The Genealogy Guys Podcast #431 — Detailed Summary
Date: November 27, 2024
Hosts: Drew Smith (B) & George G. Morgan (A)
Podcast Description:
A lively, weekly chat about genealogy news, technology, tips, and listener stories, with a focus on staying connected to family history and encouraging excitement for new tools, discoveries, and community milestones.
Episode Overview
This episode offers a bustling roundup of updates from genealogy companies (MyHeritage, Ancestry, VividPix, FamilySearch), answers to listener questions about resources and tricky research scenarios, and a review of a popular genealogy mystery book. The hosts weave in stories, humor, and poignant moments while highlighting both technical and deeply personal aspects of family history research.
News & Major Announcements
MyHeritage: “Live Memory” AI Photo Animation
[03:20 - 09:39]
- George introduces MyHeritage's new "Live Memory" feature, an AI-driven tool that animates entire photographs into hyper-realistic short videos, exclusively via the MyHeritage mobile app.
- Notable genealogy bloggers had emotional reactions to the feature:
- Maureen Taylor (‘the photo detective’):
“A stunning new development in family history storytelling. Seeing my ancestors move was surreal.” [08:15] - Roberta Estes (DNAeXplained):
“It’s really powerful. I need a whole box of Kleenex now.” [08:29] - James Tanner (Genealogy’s Star):
“Live Memory brings home the real emotion of genealogy and creates a stronger connection to your ancestors.” [08:40]
- Maureen Taylor (‘the photo detective’):
- Free during the launch period; a fee will be charged after.
Ancestry & National Archives: Korean War Draft Cards
[09:39 - 11:02]
- Drew reports Ancestry has started a five-year project to digitize, index, and publish millions of records from the U.S. National Archives.
- First release: U.S. Korean War Era Draft Cards (1948-1959) — over 10 million records, 20 million images, for men aged 18–25.
VividPix: Partnership with Alzheimer’s Association
[11:02 - 13:53]
- George praises VividPix’s photograph enhancement software and announces that 5% of all VividPix sales from Nov 1–Dec 3, 2024 (“Giving Tuesday”) will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association.
- VividPix promotes using photos to stimulate memory and conversation in those affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
FamilySearch: 130th Anniversary
[14:09 - 17:05]
- Drew commemorates the founding of the Genealogical Society of Utah (now FamilySearch International) on Nov 13, 1894.
- Notable achievements:
- 2.4 million rolls of microfilm digitized.
- AI now used to read handwriting on records.
- RootsTech 2024: Nearly 5 million online attendees, 350 million family connections made.
- Over 1.5 billion people in the collaborative global family tree.
- Over 6,000 FamilySearch Centers worldwide.
Listener Emails: Insights & Tips
[20:22] MyHeritage User Guides
Listener: Julie
- Julie searches for a comprehensive book or guide for using MyHeritage.
- Drew: No official book found, but he covers basics in his own recent book.
- George: Contacted MyHeritage’s Daniel Horowitz for guidance; recommends searching YouTube for video tutorials, though finds detailed instruction lacking so far.
[22:58] Military Records Corrections & Tips
Clarifying Repositories
Listener: Peggy
- Corrects previous episode: National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) for military records is in St. Louis (not Kansas City).
- NPRC holds records from 1898 onwards; earlier records (War of 1812, Civil War, etc.) at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
- Some records, especially Army and Army Air Corps, were lost in the 1973 fire, but partial/damaged files may still be available.
Alternative Military Research Tips
Listener: Ann
- Suggests searching local newspapers for service details, training camps, deployment, and local American Legion posts or libraries/historical societies for scrapbooks and articles.
- Quote: “Local newspapers from those localities may provide some additional information.” [28:18]
[30:25] Ireland Research Trips
Listener: Judy
- Asks about Irish genealogy research trips after Donna Moody retired from running her Dublin/Belfast trips.
- Drew: Confirms these trips are no longer offered, doesn't know of new options, but invites listeners to send information about alternatives.
[33:17] Natural Disasters & Genealogy
Listener: Kevin
- Shares how his family narrowly survived the 1889 Johnstown Flood, which could have eliminated his branch if things had gone differently.
- Quote: “I do not know the story of how they escaped… but I’m grateful they did—otherwise I would never know if they didn’t.” [34:09]
[35:20] Podcasts Sharing Family Stories
Listener: Brian
- Seeks genealogy podcasts focusing on personal stories from everyday people.
- Drew & George: Suggest searching for location/family-focused podcasts or those run by individuals (e.g., Mike Scazzari on Italian heritage), but note most general podcasts focus on technique or professional guests.
[37:41] German Immigration & Records
Listener: Mike from Minnesota
-
Explains the challenge of finding his ancestor’s pre-1850 German-to-America ship manifest.
-
Context: Left in 1847 (pre-dates many surviving records), research deduced emigration route via Rotterdam by piecing together naturalization, pension records.
-
Discusses Klein Deutschland (“Little Germany”) in NYC and effects of the General Slocum maritime disaster (1904).
- George’s history note:
“The PS General Slocum disaster… took the lives of over 955 people and essentially ended Klein Deutschland.” [41:37]
- George’s history note:
[44:31] Annulments, Divorces & Ancestral Lies
Listener: Michael
- Reminds researchers that formal divorce/annulment records may not exist due to couples remarrying without dissolutions, and lying on marriage applications was common.
- Drew: Ancestors regularly misstated ages, names, and statuses—censuses often list “widow” to avoid stigma.
- George: Shares that his own grandmother lied about her age across several census years.
Book Review: The Hollywood Strangler by Nathan Dylan Goodwin
[49:31 - 56:07]
Reviewer: Drew
- Third in the Venator cold case series; focuses on investigative genetic genealogy by a Salt Lake City firm.
- Realistic depiction of cold case DNA analysis, reference to high-profile genetic genealogists.
- “A wonderful book that goes into quite a lot of detail over the processing of DNA and ancestry, and how the protagonists solve crimes using DNA matches.” [50:12]
- A strong recommendation for anyone interested in the intersection of genealogy and crime fiction.
Writing Workshops
- Drew participated in Nathan Dylan Goodwin’s pilot fiction writing course, learning the structure of mystery fiction with a genealogy component.
- “How do you write a mystery story with a genealogy component to it? How do you do the characters, the settings, the dialogue…” [53:34]
- Course may be offered again—watch for announcements if interested.
Notable Quotes
-
“If you can take a photograph that adds to the context—and animate it—it is just amazing… it’s a tremendous, tremendous bonus.”
— George on Live Memory [09:08] -
“FamilySearch has digitized 2.4 million rolls of microfilm from more than 200 countries… Free access to information for more than 11 billion ancestors.”
— Drew [15:02] -
“I thoroughly enjoy doing [family history]… Luckily, I have family members in the past that took care of keeping track of things, and I can trace each branch back fully five generations.”
— Listener Kevin [34:13] -
"It's not like the modern world where everybody's got access to computers... Many of our ancestors were not entirely honest when they filled out documentation."
— Drew [45:00]
Product/Organization Notes & Tips
- MyHeritage Live Memory: Only available via their mobile app for now. Free at launch; charges after introductory period.
- Ancestry Military Records: Now available for Korean War era; more to come in multi-year digitization.
- VividPix Donations: 5% of sales through Giving Tuesday benefit Alzheimer’s Association.
- FamilySearch: Enormous, global free resource—especially valuable for collaborative research and unique, digitized microfilm content.
- RootsMagic & VividPix Sales: Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales noted—but details only in ads (not recapped here per guidelines).
Research Tips Recap
- Don’t overlook local resources: newspapers, American Legion posts, libraries, and courthouses may hold unique records (service, marriage, divorce) or personal stories.
- For German-American migration pre-1850, consider alternative sources: naturalization papers, pension records, and route deduction in absence of manifests.
- Expect errors, omissions, and outright fabrications in official records—always triangulate evidence.
- Contextual events (e.g., disasters like the Johnstown Flood, General Slocum) dramatically shaped genealogies; factor them into your search.
Closing Thoughts
- The hosts encourage listeners to talk with family over the holidays:
“Be sure to ask questions and see what you can learn about their past and your family’s past. You never can tell where that next tidbit of a clue to solve your brick wall is going to come from.” — George [58:12] - Send genealogy stories, questions, or podcast suggestions to genealogyguys@gmail.com.
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