January 2011

So, you uploaded a document to Geni. Now what do you do? It’s not doing any good just sitting there without being linked to the relevant data. First off, go to the documents page on Geni. Next, click on the document in which you’d like to add your data. Now click on the edit button in the upper righthand corner. Now, you’ll want to provide as much information as possible about your document. Give it… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Andrew Jackson http://www.geni.com/people/Andrew-Jackson-7th-President-of-the-USA/6000000007059604501

So, what happened in the world of genealogy last week? Let me show you. The Genealogy Sphere Looking For Your Civil War Ancestor? by a3genealogy Hands-On Technology at RootsTech by Kimberly’s Genealogy Blog RootsTech Presenter Interview: Lisa Alzo by Luxegen Genealogy and Family History Mozart Genealogy??? by EASTERN WASHINGTON GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY BLOG 161-Year-Old Graveyard to be Bulldozed to Make Way for New Runway at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport by Geneanet On Geni Embed the World Family… Read the full story

Have you ever wanted to show off to your friends how big your family tree is? If you’re a member of the World Family Tree here at Geni, you now can embed an ever-updating ticker that shows off how big the “Big Tree” really is. If you’d like this widget on your site…   Join the worlds largest free family tree     You just have to paste a snippet of code wherever you’d like… Read the full story

This week we highlight the Old Masters Project. This project is dedicated to all of the great painters from the mid 13th to the mid 19th century. There are currently 48 profiles included in the project. Perhaps you’ll want to contribute by adding more great artists in history to Geni? Here’s a look at some of the profiles included: Jean Fouquet – He is considered one of the best French painters of 15th century. He… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: D.W. Griffith http://www.geni.com/people/D-W-Griffith/6000000004594579922

Although DNA testing has been around for a while, only recently have genealogists started using DNA to help trace the origins of their ancestors. While DNA testing cannot give you specific information (names, dates etc.), when used in conjunction with your other research, genetic testing can help us prove/disprove ancestral lines while also leading us in possible new directions to pursue. Let’s take a quick look at how DNA testing can help you trace your ancestry…. Read the full story

The Holocaust is one of the most tragic events in human history. Today, we try our best to honor the memories of all of the victims of the genocidal policy of Nazi Germany. A little while ago, some Geni staffers were given a tour of the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust by Randy Schoenberg — the president of the museum, and an avid member of Geni. He was kind enough to give us an… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Jane Austen http://www.geni.com/people/Jane-Austen/6000000001319623144

Did you know that Geni is on Facebook? Well, now you do. Up to this point, our page was main just links to the blog, but that is changing now that I’m here to handle social media. We’ll be doing cool give aways, feedback questions, and Q & As exclusively on the Facebook page in the coming weeks and months. We want you to feel connected to Geni because our greatest resource is you. Are… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Vincent van Gogh http://www.geni.com/people/Vincent-van-Gogh/6000000007292432351

Now that I’ve got my sea legs here at Geni, and since I’ve told you all what I do, I think it’s important to explain a little bit about why I care so much about Geni and the genealogy community. I am deeply vested in Geni succeeding well into the future, and that’s why I’m here. I want Geni to grow and get better because I am a user, and I’ve been one long before… Read the full story

Ever wanted to know what the Geni offices were like? Now you can find out. Here is some footage from our office as well as photos of most of our employees. Enjoy, and please leave feedback on what you’d like to see here on the Geni blog.

American actress Grace Kelly is widely considered one of the greatest screen legends in the history of cinema. Kelly starred in several films by Alfred Hitchcock, including Dial M for Murder, Rear Window and To Catch a Thief, her last collaboration with the director. Kelly’s father John Brendan Kelly, Sr. was an accomplished oarsmen, winning three Olympic Gold Medals, and a self made millionaire. Her other notable relatives include her uncles, Walter C. Kelly, a prominent vaudeville star, and George… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Helena Bonham Carter http://www.geni.com/people/Helena-Bonham-Carter/6000000010880136940

Hey, everyone, I’m Grant Brünner. As of today, I am officially part of the Geni Team. I’ll be working with all of you as the Community Evangelist. What, exactly, does that mean? Well, here is what I’ll be doing in the next couple of months: Going out, and meeting with fellow genealogists at Genealogy Conferences. Writing articles for the blog. Talking to current users of Geni. Interacting with the genealogy community on the whole. Creating… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Johann Sebastian Bach http://www.geni.com/people/Johann-Bach/6000000008174402366

The entertainment industry has provided the world with film, television and music for decades. In 1958, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce began honoring those individuals who have made significant contribution to the media with stars on Hollywood Blvd. at Highland Avenue. Since then, over two thousand stars have been placed on the Walk of Fame recognizing individuals, both living and deceased, for their accomplishments. The goal of the Hollywood Walk of Fame project is to make… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: James Cameron http://www.geni.com/people/James-Cameron/6000000006775291802

Historic maps can offer you a wide variety of clues and new leads to investigate. A great genealogical tool, maps help us to locate our ancestors and follow their path as they moved. Maps let you visualize where your ancestors lived, went to school, traveled, worked and buried. In your research, keep in mind that the names of locations and boundaries change quite often over time. There are several resources you may use to help… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Jennifer Lopez http://www.geni.com/people/Jennifer-Lopez/6000000010073347173

Can you tell it’s been a busy week at Geni?  Today we released several big changes on the site, including some additional revision features and a new interface to help you keep track of the various discussions you follow. Perhaps the biggest changes in this release are for documents and sources.  These updates will make it much easier for users to add/manage documents, including easier features to mark a document as a source for important… Read the full story

Revisions are important way to track changes to profiles, trees, and more on Geni. In addition to tree revisions and profile revisions, we’ve added three new lists of revisions to provide greater visibility and accountability. Home Page Revisions Tab You can now view revisions for everything you follow, from profiles to projects, by clicking on the revisions tab on your home page: Make sure you follow the profiles, projects, and surnames you’re interested in to… Read the full story

Keeping track of all of the discussions you follow can be difficult.  Today we released some features to make it significantly easier to stay updated on your discussions of interest. “Discussions I Follow” The new default view for discussions will contain a list of all discussions you follow, sorted by most recent activity.  All discussions you follow will be included in this list: public discussions, private discussions, project discussions, and any discussions where surnames that… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Howard Hughes http://www.geni.com/people/Howard-Hughes-Jr/6000000002447355588

Yesterday the U.S. celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Observed on the third Monday of January each year, the holiday honors and remembers Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an iconic figure and leading activists of the United States Civil Rights Movement. King used nonviolent methods to successfully protest racial discrimination in federal and state law. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial discrimination through civil… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Christian Bale http://www.geni.com/people/Christian-Bale/6000000009288226305

Amos is related to Kevin Bacon! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Today we feature the Silent Era project, which is dedicated to the people who have made a significant contribution to silent films. These people include actors, directors and writers. Films made between 1894-1929 contained no sound, therefore actors used exaggerated body language and facial expressions to convey emotion. Live music featured at each showing was essential in conveying the atmosphere and giving the audience vital emotional cues.  Here’s a preview of the profiles included: D.W. Griffith –… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Lewis Carroll http://www.geni.com/people/Lewis-Carroll/6000000010530727333

You may be thinking that your ancestor wasn’t famous or “important” enough to get their name mentioned in the press. However, you might be surprised at what you can find about your ancestor in print. Let’s take a closer look at where you can find information in old newspapers to further your genealogical research. Birth/Death Notifications, Marriage Announcements These types of announcements were very common to print and it’s very likely you may find your… Read the full story

Updated 1/24/2011 to include conferences in the United Kingdom. Updated 3/16/2011 to include AAHGS. I was doing some preliminary conference planning yesterday and I wasn’t able to locate a reliable list of genealogy conferences for 2011.  Since I was making the list for myself, I decided to turn it into a blog post (and project) for the benefit of anyone else who is looking for a similar list.  Please use the comments below if there… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Charlie Chaplin http://www.geni.com/people/Charlie-Chaplin/6000000010764089543

This week we interviewed Curator,  Geoffrey Trowbridge . Geoffrey, you have been a Geni user for about a year now. In this short amount of time, you have added well over 16,000 profiles and have become a Geni Curator. What has this experience been like for you? Silly as it may seem, I first discovered Geni.com while searching for a means of displaying my pedigree chart on my Facebook profile.  (Sadly, Facebook no longer allows… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: David Nelson http://www.geni.com/people/David-Nelson/6000000000608117275

Oscar winning actor Nicolas Cage comes from one of Hollywood’s most legendary families. Born Nicolas Kim Coppola, Cage changed his name early in his career to avoid the appearance of nepotism as the nephew of acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola. Cage’s cousin, Sofia Coppola became the first American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for her film, Lost in Translation. His aunt Talia Shire is also an Oscar-nominated actress and producer…. Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Amelia Earhart http://www.geni.com/people/Amelia-Earhart/6000000010573720607

We’re not halfway through January and everyone is gearing up for conferences already!  Here are this week’s links: The Genealogy Sphere The Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Grant (The Family Curator) – Please pass this link along to anyone student genealogists you know. RootsTech 2011 Announces Lineup of Keynote Speakers (We Tree) – We’re only a month out! Options for Becoming a Credentialed Genealogist (About.com) – I bet there’s somebody who’d be proud of… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: David Bowie http://www.geni.com/people/David-Bowie/6000000008762972867

Featured Project: Prominent Scientists: (i) Exact Sciences & Natural Sciences http://www.geni.com/projects/Prominent-Scientists-i-Exact-Sciences-Natural-Sciences

Profile of the Day: George Washington http://www.geni.com/people/George-Washington-1st-President-of-the-USA/6000000008211776777

If you are trying to trace your female ancestors, chances are you’ve hit some road blocks and difficulties locating them in documented records. Before the 20th century, law and tradition focused record keeping primarily on the male head of the household. Unfortunately for us, this means women are often missing from official records, making their genealogy all the more difficult to trace. Here are a few other places you can search for your female ancestors:… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Thomas Edison http://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Edison/6000000002447264491

Today we released a new enhancement to the merge center: the ability to filter the profiles.  The feature is very simple to use.  Above the merge center on the right, you’ll now see a Viewing: drop-down menu. This drop-down provides the ability to filter the profiles in the merge center by various Projects, as well as a few options that are specific to the individual user. The My Relatives option displays only your relatives in… Read the full story

This week we interviewed New Zealand genealogist, Jason Wills. He is a Pro user and very active in the Geni community. You have been using Geni for a little over a year and a half now. What brought you to Geni and how has your experience been thus far? When I first joined Geni i was not aware of tree merging and thought it was just like any other Genealogy site so I did not… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Robert Duvall http://www.geni.com/people/Robert-Duvall/6000000000265564284

Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist, short story writer and journalist. During World War I, Hemingway drove ambulances for the Red Cross until he was wounded. He was later a part of the 1920s expatriate community in Paris, which included other notable writers such as Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot. He, along with others of his generation, are referred to as the “Lost Generation.”  Coined by Gertrude Stein and popularized by Hemingway… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: T. S. Eliot http://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Eliot/6000000002154366217

We were off last week due to the holidays here in the states.  Below you’ll find lots of links from the end of December to start your new year! The Genealogy Sphere 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy: Thanks for Playing (We Tree) – The conclusion of a great series by Amy Coffin. GeneAwards 2010 (Tamura Jones) – Geni was awarded the GeneAward for Most Improved Product of 2010 by one of the more astute tech-genealogy… Read the full story

Profile of the Day: Ludwig van Beethoven http://www.geni.com/people/Ludwig-van-Beethoven/6000000009471443790