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]
• 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]

[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.

For more info, products, and show notes, visit The Genealogy Guys website or follow on social media.