GeneaNet

Alabama-Genealogy.net today announced the completion of the first phase of work on their county profile pages which marks their official online grand opening.

The site organizes family history and genealogy references in an easy to find format organized by each county. This helps family history researchers to more easily find the records that they are looking for to help document and expand their heritage research. There are also brief historical profiles for each county and an ongoing article series related to the history of Alabama.

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From state vital records and censuses to historical books and immigration data, this year’s 101 Best Websites list features tools that can bust your brick walls -- but not your budget.

In a bumpy economy, is there any more welcome word than free? When we took a break from checking our credit-card balances and 401(k) accounts to consider this year’s 101 Best Websites, the theme was as obvious as the lint in our wallets: the best free genealogy sites. Fortunately, when it comes to online genealogy, the old sayings “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” and “You get what you pay for” go right out the window. You can learn plenty about your family history without ever entering a credit-card number.

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Social movement We Are What We Do has joined forces with Google to create Historypin - a digital time machine that allows people to view and share history in a totally new way.

Using Google Maps and Street View technology, Historypin aims to become the largest user-generated archive of the world's historical images and stories.

Historypin invites the public to dig out, upload and pin their own old photos, as well as the stories behind them, onto the Historypin map. Uniquely, Historypin allows users to layer their old images onto modern Street View scenes, revealing a series of windows into the past.

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The GeneaBloggers are warning the genealogy community:

Heads up to all genealogy bloggers – there is a new splog (spam blog) that is stealing content from many of us including this site and my personal blog, Destination: Austin Family.

The site is called Easy-Genealogy.com and it is posting blog content in violation of copyright by a) not properly linking back to the original post and in some cases b) disregarding the Creative Commons licensing provisions.

The owner of Easy-Genealogy has also blacklisted certain sites from leaving comments – most likely the sites from whom they’ve stolen content.

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Family Tree Magazine announces its 40 Best Genealogy Blogs.

Here are my some of my favorites:


- GeneaBloggers by Thomas MacEntee
- Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver
- The Association of Graveyard Rabbits by several authors
- The Genetic Genealogist by Blaine Bettinger
- Genealogy Guys by George G. Morgan and Drew Smith
- DearMyrtle by Pat Richley-Erickson

Announcement by ProGenealogists:

We're glad to announce that ProGenealogists has created a new country website for Canada. You can find it at http://www.progenealogists.com/canada. Over the coming months we are planning to extend the scope of the site so that it truly can be a starting place for anyone wishing to conduct genealogy in Canada. At this time there is limited information on each of the provinces, but our sleuth page is already full of links to browse. Researching in Canada is a lot of fun, with many great resources available to the genealogist.

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Dick Eastman has launched GenQueries.com, The Online Database of Genealogy Queries.

GenQueries.com is a free service that provides an online database for genealogy queries for individuals as well as advertisements for societies, professional and amateur genealogy researchers, authors, publishers, genealogy web sites, adoptee searches, and more.

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This map originates from a large scale map of London compiled and engraved by Edward Weller F.R.G.S., issued in parts as supplements to the Weekly Dispatch newspaper during 1861 and 1862. The map consisted of nine sheets on a scale of 9⅜" to 1 statue mile. This map predates Edward Stanford's Library Map of London (Hyde No. 91) produced for the 1862 International Exhibition, and Weller's map is on a much larger scale than Stanford's 6" to 1 mile Library map.

The map was purchased by Alfred John Owen on a trip to England from Australia around 1880. Upon Alfred's death the map passed to his daughter Lyzette Owen, and it remained in possession of the Owen family of Victoria, Australia, from the 1880s until 2007, when it was purchased by MAPCO for display on the MAPCO : Map And Plan Collection Online website.

Use the thumbnail map at the top of each page to navigate your way around the map.

Map Of London 1868

Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society (MLFHS), based in the U.K. is pleased to announce the release of its genealogy toolbar which integrates seamlessly with the users browser (IE, Firefox, Safari) to provide instant access to family history sites including online BMD, Archives, Societies, Pay to View and many more.

The toolbar is completely free to download and use and has been developed by Family Historians for use by Family Historians.

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The JISC-funded A Vision of Britain Through Time website launches today, giving e-access, often for the first time, to over two centuries’ worth of facts, figures, surveys, maps, election results and travel writing showing how 15,000 UK places have changed.

The changing story of Britain’s towns and villages can be explored in new depth online, which unites more than 200 years worth of official documents, maps and travel stories.

Its launch provides an e-portal to over 12 million facts about places and lives in Britain. The site includes new-to-view historic boundary maps, a land use survey that helped to defeat Hitler, unemployment and wage records, farm surveys from 1866, the biggest e-library of historic British travel writing and - with pointers for Gordon Brown and his rivals - the results of every Parliamentary election since 1833.

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Ten new family trees have been added to the Web site FamilyTreeTemplates.net. The site now offers more than 40 family tree templates, blank ancestor charts and genealogy helpers designed to help hobbyists, schoolchildren and researchers trace and record their family history.

The new family tree templates include more three-, four- and five-generation family trees as well as a free-form unlabeled family tree, two trees with room for as many as eight siblings and a new version of the popular birth and adoptive family tree with room for even more family members. Most of the new trees are in full color, with attractive graphics such as trees, birds and even an acorn theme.

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Family Tree Magazine has published their 101 Best Web Sites 2009.

• 10 Best Web Sites for Vital Records - These are the best searchable databases of vital records from health departments, historical societies and state archives.
• 10 Best Web Sites for Storing and Sharing - Sharing your family history just got easier with these Web sites that let you create a family tree, store pictures and more.
• 10 Best Big Web Sites - You're sure to find information about your family in these stellar genealogy Web sites.
• 10 Best Web Sites for Maps - Trace your family's paths, find your ancestors' homes and explore the old country.
• 10 Best Web Sites for Local Searches - You can thank your lucky stars if your ancestors resided in the areas these Web sites cover.
• 10 Best Web Sites for International Searches - Tracking down immigrant ancestors has never been easier.
• 10 Best Cutting-edge Web Sites - Stay informed about the latest technology for genealogists with these sites.
• 10 Best Web Sites for Military Research - Find ancestors who served their country in these databases and archives.
• 10 Best Virtual Library Web Sites - Powerful search tools let you explore great library collections in the comfort of your own home.
• 10 Best Web Sites to See Dead People - Use these sites to find obituaries, cemeteries and other traces of your departed ancestors.

And #101 is Ancestry.com!

The Pilgrim Archives Leiden give a surprising look in a unique piece of Leiden history: the story of the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims were English Protestants, who fled England to escape the oppressive regime of James I and the Anglican established church. They lived and worked in Leiden from 1609 to 1620.

From 1620 groups of Pilgrims travelled onwards to North America: the 'New World'. There, people still celebrate Thanksgiving Day, in memory of the Pilgrims' ordeals and eventual deliverance. The influence of the Pilgrims on the future United States has been great. Just take the fact that no fewer than seven American Presidents are direct descendants of the Leiden Pilgrims.

Research and discover your ancestry with these 100 tools to get you started building a family tree. Trace back as far as you can find and share your results with friends and family. Many of the forums in this list will also garner you a few new friends in the genealogy spectrum. Tracing your roots will give you insight into your family’s past and give you an edge in your own forensic education endeavors.

Read "100 Genealogy Resources to Discover Your Ancestry"