September 2019

On this day in 1774, the real Johnny Appleseed, John Chapman, was born. The American folk hero became known as “Johnny Appleseed” for planting apple trees across 1,200 acres of land. Image: Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, 1871 / Internet Archives Chapman was born on September 26, 1774 in Leominster, Massachusetts. He was the eldest son of Nathaniel Chapman and Elizabeth Simonds, who died while giving birth to a second son. During the American Revolutionary War, his father was… Read the full story

If you were unable to attend MyHeritage LIVE 2019 in Amsterdam and missed the live streams, you’re in luck! All MyHeritage LIVE 2019 lectures are now available to view for free! All recordings can be viewed from the comfort of your own home on MyHeritage Education, MyHeritage’s newly launched education center. The second annual MyHeritage user conference was a big success with over 450 people in attendance from 30 countries all around the world. Attendees… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Michael Douglas! Today the actor turns 75. Image: Michael Douglas / David Shankbone, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) Douglas was born on September 25, 1944 in New Brunswick, New Jersey to acclaimed actor Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill. His mother came from a prominent family in Bermuda, where Douglas’s maternal grandfather, Thomas Melville Dill, served as Attorney General of Bermuda and as a member of the Parliament of Bermuda. As the son of actors, it… Read the full story

Do you remember watching The Muppet Show? Today we remember Muppet creator Jim Henson, who was born on this day in 1936. Image: Jim Henson / Library of Congress He was born James Maury Henson on September 24, 1936 in Greenville, Mississippi to Betty Marcella and Paul Ransom Henson, an agronomist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. While in college, he began working as a puppeteer for a local television station. It was there that he first… Read the full story

Over the years, many users have requested the ability to add marriage and divorce dates and locations while adding new profiles to the family tree. Today we are excited to finally fulfill this request! New marriage and divorce sections in the add profile form Previously, a spouse had to be added to the tree first before marriage or divorce information could be entered. After the spouse was added, you were required to edit the profile again to update the marriage and/or… Read the full story

On this day in 1905, screen legend Greta Garbo was born. Regarded as one of the top performers of Hollywood’s Gold Age, Garbo was one of the highest paid stars of her time. Image: Greta Garbo / Library of Congress Garbo was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson on September 18, 1905 in Stockholm, Sweden. She grew up in poverty and when her father became ill and lost his job, Garbo dropped out of school at 13 to take… Read the full story

Today we remember legendary journalist Cokie Roberts, who has passed away at the age of 75. Image: LBJ Library photo by Jay Godwin, Public Domain She was born Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs on December 27, 1943 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She received the nickname “Cokie” from her brother, who could not pronounce her given name, “Corinne,” as a child. Roberts was born into a political family. Her father, Hale Boggs, served as a member of… Read the full story

Today we celebrate the 200th birthday of German pianist and composer Clara Schumann! She regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic Era. Image: Clara Schumann / Bergen Public Library, Flickr Schumann was born Clara Josephine Wieck on September 13, 1819 to Friedrich Wieck, a prominent piano teacher, and Marianne Tromlitz, a singer. She was raised under the strict guidance of her father after her parents separated. A child prodigy, Schumann began performing… Read the full story

On this day in 1897, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Irène Joliot-Curie was born in Paris, France. Image: Irène Joliot-Curie / Smithsonian Institution, Flickr The eldest daughter of renowned scientists Marie and Pierre Curie, it was almost inevitable that Joliot-Curie would follow in her parents’ footsteps. After her father’s death in 1906, Joliot-Curie was raised by her mother, who emphasized the importance of education in the home. She developed an early interest in science, but the outbreak of World War I interrupted… Read the full story

Geni’s parent company, MyHeritage, partnered with the Backstreet Boys to dive into their DNA to discover their ancestral origins. One of the most successful musical groups in history, the Backstreet Boys recently released their ninth studio album DNA and are in the midst of their DNA World Tour. In promotion of their latest album, the entire group (AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell) took a MyHeritage DNA test to learn more about where their families come from. Watch the Backstreet… Read the full story

On this day in 1862, short story author William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry, was born. A prolific writer, Porter’s clever wordplay and twist endings made him one of the most popular American short story writers of his time. Image: O. Henry / Wikimedia Commons Porter was born on September 11, 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. As a child, he enjoyed reading  everything from the classics to dime novels. Porter worked at his uncle’s… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Hugh Grant! Today the actor turns 59. Image: Hugh Grant / Tine Hemeryck, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) He was born Hugh John Mungo Grant on September 9, 1960 in Hammersmith, England to a military family. His father, James Murray Grant, was a Captain and served with the Seaforth Highlanders for eight years. His paternal grandfather, Colonel James Murray Grant, was decorated for bravery and leadership at Saint-Valery-en-Caux during World War II. In 1994, Grant achieved… Read the full story

Unable to make it to MyHeritage LIVE 2019 in Amsterdam September 6-8? MyHeritage has announced that all lectures on the genealogy and DNA tracks will be live streamed throughout the conference! Now everyone will have the opportunity to learn from MyHeritage’s fantastic international lineup of genealogy and DNA experts. The live stream will be available directly on the MyHeritage LIVE website and the MyHeritage Facebook page to watch via Facebook Live for free. From there, you will have the opportunity to… Read the full story

On this day in 1847, American outlaw Jesse James was born. The leader of the infamous James-Younger Gang, James is remembered to day as one of the most iconic figures of the American Old West. Image: Jesse James / Library of Congress James was born on September 5, 1847 in Clay County, Missouri to Robert James, a Baptist minister, and Zerelda Elizabeth Cole. When he was young, his father left the family to journey west to preach… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Beyoncé! Today the music superstar turns 38. Image: Beyoncé / Jen Keys, Wikimedia Commons Beyoncé Giselle Knowles on September 4, 1981 in Houston, Texas to Matthew and Celestine “Tina” Knowles. Her first name is a tribute to her mother’s maiden name, Beyincé. Her maternal grandparents were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles and it is through her mother’s branch of the family that she descends from Joseph Broussard, who led the first group of Acadians to what is today Louisiana. Broussard… Read the full story

MyHeritage LIVE 2019 is only a few days away! We’re excited to have the opportunity to participate in MyHeritage’s 2nd annual user conference, which will be held in Amsterdam in the Netherlands from September 6-8, 2019. This one-of-a-kind conference is the perfect place to get to know the MyHeritage and Geni teams in person. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear directly from MyHeritage Founder and CEO Gilad Japhet and Geni’s General Manager Mike Stangel, who will be giving a presentation… Read the full story

Today we remember American poet E.E. Cummings, who passed away on this day in 1962 at the age of 67. A prolific writer, Cummings is often regarded as one of the most important American poets of the 20th century. Image: E.E. Cummings / Library of Congress He was born Edward Estlin Cummings on October 14, 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father, Edward Cmmings, was a professor and Unitarian minister. From a young age, Cummings began writing… Read the full story

Geni’s World Family Tree has grown to over 135 million profiles thanks to the hard work and collaboration of millions of users and our team of Geni curators. In his latest video, GeneaVlogger and curator Jarrett Ross gives a quick overview on the role of curators on Geni and the important role they play in maintaining the integrity of the World Family Tree. Geni curators are volunteer Geni users who have been granted special privileges by Geni to… Read the full story