The Genealogy Guys Podcast and Vivid-Pix Announce Society Grants Program and New Unsung Heroes Program

MEDIA RELEASE – For Immediate Release

June 1, 2020

The Genealogy Guys and Vivid-Pix Announce

Society Grants Program and New Unsung Heroes Program Nominees

The Genealogy Guys Podcast, the world’s oldest genealogy podcast, and Vivid-Pix, makers of the acclaimed RESTORE photo and document image-improvement software, announce a new Unsung Heroes Program.

The partners created the Unsung Heroes Awards in 2019 to encourage, acknowledge and celebrate members of the genealogy community who lead the way in digitizing, indexing, and transcribing photos and documents, for use by researchers around the globe. They have added a brand-new Unsung Heroes Societies Grant Program for societies to obtain a scanner and high-quality software to make digitization projects a reality. They have also adjusted the Unsung Heroes Awards Program eligible nominees and the contents of the prize package.

Unsung Heroes Societies Grant Program

This program will award grants to two societies each year to facilitate their digitizing, indexing, and transcribing photographs and documents. The grantees will each receive a high-quality scanner, a backup and online storage software package, and two copies of Vivid-Pix RESTORE software to improve the legibility of documents, the color/contrast of photographs, and to add image tags and other important information to the image metadata. The grant package is valued at $500.

Applicants  application must describe the intended use of the grant. Multiple applications may be submitted by a single society/chapter but grantees are limited to one grant per society. The grant application form is available at the Aha! Seminars, Inc., website at https://ahaseminars.com/cpage.php?pt=24. The due date for the first grant is by midnight EDT on August 1, 2020 and should be sent to genealogyguys@gmail.com. Successful grantees will be announced separately at different times of the year by The Genealogy Guys Podcast and Vivid-Pix via press release, social media, and the partners’ websites. The first grant recipient society will be announced during the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, September 2-5, 2020. The next grant due date will be announced later in 2020.

Unsung Heroes Awards Program

The Unsung Heroes Awards Program continues to recognize individuals, societies, and libraries for their work in digitizing, indexing, and transcribing photographs and documents and making that work accessible to the genealogical community. All nominations are to be submitted using the nomination form at the Aha! Seminars, Inc., website at https://ahaseminars.com/cpage.php?pt=24. Self-nominations are welcome and encouraged. The due date for the next set of nominations is midnight EDT on August 1, 2020 and should be sent to genealogyguys@gmail.com.

Award winners will receive a commemorative certificate, a customized mug that can include an image of their choice, and a copy of Vivid-Pix RESTORE software. Individual winners will also receive a one-year subscription to Genealogy Guys Learn, the online subscription education program. Winners will be announced by The Genealogy Guys Podcast and Vivid-Pix via press release, social media, and on the partners’ websites. Winners for the next round of category nominations will be announced during the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, September 2-5, 2020. Nominations of non-winners will be retained for consideration for future awards.

Instructions for Submissions

Full details of the programs are available at the Aha! Seminars, Inc., website at https://ahaseminars.com/cpage.php?pt=24. The grant application form and the award nomination form are available there in PDF format for download. If you have any questions, please email genealogyguys@gmail.com or aha@ahaseminars.com.

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Contacts:

George G. Morgan  The Genealogy Guys Podcast                  http://genealogyguys.com/ genealogyguys@gmail.com (813) 220-6274

Rick Voight Vivid-Pix https://vivid-pix.com/ rick.voight@vivid-pix.com (404) 664-9897

About the Unsung Heroes Program Partners

The Genealogy Guys Podcast is a production of Aha! Seminars, Inc., a Tampa Bay-based company that has been providing training to genealogists and library personnel since 1996. Its principals are George G. Morgan and Drew Smith, noted speakers, authors, and world’s longest genealogy podcasters. The company also produces the Genealogy Connection podcast and The Genealogy Guys Blog and the Genealogy Guys Learn subscription education site. The Genealogy Guys Podcast is a production of Aha! Seminars, Inc.^TM

Vivid-Pix designs, creates and delivers Fast, Easy and Affordable Imaging Software. Since launching in 2012, Vivid-Pix has advanced its products to earn the support and respect of business leaders and photographers in over 100 countries. Co-Founder Randy Fredlund has more than 150 digital-imaging patents and has extensive experience in Research, Development and Commercialization, enabling him to translate theory into practice. Co-Founder Rick Voight has created billion-dollar businesses through Product Development, Sales and Marketing for Eastman Kodak and Hewlett-Packard. The Vivid-Pix Team is a far-flung group of excellent people who deliver software that “Give your pics (and documents) the Vivid-Pix Fix!”

Ancestry Library Edition Remote Access Extended

ProQuest and Ancestry have announced today the extension of remote access from library websites to Ancestry Library Edition through the end of June. They will reevaluate this each month. Check your public library's website to see if you have access using your library card to this remote access.

MyHeritage Releases Exclusive New Record Collection from Germany

Just received from MyHeritage.

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MyHeritage has just released an exclusive new record collection from Germany. The collection includes 2,450,551 records along with beautiful scanned images of the original documents. The images have been fully indexed by MyHeritage for the first time, making the information more accessible and readily searchable than ever before. These records are available only on MyHeritage, and are an invaluable resource for anyone researching their German roots.

Search Germany, North Rhine Westphalia, Death Index 1870–1940

Civil death registration records in Germany, called Personenstandsregister, were kept by the German Civil Registrar. They cover 98% of the population and have been mandatory in all German states since 1876. They may include the first and last names of the individual, the date and place of birth and death, age at death, residence, name of spouse, and even the names of the individual’s parents.

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany with over 17.5 million inhabitants. During the period covered by the records in the collection, the region comprised 3 provinces: Westphalia, North Rhine, and the German Free State of Lippe. They were unified by the British after World War II.

Millions more records will be indexed and added to this collection in the future, in a series of planned updates.

This collection is a true treasure trove for those with German heritage. I hope you and your readers find it valuable.

You can search the collection now and read more about the North Rhine-Westphalia Death Index 1870–1940 on our blog.

Wishing you good health and sending warm regards,

Daniel Horowitz
Genealogy Expert

MyHeritage Seeks Users to Discuss Mobile App Behaviors Using the Discoveries Feature

Just received from MyHeritage.

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MyHeritage wants to observe our mobile app users and watch their behaviors while using the Discoveries feature.

In that way, we can understand their pain points and problems while using this feature.

We are looking for users who are using the mobile app and have more them 100 individuals in their tree.

If you are one of these users, we would like to interview you and ask you a few questions face to face via Zoom.

The questions are:

1. Open the MyHeritage app
2. How do you usually look at new discoveries?
3. Is there another way to view new discoveries?
4. Please tap on the discoveries section. 
5. Without tapping anything, please describe what do you see on this page.
6. Let's say you want to view only Smart matches. Show us how you would do this. [Verbal Response]
7. How would you see all the Smart matches that you've already rejected? [Verbal Response]
8. Show us how you would see your Most recent Record matches?
9. Show us how do you usually enter the Instant discovery section? Please describe us what you can do on this page.

If so, please contact directly Keren Szabason, our Product Designer at keren.szabason@myheritage.com.

Many thanks in advance

 

Daniel Horowitz
Genealogy Expert

MyHeritage Offers Special Price for Genealogy Guys Podcast Listeners and Blog Readers

Welcome, Genealogy Guys Podcast Listeners and Blog Readers!

MyHeritage is offering a special discount on its annual Complete membership price exclusively to Genealogy Guys Podcast listeners and blog readers. MyHeritage is one of the fastest growing genealogy sites and the best place to build your family tree, with historical collections including billions of records. This special offer will give you EVERYTHING on MyHeritage for the lowest price.

1 YEAR Just $21387 Regular Price $300 per year.

Don't miss your chance to get this exclusive low price for Genealogy Guys readers! This limited time offer will expire on May 29 2020!
* Eligible for new MyHeritage subscribers only

Get Instant Access to:

• Private family site with unlimited capacity
• Consistency Checker — scans your family tree for mistakes and inconsistencies
• Start a new tree or import GEDCOM
• Unlimited photo colorization with MyHeritage In Color™
• Unlimited photo storage
• Apps for iPhone, iPad & Android
• Smart Matches™ with 50 million trees
• Full privacy control
• VIP customer support
• Join 97 million users who have built trees with 4 billion people
• 
  

• Search 12.4 billion historical records
• Automatic Record Matches
• Birth, marriage and death records
• Vital records from 48 countries
• Military and immigration records
• 1790-1940 USA Census
• 1841-1911 England & Wales census
• One billion records added every year
• New: 450,000 historical books

Get Started Now!

By submitting this information, you acknowledge that MyHeritage may contact you. Special pricing for Genealogy Guys readers will expire on May 29 2020.

Fill in YOUR information in the boxes above. By clicking "Begin Membership" above, you agree to the Terms and conditions. Secure e-Commerce services are provided by BlueSnap, an online reseller for MyHeritage Ltd. BlueSnap Terms of Use

•  N. WyattUSA
  “ I have to tell you how excited I am about MyHeritage, my links that I have found, and the history I am recovering. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. ”
•  C. DentonNew Zealand
  “ You guys are amazing. Your response is so quick. I don't know how you do that. I love you all. You've been such a blessing to me and my family. Touched. ”

MyHeritages Provides Free Access to Military Records May 20-26, 2020

Just received from MyHeritage this morning.

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In honor of Memorial Day, MyHeritage is offering free access to all military records on MyHeritage from May 20–26, 2020. 

Search all military records on MyHeritage 

Many of us may have a relative or ancestor who served in the military. We invite you to pay tribute to these heroes and honor their legacy by learning more about them through military records. 

The MyHeritage collection consists of 57 million records and includes draft, enlistment, and service records, pension records, and other military documents from North America and around the world, dating back to the American Revolutionary War in the late 18th century. 

Please use and share this video.

We’re also hosting 2 Facebook Live events about military records in the coming days: 

Searching Military Records on MyHeritage

Tune in TODAY, May 20 at 1 P.M. EDT as Thomas MacEntee shares how to leverage MyHeritage’s vast collection of military records to learn more about your family history. 

Breaking Through Brick Walls with Military Records

On May 24 at 1 P.M EDT, join Kate Eakman, senior researcher at Legacy Family Tree, who will show you how to use military records to break through brick walls in your genealogy research. 

Make sure you follow us on Facebook to tune in live. You can also watch the recorded sessions later on, and check out the full list of our online events in May and June.

You can read more about the free military records on our blog.

 

 

Daniel Horowitz
Genealogy Expert

MyHeritage Releases Three Major Collections of Greek Historical Records

This announcement was just received from MyHeritage.com.

I'm delighted to announce that we’ve just published three important Greek record collections: Greece, Electoral Rolls (1863–1924), Corfu Vital Records (1841–1932), and Sparta Marriages (1835–1935), comprising 1.8 million historical records. All three collections have been indexed by MyHeritage and for the first time are now searchable in English, as well as in Greek. These are invaluable genealogy resources for anyone with Greek roots.

Search the new Greek record collections now. 

The Greece Electoral Rolls (1863–1924) consist of 1,006,594 records and provide nationwide coverage of males ages 21 and up who were eligible to vote. The Corfu Vital Records (1841–1932) consist of 646,807 birth, marriage, and death records that were collected by the civil authorities in Corfu and document the life events of all residents of the island, regardless of their ethnicity or religion. The Sparta Marriages collection (1835–1935) consists of 179,411 records which include images of the couple’s marriage license and their listing in the marriage register. 

In one of our pro bono initiatives, MyHeritage Founder and CEO Gilad Japhet personally traced the descendants of a Jewish family that was hidden during World War II on the small island of Erikoussa, north of Corfu. Gilad further utilized his hands-on experience in Greek research to develop the enhanced method by which MyHeritage now handles Greek surnames in the new collections.

In Greece, a woman's last name is the genitive form of her father's surname, or when she marries, of her husband's surname. The new Greek collections on MyHeritage have been made gender-agnostic to facilitate enhanced searching and matching. For example, a search for the Jewish surname “Velleli” in the new collections on MyHeritage will also locate people named “Vellelis”. It is also possible to find these surnames by searching for “Belleli”, because the Greek letter beta is pronounced like the English letter V, but in some countries this distinction has been lost and Greek surnames are sometimes pronounced with the letter B, the way they are written in modern English. 

MyHeritage’s Global Name Translation Technology further ensures that when searching on MyHeritage in other languages, such as Hebrew and Russian, the results will also include names in the new Greek collections. No other major genealogy company has these Greek record collections, nor such sophisticated algorithms customized for Greek genealogy research.

Learn more about the new Greek record collections in the press release below.

Wishing you good health and sending warm regards,

Daniel HorowitzGenealogy Expert

                          

MyHeritage Releases Three Major Collections of Greek Historical Records 

TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah, May 18, 2020 — MyHeritage, the leading global service for discovering your past and empowering your future, announced today the publication of three important Greek record collections: Greece, Electoral Rolls (1863–1924), Corfu Vital Records (1841–1932), and Sparta Marriages (1835–1935), comprising 1.8 million historical records.

This release constitutes the first substantial set of Greek record collections available on MyHeritage. All three collections have been indexed by MyHeritage and for the first time are now searchable in English, as well as in Greek. The total size of MyHeritage’s historical record database is now 12.2 billion records. This release positions MyHeritage as an invaluable genealogy resource for family history enthusiasts who have Greek roots.

“As the cradle of western civilization and a crossroads of continents and cultures, Greece is becoming a gem among MyHeritage’s historical record collections. The records in these collections are rich in detail and have pan-European, Balkan, and Mediterranean significance. The communities documented were shaped by Greek, Italian, French, and Russian influences, have been home to significant Catholic and Jewish communities, and represent some of the world's most progressive systems of governance. These collections will prove valuable both to novice researchers and experienced genealogists,” said Russ Wilding, Chief Content Officer of MyHeritage.

The publication of these collections furthers MyHeritage’s commitment to providing new avenues for Greek family history research. In one of the company’s pro bono initiatives, MyHeritage Founder and CEO Gilad Japhet personally traced the descendants of a Jewish family that was hidden during World War II on the small island of Erikoussa, north of Corfu. The entire population of the island collectively gave refuge to the family, and saved it from death. His genealogical detective work, combined with MyHeritage’s extensive global database of historical records, culminated in recognition for the courageous people of Erikoussa, who were presented with the House of Life award by the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. This was depicted in the books ‘When the Cypress Whispers’ and ‘Something Beautiful Happened’ by Yvette Manessis Corporon, whose grandmother was among those who saved the Jewish family on Erikoussa.

Japhet utilized his hands-on experience in Greek research to develop the enhanced method by which MyHeritage now handles Greek surnames in the new collections. In Greece, a woman's last name is the genitive form of her father's surname, or when she marries, of her husband's surname. The new Greek collections on MyHeritage have been made gender-agnostic so that searches and matches will work to the fullest extent. For example, a search for the Jewish surname “Velleli” in the new collections on MyHeritage will also locate people named “Vellelis”. It is also possible to find these surnames by searching for “Belleli”, because the Greek letter beta is pronounced like the English letter V, but in some countries this distinction has been lost and Greek surnames are sometimes pronounced with the letter B, the way they are written in modern English. MyHeritage’s Global Name Translation Technology further ensures that when searching on MyHeritage in other languages, such as Hebrew and Russian, the results will also include names in the new Greek collections. No other major genealogy company has these Greek record collections, nor such sophisticated algorithms customized for Greek genealogy research.

The Greece Electoral Rolls (1863–1924) consist of 1,006,594 records and provide nationwide coverage of males ages 21 and up who were eligible to vote. They list the voter’s given name, surname, father’s name, age, and occupation. Each record includes the individual’s name in Greek, and a Latinized transliteration of the name that follows the standard adopted by the Greek government. MyHeritage translated many of the occupations from Greek to English and expanded many given names, which are often abbreviated in the original records. This new collection includes scans of the original documents and is the most extensive index of Greek electoral rolls currently available anywhere.  

The Corfu Vital Records (1841–1932) consist of 646,807 birth, marriage, and death records. The records were collected by the civil authorities in Corfu and document the life events of all residents of the island regardless of their ethnicity or religion. Birth records from this collection may contain the child’s given name and surname, birthdate and place of birth, name and age of both parents, and the given names of the child’s grandfathers. A marriage record from this collection may include the date of marriage, groom’s given name and surname, age, place of birth, residence, and his father’s name. Similar information is recorded about the bride and her father. Death records in this collection may include the name of the deceased, date of death, age at death, place of birth, residence, and parents’ names. The indexed collection of Corfu Vital Records includes scans of the original documents and is available exclusively on MyHeritage.

The Sparta Marriages collection (1835–1935) consists of 179,411 records which include images of the couple’s marriage license and their listing in the marriage register. The records in this collection list the full names of the bride and groom, the date of marriage, their fathers’ names, the birthplace of the bride and groom, and occasionally the names of witnesses to the marriage. The images in this collection were photographed, digitized, and indexed by MyHeritage from the original paper documents, in cooperation with the Metropolis of Monemvasia and Sparta.

The new collections are available on SuperSearch™, MyHeritage’s search engine. Searching the Greek record collections is free. A subscription is required to view the full records and to access Record Matches.

Search the new Greek record collections.

About MyHeritage

MyHeritage is the leading global discovery platform for exploring family history and gaining valuable health insights. With billions of historical records and family tree profiles, and with sophisticated matching technologies that work across all its assets, MyHeritage allows users to discover their past and empower their future. Launched in 2016, MyHeritage DNA has become one of the world’s largest consumer DNA databases, with more than 4 million customers. As the world’s leading global service that combines family history and DNA testing for genealogy and health, MyHeritage is uniquely positioned to offer users a meaningful discovery experience that unites their past, present, and future. Available in 42 languages, MyHeritage is the most popular DNA test and family history service in Europe. www.myheritage.com