Jul 24, 2009

This week's news includes:

1. Ancestry.com has added the Canadian Censuses, 1851-1916, and one of the most comprehensive collections of Caribbean slave records, detailing nearly 200 years of St. Croix-Virgin Islands history.
   
2. The Michigan Genealogical Council has issued a press release regarding the crisis in funding for the Library of Michigan and the possible dissolution of its collection. A Hands Around the Library event will be held on Wednesday, 5 August 2009, in Lansing, beginning with assembly at 9:45 AM at the State Capitol. Questions can be sent to Sue Irvine at sjirv@yahoo.com.
3. Synium Software announces the release of MacFamilyTree version 5.6.
4. Northern Hills Software announces the release of Pocket Genealogist, version 3.40, for Windows Mobile devices.

Drew interviews Dr. Tukufu Zuberi, Ph.D., a star researcher of the hit PBS television program, History Detectives, at the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree.

This week's listener email includes:

1. Denise loves the way Fletcher meows on cue.
2. Patrice suggested a discussion of Second Life, and Lisa suggested a discussion about researching the history of old houses. (The Guys will work on some stories about these topics and others you might suggest.)
   
3. A response to Margaret in Dublin about Aster Software's iPhone app, FamViewer. The company informs us that there are planned enhancements to the project, but there are no plans in place to provide an editing function and upload to source genealogy programs.
4. Rich H. shared a story about two people named Kelly Hildebrandt who connected on Facebook and who will be married in October. The two are not related.
5. Connie asks about the use of the terms "brother-in-law" and "stepdaughter" in the mid-1800s and what the terms might mean.
6. Rich C. discusses the use of the phrase "turn of the century" and suggests that we designate which century. He also shares an article from Fortune magazine concerning whether or not information should be free. (Visit http://tinyurl.com/fortuneinfo to see the article.)
7. Michael asks us to tell Tom about a national youth organization for kids interested in genealogy. It is the Youth Genealogists Association at http://www.youthgen.net.
8. Drew announces that 50 libraries across the U.S. are offering free text reference service to people using text messaging. You can text a question to (309) 222-7740 and a real, live librarian will respond within minutes. Named My Info Quest, this service is the first collaborative text reference service. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)
9. Sherry reminds people to check with local funeral homes for obituaries, and sometimes for photos and videos of the individual. The funeral homes' files may contain more information that was published in newspapers.
10. Victoria asks about our logo and whether we can drive that down to listeners' files.
11. Denise has been searching for a birth record for her grandmother, and The Guys respond with some suggestions. George read some material from Ancestry Publishing's Red Book concerning Missouri vital records. He provided an updated link at http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/birthdeath/ as another possible source for these records.