users and had a great time chatting with the other vendors. All week, people were abuzz about this year’s lectures. On Wednesday, our good friends at AncestorSync that their beta is now live. With AncestorSync you can seamlessly synchronize your Geni tree with your desktop software and back without the hassle of GEDCOMs. If you want… Read the full story

Special thanks to Smadar Belkind Gerson of Past-Present-Future for this week’s blog post. Read on to hear her insightful thoughts about telling your own story and those of your relatives in their own words. I must admit, I was not excited about reading about Alzheimer’s, the theme of my last book club book, Still Alice by Lisa Genova. As the eight of us sat around the cozy dining room table, I learned that the apprehension… Read the full story

Next week Geni will be at the NGS 2012 Family History Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. From May 9-12, genealogists from around the country will come together at the Duke Energy Convention Center to learn about the latest in the world of genealogy. This year’s conference theme is The Ohio River: Gateway to the Western Frontier. We can’t wait to meet all of you, so be sure to stop by the Geni booth (422, 424) and… Read the full story

This Sunday, April 22, the world celebrates Earth Day! Over 175 countries around the world will join to spread awareness and appreciation of the Earth’s natural environment. Together these countries are working to build a clean and healthier world for generations to come. It’s around this time of year that everyone becomes a little more motivated to do their part in helping the environment. Let’s take a closer look at the history of Earth Day and… Read the full story

Today, the 1940 U.S. census is finally available to the public! The U.S. National Archives has released the 1940 census images online for free. These records contain information for over 132 million U.S. citizens and hold a plethora of genealogical treasures. Are you ready to find your relatives in the 1940 census? Here are steps to get started: Visit the National Archives’ official website for the 1940 U.S. Census Search census maps and descriptions to… Read the full story

This week we’re happy to present a post written by guest blogger Smadar Belkind Gerson of Past-Present-Future. Smadar graciously shared with us her story about how she made a family connection through Geni.  This is the story of HOW I MET THE BLOOMFIELDS. This story may not become a hit sitcom like How I Met your Mother, but if Geni.com decides to create a reality genealogy series, maybe the Bloomfields can star in an episode…. Read the full story

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts, we’re happy to present a post by guest blogger Angela Kraft of Leaves of Heritage Genealogy, who gives us a few things to ponder about Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low. Thank you for allowing me to be a guest blogger! My name is Angela Kraft, and I am the owner of Leaves of Heritage Genealogy.  In honor of the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts, I… Read the full story

The winners of the RootsTech‘s Developer Challenge were announced on the second day of the conference. The challenge called for developers to create a new application or service that introduces a new concept or innovation in family history. The grand prize went to Jimmy Zimmerman for NoteFuser, which brings the power of Evernote to your genealogical research. After receiving his award, Jimmy stopped by the Geni booth to give us a brief demo of NoteFuser with Geni…. Read the full story

RootsTech‘s annual conference in Salt Lake City, Utah is just around the corner. This one of a kind genealogy conference brings techies and genealogists together to discover new technologies in family history research. RootsTech will be held from February 2 – 4, 2012. Several Geni team members will be in attendance and we can’t wait to meet all of you, so be sure to head on over to our booth to say hi! If your… Read the full story

Today, January 23 is Chinese New Year! One of the most important traditional Chinese holidays, Chinese New Year marks the start of the Lunar New Year. According to the Chinese zodiac, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, which symbolizes power, strength and good luck. In addition to Mainland China and Hong Kong, Chinese New Year is celebrated in many countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, including Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Mayasia, and Chinatowns throughout the… Read the full story

Since many of you found our list of 2011 genealogy conferences helpful last year, we thought it would be great to offer up our list for 2012. Below you’ll find a list of genealogy conferences in the U.S. for the coming year, with more to be added as the dates become available. Conferences in bold are those that will be attended by Geni. By no means is this list comprehensive, so if you know of any additional… Read the full story

Today at sunset marks the beginning of Hanukkah. Known as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah is an eight day Jewish celebration commemorating the re-dedication of the the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the triumph over religious persecution. The holiday is celebrated over the eight days with the lighting of the menorah, traditional foods, prayers, games and gifts. In the second century BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphanes issued a decree that outlawed Jewish religious practices and ordered an alter to Zeus… Read the full story

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy struck the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a surprise military attack. Over 2,400 people were killed and more than 1,000 others were wounded on that day. The attack came as a shock to the American people and led directly to the United States’s entry into World War II. In President Franklin D…. Read the full story

On December 6, many countries across Europe celebrate St. Nicholas Day, a festive holiday in remembrance of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, mariners and merchants. The Catholic holiday is celebrated in many countries, including France, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands and the countries of Central Europe. Also called Nikolaos of Myra, Saint Nicholas was born to a wealthy family in Lycia, Asia Minor and became Bishop of Myra. During his lifetime, Saint Nicholas was known… Read the full story