2012

Now is that time of year when we look back and reflect at what we have accomplished in the last 12 months. Here’s a little trip down memory lane as we remember a few highlights from 2012. We started 2012 with an amazing experience at Rootstech 2012. We had a great audience for all of our sessions where we were able to enthusiastically share power of collaboration in genealogy. It was also exciting to see new and… Read the full story

We hope everyone had a great Christmas holiday! Here’s our last recap for 2012. We’re looking forward to more genealogy fun in 2013! The Genealogy Sphere Should Genealogist Spill Family Secrets? (Past-Present-Future) – Smadar Belkind Gerson asks whether genealogists should reveal family secrets. What do you think? Ireland XO uses ‘reverse genealogy’ to link descendants to the Emerald Isle (Ottawa Citizen) – A new genealogy project aims to link people with Irish backgrounds with their… Read the full story

Happy New Year’s Eve! Today we highlight popular bandleader Guy Lombardo‘s family tree. For almost half a century, audiences joined Lombardo as he ushered in the New Year on American radio and television. For many, it was a time honored tradition to gather with family and friends on New Year’s Eve and listen to Lombardo and his orchestra perform their signature rendition of “Auld Lang Syne.” How will you be ringing in the New Year? Guy… Read the full story

On December 28, 1694, Mary II of England died after five years of joint rule with her husband, William of Orange. Following the Glorious Revolution, William and Mary assumed the English throne after the deposition of Mary’s father King James II. Did you know William was also Mary’s first cousin? Mary II of England is connected to over 66 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How are you related?     View Mary II… Read the full story

Have you come across ration books in your genealogy research? Perhaps your relatives received ration books during World War II. Did you know that these books could hold significant clues into your ancestry? During World War II, ration books were distributed to families by the Office of Price Administration (OPA) to help regulate food shortages as a result of the war. Between 1942 – 1947, the government issued four different series of ration books. Each… Read the full story

On December 26, 1799, Henry Lee III famously eulogized George Washington as “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” During the American Revolution, Lee served as a cavalry officer in the Continental Army and earned the nickname “Light-Horse Harry.” Did you know that he is the father of Robert E. Lee? Henry Lee III is connected to over 66 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How are you related?… Read the full story

Christmas is almost here! Are you ready for Santa and his sleigh? In anticipation of the holiday, today we highlight Robert Peary, the American explorer who claimed to have discovered the North Pole in 1909. Although widely credited with the discovery through most of the 20th century, recently Peary’s claim has come under criticism. Robert Peary is connected to over 66 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How are you related?     View… 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

On December 20, 1946, the classic Christmas film It’s a Wonderful Life was first released in New York City. The film was James Stewart‘s first starring vehicle after taking a break from Hollywood to serve in the U.S. Air Force. Today, the film is considered one of the greatest movies of all time and a must-see during the holidays. What’s your favorite holiday film? James Stewart is connected to over 66 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How… Read the full story

On December 19, 1848, novelist Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis at the age of 30. The second youngest of the famous Brontë siblings, Emily published her work under the pen name Ellis Bell. In 1847, she published her only novel, Wuthering Heights. Although almost unknown during her lifetime, today Emily’s work is considered a classic of English literature. Emily Brontë is connected to over 66 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How are you related?     View… Read the full story

On December 18, 1863, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was born. Ferdinand became the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian thone after his cousin, Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide and his father, Archduke Karl Ludwig, renounced the throne shortly after. Ferdinand’s assassination in 1914 sparked the outbreak of World War I. Archduke Franz Ferdinand is connected to over 66 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How are you related?       View Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s Geni… Read the full story

Ready for the holidays? Check out some interesting genealogy articles from the past week! The Genealogy Sphere Brick Wall Comes Down! (Past-Present-Future blog) – Smadar Belkind Gerson shares how collaboration  on Geni helped her break through a brick wall! Wearing the family tree (Alltop) – A creative way to carry your family tree with you Coming to Terms with Slave-Owning Ancestors (Family Tree University) – A researcher has mixed feelings after discovering her ancestors own… Read the full story

On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful man-powered airplane flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The Wright brothers grew up in Dayton, Ohio and showed an interest in flying at an early age. With Orville as the pilot, the brothers’ aircraft remained in the air in a controlled and sustained flight for 12 seconds. Orville Wright is connected to over 66 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How are… Read the full story

The holidays are just around the corner! Celebrate this holiday season with some fun activities for the entire family! Check out some ways you can share your family heritage with the ones you love. Swap Stories   With your entire family gathered in one place, it’s the perfect time to share family stories from the past. Ask an older relative to share a special holiday memory from their childhood or a memory of a passed… Read the full story

On December 14, 1799, George Washington died in Mount Vernon, Virginia. Washington served as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and presided over the drafting of the American Constitution. Widely regarded as the “father of the country,” Washington also served as the first president of the United States. After retiring from the presidency, he returned to his home in Mount Vernon to attend to his plantation. Upon his death, Washington… Read the full story

On December 13, 1818, Mary Todd Lincoln was born in Lexington, Kentucky. Mary staunchly supported her husband Abraham throughout his presidency and sadly, witnessed his fatal shooting at the Ford’s Theater. Yesterday, actress Sally Field received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her portrayal of the former First Lady in the film, Lincoln. Did you know the two woman are also distantly related? Sally Field is Mary Todd Lincoln’s 22nd cousin! Mary Todd Lincoln… Read the full story

On December 12, 1731, Erasmus Darwin was born. Considered one of the key thinkers of the Enlightenment, Darwin conducted groundbreaking research in botany and was a great advocate of biological evolution. His grandson, Charles Darwin, drew much from his research when developing his own groundbreaking theory of evolution. Erasmus Darwin is connected to over 66 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How are you related?     View Erasmus Darwin’s Geni Profile  

George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. He is considered as one of the “Founding Fathers” of the United States as he is called the “Father of the United States Bill of Rights” along with James Madison. The Bill of Rights were based on the earlier Virginia Declaration of Rights, which Mason had drafted in 1776. George Mason IV was born on December 11,… Read the full story

On December 11, 1936, Edward VIII became the first English monarch to voluntarily abdicate the throne. After only a few months on the throne, Edward caused a constitutional crisis when he proposed marriage to Wallis Simpson, a divorced American socialite. In a radio broadcast to the Empire, Edward explained his decision to abdicate, “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would… Read the full story

Have you read any interesting genealogy articles recently? Check out a few we’ve found below! The Genealogy Sphere The importance of online family trees often lies in their uncertainty (The Guardian) – Using online family trees to preserve the memories of your relatives The Genealogy Icebreaker (BayToday.ca) – Breaking the ice – talking to others about their family history James Wesley Blacketer’s Story Continues…(Your Family Story blog) – Caroline Pointer shares the stories of her… Read the full story

On December 10, 1815, English mathematician Ada Lovelace was born in London, England. Dubbed the “World’s First Computer Programmer,” Lovelace is best remembered for her work on Charles Babbage’s early mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. Her notes on the engine contain what is recognized as the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine. Nearly a century before the first computers were built, Lovelace envisioned a day that a single machine could be… Read the full story

On December 7, 1941, the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese bombers. Over 2,400 Americans were killed during the surprise attack. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” After his forceful speech, he swiftly called on Congress to… Read the full story

In December 1877, Thomas Edison successfully made one of the earliest recordings of a human voice using his new tinfoil cylinder phonograph. When Edison recited the children’s nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and played it back, he was astonished to hear his voice. His invention quickly made him famous, and he was dubbed by the press as “The Wizard of Menlo Park.” Considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, many of… Read the full story

Yesterday, we shared with you a few charts illustrating the amazing response we’ve received from users since announcing that Geni is joining the MyHeritage family. Today, we’re thrilled to announce that Geni’s World Family Tree now has 66 million people connected! Reaching this milestone would not be possible without the collaborative effort of millions of genealogists around the world. Congratulations to all of our users for your hard work! Check out the World Family Tree page to… Read the full story

On December 5, 1839, General George Custer was born in New Rumly, Ohio. Although he developed a strong reputation during the American Civil War, much of his achievements have been overshadowed by this disastrous final battle in 1876. At the Battle of Little Bighorn, Custer led 210 of his men into battle against a coalition of Native American tribes. He and all of his men lost their lives in what became known as “Custer’s Last Stand.”… Read the full story

What an exciting week! Since we announced that Geni is Joining the MyHeritage Family! we’ve been overwhelmed by the warm congratulations we’ve received from the genealogy community. Even more exciting is the response that we’ve seen from Geni users; a surge of users have visited the site to add and invite new relatives and merge their trees. We wanted to share a few metrics with you to give you an idea of how great the response… Read the full story

On December 4, 1214, William I, also known as William the Lion, died in Sterling, Scotland. Between 1165 – 1214, William reigned as King of the Scots, making his reign the second longest in Scottish history.  Did you know he was not known William the Lion during his lifetime? The name was attached to him because of his standard, a red lion rampant on a yellow background, and the chronicler John of Fordun, who called… Read the full story

It’s been a very exciting week! We’re ecstatic to be a part of the MyHeritage family! Check out some coverage of the announcement below and enjoy other interesting genealogy articles from the past week! The Genealogy Sphere MyHeritage acquires Geni.com (MyHeritage blog) – Read MyHeritage’s blog announcement MyHeritage Raises $25 Million, Acquires Geni (The Wall Street Journal) – Read The Wall Street Journal’s exclusive interview with MyHeritage CEO Gilad Japhet MyHeritage buys Geni (SF Gate) –… Read the full story

On December 3, 1857, Polish author Joseph Conrad was born in Berdychiv, Ukraine. Considered on of the greatest writers of the English language, Conrad drew inspiration from his own exotic travels at sea. His rich prose and vivid descriptions of adventure and nautical travels continue to captivate modern audiences. Joseph Conrad is not yet connected to the World Family Tree. Perhaps you can help connect him to over 65 million people on Geni!     View… 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

On November 30, 1667, Irish author and satirist Jonathan Swift was born. Best remembered for writing Gulliver’s Travels, Swift was considered the foremost prose satirist of the English language. First published in 1726, Gulliver’s Travels became popular as soon as it was published. Since then, it has never been out of print. Jonathan Swift is connected to over 65 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How are you related?     View Jonathan Swift’s Geni… Read the full story

This morning around 7 am PST Geni experienced a site outage. After yesterday’s exciting announcement, we experienced a great increase in traffic from people eager to check out our latest enhancements. Unfortunately, this led to an issue which took longer than expected to address. Rest assured, we’ve fixed the problem and as of 10:40 am we’re back up and running. We want to emphasize that no data was lost during this interruption in service. We apologize for… Read the full story

We’re happy to announce some exciting news for our community: Geni is joining the MyHeritage family! Geni will continue as a separate product, focused on collaborative genealogy, but with some great new resources and features we’ll be rolling out to users in the coming months. Geni launched in 2007 with a big idea: working together with other people is a better way to discover your family history. Over the last five years our amazing community… Read the full story

On November 28, 1520, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan set sail through a strait at the southern end of South America to reach the Pacific Ocean. With three ships under his command, Magellan and his crew became the first Europeans to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Ferdinand Magellan is connected to over 65 million profiles connected to the World Family Tree. How are you related?     View Ferdinand Magellan’s Geni Profile  

Robert R. Liviingston IV was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat from New York, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a member of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence, although he was recalled by his state before he could sign the final version of the document. Livingston was the first Chancellor of New York from 1777 to 1801 which at the time was the highest judicial officer in… Read the full story

On November 27, 1940, actor and martial arts legend Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco, California. Raised in Hong Kong, Lee was first introduced to the film industry by his father and appeared in several films as a child actor. Lee’s later film productions elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim. Considered to be one of the most influential martial artists of all time and… 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

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Check out some interesting articles from the past week! The Genealogy Sphere What’s In A Name? (“He Woke Me Up This Morning” blog) – Bernice Bennett shares her story of how a simple conversation with her mother led to a wealth of genealogical info The Ethics of DNA Testing (The Legal Genealogist) – The Legal Genealogist Judy Russell discusses the ethics of DNA testing How to Use Evernote… Read the full story

Today we remember television icon Larry Hagman, who passed away on November 23 at the age of 81. Best known for portraying ruthless oil baron J.R. Ewing on the popular soap Dallas, Hagman recently returned to the small screen in the new version of Dallas, introducing his iconic character to a new generation of television viewers. Larry Hagman is not yet connected to the world family tree. Perhaps you can help connect him to over 65… Read the full story

Today we highlight Mayflower passenger William Brewster. When the colonists landed at Plymouth Colony, Brewster became the senior elder of the colony, serving as its religious leader and as an adviser to Governor William Bradford. Did you know he was the oldest Mayflower passenger to participate in the First Thanksgiving? William Brewster is connected to over 65 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How are you related?     View William Brewster’s Geni Profile  

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

Noah Webster, Jr. was a lexicographer, English spelling reformer, political writer and has been called the “Father of American Scholarship and Education.” His name became synonymous with “dictionary,” especially the modern Merriam-Webster dictionary that was first published in 1828 as An American Dictionary of the English Language. He was born on October 16, 1758 in West Hartford, Connecticut to Noah Webster, Sr. and Mercy Steele. His mother spent long hours teaching Noah and his siblings… Read the full story

Today, Brazil celebrates Dia da Consciência Negra. On this day, the Brazilian people reflect upon the injustices of slavery and celebrate the contributions Brazilians of African descent have made to society. The day is marked by the anniversary of the death of Zumbi dos Palmares, the last leader of the Quilombo dos Palmares, a settlement of black slaves who had escaped from farms, prisons and Brazilian slave quarters. Considered a national hero of Brazil, Zumbio refused to… Read the full story

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Are you excited for Thanksgiving? Here’s this week’s genealogy links! The Genealogy Sphere What Race Is Bruno Mars? (The Huffington Post) – Genealogist extraordinaire Megan Smolenyak looks into artist Bruno Mars’ family heritage In the Archives diplomatiques – The Overseas Census (The French Genealogy Blog) – Tips on using census data from overseas to find your French ancestors Top 12 Tips for Using Pinterest for Family History (Family Cherished blog)… Read the full story

On November 19, 1962, actress Jodie Foster was born in Los Angeles, California. Foster began acting in commercials at the age of 3. Since then, she’s become one of the most critically acclaimed actresses of her generation. Her first Academy Award nomination came at the age of 13 for her role as preteen prostitute Iris in Taxi Driver. Did you know she’s also incredibly smart? In 1985, Foster graduated from Yale University with a degree… 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, Estonia celebrates Day of Declaration of Sovereignty. On November 16, 1988, the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR adopted a declaration of national sovereignty under which Estonian laws would have the precedence over those of the Soviet Union. Former Estonian president Arnold Rüütel played an important role in the composition and adoption of the Estonian declaration of sovereignty. He would later serve as the third President of Estonia between 2001-2006. Arnold Rüütel is connected to over… Read the full story

This year marked the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation in the U.S. Coinciding with this monumental anniversary is the release of Steven Spielberg‘s new film Lincoln, which chronicles President Abraham Lincoln‘s struggles in the days leading up to the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. Considered one of the most important documents in American history, the Emancipation Proclamation proclaimed all slaves in the Confederate states to be forever free. The proclamation made abolition a central goal of… Read the full story

On November 15, 1630, German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler died at the age of 58. A key figure of the Scientific Revolution, Kepler’s laws of planetary motion provided the foundation of future astronomic discoveries. Did you know Kepler also made significant observations in the field of optics? He is widely regarded as the first to recognize that images are projected inverted and reversed by the eye’s lens onto the retina. Johannes Kepler is connected to over 65 million… Read the full story