Happy Monday, everybody! Here are some interesting articles from the past week. Enjoy! The Genealogy Sphere The Aunt I Never Knew (Kindred Spirits blog) – A great family story about a relative Kindred Spirits blogger never had a chance to know A Second Chance to Be a Genetic Pioneer (The Huffington Post) – Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak talks about Geno 2.0 by National Geographic First Ever English Translation of Rare 1895 Czech Resource to be Made Available… Read the full story

This Saturday, September 22, is National Gymnastics Day! Since the Olympics, the Fierce Five have been making their way around the country showcasing their talents on their championship tour. You may have even spotted one of their many television appearances! In fact, it was just announced that two-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas would be guest starring on the television show The Vampire Diaries. Could you be related to Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross and… Read the full story

Dick Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He starred in the films Bye Bye Birdie, Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and in the TV series The Dick Van Dyke Show and Diagnosis: Murder. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. He will be receiving the Screen Actors Guild’s highest honor: The Life Achievement Award at the annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony in January 2013…. Read the full story

Check out some interesting genealogy articles from the past week! The Genealogy Sphere Curious Cousins (Ancestors Live Here blog) – Interesting blog post from Leslie Ann about some interesting relationship paths in her family tree A drunken dandy. A Spitfire hero fuelled by Spam. And a colonel pickled in rum. The very fruity secrets I found in my family tree (Daily Mail) – A UK reporter looks into his family history Woman working to return… Read the full story

Did you know that you can find very valuable information in U.S. passport application records? Passport applications hold a large amount of genealogical data that can be incredibly useful to your family tree research. Information such as birth date, place of birth, current residence, parental information, photo and signature are almost always found in passport applications. Let’s take a look at a real life example below! Here is a copy of Walt Disney‘s passport application submitted August… Read the full story

Eli Lilly was an American soldier, pharmaceutical chemist, industrialist, entrepreneur, and founder of the Eli Lilly and Company Pharmaceutical Corporation. During the American Civil War, Lilly enlisted in the Union Army recruiting a company of men to serve with him in an artillery battery, he was later promoted to colonel, and was given command of a cavalry unit. He was captured near the end of the war and held as a prisoner of war until… Read the full story

On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the terrorist attacks. In memory of the lives lost on that fateful day, Geni users have created the September 11 Memorial project. The project is dedicated to preserving the stories and memories of all 9/11 victims and those who risked their lives to save them. Was your family touched by the tragedy? Perhaps you would like join this project to share their story with… Read the full story

Lots of great articles in this week’s recap! Check them out below! The Genealogy Sphere Judyanne Bowling reunited with her family after 66 years of searching(Adelaide Now) – A woman is reunited with her family through Geni after finding each other on Geni! Relationship with Lizzie Borden (Ancestors Live Here) – Blogger Leslie Ann is related to Lizzie Borden! Are you? Wanted! Family History in Wanted Posters (About.com) – Kimberly Powell discusses family history information… Read the full story

Plaque in front of the Israeli athletes’ quarters commemorating the victims (photo by Highcontrast) Today marks the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre in Munich, West Germany. On September 5, 1972, members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. By the end of the crisis, 11 Israeli Olympic athletes and coaches were killed. In remembrance of this tragic event, several Geni users created The Munich Massacre project… 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