Roots & Branches: Shay or Harper? DNA holds the answer
Ask a genealogist
2 elderly Fla. men discover they are half brothers
Uprooting the ancestors
DNA: The Future of Jewish Genealogy
Eva Longoria shocked by DNA test
History buffs head to Salt Lake City for genealogy events
KISSIN KUZZINS: A glossary of terms one may encounter in genealogy …
Legislature passes limits on vital records access
OnMedia: NBC turns genealogy into TV drama
Archive for the ‘And More…’ Category
DNA Genealogy News Roundup
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010Doggy Genelaogy
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
My dog is an English Springer Spaniel (29th on the list)
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2009 Most Popular Dogs in the U.S. |
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5. Beagle |
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6. Boxer |
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7. Bulldog |
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8. Dachshund |
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9. Poodle |
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10. Shih Tzu |
WORKING K-9s “SNIFF OUT” THE TOP 10The German Shepherd Dog isn’t the only breed Americans will spot at the airport or train terminal when they travel – Labradors, Golden Retrievers and Beagles work throughout the country to keep the homeland safe. These breeds are used by law enforcement military and homeland security personnel for a variety of tasks ranging from border patrol, bomb and narcotics detection, to searching for missing persons and tracking down fugitives.
These four breeds were developed for various forms of hunting or herding, but the traits that made them so effective at these jobs, such as strong scenting ability of the Beagle, the eager-to-please attitude of the Golden Retriever and Labrador, and the bold nature of the German Shepherd, make them effective in their careers today.
“Despite advances in security technology, the canine and its unique abilities remain a valued resource for the military and law enforcement agencies that work to keep us safe,” said Peterson. “The loyalty, intelligence and hardworking nature which make these breeds desirable as K-9 partners in the field also contribute to their status as valuable companions in the hearts of dog owners around the nation.”
PET PREFERENCES: FIFTY OF THE LARGEST CITIESTop trends in 50 large cities in the U.S. include:
- The ever-popular Lab is slowly losing ground in some towns – more U.S. cities featured a breed other than the Labrador Retriever in its top spot this year than in 2008. The breeds responsible for ousting the 19 year national favorite? The German Shepherd ranked first in Columbus, Detroit, Honolulu, Memphis, Miami Providence and West Palm Beach; the Yorkshire Terrier triumphed in Oakland, Tampa, NYC, and Philadelphia; the Bulldog rose to the top in L.A.; and the Bull Terrier was a favorite in Newark, NJ.
- The Bulldog is a favorite in California, perhaps due to celeb owners such as Adam Sandler, Kelly Osborne and John Legend. The breed reached the top spot in Los Angeles, the only city where it currently reigns as number one. The wrinkled pooch nearly reached the top in San Diego as well, coming in at the 2nd spot.
- South Florida loves its German Shepherd Dog. The breed ranks first in West Palm Beach as well as Miami, where it has held the top spot since 2002, the first year the American Kennel Club started tracking city registration statistics.
- Providence is the only U.S. city where the Labrador Retriever does not factor into the Top 5. Despite ranking second in 2008, the breed dropped off the list, making room for the German Shepherd in first place, along with the Yorkshire Terrier, Golden Retriever, Boxer and Poodle.
- Unusual breeds on local top five lists include the Bull Terrier (1st in Newark), the Mastiff (4th in Des Moines), the Miniature Pinscher and Shetland Sheepdog (3rd and 5th, respectively, in Richmond) and the Chihuahua (3rd in Honolulu).
PET PREFERENCES: 1999– 2009Some of the most notable recent trends in the past decade include:
- The most popular pets with the biggest increase in rankings over the last decade included the Bulldog (from 21st to 7th); French Bulldog (from 73rd to 24th); Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (from 58th to 25th) and the making the largest leap the Havanese (from 92nd to 32nd).
- Working K-9 breeds favored by law enforcement and the military have shown modest gains as pets including the Belgian Malinois (from 95th to 81st), the Border Collie (from 71st to 52nd) Bloodhound (from 51st to 43rd), and the Doberman Pinscher which served heroically with the U.S. Military during WWII (from 23rd to 15th).
- A trend toward easy-to-groom breeds is seen with the rise of the Mastiff (from 39th to 27th) and the Rhodesian Ridgeback (from 56th to 48th) as well as the decline of higher maintenance breeds such as the corded breeds the Komondor (from 132nd to 154th) and the Puli (from 123rd to 149th) and on the Irish Terrier (from 108th to 132nd) and Sealyham Terrier (from 138th to 157th) which require hand-stripping.
- Among rare breeds on the decline are the Curly-Coated Retriever (from 114th to 142nd), the Sussex Spaniel (from 135th to 159th) and the Irish Water Spaniel (from 130th to 150th).
- Even before the Obama family selected the Portuguese Water Dog it was on the rise in popularity ranked 80th a decade ago to 60th currently. However, it did make a jump from 64th a year ago when all the interest in this mid-sized, hypoallergenic breed began.
Click here to find out where your favorite breed ranks in the nation and major U.S. cities.
Planning ahead: Wholly Genes Cruise in September
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010What’s a genealogist’s dream vacation? How about cruise the Carribbean while listening to professional genealogists? The 6th Annual Wholly Genes cruise will be September 18-25, 2010 and include speakers such as:
You can find more information here: http://www.whollygenes.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?screen=CRUISE#cost . Everyone I know who has gone on one of these cruises raves about how much they learned and how much fun they had!
I’m Baaaaaaack!
Monday, March 15th, 2010I took a bit of a blog break while I finished up the first draft of Genealogy Online 9th Edition, but that’s all turned in. While I await the copy edits and galleys, I’m back to blogging!
So if I still have any readers out there, here’s a question: What specific aspects of online genealogy would you like to see a book about? Is there some topic or aspect that you feel has not been covered adequately by the existing lexicon? Is there a need for something to be updated? Speak up and let’s talk about it!
Yay for RootsTV!
Monday, March 15th, 2010The news was stunning. Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak was going to stop doing RootsTelevision.com! But her loyal fans (and I am one!!) inundated Megan and Og with emails, tweets, and Facebook postings and messages saying how much the site meant to us.
“I honestly had no clue how valued it was by the genealogical community,” Megan wrote in an email to her fans. “And I agree with the many of you who pointed out that it serves a somewhat different purpose than the prime time programming that’s on TV at present (much as I’ve been enjoying that!). At the same time, I think many had not realized that RTV is a one-person company, but one that’s not inexpensive to provide. “
So, Megan surveyed genealogists on Twitter and Facebook, asking whether any would be willing to tolerate commercials if it would help preserve RootsTelevision.com. The response was encouraging, so RootsTelevision will continue with ads. Among the new sponsors are Boston University and Family Tree DNA.
“Og and I are going to do a little tinkering under the hood at RTV, so you’ll see fewer new videos for a while, but please use that time to explore the hundreds of videos that are already there,” Megan wrote.
You can also upload your own videos (podcasters welcome!) through RootsTube (http://rootstelevision.com/submit_rootstube.php)or bookmark your favorite genealogy videos by others. So participate and help keep this wonderful resource on the Web!
You can follow Megan for the latest news here:
DNA Genealogy News Roundup
Thursday, February 18th, 2010A collection of links to recent news articles about DNA and Genealogy. HI MATT!
Tutankhamun: Research continues on his genealogy
News Trends (blog) - 12 hours ago
The DNA testing program also addresses another major figure of ancient Egypt, Queen Nefertiti, wife of Akhenaten to the legendary beauty, but whose mummy …
Video: Mystery of King Tut’s short life and death reveale
ITN NEWS
ARCHAEOLOGY: ZAHI HAWASS, MYSTERIES OF TUTANKHAMUN GENEALOGYANSAmed
Study Examines Family Lineage of King Tut, His Possible Cause of Death Science Daily (press release)
Interest in exploring black heritage grows
The Tennessean - - 5 hours ago
… an African-American professor at Harvard, has long explored genealogy through DNA and public records but came to the attention of many Americans last …
Genealogy for a Nation of Immigrants
New York Times - - Feb 9, 2010
He is not shocked to learn that he has no African or Asian traces in his DNA, and is of 100 percent European ancestry: “I am the inescapable black hole of …
‘Faces of America’ reveals family ties Los Angeles Times
‘Faces of America’: Personal stories and national history South Coast Today
Eva Longoria and Yo-Yo Ma cousins? Genetics researcher’s PBS special looks at …NOLA.com
Email this story ‘Faces of America’ Traces Famous Genealogy
ABC News - - Jan 29, 2010
Stephanopoulos, who submitted to DNA testing, learned that there is a relatively rare trait in his genetic code known as Group X; a trait that genealogists …
ABC Guest Reveals: George Stephanopoulos and Hillary Clinton Related? NewsBusters (blog)
Entertainment Briefs Arizona Daily Star
George Stephanopoulos learns of likely genetic link to Hillary Rodham Clinton The Canadian Press
Southside Briefs
Savannah Morning News - 1 hour ago
8:30 am-4:30 pm Saturday, The Armstrong Center, 13040 Abercorn St. One-day conference ofgenealogy and family history classes, DNA testing, and door prizes. …
After the Beer Summit
New York Times - - Feb 12, 2010
… new series reduces history to a game of celebrity DNA. I use celebrities to attract an audience so we can teach people about genetics and genealogy. …
GENGHIS KHAN AND HIS BROOD: TRACING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY
Book of Odds - - Feb 15, 2010
Ancestry.com, along with literally hundreds of websites, genealogy clubs across America, and DNA databases, can, within a few hours tops, tell you that …
Genealogy Project tracks ancestry of Charles Darwin
Vancouver Sun - - Feb 5, 2010
The Genealogy Project, a five-year initiative backed by National Geographic and IBM, uses new technology to examine DNA, allowing scientists to map how and …
Darwin’s genetic history suggests he came from a long line of adventurers Oneindia
Q&A: Knome’s Jorge Conde Discusses Personal Genomics, Today and Tomorrow
GenomeWeb Daily News - Feb 16, 2010
DNA sequencing technologies have developed a lot since personal genome company Knome first launched its whole-genome sequencing and analysis service in late …
PRESS RELEASE: Nova Development Signs Agreement With Ancestry.com to Publish Top-Selling Genealogy Software
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
SOURCE: Avanquest Feb 17, 2010 10:00 ET
Highlighted Links
CALABASAS, CA–(Marketwire – February 17, 2010) – Nova Development, a consumer software unit of leading global software developer and publisher Avanquest Software (EPA: AVQ), today announced an agreement with Ancestry.com, making Nova the exclusive North American publisher for retail editions of the Family Tree Maker® 2010 line of genealogy titles. “For more than 20 years, Family Tree Maker has been synonymous with the discovery of family history and the fun of genealogy research,” said Todd Helfstein, president, Nova Development. “We are especially proud and excited to have been named the publisher for this gold-standard product line.” “A robust Family Tree Maker software offering is consistent with our mission of helping everyone discover, preserve and share their family history,” said Eric Shoup, Vice President of Product, Ancestry.com. “To that end we are delighted to be partnering with Nova Development, whose development and marketing expertise will serve to further enhance Family Tree Maker and expand its footprint at retail.” For 2010, the Family Tree Maker products offer dozens of new features that make creating a multimedia family tree faster, easier and better than ever before, including enhanced integration with Ancestry.com, the largest online resource for family history. Other new features include: Family Tree Maker, the number one selling product in the genealogy software category, has three editions: Essentials, Deluxe and Platinum. All three versions allow users to easily add records and images from the billions of available historical records at Ancestry.com and import data from other genealogy programs, including Personal Ancestral File, The Master Genealogist and Legacy Family Tree. The Deluxe and Platinum editions include, respectively, the Standard Ancestry.com Reference Library DVD and the Deluxe Ancestry.com Reference Library DVD. About Nova Development Based in Southern California and founded in 1984, Nova Development is a market leader in consumer software for both Windows and Macintosh platforms. Nova Development is the retail publisher of best-selling software for desktop publishing, print creativity and many other purposes, as well as educational titles both for both children and adults. Nova Development was acquired by Avanquest Software in 2007. For more information, please visithttp://www.novadevelopment.com/ and http://www.avanquest.com. About Avanquest Software Avanquest Software (EPA: AVQ) is one of the world’s leading software developers and publishers, with operations on three continents and marketing through Retail, Corporate, OEM and Direct-to-Consumer channels. Avanquest’s presence in North America, consisting of Avanquest Software USA and Avanquest North America (which includes the Nova Development division), places it among the top ten retail software publishers in the United States. With more than 100 software titles, the combined companies offer one of the largest and most diversified product portfolios in the software industry, available at more than 10,000 North American retail locations, on the Web, and through OEM partnerships. Additional information is at http://about.avanquest.com. About Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Inc. ( Forward-looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or to future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “may,” “could,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond our control and that could materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. Factors that could materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, and our ability to execute on our business strategy include those listed under the caption “Risk Factors” of Ancestry.com’s Prospectus dated November 5, 2009. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwiseAvanquest Software’s Nova Development Signs Agreement With Ancestry.com to Publish Top-Selling Genealogy Software
-- Improved organization - Enjoy new ways to organize photos and other media. -- Slideshows - Create slideshows from photos in your tree. -- Family books - Publish beautiful keepsakes and books to share with friends and family. -- Standard source templates - Cite the right information every time. -- A new person view - View relationships within the context of your entire family tree. -- Scanner support - Add photos directly from your scanner. -- Family migration paths - View timelines and interactive maps highlighting events and places in your ancestors' lives. -- Better Performance - Experience faster load times and navigation.
News from NGS
Tuesday, February 16th, 20102010 NGS Family History Conference – Early Bird Registration Ends 8 March
This year the annual NGS Family History Conference will be held in
The event features, 200 educational sessions taught by the nation’s leading lecturers, a vendor hall with over 150 exhibitors, Ask an Expert Consultations, International Workshops, Open Houses, and more. Click here to read more.
The full conference event registration will include a ticket to “An Evening Celebration of Family History.” The evening will include a multi-media tribute to family history, special guest speaker, and mini-concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Also featured during the week, will be free scanning of documents and photos by Ancestry.com. Click here to read more.
Registration details and the conference program can be found online at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/conference_info . Early bird pricing for this event ends
2011 NGS Family History Conference-Call for Papers
Proposals will be accepted starting 1 January 2010 for the 2011 NGS Family History Conference, to be held in
Brief blog–working on 9th Edition
Thursday, February 11th, 2010-
The graveyards are full of indispensable men. – Charles de Gaulle
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Especially if you’re a genealogist — Libbi Crowe
The above quote by Charles de Gaulle made me think: for a genealogist, the graveyards are full of the indisensable, because they are our ancestors, and without them, we wouldn’t be here. I’m just saying…
One news tidbit worth looking at: A Hamrick family history web site, Little Shop of Memories (www.littleshopofmemories.com) has been updated. They added new content to the genealogy and more photos to the gallery of pictures. All sections have updated or new information. If you have any information that you can add to our record, or photos that you can share, please forward to the site!
I haven’t blogged in a while because I’ve been working so hard on the 9th edition of Genealogy Online. I do think this is the best edition yet: New chapters on using social networking and blogs to further your genealogy hunt, revised chapters on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch. And lots of new and updated links to cool genealogy places on the web! My esteemed editor, Roger Stewart, says the finished product should be on sale in the fall.
A government genealogy service lets family history leap off the page – latimes.com
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010A government genealogy service lets family history leap off the page – latimes.comYes, it’s little known. But it’s covered in my upcoming 9th Edition!!



