Friday, February 29, 2008

Halvor Moorshead Retires, Magazines Continue On

Halvor Moorshead has announced he has sold Moorshead Magazines - which includes Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy, History Magazine and the new Discovering Family History, and is retiring. The sale finalizes on Friday 29 February 2008.

In a recent email to associates Moorshead said, "I am selling the company to two of the staff - Ed Zapletal and Rick Cree. They have made it clear that their main reason for buying the company is that they do NOT want any changes. There will obviously be some differences as I will be out of the picture, but there will be no staff changes. Victoria, Marc and Jeannette will be continuing in the same roles."

Best wishes to Mr. Moorshead in his retirement!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

More British Newspapers Coming Soon

Mirror Archive.co.uk is in it's final stages before it's official launch. The website from The Daily Mirror newspaper will allows you to find stories from their archives dating back to 1903 and the beginning of the 20th Century.

"From background research into your family and local history to contemporary accounts of the major stories that helped to shape the world we live in today - The Daily Mirror archives are a wonderful resource and we're sure you'll find them interesting, enlightening and most of all very useful."

You will be able to search the site for free, however access to stories in full will require a subscription. Subscription packages allow you to sign up for a period of time,or for a number of downloads against your account.

You can find the "Mirror Pix Digital Archive" at http://www.mirrorarchive.co.uk/Archives/portal/enter.jsp

Monday, February 18, 2008

Have Your Family History & Eat It Too!


A few weeks ago my husband called me and said that we had been invited to the 50th birthday of a good friend of his. Knowing that I enjoy cake decorating, he had offered to his friend's wife that we would bring the cake.

Our friends inherited the family farm a while back, and in 1997 they threw it a 100th birthday bash! It became a community event in the little town in South Dakota, and soon all the neighborhing farms started celebrating their centenials as they came up.

So it seemed only fitting that when our friend hit his 1/2 century mark, his birthday cake would be the thing he held dear - the family farm. He's also a huge John Deere fan, so the cake wouldn't have been complete without the tractor out in front.

Our friend loved the cake, but refused to cut it, so I did the honors. Which just proves the point, that you can have your family history and eat it too!

(Yes, the entire base and barn are cake. The silo and tractor are rice krispee treats covered with fondant icing)

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Family History Expo is a Gem!


After ten long hours on the road, we rolled into our driveway this evening happy and exhausted. It was a whirlwind weekend of chatting with listeners and listeners to-be, teaching folks how to iGoogle, seeing old friends and making new ones at the Family History Expo 2008 in St. George, Utah.

It was my second conference with the lovely folks at My Ancestors Found, and I know it won't be my last. They really outdid themselves packing as much genealogy fun into two days as you could find anywhere. My hat is off to Holly and Kimberly...I hope they are putting their feet up this evening as they've been on them endlessly all weekend.

The Genealogy Gems booth saw a steady stream of visitors, and I'm excited to share many of their comments in upcoming episodes of the podcast. In addition, I squeezed in interview time with the editor of Family Tree Magazine, Allison Stacy,(see photo), Marcy Brown of RootsTelevision, and Richard Black of the Godfrey Memorial Library.

Allison was handing out copies of the most recent issue of Family Tree Magazine, and talked about what's coming up in future issues. I feel good when I've prepared a podcast episode 2 weeks ahead, but Allison and her team already have irons in the fire for the July issue! Check out her blog about the Expo at the Genealogy Insider blog.

DearMYRTLE was there conducting her Q&A booth. Attendees were able to ask her their toughest questions and get a "doctor's prescription" for how to heal their research woes. And Myrt had a prescription for several of us who here quite tired on Friday evening - a trip to the local ice cream parlor. Nothing like a sugar-coma from cookie dough ice cream to help you sleep like a baby and prepare for another day :-) And here's an insider tip: expect to hear a new edition of her podcast very soon!

If you didn't make it to this year's Expo, be sure to pencil it in for next February and visit the My Ancestors Found website for more information. It's a gem of a conference!

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

2008 FamilySearch Developers Conference

News from the folks at FamilySearch:

SALT LAKE CITY—FamilySearch announced today its first annual conference for software and Web application developers. The 2008 FamilySearch Developers Conference will be held on Wednesday, March 12, 2008, in conjunction with the Brigham Young University Computerized Family History and Genealogy Conference in Provo, Utah. FamilySearch engineers and community developers will discuss new FamilySearch Web Services (API) and share best practices from its application to a variety of popular software environments. Attendees can register online at http://familyhistoryconferences.byu.edu/familysearch.

FamilySearch now has a full platform for software developers—genealogy content, interfaces, tools, code, support, and training. This platform enables developers to launch a new business or boost their target markets by adding features that are programmatically linked to FamilySearch’s expanding online resources. “Developers can produce solutions that integrate private, shared, and public data about living and deceased individuals, including rich stories, photos, audio, and video. FamilySearch is putting developers into the driver’s seat to do what they do best—effectively create and deliver innovative products wherever there is a need and profit," said Gordon Clarke, FamilySearch Web Services Product Manager.

The developers conference is a milestone for FamilySearch, which historically has not shared technical information underlying its genealogy-related products and services. The needs of the genealogy and archives markets worldwide are diverse, numerous, and growing. “Industry needs are greater than any one entity can fulfill. In order to meet the tremendous needs in the marketplace, industry professionals and companies will need to work closely and collaborate on tools, standards, authorities, initiatives, and interfaces that reduce duplication and maximize returns while satisfying the customer,” said Ransom Love, director of Strategic Relations for FamilySearch and the keynote speaker at the inaugural conference.

The 2008 FamilySearch Developers Conference provides a unique forum and opportunity for developers of genealogy-related desktop and Web applications to meet with other professionals who use similar development technologies to confront common technical challenges and share effective solutions. Conference attendees will learn about the new FamilySearch Web Services (API) from FamilySearch engineers and best practices from current community developers. The new FamilySearch Web Services provides developers access at the programmer’s level so developers can ensure the data and functionality of their products and applications will interface transparently and effectively with FamilySearch and other industry applications as they are introduced or evolve.

The newly released FamilySearch Family Tree API and soon-to-be-released Record Search API will be main topics of discussion. Other popular topics will be how to read, write, combine, separate, and synchronize with new FamilySearch online resources, developer keys, tree cleaning, GEDCOM, and PAF.
Professional software and Web application developers interested in attending can register online at http://familyhistoryconferences.byu.edu/familysearch or call 1-801-422-8925.